A Second Chance in Life | God Rewrites Our Story

You know there is a very special group of people. I want to introduce you to. They are a group of

people who are passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed in this nation and

beyond. Without them, harvest ministries could not even exist. We call them harvest partners.

They are people who have chosen to give monthly to harvest to keep the gospel moving forward.

Will you become a harvest partner and help us fulfill the great commission in our lifetime?

Let's do this together. Just go to harvest.org.

Guide can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. That means we all qualify.

Today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie brings an example from scripture.

We don't see the potential on our lives that God sees. We see a lump of clay. God sees a beautiful

base. We see a piece of coal. God sees a refined diamond. We see problems. God sees solutions.

We see an end. God sees a new beginning.

We see a new beginning. God sees a new beginning. God sees a new beginning. God sees a new beginning.

They live a pretty good life. Someone has pointed out we should never compare someone else's

highlight reel to our blooper reel. We live out our blooper reel every day, don't we?

We see the flubs, the fumbles, the gaps and the goofs up close. But today on a new beginning,

Pastor Greg Laurie points out God sees beyond the blooper to the future.

Today, a good example of how God can rewrite our story.

I don't know if you read that story that was in the news about a man who had a hippo as his pet.

He lived in South Africa and this man named the hippo Humphrey and he adopted him when he was

a little calf and according to this man, this 2,000 pound beast was like his pet. He would write it

after it got a little bit bigger. He would play with them. He would even brush its teeth, which

seems to be a daunting task. I think that would take a pretty large toothbrush. And the owner said,

he's like a son to me. And then he went on to say, people think you can only have a relationship with

dogs and cats and other domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous

animal in Africa. End quote. I think you can imagine how the story ended. I'm sorry to say

that Humphrey, the hippo, turned on its owner and tragically mauled and killed him. That's because

hippos are not good pets because they're dangerous. I remember years ago I was in Africa and I

stayed in a little tinted camp and they warned me at night, be careful of the hippos. And I'm thinking

the hippos. Well, why would I have to worry about hippos? Oh, they're out running around at night

and they attack and kill people and they told me more people are killed by hippos than lions in

Africa. I can hardly believe it. And sure enough, that night I heard some noise outside of my tent

and I opened up the little flap and looked out and there was a hippo and those things move fast

on land. So I don't think that the owner realized that Humphrey was a hungry hippo and he would strike.

Why do I tell this story? Because in the same way, sometimes we may think that, well, this

sin in my life, I have control of it. It's like a little pet. I'm always going to be able to not be

overtaken by it. I'm sure when Humphrey was small-ish, I don't know if he was ever all that small,

but when he was smaller, at least, that his owner never thought he would get as big and aggressive

as he became. And we think the same thing about sin. It'll never overtake me. And one day it does.

We have a story before us now in the Bible of a man who was overtaken by sin. A man who probably

never realized that one thing would lead to another and through five steps he fell away from the Lord

and this man was a full-fledged apostle of Jesus Christ and his name is known to all of us.

I want to tell the story of Simon Peter and his fall and his restoration. Hence the title,

a second chance in life. Of course, Jesus gave to Simon his given name, a title. He said,

from this point on, you're going to be called Peter, which means rock. Now, I think the other

disciples might have had a little bit of a chuckle at that moment because they're thinking, okay,

there's a lot of things we could say about Simon where we would not describe him as a rock. He was

sort of unstable at times and vacillating and impulsive. Almost the opposite of a rock. But Jesus

gave him a name that he knew Simon would grow into with time. In the same way, we don't see the

potential in our lives that God sees. We see a lump of clay. God sees a beautiful vase or vase.

We see a blank canvas. God sees a finished painting. We see a piece of coal. God sees a refined

diamond. We see problems. God sees solutions. We see failure. God sees potential. We see an end

and God sees a new beginning. And so Peter was going to have a fall and Jesus told him he was

going to have a fall. And maybe some of you have fallen spiritually in the last few months or in

the last year. But listen, the past cannot be changed, but our response to it can be because God

can take our endings and turn them into beginnings. Let me say that again because I know I'm talking

to somebody right now that is made a mess of their life. I want you to know this. God can take

your ending and he can turn it into a beginning. So sort of to pick up where we last left off

in the gospel of Mark. We're in the upper room. Jesus is having this final meal, the last supper

with his disciples. And he has revealed that one of the apostles is going to betray him. To a man,

they say, is it me, Lord? Is it me? And at that moment Judas Iscariot was dipping his bread

at the same time that Christ was and Jesus identified the betrayer and he said to Judas,

whatever you do, do it quickly. The Bible says at that moment Satan entered Judas' heart. And so

Judas goes out now to betray our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. And now we see what happened to

Peter as this was all unfolding. Look with me if you will at Mark chapter 14, starting in verse 27.

And by the way, I'm reading from the New Living translation. On the way Jesus told them,

all of you will desert me for the scriptures say God will strike this shepherd and the sheep will

be scattered. But after I'm raised from the dead, I'll go ahead before you into Galilee and I'll

meet you there. Peter said, even if everyone else deserts you, I never will. Jesus replied, well,

I tell you the truth, Peter, this very night before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three

times that you even know me. No, Peter declared emphatically, even if I have to die with you,

I will never deny you. And all the others doubt the same. Now Luke's gospel gives us a few more

details about this conversation. Jesus turns to Peter and says this, Simon, Simon, Satan has been

asking for you that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God. But I have prayed for

you that your face should not fail. And when you have returned to me, you need to strengthen

your brothers. Can you imagine Jesus saying something like that to you? I mean, you're just

hanging out. And Jesus turns to you and says your name twice and says, Satan has been asking

that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God. I wonder if he just paused for

effect. What? Satan? Satan himself has been asking for me by name. He's been asking for you, but

then he has these words. These reassuring words, but I have prayed for you. This is a reminder of

how the devil works. Sometimes we'll say, oh, the devil tempted me the other day. I think it's

very doubtful that you've ever been tempted by the devil himself. Let me explain. The devil is a

powerful spirit being, but he is nowhere near being the equal of God. A God is omnipresent, which means

he's present everywhere. Satan, a powerful fallen angel, can only be in one place at one time.

Now, I'm not saying you weren't tempted. I'm just saying when you were tempted, it was probably

not Satan himself, but one of Satan's minions, not that kind of minion, but you know, one of his

demon powers doing his dirty work. But in this case, with Peter, the devil himself came calling.

But notice that Jesus says, Satan has been asking for you by name. Satan had to ask first.

Listen to this. The devil can do nothing in the life of the child of God without our father's

permission. Let me say that again. The devil can do nothing in our lives without our father's

permission. And God will now ever allow us to be tempted above our capacity to resist.

A 1 Corinthians 10 13, a verse I memorized as a teenager. And I still remember it says,

God will not allow you to be tempted above your capacity to resist. But will with the temptation

make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it? Know this. Temptation can be resisted.

Every temptation is an opportunity to run to God. And there is a blessing promised to the man

or the woman that resist temptation over in James 1 12. It says, happy is the person who endures

temptation for when they are tried, they'll receive a crown of life. So don't tell me you can't

overcome your temptation. Don't tell me you can't stop drinking. Don't tell me you can't stop

looking at porn. Don't tell me you can't stop turning to drugs time and time again. The question

is do you really want to be free from that stuff? Jesus asked a man who had been disabled for his

whole life this question. Do you want to be made whole? What kind of question is that to ask a man

that obviously doesn't like the state he's in? It's a very good question. Because not every person

wants to be made whole. Not every person wants to be delivered from drugs. Not every person wants to

change the life that they're living. So it's a question we need to ask, do I really want to change?

Don't tell me you're being tempted above your capacity to resist because with every one of those

temptations, there was always a way out. It wasn't there. It's usually that first bite that gets

us into trouble. I don't know about you, but when we go to a restaurant, you know, we'd be done

and someone would say, do you want to get dessert? No, no, nobody wants dessert and then the

server comes, can I tempt you with a dessert? They even use the word tempt and their voice even

sounds like that for some reason. Tempt you and someone says, okay, we'll have one dessert with

five forks, all right? So the dessert arrives and I say, I don't even want any of that dessert and

everybody's digging in. And then I decide to take one little bite and the moment I take that first bite,

I'm like a shark smelling blood in the water. I go into a feeding frenzy and so it's good for me to

not take the first bite. It's good for all of us to not take the first look or play around with

that thing or think we can conquer it like that guy with Humphrey the hippo. We need to keep our

distance. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Here everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest

version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve

McQueen, The Salvation of an American icon, Johnny Cashler, Redemption of an American icon,

a rush of hope and much more than we have our television program, daily devotions and much more.

So go and download the Harvest Plus app. We'll glad you're long today here on a new beginning.

Pastor Greg is presenting a message called a second chance in life from Mark chapter 14.

God has put a hedge of protection around every believer in the story of Job which is the oldest

book of the Bible. The devil comes to God and wants to have a time of bringing difficulty into the

life of God's servant named Job and the devil says correctly of Job, have you not put a hedge

of protection around him? And yes, it is true. The Lord allowed a series of hardships to

befall his servant, but in the end God bless Job in a wonderful and powerful way. My point is there

is protection in our life and there's always a way out of every temptation. And when the Lord

lets us go through times of trial and allows us to be tempted, it's for a purpose. He's trying

to make us stronger. But remember, Jesus is praying for you. Every now and then people will come

up to me and say, you know, we pray for you, Greg and your family every day. And if you're one of

those people from the bottom of my heart, let me say, thank you so very much. There's no greater

gift that you could offer to me than to say you pray for me or pray for our family or pray for

our church. Thank you so much for that. But I have to be honest with you knowing Christ is

interceding for me, even means more. There's an old commentator from days gone by. His name is

Robert Murray McShane. And he made this statement and I quote, if I could hear Christ praying for me

in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is

praying for me. And quote, I mean, think about that. Christ himself praying for you. I remember once

talking with Billy Graham and I said, Billy, would you pray for me? And he prayed for me right there.

And I thought, oh man, this prayer is going to be heard in heaven. This is Billy Graham praying

it. Hey, I'm talking about Jesus himself praying for you because over in Romans 834, we read these

words, who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died more than that was raised to life is at the

right hand of God. Listen, he's interceding for us. So who will separate us from the love of Christ?

So trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. Yes, he was

praying for Peter and he's interceding for you as well. And Jesus is saying, you'll be back

Peter and Luke 22 32. Jesus says that your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to

me, you'll strengthen your brothers. And Peter understood that and actually wrote about it in his

own epistle. First Peter 510, he said, after you've suffered a little while, God will restore you

and strengthen you in place you want to firm foundation. So Peter could speak from experience.

He had suffered. He had fallen and he had experienced restoration. Why was the devil targeting

Peter in particular? Well, I think it's because the devil also saw Peter's potential. He could see

that he was first among the apostles. And when Peter said he was going to do something, they would

all usually follow after Christ died in the cross and they hadn't seen the risen Lord yet. Peter

said, I'm going fishing. They all said, we'll go with you. He was sort of the leader. The devil

often targets leaders. That's why you need to pray for those who are in leadership. Maybe you feel

like you've been being tempted a lot and attacked a lot by the devil. Maybe that's because he sees

your potential as well, so wear it as a badge of honor. Now, there are five steps that led Peter

down to his denial of Christ. Here's step number one if you're taking notes. His first step down

was self-confidence. Self-confidence. Go back to Mark 14 verse 29. Peter said to Jesus, even if

everyone else deserts you, I never will. And this is after the Lord revealed that Judas would

betray him. So Peter's effectively saying, hey, even if Judas betrays you, I'll never let you

down. And he's almost boasting at the expense of others, even if these others fall short. I,

remember, you gave me that new name, rock. I rocky will never let you down. You know, it's never

a good thing to boast of your commitment to Christ, especially at the expense of someone else.

It's never even a good idea to boast about how much you love Jesus. Rather boast about how much

he loves you. Our love is fickle. It's often changing. God's love for us is consistent. I love

how the apostle John described himself as the apostle whom Jesus loved. Now, that may almost

sound arrogant. What do you mean the apostle that Jesus loved? He's just dating the facts. He

loved me. I feel loved by Jesus. And we can call ourselves a disciple that Jesus loves as well.

So his first step down again was self-confidence. Insane these words that I'll never deny you after

Christ said he would was actually placing unfounded confidence in himself. And it was also directly

contradicting what Jesus said. Listen, Jesus said to Peter, you will deny me. When Jesus says

something will happen, you can take it to the bank. If the Bible tells us something is going to

happen in the future, trust me, it's going to happen in the future. And but in Peter's mind,

even if everyone else abandoned the Lord, he never would. Look at verse 31 of Mark 14. He says,

even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you. You know, it's an interesting thing. When

you look in the Bible, you'll find that often men and women of God fell in the very area that they

normally were strong in. And so as an example, we have Elijah. What do we think of him? We think

of Elijah. We think of fire called fire down from heaven. We think of boldness, bravery standing

up there in Mount Carmel, representing God. But what happened after the fire fell in Mount Carmel?

There was a contract put out on the prophet's life by Queen Jezebel and Elijah ran and hid in a cave.

So he was cowardly and afraid when he was normally known for his boldness, Abraham. Well, he's the

father of faith. And we think of faith. We think of Abraham. Yet he had a serious lapse of faith when

he lied about Sarah being his wife, saying she was his sister because he was afraid of what

would happen. How about Samson known for his superhuman strength? He was overthrown in his moral

weakness. This is why you must never lower your guard in any area of your life. See it was self-confidence.

Some important perspective from Pastor Greg Laurie from our studies in Mark 14. Today on a new

beginning, a study called a second chance in life. And there's more to come in this message,

including a final thought from Pastor Greg before we go today. Now, just as self-confidence played a

role in Peter's denial of Christ, it can also keep us from coming to the Lord in the first place.

But Jesus said that he's the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through him.

Pastor Greg, if someone's thinking about following the Lord, but they're still not quite clear on

why that's necessary, what would you say to them? Well, they just need to hear more. They need to hear

with the essential gospel messages. And I've got a great resource for you. We've set up a webpage

that's called nogod.org, K-N-O-W-G-O-D-D-O-R-G. You go there. I have a video presentation

of how you accept Christ, lead you in a prayer, and then it links to other spiritual resources

that will help you grow spiritually. So just go to nogod.org. Do it right now.

If Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry.

We're touching lives for eternity. And we're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit

of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further, isn't that right? Absolutely.

When you invest in the harvest ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women,

boys and girls. And what is the value of a soul? Let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul?

What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son, or your daughter,

or your mommy, your dad, or your best friend? Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a

price tag on it. It's so valuable. Well, listen, God says all souls are mine. God loves us and sent

his son to die in the cross to pay the price for all of our sins so we could be forgiven and come

into a relationship with him. I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money

than in the work of the kingdom of God. So we would ask you to perfectly consider investing

in harvest ministries as we continue on to fulfill the great commission. Yeah, that's right. And

you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or write us at a new beginning box 4,000 Riverside,

California 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number 1-800-821-3300.

Well, next time as we look further at Peter's denial of Christ, we'll see he found forgiveness and hope.

Pastor Greg points out that the Lord turned his mess into a message more next time. But before

we go, Pastor Greg closes this way. I heard a story about two ducks in a frog that like to hang out

together in a pond and farmer browns field and one summer the little pond dried up. So the frog

went to the ducks. This is a true story and said, guys, you got to help me out here. I'm stuck here.

But if each of you would take a stick and each of your beaks, I could hold onto this stick with my

mouth and you could fly me out of here. So the ducks said, okay, we'll do it. And so the each

grabbed hold of that stick with their beaks and the little frog jumped up and grabbed it with

this mouth. And as they're flying out of farmer browns field, farmer browns down there and he

looks up and he sees its amazing sight of two ducks holding a stick in their beaks with a frog

holding on by his mouth. And he said, that is an amazing thing. Who thought of that? And the frog said,

I did. Let's go. He had to take credit, right? The Bible says pride goes before a fall.