Greg Laurie - The Power of Your Personal Story (12/07/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares his personal testimony of reconnecting with his adoptive father Oscar Laurie, leading him to accept Christ during a morning walk after a heart attack, resulting in healing and 15 more years of life. He emphasizes that sharing your testimony is a powerful, undeniable bridge to the gospel—people can't argue with your story—urging believers to tell it truthfully, without exaggeration, focusing on what God has done rather than what we gave up, and proclaiming the unedited gospel powerfully in a post-cultural Christianity world.
My Adoptive Father: A Man Who Changed Everything
Now I told you my mom was married and divorced seven times. I had a full-time ministry sharing the gospel with my mother's former husbands. Not kidding. I tried to reach everyone. You know, in the midst of all these guys my mom married and divorced, she picked one guy that I thought was fantastic. He was an attorney from New Jersey and his name was Oscar Laurie.
He was different from all the other guys my mom married. My mom was sort of attracted to what you might call a bar fly. These are the guys, you know, the hung of the bar and their shirts are unbuttoned. A few too many buttons, you know. By the way, anything past this button may be too much, but it's just my thought. Anyway, so, you know, these are the guys she was drawn to. They were drinkers, they were smokers, they were party guys, as was my mom.
And somehow she finds this guy named Oscar. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke. What did my mother see in him? And he was a very good man. And so we lived there in New Jersey with him. And he adopted me and he gave me my name, of course. And he treated me as a father should treat a son. He gave me an allowance. I had to do chores. I had to be responsible. And I found myself calling him Dad. And though he was not my biological father, I felt and still feel he was my father. And so I loved him and that's why it was so hard when I came out of school one Autumn day in New Jersey.
The Pain of Sudden Separation
And the black Cadillac is packed to the gills with suitcases. And I say, what's going on? She says, we're leaving New Jersey and we're going to Hawaii. Of course I was excited because at that point I'd never been to Hawaii before. And I said, where's Dad? And my mom said, he's not coming. Well, I didn't see him for years.
So now fast forward many years. I've become a Christian. I'm married. We have one son at this point, Christopher. And I was invited to speak in New York City. So I thought, I wonder if my dad is even still alive. So because he was an attorney, I had a girl in our church that worked for the Bar Association track him down. She found him immediately. He was living in a place called Red Bank in New Jersey.
So I called his office. And I remember I haven't talked to him for years. And I called and I said, hi, is Mr. Laurie there? The secretary said, I'm sorry, he's out to lunch. I said, well, will you tell him I called? She said, well, what's your name? I said, Greg Laurie. She said, how do you spell your last name? I said, the same way he does. L-A-U-R-I-E and I'm his son. So please tell him to call me.
Reconnecting After Years Apart
I get a call quickly afterwards. Greg, he says, come and visit us. Come to our home for the weekend. Oh no, I really couldn't. You know, I knew he had remarried, had a new family. I didn't want to get, you know, mess things up. I didn't want to intrude. He kept pressing me, come to our home. We want you to come to our home after you're done speaking.
So I did my speaking engagement there in New York. We got on the train, pulled in the station. I get off and there's my dad. He looks just like he looked before. A little older, of course. But it was just such a great time. And we reconnected. And before I knew it, I'm calling him dad again. And we went over a lot of history and what had happened to me. And how he tried to get custody of me. But my mom fought him. And I'm thinking, why did my mom fight him? I mean, good night. I was effectively left to myself. But she didn't want him to have me. Well, anyway.
So I sit down that night at dinner. I met his nice wife, Barbara. Nice Italian Catholic lady. And amazing cook. She whipped us up an Italian feast. Fantastic. And after we're done eating, Barbara says, Greg, tell me all about your faith. And how you became a Christian. And how you became a minister. I said, okay, Barbara. And I'm sharing my testimony. My story.
Sharing My Testimony at the Dinner Table
And as I'm speaking, she's like responding to everything. I'm saying, that's great. That's great. And on the other side of the table, there sits my father. He has his hands kind of up to his face. Kind of like this. And I feel like I'm in a court of law and he's the judge. And I'm giving my testimony, literally. And I feel like I'm not doing very well. Because he's not reacting. No visible reaction.
So I thought, okay. So I shared the whole story. And she said, thanks for sharing that story. And I was getting ready to go to bed. And my dad asked me if I would walk with him in the morning. One very important detail I left out. He had just had a heart attack about two months before. Blacked out at the steering wheel of his car. And ran into a pole and almost killed himself. So now he's on medication. He has to change his diet. And he has to walk every morning.
So he says, will you walk with me in the morning, Greg? Yes, Dad, I will. So I get a knock on the door. You know, 6 o'clock in the morning, New Jersey time. 3 o'clock in the morning, California time. So I'm like, oh, so tired. Oh, so we're walking along. And the brisk New Jersey air is hitting us in the face. I'm still kind of waking up.
The Moment My Dad Asked for Christ
And my dad says to me, Greg, I listened very carefully to what you said last night. I said, right. Right? And he said, I want to become a Christian right now. It's like, wake up, Kyle. Boom! I mean, what? What? He says, I want to become a Christian right now. I thought, he didn't understand what I was saying. It couldn't happen this quickly.
So I went over it again. And he says, yes, I understand. I wanna become a Christian right now, Greg. I said, well, fantastic. He says, what do I need to do? I wasn't expecting this. So I said, well, you need to pray and ask Christ to come into your life. We are in a park at this point. He drops to his knees. Oh, and so I get down to my knees. I wasn't going to kneel in the park, but since he was there, I thought I would get down there with him.
So I lead him in this prayer and he prays it so sincerely. And after we are done praying, he says, Greg, I feel like Jesus just came on my life. Pray for my heart now, Greg. Pray for my heart. I believe God wants to heal me. Okay. Really? Let's pray. And I prayed for his heart.
So then we are done praying. He gets up and he says, I want to go over to my doctor's office. It's right near here. And I want to tell him, I just asked Jesus in my heart and my heart's healed. Now, Dad, we don't know if your heart's healed. No, I want to talk to him.
A Miraculous Healing After Salvation
So we walk over into the doctor's office, a nice Jewish gentleman. And my dad walks in with me. He says, this is my son, Greg Laurie. He's a preacher from California. Already, that doesn't sound good to an East Coast person. Preacher from California. And I just accepted Jesus in my heart, Doc. And I believe he healed my heart. Doctors say, now, Oscar, calm down. We don't know. He ran a bunch of tests on him. Guess what? His heart was better. And God gave him 15 more years.
Point number one, telling your story, also known as your testimony, is a powerful bridge for the gospel message. Again, telling your story, your testimony, is a powerful bridge for the gospel message. It's one of the most effective tools you have in your evangelistic toolbox.
Why Your Testimony Is So Powerful
Now, here's why your story is important. Because people can argue with the facts, but they can't argue with your story. See, you might say something about God, and they'll say, well, I disagree with that. And you can have a debate, or however you want to approach it. But when you tell them your story of what happened to you, they can't debate you. It's what happened to you. So it's a great way to start a conversation.
And listen, it's also a great way to share with someone without preaching at them. In other words, if I say, you need to accept Jesus Christ right now. You need to turn from your sin. And by the way, there's a place for that. But if I say that, a person might be put off saying, Hey man, don't preach to me. So if instead I say, let me tell you my story. You know, I wasn't raised in the church. This is where I came from. This is what I used to do. And now I'm finding common ground with them.
And then I say, but one day, I went to a crusade. I went to a church service. Or a Christian came up to me and said this. And you know, when they said this statement, I realized I needed God. So you're telling your story. But at the same time, you're sharing the gospel with them. And this is a great way to begin.
John 4:39 says this. The Samaritans of this city believed in Jesus because of the word of the woman who testified. He told me all that I ever did. You know, the Apostle Paul was a great orator. A brilliant intellect. Yet on almost every occasion, when he stood before non-believers, he began with his testimony.
Tips for Sharing Your Testimony Effectively
And I think one of the best ways to start your presentation of the gospel is tell what God has done for you. Here's just a few takeaway tips on sharing your story. Number one, don't glorify or exaggerate your past. Don't glorify or exaggerate your past. Accuracy is important, so is truthfulness.
I bring this up because I've heard people give their testimony and then maybe I don't see them for a while and I maybe hear them 10 years later and I'm thinking, wow, the testimony is a little more dramatic than it was 10 years ago. Now, either they went back and did a whole bunch of new stuff or they're exaggerating. And so, be truthful in telling your story.
And this is another thing. Don't boast about what you gave up for God. Boast of what He gave up for you. Don't boast about what you gave up for God. Let me illustrate. Sometimes people will say, you know, I was living the best life partying and women and money and drugs. Oh man! Then I came to Jesus. And all of a sudden you have this weird accent. Jesus. And now, I carry the old rugged cross.
And then you might say, I've given up so much to follow God. I've made such sacrifice. Hey! Hey! Shut up! You want to know what you gave up? You gave up guilt. You gave up a big hole in your heart. News flash! You gave up hell, buddy! Hell! What did God give you? Fulfillment, purpose, the removal of guilt, and the absolute certainty that you will go to heaven when you die.
Don't tell me what you gave up for God. Tell me what God gave up for you when He sent His Son to die on the cross in your place. That's a good testimony.
Speak in Language People Understand
As we bring the gospel, we need to speak in a language people understand. I mentioned earlier, you can't use Christianese. People don't know what you're saying. You know, when you walk up to a person and say, Hey you, heathen. Philistine. Come here for a second. You know, have you repented? Are you justified? Are you sanctified? Are you washed in the blood? And are you part of the body? You know, you might as well have just landed from another planet. They don't know what you're saying. So speak their language.
Listen to this. The days of cultural Christianity are over. What do I mean by that? Well, there was a time in America, especially closer to our birth, when we had a strong Judeo-Christian ethic in our culture. It was in everything that we did. But as time has passed and we've progressed, if you want to use that word, others might say regress. I would certainly choose that term.
And as we've gotten away from this, because we don't see cultural Christianity like we used to see it. And there was a time, when you'd go up to someone and tell them about Jesus, that I'd say I'm already a Christian. But you know, a lot of people don't say that anymore. Cultural Christianity is over with. There's just a lot of people now that don't profess faith in Christ at all.
And in a way, it's good, because the problem with cultural Christianity is a lot of people thought they were Christians who weren't. Not people just say, I'm not a Christian. And that's where I'm at. You know, so how do you reach a culture like this? The answer is simply this, with a powerful message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what our culture needs to hear.
Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Listen, the gospel is filled with power. I don't need to edit it. I don't need to add to it. I don't need to subtract from it. I don't need to apologize for it. I need to just proclaim it and stand back and watch God work.