WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.640 We've been looking at the life of Daniel, who lived 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.879 about twenty five hundred years ago. At fifteen years of age, 3 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:08.519 he was taken as a prisoner of war to the 4 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:11.880 Babylonian Empire with about twenty five percent of the Jewish nation. 5 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.640 But there he just continued to pass every test of life, 6 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:19.600 and when he was eighty five seventy years later, he 7 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.359 is the second most powerful man in the most powerful 8 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.760 empire in the world. Daniel had developed his reputation as 9 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:28.600 being the go to guy because he was the wisest 10 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:33.280 man in the empire. In fact, let's go back and 11 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:35.520 let me show you what the queen and the King 12 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.000 said about this guy here on the screen. The queen 13 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.799 said this, this man Daniel, has a sharp mind, and 14 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:47.320 he's filled with knowledge and understanding, and he can interpret dreams. 15 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.679 He can explain the meaning of mysteries being solved difficult problems. 16 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.880 So call for Daniel and he'll tell you what it means. 17 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:58.520 And so they put out the call, SOS, bring Daniel in. 18 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.600 And when he gets into the the banquet hall, this 19 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.159 is what the king said the next verse. I have 20 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:07.159 heard Daniel that the spirit of God is in you, 21 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:14.040 that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom, not incredible reputation. 22 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.159 I mean, think about that. Note those three things. He says, 23 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:22.560 You've got God's spirit in you. You are You're brilliant 24 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.799 in your knowledge, and you're extraordinary in your wisdom. Wouldn't 25 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:30.040 you like to have people say that about you? Yeah, well, 26 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.239 if you would, you picked a good weekend to come 27 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.280 to church, because that's what we're going to look at. 28 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:41.239 How do you become wise? Like Daniel? God used this guy, 29 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:46.359 Daniel because he was wise. But wisdom is a choice, 30 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:50.959 and you can choose to become wise through learning and 31 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:54.840 through study and dedication and prayer. And the Bible's got 32 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:58.640 a lot to say about wisdom and learning. We could 33 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.439 spend an entire six months on this one, but let 34 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:03.159 me just show you one verse. Here's a verse up 35 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:07.439 here on the screen job chapter eight, Verse eight, verse nine. 36 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:12.919 It says this, ask the former generations and find out 37 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.199 what their fathers learned. For we were born only yesterday 38 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:20.000 and we know so little. He says, I want you 39 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.400 to go out and ask the former generations. You need 40 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.680 to learn the lessons of people who came before you. 41 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.759 Become a student of history, the more you understand what's 42 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.360 happened to pass, It's all been done before, just in 43 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.520 various fronts. Well, we saw that three hundred years ago, 44 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:37.560 we saw that nine hundred years ago, we saw that 45 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:39.719 fifteen hundred years ago. And the more you know it 46 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:44.520 builds your your foundation. The Bible says, listen to the 47 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.039 past generations and learn from them, and learn from biographies, 48 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.599 which is why so much of this book, the Bible, 49 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.960 it's stories. It's filled with biographies. Now these aren't These 50 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:01.879 aren't fairy tales Little Peter Cottontale and you know, Jeopardy 51 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.800 Rabbit or something. These are real people. Moses was real, 52 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:09.039 and Ebiconezer was real, Daniel was real, Jesus was real. 53 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.960 These are people that actually happened. And the reason I 54 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:13.879 love the Bible because it always tells the truth. It 55 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:16.879 didn't just share the good stuff about them. He tells 56 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:18.840 all of the you know, the bad stuff too, is 57 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.719 he goes, well, okay, then I can relate to that. 58 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.599 In fact, all of these life lessons that are in 59 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:27.960 this book you need. And the more you know these, 60 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:32.400 the wiser you're going to be. The wiser you're going 61 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:34.479 to be. In fact, look at this next verse on 62 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:39.120 your outline. Why what the Bible says about itself? First Corinthians, 63 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:44.039 chapter ten. These things talking about the stuff that's in 64 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.919 the Bible. These things occurred as examples to warn us 65 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:50.840 and to keep us from wanting to do the same 66 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.560 evil kind of things they did. For the scripture says 67 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.360 that we should avoid drunken party, sexual immorality, worshiping things 68 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.400 that aren't God. We should test. We should not test 69 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:05.719 the Lord's patience or grumble and complain as some did, 70 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:09.280 and they died. And he said these things happened as examples, 71 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.159 and they were written down as warnings for us. So 72 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.439 these are the first two things. Make a commitment to 73 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:20.720 never stop learning, learn the lessons of the prior generations. 74 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.079 Number three, the Bible says, maintain a humble attitude that 75 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:30.600 honors God. Maintain throughout your life a humble attitude that 76 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:34.759 honors God. I said it earlier. Humility and teachability actually 77 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:38.439 go together. Be humble or you'll stumble. The more humble 78 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.600 you are, the less you'll stumble. The Bible says, pride 79 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:45.639 goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Now, 80 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:49.040 humility begins by simply realizing you're not God. If you 81 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:51.519 ever get under stress, repeat this three times and call 82 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.079 me God is God and I'm not. God is God, 83 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.480 and I'm not. God is God and I'm not. You 84 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:58.759 need to realize you're not God, and you need to 85 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:04.000 realize you need God. That's humility. If you don't realize that, 86 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:07.240 you're not a humble person. Now, the Bible says in 87 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:11.480 Proverbs fifteen this verse thirty three, reverence for the Lord 88 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:17.800 is an education in itself. You must be humble before 89 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:21.319 you can ever receive honors. So he said, you know, 90 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:24.360 you want to start out with a lifelong goal to 91 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.000 be wise. Get to know God. And the more you 92 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:29.439 get to know God, the more you get to know 93 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:32.439 His word, You're going to simply be a wiser person. 94 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.319 You'll be wiser in relationships. You'll be wiser in the 95 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:38.600 way you manage your money. You'll be wiser in handling conflict, 96 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.360 You'll be wiser in diffusing problems. You'll just be wiser 97 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.079 in a whole lot of different areas because you're not 98 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:48.279 simply depending on your own intellect. You're getting the wisdom 99 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:51.720 of God, the wisdom of the ages. And he says, 100 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:53.879 maintain a humble attitude. By the way, do you know 101 00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:00.240 what the first mark of humility to God is in baptized? Yeah, 102 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.240 being baptist. Being baptized as a humble statement said God 103 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.959 your God, and I'm not. And I recognize this. Have 104 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.480 you ever been baptized? If you haven't, I would encourage 105 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.600 you to do so. Now. I know some people say, well, 106 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:14.759 you know, I don't want to get my hair wet. 107 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:19.920 That's called pride. That's called pride. Sorry, that's the very 108 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.240 reason you need to do it. It's a statement of humility. 109 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:26.360 I know some people say, well, I was baptized as 110 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:31.399 a baby. Terrific, that's fantastic. That was a wonderful statement 111 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:36.639 of faith by your parents. Do you even remember it? No, 112 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.879 it was their decision, not yours. You need to make 113 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.399 your own decision in baptism too. In addition, you know 114 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:48.720 how old Jesus was when he was baptized. He's thirty. 115 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.439 He was thirty. It was this all adult decision, wasn't 116 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.079 his parents' decision? Now, when he was a baby, his 117 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.720 parents took him to the temple had him dedicated. His 118 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.240 adult baptism did not invalidate what happened when he was 119 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.319 a baby. It's not like one or the other. He 120 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:06.839 did both. If you have not been baptized the way 121 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:10.279 Jesus was, I'm going to be baptizing. Actually next week 122 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:12.879 we have a pool out of here. We got a 123 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:16.160 short shower, shower, towers, towels and stuff like that. And 124 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.000 so what I do, the Bible says, baptism is a 125 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:21.279 picture of two things, of Jesus dying, being buried in 126 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:23.680 the ground, and being raised again. And it's also a 127 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:26.680 picture of you dying to all your sins are forgiven, 128 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.560 and beginning a new perspective in new life. And so 129 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:33.160 just as Jesus was dyed, was buried in the ground 130 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.160 three days and rose again, I take you and put 131 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:39.639 you under the water, leave you there three days, just 132 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:43.439 seeing if you're listening and if you and raise you up. 133 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:47.480 The Bible says this James, Chapter four, verse six. God 134 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:51.959 opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. 135 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:57.160 Why does God oppose the proud because they're unteachable. They 136 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:01.000 think they know it all they can't learn humility? Is 137 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.040 then I can learn from anybody. You can teach me. 138 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:09.600 Can I teach you? Can other people teach you humility? 139 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.800 Means you can learn literally from anybody. Now, Number four, 140 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.759 the fourth key to wisdom is to refuse to fill 141 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:24.519 my mind with garbage. Refuse to fill my mind with garbage. 142 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.199 You know, we're all worried about water pollution and air pollution, 143 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.559 and we ought to be. We're to take care of 144 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:36.799 the planet, But those very people are often not even 145 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.639 worried about the pollution they allowed in their mind. The concepts, 146 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:43.600 the words, the thoughts that are actually harmful to your 147 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:48.799 life on television and movies and books, and actually, when 148 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.840 it comes down to what you feed your mind is 149 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:55.960 as important as what you feed your body. So what 150 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:57.840 do you need to eat more of? What do you 151 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:00.440 need to eat less of? In the content that you 152 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:05.519 fill your mind with, there's basically four kinds of content 153 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.279 you can fill your mind with. You can fill it 154 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:11.159 with a poison. Poison is stuff that will kill you. 155 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.720 There are concepts that will actually derange you, or degrade you, 156 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:21.320 or demoralize you, or defeat you. There are self defeating 157 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.639 thoughts that you tell yourself. There are self defeating thoughts 158 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.480 that other people tell you. That stufs, poison, pornography is poison. 159 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:30.120 You don't fill your mind with that kind of stuff, 160 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:32.440 so you stay away from that. But then a lot 161 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:35.279 of stuff is just junk food, and a lot of 162 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.679 stuff that's on TV I call it the equivalent of 163 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:44.480 mental twinkies. There's no nutritional value in it. It's just there. 164 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:46.639 And yeah, you can eat junk food, but you're not 165 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:52.159 going to be very wise watching the Kardashians. I don't 166 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.240 know that it's going to make anybody smarter doing that. 167 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:57.200 Then the third thing you can fill your mind with 168 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.759 is brain food, and that's good stuff. Now, the people 169 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.960 who are on the stage just now, they deal in 170 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:07.200 brain food, and they teach you stuff about life. They 171 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.600 teach you stuff about you know, science and math and 172 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.519 history and English and geography. That's brain food. That's good stuff. 173 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.360 You need to fill your mind with, you know, stuff 174 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:21.159 that educates you makes you a stronger and more rounded person. 175 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.080 But then you also need an addition of brain food. 176 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.519 You need superfood. And that's what this is. This is superfood. 177 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:30.879 It can teach you stuff that you're not going to 178 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.960 get anywhere else in how to relate to life and 179 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.559 how to relate it answers the fundamental questions like who 180 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:38.279 am I? Where am I? Where did I come from? 181 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:40.879 Where am I going? Does my life matter? Is their 182 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.320 purpose to my life? Is there meaning? Am I significant? 183 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.240 Those kind of questions are in this book. Their answers 184 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:47.159 are right there. 185 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.759 If you want to live a life full of purpose 186 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.480 and joy, then you need to transform the way you think. 187 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.960 And to help you do this, Pastorik created a brand 188 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.600 new set of scripture cards with fifty two hand selected 189 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:19.840 verses from his series Rethinking your Life. These verses will 190 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:23.600 guide you into a deeper understanding of your purpose and faith, 191 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:27.759 and you'll find yourself gaining the strength to overcome temptation 192 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:32.559 and conquer discouragement. When you allow God's word to transform 193 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.960 your mind, you'll see your life through his eyes, apply 194 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:40.440 his wisdom, and step into a life of purpose and joy. 195 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:44.000 This set of beautifully designed cards will help you memorize 196 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:47.279 scripture so you can recall God's word when you need 197 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:50.720 it the most. And today, when you give a gift 198 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:53.679 to help daily hope, take the hope of Jesus to 199 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.039 a world in need. Will send you the Rethinking your 200 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:00.200 Life scripture card set to say thanks. 201 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:10.919 Okay. Number five The fifth thing, and this is the 202 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.879 most important of all. If you're gonna learn to be wise. 203 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:18.200 You must put into practice what I've already learned. Put 204 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:23.720 into practice what I've learned. God doesn't teach you the 205 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.440 second thing about life until you actually act on the 206 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:29.080 stuff you already know. God is not in the business 207 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:31.720 of simply satisfying your curiosity. And I'll tell you fifteen 208 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.720 really cool things about life. Now. He tells you one thing, 209 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:37.120 and he waits for you to act on it. Once 210 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:38.519 you act on it, then you get to go to 211 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:40.600 the next step. Once you act on that, you get 212 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.440 to go to level stage two and three and four 213 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:44.960 and five. You have to apply the truth. You have 214 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:47.799 to act on the truth. You have to internalize what 215 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:52.000 you've learned. There's a guy go out on TV right now. 216 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:55.039 This goes like this. Say, you're not really a firefighter 217 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.480 until you've fought a fire, and you're not really an 218 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:01.159 actor until you've actually act in something. You're not really 219 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:04.320 an author till you actually authored a book. And I 220 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:07.600 would say you're not really a believer in God until 221 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:11.600 you start living by what you claim to believe. I 222 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:13.120 have to act on it. I have to apply it. 223 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.279 I have to internalize it. I want you to write 224 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.120 this down on your outline I haven't learned it until 225 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:22.639 I do it. I haven't learned it until I do it. 226 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:24.919 If I were to say, do you believe the Bible, 227 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.200 A lot of you say, sure, raised I believe the Bible. 228 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:29.519 I said, well, do you do it? Well? No, then 229 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:33.080 you don't really believe it. You only believe the things 230 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.000 in life that you actually do. The Bible says you're 231 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.240 to forgive your enemies. Do you believe that yet? Do 232 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:41.159 you do it? No, then you don't really believe it. 233 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:45.120 I only believe what I actually do, and I haven't 234 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.480 really learned until I do it. Now, bel Shazar, this guy, 235 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:52.559 this king, he loses everything because he failed to do 236 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:57.440 this last point. He failed to put into practice what 237 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.759 he had seen and learned, and he pridefully refuses to 238 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.080 learn the lessons of the prior generation. Remember, this guy 239 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.480 is the grandson of the most famous king of the 240 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.840 biggest empire of that day, nebucon Nezer. He saw nebucon 241 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:14.600 Nezzer literally lose his mind for about seven years out 242 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.759 of pride. He saw all the mistakes his grandfather made. 243 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:21.320 He saw his grandfather come back and correct those things. 244 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:23.559 He saw the good and the bad, and his life 245 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:27.159 and he chose to ignore God. He chose to ignore 246 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:30.399 the lessons. He chose to be prideful and throw parties. 247 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.879 And God said, okay, you know, I might understand if 248 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:38.600 you didn't know this, but you know this, and so 249 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:42.000 your kingdom is being taken away. It's going to be divided. 250 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:46.200 And Daniel was the one guy in the empire who 251 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.120 had the courage to point it out. Look up here 252 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:51.279 on the screen. Here's what the Bible says. Daniel said 253 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:58.519 to King Belshazzar, even though you knew, you knew what 254 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.080 happened to your father, You knew all that happened to 255 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:03.960 your father, and never can answer. Now, actually you need 256 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:06.039 to understand it. Never can answer was his grandfather. But 257 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:10.399 in Babylonian culture you called any predecessor father, so they're 258 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.679 using the predecessor term here. He said, you knew what 259 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:18.759 your predecessor did, you didn't learn, but you didn't learn 260 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:23.240 from his life, and you still refuse to humble yourself 261 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:28.320 before God, who rules from heaven. Now, notice on that 262 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.799 verse he says you knew, and he says you didn't learn. 263 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.519 Is there a difference between knowing and learning. Yes, you 264 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.039 know a lot of things, but you haven't learned it 265 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.159 to you put into practice. I can go to a 266 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:41.960 marriage seminar and learn all about how to have a 267 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:44.320 good marriage and come home. And if I put the 268 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:46.919 seminar on the shelf and I don't know anything about it, 269 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.720 I haven't learned a thing. It's like if I say, 270 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:50.919 you know, I want to lose some weight, I'm going 271 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.080 to get a diet book down and I start reading 272 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:56.120 it and underlining while I'm eating my Twinkies and my 273 00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:01.360 Wuacamolean chips and coke float. Man, I feel so healthy 274 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:05.840 just reading this book. Has it changed anything in my life? Nothing? 275 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.879 Not a thing, not a zip zero. I haven't learned 276 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:16.440 it until I do it. Do you know certain foods 277 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.759 are bad for you, but you eat him anyway? Yeah? 278 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:24.440 I can know about God and never learn to trust him. 279 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.000 That's the difference. The Bible says wisdom comes not from 280 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:34.600 the knowing, wisdom comes from the doing. So here's the 281 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:36.720 big lesson of this story. Why don't you write it down? 282 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:41.200 If I don't humbly learn from the generations before me, 283 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:44.840 this King Belshazer didn't, then I'm going to end up 284 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:49.919 making the same mistakes. If I don't humbly learn from 285 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.559 the generations before me. I will end up making the 286 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:58.000 exact same mistakes. And you learn a lot of things 287 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:01.080 and have a lot of head knowledge, but not heart 288 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.799 and knowledge. Some people say some people are going to 289 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.640 miss having by eighteen inches because they got it in 290 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.920 their head. They don't have it in their heart. They 291 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:13.319 know that they haven't learned. They haven't learned it. You know, 292 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:19.640 true confession. I went to school a lot a long time. 293 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:22.720 I went to school for twenty four years, get my master's, 294 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.839 get my doctorate, and in my field, the languages you 295 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:30.920 have to learn took a long time, and I will 296 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.119 say I've forgotten a lot of it, but I have 297 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.640 never forgotten the most important thing. So let me tell 298 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.519 you what I learned in twenty four years of school. 299 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:43.039 This is the most important thing to learn. You were 300 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:48.839 made by God, and you were made for God. And 301 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:51.680 until you understand that life is never going to make sense. 302 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:56.480 You were not made for you. You were made by 303 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.440 God and for God. And until you understand that life 304 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:03.880 is never going to make sense. Here's what the Bible says. 305 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.160 Look up here on the screen one Timothy six twenty one. 306 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:10.759 Some people have missed the most important thing in life. 307 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:15.640 They don't know God. Do you. You might know string theory, 308 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.119 you might know chaos theory, you might know quantum physics. 309 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:23.039 That if you don't know God, sorry, you missed the 310 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:29.279 purpose of your life. Some of you, students, your honor students, congratulations, 311 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.000 you get straight a's. Congratulations. But at the end of 312 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.400 your life and all of our lives, God's going to 313 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.680 give us a final test. And the good news about 314 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:43.559 that it's an open book test. Okay, all the answers 315 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:46.039 are here, So you had an entire lifetime to prepare 316 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:50.880 for God's final test. It's an open book test. And 317 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.119 on that test, God is not going to say, did 318 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:55.079 you show me your report card? You get straight a's, 319 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:59.480 and God's not gonna say how'd you do in your career. 320 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:02.960 God's not gonna say, let me see your bank account balance. 321 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.519 He's not gonna say any of those things. He's going 322 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:08.839 to say this, did you get to know me? Were 323 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:13.079 we friends? Did you build a relationship with my son 324 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:14.920 who I sent to earth to die on the cross 325 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.319 for you? You know you know about it, but did 326 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.559 you learn it? You know about it, but did you 327 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.640 learn it? Did you build you had the religion, did 328 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:27.079 you have the relationship? Let me ask a real question, said, 329 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:31.359 do you have God in your life? Oh? Yeah, Oh yeah, yeah, 330 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:34.599 I've got God in my life. Really, has he made 331 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:39.400 any big changes? Has he transformed your life in any way? No? No, 332 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.160 but God's in here. Oh yeah, God's He's never changed 333 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:48.200 in it. No. Let me just say this as I'm 334 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:49.359 not an authority on a lot of things, but i 335 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.440 am an authority on human behavior because I've dealt with 336 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:57.359 people for forty five years, tens and tens of thousands 337 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.880 of people. God is big, and God is really really 338 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:05.960 really really really big, and somebody who's just really really 339 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:09.039 really really really big can't come into your life without 340 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:12.559 it making a really really really big change. So you 341 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.720 may have gotten something, but you didn't get God. You 342 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.839 might have gotten religion, but you don't have a relationship. 343 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:23.000 Some people have missed the most important thing in life. 344 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.759 They don't know me. Would you like to get to 345 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:31.119 know them? That I can help you do? It starts 346 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:39.480 with humility. That's power heads. Would you pray a simple prayer? 347 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.359 It doesn't really matter what you say, Just talk to God. 348 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.559 The most important thing is that your attitude is humble. 349 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.160 You might just start with the thing God, I've never 350 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.680 really said this to you. You're God and I'm not, 351 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:59.160 and I need you in my life. I'll pray a 352 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:01.000 little prayer right now. If you want to follow me, 353 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:02.839 you can just say these words too. Just go me 354 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.759 to God. What Rick's saying. That's me. I agree with that. 355 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:08.000 So if you want to pray it, you can just 356 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:11.440 say it too. Dear God, You're not said aloud, say 357 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.559 it in your mind. He knows your thoughts. Dear God, 358 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.839 I know you made me, I know you love me, 359 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:22.559 and I know about you, but I really want to 360 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:26.240 know you personally, and I want you in my life. 361 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:31.160 And so today, as humbly as I can say it, 362 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.359 I open my life to you. I want to start 363 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.759 the journey of learning. And I want that to be 364 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:42.880 a lifelong journey of learning, not just about the world, 365 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:49.880 but about you, and about others and about myself. And 366 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:53.440 I want to learn more and more about you every day. 367 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:57.240 And so I want to take these five statements of 368 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:02.359 growing in wisdom, and I want to begin this process today. First, 369 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:04.559 I want to make a commitment to never stop learning, 370 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:10.039 to learning more about you and more about life and 371 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.960 anything else you want to teach me. Help me to 372 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:16.839 learn the lessons of prior generations to not make the 373 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:23.119 same mistakes they did. Help me to maintain a humble 374 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:29.960 attitude that honors you. God. Help me to be more 375 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:33.720 discriminating in what I allow in my mind. To refuse 376 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.880 to put junk in my mind, but to fill it 377 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:41.680 with brain food and superfood. And then, most of all, 378 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.680 help me to practice what I've learned. I don't want 379 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:47.000 to get to the end of my life at the 380 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:53.400 final exam and how you say you didn't pass, so 381 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:55.799 as best I know how, I humble myself when I 382 00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:58.279 ask you today to accept me into your family. I 383 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:01.440 want to learn you to love you. I want to 384 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:05.559 learn to trust you. I want to understand what Jesus 385 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:09.160 you came to do. And I simply pray this in 386 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:21.759 your name. Amen. Hi everybody, this is Pastor Rick. Because 387 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:24.680 of the generous support of many of you Daily Hope listeners, 388 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:29.920 we're able to offer Daily Hope devotionals for free worldwide. 389 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.279 In fact, today I have a note from Paul in 390 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:37.279 Kenya that shows how God is at work through the 391 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:41.079 Daily Hope devotionals. Paul wrote me. He said, I'd like 392 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:43.799 to sincerely thank you for the free gift of your 393 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:47.960 daily hope devotionals. May God receive all the glory. For 394 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.839 some time now, You're inspiring and encouraging messages, along with 395 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:55.720 scripture references, have helped me push through some really tough 396 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:59.839 times and get closer to God. However, Paul writes, the 397 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.519 best part is that my faith in God has now 398 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:05.480 grown to the point that He recently gave me the 399 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:08.759 strength and wisdom to accept His free, undeserved gifts to 400 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:13.839 grace and salvation. By accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as 401 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:17.079