Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement, worship, and Bible study.
#Hope
#Hurting
#Heart
#PersonalStory
#Testimony
#PresenceofGod
#HandofGod
#Hopelessness
#Trials-HardTimes
#Challenges
#Suffering
#God'sWill
#Plan
#WalkwithGod
#Faith
#TrustGod
Closed captions
Show Timecode
Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Greg Laurie - Hope For Hurting Hearts (Part 1) | July 15, 2025
- ...
- 00:00:00.633 --> 00:00:00.343
- Jeremy camp: she started kind of having
- 00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:02.012
- These issues with her stomach again.
- 00:00:02.145 --> 00:00:03.346
- Remember, the thing was just like,
- 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:04.681
- "hey, let's just enjoy ourselves right now."
- 00:00:04.814 --> 00:00:05.615
- Kind of suppressing, you know, any thoughts of anything.
- 00:00:06.716 --> 00:00:09.652
- I said, "okay, well, what--you know, what do we need to do?
- 00:00:09.652 --> 00:00:11.988
- What's the next step?"
- 00:00:11.988 --> 00:00:13.356
- And the doctor, he just goes,
- 00:00:13.356 --> 00:00:16.860
- "there's nothing else we can do."
- 00:00:16.860 --> 00:00:18.361
- And i said, "what do you mean?"
- 00:00:18.361 --> 00:00:21.331
- He goes, "she has weeks to months to live."
- 00:00:21.331 --> 00:00:24.100
- ♪♪♪
- 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:29.739
- ♪ this is the day, ♪
- 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:32.008
- ♪ the day when life begins ♪
- 00:00:32.008 --> 00:00:37.213
- ♪ this is the day, ♪
- 00:00:37.213 --> 00:00:39.849
- ♪ the day when life begins ♪♪
- 00:00:39.849 --> 00:00:45.221
- ♪ mountains high, valleys low. ♪
- 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:51.761
- ♪ these are the things make us grow. ♪
- 00:00:51.761 --> 00:00:55.732
- ♪ and all i want to know is if he can hear me. ♪
- 00:00:55.732 --> 00:01:04.741
- ♪ and all i want to know is ♪
- 00:01:04.741 --> 00:01:08.645
- ♪ if you're still listening, god. ♪
- 00:01:08.645 --> 00:01:13.950
- ♪ and all i want to know ♪
- 00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:17.654
- ♪ is if you're still there, god. ♪
- 00:01:17.654 --> 00:01:23.259
- ♪ so why don't you shine? ♪
- 00:01:24.427 --> 00:01:27.197
- ♪ come on, shine on me. ♪
- 00:01:27.197 --> 00:01:31.634
- ♪ why don't you shine? ♪
- 00:01:34.070 --> 00:01:36.673
- ♪ come on, shine on me ♪
- 00:01:36.673 --> 00:01:41.778
- ♪ and give me the faith. ♪
- 00:01:43.546 --> 00:01:47.484
- ♪ i want to believe, believe. ♪
- 00:01:47.484 --> 00:01:53.156
- ♪ seasons change. ♪
- 00:01:54.891 --> 00:01:57.427
- ♪ i change, too. ♪
- 00:01:57.427 --> 00:01:59.762
- ♪ like spring and summer ♪
- 00:01:59.762 --> 00:02:02.365
- ♪ and i fall back to you. ♪♪
- 00:02:02.365 --> 00:02:15.245
- ♪♪♪
- 00:02:18.581 --> 00:02:28.691
- Greg: so what do you do when you hear the worst news
- 00:02:28.758 --> 00:02:31.394
- Imaginable, when the bottom drops out,
- 00:02:31.394 --> 00:02:34.831
- That phone call, that worst case scenario?
- 00:02:34.831 --> 00:02:38.368
- Where do you find hope at a time like that?
- 00:02:38.368 --> 00:02:40.904
- It's been said that man can live 40 days without food,
- 00:02:40.904 --> 00:02:44.841
- About 3 days without water, about 8 minutes without air,
- 00:02:44.841 --> 00:02:50.480
- But not 1 second without hope.
- 00:02:50.480 --> 00:02:53.216
- Where do you find hope when you're in the middle of a storm?
- 00:02:53.216 --> 00:03:02.959
- Cathe laurie: it was that day i felt robbed.
- 00:03:06.863 --> 00:03:09.799
- Greg: when i heard the news that our son had died--
- 00:03:09.799 --> 00:03:13.069
- Jeremy: i can say that i've been in a place where
- 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:14.671
- I feel hopeless.
- 00:03:14.671 --> 00:03:16.039
- Nick vujicic: i read about the blind man seeing
- 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:17.674
- And the death hearing--
- 00:03:17.674 --> 00:03:19.008
- Cathe: i felt as if someone had taken a big eraser to the
- 00:03:19.008 --> 00:03:21.010
- Chalkboard of my dreams and just erased everything and said,
- 00:03:21.010 --> 00:03:25.081
- "it's all going to be different."
- 00:03:25.081 --> 00:03:26.583
- Jeremy: it was so hard to watch her get weaker and weaker.
- 00:03:26.583 --> 00:03:29.052
- Nick: god, give me arms and legs.
- 00:03:29.052 --> 00:03:30.720
- Greg: when i heard the news, i felt like i could literally
- 00:03:30.720 --> 00:03:33.323
- Die because the pain would have stopped.
- 00:03:33.323 --> 00:03:35.525
- Nick: i knew god could do it, but he didn't.
- 00:03:35.525 --> 00:03:38.127
- Jeremy: i'm not supposed to be visiting
- 00:03:38.127 --> 00:03:39.662
- The graveside of my wife.
- 00:03:39.662 --> 00:03:41.030
- So, you know, doesn't make sense.
- 00:03:41.030 --> 00:03:42.899
- Nick: so does he love me?
- 00:03:42.899 --> 00:03:44.934
- Does he hear me?
- 00:03:44.934 --> 00:03:47.003
- And when i was searching for him,
- 00:03:47.003 --> 00:03:49.205
- He didn't answer me so i felt alone.
- 00:03:49.205 --> 00:03:54.777
- James dobson: you know, trials and difficulties are
- 00:03:58.881 --> 00:04:00.850
- Sometimes described as storms, and for good reason.
- 00:04:00.850 --> 00:04:04.921
- They blow in and out of our lives seemingly at random;
- 00:04:04.921 --> 00:04:08.958
- Sometimes back to back, and sometimes intermittently.
- 00:04:08.958 --> 00:04:13.129
- Some storms are more intense than others,
- 00:04:13.129 --> 00:04:15.898
- But everyone experiences them eventually.
- 00:04:15.898 --> 00:04:19.902
- Whether it be a broken relationship,
- 00:04:19.902 --> 00:04:22.205
- Or financial problems, or medical or legal issues,
- 00:04:22.205 --> 00:04:26.109
- The effects of age, or the death of a loved one;
- 00:04:26.109 --> 00:04:30.213
- The storms of life dark in our landscape,
- 00:04:30.213 --> 00:04:33.683
- Confusing and disorienting and threatening to
- 00:04:33.683 --> 00:04:37.587
- Uproot our core beliefs.
- 00:04:37.587 --> 00:04:40.023
- But as hebrews 6:19 says, we have this hope as an anchor for
- 00:04:40.023 --> 00:04:45.495
- The soul firm and secure.
- 00:04:45.495 --> 00:04:48.665
- In the midst of storms we have an anchor,
- 00:04:48.665 --> 00:04:52.535
- And that anchor is hope.
- 00:04:52.535 --> 00:05:01.244
- ♪♪♪
- 00:05:04.580 --> 00:05:09.185
- Male: young boys dream of finding their purpose in life,
- 00:05:09.252 --> 00:05:12.789
- What will set them apart from the rest of the pack.
- 00:05:12.789 --> 00:05:15.591
- You know, the really important stuff like,
- 00:05:15.591 --> 00:05:17.527
- "how many free throws can i make in a row?
- 00:05:17.527 --> 00:05:19.829
- How's my crossover step?
- 00:05:19.829 --> 00:05:21.731
- Could i really be the three-point king someday?"
- 00:05:21.731 --> 00:05:24.701
- Jeremy camp was no different than any other young hoosier
- 00:05:24.701 --> 00:05:27.570
- Bound for glory.
- 00:05:27.570 --> 00:05:31.107
- ♪ everybody dies, but not everybody lives. ♪
- 00:05:31.107 --> 00:05:38.081
- Male: born in indiana in 1978,
- 00:05:41.751 --> 00:05:44.220
- Jeremy was raised in a home that served god.
- 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:47.390
- What the family lacked in means, they made up for in faith.
- 00:05:47.390 --> 00:05:51.761
- In 1999 while in bible college, jeremy met a young woman,
- 00:05:51.761 --> 00:05:56.232
- Melissa henning.
- 00:05:56.232 --> 00:05:58.034
- Jeremy: my friend asked me, he said, "hey, i want you to do
- 00:05:58.034 --> 00:06:00.803
- A bible study with me at palomar college," you know.
- 00:06:00.803 --> 00:06:03.439
- And i was like, "okay." "you got to meet this girl.
- 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.608
- Her name is melissa, and she's amazing.
- 00:06:05.608 --> 00:06:08.511
- She loves jesus. she's beautiful.
- 00:06:08.511 --> 00:06:11.047
- It's--" i'm like, "okay, cool."
- 00:06:11.047 --> 00:06:12.415
- You know, i thought, "well, he's into melissa.
- 00:06:12.415 --> 00:06:14.283
- You know, so i'm not going to think anything."
- 00:06:14.283 --> 00:06:16.018
- So i grabbed my guitar and we sat,
- 00:06:16.018 --> 00:06:18.087
- You know, in this little circle at the school outside,
- 00:06:18.087 --> 00:06:21.457
- And this is what really gripped me.
- 00:06:21.457 --> 00:06:23.793
- Certainly in worship and i kind of just opened my eyes,
- 00:06:23.793 --> 00:06:27.230
- You know, at one point and i looked up,
- 00:06:27.230 --> 00:06:29.632
- And she literally was--i mean, like her hands were lifted high.
- 00:06:29.632 --> 00:06:34.637
- She's out in this--you know, the college.
- 00:06:34.637 --> 00:06:36.038
- No like, "okay, are people watching me?"
- 00:06:36.038 --> 00:06:38.374
- Didn't care. it was her and the lord.
- 00:06:38.374 --> 00:06:40.843
- So it's almost like this moment of like, "am i interrupting?"
- 00:06:40.843 --> 00:06:42.979
- I don't want to even look 'cause it's like
- 00:06:42.979 --> 00:06:44.881
- She's with jesus right now.
- 00:06:44.881 --> 00:06:46.215
- That's what it felt like.
- 00:06:46.215 --> 00:06:47.550
- And so i'm kind of like fumbling around, whoa,
- 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:48.951
- Had to close my eyes again.
- 00:06:48.951 --> 00:06:50.453
- You know, i was so distracted.
- 00:06:50.453 --> 00:06:51.921
- So at that point something kind of in me like,
- 00:06:51.921 --> 00:06:53.990
- "whoa, she's an extraordinary person."
- 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:58.928
- Male: jeremy overcame his feelings of vulnerability and
- 00:07:03.099 --> 00:07:05.835
- Proceeded with caution.
- 00:07:05.835 --> 00:07:07.737
- It was just a matter of time before they began dating.
- 00:07:07.737 --> 00:07:10.473
- However, their relationship was filled with conflict,
- 00:07:10.473 --> 00:07:12.842
- Turmoil, and strain.
- 00:07:12.842 --> 00:07:14.577
- He put those three words in his back pocket.
- 00:07:14.577 --> 00:07:17.246
- He had a hope of using them again someday.
- 00:07:17.246 --> 00:07:20.283
- Jeremy: well, we broke up eventually.
- 00:07:20.283 --> 00:07:22.084
- I was devastated.
- 00:07:22.084 --> 00:07:23.419
- I was like, "my whole life has just now been transformed,
- 00:07:23.419 --> 00:07:27.156
- And i thought this is my wife and now it's over."
- 00:07:27.156 --> 00:07:30.993
- Male: they say distance makes the heart grow fonder.
- 00:07:30.993 --> 00:07:33.996
- Jeremy submerged himself in his music to distance his feelings.
- 00:07:33.996 --> 00:07:38.334
- After several weeks of no communication,
- 00:07:38.334 --> 00:07:40.303
- One day the news reached him that melissa was in the hospital
- 00:07:40.303 --> 00:07:44.006
- Where she'd been diagnosed with cancer.
- 00:07:44.006 --> 00:07:46.209
- Jeremy: so i went to see her.
- 00:07:46.209 --> 00:07:47.543
- You know, i wanted to see how she was doing so i drove down.
- 00:07:47.543 --> 00:07:49.479
- It was an hour and a half away.
- 00:07:49.479 --> 00:07:50.880
- I just drove straight down, and i walked in.
- 00:07:50.880 --> 00:07:52.448
- I looked at her and she was just smiling.
- 00:07:52.448 --> 00:07:55.251
- Like, you know, when i say--she was from ear to ear
- 00:07:55.251 --> 00:07:58.888
- Just beaming, you know.
- 00:07:58.888 --> 00:08:00.289
- It was a supernatural thing, to be honest.
- 00:08:00.289 --> 00:08:02.892
- It was just like--i go, "how are you?"
- 00:08:02.892 --> 00:08:05.428
- 'cause i was kind of like shocked,
- 00:08:05.428 --> 00:08:07.063
- Like, "why is she so happy?"
- 00:08:07.063 --> 00:08:08.764
- Her response to that will stick with me for the rest of my life,
- 00:08:08.764 --> 00:08:11.100
- And it's something that i talk about and it'll never get old.
- 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:14.370
- She said--sorry.
- 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:17.440
- Sometimes it really impacts me to the core.
- 00:08:17.440 --> 00:08:21.744
- She goes, "i'm okay because i realized,
- 00:08:21.744 --> 00:08:24.514
- You know, if i die from this cancer it'd be all worth it
- 00:08:24.514 --> 00:08:30.553
- If one person accepts jesus."
- 00:08:30.553 --> 00:08:33.456
- And i remember just walking out of that room and driving home
- 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:43.065
- And i'm just weeping.
- 00:08:43.065 --> 00:08:44.667
- I'm weeping and i'm weeping.
- 00:08:44.667 --> 00:08:46.269
- So i'm just my heart, and i said something randomly
- 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:49.205
- As i'm crying.
- 00:08:49.205 --> 00:08:50.706
- You know, i'm weeping and i said,
- 00:08:50.706 --> 00:08:52.308
- You know, "lord," i was like, "if she tells me she loves me,
- 00:08:52.308 --> 00:08:55.745
- I'll marry her."
- 00:08:55.745 --> 00:08:57.346
- Like, where did that come from? you know what i mean?
- 00:08:57.346 --> 00:09:01.150
- Type of--and i was kind of like okay,
- 00:09:01.150 --> 00:09:02.685
- You know, but i just was like, "these emotions,
- 00:09:02.685 --> 00:09:04.620
- What--" and i think the thought of that was probably it was--i
- 00:09:04.620 --> 00:09:09.492
- Already said that i loved her a long time ago.
- 00:09:09.492 --> 00:09:12.461
- So if there's a reciprocation, i guess,
- 00:09:12.461 --> 00:09:15.264
- Of that back, then all right i'm in, you know.
- 00:09:15.264 --> 00:09:18.668
- A few weeks later she's out of the hospital.
- 00:09:18.668 --> 00:09:21.170
- I get a phone call, and she's like,
- 00:09:21.170 --> 00:09:22.905
- "can you--can i see you?"
- 00:09:22.905 --> 00:09:25.474
- So she was at home and she was going through chemotherapy.
- 00:09:25.474 --> 00:09:27.510
- So she was in bed and just--you know,
- 00:09:27.510 --> 00:09:29.512
- Really weak from the chemo, and that was just tough anyway.
- 00:09:29.512 --> 00:09:31.948
- And i walk in.
- 00:09:31.948 --> 00:09:33.716
- She goes, "i want you to know that i've been praying for you.
- 00:09:33.716 --> 00:09:36.752
- I've been writing in my journal and writing these prayers
- 00:09:36.752 --> 00:09:39.221
- For you and these prayers for your wife."
- 00:09:39.221 --> 00:09:41.958
- She goes, "i don't know why, but i always just has--i always
- 00:09:41.958 --> 00:09:44.226
- Cared about you."
- 00:09:44.226 --> 00:09:45.795
- But she goes, "you know that i love you,
- 00:09:45.795 --> 00:09:48.831
- And i just do and i realized as i'm writing these prayers i'm
- 00:09:48.831 --> 00:09:52.802
- Praying, you know, for us."
- 00:09:52.802 --> 00:09:56.172
- Male: those three words jeremy had tucked away were
- 00:09:56.172 --> 00:09:59.008
- The very words to bring sunshine at the brink of the storm
- 00:09:59.008 --> 00:10:02.745
- That was soon to emerge.
- 00:10:02.745 --> 00:10:04.513
- Jeremy: we got engaged.
- 00:10:04.513 --> 00:10:05.881
- She was going through chemotherapy,
- 00:10:05.881 --> 00:10:07.450
- And she's losing her hair.
- 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:09.185
- You know, as a woman and losing your hair,
- 00:10:09.185 --> 00:10:11.253
- She's wearing little bandanas and hats and stuff.
- 00:10:11.253 --> 00:10:15.257
- I joke with it and i'd be like, "here's my beautiful bald hair
- 00:10:15.257 --> 00:10:18.361
- Brown-eyed babe."
- 00:10:18.361 --> 00:10:19.929
- You know, it was like the little thing that i said to her.
- 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:23.733
- Male: on october 21st, 2000, jeremy and melissa were married.
- 00:10:25.801 --> 00:10:32.942
- Jeremy: so the wedding was just an extraordinary thing of
- 00:10:33.009 --> 00:10:35.211
- People rejoicing, god's love, his faithfulness.
- 00:10:35.211 --> 00:10:38.214
- And so we continued to enjoy our honeymoon.
- 00:10:38.214 --> 00:10:40.783
- It was a very, very sweet time.
- 00:10:40.783 --> 00:10:43.586
- She started kind of having these issues with her stomach again
- 00:10:43.586 --> 00:10:46.322
- And she was like, "hey, you know,
- 00:10:46.322 --> 00:10:49.592
- I'm--i don't know what this is.
- 00:10:49.592 --> 00:10:51.360
- I feel like something--my stomach's not right."
- 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:53.229
- Remember, the thing was just like,
- 00:10:53.229 --> 00:10:54.630
- "hey, let's just enjoy ourselves right now."
- 00:10:54.630 --> 00:10:56.999
- Kind of suppressing, you know, any thoughts of anything.
- 00:10:56.999 --> 00:10:59.769
- We started having that fear again like,
- 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:02.338
- "what's happening?"
- 00:11:02.338 --> 00:11:05.174
- Male: immediately upon their return to the mainland,
- 00:11:05.174 --> 00:11:07.476
- Melissa went to the doctors.
- 00:11:07.476 --> 00:11:09.211
- After several tests, the doctors confirmed their worst fears.
- 00:11:09.211 --> 00:11:13.582
- Jeremy: the cancer is all over.
- 00:11:13.582 --> 00:11:15.084
- It's not just a glob like it used to be.
- 00:11:15.084 --> 00:11:17.420
- It's just--it's all over. i said, "okay.
- 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:19.922
- Well, what--you know, what do we need to do?
- 00:11:19.922 --> 00:11:21.490
- What's the next step?"
- 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:22.858
- And the doctor, he just goes,
- 00:11:22.858 --> 00:11:25.561
- "there's nothing else we can do."
- 00:11:25.561 --> 00:11:27.763
- And i said, "what do you mean?"
- 00:11:27.763 --> 00:11:31.100
- He goes, "she has weeks to months to live."
- 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:33.335
- ♪♪♪
- 00:11:33.335 --> 00:11:43.546
- ♪♪♪
- 00:11:46.882 --> 00:11:50.219
- Greg: i'm in the city of rome, and
- 00:11:50.219 --> 00:11:52.755
- Paul the apostle wrote an epistle called the epistle
- 00:11:52.755 --> 00:11:56.292
- To the romans, a letter to the romans.
- 00:11:56.292 --> 00:11:58.260
- And one of the most well-known statements from that book is
- 00:11:58.260 --> 00:12:01.997
- Romans 8:28, where paul says, "we know that all things work
- 00:12:01.997 --> 00:12:06.769
- Together for good to those that love god and are the called
- 00:12:06.769 --> 00:12:09.939
- According to his purpose."
- 00:12:09.939 --> 00:12:11.807
- Now, this is a verse that is often quoted to anyone
- 00:12:11.807 --> 00:12:14.610
- Who's going through any kind of hardship,
- 00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:16.612
- And it is a beautiful verse.
- 00:12:16.612 --> 00:12:18.581
- You can look over life and there'll be times when you say,
- 00:12:18.581 --> 00:12:21.283
- "look, that really bad thing turned out to be a good thing."
- 00:12:21.283 --> 00:12:25.187
- But that's not true of everything in life, is it?
- 00:12:25.187 --> 00:12:28.057
- There are some things that are bad,
- 00:12:28.057 --> 00:12:30.392
- That will always be bad.
- 00:12:30.392 --> 00:12:32.027
- They'll never stop being bad.
- 00:12:32.027 --> 00:12:33.763
- So i don't think we always have to try to find a neat,
- 00:12:33.763 --> 00:12:36.999
- Tidy explanation for everything that happens because the bible
- 00:12:36.999 --> 00:12:40.703
- Teaches that life on earth is not all there is.
- 00:12:40.703 --> 00:12:43.672
- There is another life.
- 00:12:43.672 --> 00:12:45.307
- We'll enter into eternity and many of those questions will be
- 00:12:45.307 --> 00:12:49.311
- Answered, but it is true that god causes all things to work
- 00:12:49.311 --> 00:12:53.616
- Together for good.
- 00:12:53.616 --> 00:12:54.950
- It doesn't say he makes bad things good things,
- 00:12:54.950 --> 00:12:57.286
- It says that despite the bad things god can bring good.
- 00:12:57.286 --> 00:13:01.056
- Whatever you're going through, good can come out of it.
- 00:13:01.056 --> 00:13:04.026
- You say, "what kind of good?"
- 00:13:04.026 --> 00:13:05.594
- How about this?
- 00:13:05.594 --> 00:13:07.163
- That you'll become more like jesus.
- 00:13:07.163 --> 00:13:09.165
- One thing people often forget is after romans 8:28
- 00:13:09.165 --> 00:13:12.334
- Is romans 8:29.
- 00:13:12.334 --> 00:13:14.503
- Paul says, "we know all things work together for good to those
- 00:13:14.503 --> 00:13:16.572
- That love god and are the called according to his purpose."
- 00:13:16.572 --> 00:13:18.841
- Then he goes on to say, "for whom he did foreknow,
- 00:13:18.841 --> 00:13:21.544
- He also did predestine to be conformed into the image
- 00:13:21.544 --> 00:13:24.613
- Of his own dear son."
- 00:13:24.613 --> 00:13:26.282
- See, god's end game for you is not just to make you happy;
- 00:13:26.282 --> 00:13:30.119
- It's to make you holy.
- 00:13:30.119 --> 00:13:31.887
- It's to not make you comfortable,
- 00:13:31.887 --> 00:13:33.889
- It's to make you like jesus.
- 00:13:33.889 --> 00:13:36.058
- He wants to conform you into his image.
- 00:13:36.058 --> 00:13:38.694
- That's the bigger picture.
- 00:13:38.694 --> 00:13:43.999
- James: sometimes we get so caught up in the circumstances
- 00:13:48.170 --> 00:13:51.740
- Of our pain that we miss the bigger picture.
- 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:55.611
- When we're in the midst of it, it's hard to remember that god
- 00:13:55.611 --> 00:13:59.014
- Works through our pain.
- 00:13:59.014 --> 00:14:01.917
- That's demonstrated most powerfully in the life of jesus,
- 00:14:01.917 --> 00:14:05.254
- Isn't it?
- 00:14:05.254 --> 00:14:06.789
- If god could have accomplished his greatest work without
- 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:09.725
- Causing pain to his son, i'm certain that he would have.
- 00:14:09.725 --> 00:14:14.096
- But that's also true in our own lives.
- 00:14:14.096 --> 00:14:17.633
- Does that mean that we skip through our trials with smiles
- 00:14:17.633 --> 00:14:20.970
- On our faces and say glibly, "pain is good?"
- 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:24.640
- No.
- 00:14:24.640 --> 00:14:26.442
- But when we realize that pain is necessary,
- 00:14:26.442 --> 00:14:29.778
- That it serves a purpose, and that our discomfort is used by
- 00:14:29.778 --> 00:14:34.550
- God, nothing goes to waste.
- 00:14:34.550 --> 00:14:36.986
- It sparks a sense of hope within us.
- 00:14:36.986 --> 00:14:40.756
- It assures us that ultimately there will be a good end
- 00:14:40.756 --> 00:14:45.628
- To a bad story.
- 00:14:45.628 --> 00:14:52.835
- ♪ i am small. ♪
- 00:14:56.272 --> 00:14:59.608
- ♪ i am smaller than, ♪
- 00:14:59.608 --> 00:15:03.279
- ♪ i am smaller than lies ♪
- 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.882
- ♪ as the clock sweeps away. ♪
- 00:15:06.882 --> 00:15:10.552
- ♪ but you take, you take all of it. ♪
- 00:15:10.552 --> 00:15:17.293
- ♪ take my second ♪
- 00:15:17.293 --> 00:15:20.329
- ♪ and you turn them into a day. ♪
- 00:15:20.329 --> 00:15:24.466
- ♪ i am the light of my father as i ♪
- 00:15:24.466 --> 00:15:30.706
- Male: the miracle of life: a child being born,
- 00:15:30.706 --> 00:15:33.976
- The love that begins to consume you.
- 00:15:33.976 --> 00:15:37.346
- In 1982, boris and dushka vujicic were expecting
- 00:15:37.346 --> 00:15:40.883
- Their first child.
- 00:15:40.883 --> 00:15:43.152
- ♪♪♪
- 00:15:43.152 --> 00:15:50.859
- Male: by all indications, the pregnancy
- 00:15:50.859 --> 00:15:52.594
- Was going according to plan.
- 00:15:52.594 --> 00:15:54.563
- The anticipation and excitement overwhelmed them.
- 00:15:54.563 --> 00:15:57.599
- Not knowing the gender, they had names already picked out.
- 00:15:57.599 --> 00:16:01.236
- Nick if it was a boy.
- 00:16:01.236 --> 00:16:02.871
- If it was a girl, rebecca.
- 00:16:02.871 --> 00:16:05.174
- Questions consumed them.
- 00:16:05.174 --> 00:16:07.142
- Would she have blue eyes or brown eyes?
- 00:16:07.142 --> 00:16:09.445
- Would he be left-handed or right-handed or be as tall
- 00:16:09.445 --> 00:16:12.481
- As boris someday?
- 00:16:12.481 --> 00:16:14.183
- Would she have dushka's sense of humor,
- 00:16:14.183 --> 00:16:16.385
- Athletes or artists?
- 00:16:16.385 --> 00:16:18.487
- Then on december 4th, 1982, it was a boy.
- 00:16:18.487 --> 00:16:22.992
- Little nick arrived into the world,
- 00:16:22.992 --> 00:16:25.294
- Changing the lives of boris and dushka forever.
- 00:16:25.294 --> 00:16:29.932
- ♪ lord, you work so wonders ♪
- 00:16:29.932 --> 00:16:34.937
- ♪ and i wonder at your love. ♪
- 00:16:34.937 --> 00:16:40.876
- Nick: i was born in melbourne, australia,
- 00:16:42.678 --> 00:16:45.080
- And my parents were expecting their firstborn bouncing baby.
- 00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:49.318
- When i was born, it was a great shock, a tragedy.
- 00:16:49.318 --> 00:16:54.256
- The church mourned as if someone had died.
- 00:16:54.256 --> 00:16:57.726
- I was born without arms and legs.
- 00:16:57.726 --> 00:17:02.664
- Male: boris and dushka's questions quickly changed.
- 00:17:02.664 --> 00:17:06.168
- They now asked god questions such as,
- 00:17:06.168 --> 00:17:09.204
- "how could you allow this to happen?
- 00:17:09.204 --> 00:17:11.573
- Why were there no prenatal science?
- 00:17:11.573 --> 00:17:14.209
- How can we raise a child with this disability?
- 00:17:14.209 --> 00:17:17.713
- What kind of value of life would he even have?"
- 00:17:17.713 --> 00:17:20.749
- They began to grieve for several months,
- 00:17:20.749 --> 00:17:23.752
- Asking the same question over and over again.
- 00:17:23.752 --> 00:17:26.955
- But for nick as a small baby, he adapted the only way he could.
- 00:17:26.955 --> 00:17:31.593
- Nick: for me i was just like any other baby and rolling
- 00:17:31.593 --> 00:17:34.763
- Around and playing with my toys, with my food and just getting
- 00:17:34.763 --> 00:17:38.834
- Involved as much as possible, chewing on things,
- 00:17:38.834 --> 00:17:42.171
- You know, at times and--had a pacifier.
- 00:17:42.171 --> 00:17:44.473
- Just like anybody else, i just loved life.
- 00:17:44.473 --> 00:17:47.976
- Male: adapting at home was one thing.
- 00:17:47.976 --> 00:17:49.912
- However, life for the three of them
- 00:17:49.912 --> 00:17:51.713
- Could not be lived this way.
- 00:17:51.713 --> 00:17:53.415
- Keeping him sheltered was not the solution.
- 00:17:53.415 --> 00:17:56.385
- Nick: it was around the age of 5 or 6 where i noticed that,
- 00:17:56.385 --> 00:17:59.455
- You know, people would definitely start staring at me
- 00:17:59.455 --> 00:18:02.591
- And it wasn't because i was good-looking.
- 00:18:02.591 --> 00:18:04.593
- Male: boris and dushka could not hide him forever,
- 00:18:04.593 --> 00:18:07.162
- So the brave decision to enter him into a modern world with
- 00:18:07.162 --> 00:18:10.466
- No arms or legs was a difficult decision.
- 00:18:10.466 --> 00:18:14.336
- Nick's life would be on display for the world to watch,
- 00:18:14.336 --> 00:18:17.573
- With shock and intrigue.
- 00:18:17.573 --> 00:18:20.375
- Nick: the biggest wakeup to my life was my first year
- 00:18:20.375 --> 00:18:22.911
- Of school where kids would look at me and not know
- 00:18:22.911 --> 00:18:25.581
- What to do with me.
- 00:18:25.581 --> 00:18:27.216
- Some would laugh, some would stay away,
- 00:18:27.216 --> 00:18:29.251
- And sometimes i would get so teased that i would find myself
- 00:18:29.251 --> 00:18:32.654
- Hiding in a garden at my public elementary school.
- 00:18:32.654 --> 00:18:36.825
- My parents always said, "god loves you."
- 00:18:36.825 --> 00:18:39.094
- And i heard my dad talk about god's love,
- 00:18:39.094 --> 00:18:41.597
- But for me it was very difficult to believe in a hope,
- 00:18:41.597 --> 00:18:45.000
- In a plan, or any future.
- 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.403
- Male: life can be unfair,
- 00:18:48.403 --> 00:18:50.405
- Circumstances beyond our control.
- 00:18:50.405 --> 00:18:53.175
- Nick's life was outside the boundaries of comprehension.
- 00:18:53.175 --> 00:18:56.645
- With each passing day, month, and year, his life became harder
- 00:18:56.645 --> 00:19:01.183
- Obviously because he had no limbs but even more so mentally
- 00:19:01.183 --> 00:19:05.454
- As he fell into a state of depression and loneliness.
- 00:19:05.454 --> 00:19:08.891
- Nick felt hopeless as he dealt with the cruelty of life
- 00:19:08.891 --> 00:19:12.928
- And the people in it.
- 00:19:12.928 --> 00:19:14.296
- Nick: and i remember at school coming home
- 00:19:14.296 --> 00:19:16.031
- And telling them that they called me an alien,
- 00:19:16.031 --> 00:19:18.133
- That i'm nobody and, "no one likes you, nick.
- 00:19:18.133 --> 00:19:21.703
- You can't play."
- 00:19:21.703 --> 00:19:23.438
- And i knew i couldn't do everything that
- 00:19:23.438 --> 00:19:25.307
- Everybody else could do.
- 00:19:25.307 --> 00:19:26.842
- I couldn't ride a bike, and i couldn't keep up with the
- 00:19:26.842 --> 00:19:29.411
- Swimming, and i couldn't go on the field of soccer.
- 00:19:29.411 --> 00:19:32.247
- As much as i wanted to and i tried to,
- 00:19:32.247 --> 00:19:34.283
- I knew i could never do what everybody else could.
- 00:19:34.283 --> 00:19:37.686
- And i'm like, "well, wait a second.
- 00:19:37.686 --> 00:19:39.855
- If i can't do what they do and i don't have what they have,
- 00:19:39.855 --> 00:19:42.457
- Who am i?
- 00:19:42.457 --> 00:19:44.459
- What happened?"
- 00:19:44.459 --> 00:19:46.094
- And i asked my mom and dad what happened and they said only god
- 00:19:46.094 --> 00:19:48.697
- Knows, and i asked god what happened
- 00:19:48.697 --> 00:19:51.633
- And he didn't answer me.
- 00:19:51.633 --> 00:19:53.769
- And day in and day out as these voices became louder and louder
- 00:19:53.769 --> 00:19:58.140
- I would try putting a brave face in school and pretending it
- 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:02.377
- Wouldn't hurt, but i would be up all night crying,
- 00:20:02.377 --> 00:20:07.182
- Praying, "god, give me arms and legs.
- 00:20:07.182 --> 00:20:09.851
- Give me arms and legs."
- 00:20:09.851 --> 00:20:11.753
- And he wouldn't give it to me.
- 00:20:11.753 --> 00:20:14.089
- So if i put my hope in god and god's not responding,
- 00:20:14.089 --> 00:20:17.859
- What do i put my hope in?
- 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:20.896
- Male: boris and dushka eventually stopped asking god
- 00:20:23.365 --> 00:20:26.935
- The questions of the past and they began to praise him for
- 00:20:26.935 --> 00:20:30.839
- The life of nick; and they loved him unconditionally,
- 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.476
- Teaching him of god and his goodness in spite
- 00:20:34.476 --> 00:20:37.312
- Of the limitations, but it was difficult for nick
- 00:20:37.312 --> 00:20:40.315
- To comprehend this.
- 00:20:40.315 --> 00:20:41.817
- He was still so young, but his life was full of despair
- 00:20:41.817 --> 00:20:45.087
- And disillusionment.
- 00:20:45.087 --> 00:20:46.888
- The depression consumed him to the point of
- 00:20:46.888 --> 00:20:49.157
- Wanting his life to end.
- 00:20:49.157 --> 00:20:51.760
- Nick: "i don't want this pain anymore.
- 00:20:51.760 --> 00:20:53.262
- And i can live maybe for a little bit, but i couldn't."
- 00:20:53.262 --> 00:20:59.001
- I couldn't see myself going any more beyond this school,
- 00:20:59.001 --> 00:21:03.005
- Not getting a job, and not going to university.
- 00:21:03.005 --> 00:21:05.274
- "and what's there for me?
- 00:21:05.274 --> 00:21:07.576
- I might as well end it now.
- 00:21:07.576 --> 00:21:09.411
- I'm a burden to everyone now."
- 00:21:09.411 --> 00:21:11.113
- So i decided to ask my dad to fill up the bathtub with some
- 00:21:11.113 --> 00:21:15.384
- Water, and i said, "i just want to relax."
- 00:21:15.384 --> 00:21:18.954
- And i knew what that would have represented.
- 00:21:18.954 --> 00:21:21.456
- It was the end of my pain.
- 00:21:21.456 --> 00:21:23.759
- It was the end of hell for me.
- 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.395
- I just wanted out.
- 00:21:26.395 --> 00:21:28.864
- So i got in the bathtub and i asked dad to shut the door.
- 00:21:28.864 --> 00:21:31.867
- I was trying to psych myself up.
- 00:21:31.867 --> 00:21:34.503
- "come on, you can do it. you have to do this.
- 00:21:34.503 --> 00:21:37.105
- Come on, nick.
- 00:21:37.105 --> 00:21:38.607
- You can't just play around like this.
- 00:21:38.607 --> 00:21:40.242
- This is it. you got to do it."
- 00:21:40.242 --> 00:21:42.344
- I turned over and to my amazement i had a visual
- 00:21:42.344 --> 00:21:45.614
- In my head,
- 00:21:45.614 --> 00:21:47.582
- Of seeing my mom and my dad crying at my grave wishing they
- 00:21:47.582 --> 00:21:51.353
- Could have done something more, and that was enough for me
- 00:21:51.353 --> 00:21:54.823
- To stop and realize my parents didn't deserve that.
- 00:21:54.823 --> 00:21:58.760
- They didn't deserve that lifetime of pain.
- 00:21:58.760 --> 00:22:05.834
- I can't explain to you in words how it feels
- 00:22:05.834 --> 00:22:10.238
- When every day you wake up you know
- 00:22:10.238 --> 00:22:13.342
- What's coming, and it's hell and you're alone.
- 00:22:13.342 --> 00:22:18.447
- It's like a dark room and there is no way out.
- 00:22:18.447 --> 00:22:22.551
- There was no hope.
- 00:22:22.551 --> 00:22:25.320
- There was no hope.
- 00:22:25.387 --> 00:22:29.691
- ♪♪♪
- 00:22:33.028 --> 00:22:36.565
- Greg: listen to this.
- 00:22:36.565 --> 00:22:37.966
- The bible tells us that jesus wept,
- 00:22:37.966 --> 00:22:40.535
- But he wept also at the tomb of lazarus.
- 00:22:40.535 --> 00:22:43.572
- As he saw the people mourning, he saw them crying,
- 00:22:43.572 --> 00:22:47.609
- We simply read those two words.
- 00:22:47.609 --> 00:22:50.112
- Jesus wept.
- 00:22:50.112 --> 00:22:51.880
- Why did he weep?
- 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:54.116
- Well, i think one reason he wept was he saw the horrific pain
- 00:22:54.116 --> 00:22:57.419
- That death brought into the world.
- 00:22:57.419 --> 00:22:59.755
- Even though jesus knew in a moment he was going to raise
- 00:22:59.755 --> 00:23:03.158
- Lazarus again from the dead, he also knew that it was a tragic
- 00:23:03.158 --> 00:23:08.296
- Thing that men had to die.
- 00:23:08.296 --> 00:23:10.065
- This was never part of god's original plan.
- 00:23:10.065 --> 00:23:12.567
- God wanted us to live forever, never aging, never sick.
- 00:23:12.567 --> 00:23:16.705
- So he wept with those that wept.
- 00:23:16.705 --> 00:23:19.408
- But maybe jesus wept because he knew poor lazarus was going to
- 00:23:19.408 --> 00:23:23.211
- Have to leave heaven and come back to earth.
- 00:23:23.211 --> 00:23:26.248
- Listen, i want you to know when you're going through hardship
- 00:23:26.248 --> 00:23:29.317
- Jesus weeps with you.
- 00:23:29.317 --> 00:23:31.186
- Jesus knows what you're going through.
- 00:23:31.186 --> 00:23:33.688
- He's walked in your shoes, he's breathed your air,
- 00:23:33.688 --> 00:23:37.225
- He's lived your life, and he died your death and he rose
- 00:23:37.225 --> 00:23:41.830
- Again to bring us hope.
- 00:23:41.830 --> 00:23:44.366
- But as you go through anguish and pain,
- 00:23:44.366 --> 00:23:47.602
- Cry out to god and know that he in effect, christ with you.
- 00:23:47.602 --> 00:23:55.110
- Greg: maybe god has spoken
- 00:23:58.713 --> 00:24:00.615
- To your heart and you have seen your need for jesus christ.
- 00:24:00.615 --> 00:24:05.520
- Jesus christ is the son of god who came from heaven
- 00:24:05.520 --> 00:24:09.357
- To this earth.
- 00:24:09.357 --> 00:24:10.859
- He was born in a manger, he died on cross,
- 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:14.229
- He rose again from the dead; why?
- 00:24:14.229 --> 00:24:16.498
- Because he loves you and he wants a relationship with you.
- 00:24:16.498 --> 00:24:20.135
- Listen, i'm not talking about religion.
- 00:24:20.135 --> 00:24:22.204
- I don't wanna be a religious person,
- 00:24:22.204 --> 00:24:24.206
- I don't think you wanna be one either,
- 00:24:24.206 --> 00:24:26.141
- I'm talking about relationship with god.
- 00:24:26.141 --> 00:24:29.478
- Jesus who died and rose again stands at the door of your life
- 00:24:29.478 --> 00:24:34.049
- And he knocks and he says, "if you'll hear his voice
- 00:24:34.049 --> 00:24:36.852
- And open the door, he will come in."
- 00:24:36.852 --> 00:24:39.054
- Question:
- 00:24:39.054 --> 00:24:40.555
- Have you asked jesus christ to come and live inside of you?
- 00:24:40.555 --> 00:24:43.291
- You might say, "well, i think so, i'm not sure."
- 00:24:43.291 --> 00:24:45.460
- Hey, if someone moved into your house in the middle
- 00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:47.662
- Of the night, do you think you would be aware of it?
- 00:24:47.662 --> 00:24:50.565
- I'm sure you would.
- 00:24:50.565 --> 00:24:52.300
- And in the same way, if christ has come to live inside of you,
- 00:24:52.300 --> 00:24:55.136
- You will know, and if you don't know,
- 00:24:55.136 --> 00:24:57.706
- Maybe he has not come in yet, he's just a prayer away.
- 00:24:57.706 --> 00:25:01.510
- All you need to do is say, "jesus, i want this relationship
- 00:25:01.510 --> 00:25:05.080
- With you, i want you to forgive me of my sin,
- 00:25:05.080 --> 00:25:07.916
- I wanna go to heaven when i die."
- 00:25:07.916 --> 00:25:10.452
- Would you like to do that?
- 00:25:10.452 --> 00:25:12.020
- Would you like christ to come into your life?
- 00:25:12.020 --> 00:25:13.955
- If so, why don't you just pray the simple prayer with me.
- 00:25:13.955 --> 00:25:17.292
- You can pray it out loud or you can pray it in the quietness
- 00:25:17.292 --> 00:25:20.562
- Of your heart.
- 00:25:20.562 --> 00:25:21.897
- But this is a prayer where you're asking jesus christ
- 00:25:21.897 --> 00:25:24.366
- To be your savior and lord, pray this with me now.
- 00:25:24.366 --> 00:25:27.903
- "lord jesus, i know that i'm a sinner,
- 00:25:27.903 --> 00:25:31.172
- But i know that you're the savior.
- 00:25:31.172 --> 00:25:33.575
- Who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead.
- 00:25:33.575 --> 00:25:37.779
- Now come into my life.
- 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:40.048
- I choose to follow you from this moment forward.
- 00:25:40.048 --> 00:25:44.386
- Thank you for hearing this prayer
- 00:25:44.386 --> 00:25:46.922
- And answering this prayer.
- 00:25:46.922 --> 00:25:48.757
- In jesus's name, amen."
- 00:25:48.757 --> 00:25:51.159
- Did you just pray that prayer with me?
- 00:25:51.159 --> 00:25:53.862
- If so, i want you to know in the authority of scripture that
- 00:25:53.862 --> 00:25:56.932
- Christ himself has come to live inside of you,
- 00:25:56.932 --> 00:25:59.834
- And i would love to send to you
- 00:25:59.834 --> 00:26:01.202
- At no charge
- 00:26:01.202 --> 00:26:02.671
- The "new believer's bible."
- 00:26:02.671 --> 00:26:04.272
- It's a very friendly translation of the new testament you'll find
- 00:26:04.272 --> 00:26:07.876
- Very understandable, and it's filled with hundreds of notes
- 00:26:07.876 --> 00:26:11.479
- That i wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you've
- 00:26:11.479 --> 00:26:14.983
- Just made to follow jesus.
- 00:26:14.983 --> 00:26:16.818
- And let me be the first to say
- 00:26:16.818 --> 00:26:18.153
- To you congratulations and
- 00:26:18.153 --> 00:26:21.022
- Welcome to the family of god.
- 00:26:21.022 --> 00:26:27.796
- Male announcer: "revelation: a book of promises,"
- 00:26:31.833 --> 00:26:34.102
- By greg laurie.
- 00:26:34.102 --> 00:26:35.503
- Why study revelation?
- 00:26:35.503 --> 00:26:37.138
- The word "revelation" means unveiling.
- 00:26:37.138 --> 00:26:39.874
- God's desire is to reveal, not conceal.
- 00:26:39.874 --> 00:26:43.445
- And this book unveils pictures of the spirit world,
- 00:26:43.445 --> 00:26:46.281
- Great cataclysmic events in store for the planet,
- 00:26:46.281 --> 00:26:49.250
- And the coming antichrist.
- 00:26:49.250 --> 00:26:51.453
- But as greg laurie explains, the primary objective
- 00:26:51.453 --> 00:26:54.122
- Of this book isn't to reveal the antichrist.
- 00:26:54.122 --> 00:26:57.025
- It's to reveal jesus christ and his soon coming.
- 00:26:57.025 --> 00:27:00.695
- "revelation: a book of promises" is designed to help you see
- 00:27:00.695 --> 00:27:04.199
- Jesus as the centerpiece, the star,
- 00:27:04.199 --> 00:27:07.035
- And the focus of revelation.
- 00:27:07.035 --> 00:27:09.371
- With this eminently practical guide, you can experience the
- 00:27:09.371 --> 00:27:12.707
- Blessing promised to those who read, hear, and keep the words
- 00:27:12.707 --> 00:27:16.778
- Of this prophetic book.
- 00:27:16.778 --> 00:27:18.546
- After all, bible prophecy is not given to inflate our brains,
- 00:27:18.546 --> 00:27:22.350
- But to enlarge our hearts.
- 00:27:22.350 --> 00:27:25.286
- Request "revelation" by greg laurie
- 00:27:25.286 --> 00:27:27.455
- When you give today.
- 00:27:27.455 --> 00:27:27.455
