The Jesus Revolution & Evangelism: The Power to Change a Life

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God check out virtue our website for Christian women go to harvest.org/virtue journalism is never going to be as though we might find new and creative ways to do it but also movably.

We never want to deviate from this calling to all of us. The gospel good news they can save people from their soon as the most important. We have Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to share how were the message of God's power will always be there no mild. It's not like they take it from you, and you don't have an often you both hear a word of encouragement better for when you share the good news of God's love both of you today on a new beginning for Greg Laurie shares how the gospel is at the very center of God's plan for trajectory of someone else's life.

One of the real tree Jesus movement was people were out everywhere sharing the gospel known as the last time you saw that when you're out of the public place and amusement park down with a peer out of the mall somewhere and you just saw a bunch of people, maybe even carrying a Bible engaging people in conversations about Jesus Christ. We did a lot of that. So I became a Christian as you know the age of 17 that I was going to church and I heard the pastor say we should go see our faith about the woman in the Christian two weeks. I know so much about God. Now I better go out and talk to people and I was you know my theological knowledge could fit into a thimble, but I knew Jesus to change my life. I knew it was all true. And I wanted to go talk to somebody so back then there was a little booklet out called the four spiritual laws put up by Campus Crusade for Christ and is very simple to just ask questions and so I was so new at this I hadn't even memorized the content of the booklet yet. So I went out to the beach. It was Newport Beach and I was looking for someone to talk to when I saw this middle-aged lady and I double maybe should be nice to be maybe she'll take pity on me, so I walked up to her and he said hi. Can I talk to you a little bit about God and she looked at me like chirps it down so I sent them a my voice was shaking. You don't get nervous and you can't stop your voice from shaking and so I'm literally just reading this booklet to her. I hadn't even memorized it as a Synthroid visit job just read this to the four spiritual laws.

Copyright 1964 was his favorite law. One God loves you and is a wonderful plan for your life law to you since I'm reading through this booklet and as I'm reading through it. I'm thinking this is so not going to work. I'm crashing and burning right now and I want this to be over with, but at least I can say to my Christian friends.

I actually started a conversation about Jesus moments of the booklet.

I looked up at her periodically.

She's just looking at me. No real reaction I get to the end and there's a question to ask a person which was is a really good reason why you should not accept Jesus Christ right now I realize it was a question so I asked her to serve any good reason why you should not accept Jesus Christ right now and she said no, went out. No, I said you mean you want to accept Jesus Christ right now. She said just like excellent great but let's just pray your head height. I did not plan for success. I plan for failure. So she closes her eyes and frantically searching this booklet for some prayer something what do I do now, and I found a prayer I N the prayer and to show you a little faith I had even as I'm leaving her in this program thinking myself this isn't going to work and I she's done praying this prayer of asking Christ the Commodore life. She opened her eyes and she said something just happened to me. I'm like, well, something just happened to me to. I realize that God could use an idiot like me. Now I guarantee I can think anybody in this room you would know so much more about the Bible so much more about Jesus Christ that I knew as a two week old Christian, but I went for God blessed it, and this is the thing we way over complicate evangelism. We get all worked up about it all stressed about it, and overly nervous about it and we don't understand that you can be used by God to share the gospel and I remember that was just Christians everywhere doing this we call them the Jesus freaks, and I remember even before I was a Christian would see the Jesus freaks going down the beach. You know they do have their Bibles and their like looking for sinners and we would all go on the water till they pass because it would never come in the water. For some reason. Maybe they didn't want to get the Bible's wet so so mom should've figured out they should have a stripping evangelism ministry and paddle out to where people are, but you know so that was the way it was back then you say what I that's great and I wish it was that way today. Why can't it be that way today I last time I checked the great commission is still in the Bible you know the great commission is will read in the moment, but it's the words of Jesus to go to all the world and preach the gospel in the Bible tells us how they care unless someone tells them. Listen, the primary way that God reaches people is through people so this doesn't change.

Therefore, why are we not doing it today.

Yet I just read that there's a trend among millennial Christians to not do this in practice up all that was done said 47% of millennial Christians agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one's personal beliefs was someone who was of a different faith and hope that they will one day share the same fate. Now how did you guys appear in the stager millennial a treasure had to be okay now you got explain this to me trying what's going on here. Is this true do you think this is true of people you know your age. Why is it true and should this be true. So I think that millennial's are trying to enforce and activate like opinions and freedom of speech but there also so sensitive nowadays.

And if you don't agree with what they believed and they just are attacking year with enough harsh words and discourage you and so as a young Christian it's very discouraging to share your faith. I mean, I don't think it's wrong to share faith at all by it's very discouraging nowadays with MMB so sensitive over everything yet.

So I think what we need to do is understand that you know evangelism is really communication with people. When the Bible says go to all the world and preach the gospel, you can do that conversationally you can do that on your social media pages, you can do it on Instagram, you can tweak the gospel going to all the world and tweak the gospel, you know, but I think the big issue is when we engage a person you want to build a bridge to them.

You might think, because I'm a preacher.

I have a little pulpit like this and they take with me everywhere and I preached everyone I meet will look when I speak in a study like this already in a stadium. You know it's a monologue and it's me talking to people, but when I engage nonbelievers into dialogue and I'll come up all the answers. I ask a lot of questions and I listen because I don't want to come off like a know it all. For starters, I'm not a know it all and to the point, I'm not better than anybody. I'm better off, but I'm not better so you come in sort of a humility and Jesus himself modeled this with the woman at the well. He actually asked her for a drink of water. He comes to her in a humble way and he listens to her and then he engages her with the message of the gospel so that's what we want to do. But you know sooner or later you have to get down to the bottom line and the bottom line of the gospel is all of humanity is send.

There's nothing we can do to get rid of that sin. God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for that sin and to rise again from the dead and will turn from our sin, believe in Jesus, we can go to heaven. That's the gospel so I know were maybe reluctant to share that but there's power in the message of the gospel and the powers always been there, and the power will always be there because Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to every one who believes in the word that he uses ever powers that were due to myth, which means dynamic dynamite power is your great glory will have the second half of this message in just a moment we send these daily studies out via radio satellite and over the Internet. We don't always know how these messages are touching lives when we hear the stories of her listeners. It really is encouraging to us. Hi Pastor Greg share the same birthday as my dad, thank you for the online videos of your sermons.

I was a particle child that I stumbled across your videos and decided to recommit my life to the Lord. I've never felt better. You brought me back in my faith and now I want to live right and serve the Lord. What are your videos about prayer helped me learn how to pray.

I hope one day when this pandemic is over that I can visit your church in person. Thank you. Do you have a story to tell of how Pastor Greg's teaching is impacted you. If so, why not email him angry@harvest.org again, that's great harvest.org were talking about the importance of sharing the gospel today as Pastor Greg presents a message called the Jesus revolution and evangelism. Years ago I was at Billy Graham's house and that I wanted ask him a question and I said, Billy. If an older bully could speak to a younger Billy what Woody say what advice would you give a younger you up for all these years of preaching and in sharing the gospel and he said I would preach more on the cross of Christ in the blood because that's what the power is so I never forgot that. So whenever I speak.

I always want to talk about the fact that Jesus died on the cross of the sin of the world that his blood was shed for them. So if you want to really pay tribute to a guy like Billy Graham do would Billy did what ability do. He preach the gospel and he invited people to follow Jesus Christ solicit of vandalism is never going to be passé. It's always going to be something God wants us to do. Now we might find new and creative ways to do it but ultimately we never want to deviate from this calling.

God is given to all of us in Luke chapter 15 were given a perspective of how God views those that don't know him. We have three metaphors that are employed by Jesus to show how God loves people. We have a shepherd who lost the sheep. We have a woman who lost a coin and we have a father who lost a son ever lost anything of great value in your searching for, because you gotta find it on the idea of a coin woman at a coin is probably the devil of a wedding hat. She would wear had been sort of. It would have pointed it so to lose it. Calling was not just losing a dime or 1/4.

It was losing your wedding ring.

That was a big deal, so she searched until she found it and then we have a father who lost a son and a shepherd who lost a sheep. Years ago I lost something of great value to me as a kid, I had a little parakeet and his name was popcorn. I don't know why being the popcorn, but that's what I called and so I was down to Balboa Island and I saw this guy what appeared on his shoulder just sat on his shoulder didn't fly away and I the guy you know what to do with your paralegal Zoe Jamie doesn't fly away.

That's so cool, so at my house popcorn would fly out of his cage. When I called his name and Linda my children and walk around the house with them, so I thought maybe I'll do that with popcorn. I'll go down to Balboa Island with popcorn.

The parakeet on my shoulder and it'll be just like the guy with the parrot so I walk around the house for a while, making sure he wouldn't fly away.

Then I walked outside and popcorn just flew up.

I never saw him again just got so I would for days.

I was walking up and down the street. Popcorn popcorn people are thinking that poor boy is hungry, give them some beaded just the other day I drove by that same neighborhood. I rolled down the window by car popcorn and a really old bird landed on my windshield with the beard. No, not really, but he's gone and so I searched and I searched but I couldn't find him. Jesus talked about the father searching for lost people is like a shepherd looking for a sheep.

Now you don't sheep. I don't know if you been around. She very often but in Israel sometimes will see up flock of sheep. Everyone gets really excited because everyone wants a picture about with the sheep in Israel writer a little lamb even better in.

I've always heard their stupid men now having seen them up close and personal. They really are dumb animals and look they have their purpose in life. There are excellent with mint jelly and we can make sweaters out of their you know so it's great but these are animals that literally cannot defend themselves. These are animals and cannot run. They cannot buy in their incredibly dumb.

I read an article a while ago that talked about a bunch of sheep 1800.

She who.what and I had to click it. You know what happened and what happened was one she walked off of a cliff. This happened in Turkey one sheep walk off the edge of a cliff and all the other sheep follow. How stupid is that. So the one sheep go severe to clip trances J single file Robin to die today let's go see if that will be done. They all follow far for the Bible says all we like sheep have gone astray were that dumb. So there's a shepherd was 100 sheep among those astray because I just said you know what if you lose a few costs of doing business. Know Jesus said that shepherd went in search for the sheep till he founded and erupted around his neck and brought it home rejoicing and then Jesus makes this point and I tell you in the same way. There is joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repent. But really the crescendo of Luke 15 is a story of the prodigal son. And that's the one that we all remember best. The story of the boy that left home drug. The family name to the gutter spent his inheritance missed his life got drunk, hung out with prostitutes did everything wrong and one day he came to his senses and he returned home, and when the father saw him from a distance and this is Jesus telling the story when the father saw him at a distance, he ran to his son, threw his arms around him.

He kissed him and said this my son was dead is alive again. He who was lost is found. Jesus portrayed God the father is an older man willing to lose his dignity to get a son, let me explain. In the first century culture old man did not run. It was considered undignified. Not to mention it's harder for old men to run right so did you have to pull your robe up above your knees and anything in the story that Jesus tells in the Jesus hadn't told it would almost seem irreverent. He portrays the father is an older man missing his son running to get to him and I think maybe one of the reasons we can only opine on this but maybe one of the reasons the father was running to his son as he knew the people in the village might stone him because he had disgraced the father disgrace the village disgraced the name of the Lord of the father said I've got to get to that son of mine before they kill that boy and he threw his arms around him. They're not going to kill the boy if the father's arms are wrapped around that's us you know we are sinners and gods of phenomena get to you. I'm in a push any obstacle out of the way to get you in the same way that the father loves we should love the world or Greg Ward with insights today on the dynamics of evangelism and how it's reflected in the parable of the prodigal son. There's more to come from this presentation called the Jesus revolution and evangelism. As you listen today to a new beginning. You may have had an interruption or two or maybe you turned in late what you can hear what you missed by going online to harvest.org if you like a permanent copy on CD. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300 again the title of today's message. The Jesus revolution and evangelism.

And again, you can call 1-800-821-3300 and by the way Pastor Greg goes into much more detail about the Jesus movement in his book Jesus revolution.

It's a great read and Pastor Greg talks about what we can do to help usher in the next spiritual awakening that site and I was thinking about all the people who have stationary bikes in their home. Yes, why, why have them. No one uses them, you buy it you use it for the first week, then you hang stuff on it afterwards because they're usually on the garage at my right… Right, but theoretically you know they they can use those things in pedal for our and I go anywhere know you myself. I'd rather pedal a short time ago a lot of place. Yes, that's just me. When it comes to trying to usher in revival. How can we make sure that we are not peddling for years and not getting anywhere what you know in the in the high-tech versions of these that you can get little screens attached to them and you could have seen a real look at that's been prefilled out.

Are you have a coach on their telling you right harder now that will you're sitting on the bike and going nowhere. I think it's much better to go somewhere.

So instead of spinning our wheels are living in the world of theory about some practical steps I think there are practical things that we can do to bring about a personal revival. As an example in the book of Revelation we have the church of Ephesus passionate fiery church. They had great discernment they were being used by God, but something was drifting and Jesus identified yet. He said you know, I know the things that you do. I know that you have discernment, but I here's my issue with you. You've left your first love.

And then he says, remember from where you are fallen repent and do the first works quickly, so it's like the 3Rs of personal revival.

Remember, repent, and repeat. First, you remember, here's a question to ask yourself, was there a time in my life as a follower of Christ where I was more passionate about Jesus was there a time when I had a greater hunger for the word of God was there a time when I was sharing the gospel with people more so remember at the point of reference not repent and turn from that and I repeat, he says do the first works quickly. I think we overly mystifying revival and we don't understand that there's simple steps we can take to make a better I've told the story before but some of our listeners may not of heard it about a lady that wanted to divorce her husband in the worst way. So she went to a divorce lawyer, Jesus, I want to divorce my husband but I don't want to just divorce him. I want him to suffer. I want him to feel pain. So what should I do this. This attorney was a crafty when he says I'll tell you what, for the next six months. Smother your husband with affection affirm him tell them how much you love him and appreciate him and then at the end of six months will drop the bomb and several more divorce papers. She says I'll do it. So for the next six months. She told her husband how much she loved him how much he loved being with him how much he cared about him how much she admired him and the attorney called six months later and says all right let's draw those papers up. Let's get the divorce going. She said the board see you getting were going in our second honeymoon. Here's my point. What did she do she did something she didn't necessarily want to do. But as she did it.

Let's just say her emotions caught up with it.

She did what was right. She did what you probably should've been doing in the beginning. So in the same way with revival were waiting for some emotional experience so Lord said to revival well how but if you just start doing revival like things and then all those things will sort of synchronized together so I talk about that and a lot more in my book Jesus revolution. It's my story of how I saw first, and I had a front row seat to the last great spiritual awakening in the United States of America and some historians say it was the greatest of all the revivals but I'll tell you this much.

It was the greatest revival I saw.

It is the only revival I've seen and I pray all see another before I go to heaven when that be great when it be great if we started seeing thousands of people come to Christ in our nation when it be fantastic if we could see people of different races coming together when it be amazing if we could see marriages healed wouldn't even be more amazing if we could see people in different sides of the political aisle set their differences aside and work together. God can work in our nation. God consent to spiritual awakening.

We need to pray for. We need to prepare for, but maybe we just need to start taking some practical steps get a copy of this book, Jesus revolution, you'll find it with those practical steps are and I'll send it to you for your gift of any size. So whatever you said.

I'll send you and return a copy of Jesus revolution. Some of you can give more some not as much. But whatever you said. Be assured it'll be used, to get the gospel to people and teach them the word of God.

So thanks in advance what you can do.

Get your own copy of Jesus revolution.

Yet we have it here waiting for you. The subtitle is how God transformed an unlikely generation, and how he can do it again today and will drop it in the mail to thank you for your investment so that these teachings can continue each day and so we can keep reaching out and changing lives you know more than 150,000 people made decisions for Christ through Pastor Greg's teaching last year and that was in spite of all the covert restrictions. It's such a good investment and eternal investment. So thank you for your donation today and will send you Jesus revolution and by the way, as a bonus will include a copy of a brand-new study guide that goes with it. It'll help drive the point home and you can study this with your family or a small group fellowship to write us today at a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org everybody Greg Laurie here personally inviting you to join us for what we call Harvest at Home. It's a Bible study. It's a worship service.

It church in your home. If you're not able to get out your church right now.

If so, join us per Harvest at Home people are listening this from around the world listen to this.

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Join us this weekend Harvest at Home.oh well, next time you see how this information age is such an important time to hear the most important information we have the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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