A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Skepticism is not a sign that a person is wrong; it may be a sign that he is thinking. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out we can bring our uncertainties to the Lord. There's no question he can't handle. It's okay for you to say to the Lord, "Make yourself real to me. Help me with my doubts. Help me with my questions." I certainly did that when I was a brand-new believer. And he did, and he'll do the same for you.

Guest (Male): When we finish praying the sinner's prayer and become a child of God, it would be great if all our questions are immediately answered, all our doubts are suddenly dispelled, and the gaps in our understanding are instantly filled in. But coming to know God and his plan for our lives is part of the privilege and challenge of living the Christian life.

Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how we should feel free to approach God for help in sharpening our understanding and deepening our faith.

Greg Laurie: We're back in our series in the Gospel of Mark, which we're calling The Gospel for Busy People, and the title of my message is A New Kind of Family. Jesus now establishes his new family of disciples. So, we're going to read a list of the men that he used to change the world. Some are familiar names, others not as familiar, and they could not be more different from one another.

We read about them in Mark chapter 3, verse 16. Now he appointed Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder. There was Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed them.

Right at the top of the list, a very familiar name, Simon Peter. Apart from Jesus himself, no other name is mentioned in the New Testament more than Simon Peter. He was a central figure of Jesus' three years of ministry and also for the first three years of the early church. Jesus spent more time with Peter than anybody else.

No other person speaks as often or is spoken to as often as Simon Peter. I might also add, no other disciple is reproved and corrected as often as Simon Peter. Flawed character, yes, but he was faithful to the end. Oh sure, he denied the Lord, but he was there with Jesus in the last hours of his earthly ministry along with the apostle John. Though he had his lapse and his setback, he also had his mega-comeback when Jesus recommissioned him again.

He was part of God's family. And then we have Andrew, the brother of Peter. They couldn't be any more different. If Peter was like your loud uncle at the family reunion, Andrew is like the quiet cousin. While Peter's talking, Andrew's clearing the table and working behind the scenes.

In fact, it was actually Andrew who brought his brother Peter to Jesus. In John 1:41, we read the first thing Andrew did after he realized that Jesus was the Messiah was he brought his brother Peter. And he said to him, "We've found the Messiah," and he brought him to Jesus. And that's what Andrew was always doing, bringing people to Jesus. What a great thing to be known for, bringing people to Jesus.

So we've got Peter, the loud one. We've got Andrew, the quiet one. And now we have James and John, the fiery ones. If Peter's like your loud uncle and Andrew's your quiet cousin, these are the brothers who were always arguing at the family reunion. They turn everything into a big debate and they get very upset about things.

These are the kind of people that when they post on social media, it's all in caps. They're always fired up about something. And that is a good description of James and John. They're described as the Sons of Thunder for good reason. They had fiery temperaments. On one occasion, the disciples went into a village of Samaria and the people were not responsive. They were not hospitable.

So James and John come to Jesus and they said, "Lord, shall we call fire down from heaven on these people like Elijah did?" Jesus was like, "Wait, what? Call fire down from heaven?" And then he had to remind them what his mission was. He says, "Guys, you don't know what kind of spirit you're of. The Son of Man did not come to destroy people; he came to save them."

So he's saying, "Guys, I didn't come to toast people, I came to forgive people. Give me a break." But these guys were very full of fire and passion. And so they were upset that people were not responsive to what Jesus had to say. They could also be very insensitive because Jesus talked about his impending crucifixion with them on one occasion.

And he says, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and he's going to be condemned to death and they will flog him and kill him. And three days later, he'll rise again." Imagine hearing Jesus say that. That's heavy stuff. You would just sit in stunned silence. You wouldn't know what to say. Well, not the Sons of Thunder.

They had plenty to say because then they blurt out, "Well, we were wondering if you would do whatever we want you to do." Jesus just got done saying that he's going to die and they say, "Yeah, interesting. What can you do for us?" That would be like somebody saying to you, "I just found out I'm very sick and I'm dying and I only have a few weeks to live," and then you respond, "Yeah, so what are you going to do with that car you just bought? Could I have it?"

So the conversation continues. "We want you to do whatever we ask you to do." So Jesus says, "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want me to do?" "We would like to sit on your right and left hand in glory." Well, they should be thankful Jesus did not answer that prayer because what happened shortly after this? Jesus went and was crucified. And who was on his right and left hand? Two criminals who were crucified next to him.

See, if he would have answered their prayer, they would have been the ones on the crosses on each side of Jesus. So thank God for unanswered prayers. So we've got the loud one, Simon Peter. We've got the quiet one, Andrew. We've got the fired-up ones, James and John, the Sons of Thunder. Now we have the skeptical one, and that of course is Thomas.

When you're at a family reunion, everyone sees things a certain way and Thomas is like that relative who'll say, "Well, I see it completely differently than the rest of you." That's just his nature. He was a guy who thought for himself. Of course, we remember Thomas because he did miss the resurrected Christ.

After Jesus was crucified, he rose again and he appeared to the disciples in the upper room. And they told Thomas, "Hey man, you should have been there last night. Guess who showed up?" "Yahoo," Thomas says. "Jesus! He appeared to us." "All right, yeah," Thomas says, "I'll believe that when I can put my hand in the prints of the nails and put my finger into his side."

Well, the next time they got together for a meeting, Thomas was there. And guess who shows up? Jesus. Well, Thomas, seeing the risen Christ, just said, "My Lord and my God," and he believed on the spot. See, we call him Doubting Thomas. I don't think he was a doubter; I think he was a skeptic. And he wanted what everybody else had; he wanted to see and know for himself.

By the way, you don't have to live off somebody else's faith. It's okay for you to say to the Lord, "Make yourself real to me. Help me with my doubts. Help me with my questions." I certainly did that when I was a brand-new believer. I was filled with skepticism and I said to Jesus, "If you're real, you're going to have to make yourself known to me because I have a hard time believing some of these things for myself." And he did, and he does, and he'll do the same for you.

Thomas, if he didn't understand something, would talk about it out loud. On one occasion in John chapter 14, Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. And where you go you know, and the way you know."

I think all the disciples were probably nodding in unison in agreement. Yeah, that's deep, that is really true. And it's Thomas who says, "Excuse me." I don't know if he raised his hand but, "I have a question." "Yes, Thomas?" "We don't know where you're going and we don't know the way." I like that. He was honest. And what does Jesus say? He doesn't rebuke him. He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me."

Listen, skepticism is not a sign that a person is wrong; it may be a sign that he is thinking. You may have children who are pushing back on the way you've raised them in your Christian home. They have their own questions. "Hey Mom, how can I know the Bible is the word of God? Hey Dad, I'm grappling with this question." You're thinking, "Oh, what have we done? We failed our kids." No, they're thinking for themselves. They're like Thomas. So help them work through those things and help them develop their own faith.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We're so thankful to hear from our listeners all the time. They're all different ages and in all different seasons of life. They tell us how Pastor Greg encourages them, and their comments encourage us. Here's a comment we recently received from a brother named Graham.

Graham: I am calling in because this time last year, my beautiful wife was dying from Alzheimer's. My wife was in hospice at home, and every 8:00 AM when I knew my wife was safe, I would start my day by riding my bicycle. I listened to Pastor Greg in the AM. Good way to start the day.

One morning, I forgot to turn on my radio, but suddenly the Holy Spirit prompted me to do so. About one minute after I turned it on, I heard Greg telling about when his son Christopher died. He recounted that he was grateful so many people had blessed him with cards and well-wishes.

But then he said one person wrote him with a comment that stopped him in his tracks. The man said, "Pastor Greg, your best days with Christopher lie ahead when you see him for all eternity." That became my testimony. Yes, I will see my wife again and my best days with her lie ahead. I can wait until it's my turn to see Jesus. Thank you.

Guest (Male): We hope Graham's comments encouraged you today. And if you'd like to share a comment about how Pastor Greg's teaching is helping you and your family grow closer to the Lord, drop him an email. Greg at harvest dot org. That's Greg at harvest dot O-R-G. We've been considering a number of the Lord's disciples today as Pastor Greg presents his message called A New Kind of Family.

Greg Laurie: I wish I had time to go into all the others that are on our list, but there's one last name that I want to end with, and that would be Judas Iscariot. So Peter's like your loud uncle, Andrew's the working-behind-the-scenes guy, James and John are always fired up about something, Thomas is the skeptical one. Who's Judas?

He's not the evil guy you may think. When we see movies about Jesus or religious art depicting the disciples, you can always figure out who Judas is because he looks so treacherous. He's always hiding over in the shadows. If all the other disciples are wearing white robes, he's got a black robe, a black leather robe with the collar turned up, wearing sunglasses, right?

Not really, but you get the idea. "Oh, that's Judas." That is not the way Judas appeared. He appeared as the most virtuous of the lot. Judas is sort of like your self-righteous relative who's always moralizing, judging, and putting others down. And one day you find out he is the biggest hypocrite of them all.

Judas is the literal definition of a hypocrite. Now I don't think we even know what the word hypocrite means. We throw it around a lot. We say someone who claims to be a Christian and slips up, that's hypocrisy. That's not hypocrisy; that's humanity. Every one of us as followers of Jesus mess up, we make mistakes, we say the wrong thing, we do the wrong thing. Hopefully, we own it and admit it.

That's not a hypocrite. A hypocrite is literally defined as an actor. It's a performer. It's a person who is pretending to be something they are not. And that was Judas. He appeared to be the most virtuous guy of all when in reality, he was the most wicked.

Here's a perfect example. All the disciples were gathered together for a meal. And we read how Mary began to wipe the feet of Jesus with some very expensive perfume and the fragrance filled the air. So this perfume that she wiped his feet with, because she was given an insight into the fact that Christ was going to go suffer and die on the cross, she wanted to do something extravagant. Something next-level.

Something to demonstrate to Jesus how much she loved him. So this is probably a family heirloom worth thousands and thousands of dollars. So she's anointing the feet of Jesus with this beautiful fragrant perfume, and Judas says, "That perfume is worth a small fortune. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor."

The other disciples probably nodded in unison and said, "That's true, Judas. And Mary, I don't know if that was the good stewardship to waste that perfume on the feet of Jesus." But then we're given this little detail in the Gospel of John, in John 12:6. Judas said that not because he cared for the poor, he said it because he was a thief and he was in charge of the disciples' funds and he took some for his own use.

Wow. So at the moment he appeared to be the most virtuous, he was actually the most wicked. And it's this greed for money that destroyed the life of Judas Iscariot. Let's not forget, he sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And how did he betray Christ? With a handshake? With a pat on the back? Oh no, you know the answer.

He betrayed him with a kiss. He told the religious rulers, "The one that I kiss, he's the one you're looking for." So there in the Garden of Gethsemane, here's Jesus and Judas approaches him and kisses him. And in the original language, it's implied he kissed him over and over again, not just a peck on the cheek. He kissed him like, "Oh, I love you so much, Jesus."

But he was just identifying Christ so he could be arrested. He was the worst kind of hypocrite out there. But you want to know something amazing? He could have been forgiven. Jesus knew Judas would betray him. Jesus knew Judas would abandon him. But Jesus offered to Judas an opportunity to repent.

When the disciples gathered together in the upper room for what would become Last Supper, we read that Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Now that doesn't make a lot of sense to us, but back in those days, when you would go visit a person's house, the servant in the home would wash your feet. So Jesus was taking the role of a servant.

He washed their feet and he came to the feet of Judas Iscariot and washed them. If I was Jesus, I would not have washed the feet of Judas, I would have broken the feet of Judas, but the Lord even washed his feet. And then he identified Judas as the betrayer. And then he said to Judas, "Whatever you do, go and do it quickly."

And we read that Satan filled the heart of Judas. So he was not some helpless pawn. No, he made a deliberate decision to betray Jesus. But even there in the Garden of Gethsemane as Judas approached, we read Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" If Judas had repented of his sin, Jesus would have forgiven him even there.

But he was never part of God's family. He could have been, but he was a wicked man. Listen, we can all be a part of God's family. You say, "How do you do that?" Well, you're born into the family of God. Oh, you're saying you have to be raised in a Christian home? No, not at all. You need to be born again into the family of God.

Jesus said you must be born again. So when you turn from your sin and you ask God to forgive you, you become a part of God's family. The Bible says, "For as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God." So you can be in this incredible family of God, no matter what you've done.

Maybe you relate to one of the people I've talked about in this message. Maybe you're like Simon Peter and you walked with the Lord for a time, but you messed up and you failed and you sinned. And in the case of Peter, he denied three times that he knew Jesus, but he was forgiven. Or maybe you're like Thomas, you believed but you've had your doubts. Or you're like some of the others who have had setbacks, but Jesus loved every one of these men.

He loved every one of these women that followed him and he loves you. And if you're part of his family, he wants to maintain fellowship with you. When we're sinning against God, we don't break off relationship, we break off fellowship. You're still in the family; you're just not communicating. And it's because we've broken communication down by our sin.

But the Bible says if we'll confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and communication can be restored. Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that wants to join God's family. Somebody right now that maybe doesn't have a family to speak of. Now I mentioned that we all have a family.

I had a pretty dysfunctional family growing up. My mother was married and divorced seven times and was a raging alcoholic. I had a very unstable upbringing, but when I became a Christian, I joined God's family. And suddenly I found brothers and sisters I did not know that I had, that were fellow believers in Jesus Christ. And God can do the same for you.

Last weekend for Harvest at Home, someone watched the service and they wrote me this little note. She says, "I just watched your message on Harvest. It brought me tears of joy. I needed to hear what you said. You answered all of my questions and it brought me so much peace because I prayed that prayer and I'm looking forward to heaven when that day comes. Thank you for sharing that today. Praise Jesus."

She says when I prayed that prayer. What prayer? The same prayer that I'm going to lead you in right now. A prayer where you will say to God you're sorry for your sin and you want Christ to come into your life and you want to become a part of God's family. If you don't know right now that your sin is forgiven, if you don't know with certainty right now that you'll go to heaven when you die, if you're not sure if you're in the family of God, you can join our family right here, right now, wherever you are.

And I'll lead you in a simple prayer. I've mentioned multiple times that Jesus went to that cross and died for our sin. Three days later, he rose again from the dead and now he stands at the door of your life and he knocks. And he says if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. So listen, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to join God's forever family, or if you failed and you want to recommit your life to the Lord, I'll lead you in a simple prayer, similar to the prayer that this young lady prayed with me last weekend.

And this can be a transforming moment in your life where Christ comes to live inside of you. If you want Christ to come into your life and you want him to forgive you of your sin, pray this prayer after me. In fact, you could pray it out loud right now if you like. 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. Now I put my faith in you and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer with those making a change today in their relationship with the Lord. And if you've just joined Pastor Greg in prayer and have asked Jesus to be your Savior, we'd like to offer some help, free of charge. Let us send you Pastor Greg's popular New Believer's Bible. It's an easy-to-understand translation with plenty of helps for those who are new to the faith, including big questions.

Pastor Greg addresses those difficult issues that may have crossed your mind. Ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest dot org and click Know God. Well, Pastor Greg, we hear from our listeners every day. We get letters and phone calls and social media posts, and so many of them tell us that they support this outreach financially. And I've noticed that they say that with real joy. They're happy about being a part of this ministry. That's so cool.

Greg Laurie: It is, and they've just discovered the joy of giving. God loves a cheerful giver, we've heard that before. A better translation of that verse would be God loves a hilarious giver, not a guilty giver, not someone doing it out of pressure, but someone that says, "Wow, what a great opportunity, I want to invest in this."

I think of how much money it will cost a person to go to say Disneyland for a day. But they love the experience of Disney and they wear their Disney apparel and they're just enjoying it, so they're happy about it. They call it the happiest place on earth. Well, look, I can't think of a happier thing to do than to invest in the kingdom of God.

Not the Magic Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. And see how lives can be changed for time and eternity. But I can't convince you of this; I can just tell you what the Bible says. But I promise you on the authority of scripture, if you learn how to be a generous person, you will experience a degree of happiness and joy that you have not known before because the Bible specifically promises it.

"It's more blessed or happy-making," says Jesus, "to give than it is to receive." So look, I'm telling you about an opportunity to be happy. If you don't want to be happy, you don't have to be. An opportunity to be generous and to give. If you don't want to do it, then don't do it. But I can tell you if you invest in our ministry, there's an opportunity not only to bring joy and happiness into your life, but I think more importantly, the ultimate joy and happiness into other people's lives as they come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And it's easy to show your support. You can reach out by phone or through the mail or through our website. Let us invite you to become a Harvest Partner. What is a Harvest Partner? Harvest Partners are part of our inner circle of friends who feel so strongly about the importance of evangelism and discipleship that they invest in this ministry each month. The amount is up to them. And we have some creative ways of saying thank you. Why not become a Harvest Partner today? You can call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to harvest dot org.

Well, next time, more from Pastor Greg's series in the Gospel of Mark called The Gospel for Busy People. We'll discuss what Pastor Greg calls the golden key to spiritual growth. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.