When it comes to the state of the world today, Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California doesn’t mince words.
“Everything’s moving the wrong direction, and social media is like gasoline that’s been poured on top of it,” he recently told CBN News. “You hear all this bad news around the world — the conflicts, the war, the turmoil, the terrorism, the crime rising in our streets and on it goes. And Jesus said, ‘When you see these things beginning, look up for your redemption is drawing near.’”
Laurie encouraged people to look up and turn to God amid the chaotic mix of events. Over the decades, his work has focused on helping people do just that, trading lives focused on the self for a vertical existence that looks to Jesus as the baseline for morality and truth.
“I want to do everything I can to bring the message of the gospel into our culture,” he said. “We do need another spiritual awakening. The last spiritual awakening, known as the Jesus movement, really changed the course of our nation. Everything was going the wrong direction back then.”
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Despite all of the negative trends persisting, Laurie praised some of the recent spiritual developments, including last year’s Asbury revival, a days-long worship service that made headlines around the globe. He also presided over a mass baptism last summer that saw around 4,500 people immersed — quite possibly the biggest baptism in U.S. history.
“I see these little things happening like our baptism, what happened at Asbury campus and I’m praying that they will increase and it will become a spiritual downpour,” Laurie said. “God does promise in the last days to pour his spirit out on all flesh, and so we’re praying that happens again.”
–Dwight Widaman | MV