The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Hey, I want to hear from you. Would you consider emailing me? You can reach me at Greg at Harvest dot org. Again, that's Greg at Harvest dot org.
And you can also make me one of your friends on Facebook and drop me a comment. Christians know things the world does not know because they believe what God says in His Word. Believers are in a privileged position. Pastor Greg Laurie points out we can bring people hope with what we know. We know that God is good and man is bad. We know that things are going to get worse before they get better. But we also know that Jesus Christ is coming back again and good will ultimately prevail.
We know that we win in the end. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound.
Again you hear all the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when life begins. As we go through life, either we leave our influence on the world or the world leaves its influence on us.
How's it been going for you? Thankfully, we can make a change. And that's what Pastor Greg Laurie's current series, World Changers, is all about. Glad you're along for a new beginning as we consider how to walk in such a way that people are touched and changed from knowing us. We'll learn how to be the kind of person who automatically points people to God. This is the day, the day when life begins. Grab your Bible and turn to Hebrews 11 and Genesis 6.
Hebrews 11 and Genesis 6. And the title of my message is The World Changer at the End of the World. Have you ever been in a really dark place and noticed what happens when a light goes on like a movie theater?
Doesn't it drive you crazy when you're in a theater and it's a crucial scene on the film and someone pulls their phone out to check Instagram or whatever? Man, a little light goes a long way. We're going to look at a time historically now where the world was very dark. In fact, it's the darkest the world has ever been yet not as dark as it still will be. And in the midst of this very dark backdrop shined a very bright light. A true world changer.
And his name was Noah. We're in a series right now that we're calling World Changers. And you might ask, well, why do you call it that? What is a world changer?
Well, I'm glad you asked. A world changer is a person that does not accept the status quo. World changers don't march in lockstep with current culture. In fact, a world changer, that's a person who changes the culture. World changers think for themselves.
They do what is right. World changers are followers of Jesus Christ. And in fact, they affect their surroundings more than their surroundings affect them. Remember I pointed out world changers are thermostats not thermometers. A thermometer merely reflects the temperature. A thermostat controls the temperature.
And I asked you the question, are you a thermostat or are you a thermometer? Are you being influenced or are you influencing? Are you changing the world or is the world changing you? And of course the secret to being a world changer is being a man or a woman of faith.
And that brings us to Hebrews 11. It's sometimes called the hero's hall of fame. These are people who made a big difference. And what was their secret? Was it because they were great people?
No, not at all. It was because they had faith in a great God. They were ordinary people. They were people like you and me. In fact, they failed often.
Even the character we're going to be looking at, as we'll see next time, had his own epic failure. But the fact of the matter is these people applied faith. And remember we told you, according to Hebrews 11, 1, faith, defined, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith moves. Faith is active.
Faith does things. Faith is a lot like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. The less you use it, the weaker it becomes.
If you neglect it altogether, it will atrophy. God has given us faith. And if we want to be a world changer, we need to apply our faith. Now we've already looked at two world changers. Abel and Enoch. And now we're going to look at the world changer who lived at the end of the world. I'm talking about Noah. Now when I say the end of the world, I mean the time before the flood. In effect, Noah was a last days believer. Living in his last days before God judged the earth and brought the flood upon it.
So here is the thing. God comes to Noah and in so many words says, I want you to build a really big boat. Because it is going to rain really hard. Understand it had never rained before up to this point. So Noah builds a big ark.
And imagine this. I mean Noah didn't have the sophisticated tools and resources that they would use to build this ark. He and his family did this. Hebrews 11 says, By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, he prepared an ark to the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Ok. So let's try to identify some principles as to why Noah was a world changer.
If you are taking notes here is principle number one. God revealed secrets to Noah. God revealed secrets to Noah.
Look at verse 7 of Hebrews 11 again. It says Noah was divinely warned. So the Lord spoke to his servant. He told him what was coming down.
He told him what was about to happen. The Bible says faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the word of God.
Hey has God spoken to you lately? How does God speak you ask? Well first of all he speaks primarily through his word.
Right? When you open up the word of God you will hear the voice of God. Sometimes God will speak through a preacher. Sometimes God will speak through a friend. Often God speaks through your wife. Rarely through the husband.
No I am joking. He speaks through both. Sometimes God will speak through circumstances. Sometimes God will speak in the stillness of your heart. God rarely speaks audibly so don't be listening for voices.
But he does speak often. Maybe the Lord has sort of nudged you. I find a lot of times when God is speaking it is not so much words. It is a nudge in a certain direction. Maybe it is a person that I am sort of nudged toward like go talk to that person. I never know what I am going to say.
Just start talking and things come. And you realize the Lord wants you to minister to that person. Maybe it is a step of faith God sort of led you to. Maybe he has led you to leave your comfort zone and do something you wouldn't normally do like start a Bible study at work. He is a few Christian people.
Let's get together at lunch time. Have a Bible study. Or maybe he has led you to go share your faith. Or he has led you to do something else. God has spoken to you.
Here is my question. Did you listen? God spoke to Noah. And he listened. And God revealed secrets to Noah.
Here is something we need to consider. Christians know things the world does not know. Christians know things the world does not know. The simplest Christian, and by that I mean the youngest Christian or even a young person who happens to be a Christian knows more than many of the great intellectuals of the world because they believe what God says in His Word. Jesus said in Matthew 11 25, Thank you Father for hiding the truth from those who think they are so wise and clever and for revealing it to the childlike.
Even the most basic Christian knows more than many of the educated people of the world. For instance, we know that God is good and man is bad. See a lot of times people say, no man is good and God is bad.
No it is the opposite. God is good and man is bad. If you think man is basically good it is a hard day for you when you realize the horrific tragedy that took place on 9-11 when we were attacked by Islamic terrorists and all those people lost their lives. It was a day of wickedness. A day where evil was on display. It was also a day of heroism where people risked their lives. Many gave their lives.
I went to the spot there of the World Trade Center two days after the attack. We had people on the ground there. We had chaplains there. And our church that we planted in New York many years ago had folks all around the city ministering because New York if you have ever been in New York these are people on the move. They basically don't talk to each other when they pass one another in the street.
They are always going somewhere. The whole city was traumatized. People were reaching out. They were hurting. So we would set up little tables with a sign. Need spiritual help.
And I am telling you New Yorkers would stop. They would talk. They would seek spiritual counsel. It was a fantastic time ministry wise despite the horrible tragedy that took place. But I remember arriving at the scene and it was so hard to describe just smoke smoldering from the debris. And you saw these first responders out there and construction folks trying to put it all back together and first remove all of the things that were there and the wreckage.
And there would be walls just lined with images of people. And there was a phone number missing looking for this person. So we provided food for the first responders. We set up a restaurant there and gave them all free food. And then I was asked to speak at Brooklyn Tabernacle. And so I went and they invited a bunch of the firefighters that had actually worked at the World Trade Center rescuing people and trying to help. And they said they would give them all a free meal. So a bunch of these guys showed up at church. And these guys were like just so impressive I have to say. They were still in their uniforms and in their work gear.
They have dust and dirt all over them. And they are sitting there in the front row. And they were you know I was preaching them thinking, wow I don't know what these guys are going to do.
And at the invitation 25 of them walked forward and stood there and prayed and asked God to forgive their sins and asked Christ to come into their life. But it is an amazing moment. But we know things the world doesn't know. For instance we know that things are going to get worse before they get better. But we also know that Jesus Christ is coming back again. And good will ultimately prevail.
We know that we win in the end. God revealed his secrets to Noah. God revealed his secrets to you too. We know that God judged the world in the time of Noah.
That's the reason for the great flood. In a moment Pastor Greg gives us a snapshot of how bad it was. Hey everybody Greg Laurie here inviting you to join me every weekend for what we call Harvest at Home. It's a church service. It's a worship service.
It's a Bible study. And it's wherever you want it to be. In your home. In your car. Sitting on a beach. Walking down the street.
Watching it on your phone. Wherever you are you can take it with you and be ministered to every weekend. Join us for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg is helping us learn from the example of Noah today as he continues his series called World Changers. And for a replay of today's insight just go to Harvest.org.
Number two. Noah had great reverence for God. He had great reverence for God. Verse seven says he moved with godly fear. You know sometimes we hear the word fear and we don't know what it means. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So when we talk about fearing God does that mean that we're afraid he's going to smack us? Well really what it means is we have reverence for him. One definition I sort of like about God's fear or fearing God is a wholesome dread of displeasing him. It's not so much a fear of retribution. It's a dread of displeasing him. I don't want to dishonor him.
I don't want to disappoint him and Noah move with this reverence and fear. You know sometimes I think in the church people are way too casual with God. You know they have this relationship with God and they have forgotten the holiness of God. And you know they are like hey man Jesus is my homeboy. Ok yeah whatever.
Guess what buddy. Your homeboy created the universe. So have a little respect. Is this God Almighty we are talking about? Jesus in the Lord's Prayer taught us to pray. Our Father word in heaven. Hallowed be your name. A reverence be your name.
Holy is your name. Years ago I became friends with Dr. Alan Redpath. And he is a wonderful British gentleman. He is now in heaven. But he has written some fantastic books. If you ever see an Alan Redpath book you ought to pick it up. We admired him so much we named our son Jonathan after him.
Jonathan Alan Laurie. And so we were able to bring Dr. Redpath out to speak. And he spoke here at our church.
And he has spoken to some other churches. And I spent a lot of time with him. And I was always sort of in awe of him. And I called him Dr. Redpath. And he would say to me, Oh Greg don't call me Dr. Redpath. Call me Alan. And I would say, Ok Dr. Redpath let me ask you this. I just didn't want to call him Alan you know.
He is Dr. Redpath. And you know I never did call him Alan. But he also had a great sense of humor. So when I was around him I was always on my best behavior. But I would goof off when he wasn't around my normal obnoxious self. And I was doing this thing at that time. I thought it was funny.
I don't know why in retrospect. But I would take a bite of food. Then I would take my fork and throw it over my shoulder and say, What?
It is disposable right? People would look at me like, You know you are 80. You throw a fork. Don't do this by the way. Because I am a professional. Idiot. So don't imitate me. So I would throw the fork over my shoulder.
It is disposable right? You know whatever. So I would never do that with Dr. Redpath around. We are sitting one night in a British restaurant. You know we are all dressed in suits and ties.
It was a nice restaurant. And we are sitting there and I am not goofing off. I am not throwing the fork around.
You know I have my best manners there. And all of a sudden something hits my chest. Boom.
Kind of hard. I looked down. It was a fork. And I looked. And Dr. Redpath had thrown the fork at me. And it hit me in the chest kind of hard. Boom. And then he said, I thought it was disposable. But he is a comedian now? Alan listen to me.
No. But you know I never lost that respect for him. And we should never lose our reverence for God. How bad were things when God spoke to Noah? As bad as they possibly could be. As bad as it has ever been.
But as I said not as bad as it still will be. And that is why Noah was the last day's believer. But here is what he shows us.
He shows us you can live a godly life in an ungodly world. You think things are bad where you are right now? You have no idea how bad it was where Noah was. How bad was it? Now go to Genesis 6.
Let's read about it. Starting in verse 5. It was so bad that God saw the wickedness of man.
That was great on the earth. God saw that every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry he made man on the earth. And he was grieved in his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air.
For I am sorry I made them. Why was God sorry he made mankind? Because verse 5 says, God saw the wickedness of man was great and every intent of his thought and his heart was only evil continually. It was only evil. Not occasionally evil. Only evil. There weren't even occasional good thoughts at Krypton. It was just evil layered upon evil layered upon evil.
In fact the phrase that is used here could be translated that wickedness had reached a high degree or the highest pitch. Years ago we were in New York City and they were having a strike. All the trash men went on strike and weren't picking up trash. There was trash everywhere.
Trash piled on top of trash. And of course then the vermin was there. And the rats were there. And it was just a mess. And it didn't smell good. I will tell you that. And that is sort of like what planet earth was like morally and spiritually.
It just stunk to high heaven. And God actually says, you know what? I'm sorry I even made mankind.
But here's a very interesting word you don't want to miss. We read that God was grieved that he had made mankind. Verse six, grieve. Listen, you only grieve for those you love.
In other words if a stranger insults you he's like, idiot, whatever. You don't grieve over it. You're ticked off by it. But when someone you love insults you, when a family member disappoints you, or when someone you care about does something bad, you grieve. Because you grieve when you love someone. So God says, this makes me so angry and I'm grieving because I love these people.
But they've pushed the envelope so far. And now God says, I'm gonna bring judgment on the earth. And sometimes we hear that and we say, well that doesn't make sense. Why would a loving God bring judgment? Because God is not only loving, he's also just. And as Abraham said rightly in Genesis 18, 25, shall not the judge of the earth do right. Listen, if man can flagrantly and continually break God's laws and murder and destroy and pervert everything that is right, is it good for God to turn away and do nothing?
Actually it makes no sense. God is good, God is loving, God is righteous. God is just. Let's say that your little toddler was playing in the backyard. And all of a sudden a wolf jumped over your fence and was coming toward your child, teeth showing.
What would you do? I would like love the wolf. No. Kill the wolf.
Why? Because you love the child so you kill the wolf. So in many ways this is like evil. God's gonna deal with it appropriately. And judgment is going to come up. By the way, the Lord takes no joy in bringing judgment. In fact God says in Ezekiel 33, 11, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But that the wicked would turn from his way and live and turn from their evil ways.
Why should you die, O house of Israel? God's saying, I don't wanna do this to you. But if you don't repent it's gonna happen and in effect you're bringing it upon yourself. I'm a just God and I keep my word. When I say I'll do something I'm gonna do it. But I love you. I don't wanna do it.
But I'm just and I keep my word so I will do it. And of course judgment was about to come. But here's this man, Noah. Living a godly life in an ungodly place. Shining as a bright light in the darkest circumstances imaginable.
Bringing us to point number three. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6, 8 says that. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Does this mean that God had grace on Noah because he lived a righteous life?
No, the very opposite. Noah lived a righteous life because God had grace on him. What is grace? It's been defined as God's unmerited favor because he found grace or grace found him. Noah lived a righteous life.
Listen to this. God does not love us for what we have done or haven't done. Nor does God love us for what we are or are not. God loves us and extends grace toward us because he chooses to.
Just cause he loves you. And so he extended his grace to Noah. Noah responded appropriately to that grace and was a world changer. Pastor Greg Laurie with insights on Noah today on a new beginning from his new series called World Changers.
And there's more to come as this study continues. But if you missed any part of today's discussion you can go online to harvest.org and get a permanent copy of this presentation. Look for the title The World Changer at the End of the World Part 1. Or you can call us at 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24-7. Again, dial 1-800-821-3300. Well, Pastor Greg, we're so happy to be making available your new book that dovetails with our current series.
It's called World Changers. If someone hears that God can use them to be a world changer, they may think, who me? Wrong number. You definitely meant to call someone else.
Yes. But a lot of great men and women of the Bible thought the same thing. Yeah, that's really true, Dave. And one of the people I talk about in my book World Changers is Gideon. When the Lord called Gideon, he was hiding from his enemies.
You see, Israel was under great pressure from their enemies, the Midianites. So he's literally hiding behind a wall, threshing his wheat, when an angel of the Lord appears to him and says, hey, Gideon, you mighty man of valor, the Lord is with you. I think he might have looked over his shoulder and thought, you're talking to another Gideon? I'm the opposite of a mighty man of valor.
I'm a scared man right now, hiding from my enemy. But here's the interesting thing. God doesn't just see you for what you are. He sees you for what you can become. You know, we might look at a blob of clay. He sees a beautiful vase or vase, depending on how you wanna pronounce it. We see a piece of charcoal. He sees a refined diamond. We see a blank canvas.
He sees a finished painting. And so the Lord knew that Gideon was going to become that mighty man of valor. And you know how he was gonna do it?
He was gonna step out of his comfort zone. He was going to obey God, and he was gonna take a bold step of faith. So I talk about that in the book, and a lot of other people, men and women, that did the same.
And my point is this. Whoever you are, God can work. In fact, the Bible says that God uses the foolish things of the world that confound the wise. So in a way, when God works through a super flawed person like you and me, and not through a super talented person, he really gets even more glory.
Because people will say, well, there's no way he could have ever done that, you know? And that's maybe one of the reasons the Lord chooses such people. Another character I talk about is David. And you know, you contrast David and Saul.
Saul was the first king of Israel. He was tall. He was good looking.
He was the man. He was the people's choice. But he wasn't God's choice. And he failed dismally. Well, then there was David.
No one thought much of him, especially his father. But God put his hand on David, and he became one of the greatest leaders in the history of Israel, certainly the greatest king, and wrote so many of the Psalms. And we look to him today as an example of what to do, and honestly, what not to do as well. I talk about David in this book as well. So whoever you are, no matter how old you are, if you're a man, if you're a woman, listen to this, God can use you.
Here's the question. Are you willing to take a step out of your comfort zone? Are you willing to realize God's call on your life and the potential he has placed in you like Gideon did? If so, you need to order a copy of my brand new book, World Changers, and you can learn about Gideon, and you can learn about David, and so many others.
And I'll send this to you for your gift of any size. Now, as you know, here at A New Beginning, we always offer quality spiritual resources that will help you grow spiritually or help you share your faith, and this book certainly is no exception. And we want to encourage you to invest financially in our ministry so we can reach more people with the teaching of the word of God and the life-changing message of the gospel. So whatever you can do, please know it's really appreciated. And I'll look forward to getting you your own copy of my brand new book, World Changers.
Yeah, that's right. You know, the book can help you impact the world and your investment in this ministry can help us impact the world as well. Think of how your donation could touch a life. Recently, we saw a social media post that said my 73-year-old neighbor recommitted her life to the Lord after I put the Harvest app on her phone.
She's 73. So thank you, Harvest. You know, it's the donations of listeners that make this ministry possible through radio, through Pastor Greg's Harvest at Home online services, through our mobile app, and through books like World Changers.
So thank you for your donation today. You can write a new beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call us anytime 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-821-3300.
That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to Harvest.org. Well, next time, Pastor Greg brings us more encouragement from the life of Noah, what we can learn from the man who saved his family by following God's instructions. That's next time on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.
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