Greg Laurie told thousands gathered for Harvest America 2017 that while the "last thing that God wants" for anyone is to spend eternity in hell, those who reject Him will do so unless they repent - and the clock is ticking.
Laurie, senior pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, and Harvest Crusades hosted the annual Harvest America revival event in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday, June 11.
"The clock is ticking, and before you know it, life could end," Laurie warned thousands gathered in the University of Phoenix stadium. "How do you know you're going to live to be an old man or an old woman? ...it's not guaranteed."
"There's an afterlife, and according to the Bible, there's two options: Heaven or hell," he continued. "Smoking or non-smoking, if you will. Know this: The last thing that God wants is for any man or woman, created in His image to spend eternity in hell. Hell wasn't made for people, hell was made for the devil and his angels."
"You can be a good person and go to hell and you can be a bad person and go to heaven," Laurie added. "Heaven isn't for good people. Heaven is for forgiven people."
"Come with your sins, come with your problems, come with your questions, come as you are. He will forgive you, He will accept you, and He will change you," Laurie said. "Just admit you need God, say you're a sinner...you can come back to the Lord."
The pastor then shared three steps one must take to accept Christ into their life: "First, you have to admit you're a sinner," he said. "Every one us have broken God's commandments; sin is not just crossing the line..it's falling short of God's standard which is absolute perfection."
"One sin is enough to keep you out of heaven," the pastor and bestselling author asserted. "That's where Jesus comes in."
Second, recognize Christ died for your sins: "You have to realize you're a sinner but then you must recognize Jesus Christ died on the cross for you," Laurie told the audience.
Third, repent of your sin: "Instead of going away from God, you're going to God," Laurie said. "You must turn from your sin, and then you must receive Jesus Christ into your life. Being a Christian...there has to be a change in your heart...being a Christian is asking Christ Himself to come and live inside of you."
"Are you going to say yes to him, or are you going to say no to him?" the pastor asked. "This is the moment when Christ can come and live inside of you. He's only a prayer away."
"Remember: you will make a decision," Laurie said before closing in prayer. "To be undecided is to be decided. To not say 'yes' is to by default say 'no'. Is that what you want to do? I hope not. Because if you believe in Jesus, you will never regret this decision - I can guarantee that right now."
Laurie was joined by top name music from artists including Jordin Sparks, NEEDTOBREATHE, MercyMe, Trip Lee, and Phil Wickham for the event, which was also simulcasted in hundreds of churches across America.
In an earlier interview with The Gospel Herald, Laurie revealed that Harvest events have seen hundreds of thousands of people embrace Christianity over the past few decades.
"Last year...we know 25,000 people made a profession of faith," Laurie told GH. "People will respond, and that's because God's word does not return void."
He added, "Harvest America is current for any climate because the gospel is a timeless message and it's always relevant. The basic questions of humanity never change, and the truths found in the gospel never change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
"Everybody needs Jesus," he said. "If they're old, young, rich poor, if they're in America, Europe, Africa, China, Japan - everybody needs Jesus. No one is beyond the reach of God."
