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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie - Lost Boy - Harvest Crusade 2022

May 25, 2025 | 27:29

Greg Laurie - Lost Boy - Harvest Crusade 2022
Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement, worship, and Bible study.
#GregLaurie #Faith #TrustGod #WalkwithGod #Religion #Truth #Loss #Harvest

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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Greg Laurie - Lost Boy - Harvest Crusade 2022 | May 25, 2025
  • ...
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  • Greg laurie: you might say, "i've messed up in life and i'm
  • 00:00:04.060 --> 00:00:06.496
  • Gonna clean my life up and try to become more moral and
  • 00:00:06.629 --> 00:00:09.833
  • More religious.
  • 00:00:09.933 --> 00:00:11.167
  • And then i'll come to god."
  • 00:00:11.301 --> 00:00:11.768
  • Listen, don't try to clean your life up and come to god.
  • 00:00:12.869 --> 00:00:15.171
  • Come to god and he will clean your life up.
  • 00:00:15.171 --> 00:00:17.807
  • You just come as you are.
  • 00:00:17.807 --> 00:00:19.342
  • ♪ this is the day. ♪
  • 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:24.547
  • ♪ the day when life begins. ♪
  • 00:00:24.547 --> 00:00:30.053
  • ♪ this is the day. ♪
  • 00:00:30.053 --> 00:00:32.555
  • ♪ the day when life begins. ♪♪
  • 00:00:32.555 --> 00:00:41.097
  • Greg: who wants to hear a bible story?
  • 00:00:44.901 --> 00:00:46.436
  • Raise your hand.
  • 00:00:46.436 --> 00:00:48.104
  • Oh good.
  • 00:00:48.104 --> 00:00:49.439
  • Good, i have one for you right now.
  • 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.442
  • In fact, the title of my message is, "lost boy."
  • 00:00:52.442 --> 00:00:57.780
  • And it's gonna be based on a very familiar story
  • 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:00.617
  • In the bible, the story of the prodigal son.
  • 00:01:00.617 --> 00:01:03.753
  • Our life, it's like a movie.
  • 00:01:04.454 --> 00:01:07.757
  • And of course, we're the star of our own movie.
  • 00:01:07.757 --> 00:01:12.362
  • This movie that we're in, this life that we live, has a
  • 00:01:12.362 --> 00:01:15.665
  • Beginning, a middle, and an end.
  • 00:01:15.665 --> 00:01:18.535
  • A lot of twists and turns, storm clouds and darkness.
  • 00:01:18.535 --> 00:01:23.473
  • A lot of things that we don't always understand.
  • 00:01:23.473 --> 00:01:25.808
  • And we have questions about this movie we're all in, this life
  • 00:01:25.808 --> 00:01:30.480
  • We're all living.
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  • Is it a drama?
  • 00:01:31.814 --> 00:01:33.149
  • Is it a love story?
  • 00:01:33.149 --> 00:01:34.517
  • Maybe it's a comedy or is it a hopeless tragedy?
  • 00:01:34.517 --> 00:01:38.721
  • A famous cardiologist wrote in his autobiography, quote, "hope
  • 00:01:38.721 --> 00:01:43.159
  • Is the medicine i use more than any other.
  • 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.528
  • Hope can cure nearly anything," end quote.
  • 00:01:45.528 --> 00:01:49.365
  • And i wonder if you're without hope right now, because you
  • 00:01:49.365 --> 00:01:52.969
  • Cannot survive without hope in your life.
  • 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:56.206
  • It's been said, "man can live 40 days without food, 3 days
  • 00:01:56.206 --> 00:02:00.176
  • Without water, 8 minutes without air, but not one second
  • 00:02:00.176 --> 00:02:04.047
  • Without hope."
  • 00:02:04.047 --> 00:02:05.381
  • And i have hope for america tonight.
  • 00:02:05.381 --> 00:02:09.185
  • I have hope for california tonight.
  • 00:02:09.185 --> 00:02:11.721
  • I have hope for you tonight.
  • 00:02:11.721 --> 00:02:14.257
  • And it's a relationship with god.
  • 00:02:14.257 --> 00:02:18.228
  • I'll tell you where my hope isn't.
  • 00:02:18.228 --> 00:02:19.862
  • My hope is not in politicians.
  • 00:02:19.862 --> 00:02:22.932
  • My hope is not in technology.
  • 00:02:22.932 --> 00:02:25.435
  • My hope is not in mankind at all.
  • 00:02:25.435 --> 00:02:27.837
  • In fact, we're living in frightening times right now.
  • 00:02:27.837 --> 00:02:31.107
  • Our world leaders are literally talking about the possibility of
  • 00:02:31.107 --> 00:02:36.212
  • A nuclear war.
  • 00:02:36.212 --> 00:02:37.614
  • Have you noticed?
  • 00:02:37.614 --> 00:02:38.948
  • These are scary times that we're living in.
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  • We wonder what is going on in this world.
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  • We need hope.
  • 00:02:44.187 --> 00:02:45.922
  • Generation z has been described as the hopeless generation.
  • 00:02:45.922 --> 00:02:50.860
  • I mean, here's a generation that's the most affluent that
  • 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:54.063
  • Has ever lived, they have all the coolest tech, they have
  • 00:02:54.063 --> 00:02:57.400
  • Iphones and they have ipads and all the shiny stuff and i'm
  • 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.603
  • Talking about their pets, not even them.
  • 00:03:00.603 --> 00:03:02.572
  • This is how good they have it, right?
  • 00:03:02.572 --> 00:03:04.774
  • But the thing you're looking for is not a shiny object you hold
  • 00:03:04.774 --> 00:03:09.312
  • In your hand, it's not any thing in particular.
  • 00:03:09.312 --> 00:03:14.884
  • The thing that you need that will bring you the hope you were
  • 00:03:14.884 --> 00:03:17.954
  • Looking for happens in your heart.
  • 00:03:17.954 --> 00:03:20.990
  • And i want to start by telling you a story about a lost boy: a
  • 00:03:20.990 --> 00:03:27.163
  • Little boy who had a hard life before him, a little boy that
  • 00:03:27.163 --> 00:03:32.602
  • Had the cards stacked against him, and that little boy was me.
  • 00:03:32.602 --> 00:03:38.274
  • Now, you may think because i'm a preacher, i was raised in a
  • 00:03:38.274 --> 00:03:40.777
  • Christian home and i went to sunday school as a kid.
  • 00:03:40.777 --> 00:03:43.513
  • The very opposite was the case.
  • 00:03:43.513 --> 00:03:45.815
  • In fact, my childhood was not like the ones that you saw on tv
  • 00:03:45.815 --> 00:03:50.186
  • At the time.
  • 00:03:50.186 --> 00:03:51.521
  • You know, i thought to myself that maybe things would get
  • 00:03:51.521 --> 00:03:55.591
  • Better and i escaped to my little imaginary world of
  • 00:03:55.591 --> 00:03:58.227
  • Drawing cartoons.
  • 00:03:58.227 --> 00:04:00.029
  • My mother in her day was beautiful, a marilyn monroe
  • 00:04:00.029 --> 00:04:03.399
  • Look alike.
  • 00:04:03.399 --> 00:04:04.734
  • She loved the attention that was showered on her, married and
  • 00:04:04.734 --> 00:04:08.338
  • Divorced seven times with a lot of boyfriends in between.
  • 00:04:08.338 --> 00:04:12.275
  • She would often drag me along to smoke-filled bars, as i watched
  • 00:04:12.275 --> 00:04:16.479
  • Various men try their pathetic pickup lines on my mom.
  • 00:04:16.479 --> 00:04:21.384
  • I never knew my biological father.
  • 00:04:21.384 --> 00:04:24.487
  • As it turns out, i was conceived out of wedlock, the product of a
  • 00:04:24.487 --> 00:04:28.825
  • One-night stand.
  • 00:04:28.825 --> 00:04:30.393
  • In many ways, i was the adult in the relationship, having to look
  • 00:04:30.393 --> 00:04:34.897
  • Out for my mom.
  • 00:04:34.897 --> 00:04:36.499
  • So after a night of bar-hopping, she'd be so intoxicated, she
  • 00:04:36.499 --> 00:04:40.536
  • Could barely walk.
  • 00:04:40.536 --> 00:04:41.904
  • So we'd go home and i'd make her a sandwich, but she would
  • 00:04:41.904 --> 00:04:44.841
  • Usually pass out before it was done.
  • 00:04:44.841 --> 00:04:47.510
  • I felt alone in the world but of the seven husbands that my
  • 00:04:47.510 --> 00:04:50.913
  • Mother married, there was one man named oscar laurie who
  • 00:04:50.913 --> 00:04:55.284
  • Adopted me and that name "laurie" has a family motto that
  • 00:04:55.284 --> 00:04:59.188
  • Means it buds afresh.
  • 00:04:59.188 --> 00:05:01.691
  • And the image on the coat of arms is a tree that is cut down
  • 00:05:01.691 --> 00:05:05.695
  • But is growing back again.
  • 00:05:05.695 --> 00:05:08.097
  • And that was really my life.
  • 00:05:08.097 --> 00:05:09.432
  • It was cut down, but it was growing back again.
  • 00:05:09.432 --> 00:05:11.768
  • We made our way eventually to southern california.
  • 00:05:11.768 --> 00:05:15.204
  • And i was hoping that my life would get better, but in many
  • 00:05:15.204 --> 00:05:18.408
  • Ways, it actually ended up worse.
  • 00:05:18.408 --> 00:05:21.811
  • I grew up as a young man and it was the late '60s and the drug
  • 00:05:21.811 --> 00:05:26.315
  • Revolution was here in full force and i thought drugs might
  • 00:05:26.315 --> 00:05:30.586
  • Have the answer i was searching for.
  • 00:05:30.586 --> 00:05:32.555
  • I'd never met an adult i respected.
  • 00:05:32.555 --> 00:05:35.124
  • I actually was in rebellion, a rebellion against all adult
  • 00:05:35.124 --> 00:05:40.129
  • Figures in my life.
  • 00:05:40.129 --> 00:05:41.464
  • And the phrase of the day was "never trust anyone over 30";
  • 00:05:41.464 --> 00:05:45.368
  • That actually resonated with me.
  • 00:05:45.368 --> 00:05:47.770
  • We blindly followed the pied pipers of our generation that
  • 00:05:47.770 --> 00:05:52.341
  • Told us to turn on, tune in, and drop out.
  • 00:05:52.341 --> 00:05:55.645
  • But soon these musicians that we looked up to all began to die:
  • 00:05:55.645 --> 00:05:59.782
  • Janice joplin, jimi hendrix, jim morrison of the doors, brian
  • 00:05:59.782 --> 00:06:04.187
  • Jones of the stones.
  • 00:06:04.187 --> 00:06:06.088
  • Ironically, all died at the age of 27.
  • 00:06:06.088 --> 00:06:10.827
  • We were told that drugs would make us more aware.
  • 00:06:10.827 --> 00:06:14.397
  • And in a way that was true because i became more aware of
  • 00:06:14.397 --> 00:06:17.900
  • How empty i was.
  • 00:06:17.900 --> 00:06:19.368
  • One night, we drove down to laguna beach to buy a kilo of
  • 00:06:19.368 --> 00:06:23.306
  • Marijuana, not to sell but to use ourselves.
  • 00:06:23.306 --> 00:06:28.211
  • But as we drove back in the rain, our vehicle began to
  • 00:06:28.211 --> 00:06:31.914
  • Careen and spin out of control.
  • 00:06:31.914 --> 00:06:34.016
  • And i thought i was going to die and i heard a voice saying to
  • 00:06:34.016 --> 00:06:38.321
  • Me, "you're going to die."
  • 00:06:38.321 --> 00:07:24.967
  • Male: get out of the road, man.
  • 00:07:28.638 --> 00:09:06.569
  • Greg: so that's a scene from my life but i didn't know what the
  • 00:09:10.806 --> 00:09:20.182
  • Answer was.
  • 00:09:20.182 --> 00:09:21.517
  • I knew the answer was not in drugs.
  • 00:09:21.517 --> 00:09:22.885
  • I already found that out from experience.
  • 00:09:22.885 --> 00:09:25.087
  • I knew the answer was not in the sometimes affluent lifestyle
  • 00:09:25.087 --> 00:09:28.524
  • That my mother lived.
  • 00:09:28.524 --> 00:09:30.159
  • So where was the answer?
  • 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.361
  • Because as a young man, i was asking the questions: what is
  • 00:09:32.361 --> 00:09:36.632
  • The meaning of my life?
  • 00:09:36.632 --> 00:09:38.501
  • Why am i here on this earth?
  • 00:09:38.567 --> 00:09:41.103
  • Why am i so empty inside?
  • 00:09:41.170 --> 00:09:43.339
  • And what's gonna happen to me after i die?
  • 00:09:43.339 --> 00:09:47.209
  • But here's my question for you.
  • 00:09:47.209 --> 00:09:48.544
  • Your life is going by quickly.
  • 00:09:48.544 --> 00:09:50.179
  • Are you a happy person?
  • 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:51.881
  • Are you a content person, or does it seem like if you were a
  • 00:09:51.947 --> 00:09:55.351
  • Little bit smarter or a little bit better looking or a little
  • 00:09:55.351 --> 00:09:59.388
  • Bit more successful, then you would suddenly be content?
  • 00:09:59.388 --> 00:10:03.325
  • You know, when you're single, you think, "oh, man, if i was
  • 00:10:03.392 --> 00:10:06.228
  • Only married then i know i would be happy."
  • 00:10:06.228 --> 00:10:10.399
  • Then you get married and you say, "huh?
  • 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.103
  • Uh, okay.
  • 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:18.474
  • Maybe i married the wrong person.
  • 00:10:18.541 --> 00:10:21.077
  • Maybe if i got remarried i would be happy."
  • 00:10:21.077 --> 00:10:23.713
  • So you get remarried.
  • 00:10:23.713 --> 00:10:25.081
  • "okay, well, maybe that's not it.
  • 00:10:25.881 --> 00:10:28.050
  • Hey, maybe it's kids.
  • 00:10:28.050 --> 00:10:29.418
  • I need kids, if we had children."
  • 00:10:29.418 --> 00:10:30.820
  • Then you have children.
  • 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:32.555
  • And then you're thinking, "how do i get rid of these kids?
  • 00:10:32.621 --> 00:10:35.324
  • They're 40 and still living at home, you know."
  • 00:10:35.391 --> 00:10:39.562
  • It's always just beyond your reach, right?
  • 00:10:39.628 --> 00:10:43.065
  • "oh, if i had a lot of money, money would make me happy,"
  • 00:10:43.065 --> 00:10:47.036
  • You think.
  • 00:10:47.036 --> 00:10:48.370
  • I heard that the powerball is up to $1.6 billion right now.
  • 00:10:48.370 --> 00:10:52.808
  • Can you imagine that?
  • 00:10:52.808 --> 00:10:54.343
  • "oh, if i had that i would be happy," you think.
  • 00:10:54.410 --> 00:10:57.113
  • It reminds me of a story of a wealthy employer who once
  • 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:00.082
  • Overheard one of his employees say, "if i had $1000 i would be
  • 00:11:00.082 --> 00:11:04.754
  • Perfectly content."
  • 00:11:04.754 --> 00:11:06.555
  • The employer put out his checkbook and said, "i'll tell
  • 00:11:06.622 --> 00:11:09.058
  • You what, i've never found contentment from my money, but i
  • 00:11:09.058 --> 00:11:12.394
  • Want to meet a perfectly content person."
  • 00:11:12.394 --> 00:11:14.563
  • So he wrote out a check to the person for $1000 and gave it
  • 00:11:14.563 --> 00:11:18.400
  • To them.
  • 00:11:18.400 --> 00:11:19.735
  • As he was walking away, the person was overheard to say,
  • 00:11:19.735 --> 00:11:21.804
  • "why didn't i ask for $2000?"
  • 00:11:21.804 --> 00:11:25.374
  • See, that's the way that we are.
  • 00:11:25.374 --> 00:11:27.676
  • If i had just a little bit more.
  • 00:11:27.743 --> 00:11:29.879
  • Take anthony bourdain.
  • 00:11:29.945 --> 00:11:31.747
  • He had a very successful television show on cnn,
  • 00:11:31.747 --> 00:11:35.351
  • "parts unknown."
  • 00:11:35.351 --> 00:11:36.685
  • He traveled the world, lived a luxurious lifestyle, ate the
  • 00:11:36.685 --> 00:11:41.724
  • Finest food.
  • 00:11:41.724 --> 00:11:43.092
  • He had wealth, he had fame, he had everything.
  • 00:11:43.092 --> 00:11:45.394
  • But yet he wrote in a letter to his wife, quote, "i hate
  • 00:11:45.394 --> 00:11:48.430
  • My fans.
  • 00:11:48.430 --> 00:11:49.765
  • I hate being famous.
  • 00:11:49.765 --> 00:11:51.133
  • I hate my job.
  • 00:11:51.133 --> 00:11:52.668
  • I'm lonely and i'm living in constant uncertainty,"
  • 00:11:52.668 --> 00:11:56.572
  • End quote.
  • 00:11:56.572 --> 00:11:57.907
  • And tragically, anthony bourdain took his own life.
  • 00:11:57.907 --> 00:12:01.310
  • We think, if only i had another life.
  • 00:12:01.310 --> 00:12:03.579
  • Or if i had another face or body.
  • 00:12:03.579 --> 00:12:06.015
  • You know, we put so much emphasis today on
  • 00:12:06.015 --> 00:12:08.651
  • The way that we look.
  • 00:12:08.651 --> 00:12:10.386
  • $16 billion is spent a year on plastic surgery.
  • 00:12:10.386 --> 00:12:16.325
  • And that's in newport beach alone.
  • 00:12:16.325 --> 00:12:21.430
  • Now when you mention botox, nobody even raises an eyebrow.
  • 00:12:21.430 --> 00:12:27.403
  • These are the jokes, people.
  • 00:12:27.403 --> 00:12:30.439
  • I heard about a plastic surgery addict support group that
  • 00:12:30.439 --> 00:12:33.275
  • Meets weekly, there's a lot of new faces in the group
  • 00:12:33.275 --> 00:12:36.045
  • Every week.
  • 00:12:36.045 --> 00:12:37.847
  • Alright.
  • 00:12:37.847 --> 00:12:39.448
  • All the people who have had botox are saying:
  • 00:12:39.448 --> 00:12:41.483
  • I don't think that's funny.
  • 00:12:41.483 --> 00:12:44.386
  • And i can't lower my eyebrows, and i don't know what to do.
  • 00:12:44.386 --> 00:12:48.123
  • Sorry.
  • 00:12:48.123 --> 00:12:49.892
  • It's always just beyond our reach.
  • 00:12:49.892 --> 00:12:51.360
  • If i had this. if i had that.
  • 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:53.429
  • Then i would be happy.
  • 00:12:53.429 --> 00:12:55.831
  • But listen, it's not a thing you're looking for.
  • 00:12:55.831 --> 00:12:58.934
  • Here's what you're really looking for deep down inside.
  • 00:12:58.934 --> 00:13:01.937
  • You're looking for a relationship with god.
  • 00:13:02.004 --> 00:13:05.641
  • There is a god in heaven who loves you.
  • 00:13:05.708 --> 00:13:08.711
  • He loves you.
  • 00:13:10.746 --> 00:13:12.147
  • Now, some of you, god is a perpetually uptight,
  • 00:13:13.515 --> 00:13:16.285
  • Angry supreme being just waiting to wreak havoc in our life.
  • 00:13:16.285 --> 00:13:21.390
  • Nothing could be further from the truth.
  • 00:13:21.390 --> 00:13:24.226
  • The god who created you loves you.
  • 00:13:24.226 --> 00:13:27.229
  • And has a plan for you that's far better than any plan
  • 00:13:27.229 --> 00:13:30.232
  • You've ever dreamed up for yourself.
  • 00:13:30.232 --> 00:13:33.602
  • But we think god's angry, god's out to get us.
  • 00:13:33.602 --> 00:13:37.740
  • But it's the very opposite.
  • 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:39.341
  • If he's out to get us, it's only to throw his arms around us
  • 00:13:39.341 --> 00:13:42.544
  • And tell us how much he loves us.
  • 00:13:42.544 --> 00:13:46.916
  • Greg: in the bible, there's a story of the disciples out in
  • 00:13:51.153 --> 00:13:53.355
  • The sea of galilee and a huge storm had come and they were
  • 00:13:53.355 --> 00:13:56.091
  • Freaking out.
  • 00:13:56.091 --> 00:13:57.459
  • And then we read that jesus came, walking on the water.
  • 00:13:57.459 --> 00:14:01.497
  • One gospel tells us he would have walked right past them,
  • 00:14:01.497 --> 00:14:04.566
  • Which i find kind of humorous.
  • 00:14:04.566 --> 00:14:06.602
  • It's like, "hey, i'm jesus.
  • 00:14:06.669 --> 00:14:08.103
  • I'm out walking on the water.
  • 00:14:08.103 --> 00:14:09.438
  • You can do stuff like that when you're god."
  • 00:14:09.438 --> 00:14:11.173
  • They're like, "hey jesus, come to us, join us."
  • 00:14:11.173 --> 00:14:14.410
  • And after that, of course, peter wanted to walk to jesus and he
  • 00:14:14.410 --> 00:14:17.746
  • Did for a time and began to sink.
  • 00:14:17.746 --> 00:14:19.415
  • But here's the point i wanna make.
  • 00:14:19.415 --> 00:14:21.417
  • God will not force his way into any life.
  • 00:14:21.417 --> 00:14:24.119
  • If you wanna face your storms alone, you can do it.
  • 00:14:24.119 --> 00:14:26.855
  • If you wanna be filled with anxiety and fear and worry and
  • 00:14:26.855 --> 00:14:29.925
  • Try to figure out all your problems, you can go for it.
  • 00:14:29.925 --> 00:14:32.494
  • But i'm gonna tell you, it's not gonna work.
  • 00:14:32.494 --> 00:14:34.496
  • But here comes jesus.
  • 00:14:34.496 --> 00:14:36.098
  • He's not far and you need to call out to him.
  • 00:14:36.098 --> 00:14:39.401
  • And the bible says, "whoever will call upon the name of the
  • 00:14:39.401 --> 00:14:42.471
  • Lord will be saved."
  • 00:14:42.471 --> 00:14:43.973
  • Jesus joined them on their boat.
  • 00:14:43.973 --> 00:14:45.874
  • Better to be in a storm with jesus than anywhere else
  • 00:14:45.874 --> 00:14:50.145
  • Without him.
  • 00:14:50.145 --> 00:14:51.547
  • Greg: so what is god like?
  • 00:14:54.049 --> 00:14:55.451
  • What is god like?
  • 00:14:56.251 --> 00:14:57.886
  • Well, i can't think of a better source on that topic than
  • 00:14:57.953 --> 00:15:00.689
  • Jesus christ himself.
  • 00:15:00.689 --> 00:15:02.825
  • And jesus told a story we sometimes call the story of the
  • 00:15:02.825 --> 00:15:06.729
  • Prodigal son, but it's a beautiful story that always
  • 00:15:06.729 --> 00:15:11.533
  • Makes sense to pretty much any culture in the world, young
  • 00:15:11.533 --> 00:15:15.237
  • Or old.
  • 00:15:15.237 --> 00:15:16.605
  • Everyone seems to understand this simple story and jesus told
  • 00:15:16.605 --> 00:15:20.442
  • Lots of stories so people could understand what he was
  • 00:15:20.442 --> 00:15:23.946
  • Talking about.
  • 00:15:23.946 --> 00:15:25.280
  • So here's the story jesus told.
  • 00:15:25.280 --> 00:15:26.615
  • Maybe you've never heard it before.
  • 00:15:26.615 --> 00:15:28.217
  • He said a man had two sons.
  • 00:15:28.283 --> 00:15:30.719
  • The younger son said to his dad, "i want my share of the estate
  • 00:15:30.786 --> 00:15:34.256
  • Now instead of waiting until you die."
  • 00:15:34.256 --> 00:15:36.992
  • So the father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
  • 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:40.796
  • A few days later, the son packed all of his belongings and took a
  • 00:15:40.796 --> 00:15:44.900
  • Trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all of his money
  • 00:15:44.900 --> 00:15:48.804
  • On wild living.
  • 00:15:48.804 --> 00:15:50.139
  • About this time, his money ran out and a great famine swept
  • 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:53.409
  • Over the land and he began to starve.
  • 00:15:53.409 --> 00:15:56.178
  • And the boy persuaded a local farmer to feed him the food that
  • 00:15:56.245 --> 00:16:00.949
  • Was being fed to the pigs because the boy was so hungry,
  • 00:16:00.949 --> 00:16:04.486
  • Even the food he was feeding the pigs looked good to him, but no
  • 00:16:04.486 --> 00:16:09.158
  • One gave him anything.
  • 00:16:09.158 --> 00:16:11.460
  • So as his story begins, we have a boy deciding to run away
  • 00:16:11.527 --> 00:16:14.997
  • From home.
  • 00:16:14.997 --> 00:16:16.365
  • But really this is a story jesus tells that is a picture of us
  • 00:16:16.365 --> 00:16:19.668
  • Trying to run away from god.
  • 00:16:19.668 --> 00:16:22.538
  • Now it looks like he had a pretty good home because as we
  • 00:16:22.604 --> 00:16:25.507
  • Get to the end of the story, we see the father welcome him with
  • 00:16:25.507 --> 00:16:28.911
  • Open arms.
  • 00:16:28.911 --> 00:16:30.245
  • So this was an affectionate home, a loving home.
  • 00:16:30.245 --> 00:16:33.082
  • Also was an affluent home because they had servants.
  • 00:16:33.082 --> 00:16:36.518
  • I don't know what kind of home you came from.
  • 00:16:36.518 --> 00:16:38.854
  • Maybe you had loving parents, maybe you had no parents, but
  • 00:16:38.921 --> 00:16:42.758
  • Regardless of whatever home you've come from, i want you to
  • 00:16:42.758 --> 00:16:45.461
  • Know that you have a father in heaven who loves you and wants a
  • 00:16:45.461 --> 00:16:49.565
  • Relationship with you.
  • 00:16:49.565 --> 00:16:51.066
  • But apparently, this boy thought, "you know, i'm tired of
  • 00:16:54.203 --> 00:16:56.538
  • Dad's rules.
  • 00:16:56.538 --> 00:16:57.906
  • I wanna live the way that i wanna live."
  • 00:16:57.906 --> 00:16:59.775
  • And sometimes people say, "well, i don't wanna live this
  • 00:16:59.775 --> 00:17:02.177
  • Christian life.
  • 00:17:02.177 --> 00:17:03.512
  • I don't like all these rules that the bible has."
  • 00:17:03.512 --> 00:17:05.614
  • Any rule, so to speak, or principle given to us in
  • 00:17:05.614 --> 00:17:09.451
  • Scripture is there for our own protection.
  • 00:17:09.451 --> 00:17:13.188
  • You know, we think the worst thing that could happen is to
  • 00:17:13.255 --> 00:17:15.290
  • Put an animal in a cage.
  • 00:17:15.290 --> 00:17:17.126
  • My grandkids used to have a little rabbit.
  • 00:17:17.192 --> 00:17:19.194
  • His name was fuzzy.
  • 00:17:19.194 --> 00:17:20.529
  • And they were very little and they would take him out and play
  • 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:24.233
  • With him in a rather rough way and fuzzy didn't like it
  • 00:17:24.233 --> 00:17:27.469
  • One bit.
  • 00:17:27.469 --> 00:17:28.804
  • And one day i was taking fuzzy back to his cage and i came to
  • 00:17:28.804 --> 00:17:31.707
  • Where the cage was and he leapt out of my arms to get back into
  • 00:17:31.707 --> 00:17:35.511
  • His cage again.
  • 00:17:35.511 --> 00:17:37.412
  • Because for fuzzy, that was not a cage keeping him inside; it
  • 00:17:37.479 --> 00:17:41.283
  • Was a cage keeping the grandkids out, right?
  • 00:17:41.283 --> 00:17:44.786
  • So when i look at god's standards, when he says, "you
  • 00:17:44.853 --> 00:17:47.489
  • Shall not steal, you shall not lie, you shall not commit
  • 00:17:47.489 --> 00:17:51.226
  • Adultery, you shall not take the name of the lord in vain," these
  • 00:17:51.226 --> 00:17:55.030
  • Are standards and truths given for our own protection.
  • 00:17:55.030 --> 00:17:59.868
  • And with--these rules are there to protect us, not to hurt us.
  • 00:17:59.935 --> 00:18:03.572
  • But this boy thought, "dad's lame.
  • 00:18:03.572 --> 00:18:05.607
  • He doesn't know how to live.
  • 00:18:06.275 --> 00:18:08.844
  • I'm gonna go live my life."
  • 00:18:08.844 --> 00:18:10.212
  • And the father let him go.
  • 00:18:10.212 --> 00:18:11.713
  • Listen, god has given you a free will.
  • 00:18:11.780 --> 00:18:14.383
  • He won't force his will on you.
  • 00:18:14.449 --> 00:18:17.586
  • You don't have to go to heaven if you don't want to.
  • 00:18:17.653 --> 00:18:20.422
  • Are you running from god tonight?
  • 00:18:20.422 --> 00:18:23.125
  • He longs for a relationship with you.
  • 00:18:23.125 --> 00:18:25.627
  • This boy wasted all of his money on wild living.
  • 00:18:25.627 --> 00:18:29.364
  • I'm sure he had a lot of friends when he hit town, when he had
  • 00:18:29.431 --> 00:18:32.601
  • Money, when he had resources, when he had a cool car or, in
  • 00:18:32.601 --> 00:18:36.071
  • His case, a cool chariot or whatever.
  • 00:18:36.071 --> 00:18:39.341
  • They said, "oh, we're gonna hang out with this guy."
  • 00:18:39.408 --> 00:18:41.910
  • But then when the money was gone, the friends were gone too.
  • 00:18:41.977 --> 00:18:45.647
  • Reminds me of a story of two friends that went camping out in
  • 00:18:45.714 --> 00:18:48.550
  • The forest and there was--they were getting up in the morning
  • 00:18:48.550 --> 00:18:51.987
  • Having their first cup of coffee.
  • 00:18:51.987 --> 00:18:53.889
  • They heard a rustling in the trees and suddenly they looked
  • 00:18:53.956 --> 00:18:57.593
  • And running toward them at full speed was a very large bear.
  • 00:18:57.593 --> 00:19:01.029
  • One of the friends began to put his running shoes on.
  • 00:19:01.029 --> 00:19:03.899
  • His buddy said, "are you crazy?
  • 00:19:03.966 --> 00:19:05.968
  • Do you think you can outrun that bear?"
  • 00:19:05.968 --> 00:19:07.970
  • He says, "i don't need to outrun the bear.
  • 00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:10.005
  • I need to outrun you," see?
  • 00:19:10.005 --> 00:19:11.873
  • That's how some so-called friends are.
  • 00:19:13.408 --> 00:19:15.477
  • They run out when trouble comes.
  • 00:19:15.477 --> 00:19:17.946
  • That's what happened to the prodigal.
  • 00:19:17.946 --> 00:19:19.881
  • All of his friends left him.
  • 00:19:19.948 --> 00:19:21.683
  • He was all alone.
  • 00:19:21.750 --> 00:19:23.085
  • And the bible says, jesus speaking, "he came to
  • 00:19:23.085 --> 00:19:26.355
  • His senses."
  • 00:19:26.355 --> 00:19:27.689
  • And it's an amazing thing.
  • 00:19:27.689 --> 00:19:29.358
  • Listen, there's nothing i can say here tonight that will make
  • 00:19:29.424 --> 00:19:32.861
  • You believe in jesus christ.
  • 00:19:32.861 --> 00:19:34.796
  • But i believe in the power of the gospel and i know how it
  • 00:19:34.863 --> 00:19:38.467
  • Changed my life and i believe there can come a moment where
  • 00:19:38.467 --> 00:19:42.070
  • Suddenly the lights go on and you just get it, right?
  • 00:19:42.070 --> 00:19:45.607
  • You just get it.
  • 00:19:46.008 --> 00:19:47.409
  • I used to think christians were crazy.
  • 00:19:48.877 --> 00:19:51.380
  • I made fun of them.
  • 00:19:51.446 --> 00:19:52.781
  • I laughed at them.
  • 00:19:52.781 --> 00:19:54.149
  • I thought, "these poor delusional people."
  • 00:19:54.149 --> 00:19:56.652
  • And it was on my high school campus many years ago that i sat
  • 00:19:56.718 --> 00:20:01.657
  • Down close enough to where the christians were because they
  • 00:20:01.657 --> 00:20:04.393
  • Would have bible studies on the front lawn.
  • 00:20:04.393 --> 00:20:07.496
  • And i sat close enough to hear what they were saying, but not
  • 00:20:07.496 --> 00:20:10.932
  • Close enough to be seen as one of them.
  • 00:20:10.932 --> 00:20:14.002
  • And as i watched them, i thought, "these people are
  • 00:20:14.069 --> 00:20:16.305
  • So sad.
  • 00:20:16.305 --> 00:20:17.673
  • They're so weird.
  • 00:20:17.673 --> 00:20:19.007
  • It's so pathetic."
  • 00:20:19.007 --> 00:20:20.375
  • And then i thought, "yeah, but they're pretty happy,
  • 00:20:20.375 --> 00:20:21.710
  • Pathetic people."
  • 00:20:21.710 --> 00:20:24.112
  • And i happened to know a couple of them personally that i used
  • 00:20:24.179 --> 00:20:27.849
  • To party with and i saw the changes in his life and their
  • 00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:32.287
  • Life and then i just tried a new thought on for size: what if
  • 00:20:32.287 --> 00:20:36.458
  • It's all true?
  • 00:20:36.858 --> 00:20:38.193
  • What if the christians have this right?
  • 00:20:38.193 --> 00:20:40.629
  • What if there really is a god who loves me and i can have a
  • 00:20:40.629 --> 00:20:43.532
  • Relationship with him?
  • 00:20:43.532 --> 00:20:44.900
  • I quickly dismissed it.
  • 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:46.234
  • Let me tell you why i dismissed it.
  • 00:20:46.234 --> 00:20:48.470
  • Because i was a cynical young man, because i had seen things
  • 00:20:48.537 --> 00:20:52.841
  • No young boy should ever see in my upbringing with my alcoholic
  • 00:20:52.841 --> 00:20:57.379
  • Mother and all of her escapades.
  • 00:20:57.379 --> 00:20:59.281
  • Not to mention my own bad lifestyle choices that i myself
  • 00:20:59.281 --> 00:21:03.385
  • Had made.
  • 00:21:03.385 --> 00:21:04.753
  • I was cynical.
  • 00:21:04.753 --> 00:21:06.088
  • I thought, "it's too good to be true."
  • 00:21:06.088 --> 00:21:07.656
  • But then i watched those christians a little bit more and
  • 00:21:07.656 --> 00:21:09.791
  • I thought, "well, what if it's true?"
  • 00:21:09.791 --> 00:21:11.960
  • And then i said, "no, it couldn't be true."
  • 00:21:12.027 --> 00:21:14.296
  • And then that man who was preaching that day, lonnie
  • 00:21:14.363 --> 00:21:16.998
  • Frisbee, who's portrayed in the film, made a statement that was
  • 00:21:16.998 --> 00:21:21.503
  • Like a lightning bolt from heaven.
  • 00:21:21.503 --> 00:21:23.205
  • He said, "jesus said, 'you're for me or against me, you're
  • 00:21:23.205 --> 00:21:26.808
  • With me or you're opposed to me.'"
  • 00:21:26.808 --> 00:21:29.311
  • I looked around at the christians and i thought, "well,
  • 00:21:29.378 --> 00:21:31.880
  • I'm not one of them.
  • 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:33.348
  • Does that mean i'm against god?
  • 00:21:33.348 --> 00:21:35.550
  • I don't want to be against god."
  • 00:21:35.617 --> 00:21:37.519
  • And then he said, "if you want jesus christ to come into your
  • 00:21:37.586 --> 00:21:40.188
  • Life, get up and walk forward right now."
  • 00:21:40.188 --> 00:21:42.224
  • And a bunch of kids got up and walked forward and i thought,
  • 00:21:42.224 --> 00:21:44.793
  • "there's no way i would ever do that."
  • 00:21:44.793 --> 00:21:48.029
  • A moment later, i was up there with those kids, praying, and
  • 00:21:48.096 --> 00:21:51.500
  • That was the day christ came into my life.
  • 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:54.069
  • And this can be the night christ comes into your life.
  • 00:21:54.136 --> 00:21:56.938
  • It can happen for you.
  • 00:21:59.307 --> 00:22:01.643
  • So this boy finally comes to his senses, says, "you know what?
  • 00:22:01.710 --> 00:22:05.414
  • I gotta go home."
  • 00:22:05.414 --> 00:22:06.748
  • He realized that everything he was looking for in life was in
  • 00:22:06.748 --> 00:22:10.185
  • His father's house.
  • 00:22:10.185 --> 00:22:12.654
  • He says, i'm gonna go home to dad, say, "dad, i'm sorry
  • 00:22:12.721 --> 00:22:15.257
  • I've sinned.
  • 00:22:15.257 --> 00:22:16.591
  • I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.
  • 00:22:16.591 --> 00:22:18.260
  • Just give me a job as one of your hired servants."
  • 00:22:18.260 --> 00:22:21.129
  • And he's repeating this over and over again as he's making his
  • 00:22:21.129 --> 00:22:24.065
  • Way back home again.
  • 00:22:24.065 --> 00:22:26.635
  • Now, here's the father, probably sitting on the porch of his
  • 00:22:26.701 --> 00:22:31.006
  • Ranch house, missing that boy of his, longing for his return.
  • 00:22:31.006 --> 00:22:37.012
  • And the father looks down the road and recognizes that
  • 00:22:37.078 --> 00:22:39.848
  • Familiar silhouette of his boy, bowed down now some with age and
  • 00:22:39.848 --> 00:22:45.554
  • Perhaps the guilt of sin.
  • 00:22:45.554 --> 00:22:47.622
  • And i love how the story ends because, as the boy is making
  • 00:22:47.689 --> 00:22:51.827
  • His way home, jesus says this, in luke 15: "while he was still
  • 00:22:51.827 --> 00:22:55.931
  • A long ways off, his father saw him.
  • 00:22:55.931 --> 00:22:58.567
  • With his heart pounding, he ran out and embraced him and
  • 00:22:58.633 --> 00:23:01.203
  • Kissed him.
  • 00:23:01.203 --> 00:23:02.571
  • The son started his speech: 'father, i've sinned against god
  • 00:23:02.571 --> 00:23:05.774
  • And i've sinned before you.
  • 00:23:05.774 --> 00:23:07.108
  • I don't deserve to be called your son again.'"
  • 00:23:07.108 --> 00:23:09.444
  • But jesus says the father wasn't listening.
  • 00:23:09.444 --> 00:23:12.481
  • "he called to the servants, 'quick,' he says, 'bring out
  • 00:23:12.547 --> 00:23:15.116
  • A set of clothes.
  • 00:23:15.116 --> 00:23:16.485
  • Put the family ring in his finger and sandals on his feet,
  • 00:23:16.485 --> 00:23:19.788
  • And get out the grain-fed heifer and roast it.
  • 00:23:19.788 --> 00:23:22.224
  • We're gonna have a feast.
  • 00:23:22.224 --> 00:23:23.658
  • We're gonna have a wonderful time.
  • 00:23:23.658 --> 00:23:25.660
  • My son who is dead is alive again.'"
  • 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:29.731
  • And they began to have a wonderful time.
  • 00:23:29.798 --> 00:23:32.567
  • And then jesus says, "and i say unto you, there is joy in heaven
  • 00:23:34.469 --> 00:23:40.675
  • Over one sinner that comes to repentance."
  • 00:23:40.742 --> 00:23:44.779
  • What a beautiful story this is.
  • 00:23:45.847 --> 00:23:47.849
  • Notice that the father welcomed his son as he was.
  • 00:23:49.317 --> 00:23:52.554
  • The boy was dirty.
  • 00:23:52.621 --> 00:23:54.289
  • The boy smelled like the company he was keeping, which would
  • 00:23:54.356 --> 00:23:58.426
  • Be pigs.
  • 00:23:58.426 --> 00:24:00.228
  • And the father didn't say, "well, clean yourself up, boy.
  • 00:24:00.295 --> 00:24:02.964
  • I'm downwind of you.
  • 00:24:03.465 --> 00:24:04.799
  • You smell horrible."
  • 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.167
  • He threw his arms around his son.
  • 00:24:06.167 --> 00:24:08.336
  • But what did he do then?
  • 00:24:08.336 --> 00:24:09.671
  • He said, "give him some new clothes and put a ring on
  • 00:24:09.671 --> 00:24:12.674
  • His finger."
  • 00:24:12.674 --> 00:24:14.042
  • Listen, you might say, "i've messed up in life and i'm gonna
  • 00:24:14.042 --> 00:24:16.344
  • Clean my life up and try to become more moral and
  • 00:24:16.344 --> 00:24:19.548
  • More religious.
  • 00:24:19.548 --> 00:24:20.882
  • And then i'll come to god."
  • 00:24:20.882 --> 00:24:22.217
  • Listen, don't try to clean your life up and come to god.
  • 00:24:22.217 --> 00:24:24.753
  • Come to god and he will clean your life up.
  • 00:24:24.753 --> 00:24:27.455
  • You just come as you are.
  • 00:24:27.455 --> 00:24:28.857
  • Say, "well, what do i--what am i supposed to do?"
  • 00:24:31.993 --> 00:24:34.362
  • You need to repent of your sin.
  • 00:24:34.362 --> 00:24:36.898
  • The bible says god has commanded people everywhere to repent.
  • 00:24:36.965 --> 00:24:40.502
  • What does repent mean?
  • 00:24:41.069 --> 00:24:42.470
  • It's a military term.
  • 00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:44.172
  • It means to do an about face.
  • 00:24:44.172 --> 00:24:45.507
  • So you turn around.
  • 00:24:45.507 --> 00:24:47.442
  • Instead of running from god, you run to god, like the prodigal.
  • 00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:50.845
  • He was running from his father.
  • 00:24:50.845 --> 00:24:52.714
  • Then he realized that was wrong and he ran back to his father.
  • 00:24:52.714 --> 00:24:56.484
  • Repent of your sin.
  • 00:24:56.484 --> 00:24:59.187
  • Then you must receive christ into your life.
  • 00:24:59.254 --> 00:25:03.358
  • Being a christian is not just trying to live by rules
  • 00:25:03.358 --> 00:25:07.996
  • And regulations.
  • 00:25:07.996 --> 00:25:09.364
  • Being a christian is not just going to church.
  • 00:25:09.364 --> 00:25:13.068
  • Being a christian is having christ himself come and take
  • 00:25:13.068 --> 00:25:17.706
  • Residence in your heart.
  • 00:25:17.706 --> 00:25:20.175
  • Does jesus live in your heart right now?
  • 00:25:20.175 --> 00:25:22.410
  • You say, "well, i'm not sure.
  • 00:25:22.477 --> 00:25:23.845
  • Maybe."
  • 00:25:23.845 --> 00:25:25.180
  • Wait, hold on.
  • 00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:26.548
  • If a bunch of people moved into your house in the middle of the
  • 00:25:26.548 --> 00:25:28.416
  • Night and they were, like, cooking fish at 3 in the
  • 00:25:28.416 --> 00:25:30.719
  • Morning, do you think you would know?
  • 00:25:30.719 --> 00:25:32.821
  • I'm not suggesting jesus is like that.
  • 00:25:32.821 --> 00:25:34.789
  • I'm just saying, if someone moved into your home, would you
  • 00:25:34.789 --> 00:25:37.258
  • Be aware?
  • 00:25:37.258 --> 00:25:38.627
  • The answer is yes.
  • 00:25:38.627 --> 00:25:39.961
  • So if god almighty has taken residence in your heart, i think
  • 00:25:39.961 --> 00:25:44.566
  • You'll know.
  • 00:25:44.566 --> 00:25:45.900
  • And if you can't say "i know" with certainty, then maybe he
  • 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:48.903
  • Hasn't done that yet.
  • 00:25:48.903 --> 00:25:50.772
  • The bible says, "for as many as received him, he gave them the
  • 00:25:50.772 --> 00:25:54.476
  • Power to become sons of god."
  • 00:25:54.476 --> 00:25:56.845
  • Jesus says, "behold, i stand at the door and i knock and if
  • 00:25:56.911 --> 00:26:00.715
  • You'll hear my voice and open the door, i will come in."
  • 00:26:00.715 --> 00:26:05.620
  • People, it's not about religion.
  • 00:26:05.620 --> 00:26:08.890
  • It's about a relationship with god through jesus.
  • 00:26:08.890 --> 00:26:21.403
  • Greg: hi, i'm greg laurie. i've got some good news for you.
  • 00:26:25.540 --> 00:26:28.009
  • God loves you, and god has a plan for your life.
  • 00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:31.913
  • Here's the problem: we're separated from god by our sin
  • 00:26:31.913 --> 00:26:35.517
  • Because we've all broken his commandments.
  • 00:26:35.517 --> 00:26:38.286
  • But the good news is, is 2,000 years ago, god sent
  • 00:26:38.286 --> 00:26:42.023
  • His son, jesus christ, to die on the cross for your sin,
  • 00:26:42.023 --> 00:26:46.061
  • And then to rise again from the dead.
  • 00:26:46.061 --> 00:26:48.430
  • The same jesus who died and rose is alive and ready
  • 00:26:48.430 --> 00:26:52.133
  • To come into your life right now.
  • 00:26:52.133 --> 00:26:54.335
  • Would you like your sin forgiven?
  • 00:26:54.335 --> 00:26:56.371
  • Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
  • 00:26:56.371 --> 00:26:59.274
  • If so, pray this simple prayer with me right now.
  • 00:26:59.274 --> 00:27:02.711
  • Just say, "lord jesus, i know i'm a sinner, but i believe
  • 00:27:02.711 --> 00:27:06.314
  • You're the savior, who died on the cross for my sin.
  • 00:27:06.314 --> 00:27:09.818
  • I turn from my sin now, and i choose to follow you
  • 00:27:09.818 --> 00:27:13.488
  • From this moment forward."
  • 00:27:13.488 --> 00:27:15.557
  • Did you just pray that prayer with me?
  • 00:27:15.557 --> 00:27:17.459
  • If you did, god in heaven has heard you.
  • 00:27:17.459 --> 00:27:20.361
  • And let me be the first to say to you:
  • 00:27:20.361 --> 00:27:22.497
  • Congratulations, and welcome to the family of god.
  • 00:27:22.497 --> 00:27:27.202