The Crowd gathers

6:30 - Welcome to the second night of the Harvest Crusade here at the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial. The arena is already filling up as we prepare for a night of great music and inspired preaching. Among tonight's musical guests will be Audio Adrenaline, The Kry, Lou Gramm and Jubilant Sykes. We're looking forward to what the Lord will do tonight even as we are still praising Him for last night. More than 6,000 attended the Crusade in person and more than 2,500 attended via the Internet. Over 400 people made a public commitment to accept the free gift of eternal life that only Jesus Christ can give.

Tomorrow will be the final night of the Harvest Crusade here in Rochester and will conclude the events scheduled for 1998. You can keep up with future events by visiting the website.

6:45 - Scanning the crowd on a "jam" night you expect to see teens, young men and women and even young families. But there are grandparents here too! While the music tonight will definitely be rocking, the message will be relevant for every person, young and old.

Sing Praises to the Lord!

7:20 -The evening opens with a short video and then Pastor Ricky Ryan shouts "It's time for Harvest!" Pastor Bil Galatin, of Calvary Chapel of Fingerlakes greets the crowd: "I left my earplugs at home!" Laughter and applause as everyone knows what to expect! Pastor Bill opens in prayer and then Ricky Ryan introduces Jean-Luc, Pete and Yves: The Kry! The crowd cheers as they stand, clapping and swaying along with Jean-Luc singing "I Can't Stop Thinking About You".

"How are you tonight?" Jean-Luc calls. The crowd responds with shouts and cheers. Without missing a beat, the band goes into "I Believe It". "I believe in God and the Son He sent, that He came, that He died, that He's risen again..." The crowd echoes "I believe" as Jean-Luc sings through his megaphone. "It's good to see so many who believe," Jean-Luc says as he leads into their next song, "...let me say all I need to say, life is very short so you better be thinking it through..."

Yves leaves his drums to join Pete, Jean-Luc and Lou Gramm at the microphone to sing "Call His Name". "Okay everyone," Jean-Luc says, "On the count of four..." The crowd echoes the chorus--"woa, woa, woa...yeah, yeah, yah....When it all comes down all you got to do is call His name."

Pete introduces Lou Gramm, from Foreigner, telling the crowd that Lou came to know the Lord a few years ago. The crowd cheers and claps as Lou steps to the microphone, joined by the Kry and the Harvest Crusade Band to sing one of his best-known songs, "I Wanna Know What Love Is". The words resound as Lou sings, "Now I know what love is..." Stirring applause fill the arena.

Now Lou, The Kry and the Harvest Crusade Band are joined by Jubilant Sykes and Audio Adrenaline to sing "Only The Love of God". "Only the love of God can heal our broken lives...will make everything all right...only the love of God will make this heart believe...will bring us to our knees..."

The tempo changes as Audio Adrenaline take the microphone. The audience waves their arms and bounces up and down to the beat of "New Body". "This is for all you rock and roll people here in Buffalo!" Mark shouts as they go into "I've Got A Secret" "I've got a secret, I cannot keep it...there is a God and He's alive...I want to tell it...I want to sing it...I want to show it...want you to know it!"

"We heard that you folks like to rock, is that true?" The crowd howls as Mark takes a guitar, telling them "I stink at the guitar--anyone out there stink at the guitar?" He plays the lead to punk-rock styled "Superfriend". The crowd loves it! The arena is hoppin! Changing into a more funk-style rock, Audio pounds into "We're A Band". The stadium shakes with thousands of jumpin kids as Mark sings "Big House". Moving up into the stands Mark sings, "...come and go with me to my Father's house...it's a big big house..." Mark moves through the sea of people, putting the microphone out to one kid and then another to sing with him. Kids wave banners that say "We love Jesus!"

The energetic crowd quiets down as the tempo changes again. A unique addition to the Youth Jam is Jubilant Sykes. He is one of the most gifted opera singers around and it's clear that this crowd appreciates more than rock and roll. His voice entrances the crowd as he sings "City Called Heaven" and he ends to a thunder of applause and approving hoots.

The gospel is preached

Pastor Greg greets the audience.

"Tonight I'm gonna talk about excuses," Greg says. We've all heard them, and most of us have used them. It's what we offer up when we don't really want to do something. Here are some of the excuses a girl will give a guy she doesn't want to go out with: "You're too much like a brother." "I don't want to jeopardize our relationship." Greg says, "Okay guys, if you hear this one, 'Can't we just be friends?' then just give it up!"

"I'm going to make a controversial statement right now," Greg says. "I think there is only one primary reason people do not come to Christ. All the rest are nothing but shallow excuses." Before Greg tells us what that reason is, he addresses some of the commonly offered excuses people give for not coming to Christ.

1) If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil? This one always seems to be at the top of the list. Why does God allow babies to be born blind? Why is there war, injustice, etc.? But we need to remember that man was created with an ability to choose. "We have the freedom to choose to love or not to love," Greg says. "We have the choice to do right or wrong. And because of sin, we live in a world that is fallen and imperfect." The point we must keep in mind is that man--not God--is responsible for sin! We bring these problems upon ourselves because we are not good on the inside, we are basically sinful as the Bible teaches. We are prone to do the wrong thing. The Bible says the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things.

With sin in the world, we see that this body wears out, breaks down with the passing of time. This is the result of general sin and we musn't hold God responsible for it. Wars are not started by God, but by man. But in spite of our wrong choices, God will intervene. He will forgive you and give you another chance. God can make you a new person on the inside. The Bible says that if "any man is in Christ, he is a new creation."

Greg says that God can even use sin and sickness to get our attention. He quotes from C.S. Lewis, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains. It is His megaphone to arouse a deaf world." Maybe God is speaking to you through His "megaphone" and tragedy or hardship has gotten your attention. You may be facing a terminal illness, or a loved one just died, or your marriage is falling apart. Only God can take these things and turn them around to speak to us. He alone can give us hope. The Bible says that "God will wipe away every tear..." and this is the hope that every Christian has. Do you have that hope tonight?

2) How can you Christians say Jesus is the only way? "It may sound as though I am implying that I'm better than you," Greg says, "but the reason I believe Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father is because He Himself said it. He said, 'I am the way..." Some people say that if you're sincere, that's all that matters. But do you really think sincerity is enough? "Suppose you were on a plane to Hawaii," Greg says, "and the pilot came over the speaker and tells you that he's not so sure about this 'fuel thing' and he isn't really going to follow any maps, but he's really sure you'll get to Hawaii safely because he's really sincere!" "I would want off that plane real fast!" Greg says. The Bible says that "There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me." He did not say "admire me", He said, "Follow Me!"

3) How can a God of love send people to Hell? "God doesn't send anyone to hell," Greg says. "We send ourselves there. Hell wasn't created for man, it was created for the devil and his angels." But God doesn't force anyone to choose Him and go to heaven. Suppose you were driving down a street and saw a sign saying the road ahead was out. But you chose to keep going, ignoring the warning. Whose fault is it if you go over? "Know this," Greg says. "No one will be in hell or heaven by accident."

4) There are too many hypocrites in the church. No doubt this is true, but it is equally true that there are so many Godly people who really live the life as well. The point is, it is Jesus Christ who comes into your life. People can always let you down, but Jesus didn't tell us to follow His people. Jesus said, "Follow Me..."

"So why don't people really come to Christ?" Greg asks.

The real reason people don't come to Christ is because sin is fun, Greg says. "That may sound strange coming from a preacher," says Greg. "But it's true. Sin is fun for a while. In fact, when you think about it, sin is a lot like waiting for a ride in an amusement park. You spend a lot of time waiting in line, and the pleasure is only for a few seconds. Sin can be fun--but is it worth your soul?" What happens when Jesus comes into your life? Is the fun over? Greg uses the example of a person who is at home and a knock comes on the door. It's Jesus, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." You let Him in and you're so excited that He's here. You're in the kitchen trying to fix Him something to eat. "What should I make Him," Greg asks. "Devilled eggs? No! Oh, I know He likes fish! I've got some angel-food cake!" While you're in the kitchen, you hear some noise coming from the living room and you see Jesus throwing all your furniture out on the front lawn. You say, "Hey Jesus, what are you doing?" "I'm cleaning house!" Jesus says. Then a van pulls up. "On the side of the van it says FATHER AND SON MOVING COMPANY," Greg says. He starts bringing in all this great furniture and you're so happy you let him come in. That's what it's like to have Jesus come in and clean out the sin in your heart.

Greg tells the audience that in a few minutes he is going to give them the opportunity to accept Jesus and stop offering up lame excuses. "Deep down inside, you want to know God," Greg says, "But I don't think it will work for me. I'm not the religious type. But let me tell you, God isn't looking for the religious type. He's looking for sinners. He'll come into your life, forgive your sin, remove your guilt, fill that emptiness in your heart."

"It's your decision," Greg says. "You can choose to reject Christ tonight, or you can choose to accept him. You can't be neutral. One of life's most dangerous words is 'tomorrow'. Don't put this off. Don't say, 'Well Greg, you've given me something to think about. I'll think about doing this tomorrow.' Tomorrow is Satan's word. Don't count on tomorrow."

The work of the Holy Spirit

As Greg closes his message he invites anyone who wants to stop making excuses to come to Christ. The arena floor fills quickly with hundreds of people as the band sings "Lord, look upon my need. I need You..."

People here at the Blue Cross Arena are coming forward and if you want to make this decision, you can pray the same prayer that they will pray with Greg in a few minutes. "You can have your sins forgiven tonight," Greg says. "But you must come to Him."

The arena floor is filled with men and women, young and old, coming to Christ. The band continues to sing, "Oh Lord, you are familiar with my ways, there is nothing hid from You. Oh Lord, you know the number of my days, I want to live my life for you."

If you are tired of making excuses, if you want to come to Christ tonight, pray this prayer:

"God, I'm sorry for my sin. But I thank You for sending Jesus the Son of God to die on the cross and shed His blood for every sin I've ever committed. I repent of my sin tonight. I put my complete faith in You. Be my Savior. My Lord. My God. My friend. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to follow You from this night forward as Your disciple and child. Thank You for accepting and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!"

If you prayed this prayer with Greg, we welcome you to the family of God! You can let us know that you have made this decision by pressing the feedback button and we will send you the same "New Believer's New Testament" that each person will be receiving here tonight at the Blue Cross Arena. Thank you for joining us and join us again tomorrow night for the last night of the Rochester Harvest Crusade. Greg's message will be on "Signs of the Times" and musical guests will be Big Tent Revival, Dennis Agajanian, and Jennifer Knapp.