Pastor Greg Laurie presents the Amazon Prime hit series The House of David, now on DVD. The House of David, which has been just a smash hit on the Amazon streaming platform, is now available in a box set format. And you can watch it when you want to. We're also including something called Beyond House of David, which is a four-part documentary series.
So order your copy right now, The House of David. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. Or We've seen another spiritual awakening.
Something's going on. Coming up today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Lorry looks at everything going on around us and really believes God is at work. We are seeing a spiritual awakening. The boomers are missing it right now, but the young people are not. And this is very reminiscent of what we saw in the Jesus movement.
And my dream is that God will do it again for this generation. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. A laser grace, how sweet the sound. Oh, can you hear when the angels are singing?
This is the day, the day will live in. When it seems like the world is coming apart.
Sometimes it means that things are actually coming together. It's not a time for fear, but a time for faith. Coming up today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie helps us examine the great spiritual movements of the past. and we'll draw some perspective from the book of Nehemiah.
We'll see how we may be at the precipice of an amazing move of God. and how he wants our help to light the spiritual fire. Let's learn how to get involved. Feeling good. The title of my message is: Are We Seeing Another Spiritual Awakening?
You know, I've told you before that sometimes when I walk with my wife, I'll say to her, Kathy, it's beginning to rain.
So say, Greg, it's not raining. He goes, no, it's raining. Because bald men always know when it's raining first. It's true. Her hair is so thick she won't know for 20 minutes.
But I'll feel the first drop and the second and the third.
So here's my question that I want to raise in this message: Are we seeing another spiritual awakening? God says in Isaiah 43:19, Behold, I will do a new thing and it will spring forth. Shall you not know it? God says in the book of Revelation, Behold, I make all things new. And this is very reminiscent of what we saw in the Jesus movement.
That was a revival among young people. Back in those days, we would often cite this verse to explain what God was doing. It's Acts 2:17. Where Peter on the day of Pentecost said, In the last days, God says, I'll pour my spirit out, and all flesh, your sons and your daughters, will prophesy, a youth emphasis. And your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
So I came to Christ during the Jesus movement.
So I was one of the young men seeing visions.
Now I'm one of the old men dreaming dreams. And I have a dream. And my dream is that God will do it again for this generation. Psalm 85, 6 says, Will you not revive us again that your people can rejoice? In you, and here's what's really amazing: we are seeing a revival and a resurgence about Jesus happening among young people, specifically Gen Z and millennials.
And by the way, that marks a dramatic shift from previous data, which consistently showed elders and boomers were the more. committed Christians than their younger Counterparts.
So, as they say, okay, boomer, but you know what? It's not okay, boomer. The boomers are missing it right now, but the young people are not. This revival, this spiritual awakening is happening with young people and specifically younger men. In fact, recent data has shown that younger men are more likely to become Christians than younger women.
That's unprecedented. Among Gen Z, commitment to Christ has jumped 15 percentage points since 2019. While millennial men show a similar spike of 19 points over the same period. This is incredible. This is something to you.
So I would describe that as a few drops of rain. starting to fall. Add to this the fact that Bible sales are up dramatically. They're up 22% in the last two years. See, this is a recent phenomenon: 22%.
And they sought grandma behind the Bibles. God bless grandma. It's young people buying a Bible for the first time.
So instead of leaving the faith, they're reaching for the scripture. Add to this incredible success of streaming shows like The Chosen and House of David. For many weeks, House of David was the number one program on the Amazon streaming platform, outperforming everything else that they were offering. Then they have millions and millions of people on that platform. And don't forget the global impact of the Jesus Revolution film.
I told you this story a while ago about a young influencer from Ireland named Jed. And Jed was sponsored by a bunch of booze companies to promote their product on his social media. And so he was just kind of a party guy. And he heard this movie was showing at his local theater called Jesus Revolution.
So he said to his friend, let's go see it for a laugh.
Well, instead, he had a good cry. He said, I was moved to tears, and it ultimately got him to attend a local church where he gave his life to the Lord.
Now he's using this platform for the gospel. He's just one of many stories of unexpected people that were reached in that film. There has been a phenomenal baptism movement, it has happened in the last few years as well. And many have traced it to the scenes from Jesus' revolution, seeing that that was a unique mark of the last great spiritual awakening. And when you take the baptisms we've done and others have done in Southern California alone, 30,000 people have been baptized in California from 2023 to 2025.
That's incredible.
So you gotta put this stuff all together. You put this all together and you start seeing a pattern, a good pattern. You start seeing a picture that God is painting. This is not coincidental. I think these could be the first few drops of a revival.
So, are we seeing another spiritual awakening? My answer is. We are seeing a spiritual awakening. Will this become national? I don't know, but I pray it will.
And what other hope is there for this young generation? As I mentioned, Gen Z has the highest suicide rate of any generation. This is a generation, 42% of them, the high school students experience constant sadness. 22% of high school students have contemplated suicide. And I know the answer is Jesus Christ.
They need their own encounter with God, and that's what we need to pray for. You know, I think. As we're seeing these drops of revival today, so to speak, among young people, it's helpful to look back at how God has moved in our past, in our nation. America has had four great spiritual awakenings historically. The first one happened.
In the United States, before we were officially a country. In seventeen forty. This revival shook colonial America. And one of the main figures of this revival was named George, not George Washington, but George Whitfield. George Whitfield was a preacher from England.
And he had a tremendous voice. that could be heard for miles. In fact, Benjamin Franklin wrote about how he went to hear George Whitfield preach, and he said that he felt his voice could reach upwards of 30,000 people without amplification.
Now by the way, I tried this once. I was at Angel Stadium preaching. And all of a sudden, the sound went out, the power went out. And I tried to keep preaching, it was ridiculous. No one could hear me.
There was a little microphone on the stage that one of the bands had used for one of their songs for some little effect they were doing.
So I picked up this tiny little megaphone and I tried to speak through it. It was not working. Finally, they got the sound back on. And it was just someone unplugged the cord. But I can tell you, there's no way my voice would have carried to that many people, but George Whitfield's voice did, and thousands of people came to Christ under his preaching.
From 1740 to 1742, 50,000 people came to Christ out of a population of 300,000 people. And it was in this soil of revival that America was born. You see, the first great spiritual awakening didn't just change hearts, it helped us shape the moral DNA of what would become the United States. Our country. Despite what some people will tell you, it is unique.
And I believe it has been established by God. In our unique document, the Declaration of Independence, it stands alone for its acknowledgment of God, in which it says, and I quote, we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, end quote. There is no other nation in history with a statement like that. Effectively, our founding fathers were saying, God gave us these rights. A king did not give us these rights.
Government does not give these rights to us. They've been given to us by God. America is exceptional. America is unique. And America has been established by God.
America was born in revival, and America needs another revival. to sum it all up.
So there was George Whitfield, the great preacher. Our spiritual founding father. And then of course there's George Washington. During the Revolutionary War, General Washington leading the Continental Armies had a special flag prepared, and on the flag were the words, appeal to heaven. And it was a reminder to all of the troops that the only way that they could possibly win this war as they took on the most powerful military in the world at that time, that of Great Britain, would be if God intervened.
And Washington was quick to give credit to God. For the success on the battlefield, and ultimately, of course, he became our president.
So that's awakening number one. Uh Pastor Greg Laurie will 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 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, today Pastor Greg is highlighting the great awakenings that helped form the spiritual backbone of this country. He continues now. The second great awakening was in the 1790s to around 1840. It was during the days of the Wild West, and they called it the Wild West for good reason. It was just rampant lawlessness and chaos.
But they would have these huge camp meetings out in the forests. and people would walk the so-called sawdust trail. And make that commitment to follow Christ. The third great awakening was quite different from the second and the first. It happened in New York City from around 1857 to 1859.
It started with a 48-year-old businessman named Jeremiah Lampier that decided he wanted to start a prayer meeting. Initially, hardly anyone came. Then something dramatic happened. The stock market crashed. Suddenly, his prayer meeting was full, and more prayer meetings were starting throughout New York.
And within six months, 10,000 New Yorkers were gathering for prayer throughout the city on any given day. And it was reported there were 50,000 New Yorkers converted from March to May, and then it became 50,000 New Yorkers a week coming to Christ for about two years. When it was all said and done, one million people came to Christ through that. Powerful prayer meeting started by Jeremiah Lampier. And the last great spiritual awakening was called the Jesus movement.
And that was around 50 years ago. I was privileged to come to Christ at that time at the age of seventeen. I did not know that I'd walked into the middle of a revival, but I certainly did. And many historians say that the Jesus movement may have been the most significant and far-reaching of all the American revivals.
Okay, so what is revival? Revival is coming back to life. It's simply coming back to life. It's refreshment, it's restoration, it's returning to its original condition. In Psalm 80:19, it says, Restore us, O God, let your face shine on us so we might be saved.
Let's say you're out working hard in the sun. And you're dehydrated and you're feeling fatigued. Hey, some cold water and a little something to eat can bring you back to life, right? Or let's say you have a little plant that's beginning to wither. which is pretty much the case with any plant that I'm in charge of.
If there's A brown thumb, that's what I have, not a green thumb. But let's say your little plant is beginning to wither. A little water can bring it back to life. When I was a little boy, I had a turtle, a little pet turtle. And I had this little plastic enclosure I kept him in.
It had a little green palm tree in it, as I recall. And you poured a little water. And that was his little home. And one day I came to give him some food, and my turtle was gone. Where did the turtle go?
I looked everywhere in my room. I searched for the turtle, could not find him. I'm not kidding you. Three weeks, maybe a month later, I found my turtle in the sock drawer.
Somehow he had got in, fallen into the door. He's all dried up over in the corner. I thought, surely this turtle is dead. I put him back in his little enclosure, poured some water on him, and he came back to life. And that's a picture of some Christians.
You're feeling kind of dead. And you need refreshment. The Bible says times of refreshment come from the presence of the Lord. Take a Tired, worn-out Christian, feed them the Word of God, get them filled with the Spirit, and you'll see them be restored again. A revival is coming back to life again.
And listen, revival can happen individually. You can have a personal revival. You can have a revival in your family. or in your church. or in your community.
So revival can be personal, it can be local, but in awakening, that's different. That's when God does a huge work across the board.
So, my question is: are we seeing an awakening? I know we're seeing a revival of sorts. But will that turn into something larger? I don't know. But it can start with you.
It's called returning to your first love. In the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks. to the believers in Ephesus. And he commends them, lose paraphrase. Hey, you guys are doing great.
I know you're discerning. I know you work hard. I appreciate it. But I have something against you. You have left your first love.
So he says, remember from where you have fallen and do the first works. Quickly. And in the same way, as Christians, we can start off with a lot of passion and excitement and following the Lord. You just can't go to church too often. You love to study the Bible.
You delight in prayer, evangelism just flows out of you. But as the years pass, sometimes that passion can begin to fade. If that is the case, you are leaving your first love.
So Jesus says, remember from where you have fallen into the first works quickly. You see, You need to learn how to grow and mature in your faith, and every now and then we all need to be refreshed. Billy Sunday, the great evangelist, said, They tell me revival is only temporary.
Well, so is a bath, but it does you some good. And every now and then we all can use a little revival. And a little refreshing in our life, but how badly do we really want to see it happen? Often we pray for prosperity. But it's often during times of hardship that we see spiritual awakenings happen.
I once asked Pastor Chuck Smith. Who is regarded as the father of the Jesus movement and certainly one of the primary leaders of it? I asked him, Chuck, do you think we'll ever see another Jesus movement? And he said, I don't know, Greg. I don't know if we're desperate enough.
Well, I think maybe we are desperate enough now. And we need to be calling out to the Lord. One person defined revival this way, and I like it. Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented, He shows up Himself. That's good, isn't it?
He gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented, he shows up himself.
So, revival is being refreshed, and revival is waking from sleep. And turning from sin. Romans 13 says: it's urgent for you to know how late it is. Time is running out. Wake up, for your salvation is nearer than we first believed.
We need to wake up.
Some Christians are asleep spiritually.
Sometimes I'll watch television with my wife. We have very different ideas of what is entertaining on television. I like excitement, I like adventure. She likes cooking shows. and people having extended conversations with British accents.
And this puts me to sleep.
So we'll be watching whatever we're watching. The great British bake-off, or whatever it's called. And uh And I'm sleeping. She'll say, Greg, are you sleeping? I'll be like, no, and I've been snoring even.
Why do we always deny it when we're sleeping?
Someone calls you at 3 in the morning. Did I wake you? Oh no, I was awake. No, you weren't. He woke me up with this stupid phone call.
Sometimes you're the last one to know you've fallen asleep. One writer put it this way, and I quote. If all the sleeping people will wake up, If all the lukewarm people will fire up, Of all the dishonest people will confess that. If all the disgruntled people will cheer up, if all the estranged people will make up, if all the gossipers will shut up. If all true soldiers will stand up, if all the dry bones will shake up, if all the church people will pray up, then we can have a revival.
And I agree with that. God lays out his prescription for revival in 2 Chronicles 7:14, not unlike a doctor writing a prescription for you. Do this. and you'll get better. God says, do this and you'll be healed.
2 Chronicles 7.14, a verse we all should commit to memory. And somehow I've forgotten it. No, I remember it. God says, if my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then the Lord promises, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.
So we think, yes, Lord, we would like you to heal our land. Look at America today. Look at the crime, look at the violence, look at the breakdown, look at all of the problems we're facing. God could heal our land. How does that happen?
If my people, God says, Will humble themselves and pray and seek my face. See, we're so quick to point our finger at secular culture or at Hollywood or at Washington, D.C. But when God's looking for the problem, He doesn't point His finger at the White House, He points His finger at His house. If my people, which are called by my name, that's you and me. Will humble themselves and pray and seek thy face and turn from their wicked ways.
Then God says, I'll hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. Yeah. Important insight today from Pastor Greg Laurie on the believers' strategic role in bringing a powerful spiritual movement to our land. And there is more to come from this study here on a new beginning. Do you mind us asking where you stand with the Lord today?
Do you have the reassurance that your sins are forgiven and that you'll go to heaven when you die? Pastor Gregg, if someone doesn't have that kind of reassurance, they can make a change today, can't they? What would you say to them? Yes, I think they need to make this commitment to Christ. Here's what the Bible says: whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
So you need to reach out to God. Not just think about it, not just say, one of these days I would like to, just do it. In fact, you can do it right now. You say, well, how do I call out to the name of the Lord? You do it through prayer.
God is just a prayer away. He desires a relationship with you. He wants you to know him. He wants to reveal himself to you.
So you just need to call out and say, Lord. save me and help me. How about if I lead you in a prayer? And you could pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like.
You can pray it quietly in your heart, but. Direct this prayer toward God, and you could pray it after me right now. You ready? Pray this after me, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner.
But I know that you're the Saviour. and I want a relationship with you.
so as your word says, I am calling on the name of the Lord. I'm asking you to save me from my sin. And I'm asking that we begin a new relationship today. Thank you for loving me and sending your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and then raising him from the dead. I now put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
And I asked this In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And listen, if you've just prayed that prayer along with Pastor Gregg and you've meant those words sincerely. Let us be the first to welcome you into the family of God.
And we want to help you get started off right in this new daily walk with the Lord. Pastor Gregg would like to send you his New Believers Bible. It's a special edition of God's Word for those who are new to the faith, with scores of helps for new believers, written by Pastor Gregg.
So get in touch and ask for the New Believer's Bible. We'll send it free of charge. Just call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. or write a new beginning box 4000.
Riverside, California, nine two five one four. Or just go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry. And for supporting it through your generous donation. It's an investment in kingdom business.
Isn't that right, Pastor Gregg? Yeah, it's really true, Dave. And I believe it's so important because, you know, the gospel saves lives. It saves eternal lives. Because when a person believes in Jesus, according to Scripture, they pass from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God.
And then of course that changes the course of their future. That impacts their children and their children's children. The gospel changes everything. And thousands and thousands of people respond every single year. Thanks to the Lord.
Also, thanks to you for your investment in this ministry, enabling us to reach people. wherever they are.
So if this is something you care about, I encourage you to make a financial investment. And a new beginning in harvest ministries. Yeah, that's right. And we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today.
It can make a real difference, not just for today or this week, but for eternity.
So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside, California, 92514, or go online to harvest.org.
Well, next time, more insight on how revival and spiritual awakening go hand in hand. How the Lord wants us to revive our hearts so we can help bring spiritual awakening to our culture. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
