The Hard-to-Swallow Truth about Obedience

Notes: The Hard-to-Swallow Truth about Obedience

Jonah Chapter 1 week 2 

July 21, 2013 

Pastor Greg Laurie

God is a God of second chances.

Sin will take you further then you want to go. It will keep you longer them you want to stay. Sin will cost you more then you want to pay.

Three types of storms:

Protecting

Perfecting

Correcting

Jonah was in a correcting storm. "Reaping what you sow"

Jonah 1:4-5 (NLT)

But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. [5] Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.

Romans 13:11-12 (NLT)

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. [12] The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.

Jonah 1:8 (NLT)

"Why has this awful storm come down on us?" they demanded. "Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?"

Matthew 27:63 (NLT)

They told him, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: 'After three days I will rise from the dead.'

Some times nonbelievers have a better idea of how a believer should act then a believer does.

Nonbelievers will fear God while believers will not.

Jonah 1:16 (NLT)

The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Jonah 1:17 (NLT)

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

This is one of the most questioned stories in the Bible.

Jonah 2:7 (NLT)

As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.

Jonah did not ask for deliverance he gave praise.

2nd Chances:

Adam and Eve

King David

Sampson

Simon Peter

Jonah was repented and regurgitated

Remember, repent, repeat (do the first works quickly)

Go! - Here Am I...Send Him!

Here Am I...Send Him! 

Jonah 1
7/14/13 
Pastor Greg Laurie
Harvest OC

Here am I send him.

We all deserve judgement.

1 Corinthians 1:21 (NKJV)

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Jonah 7/27/13

1. To reach our culture we must preach the Gospel.

Theology without apology.

Matthew 4:17 (NLT)

From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

Matthew 10:7 (NLT)

Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

2. We are to preach the message He has given.

Nothing is going through you until it has happened to you.

Our job is to deliver it, not to change it.

There is explosive power in the essential message of the gospel.

Gods rep or prophet is usually an ordinary person.

An unlikely candidate.

3. Gods prophet or rep is speaking for someone else

If our message is rejected or accepted we don't take it personally. Don't take the blame or the credit.

4. The true prophet recognizes rue results are not up to him.

God does not require success, he requires faithfulness

3 marks of a good message.

1. Our message must be delivered with urgency!

2. Our message must be clear definite.

The Gospel is not simplistic but it is simple.

Romans 6:23 (NLT)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Whenever God gives a warning that is a good thing.

Galatians 1:6-8 (NLT)

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News [7] but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. [8] Let God's curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.

The true gospel.

1. We are all sinners.

1 John 1:8 (NLT)

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

James 2:10 (NLT)

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws.

Romans 3:10-12 (NLT)

As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous- not even one. [11] No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. [12] All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one."

Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. [7] Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. [8] But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

John 14:6 (NLT)

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 (NLT)

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)

For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity-the man Christ Jesus.

How God Sees Things

Notes: How God Sees Things

July 7. 2013 Pastor Jeff Lasseigne 

How God Sees Things

Harvest OC

2 Peter 3:1-15 (NKJV)

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), [2] that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, [3] knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, [4] and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." [5] For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, [6] by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. [7] But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. [8] But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. [11] Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, [12] looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? [13] Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. [14] Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; [15] and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation-as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

Point one: How God sees the past verses 2 to 7

1 out of 25 verses speaks of a second coming in the New Testament.

Some people fall for everything, and stand for nothing!

Scoffers willfully reject the Word.

2 Peter 2:5 (NKJV)

and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

Genesis 2:5 (NKJV)

before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;

Point 2: How God sees the present. Verses 8 and 9

Psalm 90:4 (NKJV)

For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

God is not slow he is lovingly patient.

2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night

Point 3: how God sees the future.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NKJV)

For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

Point 4: how God sees our response.

Verses 11 to 15

For Such a Time as This, Part 2

Notes: For Such a Time asThis, Part 2

Pastor Greg Laurie

Part 2: Esther 5

June 27, 2013

Greg was talking about laws:

Murphy’s Law

The Law of Gravity

The Law of Thermodynamics

The Biblical Law of Sowing and Reaping
(Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV) 6 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. [8] For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.)

Satan was behind this because he hates the Jewish people.

Satan hates what God loves.

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Esther 4:13-14 (NKJV)

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. [14] For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Esther 4:16 (NKJV)

"Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"

Character is not made in crisis; it is only exhibited.

A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted.

Esther 5:1-8 (NKJV)

On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. [2] When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter. [3] Then the king asked her, "What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!" [4] And Esther replied, "If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king." [5] The king turned to his attendants and said, "Tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested." So the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet. [6] And while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, "Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!" [7] Esther replied, "This is my request and deepest wish. [8] If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about."

No one is unreachable.

No one is beyond the reach of God and prayer.

Proverbs 21:1

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Hebrews 6:10 (NKJV)

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Esther 5:2-3 (NKJV)

2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.

3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Proverbs 25:11 (NKJV)

11  A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold
In settings of silver.

Esther 5:4 (NKJV)

4 So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

“What a happy man Haman was as he left the banquet!”
(Esther 5:9)

You will be rewarded for every act of kindness and word of testimony.
(Hebrews 6:10)

Psalm 121:4 (NKJV)

4  Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)

5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

Esther 6:11-13 (NKJV)

So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!" [12] Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. [13] When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him."

Esther 6:14 (NKJV)

14 While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

Esther 7:1-10 (NKJV)

7 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared[a] to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows[b] that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits[c] high.” 10 And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

1. God is always present and at work, whether we feel Him or not.

2. God can take impossible situations and turn them around for His glory.

3. You will reap what you sow.

2 Corinthians 9:6 (NKJV)

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, and reap a destiny.

God can forgive you of your sin.