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. Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you. If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to Harvest.org.
Grab your Bibles, turn to 1 John chapter 3, and the title of my message is Overcoming the Great Deceiver, Truth, and a World of Fakes. So I was in a market a while ago, and I checked out, and I walked by this little section that had flowers for sale. And I noticed they had the most beautiful tulips, and I love tulips. Aren't tulips amazing?
That may be my favorite flower. They're so beautiful and perfect, they don't look real. And I looked at this tulip, actually a little bouquet of tulips, and I thought, I've got to get these for Kathy. And so I bought them. They were a little on the expensive side. I was a little surprised, but I thought, oh, she's going to love them. And I took them home, and I said, Kathy, look at these amazing tulips I bought you. And so we got out of Voss, and we were cutting the stems and trying to figure out why the stem wouldn't cut. We kept cutting, and then we realized the reason it seemed like it was fake was because it was fake. In fact, I have one of them. Here's one of the fake tulips.
You can't see it very well, but it looks very similar to a real tulip. All right, so point number one, if you're taking notes, we live in a world full of fake things. We live in a world full of fake things. You know when the iPhone came out? I'm old enough to remember that.
It wasn't that long ago, 2008. Steve Jobs appeared with this concept that he presented to the world, and up to this point, we all had Blackberries and Motorola flip phones, and all of a sudden, he pulls out this technology. It has never been seen before, and it was actually called before it was released the Jesus phone, which is pretty ironic.
So he pulls that out and introduces it, and there was a gasp in the audience. I remember I was at a Mac convention where they had a display of one of the prototypes, and it was surrounded by plexiglass. So I took out my camera to take a photograph of it, not my phone. We didn't have phones with cameras yet. So I took out a digital camera, and I took a photo, and there was a guard by this prototype, and he said, Sir, step back. What are you talking?
These are not the crown jewels of England here. But it was so exciting because it was like a whole new world opened up. Well, it wasn't long until after the iPhone came out, all the imitators started making their versions of them, and then the market was flooded with them, and now that's the kind of phone that we all basically have. And then along came social media, and along came apps, and along came all the things that have come from that, which is a lot of trouble. Along with that came a rise in depression, anxiety, social contagions, even suicide.
And instead of this generation, the young generation, they're the most stressed generation in history. And sometimes I wonder if we'd be better off if we just left that iPhone in the plexiglass and went back to the flip phones again, where you actually just use your phone to make a phone call. You know what I'm talking about? It's like we opened up the Pandora's box. And I don't know if you know the origin of that statement, Pandora's box. It's from Greek mythology. And so Zeus, the king of the gods, was angry at mankind, according to the mythology. And so he created a woman. Now, look, I didn't write this stuff. I'm just telling you how it is. And so he created this woman, and he named her Pandora, and he gave her a box that was sealed, and he told her to not open the box. But curiosity got the best at Pandora, and once she opened the box, all of the bad things that affect us to this very day came out of the box, and she couldn't seal it again. And I feel like we're living in an anti-Christ culture.
And I touched on this last time. As John tells us, not only is there a coming world leader that will emerge on the scene that we call the anti-Christ or the beast or the wicked one, but then he talks about anti-Christ, plural. And remember, anti doesn't just mean against.
It also means instead of. And I feel like right now our culture is flooded with fake things or instead of versions of Jesus. Things that people want to turn their attention to. I want you to think for a moment about the Ten Commandments. What is the first commandment of ten that God gives us? Is it you shall not commit adultery? Is it you shall not murder? Is it you shall not steal or you shall not covet?
No. The first commandment, according to God, which would to me tend to focus on the priority of it, is you shall have no other gods before me. See if we have that one right it will affect us in the keeping of all the other commandments.
So number one. Have no other gods before me. Commandment number two.
Don't make any graven images. So God doesn't want to share His glory with anyone. But yet in our culture today it seems like we are looking for substitutes for Jesus. We live in an ABC culture.
Anything but Christ. I just read an article the other day that says that 75 of Gen Z-ers think AI partners have the potential to replace human companionship. What? 75 percent of Gen Z kids think that AI partners could replace human companionship. In other words they would date AI. How does that even work? Well you take your phone out for dinner.
I am not sure exactly. But this is kind of a crazy thing that just shows what I am saying already. Instead of Christ. This article pointed out in Google searches there were a huge uptick for the phrase feelings for AI. So someone is actually typing in a search engine. I have feelings for AI. And another one is fell in love with AI.
Those searches skyrocket at 132 percent. I think what we are trying to do is to fill a void in our life that can only be filled by God Himself. So don't settle for anti-Christ or instead of Christ thinking. And then there are the fake things that people believe about God. For instance people will say, well you know I believe that all roads lead to God.
Well that is not true. Of course there is only one road that leads to heaven. And Jesus made that clear that He is the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father. But through Him or another false view of God is all religions basically teach the same thing. By the way if someone says that to you that is another way of them saying I have no idea what I am talking about. And I haven't even looked into this briefly as a matter of fact. All religions teach the same thing. Nothing can be further from the truth.
If you were to sum up all the religions of the world apart from Christianity you could sum them up in one word. Do. Do. Do this and maybe you will get to heaven. Do that and you may find inner peace. Do this other thing and you might find nirvana. It is all about doing. But Christianity can be summed up in one word. It is done.
Done. God has done it for you. He has purchased it for you. And then of course the other crazy things people think the Bible teaches like well God helps those who help themselves. I think Ben Franklin said that.
As a matter of fact he said it to me personally as I recall. And that is not even true. I mean the reality is God helps those who can't help themselves.
And on the list goes. But there are certain things that we need to know as Christians. And certain things we need to be reminded of again and again. So let's dig in and see what John has to say to us in chapter 3 starting in verse 7.
Little children let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil for the devil is sinned from the beginning. Now remember we pointed out that in the Greek that could be translated habitually or continually. So a better way to translate that would be he who continually habitually practices sin is of the devil. Not whoever has ever committed a sin is of the devil because we have all committed sins. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. I would underline that.
We will come back to it. Destroy the works of the devil. For whoever has been born of God does not sin for his seed remains in him. And he cannot sin because he has been born of God. And I left out one very important verse. The devil is sinned from the beginning.
Alright. So that brings me to point number 3. Satan is real and always has been. The devil according to verse 6 has sinned from the beginning. We have basically been on demon time since day one. That is literally Satan's whole vibe if you will. It is lying, twisting truth, and causing chaos.
It is not a phrase. That is how he rolls. That is who he is.
That is his nature. So we wonder why would God create someone as horrible and as evil as Satan? And the conventional wisdom is Satan came from hell. But actually Satan didn't come from hell at all. You might be surprised to know that if you want to get technical Satan came from heaven.
Now let me explain. He was not always Satan. First he was Lucifer the son of the morning. A beautiful high ranking angel. Possibly an archangel. Certainly an important one who had access to the throne of God. But he rebelled against God.
Why he did that we don't know. But he rebelled against God and took one third of the angels with him. And that is where we get demons from. Demons are fallen angels. So to this day the devil, formerly Lucifer, now has a network of demon powers around the planet that do his bidding. The Bible says the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. He is called the god of this world.
The prince of the power of the air and so forth. And so he wasn't made as Satan but he became Satan when he rebelled against God. And God's judgment came upon him as a result.
That brings me to point number four. Satan comes to accuse and deceive. He comes to accuse and deceive. So we have a picture of this in the Bible in the book of Job where the angels come and present themselves before the Lord.
The Bible says Satan was among them. And the Lord says lose paraphrase. Hey guys what's up? What have you been doing? And then Satan speaks up and says well I have been just looking around the planet watching what is going on. And then God starts bragging on Job of course. Have you considered my servant Job a perfect and upright man.
One that fears God and shuns evil. And the devil pushes back and says oh Job just fears you because you bless him. Job fears you because you give him cool stuff.
Give me a little time with Job and we will see what he is made of. And the Lord allowed the devil to bring a series of calamities upon poor old Job. And that is a lot of what the book is about. But you see the devil approaching God and accusing Job before God. And that is who Satan is. He is an accuser.
The Bible calls him the accuser of the brethren. And with this demon network their purpose seems to be twofold. They want to hinder the purposes of God and extend the power of Satan. So it is kind of scary when you think about it. And you think how can we overcome the devil.
And that brings me to my next point. Jesus has already defeated Satan. Jesus has already defeated Satan. Look at 1 John 3.8. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin. His seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. So why was Jesus Christ manifested? Why did he come to our planet? Well he came to die for the sin of the world.
Needless to say. But he also came to destroy the works of the devil. At the cross Satan was cancelled.
We hear about people being cancelled today. Jesus cancelled Satan. And it is talked about in Colossians 2.14 where it says Christ cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away nailing it to the cross. In this way he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities and shamed them publicly by the victory over them on the cross. So Jesus cancelled the record. The word here used for record is a handwritten certificate of debt.
So imagine this for a moment. Here is a list. And on this list is your name. And there below your name is a list of every sin you have ever committed throughout your life. That would be a long list would it not? And they just go through page after page after page.
And you are just absolutely horrified by it. But here is what this verse is teaching. When Christ died on the cross he cancelled that list. He cancelled every sin, cancelled every lie, cancelled everything you have done wrong.
He paid for it and he defeated it. And I know there are times when some sins seem undefeatable. There are addictions in your life that you don't feel you can break.
There are weaknesses you have that you don't feel you can overcome. But according to this verse and other verses this has been dealt with at the cross. I remember as a young boy, age 17, I memorized 1 Corinthians 10, 13. And I have to tell you that one of the best things I started doing as a young Christian was memorizing Scripture. And I hope that you do that. The psalmist says, Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to have your mind filled with Bible verses. You say, but Craig I can't memorize things. Of course you can memorize things. You quote lines from movies. You remember stats from football games and baseball games from years gone by. You remember lyrics to songs. You even remember lyrics to stupid commercials on television.
Right? You can and you do memorize. Sometimes consciously. Sometimes unconsciously. But we retain this information. If you will just apply yourself you will find you can and I will add you must memorize the Bible.
You must. It is great to carry a Bible in your briefcase or in your purse or in your murse or whatever you call those things when you are a guy with a purse. But the man bag.
I think it is man bag. Right? But the best place to carry the Word of God is in your heart. So get it in your heart. Memorize. That is why I memorized 1 Corinthians 10, 13.
And I can't tell you how many times that has come in handy. 1 Corinthians 10, 13. And I memorized it in King James. I don't know what it is but there is something very memorable about the King James Version. I find it easier to retain verses from that translation than other translations.
I think because it is so unusual. In 1 Corinthians 10, 13 and King James says. Oh I forgot it. It was good when I knew it.
Let's see if I can remember. There is no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. But God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above your ability to resist it.
But will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Thank you very much. You can do this too.
It is nothing special. But just to quote that. Oh man I can't handle this. This is more than I can bear.
No. Whatever temptation comes your way it is common to man. Which means we all get tempted. You are not the only one getting tempted so don't feel bad about that. And there is always a way of escape that you may be able to bear. There is always a way of escape.
Classic example. Joseph being tempted by the wife of Potiphar. I am sure she was a very attractive woman. So she is this older woman preying on this younger guy.
She was the original cougar. And Joseph said to her, Mrs. Robinson I think you are trying to seduce me. That is a line from a very old movie. Never mind.
Ok. But she would not take no for an answer. And then one day she dismissed all the servants that are alone in the home.
She grabs them and pulls them down on the bed. Says lie with me. Joseph did what any clear thinking red blooded young man should do under such circumstances. He ran out of there as fast as he could. And sometimes the solution is as simple as that. Get out of there. Now you can't always get out of there. But many times you can. It might be as simple as terminating the conversation. Hitting the off button. Leaving the place where you are at at that moment. But sometimes we will put ourself in a place of temptation. And wonder why we are getting tempted. Right.
So be practical about this. Well anyway. Satan has been defeated.
But let's think for a moment about his strategy. I mentioned he is called the accuser of the brethren. So over in Revelation 12. And I want you to turn to Revelation 12. We are going to go there for a few moments. Also written by John.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the island of Patmos. And in Revelation 12 we have an interesting scene. We have a battle breaking out in heaven. Satan and his fallen angels pick a fight with Michael and his angels.
Which is a bad idea. Because Satan isn't even the equal of Michael. Much less God. I bring this up because sometimes we think that Satan is the equal of God.
He is not even close to that. God is omnipresent. Satan can only be in one place at one time. God is omniscient.
Means all knowing. Satan knows a lot but he has limited knowledge. God is omnipotent.
All powerful. Satan has limitations to his power. But even Michael the archangel is more powerful than Satan.
So you don't pick a fight with someone that can beat you. That is exactly what the devil does. He picks a fight with Michael.
And Michael of course prevails. Satan is cast out of heaven. And then we pick the story up in Revelation 12 starting at verse 10.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ has come. For the accuser of the brethren.
I would underline that. The accuser of the brethren. Who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.
Now here is the big verse. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb. By the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives to the death. So he is overcome.
And how do they do it? These believers by the blood of the lamb. The word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives unto the death. But there is a verse that precedes us that is very important that explains why the devil does what he does. And it is Revelation 12 12.
It says, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth. For this devil has come down to you having great wrath and he knows he has a short time. See the devil knows his days are numbered. He knows he is going to be judged. And you would think he would repent and get right with God.
But he does the very opposite. He wants to wreak as much havoc as he can among humanity until the day he faces his final judgment. And then he has his demon powers working with him. He picks this fight with Satan.
This fight with Michael rather. But then he attacks the believers with accusation. It is important we understand how this works. He is the accuser of the brethren.
So here is how it rolls. You are just sitting somewhere. Maybe even in church. Sitting in church.
Listening to a message. And you are thinking, Greg is such a handsome gentleman. Excuse me. Those are my thoughts. I apologize. No.
Whatever. You are listening. Maybe you are worshiping.
Whatever it is you are doing it is all good. You are in church. And suddenly the most wicked twisted thought comes into your mind.
I mean really bad. You can't even believe this thought is in your mind. And you can't believe this thought is in your mind in church of all places. And immediately the accuser of the brethren says, What kind of a twisted person are you?
Why would you think such a thought? You ought to just leave church right now. You are the ultimate hypocrite for even being in here. So if you walk out while I am preaching I know this is what is happening to you. Or you have to go to the bathroom.
One of those two things. But here is the thing. It is not a sin to be tempted. It is only a sin if you give in to the temptation. The issue of sin is not in the bait.
It is in the bite. So if the devil comes and dangles something before you that doesn't mean you have done a single thing wrong. Jesus Himself was tempted. It is not a sin to be tempted.
But you have a choice. I can let that thought into my mind. Let it become a part of my thought processes. Or I can reject that thought at the outset and not let it in. That is why the Bible says casting down imaginations in every high thing it exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
The Bible also says you will keep them in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you. So if you let that thought in now we have a problem. And then even worse if you act on that thought for worse.
But if you just cut it off right there. You don't open the door. You don't entertain it.
Then you don't have to feel bad. You can just say, get behind me Satan. The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you. Get out of here. Go to hell. That is the one time you can say go to hell and it is not cussing.
Just go to hell. Because that is where he is going. Right. But he tempts us. And then he accuses us for being tempted.
Right. How do you overcome him? We just read about it in verse 11 there in Revelation. He overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. So let's say that you gave in to that temptation. At least mentally. You entertained it.
You took it for a test drive. And then you realize this is wrong. This is sinful. God I am sorry. Forgive me the devil. Don't go to God and say you are sorry. God is not going to hear your prayer. You are a hypocrite.
Ok listen. I can go to God any time because Christ died for my sin and has given me access. Satan is always going to use your sins in a hateful and condemning way to drive you from the cross. The Holy Spirit will convict you of your sins in a loving way to bring you to the cross. Anything that drives you from the cross is from the devil.
Don't listen to it. I can go to Christ right now. I can be forgiven. Yes I sin but I repent of that sin and I ask you to forgive me. That is how you overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb.
Apply it in your life. Right. That was a delayed response. You get no credit for that applause. You are like was that good. It is medium good.
I will just do tepid response. But the reality is you apply the blood. Remember when Israel was being let out of Egypt and God instituted the first Passover. He told them to slay a lamb. And then he told them to take the blood and apply it to the doorway of their home.
Remember? So you put the blood on the top. You put the blood on the left. You put the blood on the right.
You will notice that is a cross there. It was foreshadowing the death of Christ on the cross. Apply the blood. God says whenever I see the blood I will pass over. So God was judging the people but if he saw the blood applied he would pass over that home.
Hence the term. See you have to apply the blood. Yes Jesus shed his blood for you but it is not going to help you if you don't apply it.
I don't know what that means. It means that you say, Lord I know you shed your blood for me. I am sorry for my sin. Forgive me of my sin. And because you promised if I walk in the light as you are in the light I will have fellowship with you. And the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse me from all sin. You say the verse out loud. And then you say and I claim that promise right now. I am forgiven by God.
That is how you apply the blood. And it is something we need to do. I told you about a conversation I had years ago with Billy Graham in his home in Montreat, North Carolina. We had had a wonderful lunch. And afterwards I asked Billy if there is something an older Billy could say to a younger Billy.
What advice would you give yourself? And Billy said, I would preach more on the cross and the blood of Christ because that is where the power is. That is not just for gospel preaching. That is for believers to remember. The cross and the blood of Christ.
That is how they overcame them. Now we shift gears and John is dealing with the topic of envy. 1 John 3.11. For this message you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous.
So my point is envy kills. So Cain and Abel. The sons of Adam and Eve. They brought their offerings to the Lord. God accepted the offering of Abel. He rejected the offering of Cain. So Cain was so angry. So filled with envy and jealousy he murdered his brother Abel.
So we see how important motive is. You know envy is an interesting kind of a sin when you think about it. Because we only envy certain people. In other words I don't envy someone that is greater than me. I don't sit around and think, why don't I have the wealth of Elon Musk? Or why don't I have the ability to play guitar like Eric Clapton? Or why can't I do something like this famous person?
You don't think that. You envy people that are closer to you. Aristotle said quote, Envy grows naturally in a relationship between equals. End quote. So envy has been described as a small town sin.
It breeds on proximity. So I am not going to envy some celebrity for the most part. I am going to envy my neighbor. How come my neighbor has that and I don't have that? I am going to envy a coworker. I am going to envy maybe somebody that I have a friendship with.
And you know I am desiring what they have. I have told you the illustration before of the crab fisherman who had his bucket full of crabs with no lid. And someone said, wow those crabs are in your bucket. Why don't they climb out?
He goes, oh it is no problem. Because when one climbs up the others pull them back down. That is how we are. Oh envy.
I want that. And this is what motivated Cain. His motives were wrong. See when they brought their offering, Abel brought his offering in faith and Cain did not. And motives are everything when it comes to approaching God. Certainly in our prayers.
Also in our finances. When you pray you want to have your heart in the right place. God says these people draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. You know we think in worship it is all about having a beautiful voice. But really what it really comes down to is having a heart that is right with God. And when we worship the Lord is not saying, wow your voice is better than anybody else's voice.
And this person your voice is awful. No God doesn't look at that. God looks on the heart. Look at this person's heart.
Look at how they are turned toward me. And another person maybe who is not engaged at all. Or when we pray we are saying something but our heart is not really in it. So motive matters there. It certainly matters in the giving of our finances because the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. It is an absolute privilege to give of our finances to the Lord. You know why? Because everything that you have has been given to you by God to start with.
Max Ocado put it this way. God doesn't need your money. He already owns it all.
What He wants is your heart. And giving is how you loosen your grip and align your trust. Did you know that? Don't get quiet on me. I hate this.
Oh he is talking about money. Probably going to receive an offering next. Well maybe I will. It would be a good thing. Let's have an offering. Why do we withdraw when this topic comes up? Why is it that this is. We can talk about any subject under the sun where hey man yeah that is right preach it.
And we get to this. I am just telling you what the Bible says. And the Bible says that everything you have comes to you from God. And the Bible says that every Christian should give of their finances on a regular basis. And the Bible speaks of tithes and offerings.
A tithe is ten percent. An offering is something above that. And there are people that don't give it all to the Lord. And here is what I am saying to you.
You are missing out. You are missing out on the great blessing of giving. The great joy of giving. Actually Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. And that can be translated more happy making.
We don't think of it that way. It is more happy making. You have experienced it. Haven't you ever done something for someone and felt really good after you did it? You have heard of the runner's high. I have never experienced it but I have heard about it. I have experienced the eater's high. Endorphins release. Well there is also something they have identified called the giver's high. The giver's high where they say when you do something for someone else there is a release of endorphins. So when Jesus says it is more happy making to give than to receive it is interesting because you think no. It is more happy making to get than to give. And the Bible says the opposite and you have already found it out for yourself. When you have given to others.
When you have helped others. So when I invest in the work of the kingdom I am laying up for myself treasures in heaven. David Jeremiah said it up this way. Giving isn't God's way of raising money. It is His way of raising children.
Children who trust Him. Here is what you are going to find. Yes. Here is what you are going to find. God will never be your debtor. Listen I started giving long before I could afford to give anything. Sometimes I can't afford to give. I can't afford not to give.
Here is what I found. God always makes it up to me in some way, shape, or form. And He has made some crazy promises. Some great promises.
Malachi comes to mind. God says bring your offerings and your gifts and your tithes to me. And see if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you so great you won't even be able to receive it. Just start giving and you watch what the Lord will do.
Right? Do your giving while you are living. Then you are knowing where it is going.
Ok. So that brings me to my next point. If we really know God we will love our brothers and sisters. Look at 1 John 3.14. We know that we pass from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.
And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. The word hate means to habitually despise. This is not just a transient emotion. This is a deep rooted loathing. Now we all get ticked off with people at times.
You know. Like driving and you honk. Do you ever honk? I have never thought of myself as a honker per se but I guess I am. I was driving with my granddaughter Riley the other day and I said, Riley who is the best driver you know?
Now I wanted her to say me. Because I think I am a pretty good driver. She said, my dad.
Oh really? Why do you say you are dead? She said, because he doesn't honk at people. I said, I don't honk at people. She said, oh papa you honk at people a lot.
Yes. So I guess I am a honker. But that is not what John is talking about.
Not a honker but a hater where you want to destroy that person and you don't want to be that person who has that kind of sin in your life. And that is exactly what he is dealing with here. And now we shift gears and we come to the final movement of what he is saying to us in 1 John 3. Where in verse 19 he says, We know we are of the truth and we shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us God is greater than our heart and he knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us we have confidence toward God that whatever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Sometimes our heart condemns us. Sometimes we do something we should not have done and we feel bad about it. And we just can't get over it. The devil gets a foothold and he keeps condemning us for it because we cross the line and we know we cross the line and we keep beating ourselves up.
Ok. Speaking of honking. I was back in New York City recently. They are very big on honking in New York City. They honk all day and all night long. Two in the morning they are honking. It is just a honky city.
I didn't mean it that way but whatever. Everybody is honking. So I am crossing a crosswalk. And this is a big long crosswalk across many lanes of traffic. I wait for it to go green. And I start walking across.
I am walking with all the other people. And all of a sudden this car parked right in the front lays on his horn. I jump. And I know I should have just kept walking.
But I was kind of ticked off to be honest with you. I went around to the side of the car. I gestured for him to roll down his window. I said, why did you honk at me? He said, because you crossed the line. I am in a crosswalk.
I kind of started going over the crosswalk to go on the sidewalk. I said, everyone crossed the line. He said, but you crossed the line. And his window went back up.
That was a little overkill in his part. I didn't murder him. Now let me explain. In my heart I murdered him. No I didn't.
Maybe for a moment I might have. But that was very upsetting. I mean it is one thing to honk at a person in their car. It is another thing to honk at a pedestrian. Now I am justifying my honking aren't I.
Isn't that what I am doing? But the reality is it was overkill. You don't need to honk at someone that crosses over a little line.
I still was in my little time where I could cross over. But our heart does that to us sometimes. You crossed the line. You messed up. And I am condemned for it. So John is saying even if our heart condemns us God is greater than our heart.
Coming back to the blood of Jesus. Well you know I did cross the line. But Jesus died on the cross. And I am forgiven. And my sin is canceled. And my sin is forgiven. And my sin is forgotten.
Right. So that is something to remember. I should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. And God has said, Your sins and iniquities while I remember no more. So if God has chosen to no longer remember them why should I keep remembering them. God even says, I will take your sins and cast them into the depths of the sea.
Ok. Here is a reference to you folks on Maui right now. Years ago I was out scuba diving in Maui. I went down about 30 feet. Which you know it is not that deep but it is somewhat deep. And we were going along and you could see the ground floor of the ocean below. And then suddenly we came out to a spot where you couldn't see the ground floor anymore. It was this deep cavern of nothingness.
And we kind of went over it and it kind of freaked me out. And I turned around and swam back. You know I had not gone any deeper.
I wasn't in any greater danger. But there was something very menacing and frightening to me about the fact that I could not see the bottom of where I was. And God has taken your sins and He has cast them into the depths of the sea. You can't see them. They are gone. They are forgiven. And they are forgotten. And we need to remember that.
And not be crippled by them. Ok. Coming back to an earlier point and then I am going to wrap this up. The devil doesn't want me to know any of these things. The devil doesn't want me to know that I can approach God no matter what because of the blood of Christ. The devil doesn't want me to know I can have a happy and joyful life in giving to the work of the kingdom of God.
The devil doesn't want me to know that I don't have to live under constant condemnation. He wants to keep me trapped. He wants me to think I can never break free from that lifestyle. Never break free from that addiction.
Never break free from this other thing. He doesn't want me to know that Christ cancelled all of these things at the cross. But we need to know what God wants us to know and let it affect us in the way that we live.
So the devil will always try to keep you away from Jesus. And maybe I am talking to somebody here that has messed up in life. You have crossed the line and then some. And you feel like there is no way back for me.
What a lie. Of course there is a way back. It is through Christ. But you must admit you are a sinner.
And you must return to Him. Remember the prodigal son. One of my favorite stories.
Probably one of your favorites too. The boy went out and drug the family name to the gutter. Made a mess of his life. But one day came to his senses.
And decided he was going to go home and say, Father I have sinned against you. And I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Just give me a job. I don't expect to be your son anymore.
But can you just give me some employment because I am basically starving to death. And I love how Jesus told this story to show us what God is like. Jesus says, While the boy was still a great ways off the father saw him, had compassion on him, and ran to him, and threw his arms around him, and kissed him, and welcomed him, and said, Rejoice with me. This my son who is dead is alive again.
He who is lost is found. Put the ring in his finger. Which meant he is still a son. Put a clean robe on him.
So he was welcomed back. But the boy had to admit he was a sinner. The devil will say, You can't do it. Do it another time. Do it tomorrow.
Jonathan was talking about procrastinating. Do it in a month. Do it in a year.
Do it at another event. No no. The devil's word is tomorrow. God's word is today. Today is the day of salvation.
Because the devil knows if you keep putting it off you just come to a point where you won't even think about it anymore. So if God's Holy Spirit is working in your heart right now. And by that I mean you are sensing a need to get right with Jesus Christ. Like I need to commit my life to the Lord.
Or I need to recommit my life to the Lord. I strongly urge you. Act on this now. Don't say, Well I will do it tonight. When I get home. Or I will do it next Sunday. No no. Now. Right now. This is the moment.
In fact you may never have another opportunity like this again. So we are going to close in prayer. And I am going to extend an invitation for anyone here who wants their sin forgiven. Anyone here who wants this relationship with God we have been talking about. Anyone here who wants to know they will go to heaven when they die.
Anyone here who is looking for the meaning and purpose of life. Or anyone here who has fallen away from their faith and wants to return to the Lord again. You respond to this invitation as we all pray together. Let's all bow our heads and pray. Now we have heard Your Word. Your Word is truth.
It is truth in a world full of lies and fakes. Now that we have heard Your truth I pray that Your Holy Spirit will convict and convince anyone who is not right with You to get right with You right here right now. Now all our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. If you want Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin.
If you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. If you want this relationship with God we have been talking about. I want you to raise your hand up right now wherever you are and I am going to pray for you. Raise your hand up saying I need Jesus Christ today.
Pray for me. God bless you guys. God bless all of you there. Anybody else raise your hand up high where I can see it. God bless you. Anybody else raise your hand up wherever you are. Let me lead you in a prayer to commit your life to Jesus. God bless you in the very back up in the balcony. Maybe you are one of our other campuses.
Harvest Orange County. Of course I can't see you there. But you can raise your hand saying I need Jesus. Pray for me. Raise your hand up.
Harvest Maui. Same thing. Raise your hand up. You guys that are watching online you don't need to raise your hand up but you can respond and pray this prayer. We are all going to pray in a moment. Now maybe there is somebody here that has fallen away from the Lord.
You need to come back to Him. You are the prodigal son. You are the prodigal daughter. If you need to return to Jesus Christ today I want you to raise your hand up and let me pray for you. Raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless you.
Anybody else. God bless all of you. Now I am going to ask every one of you to just raise your hand to stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer.
You heard me right. Stand up. Stand up. We are going to pray. Don't put this off. We are going to deal with this right here right now. Okay. Stand up. Wherever you are. Maybe you did not raise your hand but you are thinking man I need to do this and I need to do it now.
That is right. So do it. Stand up. You will not regret this prayer that you are about to pray with me. You guys are Harvest Orange County.
Harvest Mountain. Stand up. Stand up. We are all going to pray this together. I am going to wait one more moment. Anybody else needs to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ. Stand to your feet. Let's pray together.
Anybody else. I will wait one more moment. Stand up now. All right. God bless you.
God bless. All of you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray just pray this out loud after me.
Okay. Let's pray this now. Pray these words. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead.
Thank you for shedding your blood for me Jesus. I turn from my sin. I am sorry for my sin. I repent of my sin. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord. As my God and my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless all of you that prayed that prayer.
