Tag Archives: Greg Laurie

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Greg Laurie – A Bittersweet Message

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To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? —2 Corinthians 2:16

Have you ever eaten something that was sweet going down but made you sick later? Let me restate the question: Have you ever eaten eight Krispy Kreme doughnuts in one sitting? I have. I got a little carried away. They were great going down. But less than ten minutes later, I was asking, What have I done?

In Revelation 10, the apostle John asked an angel for a small scroll. When the angel gave him the scroll, he told John, “Yes, take it and eat it. It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” (verse 9).

John said, “So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. Then I was told, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings’ ” (verses 10–11).

The message that we believe as Christians is sweet to us, but it is bitter to others. This is God’s Word to us. We eat it like food. Job said, “I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food” (Job 23:12). For Christians to have a Bible study is like a feast. We love it. But for others, it is misery and torment. They don’t like it.

Some hear the gospel and say, “I love that. I believe it. I want Jesus.”

Others say, “Not only do I not like it, I hate it. And I hate you for saying it.”

As believers, we need to take the message of the gospel and give it to as many as we can. Whether they love it or hate it is really up to them.

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Greg Laurie – In Their Image

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“You shall have no other gods before Me.” —Exodus 20:3

Pastor Chuck Smith once told a story about a Papua New Guinea tribe that had a widespread birth defect. Everyone had one leg shorter than the other. Interestingly, the idol they worshipped also had one leg shorter than the other. They had created a god in their own image.

I believe this is the same direction America is going. When people say, “I am spiritual, I am just not religious,” it is code for “I’m making it up as I go.”

People effectively make a god in their own image when they say things like, “My god would never judge a person” and “My god would never condemn two people of the same sex living together in a committed relationship.” But they just made up their own god. And their god, essentially, is them.

What is the first of the Ten Commandments? “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). What is the second commandment? It is related to the first: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (verse 4). Idol worship is putting anyone or anything in the place of God.

I read an article in USA Today about the fastest growing spiritual group in America, which claims no affiliation with any faith. The article states, “This group, called ‘Nones,’ is now the nation’s second-largest category only to Catholics, and outnumbers the top Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptists. The shift is a significant cultural, religious and even political change.”

It has been said, “When a man stops believing in God he doesn’t then believe in nothing, he believes in anything.”

We can’t edit the Bible. We can’t say, “I like this part of the Bible and not that part.” If we do, then we will end up with a god that is not the God of the Bible.

 

 

 

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Greg Laurie – Just a Little Bit Longer

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They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” —Revelation 6:10

In Revelation 6, we read about those who were put to death for their faith. They are in heaven, aware of the injustice, aware of the fact there were fellow servants still on earth being mistreated. So they prayed this prayer to the Father: .”O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” (verse 10). In other words, Hey, Lord, this isn’t right. When are You going to correct it?

Here was God’s response to their prayers:

Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them. (verse 11)

God’s timing is not always our timing. The Bible says that “He has made everything beautiful in His time” (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

It kind of reminds me of taking a trip with small children in the car. You are cruising along, an hour into the trip.

“When are we going to get there?” they ask.

What do you say? “We are almost there. A little bit longer.”

The martyred tribulation saints were asking when they would be avenged. And God was saying, Just a little bit longer.

We say, “Lord, when are You going to come?” He says, Just a little bit longer. “When is judgment going to come?” Just a little bit longer. “When is my prayer going to be answered?” Just a little bit longer. Hang on now. I am in control. I am doing everything according to My perfect will.

Know this: God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. So keep praying.

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Greg Laurie – K.I.S.S.

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Someone once asked the great British preacher C.H. Spurgeon if he could put into a few words his Christian faith. “Yes,” he replied, “I can give it to you in four words: Jesus died for me.”

That is what it all comes down to.

The gospel in a nutshell is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day. That is the cornerstone of our faith. So when you share the gospel, remind those you speak to that Jesus died for them. He shed His blood for them.

Paul the apostle was a brilliant person, known for his majestic and commanding letters. He had a phenomenal grasp of various cultures and languages. If anyone could have intellectually convinced a person of the validity of some proposition, it was Paul. Yet listen to what he said about preaching the gospel: “Dear brothers and sisters, when I first came to you I didn’t use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God’s message. For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross” (1 Corinthians 2:1).

We can actually hinder the message of the gospel by complicating it. Remember that it is the simple, powerful, yet profound message of the cross of Christ that has the power to change lives. It changed your life and mine, didn’t it?

Here is a simple thing to remember when presenting the gospel: K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid!