WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:06.639 Hello everybody, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This 2 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.400 is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. Now today 3 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.880 we're continuing into the new year, and we're digging deeper 4 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:18.120 into one of life's biggest questions, does my life really matter? 5 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:22.640 In today's message, Rick's going to continue his powerful series 6 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.160 Live Your Calling. What on Earth Am I here for? 7 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:29.719 In it, you'll discover how living out God's purpose for 8 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:34.640 your life brings real meaning, direction, and joy no matter 9 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.240 where you're starting from. All right, Now, here's part two 10 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:40.840 of a message called Why God Made You. 11 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:43.399 God puts you on this planet for eighty years, a 12 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:46.640 hundred years the most to practice what you're going to 13 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:50.719 do in heaven. He wants you to practice here. This 14 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.359 life is preparation for the next and one of the 15 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:56.039 things you're going to do in heaven is love God. 16 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:57.920 So he wants you to practice here. He wants you 17 00:00:57.960 --> 00:00:59.479 to learn how to love Him here. He wants you 18 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.119 to learn to worship here because we're going to worship 19 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.840 in heaven. And the other thing, we're gonna fellowship in heaven. 20 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:08.879 We're gonna love each other in the family of God. 21 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:11.280 That's called fellowship what's he wants you to do. He 22 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.439 wants you to practice here. He wants you to learn 23 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:16.519 how to love God and how to learn other people 24 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:18.319 love other people here on earth. So when you get 25 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.040 to heaven, you're not a dufus. You know exactly what 26 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:27.319 to do. So write this down. The second purpose of 27 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:30.319 my life. What on earth am I here for? Is 28 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:36.519 to learn to love others. Learn to love others. And 29 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.519 the place you learn to love others is in God's family. 30 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:45.519 The church is the laboratory for learning how to love. 31 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:50.120 You don't learn how to love in business. You don't 32 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:54.719 learn how to love in school. You don't learn how 33 00:01:54.719 --> 00:02:00.599 to love competing with other people in sports. The God's 34 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:05.000 family is the laboratory for learning real love. Now I've 35 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.680 heard people say this, Well, I don't really need the church. 36 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:10.560 All I need to do is get alone in nature 37 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.560 and then I can love God. Well that's true. Actually 38 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.560 that is true. And God created that nature and that's 39 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.840 why we feel close to God nature. And it is true. 40 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:22.919 You can get alone in nature and love God, but 41 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.599 you can't get alone in nature and love other people. 42 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:27.840 And that's the second purpose of your life. And your 43 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.919 life has more than one purpose. It has five And 44 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.039 the only way you're going to learn to love people. 45 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.960 I hate to tell you this is by getting around 46 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:44.400 some unlovely people. Now, don't look at them. You got 47 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:46.360 to be around unloving people. I've told you this before. 48 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:48.759 If you can't think, who are the unlovely people in 49 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:53.080 my life? I hate to tell you this, it's you, Okay. Now, 50 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.840 God wants us to learn to love real people, with 51 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.960 all of their quirks and their false and their flaws 52 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:05.159 and their social you know, mess ups and things like that. 53 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:07.639 God wants you to learn real love, real people, not 54 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.599 ideal people. You know, all love people in heaven. Yeah, 55 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:14.960 in heaven. To dwell above with those we love, that 56 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:18.080 will be a glory. But to dwell below with those 57 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:23.280 we know, that's another story. God says, no, No, this 58 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.960 is why you're here, not in heaven. First, I want 59 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.080 you to learn real love where it's difficult, where you 60 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:33.400 have to learn that love is a choice. Romans twelve, 61 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:37.240 verse five says this, we belong to each other, and 62 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:41.479 each of us needs all the others. You will not 63 00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:44.120 make it in your purposes in life without being a 64 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:48.520 part of a spiritual family. Number three, write this down. 65 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:54.000 God created me to become like Christ. That's the third 66 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:58.919 purpose in life. God created me to become like Christ. 67 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.439 And once you understand in this, life's going to make 68 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:04.479 a whole lot more sense because God wants you to 69 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:09.360 grow up spiritually and the model of perfection is Jesus. 70 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.960 Jesus is the only perfect human being whoever lived, because 71 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.479 he was God come to earth in human form. He 72 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.680 lived a perfect life. He showed us exactly what it 73 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.800 meant to be fully human. So God wants you to 74 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:24.879 learn to think like Jesus, to act like Jesus, to 75 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:28.839 respond like Jesus, to talk like Jesus, to value like Jesus. 76 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.720 This is the third purpose in your life. Once you're 77 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.720 born into the family, God wants you to grow up 78 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:40.240 in the family and the model for growth is Jesus Christ. Now, 79 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.399 God is far more interested, don't miss this. God is 80 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:48.879 far more interested in who you are than what you do. 81 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.279 We're always worried about what does God want me to do? God? 82 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:53.360 What job should I have? Where should I go to work, 83 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:54.920 where should I go to school? What should I do? 84 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.160 And we're always worried about what we should do. God 85 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.519 is much more interested, not in what you do, but 86 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:03.680 in what you become. And the reason why is you're 87 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:08.839 not taking your career to heaven. You're not taking your 88 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:13.439 car to heaven. You're not taking your cash to heaven. 89 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:16.800 How much money you're making. You're not taking your china 90 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:20.639 to heaven. You're taking your character. The only thing that's 91 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.560 going to heaven after your eighty years or so here 92 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.399 on Earth is you. You're not taking any of your accomplishments. 93 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:29.959 You're not taking any of your achievements. You're not taking 94 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.240 any of your acquisitions. You're not taking any of your things. 95 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.240 You've piled up stockpilbum, money, materialism, and stuff like that. 96 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:39.480 None of that's going to heaven. The only thing that's 97 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.720 going to heaven is the person you became, the man 98 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.680 you became, the woman you became. The only thing you're 99 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:50.319 taking to heaven is your character. And God puts you 100 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:54.560 on this planet to develop your character, to grow up spiritually, 101 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.680 and to become like Jesus Christ, because that's what he's 102 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.319 interested in. He's not interested in what you do. He's 103 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:04.240 interested in who you are. Now, let me show you 104 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:09.519 a couple verses Romans, Chapter eight, verse twenty nine. From 105 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:15.199 the very beginning, God decided that those who came to him, 106 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.800 and all along he knew who would. He knows who's 107 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.800 gonna come into his family. He knows who's gonna accept him, 108 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.759 who's gonna let him adopt him into family. All along 109 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:25.959 he knows who would. He decided that those who came 110 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:31.399 to him should become like his son. It's always been 111 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.879 the plan of God that you become like Jesus Colossians 112 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:39.439 one fifteen. We look at the sun Jesus and see 113 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:45.360 God's original purpose in everything created. Now, this is not 114 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.319 Plan B. It's been God's plan from the very beginning. 115 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:52.040 Even before Adam sinned, God created Adam and said, let's 116 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:56.160 make man in our image. From the very beginning, God 117 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:01.160 has been wanting to make us like himself. Now, God 118 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.160 doesn't want you to become a god. You're never going 119 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.079 to become a god. Never never never never never never 120 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:10.839 never never never never. You're never gonna be a god. Now, 121 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.199 there's a whole movement out there called the New Age movements. Us. 122 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:19.199 You're a god, You're a goddess. God is within you, 123 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:21.720 You're the God. You're the master of your union. You're 124 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.240 not a god. You're not even a mini me God. 125 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:29.800 If you're a god, why don't you solve all your problems? 126 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:33.680 You're not a god and you never will be. You 127 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:35.720 can't solve the problems of the world. You can't solve 128 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.759 your own problems. You're not a god. And that new 129 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:44.439 age is actually Satan told us to Eve in the 130 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:46.759 garden of Eden. It's the first lie. He said, eat 131 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:49.360 this fruit and you'll be God. It's not new age, 132 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:53.879 it's old lie. In fact, it's the oldest lie. That 133 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:56.560 you're a god. That is the oldest lie in the universe. 134 00:07:57.439 --> 00:07:59.639 You're never going to be a god. But God says, 135 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:01.000 I don't want you to be a god. I want 136 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.360 you to become godly. That means tell the truth like 137 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:10.040 I tell the truth, Be faithful like I'm faithful, Love 138 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.399 like I love, Be patient and forgiving like I'm patient 139 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.759 and forgiving. God says, I want you to be godly. 140 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:20.519 I want you to become like me in character, in wisdom, 141 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:25.560 in your values, and in who you are. Now. When 142 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:28.720 things happen you, the normal question you ask is the 143 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:33.039 word why, why is this happening? Why is this happening 144 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:36.840 to me? Why is this happening now? And the answer 145 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.840 to all the why questions of life? Is this to 146 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:45.399 make you like Jesus? To make you like Jesus. If 147 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:47.080 God's going to make you like Jesus, He's going to 148 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:51.240 take you through everything Jesus went through, and Jesus wasn't 149 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:55.159 spared from difficulty. Was there are times when Jesus was lonely? Yes? 150 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.879 Time when he was misunderstood? Yes? Were the times when 151 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.720 Jesus was disappointed by people? Yes? Were the times when 152 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:03.039 who's tempted to be discouraged and give up? Yes? We 153 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.240 are there times when who's just tempted? Yes? And if 154 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:08.519 God let his own son go through all that, don't 155 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:11.600 you think he's gonna let you go through it too? Yes? Why? 156 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:14.720 Because He's more interested in your character than your comfort. 157 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:19.080 This is not the comfort side of life. The comfort's 158 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:22.519 gonna come in eternity. Comfort's gonna come in heaven. This 159 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:25.840 is the classroom side of life where you are to learn. 160 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:30.720 In some things you only learn through difficulty. The Bible 161 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:34.799 says in Philippians chapter two, verse five, in your lives 162 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.440 you must think and act like Christ Jesus. This is 163 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:41.679 the third purpose for your life. You must learn to 164 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:45.399 think and act like Christ Jesus. So if I'm supposed 165 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:50.120 to think and act like Christ Jesus, what is Jesus like? Well, 166 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.519 I've told you this before that the perfect picture of 167 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:55.159 Jesus in the Bible is Galatians five, twenty two and 168 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:58.799 twenty three. It's often called the Fruit of the Spirit 169 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:03.159 and its It says in Galatians the fruit of the 170 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:13.320 Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, 171 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:17.159 nine qualities. What is that? That's a perfect picture of Jesus. 172 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.080 God wants you to love like Jesus, to be at 173 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.840 peace like Jesus, to be patient like Jesus. God wants 174 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:25.799 you to be faithful like Jesus. God wants you to 175 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:29.840 have self control like Jesus had self control. Now here's 176 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:34.360 the question, how does God teach us the fruit of 177 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.639 the spirit. How does God make us like Jesus like? 178 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:39.720 For instance, if God wants to make turn me into 179 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:43.120 a great loving person, a real lover, what am I doing. 180 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:45.399 I'm just gonna walking down the street one day and 181 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.000 all said, I'm zapped with love and I love everybody 182 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:53.639 and just call me buddy love. You know, No, No, 183 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.279 it doesn't happen that way. There's no pill you can 184 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.200 take that's gonna make you patient for the rest of 185 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.000 your life, or loving for the rest of your life. 186 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.039 Life are faithful for the rest of your life. There's 187 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:07.159 no seminar, there's no book, there's no experience that's gonna 188 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.879 zap you, and all of a sudden you're like Jesus 189 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:11.919 and you never have a problem and you're never tempted again. 190 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.720 It's a lifelong process becoming like Jesus. That process is 191 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:23.120 called discipleship. Worship. Fellowship, discipleship are the first three purposes 192 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.639 of life. Know and love God, learn to love others, 193 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.840 and grow up like Christ and that it takes time, 194 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:33.360 and it takes and God. Here's how does God do it. 195 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:38.279 He puts you in the exact opposite situation. And that's 196 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.200 easy to love people who are lovely. If God's gonna 197 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.919 teach you real love, He's gonna put you around unlovely 198 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:49.240 people so that you have to learn to love. Love 199 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:52.080 is a choice. It's easy to love people who are 200 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:57.840 cool like you. No, if God's gonna teach you real love, 201 00:11:57.879 --> 00:11:59.639 he puts you around some people that are difficult to love, 202 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.039 hard to love. When they talk, they spit on you. 203 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.360 And you know that kind of stuff, and they irritate you, 204 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.759 and they get in your face, and they talk too much, 205 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:09.480 and on and on and on and on, and they 206 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.279 irritate you in there like heavenly sandpaper. God's teaching you love. 207 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.679 How about joy? How does God teach you joy? Joy 208 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:23.480 is different than happiness. Happiness depends on happenings. If things 209 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:25.200 are going good in your life, you're happy. Things are 210 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:29.960 going bad, you're unhappy. Happiness depends on circumstances. I go 211 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.240 to Disneyland and unhappy, the happiest place on earth. When 212 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:36.279 I come out, I realize how much I spent. I'm 213 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:40.639 not happy. I spent way too much money in the 214 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:44.000 happiest place on earth and it didn't last. But before 215 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.600 I get to the goofy parking lot, I'm already sad again. 216 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:54.279 Joy is different happiness. Joy is internal, and joy is eternal. 217 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:59.120 You learn joy in the middle of grief. I could 218 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.279 talk to you a lot about one. How to learn 219 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.440 joy in the middle of grief? Patience? How does God 220 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:10.960 teach you patience by testing it by irritations, by chaos. 221 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:14.320 It's easy to be patient and at peace when everything's 222 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:17.840 going your way. If you're on a backpacking thing up 223 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:20.519 in the Colorado Rockies and you're in a beautiful stream 224 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.799 fly fishing. You got it doesn't get any better than this, 225 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:28.559 And well, anybody can be peaceful and patient when things 226 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:31.480 are going your way. But real peace and real patience 227 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:36.080 has learned in the middle of chaos. Peace has learned 228 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.799 in the middle of difficulty. How does God teach you patience? 229 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:48.279 Department of Motor vehicles, all right, traffic jams, doctors, waiting rooms. 230 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.799 Have you ever been in a hurry and God's not? 231 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:54.600 When you're sitting in God's waiting room and you've asked 232 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:56.840 for God to answer prayer and God doesn't seem to 233 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.360 be in any hurry to answer it, and you say, God, 234 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:01.360 I need this right now. God just doesn't seem to 235 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:04.440 be in any hurry. You're in God's waiting room. What's 236 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.480 he doing? He's trying to teach you patience. One time, 237 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:10.399 I was going through some really bad trials, bad difficulties, 238 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:14.480 and I prayed, God, I need patience. Instead of the 239 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.919 problems getting better, they got worse. And then I prayed God, 240 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.759 I need patience, and they got more worse. God, I 241 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.639 really really need patience, and they got really bad. And 242 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.399 after about six months I realized I'm a lot more 243 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.440 patient than when I started out six months ago. And 244 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.960 so God wants to make character in your life. That's 245 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:40.159 why you have problems. If you had no problems, if 246 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.120 you got every prayer instantly answered like a you know, 247 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.840 venning machine, you put in the prayer and pull out 248 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:49.240 the cigarettes or whatever you got. A vending machine will 249 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.360 give you bad stuff. God won't. If you got everything 250 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.480 you want, everything went your way, you had no problems, 251 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:59.360 you would be a spoiled brat, self centered brat. And 252 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:04.399 the whole of life is learning unselfishness, learning it's not 253 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.720 about you. Some people never learn that it's not about you. 254 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:10.600 Most people end up at the end of their life 255 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:13.720 still think it's all about me. It's not about you. 256 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.519 It's about learning to love God and learning to love 257 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.200 other people. And that's where fulfillment and joy and purpose 258 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.240 comes from. We must become, I think and act like 259 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:28.000 Jesus Christ. Now this is a lifelong journey. Look at 260 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.519 the next verse Tewod Corinthians three eighteen. As the spirit 261 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:37.679 of the Lord works within us, we become more and 262 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.279 more and more, in other words, progressively, it's a transition 263 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:45.279 more and more like him. So what does God do 264 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.399 to make you like Jesus. He uses truth, you're listening 265 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.559 to it right now. He uses trouble, he uses trials. 266 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:55.879 God uses temptations to make you like Jesus. Why Jesus 267 00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:00.360 was tempted? Temptation is just a choice. Well, it's a 268 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:02.120 choice to do bad. Well, it's also a choice to 269 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:05.480 do good. It's just a choice. And every time you 270 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:09.120 have a tempted temptation, when you choose to do bad, 271 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.799 you know you're defeated. When you choose to do good, 272 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.240 you grow so temptation. Every time you have a temptation 273 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:20.279 and you respond correctly, you actually grow, You grow more 274 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:24.360 like Jesus. He uses people. What am I saying? You know, 275 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.559 those problems you don't like in your life, Every problem 276 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:31.799 has a purpose, and that purpose is to make you 277 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.720 like Jesus. There is no situation in your life you 278 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:39.720 cannot grow from if you'll just trust Jesus and if 279 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.960 you'll just learn to respond in the right way. So 280 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.480 I want you to write this down. The third purpose 281 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:50.759 of my life is to grow up spiritually. First I'm 282 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:54.559 born again, then I grow up. And God wants you 283 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.360 to grow up and he wants you to develop spiritual depth. 284 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:04.880 Is it possible to grow old without growing up? Yeah? Again, 285 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.920 don't look at them, But you know people who are 286 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.279 growing older every day and not growing up, and they're 287 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:18.079 stuck in perpetual adolescents. They're stuck in perpetual infancy. One 288 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.960 of the biggest problems in America today is shallow living. 289 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.240 One of the most biggest problems in America today is 290 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:30.119 immature people who refuse to grow up. We are a 291 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:34.799 nation of spiritual babies. What is the hallmark of a 292 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:41.519 spiritual baby? Babies are one self centered. A baby can't 293 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:44.920 think of anybody else. All can think about is me, me, me, me, me, me, I, 294 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.440 I I my my my needs. I want it, I 295 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:50.720 want it now. Babies don't know the difference we know 296 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.200 and not yet. Babies don't know how to delay gratification. 297 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.960 Babies have to have instant fulfillment. Babies have to have 298 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:03.000 focused on their feelings, short term thinking, manipulated by their moods. 299 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.640 I've got to have it now. That sounds like American culture. 300 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:14.079 We have a very immature, spiritual baby culture where everybody 301 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:15.880 wants to talk about my rights. I got to do 302 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:20.160 what's best for me and not their responsibilities. God says, 303 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.960 I want you to grow up. Mark Chapter four, verse 304 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:29.039 seventeen talks about shallow people and says some people have 305 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:33.680 such a shallow soil of character that when their emotions 306 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.400 wear off, Oh I praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, 307 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:42.519 and difficulty arrives, there's nothing to show for it. They're 308 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.720 fair weather believers. So my first purpose is to know 309 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:50.799 him and love him back. Then God formed me for 310 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:53.640 his family. My second purpose is to get in his 311 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:56.119 family the church, and learn how to love other people. 312 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:01.480 Then God created me to become like Christ. And the 313 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.519 third purpose of life is he wants me to grow 314 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:09.119 up spiritually. He wants me to grow up spiritually. You 315 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:12.759 might write that down. Then number four, the fourth purpose 316 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.559 of life is once you begin to know God and 317 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.240 love God and you begin to grow in God, then 318 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:20.400 he wants you to learn to serve Him. And here's 319 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:24.880 the fourth thing. God shaped me to serve him. God 320 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:31.440 shaped me to serve Him, and He uniquely shaped you 321 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:34.640 in a way like no one else. There are no 322 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.039 two people on the planet the same. You are unique 323 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.880 in every single way. You have a unique voice print, 324 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:42.200 you have a unique EyePrint, you have a nique thumb 325 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:45.400 print fingerprints, you have a unique footprint, You have a 326 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:49.759 unique chemistry. You have a unique heartbeat. No heart beats 327 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:53.519 the exactly the same as any others. God creates every 328 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:59.000 snowflake different. God overdoes it in diversity and variety. God 329 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:02.319 does not clone anything humans do. But God never copies 330 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:06.559 and never clones. So nobody in history before you will 331 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:10.559 ever be like you, and nobody after you in eternity 332 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:13.400 in the future will ever be like you. And God 333 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.279 uniquely shaped you to fulfill a unique purpose here on 334 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.440 the planet Earth, and this is the contribution He wants 335 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.200 you to make. Now, remember that in heaven, one of 336 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:27.480 the things you're gonna do is you're going to serve God, 337 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:31.119 and so God wants you to learn to practice here. 338 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.240 Now here's what the Bible says, Psalm one thirty nine, 339 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:40.640 verse thirteen. You shaped me God, first inside and then out, 340 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:45.079 and you formed me in my mother's womb. Now Here 341 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.279 at saddleback, we use a little crosty to say the 342 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:53.000 unique shape that God has given you shape, spiritual gifts, 343 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:57.400 heart ability, personality, and experiences. These are five categories where 344 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:00.519 you're different in every area there from every other nobody else. 345 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.039 For instance, God has given you unique spiritual gifts. You're 346 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:06.559 gifted in some areas and you don't even realize it. 347 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:08.359 And one of the things about giftedness is you're good 348 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.559 at some stuff and you think everybody is good at it, 349 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:14.160 but they're not. You're good at it. And then God 350 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.319 gives you a unique heart. What is your heart? That's 351 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:18.799 your passion. Your passion is what you love to do. 352 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:20.839 Gifts is what you're good at. Passion is what you 353 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:24.240 love to do. Have you ever realized that the reason 354 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.319 you like some things and don't like some things is 355 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:30.240 God gave you that shape. Why are some things really 356 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.720 interesting to you? And other things bore you to tears? 357 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:38.079 Because of your heart, your emotional your passion. Why are 358 00:21:38.119 --> 00:21:40.359 some things some hobbies you're interested in others you couldn't 359 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:43.079 care less about? Some things whine your crank and turn 360 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:47.079 you on some things bore you to tears. God made 361 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:49.799 us all with different hearts, emotional hearts. We all like 362 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.519 to do different things. Why that way everything gets done? 363 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.160 If everybody liked to do the same thing in life, 364 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.599 there'll be a lot left unnone. So God gives us 365 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:01.720 all different interest in different hearts that comes from God. 366 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:05.480 We're given different abilities. Some of you are really good 367 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:09.160 at math. Some of you stink at math. You should 368 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.880 never look at a number. You're just not good at. 369 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:14.119 Some of you are good with words, and others you're 370 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:17.119 not good with words. You may be good with plants. 371 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:19.359 You may be good with animals. You may be good 372 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:22.359 with people. Some of you are good at drawing, and 373 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:24.839 some of us are just stick figure kind of people. 374 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:27.200 You may be good at music, you may be good 375 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:31.240 at mechanics. There are literally thousands of different kinds of abilities, 376 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:36.440 and that's what makes shapes you. And then there's your personality. 377 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.000 We all have different personalities. Some people like routine. Some 378 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:42.119 people like they want to do the same thing every day. 379 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:44.680 Some people like variety. They want to do something different 380 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.720 every day. Some people like to work in a group, 381 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:52.079 and some people like to work on their own. That's personality. 382 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.519 Some of you are are you know, morning songbirds, and 383 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.960 some of you are are night owls. Okay, how many 384 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:02.240 of you are mourning people? You liked it. It's like 385 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:04.400 up up into the pool. Let's get going, man, your 386 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.200 mourning people? Right? How many of you are night ols? 387 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:08.960 He said, I don't believe in God. At four eleven 388 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:13.039 am yeah, yeah. Now let me let you in a 389 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:18.119 little secret. Mourning people always marry night people. It's God's 390 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:23.119 sense of humor. Opposites a tract and opposites attack, and 391 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:24.920 God puts you together. He goes, this will be fun. 392 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.720 Watch the sparks of fly. This will be really cool. 393 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.759 And the reason why is we need each other's differences. 394 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:33.440 If you married somebody identically like you, you're going to 395 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:35.519 be bored with them and you can't grow. The greater 396 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.240 your difference is, the greater the potential for growth, the 397 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.319 greater you can become like Jesus Christ. 398 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.519 That was such an encouraging message from Pastor Rick. And 399 00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:52.359 now here's Rick to tell you about today's offer. 400 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:54.880 One of the things that I've discovered is that everybody 401 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.599