WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:08.119 Pastor Rick Warren often says, you were made by God and for God, 2 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:14.199 and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Welcome to Pastor 3 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:19.039 Rick's Daily Hope. Today. In our series called God's Vision for the Rest 4 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:23.920 of your Life, Rick continues in his effort to help you discover the unique 5 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:28.800 purpose and vision that the Lord has for your life. In just a few 6 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:33.119 moments, we're going to tell you how to get a hardcover copy of Pastor 7 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:38.399 Rick's wonderful book, The Purpose of Christmas, just in time for the season. 8 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:42.560 Go to pastor Rick dot com to find out more, or text the 9 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:48.719 word daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. That's Pastorick dot 10 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:54.399 com. Or the word daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. 11 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:59.320 Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with part two of a message called 12 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.239 Choosy in your Future. And Jesus said this about his disciples John seventeen. 13 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:08.480 They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world. 14 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.400 Can you say that about you? No, you can't, because you've 15 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.319 been defined by the people in your life. You see, this is so 16 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.920 important that we can't deal with anything else. Do you deal with this one, 17 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:26.079 because when you know who you are, it sets you free from the 18 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:32.000 fear of disapproval, and most people are scared to death of criticism and rejection 19 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:36.480 and disapproval. It's so important I wrote a new chapter on it in The 20 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:40.719 New Purpose Driven Life, because it's one of the two things. Envy says 21 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:44.760 I must be like you to be happy, and people pleasing says I must 22 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.959 be liked by you to be happy. Both of them are wrong, and 23 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:51.799 both of them will keep you from fulfilling the life God intended for you to 24 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:56.239 live. You have to say, I'm going to resolve that I will refuse 25 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:00.040 to be defined by other people, and I'm not going to let other people's 26 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:06.239 approval or disapproval shape my life. I'm going to live for an audience of 27 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:10.599 one. This is what Moses did, and your first life shaping resolution is 28 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:15.400 to say this. I resolved that no more will I let other people press 29 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:20.840 me into their mold. I'm going to be what God wants me to be. 30 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:23.800 I'm going to do what God wants me to do, and I'm going 31 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:27.199 to fulfill the plan that God has for my life, not somebody else's plan 32 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:34.000 for my life. Why because you can trust God. The Bible says this 33 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:38.319 Jeremiah twenty nine on the screen. I know the plans I have for you, 34 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:43.360 says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster. 35 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.400 Plans to give you a future and a hope. Now, friends, that 36 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:53.319 is real success, Real success, not phony, fake artificial success. Real 37 00:02:53.400 --> 00:03:00.240 success in life is being exactly what you were created to be and nothing more 38 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.599 than that. I want you, as your pastor, I want you to 39 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.319 succeed in the rest of your life. But the only way you're going to 40 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:09.039 do that is to be who God made you to be, not what other 41 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:14.439 people are pressuring you to be, not what they want you to be, 42 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:19.400 being who God wants you to be. I refuse to be defined by others. 43 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Second, the second resolution that you need to make in life to be 44 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:28.319 all that God wants you to be, a life shaping chose choice is this, 45 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:37.800 I choose short term pain for long term gain. I choose short term 46 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:44.240 pain for long term gain. Now, anybody who's ever played a sports knows 47 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.280 this one. You've got to put out the effort. You've got to practice, 48 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:51.639 You've got to work hard, You've got to put out some sweat in 49 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.280 order to play in the championship game. You just don't walk out and win 50 00:03:54.360 --> 00:04:00.479 the championship. No pain, no gain. You've got to put out to 51 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:03.319 get back. If you're gonna be good at anything, you've got to put 52 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:10.599 out short term pain for long term gain. That's not just true in sports, 53 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:16.480 it's true in finances, it's true in relationships. I have a good 54 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.680 marriage, but I worked at it can and I have worked at it hard 55 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:25.240 for years. It didn't come easy. Nobody just has an easy relationship. 56 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:29.720 You got to work at it to make your marriage work. It takes work 57 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.959 to make it work, so you put out short term pain for a long 58 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:38.040 term gain. Am I grateful for the marriage I've got now? Are you 59 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:43.079 kidding me? I'd pay a million bucks it's incalculable what my marriage is worth 60 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:46.079 to me. But it wasn't always that way. We had to put out 61 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:51.759 short term pain for long term gain. Why has this resolution important in your 62 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:58.399 life? Because most of the problems in your life come from your inability to 63 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:04.879 delay gratification. Everything in society teaches us I want everything, and I want 64 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:11.439 it now, and I want it free and I want it easy. Well, 65 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:15.160 life isn't that way, So every problem in your life comes from your 66 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:20.519 inability to put off the pleasure in order to get it a longer amount of 67 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:24.680 it later on. I want it now, I want it free, and 68 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:29.399 I want it easy. The reason you're in debt is because of your inability 69 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:33.360 to delay gratification. That's why you're in debt, because you say, I 70 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:35.639 see it and I want it now. Do I have the money for it? 71 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:39.079 No? Can I afford it No? So I'm going to charge it 72 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:42.600 and I'm going to put it on a credit card. Every time you use 73 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.120 a credit card to buy something you can't afford, you are refusing to delay 74 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:50.079 gratification, and you get deeper and deeper in debt. And the reason America 75 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.040 is falling off a fiscal cliff is because our government doesn't know how to delay 76 00:05:55.040 --> 00:06:00.199 gratification. We want it all, and we want it all now, even 77 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.480 though we can't pay for it. This is true physically in your health. 78 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:11.959 I don't want to pay for a good health with exercise and proper diet and 79 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.600 getting the right amount of sleep. I just want to do whatever I want 80 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:16.519 to do and feel good. It isn't going to happen. You're going to 81 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:21.680 feel bad if you don't do the pain to get the gain. It's true 82 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:26.040 in relationships when people go and say, you know, I don't want to 83 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.959 follow what God says about sex. I want to have sex now. I'm 84 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.000 not married, but I want to have sex now. It causes problems in 85 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:35.360 relationships because when you have sex with somebody, you give part of your heart 86 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:41.160 to them. There's an emotional attachment and you give keep giving part of yourself 87 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:46.680 away. It causes spiritual problems. Would you agree with me that usually the 88 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.240 right thing to do is not the easy thing to do. Everybody agree with 89 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:56.839 that the easy thing to do is typically the wrong thing to do. The 90 00:06:56.920 --> 00:06:59.959 right thing to do is usually the hard thing. It's the painful thing. 91 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.959 When somebody hurts me, the easy things hurt him back. The right thing 92 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.120 to do is forgive them. That is not easy, and that is not 93 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.879 painless. It's painful to forgive. I don't want to let it go. 94 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:15.879 I don't want to forgive them. I want to carry a grudge. The 95 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.959 right thing is often the hard thing to do. Now here's what happened with 96 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:25.160 Moses. He made a choice. Verse twenty five. Moses chose he might 97 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:30.519 circle that Moses chose to be mistreated. That's painful, along with the people 98 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:35.720 of God as a slave, rather than to enjoy in the palace of Pharaoh 99 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:41.319 the pleasures of sin for a short time. You know what I love about 100 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:44.920 the Bible. It always tells the truth. It doesn't gloss over anything. 101 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.519 In that verse it says, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for 102 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:54.279 a short time, sin is fun. Pleasures of sin for a short time. 103 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:58.079 Sin's fun. Even the Bible admits it. Sin is fun. Nobody 104 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:05.600 would do sin if it were painful. You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. 105 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.240 Rick will be back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson. 106 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.199 If you've missed any part of today's teaching, you can listen online anytime 107 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:20.319 at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com. Let the true reason for 108 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.759 the season fill your heart with hope this year when you discover Pastor Rick's inspirational 109 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:30.439 book The Purpose of Christmas. In it, Rick shows you how Christmas is 110 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:35.200 designed to meet your three deepest needs and out receiving the three Christmas gifts God 111 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:41.399 has for you will transform your life forever. This book is sure to become 112 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:46.080 a loved family favorite to be read at every Christmas and to be shared with 113 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:50.240 your friends who may not know how much God loves them. We'll send you 114 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:56.639 the inspiring and beautifully illustrated book The Purpose of Christmas as our way of saying 115 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.200 thanks when you give a gift to help Daily Hope take the Certain Hope of 116 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:05.440 Jesus to people around the world. To get your copy of this great resource, 117 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:11.559 just call eight hundred six hundred five zero zero four or go to Pastorick 118 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:15.440 dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred and six hundred at five zero 119 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:20.200 zero four or pastorick dot com. You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once 120 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:30.320 again, here's Pastor Rick Warren. Sin is fun, pleasures of sin for 121 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:33.919 a short time. Sin's fun. Even the Bible admits it. Sin is 122 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:39.480 fun. Nobody was reduced sin if it were painful. We do sin because 123 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:46.480 it's pleasurable. It's pleasurable to break the law. It's pleasurable to eat too 124 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:50.360 much, it's pleasurable to do all kinds of things that are not good for 125 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.960 you. And even the Bible says that. But it says pleasure and sin 126 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:58.759 for a season. It's short term. You don't go out and have your 127 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.519 kicks. God's I gonna stop you, but you will have the kickbacks. 128 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:05.279 You can go out and do whatever you want to, but then there are 129 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:09.799 consequences. You see, you were free. God has given you free choice 130 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.360 to make any choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences 131 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:16.919 of those choices. So I can go out and I gotta have sex with 132 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.720 as many people as I want, But if I get somebody pregnant or I 133 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:26.639 get an STD, that's a consequence I'm not free from. You are free 134 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:30.120 to choose anything you want to do, you are not free from the consequences, 135 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:33.480 and the moment you make that choice, you are no longer free. 136 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:39.320 So you better make good choices because you can't choose choice and not choose the 137 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.240 consequence. He says, I want. He chose to be mistreated, do 138 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:48.480 the short term pain for the long term gain of doing the right thing. 139 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:54.639 That's interesting. In verse twenty three, God chooses Moses when he's a baby. 140 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:58.200 He said, that's the guy I'm gonna use. In verse twenty four, 141 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.759 Moses had to choose God. God has chosen you. Have you chosen 142 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:07.919 him? In Verse twenty four we see Moses refusing, and in verse twenty 143 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:13.600 five we see Moses choosing. The negative is followed by a positive. Before 144 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:18.759 you make some resolutions, you may have to do some dissolutions, refusing then 145 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.440 choosing. Now, the Christian life is not simply a matter of refusing. 146 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:24.480 Some people think the Christian life is just all a bunch of no's, a 147 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.159 bunch of don't do things. You know, I don't shrink, I don't 148 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:35.159 smoke drink, smoke, custchu run around girls that do you know? If 149 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:39.360 the Christian life just a matter was a matter of a bunch of things you 150 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.519 didn't do, then anybody who's dead would qualify as Christian because they don't do 151 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:48.879 anything no. No. Christianity is not something you say, I refuse this, 152 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:52.200 but I choose this. And the negative is always followed by a positive. 153 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:58.720 It's followed by positive. And notice in that did you notice earlier where 154 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.639 it says when he had grown up, he refused and he chose. He 155 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.679 did the refusing and choosing when he had grown up. It's a mark of 156 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:15.399 maturity, it's a mark of responsibility. Question where do you need to start 157 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:24.799 accepting responsibility for your life? Who are you blaming for your unhappiness. Well, 158 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:28.519 if I just had a different wife, really well, if I just 159 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:31.600 hadn't grown up in the family, really well, if I could just get 160 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:33.679 married, if we could just have a baby, if I just had a 161 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.840 job. Who were you blaming? What are you blaming for your unhappiness? 162 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:41.600 You are as happy as you choose to be, because happiness is a choice, 163 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:46.360 and so is being close to God. You're as close to God as 164 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:48.720 you choose to be. If you're not close to God, guess who moved. 165 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:54.600 God didn't move. God wants to be close to you. If you're 166 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:58.080 not close to God right now, it's because you have chosen to not be 167 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:03.879 close to God. You got to make the choice. The fact is, 168 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.159 he says, when he had grown up, he refused, and he chose, 169 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.879 when are you going to grow up spiritually? You cannot live off of 170 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:18.679 somebody else's spiritual commitment. My parents love Jesus Christ. So I grew up 171 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.240 in a home where I was taught to love Jesus as a young boy. 172 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:28.960 But if I were still living my life based on my parents' commitment, we 173 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:35.919 would be in deep Do do right now, because that's not enough commitment to 174 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.679 get a grown man through life. At some point, my parents' faith had 175 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:45.720 to either become my faith or not. You cannot depend on anybody else for 176 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:48.039 your spiritual commitment. I can't tell you how many guys man I've talked to. 177 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:52.039 You know, we're playing golf or your surfing or shooting some hoops, 178 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:54.919 and I talked to him and they say, well, you know, my 179 00:13:54.000 --> 00:14:00.600 wife is a committed Christian. And I go and, so, what you 180 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.919 think that's going to give you some ticket into heaven because your wife's a committed 181 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.759 Christian. Of course not. You need a man up and make your own 182 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:09.799 commitment. I was on a plane the other day and a guy told me, 183 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:11.960 he said, you know, I was talking about becoming a Christian and 184 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:15.679 following Jesus. He goes, well, my uncle is a missionary. And 185 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:20.919 I said, yeah, you think that's gonna get you into heaven because you 186 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:26.039 got an uncle who's a missionary. It's a personal decision. It's like marriage. 187 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:30.240 I could say to some of these kids who are on stage, I 188 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:31.639 know you're married. They said, how do you know that? Pressure right? 189 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:33.799 Well, your parents are married, your grandparents are married, your great 190 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:37.440 grandparents are married. You got an older brother who's married. So you're married. 191 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.080 No, no, no. Marriage is a personal decision, and so 192 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.679 is faith in Christ. You can't depend on anybody else. When Moses had 193 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:48.720 grown up, he started accepting responsibility for his own spiritual growth. Have you 194 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.559 done that? Have you done that? See, you can't blame anybody else 195 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:56.279 for the direction of your life. If it sucks, it's because you're letting 196 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:03.279 it suck. Now, let me be real clear. We are products of 197 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:09.000 our past, but we are not prisoners of our past. Yes, your 198 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.399 past has influenced you, but it doesn't control you. Other people can hurt 199 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.679 you, and they will. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Other people 200 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:20.200 can hurt you, they can harm you, and other people can scar you. 201 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:26.919 But nobody can ruin your life except you. They don't have the power 202 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:31.799 to ruin it because you have the power of choice. They can harm you, 203 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:35.240 they can hurt you, they can scar you, but they cannot ruin 204 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:41.279 you unless you allow them to. Do you accept responsibility? Answer, I'm 205 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:48.919 gonna choose short term pain for long term gain. Now let me just say 206 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.799 to the I know we've got a young students in our services today, so 207 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:58.320 let me just tell you this. You're going to have pain in life either 208 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:03.399 now or later, and you can either do the easy thing now, easy 209 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.759 life now, hard life later, hard life now, easy life later. 210 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:11.840 In other words, if I do the hard thing right now, and I 211 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:15.919 put in the effort and the discipline to learn, to grow, to become 212 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:21.080 strong, to mature, and I do the hard things now later in life, 213 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:25.159 I get to benefit from all of that. I right now am benefiting 214 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:30.519 from decisions I made in my twenties. And I'm benefiting from those financial decisions 215 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:33.639 that I made in my twenties to not spend more than I made, to 216 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:38.240 save, to tithe, to honor God, all of the I'm benefiting from 217 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:42.159 that many years later because I was disciplined. I did the hard thing first. 218 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.919 Now, if you're a teenager and you do the easy thing first, 219 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:49.879 you're going to do the hard thing later, and life will be hard the 220 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.320 rest of your life. You can goof off in school and you not learn, 221 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.360 and you cannot grow, and you not accept responsibility, not grow up, 222 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:00.720 and then the rest of your life it will be hard. So it's 223 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:03.559 either going to be pain now or later. I suggest you get the pain 224 00:17:03.599 --> 00:17:08.920 out of the way early. There are a couple promises from God about pain 225 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:12.519 they're on your outline. First thing God says is even the pain you go 226 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:17.400 through number one, it's going to help you grow. Romans five. We 227 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:23.559 can have joy even in our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patients, 228 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:29.039 and patience produces character, and character produces hope. So I even know 229 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.920 when I'm going through the short term pain, it's producing character in my life. 230 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.759 And the second thing I know God promises is He's going to reward me 231 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:41.559 for the pain I go through in heaven next verse. Yet, these present 232 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:47.200 troubles that we're going through are quite small, and they won't last very long. 233 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:49.160 I mean, even if they lasted my entire life, that's only ninety 234 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:55.759 years compared to trillions of years in heaven. Yet they produce, problems, 235 00:17:55.799 --> 00:18:02.680 are productive. They produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will circle this 236 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:08.960 last forever. We're gonna have eternity to celebrate short term pain for long term 237 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:14.119 gain. Because God's more interested in your character than your comfort. Why are 238 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:17.759 am I going through all these problems? God's more interested in your character than 239 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:22.119 your comfort, And there's long term gain for the short term pain. The 240 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:25.799 verse after that, when we just read is verse eighteen. Look up here 241 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:30.319 on the screen, Paul says, So we fix our eyes not on what 242 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:34.160 is seen, but on what is unseen. What is seen is temporary, 243 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:38.799 but what is unseen is eternal. The problems that I'm looking at right now 244 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:44.400 in my life, I see you on my problems, financial problems, relational 245 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:49.400 problems, physical problems, emotional problems, mental problems. I see those problems. 246 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:53.839 But then I gonna last. What's gonna last is the character I developed 247 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:59.359 from going through them. What's gonna last is my trust in God that I'm 248 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.279 going through. What's going to last is the reward I get for putting my 249 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:07.920 faith in Christ when I'm going through the problems. So what do I do. 250 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:10.880 The first thing I do is I say, I am going to refuse 251 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:14.480 to define let myself be defined by other people. And second, I'm going 252 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:18.759 to choose short term gain for long term short term pain for long term gain. 253 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:23.319 That's what Moses did. Third thing Moses did third life shaping resolution. 254 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:33.000 I choose God's values, not the world's. I choose God's values for my 255 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:38.319 life, not the world's values. This is what Moses did, and this 256 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:42.240 is why God used him Hebrews eleven, verse twenty six. The next verse, 257 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.160 Moses regarded. Now, that word regarded means to evaluate. It means 258 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:52.599 to consider, It means to weigh in the balance. He's making a value 259 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.880 judgment. He's clarifying what matters most. Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of 260 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.960 Christ. In other words, I'm gonna be treated like a slave. He 261 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:07.000 regarded being disgraced for sake of Christ as of greater value. That's a value 262 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:10.759 judgment than the treasure of Egypt. He would have inherited all the treasure of 263 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:17.440 Egypt as Pharaoh's grandson because he was why looking ahead to his reward long term 264 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:21.000 gain. I'm not gonna have short term gain. I'm gonna have long term 265 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:25.799 gain. Okay, he's making a valuate. He clarifies what matters. Let 266 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:32.079 me ask you this question. What matters most in your life? What are 267 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.960 the top three four five values in your life? Can you name him just 268 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.359 like that, bam bam, bam, bam bam. What are the most 269 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:41.200 important values in your life? If you ask me, I would tell you 270 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:45.920 real simply integrity, humility, generosity. Because they decided over thirty years ago, 271 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:49.559 that's what I wanted to build my life on integrity, humility, generosity. 272 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:52.839 I'm not there, but that's what I want to build my life on, 273 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.079 integrity, humility, generosity because of the antidotes of the three traps of 274 00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:02.799 leadership. Can you just name the three most important values in your life right 275 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:07.160 now? If you can't, you certainly can't live by them. You're not 276 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:11.359 living your values if you can't even name them. So you need to go 277 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.559 home, and before you go one more day into this year, you need 278 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.079 to sit down and say what's most important to me? What are the top 279 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:22.640 values in my life? And you need to write them out. Until you 280 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:27.920 clarify them, you can't live by them. Moses chose God's values over the 281 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:32.720 world's values. And why is this so important? I'll tell you why. 282 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.440 Here's a little secret. If you don't decide what's important in your life, 283 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.880 other people are going to decide it for you, and they're going to push 284 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:47.640 you into their mold and you're going to live their values, not yours. 285 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:52.599 You got to decide what's important to me and then live by those values, 286 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:57.359 not live by other people's values. Now, Moses said, I'm not going 287 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:02.200 to live by the world's values. What are the world's values well, the 288 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:06.599 the same ones that the world is valued throughout history. Every single advertisement is 289 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:10.440 built on one of the three values of the world. Passion, possession, 290 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:15.640 position or sex, salary and status or less of the flesh, less of 291 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.240 the ice, pride of life. They haven't changed in thousands of thousands of 292 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:22.519 years. We see them in these three verses. In verse twenty four, 293 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:29.200 we see the world values popularity, power, and prestige. In Verse twenty 294 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.240 five, we see the world values pleasures, the pleasure of sin. In 295 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:37.440 verse twenty six, we values possessions, the treasures of Egypt. Moses walks 296 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:44.000 away from the very thing we spend our entire lives trying to get. This 297 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:48.559 is Pastor Rick's daily hope. We're so thankful that you've chosen to spend some 298 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.200 time with us today. If you've missed any part of this broadcast, including 299 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:57.359 portions we didn't have time for, just go to pastorrig dot com and listen 300 00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:02.599 online any time. Rick will be right back to close out our time today. 301 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:07.119 But first, let the true reason for the season fill your heart with 302 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:11.799 hope this year. When you discover Pastor Rick's inspirational book, The Purpose of 303 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:17.680 Christmas, In it, Rick shows you how Christmas is designed to meet your 304 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:22.880 three deepest needs and how receiving the three Christmas gifts God has for you will 305 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:29.680 transform your life forever. This book is sure to become a beloved family favorite, 306 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.039 to be read every Christmas and to be shared with your friends who may 307 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:37.920 not know how much God loves them. We'll send you a hardcover copy of 308 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:45.319 the inspiring and beautifully illustrated book The Purpose of Christmas as our way of saying 309 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.680 thanks when you give a gift to help daily hope take the certain hope of 310 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:55.039 Jesus to people around the world. To get your copy of this great resource, 311 00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:00.759 just call eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four or go to Pastorick 312 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:06.119 dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four 313 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:11.759 or Pastorick dot com. Here's Pastor Rick with a closing thought, you know, 314 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:15.480 there's so much we can be grateful for during Thanksgiving. No matter how 315 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:19.839 things go wrong in your life, there's still something you can thank God for. 316 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:25.680 But let's remember those who are less fortunate. Reach out to somebody with 317 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:29.960 the love of God this Thanksgiving, maybe with a meal or a blanket or 318 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.279 invite them to church. Think about what you can do to let them know 319 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:38.279 they're not forgotten during this season of giving, Thanks God bless you all and 320 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:42.839 have a great Thanksgiving. Be sure to join us again next time as we 321 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:48.440 look into God's Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor 322 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:59.440 ricks Daily Hope and your generous financial support.