Feeling a bit disconnected in your walk with Christ?
Well, Pastor Greg Laurie has a great new book called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know that'll help. Let's say you're feeling lethargic and tired. You know, if you have a diet of social media and you don't take time for the Word of God, this is going to have a damaging effect.
So this is just one of the things we talk about in this new book called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. Available at harvest.org. We must run to win in the race of life. Run for first place, not for honorable mention. Coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how this life is compared to a race, and we need to do our very best.
To give it our all until the very end. There's winners and losers in a race. And there's winners and losers in the race of life. And we should go for the gold. Silver's good, so's bronze.
But definitely give it your best effort. Run it such a way that you will win. Day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing graves now sweet the sound.
But can you hear all the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when I begin. In any gym. There are people there who are just getting it done. A certain number of reps, a certain duration of time, and then they're done.
They're out of here. And then there are others who push themselves and they give it their all. And it shows.
Well today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out this life is too important to muddle through. The Lord wants us to run this race with endurance and to run this race to win. We'll learn more about how to do that in Acts. This is the day, the day when life begins.
So now we're in Paul's third missionary journey. God is using him powerfully, and miracles are happening. Acts 19, verse 11 says, God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles when handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. Stop there.
So the emphasis is unusual miracles. These are not your normal miracles. Actual garments that have touched Paul are. Are now being used by God to heal people. There was no healing power in something Paul wore.
But it seems that in the minds of the people, there was sort of a faith release, if you will, where they thought, if I just touch this shirt that Paul wore, this robe, or whatever it would be, I too will be healed. We see a similar situation in the story of the woman with a medical condition causing her to constantly bleed. And she reasoned if I can touch. The very edge of the garment of Jesus, I will be healed.
Now, Jesus didn't say that. He didn't promise that. But she thought that. And sure enough, he's walking through a crowd of people. She reaches her hand through.
She touches his robe. And suddenly the healing power of God is released in her life and she's healed right there on the spot. But it's interesting to note how Jesus healed different people.
Sometimes they touched him, like the woman I mentioned. Other times he touched them. Other times he spoke the word and they were healed. On one occasion, A person was blind, he spit. In the dirt.
And wiped the dirt with his spit in the guy's eye. Here's mud in your eye, buddy. Wow.
Now, what would you think if you came and asked me for prayer and I spit on the dirt? What would you? Oh, no. You're not going to preach for me that way, are you? But the point is the techniques, if you will.
Very So people would realize that's not in the technique, it's not in the garment, it's not in the touch. It's from God Himself, and by the way. God is still in the healing business. And when we need a touch from the Lord, we should call out to the Lord and ask Him to heal us.
Okay, so whenever God is at work, the devil will be there. to oppose.
So the devil effectively enters the scene through a group of guys identified as the seven sons of Skiva.
So this man, Skiva, has seven sons, and they fancy themselves to be exorcists. They think they can cast demons out of people, but they were not the magnificent seven. There were the foolish seven. As we see now in the story, because they thought. The name of Jesus was like some kind of an incantation or Magic words, if uttered, would heal people.
Go to Acts 19, verse 13. They try to use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in their incantation, saying, I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out. The evil spirit replied, I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you? Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence they fled from the house naked. and battered.
Wow.
Don't mess with demons.
So there's three takeaway truths from this little story, probably more, but here's three quick ones. Number one, Satan is real and powerful. And demons are real and powerful. And people can still be possessed by demons today. And it's interesting that this A man who is possessed by the demons.
Had supernatural physical strength. I mean, he takes on seven dudes. And they leave the house stripped of their clothing and just running for their lives. We see the same thing illustrated in that man who was demon-possessed, who lived at the graveyard, and at night he would walk around shrieking and howling, and they put him in chains and he broke the chain.
So the devil is powerful. Never take the devil on in your own strength. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 6: stand in the Lord and in the power of his might. Number two. The power of Jesus is much stronger than the power of Satan.
Because it's kind of scary to think how powerful the devil can be. But it's really encouraging to know that Jesus is way more powerful, way more powerful, right? Jesus said, All power has been given to me in heaven and in earth.
So we serve an all-powerful God. And the third thing is the best defense is a good offense. The Bible says submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. You see, the problem with the sons of Sceva is they had no relationship with God. They just, oh, in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, and the demon's response is almost humorous.
Jesus, I definitely know. Paul, I know, but who are you? Um It reminds us that the devil knows those who are a threat to his kingdom.
So he knows, oh, that person, that man, that woman. They're a problem. They're a threat. I'm going to focus my energies on them. Remember when Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, Simon, Satan has been asking excessively for you that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God?
Would that freak you out if Jesus said that to you? You're just hanging out. All of a sudden he turns to you, says your name twice. Satan has been asking for you by name. Maybe he paused for a moment, Peter shaking in his sandals.
But then the Lord adds these words: But I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail.
So, yeah, the devil may come asking, but Jesus is going to answer the door.
Okay, so don't worry about it. But if you're a threat to the kingdom of Satan, The demons will be aware of you as they were in this story. After this, Paul is preaching a sermon. He's going pretty long. He's preaching till midnight.
So don't ever complain about me going like nine minutes too long, okay? It's midnight and he's still going. And there's some guy named Uticus on the third floor of the building Paul was in, sitting on the windowsill. Utychus nodded off, fell out of the window to his death.
Someone says, Paul, this Eutychus just died. He fell out of the window. Paul said, he's okay. He's just sleeping. Take me to him.
They go over. Eutychus is dead. Paul raises him from the dead. And then, like any self-respecting preacher, what does Paul do after that? He finishes his sermon.
He still had a few more points to cover, right?
So there's an amazing story. Uh Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Whenever you send us an email, letter, or post a comment on social media, we read every word. Pastor Greg, I just watched the Jesus Revolution movie you sent me, and wow, I loved it. It reminded me of the time I made it to one of the Calvary Chapel beach baptisms in 1972 to watch all the newly saved people come and be baptized.
I drove there in my VW bus Jesus van and ended up handing out hundreds of the living water tracks from Maranatha Publishers. For the past 54 years, I have been and will always be a Jesus freak. Has Pastor Greg heard from you? Why not drop him an email and let him know? Send it to Greg at harvest.org.
Again, that's Greg? At harvest.org.
Well, you're joining us today for Pastor Greg's study in Acts called How to Live a Meaningful Life. Let's continue now.
Now we ship cares. In the story, as we come to Acts chapter 20. As I said, Paul is saying goodbye to these leaders. You know, it's worth noticing that This is the only teaching sermon in the book of Acts. All the other sermons that were preached were evangelistic in nature.
But in this particular message, given to the elders at Miletus, a little seaport there. Uh he is giving final words. to followers of the Lord. And so let's pick it up, Acts 20 verse 17. When we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church of Ephesus.
asking them to come and meet him. When they arrived, T declared, You know, from the day I set foot in this province of Asia until now, I have done the Lord's work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike.
The necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God and having faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lay ahead. None of these things move me. nor do I count my life dear to myself.
So that I may finish my race with joy in the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Wow.
Five categories. Paul identifies that we are in things that we're doing first of all paul compares himself to a runner in a race So, I want to finish this race, he says, with joy. This was a favorite analogy of the apostle, the idea of running a race. He used it many times in his writings. For instance, over in 1 Corinthians 9:24.
He reminded us that we must run to win in the race of life. He said in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets a prize. You should run in such a way that you will win. Run to win. Run for first place.
Not for honorable mention. You know, in schools today or in athletic events, they'll give participation trophies. This is not good. There's winners and losers in a race. And there's winners and losers in the race of life.
And we should go for the gold. Silver is good, so is bronze. But definitely give it your best effort. Run that race to win. Then he also warns us about getting off track in the race of life when he writes to the believers in Galatia.
And in Galatians 5, 7, he says, you guys were running a good race. Who cut in on you from obeying the truth?
So, you know, when we're running this race, try to run with people. that have the same passion that you have. Let me put it another way. Hang around with godly people and do godly things. Don't hang around with ungodly people, which will lead you to do ungodly things.
Psalm 1 says, Happy is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in God's word.
So there are godless people, scornful people. People that will slow you down in the race of life.
So it's a good thing to periodically. Evaluate relationships you're engaged in. And this is a big one for you guys that are single. You know, when you're looking for someone to spend the rest of your life with, look for a godly man or a godly girl.
Someone who inspires you. Years ago, I told my wife before we were married when she was, she wasn't even my girlfriend yet. But we're getting close. And I said this really romantic thing to her. I said, Kathy, if you ever get...
in the way of my relationship with God, you're out of here. Wow.
You're thinking that was the craziest thing you could have said, Greg. Fact of the matter is, that's the best thing I could have said to Kathy Martin. That was her name then. She said, I was looking for a guy who had conviction, a guy who knew where he was going in life. I wasn't looking for a guy that I could manipulate.
Ah, admission.
Sometimes girls manipulate guys. It happens. Anyway. I was looking for a godly man.
So, you know, the idea is that we should spend our time with people that will encourage us. Here's sort of a way to think about it. Of this relationship, of this pursuit you're involved in, is it a wing or is it a weight? Does it help you go faster like a wing, or does it slow you down like a weight? Don't let someone else cut in on you.
Paul also warns in Philippians 3 about looking back in the race of life. You know, you got to look forward. It's a bad idea to look over your shoulder. That half of a second could cost you the race. You know when you're driving on the freeway, And have you ever noticed that if there's a cop, a CHP, driving ahead of you, you always slow down?
No one wants to pass the CHP, right? And even if they're under the speed limit, you go under the speed limit. If they slow down to 20, we'll all slow down to 20, right?
Sometimes I think they do that just to mess with us. I wonder if I go slower, if the alls go slower. And uh But the problem is, sometimes if you're driving and you look in your rearview mirror and you see a police officer driving behind you, you get focused on that and you're not paying attention to where you're going. In the race of life, you've got to always be looking forward and not looking backwards. Because the first step to going back is looking back.
Remember, Jesus said, remember Lot's wife. Three words. Remember Lot's wife. Why should I remember Lot's wife? Because after she was delivered by the angel of the Lord from Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife, along with Lot and their children, were warned, don't look back.
And she deliberately looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus said, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
So in the race of life, keep looking forward, not looking backwards. And then Paul says, I want to finish this race with joy in verse 23. I love that. Not just finish the race, finish the race with joy. I have never felt joy when I'm running.
I've only felt pain. But he goes, I want to finish this with joy.
So I've been running this race. for over 50 years now. And I'm going to tell you a little secret. It is a joyful thing to serve God. I love it.
Don't lose your joy. After he sinned, David said in Psalm 51, a psalm of confession. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation, and then sinners will be converted to you. Isaiah 55 says, You shall go out with joy, you'll be led forth with peace, and the mountains and the hills will break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. And then we're also told in Nehemiah 8:10, the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Paul says, I want to finish this with joy. Do you have joy? Do other people see that joy in your life? It's really important. Again, what David said.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Then sinners will be converted to you. An unbeliever sees you having joy, not just when things are going well, but when things are going badly, that's a powerful testimony. Paul also points out that as we run the race of life, we need to play by the rules. He says of 1 Corinthians 9, 27, I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.
I discipline my body like an athlete training to do what it should. Otherwise my fear is after I preach to others, I'd be a hypocrite. And I would be disqualified.
So when you enter into a race, Or whatever it is, there's rules. These are the rules. Do you agree to play by the rules? Yes. I read about one guy that entered a marathon.
And he agreed to play by the rules. And they noticed that when the race was coming to a close, this guy comes across the finish line, no sweat. He was just acting like he had not done anything. And he won the bronze and someone complained and they found out the guy had started the race, ran through the forest, got on a bus, went to the place where the race ended, got off the bus, and then ran across the finish line. Needless to say, he was disqualified.
So we got to play by God's rules. That's the way to do it. And we want to run all the way because it's not just starting this race well, it's finishing this race well. I have found the best way to run well in the race of life is to have a good motivation. Why am I doing it?
What is my objective? And the author of Hebrews, many think it was Paul. I would think that too, but we don't know for certain. But the author of Hebrews. Tells us the secret.
He says, We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
So let's lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily besets us and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. And thou was set down. at the right hand of God.
So that's how you look to Jesus. I don't run this race for people. I don't run up for applause. I don't run it for likes on my social media. I don't run it for any of those things.
I started it this way, and I hope to end it this way. I'm doing it for Jesus, and that's what will keep you going no matter what you're facing. Because people will let you down. People will disappoint you. Circumstances will overwhelm you.
Just keep your eyes on the prize, and specifically, keep your eyes on the Lord. In fact, that's what kept Jesus going. Because it says, for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. What was the joy set before Jesus? The apostles were pretty much in hiding.
John was present at the cross, but most of the others were. Hiding in the shadows, Peter even denied him. The crowds were jeering him, insulting him. But something kept Jesus going. It was the joy set before him.
And folks, the joy. Was you? It was me, it was us. It was knowing that our salvation would be purchased through his death on the cross.
So we're a runner in a race. Um Great encouragement to keep us going in our Christian life. Pastor Greg Laurie with our studies in Acts chapters 19 and 20 today, here on a new beginning. Given the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, as Pastor Gregg said, it's what motivated Jesus to keep going. Given that, how have you responded?
Because of what Jesus did, He extends His free gift of eternal life to each of us. Have you accepted that gift? Pastor Gregg, someone can enter into that kind of relationship today, can't they? They can, and it's so simple. And I think because it's so simple, people think, oh, it can't be that easy.
Well, look, Jesus did all the heavy lifting. He carried the cross for you. He died on that cross that he carried. This isn't about what you do, it's about what he's done. But here's what the Bible says Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
So let's just say that you're caught in a riptide out in the ocean and you need help and there's a lifeguard at the stand and they see you. You've got to call out to them and let them know you need saving. And the same is true when it comes to eternal life. Jesus is ready to save you. Will you call out to Him?
You say, Well, okay, how do I do that? You do it through prayer. And prayer is just talking to God.
So, listen, I'd like to lead you in a simple prayer. And if you pray this prayer after me. I believe God will hear it and answer it, and Christ will come to live inside of you. Thousands of people have prayed a prayer like this over the years that we've been doing this radio broadcast and have seen their life change. There's no power or magic in a prayer, it's all about your commitment to Christ.
But this is a way to call on the name of the Lord in this prayer.
So, if you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, if you want to fill that big hole in your heart, Just pray this prayer. After me, you could pray it out loud if you like. Pray it in the quietness of your heart, but pray these words if you would. 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, I am sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now. and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Saviour and my Lord. Be my God and my friend. Thanks for hearing this prayer.
in answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Listen, if you just prayed that prayer. I want you to know that God has heard you and has answered it.
The Bible says, These things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know. It's yours now. God has given it to you because it's the gift of eternal life. through Jesus Christ our Lord. Congratulations And welcome to the family of God.
Yeah, yeah, that's right. And listen, we want to help you get started in this new relationship with the Lord. Would you let us send you something? It's free of charge. It's Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible.
Millions have read this edition of God's Word. New believers love the study helps written just for them, and they appreciate that it's in an easy-to-understand translation. We'll send it to you today. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible. When you call 1-800-821-3300, You can call anytime, 1-800-821-3300.
or write us at a new beginning box 4000. Riverside, California, 92514. or go online to harvest.org. You know, Pastor Gregg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives.
So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. That's right. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue. Yeah, it's really true, Dave. You know, and even a little bit helps.
You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it, and I'm called to do it, and I'm thankful for it. But I can't do it alone.
So I'm going to ask folks that are listening: if you think more people need to hear the gospel. If you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God, then Preferably consider investing in harvest ministries and maybe even become a harvest partner. Which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving. And that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. Thanks for that.
Yeah, that's right. And we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us any time day or night at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside, California 92514, or just go online to harvest.org.
Well, next time, we'll return to Acts chapter 20 for more insight on how we can live a meaningful life. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.
Okay. Every day, the day when life begins.
