The Refreshing Power of the Word of God - (#1 of 2)

Greg Laurie: The growing believer will delight in and love the Word of God. You'll love it because as you read, study, memorize, and dig into the Word of God, it will refresh you.
Guest (Male): God gave us His Word as spiritual nourishment. It feeds our souls. And Pastor Greg Laurie says it's good to have a hearty meal.
Greg Laurie: The Bible restores you. The Bible refreshes you. The Bible transforms you.
Guest (Male): Ever been so hungry you felt weak? Not just hunger pangs, not just in a hangry mood, you actually felt sluggish and powerless. Food is at the top of your mind. Well, we can start to feel weak spiritually, but so many times our spiritual food isn't at the top of our minds. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out just what God's Word does for the weary traveler on the road of life. We'll see it gives us actual power for living, and we shouldn't deprive ourselves.
Greg Laurie: The refreshing power of the Word of God. Listen, if you want to be a growing Christian, if you want to be a successful Christian, if you want to be a believer that brings forth spiritual fruit, as Jesus says He wants us to bring forth, then you need to be a Bible-studying Christian. And as a believer, we are either progressing or we're regressing. We're either going forward or we're going backward. And the moment we stop the forward momentum is when we begin the backward regression. I read not long ago about a coach, a guy who trains people for a living, and most of his clients were quite overweight, some 60 or 70 pounds overweight. This guy, this trainer, was in perfect shape: washboard abs, ate the right foods, loved to exercise. And he really couldn't relate to what his clients were going through, so this guy decided to intentionally put on 70 pounds to see what it was like. And so he started by changing his diet from the foods he used to eat to fattening foods. For instance, for breakfast he had Cap'n Crunch cereal, and then he would have a snack, it would be banana bread, and he would have chicken alfredo pasta for dinner, and lots of corn dogs and donuts in between. By the way, this diet sounds really good to me except the Cap'n Crunch cereal, I could live without that. But all the rest, this sounds amazing. Well, it was exhilarating to him because at first there was no difference in his body. He still looked good. But then he noticed the first thing to go were the abs, and then he started getting flabby. Then he found that his blood pressure was going up. He was tired all the time. He found himself lethargic and depressed. And to me, this is the picture of what it's like when we start going in the wrong direction spiritually. Instead of eating the nutritious message of God's Word, we fill our lives with spiritual junk food. So when that happens, you need a restart. You need a reboot. You need a refresh. And I want to talk to you about the refreshing power of the Word of God because the reality is, as believers, we all have those moments when we stumble, when we trip up, when we make that wrong decision, we think that wrong thought, and we need to repent. We need to reboot. We need to be revived and refreshed. And that's what we're going to be focusing on together because you want to build your life as a Christian on Christ and His Word. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave this summary statement in Matthew 7: "Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, he is a wise man who builds his house on the rock. And the rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, but it did not fall because its foundation was on the rock." But then Christ goes on to say: "Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does not put them into practice, he is a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. And the rain came down, and the streams rose, and it fell with a great crash." Look, every life is going to be tested. Every one of us is going to face storms in life as followers of Jesus, so make sure you're built on the right foundation, which is a relationship with Jesus Himself and, of course, on God's Word. Don't build your Christian experience on experience. Don't build your faith on your fickle emotions. Build your life on Christ and His Word because as you read, study, memorize, and dig into the Word of God, it will refresh you. Psalm 19:7 says: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." The word that the psalmist uses there for "converts" means to revive, to restore, and to transform. Now, when we say "the law of the Lord," that could just as easily be translated "the Word of the Lord" or simply "the Bible." In other words, the Bible restores you. The Bible refreshes you. The Bible transforms you. I can think of so many times in my life where my mind was going in the wrong direction. Have you ever been gripped by fear, worry, or anxiety, and found by just quoting the right scripture that it sort of righted you? Or when you're dealing with pain or with grief? You know, we just marked 13 years since our son Christopher went to be with the Lord. And since that has happened, I've spoken to countless families who've lost loved ones, especially children. And I've talked to them about grief. Grief is powerful and it can overwhelm you. And there were times when our grief was so powerful and so overwhelming we didn't know if we could go on. But the thing is grief has its place. It's the process of healing. It's the process of processing the thing that has happened to you. I compare it to being out on the ocean. Maybe we're on our surfboards or our stand-up paddleboards or maybe we're on our boogie boards. Have you ever gone over the falls, like going over the front of a wave, and you're in white water? It's like you're in a washing machine, and you don't know which way is up. So if you have a boogie board or some surfboard and a leash attached to your ankle, you know one thing is certain: that boogie board, that flotation device, will always go to the surface. Because people have become disoriented when they've gone over the falls, especially if the wave is big, and they don't know which way is up. And instead of going up, they go down. So here's what you do. If you've got that leash, grab the leash and go in the direction of your surfboard or your boogie board and get your head above the water and get a gulp of air, because a new set of waves might be coming. That's grief. It just turns you upside down. You don't know what to think. You don't know what's going on. Your emotions are running amok. Grab the leash. What is the leash? The leash is the Word of God. And it pulls me to the surface, and I can get my eyes on Jesus for a moment, and it can get me sorted out and back in alignment with God again. How important the Word of God is in our life. The Word of God restores us. It refreshes us. It transforms us. Listen to this: success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of God's Word you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it. Let me repeat that for emphasis: success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of God's Word you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it. God told His people back in the book of Joshua, if they want to succeed spiritually, they needed to constantly be looking at His Word. Joshua 1:8 said: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. Meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. And if you do this, your way will be prosperous and you will have good success." Meditate in the Word of God. What does it mean to meditate? Well, in the Bible, it means to contemplate. It's the idea given in Scripture of chewing one's food carefully. In Eastern meditation, one empties their mind. In biblical meditation, one fills their mind with the Word of God. And as you memorize and know and understand Scripture, it'll be a weapon to use as you share your faith and a weapon to defend yourself when you're being attacked. Remember the first temptation that happened back in the Garden of Eden is when Satan effectively came to Adam and Eve and challenged them to doubt the Word of God. He said, "Did God really say what you think He said? Has God really said you cannot eat of all of the trees in the garden?" And this is one of the first things that happens to a person when they become a Christian. They have doubt about what they believe. And Jesus told us how to handle this and showed us really when He was tempted in the wilderness. Remember three waves of temptation came to Christ from Lucifer, and in each instance, Jesus says, "It is written. It is written." He came back to the Word of God, which the Bible describes as the sword of the Spirit. Listen, a growing believer will delight in and love the Word of God. You'll love it. It's not like you'll dread reading it; you'll look forward to reading it. Psalm 1, describing the happy man, says, "Happy is the man that doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the Word of the Lord, and in it does he meditate day and night." The psalmist said in Psalm 119: "How I love your commandments, Lord. They give my life back to me because your unfailing love and your words are true."
Guest (Male): We hear from listeners all over the country and from countries all over the world.
Guest (Male): I just want to say hi, Pastor Greg. I am writing to you from Dulag Christian Fellowship, a small but growing church here in Dulag, Leyte, Philippines. By God's grace, the Lord is drawing people in our town. We want to sincerely thank you for your faithful ministry through Harvest Christian Fellowship and A New Beginning, which has greatly influenced and encouraged us here. Many of our Bible studies and Sunday messages are inspired by your teaching style. We often adopt your outlines into Tagalog and Waray, our local dialects, so that people in our community can easily understand the gospel. Through your teachings, many here in Dulag are being strengthened and lives are being changed. We are praying for you, your family, and your team, that the Lord will continue to use you powerfully for His glory. Marami pong salamat, Pastor Greg, for your faithfulness in preaching God's Word.
Guest (Male): What an encouragement to hear how these messages are reaching all the way to the Philippines. Do you have a story to tell? If so, would you call and share it with us? Call 866-871-1144. That's 866-871-1144. Well, today, Pastor Greg is presenting his message on the importance of Scripture called "The Refreshing Power of the Word of God." And there's more to come.
Greg Laurie: How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? Sometimes we'll doubt it. Can I believe the Bible? Can I be certain that this really is God's Word to me? So if you have a Bible, why don't you just grab it right now and hold on to it. Maybe it's an app on your tablet or your phone, but I want you to think about this book that we call the Bible. This is God's message to us. Technically speaking, the Bible is not one book, but it's actually 66 different books written over a 1500-year span of time. Its words were written by authors, 40 of them all told, from every walk of life: kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, statesmen, and scholars. Yet all of the authors of the Bible write about one primary theme, and that theme is God's redemption of mankind. And each one of these individuals was inspired by God to write these words. 2 Peter 1:20 says: "You must understand no prophecy in Scripture came about by the prophets themselves as they wanted to prophesy, but it was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God." How do I know the Bible is the Word of God? Here's one point: I know the Bible is the Word of God because it gave me the experience it claimed it would give me. Now, don't say, "Well, Greg, you shouldn't build your life in experience." This is just one of many points as to why I believe the Bible is the Word of God. But I believe it because everything the Bible promised to me was true. Everything the Bible says to me I have found to be true. For instance, the Bible says God would forgive me of my sin. 1 John 1:9 says: "If I will confess my sin, He's faithful and just to forgive me my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness." So I read that verse, and I said, "Lord, cleanse me of my sin." One of the first things I remember experiencing as a brand new Christian was a sensation of having a massive weight removed from me. Now, I didn't know what I'd just done. I prayed and asked Jesus into my life. I hadn't read that I should cast all of my care upon Him for He cared for me. I hadn't read any verses yet, but I remember feeling this weight lifted off of me. That was God forgiving me of my sin. The Bible says to me: "If any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. The old things have passed away. Behold, everything becomes fresh and new." I became a different person after I gave my life to Christ. I saw that change inside of me, and I knew it was real. I tried to be a better person. I wanted to be a more caring person. I wanted to be different than I was, but I couldn't change myself. And suddenly, with Christ living in me and reading the Word of God, I saw that these things happened for me as the Bible said they would. I read in the Bible that God could give to me a peace that passes all human understanding. Because in Philippians we read: "Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything, and the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus." Have you experienced that peace that passes all understanding? I mentioned already that my son went to be with the Lord, and I tested the Word of God then. I couldn't even get to sleep at night, and I would remind myself of what Scripture says, and I would quote Scripture to myself, and it would console me and comfort me and sustain me. I believe the Bible is the Word of God because it gave me the experience it promised. Number two: I believe the Bible is the Word of God and that it is true because it's confirmed by science. Now, some of you might be thinking, "No, Greg, you're wrong. Science and the Bible contradict each other." That's not necessarily true. People over the years have scoffed at the Bible, saying it's so unscientific. The people that believe the Bible, they're fools. Well, it's actually the Bible that told us that the Lord sits on the circle of the earth. It's the Bible that told us the earth was round, not flat as many of the experts thought at one stage in human history. It's the Bible that tells us that the stars in the sky were enumerable. But of course, astronomers said, "That's ridiculous. We can actually count the stars." And they had their count, and then they'd get a more powerful telescope and add some more numbers to that, and on it grew. But the Bible tells us that God stretched forth the heavens into a limitless expanse which can never be measured and filled it with stars which are as enumerable as the sands upon the seashore. Well, now modern science has confirmed this is true, that we really can't even count the stars in the sky. It was the Bible that told us that the things that we see are made out of things that we don't see. Hebrews 11:3 says: "By faith we understand the entire universe was formed at God's command, and what we see now is made out of things we don't see." Everything that we look at right now is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. God told us the things we see are made of things we don't see. So the Bible was ahead of science in many ways. But listen, the Bible is not a scientific textbook. If it were, it would be much larger and much less comprehensible. The objective of the Scripture is not to tell us how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven. Let me say that again: the objective of the Bible is not to tell me how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven and how to know God. Here's another point: the Bible is true because it's the one book that dares to predict the future. Not once, not twice, but hundreds of times with 100% accuracy. Think of all the Scriptures in the Old Testament that pointed to the arrival of the Messiah. The Bible told us in the Old Testament Messiah would be born of a virgin, He'd be born in Bethlehem, He would be crucified. And the Bible said in the Old Testament He would be crucified before the actual act of crucifixion even existed. The Bible is the one book that tells us what is coming in our future as well. I'm not talking about Nostradamus here or the Mayan prophecies; I'm talking about a reliable source. And that really is the mark of a true messenger from God or a book that comes from God: can it predict the future? And the answer with the Bible is yes. Then I could go on and talk a lot about how archaeology confirms the Bible. It doesn't contradict it. It seems like whenever there's a new archaeological find, it confirms what the Bible said. And I could talk about so many things happening in our world right now that are fulfillments of Bible prophecy: the turmoil in the Middle East and much, much more. As reminded in 2 Timothy 3, all Scripture is inspired by God, or another translation says all Scripture is breathed by God. Pastor Greg Laurie with insights on why we can rely on the Bible as the Word of God. Our message today on A New Beginning is titled "The Refreshing Power of the Word of God," and there's more to come. We've talked a lot about the Bible, God's love letter to His children, and how He cares for His kids. Well, Pastor Greg has a further comment he wanted to share. So as you've been listening today, maybe you've thought to yourself, "Man, I wish I had this relationship with God that is being talked about." Well, you can. He's only a prayer away. You see, becoming a Christian, it doesn't take years, it doesn't take months, it doesn't take weeks, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen in a moment. The Bible describes it as turning from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. But before that happens, the Bible says you need to have your eyes open. And here's the amazing thing: it's just like in a flash, a light goes on and you say, "This is all true." That's how it happened for me. I just heard the gospel and all of a sudden I realized this is all true. And maybe you've realized that as well. Let me ask you: would you like Jesus Christ to come into your life? Would you like Him to forgive you of your sin? Would you like this relationship with God we've been talking about today? If so, why don't you just pray a simple prayer with me? You could pray it out loud if you like, but say this to God: "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that You're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Jesus, I turn from my sin and I choose to follow You from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my God and friend. Thank You for hearing this prayer, and I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen." Hey, did you just pray that prayer? If so, I want to send you at no charge what we call a New Believer's Bible. Here's Dave to tell you more. And let me just say, congratulations. You've made the right decision.
Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And listen, to help you begin to live this new life, this life where you're at peace with God and you can begin to enjoy the peace of God, let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's the perfect resource for someone who's new to the faith. We'll send it free of charge if you'll just contact us and request it. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300. Or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org and click "Know God." And then thank you for partnering with us to help these daily studies continue. Your investments have eternal benefits. Why not make this a part of your personal ministry to partner in an effort that's making a real difference with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online, you'll find us at harvest.org, and there you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now. That's harvest.org. Or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call. Again, at 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time, more insights on the importance of God's Word and how it refreshes the lives of believers. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.