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. What is it that is in us that makes us say, well, I can fix this? Actually, maybe you can't. And really, what you need to do is call out to the Lord.
It seems we try everything else first. Prayer is often our last resort. Pastor Greg Laurie says, think of the Lord first. When we take our eyes off of Jesus and we allow our minds and hearts to be filled with doubt, fear, and anxiety, we can start to sink. Here's what you need to do.
Cry out to Jesus. Lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Oh, can you hear when the angels are singing?
This is the day, the day will lie. Problems often bring worry and fear and Fear and worry make it difficult to solve problems, and that causes more fear and worry. And many of us have been caught in a downward spiral like that. But often when we get to the end of ourselves, we get to the beginning of God. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that the Lord is ready to help, but He waits for our invitation.
What is it that has you backed into a corner today? Help us on the way from the book of Romans. Why don't you grab your Bible? And we're going to look at two passages. Uh one is John chapter 14.
And the other one is Matthew chapter 14.
So, John 14, Matthew 14, the title of my message is. God's answer to fear, worry, and anxiety.
So let's read some words from scripture. John chapter 14, a very Familiar passage, one that I really love. Jesus says Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. They're where I am. You know.
And you may be there also. Where I go, you know, in the way You know. We'll stop there. The word that Jesus uses here for trouble is a. Picturesque word.
It means don't let your heart shudder. You ever had your heart shudder? Just really bad news.
Something that just was a shock to your nervous system. He says, Don't let your heart Shudder. One day Jesus said to his disciples. Let's cross over to the other side. They got in the boat.
made their way across the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a massive Freshwater Lake. And then a huge storm came. And the waves were beating against their little boat, but Jesus was asleep. They woke him up and said, Master, don't you care that we're perishing? And he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still.
And the wind stopped and the water was calm. And Jesus turned to them and said, Why are you so afraid? Don't you have any faith? See, what they saw was Jesus had the power to stop. Nature's havoc if he chose to.
When he said, Peace be still. And sometimes Jesus will come into the midst of your problem and say, stop, and it stops. And other times he's just with you as you face your problem, but I look at it this way. Better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. If Jesus is on board my boat, That I'm okay.
And by the way, Jesus said, let's cross over to the other side. He didn't say, let's go out to the middle of the Sea of Galilee and all die. If he said that, I would not have gotten on that boat. He said, let's go to the other side. He did not promise them smooth sailing, but he did promise them a safe arrival.
And the same is true for us. He has not promised you smooth sailing in life. But he has promised you a safe arrival. You will get to the other side.
Well, I want to look at one last story. This is also on the Sea of Galilee, this is also about Jesus. out there during a storm, but this one's a little different. It was a stormy night. And the disciples were on the boat.
But Jesus was not on board with them on that particular occasion. And then they turned and saw Jesus walking over the tops of those waves. And that brings us to Matthew fourteen, verse twenty seven. If you haven't turned there yet, look at that, Matthew 14. Immediately Jesus spoke to them.
Saying, be of good cheer. It is I, don't be afraid. Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it you command me to come to you on the water. Jesus said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water.
And when he saw You might underline those two words. He saw. The wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord, save me. We'll stop there.
So why did Peter sink? Because he was afraid. Fear makes us sink. We all know the feeling. Everything's going great.
Then all of a sudden we're gripped with anxiety and fear. And we're practically drowning in our doubts. Faith gives way to fear. Trust to worry. And when faith reigns, fear has no place, but when fear reigns, Faith is driven away.
Why did Peter sink? Number one, because he took his eyes off of Jesus. Verse 30, he began to sink and he cried out. He was doing really well. I mean, let's give him some credit.
You know, people critique Peter. Because he was so outspoken and said, honestly, some pretty crazy things. But There's a lot of ink given to Peter. He talked. To Jesus and made many statements far more than any of the others in the Gospels.
So he had a lot to say. You always know where you stood with Peter. And but hey, he's the only guy that had the courage to actually try to walk on water. And Jesus actually said, Come, and he came. And of course, he began to sink.
He started to sink. Why?
Well, he took his eyes off of Jesus. Years ago, we were in Hawaii, and Jonathan was much younger then, and he wanted to learn how to scuba dive.
So I said, Okay, well, let's put you through a little course. And the way it worked is they would train you for a day, and then you would go out for a dive the next day with a certified instructor.
So I met the instructor and I said, Well, I'm certified too. And he says, Oh, good, you can come on the dive tomorrow. I said, Good. And so, Jonathan went through his whole day of training, and the next day came, and it was kind of stormy, and all the boats were pitching out there on the water. I was hoping they'd cancel the dive, and no, it was on still, so we all got in the boat.
Now, the problem is, I had not dove for quite a long time, and I was a little rusty. I'm getting the equipment on, and you've got the weight belt, and you've got the regulator, and the mask, and the tanks, and the fins, and everything, you know. And you're sitting on a boat, and the way we were to get in is just fall backwards into the water, which is the last thing you want to do when you have a bunch of weight attached to you, right? And so I was a little nervous because I was hoping I would remember everything, and I didn't like the way the water was moving around. And Jonathan looked pretty scared, so I just didn't want to show him I was scared too, because I'm certified, right?
I'm supposed to be cool and calm.
So we go in the water, and we're under a bit, and it's even worse there. And I look over at Jonathan, and his eyes were as big as saucers. They were huge. He's totally panicking. And he's looking over at the instructor, and the instructor says to him, Jonathan.
Look at me, Jonathan. Look at me. And then he says to Jonathan, remember your training. And I'm looking at the instructor too, going, okay, kids. I don't know what the training was, but I'm looking at you.
Are we going to live through this?
Well, everything was okay. But I thought that was pretty good advice. Look at me and remember your training.
So, when we're looking to Jesus, we can do crazy things, wonderful things. Faith-filled things, seemingly impossible things. But when we take our eyes off Jesus and we allow our minds and hearts to be filled with doubt, fear, and anxiety, we can start to sink just like Peter started to sink. But when that happens, here's what you need to do. Cry out to Jesus.
Look at verse 30. Beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. There's nothing wrong with doing that. What is it that is in us that makes us say, well, I can fix this? I can get through this.
I can control this. Actually, maybe you can't. And really, what you need to do is call out to the Lord. Oh, it's a sign of weakness. I actually think it's a sign of intelligence.
I think it's a sign of stupidity. To think you don't need God's help. I love what Jesus said, verse 31. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him. Peter's going down.
He catches him, pulling him up, and he says, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? Interesting thing, this word, these words, little faith, is one word in the Greek. And there's sort of a tenderness to it. O Little Faith, not two words, one word, O Little Faith, almost like a nickname. Oh little faith.
Body. I know I named you Peter, and I know that means rock. And I know rocks sink. But hey man, you are doing well You were on a roll. Why did you die?
Why did you take your eyes off of me? And then he lifts them up and they walk back to the boat. Maybe you're sinking right now. You're filled with fear and anxiety and worry. You feel defeated.
Maybe you're in the grip of some addiction. You say, Oh, I can handle it. I've handled this before, and then you've fallen. You know, you've fallen off the wagon. And you're back in that same state again.
You never thought you'd be there again, but there you are, and you're wondering: can I ever get out of this again? I feel like I'm sinking. It's the worst it's ever been. Or maybe there's somebody that has a marriage that's unraveling. You think, I don't think there's any hope for my marriage.
Or there's somebody else that's dealing with some other problem, but you need to call out to the Lord. And remember that God is in control of your life. Um Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Uh It's a joy to hear when these studies have truly impacted lives. Listen to these comments from one of our listeners.
Take an answer, Greg. I feel my story is a lot like yours. I'm about your age. I lost my oldest daughter to ovarian cancer at the young age of 27, and I'm a pastor. And I would just like to say that I'm encouraged by your words of encouragement.
Every morning I listen to you as I mow lawn out here with my headset on, and I do support you. God bless you and keep up the good work. When we hear from you, it's not only a blessing, it also confirms that the program is touching lives. If you have a story to share, call Pastor Greg and leave him a message. Call 1-866-871-1144.
That's 866-871-1144.
Well, we're getting some good insight today from Pastor Greg on living a worry-free life. From a study called God's Answer to Fear, Anxiety, and Worry, Part 1. Let's continue. Romans 8:28 says, For we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Verse 29: For whom he foreknew, he also did predestine to be conformed into the image of his own dear son.
So here's how it works.
Something bad happens, and we quote Romans 8:28.
Well, all things work together for good.
So no matter how bad it is, it's going to be good. That's not what the verse says. It says all things work together for good. It doesn't even say that God makes all things good, because some things are bad. If you lose a loved one, That's bad.
That's sad. That's hard.
Well, it'll work together for good. No, God will bring good despite this. tremendous loss. There's other hardships you maybe have faced, and don't try to think that everything has to become good. God will bring good despite some of the bad things He allows us in our life, but here's not the big picture.
One day, when I get to heaven, I may realize that those so-called bad things were maybe actually good things. I don't know that I can understand that this side of heaven. But on the other side, I'll say, oh, I get it. You were using that to conform me into the image of your own dear son. You were using that to prepare me for something still in my future.
And actually, my loved one that died. And I felt so bad about that, they were in pure bliss and happiness, but I was suffering because I missed them. But now I see that you even had a purpose in that. There's a lot of mysteries we're not going to figure out this side of heaven.
So we just need to trust him until that day. But whatever you're going through can be turned around. I read an illustration used by Chuck Swindahl in a book that he wrote. about a man that was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. He painstakingly built a little hut for protection from the elements where he could keep the few items he had salvaged from the wreck.
And for weeks he lived in this little hut. And he would shelter himself from the storms that would come. And every day he would scan the horizon, prayerfully hoping for someone to come and rescue him. And then he would go out for a while and search for food and come back to his little hut. And one day while he was out searching for food, he came back and was horrified to find his little hut, where his few possessions were, was in flames.
Now everything that he had was completely gone. He could not believe his bad fortune. And he fell asleep that night. Thinking how badly things had gone, why would this happen? And then he awoke to the sound of someone's voice, and it was the captain of a boat had just arrived.
And he said, We saw your smoke signal and we came to rescue you.
So sometimes what we think is a worst disaster is a smoke signal leading to our deliverance. The worst case scenario can actually be exactly what the Lord has ordered for your life. There's one final movement in this story, and I'll close. As Jesus is walking to them on the water, in Mark's version, it says, And he would have walked right past them. I love that detail.
It's like here they are freaking out in the water. They see Jesus walking, and he doesn't even walk to them. He's just kind of walking by, like, hey guys, how's it going? I'm Jesus. I'm just walking around on the water.
Because when you're God, you can do stuff like this. It's amazing. And they're like, no, Lord, Lord, come on board our boat. We need you here. You want me to come?
Yeah, we want you to come. Sure, here I come. And I think the reason Jesus did this is he won't force his way into anybody's life. You know, you have your problems right now. I don't want Jesus.
Okay, he won't force his way into your life. Go ahead and deal with your troubles in your own way. Freak out, worry, be filled with anxiety. That's not going to help. Turn to drugs, turn to drinking, turn to...
Whatever it is you think is going to fix it, that's not going to help you. Or you can call out to him, but I'm telling you: the moment you call out to him, he will hear your prayer and he will answer your prayer. The Bible says, Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And the verse that sums it all up is Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and I knock, and if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. How easily he could have said, I'm God, you're not.
I'm kicking the door in, so get out of the way. By the way, have you ever tried to kick a door in? I did once. We were living in a little house in Riverside, and we were locked out, and we couldn't get in, and so I thought it would be a great idea to kick the door in. And I did after like 25 kicks and practically dislocating my leg, but John Wayne did it with one kick, right?
So. It's not so easy to do. He could have kicked his way in. He could force his way in. He says, Hey, if you don't want me in your life, I won't come in your life.
But if you want me in your life, I'll be there. I'll be there. And I'll help you. And I wonder if there's somebody here that's sinking. Maybe you're sinking in addiction.
You're sinking in despair. You're sinking in loneliness. You're sinking in anxiety. In reality, you're sinking in sin. And your only hope is Jesus.
If you'll call out to him, He'll reach out and pull you out. But you have to ask for his help. And call in his name. He died on the cross. 2,000 years ago for you.
Let me finish the verse I quoted earlier, John 14. Where he says, They're where I am. You know. And you may be there also. Where I go, you know, in the way.
You know. And Thomas said, We don't know the way you're going. And we don't even know what you're talking about. He says I am the way, the truth, and the life. That no man comes of the Father but by me.
So now he's telling us How to come into a relationship with the Father through Him and only through Him. All roads don't lead to God. All religions don't pray to the same God, as some would assert. No. We're calling on the true and living God.
and the only way to come to him It's through Jesus. Why?
Because only Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world. No guru did that. No prophet, so-called, did that. No other leader did that, but Jesus died for us. And then he rose again from the dead, and he's alive, and he's with us here right now.
And he'll come into your life and forgive you of your sin, but you must ask him to. In a moment, we're going to pray. And I'm going to extend an opportunity for you to believe in Jesus. An opportunity for you to ask him to come into your life. If you've not done that yet, Why don't you do it?
Right now. Let's all pray together. Father, thank you for loving us so much. That you sent Jesus to die on the cross in our place. Lord Jesus, thank you for coming and laying your life down.
and then rising again from the dead. Thank you that you're here ready to forgive sins. for those that would call on you. Help those that need you. to reach out to you now.
In Jesus' name I pray. In that Uh Pastor Greg Laurie, with an important prayer about inviting the Lord into our lives. And listen, if you'd like to do that, Pastor Gregg will help you in just a moment before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes. Yeah. Are you receiving Pastor Greg's daily devotions each day via email?
If not, let's take care of that right now. You can sign up today, free of charge, at harvest.org. And you'll receive a daily inspirational thought from God's Word each day in your inbox. Again, go to harvest.org.
Well, Pastor Greg, today you wrapped up your message by talking about eternity. How can someone listening know that they're going to heaven?
Well, that's a great question. And I guess, let me take it a step further. I know that is the most important question you can ask. How can a person know they're going to heaven? Let me say at the outset, I believe I'm going to heaven.
In fact, I'll take it a step further. I know I'm going to heaven. You say, Greg, isn't that kind of arrogant? Not really. Because I know this because God has made a promise to me, and I've believed that promise.
The Bible says, We write these things to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. I've believed on the name of the Son of God, thus I know. I'll go to heaven when I die. Here's my question to you. Do you believe on the name of the Son of God?
Is there any more important issue than that? I can't think of one.
So I'd like to lead you in a simple prayer. And this is a prayer where you will be asking Jesus to forgive you of your sin, and you'll be asking Him to be your own Savior, friend, Lord. It's a prayer only you can pray. Pray these words, if you would. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner.
But I know that you are the Saviour. who died on the cross for my sin and rose from the dead. Jesus, come into my life. I want to believe in you. I want to follow you.
I want this relationship with you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin, and rising again from the dead. And I thank you that you've heard this prayer. And I believe you've come into my life. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. I want to help you grow in your faith. I want to help you grow spiritually.
So I have a free gift for you. It's called the New Believers Growth Packet. What's in it? No, not a bag of seeds to plant in your backyard. I guess it's sort of a form of a bag of seeds because I want to sow some spiritual seed in your life to help you develop as a follower of Christ.
So I'm going to send you a copy of the New Testament in the New Living Translation, but it's a special edition. It's called the New Believers Bible. And it's filled with notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this new commitment or recommitment you've made to Christ. And there's some other materials in the New Believers packet as well.
So order your copy today. And I'm so glad I had this privilege today. To lead you in that prayer. God bless you. you've made the right decision.
The decision to follow Jesus Christ. Yeah, and here's how to get that New Believers packet containing the New Believers Bible. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or write a new beginning box four thousand.
Riverside, California, 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org. and click the words No 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, Pastor Greg has more in-depth insights on how the Lord enables us to live a life free from fear, anxiety, and worry. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
