Harvest Ministry "A New Beginning" with Greg Laurie's Notes for the Week of Monday, 1 September 2014

Harvest Ministry "A New Beginning" with Greg Laurie's Notes for the Week of Monday, 1 September 2014
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
NO NOTES
Monday, 1 September 2014
Greg Laurie Interviews Dr. James Dobson — I
He's been called "America's Foremost Authority on the family." Dr. James Dobson is an author and speaker known the world over. Pastor Greg Laurie interviews Dr. Dobson. It's an inspiring look at the character of this champion of our faith.
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Greg Laurie Interviews Dr. James Dobson — II
Today, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us a candid look at the life of Dr. James Dobson. It's a humorous and introspective discussion with the man who has defended the Christian family for more than 40 years!
NO NOTES
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Greg & Cathe Laurie, guest hosts on Wisdom from the Word
How can a marriage stay strong and connected over the long haul? How does a family press on in the face of loss and hardship? Pastor Greg Laurie and his wife Cathe address those questions in a special edition of A NEW BEGINNING.
HOW TO FIND ETERNAL LIFE
2 Kings 5:1-3 Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
Let’s take a look at Naaman. He was rich, famous, and powerful. He had everything the world says you ought to have to make you happy. He had high military rank. He was a legend in his own time. 
He had great wealth in keeping with his position. Here Naaman is, with all of his power and fame and fortune, but he had a problem, a life-threatening problem that all of his power could not fix. He found out he was a leper. He would become one of the walking dead.
PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES
These things are true of every person you will ever meet, no matter where they are in life:
1. Every life without Christ is empty. The Bible teaches in Romans 8:20, “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.” It is an
 emptiness that cannot be filled with anything or anyone but Jesus.
2. In our hearts there is loneliness. It is a loneliness for God. There is a part of your life that can’t be filled by a husband or a wife, or children, or parents, or friends, or even a big family. It can only be filled by God.
3. Deep down inside people feel guilty. Why do we feel this guilt? Because we are guilty. What are we guilty of? Sinning. We all sin. If you feel guilt when you do something wrong, congratulations! Your conscience is in order (see Romans 2:15).
4. There is a universal fear of death. Deep down inside, death frightens us. The Bible speaks in Hebrews 2:15 of those who are held in slavery by the fear of death. There is only one book that
 is reliable on the topic of the afterlife. That book is the Bible.
RELEVANT REMINDERS
Every man and woman has a problem like leprosy—it is called sin. There are some interesting parallels between leprosy and sin.
 • Leprosy was an incurable disease that would result in death. The result of sin is also death. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.”
 • Leprosy was inherited, something you could be born with. In the same way, we are all born as sinners. We don’t become sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
 • Once contracted, leprosy spreads quickly. It causes a state of living death. The Bible tells us that when we are living in sin we are dead in trespass (see Ephesians 2:1–5). 
APPLICABLE ACTIONS
Everyone is empty. Everyone is lonely. Everyone is guilty. Everyone is afraid to die. Here is the good news: no matter what sin we have committed God can forgive us if we will turn from that sin. The solution for Naaman was to go down to the Jordan River, peel off his armor, and immerse himself seven times. The solution for us is to realize that we need God’s forgiveness.
So how do you find eternal life? By believing in the One that God sent to this earth for us: Jesus Christ. He proved a love for us at the cross when He died for our sin. Only He can forgive and only He can fill us.
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Thursday, 4 September 2014
How to Find Eternal Life — I
2 Kings 5:1-3 Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
Below the surface, everyone wrestles with the same things: loneliness, emptiness, guilt. And Pastor Greg Laurie says those needs can only be filled by a relationship with Christ. He shows us how to connect with those who need the Lord...and EVERYONE needs the Lord!
Friday, 5 September 2014
How to Find Eternal Life — II
2 Kings 5:1-3 Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
When we feel emotional pain, we tend to isolate ourselves...insulate ourselves. But Pastor Greg Laurie says that insulation can keep us from God. Today, an important discussion of how to let down our defenses, and let God in.

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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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