A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Some people comment about the challenges of living the Christian life. "It's so hard," they say. It's impossible to be a Christian. It's impossible for me to love my enemies. It is impossible for me to forgive someone who has hurt me. It is impossible for me to go the extra mile. I can't do it on my own. But through Christ, I can live this Christian life, and so can you.

Dave: Ever found yourself between a rock and a hard place with a home repair project? If you do this, the house catches fire. If you do that, the house falls down. So you call the guy—the guy who knows stuff. He comes in and turns the whatchamacallit right side up, and job done. Where can we find that kind of help to turn the rest of our lives right side up? Pastor Greg Laurie answers that today on A New Beginning. Good encouragement coming our way.

Greg Laurie: Well, today we're wrapping up our Jesus and You Old Testament series. In this series, we've looked at Jesus and His appearances in the Old Testament. Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and he was glad." So Jesus was effectively saying, "Look, people, I knew Abraham. I talked with Abraham." So we know that Jesus made an appearance in the Old Testament to Abraham.

We assume it was when Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his son in obedience to God and the Angel of the Lord appeared and stopped him. We believe that was not an angel at all, but it was what we call a Christophany, an appearance of Christ. Then we know that Jacob wrestled with an angel, who he later said he believed was God and he called the place "The Face of God" where he wrestled with this angel. We believe that too was another Christophany.

Jesus appeared to Joshua before he conquered Jericho. He also appeared to Gideon when he faced the Midianites. He made all these Old Testament appearances because Jesus is in the Old Testament concealed, and He's in the New Testament revealed. But now we come to this beautiful passage that tells us what His mission is, and it tells us more about His character. It's sort of like a diamond with many facets. You hold it up to the light, and you turn it around and you see something different from every angle.

In Isaiah 9:6, it shows us all of these facets of the diamond as we talk about Jesus. So let's start with the first part: "And His name will be called Wonderful." That takes care of the dullness of life. I want to thank Warren Wiersbe for his great outline on this particular verse in his book, *His Name is Wonderful*. So His name is Wonderful. That takes care of the dullness of life.

That word "wonder" can be translated as amazement, surprise, astonishment, admiration, bewilderment, worship. Maybe the best word to put in its place would be "awesome." His name will be called Awesome. Only God is really awesome, awe-inspiring. We sing "Our God is an Awesome God," and so we should. So His name is Wonderful, and that takes care of the dullness of life.

When Jesus came, the angels came to the shepherds and announced His birth. We read, "When the shepherds shared what had happened, all that heard it wondered at these things told them by the shepherds." Everything Jesus did was wonderful. His birth was wonderful. His life was wonderful. His death and resurrection were wonderful. Everywhere He went, He created wonder: walking on the water, healing the sick, even raising the dead.

The more you know of Jesus, the more you will say He is wonderful. All of that wonder will lead to worship and a desire to know Him better. Ordinary people experience extraordinary things because of the wonder of Jesus. His name shall be called Wonderful. Again, that takes care of the dullness of life. His name is Counselor. That takes care of the decisions of life.

Here is the Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, who is saying, "I want to be your Counselor. I want to reveal My will to you." And we turn to all these other places for direction. You know what some people will say? "Well, I'll just follow my heart." Okay, problem. The Bible says the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, who can know it? Your heart can mislead you. Your emotions and even your intuition can mislead you.

But God's Word will never mislead you. This is where you need to look for direction. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor. God wants to counsel you. When we read that, it just reminds us that God has a plan for our life. Did you know that? God has a specific plan for your life that is actually unfolding right now. He's going to reveal that plan as you study the Word of God.

So His name shall be called Wonderful, that takes care of the dullness of life. His name shall be called Counselor, that takes care of the decisions of life. His name is Mighty God. That takes care of the demands of life. When Jesus walked this earth, it's important for us to realize that He was the God-Man. Not man becoming a God—that's impossible—but God becoming a man and walking among us.

Here's a perfect illustration of it. One day, the disciples and Jesus climbed into a boat and went out to the Sea of Galilee, and a huge storm came. He was asleep in the lower part of the boat. What could be more human than being asleep from an exhausting day of hard work in ministry? So they woke Him up and said, "Jesus, we're going to die! Do something!" So He came up on the deck and He said, "Peace be still," and the storm stopped. What could be more divine than stopping a storm?

So there was Jesus walking among us, the man who wanted to tell us how to know God and the man who was God. It's an amazing thing, and He's the Mighty God, and He has this power for you. All power is given to Me, and He said, "Now go therefore into all the world and make disciples." He said, "You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Now, power's a very appealing thing, especially to men. Men like power, all kinds of power: horsepower.

Get some guys together with some cars: "How much horsepower you have under that hood?" I think the new Corvette ZR1 has a thousand horsepower. Where are you going to use a thousand horsepower? There's a Bugatti that has come out that supposedly has fifteen hundred horsepower and can go three hundred and fifty miles per hour. Where are you going to drive? I hope you don't get a speeding ticket. I think it's just bragging rights.

Or if you go to a gym with a bunch of guys, "How much can you bench? How much power do you have?" We talk a lot about power. But God wants to give us power to live this life because sometimes it seems difficult. Some will say it's really hard to be a Christian. And I would have to agree, it's hard. But I would take it a step further: it's impossible to be a Christian. It's impossible for me to love my enemies. It's impossible for me to forgive someone who has hurt me. It's impossible for me to go the extra mile. I can't do it on my own ability or my own power.

But then the Apostle Paul writes, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." No, I can't do this on my own ability or my own power, but through Christ I can live this Christian life, and so can you.

Dave: Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love to hear stories of how lives have been changed through the teaching of God's Word, like this one.

Guest (Female): Hi, Pastor Greg. I live in Kansas, and one of these days my hubby and I want to travel to come see you in person. Your messages have been such a blessing in our lives, helping me heal as I dealt with anxiety and deep depression. Listening to you preach God's Word helped me get through the battle, and now I feel renewed and free. God bless you, Pastor Greg.

Dave: Do you have a story to share with Pastor Greg? If so, would you let him know? Send him an email: Greg@harvest.org. That's Greg@harvest.org. Well, Pastor Greg is presenting his final message in his Jesus and You series today, a study called The Name That Changes Everything.

Greg Laurie: His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God. But you need to be plugged into that power. Now, if you have an electric car, you know you need to plug it in. Unfortunately, some people have tried to put gas in their electric cars. You don't want to do that. So you want to keep that car plugged in just like you plug in your phone, right?

As people get a lot of new gadgets and they're trying to figure out why they're not turning on or why they're not functioning, they'll call tech support. They'll be asked two questions. Number one, is it turned on? Number two, is it plugged in? It's incredible how many times it's not plugged in. "I don't know, I can't get this to work." "Is it plugged in?" "Well, of course... Oh, I didn't plug it in." It came unplugged somehow.

We get unplugged spiritually. How do we plug in? We plug in by reading His Word. We plug in through prayer. We plug in through being involved in church. We plug in in so many ways. His name shall be called Wonderful, that takes care of the dullness of life. His name is Counselor, that takes care of the decisions of life. His name is Everlasting Father. That takes care of the future of life. It's a reminder to us that as Christians, we will live forever.

Now I know that one day, if the Lord doesn't come first—and He could—we will die and we will be buried in the ground. But I also know there's a bodily resurrection. But even more, I know that the moment I take my last breath on earth, I take my first breath in heaven. This is the hope of the Christian. I have an Everlasting Father that will welcome me into eternity, and He will never abandon me, not in this life or the afterlife.

When you think of a father, you look at our country today with so many broken homes and absentee fathers. This is a great comfort. I read recently that according to the Pew Research Center, almost one-quarter—that's 23%—of children under 18 in the United States live with one parent, and specifically that's probably their mother. One expert said this is the first fatherless generation. Of course, you know when a father's not present, other issues are magnified.

Children from fatherless homes are statistically more likely to face economic hardship, behavioral problems, drug addiction, depression, suicide, and the list just goes on. I know a little about this personally because as you know, my mother was married and divorced seven times. She would marry some new guy who I'd never even seen before and she'd say, "Greg, this is your new father, call him dad."

Then I found out that the man that was on my birth certificate and listed as my biological father was not my biological father. I was a result of a one-night stand in Long Beach. I was not planned. It's a good thing I didn't get named Oops instead of Greg. But despite the fact that my mother didn't plan on having me, God has always had a plan for my life just as He has a plan for your life, right?

But of all the guys my mother married, she married one man that adopted me. His name was Oscar Laurie. He treated me as a father should treat a son. So when people ask me, "Who's your father?" I say Oscar Laurie's my father. He wasn't my father because he helped bring me into the world, he was my father because he chose to stand in my world, you see? And here's the thing. Even if you don't have a father, you can have father figures.

I think this is where the church can really shine. Men, I'm talking to you. You can be a father figure or a grandfather figure to a young person who maybe doesn't have a dad. I found a lot of that when I came to faith and godly men like Chuck Smith and others that were an example for me, someone for me to look to because I didn't have that growing up. The church can supply that. We can be the family that people don't have.

We can fill in those gaps for them. That's why the church is so important. That's why it's so important to be involved in church and not just show up and get out as quickly as possible. I know you don't like to get stuck in traffic. I understand that. But there's so much more to church than just coming, sitting, worshipping, hearing a message, and leaving. It's being engaged and being involved, and that is why we encourage you all to be in a small group.

As I've often said, some things are learned in rows and other things are learned in circles like in a small group where you can engage and ask questions and contribute to the conversation. So our church is a family, and we can make up for a family maybe you don't have biologically. It certainly did that for me. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. That takes care of the disturbances of life.

Life is filled with disturbances, isn't it? The storms of life that hit us. There's family troubles. There's work troubles. Relationship troubles. Health troubles. But Jesus the Prince of Peace says, "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You believe in God, believe also in me." So He can bring peace in the midst of our storm. Now this verse addresses our future. Look at verse six: "And the government will be upon His shoulder."

There's a bit of space in human history between "unto us a son is given" and "the government will be upon His shoulder." See, when Jesus came the first time, a lot of people misunderstood what He had come to do. They thought He was going to overthrow the power of Rome and free the Jewish people. But they missed those portions in the Old Testament that spoke of the suffering Savior, the Messiah who would come and die for the sin of the world.

They missed the graphic description of Isaiah 53 that showed us how Jesus would suffer. They missed that statement in Psalm 22 where it says they pierced my hands and my feet. You see, before He will carry the government on His shoulder, He would first carry the cross on His shoulder. So this part about the government upon His shoulder is in our future. It hasn't happened yet.

This will happen when Christ comes again in the second coming and establishes His kingdom on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Before He will wear that crown of glory, He had to first wear the crown of thorns. So these five names of Jesus represent five dimensions of what every believer needs. His name shall be called Wonderful, that answers our disillusionment. His name shall be called Counselor, that answers our confusion.

He'll be the Mighty God, that answers our weakness. Everlasting Father, that answers our loneliness. And finally, He'll be the Prince of Peace, that answers our turmoil. It's the name above all names: Jesus Christ. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is the Lord. Every emperor, every atheist, every president, every pop star, every person will bow before Him, including you and me.

As I mentioned earlier, this series is called Jesus and You. We've been talking about how Jesus engaged different people. It's fascinating to note that Jesus never dealt with any two people in exactly the same way. The way that He dealt with the woman at the well, a woman living an immoral life, is different than the way He dealt with the religious man named Nicodemus, which is different than the way He dealt with the tax collector Zacchaeus, which is different than the way He dealt with other people.

It was very personal, and that's what this is all about. You can have a relationship with God, you see? A personal relationship with Him where He comes and takes residence in your heart. You'll know it when He's there. So if I ask you right now, "Is Christ living in your life?" and you say, "I'm not sure," that would indicate that maybe He isn't. I mean, think about it this way: if somebody moved into your house at 3:00 in the morning, would you be aware of that, maybe?

Especially if they were cooking fish? I'm not suggesting Jesus is going to do anything like that, but what I'm saying is if someone is in your home, you'll know it. And if Christ is in your heart, you'll know it. And if you don't know it, maybe He's not there. You say, "Well, what do you mean, Christ in your heart? I don't know what that means." Well, you ask Him to come to be your Savior, your Lord, your God, your friend.

Jesus says, "I stand at the door and I knock. If any man will hear My voice and open the door, I will come in." And actually what He says is, "And I will sup with you." That's King James. We might update it and say, "I'll have a meal with you." We'll develop this relationship. Do you have that? If you don't, you can have it right now. You can ask Him to come into your life to forgive you of your sin. If you've never done this yet, I want to close by giving you this opportunity.

So you can know He's wonderful. So He can be your Counselor. So He can be your Mighty God. So He can be your Everlasting Father. So He can be your Prince of Peace. He's just a prayer away. Let's bow our heads and pray. Now Father, I pray for every person here, and if they don't know You, Lord, let this be the moment they believe. Let this be the moment they ask You to come into their life to be their Savior and Lord.

Now, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven, if you want Him to give you a second chance in life, wherever you are, pray this prayer after me. You could even pray it out loud if you like. Just pray, "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 repent of my sin now, and I choose to follow You from this moment forward. Be my Savior and my Lord, be my God and my friend. Thank You for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I ask this, Amen."

Dave: An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie. Today on A New Beginning, we've been talking about the good news, and some have just accepted that offer of forgiveness. If you've just prayed with Pastor Greg to accept Jesus as your Savior, first of all, let us welcome you into the family of God. Second, let us send you something free of charge to help you get started.

It's Pastor Greg's *New Believer's Bible*. It'll answer some of the questions you might have and help you build a strong foundation for your faith. And it's in an easy-to-understand translation. So ask for the *New Believer's Bible* as you call 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to harvest.org and click "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.

Dave: 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 write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, Pastor Greg is in studio with us to highlight some biblical principles to keep our marriages strong and vibrant so they can go the distance. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.