WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:08.439 Pastor Rick Warren often says you were made by God and for God, and 2 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:14.720 until you understand that, life will never make sense. Welcome to Pastor Rick's 3 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:19.480 Daily Hope Today. In our series called God's Vision for the Rest of your 4 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:24.679 Life, Rick continues in his effort to help you discover the unique purpose and 5 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:29.120 vision that the Lord has for your life. Now, in just a few 6 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.439 moments, we're going to tell you how to get a copy of the brand 7 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:38.640 new Daily Hope twenty twenty one Prayer Journal based on the theme God's Great Adventure 8 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:43.200 for You, a great resource to help make your time in prayer the best 9 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:47.479 it can be. Go to Pastorick dot com to find out more, or 10 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:52.960 text the word daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. That's 11 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:58.799 Pastorick dot com. Or the word daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand 12 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:03.560 and four right now here's Pastor Rick Warren. Would part one of a message 13 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:11.439 called Embracing the Vision the purpose driven Life. God has never created anything without 14 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:15.879 a purpose. Every plant has a purpose, every rock has a purpose, 15 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:21.640 every animal has a purpose, every planet, every star, and if your 16 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:26.840 heart is beating, it means God has a purpose for your life. Now, 17 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.640 if you want to know the purpose of your life, you have to 18 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:33.359 start with God. I realize that in our culture a lot of people say, 19 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.359 you want to know your purpose, look within, like trust the force, 20 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.719 Luke. The only problem is that doesn't work. I tried looking within. 21 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:45.120 I didn't like what I saw. If you knew could discover your purpose 22 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:48.599 by looking within yourself, we'd all know it by now. It doesn't work. 23 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:53.319 You See, the truth is you didn't create you, so you can't 24 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:57.239 tell yourself what you were created for. Does that make sense? God says 25 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.560 I made you, and I'm the one who tell you what your purpose is. 26 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.400 If I were to hold up an invention that you'd never seen before, 27 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.599 and I said, tell me the purpose of this invention, well, you 28 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:14.120 wouldn't know what the purpose of it is unless you either a talk to the 29 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:20.599 inventor the creator who made it, or b read the Owner's Manual. The 30 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.639 only way you're ever going to know the purpose of your life is either a 31 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:28.199 talk to the creator who created you, or b read the Owner's Manual. 32 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.599 And so today we're going to look at what God says are the purposes of 33 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:36.520 your life. Now, if you'll open to the first page. There's a 34 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.639 couple verses from the Bible there. The first verse says this, it is 35 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:45.400 in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for part 36 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:50.759 of the overall purpose He's working out in everything and everyone. God has a 37 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.840 global or a universal purpose for the entire universe. He has a cosmic purpose 38 00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:01.000 for history, and you are a part of that purpose. Fits into God's 39 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.199 grander scheme. And notice the next verse. Let's read it aloud together. 40 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:14.759 Everything, absolutely everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. 41 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:19.479 Now let me try to summarize it real simply for you. Number one, 42 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.360 you were made by God, and you were made for God. And until 43 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:29.400 you understand that, life isn't gonna make sense. Now, God created you 44 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:35.159 to last forever, Yes, forever. One day your heart's gonna stop, 45 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:38.439 that's gonna be the end of your body. But that's not going to be 46 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:40.840 the end of you, because you were made in God's image and you were 47 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:46.439 made to last forever because you're made in God's image. Now what that means 48 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.719 is this, You're going to spend more time on the other side of death 49 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:57.080 than you do on this side here on earth. You're gonna get sixty eighty 50 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.759 at the most, one hundred years at the most. That's really not very 51 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:06.520 long considering the fact that you're going to spend trillions and trillions and trillions of 52 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:13.280 years in eternity. You're going to spend far more time on that side of 53 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:17.040 death than you do on this side of death. So the question we're asking 54 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:23.040 this morning, then, is what on Earth am I here for? What 55 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.319 am I supposed to do with the sixty or eighty or at the most one 56 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:30.720 hundred years I get on this planet in preparation for the life that's in the 57 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:36.920 future. You see, the Bible says that life is preparation for eternity. 58 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:42.040 If anybody ever asks you, what is the meaning of life here, it 59 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:48.000 is life is preparation for eternity. This is the warm up act before the 60 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:54.639 real play begins. This is the dress rehearsal before the real show starts. 61 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:59.399 This is the initial warm up lap around the race before the real race begins. 62 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.399 Life on Earth is the kindergarten, It's the preschool. It's the get 63 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:08.519 ready stage for eternity. And as I said, you're going to spend more 64 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:13.600 on that side of eternity than you do on this side and in eternity you're 65 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:15.639 going to do a certain number of things. We're going to talk about him 66 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.399 this morning. And what God wants you to do while you're here on earth 67 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:27.680 is practice. God wants you to practice on earth what you're gonna do forever 68 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.319 in eternity. So let's get right into it. The Bible says, God 69 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.079 has five purposes for your life. Number one, you might write this down. 70 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:42.560 He turned the page. God planned me. God planned me for his 71 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:49.439 pleasure. God planned me for his pleasure. Everything in the universe was created 72 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:55.120 so that God could enjoy it. He created it all for his pleasure and 73 00:05:55.160 --> 00:06:00.519 for his enjoyment. The Bible says this in the Book of Revelation, you, 74 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:05.800 God created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and 75 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:12.160 were created. Everything in the universe, including you, was created for God 76 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.480 to enjoy it. He wanted it, and so he created it for his 77 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:19.800 enjoyment. Read with me the next verse, the Lord takes pleasure in his 78 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:24.040 people. Let me ask you, how many of you are parents? Going 79 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:28.879 to see your hands? All right? Do you take pleasure in watching your 80 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:33.920 kids? You say most of the time. And I think the same thing 81 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:38.480 is true with God. Most of the time God takes pleasure in watching you 82 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:43.319 be you. I've got a little eighteen month old granddaughter now. Her name 83 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:47.120 is Kaylee, and I take pleasure just in watching Kaylee. She doesn't have 84 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:50.720 to do anything special. She can just kind of toddle around the room, 85 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:56.560 and I get so much enjoyment just watching her be her. Now. She 86 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.680 doesn't have to do anything spiritual, like come out and preach a sermon to 87 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:02.680 me. She doesn't have a quote a Bible verse, she doesn't have to 88 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.920 pray, she doesn't have to do anything quote holy. I just enjoy her 89 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:13.439 for being her. Some of you have never understood this. You think that 90 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:17.399 the only time God smiles on you is when you're doing something quote spiritual, 91 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.680 like when you're going to church, or when you help a poor person, 92 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.240 or when you show kindness to somebody, or you're reading your Bible. And 93 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:30.120 you think the only time that God is happy with you is when you are 94 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:35.480 doing something quote spiritual. And you don't realize that God gets pleasure out of 95 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:44.920 just watching you be you because He created you. You're listening to Pastor Rick's 96 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.360 Daily Hope. Rick will be back in just a moment with the rest of 97 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:53.920 today's lesson. You can sign up for Pastor Rick's free email devotional at pastorick 98 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:58.800 dot com. That's pastorick dot com. If you want to make your time 99 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:01.279 in prayer the best can be, then you're going to want to get a 100 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:07.240 copy of the brand new twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's 101 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:11.800 theme, God's Great Adventure for You, will help you tap into God's power 102 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:16.040 and presence when you learn how to pray with passion and purpose. Covered in 103 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:22.480 soft vegan leather with full color pages, this prayer journal has sections to pray 104 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.839 for specific people and situations, as well as space to express your gratitude and 105 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:33.039 personal prayer requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and filled with inspiring 106 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:39.200 Bible verses, photos, and artwork. The God's Great Adventure for You Prayer 107 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.480 Journal is a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy a vibrant prayer life, 108 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:48.919 connect with God, and establish consistent daily prayer time. When you give 109 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:54.799 a gift to help daily hope take the certain hope of Jesus to people around 110 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:58.440 the world, We'll send you the all new twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer 111 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:03.279 Journal to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't wait. You can 112 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:07.960 give right now by going to Pastororick dot com or by calling eight hundred six 113 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:13.679 hundred five zero zero four. We'll say thanks by sending you the brand new 114 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.519 Daily Hope Prayer Journal. That's Pastorrick dot com. Or call eight hundred six 115 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:24.000 hundred five zero zero four. You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once again. 116 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:31.200 Here's Pastor Rick Warren. Some of you have never understood this. You 117 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:35.919 think that the only time God smiles on you is when you're doing something quote 118 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.519 spiritual, like when you're going to church, or when you help a poor 119 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:43.200 person, or when you show kindness to somebody, or you're reading your Bible, 120 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.799 and you think the only time that God is happy with you is when 121 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:54.039 you are doing something quote spiritual. And you don't realize that God gets pleasure 122 00:09:54.440 --> 00:10:01.000 out of just watching you be you because He created you. When my three 123 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.279 children were small, I used to sneak into their room at night and sit 124 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:09.240 down by the side of their bed and just watch them breathe, just watch 125 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:13.000 them sleep, and I got so much joy. I would just sit on 126 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:18.240 the edge of their beds, these little kids, and I'd watched their chests, 127 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:24.200 rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and fall, and I 128 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.440 would just watch them sleep peacefully and breathe. And I got so much pleasure 129 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.799 out of that. Because I was their father. I created them. They 130 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:37.279 were created simply out of my love, and I loved them. They didn't 131 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:43.000 have to be doing anything fancy. I just loved them. And that's the 132 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:46.759 way your heavenly father is toward you. God looks at you and he loves 133 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:52.559 you simply because he made you. Now, notice what the Bible says. 134 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:56.600 Look at the next verse. Long before he laid down the earth's foundations, 135 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:03.799 God had us in mind, and he settled on us as the focus of 136 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:07.879 his love. Now, let me explain this verse. Before God even created 137 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:11.720 the universe, he thought of you, and he focused on you. And 138 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:16.840 the Bible says that the entire universe was created simply so he could create the 139 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:22.720 human race, so he could love us. We are the focus of his 140 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:26.919 love unlike anything else in creation, not like animals or angels or stars or 141 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:31.200 anything else. We were created to be loved by God. Now this is 142 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:39.279 very important. Get this. The Bible says that God is love. It 143 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.840 doesn't say he has love. It says he is love. It is the 144 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:46.519 essence of his character, It is the nature of his being. God is 145 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.759 love. Now. I could go around and saying, oh, I'm so 146 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.159 full of love, but unless I bestow it on a person or a pet, 147 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.559 or an object or something, it doesn't do a whole lot of good. 148 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:03.559 The Bible says you were created as an object of God's love. Now, 149 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:07.559 get this, This is so important. The very reason you're sitting in 150 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:11.000 that chair right now, the very reason you're taking your next breath, the 151 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:16.559 very reason your heart is still beating is this. God made you simply to 152 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.120 love you. And if God hadn't wanted to love you, you would not 153 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:26.279 be alive, You would not be in existence. God thought you up in 154 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:33.279 his mind and created you simply to love you, because God is love. 155 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:37.480 Now, he didn't need you. God wasn't lonely. God's never been lonely. 156 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:43.080 But he wanted you, and you were made. The number one reason 157 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.279 you were made is God made you simply to love you. Now listen, 158 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:52.200 If you ever grasp the profound truth I just shared with you, and you 159 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:56.799 let it sink into your psyche and into your soul, you will never again 160 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:03.240 have a problem with inferiority or insecure or low self esteem. Because when you 161 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:07.679 realize that God created the entire universe just so he can create the conditions so 162 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:13.519 human beings could exist, so he could create you to love you. That's 163 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:18.279 how much you matter to God. That's how valuable you are, and that 164 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:24.240 would take away all of those feelings of insecurity that God created you in order 165 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:30.480 to love you. Now, Unlike animals, we're made in God's image and 166 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:35.559 that gives us the capacity to know and love God back. That's what makes 167 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:37.480 you different from animals. You're never going to see a cow praying before its 168 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:43.519 meal. You're gonna never see a kiddy full its hands and say grace before 169 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.720 it eats. Why they're not made in God's image. But God has given 170 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:50.679 you the capacity to know and love Him back. That's what makes you uniquely 171 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:54.960 human. One day, Jesus is walking down the street and the guy walks 172 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.360 up to me and says, Lord, what's the most important command in the 173 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:03.759 Bible. And Jesus says this, Let's read it together. Love the Lord 174 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:09.000 your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and with all 175 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:15.600 your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. Circle first and greatest. 176 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.759 God says, the most important thing in life is to know and love 177 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.159 him. Look at the next verse, God says this, I don't want 178 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:31.840 your sacrifices. I want your love. I don't want your offerings. I 179 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:37.279 want you to know me. Can you sense the passion? This verse circle 180 00:14:37.320 --> 00:14:43.440 the words know and love Because that's the first purpose of life. The most 181 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:48.279 important thing you can know in life is to know that God created you to 182 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:52.080 love you. And the most important thing you can do in life is to 183 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.679 know and love him back. That's the number one purpose in life. Now, 184 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:58.679 what does it mean. It means that when you get up in the 185 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:01.559 morning, you probably got to do something like this, sit down on the 186 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:07.679 edge of your bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else 187 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.799 done today, I want to get to know you a little bit better, 188 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.240 and I want to get to love you a little bit more, because that's 189 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.480 the first purpose of life, to know and love God who created you to 190 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:22.879 be loved by Him, And I want to know you and love you a 191 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:24.399 little bit more. And if at the end of the day you have done 192 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.639 those two things, it doesn't matter how many things have gone wrong in your 193 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.679 life. If you know God a little bit better and love him a little 194 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:37.080 bit more. That day was a success. On the other hand, it 195 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:43.360 doesn't matter how many deals you close, how many sales you make, how 196 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:48.279 many achievements you rack up, how many awards you win at the end of 197 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:50.360 the day, if you don't know God a little bit better and love him 198 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.000 a little bit more, you have just missed the purpose of that day. 199 00:15:54.200 --> 00:16:00.480 You have wasted that day, and that day is a failure. Why Because 200 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.759 God did not put you on this earth just to mark things off your to 201 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:10.919 do list. That's a pretty shallow way to live. God did not put 202 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:11.919 you on earth simply to get up in the morning, go to work, 203 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:15.000 come on and watch TV, and go to bed and go to party on 204 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.480 the weekend. He created you first and foremost to know and love Him, 205 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:22.840 to get you ready for spending eternity with Him. And if you miss that, 206 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.399 you've missed the first purpose. And why don't you write this down there? 207 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:33.879 The first purpose of life is to know and love God. That's who 208 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.720 created you. He knows you, he loves you, He wants you to 209 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.200 know and love him back. The first purpose is to know and love God. 210 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:47.840 You see what the tragedy is. Most people go through their entire life 211 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:53.440 missing the purpose of it. They know all kinds of other things. Oh, 212 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:57.919 they know the stocks quotes, they know the sports scores, they know 213 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.320 the top ten, who's on the cover of People magazine, they know all 214 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:06.079 kind of phone numbers. But they don't know God. And God says, 215 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.839 that's a tragedy. On the top of the next page, the Bible says 216 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:17.240 this, some people have missed the most important thing in life. They don't 217 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:21.240 know God. Now you may know about God, Oh, I know exists, 218 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.680 but do you really know him personally? Do you know him personally? 219 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:30.359 Do you have a relationship, a friendship, a love relationship with God? 220 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.519 That's what God wants you to do. Now, how do you know when 221 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:37.039 you're disconnected from God? How do you know when you don't really know God? 222 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:41.359 You know about him, but you don't really know him. Well, 223 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.039 there's a warning light that comes on in your life when you are disconnected from 224 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:52.000 God. It's called stress. Stress or any of you familiar with this term 225 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:57.480 stress. Worry is the warning light that at that moment in your life, 226 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:03.960 you're disconnected from God. Whenever I'm worrying, it says, I'm acting like 227 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:07.640 I'm God. I'm acting like it all depends on me. I'm pretending I'm 228 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.839 the general manager of the universe, that I've got to make it all happen. 229 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.880 God isn't going to help me. I'm out here on my own, 230 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.720 and that causes stress. And the reason you're tired all the time, and 231 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.680 the reason you're fatigued, and the reason you're stressed out is because you're trying 232 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.599 to live your life disconnected from God. It's like having a radio transistor radio 233 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:32.559 with the battery pulled out. There's no power, but you plug in the 234 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.839 battery and get connected to God. You're going to hear all kinds of great 235 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:40.880 things. This is God's plan for your life. He wants you to know 236 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:47.440 and love him. See the Bible says in Matthew six, people who don't 237 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:52.680 know God are always worrying why because they think it's all on their own. 238 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:56.119 You see, God has wired you with a God's shaped hole in the middle 239 00:18:56.119 --> 00:19:00.799 of you so that you need Him in your life. Well, there's this 240 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.000 emptiness inside of us. Now. The problem is we try to fill it 241 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.759 with a lot of other things instead of God. And you can try to 242 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:14.960 fill that God shaped whole with passion or position or possessions, or pleasure or 243 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.319 popularity. Or you can try to fill that hole in your heart with sex 244 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:25.480 or status or salary. But none of those things are going to fill the 245 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:29.480 whole that only God can fill in your life. You were made by God 246 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:32.960 and for God. And until you understand that, there's going to be a 247 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:37.880 hole in your heart that leaves you empty. Here's the second purpose of life. 248 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:42.920 The Bible says, God formed me for his family. God formed me 249 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:48.559 for his family. In other words, God wanted a family. He wanted 250 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.680 more than creatures. He didn't want just angels and animals and plants. He 251 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.880 wanted a family. And the Bible says, the whole reason you exist is 252 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.920 God wanted you to become a part art of his family, which makes you 253 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:06.480 unique. And that family is going to last forever. The Bible says this, 254 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:14.079 God's unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family. 255 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:19.000 This is amazing by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ, and this gave 256 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:22.400 him great pleasure. In other words, again, he did it for his 257 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:30.599 own enjoyment. This is Pastor Rick's daily hope. We're so thankful that you've 258 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.599 chosen to spend some time with us today. If you've missed any part of 259 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:40.000 this broadcast, including portions we didn't have time for, just go to Pastorick 260 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:44.680 dot com and listen online. Anytime. Rick will be right back to close 261 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:48.519 out our time today. But first, if you want to make your time 262 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:51.759 in prayer the best it can be, then you're going to want to get 263 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:56.680 a copy of the brand new twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This 264 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.880 year's theme, God's Great Adventure for You, will help you tap into God's 265 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:07.279 power and presence when you learn how to pray with passion and purpose. Here's 266 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:11.319 Pastor Rick to tell you more. Do you ever feel like your prayers get 267 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.720 stuck in a rut? Would you like to know what God told me to 268 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:17.359 do when my prayer life got stuck in a rut. It was a time 269 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:19.440 when I just felt like I was praying the same thing over and over and 270 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:22.440 over. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if God was even answering 271 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:26.519 my prayers or even listening. Maybe you felt that way sometimes, or maybe 272 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:30.640 you feel that way right now. So what did God tell me to do? 273 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:33.039 Well, here's what he told me. It was such a powerful way 274 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.720 to re energize my prayer life, and it was so simple that I want 275 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:40.720 to pass it on to you. God told me to do this, He 276 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:45.799 said, Rick, start writing down what you're saying to me, and then 277 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.599 I want you to write down what I say to you. Write down what 278 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.799 you say to me, and then write down what I say to you. 279 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.599 You see, it's really not that complicated. God just said I should start 280 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:02.359 by writing down what I'm feeling, and then I should write down what he 281 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:07.000 tells me after I've read his word. It's really just a form of journaling, 282 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.559 and spiritual journaling is a spiritual habit that will help your prayers stay fresh 283 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:17.960 and effective. If you've never tried it, I'm begging you try this for 284 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.480 a week or two and see if it doesn't reinvigorate your prayer life. Journaling 285 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:27.400 has many many benefits to your spiritual life. It'll help you stay consistent in 286 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:33.519 your prayers. It'll give you a permanent reminder of how God answers your prayers. 287 00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:37.680 Because we've written him down, it shows how God is working in your 288 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.039 life. You can go back and review it. It'll even help you worship 289 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:44.920 God more and more. As you speak to him, God speaks to people 290 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:49.200 who care enough to write it down. So write down what God tells you. 291 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.559 But you've got to have a place to do that. Now. I 292 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.200 want to encourage you and I want to help you take this simple step of 293 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:02.559 learning this new spiritual habit in your prayers, of writing down your prayers and 294 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:06.079 writing down your prayer request. So what I did is I had my Daily 295 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:11.920 Hope team create a brand new spiritual prayer journal. It's got a real simple 296 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.680 to follow format that will help you put into practice God's wisdom that is found 297 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:21.559 in Philippians four to six that says this, don't worry about anything. Instead, 298 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:26.440 pray about everything, tell God what you need, and thank Him for 299 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:30.799 all he has done. Those four things are part of the format of our 300 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:37.240 prayer journal for this year. It's really cool. You're gonna love this tool. 301 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:42.039 Covered in soft vegan leather with full color pages, this prayer journal has 302 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:48.519 sections to pray for specific people and situations, as well as space to express 303 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:53.319 your gratitude and personal prayer requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and 304 00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:00.279 filled with inspiring Bible versus photo work and artwork. The God's Great Adventure Sure 305 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.960 for You Prayer Journal is a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy a 306 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:10.559 vibrant prayer life, connect with the Lord, and establish a consistent daily prayer 307 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:14.559 time. When you give a gift to help daily Hope take the certain hope 308 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:18.240 of Jesus to people around the world, will send you the all new twenty 309 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:23.799 twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so 310 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:30.480 don't wait to get your copy of this great resource. Just call eight hundred 311 00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:36.119 six hundred five thousand and four or go to Pastorick dot com to get yours. 312 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:41.119 That's eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four or Pastorick dot com. 313 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:47.079 Be sure to join us again next time as we look into God's word for 314 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:52.960 our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Ricks Daily Hope and your 315 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:53.839 generous financial support.