Staying Cool When Things Get Hot | Sunday Message

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.

So grab your Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 3 and James chapter 1. The title of my message is Staying Cool When Things Get Hot.

So when I was a little boy, I lived for a time with my grandparents, and I used to have those little green army men. You may remember them. They came in a bag, a whole bunch of them. And I love to set them on fire. Am I the only one?

And so I would put, we had this sort of floor furnace there in my grandparents' house, and I would put the little green army guys on the grate of the furnace, and they would melt, and then the plastic would drip down there. My grandparents did not appreciate this at all. Interestingly, there was a portrait of Jesus over the furnace. And if a portrait could roll its eyes, I could just see Jesus going seriously, like, what are you doing? Right?

So, but I want to talk to you about another furnace, a big furnace. A furnace that three men were thrown into, and their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And Jesus did not look away. And in fact, Jesus showed up and walked with them through this fiery trial they found themselves in.

Now we're in a series called Jesus and You, Part Two. And we're looking at Old Testament appearances of Christ. We call these Christophanies, where Jesus shows up. In the Old Testament, like he did when Abraham, in obedience to God, was offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice, a last-minute reprieve was given. The angel of the Lord shows up who actually was Christ himself telling him not to go through with it.

Then we looked at the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, or he thought it was an angel, but in fact, he was wrestling with Christ himself. And he said, I'm going to call the name of this place Penial, which means the face of God, because he had seen God. face to face. Then we looked also at how Jesus appeared to both Gideon and Joshua before they went into battle. And now we come to probably the best known Christophany in all of the Bible when Jesus walked with these three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in this fiery furnace.

Maybe I'm talking to somebody that's in a fiery trial right now. Don't despair. You're not alone. and what you're facing. I love the words of 1 Peter 4 that says, dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you're going through as if something strange were happening to you.

Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you.

So you might be thinking, man, I'm walking with the Lord. I'm doing all the things that Christian ought to do. Why is God allowing this trial? Don't be surprised by this trial. All of us go through times of trial.

And I want to explain why that happens in a few moments, but consider this contrast. God allows difficulty in the life of the Christian, and God even allows temptation in the life of the Christian. But the devil tempts you in order to destroy you. But God tests us to develop your faith.

So let me say that again. The devil tempts you to destroy your faith. God tests you to develop your faith.

Sometimes I'll hear people say, well, I lost my faith. And that was so hard what I went through. I don't have faith in God anymore. Listen to this: the faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted. Maybe you never had real faith to begin with.

You didn't lose your faith. You never had they. But real faith in Christ will get stronger through times of testing and trial, not weaker. And this is clearly shown. And the story of these three Hebrew holy boys, these young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they stood up.

for what was true. and we're all going to have to make that stand in life. The best time When you're building a house, to really give attention to detail is when you're well drawing up the plans and then laying the foundation. You want to get that electrical right. You want to get that foundation right.

You want to get that plumbing right. Because then when you put your walls up and you paint and wallpaper and bring in furniture, that's all fine. But the important part is the foundation. And in the same way, in the Christian life, the most important time is in the early days of your faith. And if you're young, let me talk to you for a moment.

These are the days to lay a good foundation, to develop good disciplines in your life, like reading your Bible every day. You make a commitment. I'm gonna read the Bible every day. I'm gonna pray every day. I'm gonna, here's some other things: I'm gonna make my bed.

Clean up after myself. Why is it so quiet in here? Are you sloppy? What's going on? Discipline in the little things, because the evening of your life is determined by the morning of your life.

The end of your life is determined by the beginning of your life.

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken captive along with their friend Daniel. By Babylon, but they were very intelligent, outstanding young men.

So the king handpicked them to be a part of his cabinet, if you will. They were in the court where they influenced the king. They were among his counselors, which meant that they lived in the literal lap of luxury. They lived in the palace of the most powerful men in all of the world. And so they would sit at the king's table and eat the king's food.

And for some reason, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made a principled stand that they would not eat. The food from the king's table. And the Bible doesn't tell us why. I mean, were they on the carnivore diet? I don't know.

Were they lactose intolerant? I doubt that. But whatever it was, hey, we can't eat this food. I think it's probably because the food may have been offered to false gods or idols.

So they said, we're not going to eat the food.

So the guy who was in charge said, hey, you've got to eat this food or I'll get in trouble. They said, don't worry. Don't panic, it's organic, we will be okay. They didn't say that, I threw it in. They said, we'll be fine, we'll eat our own little diet.

And we'll be as healthy as everyone else. And sure enough, they were.

Now, I only bring that up because they made a stand in a relatively small area of their life. which supported them when they had to make the bigger stand later in life. See, if you compromise in the little things now, you're going to compromise in the bigger things later. And boy, they were really challenged when they had to decide what to do when the king commanded them to worship this false God.

So they made this stand.

So one night, The king has a crazy dream. I don't know if he had too much pizza or what. You know, it's funny, we say pizza causes crazy dreams. I had pizza the other night, and I had crazy dreams. Very vivid, too.

So I don't think it was pizza, but the king has this vivid dream. He calls in all of his counselors, the astrologers, and others, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedegot says, Hey, I had this dream. Tell me the meaning of this dream. It really freaked me out. And the counselor said, well, tell us what your dream is and we'll make stuff up.

and tell you what we think it means. They didn't say that, but that's what they basically did. He says, if you're really counselors that get this supernatural wisdom, you'll know the dream and the interpretation.

Well, they didn't know the dream. He says, that's it. I'm having you all killed.

Well, word got to the prophet Daniel that this was happening. He says, so relax, everybody. Let me come in and talk to the king. He says, King, I know what your dream was. I'm going to tell you about your dream, and I'm going to give you the interpretation.

Okay, so you basically had this dream, and it's of this giant statue. Am I right? Yes, that's true. Head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and feet of iron and clay. Is that the dream?

Yeah, that's it.

Okay. And basically, Daniel explains that this is a glimpse into the future, and Babylon, symbolized by the head of gold, will be overtaken by the Greeks, excuse me, the Medo-Persians, who will be overtaken by the Greeks. And on it went.

So it was kind of a glimpse into the future of Babylon, and for that matter, the world.

Now the king was blown away, and he even said to Daniel, Your God is the God of gods and the Lord over kings and a revealer of mysteries.

So that's kind of good. Looks like the king was very impressed. But a little bit of time passes, about 16 to 20 years. And Nebuchadnezzar takes this dream. and he makes it into a giant gold statue of himself.

And then he decides to cover it in gold. And then he says that everybody should worship this statue. And if you don't bow down and worship this statue, you will be put to death. And uh Word got to Shadrach, Mesak, and Abendigo, and and they refused to bow.

Now what's fascinating to know Is there were some 300,000 people present, many of them Jews who had been taken captive by Babylon. who apparently bowed before this image.

So only three refused to bow. You say, well, where was Daniel? We don't know. He's not in the narrative. He was somewhere, wasn't here.

But they would not bow before the image. They stuck out like three sore thumbs. When everybody was bowing down before the image, why would they not bow? Very simple. They read their Bibles.

And the Bible says in Exodus 20, don't make idols of any kind. Never worship them or bow down to them, for I am the Lord your God, and I am a jealous God, and I will not share your affection with any.

So they refused to bow, and this really made the king angry. Let's read about it. Look at your Bible. Read along with me. If I look down and I see you looking at me, that means you're not reading along with me.

I don't want you to look at me. I want you to read with me. I want you to read your Bible, okay?

So if you don't have one, pretend you have a Bible.

Now, don't do that.

Well, here it is. Daniel 3 verse 14. No one's looking at me. I like that. Except that lady right there.

Daniel 3, verse 14, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue that I've set up? I'll give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments, All will be well. But if you refuse, You'll be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.

Now, look at this statement. What God will be able to rescue you from my power then? Verse 16, Chadrach, Meshach, and Abedego replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you if we're thrown into the blazing furnace. The God whom we serve is able to save us, he will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue.

that you have set up. Yeah. What a narrative that is. Nebuchadnezzar was picking a fight with God. What God's gonna save you?

Oh, he's going to find out the hard way. How powerful God actually was. You know, it's never a good idea to choose off God. Jacob got into a fight with God and ended up with a limp for the rest of his life. You're never going to win in a fight with God.

And he had forgotten that God gave him the interpretation. to his dream. And so now he's just filled with pride, and he wants everyone to worship. By the way, Everybody worships. Republicans worship.

Democrats worship. independence worship. Conservatives worship and so do liberals. Agnostics worship, even atheists worship. You say, Greg, you're wrong.

No, I'm not wrong. Everyone worships. I didn't say they all worship God. I said they worship. Everyone bows at some altar.

Everyone has some kind of a deity.

Something or someone that they give their allegiance to.

Some bow before the altar of Money. That's what it's all about for them. Others bow before the altar of pleasure. Others bow before the altar of fame. Others bow before the altar of sex.

Whatever it is, they bow at an altar. But we are wired to worship. We're designed to worship, not things, not objects. We're designed to worship God. I read an interesting article.

The neuroscientists have found that during prayer and worship, the prefrontal cortex, that is the region responsible for focus, attention, and decision making, becomes highly active. And this reduction in self-related activity explains why many people decide or describe Feeling connected to God when they worship. They said this isn't true of just singing songs in general, it's true only of worship. Scientists observing these patterns suggest the human brain may be wired for worship. That interesting.

And I believe that's true, and I've experienced it, haven't you? When you're going through whatever you're going through, maybe it's something very troubling, very agitating, and then you just start to sing these songs of praise to God and you think about the Lord, a peace comes over you because you know what you're doing. It's not just singing, you're praying. Worship is just worship. It's just, it's prayer set to song.

That's all it is. And that's a lot.

So you're praying about it instead of worrying about it. And it's something we're all designed to do. But here's the thing: you're going to end up serving whatever you worship. Remember when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. And he said, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world if you will worship me.

And Jesus said, you shall worship the Lord God only, and him only shall you serve. Fascinating. The devil didn't say anything about serving, he just asked for momentary worship. But Jesus understood that you will end up serving what you worship. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said effectively the same thing in verse 18: Your majesty can be sure we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you've set up.

As an example. Just a moment at an altar can lead to a lifetime of regret. A moment at the altar of sexual experimentation. can lead to a lifetime of regret. An unexpected pregnancy.

A child given up for adoption, worst of all, abortion, or if you try this. or go into this other perversion. it can lead to a lifetime of regret. Listen. God created sex.

Did you know that? It was his idea. Pretty good idea, too. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for sex. But sex is beautiful and wonderful, and can even be blessed by the Lord when it's in its proper place.

And the proper place for sex is in a committed marriage relationship between a man and a woman, and there are no exceptions to that whatsoever, according to the Bible.

So many of the problems in our culture is because we disregard this. Oh, no, a man can marry a woman. A woman can marry, oh, a man can't marry a woman. That's right.

Okay, a man can marry a man. I encourage men to marry women, actually. A man can marry a man, some will say. A woman can marry a woman, or we'll have a thruple, or we'll redefine it. I'm not even sure if I am a man.

Maybe I'm a woman trapped in a man's body. Or just we'll live together outside of marriage. Or we'll just get married and then we'll get divorced. And you can trace almost every social ill in our country today to the breakdown of the family and specifically to the absence of fathers. Stop messing with God's plan.

Get back and do it God's way and watch how He will bless and change everything you can apply for that go. Don't Greg, I didn't feel that in my heart. I don't care. That was an applause moment, if ever there was one.

So they're not going to bow. And there's a lot of pressure to bounty. to bow at a lot of altars. A lot of ideologies. It's amazing how on TikTok there's all these TikTok challenges.

One TikTok challenge was swallowing A tide pod. You know what a pod is? It was a TikTok challenge. Another TikTok challenge, go dance in traffic. What could possibly go wrong?

And then there's this big trend of the Stanley Tumbler cups. What do you call it? I mean, what are those? Are you really that dehydrated that you have to carry? A giant metal cup with you everywhere.

Here's a picture of a girl. I actually created that.

Well, I didn't create it, but I went to chat. And I said, hey, Chad, give me a picture of a girl holding a really large Stanley cup. And that's what they gave me. That's how it looks to me, actually. Oh, I have to carry the surmount everywhere.

I might need water suddenly. Yes, for you maybe a whole village. I don't know But then you have to have them in the right colors. Remember when you had to get the red one? Oh, people were standing in line, staying overnight to get the red Stanley Cup.

Oh, now it's the pink one.

Now they're out. They say, oh, the Stanley Cups are out. Give me a break. Stop following the trends. But we're like sheep.

What's the new trend? What's a popular thing? But this can then happen in other areas of life, you know, when you're in the classroom. And everybody has one view, and you have another because you believe the Bible. Or at your workplace, everyone sees it this way, and you see it another way because you have a biblical worldview.

That's good. Stand your ground. That's what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did.

So the king, you know, he kind of has a soft spot for me. He thinks, you know, these guys are going to. They're going to capitulate, they're going to go along with this, but they're not going with it. They're saying, we're not going to do it. Just bottom line, let's cut to the chase, king.

And they're respectful. Your Majesty, no. We're not bowing. We will not bow. before your golden image.

And if we die, we die. I think they sort of saw it as win-win, you know. They figured better to burn on earth. Then, excuse me, better to burn on earth and bow in heaven than to bow on earth and burn in hell.

Okay, so look. If we die, we die. If we live, God spares us, we live. But we're not going to bow.

Now the king is really angry. Look at Daniel 3, verse 19. Nebuchadnezzar. was so furious. was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

His face became distorted with rage. He commended that the Furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.

So when he had tied them up and threw him into the furnace, fully clothed, Because of his anger, He demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego securely tied fell into the roaring flames. Then suddenly, As he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisors, didn't we throw three men into the furnace? Yes, they said, we did, Your Majesty. Look, Nebuchadnezzar shouted, I see four men unbound walking around on the fire. And they aren't even hurt by the flames.

And the fourth is like the Son of God. Wow. That's a that's a good one. Don't tell me the Bible is boring. If ever there was a Christophany, this is one of them.

Christ himself walking with them. through the fire. Jesus is walking with you through your faith. fire. And I would rather be in a fiery furnace with Jesus than anywhere else without him.

Wouldn't you? The disciples were out on the storm-tossed sea of Galilee and they began to panic. And suddenly they saw Jesus coming toward them and he said, Don't be afraid, it's me. I'd rather be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without him. Maybe you're in a storm.

Maybe you're in a fire. You are not alone. Jesus said, Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age. In the Hebrews, He gave us that beautiful statement. I am with you.

Excuse me, I've forgotten it apparently. No, it just came back to me. He said, I will never leave you or forsake you. Therefore, I will not fear what man will do to me. And in the original language, he was emphatic.

And he said I will never, no, never, no, never leave you or forsake you. He walked with them through their fire, and he's walking with yours through you, with you, through yours as well. You know, it's an interesting thing. Isaiah 43, too. It's a...

Familiar passage. When I read it, you'll recognize it. But consider this fact. Isaiah was written before the book of Daniel, which means Shagrat, Meshach, and Abednego. Quite possibly had memorized this passage.

In fact, they might have even been quoting it to themselves when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Because Isaiah 43:2 says, When you pass through the waters, God's speaking, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you apart.

Ablaze. Yeah, my little army men burning through the grate of my grandparents' house. They didn't have much hope. Jesus was just hanging on a wall. in a portrait.

But in this case, Jesus is walking with them. And that brings us to James 1, because we wonder: why do I have to go through these trials? Why do I have to have these difficulties? James 1, verse 2, when all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, listen, don't treat them as intruders, but friends. Realize they have come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.

So let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you'll find you become men of mature character, men of integrity with no weak spots. I love that translation. Staying cool when things get hot. How can we even do that? Why do we go through trials?

Trials are like going to the gym. How many of you go to the gym? Raise your hand. More of you should go. Especially you, sir.

I know I should go for it. But I don't like to go to the gym.

Some do. I had a great workout today. I've never had a great workout. The greatest part of my workout is when it's over. Having said that, I'm always glad I did it.

Because I understand that doing that helps me in the long term. I think the problem with the gym for some people is, you know, they get really out of shape.

Well, they're in a shape. They're just in the wrong shape. They're in the shape of a pear, and they didn't want to be known as the Lord's pear, but that's what they become.

So they go to the gym and they overdo it. You know, they try to lift too much weight, and then the next day they can't even lift their arms up.

So they probably should do lower weights, higher reps, and just stick with it. But here's what you need to understand. You break muscle down in order to build muscle up. And it takes time, there's not immediate results. Trials sort of break us down.

Trials are like God's gym. It breaks us down in order to ultimately build us up. God has not given us his blessings and his gifts. to just admire Or to put in a trophy case, he gives them to us to use. If you don't use it, you'll lose it.

and your muscles will begin to atrophy. And you don't want that to happen. Jesus said, given, it shall be given unto you. Pressed down, shaking together, running over. And the same measure you give, it will be given back to you.

trials. Take our faith from the realm of theory to reality, and it develops in us a spiritual. toughness. Actually, in James 1:3, he says, Knowing the testing of your faith produces patience. Interesting word, patience.

That's King James. Not the best translation, frankly. It comes from a root word ipomoni. Which means Endurance. Another translation, heroic endurance or steadfastness, or even another translates it.

Four to two.

So You get stronger as a result.

So you'll have the strength to stand. Because you're going to be challenged. and you're going to be asked to bow at some altar. And the Bible tells us specifically: keep yourselves from idols. Let me shift gears and land this plane.

Um One day there's going to come another world leader on the scene. Not Nebuchadnezzar. But this world leader is called the Antichrist, the beast. The wicked one. He'll be charismatic.

He'll be intelligent. He'll be persuasive. And he'll initially emerge on the scene as a peacemaker, but he'll ultimately turn out to be the ultimate troublemaker. No one will be able to buy or sell without the Antichrist mark. You won't be able to do commerce without this mark.

And a lot of people try to speculate as to who the Antichrist is. And I just want to tell you, you're not going to know because before the Antichrist came to be revealed, Christ is going to call his church home to heaven.

So The Bible never tells you to be looking for Antichrist, but it does repeatedly tell you to be looking for Jesus Christ. For those who look to him, the Bible says he will appear the second time.

So be looking for Christ. And if you figured who the Antichrist is, you've messed up because it means you missed the rapture. Because we're told in Thessalonians that that wicked one cannot be revealed until the church is first removed. And you say, what are you talking about? I'm talking about the rapture.

Well, the word rapture isn't in the Bible.

Well, the word Bible isn't in the Bible, okay? Actually, the word rapture is in the Bible, depending on what translation you have. The word rapture comes from the root word rapturous, which comes from the word harpazo. Harpazzo is used many times in the Bible. And among other places, in 1 Thessalonians 4, it says, The dead in Christ shall rise first.

We who are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them. And that word caught up. comes from the word harpazo, translated to rapturous, translated to the Latin word rapturous rather, and the English word rapture.

So that's where the word comes from. You don't have to call it the rapture. Call it the harpazo. Call it the great escape. I don't care what you call it.

But the Bible talks about it a lot. We'll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And God promises to keep us out of the tribulation period. You see, Greg, I've heard a different version of this.

Okay, that version is wrong. I'm telling you the truth. Listen to what I'm saying. You can laugh. That was meant to be kind of funny.

Oh yeah, but I'm actually serious. If I didn't think my version was right, I wouldn't share it with you, would I? But here's what I believe the Bible teaches. Revelation 3.10. Because you've kept my command to persevere, Jesus says, I'll keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test those that dwell on the earth.

Behold, I am coming quickly. He's talking about the time of tribulation. Remember how Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace up seven times hotter? The tribulation period lasts seven years. But God has not appointed us to wrath, the Bible says, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

He's going to deliver us before this time. We'll meet the Lord in the air. Then Antichrist will be revealed. But the word persevere is used. If you will persevere, Jesus says, I'll keep you from that hour.

This is the same word used by James: that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. But the main thing is, Christ is coming quickly. A closing thought. And when a preacher says that, it could be another hour, but it's not going to be. Nebuchadnezzar saw God work.

God interpreted his dream and he gave Credit to God for doing so, but then he. went crazy.

Well, literally, he went crazy. After his idol was erected, God dealt with them harshly. He lost his mind. and had complete insanity overtake him. And then he came to his senses and he turned to the Lord.

And had one of the most dramatic conversions in all of the Old Testament and told everyone in his kingdom he was a believer in the Lord God of Israel.

So that was amazing. But you know, it took him some time. He was fighting with God. Don't fight with God. You're not going to win.

And why would you fight with God anyway? His plan for you is better than your plan for yourself. I love what Joe Rogan said in that little video clip. He said, You know, this is not a fairy tale.

Some people say it's a fairy tale. I don't believe that. There's something to this. I like hearing about it. Then Joe really got to the heart of the matter when he said, you know, it's all about Jesus.

This is about Jesus. That's right, Joe. It's about Jesus. Joe is finding his way.

So pray for him. But that's a description of many people right now. They're making their way in. It was a description of me at the ripe old age of 17. I came to Christ through the process of elimination.

I looked at the life of my mother, the life of alcoholism. And I said, I don't want that life. I looked at my own life, stupid decisions I made, partying, using drugs. I didn't want my life anymore. And where did that leave?

Well then there were the Christians. Hmm. I don't want that light for sure. You know, they're they're Kind of weird. And But here was the problem with that narrative.

I knew some of the people who had become Christians and actually they weren't weird. They were friends of mine, and I'd seen their lives change.

So I had to kind of process that a little bit. And so one day I went to their meeting. You've heard my story many times, that they were meeting on the front lawn of my high school campus, Newport Harbor High, and I came across them and I sat down close enough to sort of eavesdrop on their conversation. But not close enough where it looked like I was joining up with them. And I heard the gospel for the first time in a way that I understood.

Suddenly, that portrait of Jesus that hung on my grandparents' house. It was coming. To be real for me, I was making the connection that's not just a historical figure, it's a real person. And it didn't hurt that the guy who was preaching actually looked like Jesus a little bit. Lonnie Frisbee, who was preaching long hair bearded, when he kind of looks like Jesus.

I know it's not Jesus, but still. It caught my attention and I listened. And I don't remember most of what he said, but I remember one statement where he said, Jesus said, you're for me or you're against me. And I looked at the Christians. I said, well, I'm not one of them.

Does that mean I'm against God? I don't want to be against God. I've always believed there's a God out there somewhere, and Jesus has always been my God of choice when I'm in trouble. But I've never known I could have any kind of a relationship with him. Then he said, if you want to accept Jesus into your life, get up and walk forward, and some kids did.

And before I knew it, I was up there with them praying. And that is the day Christ came into my life. But you see The first part of conversion. The first part of coming to Christ. The Bible says is having your eyes open.

What does that mean? It means that you suddenly realize, whoa, this is true. This is all true.

Now, it's not enough to just have your eyes open. The next step is turning from darkness to light.

So I can come to church and say, you know what? As you were speaking, I realized this is all true. I realize I need this. I realize I need Jesus in my life. That's good, but that doesn't mean you're there.

You gotta take the next step, you see. And the next step is, I'm going to now believe in Jesus. And a lot of people have their eyes opened, so to speak. They give intellectual assent to what we have said, but they don't act on it. As Kaylee McInaney said, I prayed that prayer and it went from my head to my heart.

She she said it perfectly. From my head to my heart, I knew it was true, but all of a sudden. God was real to me. Has it gone from your head to your heart yet? Have you made that commitment to Christ yet?

Only you can do it. I can't do it for you.

Someone who may have brought you here can't do it for you. But you should thank them for bringing you here.

Now you've got to act on it. And in a moment, we're going to pray, and I'm going to give you an opportunity. to ask Christ to come into your life so you can have your sin forgiven.

So you can know that when you die you will go to heaven. and you can start discovering his amazing plan for your life.

So you think about what you're going to do right now. Let's all pray. Father, I pray that you will speak to the heart of every person in this room. And if they do not yet know you, help them to see their need for you and help them to come to you and believe we pray.

Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying. Maybe you've come here today and you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life. You have a big hole in your heart. You've been trying to fill with all these things, our culture. says should make you happy and it hasn't worked, has it?

What you're looking for is Christ Himself, and He will come and take residence in your heart and forgive you of all of your sin. But you must ask him. And Jesus says, I stand at the door of your life and I knock, and if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I'll come in. Do you want Jesus to come into your life? If you want Christ to come into your life today, If you want him to forgive you of your sin.

If you want to know that when you die, you will go to heaven, wherever you are. I want you to raise your hand up. And I'm gonna pray for you. Raise your hand up, saying, Pray for me. I want Jesus today.

God bless you. And you and you and you. Anybody else, raise your hand up high. Let me pray for you. God bless you.

Wherever you are, I'll pray for you. God bless you. Yes. I'm going to ask that you pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is where you're asking Jesus Christ.

To come into your life, the Bible says, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That's what you're doing right now, you're calling. out on the name of the Lord and you'll hear And answer this prayer. Let's all bow our heads. Pray this out loud after me: Lord Jesus.

I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior. 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. As my Savior and Lord. is my God and friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer.

In answering this prayer, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. God bless you guys. God bless you. No.

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.