Pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie spoke this past weekend at the 25th annual SoCal Harvest 2014, one of the most well known evangelistic events in the U.S., and ended the last night with a message about eternal life"”what the Bible says heaven is like, and how to get there.
Laurie explained that the Bible describes heaven as a paradise, a city, a country, a garden, and a feast.
"People think heaven is boring," Laurie said, explaining why this misconception doesn't make sense. "Heaven is the original, and earth is the imitation."
"You don't know when your life will end, but God does," he added, emphasizing the urgency of starting a relationship with Christ.
In his message, Laurie included a straightforward explanation of how to start a relationship with Christ: know that you're a sinner; know that Christ is the Son of God and that He died and rose again for you; repent, turn from sin, and turn toward God; and receive Christ into your heart.
Over the three nights of SoCal Harvest, almost 13,000 people made the decision to receive Christ, and had 116,000 attendees.
"Our four-year-old daughter Sophia Daniela said she wanted Jesus in her heart too, so we all walked to the field; she got saved Saturday night. Thank you, Jesus!" wrote Israel and Alcira Zuniga on the SoCal Harvest website.
Over the past 25 years, Harvest Crusades had heard multitudes of testimonies such as this one.
"Looking back, I can see God's hand at work from the very beginning. It has always been God's plan to use Harvest Crusades as a platform to make Him known to the world," Laurie wrote in the SoCal Harvest program.
Despite the 25 years of successful Harvest Crusades, Laurie wrote that he isn't planning on resting anytime soon.
"The way things are going, this world keeps getting darker and darker, and I don't know if the Lord will wait much longer before coming back, but "should the Lord tarry,' here's to 25 more years of proclaiming the gospel!"
The Harvest Crusades will soon be holding another event, called "Harvest America," which will take place on October 5th. Harvest America is designed to allow believers to invite nonbelievers into their churches, homes, or small groups, and tune into Laurie's livestreamed message from Dallas, Texas.
