Sunday Message: Everyone Needs Jesus

Everybody Greg Laurie here. You're listening to the Greg Laurie podcast and my objective is to deliver hopefully compelling practical insights and faith culture and current events.

From a biblical perspective to find out more about our ministry. Just go to our website harvest.org so thanks for joining me for this podcast written a series in the Gospel of Mark that recalling the gospel for busy people and were in Mark chapter 5 turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 5 the title of my message is everyone needs Jesus you know someone that needs Jesus, why don't you text him right now and tell them to go to harvest.org and watch let's start with the prayer father know, we ask you to speak to our hearts because they know I'm speaking the people out there who are hurting people who are lonely people who are scared of the future people that are dealing with physical problems, illnesses. I know I'm speaking to someone today that is lost a loved one, so I pray that your word will connect and that they will find hope we commit this time a Bible study to you now in Jesus name we pray.

They met me start with a question. Have you ever been in this situation so bleak. It seemed as though it would never change and we likened it to a storm you're in the middle of a tumultuous store and then suddenly the storm just stopped in the sun came out and the birds are singing and everything was better or maybe you had things going wonderfully in your life and all of a sudden you were hit with a severe illness or maybe it was a loss of a loved one, and you don't know how you're going to get through this. The reason I bring the scenarios up as that is exactly what were looking at in the story before us in Mark chapter 5 this is a story of two very different people. One was a man. The other was a woman. One was unknown. One was relatively famous what they had in common was they both needed Jesus starting with this woman. She was in a hopeless hopeless situation.

She had spent all of her money on doctors to no avail. And she could not get rid of this horrible sickness that plagued her. That will talk about in a moment, the second person in our story was a man who was a ruler of the local synagogue.

He had power and prestige, but he needed Jesus to because his beloved daughter was at death's door. So the point of it is.

Everybody needs Jesus, every man, every woman, every old person, every young person every middle-aged person every middle-aged person who thinks their young person, whoever you are, everyone needs Jesus.

He is there for you.

Now the story is a part of a trilogy here in Mark chapter 5 about the power of Jesus Christ in the first movement of the chapter we see that Christ has power over nature as he stops a storm from raging with the words, peace be still. Then we see Jesus casting demons out of a man showing that Christ has power over evil. And in this message. Organ is seen Jesus has power over sickness and death. The point is, he can deliver you from whatever you are facing. I'm also going to answer the following questions in this message number one.

Where does sickness come from number two.

Why does God allow sickness. Number three. Does God still heal today and forth.

And lastly, why doesn't God heal everyone. Let's look now at Mark chapter 5 starting in verse 21 we read these words.

Jesus got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake when a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then the leader of the local synagogue's name was gyrus arrived when he saw Jesus he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with them, saying, my little daughter is dying.

Please come and lay your hands on her healer so she can live. Jesus went with them and all the people followed crowding around him.

A woman in the crowd would suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding and had suffered a great deal for many doctors over the years and spent everything she had the p.m. but I got no better, but in fact it got worse. Heard about Jesus, so she came up from behind him through the crowd and touched his robe for she thought to herself, if I could touch his robe.

I can be healed immediately. The bleeding stopped and she could feel it in her body and she'd been healed of her terrible condition. So while this young girl had experience 12 years of relative happiness is the apple of her daddy's eye. I'm sure he doted on her and loved her in so many ways it's shown by his urgency as he comes to Jesus and this equipment woman had experience 12 years of pain rejection in tears.

Get on the same afternoon. Both of their lives were dramatically changed by their encounter with Jesus Christ. No one of these people is a well-known ruler of the local synagogue and his name is gyrus's daughter suddenly fell ill and he felt that he needed to go to Jesus. But as he's on his way home with Jesus to help him. This woman sort of verse on the scene, but as will see this interruption became an opportunity. But let's focus a little bit on gyrus what actually happened already said this little girl was 12 years old and suddenly she's sick and he's trying everything he can to get her better, and nothing is working and he hears that Jesus is near.

Now I don't know gyrus believed in Jesus. Yet if you'd embraced him and put his faith in him. He obviously was a Jewish spiritual leader, but apparently he believed that Jesus had the power to heal so reproaches cross of Christ and makes this amazing statement come lay your hands on my daughter and I believe she will be healed. I mean, that's a lot of faith in this folder. Jesus can touch her. I know she'll be healed. So Jesus is all right. So they're making their way out to the home of gyrus. The crowd is following and all of a sudden just seemingly out of nowhere, some woman touches the hem of Jesus garment which is no big deal, but it's a Christ suddenly stops and asked the question who touched me know how easily could gyrus of said hey lady, hold on, he's with me. No cuts.

Remember when you were in school. Some of you still are we be waiting to eat that horrible food in schools of the food any better in school today and never was back when I went to school.

Sort of like school food, hospital food, an oxymoron note is not really very good but boy someone cut in Allah would see him in no cuts and gyrus kit is said that to that woman, what are you doing not he's going home with me right now, but actually gyrus did not do that. Maybe it's because he knew well, that's how Jesus rolls he always has time for hurting people gyrus no doubt heard the story about Jesus healed that the Moni act of the Gadarenes in his life had been so transformed he heard the story of how they lowered the paralyzed man through the opening in the roof and Jesus touched him and forgave his sin so he wasn't going to criticize Jesus and maybe we can say this was a test for Lazarus. Maybe if he had failed this test. It would've turned out differently. I don't know but if it was a test gyrus certainly blasted with flying colors. But sometimes God doesn't move as quickly as we want him to move does know God says my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts in God's timing is often different than ours. We want things now we live in a day of getting instant information. Our phone buzzes or beads and we get that newsfeed and we know what's going on as it's happening.

We get things quickly. There do we get food from over eats and we get here we get there.

Everything happens quickly and then God says will just wait wait on the Lord and he will renew your strength and words. Again, I don't really want to do that, you know, maybe you're a young person in your single and your say Lord when you gonna bring that man of that woman in my life.

I want to get married. I mean I'm I'm 17 years old. I'm tired of waiting or maybe your say Lord what you can open the door of opportunity for me to serve you, or you might be asking Lord, how long you gonna let that person get away with that sin.

Or maybe your say Lord, when are you going to come back and judge this world and return and rule over us again and sometimes in our impatience, we may take things into our own hands would not gyrus yields he's going away ill just wait until Jesus does what he's going to do.

And then Jesus will come with him to his home and heal his daughter. I think we need to remember that God's delays are not necessarily his denials. Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that's been praying about something and it hasn't happened as quickly as you wanted to happen. So use our thinking God is say no that there may be true, I will rule that out. But Maybe God Is Saying Way, God answers prayer in three ways. Yes, no and wait and there's a reason he's having you wait. I'm of the story of Mary and Martha, and Lazarus. There were close friends of Jesus. Lazarus die. Jesus showed up there in their hometown of Bethany and he said your brother is going to live again. See Mary and Martha were upset at Jesus didn't come to their town sooner.

When he found out there brother and his friend was sick, Jesus sort of delayed his arrival. If you will. So by the time he hit down.

Not only was Lazarus dead. But Jesus even missed the funeral and he promised Mary and Martha, your brother will live again and they said will Lord we know. Yes, in the resurrection of molesting a Jesus said listen, I am the resurrection of 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. Listen, they wanted the healing Jesus wanted a resurrection so maybe you're praying for one thing, but God wants to do above and beyond that, listen, God said word he knows what he's doing wait on his timing so this woman touches the hem of the garment of Jesus, she had this medical condition. We don't even really know what it was but we know that she bled perpetually. Maybe it was some kind of a hemorrhage and no doctor could help her by the weights of the remedies back in these days could be really strange so I don't know if she ever had any proper medical attention but you spent all of her money. Maybe in quiet doctors, promising her a remedy or solution and she reasons if I can touch Jesus. I know I can be healed ask you were told in Mark chapter 5 verse 26 she suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and spent all the jihad and instead of getting better. She only got worse and she thought if I can touch the Lord everything will change that brings me to my first question is it presumptuous to think that God heals people today. Let me answer those questions are raise a little bit earlier about healing serving their first question. Where does sickness come from, why do we even have to get sick will listen. The visit was never part of God's original plan. We weren't supposed to get sick. We weren't supposed to age we weren't supposed to die goes back to our first parents, Adam and Eve there in the garden vitamin E but not eaten of the forbidden fruit. We would not get sick of Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit. We would not age of Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit.

I would have hairstyle product so we age and we have illness and ultimately we died. Romans 512 says as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin in this way death came to all men because all have sinned, but why does God allow sickness at the second question why does God allow sick the short answer there's a lot of could say here's a short answer.

God allow sickness in our lives sometimes to bring this to him.

I read many stories of people that felt they had no need for God when they got ill on their deathbed or maybe in a hospital room. They asked for spiritual help. And of course they found it, so sometimes it's to get our attention. The psalmist said before I was afflicted, I one astray.

But now I have kept your word. Listen sometimes God allows allow sickness in the life of the believer to keep us humble.

The think the apostle Paul as an example, he was transformer the power of God on the Damascus road and put his faith in Jesus while he was on his way to hunt down and put Christians to death.

Then God used Paul, of course, to write a good portion of the Bible in his wonderful epistles. In addition to that, he led many people to Christ.

The established churches and got even healed people through Paul. And if that wasn't enough.

Paul had the amazing experience of going to heaven eventually going to glory in getting a glimpse of what was ahead, and then he came back to this earth. This may have happened during one of visit that will be attacks against him when he was stoned. In particular, and they thought he was dead and he came back to life. That's maybe the moment will Paul want to heaven and so is it you know you been to heaven you've seen haven't in God's use you to write epistles.

That's pretty heady stuff to listen to what Paul writes in second Corinthians 12 to keep me from becoming proud. I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud three different times. I asked the Lord to take it away, and each time he said my grace is all you need in my power works best in weakness. The Paul says so now I boast about my weaknesses, so the power of Christ can work through me. That is why I take this is crazy.

This is why I take pleasure in weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions, and troubles.

I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong thorn in the flesh, God allow a messenger from Satan, a demon, no doubt to bring hardship in the life of the great apostle to keep him humble.

Another reason God allows sicknesses to be glorified through your life as you honor God, even when you're struggling with the sickness, I think of two people that I've gotten to know, that are so impressive to me. One is Johnny Erickson totter. I mean she is literally a national treasure.

This is a lady who was a young girl of through a diving accident, became a quadriplegic and she's been in a wheelchair now for so many years, but I'll tell you God is used Johnny to bring encouragement and hope to people all around the world, not just disabled people, but all people and in many ways you could say Johnny is turned disability into an ability, a supernatural ability God allows all sorts of things she does not approve of. He doesn't approve of spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, he doesn't approve of stroke. He does not approve of Down syndrome or autism or Alzheimer's but a Christian friend shared with me little words when I was first injured that change my life.

God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he lives and to the world's worst murder becomes the world's only salvation, and my friend shared those those 10 words with me. God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he lives to Germany. The same is true in your life. God permitted what he hated spinal cord injury to accomplish something that he loves more than the hardship you are going to have to go through for the rest of your life and that is Christ in me the hope of glory's the whole point behind my quadriplegia is that I get to know Jesus in such a tender, warm, poignant, personal, powerful way when I wake up I think I shared this with the women when I was here the last time.

Literally I wake up in the morning and my girlfriends are running water for coffee to come into my bedroom. The have a cheery happy hello in there. I am almost 90% of the time lying there with my eyes closed thinking God I hate quadriplegia, I am so tired of this. I have no strength in this day I have no resources, no power, no energy, I cannot do quadriplegia today. But Jesus, you can so you can I can do all things to you. So would you please be the good quadriplegic today because I cannot do it and it is the perfect example dying to self so that God's power can leave through me, which makes the smile that I have on my face when I will out of the front door in the morning he made a made up okay this is a real smile hard-fought for an hard-won every single morning and Greg that's the Christian way to wake up this that's that that's the best way to what that's the biblical way to weigh country needing Jesus desperately then I think of a friend of mine named Nick voyage on Nick was born without his limb's and God has used him to help people literally all around the world, especially young people who are depressed in dealing with all the challenges they face in and there is Nick before them with all of his problems radiating joy in sharing Jesus when I see God face to face. This is my accuses Satan.

I'll be standing everything Jesus by my side. Satan's going to say.

Father God Almighty. This is the sinful account of Nick voyage was born 4 December 1982, Melbourne, Australia. He's done this this this this this this this this this is this is the 60s later this this this this is is is is is 17 years later this this this this this is he finally finishes and he says he is guilty for his Jesus and he is my Jesus's father God Nick at age 15, gave his life to Jesus Christ. To me, and he believed in your plan for him after he read John chapter 9, where I heal the blind man Jesus is and he realize father that if you had a plan for employment than you had a plan for him even though he cried for arms and legs.

He realized that when he doesn't get a miracle you can still use them to be a miracle for someone else.

So God can be glorified through your sicknesses reasons he allows that that sometimes we don't understand what this brings us to question number three.

Does God still healed today. Does God still healed today and I believe the answer is yes. Does he heal everyone. The answer is no.

Does he heal some people. The answer is yes. But know this, God has the ability to heal. God has the desire to heal and we need to understand that is a 53 says of Jesus, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, we considered him stricken by God, smitten, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, and he was cross for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. Listen, and by his wounds we are healed. Peter commenting on that same verse in first Peter 224 says Christ bore our sins on the tree and by his wounds you have been healed and the word that Peter uses every healed is a war that always speaks of physical healing. So can God heal the answer is yes.

So why are some of is still sick.

Are you ready for my super simple answer.

And maybe because you got as God to heal you in the book of James. It says you have not because you ask not. Simple is that you have not because you ask not. Jesus said ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be open and in the original language.

There is an ascending intensity to those verbs, meaning keep asking, keep seeking, keep talking. Keep praying. Now Paul prayed three times a God would remove his thorn in the flesh than the Lord said, my grace is sufficient for you, but other times the Lord will say yes. Not maybe not after the first time you Prater the second of the third but maybe at a certain moment. He says okay I'm going to heal. That's what this woman did she thought if I can touch a mobile and so that is what happened to her.

So let's go back to Mark chapter 5 verse 30 Jesus realized that once that healing power had gone out from him and he turned around to the crowd and said, who touched me and the disciples turned and said, Lord, this crowd is all around you. How can you ask who touched me, but he kept looking around because he wanted to see what done it, then the frightened woman trembling that the realization of what happened door came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And Jesus said daughter, your faith is made you well.

Go in peace, your suffering is over and you love that story who touched me. The disciples basically say excuse me Jesus who didn't touch everybody's touching you there grabbing you there. Pulling on you. They want to be near you know that someone touched me in a different way that brings me to question number four. Why doesn't God heal everyone clearly in this story there is a cause and effect between her faith and her healing. So when you are sick or when you ever need you cry out, it is a Lord help me Lord, heal me. So sometimes it's your faith that I bring this up because some will say one of your non-healed it's because you have a lack of faith.

You know, not necessarily this woman had great faith.

But in the case of the daughter of gyrus. We don't see the daughter applying any faith. It was the faith of the father in the case of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Clearly, Mary and Martha the sisters had no faith but Jesus chose to do it so God can and will heal who we will heal callout the and with as much faith as you can muster like that one. Men who pray the Lord, I believe, help my unbelief who touched me. Jesus says you know literally that can be translated who touched me on my clothes because power went out of him.

Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now who would say I would love to have Jesus touch me, but I don't feel his touch then be like this woman, if you're not feeling this touch reach out to him and touch him.

The Bible says draw near to God and he will draw near to you. He's touchable he someone you can reach out to right now so there's this woman she's healed in Jesus. Once again, a commander she probably thought oh no I'm I'm scared.

He's is going to be mad at me. He was a mad he wanted to see the lady way to go. This was an act of great faith which you did.

Meanwhile, as this beautiful story is unfolding something tragic happens.

Go back to Mark chapter 5 verse 35 while he was still speaking to her messengers arrived from the home of gyrus, the leader of the synagogue and they told him your daughter is dead. No use in troubling the teacher now though Mrs. next verse. Jesus overheard them and said to gyrus, don't be afraid, just have of devastating.

That must've been for drivers to hear those words. Your daughter is dead. I've stood in the shoes of gyrus not losing the daughter losing a son. Our son Christopher went to be with the Lord. 12 years ago. He died in an automobile accident, and I remember distinctly the day I heard the unthinkable news that he was no longer with us to see my life changed is an understatement, and I bring this up from time to time. Maybe someone would say Greg you know you maybe you should stop talking about it. Maybe you need to get over it. Let me just say to you, if you know someone who's lost a loved one, especially a child never say that them you need to get over it that's in operation. You see we we know that will lose grandparents in time.

We know that our parents will die in time, we know even the spouse could potentially die but we never make plans for our children receiving us to death. It's out of the natural order that is not something the parent gets over, even decades after it happens, he still remembered it still painful, but you can get through it and that's why I bring it up because whenever I bring this topic up. I'm flooded with responses people write me.

They they call me and they they asked me for help because you know when you've heard that your child has died.

You almost feel as though your life is over, and your world is ended and you don't know how you're going to get through it and so what I want to say to someone I know if you've lost a loved one, and especially a child you can get through this by hanging onto Jesus Christ is your only hope is a time like this gyrus are those dreadful daughters. Your daughter is using gyrus are those dreadful words. Your daughter is dead but I love the response of Jesus. He said don't be afraid just that for you. See gyrus had to choose which voice he was going to listen to our you listen to the voice of the man that just said your daughter is dead.

Are you can listen to the voice of Jesus who said don't be afraid, just have faith in the same way we choose every day what voice will you listen to all you listen to the voice of God as he speaks to us through Scripture through our Christian friends. Maybe even to this message are we can listen to the voice of the culture, or even the voice of the devil would save you your worthless.

You'll never amount to anything. You're pathetic, you're a failure. You shouldn't even be alive.

Your life isn't even worth living. He's a liar. Don't listen to that voice. Listen to the voice of God who says I love you.

I have a plan for you. I have a future for you. Trust me, don't be afraid. You know gyrus could beat himself up over this and said this is my fault. I should have been more persistent. I think when a child dies, the father may react differently than the mother.

The father feels he needed to fix it.

You know dad's fix things right. You know what a child wants assurances go to mom for a hug, but when they need something done. Need some money or something repaired dad to new to this were used to fixing things and it's very frustrating when you can't fix the child who is left you and so he probably felt horrible about this, but it's amazing because we don't see them seen anything like that. We see him trusting the Lord and waiting on the Lord and it's kind of an amazing thing.

That gyrus approached Jesus and humbled himself and begged Jesus to help him listen. It's hard for us to understand this, Jesus was not high on the cultural letter gyrus is very high on the ladder as a spiritual leader of the local synagogue. He was a somebody.

Jesus, he was in the like. This son of a carpenter and wasn't he from Nazareth, not a city with a great reputation as Nathaniel said to him any good thing come out of Nazareth.

Yet this man of prestige and power humbles himself before Jesus because he recognized Jesus was not the son of a carpenter. He recognized Jesus was the son of God and Jesus is the ability to heal my daughter but now we need something even greater.

The healing he needs a resurrection, and he's waiting on the Lord to do his work. I love what Christ says don't be afraid.

Go on believing there in verse 36 can be literally translated, keep on believing. So now they come to the home of gyrus. What a tragic and depressing scene they come to they have all these whalers who are moaning and crying and playing musical instruments.

This is a make sense to us today, but the back. In this culture, depending on your level of income.

When someone died. You would bring in literally professional whalers.

I don't know you found them.

Maybe you googled and it was like whalers are us and I don't know but but these people would come and they would play musical instruments and scream and moan and so that's is seen Christ comes to all these people lamenting and crying and the music is playing then and Jesus walks in and here's what happens. Look at Mark chapter by verse 38 when they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside in the wildest commotion and weeping the child isn't dead. She is only sleeping them as an expert in the crowd laughed at him. What all they went from morning to mockery in a nano second unbelief laughs at God's word, but faith believes for a miracle. Clearly, this environment was not conducive to what Jesus wanted to do so. He tells all these people get out leave the room are all upset to get a musical instrument guy blown the flute a couple extra times to sleep.

I don't want any of you here, Peter, James, John, my guys with the going to see this amazing sight of what Jesus is about to do.

Jesus says the child is not dead, she's only sleeping you don't test for a Christian is often compared in the Bible to sleeping. By the way that analogy is never used of death for the nonbeliever only of the believer. The Bible talks in first Thessalonians, about those that sleep. Speaking of those that are dead are in the graves you know when I was little kid I hated it when someone would say to me it's time to take a nap. Hated apps as a kid. Now if my wife's is great once go take a nap. I'm like yes so it's all how you see it but but we don't have to be afraid of sleep for a nap when even Stephen the first martyr of the church was put to death by stoning a violent way to die. The Bible says he fell asleep so Jesus says she's only sleeping and then he raises her again reader Mark that he goes to the little girl and he says to her little lamb arise and immediately life comes back into her body and we read that she's walking around and I love this detail. Jesus said, ever something to eat and a great now. You raise from the dead, probably hungry have something to give this girl a sense in which amazing story. How my heart would have rejoiced if someone would've said to me, your son has risen from the dead, but that didn't happen for me.

I've never shared this detail publicly, but the fact is, after our son died, we wanted to go see him. His body and we were told he was unreviewable so I never got to see him in any way after he passed into eternity. I was given a plastic bag with the things that he had with them had his watch.

It had his wedding ring and it had his wallet than this wallet.

There was a little card for a carousel he would take his daughter Stella on it just was heartbreaking and I and I hope this watch and this is a watch I gave to him and on the back of the watch I inscribe these words. Jeremiah 2911. I know the thoughts of a think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope and know my son is gone. I'm reading the Scripture on the back of his watch and I'm thinking there's the future, in the hope of the future in the hope ultimately is in heaven isn't it's been with Jesus and though it was devastating that day and it still heartbreaking to this day I have that hope still.

Jeremiah 2911 is still one of my favorite verses because I know I will see my son again because death is not the end of the road. It's just a bend in the road that leads to heaven.

Recently I was asked to go see a lady from our church who was dying of cancer and I remember this lady in particular she was in her 60s. She would often sit in the front row lifting her hands and praise the Lord.

She was one of the most joyful people I've ever seen. She's even a little dance. She kinda did what she was worshiping the Lord and now she's in a bed in hospice at home ready to pass into eternity. So I went over to her home and her family was gathered around her and I spoke to her.

She was not conscious, but maybe she heard me and I shared Scriptures with her about the hope that was before her as she entered into God's presence. I spoke to her family about the hope that we have in Christ that our loved ones to proceed is to heaven are not just a part of our pastor also a part of our future. We had prayer together so look sometimes God heals and it's a glorious thing when he does not. I've seen people healed as we prayed for them and we give him the glory. Sometimes God allows the sickness to remain so he can be glorified through it.

Sometimes he does a little more slowly than you would like them to. And sometimes he just allows our life. The fall of the natural cycle. The Bible says there's a time to be born, and there's a time to die and then were all going to pass into eternity.

The Bible says our life is like a like a vapor of smoke.

It appears for one moment and vanishes away of paper of smoke so I got this little can of facial spray.

I don't really use it but I it's a prop okay but it but settled Frank think of that is a big thing of all the things we pursue a lot not to give credit to my friend Christine Kane eyes. I saw her do this in the video and I've stolen this illustration from her so here it is, and I'm probably will do it as well as she did that but here's the idea all the things we pursue in life. For I tell you what if I could just get this ultimate car look at that car, coolest car on the road and that's my nice of vapor of smoke that appears for a moment and vanishes away. Hope I could just have this salsa remodeling maybe had a room to a young Kate nice of vapor of smoke that appears for a moment and vanishes away what I built this great career in this huge company. I am nice of vapor of smoke. It appears for a moment and vanishes away all my bodies in amazing shape and I've been working out for hours and nights of vapor of smoke that appears for a moment and vanishes away. Life comes and goes so quickly.

The Bible says life is like a story.

It's already been told that we put all of our stock in these things. But what really matters is the, the afterlife, which goes on forever. The before life for life were in no is pretty short in comparison isn't we don't know when this life: what we want to make sure of is that we have a relationship with God as glorious as it was at this woman was healed of this medical condition. She ultimately died bit as wonderful a was a was that the daughter of gyrus was brought back to life. She died and gyrus died and we all die in Christ died and rose again from the dead because he died and rose again from the dead. We don't have to be afraid to die. As Christians, doesn't mean we have a death wish, doesn't mean we don't take care of ourselves. But what it does mean is we know that we will go to heaven one day and be with him.

I want to ask you enclosing if you were to die today tonight, would you go to help, you might say well I hope so. I hope so. I've lived the good life. Try to be a good person well you know what it's on about being a good person because the reality is you and I am all of us are sinners and we've all broken God's commandments. Heaven is not for good people. Heaven is for forgiven people and the only way you're going to get to heaven, and the only way I'm to get the heaven is not based on what I've done.

It's based on what he did and what did he do Jesus died on the cross in your place as the apostle Paul said he loved me and gave himself for me. Jesus summed it up this way for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son. And whosoever believes in him should not perish but have ever lasting life. Christ died so you can live and you can come into a relationship with him right now and know with certainty. Not all know that you go to heaven when you die. The Bible says these things we write to you that believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life is eligible. I want that I want Jesus in my life when we need to do. Number one, you need to admit you're a sinner.

The Bible says all of sin and fallen short of God's glory. Just own it admitted don't make excuses towards a I know I've said in the broken God's commandments number two recognize Christ died on the cross for your sin. That's why he went to the cross. It wasn't an aberration or an interruption of his beautiful ministry. It was the focus and purpose of his ministry he came to the little manger in Bethlehem to live a perfect life and that the die a perfect death recognize Christ died for you. Thirdly, you need to repent of your sins.

The Bible says God is commanded people everywhere to repent. What is that mean I need to change your direction. It's a military term that means to do an about-face so you turn away from your sin and turn toward God and then you must receive Christ into your life, you must see Jesus coming to my heart, forgive me of my said I want to be your child Jesus as he stands at the door and he knocks and nipple hear his voice and open the door he will come in have US Jesus to come into your life. It one last thing, do it now. Don't do it tomorrow. Don't do it in a month don't do it in 20 years. Do it now. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. I'm telling you right now you can pray a prayer with me and then as a result of that, no, that your sin is forgiven and know that you go to heaven when you die and start discovering God's amazing plan for you. So if you want Jesus to come in your life you want him to forgive you of your sin if you want to go to heaven when you die if you want your guilt taken away.

I want you to pray with me right now. That's right right now I want you to pray with the event you could pray this prayer I'm about to pray out loud after me just pray these words Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner but I know that you aren't the Savior who died for me, and rose again from the dead.

Jesus come in the my life.

I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord is my God friend in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Everybody Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast and the learn more about harvest ministries. Please subscribe and consider supporting this show.

Just go to harvest.org and by the way, if you want to find out how to come into a personal relationship with God. Go to know God.org that's key NOW GLD.org