The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg? I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible.
Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. All of these things are a wake up call and God is saying, turn to me, look to me. Many of us know someone who can sleep through anything, a storm, an earthquake, a siren, an alarm.
Sometimes you have to go give them a shake to pry them loose from their slumber. Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that it seems the church will sometimes sleep through anything. We may be aware of the pandemic, the unrest and all the rest, but God wants us to stand up and speak out with God's antidote for the ills our country is facing. Do we have any hope in America? Is there anything we can do as followers of Jesus to help our nation turn in the right direction?
I think the answer is a resounding yes. And it is found in the words of Jesus right here in Matthew chapter 5. Starting in verse 13 he says, You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
It is good for nothing but to be thrown down and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do you light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
So let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father which is in heaven. So we want to be salt. Salt effectively earns us the right to be light.
Let me explain. You see salt back in its day was something of great value. And in fact Roman soldiers would sometimes be paid in salt.
Hence the term oh he is not worth his salt. Salt was valuable. Salt was something that stopped the spread of rotting in meat. They would cut the meat up in strips and they would embed salt in it so it could be preserved.
This was before refrigeration. And in the same way that is what we should be doing as followers of Jesus Christ. You know it is Christians that stopped the spread of evil in our culture today. It is Christians that are out there doing good works.
Helping people who are in need. If they believe as we believe or not. That is what it means to be salt out in our culture today. And another thing that salt does is it stimulates thirst. And if you are really living for Jesus as you ought to and being the salt of the earth you will stimulate in others a desire to know God.
Now let's contrast the two. Salt and light. Salt is hidden. Light is obvious.
Have you ever been in a theatre and someone pulls out their phone and they check their messages or they are looking at social media. I mean you can be really far from them but it lights up. So light really makes a difference in a dark place. So salt is hidden and more subtle. Light is obvious. Salt works secretly. Light works openly. Salt works from within. Light from without. Salt more the indirect influence of the gospel while light is its more direct communication.
So what I am saying is if I am salty. If I am living as I ought to live as a follower of Jesus it effectively earns the right for me to let my light shine before others. And one thing that light does is it exposes the darkness. Have you ever lost something in the dark? Maybe it was in your car at night. You lost a burrito and you didn't know where it went. So you looked the next morning and you found it. There it was. A little light helped you locate it.
It actually had become a life form and crawled up into one of your child seats and buckled itself in. But light helps you find something. And in the same way when the light shines in our life we see things we had not seen before.
In John 3.19 Jesus says this is the condemnation. Light is coming to the world. And men love darkness rather than light. Why? Because their deeds are evil.
Everyone who is evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest their deeds be exposed. So have you ever wondered why it is that you will say to someone, Why don't you come with me to church? I don't want to do that. Hey why don't you come over to our house and watch Harvest at Home.
What is Harvest at Home? Well it is a church service. No I don't want to do that. Well let me read to you a verse on the way. Put that thing away.
No I just want to read you a verse. I don't even want to hear it. Why? Because you just shined a spotlight into a dark place. And the reason people don't want to come to the light.
The reason people don't want to have this conversation about Jesus is they don't want to change their lifestyle. So the light does expose the darkness. But at the same time the light also shows the way out of the darkness. You know when I travel and I am in a hotel room I will leave a light on.
Usually in the bathroom in case I need to go there in the middle of the night. Because it is unfamiliar territory that you are navigating and you don't want to trip and fall. So the light helps you find your way through the darkness. If you are in a dark hallway the exit signs are always lit up.
Even in movie theaters they are lit up. So you can find your way out. And so the Lord will shed light so we can find our way out of the darkness and find our way to Him.
And so I ask you right now are you being salt and light in the world that God has called you into? The title of my message is America This Is Your Wake Up Call. And I think all the things that are happening in our culture right now are a wake up call. I would include the coronavirus. I would include what has happened in our economy.
I would include the social upheaval that we are seeing right now. All of these things are a wake up call. And God is saying turn to me. Look to me.
America this is your wake up call. I was in Alaska some years ago with a friend of mine. And so I decided to play a little prank on him. I noticed a little food trays in front of different rooms. You know from room service.
Food that had been eaten already. So I took two or three of these trays and put them in front of my friend's door. And then knocked on the door and he came out and saw the trays. That was my prank. So what he does he takes an entire picture off the wall and puts it in front of my door.
It was so big I couldn't even get out of my door. I said ok. Game on. So I was leaving that night and he was staying one more night. So I called down to the front desk and I said hi. And I did say I was in his room. This is Mr. His name is Richie Fure. I said Mr. Fure in room 204. And I need two wake up calls tomorrow morning.
I need one at four o'clock and I need one at five o'clock. And so I caught my plane the next day forgot all about it. He calls me later on and he says do you know what happened.
I said no. He said first of all my phone rang at four in the morning. I knew it was you doing a prank so I didn't answer the phone. Suddenly there's a pounding on my door. And some guy actually comes in my room and is shaking me. Waking me up because he's afraid I'll miss my wake up call.
I said some things just go perfectly don't they. Listen are we getting shaken right now by God. And the Lord is saying this is your wake up call. Pay attention to what I'm saying to you.
How many more calamities do we need where we will just turn to the Lord. And I might be talking to somebody who is having their personal wake up call. Maybe you've had a close brush with death recently. Maybe you just met with your doctor and he gave you some bad news. Maybe your spouse came to you and said they're done with the marriage. Maybe one of your kids is rebelling or they're on drugs or they're having problems. Maybe there's some other conflict in your life you've been terminated from your employment.
Whatever it is it's something that's just gotten your attention. Well when the rug is pulled out from under you and you're laying on your back look up. Look up and call on God. America needs to do that. And listen you need to do that.
We all need to do that. The Bible says call on the Lord while he may be found. And the Lord is here right now ready to come into your life. And if you want to know more about that right now let us encourage you to go to KnowGod.org. K-N-O-W KnowGod.org. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.
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. And now Pastor Greg continues his message called, America this is your wake up call. I believe the Lord could turn our nation around.
There is a precedent for this in the Bible. It's a story of the spiritual awakening that took place in the city of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria which was the superpower of its day.
It was so big it took three days to circle metropolitan Nineveh. Had around a million people living there. Powerful, gigantic city. Powerful military.
Flourishing economy. But God was about to judge him. But he sent a man to warn them. And the man's name was Jonah. Of course Jonah didn't want to go. And you know why Jonah didn't want to go?
Because he was a racist. He hated the Ninevites. See as a patriotic Israelite he didn't want to go preach the gospel to the Ninevites because they were the enemies of Israel. So he reasoned, well if I don't preach to them they won't be spared by God and God will judge them.
And that will be one less enemy we have to deal with. But God wanted him to overcome his prejudice and overcome his racist thinking and go to these people. And he actually got in a boat going the opposite direction.
You know the story. And the Lord sent a great storm and he was sown overboard and he was swallowed by a great fish. And the gut of that sea creature he came to his senses and got right with God and was regurgitated on the shores of Nineveh.
And it wasn't a very hopeful message. Jonah reluctantly, he didn't even want to do it, walked through the streets of Nineveh and simply said, 40 days in Nineveh will be overthrown. But much to the shock of Jonah the city repented. Even the king repented. And so the Lord spared them from the judgment that was coming upon them. So what did he have to do? He had to do what God called him to do.
So listen to this thought. If God could bring a mighty revival in Nineveh with no better representative than Jonah and no more gospel than he preached. Surely he could do the same for America. Is there any hope for our nation?
I think there is. I think there are three practical steps we can take as followers of Jesus. Number one. We need to infiltrate. Not isolate. We need to be both salt and light because God has indeed dropped us behind enemy lines. We are not to evade as I said earlier. But invade living the Christian life and looking for opportunities to share our faith.
Number two. We need to pray. We need to pray for our nation. I have quoted this verse to you many times but it is still relevant.
Second Chronicles 7 14 where the Lord gives his prescription for revival. Contextually it was given to the nation Israel. But in principle it applies to any nation.
And I know people are watching me from other nations around the world right now. And I have talked a lot about America. But what I am saying now applies to Australia. And it applies to New Zealand. And it applies to China. And it applies to Germany. And it applies to whatever nation you are living in.
And we have heard from people from all of those nations. But God says, If My people which are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways then the Lord promises, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. Yes we would like to see our land healed. We would like to see America return to her Christian roots.
Her Judeo roots. We would like to see America turn to the Lord. And that can happen. But we need to pray. But isn't it interesting that we are told there in Scripture that we as His people need to pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.
Are there any wicked ways you need to be turning from right now even as a follower of Jesus Christ? So number one we need to go out into our culture and we need to be salt and light. Number two we need to pray. And third and lastly we need to preach the gospel. America needs to hear the gospel. America needs to see the gospel. It is interesting going back to what Jesus said there in Matthew 5 when He says, You are the light of the world. It could better be translated, You and you alone are the light of the world. There is actually an emphasis on the fact that we are His representative. We are the one that others are looking to.
Let me ask you a question. What if every Christian lived as you live? What if you were the sole representative of Jesus Christ on this earth? Would there be enough gospel in your life for people to believe?
Enough saltiness to stimulate in them of thirst? Enough light for them to find their way out of the darkness and put their faith in Jesus Christ? I hope so. Because this is the message we need to give to others.
And this is the message I want to close with because I keep saying gospel, gospel, gospel. And you are thinking what does that even mean? It means good news.
Right? So we live in a day of fake news. Everywhere you turn it is fake news. And by fake news I mean it is news with a spin.
News with an agenda. It is rare to just hear some pure good news. Well I have some very good news in a bad world.
And here it is. God loves you. God loves you so much He sent His Son to die on a cross for you.
You say well why did He have to do that? Because you are a sinner. I am a sinner.
As I said earlier everything goes down not up. We are sinful by nature. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And there is not one righteous.
No not one. We could compare it to a game of archery. Because one of the definitions of sin is to miss the mark.
So God has set a mark for all of humanity and the mark is perfection. So you fire your ten arrows. And let's say that all ten of your arrows come close to the bullseye but one goes off. Ok so you miss the mark. Now let's say that I fire my ten arrows and all of my arrows don't even hit the mark at all.
Well maybe you hit it more than I hit it. But the point is we all miss it. And the Bible says if you offend in one point of the law you are guilty of all of it. We have all sinned. That is the bad news. The good news is God has sent a solution. While we were yet sinners Christ died for our sin the Bible says. And then He rose again from the dead. And if I will turn from that sin I can be forgiven. That is the good news I have for you right now. You can be forgiven of all of your sin.
And you know what? When God forgives sin He also forgets it. Now I don't mean that the Lord has a lapse in memory. But what I am saying is the Lord chooses to not hold your sin against you any longer. The Bible says God speaking there are sins and iniquities while I remember no more. As Corrie ten Boom once said God takes our sin throws it into the sea of forgetfulness and posts a sign that says no fishing allowed. Your sin can be behind you. Your sin can be a part of your past not a part of your present. I am not implying you won't sin. But I am saying the guilt and penalty of that sin can be removed. And then you can know you will go to heaven when you die.
Do you have that hope right now? What if you were to die today or tonight? Where would you spend eternity? You might say well no one can know these things.
Yeah actually you can't. I know when I die I will go to heaven. How do I know that? Because God has made a promise. Jesus said for God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
If I believe in Jesus and I do I can know that I have everlasting life. Not hope to have it. I know I have it and you can have it as well. It is a gift. And if you want a gift you reach out and accept the gift. And God is offering you the gift of eternal life right now if you will believe in Him.
Would you like to receive it? Listen. This may be your wake up call. Right here. Right now. The moment where you can pass from darkness to light. The moment where you can change your eternal address from hell to heaven. You say oh hell. You believe in that?
Oh yes I do. Jesus spoke more about hell than all the other preachers in the Bible put together. And the last thing God in heaven wants is for any man or woman made in His image to spend eternity separated from Him in hell. Hell wasn't made for people.
It was made for the devil and his angels. God wants you to go to heaven. But He's not going to force you. He's not going to say get up to heaven right now young man.
No. It's a gift. You have to accept the gift. And then you can receive the wonderful blessing that comes with it. So in a moment I'm going to pray and I'm going to extend an invitation for any of you right now wherever you are to put your faith in Jesus. Some of you are sitting in a house. Some of you are sitting in a park or on a beach.
Some of you are driving in a car. Wherever you are I want you to know this. Jesus Christ is right there with you ready to come into your life and forgive you of all of your sin. All you have to do is open that door and ask Him to come in and be your Savior and your Lord. Jesus says behold I stand at the door and knock and if you'll hear my voice and open the door I will come in. And I'm going to ask you if you want Jesus to come into your life.
If you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to go to heaven when you die I'm going to ask you to pray this prayer after me. You can even pray it out loud if you want.
A simple prayer. So again as I pray if you want Jesus in your life now pray this prayer with me. Pray these words if you would. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner but I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Now Jesus I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Savior and my Lord. Be my God and friend. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer with those making a change in their relationship with God today here on A New Beginning. And if you just prayed that prayer Pastor Greg would like to follow up with you by sending something called our New Believers Growth Packet.
It's free of charge if you prayed with Pastor Greg for the first time today. Get it by writing A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. And we can take your call anytime around the clock. Again dial 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org. Now the title of today's message is America This Is Your Wake Up Call. And you can hear what you missed online at harvest.org. Or call us anytime night or day for a CD copy 1-800-821-3300.
That's 1-800-821-3300. Pastor Greg I was thinking about power steering the other day. What a marvelous invention it is.
You can change the direction of a two ton car with just a one finger turn of the steering wheel. Well Christmas is coming when the mega billion dollar retail industry is poised to steer our kids toward the latest toy or gizmo. And we might need a little power steering to turn them back toward Christ. You might have a suggestion for us today.
Well I just happen to have a really good suggestion. And it's called the Jesus Storybook Bible Christmas Collection. Stories, songs, and reflections for the Advent season written by our good friend Sally Lloyd-Jones. And this is absolutely delightful. Sally is a prolific writer and is especially effective in communicating with the little ones. And she has done it again in this amazing new project which actually has some interactive features. So it kind of addresses that need for gadgetry a little bit. Because not only do you have her text as she tells the Christmas story in a way that only she does.
It's just so simple and profound and at times you smile and it's just very effectively written. But there are interactive moments where you can press a little button and you hear the voice of the tremendous actor David Suchet. Am I pronouncing his name correctly Sally?
Yes you absolutely are. And he plays, Kathy what is the role, I'm here with my wife Kathy and Sally. What does he inspector, how do you pronounce his name? Hercule Poirot. Hercule Poirot?
Yes. Poirot. Poirot. Poirot. Poirot.
Poirot. And the guy's a great actor and he has faith in Christ and he lends his impressive voice to this project. So here's how, it's a beautifully illustrated piece of work, illustrations by Jago. And he's worked on, he also did the illustration for the Jesus Storybook Bible, did he not?
Yes absolutely. Right so beautifully illustrated, written so perfectly and then you push the button and you hear this voice say the following. I'll push the button right now. Everything was ready. The moment God had been waiting for was here at last.
God was coming to help his people just as he promised in the beginning. But how would he come? What would he be like?
What would he do? That's the voice of renowned actor David Suchet. One of the interactive features in this new resource we're making available called The Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas Collection by Sally Lloyd-Jones. And we'd like to send this your way for your kids, your grandkids, really any child you know who needs a touch of wonder and needs to know God cares for them this Christmas season. We'll send it to say thank you for your generous donation to help keep these daily studies coming your way here on this station. So contact us today at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call around the clock 24-7 at 1-800-821-3300.
Or just go online to harvest.org. And look for The Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas Collection. And we'll only be mentioning this resource a short time longer. Well next time, Pastor Greg brings us an important message for this Thanksgiving week. He'll offer up to five Thanksgiving commands we see in scripture guaranteed to prepare us properly for the holiday season. Join us 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.
