Being Awake and Alert for the Lord's Return

Everybody Greg Laurie here. You're listening to the Grigori 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. Let us not sleep as others do. No shows finally getting over jet lag by jet lag and usually takes me about three days to adjust to a new time zone and I member years ago I went to Australia and I was speaking an event there and then I decided I didn't want to get there two days early and acclimate. I said I'm just gonna fly in and get run off the plane and go and speak at this thing and that's what I did biggest mistake I ever made because I actually was getting up there to think I was so out of it because I'm in another time zone you know what I got up to speak to the people I was almost having an out of body experience of the light. I would like my words like that going and reverberating through my head and I just said to myself that's what I say noise of the gods read your notes because you were in your right mind when you wrote the as I'm reading my notes.

They make no sense to me. Sort of reading the look is bad decision. Jet lag is disorienting when a person has it they can actually lose her cognitive ability ability of a hard time concentrating and and so it's kind of a slumbering.

Here's what Paul is seen anything. Don't be asleep. If you like some people in the church, a perpetual jet lag and not watching for the times of the sun taught signs of the times the times and seasons. There's a lethargy is a passiveness is even a laziness there's a disconnect from their personal life and their spiritual life. Instead of walking in the spirit sleepwalking policy like you need to awaken from your spiritual sleep from unconsciousness, unresponsiveness and inactivity concerning the things of God. Wake up. Pay attention. Sometimes we can be low into asleep in one way, I found that sometimes I get sleepy when I overeat ever notes that when we all collectively take a nap sometime on Thanksgiving day after we fill ourselves with all that turkey and all those other goodies that go with that. You know we all just take a nap or lease we should probably and sometimes you can be a very well fed believer coming in hearing the word of God and studying, and studying and taking in and taking it in. Your problem is that you need. It isn't that you need more teaching you need an outlet for the truth that you received in your life. Need to do something with it… Give us please choose the merely for give these truths to share your blessed me a blessing again your blessed to be a blessing God wants to take these jerseys put in your life and work them through you and want you to share them with others.

Don't be asleep policy wake up and ready for the Lord's return, so you may remember when you were a little kid that it was hard to fall asleep on Christmas Eve because it was an excitement right all. What am I going to get you know that mom and dad getting what I told him to get me a detailed maps for them and everything that the actually get that present asked for or some of you may have believed in Santa Claus I told you before that there are four phases of life. Number one you believe in Santa Claus number two you don't believe in Santa Claus number three you become Santa Claus.

Number four. You look like Santa Claus and that point right now. There was an excitement and joyful anticipation that made it hard for you that some kind of fear and dread. It was hard to sleep. You are just going to go to sleep. I don't want to miss anything. I can wait.

And that's the idea that is given to us here, living in the light of the Lord's imminent return is not a miserable lifestyle. It should be a joyful one happy one splurge and put it this way and I quote, it's a very blessed thing to be on watch for crimes. It's a blessing to us. Now, how it catches us from the world. You can be poor without murmuring. You can be rich without worldliness can be sick without sorrowing you can be healthy without consumption.

If you're always waiting for Christ coming untold blessings are wrapped up in a glorious all.

So how might a live in the light of the fact that Christ could come back at any moment way.

Pay attention. Number two sober up, sober up per se, but a swarm of the day be sober going to send me on them. When I first became a Christian I met some stick in the mud believers and they said no brother, you need to be more sober because I was always joking trying to have fun your soul roles are all be more like you know that's not what it means that you have a long face and and always be in a bad mood to be sober simply means you are to be clear headed many clearheaded means to be alert to live with your eyes open to be seen in steady and contrasted to being asleep or drunk in you are to be sober. You see, some people say that we Christians are out of touch. They say we were followers of Jesus Christ and we who believe in the Bible of our head in the cloud were so heavenly good heavenly minded were no earthly good. They would assert what nonsense no one does more for the world and those were heavenly minded that often said whenever you look a great relief organizations.

There's no EPS relief organizations. It's always the Christians that are first out there reaching out to people regardless of their beliefs, or lack thereof, is Christians that are showing compassion in every practical way.

No Christians are the realness nonbelievers are the ones that are out of touch with reality. Princes of a person would say today, you know, I believe that everyone is basically good and we can just be one global family locking arms together.

I think you're out of your mind to read the Bible and it tells me man is simple and that's why he does the things that he does that make sense to me but certainly explains a lot. The Christians are the most seen people around because a realistic about the problems and the solution. But we should sober up.

Now let's take it at face value.

We don't need to be under the influence of any intoxicant. Do I need to say that there are people that are under the influence of alcohol. And you know I was raised to the first 17 years of my life around drunken people I know a lot about drunken people I spend so much time with them.

My mom was an alcoholic. She hung around with alcoholics and all he did every night was getting really really drunk. I'm talking passed out on the floor drunk or screaming, yelling, throwing things, this is a killer life I was exposed to this is how I sort of saw the adult world is a little kid… I'm not real fond of drinking because I've seen the impact that it has seen the devastation that it brings nothing really changes thousands of years ago, King Solomon made this observation about the effect of alcohol listeners. Words now running from the new living translation. Proverbs 23 was English for sorrow, who's always finding is always complaining with unnecessary bruises was bloodshot eyes and is the one who spends long hours in taverns, drying, trying out new drink patches so perfect knowing when you go window bar. They make alcoholics so glamorous. Don't think all those pretty hovels you know are all lit up from the back of their truck there on the show look at that is another tractability serve the drinks you know it.

Cute little umbrellas and colors in them and feel it's like to tie the exciting world what disaster it can bring. Solomon continues on, and he says don't let the sparkling smooth taste of wine deceive you bring the head bite you like a poisonous snake. A little sting like a viper see hallucination will say crazy things will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swinging mass manual saying they hit me but I didn't feel it. I didn't even know it when they beat me when I wake up I'll say can I have another drink.

That's a great translation is that 17 and the reason I bring this up as I see a lot of believers bring lots in this area and I must warn you, it can lead to some really horrible repercussion and I know that some of you would take issue with me and say no grade cannot give you a little too hard.

Maybe a little too restrictive and and besides, you know you want to understand that alcoholism isn't to see is it is out what it is you know it's funny, I've never read the word alcoholic in the Bible use the word because it's a word in our usage today but the Bible calls the person who is under the control of alcohol stronger.

That's where we just don't use anymore, is it: transfer that's not politically correct. Now there an alcoholic is only bighearted walking by a bar just one, but one day you walk by, you know the bar at happy hour in NJ because the disease of alcoholism listen of alcoholism is a disease it's the only disease that is bottled, and soul of alcoholism is a disease it's the only disease without a germ or a virus. It's the only disease that requires outlets to spread it is the only disease that requires a license to propagated alcoholism is a disease it's the only disease that is spread by advertising. No I'm sorry it's not a disease.

I know that's a convenient explanation and we can excuse a lot of things. It's a choice you make and you come under the power of an I've compassion for the poor and that is down by alcohol, but I also know that the power of God can free them from or any other addiction. They might be under.

Please know that swamped in this instance in the Bible clearly says is a bridge group and six and the greedy people or abusers are swindlers nor drunkards will inherit the kingdom of God. This is what the Bible teaches.

Think what our world would be like if we didn't have alcohol and how many marriages would still be together. My mom was married and divorced 75. Every one of those marriages and divorces was a result of all or drunkenness.

It was a result of that influence in her life.

Think of the thousands of lives that are taken on our roads every year by drunken drivers, 15,000 people last year alone were killed by drunken drivers well over 500,000 half a million people have been killed by drunken drivers since 1980 1/2 million amazing thing.

And guess what status number one for drunk drivers right here in California.

Texas is number two and then everybody else tried to, and every time it seems in you read about drunken driver and passenger, that is with them is killed or person is still in the drunken drivers always survive which is amazing on the solution other than you know. I don't say that to make light of it, but it is just a crazy thing.

I read the other day actually today about a man who'd been busted three top four times work you are four times he's been busted for DUI driving under the influence. Any hit a woman without getting a male Ottoman PO Box would you expect getting hit by a car going here mailbox drunken drivers think of the devastation of the think of the destruction the truck and then there's the moral effect of alcohol.

Did you know that 67% of unintended pregnancies. The woman was intoxicated during sex almost 50% of unplanned sexual encounters were under the influence of alcohol, 60% of college women or other sexually transmitted disease including HIV-AIDS report, we were under the influence of alcohol and they had sex with the infected person. Listen to this one. 90% of campus rates occurred when alcohol is either been used by you that the assailant or the victim pretty sobering statistics might say will Greg you know I understand you keeping this background, but we have the liberty you know we we drink a little and you know what it's okay personal you know maybe you think it is.

Let me say this to you, you're being watched everyone for your children.

I know the Christian couple that drank it home and when they would eat and so forth and and one day they found that their child had an alcohol problem or about another Christian couple child very young had to go to rehab because you see maybe it was okay for you.

Maybe you could somehow handle it. But what about that other person that was watching them and think about your testimony in your work this out there to people that do not know the Lord. The things we need to think about. I don't want to be under the power of anything but the Holy Spirit is so much better now.

I want to be under this. Someone would be under the control of this everybody Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast to learn more about harvest ministries. Please subscribe and consider supporting this show. Just go to harvest.org.

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