Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002104S
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00:01 Pastor and Mrs. Carter have been helping people
00:03 around the world for almost 60 years. 00:05 They have worked in Australia, America, Africa, 00:10 Inter-America, Russia, Siberia, 00:14 Ukraine, India, the Philippines, 00:17 and some places too sensitive to mention. 00:20 They have reached a firm conclusion, 00:22 people are pretty much the same wherever you go. 00:25 Deep down inside, they have the same needs 00:28 and ask the same questions. 00:30 Here are some questions asked by people around the world. 00:34 Maybe they're your questions, too. 00:37 "I was brought up 00:39 in a very strict religious home. 00:40 My parents were good people 00:42 but, I had a hard time 00:44 conforming to all their religious rules. 00:46 I don't really know God. 00:48 I was taught that 00:49 He is watching us every second, 00:51 and He will punish us for our mistakes. 00:54 I don't like going to a church. 00:56 It makes me depressed thinking about it. 00:58 I don't understand. 01:00 It's confusing. 01:02 Who is God? 01:03 What is your God like?" 01:07 I want you to think of the nicest person 01:09 you've ever met. 01:12 Just take a pause and think of the nicest 01:16 and the kindest person you've ever met. 01:20 Are you thinking? 01:22 Okay, get the picture, 01:23 the nicest person I've ever, ever met. 01:28 Now, God is at least a billion times 01:33 nicer than that person. 01:35 God is a very, very kind, and a very, very nice person. 01:41 Now Jesus, who was God in human flesh, 01:45 was not like the religious people 01:46 of the big church in His day. 01:49 Those people put Jesus on the cross. 01:52 But Jesus was warm, and kind, 01:56 and forgiving. 01:59 Children loved Him. 02:01 He said, "Let the little children 02:02 come unto me." 02:04 So I want you to get this into your mind, my friend. 02:09 The God whom I serve is the most wonderful person, 02:12 the kindest person and the best person. 02:16 And somebody said these words, 02:17 I don't want to offend my religious friends, 02:20 because I guess I'm a religious person. 02:22 I'm a pastor. 02:24 But God is not a religious person 02:26 in the term of a religious person. 02:27 God is not a sanctimonious person. 02:30 God is warm, ever more gracious. 02:34 I think the greatest text in the Bible is John 3:16, 02:38 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, 02:43 so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, 02:46 but have everlasting life." 02:49 God so loved us that He gave His Son, 02:52 His Son was a part of the Trinity, 02:54 a part of His own, His own family. 02:59 Jesus was God in human flesh. 03:02 When Mary kissed the face of her little child, 03:05 her little baby, 03:07 she was kissing the face of God. 03:10 Then this little baby grew up into a man. 03:14 He became a carpenter, 03:15 He got His hands with splinters in them. 03:19 He made tables like this, table from Tasmania. 03:25 And then when He went out 03:26 and started to preach and to teach and to heal, 03:28 people found him the most wonderful person. 03:33 Jesus is not the stereotyped religious person 03:38 in the stained glass window. 03:41 I say to you, think of the kindest person 03:43 you've ever known. 03:47 And remember this, 03:48 God is at least a billion times nicer and better. 03:54 I say, my friend, believe in the God 03:56 who believes in you, He loves you. 04:01 "Is public evangelism finished?" 04:05 It's a great question, 04:07 because I meet people all the time in churches, 04:08 and they tell me, 04:10 "Oh, public evangelism is finished." 04:13 But then out there in the secular world, 04:16 I meet people who tell me that marriage is finished also. 04:20 I meet people all the time 04:21 who tell me that fidelity is finished, 04:25 and goodness is finished. 04:28 I don't believe that stuff. 04:30 I'm not a negative person. 04:32 And I don't believe in negativism 04:34 that is spewed out of people 04:36 who do not believe 04:38 in the teachings of the Word of God. 04:41 I'm going to turn to a text over here 04:43 in Luke Chapter 24. 04:47 And please be patient with me. 04:48 Let me find this text. 04:50 Luke 24:46, 04:56 "He told them, 'This is what is written: 05:00 The Christ will suffer and rise 05:02 from the dead on the third day, 05:04 and repentance and forgiveness of sins 05:06 will be preached in His name to all nations, 05:10 beginning at Jerusalem. 05:11 You are witnesses of these things." 05:15 I'd rather believe what Jesus said. 05:19 Jesus said, "The gospel of Christ 05:22 that saves our souls 05:24 is going to be preached in Jerusalem." 05:26 Tough place to start. 05:28 God usually starts in tough places. 05:32 God is not a person who gives in 05:33 because things are tough. 05:36 He says, "You're going to start at Jerusalem, 05:38 and then you're going to preach this gospel in America, 05:41 you're going to preach it in Europe, 05:43 you're going to preach it in Australia, 05:45 you're going to preach it around the world." 05:48 How can I believe that evangelism is finished 05:51 when I believe in Jesus? 05:54 How can I believe that marriage is finished 05:56 when I believe in God? 05:57 How can I believe that 05:59 the Ten Commandments are finished 06:00 when I believe in the Holy Spirit? 06:05 I don't believe in this stuff. 06:07 People who say that evangelism is finished are saying it 06:11 because they do not know the great power of God. 06:16 I hear all sorts of excuses they say to me, 06:20 it's finished, because it takes so much, 06:24 it takes hard work. 06:26 Of course, it takes hard work. 06:28 I know about it. My family knows about it. 06:32 Some time back, we had the privilege 06:33 of going down to El Salvador. 06:35 We ran a campaign 06:36 in the National Football Stadium 06:39 in the great city of San Salvador. 06:41 People say, "Well, 06:42 what do you do when you go there 06:44 when I take a team along?" 06:45 My son David is in charge of the team. 06:48 And we've got lots of people who come with us, 06:50 many of them are volunteers. 06:52 So what do you do? 06:53 Well, you got to build a tremendous stage. 06:55 You've got to put up huge screens. 06:57 You say, "Well, that's easy." 06:59 Hey, try doing it. 07:00 Before we went the people in El Salvador 07:03 so much believe in evangelism, 07:05 they said to me, "Pastor Carter, 07:07 if you will come, 07:08 we will run 80 evangelistic campaigns 07:11 before you get there. 07:13 We will run them all over El Salvador. 07:15 And then we will hire 760 buses to bring the people." 07:20 Go and talk to those people and tell them, 07:22 hey, it's finished. 07:23 No, it's not finished, my friend. 07:25 But a lot of people are going to be finished 07:26 because of their unbelief. 07:28 And when we had the meetings there, 07:29 we had the largest crowds in the history 07:32 of that part of the world. 07:34 You say you're talking about church crowds? 07:36 No, I'm talking about football crowds. 07:39 We can show you the pictures on the screen. 07:41 People look at this and they say, 07:43 "Hey, are these fake pictures?" 07:44 No, this is not fake. 07:46 This is the truth. Evangelism is not finished. 07:49 I'll tell you why, my friend, because God is not finished. 07:55 I've got other people come to me and they say, 07:57 "Hey, we don't believe in evangelism, 08:00 because it takes too much work and it doesn't work." 08:06 Of course, it doesn't work if you don't work. 08:09 And people say to me, it cost too much money. 08:12 People have said to me, "Pastor Carter, how much does 08:14 a big Carter Report campaign cost? 08:17 I'll tell you, at least a million dollars. 08:21 A million dollars? 08:25 What a sin to spend a million dollars. 08:27 I say to them, my friends in Los Angeles, 08:29 "How much did you spend on your house?" 08:32 We spent one and a half million. 08:35 Oh. 08:37 So a house in Los Angeles is more important than souls, 08:41 is this what you're telling me? 08:45 It's a wonder God puts up with our unbelief, 08:47 and our terrible sin and our rebellion. 08:50 Then I come to Australia, 08:52 and people say to me, "Hey, Pastor Carter, 08:54 hey, don't you know, it doesn't work. 08:56 Why do you do it? 08:57 Hasn't somebody told you?" 09:00 Well, I say to them, "I think you were the people 09:01 who told me it wouldn't work 09:03 when we hired the Sydney Opera House." 09:05 Remember how we had the largest number of people, 09:08 the greatest crowds in the history 09:10 of the Sydney Opera House, do you remember that? 09:13 Well we tried to forget it. 09:15 Weren't you the people who told me it didn't work? 09:18 Well, it, okay, it worked then, but it doesn't work now. 09:21 I want to tell you, my friend. 09:24 It doesn't work because of our lack of faith 09:28 and our lack of commitment to Christ. 09:31 But I want you folks to know this. 09:32 And I'm talking now to my marvelous friends 09:35 and my supporters around the world. 09:37 My great friends and supporters in Australia, 09:40 and in the United States of America 09:43 and across Europe and even in the Middle East. 09:47 You know, that together 09:50 we've run campaigns in Russia and in Ukraine, 09:54 where we saw the largest number 09:56 of secular people attending religious meetings, 10:00 possibly in the history of Christianity. 10:03 You say, "No, I don't believe it." 10:05 That's true, millions, communists, atheists. 10:10 We saw it in India, Hindus and Muslims, 10:13 people come to me and they say, 10:14 "Well, they're not going to come." 10:15 When they come, they say, 10:17 "Well, they're not going to stay." 10:18 When they stay, they say, "Well, if you baptize them, 10:21 they're gonna fall away." 10:23 Think about terrible sin of unbelief 10:27 and our lack of faith. 10:31 I thank God for my marvelous supporters 10:34 who believe in the Bible, and who believe in evangelism. 10:40 I say to them, thank you and to the rest, 10:43 I say, I'll pray for you. 10:48 "Why does God permit suffering?" 10:53 Now, I'm going to try to give you 10:54 the best answers in my soul. 10:56 I'm going to try to give you an answer 10:58 that comes from the Word of God. 11:03 Now there are lots of things John Carter doesn't understand. 11:06 I want to make that very, very plain, 11:08 lots of things I don't understand. 11:14 Just a week ago, I got a attack of a sickness 11:18 that caused a tremendous pain. 11:22 I've had this attack now for five years, 11:25 every few months. 11:29 I've come to know what pain is like. 11:34 This is a world that's full of pain 11:36 and suffering and the question is, 11:39 why does a good God permit all of this bad suffering? 11:44 Now, there's some truths that I believe, number one, 11:48 that God is good. 11:50 God is good all the time. 11:52 God is loving. 11:54 God so loved the world. 11:55 He loves me. 11:58 When I was going through pain the other night, 12:02 the pain lasted most of the night. 12:06 I was holding on to the very truth, 12:07 God loves me. 12:10 God understands, for God so loved the world 12:13 that He gave His only Son, 12:15 so that if I believe in Him, 12:16 I will not perish. 12:18 I will have everlasting life. 12:21 So that's the great truth, 12:23 many things we can't understand. 12:24 But there's one great truth, 12:26 you and I can understand that is God loves us. 12:30 And number two, when God made us, 12:33 my friend, he made us with freedom of choice. 12:39 You see, God is not a monster, God is not a dictator. 12:44 Because God loves us, He made us to love, 12:48 want you to think this through. 12:50 I'm going to try to make this plain, 12:52 may not be explaining it as good as I, 12:55 I would like to, 12:56 but I'm trying to make it plain. 12:59 When a loving God made us, He made us to love. 13:03 He didn't make us robots. 13:05 You want your children to love you, don't you? 13:09 But if your kids were robots, they couldn't love you. 13:13 So a loving God made us with the capacity to love. 13:17 And when He made us with the capacity to love, 13:20 so that we were, would not be robots. 13:24 He made us with the ability to choose. 13:30 You can't love unless you have the ability to choose. 13:35 And so God made us with the ability to choose. 13:41 And suffering started, 13:42 as I can see it in Book of Genesis, 13:45 you read about it. 13:47 And I'm going to come over here 13:48 and try to explain it to you 13:50 in Genesis 3:2-7. 13:55 This chapter explains most mysteries. 14:00 Let me read it to you. 14:04 "The woman said to the serpent, of course that's the devil, 14:07 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 14:10 but God did say, 14:11 you must not eat fruit from the tree 14:13 that is in the middle of the garden. 14:15 You must not touch it, or you will die.' 14:20 'You will not surely die,' serpent said to the woman. 14:23 'For God knows that when you eat of it, 14:25 your eyes will be open and you will be like God, 14:29 knowing good and evil. 14:32 When the woman saw that 14:33 the fruit of the tree was good for food 14:35 and pleasing to the eyes 14:36 and also desirable for gaining wisdom, 14:39 she took some and ate it. 14:42 She also gave some to her husband 14:45 who was with her and he ate it. 14:47 Then the eyes of both of them were opened 14:50 and they realize they were naked, 14:53 so they sewed fig leaves together 14:54 and made coverings for themselves." 14:57 Now, God made our first parents, 15:00 as He made the angels, 15:02 as He made Satan, 15:04 He made us all with the capacity to choose. 15:07 God said, "If you eat this, you're going to get sick, 15:10 you're going to die." 15:12 He said, "I don't want you to eat or going, 15:14 I don't want you to eat it. 15:16 I don't want you to make that bad choice. 15:18 I want you to say no." 15:22 But because we thought we were smarter than God. 15:25 And because we thought God was a tyrant, 15:27 we exercise our freedom of choice 15:30 and we said yes to Satan. 15:34 And then you read on this chapter, 15:37 that everything fell to pieces, 15:39 there came pain, and there came suffering, 15:43 and there came death. 15:46 Ultimately, pain and suffering 15:49 and death are the consequences 15:52 of our choosing sin. 15:58 We live in a sin cursed world. 16:02 One day God is going to come 16:03 and He's going to get rid of Satan, 16:06 He's going to get rid of sin and when He does so, 16:09 He's going to get rid of our suffering. 16:14 But sin is the result 16:15 of the human race making a bad choice, 16:19 and choosing evil instead of good. 16:26 But that doesn't explain, usually, 16:30 our personal suffering. 16:33 It says in the Book of Galatians, 16:36 can't just think where the text is, 16:37 I think it's probably Galatians 6. 16:39 But it says, don't be deceived, God is not mocked, 16:43 whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. 16:49 We reap what we sow. 16:51 The smoker who gets cancer reaps 16:54 what he sows. 16:55 I know of a famous American personality, 16:57 who boasted that 16:59 he would never give up his smoking. 17:02 Well, he's given it up now, because he's dead. 17:06 Much of our personal suffering, at least some of it is 17:09 because of what we eat, 17:12 what we don't eat, because of our drugs, 17:15 because of our bad habits. 17:19 So we reap what we sow, 17:21 but not all of our suffering 17:23 is caused by our personal choice. 17:27 We are in a web of humanity, 17:31 which has violated the laws of God. 17:35 God made us to love and so we could love 17:39 He made us with the capacity to choose. 17:44 And because our first parents made the wrong choices, 17:49 sin and death and sorrow came into the world, 17:53 but there's some good news. 17:57 Jesus is coming. 17:59 There's going to be a brand new world, 18:01 no sin, no Satan, 18:05 no sorrow, no pain, no death 18:10 and it's yours for the asking. 18:16 "Do you believe in the Trinity, 18:18 the idea that there are three Gods? 18:20 Was Jesus created by God? 18:22 How many Gods do you worship?" 18:25 I worship one God. 18:28 I worship the God of the Bible. 18:30 I worship the God of Holy Scripture. 18:33 I worship the God of Genesis 1:1 that says, 18:36 "In the beginning, 18:37 God created the heavens and the earth." 18:40 I worship the God that Jesus talks about here 18:43 in Matthew Chapter 28, 18:46 here it is and verse 19, 18:49 let me read it to you. 18:52 "Therefore, go and make disciples 18:54 of all nations, 18:55 baptizing them in the name, singular, 18:59 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 19:02 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 19:06 Hey, there, you got the blessed biblical Trinity. 19:10 Jesus didn't say go and baptize them 19:11 in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 19:16 Jesus said, baptize them in the name. 19:19 Singular, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 19:23 The Bible talks about the Father, 19:24 and the Bible talks about the Son, 19:27 and the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit 19:29 and the Bible says they are all God. 19:35 Hey, you say to me, you're confusing me. 19:37 No, no, not trying to confuse you. 19:39 I'm just trying to tell you what the Bible says. 19:42 Did you know that Jesus Christ 19:45 our Lord and our Savior is called God? 19:51 Did you know that He is called Yahweh, 19:55 the great name for the self existent God? 19:58 Hey, just hang with me for a minute, don't go away. 20:01 Be patient with me. 20:03 I'm coming over here to the Book of Hebrews, 20:05 Hebrews 1:8, 20:09 "But about the Son, he, God says, 20:12 'Your throne, O God, 20:15 will last for ever and ever.''' 20:19 God the Father turns to Jesus, who is called the Son, 20:23 and He says, Your throne, O God, will last forever. 20:28 Therefore, God the Father believes 20:32 that Jesus is God, the Son. 20:36 I'm not making this up. 20:37 I'm reading this out of the Bible. 20:40 And then I come down to verse 10. 20:43 He also says, "In the beginning, 20:47 O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, 20:51 and the heavens are the works of Your hands." 20:54 Hey, stay with me here. 20:58 Hebrews Chapter 1, 20:59 God the Father turns to His Son Jesus, 21:02 and says, Your throne, O God, He calls Him God. 21:05 And then God the Father 21:07 actually calls Jesus by the term Yahweh. 21:12 Therefore, Jesus is called by the term Jehovah, 21:17 the Almighty one, the self existent one. 21:20 God the Father did not create Jesus, 21:23 because Jesus was a part of the Godhead 21:27 and had no beginning. 21:31 John 1:1, in the beginning 21:33 was the logos, intelligence, the Word. 21:37 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God." 21:40 He was with the Father and it says, 21:42 "The Word was God." 21:45 He was divine. 21:47 So Jesus is called Almighty God in the scriptures. 21:51 I'm going to read you another text here. 21:52 This is a text that sort of blows me away. 21:55 I'm going to come over here to John Chapter 8 and verse, 21:59 let me see, verse 58, and verse... 22:05 I'm getting it, John Chapter 8. 22:09 Stick with me, John 8:58, 22:12 Jesus is having an altercation with the Jews. 22:17 And Jesus says this, here it is. 22:20 "I tell you the truth," verse 15, 22:23 "Jesus answered, 'Before Abraham was born, I am! 22:27 Before Abraham was born, I am! 22:30 At this they picked up stones to stone Him." 22:33 You know why? Because they got it. 22:36 You and I may not get it. 22:38 But the Jewish people got it. 22:40 Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I am." 22:44 The term I am is taken from the Book of Exodus. 22:48 Moses is talking to the Almighty God, 22:51 the Yahweh, Elohim. 22:53 And Moses says to God, 22:54 the Almighty God, "What's your name? 22:56 What is your name? 22:57 Oh, great God, what is your name?" 22:59 He says, "I am that I am. 23:03 Go tell the people I am, has sent me to you. 23:09 Go do this, Moses, my name is not I was. 23:14 My name is I am." 23:17 He is the self existent God. 23:20 He is the one who never had a beginning. 23:22 He never has an ending. 23:23 The Bible tells us that this great 23:26 I am in the person of Jesus Christ 23:29 actually became a man. 23:31 Wow. 23:33 Blows me away. 23:36 Jesus forgave sins. 23:37 Only God can do that. 23:41 Jesus is God in human flesh. 23:45 You say to me, "But you know, I can't believe, 23:47 I don't understand this." 23:49 Hey, I don't understand it either. 23:52 Do you understand electricity? 23:55 Do you understand eternity? 23:58 Do you even understand what a molecule is? 24:01 Do you understand what a cell is? 24:04 A lot of things we don't understand. 24:07 But there, I don't understand 24:09 this doctrine of the biblical Trinity, 24:11 but I believe it because the Bible teaches it. 24:16 Then the Bible talks about 24:17 the third person of the Godhead, 24:18 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 24:20 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 24:23 Don't have too much time for this now. 24:26 But the Book of Romans tells me that 24:28 the Holy Spirit has a mind. 24:32 He thinks, he moves, 24:37 he's got compassion. 24:40 The Holy Spirit has the capacity to love us. 24:44 He knows everything. 24:47 He is a person. 24:48 And the Holy Spirit is called by the name of God. 24:51 And you can read this 24:53 in the Bible in the Book of Acts. 24:56 So I don't believe 24:57 in the pagan idea of the Trinity. 24:59 Of course, I don't. 25:00 I believe in a Bible idea of the Trinity. 25:05 I believe that God the Father is Almighty God. 25:10 I believe that Jesus Christ, 25:11 the blessed Son is all mighty God. 25:14 In the Book of Revelation, Revelation Chapter 1, 25:18 Jesus is called the Almighty, 25:22 the beginning and the end, 25:25 the Alpha and the Omega. 25:28 The Holy Spirit 25:29 is the third person of the Godhead. 25:31 He is not just an influence. 25:34 He is a person. 25:37 He is a real person. 25:41 The story of redemption is this. 25:44 The God in Christ made the universe 25:49 trillions and trillions and trillions of blazing suns, 25:52 billions and billions and billions, 25:54 even trillions of galaxies. 25:56 Wow, what a tremendous God He is. 25:59 You say, "You know, I'm discouraged." 26:01 Well, don't be discouraged if you believe in God. 26:03 You say, "I'm depressed." 26:05 I say, "Don't give up because God is great. 26:08 God is almighty. 26:10 Anything God wants to do God can do. 26:12 If God is for you, 26:13 who can be against you, believe this, brother, sister. 26:18 So God in Christ made the universe 26:20 and then God in Christ became a man. 26:24 He was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 26:27 Somebody says, "That's impossible." 26:29 What do you know about something being impossible? 26:32 Nothing is impossible for God. 26:37 You know, we're like little ants 26:38 crawling across the dining room floor, 26:39 and we look up and we see the TV 26:41 and we say, can't understand it. 26:43 Hey, what do we understand anyhow? 26:47 But I believe in the words of Scripture, 26:49 because these words are inspired. 26:52 And the Holy Spirit 26:53 is the third person of the Godhead, 26:55 who is the active agent in creation, 26:58 who leads us to Christ and repent of our sins, 27:01 and who leads us to salvation. 27:04 And I want to... 27:05 I have a message from my heart to your heart 27:08 from the Word of God to you today. 27:11 With God on your side, 27:16 everything is going to turn out good. 27:21 Everything is going to be great. 27:25 There is a new world coming. 27:28 Jesus is coming. 27:29 We're going to get new buddies, we're never going to get tired, 27:32 we're never going to have pain. 27:34 We're going to live forever and ever and ever, 27:37 and we're going to be happy and rejoicing. 27:40 It's going to be a billion times 27:42 better than you can imagine. 27:45 Believe in the God who believes in you, friend. 27:48 This is John Carter from his home, 27:52 from his study, 27:54 from his table with his books, 27:58 saying, thank you for joining me today. 28:03 And may God bless you over 28:07 and beyond all you can ask or think. 28:12 For Christ's sake, amen. 28:19 For a copy of today's program, please contact us 28:22 at P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, 28:25 California 91358. 28:29 Or in Australia, 28:31 contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:34 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:38 This program is made possible 28:40 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:43 We thank you for your continued support. 28:46 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2021-05-23