The Secret to Spiritual Success | The Power of the Scriptures

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Chew the Word of God. Our minds have a cruise control function, it would seem. We could be driving down a familiar road, paying only a modicum of attention, and wonder when that last mile went by.

Our minds weren't really in the moment. We can unfortunately follow that same pattern when we read Scripture, especially if we're trying to read a certain volume of passages as a goal. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie reminds us of the tremendous power of God's Word to instruct, to inspire, and to inspect. Today I want to talk about spiritual success.

I'm going to ask you to turn to Psalm 19. I think we all want to succeed spiritually, and we want everything fast and easy, just like it is in our regular life. But the Bible talks about slowing down, taking root, studying, denying, obeying, and of course, discipline. So if you want to grow spiritually, here's point number one if you're taking notes. To spiritually succeed, you must love and study the Bible. To spiritually succeed, you must study and love Scripture. This is essential. You never outgrow this.

You never get beyond this. This is always a working principle in the life of every successful Christian. I've never met a Christian who is failing spiritually, who was also studying the Bible diligently. Now let's see what the Bible says about itself. I want you to turn over to Psalm 19, and I'm going to read from verses 7 to 11, Psalm 19. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. And by the way, when we say the law of the Lord, we could just as easily say the Bible or Scripture.

So I'll say it that way. The Bible is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired of thee than gold, yes, than much fine gold.

Sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. Moreover, by them, as your servant warned, and in keeping of them, there is great reward. So we already pointed out that if you want to grow spiritually, you need to study and love the Word of God. Number two, to succeed spiritually, we must trust the authority of Scripture. To succeed spiritually, we must trust the authority of the Scripture.

As culture changes, we don't need to change with it. The Word of God is trustworthy because things come and go. Things come and go that are stylish.

What's stylish five years ago suddenly is dated today. But Scripture, in contrast, is perfect or literally whole, complete, and sufficient. Number three, the Word of God transforms us. The Word of God transforms us. Look at verse seven of Psalm 19, the law of the Lord or the Word of God is perfect, converting the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The word used here for converting can be translated reviving, restoring, transforming, right? So as you study and apply Scripture, it revives you. It restores you. It transforms you.

This is very important now if you don't feel like you need transformation. If you don't feel like you need to be spiritually revived, then I guess you don't really need the Bible. The Bible is for people who have a sense of desperation about where they are in life. It's for people that are not sure where they came from or where they're going. It's for people that wish they could change but they don't know how. It's for people that wish their relationships were better. It's for people that need answers. It's for you.

It's for me. So if you want to be transformed, you need to study Scripture and listen to this, memorize Scripture. I cannot emphasize that enough. Memorize Scripture. Commit it to memory. We read in Psalm 119, 11, your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 37, 31, God's word is in his heart and then none of his steps will slide.

So make room in your memory for the Bible. Number four, the word of God gives us incredible wisdom. It gives us incredible wisdom. Look at verse seven.

The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. This is an interesting phrase. The Hebrew translates simple from a root word that speaks of an open door. It's speaking of a person who has a mind like an open door. Everything comes in and everything goes out. This person doesn't necessarily know what to let in or what to keep out. They can be naive.

They can be open to everything and close to nothing. But the Bible says that it's able to make such a person wise. Think about when you just flip, when you scroll through social media. The mindless junk that you can expose your mind to and I'll admit I've done this flipping through and it's this video and this other thing and then you look at your watch and 45 minutes have passed.

You can't believe it just happened but it did happen. I just read about a recent study from Wall Street Journal that found that when researchers created accounts belonging to a fictitious 13 year old on TikTok they were quickly inundated with videos about eating disorders, body image, self-harm, and suicide. Get it? So you open up a TikTok account as a 13 year old and this is the kind of data they're feeding you. And you wonder why a young person is struggling with an eating disorder, body image, or is contemplating self-harm or even suicide.

How we need to have a filter. Say no I'm not going to look at that. No that's not helpful for me. I'm going to instead do this other thing and fill my mind with the Word of God. You see when I know what the Bible teaches about the world everything else begins to make sense. If I believe that man is basically good then I have a problem in the world I'm living in right now. As I look at the way culture is going. As I look at the crime that is rising.

As I look at the horrible things that take place each and every day. If I think man is good the problem is he just needs to change his environment. That's where the problems come from.

I'm going to have a hard time resolving these things but if I believe what the Bible says the man is basically sinful. And that's why he does the things that he does. Things start making a lot more sense. If I believe that we can make the world a better place through our efforts, through politics, through technology I'm going to be very disappointed.

If I believe that justice will prevail through our wonderful court system I'm going to be disappointed. But if I believe what the Bible says that one day Jesus Christ will come back again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and establish his kingdom that changes my perspective. You see. This is why you need a biblical worldview. Here's the problem with people today. They don't have a biblical worldview. You need to think biblically. You need to live biblically. You need to vote biblically. But instead we let our emotions rule our decisions. And that's why we're doing this series together called Timeless.

That we would have a good foundation that we build upon. Years ago someone asked me this question. What do you do when you don't agree with the Bible? I said well change your opinion because you're wrong. But some people would say well I don't agree with that verse. Oh really. Who cares.

But anyway. I mean you're free to have your opinion but God's Word is true and if you don't agree you need to change the way you see things. Romans 9 20 says, Who are you a mere human being to criticize God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it? Why did you make me like this?

Good question. So God's Word is perfect. It transforms us.

It makes us wise. What else do we know about the Bible? Well the Word of God is right. Verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart. It's right.

And I can know that it is right. And as I read the Bible I should ask myself questions. It's not just a historical document.

It is that. And we do have history in the Bible of course. But that's not the objective of the Bible to just merely teach you history.

That's to give you the backdrop so you understand what was going on in that particular moment. But ultimately it's a living breathing book that will speak to you. But it's very important to read things in context. See people get themselves into a lot of trouble because they get verses out of context.

You know they hold the Bible up to the wind and they say, Lord just speak to me right now. Just let the wind blow the pages to the thing you want me to read. Alright. You read it. And Judas went and hanged himself. Well Lord what does this mean to me? Just blow the pages some more.

Go thou and do likewise. Wait. What?

No. Stop being an idiot. Read it in context. Who was this written to? What was it saying in its original setting? That's why it's good to get an understanding of original languages having multiple translations that you can consult. So you understand the context. You understand the language.

The meaning of it when it was originally given. And then I can apply it to my own life as well. This is why it's important to read through books of the Bible and get the whole counsel of God and ask yourself the question as you are reading verses. Is there a sin here mentioned that I need to avoid? Or is there a promise here for me to claim? Or is a victory here for me to gain?

Or a blessing for me to enjoy? I heard about an old recluse who lived deep in the mountains of Colorado. And when he died some of his distant relatives came from the city to collect his valuables. Upon arriving they found an old shack with an outhouse next to it. Inside the shack next to the rock fireplace was an old cooking pot and some mining equipment. There was a cracked table with a three-legged chair standing guard by a tiny window.

An old kerosene lamp serving as a centerpiece for the table. And in the dark corner of this little room there was a dilapidated cot with a bedroll on it. And they picked up the old man's junk and started to leave. As they were driving back to the city an old guy yelled out who happened to be a friend of the miner, hey could I have what you left back there in my friend's cabin?

They said sure take it. They thought there's nothing left in that cabin. And the old friend walked right over to the table reached under it lifted up one of the floorboards and proceeded to take out all the gold his friend had discovered for the past 53 years it was worth millions of dollars.

And as the relatives were driving away the old friend said they should have they should have got to know him better. See he knew where the gold was because he knew this man. And the gold is in the word of God. And if you want to get to know God better dig into the word of God.

The treasures are here for you to discover every single day. 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. What 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. We are uncovering the many benefits of living a life that spends a generous amount of time studying God's word. Pastor Greg continues now. Keeping the word of God makes you happy. Keeping the word of God makes you happy.

Psalm 19 8 the statutes of the Lord are right or the word of God is right. Rejoicing the heart someone says happy is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful but his delight not his duty or his drudgery his delight is in the word of God and in it does he meditate day and night. He'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. His leaves shall not wither and what's over he does will prosper. Happy is the man. And what does he do?

He does he do? He meditates in the word of God. Let me just say a word about how much of the Bible you should read. Sometimes I'll read 10 chapters and even brag about it. Just read 10 chapters of Leviticus.

Let that sink in. Wow what was it about? I have no idea but I read 10 chapters. I'd rather read 10 verses with comprehension than 10 chapters without it. This is what it means to meditate. In eastern meditation one seeks to empty their mind. In biblical meditation one seeks to fill their mind.

Completely different. So when we talk about meditating on the word of God another way to translate it would be chew your food carefully. I remember when Jonathan was a little boy. He loved crab. Dad can I get crab? Sure son. Here's some crab.

He'd just eat. Wow it's paid a lot for that crab. Can I have some more?

Here you go. You're eating the crab too fast. You don't know the value of the crab. You've got to taste it and chew it.

This is costing me too much money. All right so we need to chew the word of God. Let it sink in. Go back and read that verse again. Don't you gotta read the verses. No think about it.

Ponder it. What does this say to me? Does this apply to me today? That's very important. It'll make you happy. Luke 11 28 says happy are those that hear the word of God and keep it.

See you got to keep it. It's not just enough to read it. It's not enough to just go through the word of God. The word of God has to go through you. It's not how you mark your Bible. It's how your Bible marks you. So it's like letting it impact me in the decisions that I make and that will bring the happiness that I desire. You can have a happy life without sin.

Oh I know. That that's not what culture tells us. But but look at the way people's lives go in this culture today. They have it all. They get it all. They experience it all and they're miserable unhappy people. God offers you a happiness apart from all of that. The happiness he gives doesn't stop when the party's over. It comes from reading studying memorizing and obeying the word of God.

You know I'll tell you this. I've been in ministry now for 50 years. I've been a Christian for around 53 years and what I love more than anything else about what I do is I love to study, prepare, write, and deliver messages from the Bible. That's my happy place.

That's my sweet spot. No matter what I'm going through in my life in any given day or any given week I always know now I'm going to go study the word. Now I'm going to dig deeply into the word and put a message together that I hope will inspire other people and that's my joy is discovering these truths and sharing these truths with you and I think it's your joy as well. So in closing the Bible tells me some things I need to know. It's a Bible that tells me there's both a heaven and a hell. That's why it's humorous to me when people say well I believe what the Bible says about heaven. I don't believe what it says about hell and I think heaven is x, y, and z. You wouldn't even use the word heaven if you didn't get it from the Bible.

It's from scripture. The Bible tells me there's a heaven and a hell. The Bible tells me there's a God and a Satan.

It tells me there are angels and demons. The Bible tells me that I am a sinner and it tells me that I've broken God's commandments and I fall short of his glory. The Bible tells me that God saw my situation and while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me. The Bible tells me that Christ not only died for me and paid for my sins but it also tells me he rose again from the dead and he stands at the door of my life and he knocks and if I hear his voice and open the door he will come in. The Bible tells me I can be forgiven of my sin and of the hope of heaven in the afterlife and find the meaning and purpose of my existence in this life and the Bible tells me to do this now. The Bible tells me behold today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. I would like to close by extending an invitation for anyone wherever you are. If you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life you can do it now.

Listen you want to be a happy person and maybe you've been looking for this happiness in all of the wrong places and here it's right in front of you. So funny people look everywhere for truth and most homes have a Bible somewhere. Maybe it's under some other books.

It's probably collecting dust and they're sitting there on a shelf or in a box somewhere maybe in storage who knows. Is the book with all the answers. The user's manual of life is waiting and you've never even opened it. Oh open it and believe it and you can have a relationship with God right now and be forgiven of all of your sin. If you're not sure if your sin is forgiven. If you don't have the confidence that you will go to heaven when you die. If you're trying to fill a big hole in your heart with all the things this world offers and you're coming up short what you need to know is Jesus Christ is ready to come into your heart and life right now and forgive you.

And if you've never asked him into your life why don't you do it right now. Let's pray. Father I pray for every person wherever they are.

If they don't know you speak to their hearts at this very moment and help them to see how much you love them. Help them to see how they can come into this relationship with you and be forgiven of all of their sin. I pray that your Holy Spirit will convict them and convince them of their sin and draw them to yourself right here right now.

Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like him to forgive you of your sin. If you would like to know that you will go to heaven when you die. If you want to find the meaning and purpose of life wherever you are pray these words with me if you would. Lord Jesus I believe the Bible is true and what it says about you and I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior. So I turn from my sin now. I choose to follow you Jesus from this moment forward as my Savior and my Lord. As my God and my friend.

As your disciple. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer. And I ask it now in Jesus' name.

Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie praying an important prayer with those who are making a decision for the Lord today. And if you've just done that if you prayed that prayer and meant it sincerely. Lord has heard you and forgiven you of your sin and we want to welcome you into the family of God. And we also want to help you get started in living this new life of faith. Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible.

It's in the New Living Translation. Very easy to understand and Pastor Greg has included hundreds of helps that new believers find useful. We'll send you the New Believers Bible when you ask for it.

Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. Call anytime 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or go online to harvest.org and click know God. Now hopefully you heard all of today's presentation from Pastor Greg as well as the first part of the message presented last time. If not you can catch up by going to harvest.org. Just look for the title of the study The Secret to Spiritual Success.

Again that's at harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg we're excited about your new movie called Fame. Now movies often tell a story and sometimes the actors get famous.

Yeah. But this movie tells the story of fame itself. That's right because so many people think fame is the answer. They think I want to be rich and famous. In fact a poll was done recently among young people and they were asked what do you want more than anything else. They said I want to be rich and famous.

That is not a good goal in life. You need a far better goal than that and because there are so many people who've been rich and famous and have seen the emptiness of it. So I write about all of this in my new book Fame that's out now and we want to make it available to you for your gift of any size and I quote celebrities and rock stars and movie stars and all kinds of people who have been there and done that and experienced it and see the emptiness of it and then I take you to scripture for the ultimate answers and then we have a brand new film out by the same title Fame where I interview legends Alice Cooper, Daryl Strawberry and others and we show that Christ is ultimately the answer. It's not fame it's him that you really want. So we want to send you this book right now for your gift of any size and encourage you to go see our brand new film Fame. Dave tell them where they can see that.

Yeah you can watch the movie Fame right now at our new Harvest Media platform at harvest.org and also other streaming platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Samsung, Amazon Fire and Google Play and be sure to contact us for the companion book also called Fame. We'll be glad to send this revealing book your way to thank you for partnering with us so we can continue to bring the gospel through this radio program, through books and film and so many other forms of outreach. Get in touch with your donation today by calling 1-800-821-3300.

Call anytime 24 7 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or go online to harvest.org. Well next time Pastor Greg tackles a subject nearly every believer wonders about. It's a study called how to know the will of God. 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.