WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:03.839 Hi, I'm Rick Warren, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is going 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.080 to be here very soon. And Jesus said in Luke 3 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.560 fourteen twenty three, go out into the highways in the 4 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:11.599 countryside and urge everybody you find to come in so 5 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:14.000 that my house will be full. Who are you thinking 6 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.160 of to bring to your church? Whoever it is. I 7 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.559 want to challenge you to be a light at Christmas 8 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.320 and invite them to services at your church. 9 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.239 Hey, everyone, welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is 10 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.719 the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. We're so glad 11 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.280 you're here with us today. Rick is going to begin 12 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:39.719 the first part of a message called the Greatest Gifts 13 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.600 You'll Ever Get. This is a powerful Christmas message about 14 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:47.600 how God's love, grace, and purpose will bring you lasting 15 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.439 hope and joy. Now let's get right to Rick. 16 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.560 Now. The whole purpose of Christmas is summed up in 17 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.200 the most famous verse in the Bible. It's a verse 18 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.759 that we've all heard many times. John chapter three, verse sixteen, 19 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:06.480 and it says, this God so loved the world that 20 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:11.560 he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him 21 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:16.400 should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's the whole 22 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:19.840 purpose of Christmas. God so loved the world. By the way, 23 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:22.200 it all starts with love that he gave. You can 24 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.879 give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. God 25 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.439 so loved the world that he gave the very first 26 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:31.200 Christmas gift. The whole reason that we give gifts at 27 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:36.719 Christmas is because God started this whole tradition by giving 28 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.439 the first Christmas gift. And the first Christmas gift was 29 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:43.000 God's gift of his son to you. It's the first gift. 30 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.159 It's the most expensive gift you'll ever get, and it's 31 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:50.319 the greatest gift you're ever going to receive. Now follow 32 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.879 the logic of the Bible. Romans Chapter eight says this 33 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:58.680 on your outline. Since God did not spare his own son, 34 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:04.200 but he gave him up for us all, then can 35 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:09.879 we not expect that with him, God will freely give 36 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:15.199 us all his gifts. Notice the logic here. If God 37 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.400 loves you enough to send Jesus Christ to coming down 38 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:19.080 the cross for you, he loves you enough to take 39 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.240 care of all your other needs, pay your bills, help 40 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.599 you with your health relationships. He says, if God so 41 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:26.919 loved us so much that he gave his only son, 42 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.680 Can we not expect him to give us freely all 43 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.919 his other gifts? Circle the phrase with him? Notice with him. 44 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:38.199 With God's gift of Jesus, you get many other gifts 45 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.520 at the same time. Have you ever received a gift 46 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:43.319 inside of a gift? Sure you have, you know. You 47 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.759 get a box, you open it up, there's a box inside. 48 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:47.400 You open it up. There's a box inside that. You 49 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.599 open up, there's a box inside that, and inside one 50 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.840 gift is a bunch of other little gifts. At Christmas, 51 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.479 God's gift to you is Jesus Christ. That's the big gift. 52 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:02.080 That's the big box that God gives you. God so 53 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.960 loved you that he gave his only son to die 54 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.400 for you. That's the big gift. But inside the big 55 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:13.360 box are many other smaller gifts. All of God's gifts 56 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:18.080 are wrapped in Jesus. And when you get Jesus, you 57 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.879 get all the other gifts that He wants to give you. 58 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.000 I once did a study of this, and I made 59 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:24.879 a list of all the gifts that God wants to 60 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:28.319 give you because of Jesus. And in the New Testament 61 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.800 they're over fifty over fifty. In fact, the word gift 62 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.879 in gifts is you sixty six times in the New Testament. 63 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:37.639 It's one of the major themes of the Bible today. 64 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:41.759 I want us to just look at four four of 65 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:45.360 the Christmas gifts God wants to give you when you 66 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.879 receive the big gift of Jesus Christ. Now you've heard 67 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:55.240 people say the phrase the spirit of Christmas is what giving. Yeah, 68 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.520 the spirit of Christmas is giving. Well, I don't want 69 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:03.400 to shock you, but that's wrong. It's wrong. The Spirit 70 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:07.240 of Christmas is not giving. Yes, giving is a subset, 71 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.719 it's an application, but the spirit of Christmas is not 72 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:15.199 actually giving. The Spirit of Christmas is actually receiving God's 73 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:19.279 gift to you. You don't have anything to give until 74 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.800 you've been given what God gave to you, the very 75 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:26.399 first Christmas gift. Christmas is all about receiving God's gifts 76 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:28.839 to you. So let's get right into it. Four things 77 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:32.040 God wants to give you this Christmas. Number one, when 78 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:35.120 I accept Jesus Christ, the big gift. God so loved 79 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.879 me that he gave his son. When I accept the 80 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.839 big gift, God gives me number one a new identity. 81 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:47.800 He gives me a new identity. Some of you will 82 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:52.120 be able to relate to this letter, paster Rick. I 83 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:56.120 feel that for my entire life I have been defined 84 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:01.399 by other people. First, my mom constantlyted me to be 85 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:05.279 something or someone she wanted me to be, but I 86 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:09.079 had no interest in being. Sometimes my dad would join in, 87 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.839 and the pressure to perform and to please and to 88 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:18.240 gain their approval was overwhelming. I never felt validated growing 89 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:22.439 up for who I really was. Then in school, I 90 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:26.279 always felt pressured by my friends to fit in and 91 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.560 to be cool and to do things I didn't want 92 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:30.800 to do. It I didn't even like to do, and I 93 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:34.199 wore a mask and pretended a lot most of my 94 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:38.480 time through school. Then when I started dating, and later 95 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:42.000 when I married my spouse, I felt their constant pressure 96 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:45.839 to please them and the stuff my own feelings and 97 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.480 my needs and to be who I wanted to be. 98 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:53.839 I've worried so much my entire life about gaining the 99 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:58.000 approval of others. I don't know who I am or 100 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.480 what I'm supposed to be. That's an identity problem. That's 101 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.040 an identity problem. Do you know what the fastest growing 102 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:09.040 crime in the world is today? Identity theft? That's not 103 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:13.240 very encouraging. But the truth is we've all had our 104 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:18.360 identity stolen who you were made to be. Sometimes your 105 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.879 identity is stolen by your parents, and they want you 106 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:23.560 to be what they want you to be, not who 107 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.399 God made you to be. Sometimes your identity is stolen 108 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.639 by your friends, by your peers, by partners, by professionals. 109 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.240 Sometimes your identity stolen by problem. Sometimes your identity is 110 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.839 stolen by society, by culture, by the media that says 111 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:39.639 you're supposed to act this way and look this way, 112 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:41.759 and talk this way and smell this way, and if 113 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:45.040 you don't do that, you're not cool, and you end 114 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:49.759 up being pressured to conform to culture rather than being 115 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.959 who God designed you to be. And you don't even 116 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:57.439 know your true identity. Let me ask you a very 117 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:02.439 personal question. Where do you get your identity on? Who 118 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:04.519 you think you are? Where you on? What do you 119 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.560 base who you think you are? Most people get their 120 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:10.319 identity from one of three things. From their work, from 121 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.920 their relationships, or from things from work. They say to 122 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.319 my people, who are you? What are you? They'll say, 123 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:19.680 I'm an accountant, I'm a plumber, I'm a truck driver, 124 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.040 I'm a homemaker, whatever. No, that's what you do. That's 125 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:26.800 not who you are. That's not your identity. Some people 126 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.319 try to get their identity from relationships. I'm a mother, 127 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.040 I'm a dad, I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm 128 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:37.560 an uncle, I'm a grandparent, I'm a boss. Some people 129 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.079 try to find their identity through what they have. This 130 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:44.399 is my house, this is my bank account. These are 131 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.639 the things that I collect, and I find my identity 132 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:51.360 and my hobby. Let me give you some very important 133 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.160 advice as a pastor who loves you and who cares 134 00:07:54.199 --> 00:08:01.920 about you. Never, never, ever, ever base your identity on 135 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:08.639 something you can lose. Never. If you build your identity 136 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.800 around your husband and he dies and you live for 137 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:19.560 thirty years longer, what's your identity? If you build your 138 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:23.279 identity on your career, are on your job, and you 139 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:26.560 lose your job, you get fired, you get laid off. 140 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.519 What's your identity? If you build your identity on your 141 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.840 home and your things and it goes into foreclosure, Or 142 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.759 you build your identity on your wealth and your stock 143 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:41.759 portfolio goes upside down, or you build your identity on 144 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:45.600 how good looking you are. Beauty fades. Anybody, don't want 145 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.399 to give a testimony on that. I know guys who 146 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.120 in high school built their entire identity on their athletic ability. 147 00:08:54.159 --> 00:09:00.679 They're called jocks, and now they're just jokes because they've 148 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.960 lost that ability. They can't catch that ball the way 149 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.279 they used to catch it. If you build your identity 150 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:08.799 on something that can be taken from you, you're going 151 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:13.879 to lose your idea. It's not your true identity. What 152 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.039 am I saying. The only thing that cannot be taken 153 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:21.879 away from you is this God's unconditional love for you. 154 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:25.039 And so if you want to have your true identity 155 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:28.320 and your new identity and your permanent identity, you must 156 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:30.840 receive it from God and build it on the fact 157 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.159 that you are loved by God unconditionally, and nobody can 158 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:39.240 take that from you. Here's what the Bible says tewod Corinthians, 159 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:44.360 chapter five. When someone accepts Christ, that's the big gift. 160 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.960 I accept the big gift. God so loved the world 161 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.320 that he gave his son. When someone accepts Christ, he 162 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.840 becomes a brand new person inside circle. That brand new person, 163 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:58.759 new identity. He's not the same anymore. A new life 164 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.039 has begun. Jesus called it being born again. He says, 165 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:04.919 it's like getting a fresh start, it's like starting over. 166 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:06.960 It's like not turn over new leaf. You get a 167 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:10.279 whole new life, he says. When you accept the big 168 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:14.600 gift of Christmas, God's love for you, God's son, he says, 169 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.919 you get a whole new idea. And what does it mean. 170 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:20.440 Does that mean that now you're perfect, That now you 171 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:23.000 never sin, that now you never struggle? Of course not. 172 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:25.879 That doesn't mean that at all. It just means you're 173 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:30.000 not identified with your sin, You're not identified with your struggle, 174 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:33.480 you're not identified with your past. You have a new identity. 175 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:38.039 I'm a child of God. It's new, it's true, and 176 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.399 it's permanent. You see. One of the biggest mistakes people 177 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:44.480 make is they let their failures define them. They let 178 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.200 their fears define them, They let their faults define them. 179 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:50.080 They let their sins and their struggles define them. This 180 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.720 is why I love Celebrate Recovery. Our recovery program started 181 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.399 here at Saddleback and now using tens of thousands of churches. 182 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:00.240 At Celebrate Recovery, we say this, people will I'm in. 183 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.600 They'll stand up and they'll say Hi, my name's Bill, 184 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:07.360 and I am a child of God who struggles with alcohol. 185 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.799 You are not your sin. You are not your struggle. 186 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.639 You are not your weakness. Your illness is not your identity. 187 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:20.519 Your chemistry is not your character, your sin is not yourself. 188 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.799 You are a child of God. That's a new identity. 189 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.279 And God says that gives you a whole different position 190 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:31.919 to come from. He says, when you accept God's Christmas 191 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:33.919 gift Jesus, God so loved the world that he gave 192 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.120 his son, he says, the first thing you get is 193 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:38.039 a new identity. By the way, do you know what 194 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:42.679 the ceremony is called when we publicly identify that we 195 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:44.799 have a new identity, Do you know what that ceremony 196 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:50.720 is called? Baptism? Baptism says, I got a new id 197 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:53.320 I'm not the same woman I used to be. I'm 198 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:55.639 not the same man I used to be. And so 199 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.000 when we take a person and we put them under 200 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.440 the water, just like Jesus was, is a symbol of 201 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.320 a burial and a resurrection. I've died to my old 202 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.480 way of living and I'm a new person. I got 203 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:09.559 a new idea. I'm not the same woman I used 204 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:11.080 to be. I'm not the same man I used to be. 205 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.320 I still make mistakes, I still blow it, but I 206 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:17.720 got a new identity. I am forgiven and loved by God. 207 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:21.480 Have you been baptized? If you haven't, I would encourage 208 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.840 you to do so. Now. The starting point of a 209 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.960 new identity is this. You got to stop seeing yourself 210 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.039 the way everybody else sees you, and you got to 211 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.679 start seeing yourself the way God sees you. You got to 212 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:36.039 stop listening to the lives of the world, and you've 213 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:39.159 got to start listening to the truth of God, what 214 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.480 God says about you. You see, you don't know your 215 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:45.799 true identity. Your parents don't even know your true identity. 216 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.279 The only person who knows your true identity is God, 217 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:50.679 who made you the creator. He knows what he made 218 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.720 you to be. And you got to stop listening to 219 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:57.799 the lives the world says this to you. If you're 220 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:01.159 not the most beautiful, you don't matter. If you're not 221 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:04.039 the most educated, you don't matter. If you're not the 222 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.960 most talented, if you're not the most athletic, you don't matter. 223 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:11.120 If you don't get straight a's, you don't matter. If 224 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.799 you're not the most famous, you don't matter, which means 225 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:17.799 ninety nine point nine percent of us don't matter. That's 226 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.200 what the world says, because there aren't enough superstars in 227 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:24.120 the world. And all growing up you heard lies, people 228 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:27.399 saying you're never gonna amount to anything. Who do you 229 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.080 think you are? Why would you try that? Why can't 230 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:34.039 you be like your brother? You're worthless, you're too old, 231 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.360 you're too young, you're too fat, you're too ugly, you 232 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.320 don't have the talent, and on and on and on. 233 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.360 You've heard these voices over and over and over. You 234 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:49.080 need to get your ID from God. God says you 235 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:54.960 are valuable. God says you are lovable. God says you 236 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.200 are forgivable for the things you've done wrong. God says 237 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.759 you are capable. He's given you talents. God says you 238 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:04.720 are usable. God says you are blessable. You need to 239 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:07.120 listen to what God says. Here's what Jesus said in 240 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:12.120 John chapter eight. He said, if you follow my words, 241 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:16.120 you will know the truth, and the truth will what 242 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:21.120 set you free. Everybody in America knows the last part 243 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.320 of that phrase, the truth will set you free. Almost 244 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.159 nobody in America knows the first part of the sentence, 245 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:32.120 which says, if you listen to me, says Jesus. If 246 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.000 you follow my words, then you're gonna know the truth, 247 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:37.000 and then the truth will sauch you free truth. You're 248 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.080 not gonna learn truth from television. You're not gonna learn 249 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.080 truth from magazines. You're gonna learn truth from your friends. 250 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:46.720 They don't know the truth about you. God knows the 251 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:50.600 truth about you, but you're not gonna know it until 252 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.720 you get a new idea, and that comes in the 253 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:57.039 big package of Jesus Christ. So the first thing I 254 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:01.399 need for transformation is the truth new identity. But then 255 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:04.120 I need more than that. I need power to change. 256 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:06.799 And that's the second gift God asked for you. And 257 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:09.879 that is God gives me a new ability, not just 258 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:14.960 a new identity. God gives me a new ability. He 259 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.919 gives me a new power, a new energy, a new strength, 260 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:21.879 a new capacity. See, I'm not just depending on willpower 261 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.519 anymore to change. You have tried to change things in 262 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:27.879 your life so many times and it doesn't work. And 263 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.080 you have set New Year's gold and they last about 264 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.519 a week, maybe a month, may at the most three months. 265 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:38.559 Why because willpower doesn't work. You eventually get tired of 266 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.639 doing what you're trying to do and you give up. 267 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:44.600 You don't need willpower, you need God power. And God says, 268 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.200 I'm going to give you a new ability, and it's 269 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.679 a new ability inside of you. I'm going to not 270 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.000 just be around you. I'm going to put my spirit 271 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.759 inside you. Look at this verse. The Bible says in 272 00:15:55.879 --> 00:16:00.200 Romans chapter five, God has poured out his love. I've 273 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.840 noticed it's all about love. God has poured out his 274 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:08.080 love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit. 275 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.480 Who is God's gift to you. Circle God's gift to you. 276 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:15.200 God's Spirit is his second gift. He says, I'm not 277 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.399 only going to help you. I'm not only going to 278 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:19.279 be around you. I'm not only going to be with you. 279 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.360 I'm not going to be working on you. I'm going 280 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.480 to be working in you. I'm going to put my 281 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:28.120 spirit inside of you. That's what happens when you receive 282 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.679 the gift of God's Christmas gift Jesus Christ. I'm going 283 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.320 to put God's spirit in you. The next verse is 284 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:37.039 this in the Bible. Now now that you have God's 285 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:40.639 Spirit in you, Now, God works in you now, just 286 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:43.440 with you, for you and around you, in you by 287 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:48.960 giving you both the desire and the ability to fulfill 288 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:51.480 His good purpose for you. You know what the problem 289 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.519 is with you and with me. We know the right 290 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:57.240 things to do. We know the changes we want to 291 00:16:57.240 --> 00:16:58.759 make in our lives. We know how we'd like to 292 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:00.759 be different at the end of this year. We have 293 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.480 the desire to improve our lives. Everybody does has a 294 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.160 desire to improve their lives. We have the desire, we 295 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:11.160 don't have the ability. And yet God says, I'm going 296 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.559 to give you the desire and the ability to do 297 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:15.799 my purpose for your life. And how am I going 298 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.319 to get it? By putting my spirit inside of you. 299 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.119 God gives you the power to start over when you've 300 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:25.440 blown it. God gives you the power to make changes 301 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.359 you can't change. God gives you the ability you need, 302 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.559 and God gives you the power to keep going. It's 303 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:35.720 about god power, not will power. What you need is grace, 304 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:40.480 not guilt. Guilt does not work. Anytime you try to 305 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.200 change your life by guilt, it ain't gonna last because 306 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:46.240 guilt doesn't last. So don't ever try to motivate yourself 307 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:49.599 to change simply out of guilt. It doesn't work. You 308 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.039 don't need guilt in your life. You need God's grace. 309 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.599 That's the power to change. You don't need law and legalism, 310 00:17:55.799 --> 00:18:00.240 you need love. Love is what changes us. More on 311 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:03.599 filled with God's love, the more power I have to change. 312 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.400 Look at the next verse two Timothy one seven. For 313 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:08.920 God does not give us a spirit of fear, but 314 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.880 instead he fills us with power and love and self discipline. 315 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:16.559 Circle those three things, power, love, and self discipline. Would 316 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.160 you like more power yes? More love yes, more self 317 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.359 discipline yes. Then you need to get God's spirit in 318 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.599 your life inside you. God says, I don't fill you 319 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.799 with a spirit of fear. I give you the three 320 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.519 ingredients you have to have to transform your life. If 321 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.039 you want to change your life this next year, you're 322 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:38.000 gonna need truth. That's a new identity about you. You're 323 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.519 gonna need power. That's a new ability that God gives you, 324 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.920 and you're gonna need The third thing is you're gonna 325 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:47.599 need support. That's love. You're gonna need love, love and support. 326 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:50.640 And so that's the third gift God gives you. God says, 327 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.880 I want to give you a new identity, a new ability, 328 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:55.519 a number three. I want to give you a new community. 329 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.519 This is the third gift wrapped up in the big 330 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:03.519 box of Jesus, a new community. God says, I'm going 331 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:06.759 to give you a family, a spiritual family to support 332 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:09.440 you in doing the right thing. You see, you weren't 333 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.279 meant to go through life all alone. You never were. 334 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:15.599 You were meant to know God, and you were meant 335 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.880 to have a family around you that supports you. We 336 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:21.359 always change better in a group than we do on 337 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.000 our own. So why most diets and most personal self 338 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.160 health plans don't work Because it's all about you and 339 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:29.359 you don't have any spiritual family to support you. The 340 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.240 Bible says God created an entire universe because he wanted 341 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:36.079 a family. Look at this verse Ephesians, chapter one. The 342 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.920 Bible says, because of his love. Remember, it all comes 343 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:42.000 back to God's love. God so loved that he gave 344 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:47.000 because of his love. God's unchanging plan has always been 345 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:51.880 to adopt us into his own family by bringing us 346 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.440 to himself through Jesus Christ. Now, once you circle the 347 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:58.720 word adopt, you're not automatically in God's family. You have 348 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:02.920 to be adopted into it. And how does he adopt us? 349 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.319 Circle through Jesus Christ. That's how he adopts us through 350 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.000 Jesus Christ, God says, I don't want you to just 351 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.640 believe in me, I want you to belong to my family. 352 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.799 Thanks so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. 353 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:23.240 You know your prayers and financial support have a huge 354 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:27.000 impact on millions of people here and around the world, 355 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.240 so we really appreciate that. Thank you. And now Rick's 356 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:32.440 going to share a letter from one of our listeners 357 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.720 who says Daily Hope is making a real difference in 358 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:36.599 their life. 359 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:38.640 Today, I want to share with you a letter from 360 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:43.000 Debbie that really truly touched my heart. She wrote, Pastor Rick, 361 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:45.920 I'm not sure how many times I thought about emailing you, 362 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:49.759 but I didn't. I'm not sure why, but today I 363 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:52.480 listened to your Daily Hope message on facing giants and 364 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.480 life and work, and I knew that I needed to 365 00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:59.519 say thank you. My story started with my husband of 366 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.519 almost torny four years died suddenly at our home of 367 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.599 a blood clot He was just forty nine years old, 368 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.440 and my daughter was the one who called nine one one, 369 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.519 and life just seemed to stop. We were in shock 370 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.119 after that death. At the funeral, my brother told me 371 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.559 about your message series. How to get through what you're 372 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:22.680 going through. So I listened and I held on to 373 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.039 those words and what Kay had spoken, not knowing how 374 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:29.799 significant they would become. My old son had been struggling 375 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:34.119 with what we now think was undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He'd 376 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.599 been struggling for about three years, and eleven weeks after 377 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:43.519 my husband died, he took his life. Life stopped again. 378 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:48.279 I have an incredible family and a group of friends, 379 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:50.920 and they, along with my faith, got me and my 380 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.279 daughter through things I never thought I could live through. 381 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:58.759 But the resource that I kept turning to and listening 382 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:02.000 to over and over again was your series How to 383 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:05.240 Get Through what You're going through When you lost your son, 384 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:10.039 You and Kay truly understood how I felt and how 385 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:13.119 I still feel. We're part of a club that nobody 386 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:16.119 wants to be a member of. Rick, I've learned so 387 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:19.039 many things through this journey of grief, but the most 388 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.519 important is that God keeps his promises and he does 389 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.319 bring beauty out of ashes. So I want to thank 390 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:30.960 you and Kay from the bottom of my heart for 391 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:35.720 sharing your story and not wasting your pain. Even though 392 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:39.160 we've never met, I feel as though we're friends where 393 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:43.200 we are, and I ask God daily to help me 394 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:47.160 use my pain to help others. I still struggle some 395 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:50.759 days with guilt and grief, but I know that God 396 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:55.680 is faithful with me every step of the journey. With 397 00:22:55.799 --> 00:23:01.039 a thankful heart. Debbi, Well, Debbie, my dear sir. This 398 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:05.519 touched me obviously your message and as somebody who's walked 399 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:09.319 in your shoes having lost the sun, I can tell 400 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.200 you without a doubt that God is faithful. And I 401 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.000