A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: God's delays are not necessarily His denials. The Bible says He makes everything beautiful in His time. And it's hard for us. Maybe you're waiting for God's answer to a prayer right now. Well, coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie offers helpful perspective. We're used to instant results, quick fixes, overnight delivery. We want that drive-through answer to prayer. You give the prayer, you get the answer right there. And sometimes, He takes His time, His perfect time.

Guest (Male): Ever look at a puzzle piece and try to guess the whole picture? It's nearly impossible until you step back and see the top of the box. Well, so it is with life. We see just a piece, often a painful piece, but God sees the big picture. His perspective is higher and His timing is better. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us how to trust God even when life doesn't make sense. If you've ever felt stuck or confused, clarity and hope are just ahead.

Greg Laurie: Well, we've probably all had it happen, that unexpected knock at your front door later at night. You're thinking, "Oh, maybe it's just the 48th Amazon delivery this week." But then maybe you open the door and it isn't that at all. It's bad news. Or that late-night phone call and your heart starts thumping and you're hoping and praying it's not going to be bad news, but it is. And you find out that someone you love, someone you care about has died, and death has come knocking.

You know, death doesn't care who you are. It doesn't ask for your permission. It doesn't ask you to check your calendar. It just comes. Death doesn't care if you're a barista or a bartender, a CEO or a janitor. It knocks at every door—the famous and the unknown, the rich and the poor. Everyone has to face it eventually. It's been said the statistics on death are quite impressive: one out of every one persons will die. And that's true.

Of death, Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple, made this statement and I quote, "No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it." Woody Allen had a more humorous take on it when he said, "I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens." I understand that.

Actor William Shatner, who is best known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek series, made this statement, "I am not ready to die. It petrifies me. I go alone. I go to a place I don't know. It might be the end. I become nameless when I have spent a lifetime being known." I like Denzel Washington's take on death when he said, "Live your life so that when you die, the only thing left for people to say is, 'Wow, that was a man of God.'" That's pretty cool, isn't it?

So, we live in a generation that is in denial of the reality of death, or maybe they use word games to change it. When someone dies, we don't say they died. We say, "Well, they expired." Well, that's good for a carton of milk in the fridge, but yeah. Or "they passed on." The undertaker we call a mortician. The coffin is a casket. The graveyard is a memorial park. Call it whatever you like, death is real.

And death is the enemy. It really is the enemy. In fact, it was never God's plan for us to die. When He put our first parents in the Garden of Eden, in a literal paradise, they were only given one restriction which they violated, of course, and death entered the human race and it spread to all of us. But there was never that intention from God. One day in heaven, we'll be in that pain-free environment. But of course, mankind rebelled against God, sin came with it, and death came with it as well.

So I want to look at a story in the Bible of three people who dealt with death. One actually died; his name was Lazarus. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. They were a tight-knit family. They were personal friends of Jesus. Now others may have claimed it, but they could say it legitimately. Jesus Christ visited their home often. They lived in Bethany, which is striking distance from Jerusalem. So he would often stop, show up with His disciples. Martha, known for her great culinary skills, would whip up a feast in the kitchen and everyone would enjoy that time.

But they really were friends of the Lord, and their brother got very sick. And so they sent word to Jesus. And that's where we pick the story up. I'd like you to read along with me, John chapter 11, verse one. "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.'"

We'll stop there. We're going to read a bunch more, but we'll stop at this moment. What do we learn from this story? Number one, life is filled with pain, sorrow, and the death of loved ones. You're thinking, "Really? Is that a real point? I have to write that down?" Well, you don't have to write it down. I would also say life is filled with joy, happiness, and the birth of new loved ones, isn't it? But we can't deny the fact that in life, we're going to have to face pain and sorrow and the death of loved ones. It shouldn't shock you when it comes knocking at your door.

First Peter 4:12 says, "Beloved, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing were happening." Now, when you are younger, you don't understand this. I remember distinctly when I was a very young kid, I would look at all these elderly people and I would think, "Where did these people come from?" And then one day you wake up and you're one of them.

Levi Lusko is here with us. Where are you, Levi? He's right here in the front row. Levi said to me earlier, "Please draw attention to me." No, he did not. It's the very opposite; he didn't say that. But we go back a long ways, Levi and I. I met him when he was a very little guy, and even when he was small, he knew God was calling him to be a preacher.

And it's a funny thing because his father Chip, who's gone on to be with the Lord, used to listen to cassette tapes. That dates it. Remember cassette tapes? Okay, so they were cutting-edge technology once upon a time. And there was a message I gave on David, and it was called, I think, just David Part Two or something like that. And so Levi overheard his father listening to it, and he said, "Dad, can I listen to that?" And he ended up listening to it every night before bed.

So we're just talking and he was talking about how he's now in his 40s. He's thinking about life and where he's going in life and what's happening in his life. He's aware that he's not as young as he used to be. And then he said, "You know, most people die when they're 72." I said, "Did you know I'm 72? Did you have to pick that exact number?" He said, "Well, that's globally. You see, in the US they live longer, but globally most people die at 72."

But that's okay. See, I can make jokes about things like that because I'm not afraid to die. Now, I don't want to die. I'd like to get to heaven some other way, and maybe I will. It's called the Rapture of the church. You ever heard of that? There is a generation that will not see death. They'll be caught up into the presence of the Lord in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Bible says. So I would like to go to heaven that way. But you know, however God chooses—death or Rapture, Uber, taxi—I don't care as long as I get there.

And I know I will go to heaven when I die. Why? Because you're a good Christian? I don't even like that phrase, "good Christian." People say, "They're a good Christian." I'm not a good Christian. I'm a bad Christian. But I have a good God who's forgiven me of my sins. But I fall short, I mess up. But at the same time, I know I'm going to heaven, not because I'm a good Christian, but because I have a good God who has saved me. And we can all have that hope.

But yes, life is filled with pain and sorrow and the death of loved ones. And it's hard. You know, we know our grandparents will die, then our parents. But then it shocks us when maybe someone our age dies. Maybe it's a sibling, maybe it's a spouse, maybe it's a close friend. It's sort of a wake-up call to you that you need to think about your own mortality.

And I think it's a good thing to think about these things. You know, in the ancient days, they used to write this phrase over all legal documents: "Memento mori," which means "think of death." And that was not meant in a morbid way. It was meant in a realistic way like, "Hey, here's your bank account, here's how much money you have, but think of death." In other words, one day you're going to leave it all behind. As I've said before, you've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer. You leave it all. And so we want to consider that and think about things like that because only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody, you can watch our Sunday services on a special project that we call Harvest at Home. It's streaming on the Harvest Plus platform. So download that app right away, Harvest Plus, and you can enjoy being a part of our extended church family every Sunday. Well, the hard truth in point number one of Pastor Greg's message today: life is filled with pain, sorrow, and the death of loved ones. He continues now with his study called Jesus and the Heart that Grieves.

Greg Laurie: Point number two: God loves us even when we suffer. Mary and Martha were hurting. They asked Jesus to do something. They probably thought He would just rush to their side and put His hand on Lazarus. Jesus could even speak the word and Lazarus would have been healed. But Jesus effectively takes His sweet time. So by the time He does arrive to where Lazarus is, he is not just sick. He's died.

But yet it's interesting how they appeal to the Lord and they say, "Lord, the one that You love is sick," or a better translation would be, "Lord, Your dear friend is very sick." But Mary and Martha give us an excellent example of what to do in times of crisis. What to do when you're in need. They brought their troubles to Jesus.

When the Israelites criticized and turned against Moses, we read in Exodus 15, he cried unto the Lord. Is someone criticizing you right now? Just take it over to the Lord. When Hezekiah received a threatening letter, we read that he spread it out before the Lord. When John the Baptist was beheaded, his disciples went and told Jesus. That's the best thing to do. You have a crisis, you have a difficulty, you have a challenge, go and tell Jesus. Why? Because he's a very present help in time of trouble, the Bible says. He will be there for you.

They could have said, "Hey, Lord, come on man, You owe us. You came over to our house all the time. We always had food for You. We had a place for Your disciples to crash." That's an old 60s term, to crash. I don't know if it even makes sense, to stay. But they didn't lean into that and say, "We did something for You, therefore You must reciprocate." Just, "The one You love is sick."

Let's see what happens. John 11, verse four. "When Jesus heard about it, He said, 'Lazarus' sickness will not end in death. No, it will happen for the glory of God so the Son of God will receive glory from this.' So although Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He stayed where He was for the next two days. Finally He said to His disciples, 'Let's go back to Judea.'" He loved them, yet He delayed arriving at their home to help them through this.

God's delays are not necessarily His denials. The Bible says He makes everything beautiful in His time. Now, I like to make everything beautiful in my time. And my time is fast. I want it and I want it now. And it's hard for us. We're used to instant results, quick fixes, overnight delivery. We want that drive-through answer to prayer. You give the prayer, you get the answer right there.

And sometimes the Lord does answer quickly, and other times He takes His time, His perfect timing. But He's looking at the big picture; we're looking at the small picture. He's looking at the eternal; we're looking at the temporary. We're looking at the here and now; He's thinking of the by and by. So what did Jesus do? He waited. He didn't wait for minutes or even hours. He waited for days. And when He arrived, Lazarus had already died. Needless to say, Mary and Martha were devastated and disappointed.

Listen to what happens. John 11, look at verse 20. "Then Martha, as soon as she heard Jesus was coming, went and met Him. Mary was sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You would have been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know whatever You ask of God, He'll give it to You.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Jesus said to him, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.'" Then He adds this line, "Do you believe this?"

Wow, what a statement. What a moment. And it's a reminder for us as Christians that death is not the end. It's a transition from this life to the afterlife. Death does not have the final word; Christ does. And His final word to us is, "He that lives and believes in Me shall never die." I have quoted this verse to those who have lost loved ones. I've quoted this verse to myself because I forget.

A number of years ago, it wasn't long after my son Christopher had gone on to be with the Lord, I was driving and something triggered a memory about him. And I actually said, "I'll never see him again. I'll never hear his voice again." And then I said this to myself, "Shut up, Greg." You know, someone has to tell me to shut up, right? You've wanted to say it to me; I said it to myself. "Shut up, Greg." And then I said, "Listen to what Jesus says." I'm quoting this to myself. I probably looked like a crazy man driving. "Shut up, Greg! What?" He's schizophrenic. He's 72, he's losing it already, you can see.

I said Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." And as I was quoting the verse to myself, I was suddenly lifted up above my despair. The scripture corrected my thinking, and it will do that for you as well.

But really, what is Martha saying to Jesus? "Kind of let us down here, Lord. We were kind of depending on You." In fact, we—and I don't know this factually, but she might have been bragging. "Hey, Jesus, we're close. Look, He follows us on Instagram. Look at this. We're really close for real. Look at the pictures I have with Jesus. He'll get here. He'll heal our brother. You'll see, you'll be amazed. He's incredible." He doesn't show up. He even misses the funeral.

So she says, "If You would have been here, my brother would not have died." But then there's that element of faith: "But I know whatever You ask of God, God will give it to You." This is a reminder that you can be honest to God in your prayers. I think sometimes people think that prayers need to be tidy and formal and impressive. No, prayers need to be honest and heartfelt and directed to God.

Read the Psalms of David. Many of them are filled with praise, but many are also filled with what we might describe as lamentation, pain, crying out to God. But often in a single Psalm, David will talk about what's troubling him and what he thinks is unfair and what should be done to his enemies, then remind himself to rejoice in the Lord and give glory to God, sort of correcting his own thinking. But they're heartfelt cries to God and that's what a prayer should be. Do you think anything you're going to say to God will surprise Him? He knows your innermost thoughts. So I love the honesty of Martha and later of Mary, who says effectively the same thing.

So maybe you've felt this way. Go ahead and tell God how you feel. Verbalize what you're going through. If you're having a doubt, tell God you have a doubt. It's okay. Now you might say, "Well, God, why? Why did this happen to me?" That's always the question. Why did this happen? And that's a question that you just really can't answer. Nor should we try. I think as Christians, we do want to try to help people, so sometimes we try to explain things to people that we know nothing about. We need to just say, "I'm so sorry. I love you. I'm praying for you. I'm here for you." That's it.

I remember Steven Curtis Chapman, who lost a little daughter in a tragic accident, said one of the things that helped them the most was when someone just said, "There are no words." It's good. But we know the Bible. The Bible says... okay, yes, I agree, but there's a time and a place for everything. You know, when Job's friends showed up and this poor guy's covered head to toe in boils and abject misery, we read that they just sat there and said nothing. That was great. It's when they started talking that all the problems started. Because they said all kinds of crazy things that were not true and not helpful, and in fact, were actually a bit on the hurtful side. So cry out to God. Tell God what you're feeling. You can ask Him why. Jesus from the cross said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That's Jesus Christ Himself. Ask God why. Don't expect an answer necessarily. And if God were to tell you why, do you think you'd be satisfied? "All right, I'm tired of you asking. I'm going to tell you. Here's why." "Well, I don't agree." No, you probably wouldn't agree. So we live on promises, not explanations.

Guest (Male): Such good insight for the challenging times from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. And there's more to come from this message. But Pastor Greg, maybe someone has joined us today who's facing one of these puzzling times, these times of heartache. And maybe they don't feel particularly close to God. They've never come to God for help before. They don't count themselves as religious, but boy, they could sure use some help about now.

Greg Laurie: Yes, sometimes God will let us go through hardships so He'll get our attention. The Psalmist said, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I have kept Your word." So maybe something's happening in your life that's caused you to look up, as in looking up to God and you're saying, "Help." Listen, that's not a bad place to be. In fact, that's a really good place to be. It's been said when you get to the end of yourself, you get to the beginning of God. Do you feel like you're at the end of yourself right now? Then why don't you pray?

In fact, I would like to lead you in a prayer. Maybe you've never prayed before. You don't even know how to start praying. That's okay. Prayer is just talking to God. Let me lead you in a simple prayer. You can pray it after me, in fact. And this is a prayer where you're asking God to enter into your situation, but more significantly, you're asking Christ to enter into your life. See, that's what being a Christian is. It's having Christ living inside of you. It's a relationship, not some religious thing. So if you would like a relationship with God, if you would like God to walk with you through your times of difficulty, you could pray this prayer after me right now. Just pray these words if you would.

Lord Jesus, I'm scared and I need Your help. And I'm asking You to enter my life. I'm asking You to forgive me of my sin. I know that You died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. But I want to receive You now as my Savior and my Lord. So I invite You into my life and I choose to follow You from this moment forward. Thank You for hearing this prayer and thank You for answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. And listen, if you have just prayed that prayer along with Pastor Greg and you've meant those words sincerely, the Lord has heard you and has forgiven you of your sin. And we want to welcome you into the family of God. Let us help you begin living for the Lord each day. Pastor Greg would like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It's in an easy-to-understand translation and has scores of helps to get a new believer started. So get in touch and we'll send you the New Believer's Bible free of charge. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words "Know God."

You know, Pastor Greg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.

Greg Laurie: Yeah, it's really true, Dave. And even a little bit helps. You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it and I'm called to do it and I'm thankful for it, but I can't do it alone. So I'm going to ask folks that are listening, if you think more people need to hear the gospel, if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the word of God, then prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner, which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So thanks for that.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, as Pastor Greg continues his series Jesus and You, he'll have more insight from this message called Jesus and the Heart that Grieves. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.