WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.200 Hey everyone, thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's 2 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:07.120 Daily Hope. 3 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:08.359 This is the place. 4 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:12.080 Where Rick Warren brings you uplifting messages from God's Word 5 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:15.759 every day to help you grow deeper in faith and 6 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:19.679 live a life with purpose. Today we're continuing in a 7 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:24.320 powerful series called Toolbox for Life. In this series, Rick 8 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:28.600 teaches us four essential skills that you need to succeed 9 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:32.759 wherever God has placed you, whether it's at home, at work, 10 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.520 at school, or in your community. These are tools that 11 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:41.920 every follower of Jesus absolutely needs. So let's jump right 12 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:45.240 in for part one of a message called knowing what 13 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:47.119 Matters Most? 14 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.159 Now, what would you think if I were to announce 15 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:58.719 this weekend this I've just read an incredible self help book, 16 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:04.200 and this book tells me that I can be anything 17 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:09.040 that I want to be. If I just really desire 18 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:14.000 it and work really hard, I can become anything I 19 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:19.959 want to be. So this weekend, I'm leaving Saddleback Church 20 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:27.920 to go become a ballerina on Broadway. How would you 21 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.000 react to that? And if I said God told me 22 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.120 that I'm going to be a ballerina on Broadway, you 23 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:43.599 would say, Rick, what have you been smoking? Because it 24 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:47.359 would be ludicrous for me to announce that I was 25 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.959 going to become a ballerina on Broadway because I really 26 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:54.000 really wanted to be it, and I was going to 27 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:57.319 work really hard. It would be ludicrous for three reasons. 28 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:02.840 Number one, I'm not shaped be a ballerina. Why are 29 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:09.479 you laughing? I'm not big enough, I'm not shaped. I'm 30 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.759 not gifted to be a ballerina. I really am not 31 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.800 one of these people with good balance. I don't have 32 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.680 good balance. I never have all my life, and it 33 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:21.960 takes incredible physical balance to be a ballerina. I'm not gifted, 34 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.919 I'm not talented. And the third thing is I've never 35 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:30.000 learned the skills. So clearly this would be disastrous. Now, 36 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:33.479 we do this all the time in other areas. I 37 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:37.159 talk to people, says who say, I like to eat bagels, 38 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:42.120 so I'm going to start a bagel shop. Just because 39 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:46.599 you like pie, or because you can even bake a 40 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.919 pie doesn't mean you should start a pie business. Those 41 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:56.879 are two different animals. Just because you like, you admire, 42 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:00.960 or you desire a certain career doesn't mean you should 43 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:07.159 acquire that career. One of the keys to succeeding in 44 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.800 life is you have to be skilled. Desire is not enough, 45 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:16.280 dedication is not enough, prayer is not enough, working hard, 46 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:18.840 all these things are part of it. But you've got 47 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:22.759 to have the right skills and you could be the 48 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:24.719 most sincere person in the world. And if you don't 49 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:27.240 have the right life skills, you're gonna fail at life. 50 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:29.639 And if you don't have the right work skills, you're 51 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.319 gonna fail at work. If you don't have the right 52 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.280 ministry skills, you'll fail in ministry. The Bible says skill, 53 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:42.080 not dedication. Skill will bring success. Now, the good news 54 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.199 is skills can be learned. And today we're gonna look 55 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:49.639 at the second essential skill, and it is this knowing 56 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:57.000 how to recognize what's important and what's not important. I 57 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.759 can't tell you how important this skill is and how 58 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:03.599 few people have it. To look at a situation that's important, 59 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:07.520 that's not that matters, that doesn't matter, that's valuable, that's 60 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:12.120 not valuable, this is crucial, that's not crucial. Leaders know 61 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:16.199 what's important and they focus on that and they forget 62 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:21.120 everything else. Successful people know what matters and don't worry 63 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:26.399 about what doesn't matter. Paul says, this one thing I 64 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:31.560 do not these forty things I dabble in. He is focused, 65 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:36.240 He's laser focused. And you have to learn this skill 66 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.240 in life to be successful at work and at home 67 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:45.120 and in life, the skill of knowing what matters most. Now, 68 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:51.399 have you noticed that you don't have time to do everything? Yeah, 69 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.040 of course you have. You have noticed this in life. 70 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:57.319 The good news is this, God doesn't expect you to 71 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.560 do everything, and there are only a few things in 72 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:05.360 life worth doing. In the first place. God hasn't called 73 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:07.000 you to do everything in life. He's called you to 74 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:09.040 do what He's called you to do. What you're gifted, 75 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:11.120 what you're shaped. We're going to talk about that in 76 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:15.360 future and what's important in life. Knowing what matters most 77 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.759 is extremely important. Look at this first on the screen. 78 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:23.800 One Corinthian six twelve says this, everything is permissible, but 79 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:28.639 not everything is beneficial. What does that mean? You're free 80 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:30.560 to do anything with your life. God isn't going to 81 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.639 force you to do anything with your life. It's all permitted. 82 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:35.639 You can waste your life, you can invest your life, 83 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:39.120 you can spend your life. Everything's permissible, but not everything 84 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:43.120 is beneficial. Some things in life are not necessarily wrong, 85 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:49.839 they're not necessary, and oftentimes we give first class allegiance 86 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.480 to second class causes, and those causes betray us. I 87 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:55.639 talked to one time to a guy who said, I 88 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.040 climbed the ladder of success, and when I got to 89 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:03.680 the top, it was leaning against the wrong way. Not 90 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:07.319 everything is worth doing, and so you can save yourself 91 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.319 a lot of time, a lot of energy if you 92 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:12.839 learn the skill of knowing what's important and what's not important, 93 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.480 knowing what's valuable, what it's not valuable, what matters, and 94 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:21.439 what doesn't matter. Selection is a key to success in 95 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:25.240 life because you don't have time for everything, and selection, 96 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.319 just like these other skills, is a skill that you 97 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:34.160 can learn. The better you get at selection and prioritizing 98 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.680 what matters in your life and what doesn't matter, the 99 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.480 more effective you're going to be as a person, as 100 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.480 a partner, as a parent, as a leader in life. 101 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:45.480 You know, I thought, since we were talking about prioritization, 102 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.240 I would show you a screenshot of the four folders 103 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.839 on the top of my computer desktop. Can we put 104 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:54.160 that picture up? This is my desktop and there are 105 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.399 actually four folders on my desktop. Number one is things 106 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:02.680 God wants me to do. Number two is things people 107 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.920 I love need me to do, Third is things I 108 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:11.160 want to do? And four is things everybody else wants 109 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.839 me to do? Which of those four do you think 110 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.879 has the most number four? Which is the least important 111 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:22.639 number four? And that's when people say, can you write 112 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:24.720 an endorsement for this book? Can you do this for me? 113 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.000 They're not even people I know a lot of times, 114 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:29.519 but they want me to do something. You have to 115 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:32.480 know what does God want me to do? What are 116 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:36.120 the people I love need me to do? What do 117 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:38.160 I want to do? There's a legitimate part for that, 118 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:40.839 and then what does everybody else want me to do? 119 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.360 And God has not called you to fulfill everybody else's 120 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.480 will for their life? Does that make sense? So what 121 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:48.399 I want us to do this weekend is talk about 122 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:52.680 how do you discover what matters and what doesn't matter, 123 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.759 what's valuable and what's not valuable, what is important and 124 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:00.439 what's not important? You see, every time you make it decision, 125 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:04.639 what we're talking about here is clarifying your values. Every 126 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.079 single time you make a decision, you are basing it 127 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.360 on unspoken values. You have a grid in your mind. 128 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:14.720 You've never even thought about this, most likely, but you 129 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.480 have a set of values in your mind, and every 130 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:18.959 time you make a decision, I'm going to do this 131 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.800 and not do that. I'm going to buy this and 132 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:22.839 not buy that. I'm going to spend my time and 133 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:24.920 effort and energy on this and not on that. You 134 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.600 were showing your hidden values. The problem is most people 135 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:30.639 have never figured out what they are, where they came from, 136 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:35.000 and whether they're valid or not. So really, the secret 137 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.320 of success is clarifying your values. This is a skill. 138 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:41.360 You need to learn what is valuable to me and 139 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.159 what is not valuable. Every time you make a decision, 140 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.679 you reveal your values. My question is, do you know 141 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:52.039 where your values came from? Are they how they work 142 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.720 it out? Is your life working out with those values? 143 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:57.879 Do you know where you pick them up? Are they 144 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:02.919 working for you? Your value in life determine your stress, 145 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:11.639 determine your success, and determine your salvation. Now you may 146 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.480 not realize this, but your values could be causing stress 147 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:22.519 in your life. Unclear values cause confusion. They cause confusion 148 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:27.159 in your life. Conflicting values in your life cause tension. 149 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:34.480 Unclear cause confusion. Conflicting values cause tension. False values create deception, 150 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:41.879 and the wrong values create dysfunction. So it's extremely important. 151 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.360 What I'm talking to you about this weekend is very 152 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:48.559 vital to the rest of your life. Lasting success, and 153 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.799 as your pastor, I want you to succeed in life. 154 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:55.679 Lasting success is built on values that last, and a 155 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.200 lot of the values that our world hasn't aren't lasting values. 156 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.399 So what I want to do this weekend is give 157 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:04.840 you four questions. I want you to write these questions 158 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:10.080 down to evaluate your values. When we talk about evalue eight, 159 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:14.600 you are valuing your values. Values you evaluate means to 160 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.879 judge your own values. So let me give you four 161 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:22.159 questions that are going to determine your values and your destiny. 162 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:24.759 Number one, here's the first question you want to ask 163 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:29.440 yourself in knowing what matters most? First question, who is 164 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:33.759 going to be my authority? That's the fundamental question of life. 165 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.480 Who is going to be my authority? In other words, 166 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.200 where am I going to get my values? Now, there 167 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.879 are a lot of different sources on which you can 168 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:45.600 determine what values you're going to live by. Some of 169 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:49.039 your values you pick up from your parents, some of 170 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:51.799 them you pick up from peers. Some of your values 171 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.639 you picked up at school. Some of your values you 172 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:59.679 picked up from books and magazines and movies and television shows. Today, 173 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.960 the number one source of values today in the generations 174 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.759 growing up. You know what it is? The media. The 175 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:12.639 media are determining the values of the next generation in 176 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.000 the world today. That's the thing. Now you have to decide, 177 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.279 you have to choose what's going to be the source 178 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:24.360 of my values, because a poor source will give you 179 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:29.399 poor values. The source determines the quality. Does this make 180 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.840 sense where you get your I mean I could go 181 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.960 down to, you know, a street corner in LA and 182 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:40.960 learn my values from a drug pusher. They're not going 183 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:43.840 to be very reliable values, but I could learn them. 184 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:49.200 The source would determine the quality of my values. So 185 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.759 the first then, if you want to succeed in life, 186 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:53.200 you want to know what's important is you got to 187 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:57.240 decide where you're going to get your values. And you 188 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.799 have three options. Here are the three options. The first 189 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.840 option in determining values is me myself. So write that 190 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.879 down myself. You can just get your values from yourself 191 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.960 and you can actually say, you know what, I'm going 192 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.840 to depend on my gut to always know the right 193 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.240 thing to do. And some people do this, They get 194 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.679 all their values from within. I'm just going to depend 195 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.200 on my gut to always know the right thing to do. Question, 196 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:30.799 how's that working out for you? Are you hitting any 197 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:35.159 dead ends? Are or are all your plans coming out 198 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.679 exactly the way you plan them to be? Are all 199 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:41.639 your dreams coming true because you're depending on you for 200 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.480 your values? Have all your plans succeeded? The Bible says 201 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:52.039 in Jeremiah eleven seventeen, verse nine, the human mind this 202 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.360 is a God's word translation, the human mind is the 203 00:12:55.399 --> 00:13:01.559 most deceitful of all things. It is in no one 204 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.200 can understand how deceitful it really is. Now, let's you 205 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:08.080 circle the word deceitful because I want to give you 206 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.799 the definition of that word. It says, the human mind 207 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.120 is the most deceitful of all things. Nobody can understand 208 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.360 how deceitful it is. What does deceitful mean? Well, let 209 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:22.600 me give you definition. The word deceitful means to mislead 210 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.879 in the wrong direction. That's Webster's definition. It means to 211 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:30.919 mislead in the wrong direction. Does your mind ever do that? 212 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:36.600 Oh baby, oh baby, oh baby, Yes, it does. Your 213 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:40.000 mind often leads you in the wrong direction. I don't 214 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.320 know if you follow all these recent brain studies, but 215 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:47.120 I read these technical reports or read articles magazines, read 216 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:50.200 scientific journals on it, and in the last five years 217 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:53.960 there have been enormous breakthroughs in understanding the brain. I 218 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.960 think part of it was because Matthew struggled with mental illness. 219 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.200 I've just always been interested in the brain. But in 220 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:04.759 the last five years, study after study after study after 221 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:11.799 study has proven that your perceptions are wrong more than 222 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:17.159 their right. In life. Every single brain study is proving 223 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:21.799 this that your brain lies to you. You get it 224 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:25.200 wrong more often than you get it right. The way 225 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:29.840 you perceive yourself, the way you perceive others, the way 226 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:33.559 you perceive your relationships, the way you perceive your problems, 227 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:37.919 the way you perceive the world. Study after study shows 228 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:42.799 our brain isn't that good at getting it accurate. That 229 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:47.240 just because you tell yourself something about a problem, about 230 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.960 a person, about a relationship, about money, about anything, doesn't 231 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:56.279 mean it's true, doesn't mean it's correct. You lie to 232 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:58.960 yourself all the time. In fact, you like to yourself 233 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:03.159 more than you like anybody else. Now this is not 234 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.440 new news, because thousands of years ago that God said 235 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.039 the human mind is the most deceitful of all things. 236 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:13.279 It misleads us in the wrong direction. You say, but 237 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:19.480 I saw it, I heard it. Well, you could have 238 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:22.519 misheard it, and you could have mis seen it. Both 239 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:27.279 your eyes and your ears lie. Any attorney can prove 240 00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:31.919 this by using multiple witnesses. You can have an accident 241 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.840 take place, and you can have people on four different 242 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:36.720 corners and they all see the accident, and they're going 243 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.840 to tell you four different stories which one was right. 244 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:44.720 We see what we think we see, We perceive what 245 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:47.200 we think we perceive. We hear the stuff I'm telling 246 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.480 you right now, what I'm saying, you're not actually even 247 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:51.039 hearing it the way I'm saying it. You're hearing it 248 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:56.559 the way you receive it. And so it's not highly 249 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:01.120 reliable to base your values on yourself because you don't 250 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:04.039 always see reality as it really is. Growing up, you 251 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:06.320 were told things about you and you believed them. They 252 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:11.320 weren't true, but you believed them. And you've told other 253 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.720 people and people told you things that were about you 254 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.200 that really weren't true, but you believed it, And so 255 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:21.399 your perceptions are not always reality. You might say, I 256 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:23.799 know what's causing my problem. Well, the fact is you 257 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:30.360 probably don't. You need an authority bigger than yourself, because 258 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:35.159 we all misjudge. We misjudge events, we misjudge pain, we 259 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:40.720 misjudge people, we misjudge motives. In fact, you might want 260 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.720 to write this down. My perceptions say more about me 261 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:50.360 than others. My perceptions say more about me than others, 262 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:52.960 because I have this grid in my mind and I 263 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.360 see things the way I see it, which doesn't necessarily 264 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:59.799 mean it's the truth. So if I build my life, 265 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.480 but I'm the final authority of what's right and what's wrong, 266 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.759 what's true and false, what's good and bad, what's valuable 267 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:12.319 and being valuable, I'm on sinking sands. I got to 268 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:16.920 have a source of authority outside myself. That's not enough 269 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.559 because we all misjudge. The Bible says this, look here 270 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.240 on the screen Proverb sixteen twenty five. There is a 271 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:27.559 way that seems right to humans, but in the end 272 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.160 it leads to death. A lot of plans that you've 273 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.359 had were dead ends. A lot of plans I've had 274 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:38.519 were dead ends. It seemed the right thing. So you 275 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:42.839 can't just depend on your own gut. Your perceptions can 276 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:45.920 lead to dead ends. What you need is the truth. 277 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:48.279 That's why the Bible says trust in the Lord with 278 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:52.640 all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, 279 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.599 on your own perception, on how you think it's it 280 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.400 is seen. So the first possible source, it's not very reliable, 281 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.240 is all'll be the source of all my values, and 282 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:05.559 I'll determine what reality is. The second source you write 283 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:09.480 this one down as possible source is the world. And 284 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.119 most of the time we get our values from the world. 285 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:15.839 In other words, what does everybody else think is valuable? 286 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:21.480 What does everybody else consider important? And if they consider important, 287 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.839 it must be important to me. They consider it valuable, 288 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.720 must be valuable to me. Now, first, John chapter two 289 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:34.319 fifteen and sixteen says this, don't love what the world 290 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:39.599 offers and values. Do not love what the world offers 291 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:44.680 and values. Those who love the world don't have the 292 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:50.079 Father's love in them. For what the world values, and 293 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:57.400 it lists three things physical gratification. We see that greed, materialism, 294 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:02.279 and prideful self centered lifestyles. What the world values does 295 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.799 not come from the Father. Now, this verse shows us 296 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.240 three of the world's values. You might write these down 297 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:11.799 here if you're going to base your values on what 298 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:15.279 the world says, what culture says, what pop culture says. 299 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:17.440 Here's what you're gonna get. The first thing the world 300 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:25.400 values is this looking good, looking good. The world values appearance. 301 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.440 The world values appearance. It's why billions are spent on 302 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:35.839 beauty aids and surgeries and clothes. But the truth is, 303 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:41.000 most of us aren't part of the beautiful people. We're 304 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:45.079 not as attractive as the superstars. We're just kind of 305 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:49.480 average looking, and so the world doesn't value you or 306 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:53.359 me like it values the beautiful people. You're probably not 307 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.640 going to get your picture in People magazine, or us 308 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:01.160 are on the cover of some beauty magazine, and the 309 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:05.160 world says, because you're not that beautiful, you don't matter. 310 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:12.400 You aren't as valuable as the prom queen, as a cheerleader, 311 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:18.559 as the sexy starlet or the incredible hunk Rick Warren. 312 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:27.720 So the world values appearance beauty, and the Bible says, no, no, 313 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:31.559 that's not the important value. The second thing that the 314 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:34.920 world values is not just looking good, but feeling good, 315 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:39.799 feeling good, and of course that's pleasure, and that's sex. 316 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:44.319 I don't have to convince you that sex dominates our society. 317 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:47.319 Everybody agree with that. I mean, it is used to 318 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:55.119 sell spark plugs and dishwashing soap and everything else. And 319 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:58.200 you know, people taking a shower and they're shampooing, it's 320 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:02.039 like they're having some kind of experience and you go whoo, 321 00:21:02.440 --> 00:21:07.640 you know. And sex is used literally to sell everything. 322 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.839 Why because it's the second big value. I just want 323 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:15.480 to have fun. And if you say what my number 324 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:18.200 one goal in life is happiness, you've bought into the 325 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:22.799 world's value system, which says that happiness feeling good is 326 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:26.079 more important than doing things right or correct or anything else. 327 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.960 You know, it's not by accident. In our culture today, 328 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:37.440 our largest industry is entertainment. It's entertainment because we want 329 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:41.359 to feel good. So the world system is looking good, appearance, 330 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.960 feeling good, pleasure, and sex. And the third value of 331 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:52.119 the world is having the goods. In other words, materialism, money, wealth, riches, prosperity. 332 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:55.680 We are conspicuous about our consumption. People like to show 333 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:58.480 it off. They want to show off their cars, show 334 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:02.200 off their clothes, their homes, the jewelry, their front lawn, 335 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:08.200 except in southern California, where we're ashamed of having a lawn. 336 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:15.039 And we want to base our self worth on our 337 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.680 net worth, and we think that our value is connected 338 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.640 to our valuables. It isn't, but that's what the world 339 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:29.119 teachess money, sex, power or passion, possession, position, sex, salary status. 340 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.359 This is what the world values. This is what every 341 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:38.759 advertisement promotes. Now here's the problem. Since you're constantly bombarded 342 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:42.160 by the media with these three values about appearance. You 343 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:43.680 got to look good, you got to feel good, and 344 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:46.720 you got to have the goods. Even Christians get seduced 345 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:49.599 by those values, and all of a sudden, we think 346 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:52.559 that's the whole purpose of life, to look good, to 347 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.200 feel good, and have the goods. And that is not 348 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.720 at all what God puts you on this planet for. Now, 349 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:02.799 there's a third possible soul for your values, and of 350 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:08.359 course that's God, particularly God's word. And God's word is 351 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:14.759 a far more objective, truthful, not you know, give and 352 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:18.839 sway to your perceptions or the world's opinions. God's word 353 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:21.279 Jesus said it like this, and John eight, if you 354 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:24.799 continue in my word, you will know the truth, and 355 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:30.359 the truth will make you free. Now what does God 356 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:34.559 say about these values? Well, I just thought i'd quickly 357 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:36.920 give these verses to you. What does God say about 358 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:42.000 appearance and beauty? For Samuel six sixteen seven, The Lord 359 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:45.319 does not look at the things man looks at. Man 360 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:47.759 looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at what. 361 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:52.359 God doesn't care about your appearance. He doesn't care about 362 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.759 your parents. God, it's not about appearance, he says. It's 363 00:23:56.759 --> 00:24:01.079 not about making pleasure your highest value Hebrews eleven twenty five. 364 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:04.119 The pleasures of sin only last for a short time. 365 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:07.640 They ain't going to last. Yeah, it's fun that you 366 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:10.839 have your kicks, but they'll be the kickbacks. And God says, 367 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.920 it's not about wealth, it's not about materialism Luke twelve fifteen. 368 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.680 Jesus says real life is not measured by how much 369 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.920 we own. In other words, the greatest things in life 370 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.400 aren't things. So the first question I need to ask 371 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:30.279 is who's gonna be my authority myself? That's pretty shaky 372 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:35.079 the world. That's just the opinion of other people. Or 373 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:40.000 is it gonna be God's word? Now? The second question 374 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:42.640 you want to ask is this, what's going to last 375 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:47.880 the longest? What's going to last the longest? This is 376 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.279 an important question. To ask, if you're trying to decide 377 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:52.640 what you're gonna build your values on, what's going to 378 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:54.599 be important and if you want to know what matters 379 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:56.599 most of what doesn't matter, you need to invest your 380 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:58.720 life in something that's going to last the longest. Now, 381 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.599 let me be on us with you. We rarely, we 382 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:11.799 rarely evaluate our values or question our perceptions until we 383 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:17.079 hit a crisis. And when we hit a crisis, and 384 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:20.240 when we're in deep, deep, deep, deep pain, then we 385 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:22.640 just start going, is this really what life's all about? 386 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:27.559 Living for appearance, feeling good, having the goods, looking good? No, no, no, 387 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:30.839 it's got to be more than that. When you're in pain, 388 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:33.759 you start to saying, well, maybe my perceptions aren't correct 389 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:39.000 and maybe my values aren't right. See what happens is 390 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:44.079 we typically cruise through life like this, never stopping to 391 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:48.119 ask the tough questions about our life until we hit 392 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.880 the pain. We don't change when we see the light. 393 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:55.759 We change when we feel the heat. And when we 394 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.599 hit the crisis, then we start saying, is this a 395 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.440 dead end I'm walking down? Is where is this headed? 396 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:09.039 Am I seeing things correctly? Am I deceiving myself? When 397 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:11.759 things are going great. We don't even ask those questions, 398 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.319 But when you get fired from your job, or you 399 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:20.680 go through a divorce, or a loved one dies, or 400 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:23.279 you have a health crisis, all of a sudden, these 401 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:28.240