Greg Laurie - ReEnvision: Preparing for the Future (08/26/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie celebrates 40 years of ministry at Harvest, urging believers to run the Christian race well by looking forward, not back, as seen in Philippians 3. He shares principles like running to win, shedding hindrances, keeping the right motive for Christ, staying focused, forgetting the past, and pressing on through hardship, ending with a call to salvation and recommitment.
Celebrating 40 Years: Let's Open God's Word Together
Hey let's grab our Bibles. Who wants to have a Bible study? Raise your hand. Okay. I like that. We are kind of into that here at Harvest. I think you have figured it out after 40 years. So we always open up the Word of God. We are going to be looking at Philippians chapter 3. You know we are celebrating this great milestone of 40 years of ministry. And I hope you haven't grown tired of me yet. I am not tired of you yet. Reminds me of a couple that we are celebrating 60 years of being married. And the husband wanted to honor the wife. And the problem is she was getting on a year. She was a little hard of hearing. So he stood up in front of everybody and wanted to offer a toast to her. And he said, My dear wife, after 60 years of marriage I have found you tried and true. And she said, What? He said, My dear wife, really loud now. After 60 years of marriage I have found you tried and true. She stood up and said, Well after 60 years of marriage I am tired of you too. These are the jokes people. Okay. So. Well I am not tired of you. So hopefully you are not tired of me.
So we have been looking back a little bit. Last night we reflected on some of the great things that God has done. Now I want to look forward. As William Shakespeare said, What is past is prologue. A prologue is the beginning of a story. And this is still a story that is being told. And there is a lot to do. And Paul and others in the Bible compare the Christian life to running a race on more than one occasion. Now I started running this race at the age of 17. That is when I accepted Christ. And I am 60 now. I think you know that. And so the finishing line or the finish line is closer than it has ever been before. So some of you might say, Yeah man you are old and bald so get on with it. But hold on now. None of us know when that race will end. See this could be your last night in church. Do you know that? Why do you say that? Because the rapture could happen. We could be called up to meet the Lord in the air in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. But then again none of us know when our lives will end. We say, Oh yeah those older people. They are getting near the end. Yeah. But younger people can be near the end. We don't know when we will be called to heaven. So we need to run every day as though it were our last day because it could be.
Run the Race with Eternal Perspective
Now this is not something you should start thinking about when you get older. When the die is already cast so to speak. You need to be thinking about it right now. Especially if you are young. Listen to this. The evening of your life is determined by the morning of it. Let me say that again. The evening of your life is determined by the morning of it or the end by the beginning. I am glad I made a commitment to follow Jesus at 17. I wish I would have done it sooner. And I can tell you I have never even for a moment regretted making that decision. Not only to accept Christ but to follow Him through the years. No matter what has happened the Lord has been good to me. And we all want to get in this race and run it well. So here in Philippians 3 are some principles and how we can finish this race with flying colors.
Philippians 3 verse 7. Paul writes, What things were gained to me, these I have counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained. I am already perfected. But I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brothers, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But this one thing I do. Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forward to the things that are before, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray. Lord we are in a race and we want to win. We want to do well. So we pray as we identify some principles on how to move forward as believers that You would speak to each of our hearts. We commit this time of Bible study to You now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Principle 1: Run to Win – Go for the Prize
Principle number one of winning in the race of life. We run to win. Run to win. Now when I was in track and field in my early days I remember that I won a lot of honorable mention ribbons. You know what those are? That is what they give to people that show up. You know they give first, second, third place and then 20 minutes later you come running in and they kind of clap like oh that is so pathetic. And it is like here is an honorable mention ribbon. And as I recall they tended to be purple. Right. They always were. I had a wall full of purple ribbons that basically said you exist. Now go away. But I did run to win. I just never did. But listen. There is no place in running this race for second or third place. Go for the goal. 1 Corinthians 9:24 it says, Remember in a race everyone runs but only one person gets the prize. Run in such a way that you will win.
You know having been doing this for a while. Following the Lord for some time. I have seen some people that started off with great promise. We looked at them and said, Man, they are going to change the world. And unfortunately the world changed them. And instead of turning the world upside down the world turned them upside down. And they crashed and burned. And so these people didn't make it in the race of life. So we want to run to win.
A Personal Story: Don't Walk Off the Track
Years ago my son Christopher was in a track meet. He was a very good runner. Much better than I was. He was a good long distance runner. And so I heard a little rumor that they were going to allow the parents to run a little race. Specifically the dads. Well because I ran in my earlier days I thought, Well I am going to get in this race and maybe I will win. So I went down to a store and I bought the latest pair of Nike whatever they were, heirs you know. And I was all ready for it. And they were in the trunk of my car. But I wasn't sure that this race was going to happen. But sure enough after the race for the kids ended and the announcement was made, The dads are going to run a race. I was all excited. I put on my Nike shoes. And I went out there and I was looking around. I am sizing up the competition. I am seeing a lot of pot bellies. I am seeing a lot of guys with the wrong shoes. And I am thinking, Not only am I going to win, I am going to cream them. I was very excited. These were all internal thoughts by the way. I didn't say them. But I was thinking them.
So we are all getting ready. And on your Mark it said, Bam! The starter pistol fires. And I take off. And a lot of people are passing me. Immediately. Well I always had this ability to sort of almost like I had a little turbo button I could push. Like I hit it and I would take off. And so I need the turbo button a little sooner than I thought. Because everyone is passing me. I hit the turbo button. Still people are passing me. Children are passing me. Inanimate objects are passing me. So I discovered quickly not only am I not going to win this race, I am going to lose. And I am not only going to lose, I am going to lose miserably. So I come around this one bend and I just walk off the track. Just walk off. Someone said to me, Weren't you running the race? I am just messing around. We do that in the race of life sometimes. I am just messing around. I am not going to do this anymore. No. Don't do that. Run to win.
Now listen. When I say run to win that doesn't mean that I am competing with you. And you are not competing with me. Our competition is not with each other. Our competition is with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Those are our opponents. Not our fellow Christians. So the objective is not to even do better than you. It is just to run it for God's glory. And not be stopped.
Principle 2: Lay Aside Every Weight and Hindrance
Number two. If you want to run the race of life well get rid of extra weight and the things that would hinder you. Get rid of extra weight and things that would hinder you. Look at verse 7. Paul says, What things were gained in me I counted lost for Christ. Indeed I count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. I like that King James word rubbish. It is very British isn't it? Oh that is rubbish isn't it? Take out the rubbish. It is rubbish. Right on. Cheerio. Good to see you. Very British. We call it garbage. Take out the trash. But you know actually the word in the original language isn't rubbish or trash. It is excrement. Waste. Dung. Manure. Poop. You understand? That is the word Paul used. Jesus. I am bringing this up because it is a pretty graphic word. I think we all kind of get the memo here. What are you saying? Those things that used to be important to me they are manure. They are excrement. They are poop. Compared to the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
When you become a true follower of Jesus you will give things up. But what God will give you in their place will be so much better you will never miss those things. I don't regret anything I gave up. And you know sometimes people will share their testimony and they will say, you know I gave up a lot to follow Jesus. I had this great life and I was partying and I was making all this money and it was so great and I gave it all up to take the old rugged cross and you know shut up. I will tell you what you gave up. You gave up emptiness. You gave up an ever present guilt. And you gave up an eternity in hell. And God gave you forgiveness and the hope of heaven. You gave up nothing. Nothing. But we want to get rid of excess weight.
The author of Hebrews, I believe it was Paul. I think probably it was. He tells us that we are running a race so let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us. Here is something you might find interesting. What may be a weight to one may not necessarily be a weight to another. See when I travel my problem is I am the original pack rat. I drag everything with me. I drag all kinds of electronic junk. I have got my computer. And I have got my power cord. And I have an extra power cord. And then I have my camera. And then I have all this other stuff. Then whatever my clothes are. I have too much stuff. I overpack and it slows you down because if you get to a spot and there is a connection you have sometimes to run to your next plane. And you don't like to have a lot of things to carry. Sometimes in life we have a lot of excess baggage.
So I want you to ask yourself a question in this race of life right now. Is there someone or something that might be slowing you down? Let me say that again. Is there someone or something that might be slowing you down? Let us start with friends. Some people make you want to do better. And others make you want to do worse. Does that make sense? When I am around some people they encourage me in my faith. They build me up in my faith. They want me to be closer to Jesus. When I am around godly people I think to myself I want to be more like them. I love their example. And when I am with other people they drag me down. And they make me think less of Jesus you see. So pick your friends very carefully. And be very careful because there are things that can slow you down.
The author of Hebrews says, lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily beset you. What may be a weight to one may not necessarily be a weight to another. We are all different. We have different metabolisms. How many of you remember Pastor Steve Wilburn? Raise your hand. Pastor Steve. Well he is a great guy. A good friend. And he has gone off to start a church in L.A. that is doing very well by the way. They are running a thousand people now. It is church. The core church up in L.A. The Lord is really using Steve. But if you know Steve he is just full of energy. And he never puts on a pound. Now when he was in his 20s he would eat like a horse. And I would say, you know Steve one of these days you are going to get a little older and your metabolism is going to change. And you are not going to be able to do that anymore. And now he is like in his late 50s and he still eats like a horse. And we will go to In-N-Out Burger. I will get, I think it is number three, basic burger, little fries. Steve will get two double-doubles. He will be like, boss, boss. Then he will eat whatever is left of my plate. How can you do that? I will tell you how. He is hyperactive. He has a different metabolism. So I can't do what Steve does. So sometimes we will see some Christians that maybe has a certain Liberty so to speak. And you will say, I want to do what they are doing because they are doing it. But it may not necessarily be a problem to them. It could be a problem to you. So be careful about excess weight.
Principle 3: Run with the Right Motive – For Christ Alone
Number three, we must run with the right motive. Run with the right motive. Paul speaks of running but only one receives the prize. In the Olympics everyone wants the gold. So why are we running? For the gold? For the reward? Well that is not why I am running. Now I know that one day I will be rewarded if I serve the Lord faithfully in some capacity. The Bible promises this. But I don't think we are running to acquire trophies or accolades. Why was Paul running this race? He identifies it in verse 8-10. I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. For Jesus my Lord. Count them as rubbish. Listen. That I may gain Christ. That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. Here is what Paul is saying. You want to know why I am doing this? I am doing it for Jesus. And that is the reason. That is the motive. Do it for Jesus.
If you do it for people you are going to have problems. Because people will disappoint you in life. Even people you look up to. If you do it for applause you are going to be disappointed. Many times you will be overlooked and forgotten about. Not appreciated. But if you do it for Jesus you will be just fine. Keep running that race for Him.
You know I think there is a lot of people that know about God that don't really know God. Occasionally people will call my secretary Carol and say, Is Greg there? I am one of his closest friends. Well you know what? Carol knows who my closest friends are. And so if someone calls them and says they are one of my closest friends you can almost guarantee they are not one of my closest friends. And more to the point my closest friends have my personal cell number. Marty I am never giving it to you. Though Marty has it. He never uses it. Why don't you call me? You never call me. You are too busy. Anyway. This is the problem with sitting in the front row. So sue me. Marty says, So sue me. Okay. What on earth was I talking about? Right. Okay. So I give my cell number to my friends. Well you know what? If you are a friend of God you will have his cell number. And he will take your call. Just having a number isn't enough. Right. Have you ever had someone call and their name pops up on the screen and you don't answer? How many of you have done that? Raise your hand. Yeah. Of course. We all have. Don't lie. You are in church. Oh. I don't have an hour. Don't think I will answer this right now. You know there are people, quick call people and there are one hour people. Right. We all know them. Quick call. I will take it. I will talk to them. Oh. One hour. Not now. Maybe later.
When you know God and have a personal relationship and you call Him He will take your call. By the way. Do you have his phone number? I have it. It is 911. Psalm 91. He that dwells in the secret place and the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. It is not enough to know about God. You need to know God. And I think Jesus has a lot of so-called close friends that don't know Him at all. He says, In that day many will come to Me saying, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? And did we not do miracles in Your name? And cast out demons in Your name? And Jesus says, I will say to them, Depart from Me. I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.
Paul's Humility: I Have Not Yet Attained
Here is something I really find amazing. Verse 12. Paul says, I have not already attained or I am perfect. I mean here is the Apostle Paul saying he has not reached some spiritual plateau yet. Reminding us that you always need to keep moving forward as a follower of Jesus Christ. It has been said, He who ceases to be better will soon cease to be good. I mean Paul. Come on. Can you imagine a group of Christians sitting around with him? One Christian says, You know, God inspired me to say something to a person today. Another might say, You know, I felt inspired to write something down. And Paul would say, Well, God gave me epistles that are a part of the Bible. Make up about half of the Bible that would be read by people pretty much forever. Oh. I mean who could top that? Someone might say, You know, God spoke to my heart once. Another might say, I sensed His presence the other day. Paul could say, Well actually I died. I went to heaven. Came back to earth again. So top that. By the way, did I mention I raised someone from the dead? Now my point is Paul would never have said that. I am just pointing out this is the man. This is the apostle. This is the guy that God used so powerfully. Yet this man of God says, I have so far to go.
Do you realize that about yourself? I am not trying to appear humble right now. But I know I have a long ways to go. And I think we all need to know that. Because the moment that we start resting on our laurels, or thinking we have arrived, or even worse, living in the past, is the moment we are going to start going backwards. Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare their running with that of other Christians, usually those not doing all that well. Listen. You will always find someone worse off spiritually than you. So don't let that be the way that you measure your progress.
Principle 4: Keep Focused – This One Thing I Do
Paul also had a clear objective and focus. He had a clear objective and focus. Verse 13, he says, This one thing I do. Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forward to the things that are before. David, the psalmist and king of Israel said, One thing I will ask of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. And behold the beauty of the Lord all the days of my life. Do you have that one thing? See the key is the main thing needs to continue to be the main thing. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And what is the main thing? The main thing is pursuing God. The main thing is following Christ. The main thing is glorifying God. The main thing is honoring Him with your life. Running your race for His glory. And I think again the key is to keep your eyes on Jesus.
Also we learn from what Paul is writing in the race of life that we should not look back. Forgetting the things that are behind. Some people want to live in the past. I am not one of them. I think it is good to learn from the past. I think it is good to reflect on the past on occasion. But I don't think it is good to live in the past. I have people come up to me every now and then and say, Hey man I remember you like 40 years ago when you had hair. Yeah. Yeah man. That was cool right. Yeah it was great. Yeah. So what are you doing now? I don't know. Are you going to church? No. Hey remember 40 years ago? That was 40 years ago. What about today? What are you doing right now?
The master artist Michelangelo said and I quote, The greatest danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high but in setting our aim too low and achieving it. The idea being that yeah I sort of reached this Mark and I am done. I have sort of done my thing for God. No, no, no. You never are done doing your thing for God until you leave this world and go into eternity. Don't live in the past. Don't rest on your laurels. Keep moving forward. There is so much to learn. So many things in our lives that still need to change. That is why Jesus said we need to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Scripture reminds us that His mercies are new every morning. The wise men of Psalm 1 continues in God's Word day and night.
So yeah. God did some great things in your life. Great. That is behind you. We look back in 40 years. I say hallelujah. Now let's move forward. That was good. That was then. This is now. So let's do what is before us today. And then there is tomorrow. And then there is next week. And then there is next month. And if God is gracious next year don't live in the past.
Forgetting Past Sins – God Forgives Completely
And it also means you need to forget past sins. Because maybe we have done something we are ashamed of. But Paul said I am forgetting the things which are behind. Think what Paul. This is the Apostle Paul. What sins did he have to be sorry about? Are you serious? Do you remember what Paul's name used to be? Saul? Saul of Tarsus? Saul the Christian killer? That is right. Saul who presided over the death of the courageous young Stephen the first martyr of the church. Saul who went out of his way to hunt down, arrest, torture, and execute followers of Jesus Christ. Yeah that is Saul who met Jesus on the Damascus Road. Do you think that ever bothered him? You think man I killed those Christians. Man I murdered Stephen. I could have spared his life. Yeah it probably came back to haunt him every now and then. So Paul was able to say hey forgetting the things that are behind. I have been forgiven by God.
Now when he says forgetting he doesn't mean that God is having a lapse in memory or he is having a lapse in memory. He says I am not going to be crippled by my past. And God promises to forgive and forget your sin. I should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. And God says there are sins and iniquities will I remember no more. I have good news for you. Our God has a big eraser. So when He uses it in your life embrace that. You are forgiven. Because sometimes people can not let go of the past. And they are looking behind.
One of the shortest statements Jesus ever gave was remember Lot's wife. We do not even know her name. Why should I remember her? Well she is an interesting person. Needless to say she was married to Lot. Right. A righteous guy who lived in a pretty messed up city. Sodom and Gomorrah. And he was compromising. He was a believer but he was worn down by the wickedness and sinfulness and immorality of this city. So the Lord dispatched two angels to deliver Lot and his wife and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah. And they were literally taking them out of the city and they were given a very direct warning from the angels which was simply do not look back. Don't look back. We are getting out of Sodom. Don't look back. Got it? Got it. Don't look back.
And as they are walking out of the city what does Lot's wife do? She looks back. And she becomes a pillar of salt. Now we might read that and say well maybe that is a little overkill on God's side. I mean she just looked back. But you have to understand that in the original language the implication is not that she looked but she looked deliberately. It was like looking like that. You know. And you know the first step to going back is looking back. Jesus said, No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven. And so we can't look back. That is why we need to remember Lot's wife. And if you are going to run this race of life you are not going to do well if you are looking over your shoulder. That quick glance over her shoulder costs Lot's wife everything. And it can cost us everything too.
Principle 5: Press On – Even Through Hardship
My last point is we must press on even when it gets hard. Press on even when it gets hard. Verse 13 Paul says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Now this is an interesting word press on. It comes from the Greek word agonizo. What English word do you think we got from that? Agonize. Now if you have ever run you know what I am talking about. When you are at the end of a race. Especially a long distance race. Pain is racking your body. Sweat is pouring out. You don't feel like you can go on another step. But there is a finish line and you want to bail. You want to stop. You want to just walk off even more. You want to collapse in a heap. So Paul is saying I can see the goal. I can see the finish line. I am pressing on toward the very end. Every muscle is straining. And that is how we need to see the race of life. I am not backing down now. I am going to finish this thing.
Don't be like me in Christopher's race where I just walked off. Finish this race. Because listen to this. You can start off in the race of life and you can be doing well for nine out of ten laps. But if in the tenth lap you walk off you are disqualified. You have got to finish it. It is not enough to start it well. You have to finish the race that you have begun. That is what Paul is talking about here.
So here is the good news. No matter what you have done God can forgive you. Let us say you have messed up. Let us say that you have sinned. Let us say that you have done something you are ashamed of. You were following the Lord for years and you just did the stupidest thing imaginable. And you think, that is it. I am done. I am disqualified. God would never forgive me. No that is wrong. God will forgive you. But you need to get up again. You need to first of all say, Lord I sinned. I am sorry. Forgive me. And use me again.
So for you that have joined us maybe you started well but you have sort of gotten sidetracked along the way. Maybe you were with us 40 years ago. Or 30 years ago. Or 20 years ago. Or a year ago. And then other things have crowded into your life and you have lost sight. Here is what I would say to you tonight. Get back in the race again. Let God forgive you. Let God restore you. And get back in the race of life again.
Invitation: Know God Personally – Start or Return Today
But finally there might be some of you that are here for the first time. And this is all new to you. Well here is what I want to say. You can know God in a personal way. Remember I said earlier some people know about God but they don't know God. You know we know a lot about celebrities today. Oh I follow them on Twitter. Like you are on the inside. Here is what they had for lunch. They tweeted it. And I saw them interviewed. You don't know them. Stop acting like you do. Get a life. It is not enough to know about God. You need to know God. Because you don't want to hear Him say in that final day and you were, hear Him say, Depart from Me. I never knew you. No. You want to hear Him say, Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. And if you put your faith in Christ and follow Him you will hear Him say that.
But maybe you don't know Him yet. You know a little about God. I always knew about God even before I was a Christian. I knew about Jesus. I mean I had seen all of His movies. But I knew very little. And then one day someone told me I could have a relationship with Him. And I understood finally for the first time that Jesus intentionally came to die on the cross. You know before I was a Christian I always loved the story of Jesus. If there was a movie on TV, be it Ben Hur, King of Kings, whatever it was. Greatest story ever told. I would watch it. And I loved the story of Jesus. As a non-Christian. And the one criticism if you will that I had was they should change the end. Don't like the end. I don't like the death thing. Just let them, you know, go straight to the ascension. That would be much better. That is because I didn't understand why Jesus came. That death thing. That is why He came. That crucifixion. That is what it was all about. He came to die on the cross. Why? He came to die for our sins. Because we have all broken God's commandments. We have all fallen short of God's standards. We all mess up and there is nothing we can do to fix that. But God loved us so much He sent His Son to suffer and die in our place and take the judgment that should have come upon us, upon Himself. And then He Rose again from the dead three days later. And He is here with us right now standing at the door of our lives and knocking. And He is saying if we will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
So here is my question for you in closing. You are saying finally closing. My question is will you ask Christ to come into your life right now? Would you like to start knowing God? Not just knowing about God. Start knowing God. And have the assurance that when you die you will go to heaven. If so I would like to give you an opportunity to put your faith in Jesus. And I would also like to extend an opportunity for some of you maybe that have stumbled and fallen in the race of life to get up on your feet again and get back in the race to make a recommitment.
So let's all pray. Father we thank You for the Word of God. And we thank You for Your promises. And we thank You for the offer of salvation to those who would believe in You. And now Lord I pray for any here that may not yet know You. Would You help them to see their need for Jesus. Help them Lord to turn from their sin and find Your forgiveness. Help them to come to You now.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like your sin forgiven. If you would like a second chance in life. Or if you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him tonight. Wherever you are. I want you to raise your hand up. If you want Christ to come into your life. Raise your hand up. I will pray for you. You want your sin forgiven. Raise your hand up. God bless you. Up there in the balcony. God bless you. Down here on the floor. God bless. Up there. God bless you. You need this second chance in life. You want to go to heaven when you die. Let me pray for you. Raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Maybe there are some people here that have fallen away. You started well. You did well for a time. But you stumbled and you fell. But you can come back to Christ. The Bible says, God speaking, return to me, you backsliding children, and I will heal you. Do you need to return to the Lord tonight? If so, raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. You need to come back to Christ. You are a prodigal son or daughter. You want to return to the Lord. Raise your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless all of you. God bless you.
Father, I thank you for each one of these. And I pray you will give them the strength to stand up and follow you from this moment forward. Lord, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Public Commitment: Come Forward as Jesus Calls
Listen, everyone that Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. And we are going to do the same tonight. In a moment our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you would just raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer saying that you want your sin forgiven. Saying that you want to go to heaven when you die. Or that you want to come back to the Lord again. I am going to ask that when the song begins you would get up out of your seat, walk down to the front of the stage and stand here. And when you all get here I will lead you in a prayer of commitment.
Now why do I ask you to come publicly? Because everyone that Jesus called, He called openly and publicly. He said, if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But then He also said, if you deny me before people I will deny you before my Father and the angels. So this is a way to acknowledge Him publicly.
So if you raise your hand even if you did not. But you want your sin forgiven. You want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. You want your guilt taken away. Or you want to come back to the Lord. Right now as the group sings you get up out of your seat. Come on down to the front. And when you get here we will pray together. Get up and start coming right now. Come on. Down from the balcony. Hear from the ground floor. Make your stand for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Put it into His hands. Today your new life begins. Salvation is waiting. Open the door. Love never failing. Your sins have all been paid for. So come and you will receive forgiveness.
I'm going to ask that nobody leave right now because that's distracting. We only want to see those who are coming forward. To move right now if you would please. Listen. You may never have another opportunity like you have tonight. Don't think that you can just go on and on putting this on. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. Tonight is your night.
So the group is going to sing this through again. And if there is anybody else that wants to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus you come now. Outside. Come on and join us in the air. Up on the balcony. Come down the stairs. There is still time. Come on. into the stairs. Come on and join us in the sun. Come on and join us in the spring. Come on. Come on and join us in the coffee. To His hands... The day your new life... Begins... Salvation... Is waiting... Open the door... Of never failing... Your sins... Have all been painful... Salvation... Is waiting... Open the door... Of never failing... Your sins... Have all been painful... So come and be redeemed... Secure your place in eternity... Come and you will receive... Forgiveness... Forgiveness...
This is what we have been about for 40 years now. And we are so thankful for every one of you that have made this commitment. And I want to lead you in a simple prayer. And I am going to ask that you would pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Jesus Christ to come into your life to be your Savior and Lord. Will you start knowing God. So mean this prayer from your heart. And pray it out loud after me. Okay. Let's all bow our heads and pray this after me now.
Lord Jesus... I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross. And you shed your blood... For every sin... I have ever committed. I am sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I choose to follow you from this night forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
God bless each one of you. God bless you guys. Praise the Lord. Hey listen. All of you. God bless you guys. Amen. Okay listen. All of you that have come forward. We want to talk with you for a few moments. And we want to share with you what it means to follow Jesus Christ. So we want to give you a Bible that looks like this one. It is called the Start Bible. It is a New Testament with some notes that I wrote to encourage you. So we have one waiting for you tonight. Over to my right. Your left. Here is one of our counselors. That is Richard. He is holding up the Start Bible. Richard is going to lead you over here to this room back here. Here in the corner. We will give you the Bible. Talk with you a little bit. If you came with a friend or a family member. They will wait for you. Okay. So don't worry about that. We are not leaving quite yet. So all of you that have come forward. Turn to your left. And follow Richard this way. Right over this way. Go on back to that room. God bless you guys. God bless you guys.
Looking to the Future: Words from Levi Lusko
Listen. Some of you recognize this young man standing up here on the stage next to me. This is Levi Lusko. You know. You know. I will tell you what. When I was a young guy starting out in ministry I made friends with a bunch of old guys. Because I thought there was a lot that I could learn from them. But I think as you get older you realize that you need to know some young guys. And when you are younger you need to know older guys. And when you are older you need to know some younger guys. Okay. And Levi has been one of those guys in my life that has been a great encouragement to me. And very sadly we both are in a club. We never wanted to join if you want to call it that. We both have children in heaven. And this happened recently to Levi with the Lord calling his little daughter Lenya home. But I will tell you God has really put His hand on Levi. And He has given him a gift. And I am inspired every time I hear him.
So I thought as we look to the future I asked Levi if he would share some words with us. Some thoughts with us. And then after Levi is done Levi you could just call the ushers and we will receive our offering for the evening. So let's welcome Levi as he comes right now.
All I want to say is happy birthday harvest. 40 years. Look at you. You don't look a day over 30. And who wants to honor your pastor Greg Laurie and his wife. 40 phenomenal years of ministry. Come on. And the entire amazing team. One of the things you might not know you for sure probably do but have just behind the scenes. He's not only an amazing pastor and evangelist but also one of the greatest leaders on the face of the earth. Just as a leader. And is so secure in his giftings, ability. He has surrounded himself with some extraordinary leaders that make up the staff of this phenomenal church. And it's always an amazing honor to get to intersect with them and do ministry with you guys.
And all I want to say for you as you face this next phase now of ministry is to keep, as your pastor said, your eyes on the prize. Don't get tripped up with the gravitational pull of this world tugging at you. This world isn't your home. Our citizenship is in heaven. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Eternity is near. We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that are urging us on. Set your mind on things above. Set aside things that tangle up. And set up for yourselves treasures in heaven. The currency of the kingdom. Its souls. And there's more to be won. And the best is yet to come. Amen? Amen.
So let me pray for you. And as I do that, the ushers will come now. And then we'll receive the offering. And give good. Because come on, Harvest America's coming. You got a whole nation to reach, Harvest. No big deal. Don't you dare take for granted what a privilege it is to be a part of a church that's just trying to reach, oh, I don't know, just a country real quick. Let that sink in. Let's pray. Let's give generously. And let's just dig in to this great work.
God, we thank you so much for the 40 years we've had a chance to celebrate this weekend. So many lives. So many impacted. And now as we face the future, I pray it would be at full throttle. I pray, God, for there to be a continued blessing upon this house. That what's gone into the ground now, these four decades being sown and all that's coming, I pray a hundred-fold would come from it and beyond. We pray for your spirit's blessing because without you we can do nothing. But God, as your spirit would pour out, revival is possible and everything can happen and chains can fall. And we believe, God, for many more decisions for Christ through this church and the Harvest Crusades than has been seen yet. We pray for a faith that would be like Caleb that would say, give me this mountain that would accelerate when some feel like coasting. And I pray, God, for just protection and your hand to be upon this work. Your mighty right hand. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.