What I Would Tell My Younger Self (With Greg Laurie)

hey if you have a bible why don't you grab it and turn to second timothy chapter four and the title of this special message is what i would tell my younger self what would i say to a young greg as an older greg what advice would i give myself what things would i tell young greg to avoid what things would i tell young greg to do well there's the obvious answers i would tell young greg brush your teeth every day boy because you do not want to have to spend as much time at the dentist as older greg has of course i would tell younger greg wear sunscreen i was a blonde kid out at the beach a lot i don't think i hardly ever wore sunscreen and i've had more than one trip to the dermatologist so i'd certainly give that advice maybe i would say to a young greg you know when star wars comes out and all those figures are in the original packaging don't open those save those because you'll be able to sell those for a lot of money later i think that's true of original barbie dolls in their packaging i just read the other day that an original copy of the legend of zelda video game sold for get this 411 000 so i guess they would say young greg go find a few copies of the legend of zelda because they'll be worth half a million one day but don't take it out of the original packaging now these are silly things things that don't matter all that much but i want to talk about things that really do matter what i would say to a younger me and in effect what i'm saying to young people right now let me give you a little bit of advice maybe you don't have a mom and a dad that are doing this for you or a grandfather let me be your dad for a few minutes or your grandfather and say things to you that you need said to you as a younger person this first one may be surprising but i'm going to start with this whatever you're going through it's going to be okay whatever you're going through it's going to be okay i know when you're young and you're experiencing things for the first time life can seem kind of scary you're wondering about what you're going to do with your life where you're going to go who you're going to marry what career path you're going to choose and then maybe something bad happens to you you have a huge setback you break up with your boyfriend or your girlfriend and it almost seems like your world has just ended listen it's going to be okay you're gonna get through this i i look at photos of my younger self by the way i just rediscovered these really old photos of me as a little boy i believe they were taken when i was living in new jersey i was around six or seven years old and i look at this little guy and knowing now what i know now i know that little guy is going to go through a lot of suffering his mother would effectively abandon him he would never have a father growing up he would be passed around from aunts and uncles he would spend a considerable period of time in military school life would not make sense to him sometimes he would be up all night wondering when his mother was going to come home and she wouldn't come home and he'd have to get himself ready for school and and take a lot of responsibility on as a little kid but here's what i would say god has his hand on you god is going to watch over you i mentioned i was passed around to family members and i did spend a bit of time with my grandparents and that was probably one of the most stable times in my life because they functioned as parents but there were parents from another century they they were quite old when i was living with them and they believed in old-fashioned values but fortunately they believed in old-fashioned food too because this is the kind of food i ate before i moved in with my grandparents they're called tv dinners and by the way even though these photos don't make the food look all that good the the food actually looked much worse than this and it didn't taste very good either by the way we didn't put these on microwaves those didn't exist yet and so we would heat these up in the oven this food i'm just telling you was not good so i went from that kind of food to living with my grandmother who made everything from scratch starting with fried chicken and by the way we had fried chicken we didn't just go to the market and buy chicken like normal people my grandfather would kill a live chicken cut its head off i remember as a little kid watching him do it one time he took the chicken he put it on a tree stump he took out the hatchet or the axe i should say boom off comes the head and the body's running around spreading out blood and as i recall it started running toward me and i'm thinking how does the chicken body know where to go i felt like the little chicken head laying there was saying go straight turn right turn right whatever it traumatized me i still break out in a cold sweat when i go buy chick-fil-a not really but fresh chicken mashed potatoes made from scratch black-eyed peas so many incredible things she would make every night but her crowning achievement was her biscuit this was a biscuit unlike any other i've had any place so it was good it was stable and i remember we would sit in the front room of my grandparents house they each had sort of a lazy boy type chair and i'd sit in a little stool in the middle and i remember we watched this guy on television i would later discover this man's name is billy graham and how was i to know as a little boy that i would one day meet him and actually become friends with him my grandparents also had a little painting of the face of jesus over the furnace it was a floor furnace and i remember i would look at that picture of jesus for hours thinking about him there was something about him that that interested me how was i to know that i would come into a relationship with him and he would change my life forever so despite the hardship i went through as a little boy i was able to react to it in a different way because at the age of 17 i put my faith in jesus christ listen to this you don't decide what hand you will be dealt in life some of you are in a stable home with mom and dad raising you in a wonderful way some of you are from a broken home in fact probably more of you are from a broken home and you are facing an uncertain future you don't get to pick what hand is dealt to you in life but you decide how you will react to it and here's the thing you discover in time no matter how bad your upbringing is or bad the experiences are that you go through your pain can be effectively turned to gain god can take your setbacks and turn them into setups your tests can become a testimony because what you have gone through was not designed to destroy you but to develop you to develop you so you'll be a different person and i've been able to take the pain of my past and use it as a tool to help people who are going through similar pain the apostle paul speaks about comforting with the comfort that we ourselves have been comforted with so maybe a young person is watching this right now and you're filled with anxiety and stress i read just the other day that the majority of gen z has high levels of anxiety and stress let me say something to my younger viewers right now i know it's harder for you than it was for us when we were growing up i know older people will say things like you know when i was a child it was so much harder no it's harder for you guys one of the reasons it's harder is many of you are coming from broken homes another reason it's harder is because everything has been escalated in my day i might get beat up at school in your day you might get shot in school the drugs are much more serious and much harder and of course you have social media that amplifies everything and has changed things dramatically i also read that generation z are afraid of the future and one third of this generation struggle with suicidal thoughts am i talking to somebody right now who has contemplated suicide maybe you've even attempted to take your own life i want you to know something i want you to know that you are loved i want you to know that you are wanted i want you to know you're loved by more people than you could ever imagine and i also want you to know that god has a special plan for your life you matter we need you don't contemplate ending your life i don't know what trajectory your life is going in right now i don't know what bad decisions maybe you've made at this moment but it's never too late to change and it's not just changing the way you feel you need to change the way you think christ can change the course of your life listen just as surely as there is a god in heaven who loves you there is a devil that's headed to hell who hates you and jesus summed up the contrast when he said in john 10 the thief speaking of satan comes only to steal kill and destroy but in contrast jesus said but i have come that you might have life and not more abundantly so there's your choice life in a relationship with god death outside of a relationship with god don't let the devil whisper in your ear you should take your life the bible says he's a liar and he's a father of lies sometimes people are apprehensive about giving their life to jesus because they think well it's going to be misery and rules and regulations i'll contrair that's french for snails with garlic no that's his car go to the contrary god's plan for you is better than your plans for yourself god himself says in jeremiah 29 11 i know the thoughts that they think toward you says the lord thoughts of peace not of evil to give you a future and a hope let me just stop right here and ask this question would you like to fill that hole inside of your heart would you like to have all of your sins forgiven would you like to have a fresh start right here right now here's what you need to do you need to realize that god loved you so much he sent his son jesus christ to die on the cross for you 2 000 years ago if you will turn from your sin and put your faith in jesus christ will come in to your life and he can change the course of your life not to mention your eternal destination from hell to heaven if you would like jesus christ to come into your life if you would like him to forgive you of your sin why don't we just stop for a moment and why don't you just pray this prayer with me just pray lord jesus i know i am a sinner and i know you are the savior and i need you in my life forgive me of all of my sin i choose to follow you from this moment forward thank you for hearing this prayer in jesus name i pray amen right now there's a phone number on the screen that you can call and i would love you to call and say i just prayed with greg and asked christ to come into my life there's also a little box that you can click and if you click that box we'll send you a copy of the new believer's bible it looks like this i hope you'll take that step right now all right so back to our message things i would say to my younger self number one it's going to be okay whatever you're going through you're going to get through it number two what would i say to my younger self put god first in your life put god first in your life this of course starts with asking christ to come into your life but then it means following him jesus summed it up this way in matthew 6 33 seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you now what was he talking about when he said all these things jesus said don't be like the non-believers all they think about is what they're going to wear what they're going to drink what they're going to eat but i say do you seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and these things will be added to you and and we're obsessed with all those things what we'll eat what we'll drink what we'll wear where we'll go what we'll drive where we will work where we will live these are not bad things by the way to think about but jesus is saying don't make those the focus of your life put god first in your life seek first the kingdom of god what does that mean the kingdom of god is the rule and reign of christ in your life see one day we'll go to heaven and enter into the kingdom of god and the kingdom of god will come to earth but also when the bible tells us to seek it first it means just put jesus first think about god's will when you make those decisions don't put money first don't put career first don't put politics first don't even put ministry first put jesus first and he will take care of you and life there was a young solomon ascending to the throne his father david had died and the lord comes to solomon and says solomon ask me for whatever you want and i will give it to you imagine for a moment a moment if god came to you and said ask what you want and i'll give it to you what would you ask for solomon said lord i pray for wisdom wisdom to lead your people the lord in effect said because you didn't pray for stuff you didn't pray for possessions you didn't pray for great wealth or honor i'm going to give you the wisdom you asked for and all these other things as well it's a perfect illustration of why putting god first is the right thing to do that doesn't mean that god's going to make everybody incredibly wealthy but what it does mean is god the bible says will supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory in christ jesus so put god first in your life what is the will of god you might ask about this thing i'm about to do how do you know the will of god answer by reading the word of god he'll reveal his will to you in scripture understand this why are you in this earth and this answers a big question the question of why am i here what is the meaning of my life here's the answer the meaning of your life you are here to bring glory to god not to bring glory to yourself isaiah 43 7 god says everyone who was called by my name whom i created for my glory that's why you're here so know this god wants to speak to you god wants to fill you with this holy spirit each and every day put god first in your life and the rest will be blessed here's point number three what would i say to my younger self i would say young greg read the bible every day and i pretty much followed that advice thankfully and i hope many of you are following it as well because sometimes i think christians as they grow in their faith think well i don't need to read the bible as much as i used to now listen you need to read the bible every single day you should start the day with it you should end the day with it and psalm 1 it says happy is the man or the woman who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful listen his delight is in the word of the lord and in it does he meditate day and night then it goes on to say he'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he does shall prosper happy as amen you want to be a happy man you want to be a happy woman read the word of god it says meditate in it in eastern meditation one seeks to empty their mind and biblical meditation one fills their mind with the word of god this is how you're going to grow spiritually this is how you will be able to resist temptation we're told in the psalms how shall a young man cleanse his way answer by listening to what the word of god says so you need to read the bible every day because scripture says study to show yourself approved unto god a workman that does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth listen to this success or failure and the christian life depends on how much of the bible you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it i'm going to repeat that success or failure in the christian life depends on how much of the word of god you get into your life in a regular basis and how obedient you are to it so read the word treasure the word memorize the word i've never met a strong christian who was not full of scripture here's the fourth thing i would say to a younger me stop worrying and start praying i know we all have things we worry about in life but i'm reminded of the words of the apostle paul in philippians 4 when he says don't worry about anything pray about everything tell god what you need thank him for all he has done then you will experience god's peace which exceeds anything we can understand his peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in christ jesus worry worry can ruin your day it can ruin your week it can ruin your month actually worry can effectively ruin your life the word worry comes from a root word that means to choke or to strangle a number of years ago my grandkids would like to come up and choke me from behind they thought that was very cute and fun and it was okay they were very small they weren't hurting me and so they would come over and say papa can we choke you well as they've gotten older if i let them do that now i might die so we can't play that game anymore but that's what worry does it chokes you out listen to this when you worry about the future you yourself in the present worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow it empties today of its strength i mean even when things are going well oh it's a good day nothing's going wrong and then you start worrying what's going to go wrong something's going to go wrong i just know it what's that all about that cannot be helpful jesus said this today's trouble is enough for today don't worry about tomorrow just take each day and take that worry and turn it into prayer i would compare this to a natural reflex and a conditioned reflex to learn how to turn worry into prayer as a conditioned reflex let me explain natural reflex you don't have to teach this if even a little child touches a hot stove they pull their hand back right because they know that's hot they know they should not touch that that's a natural reflex but then there's a conditioned reflex this is something i'm taught to do i have a granddaughter named ali she has swim meets on saturdays and before the meet begins they have someone sing the national anthem what does everyone do we stand we put our hand over our heart in respect for our nation which is represented by our flag that we look toward that is a conditioned reflex i would not have done that naturally someone had to teach me to do that same thing with driving you know when you first learn to drive remember i have a granddaughter that's just learning how to drive so i let her drive the other day and i was next to her and you know she had to think about everything you know oh what do i do now turn you're turning to the lawn oh and parking that's a situation isn't it trying to figure that out so you have to consciously think about everything you're doing and if you're in a stick shift car a manual transmission okay i gotta push in the clutch i have it in gear i slowly release the clutch then i hit the accelerator you know a lot of things to remember but after a while you don't think about it anymore you drive you eat burritos you do your taxes but you do all kinds of things when you're driving because you've turned that into a conditioned reaction a conditioned way to respond to what you're facing so now in the same way worry hits anxiety hits panic hits right away pray oh i'm scared let's pray just let's pray stop everything you're doing and commit it to the lord in first peter 5 we read these words give all your worries and cares to god for he cares for you by the way in the original language that signifies a definite act of our will where we choose to stop worrying and let god assume the responsibility for our welfare billy graham was interviewed and he was asked the question if he had his life to live over what would he do differently billy's response was quote i would study more i would pray more i would travel less take less speaking engagements if i had it to do all over again billy said i would spend more time in meditation and prayer just telling the lord how much i love and adore him and looking forward to the time where i will spend with him for all eternity well billy's in that time now billy's in heaven but i love how he said if i had life to do over he doesn't say i'd speak more i'd do more he says i'd pray more and i would spend more time in god's presence i think that's really good advice remember this god is in control of your life there are no accidents in the life of a christian only providence we don't believe in fate we believe in faith here's another thing an older greg would say to a younger greg advice i would give to anyone young people but older people as well have an attitude of gratitude have an attitude of gratitude back to the verse i quoted in philippians 4 thank god for all he has done then you will experience god's peace which exceeds anything we can understand listen there are things in life that happen to us that make no sense inexplicable things yes it is true bad things happen to good people sometimes bad things even happen to godly people take job as an example this was a godly man this man was so godly the lord was bragging on him in heaven but the lord allowed a series of calamities to befall his servant and job lost pretty much everything he lost members of his family he lost his possessions he lost his health and we read that job gave thanks to god not for what was happening but despite what was happening job gave thanks to the lord and so we should have an attitude of gratitude we say lord i don't know why this is happening but i am rejoicing that you're still on the throne and i'm going to give thanks to you because you are good and you are in control of my life so spend less time complaining and spend more time rejoicing you'll feel better if you do here's another piece of advice an older me would give to a younger me or that i would give to any person especially a young person live with honesty and integrity live within honesty and integrity what is integrity integrity is what you are in the dark when nobody is watching you and i bring this up because you know there are people in life that cheat and they lie and they steal and they cut corners and they seem to get away with it and they say well why shouldn't i do that why should i play by the rules they don't play by the rules and look they got that job because they lied on their resume or they got that job to build that building even though they cut corners and didn't pull the proper permits or look that person cheated on their spouse and they got away with it and i've been faithful to my spouse and why shouldn't i do what they do because in the end all these people are gonna reap what they sow the bible says don't be deceived god is not mocked whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap listen the longer i live the more impressed i am with character over charisma i've seen a lot of preachers with dynamic personalities flame out because they did not seek to maintain honesty and integrity psalm 101 verse 2 says i'm careful to live a blameless life i will lead a life of integrity in my own home then psalm 119 one says joyful people are people of integrity the great evangelist deal moody once said if i take care of my character god will take care of my reputation in the bible we read of daniel a man of integrity a man who did the right thing in fact one time he was arrested for it because he prayed after the king had signed a decree that no one could pray to any god except him well daniel prayed anyway and his enemies came and had him arrested and thrown into a lion's den pretty bleak scenario but how did that story end or the very men that lied about daniel ended up being eaten by the lions and daniel lived to pray another day same thing is true of joseph his story is in the book of genesis this is a young man who lived with honesty and integrity and though he was falsely accused of raping the wife of potiphar he was vindicated in the end and you will be too here's point number seven what an older greg would say to a younger greg marry the right person so this is the young lady i married katherine martin was her name here's a picture of her and also just another piece of advice i would say kind of going back to the beginning of the message i would say to a younger greg don't wear that ugly tuxedo on your wedding day look at how kathy looks she looks classic she was 18 years old i was 21 years old and man that is the worst looking tux of all time marry the right person listen if you're single i believe god has a person picked out for you in fact you can start praying for your spouse right now even though you don't know maybe you do know them who knows but you can start praying for them now but when you're looking at potential candidates of who to spend the rest of your life with looking at who could be the potential mother or father of your children who could be the grandparent of your grandchildren start here look for a godly person find someone that's even more godly than you don't find some person who's not a christian and marry them the bible says don't be an equally yoked together with non-believers what fellowship does light have with darkness don't do that listen honestly marriage is challenging enough don't marry a non-believer on top of it you need someone you can pray together with and commit things to the lord with and look to god for the strength marriage can be challenging in life but once you make this commitment it should be a lifelong commitment wedlock should be a padlock and i mean that in the best way and if you're unwilling to do this if you want to just experiment with it and get married and maybe get divorced if it doesn't work out do us all a favor and stay single but rather think about this pray about this and take your time the bible says love is patient some people want to rush into marriage oh we have to get married immediately no get to know one another the bible says many waters cannot quench love neither can floods drown it if your love for that man or that woman is a real love it will stand the test of time i heard this great advice that was given to me by a friend of mine named cliff barros he said there there are eight words you should be willing to say to your spouse every day eight words here they are say i'm sorry please forgive me and i love you i'm sorry please forgive me and i love you and i would add these words as well it was my fault you have to mean the words when you say them i'm sorry please forgive me i love you and it was my fault here's what the bible says wives are to respect their husbands husbands are to love their wife as christ loves the church make the right decision and marry the right person here's point number eight what an older greg would say to a younger greg tell those you love that you love them tell the people you love that you love them don't don't wait don't say well they know i'm sure they know but it never hurts to have someone say i love you they can't read your mind say it because there's going to come a moment when you're going to have a last conversation with someone you love you may not realize it was your last conversation that's why it's a good thing to end your conversation with i love you and the lord called our son christopher home 13 years ago i know that he knew that i loved him though i missed him desperately though we were devastated by this horrific event we always told him we loved him and that's a very important thing to do don't wait to their funeral they won't hear what happens at their funeral oh i'll bring flowers in they'll bring your flowers now stop what you're doing think about people you love your parents your children your siblings someone that's meant a lot to you send them a text send them an email even better write it on a card you know why it's cool to write it on a card because they can keep it and they can pull it out just say i just wanted to take a moment to say i appreciate you and i love you thank you for all that you've done for me number nine keep short accounts and forgive listen to this people are going to disappoint you in life even people you love they're going to let you down they're going to see something that hurts you something's going to happen you'll feel that you've been betrayed maybe you have been betrayed maybe you just think you've been betrayed but whatever it is you're going to face hurt and pain in life here's what you don't want to do harbor grudges against people because that can hurt you recent studies suggest that those that do not forgive are more likely to experience high blood pressure bouts of depression and problems with anger stress and anxiety see so when i forgive someone i'm not letting them off the hook i'm avoiding a lot of misery in my own life forgiveness is not about absolving the perpetrator it's about healing the victim uh there's a man who directs a stanford forgiveness project and he said quote forgiveness isn't giving in to the other person it's getting free of the other person as i've said before when you forgive someone you set a prisoner free yourself don't live in a prison that you put yourself in of anger and bitterness and resentment and have it actually ruin your life ephesians 4 30 says be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another as god through christ has forgiven you coming back to joseph after horrible things were done to him his brothers betrayed him they they sold him as a slave for pete's sake and in the moment when he could have had them all summarily executed he instead forgave them and he said you meant it for evil but god meant it for good forgive point number 10 be a nice person you know if you disagree with someone fine but don't be obnoxious about it they have a new word now for people that rant and this is usually reserved for the women they probably should come up with one for guys as well but you'll see these little videos that will pop up and they'll call them karen i don't know how this started if it started with a woman named karen and i'm sorry if your name is karen but someone will say oh they they were like karen and you have a video that someone probably shot on the cell phone of some woman ranting about something whatever it is and and they're getting all upset and they're screaming and yelling don't be that person ever you're a child of god be known for your generosity be known for your love your compassion not for your anger ephesians 4 31 says don't use fowl or abuse of language let everything you say be good and helpful so your words may be an encouragement to those that hear them be known as an encourager not a discourager be known as a person that builds people up not as a people that not as a person who tears people down and that brings me to my next point this one's very practical and you might be surprised by it are you ready for it this is a deep theological insight about life what would an older greg say to a younger greg have fun yes you heard me right have fun some of the simplest joys of life are before you every single day savor the sunset enjoy the meal linger with family and friends don't be in such a rush to the next thing live in the moment and i think one way to do this is put the cell phones away word of advice when you sit down for a meal don't take cell phones to the table if you have the little watch that gets the alerts maybe take the watch off too just have a conversation with the people around you on more than one occasion i've been with people and everyone's on their cell phone and i'll text them be here now let's put these phones away and let's have a conversation with each other here's what i found the greatest joys in life will come from your relationship with god and with others but sometimes we're always thinking about what's going to come oh when this comes i'm going to be so happy when this happens it'll be so great wait what about the moment right now i found the greatest moments of life are often the in-between ones let me use christmas as an example we get so psyched about christmas don't we i can't hardly wait till christmas i can hardly wait to open my presents or i can hardly wait until the people i bought presents for open them and it's all about that moment and you miss the in-between moments let me use disneyland as an illustration i haven't been back there for a while but you know it's so exciting when you pull into the parking lot at disneyland it's so thrilling when you actually walk into the park and oh it's so great i'm so glad to be here but after three or four hours you're kind of looking forward to leaving right we get so psyched about the event we miss the things that happen before the event and after the event so savor those in between moments try to laugh more paul the apostle said rejoice in the lord always and again i say rejoice so where was paul when he wrote that oh he's laying on some beach sipping an iced tea soaking up some rays no no no he was in prison but despite the fact that he was in prison writing to the believers in philippi he says rejoice in the lord always lighten up don't take yourself so seriously criticize less compliment more here's another one make the right choices you have a choice each and every day to obey god or to disobey god to do the right thing or to do the wrong thing to pick up the bible and read it or neglect the bible to pray or to worry these are your choices make the right choices why because you make your choices and then your choices make you in the end of your life is determined by the beginning of your life the evening of your life is determined by the morning of your life so if you're young develop good habit patterns now start doing the right things now and that will be great dividends later in life number 15 tell others about jesus and then disciple them this is called the great commission jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations teaching them to observe all things that i have commanded you baptizing them in the name of the father son and the holy spirit and lo i am with you even to the end of the age jesus is saying he will be with the person who does this in a special way it means that we look for opportunities to initiate conversations about christ to the best of our ability we seek to lead people to the lord and then we disciple them you say what does that even mean it means you take them under your wing and you help them get up on their feet spiritually here's why disciplining a new believer is important for the new believer as well as for the old believer the older believer stabilizes the younger believer and the younger believer energizes the older believer so you know when you've been going to church for 10 15 20 years i don't know what you do after this service but maybe you start critiquing things did you see what she was wearing oh man can you believe how loud the music was and that sermon seemed a little too long you know you kind of gripe and complain maybe but let's say you have a brand new believer with you they just accepted christ two weeks ago they're in that bloom of first love i guarantee you're not going to be critiquing the sermon or critiquing the church because the new believer will say you know the pastor said this and i've never heard that before and so you'll find yourself elaborating on it do you understand how that's helping you as well as it's helping them but see a lot of us don't do this you know we're not sharing the truth we're hoarding the truth and we just think about ourselves but a true mark of spiritual maturity is when we get our eyes off of ourselves and start thinking of others but then there's the joy of sharing because jesus said it's more blessed to give than it is to receive share your faith seek to disciple others and here's another one spend time with older godly people sometimes when you're young you just want to hang around young people i remember when i was a brand new christian i was 17. i knew a lot of people my own age but i went out of my way to find older people to hang around you know why i thought what do these other young people know i don't think they know much more than i know so i met people that were older like pastor chuck smith his wife kate smith an associate pastor there at the church he pastored calvary chapel named pastor romain i spent time talking to them you know why i didn't have a dad growing up i didn't have a mom growing up i needed an older person to help me figure life out to give me some life hacks if you will and they did that they spent time with me i didn't just listen to them speak i had meals with them and did fun things with them and got to see what a christian looks like up close and personal especially an older more mature believer a little bit later in my life i became friends with the great british preacher alan redpath who wrote a lot of amazing commentaries and of course i became friends with billy and ruth cram being with these godly people impacted me find godly people you can be with so if you're an older believer find a younger believer you can bring under your wing if you're a younger believer find an older believer you can learn from paul says to timothy teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others see we're in a race as christians and this race is a beginning middle and end i expect that i'm toward the end of my race i'm certainly not at the beginning of it and this is a relay race and my job in this race is not to hold on to the baton forever i have to hand it on to the next runner to carry it forward we need to do the same and we need to share these truths if you're older with younger people god told moses to teach these truths to his children when they sit down when they lie down when they walk when they get up and they go to bed in other words just integrate this truth into the life of other people throughout life in general listen to this world view for young people is formed between the ages of 18 months and the age of 13. those are the most critical years to poor truth into the life of a younger person find a younger person and do that and if you're a younger person get someone to help you with that here's my final point finish your race well i mentioned we're in a race the race of life paul says many people are in the race run that you may win we all want to run to win we all are running for the gold you know we want to do the best we can with the life that god has given us and there will come a moment when we have our last meal and we give our last statement and then we're done we breathe our last breath hopefully we can say along with the apostle paul and this of course is found in ii timothy 4 i fought the good fight i kept the faith i finished the course henceforth there is laid before me a crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge will give to me and that day and not to me only but to all who love his appearing you don't know when the end of your race will come my son's race ended at 33 and we used to race on the beach by the way him and i he was a great runner christopher but somehow i could beat him for many years even though he was a good runner he was a long distance runner i was a sprinter so i would challenge him to a race i would always have the race favor me i would pick a rock up the beach i'll say let's race to the rock and the market said go well they would favor me because i'm a sprinter and i would always beat them and one day we're walking along the beach i said let's race to that rock you're ready and off we go and he not only beat me he really beat me and i think that he has gone to heaven before me he beat me in the race you think well i have a long ways to run this race and live this life maybe i'll get right with god when i'm in my 80s or 90s no your race may be coming to an end more quickly than you planned for so always be able to say i fought the good fight i kept the faith i finish the course run this race well speaking of advice i once was sitting with pastor chuck smith and i asked him this question chuck what would an older chuck say to a younger chuck what advice would you give yourself and chuck's response was simply hold the course i wasn't sure what that meant i said what do you mean hold the course you mean like we're in the race of life and you just hang in there and keep running he said that's it hold the course that's what he did by the way he held the course into his mid 80s before the lord called him home i say to you seasoned saints you that have been walking with the lord for some time hold your course keep running this race because you never know when the race will end earlier i mentioned that i was with alice cooper a little earlier this week and of course you probably know who alice cooper is he's a famed rock star at one moment he was the most famous and successful rock star in all of the world his name he was given was vincent fernier and as a young man he got into a little rock band uh they were called the spiders and they later changed their name to alice cooper and uh and of course he was known for spectacle and and for almost being like a dark figure but in reality a lot of it was an act but in time vincent fernier started turning into the character alice cooper almost like dr jekyll and mr hyde he started becoming this character in he was drinking he became an alcoholic and then he became a drug addict but here's the amazing thing you may not know about alice cooper is he's the son of a pastor and he was running from god he described himself to me in an interview i did with him as the prodigal running from god and he went so far that people thought he'll never get right with god this guy is so evil he told me they were they were destroying copies of his record on the 700 club but god wasn't done with vincent he wasn't done with alice and he got hold of him alice was actually overdosing uncocaine he had a a rock of cocaine the size of a softball and he was hallucinating and he looked in the mirror and he saw what looked like blood coming out of his eyes and he cried out to god and he took that rock of cocaine and flushed it down the toilet and god heard his prayer and turned him around and he's been walking with the lord clean and sober for many years now the only addiction he seems to have today is an addiction to golf he loves to get out in the course i think that's an acceptable addiction so to speak but the point is alice speaks out about his faith in jesus christ right now reminding us that no one is beyond the reach of god i've talked a lot about younger people let me talk to someone who is a little older maybe you've made some bad decisions maybe you've done some things and you would say it's too late for me it's never too late for you god can turn your life around god can forgive you of your sin god can refresh you and replenish you and revive you but you must turn to him now earlier in the program i gave an opportunity for people to believe in jesus christ let me do an invitation of a different kind right now an invitation to prodigal sons and daughters out there who like alice cooper have been running from god but listen god has not forgotten about you god loves you and god will accept you and forgive you we talk about the prodigal son you remember that story in the bible a boy runs away from his father ruins his life loses everything that he has comes back in shame returning to his father and jesus who told the story of the father when he saw him at a distance ran to him threw his arms around him and rejoiced and said this my son who was dead is alive again and he was lost is found you wonder how would god treat me if i returned to him he would forgive you abraham lincoln after the end of the civil war was asked how they should treat the rebellious southerners and he said treat them as if they had never left the idea is god will treat you as if you have never left he'll forgive you because on the cross jesus took your sin two thousand years ago he paid it in full it wasn't a partial payment it was a complete payment and that's why he uttered the words it is finished it is completed it's done you just need to come and say god forgive me are you a prodigal son or daughter have you been running from god maybe it's time to return to him i'm going to pray a simple prayer and you if you would like to recommit your life to jesus christ you can do it right here right now let's pray pray these words lord jesus i have been a prodigal i know it's right but i've been running from you but i'm so thankful you love me and you'll forgive me lord i return to you now i recommit my life to you now i choose to follow you from this moment forward thank you for hearing my prayer and answering my prayer in jesus name i ask this amen did you just pray that prayer with me if so congratulations a phone number on the screen you can call it and i would love to hear from you and just let us know if you prayed to recommit your life to jesus there's a little box you can click as well and we'll get your information and we'll send you a copy of this new believer's bible by the way this isn't just for a brand new christian this is for any christian that wants to understand the bible better it's filled with hundreds and hundreds of notes where i talk about many topics that you're going to deal with in life so i'm going to send you this new believer's bible at no cost thank you for watching today at harvest at home let me close with this thought find someone who is young in the faith and make it your purpose to help them get stronger spiritually and if you're younger in the faith find a godly mentor uh someone who can help you who's a bit older than you a more mature spiritually let's do what we can to fulfill the great commission in our lifetime okay so next time we're together at harvest at home we're starting a brand new series on the book of acts these first century believers turn their world upside down man does our world need to be turned upside down or should i say right side up let's find out how we can do that starting next time we gather together for harvest at home and until then may the lord bless you and keep you may his face shine upon you and may he give you peace god bless do you

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

Views: 12,443

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Id: Hmr5idBTFrU

Length: 53min 59sec (3239 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 29 2021