This is a moment in our history as a nation when people are probably more open to the gospel than maybe they've been in decades. And harvest is at the right place at the right time. We've seen 1,200,000 professions of faith in the history of harvest. 10,000 people baptized through harvest since 2023.
So, this is a really good time to pour some rocket fuel on a burning fire. When you give, you're investing in this revival fire. Just go to harvest.org. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Pastor Greg Laurie comments today on the Lord's Prayer.
Now, if we wrote the Lord's Prayer, it would probably sound like this. Our Father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. But as I think about the awesomeness of God, it will cause me to see my Problem, challenge, need in a different light. It won't change it necessarily, but it will change my perspective. Because listen to this.
God is bigger than your problems. Lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace can squeeze the sound. But can you hear when the angels are singing?
This is the day the day will live in. Are you facing a challenge right now? A trial, a tragedy, a crisis, a loss. God knows what you're going through. He's concerned about what you're going through.
and He has the power to get you through. But today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out he wants us to come to him and ask for his help. Prayer is a vital part of surviving the toughest of challenges life throws our way. And today, Pastor Greg helps us pray effectively using the Lord's model for effective prayer. Have you ever been in what appeared to be an impossible situation with no way out?
Let me restate that question. Are you in, right now, an impossible situation with no way out? Or have you ever desperately needed or even wanted something, but it seemed there was no way you would ever have it? Have you ever thought there was no future for you and for you it was just too late? If so, you need to know more about the power of God and what can take place through prayer.
For one thing certainly stands out on the pages of scripture is that prayer can dramatically change situations, people, and on occasion, even the course of nature itself. But the thing that prayer changes the most is us. And who knows more about prayer than Jesus? And so that's what we're going to look at here in just a moment. The disciples came to him.
They said, Lord, we have a question. Would you teach us? How to pray. Jesus gave them this prayer, which shows prayer is something that can be taught. You need to be taught how to pray.
And sometimes you are taught by watching others do it. And you're taught, of course, by reading Scripture, and there's certain principles that you can engage when you pray.
Now, we call this the Lord's Prayer, and there's nothing wrong with calling it that. The Bible never addresses it as such. I don't think it really was a prayer Jesus himself prayed. You say, well, of course he did. No, actually, he didn't.
Because Jesus would never need to pray. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who've sinned against us, because Jesus never sinned. If you want to read the real Lord's Prayer, the prayer that only Christ could pray. John 17. That is the Lord's Prayer.
It's rather long. It's a prayer only Christ could pray. This could better be described as the disciples' prayer or maybe the template for prayer, but call it what you like. We think of it as the Lord's Prayer. It's a model for all prayer.
I'm going to be reading from Matthew 6, verses 9 to 14. And I'll tell you what, I want us all to do this out loud together. This is the New King James Version. Let's read it together. In this manner, therefore, pray.
Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done. on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Isn't that a beautiful prayer?
I love that. The Lord's Prayer.
Now we think of this maybe as the big gun. In case of emergency. Break glass and pray this prayer. There's nothing wrong with that. If you're in a moment of crisis, And you just say, Our Father who art in heaven, that's okay.
You pray that prayer. You're having a hard time getting to sleep at night. Just go through that prayer. Think about that prayer. Ponder that prayer.
That's all good. But it's not just the big gun, so to speak. It's not just the in case of emergency prayer. As I said, it's a model for prayer.
So here's point number one: if you're taking notes. You have complete access to the creator of the universe through prayer. You have complete and total access, an all-stage pass, if you will. To the creator of the universe through prayer. Let's start at the beginning.
Our Father, who art in heaven.
So you just call him and you say, Dad, I need to ask you a question. That's called access. That's a relationship we're talking about here. This is God Almighty, but I have. I have them on speed dial.
I have his private number. I can access him any time I want. That's relationship.
Okay, you have a relationship with God. You're his daughter. You're his son. He loves you. He lights up when you walk into the room.
He wants to hear from you. He wants to talk to you. He wants to spend time with you. It's never a drudgery. It's always a delight.
And the same should be true for us. This is your father in heaven. A father who will always be there. A father who listens. A father who loves us.
Your father in heaven. He said, but that's a problem in heaven. Heaven is so far away. I need someone here on earth.
Well, for starters, God is omnipresent. Which means present everywhere, so he isn't heaven in here. But is heaven really that far away? I think we think, you know, here's the sky, and now here's the solar system, and now here's the third heaven, and it's just so, so far. And maybe in a sense, that's true, but in another sense, heaven is closer than you realize.
Heaven is another dimension. It's a supernatural realm.
So, for the Father in heaven to step into your world is nothing to him. He's here. My Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So, God is deeply involved and deeply concerned about what you're facing right now. If it concerns you, it concerns Him. Our Father who art in heaven. Notice it's our Father in heaven, not my Father in heaven. We're being taught by Jesus to pray with other believers.
He doesn't teach us to pray, give me this day my daily bread. And nor does he teach me to pray, forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sinned against me. He teaches me to pray, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who've sinned against us. There's nothing wrong with asking God to forgive you of your sin and provide your daily bread. But the emphasis here is: this is something we should do together.
Christians need to pray with Christians. It helps, doesn't it? You ever had a burden? You're overwhelmed with something. You see a Christian friend, you say, Can we pray?
Yes. And after you pray, you just, it feels so much better. That's because there's power in unified prayer. That's why Jesus said, if any two of you will agree on anything, it will be done of your Father in heaven.
Now, of course, we need to be aligned with the will of God, but the point is, praying together makes all the difference in the world. The Bible tells us to bear one another's burdens, don't do it alone. Don't do life alone. Don't try to be a solo Christian. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.
So we do this together, and then, of course, we give him honor and glory. But what does Jesus teach us in this template for prayer? When you pray, you say, Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Now, if we wrote the Lord's Prayer, it would probably sound like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread. Let's just get down to business. Here's my list.
Now there's a place or petition. Nothing wrong with asking. the Father in heaven for what you need. But notice that Jesus says first. Take time effectively.
To contemplate the greatness of God. There are exceptions. If you fell off a ladder and you're on your way down, Help will do, okay? You can't even finish the Lord's Red to God help. Or maybe you're out surfing and a great white shark is approaching you.
And you know, because you hear the music, because John Williams is over there directing this orchestra, and you don't know why they're even on the beach. Whoa, he's getting closer. God help me, God deliver me, God save me. The shark's getting closer, and then you say, God. I just pray he's a Christian shark.
Meanwhile, the shark is saying, For this meal that I'm about to receive, I give thanks. These are the jokes, people. I don't know what to say. But as I think about the awesomeness of God. As I contemplate the greatness and bigness of God.
It will cause me to see my pain. Problem, challenge, need. In a different light. It won't change it necessarily. But it will change my perspective.
I'll see it differently because, listen to this: God is bigger than your problem. Whatever it is, God is bigger. It's on my father. who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name, set apart be your name, honored and glorified.
Be your name. 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 of 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, we're giving careful consideration to the Lord's Prayer today. As Pastor Gregg presents his message in case of emergency. Let's continue. Point number four now. Prayer is getting God's will on earth, not my will in heaven.
Prayer is getting God's will on earth, not my will in heaven. Verse 10: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I've heard people say, I've been wrestling with God a lot in prayer. Really? I hope you're losing.
Yeah, that's a nice one. You don't want. to talk God into something. That is not his will, not that you could. But why even try?
You see, prayer is not about changing God's mind. It's many cases about changing my mind. Prayer is not pulling God my way, it's pulling me His way.
So I'm saying, Lord, I want your. Kingdom to come, and I want your will to be done.
Now, when I talk about the kingdom, I'm really just saying, Lord, I long for heaven. Every Christian Has been pre-wired to know God. And they've been pre-wired to long for a place they've never been to before.
Sort of a homing instinct. We see it in the animal kingdom. God has put it in humanity as well. We long for heaven, we're homesick. For heaven.
So when I'm praying, your kingdom come, your will be done, I'm just saying, I long for the day when I'll be in heaven in the presence of the Lord. But I'm also saying, I long for the day when Jesus will come back to this earth again. Because the word that is used here by Christ. Come is a word that means something that's sudden and instantaneous.
So effectively when I say your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, I'm saying, Lord, please come back and do it soon. And it's also a personal request. I'm saying, Lord, I want your kingdom in my life. I want your rule in my life. Jesus said, The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
And by that, he meant when he was with a group of people: I'm here. Wherever I am, that's where the kingdom of God is.
So, when I say your kingdom come, your will be done, I'm saying, Lord, I want your rule in my life. I want you to be in charge of my life. I want to give you the master key of every door in my little house. I want to give you all my passwords. Mm.
You can access all my social media accounts. You can access anything I look at. Here it is, Lord. My wife has all my passwords. I hope yours does too, or your husband.
But no secrets, Lord. I want you to have access. You say what you want to say, you do what you want to do. This is what. Jesus meant when he said, seek first the kingdom of God.
Also, when I pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, I'm praying for the salvation of those that don't know the Lord. And we can play a part in bringing that kingdom to others, can't we? God's kingdom is brought to this earth every time a new soul is brought to Jesus. Point number five. God wants us to bring our needs before Him each and every day.
God wants us to bring our needs before Him each and every day. Verse 11, give us this day our daily bread.
Now if you're on the keto diet, you'll have to change that, I suppose. Give me this day my daily meat and cheese, I suppose. Give me this day my daily bread.
Now, what does this mean?
Well, it's obvious that bread, bread was a staple of the first century diet.
So it includes that, but bread speaks of everything. It speaks of. Your finances. It speaks of a roof over your head. It speaks of your health.
Just everything you need in life, my daily bread. It's a funny thing, back in the 60s, Uh it was an expression for money.
Someone might come up to you and say, hey man, do you have any bread? By the way, that's my default 60s way of speaking. I think everybody in the 60s, hey man. Uh Uh do you have any bread? Yeah.
Too many drugs. Mm. But God wants to provide everything you need in life. And it's a reminder that everything I have in life is provided for me by God. Notice it says, give me this day my daily bread.
It doesn't say, give me this month my monthly bread or this year my yearly bread. The Lord will sometimes allow things to happen in our lives that will remind us we need Him every day. Maybe you're going through something like that right now. All of a sudden, oh wow, you have this financial crisis. All of a sudden, you have this health scare.
All of a sudden, you have this problem in your marriage, or you have this problem with your kids, or you have this other problem, and it's like, God, help, that's okay.
Sometimes he'll allow these things to remind us that he's the provider and we need to come to him each and every day, not just asking for stuff, but giving him glory for the stuff he's already given. When's the last time you just prayed a prayer of thanks? Oh, Lord, thank you for this. Thank you for providing for this. Thank you for my wife.
Thank you for my husband, giving him thanks. Point number six. God wants us to ask for and extend Forgiveness to others.
Now some people don't think they need forgiveness. I don't know that I really sinned today. Seriously? No, I can't think of a single impure thought. I had a.
I didn't lose my temper once. I don't think I've sinned at all. We are sinning right now with pride, by the way, but whatever. No, we sin every day. We really do.
And the Bible says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But then it also goes on to say in 1 John 1:9: if we will confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So I need to ask God constantly for forgiveness. I think most of us get that. I think most of us want that. But here's where it gets tricky: forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us. Wait, what?
Yeah, forgive people. Hmm. But Greg. This person. They hurt me.
This person bullied me. On social media. This person insulted me. This person did something that's so horrible, I can't forgive them ever. Really?
Jesus said, you better be praying. Not only for your daily bread, but you better be praying and extending forgiveness every single day. I like what C.S. Lewis said about this, and I quote, Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea. until they have something to forgive.
⁇ It's a great concept, forgiveness. I love forgiveness until it's time for me to forgive someone that doesn't deserve it.
Now let's just concede the point. They don't deserve it. Therefore, I will not forgive them.
Okay, hold on now. Do you deserve forgiveness?
Well, No?
Okay. You don't deserve forgiveness, yet God gave it to you. Why would you not extend it to another person as well? The Bible says You've been forgiven, therefore be tenderhearted, forgiving others. But listen to this.
One person put it this way: forgiveness is not about absolving the perpetrator. It's about healing the victim. Here's another statement I like. Forgiveness isn't giving into another person, it's getting free of that person. Get it?
See, in a way it's even not about that person. Let's just say, here's this person. He did this thing to me. I choose to forgive him. Doesn't deserve it.
Did it anyway? Who's getting free now? Him? Not really, but I am. Because that's not driving me crazy.
So when he walks in a room, I'm not seething over in the side. And because I've let it go. Let it go. and forgive as you've been forgiven. God wants us to ask for and extend forgiveness to others.
Yeah. Pastor Greg Laurie, with insight on the importance of forgiveness in following the Lord's model for prayer. laid out in what we commonly call the Lord's Prayer. And Pastor Gregg has more to come in this message called In Case of Emergency, here on a New Beginning. You know, when we extend forgiveness to others, we're modeling how the Lord forgave us of our sins.
It cost him everything. As has been said, he paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. Have you accepted the Lord's payment on your behalf? Have you accepted his forgiveness? Pastor Gregg, what would you say to someone who wants to do that right now?
What I would say is. He is only a prayer wing. Which means if you will call upon the name of the Lord right now through prayer, He will hear your prayer and answer your prayer. Listen, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, just pray this prayer right now after me. Just pray, Lord Jesus.
I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Saviour. who died on the cross for my sin, and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now. and I choose to follow you.
From this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my as my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Listen, if you have just prayed along with Pastor Gregg and meant those words sincerely.
Well, we want to welcome you into God's family. And we want to help you get started in your new life of faith. Pastor Gregg would like to send you his New Believer's Bible, free of charge. Along with some other helpful resources, you'll love the scores of helps just for those who are new to the faith. Just let us know you've prayed with Pastor Gregg and that you want the New Believer's Bible.
when you call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call any time, once again at 1-800-821-3300. Or write us at a new beginning, box 4000. Riverside, California, 92514. Or 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 insights on how to enjoy an effective, rewarding prayer life. as Pastor Gray continues our study of the Lord's Prayer. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. Here we go. Ready the day when life begins.
