Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement; worship; and Bible study.
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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Don't Be Afraid | June 14, 2022
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Greg Laurie: Hi, I'm Greg Laurie.
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- You know, for almost 50 years now,
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- I've been giving people the good news of the gospel.
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- That's actually what the word "gospel" means:
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- good news.
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- When I was a kid, I was a paperboy.
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- So I had my super cool Schwinn Stingray with a stick shift.
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- They don't make those anymore probably for good reason.
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- They were dangerous actually, but it was fast.
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- And I had my batch of my papers, and I got pretty good at
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- throwing those papers.
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- The sideways fling, the underhand pass,
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- the hard throw.
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- Always wanted to get the paper as close to the customer's door
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- as possible.
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- My job was not to write the news.
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- My job was not to make the news.
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- My job was to deliver the news; and I'm still doing that many
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- years later, but now it's the good news of the gospel.
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- I want to talk to you about that.
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- Welcome to "Harvest."
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- ♪♪♪
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- Greg: You know, we live in a really scary world
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- right now, don't we?
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- So many things to freak you out.
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- I have some good news.
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- Jesus gave us some words 2.000 years ago that resonate with us
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- right now.
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- I want to share with you a message entitled
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- "Don't Be Afraid."
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- Greg: We're living in crazy times right now.
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- Just when you thought it could not get any worse,
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- it did.
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- I mean, we're coming through the worst pandemic in modern history
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- and now it seems like the world is on fire.
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- We see this blistering attack by Russia
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- under President Putin on Ukraine.
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- It's a powder keg that literally threatens the whole world and
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- now Russia has even threatened to use chemical and biological
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- weapons and even nuclear weapons, in fact.
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- President Putin of Russia recently boasted they've
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- developed a brand new missile that can fire 12 nuclear
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- warheads at once, and they fittingly call it
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- the Satan missile.
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- And this is scary.
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- I mean, we haven't heard talk of a potential nuclear conflict in
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- a long time.
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- I remember hearing it when I was a kid in elementary school in
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- the '60s, and they told us, "If there is a nuclear blast,
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- everybody get under your desk."
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- That would have done a lot of good, right?
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- "It's okay. I'm under my desk.
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- This will protect me for sure."
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- So with all that's going on in our world,
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- we have a lot of people afraid in America.
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- Let me read you now the words of Jesus from 2.000 years ago but
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- they ring so true for all of us.
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- John chapter 14, Jesus says,
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- "'Let not your heart be troubled.
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- You believe in God, believe also in me.
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- In my Father's house are many mansions.
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- If it were not so, I would have told you.
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- I go to prepare a place for you.
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- And if I go and prepare a place for you,
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- I will come again and receive you unto myself;
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- that where I am, you may be also.
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- And where I go you know, and the way you know.'
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- Thomas said, 'Lord, we don't know where you're going.
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- How can we know the way?'
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- Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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- And no man comes to the Father except through me.'"
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- Now, here's the first thing Jesus says.
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- If you're troubled--the word that he uses here,
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- "Let not your heart be troubled," means don't let your
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- heart shutter.
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- If you're filled with fear right now,
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- if your heart is shattering, here's the first thing Jesus
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- says; his cure for heart trouble, if you will.
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- Number one, believe what God says in his Word.
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- Do you believe in God?
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- You know--listen, everyone believes in something.
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- Some people believe in themselves.
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- Other believe--others believe in money.
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- Others believe in government.
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- God help you.
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- Yeah.
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- Some believe in technology.
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- "Oh, technology is going to answer all of our questions.
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- It's going to solve all of our problems."
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- But when that day comes, that final day of your life,
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- none of those things will save you.
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- The author of a biography about Steve Jobs remembered a
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- conversation he had with Steve.
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- He says, "I was sitting in the backyard with Steve and the
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- subject of God came up.
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- Steve Jobs said," and I quote, "Sometimes I believe in God.
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- Sometimes I don't.
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- I think it's 50/50 maybe.
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- Ever since I've had cancer I've been thinking about it more,
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- but I find myself believing a bit more."
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- Steve Jobs says, "I want to believe in an afterlife,
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- that when you die you don't just disappear."
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- Then he paused for a second and he said,
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- "Yeah, but sometimes I think it's like an on-and-off switch.
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- Click and you're gone," he said and paused.
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- And then he said, "And that's why I don't like putting on/off
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- switches on Apple devices," end quote.
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- Kind of a scary thought. Click and you're gone.
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- Before I was a Christian, when I was just a kid,
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- that's what I thought.
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- I thought, "One day I'll just cease to exist."
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- But then I thought, "How can I no longer exist?
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- How can I no longer be me?"
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- And I was terrified of death.
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- Are you afraid of death right now?
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- But I can tell you, I'm much older--a lot older and I'm no
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- longer afraid to die because I have hope of life beyond the
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- grave, you see, because of what Jesus said.
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- Jesus says, "Do not be afraid.
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- I am the living one.
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- I died; but look, I'm alive forevermore.
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- I hold the keys to death and the grave."
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- Now, I'm not saying I look forward to death,
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- but I look forward to going to heaven because I have this hope
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- that's been given to me by Christ who said,
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- "I am the resurrection and the life.
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- He that believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live,
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- and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die."
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- And I'll tell you what.
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- As you get older, time passes so quickly.
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- You know you're getting older when you shop at Forever 21
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- when you're 66.
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- You just need to stop doing that.
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- You know you're getting old when you sink your teeth into a juicy
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- steak and they stay there.
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- You know you're getting old when you're pulling up your socks
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- 'cause there's wrinkles and you realize,
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- "Oh no, I'm not wearing socks."
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- You know you're getting old when you drop something on the ground
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- and you reach down to get it and you wonder what else you can do
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- while you're down there, right?
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- Is that resonating with someone out there?
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- So people are in denial.
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- "Well, I'll have some surgery done."
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- You pull this. You nip that.
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- You tuck. You inject other things.
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- You have so much Botox in your face we don't even know what
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- you're thinking anymore.
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- We don't know if you're mad, if you're happy.
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- We just know you look perpetually surprised.
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- Right?
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- Listen, you can get all the potions and the lotions and eat
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- all of the kale and the tofu.
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- You're not going to extend your life one single day because God
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- determines how long you will live.
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- I did read about a 105-year-old woman from Texas
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- who had seven children.
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- Her name was Pearl Cantrell.
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- She was asked, "What is the secret to your long life?"
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- Her answer was simple.
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- She says, "I love bacon.
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- I eat it every day."
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- Go figure. Bacon.
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- I like her.
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- Speaking of that, I was talking to my granddaughter,
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- Ally, a while back and she said, "Papa," that's what she calls
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- me, "I'm a vegan now," while she was eating bacon.
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- I said, "Honey, you cannot be a vegan and be eating bacon."
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- And she says, "Well, I can't help it.
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- I just like meat from a pig."
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- Yeah, I understand.
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- She'll probably live to be 105 years old as well.
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- Listen, life's going to have a beginning,
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- it's going to have a middle, it's going to be--have an end,
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- but listen to this.
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- Death died when Christ rose.
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- You say, "Greg, are you delusional?
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- You don't think you're going to die?"
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- I know my body will go into the ground,
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- but my soul will live on.
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- My soul is eternal.
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- Then I enter the afterlife and I determine in this life where I
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- will spend the afterlife, and let me just give you a hint of
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- what's coming.
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- You have two choices: heaven or hell.
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- Another way to put it, smoking and non-smoking, okay?
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- So it's up to you.
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- But it's no joke, it's real.
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- You make that decision here.
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- I read about a man that was walking through a cemetery and
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- he saw an inscription on a tombstone that said,
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- "Pause now, stranger, as you pass by.
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- As you are now, so once was I.
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- As I am now, so you shall be.
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- So prepare for death and follow me."
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- After reading that, the man was overheard to say,
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- "To follow you is not my intent
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- until I know which way you went."
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- So which way are you going to go?
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- You say, "Well, heaven because I'm a good person."
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- Are you?
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- Are you really a good person?
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- And to the point, being a good person
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- will not get you to heaven.
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- Heaven is not for good people, heaven is for forgiven people.
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- You see?
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- But I think about heaven quite a bit because 14 years ago an
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- unspeakable tragedy happened in our home.
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- Our oldest son, Christopher, was unexpectedly
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- called home to heaven.
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- He died in an automobile accident.
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- When I heard that news that my son had died,
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- I felt like time stood still, that all the air went out of the
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- room and I literally thought I could die--not from taking my
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- life but just--if words could kill you,
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- I felt like those words could kill me.
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- But here's the hope that I have.
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- I still miss him, I still grieve over losing him,
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- but on the other hand I know I will see him again in heaven
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- because of Jesus Christ.
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- Not because he was my son, but because he believed in God's
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- Son, who forgave him of all of his sins just as he forgives
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- each of us if we put our faith in Christ.
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- Maybe I'm talking to someone who has had a loved one die
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- recently, or you've received bad news from a doctor,
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- or your marriage is falling apart,
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- or your parents are divorcing, or too many Californians have
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- moved into your state and are driving prices up.
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- I don't know.
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- But you find yourself helpless and hopeless,
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- but I'm saying to you don't give up hope.
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- It's been said man can live 40 days without food,
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- 3 days without water, 8 minutes without air,
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- but only 1 second without hope.
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- Have you lost hope tonight?
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- Don't lose it 'cause Christ is here.
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- Help is on the way,
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- hope is on the way in a relationship with him.
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- Believe in God.
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- female announcer: From the best-selling author of "Johnny
- 00:12:38.033 --> 00:12:40.136
- Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon" and "Steve
- 00:12:40.136 --> 00:12:43.239
- McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon"
- 00:12:43.239 --> 00:12:46.475
- comes Greg Laurie's new book titled "Lennon,
- 00:12:46.475 --> 00:12:49.712
- Dylan, Alice, & Jesus," which traces the rise,
- 00:12:49.712 --> 00:12:53.315
- fall, and sometimes redemption journeys of famous rock gods who
- 00:12:53.315 --> 00:12:57.787
- are brought to their knees and look up to finally meet the one
- 00:12:57.787 --> 00:13:01.223
- true God.
- 00:13:01.223 --> 00:13:02.792
- It's all in the pages of "Lennon,
- 00:13:02.792 --> 00:13:04.860
- Dylan, Alice, & Jesus."
- 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:07.696
- You'll discover the excess in self-absorption but also of
- 00:13:07.696 --> 00:13:14.804
- sweet salvation and the redemptive power
- 00:13:14.804 --> 00:13:17.573
- of Jesus Christ.
- 00:13:17.573 --> 00:13:19.508
- Greg uses his own memories, interviews,
- 00:13:19.508 --> 00:13:21.844
- and observation to draw from the lives of rock legends as they
- 00:13:21.844 --> 00:13:25.948
- descend to the depths of hell before ascending
- 00:13:25.948 --> 00:13:28.951
- to the highest heaven.
- 00:13:28.951 --> 00:13:30.820
- Request your copy of "Lennon, Dylan,
- 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.389
- Alice, & Jesus" when you give today.
- 00:13:33.389 --> 00:13:37.726
- Greg: Second reason your heart should not be troubled or
- 00:13:41.831 --> 00:13:45.868
- agitated according to Jesus is because if you're a Christian
- 00:13:45.868 --> 00:13:50.406
- you're going to heaven.
- 00:13:50.406 --> 00:13:51.740
- He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions."
- 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:54.743
- Listen to this.
- 00:13:54.743 --> 00:13:56.078
- Heaven is a real place for real people to do real things.
- 00:13:56.078 --> 00:14:00.349
- Now, the problem is Hollywood has sort of caricatured heaven
- 00:14:00.349 --> 00:14:04.486
- and we think it's this really strange place where we sit
- 00:14:04.486 --> 00:14:07.523
- around on clouds and pluck harps and little fat babies with wings
- 00:14:07.523 --> 00:14:11.727
- hover around us and--that's not heaven.
- 00:14:11.727 --> 00:14:14.463
- Think of the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.
- 00:14:14.463 --> 00:14:17.266
- Think of the beauty all around you here in this state that you
- 00:14:17.266 --> 00:14:20.236
- live in.
- 00:14:20.236 --> 00:14:21.570
- That's just a glimpse of greater things to come.
- 00:14:21.570 --> 00:14:24.206
- Heaven is not the watered-down version,
- 00:14:24.206 --> 00:14:26.375
- heaven is the real version.
- 00:14:26.375 --> 00:14:28.310
- Here on earth we just see sort of the imitation of greater
- 00:14:28.310 --> 00:14:32.114
- things to come that God has for every follower of Jesus Christ
- 00:14:32.114 --> 00:14:37.086
- who have believed in him.
- 00:14:37.086 --> 00:14:39.021
- That's why we need to look to the Lord.
- 00:14:39.021 --> 00:14:41.290
- But the non-believer does not have the promise of heaven.
- 00:14:41.290 --> 00:14:45.027
- I heard the story of a Christian father who was dying.
- 00:14:45.027 --> 00:14:49.265
- So he gathered his three sons by his bedside,
- 00:14:49.265 --> 00:14:52.868
- and to two of his sons he said, "Goodbye, sons.
- 00:14:52.868 --> 00:14:55.971
- I'll see you in the morning."
- 00:14:55.971 --> 00:14:58.941
- And the third son said, "Dad, why did you say that to them?
- 00:14:58.941 --> 00:15:04.013
- What are you going to say to me?"
- 00:15:04.013 --> 00:15:05.347
- He just said, "Goodbye, son."
- 00:15:05.347 --> 00:15:07.082
- "Wait. Goodbye, son?
- 00:15:07.082 --> 00:15:08.417
- Why can't I see you in the morning?"
- 00:15:08.417 --> 00:15:10.452
- The father said, "Because your brothers have put their faith in
- 00:15:10.452 --> 00:15:13.355
- Christ, so we'll be reunited in heaven in the afterlife."
- 00:15:13.355 --> 00:15:17.593
- He said, "But, Dad, I want to see you in the afterlife, too."
- 00:15:17.593 --> 00:15:20.229
- He said, "Son, then you need to believe in Jesus and you will."
- 00:15:20.229 --> 00:15:23.532
- And that boy believed in Jesus at that very moment,
- 00:15:23.532 --> 00:15:26.835
- and we need to do the same.
- 00:15:26.835 --> 00:15:29.471
- You see?
- 00:15:29.471 --> 00:15:33.742
- When Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many mansions," I
- 00:15:33.742 --> 00:15:36.845
- don't know if he's talking about actual buildings.
- 00:15:36.845 --> 00:15:39.548
- Maybe it's referring to our new body.
- 00:15:39.548 --> 00:15:42.084
- God's going to give you a new body.
- 00:15:42.084 --> 00:15:45.688
- People ask, "Well, what will that body be like?"
- 00:15:45.688 --> 00:15:48.223
- It'll be better than the body you have right now.
- 00:15:48.223 --> 00:15:51.260
- It'll be the radically upgraded version of you.
- 00:15:51.260 --> 00:15:54.296
- So if you're looking for me in heaven,
- 00:15:54.296 --> 00:15:55.698
- look for someone with probably an afro or something,
- 00:15:55.698 --> 00:15:58.167
- you know?
- 00:15:58.167 --> 00:15:59.501
- Then, again, maybe we'll all be bald in heaven.
- 00:15:59.501 --> 00:16:01.971
- Have you ever thought about that?
- 00:16:01.971 --> 00:16:04.473
- Yeah, that's not a very good thought, is it?
- 00:16:04.473 --> 00:16:07.276
- I was talking to two of my granddaughters, Stella and Lucy.
- 00:16:07.276 --> 00:16:10.279
- They said, "Papa, how old will we be when we get to heaven?"
- 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.549
- I said, "Girls, I don't know, maybe 33," and they said,
- 00:16:13.549 --> 00:16:16.485
- "Why 33?"
- 00:16:16.485 --> 00:16:17.820
- I said, "Well, that was the age Jesus was when he died."
- 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:20.823
- Then Lucy my granddaughter said,
- 00:16:20.823 --> 00:16:23.325
- "I wanna be three when I'm in heaven.
- 00:16:23.325 --> 00:16:25.794
- I said, "Three? Why do you wanna be three?"
- 00:16:25.794 --> 00:16:28.063
- She said, "I miss the old me."
- 00:16:28.063 --> 00:16:34.036
- Well, this body we're in right now is breaking down.
- 00:16:34.036 --> 00:16:36.638
- Experts tell us as we get older the number of nerve cells
- 00:16:36.638 --> 00:16:39.775
- in the brain decrease.
- 00:16:39.775 --> 00:16:41.443
- We start with around 100 billion brain cells,
- 00:16:41.443 --> 00:16:44.380
- but then in our 20s the number starts to decline.
- 00:16:44.380 --> 00:16:47.316
- At 40, we're losing up to 10.000 brain cells a day.
- 00:16:47.316 --> 00:16:51.787
- You've probably lost 5.000 brain cells listening to me tonight.
- 00:16:51.787 --> 00:16:57.626
- But there's a hope of another body,
- 00:16:57.626 --> 00:17:00.195
- a newer body.
- 00:17:00.195 --> 00:17:01.630
- So if you were disabled on earth,
- 00:17:01.630 --> 00:17:03.499
- you won't be in heaven.
- 00:17:03.499 --> 00:17:05.000
- If your body has cancer here, it won't be then.
- 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.570
- If your body's worn out here, it won't be then.
- 00:17:08.570 --> 00:17:12.074
- So let not your heart be troubled.
- 00:17:12.074 --> 00:17:13.976
- It's good news, why?
- 00:17:13.976 --> 00:17:17.780
- Believe God's Word.
- 00:17:17.780 --> 00:17:19.715
- Believe what God said in his Word.
- 00:17:19.715 --> 00:17:22.518
- Number two, you're going to heaven if you're a Christian.
- 00:17:22.518 --> 00:17:26.088
- And number three, he's shown us the way to heaven.
- 00:17:26.088 --> 00:17:29.691
- I was told that this arena we're in right now,
- 00:17:29.691 --> 00:17:32.828
- the ExtraMile Arena, the first person here was not a sports
- 00:17:32.828 --> 00:17:36.999
- team or a rock band or anybody else.
- 00:17:36.999 --> 00:17:40.102
- It was Billy Graham, who did an eight-night crusade.
- 00:17:40.102 --> 00:17:42.671
- Isn't that great?
- 00:17:42.671 --> 00:17:47.109
- I heard this story of when Billy was in a town to do
- 00:17:47.109 --> 00:17:49.211
- one of his crusades.
- 00:17:49.211 --> 00:17:50.913
- He wrote a letter to his wife, Ruth,
- 00:17:50.913 --> 00:17:52.815
- but he didn't know where the post office was.
- 00:17:52.815 --> 00:17:54.583
- So he was walking around looking for it and he saw some young man
- 00:17:54.583 --> 00:17:58.353
- there and he said, "Young man, can you tell me where the post
- 00:17:58.353 --> 00:18:01.056
- office is?"
- 00:18:01.056 --> 00:18:02.391
- The little guy said, "Yeah.
- 00:18:02.391 --> 00:18:03.725
- Just go up the street here, turn right,
- 00:18:03.725 --> 00:18:05.060
- and that's the post office."
- 00:18:05.060 --> 00:18:06.395
- He goes, "That's great.
- 00:18:06.395 --> 00:18:07.729
- By the way," he said, "I'm speaking here in this stadium
- 00:18:07.729 --> 00:18:09.865
- tonight and maybe you would like to come and hear me and I will
- 00:18:09.865 --> 00:18:12.968
- show you how to get to heaven."
- 00:18:12.968 --> 00:18:14.937
- The little guy said, "Why should I go hear you?
- 00:18:14.937 --> 00:18:17.339
- You don't even know the way to the post office."
- 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:22.845
- How do you get to heaven?
- 00:18:22.845 --> 00:18:25.080
- How can you know you'll go to heaven when you die?
- 00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:27.616
- Jesus gives us the answer.
- 00:18:27.616 --> 00:18:29.418
- He says, "Where I go, and the way you know."
- 00:18:29.418 --> 00:18:32.421
- And I love how--Thomas said, "We don't know where you're going,
- 00:18:32.421 --> 00:18:35.891
- and we don't know the way."
- 00:18:35.891 --> 00:18:37.392
- I think a lot of times when Jesus spoke to his disciples it
- 00:18:37.392 --> 00:18:40.129
- went right over their heads.
- 00:18:40.129 --> 00:18:42.131
- He talked about dying and rising from the dead.
- 00:18:42.131 --> 00:18:44.166
- They just didn't understand that at all.
- 00:18:44.166 --> 00:18:47.269
- And when he would talk about things like that,
- 00:18:47.269 --> 00:18:48.837
- they would probably nod their heads in unison.
- 00:18:48.837 --> 00:18:51.573
- "Oh, that's so deep."
- 00:18:51.573 --> 00:18:52.908
- They were clueless.
- 00:18:52.908 --> 00:18:54.676
- It's like a teacher in a class doing some complex equation up
- 00:18:54.676 --> 00:18:57.713
- on the math board or up on the blackboard and they say,
- 00:18:57.713 --> 00:19:00.382
- "Do you all understand it?"
- 00:19:00.382 --> 00:19:01.717
- Everyone's, "Yes."
- 00:19:01.717 --> 00:19:03.051
- But no one understands.
- 00:19:03.051 --> 00:19:04.853
- So Jesus says, "Where I go you know,
- 00:19:04.853 --> 00:19:06.588
- and the way you know."
- 00:19:06.588 --> 00:19:07.923
- Thomas says, "We don't know what you're talking about.
- 00:19:07.923 --> 00:19:11.426
- We don't know the way, and we do not know where you're going."
- 00:19:11.426 --> 00:19:14.396
- But I'm glad Thomas asked that question because Jesus then
- 00:19:14.396 --> 00:19:17.966
- said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to
- 00:19:17.966 --> 00:19:22.137
- the Father but by me."
- 00:19:22.137 --> 00:19:24.773
- You know, Thomas has been described as a doubter.
- 00:19:24.773 --> 00:19:29.244
- We call him Doubting Thomas.
- 00:19:29.244 --> 00:19:31.547
- He was more of a skeptic.
- 00:19:31.547 --> 00:19:33.882
- He didn't let other people make his decisions for him.
- 00:19:33.882 --> 00:19:38.287
- When I became a Christian at the age of 17,
- 00:19:38.287 --> 00:19:40.722
- I was a skeptic.
- 00:19:40.722 --> 00:19:42.491
- I'd lived a hard life.
- 00:19:42.491 --> 00:19:44.126
- My mother was married and divorced seven times.
- 00:19:44.126 --> 00:19:46.929
- She was a raging alcoholic.
- 00:19:46.929 --> 00:19:49.331
- All I saw was bad behavior of adults fighting and passing out
- 00:19:49.331 --> 00:19:53.035
- at night and--so I tried drinking for a while and was
- 00:19:53.035 --> 00:19:57.639
- disillusioned with it.
- 00:19:57.639 --> 00:19:58.974
- I got into drugs for a while, and by the age of 17 I felt like
- 00:19:58.974 --> 00:20:03.212
- I was 70 and I was wondering, "What is life all about?
- 00:20:03.212 --> 00:20:07.216
- I don't see any adult that I know that I want to be like.
- 00:20:07.216 --> 00:20:11.119
- And these kids that I hang around with,
- 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:12.854
- they don't know any more than I know."
- 00:20:12.854 --> 00:20:15.023
- And I was searching and I transferred over to this high
- 00:20:15.023 --> 00:20:17.859
- school called Harbor High School in Newport Beach,
- 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:20.462
- California, and there was a lot of Christians there because the
- 00:20:20.462 --> 00:20:25.167
- Jesus movement was in full swing.
- 00:20:25.167 --> 00:20:28.036
- And one of my friends warned me,
- 00:20:28.036 --> 00:20:29.438
- "Greg, stay away from the Jesus freaks."
- 00:20:29.438 --> 00:20:32.674
- And I said, "The last thing Greg Laurie will ever do is become a
- 00:20:32.674 --> 00:20:36.044
- Jesus freak."
- 00:20:36.044 --> 00:20:38.680
- Yeah, famous last words.
- 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:41.617
- I thought they were a little nutty.
- 00:20:41.617 --> 00:20:43.619
- I thought they were a little weird.
- 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:44.953
- I thought, "Where do these people come from?"
- 00:20:44.953 --> 00:20:47.589
- I thought they were like, you know,
- 00:20:47.589 --> 00:20:49.024
- one tacos short of a combination plate, maybe.
- 00:20:49.024 --> 00:20:53.028
- But one day I went across the campus and there was a group of
- 00:20:53.028 --> 00:20:56.865
- Christians sitting there singing their songs about God and I sat
- 00:20:56.865 --> 00:21:02.437
- close enough to hear what they were saying but not so close
- 00:21:02.437 --> 00:21:05.340
- that my friends would think I was becoming a Christian,
- 00:21:05.340 --> 00:21:09.778
- and that was the first time I heard this evangelist named
- 00:21:09.778 --> 00:21:11.980
- Lonnie speak.
- 00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:13.382
- And he said, "Jesus said, 'You're for me or against me.'"
- 00:21:13.382 --> 00:21:16.785
- And I looked around at the Christians and I thought,
- 00:21:16.785 --> 00:21:18.720
- "Well, I'm not one of them.
- 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.389
- Does that mean I'm against Jesus?"
- 00:21:20.389 --> 00:21:22.357
- I didn't want to be against Jesus.
- 00:21:22.357 --> 00:21:24.359
- I've always acknowledged he existed,
- 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:26.695
- I've always sort of believed in him or what I knew of him,
- 00:21:26.695 --> 00:21:29.965
- I'd seen all of his movies, but it was the first time that the
- 00:21:29.965 --> 00:21:35.337
- idea of having a relationship with God was presented to me.
- 00:21:35.337 --> 00:21:39.675
- And Lonnie gave this invitation for people to come to Christ and
- 00:21:39.675 --> 00:21:43.245
- kids got up and walked forward on a high school campus.
- 00:21:43.245 --> 00:21:45.847
- I thought, "There's no way I would ever do that."
- 00:21:45.847 --> 00:21:49.284
- I sort of hung my head down.
- 00:21:49.284 --> 00:21:50.719
- My hair was hanging in my eyes.
- 00:21:50.719 --> 00:21:53.221
- Use your imagination.
- 00:21:53.221 --> 00:21:56.158
- Next thing I knew I was up there praying,
- 00:21:56.158 --> 00:21:58.727
- and that was the day Christ came into my life and I have never
- 00:21:58.727 --> 00:22:02.698
- regretted making that decision.
- 00:22:02.698 --> 00:22:06.001
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:22:06.001 --> 00:22:14.209
- I'm going to ask you to make a similar decision tonight.
- 00:22:14.209 --> 00:22:17.346
- Maybe you came here as a skeptic,
- 00:22:17.346 --> 00:22:19.514
- someone that wasn't sure if this was all true.
- 00:22:19.514 --> 00:22:22.451
- Maybe your friend bribed you with food afterwards.
- 00:22:22.451 --> 00:22:24.786
- I don't know what.
- 00:22:24.786 --> 00:22:26.355
- But you're here, and I want you to think for yourself.
- 00:22:26.355 --> 00:22:29.658
- Be like Thomas.
- 00:22:29.658 --> 00:22:30.992
- Be a skeptic, say, "Yeah. Well, I'm not sure.
- 00:22:30.992 --> 00:22:33.362
- I'm not going to let somebody else think for me."
- 00:22:33.362 --> 00:22:35.931
- We engage in sort of groupthink: what is popular,
- 00:22:35.931 --> 00:22:39.334
- what is cool, what is the trend.
- 00:22:39.334 --> 00:22:41.103
- Think for yourself because I believe God is speaking to some
- 00:22:41.103 --> 00:22:44.673
- people's hearts right now,
- 00:22:44.673 --> 00:22:46.641
- and this is what you've been looking for.
- 00:22:46.641 --> 00:22:49.077
- Not religion, not a bunch of rules and regulations,
- 00:22:49.077 --> 00:22:52.681
- a relationship with God.
- 00:22:52.681 --> 00:22:55.417
- Jesus is passing by. He's here.
- 00:22:55.417 --> 00:22:58.220
- He's ready to forgive you, but you must call out to him.
- 00:22:58.220 --> 00:23:01.289
- The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will
- 00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:04.860
- be saved, but some of us are too proud to call
- 00:23:04.860 --> 00:23:11.266
- on the name of the Lord.
- 00:23:11.266 --> 00:23:12.601
- We don't think we need to be saved.
- 00:23:12.601 --> 00:23:14.569
- "Well, I don't want to call out to God.
- 00:23:14.569 --> 00:23:16.638
- That's a sign of weakness.
- 00:23:16.638 --> 00:23:18.740
- Christianity is a crutch."
- 00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:21.042
- Oh, listen, Christianity is not a crutch.
- 00:23:21.042 --> 00:23:23.779
- It's a whole hospital and you need it.
- 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:27.382
- He'll save you.
- 00:23:27.382 --> 00:23:34.189
- He'll forgive you.
- 00:23:34.189 --> 00:23:35.924
- This can be the night that you change your eternal address from
- 00:23:35.924 --> 00:23:39.928
- hell to heaven.
- 00:23:39.928 --> 00:23:41.263
- He's just a prayer away.
- 00:23:41.263 --> 00:23:47.502
- Greg: So would you like to accept Jesus Christ into your
- 00:23:51.673 --> 00:23:54.176
- life right now?
- 00:23:54.176 --> 00:23:56.611
- Here's what you need to know.
- 00:23:56.611 --> 00:23:58.113
- You're a sinner.
- 00:23:58.113 --> 00:23:59.781
- I don't mean that as an insult.
- 00:23:59.781 --> 00:24:01.316
- We're all sinners.
- 00:24:01.316 --> 00:24:02.851
- The Bible says all have sinned
- 00:24:02.851 --> 00:24:04.853
- and fallen short of the glory of God.
- 00:24:04.853 --> 00:24:06.955
- That's why we need a savior.
- 00:24:06.955 --> 00:24:08.990
- That's why Jesus died in the cross for us.
- 00:24:08.990 --> 00:24:11.226
- The Bible says while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
- 00:24:11.226 --> 00:24:15.564
- He took all of the punishment for your sin,
- 00:24:15.564 --> 00:24:18.733
- for my sin upon himself as he hung there.
- 00:24:18.733 --> 00:24:21.803
- With one hand he took hold of God,
- 00:24:21.803 --> 00:24:23.805
- with the other hand he took hold of humanity,
- 00:24:23.805 --> 00:24:26.308
- and they pounded spikes to those hands.
- 00:24:26.308 --> 00:24:28.610
- And as the Bible says, Christ died for our sins.
- 00:24:28.610 --> 00:24:32.013
- So what do I need to do?
- 00:24:32.013 --> 00:24:33.448
- Well, I need to turn from my sin.
- 00:24:33.448 --> 00:24:36.017
- The Bible says repent and be converted.
- 00:24:36.017 --> 00:24:39.321
- The word repent is a military term.
- 00:24:39.321 --> 00:24:41.256
- It sort of means an about face.
- 00:24:41.256 --> 00:24:43.258
- So turn your back on sin and now start walking toward God,
- 00:24:43.258 --> 00:24:47.762
- and then you need to receive Jesus Christ into your life.
- 00:24:47.762 --> 00:24:51.600
- You see, becoming a Christian is not becoming a religious person.
- 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:56.238
- I don't want to be a religious person.
- 00:24:56.238 --> 00:24:58.640
- This is about a relationship where you ask Jesus to be your
- 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.511
- friend, your Savior, your Lord.
- 00:25:02.511 --> 00:25:05.847
- Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and I knock,
- 00:25:05.847 --> 00:25:08.984
- and if you'll hear my voice and open the door I will come in."
- 00:25:08.984 --> 00:25:12.187
- So you need to ask Christ to come into your life,
- 00:25:12.187 --> 00:25:15.357
- and then you need to do it right now.
- 00:25:15.357 --> 00:25:17.792
- The Bible says today is the day of salvation.
- 00:25:17.792 --> 00:25:20.729
- Right now Christ can come and live inside of your heart,
- 00:25:20.729 --> 00:25:24.266
- and I'm going to lead you in a simple prayer.
- 00:25:24.266 --> 00:25:26.601
- I would ask that you would pray this prayer out loud after me.
- 00:25:26.601 --> 00:25:30.138
- If you want your sin forgiven, if you want to know that you're
- 00:25:30.138 --> 00:25:33.208
- going to heaven when you die, if you want to fill that big hole
- 00:25:33.208 --> 00:25:36.144
- in your heart, pray this prayer with me right now.
- 00:25:36.144 --> 00:25:40.482
- Pray, "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner,
- 00:25:40.482 --> 00:25:44.753
- but I know that you're the Savior who died
- 00:25:44.753 --> 00:25:47.455
- in the cross for me.
- 00:25:47.455 --> 00:25:49.157
- I turn from my sin and I choose to follow you
- 00:25:49.157 --> 00:25:53.395
- from this moment forward.
- 00:25:53.395 --> 00:25:55.397
- Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering it.
- 00:25:55.397 --> 00:25:58.800
- In Jesus name I pray, amen."
- 00:25:58.800 --> 00:26:02.404
- If you just prayed that prayer and meant it,
- 00:26:02.404 --> 00:26:04.906
- I want you to know in the authority of Scripture that
- 00:26:04.906 --> 00:26:07.242
- Jesus Christ himself has come to take residence in your heart.
- 00:26:07.242 --> 00:26:12.113
- Now, on the screen there's a phone number.
- 00:26:12.113 --> 00:26:14.382
- If you call that number, it would be our joy to send you
- 00:26:14.382 --> 00:26:18.086
- what is called the "New Believer's Bible."
- 00:26:18.086 --> 00:26:20.889
- This is a very friendly translation of the Bible--the
- 00:26:20.889 --> 00:26:23.592
- New Testament actually called the New Living Translation,
- 00:26:23.592 --> 00:26:26.895
- and it's filled with hundreds of notes that I wrote to encourage
- 00:26:26.895 --> 00:26:30.198
- you in this commitment you've just made.
- 00:26:30.198 --> 00:26:32.534
- It's sort of like you and me going out for a cup of coffee
- 00:26:32.534 --> 00:26:35.503
- and talking about the Bible.
- 00:26:35.503 --> 00:26:37.372
- That's how it's written. You're going to love it.
- 00:26:37.372 --> 00:26:39.708
- I want to send that to you at no charge.
- 00:26:39.708 --> 00:26:42.410
- So order your "New Believer's Bible."
- 00:26:42.410 --> 00:26:45.680
- So all the information you need to get your "New Believer's
- 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:48.516
- Bible" is right there on the screen.
- 00:26:48.516 --> 00:26:51.119
- There's a website listed, and we want to get back to you as
- 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:54.255
- quickly as possible with your copy
- 00:26:54.255 --> 00:26:56.524
- of the "New Believer's Bible."
- 00:26:56.524 --> 00:26:58.593
- And thanks for watching, and God bless you.
- 00:26:58.593 --> 00:27:01.696
- You've made the most important decision of your life.
- 00:27:01.696 --> 00:27:04.799
- ♪ This is the day, the day when life begins. ♪
- 00:27:08.603 --> 00:27:16.111
- ♪ This is the day, the day when life begins. ♪♪
- 00:27:16.111 --> 00:27:16.111
