Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002124S
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00:01 What kind of soil are you preparing for harvest?
00:04 Will you nurture the ground you walk on? 00:07 Are the seeds you're planting in the soil able to grow 00:11 and produce more seeds? 00:14 Will what you grow, 00:15 not only sustain yourself but others? 00:19 These are important questions for our lives. 00:23 Here is John Carter, 00:24 as he continues to unravel the mysteries of the kingdom. 00:35 "We ended part one with a text from Matthew, 00:38 can we go over this text again before we continue?" 00:45 Wayne, it's a great question. 00:47 It's one that has divided Christians 00:49 for literally hundreds of years, 00:52 especially since the days of John Calvin. 00:55 Now let me read you the controversial text. 00:59 Matthew 13:14-15, 01:05 here it is. 01:08 "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, 01:11 which says: 'Hearing you will hear, 01:14 and shall not understand, 01:16 and seeing you will see and not perceive, 01:20 for the hearts of these people have grown dull. 01:23 Their ears are hard of hearing, 01:26 and their eyes they have closed, 01:28 lest they should see with their eyes 01:30 and hear with their ears, 01:32 lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, 01:35 so that I should heal them." 01:38 Now, it's interesting, 01:41 my friend, that the Bible says their eyes, 01:45 they have closed their ears, they have closed. 01:51 This is an act of the will. 01:54 Jesus said to the religious leaders 01:56 in His own day, I wanted to draw you to Myself. 01:59 I wanted you to come to Me for salvation. 02:02 But then He said those significant words He said, 02:05 "But you would not." 02:09 I have the ability to say yes or no. 02:13 God has given to me the capacity 02:15 of freedom of choice. 02:18 And if I open my heart to the Spirit of God, 02:21 He will draw me to salvation, 02:23 and He will bring me to Christ and I will be redeemed. 02:30 "Do you think some people ignore God because they think 02:35 it would have a negative impact on their lives?" 02:40 I've grown to understand the subject 02:42 a little bit more as I've grown older, 02:43 because I've had the privilege 02:45 of speaking to millions of people. 02:47 I've seen so many people come to Christ. 02:50 I've seen people respond to the voice 02:52 of the Spirit of God. 02:54 I've seen the Word of God get down into good soil. 02:57 And I've seen people actually run to Christ. 03:02 What I'm saying is this, 03:03 and I'm not trying to be judgmental but I'm saying this. 03:08 It's almost impossible to get someone 03:12 to see an idea 03:14 when their salary, when their income, 03:17 their lifestyle depends upon they're not seeing it. 03:22 Did you get this? 03:23 It's almost impossible for somebody to see the truth 03:26 when his salary depends upon his not seeing it. 03:31 So here comes this tremendous conflict 03:35 in the human heart. 03:36 Remember, Jesus said this, John 5:40, 03:42 "You refuse to come to me, so that you might have life." 03:48 They could have come. 03:51 When Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives 03:53 and wept over the great city of Jerusalem, 03:56 He said, "How often I wanted to draw you to Myself, 04:02 but you would not." 04:04 I want you to know this, my friend, 04:06 the greatest truth in all the Bible 04:08 is the truth of the love of God. 04:13 That God loves you, and Christ died for you. 04:18 And He sends the Holy Spirit. 04:20 And if we do not resist Him, 04:22 He will draw us to Christ and to salvation. 04:27 Believe it and you will see the glory of God. 04:32 "Should the church try to get rid 04:34 of all the hypocrites and humbugs in the church?" 04:42 You think it'd be a good idea to get rid 04:46 of all the hypocrites and the humbugs? 04:52 You know, God didn't make us the judge, did He? 04:55 God is the judge. 04:57 I'm glad that God is the judge. 05:00 Some people think, you know, they are the judge. 05:03 This has happened in history. 05:05 But I want you to think about something right now. 05:09 I want you to think about this. 05:11 This is not original with me by any means. 05:13 But I'm going to say just the same. 05:15 Somebody said, 05:17 if you're looking for the perfect church, 05:20 don't join it 05:22 because it won't be perfect anymore. 05:26 There are no perfect churches, 05:29 because there are no perfect people. 05:32 You say, "No, no, but I'm perfect." 05:34 No, my friend. 05:36 Our perfection is found only in Christ. 05:40 It is the gift of God. 05:44 Matthew 13:24-28. 05:49 I want to read you this passage out of the Bible, 05:52 because these are the words of our blessed Lord. 05:57 "Another parable He put forth to them saying: 06:00 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man 06:01 who sowed good seed in his field, 06:04 but while men slept, 06:06 his enemy came and sowed tares 06:07 among the wheat and went his way. 06:11 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, 06:14 then the tares also appeared. 06:16 So the servants to the owner came 06:18 and said to him, Sir, 06:19 did you not sow good seed in your field? 06:22 How then does it have tares? 06:24 He said to them, an enemy has done this. 06:28 The servants said to him, 06:29 do you want us to go and gather them up? 06:32 And Jesus said, no.'" 06:36 And Jesus said, no.'" 06:39 We're going to wait until the harvest. 06:41 And here Jesus is talking about the church because, 06:46 my friend, in the true church of the living God, 06:50 you got good wheat, and you got bad tares. 06:54 You got the good and the bad. 06:57 You got the sincere, and you've got the hypocrites. 07:01 And God is the judge 07:03 and we should not be thinking 07:07 of having an inquisition. 07:09 You know, the wheat and the tares, 07:11 the good and the bad. 07:13 You got them in the pews, 07:16 and you've got them in the pulpits. 07:18 You've got them in the leadership 07:19 of the church. 07:21 You've got them among the lay people, 07:22 you've got them everywhere. 07:24 But Jesus said, 07:26 "They both grow together till the harvest." 07:28 It is not our work to try to get rid of the hypocrites. 07:33 And as you said before, and the humbugs, 07:37 this is the work of God, 07:41 we should let God be the judge. 07:44 Shall we have an inquisition? 07:46 Well, they try that, you know, in Spain, 07:48 they tried it all throughout Europe. 07:51 The Roman Catholic Church decided they would purge 07:54 the Holy Catholic Church of all the heretics. 07:57 You know about this, don't you? 07:59 They burned to death millions and millions of people. 08:02 I've got pictures I've taken, 08:03 I've gone into some of the great museums in Europe. 08:06 I've seen the pictures of the Inquisition. 08:09 It was a time of hell 08:12 because people tried to play God. 08:15 But Jesus said, 08:17 "They both grow together till the harvest." 08:19 Now, let me read to you 08:20 from Matthew 13:28 08:26 and onwards. 08:28 Listen. 08:31 "He said to them, an enemy has done this. 08:35 The servant said to him, 08:36 do you want us then to go 08:41 and gather them up? 08:43 But he said, no lest while you gather up the tares, 08:46 you also uproot the wheat with them. 08:49 Let both grow together until the harvest, 08:52 and at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, 08:56 'First gather together the tares 08:59 and bind them into bundles to burn them, 09:03 but gather the wheat into my barn." 09:07 It seems very apparent to me that God 09:10 is telling us leave it alone. 09:14 I'm going to deal with this when I come 09:17 as the judge of all men and all women. 09:21 Remember, 09:22 God never gave you and me the role to be the judge. 09:26 God is the judge. 09:30 "People watch Christians say one thing 09:33 and then do another. 09:35 Doesn't this hypocrisy hurt the church 09:37 and keep people from seeking God?" 09:43 I know there are people 09:45 who are like the Pharisees think that they're the judge 09:48 and they've got the right to get rid of all the humbugs 09:51 and all the phonies, 09:53 but God knows the heart 09:57 and God isn't finished with me yet. 10:01 He's not finished with you yet, my friend. 10:03 God is working on people. 10:07 Let's give God some time. 10:09 We need some time ourselves. 10:11 Let me read you from Matthew 13:37, 10:15 and onwards. 10:16 "He said to them: 10:18 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 10:22 The field is the world, 10:23 the good seeds of the sons of the kingdom, 10:26 but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 10:29 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, 10:32 the harvest is the end of the age, 10:35 and the reapers are the angels. 10:42 So God is the judge. 10:45 God is going to clean up His church. 10:48 God is much wiser than we are. 10:51 And we should leave the work of judging to the judge. 10:56 That's God. 11:00 "What is the harvest and when does it happen?" 11:06 Well, I'm glad it's not the harvest yet, is it? 11:10 I'm glad that God has given us some time, 11:12 I'm glad that God is patient, 11:14 I'm glad that God is patient with me. 11:17 I'm a very imperfect person. 11:20 I'm glad that my Heavenly Father 11:22 is patient with me, 11:24 as God is patient with you, and your children, 11:29 who sometimes can be quite obnoxious. 11:34 I'm just talking about children, 11:35 you know, just as a broad statement, 11:37 because, you know, 11:38 sometimes it's tough bringing up kids, 11:40 but God is patient with our children. 11:44 Let me read you a text, Matthew 13:42-43. 11:49 "Therefore as the tares are gathered 11:51 and burned in the fire, 11:53 so it will be at the end of the age. 11:56 The Son of Man will send out His angels, 11:58 and they will gather out of His kingdom 12:00 all things that offend, 12:01 and those who practice lawlessness, 12:03 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. 12:06 There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 12:08 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun 12:11 in the kingdom of their Father. 12:13 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 12:19 So I say, let's go easy on our young people. 12:25 A lot of young people have been driven out 12:27 of the church by Pharisees who think that God 12:30 has made them the judge, 12:33 but the Bible tells me that the harvest takes place 12:36 at the end of the world. 12:39 That's why we're not going to start an Inquisition. 12:42 My friend, this is the very, very Word of God, 12:46 and I wanted to sink down into our souls. 12:50 Let us treat others as God treats us. 12:54 What do you say? 12:57 "Pastor Carter, do you believe in miracles? 13:01 Can God actually make the impossible possible?" 13:07 Do I believe in miracles? 13:10 Yes, I do. 13:12 I've seen miracles. 13:14 I believe in miracles. 13:15 I believe in the greatest miracle of all. 13:17 You know what the greatest miracle is? 13:20 The miracle of the love of God, 13:22 that God loves sinners, like you and me. 13:27 Let me read you Matthew 13:31-32. 13:32 Read this chapter through, my friend. 13:34 It's a fantastic chapter. 13:37 Let these words sink down into your souls. 13:41 Let it get into the good soil in your good heart, 13:44 brother, sister. 13:46 Matthew 13:31-32, 13:48 "Another parable He put forth to them saying: 13:51 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, 13:54 which a man took and sowed in his field, 13:57 which indeed is the least of all the seeds, 14:00 but when it is grown, 14:01 it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, 14:06 so that the birds of the air come 14:08 and nest in its branches.'" 14:12 Listen to this. 14:14 God loves to take a small beginning 14:18 and make it into something fantastic and great. 14:23 God is the God of small things. 14:26 That God can grow into big things, 14:29 He can take your dreams, 14:31 dreams of faith 14:32 and make them miracles, wonders. 14:38 Danny Shelton came with us to Russia in 1992, 14:42 a long time ago now, seems like yesterday. 14:46 We had this tremendous campaign, 14:48 3ABN stood with me. 14:50 These people were my tremendous friends. 14:54 They helped me raise the budget. 14:56 People say, "Where do you get the money from?" 14:59 The saints of God send it to us and Danny Shelton helped me 15:03 raise the budget, 15:04 and after this campaign 15:06 where thousands of people were baptized 15:08 in the Volga River, Danny got a dream. 15:11 He said, Brother John, 15:13 we need to build here a great church 15:16 and a great evangelism center 15:18 because we've only got one little tiny church. 15:21 So God was putting the seed into Danny's heart, 15:25 into his mind. 15:27 And so, a member of the team gave him $100,000. 15:33 You may think that's a huge sum of money. 15:35 Well, it is a fair sum of money 15:36 but when you're buying a big piece of land, 15:40 doesn't seem to go very far. 15:43 But Danny found this piece of land 15:44 that had been dedicated by the communists 15:46 to build this great communism youth center, 15:50 huge place but they hadn't finished it, 15:53 the place looked like a bombed-out 15:55 ruin from the Second World War. 15:59 But Danny had the seed, the mustard seed. 16:04 And he started to raise money, 16:05 he started to talk it around in America, 16:08 and other places and people started 16:10 to send their money, 16:11 they started to send their seeds. 16:14 And today in Russia 16:16 is the largest Protestant Church building, 16:19 the largest Protestant evangelism center. 16:22 It's also a great television center. 16:25 Dr. Julia Outkina is in charge of it 16:28 with a fantastic team of young people. 16:31 It's absolutely marvelous. 16:33 I've been there so, so many times, 16:37 and every time I go, I'm mightily blessed. 16:43 My friend, God is the God of small things. 16:46 God wants to take something small in your life 16:50 and grow it into something great. 16:51 Have faith in God, my friend, don't listen to the naysayers. 16:55 Don't listen to the people who said can't be done. 16:58 Believe in the God who believes in you. 17:02 Believe in the God of impossible dreams. 17:07 "I'm looking at Matthew, 17:09 and there's a parable about making bread. 17:12 Can you go into this? 17:14 And tell us how much yeast 17:16 is needed to make a loaf of bread?" 17:22 Well, you're really asking the wrong person, 17:24 you ought to be asking Beverley. 17:26 Beverley is the authority 17:28 or she ought to be asking David, 17:30 who's the camera person here today, 17:31 you ought to be asking him 17:33 because he makes all that sort of stuff, 17:35 but I've never made a loaf of bread in my life. 17:38 I want to live a bit longer. 17:39 I don't want to be poisoning other people 17:41 and poisoning myself but now okay, 17:43 let me read you the text. 17:45 Matthew 13:33... 17:51 "Another parable He spoke to them: 17:55 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, 17:59 which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal 18:04 till it was all leavened." 18:09 How much yeast? 18:11 Well, if your guts say a couple of pounds of flour, 18:13 I understand you don't put in a couple of pounds of yeast. 18:18 It will probably get so big, would blow you out of the room. 18:21 That wouldn't be good for you, 18:22 wouldn't be good for your indigestion 18:24 when you try to eat bread like this. 18:26 I'm told you get a tiny little bit of yeast. 18:32 And a tiny little bit of yeast in a lot of flour. 18:37 And a little bit goes a long, 18:42 long way. 18:46 What's the little bit of yeast? 18:49 It is the gospel of Christ. 18:53 You say, you know, I just can't do anything. 18:54 I'm not getting any help here. 18:56 I got no money. 18:57 I get no support. 19:00 I want to do something for God, but I just got nothing. 19:05 Hey, you may only have a little bit of yeast. 19:10 But a little bit of yeast with the blessing of God 19:15 becomes our tremendous loaf of bread. 19:19 I'm saying to you today, believe, believe, 19:23 put away your unbelief. 19:27 Ever heard of Adoniram Judson. 19:30 He was a great American missionary who went to Burma, 19:33 absolute saint of God. 19:35 When he got to Calcutta, 19:36 he discovered from his previous theological teachings 19:40 that he hadn't fulfilled all of his duties towards God. 19:43 He wasn't baptized. 19:45 So Adoniram Judson goes and gets baptized 19:48 at this little Baptist Church over the door are the words. 19:52 Attempt great things for God, 19:56 expect great things from God. 20:01 Let me say to you again. 20:03 Get it down here, believe it, 20:04 attempt great things for God, 20:09 expect great things from God. 20:14 That got down into the soul of Judson. 20:16 He became this fantastic missionary 20:20 to Burma and God used him. 20:22 My friend, God used him to do mighty miracles. 20:27 Listen, please, 20:30 please 20:33 believe in the God of the impossible dream. 20:37 Believe in miracles, 20:40 believe in the God who believes in you, 20:44 believe in the God of the mustard seed, 20:47 believe in the God of the bit of yeast. 20:51 Don't listen to the naysayers. 20:53 Don't listen to the people who've got no faith. 20:56 The church is full of people who've got no faith, 20:58 don't listen to them. 21:01 Church boards and conference committees 21:03 are filled often with people who've got no faith. 21:07 They seem to think that their work 21:08 is to stop the work from going ahead. 21:12 But have faith in God. 21:15 Remember, Danny Shelton. 21:18 Remember Julia Outkina, 21:20 believe in the God of the yeast, 21:22 believe in the God of the mustard seed. 21:26 Believe and you'll see the glory of God. 21:31 "Continuing on in Matthew, 21:33 what is the meaning of the treasure hidden 21:36 in a field?" 21:40 Well, let me read you the whole text 21:42 because if we get the text, 21:44 then at least we can try to make a commentary on it, 21:47 Matthew 13:44-46, here we go. 21:53 "Again, the kingdom of heaven 21:54 is like treasure hidden in a field, 21:57 which a man found and hid, and for joy over it, 22:00 he goes and sells 22:01 all that he has and buys that field. 22:04 Again, the kingdom of heaven 22:06 is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, 22:09 when he had found one pearl of great price, 22:14 went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 22:20 You know, who the treasure is? 22:22 What the treasure represents? 22:25 It represents Christ, 22:28 the Bible, the gospel. 22:32 You may be a multi billionaire. 22:35 God doesn't care 22:37 how much you got or how much you haven't got. 22:40 But you're gonna have a lot of this world's goods. 22:42 But if you don't have Christ, 22:45 and the gospel, 22:46 and the Word of God in your soul, 22:49 you're a pauper, terribly poor person. 22:54 But once you have Christ, you have this treasure. 22:59 And to gain Christ, 23:00 we must be prepared to sell everything that we have, 23:04 and go and buy that field. 23:07 My friend, there's a field for you. 23:11 And in that field, 23:12 there is the treasure and that treasure 23:15 is worth more than anything else. 23:17 So go do whatever it takes to accept Christ 23:22 and the gospel. 23:24 The Pearl of great price. 23:26 What is meant by the Pearl of Great Price? 23:29 The Pearl of Great Price, are you still listening? 23:33 The Pearl of Great Price is Christ. 23:38 He is the Pearl that grows more glorious 23:42 as the days go by. 23:46 No price can be placed upon Him. 23:50 What would we give to gain Christ? 23:53 What would we give to have Christ, my friend? 23:57 There's nothing that we can give 23:59 that would equal Christ. 24:04 All the riches of this world cannot compare with Christ. 24:10 The gospel gives forgiveness. 24:13 It gives hope. 24:14 It gives joy. 24:16 It gives contentment. 24:19 It gives everlasting life. 24:22 Believe in Christ, my friend, 24:24 and you have everlasting life. 24:27 He is the Pearl of Great Price believe, 24:29 believe, believe. 24:31 Listen to the words 24:33 of the greatest of the apostles, 24:35 one of the greatest personalities 24:37 that this old world has ever seen, St. Paul. 24:41 Philippians 3:7-11, 24:45 "But what things were gain to me, 24:47 these I have countered loss for Christ. 24:50 Yes, indeed I also count all things loss 24:55 for the excellence of the knowledge 24:57 of Christ Jesus, my Lord, 24:59 for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, 25:03 and count them as rubbish, 25:05 that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, 25:08 not having my own righteousness which is from the law, 25:12 but that which is through faith in Christ, 25:15 the righteousness which is from God by faith, 25:18 that I may know Him and the power 25:20 of His resurrection, 25:22 and the fellowship of His sufferings, 25:24 being conformed to His death, 25:27 if, by any means, 25:29 I may attain to the resurrection 25:34 from the dead. 25:36 All says nothing compares. 25:39 He said, "I've given up everything 25:40 I count them as dung, 25:43 horse manure, that I may have Christ. 25:48 My friend, believe in Christ. 25:51 When we ran the campaign Kiev, 25:55 had such vast crowds of people. 25:59 But a family, a big group came from Chernobyl, 26:02 just on the outskirts of Chernobyl. 26:04 They came in an old broken down bus 26:06 with their pastor. 26:08 I said, "What brings you to the meetings you've, 26:11 come from a radioactive area." 26:12 They said, "We've come that we may gain Christ." 26:16 I said to the pastor, "Why do you stay young man? 26:21 Don't you know this may kill you?" 26:22 He said, "That I may gain Christ." 26:27 He said, "I don't care about my life." 26:29 The only thing that counts he said, 26:33 "Is Christ, Christ." 26:37 My friend, from my heart to your heart, 26:43 believe in Christ. 26:45 Let this seed go down into good soil. 26:51 Accept the Pearl of Great Price, 26:53 take Him into your heart. 26:56 Take the treasure 27:01 with Christ. 27:03 You and I have everything we need. 27:09 Believe in the Christ who believes in you. 27:16 Amen. 27:22 Many people no matter what their age 27:24 still have their first teddy bear. 27:27 It's hard to let them go. 27:29 Their stitches might be loose, the stuffing flat, 27:33 one ear a little lopsided, 27:36 but they were always there for us. 27:38 Imagine giving a child their very first teddy bear, 27:42 especially when they are sick and lonely. 27:46 They will always remember 27:47 that someone they didn't even know cared enough 27:50 to bring them a new friend when they needed it most. 27:53 Will you help the Carter Report bring cheer 27:56 to these children? 27:58 You can mail a bear or send a donation 28:01 and we will buy the bears for you. 28:03 Please send your bears or donation 28:06 to the address on the screen. 28:09 For COVID protection, 28:10 please send the bears in their original packaging. 28:13 Thank you for your kindness and giving cheer 28:16 and comfort to children in need. 28:24 For a copy of today's program, 28:26 please contact us at P.O. Box 1900, 28:29 Thousand Oaks, 28:31 California 91358 or in Australia, 28:35 contact us at P.O. Box 861, Terrigal, 28:40 New South Wales 2260. 28:43 This program is made possible 28:45 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:48 We thank you for your continued support. 28:51 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2021-12-30