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Greg Laurie Podcast

The Reluctant Evangelist | Sunday Message

Greg Laurie Podcast

Greg Laurie

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.83.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Discover how to overcome hesitation and share your faith boldly with Pastor Greg Laurie’s new series, "The Reluctant Evangelist," exploring the story of Jonah.

Notes:

Focus verse - Jonah1

#1 CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN CALLED TO EVANGELIZE.

#2 WHY DON’T WE SHARE OUR FAITH MORE? 

THE FEAR OF REJECTION OR OFFENDING SOMEONE.

WE DON’T SHARE THE GOSPEL DUE TO OUR LACK OF CONFIDENCE OR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES.

1 PETER 3:15

THE OBJECTIVE IN EVANGELISM IS NOT TO WIN THE ARGURMENT, BUT TO WIN THE SOUL.

ABOUT HALF OF ALL AMERICAN ADULTS SAY THEY’RE SOMEWHAT OPEN TO HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT FAITH OR THE GOSPEL WITH A STRANGER.

WE DON’T SHARE OUR FAITH BECAUSE WE DON’T REALLY CARE.

PEOPLE DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE.

2 TIMOTHY 2:26

EFFECTIVE SHARING OF ONE’S FAITH STARTS WITH A CONCERN AND A BURDEN.

JONAH ACTUALLY DID HATE THE PEOPLE GOD CALLED HIM TO PREACH TO.

#3 JONAH WAS THE RELUCTANT EVANGELIST.

JONAH WAS NOT JUST RELUCTANT, HE WAS RECALCITRANT.

READ JONAH 1:1–3

"…FOR THEIR WICKEDNESS HAS COME UP BEFORE ME."
JONAH 1:2

NINEVAH, A CITY OF THE ASSYRIANS, WAS LEGENDARY FOR ITS CRUELTY.

THE NINEVITES WERE THE AVOWED ENEMIES OF ISRAEL.

THIS WOULD BE LIKE GOD CALLING AN ISRAELI TO GO PREACH TO TEHRAN.

GOD LOVES THE PEOPLE OF IRAN.
THEY ARE SUFFERING UNDER A CRUEL AND AUTHORITARIAN ISLAMIC REGIME.

WE ARE HEARING STORIES OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF IRANIANS COMING TO CHRIST.

GOD TAKES NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED.
EZEKIEL 33:11

CHRISTIANS WANT TO SEE PEACE IN THE LAND.

#4 WE HAVE OUR MODERN NINEVAHS.

GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON CALFORINA.

THE BOOK OF JONAH IS ALL ABOUT SALVATION-
THE SALVATION OF SOME PAGAN SAILORS FROM A STORM.
THE SALVATION OF A DISOBEDIENT PROPHET.
THE SALVATION OF ONE OF THE MOST WICKED CITIES ON EARTH.

GOD SEEMS TO GO OUT OF HIS WAY TO FIND THE MOST UNLIKELY PEOPLE TO USE.

LET’S CONSIDER MOSES’ RESPONSE WHEN CALLED BY GOD TO SPEAK FOR HIM.
EXODUS 4:10–13

JEREMIAH FELT HE WAS TOO YOUNG.

THERE IS NO GOOD REASON YOU CAN OFFER AS TO WHY GOD CANNOT AND WILL NOT USE YOU.

GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR ABILITY. HE IS LOOKING FOR AVAILABILITY.

JONAH REPENTED OF HIS SIN. HE CALLED ON THE LORD
AND GOD HAD MERCY ON HIM.
JONAH 2:10–3:2

GOD’S ORDERS ARE THE SAME FOR US AS THEY WERE FOR JONAH.
THE METHOD IS THE SAME TOO. THE GREAT COMMISSION IS, “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL.”

GOD HAS CHOSEN VERBAL COMMUNICATION TO REACH PEOPLE.
ROMANS 10:14

THERE ARE ONLY TWO ROADS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:
THE ROAD OF OBEDIENCE OR THE ROAD OF DISOBEDIENCE.

#5 THE REASON JONAH DID NOT GO WAS BECAUSE OF A FEAR OF SUCCESS.
JONAH 4:2

#6 WE NEED TO GO TO PEOPLE WHO ARE UNLIKE US.

IF GOD BROUGHT REVIVAL TO NINEVAH, IMAGINE WHAT HE CAN DO TODAY.

START BY PRAYING FOR THEM AND NEVER STOP CARING FOR THEM.

GOD CAN SAVE ANYONE AND WANTS TO SAVE EVERYONE.
1 TIMOTHY 2

#7 SHARING OUR FAITH CAN BE EXCITING AND FUN!

JESUS TOLD US THERE IS JOY IN HEAVEN OVER EVERY SINNER WHO COMES TO REPENTANCE.
LUKE 15:7

THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT WE ARE MISSING OUT ON IF WE ARE NOT SHARING OUR FAITH. ACTS 20:35

EVERY STEP AWAY FROM GOD IS ALWAYS A STEP DOWN.

WE FAIL TO REALIZE GOD’S PLAN FOR US IS BETTER THAN OUR PLAN FOR OURSELVES.

LETS’ COMMIT TO PRAY FOR PEOPLE THAT DON’T KNOW THE LORD.

Learn more about this year's Harvest Crusade!

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Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org.

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Lorry podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners.

0:06.0

I'm Greg Lorry, encouraging you. If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more

0:11.1

about how to become a Harvest partner, just go to Harvest.org. Let's pray. And now, Lord, we want to sing

0:19.1

of the goodness of God and we want to speak of the goodness of God.

0:23.4

Your word says it's the goodness of God that brings us to repentance. And we think about our

0:28.5

crusade only weeks away at Angel Stadium, 35 years. And we pray for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit.

0:36.8

And that you would use us to reach people with the gospel so they can have their lives transformed by Jesus Christ.

0:44.8

So we commit this all to you and this message to you now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You can all be seated.

0:52.9

I want you to grab your Bible and turn to the book of Jonah,

0:57.5

one of my favorite books in the Bible, and we're starting a brand new series, and the title of it is

1:03.7

The Reluctant Evangelist. I heard a story about a man who was driving his car with two penguins in the back seat.

1:13.3

He was pulled over by a police officer and the officer said, sir, the penguin is an endangered species.

1:20.4

You can't drive them around in your car.

1:22.9

Take them to the zoo immediately.

1:25.1

And he let the guy go.

1:26.5

The next day the officer sees the same man driving around with the penguins, and he let the guy go. The next day, the officer sees the same man

1:29.0

driving around with the penguins, but this time they were wearing Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses.

1:35.6

The officer said, I thought I told you that take those penguins to the zoo. The guy said,

1:40.9

I did, and now we're going to the beach.

1:46.2

I think he kind of missed the point.

1:51.0

And I think sometimes in the church we can miss the point as well.

1:53.7

The point of the great commission.

...

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