Greg Laurie - A Rush of Hope - Part 2
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Gary Sinise: My life is not full in spite of the disappointments, it's full because of them.
Jeremy Camp: You know what's amazing about the Lord is that he's so longsuffering because it wasn't like he was saying, "Okay, get over it. I'm here, I'll take care of you". He met me where I was, and I felt like every little step I took, if I didn't feel like I could take a big step, I would take a little baby step. It's like, "I got you; I got you". And I think that for me, you know, all the promises in God's Word became even more real to me. Like, through just time, God took a open wound and then, you know, a scar still remains for sure, as you know, still a scar, but it's not an open wound anymore, and I think that for me, I'm so thankful that, you know, understanding that God's graciousness and his goodness in the midst of pain has been such a healing thing for me because he went through suffering.
I think about Melissa when she was in the hospital, and I walked in for the first time and we found out she had cancer, and she said to me, "You know, I've been sitting here thinking that if my life affects one person and one person's life has changed because of what I go through if I die, it's all worth it". And you know, when I look at that and I think about how she could say that is because she knew Jesus. And so, she knew the assurance that she was gonna be in heaven so that if her life can even lead one person to Jesus, it's all worth it. And now I'm looking at thousands and thousands and thousands of people who have given their life to Jesus because of what she went through and because of her heart and her faith.
Greg Laurie: One of the questions I raised earlier was, "Why do I exist? Why am I here on this earth to start with"? I was asking that question at a very early age, and there was a reason for it, is because I was raised in a crazy way, conceived out of wedlock to an alcoholic mother who was married and divorced seven times. I never had a father growing up. My mother would drink every night and basically pass out, and I'd have to put her to bed and sometimes get her a meal in the middle of the night, and I was just a little kid, and I had to be, in a way, a parent to my own parent.
And so, it got me asking questions like, "Man, why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Why is my life so bad"? Because I would look at the lives of my friends and they had moms and dads at home and family meals, and I'm living this crazy life. I knew I didn't want to live the alcoholic lifestyle of my mother, but when I got into high school, I started partying, getting drunk, and I thought, "Man, this is not the life for me". Well, around this time, the drug culture was coming on strong. I was told drugs would make you more aware.
So, I started smoking weed. I started taking LSD, and I became more aware of how miserable and empty I was. I was in full search mode at the age of 17. I knew the answers were not in my mother's lifestyle. I knew the answers were not in the lifestyle that I had chosen, but where were they? It was almost like process of elimination. I knew where I shouldn't go, but where should I go? Well, I was on my high school campus, and I was walking across the campus and I came across a group of Christians. We called them the Jesus freaks. And by the way, that was not a compliment. I thought they were collectively crazy, but I sat down close enough, out of sheer curiosity, to see what they were saying.
And so, I was close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation but not so close that my friends would think I was joining them, and for the first time, I remember hearing the gospel in a way that I understood. What is the gospel? I'm gonna tell you in a few moments, but let me tell you what happened to me. I'm looking around at these Christians and I saw they how were smiling and had this joy, and I thought, "These people are so sad. They're so pathetic. They're so weird. They're so happy". And I looked at myself and I thought, "Well, I'm not happy". And then I tried a new thought on for size. "What if the Christians are right and it's all true, and God could be known in a personal way"?
I quickly dismissed the thought, but then I tried it on again for size, "But what if it's true"? And then as I looked at them I thought, "Well, it wouldn't work for me because I'm not the religious type," but the problem was some of the people who would become Christians were people I used to party with, and I'd seen the change in their life, so I knew it was real, and a guy got up to speak, and I don't remember what he said that day for the most part. His name was Lonnie, but he made one statement that was like a lightning bolt from heaven to me. He said, "Jesus said, 'You're for me or against me.'" I looked around at the Christians and I thought, "Well, there for him for sure, and I'm not one of them". Does that mean I'm against him? See, I was searching, and only God knew what I was really looking for, and in a few moments, I want to tell you how you can find that same relationship with God that I found because God only knows what you're going through right now.
You know people are so scared right now. I mean, you just turn on the news or go to your favorite news feed, and there's so many things to cause us to, well, just freak out. The continuing spread of the coronavirus around the globe, an economy that's so uncertain, because of that, we have, drug use is up. Alcohol use is up; domestic abuse, up; suicide rate, up. People are scared. Let me answer one of those questions I raised earlier, the question "Why do I exist"? Sooner or later, every thinking person gets around to asking that question, or at least they should. Let me cut to the chase. You exist to have a relationship with God.
There is nothing this world offers that will fill a hole in your heart that was designed to be filled by God himself. There's no drug, there's no experience, there's no possession, there's no accomplishment, nothing. Listen to this. Jesus loves you, and he proved that love to you by dying on the cross for you 2,000 years ago. You say, "What does the death of Jesus on a cross have to do with me right now in this modern era"? It has everything to do with you because the Bible says we're separated from God by our sin. We've all fallen short of God's standards. We've all crossed the line and sinned against him. You say, "Well, I haven't sinned". Everybody has sinned. You ever heard of the Ten Commandments? If you broken one of those commandments, you've technically sinned. What are they? You shall not lie. You shall not steal. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain. You shall not have other gods before him. The list goes on.
We've sinned. We broken God's commandments. The bad news is I am separated from God, and there's nothing that I can ever do to satisfy his righteous requirements. The good news is God sent his Son to die in my place. Jesus put it best when he said, "For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, and whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life". You see, the Apostle Paul said, "He loved me and gave himself for me". Jesus died for you. Listen, it wasn't nails that held Christ to that cross 2,000 years ago. It was love for you. And with one hand, he took hold of a holy God that we've offended, and with the other hand, he took hold of sinful humanity, and nails were driven through his hands and his feet, and he died in my place.
Understand Jesus did that for you, and then if you want his forgiveness, you must say to God you're sorry for your sin. The Bible says we must repent and be converted. That word "repent" is a military term that means to do an about face. So, you've been running from God. Now you want to run toward God. Turn from that sin, and then you must receive Christ into your life. Being a Christian is not just following a creed, or memorizing some Bible verses, or going to church occasionally. Being a Christian is having Christ live inside of you. This is what it is, it's a relationship with God. I raised the question "What is the meaning of life"? The meaning of life is to have this relationship with God.
I know you may think, "Oh, being a Christian, you're like some religious person". Listen, I am not a religious person. I don't want to be a religious person. Honestly, I think religious people are all a little bit odd anyway. I'm talking about a relationship with God, and that's what happens when you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life. You start a relationship. Let me put it another way. It's a friendship with God. That means you're never alone in life. Jesus promises, "I will never leave you or forsake you," and a better translation would be, Jesus speaking, "I will never, no, never, no, never leave you or forsake you". He will come and take residence in your heart.
Why do I exist? I exist to come into this relationship with God, and the meaning of life is to walk with him and discover his plan that he has for me. Listen to this great promise from the Bible. In Jeremiah 29:11, that's a verse from the Bible, God says, "I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope". Do you sometimes feel like you have no future? You do. God has a plan for your life, and there can be hope in your life if you come into this relationship with the Lord. What happens after I die? This is the big question. To be really honest with you, finding the meaning of life, finding out why you exist, those are important things, but nothing is more important than finding out what happens after you die, and most importantly, how to get to heaven.
Let me make a provocative statement, but I think it's really true. All roads lead to God, but only one road leads to heaven. What I'm saying is whatever road you're on, whatever belief you have, or lack thereof, you will eventually stand before God, but when you stand before God, God will not ask you how good of a life you lived, 'cause as I already pointed out, none of us are good enough to get to heaven. It won't be a sin question as much as it's a Son question, S-O-N, as in, "What did you do with Jesus Christ"?
There's one way to heaven and it's through Jesus, why? Only Jesus was uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God. He came to this earth on a rescue mission. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem. He lived a perfect life. He died a perfect death. Then he rose again from the dead, and check this out: he can come and live inside of you right now. He's only a prayer away. The Bible says, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved". You might ask, "Well, how do you call upon the name of the Lord"? Through prayer.
Let's say I was in the middle of this beautiful lake I'm standing in front of, and all of a sudden, I found myself drowning. Well, I would call out for help, and hopefully someone would come and rescue me. Well, we're drowning in sin. We're separated from God, but God can rescue you. God can forgive you. God can give you a new chance in life. Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that you'll go to heaven when you die? Would you like to fill that hole in your heart? Would you like to find the meaning of life and find out why you exist? It can all happen for you right here, right now.
So, if you would like Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, you could pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like. You can pray it quietly, but pray this and mean it. Just pray these words, "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior, who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward". And if you just prayed that prayer with me and meant it, this is the moment Christ has come into your life, and let me be the first to say to you, congratulations and welcome to the family of God.
As this journey comes to a close, I just want to tell you that this is just the beginning, because you've put your faith in Jesus Christ, but maybe some of you did not do that yet. Listen, don't let this moment pass you by. If you didn't pray with me, it's not too late. We live in dark days, but we have great hope. This road is sometimes difficult with twists and turns, but this darkness won't last for long. There's a dawn on the horizon and with this dawn comes a rush of hope.