Greg Laurie - What Every Last Days Believer Needs to Know (03/21/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches from Matthew 13 on "What Every Last Day's Believer Needs to Know," warning that in these end times, the kingdom grows with both genuine believers and Satan's infiltrators—compromises, impostors, and false forms of godliness. As signs intensify like labor pains, Christians must stay alert, reject compromise, live pure lives, and pull the net to catch people for Christ before His sudden return.
Signs of the Times Are All Around Us
Lord, You are greater. You are stronger than any other. And You are in control of our world. And You are in control of our lives. Lord, You are sovereign. And we acknowledge that today. And we pray that You will help us to know how we are to live as believers in these last days. What should our life be like? So speak to us from Your Word, we would pray. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Amen.
You can be seated. Good morning to you. And we want to say a special good morning to all of our friends in Orange Crest, one of our satellite sites that are watching live today. So hello to Orange Crest. Let's welcome them to the service. Yeah. Normally they watch a DVD, but this is a live video feed, which we will soon be having down in Orange County at this time as well, down the road. And we are just hoping that during the video it doesn't just suddenly... No, I am messing with you. I just wanted to think it was net congestion.
All right. Well, how many of you know that it is the Super Bowl today? Did you know that? Yeah. This is the highest holy day of America. Trumping Christmas and Easter, I think, in the minds of many. I hope not yours. How many fans do we have out there? The Green Bay Packers. Okay. How about Pittsburgh Steelers? Oh, really? You know the other service that was a reverse of that? So you guys may want to keep distance from each other. That's interesting. How many of you don't care about the teams and you just want to watch commercials? Raise your hands. Yeah. It is one of the rare dates or somewhere. Everything is reversed. You turn it up when the commercial comes on and then turn the game down if you are not all that interested.
Well, you would be hard pressed to miss the fact that today is Super Bowl Sunday because the signs are everywhere. The commercials are everywhere, etc. Well, in the same way, I think you would be hard pressed to not note that things are happening in our world that are indeed signs of the times.
The Prophetic Calendar – What's Next?
And I want to share a message with you today called, "What Every Last Day's Believer Needs to Know." And it is from Matthew 13. So turn there with me if you would. Matthew 13.
If you have been watching the news, you are aware of the fact that chaos has broken out in parts of the Middle East, especially in Egypt. And I do believe that these are bonafide signs of the times alerting us to the fact that Christ is coming back again.
The way I see the prophetic events is similar to dominoes closely stacked together. You have probably seen the people put thousands of dominoes together and they tip the first one and all the others follow. And that is how the prophetic events are. They are closely stacked together. And when the first one falls, the others will go in rapid succession. So we are on the verge of it.
The Bible describes it as labor pains. You ladies know a little bit about this that have had children. You know that your labor pains would increase with intensity and frequency as you got close to the time of birth. And then when your water broke it was like time to get down to that hospital as quickly as possible.
Or we could liken it to tremors before a big quake. And so these signs of the times are happening more often. They are closer together and they are frequent. But the first big one I think that will happen that will alert us to the fact that game is on is the rapture of the church. In my opinion that is the next event on the prophetic calendar.
What is the rapture of the church? I have no idea. But anyway. No. I do. The rapture of the church is that moment when the Lord will call all true believers to meet Him in heaven in a moment in the twinkling of an eye.
Sometimes people confuse the rapture with the second coming. There are two events. One is before the tribulation. The other is after the tribulation. The rapture is when He comes for His church. And the second coming He returns with His church. The rapture is before the judgment, the tribulation period. And the second coming He comes with judgment.
So we are caught up to meet the Lord. Then the Antichrist emerges on the scene. He is not going to be dressed head to toe in black with His own ominous theme song playing whenever He walks into a room with glowing red eyes. He is going to be a charismatic, brilliant politician type who is going to have the answers for many. Economic solutions, military solutions and such.
But then after He reveals Himself initially as a man of peace, three and a half years into the tribulation, the midway point, He commits the abomination of desolation. This is after He has helped the Jewish people rebuild their temple. He erects an image of Himself in it, commanding people to worship it.
And then we see the tribulation culminating with the battles of Armageddon. Fought there in the Middle East. And then Christ comes back again in the second coming. As the light shines from the east to the west so will the coming of the Son of Man be. And then the millennium. The thousand year reign of Christ on earth. This is that period of time when the Lamb lies with the lion. And so forth. And then finally heaven and earth become one as a new Jerusalem descends down from heaven to the earth.
Ok. These are the events that are yet to come. But the Bible tells us to be aware of the signs of the times.
Current Events Pointing to the End
What are some of those? Well I would say the emergence of China as a military and economic superpower is a sign of the times. As is the diminishing of the United States of America as a superpower. Because quite frankly we don't find America in the last days scenario.
And then there is a growing aggression of Russia. The emergence of Islam. And now all of this unrest in Egypt. The mainstream press has described this situation in Egypt as a Democratic uprising. Now there may be well meaning people who want a much needed change in their country. But the problem that I see is the dangers of the Islamic extremists taking control of this if they have it already. And using it as a Trojan horse to unseat one of the few allies the United States has in that part of the world. And more to the point a nation that has had a peace treaty she has honored with Israel.
There is this group that has emerged called the Muslim Brotherhood that is supposedly a moderate group. And we should not be concerned about them because they are not wanting jihad. But yet in their stated mission the Muslim Brotherhood says and I quote, Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Moderate indeed.
And then they recently said that if Egypt turns the other way the people should be prepared for war against Israel. Wait a second. How did Israel come into this? I thought they just wanted changes in their country. Listen. It is always going to be about Israel. And the Bible tells us as these events come together it is going to center around Israel and around Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:3 says, On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world, and none of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed. And so the Bible student will pay careful attention to all of these events. Especially any mention of wiping out Israel.
Scripture tells us that a large force from the extreme north of Israel will invade her in the end times after she has come back to her homeland which she has. Many scholars believe this force known as Magog is modern day Russia. One of the allies that marches with Magog is called Persia. And up until 1935 that was the name of what we now call Iran.
Interestingly Iran has not had a very close relationship with Russia over the years. Yet I just read an article that said President Ahmadinejad of Iran and his Russian counterpart have agreed to boost ties between their countries.
And then there is the wild card now of these terrorist groups. I read a headline recently that said, Al-Qaeda on brink of using a nuclear bomb. Al-Qaeda is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons, the article says, after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build dirty bombs according to leaked diplomatic documents.
Wow. What are we supposed to do when we hear things like this? Well, as Jesus said, when you see these things begin to happen, freak out. And that phrase freak out is from the Greek word freakitis. No. I am making this up. He didn't say that, did He?
When you see these things begin to happen, do what? Look up. Look up. That is what He said. Why? Because your redemption draws near. When you see them begin to happen. When you see the labor pains or the tremors building up. Look up for your redemption is drawing near.
Living Right in the Last Days
So here is the question. What are we supposed to be doing as believers living in these last days? Well we are to live in a certain way and we are to avoid certain dangers. And that is what we are going to explore together here in Matthew 13.
You know our numbers have never been greater in the church today. So called megachurches dot our landscape across the United States and now around the world. What an amazing thing when you stop and consider the fact that our faith had such humble beginnings. When Jesus Christ was born in that manger in Bethlehem due to the decree of Caesar Augustus that everyone should be taxed.
Who would have ever thought that that little baby would grow into a man who had changed the world and world history from that point forward. And really during his ministry I don't think the Romans paid a lot of attention to Jesus Christ or to his claims. They tolerated Judaism and they would allow it to exist as long as the Jews conform to Roman law.
Jesus got into trouble in their minds with his own religious leaders. And so Pontius Pilate tried to keep his distance from it but got pulled into it ultimately symbolically washing his hands saying this is not on me it is on you and sent Christ to be crucified thinking that was the end of the matter.
Then the message starts circulating. Jesus is risen from the dead. I don't think most Romans really believed it. But this movement began to gain momentum. More and more people were becoming followers of Christ. Then the day of Pentecost happened. Then the church began to spread out throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Miracles were being performed. The name of Jesus was on so many lips.
So the Romans tried to suppress it. And they would arrest these people. And God would send angels and free them in the middle of the night. And they would beat them. And they would become bolder. And so Rome ultimately decided to wipe Christianity out completely. And secular historians are in agreement that there were ten great persecutions. Ten major attempts to wipe out Christianity from the face of the earth. Starting with the wicked Caesar Nero up to Diocletian.
As you know believers were fed alive to wild animals and Roman arenas for sport. They were torn apart. Tortured. Burned at the stake. Christians would be covered in pitch and set on fire. And would light the garden of Caesar Nero as he would ride around laughing convulsively.
And the Romans thought they were so successful that the Emperor Diocletian had a coin struck to commemorate it. And on the coin were these words. Quote, The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the Roman gods are restored. End quote. Hmm. Famous last words.
Where is Rome today? Well it is still there. It is a nice tourist destination. Where is Caesar today? Well nowhere to be found. You have Caesar salad. Which is quite nice if you hold the anchovies. But no they didn't stop Christianity. Because the church marches on. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
The Kingdom Parables – Good and Bad Together
Okay so that is where we are today. That is the good news. The gospel goes out. The church begins to grow. Continues to grow. So it is all good. Right? Not necessarily. Listen to this. Numerical growth is not necessarily good. Let me explain.
We are in Matthew 13. We are looking at the parables of the kingdom. These parables deal with the spiritual condition of the world leading up to the return of Christ.
What is a parable? A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It is a picture that Jesus would use to tell us about something important. Something deeper.
And in our last message we noted that there is good and bad news in the times in which we are living. The good news is God is going to be at work right up until His return to this earth bringing people into the kingdom. Acts 2:17 says that the Lord will pour His Spirit out on all people and our sons and daughters will prophesy and our young men will see visions and our old men will dream dreams.
But the bad news is, it is right alongside that, Satan will also be at work seeking to undermine people's faith. 2 Timothy 3:13 says evil people and impostors will flourish. They will go on deceiving others and they themselves will be deceived.
Did you hear that word impostors? So here is what the Bible is saying. In the end times which we are in there will be impostors. Genuine imitations as we called them in our last message. Fake Christians. Posers. These are not people that are struggling as followers of Jesus. These are people that are pretending to be something they are not. Hypocrites in the truest use of the word. An actor. They are putting on a performance.
So this is what the Lord told us to be aware of. So we are not going to create a perfect utopia in the end times where everyone believes in Jesus. Nor will we have complete anarchy where no one believes in Jesus. Right up until His return we are going to see the good and the bad. The godly and the ungodly together. And the Lord will ultimately have the victory.
See here is the devil's strategy. He believes if you can't beat him, join him. And one of the most effective ways that he undermines our faith is through infiltration.
Parable of the Mustard Seed – Unnatural Growth
So let's see how that plays out now in Matthew 13 starting in verse 31. Verse 31. Another parable he put forth to them saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. And if you would, underline the phrase, like a mustard seed. Which a man took and sowed in a field, which indeed is the least of all seeds. And when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree. So the birds of the air come and rest in its branches.
This is the parable of the mustard seed that became a tree. I want you to notice that Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like. He did not say the kingdom of heaven is. It is like this. What is it like? It is like a mustard seed.
Well that doesn't mean a lot to us. But people of this day would understand it. A mustard seed was regarded as one of the smallest of seeds. In fact Jesus Himself says this right here in verse 32. It is the least of all seeds.
On another occasion He said, If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, and yet say to this mountain, Be moved it will. So the idea was even the smallest of seeds are the smallest of things.
Now here is the thing you need to know. Mustard seeds don't grow into trees. They grow into bushes. Or shrubs. This is an unnatural growth. So He is saying the kingdom of God is like something small that grew really big.
Let me put it another way. The kingdom of heaven is like something small that grew freakishly big. Maybe He would have said it this way today. The kingdom of heaven is like a chihuahua that grew to be the size of an elephant. What? You know, if a chihuahua was the size of an elephant, maybe it would finally stop shaking. They are always shaking. They are so nervous. Everyone is against me. They are against me. They are against me. And then they put outfits on them. Now they are mocking me. They are mocking me. But the size of an elephant. Who is laughing now?
But see, it is something that is not normal. That is the idea that is being conveyed. You know, things can be cute when they are small, right? A kitten. Oh, they are cute. Then they turn into cats. Or bunnies turn into rabbits and chicks. What is cuter than a chick? Not talking about girls now. But then it becomes a chicken.
You know, back when I was a kid at Easter, I remember that they used to sell chicks and bunnies. You do not really see this in pet stores anymore. But you know, you might even give them as a gift. If you wanted to make someone miserable, give their children chicks and bunnies. Because you know, it is only months until there are chickens running around the house. And rabbits.
So things can be cute when they are small. But then they get big and they can be problematic.
You know, really a great pet is a rat. They are not very expensive. They are good pets. They can tame very well. And we have had a few rats over the years. We did not ask for rats. Our boys just brought them home. And there they were from the pet store and so forth. But you know, when a rat gets big, it is pretty scary.
I actually read about a new rat species recently discovered in New Guinea. They are 32 inches long from nose to tail and weigh 3.3 pounds. That is sick. And I do not mean it the way teenagers say sick, like good. I mean sick like weird. Imagine a 3 pound rat.
But it even gets worse than that. I read actually about a certain rodent that is called a capybara that gets huge. Listen to this. They get up to 100 pounds. They are in the rodent family. And I read this article and this woman asked, it looked like a dog. You know, that is the size of a dog at least. It looked like a rodent frankly. And she would take it around and a crowd will always gather wherever she is with it. And in this article she was interviewed and she said that she likes to snuggle in bed with this rodent. And I thought, you sleep with a giant hairy rodent? Seems a bit odd. My wife says, I have been doing it for years. What is the... thing like a joke at your own expense?
But here is the thing. Here is this little bush, if you will, that grows into a giant tree. What does it mean? Well one interpretation of it is the Kingdom of God in the last days is like something small that got big in a positive sense. You know, this tiny little movement is now a global movement. And a tree in the Bible is always a picture of something powerful.
You may recall that Nebuchadnezzar was compared to a tree. Pharaoh was also compared to a tree. So in Scripture a mighty tree is something of power and influence. So the church is powerful and influential and impacting the world. And that is a good thing. And all the birds come and nest in our branches. Well that is one interpretation.
But that does not seem to fit other Scriptures to me. In fact Jesus even says, when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on earth? I don't think we are going to create a super church on planet earth. And besides remember in the first parable of this series, the parable of the sower, we found out that birds were a symbol of evil. Right?
And really if you look at all these parables, they are about God working and Satan opposing. Parable of the sower. Seed is sown. Most of the seed, three out of four, falls into categories where it comes under attack by the enemy. Parable number two, the parable of the wheat and the tares. The good seed is sown. But then the devil comes along and sows his tares or his imitations of the real thing.
Then we move to what we are reading right now. And this parable of the tree that grew freakishly big with the birds, a symbol of evil in it. Think Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds for a moment. You never looked at birds in exactly the same way after seeing that film. Right?
So I believe this is a picture of the church growing freakishly big in a sense, but also being invaded by impostors. And I think that fits what we are seeing right now. The Bible says one of the signs of the last days is there will be a form of godliness, but they will deny the power thereof.
Let's personalize this. Because the church is made up of people, and you are one of those people, this is about compromise in the life of the follower of Jesus Christ. And one of the most effective weapons in the satanic arsenal is that of compromise.
The devil knows he can't take you down at once, so he takes you a bite at a time. You know, the devil doesn't walk up to you and say, Hey you, happily married man. Yeah, you, with that stupid smile on your face. I have a plan for your life, and I wanted you to consider it for a moment. If you would, I am thinking you ought to, let's see, being faithful to your wife. How about multiple affairs even? She tries to make it work. She gives up. She leaves you. Then you turn to drink, and you become a full blown alcoholic, or a drug addict, whatever you prefer. And then you can be estranged from her, from your children, ruin your life, and then maybe one day you blow your brains out. What do you say? That is my plan.
What fool is going to say, Duh, yeah. So the devil is more clever than that. So he comes with compromise and says, Hey you, happily married man. You have done so well. What a good father you are. What a great husband you are. You know, you deserve a break today. Why don't you have a little fun? You know, a little flirty. Never hurt anybody. It would be interesting.
Oh hey, you know, why don't you check out a little pornography on the Internet. Not too much, just a little. Hey, have a drink over here. Have another drink. Oh just try this drug, this one. Hey, you see, little things lead to big things. That is the whole point. And this is where a lot of believers fall through compromise.
The Parable of the Leaven – Corruption Spreads
It is like the story of the hunter and the bear. The hunter was out looking for a bear to kill. And he was tromping through the forest and saw a large bear with his back to him. He pulled out his gun. He got the bear in his sight. He was getting ready to squeeze the trigger. And suddenly the bear turns around and says to the hunter, excuse me, isn't it better to talk than to shoot?
This is a true story. Quick poll. How many of you have heard the story of the hunter and the bear? Raise your hand. Okay. How many of you have not heard it? How many of you want the Steelers to win? Green Bay Packers. Commercials. Okay. You are going to hear the story again.
Isn't it better to talk than to shoot? Says the bear to the hunter. Hunter says, Well you may have a point there. The bear says, Tell me exactly what it is that you want. Well the hunter said, I want a fur coat. Very good, said the bear. I want a full stomach. Let's try to work out a compromise.
So the bear and the hunter disappeared into the forest. A little bit later the bear emerged alone. Apparently the negotiations were successful. Everyone got what they wanted. The bear got a full stomach. And the hunter, he got a fur coat. That is how compromise works. That is how deals with the devil work. You are always going to be on the losing side.
Now we come to the parable of the leaven in verse 33. Another parable he spoke to them, The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal. So all was leavened.
Now that again doesn't mean a lot to us today, but it would have been immediately understood by the people. Leaven is yeast. And the idea here is something bad. Because leaven always has negative connotations to it in Scripture.
I remember when Moses was having the Israelites leave Egypt. He said, Get rid of all of the leaven in your life before you celebrate Passover. Picking up in this picture, Paul writes to the believers in Corinth who were actually boasting about welcoming a compromising believer who was living immorally into the church. And they were saying, Look how liberal we are. We encourage this guy to come and join us even though he is in this twisted relationship.
And Paul is saying, You guys are messed up. This is not the way you should be living. Then he says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens a lump? Or a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. So get rid of the old leaven.
Another translation puts it this way. Don't you realize if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected. See, leaven represents corruption, infiltration, and compromise. It is always negative.
Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven of the Herodians. Beware of leaven.
So you say, Well, okay, great. So I will get rid of all of my yeast. No, but that is not really what we are talking about, is it? This is a picture of compromise in your life. Little things turn into big things.
Have you ever seen a baby rattlesnake? They are actually kind of cute. It is just like they took a rattler and shrunk him into miniature. You know, they are mean from birth. They have got the little tiny rattler and they are little little cute little sin. Now wait until it bites you.
Compromise works its way into your life, permeates every area of your life. Here is what the psalmist said in Psalm 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
Okay, what does that mean? Paraphrase. If I hang on to sin in my life, God will not hear my prayers. Here is my question for you. Is there sin in your life right now that is undealt with? Do you think it is a secret? Do you think you have covered your steps?
Listen to this. Secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven. Listen to this too. There is no secret, there are no secrets rather with God. He is aware of it.
Now what is this sin in your life? I don't know what it is. But I know that you know. Because right now as I am talking about it, you are thinking about it. In fact, I can even tell what you are thinking, sir. I see. No, I am just kidding. No. I can't see and it wouldn't matter if I could see. Who am I? I need to just take heed to myself.
But you know what I am talking about. And the Lord sees it just like it was written over your head. There it is. And you have rationalized it and you have somehow managed to find a way to live with it. But right now it has come to the forefront of your mind. That could be the compromise in your life. That could be the thing that could bring you down.
Get rid of that leaven in your life. Lest it undermine you spiritually.
Did you hear about the guy who went hiking and got his arm trapped beneath that Boulder and ended up cutting it off? His name is Aron Ralston. And his story is told in the film 127 Hours. Ralston was rock climbing when he put his right hand on the side of a Boulder and it shifted, pinning his hand.
So he tried ropes and anchors and everything to remove the Boulder. A couple of days passed. He was cold. He was out of water. He knew the only way he was going to get out of there was to free himself. No one was coming to his aid.
So he decided to cut his arm off. He did it with a pocket knife. It took a long time. It was very painful. And then amazingly, after doing such a thing, he rappelled 65 feet to the canyon floor and walked out.
Now that is a crazy story. But listen, better to be alive and have one arm than have two arms and be dead, right? Is there an area in your life that you need to cut off? Is there an area you need to deal with? And what do I mean by that? Well just as a complete spiritual drag on you. Every time you are around this person, it just pulls you away from your faith.
And let me say a word to you that are not yet married. You want to make sure you find someone that builds you up in your faith. Don't even consider a person who is not a believer as a romantic possibility, as a marital possibility. And I am not even saying just a believer, you should be looking for a godly man or woman.
My wife told me that when we first started dating, I said to her, I don't remember saying this, but she said, I said it. You know, if you ever get in the way of my relationship with God, you are out of here. I said, I said that? She said, yes. I said, boy, I was quite the romantic, wasn't I? She said, oh, but I liked it. Really? She said, oh, yeah, because other guys had been around. They always did what I wanted them to do. And I could sort of manipulate them. And you, you know, you had conviction. And I thought that was a great thing.
And now, when you get married, that changes, by the way. So, okay. That's a whole nother story. And that's a whole nother message. And we'll deal with that in another time.
But I'm talking about you that aren't married yet. But maybe there's a step you need to take.
Now you say, now, Greg, you've kind of grossed me out in this message. You've talked about giant rodents cutting arms off. Okay, let's shift gears.
The Parables of Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
Let's look at two more parables here. And one final one. The parable of the hidden treasure and the Pearl of great price. Drop down to verse 44, Matthew 13.
Again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man finds and hides. And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. When he has found one Pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and he bought it.
Now some parables are interpreted for us. The parable of the sower is interpreted. The parable of the wheat and tares is interpreted. The last two we looked at are not. So we just tried to see them from other scriptures.
Now we don't know the exact interpretation of these parables. I think there are two possibilities. Number one, we are like the person who finds the treasure in the field. We are like the person who finds the Pearl of great price. We sell all that we have for it. In other words, one day we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We realize it is the most important thing out there. And we give up everything to follow Christ. He is the treasure hidden in the field. That is a valid interpretation.
But there is another that I would suggest that personally I lean toward. I think both are fine and however you want to view this. But the other interpretation is instead of us being the person that buys the field for the great prize or treasure, Christ is the person that buys the field and we are the treasure.
You know it is interesting because we read here that in verse 44, He finds it and for joy sells all that He has. And you remember that Jesus in Luke 15 talked about a Shepherd that had a hundred sheep. One went astray. He went after the stray sheep and found it, bringing it back in His shoulders rejoicing. And then Jesus said, There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance and ninety-nine who need no repentance.
So there is that theme of joy. Jesus gave up everything. He did not give up His deity but He gave up the privileges of deity and walked among us as a man and went to the cross and suffered and died and Rose again from the dead. He bought the treasure if you will. Or bought the field if you will to get the treasure.
Whatever the interpretation. They are both valid. But there is no question that Christ did that for all of us.
The Parable of the Dragnet – Final Separation
One final parable. Verse 47. The parable of the dragnet. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet which was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind which when it was full drew to shore. And they sat down and gathered the good into vessels and threw the bad away.
Now this is the idea of just a net being drug through the water. Now have you ever seen that TV program called, is it World's Greatest Catch or Deadliest Catch or something? What is it? How many like the Green Bay Packers? Okay, anyway so you see these guys on the tumultuous seas pulling in these massive nets. And they pull in a lot of fish. And sometimes they pull in some other sea creatures. I mean a shark or an octopus or a squid or maybe some junk. You know. Who knows what you are going to pull in.
And that is the idea. The kingdom of God is like a net just being pulled through the water. You are going to gather all kinds of stuff. Okay. So here is our job if you will. As a church we are to pull that net through the water and grab whoever we can. Are we going to get some bad with the good? Of course. Are we going to have false believers next to true believers? No question. We have already seen that. But we are going to have the genuine as well.
Jesus said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Right? And that phrase fishers of men could be better translated, follow me and you will catch men alive. And that phrase is used only one other time in the New Testament. And it is over in 2 Timothy where Paul speaks of those who have been taken captive by the devil to do his will or caught alive by Satan.
So really we have a choice before us. Either God is going to catch people alive or the devil is going to catch them alive. Which will it be? So let's go fishing for men. Because these people that don't know the Lord, they are like people who are in prison. You could even describe them as POWs. Our job is not to search and destroy, but to find and deliver.
I just read an amazing book about a man. His name is Louis Zamperini. And the title of the book is Unbroken. They are going to make this book into a film and I think that is a really good idea. Let me just tell you a little bit about Louis' story. Because we have contacted Louis and we are going to bring him here and I am going to interview him. But I want you to hear a little of this guy's story.
Louis was the son of Italian immigrants. He was born in 1917. He moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. Was living here in California in Torrance. And he couldn't speak English when he arrived here. So he was mocked by fellow students. And so he toughened up fast. Started getting into fights. Was winning almost all of those fights. Pretty soon he was picking fights. He enjoyed fighting and he enjoyed getting even.
He was smoking by age five. Beating kids up. Stealing beer from bootleggers. And just living a crazy life. He was a criminal in training. Well he had an older brother named Pete who was sort of the polar opposite of Louis. Pete was a hard worker. A very polite. A great student. And a great athlete. In fact so good that USC offered him a scholarship to run track and field for them.
So Pete felt his younger brother Louis could be a runner as well. And he urged Louis to run. But Louis didn't want to have any part of that. But Pete kept urging him. Finally Louis agreed and entered a few track meets and started winning them. And before he knew it he was breaking records and earned the nickname the Torrance Tornado.
Louis Zamperini was so fast that he was given a place in the Olympics held in Germany. And on the way over to the Olympics he shared a cabin with Olympic legend Jesse Owens who ended up winning four gold medals.
Well Louis didn't do that well in the Olympics but as he was running the 5,000 meter Olympic final he finished the last one quarter mile in just 56 seconds. He got the attention of Adolf Hitler presiding there over the event who insisted on meeting Louis. And Hitler said, Ah the boy with a fast finish.
And so Louis dreamed of going back to the next Olympics and doing even better. But World War II broke out. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. And so Louis joined the Air Force and he became a B-24 bombardier. And he was so successful in many of his missions there in the Pacific Theater that he earned the nickname Lucky Louis.
Well one day he wasn't so lucky as this plane that they called the Green Hornet was shot down over the Pacific and crashed into the ocean 800 miles south of Hawaii. Of the 11 men on board only three survived. They were only able to partially inflate their life raft. And there they were floating in the middle of 65 million square miles of water with no hope of rescue.
Immediately the shark started circling them. Even bumping them underneath the raft. After a while the shark started jumping on board the raft trying to pull the men into the water. There one night a twenty foot great white shark cruised by. And Louis and his friends were frightened and stayed very still and prayed. Louis didn't really have any upbringing in the church. He had seen some prayers in movies and prayed a couple of those prayers hoping that God would somehow be with them.
And they survived when various birds would land on their raft and then grab them and strangle them and eat them. And then use their bones for hooks to catch other fish. Altogether they were out at sea forty seven days.
Now after twenty seven days at sea they were spotted by an aircraft. And so they signaled hoping for rescue and realized it was a Japanese aircraft that strafed them with bullets. And so two of the men stayed in the raft. Louis got underneath the raft in the water having to literally fight off sharks with his bare hands. Punching them in the nose. Because he had spoken with a Hawaiian man before he went out on this mission and asked him what to do with a shark attack. He said, hit him in the nose. Good thing to remember. And apparently it worked.
And so finally after all this time at sea they make their way over just floating and end up in the Marshall Islands that were actually under the control of the Japanese. And they were sent to a Japanese POW camp. And they were treated cruelly. They would be given one little rice ball a day just thrown on the ground, rolling in the dirt. They would scramble for every little bit of it and lost a lot of weight. And then were beaten over and over.
There was one particular guard in the camp that Louis was in that they nicknamed the bird. And this man made it his mission to personally torment Louie Zamperini. He would beat him every day. He would take his belt off with a heavy buckle and knock Louie down unconscious. And Louie would get up and he would beat him down again. And this just went on and on and on. And Louie thought he would die and many did.
But finally World War II came to an end. Louie was able to come back to the United States. And the bird, the camp guard, went into hiding because he was on a list that General Douglas MacArthur had compiled of war criminals that he wanted to arrest.
So now fast forward a little time. Louie is back home. He is a national hero because he had been gone so long at sea that he was thought dead. The US government said he was dead. And his death certificate was signed by Franklin Roosevelt himself. So now all of a sudden Louie is alive and well. And he is a hero. And everybody wanted to take him out for a drink. And everybody wanted him to tell his stories. And he married his childhood sweetheart and things were going pretty well.
But every night he would have nightmares about this guard, the bird, beating him, beating him. And he just couldn't shake it. So he started drinking more and more. And then his life started spiraling downward. And he couldn't get control. And he would pass out behind the wheel of his car. And would get into fights with people. And just drank more and more. There was no question he was headed toward death.
And one night he was having a nightmare about the bird beating him. And in his nightmare he was choking the bird to death. And he woke up to find his hands around the neck of his wife in bed who he was choking to death. She said, that is it. I am divorcing you.
But then someone told her about some preacher that had come to town. And he was going to be in a tent there in L.A. speaking. He was from North Carolina. It was 1949. And the preacher's name was Billy Graham.
So Louie's wife went to Billy's L.A. crusade. And accepted Christ. And she decided to forgive Louie and to try to make the marriage work. And then she urged him to join her to hear Billy preach. And Louie wanted no part of that. And refused. And she kept pressing him. And he said, No. No. And finally he went one time. And as Billy was extending the invitation, Louie bolted out the back and didn't want to hear any more of it. And just continued to drink. And his life continued to spiral downward.
Again, he was urged to return one more time. So he went back and already determined. When he starts calling people to believe in Jesus, I am leaving. And as Billy started his invitation, once again Louie is bolting out the back door when he comes under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
And Louie remembers something that happened to him. When he was stranded on the life raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he said to God, If you spare my life and get me through this war, I will seek you and serve you. It was time to keep his end of the deal. Lucky Louie realized it wasn't luck. But God's Providence that spared him.
So Louie turned around and went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. Now, you have to understand that Louie, up to this point, had dedicated his life to killing the bird. He decided after the war he was going to track this guard down and kill him. And now he decided he didn't want to kill the bird anymore. Now he wanted to forgive him. He wanted to meet him face to face. Tell him what Christ had done for him.
His nightmares stopped immediately. His drinking stopped immediately. His marriage changed. Everything was turning for the good now. And Louie actually traveled to Japan. Went to a prison where many of the guards were that had treated him cruelly. And he shared the gospel with them. And many of them put their faith in Jesus Christ. And he spent the rest of his life doing that.
And by the way, Louie is still alive. He is 94 years old. And he is living in L.A. So after I read this book I said, I've got to meet this guy. And so we have already made contact with them. And he will be coming out to visit us sometime in the future. And I will tell you when that is.
Isn't that a great story though? It is just fantastic. Will that not make a great film? But here is the thing. God is just dragging His net through the ocean. And I am so glad that those pastors had the vision to invite that preacher from North Carolina. And look who they pulled in their net. This man that surely would have ended his life in ruin. And that is what we are to do. We are to just pull that net. We are to just throw that seed.
But here is the other thing. We are to keep our lives pure. Listen. If we know anything about the return of Jesus we will know this. It should affect us and the way that we live.
If you are driving down the freeway and a CHP pulls up behind you, what are you going to do first? Your eye will go to your speedometer. And you will probably slow down. You will probably just tap that brake. Even if you are going the speed limit exactly, you will probably still slow down. Why? Because the presence of an officer changes your conduct.
That is how we should see the return of Christ. If we really believe Jesus is coming, it should affect our conduct. He that has this hope, 1 John says, purifies himself. Even as he is pure, we should be seeking to live godly lives.
So is there any compromise in your life right now? Is there something you are doing you know you should not be doing? I urge you today, deal with it. Turn from it. Repent of it. Look up and live pure. Those are your marching orders from Christ Himself. Look up and live pure. Because Jesus will come in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
And those that believe will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. But not everybody will go in the rapture. Jesus said two will be in a field, one will be taken, and the other left. Two will be in a bed. One will be taken, and the other left.
So here is my question to you. Will you be caught up or will you be left behind? Here is your choice. Get right or get left. Get right with God or be left behind. I hope you are ready.
Invitation – Get Right Today
And if you are not I would like to give you a chance to get ready and put your faith in Jesus today. If you have never asked for His forgiveness, if you have never received Him into your life as your Savior and Lord, I am going to give you an opportunity to do that. And I am also going to give an opportunity today for you that maybe have backslidden or are living a completely compromised life to turn from that and recommit your life to Christ.
Let us all bow our heads and pray. Father, speak now to every person here. Help them to see, Lord, these words are true. And help them to come to Jesus now, we ask.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say today, Greg, pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. If you want Jesus to come into your life right now, if you want to be forgiven of your sin, if you want to be ready for the Lord's return, would you lift your hand up wherever you are sitting. And I would like to pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. Just lift your hand up wherever you are. And I will pray for you today. You may be outside. I can't see you there of course. You may be over at Orange Crest. Or you might be up in our court building watching the big screen. But just take that little step of faith and lift your hand up if you want to make this commitment to Christ today.
You might be like Louie Zamperini was, you know, really on your last leg, going the wrong direction. And the Lord is calling you today and offering you forgiveness. But you must come to Him. Anybody else? Just lift your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. God bless you.
Alright, all of you that have lifted your hand, I want you to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Christ. Again, if you lifted your hand, even if you did not, but you want Jesus to come into your life. You want Him to forgive you of your sin. You want to be ready for His return. Stand to your feet right now. Just stand up and I will lead you in prayer.
God bless you. By the way, you are not the only one standing. Others are standing. God bless you. Just stand up. Anybody else? Stand up outside in the amphitheater. You stand there over at Orange Crest. You stand up in the court building. You stand. Just stand to your feet right now. I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus Christ.
Anybody else? God bless you. One final moment. If you want to make this commitment to Jesus, God bless you. Or you want to recommit your life to Christ, stand up now. I am going to lead you in a prayer. God bless all of you. Anybody else? Stand now.
Alright you that are standing, pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Jesus to forgive you of your sin. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
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 turn from that sin now and I choose to follow you. Be my Savior and my Lord. Be my God and my Friend. Make me ready for your return. Thank you for calling me and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.