WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.799 Hello, everybody, Welcome to Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren. 2 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:10.560 So we're continuing with this series called Daring Faith the 3 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.679 Key to Miracles. And in this series, you're learning how 4 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:17.559 to have a bold, unshakable faith that gives you courage 5 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:18.760 to impact. 6 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:19.359 The world around you. 7 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.079 And I know we all want that. And now here's 8 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:25.440 Rick with the final part of a message called Daring 9 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:26.239 to Believe. 10 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:29.800 Now the fifth way of what it means to believe 11 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:33.600 in Jesus. The last key is I trust what he says. 12 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:39.000 I trust what Jesus says, and if Jesus says to 13 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.039 do it, then I do it. And if Jesus says 14 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:43.119 don't do it, I don't do it. What I don't 15 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:44.880 do is pick and choose from the Bible. 16 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:47.960 I don't go. Oh, I like that verse, so I'm 17 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:48.960 going to follow that verse. 18 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:50.920 I don't like that one. I'm not going to follow 19 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.719 that one. I like that command. I'll follow that one. 20 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:56.240 I don't like that command. I won't follow it. I 21 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.320 like that promise, but I don't like that one. No, 22 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.840 that's the tious thought. That's not what a true believer does. 23 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:06.159 A true believer says God said it. That's settled it. 24 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.959 Whether I believe it or not. God said it. That 25 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:12.879 settled it. And so you do what he tells you. 26 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:15.959 Now in the Bible, we have the commands of Jesus, 27 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:18.680 and we have the promises of Jesus. The commands are, 28 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:20.120 if you do these things, life's. 29 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:21.239 Going to go a whole lot easier for you. 30 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:24.760 Work will go easier, marriage will go easier, parenting will 31 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:27.159 go easier if you just do it the way God says, 32 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:29.280 because God knows what'll make you happy more than you do. 33 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:31.200 And then their promises. 34 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.319 He said, when you're going through the dark days, the 35 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.519 tough days, the days of doubt, the days of depression, 36 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.400 the days where you can't see ford, hold on to 37 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:44.359 these promises. The Bible says this, Psalm thirty three, verse four. 38 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:49.159 The word of the Lord always holds true. Is that 39 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:54.760 true of the government. No, if you don't know the answer, 40 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:56.799 it's no. Okay. 41 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:00.599 Is that true of the media. The word of the 42 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:02.040 media always holds true. 43 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.040 No, that's not true. That's not even true of me. 44 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:09.280 Everybody gets things wrong. Only the word of the Lord 45 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:14.039 always holds true, and everything he does is worthy. 46 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:14.439 Of our trust. 47 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:17.680 Okay, question, little quiz, how many of you believe and 48 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:19.680 trust everything you read in the newspaper? 49 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:24.000 No? Hands? Yeah, okay. How many of you believe. 50 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.080 And trust everything you see on television or here on 51 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:27.759 talk radio? 52 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.599 Yeah nobody. How many of you believe everything you read 53 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:33.759 in magazines? No? 54 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.759 How many you would say if God said it, I 55 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.360 believe it's always true. Then why do we spend more 56 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.080 time believing and listening to something we don't believe than 57 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:44.000 in something we do? 58 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.520 Huh? Why is that? 59 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.240 I can't spend five minutes a day reading something I 60 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.439 know is one hundred percent true, but I will spend 61 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.400 thirty minutes watching Access Hollywood? 62 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:01.080 Really? How much did that enrich your life? Did that 63 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:02.719 make you a more beautiful person? 64 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.960 I don't think so. 65 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:07.800 So this is always true? 66 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:12.400 Hebrews in the Bible, Chapter six says this God cannot 67 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:13.599 break his word. 68 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:14.840 By the way, people. 69 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:17.400 Ask me all the time, is there anything God can't do? 70 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:17.879 Yes? 71 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:22.039 There are some things God can't do. God cannot lie. 72 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.680 The Bible tells us that it is impossible for God 73 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.080 to lie. Why he cannot deny his character and he 74 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.840 only speaks the truth. He cannot lie. And the Bible 75 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.360 says God cannot break his promises. So if God has 76 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:39.280 made a promise, it's here and you can count on it, 77 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.039 and you can bet your life on it. God cannot 78 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.319 break his word. That's why we trust him. So we 79 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:48.919 who have trusted our very lives to God have every 80 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.879 reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and 81 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:57.599 never let go. There are over seven thousand promises in 82 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.639 this book the Bible like blank checks waiting for you 83 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.599 to cash, and they're like the insurance policy. How do 84 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.000 you know when you don't know the promises of God. 85 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:07.400 You worry. 86 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.319 Worry is a sign that you forgot what's in the 87 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.759 insurance plan. When I know what's covered in my policy, 88 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:15.240 I don't worry about it. 89 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.839 It's covered. We can afford that that's covered. 90 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:20.360 When you know what God has offered to cover in 91 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.360 your life. 92 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:21.759 You don't worry. 93 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:27.360 You don't stress out because you trust what he says. Now, 94 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:29.959 I want to talk to before I close to a 95 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:32.360 special group here, and I want to talk to those 96 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.959 of you who had faith in the past, but maybe 97 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.000 you feel you've lost it, okay, And we all know 98 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.399 people like this. We all have friends, neighbors, loved ones, 99 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:46.199 family members, relatives who had faith in Jesus Christ in 100 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.560 the past, or had faith in God in the past, 101 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:50.959 but they walked away and they said, I don't have 102 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.759 any faith anymore. I don't believe anymore. What causes people 103 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:58.800 to lose their faith, Well, in a word, when circumstances 104 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.720 don't turn out the way I want them to. A 105 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:05.519 lot of people say, then forget you God, because we 106 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.800 want God, who's a genie who does everything our way, 107 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.920 who answers everything our way. We want God to serve 108 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:18.240 us instead of us serving God. Pain can cause people 109 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:22.319 to lose their faith. I as a pastor, I'm certain 110 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:24.199 have talked to more people in pain than any of 111 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:24.680 you ever have. 112 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.040 I know people who've lost their faith because of abuse. 113 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:32.439 I know people who've lost. 114 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:36.759 Their faith because of betrayal and adultery and infidelity and divorce. 115 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:40.519 I know people who've lost their faith because they started 116 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:44.000 a business and it went bankrupt and it broke their heart. 117 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.639 I know people who've lost their faith because they prayed 118 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.480 that a loved one wouldn't die and the person died. Friends, 119 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:56.639 everybody dies at some point. Everybody dies. We weren't made 120 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:00.199 to last forever on this planet. I'm glad we don't 121 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.560 live forever on a broken planet full of sin, suffering, sadness, 122 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:07.519 and sickness. You were made to last forever, just not 123 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.480 on a broken planet. You were made to last forever 124 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.279 in a perfect place. I'm glad we don't live here forever. 125 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:16.040 I'm glad we die and we get to go to 126 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.639 a place where we will live in perfection forever and 127 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:22.720 ever and ever. I know people who've lost their faith 128 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.360 because they prayed for something to happen or not to happen, 129 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:28.600 prayed and prayed and prayed year after year after year, 130 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:32.480 and then it just never was answered, and I said, 131 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:33.160 we'll forget you. 132 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:37.879 God, and they walk away. And yet at the same time, we. 133 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:43.120 All know people, other people who've gone through unspeakable suffering, 134 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.920 far worse than any of us in this room have 135 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.839 ever ever experienced, unspeakable suffering and pain. And yet they 136 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:56.000 their faith grew stronger, they got closer to God, their 137 00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:00.680 lives became more beautiful, not more broken and more bitter. 138 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:02.879 What makes a difference? 139 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:05.720 Why is it You can take two people, put them 140 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.279 in the exact same circumstances, the same pain, the same 141 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:12.800 unexplained tragedy, and one person will run away from God 142 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:15.040 and the other person will run to God. 143 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:17.240 What causes that? 144 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.720 I mean, if you're in a tragedy, I highly recommend 145 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:23.920 you not run from God because there are no answers 146 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.240 out there in the world. You're not going to get 147 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.800 any comfort out there. When you are in pain, Always 148 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.560 run to God, even when you don't understand it. Run 149 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:37.639 to God because he's the one who can comfort you. Now, 150 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.399 we always want God to explain everything. God doesn't owe 151 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.160 me an explanation or you an explanation for everything that happens. 152 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.879 And on top of that, explanations don't comfort. The comfort 153 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:52.399 of God is what comforts. If my wife died tonight 154 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.439 and I knew the reason why she died, it wouldn't 155 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:01.199 make it any less painful. Explanations never comfort. 156 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:02.360 But when we go. 157 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.279 Through a tragedy, we go why why You're not going 158 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:07.199 to know. There's some things we're just not gonna know 159 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.000 on this side of eternity. When we get to heaven, 160 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:13.319 God will explain it. We'll look back and go, oh, 161 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:18.680 now I see why God specializes in bringing good out 162 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:21.720 of bad. Not everything that happens in the world is good. 163 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:23.839 There's a lot of bad in the world, and not 164 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:27.240 everything that happens in the world is God's will? People say, well, 165 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:29.680 it must have been God's will that that person got murdered. No, 166 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.879 it wasn't God's will. God has a will, Satan has 167 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:36.559 a will, and you have a will. And don't blame 168 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.679 God for your bad decisions or somebody else's bad decisions. 169 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.120 If I went out this afternoon, got drunk, God in 170 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:45.559 a car accident and killed three people, that would not 171 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:49.720 be God's will. That would be my will. Don't blame 172 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.360 God for the God could easily get rid of all 173 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:54.320 the evil in the world, How get rid of you 174 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.480 and me and everybody else that He's given the freedom. 175 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.480 God does not force you to do good. You're made 176 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:05.360 in his image, so you have the freedom to choose, 177 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.039 and we typically choose the wrong thing and people get hurt. 178 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.399 But God specializes in bringing good out of bad. Anybody 179 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:15.039 he can bring good out of good, but he turns 180 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.120 crucifixions into resurrections. 181 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.879 And one day I'll understand all of that. But I 182 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:23.879 suffer for what's right, and I trust what he says. 183 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.720 But I know that God wants me to turn to 184 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:31.639 him in my pain. Why is it then that so 185 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.000 many don't When some people go. 186 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:34.720 Through a suffering. 187 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.360 They shrivel up, and they get hard, and they get cold, 188 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.519 and they get angry and they get bitter, and the 189 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:42.440 rest of their life they're bitter and angry, and they 190 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:44.320 make everybody else around him bitter and angry. 191 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:45.799 That's the wrong way to respond. 192 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:48.679 On the other hand, there's some people when they face 193 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:54.240 unexplained tragedies, they survive, They thrive, and they even grow, 194 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:58.039 and their faith deepens and their muscles get stronger, and 195 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:02.120 they become more beautiful, more whole, and more balanced and 196 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:07.960 more loving. What makes the difference? Some of you thinking, Rick, 197 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.960 you just don't understand why I've left the faith. You 198 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.879 don't know what it's like to have your heart shattered 199 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:17.120 and broken. 200 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.320 In a million pieces. 201 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:20.879 You don't know what it's like to have a major 202 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.879 loss in your life. You don't know what it's like 203 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:27.960 have your dream splattered on the ground. You don't know 204 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:30.600 what it's like to have a prayer that you prayed 205 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.639 for over and over and over and it wasn't answered. 206 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:37.600 And I would say to you, yes, I do, Yes, 207 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:42.000 I do. Most of you know. My youngest son. 208 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:47.279 Lost his twenty seven year battle life battle. 209 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:53.440 With mental illness and he died. It was the worst 210 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:56.120 day of my life. 211 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:00.440 The day that I had prayed would never happen happened. 212 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.279 The thing that I feared might since he had struggled 213 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:09.159 with minimalists as a little child, actually came to pass. 214 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.720 And it rocked my world and my family's world. And 215 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:17.080 the grief is deep and intense, and I'm still not 216 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:19.799 over it. And I had a good cry this morning 217 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:25.559 on the second anniversary of his death. When Matthew died 218 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:29.240 on Easter Week two years ago, last Easter, there was 219 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.720 a separation and we were able to honor and think 220 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:34.440 about our son on the day of his death and 221 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.200 then celebrate Easter a few weeks later. When I realized 222 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:40.759 that this year Easter was going to be on the 223 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:46.639 same date at the death of my son, I was disappointed, 224 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:49.320 to say the least. And I was going, this is 225 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.320 not what I need, God, this is not what I want. 226 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:53.799 What I'd like to do is I'd like to celebrate 227 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:58.360 the Resurrection of Jesus quietly, low key, at home with 228 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.519 my wife, with my Lord and with my kids, and 229 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.440 just get through the day. What I didn't need was 230 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.600 the biggest Christian day of the year, preach fourteen times 231 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.799 and stand on the patio for one hundred selfies. 232 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.080 I didn't need that. I didn't need that, not. 233 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:20.240 With the grief that I am carying. And yet the 234 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.039 more that I thought about it, the more I realized, 235 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:31.240 this is perfect because the resurrection is my reason for hope. 236 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:35.519 If there was no resurrection, I would be in absolute despair. 237 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:37.440 It would mean there is no. 238 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:40.679 Possibility of my seeing my son again. There's no possibility 239 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:43.120 of afterlife, there's no possibility of heaven. 240 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.960 There would be nothing. I would be in absolute. 241 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.639 Despair if Jesus Christ hadn't risen from the dead. It 242 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.360 is the truth that keeps me going. It is the 243 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.879 foundation of my confidence. It is the thing that gives 244 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:58.919 me comfort. It is a thing that stabilizes my ship 245 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.000 in the deepest storm. If it weren't for the resurrection, 246 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:16.639 there would be no hope. Over the last two years, 247 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.840 I've been interviewed many, many times by national and international media, 248 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:22.679 and they always say, Rick, you prayed for twenty seven 249 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:24.919 years that your son's mental illness would be healed, and 250 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.200 that prayer was not answered, and you prayed that he 251 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:31.759 wouldn't die, and he did. Why have you not left 252 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.320 your faith. Why have you not walked away? And that's 253 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:38.399 actually a pretty easy question for me to answer. It's 254 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:42.000 because of what I know. I have walked with God 255 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:44.240 for almost fifty years. I'm a friend of God. I 256 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.720 know him better than I know you. And there are 257 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.480 some things I know about God that hold me in 258 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:54.639 the darkest days of doubt, despair, and depression. For one 259 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:59.679 thing I know, I know that God is a good God. 260 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.679 And the reason I know that God is a good 261 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:07.080 God is because everything in my life is a gift 262 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.279 of God's goodness. The air I'm breathing right now is 263 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:14.360 a gift of God's goodness. The fact that my heart 264 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.399 is pumping blood is a gift of God's goodness. The 265 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:20.440 fact that you can see and hear and speak right 266 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:23.559 now is a gift of God's goodness. Everything in your 267 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:26.440 life is a gift of God's goodness. If it weren't 268 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.200 for God being a good God, you wouldn't be sitting there, 269 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:32.480 You wouldn't be alive. Everything you have is a gift 270 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:41.559 of God's goodness. Now, if if God was not a 271 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:45.039 good God, all that would be in the universe would 272 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:48.600 be evil. Now we know there is evil in the world, 273 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:50.360 we know there's a lot of bad, there's a lot 274 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.240 of pain, there's a lot of heartache, but we also 275 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:53.840 know that in this. 276 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.639 World there's a lot of good. There's a lot of beauty. 277 00:14:57.320 --> 00:14:59.960 There's a lot of beautiful things and sun and shne 278 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:02.720 and colors and relationships and love. 279 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.600 And that's because God is a good God. 280 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.759 And then I know that God loves me more than 281 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.480 I will ever ever be able to comprehend, at least 282 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.840 not until I get to Heaven I get bigger brain capacity. 283 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:21.399 No man will ever love you like Jesus Christ. No 284 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:24.519 woman will ever love you as much as Jesus Christ does. 285 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.120 You can't even understand how much that love is. And 286 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.039 because I know God is a good God, and I 287 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:34.159 know God is a loving God, I know that God's 288 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:38.960 plan and purpose for my life is both good and loving. 289 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.039 His plan is to help me, not to hurt me. 290 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:44.440 And there are many things in life that I don't 291 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.039 understand right now, and when I get to have it, it's 292 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:48.639 all going to get clear. And I go, oh, well, 293 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.639 of course, now I see why that was not good, 294 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:53.919 but you brought good out of it. And that was 295 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:55.960 not good, but you brought good out of it. And 296 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.279 that was terrible, and that was evil, but you brought. 297 00:15:58.159 --> 00:15:58.679 Good out of it. 298 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.200 And I could see how God, God's plan for my 299 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.679 life is bigger than my problems, and God's purpose for 300 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.200 my life is greater than the problem that you are 301 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:12.960 going through right now. I know that God understands my pain. 302 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.600 I know that God understands my broken heart because He's 303 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:20.000 had one. The Bible tells us that God grieves when 304 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.720 he sees all the sin on earth. And when Jesus 305 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.320 Christ died on the cross with his arms outstretched, nails 306 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.840 through his hands, bleeding from his side, the spear, the nails, 307 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:32.559 the crown of thorns in his head, where they had 308 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.559 beat him to a pulp, where they'd tortured him, where 309 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.879 they'd ripped his beard out just to be mean, where 310 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:39.480 they'd spit on him, harassed him, stripped him naked. 311 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:41.960 All the pain that Jesus went through. 312 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:47.080 I know that my Savior understands my pain, my emotional 313 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:51.639 and my physical pain. And I know that God knows 314 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:57.200 what it's like to lose a sun. People say, where 315 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:58.759 was God when your son died? 316 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:00.519 Rick? He was the same place he was. 317 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:05.680 When his son died on the cross, weeping in heaven. 318 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.640 Worry because sin required that penalty, Sin required that suffering, 319 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.559 and Jesus paid for your suffering so you wouldn't have to. 320 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.039 And I know that this is not the end of 321 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.680 the story, that this is not all there is. 322 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.640 And then when I go through tough times, I may 323 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.759 suffer for being a Christian, But so what. 324 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.039 The rewards will be forever in eternity. 325 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:33.039 And most of all, I know that Satan lost because 326 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:37.279 Satan can't get at my son anymore. He can't torture 327 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:41.160 him with thoughts of compulsion, or thoughts of depression, or 328 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.160 thoughts of suicide, or thoughts of anything. He can't torture anymore. 329 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:48.640 My son is safe in the arms of Jesus Christ, 330 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:52.200 and he can't get at him anymore. He can't hurt 331 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.000 him anymore. He lost big time. He thought he had won, 332 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:01.000 but he lost big time. I don't know what kind 333 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.839 of day you're going through. You may be going through 334 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:08.240 days of darkness and depression and doubt and despair. I 335 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.880 dare you to believe you may be going through days 336 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:18.880 of worrying and worrying. I dare you to believe you 337 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.400 may be goingays through days of confusion and go. I 338 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:23.680 don't have the slightest idea what I should be doing 339 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.319 with my life, or where I should be going, or 340 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:28.000 what's up and what's down. I dare you to believe. 341 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:32.079 You may be going through days of grief and your 342 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:36.160 heart is ripped wide open. I dare you to believe, 343 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.400 run to God, not away from Him, and you will 344 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.720 find the comfort that you can't get anywhere else. 345 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:45.920 On the screen. 346 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:48.680 The Bible says this John chapter one, verse twelve. To 347 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.720 all who received him, that's Jesus Christ. To those who 348 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:58.119 believed in his name, Jesus gave the right to become 349 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:02.119 children of God. How do I become a child of God? 350 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.640 How do I get in God's family? How do I 351 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.079 know for certain that I'm going to Heaven when I die? 352 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:09.279 How do I make sure I'm on the in crowd 353 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.559 not the outcrowd? I want to be a child of God. 354 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:18.319 It says two things, two verbs, received and believed to 355 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.519 all who received him, to those who believed in his name, 356 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:24.359 Jesus gave the right to come God's children. I believe 357 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:28.960 he is God, and I receive him as my Lord. 358 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:34.240 I believe he is God, and I receive him as 359 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.519 my Lord. Most, if not all, of us have done 360 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.240 the second part. You have believed in Jesus Christ. You 361 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.720 believe he historically existed. You accept the fact that he 362 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:49.079 died on the cross he rose again. Congratulations, you're halfway there. 363 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.440 You now need to receive him as the lord of 364 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.200 your life, and you need to do the trust with 365 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.880 him today. If you're ready to have you your life changed, 366 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:04.519 this one's going to do it. It's going to seal 367 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:07.599 your eternal destiny. It's going to change your life from 368 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.319 here on out because you're not going to live for 369 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:15.079 yourself anymore. Would you pray this simple prayer in your heart. 370 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:16.920 You do not say it aloud. God knows your thoughts. 371 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.480 He knows what you're thinking. And that doesn't even matter 372 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:21.920 the words. But as I pray these words, you can 373 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:27.799 just say me, to me, to Jesus, Just say, Dear Jesus, 374 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:34.400 you have promised that if I believe in you, everything 375 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:39.000 I've ever done wrong will be forgiven. And Jesus, you 376 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:42.359 have promised that if I believe in you, I will 377 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:47.359 learn the purpose of my life. And you have promised 378 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.079 that if I believe in you, I will get strength 379 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:56.960 and power for daily living, and that you will accept 380 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:02.880 me into your eternal home in heaven one day. I 381 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.920 want to have a real faith in you, not a 382 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.680 fake faith, not a phony faith. I want to be 383 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:16.319 a true believer, not a partial believer. I want to 384 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:22.720 believe and I want to receive you. So today I confess. 385 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:26.000 Just pray this in your I confess I believe that 386 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:30.960 you are God, and I receive you into my life 387 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:37.519 as my Lord. Today I'm turning over every part of 388 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:41.200 my life to your management. You are God and I'm not, 389 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:44.640 and you have the right to call the shots in 390 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:49.440 my life. Jesus, I want to relax in your love. 391 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:53.880 Thank you that I don't have to earn it, or 392 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:58.400 deserve it or work for it. I want to use 393 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:03.119 the rest of my life serving you rather than serving 394 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:10.000 myself and Lord when it is required, I'm ready to 395 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:16.759 suffer for doing what's right, whatever that means. Finally, I 396 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:21.599 want to trust what you've said, both your instructions and 397 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:27.880 your promises. I humbly commit my life to you, and 398 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.640 I humbly ask you to accept me into your family 399 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:32.559 and save me. 400 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.920 In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen. 401 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:45.440