God Enough, Part 1 | The Influence We Have

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here with an update on what is happening over on the island of Maui. As you know, devastating fires have effectively destroyed most of this old town of Lahaina, and many lives have been lost. The number keeps climbing, and there are a thousand people unaccounted for. This is so tragic. And as you also know, we have a church there called Harvest Kumalani.

It's about 10, 11 miles from downtown Lahaina. Our church has been dramatically affected. Many people in our congregation have had their homes burned down, but our church has a great sense of ohana. That's Hawaiian for family. They're pulling together. They're caring for each other. And right now we have a team on the ground, and we're assessing the situation and trying to determine what we can do to help. We're very glad that our friends at Samaritan's Purse, led by Franklin Graham, are on the ground as well. We'll be working closely with them to do what we can for the people of this island that have had their lives turned upside down. As you know, we've established a special fund that we're calling the Harvest Hawaii Relief Fund.

And you can go to harvest.org and you can give. And we're going to put it to good use, bringing hope to the hurting people of the entire island of Maui. So let's keep praying for the folks there. Pray for the relief efforts. Pray for the first responders. Pray for those that are trying to rebuild the infrastructure of this island. They don't have power there right now. They can't really communicate at all. So they need God's intervention. Let's all be praying for them together.

And as they say in Hawaii, mahalo, which means thank you. If you knew that other people were watching you and were being inspired by the way you deal with the challenges of your life, would that encourage you a little bit? Well, know that they are watching. Just as others have influenced you, you're influencing others. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie has good encouragement for us. When you dare to live a godly life, despite difficulties in your life, it's a powerful testimony, more powerful than you may realize. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Again, you hear only angels are singing.

This is the day, the day where life begins. Ever researched a product online and when you discovered dozens of bad reviews, you decided against it? What happened in that research? Other people influenced your behavior. They kept you from making a mistake. How are you influencing others?

No, not on the products they buy, but how they pattern their life. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie returns to our studies of the life of Moses to consider what kind of an influence we want to have on those friends around us. Let's just say for the sake of a point that we knew, and we could never know this, but let's say we could, that we knew somehow that Jesus was returning tomorrow at three o'clock sharp in the afternoon.

Let's say we knew that. How would that affect you from now to then? I think around 2 45 you would be the most spiritual version of you that ever existed. You would have 20 bibles open. You would be praying. You would be listening to worship music and sharing the gospel all at the same time.

I am ready. Well, in reality, the believers should live every day as though it were their last day because someday it will be. The believers should live every day as though that were the day that Christ were coming back again. The great evangelist D.L. Moody was once asked the question, Moody, if you knew the Lord would return tonight, how would you spend the rest of the day?

Moody replied without hesitation, quote, I wouldn't do anything different than I do every day, end quote. That is how we all ought to be living. Now the Bible is very clear in pointing out that Christ is coming back again.

So in light of this, how am I supposed to be living? Paul gives us an answer here in 1 Corinthians 10 in his words to last day's believers. And it is interesting because as his point of reference he goes back to Moses and the Israelites, the very thing we are looking at together. He talks about how they were delivered from Egypt, how they were in the wilderness for 40 years, how God provided for them the manna and such, how they complained and all the drama that went with it.

And he uses that as a point of reference to then bring an application to us. So let's read what Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 11 to 13. I am reading from the New Living Translation. These things happened as examples to us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

That is us. So if you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptations to be more than you can stand. And when you are tempted, He will show you a way out so you can endure. We will stop there.

So here is basically what he is saying. Look, we are living in the last days. They went through a whole lot of hard stuff and we can learn from their mistakes as well as their victories. And we too are going to face severe trials, some worse than others. But the temptations you are going to are not unique to you.

Listen, you are not alone in your struggles in life. Again verse 13. These things happened to them as examples for us and were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. Sometimes we might think that suffering is random. There is no reason for it. There is no purpose in it.

There is no order to it. But it really isn't. God has His purposes as to why He allows certain things to happen in our lives. But here is what we need to consider. Would you find a measure of comfort to know that by the way you faced your hardships, challenges, and trials that it would give hope to others?

Let me say it another way. If you knew that other people were watching you and were being inspired by the way you deal with the challenges of your life, would that encourage you a little bit? Well, know that they are watching you. We are being watched as Christians. You know people know when you are a believer and they are watching your every step. Quite honestly they are not always rooting for you.

Frankly they would like you to mess up here and there so they don't have to feel bad about not believing what you believe. So when you dare to live a godly life and you give glory to God despite difficulties in your life, know this. It is a powerful testimony.

More powerful than you may realize. You think of Paul and Silas who were thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. The jailer was especially cruel and harsh.

He whipped them. And then he put their feet in stocks and put them in the back of a deep, dark, miserable dungeon. And then at midnight that jailer heard something he had never heard in all of his years. He heard Paul and Silas singing two-part harmonies.

I don't know if they were harmonizing but singing. Giving praises to God. And ultimately that resulted in the jailer believing when he came to them and said, what must I do to be saved? So these things happened to them as examples to us. You know I don't think the characters in the Bible realize that we would be talking about their lives you know hundreds and thousands of years later. Do you think Job thought about that when he's going through it?

He said, I'm going to say this now. This would be a great quote about me. I think he was just in real time experiencing the hardships of his life. But it was recorded for us to be inspired by and the same is true of the Israelites. And there's a lot we can learn from them and a lot we can learn from Moses. But one thing that jumps out to me is how God uses ordinary people.

He uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Levi Lusko recently spoke here and he told the story of walking down the beach with his little daughter Clover. And they were collecting shells. Levi was picking all the nice ones and she was picking up the broken ones.

And she was carrying as many as she could carry in her little hands. And then she noticed her dad was only picking up the nicer more collectible shells and she reminded her dad and said, Daddy the broken ones are beautiful too. Good theological insight. I think when God is looking for people to use he often finds that the broken ones are beautiful too.

I'll take it a step further. Sometimes it seems as though he goes out of his way to pick the broken ones. To use what we might classify as the unusable.

To take the ordinary. To do something extraordinary so he can get the glory. The Bible tells us that his strength is made perfect in our weakness. And Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4.7, we have this light shining in our hearts but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. And this makes it clear that our great power is not from ourselves but it is from God. If you think of the flawed people the Lord used in the Bible. I mean we put these patriarchs and these great men and women of God and pedestals but these were messed up people just like you. Trust me.

Consider this. Abraham the great father of our faith lied about his wife twice. His son Isaac did the same thing. Jacob lied and connived.

Noah got drunk. Samson was very immoral. Gideon was afraid.

Rahab was a prostitute. Jeremiah and Timothy were deemed too young to be used by God. David had an affair and was a murderer. Elijah was deeply depressed and wanted to die. Jonah ran from God. The disciples fell asleep when they should have been praying and Peter openly denied the Lord. The Samaritan woman was divorced more than once. Timothy had an ulcer and Lazarus was dead.

So what is your excuse? These are ordinary people, flawed people, sinful people just like us. They change their world. Many of them are mentioned in Hebrews 11. And what I find interesting about Hebrews 11 the hall of faith if you will is that there is no mention of the sins of these people. When we read about Samson, when we read about Noah, when we read about others no mention is made of the mistakes they made. They are just recognized for their contributions.

Listen. They didn't always collect metals. Sometimes they collected scars. But God didn't just look at them for what they were. He looked at them for what they would become. And that is how He sees you. You know you look in the mirror and you see what you see.

Right? And then there are those magnifying mirrors. Those are frightening aren't they?

Especially as you get older. Every flaw is amplified and magnified and you know and there it is. And so we look in God's mirror and we see all of our shortcomings. God sees something different. I see a blank canvas. God sees a finished painting. I see a broken pot. God sees a beautiful vase or vase depending on how you want to pronounce it.

I see flaws and shortcomings. God sees potential and He sees what He'll make us into. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody what are you doing this weekend? I'd like to hang out with you at Harvest at Home. When is Harvest at Home? It is a time of worship and Bible study exclusively designed for people that are viewing in from all over the place. So you can be a part of our extended congregation at Harvest at Home.

Join us this weekend, Saturday and Sunday for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well we're learning today how God can see our potential and we'll see how He saw Moses' potential as well. Pastor Greg is presenting a message called God Enough Part One.

And so here's Moses. He's a work in progress when we're introduced to him and he's pretty interesting because he messes up big time in the verses we're about to read. I wrote a book called Johnny Cash The Redemption of an American Icon. I've always been fascinated by Johnny Cash and he was a very strong believer but he also had very real struggles.

I think sometimes people think he was worse than he actually was. I was being interviewed on a TV show and I was asked the question did Johnny come to Christ when he was in prison? Well actually Johnny never went to prison. He didn't go to jail more than once. But he sang in prisons and he famously did a concert in San Quentin in Folsom Prison as well. And in one of his songs he sang these lyrics, I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. And I think some people thought that was autobiographical but Cash never shot anybody. He never killed anybody. But Moses did.

He actually murdered a man. So we are introduced to him now and we are going to get a little more clarity on who he really was. Now depending on your age you may sort of think of Moses in different ways. For an older generation we remember the film The Ten Commandments directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Charlton Heston. He was a great Moses wasn't he? For a younger generation they may think of Christian Bale because there was a film made that was called Exodus, Gods, and Kings. Bale didn't have a lot of respect for Moses, the character he played in an interview. He said Moses was a terrorist to the Egyptians and Christian Bale also called the mental state of Moses into question.

No wonder Exodus, Gods, and Kings was such a bad movie. Right. I think Bale was confusing Moses with Batman who he also played.

Right. Too bad he didn't use the same voice. I am Moses.

Anyway. Here is how the Bible describes Moses despite his flaws and shortcomings. Moses the man of God.

What higher compliment could be paid. Moses the man of God. And that is exactly who he was. But the thing is he was a reluctant leader. Moses did not want the job of Moses.

But he was chosen by God. So to pick up where we last left off. The Jewish people are growing in number and they are serving the Egyptians as slaves. The Egyptians want to get them out.

They want to trim their numbers way back. So the Pharaoh gives a decree he says to the Hebrew midwives that would deliver the little babies. Now if that baby that is born is a boy I want you to kill him. The girls can live but kill the boys.

Apparently he saw these boys as a potential threat in the future. Well these Hebrew midwives feared God the Bible says. And they refused to obey what the Pharaoh told them to do. You know a Christian should obey the civil government unless the civil government tells us to do something that is contrary to Scripture.

And then we have a higher law that we turn to and that is the law of God and the truth of Scripture. And these women were believers. They thought we are not going to kill those baby boys. In fact the irony of the whole story is the Pharaoh thought the boys were the threat. And it was the women who saved the boys and saved Israel and preserved their nation. And two women in particular are identified among the Hebrew midwives Shipra and Puah. Now there were others but these two ladies are identified and it was Jochebed and Miriam. Jochebed the mother of Moses. Miriam the sister of Moses that obviously played the role in saving him. And even an Egyptian woman that ultimately had compassion on the beautiful baby boy and adopted him into her home. And even remember that Moses was put in that little basket covered with pitch to make it waterproof. And it drifted right down there to where the Pharaoh's daughter the princess would spend time. And she fell in love with little baby Moses.

Took him into the court. And Josephus the Jewish historian believes that Moses would have potentially been the Pharaoh of Egypt. And so offering commentary on this Stephen in Acts chapter 7 said, at that time Moses was born he was no ordinary child.

For three months he was cared for by his family when he was placed outside. Pharaoh's daughter took him in and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. So Moses was the whole package. He was handsome, athletic, smart, and he was charismatic. He could sway the masses. And then he was educated in the finest school of the day to be taught in the wisdom of the Egyptians meant he would be taught in Egyptian military tactics, art, music, painting, and of course their religion.

This was done in what was known as the Temple of the Sun which was sort of the Oxford of the ancient world. But underneath those royal robes beat the heart of a believer. Underneath those royal robes was a Jewish man that felt the pain of his fellow Jews who were being treated horribly as slaves to do the work of the Egyptians and he wanted to help them but he didn't know what to do. Now if he had played his cards right and kept a low profile he could have ultimately ascended to the throne of Egypt, become the Pharaoh, and let the people go. But for Moses this just wasn't right. He knew that's not really what he wanted to do and we already looked at that passage in Hebrews where it says Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

Moses looked at it this way. God's worst was better than the world's best. What is the worst thing about being a Christian? Eating bad casseroles or pot lucks. No no that's not it. Listening to Greg preach.

No that's not it either. The worst thing about being a Christian is probably the suffering and persecution we have to go through. The fact that if you put your faith in Christ and speak up about it especially in the culture we are in today you'll be vilified by some and attacked by others and marginalized by even others and you'll face differing forms of persecution for your faith.

Now if you live in a communist country or if you live in a Muslim country you may even lose your life if you become a follower of Christ. So that's the worst that our faith has to offer. But the worst that our faith has to offer is better than anything the world has to offer. Now let's turn that around. Let's talk about the best that God has to offer.

Oh man. Everything you want in life. Purpose. Fulfillment. Forgiveness.

And best of all the hope of heaven. Now what is the worst that the world has to offer? We talk about the pleasures of the world. What about the worst? The repercussions of chasing those pleasures. The consequences of your actions.

And the ultimate judgment that you will face one day standing before God almighty. So Moses thought you know what I don't care. I don't I don't want to go this way.

I don't want to make these compromises. I need to do something. I think Moses was beginning to understand his destiny. I know God wants me to help the Jewish people but how should I do it?

Well he had the right idea but he went about it in the wrong way. Let's look at what Exodus 2 has to say. Turn there with me if you would. Exodus 2. Drop down to verse 11. Now it came to pass in those days when Moses has grown he went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew one of his brothers. So he looked this way and he looked that way and when he saw no one he killed the Egyptian and hit him in the sand. And when he went out the second day behold two Hebrew men were fighting and he said to the one who did the wrong why are you striking your companion? He said who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Moses said surely this thing is known. And when Pharaoh heard of the matter he sought to kill Moses but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian. Okay let's stop there.

Okay let's stop there. Verse 12 it says he looked this way and he looked that way. You know if you ever look at a surveillance camera in a store and you want to find a shoplifter that's usually what they do. They walk up to the item they're going to take and they go grab it right. When you're about to do something you shouldn't do you look around.

Is anybody watching me? He looked this way he looked that way too bad he didn't look up. Because if he would have looked up the Lord would have been saying no no no no no don't do what you're about to do and he kills this guy. Moses is showing us what happens when impulsiveness reigns. Pastor Greg Laurie is just getting started in our studies of the life of Moses. We're learning from his strengths and his weaknesses and there's more to come from today's study called God Enough Part One.

Well Pastor Greg we're excited to make available the film Johnny Cash The Redemption of an American Icon on DVD. Yes. Johnny's early life was dramatic, heartbreaking.

Yeah. And even after he saw great success there was still a lot of drama that surrounded Johnny's life. But we have a way for people to look beyond the drama to the man behind the man in black. There's a lot we can learn about the life of Johnny Cash isn't there?

Yeah there really is. You know it surprises some people to know that Johnny was a very strong Christian and he always believed but he did have lapses in his faith. He did have struggles with drugs throughout his life and career. He did make some really bad decisions and he made some really good decisions.

Well sounds a lot like us doesn't it? And so he was a man that had a story to tell and it was brought out in his music and throughout his career but here's what I appreciate about Johnny. Early in his career he began to succeed. He became a huge star around the world and he had a television show that was a major hit and Johnny used that considerable platform to preach the gospel. He had great Christian artists sing with him.

He even invited Billy Graham on once much to the chagrin of the TV network that was sponsoring this. They were saying to Johnny stop talking so much about your faith and he even did it more but then he would have a lapse. He would mess up and then he would get back on his feet again but Johnny always knew where the north star in his life was. He always knew what mattered. He never turned away from the Lord.

He just struggled. He was like the modern day version of the prodigal son but you remember how that story ended. When the prodigal son returned the father welcomed him with open arms and the same is true for Johnny Cash. You know it's interesting Johnny began and ended in a very powerful way musically. I personally, and this is my opinion, believe that his best music was at the beginning and the end of his career and that was also true of his spiritual life.

He was strong at the beginning of his life and very strong at the end of his life with some slip-ups and falls in between. That's why the title of this movie is Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon. There's no doubt he's an American icon but he was redeemed and God blessed him and forgave him and gave him new opportunities and you're going to hear the whole story and you're going to hear some things you've never heard before and I think you'll be deeply moved. This is a beautifully done film.

First-rate quality done by the same team at the Kingdom Story Company that did Jesus Revolution. So this film is going to impact you. It's a film you can show to friends and family and non-believers. In fact you can invite them over for a watch party and also another thing I would add is we include on this DVD a bonus content which is only on the DVD we are offering to you here at Harvest and on this bonus content is a special message I did wrapped around the story of Johnny Cash a gospel message complete with a prayer a person could pray to accept Christ.

I think this could be a really effective tool for you to use to touch people around you. So order your own copy of Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon on DVD complete with a streaming code which means you can download it and also bonus content and we'll send it to you for your gift of any size. Now I'm going to ask you to be more generous than you might normally be because we've had to pay more for this resource but we want to get it into your hands and so whatever you send will be used to help us continue to teach God's word and proclaim the gospel. So order your copy of Johnny Cash the redemption of an American icon from us here at Harvest Ministries. Yeah why not give us a call today we'll be glad to make all the arrangements. It's our way of thanking you for your partnership in teaching believers and sharing the gospel with those who haven't yet met the Lord. So call us today at 1-800-821-3300.

You can make that call anytime 1-800-821-3300 or write us at A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or go online to harvest.org. Well next time as Pastor Greg continues our series Water, Fire, Stone he focuses on the danger of being impulsive and shows how Moses' impulsiveness led to murder and his own exile. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. Hey everybody thanks for listening to A New Beginning. This is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners. So for more content that can help you know God and equip you to make him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a Harvest Partner just go to harvest.org.