WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:04.960 You know, we really live in a world that's full 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.480 of competing beliefs and values and choices, and what you 3 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.400 believe shapes how you live and ultimately who you become. 4 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:18.760 But the good news is God hasn't left us to 5 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:20.920 figure it all out alone. 6 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:21.239 No. 7 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.000 In fact, today, on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, we're going 8 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:30.079 to continue our series Reframing Your Worldview, where Rick Warren 9 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:34.119 unpacks powerful truths from God's Word to help you see 10 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:38.960 life clearly and live it with confidence and purpose. And 11 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:42.320 now here's Rick with the final part of a message 12 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:44.119 called What's the Solution. 13 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.920 Now, there's a third incredible benefit of jesus death, and 14 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:54.520 it's called reconciliation, replacement, redemption, reconciliation. It's the third reason 15 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:58.920 Jesus died on the cross, and reconciliation says this that 16 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:05.000 means hesh my relationship to God. Now, reconciliation is your word, 17 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:07.640 you know. It means when you bring two parties together 18 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:11.799 who have been distanced by conflict. There can be reconciliation 19 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:19.400 obviously between nations, between parties, between governments, between people. It's 20 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.599 when we've been apart from each other and we're brought 21 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:23.640 back together, you know, whenever I do anything that hurts 22 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:28.280 my wife, there is a break in our relationship. And 23 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.680 isn't an amazing Have you ever noticed? This's how you 24 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.920 can live in the same house and feel so distant 25 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:33.599 from somebody. 26 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:35.400 You know what I'm talking about. 27 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:37.439 You're in the same house, you might even be in 28 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:40.120 the same room, you may even slept in the same bed, 29 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.280 but you just feel distant from them. And what needs 30 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:46.879 to take place is because there's been a hurt on 31 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.560 one or both sides, there needs to be reconciliation to 32 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:52.000 bring us back together. 33 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:53.920 To span the distance. 34 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.560 Now, the truth is most people in the world feel 35 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.719 distant from God. They don't feel God is close. They 36 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:05.040 think he's watching us from a distance, and that he's 37 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.079 not involved in my life. And when I pray, if 38 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:08.960 you like, my prayers just bounce off the ceiling. They're 39 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.560 not getting anywhere. They feel like God is a million 40 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.960 miles away, that God is not close, that God is 41 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.479 not near, that he's far away. 42 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:19.560 Well, I would say this to you. 43 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:22.120 If you feel that God is far away from you, 44 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:28.879 Guess who moved Okay, guess who moved. It wasn't God 45 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:31.719 who moved away. You did you moved away? And the 46 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.719 Bible says, our sin separates us from God. But here's 47 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:37.680 the cool thing. God doesn't wait for you to take 48 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:41.560 the initiative. You know, sometimes when k hurts me, she 49 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.680 waits for me to take the initiative, or when I 50 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:52.960 hurt her, she waits for me. And either way she 51 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:57.319 waits for me. Now that's not true, But the bottom 52 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.719 line is in your relationship to God, God always takes 53 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:06.120 the initiative. He you blow it, you walk away from God, 54 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:08.360 and God says, I'm not gonna wait until they realize 55 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:09.960 it and they come back. 56 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:11.800 No, God says, I'm gonna take. 57 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:14.759 The initiative to restore the relationship that you broke. 58 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:17.360 And that's what Jesus did. 59 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:20.400 The Bible says this, and Ephesians two up on your 60 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.639 on the screen here now in Christ, Jesus, you who 61 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:27.439 were far away from God are brought near to the 62 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:30.599 blood of Christ's death. In other words, he took the initiative. 63 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:33.479 One of the most amazing truths in the Bible is this. 64 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.840 So it's gonna blow your mind. God wants you for 65 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:41.280 a friend, not as a servant, not as a slave. 66 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:44.120 God wants you as a friend. 67 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:47.439 Jesus said it he said, I no longer call you servants. 68 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:50.280 I call you my friends. And God says, I want 69 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:54.120 a friendship. I want a relationship with the creatures that 70 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:56.159 I made. I want you to know me and love 71 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.439 me the way I know and love you. I want 72 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.240 you to be a friend. It is amazing to me 73 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.759 that the God of the universe would want me as 74 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:06.240 a friend. It's even more amazing to me that he'd 75 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:09.599 want you. I mean, not me, I can understand, but 76 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:15.080 God wants you you. 77 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:17.319 You for a friend. Look at the next verse. 78 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:22.279 The Bible says this, We were God's enemies, but he 79 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.199 made us his friends through the death of his son. 80 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.720 Now how does that work. Well, Jesus Christ became the mediator. 81 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:31.920 You know. 82 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:33.800 The mediator is the guy who brings the two together. 83 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.000 We all know about divorced mediation. When a husband and 84 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.079 wife are so mad and so bitter and so angry 85 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.160 at each other that they can't even work out their divorce, 86 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.199 you get somebody to come together and say, Okay, I'm 87 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.160 going to bring the two parties together. We're going to 88 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:49.319 deal with this and we're going to have some kind 89 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.120 of mediation. Here happens all the time, and the Bible 90 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:55.279 tells us, let me read a verse to you. God 91 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.120 is on one side, and all the people on the 92 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.399 other side, and Christ, Jesus himself man is between them 93 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.560 to bring them together. He was the mediator. What am 94 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.759 I saying. When Jesus Christ was on the cross. One 95 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:10.720 of the things he did was, you know, take your place. 96 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:13.920 Another thing he did was buy your freedom. And another 97 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:16.959 thing he did is restore the relationship to God by saying, 98 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.399 I will be the mediator. I'm going to be the 99 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.959 bridge builder between you and God. The Bible says this, 100 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:28.279 look here on the screen. Christ changed us from his enemies, 101 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:33.160 from enemies into his friends and gave us a task 102 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:38.680 of making others his friends. Also our message, here's the message, 103 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:43.439 is that God is making all human beings his friends 104 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:47.160 through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, 105 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.120 Thank God, and he has given us the message which 106 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.560 tells us how he makes. 107 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.720 Them his friends. What is that message what we're talking 108 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:57.160 about today? You know, in the Old. 109 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:02.639 Testament, before Jesus Christ, the only way you had access 110 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:06.000 to God was through a priest. In fact, only the 111 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.519 Jewish priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies. 112 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:11.319 He had to represent all of the. 113 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.959 People before God because we were imperfect and God was perfect, 114 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.560 and only one person was allowed. On the day of atonement, 115 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:20.560 Yan Kaper he was going to make atonement for the 116 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:25.959 sins of everybody, and Jesus said, you know what, I 117 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.000 took that idea and it's now out of the way. 118 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:30.800 Now you can have direct access. 119 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:34.079 I have been the mediator and through Jesus Christ, I 120 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:35.639 have direct access to God. 121 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:36.519 You know what that means. 122 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.439 You don't have to go pray through a priest. You 123 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.759 don't have to go pray through a saint. You don't 124 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.720 have to go pray through any other person. You can 125 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.319 talk directly to God. You don't have to come confess 126 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:53.879 to me as a pastor. The Bible says, Jesus is 127 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:57.199 our priest. He is the mediator, and you can go. 128 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.240 That's why we pray in Jesus' name. You hear people 129 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:01.959 say at the end of a prayer, and I pray 130 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:04.439 this in Jesus name. What's that mean? It means I 131 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:07.680 don't have the worthiness on my own to come directly 132 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:10.959 to God. But I'm coming directly to God because I'm 133 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.319 coming in Jesus name, because of what he did on 134 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.199 the cross. That's what the phrase in Jesus name means. 135 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:18.759 And when you pray a prayer, then you say in 136 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.879 Jesus's name, which means I'm doing this because he's the mediator, 137 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:27.920 He's the go between, he's the bridge between man and God. 138 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:31.480 And because of that, I can come directly to God. 139 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.720 I can have direct fellowship with God. I can have 140 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:37.199 direct communion with God. 141 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.680 The fourth benefit of Jesus's death on the cross is 142 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:45.199 called rebirth. That means that he gave me a new identity. 143 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.319 He gave me a new identity. Are there some things. 144 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.800 About your past you wish you could forget? I know 145 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.959 there's some things about my past I wish I could forget. 146 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:54.439 This past week, I. 147 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.199 Googled in the phrase changing my identity, and to my surprise, 148 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:02.360 forty one million, three hundred thousand websites popped up, all 149 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.079 dealing with the subject of changing your identity. I also 150 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.519 found some interesting books as well. One was titled Modern 151 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.120 Identity Changer, How to Create and Use a New Identity 152 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.879 and my personal favorite, this one's a real winner. Changing 153 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:20.639 my identity and disappearing Forever. I think we've all been there, 154 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.160 had those moments one time or another. Why is it 155 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.959 we're so preoccupied with identity, the discovery of it, the 156 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:30.560 changing of it, escaping from it. Our culture basically defines 157 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.799 our identity on four levels. First, it defines our identity 158 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:37.080 on what we do. It's our careers. Second, it's on 159 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.399 what we have our possessions. Third, it's on what we know, 160 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:44.159 our education. And finally it's on how we look our appearance. 161 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.879 But our identity is so much deeper than that. Who 162 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.360 we are is really truly on a core spiritual level. 163 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.360 The best our world can offer us an identity change 164 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:56.879 is an extreme makeover, and that's it. Possibly a new 165 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:00.879 skill someplace, or possibly even a new name. But the 166 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:03.960 change that Christ offers us is so radical and so 167 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:07.000 profound that the Bible actually calls it becoming a new 168 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:10.519 person a new creation. When you become a believer, you 169 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.879 experience a new birth, a fresh beginning. 170 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:14.759 Everything changes. 171 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:17.919 Titus three five, on the outline, says God saved us 172 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.679 because of his mercy, and not because of any good 173 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.039 things that we have done. He washed us by the 174 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.799 power of the Holy Spirit and gave us new birth 175 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:29.879 and a fresh beginning. Two Corinthians five, p. Seventeen says, 176 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.840 anyone who belongs to Christ becomes a new person. The 177 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.679 past is forgotten and everything is new. See, when you 178 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:39.759 become a believer, you don't all of a sudden look 179 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.279 different to yourself in the mirror. It's still the same 180 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:43.879 old you that you see yourself. 181 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:45.559 And for some of us that's unfortunate. 182 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:49.480 You don't get a new house, you don't get a 183 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:51.480 new car, a new job. All that stays the same. 184 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.919 Even your personality pretty much stays the same. Once you 185 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:56.759 become a believer in Christ. 186 00:09:56.840 --> 00:09:57.360 If you are a. 187 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.480 Quiet person before you you came to know Christ, you're 188 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:02.879 still probably gonna be a quiet person afterwards. You don't 189 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.559 all of a sudden become the life of the party. 190 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.240 But what does happen is a spiritual metamorphosis. Let me 191 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:10.960 ask you a real theological question here. 192 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:12.600 It's deep, So hang on with me here. 193 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.879 Okay, can a butterfly go back into a cocoon after 194 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:27.799 it's come out as a caterpillar? No, from the mouths 195 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:32.000 of babes, great wisdom, great wisdom, of course not. It 196 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.399 can't happen once it becomes a butterfly. It is what 197 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.639 it is, a butterfly. And when you become a believer, 198 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:40.440 you're like a butterfly and that you've come out of 199 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.879 your cocoon. It may take you some time to fly spiritually. 200 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:46.399 But once you become a new creation in Christ, you 201 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.639 are what you are. You are a new creation. Now 202 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:53.240 we're not talking about mere positive thinking, because positive thinking 203 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.759 would be like a caterpillar deciding to glue on wings 204 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:56.360 to try to fly. 205 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:58.240 That's not gonna happen. 206 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.480 God gave us a new nature when we became a Christian, 207 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.080 and reminding yourself of who you are in Christ is 208 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.639 truthful thinking. The greatest step of faith that we can 209 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:11.120 take in our lives is when we accept Jesus in 210 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.360 our life and believe what God said about who Jesus is. 211 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:17.879 But I believe the second greatest step of faith we 212 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:21.000 can take is believing God about what He says about 213 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.399 who we are. You are new creation in Christ. Look 214 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:28.559 at dirversary here on the outline Romans six three through 215 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.320 four sins power over us was broken when we became Christians, 216 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:35.720 and we're baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ. 217 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.000 Through his death, the power of your sinful nature was shattered. 218 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:42.639 And when God the Father, with glorious power brought him 219 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.840 back to life again. You were given his wonderful new 220 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.080 life to enjoy. Circle that whole phrase, his wonderful new 221 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:52.159 life to enjoy. You notice there, it doesn't say a 222 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.879 new life that's important. It says his new life, his 223 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.960 wonderful new life to enjoy. Because a true life, the 224 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.320 better life, a wonderful life, is only found in Christ, 225 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:04.600 and when you become a Christian, you have a new 226 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:09.679 life in him. Baptism is just an outward symbol of 227 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:12.600 that inward change. In Revelation, it talks about how they 228 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.240 sang a new song about what Christ did for us 229 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.360 on the cross. Revelation five nine says they sang a 230 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.240 new song. You are worthy for you were killed, and 231 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.759 by your sacrificial death, you bought for God people from 232 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:29.000 every tribe, language, nation, and race. 233 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.679 Now, friends, this is the greatest news in the whole world. 234 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:37.559 You're not gonna get this anywhere else except from God's word. 235 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:44.879 Jesus took my punishment, replacement. Jesus bought my freedom, redemption. 236 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:51.480 Jesus restores my relationship to God, reconciliation. Jesus gives me 237 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.159 a whole new identity, and he wipes out all the 238 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.080 things I've done wrong, says, let's start over rebirth. And 239 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.279 then finally, number five, the fifth doddible benefit of Jesus 240 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:05.159 dying the cross is repudiation, and that means this, he 241 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:10.519 defeated death. In fact, he defeated death and the devil. 242 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.679 And the Bible says this. In one John three. 243 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:19.600 Eight, it says, the son of God came for this 244 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:26.000 purpose to destroy the devil's work. That's why Jesus came 245 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:29.360 to earth to destroy the devil's work. What is the 246 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:35.600 devil's work? Messing up your heart, filling it with worry, 247 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:40.080 filling it with guilt, filling it with resentment, filling it 248 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:44.159 with anger, filling it with fear, filling it with confusion, 249 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:49.200 helping you feel worthless and helpless and hopeless and aimless. 250 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:51.200 Where do you think that comes from? 251 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:56.320 Not God and Satan's biggest tool in your life is fear. 252 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.879 Fear does not come from God. The Bible says there 253 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:03.159 is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out all fear. 254 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:06.480 And the Bible says God is love. So when you're afraid, 255 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.080 that's not from God. There is no fear in love 256 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:14.320 and God is love. Now, the number one fear that 257 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:19.600 people have is the fear of death, and that Satan uses, 258 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:24.320 the Bible says, to keep us enslaved. You see the 259 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:29.399 acid test of your faith, of your religion, of your worldview, 260 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.759 your philosophy. The acid test of it is not how 261 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:36.240 you act at the weddings or the baby births, or 262 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:40.000 the dedications, or the parties or the graduations. Are all 263 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:42.919 the happy times in life. The acid test of what 264 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.200 you believe is how do you react in the funerals 265 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.679 of life. 266 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.200 I have been in a lot of funerals. 267 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.279 Being a pastor, and I have seen the difference of 268 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:57.000 those with hope and those with no hope, and those 269 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.720 with no hope who don't know God and don't know Jesus. 270 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.879 Have looked into their eyes and seeing the terror in 271 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:07.440 their eyes when they have no hope for those loved 272 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:11.679 ones who just died, and I have seen the difference 273 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:15.320 that it makes when somebody knows the Lord. And the 274 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:19.240 fact is Christians grieve. We have mixed emotions, but we 275 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.720 don't grieve for the person who has died. We grieve 276 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:25.960 for ourselves. We grieve with hope. We agreeve because we're 277 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:28.519 going to miss him. We agrieve because we don't get 278 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:30.679 to see him againuntil we get to heaven. But we 279 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:32.840 don't certainly grieve for the people who die who know 280 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:35.039 the Lord, because they're going to a better place anyway, 281 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.480 where we were all designed to go eventually in the 282 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:38.080 first place. 283 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:41.559 This last week we lost. 284 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:44.240 One of the great saints at Saddleback Church who spent 285 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.320 the last twenty years being an usher. And he would 286 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:50.320 stand right back there, and that's in eleven thirty service 287 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.320 on Sunday morning, back in the corner, and I could 288 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.639 see him. He'd stand through the entire service. And about 289 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.080 a month and a half ago, as I was finishing 290 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:02.720 speaking at the eleven fifteen Sir, I watched Hugh take 291 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:06.679 his offering out of his jacket and lean it over 292 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:09.960 and put it in the offering plate right there, because 293 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:11.320 we were getting ready to give our offerings. 294 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:13.559 And then he collapsed. 295 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.639 And never fully recovered, went into a coma and he 296 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:23.480 died on Friday. I thought, what a way to go 297 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:28.799 if you're an usher, I'm going You're in church, you've 298 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.639 just given your last offering. It's the last thing you 299 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:33.039 do on earth, and you go to have it. 300 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:38.120 Oh wow, that is a way to go. Okay, all right, 301 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.080 I mean we're all gonna die. Why not die in 302 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:42.759 a cool way? 303 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:46.320 Okay, I mean the very last thing he did was 304 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.159 giving my gift back to God. 305 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:49.879 What a cool thing. 306 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:52.279 And I was talking to Larita's wife for forty eight 307 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:54.679 years because I was over there the night at his 308 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:58.240 home before he died and he was in a coma, 309 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:01.200 and LaRita said, you know, we were married forty eight 310 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:04.799 years and when we got married, Hugh made me three promises. 311 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:07.240 He said, Honey, you can always count on these three things. 312 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.279 Number One, we will never ever get divorced, no matter 313 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.160 what happens, no matter what we do, no matter how 314 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.000 angry we get, We're never getting divorced. Number Two, we're 315 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:19.960 always gonna find some church home and. 316 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:20.680 We're gonna get in it. 317 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:22.880 We're gonna love God and serve God there no matter 318 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:25.759 where we live. And number three, we are always gonna 319 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.799 tithe the first ten percent back to God. And she 320 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:33.640 said he kept all three of those promises. Today he 321 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:36.480 is celebrating in heaven with a lot of other people 322 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:40.359 that I know and love. And honestly, the more people 323 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:42.480 who get on that side, the more eager I am 324 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.680 to get there, because I'm really kind of tired of 325 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.200 some of the problems on this earth, some of the 326 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:50.440 problems that I look around, the rapes and the wars, 327 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:54.079 and the violence, and the abuse, and the pornography and 328 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:57.519 the incest, and all of the diseases and all all 329 00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:58.079 of this. 330 00:17:57.960 --> 00:17:59.160 Is a broken planet. 331 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:00.720 And we weren't meant to be here, as we talked 332 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:02.160 about last week forever. 333 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.279 The Bible says this. 334 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:08.319 On the screen with the cross, God won the victory 335 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.039 and defeated spiritual powers. 336 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:12.480 He showed the world that they were powerless. 337 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.680 I'm not afraid of the devil, not at all, because 338 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:18.319 greater is he that is in me, that is in 339 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:22.400 the world. And the Bible says this because God's children 340 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.119 are human beings made of flesh and blood. Jesus also 341 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.759 became flesh and blood by being born in human form, 342 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.799 for only as a human being could he die. And 343 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.640 only by dying could he break the power of the devil, 344 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.599 who has the power of death, that was his one tool. 345 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:45.559 Only in this way could he deliver those who have 346 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:50.359 lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 347 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.359 You know, I'm not afraid of dying. I told another 348 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.480 service a while back. I was on a plane trip 349 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:02.519 to Tokyo out and halfway over the Pacific Ocean. In 350 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.720 the middle of the night, one of the engines on 351 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:08.079 the plane I was on burned out, and people got 352 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:09.079 a little bit of nervous. 353 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.039 We had half the trip still to go. 354 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:14.559 It was twelve hour trip, and then a little bit later, 355 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.680 with one engine out, we went through some serious I 356 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:24.680 mean serious turbulence and people were freaking out. I'm sitting 357 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:29.000 there going I'm ready. I think I was the only 358 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:32.640 calm guy on the plane. You know I'm ready. 359 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:33.720 Now. 360 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:35.799 This next part I made up. I'm just telling you 361 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:38.799 the other part was true. So they look around for 362 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.799 a pastor and they find They said, anybody pastor or here, 363 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:43.680 and so I raise my hand. They say, we'll do 364 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:50.920 something spiritual. So I took an offering. I made that 365 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:51.759 part up. 366 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:55.160 I'm not afraid to die. 367 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:57.640 Why Because when you know where you're going, and you 368 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:00.440 know who's there, and you're a friend of God who 369 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:04.480 is there, you're not afraid to meet him. I'm not 370 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:06.839 afraid to meet God. I've been his friend for forty years. 371 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.720 I talked to him this morning. We had a great 372 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.200 little conversation this morning. 373 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:13.519 Me and God. 374 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.680 We're like this Okay, now here's the cool thing. You 375 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.119 can be like this with God. It's not some special relationship. 376 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.920 It's not like God said, well, only pastors or priests 377 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.200 or missionaries can be like. 378 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.119 This with God. God says, I want you to be 379 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:30.720 my friend. 380 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.400 I want you to have a constant, ongoing conversation. I 381 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.160 don't say the end of amen, at the end of 382 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:38.039 all my prayers. I just talked to God all day, 383 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:40.680 talked about this and that. Whatever's on my mind just 384 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.319 comes out, and I just have a running conversation all 385 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.839 the time. You see, you're not really ready to live 386 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:53.160 until you're ready to die. In fact, you can't live. 387 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:56.799 You're just existing until you're ready to die. And only 388 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.240 a fool would go all through life totally unprepared for 389 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:01.880 something you know is inevitable. 390 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.759 We're all gonna die. I mean, I mean, I don't know. 391 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:07.000 You may not want to talk about it, but we're 392 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.240 all gonna die at some point. Well, why not be prepared. 393 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.119 You become a friend of God, so then it's not 394 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.640 a big deal. You're not scared. You know you're gonna 395 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:20.480 be with your friend. The Bible says this, We know 396 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:23.799 that when Jesus was raised from the dead. It was 397 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.839 the signal of the end of death as the end. 398 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:33.200 Never again will death have the last word. Jesus' death 399 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:38.000 guaranteed the death of death. It just isn't that scary anymore. 400 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:42.240 He neutralized Satan's only tool, the fear of death, because 401 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:47.720