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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Finish with Joy

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“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” —Psalm 51:12

Some Christians have lost their joy. They started off the Christian life with joy, but then something happened. They just lost interest in the things of God. They still do the things they should as a Christian, but they are just going through the motions. And they are not very happy about it.

Instead of saying like David did in Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD,’ ” they would say, “I was mad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’ ” Church again? Okay. All right. Another Bible study? Okay. Fine.

Paul told the elders of the Ephesian church that he wanted to finish his race with joy (see Acts 20:24). When you start a race, you don’t always think about the finish, but you should. The finish is the most important part—not the start. You can have a bad start and still finish well. I don’t care how great of a start you had. I don’t care if you were leading the pack for nine laps out of ten. If you collapse and fall, then it doesn’t matter. You are just tired, and it all was for nothing. Finishing is everything. And Paul was talking about finishing his race well, about finishing it with joy.

You don’t know how long your life will last. That is why you want to run this race well and run it with joy. The objective is to finish.

Have you lost your joy in the Christian life? Then pray, like David, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 55:12). Don’t just start your race well. Finish it well. Finish it with joy.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Run by the Rules

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I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. —1 Corinthians 9:26–27

I read an article about a British runner named Rob Sloan who finished third in the Kielder Marathon in the UK. Sloan burst across the finish line with a time of 2:51:00. But everyone noticed that he had so much energy and hardly any sweat while the others runners were exhausted. As it turned out, he ran most of the race but then left the course at mile 20 and caught a shuttle bus the rest of the way. As the leading runners were heading toward the finish line, he trotted out of the forest and onto the race route. But it wasn’t long before the race organizers found out what had happened, and Sloan was disqualified. He didn’t run according to the rules.

When you are running a race, you have to run by the rules, and you are told what those rules are from the beginning. In the same way, in the race of life we must play by the rules—God’s rules. The apostle Paul said, “I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26–27).

As we run, we have to run according to God’s rules. We don’t make up the rules as we go. We don’t say, “Well, I don’t agree with this rule, so I am not going to live by it.” If that is how we run our race, then we will be disqualified because that is not how it works. God is the one who sets up the rules. We are the ones who need to run by them.

Are you running by the rules? Or, are you facing disqualification?

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Run Well

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You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? —Galatians 5:7

When runners compete in a race, depending on what kind of race it is, they must stay in their own lane. A runner cannot go into a competitor’s lane and cut that runner off. If this happens, he or she will be disqualified.

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia, “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?” (5:7). Or, paraphrased, “You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience?” Sometimes in the race of life, people will cut in on us and impair our performance. That means we need to give a lot of thought as to whom we choose to run with.

Paul instructed Timothy to “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). As Christians, we should run together, not trip each other in the race. We are not competing against one another.

Our competition is with the world, the flesh, and the Devil—those are our competitors in life’s race. Those are our enemies. So it is not about besting one another; it is about glorifying God and overcoming the Enemy.

Paul also warned against looking back while we are running our race. He said, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13–14). You can’t run a good race if you are constantly looking over your shoulder.

So in the race of life, stay in your own lane and don’t look back.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – With Eternity in View

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But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus–the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. —Acts 20:24

Awhile back, I had a candid conversation with Billy Graham about heaven. I was speaking at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, so one afternoon we had lunch together. He asked me what I was speaking on, and I told him that I was talking about heaven.

He said, “Tell me what you are going to say.”

So I gave him a condensed version of my sermon on what the Bible teaches about heaven. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t heard these things before, but he listened with rapt attention. He and I have something in common: we both have someone close to us in heaven. His wife, Ruth, is in heaven. And my son Christopher is in heaven. When someone you love is in heaven, you feel as though you are tethered to it. You think about heaven more than you ever did before. You see the frailty of life, and eternity becomes more tangible and significant.

In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham writes about aging: “All my life I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die. I wish they had because I am an old man now, and believe me, it’s not easy.”

It’s important that we understand our times are in God’s hands. Our lives are a gift to us from God. God decides when your life starts. God decides when it stops. That is why the apostle Paul said, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24). Paul summed up what really mattered in his life.

Your life is a gift from God. Are you living it for His glory?

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Why Going to Church Is Important, Part 2

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The church exists for three purposes: The Glorification of God; The Edification of the Saints; And the Evangelization of the World. In other words, “Upward, Inward, and Outward.”

The first purpose of the church is to exalt God (upward). God put us on this earth to know Him and to glorify Him. According to Ephesians 1:12, we are here to praise our glorious God! This is why we worship the Lord in song. Worship is an important part of service. A worship leader/team is not there to perform for you. They “perform” for an audience of One: God! And they are not a warm-up act either. They are here to lead us in worship. They are leading us in prayer set to song. That is why we should never be late to church. When we are late, we miss out on glorifying God together. He inhabits the praises of His people (see Psalm 22:3).

One of the most powerful things I had ever seen when I first came to church was worship. Back in those days, the choruses and chords were very simple, but the worship was positively supernatural. Did you know that your worship is a witness? Acts 2:47 says that the early church was “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (NKJV). There was a direct connection between worship and witness. We are being watched, both inside and outside the walls of our church. The outside world marvels when a child of God can rejoice in hardship.

Sitting next to you on any given Sunday may be a visitor or a nonbeliever. They are essentially sizing everything up by what they see. Not just what happens on the platform, but the people around them. During times of worship, do you sing out to the Lord? Or did you sit in silence? Worse yet, do you talk with the person next to you or spend the time texting? What message are you sending to those visitors? Can you not tune those things out and just glorify God?

When we glorify God in church with other believers, it gives us perspective. When we come to God in prayer and in worship, we see things correctly. This is why Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father in heaven” (see Mathew 6:9 NKJV). It causes me to remember, whatever I am facing, that the all-powerful, all-knowing God of the Universe who loves me is listening to me right now. But when I isolate myself from other believers, I lose perspective. I can become fearful, confused, angry, and even bitter.

You recall when Jesus was crucified, the disciples initially scattered. But they quickly gathered together again to encourage one another. Thomas was not there and missed out on an appearance of Jesus. When told of it, he essentially said, “Unless I touch the wounds in His hands, I will not believe.” But the next time they were meeting, Thomas was there and his perspective was quickly corrected.

Asaph was grappling with the age-old question, “Why do the wicked prosper?” And then it dawned on him. “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin” (Psalm 73:16 NIV). Asaph is essentially saying, “I didn’t understand why things are the way that they are until I came into God’s presence to study His Word with His people. Then my questions came into a proper perspective.”

Why should believers go to church? To exalt God—to reach upward.

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – So Great a Salvation

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“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” —Matthew 7:13

People believe in hell for other people, for those who do awful things. Maybe someone has gotten away with a horrible crime and hasn’t been caught. So we say, “Well, they will get theirs.” What we are really saying is there is a final judgment.

However, we don’t like the prospect of facing judgment ourselves. Yet if a person ends up in hell, that is his or her own choice. This is not what God wants. Hell is a prison in which the doors are locked from the inside.

Heaven is not the default destination of every person. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

We go to heaven because we make a choice to do so by putting our faith in Christ—and Christ alone. There is no other way to get to heaven. No one was uniquely qualified to meet God’s righteous demands apart from Christ. No prophet, no guru, no religious system is going to do it. Jesus was fully God, and He was fully man. Thus He, and He alone, was able to stand in the gap for us and pay the price for our sins.

That is why the Bible asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him . . . ?” (Hebrews 2:3–4). If you blow off God’s offer, that is your choice. But you are going to face the consequences.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Not the End

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We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. —2 Corinthians 5:8–9

What happens when a Christian dies? The simple answer is that he or she goes immediately to heaven. There are no stopovers. There are no suspended states of animation. There is no soul sleep. No, a Christian goes straight into God’s presence. The apostle Paul wrote that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8). This is clear in the Scriptures.

Those who have put their faith in Christ will go to heaven one day. There are two basic ways we will get there: through death or the Rapture. We don’t know whether we are the generation who will be caught up to heaven in the Rapture, which Revelation 20 calls the first resurrection: “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power . . .” (verse 6).

Referring to this event, Paul wrote, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:53–54).

This means the believer doesn’t have to fear death. This means that a Christian never dies. The soul lives on. That will never die.

Of course, when we lose a loved one, we grieve like anyone else does. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We know where our Christian loved ones are who have preceded us to heaven. In a technical sense, someone isn’t lost if you know where he or she is. We know we will be with our loved ones in Christ once again. Death is not the end.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Whole Gospel

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I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. —Galatians 1:6–7

I remember visiting a city and seeing a man standing on a corner with a sign that said, “The wages of sin are death.” He was literally yelling at people, “God hates you! God will judge you!”

But he was wrong. He was misrepresenting God. So I walked up to him and said, “Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?”

“WHAT?”

I said, “You know, on your sign it says ‘the wages of sin are death.’ That’s true. That’s what the Bible says. But do you know what the rest of that verse says?”

“WHAT?”

The rest of the verse says, ‘But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Why don’t you put that on the back of your sign so you can say, ‘The wages of sin are death, . . . but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’?”

Then he told me I was going to hell. It was wrong for him to present God in that inaccurate way. But it is also wrong to share the gospel and not tell people about the consequences of rejecting Christ.

The whole gospel is that we were sinners separated from God, with no hope of ever being right with Him. But God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place and atone for our sins and absorb the wrath of God. And He rose again from the dead. When we put our faith in Him, we pass from death to life and know that when we die, we will go to heaven. But if we don’t believe in Jesus, we will face God at the Great White Throne Judgment and will spend eternity separated from Him in hell.

People need the whole gospel.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Weight of a Life

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Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. —1 Corinthians 3:12–13

If Billy Graham ever had anything close to a personal intercessor, it would have been Pearl Goode. She lived in Pasadena, California, and for many years, she prayed in secret for Billy Graham and his crusades. When the Graham team was finally made aware of this, they started bringing her with them to the crusades so that she could pray on site. She lived to the age of 90, and at her funeral, Ruth Graham said, “Here lie the mortal remains of much of the secret of Bill’s ministry.” While Billy Graham was doing his part, Pearl Goode was doing hers. While he was preaching, she was praying.

When awards are given out in heaven for faithfulness, we might expect them to go to the spiritual heavyweights. Names like Corrie ten Boom, Jim Elliot, and Billy Graham might come to mind. Maybe we would be surprised at the prospect of a woman named Pearl Goode sweeping the awards. After all, she wasn’t a bestselling author. She didn’t have a hit song on Christian radio.

This is what we need to remember: it isn’t about how famous we are; it is about being faithful with what God has called us to do.

Daniel said to the wicked King Belshazzar, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Daniel 5:27). A loose paraphrase would be: “Belshazzar, you’re a lightweight. You’re a spiritual bantam weight.”

On God’s scales, you don’t want to be a lightweight. On God’s scales, you want to be a heavyweight. You want to have substance and meaning in your life.

It isn’t about what God has called another Christian to do; it is all about what God has set before you to do. Have you been faithful? If you have, then you will be rewarded on that final day.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Built to Last

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For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 3:11

Spending time on the beach, I have watched people construct some very elaborate sandcastles that took hours and hours to build. I have admired their work. But I also knew those impressive structures wouldn’t be around for very long. It was only a matter of time until either a tide came in and swept them away or a toddler appeared out of nowhere and demolished them.

Some couples will build a marriage on sand, like those momentary sandcastles. They build it on fleeting emotions or sex or some other thing. But a marriage must be built on something stronger that will sustain it.

Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with an illustration of what we should build our lives on—and it is also a perfect picture of what to build a marriage on:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24–25)

Notice that Jesus did not say if a storm comes but when a storm comes. Marriages go through changes. They go through trials. So build your marriage on the right foundation. If you do, then you will come to know the truth of Proverbs 18:22: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.”

Is your marriage on the Rock or on the rocks? If it is built on the Rock, then it will stand the test of time. If it is built on the Rock, then it will weather the storms. If it is built on the Rock, then it is built to last.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Why Going to Church Is Important, Part 1

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Some people claim to be Christians but don’t attend church. They say, “Well, I haven’t found a church I like yet, and I work and Sunday is my only day off!” But if you really love God, you will love His people and long to be with them.

The Bible indeed commands us to go to church, and—even more—to be a functioning part of it. Hebrews 10:24–25 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (NKJV).

I like the way the New Living Translation puts it: “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” The Bible does not say: Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together unless Sunday is your only day off, or unless you want to run in a triathlon, or unless it’s a great beach day, in which case you are excused, because you just don’t need fellowship as much as other Christians do.

Yes, if you love God, you will love His people and long to be with them. If you don’t really love God, you won’t love His people. Some will say “I’m so over the church; people are critical and judgmental. It’s so full of hypocrites!” My response to that is: There is always room for one more! Understand, I am not justifying hypocrisy of any kind, but honestly, we have all been hypocritical at times. But that is not a reason to not attend church. The church has its flaws because people are in it. However, Jesus both started and loves the church. He died for it.

Being in fellowship is a proof that you are indeed a child of God. It says in 1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death” (NIV). Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (NKJV). Not going to church is a proof that something is wrong with you spiritually. We read in 1 John 2:19, “These people left our churches because they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left us, it proved that they do not belong with us” (NLT).

Studies show that if you don’t go to church for a month, the odds are almost 2 to 1 that you won’t go for more than a year. Being a vital and active part of the church is something we pass on to our kids. A study once disclosed that: If both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful in attendance; if only Dad attends regularly, 55% remain faithful; if only Mom attends regularly, 15% remain faithful; and if neither attend regularly, only 6% remain faithful.

What legacy will you leave your kids? Are you committed to demonstrating to them that going to church is important?

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – “Come to Me”

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And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. —Revelation 22:17

It seems from the Scriptures that one of the Lord’s favorite words is come. In the face of judgment on the earth, God commanded Noah to build an ark. When it was built, God said, “Come into the ark, you and all your household . . .” (Genesis 7:1).

Moses, standing in the midst of people who had fallen down in worship of the golden calf said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” (Exodus 32:26).

In Isaiah God said, “Come now, and let us reason together” (1:18) and “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (55:1).

To the men who wanted to know where Jesus lived, He said, “Come and see” (John 1:39). Jesus also said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

We are given this invitation as the book of Revelation draws to a close: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

That is the heart of God. He is calling out to humanity, saying, “Come to Me.” And what will happen if we come to Him? Our spiritual thirst will be quenched. It is an offer that He has extended to everyone. But it is an invitation, not a compulsion.

Deep down inside, we are all thirsty. There is a longing for things that the world simply cannot give us. We won’t find what we are thirsting for in a relationship. We won’t find it in a possession. We won’t find it through an accomplishment or an experience. All of these things will leave us empty.

Deep down inside, we are hungering and thirsting for God Himself.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – In Due Time

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Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. —Galatians 6:7–8

When we hear the statement “You will reap what you sow,” that typically brings something frightening to mind. It is usually quoted in an aggressive fashion as if to say, “You’d better stop doing that because the Bible says you will reap what you sow.” And that is true.

But let’s understand it in context: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:7–8). Yes, if you sow to the flesh, if you disobey God, then you will reap the consequences. But if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap everlasting life.

The decisions we make on earth are binding in eternity. It is here we decide where we will spend all eternity.

Revelation 22:11 tells us, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Obviously God is not encouraging wicked people to do wicked things. This is more of a warning.

I like the way Charles Swindoll paraphrased it in his commentary entitled Insights on Revelation: “You wrongdoers, go ahead and keep doing wrong. Just see what happens. . . . As for you righteous and holy saints, keep practicing righteousness, keep being holy—and you’ll get your reward in due time.”

What you are today will determine what you will be tomorrow and for eternity. So, if you are a godly person, then keep doing what you are doing. It’s going to turn out beautifully for you in the end.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Words for the Weary

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And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. —Galatians 6:9

Sometimes I get tired in the Lord’s work, but I never get tired of the Lord’s work. When you are tired, take a break. Rest. Recharge. Even Jesus took time off periodically. The point is that we must never get tired of doing the Lord’s work. It is a great privilege to be called to do it.

There are sacrifices we make as followers of Jesus Christ. There are things we lose. There are persecutions we face. There are hardships we endure. In 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).

Notice the word “blessed” is used twice to emphasize the generous blessing of God on the persecuted. Another way to translate it would be “double-blessed are the persecuted” or “happy, happy are the persecuted.”

We are to be faithful in what we do. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Don’t be weary in reading your Bible and seeking to live by what it teaches. Don’t be weary in praying for your family, friends, and country. Don’t be weary in sharing your faith with others. Don’t be weary in serving the Lord with the gifts that God has given you. Don’t be weary in that. For in due season, you will reap if you don’t give up.

God keeps careful records, and He promises to reward us for our faithfulness.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Good Reasons for Godly Living

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Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness . . . ? —2 Peter 3:11

Every time the Bible talks about our future, there is an exhortation to live a godly life. God doesn’t give us Bible prophecy to tantalize, entertain, or titillate; He gives us Bible prophecy to say, “Wake up, and pay attention! Be living a godly life because Jesus Christ is coming back again.”

Second Peter 3:11 says, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness . . . ?”

We should keep God’s Word because His words are faithful and true (see Revelation 22:6). Every word is trustworthy and reliable.

We should also keep God’s Word because His coming is near. Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming quickly!” (Revelation 22:7). But God’s definition of “quickly” is not the same as ours.

It is like when my wife and I are getting ready to go somewhere. When I say, “I am ready,” it means that I am ready to walk out the door, get into the car, and drive away. When Cathe says she is ready, that is a relative term. It might mean that she has to put a couple of things away or maybe run upstairs and grab a sweater. Cathe and I define “I am ready” differently.

The Greek word translated “quickly” in verse 7 has less to do with how soon Jesus will return and more to do with the suddenness of the event when it occurs. When John is using this word, he is not using it in the sense of time as much as he is talking about a series of events that will happen in rapid succession once they start. It is sort of like dominoes that are closely stacked together. Once the first domino falls, it is fast.

He is coming quickly.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Intolerance of Truth

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They will reject the truth and chase after myths. —2 Timothy 4:4

Not all of America’s founding fathers were believers, but even those who were not committed followers of Jesus Christ had, at the very least, a great respect for the Bible. That is why they built our judicial system—and really the government as a whole—on it.

But things have changed, haven’t they? We have gotten away from this. There are many people now who question the idea of absolute truth. They will say, “My version of the truth is as valid as your truth. How dare you impose your version on me?” (which basically means holding an opinion that is contrary to theirs).

A sign of the end times will be people turning from the truth: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

Friend, that time has come. This is not just happening in our culture. It is even taking place in some of our churches where people are looking for teachers who will say things that will satisfy them. What the apostle Paul was saying in 2 Timothy 4 was that people will have an itch for novelty. They will want someone to come along who will say something that will soothe them and pacify them—but not something that will challenge them or, even worse, confront them.

This turning away from the truth is something the Bible said would happen in the end times. As preachers of the Word, we have a job to do: it is to preach the Word and not compromise on it, even if it isn’t politically correct.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – America’s Only Hope, Part 2

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In our country, we have had three great spiritual awakenings, perhaps four. The first, during the 1700s, was led by such men as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield. During just two years of this revival, from 1740 to 1742, some 25,000 to 50,000 people were added to the New England churches. This, out of a population of only 300,000!

The Second Great Awakening (1790s to 1840) was led by many, including Charles Finney. It was the time of the Wild West. The law was disregarded and sexual sin was rampant. Through “camp meetings,” where crowds as high as 15,000 would gather for several days (an incredible figure considering the scanty population of that time), thousands came to faith—more than 10,000 in Kentucky alone between 1800 and 1803.

The Third Great Awakening in America was from about 1857 to 1859. How this revival began is unique. A 48-year-old businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier began a prayer meeting on Fulton Street in New York City. It began slowly and soon exploded. It is worth noting that the New York Stock Market crashed around this time and soon Lanphier’s prayer meeting was attended by hundreds of people. Prayer meetings broke out all over New York City, filling theaters on Broadway.

Within six months, 10,000 people gathered daily for prayer throughout New York City! It is reported that 50,000 New Yorkers were converted from March to May. During that single year, the number of reported conversions throughout the country reached an average of 50,000 a week for a couple of years. There were 10,000 additions to church membership weekly. Over one million people came to Christ in this brief period. One of the men who came out of this revival was a former shoe salesman known as D.L. Moody, who personally led countless thousands to Christ! But look at how it all started. One simple “layman” decided to pray, and it started a wave that impacted the nation! It was an extraordinary move of the Holy Spirit!

Finally, there was the Jesus Movement. I was privileged to have a front-row seat as I was one of the kids who came to faith during that time. There is no question in my mind that it was a modern-day revival.

Things were bleak in the late ’60s. The country was in turmoil. Bomb drills in classrooms were mandatory. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought us to the brink of nuclear confrontation with Russia. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, as well as his brother Bobby, and Martin Luther King Jr. The Vietnam War was raging, with no end in sight. Watergate was about to happen. Kids were rebelling against society and turning to drugs, sex, and Rock & Roll. The slogan of the time was “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out.”

The church, by and large, was not effectively reaching the public. In 1966, Time Magazine even did a cover story titled “Is God Dead?” Some liberal Protestant theologians announced that indeed He was. Nothing like this had ever happened in America before. But God intervened and brought the Jesus Movement and it saved a generation. Thousands and thousands of young people came to Christ, and the church was influenced globally by what God did through the Jesus Movement.

But that was over 40 years ago. The kids of this movement are now grandparents! Now we look at this generation and we realize we need another Jesus Movement—another spiritual awakening. Even our own children, raised in the church, need their own encounter with God. What we want is to see the Lord do it again!

The prophet Habakkuk understood this when he prayed this prayer: “I have heard all about you, LORD, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, revive Your work, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).

Psalm 85:6 says, “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” But how badly do we really want to see another revival? I asked Chuck Smith if we would ever see another Jesus Movement. “We are living in desperate times,” he said, “but we are not desperate for revival!”

In the Tribulation Period, millions will come to Christ! In Revelation 7, we read of a multitude so large they could not be numbered. We know there has been revival in the past. And we know there will be revival in the future. But will there be revival in the present?

I am praying there will be. I am praying for America.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Rarely Used Spiritual Weapons

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“To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” —James 4:17

God has given us two secret weapons to use in our world today. What are they? First I will tell you what they are not: whining and complaining. It doesn’t do any good. Neither does boycotting and protesting.

The two secret weapons that God has given to the church are praying and preaching. We pray for our nation. We pray for people we will share the gospel with. And then we share the gospel with them.

These are spiritual weapons that are rarely used by the church today. A lot of times it seems as though we do everything except pray and preach. But these are things that we need to do a lot more of. In fact, I feel that to not be praying for our country and preaching the gospel actually could be a sin.

There are sins of commission, which are breaking God’s law. But then there are sins of omission, which are not doing what God wants us to do. We are told in the Scriptures, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It would be like walking by a burning building and knowing there are people inside but doing nothing to help them. If I don’t go in and try to save them myself, at the very least I could call the fire department. But if I were just to walk by as though nothing were happening and left them inside to die, that would be criminal.

When we see a culture today that doesn’t know God and can know God, when they need to be prayed for and preached to, doing nothing also could be criminal in a sense. We are living in a hostile culture right now. So let’s pray and preach.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Prayer Brings Peace

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The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. —Acts 12:6

Despite being chained between two Roman soldiers and facing the possibility of execution the next day, Peter was asleep. (He probably was the only Christian who slept that night.) In fact, it seems that Peter was in such a deep slumber that it took a whack from an angel to wake him up: “Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, ‘Quick! Get up!’ And the chains fell off his wrists” (verse 7).

What gave Peter such confidence and peace? He knew that people were praying for him. In the Psalms David said, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe” (4:8). And David’s son Solomon wrote, “God gives rest to his loved ones” (127:2).

I know that people are praying for me when we hold our Harvest Crusades. I simply feel prayed for. It is comforting to know that others are praying for you.

Most of us know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night with things on our minds. When this happens, I will pray. I will say, “Lord, it’s 3:00 a.m. There’s nothing I can do about these things. I’m going back to sleep, so you worry about this.” Philippians 4:6–7 tells us, “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” (verse 7).

Do you sleep in peace? It is a great thing to go to sleep with a clean conscience.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Prayer Is Warfare

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Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. —Matthew 13:58

No doubt there have been times when we may have hindered the work of God in our lives because of unbelief. Scripture tells us that Jesus could do no mighty work in His hometown because of unbelief (see Matthew 13:58).

Clearly there is a place for faith in prayer. However, I disagree with those who say it is all about faith and that if your prayer isn’t answered, it is because you lack faith.

Sometimes I only have so much faith. I think of the man whose child needed Jesus’ healing touch. This desperate father said, “Lord, I believe.” Then he added, “Help my unbelief!” (see Mark 9:24). We read that Jesus delivered the boy from demon powers. Do you know why? It was an honest prayer: Lord I believe. Help my unbelief! Lord, I believe, but sometimes I have lapses. Sometimes I have doubts.

Sometimes there is a lack of faith in our prayers. We all have had doubts. But that is when we take the Word of God and apply it to that doubt. As Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The early church had their doubts when Herod had Peter arrested and thrown into prison. But they prayed. And even though their prayers were weak, they were still mightier than Herod. Why didn’t God answer their prayers earlier? Did He want to teach the church perseverance? Or, was it to teach Peter faith? Their story reminds us that prayer is warfare, and the battle is not won through human strength but on our knees.

It has been said that prayer is striking the winning blow; service is gathering up the results.

So let’s go. Let’s start barraging God’s throne with requests that will bring glory to His name.