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 little while, we're going to tell you
Speaker 1: how to get a copy of the brand new Daily
Speaker 1: Hope Prayer Journal, a great resource that will help you
Speaker 1: tap into God's power and presence as you discover the
Speaker 1: keys to praying with passion and purpose. Go to Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com to find out more, or text the word
Speaker 1: Hope to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Now here's Pastor Rick Warren with part two of a
Speaker 1: message called how to keep your Tank filled instead of
Speaker 1: running on empty.
Speaker 2: I'm want to pause right here, and I want you
Speaker 2: to look at that list of ten things on your outline,
Speaker 2: and once you go back and circle the numbers that
Speaker 2: apply to your life. All right, circle that, look at
Speaker 2: that list and go through it again. All right, let's
Speaker 2: look at it again. If you'd say not starting out
Speaker 2: with a full tank every day that's me. Check that one.
Speaker 2: Circle it being too busy to stop and refuel. Circle
Speaker 2: that one, ignoring the owners of Manuel, pushing my car
Speaker 2: or my life further than it was created to go.
Speaker 2: Being on number four, being unaware of hidden leaks? May
Speaker 2: you got conflict in your life? Number five being in
Speaker 2: a hurry? Number six not paying attention to my gauges.
Speaker 2: Maybe you need to check that one. Number seven being overloaded.
Speaker 2: I got too much to do right now. Number eight,
Speaker 2: assuming that the limits of my tank don't apply to me.
Speaker 2: Number nine not knowing where to find a filling station.
Speaker 2: Obviously you know that one. You don't circle circle that.
Speaker 2: Number ten, not knowing how to refill my tank. If
Speaker 2: you circle the last one, you came to the right weekend,
Speaker 2: because that's what we're going to look at. How do
Speaker 2: you refill your tank?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 2: What does Jesus have to say about all this? What
Speaker 2: does Jesus have to say when we come to him
Speaker 2: with an emptiness in our lives, an empty soul, an
Speaker 2: empty heart, empty of character? How does Jesus respond when
Speaker 2: you say I got nothing to give, I'm all out
Speaker 2: of gas, I'm living on fumes. What does Jesus do
Speaker 2: when you come to him in your emptiness. Does he
Speaker 2: scold you no? Does he judge you no? Does he
Speaker 2: reprimand you say, oh, you should be full.
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 2: In fact, he does the exact opposite. Jesus says this
Speaker 2: in Matthew chapter eleven. Look at this Matthew Chapter eleven,
Speaker 2: verses twenty eight to thirty.
Speaker 3: He says this, if you.
Speaker 2: Are tired, I would assume that includes a lot of
Speaker 2: people sitting here right now and those who are listening
Speaker 2: in daily hope. If you're tired from carrying heavy burdens,
Speaker 2: come to me.
Speaker 3: Come to me, and I will give you a whole
Speaker 3: lot more to do. Oh no, that's not what he says.
Speaker 2: He didn't say, come to me and I'll give you
Speaker 2: a whole bunch of new things to do.
Speaker 3: No, he says, I will give you what rest. Anybody
Speaker 3: like that, That's what Jesus says.
Speaker 2: When you come to in with your emptiness, come to
Speaker 2: me and I will give you r e st. Now
Speaker 2: he's not talking about physical rest.
Speaker 3: You can get that.
Speaker 2: He's talking about emotional and spiritual rest. You can be
Speaker 2: physically rested and still feel empty inside. We're not talking
Speaker 2: about physical emptiness today.
Speaker 3: You know the last two days.
Speaker 2: You know what I did each of our grand kids
Speaker 2: when they turned ten, Kay and I take them on
Speaker 2: a ten on a two day trip to wherever they
Speaker 2: want to go in California. And it's on your tenth birthday.
Speaker 2: The last of our grandkids turned to in. Claire turned
Speaker 2: ten this week, and so we said, wherever you want
Speaker 2: to go in California. Some have gone to San Francisco,
Speaker 2: some have gone to Tahoe. Claire decided two days of Disneyland.
Speaker 2: I walk my tushy off for the last two days.
Speaker 2: First day, we walked nine point two miles. I measured
Speaker 2: it over thirty thousand steps in Disneyland, We've been on
Speaker 2: every ride you can possibly imagine, and we were there
Speaker 2: for two days. I'll be honest with you, guys, I'm
Speaker 2: tired today. But that didn't have to do with my
Speaker 2: emotional state. It doesn't have to do with my mental
Speaker 2: or physical or spiritual state.
Speaker 3: I'm just tired. So thank you guys, figuring it all
Speaker 3: out on your own. Goodbye. No, no, you know.
Speaker 2: Oh, you can be physically tired but not spiritually empty
Speaker 2: and not emotionally empty, or you could be physically fit.
Speaker 3: Some of you are physically fit.
Speaker 2: You look like it, but you're emotionally empty or you're
Speaker 2: spiritually empty. So Jesus when he says come to me,
Speaker 2: and I'll give you rest, he's talking about rest for
Speaker 2: your soul. In fact, he says that later in the passage,
Speaker 2: if you're tired of carrying heavy burdens, come to me
Speaker 2: and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you.
Speaker 2: Then learn from me, for I'm gentle and humble in spirit,
Speaker 2: and you will find rest for your soul. That's the
Speaker 2: refilling your tank. For the yoke I share with you
Speaker 2: is easy to wear, and it makes the load light.
Speaker 2: The load is light. Now, I want you to circle.
Speaker 2: If you're taking notes, circle the word come, circle the
Speaker 2: word take, and circle the word learn. These are the
Speaker 2: first steps and we're gonna look at those steps on
Speaker 2: how to keep your tank filled. Take notes on this.
Speaker 2: Here are the steps that Jesus tells us what to do. Ready,
Speaker 2: Step number one, get fed up with how I've been feeling.
Speaker 3: Get fed up with how I've been feeling.
Speaker 2: Nothing is gonna change in your life until you get
Speaker 2: this satisfied with it, dissatisfied with the way that you feel.
Speaker 2: Right now, you have to come to the point in
Speaker 2: your life, my friends, where you say, I'm not gonna
Speaker 2: live this way anymore. I've had enough. I'm not gonna
Speaker 2: stay this way anymore. I'm going to change. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: do something about the way that I feel. Nothing happens
Speaker 2: until you get desperate.
Speaker 3: It's just too easy to.
Speaker 2: Put up with everything you're going through, even when you
Speaker 2: don't like it, simply because it's familiar. It's uncomfortable, it
Speaker 2: may be even painful, it may be even empty, but
Speaker 2: is familiar. So what is it that's going to cause
Speaker 2: you to finally get fed up with your current situation,
Speaker 2: your current circumstance, and the way that you've been feeling
Speaker 2: about it.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope Rip 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 4: Do you ever feel like your prayer life has become
Speaker 4: inconsistent or routine and needs a boost, then you're going
Speaker 4: to want to get a copy of the brand new
Speaker 4: Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme experiencing God's face. Please.
Speaker 4: We'll help you tap into God's power and presence as
Speaker 4: you discover the keys to praying with passion and purpose.
Speaker 4: This journal features a soft touch, vegan leather cover and
Speaker 4: two hundred thirty five beautifully designed pages filled with over
Speaker 4: one hundred and fifty life changing Bible Versus photos and artwork.
Speaker 4: It's a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy
Speaker 4: a vibrant prayer life, connect with the Lord, and establish
Speaker 4: a consistent daily prayer time. As you use this journal,
Speaker 4: you'll be amazed at how faithful God is to answer
Speaker 4: your prayers. You'll be reminded every day how much God
Speaker 4: loves you and wants to be part of your life.
Speaker 4: When you give a gift to help Daily Hope reach
Speaker 4: people around the world with the hope of Jesus, will
Speaker 4: send you this brand new Daily Hope Prayer Journal to
Speaker 4: say thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't delay. Visit Fastererik
Speaker 4: dot com or call eight hundred at six hundred five
Speaker 4: zero zero four to get this year's brand new Daily
Speaker 4: Hope for your journal and all this month. Any gift
Speaker 4: you give will be matched by very generous friends up
Speaker 4: to one hundred thousand dollars. This matching grant is only
Speaker 4: available until midnight December thirty first, so please contact us
Speaker 4: today again, that's Pastorick dot com or call eight hundred
Speaker 4: to six hundred at five zero zero four. Thank you
Speaker 4: so much for your support, and don't forget to tell
Speaker 4: us that you listen to Daily Hope on the radio.
Speaker 1: Now back to more from God's Word with Pastor Rick Warren.
Speaker 2: So what is it that's going to cause you to
Speaker 2: finally get fed up with your current situation, your current
Speaker 2: circumstance and the way that you've been feeling about it.
Speaker 2: I've talked to thousands and thousands and thousands of people
Speaker 2: about this issue over the last forty two years, a
Speaker 2: saddleback pastor, and I've discovered that there are only three
Speaker 2: times when people really really change. Three things change people
Speaker 2: pain perspective and no other choice. Pain perspective and no
Speaker 2: other choice. You're not gonna change the situation you're in.
Speaker 2: You're not gonna change the way you feel until you
Speaker 2: either have enough pain or you change the perspective or there's.
Speaker 3: No other choice.
Speaker 2: Now, let me show you just three Bible examples of
Speaker 2: what I just said. First, Solomon Solomon says this about
Speaker 2: pain in Proverbs, chapter twenty, verse twenty seven to thirty.
Speaker 2: He says this, the Lord gave us a conscience and
Speaker 2: a mind, so we cannot hide from ourselves.
Speaker 3: I know when I'm in pain, I know when I'm empty.
Speaker 2: But he says, sometimes it takes a painful situation to
Speaker 2: make us change our ways. Everybody agree with that, sometimes
Speaker 2: it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.
Speaker 2: You see, we don't change when we see the light.
Speaker 2: We change when we feel the heat, and when the
Speaker 2: heat's on. We never change until the fear of change
Speaker 2: is exceeded by the pain. And that's why you stay
Speaker 2: with situations and circumstances, and stay even with the feelings
Speaker 2: of emptiness and dissatisfaction in your own life, because you're
Speaker 2: not in enough pain yet, you haven't hit the bottom.
Speaker 2: It hadn't gotten that bad yet for you. And until
Speaker 2: you get so discomfortable, so dissatisfied, we only change when
Speaker 2: our pain is greater than the problem or the fear
Speaker 2: of change.
Speaker 3: So pain will cause you to change. Number two, we get.
Speaker 2: This from the story of the Parable of the Jesus,
Speaker 2: Parable of the Prodigal Son, the story of the Lost Son.
Speaker 3: You remember that guy.
Speaker 2: He's a young kid, and he says, Dad, I want
Speaker 2: my inheritance now even and he leaves, takes all of
Speaker 2: his inheritance and goes to Las Vegas downtown strip and
Speaker 2: spends all his money on wine.
Speaker 3: Women's song and he says this.
Speaker 2: It says there about the situation. He wasted everything he'd
Speaker 2: been given on foolish living until he was broke, miserable,
Speaker 2: and starving. He had to get a job feeding pigs.
Speaker 2: Now you remember, pork is anathema for Jews. This guy's
Speaker 2: Jewish and what's he doing. He's feeding pigs. So he's
Speaker 2: got it. Not only a dirty job, he's got a
Speaker 2: job he's not supposed to even be doing. He had
Speaker 2: to get a job feeding pigs, and he became so
Speaker 2: hungry he is willing to eat the pigs food. You
Speaker 2: got to be pretty hungry to eat pig slop. But
Speaker 2: finally he came to his census. That's perspective. I've been
Speaker 2: teaching you on perspective every week in this series on
Speaker 2: strategies for Stressful Times. We talked about it last week,
Speaker 2: how you got to have God's perspective. He came to
Speaker 2: his senses, and that's when we change. He came to
Speaker 2: his census, and he said to himself, what's saying to himself?
Speaker 3: Self? Talk?
Speaker 2: You talk to yourself all the time. He said to
Speaker 2: himself self, this is not right. I don't not to
Speaker 2: stay this way if I don't want to. Finally, he
Speaker 2: came to his census and he said to himself, why
Speaker 2: am I living like this at my father's home? Even
Speaker 2: the higher servants eat better than I do. So he
Speaker 2: decided to get up and go home to his father.
Speaker 2: Solomon says, pain will motivate me, and the prodigal son
Speaker 2: says a perspective. Hey, there, I don't have to live
Speaker 2: this way. The people who work for my dad eat
Speaker 2: better than I do. I go home, just be a servant,
Speaker 2: and that would be better than what I'm living right now.
Speaker 2: So pain and perspective, But job, I mean. Jonah, the
Speaker 2: third guy, gives us an example of how we change
Speaker 2: when we finally have no other choice. And when Jonah
Speaker 2: hits bottom, and I mean literally bottom, He's thrown over
Speaker 2: board on a ship.
Speaker 3: He sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Speaker 2: And in Jonah Chapter two, we have Jonah's prayer at
Speaker 2: the bottom of the ocean, and one of the things
Speaker 2: he says in Jonah two seven, one of my favorite
Speaker 2: verses in the Bible.
Speaker 3: When I had lost all hope, I.
Speaker 2: Turned my thoughts once again to the Lord. When you
Speaker 2: don't have any other choice, that's when you turn to
Speaker 2: the Lord. Now, nothing is going to change in your life.
Speaker 2: That emptiness, that despondency, that depression, that feeling of unulfilled
Speaker 2: nothing's going to change too. You get dissatisfied with the
Speaker 2: way you are, and it will either be pain, or
Speaker 2: it'll be perspective from what we talk about here, or
Speaker 2: it'll be you have no other choice. But sometimes it
Speaker 2: requires all three. Now, that's why Jesus starts his solution
Speaker 2: to your emptiness by saying this look on the screen.
Speaker 2: If you're tired, in other words, if you're not tired
Speaker 2: of the way you're living, Jesus doesn't have anything to
Speaker 2: offer you. Let me just be honest with you. If
Speaker 2: you're satisfied with the way you're living right now, Jesus
Speaker 2: has nothing to offer you. If you're self satisfied, even
Speaker 2: smug about what happens happening in your life, going, I
Speaker 2: don't need anything. Nothing needs to improve in my life,
Speaker 2: Jesus has nothing to offer you. On the other hand,
Speaker 2: if you are tired, that means I get fed up.
Speaker 2: I am tired of living the way. If you're tired
Speaker 2: from carrying heavy loads, if you're not tired of trying
Speaker 2: to solve all the problems by yourself, Jesus can't help you.
Speaker 3: So let me ask you.
Speaker 2: Are you tired? Are you tired of running on empty?
Speaker 2: Are you fed up with the emptiness that you've been
Speaker 2: feeling in your life? And are you willing to do
Speaker 2: something about it? As I said, we don't change until
Speaker 2: we feel the heat. You have to come to some
Speaker 2: point in your life where you go I have had enough.
Speaker 2: I refuse to live this way any longer. It is
Speaker 2: a point of dissatisfaction.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: Now, let me ask you in personal question, friend a friend,
Speaker 2: do any of you You don't have to raise your
Speaker 2: hand on this, but do you feel you're at a
Speaker 2: breaking point right now? If you do, I want you
Speaker 2: to write this down. I'm gonna put it on a screen.
Speaker 2: Write this down. A breakdown is the door to a breakthrough.
Speaker 2: Just write that down. A breakdown is always the door
Speaker 2: to a breakthrough. There is no breakthrough until you have
Speaker 2: the breakdown, the breakdown of my pride, my arrogancet, my
Speaker 2: self sufficiency, a breakdown when I realize I can't do
Speaker 2: this on my own. A breakdown is always the door
Speaker 2: to a breakthrough, and I want you, as your friend,
Speaker 2: to have a breakthrough now. Now, let me give you
Speaker 2: another thing to write down. Write this down underneath it.
Speaker 2: I can't make a comeback until I admit my setback.
Speaker 2: If you're unwilling to admit that you have a setback
Speaker 2: and that you're empty, that you need God's help in
Speaker 2: your life.
Speaker 3: Nobody can help you. Right now, I can't have a comeback.
Speaker 2: Every comeback requires a setback first.
Speaker 3: But you got to admit it now. Once you've done
Speaker 3: this first step, which is get fed up.
Speaker 2: I'm fed up with the way I've been feeling. Now
Speaker 2: you're ready for step two. It's real simple.
Speaker 3: Three words. Come to Jesus. Write that down. Come to Jesus.
Speaker 2: That means you bring the good and the bad in
Speaker 2: your life. You bring the frustrating and the painful, You
Speaker 2: bring the shameful things in your life, You bring the
Speaker 2: exhausting things in your life. You bring everything to Jesus,
Speaker 2: and you come to Jesus.
Speaker 3: Jesus says this.
Speaker 2: If you're tired, okay, I'm fed up. If you're tired
Speaker 2: from carrying heavy loads, heavy burden, come to me and
Speaker 2: I'll give you rest. Now, Notice who you're to come
Speaker 2: to and what you're to come to, he says, come
Speaker 2: to me, and what he gives you back?
Speaker 3: Who do you come to Jesus? What does he give
Speaker 3: you back? Rest?
Speaker 2: The notice, friends, It doesn't say come to religion. Religion
Speaker 2: can't help you. He didn't say come to rules. Rules
Speaker 2: can't help you when you're empty. He doesn't say come
Speaker 2: to rituals. Rituals can't help you when you're empty. He
Speaker 2: doesn't say come to regulations. Regulations won't help you and
Speaker 2: you're empty.
Speaker 3: He says, come to me.
Speaker 2: Come to me, the anecdote to your emptiness, the antidote
Speaker 2: to your overload, the antidote to all the ucky things
Speaker 2: that you're feeling right now, that overloaded soul, that empty soul.
Speaker 2: It's not a plan for time management, okay. It's not
Speaker 2: a program for stress relief. It's not a philosophy. It's
Speaker 2: not a program. It's not a pill. It's a person
Speaker 2: come to me. You come to Jesus, not to religion
Speaker 2: or any that you come to Jesus. Now, I've studied
Speaker 2: scripture all my life, and you know, I've discovered that
Speaker 2: in the Bible, people came to Jesus for a lot
Speaker 2: of different reasons, some of them good, some of them bad.
Speaker 2: Some came for forgiveness, some came for healing, some to
Speaker 2: Jesus for advice, some came for eternal life, some because
Speaker 2: they had a question. You know what, Jesus didn't care
Speaker 2: why people came to him as long as they came
Speaker 2: to him. Jesus doesn't care why you come to him,
Speaker 2: just that you come to him. Look at this verse
Speaker 2: on the screen, John six thirty seven, who Jesus says,
Speaker 2: whoever comes to me, I will never reject.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We're so happy
Speaker 1: you've chosen to study along with us today. You know
Speaker 1: you can get hope and encouragement from Pastor Rick delivered
Speaker 1: to your inbox every day. Just go to Pastorick dot
Speaker 1: com and sign up for his free daily devotional. Rick
Speaker 1: will be right back to close out our time today.
Speaker 1: But first, if you want to make your time in
Speaker 1: prayer the best it can be. Then you're going to
Speaker 1: want to get a copy of this year's Daily Hope
Speaker 1: Prayer Journal Experiencing God's Peace. It will help you tap
Speaker 1: into God's power and presence as you discover the keys
Speaker 1: to praying with passion and purpose. Here's Rick to tell
Speaker 1: you more.
Speaker 2: Do you ever feel like your prayers get stuck in
Speaker 2: a rut? Would you like to know what God told
Speaker 2: me to do when my prayer life got stuck in
Speaker 2: a rut. It was a time when I just felt
Speaker 2: like I was praying the same thing over and over
Speaker 2: and over. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if
Speaker 2: God was even answering my prayers or even listening. Maybe
Speaker 2: you felt that way sometimes, or maybe you feel that
Speaker 2: way right now. So what did God tell me to do? Well,
Speaker 2: here's what he told me. It was such a powerful
Speaker 2: way to re energize my prayer life, and it was
Speaker 2: so simple that I want to pass it on to you.
Speaker 2: God told me to do this, he said, Rick. Start
Speaker 2: writing down what you're saying to me, and then I
Speaker 2: want you to write.
Speaker 3: Down what I say to you.
Speaker 2: Write down what you say to me, and then write
Speaker 2: down what I say to you. You see, it's really
Speaker 2: not that complicated. God just said I should art by
Speaker 2: writing down what I'm feeling, and then I should write
Speaker 2: down what he tells me after I've read his word.
Speaker 2: It's really just a form of journaling, and spiritual journaling
Speaker 2: is a spiritual habit that will help your prayers stay
Speaker 2: fresh and effective. If you've never tried it, I'm begging
Speaker 2: you try this for a week or two and see
Speaker 2: if it doesn't reinvigorate your prayer life. Journaling has many
Speaker 2: many benefits to your spiritual life. It'll help you stay
Speaker 2: consistent in your prayers. It'll give you a permanent reminder
Speaker 2: of how God answers your prayers. Because you re've written
Speaker 2: him down. It shows how God is working in your life.
Speaker 2: You can go back and review it. It'll even help
Speaker 2: you worship God more and more as you speak to him.
Speaker 2: God speaks to people who care enough to write it down.
Speaker 2: So write down what God tells you. But you've got
Speaker 2: to have a place to do that.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: I want to encourage you, and I want to help
Speaker 2: you take this simple step of learning this new spiritual
Speaker 2: habit in your prayers, of writing down your prayers and
Speaker 2: writing down your prayer request. So what I did is
Speaker 2: I had my Daily Hope team create a brand new
Speaker 2: spiritual prayer journal. It's got a real simple to follow
Speaker 2: format that will help you put into practice God's wisdom
Speaker 2: that is found in Philippians four to six that says this,
Speaker 2: don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything, Tell God
Speaker 2: what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Speaker 2: Those four things are part of the format of our
Speaker 2: prayer journal for this year. It's really cool. You're going
Speaker 2: to love this tool.
Speaker 1: This journal features a vegan leather cover and two hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty five beautifully designed pages filled with over one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty inspiring Bible verses, photos, and artwork. It's
Speaker 1: a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy a
Speaker 1: vibrant prayer life. Visit Pastorrek dot com or call eight
Speaker 1: hundred six hundred five thousand and four to get this
Speaker 1: year's brand new Daily Hope Prayer Journal and all this month,
Speaker 1: any gift you give will be matched by very generous
Speaker 1: friends up to one hundred thousand dollars. This matching grant
Speaker 1: is only available until midnight, December thirty first, so please
Speaker 1: contact us today again, that's Pastorick dot com or call
Speaker 1: eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for your support, and please don't forget to
Speaker 1: tell us you listen to Daily Hope.
Speaker 3: On the radio.
Speaker 1: Be sure to join us next time as we look
Speaker 1: into God's word for our daily hope. This program is
Speaker 1: sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial
Speaker 1: support