On the Outside Looking In: Hope Beyond Our Failures and Regrets

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. We'll be back and reliving your past over and over again. And if you've messed up, we'll forgive you and give you a second chance. Ever had a stain appear on an article of clothing? Maybe you try to wipe it clean. Maybe you try vinegar and baking soda, or one of the revolutionary new products from the store.

Or you take it to the cleaners, but you get it back and it's still there. Sometimes our lives have stains like that, and the embarrassment never goes away. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to a reassuring story in God's Word.

We'll see the Lord can treat the stains of our lives. This is the day, the day when life begins I want to talk about a guy who really lost his temper. We're in a series on the life of Moses. We're calling it Water, Fire, Stone. And Moses had quite the temper.

And he literally just loses it. Because the Israelites seem to have spiritual amnesia. They seem to be forgetting all that God had done for them over the many years. How God provided them food every single day, right outside of their tent door, and it was called manna. How God directed them with a fire by night and a cloud by day. How God watched over them.

How God parted the Red Sea for them, but they forgot. So they were thirsty. And they said, we're thirsty Moses.

And you know, if you brought us out in the wilderness we would just die of thirst. And so Moses and Aaron go and pray in the tabernacle. That's the tent that they set up to meet God in. And the Lord gives them a clear direction. The Lord says, Moses, I want you to go to the rock and I want you to speak to it and water will come out. Now on another occasion God had directed Moses to go to a rock and strike it with his staff and water came out. But this time the Lord said, don't strike it. Just speak to the rock and the water will come and satisfy the thirst of the people.

Well let's see what happened. Numbers chapter 20 verse 10. He and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock and he shouted, listen you rebels must we bring you water from this rock? Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with a staff and water gushed out. So the entire community in their livestock drank their fill.

There's a number of things that went wrong here. What did the Lord tell him to do? The Lord said, speak to the rock. Now another time the Lord said, strike the rock with his staff. You know God will lead us differently in different situations.

Sometimes he'll have us do it one way and another time he'll have us do it another way. Jesus never dealt with any two people in exactly the same way. When you see Jesus with Nicodemus the religious man he spoke to him in a certain way and said certain things. When you see Jesus with the woman at the well it's quite different.

When you see Jesus in the home of Zacchaeus again it's different. So the Lord will lead you in different ways. Be open to the leading of the Lord. Don't be like some robot that does it the same way every time.

That's my imitation of a robot. Be open to the leading of the Spirit. So the Lord said, speak to the rock.

Moses hits the rock not once but twice. And so that's because of his great anger. And anger is something we need to get under control. Especially in marriage right? You know when I meet young couples that want to get married they'll come to me and say, Oh Pastor Greg will you marry us? And I'll say, how long have you known each other? Oh we've known each other for a year.

Oh great. And then I'll ask them this, have you ever had an argument? And they might say, no not once. We've never disagreed about anything. I'll say, get out of my office right now and go have a good fight. Because you have to learn how to resolve conflict when you're married.

And when I say a good fight I obviously am not referring to anything physical. But I'm talking about learn how to disagree. Because so often you'll have a disagreement with your spouse. Often over the subject of finances by the way. And you'll have different points of view. And it's very important that you listen to what they are saying. Hear them out. Then respond with your point of view. Have a good exchange. But when the voices start rising and the tempers start flaring.

Then it's going to be completely unproductive. Cliff Barrows who is the long time associate of Billy Graham. He was with him from the very beginning.

And now Cliff is with the Lord as Billy is. But he said this and I love this. He says there are nine words that we should be willing to say every day to our spouse. Here they are. I'm sorry. Please forgive me and I love you.

That's good isn't it? I'm sorry. Please forgive me and I love you.

And then he said and you might add these words as well. It was my fault. So when you have a conflict.

Who's going to be the first to resolve it? Hey I'm sorry. Even the way we say I'm sorry. They're lame apologies. I'm sorry if you thought I was saying thus and so because that was not my intention.

So if I what I said hurt your feelings because you misunderstood me. That's not an apology. Here's an apology. I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me.

I'm telling you whatever tension you're having with your spouse right now. If you would just say I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

I love you. You'd be amazed at how much good that will do. But here is Moses now. He's in a rage. And now the Lord is going to deal pretty harshly with him. Look at Numbers 20 verse 12. The Lord said to Moses, Because you did not trust Me enough to demonstrate My holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them. Moses you're not going to take them in.

It's pretty heavy duty. Moses was on the outside looking in. Years ago when I was a kid I was really into reptiles. I was a junior herpetologist. I had every kind of reptile you can imagine.

All kinds of snakes and lizards and turtles. And I was obsessed with reptiles. And so for my birthday I asked my mother to take me to a place called the Alligator Farm. And it was in Buena Park right next to Knott's Berry Farm. So I invited a bunch of my friends. Come for my birthday party at the Alligator Farm.

So they all came. And I have to tell you reptiles are not always the most lively creatures. A lot of times when you look in an alligator it looks like it's dead. It just lays there.

It doesn't do anything unless you put food in front of it. Snakes are often the same way. Same thing with lizards. So we go from cage to cage looking at these giant snakes. These massive alligators who basically all look like they were dead. And so we are out in this one open area where they had the biggest alligator. And right over the fence you can see Knott's Berry Farm. And they had positioned a ride there that was going back and forth. And all of my friends and I were looking at this ride and we were all thinking the same thing.

Why are we here in the Alligator Farm looking at dead reptiles when we could be on that ride right now? We were on the outside looking in. And that's how it was going to be for Moses. He was not going to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Let me explain why. God holds leaders to a high standard. This is why the Bible says, Be not many teachers knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. I take what I do very seriously.

I spend hours prepping and studying. And I want to give you messages that are theologically correct but also relevant to what you are facing in life. And I figure that my job is not to give you social commentary or political monologues.

You can get that watching the news. I feel that my job, and I feel this is true for any pastor or teacher of the Bible, is to give you God's Word. Because I want to reach every person.

I want everyone I speak to to come to know God if they don't know Him yet. I want to speak to people of every political background. If you are conservative. If you are independent.

If you are liberal. I want to tell you what the Bible says. I want to reach people of every race.

I want to reach people of every age. My purpose is to call people to Christ and get them grounded in the Scripture. And by the way that is called the Great Commission.

What is the Great Commission? It is to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations teaching them all things that Christ has taught us. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So my job, if you will, my calling as a pastor and an evangelist is to proclaim the gospel to you. Tell you how to come into a relationship with Jesus. And then help you get grounded in the Word. But the Lord wants me to do what He calls me to do.

And so Moses was not doing what the Lord had called him to do. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Pastor Greg is offering some practical insights today from an event in the life of Moses by way of his series Water, Fire, Stone.

Let's continue. You know you can't selectively pick and choose the things in the Bible you want to follow. Jesus said, you are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Now we might say, well I like this part of the Bible and this other part of the Bible. But this one part of Scripture, I don't know if I agree with that. No, Jesus said if you do whatsoever I command you. He didn't say whatsoever you find easy or whatsoever you personally agree with. And by the way, who are you to offer an opinion on the Bible?

This is absolute truth. Well I'm not so sure I believe that, like who cares what you think? Someone asked me years ago, Greg what do you do when you come to a passage in the Bible you don't agree with?

And my response was, well then change your opinion because you're wrong. The Bible is right and we need to align our thoughts with what the Scripture teaches. And so Moses obeyed the Lord in some areas but not in others. And here's another reason why God told Moses to speak to the rock and not to strike it. In Scripture the rock is a picture of God Himself. Scripture refers to Him as our rock and our salvation. 2 Samuel 23 32 says, who is God except the Lord but our God who is a solid rock. Jesus said to Peter upon this rock I will build my church and that was right after Peter said you are the Christ the Son of the living God. So God is a rock. Jesus is our rock. In fact in 1 Corinthians 10 it says they all drank the same spiritual drink and they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was Christ.

So in the Old Testament this idea of a rock it's a picture of God. So when Moses struck the rock twice he was doing something that should not be done. Listen Jesus has already been struck once. He's already been crucified for you. You don't have to go back and strike Him again.

Let me put it another way. You don't have to get born again again and again and again and again. Jesus already died for your sins and rose from the dead.

And if you've asked Him to come into your life He's forgiven you and if you haven't done that yet I'll tell you how in a few moments. So now you need to accept that forgiveness. And that was the problem. Moses was violating a very important symbol.

Point number three. Bad decisions bring bad consequences. Bad decisions bring bad consequences.

Because of what he did he was not able now to enter the promised land. Have you ever said or done something you regretted? In fact right after you said it you thought why did I just say that?

I should have never said that. Or after you did that thing you thought oh if only I could relive that moment. What would Eve had given for another chance before the tree in the Garden of Eden? What would David have given for another chance to relive that night when he laid lustful eyes on Bathsheba?

Yeah unfortunately we can't go back and change the past but I have one more point. God gives second chances. Because I'm talking to somebody right now who is messed up. Somebody who has crossed the line.

Someone who has said or done something they're ashamed of. But here's the good news. God gives second chances. See what happened here with Moses is not the whole story.

And your whole story is not done yet either. Moses' story is recorded in Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 is the hero's hall of faith. Great men and women that trusted God. And the thing they all had in common was they put their faith into action. And as you read the account of Moses and for that matter all of the people in Hebrews 11 no record is made of their mistakes.

All we have is a record of their faith in action. Hebrews 11 27 says, Wait a second. That's not the whole story of Moses. Where's the story of when Moses killed the Egyptian? Where's the story of when Moses lost his temper and broke the commandments of God? Where's the story of when Moses hit the rock twice? It's not there. And the reason it's not there is given there in Hebrews 11.

It's because he applied the blood. Remember the Passover. The Lord said to the Israelites, I want you to take the blood of a lamb that you've slain and I want you to apply that blood over the doorpost of your house.

On the left, on the right, and on the top. And if you think about it it makes a perfect cross. And when I see the blood the Lord says, I'll pass over. So they applied the blood and because the blood was applied the judgment of God did not come on their firstborn. So Moses applied the blood and he was under the blood.

He said, I don't even know what you're talking about with all this bloody stuff. See Jesus died for your sin. And once you've asked him to forgive you of your sin you need to accept the fact that you are forgiven.

You don't have to keep going back and reliving your past over and over again or try to offer some kind of penance for your sin. He offered everything for your sin. He paid for your sin. He died for your sin. And if you've asked him to come into your life he's forgiven you. And if you've messed up he'll forgive you and give you a second chance. John 1 says that we will confess our sin. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Listen to this. Moses did make it into the promised land ultimately. You might say, no Greg actually you're wrong. The record here says that he was on the outside looking in. He did not lead the Israelites into the promised land.

I know that's what that record says. There's another record in the New Testament. Remember when Jesus was transfigured? The Bible says that Peter, James, and John were there. And the Lord just shined like the sun. And there were two other people with him.

Do you remember who they were? It was Elijah and Moses. They were in the promised land in effect. So Moses did ultimately make it into the promised land. I know he stumbled and fell. I know he messed up but that was not the end of the story.

And it's not the end of your story either. Ultimately Moses finished his race well. I love the description the Bible gives of Moses.

He's called Moses the man of God. What greater thing could be said about you? You're the man of God. You're the woman of God. If we were to go and interview your family members and ask them this question. Is your dad a man of God? Is your sister a woman of God?

What would they say? Moses was a man of integrity, are you? David is described as a man after God's own heart.

You go wait, wait, wait. Moses murdered some dude and David committed adultery and also in effect murdered a man. How can you say David's a man after God's own heart? And how can you say Moses is the man of God?

The same way that I can say I'm a man of God or you're a man or woman of God because we've applied the blood in our life and we've been forgiven by Jesus Christ. Listen, God is not done with you. Jesus is that rock that was broken for you. He died on that cross for your sin and he will forgive you. I know you have this idea of God is out to get you. You say God is mad at me, correction. God is mad about you. God loves you. And no matter what you've done, he'll forgive you right now. So let me close with this. Are you sure right now that if you were to die, you would go to heaven?

If not, would you like to be sure? Would you like Jesus Christ, who walked this earth 2,000 years ago and he lived our life and he died our death and then he rose again. Would you like Jesus to come and live inside of your heart as your Savior and Lord? Listen, Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and I knock and if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.

And this can happen for you right here, right now. Your story's not over. You can come into a relationship with God and you say, Greg, you have no idea what I've done. No, I don't, but I do know what he's done for you, what Christ has done. He's paid the price for your sin.

Now it's time to apply the blood. You go, I don't know what that means. It means that you come to God and say, Lord, I'm a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin, but I believe Jesus died on the cross in my place and now I want him to come and live inside of me and he will. In a moment, I'm gonna pray a prayer that I would like you to pray with me. And if you want Jesus to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you wanna know that you will go to heaven when you die or if you need to make a recommitment to Christ, just pray this prayer. In fact, you could pray it out loud if you like, but just pray it with me.

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 that sin now.

I apply the blood. And I receive your forgiveness. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Amen. If you've just prayed with Pastor Greg and made a decision for Christ, we'd like to offer a resource to help answer your questions about this decision. The New Believers' Growth Packet, and we'll send it free of charge upon request. Just write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. We're here to take your call anytime 24-7 at 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org. If any interruptions came up during today's study, you can hear what you missed by listening again online at harvest.org.

The title of today's study is On the Outside Looking In. You can also request a CD copy by calling us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. You know, Pastor Greg, every year around Thanksgiving you point out how important it is to have an attitude of thankfulness. And we're thankful both to God and to our listeners for their partnership in making these studies available. Every dollar it takes to bring these studies each day is a dollar donated by someone who said, yeah, Pastor Greg, count me in, I'll help. And boy, on our part, gratitude is an understatement, isn't it?

Yes, it is. I just want to thank every one of you that have taken the time to give to this ministry. It just means so much, not to me only, but to the people you impact because of your generosity. They can hear the Word of God at no charge. They can hear hope, they can hear purpose, they can hear a message that will point them to Jesus and in many cases call them to Jesus. As you know, we're one of the ministries out there that throws the net, and by that I mean we give opportunities for people to come to Christ.

You know, when you listen to our show and you've wondered, well, why does he do that all the time? Because every time I do it, thousands of people respond over a given year, and I'm going to keep doing it. You have my word on that. So if you believe that more people need to hear the gospel, if you believe that Christ is the answer, if you believe that the Word of God being taught can impact people's lives, I would encourage you to support us financially, and I want to thank you for that, and as my way of saying thanks, I want to send you a gift. I want to send you this brand new copy of our cinematic crusade that we did in cooperation with my friends over at Kingdom Studios, and the title of it is A Rush of Hope.

You probably saw it over Labor Day weekend when we premiered it to the world, and people literally watched from around the world. Well, now you can have your own copy to show whenever you want, to whomever you want, wherever you want, and there's some other resources included with this Rush of Hope DVD, including a booklet that I wrote called Life's Most Important Questions Answered, and a special piece that we wrote telling you how you can host a watch party, how you can show this film in your house or in your backyard or somewhere else as an outreach to your neighborhood, your community, so many ways you can use it. So for whatever you can send us financially, we'll rush you your own copy of A Rush of Hope. So thanks in advance, and God bless you.

Yeah, that's right, and you know, your gift couldn't come at a more important time. The end of the year is the most strategic in determining how many people we can reach next year, so we hope you'll contact us today for the DVD of A Rush of Hope. Also, we'll send a digital download code so you can watch online right from your computer or tablet or smartphone. That way you can take it with you and share it with a friend.

Sort of a cinematic crusade right in your pocket or purse. So write us today at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

And we can take your call 24-7. Or just go online to harvest.org. Are you receiving Pastor Greg's daily devotions? They're a great way to start your day with extra insight and inspiration. Sign up for his devotions today at devo.harvest.org.

That's devo, D-E-V-O,.harvest.org. Well, next time, a special treat. As a surprise part of Pastor Greg's series on the life of Moses, he'll talk about great leaders of the past with bestselling author Eric Metaxas. It's a fast-paced, humorous discussion with some revealing insights. Next time on A New Beginning. 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.