Don't Carry What God Can Handle | Sunday Message

Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries present the book that kicked off the hip movie, Jesus Revolution. The author of the book is Ellen Vaughan, but it was written with me because I told her the stories. She does a deep dive into the history of the time. She tells the story of Chuck Smith, Lonnie Frisbee, and so much more that you will want to know. And we want to send you this book, Jesus Revolution, for your gift of any size.

Get your copy at harvest.org. 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.

Well grab your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 18 and the title of the message is don't carry what God can handle. And speaking of crusades years ago, We were holding a crusade and I forgot my Bible. Can you believe that? What good is a preacher without a Bible? That's like, you know, peanut butter without jelly or...

Coffee without caffeine, or apple pie without some cheese, because the Bible says. Apple pie without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze, right? The Bible doesn't say that. I read that on a napkin at Marie Callender's once, but um... But I'm not making this up.

Cheddar cheese on apple pie. Great combination. Do you have ever anyone tried cheddar cheese? I'm the only one. Come on, people.

Check it out. Good combination. Not just any cheese, cheddar cheese. That's your takeaway truth for the sermon today. But I forgot my Bible.

So I asked my son Christopher. to go to the hotel room and get it, which he did. And he returned quickly. And he came to the room where I was and we have some security in place and we have little badges for what section you can go into. And the usher did not recognize him and he said, sorry, you can't go back there.

And he goes, no, I'm Christopher Lorry. And Greg is my dad. And he's asked me to get his Bible. I'm sorry, you don't have the right badge. But look, the Bible, it says Greg Laurie on the Bible.

He pulls out his driver's license. Look, it says my name, Christopher Lorry. I couldn't be making this up. And someone comes like, there's some person named Christopher Laura. Of course, let him in.

It's my son. I did have that usher killed.

Now let me explain. No, look, he was just doing his job. I get it. But that's a beautiful picture of us approaching God. You don't need a badge.

You have relationship. He can approach me because he's my son. We can approach God because we're his son, we're his daughter, and that's all we need to have open access into the presence of God 24-7. Isn't that great?

Now, that access to God is not based on anything that I have done. That access to God is solely based on what He has done. As Hebrews 10 reminds us, brothers and sisters, you can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. And if there's one thing The devil does not want you to do. It is.

Pray. Because prayer is the Christian's secret weapon, and the devil will do everything he can to keep you from praying and how important it is to pray. Because as believers, our problems don't end. But we have this powerful asset now in dealing with the problems that we face. And that asset is prayer.

But as we're gonna see in a few moments from our text, there's a right and there's a wrong way to pray. I think a lot of us are carrying burdens God never intended for us to carry. We carry worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, and more. Prayer is God's invitation to transfer those burdens from our shoulders.

So here's point number one if you're taking notes. God cares about your problem or problems. How many of you have problems right now? Raise your hand. Oh, you're a messed up bunch of people, aren't you?

You seem pretty normal to me. How many of you don't have a care or a problem in the world? Raise your hand. Okay, you're maybe deluded, sir, I don't know. Or maybe you're doing something we all need to be doing more of.

But God cares about your problems. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jehoshaphat. He started using that fat shot and changed his name to Jehoshaphin later, but that's another story.

So, Jehoshaphat was his name. And he was the king of Israel and he was facing insurmountable odds. He was being attacked by both the Moabites and the Amorites. A powerful enemy threatened to destroy him. There was no way militarily he could equal their force on the battlefield.

But he used the one secret weapon that we all have to employ, and that's called prayer. And he knew that God cared about his problem. 1 Peter 3, 7 says, excuse me, 5, 7 says, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. That's an interesting phrase, casting. It means to throw something.

To throw something with force, like not just tossing it underhand or gently placing it there. It's like taking that burden, almost like a pile of smelly trash, and throwing it into the trash truck and saying, Good riddance, take it away. I don't want it anymore. When the Bible says cast your cares, it means take them and intentionally put them on the Lord. Stop.

Worrying about whatever you are facing and let God assume that weight. And then the word, because He cares for you, it's just simply pointing out that God has a deep interest in what you are facing. Max Okeda made this statement, and I quote, God is not a hairied supervisor who gives you 30 seconds of his attention and then moves on. You are the only person in the universe he's thinking about right now, end quote. That's well said.

When you pray, you're not interrupting God. You're not getting in some cosmic line of 7 billion people waiting your turn. Much as a child calls out to their father. When you say, Lord, help me, he hears. He's interested.

He cares about what you are facing.

So Jehoshaphat called the people together for prayer. And this is what he prayed in 2 Chronicles 20, 12. Lord, we're powerless against this mighty army that's about to attack us, and we don't know what to do. But her eyes are upon you. I love that.

So he acknowledges the problem. He's facing it. We don't know what to do. But we know Who to turn to? And our eyes are upon you.

Point number two, God is bigger than your problem. God cares about your problem. God is bigger than your problem. The king reminds himself and the people of the greatness of God. In 2 Chronicles 20, verse 6, he says, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven.

You are ruler over all the kingdoms of the earth. You're powerful and mighty. No one can stand against you. I love to quote scripture when I pray. Why?

To remind God of something he doesn't know? No. to remind me of something I may have forgotten.

So I acknowledge the greatness of God, the majesty of God. The power of God. And even as I say those things, I begin to see my problem in its proper way. perspective. As Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer, how does it begin?

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It just starts with. Take a moment to contemplate the awesomeness, the greatness, and the power of God and remind yourself that God is bigger than your problem. Prayer is not informing God of something he doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle.

Let me say that again. Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle. And by the way, God answered the prayer of Jehoshaphat. It was the weirdest battle strategy of all time.

Lord says, okay, here's what you're going to do. Get all those people in the worship band. And have them go march ahead of your armies and just play their instruments and sing songs of praise to God. I don't think I would like that idea if I was in the worship band. Wait, what?

What am I supposed to do here? But what happened was as they honored and glorified God, the enemy became confused and they turned on each other and defeated themselves.

So their prayer was certainly answered. My third point is: God has this perfect timing in prayer. Often the Lord does not work as quickly as we would like. But we have to remind ourselves that the Bible Says God makes everything beautiful in his time. Just as important as the will of God is the timing of God.

So now we're going to look at a story that Jesus told about a woman who would not take no for an answer. A woman that models for us how to pray persistently. Let's look at Luke 18, and I'm going to read verses 1 through 8, and I'm reading from the New Living Translation. One day, Jesus told his disciples a story. To show that they should always pray and never give up.

Now, I want you to keep that theme in mind as we continue on. The main point that Jesus is making is that we should always pray and never give up. Verse 2.

So there was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God or cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy. The judge ignored her for a while. And finally, he said to himself, I don't fear God. And I don't care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy.

I'm going to see that she gets justice because she's wearing me out.

Now the Lord is going to conclude. Tell us to take away truth.

Now, learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end.

So don't you think that God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly. And when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? Bringing me to my next point, you need to be persistent in your prayer.

Jesus says in verse 1, We should always pray and never give up. Or as the King James Version puts it. We should always pray and not lose heart.

So we have a choice when crisis comes. We have a decision to make. What a problem. is before us. Are we going to panic or are we going to pray?

Are we going to worry or are we going to worship? Are we going to lose heart? Or are we going to pray about it? Romans 12 reminds us we should continue steadfastly in prayer. James 5:13 says, Is any among you suffering?

Let him pray. But why should we pray? We should pray because Jesus just told us to. That's why. He said, pray, did he not model this for us?

How many times do we read of Christ spending the evening in prayer talking to his father.

Now if Jesus, the very Son of God, walking among us, felt the need to spend time in prayer with his Father, how much more do we as mortal human beings need to pray?

So he just tells us to pray, therefore, we should pray.

Now, if prayer was very unpleasant, which it is not, that would be one thing. But we should do because he tells us to. Here's another thing: we should pray because prayer is God's appointed way. For obtaining things, prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things.

Now, that can sound selfish and opportunistic. But the fact is God has promised. to provide for us. And going back to the Lord's Prayer. After he teaches us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done.

Then he teaches us to pray. Give us this day our daily bread. Here's a very important verse. James 4.2. You have not.

Because you asked not. I wonder. How many things are not happening in our lives that could be happening because we have simply failed to pray about it? You might say, I don't know why I never have the opportunity to lead people to Christ. Have you prayed about it?

Maybe it's because you haven't asked the Lord to help you. You have not because you asked not. Or you might say, I never know the will of God from my life. I just live in perpetual confusion about that. Have you prayed?

Have you said, Lord, Reveal your will to me. Doesn't scripture say: if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who will give generously, not hold it back. You have not, because you ask not. Why am I always strapped financially and I never have quite enough to live on? Have you prayed about that?

Have you asked for the Lord to provide for you? You have not because you asked not. Why am I sick? Why has God not healed me? Have you prayed about it?

God does heal. God wants to heal. God doesn't always heal everyone, but He heals many. And I wonder if there might be somebody right now. that instead of immediately calling the doctor needs to call on the Lord.

Now I'm all for calling out a doctor. I'm certainly not a hypochondriac about things like that. I usually put it off. But some people call the doctor the drop of a hat. But you should be praying.

I heard about one person who called the doctor and said, Doc, I'm a terrible worrier. I worry about everything. I worry about my health. I worry about my finances, my job. What can I do?

The doctor said, have you tried prayer? And the person said, I tried that, but I worry that I'm not doing it right. See, so this is the problem. You worry about everything. And that brings me to my next point.

Prayer is the way by which God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry. Let me say that again. Prayer is the way. In which God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry. I have put this to the test.

time and time again. And I can tell you without any question whatsoever. It works. You know what I'm talking about? Hasn't it worked for you?

I hope you've all committed this verse to memory. It's one of the great verses of the Bible, Philippians 4.6. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.

Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. I think sometimes we might think that Worry is some kind of a virtue. Oh, I worry all the time. I worry about my children.

I worry about this. I worry about it.

Well, stop it. That's not a good thing to worry. In fact, it's a lack of trust in God. In fact, the word worry comes from a root word that means to strangle or choke. And that's exactly what worry does.

It sort of strangles you. It chokes you, and you can worry about something, and then you worry about another thing. And then, maybe when those things are resolved, you think of new things to worry about, and it's just an endless cycle. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a great. A commentator said, and I quote, the result of worrying about the future is you cripple yourself in the present.

End quote. Very true. I remember when we did our crusade in Australia. They have an expression there. Which is get out.

No, not really. The expression is, no worries, mate.

So you might ask someone for directions, and they'll tell you there are generally very friendly people there. Then you'll say thank you and they'll say, no worries, mate. Or you order something in a restaurant.

Okay, that's good. Thanks. And they'll say, no worries, mate. That's a good philosophy. That's theologically sound.

So back to this woman. She's going to this unjust judge. A judge in a certain city. Who neither feared God Nor did he care about people. In fact, he even acknowledged it later.

He says, I don't fear God, and I don't care about people.

So at first, blush. We have two people. One is the powerful one, the judge. The other is the weaker one, the woman. Why?

Well, because in this culture, a widow was at a very distinct disadvantage. Normally a woman. Would not go to a court of law. That would be the job of the husband. But this lady didn't have her husband any longer.

So she has an immediate disadvantage, not to mention the fact that she's dealing with a corrupt judge, but things are not always as they appear. Really, who was the stronger one?

Well, because she employed this secret weapon of prayer, the woman was the stronger one. because God was going to intervene for her. She would not let this judge ignore her. And she plagued this guy. When he would get up in the morning, she'd be standing out there on his doorstep waiting for him.

She was posting all over social media, tagging him on everything. putting one-star Yelp reviews on him that were very negative. And the judge is like, I can't take it anymore. This woman's driving me nuts. Verse 5, she's driving me crazy.

And it's interesting. The Greek word used here. Means she's beating me black and blue or giving me a black eye.

Now, I don't know if this is literal or figurative. I do know if you look at her name in the original language, it's Karen.

So. That's not true. Is anybody here named Karen? I'm sorry. You're a man.

Your name Karen, sir?

Okay. We'll talk later.

So maybe this, she was like a female bodybuilder. I don't know. Maybe she was slapping the guy around. Maybe he's this grawny little dude and she's kind of threatening him. I don't know.

Or if it's just the fact that she would not take no for an answer. And so he finally grants her her request.

Now, what's the point?

Well, God's like a corrupt judge, and we have to threaten him in prayer. You better do what I'm asking, Lord, or you'll have me to deal with it. No, it's the very opposite of that. Jesus is using the method of contrast to make a point. And the point he is making is, our loving Heavenly Father is the very opposite of this judge.

Look at verse 7. Don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? See, in contrast to the corrupt judge, You have a loving father. Who cares about you? who is bigger than your problems.

And he wants to answer your prayers. You just need to keep showing up. I love the statement of our Lord when he said, Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom. You know, God loves to bless us.

God loves to lavish his blessings in our life. He loves to provide for us.

So you don't have to wear God out. But why is it that some of our prayers don't seem to be answered?

Well, is that really true? Seems to me every prayer is answered. We just may not like the answer. God answers prayer in three ways, yes, no, and wait. Yes is an answer.

No is an answer. We say, well, God didn't answer my prayer. Why? Well, he said, no, that's actually an answer. And later in life, you may look back on that and say, Lord, thank you for saying no to that prayer because that was the lamest prayer ever prayed.

And you, my loving heavenly father, knew my future and knew that would harm me. Therefore, you overruled my request.

So, thank you, God, for unanswered prayers, as the song says. But then there's wait, and that's a hard one. Because we don't like to wait. We like everything immediately. You can get same-day delivery in Amazon right now.

Right the same day, that's insane, isn't it? That you order something and it shows up on your doorstep, or you want food, you can call Uber Each, whatever you want, you can get it. You want that book, you don't have to wait for him to ship it, just download it, start reading it. We want these things fast. And we run ahead of God, but we need to wait upon the Lord.

Now we shift cares. to a whole nother story. Again, it's contrasting. Two people. First, we saw a powerful judge and a disadvantaged widow.

But she actually had the advantage. because their cause was just and their prayers were persistent.

Now we come to two men in the temple praying. And this story shows us. How important are Attitude is when we pray. Luke chapter 18, starting to verse 9. Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own.

righteousness and scorned everyone else.

So before you even read the story, What is the point he's making? He's telling this story. To deal with those who have great confidence in their own righteousness and scorn everyone else. Verse 10: Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a despised tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: God, I thank you, I'm not like other people, cheaters, sinners, adulterers, and I'm certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give you a tenth of my income. But the tax collector. Verse 13 stood at a distance.

He dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.

Now, Jesus sums it up with this takeaway point, verse 14. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

So in our first story, An important judge seems to be the most important, the most powerful one, the poor widow, the weaker, but it's the opposite. And we have the same situation here, reminding us that God sees things differently than we do. We judge according to outward appearance. We look at a person and we size them up. This is a good person.

This is a bad person. Uh Even when we're babies, babies size people up. I told you before, babies are drawn to people who have symmetrical faces that have an attractive face.

So, as I've said to you before, if you want to find out if you're attractive or not. Get close to a baby. They'll tell you. We'll talk about little children in a few moments in the last movement of this story, but babies, they'll give you an honest opinion. If they turn away, you are not an attractive person.

And I've had babies do this to me.

Now this Pharisee, let's understand, we always think of Pharisee as negative. It was not a negative thing to be a Pharisee. A Pharisee was someone that actually committed themselves to the study and memorization of scripture. living by the commandments and then some. There were good Pharisees.

Nicodemus was a good Pharisee. And there were bad Pharisees, of course, that plotted the death of Jesus Christ. This guy fasts twice a week. That's commendable. He gives tithes of all that he possesses.

That too is commendable. Every Christian should tithe. People say, well, tithing is not in the New Testament, but understand. In the Old Testament, it was tithing meant a tenth. It's so simple, it's not mysterious.

You take a tenth of your income and you give it to the Lord. To invest in the kingdom of God. I've always done this in my entire life. And I'll tell you, God has always been faithful to provide for all of my needs. He promises a blessing on those that bring the tithes into his storehouse.

Now, In the New Testament, it would usually be expanded. In other words, in the Old Testament, as Jesus pointed out, he says, you've heard that it has been said, you shall not murder, but I say, if you have hatred in your heart, it's the same thing. Or you shall not commit adultery, Old Testament, but I say if you look in a woman with lust in your heart.

So the idea is now in the New Testament, we do more than that. A tenth, that's entry-level giving. That's like training wheels on a bicycle. That's how you get started.

Now you bring tithes and offerings and you give even more because God will never be your debtor. And he will bless you for your generosity. But some will Say, well, I don't see tithing in the New Testament. Therefore, I will give nothing. Brilliant deduction.

How did you arrive at that?

So there's nothing wrong with the fact that this guy tied, that's a good thing. But the point is, he was trusting in his own righteousness. And I think there are people that think, well, I've done X, Y, and Z, therefore that makes me right with God. you know, I was baptized or I receive communion or I read the Bible, those are all good things. Do those things, but don't trust in those things.

I heard about a multimillionaire. that was revealing the secrets of his success. He said, when I was a young man, I was very poor. And there were tough times. But I was motivated and very energetic, and so I took my last dime and I bought an apple.

And I took that apple and I polished it until it was a thing of beauty. And then I went down to the street corner the next day and sold it for 50 cents. And then I took that 50 cents and bought five more apples and polished them and sold them for $2.50 and I just kept doing this until I finally made $100. The people who are listening said, so that's how you became a millionaire? He says, Oh, no, my wife's father died and he left us $10 million.

Yeah. See, that's us. Oh, I did all these things. No. It's the grace of God.

Everything you have has been given to you by the grace of God. It's a gift from Him. That was a problem with this guy. Go ahead if you want to applaud. That was a little tap that I have to say, but I'll take it.

I'll take it.

So let's try to understand. A Pharisee and a tax collector. This would be like saying, A minister and a drug dealer went into a church to pray. Her mother Teresa and Howard Stern went into a church to pray. Or Billy Graham and Marilyn Manson went into a church to pray, okay?

And the idea is, oh, yeah, that guy's bad, and that guy's good. That's how you would see this. Pharisee, really good. Tax collector, really bad, but it's all about the heart. And the Pharisee's heart was in the wrong place.

And the tax collector's heart was in the right place. The Pharisee praised, verse 11. I thank God I'm not like other people. Man, that's a messed up prayer. If you ever find yourself praying that, just stop.

I thank you I'm not like other people. Cheaters, sinners, adulterers, and certainly not like that tax collector. And they probably pointed at him. And but then the tax collector. Would not even lift his face up to heaven and just said, God, be merciful to me.

A sinner. And a better way to translate it would be: God be merciful to me, the sinner. You know, people say there's no sinner's prayer in the Bible.

Sometimes people criticize me. for the sinner's prayer. that Greg leads people and there's no sinner's prayer in the Bible.

Well, this is a sinner's prayer. And what was the sinner's prayer? God be merciful to me. That's center. And that's really all we're leading a person to pray.

And it's sort of built on principles in scripture given to us on what a person must do. To have Christ come into their life, they must repent of their sin, they must understand He died on the cross for them and rose again from the dead, they must receive Christ into their life. There's no magic in a little prayer that I might lead someone in or someone else might lead them in, but it's sort of a way to just call upon the name of the Lord. And the Bible says, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But to be technical, Here's a sinner's prayer in the Bible.

God be merciful to me, the sinner.

So he was totally owning what he did.

So what's the takeaway truth? You have to admit you're a sinner. And come in humility before God, not in arrogance, because attitude is everything in prayer. James 4 says When you ask God for something, and you don't get it, it's because your motive is wrong. You only pray for those things that will give you pleasure.

See, if I come with the wrong attitude in my prayer, it can sort of cancel my prayer out. You know, people do weird stuff in prayer. They call it prayer, but it isn't prayer at all.

Sometimes people will use prayer as an opportunity to brag. I've seen it. They'll pray God I just thank you for. The time I spent sharing the gospel earlier today with 20 people. And as I was reading the scriptures at three o'clock in the morning, And just shut up.

What are you doing? This isn't a prayer. This is a performance. Stop it. You're not praying at all.

Or sometimes people use Prayer is an opportunity to concept. Lord, you know that Jim has been unfaithful to his wife. He just revealed this to me, Lord. And even this wife who's sitting right here hasn't heard this yet. But we're just praying.

Stop. What are you doing? That's not a prayer. That's an announcement. And people will do things like that.

But that's not what prayer is for. Prayer is where you're communicating with God and you admit your sin.

Okay, one final movement, and we're done. Luke chapter 18.

So here's what we've learned so far. How do we approach God? We approach him like this widow with persistence. We approach him like the tax collector with humility. And ultimately, we approach him like a little child.

Luke 18, verse 15. One day, some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. And when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. And then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, let the little children come on to me and don't stop them. For the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these little children.

And I tell you the truth. Anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. We'll stop there. At this time, the tradition would be for the father. to lay his hand on the child and to bless them.

And so they're bringing their children to Jesus so he would do that.

So he would place his hand on the child's head and pronounce a blessing over them. In Mark's Gospel, we read that Jesus took them into his arms and began to fervently bless them. I love that, fervently bless them. Like he welcomed the opportunity, as the old song says. Jesus loves the little children.

And he was passionate about this. And I think. What a contrast kids must have been from All the adversarial argumentative Adults that he had to deal with every single day with all these little traps they would set for him and these challenges. And along come these children, and they're laughing, and they're happy, and they're smiling. And he takes them into his arms, and he's laughing and enjoying their company.

And his crazy disciples think this is a horrible thing. Get these kids out of here. And they shun the kids away. And Jesus is indignant at this. And he says, let those children come to me and stop hindering them.

I love those kids. I like hanging around those kids. In fact, honestly. I like hanging around them than all y'all sometimes, okay? And he uses the children as an example.

And is this not a perfect picture? of what we all should do. We, like those persistent moms, need to bring our children to Jesus. Have you done that? You need to pray for your children.

Of course, when they're little, well Dedicate them. We bring all the families up here on the platform, and we pray for the parents and the children. But you need to pray for your kids every day. But don't just stop when they turn eight or nine. Keep praying, especially when they become teenagers.

You've got to be praying for them and bringing them to Jesus. How do you do that? You start by modeling for them what it means to be a Christian. You don't send them to church. You take them to church.

You bring them to church. You show them that Regular involvement in your church is a high priority for them, and statistics show that if it's a high priority for the parent, it will have a far higher chance of becoming a high priority for the child later in life. You model it for them. You don't just tell them to read the Bible. You read the Bible and they see you read the Bible.

You don't just tell them to pray. You pray as an example, but pray with them. And as Moses said, teach these things with your kids when you get up in the morning and when you lie down at night and everywhere you go, you're always weaving your faith into the life of your child. Let the little children come unto me. And now Jesus shows us this is how we should approach God.

Verse 17. I tell you the truth: anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will We'll never. Enter it. How do you receive the kingdom like a child?

Well, you become child. Like, not childish, there's a difference. You know, you can be childish. Or you can be childlike. And children come in a much different way than adults do.

You know, they come in complete honesty. You know where you stand with the child. If a child's happy, they laugh. If they're sad, they cry. and they just express their emotions freely.

And they're dependent upon the parent, especially when they're very small. I mean, when you cradle. A newborn in your arms, you have to hold them oh so carefully. Supporting their head and their neck, and cradling them as Jesus was, and treating them with the utmost care. That child is dependent on you for everything.

And in the same way, if we're honest, we realize that we are just dependent on God for everything. And we need to let him hold us in his everlasting arms. But another thing that you see about children. is they know how to receive a gift. Give a gift to a child, they'll take it and open it immediately.

You know, sometimes adults will not open the gift. I may get a gift from my wife. I got you this. Oh, nice. She'll set it.

Aside and finish him, you open the gift. I'll get to it eventually. No, open the gift now. I'm so excited for her to open the gift. You give a gift to a child, they'll open it immediately.

Depending on their age, I might enjoy the box it came in more than the gift itself. You know, but but that's what I love about kids is you know where you stand with them and you come in complete dependence upon the parent, and we need to come to God in the same way. The title of this message is Don't carry what God can handle. And I wonder if I'm talking to somebody right now that. is carrying a burden you were never meant to carry.

Where he is strangling you. Guilt is crushing you. Fear won't let you sleep at night. And Jesus says, come to me, you who are burdened with life. Come with your burdens, as we read earlier, casting all of your care upon him, for he cares for you.

You say, but Craig, I'm not worthy. Hate to break this to you, buckaroo. You were never worthy. On your best day, you weren't even close to worthy. But here's the good news.

It's not about your worthiness. It's about... His love for you, and that he purchased for you, as Hebrews says, a new and living way into his presence. You've got the proper ID because you're his child, and he will always hear your prayers. Our first point: God cares about your problems.

And I wonder in closing if you are a child of God. You know, sometimes it's said, we're all children of God. Not really. We're all created by God. We're all loved by God.

But we're not all children of God. You see, the way you become a child of God is you have to be adopted into His family. Whereas Jesus said, you need to be born again. That's what he said to Nicodemus. The religious man, the Pharisee, you must be born again.

And I wonder: have you been born again? That's how you know you're a child of God. The Bible says, for as many as received Him to them, He gave the power to become sons and daughters of God.

So you have to receive Christ into your life. And then you know you have access. Into God's presence.

So, in your best days, whatever those are. You have access. But listen to this, even on your worst days, you have access. When you've messed up. when you've crossed the line.

When you've said or done something you should not have done, oh, I can't approach God now. I'm not worthy. You never were worthy. Get rid of the whole worthy mentality. You can approach Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Right? That's how. The devil doesn't want you to know that. Remember those believers in the book of Revelation that overcame Satan, the accuser of the brethren? How did they overcome him?

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. By the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives until. the end or till the death. By the blood of the Lamb.

So they knew because of the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross, they could come into God's presence, and we need to know that as well. Prayer. What a privilege. And you're walking around with all those burdens and all those problems. And here is your Father in heaven who's ready to lift them off of your shoulders and forgive you of all of your sin.

And maybe I'm talking to somebody here that doesn't have the assurance. that they're a child of God. Yeah. You've never prayed that. Sinner's prayer.

You can do it here. You can do it now. And Christ can come into your life and forgive you of all of your sin. And you can have that fresh start in life you've been wanting. and know with certainty that when you die, You will go to heaven.

Not to hell. You will go into God's presence. He's just a prayer away.

So, we're going to close in prayer, and I'm going to give you an opportunity, if you've not done so yet. To put your faith in Jesus Christ. Let's all pray. Thank you for your love for us. In sending Jesus, your Son, your only begotten Son.

To die on the cross for our sin and to rise again from the dead, Lord Jesus. Thank you for coming. Thank you for your promise of forgiveness. to those who would believe in you. Not when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying.

Maybe there's somebody here that has joined us, or you're watching, wherever you might be. And you're not sure if Christ is living in your life. You're not certain that Your sin is forgiven. You don't know. That you're a child of God, but you want this.

You want this relationship with the Lord. If you want Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, Would you just lift your hand up wherever you're sitting and I'd like to pray for you right now? Raise your hand up saying, I need Jesus today. Pray for me. I want.

My sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. Pray for me to day. Raise your hand up wherever you are. God bless you.

Raise it up however I can see it. God bless you. wherever you are.

Some of you are watching a screen on one of our other campuses. You can raise your hand.

Some of you are watching. on a computer screen or a T V screen. You can pray this prayer. I'm about to lead everyone in right now.

Now, Let me lead you. in a prayer. of asking Christ to come into your life. Just pray these words. Out loud.

If you need Jesus in your life, pray, 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.

I repent of it. And I receive you into my life. as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you that I am now a child of God. And I have this new relationship with you.

I pray all of this, in Jesus' name. Amen. 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. Yeah.