The World Changer at the End of the World: The Race of Life

We are glad you're joining us for a new beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast supported by harvest partners get more encouraging audio content. When you subscribe to pastor Craig daily defenses. Learn more and sign up@harvest.org. You don't want to just start this race. Will you want to visit the rings how many trip and fall ration of water in one of his most requested mesh pastor Greg Laurie urges us to rush forward and not rush extensive Bible knowledge years of spiritual experience make you think you're somehow above it all. You think you bring some kind of "those birds living.

The Bible warns the things he says the lust fall behind mortal danger. It's a long way down. The last thing they want literally is only halfway across the highway. Greg Laurie points out is even more important finish the race of life. Well mortal danger.

There's a certain moment. Thankfully, when we fall. The Lord is the man who lived in the last days. If you will know they were his last days are different than ours, waiting for the judge with double come upon the planet by fire. He was waiting for the judge of that would come up on the planet by water and his name was Noah. He was living in the days before the great flood and Jesus actually brought him up as a picture of what things will be like before Christ returns in the Matthew 24. It said the arrival of the Son of Man will take place in days like no one's, before the great flood. Everyone was carrying on as usual. Having a good time whited to the day that Noah boarded the ark, they knew nothing until the blood swept everything away and then Jesus is the Son of Man's arrival will be like that two men will be working in the field. When will be taking the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and the other love.

So be alert and being awake because you have no idea when your master will show up alright so in light of that, how should we live, let's go back to that last days believer Noah. How did he live.

We Artie saw this together. Taking notes is point number one from our last message. Noah had a great reverence for God Noah had a great reverence for God. Hebrews 11 seven says. Noah moved with godly fear, or with godly reverence. I think that's something that's lacking in the lives of many believers today an actual reverence for God number two Noah walked with God when no one else did Jenna 669 says. Noah walked with God then we know that Noah was also a witness for God.

Second Peter 25 since he was a preacher of righteousness. Listen to this.

Did you know that Noah lived hundred and 20 years and never had a single convert yet is called a preacher of righteousness.

He stands as an example to all of the people seed sewers out there cannot always measure their success in sharing the gospel outwardly. Maybe that describes you.

You told your whole family about Jesus. No one fully you told all your friends about Jesus. Not one of them is become a Christian, you let your neighborhood know you're a believer you've invited them all the church and no one has responded to your invitation and you feel like a failure will take heart, because it's not over till it's over using my job is to sow seeds. By that I mean my job is to get the gospel out there and it's the Holy Spirit's job to bring about a can diction in the heart of a non-believer only he can do that but don't underestimate the power of that little seed that you've sown in your family's life and your children's life and your grandchildren's life and the lives of others or read the story about a missionary who was named George Smith.

He probably thought his ministry was a complete failure. You been in Africa only a short time and then he was driven from the country, leaving behind only one convert a very poor unknown woman. He died not long after that wall on his knees praying for Africa. Years later, a group of men stumbled upon the place work George Smith did pray that they found a copy of his Bible that he left behind in Africa and they met the one convert of George Smith's ministry, but as it turns out that one convert had reached others who reached others and 100 years later, a mission agency discovered 13,000 people trace their conversion to the ministry of George Smith. Queso got a thing for your taking the time to sow the seed of the word of God, the life your child and you don't have some great far-reaching ministry and you feel like you don't have enough to do.

Listen, you know know who that child will turn out to be. You don't know about that seed that you sewed in another place.

So you just pray and leave it in God's hand so Noah didn't have a lot of people that believe, but were still talking about them today our weight so he did reach his family and that's a big deal because Hebrews 11 seven says, by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen move with godly reverence and he prepared an ark or a boat for the saving of his house sold so he did reach his family and I can think of people who've gone in the ministry, but have done a great job of reaching out to a lot of people and neglected their family in the process. My first priority is to God my second priority is to my family okay so that's very important to me than it should be to every one of us. You know contrast Noah with lot lot in a sense, was like knowing in that they were both awaiting a cataclysmic judgment.

Noah was awaiting the judgment of God that came to the flood lot was waiting for the judgment of God. They came upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but lot was sold compromise though he was a believer, but he was so compromised. He could not even reach his own family.

So when he revealed to his family that God's judgment was coming and he said we gotta get out of town.

They laughed at him like he was telling them a joke blow him off.

Why should we listen to you. You will get. Of example are you he could get his own wife out of the place he got out of the city, but you look back and face God's judgment. So the point is, he was a failure in reaching his own family, but Noah was not in and the Lord gives to know a very unusual command.

It's in Genesis 60 pop over there now. Genesis 6 verse 14 the Lord tells them to build an ark or about a verse 14 of Genesis 6 build a large boat from gopher wood, says the Lord, and waterproof it with tar inside and out, then construct decks installed throughout its interior makes about 450 feet long 75 feet wide and 45 feet high leave and 18 inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat with the door on the side about three decks inside of the boat, lower middle and upper so this was a supreme act of faith. Considering the fact that it had never rained up to this point it'd already get the way the earth was watered with through this unique sort of water canopy. The Lord set in place creating a terrarium type of effect on planet Earth and you at all the beautiful vegetation and so forth. So it did not get rained and there was no water nearby and the Lord says build about Noah's thinking about what I'm going to do with a boats, but that he obeyed the Lord. One of the greatest acts of faith in history when Noah cut down that first gopher wood tree to build this art, but he did it. You know it's an interesting thing because Noah was not a builder. The Bible doesn't tell us he really was in the building profession he was what you would call an amateur well I think experts built the Titanic. That didn't turn out so well. What an amateur built the ark and it was very buoyant and very seaworthy.

As we'll see in just a moment, but he put feet to his faith and did what God told him to do.

Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment and emails, letters and phone calls from listeners are so encouraging to us and they let us know the effectiveness of these studies. Greg live I had graduated from college last year. I came back home, got a job and I would put an update on the back burner about me from being due. I'm working and now in my morning. I looked near my dad and I never got there with the Lord. I've been praying more and I've been going to church regularly angered by that had in fact my fate though. Thank you for the work you doing here in Tennessee and I get to listen you usually in the car on the way to the gym where I work out and I love your method to look at the I love the truth that you bring each and everything will say thank you for sharing the word of the Lord and all that you do their part of ministry great stories how Pastor Creek's teachings from God's, who made an impact on this man's life.

If you'd like to listen to Pastor Greg's podcasts you could do that through Google Apple course modify or just Google harvest.org that's harvest.org over studying the Bible's account of know it today and one of the most requested messages of the past year called a world changer at the end of the world part two let's continue. I want you to think about the spiritual life of Noah. For a moment he had to sit on that boat for 40 days and 40 nights as the rain came in.

He ultimately was onboard around a year in the sea can be a very lonely place canted and typing up that thing must've stunk. Honestly, all those creatures and their but now his voyage is about to come to an end and God's Holy Spirit blew across the land in the clouds began to dissipate the sun appears and eventually the grass on the plants and the trees begin to come back to life. As the children song says the sun came out and dried up the land. The Landy everything was fine and dandy, dandy, give her that song but he waited and finally the moment is come for him to get off of this art and I want you to notice what he does Genesis 820 says. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He built an altar to the Lord, you know, it would've been very easy to just climb up that boat and say okay man I'm so sick of being on the water. I want to just run around like a month on terra firma on firm ground, but the first thing he did because he had his priorities in order. Is he built an altar to the Lord gave thanks to the Lord, he put first things first. And there's a lot of ways that we can do this as well.

The simple act of seeing Grace over a meal is a great way to just give thanks to God. By the way when your meal comes me as a grace, it doesn't honestly need to be a 10 minute prayer.

Okay it just give thanks and eat the food. Pray for the missionaries afterwards.

It's good pray for them, but what eat the food. While it still warm and I think it's actually a really great testimony if you're in a public place with your family and you got your head to say grace but just make sure you leave a tip afterwards and don't be a bad witness right but that's a way to put God first of remembering the Lord of the people giving up your finances, whatever money you make. That's given to you by God, and you take a time that also known as the 10th of that and you give it to God in the Scripture promises that if you honor the Lord with your wealth and the firstfruits of your crops, your barn will be overflowing. I saw a bumper sticker and a card that said ties. If you love Jesus. Anybody can honk right so that's is the percentage okay I'm putting God first and then another way to put God first is on Sunday and think were going to church today that so we do on this day the Lord's day. Remember God and God remembered Noah. You know, Ecclesiastes, 12 months is remember now the creator in the days of your youth sometimes and were young we think, well, you know, I've got my wild oats to so really, why well. Just as everyone says I do. Why should you. Why would you do want to do things today that you regret tomorrow and in the years and maybe even decades to come. Why not start sewing spiritual seed in your youth and lay a good foundation in your youth. It's almost like we have this big free pass to be crazy in our youth into every wrong thing imaginable.

While that is certainly not what God wants you to do that's right, he says remember the creator in the days of your youth. Such an important time.

The early years of our life.

I became a Christian at age 17. I did some stupid things. Prior to that, things I regret but I'm thankful I didn't go much longer than that and I look back on that day and I look at the course that the lives of some of my friends took the didn't believe as I believe now run into some of them every now and then and there into their second and third and fourth marriages, some of them have substance abuse problems. Some of them never stop partying and I just think of the course I took and how God blessed me, and how God is taking care of me and I realized I made the right choice and when you're young that's a perfect time to make the right choice.

Okay so here is a story Noah's Ark beautiful. They make it to the new land and now they're giving thanks to the Lord it if this were a movie and we eroded.

This is where the story would, and you can see the closing scene. Those looking up to Kevin, tears coming down his face and the flowers are growing and the animals are hopping around and there's a rainbow in the credits are on the screen but that's not how the story ends. Because this is a Bible story Bible stories are true. They're not fairytales. When something happens that is not convenient. It's there anyway because if it happens it happens in all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and the Lord doesn't cover up the flaws of the great men and women that he is. The story is told of the great British legend Oliver Cromwell was having this portrait painted and he said to the painter. Make sure to paint me warts and all.

That's because the peanut was known to sort of flatter the people he painted, Cromwell said I want people to see me as I was, and indeed when you look at the portrait of Cromwell gives warts on his face and some of the Bible gives us a painting of one of its heroes. If there's warts you will see them if there's flaws will be aware of them. So what happened next is kind of sound in many ways in the life of Noah, but it did happen. Genesis chapter 9 verse 20 after the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. One day he drank some wine that he had made and became drunk and lay naked inside of his tent. Ham the father of Canaan, saw his father was naked went outside and told his brothers then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it over their shoulders and backed into the tent to cover their father as they did this they look the other way so they would not see him naked while really after all that walking with the Lord. After all of that exercise of faith. This is how you're going to thank the Lord will this is what he did two things popped out from the story.

First of all, it teaches us. Anyone can fall into sin.

Anyone can fall into sin including you and if you think moment that'll never happen to me or I would never deny the Lord or I would never send in the way you could know prayerfully and hopefully you won't.

And the fact is, God will never give you more than you can handle right because the Bible says in first Corinthians 1013 there is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God was faithful will not allow you to be tempted above your ability to resist. There's always a way out of every temptation is in their how many of you have been tempted to sin. Raise your hand to be printed. J.

How many of you been tempted sin in you giving into the temptation regular razor hands all of you as we all have family. Now let me ask you this. Go back to that temptation you gave into whatever was. Was there a way out good.

You have resisted it to Jewel walked out of the door. Could you have terminated the conversation or whatever you're dealing with. Could you have gotten out of it.

Had you chosen to.

The answer is yes. But if you don't choose to what you can choose the wrong thing and that's what Noah did you know me surprise you to know that sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping than the person who is young and the thing that makes sense to you. Sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping than the person was young and the faith is a boat. Why, because when you're young in the faith. You know you're weak and vulnerable, so your careful and you hopefully surround yourself with godly people. But when you have known the Lord for a while you thinking while I'm on pretty good. I don't think I need to have those safeguards in my life anymore.

I'll just pretty much not be accountable to anyone and do what I want when I want the next thing you know you're falling extensive Bible knowledge and years of spiritual experience make you think you're somehow above it all. You think you've reached some kind of a plateau spiritually, but you'll never reach that plateau in the Bible warns that him that thinks he says take heed lest he fall. You know there's a number of godly people who fell after they'd known the Lord for years. Moses comes to mind number when he struck the rock with the staff, and water came out while he struck a rock again later in the story when the Lord is not told him to, and was yelling at the Israelites a must we get water out of the rock, as we've done before going to take in the glory for himself that only belong to God.

Because of this the Lord and let them enter the promised land looseness, the man of God, the man at the Lord spoke to at the burning bush, the man who led the exodus out of Egypt.

The man who put up a lot of the whining and complaining of the Israelites and was so faithful to the Lord blown at the end and even make it into the promised land. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, the king of Israel and the men uniquely identified as being after God's own heart.

Send later in life as well. He was in his 50s appears to be having something of a midlife crisis kicking back in his rooftop when he should have been leading the troops into battle and steadies scoping checks and he sees a beautiful Bathsheba. Ironically, baby herself any lust after her and you know the rest of that story how he she became pregnant and he had her husband killed to cover it up.

That happened after he known the Lord for years and then David's son Solomon Phelan to grow sin in his later years as well. Solomon was given such great wisdom from heaven that people came from around the world to sit at his feet and drink it in.

He went on an epic backslide and recorded it for us is called the book of Ecclesiastes talks about all the things he tried and experimented with in all the things that were so empty and ultimately he says a here's the conclusion that your God and keep his commandments at the whole duty of man sees and what you bring in all the sub, I'm just saying that anybody can fall this in.

If they choose to. You don't want to just start this race. Well, you want to finish the race. Good insight based on the life of Noah from Pastor Greg Laurie today on a new beginning. He is presenting a message called the world changer at the end of the world.

Part two is near the top of our list of most requested studies of the past year well is a real privilege to have not only Pastor Greg with us today.

Of course, but to his friend, Pastor Levi Lesko for Montana and pastor Jonathan Lori. I'm surrounded by pastors today. Yes.

Are you intimidated but to Pastor Levi Lesko has just authored a new book, a kids book a kids devotional book called roar like a lion and a pastor Jonathan is here today because he is a user of that very book. Right now Jonathan you're actually going through this book with your kids shall hear about that just a minute. But the question I wanted to ask both of you Jonathan and Levi in our devotions with kids can be a challenge. You know the challenge is to get them to sit still for what counsel do you have for moms and dads or me working to provide them with this great resource, but lust gives in them semi-practical suggestions on how to have a successful devotional time. I really found that having them do hundred jumping jacks before badness is a great way to get him to wind down now. Just kidding. Ask I really have found that so often after dinner time for us is usually there's a about an hour before that and we start winding down for bad when the kids will yield planner devices and so forth that we found like an hour before bedtime.

Have them wind down and they do their own personal reading. They have little books you like to read the other candles. I like to go through stuff that helps connect calm them down.

Prepare them for bad. He searched a little bit sleepy and in that mindset that really transitioned so well for us into devotion time and so just that little a little break between device time and going to bed having them read for a little bit have a little quiet time make such a difference even if it's 1015 minutes it makes a difference. That's great advice. Jonathan and I would just add note, these kids have so much energy and I would just as parents say look at that the opposite way.

Don't look energy is the enemy find a way to harness it.

So, for example, in one of the days in this devotional will talk about the seven laps around Jericho. Your kid might be bouncing off the walls and it's like okay great stop right there and say all right. I want everybody due seven laps around the Seven laps around the kitchen island and so I clean ended at find ways to tire him out, and ways to use that energy for good enough, or even a straight so everybody you're listening to Pastor Levi Lesko, my friend for years and pastor Jonathan Lori, my son there talking about Levi's brand-new book a devotional for the whole family, but especially for the kids and it's called roar like a lion 90 devotions to courageous faith.

And if you've always wondered how that kind of get started on exploring the Bible with the little ones. This is a great way to get in the game and to engage her kids. It's beautifully illustrated its truth is given in bite-size pieces where your kids will understand it and I think you as the parent or grandparent will have a great time exploring these truth of the little ones as well. So we want to send you this brand-new book by Levi Lesko called roar like a lion 90 devotions to a courageous faith for your gift of any size whatever you send will be used.

To continue this ministry because I know a lot of you make a new beginning, a part of your daily life or you listen to the podcast or you tell others to listen to it will thank you for doing that and by ordering these great resources we offer. We don't offer junk resources people. I think you know that if we are going to send you something is going to be something you want to have in your library and this is no exception. So for your gift of any size to harvest ministries.

We will send you roar like a lion. Yeah, that's right.

And we hope will help us start this new year off right with the resources to reach out as far as possible with the gospel. You know you not only give to us.

You give through us to touch lives and we hear from so many who have been touched, but those connections were only possible because someone invested in the work of evangelism. We hope you'll make that investment and what you do will send you Levi's new children's devotional book called roar like a lion and we won't be mentioning this much longer.

So contact as soon you can make a donation online@harvest.org or we have a 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300 one Pastor Greg wraps up our study of Noah. One of our most requested messages past year. Join us here on a new beginning. Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie and everybody thinks you're listening to this podcast to learn more about harvest ministries follow the show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org and find out how to know God personally go to harvest.org and click on know God