Struggling to answer someone's questions about your faith, Pastor Greg Laurie recommends a great book to help. You know, I remember the first time that I shared my faith. I was so young, and I was challenged by an atheist. I did not have a clue as to what I should say. And I wish I'd had a copy of this book by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler, and the title of it is "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist." And we want to send you this book for your gift of any size, available at.
Harvest.org. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Worry is a pathway of anxiety and stress and sleepless nights. Pastor Greg Laurie points out prayer can put our hearts at ease.
God's peace will protect you if you pray about it instead of worry about it.
So turn your panic into prayer, turn your worry into worship, turn your anxieties into petitions. Lord, I'm troubled by this right now, and I just commit it to you. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
Have you noticed how problems always seem bigger in the middle of the night? They can overwhelm us. They can rob us of sleep and steal our peace. In the middle of the night, when we can't figure out what to do, we need to remember that God works the night shift. He's up all night anyway.
Why not cast our cares on Him today? On a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie returns to the Sermon on the Mount for great reassurance from Jesus Himself for worry-free days and restful nights. Grab your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter six. And the title of my message is "What Jesus Says About Worry and Anxiety." Matthew chapter six, starting in verse twenty-five. I say to you, do not worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink, or clothes to wear.
Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds; they don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable to Him than they are? Can you, with all of your worries, add a single moment to your life? Why worry about your clothing?
Look at the lilies of the field. How they grow! They don't work or make their clothing. Yet Solomon, in all of his glory, was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
So, if God so cares for wild flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He certainly cares for you. Why don't you have more faith? Don't worry about these things. Saying, "What will we eat? What will we drink?
What will we wear?" These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. But your heavenly Father knows all your needs. This is the big verse. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. Wow. Point number one: If you're taking notes, the believer should not worry. The believer should not worry.
Jesus was not saying a Christian should not think about or be concerned with the needs of their life, including housing, food, and clothing. Because the fact is, elsewhere in Scripture, we're told to plan for the future. We're told to work hard. We're told to save our money. Jesus is saying, "Don't worry about these things.
Don't worry." He says in verse twenty-five about everyday life. A better translation would be, "Stop having anxiety about this." It's one thing to think about it. It's another thing to have constant anxiety about it. Listen, worry is not a virtue. Let me take it a step further.
Worry can actually be a sin. Why? Because worry is really a lack of trust in God. You're not trusting God. I mean, if you believe Genesis one one, that should deal with worry once and for all.
What is Genesis one one? It says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." How many of you believe that verse is true?
Okay, I do too. If that is true, and of course it is, that God created the heavens and the earth, this all-knowing, all-powerful, sovereign God, then certainly He is able to deal with your problems and mine.
So why then am I worrying about them? Number two, worry is a lack of trust. It's not believing God's in control. Classic example of this is the prophet Daniel. He was called by God to be an advisor to King Darius, and Darius really valued the counsel of Daniel.
Darius thought very highly of Daniel, and the other counselors to the king were jealous of Daniel's influence, and so they wanted to undermine him. and They made up things that were not true about him, and then they hatched a plot to get the king to sign a decree that no one could pray to anyone except the king, or they would have to die.
Well, Daniel had a habit of prayer, good habit. Every day he would pray. In fact, three times a day he would pray. And so, after he read this decree, "You can no longer pray," he prayed, and then he was arrested, and he was put into a den of hungry lions. And an interesting thing happened that night.
The king was up all night; he couldn't sleep, worrying about Daniel. And Daniel slept like a baby. Probably used one of the lions for a pillow, propped his feet up on the other one. And so that's the difference between a believer and a non-believer. When chaos and turmoil is happening around us, a believer can be at rest, but a non-believer cannot.
The Bible says he gives to his beloved sleep. Number three, worry does not make life longer; it just makes it more miserable. Worry does not make life longer; it just makes it more miserable. Verse twenty-seven: Can all of your worries at a single moment to your life?
Now there are obviously things that we can do to bring our life to an end sooner than we should, living dangerously or. Living in a very unhealthy manner, but by and large, the Bible is saying God's in control of your life. Your days are numbered. The Bible says so. Help me apply my heart to wisdom.
God's in control of that. By worrying about that, you're not going to extend the length of your life.
So don't worry about it. Number four: instead of worry, put God and His will first in your life. Instead of worrying, put God and His will first in your life. Matthew six thirty three: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
So, put God first in your life. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew six twenty two, Jesus says, "If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light." What does that mean? Means if you're focused on what matters, it will affect you in everything that you do.
So seek first the kingdom.
So in your business, you want to seek first the kingdom.
Now, look, some of you are getting ready to go to college or maybe trade school or be an apprentice somewhere. You're thinking about your career, what you're going to do down the road. That's a good thing. Find that job, and maybe that will change a number of times. It often does, but no matter what you do, do it for the glory of God.
Our goal should be to honor God, do honest work with excellence, have personal integrity, and a good testimony in the workplace. Because sometimes people may be successful financially, but to get there, they've lost their integrity, they've lost their reputation. You should be an honest person. You should be a trustworthy person. You should be a hardworking person.
Your word should be your bond. And sometimes this is not the case. You know, sometimes Christians will use spiritual things to justify laziness. Maybe the boss is walking around on the work site, and you're just standing around. The boss says, "What are you doing?
You should be working." Well, I'm praying. Oh, you might start praying about your next job because you're not you're not working for me anymore. I expect you to work, and that's a realistic expectation. Christians should be the hardest workers, the most honest workers, and so this is something we want to all keep in mind. Put God first, and He will bless you as a result.
Now, listen. If you're single, how many of you are single? You're not married. Raise your hand. You're single.
Okay. How many of you are happily single? You like being single.
Okay. How many of you would like to be married one day? Who are single?
Okay. How many of you are married and wish you were single? No, don't. Don't. You.
It's always a guy that does it. And sure enough, a guy had his hand up first. When you're looking for that person, know this: God cares about this. He has a lot to say about the person you will spend the rest of your life with.
So pray about this and look for a godly person. You know, some people believe they're called to missionary dating, right? I'm gonna date these non-believers and lead them to the Lord. Maybe, and maybe they'll pull you away from the Lord. See the Bible says, "Don't be unequally yoked together with non-believers." For what fellowship or friendship does light have with darkness, or righteousness with unrighteousness?
It's far easier when you're a believer to get pulled down than you, as a believer, to pull someone else up because they have gravity on their side. You see, and I've seen so many Christians get misled, get into trouble. By getting into these relationships, listen. Honest truth, marriage is hard enough with two Christians, much less a believer and a non-believer. You want someone that shares your beliefs, your faith, your worldview, your values.
This really matters when you have children.
Okay, so these are things to think about now. But if you find yourself married to a non-believer, however that came about, don't give up hope. God can still reach that person. Keep praying for them, but the idea is put God first. If you're a single person, and ask for His will.
Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. You know, I've heard people describe a trip to Israel as seeing the Bible actually come to life. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie, and I've been to Israel many times, and I've led a lot of tours. And I have to say, that's absolutely true. Listen, when you're walking on the same stones that Jesus Himself walked on, well, that's something that's enriching to your faith.
It's not just a travel experience; it actually energizes and enhances your study of the Bible. Think of it this way: it's a vacation with a purpose. And we're going to be taking a tour of Israel, April sixth to fifteenth, twenty twenty seven. You can find out more at Israel dot harvest dot org. Step right into biblical history.
Join Pastor Greg for a tour of the Holy Land, April sixth through fifteenth, twenty twenty seven. Get details at Israel dot harvest dot org.
Well, Pastor Greg is offering a series of points today to help us live a worry-free life, insights drawn from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew six. Point number five: If you put God first, life will find its proper balance. If you put God first, life will find its proper balance. Again, verse thirty-three, Matthew six: All these things shall be added to you. What things?
What you are going to eat, what you are going to wear, what you are going to drink, where you are going to live—all the things that are important to us will be taken care of. But put God first. A classic example of this is the story of young Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. His father was getting ill and getting old, and it was time for the crown to be passed on from father to son. And David said, "Solomon, my son, know the Lord God of your father and serve him with an undivided heart." So David passed into eternity, and now here is young Solomon with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
And the Lord comes to him and says, "Solomon, ask me, and I'll give you whatever you want." Can you imagine if God appeared to you and said, "I'll give you whatever you want"? What would you pray for if God said, "I'll give you whatever you want"? Minds me of a story of a man that was walking on the beach, and he saw something embedded in the sand. He reached down to pick it up. It was a lamp.
And as he rubbed the sand away, a genie appeared. True story. And the genie said, "Oh, master, I will give to you one wish." The guy said, "One wish? What happened to three wishes?" The genie said, "We better cut back. Just one wish." Oh, well, the guy says, "I've always wanted to see the island of Maui.
I've heard it's really beautiful." But I don't like to fly. I'm afraid of flying.
So, Genie, my wish is they have a giant bridge built from California to Maui, so I can drive over. That's my wish. I want a bridge from California to Maui. The genie said, "Are you insane? That would cost so much money.
You would take so much time. There's no way. Come up with something else." The guy said, "Well, I've never understood women. They mystify me." I would like to understand them better.
So, my wish genie is: I want to understand women. The genie says, "Coming back to that bridge, two lanes are for." Okay, so back to Solomon. The Lord says, "What do you want? I'll give you anything you want." Solomon says, "Lord, I want wisdom to rule your people." Let's paraphrase. The Lord says, "Because you didn't ask for wealth or power and all these things, I am going to give you the wisdom you prayed for, and give you these other things as well." I am not saying that God's going to make everyone wealthy, but what I am saying is God will give you what you need when you need it.
Just put Him first in all things. That's it. Another way to seek first the kingdom of God is with your finances, because where a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also.
So, when you invest in the kingdom, when you get paid, and you say a percentage of this belongs to the Lord, and I'm going to give it, I'm going to tithe this, and even above that tithe, I'm going to give an offering. That's a person who is seeking first the kingdom. Do that as well. God will bless you. He promises he will.
And there's one last point, and we'll bring this message to a close. The best antidote to worry is prayer. The best antidote to worry is prayer. We all know this verse, Philippians verse six: "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer with petition and thanksgiving present your request to God." I love that. Another way it's translated: Don't worry about anything.
Pray about everything, and the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. And I love that phrase "guard" because it suggests a Roman sentry, like a centurion, guarding the door of your heart. God's peace will protect you if you pray about it instead of worry about it.
So turn your panic into prayer, turn your worry into worship, turn your anxieties into petitions. Lord, I'm troubled by this right now, and I just commit it to you. I'm overwhelmed by this other thing, Lord. I commit it to you. It's like the moment it hits you, boom, it goes right back up as a prayer to God.
That's the one to turn to. You know, people turn in different directions when troubles come.
Some turn to other people, and there's a place for people. There's a place for your family, a place for your friends. Others turn to drink. I'll just drink to make it better. No, that'll just make it worse and create a lot of other problems.
You need to turn to God. Take your burdens and give them to God. And listen to this: everything that I have said is for a Christian only. These are not just self-help tips for you. These are promises to the believer, promises to the follower of Jesus Christ.
So I need to seek first the kingdom. But before I can seek the kingdom, I need to enter into the kingdom. You say I don't even know what that means. All right. Jesus said to a religious man named Nicodemus in John three.
You must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. You see, here's what it comes down to. If you're born once, you'll die twice, and if you're born twice, you'll die once. Does that make sense?
Okay, if you're born once physically, you'll die twice. You'll die physically. And then you'll face what the Bible calls the second death. The second death is when you stand before the judgment of God in eternity. But if you're born twice, physically, and then you're born again spiritually by putting your faith in Jesus Christ, you die once.
Yes, death comes, but the Christian doesn't even have to be afraid of death because death is not the end. It's not the end. It's a transition, but it's not the end, because I leave this place and go to another place, and if I'm a believer, that other place is my Father's house. It's heaven, because I've been born again, because death died when Christ rose. This is the hope that we have.
The believer never dies. Technically, Greg, you're delusional. Everyone dies. You have to understand. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die." Then I love what he said after that. Do you believe this? He asked that.
So yes, the body goes into the ground unless the Lord comes for us first, which could happen in our lifetime, in what we call the rapture of the church. But if that does not happen, yes, the body dies, but the soul lives on, and the Bible even promises a bodily resurrection.
So we don't have to be afraid of these things, but you need to have Christ living inside of you. And I ask you, is He living in your life? I mentioned a few moments ago that the believer can be at rest even when things are in turmoil around them, like Daniel in the lion's den. Only the believer can have this rest. The non-believer, listen: if you're not a Christian, you ought to be afraid.
If you're not a Christian, frankly, you probably should be worried and very concerned with all the things going on in our world right now. But if you're a Christian, you can be at peace and rest, knowing God is in control.
So I want to close by offering you an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ, an opportunity to be forgiven of all of your sin, an opportunity to come into this relationship with God, so you can be born again. To be born again means to be born from above. It's a spiritual birth. Starting all over again, Jesus, who died on that cross for our sin and rose again from the dead, stands at the door of our life right now, and he knocks and says, "Hear his voice and open the door; he'll come in." Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life yet? This is all about a relationship with God.
This is for you. This someone else can't do this for you. You need to say, "Jesus, come into my life." And he will, and we're going to close now with a prayer. And I'm going to extend an opportunity for you to ask Jesus into your life. Let's all pray, Father.
Thank you for your word to us. Thank you for your promises to us. But we must know you first. We must be born again. And I pray for any person here.
Any person watching, listening, wherever they are, if they don't have this relationship with you, let it begin right here, right now, as they open their heart and ask you to come into their life.
Now, while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, and we're praying, if you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you would like Him to forgive you of your sin. If you would like to know that you will go to heaven when you die, if you would like to be born again as Jesus says you must be, pray this prayer after me. You can pray out loud if you like, even just pray these words, 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, and I choose to follow you, Jesus.
From this moment forward, be my Savior and my Lord, be my God and my friend. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie. With an important prayer with those making a decision for the Lord on today's edition of A New Beginning, and if you've just prayed that prayer and meant those words sincerely, the Lord has heard you and forgiven you of your sin, and we want to help you get started in your newfound faith.
We want to send you Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible. It's a unique edition of God's Word with scores of helps that address the questions you might have and help you build a solid foundation for your faith. We'll send it without charge. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 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.
Now, if you missed any part of today's study, the final installment in Pastor Greg's series on the Sermon on the Mount, you can get a replay by going to Harvest.org. Just look for the message title "What Jesus Says About Worry and Anxiety," or you can check out the daily podcast by going to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any of the other podcast apps.
Well, Pastor Greg, we have so many people who help us. They they help by praying for us. They help by investing, by being partners with us. In fact, we've got a group called Harvest Partners who help on a regular basis. Yeah.
When they give, let me ask you an insider question: When they give, how is that money used? That's a great question.
So the answer is. It goes into our ministry, which is quite diverse. It goes into our crusade ministry, and by the way, we just wrapped up a crusade in July at Angel Stadium. And we saw the Lord work. We saw people committing their life to Christ as they have for 35 years.
It's absolutely amazing. It goes to our radio broadcast. It goes to reaching people through our television ministry, and other opportunities that come our way. I have to tell you, we have some amazing opportunities in this coming year. And I'll tell you more about them as we get closer to it.
But what a great time to be bringing the gospel! I'm so thankful as we have just celebrated our 250th birthday as a nation that we have the freedom in the United States of America to preach the gospel and to teach the word of God. Never take that freedom for granted. It really is a privilege. That's why so many people want to come to our country, the land of the freedom.
And the home of the brave, we truly are blessed by God, and we want to continue to take advantage of that freedom that we have in America, and declare the ultimate freedom that people can have in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ—freedom from the power of sin, freedom to live a new life, glorifying God.
So, stand with us if you would. And invest in our ministry so you can share in the fruit of what we're doing in the months, in years to come. And in advance, let me say thank you. And one way you can do that is by becoming a harvest partner. Harvest partner is someone that just stands with us on a monthly basis and gives to our ministry.
Man, that. Makes such a difference.
So, thank you if you're a Harvest Partner, and for those of you that have not become one yet, would you prayerfully consider it? It would really make all the difference, honestly.
So, thanks again. And God bless you all. And you can get started by calling us at one eight hundred eight two one thirty three hundred. Call any time one eight hundred eight two one three three zero zero, or write a new beginning box four thousand, Riverside California nine two five one four, or go online to harvest dot org. Did you know that we put our services that we do on Sundays online?
It's called Harvest at Home, and you can be a part of our extended congregation no matter where you are. And people watch from literally all around the world.
So if you want to watch Harvest at Home or view it later if you like, just download the Harvest Plus app and then join us for Harvest at Home.
Well, next time we launch Legends Week, a special week of discussions with some remarkable men who've made an uncommon impact for the kingdom of God. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible Teacher Greg Laurie.
