The Refreshing Power of the Spirit-Filled Life | Sunday Message

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. You're listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast and my objective is to deliver, hopefully, compelling practical insights in faith, culture, and current events from a biblical perspective. To find out more about our ministry, just go to our website, harvest.org. So thanks for joining me for this podcast.

Now I wanna talk about the refreshing power of the Spirit-filled life. Heard the story of an old farmer, his wife, and their son, who drove into the big city for the first time in their old beat-up pickup truck. So the father and son decided to go into this towering skyscraper and check out the magnificent lobby.

The wife stayed in the truck. As the son and the father walk in, they see these massive doors suddenly open. They open up and an elderly woman walks inside and then the door is shut. A few moments pass, the doors open again and out comes a beautiful young girl. The old farmer says to his son, quick, go get mama.

That's an elevator, by the way, in case you missed the joke. Wouldn't it be great if we could just change that quickly? You know, watch one service online and your whole life is changed and the trajectory of your life is changed.

Well, that's not gonna happen. You put your faith in Christ, your eternal destination changes from hell to heaven. Your citizenship is now in heaven. But then becoming more Christ-like, well, that takes a lifetime. But let me say, what better way to live one's life? So I wanna talk to you about how you can change and how you can continue to see change in your life as a follower of Jesus in this message, the refreshing power of the Spirit-filled life. Let me start with a question. Are you content with where you're at right now spiritually? Or do you find yourself taking two steps forward and three steps back? You seem like you're growing and then you have a huge setback. Maybe there's a pattern of sin in your life right now that you can't seem to break free from. It's sort of like a Goliath.

It just becomes more powerful with each passing day. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Goliath is from a story in the Old Testament. He was a nine foot six inch giant of a man that faced off with young David in the valley of Elah. And you know, Goliath wasn't born a giant. I'm sure he was a big baby. I don't think anybody would have ever wanted to change his diaper. And man, when he had a temper tantrum, I can't imagine the terrible twos for Goliath.

But eventually the little baby became a young man and then he became a full grown adult giant of a man. And maybe that's how you feel about your sin. It just gets larger and larger and you don't know how to defeat it. It maybe even causes you to become very depressed. Am I talking to a depressed person right now? A person who's really down right now. In fact, you're so down that you even contemplated taking your own life.

May I say to you, don't even consider that. You are loved by God. You are loved by people more than you realize.

And you have so much to offer. But yes, we do get depressed. And I think there's one of three reasons we get depressed. We get depressed by something we did in our past. Something we did we wish we had not done.

Something we said we wish we had not said. Maybe you're feeling guilty. You weren't the father you should have been.

Maybe you ended up divorcing your wife and she had primary custody of the child. And you haven't been as involved in the child's life as you should have been up to this point. So you're depressed about your past. And maybe the ramifications of bad decisions continue to affect you this day. Or maybe you're anxious and depressed about your future. What happens in a ways heavily on you? Or maybe you're weighed down by something presently. You're facing a big problem. It may be internal.

It may be external. Maybe it's involving work or your family. It might be an illness, a financial crisis, a legal problem.

The list goes on. I read a tragic story about a young woman who was a successful dietician living in New York City. Happy photos of her dining around the world and visiting exotic locations. She was living the life some people only dream of. But tragically she took her own life through suicide. Old fashioned tired of feeling tired end quote.

Am I talking to somebody right now that's just tired of feeling tired? You feel that hope is nothing more than delayed disappointment. By the way that's not unique to our time.

In the oldest book of the Bible the book of Job. Job writes in Job 8 the hopes of the godless evaporate. Their confidence hangs by a thread. They're leaning on a spider's web.

Have you ever tried to lean on a spider's web? That won't hold you up very well. If you put your hope, if you put your trust in the things this world, this culture offers you will come up empty.

That's what happened to this woman in such a sad way it ended for her. But you can put your hope in God and everything can change for you. Now our text that we're gonna look at together is Romans 8. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in all of the Bible and I think after this message it might become one of your favorite chapters as well. Romans 8 is the answer to the depression about one's past, present and future.

And there's hope resonating from the verses we'll read in Romans 8. Condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You know when we sin, and we all do sin of course, the devil condemns us.

And then we join in the condemnation and we condemn ourselves. But yet what does the Bible say in 1 John 1.9? It says that we will confess our sin. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now is God telling the truth or not?

Well he's telling the truth and if he tells us he'll cleanse us from all unrighteousness, I should accept that in my life and believe that God has forgiven me. Listen to this, I should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. Number two, Romans 8.38 tells me there is no separation from God's love in the future. Number one, no condemnation from God from my past. No separation from God in my future because Romans 8.38 says, Paul speaking, I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow. No, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

Isn't that a great promise? No demonic power can separate you from the love of God. No matter what you do, God will never stop loving you. Listen to this, God is not mad at you. God is mad about you.

He can't take his eyes off of you. And third and lastly, Romans 8.28 assures me that all things in the present are working together for good. You know this verse probably. Romans 8.28 says, for we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are the cold according to his purpose. So, no condemnation for the past.

No separation in the future. And whatever you're going through, God can ultimately work together for good. I love Romans 8 because it's a one-stop shopping destination for hope. And we discover how to live this Spirit-filled life. And that starts, of course, with the Holy Spirit himself. Let's read Romans 8, verses one to four. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak to the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. So, who is the Holy Spirit?

Let me say, first of all, that he has a distinct personality. The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit has will. The Holy Spirit has purpose, and he has a specific work that he wants to do in your life. Before we're Christians, it's a Holy Spirit that convicts us of our sin. It's a Holy Spirit that draws us to Christ. It's a Holy Spirit that seals us once we have believed in Christ. And then after that, as a believer, it's the Holy Spirit who will lead you, who will empower you, and will fill you each and every day. In fact, over in Ephesians 5 it says, be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Be filled with the Spirit.

And by the way, that has nothing to do with your emotions. I think, unfortunately, people have taken the work of the Spirit and made it appear very strange. They're wild-eyed, and they speak strangely when they talk about how the Holy Spirit filled them, you know, and you go, wow, I don't know if I want that. That kinda scares me.

Those are just weird people. It has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit just simply means being controlled by the Spirit. When you ask God to fill you, you're asking him to control your life.

In fact, the word that is used there, describing the filling of the Spirit in Ephesians 5, the word filled can be translated to permeate. So you have to think of salt in the first century, how it was used. They would have meat. Obviously, they didn't refrigerate it.

That tech didn't exist yet. So they would take meat and they would rub salt into it. It would permeate into the meat and preserve it. Our closest comparison would be beef jerky, you know, those little strips of beef you buy for $20 in small little bags.

Well, they would preserve their meat. So here's what he's saying. The Holy Spirit wants to permeate your life. The Holy Spirit wants to be a part of every aspect of your life. The Holy Spirit wants to be a part of your marriage. The Holy Spirit wants to be a part of your singleness. The Holy Spirit wants to permeate your career. He wants to permeate your ministry.

He wants to be a part of everything. Let the Holy Spirit permeate your life. And then another way this word is translated is the word that is used to describe wind filling a sail. So if you've ever been out on a sailboat and there's no wind and you're just waiting for that gust of wind to carry you along, let the Holy Spirit fill your sails. Let the Holy Spirit permeate every area of your life. Let the Holy Spirit fill you and control you.

This isn't about trying harder. This is about realizing that there is power there to help us to live this Christian life. So when Paul says be filled with the Spirit, it's also, in the original language, a command.

So here's what Paul is saying. I command you to go to God and say that I need your Holy Spirit to permeate my life and to fill my sails and to guide me each and every day. So what do we learn here about living the Spirit-filled life, the refreshing power of the Spirit-filled life? If you're taking notes, here's point number one. I already touched on this.

Let me come back to it. A Spirit-led believer lives a condemnation-free life. Let me say that again, a Spirit-filled believer, a Spirit-led believer lives a condemnation-free life. Romans 8 starts with no condemnation and it ends with no separation. It does not say there'll be no failures. It does not say there'll be no inconsistencies in our life.

What it does say is there's no condemnation. Here's the classic story. There's a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. She was drugged and thrown at the feet of Jesus by some religious rulers and they said, the law says this woman should be condemned to death. What do you say? Now I wonder, where was the man? He somehow got away scot-free, didn't he? Here's this woman caught in the act of sin.

She should be stoned. What do you say? We read that Jesus looked at the crowd. He stooped down and wrote in the sand. Then he stood up and he said, let him that is without sin cast the first stone.

That cleared the room out really quickly. You wonder, what did he write in the sand? I don't think he was playing tic-tac-toe. He probably looked at one of those men, Joshua, and maybe wrote down the number of the commandment he was breaking.

I'm not sure. Whatever he did caused him to come under conviction and they all left. Then he turns to the woman and he says, woman, where are your accusers? It's interesting, the word he uses there for woman is a term of respect. Almost as though he was saying lady or ma'am. She had probably not been called that in a long time.

She had been called a lot of other things. Ma'am, lady, where are your accusers? She says, I have none, Lord. He says, neither do I condemn you. Go in sin no more. You say, but wait, she was caught in the act of sin.

How could he treat her that way? Listen to what she said in response to his question of where are your accusers? She said, I have none, Lord. It was at that moment she believed and Jesus saw she believed. Therefore, there was no condemnation because there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You're a new person.

Bible says if any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. The old things have passed away. Behold, everything becomes fresh and new.

See, God sees you for what you will become, not just what you are. You remember that he saw Simon and he gave him a new name, rock. You are rock, he said to Simon. Simon, the vacillator. Simon, the impetuous.

Simon, the hot-headed one who always spoke his mind. You, Jesus says, are rock. I think the other disciples might have been in the background snickering a little bit, thinking, does Jesus know who this guy is? Oh, he knew, but he knew that Simon would grow into his name and God sees what you will become, not just what you are. We see failure, God sees potential. We see a Simon, God sees a Peter. We see the past, God sees the future. We see the end, God sees a new beginning. Point number two, the best way to not go backwards is to go forward in the Spirit.

Again, the best way to not go backwards is to go forward in the Spirit. Verse four, the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Now, before Romans eight is Romans seven.

Is that not an amazing insight? But in Romans seven, we find Paul struggling with sin, not sure how he can overcome sin. In Romans seven, we read Paul writing, I wanna do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't wanna do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't wanna do, I'm not really the one doing it. It's sin living in me that does it. Hey, does that sound familiar? Do you ever find yourself doing the thing you don't wanna do?

Thinking the thoughts you don't wanna think and you're thinking, why is this happening? In fact, in Romans chapter seven, Paul uses the word I 30 times and there's not a single mention of the Holy Spirit. But in contrast, in Romans eight, there are at least 20 references to the Holy Spirit. So the idea is, in Romans seven, he's trying to do it in his own strength. And in Romans eight, he realizes there's help, there's power, there's one here who will enable me to live the life God has called me to live and it's the Holy Spirit. Again, the best way to not go backwards is to go forward. See, if you are a spiritual person, you will want to do spiritual things.

Take, as an example, a fit person. Now, I was in New York City some time ago with my friend, Skip Heitzig, who's a pastor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So we went to this place called the Meatball Shop. It's pretty well known and I have to tell you, if you're ever in New York, go check it out. They have the best meatball sandwiches on earth. And I've been there a few times and I've sort of figured out the best way to order. I order the spicy meatballs with the spicy sauce on the white bread.

The reason the white bread is good is it sort of absorbs the sauce and you put some red pepper flakes on it, it's fantastic and so I'm eating my very good spicy meatball sandwich on white bread and Skip Heitzig, I'm not making this up, orders chicken meatballs, not pork meatballs, not spicy pork meatballs, chicken meatballs, wait for it, on kale salad. I think there should be a law against that, actually. But then again, look at Skip. He's incredibly thin and I am not. So maybe there's a method to the madness. So when you look at a fit person, there's probably a reason they're a fit person.

It involves what they eat, what they don't eat, their exercise regimen and other things that they do. Now let's apply this to the spiritual life. One person gets up in the morning and the first thing they do is they open up the Bible and they pray and they ask God to fill them with the Holy Spirit. Then they get in their vehicle and maybe they're driving to work and they're listening to a Christian radio station, worship music or maybe a podcast of a Bible study and they're getting stronger spiritually. Well another person in contrast sleeps in, no Bible study, no prayer.

They listen to talk radio on the way to work. So one is in church involved, involved in a small group, the other is not in church or they're only there occasionally, not involved in a small group and then we wonder why is one person doing better than another person? It could be compared to two dogs fighting, fighting all the time. I heard the story of a man who had two dogs that were constantly fighting and someone asked him, how do you determine which dog wins?

He said, the one I feed the most. See you have two natures. You have a new nature given to you when he became a Christian and you have an old nature and that's what you always default back to automatically, your sinful inclinations. So if you wanna do better spiritually, you have to feed the one dog, if you will, feed the new nature. Listen, I'm not trying to put you under legalism here.

That's what we've been freed from. This is not works righteousness. This is in fact a working righteousness and the way to do it is with the help of the Holy Spirit. Number three, spirit led people are spiritually minded people. Spirit led people are spiritually minded person. Look at verse five of Romans eight. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think only about sinful things but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. Comes down to what you think about.

This is command central. So a thought reap an act. So an act reap a habit. So a habit reap a character.

So a character reap a destiny. Protect your mind. Think about things that please the Holy Spirit. Well what things please the Holy Spirit? Paul identifies them for us here right here in Romans eight. Romans eight 14 says those that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

Think about that. God wants to lead you as his son or his daughter. Romans eight 15 to 16 tells us God removes the spirit of rejection and assures us that we're God's children. It says God is not giving you a spirit of bondage again to fear but one of adoption whereby you cry Abba Father which is the affectionate cry of a Hebrew child.

Kind of like a little boy or girl saying daddy. And then finally Romans eight 26 to 27 tells us that the Holy Spirit gives us confidence as we approach God in prayer. So listen these are things that the Holy Spirit cares about and these are things that we should care about. Remember you're adopted by God. You're loved by God.

You're welcomed by God. Think about these things because they please the Holy Spirit. Think about the fact that you are loved by God and your lives are in his control because we can be devastated by our worry and forget these simple truths that we need to be reminded of over and over again.

In my first message in this series I talked about the fact that Peter says I want to remind you of these things or refresh your memories. And it's a refreshing thing to remember that I'm loved by God and that God is in control of my life. Now the contrast of living a spirit filled life is living a worldly one. Verse five of Romans eight says those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things. It's just a person that just thinks about satisfying their impulses and the appetites of their flesh. It can be illicit things like sex outside of marriage, sex before marriage, drugs, booze, partying, things of that nature.

It can be empty things like fame and fortune. Or it could simply be a person who only thinks about the physical and never thinks about the spiritual. Jesus talks about the non-believers who only worry about what they're gonna eat, what they're gonna wear, and what they're gonna drink.

He says don't be like those people but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. No, you need to think about what you're gonna wear. You need to think about a roof over your head.

You need to think about what you're gonna eat. Jesus is not saying don't think about it. He's saying don't be obsessed with it. Don't make the entire focus of your life pursuing those things at the exclusion of pursuing God. In fact, some people oughta think a little bit more about their appearance because maybe they neglect it. You know, Paul says bodily exercise profits little but godliness is helpful for all things so people will get out of shape and they'll be really overweight and they'll quote that verse. Well, Paul does say it profits up.

So you can go too far either way. There's a balance in all of these things. But what the Bible is saying is be preoccupied with these things that Paul has told us about here in Romans 8 that we're adopted by God, we're loved by God, and we're welcomed by God. Don't try to be righteous by trying harder.

That's another form of living in the flesh. Admit you can't do it on your own and pray for the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul does that at the end of Romans 7. He writes, oh, who's gonna free me from this life that I am living under the power of sin? Oh, wretched man that I am.

And then he gives the answer. It's in Jesus Christ our Lord. Are you struggling with sin right now? Cry out to God. Say, God, I can't overcome this on my own strength.

This Goliath taunts me day in and day out. I'm coming to you and I'm asking for your help. I'm asking for the help of the Holy Spirit. Stop trying to be spiritual. Stop trying to be good.

You will fail because you're bad. But God is good and he'll give you the strength to live the life he has called you to live. Listen, the most spiritual people I have met are authentic and real people. I've written this book about Billy Graham, Billy Graham the man I knew that we're offering to you for your gift of any size. And I had a lot of time to hang out with Billy. And I can tell you, and I can't say this of a lot of people, I was never disappointed. He lived up to those standards. We expected him to live up to. He was a humble man, he was human. He had moments of doubt early in his ministry when he was just starting to go into preaching. He had to commit himself to the Lord and ask the Lord to help him because he had a little bit of a crisis of faith. And he had moments when he would get down like any person gets down. But he always turned to the Lord. And that's what we need to remember, that we can be people that have our struggles and challenges. Hey, don't forget, Elijah had deep bouts with depression.

Remember, he was despondent at one point in his life after Queen Jezebel effectively put a contract out on him. The Bible says Elijah was a man just like us. Two last points and we'll be done. How can you tell if you're living a Spirit-controlled life? Number four, the Holy Spirit is at home in the hearts of Spirit-led believers.

I underline those two words, at home. The Holy Spirit is at home in the hearts of Spirit-led believers. Verse nine of Romans eight. You're in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, dwells in you. Now, does not the Holy Spirit live in the heart of every Christian?

Answer, yes. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit seals you and he indwells you. But this word here that is used by Paul for dwell means to be at home. There's a difference between just being in a home and being at home. Have you ever noticed different homes have their own smells? I used to visit a home, I won't say whose, but it always smelled of mothballs. I think this person felt that you could never have enough mothballs and after you left that home, you would smell like mothballs. This is not a good scent, people. And then another home, it has a strange smell. It's like, were you just baking socks in the oven or what is going on in this house?

What is this odd smell? It doesn't make you wanna stay there for very long. But then you go into a home and there's some great home cooking taking place. Maybe it's Italian food. Oh, I love the smell of Italian food.

Or Mexican food or barbecue. You go, oh, I like this place. I like just being in this room where I smell this incredible aroma. Well, is the Holy Spirit at home in your heart?

Is He comfortable in your life? I mentioned earlier that the Holy Spirit has a personality. Yes, He is God, but yes, He can be sinned against specifically. The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit can be insulted.

He can be resisted and He can be blasphemed. And listen to this, the Holy Spirit can even be made sad. Have you ever done or said anything to someone that reduced them to tears? It's so hard to look at someone crying because of something you just said or something you just did. Could we actually make God's Holy Spirit sad?

The answer is yes. Ephesians 4.30, Paul writes, don't bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit. By the way you live, get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. So rage, anger, harsh words, slander, to make the Holy Spirit sad. Wow, imagine if we just went out on social media, especially Twitter, and decided to not use it to tear any person down.

Don't denigrate anybody. What a different place it would be because some people just live for that conflict and people seem to be getting so upset these days. There's more road rage than ever.

People don't even seem to know how to get on a plane and behave themselves, arrests of disturbances and conflicts in planes now has gone up dramatically. It's almost like after this time of COVID, we've all forgotten our manners and we're all filled with this pent up rage that makes God's Holy Spirit sorrowful. Listen, you can hold a point of view and not be mean about it. You can have a certain belief and not tear each other's, tear others down. While you're talking about it, that grieves the Holy Spirit of God, that makes God's Spirit sad and sorrowful and that is not living a Spirit-controlled life. God wants you to be tenderhearted. He wants you to be kind.

He wants you to be forgiving. That pleases the Holy Spirit. Last point, Spirit-led believers overcome the old life. Spirit-led believers overcome the old life. Romans 8, 13 says if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. Another translation puts it this way. So don't you see that you don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent? There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all.

The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go. I like that translation. You're living by the power of the Spirit. Just focus on walking with Jesus. When you are in love with Jesus, these other things will fall away. Oh yeah, you'll get tempted. Oh yes, you will sin, but it won't be a pattern anymore.

It won't be your lifestyle anymore because you are preoccupied with other things, and more specifically, you're preoccupied with Christ himself, asking him to fill you with his Holy Spirit each and every day. One last verse, Romans 8, 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. Let me ask you, are you a son of God? Are you a daughter of God? You know, I mentioned that we're adopted by God when we become Christians, so coming back to Father's Day, I didn't ever know my biological father growing up, but my mother married a man named Oscar Lorry.

That's where I got my name, Oscar, no, Lorry. And this guy was great. He adopted me formally. He treated me as a father should treat a son. He disciplined me when I went astray. He tried to teach me lessons and do the best that he could in helping me to be a good boy, but tragically, my mom left him, and I didn't see him for the rest of my childhood. But I did have the privilege of reconnecting with him as a young adult after I'd become a Christian and started our church, and I also had the privilege of leading him to the Lord.

That's another story for another time. But he adopted me, and God has adopted you if you put your faith in Christ, for it says, as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. Are you a son or a daughter of God? Are you a child of God? That comes through believing in Jesus Christ. I mentioned that letter from that young lady who tragically took her own life who wrote, I have accepted hope as nothing more than delayed disappointment, and I'm just plain old-fashioned tired of feeling tired, end quote. Does that describe you? Are you worn out, are you exhausted?

Are you filled with sadness and deep depression? There's hope, there's hope, not in religion, not in rules and regulations, it's hope in Christ coming to live inside of you. He can pardon you of every sin you have ever committed. I mentioned that woman caught in the act of sexual sin, and Jesus said, go and sin no more. He forgave her right there on the spot, and God can do that for you right here, right now. You've messed up, you've made mistakes, you've sinned. You don't have to be controlled by your past.

You don't have to be crippled by it either. You can put it behind you, and you can be a new person in Jesus Christ. We've been talking about the Holy Spirit, how you can lie to him, you can grieve him or make him sad or sorrowful, you can resist him, and finally, you can blaspheme him. Jesus described the unforgivable sin as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to blaspheme the Spirit? Because you say, well, I've cursed God, and I've said a lot of things, maybe I've blasphemed him. Understand, as I said earlier, the work of the Holy Spirit is to show you your need for Jesus, show you that you need to come to him. You can resist him and resist him and resist him and come to a point where you've gone too far.

Yes, a point of no return. That is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The only unforgivable sin is the rejection of Jesus Christ. For the Bible says, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? So if you say, I don't want Jesus, I don't need Jesus, I don't care about Jesus, I wanna keep living my life the way I'm living it, you have that choice. God's given you a free will, now it's the wrong choice. But God's Holy Spirit is saying, no, come to him, believe in him, you're loved by him, and if you say no to the Holy Spirit and keep saying no, yes, your heart can become irreparably hard.

Don't let that happen. There might be someone I'm talking to right now that has run from God for years, maybe even decades, maybe even most of their life. This is your moment to come to him. This is your moment to be forgiven by him. This is your moment to come into a relationship with the God who loves you.

He loves you so much, he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to come in a rescue operation to planet Earth and die on the cross for your sins. And then Christ rose again from the dead. Now he stands at the door of your life and he knocks and he says, if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he'll come in. I would like to give you an opportunity to open your heart to a whole new life. Open your heart to radical change.

Open your heart to Jesus Christ himself who will come and live inside of you and forgive you of all of your sin. In a moment, I'm gonna pray a simple prayer. And I'm gonna ask any of you that are watching, wherever you are, if you need Jesus in your life, to pray this prayer with me. You could even pray it out loud if you would like to. But this is your moment where everything can change for you. Let me close with this thought.

This is a yes or no proposition. Jesus said, you're either for me or against me. It was those words that got the attention of a 17-year-old boy many years ago on his high school campus named Greg. And he looked around at the Christians and thought, well, I'm not one of them. Does that mean I'm against Jesus Christ? And I certainly did not want to be. So I prayed and asked Christ to come into my life and I've never ever regretted that decision.

And you will not regret this decision either. Jesus is ready to come into your life. If you would like him to forgive you of your sin, pray this simple prayer with me right now. Let's all pray. Just pray these words, Lord Jesus. I know 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. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast and to learn more about Harvest Ministries, please subscribe and consider supporting this show. Just go to harvest.org. And by the way, if you want to find out how to come into a personal relationship with God, go to knowgod.org. That's K-N-O-W-G-O-D.org.