A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Don't be afraid. You can replace your fear with faith. Jesus says, look at me. Stop looking at your circumstances. Stop looking at your emotions. Look at me. Lift your eyes up.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie has a message of hope today. Because of the miracle of Easter, that truth can transform how we approach life.

Greg Laurie: Turn your panic into prayer. Turn your worry into worship. Turn your fear into faith.

Guest (Male): Bible scholars have pointed out that the Bible tells us to fear not about 365 times. 365, enough for a daily dose of reassurance, and don't we all need it? Every day, there are plenty of reasons for worry, fear, and panic.

Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that the Easter season is a great opportunity for a fresh outlook on life and its challenges, all based on the fact that Jesus conquered the grave.

Greg Laurie: The world is full of fear. And of course, there is the fear of death. Now, I think we should be concerned about death. We need to be aware of death. We need to be prepared for death. But as a Christian, we do not have to be afraid of death. And let me tell you why that is: because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, the Christian no longer needs to fear death.

At the cross, Christ defeated sin. At the empty tomb, he defeated death. Death died when Christ rose. Easter was the death of death. The resurrection of Jesus replaces fear with faith. Let's read Matthew 28 now, this beautiful account of the resurrection of our Lord on the first Easter Sunday.

Early on Sunday morning, as a new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the woman, "Don't be afraid." He said, "I know you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here; he has risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come see where his body was lying."

"And now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and he's going ahead of you into Galilee. You'll see him there. And remember what I told you." Now look what happens next. Drop down to verse eight. The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened and they were filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel's message.

And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him and they grasped his feet, and they worshipped him. And Jesus said, "Don't be afraid. Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and that they will see me there." And so the message was going out.

One of my favorite post-resurrection stories is the two disciples on the Emmaus road. They had heard Jesus was risen, but they dismissed it. So they're walking along, and who joins them but Jesus himself. And he engages in their conversation. Their faces were downcast and he says, guys—this is a paraphrase—"What's up? What's going on? Why do you look so sad?"

They said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who has not heard about Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed? We had hoped"—past tense—"he would have been the one to redeem Israel, but it's been three days since he was killed." So now they're telling Jesus about Jesus, and they're not doing a very good job.

Then he says, "How foolish you are and slow to believe all that the prophets have predicted." And so they completed their journey. They sit down at a table and they break bread, and now Jesus reveals himself. See, they didn't know it was Jesus; now they know. And then they said, "Oh, we should have known. Did not our hearts burn within us while we walked on the way, and he opened to us the word of God?"

See, they started their journey in depression and fear, and they ended it with joy. And on this Easter, maybe you come here sad today. Maybe you've lost a loved one. They were with you last Easter, but they're gone. And that's again the whole point of Easter: that death does not have the last word; Easter does.

Again, death died when Christ rose. And the hope that we have as Christians is simply this: we will see our loved ones who have died in faith again. The non-believer does not have this hope. Oh, I know they like to think they have it, but only the Christian has this guaranteed hope.

And if you want to have that hope, you have to be born again. Jesus said, "You must be born again." You could sum it up like this: if you're born once, you'll die twice, but if you're born twice, you'll die once. Does that make sense? If you're born once, that is physically, you'll die twice. You'll die physically and spiritually.

But if you're born twice, that is born physically and born again, you'll die once. Yes, your body will die, but your soul will live on. You say, "I don't know what this means, as born again." A spiritual rebirth is when you ask Christ to come and live inside of you, and he forgives you of all of your sin, and he makes you a new person on the inside.

Not a perfect person, not a flawless person. You're still you, but you're a forgiven person. A new person in Christ, old things passed away, everything becoming fresh and new. But I think people have this faulty concept of God. "Well, I don't know if I want to become a Christian, I'm going to lose my freedom, and I'm going to have to live according to God's way, and it's so restrictive and miserable."

Nothing could be further from the truth. Being a Christian is when you're truly set free. I no longer have to be addicted to any substance to bring happiness or fulfillment, because it never really did. But I now have the freedom to walk with God and to know God.

It reminds me of a story I heard of a father and son that went into a hardware store. And there was a big old jar of candy sitting there on the counter. And the owner of the store looked at the boy and said, "Son, grab a handful of candy." And the little boy turned over and looked up at his dad and didn't grab the candy.

The hardware store owner said again, "Son, grab a handful of candy. It's free, go ahead. It's okay." Again, the little boy looks up at his dad. A third time the hardware store owner says, "Son, grab some free candy." Again, the boy looks at his dad. Finally, his dad reaches in, grabs a big handful of candy, and they're walking out.

And he said, "Son, why didn't you grab that handful of candy?" And the little boy said, "Because Dad, your hand is bigger than mine." God's hand is bigger than yours. He wants to bless you beyond your comprehension.

I love Jeremiah 29:11 where the Lord says, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." The Bible says God is able to do exceedingly above and beyond that which we could ask or think.

So Jesus says, "Don't be afraid." You say, "But Greg, you don't know what I'm going through right now. I have every right to be afraid." I don't dispute that. But I'm just telling you: you can replace your fear with faith. The Bible says, "Don't worry about anything, pray about everything, and the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus."

Turn your panic into prayer. Turn your worry into worship. Turn your fear into faith. By the way, this statement, "Don't be afraid"—that's not the first time Jesus said this to his disciples. He used the same phrase, the same language, the same words, when they were out on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee on one occasion.

The storm was so bad the disciples were despairing of life when suddenly in the distance they see a form approaching them, walking on the top of the waves. They thought initially it was a ghost, the Bible says. And then they realize it's not Casper, it's Christ.

And Simon Peter gets so excited. He says, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come." But Jesus says to them, "Don't be afraid." Same thing. "Guys, I know you're freaking out, I know the storm is bad, but I'm in control of all things." Peter says, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come." Jesus says, "All right, come."

Peter did what no other apostle did. He put it all on the line. He swung his leg over the side of that boat, put it down on the water, brought his other leg out, stood, took his first step, took his second step. And then he began to sink, and Jesus reached down and grabbed him and pulled him up and said, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

See, he was sinking. Why? Because he took his eyes off Jesus. Fear makes us sink. And when we take our eyes off of the Lord, we can sink in despair, we can sink in fear. So I say to you this Easter, lift your eyes up and look to Jesus Christ. He can change everything for you.

A new day dawned for the first-century church when Christ rose, and a new day can dawn for you as well. Keep your eyes on the Lord.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love hearing from our listeners, whether it's a short word or they take some time to tell us what's going on with them. We read every word.

Guest (Female): Hi, Pastor Greg. Our son, Tanner, was baptized at Pirate's Cove on August 16th. He attended the Harvest Crusade in Boise, Idaho, a couple of years ago. We praise God for all he's doing in Tanner's life. Thank you for all you do.

Guest (Male): 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 continues his Easter message now, a study called A New Day Dawning. Let's listen.

Greg Laurie: Years ago, Jonathan wanted to learn how to scuba dive. So we were over on Maui, and there's a little course you could take and they'd take you out in the dive. So he went to the training and the instructor said, "Would you like to go to the training?" I said, "No, I'm certified."

Because indeed I was. I'd been certified like, I don't know, 15 years earlier, and I thought I knew everything I needed to know about scuba diving. And so they went through the whole course. Now we're going to go out on a dive. So the next morning we get up, and it was really rough water.

All the boats are bobbing back and forth and I was hoping the dive was canceled. And the instructor says, "No, we're going to do it." Okay. So we get in the boat and we're kind of shaking back and forth and we put on all that scuba gear. You've got the vest that's inflatable, you've got the tanks, you've got the regulator, the mask, the fins, the weight belt—all the gear on you.

And the way you get in the water is you fall backwards into it. That's the last thing you want to do when you have all of that weight strapped on you. But that's how you get in. And so I got really nervous, but I didn't want Jonathan to know I was nervous. I was actually scared. And the guy says, "Okay, you ready? Let's go."

And so we all fall backwards in the water and we get under and we breathe a little bit through our regulator and we're feeling a little better, but it's still pitching a lot. And I looked over at Jonathan and his eyes were as big as saucers. He's just a kid still. He was really scared. And the instructor said to Jonathan, "Look at me and remember your training."

And I looked over at the instructor like, "What was the training again? I've forgotten everything I ever learned about this and I feel like I'm going to drown right now." I thought that was a good piece of advice. "Look at me and remember your training." In effect, Jesus would say the same to you and me.

"Look at me. Stop looking at your circumstances. Stop looking at your emotions. Look at me. Lift your eyes up." The resurrection of Jesus proves that God keeps his promises, and we can be sure of that. So the great hope that we have is he walks with us through this life and then meets us in the afterlife.

So, I was back in Washington, D.C. last week. They were going to have a worship service at the White House and I was invited to participate. But I almost didn't get in. So here's what happened: you have to go through Secret Service to get into the White House.

So there's an entrance that you go to, and I went in and gave them my driver's license. They said, "Your name is not here." I said, "Oh no, I'm invited. In fact, I'm participating." "Yeah, your name's not on the list. Go." Okay. So I went out and I made a couple of phone calls and they said, "Did you fill the form out?"

Oh, I don't think I did. So they send the form to me, I'm filling it out on my phone. So I jokingly shot a video. I said, "Let's shoot a video." And I'll just say, "I'm outside of the White House and I can't get in. Will I get in? I don't know." And then I posted it.

And then in the caption I explained that I finally did get in, but people didn't read the caption. They thought I didn't get in. And Newsweek ran a story of "Pastor can't get in White House." But my point that I made was, hey, I did get in obviously.

But my point was, sadly there's going to be people that stand before God one day and their name will not be written in the Book of Life. And that will be the ultimate tragedy. And Newsweek put that in the story as well, which I appreciated because that was the whole reason that I put that post out there.

Because one day we're going to stand before God. And you think, "Well, I believe, hopefully I'll get into heaven." Why would you be so uncertain about something that is so important? It's eternal. It's eternal. You want to be prepared. See, I wasn't prepared. I didn't fill out the form. It was my own fault.

But thankfully, I was given an opportunity to fill it out at the last moment and get in. But when you stand before God and death has occurred, there's no little form you can fill out really quickly. It's too late. There are no chances after death. Thousands before, none after.

And you'll stand before God and the Bible says if your name is not written in the Book of Life, then you're eternally separated from God and there's no turning back. Oh man, you don't want that to happen. See, Jesus died on that cross for your sin so you could be forgiven of your sin.

You say, "Well, Greg, I'm a good person." Maybe you are. I've met some pretty good people who aren't Christians; they're just good in general. But you're not good enough to get to heaven because you still break God's commandments, you still fall short, and one sin is enough to keep you out of heaven.

The Bible even says if you offend in one point of the law, you're guilty of all of it. So heaven is not for good people; it's for forgiven people. Forgiven people. No matter what you've done, God will forgive you. So on this Easter, I want to close with this: are you sure you'll go to heaven? Has Christ come into your life?

You say, "Well, how does this happen? What do I do?" Number one: admit you're a sinner. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Secondly: recognize that Christ died on the cross for your sin. The Bible says God demonstrated his love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I love the way the Apostle Paul personalized it when he said of Jesus, "He loved me and he gave himself for me." Thirdly: you must repent of your sin. See, some people think that being a Christian is just acknowledging certain truths to be true or accepting a creed.

No, being a Christian means you put your complete faith in Christ and you turn from your sin. The Bible says God has commanded people everywhere to repent. The word repent is a military term; it means to do an about-face. So you've been walking away from God; now you walk toward God, turn from your sin.

And then you must receive Christ into your life. This is the most important element we need to discover. Being a Christian is a relationship with God; it's Jesus living in you. Does he live in you? You say, "Well, I'm not sure." Listen, if he is in your heart, you'll know.

Do you think if someone moved into your house in the middle of the night and they were maybe cooking a late-night meal, you would somehow be aware of it? I'm not comparing Jesus to someone just moving in. But the point of it is, if he's in your life, you'll know.

And if you would say, "Well, I'm not really sure," then maybe he isn't. And that can be rectified because you can receive him into your life. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and I knock and if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in." Would you like Jesus to come into your life right now?

Would you like to be forgiven of your sin? Would you like to know your name is on the list and you'll get into heaven? If so, I'm going to give you an opportunity to do it. My last point is: you must do it now. Do it now. Don't put it off.

Don't say, "Well, you've given me something to think about, maybe in a month or a year, or maybe I'll come to your crusade and do it." No, don't wait till then. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. If you've not asked Jesus to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now. Let's all pray.

Father, I pray for everyone here, everyone watching wherever they are. If they don't know you yet, if they don't have this relationship with you yet, I pray that your Holy Spirit will make them aware of their need for you and that they will come to you and believe. We would ask in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with an important word of prayer today here on A New Beginning. And if you'd like to make that kind of change, Pastor Greg wants to lead you in doing that.

Greg Laurie: Pray these words: Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I also know that you are the Savior because you died on the cross for my sin and you rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my life and forgive me of every sin I've ever committed.

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer, Lord. And I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you just prayed that prayer and meant it, I want you to know on the authority of Scripture, God Almighty has heard your prayer and he will answer this prayer. You are now a newly minted child of God. So congratulations, you've made the right decision, and welcome to the family of God.

I want to send you a special gift because of that prayer you've just prayed. It's called the New Believer's Bible. So the New Believer's Bible is the New Testament in the New Living Translation with hundreds of notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you are making to follow Christ.

There are some other materials included as well and what we call the New Believer's Growth Pack. But let me get this New Believer's Bible into your hands as quickly as possible. Here's Dave to tell you more.

Guest (Male): Yeah, we'll be glad to send it all your way free of any charge if you prayed along with Pastor Greg today. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. You can reach us anytime around the clock at 1-800-821-3300.

Or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or just go online to Harvest.org and click "Know God". And then let us say a word of thanks to those who support us financially, those who make it possible for us to bring you these studies each day.

We are definitely a listener-supported ministry. It's the generosity of listeners that help us be here with these programs. So if you've partnered with us, thank you. And if you have yet to partner with us, well, I hope you'll get in touch today and let us know that you're standing with us.

Even a small investment would help. It's actually an investment in changing lives. Thank you for partnering with us. You can donate securely online at Harvest.org or write: A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300.

Greg Laurie: Hey everybody, you can watch our Sunday services on a special broadcast 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.

Guest (Male): Well, next time, Pastor Greg returns to our study of Jesus' pivotal dialogue with the lame man by the pool of Bethesda. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.