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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Learning Contentment

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I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.—Philippians 4:11

I read about a man who was very proud of his beautifully groomed lawn. It was absolute perfection—that is until a heavy crop of dandelions came in one year, and he couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them. Finally he wrote an e-mail to an agricultural college and told them about all the things he had tried. He also asked if they had any suggestions.

They responded with a very short e-mail that read, “We suggest that you learn to love them.”

There are times when we find ourselves asking, “How can I get this problem to go away?” or “How can I get this irritating person out of my life?” or “How can I change my circumstances?”

Sometimes God will take the problem away. And sometimes God will say, “You know what? You just have to learn to love them.”

The apostle Paul said, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Paul wasn’t saying that he was necessarily satisfied with his present spiritual condition. And though we need to be content with what we have, we should never be content with where we are spiritually. There should always be a bit of restlessness in our lives to want to learn more, to want to grow more, and to want to be transformed more, recognizing there is still a great distance to run in the race of life for each of us.

But notice that Paul used the word learned. He had learned in whatever state he was to be content. Contentment does not come naturally. We need to learn how to be content because we are naturally discontented people.

Despite what adverse circumstances we may be facing, we can learn to be content in the midst of a troubled world.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Church Growth: When Communers Become Consumers

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“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers . . . And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” —Acts 2:42, 47

Once I had a friend—I’ll call him Bill—who worked out every day at the gym. When we got together, he liked to flex his bicep and say, “Greg, feel this!” Bill’s muscles were rock hard. Then one day I heard terrible news. Bill had died of a heart attack. Even though he appeared robust and powerful, his heart was diseased. Inwardly, as it turned out, Bill was a weakling.

I keep Bill in mind when I think about the church today. Outwardly everything can look promising. A ministry may appear to be going very well. Yet the inside reality can be another story. What makes a church body grow big doesn’t necessarily make it grow healthy.

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of large churches, including “megachurches” (congregations of 1,000 or more), around the country. As a result of pastoring a large congregation, I’m frequently asked about our success at Harvest Christian Fellowship. What kind of church-growth formula do we follow? Can what we do at Harvest be applied to any church, anywhere, with similar results?

I understand these questions and the motivations behind them. Pastors would rather preach to people than to open spaces. And let’s face it, something would be terribly wrong if Christians weren’t interested in seeing churches grow. But it’s time to take a hard look at what church growth means.

In an article entitled “The Myth of Church Growth” featured in Current Thoughts and Trends, David Dunlap cites some troubling statistics.

For example, during the very time megachurches have sprouted across the landscape, the proportion of Americans who claim to be “born again” has remained a constant 32 percent. According to Dunlap, growth isn’t coming from conversions but from transfers—up to 80 percent of all growth taking place today. He goes on to quote C. Peter Wagner, one of the leading spokesmen for the church-growth movement, who admits, “I don’t think there is anything intrinsically wrong with the church growth principles we’ve developed. . .yet somehow they don’t seem to work.”

I would suggest that one reason they don’t work is because they tend to approach church as if it were a business. For example, some church growth experts are telling pastors their “customers” no longer attend to commune with God, but to “consume” a personal or family service. In a survey of 1,000 church attenders, respondents were asked, “Why does the church exist?” According to 89 percent, the church’s purpose was “to take care of my family’s and my spiritual needs.” Only 11 percent said the purpose of the church is “to win the world for Jesus Christ.”

These attitudes concern me and many other observers deeply. A business-driven response may make things only worse. In the long run, if we train consumers instead of communers, we’ll end up with customers instead of disciples. It might fill up an auditorium, but it will never turn the world upside down for Christ.

The last thing I want to do is discourage any person or ministry, or cause division. We must be careful about limiting the ways God can work; but we also need to be aware of how our strategies—even well-intentioned, statistically valid ones—can actually take us off course.
Allow me to suggest how certain popular church-growth “rules” can put a church’s health at risk when slightly misapplied or taken to extremes.

Church-Growth Risky Rule #1:

If it brings people in, it pleases God.

Recently, I attended a pastor’s gathering where many participants expressed frustration with the lack of numerical growth in their churches. One pastor said to me, “My feeling is, whatever works, and if it pleases God, that is what I want to do.” I understood his good intentions, but I couldn’t agree with him. “You know, I don’t want to be nit-picky,” I said, “but I really have to differ with you. It’s not whatever works; it is whatever is pleasing to God. Period.”

Why? Because if it’s pleasing to God, it will work. If there was ever a church growth plan that did work, it was the one the early Christians used. Talk about numbers. Talk about effectiveness. This church exploded. Why? Because they knew why they were here on earth and what they were supposed to do.

A careful reading of Acts 2:42–47 shows that the early church didn’t make bigger and better their business. Instead, they focused on five priorities: worship, prayer, evangelism, learning, and loving. The passage ends with the words, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (KJV). The first church didn’t have a problem with growth because God took care of the growth as they took care of honoring His principles.

Church growth is ultimately God’s business, not ours to control. Our commission is to live out the gospel individually and whole-heartedly in community. Then, in keeping with God’s will, “the Lord added to the church daily” will become the success story of our church. Not every pastor will necessarily have a “megachurch,” but he will have a growing one.

Church-Growth Risky Rule #2:

The less confrontational or overt the gospel message, the better.

One positive aspect of the recent growth movement is the emphasis on getting nonbelievers to come to church. I’m concerned, however, that in a sincere effort to get their churches to grow, some pastors are exchanging entertainment for exhortation and gimmicks for the gospel. We recently conducted a survey at our church and found that over 40 percent of those who attended had become Christians at one of our services. If people walk away from our services with a good feeling but no idea who Jesus is, I know we have really missed the boat.

Graham Scroggie said compromise is what “prompts us to be silent when we ought to speak for fear of offending.” Of course, drama, videos, music, and other media used to communicate Christian faith in churches today aren’t compromises by themselves. Yet we must be sure that gimmicks don’t take the place of the gospel. Let’s be sure we are actually proclaiming the whole gospel—including sin, judgment, and salvation.

Church-Growth Risky Rule #3:

Find out what your church is hungry for and feed it to them.

People and churches develop an appetite for what they are accustomed to being fed. A church with a steady diet of feel-good sermonettes in place of solid teaching from Scripture might eventually grow to become a large congregation—but it will be weak and immature.

You could easily conclude that many congregants want the church to be light and hassle-free. No heavy meals or five-course messages. But just because people have developed an appetite for empty calories doesn’t mean their bodies have no need for nutritious meals.

When our two boys were younger, they didn’t understand why my wife, Cathe, and I wouldn’t let them exist on a steady diet of Hostess Twinkies and Ding-Dongs. Nevertheless, we insisted on a balanced diet. Why? Because the boys’ appetites didn’t feed their real, long-term hungers.

There’s a reason Scripture tells pastors to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). Whether they always feel it or not, human beings have a deep need to know the meaning of life and the reason for their existence. The answers people need can be found only in God’s Word and in a living relationship with Jesus, “the bread of life” (John 6:35).

Church-Growth Risky Rule # 4:

Target your church to a particular demographic.

Despite their diversity, the believers of the early church maintained a love and unity so powerful that they enjoyed the favor of all (Acts 2:47). Who wouldn’t want to join in on such a love feast? As a result, their numbers exploded and thousands came to Christ. Nevertheless, one trend in church growth is the attempt to target churches to a particular niche of “consumers.” You might call these designer churches. Every decision has a particular “consumer” in mind.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with trying to find ways to reach out to a specific segment of society and make a connection or with using common interests as a springboard for the gospel. Yet we need to be cautious about mistaking our circles of comfort for our calling. Philip went to an Ethiopian court official (Acts 8); Peter went to a Roman centurion named Cornelius (Acts 10); Paul went to a Philippian businesswoman (Acts 16). Each one of those contacts was instrumental in helping to spread Christianity around the known world.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Sermon Connoisseurs

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Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me–everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.—Philippians 4:9

I fear there are a lot of sermon connoisseurs running around today. You’ve probably heard them on occasion. They like to compare preachers: “Well, I like this preacher. He’s good in this area, but he’s weak in this other area. Now this other guy. . . .”

But this isn’t the Battle of the Bands; this is the Word of God. We need to take what God says and then apply it to our lives. If we do, we’ll be able to withstand the temptations and the tests of life. And if we don’t, then we’ll collapse like a house of cards.

Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock” (Matthew 7:24–25).

We can attend Bible studies all week long, but they won’t do us any good if we don’t apply what we’ve learned. The Bible tells us that we are not just to be hearers of the Word, but doers. And if we are hearers only, then we are like people who look at themselves in the mirror and then forget what they look like (see James 1:22–24).

What you choose to do with God’s Word is up to you. Either you are going to apply it, or you are not going to apply it. Either you will decide to fill your mind with junk, or you will decide to guard your mind and fill it with the Word of God and make right decisions for right living.

Pray that God will give you the power to live the life He has called you to live.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Mind Control

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And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.—Philippians 4:8

We decide what we put into our mouths. Food doesn’t simply jump in. We decide whether we will eat this or won’t eat that. We pick it up, take a bite, chew it (hopefully), and then swallow it. And when we start putting on weight, it’s happening because we put the wrong things in our mouths.

In the same way, we decide what goes into our minds. We let certain thoughts in, and we keep certain thoughts out. This is important, because the first temptation that came to Eve was to think wrong thoughts about God. We read in Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden” ‘?”

Notice that he didn’t come to Eve and say, “Hi. I’m the Devil, the enemy of God. You’ve probably heard about me.” No, he was more subtle. He came slithering in like a snake.

As a kid, I collected snakes. I had tropical fish and birds, but I had snakes too. The thing with snakes is they are always getting out of their cages. They can get out of the smallest of spaces, so you have to really keep your eye on a snake.

That is what the Devil is like. And that is why we need to control what goes into our minds. It is there that we dream. It is there that we contemplate. It is there that we reason. With our minds we can reach into the past through our memories and reach into the future through our imaginations.

So train your mind to think properly and biblically, not emotionally. Fill it with the Word of God.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – “Your Will Be Done”

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Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

—Ephesians 3:20

Do you say yes to everything your children ask for? I hope not. If they had their way, kids would eat candy for breakfast and watch cartoons or play video games all day—or do all those things at the same time, while they are texting.

When you ask God for something, He may say no, and you may think that God is so unfair. But did you ever consider that God has something better for you? Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” That is why you should never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God. You should never be afraid to say, “Your will be done.”

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven . . .” (Matthew 6:9–11). Before offering a word of personal petition, we should first pray, “Your will be done.”

We also read in Philippians 4:6–7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

What does God promise that He will do if we pray this way? He promises to bring us peace. And “His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Proverbs 15:15 says, “He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.” The Bible promises a cheerful heart to the follower of Christ.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Even the Smallest Details

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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6

When I was growing up, pet stores would sell little bunnies and blue– and pink-dyed chicks during the Easter season. People would buy these cute little bunnies and chicks and take them home, but the problem of course is that little chicks turn into chickens, and little bunnies become full-grown rabbits. They grow up. Little things turn into big things.

When it comes to prayer, we sometimes only think about the big things. But nothing is too small to bring to God in prayer. He is interested in even the smallest details.

The apostle Paul said in Philippians 4, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (verse 6). Notice he didn’t say, “In only the big, hairy, scary things of life, pray. Only pull out the prayers when things get really bad. Otherwise, just sort it out yourself.”

Rather, Paul said, “In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Little things turn into big things. And little problems turn into big problems.

Nothing is too small or too big to bring to God. “In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Do I give thanks to God before the prayer is answered? Absolutely. Do I offer thanksgiving to God even if He doesn’t answer the prayer the way that I prayed it? Absolutely. Because God is in control, and He has a purpose.

If we see God in all of His glory, we will see our problems in their proper perspective. It is not that your problem isn’t serious; it is just that your God is greater. And if you see that, it will change the way that you pray.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Continual Feast

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All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. —Proverbs 15:15

The Bible promises a cheerful heart to the follower of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 15:15 says that “a merry heart has a continual feast,” and Psalm 16:11 tells us that “in [His] presence is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Yet some believers walk around and act as though they’ve been baptized in lemon juice. They are always down about something. Yet the apostle Paul, in the worst circumstances imaginable, said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). He was effectively saying, “Look, if I can rejoice where I am, then you definitely can rejoice where you are.”

Anyone can rejoice when things are going reasonably well. But when you are facing adversity or hardship or sickness, and you still rejoice, then you are obeying God.

Consider the words of Habakkuk 3:17–18: “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk didn’t say he would rejoice in his circumstances; he said he would rejoice in the Lord.

That is like saying, “Even when the car has been repossessed, there are unpaid bills piled up on the kitchen counter, and everyone in the family is sick, I’m still going to rejoice in the Lord.”

God is still on the throne. God still loves us. And God has promised that He can work all things together for good to those who love Him. He has also promised that He will never leave or forsake us. So we can rejoice.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Christ’s Call to Courage

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Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  —Isaiah 41:10

 

Courage seems to be in short supply these days. And what is courage? Courage has been defined as bravery. It also has been defined as fear that has said its prayers. Being courageous is overcoming something. It was Mark Twain who said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

A courageous person is not one who is fearless. That is essentially a stupid person. A courageous person is someone who can control his or her fear and then do the right thing. It is overcoming the fear that you naturally have.

We certainly see courage on display among firefighters and those who are in law enforcement. Every day they put on their uniforms and put their lives at risk. And certainly our brave soldiers who are serving our country display courage every single day. We read periodically of acts of heroism. I wish we would read more about these things, because they happen all the time. But they are not in the headlines as often as they really ought to be.

I read an article awhile back about Pfc. Ross McGinnis, who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq. While perched on a gunner’s hatch of a Humvee that was carrying four of his fellow soldiers, a grenade whizzed past him. In a split second, McGinnis did the unthinkable. He shouted a warning to the others and threw himself on the grenade, absorbing its full impact. He was killed immediately, but he saved the lives of the four other soldiers. He was the fourth soldier in the Iraq war to be awarded the Medal of Honor. That is courage. McGinnis didn’t have time to think about what he was doing. He just did it.

There are other kinds of courage, too. There is moral courage. That is the ability to do right in the face of opposition or discouragement. Having moral courage means being an honest person. It means that you have integrity. It means that you don’t cheat on the test, you don’t cheat on your taxes, and you don’t cheat on your spouse. We need more moral courage today. Moral courage is honoring the vows you made to your wife or your husband. It takes courage to stand by your vows. It takes courage to stay sexually pure before marriage and to resist the temptations that come your way when you are married.

We all need courage in our lives. And none other than the apostle Paul needed a call to courage.

Paul was not afraid of death or even hardship. The only thing that Paul seemed to fear was the disapproval of God. How do you stop a man like that? Answer: You don’t. This is why God used him in such an amazing way. And that is why Paul and the others turned their first-century world upside down. But even Paul had moments of discouragement.

Paul had been determined to return to Jerusalem, even though he had been warned not to. And sure enough, he was arrested and thrown into prison. Then he was brought before the ruling religious party, and he gave a defense for himself. Next we read in Acts 23:11, “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome'” (NLT).

Paul’s middle name could have been trouble. There was never a dull moment with this guy. It was always something. But on this particular night, he seemed to be deeply discouraged. Why? Because the Lord came to him and said, “Be encouraged.”

We have to understand what Christ was saying to Paul. How could he be of good cheer in a cold, damp, dark dungeon? This would be the equivalent of someone coming up to you when you are really in pain and saying, “Hey, man, cheer up! Gray skies are going to clear up. Put on a happy face!” That is not a good thing to say to someone who is down. In fact, by saying that, you could actually make a person more miserable.

But Jesus wasn’t simply telling Paul to cheer up. The word used in this text for “cheer” is really not the best translation of the word. The fact is that cheerfulness is the outcome of what Jesus actually commanded. He did not command Paul to simply be cheerful or to smile. A better translation of what Jesus was saying would be, “Be of good courage.”

This is an interesting phrase that we see used a number of times in the New Testament. The first time we see it is in Matthew 9:2. There was a man who was a paraplegic, and he was carried by his friends into the presence of Jesus. Jesus saw this man and said, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Then Jesus told him, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (verse 6 NKJV), and the man did it.

This shows us that God does His part and then we must do ours. God gives His forgiveness to us, and we must accept that forgiveness.

It also shows us that God’s power gives courage. His power will be there to help you in your time of need. Sometimes we wonder: What if I am tested above my ability to endure? What if I am tempted above my capacity to resist? You never will be, because God knows your breaking point. And He never will give you more than you can handle.

When I talk to people who are going through very difficult suffering, I find myself asking: Would I have the attitude they have if I were going through that? And, I don’t think I can do what they are doing right now. But if God were to ask you to do something, then He would give you the strength to do it.

It comes down to this: I would rather be in a jail, or in a storm, or in a hardship, with Jesus, than anywhere else without him. A nice, happy place with Jesus is good, too. But the thing is that He is with us wherever we go. And that is what God was saying to Paul: You are not alone.

God is with us in the good times, and He is also with us in the bad times.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Pray about It

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Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. —Luke 18:1

Even if prayer were a difficult thing to do, which it is not, or an unpleasant thing to do, which it is not, we should pray because we are commanded in the Scriptures to do so. Prayer is God’s appointed way for us to obtain things. This doesn’t mean that God is like some big Santa in heaven. The fact is that the Bible tells us we should go to God with our needs. And we all have needs.

Jesus said, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9–11). Jesus taught that we are to approach God with our needs.

Do you have needs right now? Pray about it. Do you need His provision? Pray about it. Do you need His healing touch? Pray about it. Go to God with your request, and your Heavenly Father, who knows you need these things, will hear you.

James 4:2 tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Think about that. You may wonder, Why is it that I never know what the will of God is for my life?

Answer: You do not have because you do not ask.

You might say, “Why is it that I never have the opportunity to lead people to the Lord?”

Answer: You do not have because you do not ask.

I wonder how many answers to prayer would be waiting for us if we were to just pray about it, if we just said, “Lord, I’ve never actually brought this before You, but I’m praying about it now.” The worst-case scenario is that God will say no. But what if God says yes?

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – How to Win against Worry

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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.—Philippians 4:6

Do you remember when you first got behind the wheel of a car? You had to consciously think about everything you did. Okay, let’s see . . . key in the ignition, look over your shoulder, and pull out. You had to think about it. It was challenging at first. But after a while, you got it down, and now it comes naturally. You don’t even think about driving anymore. You just get in the car and drive. It’s a conditioned reflex.

A conditioned reflex is something you learn. You teach yourself to do it, and through repetition, you find yourself doing it naturally. Then there is a normal reflex, which comes naturally. For instance, if you touch a hot iron, you will pull your hand away quickly because it’s hot. A child will do that too.

We also have normal and conditioned reflexes to fear and worry. Our natural tendency when we are in trouble is not to pray but to worry. Something happens, and we begin going through scenarios that stack up in our minds like dominoes. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if this other thing happens? The normal reflex when we are in trouble is to worry.

But what we need to teach ourselves to do is to pray. That is a conditioned reflex. It is not what we naturally want to do. When we get bad news, what should we do? We should stop and pray. That is what the Scriptures tell us to do.

Often when we are facing adversity, our first instinct is to turn to people for help. And there is no question that God can work through people. He can provide through family and friends and help us. But ultimately we should turn to God when trouble comes.

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Enough for Today

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“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” —Matthew 6:34

Have you ever been gripped by fear? You know the feeling. Your blood goes cold. You get that shiver down your spine. Your hair stands on end. (In my case, that is singular, not plural.) Your stomach sinks. Your mouth goes dry.

Then there is the other emotion that is often coupled with fear, and that is worry. There are a lot of things people can worry about today. The state of our country. Our economy. Terrorism. The threat of a war. We are a nation filled with worry.

But there is nothing productive about it. In fact, the word worry comes from an old German word that means “to choke” or “to strangle.” And that is exactly what worry does. It chokes you spiritually. It creates an emotional and mental stranglehold on your life. It doesn’t ever make anything better. In fact, it makes things worse. That is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34).

Paul tackled this problem in Philippians 4 when he wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (verse 6). Where was Paul when he wrote those words? He was incarcerated in Rome. He didn’t know what was going to happen to him. So there was Paul in a difficult situation, and what did he say? “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”

What happens with worry is that our hopes pull us in one direction while our fears pull us in another. When you worry about the future, you cripple yourself in the present. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – New Every Morning

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Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.—Lamentations 3:22–23

Sometimes I will run into people I knew years ago, and they will say, “Hey, Greg, we remember the old days back at the tent [at Calvary Chapel]. Those were good days, weren’t they?”

“Yeah, those were great days,” I will say. “So anyway, where are you going to church now?”

“We don’t go to church. We’re still living off the tent.”

They need to get current. That was then, this is now. For some people, it is all about what God did thirty years ago or twenty years ago. But I am interested in what God is doing today. And I want to see what He will do tomorrow. The past is interesting to me only to the extent that I can learn from it so I don’t make mistakes that I have made there. I can also remember some great things that God did and pray that He will do them again.

There’s a place for remembering, but let’s not be crippled by past victories that stop us from doing what God wants us to do today. The Bible says that His mercies are new every morning (see Lamentations 3:22–23).

That is why Paul could say, “Forgetting those things which are behind . . .” (Philippians 3:13). If anyone could have rested on his laurels, it was Paul. He had a pedigree that didn’t stop (see Philippians 3:4). And if anyone could have been crippled by his past, it was Paul. Before he was the great apostle, he was the notorious Saul of Tarsus, the Christian killer. But Paul wouldn’t allow himself to be crippled by past sins or to be distracted by past victories. Nor should we.

God wants to do a fresh work in your life today—and He wants to do another one tomorrow.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Put It Away

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“No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’ “—Jeremiah 31:34

I read about an interesting custom that takes place every New Year’s Eve in Italy. Just before midnight, the streets are cleared. Even the policemen take cover, because at the stroke of midnight, the windows of the houses fly open, and to the sound of laughter, music, and fireworks, everyone throws out what they no longer want. Old dishes, hated furniture, and some personal possessions are tossed out of the windows. It’s a way of dealing with the old year, wiping it out, and starting fresh. I like the idea of that.

The apostle Paul said in Philippians, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (3:13). To forget something does not mean failing to remember; it means no longer being influenced or affected by it.

When God promised, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34), it is not suggesting that God was having a lapse in memory. He knows everything. He remembers everything. When God says He is choosing not to remember something, it means that He is putting it away.

We can put it away as well. We break the power of the past by living for the future. And we should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. Sometimes we are crippled by the things we have done wrong. Instead, we should learn from our mistakes and fail forward, which means not doing the same things again. Otherwise, we haven’t learned anything.

It’s a serious sin to do the wrong thing, but what is even worse is to repeat it. And one sure way to forget our past is to not repeat our mistakes.

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light – Set Up For Disappointment

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“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” Psalm 146:3

The media continually bombard us with images of broken trust: spouses who cheat on each other; politicians who break promises; corporate chiefs who steal from their employees.

The list goes on and on. People in positions of responsibility should be held accountable to the highest moral and ethical standards. Yet each of these people is a mortal creature with a natural bent toward sin. The minute we begin placing our deepest faith and trust in human beings, we set ourselves up for severe disappointment.

What does this mean for marriage? Even in the best of relationships, husbands and wives may err and break the other’s trust. That’s why we must rely on God’s power—not our own—to lead honorable lives. When husbands and wives commit themselves to live according to God’s ways, a bond of trust develops between them. Though none of us is perfect, we can give our heart confidently to our spouse when we know that he or she is genuinely seeking to follow God and His guidelines.

Just between us…

  • Has someone in a position of responsibility ever broken your trust?
  • Is it ever difficult for you to trust me?
  • Knowing our sinful nature, how can we still earn each other’s trust?
  • How do you think the Lord blesses spouses who trust each other?
  • How might we develop an even deeper level of trust in our relationship?

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are completely worthy of our trust. As my spouse and I commit ourselves to being trustworthy with each other, empower us by Your Spirit. Grant us grace when we fail. And bless us, we pray, with joy and confidence as we make trustworthiness a priority. Amen.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – What’s the Big Deal About Israel?

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“I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves”—Zechariah 12:2–3

Why is Jerusalem such a big deal in world news? Why aren’t we talking about Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, or some other major capital in another part of the world? Why this little city?

I will tell you why. Because God said that in the last days, Jerusalem would play a key role: “I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:2–3 NLT).

Scripture also foretold in Ezekiel 37 that the Jews would be regathered in their land, and this prophecy was fulfilled when Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. After Ezekiel 37 comes Ezekiel 38, which speaks of an attack against Israel by a large nation to the north of the Jewish homeland, accompanied by a number of allies invading Israel from every direction. Scripture emphasizes multiple times that this will happen in the last days. This is still in the future.

In speaking of Israel’s enemies, Ezekiel 38:8–11 offers an interesting detail:

“A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.

“You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, “Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!”‘” (NLT).

These people who live in such confidence? Can you imagine that statement being made right after the Holocaust? Hardly. Can you imagine that statement being made after Israel was established as a nation, or even after the 1967 war? Not really. But today Israel has one of the most powerful and effective military forces on the face of the earth. They are not the largest, but they are known for their military prowess and for their military intelligence. And for quite a long time now, they have had nuclear weaponry. That is why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stood before the United Nations and made it very clear that, if necessary, Israel will exercise a military option to protect herself. So I think Israel does live within a certain degree of confidence today that they have never known historically.

In an address to the United Nations, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Iran’s apocalyptic leaders believe that a medieval holy man will reappear in the wake of a devastating Holy War, thereby ensuring that their brand of radical Islam will rule the earth. That’s not just what they believe. That’s what is actually guiding their policies and their actions.”

And that is true. Because in his address to the United Nations, Iran’s former leader Ahmadinejad stated, “God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam A1-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ. Peace be upon him and the righteous.”

This Islamic messiah, this 12th Imam, according to their beliefs, will bring about an Islamic kingdom. But also according to their beliefs, the Judeo-Christian civilization must be destroyed first. For this 12th Imam to come, they believe, there must first be chaos.

Could this be what brings about the scenario predicted in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel (see chapters 38 and 39)? No one can say with certainty. But this much we must acknowledge: It certainly could be. We see how things are lining up.

Up to this point, the United States has been a staunch ally of Israel’s. And I believe that one of the reasons God has blessed our nation is because of our continued support for Israel. But it would appear these days that we are backing away from her. And according to Bible prophecy, one day, there will be no great ally behind Israel. She will stand alone when she is attacked by an enemy from the north and its allies.

The Bible also predicts that a national revival will come to Israel, when God will once again pour out his Spirit upon the nation. But this will happen after the rapture of the church. Romans 11:25 predicts, “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.”

I have met people who can quote chapter and verse and give a good overview of the proper chronology of events of the end times, yet they are not living godly lives. And they are missing the point. If knowing what the Bible predicts about the last days doesn’t impact us in the way that we live, then we have missed what God is trying to say. Jesus didn’t say, “When these things begin to happen, argue about it.” Rather, he said, “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28 NKJV).

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – So Far to Go

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Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:13–14

When my friend John Collins, who is one of our pastors at Harvest Christian Fellowship, met Billy Graham for the first time, he thanked him for his faithfulness to the Lord.

Billy Graham replied, “I wish I could have done more.”

John thought, If Billy Graham says that, what about me?

Billy Graham wasn’t saying that to be humble. He really meant it. And that shows he is a real man of God, because he realizes he has so far to go.

The apostle Paul felt the same way. He said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). Here was one of the greatest Christians in human history saying that he had not arrived spiritually. He was saying he had so far to go.

Talk about bragging rights. Can you imagine a bunch of guys getting together and hanging out with Paul?

One guy might say, “Hey, you know what? The Lord spoke through me today.”

Another might say, “Well, the Lord led me to share my faith.”

Paul could say, “Well, God gave me inspired letters, called the Epistles, which basically take up half of the Bible.” Okay. Who can top that? But in actuality, Paul never said things like that, although it was the reality of his life. He was so close to God. And if anyone could rest on his laurels, it would have been Paul.

Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare themselves with other Christians. But that isn’t what they ought to be doing. If the apostle Paul could say of his life, “Not that I have already attained,” then certainly we all have a long way to go.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Suffering God

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This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.—Hebrews 4:15–16

When hardship strikes some people, they will turn away from God. Something bad happens to them that doesn’t make sense, and they conclude there can’t be a God if something like that could happen to them. They turn against Him and essentially find a belief system that accommodates their feelings.

But our God is a suffering God. Jesus Christ was God incarnate, and no one ever suffered like Jesus. Not only did He endure the physical pain of the whipping, beating, and the crucifixion, but He bore all the sins of the world on Himself as He hung on Calvary’s cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46).

When you are suffering, you need to know that you’re talking to a God who knows what you are going through. You will find in Jesus a merciful High Priest and a faithful friend who feels your pain. Hebrews 4:15 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”

We can’t live in a pain-free world, as much as we would like to try. When trouble comes (and it will come), when crisis knocks at your door (and it will knock), you can either become angry at God or turn to Him and trust in Him.

Here is your choice in life: you can become better or bitter. It is usually one or the other. When something bad happens, you can say, “I am mad at God. I am bitter with God.” Okay. That is your choice. But you can also say, “I am going to trust in God. I am going to cling to God.” And you will become better as a result. It is really up to you.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Run Lightly

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All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. —1 Corinthians 10:23

I used to be one of those people who could eat whatever I wanted and never gain weight. When I was in my twenties, I would eat something called a macho combo burrito. It was the size of a sleeping bag, but I could eat it and never gain a pound. Now if I even think about a macho combo burrito, I’ll put on weight. I just can’t do what I once was able to do.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” What may be a weight to one person isn’t necessarily a weight to others. Sometimes we’ll see another Christian doing something, and we’ll say, “Well, I’ll go ahead and do that too.” But what may not be a hindrance to another person can be a hindrance to you.

Sin is sin. And sin is the same for everyone. But there are certain things that some may have the freedom to do that others don’t have. So we have to look at those things and not simply ask whether they are permissible. We also need to ask whether they are edifying. It is not a matter of asking, “Is this allowed?” It’s a matter of asking, “Is this going to build me up?” So ask yourself that question.

The apostle Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23). In other words, just because something is permissible for a Christian doesn’t mean that you ought to do it. Maybe it could hurt you. Let’s run as lightly as possible in the race of life.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Wings and Weights

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Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. —2 Timothy 2:22

Have you ever noticed that when you hang around certain people, you end up eating the wrong things? They always want to order the pizza or the hamburgers and French fries and onion rings. Then there are the people who eat very well, and when you are around them, you kind of adapt and make healthier choices too.

In the same way, there are some people who either will drag you down spiritually or make you want to do better spiritually. There are some people who either will dull your spiritual appetite or make you want to walk more closely with God. So here is the question: What kind of person are you in the way you affect someone else? And what about the people you hang around with? How do they affect you?

We want to think about the things we do and about the people we hang out with, because running the spiritual race is not just running to what is right; it is also running from what is wrong. Paul said, “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22).

For example, there are a lot of things you could do with your weekend, but you make going to church a priority. That’s a really good decision. Think about the people you hang out with and the things you do. Do they speed you on your way spiritually, or do they slow you down? Do they build you up, or do they tear you down? Or, to put it simply, are those people or activities wings or weights? Are they wings that help you on your way? Or, are they weights that slow you down?

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – What’s Slowing You Down?

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Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.—Philippians 3:8

When it comes to luggage, I’m everyone’s worst nightmare. I pack more stuff than I end up using and am always trying to squeeze my bulging carry-ons into the plane’s overhead bins. The idea is to travel as lightly as possible, but I seldom manage to do this.

The same principle is true of our spiritual lives. We need to set aside the things that drag us down spiritually. Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians, “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (3:8).

I love that word rubbish. It sounds so proper. It’s what the Brits call garbage. But from the original language, the word rubbish that Paul used in Philippians 3:8 can be translated as “waste,” “dung,” “manure,” or “excrement.” What Paul was referring to were his religious credentials and pedigree, which were quite impressive. Yet he was saying, “All that stuff that used to mean so much to me doesn’t mean anything now. It’s garbage. It’s worthless compared to the excellence of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.”

So periodically we should ask ourselves, Is there something or someone that is slowing me down in the race of life? If so, lay them aside. Run from what is dragging you down. And run to what is building you up.