Your Life Has a Purpose | How God Can Help Us Rise Above

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. It's been said that God doesn't waste our pain. Coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie points how God will care for you and use you. God has a purpose for you. Yes, you.

A special purpose that is unique to you. The world has a knack for attempting to put a happy face on some deep, dark times of crisis. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Don't worry. Be happy. Look on the bright side. But sometimes an earthquake so shakes our lives that there doesn't seem to be a bright side.

But don't mountains rise from earthquakes? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us see how God can help us rise above our pain and He can put our past to use in the most fulfilling ways. Hope. Something that for some seems to be in relatively short supply these days.

Where people find themselves filled with anxiety, fear, depression, some even entertaining suicidal thoughts. And for a person who would think that their life does not matter, I want to say this to you. You are wrong. Your life does matter.

It matters more than you know. You know as a young boy I had a crazy life. I've told you about this before. Let's just say my mother was living la vida loca. It was the crazy life. She was a very beautiful lady and she was never at a shortage for men in her life. And she loved to drink and she loved to party and I went along for Charlene. That was her name. Charlene's Wild Ride.

You've heard of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I was on Charlene's Wild Ride. And it was a life that no kid should live but I lived it. A parade of men coming in and out of my home and my life. There was a lot of fighting, screaming, hitting.

A very real abusive home. Yet through all of this strangely instead of having a deep depression I had hoped that one day things were going to get better. I don't really know why I had it in a way because there was nothing that would give me an indication things were going to get better and in many ways things actually got worse. And they got worse because when I became older as a young teenager I started making a bunch of bad decisions that made my life go in a worse direction. And so I looked back at school and no one was encouraging me.

He was saying, Greg, don't hang in there. You're going to go out there and accomplish something in the world. In fact, in the schools I went to, if I was there long enough, they wanted to expel me. And for good reason. I would make trouble in class.

I would disrupt the class as well. And the only reason I wasn't expelled from school is my mother would go to the principal and say, you expel him, I'll sue you. And so great. There I was living my life. But I thought somehow my life was going to get better. And now I look back on it and I know why. Because the Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts. And what that simply means is we are created by God even before we know Him.

And though we are separated from Him by sin, there is a sense that there is something more in life. And I was right. My life was going to get better and it got dramatically better when I became a Christian. I heard the gospel.

I believed it. Christ changed my life immediately. And then not long after I became a believer, I met Kathy and we got married. And we had two sons. And we are building our family. And we are living our life.

And we are starting this church. And there were challenges. There were many setbacks. But we pressed on and were so thankful for all that the Lord was doing. And then the most devastating thing of my life happened and that is when our oldest son Christopher died in an automobile accident. You know when it happened, I have to tell you, I literally thought in many ways my life was ending. I know that is shocking to hear because I am a pastor.

I should have a sermon in my back pocket for the moment. But I think Kathy, my wife, could see the look on my face. I was so devastated. I was so destroyed by this. I thought, what happens now?

How do you even survive such a thing? And our house immediately filled with people saying all kinds of things. Some slightly helpful. Some rather random. And some even hurtful.

All with the best intentions I am sure. And I just sort of collapsed on the floor and Kathy came up to me and she took my face in her hands and she said, Greg, it is going to be ok. And there is only one person that could have said that to me that I would have listened to that day and that was Kathy because she had lost her son as well. She said, Greg, it is going to be ok. And I would like to say to anybody struggling with deep depression because something has happened in your life and you don't know why, I want to just say to you right now, it is going to be ok. Somehow you are going to get through this and this pain you are in is not going to last forever and in fact you will grow stronger from it. You are saying, well Greg, so you are over your son dying? No, I will never be over it. I am not over it but I am getting through it. And the reason I am getting through it is because Jesus is giving me what I need each and every day and He will do the same thing for you no matter what you are facing right now.

You can be sure of this. If you have suffered in life, if you have been neglected or you have been mistreated or you have been abused or you have been abandoned, I am sorry that has happened to you. But let me say this. God can take all of the hurt and pain you have experienced in life and use it to touch other people and make us into the men and women He wants us to be. Romans 8.28 says, We know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose.

Then it goes on to say, For whom God did foreknow, He also did predestined to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son. This is often misunderstood because I think we think that means God will take every bad thing and turn it into a good thing. Wrong. There are things that happen that are wrong things. They are bad things. They will always be bad things. They should have never happened.

But they did. But God promises He will cause all things to work together for good. Despite the bad, God can bring good still because the Bible promises He will bring beauty out of ashes.

The oil of joy instead of the spirit of mourning. And what is God's end game? It goes on to say there in verse 29, Whom He foreknew, means He knew you before you knew Him, He predestined you to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son. This is our hope. Now the devil who is very real does not want this to happen. The devil wants you to abandon hope. Dante wrote that over the gates of hell are these words, quote, Abandon hope all you who enter here.

Satan would say that to some people today. He will say, Abandon hope all of you who enter here. The devil wants you to abandon hope. Jesus wants you to abandon hopelessness. Because you can have hope as his follower because Jesus said, The devil, or the thief, comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly.

So we have the choice in life. We can listen to the devil or we can listen to Jesus. But don't listen to the devil because he is a liar and he is the father of lies. And he would whisper in your ear and he would say, Your life is not worth living. And your family and friends would be better off without you.

Those are lies. Your life is a gift from God and it is worth living. And you are loved more than you realize. First of all, you are loved by God. He loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you so intensely he sent his own son to suffer and die for your sins.

For our sins because of his love. And you are loved by your family. Love more than you may know.

You would be missed more than you would ever realize. And you are loved by this family. You are loved by the church. God's family.

This is the thing we need to remember. That God wants to change the paradigm of your life. If you will let him. We have a choice. He says, I set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life and live. It is your choice.

But make the right choice and you will be glad that you did. And there is no clearer example of that than the man we are going to take a little time to look at together. His name is Moses. His life could have so easily been over before it even started. But God preserved him. And not only did God preserve Moses but he called and used him to literally save the lives of millions of people.

As we will discover together, Moses is a flawed individual to say the least. Yet he was one of the greatest men of God in all of human history. We know him as a great hero of history.

But who was the man behind the legend? We know Moses as the law giver. But we must remember also that before that he was the law breaker. He was born in poverty yet he was raised in a palace. But ultimately the wilderness became his home. He was reluctant to lead but he was determined to follow. At times Moses was impulsive, impatient and even explosive. But at other times he was humble and broken and obedient to what the Lord would say.

He was idolized and he was criticized what an interesting guy he was. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hearing about listeners who find Jesus because of the ministry of Harvest is so encouraging. Pastor Greg, I was saved as a five year old little girl while listening to you preach the gospel. It was nineteen ninety five at Angel Stadium and I knew even at that age that I needed to make my way down for the altar call.

It's a day I will never forget. Even down to the Harvest Crusade counselor who prayed with me and my parents. I am now serving Jesus every day and walking out my calling. I just watched your movie Jesus Revolution and cried watching your story unfold. I'm so grateful that you accepted the call to Jesus all those years ago. Thank you, Pastor Greg. How have these studies in God's word touched your life?

If you have a story to share, why not call us and tell us about it? Call one eight six six eight seven one one one four four. That's eight six six eight seven one eleven forty four. Well, Pastor Greg is just getting started in a new study series based on the colorful life of Moses. It's time to dove into God's word. So let's read the text right now. Hebrews eleven twenty three is where we will start.

Let's look at it together. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months because they saw he was a beautiful child. And they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward.

So as our story begins, the Jewish people are facing hard times. You remember that the way they ended up in Egypt in the first place was because of Joseph. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was favored by his father, so much so that he gave him his own super cool coat, sometimes referred to as the coat of many colors.

But what it really was was sort of a long sleeve garment that one would wear if he wasn't a worker out in the fields or in the hot sun. So while the brothers were in overalls working in the fields, Joseph was strutting around in his tuxedo, if you will, and sort of boasting about it, then ratting them out when they did things wrong to his dad. So let's just say the brothers overreacted a little bit. They decided to kill him. And then they compromised and instead sold him to traveling slave traders. And Joseph now was taken off into exile into the home of a man named Potiphar, who had a wife that was sexually obsessed with young Joseph.

She was the original cougar. She tried to get Joseph to have sex with her. He refused over and over again. Then she falsely accused him of rape and he ends up in jail.

They are in jail through the providence of God. He meets the butler and the baker of the king. He interprets dreams that they have and ultimately is brought into the court of the Pharaoh himself and interprets a troubling dream that the Pharaoh had where the Lord had revealed to Pharaoh that a famine was coming. And Joseph told him what steps to take to be ready for the famine. And the Pharaoh was so impressed. He said, you are number two in the kingdom.

And so now he is in a position of great power. Ultimately he forgave his brothers. They came to live with him there in Egypt.

Now fast forward in the story many years later. That Pharaoh that favored Joseph is gone. Joseph is gone.

The brothers are gone. But in their place are their descendants, the Jewish people that have grown in number. This Pharaoh did not know Joseph or his people and he turned against these people, the Jews. And so they are crying out to God to deliver them. Because now they are effectively slaves to the Egyptians. Lord send us a deliverer. And the Lord heard their prayer. Enter Moses the man of God. But first he would be Moses the baby protected by God.

Why? Because the Pharaoh decided he wanted to cut down the Hebrew population. He came up with his own version of what the Nazis called the final solution.

He said kill all of the Jewish baby boys. But really the devil was behind this. Because remember back in the Garden of Eden after sin entered the human race. God put Satan on notice and said there is coming one who is going to crush your head.

But you will bruise his heel. Game on. Messiah was coming. And Satan was smart enough to know that Messiah would be a Jew. So here is the Pharaoh killing these Jewish baby boys trying to stop Messiah from coming. Fast forward to the book of Esther. Here is the plot of Haman to kill all of the Jewish people that is averted. Fast forward to the New Testament. Here is King Herod hearing that the king has come as the wise men come to worship him. And he has all of those Jewish baby boys killed in Bethlehem. The devil was trying to stop Jesus from coming. So kill all these Jewish baby boys was the decree. But this Hebrew couple Amron and Jochebed the mom and dad of Joseph wanted their little boy to live of course. And the Bible tells us in particular he was a beautiful child. Now I think every parent thinks their child is beautiful. Maybe they are. I don't know if they all are. I am not going to pass judgment.

Ok. But you know what I am saying right. I mean maybe not so much. But apparently this child was exceptional in the way that he looked. The word that is used there for beautiful implies also that he was cheerful. So he was a beautiful cheerful little baby. Later in Acts Stephen is before the Sanhedrin and he gives a little commentary on Moses. In Acts 7 he says that Moses was exceedingly fair which is a word that means fair to God indicating a special purpose for his life.

So here is my point. The child wasn't just beautiful. The child had a purpose. God had singled this child out. And do you know that God has a purpose for you. Yes you. A special purpose.

A special plan that is unique to you. Regardless of the circumstances of your birth. Jeremiah knew he was called by God even before he was born. And by the way that is why we are so strong in our stand for unborn children. Because the moment of conception that is a living soul made in the image of God. And it is such a tragedy in our culture where so many of these lives are taken. And you wonder with the millions that have died by abortion. That who among those young men and women could have been someone to change our world. Someone to find a cure for cancer.

Someone to make a significant impact on our culture. It is so sad. But Jeremiah said before he was born in Jeremiah 1.5 God speaking. I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.

Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. Well Greg that is nice but you know I was born out of wedlock. Welcome to the club.

Me too. By the way I didn't find that out until much later in life. My mom had been giving me another story that wasn't true. And so I found out oh great so I wasn't planned. Fantastic you know. But you know what even if my mother did not plan me. My life was planned by God.

I know that. And so is yours. Sometimes you will see a child born out of wedlock. Oh an illegitimate child. There is no illegitimate children. Illegitimate parents yes. Illegitimate children no. Every child is legitimate. Every child is loved by God. Someone 39 says you saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid up before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts toward me Lord.

They are innumerable. So God chose Moses. Well know this. Satan hates what God chooses. And that is why he wanted to eradicate the Jewish people.

And that is why he wanted to destroy Moses. But God preserved this little one. Have you ever stopped and wondered. Why God maybe has preserved you up to this point. Maybe you had a close brush with death. Maybe you had a childhood illness you weren't supposed to survive. There were some mitigating circumstances against you.

But yet here you are right now hearing this message. God had a plan for you. God has a plan for you.

And this was about to unfold in the life of Moses. Pastor Greg Laurie with great encouragement about the plan God has for each of our lives. It's reassuring to know that God wants to use us in spite of all we've been through. Well Pastor Greg the great movie Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon is now available on DVD.

And we can make it available to our listeners. Johnny was a man of faith. But at the same time he was a man who sure made a lot of mistakes.

You know spent time in jail had drug issues. Where do you come down on the question of whether Johnny really was a Christian. Well I think he definitely was a Christian. But he was a struggling Christian. And it's funny because non-believers his fellow musicians regarded Johnny as a saint. He was a prophet like figure to them. But then some Christians because of his lapses and struggles primarily with amphetamines said well he's not a Christian at all.

Well he's a Christian. He believed in Jesus. In fact the funny thing that people may not know about Johnny Cash is when he started out he wanted to be a gospel singer. He would be out on the cotton fields with his mother and his family picking cotton and singing gospel songs.

And that's what he wanted to be. In fact when he went to Sam Phillips who originally recorded Johnny and also recorded someone you might have heard of called Elvis Presley. Along with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and many others.

Sam Phillips said you know no one wants to hear a gospel artist. And so Johnny instead came up with some other songs but throughout his career he released many gospel records. And used his considerable platform to talk very boldly about his faith. But he developed a dependence on amphetamines when he was out on the road traveling that he struggled with through a great part of his life. And it took its toll on him physically. The fact of the matter is when Johnny was 70 he looked like he was 90. But his faith always was there. He never lost his faith.

In fact it was even stronger toward the end of his life. So this is all documented in this brand new DVD of the film Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon. You're going to learn things about Johnny you never knew. You're going to be inspired. You're going to be encouraged.

Let me say this. Do you know somebody that is struggling with drug addiction or alcohol? Do you know somebody who's fallen away from the Lord? This would be a great movie to show them. Because when they see how God turned Johnny's life around they too will find inspiration to turn their life around by recommitting their life to Christ. So this will be one of the most effective tools you have in your little evangelistic toolbox.

You have a tool for everything. You've got the Jesus revolution film. You've got the Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon film.

Maybe you have the Steve McQueen the salvation of an American icon film. And by the way we have some new projects coming your way you're going to love that we'll tell you about in the future. But we're trying to equip you with resources to A. inspire you but B. to reach out and touch others.

So this is the cool thing. You can order this DVD and you could give it away as a gift. You can download the streaming code and have it right there to view at any time on your computer or your phone or your tablet.

It's all there for you. So we will send you your own copy of Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon on DVD with the streaming code for your gift of any size. Now we could just sell this to you obviously. But the reason we say for your gift of any size is we want to give you an opportunity to invest in the work of the ministry. Because you see when you do that you're laying up for yourself treasure in heaven. So if you believe in what we do here at A New Beginning our mission as you know is summed up in this statement to know God and make him known. So we teach the Word of God to you here on this program but we also make him known and we give opportunities for people to come to Christ.

You know if you're a listener. And so if you believe in that mission then be generous when you send your gift to get your copy of Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon. One other thing there's some great bonus content on this DVD you won't find anywhere else including a special message I did talking about the life of Johnny.

And then I present the gospel and I even have a prayer a person could pray to accept Christ. So get your copy of Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon with bonus content on DVD with a streaming code for your gift of any size. Yeah that's right and you can reach us quickly by calling 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call seven days a week.

Again dial 1-800-821-3300 or write A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514 or go online to harvest.org. Get in touch with your investment in this important work and let us thank you with Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon. Well next time more encouragement for Pastor Greg's kickoff message in our study of the life of Moses. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day the day when life begins. 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.