You know, there is a very special group of people I want to introduce you to. They are a group of people who are passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed in this nation and beyond. Without them, harvest ministries could not even exist. We call them harvest partners. They're people who have chosen to give monthly to harvest to keep the gospel moving forward.
Will you become a harvest partner and help us fulfill the great commission in our lifetime? Let's do this together. Just go to harvest.org. Christian parents need to go the way of faith and show the way of faith to their kids. Pastor Greg Laurie points out the importance.
It is our job, our responsibility as parents to raise our children in the way of the Lord. That's so very important. That's our job. That's not the school's job. That's not even Sunday school's job.
It's our job as parents to teach these things to our children. And we need to take it seriously. 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 all the angels of singing. This is the day, the day when life begins. We don't take our young kids to the shoe store to learn to tie their shoes. We don't take them to the dentist to learn to brush their teeth. We don't take them to a nutritionist to learn to eat their vegetables.
No, there are certain things parents teach their kids. It's just part of being a parent. And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out those things that go along with being a Christian parent. namely to pass along our faith. to train them up in the way of the Lord.
to disciple them. Every day, the day when life begins.
Well, here we are in the book of Joshua. This is a pivotal moment. The wilderness wanderings are done. The spies have gone into the land and they've come back with a good report. Rahab, he has been a great hero of the faith.
And she has protected the spies. And so now they're poised and ready to enter into this promised land. There was just one really big problem. An obstacle in their path. It was the mighty rushing Jordan River.
So let's read now Joshua chapter 3 as the Israelites come to the point of entry of the promised land and they face the Jordan River. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. For you've never passed this way before. They will guide you.
Stay about a half mile behind them. Keep a clear distance between you and the ark. Make sure you don't come any closer. Then Joshua said to the people, Purify yourselves, or tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you. In the morning, Joshua said to the priest, Lift up the ark of the covenant and lead the people across the river.
And they started out and went ahead of the people. The Lord told Joshua, Today I'll begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of the Israelites. They'll know that I'm with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant. When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.
Kibble stop here. Here was their challenge. You have to cross the Jordan River. This is flood season. This river moves at about 10 miles per hour.
There's no way you want to cross this river with your little kids and your livestock and your belongings. It's not possible. but they yet began to walk. If you're called the lead, you need to go first and set the pace. God made a promise to Joshua in Joshua 3:7.
He said, Today I'll begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of the Israelites, and they'll know I am with you just as I was with Moses. Wow. I'm going to make you a great leader in their eyes. King James says, I'm going to magnify you. But it's interesting that Joshua doesn't go and say that to the people.
He didn't say, hey, by the way, God just spoke to me and said he's going to magnify me and make me a great leader. He says something different. He says to them instead, in verse 10, you'll know now that the living God is among you.
So they needed to have faith in God, and we need to have the same. Here's the thing with faith: faith gets stronger through use, faith is like a muscle. The more you use it, The stronger it becomes. The less you use it, the weaker it becomes. If you don't use your faith, it will atrophy.
You need to apply it. We treat faith like it's a museum piece or something to talk about and admire, where it's like an egg. Don't drop the egg. Then they crack, and that's faith. Oh, we have to be careful.
No, faith needs to be used. And the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.
So the Israelites step into the water, following the priests who have the Ark of the Covenant aloft where everyone can see it. Suddenly, they're going through the water. It pulls away.
Now, it's different than the Red Sea. When they came to the brink of it, Moses holds up his staff and the Red Sea parts, and it's like walls of water on each side. The difference here is they had to get in the water. How high did it go? It's moving fast.
Maybe it got up to their ankles, maybe up to their knees. I don't know. And all of a sudden, boom, the water pulls aside. They walk over to the other side. Go to Joshua chapter 4.
They are to commemorate this event with stones of remembrance. Joshua 4 verse 21. Then Joshua said to the Israelites, In the future, Your children will ask, what do these stones mean? They piled up a bunch of stones. You can tell them this is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
For the Lord your God dried up the river before your eyes. He kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up and we all had crossed over. He did this, so all the nations on the earth will know that the Lord's hand is powerful and that you might fear the Lord your God forever. We'll stop there.
So It is our job. To pass on what we have learned to the next generation. We don't want to live in the past, but we don't want to forget it either. It's good to keep a record of what God has done. My wife has a little notebook where she writes prayer requests down.
And so she'll say, Do you know what we were praying for on this day one year ago? I'll say, I know what? And she said, We were praying about this. And I remember, oh, wow, that was a big thing. That we were wondering how we were gonna get through that challenge.
And look how the Lord answered that prayer.
So, when you reflect back on what God has done for you in the past. It helps you as you're facing the present and then looking forward to the future. Let me ask you, has God been faithful to you in the past? Yes or no? Yes, okay.
That sometimes we have spiritual amnesia. We forget what the Lord has done.
So it's good to commemorate these things. They were to set up. 12 stones we need to remember as well. You know, the thing is, is sometimes people want to live in the past. And they don't want to move forward into the present, and certainly not into the future.
And that's not a good thing. I like to hang out with younger people. I love to hang out with my grandkids. I've told you that before. But I like to spend time with younger people in general.
And one of the reasons is when you hang around old people, and I am an old person. That may come as a shock too. Me. But um But sometimes when I hang around older people It's not long until everyone starts talking about their latest operation, right? or their newest ache or pain.
And that just gets kind of old to me, frankly. You know, old people like to say things like, back in my day, right? Or I'm just gonna sit here for a minute and rest my eyes.
Okay, whatever. Let's go get the early bird special. Yeah, okay. Old people. You hang around young people, sometimes you don't even know what they're saying anymore.
They have their own language. I was sitting with my granddaughters the other day, and one of them said, That's sus. I said, What? She said, that's sus. How many of you know what sus means?
Don't act like you do. All these younger people here, the rest of you, you don't know what it means. No, you may. Suts means suspicious.
So if I see some that doesn't look right or someone doesn't seem right, I'll say, he's sus.
So, if some kid says you're sus, that's not a good thing. Just be aware. And uh I heard that one of my granddaughters said to her mom the other day, bro, listen, I'm your mother. Stop calling me. Bro.
Right, there's another one. They have rids. They have reds. You ever heard that one? How many know what that means?
Okay, you guys. Th that's a good thing. If you have Riz, it means that you have charisma. It's short for charisma.
So if some kid says, you have Riz, thank you. You're a sus. Wait, what? We'll never find that out if you don't hang around young people. You'll be around old people saying things like: that's Hunky Dory and that's Malarkey.
Or that's far out, man. It's a good thing to remember what God has done. Listen, when Joshua finished his task, he was sadly forgotten in one generation. In Judges 2, it says, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
Wow. One generation.
Next generation didn't know any of it. They'd forgotten all of it. All the great things God had done through Joshua were largely forgotten, bringing us back to our responsibility as parents to raise our children in the way of the Lord. That's so very important. That's our job.
That's not the school's job. That's not even Sunday school's job, though we thank God for all the folks that do it. That's not the job of the Christian school, though we're thankful for the Christian school. It's our job as parents to teach these things to our children. And we need to take it.
Seriously. Moses said in Deuteronomy 6, and he said this to me personally. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. I love this. Repeat them again and again and again to your children.
Talk about them when you're at home. When you're on the road, when you're going to bed, and when you're getting up. I love that. You know, just integrate it into your life. By the way, I think it's a good idea to do devotions with your kids.
Just a thought about devotions. Don't make them too long. You don't need to take your kids through 18 chapters of Leviticus, okay? Five chapters will suffice, but No, but seriously, you know. There's some great resources out there that you can use.
I actually would recommend the New Believer's Bible. That I wrote the notes for. There's a lot of little guides in there and tracks that you can follow that will take you through a lot of important things in scripture.
So you could use a tool like that, but read a passage, interact, ask your child questions, listen to what they say. It's not for you to pontificate and sermonize, it's for you to integrate those truths into their little lives and show them how they apply to what they are facing. It's so important. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Yeah.
It's such a blessing to hear from listeners who take time to express their appreciation. Hi, Pastor Greg. My dad shared your podcast with me, and now I listen every morning. Thank you for being so down-to-earth and real. I love the way you share God's Word.
I just listened this morning and learned something new every day. I love praying together at the end of the message, and am so grateful for how my relationship with God has grown. Thank you, Pastor Gregg. It's so great to know that listeners are hearing these messages and God is using His Word to touch lives. How have Pastor Greg's studies impacted your life?
Would you let him know? Send an email to Greg at harvest.org.
Well, today, Pastor Greg is helping parents see the value of passing along our faith and our values to our kids and grandkids. It's part of today's study in Joshua 3. One day we'll be gone as parents. And I wonder what our children will remember about us. I can tell you this much, your kids will remember the time you made for them.
They'll remember all of those games you showed up for, all of those recitals. All of those events, and you were there taking pictures, you know, being crazy, mom and dad. They remember, oh, they looked embarrassed at the time. The first thing they did when they got up there is they looked for mom and dad out in that audience. The member hearing President George H.W.
Bush. make an amazing statement. He was asked what his greatest accomplishment was in life.
So George H.W. Bush, Was the head of the CIA. He was the ambassador of the United States to China. He was the vice president and the president of the United States.
So, this man, who's very accomplished, Is asked what his greatest accomplishment was. He says, My greatest accomplishment is: my kids still come home to see me. But I love that. He understood something that's very important. They'll remember that.
Your kids will remember the way you interacted with your spouse because you're effectively now giving them a template for their future. You're saying this is the way that a husband should treat a wife. This is the way that a wife should treat her husband. They're watching it, they're observing it, and most likely they're going to repeat it for better or for worse.
So, when you think it's a good idea to have arguments in front of your kids and raise your voice and slam doors and have your kids take sides in your debates, you're doing a great disservice to those children. Model for them what they need to see. They'll remember that as well. They'll also remember your words of affirmation and your words of criticism.
Some parents beat their children down. Other parents lift their children up. That doesn't mean we should not correct our children. That is the job of a parent. Not necessarily the job of a grandparent, I might add.
Though a grandparent might need to do that. I feel the job of the parent is to raise the child, the job of the grandparent is to fill them up with sugar. Spoil them, indulge them. Be delighted by everything they say and do. And then give them back to the parents, right?
But grandparents play such an important role right now. I've heard so many stories, as you have, of. delinquent parents. Who have failed in their responsibilities, and grandparents have stepped in.
sometimes ended up raising the child. And how important that is. My grandparents made a great impact on my life when I lived with them for a time while my mom was living her crazy life. But we are to train them up in the way that they should go. And so this is something we all should do.
Now, I'm sure every one of us, as we've heard this, have thought, well, I've fallen short in a lot of these things, right? We've made a mess of our life. Maybe I'm talking to someone who's made decisions they deeply regret. You've lost precious time with your kids, as an example, and you say it's too late for me. I can't change.
Well, you can't change the past. But you can Make decisions that will affect your future. And you can say, okay, I'm not going to live that way anymore. And I'm going to repent. Remember, when we repent, God relents.
God gave to Nineveh another chance. He'll give you another chance as well. Acknowledge where you've fallen short. Ask God to help you. and move forward.
Now let's wrap this up and pull the camera back for a moment and look at the bigger picture of Israel entering the promised land. What was this all about? This land? Was going to be the very geographical location of the most important event in all of human history. This is where the Son of God was going to come down from heaven and enter our world.
This is where Jesus Christ would be crucified for the sins of humanity and of every person. This is where he would rise again and ascend to heaven. And this is the place that he would return to as well. This is what it was all about. And now we're told to put our faith in him.
And I can't think of anyone I'd rather put my faith in. Don't put your faith In objects or possessions, they'll let you down. Don't put your faith in accomplishments. Don't put your faith in other people. You can love them and respect them and.
But don't put your ultimate faith in them. Don't put your faith in politicians, they're going to disappoint you. Don't put your faith in preachers. They'll disappoint you too, except me. No, I'll disappoint you as well.
I don't even have to say that. Why did I even say that? Yeah, but I won't. I will, yes.
Now put your faith in God. That's where your faith belongs. He will never let you down. Ever. Let me close by saying there might be somebody here who hasn't done that yet.
But Jesus said, For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, and whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Do you need a second chance in life? Do you need your sin forgiven? Do you have this certainty that you will go to heaven when you die? If not, Jesus Christ, who died on that cross and rose again from the dead, is standing at the door of your life right now, and he is knocking, and he is saying, If you'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in.
If you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, Why don't you respond to this invitation? Right now, as we close in prayer, let's all pray. Father, thank you for your word to us, thank you for your love for us. And I pray for everyone that is here. If they don't know you, if they don't have a relationship with you, If they've not put their faith in you, let them do that right now.
And while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, and we're praying. If you want Christ to come into your life, If you want him to forgive you of your sin, If you want to know that when you die, you will go to heaven, if you're ready to say yes to Jesus. Pray this out loud after me. Pray this now, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner.
But I know that you're the Saviour. 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. Thank you for hearing this prayer. in answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Such an important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie with those making a change in their relationship with God today.
Some will mark this day as the moment their life with Christ began. And if you're among that group, if you prayed today with Pastor Greg and have meant those words, we want to welcome you into the family of God. And we want to help you get started walking with the Lord. Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. He mentioned it earlier today.
It has hundreds of special helps for those who are new to the faith. And we'll send it to you free of any charge. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514.
Or go online to harvest.org. Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry. We're touching lives for eternity. And we're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further, isn't that right? Absolutely.
When you invest in harvest ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women. Boys and girls, and what is the value of a soul?
Well, let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife? your son or your daughter. Oh, your mommy, your dad.
Or your best friend.
Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable.
Well, listen, God says all souls are mine. God loves us and sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sins so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with Him. I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money, Than in the work of the kingdom of God.
So we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in harvest ministries. As we continue on to fulfill the great commission. Yeah, that's right. And you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or write us at a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300.
That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300.
Well, next time, good insight on how to be victorious in spiritual battle. More from the series, Joshua Living in the Land of Promises. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Loring. This is the day, the day when life begins.
