Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002111S
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00:01 The COVID-19 pandemic
00:02 caused the deaths of over 600,000 people. 00:05 Words cannot describe the devastation 00:08 that COVID-19 has caused in the United States, 00:11 South America, Europe, 00:14 Russia, and in Great Britain. 00:17 We've lost devoted members 00:18 of the Carter Report team in India 00:21 and thousands of precious souls 00:22 continue to die without vaccination. 00:25 Pastor Carter has a message for all those who are hurting 00:29 by the loss of their mothers and fathers, 00:31 sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, 00:34 husbands and wives, friends, neighbors, doctors and nurses. 00:39 We are blessed to know that death is not the end 00:43 and that roses will bloom again. 00:52 Hello, friend, I'm John Carter. 00:54 Welcome to the Carter Report and welcome to our home 00:58 right here in Australia. 01:00 This is COVID-19 time and the borders 01:04 are sealed in Australia. 01:05 This place is surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean. 01:09 You can't come in and you can't come out. 01:13 And so we're here. 01:14 I don't know how long, but for the foreseeable future, 01:19 but we welcome you today to the Carter Report. 01:23 Sometime ago in the United States, 01:25 I was listening to the Gaither singers. 01:28 They are some of my favorite singers. 01:31 And they had a beautiful young woman 01:33 and she sang in the country style 01:37 and that beautiful song roses will bloom again. 01:42 The story tells about an old man 01:45 married for many, many years and his wife dies 01:49 and the song says he's left to go on by himself alone. 01:55 But then the theme comes through, 01:57 roses will bloom again, just wait and see. 02:02 And that's what I'm going to talk to you about today. 02:04 Doesn't matter what happens in this life, my friend, 02:07 roses will bloom again. 02:12 We lived in Southern California for 32 years 02:17 in a place called Thousand Oaks. 02:20 The best place in all the world for roses 02:23 is Southern California. 02:26 Believe you me. 02:29 Our front yard was filled with roses, 02:31 but sometimes we would get cold winters. 02:35 On one occasion about 30 years ago, 02:37 we actually got snow in our front yard, 02:40 but that was unusual. 02:42 But during the wintertime, 02:44 the roses would lose their leaves, 02:47 but after winter comes spring and after spring comes summer 02:53 and the roses bloomed again, that's my message. 02:58 Today, we're going to talk about life after death. 03:02 Roses will bloom again. 03:05 "Pastor, we're talking today about the loss of loved ones. 03:09 And I remember that you had a very moving experience 03:12 in Russia with a young mother and her baby. 03:16 Can you tell us about it?" 03:20 I'll never ever forget it. 03:25 We ran a great evangelistic campaign in Nizhny Novgorod, 03:29 the city of Gorky in Russia in the year 1992. 03:34 I tell you, my friend, we absolutely saw 03:37 the glory of God. 03:39 We saw the mighty outpouring of the Spirit of God. 03:42 We saw thousands and thousands of people baptized 03:46 in the cold waters of the Volga River. 03:51 During that tremendous series of meetings 03:53 which was anointed by God, we had a Great Russian choir. 03:59 The choir leader was a beautiful young woman 04:02 with this long black glossy hair. 04:06 Her name was Anna. 04:07 I'll never forget her. 04:08 She was such a talented musician, 04:10 such a great singer and such a great choir leader. 04:16 It was my custom for more than 15 or 16 years in Russia, 04:21 after every campaign, we ran to go back and see 04:24 how the folks were doing. 04:26 That's what the Apostle Paul did you know? 04:29 And so we went back in the winter of 1993, 04:34 six months after the great campaign 04:37 in Nizhny Novgorod. 04:41 It was a Friday afternoon. 04:42 It was perishing cold. 04:44 It was snowing heavily. 04:46 And Russia, I tell you, my friend, 04:48 Russia can get very, very, very cold. 04:54 And there was a knocking on my door 04:55 in my room at that time was Pastor Aleksander Antonyuk, 04:59 who was the, my manager and a tremendous, 05:02 tremendous person, tremendous Russian Christian. 05:07 Persistent knocking on the door, 05:08 Aleksander went to the door and there were two men there, 05:12 both about the same age. 05:14 One man was a doctor and the other man was the now, 05:18 wait for this. 05:20 The other man was the husband of our choir leader, Anna, 05:25 because Anna had just given birth 05:27 to two little girls twins, 05:31 and she was dying in the local hospital. 05:35 The father and the doctor with their eyes streaming 05:39 with tears, they said, "Pastor Carter, 05:42 come with us in the name of God." 05:43 They spoke through with Russian, 05:45 which goes through translator. 05:47 They said, "Please come to the hospital." 05:50 And so we went to the hospital, 05:53 it was so cold and Russia had a financial collapse 05:58 and the hospital was basically bare of medicines, drugs. 06:03 So they gave us those special shoes to wear 06:05 and they put a cap on our heads and gowns, 06:08 and we were taken into the emergency ward. 06:15 And there was Anna. 06:18 She was dying for the want of $10 worth of medicines, 06:22 which we didn't have. 06:24 And the Russians at that time didn't have. 06:27 I held her hand and I prayed that God, 06:29 O God, please heal Anna. 06:32 She's had these two little baby girls, 06:36 please take care of Anna. 06:40 But that Friday night as Sabbath came in Russia. 06:43 Somebody came to us with the message Anna, 06:46 and one of the babies has just died. 06:53 I'll never forget it. 06:55 I was asked to take the funeral. 06:59 Anna was buried in a cardboard box that they painted. 07:04 Somebody had painted roses on the box. 07:08 You say, why cardboard box? 07:10 Why didn't they have a... 07:11 Well, because they were so poor. 07:15 We had purchased a little bus. 07:18 So they put the coffin in the bus 07:20 and we walked behind the bus. 07:22 We went to this large Russian cemetery. 07:25 So cold, the wind was mooning. 07:31 And there was a large group of Christians there, 07:33 the people who had survived the communist, 07:36 atheistic Holocaust. 07:38 The Holocaust had destroyed 70 million lives. 07:42 Did you get this? 07:44 Don't talk to me about the benefits 07:46 of atheism and communism. 07:48 They had killed 70 million people. 07:50 Some say 100 million people in the 70 years 07:53 they reigned over the Russian people. 07:58 Anna was lying there in the open cardboard coffin 08:01 and at her breast was her little baby, 08:07 this tiny little baby. 08:10 The Russian stroked her long black hair. 08:15 And then they sang hymns. 08:18 I'll never forget it. 08:19 The hymns are sending to God, a song of praise 08:24 from the midst of that Russian winter. 08:29 That winter, some would say a winter of human despair. 08:33 People are hungry. 08:37 Then they asked me to preach the sermon 08:39 before she was buried into the cold earth. 08:42 They had to blast the earth open before I got there, 08:47 because the earth was frozen. 08:53 I talked to them about the resurrection of Christ. 08:56 I spoke to them about the return of Christ. 08:59 I spoke to them about the resurrection 09:01 when Jesus will come, 09:03 when the dead are going to be raised. 09:06 It is the truth. 09:09 The dead are going to live again. 09:13 Roses, yes, roses will bloom again 09:19 one day, just wait and see. 09:24 "Do you have proof that Jesus Christ died 09:28 and was resurrected?" 09:33 On the Sunday morning 09:35 the body of Christ was missing. 09:39 Nobody disputes this. 09:41 Christ was crucified. 09:43 And then on the Sunday morning, the body of Christ was missing. 09:48 Now I want to ask all of you this question, here it is. 09:53 I ask it as I've asked hundreds of thousands of atheists, 09:57 communists in Russia, Ukraine, 09:59 and other places around the world. 10:02 Here is the question. 10:03 What happened to the missing body of Christ? 10:08 Because everybody knows on the Sunday morning, 10:11 the tomb was empty and the body was missing. 10:15 There are these possibilities. 10:17 I want you to notice them carefully. 10:18 Number one, there's the possibility 10:21 that the Roman soldiers came and got the body, 10:23 the Roman authorities got the body of Christ, 10:26 and therefore they were holding on to the body of Christ. 10:31 I can't believe this. 10:32 Nobody believes this, 10:34 because when the apostle started to preach 10:36 the resurrection of Christ, the Romans didn't like it. 10:39 And the best way to absolutely destroy the idea 10:45 of the resurrection is to produce a dead body. 10:48 I think everybody would concede this. 10:51 So the Romans didn't get the body. 10:54 The second possibility is that the Jewish 10:56 authorities had the body, 10:59 but the argument that applies to the Romans applies 11:02 with equal or even greater force to the Jewish people. 11:08 The Jewish people tried to do everything 11:11 they could to squelch and destroy 11:15 the infant Christian Church. 11:17 And the apostles went forth and proclaimed 11:21 with great power, the resurrection of Christ. 11:24 What better way to destroy the Christian Church 11:27 and the idea of the resurrection of Christ 11:29 than to produce the dead body of Christ. 11:31 I put it to you. 11:34 And so, nobody seriously believes that the Jewish people 11:39 had preserved or kept the dead body of Christ. 11:44 There's another alternative, of course. 11:46 And that is that the disciples had the body of Christ, 11:49 the dead body of Christ. 11:50 That they had come, they stormed the tomb, 11:54 overthrowing the Roman soldiers, 11:57 the guard of Roman soldiers who stood around the tomb. 11:59 They had got rid of the Roman soldiers. 12:00 They had rolled away the stone that was a massive thing. 12:05 And they had stolen the body of Christ. 12:10 That idea is absolutely absurd 12:14 because after the crucifixion of Christ, 12:16 the disciples were scared to death. 12:19 They thought they were going to be next. 12:23 They were hiding in an upper room, scared to death. 12:28 You see there is security in numbers. 12:30 They did not have the courage or anything 12:35 to storm the tomb and destroy, 12:38 or to get the body of Christ. 12:41 So I can't believe this. 12:44 Now there's another alternative. 12:45 And this is the only alternative 12:48 that a rational person can accept. 12:51 Here it is. 12:53 The body was missing from the tomb 12:56 because the body had been resurrected 12:59 from the dead. 13:03 Did you hear this? 13:05 The only alternative is that the body of Christ 13:08 was missing because the body Christ 13:11 had been resurrected from the dead. 13:14 I'm going to read it to you 13:16 in Matthew 28:1-6. 13:21 Listen carefully. 13:22 I'm reading from the New King James version. 13:25 It says, "Now after the Sabbath, 13:27 as the first day of the week began to dawn, 13:30 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 13:34 And behold, there was a great earthquake, 13:37 for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 13:39 and came and rolled back the stone from the door, 13:42 and sat on it. 13:44 His countenance was like lightning, 13:46 his clothing as white as snow. 13:49 And the guards shook for fear of him, 13:51 became like dead men. 13:54 But the angel answered and said to the women, 13:57 'Do not be afraid, for I know 13:58 that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 14:01 He is not here, He is risen, 14:05 as he said. 14:08 Come, see the place 14:12 where the Lord was laid.'" 14:15 Come and see where He was. 14:18 They said, "He's not here. 14:20 He is arisen." 14:24 Now some folks will say to me, but you know, you can't read. 14:27 You can't believe that stuff. 14:31 But most rational people I know believe in history. 14:36 We believe in Caesar. 14:38 We believe in Napoleon. 14:40 We believe in the popes of the Middle Ages. 14:44 We believe in great historical figures. 14:49 Now, the people who saw these things were not frauds. 14:52 They were not really just conmen. 14:54 They were simple hearted people. 14:57 Some of them were fishermen, bless your heart. 15:01 They wrote it down. 15:03 They recorded it. 15:05 And these recordings were faithfully preserved 15:08 and they've come down to our day intact. 15:13 The record is that Christ was raised from the dead 15:18 and there were eyewitnesses. 15:23 "Pastor, to present a compelling case in our courts 15:26 today, we rely on truthful witnesses. 15:30 Did anyone actually see Jesus after His death 15:33 and resurrection?" 15:39 That's really a great question. 15:41 Were there eyewitnesses? 15:43 Now, as Wayne just asked the question, 15:48 he said even our court system today 15:51 is based on the testimony of witnesses. 15:55 But the amazing thing is 15:57 that when we talk to skeptics on occasion, 15:59 and we talk about the witnesses 16:01 who saw Christ 16:02 after He was raised from the dead, 16:04 they say, we don't believe in the testimony of witnesses. 16:09 But the whole law structure 16:10 in the United States of America, 16:12 Australia, Great Britain, every civilized country 16:16 it is based upon the fidelity of witnesses 16:20 that they're going to tell the truth. 16:24 Now were they witnesses who testified concerning 16:27 the resurrection of Christ? 16:29 Yes. 16:31 There was a very simple person. 16:32 Her name was Mary Magdalene. 16:37 She was one of the most fervent disciples of Christ. 16:41 Christ had saved her from a life of sin and shame. 16:46 And on the Sunday morning, she was there at the tomb. 16:50 The tomb was empty. 16:51 She was absolutely in a state of consternation and shock. 16:57 She was standing there outside the tomb 17:00 and she saw a person standing there outside the tomb. 17:04 Of course, there was a bit of mist across the ground, 17:07 early in the morning. 17:11 And she said to this person, she thought this person 17:13 was probably the gardener. 17:15 And she said, 17:17 "Do you know where Jesus is?" 17:21 She said, "Do you know where Jesus is? 17:23 Can you tell me where Jesus is? 17:25 And If you can tell me where Jesus is, 17:28 I'll come and I'll get Him and I'll take Him away." 17:34 And then the person whom she thought was the gardener 17:37 said to her, one word, 17:41 Maria, Mary. 17:47 And she cried out, 17:49 "Lord, Jesus, Jesus. 17:54 It is really You, Jesus." 17:56 And she fell down and she grabbed hold of Him 17:59 by the ankles. 18:00 He said, "Don't hold on to Me now. 18:02 I'm going home to My Father's house, we'll talk later. 18:06 Later on, Jesus was seen by all of the disciples. 18:10 They were in an upper room. 18:13 They did not believe for one moment 18:14 that Christ had been raised from the dead. 18:17 They'd heard the report of the woman. 18:19 They thought the woman went crazy. 18:23 Jesus came and visited them. 18:25 And He said to them, "Peace to you." 18:30 Then He sat down with them because they were terrified. 18:32 They thought he had to be a ghost. 18:34 And He said, "Have you got anything here to eat?" 18:38 And so, Jesus ate with them piece of bread 18:41 and a piece of fish. 18:44 Later on He was seen by a man by the name of Thomas, 18:46 who said, I just don't believe any of this faith stuff. 18:49 I'm not going to believe unless I actually touch Him, 18:52 unless I actually feel Him with my hands. 18:55 On one occasion, He was seen by more than 500 people 19:00 at the present time. 19:02 These people were not frauds. 19:03 Let me read you the story, please. 19:05 Gonna read it to you. 19:06 Let me see if I can find it. 19:08 I'm going to come over here 19:09 to 1 Corinthians and it's chapter... 19:14 I'm getting hot now, 19:15 1 Corinthians 15: 19:21 3-8. 19:26 This is written 19:27 by one of the greatest characters 19:29 in the history of the human race, 19:31 the great Jewish scholar, 19:33 Paul or Saul. 19:35 He says, verse 3, 19:37 "For I delivered to you 19:38 first of all that which I also received: 19:42 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 19:48 and that He was buried, and that He rose 19:50 again the third day according to the Scriptures, 19:54 and that He was seen by Cephas, 19:56 that's Peter, then by the twelve. 20:00 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, 20:05 of whom the greater part remain to the present, 20:08 but some have fallen asleep. 20:11 After that He was seen by James 20:13 and by all the apostles. 20:15 Then last of all, He was seen by me also, 20:19 as by one born out of due time." 20:23 Now, folks, did you hear this? 20:26 He was seen by the disciples. 20:28 They actually saw Him. They ate with Him. 20:31 And on one occasion He was seen by more than 500 people. 20:36 They actually saw Him. 20:37 They talked to Him. 20:38 And then last of all, He was seen by this man, Paul, 20:42 one of the greatest minds in the history 20:45 of the human race. 20:46 Who were these people? 20:48 Religious charlatans? 20:49 No, they weren't. 20:50 Just earnest, simple, decent, honest people. 20:54 That's who they were. 20:56 They were so convinced 20:58 about the reality 21:00 of the resurrection of Christ 21:02 that moved by a holy unction. 21:04 They went out 21:06 and they proclaimed the resurrection of Christ 21:08 right across the Roman Empire. 21:11 Many of them were put to death because of their faith. 21:13 They died in the Circus Maximus. 21:15 They were killed by the barbaric Romans, 21:22 but they continued to preach and to teach on. 21:25 And they preached with such power and compassion 21:28 that they overthrew the Roman Empire. 21:33 Now frauds don't do this. 21:34 You don't die for something you don't believe in. 21:38 But these people believed it so much 21:41 that they were prepared to die for it. 21:43 These were the eyewitnesses and they wrote it down 21:49 and there were hundreds and hundreds 21:51 of recorded copies made. 21:53 And we have those copies today. 21:57 They are authentic. 21:59 I believe that Christ was raised from the dead 22:02 because He was seen by hundreds and hundreds of witnesses. 22:09 "What are the reasons that the resurrection 22:12 is so important to each of us?" 22:18 The great Jewish scholar, Paul or Saul, 22:22 as he is sometimes called made a tremendous impact 22:27 upon the world. 22:29 The person who's made the greatest impact 22:31 upon Western civilization, 22:33 the whole of the human race is Jesus Christ, 22:38 not Lenin or Stalin or any of those monsters. 22:41 And none of the present politicians, 22:44 but a Jewish man who lived 2000 years ago, 22:47 Jesus Christ, who died 22:49 and who was raised from the dead. 22:51 This is an absolute fact. 22:56 But after Jesus, 22:59 the next person who made the greatest influence 23:01 on the progress of society and freedom, 23:04 and democracy and everything else 23:06 was this Jewish scholar, Paul. 23:10 Let me tell you this. 23:13 If there had been no Paul who gave to us 23:16 most of the New Testament and the Book of Romans, 23:20 there would have been no reformation. 23:23 And if there had been no reformation, 23:26 there would have been no democracies. 23:28 We owe the democracies to the writings 23:33 of the great Apostle Paul. 23:34 This is a fact. 23:38 If there'd been no Paul, there would've been no freedom, 23:40 no democracies, no bill of rights, 23:42 no great constitutions, 23:45 none of those things. 23:47 And the Apostle Paul actually saw Jesus Christ 23:50 with his own eyes. 23:54 And the Apostle Paul wrote it down 23:56 why he believed in this resurrection. 23:59 And I'm going to come now 24:01 to 1 Corinthians 24:03 15:20 and onwards. 24:08 Listen to the words of one of the greatest minds 24:12 in the history of the human race. 24:13 1 Corinthians 15:20 and onwards, 24:19 listen to it. 24:22 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, 24:25 and has become the firstfruits of those 24:27 who have fallen asleep. 24:29 For since by man came death, by Man came also 24:35 the resurrection of the dead. 24:39 For as in Adam all die, 24:41 even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 24:46 What he is saying is this. 24:49 Because of the historical reality of the resurrection 24:53 of Jesus Christ, one day, 24:56 all people are going to be raised. 25:00 And for the believer in Christ, roses will bloom again, 25:04 make no doubt about it. 25:06 The Apostle Paul said Christ was raised from the dead 25:09 and therefore there is coming a better day. 25:12 The sun is going to shine again. 25:15 Roses will bloom again, 25:16 and the dead will be raised from their tombs. 25:33 The Carter Report has a new weekly updated message for you 25:37 from Pastor Carter. 25:39 This update is not available 25:41 on your normal broadcast station. 25:44 It is only available on your favorite streaming device, 25:47 Roku, Amazon Fire, YouTube, Apple TV, 25:52 Vimeo, our podcast, the Carter Report website. 25:56 Also the official Carter Report mobile app. 25:59 You'll receive these additional weekly updates 26:02 only by streaming. 26:03 They are not available through your broadcast station. 26:07 Pastor Carter updates crucial issues 26:09 happening in our world every week. 26:12 The most current events facing each and every one of us 26:15 are explored in a new light. 26:17 Get your exclusive new weekly updates 26:21 through the Carter Report app 26:23 only available on your streaming device. 26:26 Find out now what important stories are included 26:29 in this week's update. 26:35 Time, it takes only a minute to have eternal life. 26:39 How can you get saved in a minute? 26:40 It's simple. 26:42 First believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 26:44 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life, 26:47 and then you're saved. 26:49 It's not hard. 26:51 It doesn't take any time. 26:52 You can be saved in a minute right now. 26:55 Pray with me, Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 26:59 My sin has separated me from You. 27:02 I accept that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me. 27:05 I ask Jesus into my heart. 27:07 If you prayed this prayer, you are saved. 27:10 The next thing to do is tell someone, 27:12 fellowship with other followers of Jesus, 27:15 get baptized, read your Bible and pray. 27:19 Choices, we make them every day all day. 27:22 The most important choice you will make in your life 27:25 is whether to choose eternal life or let it pass you by. 27:29 If you'd like more information about your new life, 27:31 call the number and visit our website. 27:37 For a copy of today's program, 27:40 please contact us at P.O. 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Revised 2021-09-20