Just a Moment | Following God's Direction

The Harvest Crusade is coming with a message that heals hearts and transforms lives. Have you lost hope tonight?

Listen, you don't have to be hopeless any longer. I want to tell you where hope can be found. Find the hope your heart longs for at The Harvest Crusade with Pastor Greg Laurie.

It's coming to the Honda Center July 1st and 2nd with Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, Michael W. Smith, and more. The Harvest Crusade. For details, go to harvest.org. What kind of life are you living with? What are you doing with this precious gift called life right now? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us face to face with the reason we're here. We need to pause for a moment to consider just what we're living for and who we're living for. When a person is truly coming to a relationship with Christ, it will be reflected in the way that they live.

They will want to do God's will. Many of us remember the stress of driving in an unfamiliar area before GPS. Do we turn at the next signal or the one after that?

Or is it the one we just passed? Life got a lot simpler when our dashboard told us where to go. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the joy we can discover when we let God's will tell us where to go.

We're thinking big picture things today as Pastor Greg takes us to James chapter 4 in his new series, Walk This Way. One of the things that strikes me about life is how quickly it passes. You know, when you're young, doesn't it seem as though life moves at a snail's pace? I vividly remember being in elementary school, bored beyond comprehension, just waiting, waiting for the clock to strike the right number and we got up for recess or we got out of school.

It seemed like I was in elementary school for 30 years, right? Every day seemed to take forever. Now, time goes by so quickly. Weeks go by. What, it's Sunday already? What, it's the month is over already?

What, it's a new year already? Billy Graham once asked what the greatest surprise of his life was and he said the brevity of it. I think that's true. And so as life goes by so quickly, it just seems as though it's speeding up.

It really isn't. Scientists tell us the reason life seems to go faster when you're older is because you're not having new experiences. You know, you get into a routine and you go to the same restaurant and you sit in the same table and you order the same thing off the menu and you come to church and you sit in the same seats. And I know where you all sit, by the way. I know when you're not here. Oh, well, so-and-so's not here today.

Where are they? Someone is in their seat. We like routine. But when you're young, you're more open to change and new opportunities. I read an article yesterday in the paper about signs you're getting old.

Two thousand adults were polled. One of them was you forget people's names. Oh, that's so true, isn't it?

That even happens when you're young, right? You're talking to someone. How are you?

Hey, good to see you. I don't remember their name. And you're hoping they'll use their name in a sentence. You're just waiting.

Just waiting. Just say your name in some way and they don't say it. Good to see you.

See you next time. You start forgetting things like that. Here's another sign of aging. You groan when you bend down.

It's just automatic. You sit down. You get up. Another sign you're getting old is when you're bending down. You wonder what else you can do while you're down there. Like, I don't want to come down here again. So let's get it over with now. Here's another sign of getting old.

You don't know any songs in the top ten. I have to admit that may be true of me right now. Another sign of getting old is you avoid lifting things because of back concerns. By the way, this is a great way to get out of lifting things, too.

I can't. My back, you know. But seriously, I'll think if I take the other end of that sofa, am I going to pay for this later? Because you throw your back out.

It's a situation, right? Another sign of getting old, you fall asleep in front of the TV every night. Just last night I was watching something. I fell asleep. Kathy says to me, Greg, are you sleeping? I'm like, no, I was.

Why do we deny it? It's not a sin to sleep. Unless you sleep all day, but. And here's another sign of getting old, complaining about things more. Complaining. Another sign, taking a nap every day. I actually kind of like to do that, but that's a sign of getting older.

Here's one final one. You start driving very slowly. I mean really slow. Like way too slow. Like just stop.

Hurry. And you're always in a Prius. You know it's true. It's true.

I'm telling you this is totally true. There's something wrong with Prius drivers. How many of you drive a Prius?

Jersey? Get out. No, don't. You probably get much better mileage than the rest of us, so congratulations on that wise car choice. And let me just say to you in closing, drive faster. No, don't.

No, do. Especially if you're in the fast lane. But life passes so quickly. Job 14 one says, how short is life?

How full of trouble? We blossom like a flower. Then we wither like a passing shadow.

We quickly disappear. Now I know some of you who are young and thinking, oh Greg, come on, this is a message for old people. I've got my whole life in front of me. Yes, you probably do. And I hope you do. And I hope you live that life well.

But you never know, right? I read a true story, a tragic story about a singer, Richard Versailles, age 63, singing at the Metropolitan Opera. He climbed up on a ladder for a scene and he was singing these lyrics, too bad you can only live so long.

They didn't get a heart attack and died on the stage in front of everybody. How sad, though. Too bad you can only live so long.

And that's so true, too bad. But the brevity of life is what James is addressing now and the importance of living your life in the will of God. James 4, let's read a few verses.

I'm reading 13 to 17 from the New Living Translation. James says, look here, you who say today or tomorrow we're going to go to a certain town and stay there a year, we'll do business there and make a profit. How do you know what your life is going to be like tomorrow, asks James. Your life is like the morning fog.

It's here for a little while, then it's gone. What you want to say is, if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. Otherwise, you're boasting about your own pretentious plans and all such boasting is evil. Remember, James says, it is a sin to know what you ought to do and not do it.

I'll stop there. Point number one, if you're taking notes, life is short, live it well. Life is short, live it well. James asks in verse 14, how do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Really what James is asking is, what kind of life are you living? What are you doing with this precious gift called life right now?

It's an important question to answer because life goes by so quickly. Job 9 says, my life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away, filled with tragedy.

It disappears like a swift boat. You've heard of William Shatner. He played Captain Kirk in Star Trek and he made this statement a while ago. Quote, I'm so not ready to die, it petrifies me. I go alone, I go to a place I don't know. It might be painful, it might be the end. My thought is that it's the end.

I become nameless and I spend a lifetime being known. End quote. Someone needs to tell William Shatner that there's a God in heaven who loves him and he can know where he's going.

He can go to heaven if he puts his faith in Jesus Christ and he can live long and prosper. David says the same thing in Psalm 39. He says, my life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you. Human existence is but a breath. We're merely moving shadows and our busy rushing ends in nothing.

We heap up wealth for someone else to spend. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love hearing stories of how the movie Jesus Revolution is inspiring people in their faith walk. Pastor Greg, evangelism has always been my husband's calling until 11 years ago when he burned out from the stress of ministry after 23 years.

The Jesus Revolution movie ignited a spark that has begun to fan into flames. But after all these years, he gave a sermon and his testimony at a small home church last Sunday. He is now considering going back into ministry. Thank you, Pastor Greg. If you have a story to share, why not call us and give us all the details?

Here's the number, 1-866-871-1144, 866-871-1144. Well, we're in James chapter 4 today as Pastor Greg brings his message just a moment. Let's continue. So now James is addressing Christian business people, people who are out there working hard to make a living. In this particular instance, he's talking to successful Christian business people, those who had done quite well. He's commending them for it, but he's also reminding them to keep God at the forefront of their lives and remember that everything they've accomplished has come from the Lord.

Because sometimes people forget about the Lord. Bringing me to point number two, we should plan for the future, but put God's will first. Yes, plan for the future, but put God's will first.

Sometimes people may think it's unspiritual to plan, and actually it's very spiritual to plan. Proverbs 6 says take a lesson from the ants, you sluggard. Learn from their ways and become wise. They labor hard all summer gathering food for the winter. Hey, check out the ants before you step on them. They work hard. They're always busy little ants, moving big stuff around, ants getting ready for the future.

Take a lesson from the ants. You know, it seems right now that in our nation there's a trend toward laziness. I think it was always there, but certainly COVID accelerated it, add a bunch of government money given to people, and a lot of people are not returning back to the workforce today. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a lot of employment opportunities out there.

It's getting hard for a lot of folks out there to find people to come and work. And we're losing that very principle our nation was built on. Our nation was built on the importance of personal responsibility, innovation, and working hard. It's called the Protestant work ethic. It's a good thing. This is why we live in a strong and prosperous nation.

If we lose it, we have problems. And the Bible tells us in Romans 12-11, never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. So I don't know what you do for a living, but you should be the best at what you do. You should work harder than anybody else. You should get in early.

You should leave a little bit later. You should work cheerfully, and you should do everything you do for the glory of God, wherever it is. God has not called everyone into so-called ministry. He hasn't called everyone to be a preacher.

But He has called us all to minister and serve the Lord and give honor to God, whatever our profession is. If you're a doctor, do it for the glory of God. I'll tell you what, if I need surgery, I don't need a preacher. I need a godly surgeon who knows what he's doing.

Right? I may need a Christian attorney. I may need someone else in another field in building and in music and in art and in politics. We need strong believers out there to represent us well. And so this is what we all are called to do, to work hard and to honor God. But the problem with these folks, James is addressing, is they're believers, but they're living like practical atheists. And by that, I mean they're not factoring God into anything. They're just making their plans and forgetting about God. So James is reminding them, hey, keep God's will to the forefront of your life. Paul told the believers in Ephesus he would return to them if God wills. And then he wrote to the Corinthians, he planned another visit to them if the Lord wills.

So it's okay to make plans, but just always factoring it. This may change. We'll see what God has in mind. But if the Lord wills, now some people take this too far.

You know, you say, hey, you want to go out to lunch after a church? I don't know if the Lord wills. Well, if God speaks to you, we'll be at In-N-Out Burger, okay? Can you get there? Are you going to get a burger? I don't know if the Lord wills. There's not a lot of other options here. This is In-N-Out Burger, okay?

It's pretty much a burger or another variation of a burger. But, you know, you can use this sort of spiritual jargon. That's not what he's saying. The idea here is just factor God's will in whatever you do. It should be the joy.

It should be the delight. It should be the desire of every Christian to do God's will. When a person is truly converted, and by that I mean when a person is truly come into a relationship with Christ, it will be reflected in the way that they live, starting with the repentance from sin. There'll be a humility there, a desire to pray.

You'll have a new love for others that wasn't there before, and you will want to do God's will. David wrote, I delight to do your will. Oh my God, do you delight to do God's will? Here's the problem, is we think God's will isn't as good as our will.

We think our plans are better than God's plans, and that's because we don't understand the Lord as we ought to. I think if you do your job well and put God first, God will bless your career. Yes, He can bless you financially.

Yes, He can bless you in every way. I mean, I just think of a few companies that have put God first, and look how well they've done. Take Hobby Lobby. You ever been to a Hobby Lobby? Right, so this is a Christian-owned company, the Green family, and they've been very successful financially, so they went and built something called the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. It's incredible. If you're ever in D.C., visit it.

It's just amazing. They also invest in the work of a ministry in evangelism. It helped churches. They've even invested in our crusades financially, and we appreciate that. That's a company that's successful, and they honor God, and with their prosperity, they invest it in the work of the kingdom of God. Then there's Chick-fil-A, Christian-owned company, also make a great chicken sandwich. There's always a line at Chick-fil-A.

In fact, I want one right now, but they're closed on Sunday. I'm not sure I love that part, but I appreciate it, and I respect it. By the way, when we talk about the will of God, there are certain things in the Bible that are clearly God's will for everyone.

This doesn't vary from person to person. You might want to write these verses down. Number one, it is the will of God that you are filled with the Holy Spirit each and every day.

Did you know that? That's God's will for you. Ephesians 5, 17 says, don't act thoughtlessly. Understand what the will of the Lord is.

Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. By the way, in the original language, that's a command. God is saying, I command you to be filled. To be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then also, in the Greek, it speaks of something that's continuous, meaning do it over and over again. God is saying, I command you to be filled with the Holy Spirit again and again and again. A great way to start your day, even when you're still laying in bed, you just say, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit today.

Give me all the power that I need. Number two, God wants you to be holy, and as a result, sexually pure. First Thessalonians 4, 3 says, God's will for you is to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. And if each of you would control his own body and live in holiness and honor, not in lustful passions like the non-believers who do not know God. Okay. Well, what does this mean?

It's pretty clear. No premarital sex. No extramarital sex. The only sex God will bless is the union of a man and a woman in marriage. End of story. That's it. Anything outside of that is not God's will.

Here's another one. God calls each and every one of us to pray and give thanks. First Thessalonians 5, 17 says, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. So put God's will first in your life. The important precepts from Scripture today, here on The New Beginning.

Pastor Greg Laurie is presenting his message called, Just a Moment from Our Practical Studies in the Book of James. You know, Pastor Greg, I did a search for movies that people had watched over and over and over again. And one of the things that I did was I did a search for movies that people had watched over and over and over again. And there were a lot of surprises on the list. Some of the movies are just so bad. They're either just silly movies or they're movies that are so offensive I wouldn't sit through them once. But there's a recent movie that people have seen in theaters repeatedly four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten times.

And I know they'd like to be able to see it in their own homes. And we're talking about? We're talking about the Jesus Revolution film.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, it exceeded everyone's expectations. I read an article just the other day with a headline, Why are so many people going to see Jesus Revolution? And the person writes and just asks this question, What is it about this film? And I think the reason it's connecting is it's not a big-budget film like, you know, Top Gun or Avatar or something like that. It's a powerful story, beautifully told, amazing performances. But I think the reason it connects and resonates is because it's a true story of real people.

It shows the flaws of the people in the movie. And I think that people connect because there's so many storylines woven together. There's a story of a young Greg with his alcoholic mother and the struggles they had. There's a story of Pastor Chuck and Lonnie Frisbee, the hippie evangelist who came together opposite to Tracting, Nitro meeting Glycerin, Lennon meeting McCartney, Jobs meeting Wozniak, an explosive reaction, and something amazing happened. It's also the story of Greg and Kathy, and it's a love story.

This is what people may not know. This is a beautiful love story of two teenagers that fell in love. In fact, I want to play a scene.

Now, unfortunately, you can't see it, so use your imaginations. This is one of my favorite scenes in the film. So Greg and Kathy have conflicts, which is true in real life.

It shows us arguing with each other. And so they've broken up at this point. So Greg had gone to Kathy's father at this point in the story and asked for permission to marry his daughter, and Kathy's father said no, and Greg's disillusioned and discouraged, and then him and Kathy break up. But then Greg comes to his senses, and he realizes he loves Kathy, and he wants to marry her. So he goes to her house. Now, he had just baptized some people down at Pirate's Cove in Newport Beach, so he was wet when he walked into the house. He had friction with Kathy's dad up to this point, but now Kathy's dad has had a change of heart.

I'm giving away plot details of the movie here, folks. But Kathy's father has had a change of heart toward Greg because Kathy's father went and sat outside one of the services at Calvary Chapel and was moved by it. So Greg comes to the front door, and he knocks. Kathy's father answers, and now Greg has his encounter with Kathy where he's trying to put this relationship back together again.

Listen to this. Hey, hi. Hi, Greg. Hi, Eve.

Good evening. Sorry to barge in so late. I, um, I did not know how wet I was until just right now, and your hard-work floor is, oh, I'm so sorry.

And you're not wearing any shoes. Yeah, yeah, I'm not. You're right about that. But I just, I gotta tell you something. I've been really stupid lately. Obviously, you know that.

I'm sure you've heard. I'm so sorry that I pushed you away and I hurt you. It was so dumb. It was really dumb. Really dumb. It really was.

The dumbest. Yeah. But I wanted to ask you if you still mean what you said the other day about what you want with us. Because I got really big plans, Kathy. Hopes and dreams. I've got goals. And I want to do it with you.

Together, you and I. Because I get you. I need you.

I want you. And I... Love you. Yeah.

Like a lot. So what? What is this? Is this your way of proposing to me? Oh. Um. Um. Uh. What would you say if it was? I would say that if you ever get in the way of me and God, it's over between us. So is that your way of saying yes? Yes.

Ah, that's true in real life. She said yes. Thank God for that.

And guess what? Kathy and I in real life are going into our 50th year of marriage. Wow. Congratulations. Well, thank you very much. And so, listen, it's a beautiful love story, among other things. It's a beautiful salvation story. It's a story of conflicts and resolution. It's a story of Jesus at work in the lives of so many people.

It's probably your story as well. And people connect with different characters, different aspects of this film. And I want you to have your own copy of it so you can see that scene I just described as well as hear it. I'm offering to you for the first time the Jesus Revolution film on DVD. Now, I know it's out there on streaming platforms and maybe some of you have already seen it in a theater.

Or maybe you've watched it at home. But listen, the reason you want this DVD is so you can now watch it when you want to watch it and show it to who you want to show it to. And it has special bonus content, including a presentation of the gospel I did, complete with a prayer where a person can accept Christ into their life. You can use this movie as an evangelistic outreach. And listen, kids love it. Young people love it.

Especially the love story of Kathy and Greg. So get your own copy of the Jesus Revolution film. I'll send it to you for your gift of any size. Now, let me add that we had to pay more for this particular film than we normally would pay for a resource that we would offer you. So I'm going to ask you to be extra generous in what you send to us here at Harvest so we can continue to teach the word of God and preach the gospel. So order your own copy of the Jesus Revolution film on DVD right now.

Yeah, that's right. And we can send it your way as soon as we hear from you. And we'll include the DVD along with a free streaming code. And thank you so much for your partnership that allows these daily studies to come your way each day.

This film is a keeper, and we want to make sure you get one of the first copies on DVD. And we won't be mentioning this much longer, so call us today at 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, more insight on the importance of following God's will wholeheartedly. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Lord. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on Know God.