Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry
Speaker 1: of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in our series
Speaker 1: called Strategies for Stressful Times. In these lessons, Rick SHARE's
Speaker 1: biblical wisdom for navigating difficult and stressful times so that
Speaker 1: you can experience God's peace and thrive in any situation. Now,
Speaker 1: in just a bit, we're going to tell you how
Speaker 1: you can get a very special copy of Pastor Rick's
Speaker 1: number one selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, with a
Speaker 1: classic leather cover. As you journey through this book, you'll
Speaker 1: discover the purposes you were created for and begin living
Speaker 1: the life of significance you were meant to live. This
Speaker 1: is a limited time offer, so go to pastorick dot
Speaker 1: com right now to find out more, or text the
Speaker 1: word Hope to eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Now here's Pastor Rick Warren with part two of a messa.
Speaker 1: It's called how to Be Happy No Matter what happened.
Speaker 2: While Paul was in prison, there were people who criticized
Speaker 2: his ministry. While he's down, they're kicking him all he's down.
Speaker 2: They slandered Paul, they judged Paul, they criticized There were
Speaker 2: those who were his friends, who supported his ministry, they
Speaker 2: were companions and friends. There were those who competed with
Speaker 2: his ministry while he's in prison, taking advantage that he's
Speaker 2: off out of circulation. And there were those who undermined
Speaker 2: his ministry. They actually attacked him and tried to destroy
Speaker 2: him while he was in prison. And if Philippians Chapter one,
Speaker 2: the next couple of verses, verses fifteen, sixteen to seventeen,
Speaker 2: Paul describes four kinds of people. Three of these four
Speaker 2: kinds of people are killed. Joyce and guess what. You're
Speaker 2: going to have all four of these hope in your life.
Speaker 2: Hopefully you're gonna have companions. But there are critics, there
Speaker 2: are companions, there are competitors, and there are challengers. You're
Speaker 2: going to have all four of these in your life,
Speaker 2: and if you don't know how to deal with them,
Speaker 2: you're not going to be happy.
Speaker 3: Much of your life.
Speaker 2: Verse and verse fifteen Paul had critics, and he says this,
Speaker 2: it's true that some people preach Christ because they're jealous
Speaker 2: of us, and they like to argue.
Speaker 3: They're jealous of us.
Speaker 2: They like to argue, you know the word they're eras
Speaker 2: in Greek means they love to argue, they love conflict,
Speaker 2: they enjoy creating controversy. These people hang out on social media.
Speaker 2: They're contentious, they're divisive, they're critical, they love conflict, they
Speaker 2: love debate people in the controversy. They're on social media
Speaker 2: all the time. They've ever heard a preacher on the
Speaker 2: radio or the television like that? He bates everybody by
Speaker 2: being provocative and being critical of somebody else. Ever read
Speaker 2: a blogger or someone in social media like that? Notice that,
Speaker 2: Paul says, the critics motives are often jealousy, and they
Speaker 2: want to have the influence you've got, and so they start.
Speaker 3: Trying to tear you down.
Speaker 2: Now, there are few things in life that cause you
Speaker 2: to lose your happiness faster than criticism.
Speaker 3: I mean, we all want people to.
Speaker 2: Like us, Okay, But here is an important principle you
Speaker 2: need to remember if you're going to be happy life.
Speaker 2: You don't need other people's approval or permission to be happy.
Speaker 2: You don't need other people's approval to be happy. You
Speaker 2: don't need other people's permission to be a happy. Happiness
Speaker 2: is a choice. You're happy as you choose to be.
Speaker 3: So.
Speaker 2: He deals with critics in verse fifteen. Then in sixteen
Speaker 2: he talks about his companions. Now, these are the good people.
Speaker 2: You want these people in your life, he says. Other
Speaker 2: people preach from genuine goodwill, and they do so out
Speaker 2: of love, and they know that God has given me
Speaker 2: the work of defending the Gospel. You want to have
Speaker 2: some friends in your life. You don't need a lot,
Speaker 2: but you need a couple really good friends. That's why
Speaker 2: we always talk about being in a small group. If
Speaker 2: you're not in a small group, you need to get
Speaker 2: in a small group. You need a group of companions
Speaker 2: who will help you through the tough times in your life.
Speaker 2: A small group I'm in right now, I've been in
Speaker 2: I think over twenty years, and it has helped me
Speaker 2: many times. They are a source of encouragement and happiness
Speaker 2: for me. In the next verse, Paul says, you know
Speaker 2: you're gonna have competitors in life. And he says this,
Speaker 2: other people preach christ insincerely from a spirit of selfish ambition.
Speaker 2: You know there're gonna be people in your life you help.
Speaker 2: You're gonna have competitors, people who want to compete with you.
Speaker 2: They're ego driven, and one of the things they do
Speaker 2: you can tell them that they're competitive. Is they put
Speaker 2: down others in an attempt to make themselves look good. Now,
Speaker 2: let me just say this, whether you're a business person,
Speaker 2: or you're a teenager, or you're a homemaker, whatever, competitors
Speaker 2: who are trying to look like they're trying to compete
Speaker 2: with you over what your house looks like, or what
Speaker 2: your job is, or who's your best friend at school.
Speaker 2: Competitors will rob your happiness if you let them. But
Speaker 2: you can't. Happiness is a choice. Then, the second part
Speaker 2: of her seventeen, he says they're challengers. There are people
Speaker 2: out there who really just don't like you, their enemies.
Speaker 2: And he says, others want to stir up more trouble
Speaker 2: for me.
Speaker 3: What a thing?
Speaker 2: People actually want to stir up trouble for other people? Yeah,
Speaker 2: they do, and they find their value in creating trouble
Speaker 2: for other people. I heard about somebody in a neighborhood
Speaker 2: once and they said she's only happy when she's making
Speaker 2: trouble for the neighbors. He says, others just want to
Speaker 2: stir up more trouble for me and add pain while
Speaker 2: I'm in prison. Now, these are the trouble makers. And
Speaker 2: the crazy makers of life. And you know what their
Speaker 2: primary tool is gossip.
Speaker 3: Gossip.
Speaker 2: Gossip can ruin your happiness very quickly too, just like
Speaker 2: criticism can. Now you're going to have all four of
Speaker 2: these in your life. Critics and you know, companions and
Speaker 2: the people who compete with you, and then they're these
Speaker 2: crazy makers or they're always just trying to tear you down. Now,
Speaker 2: regardless of the people in your life, people of the
Speaker 2: second kill joy in your life. Look at Paul's attitude.
Speaker 2: It's the next verse Philippians, Chapter one, verse eighteen, and
Speaker 2: Paul says, this, you know what other people do all
Speaker 2: these four he just mentioned, what others do doesn't really matter.
Speaker 2: This is the Bible. What others do doesn't really matter.
Speaker 2: The important thing is that in every way, whether for
Speaker 2: right or wrong reasons, the message of crisis being shared.
Speaker 2: So circle this, I am happy. Circle that I am happy,
Speaker 2: and I will continue to be happy.
Speaker 3: Circle that.
Speaker 2: What is Paul modeling here? He's saying, I'm not going
Speaker 2: to let anybody, whether it's a critic or a companion,
Speaker 2: or a competitor or a crazy maker, or it's an
Speaker 2: enemy whatever, he says, I'm just not I'm not gonna
Speaker 2: let anybody steal my happiness.
Speaker 3: Not only could Payne not take it away, people can't
Speaker 3: take it away.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be
Speaker 1: back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson.
Speaker 1: If you've missed any part of today's teaching, you can
Speaker 1: listen online anytime at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: Do you ever wonder if your life really matters? Or
Speaker 4: what on earth are you here for? Pastor Rick says
Speaker 4: God has a good plan and purpose for your life,
Speaker 4: and in his best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life,
Speaker 4: he lays out an easy to follow roadmap for your
Speaker 4: spiritual journey, a journey that will transform your life. As
Speaker 4: you go through this book, you'll discover that real meaning
Speaker 4: and significance come from understanding and fulfilling God's purpose for
Speaker 4: you here on earth, and how living out the purpose
Speaker 4: you are created for moves you beyond mere survival and
Speaker 4: access to a life of significance, the life you were
Speaker 4: meant to live. For a limited time, we are offering
Speaker 4: this timeless classic and a special leather edition featuring gold
Speaker 4: foil cover art and gilded pages. It's a great addition
Speaker 4: to your personal library, and it also makes a wonderful
Speaker 4: gift with eternal benefits. Get your special edition of The
Speaker 4: Purpose Driven Life with a beautiful leather cover today as
Speaker 4: a thank you for your gift to help take the
Speaker 4: hope of Jesus to people around the world through Daily Hope.
Speaker 4: Quantities are very limited, so act quickly. Go to pastorick
Speaker 4: dot com right now to get your copy. That's pastorick
Speaker 4: dot com. Or you can call it eight hundred six
Speaker 4: hundred five zero zero four. That's eight hundred at six
Speaker 4: hundred five zero zero four. Thank you so much for
Speaker 4: your support, and don't forget to tell us that you
Speaker 4: listen to Daily Hope on the radio.
Speaker 1: Now back to More from God's Word with Pastor Rick Warren.
Speaker 2: Now, the fact is the more blessed you are in life,
Speaker 2: the more you're going to be attacked. Sometimes I'm asked
Speaker 2: by people about the people who criticize me, and my
Speaker 2: response is, always, what is this? What other people think
Speaker 2: of me in no way controls what I think of them,
Speaker 2: and I don't have to worry about it. You know,
Speaker 2: a lot of times you're worried about what other people think.
Speaker 2: Let me tell you something. They're not thinking about you
Speaker 2: most of the time, they're thinking about themselves, So why
Speaker 2: worry about it? Philippians, Chapter one, verse twenty eight, verse
Speaker 2: twenty eight, in the same chapters as this, be fearless,
Speaker 2: Be fearless, no matter who opposes you, it will be
Speaker 2: assigned to them of their downfall, and that God is
Speaker 2: with you and that He's going to save you. You know,
Speaker 2: I can identify with this. After Matthew died, we were subjected,
Speaker 2: can I, to the most vile accusations and things and
Speaker 2: criticisms and armchair psychology, and people used Matthew's death to
Speaker 2: really try to harm us, and they said some of
Speaker 2: the most mean spirited things, and yet we made it through.
Speaker 2: And then I actually, after we went through that gauntlet
Speaker 2: of months, six months of it, I really thought, is
Speaker 2: that all you got? Is that the worst thing you
Speaker 2: can say? And I remember telling Kay one time, after
Speaker 2: going through all of the criticism after Matthew's death, was
Speaker 2: to honestly, I said to her, Kay, Honestly, I feel fearless.
Speaker 2: I feel like I've been through the worst possible situation
Speaker 2: and the worst criticisms and attacks you can imagine, and
Speaker 2: I'm still standing by God's grace and by the power
Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit, and.
Speaker 3: I feel fearless. What more can they do?
Speaker 2: And it almost it didn't completely cure me, but it
Speaker 2: almost cured me of caring about what other people think.
Speaker 2: Jesus said it like this when he gave the Beatitudes
Speaker 2: and the Sermon on the Mouth in Matthew five.
Speaker 3: He said, blessed are you.
Speaker 2: When men shall revile you and persecute you, and say
Speaker 2: all manner of evil against you falsely. For my sake,
Speaker 2: he said, rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is
Speaker 2: your reward in Heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets
Speaker 2: who we are before you. In other words, don't worry,
Speaker 2: be happy now. Paul explains why you can be happy
Speaker 2: no matter what. In verse twenty nine and thirty of
Speaker 2: the Philippians, Chapter one, he says this, for you have
Speaker 2: been given, you Christians, You have been given not only
Speaker 2: the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege
Speaker 2: of suffering for him. Did you know that's part of
Speaker 2: being a Christian, The privilege of trusting Christ, the privilege
Speaker 2: of suffering for Christ. We are in this fight together.
Speaker 2: The Bible says, you have seen me suffer Paul's talking.
Speaker 2: You have seen me suffer for him. Remember he's in
Speaker 2: prison as he's these words. You've seen me suffer for
Speaker 2: him in the past, and you know that I am
Speaker 2: still in the midst of a great struggle. I'd say,
Speaker 2: what do I want to say on this second point?
Speaker 2: Summed up is this, if you live for the approval
Speaker 2: of other people, you get your happiness from the approval
Speaker 2: of other people, whether it's likes on your Facebook page
Speaker 2: or how many people give you a thumbs up on
Speaker 2: your Instagram or whatever. If you live for the approval
Speaker 2: of others, you will die by their disapproval. Okay, that's
Speaker 2: the wrong way to find happiness. You have to learn
Speaker 2: you don't need anybody else's approval to be happy. You
Speaker 2: were as happy as you choose to be first Thatsalonians
Speaker 2: five eighteen. No matter what happens, That's the theme of
Speaker 2: this message. No matter what happens, always be thankful for
Speaker 2: this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: Notice this is God's will. You want to be in
Speaker 2: the center of God's will. Always be grateful and thankful,
Speaker 2: even no matter what happens. No matter what other people say,
Speaker 2: what other people do. Okay, now let's review. I've already
Speaker 2: given you two principles. You can be happy no matter
Speaker 2: what happens in your life if you choose to do
Speaker 2: two things. The first, remember that God can bring good
Speaker 2: out of anything. That's Romans eight twenty eight. And so
Speaker 2: you look at the situation with faith not fear. Just
Speaker 2: start saying, God, help me to look at everything that
Speaker 2: happens in my life with faith not fear. Look at problems,
Speaker 2: look at pain, look at people, look at pressure with
Speaker 2: faith not fear. And then number two, never let what
Speaker 2: other people say, oh what other people do control your attitude.
Speaker 2: These are powerful. We could just stop right there, but
Speaker 2: Paul has two more keys to being happy in life
Speaker 2: no matter what happens. Third number three, I can be
Speaker 2: happy no matter what happens. If I choose to write
Speaker 2: this down, trust God to always work things out.
Speaker 3: That's the third key.
Speaker 2: I must trust God to always work things out, whether
Speaker 2: it's pain or pressure, or problems or people. This is
Speaker 2: the third faith factor in happiness. You're gonna either worry
Speaker 2: about what's happening in your life, or you're gonna worship.
Speaker 2: You're gonna panic, or you're going to pray. You're gonna
Speaker 2: have faith, or you're gonna have fear. This is verse
Speaker 2: nineteen in Philippians chapter one. He says this, I will
Speaker 2: continue to rejoice. Now circle again the word will. If
Speaker 2: you're taking notes on the outline, that's a choice. It's
Speaker 2: a choice of the will. It's a decision. I will
Speaker 2: continue to rejoice. Why for I know that as you
Speaker 2: pray for me, and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ
Speaker 2: helps me, all that happened will all turn out for
Speaker 2: my deliverance. Remember he's writing this from prison. He has
Speaker 2: no physical evidence of this. This is a statement of faith,
Speaker 2: not of fear. Now in that verse I just read.
Speaker 2: If you're looking at it still, Paul gives four sources
Speaker 2: of strength in tough times. I want you to circle
Speaker 2: these four sources. First, I have God's perspective on my problem.
Speaker 2: That helps me be happy. Notice it says, for I know,
Speaker 2: circle the word No, that's God's perspective.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 2: I don't guess, I don't imagine, I don't hope, I
Speaker 2: don't think.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 2: I have God's perspective. And I'm looking at my situation,
Speaker 2: the pain, the problems, the pressures the people. I'm looking
Speaker 2: at it from God's point of view. I have God's
Speaker 2: perspective of my problem.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 2: Second, I have people praying for me. Did you notice
Speaker 2: that's circle the word pray. You're praying for me. That
Speaker 2: gives makes me hapy. Number three, I have the Holy
Speaker 2: Spirit helping me, he says, I've got the spirit of
Speaker 2: God in me. And then number four, he says, I
Speaker 2: have the faith that God will work it out for good.
Speaker 2: Therefore I choose to be happy. He says, I will.
Speaker 2: That's a choice. Now, trusting God. When you don't see
Speaker 2: the whole picture and you can't see the end of
Speaker 2: the story, Trusting God gives you hope, It gives you courage,
Speaker 2: and it gives you happiness. Look at the next verse
Speaker 2: there in Philippians, Chapter one, verse twenty. It is my
Speaker 2: eager expectation. That's faith and hope. That's hope.
Speaker 3: It's my eager.
Speaker 2: Expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed. Remember
Speaker 2: he's in prison as he's writing this, but that with
Speaker 2: full courage. Now, as always, Christ will be honored in
Speaker 2: my body, whether by life or by death. He goes,
Speaker 2: I don't know the end of my story. I don't
Speaker 2: know if I'm going to get out of this prison
Speaker 2: and be a free man again, or if they're going
Speaker 2: to feed me to the lions, or I'm going to
Speaker 2: be set in with gladiators or just be hung or crucified.
Speaker 2: He said, I don't know whether by life or death
Speaker 2: I am trusting God. I love this verse Hebrews ten
Speaker 2: thirty five. There on your outline, it says this in
Speaker 2: the Living Bible. Do not let your happy trust in
Speaker 2: the Lord die away. Do not let your happy trust
Speaker 2: in the Lord die away. Don't let it fall away
Speaker 2: no matter what happens. He says, remember your reward. That's
Speaker 2: long term perspective. Short term, I see all the problems
Speaker 2: in the pain and the pressures and the people. Long term,
Speaker 2: I see the reward. Don't let your happy trust circle
Speaker 2: the word phrase happy trust, happiness and trust go together.
Speaker 2: If you don't trust God, you're going to be fearful
Speaker 2: and unhappy for most of your life. You must choose
Speaker 2: to trust God, just like you have to choose to
Speaker 2: be happy, and no matter what it looks like. So
Speaker 2: let's just review now again. I can be happy no
Speaker 2: matter what happens in my life. If I one choose
Speaker 2: to remember that God can bring good out of bad,
Speaker 2: out of anything. God can bring good out anything. God
Speaker 2: specializes in that if I look at every situation with
Speaker 2: faith not fear. Would you start saying, God, help me
Speaker 2: to look at every situation with faith not fear. If
Speaker 2: I never let what other people say or do control
Speaker 2: my attitudes, and if I trust God to always work
Speaker 2: things out. I know this is not the end of
Speaker 2: the story. Some of you you're at the end of
Speaker 2: a chapter in your life, but you're not at the
Speaker 2: end of your story now. Finally, there is a fourth
Speaker 2: principle in Thislyppians Chapter one powerful passage on how to
Speaker 2: be happy. Finally, I can be happy no matter what
Speaker 2: happens in my life. If I choose to do this
Speaker 2: for a thing. Number four, write it down. Stay focused
Speaker 2: on my purpose, not my problem.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you've missed
Speaker 1: any part of this message or you'd like to find
Speaker 1: out more about Pastor Rick Warren in this ministry, just
Speaker 1: visit pastorick dot com, where you can listen online anytime.
Speaker 1: That's pastorick dot com and be sure to sign up
Speaker 1: for ris free daily email devotional While you're there, Rick
Speaker 1: will be back to close out our time today. But first,
Speaker 1: do you ever wonder if your life really matters? Or
Speaker 1: what on earth am I here for? Pastor Rick says
Speaker 1: God has a good plan and purpose for your life,
Speaker 1: and in his best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life,
Speaker 1: he lays out an easy to follow roadmap for your
Speaker 1: spiritual journey, a journey that will transform your life. As
Speaker 1: you go through this book, you'll discover that real meaning
Speaker 1: and significance come from understanding and fulfilling God's purpose for
Speaker 1: you here on earth, and how living out the purpose
Speaker 1: you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and
Speaker 1: success to a life of significance, the life you were
Speaker 1: meant to live. For a limited time, we're offering this
Speaker 1: timeless classic in a special leather edition featuring gold foil
Speaker 1: cover art and gilded pages. It's a great addition to
Speaker 1: your personal library, and it also makes a wonderful gift
Speaker 1: with eternal benefits. Get your special edition of The Purpose
Speaker 1: Driven Life with a beautiful leather cover today as a
Speaker 1: thank you for your gift. To help take the hope
Speaker 1: of Jesus to people around the world through daily hope
Speaker 1: quantities are very limited, so act quickly. Go to Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com right now to get your copy. That's Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com. Or you can call eight hundred six hundred
Speaker 1: five thousand and four. That's eight hundred six hundred five
Speaker 1: thousand and four. Thank you so much for your support,
Speaker 1: and don't forget to tell us you listen to Daily
Speaker 1: Hope on the radio. Here's Pastor Rick with a letter
Speaker 1: from one of our listeners.
Speaker 2: Hello everybody, today, I want to share with you the
Speaker 2: story of Christine who wrote to me. She says she
Speaker 2: lost everything, but I want you to listen how God
Speaker 2: is working in her life now. Christine wrote this to me,
Speaker 2: Pastor Rick. Daily Hope has brought me out of some
Speaker 2: truly dark times. Three and a half years ago, my
Speaker 2: marriage of thirteen years ended. My husband was an atheist,
Speaker 2: and I decided early on in our relationship that he
Speaker 2: would be my number one priority, not God. And for
Speaker 2: thirteen years I tolerated being lied to and cheated on
Speaker 2: and told of, believing that God was stupid and foolish.
Speaker 2: And then he ended it all and I was left
Speaker 2: alone with nothing, no friends, no home, no family. And
Speaker 2: as I was facing a new life on my own.
Speaker 2: A coworker recommended that I listened to the Daily Hope podcast,
Speaker 2: and after a few weeks of listening, I got up
Speaker 2: the nerve to return to church for the first time
Speaker 2: in over thirteen years. It's been challenging starting my life
Speaker 2: all over again, and I still encounter obstacles almost daily,
Speaker 2: but I have also grown and I've healed a lot
Speaker 2: over the last three years. Now, I continue to listen
Speaker 2: to the Daily Hope podcast, and I just purchased your book,
Speaker 2: A Purpose Driven Life. I've been going to church steadily
Speaker 2: and I even sing now on our worship team. Had
Speaker 2: it not been for Daily Hope, I don't know if
Speaker 2: I would have ever returned to church or to God,
Speaker 2: but I'm so glad that I did. Thank you Daily Hope. Well,
Speaker 2: you know, thanks for writing Christine. Your story is a
Speaker 2: great reminder that God can use any pain in our
Speaker 2: lives to draw us closer to Him if we'll give
Speaker 2: it to him, and then He can bring good even
Speaker 2: out of all the bad, if we will just trust him. Now,
Speaker 2: notice that Christine found out about Daily Hope and the
Speaker 2: podcast because a coworker shared it when she was facing
Speaker 2: dark days. It was just a simple act by a
Speaker 2: friend simply forwarding a podcast that helped Christine start her
Speaker 2: journey back to God, and it helped her reconnect with
Speaker 2: a church family. What a simple step to make such
Speaker 2: a major change in someone's life. Can you think of
Speaker 2: somebody in pain right now that you could forward on
Speaker 2: the Daily Hope podcast too? Can you think of somebody
Speaker 2: who's suffering, somebody who is questioning, somebody who's in despair.
Speaker 2: Would you do that for a friend? Would you share
Speaker 2: Daily Hope with someone in your family or someone at work.
Speaker 2: I'd like you to just pray and ask God, say, God,
Speaker 2: show me the people around me that you want to know.
Speaker 2: You show me the people that I should share daily
Speaker 2: Hope with. If you do that, I am certain God
Speaker 2: will show you. He'll bring names and faces to mind.
Speaker 3: Just try it. God bless you.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to bless Pastor Rick by letting him
Speaker 1: know how much this broadcast has helped you, please send
Speaker 1: him an email at Rick at Pastorrick dot com. That's
Speaker 1: Rick at Pastorrick dot com. Be sure to join us
Speaker 1: next time as we look into God's word for our
Speaker 1: daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily
Speaker 1: Hope and your generous financial support