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. 80 to 90 percent of people who have heard the gospel shared with them. Heard it from people who had known the Lord for two years or less. Why is that?
New believers are leading the way and sharing their faith. That's good. But what about the rest of us? Pastor Greg Laurie comments, Why is it that those that know the least do the most and those that know the most often do the least? Shouldn't it be the opposite?
Some of us can't remember the last time. that we've shared the gospel. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. A racing graves have sweet the sound.
But can you hear all the angels of singing? This is the day, the day will lie. Most all of us have someone in our circle of influence. who doesn't know the Lord and we've never talked to them about Jesus. And that weighs heavily on our conscience.
If it doesn't, Maybe it should. Today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the account of Jonah. No, not so much about the great fish. but about his assignment of delivering the message God gave him.
At first, he refused. But then he got a second chance. Maybe we need a second chance. I heard about a young girl who went out. To share her faith on a street corner, a little crowd gathered.
And uh she was speaking uh A well-known atheist had been listening and Kind of made his way up to the front of the group, and while the young girl was talking about Jesus, he said, I have a question for you, young lady. She said, Yes, sir. Yes, you're a Christian, right? Yes, yes, I am. Oh, isn't that nice?
And as a Christian, you believe the Bible is the Word of God. Is that right? She said, Yes, I do believe it's the Word of God. Oh, is that so?
Well, if that is the case, do you believe all of those stories in the Bible? She said, Yes, I believe all of them. Oh, do you believe in the miracles of the Bible? She said, Yes, of course I do. Oh, really?
Oh, then you must believe the story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale? Yeah, I believe that story. How is that even possible? She said, well, when I get to heaven, I'll ask him. And then the atheist said, well, what if he's not in heaven?
She said, Well then I guess you could ask him, I don't know.
Okay, so Jonah and the whale. Was he swallowed by a whale?
Well, here's what the Bible says: it says he was swallowed by a sea creature. that was specifically created by God. For this event.
So it could have been a whale, it could have been some creature that is no longer here, it could have been a one-off creation. Uh we don't know. But yes, it was sushi eating in reverse. He was swallowed by some kind of a sea monster. Why do I believe this?
Well, among other things, Jesus himself validated it. People said, we want to see a miracle. He said, no sign will be given but that of the prophet Jonah. And as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Effectively, Jesus was saying, You guys want a miracle?
Here's your miracle. Just as Jonah was in that sea monster and came out, I will die on the cross, rise again three days later. That's the sign. That's my message. But he validated the story, so I don't see any reason to doubt it.
But I want to talk about another creature in the story of Jonah, not the whale. I want to talk to you about Jonah and the worm. You heard me right. There's a worm in the story of Jonah. but you have to get all the way to the end of it to find out the role the worm played.
But 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.
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. That sounds kind of depressing, but in a way, there was hope in this message because there was 40 days. You guys, lose paraphrase, have 40 days to get your act together. 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. If God could bring a mighty revival to Nineveh, With no better representative than Jonah and no more gospel than he preached in their streets, surely the Lord could do the same for America. That's why we're always looking for new and creative ways to reach new people. Reach unexpected people in unexpected places with the unexpected message of the gospel.
So the whole town of Nineveh turns to God. Look at Jonah chapter 3, verse 4. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: 40 days in Nineveh will be overthrown or destroyed. And the people of Nineveh believed God's message, and from the greatest to the least, they decided to go without food and wear sackcloth to show their sorrow. Drop down to verse 8.
Everyone was required to wear sackcloth and pray earnestly to God. Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. And who can tell? Perhaps even God will have pity on us and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us. When God saw they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn't carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Mm, listen. The Bible says God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Yes, God is a holy God. Yes, God is a righteous God. Yes, God is a loving God.
Yes, He is a merciful God. But He doesn't want to judge people. That's why he put his judgment on Jesus, who died in our place. But if we reject his offer of forgiveness over and over and over again, and we end up one day eternally separated from him in hell, we have no one to blame but ourselves. But here you see the mercy of God, and this did not make Jonah happy.
So he had a great message. He had a great response. And now we come to a great close. Contrast Look at Jonah 4 verse 1. This change of plans upset Jonah.
And he became very angry.
Now, what changed of minds? God just pardoned them. God just forgave them and chose to not judge them. Yeah, this upset Jonah. And he complained to the Lord about it saying, Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord?
This is why I ran away to Tarshius. I knew you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people. Just kill me now, Lord. I'd rather be dead than alive because nothing I predicted is going to happen.
And the Lord replied, Is it right for you to be angry about this? Aren't you glad God doesn't answer all your prayers? I mean, what kind of a prayer is this? Just kill me, God. I'm upset.
because you forgave the people of Nineveh. And God's like, Should you be angry like this? And the word that is used here for anger could be translated to burn. God says, You're burning with anger. You should be rejoicing, and instead, you're filled with rage.
And just kill me, he says. I mean, here's a guy. who survived being in the stomach of a whale or a fish for three days and three nights, He repents, he preaches. A massive spiritual awakening takes place. Such a man would never mess up after this, but here he is sinning.
You know, sometimes people say they're concerned about new believers not changing quickly enough. I have less concern with new believers changing. Fast enough. I have more concern with old converts who stopped changing. I love hanging around new believers.
You know, they're rough around the edges. Maybe they say a word. Yeah, we don't really say that word Christians. You know, but but their heart's in the right place. They're learning.
They're growing. It's good. It takes a little time. But then there's older saints, seasoned saints, people that have been around for a long time, they've stopped changing. They're stagnating.
They're living in the past. They usually like to start their statements with, I remember the time. And they're stalled, and they're not moving forward as they should. Maybe they've turned from old vices like immorality and drugs and drinking. But what if they've replaced them with sins like pride, backbiting, gossip?
and bitterness. And it frustrates me when I see people get this way in church. You can become jaded in church. Your heart can get hardened in church. How you say?
Every time you hear the word of God, you have a choice. You can respond to it, you can obey it, you can embrace it, or you can resist it. And the same son that softens the wax, hardens the clay. The same message that will liberate one can cause another to say, Oh, I've heard that before, you become a sermon. connoisseur.
instead of a fisher of men. And you're missing out on what God has. You know, you might be sitting there right now, you got your arms crossed. All the people with their arms crossed. I'm under an air conditioning vent, okay.
It's cold here. But you know, you're resistant to what God wants to do. Jonah was angry with God. Are you angry at God? Is there anyone here that maybe feels like The Lord has shortchanged you.
He didn't answer your prayers the way you wanted him to. Your life did not turn out as you hoped it would. Or God really blessed someone else more than you, and you're jealous of that. You know, the funny thing about Jonah. Is he wasn't wondering why a good God would allow bad things?
He was wondering why Why a good God would allow good things to happen to bad people. And the Ninevites were bad people. But They turned to God and they repented. And so he forgave them. But he was thinking God was going to judge him.
In fact, he had his beach chair and he set it up. You know, he was ready to watch it. He had his popcorn and his milk duds. That's what I get when I go to a movie theater. Popcorn and milk dads.
Who knows why? That's what I do. And um The other day, I was watching a movie, and I'm eating these milk tubs. I thought, I'm going to pull a fillion out of my teeth with these. I just feel it.
It didn't happen, thankfully. He wanted to be entertained. Hey, judgment. Nothing is more entertaining than judgment. Here we go.
Let's go. And it didn't happen. And he was frustrated. Pastor Greg Laurie. We'll have the second half of his message in just a moment.
Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash the Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and much more. Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app.
Well, you've joined us today for Pastor Greg's message called Jonah's Second Chance and Yours. Let's continue. Enter the worm. I promised you the worm, here it is. Jonah 4.
Verse 5. Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see if anything would happen to the city. And the Lord arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased him from some of his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But God also prepared a worm.
And the next morning at dawn, the worm ate through the plant. and it soon died and withered away.
Well, it's The last chapter of Jonah is unbelievable, isn't it?
Now the King James calls this plant a gourd. It was a palm tree-like plant offering him ample shade.
So he's sitting under his little personal palm tree. He has his little gourd. And then it withered, so Jonah was literally out of his gourd.
Now what's the story about this worm? Is this a big worm? Is it a very hungry little worm? I don't know what it was, but it's funny because the same verbiage that's used about the whale or the great fish is used of the worm. The Lord prepared.
a great fish. The Lord prepared a worm. That ate this plant, ate the stem of the plant, and it withers, and now he's upset. He's upset because he's lost his shade. Wow.
And he's more upset about that than anything else. He was more interested in his personal comfort and the salvation of thousands of people. And that brings us to one final point. We have the great message to give today, the great commission, we call it.
So it was a great message. And It was a great response. And then an unusual Shift here in this story. But we have our marching orders. And sometimes we can be a little bit like Jonah.
This is not about your personal comfort. It says not about your little personal palm tree. This is about the salvation a people who are separated from God. Here's an interesting statistic. 80 to 90 percent of people who have heard the gospel shared with them heard it from people who had known the Lord for two years or less.
I want to say that one more time. 80 to 90% of people who have had the gospel shared with them heard it from people who've known the Lord for two years or less. Why is that? Why is it that those that know the least do the most and those that know the most often do the least? Shouldn't it be the opposite?
I mean, the new believers, oh, you know, just grow in your faith, come to church. No, I want to go out and evangelize. Why?
Well Because God saved them. And they've seen what God did for them and they want to see God do it for others. But now we've known the Lord for five years, ten years, twenty years, thirty years. And some of us can't remember the last time. that we've shared the gospel.
Get out there and do something with it. I want to say one last thing about Jonah before we leave his story. Because, you know, he did mess up. And he admits it, but here's something to remember about the book of Jonah: Jonah wrote the book of Jonah. If I wrote the book of Jonah, I would have left the last chapter out.
Because it didn't present him in the best light, did it? It's sort of like, you know, you take a picture. Let's do a picture together. The picture's taken, let me see it, delete it. Why?
I don't like the way I look. I look fat. But you are fat. I know, but... I even look fatter.
Take it out. You know, we want to be presented in the best light. If I wrote the book of Jonah, there wouldn't have been a chapter four. I would have just ended it and there was a great revival and everyone lived happily ever after. I wouldn't have put in the part, yeah, and then I was mad at God and then He had a plant grow over me and a worm ate it and I still mad.
I mean, that. But it's honest, isn't it? And Jonah gave God the last word. Look at Jonah 4, verse 10. The Lord said, you feel sorry about that plant.
And you did nothing to put it there. And a plan is only at best short-lived. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for that great city? Yeah, that's right.
We all live in Nineveh, we're called to. We all have an opportunity before us. Because here's what we know: God wants to save people. The Bible says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So when we're praying for non-believers to believe, we're praying according to the will of God. And we know that heaven rejoices when one sinner comes to repentance according to Jesus, right?
So this is something we know God wants to do.
So let's pray for a moment. Father. We come before you. with people we know, people that you love. that need you.
We think of family members. We think of friends, maybe friends we haven't talked to for a long time. We think of neighbors. We think of co-workers. Oh, we think of people we just might run into before the day is over.
And Lord, would you now? Lay on our hearts. Those That you would like to move in their lives, those that you would like to save. And use us, Lord. as an instrument.
Now we know you can reach these people and all people without us. But yet your word says, How will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they be sent? How beautiful are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things. You want to use us.
We don't know why. But you do. And you will. If we will step out of our comfort zone and make ourselves available to you. And we ask you to do a mighty work.
And we ask it now. In Jesus' name. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie, with an important word of prayer. We have a message that can lead people to eternal life.
and we need to share that message. Good insight today, here on a new beginning. And listen, if you've never responded to that message, there's no better time than right now. Pastor Gregg, could you speak to that person who wants to make that change right now? You know what, Dave?
I'd love to do that. It's an amazing thing to me that over the years, I've heard so many stories of people who have come to know Christ listening to this broadcast, and they'll say things like, I prayed the prayer with you at the end of the program. One guy wrote me and said, I pulled my car over to the side of the road and prayed that prayer, and Christ came into my life. Just incredible. And I'd like to lead you in that same prayer.
Look, I don't have some super special prayer. It's just a basic prayer based on scriptural principles of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. I mean, if we want to get real technical, the only sinner's prayer, if you will, and we often call this prayer a sinner's prayer, the only real sinner's prayer in the Bible is a guy who just prayed, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
So, I'm going to lead you in a prayer similar to that, but this is a prayer where you will be acknowledging your need for Jesus and putting your faith in Him.
So, listen. If you want to go to heaven when you die. If you want to know that you are a child of God, If you want the Lord to forgive you of your sins, Just pray these words if you would. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner. And I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from that sin.
But I know that you died on the cross of Calvary. for my sin, and rose again from the dead, so forgive me, Lord. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. I want you to be my Savior. I want you to be my friend.
I want you to be my God. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, I ask this. Amen.
Now, I want to help you start growing spiritually.
So, I have something to send you at no charge. It's my gift to you. It's called the New Believer's Bible.
So, the New Believers Bible is the New Testament in the New Living Translation with hundreds of notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you are making to follow Christ. There's some other materials included as well in what we call the New Believers Growth Pact. But thanks for giving me the opportunity to lead you in that prayer. And I wanted to be the first to say to you. Welcome to the family of God.
Yeah, and get in touch for that New Believer's Growth packet containing the New Believer's Bible. We'll send it free of charge when you call 1-800-821-3300. We're here 24-7 to take your call. That's 1-800-821-335-8. The 0.
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Well, next time, Pastor Greg launches a new series in Genesis. We'll go back to the beginning on A New Beginning. It's a collection of studies called It All Starts Here. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Lord. This is the day, the day when life begins.
