The World Changer at the End of the World: Filled with The Spirit

Today's episode of A New Beginning is brought to you by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Learn more at harvest.org. And while you're there, browse our library of free e-books designed to help you grow in your faith. Spirit, I want to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. That's a precious thing. 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?

Well, only if you like ditches. Today on A New Beginning, in one of the year's most requested messages, Pastor Greg Laurie points out some people choose to do that with their very lives and wind up in some kind of ditch. Let me take a quick poll. How many of you here right now believe that Jesus Christ is coming back again? Raise your hand if you believe he's coming back. How many of you believe he could come back in your lifetime? Raise up your hand, okay. How many of you believe he could even come back tonight? Raise your hand. How many of you feel like if he were to come back tonight, you would be ready to meet him? Raise your hand up.

Okay, good, good. I believe that too. You know, there was a Gallup poll taken that revealed that a surprising 66% of the American public believes Jesus Christ is coming back to the earth in the future. That's a very high percentage because somewhere around 50% of Americans, maybe the number is slightly lower now, maybe high 40s, but somewhere around 50% of Americans claim to be Christians. So a higher percentage of Americans believe Jesus Christ is coming back than even the percentage of Americans that claim to be Christians.

And now with all that is going on in the news, oh my, it just seems like it is almost obvious. I wonder how it will be reported after Christ comes back. What the headlines would be. Probably the headline of the Wall Street Journal the day after Christ came back would be Dow Jones plummets as world ends. They would come out of maybe from a more financial perspective. Victoria's Secret catalog would say our final sale.

Something like that, right? Sports Illustrated, their headline would be game over. They would look at it from more of a sports perspective. USA Today, they are always known for their simplicity. Headline would simply be we are dead. Wired magazine, more of a high-tech magazine, would say the last new thing. Rolling Stone would have on the cover of their magazine the Grateful Dead reunion tour. Something like that.

I don't know. Ladies Home Journal lose 10 pounds by judgment day with our new Armageddon diet, right? There would be a diet element.

The food network would simply be our cooked goose recipe. So no matter what, there is a day that is appointed. We don't know when because Jesus said no man knows. The day of the hour when He will return. When Christ will return. In my understanding of Bible prophecy, which is 100 percent perfect. I am kind of joking. But I do kind of think it is right. Of course we all think that. But in my view of Bible prophecy I think the next event on the prophetic calendar as I have said many times will be the rapture of the church.

And we don't hear enough about this topic these days. It is so important but it seems to have fallen somewhat out of favor in the church as a teaching. What is the rapture? It is from the Greek word harpazo. And it is a word that describes people being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The best known verse is 1 Thessalonians 4 and 17. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the dead in Christ will rise first and we which are alive and remaining will be caught up. Greek word harpazo.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So some will push back and say, you know actually that is a teaching that has only been around since the 1800s. No actually it is a teaching that goes back 2,000 years ago because I just quoted the Apostle Paul who gives us that very teaching. And some will say well you can't find the word rapture in the Bible. Well you can't find the word Bible in the Bible either.

Nor can you find the word trinity in the Bible. But if you happen to have a Latin translation you actually do have the word rapture because the word harpazo is translated to rapturous in the Latin Bible. So call it the rapturous. Call it the harpazo.

Call it the great escape. It doesn't matter. It is going to happen. In my view it could happen at any moment. After that the Antichrist emerges. In fact I do not believe that the Antichrist this coming world leader can show up in the world scene until the church is caught up to meet the Lord. The Bible says he who now restrains will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way.

Then that wicked one will be revealed whom the Lord will destroy with the brightness of his coming. The restraining force in the world today. The restraining force in America today. The reason all hell is not completely broken loose so you would think it had is because believers are the restraining force on the planet.

Sort of keeping things at bay. The Holy Spirit working through the church. Once the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air then the Antichrist is revealed. Then the so-called tribulation period begins.

That lasts for seven years. That ends with the battles of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ. And then of course the millennial reign of the Lord. The Bible talks a lot about this.

Well what are we supposed to do in light of this teaching? Well we want to live lives that honor the Lord. We want to pay attention to these signs of the times. And I want to focus on a man who lived in the last days if you will. Now they were his last days.

They're different than ours. We're waiting for the judgment that will come upon the planet by fire. He was waiting for the judgment that would come upon the planet by water. And his name was Noah. He was living in the days before the great flood. And Jesus actually brought him up as a picture of what things will be like before Christ returns into Matthew 24. It said the arrival of the Son of Man will take place in days like Noah's. Before that great flood everyone was carrying on as usual.

Having a good time. Right until the day that Noah boarded the ark they knew nothing until the flood swept everything away. And then Jesus says the Son of Man's arrival will be like that. Two men will be working in the field. One will be taken the other left. Two women will be grinding at a mill. One will be taken and the other left.

So be alert and be awake because you have no idea when your master will show up. All right so here is the story. Noah's ark.

Beautiful. They make it to the new land and now they're giving thanks to the Lord. And if this were a movie and if we wrote it this is where the story would end. You can see the closing scene. Noah's looking up to heaven.

Tears coming down his face. The flowers are growing and the animals are hopping around and there's a rainbow and the credits are on the screen. But that's not how the story ends. Because this is a Bible story. And Bible stories are true. They're not fairy tales. And when something happens that is not convenient it's there anyway.

Because if it happens it happens. And all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And the Lord doesn't cover up the flaws of the great men and women that He used. So what happened next is kind of sad in many ways in the life of Noah.

But it did happen. Genesis chapter 9 verse 20. After the flood Noah began to cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. One day he drank some wine that he had made and became drunk and lay naked inside of his tent. Ham the father of Canaan saw his father was naked went outside and told his brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it over their shoulders and backed into the tent to cover their father.

And as they did this they looked the other way so they would not see him naked. A few things pop out from this story. First of all it teaches us anyone can fall into sin. You know it may surprise you to know that sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping than the person who is young in the faith. Does that make sense to you? Sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping than the person who is young in the faith.

You say but why? Because when you're young in the faith you know you're weak and vulnerable. So you're careful and you hopefully surround yourself with godly people. But when you've known the Lord for a while you're thinking well I'm I'm pretty good. I don't think I need to have those safeguards on my life anymore. I'll just pretty much not be accountable to anyone and do what I want when I want.

The next thing you know you're falling. Extensive Bible knowledge and years of spiritual experience make you think you're somehow above it all. You think you've reached some kind of a plateau spiritually but you'll never reach that plateau. And the Bible warns that him that thinks he sins take heed lest he fall. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Hey everybody Greg Laurie here. You know my uncle Fred Jordan had one of the first Christian TV programs out there. It was called Church in the Home.

I remember watching it as a little boy when I was living with my grandparents. Well we have Church in the Home for you every weekend. It's called Harvest at Home and you can find it at Harvest.org. We have worship and a message from God's word. So join us this weekend for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well glad you're along today as Pastor Greg presents a message called The World Changer at the End of the World Part 2.

It's near the top of the list of our most requested messages of the past year. Number two we can't ignore this. I'm going to make somebody mad right now so get ready. In the sin of Noah we see the destructive power of alcohol right. I mean look at verse 21. He became drunk and lay naked.

Now look we have to understand the original language here. Scholars tell us the Hebrew word here for uncovered or lay naked indicates a deliberate act and not a mere unconscious effect of drunkenness. This is certainly not a good thing to do. He was not a good example. Let's just think for a moment of how many lives have been ruined by alcohol. I've never seen one good thing come from drinking but I've seen a lot of bad things come from it. Now you all know I was raised in an alcoholic home and so I dealt with this up close and personal for the first 17 years of my life on a scale you wouldn't believe. My mother was a raging alcoholic pretty much drinking herself into a stupor every night and passing out on the floor. Sometimes not coming home at all.

Other times getting behind the wheel of the car and driving horribly and she in fact I wasn't with her on this occasion but she was going up Jamboree boulevard and went over the the center divider and had a head-on collision and a 1965 mustang. This is pre-safety bags and such and it almost killed her but I just saw the effects of alcohol and I still see it to this day. I see people that start to drink a little and one thing leads to another and it becomes a problem and we dismiss it. We say well you know they have a disease.

Is that what it is? Alcoholism is a disease. It's a disease. If alcoholism is a disease it's the only disease that's bottled and sold. If alcoholism is a disease it's the only one that's contracted by the will of man. If it's a disease it's the only disease that provokes crime.

Now here's my point. I understand that some people are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than others. I understand that some people can maybe have a drink and it's not a big deal and it doesn't destroy their life and their marriage doesn't unravel. But I know other people literally they have a sip of alcohol and it can lead to their ruin because they've seen it happen in real time.

Because they have the propensity. So we say well that's their problem. It's not my problem.

Ah now we have another issue. And the other issue is what if your so-called liberty to drink causes another person who doesn't have that liberty to stumble. What if you have your drinks with your meal and you think it's cool and then your friend who was an alcoholic who just came to Christ and was gloriously delivered sees you having a drink and they have a drink and they fall off the wagon and destroy their life. Well that doesn't happen. Actually it happens a lot. And I could tell you a lot of stories where I've seen it happen.

So we need to really think about this because it can bring so much havoc in a life. I've come to this brilliant conclusion. Follow me on this. If you don't drink you'll never get drunk. You won't. I don't want to be under the influence of an intoxicant. Be it drinking. Be it weed. Be it any other drug of any kind that is now beginning to get control of my life.

It can even be a medication that was prescribed to me that I'm beginning to abuse. You see I don't want those substances controlling me. I don't want to be controlled by the spirits. I want to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

That's a precious thing. To have a clear mind. And the Bible says don't be drunk with wine where it is excess but be filled with the Spirit speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. So Noah was the last day's believer and we are too. And I mentioned that statement where Jesus said two men will be working in the field. One will be taken in the other left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken in the other left. Stay awake. Be alert. You don't know when your master will show up.

Question. What if Jesus came back for us tonight? What if this was the night?

Would you be ready to meet him? Now I know the second coming will not happen tonight. Well how do you know that? Because there's a difference between the rapture and the second coming. See the rapture, the harpazo I was talking about that earlier, is when Jesus comes for his church like a thief in the night.

Remember that expression? The second coming is when he comes at the end of the tribulation period with his church and the Bible says every eye will see him. So I know the second coming, the return of Christ to the earth bodily where he establishes his kingdom could not happen tonight. But the rapture, the harpazo where believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air that can happen at any moment.

That's why you want to be ready. And that's what Jesus is referring to when he says one will be taken and the other left. You see. So what would happen to you? If the Lord were to come back would you be taken or would you be left?

Here's your choice. Get right or get left. Maybe you're someone who has had a lapse in your faith. Maybe you've stumbled and you've fallen. But listen if you have fallen you can get up but maybe you need a helping hand.

Can I offer that to you right now? Just say here come on get back up on your feet and make a recommitment to Jesus Christ. Don't stay in that state. You can start over again. You can get back in the race of life again. But there might be someone listening that has never asked Jesus Christ to come into their life. And as I talk about the Lord's return it kind of scares you. And maybe it should because you're not sure if you're ready to meet the Lord. Well you can be ready.

Here's what you need to understand. Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin. He went there voluntarily and paid the price for every sin you've ever committed. And then he rose again from the dead and now he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and says in full hear his voice and open the door.

He will come in. He's just a prayer away. All you need to do is say Lord come into my life and forgive me of my sins. If you're not sure if Jesus Christ is living in your life respond to this invitation as we pray. Father speak to any person here.

Any person listening or watching wherever they might be who does not yet know you. Help them to come to you. Help them believe in you.

Help them be forgiven by you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer. And if you'd like to follow through and make a change in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg will help you do that before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes.

So stay with us. And then it's a real joy to have our good friend Pastor Levi Lusko with us. He's lead pastor of Fresh Life Church in Montana, Utah, Oregon, and Wyoming. And he's written the new book that we're making available, a colorful children's devotional resource called Roar Like a Lion. Levi what are you hearing from parents about the book? What has this resource done for kids and their folks?

Well it's been so surprising Dave. You know I knew that kids were going to like it because we had focus grouped it with our own kids. All my kids when I would write one would read it, tell me what they didn't like about it.

Then when our illustrator Catherine Pearson would send us the rough sketches of the drawings, she lives in Switzerland so she would email them. My kids would say I don't like that or that bear is not fat enough or you know whatever and we would make the tweaks. So we already knew we had something good on our hands but what I was surprised by was the fact that I would hear back from adults who were blessed by it too. Matter of fact one pastor who I sent it to in Australia wrote me back and said I don't even have kids in the house anymore my grandkids aren't around but I've enjoyed reading this myself and that was a great laugh because you know God's word is God's word and of course a kid's devotional should encourage us because it's based on God's word which will encourage all of us and Jesus said we all have to have faith like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. I also have heard a lot from homeschooled moms and homeschooled dads who have said that this has been a really indispensable part of their homeschooled curriculum because it has history and Bible so they'll do maybe a little bit of this lesson then they'll do a deep dive on the Wright brothers and the fact that they flipped a coin to figure out who was going to fly first at Kitty Hawk or the Corey 10 Boom section and then they'll learn more about that historical person and then they'll do a deeper dive on the scriptures and that they've said it's basically functioning as Bible and history class. Great so Roar Like a Lion this new book by Levi Lasko deals with topics like having courage to try something new even when others are watching, facing fears about school and friendships, handling new challenges and past disappointments, dealing with peer pressure and bullying and finally understanding how we each fit into God's great story.

So you can see that Levi is bringing it into the real world of what your kids are facing right now so you can equip them, prepare them, help them, encourage them and more. So order your copy of this brand new book by Levi Lasko titled Roar Like a Lion 90 Devotions to a Courageous Faith. Yes the perfect time for a new devotional resource at the start of a new year and what better way to have quality time with your kids or grandkids. We'll send it to you to say thank you for your investment in this ministry and the lives that will be touched in the coming year.

And doesn't our culture need a touch from the Lord right about now? So thank you for your investment today and we'll say thanks tangibly with a copy of the brand new book called Roar Like a Lion. Now we're only able to mention this a short time longer so write us today at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call any time 24 7 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg, a couple of moments ago you talked of the importance of coming to the Lord to have our sins forgiven.

That's right. If somebody if somebody listening right now wants to do that, could you help them? Yeah I can do that Dave.

I'd be happy to. In the book of Isaiah we read these words, seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous man their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord and he will have mercy on them and to our God for he will freely pardon. Listen that's God's word to you. And let me address this to the person who has never asked Jesus Christ to come into their life.

Why don't you do it now? That verse says seek the Lord while he may be found. God has touched your heart today perhaps and you've thought I need this relationship with the Lord. One of these days I'm going to make that commitment to Christ. No don't wait for one of these days. This is the day.

This is your moment. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he's near. Listen God is near to you and he is ready to come into your life. And there's another part of this verse when it says let us return to the Lord. I want to also extend an invitation to you that have fallen away from your faith. You've fallen away from the Lord and you need to make a recommitment. So if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to go to heaven when you die, or if you've fallen away from the Lord and you want to return to him, pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner but I also know that you are a savior and I need your help. I need your forgiveness. Come into my life and forgive me of all of my sins.

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my savior. Be my Lord.

Be my God and be my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen. Hey I want you to know on the authority of scripture if you just prayed that prayer and meant it, Christ has heard you and he has forgiven you. So God bless you. Yeah and we want to help you begin to grow in your new faith. We want to send you some resource materials we call our New Believers Growth Packet.

It'll answer some of the questions you might have and get you started off right. So get in touch for your New Believers Growth Packet. We'll send it free of charge if you prayed with Pastor Greg for the first time today. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or go to harvest.org and click the words, Know God. And while you're online with us, why not begin receiving Pastor Greg's daily devotions via email every day.

They're free of charge. We'll send them to the email address you provide for us, and when they arrive you can read them or with one click listen to the audio version. Sign up today free of charge at harvest.org. Well next time Pastor Greg offers practical help for fighting the spiritual battles we face every day.

It's the final message in our collection of most requested studies of the year. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.