A New Beginning presents a book about the greatest evangelist of the 20th century, Billy Graham, written by his friend, Pastor Greg Laurie. I bring insights that maybe other books have not really touched on. I also weave in a lot of my personal experiences, one-on-one with Billy, things he said to me, and things I gleaned by watching him. So if you want to learn more about this man that changed the world, get your copy of Billy Graham, The Man I Knew.
Yours for a gift of any amount at Harvest.org. Learn without fear, and know that we have hope in the afterlife. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Again you hear when the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when life begins. Cemeteries are full of people who didn't expect to die when death came knocking. And what comes after this life has to be prearranged before this life is over. So although death may be years away for you, it's not too early to make those afterlife arrangements. And today is the day, as Pastor Greg Laurie brings a message called, Will I Go to Heaven? Why'd you long for a new beginning? And a message from the series called, Timeless, Unchanging Truths in a Changing Culture.
This is the day, the day when life begins. So I heard a story about a man who went down to Florida because it was so cold in Chicago. And his wife was going to join him a little bit later. And after he landed he wanted to shoot his wife a quick text and let her know that he arrived safely.
But she had just changed her phone number. And he committed it to memory, but as it turns out he got one digit wrong. So he sends this message to his wife. Well actually it didn't go to his wife at all. It went to an elderly woman whose husband had just died and he happened to be a pastor. And so the family was gathered there in the home and suddenly they hear the elderly woman shriek and they run in and they grab her phone and read this message on it. Dearest wife just checked in. Everything is prepared for your arrival tomorrow. P.S.
It sure is hot down here. Yes. That is one of those preacher jokes. Preacher jokes are a lot like dad jokes. Aren't they? Kind of lame.
Mildly amusing. But sooner or later we are all going to enter into the afterlife. Death is no respecter of persons. The rich and the poor.
The famous. The unknown. Death is the great equalizer. You know I remember before I was a Christian I thought when you died you simply ceased to exist. And that freaked me out. Now there is a scene in the movie Jesus Revolution where my character Greg is running down the street. That actually happened. But there are some scenes that didn't ever happen in real life. And it is disappointing because people come up to me and say we love the movie and we love this scene.
And it seems like they always pick the scenes that actually never happen in real life. Like they will say I love it when you met Kathy and you looked through the fence. That is my favorite scene. What was that like? I have to say sorry that didn't happen. That is not how we actually met. That is a little bit of movie mythology added to the story. Or they will say I love that part when the hippies gave you the car.
That is a great scene. How was that? Well that didn't happen either. I actually bought the car for $225. But it was an old Corvair. And another one is I love it when Chuck gives you the keys to the church at the end of the movie.
That didn't happen either. Now there are many scenes that are actual scenes from my life. But I will tell you this one.
The scene where Greg is running down the street flipping out thinking he is going to die is a real story. And that is really what happened to me. And I did hear a voice say you are going to die. And that sent me on a search as a young person asking the big questions that every thinking person eventually gets around to asking. Such as what happens after I die? Where will I go when I die? And of course the biggest is will I go to heaven? In his biography on Steve Jobs who created Apple and created a lot of the technology that we are using today.
Especially the iPhone. The author Walter Isaacson asked Steve Jobs whether or not he believed in God. Jobs said throughout his life there were seasons when he did believe in God and then there were times when he did not. But now as he was facing the prospect of his own death he found himself believing in God more and more. So the author of the book Isaacson asked Steve Jobs why? Why do you believe this more and more?
Steve replied quote because I can't accept that the body just churns off one day and then it is all over and you are gone forever. Then Jobs added these words incidentally. That is why we never put on off switches on Apple products because Jobs didn't like the idea of just flipping a switch and turning something off. Isn't that interesting? That is how a lot of people view death. You just flip a switch and it lights out. Parties over the end.
Well that is actually not true at all. We are eternal people. If we are a believer or a non-believer we have a soul that lives on in the afterlife. Yes the body goes into the ground. Yes the body ceases to function but the soul lives on. We had the privilege of being in Washington D.C. last week and we were in the Capitol building.
I am reminded of the words that are written there in the Capitol building. Quote one God one law one element and one far off divine event to which the whole creation moves. That event is the end of life. No you can't escape it.
You can't say no thanks I would rather not. We are all headed toward that event. Reminding me when I was in the Capitol rotunda back in 1996 when we watched Billy Graham and his wife Ruth receive the congressional gold medal.
A distinguished honor. And in this building with the dome on it there are all these statues around you of different leaders in our country. Mostly presidents. There is Dwight Eisenhower. There is Ulysses S. Grant. There is Thomas Jefferson. Ronald Reagan. Harry Truman. And Billy Graham stood in that spot and he said to all those people that were gathered. The elite of Washington. He said I have walked through Statuary Hall. I have looked at all these statues of great Americans and they all have one thing in common.
They are all dead. And we are going to join them. I thought wow that was a moment. I never forgot that.
And actually they honored Billy by putting his body in state there in that same room after he died. But this is something that we have to think about. I know it is not the most pleasant of subjects but I believe as a Christian we can face it head on without fear. And know that we have hope in the afterlife. We need to think biblically not emotionally.
That is what this series is about. Is we are getting you grounded theologically so you know what is true. Most Americans believe in an afterlife. 84%. 82% of Americans believe in heaven. 70% believe in hell. That always makes me laugh that less people believe in hell than believe in heaven. But both are found in the Bible.
One thing is clear. We will all die and enter the afterlife because Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die.
Hebrews 9 27 says it is appointed unto a man once to die and then comes the judgment. Statisticians tell us that three people die every second. 180 every minute. 11,000 every hour. That means that every day 250,000 people enter into the afterlife.
This is why the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 139, Lord teach us to number our days and realize how few they are and help us to spend them as we should. The story is told from history that Philip of Macedon who was the father of Alexander the Great had someone follow him everywhere he went and this was his job. He was to tell Philip every day, Philip you will die. Wow. What a job.
But it was just something that kept Philip grounded, reminding him that eternity was waiting. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Pastor Greg, we're excited about your new project, the Greg Laurie podcast. How is that different than what we do every day here on A New Beginning? Well Dave, when you listen to A New Beginning, you're listening to my messages that I share from the pulpit. In my podcast, I'm not preaching, I'm just talking. I'm talking about life.
I'm talking about culture. There's a lot of interviews with people I've gotten to know over the years like Michael Franzese and Darryl Strawberry and Alice Cooper and J. Warner Wallace and Joel Rosenberg and Levi Lusko and the list just goes on and on. Insightful conversations and just thoughts on life from a biblical perspective. So the best place to see or listen to my new podcast is go to Harvest Plus. Now that is our new app that has all kinds of resources on it.
Our radio broadcast, our TV show, the movies we've produced over the years and much, much more. And now we have my new long form podcast that you can watch on demand. And I hope you'll enjoy it.
And again you'll find the Greg Laurie podcast on the Harvest Plus app. Well we're tackling an important subject today here on A New Beginning. Pastor Greg has titled today's study, Will I Go to Heaven? So let's read now the words of Jesus about the afterlife here in John chapter 5. I'm going to read verses 25 to 29. Jesus says, I assure you the time is coming, indeed it is here now when the dead will hear My voice, the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live the Father as life in Himself. And He has granted that same life giving power to His Son and has given Him authority to judge everyone, because He is the Son of Man.
Don't be surprised. Indeed the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son and they'll rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life. And those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.
We'll stop there. Three big truths pop out of these verses. Number one, there is a final judgment. Number two, there are two destinations beyond the grave. And number three, the destination we enter into depends on our relationship with God.
Let's start with point number one. There is a final judgment. In Acts 17, 30, Peter says, In these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now He commands men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. So the fact that there is a future judgment reminds us that God is fair, because life is filled with injustices, isn't it?
You just read a news feed and the horrible things that happen every single day and it breaks your heart. People seem to get away with the worst crimes imaginable and we think, how can that happen? Well, they're not going to get away with it. They will not escape the long arm of the law, but they will not escape the long arm of the Lord. God is in control and He keeps very accurate records. Colossians 3, 25 says, The wrongdoer will be paid back, for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
Listen to this. Every wrong in the universe will ultimately be paid for. It will either be paid for by Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and the offender repents and puts their faith in Him, or it will be paid for by the offender at the final judgment for those who do not put their faith in Jesus for salvation. Point number two, there are two destinations beyond the grave. Heaven and hell. There's no purgatory. There's no stopovers.
Aren't you glad of that? I fly, I hate stopovers because things happen, you get delayed. However, I did stopover in Chicago on the way back from DC and I was very excited because I wanted to get a Chicago dog. You know what I'm talking about? The hot dog. They have a very unusual way of doing hot dogs in Chicago.
So that was the one highlight. I have a stopover, but I'm going to get a Chicago hot dog. But generally, I don't like stopovers.
I like to just get to where I'm going. Well, when we die as Christians, there's no stopovers. Do not pass go.
Do not collect $200. Monopoly reference. You go straight into the presence of the Lord.
Isn't that good to know? Right into God's presence. The moment you close your eyes on earth, you open them in heaven. When you take your last breath on earth, you take your first breath in heaven. And heaven, it's so fast, you could hardly even measure it. Paul writes in Philippians 1 23, I'm hard pressed between the two. I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but it's important for me to stay here with you.
Why is heaven better than earth? Well, number one, because I'm moving from a tent to a mansion. How many of you remember the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies? Raise your hand. You're old.
Or you're young and you've seen it in reruns. So Jed moved from his ramshackle old shack in the woods to a mansion. And we're gonna move from this broken down shack of a body to a mansion that's far better than Beverly Hills.
Right? Heaven is better than earth because all of my questions will be answered. I'll have questions in life.
I do, I'll admit. Things that have happened to me in life that didn't really make sense. Some of those things have been sorted out as I've gotten older. I'll look back and say, oh, now I understand maybe why God allowed that because this came out of it and this other thing came out of it.
But then there are other things that have happened to me that make no sense to me at all. And we all have those questions. It reminds me of a mother who invited a bunch of people over to our house for a dinner party. And so it was a lot of work, more than she expected. And so it was time to have the food and she turned to her little daughter and said, honey, why don't you give thanks for the meal? And the little girl says, well, mommy, I don't know what to say. And the mom said, well, just pray what you hear mommy say.
And the little girl said, okay, dear God, why on earth did I invite all of these people over to my house for dinner? So, but we have serious questions we wanna ask God. And we'll know, one day we'll know. 1 Corinthians 13, 12 says, now we see things imperfectly like puzzling reflections in a mirror but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete but then I will know everything completely just as God knows me completely. The greatest thing of all, the reason that heaven is better than earth is not just because I'm upgrading my dwelling place, not just because my questions will be answered but I'll be with Christ, I'll be with Christ.
That's it. Again, as Paul says, I wanna desire and be with Christ which is far better. So what is heaven like? Short answer, amazing, awesome, better than anything you ever imagined.
It's beyond your wildest dreams. But let's start with this. We need to be reminded that heaven is an actual place. Jesus said in John 14, I've gone to prepare a place for you. Here's the problem with heaven.
Well, let me restate that. Here's our problem with our understanding of heaven. There's no problem with heaven. But we have concepts of heaven that are really not based on scripture. They're based on tradition or they're based on things we've seen in films or the way it's been depicted in religious art where heaven is sort of this mystical place and there's clouds and more clouds and people sitting around plucking harps and little fat baby angels.
I don't know where these came from. They're almost like Cupid hovering above us and we're thinking, I don't know that I really wanna go to that place. That's probably why science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote these words and I quote, I don't believe in an afterlife so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell or fearing heaven even more for whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse, end quote. Now, he was an atheist.
I think he probably sees things a little differently now because he's died since he made that statement. But heaven is not boring. Heaven is not boring. It's a real place for real people. So just think about places you've been to before. You're in a place right now.
You're gonna go to another place later. The Bible uses different words or pictures to describe heaven. It's described as a paradise. You remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross, it was the thief crucified next to him who said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in what? Paradise, yeah, paradise. So he was reminding that man of the glory ahead. Paul writes of his own experience where he died and went to heaven in 2 Corinthians 12 and he says, I know a man 14 years ago was seized by Christ and swept into ecstasy to the heights of heaven.
I know that this man was hijacked into paradise and he heard the unspeakable spoken but was forbidden to tell what he heard. So it's paradise. But then the Bible describes heaven as a city. It doesn't say it's like a city. It says it is a city. Hebrews 13, 14 says, we're looking for a city that is to come.
Hebrews 11, 10 tells us that the city has God as both the architect and the builder. So I want you to think for a moment of cities you've been to and what do you have in a city? Well, you have things to do. You have restaurants to go to. You have maybe a show to go see or you have other things that you plan on doing while you're there.
Maybe you'll visit a museum or some other thing. So instead of thinking about a weird city of clouds with fat babies and wings, just think about cities you've been to. Certain cities have unique qualities to them. There's Jerusalem. There's Paris. There's Norco.
Um. But in this city that we're gonna go to, there's no crying. No one's gonna mug you on the street.
You don't have to dodge cars. You don't have to look at urban decay. It'll be like a perfect city. Think of it as a real place with real people where you do real things. It's a happy place. I think it's hard for some people to understand, but heaven is a happy place. The Bible says in this presence there is fullness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Am I talking to somebody right now that is wondering will I go to heaven when I die? If you don't have the answer to that, if you can't say with certainty I know I will, don't you think that's the most important issue in all of life?
I think so. Pastor Greg Laurie, with important insights today on A New Beginning, we're talking about heaven, and he's asking if you're headed there. Do you know? Are you sure? Pastor Greg, how can someone come to God and have their sins forgiven so they can know they're going to heaven? Do you know?
Are you sure? Pastor Greg, how can someone come to God and have their sins forgiven so they can know they're going to heaven? What I would say is he's only a prayer away, which means if you will call upon the name of the Lord right now through prayer, he will hear your prayer and answer your prayer. Listen, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you go to heaven when you die, just pray this prayer right now after me. Just pray, Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Amen. Listen, if you have just prayed that prayer and meant those words sincerely, we want to welcome you into the family of God. Let us help you get started walking each day with the Lord. Pastor Greg wants to send you his New Believer's Bible, absolutely free, along with some other helpful resources. Just let us know you prayed with Pastor Greg and that you want the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime at 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. You know, Pastor Greg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching.
That's right. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue. Yeah, it's really true, Dave. You know, and even a little bit helps. You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the Word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it, and I'm called to do it, and I'm thankful for it, but I can't do it alone. So I'm gonna ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel, if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God, then prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest partner, which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving, and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So thanks for that.
Yeah, that's right. And we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us any time day or night at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
Or just go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, more insight on the reality of heaven from Pastor Greg's new series called Timeless. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
