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. To use it, I found that sometimes scriptures are like time bombs that detonate later. They act like they don't care. But then three o'clock in the morning they wake up and that verse is in their head because God's word will not return void. When God wanted to share His message of love, surprisingly He chose to use people to reach people, flawed, fallible, oible filled people. But the power of the message is not in us messengers.
It's built into the message. And the boldness and direction we need is built into us by the Spirit who lives within us. Pastor Greg Laurie discusses that today on A New Beginning as he continues a message from his brand new series in Acts, a series called The Upside Down Life.
This is the day, the day when life begins. Let's all grab our Bibles and turn to the book of Acts. And the title of my message before us now is The Secret to Sharing the Gospel Effectively. Let's read Acts two, verses two to seven. I'm reading, by the way, from the New Living Translation. Everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and they began speaking in other languages as the Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem and when they heard the loud voice everyone came running and they were bewildered to hear their own language being spoken by the believers and they were completely amazed and said, how can this be?
We'll stop there. So God is getting ready now to change the world with 120 people. What can we learn from them? They were unified. They were unified. They were together.
Verse two, on the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. These believers had no earthly power. They had no armies. They had no money. They had no status.
They had no political power. But they had Jesus. And Jesus had them and they were together. So let's look now at what Peter says. Acts chapter two, verse 36. He gets up and says these words to the people gathered. Then Peter continued preaching for a long time.
Strongly urging all the listeners, save yourselves from this crooked generation. Those who believe what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day, about 3,000 in all. Wow. Stop there. 3,000 new believers.
It's amazing. On one day after one sermon. Why did Peter have such an amazing response to his message? Point number one is he knew his audience or his congregation. He knew that some of the people he was speaking to literally played a role in the crucifixion of Jesus. Can you imagine if maybe one of those Roman guards was there that pounded the spikes into the hands of Jesus?
The religious leaders were there for sure, listening in, very critical. And he points maybe a finger. You crucified him.
He's not speaking figuratively. He's saying you. I know you. I remember you. I was there.
I saw you. You crucified him. So it's very specific. He also quotes a lot of scripture. He quotes huge portions of the Old Testament apparently from memory.
So the fisherman had been busy. He had been reading and memorizing the Bible. It's not like he pulled out the scroll of Joel here. That's a big giant scroll. They didn't have Bibles like we have now. Someone help me open Joel.
No. He just from his heart quoted scripture. See that was his audience. They were people that knew scripture. They were Jewish people in Jerusalem for Pentecost and he spoke to them in a way they would understand. Contrast that to Paul on Mars Hill speaking to the people of Athens.
We would describe that as a pagan culture. They didn't know the Lord. They didn't know scripture. They worshiped false gods. And so Paul spoke in a different way to them.
And if we were to look at our country today, we're much more like Athens than we are like Jerusalem. We're in a post-Christian era. That's why we have to really speak in a clear way to people today because they're so biblically illiterate. And so when you're sharing your faith, get to know the person you're speaking to. The other day a friend of mine named Larry who has recently committed his life to the Lord and is filled with passion. He texted me and said, I have a friend that I think is really close to coming to the Lord. Will you meet with him?
I said sure. So we got together for coffee and Larry starts sharing his testimony. This is like a textbook case on how to share your own story.
Perfect. Just talked about what Christ had done in his life. How the Lord had changed his life. So his friend was there and I started asking his friend some questions.
And his friend said some things obviously I wouldn't agree with. I just listened. Listen. Ask more questions.
Listen some more. And then I started bringing the message of the gospel and Larry sort of set it up as if we're playing volleyball. Larry got the ball there and I spiked it. Right? Easiest thing I've ever done. It wasn't even hard. Well the guy actually says to me, could you like give me some points on how I can become a Christian?
Yes I can. And then Larry says, do that thing that you say right before you lead people in the prayer. I go what thing?
You know that thing you say. Oh you mean if you want your sin forgiven. If you want to know you'll go to heaven when you die. If you want to fill that void in your life. If you want your guilt taken away.
If you want to find the meaning and purpose of your life. That thing. That thing. Yes.
See that. So I said it. I said do you want to do that? And the man I was talking to said yes.
And so we prayed right there and he accepted Christ. But here's the reason. It's taking time to listen. When I talk to people I don't pull a pulpit out and stand behind a pulpit. Just sit and talk to them. Get to know them. You don't care about them. Listen people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Let me say that again. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Take time with people. Peter did that. And then he gave them the gospel. I think his message was effective because it was scriptural. He quoted the scripture and this is something to remember. Even though people don't believe in the Bible. Don't let that stop you from quoting it anyway. But when you quote the Bible you don't have to be weird about it. And I have seen people quote scripture strangely. Well let me just tell you something the Bible says.
For God so loved us. What do you do? Stop it. Just stop.
Keep it conversational. There's power in the word of God. It has built in power. Isaiah 55 10 God says, As the rain comes down from heaven and the snow comes down, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me void. It will accomplish what I please.
It will prosper in the thing in which I send it. The word has power. And sometimes you will share it and a person will say, I don't believe that. I don't accept that.
Share it anyway. Sometimes people say, well don't quote the Bible to me. I don't believe in the Bible. Should you stop quoting the Bible?
No. Because it is a sword of the Spirit. Use the sword. If someone said to you and you are holding the sword, I don't believe that sword is sharp. Really?
Check this out. I am speaking figuratively. You understand right? We don't mean literal swords. But we do mean the word of God.
The sword of the Spirit. So when we quote it I found that sometimes scriptures are like time bombs that detonate later. They act like they don't care but then 3 o'clock in the morning they wake up and that verse is in their head. Because God's word will not return void.
It will prosper in the place you send it. So learn the word of God. Memorize the word of God.
Quote the word of God. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. It's a joy to hear when the work we do here at Harvest Ministries truly impacts lives.
Listen to these comments from one of our listeners. Last year I watched the Jesus Revolution movie, ordered your New Believers Bible, and started watching your Sunday sermons online. For 28 years I thought I was a Christian, but honestly don't think I was saved until a year ago when I gave my life to Jesus. I'm 60 years old and recently found a Bible teaching church in my area and was baptized. Thank you so much for your influence and evangelism in my life. I now know for sure that the Holy Spirit lives in me. Discover the many resources available to you at harvest.org.
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That's Greg at harvest.org. Well Pastor Greg is teaching from Acts chapter 2 today, a message titled The Secret to Sharing the Gospel Effectively. Here's another point. The message of Peter was effective because it was Christ-centered. It was Christ-centered. Acts 2, 22, he says, Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 2, 32, this man, speaking of Jesus, Acts 2, 36, God made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And then he spoke of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And no matter what you're talking about, you've got to bring it back to the cross.
Listen to this. Sometimes in our attempts to cross over, we don't bring the cross over. Paul says, I don't want to know anything else among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was doing an interview the other day about our crusade and I was asked the question, what are you going to speak on this year? I said, pretty much the same thing I've been speaking on for 30 years, okay?
I'll be honest with you. I mean I'll have a theme. I'll have some opening remarks.
But ultimately you know where I'm headed. And I say that without apology. I'm going to talk about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ because that's where the power is. That's the power. There is distinct power in the simple message of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. That's why Paul says, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
Here's another point. Peter's message was effective because he called sin, sin, and told them to repent. Don't be afraid to call sin, sin. And I was talking with that man yesterday. I told him, you're a sinner.
Because he said I'm a good person. Well you know, yeah, but you're a sinner. And I'm a sinner. And let me define what sin is. Sin is crossing a line. Sin is falling short of a standard that God has set for humanity, which is perfection. We've all sinned.
So we have to understand the bad news before we can fully appreciate the good news. We have to call sin, sin. Sometimes we're afraid to say it. And then we need to tell them to repent. Sometimes preachers are afraid to use the word repent.
We can't omit it from our verbiage. It's in the Bible. And it's necessary to come to Christ. Look at what Peter says, verse 38. He said, repent. Let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
I think we've backed away from this in many ways. I read a new survey. It reveals a shocking statistic about young Christians. The survey says, quote, more than 60% of born-again Christians between the ages of 18 and 39 believe that Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed are all equal in regards to a path to salvation.
Okay, here's what that tells me. It tells me that more than 60% of born-again Christians have not really read their Bibles. Or more than 60% of those who think they are born-again Christians believe this. But if you're a born-again Christian, you cannot believe that Buddha and Mohammed are equal to Jesus in getting you to heaven.
You cannot believe that. You say, Greg, that's very narrow-minded. Yes, it is. Because it's a narrow road. The Bible says narrow is the road that leads to salvation.
And few there are that find it. And the Bible says there is salvation in no other name than in the name of Jesus Christ. Right, that's it. And think about it logically. If that was true, that all roads would get you to heaven, why would God send his son to suffer and die on a cross? But he did because there was no other way to satisfy his righteous demands. You see, Jesus was not just a good man. He wasn't a guru.
He wasn't a prophet. He was the God-man. He was God becoming a man and walking among us. God had a face. God had skin on. God sent his son to die in our place so we could be forgiven of our sins. And Jesus said it so clearly, John 14, six. You know it, say it with me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes to the Father but by me.
Now listen to this. This message was effective because Peter went for a decision. One of the reasons we don't evangelize is because of a fear of failure.
But maybe another reason we don't evangelize is because we have a fear of success. Like, well, what do I do now? I remember I was in Alaska years ago with Franklin Graham. He's a great fisherman. And outdoorsman, I'm not.
I'm from California. And, you know, he goes out and hunts and we were out fishing for salmon. I'd never done that before so I got a salmon.
I was very excited. Look at the salmon. I said, will you clean it for me?
He's like, no. Clean it yourself. Hey, where's the soap and water? No. No, you're gonna gut it.
You're gonna clean it. Ew, no. You wanna eat the salmon? You wanna eat the salmon?
Yes. I'll show you how to do it. And that's what he did. See, it's like, you know, you love the idea of doing it but, oh, wow, I caught one. Now what do I do? Okay. I'm not suggesting we gut new believers. This analogy, I've never used it this way and it broke down very quickly, didn't it? But I think you get the idea, right? Like, what do I do now? Oh, I caught it. Now what do I do?
Now, now. You have a new believer in your life. I think it's really exciting when a new believer says, I don't know what that means.
Can you explain it? You're like, yeah, I can. And as you explain it, it re-excites you because sometimes we take these things for granted, don't we?
Well, let me tell you about this. And as you're telling them what the Bible teaches about a given subject, it suddenly is re-energizing you. It's exciting you.
It's reviving you. That's why we need to do it. That's part of the great commission, evangelizing and discipling.
My last point. The Holy Spirit will do His part. Just make sure you do yours. The Holy Spirit will do His part.
Just make sure you do yours. It's not your job to convert people. It's not my job. I've never converted anyone and I never will. The work of conversion is done by the Lord.
We read in Jesus said in John 644, no man comes unless the Father draws him. My job is not conversion. My job is proclamation. My job is to share the truth and ask the Holy Spirit to do His work in the person's life.
Well, obviously the work was done in their life. Look at verse 37. They were cut to the heart. Cut to the heart. This phrase only appears here in the New Testament.
The word cut means to stab. It speaks of something sudden and unexpected. That is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And I've seen it. I know it when it happens. And I've seen it when it doesn't happen. You sure all these things person just looks at you. Their eyes gonna glaze over.
They check their watch. It's not getting through. Well, I just wanted to tell you those things.
I'll pray for you. You leave it. But then other times you look at a person and you see they're getting it. Yesterday again talking to this guy.
I looked at him. I thought this guy's getting it. This guy wants it. He wants it now. He's ready.
So let's go for it. And there are those people and you have to pray for discernment when you're talking to people as to when is the right time to ask that question. So let me review what we've said. Number one, know your listener. Number two, adapt to this situation. Thirdly, quote scripture. Then call sin, sin and tell them to repent.
Ask them if they want to accept Christ and then conversion is God's work. You do the proclamation. Here's an acronym I shared with you before.
I'll share it again. Blast, B-L-A-S-T, a way to remember how to share your faith. B, build a bridge. Start your conversation by building a bridge to your listener. You don't have to necessarily start by preaching at them.
Build the bridge. L, listen. Get to know them. Take an interest in them. Again, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
A, ask questions. I'm wanting to know more about you. What you think about this?
What you think about that? S, share your testimony. That's your bridge.
One of the most effective bridges to start the conversation. You walk over it telling them what Christ has done for you. And then finally, T, tell them about Jesus.
We put these principles in practice. We'll see people come to Christ. Maybe there's somebody here that has joined us and you don't have Christ living in your life. You don't know if your sin is forgiven. So, as I said to that guy yesterday, do you want your sin forgiven? Do you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
Do you want to fill that hole in your heart? Do you want your sin forgiven and your guilt removed? If so, I'm gonna give you an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ right here, right now. Let's all bow our heads. Father, thank you for your word to us.
Thank you for the truth of it. And I pray for any that have joined us, wherever they are. If they don't know you yet, if Jesus Christ is not living in their heart, our prayer is that your Holy Spirit will work on them now.
Show them their need for you and draw them to yourself, we pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie, with an important prayer. And if you'd like to make a change in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg will come back in just a moment to help you do that, before we wrap up today here on A New Beginning.
Well, our friend Jim Wallace is with us today. J. Warner Wallace is an author, a co-author of the Bible, and an author of the Bible. And he's also an author of the Bible. And he's also an author of the Bible. And he's an author of the Bible.
Pastor Wallace is an author, a cold case detective, and he's written a brand new book that we're making available called The Truth in True Crime. And Jim, in your book, you credit Oliver Wendell Holmes with saying, Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself, which I think is a great line. You say wisdom comes from life experiences and failures, but they don't have to be your own.
And each of the homicide investigations that you explore in this book is an opportunity to learn from the colossal mistakes that led to the tragedies that you investigated. Is that right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you think about the nature of wisdom, and this is where it all starts, this is a book that's really kind of a wisdom book. But what is the nature of wisdom? A lot of it is more than knowledge, although if you look online and you read the definitions of knowledge and the definition of wisdom, it doesn't sound like they're the same thing.
But if that's the case, why do you need the word wisdom? There must be an objectively grounded moral truth. In other words, could you say there's a wise way to commit a robbery?
Well, you could, I suppose, if you mean there's an effective way to success, but would it be wise to commit a robbery? Well, no, it turns out if you don't have an objective standard for morality, you could never really behave in a truly objectively wise way. You would always be kind of acting in whatever you think is wise. So those four aspects of wisdom, I think, are important for us to consider. Do I have knowledge?
Do I have experience applying that knowledge? Am I okay with making age-appropriate mistakes? Don't sweat the fact you make mistakes. Just don't make the same kinds of mistakes when you're an old man like me that you should have made when you were in your 20s. No, you don't say you're an old man because I'm older than you. Just say a man like me. Yes, a mature, a mature, seasoned, a seasoned gentleman like ourselves.
I think you're a young man still, Jim. But the point is, you have to ground this in something that's objectively moral. That means that as Christians who believe that there is a God who exists and that what we believe is morally virtuous happens to simply be a reflection of his moral holy nature, that gives us an advantage when it comes to wisdom because we can ground it in an objectively virtuous perspective. So if you wanted to be wise, you'd be wise to read your scripture.
Yeah, that's right. You know, Solomon was known as the wisest man in the world. People would come from around the world to sit at his feet and glean from his wisdom. But then he went on what we could describe as a complete backslide. He sampled everything that this culture has to offer and wrote about it in the book of Ecclesiastes. And after all those mistakes he made and all that time he threw away, he came to this conclusion.
Here's the sum of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. In other words, he comes back to the things he always knew were true. So if you want this recipe for better wisdom from Jim Wallace and his new book, The Truth in True Crime, we're going to send a copy to you for your gift of any size. Whatever you can send will be greatly appreciated to help us continue to bring the Word of God to people that need to hear it, especially in the times in which we're living. So this book will be sent your way for your gift of any size, The Truth in True Crime.
Yeah, that's right. And thank you so much for your investment. It's an investment in changing lives. And this book is a great resource to help you share good information with others. We'll send you The Truth in True Crime to thank you for your partnership with us right now. And today is our last opportunity to mention this book, so call us at 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24-7. Again, call 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org. Well, Pastor Greg, getting back to the way you closed your message, you spoke of how someone can accept God's offer of eternal life.
That's right. Could you help the person who wants to do that right now? Yes, I'd be delighted to. This can be the moment where you change your eternal address literally from hell to heaven. I'll pray a simple prayer, and I would just ask you to pray this prayer out loud if you like. After me, just pray these words. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for me and rose again from the dead. Jesus, I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In your name I pray, amen.
I know. It's such a simple, short prayer, but you just called on the name of the Lord, and you know what? He heard that prayer, and if you meant that prayer in your heart, he answered that prayer. Now let me help you to get started on the right foot in your new life in Jesus Christ. The greatest adventure awaits you, the life of walking with God. I want to send you what we call a New Believers' Pack that includes the New Believers' Bible and a whole lot more, and let me be the first to say to you congratulations and welcome to the family of God. Yeah, and to get that free New Believers' Bible along with the other items in our Growth Pack, just let us know you prayed along with Pastor Greg to receive Christ today. We'll be glad to send those free resources your way. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. Call any time 1-800-821-3300.
Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. Hey everybody, I want to encourage you to join us for something we call Harvest at Home. It happens every Sunday at harvest.org and on our brand new app, Harvest Plus, which is available on your mobile TV devices. Download it now and you can watch Harvest at Home with Christians from around the world as we worship together and study God's Word. So again, join us for Harvest at Home at harvest.org or on Harvest Plus. Well next time, Pastor Greg explains how the church is home base for getting believers excited and equipped to share the love of God with other people. It's a necessary part of our lives. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.
