WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:05.000
<v Speaker 1>You know, none of us can earn our way into

2
00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:08.640
<v Speaker 1>heaven because eternal life is a free gift when you

3
00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:12.599
<v Speaker 1>accept Jesus as the Lord of your life. Hey, everybody,

4
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.559
<v Speaker 1>this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, and today Rick Warren

5
00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:21.120
<v Speaker 1>continues a series called Good News about Grace. You can't

6
00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:25.960
<v Speaker 1>truly understand the Christian life until you understand grace. It's

7
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.440
<v Speaker 1>at the heart of your faith and your relationship with God.

8
00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:33.079
<v Speaker 1>And in this series you're going to discover how not

9
00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.240
<v Speaker 1>to only understand grace, but how to experience it and

10
00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:40.520
<v Speaker 1>the joy that it brings. Okay, here's part one of

11
00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.039
<v Speaker 1>a message called Sustaining Grace.

12
00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:44.039
<v Speaker 2>Now.

13
00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:47.280
<v Speaker 3>The Bible tells us that God always finishes what he

14
00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:51.280
<v Speaker 3>starts always. The first verse on the top of your

15
00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.320
<v Speaker 3>outline today says this God, who began the good work

16
00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:58.600
<v Speaker 3>within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.

17
00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.000
<v Speaker 3>I want you to circle the word will on your outline.

18
00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.519
<v Speaker 3>It doesn't say God might finish it. It doesn't say

19
00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:07.760
<v Speaker 3>God hopes to finish it. It says God will finish it.

20
00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:09.599
<v Speaker 3>What does that mean?

21
00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.560
<v Speaker 2>It means if you have really given your life.

22
00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:14.760
<v Speaker 3>To Jesus Christ, if you've opened yourself up to God

23
00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:17.040
<v Speaker 3>and say, Christ be number one in my life. You

24
00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:20.439
<v Speaker 3>are going to make it to heaven. There's no doubt

25
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:25.799
<v Speaker 3>about it. Case closed, done, deal, finished product. You are

26
00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.719
<v Speaker 3>gonna make it across the finish line because it doesn't

27
00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:33.959
<v Speaker 3>depend upon your performance. It depends upon God's sustaining grace.

28
00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:39.359
<v Speaker 3>The only question is how you finish the race, because

29
00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:41.120
<v Speaker 3>you know as well as I do, that some people

30
00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:45.560
<v Speaker 3>finish a race poorly while other finish people finish a

31
00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:49.519
<v Speaker 3>race well. Now, as your pastor, I don't want to

32
00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.400
<v Speaker 3>just get you into heaven. I don't want to just

33
00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:55.760
<v Speaker 3>get you across the finish line. My goal is to

34
00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.400
<v Speaker 3>help you finish the race of life well. I want

35
00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.879
<v Speaker 3>you in enjoy life, the abundant life, to figure out

36
00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:05.760
<v Speaker 3>what God made you here for and put you here

37
00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:09.680
<v Speaker 3>for and do it. And God says I will help

38
00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:11.879
<v Speaker 3>you finish the race. Now, how can we be sure

39
00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.719
<v Speaker 3>we're gonna finish because of God's sustaining grace? Now, what

40
00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.479
<v Speaker 3>is saving or sustaining grace? Sustaining grace is the power

41
00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.919
<v Speaker 3>to keep on going when I feel like giving up?

42
00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.800
<v Speaker 3>Do you ever need that? The power to keep on

43
00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:31.879
<v Speaker 3>going when you feel like giving up? Sustaining grace is

44
00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:34.199
<v Speaker 3>the power to do the right thing when you don't

45
00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:38.039
<v Speaker 3>feel like doing the right thing. Now, there are many

46
00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:41.759
<v Speaker 3>pitfalls in the marathon race of life. We're gonna talk

47
00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:45.039
<v Speaker 3>about them this morning. But regardless of what you go through,

48
00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.000
<v Speaker 3>no matter what you face this next year, you can

49
00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.840
<v Speaker 3>count on God's sustaining grace being there. We'll get the

50
00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:53.000
<v Speaker 3>next verse on your outline first Peter five eleven.

51
00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:53.560
<v Speaker 2>Read it with me.

52
00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.879
<v Speaker 3>My purpose in writing is to encourage you and to

53
00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:00.680
<v Speaker 3>assure you that the grace of God God is with

54
00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:06.479
<v Speaker 3>you no matter what happens. Circle that no matter what happens,

55
00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:08.639
<v Speaker 3>God's sustaining.

56
00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.960
<v Speaker 2>Grace is going to be with you. It's going to

57
00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:11.400
<v Speaker 2>be there.

58
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.120
<v Speaker 3>Now, there are three things in life that can cause

59
00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:15.840
<v Speaker 3>you to stumble.

60
00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.039
<v Speaker 2>That can cause you to get cast off to the

61
00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:18.680
<v Speaker 2>side of the race.

62
00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:21.280
<v Speaker 3>It can cause you to not finish well in life,

63
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.280
<v Speaker 3>and god sustaining grace says, I will help you in

64
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.879
<v Speaker 3>each of those three situations. Number one, I can count

65
00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.159
<v Speaker 3>on God's sustaining grace to help me keep on standing

66
00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:35.759
<v Speaker 3>when I'm tempted, because temptation is the first thing that

67
00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:39.120
<v Speaker 3>causes us to stumble. The Bible says in first Peter

68
00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:41.439
<v Speaker 3>five eight. Watch out for the attacks from the devil,

69
00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.520
<v Speaker 3>your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion,

70
00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:47.639
<v Speaker 3>looking for some victim to devour. In other words, Satan

71
00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:51.879
<v Speaker 3>wants to eat your lunch. Okay, And he says, take

72
00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:55.120
<v Speaker 3>a firm stand against him. Circle that firm stand, and

73
00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.319
<v Speaker 3>so be strong in the faith. Now you may not

74
00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:02.719
<v Speaker 3>realize this, but the moment you become a believer, a

75
00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:07.319
<v Speaker 3>battle starts in your life because you're no longer Satan's property.

76
00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:09.240
<v Speaker 3>He's taking his hand off you and now you're in

77
00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.000
<v Speaker 3>God's hands.

78
00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:11.599
<v Speaker 2>But he doesn't like that.

79
00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:14.319
<v Speaker 3>And there's a battle for your life every single day

80
00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.040
<v Speaker 3>of your life, and you are forced with moral choices.

81
00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:18.639
<v Speaker 2>Am I gonna do right or wrong?

82
00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.040
<v Speaker 3>Good or bad? Am I going to be selfish? Or

83
00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.000
<v Speaker 3>am I gonna be unselfish? And those moral choices are

84
00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.279
<v Speaker 3>called temptation. Now, the Bible says we are all tempted.

85
00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:33.040
<v Speaker 3>Everybody is tempted. You never will outgrow temptation. The Bible

86
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.920
<v Speaker 3>says even Jesus was tempted. It says he was tempted

87
00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.480
<v Speaker 3>in all points like as we are, but he never sinned. Now,

88
00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.519
<v Speaker 3>the good news is this, if Jesus was tempted and

89
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.759
<v Speaker 3>he never sinned. Then it means it's not a sin

90
00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.959
<v Speaker 3>to be tempted. Does that make sense. It's not a

91
00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.560
<v Speaker 3>sin to be tempted. It's a sin to give in

92
00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:53.720
<v Speaker 3>to temptation. Some Christians when they're tempted to go, oh no,

93
00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:57.160
<v Speaker 3>How could I have ever thought that one like, oh no,

94
00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.480
<v Speaker 3>I'm some evil We could mean bad nasty person because

95
00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:03.399
<v Speaker 3>a thought went to my mind. You cannot control all

96
00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:05.879
<v Speaker 3>the thoughts that go through your mind, but you can

97
00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.959
<v Speaker 3>control and you can choose to not dwell on them.

98
00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.000
<v Speaker 3>In other words, I've said this many times. You can't

99
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.600
<v Speaker 3>stop the birds from going over your head, but you

100
00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:15.639
<v Speaker 3>can keep them from building the nest in your hair.

101
00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:21.480
<v Speaker 3>And so Satan gives you all kinds of ideas and

102
00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.040
<v Speaker 3>you don't have to feel intimidated or embarrassed or ashamed

103
00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.879
<v Speaker 3>of that. He just puts those ideas in your mind.

104
00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.480
<v Speaker 3>It's when you dwell on them that then they become wrong,

105
00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:34.639
<v Speaker 3>They become sin. Let's just take one air temptation, sexual temptation.

106
00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:39.759
<v Speaker 3>God made you to be a sexual person, a sexual being.

107
00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.439
<v Speaker 3>He either made you a man or a woman, and

108
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.079
<v Speaker 3>he gave you sexual feelings.

109
00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:46.839
<v Speaker 2>Now, those feelings are not wrong. They're not bad.

110
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.879
<v Speaker 3>They're not even sin, unless you use them in a

111
00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:55.360
<v Speaker 3>wrong way or apply them to a wrong person. Many

112
00:05:55.399 --> 00:06:00.639
<v Speaker 3>people misunderstand and confuse attraction with lust the same thing,

113
00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.480
<v Speaker 3>or they even confuse arousal with lust.

114
00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:04.360
<v Speaker 2>They're not the same thing.

115
00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:08.360
<v Speaker 3>If a man is sitting outside the good looking woman

116
00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:10.759
<v Speaker 3>walks by and he goes, wow, that is one good

117
00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:16.000
<v Speaker 3>looking woman. That's not lust, that's attraction. That's arousal. And

118
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.480
<v Speaker 3>he says, wow, look at what God's made there. That's

119
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:23.360
<v Speaker 3>not lust. If you're a woman and you see a

120
00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.360
<v Speaker 3>good looking hunk of a man and you go you're

121
00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.480
<v Speaker 3>attracted to him. You may even be aroused. You go, wow,

122
00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.399
<v Speaker 3>look at that good looking man. I mean people say

123
00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:32.439
<v Speaker 3>that about me all the time.

124
00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:46.199
<v Speaker 2>You know that certainly is not sin. What is lust.

125
00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.000
<v Speaker 2>Lust is not arousal. Lust is not attraction.

126
00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.879
<v Speaker 3>Lest is when you take a thought and you begin

127
00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:54.160
<v Speaker 3>to dwell on in your mind and you begin to

128
00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:58.160
<v Speaker 3>mentally have an affair with that person, You begin to

129
00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:02.199
<v Speaker 3>fantasize that person, you begin to imagine what would it

130
00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.279
<v Speaker 3>be like with that person. That's when you've crossed the line.

131
00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:08.079
<v Speaker 3>But it is not a sin to be tempted. It

132
00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:13.360
<v Speaker 3>is a sin to give into temptation. One Corinthians ten thirteen.

133
00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:17.480
<v Speaker 3>Let's read it aloud together. The temptations that you have

134
00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:21.319
<v Speaker 3>are the same ones that all people have. But you

135
00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:24.680
<v Speaker 3>can trust God. He will not let you be tempted

136
00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:29.120
<v Speaker 3>more than you can stand. When you are tempted, God

137
00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:32.519
<v Speaker 3>will also give you a way to escape. Then you

138
00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.639
<v Speaker 3>will be able to stand it. This is called God's

139
00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.959
<v Speaker 3>sustaining grace. Now, this is a terrific, fantastic promise. It

140
00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.439
<v Speaker 3>says here God will never allow more temptation on you

141
00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:45.839
<v Speaker 3>than He puts.

142
00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:46.879
<v Speaker 2>In you to bear it up.

143
00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.920
<v Speaker 3>When you say, oh, I just couldn't help myself, you're

144
00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:51.879
<v Speaker 3>not telling the truth.

145
00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:55.000
<v Speaker 2>I just couldn't help myself.

146
00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.480
<v Speaker 3>Because God says, I will provide the sustaining grace to

147
00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.240
<v Speaker 3>always give you a way of escape. It may mean

148
00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.360
<v Speaker 3>turn the channel, it may mean run out the door,

149
00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.959
<v Speaker 3>it may mean change the way you're thinking, but he

150
00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:10.879
<v Speaker 3>will provide a way of escape. Now, I know this

151
00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:15.480
<v Speaker 3>verse says that God gives us the ability to handle temptation,

152
00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.240
<v Speaker 3>and he says they're the same ones that everybody has.

153
00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:23.199
<v Speaker 3>We all in this room have the exact same temptations.

154
00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.879
<v Speaker 3>They're common to human beings. Now, the good news is

155
00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:29.399
<v Speaker 3>if temptations are common to man, that means that they

156
00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:33.480
<v Speaker 3>are common solutions. You see, I've heard this so many times.

157
00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.120
<v Speaker 3>People come to me as pastors say, you know, Rick,

158
00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:43.440
<v Speaker 3>my situation was unique, and because it was a unique circumstance,

159
00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:45.720
<v Speaker 3>then it must be okay for me to bend the

160
00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:47.919
<v Speaker 3>rules a little bit and just kind of ignore what

161
00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.399
<v Speaker 3>God says, because God would understand that in my situation,

162
00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.039
<v Speaker 3>this is a very unique pressure. And God says, no,

163
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:59.440
<v Speaker 3>it's not. You don't have any unique temptations. They're the

164
00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.399
<v Speaker 3>same common temptations at all of us have, So don't

165
00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.120
<v Speaker 3>use that excuse. And he says, God will make a

166
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:10.279
<v Speaker 3>way of escape. God sustaining grace helps me stand firm

167
00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.080
<v Speaker 3>when I'm tempted. More than that, number two, God sustaining

168
00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:19.360
<v Speaker 3>grace helps me keep standing when I'm tired, because sometimes

169
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.279
<v Speaker 3>I'm not tempted. Sometimes I'm just tired. Now, would you

170
00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:27.759
<v Speaker 3>agree with me that life is often exhausting? You get

171
00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.360
<v Speaker 3>I mean, some of you look pretty exhausted this morning.

172
00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:34.720
<v Speaker 3>You just gotta waggled in your eye, you know, and

173
00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:39.399
<v Speaker 3>you just gotta know wormed your way in. It requires

174
00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:41.440
<v Speaker 3>a lot of a lot of strength, a lot of

175
00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:46.960
<v Speaker 3>energy just to live life, especially especially when you're trying

176
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.440
<v Speaker 3>to do the right thing rather than the easiest thing.

177
00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:51.759
<v Speaker 3>I mean, now, there are a lot of people in life.

178
00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:52.960
<v Speaker 3>They don't try to do the right thing at all.

179
00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:54.600
<v Speaker 3>They just want to do whatever is the easiest thing

180
00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:57.639
<v Speaker 3>in life. That's what I'm gonna do. Well, that's no

181
00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.159
<v Speaker 3>problem at all. You can just coast through life. You

182
00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.240
<v Speaker 3>always do the easiest thing. But when you're coasting, you're

183
00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:08.759
<v Speaker 3>always going downhill. You're always headed down when you coast.

184
00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:11.200
<v Speaker 3>On the other hand, when you try to do the

185
00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.360
<v Speaker 3>right thing, even though it's not the easiest thing, that

186
00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:19.320
<v Speaker 3>requires energy, that requires effort, that requires strength, many of

187
00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:24.200
<v Speaker 3>you are the only believer where you work, and it's tough.

188
00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.080
<v Speaker 2>Do you ever get tired of doing what's right? Sure?

189
00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:32.279
<v Speaker 3>Sure you do, because it's tough moving against the flow,

190
00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.240
<v Speaker 3>swimming upstream, when all the cultures go on this way

191
00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.039
<v Speaker 3>and you're trying to do the right thing, it's tough.

192
00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:41.960
<v Speaker 3>It's tough being the only person in an office when

193
00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:44.720
<v Speaker 3>you know a bunch of them starts saying, let's tell

194
00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:46.480
<v Speaker 3>some dirty jokes. And you go, ah, I don't think

195
00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:50.240
<v Speaker 3>I'll be a part of that part. And so the

196
00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.720
<v Speaker 3>more you try to do what's right, the more energy

197
00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.080
<v Speaker 3>it's going to require. And yet God says, let us

198
00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:59.879
<v Speaker 3>not grow weary in doing right, for we will reap

199
00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.559
<v Speaker 3>harvest of blessing if we do not give up. But

200
00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:06.240
<v Speaker 3>where do you get the power to do the right

201
00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:08.320
<v Speaker 3>thing when you don't feel like doing it and when

202
00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:10.519
<v Speaker 3>you're dead tired? I mean, sometimes I don't want to

203
00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:13.480
<v Speaker 3>be nice to my family. I want to be cranky.

204
00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:16.200
<v Speaker 3>Sometimes I don't want to be nice to a clerk

205
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:19.519
<v Speaker 3>that's a jerk. I want to be grouchy, and sometimes

206
00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.200
<v Speaker 3>I want to be rude back to people who are

207
00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:24.600
<v Speaker 3>rude to me. Where do you get the energy to

208
00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.639
<v Speaker 3>do the right thing? Well, look at this verse second

209
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:30.679
<v Speaker 3>Corinthians one. It is God who gives us the ability

210
00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:34.320
<v Speaker 3>to stand firm. For Christ, there's that word again, stand firm.

211
00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.080
<v Speaker 3>He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as

212
00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:42.840
<v Speaker 3>his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Now,

213
00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.399
<v Speaker 3>I want you to circle the word Holy Spirit, and

214
00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.320
<v Speaker 3>then I want you to circle the phrase stand firm

215
00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:50.559
<v Speaker 3>and draw a line between them, because those two go together.

216
00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.159
<v Speaker 3>The key to the ability to not getting tired and

217
00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:56.840
<v Speaker 3>giving up doing the right thing when you know it's

218
00:11:56.840 --> 00:11:58.679
<v Speaker 3>the right thing to do is have the Holy Spirit

219
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:02.720
<v Speaker 3>in your heart. It's he who energizes you, not you

220
00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:05.360
<v Speaker 3>and your own power. Now look up here just a minute.

221
00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:08.360
<v Speaker 3>The reason why some of you are tired all the

222
00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.840
<v Speaker 3>time is because you are trying to live the Christian

223
00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:17.000
<v Speaker 3>life and that doesn't work. You're trying to be like Jesus.

224
00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.279
<v Speaker 3>You're trying to do good, You're trying to keep the

225
00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:24.799
<v Speaker 3>Ten Commandments, You're trying to be a person of integrity.

226
00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:28.879
<v Speaker 3>You're trying, trying, trying, and you get tired. And people say, oh,

227
00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.240
<v Speaker 3>it's so hard to be a Christian today. It's not hard.

228
00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:38.519
<v Speaker 3>It's impossible. The only perfect person who ever lived was

229
00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:40.600
<v Speaker 3>Jesus Christ. He's the only on one who ever lived

230
00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:41.840
<v Speaker 3>the Christian life perfectly.

231
00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:45.279
<v Speaker 2>And what you need to do is, rather than trying

232
00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:48.200
<v Speaker 2>to be like Jesus, let Jesus be Jesus in you.

233
00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:50.840
<v Speaker 2>Let Jesus be Jesus through you.

234
00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:54.679
<v Speaker 3>Stop trying, trying, trying, trying, trying, try and trying, and

235
00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:59.000
<v Speaker 3>just start trusting, trusting, trusting. The key to the Christian

236
00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:03.480
<v Speaker 3>life is not trying. It's trusting. It's not psych yourself up.

237
00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:05.879
<v Speaker 3>Work real hard and try to do your best and

238
00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:09.399
<v Speaker 3>perform so God will smile at you. No, it's relaxed.

239
00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:14.120
<v Speaker 3>Trust and let Christ live through you, and He will

240
00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.000
<v Speaker 3>give you the power you need. Probably the man who

241
00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:21.840
<v Speaker 3>was the most persistent man ever in the Bible was Moses.

242
00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.679
<v Speaker 3>He had incredible endurance. How did he keep on keeping

243
00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.039
<v Speaker 3>on in spite of the fact that he spent forty

244
00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:33.679
<v Speaker 3>years waiting in the wilderness and then another forty years

245
00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:38.360
<v Speaker 3>wandering in the wilderness leading a bunch of spiritual babies

246
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.200
<v Speaker 3>around the desert. How did he not give up? How

247
00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:45.679
<v Speaker 3>did he not get tired and quit? The Bible says

248
00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.960
<v Speaker 3>he had God's sustaining grace.

249
00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:51.279
<v Speaker 2>In his life.

250
00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.440
<v Speaker 3>That's how you keep on going when you're tired. Do

251
00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.000
<v Speaker 3>you know how many years it took Noah to build

252
00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:04.000
<v Speaker 3>the Ark? The Bible says, and twenty years. Can you

253
00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:08.960
<v Speaker 3>imagine waiting one hundred and twenty years for anything? He said, well,

254
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.559
<v Speaker 3>I plan to be dead twenty years prior to that. Well,

255
00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:14.240
<v Speaker 3>you know, in those days they lived a whole lot longer.

256
00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.000
<v Speaker 3>I don't know if they didn't have preservatives in the food,

257
00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:18.279
<v Speaker 3>or you know, they all took herbal life, or I

258
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.399
<v Speaker 3>don't know what they did, but you know there's something.

259
00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.320
<v Speaker 2>They were they lived longer.

260
00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:27.120
<v Speaker 3>But the point is is that Noah waited one hundred

261
00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:29.559
<v Speaker 3>and twenty years. How did he have the ability to

262
00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.559
<v Speaker 3>keep on keeping on when he was tired? Surely he

263
00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.360
<v Speaker 3>must have gotten tired building that arc. The Bible tells

264
00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.360
<v Speaker 3>us in Genesis chapter six, it says, Noah found grace

265
00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:43.919
<v Speaker 3>in the eyes of the Lord. God wants to give

266
00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.200
<v Speaker 3>you his power to do it, to do what you

267
00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:50.120
<v Speaker 3>need to do. Notice the next verse Philippians two thirteen,

268
00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:54.440
<v Speaker 3>read it with me, for God is at work within you,

269
00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:00.320
<v Speaker 3>giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose. Lotus,

270
00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:04.200
<v Speaker 3>it says, will and power the Christian life is not

271
00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:08.279
<v Speaker 3>a matter of willpower your willpower, but a matter of

272
00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:12.480
<v Speaker 3>God's will and God's power in your life. And when

273
00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.080
<v Speaker 3>God gives you the will and the power to do something,

274
00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.480
<v Speaker 3>you'll be able to do it. God never asks you

275
00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.080
<v Speaker 3>to do something he doesn't give you the power to do. Now,

276
00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:23.039
<v Speaker 3>would you agree that God has more power than you?

277
00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:27.440
<v Speaker 2>Obviously? For instance, God made the sun.

278
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:31.000
<v Speaker 3>Did you know that the sun produces more power in

279
00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.720
<v Speaker 3>one single second than all of the human race have

280
00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:39.720
<v Speaker 3>used throughout the entire history of the human race. More

281
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.559
<v Speaker 3>energy is produced in one second than we've all used

282
00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.200
<v Speaker 3>throughout history. Did you know that the sun has enough

283
00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:51.360
<v Speaker 3>energy to burn for thirty billion more years?

284
00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:55.639
<v Speaker 2>And yet God made the sun. That's the kind of

285
00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.799
<v Speaker 2>power he's got.

286
00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.080
<v Speaker 3>And then he comes to you and he says, by

287
00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.159
<v Speaker 3>the way, you need some power, or I will give

288
00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:02.879
<v Speaker 3>you the will and the power.

289
00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:04.840
<v Speaker 2>To handle it.

290
00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:08.200
<v Speaker 3>You see, because God's power is not unlimited, he never

291
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.480
<v Speaker 3>gets tired. You know, when it says in Creation on

292
00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.559
<v Speaker 3>the seventh Day God rested, it wasn't because he was tired.

293
00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:18.960
<v Speaker 3>It was because he was finished. He had just finished

294
00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:23.080
<v Speaker 3>with creation. The point is, God says, I will energize

295
00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:27.360
<v Speaker 3>those of you who trust me. Now there's another way.

296
00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.000
<v Speaker 3>God gives us his sustaining grace, not just when I'm tempted,

297
00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.440
<v Speaker 3>not just when I'm tired. But God's distaining grace gives

298
00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:37.759
<v Speaker 3>me the power to keep going when I'm troubled. When

299
00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:40.120
<v Speaker 3>I'm troubled, in other words, when I have problems, When

300
00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:44.039
<v Speaker 3>I have difficulties, Jesus said, in the world, you will

301
00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:44.960
<v Speaker 3>have trouble.

302
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:46.360
<v Speaker 2>He said expected.

303
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.639
<v Speaker 3>Don't be surprised, don't be blown away by it. You're

304
00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.360
<v Speaker 3>gonna have difficulties, you will have obstacles, you will have

305
00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:56.080
<v Speaker 3>a situations that you cannot handle, and he says, I

306
00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:56.759
<v Speaker 3>will give.

307
00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:57.279
<v Speaker 2>You the power.

308
00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:05.799
<v Speaker 1>Hey, thanks so much for joining us here on Pastor

309
00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:08.759
<v Speaker 1>Rick's Daily Hope. I've got some exciting news to share

310
00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.799
<v Speaker 1>with you today. Some generous friends of Daily Hope have

311
00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.359
<v Speaker 1>offered a ten thousand dollars matching grant, and that means

312
00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.079
<v Speaker 1>whatever amount you give to help share the hope of

313
00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.880
<v Speaker 1>Jesus worldwide is going to be matched up to ten

314
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.119
<v Speaker 1>thousand dollars. Here's Pastor Rick to tell you more.

315
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:26.920
<v Speaker 3>You know, I just want to take a quick second

316
00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:30.400
<v Speaker 3>to say thank you everybody. Because of your generosity, we're

317
00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.559
<v Speaker 3>able to take the hope of Jesus Christ into places

318
00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:37.000
<v Speaker 3>where there are no Bibles, no believers, and nobody of Christ,

319
00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.160
<v Speaker 3>no churches at all. Now, as you pray about giving,

320
00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:43.680
<v Speaker 3>I want to ask you to ask God about sending

321
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:47.039
<v Speaker 3>a gift that's the largest you're able to give, because

322
00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.559
<v Speaker 3>at this point of the year, we have a donor

323
00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.000
<v Speaker 3>who is offered to match your gift. That means what

324
00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:57.319
<v Speaker 3>you give will be doubled. We get twice the bang

325
00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:00.160
<v Speaker 3>for the buck in other words, so please respond on

326
00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:02.960
<v Speaker 3>quickly and a give in such a way that we

327
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.599
<v Speaker 3>can maximize it through this matching gift. And I want

328
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.079
<v Speaker 3>to ask you this, would you pray for us at

329
00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:11.799
<v Speaker 3>Daily Hope. Pray as we reach out to people around

330
00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:14.880
<v Speaker 3>the globe with hope that people will find Christ by

331
00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.880
<v Speaker 3>the thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.

332
00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:19.960
<v Speaker 3>So thank you for being a partner with me to

333
00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:21.119
<v Speaker 3>getting the message out.

334
00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.359
<v Speaker 1>Just go to pastorrig dot com to have your gift

335
00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:28.920
<v Speaker 1>matched up to ten thousand dollars. Once again, it's pastorig

336
00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:31.599
<v Speaker 1>dot com. Or you can text the word hope to

337
00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.079
<v Speaker 1>seven oh three to oh nine. That's the word hope

338
00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:37.960
<v Speaker 1>to seven oh three oh nine. And again, all of

339
00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.240
<v Speaker 1>us here at Daily Hope thank you so much for

340
00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:43.359
<v Speaker 1>your support. Your gift helps us share the hope of

341
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.759
<v Speaker 1>Christ with people everywhere. Be sure to join us next

342
00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:50.519
<v Speaker 1>time as we look into God's word for our daily hope.

343
00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:53.799
<v Speaker 1>This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and

344
00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.079
<v Speaker 1>your generous financial support