Greg Laurie - When Love Moves In Fear Moves Out

April 20, 2026 | 27:29

Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement, worship, and Bible study.

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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Greg Laurie - When Love Moves In Fear Moves Out | April 20, 2026
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  • Greg laurie: god has something for you in every stage of life.
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  • To the child, god says, "i'll never leave you or forsake you."
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  • To the teen, god says, "you're fearfully and wonderfully made."
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  • To the young adult, the lord says, "i know the thoughts that
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  • I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give
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  • You a future and a hope."
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  • And to the elderly, god says, "even to your old age and gray
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  • Hairs, i am he--i am he who will sustain you.
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  • I've made you. i will carry you.
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  • I will sustain you, and i will rescue you."
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  • ♪ this is the day, ♪
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  • ♪ the day when life begins. ♪
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  • ♪ this is the day, the day when life begins. ♪♪
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  • Greg: have you ever gotten one of those scam phone calls?
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  • Oh, there's so many of them now, and they'll come from, you name
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  • It, apple, amazon, the irs, and they're telling you you better
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  • Pay up or you're in trouble.
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  • Thirty-three million scam robocalls are made daily.
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  • And they do work because i read that 60 million americans lost
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  • Over $29 billion to these scam phone calls.
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  • But there's scam religious things as well, scam
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  • Counterfeits out there for the real gospel.
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  • Just as there is the genuine, there is also the counterfeit.
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  • They claim to be one thing, but they really are another.
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  • Jesus called them wolves in sheep's clothing.
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  • In fact, one of the signs of the end times, which i believe we're
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  • In, is "some will depart from the faith, giving heed to
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  • Seducing spirits and the doctrines that demons teach."
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  • And that is why we're told right here in 1 john 4: "don't believe
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  • Every spirit.
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  • Test them, because many false prophets have gone out into
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  • The world."
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  • Now, what is john referring to when he says "spirits"?
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  • How do we test a spirit?
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  • Well, basically he's talking about angelic beings.
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  • There's a supernatural realm.
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  • Just as we live in a physical world, there is a spiritual
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  • World, and in this spiritual world there, of course, is god
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  • And satan, but also angels and fallen angels, also known as
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  • Demons, and they're actively at work.
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  • The good news is we have more angels on our side than the
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  • Devil has on his side.
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  • And angels are constantly doing the work of god, sort of working
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  • Behind the scenes.
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  • They just show up, do what they're there to do, and go.
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  • They're sort of like seal team 6, you know?
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  • You don't even know they were there, but they're doing the
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  • Work of god.
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  • The bible says: "the angel of the lord encamps around those
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  • That fear him."
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  • And it also tells us that they're ministering spirits sent
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  • To minister to those who are the heirs of salvation.
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  • That would be us.
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  • Sometimes angels guide us; occasionally they speak to us.
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  • They often protect us.
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  • And they're actively at work in our life.
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  • But then there are fallen angels, also known as demons,
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  • Doing the work of the devil.
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  • I mentioned last time that the purpose of demons seems to be
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  • Twofold: they seek to hinder the purposes of god and extend the
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  • Power of satan.
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  • Now, they come in different ways.
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  • We always think of something demonic as dark and sinister and
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  • Evil, and it can be that, of course, but it can also come
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  • Through the guise of something that seems virtuous and good,
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  • Even religious.
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  • Don't forget that satan, also known as lucifer, was once an
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  • Angel of light.
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  • I mean, what is more virtuous than going and getting a
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  • Wonderful education at one of our ivy league universities?
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  • But my question is, what is going on in these universities
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  • Today like harvard and yale?
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  • Did you know that the mission statement of harvard university
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  • When it was founded back in 1646 went as follows: "let every
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  • Student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to
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  • Consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know
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  • God and jesus christ, which is eternal life."
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  • Mission statement of harvard.
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  • So how are they doing in that?
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  • And then of course there's yale, very similar.
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  • Their mission statement is, quote, "every student shall
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  • Consider the main end of this study, to wit, to know god in
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  • Jesus christ and answerably to lead a godly, sober life."
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  • Wow, what happened in our universities?
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  • They've become centers of confusion, promoting woke
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  • Ideology, anti-american sentiment.
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  • Worst of all, anti-christian sentiment, and they're a hotbed
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  • Of anti-semitism.
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  • So you see the challenges that are there, and i believe there's
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  • A spiritual dynamic behind all of this.
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  • I believe this is a spiritual battle that we're seeing right
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  • Now and that's why we should not believe every spirit.
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  • We need to be discerning and we need to be informed
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  • And educated.
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  • So that brings us to 1 john chapter 4, history lesson over.
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  • "dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by
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  • The spirit.
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  • You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from god.
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  • For there are many false prophets in the world.
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  • This is how we know if they have the spirit of god.
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  • If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that jesus
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  • Christ came in a real body, that person has the spirit of god.
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  • If somehow they claim to be a prophet but does not acknowledge
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  • The truth about jesus, that person is not from god.
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  • Such a person has a spirit of the antichrist, which you heard
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  • Is coming into the world and indeed is already here."
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  • Point number one if you're taking notes, we are in a
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  • Spiritual war.
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  • John speaks of the antichrist and antichrists, plural.
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  • The antichrist, a coming world leader, will emerge on the
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  • Scene, and when he comes, he'll bring temporary peace.
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  • He'll help the jews rebuild their temple, and then he will
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  • Desecrate that rebuilt temple with what is called the
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  • Abomination of desolation, spoken of in matthew 24
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  • By jesus.
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  • And this is where the antichrist will erect an image of himself
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  • And command people to worship him.
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  • So in effect, he'll show his true colors.
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  • So this is the coming world leader, the antichrist.
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  • But then there's antichrists that john refers to.
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  • And remember, the prefix "anti" doesn't just mean against,
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  • Though it includes that, but it also means instead of.
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  • So john is saying in the last days you're going to see a lot
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  • Of instead of christs or fake christs or someone pretending to
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  • Be christ or representing him.
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  • And so this is something we need to be aware of.
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  • So john is refuting a teaching of that time that was
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  • Called gnosticism.
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  • It's from the greek word "kenosis," which means to know.
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  • So gnostics believed that salvation came through this
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  • Hidden spiritual knowledge.
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  • They did not believe that jesus christ was the son of god
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  • Walking this earth.
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  • They believed you had to get this hidden spiritual knowledge,
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  • And then you would know, that's kenosis.
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  • You would know.
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  • So it's a funny thing: john takes their word from them and
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  • Uses it to show how we can know god and he uses the word
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  • "kenosis" 30 times in his epistle.
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  • You can know this for sure.
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  • You don't need the secret password.
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  • You don't need the hidden knowledge.
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  • But then he lays down this litmus test, if you will, as to
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  • How to know whether or not something is really true.
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  • Here it is, 1 john 4:2: "if a person claiming to be a prophet
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  • Acknowledges that jesus christ came in a real body, that person
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  • Has the spirit of god."
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  • Listen to this: to be a christian, you must believe that
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  • Jesus was born of a virgin, supernaturally conceived in
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  • Her womb.
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  • The virgin birth is an essential.
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  • And then you must believe that he was fully god and fully man,
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  • Walking among us.
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  • And then you must believe that he died on the cross and bodily
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  • Rose again from the dead three days later and that he's
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  • Coming back again.
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  • These are non-negotiables that every christian should believe.
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  • You say, "well, everyone believes that.
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  • In fact, every religion teaches that."
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  • No, actually, they don't.
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  • If you are to take even a quick look at the major religions of
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  • The world, you would see they have very different views on the
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  • Person of jesus.
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  • As an example, hinduism teaches jesus may be admired as a wise
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  • Teacher or a holy man, possibly as a god among many other gods,
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  • But it does not show him to be the one true god or the
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  • Exclusive savior.
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  • Okay, well, jesus said, "i'm the way, the truth and the life, and
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  • No man comes to the father but by me," and he said, "i and the
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  • Father are one," so that's clearly a different view than
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  • What the bible teaches about christ.
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  • Buddhism teaches jesus is not divine.
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  • He's sort of an enlightened teacher, maybe a moral example,
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  • But they have no real belief in a personal god in most
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  • Buddhist schools.
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  • Now mormonism, which will often present itself as a form of
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  • Christianity, has a whole different view.
  • 00:10:04.035 --> 00:10:07.238
  • They teach jesus is the son of god.
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  • He was created by god the father, but he's not equal with
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  • The father.
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  • Jesus said, "i and the father are one," claiming equality, but
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  • They say he's not equal with the father, and they teach that
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  • Jesus and satan are spirit brothers, and they deny
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  • The trinity.
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  • The jehovah's witnesses teach that jesus is not god, but
  • 00:10:26.358 --> 00:10:30.428
  • Rather he's the archangel michael in human form.
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  • They deny the trinity and they deny the bodily resurrection
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  • Of christ.
  • 00:10:37.869 --> 00:10:39.204
  • Now here's another thing, mormons and jehovah's witnesses
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  • Teach that they're the only way to god.
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  • And so when a mormon says, "well, i'm a christian too," if
  • 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:48.313
  • They're honest, they would say, "but we have our prophet, joseph
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  • Smith, and we have our extra books that you don't have that
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  • Are equal to the scripture, and you have to come this way if you
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  • Want a relationship with god."
  • 00:10:59.624 --> 00:11:01.026
  • So the reason i tell you all this is i'm looking at the
  • 00:11:01.026 --> 00:11:03.928
  • Litmus test of 1 john.
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  • And all of these are contrary to what john says.
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  • These are sort of like modern versions of gnosticism.
  • 00:11:10.635 --> 00:11:14.739
  • And what is john emphasizing?
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  • He's saying, "listen, i want you to know god."
  • 00:11:16.541 --> 00:11:20.078
  • In fact, in 1 john 5:13, he says, "we wrote these things to
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  • You that believe in the name of the son of god so you may
  • 00:11:23.915 --> 00:11:27.085
  • Gnosko, so you may know you have eternal life."
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  • You can know this for sure.
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  • He repeats it again, 1 john 2:3: "by this we know that we
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  • Know him."
  • 00:11:38.797 --> 00:11:40.131
  • And then in 1 john 3:14: "we know we have passed from death
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  • To life," so he's focusing on this and emphasizing it.
  • 00:11:44.269 --> 00:11:48.440
  • It's no secret.
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  • Anyone has access to it.
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  • You don't need a secret password.
  • 00:11:51.810 --> 00:11:53.778
  • You probably heard this story before, but there's a man named
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  • Stefan thomas, a german-born programmer who lives in
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  • San francisco.
  • 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.887
  • He was given over 7000 bitcoins back in 2011 as payment for
  • 00:12:02.887 --> 00:12:07.959
  • Making a video that explains how cryptocurrency works, and at
  • 00:12:07.959 --> 00:12:13.364
  • That time bitcoin was worth very little, but all of a sudden it
  • 00:12:13.364 --> 00:12:18.136
  • Was worth a lot more.
  • 00:12:18.136 --> 00:12:19.471
  • In fact, it was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but this
  • 00:12:19.471 --> 00:12:23.775
  • Individual took that bitcoin and he put it in a digital wallet.
  • 00:12:23.775 --> 00:12:28.446
  • I'm not even sure what that is exactly.
  • 00:12:28.446 --> 00:12:31.316
  • But to get the money, to access the bitcoin, you had to have the
  • 00:12:31.316 --> 00:12:35.286
  • Password which he wrote down on a piece of paper and then
  • 00:12:35.286 --> 00:12:39.290
  • Lost it.
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  • I'm not laughing at his misfortune, but really you have
  • 00:12:40.625 --> 00:12:43.328
  • That much money in a account, you lost the password?
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  • So--and i wonder what passwords he tried.
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  • "password," that's a good password.
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  • Or the name of your pet.
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  • Oh, none of these.
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  • He couldn't remember his password.
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  • He tried eight times to get in.
  • 00:12:56.441 --> 00:12:58.943
  • He has two times left, and if he doesn't come up with a proper
  • 00:12:58.943 --> 00:13:02.747
  • Password, he will never have access to all that money.
  • 00:13:02.747 --> 00:13:06.084
  • And that's sort of how it can seem in this relationship
  • 00:13:06.084 --> 00:13:08.419
  • With god.
  • 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:09.754
  • You don't have the password.
  • 00:13:09.754 --> 00:13:11.122
  • Here's the good news.
  • 00:13:11.122 --> 00:13:12.457
  • Jesus already took care of all of these things for you.
  • 00:13:12.457 --> 00:13:15.426
  • You don't have to worry about them at all.
  • 00:13:15.426 --> 00:13:17.629
  • You don't need secret codes or anything else.
  • 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.198
  • Jesus entered your password.
  • 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.701
  • He paid the price, and he has given you open access to god.
  • 00:13:23.701 --> 00:13:28.473
  • Point number two, god is bigger and greater than everyone and
  • 00:13:28.473 --> 00:13:33.945
  • Everything else.
  • 00:13:33.945 --> 00:13:35.613
  • God is bigger and god is greater than everyone and
  • 00:13:35.613 --> 00:13:38.950
  • Everything else.
  • 00:13:38.950 --> 00:13:40.618
  • Look at 1 john 4:4: "but you belong to god, my dear children.
  • 00:13:40.618 --> 00:13:44.088
  • You've already won a victory over these people because," and
  • 00:13:44.088 --> 00:13:47.192
  • I love this verse, "greater is he that is in you than he that
  • 00:13:47.192 --> 00:13:51.229
  • Is in the world."
  • 00:13:51.229 --> 00:13:53.164
  • Here are three biblical examples of god's people overcoming their
  • 00:13:53.164 --> 00:13:57.535
  • Adversary: moses at the red sea.
  • 00:13:57.535 --> 00:14:01.372
  • Wow, he's at the brink of this massive body of water he can't
  • 00:14:01.372 --> 00:14:06.144
  • Get across.
  • 00:14:06.144 --> 00:14:07.579
  • Behind him in hot pursuit is the egyptian army.
  • 00:14:07.579 --> 00:14:10.415
  • He's literally between a rock and a hard place, and he calls
  • 00:14:10.415 --> 00:14:14.919
  • Out to god.
  • 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:16.621
  • And god says, "i will fight from you.
  • 00:14:16.621 --> 00:14:18.723
  • You only need to be still," and the red sea parted.
  • 00:14:18.723 --> 00:14:22.160
  • You know the story.
  • 00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:23.494
  • And so all of israel passed through the dry bed of the red
  • 00:14:23.494 --> 00:14:27.799
  • Sea, and the waters were piled up on each side.
  • 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.435
  • You ever been to one of those really nice aquariums like the
  • 00:14:30.435 --> 00:14:33.104
  • Monterey aquarium?
  • 00:14:33.104 --> 00:14:34.639
  • They have these giant tanks with all these exotic creatures.
  • 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.343
  • Imagine walking through the red sea going, "whoa, whoa, whoa,
  • 00:14:38.343 --> 00:14:40.945
  • That's cool.
  • 00:14:40.945 --> 00:14:42.280
  • Get my camera, hurry."
  • 00:14:42.280 --> 00:14:44.048
  • And meanwhile moses is going, "keep walking, keep walking.
  • 00:14:44.048 --> 00:14:46.384
  • Let's go, let's go, let's go."
  • 00:14:46.384 --> 00:14:48.086
  • They get to the other side.
  • 00:14:48.086 --> 00:14:49.420
  • The last israeli gets over and the waters close on the pursuing
  • 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:53.591
  • Egyptian army.
  • 00:14:53.591 --> 00:14:55.827
  • Think of david facing goliath.
  • 00:14:55.827 --> 00:14:57.795
  • What an adversary, 9 feet, 6 inches of solid muscle.
  • 00:14:57.795 --> 00:15:03.134
  • Yet david trusted in the lord and said, "you have defied the
  • 00:15:03.134 --> 00:15:08.172
  • Armies of israel," and he attacked him, and goliath
  • 00:15:08.172 --> 00:15:11.175
  • Was defeated.
  • 00:15:11.175 --> 00:15:12.510
  • Think of the disciples on the sea of galilee.
  • 00:15:12.510 --> 00:15:15.346
  • A violent storm hits and they're pitching about in that little
  • 00:15:15.346 --> 00:15:19.183
  • Boat and jesus stands up and rebukes the sea and
  • 00:15:19.183 --> 00:15:22.153
  • Says, "peace!
  • 00:15:22.153 --> 00:15:23.488
  • Be still."
  • 00:15:23.488 --> 00:15:24.856
  • Jesus was bigger than that storm.
  • 00:15:24.856 --> 00:15:26.991
  • Point number three: if you really know god, you will
  • 00:15:26.991 --> 00:15:31.162
  • Love others.
  • 00:15:31.162 --> 00:15:32.931
  • If you really know god, you will love others.
  • 00:15:32.931 --> 00:15:35.733
  • 1 john 4:7: "dear friends, let us continue to love one another.
  • 00:15:35.733 --> 00:15:41.940
  • To love comes from god.
  • 00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:43.374
  • Anyone who loves is a child of god and knows god, but anyone
  • 00:15:43.374 --> 00:15:47.612
  • Who does not love does not know god, for god is love."
  • 00:15:47.612 --> 00:15:53.751
  • I love this.
  • 00:15:53.751 --> 00:15:55.086
  • Earlier, we identified the three major themes of 1 john.
  • 00:15:55.086 --> 00:15:58.756
  • Number one, god is light.
  • 00:15:58.756 --> 00:16:01.192
  • 1 john 1:1: "this is the message we've heard from the beginning,
  • 00:16:01.192 --> 00:16:05.830
  • And declare to you that god is light and in him there is no
  • 00:16:05.830 --> 00:16:08.866
  • Darkness," so god is light.
  • 00:16:08.866 --> 00:16:10.902
  • Number two, god is love, reinforced right here before us.
  • 00:16:10.902 --> 00:16:15.073
  • "and he does not love, does not know god."
  • 00:16:15.073 --> 00:16:17.475
  • And thirdly, god is life.
  • 00:16:17.475 --> 00:16:19.911
  • 1 john chapter 5, "he that has the son of god has life.
  • 00:16:19.911 --> 00:16:24.115
  • He who does not have the son of god does not have life."
  • 00:16:24.115 --> 00:16:27.218
  • Light and love are inseparable, sort of like grace and truth,
  • 00:16:27.218 --> 00:16:31.622
  • Light and love.
  • 00:16:31.622 --> 00:16:32.991
  • So, you know, light shows you what's really going on.
  • 00:16:32.991 --> 00:16:36.995
  • You ever lose something in your car?
  • 00:16:36.995 --> 00:16:38.463
  • It's really dark.
  • 00:16:38.463 --> 00:16:39.931
  • You gotta get it out of the garage, you gotta get some light
  • 00:16:39.931 --> 00:16:42.600
  • In there and then you find it.
  • 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.068
  • Oh, that's where that burrito went that i lost one year ago.
  • 00:16:44.068 --> 00:16:49.040
  • No wonder there was an odd smell in the car.
  • 00:16:49.040 --> 00:16:52.844
  • So light exposes things.
  • 00:16:52.844 --> 00:16:54.512
  • So maybe the light shines into a person's life.
  • 00:16:54.512 --> 00:16:58.082
  • Maybe it's a friend of yours, the light of scripture, the
  • 00:16:58.082 --> 00:17:00.752
  • Light of truth, and you see they're doing something they
  • 00:17:00.752 --> 00:17:03.688
  • Should not be doing.
  • 00:17:03.688 --> 00:17:05.089
  • That's where love comes in.
  • 00:17:05.089 --> 00:17:06.457
  • The light shows the problem, but the love wants to help the
  • 00:17:06.457 --> 00:17:08.926
  • Person in the problem, right?
  • 00:17:08.926 --> 00:17:11.763
  • So the bible says if a brother or a sister is overtaken in a
  • 00:17:11.763 --> 00:17:16.034
  • Fault, you who are spiritual should kick them when they're
  • 00:17:16.034 --> 00:17:19.337
  • Down and tell as many people as possible, preferably on
  • 00:17:19.337 --> 00:17:23.808
  • Social media.
  • 00:17:23.808 --> 00:17:25.710
  • You know that verse, right?
  • 00:17:25.710 --> 00:17:27.545
  • Yeah, it's not in the bible.
  • 00:17:27.545 --> 00:17:29.414
  • What it really says is "if a brother or a sister is overtaken
  • 00:17:29.414 --> 00:17:32.817
  • In a fault or stumbles in sin, you who are spiritual should
  • 00:17:32.817 --> 00:17:36.954
  • Restore such a person in a spirit of meekness and take heed
  • 00:17:36.954 --> 00:17:41.692
  • Lest you also be tempted."
  • 00:17:41.692 --> 00:17:44.028
  • So what it's truly saying is if someone's down, help them up
  • 00:17:44.028 --> 00:17:46.898
  • Because one day you may be down.
  • 00:17:46.898 --> 00:17:49.801
  • And you may need someone to help you up.
  • 00:17:49.801 --> 00:17:52.503
  • See, that's light and love.
  • 00:17:52.503 --> 00:17:54.005
  • Light shows the problem.
  • 00:17:54.005 --> 00:17:55.840
  • Love brings the solution, and god is love.
  • 00:17:55.840 --> 00:18:01.379
  • Jesus said, "by this shall all men know that you are my
  • 00:18:01.379 --> 00:18:04.816
  • Disciples, that you have perfect doctrine."
  • 00:18:04.816 --> 00:18:09.020
  • Well, we should have perfect doctrine as much as we can.
  • 00:18:09.020 --> 00:18:12.356
  • We should believe the right things, but actually he didn't
  • 00:18:12.356 --> 00:18:14.525
  • Say that.
  • 00:18:14.525 --> 00:18:15.860
  • "by this shall all men know you are my disciples, that you have
  • 00:18:15.860 --> 00:18:19.197
  • Love one for another."
  • 00:18:19.197 --> 00:18:21.666
  • You know, one of the things that drew me to christ was the love
  • 00:18:21.666 --> 00:18:26.337
  • Of christians demonstrated toward each other.
  • 00:18:26.337 --> 00:18:30.208
  • I looked at them and i thought, "these people are weird.
  • 00:18:30.208 --> 00:18:32.443
  • They seem to actually love each other."
  • 00:18:32.443 --> 00:18:35.213
  • And i don't know what kind of home you were raised in, but i
  • 00:18:35.213 --> 00:18:38.416
  • Wasn't raised in what you call a loving home.
  • 00:18:38.416 --> 00:18:41.819
  • I know my mom loved me in her way, but she never told me.
  • 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:46.257
  • She never affirmed me in that way, so i never heard it.
  • 00:18:46.257 --> 00:18:49.093
  • She never hugged me, so i was kind of a sort of a broken
  • 00:18:49.093 --> 00:18:54.832
  • Person when i first showed up at church and some girl comes up to
  • 00:18:54.832 --> 00:18:58.136
  • Me i'd never seen before, throws her arms around me, and says,
  • 00:18:58.136 --> 00:19:02.173
  • "god bless you.
  • 00:19:02.173 --> 00:19:03.508
  • I love you, brother," and i'm like, "uh."
  • 00:19:03.508 --> 00:19:07.311
  • You know, not everyone's a hugger.
  • 00:19:07.311 --> 00:19:10.114
  • Some people say, "i'm a hugger."
  • 00:19:10.114 --> 00:19:11.782
  • I'm like, "oh, no.
  • 00:19:11.782 --> 00:19:14.552
  • How long is this gonna take?"
  • 00:19:14.552 --> 00:19:18.289
  • It's taken me a long time to learn how to love, to learn how
  • 00:19:18.289 --> 00:19:22.560
  • To say, "i love you," and to accept love from others, but
  • 00:19:22.560 --> 00:19:26.764
  • That is a mark of a real christian.
  • 00:19:26.764 --> 00:19:28.933
  • Be known for your love, be known as a bridge builder, not a
  • 00:19:28.933 --> 00:19:32.904
  • Bridge burner.
  • 00:19:32.904 --> 00:19:34.805
  • Be known as someone who builds people up, not as someone who
  • 00:19:34.805 --> 00:19:37.708
  • Tears people down.
  • 00:19:37.708 --> 00:19:39.744
  • Be a loving person, be a forgiving person, as i've often
  • 00:19:39.744 --> 00:19:44.182
  • Said--i forgot what i often have said.
  • 00:19:44.182 --> 00:19:49.053
  • Oh, yes, and that brings me to my next point in a moment.
  • 00:19:49.053 --> 00:19:54.158
  • When you forgive a person, you set a prisoner free: yourself.
  • 00:19:54.158 --> 00:19:59.297
  • Point number four, god's love is greater than our worst fears.
  • 00:19:59.297 --> 00:20:04.535
  • God's love is greater than our worst fears.
  • 00:20:04.535 --> 00:20:08.072
  • 1 john 4:18: "god demonstrated this love to us by sending his
  • 00:20:08.072 --> 00:20:12.243
  • Only begotten son.
  • 00:20:12.243 --> 00:20:13.844
  • Such love has no fear, for perfect love expels all fear."
  • 00:20:13.844 --> 00:20:19.917
  • King james translation: "perfect love casts out all fear."
  • 00:20:19.917 --> 00:20:24.388
  • If we are afraid, it is for the fear of punishment, and it shows
  • 00:20:24.388 --> 00:20:28.392
  • We have not fully experienced his perfect love.
  • 00:20:28.392 --> 00:20:32.129
  • I find this verse interesting.
  • 00:20:32.129 --> 00:20:34.432
  • You might think john would say courage is better than fear, or
  • 00:20:34.432 --> 00:20:38.069
  • Faith is better than fear, and that's all true.
  • 00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:41.472
  • But instead john says, "perfect love casts out all fear."
  • 00:20:41.472 --> 00:20:46.811
  • And the word that he uses for cast out or expel is a strong
  • 00:20:46.811 --> 00:20:50.881
  • Action-oriented word that means to drive out, to throw out
  • 00:20:50.881 --> 00:20:56.120
  • With force.
  • 00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:57.488
  • Fear and love are mutually exclusive.
  • 00:20:57.488 --> 00:20:59.857
  • If you are living in fear, especially the fear of judgment,
  • 00:20:59.857 --> 00:21:03.194
  • You have not yet grasped what it is to be loved by god.
  • 00:21:03.194 --> 00:21:07.632
  • Please know this: you are loved by god.
  • 00:21:07.632 --> 00:21:11.135
  • God is not mad at you.
  • 00:21:11.135 --> 00:21:14.005
  • God is mad about you.
  • 00:21:14.005 --> 00:21:16.641
  • And he loves you with the deepest love, and that evicts
  • 00:21:16.641 --> 00:21:20.878
  • Fear because if you walk around with a concern that, oh man, god
  • 00:21:20.878 --> 00:21:25.049
  • Doesn't love me and god's gonna judge me, then john is saying,
  • 00:21:25.049 --> 00:21:29.186
  • "man, listen, when you know the love of god, it drives that fear
  • 00:21:29.186 --> 00:21:33.724
  • Away, and he's never going to stop loving you."
  • 00:21:33.724 --> 00:21:36.961
  • Number five point: romans 8:38 reinforces this when it says,
  • 00:21:36.961 --> 00:21:41.932
  • "i'm convinced that nothing can separate us from god's love,
  • 00:21:41.932 --> 00:21:46.103
  • Neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons nor our fears
  • 00:21:46.103 --> 00:21:49.807
  • For today or worries about tomorrow, even the powers of
  • 00:21:49.807 --> 00:21:53.477
  • Hell cannot separate us from god's love."
  • 00:21:53.477 --> 00:21:57.448
  • And you know, our fears change with the passing of time.
  • 00:21:57.448 --> 00:22:02.286
  • When we're little kids, we have little kid fears.
  • 00:22:02.286 --> 00:22:05.323
  • I hope you don't still have those fears.
  • 00:22:05.323 --> 00:22:08.092
  • You're afraid of the dark, you're afraid of the monster
  • 00:22:08.092 --> 00:22:11.195
  • Under the bed.
  • 00:22:11.195 --> 00:22:12.897
  • You're afraid of abandonment.
  • 00:22:12.897 --> 00:22:14.432
  • That's why divorce is so devastating, especially
  • 00:22:14.432 --> 00:22:17.268
  • For children.
  • 00:22:17.268 --> 00:22:18.602
  • I remember that well.
  • 00:22:18.602 --> 00:22:19.970
  • As you get older, maybe your early teens, you have
  • 00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:22.640
  • Different fears.
  • 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:24.008
  • You have the fear of not fitting in.
  • 00:22:24.008 --> 00:22:25.810
  • Not being liked or accepted, not being good enough.
  • 00:22:25.810 --> 00:22:29.380
  • Then you become a young adult and you have new fears.
  • 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:32.183
  • Now your fear is, am i going to find a career?
  • 00:22:32.183 --> 00:22:34.952
  • Am i going to find someone to love me?
  • 00:22:34.952 --> 00:22:36.487
  • Am i going to find a spouse?
  • 00:22:36.487 --> 00:22:38.856
  • Or maybe you find yourself comparing yourself to others on
  • 00:22:38.856 --> 00:22:41.859
  • Social media.
  • 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:43.227
  • Then one day you wake up and you're an old person.
  • 00:22:43.227 --> 00:22:46.797
  • And they have different fears too.
  • 00:22:46.797 --> 00:22:49.200
  • How do you know when you're an old person?
  • 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.103
  • There are telltale signs.
  • 00:22:52.103 --> 00:22:53.904
  • You know you're getting old when you sink your teeth into a
  • 00:22:53.904 --> 00:22:56.474
  • Steak, and they stay there.
  • 00:22:56.474 --> 00:23:02.313
  • You know you're getting old when you have a party and your
  • 00:23:02.313 --> 00:23:04.782
  • Neighbors don't even know it.
  • 00:23:04.782 --> 00:23:07.618
  • You know you're getting old when your back goes out more than
  • 00:23:07.618 --> 00:23:10.888
  • You do.
  • 00:23:10.888 --> 00:23:12.757
  • You know you're getting old when you drop something and you bend
  • 00:23:12.757 --> 00:23:15.493
  • Down to pick it up and you wonder what else you can do
  • 00:23:15.493 --> 00:23:18.396
  • While you're down there.
  • 00:23:18.396 --> 00:23:21.098
  • "i don't want to come down here again.
  • 00:23:21.098 --> 00:23:23.367
  • Is there anything else that needs to be cleaned or
  • 00:23:23.367 --> 00:23:26.504
  • Picked up?
  • 00:23:26.504 --> 00:23:27.872
  • Let's get it over with."
  • 00:23:27.872 --> 00:23:29.440
  • Signs of getting old.
  • 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.909
  • But the good news is, is god has something for you in every stage
  • 00:23:31.909 --> 00:23:35.546
  • Of life.
  • 00:23:35.546 --> 00:23:36.914
  • To the child, god says, "i'll never leave you or forsake you."
  • 00:23:36.914 --> 00:23:40.484
  • To the teen, god says, "you're fearfully and wonderfully made."
  • 00:23:40.484 --> 00:23:45.256
  • To the young adult, the lord says, "i know the thoughts that
  • 00:23:45.256 --> 00:23:47.925
  • I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give
  • 00:23:47.925 --> 00:23:50.961
  • You a future and a hope."
  • 00:23:50.961 --> 00:23:52.930
  • And to the elderly, god says, "even to your old age and gray
  • 00:23:52.930 --> 00:23:56.700
  • Hairs, i am he--i am he who will sustain you.
  • 00:23:56.700 --> 00:24:00.271
  • I've made you. i will carry you.
  • 00:24:00.271 --> 00:24:02.440
  • I will sustain you, and i will rescue you."
  • 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:06.010
  • I love that.
  • 00:24:06.010 --> 00:24:12.216
  • All the old people are clapping...
  • 00:24:12.216 --> 00:24:15.886
  • Clear! ...
  • 00:24:15.886 --> 00:24:17.388
  • "i'm back," okay.
  • 00:24:17.388 --> 00:24:20.391
  • So he has something for all of us.
  • 00:24:20.391 --> 00:24:23.194
  • You know, when you get older, you don't want to lose your
  • 00:24:23.194 --> 00:24:27.865
  • Mobility, you don't want to lose your mental sharpness.
  • 00:24:27.865 --> 00:24:31.335
  • You want to remember things.
  • 00:24:31.335 --> 00:24:32.703
  • That's very important.
  • 00:24:32.703 --> 00:24:36.140
  • Um, anyway, i--that was a joke.
  • 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:37.942
  • I meant it that time.
  • 00:24:37.942 --> 00:24:39.276
  • The other time i really did forget.
  • 00:24:39.276 --> 00:24:40.678
  • This time, that was the joke, like, oh, you lose your mental
  • 00:24:40.678 --> 00:24:44.515
  • Sharpness and i forgot something, see?
  • 00:24:44.515 --> 00:24:46.517
  • Okay, last point: our love for god is a response to god's love
  • 00:24:46.517 --> 00:24:53.090
  • For us.
  • 00:24:53.090 --> 00:24:54.758
  • Our love for god is a response to god's love for us.
  • 00:24:54.758 --> 00:24:57.862
  • Why do we love god?
  • 00:24:57.862 --> 00:24:59.196
  • 1 john 4:19: "we love him because he first loved us."
  • 00:24:59.196 --> 00:25:06.103
  • I mean, when we just think about the fact that god loves us,
  • 00:25:06.103 --> 00:25:09.707
  • It's overwhelming.
  • 00:25:09.707 --> 00:25:11.642
  • You know, the bible says it's the goodness of god or the
  • 00:25:11.642 --> 00:25:14.812
  • Kindness of god that brings us to repentance.
  • 00:25:14.812 --> 00:25:18.215
  • His love wore down our rebellion.
  • 00:25:18.215 --> 00:25:21.585
  • One day we just realize, "why am i fighting with him?
  • 00:25:21.585 --> 00:25:24.655
  • Why am i running from him?
  • 00:25:24.655 --> 00:25:26.924
  • He loves me," and so i respond in love.
  • 00:25:26.924 --> 00:25:33.764
  • Greg: there are so many things to be worried about right now,
  • 00:25:38.002 --> 00:25:40.304
  • Aren't there?
  • 00:25:40.304 --> 00:25:41.639
  • The worrying about terrorism,
  • 00:25:41.639 --> 00:25:43.207
  • Worry about your personal safety, violent crime,
  • 00:25:43.207 --> 00:25:46.310
  • The economy, the list goes on.
  • 00:25:46.310 --> 00:25:48.345
  • Here's what the bible says, "don't worry about anything.
  • 00:25:48.345 --> 00:25:52.049
  • Pray about everything."
  • 00:25:52.049 --> 00:25:54.451
  • Turn your panic into prayer.
  • 00:25:54.451 --> 00:25:57.588
  • Jesus said, "come unto me, all of you that are laboring and are
  • 00:25:57.588 --> 00:26:00.691
  • Heavy laden, i will give you rest."
  • 00:26:00.691 --> 00:26:03.260
  • Give your burdens, give your problems over to god and let him
  • 00:26:03.260 --> 00:26:07.898
  • Give you his peace in your heart.
  • 00:26:07.898 --> 00:26:12.069
  • Let me send for you, at no charge, what i call a new
  • 00:26:12.069 --> 00:26:15.606
  • Believer's bible to help you grow in a relationship with god
  • 00:26:15.606 --> 00:26:20.844
  • And learn how to turn your panic into prayer and your worry
  • 00:26:20.844 --> 00:26:24.915
  • Into worship.
  • 00:26:24.915 --> 00:26:27.952
  • Greg: hey, greg laurie here. maybe you've seen this...
  • 00:26:32.089 --> 00:26:34.258
  • This is called the "new believer's bible," and a number
  • 00:26:34.258 --> 00:26:37.595
  • Of years ago, i wanted to do an edition of scripture with
  • 00:26:37.595 --> 00:26:42.466
  • Commentary that would make the bible more accessible to someone
  • 00:26:42.466 --> 00:26:47.338
  • Who's never read it before, like a new believer.
  • 00:26:47.338 --> 00:26:50.374
  • But today we live, of course, in a digital world,
  • 00:26:50.374 --> 00:26:54.178
  • So we've taken the curriculum from the "new believer's bible"
  • 00:26:54.178 --> 00:26:57.481
  • And we've created this online community of people just like
  • 00:26:57.481 --> 00:27:00.951
  • You who are studying the word of god together.
  • 00:27:00.951 --> 00:27:04.388
  • By the way, this is free of charge, you can learn at
  • 00:27:04.388 --> 00:27:07.157
  • Your own pace, but most importantly, you'll experience
  • 00:27:07.157 --> 00:27:10.861
  • The power of god's word to transform your life.
  • 00:27:10.861 --> 00:27:14.498
  • The bible says, of itself, it's alive and powerful and sharper
  • 00:27:14.498 --> 00:27:19.336
  • Than any two-edged sword, so i hope you'll take your phone
  • 00:27:19.336 --> 00:27:23.240
  • Right now and join us online at harvest discipleship.
  • 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:27.544
  • Let's learn and grow together.
  • 00:27:27.544 --> 00:27:27.544