Speaker 1: Hi, this is Rick Warren. Did you know that the
Speaker 1: best gift you can give anybody is to bring them
Speaker 1: into a relationship with Jesus Christ? And did you know
Speaker 1: that the best time to do that is a Christmas
Speaker 1: Here's what I want to challenge you to do. I
Speaker 1: want you to make a Christmas list of people. Think
Speaker 1: of all the people who you know who don't know
Speaker 1: Jesus or who might know Jesus but don't go to
Speaker 1: church anywhere. And I want you to start praying for them.
Speaker 1: And then I want you to invite those people you've
Speaker 1: prayed for to come to a Christmas Eve or Christmas
Speaker 1: Day service at your church.
Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is
Speaker 2: the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. Hey, We're so
Speaker 2: glad you've joined us. Today. We're continuing a powerful series
Speaker 2: called Radicalis Developing Spiritual Roots. And in this series, Rick
Speaker 2: will show you how to grow deep in your faith,
Speaker 2: stay grounded in God's word, and become everything He created
Speaker 2: you to be. Now here's part one of a message
Speaker 2: called Radical Freedom.
Speaker 1: Now, if I were to ask you, what is America's
Speaker 1: first freedom? It's commonly referred to as the first freedom,
Speaker 1: and yet many people couldn't name the first freedom of America.
Speaker 1: It is in the First Amendment, and it is the
Speaker 1: first mentioned in the First Amendment. The first freedom of
Speaker 1: America is freedom to worship. Freedom to worship. All the
Speaker 1: others come second, third, fourth, and fifth. It's number one
Speaker 1: in the Constitution. In fact, in the Bill of Rights,
Speaker 1: the First Amendment says this here on the screen, Congress
Speaker 1: shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
Speaker 1: prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Now, notice the first phrase
Speaker 1: of the First Amendment has two things about worship. First,
Speaker 1: it says, government cannot tell us how to worship. Government
Speaker 1: cannot establish a religion and say everybody, you all have
Speaker 1: to worship that way. It prevents the government from telling
Speaker 1: us how we're to worship. They may not establish an
Speaker 1: official religion and force us all to worship that way. Second,
Speaker 1: it says, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, government cannot
Speaker 1: tell us when, where, or how we are to worship. Now,
Speaker 1: after that, it says, yeah, you could collap for that.
Speaker 1: That's a good thing, and that's what makes America unique. Now,
Speaker 1: after that, it gives four others. These are called the
Speaker 1: five great freedoms of America. First is freedom of worship.
Speaker 1: Then it says or of the press, or the rights
Speaker 1: of the people to peaceably assembly and to petition the
Speaker 1: government for a redress of grievances, of bridging the freedom
Speaker 1: of speech or the press, or these other things. In
Speaker 1: other words, there are five great freedoms in America. The
Speaker 1: first freedom is the freedom to worship any way we
Speaker 1: want to to honor God, when, how where we want
Speaker 1: to worship. And then come freedom of speech, freedom of
Speaker 1: the press, freedom to assemble, and freedom to petition the
Speaker 1: government if we think they're doing something wrong. Now, why
Speaker 1: is the freedom of worship the first freedom of America
Speaker 1: Because America's first immigrants came here for that reason. The
Speaker 1: Pilgrims who came in sixteen twenty, our founding fathers came
Speaker 1: in sixteen twenty were evangelicals. They're what you and I
Speaker 1: believe about Jesus and about the Bible. They were evangelical Pilgrims,
Speaker 1: and they left England because of religious persecution because England
Speaker 1: had an official religion, a state church, It had a
Speaker 1: Church of England. And they said, we want to have
Speaker 1: the right to worship any way. We want to worship.
Speaker 1: And so the first people who immigrated to America came
Speaker 1: here not for political freedom, not for any other. They
Speaker 1: came here for one in one purpose only, freedom to
Speaker 1: worship God. And so our founding fathers came here to
Speaker 1: set that up. And as a result, when the Constitution
Speaker 1: was written, the very first freedom guaranteed is the freedom
Speaker 1: to worship. Now, this weekend, I want to look at
Speaker 1: something far, far deeper than political freedom or even the
Speaker 1: freedom to worship. I want us to look at what
Speaker 1: it means to be spiritually free, because most people aren't
Speaker 1: spiritually free. They're all bound up inside. They've got stress,
Speaker 1: they've got worry, they've got fatigue, boredom, bitterness, guilt, resentment, regrets, fears, anxieties,
Speaker 1: and all these kind of things that bind us up.
Speaker 1: They're not living lives of freedom. They're in a free country,
Speaker 1: but they're not personally free. So I want us to
Speaker 1: look at spiritual freedom this weekend. Jesus said it like
Speaker 1: this in John chapter eight. He said, if the sun
Speaker 1: sets you free, you will be free. Indeed, that's what
Speaker 1: Jesus said. If the son, who's the son Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: he's talking about himself. He says, if I set you free,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be free. Indeed, what does free indeed mean?
Speaker 1: It means really really really really really free. And yet
Speaker 1: most people I know, even Christian believers who follow Christ,
Speaker 1: aren't really free. So what I want us to do
Speaker 1: this week it is two things. What does it mean
Speaker 1: to be set free by Jesus? What is radical freedom?
Speaker 1: Where you live a free, open life? Jesus Christ did
Speaker 1: not come to make your religious. He came to make
Speaker 1: you free. What does that mean? And then we're going
Speaker 1: to look at how do I get it? Now? What
Speaker 1: is radical freedom? If you'll take out your message notes?
Speaker 1: Jesus said in John eight, if the sun sets you free,
Speaker 1: you will be free. Indeed, you're going to be really
Speaker 1: really free. Today, I don't want to talk about the
Speaker 1: five freedoms of the First of Men, and I want
Speaker 1: to talk about the five freedoms that Jesus gives you
Speaker 1: because he is your savior. What really happens to you
Speaker 1: when you come to know him? And what is available
Speaker 1: to you? Because many of you you've put your faith
Speaker 1: in Christ, but you don't realize what He's given you,
Speaker 1: and you haven't claimed that free gift What is radical freedom?
Speaker 1: Five things? Number one, It is a clear conscience. That's
Speaker 1: the first freedom of the Christian life. A clear conscience.
Speaker 1: It means all my guilt is wiped out, All my
Speaker 1: sins are forgiven. All the things I've ever done wrong
Speaker 1: are not only forgiven, they are forgotten. The Bible says,
Speaker 1: God puts them in the deepest part of the sea
Speaker 1: and then puts up in no fish and sign They're
Speaker 1: not just out of sight, they're out of mind. God
Speaker 1: wipes the slate cleanness like a sketch. You mess it
Speaker 1: all up, and you shake it upside down, and you
Speaker 1: can't see anything anymore. God takes a giant eraser and
Speaker 1: wipes out everything you've ever done wrong or ever will
Speaker 1: do wrong. Now that's good news. Why is that freedom?
Speaker 1: Because doctors tell us that guilt and resentment, in other words,
Speaker 1: guilt because of the things I've done to you and
Speaker 1: resentment over the things you've done to me are the
Speaker 1: two most destructive emotions in your life, and they burden
Speaker 1: you down. You cannot be guilty and happy at the
Speaker 1: same time. It is impossible. Friends, even if there were
Speaker 1: no such thing as heaven, and of course there is,
Speaker 1: But even if there weren't, it would be a good
Speaker 1: thing to give your life to Christ and trusting for forgiveness,
Speaker 1: just to get a clear conscience, to be able to
Speaker 1: wake up and go, Man, I don't have to worry
Speaker 1: about that anymore. It's all over, it's done, it's paid for.
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean I'm perfect, you're not and I'm not.
Speaker 1: It means I'm forgiven and I have a clear conscience.
Speaker 1: I saw a sign on a gas station one time,
Speaker 1: and it said a clean engine gives more power. That's
Speaker 1: true with a conscience too. The reason so many people
Speaker 1: are tired and fatigued all the time is because they're
Speaker 1: carrying a garbage bag of guilt over their shoulder through life.
Speaker 1: And God said, a long time ago, let it go.
Speaker 1: This is the first freedom. The Bible says in Colossians
Speaker 1: one fourteen. God has purchased our freedom with his blood
Speaker 1: and has forgiven most of our sins. Doesn't say that,
Speaker 1: does it. It says all, circle all. He's forgiven all
Speaker 1: our sins. Now. I looked up this word in a
Speaker 1: Greek lexicon, and the Greek word for all means all
Speaker 1: what is not included in that nothing, It's all included
Speaker 1: everything you've ever done wrong or ever will do wrong,
Speaker 1: is forgiven. That's freedom. That's radical freedom. Radical freedom means
Speaker 1: a clear conscience. Now it says God has purchased our freedom.
Speaker 1: You know, we know this, but so often we don't
Speaker 1: act like it. We take it for granted. How did
Speaker 1: Jesus purchase our freedom? Well, he paid for it with
Speaker 1: his life. Let me show you some verses. Look up
Speaker 1: here on the screen. The Bible says in Ephesians one,
Speaker 1: by the death of Christ, we are set free. There's
Speaker 1: that phrase again. Jesus came not to make you religious,
Speaker 1: but to set you free. We are set free. That is,
Speaker 1: in other words, our sins are forgiven. Jesus paid for
Speaker 1: all your sins, so you don't have to pay for him.
Speaker 1: He was hung up for your hang ups. Look at
Speaker 1: this verse. The Bible says no Psalm thirty four, the
Speaker 1: Lord redeems his servants. No one will be condemned who
Speaker 1: takes refuge in him. It says, the Lord redeems. You
Speaker 1: know what the word redeem means. It means to pay
Speaker 1: for somebody's freedom. And that's what Jesus Christ did for you.
Speaker 1: He paid for your freedom from guilt. He paid for
Speaker 1: your freedom from regret. He paid for your freedom from shame,
Speaker 1: so you can stop beating yourself up again over and over.
Speaker 1: Let me show you another verse. The Bible says in
Speaker 1: First Corinthians one to eight. God will keep you free.
Speaker 1: There's that word, keep you free. Not just make you free,
Speaker 1: but keep you free from all blame on that great
Speaker 1: day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. Now, let me
Speaker 1: tell you something. A lot of you have a picture
Speaker 1: in your mind, and it's an inner, erroneous picture that
Speaker 1: when you get to heaven, there's going to be this
Speaker 1: imax theater that shows your life to everybody and is
Speaker 1: going to reveal every secret evil, could mean, bad, nasty
Speaker 1: thing you've ever done, the stuff we don't know about yet,
Speaker 1: to be incredibly embarrassed, and you're gonna see feel all
Speaker 1: the blame for all the things you've done wrong, thought wrong,
Speaker 1: said wrong. But the Bible says there he will keep
Speaker 1: you from that blame. That ain't gonna happen. If you
Speaker 1: put your trust in Christ, he will keep you from
Speaker 1: all blame on that day. He's what's in. It was
Speaker 1: wiped out a long time ago. Jesus Christ paid for
Speaker 1: it on the cross. Now here's the question, why do
Speaker 1: you keep blaming yourself for stuff God's already forgiven? Huh?
Speaker 1: Tell me the logic of that one. Why do you
Speaker 1: keep beating yourself up over and over for stuff that
Speaker 1: God has already forgiven? Do you realize what that is?
Speaker 1: When you hold on to your guilt? That is an
Speaker 1: insult to Jesus Christ. You are insulting Jesus. You're saying,
Speaker 1: Jesus what you did on the cross, and we looked
Speaker 1: at that for seven weeks last spring when you died
Speaker 1: on the cross, when I said it was enough, I
Speaker 1: need to punish myself too. You are insulting Jesus by
Speaker 1: holding onto guilt. Should a believer in Christ ever feel guilty? Yeah,
Speaker 1: for about a nanosecond. In other words, I say something
Speaker 1: evil or wrong to Kay and the moment God's spirit
Speaker 1: says that was dumb. I need to confess it and
Speaker 1: then not feel guilty about it. God Is will for
Speaker 1: your life is not that you carry a load of guilt.
Speaker 1: He wants you to be free. Radical freedom is a
Speaker 1: clear conscience. Is that good news? Oh? Yeah, that's good news.
Speaker 1: Doesn't mean you're perfect, it does mean you're forgiven. Number two.
Speaker 1: Radical freedom means personal access to God. This is a
Speaker 1: big one, personal access to God. It's the second of
Speaker 1: the five Great freedoms God gives us. When Jesus says,
Speaker 1: I'll set you free if you'll trust me, I get
Speaker 1: personal access to God. You know, some of you know
Speaker 1: that sometimes it's kind of hard to get to me
Speaker 1: because a lot of people want to meet with me
Speaker 1: or call me. But my secretary knows that if my
Speaker 1: kids call, they have direct access. My kids don't have
Speaker 1: to call up. Our grandkids for that matter, don't have
Speaker 1: to call up and say I'd like an appointment with
Speaker 1: Pastor Rick, I'd like to have a phone appointment with
Speaker 1: my dad. They don't have to do that. They know
Speaker 1: that anytime any place, I'm happy to see them. They
Speaker 1: can walk into any meeting because they are my kids
Speaker 1: and I love them, and so they have direct access.
Speaker 1: That's the kind of access you get when you get
Speaker 1: into the family of God. A few times in life,
Speaker 1: I've had the fun experience of going to like a
Speaker 1: major rock concert and they'll give me a badge that
Speaker 1: says all access. Yes, those things are worth a lot
Speaker 1: of money. I could sell an all access badge to
Speaker 1: a rock concert for thousands of dollars. When you get
Speaker 1: an all access badge to a concert or something like that,
Speaker 1: I mean as you can walk around anywhere, nobody's gonna
Speaker 1: stop you. You can hobnob with the Hoi poloi and
Speaker 1: you know, and you know, just hang out wherever you
Speaker 1: want to do it. When you become a believer, you
Speaker 1: put your faith in Jesus Christ. God gives you an
Speaker 1: all access pass to Him. You don't have to get
Speaker 1: an invitation, you don't have to get an introduction, you
Speaker 1: don't have to have a big idea on your mind.
Speaker 1: You got all access to God twenty four hours a day. Anytime.
Speaker 1: You got an all access badge because now you're a
Speaker 1: child of God. Now, let's say you had access to
Speaker 1: the President of the United States or the Pope or
Speaker 1: some famous person, and you knew at at any time
Speaker 1: of the day you could walk into the Oval office
Speaker 1: and talk to the President, or you could talk to
Speaker 1: somebody about whatever's on your mind. That'd be a big deal.
Speaker 1: But this is an even bigger deal. When you accept
Speaker 1: Christ into your life, God gives you all access to Heaven.
Speaker 1: You get direct personal access to the creator of the universe.
Speaker 1: Nothing's bigger than that. And as I said, you don't
Speaker 1: need an introduction. You don't have to pray through Mary,
Speaker 1: you don't have to pray through saints. You don't need
Speaker 1: a priest or pastor to kind of give you an introduction.
Speaker 1: Sometimes people will say, Rick, pray for me, like my
Speaker 1: prayers are better than yours. They're not. They're not. You
Speaker 1: have the same direct access that I do because you're
Speaker 1: a child of God. You don't need an introduction, you
Speaker 1: don't need an invitation. You can talk to Him anytime,
Speaker 1: and you can talk to him for any reason. Look
Speaker 1: at these verses. The Bible says, in Christ and through
Speaker 1: faith in Him, we may approach God with freedom. There's
Speaker 1: the second freedom, with freedom and confidence. Now circle through
Speaker 1: faith in Him. Because what I'm telling you right now
Speaker 1: is this all access to God. God just doesn't give
Speaker 1: that to anybody. The whole world doesn't have direct access
Speaker 1: to God. That's a myth. They don't. God gives direct access,
Speaker 1: personal access to himself through his son Jesus Christ. Only
Speaker 1: those who put their faith in his son, who've trusted
Speaker 1: in him, have that direct access. God just doesn't give
Speaker 1: out all direct access passes to everybody. Now, the Bible
Speaker 1: says this, look here on the screen Hebrews four sixteen.
Speaker 1: Let us then feel free. That's the second freedom. Let
Speaker 1: us feel free to come before God's thrown. How do
Speaker 1: you do that? How do you come before God's thrown?
Speaker 1: You pray? You don't have to say any of these
Speaker 1: and now, so you don't have to have any fancy words.
Speaker 1: You don't have to have any certain ritual. You just
Speaker 1: come to Goddess as a father, our father, who are
Speaker 1: in heaven, Daddy Abbah. You just come as a child,
Speaker 1: our father. Let us feel free to come before God's throne.
Speaker 1: Here there is grace, and we can receive mercy and
Speaker 1: grace to help us when we need it. Is that
Speaker 1: good news? Oh yeah, that's good news. So why am
Speaker 1: I free? Because first, everything I've done wrong in the
Speaker 1: past is forgiven and forgotten. And second, no matter what
Speaker 1: I face today, I can talk to God about it instantly. Lord,
Speaker 1: I'm going into Costco right now and I need some help.
Speaker 1: I'm tempted to buy everything. You know, you can talk
Speaker 1: to God anytime anywhere. You can talk them to stop light.
Speaker 1: You don't have to close your eyes. You have personal
Speaker 1: access to God. Now here's my question about this one.
Speaker 1: Why don't you take advantage of this more often? If
Speaker 1: you could talk to anybody in the world anytime of
Speaker 1: the day. Well, let's say, you know, you needed help
Speaker 1: on something and God says I'm here anytime that. Why
Speaker 1: don't you take advantage of that more often? Why don't
Speaker 1: you talk to him more often? Jesus said, you have
Speaker 1: not because you ask not. Every prayer doesn't have to
Speaker 1: end in Jesus's name. Amen, You can keep a running
Speaker 1: prayer going throughout the day. You just keep talking to
Speaker 1: God all the time. And you know, and you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you're talking with a friend and then you don't
Speaker 1: see him for a day, and when you pick up
Speaker 1: the conversation, you just pick up where you left off.
Speaker 1: You can do that with God all the time. Clear conscience,
Speaker 1: personal access to God. Number three, Radical freedom. What Jesus
Speaker 1: wants you to be free from is the power to
Speaker 1: do what's right. Radical freedom is the power to do
Speaker 1: what's right. Now. I need to explain this because most
Speaker 1: people have a limited, actually a quite immature view or
Speaker 1: definition of freedom. Most people think freedom means no rules,
Speaker 1: that's freedom. You know, I've always laughed at kids. Who
Speaker 1: who said, you know, I can't wait till I graduate
Speaker 1: because then I'm going to be free from my parents
Speaker 1: and all their authority. Well that's just fantastic. Okay. Now
Speaker 1: what are you going to do after you graduate? Oh?
Speaker 1: I'm joining the army? Hello, little hammer, big hammer. Okay, okay.
Speaker 1: You will always have authority over you in your life.
Speaker 1: Get used to it. It may be a boss, it
Speaker 1: may be the government, it may be, but you're gonna
Speaker 1: have to serve somebody at some point. Nobody has unlimited life.
Speaker 1: There are limitations in every area of life. But a
Speaker 1: lot of people think freedom means no borders, no boundaries,
Speaker 1: no rules, no regulations, no restrictions, no limits. Now let
Speaker 1: me explain this to you very clearly. Freedom is not
Speaker 1: the absence of limits. Freedom is the power God graciously
Speaker 1: gives you to say yes and no, to say yes
Speaker 1: to the right things and to say no to the
Speaker 1: things that mess up your life. Freedom is more than
Speaker 1: the restriction limitations taken off. Freedom is the power to
Speaker 1: do the right thing, the power to do what's good,
Speaker 1: the power to stop doing self destructive things that you'd
Speaker 1: like to stop but you can't. You see, freedom is
Speaker 1: far more positive and far more powerful than simply no limits,
Speaker 1: no rules, no regulations. Want you to write this down
Speaker 1: on your outline. Freedom is the power to say both
Speaker 1: yes and no. Wow.
Speaker 2: Thank you Rick for that amazing message. And you know
Speaker 2: people are being transformed by these messages every day, but
Speaker 2: that's only because of your partnership with us. In fact,
Speaker 2: here's Rick to share some important news with you.
Speaker 1: Let's be honest about this time of year. At the
Speaker 1: end of every year, there are so many ministries that
Speaker 1: ask for you to support them in the end of
Speaker 1: your giving. And you know what, we believe in every
Speaker 1: ministry that proclaims the name of Jesus, and we thank
Speaker 1: God for them. And I know it can be difficult
Speaker 1: to decide who to give to, So let me just
Speaker 1: give you some biblical foundations for giving, some simple guidelines
Speaker 1: for end of your giving. You might think of these
Speaker 1: three or four things. Number one, give to the ministry
Speaker 1: that God tells you to support. Go to God, pray
Speaker 1: to him, ask him, say God, who do you want
Speaker 1: me to support? And you know what, I support you
Speaker 1: giving to whoever God tells you to give to. And
Speaker 1: if it's not daily, hope, I still support you to
Speaker 1: give to who God tells you to give to, So
Speaker 1: pray and ask God. Second, never give when you feel pressured.
Speaker 1: The Bible says in Corinthians that we are to never
Speaker 1: give under pressure or compulsion or under guilt. So if
Speaker 1: you ever feel guilty about giving, don't give because God
Speaker 1: tells you in the Word not to give at that time.
Speaker 1: Give because you want to give, not out of guilt
Speaker 1: or pressure. Number three, give to where you support and
Speaker 1: believe in the goals of that particular ministry. Now every
Speaker 1: ministry has different goals. But if you believe in and
Speaker 1: have a heart for going to the last, the least,
Speaker 1: and the loss, this would be a ministry you should
Speaker 1: consider supporting and then finally give where your gift will
Speaker 1: be multiplied. For instance, at the end of every year,
Speaker 1: there is a donor to Daily Hope who offers to
Speaker 1: give a matching grant to apply to any donation that
Speaker 1: we receive before the end of the year. Now what
Speaker 1: this means is that for every dollar you're able to
Speaker 1: give this month the Daily Hope, it's going to be
Speaker 1: doubled that donor will match it. That multiplies your gift.
Speaker 1: Like the little boy who brought his loaves and fishes
Speaker 1: to Jesus and Jesus faed the five thousand. If you
Speaker 1: give twenty five dollars to Daily Hope this month, the
Speaker 1: matching grant will match it at twenty five dollars. If
Speaker 1: you're able to give one hundred dollars, the matching grant
Speaker 1: will add another one hundred dollars that multiplies your gift.
Speaker 1: I would consider that as a factor in where to
Speaker 1: give during this month. Now, let me just say this.
Speaker 1: If you can't help us financially, that's okay, I understand,
Speaker 1: but I would ask that you pray for us. I'm
Speaker 1: so great thankful for those of you who are a
Speaker 1: financial supporter of this ministry. That monthly giving, month after month.
Speaker 1: It means so much to me, it means much to God,
Speaker 1: but it means so much for eternity to those who
Speaker 1: are hearing the good news for the very first time.
Speaker 1: And so you and I are partners together in reaching
Speaker 1: people for Christ all around the world. In closing, let
Speaker 1: me just ask you to continue to pray pray for
Speaker 1: me as I pray for you, and pray that God's
Speaker 1: word will be taught clearly with compassion, with clarity, with
Speaker 1: simplicity in this New Year, and that it will not
Speaker 1: only help you as you listen to these broadcasts, but
Speaker 1: it will help us reach people for Christ and disciple
Speaker 1: believers and build churches all around the world, especially in
Speaker 1: the tribes that have never heard the name of Christ.
Speaker 1: Thanks for your generosity, thanks for your prayers, and God
Speaker 1: bless you.
Speaker 2: All this month. Every dollar you give to help Daily
Speaker 2: Hopes share the transforming love of Jesus with people around
Speaker 2: the world will be matched up to one hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 2: You can give right now by going to Pastorrick dot com,
Speaker 2: or you can just text the word hope to seven
Speaker 2: oh three oh nine. Again, that's Pastorick dot com. Or
Speaker 2: just text the word hope to seven oh three oh
Speaker 2: nine and thank you so much for your support. Be
Speaker 2: sure to join us next time as we look into
Speaker 2: God's Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored
Speaker 2: by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.