Greg Laurie - Following Jesus Through the Storms of Life (12/11/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares the story of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8 to show that hardships come to everyone, but Jesus is with us through them. He explains storms can correct, protect, or perfect us, urging us to cry out to God, trust His purposes, and know He will get us safely to the other side—ending with an invitation to follow Jesus for forgiveness and eternal hope.
Unexpected Storms in Life
Alright. Well let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. And the title of my message is Following Jesus Through the Storms of Life. Why don't we start with a word of prayer. Father, storms come into our lives. Hardships, difficulties. And we don't always know why. There might be people here right now that are going through a raging storm. There might be others that are about to go on one that they don't know about. But here is the good news. You are with us through all of this. And there are things we can learn in these hardships that we will not learn anywhere else. So we invite you to speak to us now as we open your word. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Have you ever had an unexpected storm blow into your life? And by a storm, I am using that as a metaphor for difficulty, hardship, crisis, possibly even a tragedy. I am sure you have. I think some of you might even be going through them right now. Now, when storms get powerful, the weathermen will even give them names. There are certain hurricanes, for instance, that have been given their own name, like Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina more recently. There are other hurricanes that had names as well that I guess weren't ready for prime time. We never heard of them. At least I didn't until I looked up the names of hurricanes on a website. They had names like Hurricane Larry. Does that sound threatening to you? "Hurricane Larry is moving in on us right now." How about this one? This is a real hurricane. I am not making it up. Hurricane Fabian. What kind of name is that for a hurricane? Hurricane Harvey, Felix, and Teddy. Teddy? Well that sounds like something I want to hug, you know.
And what I am wondering is why they don't give earthquakes names. You know, how come there is not Earthquake George or Earthquake Eddie or something like that. No. Only hurricanes. But you know what? When they come there are no fun. And they can be very hard to go through. Life is going well. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And all of a sudden there is a drop. There is two drops. And then there is a drizzle. And then perhaps a downpour. And before you know it you are in the middle of a storm.
Different Kinds of Storms We Face
There are different kinds of storms that blow into our lives. It might be the storm of a difficult or broken relationship. It might be a financial crisis. It might be legal problems. Or unpleasant or painful health issues. The inevitable effects of age. A stroke. A heart attack. A disability. It might be dealing with rebellious children. Or struggling with a conflict situation at work. Or even in church. Or being laid off at work. Or it could even be the death of someone you love.
Here is what you need to know. In your life you are going to face storms. There are only two kinds of people in the world today. Those who are going through a crisis. And those who are going to go through a crisis. Now some of you are pretty young and you are saying, I don't know Greg. That hasn't been my life experience. Just wait until you get a little older. And you are going to find that a lot of storms are going to come blowing through your life. It is inevitable. The Bible even says that the rain will fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. There is no getting around it.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee – Matthew 8
Well before it is here in Matthew 8 is a story of a storm that the disciples went through. And it is also a story of what they did in the storm. Because there are things we can learn from it to help us with our storms and life. So let's read Matthew 8 starting in verse 23. "Now Jesus got into a boat. And His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea. So the boat was covered with the waves. But Jesus was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and woke Him saying, 'Lord save us. We are perishing.' And He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' And He arose. And He rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. So they marveled saying, 'Who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'"
Now in our last message that we called Follow Me, which is a part of a series we are doing now by the same title, we discovered Jesus has called all of us to follow Him in life. But what does that actually mean? Well, as you recall, when Jesus said to Matthew, also known as Levi, "Follow Me," the phrase meant to walk the same road. And by the way, that was in a present tense in the original language, commanding the beginning of an action and continually habitually in it. In other words, Jesus was saying, I command you to follow Me each and every day.
So a quick poll. How many of you are followers of Jesus Christ? Raise up your hand. Okay. Here is what you need to know. We follow Him wherever He leads. And His disciples were following Him. And where did that lead? It led to a boat as they crossed the Sea of Galilee. And a storm came. Listen. The storm came because they obeyed the Lord, not because they disobeyed Him. Sometimes when hardship comes, people will say, you must have done something wrong to deserve this. Listen. Sometimes it is the very opposite. It is because you are doing something right.
The Storm Came Because They Obeyed
We are going to find out God allowed the storm, but it was initiated by someone else that we will identify in a moment. What can we learn from this story? Number one, storms will come in life. Again, storms will come in life. And by the way, this was a mega storm. The word that is used to describe it is also translated seismic. So it is speaking of an especially mean, vicious kind of storm that was overtaking them with overhead waves. They couldn't even see their boat. And understand, these are seasoned sailors. These guys have their sea legs. It doesn't take... It is not like they are easily frightened.
Have you ever seen that TV program called The Deadliest Catch? These guys are crazy. I mean, I look at some of the video of them out at sea and they are pulling their crabs in there and so forth. And the kind of things they face. If I was on one of those boats I would be crying for mommy. So these disciples, you know, they had spent a lot of time on the water. So for them to be afraid it showed it was a really scary storm.
But interestingly, while the storm was raging, Jesus was below the deck asleep. Has it ever seemed to you as though God is asleep when you are in trouble? It is like, hello Lord, wake up. Are you paying attention? Now in a technical sense Jesus was asleep because Jesus was God in human form. Fully God and fully man. And as a man he was tired from a hard day's work, exhausted, and he crashed. He fell asleep. He was in a deep slumber. Some people can sleep like that. Nothing wakes them up. That is my wife. She can sleep through anything. A bird chirps three blocks away and I wake up. What was that? I am a light sleeper. It is easy for me to be woken up and it is hard for me to get to sleep.
Jesus was really in a deep sleep. Now some people snore so loudly they wouldn't hear anything anyway. I am not suggesting Jesus snore though we may have. But he was definitely in a deep sleep at this point. But we need to know this. That God is never asleep in a broad sense. And I mean that God is always on watch. God is always paying attention. God will not fall asleep while you are talking to Him. Have you ever been talking to someone and actually have them nod out on you? That is a little discouraging isn't it?
Can I just like really share my heart? Yeah. Go ahead. Wow. That hurts. You know I have to tell you that I have seen people fall asleep when I am preaching. This comes as a revelation to some people. I can see you. This is two way here. You see me. I see you. I see you in the front of the balcony there. I see you in the back row back there. And I don't know if people realize this because they do strange things while they are watching me sometimes. I am not going to tell you what all those things are. But I have seen them fall asleep and try to make it look like they are praying. You know they are like this looking very reverent. But the problem is the giveaway is when someone laughs you jolt up. You look around with that blurry eyed look. And then you go back to prayer again. We know you are sleeping.
One time the apostle Paul was preaching and in the middle of his quite lengthy sermon he was told that someone had fallen out of the window to his death. Paul someone died while you were preaching. They fell asleep. So Paul stops the sermon. He goes out to the guy whose name is Eutychus. He prays for him. Raises him from the dead. And then like a good preacher comes back in and finishes his sermon. So yeah sometimes people fall asleep. But listen. God never does. Jesus was resting. He was recuperating. But he was also confidently resting in the will of the Father. He knew that God was in control. And the disciples should have known that as well.
Cry Out to God in the Storm
Number two. When we are in a storm we need to cry out to God. When you are in a storm cry out to God. And here is what I mean by that. When you are facing hardship talk to God about it. And that doesn't mean that you have to have perfect little prayers. It means that you bear your heart to God. And if you don't get it you say, God I am scared. God I don't like this. God why? You can ask why as long as you, as much as you want. Of course don't expect an answer. I have tried. It doesn't work. But you can say, Lord I don't agree with this. Lord I don't want this. Lord make it go away. Say whatever you want. But listen. Cry out to God. That is what the disciples did.
Remember this. He that stirred up the storm is the hiding place in it. Cry out to God in the midst of your storm. Sometimes people, people feel bad about doing that. But I think it is the best thing you can do. The story is told of a hardened old sea captain that was quite vocal about his atheism. But one night during a radical storm at sea he was washed overboard and his men actually heard him crying out to God for help. So after they rescued him they pulled him up on deck and they said, I thought you didn't believe in God. And the old captain said, "Well if there isn't a God there ought to be at times like this."
That is how a lot of people are. Oh I don't believe in God. I don't need God. I don't want God. But then crisis hits and they are like, God help. But you know what the good news is? God is still yours. Even a person like that. You know God doesn't say, hey man that is your problem. You made your bed and I will sleep in it. By the way what does that even mean? I have made my bed and slept in it. It is not that bad. And to the point I have also had my cake and eaten it too. You can't have your cake and eat it too. I have. But there have been times where I made my bed and I slept in it and had my cake and ate it too all on the same day. But we understand these are expressions. Here is another one. Pushing the envelope. Where do you push an envelope? Do you push it around on the ground? Do you pull it out of the mailbox and push the envelope? But we understand that these expressions mean something. And to have to make your, or you made your bed and I'll sleep in it. The idea is, hey man you did it. Now you have to face the consequences. No. That is true to some degree. But God doesn't say that.
See if you have crisis that brings you to Him, God will still welcome you with open arms. We did a crusade recently in Chicago as you know. And there was a young lady who came. And she wrote me a letter about it. She said, me and my husband have been going through a lot. He had a stroke a few weeks ago and we have really been struggling. I became upset with God because all of these things hit at once. And then I was told by my mom that I never fit into our family and never would and was not welcome in their home anymore. She writes at that point, I was ready to take my life. So here is a woman that is so discouraged because her husband had a stroke and her mother rejected her that she is having suicidal thoughts.
So how does God reach her? Answer. Through her eight year old daughter. It heard about our crusade and wanted to go. So mommy took her. And when the invitation was being given at the end of the service the little eight year old wanted to go forward. So the mom went along. And she continues on in her letter and says, so I went with her. But little did I know God was sending me down too. Meaning to the front. After a few minutes I fell to my knees and I felt his love. I know he loves me and has forgiven me. Then she concludes, you saved my life, not only my soul. Thank you. See God welcomes a person like that. No matter what they have done.
Here is what God says in Psalm 91. "The Lord says, I will rescue those that love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me I will answer. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them." So if you are in a crisis cry out to God.
God's Purposes in Our Storms
And here is something you need to know. Point number three. God has His purposes in the storms of life. God has His purposes in the storms of life. Listen. Where there are no trials in life there will be no triumphs. It has been said the hammer that shatters glass also forges steel. And you know a lot of times it is in those difficult moments that we learn some of life's greatest lessons. We all love Psalm 23 penned by David who was a Shepherd and knew a little bit about sheep. So he wrote those beautiful words. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." We love that. It is a pastoral scene of Serenity, of calm, of quiet, green pastures, still waters.
But then David continues, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me." Wait, wait, wait. I don't do valleys. I like green pastures. I like still waters. I like sunny days. I am not in the valleys. But guess what? The fruit in life comes from the valleys not from the mountain tops. Sometimes the greatest things we learn are through the difficulties. And here is the secret of making it through a valley or getting through a storm or enduring a crisis. Know this, that God is with you and He will get you through it. He is with you just like He was with those disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
There are three basic kinds of storms in life that we will face. There are correcting storms. There are protecting storms. And there are perfecting storms. That is correcting, protecting, and perfecting.
Correcting Storms – Like Jonah's
First there are correcting storms. This is the kind of storm that Jonah faced when he disobeyed God and tried to run. You remember when he was on that boat. The storm came. Everybody called out to their God. It was determined Jonah was the one that the storm came for and when they threw him overboard the storm stopped. And sometimes we bring storms on ourselves. We face consequences. You know we say, Lord, why is it that you haven't let the police come and arrest me? Because you just stole something, idiot. That is why. Because you are a thief. And you know what? You are not even a good thief because you got caught. Oh it is a storm. Yeah kind of. But it is one you brought on yourself. You make a wrong decision. You reap consequences. These can be storms we in effect bring in our own lives.
But listen. They are correcting storms. The objective of the storm in the life of Jonah was to get his attention and bring him back to God. And the objective of correcting storms in our life is the Lord will allow us to face consequences because of our actions so we will wake up and turn back to Him. Has that happened to you lately? Did you get busted? Did you get caught? Did that thing you have been doing actually catch up with you? And the Lord is using it to get your attention.
Let's go back to David's words again there in Psalm 23. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me." Then he says, "Your rod and your staff they comfort me." Now what does that mean? Back in those days Shepherds had two primary instruments they used with their sheep. They had a staff and a rod. A staff was basically that long crook instrument that they used to pull the wayward sheep back in the line with. And the rod that is basically a club. And they don't use it as much as a staff but when they need it they need it. Sometimes they use a rod or the club to drive off predators that are a threat to their sheep. And sometimes if necessary they still use it on their own sheep.
And here is why they need to use it. Because sheep are stupid you see. Did you know that? They are truly one of the dumbest animals on the face of the earth. No kidding. They always are going astray. There are reports I actually read an article in the paper a while back about one sheep that walked off a cliff and a thousand others followed him to their own death. I mean they even get in line. One sheep goes over and boom, boom. Let's get in line guys. It is not that bad. Let's go. Stupid.
So let's say that you are that one wayward sheep. Always leading the others astray. So you take your staff and you say now come on. Stop going astray. Stop going astray. I have a rod and I am going to use it. Don't make me use the rod. I am warning you. Bam. Hit him with the rod. Oh he is sort of limping along. Poor sheep. Yeah. Sometimes a Shepherd would even break the leg of a specially wayward sheep. That is sad. But better to have a broken leg than to become leg of lamb. Because if that sheep strays from the flock and he is out there all by himself he becomes an easy prey for the predators. The wolves are checking him out saying okay who brought the mint jelly? Looking good.
So the Shepherd will take radical action. And here is my point. Sometimes when we are disobeying God he will discipline us sometimes in a severe way to get us back in line. And you know what God is saying when he does that in your life? He is saying I love you. I love you. Oh yeah. Listen to Hebrews 12. "Have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words that God spoke to you as children? He said My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you. And don't be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes those He accepts as His children."
See my responsibility has been to discipline my own sons. Not someone else's. We are not supposed to discipline other people's kids. Though there are times we would like to. You know I have seen moms in the market with their child having a meltdown and I am like I will help. No. That is not my responsibility. In fact if I were to intervene I could get in trouble. No. That is for her to take care of. And God disciplines His own kids. So when you start to go a little bit in the wrong direction and the Lord disciplines you He is reminding you He loves you. If you do something wrong and you feel guilty about it that means your conscience is working. Here is when you should be scared. When you can go astray and do what is wrong and feel no guilt whatsoever. Here is when you should be concerned. When you can stray off and nothing happens. Because you are a child of God He makes it hard for you to do the wrong thing. Yes those are correcting storms.
Protecting Storms – God Keeping Us from Harm
Then there are protecting storms. Now these are interesting. We have an instance in the Gospel of John when the disciples were with Jesus and He performed His most popular miracle of all. And what do you think that was? The raising of Lazarus from the dead. That was a good one. But that wasn't His most popular. The restoration of sight to a blind man. That too was very impressive. But that wasn't the biggest one. Delivering the men from demon possession. Oh that was amazing. But that wasn't His most popular miracle. His most popular miracle was when He fed the 5,000 and multiplied the loaves and the fishes. Why do we know that? Because the Bible says they decided to come by force and make Him king. Come by force? Yeah Lord we just decided you are going to be king and if you don't agree we are going to kill you. Because there is a bottom line. We want free lunch from now on. We like that miracle where you multiply food. Keep doing that one. That is a good one.
And the disciples were caught up in the excitement of the moment and they were going to rule and reign with Jesus right there. So we read that Jesus made His disciples get into a boat and they crossed over and a storm came. It was a protecting storm. You say I don't get it. He was protecting His disciples from themselves. They had already been jockeying for a position as to who was going to be the top dog. And He knew that if they were to have this kind of success it could destroy them. So He said we are going to get out of here. Kind of like when you are at Disneyland and your parents say it is time to go. You know when you are at Disneyland if you are an adult and someone says time to go you are like yes. And if you are a kid you are like no. Get in the boat. Get in the car. We are getting out of here. He did it to protect them.
You know sometimes God doesn't give us what we ask for. Oh Lord. We pray. If you love me that girl would say yes and marry me. No. God loves you too much. She is not going to say yes. He is looking out for you. Lord if you really love me you would let me get that promotion. No. You know what. God loves you so much He is not going to let you get that promotion because it can actually be harmful for you. Believe it or not. Lord if you love me you would let me win the lottery. No. God loves you too much. Sometimes He will keep you from something through a storm. A protecting storm.
Perfecting Storms – Growth Through Trials
And finally, and these are probably the most common, there are perfecting storms. That is probably what the disciples are experiencing at this moment. A perfecting storm is when God allows hardship in your life because there is a unique work He wants to do. Sometimes we don't understand what that work is. But here is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4. "Our present troubles are quite small and they won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now. Rather we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see now will soon be over. But the joys to come will last forever."
Maybe you are going through a hardship and you don't know why. God wants you to grow up and learn to walk by faith and not by feeling. James wrote that the trying of your faith produces endurance. So let endurance have its perfect work in you that you may be mature and complete lacking nothing. See the problem with some of us is we are spiritual lightweights. You know we don't have any substance. We don't have any depth. We are weak and we collapse easily. And God wants us to grow up. And through those trials in life we learn to depend upon Him.
And if you are going through a trial, here is what you need to know. You can't control it. You don't decide when storms come and you don't decide when they stop. All you decide is how you are going to react. And your question is this. Am I going to try to glorify God through this? You all heard maybe of Joni Eareckson Tada. How many of you have heard of Joni before? How many of you have never heard of Joni Erickson? She is an amazing lady with a powerful testimony. When Joni was a young girl she dove into a shallow lake and suffered a spinal cord fracture that paralyzed her from the neck down. And instead of turning away from God, Joni's faith grew deeper and she has spent her entire life bringing words of encouragement to people around the world. Not only people who are disabled but people from every walk of life. She has written a number of books. She has a radio broadcast. Just a really sweet lady. I know her a little bit and she has been to our church and she has spoken here.
But I mean if life wasn't hard enough for Joni Eareckson Tada with a disability like that, she recently found out she has breast cancer. And in a recent interview with World Magazine she said that she is in a battle against powers and principalities that want her to despair. And she said the scripture she looks to is Hebrews 10:38 which says, "My righteous one will live by faith and if he shrinks back my soul has no pleasure in him." Joni says, I don't want to be one of those who shrink back. I don't want to tarnish his name. So she spends her time memorizing scripture, encouraging others who are suffering. And Joni says, God is up to something big. How can I showcase Him to others? She knows her life is on display and others are watching and learning by her response. She says, I am on this battlefield. How can I glorify God?
Wow. And what is your problem you are facing right now? Well I am kind of bummed out. Why? I have a cold? Yeah. Kind of puts it in perspective, doesn't it? I mean there might be some of you suffering worse than Joni. I don't know. But I doubt it. And I think for her to go through what she is facing. And here is her question. Not God why. No. Her question is, how can I glorify God? How can I use this as a platform to bring honor to His name? And that is what we need to do when we are going through the storms of life. In fact maybe the Lord is waiting for you to do that before the storm will pass. And if you would do that maybe that will bring the conclusion of the storm. Lesson learned class over. But then sometimes storms last forever. Storms last a lifetime. But here is what you need to know.
Jesus Stops Some Storms – But Always Walks With Us
Point number four. And lastly, sometimes Jesus stops a storm but He always goes with us through it. Again sometimes Jesus stops a storm and other times He is with us through it. Yeah He stopped the storm. And by the way, they were pretty accusatory. In Matthew's version of this story we simply read that they said, "Lord we are perishing." But in Mark's version we read these words. Frantically they woke Him up shouting, "Teacher, don't you even care that we are going to drown?" In other words they are saying, hey Jesus, hello? What are you doing there sleeping? Don't you even care about us?
Jesus rebukes them. And then He rebukes the storm. I would rather go through the storm and not get rebuked by Jesus. But He had to set these guys straight. Guys, come on. Haven't you learned anything so far? Haven't you realized that I am with you and I can be trusted? Here is why these guys did not have to panic. Because Jesus said, before they boarded the boat, let's cross to the other side of the lake. Now that detail is found in Mark's version of the same story. Matthew we just read they got in the boat and went across. But in Mark's version He said, "Let's go to the other side." Now if Jesus had said, let's get in the boat and drown in the Sea of Galilee, I probably wouldn't have wanted to get into that boat. But He said, let's go over to the other side. He did not promise them smooth sailing. But He did promise them a safe arrival.
The same is true for us. He doesn't promise us life will be easy. But He promises we will get to the other side. Listen, I would rather be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. And He is with you in your storm right now. And He has things He wants to do in your life right now as you are in the midst of the storm. God says in Isaiah 43, "When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you."
But He did stop the storm. He comes up on deck and He says, "Peace be still." This is crazy. What could be more human than Jesus sleeping after a day of work? And what could be more divine than Jesus controlling the elements? And understand, this was a crazy storm. And He comes out and just stops it. So imagine for a moment here is a boat pitching back and forth and the wind blowing and the waves over it. Stop. Be still. Little seagull flying by. Understand I used to be a cartoonist before I was a preacher. So I see things in cartoon panels. You understand. Everything is calm. They are like, "What kind of guy is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Oh this guy? He is the God man. And He was with you the whole time. And He calmed the elements.
It is interesting because Jesus uses the word, peace be muzzled. Not just still be muzzled as though He were talking to a wild animal. Why would you talk to a storm that way? He was talking to the power behind the storm. Like He was addressing a dog. Down. Sit. No. Okay. Sorry. You say that to a cat. Down. They are like, psh. See ya. I don't obey people. No. But you know, He speaks to the power behind the storm. And who was the power? It was Satan. Satan whipped up the storm. See sometimes we think that when we have an earthquake or a hurricane or something like that. That is God that did it. In fact insurance agents call it an act of God. Guess what? The devil can do some of that stuff too. Because as you go back to the book of Job you look at all the calamities that befell the man of God and you will discover the devil was behind them. Now the Lord allowed it. But the devil technically did it.
And why was the devil trying to stop Jesus and his disciples? Well we will find the answer to that next Sunday night as we see what was waiting for them on the other side. But suffice it to say that the devil tried to stop Jesus and the Lord overcame him. The Lord said let's cross over. And you know what? If you want to make it as a Christian you will. Let me ask you a question. How many of you want to make it as a Christian and go to heaven when you die? Raise your hand up. Okay. How many of you could care less about it? I hope you don't raise your hand. There is one guy, let me see what happened. I doubt you would be here if you felt that way.
Now here is the thing. If you want to make it you will. Now don't misunderstand me. I am not suggesting you are going to do it through human effort. The only way you are going to make it as a Christian is God working through you. But the Bible says it is God that works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure. But that verse also says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Or another translation of it would say carry to the goal and fully complete your own salvation. So there is God's part and there is your part. But Jesus says this to you. Let's cross over to the other side. The devil will say this to you. You will never make it. You think God will let you into heaven? Do you think God actually loves someone like you? You are going to fall. You are going to crash and burn. No. It is not true.
Because we are told in the book of Jude verse 24, to Him that is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before His presence with great joy. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will finish it unto the day of Jesus Christ." And then over in Hebrews 12:2 we read that He is the author and the finisher of our faith. But here is the good news. God is going to see you through. You are going to get to the other side.
Let me ask you a question. What would you prefer? A nice easy flight and a crash landing? Or a bumpy flight and a safe landing? You know give me the turbulence. I want to land. You know when I fly you hit turbulence. And I have taken some pretty long flights. Probably the longest I have taken is maybe New Zealand 14 hours one way. No stops. Maybe I have gone on one a little bit longer than that. But you know when you are flying over that much ocean that is a little scary. Especially when they go through the safety check. You know they get up and say, you know we are flying over water and so should we need to make a water landing? Here is what you need to do. Your seat is a flotation device. Are you serious? I land in the middle of the ocean and this is my flotation device. Oh we have this little vest for you. And it has a whistle. Oh good. If I blow that then the sharks will find me for sure. Oh but look you have a cute little flashlight too. Yeah that doesn't bring me a lot of comfort.
So if I am in a plane and we are flying and we hit turbulence I pretty much ignore it. But I do keep my eye on the flight attendants. If they are still serving food I think we are good. And if one of them gets a panic look I am like uh oh. You know. It is going to be a bumpy ride. And sometimes life is a bumpy ride. But listen. I would rather have a bumpy ride and a safe landing. Here is what you need to know. Life on earth is as good as it gets for the non-believer. But life for the believer on earth is as bad as it ever will be. So if you are not a Christian this is as good as it gets. Enjoy it. It is going to get a whole lot worse. Because when you get to the other side when you leave this world you are going to stand before God and face judgment. So this is as good as it gets.
But if you are a believer this is as bad as it gets. And you say well my life is pretty good. Great. It is going to get better. Good news. But no matter what you are facing this is as bad as it gets. Because on the other side there is heaven. You know all those fairy tales always end with, and they lived happily ever after. I just watched a fairy tale last night with my granddaughter Stella. Beauty and the Beast. Now out in Blu-ray. Tale as old as time. You know. The little teacup sings. And they lived happily ever after. Such a sweet ending. We say, oh I wish life was like that. But that is just a fairy tale.
Well you know some of those fairy tales have some truth in them. One day we will live happily ever after with our Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ, when we are in heaven. It is true. And that is no fairy tale. So look. Everyone is going to go through hardship in life. I don't care who you are. I don't care how famous you are, how rich you are. You know it doesn't matter. Everybody faces crisis. You open up the paper and you read about some famous person going through hardship. It hits everyone. Michael Douglas has stage 4 throat cancer. You know he is married to a beautiful woman, a big movie star. Yeah. Bad things happen to all kinds of people every single day.
Invitation to Follow Jesus
Now if you are a non-believer I don't have any words of hope for you tonight. I am sorry. Oh wait I thought of something. Are you going through a hard time right now? I have a little saying for you. Ready? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Did that help? I don't think so. Oh wait. I have another one. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Is that helpful? Oh here is a better one. Don't worry. Be happy. Stupid. Those things don't help. I have a better one for the Christian. "All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose." God has a plan and a purpose for every believer. That is for believers only. Not non-believers. If you are a non-believer there is nothing for you. But if you put your faith in Christ He will walk with you through your crisis.
And maybe it is crisis that brought you here tonight. Maybe something has happened that has caused you to wake up to your spiritual need. Not unlike the story of the woman I told you from Chicago who was actually suicidal. That is okay. Don't feel bad about that. You have come to the right place and God is ready to forgive you and change you and come into your life. See 2,000 years ago God wanted to prove His love to you so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to go to a cross and die for your sin. And then three days later Jesus rose again from the dead. And now He stands at the door of our life. And He knocks and He says if we will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
And I ask you in closing have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life? Do you know for certain your sin is forgiven? If not I would like to give you an opportunity to put your faith in Jesus and have a new start in life. And another thing I would add. There might be some of you that have been running from God. You have been raised in a Christian home. Or you have made a commitment to Christ and you have turned away from it. You are like Jonah. And God has sent a correcting storm into your life. Something has happened lately that has burst your little bubble and you have come crashing back down to earth and you have realized I need to get right with God. Well you know what? He will forgive you if you will turn to Him. Just like He gave Jonah a second chance He will give you one as well.
In a moment we are going to pray and I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. An opportunity to ask Christ to come into your life. Or if you have fallen away an opportunity to return to Him. If you need to do that respond now if you would. Let's all bow our heads for a prayer if you would. Father I pray for every person here now. Especially those that don't know You. And I pray that You will help them to see their need for You. Help them to see Your love for them. And help them to respond. And come to Jesus tonight. And be forgiven.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together. How many of you would say tonight, Greg pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want my guilt taken away. If that is your desire. If you want Jesus to come into your life. And you want Him to forgive you of your sin. Would you lift your hand up wherever you are sitting. And I will pray for you. God bless you. God bless you there. Over here on this side. God bless you. Up in the balcony. God bless you guys up there. Toward in the middle, over here on the side. Just lift your hand up. If you want His forgiveness tonight. I will pray for you. God bless you. In the very back there. God bless you as well. Anybody else? If you haven't lifted your hand yet but you want Christ to come into your life. If you want His forgiveness, lift your hand up. I will pray for you over there on the side. God bless you. And there in the back.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, I am a prodigal son. I am a prodigal daughter. I know it is right. And I have been running from it. I have been trying to live in two worlds and it has been a mess. But I want to come back to the Lord tonight. I need a second chance. If that is your desire, would you lift your hand up? You want to return to the Lord. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else up there in the balcony? God bless you as well.
Father I thank You for each one of these. And I pray You will give them the strength to stand up and follow You and receive all that You have for them. For we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Everyone that Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. And we are going to do the same in a moment. Our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer saying that you want to put your faith in Jesus. You want to be forgiven. I am going to ask that when this song begins you would get up out of your seat, walk down these aisles, stand up here in the front and I will lead you in a prayer when you get here.
And by the way I don't want anyone to leave right now. This won't take long but it is distracting when people are walking out so I am going to ask all of my Christian friends to remain seated and be praying for these that are making the most important decision of their life. The only movement we want to see for the next few moments, if you please, is the movement of those coming forward to make this commitment. Why do I ask you to come forward publicly like this? Because Jesus said if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But He added if you deny me before people I will deny you before my Father and the angels. This is a way to acknowledge Him publicly to say I mean this.
Maybe you did not lift your hand but you want to make this commitment to Christ you get up and come as well. And you that You don't want to make that recommitment. You also come. So if you raise your hand even if you did not. But you want your sin forgiven. You want your guilt removed. You want to know that you will go to heaven when you die. You want Jesus Christ to come into your life or you have fallen away from Him and you want to come back to Him right now. Get up out of your seat. Come on down here to the front. And when you get here I will pray for you. Get up and start coming right now. Up in the balcony. Come on down those stairs. Make your public stand for Jesus Christ. Lay down your burdens. For His Lord is alive. All who are thirsty. Shrink from the well of life. Place your heart into His hands Today your new life begins. Salvation is waiting So open the door... Your love never failing... Your sins have all been paid for... So come and you will receive... Forgiveness... Forgiveness...
There might be a few more of you that need to make this commitment to Christ. You know who you are. The Lord has been working on your heart this last week, in fact. This is your moment to make it right. Or you can say, I'll do it next week or the week after. How long are you going to try to live in two worlds? Hopping back and forth. The Bible says, "Choose this day whom you will serve." And if the Lord is God then serve Him. Folks, there is not time to mess around. Jesus Christ is coming back again. We need to be ready. We need to be watching. We need to be looking. And you don't know when life will end. Nor do I. We need to be ready to meet God. This is your wake up call. Answer it. This final moment if there is anybody else. You come now. And we will pray with you. This final moment if you are going to come. Come now. We will pray with you.
We'll Lord. For your sins have all been faithful. Come and you will receive. And this is a prayer where you are asking God to forgive you of your sin and you are asking Jesus Christ into your life. Because He loves you. And He died for you. And now He will come and live inside of you. And give you the strength you need to live this Christian life. So mean this prayer as you pray it. So again as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Okay? Let's all bow our heads and pray this after me.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I am sorry for that sin. And I turn from it now. Come into my life. Thank You for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen.