Faith 101: Growing in Our Faith

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. So let's go back to the very beginning.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Bible. A pilot said the basics of aviation are really quite simple. You push the control stick forward and the houses get real big. You pull it back and the houses get real small. But imagine if a pilot did lose track of the basics. Can't remember what those switches do or even why they're important. Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us with a refresher course on the basics of the Christian faith.

It's a good reminder of the fundamentals that will keep us all from crashing and burning. I heard about two friends that ran into each other on the street. They hadn't seen each other for a while. So the one guy said to his buddy, man, you look very sad, like you're on the verge of tears.

What's wrong? And the sad guy said, well, as it turns out, I had an uncle die recently and he left me $40,000. His friend said, well, that's pretty amazing.

The guy says, you don't understand. Two weeks ago, my cousin died, who I never even knew, and they left me $85,000 free and clear. His buddy said, man, that's a lot of money. You should be very happy. The guy says, no, wait.

Then I had a distant aunt die and she left me half a million dollars. His friend said, I'm a little confused as to why you're sad. And then his friend said, well, this week, nothing. He was missing the point. And I think a lot of times as Christians, we miss the point. And by that I mean we don't stop and think about all that God has done for us. Do you realize how much God has done for you if you've put your faith in Jesus?

The Bible says He's justified us. Now, it's a big word. We may not understand it. It means that God has taken your sin and He has removed it and He has forgotten it and He has placed the righteousness of Christ into your spiritual bank account, so to speak, which means that now you stand right before God and it also means that God sees you as a new person in Him. Old things passed away. All things become new. Your sin is forgiven.

Your eternal future is secure. And sometimes I think we forget about that. So in light of that fact, should we not want to grow spiritually? You know, the Bible says we love Him because He first loved us.

But let me ask this question. Why is it that some people seem to grow more spiritually than other people do? I heard about a father that was talking with his daughter and her eight-year-old friend, Kristen, about birthdays. So Kristen's birthday was March 30th and the dad's was March 27th. And the father said, you know what, Kristen?

Our birthdays are only three days apart. And she looked at this full-grown adult man and she said, yeah, but it seems like you grew faster than I did. So why do some people seem to grow faster spiritually than others? Why does some blossom and bloom and go on to do great things for God and others crash and burn? You might be surprised by my answer.

It's really up to the individual. You decide if you're going to grow spiritually. You decide if you're not going to grow spiritually. Jesus gave us a parable that we sometimes call the parable of the sower. I think He could also call it the parable of the soils. It's a story about a sower that went out to sow seed. And back in those days they just took seed and randomly threw it to the wind and it landed where it landed. So Jesus said, some seed fell on crown that was embedded with rocks and it shot up quickly and had no root and withered in the sun. Some seed fell among thorns and the thorns choked out the seed. Some seed fell on the roadside and the birds came and ate it.

And some seed found receptive soil and took root and became fruitful. So He said basically this is how we react to the Word of God. You know you share the gospel with some people and they're like the seed that went on the roadside and the birds come and get it. You tell them about Jesus. It doesn't penetrate their heart or their mind.

They reject it outright. You know the birds. They hang out at places like McDonald's or In-N-Out Burger and before a fry event hits the ground they swoop down and get it. Or the seagulls. By the way I hate seagulls. They're the worst bird of all time. But anyway the seagulls will steal your lunch. They'll steal your children if you allow them.

They'll steal your dogs even if they're those little yuppie dogs. But here's the thing. The birds come and take it away. Some people hear the Word of God.

It doesn't impact them. But then Jesus talked about seed that was sown on crown filled with thorns or weeds. He said these are they that hear the Word of God but the cares of this life choke it out. Then there are those that shoot up quickly in the sun but because they have not rooted in the soil they wither quickly. These are people that hear the Word of God. Maybe they profess to be believers and have a burst of excitement.

Then they fall away. But then He said the seed on the receptive soil these are they that hear the Word of God and receive it. Listen. You determine if you're going to be receptive soil. You determine if you're going to grow spiritually. And I bring this up because some people will say something along the lines of, Well I tried the whole Christianity thing and it didn't work for me. Give me a break.

Jesus Christ will change any person that comes to Him. If it didn't work for you that's not on Jesus. Sorry friend.

That's on you. That would be like somebody saying, Oh yeah I tried the whole eating thing. You know I ate three meals a day even snacks in between.

But I'm over that. I'm not into eating anymore. Well if you're not into eating anymore you won't be into living either. You need to eat to live. And so if you did not grow spiritually it's because you did not apply yourself.

Listen. God has given you everything you need to grow as a Christian. We're told in 1 Peter 1 3, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Through the knowledge of Him who has called us for His own glory and goodness.

If you want to grow spiritually you will grow spiritually. In the book of Philippians chapter 2 verse 12 it says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. It doesn't say work for your own salvation. It says work out your own salvation. It means live it out. Play it out.

It's the idea of going into a mine and finding the gold that is in there. God's given you everything you need. You need to work it out. You don't work for your salvation but you do work out your salvation. As Saint John and Saint Paul once said, we can work it out.

Actually that's John Lennon and Paul McCartney the Beatles. That was a joke. Forget it. Ok so listen to this. You need to take what God has given you and let it develop in your life. A commentator from years ago Alexander McLaren made this statement quote, He that has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the scripture in his hands has all he needs.

Let me repeat that. He that has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the scripture in his hands has all he needs. So here we are. Faith 101. It's a crash course on the things that matter in the Christian life. Things that you never outgrow. Things you never move beyond. Disciplines we must maintain from the beginning to the end of our life as a follower of Jesus on this planet. Here's principle number one if you're taking notes. And I hope you are. If you want to be a growing Christian you must read, study, and love the Word of God.

Let me say that again. If you want to be a growing Christian you must read, study, and love the Word of God. Joshua 1.8 says this, The book of the law, which is a reference really to scripture, shall not depart from your mouth. You shall meditate in it day and night and observe to do all that is written in it. Then you will have your way prosperous and you will have good success. A growing believer will be a lover of the Word of God. And Psalm 119 it says, Oh how I love your word, Lord, your words are true.

But sometimes we lose sight of the basics. It was July of 1961. And 38 members of the Green Bay Packers football team were gathered together for the first day of training camp. The previous season had been devastated because they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. And so coach Vince Lombardi stood before the team and he held up a football and he said, Gentlemen this is a football. Why was he saying that?

He was saying it starts here. And from that moment on Vince Lombardi took these professional players to the basics of the game of football. He treated them as though they were blank slates and had never heard these things before. He taught them the things they needed to know.

Things like blocking and tackling, passing and catching and all the other basics. And six months later the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 37 to 0 and won the NFL championship. Ok so that can happen to us as Christians. We can find ourselves being defeated.

We can find ourselves losing instead of gaining ground. We find ourselves falling back into old sins that we thought were a part of our past. And that is because we have lost sight of the basics. So let's go back to the very beginning. Ladies and gentlemen this is a Bible. This is a Bible. And everything you need to know about God is found in the pages of the Bible. And if you want to know God you need to open, read, study and apply what is taught in the Bible. Listen to this. Success or failure in the Christian life is determined by how much of the Word of God you get into your life on a regular basis.

And how obedient you are to it. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody Greg Laurie here personally inviting you to join us for what we call Harvest at Home. It's a Bible study. It's a worship service. It's church in your home. Maybe you're not able to get out to your church right now. If so join us for Harvest at Home.

People are listening in from around the world. And listen to this. We have seen thousands of people make a commitment to follow Christ.

So join us this weekend for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg is offering a good reminder of the basics of the faith today. In a new series called Faith 101, a crash course on the Christian life.

Let's continue. Earlier we read that passage in Joshua where he talked about meditating on the Word of God. Now when we use the word meditation don't think of Eastern meditation. In Eastern meditation one empties their mind. But in Biblical meditation one fills their mind with the Word of God. The idea of meditating is chewing something over. Thinking it over. Pondering it over. You know sometimes someone will say I read 10 chapters of the Bible today.

That's great. What were they about? I have no idea but I read 10 chapters. No listen it is not enough to just read. You need to comprehend what it is saying. We need to be hungry for the Word of God. Chew your food. I don't know about you but I am a person who eats three meals a day. And I usually want breakfast around 5.30 to 6. I get it pretty early. Then I have lunch at around 11. And then I have dinner around 5.

And when I say around I mean pretty much at 5, at 11, and at 5.30 to 6. And it is like clockwork every single day. Now my wife in contrast will not eat breakfast. And she won't even be aware it is lunch time. I will say Kathy it is almost lunch time. It is? I am like I have been thinking about lunch for like an hour.

I have been thinking about lunch since 10 o'clock and she is like amazed that lunch time just happened. I don't think that way. My stomach reminds me. I think if you are hungry it is a sign that you are healthy.

Right? So in the same way a healthy spiritual person will be a hungry spiritual person. There will be a person that longs for and loves the Word of God.

1 Peter 3 says, Like newborn babes craves pure spiritual milk that you may grow up in your salvation. Now I know you all think I hate cats. I have already told you I hate seagulls. I am going to stand by that statement. I really don't hate cats. I just don't love them.

But there are exceptions. There is a cat in my neighborhood. His name is Hopkins.

It is a cool cat. He goes from house to house. Everybody feeds him. So this morning I got up and Hopkins is walking around in our house saying, My wife Kathy says, Craig give Hopkins some milk. So I go over and I pull out a little bowl and I pour some milk into the bowl and I set it down in front of Hopkins.

He took like two licks and then walked off probably to get food from some other neighbor. And I am thinking wait I just poured all that milk in a bowl for you. And that is how some of us are.

Yeah we desire the sincere milk of the Word but a couple of licks and we are good. And off we go. No finish the serving. Dig in deeper.

Continue in the Word of God. And I don't know about you but when I don't eat I get hangry. You know I get irritable. But I find that a meal can change everything. Just one good meal.

And take a child for instance. When a little baby is crying there is usually two reasons. Number one they are hungry. Number two maybe they need a nap. Oh by the way I found that works for me too. I am hungry.

Or maybe I need a nap. But it is the same is true of God's Word. It says over in Jeremiah 15 16 when your words came Lord I ate them and they were my joy. They were my heart's delight.

See it is oh I love your Word and I consume your Word. I have a grandson named Christopher and he is really into reptiles. And so I bought him an anole lizard. Now sometimes these lizards are called chameleons because they change color.

But actually they are not technically chameleons. That is another creature altogether. But the anole is a great little pet. And I gave him one.

And he had it for a couple of weeks. And then he decided he would just let the anole go. Now they are raised in captivity. And so these little lizards really don't know the way around out there.

Or how to take care of themselves. And so what happened was the anole disappeared. And his dad Jonathan my son thought well we will never see that anole again. But three weeks later he was in his garage and there was what looked like the dead anole. He was looking skeletal.

Just laying on the ground. Jonathan thought oh no that poor lizard. And he went to pick it up and it sort of jumped. So this thing was still alive. So Jonathan gave him a couple of crickets. Sprayed him with water. And this anole came back to life.

And now he is doing very well. But my point of this is if you are feeling down and listless spiritually eat some crickets. No seriously you need the Word of God. That is why you are feeling lethargic. That is why you are feeling down. That is why your life has been flooded with fear and anxiety. Because you have forgotten what the Bible says. And that is why you need to spend time in the Word of God each and every day. Martin Luther made this statement about the Bible and I quote, The Bible is alive. It speaks to me. It has feet.

It runs after me. And that is what God wants to happen in your life. As you open the Word it will speak to your heart. Well as I mentioned this is a new series that we are doing called Faith 101. A crash course on the basics of the Christian life.

Things that sometimes we lose sight of. You know when we started our church almost 50 years ago I started by teaching through the Bible. And we are still doing that today because we know how important the Word of God is in the lives of people. And we founded our church on the principles of Acts chapter 2 verses 42 to 47.

So I would like you to read those with me if you would right now. Now by the way before I read them this happened on the heels of the birth of the church. This is what happened after the day of Pentecost when the church was born. The Holy Spirit was poured out on believers the Bible tells us. And now this is what the church did in the aftermath of that. And this is what the church should be doing today to stay strong spiritually. Acts 2 42. Those that gladly received this word were baptized. And that day 3,000 souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and the breaking of bread and in doctrine and fellowship and prayers.

Now drop down to verse 46. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.

So I have summed this up in an acronym. W-E-L-L. W for they were a worshiping church. E they were an evangelizing church. L number one they were a learning church. And L number two they were a loving church. I will deal with those other principles later.

Let me just focus on this one. They were a learning church. Verse 42 they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. This phrase continued steadfastly speaks of a passion.

It speaks of people that were really engaged. You know we need anointed preaching today for sure. But I think we also need anointed listening. Giving your attention with intention. Paying attention. Jesus would often say, He that has ears to hear let him hear. If we were to update that.

It might go along these lines. Listen up. Pay attention because we are sharing with you the word of God. Great reminders today on the foundational precepts of the faith. Pastor Greg Laurie with a study called Faith 101 today here on A New Beginning.

And if you weren't able to hear the entire study just now. You can get an instant replay by going online to Harvest.org. Just look for the title Faith 101. Or request a CD copy by calling 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Well Pastor Greg, Darrell Strawberry is here with us today. And you know it's not often that people get to talk with a legend. And I'm just glad the two of you are getting a chance to talk with me today. That's good Dave. I like that.

Good joke. Well Darrell really is a legend. He's a sports legend. He's someone that most people know of. He has written a brand new book called Turn Your Season Around. Subtitled How God Transforms Your Life by my friend Darrell Strawberry. And Darrell asked me to write the foreword which I was delighted to do.

Let me just read a little bit from my foreword for Darrell's book. Because it pretty much tells you who he is if you don't know. Most people know Darrell Strawberry as a sports legend. A baseball icon. A childhood hero. A model athlete.

A world famous success. The best of the best and rightly so. An amazing fielder, Darrell played 17 seasons of baseball for the Mets. The Dodgers.

The Giants. And the Yankees. But it was in the batter's box that he won so much of his well-earned fame. Known for his prodigious and numerous home runs.

Darrell never failed to please his abundant fans when he stepped up to the plate. Darrell Strawberry is an eight-time All-Star. Four-time World Series Champion. Two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. 1983 National League Rookie of the Year. 1988 National League home run leader. And New York Mets Hall of Fame. But one other thing I write in this foreword many don't realize is that Darrell was a broken man.

Broken before he even started playing baseball. Underneath the swagger and success were a pain and a spiritual emptiness. That fame, fortune, women, drugs, and the love of the game could never satisfy. Darrell told me once my pain led me to my greatness.

But my greatness would eventually lead to my destructive behavior. Darrell, thanks for being with us today. And man, I think this new book is going to impact a lot of lives. And you have a story to tell. So how many books have you written in total, Darrell? I think I've written a few books.

All the biography was straw. It was the New York Times bestseller. And I think that one went well and everybody was really looking forward to reading that one. But I think this book is probably the most important book that I have ever written.

It has so much ingredients inside of it because it has to do with the biblical principles. And first of all, just thanks for having me, Pastor Greg Laurie. I really appreciate all that you have done for me and allow me to be on your show and writing my foreword for my book. I think reaching so many people at this time, this critical time in our in our life is so important. And I think this book, I didn't realize that God would have me write a book at the middle of a pandemic and called Turn Your Season Around.

Little did I know that we would all have to turn our season around from what we've been through. So, yeah, I just hope it I just hope we reach a lot of people and touch a lot of people and show that God's mercy is real and his grace is sufficient and that he loves us in the midst of whatever we go through. So if you want to get a copy of Darryl Strawberry's brand new book that he feels is the most important book he's ever written, you can get it from us here at A New Beginning. Again, the title is Turn Your Season Around, How God Transforms Your Life. And we'll send you this book for your gift of any size to help us to continue on here at A New Beginning to teach the Word of God and to preach the gospel that changed the life of Darryl Strawberry.

Yeah, that's right. It's a message that still changes lives today. In fact, more than 150,000 people made decisions through this ministry in 2020 alone. And your investment helps that kind of outreach happen. Could we ask you to partner with us? And if you can send an investment right now, be sure to ask for Darryl's book, Turn Your Season Around. You can write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, Pastor Greg brings us more insight on the value of God's Word in arming us and preparing us for spiritual battle. Join us here 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.