WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.240 Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is 2 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:09.320 the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. Hey, We're so 3 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:13.439 glad you've joined us. Today we're continuing a powerful series 4 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:18.519 called radicalis Developing Spiritual Roots. And in this series, Rick 5 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:20.839 will show you how to grow deep in your faith, 6 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:25.239 stay grounded in God's word, and become everything He created 7 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:28.160 you to be. Okay, and now here's Rick with the 8 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.519 final part of a message called radical Gratitude. 9 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:34.719 Now, the Bible says that as believers, we are to 10 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:37.759 live in a way that says live in a way 11 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:43.000 that makes the truth about God attractive. You are to 12 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:46.159 live in such a way that it makes the truth 13 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.079 about God attractive. Do you do that? Do people look 14 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:50.439 at you and go, man, I'd like to know more 15 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:53.920 about the Bible. Do they look at your life and 16 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:58.640 you are so winsome in your gratitude that people go, man, 17 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:02.960 what gives with that person? She is always she's never complaining, 18 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:07.079 but she's always grateful. He's always being positive, he's always 19 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:11.120 building people up. I'd like to be like that guy. 20 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:13.879 Do you do that? How do you make the truth 21 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:19.239 of God more attractive by developing radical gratitude, the roots 22 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:21.599 of gratitude. In fact, here's what the Bible says on 23 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:27.760 the screen. Filippings two, do everything without complaining or arguing, 24 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.840 so that let's just stop there for a minute. Okay, okay, 25 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:40.359 let's just don't skip over that part. Do everything without arguing. Oh, 26 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:47.040 come on, do everything without complaining. Be serious. That's what 27 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.439 God says to do. Friends, Can I be honest with 28 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.079 you as your pastor? There are some scriptures in the 29 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:58.239 Bible that I don't understand and don't make sense. I 30 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.760 don't have a problem with those. I just figure I'm 31 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:05.640 not smart enough. My brain's too small. God knows what 32 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.680 he's doing, and one day i'll get to heaven. God 33 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.000 will explain why he did what he did and it 34 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:12.240 didn't make sense to me, but he said do it 35 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.919 this way. I don't have a problem with the parts 36 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:19.080 of the Bible I don't understand. I have a problem 37 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:24.159 with the parts I do understand. Like that verse, that's 38 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:28.560 not like open to con questions and conjecture. It's not like, well, 39 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:34.000 that's your interpretation. When he says do everything without complaining 40 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:39.879 and arguing, there's only one interpretation. Don't complain, don't argue. 41 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.120 As a believer, you are never to complain or to argue. 42 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:47.159 Holy guacam only, how in the world you do that? Okay? 43 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.520 He says, If you do that, you will be so 44 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:55.280 unusual in the world because everybody complains and everybody argues. 45 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.199 You're gonna make the truth of God attracted. It's a witness. 46 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.280 He says, you will become blameless. You'll be blameless and pure. 47 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.759 It'll show you're a child of God without fault. He said, 48 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:09.560 you'll be faultless if you could do that in a 49 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.159 crooked and depraved generation, which is cynical and sarcastic and critical, 50 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.120 in which you shine like stars in the universe. We 51 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.319 sing that song. We will shine like stars in the 52 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.520 universe because we're living for your glory. How do you 53 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:26.120 live for God's glory? You don't complain and you don't argue, 54 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:32.000 but you're grateful in every situation that would change the world, 55 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.840 that would bring millions of people to Christ. Not our 56 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:42.120 protest signs, but our gratitude. And he says that will 57 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.080 be so. You see, Christians should be known for radical love, 58 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:50.599 radical kindness, radical joy, radical gratitude. There's a word for that. 59 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:55.439 It's called Christ like. The problem is, we're not doing 60 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.960 a very good job of this. We really aren't. This 61 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.719 week I read some pressing statistics and in a world magazine, 62 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:09.879 they did a survey nationally how Americans under thirty view evangelicals. Now, 63 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:14.520 who's an evangelical? You are? And evangelical is not? An evangelist? 64 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:18.199 And evangelical is someone who believes the good news that 65 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:20.959 Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid for my sins, 66 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:23.319 that by his grace I can go to heaven, my 67 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:25.279 past can be forgiven. I get a home in heaven, 68 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:29.680 purpose for living. That's an evangelical. You're an evangelical. It 69 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:32.319 comes from the word evangel which is the Greek word 70 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.160 for good news. That's all. It is, somebody who believes 71 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.480 the good news. So they did a survey how Americans 72 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.959 under thirty view evangelicals, and here with the results. Eighty 73 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:49.720 five percent said they're hypocritical, Seventy eight percent of Americans 74 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:56.160 said they're old fashioned, seventy five percent said they are 75 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:02.120 too involved in politics, seventy two percent said out of 76 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:07.879 touch with reality, seventy percent said insensitive to others, and 77 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:14.480 sixty eight percent said boring. We're not doing a very 78 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:18.800 good job of representing Jesus. If that's what the world 79 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:21.160 thinks of us, we're not doing a very good job. 80 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:27.560 Why because we're not radically loving, radically kind, radically compassion. 81 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:33.079 We're really no different than anybody else, and we what 82 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.360 we need is a radical change in the way we 83 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:39.680 act to be like Christ, to have those roots. And 84 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:43.000 my goal, my desire, my dream, and I want you 85 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:45.600 to be a part of this. Is that they take 86 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:49.199 this survey ten years from now and they get a 87 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.800 whole different list, and they go, you know what I 88 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.160 think of evangelicals. I think of those are the people 89 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:56.519 who help you when everybody else walks out of your life. 90 00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.519 Those are the people who give you a second chance, 91 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:02.600 like in SA Celebrate Recovery. Those are the people who 92 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:04.800 they stand for the truth, but they share it in 93 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:08.920 a loving way. You can disagree with somebody and still 94 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.639 love them. Those are the people who are kind. They 95 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.360 are generous to a fault. Those are the people who 96 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:18.639 give you the shirt off their back. They're the people 97 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:22.360 who act like Jesus. They care for the poor and 98 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:26.240 the sick, They help educate the next generation. They do 99 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:28.519 all the things that the Peace Plan does that's what 100 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:32.680 the church needs to be known for, not for boring, 101 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:37.199 negative and all these other things. The Bible says this. 102 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:41.720 On the screen, there's a verse Proverbs eleven eleven says, 103 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:47.120 good people bless and build up their city, but the 104 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:50.360 wicked destroy it with their words. How do you destroy 105 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:55.920 a city with your words? Negativity, criticism, complaining, griping, all 106 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.800 of those kind of things, and the Bible says, good 107 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:02.920 people build up their city. What if every person in 108 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:06.439 our church, in our church family, what if we set 109 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.680 a goal, like this week, we said I want everybody 110 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:14.000 this week to five times a day express gratitude or 111 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:17.360 appreciation to people in the city. I'm not talking about 112 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:19.959 the other believers. I'm not talking about to your family. 113 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.439 I'm talking about people in the grocery line. Man. I 114 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.800 like the way you bagged those groceries, the post office person, 115 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.800 the clerk. What if every one of us in our 116 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:34.839 church said we're going to be radically grateful and five 117 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:38.399 times a day in the community this next week, I'm 118 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:40.879 going to tell five people, you know, I'm just grateful 119 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:42.879 for what you did, thank you for the way you 120 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.399 did that, thank you for your service, thank you for 121 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:50.759 your help. Just expressing thank you. That would equal if 122 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:52.639 we did it every day for a week, that would 123 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:58.160 equal over one million impressions in our community. Do you 124 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:03.120 think that would change the climate an atmosphere. Absolutely, we 125 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:07.160 this one church could change the atmosphere of southern California. 126 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:11.319 If we everybody five times a day expressed great gratitude 127 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.920 to somebody in the in the community, not a believer, 128 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.959 every day for a month, it'd be about thirty million impressions. 129 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:26.279 That would radically change the atmosphere in our community. You 130 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.439 can bless people just by being grateful. You know. One 131 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.079 of the ways you can says you know, I thank 132 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.840 God for you. Now you better be genuine, you better 133 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:36.799 have a reason for it, think it through. But one 134 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:38.399 of the ways you can bless people say you know 135 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:41.480 what God has really gifted you? You're good at. I 136 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:43.559 don't know how you do this, the way you close deals, 137 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:46.399 I don't know how the way you wrap packages, I 138 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:48.639 don't know how you do this, the way you you know, 139 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.279 give my dog a bath. I don't know. Whatever it is, 140 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.480 whatever you know, you just be grateful. And if you've 141 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:02.440 become a radically rateful person, you're going to start building 142 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.799 roots in your life that's going to make you stand 143 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:10.559 through the toughest things of the next decade. Now, the 144 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:13.679 way God wired the universe. I love God, He's so cool. 145 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:17.679 The way He is wired the universe is that when 146 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:19.960 you give out and you help other people by showing 147 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.799 appreciation and gratitude, God makes sure you always get back 148 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:29.639 blessed more in return. And there are four personal benefits 149 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:34.519 you get from developing radical gratitude. As you write these down, 150 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.679 these are the four things that will happen if you 151 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:41.080 will show gratitude in every circumstance. Four things will happen 152 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.519 in your life. Number one. First benefit, it keeps me 153 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:49.000 in God's will. You won't have to doubt whether you're 154 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.559 in God's will or not. If you're giving thanks to 155 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.279 God in every situation, you are in the center of 156 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:57.759 God's will. You don't have to doubt, you don't have 157 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:02.120 to wonder, you don't have to question. Giving thanks to 158 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:05.120 God is not and to others is not a duty. 159 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:08.519 It's a privilege in the alternative of disobedience. This keeps 160 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.639 you in God's will. Number two, it makes me better, 161 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:18.360 not bitter, particularly when times are tough. If you'll learn 162 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:22.720 to have the attitude of gratitude in every situation. No 163 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:26.840 matter what happens, you say God, I'm going to give 164 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:31.840 thanks in this situation. It will make you better, not bitter. Now, 165 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:34.159 every one of you have an excuse to be bitter. 166 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.279 I didn't say a reason. I said you got an 167 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:41.759 excuse because we've all been hurt, We've all had difficulties, 168 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:43.759 so all things haven't gone the way we wanted them to, 169 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.559 and you could get bitter. But you don't want to 170 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:50.320 be bitter. You want to be better. So you need 171 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:53.399 to be grateful instead of bitter that God can bring 172 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:54.879 good out of it. Now, let me tell you something. 173 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:59.559 Whoever you're holding a grudge against, whoever you still resent, 174 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.039 whoever you haven't forgiven you, let it go now because 175 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:08.279 you don't want to take last decades grudge into tomorrow. 176 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.960 That's foolish because at the end of the next decade 177 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.799 you'll just be more bitter person than you are now. 178 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:19.720 Whoever has hurt you, whoever has harmed you, you need 179 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.159 to let it go. You need to forgive them, not 180 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:25.360 because they deserve it, You didn't deserve God's forgiveness. Let 181 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:28.399 it go so you can get on with a clean slate. 182 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:33.480 Do not take yesterday's grudges into tomorrow's decade. I beg 183 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:38.159 you as your friend and pastor. Number three. Third benefit 184 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.759 of radical gratitude is it defeats the devil. So how 185 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.840 does that work? Well, let me explain it. It defeats 186 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.120 the devil because the devil loves to mess you up. Now, 187 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.879 the devil's got your number. And what he likes to 188 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:54.159 do is it gets you angry, gets you upset, gets 189 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:57.480 you irritated. He likes to get you depressed, discouraged. He 190 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.399 likes to get you jealous, envious, greedy, lustful. He likes 191 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.919 to do all these different things. And he knows your buttons, 192 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.600 and so he has figured you out, and he knows 193 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.600 that if he can just push this button, you'll get angry, 194 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.159 you'll get irritated, you'll lose your joy, you'll lose your peace, 195 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:15.840 you'll lose your love, you lose your connection with God. 196 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:21.039 And so he's he pushes that button. Now, what Satan 197 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.200 does not like to do, he hates for you to do, 198 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:27.519 is to thank God. He can't stand to hear you 199 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.279 thank God. He can't stand to hear you praise God. 200 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.519 So when you if he does something in your life 201 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:38.120 and you thank God in it, it's it gets him 202 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.960 off his game because his idea is I'm gonna do this, 203 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:44.519 push this button, and it will make him irritated. But 204 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.399 if I push this button and every time I push 205 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.639 this button, they just say, well, I'm gonna thank God 206 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:53.639 in the situation, he's gonna stop doing it. Does this 207 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:57.720 make sense? You see? It's like Pavlow's response. If you 208 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:00.799 keep doing something and he keeps getting result from it, 209 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.840 he'll keep doing it. And if there's somebody in your 210 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.480 life who irritates you and he knows that, he'll just 211 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.480 keep bringing that person into your life to irritate you 212 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.559 and irritate you and irritate you as god im that 213 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.399 one works. Well, let's do that one again. But if 214 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.279 every time that person starts to irritate you go, oh God, 215 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:22.440 I thank you in this irritation. I'm just so grateful 216 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.519 for you because I know that even in this, you 217 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:29.240 can teach me patience, you can teach me love. I 218 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:31.600 can learn that this isn't that big a deal. I 219 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:34.200 can learn it's not about me. I can learn to 220 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.639 be more unselfish. I can give you a hundred reasons 221 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:39.960 that if I can learn from this situation. Now, this 222 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:44.840 is not our normal response. Okay, friends, I have add 223 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:47.879 which means you can be scatterbrained. It also means you 224 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:51.519 can be intensely focused. And when I get intensely focused 225 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:57.039 on a project and somebody interrupts me, I don't naturally say, oh, 226 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:01.720 thank God for this interruption. I'm just not that way. 227 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:06.320 Or when somebody irritates me, oh man, I love this irritation. 228 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.399 Bring it on. But here's the thing. If you can 229 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.200 learn to thank God in everything in your life, you 230 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:15.799 just shut out the devil. He starts irritating you over here, 231 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.480 and he goes, I'm just not gonna let that bother 232 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:20.559 me anymore. I'm just gonna go Lord, instead of being 233 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:22.519 irritated to that person, I'm gonna pray for that person. 234 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:24.639 I'm gonna thank God for that person. I'm gonna thank 235 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:26.120 God for you, and I'm gonna thank God for the 236 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.279 lesson of learning. Satan has to move to Project B. 237 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:33.279 He starts trying to irritate you, get your goat, get 238 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:36.240 you to lose your joy. Here, Lord, I'm gonna thank 239 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:39.039 you in this situation. So he starts moving over here, Lord, 240 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.159 I'm gonna thank you in this. If you learn to 241 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:48.960 thank God in everything, you develop basically a wall of thanksgiving, 242 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:55.039 a wall of praise around you that frustrates the devil 243 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.360 no end because he can't get at you, because no 244 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.919 matter what he'd does, you're not getting ticked anymore. You're 245 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.279 just gonna thank you God. I don't know why this 246 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:08.720 is happening. I don't like it, but I'm gonna trust 247 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:11.200 you and I thank you, and you praise God in 248 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.679 every situation, and there's no way for him to get 249 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:18.840 at you, and it defeats the devil. Number four. The 250 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:25.639 fourth benefit is it causes miracles. Gratitude is the source 251 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:30.559 of miracles. It is the cause of miracles. Why because 252 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:36.639 thanking faith is thanking God in advance. Now, listen real closely. 253 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.639 When God does something for me and I thank God 254 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.679 for it after it's happened, that's called gratitude. When I 255 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.360 thank God for an answer to prayer before I get it, 256 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:53.120 that's called faith. Faith is thanking God in advance. In 257 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.039 other words, the Bible says in the Book of Mark, 258 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:59.960 where Jesus said, when ye pray, believe that ye have, 259 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000 I've received it, and ye shall have it What does 260 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:04.559 that mean? You said, I gotta believe I got it 261 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:08.120 in order to get it. Yep, that's called faith. If 262 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.039 you wait till after you've got it to thank God, 263 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.039 that's called gratitude. If you thank God before you get it, 264 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:17.399 that's called faith. Faith is thanking God in advance. Now 265 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.600 let's just take a practical subject. Let's say in the 266 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:26.120 next decade, you want to get married. Now, a lot 267 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.559 of people don't pray for a partner. They whine for 268 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:36.200 a partner. Oh God, I need a husband. Oh God, 269 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:40.639 I don't you just let him have a heartbeat. I 270 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:45.200 don't care, Okay, you know. Shoot, he could look like 271 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:49.720 Rick Warren for all I care, you know, and I 272 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:54.639 just just just let him be alive God, And you're whining. 273 00:16:55.480 --> 00:17:00.360 God doesn't answer whines. Okay, he doesn't answer whines. Here's 274 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:03.639 how you pray over a long term. Now, First, why 275 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:05.480 do you have to keep praying over and over and 276 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:07.599 over because God says be persistent in your prayer. Are 277 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:10.240 you trying to beat God down, trying to convince him 278 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.160 that you need a husband. No, God wants to answer 279 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.960 your prayer more than you want it answered. God is 280 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:22.200 waiting on you He's not you waiting on him. He 281 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:25.839 wants to make some changes in you, some radical changes 282 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.279 in you to get you ready for the answer for 283 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:32.000 whatever prayer you're asking. And when you're ready, he can 284 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:35.880 answer your prayer. So what you do is you ask 285 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.839 once and then you just keep thanking God in advance. God, 286 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.960 you know what I need. I need a new job. 287 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.160 And now you don't just keep saying, by the way, God, 288 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.519 I need to remind you I need a new job. God, 289 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:52.160 I need a job. Hello, God heard it the first time. 290 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:57.440 Faith is thanking God at advance. And God, remember asking 291 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.480 for a job a month ago. Thank you that the 292 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.640 answer is on its way. I don't see it. I 293 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:05.839 don't know where it's coming from, but I thank you 294 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.559 that it's on the way. You turned off one faucet, 295 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:11.559 you can turn on another just as easily. And so God, 296 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.960 I'm thanking you in advance. That is the source of miracles. 297 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:19.640 Faith is thanking God in advance for the answer to 298 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:23.680 the prayer before you get it. This is what Jesus 299 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:26.680 did in the miracles. One of the stories of Jesus. 300 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:28.720 I told you a couple weeks ago about how Jesus 301 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.920 had a friend named Lazarus who got sick, and his 302 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.279 sisters Mary and Martha sent a note to JESUSI, Jesus, 303 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:39.440 you better come on over and come over and heal him. 304 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:42.680 Jesus was one day from their house, one day's walk, 305 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:44.880 and as I told you a couple weeks ago, he 306 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:49.039 took three days to get there. I don't know what 307 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.640 he was doing for three days, skipping around and picking 308 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:57.000 flowers or telling jokes, but it took him three days 309 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:01.119 to get to where his best friend was dying. And 310 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.119 by the time he gets there, Lazarus is dead, and 311 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.319 things buried him in a cave. They didn't bury him 312 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.039 in the ground in those days. The carved caves out 313 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:11.759 of the limestone walls and rolled a stone in front 314 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:16.640 of it. Now, Jesus wasn't in a hurry. Why anytime 315 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:18.920 God is not in a hurry in your life, he 316 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:24.039 wants to do something bigger. Jesus didn't want to heal Lazarus. 317 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.599 He wanted to raise him from the dead. More glory 318 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:30.240 for God. Anytime God has taken his time, he wants 319 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.119 to do something bigger than you have been thinking of. 320 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:37.359 So he gets there and they've already buried us. Say Lord, 321 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:39.799 it is too late. We already buried the guy. We 322 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:41.839 wrapped him up, you know, like in those grave cloths 323 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:45.160 like a mummy, and put him in the cave. And 324 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:49.559 Jesus says, open up the cave. And then is one 325 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:51.880 of my favorite verses in the Bible. I memorized it 326 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:57.039 as a little boy. And Mary says, but Lord, he stinketh. 327 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:03.480 I thought that was such a cool verse when I 328 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:05.920 was a kid, one of the only verses I memorized 329 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.960 in the Bible. But Lord, he stinketh. Well, duh, he's 330 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.279 been dead for three days, okay. And they're not embalming. 331 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:16.640 And it's in the Mediterranean and it's hot, and Jesus 332 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:18.440 walks up and he says, move the stone out of 333 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:22.119 the way. And here's what Jesus says. He looks at 334 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.680 the cave and he says, Lord, he's talking to the Father. 335 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:29.079 He says, Father, I thank you that you've already heard me. 336 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:32.400 He didn't ask God to raise Lazarus. He didn't beg 337 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.240 God to raise Lazarus. He said, I thank you Lord 338 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:38.559 that you've already heard me. And I'm just saying this 339 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.799 aloud so the people around me will publicly know that 340 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.680 I am who you say I am, and that you 341 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:47.000 sent me, and so they may know that I am 342 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:52.839 the one. And then he says, Lazarus, come forth, come out. 343 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:56.440 And today he was say Lazarus, come on down, and 344 00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:59.440 Lazarus comes walking out. Now I love it that he 345 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:02.279 had to say, because if Jesus had just said come out, 346 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:05.039 every dead person in Jerusalem going to come out of 347 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:09.440 the tombs. Okay, So he had to be specific. Lazarus 348 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:11.599 come out, and he comes out. He says, take the 349 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:13.400 grave clothes off him, loose him, and let him go. 350 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.319 The point was he thanked God the Father in advance. 351 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.680 And when you start doing this, you're moving to a 352 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:25.839 new level of maturity. You're moving to deeper spiritual roots. 353 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:29.680 Now some of you have lost your joy and you're 354 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:31.240 not as close to God as you used to be. 355 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:33.319 You need to get your You know how you get 356 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.920 it back gratitude. Get a new believer around you and 357 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:39.559 just get around them and you'll start getting excited again. 358 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:42.759 Or go out and watch a baptism and let it 359 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:45.559 remind you of when you were baptized. You know, it's 360 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:47.240 kind of like going to a wedding. You ever gone 361 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:48.960 to a wedding and all of a sudden you like 362 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.839 fall in love with your wife again. You know. It's 363 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:54.680 like you go there and go ah, you know, and 364 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.920 and it's something you see other people in love, you go, 365 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.599 I want to be that way. And when you see 366 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.839 somebody baptize you get around new believer. It gets your 367 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:08.920 spark back and remember what you were like before. You know. See, 368 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.720 the longer your believer, the more you take for granted 369 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:15.319 all those answered prayers, all the great things in your life. 370 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:17.200 It's happened the first time you had an answer prayer. 371 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.480 You're going, Wow, But now you get an answer prayer. 372 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.079 He goes, well, that's typical when you meant to a 373 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:24.839 tough time the first time and God really helped you. 374 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:27.680 I go, man, that really helped. Now it's happened so 375 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:30.759 many times you take it for granted. You need to 376 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:34.400 get your roots deeper. Now. I invite you to join 377 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:39.400 me on a radical journey, the journey of deeper Christian roots. 378 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:45.519 That's power heads. You a'n't going to need Christ in 379 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:47.680 your life if you've never opened your life to him. 380 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.359 You need to say this right now, Jesus Christ. I 381 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:53.079 don't understand it all, but I want to put my 382 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.799 faith in you. I want to trust you to know 383 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:02.480 your plan for my life. I ask you to forgive me. 384 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:06.599 Thank you for dying for me. I don't understand that, 385 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:09.759 but I want to get to know you and love 386 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:14.599 you and trust you. Would you pray? Lord, I want 387 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:17.799 to honor you this week. I want to start every 388 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.119 day with gratitude. I don't want my feet to touch 389 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:25.160 the ground without saying thank you God and Lord. I 390 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:27.400 want to build relationships. I want to get closer to 391 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:30.160 some people, help me to be grateful for them, to 392 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.759 express gratitude to the people I want to be close 393 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:36.400 to in my small group and my family and my fellowship. 394 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:39.960 And Lord, you know the tough times I'm going through, 395 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.920 and I'm going to thank you, just like Abacca did. 396 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.839 Even though everything goes wrong, I will still thank you. 397 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:50.119 I want to develop my faith and trust you, believing 398 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:53.680 that you know what's best and I don't. I want 399 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.119 to serve other people this week by raising their value 400 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:01.279 by appreciating them. But I want my life to be 401 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.799