A New Beginning with Greg Laurie

Aug 11 WedSupport the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we put God and His kingdom first, life finds its proper balance. But instead, we often fret over the everyday concerns of life. Pastor Greg Laurie helps us turn those worries over to the Lord, so God can fulfil His promise to take care of it.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God cares about you! So, if it troubles you, it concerns Him. Greg Laurie says God wants us to let go of our worries and not let them stick like glue. He says when the rubbish bin is overflowing, it needs to be emptied. them to God.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greg Laurie says the best defense to use when lustful thoughts come your way is the Word of God. It’s a reason to know Scripture. If our minds are full of God’s Word, there won’t be any room for thoughts to the contrary. Pastor Greg Laurie says fill up on the Word of God, carry it in your heart; memorize it.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fiery darts of the Devil are like flaming arrows from hell that he fires at your brain. They arrive as thoughts . . . temptations, really. But Pastor Greg Laurie says it’s up to us just how much we ponder the pleasure. Do we say, ’no way, I’m not thinking about that’ Or, ’hey, come right in and make yourself at home.’ It’s really up to us.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Beatitudes are the Lord’s prescription for happiness. Pastor Greg Laurie explains one of the most puzzling ones on the list, where Jesus says, ’Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ Who wants to be persecuted? But when you’ve been living your life as you ought to and you start getting pushback and you get flack, its confirmation you’re a child of God!Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Esau went beyond the point of no return. He traded his birthright for a single meal. Pastor Greg Laurie urges us to be wise and learn from the mistakes of those who went before us. 'Watch out for the Esau syndrome!' he says, 'trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite'. Esau, although he regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing, was too late by then, tears or no tears.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our culture says, 'Look out for number one! Me first! Gimme & gimme some more!' Pastor Greg Laurie points out the biblical alternative of mercy. Basically, it’s compassionate pity plus action.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.' Healthy people are hungry people. When we want more of the things of God, we’ll want less of the things of this world. Pastor Greg Laurie says that should be our focus because no matter how much we love, you ought to love more, right? Ad no matter how much we pray, we could always pray more.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled'. When you’re hungry for God, the only thing that will satisfy you is God. Pastor Greg Laurie helps hungry believers find what they’re starving for. It’s time to feed our souls. If you starve for a holy life and hunger for God’s best for you, you can take practical steps to get it.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bible gives us help in finding happiness. Pastor Greg Laurie looks at the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount asking, what does 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' mean? It’s not about your bank account. It’s to see your spiritual poverty, to recognise the simple fact that, apart from the Lord, you’re lost, you’re helpless and you’re hopeless. Apart from Christ, everyone is spiritually destitute.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sooner or later, you’re going to be asked to bow before some idol. It’ll be the peer pressure to do the wrong thing. So, are you going to bow, or are you going to stand your ground? Intense times of testing can overwhelm our emotions. Pastor Greg Laurie says resolve beforehand because the stand you make today will determine what kind of stand you will make tomorrow. So take steps now to be prepared then.'Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you say your purpose is? ’All I want to do is have some fun.’ Another would say I want to make money. Another would say I want to be happy. The problem is, if you chase after happiness, you’ll never find it. So many people are frustrated because they never get what they’re searching for. Pastor Greg Laurie points out we should not seek pleasure, but purpose. We should not seek success, we should seek significance.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Character counts. The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. How do our actions differ when someone’s looking? Pastor Greg Laurie says character is doing the right thing when no one’s looking.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a cure for eternal separation from God, a cure for a future in hell. We have the answer, and you’ve got to tell others we have the good news in a bad world. It’s the gospel and it’s the only answer for our world. Pastor Greg Laurie reminds believers we have the hope people are looking for.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Idolatry really bothers God . . . a lot! It’s the first of the Ten Commandments. Pastor Greg Laurie reminds us that God doesn’t want us to worship any other gods. It couldn’t be clearer.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God has given you certain gifts, but the gifts don’t come fully developed so you have to develop them? With the Last Days approaching, Pastor Greg Laurie urges us to discover our spiritual gifts and put them to good use for God’s Kingdom and faithfully serve the Lord until Christ comes again.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if every Christian was just like you? Would services be attended faithfully? Would pews be empty or full? What if everyone prayed like you pray? Would we be a praying Church? What if everybody evangelized as often as you evangelize? Would we be a Church reaching a lost culture? It’s not just the leaders who influence those around them. Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to consider who’s following our example because every one of us plays a role in the Church.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

News flash: Jesus Christ is coming back again! So what? Well, Christ is coming back again, so I’m supposed to be an active, functioning part of the body of Christ, the Church. Pastor Greg Laurie points out God’s plan for the End Times doesn’t only affect you, it involves you! You need the Church, and the Church needs you.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie points out that the true believer experiences transformation and regeneration, their focus and values change as old ideas, plans, loves, desires and beliefs vanish and are replaced by new things? 'If any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. Old things have passed away, behold everything becomes fresh and new.'Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie loves restoring stuff, but it takes time. God is also into restoration, and one of His finest restoration projects is restoring planet earth during the End Times. Pastor Greg says He’s going to restore this planet, and one day heaven and earth will become one.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What will eternity be like? Pastor Greg Laurie gives believers a sneak peek at what to expect. He says there’s a new world coming. It’s out with old and in with the new. No suffering, no separation, no accidents, no courts or prisons or divorces or breakdowns or breakups. No more heart attacks, no cancer. No more famines, no disasters, God makes all things new!Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie says the Lord wants us to come to Him with our prayers, and He wants us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. Jesus says, ’Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the [right] door will be open to you.’ Don’t give up on prayer.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you see God in His power and His glory, it’s true you see your problems in a different way. Pastor Greg Laurie says too often we wallow in our feelings of helplessness when the reassurance of God is just a prayer away. We need to see Him for who He is, and think of the awesomeness of God, the power of God.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are the practices and procedures for prayer? Pastor Greg Laurie says some try to make it too hard, but you can pray wherever you are. You can pray publicly, you can pray privately, you can pray verbally, you can pray silently, you can pray kneeling, you can pray standing, you can pray lying down and you can even pray driving. Just keep your eyes open. But the main thing is to pray.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie points out a proper view of heaven will lead to a proper way to lead your life. If you’re really thinking more about and putting the Lord first in every area of your life, from the thoughts you think to the way you use your time, it will transform you. Don’t waste this precious life that God has given to you. Make every year, every month, every week, every day and even every hour count.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heaven is a real place for real people to do real things. Pastor Greg Laurie helps us understand what heaven is really like ? beyond the hyperbole and conjecture.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts. We feel the pull, the tug, of heaven deep down inside. Pastor Greg Laurie says God created us to look past the earthly horizon with a built-in desire to ask about eternity.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you being shaken right now by God? The coronavirus, what has happened in our economy, the social upheaval ? Like a fire alarm rouses us from sleep, Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to respond to the alarms all around us, and wake-up. God is saying, ’Turn to me. Look to me.’Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God has not called us to isolate, He’s called us to infiltrate. He’s called us to permeate and to saturate our culture with the truth of the Gospel. Pastor Greg Laurie points out the need for spiritual renewal and how believers are called into service. He may be addressing the U.S specifically, but it is a timely message for all, even us here Australia.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our lives are like a cacophony sometimes ? maybe they’re sounds, maybe they’re discordant thoughts, or such a collision of priorities and urgencies that we just need some peace and quiet. Pastor Greg shows us how to find rest in Christ ? based on the Lord’s words, 'Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.'Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you walk up to a friend’s door and knock, you probably give it three or four taps. And if they don’t come to door, maybe you knock again . . . or ring the door bell. Pastor Greg Laurie says we should practice the same persistence in our prayers.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prayer is one of our most important privileges, and one of our most powerful tools. Yet many of us don’t feel like we’ve maximized our prayer lives. Pastor Greg Laurie looks in the Lord’s model for prayer to bring us practical counsel we can all put to work today.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For some, prayer is like a fire extinguisher . . . or a spare tire. One of those things we put away, out of sight, until an emergency comes up. But prayer should be something we put to use much more often. Prayer is more like a spiritual smart phone. And how many of us won’t even walk into the next room without that!?Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lord’s Prayer ? our model for effective prayer ? invites the Father to take over our wants and desires and to be the Lord of our lives. But it turns out that’s the pathway of the richest fulfillment and contentment. We’ll discover the joy of bringing our will in line with God’s will.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of us might see prayer as more transactional than relational. When we pray, we focus on asking God for something specific. But Prayer is a lifeline to the God who loves us and sustains us, and who holds our future in His hands. Pastor Greg shows us how to steward this privilege appropriately.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether we’re making a bird house, or sewing a dress, it helps to have a template . . . a pattern to follow. As Pastor Greg Laurie points out, the Lord gave us a template or a pattern to follow for effective prayer. It’s what we commonly call The Lord’s Prayer. It’s really more the disciples’ prayer as it shows us how to bring our petitions to God.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s clear that God invites our prayers. And we see evidence throughout Scripture that God’s hears prayers. But does He hear OUR prayers? And if nothing’s happening, has God said no? Or has God said wait? Pastor Greg Laurie begins a short series designed to improve our communication with God. How can we talk to the Lord more appropriately, more powerfully, and see His answers?Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not hard to be a Christian. It’s impossible? without the help of the Spirit of God! Pastor Greg Laurie points out, the Lord not only invites us to come to Him, He makes it possible to overcome the obstacles that often stand in our way.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had lived your life, so He could treat you as if you had lived His life. Jesus took our sins, and gave us His righteousness. Pastor Greg Laurie says Jesus rose again for our justification. This is our assurance of acceptance by God. We’re accepted by God, and loved by God. He’s not mad at you; God’s mad about you.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When do you think Jesus experienced the most pain? An important question from Pastor Greg Laurie. He asks, was it when they put the crown of thorns on his head? Or when they used a Roman whip on his back, as horrible as that was? Was it when they pounded the spikes through His hands and His feet? As horrible and horrific as all of that was, Pastor Greg Laurie tells what he thinks the moment was.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Jesus gave His life for our sins, it was no small gesture. Pastor Greg Laurie addresses Jesus’ sacrifice, saying He was wounded for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities. The punishment for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Why did He die? Simple answer: because He loved the people He was dying for, and He loved you!Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter said, ’I swear to God, I never knew Jesus Christ!’ He took a giant step backwards in his integrity and proclamation of the Gospel. But Pastor Greg Laurie says God grants second chances. Believers can fall. Believers can stumble. They can also get up again. For Peter, his setback was going to turn into a set-up.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. That means we all qualify! Greg Laurie says, we don’t see the potential in our lives that God sees. We see a lump of clay; God sees a beautiful vase. We see a piece of coal; God sees a refined diamond. We see problems; God sees solutions. We see an end; and God sees a new beginning, and hope!Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we walk closely with the Lord, day by day, Pastor Greg Laurie says others may take notice. In fact, it might evoke a strong reaction. Things like, ’Man, what a waste! You missed the big party! You should have been at this thing. What, you went to church again? Seriously, really?’ Oh no, if we’ve given up any pleasure, that’s no sacrifice compared to what God has given up for us.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary realised Jesus was coming to die on the cross, and she wanted to do something for Him to show her love. She demonstrated her love in an extravagant way and many were surprised. Pastor Greg Laurie believes she actually set a very good example. He says, the more we discover what Jesus has actually done for us, the more we will want to do more for Him. The Bible calls us to 'love Him because He first loved us'.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie points out that our salvation comes through Jesus, only through Jesus, and the price He paid on the cross at Calvary. He is our high priest, the Lamb of God, and because of His death and resurrection, you and I have open access to the Father 24/7. We can approach Him through Christ. It really is an amazing thing.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a spectacle no one had ever seen before, the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Jesus shining like the sun. Moses and Elijah on each side. Peter explained: ’It’s good we are here’ because he really didn’t know what else to say. The message is, when you don’t know what to say, don’t say anything.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is this cross that we’re all called to bear? Denying ourselves and putting God first. So many chase after happiness at the expense of nearly everything else. Greg Laurie says we’ll only truly find it when we put God first in our life and follow Him.Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesus came to this earth to die for the sins of the world. But His disciples did not get that because it was lost in translation. In real time, it was a surprising message to comprehend. Pastor Greg Laurie gives us perspective on God’s plan and the Lord’s sacrifice. He quotes 'One day He will rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but before Christ would wear a crown, He would first have to bear a cross.'Support the show: https://harvest.org/resources/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.