Greg Laurie at Harvest Ministries recommend a great resource about the end times by Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock. He's written a brand new book called The Revelation Answer Book, 125 Common Questions People Ask About Earth's Final Days. And guess what? We have a copy with your name on it.
So for your gift of any size, we will rush you your own copy of the Revelation Answer Book. Available at harvest.org. There is explosive power in the message of the gospel. I don't need to add to it. I don't need to take away from it.
I just need to proclaim it in its simplicity and watch God work. It's a message that leads people to eternal life. It's the quintessential life and death message. And Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to convey it. There's explosive power in the simple message of the gospel.
And so we need to deliver that message. This is the Day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace down sweet the sound. But can you hear how the angels are singing?
This is the day, the day when I begin.
Some statements can. and carry tremendous meaning.
Some can be life-changing. Statements like Not guilty. or you're cancer-free. Or it's a boy. Imagine not sharing one of those statements with those who needed to hear it.
Well today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie points out the privilege and responsibility of sharing a message that could affect where someone spends eternity. will consider the gospel. and how it offers the second chance. The story of Jonah is how God used a very flawed individual.
to be instrumental in bringing about a spiritual awakening. And it's also an encouraging book to us to show us how we could do something similar. Jonah was called to preach to Nineveh, which God... uh described as a great city. Then he refused, and the Lord sent a great wind.
Then he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. But the real story of Jonah is that of a great God who showed great love. to a lost city like Nineveh. And it's also the story of receiving a second chance. I wonder if I'm talking to somebody here that could use a second chance in life.
Someone that missed the ultimate opportunity given to you by God.
Someone who was walking with the Lord and walked away from the Lord, and you wonder if you could ever walk with him again. The good news of the book of Jonah is God gives second chances.
So here's point number one: Jonah had a great message. Jonah had a great message. God told him, go and preach to Nineveh. We too have a great message. We, in fact, have the greatest of all messages.
And I wonder if we would take a step of obedience and let the Lord use us, if we too would not see something amazing happen. But this all happened after God got hold of Jonah's heart. After he was swallowed by the whale, the fish, whatever it was, there in the belly of the beast, wrapped in seaweed, with humidity like you can't even imagine. He finally came to his senses, but not straight away. You'd have thought the moment that fish swallowed him, he'd have been calling out to God.
Oh, no. He was so stubborn, he waited for three days to say anything to God. Finally, he comes around. He acknowledges his sin, and you might say he had a A personal revival in the belly of the sea creature. And you know, before you can bring An awakening to someone else.
You have to experience it yourself. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11: that which I received of the Lord, I have passed on to you. Listen, it can't happen through you until it has first happened to you.
So, you have to have your own encounter with God, your own relationship with God. And what was Jonah to preach? The message God gave him. Look at Jonah chapter 3, verse 2. Arise, the Lord says, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message.
I tell you.
So Jonah arose, went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk, and he cried out, 40 days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.
So this is after. He's been barfed on the shore of Nineveh.
So he's been revived and roufed. He's been um Victorious and now vomited. I just go on with that. It's okay, but you know, so here he's doing it now.
Okay, Lord, I'm going to do it. And what a simple message. Eight words. Eight words. 40 days in Nineveh will be overthrown.
That sounds kind of depressing, but in a way, there was hope in this message because there were 40 days. You guys, lose paraphrase, have 40 days to get your act together. You have 40 days to repent and turn to God. Listen, in contrast, God gave no warning to Sodom and Gomorrah. He was looking for one righteous person in the city and couldn't find anyone with the exception of Lot.
So at this point, there's hope for this city, and that was the message God gave him, and God has given us a great message. It's the gospel, which means good news.
Now, we throw the word gospel around a lot. Preach the gospel. I believe the gospel. Great. What is the gospel?
If I just pointed to you, could you give me the gospel in maybe a few moments? It's really not that complex. But I wonder if most people have heard an accurate and biblical presentation of the gospel. Here's the gospel, super simplified. God loves us.
God has a plan for our lives. God wants a relationship with us. But there's something that separates us from God called sin. There's nothing we can do to get rid of that sin. All the religiosity in the world won't do it.
We need Him to help us. But while we were yet sinners, the Bible says Christ. Died for us.
So Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, walked this earth, went to the cross, died on the cross in our place, and rose again from the dead three days later. If we will turn from our sin, if we will repent of our sin and put our faith in Him, we can be forgiven and know that we will go to heaven when we die and find the meaning and purpose of life. That's the gospel. Simplified.
Now you all know that. I haven't said anything you haven't heard before. But I'm telling you, if you know the simple thing I just said, you are armed and dangerous. And you know a lot more than most of the people out in this world today.
So Jonah was called to preach his message. 40 days in Nineveh will be overthrown. And we're called to preach this message. And here's what we need to know. There is explosive power in the message of the gospel.
I don't need to add to it. I don't need to take away from it. I just need to proclaim it in its simplicity and watch God work. This is why Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. And the word that Paul used there for the power of the gospel is a word that translates to explosive.
So there's explosive. Power in the simple message of the gospel. And so we need to deliver that message. We're delivery boys. You know?
Uh When I was a kid, I had a paper route. I work for the Daily Pilot. And that little newspaper is still out there. I delivered the daily pilot and I had my little super cool Stingray bicycle with a stick shift on it. It was made by Schwinn.
I still write it today. It's kind of small. But it's cool. No, I don't ride it anymore. But actually this little bicycle I have my bags on it and all my newspapers on it and I became fairly adept at throwing the paper.
You've seen my skills throwing t-shirts. It was similar, sort of a sideways fling, you know, because it'd be wrapped in plastic, and then kind of the over, you know, over-the-hedge throw, and then, you know, all the different ways you would get that paper. But my job was not to write the news, it was not to make the news, it was just deliver the news. and then go and collect. You want to collect money from people.
And I was amazed at how People wouldn't tip me. And my paper route was in Corona del Moire and people didn't tip me. That's probably how they came to live in Corona del Mara. I don't know. Don't tip the paper boys.
Just save your money. We're called to deliver the news. That's all. Just deliver it to people, give it to them. And that's what Jonah was called to do as well.
Another thing I noticed about Jonah is he did not procrastinate. He didn't put it off. Once he knew what he was supposed to do, he did it. The hardest people to reach are members of your own family. Isn't that true?
They're the hardest. And this might surprise you, but even Jesus. did not reach the members of his family at first. Did you know that?
Now sometimes it's said Jesus never had any brothers or sisters. That's simply not true. There are multiple passages in the Bible that allude to the siblings of Jesus. Can you imagine being the brother or sister of Jesus? You'd be compared to him.
Honey, why can't you be more like Jesus? Mommy's like perfect. Jesus never complained. Jesus always did his chores. He always made his bed.
He hit the teen years. He was the model teenager. He was the perfect son. He lived a flawless life, never a shade of hypocrisy, but yet we read his brothers and sisters did not believe in him. In fact, on one occasion when he was speaking, they came to take him home because the scripture says they thought he had lost his mind.
Now, later they believed when he died on the cross and resurrected again. But my point is: who was a better example than Jesus?
So, if Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, Had trouble reaching his own family, then you're going to have challenges when you try to reach your family. Jesus said: a prophet is not without honor except in his own town. But later, as I said, they did believe. But it's hard. Hard to have that conversation with your parents.
Hard sometimes to have that conversation with your children. Maybe you came to faith later in life. And you didn't raise them as Christians. And now you are a believer. And now you're trying to make up for lost time, and you're telling them they should follow Christ.
They're not interested. It's hard to reach. uh brothers and sisters I remember the hardest thing for me was reaching my own mother. I would be preaching in stadiums and arenas and Calling people to Christ all over the place. My own mother was not really a believer.
and whenever I would raise the subject with her, she always said I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. But one day the Lord directed me to go to her. And I drove over to her house. She was surprised to see me.
She didn't know I was coming. And I said, Mom, I want to talk to you. She said, about what? I said, your soul. She said, I don't want to talk about it.
I said, today we're going to talk about it. And that resulted in my mom making a commitment to Christ.
So I'm so glad that I went when He directed me. The Lord might direct you to do the same. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Whenever you send us an email, letter, or post a comment on social media, We read every word. I appreciate that God has never left my side.
Even when I wasn't living for Christ, I would still call out to God in times of need. After living in my own strength for many years, I found Pastor Gregg's podcasts. God obviously gave Greg a gift by helping draw his listeners to the Word of God. I am so thankful. that Pastor Greg has now helped me find my way back home to God.
Thank you. What a great story of how Pastor Gregg's teachings from God's Word have made an impact on this man's life. And if you'd like to listen to Pastor Gregg's podcasts, you can do that through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast apps, or go to harvest.org. That's harvest.org.
Well, we're talking today about the important responsibility of sharing the hope of Christ with those around us. Pastor Gregg is sharing from his own experiences. I remember an opportunity I had with A member of our extended family. Her name was Frankie. She's the great-grandmother of my granddaughter, Stella and Lucy, and Frankie is Jewish.
And so I would see her at family gatherings and she was a very kind lady and came to our church a few times but had not believed in Jesus. Being Jewish, she felt it would be like a betrayal of her Jewish roots to become a Christian. And the fact is, if you are Jewish, it's the opposite of a betrayal. It's the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament was pointing toward. You will be a completed and fulfilled Jew.
Now, if you want to call yourself a Messianic Jew instead of a Christian, that's fine. The main thing is you need to believe in Jesus Christ as your Messiah. And so when I would be with her, we would be in larger settings with other people around, and I thought, I need some time alone with her. Because I feel she would make this commitment to Christ, but that opportunity never came. And then COVID hit.
And tragically, uh Frankie got COVID and it was severe and she was in the hospital and in fact she was dying from it. And so I went down to the hospital and I tried to get in to see her. They said, well, you have to do a COVID test.
Well, how long will that take? And well, there wasn't enough time.
So I asked, can someone hold a phone up to her face close so she can hear me? And I don't know who this nurse was, and if I ever meet her, I want to thank her. Because she very patiently held that phone right up to Frankie, and I shared the gospel with her one more time. And I could see the fear in her eyes. She knew she was going to die.
I was my heart was really troubled by this. I just felt she needed people around her. And I said, Frankie, we've talked about this before, but Jesus can be your Messiah. Would you like to ask him to come into your life? She said yes.
And I led her in a prayer. And in the prayer, instead of saying, come into my life as my Lord and Savior, I had her pray, come and be my Messiah. And she prayed that prayer, and Jesus came into her life. And shortly after that, she went to heaven.
So I was glad for that opportunity. There's an urgency. It's interesting how it says that Jonah cried. He cried this message out, Jonah 3.4. He cried in the belly of the fish too.
And he called out to God, and now he's crying out to these people. And when we give this message, there needs to be an urgency in what we are saying. Dale Moody, a great evangelist from days gone by. Said this, and I quote: winners of souls must be first weepers of souls. You have to care.
There has to be an urgency. Don't procrastinate.
So Jonah was ready. to give this message and it was clear and definite. The gospel is clear and definite. I don't need to apologize for the gospel. I just need to give it to people, and it should be given in a way where it's understandable.
I think sometimes people overly complicate it. They had too many things to it. They used too much religious verbiage that doesn't make sense to people. Break it down. The Bible says of Jesus, the common people heard him gladly.
That means the regular folks understood what Jesus was saying, and people should understand what we're saying as well. I jokingly sometimes say we need to lose the Christianese. Right.
So we go up to a non-believer and we say, hey you, heathen, come here. Uncircumcised Philistine, let me say this to you. You're lost in your sin. You need to repent. You need to be washed in the blood.
And you need to become part of the body of Christ. What do you say? What did you just say to that person?
Now I know that's biblical verbiage and it's good. But don't assume. A person on the street would understand what you're talking about. You just told them to get washed in blood and. become part of some body.
I mean that sounds weird. You gotta make it understandable. Even the children understood Jesus. Jonah gave a very clear message, and there was a great response. That's my second point.
First, it was a great message. Number two, there was a great response. Jonah 3:5, the people of Nineveh believed God. God promises His word will not return void, but will prosper in the place where He sends it. The greatest revival in the history of the world came to Nineveh because Jonah preached God's message, not what the people wanted to hear.
And he gave it faithfully, and we need to do the same. His message was direct. But it was hopeful. You say, how was it hopeful? 40 days.
You got 40 days, and then the Nivea will be overthrown. Our message is the same. Take John 3, 16, for instance. I love John 3.16. How many of you have memorized John 3.16?
Memorize this first. You can do it. Let's say this out loud together. Ready? For God so loved the world.
that he gave his only begotten son And whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's the gospel in a nutshell. And notice how it gives the offer of love, for God so loved the world. But then there's a warning. Whoever believes in him should not perish.
So it's obviously implied: if you don't believe in him, you will perish. And then the next verse, John 3:17, says, For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world through him might find life. And so, you know, we want to give him the good news, but you can't leave out the bad news. Another verse that sums it up perfectly is Romans 6.33. which says the wages of sin is death.
But then it goes on to say, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So there's the warning: the wages of sin is death. But But the gift of God is eternal life. Years ago, I was in. Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Walking down Kalakawa Boulevard, Moikiki Beach, at sort of the main drag there.
And there was some guy standing on a street corner with a sign with this verse on it. The wages of sin is death. And he had flames painted on it for good measure. And he was yelling at people walking by: you're going to hell. God's gonna judge you.
You're going to hell. I thought, this guy's doing more harm than good.
So I'm standing there watching him. You're going to hell. He keeps saying this over and over.
So I walked up to him still. You're going to hell. You're going to hell. Excuse me. You're going to hell.
Excuse me. What? Um I had a thought. Why don't you take your sign, the first part? It is the Bible, the wages of sin is death, but on the flip side, put, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Flip it around every now and then, you know. Then he told me I was going to hell.
So I killed him. Let me explain. No, I didn't. In my heart, baby. No, not really.
But I mean, he's only giving half the message. But you could do it the other way, too. You could just say, God loves you, God wants you to go to heaven, but you don't warn them of judgment. See, that's the same thing. I got to give the whole message.
I can't fully appreciate the good news until I first understand the bad news. The bad news is, I am hopelessly separated from God, and there's nothing I could ever humanly do. To make this right. But the good news is, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
So Jonah gave this balance. message and we need to do the same. Um Pastor Greg Laurie talking about the importance of sharing Christ with those around us. It's just too important not to. And there's more to come from this message here on a new beginning.
And then, Pastor Greg, I know you had a further word you wanted to share.
So, as you've been listening today, maybe you've thought to yourself, man, I wish I had this relationship with God that is being talked about.
Well, you can. He's only a prayer away. You see, becoming a Christian, it doesn't take years, it doesn't take months, it doesn't take weeks, it doesn't even take hours, it can happen in a moment. The Bible describes it as turning from darkness to light. And from the power of Satan to God.
But before that happens, the Bible says you need to have your eyes open. And here's the amazing thing. It's just like in a flash, a light goes on, and you say, This is all true. That's how it happened for me. I just heard the gospel, and all of a sudden, I realized this is all true.
And maybe you've realized that as well. Let me ask you. Would you like Jesus Christ to come into your life? Would you like Him to forgive you of your sin? Would you like this relationship with God we've been talking about today?
If so, why don't you just pray a simple prayer with me? You could pray it out loud if you like, but Say this to God, 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. Jesus, I turn from my sin. and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Saviour and Lord, as my God and Friend, Thank you for hearing this prayer. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Hey, did you just pray that prayer? If so, I want to send you at no charge. what we call a New Believer's Bible. Here's Dave to tell you more. And let me just say Congratulations.
You've made the right decision. Yeah, yeah, that's right. And we're eager to send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's the perfect resource for someone who's new to the faith. It explains the basics of walking with the Lord and answers many of the questions new believers often have.
We'll send it free of charge if you'll just contact us and request it. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. or go online to harvest.org and click No God. And 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. and harvest ministries. As we continue on Fulfill the great commission. Yeah, that's right. And you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or call 1-800-821-3300.
That's a 24-7 phone number. 1-800-821-3300.
Well, next time, more insight on Jonah's experience in the city of Nineveh. More good encouragement for us today. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Lorry. This is a day, the day when life begins.
