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Learn more and sign up at harvest.org. You are a Christian or you are not a Christian, but you can't be an almost Christian. That's an oxymoron, almost Christian. Ever drive away from home and had that nagging feeling you might have left the stove on, or forgot to lock a door, or left a curling iron plugged in? If you don't go back and check, you start thinking of how things could go horribly wrong.
We want to be sure about certain things, don't we? Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us check ourselves when it comes to the sincerity of our faith in Christ. When it comes to matters of eternity, close enough isn't close enough. Well, let's grab our Bibles and turn to Acts chapter 26. The title of my message is The Almost Christian.
The almost Christian, almost. That's an interesting word, isn't it? It's a word that means slightly, short of, not quite, close, nearly. It's often associated with delaying something. Dinner is almost ready, or Jenny almost fainted. That's how we'll often use it. Sometimes it's because of confusion. So you walk into a restaurant, you take your seat, and the server comes and gives you a menu, and then they ask, do you know what you want to order?
Well, it all depends. If I'm at Cheesecake Factory, I am literally overwhelmed. I Googled this because I wanted to confirm it. The menu at the Cheesecake Factory has 21 pages of 250 items. Do you know what you want?
No, I'm overwhelmed. That's why I like In-N-Out Burger. It's like burger. Burger with fries. Malt. Chick-fil-A, similar. Chicken sandwich. Chicken nuggets. Maybe a malt. Actually, a chicken-flavored malt.
No, not really, but simplicity. So you'll say, you know, I don't know. I'm almost ready to order. Or maybe you're a husband and you're going out to dinner. And you call upstairs to your bedroom and you ask your wife, are you ready? And she says, almost.
You know what that means, right? One hour more. Or you get a call from your boss. Says, we're having a meeting.
Where are you? Oh, I'm almost there. Which really means you just woke me up out of a dead sleep. And almost. It's a word we use a lot.
It's a word that is associated with procrastinating. Now I want to put two words together that don't fit. Almost Christian. You can't be an almost Christian. Now, you may be on your way to becoming a Christian.
You may be closer to believing than you've ever been in any other time in your life. But either you are a Christian or you are not a Christian. But you can't be an almost Christian. That's an oxymoron. Almost Christian. An oxymoron is, well, jumbo shrimp. That's an oxymoron.
What is it? Jumbo or shrimp? Or freezer burn?
How do you get burned from a freezer? Or government efficiency? That's an oxymoron.
Yeah, for sure. Airline food. Another oxymoron.
Is it really food? I'm not quite sure. 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 preach to him. Now when we hear the word or the name Herod, which is a name and a title, we get confused because there is a lot of Harrods in the Bible. Number one, there is the big daddy of them all known as Herod the Great. This is the Herod that tried to kill Jesus when he was made aware by the wise men that one had been born.
In Bethlehem who would be the king of the Jews. And this wicked Herod had all the little baby boys in Bethlehem killed. And then he was the leader of a horrible devilish dynasty. After him came Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist. After that Jesus was told that Herod Antipas wanted to speak with him and Jesus said in Luke 12 32, You go tell that fox I'm going to keep casting out demons out of people and I'm going to keep doing miracles and on the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Ultimately Jesus did appear before this Herod but it's worth noting he did not say a single word to him.
Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate and had an extended conversation. But to this wicked Herod Jesus did not say a single word. Then there was the son of that Herod, Herod Antipas. He is the one who slew the apostle James and had Peter put in prison. He is also the one that gave the great speech and the people cried out it's the voice of a god and not of a man and God struck him down.
Okay that brings us to the Herod we're going to be looking at and that would be Herod Agrippa. Now in one sense it was Paul appearing before Herod but in another way it's Herod appearing before Paul. Because the judgment he would render toward the apostle would effectively predict the judgment that would be rendered toward him. Coming back to Pilate we could say Jesus appeared to Pilate but we could more accurately say Pilate appeared before Jesus.
Because Jesus was God walking among us and so that's really the situation before us. And so Herod Agrippa was deeply moved by what Paul said and he says in Acts 26 verse 28, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. Another translation of that is are you actually trying to talk me into becoming a Christian in such a short time? And the answer was absolutely. That was Paul's hope that this Herod would come to faith.
So Herod was close but not close enough. I suggest to you there are a lot of almost Christians in our nation today. In fact I would say there are more almost Christians than non-believers. Because when surveys are done there's always a very high amount of people that profess to believe in God. A recent survey found that 87% of Americans believe in God.
Some we hear of the rise of atheism. Yeah there are atheists but most people out there believe there is a God. Three quarters of Americans believe in miracles. 73% believe in heaven. 71% of Americans believe Jesus is the son of God. 71% of us believe in angels. 7 out of 10 of Americans say Jesus rose from the dead and they believe that the Bible is the word of God. So I'm thinking what? Where are these people?
I'm sure not seeing them. But then a recent Barna poll revealed the following. Quote, half of Americans who call themselves Christians don't believe Satan exists. And one third are confident Jesus sinned while on earth.
Okay now Houston we have a problem. So we have a lot of people saying they believe in God. They say they believe in the Bible.
They believe in angels. But yet they are saying they don't think there is a devil. And they think Jesus sinned when he was on earth. Which is not true of course because he was a sinless son of God. Then 25% of others who claim to be Christians dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate and all that it teaches.
So clearly there is a lot of confusion here. Look our faith that we have in Christ is a package deal. God offers it to you.
Here it is. This is not something we are going to vote on. This is your opportunity to believe or reject it. But you don't pick and choose what you like. This is not a la carte Christianity.
But it is for some people. And these are what I would call almost Christians. This is why Paul poses this challenge to those who claim to believe in 2 Corinthians 13.5.
He says check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test?
Or are you just pretending to be Christians when you actually are not at all? Hmm powerful question. Reminds me of a story of a guy that needed work. He heard they were hiring down at the local zoo. And so he went and applied and said I would like to get a job here. They said sorry sir all the positions are filled. But then the person looking at this man said you know you are a pretty big dude.
A lot of muscle there. I am going to say something. I hope you are not offended. But our gorilla died the other day. And we ordered a new one.
And he is on his way. But I was wondering if we made you a custom gorilla suit. Would you be willing to wear it and pretend to be a gorilla for a few days.
We will pay you really well. And then when the new gorilla comes you are good. That is all. And the guy said okay. So they made him his custom gorilla suit. He put it on. He went into the gorilla area. And he felt really self conscious.
No one is going to believe it. And so he walked around a little bit. Pounded his chest a couple of times.
The crowd started to form. By day two he is getting excited. He is enjoying it.
He is swinging on the vines. Everyone is believing he is a real gorilla. He gets a little excited and swings too far and lands right in the middle of the lion's cage. Now the lion is approaching him quickly. And the guy in the gorilla suit doesn't know what to do. If he yells out help people will know he was a fraud. Finally he just says help.
And the lion says shut up stupid or you will get us both fired. So he was pretending to be something he was not. And there are people today that are pretending to be Christians when they are not Christians.
Again check up on yourself. 2 Corinthians 13. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test?
Or are you just pretending to be Christians when you actually aren't at all? Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everyone I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a Harvest version of Netflix.
We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon. Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. A Rush of Hope and much more. Then we have our television program, Daily Devotions and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app. Well today Pastor Greg is presenting a fascinating message called The Almost Christian. It is a good warning for those masquerading in their faith.
Let me say something that might surprise you. It is possible for you to pray. Keep the Ten Commandments to the best of your ability. Attend church on a regular basis. Be baptized and not necessarily be a Christian. Now if you are a Christian you should do all these things.
But you can do all these things and not necessarily be a Christian. The outward can be without the inward. But the inward can never be without the outward.
Does that make sense? The outward, those things that we do, can be without the inward. But the inward, if you are really a believer, will never be without the outward.
Jesus said, by their fruit you shall know them. For instance a person can pray and not necessarily be a Christian. Polls show that nine out of ten Americans pray. 76% of us believe that there is a Heavenly Father that can be reached by prayer.
The reality is when you are in trouble most people pray, right? I know I did before I was a Christian. If I was in a crisis I called out to God. I even called out to Jesus.
I had no relationship with Him. But that doesn't mean you are a Christian. That just means you are calling out to God. Because in the story of the book of Jonah a great storm came. And all of the sailors called out to their various gods, right?
They all had their gods and people were calling God in the day of trouble. But when the crisis passed do you still call out to God? Listen, you can say your prayers and never pray. You know we teach people their prayers. Say your prayers. Learn these prayers. When you are in trouble pray these prayers.
We teach our children prayers. Say your prayers before you go to sleep. Remember your prayers we say.
Now He lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. Is that a good prayer to teach a child really? I think you might be traumatizing that little one.
What are you really saying? You know you might die tonight in your sleep. But just pray God teach your soul. So good night sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.
Bed bugs? Now instead of teaching a child a prayer teach them how to pray. And God says in the book of Isaiah 59. The arm of the Lord isn't too short to save.
His ear is not too dull to hear. Your iniquities have separated you from God. Your sins have hidden His face from you.
So He will not hear. So if you're living in overt sin. Don't expect your prayers to be answered. The psalmist says in Psalm 66. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.
Listen to this. If you're living in overt sin with no desire to repent. You are not a Christian. If you are living in overt sin with no desire to repent. You're not a Christian.
Now you're saying Greg you're wrong on that. Everyone struggles. I didn't say if you're struggling with sin.
Overt means you're living this way. You're not going to change the way you're living. You have no intention of repenting. Don't tell me you're a Christian. Are you a Christian?
Do you pass the test? Or are you pretending to be a Christian? When you really aren't at all. Hey man judge not lest you be judged.
Okay hold on. I am judging you. Because the Bible says judgment begins at the house of God. And if we don't see any spiritual fruit in your life. Why should I believe that you're necessarily a Christian?
Listen a person can make visible change in their life. And not necessarily be a Christian. In the book of Acts remember we read about Simon the sorcerer. And apparently he became a believer. He was baptized.
Everything looked pretty good. But then he tried to buy the gift of God. That he saw being utilized at the hand of Simon Peter. And Peter said your heart is not right from God. Turn from this wickedness.
And I think that this Simon guy. He was a magician. He was deceiving people. He was going out of business when Peter showed up. And the gospel was preached. And so he sort of adapted. He wanted to get whatever it is they were doing.
So he could stay in business and keep misleading people. This happens all the time. People become a Christian.
I'll put that in quotes. When they need something. Politicians oh yes. They come calling. They come knocking.
Yes I would like to come and address your church. I too I'm a believer really. I've never seen any evidence of that before. But you know because they want to get that evangelical vote. Sometimes a person their career may be fading. Well it's time to record a gospel record. It's okay record a gospel record. But are you doing that because you believe it.
Or you just want to boost your career. You see you can do these things and not be a Christian. I mean think of Judas Iscariot. He spent three years hanging out with Jesus. He saw Jesus walk in the water. He saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. He with his own ears heard the sermon on the mount. He knew Jesus was perfect and flawless. Yet he betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. He was so close yet so far.
Yes you can appear to be a believer and not be a believer. So coming back to our story. Herod Agrippa the king one of the Harrods is coming to town. It's a big deal and his sister Bernice. They arrive with all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds visiting dignitary. Herod would have been arrayed in a royal scarlet robe. And there were Roman soldiers around them in their dress uniforms.
And every eye is on them as they take their royal seats. Paul's standing there thinking well look who just walked into my net. He wasn't intimidated by the power the authority or anything else about these two people. He saw them as people to reach with the gospel. 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'm very fortunate king Agrippa that you are the one hearing my defense against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders. I'm sure I know you're an expert on Jewish customs and controversies. Now listen to me personally. Okay now drop down to verse nine.
I want to point out something before we read this. This is Paul's testimony. It's a powerful story.
Hard to top quite frankly. He often began his messages with his testimony. And everybody has a testimony. You have a testimony. I have a testimony. And one testimony is not more valid than another because it's more drastic or radical or whatever. Here's all of our testimonies in a nutshell. Once we were blind but now we see.
Right? Jesus Christ has changed our lives. But Paul's story was pretty unique.
So he shares it now. Acts 26 verse nine. Speaking here to Agrippa. I used to believe I had to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Authorized by the leading priests that 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.
It shows how hard Saul then called was. He would whip people to get them to deny their faith and curse Jesus. 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 where I'm 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. 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. Good instruction from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. He is presenting a candid message called The Almost Christian. Pastor Greg was just talking about the value of sharing our story. Can we ask what's your story? Do you have a story of how you came to Christ? Or maybe that story is unfinished.
It's still being written. Pastor Greg what would you say to the person listening who hasn't quite come to the point of asking Jesus to be their Savior? Yes I think they need to make this commitment to Christ. Here's what the Bible says.
Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So you need to reach out to God. Not just think about it. Not just say one of these days I would like to. Just do it.
In fact you can do it right now. You say well how do I call out to the name of the Lord? You do it through prayer.
God is just a prayer away. He desires a relationship with you. He wants you to know Him.
He wants to reveal Himself to you. So you just need to call out and say Lord save me and help me. How about if I lead you in a prayer? And you could pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like. You can pray it quietly in your heart. But direct this prayer toward God and you could pray it after me right now.
You ready? Pray this after me. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior.
And I want a relationship with you. So as your word says I'm calling on the name of the Lord. I'm asking you to save me from my sin.
And I'm asking that we begin a new relationship today. Thank you for loving me and sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and then raising Him from the dead. I now put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. And listen, if you have just prayed along with Pastor Greg and if you've meant those words sincerely, let us be the first to welcome you into the family of God. And we want to help you get started off right in this new daily walk with the Lord. Pastor Greg would like to send you his New Believers Bible. It's a special edition of God's Word for those who are new to the faith with scores of helps for new believers written by Pastor Greg. So get in touch and ask for the New Believers Bible. We'll send it free of charge. So just call us at 1-800-821-3300.
That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. You know Pastor Greg, a while back you brought us a message called What I Would Tell My Younger Self. It was a great study.
I really enjoyed it. Full of practical life insights. So if you went back and talked to your younger self, a teenage Greg who was all about drawing cartoons back then, which do you think young Greg would find hardest to believe? That he was going to grow up and become a pastor and an author? Or that while he's a pastor and an author, he'd still be drawing cartoons? Yeah, I think it would be hard for young Greg to believe that he'd be a pastor and an author.
And here's why. He was such a poor student. He didn't like to read. He liked to watch television, specifically watch cartoons. He liked to goof off and joke in class.
In fact, disrupt the class and be sent to the principal's office repeatedly. So he would not believe that he would end up being a teacher of sorts. But I am a Bible teacher and I've learned to love study and preparation. But I really thought as a kid, I will be a cartoonist one day.
I was certain that this would happen. And then when I began my ministry, I realized, well, that's not going to happen. I'm not going to be a cartoonist, so we'll just move on from that dream of my childhood and just do what God's called me to do. And then not too long ago, I was talking with someone who was involved with an animation studio and I was very interested in that. We began to chat about it. And then I said, boy, I've always wanted to animate my cartoon characters. And she said, well, we should do that. And we began to explore it.
And next thing you knew, we were engaged in creating these animated adventures. You know, the Bible says in Psalm 37 four, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Sometimes you have a dream. Sometimes you have a vision of your future that happens very early in life that is not realized until much later. Think of young Joseph. He had this amazing dream of how God was going to elevate him and use him. And it seemed like the most unlikely thing when he was sitting in a prison cell after being falsely accused by the wife of Potiphar. But God was in control and ultimately that dream that God had placed in Joseph's heart was fully realized.
And maybe you have a dream like that and maybe the Lord will open that door for you later. He certainly did for me. So the adventures of Ben Born Again and Yellow Dog are now in development. We have multiple episodes and we're working on new ones. In fact, Dave, we're even working on a Christmas special.
And I've really had fun doing that one in particular. So this is something that we're doing to reach the younger generation, to reach your kids, to reach your grandkids. You know, you might say, hey, kids, let's sit down and watch a sermon. I don't know how interested they'll be in that.
But if you say, hey, kids, let's watch a cartoon, I think you might find they're interested. It's a great way to build a bridge. And if this is something you think is worth doing, if this is something you'd like to be a part of, then you can support us financially. And as my way of saying thanks, I want to send you a brand new booklet that we've just done.
It's called the Ben Born Again New Believers Growth Book. Now, we've had a version of this in the past that has literally reached thousands and thousands of people. But we decided to rebuild it from scratch, new artwork, more content added to it. I think it's fantastic. And I think you're going to love it.
And it'll be something your kids will love and your grandkids will love too. So please be generous and support us as we seek to reach this next generation. And as our way of thanking you, we'll send you the Ben Born Again New Believers Growth Book. So thank you.
Yeah, why not get in touch today? It's a valuable resource. It's a great tool to help a young person learn the basics of the Christian faith.
It's fun, it's understandable, and entertaining. Get in touch with your investment and be sure to ask for the Ben Born Again New Believers Growth Book. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300.
That's a 24-7 phone number. Again, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
Or go online to Harvest.org. Next time, more important words of warning from the message called The Almost Christian. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible feature, Pray Glory. This is the day, the day when life begins. 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.
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