The Almost Christian | Fully Accepting Christ

Today's episode of A New Beginning is brought to you by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Learn more at harvest.org. And while you're there, browse our library of free e-books designed to help you grow in your faith. Repent and be converted in times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord. Repentance is a vital, necessary part of entering into a genuine relationship with the Lord. But what does it mean?

Pastor Greg Laurie explains today. Don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds.

Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves in the armor of right living as those who live in the light. This is what it means to repent. 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 the nations are singing. This is the day, the day where life begins. Prerequisites. Students certainly know what those are. Those are things that have to come before other things.

Before you can take English 201, you have to take English 101. Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us explore any prerequisites in making a genuine commitment to Christ. If heaven hangs in the balance, we want to make sure our hearts and minds are sincere in fully accepting the Lord's invitation.

Today's message is one of our most requested of the year. So we are introduced in this story to what we could describe as an almost Christian. His name was Herod Agrippa and he was listening to the Apostle Paul and really as we read now what Paul says, we learn how to share our faith with non-believers. Acts 26 verse one, Agrippa said to Paul, you may now speak in your defense.

And Paul with the gesture of his hand started his defense. I am very fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders. For I know you are an expert on Jewish customs and controversies.

Now listen to me personally. Okay now drop down to verse nine. This is Paul's testimony. I used to believe I had to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison. I cast my vote against them and they were condemned to death. Many times I had them whipped in the synagogue to get them to curse Christ.

I was so violently opposed to them, Paul says, I hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands. So one day I'm on such a mission to Damascus armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, your majesty, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. We all fell down and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

It's hard for you to fight against my will. I said, who are you, sir? And the Lord replied, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. He loved to tell the story because it built a bridge and that brings me to my first point.

When you want to share your faith with someone, find common ground and build a bridge to your listener. Notice what he says in verse two, I am fortunate King Agrippa, you are the one here in my defense. Now that could sound like flattery. He also says, your majesty, hey, he's just having respect for the guy. I know you're a king. I know you're a ruler and I want to reach you right now with the gospel.

There were reports historically that Agrippa was having an incestuous relationship with Bernice, his sister. So Paul could have called him out, hey dude, I know about what's going on with you and your sister. What's wrong with you?

You see, this is where we get sidetracked as Christians is we're talking to someone that's living a different lifestyle than we are. Maybe they're gay. Maybe they're living with their boyfriend or their girlfriend. Maybe they're strung out on drugs.

Maybe they have an alcohol issue. And so we start right there and going after that. No, listen, that's not the place to start. The place to start is with Jesus. Start with Jesus. When Jesus met with a woman at the well who had been married and divorced five times and was living with a guy, he didn't go straight to that and say, I know you're a wicked, immoral woman.

Rather he said, hey, gesturing to her water pot, if you drink of this water, you'll thirst again, but if you drink of the water I offer, you'll never thirst again. He's appealing to their inner thirst and sometimes we unnecessarily alienate people at the outset instead of building a bridge to a person. Tell your story of how you came to Christ.

Don't get the cart before the horse. The main message to these people, to all people, is Jesus. And of course Paul uses this personal testimony to build that bridge.

Here's the great thing about your story. It's a great way to preach to a person without preaching at a person. Does that make sense? In other words, as I tell my story, as I heard a guy say, Jesus said, you're for me or against me. So instead of me starting with a sermon, I start with my story, but in effect I am kind of preaching to them. So it's showing them I wasn't always the way I am now. Christ has changed me.

That's the place to begin. Acts 26 verse 18. Look at this. He says, to Agrippa, God has called me to preach the gospel, which means to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people and be given an inheritance. Two big things must happen for you to not be an almost Christian but for you to become a real Christian. Number one, you need to have your eyes open. You need to have your eyes open. The Bible speaks of a spiritual blindness that every person has. We're told in 2 Corinthians 4, the good news we preach is veiled from anyone.

It's a sign they're perishing. Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the eyes of those that do not believe, and they're unable to see the glorious light of the good news shining upon them. They don't understand the message we preach about Jesus, who is the exact likeness of God. So listen, when you're talking to a non-believer, pray this. Lord, open their eyes. There's nothing I can say to open your eyes. There's nothing I can say to make a non-believer believe. I've had people come up to me and say, Greg, what is like the hack here on getting a person to come to Christ? What is the one thing you can say that will cause everyone to believe, like evangelists, like have that in a card in their back pocket or something? No, I don't.

I'm just like you. I just proclaim the truth. But I pray that God would open their spiritual eyes. In fact, Paul even says in Ephesians 1 18, he prays that the eyes of their heart would be open because Satan has blinded people. So first we pray, Lord, open their eyes. So when you came to Christ, your eyes were open.

What does that mean? There came a moment, it may have happened in a flash, where all of a sudden you realize this is all true. It happened for me, I've told you before. At age 17, I'm looking at the Christians, I'm thinking they're crazy.

I don't even know why I'm there. And something was said. And all of a sudden, I just thought this is all true. It's all true.

And this is what I've been looking for. That's having your eyes open. But that doesn't mean you're converted yet.

It's possible to have your eyes open and still not believe. You can say, I know it's true. I know Jesus is the way. I know there's a heaven. I know there's a hell.

I know we need to repent. Great. Have you done it?

No. Well, listen, you're close. And you're closer than you were before, but you need to have your eyes open, number one. And then number two, you need to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

That's what Paul says. Turn from darkness to light and the power of Satan to God. Only God can open your spiritual eyes. Only you can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Romans 13 says, the night is almost gone.

The day of salvation will soon be here. Don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds.

Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves in the armor of right living as those who live in the light. This is what it means to repent. See, this is the missing element in the so-called conversion of a lot of people. They've never repented of their sin.

Why believe in Jesus? Oh, I love Jesus, they say. But then they continue living in sin. But the Bible says, repent and be converted and times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord. Repent. Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery who He forgave.

He said, repent and sin no more. Reminds me of a church that needed a new paint job. So they called a local painter.

Would you come and paint our church? So the guy said, sure. He showed up.

Whoa, it's a little bigger than I thought it would be. He thought, okay, I have to spend this much of materials, this many hours to do it. And then he thought, you know, if I thin the paint, I could do this for less money and make more personal profit. So he poured a bunch of paint thinner in his paint and he's painting it and he's up at the very top.

He's finishing off the steeple with this thinned out paint and suddenly there was a bolt of lightning from heaven that struck him and he's hanging on by one hand and he hears a voice from heaven say, repaint and thin paint and thin no more. What is repentance? Sometimes we confuse repentance and remorse. Remorse is being sorry you got caught.

Repentance is being sorry enough to stop. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody, I want to encourage you to check out the new Harvest Plus app. It's on Roku, Apple TV, and Google Play, among others. And you can stream incredible content on all major platforms for free. You're going to find live events, our evangelistic films like A Rush of Hope, Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, and our newest film, Fame. Plus our TV programs, our podcast, Harvest at Home, and a lot more.

Stream it all on any device for free using the new Harvest Plus app. You've joined us for an important study from Pastor Greg titled The Almost Christian. Pastor Greg continues now. So let's go back over this to be a real Christian and not an almost Christian. Number one, turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God after you've had your eyes open. Now what happens if you do that?

Ah, look at this. God gives you the forgiveness of your sins and an inheritance. Verse 18.

Let me go back to what I said earlier. There's some things only God can do. Only God can open your eyes. Only God can give you the forgiveness of your sin and an inheritance. But only you, only I, only we can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. But the forgiveness of sins.

How amazing is that? To have your sins forgiven and forgotten. God promises in Hebrews 8 12, their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. God doesn't just forgive us our sins. He forgets our sins. He doesn't hold our sins against us. How do I get my sins forgiven?

First John 1 9. If I will confess my sin, He's faithful and just to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. So He forgives me. Then He gives me an inheritance.

What does that mean? That means I'm adopted into God's family. I mean if all God did for me was forgive my sins that would have been more than enough. But then the Lord says now you're my child. I've adopted you. I haven't received a spirit of bondage again to fear but one of adoption whereby I cry Abba Father. The Bible says. So it's relationship that He gives me. Access to His throne.

Access to His presence. Years ago we were doing one of our crusades and I forgot my Bible in my hotel room. So I said to my son Christopher. Well go get my Bible.

I forgot it please. And so he rushes to the hotel room. He gets the Bible. He shows up at the crusade. Says I need to give this to my dad.

They say well you don't have the credentials to get back there. He goes he's my dad. No we I don't know who you are. How do I know he's your dad.

He pulls out his driver's license. Christopher David Laurie. Look I'm his son. He asked me to look his name is on the Bible. Greg Laurie.

I need to bring the Bible to my dad. Sorry. And then someone told me. I said no let him in.

So this is the crazy thing. The usher said no but the father said come. Guess where I'm going with this. By the way I had that usher killed but that's. No God forgave me. It's all right. No I'm joking. I didn't.

Well the usher was doing his job a little too zealously let's say. But we come to the father. Father I come to you. The devil says you can't come in here.

You don't have the credentials. No. You say he's my father.

Get out of the way. You have access to Jesus Christ. You see. That's the inheritance. That's the inheritance and it will take all eternity for us to grasp all that God has done for us. Ephesians 2 6 says God will point us to the future ages and give us examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us as shown in all he has done for us. So when you get to heaven you don't know everything. You're going to learn new things in heaven. Heaven's going to be amazing. It's going to be an adventure. There'll be things to do. There'll be places to go. There'll be new things to learn. And so for all eternity we'll learn more and more about the amazing things that God has done for each of us.

What do I need to do? Have my eyes open. Turn from darkness and light from the power of Satan to God. Then I receive the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance from God.

What an amazing promise. One last thing I'll point out about Paul's message and then we'll wrap it up. Paul preached the crucifixion of Jesus. Look at verse 22 Acts 26. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen. That the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead. He's saying this to a group.

Hey I'm here to tell you Jesus Christ died on the cross and he rose from the dead. And that's our message to a lost world. That's the scene irritated by Paul. However Agrippa almost seems to be convinced. Verse 24 Festus shouts Paul you're crazy. Too much study has made you insane. Paul replies I'm not insane.

Most excellent Festus. He's still respectful. I'm not crazy sir. In fact I'm speaking the sober truth. And then he zeroes in on Agrippa. And he says King Agrippa knows all about these things. I'm speaking frankly. I'm sure these events are familiar to him.

They were not done in a corner. And then he says to King Agrippa verse 27. King Agrippa do you believe the prophets? I know you do.

People probably gasped. No one speaks to the king like that. Paul does. Hey I know you know this stuff.

I know you know it's true. In a way he was setting a trap for Agrippa. If Agrippa said no if Agrippa said no it's not true that would cause the very people he had to interface with to turn against him. But if he said it was true he was falling into Paul's trap.

So he says this again verse 28. Do you think you could cause me to become a Christian so quickly? Listen for some people to come to Christ it takes years. Years. I know people who have prayed years for their children. Years for their spouses. Years for their parents. I prayed for well over 30 years for my mother to come to Christ.

And she finally did one month before she died. It took years. It took hours to reach my father who adopted me Oscar Laurie. I literally spent a few hours telling him what Christ had done for me and he accepted Christ. It takes years with some.

It takes hours with others. That's up to God. Our job is to just faithfully give them the message. And then Paul responds in verse 29. Listen that quickly or not I pray to God that you and everyone here in the audience might become as I am except for these chains. And Agrippa the governor and Bernice his sister and all the others got up and left.

So close but so far. The almost Christian. What are the takeaway truths from this message? Number one God wants us to share the gospel because he's called us to do so.

He's put you where you are just as he put Paul where he was for a reason. And the most important part of that message is Christ in him crucified. Number two it's not enough to just be exposed to the truth we must act on it. So we can have our eyes open but we need to turn from darkness to light. Three as we share the gospel with people we need to build bridges not burn them and give them the gospel. And four we must realize that only God can open the spiritual eyes of a listener.

We just have to do our part. I wonder if I'm speaking to somebody right now who just had their eyes open. Now maybe you were sleeping and literally your eyes open I don't know. But I'm talking about your spiritual eyes. You've heard these things I've said before but all of a sudden boom you just went this is true.

Why have I not done this yet? Maybe I'm talking to someone who believes Jesus is the son of God. You believe he died on the cross.

You believe he rose from the dead. You believe there's an afterlife a heaven even a hell. You believe all these things but you haven't taken the next step and turned from your sin. You're still living in your sin.

This could be the day when everything changes for you. And the day when you are forgiven of your sins and the day when you receive this inheritance that God has for you. If you've never asked Jesus to come into your life. If you're not sure if your sin is forgiven. Maybe you've been going through life thinking you're a believer and maybe for the first time you've realized that maybe you actually aren't. Maybe you've been pretending this is your moment to get right with God. This is the moment to be forgiven of your sins and if you need to do that you can do it right here right now.

Let's pray. Father speak to every heart and if they don't know you yet let this be the moment they believe. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like him to forgive you of your sins.

If you would like to know with certainty that you will go to heaven when you die. If you're ready to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God then pray this prayer after me. Just pray Lord Jesus I know I'm a sinner but I know that you're the savior who died on the cross for me and rose and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer in Jesus name I pray.

Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer and we hope you'll get in touch with us and let us know about the decision you've made today here on A New Beginning and we'd like to help you build a strong foundation for your faith as you go forward. We'd like to send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's free of charge and it'll help you as you take your next steps. Just ask for it as you call 1-800-821-3300 and you can reach us any time around the clock. That's 1-800-821-3300 or write A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or when you go online to harvest.org and click know God.

You know Pastor Greg we all have people waiting for us in heaven and we may think about that fact when we hear that you have a new book on heaven. Yeah. I think about your grandmother Mama Stella and she was such a big part of your childhood.

Yes. And that's that's going to be a sweet reunion for you someday. It really is you know Mama Stella and that's the southern way of addressing your grandparent. You know you call your grandmother Mama or your grandfather Daddy. So it was Mama Stella and Daddy Charles and I lived with her and my grandfather for a number of years as my mom was living her wild tumultuous life and Mama Stella and Daddy Charles were Christians. They had a portrait of Jesus hanging on the wall and we went to church on Sunday. Well my mother didn't have a portrait of Jesus hanging on a wall and there was no church and that is when I first heard about Jesus and I remember as a little boy I would stare at that portrait and there was something about Jesus that intrigued me like who is he?

You know can I know him? I remember as a little boy sitting in my bed at night after they'd gone to sleep and I would put a blanket over my head and I would talk to an imaginary character that I called Mr. Nobody and I think in my little boy way I was reaching out to God. You know the Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts. That's unique to people.

You don't have that in the animal kingdom. I don't think a dog sits around and thinks about the meaning of his life. I know a cat would for sure but you know I did think about those things and then I thought even more deeply about it as it got a little bit older and then I went on my own search and so when I did hear the gospel and I did accept Christ I called Mama Stella and it's funny because she also played a role in my first answered prayer because after I became a Christian I had this kind of funky Bible somebody gave me and I wanted a proper Bible you know with a leather cover gold pages. I'd seen one down at a Christian bookstore and I prayed God would you get me a Bible. I had no money and I wasn't going to ask my mother to buy me a Bible and so I prayed Lord would you help me get one of these Bibles and my grandmother talks to me on the phone and I told her I accepted Christ and she said Greg I want to buy you a brand new Bible go pick out a real nice one and I'll pay for it. Boom first answer prayer came through Mama Stella not to forget also the fact that she was the most amazing cook of all time because it was southern food you know deep fried chicken okra collard greens black-eyed peas mashed potatoes and the best biscuits this side this side of heaven so when I get to heaven I'm kind of hoping that Mama Stella will fire me up a batch of hot biscuits so I can melt butter on them and then put some honey or some jam she also made jam of course and to me that would be better maybe even than manna. So speaking of heaven I've written a book called as it is in heaven you've heard that phrase before it's in the Lord's prayer where Jesus teaches us this prayer he says after this manner therefore you should pray our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven what is heaven like what will we do in heaven what would be reunited with loved ones who have preceded us when we get there well the answer that is yes so I deal with all of those things and a whole lot more because you know heaven is sort of this mystical place to a lot of people and the Bible actually gives us some very important details about heaven I can tell you this it's going to be amazing it's going to surpass your wildest dreams and it will be better than anything you've ever experienced on earth and that's why I want to send you a copy of this book as it is in heaven so you can learn more about your future heavenly home and I'll send this book to you for your gift of any size Dave you could tell them a little bit more about that yeah it's an encouraging resource full of insights and answers to your questions and we're sending it to say thank you to those who partner with us here in 2024 we have such compelling ministry plans and with your investment many more hearts can be touched and many more will hear about heaven so if you'll contact us today with your investment we'll be glad to send you as it is in heaven just call us anytime at 1-800-821-3300 that's 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning box 4000 riverside california 92514 or just go online to harvest.org and by the way pastor greg talks more about what's waiting for us in the afterlife in a new podcast available right now at harvest.org and on the harvest plus app look for the title as it is in heaven a new podcast at harvest.org the harvest plus app and on other podcast apps well next time pastor greg has some candid words about the need for harmony in our relationships as we continue to present some of the most requested messages of the past year join us here on a new beginning with pastor and bible teacher greg lorry 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