A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: The key to the Christian life is commitment to Christ in a lifetime of growth. It's consistency.

Guest (Male): Some people are wired more for resistancy and distractioncy. But today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out discipleship requires some focused effort.

Greg Laurie: One person defined the Christian life as long obedience in the same direction. Because it's not enough to walk forward, you have to go forward spiritually.

Guest (Male): When was the last time you were the newbie on the job? The new guy or gal just hired. If you were fortunate, you had someone come alongside you to show you the ropes. Because if you don't know anything, it's hard to do anything.

Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how we tutor new believers through a process called discipleship. It's a process of spiritual duplication, where older believers give the younger an example to follow, a paradigm for success.

Greg Laurie: Okay, we're in our Timeless series. And I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 28 and the title of my message is Discipleship, the next step in following Jesus.

Because it's not enough to walk forward, you have to go forward spiritually. The key to the Christian life is commitment to Christ and a lifetime of growth. It's consistency. One person defined the Christian life as long obedience in the same direction.

So I've tried stand-up paddling. How many of you have ever done stand-up paddling? A few of you. And so I've tried, but I'm not very good at it. My wife immediately was great at it. She got on the board, she's paddling, catching waves, cutting across the wave. I'm still trying to just stand on it without falling.

And I've noticed that if I have a little momentum, it helps me a little bit. So it comes down to this: stall and you fall. So if you stop, you're just going to fall over, so you have to keep moving, right? The same could be said of the Christian life. Stall and you fall. Keep growing as a believer. Being a Christian is more than just getting fire insurance. Oh, that's pretty awesome.

If all salvation was, was a promise that you will not go to hell, it would be worth getting saved for that alone. Is that right? But it's far more than that. It's a relationship with God that lasts a lifetime. And it's growing in this relationship with God as well.

Not just following Him as your friend or even just your savior, but as your Lord and your God. But some people don't seem to get this. They're still in what you might describe as a baby-like state.

I love babies. They're so cute. I don't like to change their diapers, but everything else I like. And it's wonderful to watch them grow, their first words, their first steps. Everything they do is just adorable, isn't it?

And then I can think of my own children and think of my grandchildren now and and all of those great moments in their life. The first time a baby or really a little toddler now is beginning to eat, they feed themselves. You know, you feed them at first, now they're beginning to feed themselves. I remember the first time I gave my son Jonathan ice cream. He was still a baby.

Um, it wasn't the right thing to do, but I did it. I didn't tell Cathy about it till later. But I can tell you this much. I took a little spoon, dipped it in some vanilla ice cream, I put it in his little baby mouth and I'm telling you, he smiled. He loved it. Not a good idea to give a baby sugar and vanilla at that early age, but, you know, this is the great moments when we watch our kids discover these things for the first time. But sometimes people never grow up. You can't stay a baby for your whole life.

When I was in school, on more than one occasion, I would have a teacher say to me, "Greg Laurie, will you just grow up?" And it's because I was always causing distractions and getting in trouble and making fun of people, et cetera. So I would say the same to all of us. It's time to grow up because some believers have never done that. When I was a kid, there was a cartoon that was very popular. It was a character named Baby Huey. Do you remember Baby Huey? He's a big giant duck in a diaper that never grew up.

Sadly, some Christians are like Baby Huey. They've known the Lord for years, but they've never had any spiritual maturity. In Hebrews 6, we read, "Let's stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let's go on instead and become mature in our understanding." It's time to grow up.

And this is the role of a pastor. We want to help you grow up. We want to help you mature. It's a role of a parent. By the way, parents, you need to be parents. Your child doesn't need you to be their best friend. They need you to be their mother and their father, right? That's very important.

Audience: [Applause]

Greg Laurie: You have to tell them what's right, you have to tell them what's wrong, you have to warn them, you have to correct them. And they don't like it. They'll fight you, they'll resist you, they'll resent you, and one day they'll thank you. And then they'll have their kids, and you will see your revenge. Because it'll happen to them, right?

But that's my job as a parent, and that's our job as older believers is to find younger believers and help them to grow and mature. You know, I've noticed that a lot of couples today aren't having children. Instead, they're having dogs. And they think of dogs as their children. I'm just getting weird, okay?

Listen, let me just say this at the outset. I'm a dog lover. I like dogs. I've had many dogs over the years. Uh, I don't have one at this moment, but I love dogs, but I don't worship dogs. And I think for some people, it's almost become a little strange. They take their dogs to the restaurant. They have their dogs at the table. They feed their dogs from the table. They take their dogs on the airplane. They push their dogs in strollers.

I saw someone pushing a cat in a stroller the other day. I'm not making any of this up. It's just getting out of control. They build their life around the dog. I was inviting someone to church the other day. "Won't you come out to church sometime?" "We'd like to, but we can't leave the dog alone." Oh, really? Is it your dog or is it your God? I don't know. But maybe you need to get your priorities in order.

You know, I saw a mom in the park and her dog was loose and she had her child on a leash.

Audience: [Laughter]

Greg Laurie: And I asked the child, "What do you think about this?" And the child bit me. Okay, so.

Audience: [Laughter]

Greg Laurie: No, but we were walking in a park the other day, my wife and I. It was actually quite a long time ago. But we're walking along and and some lady's approaching us, walking her dog on the leash, right? So I always go around. I don't care, I always, even if it's on a leash, I'll give them space. My wife just stays on a little path, walks by. Guess what? That little dog bit her right on the calf. And uh, not badly, but enough to break the skin. And uh, so from that moment on, we called it Dog Bite Park. So now we'll even say, "You want to go over to Dog Bite Park?"

So that, you know, it's just something, here's something I want to say to dog owners, maybe no one's ever going to say this to you, so I'm going to say it. Number one, we don't like your dogs that much, okay?

Audience: [Laughter]

Greg Laurie: Keep them on a leash. Don't let the dog run loose because it's kind of scary when a dog comes running at you. You don't know what its intentions are. Number two, when your dog relieves itself, pick it up. We're watching you.

Audience: [Laughter]

Greg Laurie: Don't leave it.

Audience: [Applause]

Greg Laurie: Because I've stepped in it more than once, right? And then cats, don't get me started on cats. You know, I'm not a cat lover. I had a friend say to me, "You know, cats always land on their feet." I said, "Not the way I throw them, they don't."

Audience: [Laughter]

Greg Laurie: Okay, enough on that. One last word about cats, I'm done. Ever heard of the famous designer Karl Lagerfeld? Uh, he died recently. He left millions of dollars of his fortune to his cat, Choupette. I think I'm pronouncing it properly. This, you know, get a grip.

We need to put as much energy into helping a new believer grow that we put into our dogs or our cat.

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

Greg Laurie: You know, I've heard people describe a trip to Israel as seeing the Bible actually come to life. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie, and I've been to Israel many times and I've led a lot of tours and I have to say that's absolutely true. Listen, when you're walking on the same stones that Jesus himself walked on, well, that's something that's enriching to your faith. It's not just a travel experience, it actually energizes and enhances your study of the Bible. Think of it this way, it's a vacation with a purpose. And we're going to be taking a tour of Israel, April 6th to 15th, 2027. You can find out more at israel.harvest.org.

Guest (Male): Step right into biblical history. Join Pastor Greg for a tour of the Holy Land, April 6th through 15th, 2027. Get details at israel.harvest.org.

Guest (Male): Well, Pastor Greg is helping us understand what discipleship is all about today in a message from his series called Timeless.

Greg Laurie: So let me tell you some things now that new believers need. And I'm addressing these remarks to two groups of people. Number one, to new believers. But I'm also addressing my remarks to older believers because this is what you need to do for younger believers. And I found a great little outline in a book called The Lost Art of Disciple Making by Leroy Eims. I recommend that book to you, by the way, but he had some great points, so I'm using some of his points. He pointed out number one, the new believer needs acceptance.

They need acceptance. When someone comes to Christ, they need to know that they're accepted by God. So let me say this to you. If you're a new believer, you are accepted by God. He loves you. He accepts you. In fact, the Bible even says you've been made acceptable in the beloved. There's nothing you need to do to earn God's favor. You have it already. And there's nothing you need to do to earn his love. You have that as well. But we need to say to new believers, we we accept you. We welcome you. Because you know what? New Christians have a lot of rough edges. They haven't learned the new Christian vocabulary yet. In fact, they might have a few words left over from their old vocabulary that will pop up now and then. Be patient with them. Be loving toward them. I think of how little I understood when I came to Christ. And thankfully, there were people that were accepting.

Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 2:8. He said, "We loved you so much. We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well because you'd become so dear to us." Number two, a new believer needs assurance. They need assurance. They need to know that they're saved. Remember the devil came to Adam and Eve in the garden. And what was his first temptation? Challenging the word of God. He says, "Did God really say what you thought God said?" And that's what the devil will do with the new believer. They've accepted Christ, and Satan will whisper in their ear, "Do you really think Christ has come into your life? Do you really think after all you've done that your sin is forgiven?" So we need to assure them. First John 5 says, "These things we write to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." They can know and we need to assure them, and if you're a new believer, we want to assure you as well.

Number three, the new believer needs protection. They need protection. Paul writes to the believers in Galatia in Galatians 4:19, "Dear children, I feel as though I'm going through labor pains for you and they'll continue until Christ is fully developed in your life." You know, they're like babies again. And when you go to a hospital, they'll sterilize everything, especially around the little babies. Because life is so fragile, it must be protected. New believers are vulnerable to their own emotions. They don't understand it when they had a sense of euphoria when they accepted Christ and two days later, it's gone. Maybe they thought, "Oh, it'll always be this way," but it won't. You'll have days where you don't feel anything, right? So we need to say, "That's okay, that's normal, nothing bad has happened." You need to learn how to walk by faith, not by feeling, because the Bible says the just shall live by faith. New believers are also vulnerable to false teachings. We have to ground them in scripture. And old friends are going to show up that will try to drag them down. And old girlfriends and old boyfriends will suddenly materialize and temptations they never had will suddenly appear.

I remember when the Christians told me, "Greg, you're going to be tempted by the devil." And first of all, I didn't even know there was a devil. I'd never heard of such a thing. Wait, there's a devil? I just heard there was Jesus. Oh, there's a devil. He's going to tempt you. I said, "How will I know when I'm being tempted?" They said, "You'll know." Okay. So I was brand new in the faith, I mean, literally days old. I had a little button on my shirt. It was a little picture of Jesus on it. I'm wearing my little Jesus button. I'm sitting in class. And there was a very attractive young lady sitting toward the front of the class. I'd noticed her before, but I'd never talked to her because clearly this girl would not talk with someone like me. And at the end of the class, she walks up to me and says, "Hi, what's your name?" And I momentarily forgot my name. I said, "What is it? Oh, it's Greg. Yes, I'm Greg." She said, "You're really cute." I thought, "What?" You're really cute. I'm like, "Who are you talking to me?" And she said, "You know, my parents have a house up in the mountains, would you like to spend the weekend with me?" I thought, "This is temptation." And as I recall, she she was wearing a red dress, devil with a red dress. No, blue dress. It's blue dress she was wearing.

No, but you know what? It was temptation. And I'll tell you why, that never happened to me before. It's not like I had cute girls hitting on me, hard to believe as it is. I knew this literally was Satan trying to pull me down through a very attractive young lady. Thankfully, I said no to that. But that's going to happen to a new believer. We need to warn them. You're going to get tempted. You're going to have people try to drag you down. And the new believer, number four, needs fellowship. That's why we want to involve them in our lives. That's why small groups are so good. Because some things are learned in rows and other things are learned in circles, where you're together and you can talk about it and you can ask questions. And so we need to bring a new believer into the church.

No one gave me any materials to read after I accepted Christ. No one gave to me a copy of the New Believer's Bible and said, "Hey, Greg, read this." In fact, the reason I wrote the notes for this Bible was because nothing like this was available when I first came to Christ, and I wanted to have something I could offer to someone that could help them grow as a brand new believer. But there's a guy that showed up in my life, and I didn't know him from Adam's house cat. And I don't know if Adam had a house cat. But this guy, his name is Mark. He walks up to me. "Hi, my name is Mark." I'm like, "Okay, hi." He says, "I noticed you accepted Christ at the Bible study the other day." I said, "Yeah, I did." And uh, he said, "I want to take you to church." I said, "Oh, it's okay, I don't want to I don't want to go to church." He goes, "No, I want you to come to church with me." No, no, thank you. Thanks for asking, but no. "Yeah, where do you live?" No, I don't want to go to church with you. "What's your address?" Next thing I know, I'm in this car on my way to church.

And I love this guy because he wouldn't take no for an answer. He was persistent in the best way possible. He takes me to Calvary Chapel, and I walk smack dab into the middle of a spiritual awakening. And my life started changing. See, the only Christians I knew were the ones on my high school campus. I I knew nothing about the church. I knew nothing about the Bible. I knew nothing about God. I was like just a blank piece of paper. But Mark took me under his wing. Effectively, he was discipling me. There was no question that was too ridiculous to ask him. He modeled for me what a Christian should be. I could observe him. I remember going over to his home. He was living with his parents, we're still kids, and and I would have dinner with his parents, and they were all Christians, and and we would open the Bible, and they would tell me things from scripture I'd never heard before. I remember the first time they told me about the rapture. Jesus is going to come for his church. It was so exciting to learn these things. And you can be that person for someone else if you're an older believer. Because there are some things that are taught, and there are other things that are caught.

There's only so much I can do behind some pulpit. They need to see what a real living, breathing Christian looks like. They need to know, "How does a Christian drive?" And that's exactly why I don't want a new believer around me. Do they drive the speed limit or something close to it? You know, what does a Christian do with their free time? How does a Christian husband treat his wife? How does a Christian wife treat her husband? How do Christian kids react to their parents? Do Christians drink? Do Christians go to movies? The answer is yes, we go see Jesus Revolution and some other films as well.

But Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:10, "You've observed my teaching and my conduct and my aim in life, which is my faith." So yeah, teaching is good, but they need to see you in the way that you live. New believers need old believers. Old believers need new believers. Having a new believer in your life can have a reviving effect on you as they discover truths for the first time, you can rediscover them. You stabilize them, they energize you. So get a new believer. Not a dog, not a cat. They're fine. No, a human being that you can help grow spiritually.

Guest (Male): A strong exhortation from Pastor Greg Laurie today on A New Beginning. Discipleship is a privilege we can take part in. It's a joy to see a new believer begin to grow.

Now, Pastor Greg, it occurs to me that someone listening isn't a long-time believer. In fact, they're not a new believer. They're not a believer at all or they don't know if they are or not. What would you say to them?

Greg Laurie: I'd say that's the most important decision you're ever going to make in your life. So I want you to stay tuned because I'm going to tell you how to make that decision in just a few moments.

Guest (Male): All right. And listen, if you missed any part of today's message, a presentation called Discipleship, the next step in following Jesus, you can get a replay by going to harvest.org. Or just subscribe to our free podcast by going to Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any of the other podcast apps.

And then, Pastor Greg, if you would, speak directly to the person who wants to make a change today in their relationship with God.

Greg Laurie: Maybe you've been listening to this message, you've thought, "I wish I could come into this relationship with God. I just don't know how." Let me tell you how you can come into a relationship with God right here, right now. First of all, you need to recognize you need God. You need to admit you're a sinner. I know some people choke on that word, but the Bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." But then you need to recognize that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross for your sin. The Bible says, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And then you need to believe in Jesus. Jesus put it this way, "For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." You might ask, how does one believe in Jesus? To believe means to put your faith and trust in Christ and Christ alone, and to receive him into your life as your own friend, savior, and Lord. The Bible says, "For as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God."

Would you like to receive Christ? And by that, I mean, would you like to ask Jesus to enter into your life and be your savior, your friend, your Lord? If so, you can just pray this prayer after me. It's a simple prayer. You can pray it out loud if you would like, or you could pray it in the quietness of your heart. But if you want Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, or maybe you want to make a recommitment to the Lord, just pray this prayer after me now. Pray these words if you would. 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. I turn now from my sin and I ask you to come into my life and forgive me of all of my sin. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for hearing this prayer and thank you for answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Hey, if you just prayed that prayer, I want to congratulate you and say, "Welcome to the family of God."

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And we want to follow up with you and get you started in your new journey of faith. Pastor Greg would like to send you his new believers Bible. It has many specialized study helps and it'll answer many of the questions you might have. So if you prayed along with Pastor Greg today, let us send you the new believers Bible free of charge. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock, and again, the number 1-800-821-3300. Or write a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words no God.

And then, thank you for partnering with us to help these daily studies continue. Your investments have eternal benefits. Why not make this a part of your personal ministry to partner in an effort that's making a real difference with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online, you'll find us at harvest.org. And there, you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now. That's harvest.org. Or write us at a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call. Again at 1-800-821-3300.

Well, next time, Pastor Greg offers more insights on the thrilling privilege of discipleship. Join us here on a new beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.