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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Faithful and True

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Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. —Revelation 19:11

In the eyes of the nonbeliever, God is never fair in what He does. When men suffer the consequences of flaunting God’s grace or breaking His commandments, they blame God and call Him unjust. The fact is that God is completely just. He is faithful and true. Writing about Jesus, the apostle John said, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” (Revelation 19:11).

In contrast to this, the devil is unfaithful and a liar. Jesus described him as “a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

One thing we learn about the Lord after we have walked with Him for a while is that He keeps His promises—all of His promises. For instance, He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5). He has promised to bring His peace into our lives (see John 14:27). He has promised to come again: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

In fulfillment of His promise, Jesus will come back and will judge the earth. And it will be fully deserved. There is nothing arbitrary or unjust about His judgment. Some might ask how a God of love could bring judgment. But how could a God of love not bring judgment? God has said there are penalties for sin. Yet He offers so many opportunities for us to believe.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Star of Revelation

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For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. —Hebrews 4:12

Just think of the power of God’s words. In the beginning, God spoke our world and the universe into existence. When He said, “Let there be light,” there was light. When Jesus was on the Sea of Galilee and a violent storm erupted, He said, “Peace, be still!” and it stopped. When Peter tried to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told him, “Put your sword in its place. . . . Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”

The same voice that can create the heavens and Earth, stop storms, and summon angels will one day bring judgment. Revelation 19:15 says, “Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. . . .”

As John wrote down the words of Revelation from the island of Patmos, he fell at the feet of the angel who showed these things to him. But the angel said, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant. . . . Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. . . . What does this mean? It means that if you read the book of Revelation but do not grow in your love for Jesus, then you have missed the point. Revelation, which means “unveiling,” is not just an unveiling of our future; it is also an unveiling of Jesus. It is all about Jesus. He is the star of Revelation. He is the focus of Revelation. And He should be the star of and focus of our lives as well.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Best-Dressed

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“Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. —Revelation 19:7–8

Everyone wants to look their best on their wedding day. It is not the day for the groom to wear his comfortable T-shirt with holes in it. Nor will a bride stop by Taco Bell on the way to the ceremony and wolf down a burrito in her beautiful, immaculate wedding gown.

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote about a wedding ceremony in which the church will be presented to Christ as His bride, who is “without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish . . .” (Ephesians 5: 27). We want to be wearing our Sunday best, if you will, when we are presented to Christ.

Revelation 19:8 describes the church as His bride, saying, ” ‘She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.’ For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

When we become Christians, we are forgiven of all our sins, and the righteousness of Christ is placed into our spiritual bank account, so to speak. This is called justification. We are made righteous positionally.

Revelation 19:8, however, is talking about practical righteousness, or the righteousness that comes as a result of positional righteousness. We are not saved by works; we are saved by grace: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8). However, once you are saved, there should be works in your life. Works don’t save a person, but they are good evidence that a person is saved.

It comes down to this: You can have works without faith, but you cannot have real faith without works. Is there spiritual fruit in your life? Is there any evidence that you are a follower of Jesus?

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Vision of Victory

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An American nurse, a captive of the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II, spoke of her anticipation as the U.S. Army came to her rescue. “We watched, waited, prayed, and listened with trembling excitement…we suddenly heard the rumble of heavy tanks outside the camp. It was followed by wild cheering and shouting coming from thousands of throats!”

A white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11

In modern times, an approaching tank is often the first evidence of impending liberation or conquest. In ancient times, it was signified by a king or general riding into a city atop a white horse. Yet when John wrote the book of Revelation, he was hardly in a victorious position. He was, in fact, a prisoner. But the apostle had a clear vision of the ultimate and certain triumph to come through Jesus Christ.

Today, don’t focus on your difficulties. Instead, watch, wait and pray for the day when Christ will conquer sin and death, once and for all. As you do, your hope and faith will draw others in your neighborhood and your nation to the Savior who is forever faithful and true for you…and your victory over whatever you’re facing.

Recommended Reading: Hebrews 6:11-20 

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Greg Laurie – We Win in the End

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And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast–miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. —Revelation 19:20

Years ago historian Arnold Toynbee said, “By forcing on mankind more and more lethal weapons and at the same time making the whole world more and more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for deifying any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace.”

Toynbee’s statement fits the biblical scenario. The deifying of a “new Caesar” will take place in the future. And things are ripe for such a man to emerge on the world stage. This coming world leader will do what no other man has ever been able to do before: bring global peace. He will be so successful that he will be hailed as the greatest peacemaker who has ever lived. But behind that will be the most evil man who has ever walked this earth.

Why give even a passing thought to the Antichrist? One reason would be that more than 100 passages in Scripture detail the origin, nationality, career, character, kingdom, and final doom of the Antichrist. He is discussed in-depth in the books of Revelation and Daniel. He is also referenced in 2 Thessalonians and in 1 John. The sheer volume of information in Scripture about the Antichrist is enough for us to want to understand who he is and what he will do.

But I think there is another reason we should know about the Antichrist. As we read Scripture and see him reigning, as we see evil predominant in the culture, it could almost look as though things will end for the worst. But as we continue to read the narrative as given to us in Revelation, we see the Antichrist defeated. We see that evil is overcome. And we are reminded that we win in the end.