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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – What Do You Live For?

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I saw an advertisement in a computer magazine with a photo of a guy shaving. It asked the question “Is it an alarm or a calling that gets you out of bed in the morning?” That is a very good question. What do you live for? What makes you tick? What do you get up for in the morning?

All of us have something or someone we live for. Some passion, ideal, that drives us on, giving our lives purpose, some sense of meaning, raising it above the level of mere existence. We don’t want our lives on this earth to be some temporary “blip on the screen.”

Paul’s passion was Jesus. The apostle wrote, in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul of course used to be known as the notorious Christian killer, Saul of Tarsus. But Saul met the risen Lord on the Damascus road and had his life forever changed. Now he would serve Jesus with as much passion as he once served Satan. Can you imagine what a different world we’d live in if more Christians served the Lord with the same level of commitment that they used to serve the devil with?

There are two questions every believer should ask. Saul asked two questions on the day of his conversion. “Who are you, Lord?” and “What will you have me to do?” Those would be great questions for you to personally ask Jesus today. Let that calling to serve Him get you up in the morning instead of an alarm clock. He has a plan and purpose for you today!

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Badge of Honor

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Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:10

God takes it personally when His people come under attack, just as you would take it personally if someone were to attack your child or your grandchild.

When Saul of Tarsus, the notorious Christian killer, met Jesus on the Damascus Road, he had just presided over the death of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. Not only that, he was on his way to kill more Christians. So what did Jesus say to Saul? “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).

Notice that He did not say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting My people?” For Jesus, it was personal. In the same way, when God’s people come under persecution, it is personal to Him. So if you are going through some kind of hardship, if you are being harassed, criticized, or persecuted for your faith in Jesus, be encouraged by that.

At the end of the Beatitudes, Jesus said,

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10–12)

Jesus used the word “blessed” twice as He spoke about persecution for His sake to emphasize the generous blessing given by God to the persecuted. Jesus was effectively saying, “Double blessed are the persecuted.” The word “blessed” also could be translated “happy.” It’s as though Jesus were saying, “Happy, happy are the persecuted.”

It isn’t so happy when the persecution is taking place. But you can wear it as a badge of honor that someone would attack you because you so faithfully represent Jesus Christ.

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Desert Training – Greg Laurie

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So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown—Acts 9:28–30

If the apostle Paul had converted to Christianity in our day, he would be offered a book deal immediately. He would be discussing his unexpected conversion on all the talk shows and would be sharing his dramatic testimony in churches across the country.

The problem is that sometimes when a person of some notoriety professes faith in Christ, we Christians immediately want to propel them to the front.

But they may not be ready yet. The Bible tells us that we should not raise up a novice, or a new believer, “because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall” (1 Timothy 3:6). Sometimes a celebrity who professes faith in Christ is elevated to a place of leadership, only to crash and burn later. That is because they weren’t ready. They needed time to prepare.

After Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road, he went on to get his degree: a B.D., or backside of the desert, in ministry. He was sent to the desert, in an exile of sorts, to be prepped for service. Paul didn’t need promotion; he needed seclusion.

In fact, God whipped a lot of His people into shape in the desert. That is where David got ready as he watched his little flock of sheep, never realizing that he was being groomed to be the greatest king in Israel’s history.

Moses spent time in the desert as well. He spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s court, finding out he was a somebody. Then he spent 40 years in the desert, finding he was a nobody.

Then he spent 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who realizes he is a nobody.

The same had to happen for Paul. And the same may happen for you as well.