Forgiven People Should Be Forgiving People

Forgiven People Should Be Forgiving People

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

—1 John 1:9

A Sunday school teacher was talking to her class about forgiveness. She asked her students what a person needs to do to receive forgiveness from God. There was a moment of silence, and then a little boy raised his hand and said, “You have to sin.”

That is true. You have to sin. And all of us qualify. We sin more often than we realize. So yes, we have to ask God to forgive us. Most Christians understand that God graciously gives us His forgiveness, though we don’t deserve it. He tells us that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).

That is amazing. We understand that for the most part. But here is where it gets tricky for some. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. We have received the forgiveness of God, and therefore we should extend that same forgiveness to others—especially to those who have wronged us.

As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” Isn’t that true? Forgiveness is great in theory, but it is much harder in practice.

I read about a study that was done on the topic of forgiveness. It revealed that 75 percent of those surveyed believed God had forgiven them for past sins, but only 52 percent had forgiven others. We have a problem.

The Scriptures say that if we ask God to forgive us, then we should forgive others. Life is filled with hurt and disappointments. We have people who hurt us. And guess what? There are people we have hurt as well. We need to learn how to apologize, and we need to learn how to forgive.

Some might say, “Wait a second, Greg. You don’t know what people have done to me. You don’t know what I’ve had to face in life. It’s unforgivable.”

No, I don’t know. But this is what the Bible says. And here is the most important reason we should forgive people who have hurt us: God commands us to. I don’t think we need any other reason, but there are a few others.

The Bible tells us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you,” and “bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13 NIV).

Failure to forgive others also can bring your prayer life to a screeching halt. Jesus said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25 NIV).

The bottom line is that forgiven people should be forgiving people.

 

 
Pastor Greg Laurie

 



Worthy_of _Worship

Worthy of Worship

“When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

—Matthew 2:10–11

The wise men, these followers of the stars, met the Lord Jesus Christ who created the stars. They were occultists, yet God reached into their dark world with a star to bring them to their Creator.

Matthew’s gospel tells us, “They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11).

Everyone worships at Christmas. There are no exceptions to this. Christians worship. Atheists worship. Skeptics worship. Republicans worship. Democrats worship. Independents worship. Everyone worships at Christmas, but not everyone worships God at Christmas. Some worship material things, which they never seem to have enough of. Others worship their bodies. Others worship their families. But everyone worships something or someone.

The wise men worshiped Jesus. And what does it mean to worship? Our modern word worship comes from the old English word worthship. We worship the One who is worthy. A god of our own making isn’t worthy of our worship, but the true God is worthy of our praise.

Two words often are used in the Scriptures to define worship. One word means to bow down and do homage, which speaks of reverence and respect. The other means to kiss toward, which speaks of intimacy and friendship. So when we put these two words together, we get an idea of what worship actually is. To worship is to bow down and have reverence, and it is also to have tender intimacy.

Jesus was born, He died, and He rose from the dead so that you and I could come into a relationship with Him and become God’s adopted children. Simply put, we should worship the Lord because He deserves it—every day of the year.

 

 
Pastor Greg Laurie

 



Come and See!

Come and See!

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

—John 4:29

There is a lot of power in the simplicity of a changed life. After Jesus spoke with the woman at the well in Samaria, she immediately went out and began to tell others. The Bible tells us that she “left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’ ” (John 4:28–29).

Her testimony was so powerful that people believed as a result. The passage goes on to say, “Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘He told me everything I ever did!’ ” (verse 39). That is the power of a changed life.

When the Jewish leaders questioned the man whom Jesus healed, he replied, “I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25).

It’s so important when you can share the before and after of what God has done for you. Maybe people would never imagine that you used to be what you were or that you used to do what you once did, because you have been so transformed by Jesus Christ. And when you share that story, it can speak to them in a special way.

It is interesting how often the apostle Paul, who was a brilliant orator, a great communicator, and a wonderful intellect, would use his testimony to speak to people. When he was speaking before the Roman governor in Acts 24, he began with his own story of how he came to faith. Then he went to the essential core message of the gospel.

Your testimony, your story, is a way to begin building a bridge. It’s a bridge to get to the bigger story, which is Jesus.
 
Pastor Greg Laurie

 



Right Where You Are

Right Where You Are

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

—Luke 10:2

It seems, unfortunately, that the church could be compared to a giant football game where 60,000 people in the stands watch 22 people do all the work. We stand on the sidelines and shout, “Go, team, go!” while God is saying, “I want you down on the field. I want you to carry the ball. I want you to be a part of what I’m doing.”

Jesus said, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2). Notice that Jesus did not say that we should pray the Lord would send out more observers—or more spectators or more complainers. Rather, He said we should pray the Lord would send out more laborers.

No one can honestly pray for this work to be done if they are not willing to do it themselves. Let’s not sit around and say, “Yes, God, send more laborers into the harvest!” Instead, let’s say, “Lord, let it start with me. I will be a laborer. I don’t know what I can do. I don’t know what I can offer. I don’t have a lot. But it’s Yours, Lord. I give it to You.”

Just watch what God can do. He can do a lot with a little. He can take what you have and multiply it.

Maybe you’re thinking, “That’s the job of the professionals. Let the preachers do this preaching stuff. I’m just an ordinary person.”
There are many people you can reach far more effectively. You can reach them because they know you. They work with you. They live next to you. You are able to speak to them like perhaps no other person could. God has given you a group of people whom you can influence. God wants to use you right where you are.
Pastor Greg Laurie


Nothing Quite Like It

—Matthew 18:20

I think Christians have the best songs of any religion on earth. The Christian faith is a singing faith, which is not necessarily true of other religions. They may chant, and they may moan. They may have their various forms of music. But there is no faith that is as full of vibrant, joyful singing as Christianity.

When we come together with God’s people in corporate worship, something wonderful happens. God manifests His presence in a unique way when His people come to honor His name. As Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

God is omnipresent, which means that He is everywhere. In a technical sense, He is as present with us when we’re driving as He is when we’re in a church service. On the other hand, when we gather with other believers and lift up His name in praise together, God blesses in a special way. He manifests His presence and even His glory. There is nothing in the world like worship. It is a sense of fulfillment as we do what we were created to do, which is to glorify God.

The Bible tells us in Revelation 15, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (verses 2–3). We will be singing in Heaven. So let’s start on Earth.

The Spirit-filled church will be a worshiping church. And the Spirit-filled Christian will be a worshiping Christian.
Pastor Greg Laurie


The Scalpel of the Holy Spirit

The Scalpel of the Holy Spirit

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

—Acts 2:37

Peter was going for broke. Standing with the Eleven on the Day of Pentecost, he said to the crowd, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

Talk about taking a risk. They could have killed Peter for saying that. I wonder if Peter thought, “Okay, maybe I cowered before the opinion of someone I didn’t even know by that fire in the courtyard, but those days are gone. I have new power now. I have the Holy Spirit permeating my life. And I’m going to tell the truth.”

To show you that his message was the right one, look at their reaction: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (verse 37). This could be translated, “They were pierced to the heart.” This phrase appears only here in the New Testament, and it means “to pierce” or “stab.” Thus, it depicts something sudden and unexpected. It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

We all have been stabbed in the back, but have you ever been stabbed in the heart? It’s when someone says something to you that isn’t easy to hear. The reason it hurt is because they were right. It feels like a horrible thing, but it is a good thing. Don’t think of it as a sword killing you; think of it as a scalpel in the hand of a surgeon who’s saving your life and cutting the cancer out.

At Pentecost, the people were stabbed in the heart by the scalpel of the Holy Spirit. There was a sense inside that they needed to get right with God.
By Pastor Greg Laurie


The Secret To Spiritual Growth

The Secret to Spiritual Growth

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

—John 15:5

A Sunday school teacher wanted her first grade class to know about the different types of sin that could be committed, so she asked her students, “Does anyone know what the sins of commission are?”

A little girl said, “That is when you do something your mom tells you not to do.”

“Very good. That’s exactly right. Does anyone know what the sins of omission are?”

A little boy frantically waved his hand. He said, “Those are the sins you are supposed to commit but you haven’t gotten around to them yet.”

That is how a lot of Christians act today. They think it is only a matter of time until they commit certain sins or fall prey to certain sins. But according to the Bible, sin can and should be resisted. We don’t have to be victims to it. We cannot only resist sin as a Christian, but we can grow stronger spiritually every day. However, we can’t do it in our own strength.

Jesus said the secret to spiritual growth is in abiding: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). He said, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (verse 5).

Jesus was talking about a vine that would produce grapes. We need to sink our roots deep into a relationship with Christ. Abiding speaks of a continuing commitment. It’s producing fruit. It’s walking with God on an ongoing basis. Abiding takes time . . . and lots of it.

If you want to grow spiritually, if you want to be able to resist temptation, if you want to live a life that is pleasing to God, then you must abide in Christ.
By Pastor Greg Laurie


A Permanent Reminder

A Permanent Reminder

Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.”

—Luke 24:39

What did the resurrected body of Jesus look like?  The Bible tells us that after Jesus’ cruel torture, crucifixion, and three days in the tomb, He was recognizable, and that His followers knew who He was.

We know that He had a body of flesh and bone.  Jesus told the disciples, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39).

We also know that Jesus ate food.  Imagine the surprise of the disciples when the risen Lord appeared to them and then said, “Have you any food here?”

“What?” they must have been thinking.  But they gave Jesus a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and He ate it (see Luke 24:41–43).

His resurrected body also could be touched and felt.  When the women were returning from the empty tomb, “Behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him” (Matthew 28:9).

Then, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room, He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27).

This tells us that in His resurrected body, Jesus still wore the marks of the Crucifixion.  And He will wear those marks, even in eternity (see Zechariah 12:10).

I think this is to remind us of how we got to be His.  We will not be in Heaven because of our good works.  We will be there because of His shed blood, because spikes were driven through His hands and feet for us.
Pastor Greg Laurie


How Sin Affects Your Prayer Life

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

—Psalm 66:18

Habitual sin in the life of a Christian can bring his or her prayer life to a screeching halt. That is not to say we have to be sinless to pray. If that were the case, none of us could ever approach God. The Bible even says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). It also tells us that when we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (see 1 John 2:1).

The Bible makes allowances for sin in our lives and offers God’s mercy and forgiveness to us, but unconfessed sin certainly can hinder our prayers. The psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (66:18). Another way to translate the word regard would be “hold on to.” In other words, if we cling to iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us.

There is a difference between sin and willful sin. There is a difference between stumbling, being sorry for it, and turning from it, and continually, willfully, and habitually sinning. If you are sensing God’s conviction and know what you’re doing isn’t right, that is God’s Holy Spirit lovingly trying to wake you up and warn you of the perilous path you have put yourself on.

Hebrews 12:6 says, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens.” To loosely paraphrase, “Whom God really loves, He spanks.” Because He cares about you, He applies the “board of education” to your “seat of understanding.” Some of us need a trip behind God’s woodshed. When that happens, don’t recoil and complain that it’s unfair. Instead, rejoice that God loves you enough to deal with you as a father deals with his son or daughter.
By Pastor Greg Laurie


How Sin Affects Your Prayer Life

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

—Psalm 66:18

Habitual sin in the life of a Christian can bring his or her prayer life to a screeching halt. That is not to say we have to be sinless to pray. If that were the case, none of us could ever approach God. The Bible even says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). It also tells us that when we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (see 1 John 2:1).

The Bible makes allowances for sin in our lives and offers God’s mercy and forgiveness to us, but unconfessed sin certainly can hinder our prayers. The psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (66:18). Another way to translate the word regard would be “hold on to.” In other words, if we cling to iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us.

There is a difference between sin and willful sin. There is a difference between stumbling, being sorry for it, and turning from it, and continually, willfully, and habitually sinning. If you are sensing God’s conviction and know what you’re doing isn’t right, that is God’s Holy Spirit lovingly trying to wake you up and warn you of the perilous path you have put yourself on.

Hebrews 12:6 says, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens.” To loosely paraphrase, “Whom God really loves, He spanks.” Because He cares about you, He applies the “board of education” to your “seat of understanding.” Some of us need a trip behind God’s woodshed. When that happens, don’t recoil and complain that it’s unfair. Instead, rejoice that God loves you enough to deal with you as a father deals with his son or daughter.
By Pastor Greg Laurie