The World Changer at the End of the World, Part 2 - III

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. If you would like to know how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org.

That's harvest.org. When you have known the Lord for a while, it's very easy to become more vulnerable than a young Christian. The moment you say, man, I'm doing so well spiritually, I don't think I would ever fall, you just made yourself super vulnerable, because the Bible says pride goes before a fall. Coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the importance of staying humble and dependent on God over the long haul.

So it's not just about starting well, it's about finishing well. 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. The world values self-sufficiency, the proud, the independent, the self-starter. Their theme song might be, I did it my way. But God values those who are humble, teachable, and confess their utter reliance on the Lord.

Their theme song might be the old hymn, I need thee every hour. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie continues his World Changers series with good encouragement from the life of Noah on being the kind of man or woman God can use. This is the day, the day when life begins. Noah was a last days believer.

You say, but how is that possible? He was living in his last days. He was living in the days before the flood.

Now we are not going to have another flood. But we are going to have the fire, the judgment of God. So he in effect was waiting for the flood.

We are waiting for the fire. He was in his last days. We are in our last days.

And here is why I say that. Because Jesus said, as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when I return again. Jesus said in Matthew 24, the arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time, right up to the time that Noah boarded the ark.

They knew nothing until the flood swept everything away and the Son of Man's arrival will be just like that. Two men will be working in the field. One will be taken. One left behind.

Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken. One left behind. So stay awake.

Be alert. You have no idea what day your master will show up. Now God gives him a very unique command in Genesis 6 verse 14. God says to Noah to build an ark.

And Genesis 6 14 says, God speaking, build a large boat from gopher wood and waterproof it with tar inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long. 70 feet wide. 45 feet high. Leave an 18 inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side and build three decks inside the boat.

Lower, middle, and upper. Now this would require a supreme act of faith because there was no body of water nearby. In fact to the point it had never rained on the face of the earth. The earth at this point in the book of Genesis was sort of like a big giant greenhouse.

There was sort of this water canopy over the earth creating this greenhouse effect. But God said a flood is coming. And so he told Noah to do something that had never been done before. To build this ark. Now granted the ark was no titanic in beauty.

But it was certainly more seaworthy. It was a gigantic sealed floating box that was very stable in the water and virtually impossible to capsize. So here is old Noah floating around in his giant box. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Altogether he is floating in the ocean for about a year. And the sea can be a very lonely place. He is in a giant wooden box filled with animals.

I mean seriously that must have stunk so bad. But the voyage is now coming to a close. And so he is waiting and the Bible tells us that God's Spirit blew across the land. The clouds began to dissipate. The sun appears and eventually the grass and the plants and the trees begin to come back to life.

And listen to this. Noah remembered God. Genesis 8.20 says Noah built an altar to the Lord.

You know we have a tendency to often forget God. I mean listen I don't know about you but if I was in a wooden boat with a bunch of stinking animals for a year and I finally hit land. First thing I would do is I would just go kiss the ground and run around and jump.

I would want to get some exercise. First thing Noah does. I love this. And this says a lot about him. The first thing he does according to Genesis 8.20 is he built an altar to the Lord.

Lord thank you. Now this is where the story should end. I should say so let's follow the example of Noah.

Let's pray. But that is not where the story ends. And this is why I love the Bible. Because the Bible is an honest book. So if someone does well the Bible tells us they did well. If someone messes up the Bible tells us they messed up. Guess what? Noah messed up. Did you know that? Here is a guy who walked with God for 600 years.

And I might add this. Nothing was ever said critically about Noah. Not one single thing. In fact quite the opposite. We just read Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man who walked with God. By faith Noah did this.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Amazing. But even godly people can mess up. You can mess up. I can mess up. Any of us can. So what happened?

Let's read about it. Genesis 9 verse 20. After the flood Noah began to cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. And one day he drank some wine he had made and he became drunk and lay naked inside the tent. Ham the father of Canaan saw that his father was naked, went outside and told his brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders and backed into the tent to cover their father.

As they did this they looked the other way so they would not see him naked. When Noah woke up from his stupor he learned what Ham his youngest son had done and he cursed Canaan the son of Ham. May Canaan be cursed and may he be the lowest of servants to his relatives. Then Noah said, may the Lord the God of Shem be blessed and may Canaan be his servant and may God expand their territory of Japheth. May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem and may Canaan be his servant. Noah lived another 350 years after the flood.

He lived 950 years and then he died. There are some very important lessons to learn at the end of this message. Number one. The first thing Noah's fall teaches us is anyone can fall into sin.

The moment you say, man I am doing so well spiritually. I don't think I would ever fall. You just made yourself super vulnerable. You say, but why? Because the Bible says pride goes before a fall. You see. So we have to be very careful. Yes Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

Few people have his credentials. But here is the thing. When you have known the Lord for a while it is very easy to become more vulnerable than a young Christian. Because a young believer knows they can potentially fall. So they ask for prayer.

They depend on God. They are more careful. But the older believer thinking they have reached some plateau of some kind begins to lower their defenses and suddenly they find themselves vulnerable. Look you can run a good race but if you run first place all the way to the end and collapse before the finish line you lose.

I don't care if you were ahead for all the other time. So it is not just about starting well. It is about finishing well. I did a radio interview today and the guy said to me, you know what is your objective as a Christian? And I said to walk with and know God and then to preach the gospel. And I said my objective right now is I want to finish what I have started and I want to finish it well. God gives me five years, ten years, twenty years. I don't know how many years the Lord will give me. But I want to finish this thing well. I am sure we all feel that way. And that is what Paul said.

He wanted to finish his race with joy. In just a moment Pastor Greg comments on the fact that alcohol was a part of Noah's sin. It is a common denominator in so many stories even today.

More on that in just a moment. Well Pastor Greg we have something exciting to mention. We just tallied up the numbers and this year just since January we have now seen a hundred thousand professions of faith through Harvest Ministries.

Which is absolutely incredible. Yes David it is incredible and the way it came about is even more incredible. Because at the beginning of 2020 we went before everybody in our church and our ministry and said we have a goal this year. Some of you may remember this. I have seen a hundred thousand people make a profession of faith. I will be honest with you. I had some doubts like are we going to really hit this number.

But I thought well why not shoot for it. We will see what the Lord does. Well COVID-19 hit so we went exclusively online with our weekend program that we call Harvest at Home. It is basically a church service that you watch in your home. But each week I have been inviting people to come to Christ. And on one particular Sunday we had seven thousand people make a profession of faith. So now as we tally the numbers we have reached the hundred thousand mark. We have reached it in an unexpected way. So what that says to me is well we had the right idea but the Lord had a different way of bringing it about. So we just say hey to God be the glory. Let's just keep going because we are passing that number now.

And listen to this. The Bible says there is joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance. And we have seen one hundred thousand people in just months make this profession of faith to follow Christ. So we join the angels in rejoicing. Today Pastor Greg is offering lessons from the life of Noah from his series called World Changers.

Let's continue. Point number two. We see the destructive power of alcohol. Look at verse 21 of Genesis. It says he became drunk and lay naked. By the way scholars tell us that the Hebrew word here for uncovered indicates a deliberate act and not a mere unconscious effect of drunkenness. Listen I would almost say I am kind of an expert on drunk people.

Let me explain that because that sounds strange for a pastor to say. I spent the first seventeen years of my life around raging alcoholics. My mom I have told you when I say alcoholic I mean every night my mother drank and basically passed out.

Every single night. So I witnessed this up close and personal. I saw her friends. I saw the wreckage of their lives and the effects that alcohol had on them. My mother almost died in a drunken brawl she got in with one of her husbands. They hit her with a statue and knocked her unconscious. I was a little boy and I came into the room after I heard this huge thud. There is my mom lying on the floor with blood coming out of the back of her head.

He is standing over her with this statue and I got out of the house and ran to the police. I mean he could have killed me. So I have seen what alcohol does. So I have never seen a single good thing that has come from drinking. I know some Christians will say well I have the liberty to drink. Ok look we could talk about that another time.

But let me just ask you this. This liberty that you say that you have you must be very careful because there are people who have come out of an alcoholic background. And I think some people are more predisposed to alcoholism than others. By the way I don't believe that alcoholism is a disease.

Ok I don't believe that. Because if it is a disease it is the only disease that is bottled and sold. If alcoholism is a disease it is the only disease that is not spread by a virus but by advertising. If it is a disease it is the only disease that provokes crime. So I don't believe it is a disease. Because I think it is an easy way to explain things away. Well I have the disease of alcoholism.

I hate to break this to you. It is a sin. It is a sin. The Bible speaks of drunkenness and being a drunkard.

There is human responsibility. Having said that I do think some people are more predisposed to being an alcoholic than others are. You know some honestly if they have one drink they go off the wagon and they go crazy. Ok so here is my point. Let's say that you as a Christian say I have the liberty to drink and go out in public and whatever.

Ok let's say you have that liberty. But what if there is a brand new Christian who just came to Christ who was gloriously freed from alcoholism. And they have been clean and sober for five months and they see you having a drink. And they rationalize that it is ok for them to have a drink. And then they fall off the wagon and go into that whole lifestyle again.

Well that is their problem not mine. Actually no that is not true. We are all interconnected. And the Bible says don't ever use your liberty as an occasion to cause others to stumble. So we have to think about these things. And here is something you may want to write this down.

This is really a profound insight. If you don't drink you will never get drunk. Come on. That is good. If you don't drink you will never get drunk. But if you drink you could get drunk. Well I don't get drunk. I just get the buzz.

Yeah. Well if that buzz gets you pulled over for a DUI. They won't call it a buzz.

They will take you to jail. Because your judgment is impaired. There are so many things that can be said about this. But look at what happened to Noah. He got drunk.

And he is just laying there naked deliberately. Over in Proverbs 23 we read of alcohol. In the end it bites like a snake. It poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights. And your mind will imagine confusing things. Listen.

Here is my answer. I would rather be under the power of the Holy Spirit than the Spirit. That is the power I want to be under. The Bible says don't be drunk with wine.

We are in a success. But be filled with the Holy Spirit. Speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

So point number three. Noah's life stands as a warning to every person who follows Jesus. It is worth noting that nothing is recorded about Noah except his death after his fall. The last 300 years of his life are a blank.

It is really kind of sad that he ended this way. He was still a man of God. He is just a man of God who messed up.

Ok. But it would have been a much better story if he didn't do this. And by the way going back to the whole story of being caught by his son. Or found by his son I should say. When Noah's son Ham saw him passed up from drinking and naked.

Instead of covering him up he goes out and tells his brothers. Maybe it was good for a laugh. Hey guys come on. Look at the old man.

Look at this guy. I don't know where Ham was at spiritually. Maybe he never thought much of his dad's faith. Maybe he took a perverse satisfaction in exposing the righteous Noah to his brothers. And there are some people that when they see some sink a little lower they sort of rise a little higher. Like oh see how well I am doing and how badly they are doing.

Listen. By the way some people in the church act you would think the Bible says, If a person is overtaken in a fault you who are spiritual should first gloat about it. Make sure you condemn them for it and then go and tell as many people as possible. Does the Bible say that?

No it does not. Here is what the Bible says. Galatians 6. Galatians 6.1, If someone is overtaken in a sin you who are spiritual, Listen. Restore the person in the spirit of meekness considering yourself lest you also be tempted. So first consider yourself. Guess what?

It could be you someday. So when you are down you don't need someone to kick you. You need someone to lift you up. And that is what his son should have done. Dad messed up. I am not going to expose him. I am going to try to help him. And that is exactly what his brothers did. James 5.19 says, My brothers if you should wander from the truth and someone bring that person back, Remember this. Whoever turns a sinner from the air of his way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins. So our objective if we see a fellow Christian fall is not to finish him off. It is to help them get back up on their feet again. So let's wrap this message up.

What do we learn from this? We remember that God never forgets about us. So let's not forget about him. And no matter what you are going through right now God is fully aware of it and God cares. And God is with you.

Number two. We should never lower our guard and rest on our laurels spiritually. Especially those of us who have known the Lord for some time. We need to be extra careful now because the devil would love to destroy our testimony if we have walked right with God for many years.

He would like to destroy our legacy and do a lot of horrible things. I heard one person say who fell into the sin of adultery which he said he would never fall into. And then later he realized he was being proud. And he said, I discovered this.

An unguarded strength is a double weakness. So be careful. It could be you. It could be me if I don't keep my guard up.

Number three. If someone falls into sin I should always try to restore them. Always try to pick them back up again. That is my job as a Christian. Yes Noah was a last days believer and we are too. And I quoted earlier the statement of Christ when he said, As it was in the days of Noah so also will it be when the Son of Man comes.

And Jesus said, Two men will be working in the field. One will be taken. One will be left.

Two are in bed. One will be taken. One will be left. So stay awake. Be alert. You don't know when your master will show up. By saying that he is showing that the rapture is a universal event.

A global event. Two are in bed so it is nighttime. One is taken the other left.

Two are in the field working. It is daytime. One is taken the other left. Years ago I was laying in bed with my wife. It is ok. We are married. And we are talking about Jesus coming back. And my wife was saying, Oh Greg one day Jesus will come back and we might just be laying here in bed and all of a sudden we wake up in heaven.

And just imagine what that would be like Greg just to be in heaven. And she is talking and being the horrible person I am. I thought this would be a funny thing to do. So I very just very gently got out of the bed. She couldn't even feel the bed move.

I was much lighter then. I don't know if I could do that today. So I got out of the bed and I laid down on the floor.

She is still talking to you. Greg will just be caught up to meet the Lord. Greg. Greg.

She reached over and I was going Greg. Really a bad thing to do to your wife. But see that is a joke. That will literally happen where there would be a Christian and a non-Christian. And one would be taken to heaven and one would be left. It will happen quickly. And that is why we need to be ready to meet the Lord.

Let me ask you this. What if Jesus came back for us tonight? The second coming will happen at the end of the tribulation period. But the rapture.

That moment that can happen at any moment could happen right now. So it comes down to this. Are you going to be left or are you going to be taken? Or to put it another way you either get right or you get left. Get right with God or get left behind. And if you have not gotten right with God I am going to tell you how to do it in a moment.

Let me say one other thing in closing. No one messed up. And he got up back on his feet again. And maybe you have messed up. Maybe you have messed up so badly you think there is no hope for you. Maybe you feel like God wouldn't even want you back anymore.

You are such an embarrassment to Him. Well nothing can be further from the truth. Because Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins. And even as a believer when we fail He will forgive us and bring us back. You have all seen that commercial where the lady falls down and she has a little button and she pushes.

I have fallen and I can't get up. Maybe that is how you feel. I am not making fun of her. But I think she is an actor.

Ok. It is just the way she says it. It is kind of funny to me. I am sorry. I am not laughing at a person who really fell and got up.

I am laughing at that woman in the commercial the way she says it. Ok. I have fallen and I can't get up. Ok. But maybe you feel that way. That is cruel of me. I am sorry. But maybe you have fallen and you feel like you can't get up.

You can but not on your own. You need someone to help you up. And Jesus will do that for you. If you will call out to Him. So here is my closing question.

I add an S. Because if I say question it is only one so I want to have a couple. If Christ were to come back would you be ready? If you died would you go to heaven? And if you are not sure of that let's get that resolved right now because Jesus died on the cross for your sin. He paid the price for all the wrongs you have done. And if you will turn from those sins and believe in Him He will forgive you. And you can know you will go to heaven. And you can know you will be ready for His return.

And if you have fallen yes you can get up again and follow Him. Get back in the race. Let's all bow our heads now. Father I pray for every person here. You want to change us. And I pray Lord that you will speak to the hearts of every person that needs to hear your voice and bring them to yourself now.

In Jesus name I pray, amen. And then if you missed any part of today's insight and would like an instant replay, go online to harvest.org and look for the message title The World Changer at the End of the World Part 2. That's harvest.org. Or call us anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. You know Pastor Greg you're a let's say a pastor, an author, an evangelist, a Bible teacher. You're the CEO of a large ministry organization. You're a public speaker, a radio host, a familiar face on TV, and of course a husband and father and grandfather. Which of these roles is the biggest surprise to you? And you know if I just read that list to 17 year old Greg Laurie, which one would have made him say, you gotta be kidding?

Yeah, wow, that's a good question. I would probably say being a pastor because I was such a poor student. I was always goofing around in class. One teacher wrote this on my report card. Greg spends far too much time looking out the window and daydreaming and drawing cartoons.

He's never going to amount to anything. Thank you for those encouraging words teacher from my past. But I mean that was sort of the trajectory that I was on. But then of course I came to believe in Jesus and everything changed for me and I began to read the Bible. And as I began to follow the Lord it came as a surprise to me that God was calling me to be a pastor and a teacher and an evangelist.

Which means you have to study, you have to prepare, you have to know what you're talking about. But the idea is this, God seems to go out of his way to choose very ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And I think the reason God does this is so he will get the credit and the glory. And if you want to look at a bunch of ordinary people that change the world go no further than Hebrews chapter 11.

It's often called the Hall of Faith instead of the Hall of Fame because it's these great men and women of God that change their world. People like Noah, people like Enoch, people like David. And in this interesting account of their lives none of their mistakes are recorded. Only what they did as an act of faith. The real principle that kind of percolates through Hebrews 11 is by faith. By faith they did this, by faith Noah built an ark, by faith Enoch walked with God.

So the idea is if they did it you can do it. And so I've written a new book, brand new, hot off the press and it's called World Changers. So I've taken these stories from Hebrews 11. I've shown how God worked through these very ordinary flawed people and did amazing things through them because they put their faith into action. Look we all have faith, it's up to us to decide what we do with it. Faith is like a muscle, it gets larger through use and application. And if you don't use your faith then you're going to atrophy, it will go nowhere.

So it's kind of a use it or lose it concept. So I'm encouraging people who will read this book to take the faith that God has given them and do things they've never thought they would do before. You know faith sees invisible things.

Faith is willing to take that step or as Hebrews 11, 1 defines it, faith is the substance of things hoped for, it's the evidence of things not seen. So this is going to be an encouraging book. It's a motivating book and it's a book that will show you how God can use you to change your world. So instead of being changed by the world, you can be a world changer. Yeah, it's such great encouragement and we all need this insight. Again it's called World Changers and we'll be glad to send it to you to thank you for your investment in touching lives.

In fact, want an example? We recently saw this on social media. He said, I was a U.S. Marine getting ready to deploy to the Gulf War. I was a 20 year old worldly young man searching for what happens when you die. I received Christ at a Harvest Crusade in 1990, that would have been our very first one, and it changed my life forever. God gave me peace that passes all understanding and I knew I was coming home.

I married my beautiful fiancé and am now in full time ministry and have been blessed with five amazing children. God used Pastor Greg and the Harvest Crusade to change my life forever. You know what, someone invested, so that kind of ministry was possible back in 1990. Would you consider investing so we can change lives here in 2020?

There's never been a time when people needed hope more than right now. So send your donation today and be sure to ask for Pastor Greg's book, World Changers. You can write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call us any time of the day or night at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg, a few moments ago you spoke of the need to get our hearts right with God. Could you help someone who wants to do that right now?

Yes, I'd be delighted to. Listen, as you've listened to this program today, maybe something's been happening inside of your heart where you're sensing, I need to do this personally, but how do I do it and what do I do? Let me help you. It's very simple.

In fact, it's so simple you may be shocked. God, this relationship with him is just a prayer away. The Bible says if you will call upon the name of the Lord, you'll be saved. So I'd like to lead you in a prayer where you do just that. You call on the name of the Lord.

This can be the moment where you change your eternal address literally from hell to heaven. 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 me and rose again from the dead. Jesus, I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In your name I pray, amen.

I know. It's such a simple, short prayer, but you just called on the name of the Lord, and you know what? He heard that prayer, and if you meant that prayer in your heart, he answered that prayer. Now let me help you to get started on the right foot in your new life in Jesus Christ. The greatest adventure awaits you, the life of walking with God. I want to send you what we call a New Believers' Growth Pack that includes the New Believers' Bible and a whole lot more. And let me be the first to say to you, congratulations and welcome to the family of God. Yeah, to get that free New Believers' Growth Pack, just ask for it if you've prayed along with Pastor Greg to receive Christ today. We'll be glad to send one your way. Write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514, or call us anytime night or day at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. Well, next time as Pastor Greg continues his series, World Changers, we'll look to Abraham, the father of the faith, for insights on how we can change our world as he did. Be sure to tune in next time.