Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002120S
|
00:01 Welcome back to the Man who won't go away.
00:04 The more people try to quiet His voice, 00:07 the stronger it gets. 00:09 Any attempt made to hide Him away 00:12 will only bring Him more into the open. 00:14 His followers won't go away either. 00:17 He is their one true friend. 00:19 Because they know, 00:21 no matter what they do, He will never leave them. 00:24 He is the One Man who won't go away. 00:33 How did Jesus treat women? 00:38 Try reading John Chapter 8. 00:41 It's the story of a woman 00:43 caught in the very act of adultery 00:46 by the Pharisees, their religious leaders. 00:50 Just try reading that story 00:52 and you see how Jesus 00:54 was the greatest defender of women in the history 00:58 of the human race. 01:00 Read the story, my friend, of Mary Magdalene, 01:04 a woman who had been possessed by seven demons. 01:10 A woman who came from a life of depravity and sin, 01:15 but Jesus did not give up on her. 01:17 Jesus loved her. 01:19 And Jesus lifted her up, Jesus redeemed her. 01:25 In the history of the human race 01:27 there's never, never been a defender of women, 01:31 such as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 01:36 He's done more for women, 01:37 more for the rights of women 01:39 that all the women's libbers and all the emancipators 01:43 and all the big talkers 01:44 and all the waffling politicians 01:48 in the history of the human race, 01:51 Jesus Christ is the real deal. 01:56 And if you're a woman, 01:58 you should never ever criticize Jesus, 02:04 because Jesus is your very best friend. 02:12 Who were the friends of Jesus? 02:17 Jesus is called in the scriptures, 02:19 the friend of sinners. 02:22 Now I think it's Luke Chapter 15, 02:24 where Jesus is going out to eat with the so-called sinners. 02:31 The Pharisees come along and they say, 02:33 this man receives sinners, 02:36 and goes to eat with them. 02:38 Oh, dear, how dreadful. 02:41 And Jesus said to the Pharisees, 02:44 how right you are. 02:48 Jesus is the friend of sinners. 02:51 If you feel a sinner today, 02:53 then know this, Jesus is your friend. 02:57 Jesus died to save sinners. 03:01 The Bible says, God so loved the world. 03:05 And that's a world full of sinners. 03:07 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son 03:09 so that whoever believes in Him 03:12 shall not perish, 03:13 but have everlasting life." 03:16 Jesus is the friend of sinners. 03:22 What was His attitude 03:23 towards people who made a lot of mistakes? 03:30 Peter messed up pretty badly. 03:33 Haven't you and I on occasions, messed up pretty badly? 03:38 I certainly have. 03:39 And I guess you have too. 03:41 There's no room for self-righteousness 03:43 because we're all sinners. 03:45 We've all fallen short of the glory of God. 03:48 When Jesus needed a friend, a buddy, 03:52 somebody to stand by Him, Peter denied his Lord 03:55 with cursing and swearing. 03:59 But Jesus never gave up on Peter. 04:01 He doesn't give up on anybody. 04:05 And Jesus sent a message He said, 04:07 "Go tell My disciples 04:09 and Peter to meet me certain place." 04:13 He redeemed Peter, He reached out to Peter. 04:18 He loved Peter, even though Peter had messed up. 04:21 And God loves you, my friend, 04:22 even though you and I have messed up, 04:24 He loves us. 04:27 At the very end, the history tells us 04:30 that Peter was crucified upside down, 04:33 because he didn't feel himself worthy to be crucified 04:37 in the same way that his Lord had been crucified. 04:42 Because he just felt Jesus had done so much for him 04:46 and Jesus had. 04:49 Never, never forget it, my brother, my sister, 04:53 that Jesus is the friend of sinners. 04:56 And if you feel a sinner today, 04:58 then remember this, 04:59 God loves you, Jesus loves you and He is your friend. 05:07 How did the powerful religious hierarchy, 05:10 the Jewish leaders, the priests treat Jesus? 05:18 Well, Jesus tried to get along with the hierarchy 05:21 because He tried to get along with everybody 05:23 by showing kindness and goodness. 05:26 But these people were so obsessed 05:30 with their own self-righteousness, 05:34 that they hated Him without a cause 05:36 that's what the Bible says. 05:38 They hated me without a cause. 05:42 And there's another big reason 05:43 that the Pharisees and the religious leaders 05:46 hated Jesus, 05:48 because they were so insecure. 05:51 They were such politicians 05:54 all the time trying to climb up the slippery pole. 06:00 And Jesus threatened their power, 06:04 their security, and their position. 06:10 That's why these religious leaders 06:12 conspired to have Him condemned. 06:16 They handed Him over to the Roman governor 06:19 and they cried out, 06:21 crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify Him. 06:23 Pilate said, "What evil has He done?" 06:25 They said, "We don't care, just put Him on the cross." 06:30 The religious leaders hated Him in his own day, 06:34 because He revealed 06:36 that they were simply whited sepulchers, 06:39 good on the outside, but filthy on the inside. 06:46 So tragically, most of the religious leaders, 06:49 so some later on came to believe in Him, 06:51 but most of the religious leaders 06:53 like Caiaphas, and so forth. 06:55 They hated Him without a cause and they hated Him, 07:00 because He challenged their religious superiority. 07:08 Were some religious leaders of that time bad and corrupt? 07:16 Well, it was Nicodemus, 07:18 the one who came to Jesus by night. 07:20 That's how he's described all the way in the gospels. 07:23 They say, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish Council, 07:27 a big shot in Israel, 07:30 one of the chief theologians 07:32 who knew a great deal about theology, 07:34 but who knew nothing about truth. 07:38 Jesus said to him, "You got to be born again." 07:40 He said, "What on earth does that mean? 07:42 Do I have to go into my mother's womb and be born." 07:45 That shows you how spiritually ignorant 07:47 this religious leader was. 07:50 But Nicodemus came good. 07:53 And the Bible tells us 07:54 that a great company of the priests 07:56 turned to Christ, and they turned to God. 08:01 Jesus is the savior of all people. 08:05 He's the savior of religious people, 08:09 as well as outward sinners. 08:12 Jesus loves us, 08:15 and He is the best news that this world has ever heard. 08:20 He's the person that this world needs today 08:22 more than any other person living on the planet. 08:27 The politicians don't seem to be helping us 08:29 a great deal today. 08:31 Certainly in the United States of America 08:33 and other places that I can mention 08:36 the politicians don't seem to be helping us 08:38 a great deal. 08:39 What we need is Jesus Christ. 08:46 What did Jesus tell us about God? 08:52 He said that He was the very image of God. 08:56 He said, on one occasion, I think it's John 14. 08:58 He says, you want to see God, 09:01 well, He who has seen Me, He said, has seen the Father. 09:05 What an amazing statement. 09:07 They said, you know, just show us God. 09:09 Let us see God, and then we're going to be happy. 09:11 Jesus said, "You've seen Me, 09:14 therefore, you've seen the Father." 09:18 Everything Jesus is God is. 09:25 Jesus was the friend of sinners, 09:29 God is. 09:32 Jesus loved little children, 09:34 they loved to get up on His knees 09:36 and let the little children come to Me. 09:39 That's what God is like. 09:43 Jesus said, forgive, forgive 490 times, 09:47 and don't count just be, that's what God is like. 09:54 Listen to me, 09:56 I want you to think of the very best person you know, 09:59 the very nicest person you know, 10:02 the person you'd like to emulate, 10:04 if you could think of the very best person. 10:09 That person is a little bit like God. 10:12 But Jesus, God is a million times better. 10:16 No, no, no, I'm wrong, 10:18 not a million times, a trillion times better, 10:21 a trillion times better 10:23 than the very best person, you know. 10:27 He's good, He's kind, 10:29 He's loving, He's forgiving. 10:34 He's the very best person. 10:39 How difficult is it to practice the teachings of Jesus? 10:46 How difficult where His sayings, 10:49 some of His sayings? 10:51 Well, talking for myself, 10:53 and I think I would represent a lot of people. 10:56 I find some of His sayings very difficult indeed. 11:02 I've heard skeptics say, 11:03 oh, it's so easy to be a Christian. 11:05 Anybody can be a Christian. 11:11 Try being a Christian, Richard Dawkins. 11:14 Try reading, try getting a Bible. 11:19 When I was in Russia, in the days of the communists. 11:22 I'd communists come to me and they said, 11:24 you know, it's all a lot of nonsense, your Bible, 11:27 so I would, I gave away ten, hundreds of thousands of Bibles 11:32 by the grace of God with the help of my supporters, 11:36 but I would say to them, 11:37 go get your Bible. 11:39 Or take this Bible that I'm giving to you now, 11:42 and try reading through here we go. 11:47 Try reading through Matthew 5, 11:50 6 and 7. 11:55 You know, the greatest weakness 11:56 among people who go to church today 11:59 or people who call themselves Christians, 12:02 they don't know what Jesus taught. 12:05 He's the Jesus they never knew. 12:09 They don't even read the Bible. 12:11 They don't ever haven't got a clue what He taught. 12:16 How difficult are those teachings? Jesus said, 12:19 or if somebody slapped you here, 12:21 turn the other side and take a slap there. 12:24 You say, "That's impossible." 12:25 Well, that's why it's, it's difficult. 12:28 That's why we need the grace of God. 12:31 Jesus said, you've heard 12:33 it is said, "Love your neighbor." 12:35 Yeah. 12:36 Well, the neighbor's very nice person, 12:37 easy to love your neighbor. 12:39 Jesus said, "Love your enemies." 12:42 He's talking about a supernatural love 12:44 that comes from the heart of God. 12:45 He said, love your enemies. 12:48 He said, "One of the disciples, I think was Peter." 12:51 He said, "How many times shall I forgive my brother, 12:54 seven times." 12:56 He thought he was being magnanimous. 12:58 I'll forgive my enemy seven times. 13:01 Hey, what a good boy I am. 13:03 Jesus said not seven times 70 times seven. 13:07 That's 490 times. 13:10 And don't stop when you get to 491. 13:15 How difficult are these teachings? 13:18 We need the grace of God to be Christians, 13:22 and to follow Christians 13:24 and to follow Christ and to be true believers. 13:28 You see we need to do more than just talk about it. 13:31 We need to start to walk the talk 13:35 and stop worldly religious hype and follow Jesus. 13:41 And that's why we need amazing grace, 13:43 amazing grace, 13:44 how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 13:49 I once was lost, but now am found. 13:53 I was blind but now I see. 13:58 The grace of God can help us to follow Christ. 14:04 Why is His crucifixion so central to Christianity? 14:11 Crucifixion was a living and a dying hell. 14:17 I've read accounts of crucifixions. 14:21 Crucifixion was predicted in the Bible 14:24 a thousand years before Christ was put on the cross. 14:30 The victim is usually stripped naked, 14:34 nailed to the cross 14:35 and often tied with bits of rope also. 14:40 The cross was not as high as most people think. 14:43 It was low enough 14:45 so people could go past quite often 14:48 and gaze into the tortured faces of the victims 14:52 and spit in their faces. 14:57 Paul says, he quotes the Old Testament, 15:00 in the Book of Galatians He says, 15:02 "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 15:06 Have you ever thought about that, my friend? 15:08 Just think about this, 15:09 would you please think about this. 15:13 Sometimes we're very, very superficial 15:15 when we talk about these things. 15:17 Cursed is everyone who was hung on a tree. 15:20 When Christ was hung on the tree or the cross, 15:24 He came under the curse of God's law. 15:28 He became sin for us. 15:31 He was not a sinner. 15:33 He had no sin, 15:34 but the sin of the world was laid upon Christ 15:37 and you know sin, your sin was laid upon Christ. 15:40 My sin was laid upon Christ. 15:44 Hanging on the cross, 15:46 one person said was the gospel, the good news of God. 15:51 But hanging on the cross was the Creator God. 15:54 Can you believe this that Christ was God in human flesh, 15:59 and hanging on the cross 16:01 was the Creator of the universe? 16:03 The hand that thronged the stars in space 16:07 was the hand that was nailed to the cross. 16:10 What does this tell you? 16:11 It tells you that sin is rotten, degrading, evil, 16:15 and immensely wicked. 16:16 And it also tells you that God is immensely caring and loving. 16:22 He loved you so much 16:24 that He went to the cross for you. 16:28 You and I cannot understand these things fully. 16:30 We can only partly comprehend them. 16:33 But I want you to know this, 16:37 that God and Christ went to the cross 16:40 to bear your sins. 16:43 This Christ is not like any other person. 16:45 He's not like Muhammad. 16:46 He's not like Moses. 16:48 He's not like St. Paul. 16:50 He's not like any one of us. He is the sinless Son of God. 16:54 And the sin of the world is laid upon Him. 16:57 That's why He cries out, "My God, My God, 17:00 why have You forsaken Me?" 17:04 But most importantly, we must realize, 17:07 comprehend and realize 17:08 your sin and my sin was laid upon Christ. 17:14 He paid the price for your sin and my sin. 17:17 If you and I truly believe in Him, 17:20 our sins are forgiven. 17:23 No wonder we say, oh, come let us adore Him. 17:28 Christ the Lord, who is like unto this Christ. 17:35 Is He still dead? 17:37 Where is He buried? 17:39 Will archaeologists uncover His bones? 17:46 I can assure you, I've been to Israel 17:49 more times than I can count. 17:52 But I can assure you of one tremendous truth. 17:56 They're never going to find the bones of Jesus. 18:02 Are you getting what I'm saying today? 18:05 They're never going to find the bones of Jesus 18:08 because the bones are not in any tomb in Jerusalem. 18:12 Jesus was resurrected from the dead. 18:15 That is a fact. 18:17 You say, "No, it's just a story." 18:19 No, it's not just a story. 18:20 Hey, get real, my friend. 18:23 This is a fact. 18:25 It's historical. 18:28 I don't have a blind faith. We don't want blind faith. 18:31 We want a faith that is based upon truth. 18:34 Now, here's a question for you. 18:37 What happened to the body of Jesus? 18:39 Would you please tell me, 18:41 what happened to the body of Jesus? 18:42 Somebody is going to say, 18:44 "Well, the disciples came 18:45 and they stole the body of Jesus." 18:47 That's nonsense. 18:49 Could you imagine a dozen dispirited men and women 18:54 are storming the Roman tomb 18:57 with all those Roman soldiers? 18:59 Now it's silly. 19:01 Don't insult our intelligence. 19:04 Others say, "Well, the Jews got the body. 19:07 The Jews took the body." 19:08 Well, why didn't they produce the body 19:12 when the disciples started to preach the resurrection? 19:15 The Jews get the body, absurd. 19:18 Others say the Romans got the body. 19:19 No, that's just as silly 19:21 because the Romans wanted to put down this Christian thing. 19:25 The best way to put down the Christian church 19:28 is by producing the body of Christ. 19:32 Would you like to know where the body is? 19:34 What happened to the body? 19:36 Well, the body was resurrected. 19:39 Jesus was raised from the dead. 19:42 He was seen by hundreds of witnesses. 19:46 Witnesses are the basis of the other law system. 19:50 We have judges and we have juries 19:53 and we have witnesses. 19:58 Ask Mary, she saw Him. 20:01 Mary, is He raised? Yes. 20:03 He called my name Maria. 20:06 Ask Peter, yes, I saw Him. 20:08 Ask Thomas, he said, I've felt His hands. 20:12 I've felt the marks of the nails, 20:14 I felt the side. 20:16 Ask the disciples. Yes. 20:18 On one occasion, He appeared to 500 people. 20:23 They saw Him, they talked with Him. 20:26 On one occasion, Jesus met with some of His disciples 20:29 beside the Sea of Galilee, and He had a meal. 20:33 He had breakfast, 20:34 He had fish and bread with them. 20:39 Why do you think millions of people died 20:41 as martyrs were tortured, were butchered, 20:44 were thrown to the lions in the Circus Maximus, 20:47 not the Colosseum, in the Circus Maximus? 20:50 Think of being thrown to wild beasts 20:53 and torn to bits? 20:56 Why did they do this? 20:58 Would you do this if you didn't believe? 21:01 They did it because of their faith 21:04 that was based upon historical reality 21:09 upon fact. 21:13 My friend, He's alive. 21:15 Make no doubt about it. He's alive, He's well. 21:18 And He's the person who's not going to go away 21:23 and He's the person the world can't get rid of. 21:26 He is the living Christ, 21:29 the Son of God, Yahweh, 21:31 Elohim our Savior. 21:36 Is this the end of the Jesus' story? 21:41 Is this the end of the Jesus' story? 21:46 Is this the end of the Jesus' story? 21:49 Almighty God became a man 21:52 born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 21:56 This is incredible. 22:00 He grew up as a little boy, 22:02 then He became a carpenter, 22:03 then He became an itinerant preacher. 22:06 He showed us what God is like. 22:10 And then He went to the cross and died for our sins. 22:13 Is this the end of it? 22:16 Let me read you His words. 22:18 John 14:1-3, 22:20 "Let not your hearts be troubled, 22:23 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 22:26 In My Father's house are many mansions, many rooms, 22:30 if it were not, so I would have told you. 22:33 I go to prepare a place for you. 22:35 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 22:38 I will come again 22:42 and receive you unto Myself 22:44 that where I am, there you may be also." 22:50 Listen, He's coming back. 22:54 It is written, He's coming back in power, 22:59 and in glory. 23:01 The King of the universe is coming back. 23:05 He's coming back to do away with sin, 23:08 and to set up His kingdom. 23:13 And you and I can be part of it. 23:19 My appeal to you is this, from my heart to yours, 23:23 believe in Christ, look to the Son. 23:27 See the Son, trust in the Son, 23:31 except the Son. 23:34 Believe in Him and you will have eternal life 23:38 and live for eternity. 23:41 This is the Word of God. 23:48 How can I receive forgiveness? Can I have a new life? 23:54 Is there hope for me? 23:58 Because of the love of God, and because of Jesus, 24:02 there is hope for every person. 24:05 There is hope for the great atheist, 24:08 the great cynic, the great skeptic, 24:11 the profligate, the terrible sex pervert. 24:15 There's plenty of those today. 24:19 And there's hope for the run and mill, 24:23 the ordinary sinner like all of us, 24:27 is hope for all of us, 24:29 because Christ died for us. 24:32 And the way to salvation is a simple way. 24:35 Now I'm going to read you 24:36 a profound text out of the Bible. 24:38 I urge you to read the New Testament, 24:41 especially the gospels. 24:42 I read, urge you to read the whole Bible, 24:45 but especially read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 24:48 and overcome the natural inclination 24:51 to spiritual slough. 24:55 Read it and you will see the glory of God. 24:59 Now here is this text, John 6:37-40, 25:05 "All the Father gives Me what come to Me, 25:08 and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." 25:12 If you come to Christ as a penitent, 25:15 He won't kick you out. 25:17 He says this, 25:20 "For I have come down from heaven, 25:21 not to do My own will, 25:23 but the will of Him who sent me. 25:26 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, 25:28 that of all He has given me I should lose nothing, 25:31 but should raise it up at the last day. 25:34 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, 25:37 that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him 25:42 may have everlasting life, 25:43 and I will raise him up at the last day." 25:48 Look at me and listen. 25:51 Jesus said, 25:54 "We will be saved if we will see the Son, 25:57 if we will look at Him, and believe in Him. 26:01 Anybody can look. 26:04 You can look, there's no excuse not to look. 26:08 The rich man can look, the politician can look, 26:13 the proud person can look, old people can look, 26:16 if we look and believe in Him, 26:21 we will have everlasting life. 26:22 I invite you today, look to Christ. 26:27 Look to Christ and be saved. 26:29 Believe in Him, 26:31 and you will have everlasting life 26:32 and in spite of the powers of hell, 26:37 you will be raised up at the last day, 26:40 you will live for eternity. 26:42 This is the Word of the Lord, 26:45 believe it. 26:51 Many people no matter what their age 26:54 still have their first teddy bear. 26:56 It's hard to let them go. 26:58 Their stitches might be loose, the stuffing flat, 27:02 one ear a little lopsided, 27:05 but they were always there for us. 27:07 Imagine giving a child their very first teddy bear, 27:11 especially when they are sick and lonely. 27:15 They will always remember 27:16 that someone they didn't even know 27:19 cared enough to bring them a new friend 27:21 when they needed it most. 27:23 Will you help the Carter Report bring cheer to these children? 27:27 You can mail a bear or send a donation 27:30 and we will buy the bears for you. 27:32 Please send your bears or donation 27:35 to the address on the screen. 27:38 For COVID protection, 27:40 please send the bears in their original packaging. 27:43 Thank you for your kindness 27:44 and giving cheer and comfort to children in need. 27:53 For a copy of today's program, 27:55 please contact us at P.O. Box 1900, 27:59 Thousand Oaks, California 91358 28:03 or in Australia, contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:08 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:12 This program is made possible 28:14 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:17 We thank you for your continued support. 28:20 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2021-11-18