Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002113S
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00:01 As the world lurches from one disaster to another,
00:05 politicians seemed frozen 00:06 in a state of impotency and confusion. 00:10 Some even questioned 00:11 the very existence of the church, 00:13 while others ask, is there a word from the Lord? 00:17 Is there a solution to the problems 00:19 that are tearing society apart? 00:22 Today, John Carter will answer those questions 00:25 but first, we must begin by asking 00:27 the most important question of all, 00:29 what matters most. 00:53 You can have all the silver 00:58 You can have all the gold 01:01 Just give me Jesus 01:07 You can have all the wisdom 01:11 This earth can hold 01:15 Just give me Jesus 01:18 Give me Jesus 01:20 When I'm lonely 01:21 And I've nowhere to go 01:25 Give me Jesus 01:26 He's the only one who love me so 01:32 Give me Jesus love 01:36 Jesus is all I need 01:47 You can have all the spotlights 01:50 You can have all the fame 01:54 Just give me Jesus 02:00 You can have all the success 02:04 Have you and will know name 02:08 Just give me Jesus 02:11 Give me Jesus 02:12 Jesus 02:13 When I'm lonely 02:15 And I'm nowhere to go 02:18 Give me Jesus 02:19 Jesus 02:20 He's the only one who loves me so 02:25 Give me Jesus love 02:29 Jesus is all I need 02:34 He's my closest friend when no one seemed to care 02:40 "What matters most, 02:42 and how important is social action 02:45 in bringing about a better world." 02:50 Hello, friend. 02:51 I'm John Carter, here in Australia, 02:54 which is, of course, the place of my birth. 02:57 I'm trying to get back to the United States 03:00 but because of COVID-19, 03:02 the Australian government has sealed the borders. 03:05 So please say a little prayer for me. 03:08 What matters most how important is social activity. 03:15 It's an alarming fact 03:16 that Australia is no longer predominantly 03:19 a believing nation. 03:21 Twenty five years ago, 03:23 75% of Aussies believed in God. 03:28 Today, 03:29 the Australian government tells me 03:31 that number is down to 49%. 03:36 So Christianity apparently is in a state of decline 03:41 in the great land down under. 03:43 And this, of course, once upon a time was a country 03:47 where 100% of the people believed in God, 03:50 and probably 95% of them believed in Jesus Christ. 03:56 But today, only 49% of Aussies 03:59 believe in God. 04:02 So what matters most? 04:06 Social action is that important? 04:08 I'm sure it's important. 04:10 I'm sure changes in society 04:13 are needed and are called for. 04:17 But the question today is a burning question. 04:21 It is a question with great force. 04:25 What really matters? 04:26 What matters most? 04:30 Now the Church of England in Sydney 04:33 has elected our new archbishop. 04:38 He's a gentleman from Sri Lanka. 04:41 His name is Kanishka Raffel from Sri Lanka. 04:46 Once upon a time, he was a Buddhist, 04:49 but somebody gave him a copy of the Gospel of John. 04:54 And he read it through and when he read it through 04:58 he discovered what matters most. 05:03 And he became a believer in Christ. 05:05 And they've elected him as the archbishop 05:08 of the Church of England in Sydney. 05:13 Now, as some of you would know, 05:15 the Great Church of England has got two wings, 05:18 you've got the low church that's Evangelical, and free, 05:24 and believes in the gospel, 05:25 not too much ceremony. 05:27 But then you've got the high church, 05:29 which is, forgive me, very stiff, and starchy, 05:34 and has lots of ceremonies, 05:37 and not a lot of gospel. 05:41 And so he's come into this position 05:42 as archbishop 05:44 of the Great Church of England, 05:46 in the great city of Sydney, in Australia, 05:49 where only 49% of the people now believe in God. 05:54 It's amazing, isn't it? 05:57 And when he gave his opening speech, 05:58 he spoke on what matters most. 06:01 I'm going to read you the speech 06:03 later on in this talk today. 06:07 But going back a long time 06:09 back to 1982. 06:13 That's before most of you folks were born. 06:17 1982, the Carter Report conducted a tremendous, 06:21 glory be to God, evangelistic campaign 06:24 in the great Sydney Opera House. 06:26 It didn't go for five days or five weeks. 06:29 It went for five months, every weekend. 06:33 And we talked about what matters most. 06:36 At that time or just after the lectures 06:39 in the Sydney Opera House, 06:41 I did a television program with Channel Nine in Sydney. 06:46 Now Channel Nine in those days may still be the same, 06:50 was the most prestigious, 06:52 the most influential television station 06:55 in the whole of Australia. 06:58 My special guest was 07:01 the Reverend Fred Nile. 07:06 For 40 years, he's just retired, 07:09 for 40 years, 07:11 Mr. Nile was an advocate for the truth of the Bible, 07:17 and the truth of Christianity. 07:21 He fought same-sex marriage. 07:25 Why? 07:27 Because quite frankly 07:28 he believes in freedom of speech, 07:31 and he believes 07:32 that the Bible doesn't teach it, 07:34 the Bible is against it. 07:37 But if you were to ask the Reverend Fred Nile, 07:40 who was the longest-serving member 07:43 of the New South Wales Parliament, 07:46 what matters most, 07:48 he would not say social action 07:51 or the work of Parliament. 07:53 He would say the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, 07:59 which is the most potent force 08:03 in society. 08:07 "Have you seen the movie Amazing Grace? 08:09 What motivated the main character 08:11 William Wilberforce 08:13 to bring about legislation 08:14 that abolished the slave trade?" 08:19 Well, the story of Wilberforce is a fantastic story. 08:22 Yes, I have seen the movie Amazing Grace, 08:25 I would recommend that 08:26 every person go watch that all go, get the video, 08:30 or download or somehow 08:31 but see the movie, Amazing Grace. 08:35 It's about the abolition of the slave trade. 08:39 It's a fantastic movie. 08:41 And he was a member of the British Parliament. 08:44 And he was a tremendous voice for reason, 08:49 sanity, and truth, and liberty. 08:54 It's interesting how Wilberforce 08:56 became a Christian. 08:58 He was influenced to become a Christian 09:01 and to advocate against the slave trade 09:03 by none other than John Newton. 09:08 Now, John Newton was the man 09:10 who wrote the tremendous hymn Amazing grace, 09:14 how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 09:18 Now John Newton had been the captain of a slave ship. 09:22 Did you know this? 09:24 But then he heard the preaching of John Wesley. 09:29 I bless your heart. 09:31 John Wesley was a flame in the hand of Almighty God, 09:35 I'm telling you today. 09:37 He preached 42,000 sermons, 09:40 traveled 360,000 miles on the back of a horse, 09:46 wrote books, preach the gospel, 09:50 and saved England from such a revolution 09:52 as almost destroyed the great land of France, 09:56 the bloody French Revolution 09:58 and so it was through the preaching of John Wesley, 10:03 who founded the Methodist Church, 10:06 that Wilberforce became a Christian 10:09 because it was from Wesley to Newton, 10:12 and then to Wilberforce 10:15 and Wilberforce was burning in his soul, 10:20 because of this infamous iniquitous 10:24 slave trade. 10:25 And he wrote these words, I'm going to see, 10:28 I've got a quote from Wilberforce on slavery, 10:33 my dear friends, listen up. 10:36 The realities of slave transport reveal 10:39 its inhumanity: 10:42 600 to 700 people in tight spaces, beaten, 10:46 abused, and even forced to entertain the crew. 10:51 The death rate is appalling: 10:54 12.5% die in the Atlantic crossing, 10:58 4.5% more die of disease onshore 11:02 before they are sold. 11:05 Upon the whole, however, 11:08 there is a mortality rate of about 50% 11:12 within the first year of being in the New World." 11:20 So Newton who gave us the hymn Amazing Grace 11:24 led Wilberforce to Christ. 11:27 And it was John Wesley, 11:29 his tremendous preaching 11:31 that saved the soul of the old slave trader, 11:34 John Newton. 11:36 And so this whole movement to release the slaves 11:39 was not an atheistic thing. 11:41 It was not something that came from the humanist 11:44 because they've given nothing to the world. 11:48 It was a God thing. 11:50 It came through the preaching 11:52 of the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ. 11:57 Now I want to tell you something, 11:59 you can have all this social activity 12:01 in the world, 12:03 a lot of that social activity may be very good. 12:06 You can have all 12:07 the political agitation in the world, 12:10 you can preach politics until the cows come home, 12:14 my dear friend, 12:16 but the greatest force for the regeneration 12:19 of the human race is not found in pure politics. 12:23 It is found in the Gospel of Christ 12:27 because the Gospel of Christ 12:29 is what matters most. 12:34 "Should the church and Christians 12:37 be involved in lobbying Washington 12:39 to change society?" 12:43 Congressmen and senators are to vote their conscience. 12:48 Conscience ought to be above party politics. 12:53 Now, a lot of senators and congressmen say today, 12:56 I belong to such and such a party do or die. 13:01 I belong to this wing of the party, 13:04 and therefore I vote what my party says. 13:09 But a Christian, first and foremost, 13:11 now hear me in this, my friend, 13:13 listen up very carefully. 13:15 A Christian first and foremost 13:18 is true to God and true to his conscience. 13:24 And a Christian if he's in the Senate 13:27 or in the Congress, 13:28 or in the New South Wales Parliament 13:31 or the Australian Parliament, in Canberra, 13:35 ought to vote his conscience and be true to God 13:39 and his religious convictions. 13:45 May I remind you, 13:47 that Christians were involved with Dr. Martin Luther King, 13:52 in his march for freedom? 13:55 What a disgrace was slavery. 13:58 And most of the nations of the world 14:00 had been involved in slavery, 14:02 including the African nations. 14:04 You say no, no, no. 14:05 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 14:08 The African nations were a part of the slave trade, 14:11 as well as America and Great Britain, 14:17 and the Muslims and the Roman Catholics. 14:23 It took a man who was converted 14:25 through the great preaching of John Wesley, 14:28 John Newton, and Wilberforce 14:31 to bring down the slave trade in Great Britain. 14:35 Glory be to God. 14:38 And should a Christian be involved in politics? 14:42 If by politics you mean trying to change the world 14:46 by legislation 14:47 that is going to make this world a better place? 14:50 Of course, we want to make this world a better place. 14:54 But today, I'm talking about what matters most 14:58 and I believe 14:59 it is the preaching of the gospel 15:01 as done by John Wesley, 15:02 and John Newton, and Wilberforce, 15:05 and other great preachers. 15:07 I believe it is that preaching that matters most. 15:12 That's what America needs more than anything else. 15:14 That's what Australia needs more than anything else. 15:18 Some would say that the Christian church 15:20 in Australia has largely become a cozy literal club, 15:26 where people go to be entertained, 15:29 or better still to go to sleep. 15:32 But the church is not called to be a cozy social club. 15:37 It is called to be a mighty army. 15:42 But to get back to your question, 15:45 may I tell you that many Christians marched 15:49 with Dr. Martin Luther King. 15:52 And Martin Luther King, 15:54 I want to tell my humanist friends, 15:56 my atheist friends. 15:58 He was not an atheist. 16:00 He was not a humanist. 16:02 Martin Luther King 16:03 was a Baptist preacher. 16:08 You say, "Is it true?" 16:09 I was talking to a person not very long ago, 16:12 who very strongly told me 16:15 that this great civil rights movement was a thing 16:18 that was brought about by the humanists. 16:21 The humanists say, "There's no God 16:23 and man is the center of everything." 16:25 I told her that's absolute balderdash. 16:27 That's nonsense. 16:29 Every great movement to better people, 16:33 lift up women, help children, 16:37 defend the homeless, defend the unborn, 16:42 to release the slaves. 16:45 Every one of those great movements 16:47 has been a movement 16:49 that was led by God through the Holy Scriptures, 16:52 and the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. 16:54 That's a fact. 16:56 It is the truth. 16:58 I was amazed to discover only yesterday 17:00 that in the world today, 17:02 there are still 50 million slaves 17:07 in Africa, 17:09 even slaves 17:10 in the United States of America, 17:13 certainly all through Asia, 17:15 and in China, and other places. 17:19 And the greatest liberator of the slave 17:22 is the preaching of the Gospel of Christ 17:25 may God raise up today, 17:27 I say, for the glory of God, 17:29 John Wesleys, and Martin Luthers, 17:33 and Wilberforces, 17:36 men who will go forth with a flame, 17:41 a flame coming out of their mouths, 17:43 it is a flame of the Gospel of Christ 17:47 because the gospel matters most. 17:52 "Do you believe 17:53 in the union of church and state? 17:55 And what are the consequences of such a union?" 18:00 Thank you, Wayne. 18:01 That is a great question. 18:03 We are delighted to have you 18:05 as our partner in these programs. 18:07 Wayne, thank you. 18:09 Okay, there's a text over here 18:11 in the Book of Revelation Chapter 17. 18:13 I want to read a bit of it to you. 18:16 It's found in the Apocalypse, it says, 18:19 "I'll show you the judgment of the great harlot 18:21 who sits on many waters." 18:23 In Bible prophecy, listen, 18:26 a harlot is the corrupt church. 18:29 There are two churches in the Bible, 18:31 the pure church and the harlot church, 18:36 and says, "The great harlot 18:39 with whom the kings of the earth 18:41 committed fornication, 18:43 the kings of the earth, married the church. 18:47 So he carried me away 18:48 in the Spirit into the wilderness. 18:50 I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. 18:54 Woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, 18:57 adorned with gold and precious stones, 19:00 and so forth." 19:02 Revelation Chapter 17, 19:06 dear friend of mine, is a picture of Antichrist. 19:12 Are you listening? 19:15 Antichrist, in its very essence, 19:18 is a union of church and state. 19:21 It is where the church 19:25 dominates the state 19:27 and enforces religious laws. 19:31 You say, "Has this ever happened?" 19:33 Of course, it has. 19:35 Have you not heard 19:38 of the bloody Spanish Inquisition? 19:41 That's when the Church of Rome ruled the world. 19:44 This is just history. 19:45 You can go online, 19:47 you can read about it, my friend. 19:49 Hundreds of thousands of people were tortured, 19:52 and they were put to death. 19:54 That's what happens 19:55 when the church takes control of the power of the state. 19:59 I have people tell me in America all the time, 20:01 isn't going to be wonderful 20:03 when the church is in charge of the government, 20:06 and Jesus is the King of America. 20:11 When Jesus is "king of America," 20:17 America will have become the Antichrist, 20:21 because the union of church 20:23 and state is the very essence of Antichrist. 20:27 I've been into museums in Europe, in Russia, 20:31 where I've seen the Inquisition set up. 20:35 It's an infernal thing. 20:36 It's a thing that came from the very pit of hell. 20:41 So I don't believe in the union of church and state. 20:43 Having said that, listen, 20:46 I believe that the church 20:47 ought to have a tremendous influence 20:50 in society, 20:51 for the good of society. 20:54 Now, let me read you a statement, 20:56 the First Amendment of the great US Constitution, 21:01 one of the greatest documents ever written in the history 21:04 of the human race. 21:07 It says, "Congress shall make no law respecting 21:12 an establishment of religion, 21:15 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." 21:19 Congress cannot set up a state religion, 21:23 and it can't stop the people 21:24 who are setting up their own religions. 21:27 That's, this is the genius of America. 21:30 Some people would do away with this. 21:32 The humanists would do away with this. 21:35 Foolish people would do away with this. 21:38 It says, "Or abridging the freedom of speech, 21:41 or of the press, 21:43 or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 21:46 and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." 21:50 Now listen to me, my friend. 21:55 This is the genius of America, 21:58 no state church. 22:01 But the state has got no right to try to muzzle the church. 22:07 And if the church comes out and preaches strongly against 22:11 what the government is doing, 22:13 that is the God-given right of that church. 22:18 I believe in freedom of speech. 22:20 I'm a Christian minister. 22:23 I have the right, not from the government, 22:26 but from God, because God made me. 22:31 I'm a child of God. 22:32 I don't believe I think humanists believe 22:35 that I'm something nothing. 22:38 I know where I came from. 22:40 I'm not an accident. 22:41 I'm not a cosmic accident. 22:43 The humanist says that man is simply an accident, 22:47 he came from nothing. 22:49 What absolute nonsense, I say. 22:52 I believe that man came from the hand of God, 22:55 and man has got certain unalienable rights, 23:01 as it says, in the Constitution, 23:03 the right to liberty. 23:06 And I believe in the freedom of speech. 23:08 And I believe that I have the right 23:10 to disagree with the government 23:11 on same-sex marriage, on abortion, 23:14 or anything else because that is my privilege, 23:18 not just as a citizen of the United States 23:20 or of Australia, 23:22 but as a child of God. 23:27 "Is there a better way to change the world 23:30 without politics?" 23:34 Is there a better way to change the world 23:37 without politics? 23:40 Let me say this, 23:42 you can't legislate morality 23:46 and this is what is so frustrating. 23:49 And so people are all the time in Congress, 23:53 fighting to get more laws through to make people better. 23:58 You don't make people better by legislation. 24:02 They say we're going to have legislation 24:04 so that we do away with all racism. 24:08 Well, that's fine. 24:10 That's good. God bless you. 24:12 But let me tell you, folks, something. 24:15 And please listen to me. 24:17 There's something which is far more important 24:19 than legislation. 24:22 And that is changing people's hearts, 24:25 you see. 24:26 It is only the Gospel of Christ 24:28 that can change a person's heart. 24:31 And that is why I believe what matters most 24:34 is the preaching of the Gospel of Christ 24:37 that changes people's hearts. 24:40 Now, I've got some amazing truths to tell you. 24:44 Now listen to this 24:46 because most people don't know this. 24:48 Most people have never studied this. 24:49 Most people are completely ignorant 24:51 of the great facts of history. 24:55 There was a time 24:57 when Europe went down into the Dark Ages. 25:01 They call it the Dark Ages because it was. 25:04 It was a time when the church 25:06 and the state ruled the world together, 25:08 the church dominated the state. 25:10 And the church persecuted people 25:13 and put millions of people to death 25:15 because they were individuals. 25:19 They were dissidents, they thought for themselves, 25:22 I say, hooray for the dissident, 25:26 but then there came the great 25:28 Protestant Reformation. 25:30 People say, "What on earth 25:31 was this Protestant Reformation?" 25:33 Well, there came a man who was sent from God, 25:37 and his name was Martin Luther. 25:39 And he was a great Roman Catholic priest, 25:43 a doctor of theology. 25:44 And as he read his Bible, 25:48 he made some amazing discoveries. 25:53 He discovered that our problem is basically spiritual 25:57 and that we are not saved by the Pope 26:00 and we're not saved by the church, 26:02 but we are saved by Jesus Christ alone. 26:08 This great movement started in Germany 26:12 and then it spread across the channel, 26:15 and went to Great Britain. 26:17 And then it spread around the world. 26:20 And the countries that accepted the teachings 26:23 of the Protestant Reformation 26:25 became the most prosperous countries in the world. 26:29 You say, "Oh no, this is sort of racism." 26:31 No, no, no, it's not racism. 26:33 It's history. 26:35 We're interested in facts in this program. 26:38 We're not interested in opinions. 26:40 You remember Jesus said, you'll know the truth, 26:44 and the truth will make you free. 26:47 And so the countries 26:49 that accepted the truth of freedom, 26:53 the truth of the gospel, 26:56 which says that Christ died for me, 27:00 and I am saved when I give my life to Christ, 27:03 and my soul is not in the hands of the Vatican 27:09 or any other church. 27:11 These people became tremendously liberated. 27:14 Those countries became, there's no question about it, 27:18 they became the most prosperous, 27:20 the most healthy, 27:23 the most amazing countries in the world. 27:27 I can mention them to you, Great Britain or Germany, 27:33 United States of America. 27:35 America is America 27:37 because she accepted the teachings of the Puritans. 27:41 Who were the Puritans? 27:43 The Puritans were Protestants 27:45 who had discovered the truth of the gospel. 27:47 What matters most you'd asked me, 27:49 I will tell you very plainly. 27:51 It is the preaching 27:53 of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 27:55 that liberates and saves the soul 27:58 and saves society. 28:14 For a copy of today's program, 28:16 please contact us at P.O. Box 1900, 28:19 Thousand Oaks, California 91358 28:23 or in Australia, 28:25 contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:28 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:33 This program is made possible 28:35 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:38 We thank you for your continued support. 28:40 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2022-01-13