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. Brain rot. Brain rot is a result of the constant consumption of social media.
I don't want to do anything else afterwards. It's sort of like spoiling your appetite. Pastor Greg Laurie points out the benefit of paying less attention to what social media says and more attention to what God says. See, you make time for what matters. And if you want God to speak to you, open the Bible because that's the primary way he's going to speak to you.
This is the day. When the lost are found, this is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace has squeezed the sound. But can you hear all the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when I begin.
Follow anyone on social media. People choose their favorites: travel bloggers, DIY geniuses, chefs who can cook practically anything with practically nothing. And yes, Pastor Greg Laurie is on all major platforms too. But today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg points out a similar choice in the Christmas story. When Jesus was born, some people hit follow right away and others just scrolled on by.
And believe it or not, that same decision is still in front of us today. Uh All right, well, let's grab our Bibles and turn to two passages, Luke chapter 2 and Matthew 2. And the title of my message is Jesus and the Ones Who Listened. Luke chapter 2. There were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said, Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For there is born unto you this day in the city of David, that would be Bethlehem, of course. A Savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be the sign to you.
You'll find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with this angel a multitude of the heavenly ghost praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace and goodwill toward men. And so it was when the angels had gone away. From them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let's go now to Bethlehem.
And let's see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. We'll stop there.
So the first Message of Christmas is good news. And that's we're celebrating for three reasons. Number one, it's personal. Number two, it's positive. Number three, it's universal.
First of all, it's personal. I bring you good tidings of great joy. Secondly, it's positive. It's good tidings of great joy. And thirdly, universal, which shall be to all people.
Christ is for all of us. Jesus said, For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. He loved the whole world. Salvation is for everyone.
Now, Those who have a reformed view theologically, Calvinists would say Christ died for the elect only. It's called limited atonement. And they believe that some people are predestined to heaven. And other people are predestined to hell. Christ died for those that are predestined to heaven.
I reject completely that God has predestined anyone to hell. Completely. Salvation is for everyone.
The Bible says, whosoever will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely. 2 Peter 3:8 says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Now let's talk about the wise men. By the way, they came later in the Christmas story. There's so much mythology built up around the wise men. First of all, we say how many wise men were there, tummy, how many? Three, right?
Bible never says there were three wise men. And not only were there three, they had matching outfits according. They had a little song they sang as they rode their camels. We three kings of Orientar, no, no, they didn't have a song. They didn't have names.
And the Bible never says there were three. There might have been nine wise men. He said, but Craig, they gave three gifts. Like typical guys, they might have gone in on three gifts. But I mean, maybe there were three.
I don't know. But I'm just pointing out the Bible never says there were three of them. It never says they rode camels. And I'm going to mess with your nativity scenes now. They did not come.
Two The barn. Or the cave where Jesus was born. They did not come to the manger. Craig, you're wrong. No, actually, I'm not, as we'll see in a moment as we read Matthew 2.
They came later to a house where the child Jesus was. They were not at the manger.
So if you have a nativity set, you need to remove the wise men immediately. I mean, as soon as you get home. No, it doesn't matter. You can keep them there if you like. But that's a tradition that's grown around Christmas.
Here's the real story. Matthew 2, verse 1. After Jesus was born. Notice after. In Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod.
The king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? We've seen the star in the east. We've come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Don't forget Harrod was described or is given the title king of the Jews.
So when he hears a king has been born, that's a threat. And Herod was a paranoid tyrant. He was a murderer. And actually this phrase when it says he was troubled means he was agitated. Another translation puts it this way, he was all shook up.
Thank you very much. Just like Elvis, all shook up. And all Jerusalem with them. Why would all Jerusalem be shook up with Herod? Because you heard the expression: when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy?
When Herod was mad, people were going to die.
So all Jerusalem was living in fear because of his paranoia.
So he gathered the chief priests and scribes of the people together and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. Verse 5: They said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for that's it is written by the prophet, but you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah. Are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Okay, we'll stop there. Like the shepherds. The wise men were open to hearing from God. They listened for God. What a contrast to King Herod.
And even the scribes. I mean The shepherds rushed to see the baby Jesus. The wise men make this Long journey. to see Jesus. And these scribes, they won't even make the journey of six miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Not interesting. What is a scribe? In contrast to a Pharisee, a Pharisee was a man who sought to live by the law. A scribe Was someone who dedicated their life to writing down scripture. They had meticulous manuscripts that they wrote by hand.
They were immersed in scripture day in and day out. They knew scripture. In fact, they quoted scripture to hear, oh yeah, the prophecy says this. And they tell him exactly what the prophecy says.
Well, why aren't you leading the charge to go see if it's true? And this reminds me that sometimes people that appear to be so devout and so spiritual can actually be far from God. Listen to this. Church can be a dangerous place.
So what? I thought it was a safe place. I mean, relatively speaking, it is. But it's dangerous in a different way. Let me explain.
If you come here to church, With an open heart, wanting to hear from God, this can be a wonderful place of transformation for you. But if you come here with a heart that is grown cold, With an indifference in your life, thinking you know more than you actually know. And you hear the word of God, yet you're literally living in open sin, continuously committing this sin over and over again. Here's the problem: the place where you should be transformed is the place where you're getting harder. The easiest place to get a hardened heart is in the church by exposure to the Word of God and a resistance to it.
The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay.
So that's what happened to the scribes. We're entrenched in scripture, yet here is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy in their very lifetime, and they don't even make a short journey to check it out for themselves.
So let's come back to the wise men. A lot of tradition around them. Who were they exactly? We call them the Magi. that comes from the root word magician.
Another word you could use for them is wizards. They were more like Jedi knights than kings. They were king makers. These were men of great influence.
So, when we read about the great kings and pharaohs and others who would be influenced, that's what these guys did. They were the ones who influenced the king. And so they're powerful people. And I don't think they rode camels. I think they probably rode Arabian stallions that would be relevant to their position.
And they probably had an entourage, an army riding with them. And so it's not at all what we envision with the traditional wise men. And but here's the amazing thing: here are guys that are into astronomy and they're into astrology, and effectively they're into the occult. They're into darkness, and yet God invades their world and reaches them in a way that they understand. And how does He do it?
Well, where do they look for direction? They look to the stars.
So God sends him a star. It says, here, guys. Follow this star.
Now this is an unusual star because it moved. and directed them. That's not the normal thing a star would do. Many commentators believe this may have been the Shekinah glory of God. That would fill the temple.
So it's moving along, and they're following the star. A great journey they make from their homeland. To Bethlehem to see for themselves. And they bring the gifts of gold. Frankincense and myrrh.
What unusual gifts to give to a child. How about a stuffed camel? A video game maybe? Really?
Well, they had insight, gold. Because they recognized he was the king of kings and the lord of lords. Incense. because that's what the high priest would use when representing us before God. And myrrh?
an embalming element. And so they recognize this king. was going to die for the sin of the world. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We really enjoy hearing when Pastor Gregg's teaching and preaching touches lives.
I wanted to call it and share. There has been, in the last six months, I found Pastor Greg's messages very helpful. But one time, I guess it was about 4:30 in the morning, and I was going through, guess what you would say, a breakup. And I kind of prayed out loud. I said, Lord, I feel abandoned.
And I then had turned on the radio, and my time is when Pastor Greg's message comes on, and then he was talking about how God does not abandon us. And it was just really comforting, really helpful to listen to that message, found hope in that. And I was actually able to pass it on to a number of other people who were also going through some difficult transitions.
So I just wanted to share that. Thank you so much. If you have a story to share, why not call us and give us all the details? Here's the number: 1-866-871-1144. Again, that's 866-871-1144.
And now, Pastor Gregg continues his study based in Luke chapter 2 and Matthew chapter 2. The title of this message is Jesus and the Ones Who listened? And God speaks to us today. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. And my sheep hear my voice.
Isn't that interesting? I'm the good shepherd. He didn't say I'm the powerful shepherd, though he is that, and more. No one's more powerful than God Himself. He's omnipotent.
He didn't say I'm the smart shepherd. Though God has more intelligence than all of humanity combined, and throw AI in for good measure. God knows all things. Nor did he say I'm the stern shepherd. He said, I'm the good shepherd.
And the point of that is, is the sheep come to know that the shepherd is looking out for their welfare. And as we grow spiritually, we come to discover God is always looking out for our ultimate good. in his glory. I didn't say temporary good. Because sometimes those things that are for our ultimate good are not temporarily good.
In fact, if we're brutally honest, we would say they can even be bad. Yet God makes this promise. He will cause all things to work together for good. To those that love God and are the called according to His purpose. He doesn't say He'll make bad things good because there are certain bad things that happen that will never be anything but a bad thing.
But despite the bad thing, God can still bring an ultimate good. And bring glory to his name. God is good. The Bible reminds us of that again and again. Psalm 100, verse 5: The Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endures to all generations.
So God speaks to us today. How does he speak? The main way that God speaks is through the Bible. Have you heard about the Oxford Word of the Year? They pick a word every year that represents the year in their estimation.
The Oxford word of the year is brain rot. Isn't that two words? But anyway, the Oxford word of the year is brainwrite. and they say brain rot is a result of the constant consumption of social media. The average American spends four hours and 39 minutes a day on their smartphone.
Ages 8 to 18 that rise at 7.5 hours a day. Brain rot. You know, when you kind of start scrolling, how many of you have scrolled mindlessly for far too long? Raise your hand up.
Okay, let's be honest. I have. I've scrolled so long my hand is numb from holding the I just scroll, scroll, scroll. But what am I? And I look, it's 45 minutes.
I've wasted all of this time. We've all probably done it in some way, shape, or form. And it just sort of dulls you, I think. Brain rot is a really good description. Because I don't want to do anything else afterwards.
It's sort of like spoiling your appetite. You know, my wife might say, Okay, we're having dinner at 5:15, and my wife is an amazing cook. I should call her chef, she's so good, right? And so dinner will be ready at 5:15.
Okay, but here's the problem: I get hungry at 4 o'clock. And I drive by Taco Bell. They think I could just get one taco to hold me over.
So I pull in. And They have that same taco in a special. I can get three for a lower price.
So I buy three, but I only eat one, right? And I get these tacos. I don't even know what they're called. They're made out of Dorito chip.
Okay, so the problem is Dorito chip, they crumble really badly. They don't hold together. There's no integrity in that taco shell. And a burrito is great to eat when you're driving. Tacos don't work.
because they disintegrate and I'm covered in Dorito shells and I eat more than one and I get home. Kathy says, are you hungry? Oh boy, am I hungry. I haven't revealed where I've been, though I have Dorito shells all over me.
Okay, and I eat and I don't finish my meal. Why didn't you finish it? Did you not like it? I like it. Did you eat on the way home?
She just knows that I have all this orange stuff on me. What? Me? Then I have to admit, yeah, I stopped by and I got a taco, and I ate two.
Some refried beans and other things.
Okay, so what did I do? I spoiled my appetite.
Okay, so brain rot. We fill our minds with all this stuff. I'm scrolling on my phone. I'm playing video games. I'm binge watching things on.
Netflix, I'm watching some news feed, whatever it is, and I get brain rot, and then it comes to the Bible and I say, I don't have time, or I'm just not in the mood. See, you make time for what matters. And if you want God to speak to you, open the Bible because that's the primary way He's going to speak to you. All you're going to remember are the Dorito tacos from that whole. Thing I just did.
So let God speak to you through the Bible. And let God reach you where you are. I'm amazed how God can reach the greatest intellectual. On a love all day. Understand?
And then it can reach the smallest child. And it makes sense to them. He reached you. He reached me. We're individuals.
We're all very different. We're similar, but we're different as well. And God invaded your world, didn't he? He came into your world in some way, shape, or form. He made himself real to you.
He did it for me, and he's still doing it for people today. They might be like a shepherd on the lowest rung of the social ladder. They might be like a wise man on the highest rung of the intellectual ladder, but everybody needs Jesus. Everybody, including you. Including you.
The Bible says, harden not your heart. if you can hear his voice. You're here listening to this message. And as I said, church can be a dangerous place. Because if I hear the truth of the gospel as you've heard it today, and you say, Well, what do you mean the truth of the gospel?
Let me summarize the gospel. It means good news. Here's the good news. God loves you. Here's the bad news.
You're a sinner separated from God by your sin. Here's the good news again. Christ died for your sin and rose again from the dead. And now stands at the door of your life and he knocks and says, if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. You can be forgiven of all of your sin.
That's the good news that the angels were talking about, that you can experience and find the real meaning of Christmas. In a relationship with God Himself.
So you've heard that.
Now you have a choice as to what to do with it.
Now, I ask you in closing: are you hearing the voice of God today? Not my voice. You're hearing another voice. speaking in the deep recesses of your heart. And you're hearing this.
This is what I've been looking for. Let me restate that this is who I've been looking for. It's always been Jesus. He's always the one that had the answers you wanted and needed. And he's ready to forgive you of your sin.
Just like he invaded the world of those wise men with all their darkness and occultism, he brought them to himself. He can bring you to himself. And you can be free from any sin or lifestyle or addiction or any other thing that has kept you trapped, but you must come to Him. and admit your need for him and call out to him. You need a savior.
Remember, not an advisor, not a helper. You need a Savior, and Christ came to save you and save me.
So we're going to pray in a moment. And I'm going to extend an invitation for anybody here. Who needs Jesus? How many of you would say today, Greg, I need Jesus? I want to change.
I want this relationship with God. I want to go to heaven when I die. I want my guilt taken away. I want a fresh start in life. I want Jesus now.
If you want Jesus Christ to come into your heart and life, And be your savior. Lord and friend You can ask Christ to come into your life. It'll make this the merriest Christmas you've ever experienced. Pray this after me now, 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. It rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now. And I choose to follow you.
From this moment forward. is my Savior. It's my Lord. As my God, And it's my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer.
and answering it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie with those making a change in their relationship with the Lord today. And if you yourself have prayed with Pastor Gregg and made a decision for the Lord, we'd like to help you get started in your new relationship with God.
We'd like to send you Pastor Gregg's New Believer's Bible. is perfect for someone who's new to the faith. It has hundreds of helps, including Cornerstones, a series of short articles on the basics of the Christian faith. It's right inside the New Believers Bible. and we'll send it your way without charge.
Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300. or go online to harvest.org and click 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 Greg? 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 go online to harvest.org.
Well, next time, Pastor Greg helps us focus on two lesser-known individuals in the Christmas story, Simeon and Anna. and what their faithfulness means for our lives today. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Lord. That's it. Day, the day when life begins.
