Speaker 1: What happens when I learn to become aware all the time?
Speaker 1: There's no moment that I'm not aware that I am
Speaker 1: loved unconditionally, deeply, and eternally by God. Number one, I
Speaker 1: feel accepted rather than ashamed. I feel accepted rather than ashamed,
Speaker 1: and that'll change your life. Most people go through their
Speaker 1: entire life avoiding God.
Speaker 2: And the reason why they avoid.
Speaker 1: God is because they are ashamed, they feel ashamed, they
Speaker 1: feel guilty, they feel under condemnation, they feel judged, they
Speaker 1: feel criticized. They think, God is a perfect God and
Speaker 1: I am so not perfect. So why in the world
Speaker 1: would I wanna hang out with a perfect God who's
Speaker 1: simply gonna remind me of all the ways that I've failed?
Speaker 1: Because that's not what God does. Jesus said, I didn't
Speaker 1: come to condemn the world, I came to save it.
Speaker 1: He said, I didn't come to condemn the world, I
Speaker 1: came to save it. The Bible says there's no condemnation
Speaker 1: for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's a no
Speaker 1: condemnation lifestyle. Now the Bible says this, Romans 5 verse one.
Speaker 1: By faith, we have been made acceptable by God Acceptable
Speaker 1: to God. And now because of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: we live in peace with him. We've been made acceptable
Speaker 1: to God. Circle that word acceptable. And because of that,
Speaker 1: God accepts me completely, totally, unconditionally because of his love.
Speaker 2: I live at peace with God. Now let me tell
Speaker 2: you why that's so important.
Speaker 1: Because it sets you free from the addiction that you
Speaker 1: have to approval. You do certain things in life, some
Speaker 1: things you wouldn't even wanna do, but you do them
Speaker 1: because you want the approval of other people and you
Speaker 1: are addicted to their approval and you've been trying to
Speaker 1: gain approval from some unpleasable people your entire life and
Speaker 1: you're never gonna get it.
Speaker 2: But when you realize that God loves you.
Speaker 1: Unconditionally and without condition of any type, you realize this,
Speaker 1: I don't need the approval of other people And it
Speaker 1: sets you free. I don't need other people's approval to
Speaker 1: be happy. Most of your life, you have been worried
Speaker 1: about what other people think. And that's because you don't
Speaker 1: feel totally unconditionally loved by God. And when you don't
Speaker 1: feel it, then you're trying to make yourself impressive and
Speaker 1: you're trying to get.
Speaker 2: The approval of other people.
Speaker 1: But when you know God loves you, criticism doesn't bother
Speaker 1: you anymore. Because if God loves me and I like me,
Speaker 1: you don't like me, that's your problem. Look at the
Speaker 1: next verse, Romans 8. If God says his chosen ones
Speaker 1: are acceptable to him, and he has, can anybody bring
Speaker 1: charges against them? The answer is no. Or can anybody
Speaker 1: condemn them? The answer is no. Does criticism really matter?
Speaker 2: No, no indeed. Because I feel accepted to rather than ashamed.
Speaker 2: That's a big one. It'll set you free.
Speaker 1: Number two, when I experience the unconditional love of God
Speaker 1: on a daily moment by moment basis, I am bold
Speaker 1: in bringing my deeds to God.
Speaker 2: I'm bold in my prayers.
Speaker 3: Why?
Speaker 1: Because I'm a son of God. I'm a daughter of God.
Speaker 1: I'm a child of God. I'm a member of the family.
Speaker 1: And so I know God loves me unconditionally and when
Speaker 1: I pray to him, I can talk to him about
Speaker 1: anything because.
Speaker 2: I'm his son.
Speaker 1: When my kids were little and they would come to me,
Speaker 1: they could ask me anything and they would come and
Speaker 1: just tell me what they needed. They assumed I had everything,
Speaker 1: knew everything and could afford everything. Now you know that's
Speaker 1: not true, and I know that's true. But with God,
Speaker 1: it is true. The Bible says, well actually, in Romans 8,
Speaker 1: all who are led by the Spirit of God are
Speaker 1: children of God. So you should not be cowering like
Speaker 1: fearful slaves. No, no, no, you should behave instead like
Speaker 1: God's very own children.
Speaker 2: Adopted into his family.
Speaker 1: God adopted us into his family, calling him father, dear father.
Speaker 1: And I love that phrase, father, dear father. The word
Speaker 1: there is the Aramaic word, Abba. Now Abba is not
Speaker 1: just a Swedish rock group. Abba is the word in
Speaker 1: the Middle East, in almost all of the Semitic languages,
Speaker 1: for daddy. It's the first word every kid in the
Speaker 1: Middle East learns. Abba, it's easy to say, Abba, Papa. dada, mama, abba.
Speaker 1: Abba simply means daddy. And the Bible says that when
Speaker 1: you come to God in prayer, you come to him
Speaker 1: and you say, dada, papa, abba, father, dear father. You
Speaker 1: don't come to him with some fancy phrase. If my
Speaker 1: kids had come to me and said, They needed allowance, buddy. Oh,
Speaker 1: thou most gracious progenitor of the Warren family. Thou wonderful
Speaker 1: observer and keeper of all.
Speaker 2: The family funds. I'd go, huh? No, no, they just say, dad,
Speaker 2: I need cash.
Speaker 1: Okay, it's just like real straightforward.
Speaker 2: Very bold, dad, I need cash.
Speaker 1: And the Bible says that you can come to God
Speaker 1: and say, dad.
Speaker 2: I need cash.
Speaker 1: Abba, Father, just in the most intimate terms. God doesn't
Speaker 1: want you. You know all these fancy flowery prayers that
Speaker 1: everybody prays? God's going, what are you talking to? You
Speaker 1: were to talk to me as Abba, Father, Daddy, my Daddy.
Speaker 1: I feel bold in bringing my request to God. Talk
Speaker 1: to him, Father, dear Father, and since we are his children,
Speaker 1: We will share in his treasures. In other words, I'm
Speaker 1: a son of God, I get the family inheritance. You're
Speaker 1: a daughter of God, you get the family inheritance. We
Speaker 1: will share in his treasure for everything God gives to
Speaker 1: his son, Christ is ours too. I'm a son of God.
Speaker 1: You're a son of God, you're a daughter of God.
Speaker 1: You get total access because he loves you that much.
Speaker 1: He didn't say, excuse me, I'll put you on an
Speaker 1: appointment in three months. You can come boldly to God
Speaker 1: and talk to him about anything, anytime, anywhere, and God's
Speaker 1: not gonna go, excuse me, I'm a little busy. I'm
Speaker 1: trying to solve the Middle East crisis right now. No,
Speaker 1: you're a child of God. You get special privileges. And
Speaker 1: you're bold in bringing your needs to God. Look at
Speaker 1: this verse, Hebrews 4.16. Let us then approach the throne
Speaker 1: of grace.
Speaker 2: That means prayer.
Speaker 1: Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence. The
Speaker 1: word is actually boldness. So that we may receive mercy
Speaker 1: and find grace to help us when in our time
Speaker 1: of need. You need to be bold in your prayer.
Speaker 1: You're a son of God. You're a daughter of God.
Speaker 1: You're loved unconditionally. And Jesus said, you can ask anything
Speaker 1: in my name. I feel accepted rather than ashamed. And
Speaker 1: I am bold in bringing my needs to my Abba Father,
Speaker 1: my Papa Father. Number three, when I understand God's love
Speaker 1: conditionally and I just experience it, not just know it,
Speaker 1: I have peace in pain I don't understand. Peace in
Speaker 1: pain that I don't understand. You're gonna have a lot
Speaker 1: of things that happen in your life you don't get.
Speaker 1: You're gonna ask the why questions of life. God, why
Speaker 1: is this happening to me? Why is this happening to
Speaker 1: our family?
Speaker 2: Why now? Why here? Why this? You're gonna see things
Speaker 2: happen in the world. Lord, why?
Speaker 1: Now, let me just say up front, God doesn't owe
Speaker 1: you an explanation for why he allows anything. I will
Speaker 1: tell you this, not everything that happens in the world.
Speaker 2: Is God's will.
Speaker 1: God hates evil and a lot of evil's done in
Speaker 1: the world and God could easily take away evil, really simple,
Speaker 1: take away your freedom to do it and mine too
Speaker 1: because you've done some evil things in life and so
Speaker 1: have I. And he could easily get rid of all
Speaker 1: suffering by taking away your choice and my choice and
Speaker 1: turn us.
Speaker 2: All into puppets.
Speaker 1: But he wants us to voluntarily love, so he puts
Speaker 1: up with the pain that evil caused.
Speaker 2: In order to give you the freedom of choice.
Speaker 1: And you're gonna go through life, and a lot of
Speaker 1: things in life, you're not gonna understand. Losses you don't understand,
Speaker 1: hurts you don't understand, rejection you don't understand, problems you
Speaker 1: don't understand, but here's the thing, you don't have to
Speaker 1: understand them to be at peace. In fact, an explanation
Speaker 1: doesn't give you peace anyway. When someone you love dies,
Speaker 1: if somebody told you the explanation for it, it wouldn't
Speaker 1: make you any happier. You still have the loss. Explanations
Speaker 1: don't cover it. What you need is not peace, I mean,
Speaker 1: not an explanation. You need presence, the presence of God
Speaker 1: in your life. And what you need is what the
Speaker 1: Bible calls the peace that passes understanding. Look up here
Speaker 1: on the screen. Philippians 4, 7 says this. The peace
Speaker 1: of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts
Speaker 1: and minds through Christ Jesus. Now, what is the peace
Speaker 1: that passes understanding? It's when you feel at peace, even
Speaker 1: though you don't understand what's going on. You have no reason,
Speaker 1: no explanation, no discernment. You just don't know why it's happening,
Speaker 1: but you're still at peace. And that is a supernatural
Speaker 1: peace that comes from God, is that peace that passes understanding.
Speaker 2: Because I don't know why this is happening.
Speaker 1: But I do know this. I do know God is
Speaker 1: a good God. And I do know that he loves me.
Speaker 1: And I do know that he wants what's best for
Speaker 1: my life. And I do know that I can trust
Speaker 1: him even when I don't understand it. That's the peace
Speaker 1: that passes understanding. And it comes from feeling the love
Speaker 1: of God in your life.
Speaker 3: Do you ever wonder if your life really matters or
Speaker 3: what on earth you're here for? Pastor Rick wants to
Speaker 3: let you know that God has a good plan and
Speaker 3: purpose for your life. In his best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life,
Speaker 3: he lays out a simple, life-changing roadmap to help you
Speaker 3: discover and live it. This book has transformed millions of lives,
Speaker 3: and it could transform someone you love. And great news!
Speaker 3: It's been updated for today's generation. This edition includes a
Speaker 3: video introduction and audio teaching from Pastor Rick for each chapter.
Speaker 3: and two powerful bonus chapters on the biggest barriers to
Speaker 3: living a purpose-driven life. As you go through this book,
Speaker 3: you'll uncover that your deepest meaning and fulfillment doesn't come
Speaker 3: from success or status, but from understanding and living out
Speaker 3: the purpose that God created you for. Request your copy
Speaker 3: today when you give a gift to help Daily Hope
Speaker 3: share the gospel around the world. It's our way of
Speaker 3: saying thanks.
Speaker 1: Now you and I know that human fathers don't have
Speaker 1: unlimited ability, unlimited power, but your heavenly father does. And
Speaker 1: he can handle anything. He has unlimited power and he
Speaker 1: has unlimited love. And when you realize that he is
Speaker 1: good and he is God and he loves you and
Speaker 1: the things that don't make sense in your life, you
Speaker 1: can have the peace that passes understanding. Now God's love
Speaker 1: does not exempt you from pain or suffering in this life.
Speaker 2: No, Christians have.
Speaker 1: The exact same problems that non-Christians do. The difference is
Speaker 1: we get the peace that passes understanding. Where I can
Speaker 1: trust God in a moment when everything is falling apart
Speaker 1: around me and I can know there's a promise in
Speaker 1: the Bible. We just trust. Looked at it last week,
Speaker 1: Romans 8, 28. And we know that in all things,
Speaker 1: even the bad things, God works for the good of
Speaker 1: those who love him, who have been called, circle that word,
Speaker 1: called according to his purpose. Circle that, purpose. Calling and
Speaker 1: purpose go together. And when we live the calling and
Speaker 1: we live out our purpose and we let God love
Speaker 1: us and we love God back, we can know that
Speaker 1: in all things, God is working for the good of
Speaker 1: those who love him. And that gives us the peace
Speaker 1: that passes understanding.
Speaker 2: Number four.
Speaker 1: The four things that happens when I know that I'm
Speaker 1: totally loved by God is I gain the courage to
Speaker 1: take risks. I gain the courage to take risk. When
Speaker 1: somebody believes in you, you are capable of accomplishing things
Speaker 1: you would never be able to accomplish on your own
Speaker 1: just because they believe in you. It gives you an
Speaker 1: additional power. It gives you additional energy. You know, sometimes
Speaker 1: when we're doing Christmas or Easter, some of these times
Speaker 1: when I'm doing 14, 16 services.
Speaker 2: Back to back, and along about number nine, I'll.
Speaker 1: Start to get tired, and I think, I don't think
Speaker 1: I got the energy to do this, And I'll look
Speaker 1: right over here to my wife who sits right down
Speaker 1: here and she'll wink at me and I'll think, I
Speaker 1: could do 100 more. Because all I need her to
Speaker 1: do is to believe in me. And it gives me
Speaker 1: enormous energy. When someone believes in you unconditionally, the way
Speaker 1: God does and when you experience that, it releases you.
Speaker 1: You have dreams that have gone unfulfilled in your life
Speaker 1: because you have been scared to death to go after them.
Speaker 2: What if I fail? And you're gonna.
Speaker 1: Die with unfulfilled dreams unless you key in to the
Speaker 1: love of God. And you let him give you that
Speaker 1: confidence that comes from him believing in you. Even if
Speaker 1: you're old, it's not too late. When I was in
Speaker 1: the seventh grade, we lived up in Northern California in
Speaker 1: the Redwoods. And I was taking a, shop class in
Speaker 1: the seventh grade and everybody was supposed to make something
Speaker 1: for shop class and I decided for that Christmas I
Speaker 1: was gonna make my mom and dad a redwood table.
Speaker 1: Now a little true confession here, your pastor has zero
Speaker 1: artistic and craft ability. I'm just not very coordinated with
Speaker 1: my hands. I'm just not good at all. And I
Speaker 1: decided that I was gonna make this redwood table. And
Speaker 1: after about, I worked on it for about six months hard.
Speaker 1: We had a barn on our property and I wouldn't
Speaker 1: let my parents come out the barn because I was
Speaker 1: working on it there for six months.
Speaker 2: And after six months, it was a disaster. I mean
Speaker 2: a mess.
Speaker 1: And I mean nothing in this, Table looked right. I mean,
Speaker 1: it was all wonky jawed. It was misbalanced. One edge
Speaker 1: was longer than the other. It was at bad sanding
Speaker 1: and parts of it were nicked off and I had
Speaker 1: done too much lacquer at one end and not enough
Speaker 1: at the other.
Speaker 2: And it was a mess.
Speaker 1: And I remember how disappointed I was in myself and
Speaker 1: how bad I felt. I so badly wanted this to
Speaker 1: be a nice gift for my parents. And I just
Speaker 1: remember sitting down in that barn one day and just sobbing.
Speaker 1: And my dad heard me. And he came up to
Speaker 1: the barn and he asked for permission to come in
Speaker 1: and I let him come in. And I said, dad,
Speaker 1: I just screwed it up. I have made such a
Speaker 1: mess of this. And I wanted it so badly.
Speaker 2: To be nice, but it's not. And I'll never forget
Speaker 2: what he said. He said, you know, son, it's okay.
Speaker 2: We can start over. Not you. We can start over.
Speaker 2: And this time, I'll help you.
Speaker 1: Now, my dad was a master carpenter. In his lifetime,
Speaker 1: he built about 150 churches all around the world. He
Speaker 1: knew how to build stuff. So if my dad said,
Speaker 1: this time I'll help you, it's a done deal. It's
Speaker 1: gonna succeed. And this is what your heavenly father is
Speaker 1: saying to you today. I don't care if you're 15
Speaker 1: or 50 or 95.
Speaker 2: God is saying, you may have really messed it up royally.
Speaker 1: And you gave it your best shot, but it just
Speaker 1: flat out wasn't good enough. And you're really, to be honest,
Speaker 1: if you're honest with yourself, you're disappointed in your life.
Speaker 1: And your Heavenly Father comes to you today and says,
Speaker 1: it's okay, you can start over.
Speaker 2: And this time, I'll help you. We will do it together.
Speaker 1: Your Heavenly Father has wanted to reach out and grasp
Speaker 1: you in his arms when you have felt like, I
Speaker 1: just blew it. Maybe you blew it publicly, maybe you
Speaker 1: blew it privately. And your Heavenly Father says, It's okay.
Speaker 1: We'll start over. And this time we'll do it together.
Speaker 1: For some of you, and some of you watching right now,
Speaker 1: this moment, God has been waiting for this moment your
Speaker 1: entire life. He's been waiting for this moment where you,
Speaker 1: for the first time, would get a little inkling of
Speaker 1: how much he loves you. I've said many times, your
Speaker 1: problem is not that you don't love God. Your problem
Speaker 1: is you don't know how much he loves you. Because
Speaker 1: if you did, you could not help but love him.
Speaker 1: And this is the moment where a million years ago,
Speaker 1: before anything happened in your life, God chose you and
Speaker 1: decided to create you to love you. And you have
Speaker 1: spent your entire life afraid to surrender your total life
Speaker 1: to God. And the reason why you've been afraid to
Speaker 1: surrender your total life to God is because you don't
Speaker 1: know how much he loves you.
Speaker 2: Nobody knows what is best for you. for you.
Speaker 1: Nobody knows what will make your life better than God does.
Speaker 1: So this is your moment. This is your breakthrough moment.
Speaker 1: This is the moment where you let go of fear.
Speaker 1: The Bible says this on the screen. There is no
Speaker 1: fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear
Speaker 1: because fear has to do with punishment. When love comes
Speaker 1: in the front door of your life, fear goes out
Speaker 1: the back.
Speaker 2: You need to stop being afraid of God.
Speaker 1: And you need to accept his love and the fear
Speaker 1: will drain out of your life. So, how do I
Speaker 1: become a son of God? How do I become a
Speaker 1: daughter of God? How do I become a child of God?
Speaker 1: On the screen, the Bible says in John chapter one,
Speaker 1: verse 12, to all who believed him, that's Jesus, and
Speaker 1: accepted him.
Speaker 2: He's already accepted you. Accepted him.
Speaker 1: Jesus gave the right to become children of God.
Speaker 2: So let's talk to God about it. This is your moment.
Speaker 2: Let's bow our heads.
Speaker 1: I want you to pray this prayer that will change
Speaker 1: and transform the rest of your life. Dear God, just
Speaker 1: say this in your heart. I am so amazed at
Speaker 1: how much you love me. Thank you that your love
Speaker 1: for me is wide enough to be everywhere I go.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: That your love for me is long enough to last forever.
Speaker 2: You will never stop loving me.
Speaker 1: Thank you that your love for me is deep enough
Speaker 1: to handle all my problems. Thank you, God, that your
Speaker 1: love is high enough to overlook all my sins, all
Speaker 1: my mistakes, all my faults and failures because of Jesus. God,
Speaker 1: I want to feel accepted rather than ashamed. I want
Speaker 1: to be bold in bringing my needs to you. I
Speaker 1: need the peace that passes understanding. I want to have
Speaker 1: peace even in pain that.
Speaker 2: I don't understand.
Speaker 1: I need your love to give me the courage to
Speaker 1: take risks, to go after my dream. Jesus Christ, As
Speaker 1: best I know, I surrender every particle and room of
Speaker 1: my life. And I wanna learn to love you back
Speaker 1: because you love me so much. And I wanna spend
Speaker 1: the rest of my life with that first calling of
Speaker 1: letting you love me. And I pray this in your name, amen.
Speaker 1: The fifth things that happens when you understand the love
Speaker 1: of God in your life is I worship instead of worry.
Speaker 2: I worship instead of worry. What is worship?
Speaker 1: Worship is simply expressing my love to God.
Speaker 2: Anytime you say to God, I love you, God, that's worship.
Speaker 2: You can worship in a small group. You can worship
Speaker 2: in a church building, a service.
Speaker 1: You can worship with windows rolled down your car and
Speaker 1: the radio blaring.
Speaker 2: Anytime you express.
Speaker 1: Love to God, you are worshiping. Worship is always a response.
Speaker 1: We love God because he first loved us. Look on
Speaker 1: the screen. We love God. We love because God first
Speaker 1: loved us. Remember, your problem is not that you don't
Speaker 1: love God. Your problem is you don't understand how much
Speaker 1: he loves you. Now, How do you know, and we'll
Speaker 1: close with this, how do you know when you're not
Speaker 1: feeling God's love? Oh, it's real simple. One simple thing, worry.
Speaker 1: When you worry, at that moment, you have forgotten how
Speaker 1: much God loves you. Worry is acting like an atheist.
Speaker 1: Worry is is pretending you're an orphan. Worry is saying,
Speaker 1: I've forgotten I have a heavenly father who loves me,
Speaker 1: wants what's best for me, and created me, and is
Speaker 1: watching over me. Worry is pretending like you're all on
Speaker 1: your own.
Speaker 2: You're not. Worry at that moment means, at this.
Speaker 1: Point, I have forgotten how much God loves me.
Speaker 2: And you need to choose worship over worry.
Speaker 1: My oldest son, Josh, had to go back east this
Speaker 1: week and He hates to fly when there's turbulence. And
Speaker 1: because of the storms, he said, Dad, it was constant turbulence.
Speaker 1: And he said, I had to decide, was I gonna
Speaker 1: worry or was I gonna worship? So instead of worrying,
Speaker 1: he said, I put in my earbuds and put on
Speaker 1: a bunch of worship songs. You're gonna panic or pray
Speaker 1: the rest of your life. You're gonna worry or you're
Speaker 1: gonna worship. You're gonna look at your problem or you're
Speaker 1: gonna look at God. Jesus said this. Don't worry about
Speaker 1: having enough food or drink or clothing. He'll give you
Speaker 1: all you need from day to day if you live
Speaker 1: for him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern.
Speaker 1: So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its
Speaker 1: own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. And this promise,
Speaker 1: that verse right there, is why we're doing live your calling.
Speaker 3: Do you ever wonder if your life really matters or
Speaker 3: what on earth you're here for? Pastor Rick wants to
Speaker 3: let you know that God has a good plan and
Speaker 3: purpose for your life. In his best-selling book, The Purpose
Speaker 3: Driven Life, he lays out a simple, life-changing roadmap to
Speaker 3: help you discover and live it. This book has transformed
Speaker 3: millions of lives and it could transform someone you love.
Speaker 3: And great news, it's been updated for today's generations This
Speaker 3: edition includes a video introduction and audio teaching from Pastor
Speaker 3: Rick for each chapter and two powerful bonus chapters on
Speaker 3: the biggest barriers to living a purpose-driven life. As you
Speaker 3: go through this book, you'll uncover that your deepest meaning
Speaker 3: and fulfillment doesn't come from success or status, but from
Speaker 3: understanding and living out the purpose that God created you for.
Speaker 3: Request your copy today when you give a gift to
Speaker 3: help Daily Hope share the gospel around the world. It's
Speaker 3: our way of saying thanks.
Speaker 1: Thank you.