I'm John Carter in Moscow.
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In Havana, Cuba.
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Now in Kiev, the
capital of Ukraine.
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I'm John Carter in Petra.
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Right here in Communist China.
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Reporting from India.
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Hi, I'm John Carter
in the Solomon Islands.
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I'm John Carter in
Soweto. From El Salvador.
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I'm John Carter
in Sydney, Australia.
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John Carter tells
"Stories from Down Under,
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Grace Abounding
Where Least Expected."
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Welcome today.
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We're so glad to
have you with us.
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I'm going to talk today about
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"Grace abounding in the
most unexpected places."
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Now I've just come back
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from one of the
most unexpected places
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where you think
you're going to find grace,
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and that is in
the land down under.
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I've got some
terrific stories to tell you.
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Have you ever heard of
the eastern brown snake?
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Well, you're
going to see him today,
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I was gonna say
we brought one along
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so you can look at that.
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But it's the second most
dangerous snake in the world.
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I'm going to show you
a picture of it today.
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I want you to take your Bible
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and come over here
to the Book of Romans,
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please.
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Romans, let me
see where the text is,
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when I get my eyes on.
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Romans 5:20,
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it's one of those
super texts in the Bible.
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Romans 5:20 says,
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"Moreover the law entered
that the offense might abound."
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The Lord doesn't give
us too much good news,
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He tells us that
we are offenders.
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"But where sin abounded,
grace," what does it say?
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"Grace abounded much more."
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Says in the King James
Version, "Where sin did abound,"
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you know, the text,
"grace did much more abound."
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And even though things
may look absolutely bad,
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this is an opportunity
for God's abounding grace.
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In the program last week,
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we talked about that
great text in the Bible
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where God said to His people
in the Book of Deuteronomy,
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"I'm going to make you the head,
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I'm not going to
make you the tail."
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God says, "I'm going
to bless you in this way,
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and I'm going to
bless you in that way."
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And so today, we're going
to talk about not just grace,
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but what is it
called, abounding grace,
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super grace.
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Now, Sydney is my hometown.
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And my town,
which is called Sydney,
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is a secular society.
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When I first came to the
United States of America,
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I was sort of amazed
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by how
religious the people were.
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I went in to buy a motor
car and I got a Bible study.
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I thought there's no
other country like this.
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This is...
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No, it used to be, of course.
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But basically, it is a
very religious country.
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But Australia is not
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altogether very religious.
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The secular media in Australia
would like to have you think
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that Christianity is
finished in Australia.
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But as they said
in that famous movie,
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remember the
line, "You're dreaming."
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You're dreaming,
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if you think Christianity
is finished in Australia.
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Sydney is very
close to my heart.
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In 1982, I had the
privilege of running a campaign
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that lasted for six months
in the Sydney, Opera House.
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Sort of just love that place.
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I know inside,
backside, front side.
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Had tremendous crowds
come to the Sydney Opera House,
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in totally secular Sydney.
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People want to say,
this just doesn't have...
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This is inside the
Sydney Opera House,
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this is inside the
great concert hall.
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Folks find this
hard to believe now,
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but we had the
largest crowds in the history
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of the Sydney Opera House,
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and that record
hasn't been broken.
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And this is going back,
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this is going back to the 1980s,
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and there were
people back there like,
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Doubting Thomas,
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they said, "It can't happen,
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it won't
happen, it's impossible,
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the days of public evangelism."
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Oh, oh, oh, please,
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don't play the old tune to me
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because I believe,
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and you believe
in abounding grace.
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And this, my friend,
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is in secular Sydney
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where the skeptics
in the church said,
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"Can't happen."
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The great Roman
Catholic theologian,
00:05:04.23\00:05:06.94
Saint Augustine said this,
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"Our souls were made for God,
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and they cannot rest
until they rest in Him."
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There's something
inside the human heart
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that is empty,
restless, and lonely,
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and that is
because of the lack of God.
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And even in secular Sydney,
people are hungry for God.
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I want to read you a text,
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I want you to come over
to one of the great texts,
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Matthew 16:13 to 18,
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dear hearts and gentle people,
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here in beautiful
Southern California
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where it's not raining today,
it's a beautiful sunny day.
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Matthew 16:13 to 18,
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"When Jesus came into the region
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of Caesarea Philippi,
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He asked His disciples, saying,
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'Who do men say that
I, the Son of man, am?'
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So they said, 'Some
say John the Baptist,
00:06:08.70\00:06:10.63
some Elijah,
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others Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.'
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He said to them,
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'But who do you say that I am?'
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Simon Peter answered and
said, 'You are the Christ,
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the Son of the living God.'
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Jesus answered and said to him,
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'Blessed are
you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
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for flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you,
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but My Father who is in heaven.
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And I also say to
you that you are Peter,'"
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that means a stone.
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"You are Peter, the
stone, and on this rock,
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I will build My church,
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and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it."
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The church is
built upon the rock.
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That was Peter's confession.
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"I say unto you,"
he said to Christ,
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"You are the Son
of the living God,
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Christ, the Son of
the living God is the rock
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on which Christ
built His church."
00:07:06.29\00:07:08.62
Now, I want you to know this,
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I want this to get down
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under the
molecules of your mind.
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The church cannot be defeated
00:07:14.10\00:07:16.03
because it is
not built upon a man.
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It is built upon Christ.
00:07:18.67\00:07:20.77
The church is not
built upon the pope.
00:07:20.80\00:07:22.74
We're not here to
discuss or argue with the pope.
00:07:22.77\00:07:26.64
But the pope is not the rock,
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the pope is a sinful
human being like you and me.
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And if the church is
built upon a sinful human being,
00:07:35.68\00:07:38.99
that church is going to go down.
00:07:39.02\00:07:42.32
But the true church of
Jesus is built upon the rock,
00:07:42.36\00:07:47.20
and you can't move the rock.
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You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
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You can't get rid of
the church in Australia.
00:07:54.04\00:07:56.94
I don't care what the
secular, liberal media
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tries to brainwash
the people into believing.
00:08:00.38\00:08:03.35
They're wrong.
00:08:03.38\00:08:04.71
Look at this church here.
00:08:04.75\00:08:06.55
This is in Sydney, Australia,
00:08:06.58\00:08:10.35
one of the biggest
churches in the world,
00:08:10.39\00:08:13.25
sending
missionaries around the world.
00:08:13.29\00:08:16.09
They're even
sending, wait for this one,
00:08:16.12\00:08:19.29
even sending
missionaries to America.
00:08:19.33\00:08:25.23
Do you think we need them?
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Yeah, you can't get rid of it,
00:08:28.60\00:08:31.64
can't get rid of the church,
00:08:31.67\00:08:33.64
you can't get rid
of the Kingdom of God.
00:08:33.68\00:08:36.95
The prime minister of Australia,
00:08:36.98\00:08:39.31
the honorable Scott Morrison,
00:08:39.35\00:08:43.02
and the leader
of the opposition...
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This is the prime minister
00:08:46.15\00:08:48.12
and at the center of
the screen, you have...
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This is Parliament House,
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the great city of
Canberra where we have lived.
00:08:54.73\00:08:58.23
This is the
leader of the opposition,
00:08:58.27\00:09:01.07
her Majesty's loyal opposition.
00:09:01.10\00:09:05.14
This is the Westminster system
00:09:05.17\00:09:07.84
where the leader of the nation
00:09:07.88\00:09:09.68
has to go before
Parliament every week
00:09:09.71\00:09:13.01
and be cross questioned.
00:09:13.05\00:09:16.12
Do you think it's a good idea?
00:09:16.15\00:09:18.85
Yes, it is,
00:09:18.89\00:09:20.22
if you want
honesty in government
00:09:20.26\00:09:21.72
and if you want
honesty from the politicians.
00:09:21.76\00:09:28.10
These are
Australia's two main leaders
00:09:28.13\00:09:33.57
and they're both Christians.
00:09:33.60\00:09:38.44
One of the greatest disasters
for the Christian church
00:09:38.47\00:09:41.54
was the invasion of Iraq.
00:09:41.58\00:09:45.21
Most people are not
aware what a disaster it was.
00:09:45.25\00:09:49.68
We know, Iraqi Christians
00:09:49.72\00:09:52.12
who had to flee
from Iraq to Australia,
00:09:52.15\00:09:55.19
America, other countries
00:09:55.22\00:09:56.76
because when Iraq was invaded,
00:09:56.79\00:10:01.70
we almost destroyed
the Christian church
00:10:01.73\00:10:04.10
in the Iraq, did you know that?
00:10:04.13\00:10:06.43
We almost
destroyed the Jewish people,
00:10:06.47\00:10:09.00
they had to flee
and get out of Iraq.
00:10:09.04\00:10:13.51
Tragedy!
00:10:13.54\00:10:16.04
And when somebody was discussing
00:10:16.08\00:10:18.18
the decimation of the
Christian church in Iraq
00:10:18.21\00:10:21.28
because of the invasion.
00:10:21.32\00:10:24.09
An atheist said this,
00:10:24.12\00:10:25.79
"Christian should
not be too worried
00:10:25.82\00:10:28.92
because you
can't kill the church."
00:10:28.96\00:10:32.73
And I don't
care what people say,
00:10:32.76\00:10:34.76
you shouldn't be too worried
00:10:34.80\00:10:36.13
because you
can't kill the church,
00:10:36.16\00:10:38.10
it is built upon Christ.
00:10:38.13\00:10:40.17
And today, I want to give
you some glimpses of grace
00:10:40.20\00:10:43.91
from the most
unlikely place from down under.
00:10:43.94\00:10:48.11
Recently, I went to Manila.
00:10:48.14\00:10:52.35
And firstly, I flew
to Sydney on what I think
00:10:52.38\00:10:55.98
is one of the best
airlines in the world.
00:10:56.02\00:11:00.02
This is not a commercial.
00:11:00.06\00:11:03.22
I flew with Virgin, Australia.
00:11:03.26\00:11:07.96
Just a great airline.
00:11:08.00\00:11:11.47
Now the flight was
delayed in Los Angeles,
00:11:11.50\00:11:13.87
and I had a flight to catch
from Sydney to another place.
00:11:13.90\00:11:17.57
I didn't have a lot of time.
00:11:17.61\00:11:18.94
So I went, and I spoke to
one of the flight attendants,
00:11:18.97\00:11:23.51
and I said,
00:11:23.55\00:11:24.91
"It doesn't appear
00:11:24.95\00:11:26.28
so I'm going to
have a lot of time."
00:11:26.31\00:11:28.62
All she said to me,
"We'll take care of you."
00:11:28.65\00:11:32.35
This is a true story.
00:11:32.39\00:11:35.66
When I got off and I was at
the carousel to get my bags,
00:11:35.69\00:11:41.13
four of these girls came
up to me and surrounded me.
00:11:41.16\00:11:44.80
I thought, you know,
it must be my good looks.
00:11:44.83\00:11:50.67
I just don't...
Can't make this out.
00:11:50.71\00:11:53.04
You know, I had a huge birthday
the other day but I thought,
00:11:53.07\00:11:56.04
you know, it must be, must
be, even I'm getting pretty old,
00:11:56.08\00:12:00.95
I must be looking sort of agile.
00:12:00.98\00:12:04.59
So I said,
"What's up, what's up?"
00:12:04.62\00:12:06.96
They said,
00:12:06.99\00:12:08.32
"We thought you
needed some help."
00:12:08.36\00:12:11.09
That sort of deflated me.
00:12:11.13\00:12:12.99
They said, "We're
not going to leave you."
00:12:13.03\00:12:15.50
They're helping get
my bags off the carousel,
00:12:15.53\00:12:18.90
this Virgin Airlines.
00:12:18.93\00:12:20.27
And then they said,
00:12:23.04\00:12:26.17
"We're going to get you
quickly through customs.
00:12:26.21\00:12:28.28
Have you got
anything to declare?"
00:12:28.31\00:12:29.84
I said, "Not to you."
00:12:29.88\00:12:32.58
They said, "Have you
got anything to declare?"
00:12:32.61\00:12:34.05
I said, "No, no,
I've got nothing.
00:12:34.08\00:12:35.72
I got some chocolates from See's
00:12:35.75\00:12:37.95
and all other sort of stuff."
00:12:37.99\00:12:40.62
So they got around me,
00:12:40.66\00:12:43.06
they took me through.
00:12:43.09\00:12:45.09
It's sort of amazing, isn't it?
00:12:45.13\00:12:46.80
And then, I had to
check my bag in another place.
00:12:46.83\00:12:49.93
One of these girls said to me,
"I'm going to come with you."
00:12:49.96\00:12:53.94
I said, "Are you kidding?"
00:12:53.97\00:12:56.91
She said, "I'm going
to make sure you're okay."
00:12:56.94\00:12:59.84
She helped me get my
bag on, check it through,
00:12:59.87\00:13:03.21
then she said, "You
going to catch this Virgin
00:13:03.24\00:13:05.41
Bus out of here,"
00:13:05.45\00:13:06.78
and gives the gentlemen,
00:13:06.82\00:13:08.38
"this youthful
gentlemen," she said,
00:13:08.42\00:13:10.29
"give him a ticket,
make sure he's got a ticket."
00:13:10.32\00:13:13.25
Then she took me out to the bus,
00:13:13.29\00:13:16.02
caught me up.
00:13:16.06\00:13:17.39
She said,
00:13:17.43\00:13:18.86
"We want to make
sure you're okay."
00:13:18.89\00:13:22.46
Now I thought of
the words of Jesus,
00:13:22.50\00:13:23.97
"The salt
hasn't lost its savor."
00:13:24.00\00:13:27.10
In the most unlikely
place, I thought to myself,
00:13:27.14\00:13:31.14
God has got His
children everywhere, hasn't He?
00:13:31.17\00:13:33.17
You know,
00:13:33.21\00:13:34.54
you don't have to
go into the church
00:13:34.58\00:13:36.81
to find grace.
00:13:36.85\00:13:39.05
Sometime back,
00:13:39.08\00:13:40.42
I was travelling
with United Airlines,
00:13:40.45\00:13:42.88
I'm not giving a plug
for any of these airlines,
00:13:42.92\00:13:44.89
but I like these airlines.
00:13:44.92\00:13:46.79
I was flying on the Dreamliner,
00:13:46.82\00:13:49.59
which I think is just a
greatest plane in the sky.
00:13:49.62\00:13:51.83
I love the Dreamliner.
00:13:51.86\00:13:55.73
I had to travel
from the local airport,
00:13:55.76\00:14:00.44
the domestic airport across
to the international airport.
00:14:00.47\00:14:04.01
And I was carrying two
suitcases and a carry-on,
00:14:04.04\00:14:07.54
and each suitcase
weighed about 55 pounds,
00:14:07.58\00:14:11.41
and I've got big carry-on,
00:14:11.45\00:14:13.85
then I've got a
thing around my neck,
00:14:13.88\00:14:17.39
in around my shoulder.
00:14:17.42\00:14:19.05
And in that bag around my neck,
00:14:19.09\00:14:21.12
I've got two passports,
00:14:21.16\00:14:22.62
Australian passport
and American passport,
00:14:22.66\00:14:25.39
depending on the reception
of the country I go to.
00:14:25.43\00:14:28.16
If I got to a
country and I say to them,
00:14:28.20\00:14:30.30
"Do you like
Americans?" They say, "No."
00:14:30.33\00:14:31.97
I say, "Take my
Australian passport."
00:14:32.00\00:14:33.97
And if I go to a place, I
said, "Do you like Australia?"
00:14:34.00\00:14:36.14
They say, "We can't stand them."
00:14:36.17\00:14:37.51
I say, "I'm an American,
take my American passport."
00:14:37.54\00:14:39.94
Anyhow, I had my
passport, I had $1,500 in cash,
00:14:39.97\00:14:45.08
and my plane
tickets with United,
00:14:45.11\00:14:47.25
when I walked up to the counter,
00:14:47.28\00:14:49.28
I travelled in this little bus.
00:14:49.32\00:14:51.05
Got all my bags
and I'm struggling.
00:14:51.09\00:14:55.12
I go up to the
counter, and I say,
00:14:55.16\00:14:56.86
"No, let me get my tickets."
00:14:56.89\00:15:00.86
No bag...
00:15:00.90\00:15:02.23
no cellphone,
00:15:05.17\00:15:07.27
no wallet,
00:15:07.30\00:15:09.04
no credit card,
00:15:09.07\00:15:11.01
no cash,
00:15:11.04\00:15:12.47
no passport,
00:15:12.51\00:15:14.94
what do you do?
00:15:14.98\00:15:17.28
She said, "Go to lost and find."
00:15:17.31\00:15:19.18
I went to lost and found..."
00:15:19.21\00:15:20.55
No, no, we've
never seen it, no."
00:15:20.58\00:15:23.72
I was hanging
around in lost and found.
00:15:23.75\00:15:26.45
"No, we haven't got it."
00:15:26.49\00:15:28.72
The plane was about to take
off and go back to Los Angeles.
00:15:28.76\00:15:31.83
What am I going to do?
00:15:31.86\00:15:33.19
I can't call Beverley,
00:15:33.23\00:15:34.56
I can't call anybody on my team,
00:15:34.60\00:15:36.87
I got no money.
00:15:36.90\00:15:38.23
Well, what am I going to do?
00:15:38.27\00:15:39.60
I don't even have a credit card.
00:15:39.63\00:15:41.04
I thought, "How
dumb can you get?
00:15:41.07\00:15:43.24
You put all your
eggs in one basket
00:15:43.27\00:15:45.37
and then you lost the basket."
00:15:45.41\00:15:48.31
I left it on the bus,
00:15:48.34\00:15:51.81
so I'm standing
there, and I'm praying,
00:15:51.85\00:15:53.75
and I'm thinking, "Oh God!"
00:15:53.78\00:15:57.75
And then all of a sudden,
00:15:57.79\00:15:59.12
I see the girl
at the United desk,
00:15:59.15\00:16:01.06
she's waving my bag.
00:16:01.09\00:16:04.56
I come over to her
and I almost kissed her.
00:16:04.59\00:16:10.10
She said to me,
"You left it on the bus."
00:16:10.13\00:16:14.40
And she said,
00:16:14.44\00:16:15.97
"A young couple got
on that bus after you.
00:16:16.00\00:16:19.57
They opened it up,
00:16:19.61\00:16:20.94
and they saw your United ticket,
00:16:20.98\00:16:23.45
they saw your name,
and they brought it here.
00:16:23.48\00:16:26.48
They also saw $1500 in cash."
00:16:28.38\00:16:31.59
This happened in Sydney.
00:16:31.62\00:16:33.69
They saw the money,
they saw the passport,
00:16:33.72\00:16:36.16
they saw my wallet,
they saw the credit card,
00:16:36.19\00:16:38.89
and nothing was missing.
00:16:38.93\00:16:40.66
So you find grace
00:16:44.63\00:16:48.84
in the most unexpected places.
00:16:48.87\00:16:50.61
Look at Hebrews 13:5,
dear hearts and gentle people,
00:16:50.64\00:16:56.18
Hebrews 13:5,
00:16:56.21\00:16:59.01
"Let your conduct be
without covetousness,
00:16:59.05\00:17:02.48
be content with
such things as you have.
00:17:02.52\00:17:05.12
For He Himself has said,
00:17:05.15\00:17:06.76
'I will never leave
you nor forsake you.'
00:17:06.79\00:17:10.26
" You get that?
00:17:10.29\00:17:11.63
God won't leave you.
00:17:11.66\00:17:13.06
Even when you've
lost your passport
00:17:13.09\00:17:16.03
and you've lost everything,
00:17:16.06\00:17:17.67
you can be on top
even when you're down under
00:17:17.70\00:17:21.74
and everything
is beating you up.
00:17:21.77\00:17:24.47
I promised to tell you
about the big brown snake.
00:17:24.51\00:17:29.88
Well, one day, I was
staying in Coolangatta
00:17:29.91\00:17:31.71
which is right on the beach,
00:17:31.75\00:17:33.78
the beautiful place
in north New South Wales,
00:17:33.82\00:17:35.82
and one night
later, I went for a walk.
00:17:35.85\00:17:38.22
And as I was going for a walk,
00:17:38.25\00:17:39.59
I had to walk past what
Australians call, a pub.
00:17:39.62\00:17:43.02
You know what a pub is?
00:17:43.06\00:17:44.73
It's a hotel.
00:17:44.76\00:17:46.09
And an old guy came
in, real old Australian.
00:17:46.13\00:17:49.20
And he, little tipsy,
00:17:49.23\00:17:51.43
and he said to me,
"Hey, sir," he said.
00:17:51.47\00:17:54.30
So I would better stop.
00:17:54.34\00:17:56.27
He said, "You
look a very wise man."
00:17:56.30\00:17:59.17
Now he was drunk.
00:17:59.21\00:18:00.58
He said, "You do look a very..."
00:18:00.61\00:18:02.78
He said,
00:18:02.81\00:18:04.15
"Why don't you
and I get together,
00:18:04.18\00:18:05.71
and we're going to
try to straighten out
00:18:05.75\00:18:07.08
all these young people."
00:18:07.12\00:18:08.68
He said, "They are going
off the rails, mate," he said,
00:18:08.72\00:18:11.92
"You and I ought
to get together."
00:18:11.95\00:18:14.26
I said, "Well, maybe
they don't want to listen."
00:18:14.29\00:18:17.89
And then this old
Australian stood there,
00:18:17.93\00:18:19.73
contemplating me, little tipsy.
00:18:19.76\00:18:23.23
And he said,
00:18:23.26\00:18:24.60
"You know what, you're right.
00:18:24.63\00:18:26.70
There's a snake in paradise."
00:18:26.74\00:18:31.17
And so in the best places,
00:18:31.21\00:18:35.61
there's a snake.
00:18:35.64\00:18:37.08
Look at this text
here, Genesis 3:1 and 2,
00:18:37.11\00:18:39.91
snake in paradise.
00:18:39.95\00:18:41.72
Genesis 3, "Now the
serpent," who's that?
00:18:41.75\00:18:44.35
The devil,
00:18:44.39\00:18:45.72
"was more cunning
than any beast of the field
00:18:45.75\00:18:47.66
which the Lord God had made.
00:18:47.69\00:18:49.26
And he said to the
woman, 'Has God indeed said,
00:18:49.29\00:18:52.19
'You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden?'
00:18:52.23\00:18:55.36
And the woman
said to the serpent,
00:18:55.40\00:18:57.07
'We may eat the fruit of
the trees of the garden.'
00:18:57.10\00:18:59.43
" There was a snake in paradise.
00:18:59.47\00:19:05.01
Australia has got the most
deadly snakes in the world.
00:19:05.04\00:19:09.24
The second most deadly snake
in Australia or in the world
00:19:09.28\00:19:14.35
is the eastern brown.
00:19:14.38\00:19:17.92
The most deadly
snake is the inland taipan
00:19:17.95\00:19:22.19
or the fierce snake.
00:19:22.22\00:19:24.66
We have a place in Australia
to which we go on occasions
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.93
and because
it's out in the bush,
00:19:27.96\00:19:30.70
and much of the time uninhabited
00:19:30.73\00:19:35.00
and because it's right
next to a mighty river,
00:19:35.04\00:19:39.37
and there are lots
of rodents in the bush,
00:19:39.41\00:19:41.84
you have this creature,
00:19:41.88\00:19:46.45
the eastern brown snake
00:19:46.48\00:19:49.12
that has enough venom
to kill 20 human beings.
00:19:49.15\00:19:55.56
There is a snake in paradise.
00:19:55.59\00:19:58.63
Number of years
ago, it was winter time.
00:19:58.66\00:20:01.50
I was staying
out there by myself.
00:20:01.53\00:20:04.30
I came down,
00:20:04.33\00:20:05.67
the long flight of stairs
down to the bottom of the house.
00:20:05.70\00:20:09.67
Had no shoes on,
00:20:09.70\00:20:11.04
I didn't bother
turning on the lights.
00:20:11.07\00:20:13.07
I'm padding around in my pyjamas
00:20:13.11\00:20:15.98
and bare feet.
00:20:16.01\00:20:17.78
And I see what
appears to be a rope.
00:20:17.81\00:20:20.32
I think to myself,
00:20:20.35\00:20:22.78
"I don't remember
leaving a rope there."
00:20:22.82\00:20:26.62
So I go and get my
glasses and I come back,
00:20:26.65\00:20:30.83
and lying across the floor
00:20:30.86\00:20:35.30
next to one of the
surface is an eastern brown.
00:20:35.33\00:20:40.44
Fortunately, it's
winter and he's cold.
00:20:40.47\00:20:45.01
But if I'd stepped on
him, like a bolt of lightning,
00:20:45.04\00:20:49.31
he would have
pump venom into me.
00:20:49.34\00:20:52.31
And I would have had
only a short period of time
00:20:52.35\00:20:54.62
to get to the doctor,
00:20:54.65\00:20:56.52
to the hospital
00:20:56.55\00:20:57.89
and receive anti-venom
and be placed on a respirator.
00:20:57.92\00:21:02.16
A dangerous snake,
00:21:05.83\00:21:07.16
so I was able to
get that snake outside.
00:21:07.20\00:21:11.43
I want to you to hear how.
00:21:11.47\00:21:14.87
But there's a snake in paradise
and where there's a snake,
00:21:14.90\00:21:19.17
there is grace.
00:21:19.21\00:21:22.24
There are some
snakes that I have observed
00:21:22.28\00:21:24.51
that are worse
than brown snakes.
00:21:24.55\00:21:28.95
Drugs, coke, heroin,
00:21:28.98\00:21:32.05
addictive pain killers,
00:21:32.09\00:21:34.96
worse than a brown.
00:21:34.99\00:21:37.96
I've met in my
life and you have too,
00:21:37.99\00:21:40.56
many snakes,
00:21:40.60\00:21:43.57
liars, cheats, and frauds.
00:21:43.60\00:21:48.54
There are snakes in paradise.
00:21:48.57\00:21:50.14
Be on your guard.
00:21:50.17\00:21:52.34
But remember,
00:21:52.37\00:21:54.11
Jesus will soon
destroy Satan, the serpent.
00:21:54.14\00:21:59.71
Romans 16:20,
00:21:59.75\00:22:01.82
Romans 16:20,
00:22:01.85\00:22:04.82
"And the God of
peace will crush Satan
00:22:04.85\00:22:07.66
under your feet shortly.
00:22:07.69\00:22:09.59
The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you."
00:22:09.62\00:22:15.03
But there is, and
you should remember this,
00:22:15.06\00:22:18.03
it doesn't matter how
beautiful the circumstances
00:22:18.07\00:22:21.90
or how nice your surroundings,
00:22:21.94\00:22:25.11
there's a snake in paradise.
00:22:25.14\00:22:29.48
I love watching birds.
00:22:29.51\00:22:31.05
One day, I was
standing on my veranda,
00:22:31.08\00:22:35.92
looking out towards the ocean,
00:22:35.95\00:22:39.25
and I was watching
two eagles soaring.
00:22:39.29\00:22:42.72
Ever done this, watch them?
00:22:42.76\00:22:46.09
Weren't flapping their
wings, they're soaring.
00:22:46.13\00:22:48.73
And then I saw a
little mother bird
00:22:48.76\00:22:51.27
beating wings like crazy,
00:22:51.30\00:22:53.77
trying to get altitude
00:22:53.80\00:22:55.20
because she had
a great attitude.
00:22:55.24\00:22:57.04
And off she got...
00:22:57.07\00:22:58.61
And when she got up
high above the eagles,
00:22:58.64\00:23:00.64
she dived bomb them.
00:23:00.68\00:23:04.08
Talk about courage.
00:23:04.11\00:23:06.08
She dived bomb the eagles.
00:23:06.11\00:23:07.82
But they sort of just,
00:23:07.85\00:23:09.88
let it go.
00:23:09.92\00:23:11.25
I stood there
00:23:11.29\00:23:13.22
and I watched
these mighty eagles.
00:23:13.25\00:23:17.39
And as they were
soaring, they weren't flapping.
00:23:17.43\00:23:20.63
No exertion. They
were just, just soaring.
00:23:24.27\00:23:28.17
I stood there and watched them
00:23:28.20\00:23:29.97
until they're up
thousands of feet.
00:23:30.01\00:23:35.24
No hard work.
00:23:35.28\00:23:36.75
You know what I thought?
00:23:36.78\00:23:40.08
It's a bit like grace.
00:23:40.12\00:23:41.45
Most of the time, we
spend our time flapping,
00:23:41.48\00:23:45.35
and fretting, and fussing,
00:23:45.39\00:23:49.82
and salvation is by grace.
00:23:49.86\00:23:52.46
Please look at
Isaiah 40:27 to 31,
00:23:52.49\00:23:55.53
it's one of my favorite texts.
00:23:55.56\00:23:57.57
I read it last night to
a Jewish friend of mine,
00:23:57.60\00:24:01.10
who was a doctor,
00:24:01.14\00:24:02.47
who is not being in good health.
00:24:02.50\00:24:05.47
He's not doing
too well at present.
00:24:05.51\00:24:07.11
He's going to get better though.
00:24:07.14\00:24:09.94
I'm reading this text,
00:24:09.98\00:24:11.65
Isaiah 40:27 and onwards.
00:24:11.68\00:24:15.25
"Why do you say, O
Jacob, and speak, O Israel:
00:24:15.28\00:24:17.69
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
00:24:17.72\00:24:20.72
my just claim is
passed over by my God.'
00:24:20.76\00:24:22.99
" What's God doing?
00:24:23.02\00:24:24.79
"Have you not
known? Have you not heard?
00:24:24.83\00:24:26.53
The everlasting God,
00:24:26.56\00:24:28.00
the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth.
00:24:28.03\00:24:31.10
Neither faints nor is weary.
00:24:31.13\00:24:33.07
His
understanding is unsearchable.
00:24:33.10\00:24:35.44
He gives power to the weak.
00:24:35.47\00:24:38.47
And to those who have no
might, He increases strength.
00:24:38.51\00:24:43.01
Even youths shall
faint and be weary,
00:24:43.04\00:24:45.41
and the young men
shall utterly fall,
00:24:45.45\00:24:47.78
but those who wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength."
00:24:47.82\00:24:51.42
Listen to it.
00:24:51.45\00:24:52.79
"They shall mount up
with wings like eagles.
00:24:56.12\00:25:00.43
They shall run and not be weary.
00:25:00.46\00:25:04.07
They shall walk and not faint."
00:25:04.10\00:25:07.37
Now, my friend,
00:25:07.40\00:25:10.41
I go through life
sometimes fretting,
00:25:10.44\00:25:13.34
fussing,
00:25:13.38\00:25:14.88
trying to get
impossible things to happen.
00:25:14.91\00:25:19.95
The Bible says,
00:25:19.98\00:25:22.68
"Those who wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength."
00:25:22.72\00:25:25.35
I saw this down under.
00:25:25.39\00:25:26.99
They shall mount up
with wings like eagles.
00:25:27.02\00:25:30.26
That's grace.
00:25:33.76\00:25:35.86
It's not hard work.
00:25:35.90\00:25:38.80
It's letting God put His wind
00:25:38.83\00:25:44.01
under your wings.
00:25:44.04\00:25:47.24
And when you have the
wind of God under your wings,
00:25:47.28\00:25:53.55
you'll be on top
00:25:53.58\00:25:56.55
even when you're down under,
00:25:56.58\00:26:01.32
and we'll be
back in just a moment.
00:26:01.36\00:26:03.69
Please stay with us.
00:26:03.73\00:26:05.06
The reviews for the
John Carter biography are in,
00:26:17.04\00:26:19.97
and this is what they say.
00:26:20.01\00:26:22.18
"Anyone who reads
this fascinating book
00:26:22.21\00:26:24.01
and is not moved
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.38
should check to see if
they still have a pulse."
00:26:25.41\00:26:29.65
"I believe this
book about God's miracles
00:26:29.68\00:26:31.79
in Russia and
Ukraine will burn the flame
00:26:31.82\00:26:33.82
in your heart."
00:26:33.86\00:26:36.66
"This could prove to be
one of the most important books
00:26:36.69\00:26:38.99
ever written
about public evangelism.
00:26:39.03\00:26:41.40
Make sure you get a copy."
00:26:41.43\00:26:45.27
"I believe this book
about John Carter's life
00:26:45.30\00:26:47.37
will help readers grasp
a vision for their lives."
00:26:47.40\00:26:49.50
For a donation of $100 or more,
00:26:56.48\00:26:59.25
a signed copy of the John
Carter biography can be yours
00:26:59.28\00:27:02.38
by writing to us
00:27:02.42\00:27:03.75
at the address on the
screen or visit our website.
00:27:03.79\00:27:05.99
Greater Manila is
more than 20 million souls.
00:27:19.87\00:27:23.44
Almost all these
beautiful people are ignorant
00:27:23.47\00:27:26.11
of the true Gospel of Christ.
00:27:26.14\00:27:28.14
Manila needs Jesus.
00:27:28.18\00:27:30.15
Thirty five years ago,
John Carter came to Manila.
00:27:30.18\00:27:33.75
Pastor Carter is
returning to Manila
00:27:33.78\00:27:35.88
with an urgent assignment,
00:27:35.92\00:27:37.55
preach the Gospel of Christ
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.42
and the great
truths of the Bible.
00:27:39.45\00:27:41.59
Don't water down the message.
00:27:41.62\00:27:43.53
Make it plain, make it
clear, make it Christ centered.
00:27:43.56\00:27:47.60
The Carter Report
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00:27:47.63\00:27:50.70
to light a fire
in the Philippines.
00:27:50.73\00:27:52.83
Your gift will help
open the doors of bondage,
00:27:52.87\00:27:55.70
smash the chains of sin,
00:27:55.74\00:27:57.67
and open the gates of paradise
to thousands of lost souls.
00:27:57.71\00:28:01.68
The churches have
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00:28:01.71\00:28:04.08
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00:28:04.11\00:28:06.15
Help us proclaim the
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00:28:06.18\00:28:08.98
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00:28:09.02\00:28:11.25
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