Greg Laurie
C. S. Lewis said, "The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object." We don't often hear statements like that coming from pulpits today. We hear how we can all be champions. We hear how we can all be successful. But it is unpopular to speak of being spiritually destitute, to teach that we are to be poor in spirit. Yet the Bible says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
Jesus told a story about a Pharisee and a sinner who went into the temple to pray. The Pharisee, a religious man, prayed, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men . . ." (Luke 18:11).
The sinner, on the other hand, wouldn't even lift up his eyes. He beat on his chest and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (verse 13), or more literally, "the sinner." Apparently he did not think of himself as one sinner among many; he acted as though he were the only one. He was so overwhelmed with the sense of his sin, his moral bankruptcy, and his spiritual destitution that, as far as he was concerned, everyone else's sin paled in comparison.
Jesus said of him, "This man went down to his house justified rather than the other . . ." (verse 14). Why? Because he saw himself as he really was. Yet we tend do the very opposite. We attempt to justify our sin because we can always find others who are far worse.
If you want to be happy, then you must see yourself as you are, be sorry for it, and want change in your life. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
Taken from "Reality Check" by Harvest Ministries
About Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie pastors Harvest Christian Fellowship (one of America's largest churches) in Riverside, California. He has authored several books including the Gold Medallion Award winner, The Upside-Down Church, as well as Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners, and The Best Is Yet to Come. You can find his study notes in the New Believer's Bible and The Seeker's Bible.
Host of the Knowing God with Greg Laurie television program and the nationally syndicated radio program A New Beginning, Laurie is also the founder and featured speaker for Harvest Crusades - contemporary, large-scale evangelistic outreaches, which local churches organize nationally and internationally. Laurie has also appeared on CNN's Larry King Live, ABC World News Tonight, Fox News, and MSNBC, sharing how the Bible is relevant for people today.
Whether speaking or writing, God has gifted Pastor Laurie with the ability to apply biblical principles to current events in a way that is relevant and easily understood by people of all ages, from all walks of life. The trademark of a Greg Laurie sermon, book, or broadcast is his contemporary, yet straightforward style and format.
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