Greg Laurie: A New Beginning

Pastor Greg Laurie has the opportunity to share the Gospel with countless people each year. He does so through films, crusade events, through social media and right here on A NEW BEGINNING. We’ve seen more than a million professions of faith in the 50 years of Harvest Ministries. So there must be a secret formula for successful evangelism, right? Pastor Greg would be the first to say there is no secret formula. But there are some practical pointers, and he explains them today.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If there’s a war raging, and someone mistakenly stumbles into the middle of it, the warriors don’t suddenly stop and say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, fellas, this guy isn’t part of it. Let’s wait ‘til he gets outta the way.’ No people who stumble into battle unaware often get caught in the crossfire. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie wants to make sure that doesn’t happen to us. He points out that we’re surrounded by spiritual warfare, and we need to be prepared to fight, and fight victoriously.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pilot said, “the basics of aviation are really quite simple. You push the control stick forward and the houses get real big; you pull it back and the houses get real small.” But imagine if a pilot did lose track of the basics – can’t remember what those switches do, or even why they’re important. Well today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us with a refresher course on the basics of the Christian faith. It’s a good reminder of the fundamentals that’ll keep us all from crashing and burning.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s more to the Christmas story than you may realize. There’s a prequel... In this message, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us to the story of a godly, elderly couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth, parents of John the Baptist.

Notes:

Luke 1
 
Luke gives us the prequel, the story before the story.
 
Luke opens by saying, “In the days of Herod.”
That’s like saying, “In Germany, in the days of Hitler.”
 
Heaven’s light was about to break.
  
Read Luke 1:5–17
 
Luke’s narrative finds Israel in the midst of a long night of spiritual darkness.
 
Israel was now under the control of mighty and cruel Rome.
But there was something in the air that things were about to change.
 
A promise to Israel of better days to come – Malachi 4:2 NIV
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
 
Malachi 3:1 NIV
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
 
John the Baptist was the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
 
God was now going to answer the prayer and heart cry of Israel.
 
God sent the mighty angel Gabriel.
 
The last appearance of an angel had been to the prophet Zechariah nearly five centuries earlier.
 
Whenever angels appeared, they would say, “Do not be afraid!”
 
Gabriel came to an elderly couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth.
 
The name Zacharias means, “God remembers.”
Elizabeth means, “My God is an oath.”
 
God remembers His promises and always keeps His word.
 
God was making up for lost time, and He gave them a baby like no other,
John the Baptist.
 
#1 Zacharias was a humble man.
 
James 4:6 ESV
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
 
The obsession with ourselves is at the root of our problems.
 
The humble Zacharias was a country priest.
 
There were many priests in Israel at this time.
To be a priest meant you represented the people to God.
 
The priest also represented God to the people.
The priest would interpret scripture, counsel, and provide wise judgment for the people.
 
I understand that I, too, am a representative of God to people.
 
You, too, are a priest.
And you, too, represent God to people.
 
You are the only bible some people will ever read.
 
#2 Zacharias was a faithful man.
 
God called:
Moses, when he was tending sheep.
David, while he was watching sheep,
Elijah, when he was plowing
Peter and John, when they were mending nets.
God calls busy people.
 
It’s hard to steer a parked car.
 
If you are faithful in small things, God will give you greater opportunities.
  
God has given to every believer spiritual gifts.
 
Romans 12:6 NLT
God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
 
Romans 12:7 NLT
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
 
Romans 12:8 NLT
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously.
 
Paul told Timothy to “not neglect the gift that is in you.”
  
Zacharias was faithful to do what God had set before him.
 
#3 Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly and blameless people.
 
Luke 1:6 NKJV
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
 
To be blameless does not mean they were sinless.
 
They lived lives of integrity, not perfection.
 
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
 
Not to have any children was thought to be a curse from God.
 
Little did they know that God would answer their prayers and give them a prophet.
 
Their son, John, would be the greatest prophet of the Old Testament.
 
Perhaps you are going through a time of difficulty right now.
 
God was preparing Zacharias and Elizabeth for this day, and now the reward for faithfulness has come.
 
Luke 1:13 NKJV
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
 
God hears our prayers as well.
 
God promises us that if we call out to Him, He will hear and answer.
Psalm 34:15
 
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
 
Just because our prayers are not answered does not mean God does not hear them.
 
There is an amazing story in Daniel 10 where a mighty angel appeared before the prophet.
The angel told Daniel that the prophet’s prayer had been heard in heaven 21 days earlier.
 
God’s delays are not necessarily his denials.
 
The devil and his fallen angels are very active right now.
 
Revelation 12:12b NIV
The devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.
 
The bible tells us that in the last days there would be “satanically energized times” and that things would go from bad to worse.
 
So, what should we do in light of this?
We need to use our two secret weapons, preaching and prayer.
 
We have no idea of what is going on in the invisible world of angels and demons.
Revelation 8:3–4
 
God hears and stores our prayers; not one is wasted.
 
Every prayer is answered with either yes, no, or wait.
 
God is aware of each and every request made for His glory and in His will.
 
God heard and recorded the prayer of this godly couple.
 
Zacharias prayed for 30 years for a son.
The reason he was surprised when Gabriel came was because he had prayed for so long.
 
In the same way, your prayers are in God’s to-do box.
Even if you have forgotten about them, God has not.
 
Don’t give up on your prayers.
 
This happened with the believers praying for the deliverance of Simon Peter.
When the answer to their prayer arrived, they did not believe it.
 
#4 Zacharias was human and flawed just like us!
 
Luke 1:18 NKJV
And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
 
Luke 1:19 NKJV
And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
 
Luke 1:20 NKJV
“But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words.”
 
Zacharias could have rejoiced, but instead he questioned.
 
We can choose to worship God, or we can choose to question God.
 
It’s not a bad thing for a Christian to struggle or even ask God, “Why?”
 
Some people have experienced tragedy and disappointment and have questions for God. But there comes a point when we choose to trust.
 
Even John the Baptist had a momentary doubt.
He misunderstood the mission of the Messiah like so many others.
 
John, the greatest Old Testament prophet, sitting in a dungeon, sent word to Jesus, “Are You the One, or should we look for another?”
 
Jesus reassured John and sent him back to the scriptures.
 
Zacharias couldn’t speak, so he tried to explain what happened through hand gestures.
Luke 1:21
 
Lessons from the lives of Zacharias and Elizabeth:
To be humble and wait on the Lord and serve Him
To keep praying and not give up because our prayers are heard and remembered
To believe what God tells you and act in faith, not by feeling
 
The biblical characters were quite ordinary.
They were hopelessly human, remarkably unremarkable.
 
They were also available and obedient to the Master’s call.
 
A 1964 Aston Martin sold for $4.6 million.
 
The value is not in the car, but in the one who drove it.
 
The same is true of us. The value isn’t in the vessel; it’s in the One who fills it.
 
For centuries, the world waited. For decades, a faithful couple prayed.
And at just the right time, God said, “Now!”
 
Maybe you’ve been praying for something.
 
Your “now” can begin today.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine sitting in the driver’s seat of your parked car. And you start disassembling your steering wheel. You loosen the nut that holds your steering wheel in place. Now, the steering wheel is barely connected to your front wheels. Are you willing to hit the open highway without that control? Only if you like ditches. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, from the series Heroes of the Bible, Pastor Greg Laurie points out some people choose to do that with their very lives . . . and wind up in some kind of ditch.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Funambulism is the skill of walking the tightrope . . . the high wire. And performers face mortal danger . . . it’s a long way down. The last thing they want (literally) is to make it only half way across the high wire. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out it’s even more important to finish the race of life well. There’s mortal danger, there’s uncertainty and breathless moments. But thankfully, when we fall, the Lord is there to catch us and restore us.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world has been through a hailstorm of crisis and calamity . . . sickness, death, economic upheaval, uncertainty about the future. Hope may seem in short supply. But today on A NEW BEGINNING, we’ll see it’s only in short supply if we’re going to the wrong supplier. Pastor Greg Laurie introduces us to a man who faced an epic challenge but depended on God’s provision to see him through. We’ll learn to follow in his footsteps as Pastor Greg introduces this Last Days believer.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scripture warns us that wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. Lots of folks going that way. It’s the way that “seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us an alternative. He helps us through the narrow gate. It won’t make us popular or politically correct. But better to live in a way that’s pleasing to God, even if it displeases people, rather than the other way around.

This Giving Tuesday, help us meet the spiritual moment! Give now.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even in the Lord’s Prayer, we say the words “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Thomas Fuller once wrote, “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” Today, on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the life of Joseph, an outstanding biblical example of forgiveness and what fruit can come of that selfless action. We’re studying the Bible’s great heroes.

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isaiah 9:6 tells us what Jesus, the name above all names, means to us. Pastor Greg Laurie brings us insight in this message.

Notes:

Focus verse - Isaiah 9:6 

Jesus Christ.
That is the name above all names.
 
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  
From Heaven’s perspective, Jesus was given.
From earth’s perspective, Jesus was born.
  
Jesus lived our life and then He died our death.
  
The first Christmas gift was not a gift to a child but the gift of a child.
 
Each of these descriptions of Jesus’ name deals with an important part of our life.
  
Jesus said, “Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of Me.
(Hebrews 10:7 KJV)
 
Jesus is in the Old Testament concealed and in the New Testament revealed.
 
Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.”
(John 8:56 KJV)
 
Jacob wrestled with Jesus.
Before conquering Jericho, Joshua met Jesus and bowed before Him.
 
Let’s look at these descriptions Isaiah gives us of Christ.
 
#1 His name is Wonderful: this takes care of the dullness of life.
 
Wonderful comes from the word wonder.
  
There is nothing this world has to offer that will fill the void in your life.
That’s where Jesus comes in.
  
The word, wonder, means:
amazement, surprise, astonishment, admiration, bewilderment, worship, and awe.
 
The best way to sum it up is, “God is awesome!”
 
Knowing this wonderful God personally takes care of the dullness of life.
 
When the shepherds shared what happened,
“All that heard it wondered at these things told to them by the shepherds.”
(Luke 2:18)
 
Everything about Jesus was wonderful:
His birth, His life, His words, His death, and His resurrection.
 
Wonder will lead to worship and a desire to know Jesus better.
 
#2 His name is Counselor: this takes care of the decisions of life.
 
Do you know that God wants to give personal counsel and direction to you?
 
Psalm 73:24 (NKJV)
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
 
Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, Jesus Christ, is offering you His counsel.
 
Jesus, our Counselor, has a plan for our lives.
 
Jesus has given us His word so we might learn to think and act biblically.
Everything you need to know about God and life is found in Scripture.
 
2 Timothy 3:16–17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true
and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
It is God's way of preparing us in every way,
fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
 
But your Counselor, Jesus, is very involved and wants the best for you.
 
Jesus, our Counselor, prays for us too.
 
#3 His name is Mighty God: this takes care of the demands of life.
 
Jesus Christ was not just a “good man,” but the “God-Man.”
 
The Creator became a creation.
He did not lose His deity, but He added humanity.
 
Eternal, yet an infant, the Infinite became touchable.
 
Jesus was fully God and became fully man.
 
Jesus did not become identical to us, but He did become identified with us.
 
Jesus could not have identified with us more closely than He did.
It was total identification without any loss of identity.
 
Jesus claimed to be God many times.
 
On one occasion, Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee and He fell asleep.
What could be more human than that?
 
Jesus rebuked the storm and it stopped instantly.
What could be more divine than that?
He was fully God.
 
Being fully human reminds you that He understands what you are facing.
   
Some say, “It’s very hard to be a Christian.”
 
It’s impossible to be a Christian without the power of Jesus Christ.
 
That’s like trying to run your electric car with no charge.
 
We work out what God has already worked in.
 
We don’t manufacture the power, we access it.
 
You say, “I can’t break free from drugs or drinking or immorality.”
The bible says, “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
 
#4 His name is Everlasting Father: this takes care of the future of life.
 
We know life is not merely what we experience here and now on earth.
As Christians, we will live forever.
 
God is the Everlasting Father. He will always be there for you.
 
With so many broken homes today and absentee fathers, this is a great comfort.
  
You have an Everlasting Father who chose you.
 
After His resurrection, Jesus said to Mary, “I go to my Father and your Father.”
 
#5 His name is Prince of Peace: this takes care of the disturbances of life.
 
In the storms of life, we all long for peace within.
 
Isaiah 9:6
And the government shall be upon His shoulder.
 
For over 2000 years we are awaiting the fulfillment of this verse when Jesus returns
and establishes His kingdom (at the end of the 7-year Tribulation).
 
When Christ returns there will be no more corruption, war, or terrorism.
 
He will reign righteously as King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
The five names represent five dimensions of what every believer needs:
“Wonderful” answers our disillusionment.
“Counselor” answers our confusion.
“Mighty God” answers our weakness.
“Everlasting Father” answers our loneliness.
“Prince of Peace” answers our turmoil.
 
Every knee will bow.
 
Will you bow before Him today?

—

Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.