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. Good afternoon. Let's pray together, Lord, as we just Prayed, oh God, we need you, and we want to hear from you, and we want to see you, and Lord, we want to experience you. And I'm sure that there are some that Are in a hardship, a difficulty, a storm, a valley, where they feel as though you're not there with them when, in fact, you are.
You are with us. And we pray that you will speak to us as we open your word together. Bless this time of Bible study, we pray. In Jesus' name, we ask this. Amen.
Can I be seated? All right, well we're starting a brand new series. They were calling Jesus and You Two. It's a sequel. Because we're looking at Jesus in the Old Testament, and the title of our first message is God is now here.
I'm going to ask you to turn to the book of Genesis. Genesis.
Okay, so if you don't know where that is, grab your Bible and take a hard left. It's all the way at the beginning. We're going to look at Genesis 3 and Genesis 22. Heard the story of a atheist father. who was talking to his daughter.
He wanted her too to be an atheist. And so he took out a piece of paper and he gave her a pen, and she was just learning to write, and she was just learning to spell. And so he wrote these words out: God is nowhere. God is nowhere. And he said, read that.
And she's just learning to read.
So she's sounding out the letters. God is nowhere. N-O-W-H-E-R-E. And she says, Oh, I get it, Daddy. You're saying, God.
is now here. Oh, well, she saw it differently. She saw it right. And there are times in life when it seems as though God is nowhere. We wonder where is God?
When in fact God is with us, God is present when He seems absent. The Bible says that the Lord is a very present help in times of trouble. Jesus said, I'll never leave you or forsake you. And he also said, Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age. One of my favorite passages is when the Lord says in Isaiah 43: when you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you go through the fire of oppression, you'll not be burned up and the flames will not consume you. And then one of my all-time favorites, Psalm 23, I bet you know this one by memory. We'll say it together. Yea, though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
That's right.
So maybe I'm talking to somebody right now going through a valley.
Someone going through a storm, someone going through a difficulty. God is with you.
Now we know this intellectually. And we know this by faith, and we'll even say it to others, but there are times when our emotions. Have to catch up with the facts. And there are times in our life where we might say, Where is God in all of this? Maybe you're feeling that right now.
But God is with you. God is now here. I think of Joseph in a prison cell. He probably felt all alone and abandoned. And how did Joseph end up in a prison cell?
Well, it started with his brother selling him off to slave traders because they were jealous of the father's attention that was put on Joseph, their brother. He ends up in the house of a guy named Potiphar who had a lustful wife. Her name was Mrs. Robinson. If you laughed at that, you're old, because that's a very dated reference.
And she was lusting after young Joseph. And just basically grabbed him and pulled him down on the bed and said, lie with me, you know, basically have sex with me in so many words. And he ran for his life. And she accused him falsely of rape. And so he ends up in a prison cell.
Not because he broke the law, but because he kept the law, God's law. And how easily he could have said, God, what is going on here? Why would you let this happen to me? And then ultimately through God's Providence Joseph ascends to become the most Powerful man in all of Egypt. And one day the very brothers who betrayed him stand before him.
And you remember that verse where he turned to his brothers and said, I have a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. Remember that?
Now that's from the movie Taken, a more recent cultural reference, though that's pretty old too.
Now, really, what he said was: you meant this for evil, but God meant it for good to save many people alive. Basically, Joseph was quoting Romans 8.28 before it had been written. Where it says, For we know that all things work together for good to those that love God. God can Bring good despite the worst imaginable situation. I think of Charlie Kirk.
This courageous young man cut down at the age of 31 by an assassin's bullet. It's what you would call a worst-case scenario. But instead of stopping what Charlie was trying to accomplish, now we have thousands of young people returning to church, many coming to church for the first time, many buying a Bible for the first time, wanting to know more about this faith.
So, despite the bad, God is bringing good. Right. It's true. And if you saw Charlie's memorial service, which happened last Sunday at the All State Stadium. That was an amazing event.
But some of our political leaders making some very bold statements for their faith in Christ. I have to say, the one that really impressed me the most was my friend Marco Rubio talking about. Jesus Christ. It was as fine of an evangelistic sermon as I've ever heard, better than a lot of preachers. And I texted him and told him, and I just thought, what an amazing thing that was.
But the most stunning moment was when Erica Kirk, the widow of Charlie, got up. and said that she forgave the young man who took her husband's life. It was an amazing moment. And not only were the people in the stadium deeply moved by that. but so were the people watching, including actor Tim Allen.
In fact, he tweeted this afterwards. I've struggled for over 60 years to forgive the men who killed my dad. And I will say these words now as I type, I forgive him. Tim Allen's father was killed by a drunk driver. And for 60 years, he has harbored hatred in his heart, understandably, for the man who did this to his dad.
He was just a little boy, Tim, when this happened. But he forgave. And, you know, it was C.S. Lewis who said, forgiveness is a lovely idea until you have somebody to forgive. It's much easier said than done.
But here's the thing about forgiveness: it's not absolving the perpetrator of what they did. What it does is it frees you personally. It's been said when you forgive someone, you free a prisoner yourself. And I thought that was a beautiful moment that happened with Erica Kirk. And now I want to make an announcement.
And I think it's pretty exciting. You know, for a couple of years we've been talking with pastors in Utah about doing a harvest crusade in Salt Lake City.
So we tentatively scheduled one for um yeah, it's good, isn't it? We tentatively scheduled it for 2027 because we are already planning next year and next year's full But we said we can come in 27, but then tragedy struck and Charlie was assassinated on the campus of Utah Valley University. We reached out to these pastors. We said, is there anything we can do to help? The pastor said, yes, bring your crusade here sooner.
Our community is devastated. They said, Our community is devastated and we need the hope that only Jesus can bring. And we said, yes, and we're going there this November. November sixteenth. And it's going to be at Utah Valley University, the UVU.
That is the place. Where Charlie left this life for the afterlife. We're going to go to that place of darkness, and we're going to turn on the radiant light of Jesus Christ and proclaim the gospel that Charlie believed. What was meant for evil will be turned to good, and we're going to. broadcast this event to anyone who wants to watch.
to churches, college campuses, and we're gonna hope it will be an outreach to our country. That's why we're calling it Hope for America. at Utah Valley University, November 16th. That's six weeks away.
Okay, we have never... done a crusade in six weeks. It usually takes us a year to two years, the plan went quite honestly. But we feel this is urgent. And so we're putting everything into hyperdrive.
And I'm going to ask you to start praying. And so we're launching something we're calling 320. And we're going to ask you to set your Phone alarm to 3:20.
Now it's your decision if you want to make it 3:20 in the afternoon or 3:20 in the morning. But when your phone goes off, when you hear that alarm, 3:20, that's a reminder to pray. You say, Why 3:20? Such a random time. It's based on Ephesians 3:20.
It says, God is able to do exceedingly above and beyond that which we could ask or think.
So we're asking God to do something big, okay?
So let's all pray. Set your alarms for 320. Very exciting opportunity to get the gospel out there. Joseph probably felt alone and abandoned, but God had his hand on him.
Now let's go mentally from a prison to a palace and think about Esther. How did Esther become the queen of Persia? She was a Jewish girl.
Well, she won a beauty contest.
Well, why was she in a beauty contest? Because there was another woman in this story that is often forgotten, but I think in some ways is part of the story in a significant way and is an unsung hero. And her name was Vashti, Queen Vashti.
So the king of Persia throws a big giant party that's going on forever. And he has all of these people getting drunk and carrying on, and he decides he wants to bring out his. Wife, the queen. He wants to parade her before his subjects.
So he gives the order: bring out Queen Vashti wearing her crown.
Some commentators believe that contextually, what that verse means is he was asking her to come wearing only her crown. In other words, no clothes, just the crown. But whatever the case was, he was objectifying her, using as a mere object, and much to her credit. Queen Vajdi said, I'm not doing it.
Well, then all of the aides of the king freaked out because they said, look, if you let her get away with this, we'll never hear the end of it from our wives. Because they won't do what we say anymore, and they'll say, Well, Queen Vashti didn't do it, why should we do it? You've got to throw her out from being queen, and that's exactly what happened. But that opened the door for Esther to get in there, which ultimately resulted in Esther being able to speak up for her people, the Jews, and she literally spared her whole race in the process. But I think Vashti deserves a little credit.
She's a model for young girls today. Girls, don't let men reduce you to some object and become arm candy or a trophy wife to some vain man. You are a woman made in the image of God. You are a woman of purpose. You're a woman of dahu and men, you should respect women.
It's so often Men don't and women don't ask to be respected. Listen, if you present yourself cheaply, don't expect to be valued royally.
So uh Here's the thing. Outward beauty is fine. I'm all for pretty girls, okay? I married a pretty girl. But I heard a girl to go, aww.
And it was my wife. Oh, no, it wasn't. I married a pretty girl. And I wanted to marry a pretty girl. I'll be honest about it, but the Bible says.
Beauty is vain and favor is deceitful, but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. It's not that beauty is bad. It's just that Time passes and beauty changes. But an inner beauty begins to come. That is even more attractive than the outer beauty, you see.
And so many girls today only focus on the outside and they don't cultivate who they are on the inside.
So Vashti, the queen. provides a great example. And then Esther becomes The queen ultimately and saves her people. You know, funny thing about the book of Esther. is the name of God is never specifically mentioned.
There's no mention of God, but yet the hand of God is in the book from beginning to end, in every scene, in every movement, of every event. And it just reminds you that there are times in life when God seems absent, but He's always at work in the life of the believer every hour of every day. And he's working things together for his purposes. It's called providence. You know, the word providence is a fascinating word.
It comes from two words, pro and ahead of time. It comes from the word provendentia, which means before. And vindentia, which means to see.
So it means that God sees things ahead of time. He knows what's coming. And he's in control of your life. That's why, as Christians, we don't believe in coincidence, we believe. and Providence.
And so God is there. Take the story of the Israelites at the Red Sea. Man, they were between a rock and a hard place. Coming toward them was the Egyptian army ready to destroy them. Behind them was the Red Sea.
What are they going to do? And so they freaked out and they started getting mad at Moses. And they said, You know what? It wasn't that bad back in Egypt. At least we were alive.
You brought us out here to die. And Moses says to them, Don't be afraid. Stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord Himself will fight for you.
So just stay calm. I love that. Stay calm. Have you ever been really upset and someone says, calm down? And it just makes you more upset.
Calm down. I am calm. Stay calm, yeah, is it for you to say, just stay calm? And then he held up a staff. And the Red Sea opened, and then Jesus showed up.
You're going, Greg, you're confused. We're in the Old Testament. Jesus doesn't show up in the Old Testament.
Well, that's my whole point of this series. He shows up a lot in the Old Testament. You see, Jesus is in the Old Testament concealed, and he's in the New Testament. revealed. Jesus being God is co-eternal, co-equal, and coexistent with the Father.
In fact, Jesus was there at creation. When God made all things, we read in Colossians 1.16, by him were all things created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created through him and for him he's before all things and in him all things are held together. Jesus is the creator. It's not like he just showed up in Bethlehem.
That's when he entered our world as a man. And walked among us as a living, breathing human being, but without sin. But he pre-existed and made many appearances in the Old Testament.
So, yes, Jesus showed up because Exodus 14:19 says, And the angel of the Lord went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud went before them. And the Lord caused the Red Sea to collapse on the Egyptian army. The angel of the Lord. Many commentators believe. when you read that phrase in contrast to an angel of the Lord, the angel of the Lord.
Maybe what we call a Christophany. A Christophany is an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. And he made many of these appearances. And we know this because Jesus said in John chapter 8, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad.
So basically he's saying, I knew Abraham. Yeah, we we hung out a little. And they're going, wait, wait. What are you talking about? You're only 50 years old?
And you've seen Abraham, and Jesus responds, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. He's saying he pre-existed before Abraham and had seen him. And there's one occasion when after Christ arose from the dead, He appeared to two disciples on the Emmaus road. It had been three days since he died. They did not know he had risen.
And he joined them. Incognito. They didn't know it was Jesus.
So he sees her sad and he goes, Hey guys, what's up? Why the long faces? Oh, haven't you heard? about Jesus, a prophet mighty indeed. We were hoping he would have been the one to deliver Israel.
But it's been three days since this happened. You haven't heard about these things? Jesus says, no, tell me what things.
So now they're telling Jesus about Jesus. And they're not doing a very good job. And after a while he says, You fools and so of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. And then we read that starting at that point, beginning at Moses and the prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in the Old Testament scriptures concerning himself. He took him on a guided tour of all of the Christophanies, all of the types, all of the shadows, all of the things in the Old Testament that pointed to his fulfillment in the New Testament.
I wish someone took notes on that sermon. I want to know what I missed, but that's what we're going to focus on a little bit in this series that we're calling Jesus and You 2, where we look at Jesus in the Old Testament. You see, as I already mentioned, the beginning of Jesus, well, there is no beginning, He's God, He's eternal. But we think of Jesus while he was born in the manger in Bethlehem, and that's a Christmas story. But Jesus was there long before that, long before there was a.
A birth in Bethlehem. There was a tree, then we could call it the first Christmas tree. Not the kind that you might have in your home that you decorate. with brightly colored lights and ornaments. the first Christmas tree, if you will.
was in the Garden of Eden. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And there were placed our first parents, Adam and Eve, in a literal... Paradise, radiant beauty at every turn. exotic wildlife.
The perfect temperature, and best of all, no sin or guilt or the shame that accompanies it. And the Lord told them to stay away from this tree. You can enjoy the garden, enjoy everything I've created, but stay away from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For God says, and if you eat of it, you will. Face sin.
But of course they listened to the devil who tempted them there. They ate of the forbidden fruit. First Steve ate. Then she gave to her husband, and he ate too. Have you ever eaten something that the moment you put it in your mouth you regretted it?
Like sea is candy.
Sometimes people give me sea candy. I only like the nuts and chews, so please don't give me sea candy. Unless it's only nuts and chews. Please don't. But because then I'll eat the nuts and chews, then there's these other ones.
Like, what is in this? And you'll bite it in this weird Yeah. Sugary goop comes out. I don't want that.
Sometimes I'll be eating something and I'm enjoying it. I've had my third bite of it, and Kathy will be having it as well. And she'll say, This is rancid. Wait, what? Ran do you have to use the word rancid?
Her smell and taste is much more developed than mine is. It's rancid.
Well, you know, you don't want to eat that thing. The other day, she went into the kitchen and came back into the front room and heard a munching sound. But she was very, very being very secretive. What are you eating?
Well, she was eating pretzels with peanut butter in them, and I love those. And so she gave me one. And I said, you're like Eve in the garden. Look, here we go again. And the moment I ate one, I wanted more.
Because there was a time earlier, maybe a couple of years ago, where someone gave us a whole container full of those. pretzels filled with peanut butter. And I started eating them and I couldn't stop. I was just eating them. It was like three-quarters full, half full.
I have to get rid of these. And I literally, this is bad, it's a waste. I poured him down the toilet and flushed it. Or I would have eaten them all. And Kathy comes out: where are the pretzels with peanut butter?
I flush them down the toilet. Why? Because I'm an addict, that's why. I would have gone into a 12-step program. I know it.
He would have found me in the street corner with the pretzels wrapped around a paper bag around them, eating them still. No, I had to get rid of them. But you know our first parents ate of the forbidden fruit And sin entered the world.
So God shows up in the garden. As it appears, He would. Do every day. We would read that we read that Genesis 3:8, when the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God. walking about in the garden.
I love that. What a beautiful picture. I love it when the sun sets. That final breeze of the day is blowing. Here comes the Lord walking to the garden, which makes me think.
This is a Christophany. Because God is a spirit. And yet, we hear that he walked through the garden, and they could hear him walking through the garden. And normally, Adam would. Probably talk to the Lord about his latest discovery.
Lord, I saw this. What on earth is this unusual plant or this creature?
Well, look at this creature, Lord, or I saw this other thing. But on this particular occasion, Adam was hiding. Because he had sinned. And we read in Genesis 3:8: the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees. And the Lord called to the men, Where are you?
And he replied, I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid, and I was afraid, because I was naked. It reminds me of a story of a pastor that went to visit a member of his congregation. He knocked on the door. There was no answer.
Well, it turns out the lady inside was just getting ready to take a bath.
So she quickly hid. and noticed that a little card was slipped under the door. And it was the name of the pastor with this verse written down, Revelation 3:20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I'll come in.
And she said, okay.
So she went to church on Sunday and saw the pastor and handed him his card back. But she wrote her own verse below his verse. And she wrote down Genesis 3:10, I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked.
So I hid myself. But Adam and Eve are now hiding from God. Why would anyone want to hide from God? You would hide because you were ashamed. When my grandkids were little, we would play hide and seek.
And they were so easy to find. Because they would hide behind the curtains and I would see their feet there. or I would hear them laughing. I caught you. and then they go back to the same place again and again as crazy right but But that's us hiding from God.
It's impossible. The Bible tells us that, where shall I flee from your presence? If I go to heaven, you're there. If I go down to the grave, you're there. You're there.
So now the Lord confronts him and says to Adam, Did you eat of the tree I commanded you to not eat of? Genesis 3, 11. But Adam says, yes, but it was the woman you gave me. Who brought me? the pretzel with peanut butter and i ate it That's from the original language.
And the Lord asked the woman, Why would you do such a thing? She said, Well, the serpent tricked me, and that's why I ate it. This is the first instance of humans playing the blame game. We still played it. It's not my fault.
It's not my fault. You know, he's a bad teacher. That's why he gives me bad grades. My boss just hates me. That's why I got fired.
Had nothing to do with my performance, or I don't know how that crazy thing got posted.
Someone hacked my account. You know, we never want to take responsibility for what we do. God says, have you eaten of the tree I told you not to eat of? Who told you you were naked? Was God ignorant and was he looking for information?
No. God knows all things. He was looking for confession. He was looking for honesty. He was looking for them to say, yes.
We sinned, but instead Adam blames Eve. He believes the devil. No one wants to take responsibility. for what they have done. But God is ready.
with a solution. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. What does that mean? That means that before there was a planet called Earth, And in that planet, they had garden called Eden. And in that garden called Eden a couple named Adam and Eve.
With a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before any of these things, a decision was made in the councils of eternity that God would come into our world, walk among us, live a perfect life, die on the cross, and rise again from the dead. He was slain from the foundation of the world.
So here now is the first Christmas passage. In other words, the first passage that points to the birth of Jesus. No, it's not Isaiah 9:6. It says, Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and you'll call his name wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father. Nor is it Micah, where he says, You, Bethlehem, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you will come forth one whose origins have been from everlasting.
No, the first passage pointing to Messiah. Was a statement made by God to the devil. Genesis 3:15, the Lord says, There is coming one. Who will bruise Your head. or crush your head and you will bruise his heel.
Game on double. Messiah is coming. He's going to crush you. But you will bruise his heel.
So now the devil knows that the Lord is coming. One more Christophany and then I'll wrap up. Go over to Genesis 22. This is where Jesus intervenes in a powerful picture. Of what would happen at the cross of Calvary, the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah.
Isaac was born to Abraham and his wife Sarah, when they were older people. They never thought they would have a son, but God had promised they would. And they were so thrilled with Isaac. In fact, his very name meant. After He was the light of Abraham's life.
That's why it was such a shock. When the Lord comes to him in Genesis 22, and we read these words. One day, God asked the incomprehensible: take that son of yours and offer him as a sacrifice. And he tested Abraham's faith. And say to Abraham, And Abraham said, Here I am.
Take your son. your only son. Whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering. Isaac asked. His father.
Where is the lamb for the sacrifice? Abraham prophetically says, Genesis 22, 8, my son, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.
So the two of them went together. What a powerful story. Abraham and his son Isaac.
Now often in religious art You see an elderly man, Abraham, Bringing a very small boy up to the altar to be sacrificed. In fact, the matter is, as we look at. Where Isaac would have been at this point, he was probably a full-grown young man, a big guy, probably bigger than his dad. And he might have said to his father, Father, I am not so sure about this sacrificing me. You're old, let's sacrifice you.
But to the credit of Isaac. He believes the words of his father, who says, God will provide himself a sacrifice. Prophetic words, not just God will provide for himself a sacrifice, but God will provide himself a sacrifice. God would be the sacrifice. To the credit of Isaac, he willingly went.
to this place and to the credit of Abraham, he did the same. You could not ask a father to make a greater sacrifice than to offer up their child. When our son died 16 years ago, if I was given the choice, and I say this in complete honesty. If I was given the choice to take his place or he would have lived his life out. I would have gladly treated places with him.
But I was not given that choice. I was not given that choice.
So that was the ultimate pain, to lose a child. We don't think about the sacrifice that the Father made. And sending his son and watching his son suffer and die on the cross for our sins. But then there's the sacrifice of the son who willingly went and laid his life down. And the hardest part of the crucifixion was not the scourging, as awful as that was.
Probably the Roman cat of nine tails. uh numerous strands from a whip made out of leather embedded with bits of rock and glass and metal. Tearing into the body, lacerating, exposing vital organs, especially after 39 lashes. Many people did not even survive the scourging, much less the crucifixion. Then, of course, they beat him, they pulled the beard out of his face.
They punched them. And then they pounded spikes through his hands and feet. But that was not the worst part of the crucifixion. Here's a part that was harder than any of that, and this is what Jesus recoiled from in the Garden of Gethsemane when Dr. Luke says he sweat, as it were, great drops of blood.
Probably describing a medical condition known as hematridrosis. Which is a state that a person finds themselves in when they're under intense stress. They literally perspire blood. There's blood mixed with their perspiration. Jesus was sweating blood.
As he thought about it and said, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. What was Jesus recoiling from? His are coiling. from taking the sin of the world upon himself.
He who was holy would bear everything that was unholy. He who was sinless would take upon himself everything that was sinful, all the sin of humanity. My sin's bad enough, yours makes it even worse. Imagine the whole human race poured upon him as he died in our place as a substitute. And that is why he cried out, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani, which means, my God, my God.
Why have you forsaken me? But Jesus was forsaken so I could be forgiven. He died in my place. He died for you and for me. He came to pay a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.
Take your son, says God. Your only son, whom you love. What do we read in John 3:16? For God so loved. The world that he gave his only begotten son.
And as Abraham prepared to plunge the knife into his son, and by the way, Abraham believed that. God's going to come through for me. And if my son dies, God will raise him from the dead. I'm going to keep trusting God. He raises that sacrificial knife.
He's bringing it down on the sun. And suddenly, the angel of the Lord shouts, verse 11 of Genesis 22: Abraham, Abraham. And he says, I'm listening. The angel says, lay down the life and don't hurt the boy in any way. Who was this angel of the Lord?
I believe it was Jesus. The angel of the Lord. This is a Christophany. Christ stepped into this perfect picture of what would happen at the cross and stopped. it from continuing on.
But When Jesus went to the cross for us. There was no last minute reprieve. There was no stopping it. He went through with it for us. And that brings us to.
Communion. We're going to now receive communion together. And what is communion?
Well basically It's when we take the cup and we take the bread. And we receive these elements that symbolize the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus in remembrance of Him. Because Jesus in the upper room said, This is my body which is broken for you. This cup is a symbol of my blood that is shed for you.
Now we don't believe in transubstantiation. And transubstantiation is the belief that bread turns into actual flesh in Grape juice, that's what we're serving you. Turns into actual blood. We don't believe that. But we do believe that they're powerful symbols.
They mean a lot, just like when two people get married. And you make those vows, I promise to take you for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death to us part. Those are powerful words. It means something. And so when we hold these elements, it means something, it means a lot.
Because they represent the body and the blood of our Lord. But think of all that Jesus did for you, the sacrifice that He made for you, and He says. Would you just do this for me? Yes, Lord. What?
Just remember. Just remember. Do this in remembrance of me.
So every time we take that bread and that cup, we're remembering. His death But let me Say this. Communion comes with some conditions, and by that I mean Communion, or the Lord's Supper, as it's sometimes called, is for Christians only. Yeah, I don't understand what that means. In other words, maybe you're joining us here at church for the first time, and I'm so glad you're here.
And you're so welcome. You really are. But You've joined us. And it's sort of like, you know, have you ever gone over to somebody's house and they're having a family meeting? Oh, we're having a family.
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to leave. No, no, come and join. I'm not in the family.
Well, come and sit and join the family meeting. Oh, okay. You sort of walked into a family meeting a little bit, but it's a good thing. Because you see, we want you to join our family. We want you to become part of this family of God, and you can.
But this is only for the family. And by that, I'm saying Paul the Apostle said, when you receive these elements, Don't receive them in an unworthy manner. Bringing judgment on yourself. What does that mean? It means don't do it in a flippant way, don't do it in a cavalier way, don't do it in a dismissive way, and mostly don't do it in an unbelieving way.
So, if I'm not a believer and I receive the elements of communion, that's a bad idea.
Well, I think a little religion will do me some good. Actually, a lot of Jesus would do you some good. This is not for you.
So let me say bluntly. If you say, I'm not a Christian, I'm just visiting, I have no intention of becoming a Christian. When the elements are passed to you, just let them pass by. That's okay. But better.
I have a better idea. Take those elements. And put your faith in Jesus Christ right now and ask Him to be your Savior and Lord. And join us for your first communion as a brand new Christian. How about that?
So that's how we're going to close. Lead a prayer. A prayer that you could pray. Where you would be asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. I know sometimes you feel alone.
and you feel abandoned. And you feel afraid. But you don't have to be alone. Christ can come and live inside of you, and you'll never be alone again. And He'll walk with you through your life and give you a better life than you've ever dreamed of for yourself.
And most of all, not just a better life in this world. But a better life in the afterlife. The best of all, the hope of heaven. You don't want to let this opportunity slip by. I already quoted this verse.
Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. You just need to open the door of your life and say, Jesus, come in and forgive me of my sin. I want to believe in you now.
So, we're going to pray. I'm going to give you an opportunity to have Christ come into your life. Let's all bow our heads and pray, Father. Thank you for everyone that's here. Thank you for your love for them.
and sending your own son to die on the cross in their place. And now I pray that they will see their need for you. and that they will come to you and believe.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying. 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 when you die, you will go to heaven. If you are ready to say yes to Jesus, I'm going to ask you to pray this prayer after me, wherever you are. Just pray this prayer right where you're sitting. Just pray these words: Lord Jesus.
I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior. Who died on the cross for me. and rose again from the dead.
Now come into my life. 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. God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org.
And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on know God. Mm-hmm.
