A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: There's nothing worse than a hypocritical Christian. We want to be the salt of the earth. How can we bring about change in our culture if the change isn't evident in our own lives?

Greg Laurie: Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to go the way as we show the way. The world is looking for authenticity. They're looking for you to be real. We must be before we can effectively speak. We need to practice what we preach and we are to be salt.

Song: This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Can you hear what the angels are singing? This is the day. This is the day when life begins.

Greg Laurie: We all have a bit of an actor inside us. Not the Broadway type or a movie star, but the kind who can muster up some enthusiasm when we need to. We might force a courtesy chuckle when someone tells a corny joke. But when it comes to our Christian witness, it's got to be the real deal. It's not about putting on a show, but about living a life of genuine faith. Today, on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us how to purify our character and let our light shine to those around us.

Song: This is the day. This is the day when life begins.

Greg Laurie: Did you know that the biggest celebrities in America today are not movie stars. They're not rock stars. They're not TV stars. They're media stars, specifically social media stars. They're called influencers.

Greg Laurie: Now, some social media people have a lot of followers, over 900 million. I looked it up to see who had the most followers. The number one person out there is Cristiano Ronaldo with 901 million followers. I didn't even know who he was. He's what they would call a footballer. We might call him a soccer player. And then there's Selena Gomez. She has 430 million followers. I've heard of her. Kyle Jenner, 399 million followers. Dwayne Johnson, The Rock. He has 395 million followers. Ariana Grande has 380 million followers. Funny thing, I got an Ariana Grande at Starbucks this morning and it was very good. And then Kim Kardashian has 364 million. Oh, is that all? You know, but that's a lot of followers.

Greg Laurie: And because of this, a lot of young people today are thinking, now, why would I want to go work over there when I could be an influencer and monetize my platform and make a living doing this. One study found that fortune and fame were the first and second goals of millennials. So what are your goals in life? Number one, fortune and fame. Number two, fortune and fame. Okay?

Greg Laurie: One in four millennials would quit their jobs to become famous. One in six preferred fame to having children. One in 12 admitted they would disown their family to be famous. We're taking it a little too far here. But why do we have this desire to be famous? Why would we want a lot of followers?

Greg Laurie: I think it's because deep down inside, we want our lives to matter. We want significance. We want to be noticed. I don't think those are bad things, by the way. But let's just say for the sake of a point, you had 900 million followers on your Instagram page. What would you say to them?

Greg Laurie: Well, I would post a photo of myself. Okay, what else? In my new outfit. Yeah, what else? I have some cool cat videos. Okay, really? Listen to this. You are an influencer. You have a platform and you have a following. Now it could be on social media, but in your world, you have a sphere of influence where you influence other people. So it really comes down to this. Are you a good or are you a bad influence?

Greg Laurie: Here's what Jesus said 2,000 years ago that is very relevant to this topic of influencing others. Matthew 5, starting in verse 13, he says, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people put a lamp under a bowl, instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine to others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." We'll stop there.

Greg Laurie: Salt and light. Why did Jesus use these two word pictures? Answer, because the world is a dark and corrupt place and it needs salt and it needs light. You know, despite all of our advances in every field from science and medicine, and education, and technology, we just go from bad to worse. Modern man has just found more ways to corrupt and destroy himself. We go from war to greater war, from crime to greater crime, from immorality to greater immorality, from perversion to greater perversion. We're just playing out the truth of this scripture that says, "The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, who can know it?"

Greg Laurie: You know, if you believe that man is basically good, you're going to be very disappointed in life. But once you accept the biblical premise that man is not basically good, man, and when I speak of man, I'm speaking of all humanity, we are sinners separated from God, and we have made things worse.

Greg Laurie: Okay, so you say, you're right, Greg, the whole world's going to hell in a handbasket. So let's isolate ourselves. Let's start a Christian city. And we'll live in Christian houses and eat in Christian restaurants and drive Christian cars and have Christian dogs and Christian cats. Maybe not Christian cats. But actually, I would not agree with that idea. Because the fact of the matter is, our job is not to remove ourselves completely from culture, but to influence it.

Greg Laurie: Bring me to point number two, some think that they can evade the culture through isolation. You know, you try to remove yourselves and your children from our culture, but your culture will find you. And so I think we need to do everything we can to prepare ourselves and our children to live in the real world as followers of Jesus Christ.

Greg Laurie: Sometimes Christian parents die on the wrong hills. And by that I mean, they major on minors and miss the big picture. I heard our son Jonathan say recently when he was speaking that he had a lot of friends that went to Christian school. And many of them have fallen away from the Lord. And he said, but I also know that many of them were really restricted. Their parents wouldn't let them listen to secular music, wouldn't let them watch movies, they couldn't watch cartoons unless it was Veggie Tales. And so it's very restrictive.

Greg Laurie: And he says, oh, my dad would drive me to school and we'd listen to the Beatles and the Doors and he would watch The Simpsons with me. I'm thinking, wait a second, is this good? Was I actually a horrible parent? Now I'm not advocating you watch The Simpsons. There are things on it that I wouldn't agree with, but here's my point. I like the Beatles, and I didn't like a lot of the music that we were supposed to be listening to. But I wanted to prepare him for the real world, and I would take these opportunities as teaching moments.

Greg Laurie: So if we're watching a cartoon or a movie or whatever it is, and there's something there that's contrary to what we believe as Christians, I'll talk about that to him. You know, Moses said the way to teach our children is when you get up in the morning, when you walk on the way, and when you go to sleep at night. So, more than just a set time of having devotions with your kids, you use what happens in life as examples to teach them how to live and walk and think and behave as a follower of Jesus Christ.

Greg Laurie: And so our idea is to infiltrate culture. I read an interview with a very well-known pop star. She said she was raised in a legalistic Christian home. Her parents banned all secular music and they couldn't even use phrases like deviled eggs and dirty devil. That's a vacuum cleaner, by the way. And she was restricted, she couldn't listen to any music and and so she rebelled. And she said I had no childhood. So that's not preparing your kids for the real world. I like what Jonathan said, he said, teach your kids the heart of God, not legalism, right?

Greg Laurie: And so we want to be the salt of the earth. Our goal as Christians is not to isolate, but to infiltrate and impact culture without being compromised by it. Let me say that again. Our goal as Christians is not to isolate, but to infiltrate and impact culture without being compromised by it. It's a tricky balance. Jesus put it this way in John 17, in his prayer to the Father, he said, "I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one, and I am sending them into the world." Wow.

Greg Laurie: Jesus is saying, I'm sending you into the world. So, we're effectively living behind enemy lines. As an old hymn says, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through." That's important to remember that.

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

Guest (Male): Emails, phone calls, and social media messages from listeners are so encouraging to us. And they let us know the effectiveness of these studies.

Guest (Female): Pastor Greg, I've given my whole self to Christ and continue to allow myself to be available to do what He asks. I stay in prayer and Bible study continually, and take up my cross and follow Him wherever that may be. Speaking the truth in love and giving wherever I can. I'm thrilled that I can be a harvest partner and a part of the discipleship community. Thank you.

Guest (Male): We appreciate those kind words, and we're only able to make these studies possible because of partners like this listener. Would you consider partnering with us? If so, you can make a donation online at harvest.org or write to us at A New Beginning, box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514.

Guest (Male): Well, Pastor Greg continues his message now from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, a study called, Make a Difference.

Greg Laurie: So here's point number three. As Christians, we need to invade, not evade the culture. Invade, not evade. So, we try to engage people, and they don't seem to be listening to us. And you might wonder why. You might say, hey, you know, I tried to talk to people about Jesus and they just terminate the conversation. Okay. What did you say to them? Well, I saw this unbeliever, and I said, hey, uncircumcised Philistine. Okay. There's part of the problem. That's a good way to burn a bridge.

Greg Laurie: Have you been washed in the blood, sanctified, justified, redeemed, and have you become a part of the body of Christ? And they turned around and walked away. They don't even know what you're talking about. You just told them to be washed in blood and get in some body. What? We cannot assume that our listeners today understand what we're talking about. America in particular has never been more biblically illiterate than it is right now.

Greg Laurie: Now I've been preaching 50 years, and people were more literate biblically when I started than they are today. And so I don't think we can assume that our listener understands even our terminology. We need to break things down, explain them, and try to find common ground with them and build a bridge to them.

Greg Laurie: Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I try to find common ground with everyone, so I can bring them to Christ. I do all of this to spread the good news." Another translation of that same statement of Paul goes as follows, "I am voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people, religious, non-religious, meticulous moralists, loose living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized, whoever." That's a good translation.

Greg Laurie: Jesus modeled this. He spoke to the woman at the well. She could be described as the loose living immoralist. And then he spoke with Nicodemus, a religious man who we could call a meticulous moralist. Paul and Mars Hill spoke to a secular audience there in Athens, Greece, while Peter on the day of Pentecost spoke to a largely religious audience, but they were adapting to their situation.

Greg Laurie: So, here at Harvest, our objective is to reach as many people as we can. Point number four, we need to bring them the message of the gospel. Now, when you bring the gospel message, know this, it's powerful. That's why Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel, it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes."

Greg Laurie: And the word that he used for power is a word that means explosive, okay? Not everyone's going to respond favorably to this message. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul says, "Wherever we go, the Lord uses us to tell others about him, and it's good news, like a sweet perfume, our lives are like a fragrance. But the fragrance is perceived differently from those who are being saved to those who are perishing." So to some it's a fragrance, to another, others not so much.

Greg Laurie: You know, some people wear too much cologne or perfume. Am I right? How do you know who they are? They're usually sitting by themselves because they come to church, all the seats around them are empty. If they give you a hug, you smell like whatever scent they were wearing two hours later. You smell like Chanel number five, and sadly, it was a guy. Okay, so, but it's like garlic. You know, garlic is great when you're cooking, but it's not so great on your breath afterwards, is it?

Greg Laurie: So, when we live as Christians, for some, it's a sweet fragrance, they love it. For others, they actually find what we say and do offensive. And so that's what Paul is saying, bringing me to point number five, before I can effectively tell them, I must first live it. There's nothing worse than a hypocritical Christian. The world is looking for authenticity. They're looking for you to be real. We must be before we can effectively speak. We need to practice what we preach and we are to be salt.

Greg Laurie: Let's go back to that statement of Jesus again. Verse 13. "You're the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It's no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot." Now, it's hard for us to understand what this means, but back in that day, salt was a valuable commodity. So valuable, in fact, that a Roman soldier would be paid in salt. Hence the expression, he's not worth his salt. So they valued salt in a great way, and salt has impact.

Greg Laurie: And today we season our food with it. If you have a sore throat, you might gargle with some warm salt water. It has an antiseptic quality to it, but what does salt do? Well, in that culture, it preserved. It preserved. Okay, so they didn't have refrigeration like we do today. They would rub salt into the meat to preserve it. And in the same way, we as Christians preserve. In other words, we stop the spread of evil by our mere presence. Why? Because we speak out against what is wrong. We speak up for what is true.

Greg Laurie: You might say that we're sort of a preserving influence in the world today. You just wait until the rapture of the church happens and look at how the world will go. Well, I hope you're not around to see it, because that would mean you missed the rapture. Now, some of you have never heard this word before, but the Bible speaks of an event that is coming, when the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up.

Greg Laurie: Caught up, it's the Greek word Harpazo. That's translated to the word rapture. So we're caught up in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Jesus said two will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Two are grinding at a mill, one is taken and the other left. Two are laying in a bed, one is taken and the other left. So here's how it goes. Here we are in the world, being salt, stopping the spread of evil, keeping the lid on things in a way. And suddenly the Lord calls millions of people who put their faith in Christ to heaven.

Greg Laurie: That is going to allow the spread of evil to happen quickly. And the Antichrist emerges on the scene, and the great tribulation period begins, and you see how that could all break out quickly with the removal of the church. Well, salt not only stops evil from spreading, but it stimulates thirst, doesn't it? When something's salty, you want water.

Greg Laurie: You go to the movie and you order popcorn. And by the way, why are there no longer milk duds in movie theaters? Have you noticed this? Every theater I've been to, no milk duds. What's with the milk duds being gone? I've had to smuggle in my own. You ever smuggle stuff into the theater? Big bottled water in your back pocket. Milk duds, three-course meal in a little wagon, you know. It's because they charge so much for everything.

Greg Laurie: Right? You order a bag of popcorn. They have the tiny little micro bag, and then the next bag is huge, and then there's one that's the size of a trash can. But you get free refills. I don't want free refills. But then you're eating your popcorn that's maybe a little too salty, and you go back and ask, can I get some water? We can't put it in cups. We're not allowed. But there's a drinking fountain over there. Come on, give me a break. But we'll sell you water. 30 gallons for $100.

Greg Laurie: But when you're a salty Christian in the best use of that word, you will stimulate in others a thirst for God. One of the greatest compliments people can pay to a Christian is when they ask, why are you the way that you are? But here's the problem. It's when we're not salty enough. Jesus says in Matthew 5:13, "If the salt loses its saltiness, what good is it? It's not good for anything." Not good for anything. Those are pretty heavy-duty words.

Greg Laurie: You know, people go and they order coffee. I would like a lavender latte, decaf, soy milk with extra syrup. Why don't you just go to 31 Flavors? You're not even ordering coffee anymore. What is that? You know, decaf. And there's decaf disciples, uncarbonated Christians, unsalty believers. And then you have no impact at all.

Greg Laurie: Pastor Greg Laurie with important insight on what it takes for us to make a real impact on the culture around us. Today's message titled here on A New Beginning, Make a Difference. And Pastor Greg will have an additional comment from the study before we close today.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg, let's pause for a moment and speak to someone listening who may feel like they're on the outside looking in. They like to listen and be inspired, but they've never taken that step of coming to the Lord and having their sins forgiven. What would you say to that person?

Greg Laurie: I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know, it doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen so quickly. It just starts with you saying to God, "I know I'm a sinner. I know that you love me. I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and paid for those sins and then to rise again from the dead, and I want Him to come into my life."

Greg Laurie: So here's my question to you, have you done that yet? Because Jesus, who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead, three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now and He's knocking. And He's saying, "If you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in." Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die, you will go to heaven? Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so, why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me.

Greg Laurie: You could pray it out loud. You can pray it in the quietness of your own heart, but pray this prayer to God. Say, "Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, but I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. I ask all of this in Jesus name, amen."

Greg Laurie: Listen, if you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says, "If we will confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So, God bless you. You've made the right decision, the decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And as you begin to live this new life, we want to send you something to help you get started off right. It's Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible. It's an easy to understand translation, plus hundreds and hundreds of study helps, especially for those who are new to the faith. It'll answer the questions you may have. So get in touch for the New Believers Bible. We'll send it to you free of any charge. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click No God.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg, America celebrated its 250th anniversary this year, as everybody knows. These milestones are really a great time to look back and see all God has done, you know, what He's done in keeping us free and keeping us safe. You know, as the song says, God has shed His grace on us. And we're so thankful that we get to speak of God's grace openly on the airwaves in this country. And we do. We do. It's part of our mission here at Harvest to speak of God's grace, His mercy and His forgiveness. Isn't that right?

Greg Laurie: It's very true. And I don't think we as Americans should ever take our freedom to do what we do for granted. You know, our founding fathers fought a war, the Revolutionary War, so that freedom could be experienced by a nation. Then we fought another war, the Civil War, so everyone would have access to these freedoms and these dreams.

Greg Laurie: And so I think it's very important for us to take full advantage of it. And I'm just thankful that I can go on radio, and I can teach the word of God. I can proclaim the gospel without fear of reprisal, and tell as many people as possible about Jesus Christ. And just a little side note, you know, when we get to an election, always vote for those candidates that are going to encourage that free speech that we have and those important values that we all hold like the value and importance of the family, the value of life, the unborn and so forth.

Greg Laurie: But I just want to say to all the folks out there, thank you for standing with us. Thank you for praying for us, and thank you for investing in our ministry. Because when you do that, you don't just give to us, you in effect give through us to reach other people. So we encourage you to continue in your generosity and investment in this ministry, so we can continue to enjoy this great freedom we have as Americans to teach God's word and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, yeah, that's right. And we hope people might even consider joining us as a Harvest Partner. What exactly is a Harvest Partner?

Greg Laurie: Yes, a Harvest Partner is somebody that stands with us on a regular basis, even a monthly basis. Some give more, some give less, but a Harvest Partner says, I'll keep giving on a consistent basis. And the reason that's important is when we know we have those consistent supporters, our Harvest Partners, it enables us to make decisions about new places to go to, new places to air our broadcast in. So they play a crucial role. So I encourage you to become a Harvest Partner. So let's tell them how to do that.

Guest (Male): Yeah, it's very easy. Just grab your phone and call 1-800-821-3300. We can take care of all the details quickly while we have you on the phone. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org.

Guest (Male): Well, next time, more on the importance of being salt and light for the kingdom. But before we go, Pastor Greg closes today's study this way.

Greg Laurie: Years ago, we were traveling to Europe. We were speaking at some pastor's conferences and and I bought something called a backpack stroller. Because Jonathan was a little guy, and I had to put him in a stroller and then I had a backpack to carry him around. And I didn't want to take all of that hardware overseas. So I said, well, this is a great idea. It's one device that does both a backpack stroller. And I didn't test it out until I got there. And I opened this thing up and it was the worst design object of all time. Because you had to hold it up the whole time. There were no back wheels. So, you're in the little stroller, but there's no back wheels, so you can't lay it down. So you have to hold it. And I thought, this is impractical.

Greg Laurie: And then when I put it on in the backpack form, the wheels dug into my back. So I discarded it. It was worthless. And we still to this day use that expression, when we look at something that doesn't seem to be working, and we'll say, it's a backpack stroller. A backpack stroller. An unsalty Christian. And so we want to be the salt of the earth.

Song: This is the day. This is the day when life begins.