A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Maybe you've had a setback in life. Maybe you've done something you regret, maybe you've had a lapse of faith, but know this: your setback can actually turn out to be a setup, and your test can be turned into a testimony.

Guest (Male): Our lives are never too far gone. The choices we've made don't leave us forever ruined. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the hope the Lord offers.

Greg Laurie: If you've fallen, if you've failed, Jesus can give you a second chance.

Guest (Male): First John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Given that, given we're all in this boat together, what do we do now? How do sinners like us find forgiveness for our sin, relief for our guilt, and reestablish a relationship with a holy God?

That's the subject on the table today on A New Beginning, as Pastor Greg Laurie launches a brand-new series. We'll see how we can access that second chance Jesus offers.

Greg Laurie: I want you to grab your Bible and turn to two passages of scripture: Mark chapter one and Luke chapter four. Again, Mark chapter one and Luke chapter four, and I have a message for you with the title, "The Gospel for Busy People."

Most of you watching me right now probably has one of these devices. We call it a smartphone. You probably either have an Apple phone or an Android phone, and these phones have changed our lives, haven't they? In some ways for better, and frankly, in some ways for worse.

I remember when Steve Jobs came out with the first version of the iPhone in 2007, and we had never seen anything like it. It was so revolutionary, so different than anything that had been made up to that point, it was dubbed by some as the "Jesus phone." No phone can live up to that.

But the phone has affected everything that we do now. Now, of course, we have tablets and we have watches that give us data and information in real time, and we're barraged with information. You can't even have a conversation with a person anymore without it being interrupted by a phone. If you're talking with someone and your phone's in your pocket and you get a little buzz, you're so tempted to pull it out and see what it is. It might be something from a news feed, it might be a text, it might be an email.

There's an article I read in the Wall Street Journal that made this statement, and I quote, "Even though digital technology has led to significant productivity increase, the modern workday seems custom-built to destroy individual focus." I think that's true. I don't even think we're able to have a proper conversation anymore.

We have a whole generation, Generation Z, that has never known anything but this tech. Having it in their hands, a poll was taken and they said they would rather text someone than have a conversation with them. Then there's social media that has such a tremendous impact, often in a negative way. Michael Hyatt made this statement, "Focusing on everything means focusing on nothing."

That's what I think is happening. We're just barraged with all this information and we are unfocused people. So I thought this is a great time to focus on Jesus. I read an article in the paper the other day about a guy who was driving a big semi and he was looking at his phone and he ran off the road. That's how I feel like a lot of people are right now. We're running off the road. We've lost our focus, we've lost our purpose because we're looking down all the time and really we should be looking up.

So we're starting a brand-new series based on the Gospel of Mark that I'm calling "The Gospel for Busy People." Another thing you could call it is "The Gospel for People with ADD," right? People with short attention spans. You see, Mark's Gospel is a very fast-paced series of truths laid out in this amazing book. He uses the word "immediately" 42 times. Mark uses the historical present tense 150 times. In other words: Jesus comes, Jesus heals, Jesus says, all in the present tense, not the past tense. It's almost like you are there. Mark almost reminds us of a breathless reporter giving us the events in real time as they're unfolding. I think this is a gospel we can all relate to today because it seems like we collectively have a short attention span.

So who is this guy, Mark? His full name is John Mark. He's the author of this Gospel and he is the nephew of Barnabas. You may remember Barnabas because he traveled with Paul. Let's just say that John Mark, who was much younger than the others, got off to a weak start. He was given the opportunity to go on a missionary journey with his uncle Barnabas and the great apostle Paul. I don't know what happened, but Mark got cold feet and wanted to go home. Maybe he was just homesick and he bailed on them.

So when they went on their next missionary journey and Barnabas suggested they take Mark along, Paul was opposed to it. "I don't want to take him along because he didn't stay with us on the last journey." This was a setback for Mark, but whatever happened, he was able to repair his relationship with Paul because later Paul writes of Mark in 2 Timothy 4:11, "He's been helpful to me in ministry."

Think about this guy. He's a kid. His uncle is Barnabas. He is a personal friend with the apostle Paul. Then add to this the fact that he was very close to Simon Peter. In fact, Peter refers to Mark as his son in 1 Peter 5:13. In fact, many believe that the Gospel of Mark was actually written by Mark but dictated by Peter. It is believed by many, and I happen to agree with them, that this is effectively the Gospel according to Peter.

Yet at the same time, Mark was there. He was a young man, but he did witness the ministry of Jesus. Later on in the book of Acts, we read that Peter was put in prison. You remember that story in Acts 12? They were praying for him, and Peter showed up at a house as an answer to their prayer because God delivered him from the jail. What house was that? That was the house of John Mark that he lived in with his mother Mary. This guy was right in the epicenter of so many biblical events that were so incredibly significant.

The reason that I bring all this up is Mark had a huge setback. He walked away from the apostle Paul and Barnabas at one point, but then he made a recommitment and he ends up being a bona fide Gospel author, quite a distinction. So maybe you've had a setback in life. Maybe you've done something you regret, maybe you bailed on something you had committed to, or you've had a lapse of faith. But know this: your setback can actually turn out to be a setup, and your test can be turned into a testimony.

When our nation, the United States of America, was forming, when we were still fighting with the British Empire, General Washington was put in charge of the Continental Armies of the United States, which was a ragtag collection of all types of people, ranging from farmers to common workers to people who were scholars. The point was it was a very interesting, undisciplined army. General Washington, who once was in the Queen's army, or I should say the King's army at that time, was a disciplined soldier and he was trying to lead this motley crew of troops.

One of the problems that he had was they would just walk off the field of battle with no explanation, with no warning. A good section of his army would disappear. It was Washington who, in his own words, described this group of people as "here today and gone tomorrow." He was at his wit's end. He didn't know how to rally these troops to fight for the independence of what would become the United States of America.

A friend of Washington's, a great patriot named Thomas Paine, wrote a simple little booklet called *The American Crisis*. I'm going to quote just a couple of lines from it and they'll probably sound familiar to you. Thomas Paine writes in his little booklet: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from service to their country, but he that stands now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

"These are the times that try men's souls." I think we're in another time like that right now in America, don't you? A time that is trying our soul. We're conflicted, we're divided, we're fighting with each other, almost in a way that I've not seen maybe in my lifetime. We just wonder how we're ever going to turn America around again. I think we need to be turning to God. The problem is, in the same way, we too still have our summer soldiers and our sunshine patriots, or I would put it a different way, our half-hearted Christians and our quasi-believers who are not really followers of Jesus as they ought to be.

So this is the time for us to rally. This is the time for us to get back in the battle and serve the Lord because we are in a spiritual battle in our nation today. So if you've fallen, if you've failed, if you've stumbled, God gives second chances. We certainly see that in the life of John Mark.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Guest (Female): Pastor Greg, my name is Anna. Two and a half years ago, I had a massive stroke and was fighting for my life. I spent several weeks in the ICU with my family by my side the entire time. Although I don't remember the first month in the ICU, my family told me how they played my favorite music along with your daily devotions because they knew I always listened to your messages. The hospital staff saw that my room was filled with worship music, your teachings, and prayer and petition from my family and friends. Apparently, even my anesthesiologist joined them in prayer before one of my procedures. Pastor Greg, thank you for your service to our Lord. God bless you.

Guest (Male): How have Pastor Greg's studies touched your life? Would you let him know? Send him an email: greg@harvest.org. That's greg@harvest.org. Pastor Greg has launched a new series in Mark today called "The Gospel for Busy People." Let's continue.

Greg Laurie: So the backdrop of the Gospel of Mark is the believers were suffering in Rome. Nero, the Caesar over Rome at that time, had declared war on the Christians. He had a hand in burning Rome down and then he blamed it on the followers of Jesus Christ who had nothing to do with it. So the Christians were forced to flee to the catacombs to survive.

Mark wanted to write a book that would encourage these believers. He wanted to show Jesus in the present tense, able to deliver them during their times of crisis. As the Bible says of God, He is a present help in times of trouble. So I hope as you might be going through your own difficulties, maybe you're being harassed for your faith, maybe you're being hassled for what you believe, I pray that this new series that we're doing in the Gospel of Mark will be a great encouragement to you.

So let's read some of this Gospel together. Grab your Bible or your phone or your tablet or wherever you have your Bible and read these words with me, if you would. I'm in Mark chapter one, I'm going to read verses one to eight, and by the way, this is from the New Living Translation.

"This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare the way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for Him!"' This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all of the people of Jerusalem, came out to see and hear John. They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. John announced: 'Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater,' says John, 'I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'"

We'll stop there. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He was a radical. He was a revolutionary. He was like a rockstar. Everybody wanted to see and hear John. As Mark writes, all of Judea, including the people of Jerusalem, went out to see John. You have to understand that John was not just a prominent figure, he was super prominent. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus actually wrote more about the life and ministry of John than he wrote about Jesus Christ Himself.

So John was a significant figure. You ask why? Well, understand, Israel had not heard from God for a long time. From the time of the last Old Testament book, the book of Malachi, to the emergence of John was 400 years. Think about that. Israel, which was so used to prophets and miracles and angels, hadn't heard from God for 400 years, and then seemingly out of nowhere, but right on God's schedule, emerges this colorful character, John the Baptist.

He had a simple job to do, which was to prepare the way of the Lord. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, the last of the Mohicans, if you will. Not only was he the last of the Old Testament prophets, he was the greatest of all of the prophets of the Old Testament. Jesus Himself said in Luke 7:28, "I tell you, of men born of women there has never been a greater prophet than John the Baptist."

Now, we read the story of John and we think, "Well, I understand he was a great prophet, but greater than Isaiah? Greater than Jeremiah? Greater than Elijah the prophet, who performed miracles?" John never called fire down from heaven. John never stopped it from raining. John never raised a person from the dead. John never wrote a great Old Testament book like Isaiah and others. So why was John the greatest of the Old Testament prophets?

Here's the answer. John and John alone was the direct herald and forerunner of Jesus. His greatness was a direct result of his nearness and connection to Christ. Despite this great calling on his life, despite this great popularity that he had, he was a really humble guy. Look at verse seven of Mark chapter one. He says, "Someone is coming who is greater than me, so much greater I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals." Let me update that. John is saying, "I'm not even worthy to tie his shoes."

He's so great, but John understood exactly what his role was. Even though he was a great public figure and very popular, his mission was to get out of the way and prepare people for Jesus. That's amazing. And guess what? That's our mission as well. You might say that John's motto was, "I must decrease and He must increase." Can you imagine if you put that on your mirror and you saw it as you're getting ready in the morning? "I must decrease and He must increase." Or if you put that on your Instagram account before you did a post? "I must decrease and He must increase." But that was John. He was setting the stage for Jesus.

Now Jesus enters the scene. Go back to Mark chapter one, look at verse nine. "It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and he was baptized by John, and immediately coming out of the water"—notice the way that Mark writes, "coming out of the water," not "he came out of the water," "coming out of the water." We're there. Mark puts us right there. He's this very urgent kind of a writer. Coming from the water, he saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven which said, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Now look at verse 12 of Mark chapter one. "Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness." The Spirit drove him into the wilderness. This is not suggesting Jesus didn't want to go. What it is saying is this was something that was urgent that the Holy Spirit was doing because this was something Jesus had to go through. So no time basking in the glory of God. This was straight to work, and that's pretty much the pacing of Mark. Jesus has a job to do.

But it also shows us something very important. Often trials or testings or temptations come after moments of great blessing. Here is Jesus in the Jordan River being baptized by John, having the Father say, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," and the Holy Spirit come upon him in the form of a dove. And immediately, right on the heels of that, he goes into the wilderness to face Satan. After the dove came the devil. After the blessing came the trial.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with the opening study in his new series in the Gospel of Mark, a series called "The Gospel for Busy People." And there's a lot more to come as this message collection continues here on A New Beginning. Pastor Greg, good opening insight from your series in Mark. Before we go any further, though, let's speak to the person listening who's never come to the point of entering into a relationship with the Lord. They're open to it, but they don't know what to do next.

Greg Laurie: Well, they just need to hear more. They need to hear what the essential Gospel message is, and I've got a great resource for you. We've set up a web page that's called knowgod.org, K-N-O-W-G-O-D dot org. You go there, I have a video presentation of how you accept Christ, lead you in a prayer, and then it links to other spiritual resources that will help you grow spiritually. So just go to knowgod.org. Do it right now.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg, we hear from listeners literally every single day and they confirm how this program is touching lives. In fact, take a listen to this comment.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg, thank you so much. For years I thought I was saved, but I come upon your message. I was in the gym working out and I was listening to one of your messages, and the message I was listening to was "Can You Lose Your Salvation?" and at the very end you said, "I'm going to ask you a question: did you ever have it?" And I went next door to the Walmart and I ran into my preacher and I told him what had happened, and he said, "What do you want to do?" and I said, "I want to get saved." He said, "When?" and I said, "Right here, right now." So I got saved in the produce section of Walmart because of your message. And I thank you because for years I thought I was saved and I wasn't. And I got saved and I got baptized, and for two years I've been living for Jesus and I thank you. Thank you for all that you do. You're a great blessing to me. Thank you.

Greg Laurie: Wow, what a beautiful story. Just think how he was reached. How would you normally reach a guy like that? That is what I love about radio is you can reach unexpected people in unexpected places with the unexpected message of the Gospel. And here's a guy who thought he was saved but actually he wasn't, and then he ran into his preacher. So the Lord orchestrated all of those circumstances.

And this is just a reminder why we do what we do. And I have to be honest with you, this is what really motivates me to continue on doing what I do, hearing stories like that. So I would encourage you to pray for us, but also to support us financially. In fact, some of you might even consider becoming a Harvest Partner. A Harvest Partner is someone who makes a commitment to support us on a regular basis financially. Every month they send a gift that we can depend on. And the reason that matters is that helps us to consider new opportunities to go to new places and reach new people like the gentleman we just heard from who committed his life to Jesus Christ at Walmart after hearing our broadcast. So prayerfully consider if you should become a Harvest Partner so we can continue to reach more people in more places.

Guest (Male): That's right. You can call us and we'll help you become a Harvest Partner. Our number is 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 number, so call anytime. Again, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org.

How long has it been since you've been tempted? Did you just look at your watch? Yeah, we're all tempted daily, often many times a day. Next time, Pastor Greg offers some important counsel on standing against temptation as his new series in the Gospel of Mark continues. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.