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 fifty Days of Faith. In these lessons, Rick looks
Speaker 1: into God's Word to discover the true meaning of faith
Speaker 1: and explore ways we can strengthen it. First, Pastor Rick
Speaker 1: just released a video Bible study based on the core
Speaker 1: teaching found in his best selling book, Created to Dream.
Speaker 1: This dynamic study will help you reveal and fulfill the
Speaker 1: custom made dream God has just for you. You can
Speaker 1: take a sneak peek right now by going to Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com while you listen to today's message, And if
Speaker 1: you want, you can just text the word hope to
Speaker 1: eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and four. That's the
Speaker 1: word hope to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part
Speaker 1: of a message called God's Way of Meeting My Needs.
Speaker 2: Now listen to this. If you don't get anything else,
Speaker 2: When you are giving cheerfully, you are more like Jesus
Speaker 2: Christ than any other time. You are more like God.
Speaker 2: You are more Godly when you are cheerfully giving than
Speaker 2: any other time, because cheerful giving represents the essence of God.
Speaker 2: And you cannot be a Christian, a follower of Christ
Speaker 2: without learning to give cheerfully, because that is the nature
Speaker 2: of God. God loves to give, and he loves to
Speaker 2: see you give cheerfully. And he goes, that's my boy.
Speaker 2: He looks down and he says, that's my girl. She's
Speaker 2: given cheerfully. She's becoming like me. He's becoming like me.
Speaker 2: So I'm to give cheerfully. And then number five, I
Speaker 2: am to give weekly. Now that's w e e k
Speaker 2: y n, not w e ak l y weekly. Let's
Speaker 2: read this verse together one Grinthian sixteen to two. On
Speaker 2: every Lord's Day. By the way, what is the Lord's
Speaker 2: day Sunday's first day of week. Why do we worship
Speaker 2: on Sunday because Jesus arose was resurrected on Sunday, and
Speaker 2: so we celebrate Jesus resurrection on every Lord's Day. Read
Speaker 2: it with me. Put aside some from what you have
Speaker 2: earned during the week and use it for the offering.
Speaker 2: Giving is an act of worship, and you're to give
Speaker 2: it on the day of worship in your place of worship.
Speaker 2: It's an act of worship, so you give it at
Speaker 2: the place of worship when you worship me. Worship is
Speaker 2: not just come singing some songs and hear a message.
Speaker 2: There are other parts to worship. Prayer, commitment, and giving
Speaker 2: are all acts of worship. And God says, I want
Speaker 2: you to give me the first part of your money
Speaker 2: on the first day of the week as a reminder
Speaker 2: that I'm number one in your life. Now, how can
Speaker 2: I learn to give cheerfully? Because by my nature I'm
Speaker 2: not naturally a cheerful giver. So how do I learn it? Well,
Speaker 2: in the back of your outline, there are three things
Speaker 2: you need to remember. If if you remember these three truths,
Speaker 2: you'll become a very cheerful giver. Number one, remember it
Speaker 2: all comes from God. It all comes from God. You'll
Speaker 2: never give anything away that God didn't give to you.
Speaker 2: You would have nothing if it weren't for God. The
Speaker 2: Bible says in the next verse Tewod Corinthia's ninety ten.
Speaker 2: God gives seed to the farmer and food to those
Speaker 2: who eat and need eat. And God will also give
Speaker 2: you seed and multiply it. When a farmer goes out
Speaker 2: to so seed, where'd he get the seed. He didn't
Speaker 2: invent it. God even gave him the seed. He's going
Speaker 2: to get a crop. But even the seed came from God.
Speaker 2: So it's all God's in the first place. Second, I
Speaker 2: remember God's guarantee, and God's guarantee is that whatever I
Speaker 2: give to God, God is going to give back to me.
Speaker 2: I overlook the verse on the first part. Turn it
Speaker 2: back over for just a minute and look at Luke
Speaker 2: six thirty eight. Now this is right from the words
Speaker 2: that you, Jesus give to others, and God will give
Speaker 2: to you. The measure you use for others is the
Speaker 2: one that God will use for you. So God says,
Speaker 2: you can choose how much I bless your life, and
Speaker 2: you can choose by your giving. Whatever I give you
Speaker 2: give to me. I'll give to you what will just
Speaker 2: measure it back and forth. God is a guarantee. In
Speaker 2: Tewod Corinthians nine to eleven, he says you will be
Speaker 2: enriched so that you can give even more generously. Do
Speaker 2: you know how God grows your heart, makes you, gives
Speaker 2: you a bigger heart. You give to him, he gives
Speaker 2: more back to you than you got. Then you give
Speaker 2: him more than he gives more back to you. Then
Speaker 2: you give him more and it just keeps growing your heart.
Speaker 2: Instead of having a little, tiny, shriveled heart, he grows
Speaker 2: bigger and bigger. So you remember God's guarantee that he
Speaker 2: will bless you back in return. And number three, I
Speaker 2: remember my eternal reward. I remember my eternal reward God.
Speaker 2: Did you know that God rewards you every time you give?
Speaker 2: And you're storing up treasure in heaven. The Bible says,
Speaker 2: an eternal reward, Luke sixteen to nine. Use your worldly
Speaker 2: resources to benefit others. In this way, your generosity stores
Speaker 2: up a reward for you in heaven. Now get this,
Speaker 2: This is so phenomenal. Anything that I hold onto in
Speaker 2: this life, I'm losing the moment I die. Anything I
Speaker 2: hold on too, I refuse to let go up. I'm
Speaker 2: losing at the end of this life. But anything that
Speaker 2: I place in God's hands I will enjoy forever an eternity,
Speaker 2: he says, it's being stored up in heaven. Anything I
Speaker 2: put in his hand I will be restored and rewarded
Speaker 2: in eternity. Now it's not you die. You get to
Speaker 2: heaven and you call back and say, wire it all up. Now,
Speaker 2: now you gotta do your given while you're living, so
Speaker 2: you'll be knowing where it's going.
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: You can sign up for Pastor Rick's free email devotional
Speaker 1: at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.
Speaker 3: Did you know that God has a dream for your life?
Speaker 3: Before you took your very first breath, he had already
Speaker 3: placed the gift of imagination into your brain and hardwired
Speaker 3: creativity into every cell of your body. But discovering and
Speaker 3: fulfilling your God given dream will require a journey of
Speaker 3: faith on your part. That's why Pastor Rick just released
Speaker 3: the Created to Dream Bible Study, based on the core
Speaker 3: teaching found in his best selling book Created to Dream.
Speaker 3: The six week video based study will reveal the process
Speaker 3: God uses to fulfill the custom made dream he has
Speaker 3: it just for you, and the faith building phases he'll
Speaker 3: lead you through as he does. This video study includes
Speaker 3: an enhanced workbook with lesson outlines, he versus, and homework
Speaker 3: for deeper reflection between each session. You can do the
Speaker 3: study on your own or with friends in a small
Speaker 3: group setting. So whether you're feeling stock, forgotten, afraid, or uninspired,
Speaker 3: the Created to Dream Bible Study will give you the
Speaker 3: tools you need to awaken and pursue the custom made
Speaker 3: dream God created you to fulfill. And today, when you
Speaker 3: give a gift to help Daily Hope take the word
Speaker 3: of God to a hurting world, we'll send you the
Speaker 3: Created to Dream Bible Study Kit to say thanks. Just
Speaker 3: call eight hundred at six hundred five zero zero four
Speaker 3: or go to Pastorick dot com to get your very
Speaker 3: own copy of the Created to Dream Study Kit. And
Speaker 3: if you choose to become a partner in Hope with
Speaker 3: automated monthly giving, will also send you a very special
Speaker 3: welcome gift to show our appreciation. That's Pastorick dot com,
Speaker 3: or you can call eight hundred at six hundred five
Speaker 3: zero zero four. Thank you so much for your support,
Speaker 3: and don't forget to let us know which radio station
Speaker 3: you heard us on. Today is the last day to
Speaker 3: get this great resource, so don't wait.
Speaker 1: Now let's get back to today's lesson here on Pastor
Speaker 1: Rick's Daily Hope.
Speaker 2: Now it's not you die. You get to have it
Speaker 2: and you call back and say wire it all up. Now, no,
Speaker 2: you got to do your given while you're living, so
Speaker 2: you'll be knowing where it's going. And you've heard me
Speaker 2: say many times you cannot take it with you, but
Speaker 2: you can send it on ahead. And every time you give,
Speaker 2: you know what you're doing. You're storing up treasure in heaven.
Speaker 2: And that's treasure is insured by the FDIC Father's Deposit
Speaker 2: Insurance Corporation. You're having a father. So the principle is
Speaker 2: when you have a need, plan a seed, and the
Speaker 2: procedure is give with the right attitude. Now, if you
Speaker 2: do those two things, then comes the promise. And the
Speaker 2: promise is that I can expect God to meet all
Speaker 2: my needs. I can expect God to meet all my needs.
Speaker 2: And God promises this over and over in the Bible.
Speaker 2: In fact, did you know that there are more promises
Speaker 2: about giving in the Bible than any other thing, bar none.
Speaker 2: God has more promises in the Bible about this. That's
Speaker 2: why we have to deal with it in this Fifty
Speaker 2: Days of Faith, more promises about giving than anything else.
Speaker 2: Because God wants to teach you to expect him to
Speaker 2: meet all your needs. Now look at this verse two
Speaker 2: Corinthians nine to eight. God is able to make all
Speaker 2: grace abound to you, so that in all things, at
Speaker 2: all times, having all that you need, you will abound
Speaker 2: in every good work. Now, is there any word that
Speaker 2: you saw repeated? There circle all the alls? All grace,
Speaker 2: God says, I'll give you all grace, not some grace,
Speaker 2: all grace, so that in all things, not in some
Speaker 2: things in life, but in all things, at all times,
Speaker 2: not some of the time, but all of the time,
Speaker 2: you'll have all that you need, not some of what
Speaker 2: you need, but all that you need, and abound in
Speaker 2: every good work. Question, what does that verse not cover
Speaker 2: in your life? It covers everything everything. Does that include
Speaker 2: mortgage maaments? Yes? Does that include school bills, yes, doctor bills? Yes?
Speaker 2: God says all. Now here's the real issue. Is God
Speaker 2: a liar? That's the issue? You see, Folks. When you
Speaker 2: talk about giving, it's not even really about giving. It's
Speaker 2: about faith. It's about faith. Giving shows whether I have
Speaker 2: faith or not? Will God do what he says you'll do?
Speaker 2: Will God keep his promises? Can I depend on God?
Speaker 2: Giving is not even about giving, It's about faith. You know, Honestly,
Speaker 2: I feel sorry for people who don't tithe because it
Speaker 2: means they don't trust God. I have to I can
Speaker 2: depend on God to keep his word that if I
Speaker 2: put in first my finances, that He'll take care of
Speaker 2: all my needs. Now I figure this one out. I
Speaker 2: don't know how some people can trust God for their
Speaker 2: eternal salvation but can't trust God with their finances. How
Speaker 2: does that one figure? That doesn't make sense. If I
Speaker 2: can trust God to save me, forgive me and get
Speaker 2: me into a heaven, can I can depend on him
Speaker 2: to keep his word if I do what he tells
Speaker 2: me to do. Of course, giving is a test of faith. Now,
Speaker 2: It's not a test of feelings, has nothing to do
Speaker 2: with how you feel. It's it's just a test of faith. Now,
Speaker 2: why is this so important to God? Why is my
Speaker 2: giving so important to God? Why is your giving so
Speaker 2: important to God? Look at the next verse. It is
Speaker 2: proof of your faith. People will praise God because you
Speaker 2: will obay the gospel you say you believe, and because
Speaker 2: you freely share with them and others. When I give,
Speaker 2: it proves my faith. It is a testimony to other
Speaker 2: people that I really do believe what I say. I
Speaker 2: believe that God will take care of me, and God
Speaker 2: uses it to bless other people. That's why it's so important.
Speaker 2: It's an issue of faith. This week, I got this
Speaker 2: letter this week, and it says, Dear Pastor Rick, last February,
Speaker 2: you gave a message that got me thinking about tithing.
Speaker 2: Up to that point, my wife and I only gay
Speaker 2: sporadically what was left over from time to time. But
Speaker 2: you quoted a Bible promise about tithing where God says
Speaker 2: test me. So my wife and I decided to take
Speaker 2: the challenge. We committed to tithing the full ten percent
Speaker 2: of our income for this year. Little did we know
Speaker 2: what God had in store for us. I was in
Speaker 2: the process of shutting down one company and starting a
Speaker 2: new one, and I wasn't sure I would even have
Speaker 2: any income this year to tithe on. But then in
Speaker 2: May I purchased some property and I sold it in
Speaker 2: October for a substantial profit. And the check and close
Speaker 2: represents our tithe from that sale. But here's the test
Speaker 2: of faith part. The week before I wrote this check,
Speaker 2: I had to close on another property, fund another project,
Speaker 2: and pay company overhead. I began to wonder if I
Speaker 2: could afford to write our tithe check. It would be
Speaker 2: tight without that money. But a commitment is a commitment,
Speaker 2: and God comes first. And so we wrote the check
Speaker 2: and we never felt better then last Monday, I got
Speaker 2: a call that gave me a new contract to develop
Speaker 2: a new property. And the income is almost twice amount
Speaker 2: of the tithe we just gave.
Speaker 4: You.
Speaker 2: See, Rick, I used to think that I couldn't afford
Speaker 2: to tithe, but now I know that I can't afford
Speaker 2: to not tithe. You learned that lesson yet. The verse
Speaker 2: he's talking about is a very famous verse in the Bible.
Speaker 2: It's the next one on your outline Malachi three eight
Speaker 2: to ten. Look at this verse. Bring your whole tithe
Speaker 2: into the storehouse. Test me in this, says the Lord,
Speaker 2: and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
Speaker 2: of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you
Speaker 2: will not have enough room for it. Now I want
Speaker 2: you to circle the phrase test me. God issues a challenge. Here,
Speaker 2: here's the Pepsi challenge verse of the Bible. He says,
Speaker 2: I dare you. By the way, did you know this
Speaker 2: is the only verse in the Bible where you can
Speaker 2: prove that God exists. God says, I'll prove it to you.
Speaker 2: Test me and I'll prove it to you. He says,
Speaker 2: let's play a little giving game. You give to me
Speaker 2: and I will give back to you, and we'll see
Speaker 2: who can outgive the other person. And he says, I
Speaker 2: dare you. Now, this is amazing to me that the
Speaker 2: God had created the entire universe puts himself on trial.
Speaker 2: God did not have to make this promise. God could
Speaker 2: have just said I want you to tithe because I
Speaker 2: say so, and I'm God and you're not, and you
Speaker 2: owe me everything anyway. But he doesn't do that. Because
Speaker 2: God is a loving, faithful, giving god. He wants you
Speaker 2: to learn to be like him. He wants you to
Speaker 2: learn to not be stingy. He wants you to learn
Speaker 2: to be jenus generous. Did you know that the most
Speaker 2: sensitive nerve in your body goes from your heart to
Speaker 2: your wallet? It does it? Does you know? We just
Speaker 2: get nervous even talking about this. I could talk about
Speaker 2: all kinds of other stuff and you wouldn't get nervous.
Speaker 2: But it's like, I gotta hold onto this now. He
Speaker 2: could have just said give it. But instead he makes
Speaker 2: a promise, and he puts his character on the line,
Speaker 2: and he says, test me is God real? Is God loving?
Speaker 2: Will God keep his promise? You'll never know until you
Speaker 2: start tithing. Now, tithe means ten percent. It doesn't mean
Speaker 2: an eighth or fifteenth or thirty. It means ten percent,
Speaker 2: God says the first. If I make one hundred bucks,
Speaker 2: the first ten buck goes back to God. If I
Speaker 2: make five hundred bucks, the first fifty bucks goes back
Speaker 2: to God. Why did God say ten percent? Beats me.
Speaker 2: I haven't the slightest idea why he said that. I
Speaker 2: don't know. I do know that it all belongs to God.
Speaker 2: He could have said, give me fifty percent and you
Speaker 2: take fifty. He could have said you give me ninety
Speaker 2: and live on ten. But he just said ten, So
Speaker 2: I figure he knows what he's doing. Now, I know
Speaker 2: what some of your thinking thing. You know, I'd like
Speaker 2: to do this, Rick, but I'm just scared. You know,
Speaker 2: it just scares me. And when I hear that, it
Speaker 2: just means you just don't really understand how much God
Speaker 2: loves you, and how much He has promised take care
Speaker 2: of you, and how much he wants to grow your faith.
Speaker 2: So today we're going to remind ourselves of how much
Speaker 2: God loves us. Look at these verses on the bottom
Speaker 2: of your outline. Second Corinthians eight nine. Remember the generosity
Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ. Look at the next verse. We are
Speaker 2: saved because Jesus, amazingly and out of sheer generosity, moved
Speaker 2: to save us. Look at the next verse, John one
Speaker 2: point sixteen. We all live off his generous bounty, gift
Speaker 2: after gift after gift. The reason we give is because
Speaker 2: Jesus first gave to us. He gave his life for
Speaker 2: us two thousand years ago. Jesus Christ stretched out his
Speaker 2: arms on the cross, and he made the ultimate sacrifice
Speaker 2: when he gave his life for you. Even if God
Speaker 2: never did anything else for you in life, you owe
Speaker 2: him your entire life for what he's already done for.
Speaker 2: You gave his life so that you could spend eternity
Speaker 2: in heaven. Now today we've talked about giving back to God,
Speaker 2: and I make no apology for that. If you're going
Speaker 2: to grow in faith, you've got to learn to give
Speaker 2: back to God. But what God really really wants is
Speaker 2: you your love, your life. The last verse on the
Speaker 2: outline says, this offer your lives as a living sacrifice
Speaker 2: to him. When you think of what he's done for you?
Speaker 2: Is this too much to ask? The answer is no.
Speaker 2: Let's bow our heads. If I can trust Jesus Christ
Speaker 2: with my forgiveness and my freedom and my future, I
Speaker 2: can certainly trust him with my finances. Do you need
Speaker 2: to ask God to forgive you for not trusting him
Speaker 2: in your finances? If so, do so now and ask
Speaker 2: Him to give you the faith to do the right thing. Jesus,
Speaker 2: we will never be able to repay what you've given
Speaker 2: to us. In fact, everything we have is a gift
Speaker 2: from you. We can only give back what you've given
Speaker 2: to us. Help us to learn the miracle of generosity,
Speaker 2: stretch our faith, increase our commitment, deepen our love for you,
Speaker 2: break the grip of materialism in our lives. Father, there
Speaker 2: are many people here today with severe financial difficulties, and
Speaker 2: we pray for them as a church family. Right now,
Speaker 2: we ask you to help them do a miracle in
Speaker 2: their lives as they trust you, and prepare us to
Speaker 2: do a miracle through us and in our hearts this
Speaker 2: next week. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's daily Hope. We are so happy
Speaker 1: that you've chosen to study along with us today. Did
Speaker 1: you know that you can start every day with hope
Speaker 1: and encouragement from Pastor Rick. Well, you can when you
Speaker 1: sign up to receive his life changing daily Bible teaching
Speaker 1: delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaker 2: Just go to.
Speaker 1: Pastorick dot com and sign up for his free daily
Speaker 1: Hope devotional. Don't miss out. Sign up now at Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com. Rick will be right back to close out
Speaker 1: our time today. But first, did you know that God
Speaker 1: has a dream for your life? Before you took your
Speaker 1: very first breath, he had already placed the gift of
Speaker 1: imagination into your brain and hardwired creativity into every cell
Speaker 1: of your body. But discovering and fulfilling your God given
Speaker 1: dream will require a journey of faith on your part.
Speaker 1: That's why Pastor Rick just released the Created to Dream
Speaker 1: Bible Study, based on the core teaching found in his
Speaker 1: best selling book Created to Dream. This six week video
Speaker 1: based study will reveal the process God uses to fulfill
Speaker 1: the custom made dream he has just for you, and
Speaker 1: the faith building phases he'll lead you through as he does.
Speaker 1: This video study includes an enhanced workbook with lesson outlines,
Speaker 1: key verses, and the homework for deeper reflection between each
Speaker 1: session You can do the study on your own or
Speaker 1: with friends in a small group setting. So whether you're
Speaker 1: feeling stuck, forgotten, afraid, or uninspired, the Created to Dream
Speaker 1: Bible Study will give you the tools you need to
Speaker 1: awaken and pursue the custom made dream God created you
Speaker 1: to fulfill. And today, when you give a gift to
Speaker 1: help daily Hope take the word of God to a
Speaker 1: hurting world, we'll send you the Created to Dream Bible
Speaker 1: Study Kit to say thanks. Just call eight hundred six
Speaker 1: hundred five thousand and four or go to Pastorick dot
Speaker 1: com to get your very own copy of the Created
Speaker 1: to Dream Study Kit. Today is the last day to
Speaker 1: get this great resource, so don't wait. And if you
Speaker 1: choose to become a partner in Hope with automated monthly giving,
Speaker 1: we'll also send you a very special welcome gift to
Speaker 1: show our appreciation. That's Pastorick dot com or just call
Speaker 1: eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four and thank
Speaker 1: you so much for your support. And don't forget to
Speaker 1: let us know which radio station you heard us on.
Speaker 1: Here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners.
Speaker 4: You know, we get letters and emails from people all
Speaker 4: around the world and from all ages. And here's one
Speaker 4: that I got from a listener in Indonesia. His name
Speaker 4: is Steven Any, twelve years old. He wrote, Dear Pastor Rick,
Speaker 4: thank you for the powerful way that you've impacted my life.
Speaker 4: I'm just a twelve year old schoolboy in Jakarta, Indonesia,
Speaker 4: but I listen to the broadcast every morning on the
Speaker 4: way to school. My life has changed completely this year.
Speaker 4: I'm at a new school and my family's just about
Speaker 4: recovered from some financial problems, but I'm still having to
Speaker 4: learn a whole new way of life. Some days I
Speaker 4: really feel bad and I ask God to help me,
Speaker 4: but then the Daily Hope broadcast comes on the radio,
Speaker 4: and you always say something helps me feel better, and
Speaker 4: I know that at that moment God is trying to
Speaker 4: speak directly to me through you. So thank you ever
Speaker 4: so much. Well, thank you ever so much, Steven. I
Speaker 4: love hearing from people like you literally all around the
Speaker 4: world who've been impacted through Daily Hope. You know, by
Speaker 4: the way, I want to thank all of those of
Speaker 4: you who support us regularly with your financial gut every month.
Speaker 4: We can't do this without you, but because of you,
Speaker 4: we're able to minister to people like this twelve year
Speaker 4: old boy, Stephen and Jakarta, Indonesia. You're never gonna know
Speaker 4: this side of heaven the number of lives that you
Speaker 4: have impacted because of your gifts to Daily Hope. Thank you,
Speaker 4: thank you, thank you. When we get to heaven, we're
Speaker 4: all going to rejoice and see the results there.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to let Rick know how this broadcast
Speaker 1: has blessed you, please feel free to send him an
Speaker 1: email at Rick at Pastorrick dot com. That's Rick at
Speaker 1: pastorrick dot com. Be sure to join us next time
Speaker 1: as we look into God's word for our Daily hope.
Speaker 1: This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and
Speaker 1: your generous financial support.