Participants: John Carter
Series Code: 12HC
Program Code: 12HC000009
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00:48 Well, we are once again coming to you from our
00:53 Worship Center here in West Frankfort/Thompsonville, IL. 00:58 And we're just so happy to see each one that's here 01:01 and we know that even more of you will be coming tomorrow. 01:04 We look forward to your coming to be with us. 01:07 Our speaker tonight is John Carter. 01:10 Needs absolutely no introduction to our group. 01:14 Is so well know by all the viewers from 3ABN. 01:19 He's the Speaker/Director of The Carter Report. 01:22 As an evangelist, he's held meetings all over the world. 01:26 And we love him. And we're so glad that Beverley 01:30 and two other members of the team are here. 01:34 Susie... and who is that with you Susie? 01:39 Ah, Javier. OK... Javier. 01:41 All right. Good to see you folks. 01:43 We appreciate you being here with us. 01:46 Well listen: I never will forget the night 01:50 when John Carter and Danny Shelton became a team. 01:55 Any of you remember that night? 01:57 I do. I was watching. 01:58 Some of you were watching... some of you were watching. 02:01 I called them after that program that night. 02:05 I said: "This is from God. This is made in heaven. " 02:08 Those two came together and proposed to do evangelism. 02:13 And I believe it's untold the number of souls 02:19 that will be reached because of that partnership together. 02:23 Tonight you're going to hear from both of them. 02:26 Going to hear Pastor John as he comes to preach 02:29 to us... to speak to us 02:31 and you're also going to hear Danny Shelton come and sing 02:34 one of my favorite songs: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. 02:39 But before Danny comes I'm going to ask his brother 02:42 Kenny to come and to lead us to the throne of grace. 02:48 Pastor Kenny. Amen. Thank God for the privilege of prayer. 02:52 Yes. Amen. I'm going to kneel up here 02:54 and if you want to kneel, fine. Kneel with me as we pray. 02:57 All right. 03:00 Our most kind, gracious heavenly Father, 03:03 we do thank you for the privilege of prayer. 03:05 We thank you that we have a God in heaven that loves us 03:08 with an everlasting love. 03:10 We're thankful that You have been showering us with the power 03:13 of Thy Holy Spirit 03:15 on everything that's been said and done in this Camp Meeting. 03:18 Lord, we thank you for Your presence. 03:19 Thank you for Your power. 03:20 Thank you for the promise of victory in each of our hearts 03:23 and our lives. Oh Lord, we want to be ready when Jesus comes. 03:27 Now Lord tonight we think of the bread of life 03:31 that's soon to just be broken once again to us. 03:34 Lord, we're hungering to hear the truth of God's Word 03:37 that sanctifies us, prepares us for the coming of Jesus. 03:40 May Your Holy Spirit accompany everything 03:44 that's said, everything that's done. 03:46 Again Lord, we're looking for fresh bread, 03:48 fresh manna, and we know the Holy Spirit can give that to us. 03:51 We desire it. 03:53 Bless Pastor Carter in a very special way. 03:56 Anoint him, continue to use him 03:58 for Your honor and for Your glory. 04:00 We know he has blessed our hearts through Your power 04:03 and Your strength. 04:05 As Bro. Danny comes to sing, Lord, anoint his mind, 04:07 his heart, and his lips. 04:09 The most beautiful, beautiful song, Lord, as he's going to 04:12 sing tonight and bless us we pray You'll give him 04:14 Holy Spirit power. Thank you for 3ABN. 04:17 Thank you for all the work for every individual, 04:19 all the work, all the preparation. 04:21 We know that all the praise, honor, and glory goes to You. 04:23 Bless us now we pray. 04:25 Father in heaven, may each one who's come here tonight, 04:28 those who are viewing around the world, 04:30 everyone that has a need Lord I pray in faith believing 04:33 that that need will be met in Jesus Christ. 04:36 Our loving Lord and our Savior, 04:38 thank you for dying. 04:39 Thank you for the promise of coming again. 04:42 We long for that day. Help us to be faithful. 04:44 In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 05:05 O soul, 05:07 are you weary 05:10 and troubled? 05:14 No light in 05:16 the darkness you see? 05:23 There's light 05:26 for a look at 05:29 the Savior, 05:32 And life so abundant 05:37 and free! 05:43 Turn your eyes upon 05:48 Jesus, 05:51 Look full in 05:53 His wonderful face; 06:00 And the things of earth 06:05 will grow strangely dim 06:10 In the light of His glory 06:14 and grace. 06:24 His Word 06:26 will not fail you 06:29 He's promised; 06:33 Believe Him and all will 06:38 be well: 06:42 Then go to a world that 06:48 is dying, 06:51 His perfect salvation 06:56 to tell! 07:01 Turn your eyes 07:05 upon Jesus, 07:09 Look full in 07:12 His wonderful face; 07:18 And the things of this old earth 07:23 will grow strangely dim 07:28 In the light of His glory 07:33 and grace. 07:41 In the light 07:44 of Christ's glory 07:47 and grace. 07:52 Amen! 08:03 Good evening my friends. 08:05 Good evening. Let's have a little talk tonight. 08:07 How're you doing? Are you pleased to be here? 08:11 I tell folks at my stage of life I'm pleased to be anywhere. 08:17 I'm just so glad to see you. 08:18 You look so good, so handsome! 08:23 So intelligent. 08:25 They're the sort of people I like to come to my meetings: 08:28 handsome, intelligent people. 08:30 Now listen to this: you don't have to be good 08:36 to be saved. 08:39 Oh come on... let's have a little "Amen. " 08:41 Amen. Every sinner here tonight ought to shout out "Amen! " 08:44 Aren't you folks? Don't you know we're all sinners? 08:47 So you don't have to be good to be saved 08:52 but you've got to be saved to be good. 08:56 Did you get that now? 08:57 I'm going to say it again. 09:00 All right. You don't have to be good 09:03 to be saved. What did I say? 09:06 Come on, come on: you don't have to be good to be saved 09:10 but you've got to be saved to be good. 09:14 And if you understand that tonight 09:15 you'll understand the topic. 09:17 The topic tonight is The Blood Of Christ. 09:23 How long does it take to be saved? 09:27 How much does it cost? 09:32 How long does it take for a sinner to be saved? 09:38 How long does it take for me to be good enough? 09:42 I want you to take your Bibles. 09:44 And remember: we only guarantee the salvation 09:47 of those people who bring their Bibles to church. 09:51 You know, that's one of my sayings. 09:53 I'm glad that you're still laughing at it. 09:54 Come over here to John chapter 3 and verse 16 and onwards. 09:59 John chapter 3 and verse 16 and onwards. 10:04 And I've got a sermon to preach in the morning. 10:08 I wish it were the morning already because I'm just about 10:12 bursting to preach the sermon in the morning. 10:14 But I'm going to preach this one tonight anyhow 10:17 and this is a great sermon. 10:19 John chapter 3 verse 16 and onwards. 10:22 "For God so loved the world 10:26 that He gave His one and only Son 10:29 that whoever believes in Him shall not perish 10:32 but have everlasting life. 10:34 For God did not send His Son into the world 10:37 to condemn the world but to save the world 10:41 through Him. 10:43 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, 10:46 but whoever does not believe stands condemned already 10:51 because he has not believed in the name 10:54 of God's one and only Son. 10:57 This is the verdict. Light has come into the world 11:01 and men loved darkness instead of light 11:04 because their deeds were evil. 11:08 Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not 11:11 come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 11:16 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light 11:20 so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done 11:24 has been done through God. " 11:29 I ran a campaign years and years ago 11:32 when I was a young... when I was a younger man. 11:39 I went into death row in Manila, the great city of Manila. 11:45 We rented the Filipino International Conference Center 11:49 in the heart of the city of Manila. 11:51 And I was asked to go and preach to young men 11:55 who were on death row. 11:58 As I preached... These young men were locked up 12:01 and as I preached others came and stood by the bars 12:06 with their hands on the bars. 12:09 What do you tell young men who are going to be executed 12:13 in a few days? 12:16 How long does it take to be saved? 12:19 Is it going to take them an hour? A day? 12:22 A month? A year? A lifetime? 12:26 I told them they could be right with God right now. 12:30 Amen. 12:31 I told them that Jesus had gone to the electric chair 12:35 on their behalf. 12:38 That's the language that they understood. 12:42 Then there was a man who came into the meeting 12:45 in the Filipino International Conference Center 12:47 and he sent me a note. And he said: "Pastor Carter, 12:51 I came to this meeting tonight was a dagger 12:54 because I've been following a man all day 12:57 and I had planned tonight to kill him in your meeting. " 13:00 But he said: "As you were preaching about the love of God 13:03 and the power of the gospel, the Word of God changed my heart. 13:07 And I've now given my life to Christ 13:10 and I'm going to be baptized when you have the baptism. " 13:13 How long did it take that man to be saved? 13:17 I told him: "You can be right with God right now. " 13:23 Now what do Seventh-day Adventists believe on this? 13:26 I want every person watching on television, my friends 13:29 in Australia... and I still have some friends in Australia... 13:32 I want to say to my friends in Australia 13:34 and my friends right across this great land of the 13:37 United States of America, I want to say to the people 13:40 up in the highlands of Papua, New Guinea, 13:43 where I was recently and I came to your village, 13:46 I want to say this to every person: 13:48 what do Seventh-day Adventists believe on this subject? 13:51 Do we believe in the Trinity? Absolutely. 13:53 We are Trinitarians. 13:55 Do we believe in the blood atonement of Christ 13:59 on the cross? Yes and Amen. 14:02 Do we believe the moral influence theory 14:05 that is so popular in Southern California? 14:08 What is the moral influence theory that is held by 14:11 a number of so-called theologians? 14:14 It is the idea that Christ died to show us the love of God 14:19 but on the cross He did not make an atoning sacrifice 14:22 for our sins. Tonight we repudiate that doctrine. 14:26 Amen! It is not the truth of the Bible. 14:28 Are we saved as some people have charged us 14:31 as believing that we are saved by obedience 14:35 to the law. We categorically reject tonight that we are saved 14:40 by our obedience to the law. 14:42 We say to every person tonight 14:45 who is watching the telecast: you don't have to be good 14:48 to be saved but you do have to be saved to be good. 14:53 Amen. I want you to come over... You are 14:55 a most excellent audience. 14:58 You are listening to me and you are saying "Amen. " 15:03 And sometimes I hear some people get overcome by emotion 15:06 and they even clap their hands. 15:09 Would you please come over here to Ephesians chapter 2? 15:12 Come over here to Ephesians chapter 2 15:15 and verses 8 to 10. 15:17 Some people have said to me: "You must never never 15:20 clap your hands. " I said: "Don't tell that to the trees 15:23 because the Bible said 'all the trees of the field 15:26 will clap their hands. ' " 15:28 Come over here to Ephesians chapter 2. 15:30 But then perhaps the trees know how to worship God better 15:33 than some of the saints. 15:35 Ephesians chapter 2. Let's move on and stay off 15:37 something that could be slightly controversial. 15:40 Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 8 to 10. 15:45 Are you ready to go? "For it is by grace... 15:51 it is by grace... it is by grace you have been saved 15:55 through faith. And it's not from yourselves; 15:59 it is the gift of God. 16:01 Not by works so that no one can boast. 16:04 For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus 16:08 to do good works which God prepared in advance 16:11 for us to do. " 16:13 The Bible tells me... and I want every person watching the 16:16 telecast who is not a member of this church 16:19 to understand this: that Seventh-day Adventists 16:22 are not legalists 16:23 any more than Baptists or any other branch of Christianity. 16:28 We believe in the great principle of this. 16:31 Now listen, I'm going to go back to the Protestant Reformation. 16:34 We believe in sola scriptura. 16:38 Amen. That means only scripture. 16:40 I've had people come to me in my own church 16:44 and they say: "No, we Adventists do not believe 16:46 in sola scriptura. We believe in the Bible 16:49 plus this plus this plus this plus church authority. " 16:53 That is not the teaching of the Bible. 16:56 I believe in the doctrine of sola scriptura: 17:00 the Bible and the Bible alone. 17:02 You know who else believed in that? Ellen White. 17:04 She said: "The words of the Bible and the Bible alone 17:07 should be heard from our pulpits. " 17:09 Why don't we do what she tells us to do? 17:12 Amen. "The words of the Bible and the Bible alone should be 17:15 heard from our pulpits. " 17:16 I believe in sola scriptura and I believe in sola Christus: 17:20 only Christ. Amen. 17:22 Only Christ... sola Christus. 17:25 Sola gratia... only grace. 17:28 Sola fide... only faith. 17:31 That is the battle cry of the Reformation, 17:35 and I am a Christian first and foremost. 17:38 People come to me and they say around the world: 17:41 "What is your religion? " I say to them: 17:44 "First and foremost I am a Christian. " 17:48 "Oh, " people say, "no, no, no. You're an Adventist. " 17:51 No! First and foremost I am a Christian. 17:57 Secondly I am a Protestant. 18:00 I believe in the Word of God first and foremost. 18:04 I am a Protestant. And thirdly 18:06 I am a Seventh-day Adventist. 18:09 But if you get that round the wrong way 18:12 you will neither be a Christian nor a Seventh-day Adventist. 18:16 Amen. So let us settle this once and for all tonight 18:20 and let everybody watching the telecast hear it because 18:23 it is the Word of God. We believe in sola scriptura. 18:29 You may say: "I don't like it. " 18:30 Well then you are wrong. Amen. 18:33 Sola scriptura, sola Christus, 18:36 sola gratia and sola fide. 18:40 I throw that in so people think I know Latin. 18:44 We all need grace because we are a part 18:48 of fallen, sinful humanity. 18:51 Come over here to Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. 18:54 Are you folks having a good time here in church tonight? 18:57 Amen. I'm having a good time here in church tonight. 18:59 I feel like preaching tonight. 19:00 That's always dangerous when I feel like preaching. 19:03 If I'm feeling tired, the congregation is somewhat 19:05 protected, but tonight I'm feeling good. 19:08 Come over here to Romans chapter 5 verse 12. 19:11 This is a text that most people don't understand, 19:13 and they don't understand it because they don't read 19:15 their Bibles. "Therefore just as sin entered the world 19:20 through one man... " Who was that? Adam. 19:23 "and death through sin and in this way death came 19:26 to all men because all sinned. " 19:31 The Bible tells me... If you read the context 19:35 it says: "All sinned. " Our own commentary says 19:40 we sinned... When it talks about we all sinned 19:44 in this context it says "we all sinned in Adam. " 19:48 Understand that? When Adam was driving the car 19:52 we were sitting in the back seat. 19:55 People say: "I wasn't there. " 19:56 Where do you think you were? 19:58 Where did you come from? 20:00 When Adam sinned and when he took humanity off the road 20:05 we came off the road. And this is why David says 20:08 in Psalm 51... he says: 20:10 "I was born in sin 20:12 and in sin did my mother conceive me. " 20:14 And that is why the great preacher Spurgeon said: 20:17 "We have the black blood of Adam coursing 20:20 through our veins. " You wonder why children are disobedient? 20:23 You wonder why little babies show symptoms 20:28 of bad temper? 20:31 It is because we are born in a state of sin. 20:36 That is the teaching of the Bible 20:39 and you cannot understand the gospel unless you 20:42 understand that. And that's why Jesus said: 20:44 "You've got to be born again. " 20:49 Our problem is more than economic as Mark said. 20:54 More than social. In America today 20:58 we think we're going to save the world 21:00 by a new set of elections. 21:02 Dream on. 21:04 It is not political. 21:06 Salvation is not found in the Democratic Party 21:10 and it's not found in the Republican Party. 21:13 Salvation is found in the Jesus Party. Amen! 21:16 You need to know that. 21:18 Our problem is not basically psychological or sexual 21:22 as Freud said. 21:23 We may have all of these problems but they're only 21:26 symptoms. 21:29 We have a disease... every one of us. 21:33 In Africa many years ago 21:35 a young Baptist lady - missionary - was treating 21:39 patients and they were dying like flies. 21:42 The symptoms were all the same: 21:44 a terrible headache on the third day, 21:47 ulcers in the mouth, 21:48 and by about the fifth or the sixth day the person was dead. 21:52 They could do nothing... the Lassa virus. 21:57 And then one day after she had treated a patient - 22:00 done a post-mortem - the knife slipped. 22:06 She ran to the tap and turned on the pressure 22:10 and sponged it as much as she could. 22:12 About three days later she had a headache. 22:14 Then the ulcers at the back of the tongue. 22:16 And then on the sixth or the seventh day she died. 22:19 They flew the organs to New York City 22:22 and doctors - scientists - worked... Are you folks 22:25 listening on television? 22:27 Hey, you better listen to this 22:29 because you may get saved tonight. 22:35 And when they looked at the organs they worked 22:38 in space suits as it were. 22:40 But after a week or two 22:43 of these scientists working on the organs 22:45 several of the scientists got a headache. 22:48 And then the ulcers in the mouth and then they died. 22:52 The American people were not told this as they are not told 22:56 many things. 22:58 You're told what the government wants you to know. 23:04 They thought: "If this thing gets out on the streets 23:07 of New York we're a dead nation. " 23:11 Then they discovered that this terrible virus in Africa 23:15 was spread by rats. 23:18 If you were bitten you were a "gonner. " 23:23 But the Bible teaches me that there is something 23:26 that is more deadly than the Lassa virus 23:30 and you and I are born with it. 23:33 And that is why we find it so hard to think straight. 23:36 It is called sin. 23:38 Romans 6:23. 23:41 Now folks, unless you understand the truth about sin 23:45 you won't understand the good news. 23:46 Who needs good news unless you know the bad news? 23:51 Romans 6:23. 23:53 "For the wages of sin is death... " 23:55 That's why everybody dies: 23:57 because we are a race of sinners. 24:00 If we were a race of perfect people 24:03 we would stop dying. 24:05 "For the wages of sin is death 24:08 but the gift of God is eternal life 24:12 in Christ Jesus our Lord. " 24:14 Are you listening? Amen! 24:16 We are all alike sinners 24:21 but we are not all sinners alike. 24:25 We all have our specialties. 24:30 Sin is everywhere manifested 24:34 including the church... especially the church. 24:39 Hate, lying... lying. Christians lie. 24:45 Not if you're a born again Christian you don't. 24:50 Hate, lying, stealing, slandering, lust, 24:56 the love of power. Not in the church? 24:59 Especially in the church. 25:02 The love of POWER 25:05 so I can dictate to people. 25:08 The love of money, spiritual superiority, 25:12 I am better than you are, racial superiority, 25:17 pride. 25:19 And of course, the sins of the spirit 25:23 are worse than the sins of the flesh. 25:28 Jesus had a great deal of success with prostitutes 25:33 but virtually no success with Pharisees... 25:36 the people in the church. 25:38 It is far harder to save a bunch of religious people 25:44 than it is to save a bunch of atheists... 25:48 and I know. 25:53 Remember the story of the man who worked in the big factory? 25:58 And every night at 5 o'clock when he finished work 26:02 he would walk through the gate of the factory 26:06 pushing a wheelbarrow. 26:10 And they wondered: "What on earth is he stealing? " 26:15 And they would each night take that wheelbarrow 26:19 to pieces and they would search to see what he was stealing. 26:24 After a few months they discovered 26:26 he was stealing wheelbarrows. 26:31 Now listen: we are all pushing wheelbarrows... 26:37 wheelbarrows of one sort or another. 26:41 And that is why we all need redemption. 26:47 Now listen to you... listen to me. 26:49 You... watching the telecast. 26:52 I say it again: Jesus had a lot of success 26:56 with prostitutes, with adulterers, 27:00 but the hardest person to help is the person 27:05 who feels that somehow he is spiritually 27:10 superior. 27:13 Hell is reserved 27:17 with its hottest fires for the religious person 27:22 who is puffed up with pride 27:25 and who wants to control his brethren 27:31 because that's the wheelbarrow that the devil invented 27:35 especially. Would you come over here to Romans chapter 3 27:38 and verse 9? Romans 3 and verse 9. 27:42 Now all you've got to do tonight as you listen to this 27:45 is not say: "Do I believe this or do I not believe this? " 27:50 All you've got to say tonight is: 27:51 "Is this what the Bible teaches? " 27:53 That's what you've got to do. 27:55 We go by sola scriptura. 27:57 Romans 3 verse 9. 28:00 "What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? 28:02 Not at all. We have already made the charge 28:06 that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 28:13 As it is written: 'there is no one righteous 28:17 not even one. ' " 28:19 Verse 23: 28:22 This is a verse we seldom read... seldom believe it. 28:27 "For all have sinned... " That is the past tense. 28:31 "For all have sinned and fall short 28:35 of the glory of God. " When it says "fall short 28:39 of the glory of God" 28:41 that is in the Greek present continuous. 28:47 It means that we continue to fall short 28:52 of the glory of God. 28:55 And every one of us at this meeting tonight 28:58 is a sinner falling short of the glory of God. 29:04 And that is why we need the blood of Jesus. Amen! 29:10 You know what we need also? 29:12 We need a revelation 29:17 like John Newton: a revelation by the Holy Spirit. 29:24 John Newton - converted through the preaching of the Wesleys - 29:30 an Anglican clergyman, 29:34 wrote the great British hymn 29:37 Amazing grace... how sweet the sound 29:42 that saved a wretch like me. 29:46 I once was lost 29:49 but now I am found; 29:51 I was blind but now I see. 29:54 Amen. 29:55 Just before Newton died he went blind 30:01 and he said these words. 30:04 Listen to them: "My memory is almost gone. 30:08 I can remember but two great truths: 30:13 I am a great sinner 30:16 and Christ is a great Savior. " 30:20 I wish every person here tonight, 30:22 I wish every person in the General Conference, 30:26 I wish every person in this 3ABN outfit, 30:30 I wish every person in my church, 30:34 I wish every person on the staff of The Carter Report, 30:38 I wish that every person in every church 30:42 could cry out tonight to God and say: 30:44 "I am a great sinner... " Amen. 30:50 "but Christ is a great Savior. " Amen! 30:57 But remember: sin makes us blind 31:02 to our own faults but very conscious 31:06 of the faults of others. 31:08 Let me talk about the great Savior. 31:13 There was a Russian nobleman 31:15 hopelessly in debt like the United States government. 31:23 And so he got a catalog 31:27 honestly of all his debts. 31:30 And he wrote them down with a shaking and trembling hand 31:36 on a manuscript. 31:38 And then he wrote across this awful list/catalog 31:43 of his debts: "Who can pay all my debts? " 31:48 And then he fell across the page in nervous exhaustion. 31:54 By the grace of God the Czar of Russia - 31:58 Peter the Great - came that day to see his old friend. 32:02 And he came in through the door of the lord's palace 32:07 and he walked into his study 32:09 and there he saw his friend lying prostrate across the list. 32:16 And he noticed the words 32:19 "Who will pay 32:22 all my debts? " 32:26 And the Czar of Russia - Peter the Great - 32:29 picked up the pen and he wrote across it 32:32 "I Peter the Great, the Czar of Russia, 32:37 will pay all your debts. " And he did. 32:45 The Bible tells me that on the cross 32:50 the Son of God opened up His veins 32:55 and He wrote cross the parchment of our guilt 32:59 and our sins He wrote the words 33:02 "I, Jesus Christ - Lord of the universe - 33:07 will pay all your debts. " 33:12 And He did. Praise God. Amen! 33:15 I want you to notice tonight the greatest of all truths. 33:21 Now you may think this is an easy subject to preach on 33:26 because it is the gospel. 33:28 The gospel is the hardest subject I ever preach on 33:32 because for most people it's an incomprehensible mystery. 33:38 And I speak about people in the church as well. 33:43 I've been a pastor for 50 years 33:46 and when this subject is preached unless we have 33:50 a divine revelation we will stay in our sickness 33:54 and in our sin and in our darkness. 33:58 Please open your Bibles and turn with me 34:01 to II Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 20 and 21. 34:07 II Corinthians chapter 5 34:12 and verse 20 and onwards dear hearts and gentle people. 34:18 II Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 20 and 21. 34:22 Those of you watching on television: listen carefully. 34:25 Tonight may be the time when you're going to be saved. 34:28 II Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20. 34:31 Are we ready to go? 34:33 The Bible says: "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors 34:39 as though God were making His appeal through us. 34:42 We implore you on Christ's behalf 34:44 be reconciled to God. 34:47 God made Him who had no sin... " This is Christ. 34:52 "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us 34:57 so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. " 35:04 Listen carefully. 35:06 In my campaigns when I spoke in Port Moresby 35:11 on this subject we had 125,000 people listening. 35:16 Not a stir; not a murmur 35:19 as the Word of God was carried by the Spirit 35:23 into the hearts of the great multitude. 35:26 But I went to my blackboards 35:28 and I wrote it up and the cameras came in close 35:32 and they put it up on the giant screens 35:35 you must use your imagination. 35:39 I put up the cross like a giant T. 35:45 On one side I put Christ; 35:48 on the other side I put humanity. 35:54 On the side of Christ I put sinless. 35:58 On the side of humanity I put sinful. 36:02 On the side of Christ I put righteous. 36:06 On the side of humanity I put unrighteous. 36:12 On the side of Christ I put peace with God. 36:16 On the side of humanity I put despair... 36:21 damnation. 36:24 On the side of Christ I put eternal life 36:28 and on the side of humanity I put eternal death 36:32 with all its terrors. 36:34 On the side of Christ I wrote up heaven 36:40 and on the side of humanity I put down hell. 36:47 And then I said to the great multitude 36:50 "The great Savior came and stood in our place. " 36:58 On the cross... on the cross of Christ in the sight 37:03 of Almighty God Christ became in the sight of God 37:09 the most sinful of men. 37:12 Unrighteous. 37:15 His soul was filled with despair and He cried out 37:20 the cry of dereliction: 37:23 "My God, My God: why have You forsaken Me? " 37:28 Christ did not die as a Christian. 37:32 He died as a doomed, lost soul. 37:37 Unless that penetrates the consciousness of your mind 37:41 you cannot be saved. 37:46 The horror of an awful darkness came upon Him. 37:50 He tasted eternal death; He went through hell. 37:55 He felt the darkness of the atheists... 37:59 the doom of the damned. 38:09 That is why from a heart that was panting 38:14 and a soul in terrible distress 38:21 He said: "Oh My Father, why have You forsaken Me? " 38:27 He went through this so that you and I by the grace of God - 38:32 listen to the words and don't misunderstand them - 38:35 might be accounted... might be accounted... 38:40 might be accounted sinless, righteous, 38:44 have peace with God, 38:46 and have eternal life now 38:49 and have heaven in our soul 38:51 and live forever. 38:54 That is the gospel. 39:01 So it means this: 39:06 that our blessed Lord with His blessed blood 39:10 made an atoning sacrifice 39:13 for the sins of every lost son and daughter. 39:17 For all the descendants of Adam. 39:20 The guilty human race He made an atonement for 39:25 so that if tonight I come as one of those young men 39:30 in Manila who was about to go to the electric chair 39:34 if I come in penitence and faith in Christ - 39:39 sola fide; sola gratia; sola Christus - 39:45 I truly believe in that moment I am saved 39:50 and I pass from death to life tonight. 39:54 Now! 39:59 Do you believe that? Amen. 40:02 Why do you think it's called gospel? 40:05 Because it means good news. 40:08 People tell me: "No, no, no, no... it's not so. 40:10 You've got to work harder. You can't do this. 40:13 You've got to be perfect before you go to heaven. " 40:15 My friend, that is not good news. 40:17 That is the worst news you've ever heard 40:19 because you'll never do it. Amen. 40:23 The good news is that everything that God requires 40:28 of me for time and eternity 40:32 has already been accomplished for me 40:35 in the person of Christ. Amen! 40:42 Now listen: 40:44 to understand this you need a revelation from God. 40:48 What do you say? "No... but I'm an Adventist. " 40:52 Being an Adventist doesn't save you. 40:55 Did you hear what I'm saying? 40:58 Being an Adventist doesn't save you. 41:01 Adventists in the last days... some of them will even get 41:05 the mark of the beast because they are such conformists 41:09 and because they follow the teachings of men 41:13 rather than the teachings of God. Are you listening to me? 41:19 So what we need is a revelation from God. 41:22 Do you know why God has blessed me? 41:24 Do you know why we had the largest crowds in the history 41:28 of the Adventist church? 41:31 The largest crowds in the history of that part 41:33 of the world? I will tell you why: 41:35 it is because of the blood of Christ. 41:39 It is because of the power of the blood of Christ 41:42 ministered by the Holy Spirit. 41:46 And what you need to understand this is a revelation from God. 41:50 People say: "I've never had it. " 41:51 Then, perhaps, friend you're not saved. 41:54 Come over here to Galatians chapter 1 verses 11 and 12. 41:58 Are you folks still listening? Amen! Uh-huh. 42:01 Now my aim in this sermon 42:05 as in every one of my sermons 42:06 is not to win a popularity contest. 42:09 It is to see people saved in the kingdom. Amen! 42:12 Galatians chapter 1 verses 11 and 12. 42:15 Galatians 1 verses 11 and 12. 42:21 Look at these words. 42:22 We don't read Galatians too much because we say "it's too hard. " 42:26 That's what the devil tells you: "Don't read it. " 42:29 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preach 42:35 is not something that man made up. 42:38 I did not receive it from any man nor was I taught it. 42:43 Rather I received it - say it with me - 42:46 by... come on, come on... by revelation. 42:49 How? By revelation. 42:52 How? By revelation from Jesus Christ. Amen! 42:57 Now look at me. 42:59 You can go to church for 100 years 43:04 and sit in the pew. 43:07 You can be the pastor of the church. 43:10 You can be the head... 43:12 No, you can't be the head of the church 43:14 because the head of the church is Jesus. Amen! 43:17 But you can work your way up in the hierarchy 43:22 but unless you've had a revelation from God 43:26 you're not going to heaven. Amen. 43:30 Now what revelation am I talking about? 43:33 The Bible tells me that Paul got a revelation from God. 43:39 We are born with a knowledge of the law. 43:44 You know it's wrong to steal. 43:46 We are born with a knowledge of the law 43:50 but we are not born with a knowledge of the gospel. 43:54 The gospel has got to be revealed to me. 44:00 I've had people come to me 44:02 who've been brought up in the church all their lives - 44:05 officers, ministers - and they've said: 44:08 "After the sermon tonight for the first time 44:12 I am right with God right now 44:15 because God revealed it to me tonight. " 44:22 John Wesley was an Anglican minister. 44:26 That's about as close to earthly perfection as you can get. 44:31 He was an Oxford scholar, a clergyman. 44:36 He had a wig that came down to his shoulders. 44:40 Bless your heart. 44:43 He was a very dapper man. 44:46 He came to America to save the Americans 44:50 but he cried out: "Oh my God, who will save me? " 44:58 There's nothing worse - no greater abomination - 45:00 than a dead man in the pulpit 45:02 talking to dead people in the pews. 45:05 Amen! 45:10 He was invited to go to a gospel meeting 45:13 in Aldersgate Lane in London on a snowy night. 45:18 He went reluctantly 45:19 and a poor, unlettered layman - of course, laymen can't preach - 45:23 Hey, if you're called by God you CAN preach - amen - 45:27 whether you're a man or a woman. 45:29 If you're called by God, you can preach. 45:32 You say: "I don't believe that. " 45:33 Well you don't believe the Bible. 45:36 This poor, unlettered man got up... a lay person. 45:40 There are no... there's no clergy and there's no laity 45:44 in the church. The word laos is the Greek word 45:48 that means the people of God. 45:51 I am a part of the people of God... 45:53 not a clergyman. Goodness. 45:56 I want to be a clergyman? No! 45:58 In Australia they say there are three sexes: 46:02 men, women, and clergymen. 46:05 I want to tell you I belong to the people of God 46:09 but I'm a preacher of the gospel. 46:14 This unlettered layman who had no theological training 46:18 thanks be to God was reading the preface 46:21 of Martin Luther to the book of Romans. 46:24 When Martin Luther describes some of these verses 46:28 and John Wesley got up and he said 46:32 as the man was reading what Dr. Luther said 46:36 "I felt my heart strangely warmed. 46:40 I felt I did indeed trust in Christ 46:44 and an assurance was given me that He'd taken away 46:47 my sins - even mine - and saved me from sin and death. " 46:52 Pray tonight that your heart will be strangely warmed. 46:56 The worldly person watching in Australia: 47:01 you go to church but you've never had your heart 47:05 strangely warmed, you're not going to heaven 47:08 if you should die. 47:12 We are saved when we come with broken hearts. 47:21 Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic theology... steeped in 47:25 Roman Catholic... in theology. 47:28 A Roman Catholic theologian steeped in Roman Catholic 47:31 theology. He had no peace you know. 47:35 Like Mother Teresa, no peace. 47:39 They discovered her letters. An earnest, sincere believer: 47:44 "I'm trying... I'm trying. I want to be like God. 47:48 I want to be like God; I want to be better. " 47:52 She said: "I never knew one day peace with God. 47:56 I seriously contemplated... " she said... "becoming 48:00 an atheist. " 48:03 Like Martin Luther, she had the wrong theology. 48:09 Martin Luther read the expression: "the righteousness 48:11 of God" in the Bible. 48:13 Martin Luther - the character- istic German theologian - said 48:16 when he read about the righteousness of God 48:18 he said with the mind of a lawyer: "I hate it. " 48:23 The old confessor said: "Martin, you can't hate it. " 48:26 He said: "Not only do I hate it, I hate God! " 48:29 He said: "How can you hate God? 48:31 You must love God. " He said: "I hate God 48:34 because God hates me. 48:36 God is righteous; I am sinful. 48:40 How can a righteous God love a sinful man? " 48:45 "All He does, father... 48:47 all He does is condemn me. 48:50 Forgive me, father, " he said to his old confessor. 48:55 Need to study these things. Become thinkers... 49:00 not followers. 49:03 One day they found Martin Luther kneeling before a crucifix 49:07 saying: "For me, for me. " 49:12 That was the birth of a great spiritual movement 49:15 that shook the world called the Reformation. 49:18 There would have been no America without that. 49:22 Martin Luther made the amazing discovery 49:25 that when the Bible talks about the righteousness of God 49:28 it doesn't mean in the book of Romans to condemn us 49:32 but it means a righteousness that comes from God 49:36 and is credited to the sinner's behalf 49:40 because of the blood of Christ. 49:43 That is the gospel. 49:45 Now come to what some people say is the most difficult 49:49 passage in the Bible. That's what the devil tells them. 49:51 Come over here to Romans chapter 3. 49:54 I would recommend that every person learn these passages 49:56 off by heart. The best preachers know the book of Romans 50:00 off by heart. Romans chapter 3 verse 20 and onwards. 50:07 Now you can understand it if you concentrate. 50:10 "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight 50:14 by observing the law. 50:16 Rather through the law we become conscious of sin. " 50:18 The law cannot save because none of us have kept it. 50:21 The law tells us that we are all sinners 50:25 falling short of the glory of God pushing wheelbarrows. 50:29 "But now... " verse 21, "But now a righteousness from God 50:32 apart from law... " Apart from law. 50:35 "has been made known to which the law and the prophets 50:38 testified. This righteousness from God 50:41 comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all... " 50:46 who keep the commandments? No! 50:47 "to all who believe. " There is no difference. 50:51 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... " - 50:54 continue to fall short of the glory of God - 50:56 "and are justified... " - declared righteous - 51:00 "freely by His grace through the redemption 51:03 that came by Christ Jesus. 51:05 God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement 51:10 through faith in His blood. 51:12 He did this to demonstrate His justice 51:16 because in His forbearance He left the sins committed 51:21 beforehand unpunished. 51:23 He did this to demonstrate His justice at the present time 51:27 so as to be just and the One who justifies. " 51:31 Those who have faith in Jesus - listen to me - 51:35 God cannot work a shrewdie. 51:39 God is not a confidence man. 51:44 God says the sinner has to be punished 51:48 and the sinner has got to die. 51:51 That's what the law says. That's what God says. 51:53 God cannot be a fraud. 51:56 He cannot be a put-off 52:02 so He says the sinner must be punished. 52:07 And the sinner was punished to the uttermost part of the law 52:12 when God put his sins upon Christ. 52:17 When God put our sins upon Christ. 52:22 The sinner was punished in Christ. 52:28 The sinner has paid the price of his guilt in Christ. 52:35 Therefore this is not a shrewdie. 52:39 This is legal. 52:41 You and I come in true faith to Christ 52:44 not because of my attainment... not because of my attainment... 52:49 not because of my attainment... because of His atonement - 52:54 Amen! - I am declared righteous 52:58 and I am right with God right now 53:02 tonight if I believe with all my heart. 53:08 That is the gospel. Amen. 53:13 To justify means to declare... not to make. 53:17 Mother Teresa's theology: justification... to make... 53:23 so was never made. 53:26 Hers was the theology of attainment. 53:29 Ours is the theology of atonement. 53:33 We are saved by works... His works. 53:36 We are saved by obedience... His obedience. 53:40 There are two words you should get into your heads tonight: 53:44 standing and state. 53:46 My state is never good. 53:49 Look at me... look at yourself. 53:53 Our state is never, never good. 53:57 We are falling and stumbling and rising 54:00 but by standing 54:04 my status is perfect because of Christ. Amen. 54:11 Standing and state. 54:16 So the proud becomes humble. 54:19 He understands that he's animated mud on the way to dust. 54:24 The money loving becomes the money giving. 54:26 The cold becomes warm. 54:29 The self-righteous becomes a penitent. 54:32 The power hungry becomes a meek servant. 54:35 The immoral becomes pure. 54:37 The proud becomes humble. 54:39 You don't get humble by saying: "Oh, today I'm going to try 54:42 to be humble. " The lazy becomes hard working. 54:46 The legalist becomes merciful. 54:48 The devious becomes transparent. 54:51 The dishonest becomes honest. 54:53 The soul 54:58 is changed. 54:59 You don't get holiness - listen, my Adventist friend, 55:03 my Baptist friend, my Roman Catholic friends - 55:07 you don't get holiness by trying for it. 55:10 You don't get holiness by striving for it. 55:13 It is a by-product of coming to Christ. 55:19 When Cinderella marries the prince 55:22 she's rich. 55:26 You don't have to be good to be saved 55:29 but you do need to be saved to be good. 55:34 Now listen to me. 55:36 You may not make it home tonight. 55:39 I may not see the morning. 55:42 All the religious palaver will not save us. 55:46 Imagine waking up and smelling the sulphur. 55:51 You say: "No, no, no... that's awful. " 55:53 No it's true. 55:55 But you and I tonight can pass from death to life. 55:59 We can know that we're right with God right now 56:02 and we can hear Christ say to us tonight 56:06 "Truly, truly I say to you 56:09 tonight you will be with Me in paradise. " Amen! 56:15 You can know tonight. 56:21 Contrary to a million sermons 56:24 the gospel is not good advice: do this, do that. 56:27 The gospel is good news. 56:31 The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us 56:36 from all sin and we say 56:40 "glory hallelujah. " Let us pray. 56:46 Our Father, Lord we worship You. 56:50 We bless You. 56:51 We praise You. 56:53 We thank you for the blood of Christ. 56:55 Help us to realize tonight two great truths: 56:59 that we are all great sinners 57:01 but Christ is a great Savior. 57:05 We come to Christ tonight in penitence with broken hearts 57:11 and we say "we truly believe. " 57:15 In Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17