Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry
Speaker 1: of Pastor Rick Warren. Well, today we continue with our
Speaker 1: special Christmas series called the Light of Jesus at Christmas.
Speaker 1: In these lessons, Pastor Rick shows us how the Light
Speaker 1: of Jesus brought into the world at Christmas, illuminates, purifies, heals,
Speaker 1: and grows each of us in this season and beyond. Now,
Speaker 1: before we get started, we want to let you know
Speaker 1: that a very generous friend has given one hundred thousand
Speaker 1: dollars matching grant to Daily Hope. That means that all
Speaker 1: this month, every dollar you give to help Daily Hope
Speaker 1: share the Hope of Jesus around the world will be
Speaker 1: matched up to one hundred thousand dollars. You can find
Speaker 1: out more by going to Pastorick dot com or by
Speaker 1: texting the word daily to eight hundred six hundred five
Speaker 1: thousand and four. That's Pastorick dot com or the word
Speaker 1: Daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with part one of
Speaker 1: a message called the Light of Jesus for your Darkest Days.
Speaker 2: Now, did you know that light is a major theme
Speaker 2: of the Bible. That's why we're going to look at
Speaker 2: a lot of Bible verses today. Light played a major
Speaker 2: role in the First Christmas. The Bible tells us the
Speaker 2: angels lit up the sky with a bright light, and
Speaker 2: they put on a dazzling light show for the shepherds.
Speaker 2: The Bible tells us the wise men were led to
Speaker 2: Jesus by an unusually bright star. Christmas is the celebration
Speaker 2: of God's light entering the world. Now why is that important?
Speaker 2: Because the Bible tells us to expect dark days in
Speaker 2: our lives. Let me read your verse from Ecclesiastes, chapter eleven,
Speaker 2: Verse eight says this people should enjoy every day of
Speaker 2: their lives, no matter how long they live, but they
Speaker 2: should remember that there will be many dark days. The
Speaker 2: Bible tells us that in life we will go through
Speaker 2: many dark days.
Speaker 3: No, what are dark days?
Speaker 2: Well, there are any days where you're feeling negative emotions.
Speaker 2: There are dark days of confusion when you don't know
Speaker 2: which way to turn, you doubt which way you're going.
Speaker 2: There are dark days of conflict when you're having relational
Speaker 2: conflicts of people. There are dark days of disappointment when
Speaker 2: things didn't turn out The way you wanted.
Speaker 3: There are dark days of loss.
Speaker 2: There are dark days of loneliness when you're feeling all alone.
Speaker 2: They are dark days of grief when we've experienced a
Speaker 2: loss of a loved one or or a job or something.
Speaker 2: There are dark days of stress and anxiety and fear.
Speaker 2: There are dark days of heartbreak, dark days of depression,
Speaker 2: dark days even of despair. You know, Isaiah predicted dark
Speaker 2: ark days in his book. In Isaiah chapter six, verse
Speaker 2: twenty one and twenty two, he says this, talking about
Speaker 2: these dark days, people will wander aimlessly, distressed and hungry
Speaker 2: for what they don't have.
Speaker 3: Does that sound like today?
Speaker 2: In deep frustration, they'll become enraged, and they'll shake their
Speaker 2: fists at leaders and even at God. And everywhere they
Speaker 2: look they'll see trouble and darkness and despair, and they'll
Speaker 2: have to live in dark days. That was a prediction
Speaker 2: that Isaiah meant many many years ago. But he also
Speaker 2: predicted the coming of Jesus to Earth at Christmas, and
Speaker 2: in Isaiah nine, verse two, he says this, the people
Speaker 2: who walk in darkness, they will see a great light,
Speaker 2: a light that will shine on all who have been
Speaker 2: living in the shadow of death. How do we have
Speaker 2: the light of Christ in our darkest days? The antidote
Speaker 2: to your darkest day is to turn to God's light.
Speaker 2: The Bible is filled with references to the effect of
Speaker 2: God's light in our lives. First off, it says that
Speaker 2: God's character. God's character is the source of all light
Speaker 2: in the universe. Without God, there would be no light.
Speaker 2: Without God, there would be no universe. Firse John one
Speaker 2: five says God is light, so it says it's his nature.
Speaker 2: All light comes from God. God is light, and in
Speaker 2: him there is no darkness at all. This is the
Speaker 2: message Jesus has given us to announce. First John one five.
Speaker 2: The Bible tells us that God's very first act in creation,
Speaker 2: when he created the universe, the first thing he did
Speaker 2: was create light Genesis one one to four. In the beginning,
Speaker 2: God created the heavens and the earth, and God said,
Speaker 2: let there be light.
Speaker 3: And there was light.
Speaker 2: And God saw that the light was good, and he
Speaker 2: separated the light from the darkness. God is light. The
Speaker 2: first act of creation is light. And at the First
Speaker 2: Christmas twenty twenty years ago, God came to earth as
Speaker 2: Jesus to give us more light. Light about himself, light
Speaker 2: about life, light about death, life, light about eternity, love forgiveness, salvation,
Speaker 2: and much much more. John twelve forty six. Jesus says this,
Speaker 2: I have come as a light. I have come as
Speaker 2: a light to shine in this dark world, so that
Speaker 2: all who put their trust in me will no longer
Speaker 2: wander in darkness. So you know what I did this week?
Speaker 2: I restudied. I got out the physics books and stuff,
Speaker 2: and I restudied all of the properties and all of
Speaker 2: the effects of light, the properties of light to see
Speaker 2: the parallels of what God's world created, He created in
Speaker 2: his world, and what it teaches us about God himself.
Speaker 2: Now what do we know about light? Well, let me
Speaker 2: just give you a quick overview. Light is an electromatic
Speaker 2: magnetic wave, and it's commonly classified in seven kinds of
Speaker 2: different ways, from large or small, and they all travel
Speaker 2: at the same speed, the speed of light. There are
Speaker 2: radio waves, there are microwaves, there are infrared waves. There's
Speaker 2: visible light. Then there's ultraviolet light, their X rays and
Speaker 2: their gamma rays. And I learned this week how different
Speaker 2: wavelengths of life interact differently with matter, and there are
Speaker 2: actually spiritual parallels to how light interacts in different ways. Now,
Speaker 2: we all know that light is illuminating, but we often
Speaker 2: ignore the other effects of life of light, such as
Speaker 2: light can be purifying, light can be warming, light can
Speaker 2: even be transforming. So this Christmas, I want to ask
Speaker 2: the question, how does the light of Jesus when he
Speaker 2: says I'm the light of the world, How does the
Speaker 2: light of Jesus help you in your darkest days? But
Speaker 2: let me just suggest four ways, all right, four different ways. Now,
Speaker 2: a first effect of light is this light can illuminate.
Speaker 2: Light can illuminate. Ephesians five point thirteen says light makes
Speaker 2: all things easy to see. Now, I don't have to
Speaker 2: belabor this point because you use this principle every time
Speaker 2: you flip a light switch. Why in the world do
Speaker 2: you turn on lights to see better? And you can
Speaker 2: always see more in the light than you can in
Speaker 2: the dark. And the brighter the light, the better you
Speaker 2: can see. Light illuminates. I mean, this is not a
Speaker 2: big deal.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: This light exposes, light uncovers, clarifies you. Ever shine the
Speaker 2: light under your bed, you see stuff there you didn't
Speaker 2: know was there. Life gives you a perspective completely different.
Speaker 3: Then when you're in the dark.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.
Speaker 1: We've got some incredible news to share with you. A
Speaker 1: very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: matching grant to this ministry all this month. Every dollar
Speaker 1: you give to help Daily Hope share the certain hope
Speaker 1: of Jesus around the world will be matched up to
Speaker 1: one hundred thousand dollars, So twenty five dollars becomes fifty dollars,
Speaker 1: fifty becomes one hundred and five hundred becomes a thousand.
Speaker 1: Whatever you give will be doubled by the matching grant
Speaker 1: up to one hundred thousand dollars, but only till midnight
Speaker 1: December thirty first, So please contact us today, go to
Speaker 1: Pastorick dot com or just call eight hundred six hundred
Speaker 1: five thousand and four.
Speaker 4: If you want to make your time and prayer the
Speaker 4: best it can be, then you're going to want to
Speaker 4: get a copy of the brand new twenty twenty one
Speaker 4: Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme, God's Great Adventure
Speaker 4: for You, will help you tap into God's power and
Speaker 4: presence when you learn how to pray with passion and purpose.
Speaker 4: Covered in soft vegan leather with full color pages, this
Speaker 4: prayer journal has sections to pray for specific people and situations,
Speaker 4: as well as space to express your gratitude and personal
Speaker 4: prayer requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and
Speaker 4: filled with inspiring Bible verses, photos and artwork. The God's
Speaker 4: Great Adventure for You Prayer Journal is a spiritual growth
Speaker 4: tool designed to help you enjoy a vibrant prayer life,
Speaker 4: connect with God, and establish consistent daily prayer time. When
Speaker 4: you give a gift to help daily Hope take the
Speaker 4: certain Hope of Jesus to people around the world, we'll
Speaker 4: send you the all new twenty twenty one Dailey Hope
Speaker 4: Prayer Journal to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't wait.
Speaker 4: Call it eight hundred and six hundred, five zero zero
Speaker 4: four to get your prayer Journal and have your gift
Speaker 4: matched up to one hundred thousand dollars. Or you can
Speaker 4: visit pastorick dot com. That's eight hundred and six hundred
Speaker 4: at five zero zero four or pastorick dot com.
Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast Ministry
Speaker 1: of Pastor Rick Warren. Once again, Here's Rick.
Speaker 2: If you've ever had surgery, you know that surgeons always
Speaker 2: want the brightest lights in that operating room so they
Speaker 2: can see every little detail.
Speaker 3: They don't want to miss a thing. I mean, no.
Speaker 2: Surgeon has ever said, hey, let's turn these lights down
Speaker 2: for a different mood in this surgery, let's make it
Speaker 2: like a bar lounge.
Speaker 3: No. No, they want it as bright as possible so
Speaker 3: they can see as much as possible.
Speaker 2: If I asked you to go on a night hike
Speaker 2: with me to climb mount saddleback, and how would you
Speaker 2: want to do it? Would you A want to do
Speaker 2: it with completely in the dark or B Would you
Speaker 2: like to use a weak dim flashlight that only shines
Speaker 2: about a foot out?
Speaker 3: Or se would you like to use.
Speaker 2: A Costco maxipower lantern that you can see everything on
Speaker 2: the trail for four hundred yards. Well, obviously, for clarity
Speaker 2: and for illumination, you'd want to use the brightest light
Speaker 2: you could get. It make the journey easier. Now listen,
Speaker 2: the same is true for life.
Speaker 3: To make the.
Speaker 2: Journey easier, you need more light in your life, the
Speaker 2: light of Jesus, who says I'm the light of the world.
Speaker 2: The same is true for clarity. You need the brightest
Speaker 2: light you can get. So where do you find the
Speaker 2: best light for life?
Speaker 3: John eight twelve.
Speaker 2: Jesus said, I am the light of the world, and
Speaker 2: if you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness,
Speaker 2: for living light will flood your path. Okay, during dark days,
Speaker 2: trusting Christ will help me see things more clearly. So
Speaker 2: I want you to write this down number one. In
Speaker 2: dark days, I need the light of Jesus. When I
Speaker 2: can't see the way forward, When I can't see the
Speaker 2: way forward, when I'm confused, when I'm undecided, when I
Speaker 2: don't know what's best, when I can't figure out what
Speaker 2: to do next, when everything looks black and I can't
Speaker 2: see which way to go, I need the light of
Speaker 2: Christ in my life. Now I know that the common
Speaker 2: answer in the world when you're confused is this, trust yourself,
Speaker 2: trust your gut, follow your instincts. But anybody who's tried
Speaker 2: that knows that it best. You're only right about fifty
Speaker 2: percent of the time. Your light is we your perspective
Speaker 2: is small. It's like using one of those little wimpy
Speaker 2: pen lights you put on your keychain. They don't illuminate anything,
Speaker 2: and as a result, You've made a lot of bad
Speaker 2: decisions in life. Instead, here's what the Bible says to
Speaker 2: do Isaiah fifty.
Speaker 3: Verse ten.
Speaker 2: For anyone who doesn't know where you're going, anyone groping
Speaker 2: in the dark, here's what to do. Trust in God. Yes,
Speaker 2: lean on God. Don't trust your own light, trust the
Speaker 2: light of the Lord. And you say, okay, Rick, I
Speaker 2: would love to have God's perspective on my problems. I'd
Speaker 2: love to have his help, his light on my challenges
Speaker 2: and my choices and my future. But how do I
Speaker 2: discover God's viewpoint? How can I see what God sees
Speaker 2: in my life? How do I get God's light on
Speaker 2: the things that matter to me? And the answer is this.
Speaker 2: Get into this book, the Bible. You need to read it,
Speaker 2: you need to study it, because God's will is always
Speaker 2: found in God's word. Saturate your mind with the Bible.
Speaker 2: Psalm one nineteen one oh five says this, your words
Speaker 2: are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me
Speaker 2: and keep me from stumbling. You know, if you hear
Speaker 2: the farm noise out here, don't let it bother because
Speaker 2: it doesn't bother me. They're working on stuff, they're cutting
Speaker 2: down some stuff and tearing up some stuff. But you
Speaker 2: know what, I'm always amazed at how many people are
Speaker 2: always waiting around for God to give them a sign
Speaker 2: in the air instead of just reading the directions that
Speaker 2: He's already given us. Stop looking for a vision in
Speaker 2: the sky and start looking for a verse in the Bible.
Speaker 2: That's where you're going to find the light. You're going
Speaker 2: to continue to stumble around in dark days. If you
Speaker 2: spend more time listening to negative news in the media,
Speaker 2: then you spend in time reading God's word. Saw Him
Speaker 2: nineteen verse eight says this, God's instructions are always right,
Speaker 2: and they point the way to happiness. His commands shine brightly,
Speaker 2: and they light up the right way to go.
Speaker 3: If you want to go the right.
Speaker 2: Way, you got to get in this book, Colosso three
Speaker 2: point fifteen says, the peace that Christ gives you will
Speaker 2: guide you in the decisions you make. Now, I want
Speaker 2: to show you on this first principle, how light illuminates.
Speaker 3: It shows us where to go when we're in the dark,
Speaker 3: when we're confused.
Speaker 2: Let me show you an amazing promise of guidance that
Speaker 2: God gives to you. If you let the words of
Speaker 2: Jesus in this book guide your journey. It's Isaiah forty two,
Speaker 2: verse sixteen. In the message that says this, God says, listen,
Speaker 2: I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,
Speaker 2: who can't see where they're going, that's in dark. I'll
Speaker 2: be a personal guide to them, directing them through the
Speaker 2: unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what
Speaker 2: roads to take. This is God talking. I'll make sure
Speaker 2: they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things
Speaker 2: I'll be doing for them, sticking with them, not leaving.
Speaker 3: Them for a minute. Not amazing promise from God.
Speaker 2: God says, I will be your personal guide. If you'll
Speaker 2: let me light up your life, you won't be stumbling
Speaker 2: around in the dark. So let me ask you a
Speaker 2: very personal question. Where right now do you feel you're
Speaker 2: in the dark. I want you to think about that.
Speaker 2: What is confusing to you in your life? What needs
Speaker 2: to be clarified? Where do you need God's light to
Speaker 2: shine and give you direction. Well, it's completely available to
Speaker 2: you and it's free, but you have to ask for it.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: You may be a little worried about what's happening, what's going.
Speaker 3: To happen next? In your life.
Speaker 2: But let me give you a Bible verse that you
Speaker 2: might want to make your daily prayer.
Speaker 3: Psalm twenty three, Verse four, David.
Speaker 2: Prayed, even though I go through the deepest darkness, I
Speaker 2: will not be afraid.
Speaker 3: I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me.
Speaker 2: So the first benefit of filling your life with God's light,
Speaker 2: everything gets a lot clearer. You don't have as much confusion.
Speaker 2: You'll have a bigger perspective on life. You'll see things
Speaker 2: the way God sees them. And that's called wisdom. Why
Speaker 2: because light illuminates. Now, let me give you a second
Speaker 2: effect of light. Light not only illuminates. Light can disinfect.
Speaker 2: Did you know that?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Did you know? Light is a great disinfectant. It can
Speaker 2: kill germs, It can purify water. Light can cleanse and
Speaker 2: sanitize a lot of stuff. You know, during our peace
Speaker 2: teams visiting all around the world in rural villages, when
Speaker 2: we teach good health practices and developing nations, one of
Speaker 2: the things we teach is the importance of hanging out
Speaker 2: your bedsheets to dry in the sun to sanitize them.
Speaker 2: Light has a disinfecting impact. This week, I read an
Speaker 2: article about how New York city officials have built a
Speaker 2: water disinfection facility using ultraviolet light to destroy germs and
Speaker 2: disinfect it's drinking water, which is brought in from about
Speaker 2: one hundred miles away. And instead of using chlorine, which
Speaker 2: most of us use, which has some downsides to it,
Speaker 2: they're now using the sun's power to disinfect and sanitize
Speaker 2: their water using light rays. They disinfect two point four
Speaker 2: billion gallons of water every day.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: In a similar way, getting the light of God in
Speaker 2: your life can disinfect and sanitize and purify and cleanse harmful.
Speaker 3: Bad stuff out of your life.
Speaker 2: The harmful words, the harmful thoughts, the harmful actions that
Speaker 2: make you spiritually and emotionally and sometimes physically sick. Here's
Speaker 2: what the Bible says, First John, chapter one, verse six
Speaker 2: to nine. If we claim to have a relationship with
Speaker 2: God but we continue living in darkness.
Speaker 3: Then we lie and we aren't following the truth.
Speaker 2: But if we live in the light, as God is
Speaker 2: in the light, then we can have real fellowship with
Speaker 2: each other. And the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us.
Speaker 2: That's cleanses, sanitizes, disinfects. God's son blood purifies us from
Speaker 2: all sin, and if we claim to be without sin,
Speaker 2: we're just fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.
Speaker 2: But if we confess our sins to him, God is
Speaker 2: faithful and just, and he will forgive and cleanse us
Speaker 2: from every wrong. So I want you to write this
Speaker 2: down number two. In dark days, I need the light
Speaker 2: of Jesus when I want to clean start, when I
Speaker 2: want to clean start. You know, I could not count
Speaker 2: the number of times that people have said to me confidentially.
Speaker 2: You know, Rick, I have made so many mistakes in
Speaker 2: my life.
Speaker 3: I really need a fresh start. We should.
Speaker 2: You could just clean the slate, wipe it all off,
Speaker 2: and begin again. I'm so tired of carrying a heavy
Speaker 2: load of emotional baggage from all my poor decisions. So
Speaker 2: many people today are going through dark days because they're
Speaker 2: carrying a load, a secret load of guilt and shame
Speaker 2: and regret. They may look successful on the outside, but
Speaker 2: they're tortured by their secrets. Is there a way to
Speaker 2: wipe the slate clean? Is there a way to get
Speaker 2: a fresh start. Yes, it's called being born again. That
Speaker 2: doesn't mean you turn over a new leaf and try harder.
Speaker 2: It means you get a brand new life.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.
Speaker 1: We've got some incredible news to share with you. A
Speaker 1: very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: matching grant to this ministry. That means that all this month,
Speaker 1: every dollar you give to help Daily Hope share the
Speaker 1: certain Hope of Jesus around the world will be matched
Speaker 1: up to one hundred thousand dollars. Here's Pastor Rick to
Speaker 1: tell you more.
Speaker 2: I know I tell you this all the time, but
Speaker 2: again I want you to know how much I thank
Speaker 2: God for you and appreciate your support of Daily Hope.
Speaker 2: We couldn't do this without your prayers, and we can't
Speaker 2: do it without your financial gifts. And I know that
Speaker 2: for many of you this is a real sacrifice in
Speaker 2: order to be able to support the Ministry of Daily
Speaker 2: Hope as we take the message of Christ literally around
Speaker 2: the world into places that nobody else is going to.
Speaker 2: As you consider your year in giving, I want to
Speaker 2: ask you to consider about sending your greatest gift to
Speaker 2: Daily Hope that you've ever given. You know, the great
Speaker 2: news is that in this month your financial gift will
Speaker 2: be doubled because a generous friend is offering one hundred
Speaker 2: thousand dollars matching grant, and they've challenged all of the
Speaker 2: rest of us to give as much as we can
Speaker 2: and they will match it up to one hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 2: That means that every dollar you give the Daily Hope
Speaker 2: in December, up to one hundred thousand dollars will be doubled.
Speaker 2: You give twenty five dollars, it's like given fifty dollars,
Speaker 2: and if you give one hundred, it's like giving two
Speaker 2: hundred dollars. And if you're able to give a thousand
Speaker 2: dollars or more, it will be doubled. Your generosity, and
Speaker 2: of course Christmas is all about the spirit of generosity.
Speaker 2: God so loved the world that he gave. Your generosity
Speaker 2: makes this ministry possible. It allows us to reach into
Speaker 2: refugee camps, It allows us to reach out around the
Speaker 2: world overseas. It allows us to reach people who could
Speaker 2: not ever afford to pay for any discipleship tools or materials.
Speaker 2: So your donations matter. Let me ask you a personal favor.
Speaker 2: No't forget to pray for us during this season. We're
Speaker 2: praying for you. Let me know that you prayed. It
Speaker 2: really blesses me to hear from you. I love the letters,
Speaker 2: the emails, the cards, the stories that come in because
Speaker 2: it helps me realize we truly are partnering together in
Speaker 2: this ministry. It's not about me. It's about the Word
Speaker 2: of God, and it's about what we can do together
Speaker 2: that none of us could do on our own. We
Speaker 2: are more effective together, we're better together. God bless you
Speaker 2: and have a great Christmas season.
Speaker 1: Remember, as Rick just shared, whatever you give today will
Speaker 1: be doubled by the matching grant up to one hundred
Speaker 1: thousand dollars, but only till midnight December thirty first. Anything
Speaker 1: not matched will be lost, so please contact us today.
Speaker 1: You can give right now by going to pastorig dot
Speaker 1: com or by calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand
Speaker 1: and four. We'll say thanks by sending you the brand
Speaker 1: new Daily Hope Prayer Journal that's pastorig dot com or
Speaker 1: by calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Be sure to join us again next time as we
Speaker 1: look into God's Word for our daily hope. This program
Speaker 1: is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous
Speaker 1: financial support