Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002123S
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00:01 The world is concerned
00:02 about what will happen in the future with humanity. 00:06 How will the conflict in the Middle East end? 00:09 What will finally come to pass 00:11 with global financial uncertainty? 00:13 Is it nothing more than a forecast? 00:16 The Bible has answers for these questions 00:18 about the future and they are totally reliable. 00:21 Prophets in the Bible have predicted events 00:24 with impressive accuracy. 00:26 The Bible also tells us that God has been 00:28 in control throughout history. 00:30 If every Bible prophecy has been fulfilled in the past, 00:34 there is enough argument to believe 00:36 and be totally sure that additional prophecies 00:39 will also be fulfilled. 00:41 Read your Bible and believe God. 00:47 Why do some people believe in God and others disbelieve? 00:51 Why do some people experience richest spiritual lives 00:55 and others simply gather dust? 00:57 What would you do if you found a treasure in a field? 01:00 Would you notify the owner? 01:02 Or would you just buy the field? 01:04 What makes a little seed become a big tree? 01:08 And why do other seeds just blow in the wind? 01:10 These and other thought-provoking questions 01:14 are explored by Pastor John Carter. 01:16 Welcome to the Carter Report 01:19 and the Mysteries of the Kingdom. 01:26 Wayne, thank you so much. 01:28 I'm so glad that you've joined us, my friend. 01:32 And we're today still in Australia. 01:35 We're in a state where, well, it's just locked down. 01:41 The nation has sealed the borders. 01:44 So it's terribly hard to get in 01:46 and it's even harder to get out. 01:49 We came for three months to get away from it all. 01:54 We've been here for nine months. 01:58 In our house here in Australia, 02:00 we're sending you this telecast. 02:03 David is on the camera. 02:05 Beverley is sitting over on one of the sofas 02:08 and she's reading the questions to me. 02:11 And back in the United States of America, 02:14 we've got Wayne and Marilyn Hackett and MK, 02:17 and they're putting the program together. 02:19 So during these tough times, we send you warm greetings, 02:25 lots of love and we thank you for joining us today 02:28 at the Carter Report. 02:33 Why do some people choose to believe in God 02:36 and others do not? 02:39 Why does some people believe and others disbelieve? 02:44 I think we can try to answer that today. 02:48 We're going to see what the Bible says. 02:50 Jesus gave this parable of a sower 02:54 who goes out to sow the seed. 02:57 The seed is the Word of God. 02:59 We're going to see that today. 03:00 That's as plain as the nose on your face. 03:04 And there are four different types of hearers, 03:08 four different classes of people 03:10 who listen to the Word of God. 03:13 Let me read it to you out of the scriptures. 03:16 This is one of the most amazing stories ever told 03:21 in the history of the Bible. 03:23 Matthew 13:1 and onwards. 03:27 Now are you listening to me, my friend? 03:31 "On the same day, Jesus went out of the house, 03:34 sat by the sea. 03:37 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, 03:41 so that He got into a boat and sat, 03:44 and the whole multitude stood on the shore." 03:46 Jesus was a tremendous communicator 03:50 of the eternal truths of the Word of God. 03:53 There was no person like Him, not before or since. 03:58 And then verse 3 says, 04:02 "Then He spoke many things to them in parable saying, 04:06 'A sower went out to sow." 04:11 Hey, just a simple story. 04:13 He is the sower and he's broadcasting the seed. 04:18 He's throwing the seed here 04:19 and he's throwing the seed there. 04:22 And the seed falls on some rough places 04:25 and it falls into good dirt and it falls among thorns 04:29 and all the rest of it, we're going to see this today. 04:33 And Jesus describes the four classes of people 04:37 who hear the Word of God when it is proclaimed to them. 04:42 Please listen to this. 04:43 This is an amazing story. 04:45 It tells us why some people believe 04:49 and other people choose not to believe. 04:55 What is the meaning of the farmer and the seed? 04:58 Can this story help me to discover 05:01 what kind of a person I am? 05:07 Well, when you read this story, 05:09 it shows an insight that is more than human. 05:13 Let me read on in the text. 05:14 It says, "Then He spoke many things 05:17 to them in parables." 05:19 Simply stories, illustration saying, 05:22 "Behold, a sower went out to sow." 05:24 That is the preacher. 05:26 In fact, it is God Himself broadcasting the Word. 05:31 He spreads it everywhere. 05:33 This is a picture of true evangelism. 05:35 And it says, the text says, 05:37 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, 05:42 and the birds came and devoured them." 05:47 So the Bible makes it plain that some of the seed 05:50 that represents the Word of God, 05:53 it falls by the wayside. 05:56 If I was in Southern California, 05:58 today, I'd say that's like trying to sow the seed 06:03 on the 101 freeway. 06:05 When I was living in United States of America 06:08 and I'm missing America, 06:10 I've got to be candid with you. 06:11 I'm just missing it so much. 06:14 I drove around the streets in the highways 06:17 and the freeways of Los Angeles, 06:20 about a million kilometers or more. 06:22 And those freeways are tough and they are hard. 06:27 And so some of the seed 06:29 falls upon the freeway, 06:33 on the side where it's tough and hard, 06:37 and gritty and dirty like many hearts. 06:42 Hey, you listening? 06:44 Hard, rough and tough like 06:48 many people beaten down stony. 06:52 The water runs off. 06:55 When they hear the Word of God, 06:56 their soul seemed to be absolutely impervious 07:01 to the Word of God. 07:03 What's running in their minds? 07:05 Money, booze, sex, TV, the next football game, 07:11 repeated booze, sex, football, 07:17 money, the stock exchange, 07:20 a spiritual thought finds it very hard 07:23 to get into their minds. 07:26 This is the first group of hearers 07:29 that Jesus describes. 07:30 And Jesus was absolutely correct. 07:34 He's describing the state of the world. 07:37 Maybe He's describing your heart, my friend. 07:40 Listen. 07:44 This first class of hearers, those with hearts of stone, 07:50 can their hearts ever be changed? 07:54 Is there any hope for people 07:56 who've got hearts as tough as this table 08:01 that's made out of Tasmanian oak? 08:04 Is there any hope for people 08:06 whose hearts are as hard as the 405 freeway 08:10 that runs down to Los Angeles airport? 08:14 Nothing can grow on those freeways, 08:16 except a little bit on the side, 08:19 where a bit of dirt accumulates. 08:21 Is there any hope for people who are tough, 08:26 worldly and mesmerized by the things of this world? 08:31 Listen to this. 08:33 Because you know people like that. 08:36 Maybe you got family members like that. 08:39 Maybe listening to this telecast today. 08:42 Maybe you're sticking with me for a little bit of time, 08:45 but maybe your heart is like that. 08:48 Is there hope for hard-hearted people? 08:51 Listen, my friend. 08:54 Listen to these words, never give up. 08:59 God is in the work of making miracles. 09:03 The Bible says God can take the hard, 09:06 stony heart and turn it into heart of flesh. 09:11 God is in the miracle working business. 09:13 Never, never give up. 09:15 Winston Churchill said those words. 09:18 I'm sort of a bit of a fan of Winston Churchill, 09:21 this man who stood against the Nazis. 09:23 When things were looking terribly bad 09:26 and he spoke about the bad days that were going to come. 09:29 Winston Churchill said, "Never give up." 09:32 Can you hear his voice? 09:34 Never give up. 09:36 Never give up. 09:37 I said you never give up on people. 09:41 I've seen God take people who apparently 09:44 were the hardest people that you can imagine 09:47 and He has turned those hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. 09:54 Like the mafia chief, I can't tell you his name. 09:58 He'd 400 soldiers under him, all under machine guns, 10:03 are hard, as hard as that 405 freeway, 10:07 as hard as the wayside that Jesus is talking about. 10:12 But there's nobody too hard for God. 10:15 Listen to me, there's nobody too hard for God. 10:21 Never, never, never give up. 10:24 God is in the work of taking hard hearts 10:28 and turning them into soft hearts. 10:32 And so I say, pray for your loved ones. 10:36 Don't be discouraged. 10:37 Never, never, never give up. 10:41 Are you listening to me? 10:45 You mentioned four classes of hearers. 10:49 The first have hearts of stone. 10:51 Who are the second class of hearers? 10:57 Now we're going to come to the second class of hearers. 10:59 Now who are they? 11:01 Now we're going to read to you from the words of Jesus, 11:05 the greatest teacher, the greatest person. 11:09 He was the Son of God, the divine Son of God. 11:12 He was the eternal Logos. 11:15 Now verse 5 and 6, let me read it to you. 11:18 "Some fell on stony places, 11:21 where they did not have much earth, 11:24 and they immediately sprang up 11:25 because they had no depth of earth. 11:28 But when the sun was up, they were scorched, 11:31 and because they had no root, they withered away." 11:36 This is talking about shallow soil. 11:42 Jesus describes these people in the same chapter. 11:47 He says, "The soil is shallow." 11:52 He's talking about shallow people. 11:55 Have you ever met shallow people? 11:59 Often these people, when they hear the gospel, 12:01 they put up their hands, "Praise God. 12:02 Yeah, I'm going to do this." 12:05 But this describes so many professing religionists. 12:09 They're all talk. 12:12 They're all talk, but they are no walk. 12:18 And Jesus said, 12:19 "When the sun comes up, they wither." 12:23 They just, they don't last that distance, 12:27 my friend. 12:29 So the second class of hearer is the person 12:33 who is shallow. 12:37 Like many people that you've met, 12:39 and I've met them too. 12:43 Is there a danger 12:44 in accepting salvation too quickly? 12:50 Well, let me take this a little bit further now. 12:54 I want to read you from Matthew 13:20-21. 12:58 This is the divine commentary that was made by Jesus. 13:03 But he who received the seed on stony places, 13:07 this is he who hears the word 13:09 and immediately receives it with joy," 13:11 hallelujah, he shouts, 13:15 "yet he has no root in himself, 13:18 but endures only for a while. 13:22 But when tribulation 13:23 or persecution arises because of the word, 13:27 immediately he stumbles." 13:32 Jesus here is describing people 13:35 who accept the Word of God, 13:39 but without conviction. 13:44 They're very quick to respond. 13:46 Now, it's great to respond quickly. 13:49 God wants us to respond quickly. 13:52 But there's got to be conviction. 13:56 Now these people who are shallow people 13:59 are all talk, they're all mouth, 14:01 but they're no soul. 14:05 Unlike my friends in Russia who years ago, 14:08 I know these people, 14:09 I have baptized thousands of them. 14:12 When they got baptized, 14:14 they got baptized in the middle of winter 14:15 because of the persecution. 14:18 They had to go out and get baptized in the rivers 14:21 and cut the ice. 14:22 The ice was two feet thick. 14:24 I've been to places like that many times. 14:28 And after they were baptized, they had to soar with a soar, 14:33 they had to soar their baptismal robes off them. 14:37 They were not shallow people. 14:40 They'd thought about it, 14:41 but they had moved with alacrity 14:44 as the Spirit of God drove them to Christ. 14:48 We need to be people who let the Word of God 14:51 get down deep into our souls. 14:53 What do you think? 14:57 What is the meaning of the soil 14:59 that is filled with thorn bushes? 15:01 Is this the third class of hearers? 15:07 Well, let me read to you a text on this one. 15:09 Is that okay? 15:11 I'm going to read you the Lord's commentary 15:13 on His own parable. 15:15 Matthew 13:22, 15:19 He describes, He explains the parable. 15:22 "Now he who receives seed among the thorns 15:26 is he who hears the word, 15:28 and the cares of this world 15:31 and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, 15:35 and he becomes unfruitful." 15:39 This is the third class. 15:41 Nothing wrong with the soil, the soil is super soil. 15:46 It's great soil, it's fertile. 15:49 And it's so fertile, 15:50 that it grows all of these weeds. 15:53 Jesus speaks about the weeds, 15:57 the cares of this world, 16:00 the love of riches, all of these things. 16:05 This person is so busy making a living 16:11 that he's got no time to be making a dime. 16:16 He's not a lazy person. 16:18 He's not a shallow person. 16:20 But he's a person who loves money 16:22 and he loves the things of this world. 16:27 And this is the story of Western society. 16:31 It is the story of Australian society 16:34 and American society. 16:36 It is the story of consumerism 16:40 that gets down into the soul 16:44 and chokes the Word. 16:47 Would you like to hear a little story? 16:51 I can feel a story coming on. 16:54 There was a certain very wealthy man. 16:56 He was a chief in the mafia. 16:59 I'm told this happened in New York City. 17:01 Where else would it happen? 17:03 So it happens in New York City 17:05 and this very wealthy mafia man is being buried. 17:11 He's being buried in a gold-plated Cadillac. 17:17 And they got him propped up against the steering wheel. 17:21 There he is in this gold-plated Cadillac 17:23 and he's got on the most expensive suit 17:26 and he's got a big fat cigar in his mouth. 17:30 And a poor man walks past 17:32 and he sees this extravagant funeral. 17:36 And in the spur of the moment, 17:37 he cries out, "Man, ain't that living?" 17:44 Well, that ain't living friend, that's dying. 17:49 And if you die in a gold-plated Cadillac without God, 17:53 then you are a pauper. 17:56 The wealthiest person, my friend, 17:58 is the person who is rich towards God. 18:04 What is meant in the parable of the sower, 18:07 about the fourth group of hearers? 18:09 What does the good soil represent? 18:15 Let me give you a text. 18:16 Wayne, thank you. 18:18 Matthew 13:8, 18:21 Jesus here describes the fourth class of hearer. 18:28 I want to be in that class. 18:29 I don't know about you, but I want to be in that class. 18:31 Matthew 13:8 says, 18:34 "And others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, 18:38 some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." 18:41 Then He said, "He who has ears to hear, 18:44 let him hear!" 18:45 And verse 23, 18:47 the Lord gives His own divine commentary. 18:51 Verse 23, "But he who received seed 18:56 on the good ground is he who hears the word 18:59 and understands it, 19:01 who indeed bears fruit and produces: 19:05 some a hundredfold, 19:07 some sixty, some thirty." 19:12 Thank God. 19:15 Thank God. 19:18 There will always be those who respond 19:20 to the preaching of the Word of God. 19:24 Now, I want you dear friends of mine 19:26 to get this very plainly. 19:28 Jesus said, 19:29 "There are four classes of hearers. 19:32 The first is hard as this table... 19:37 Just doesn't take the Word in at all. 19:40 Then you got the next class, he's a very shallow person. 19:43 The Word comes up, the seed grows up, 19:47 the bush comes up really fast when the sun comes up, is gone. 19:52 The third class is the person who's got good soil, 19:55 but he's a person who's in love with money. 19:59 He's in love with this world. 20:00 He's in love with the cares of this life. 20:03 He's too busy, too busy to read his Bible, 20:07 too busy to go to church, too busy to keep the Sabbath, 20:11 too busy for his own good. 20:15 But then you've got the fourth class. 20:18 And Jesus said, "This person is like good soil. 20:25 And the seed gets down 20:26 into it and the rain comes down from heaven. 20:32 And up comes the luxuriant bushes 20:38 and they grow and they thrive 20:41 and they last." 20:44 That is the fourth class. 20:48 Out here in Australia where we're stuck 20:49 because of COVID-19, Sydney is in shut down, 20:53 the borders are closed. 20:55 I've been going to a little church down the road. 20:57 It's called the Church at Toboggan. 21:01 You'd only have a church 21:02 by the name of Toboggan in Australia. 21:05 Lovely people, very kind, nice people. 21:09 Good soil. 21:12 I met a lady there. 21:15 This really cheered my heart. 21:18 It stirred me up. 21:19 It's cheered my heart. 21:21 Her name is Nola. 21:25 I baptized her 50 years ago, 21:29 in a little place by the name of Tyalgum. 21:32 She's been faithful ever since, good soil. 21:37 The Word of God went down and got into good soil. 21:43 Over there in the great land 21:45 of the United States of America, 21:48 out in the great city of Las Vegas, 21:52 there's a man by the name of Victor. 21:54 Victor, I salute you today. 21:57 I send you greetings. 21:59 I send you love and blessings. 22:02 Victor was surfing through the channels 22:05 and he came upon 3ABN. 22:07 I say thank God for Danny Shelton and 3ABN. 22:13 And Victor watched the Carter Report 22:16 and he heard the preaching of the gospel 22:18 and the Word of God got down into good soil. 22:22 What's different about Victor? 22:24 Victor had been brought up in a home 22:27 of American communists. 22:31 You say there's no such thing. Yes, yes, yes. 22:34 His parents were American communists. 22:38 He was brought up in atheism 22:40 but there was a hunger in his soul. 22:46 He's been faithful for years now. 22:48 Faithfully keeping the commandments of God 22:51 and keeping the Lord's Day. 22:55 The soil is prepared by God. 22:59 You can be that soil. 23:02 Then over there in Russia 30 years ago now, 23:05 almost 30 years ago, 23:07 I had the privilege of baptizing 23:09 a very beautiful lady along with thousands 23:12 of other beautiful Russian people. 23:14 People say, "Why do you believe in evangelism?" 23:16 I believe in it because it works. 23:20 I believe in evangelism because Jesus teaches it. 23:26 Why don't more people do evangelism? 23:28 Well first starters it's hard. 23:32 And it's tough to do. 23:35 We baptized Julia, when was it? 23:37 Twenty nine, 30 years ago. 23:40 I go back to Russia on occasions. 23:42 There she is faithfully in charge of 3ABN in Russia. 23:47 Good soil, faithful, strong and true. 23:53 Years ago, we traveled by train on the Trans-Siberian Express 23:57 from Moscow across to Vladivostok. 24:00 Every place we stopped, 24:02 the believers knew we were coming. 24:05 They came out two in the morning, 24:07 four in the morning, two in the afternoon. 24:09 We went in the middle of winter, 24:14 some places minus 40 degrees. 24:16 We would get out and preach the Word, 24:19 give them Bibles, give them medicines. 24:22 And there we met the survivors of the Russian Holocaust. 24:26 We met the people who'd gone through that hell of communism, 24:32 when millions had been put to death, 24:34 but they had remained faithful because they were good soil. 24:43 Do you believe our lives are predetermined by God 24:46 and that we have no choice in determining our destiny? 24:53 I don't believe in predestination. 24:56 I believe that God would have all people to be saved. 25:00 And if you and I are lost, at last, God forbid, 25:04 but if you and I should be lost, 25:06 it will not be the fault of Jesus, 25:10 who gave His life as a ransom for the whole wide world. 25:14 Now let me read you a text Matthew 13:13. 25:20 Jesus said, 25:22 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, 25:26 because seeing they do not see, 25:29 and hearing they do not hear, 25:31 nor do they understand." 25:36 Somebody once said, 25:39 "The cat looks at the king, 25:42 but the cat doesn't see the king." 25:47 The cat has got sight, but the cat hasn't got insight, 25:51 like most people in the world. 25:54 A lot of people in the church, 25:56 they've got sight, but they got no insight. 26:00 Insight comes from the Spirit of God. 26:06 God desires every person, my friend, 26:09 I'm telling you, to be saved. 26:16 There are people 26:17 who close their eyes willfully and willingly. 26:23 I've seen them. 26:27 Like the Jewish leaders in the days of Christ 26:30 who put Christ on the cross. 26:38 But who was to blame? 26:40 Was Christ to blame? 26:41 He said, "You will not come unto Me 26:44 that you might have life." 26:46 He said, "I wanted you to be saved and to come to Me, 26:50 but you won't come." 26:53 Now please stay with us, 26:56 because we're going to talk about predestination 27:01 and the gift of eternal life, back soon. 27:19 You can now find The Carter Report anywhere, 27:22 anytime on any Android or Apple device. 27:27 Use your cell phone, tablet, 27:30 computer or TV to access the many inspirational messages 27:36 from Pastor Carter 24/7. 27:38 For Apple users, go to the App Store, 27:41 for Android users go to Google Play 27:44 and download the free Carter Report app. 27:49 The Carter Report also has an official YouTube 27:53 and Vimeo channel. 27:55 Search for the Carter Report 27:56 and find the topic that speaks to you. 27:59 Roku users simply search for the Carter Report 28:02 and download the app free. 28:04 The same on Amazon Fire. 28:07 For Apple TV, 28:08 visit the App Store and download the app. 28:11 Reach out to the Carter Report and experience the hope, 28:14 faith and love of Jesus Christ. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, 28:24 please contact us at P.O. 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Revised 2021-12-30