Speaker 1: Hello, and thanks for joining us here on Pastor Rick's
Speaker 1: Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor Rick Warren. Today,
Speaker 1: Rick continues teaching a series called Connecting with God the
Speaker 1: Lord's Prayer. In these lessons, Rick shows you what it
Speaker 1: means to truly be spiritually connected to God and to
Speaker 1: each other through the power of God's love and God's Word.
Speaker 1: In a moment, we're going to tell you how to
Speaker 1: get the Daily Hope Advent Calendar. This special resource will
Speaker 1: help you experience all that Christmas promises. Go to Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com to find out more, or text the word
Speaker 1: Daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: That's Pastorick dot com, or the word Daily to eight
Speaker 1: hundred six hundred five thousand four. Right now, here's Pastor
Speaker 1: Rick with the final part of a message called the
Speaker 1: Prayer of Deliverance.
Speaker 2: Don't resist, refocus. Whatever you have in your life that
Speaker 2: you resist, you're just nailing it harder into your life.
Speaker 2: Whatever you resist persists. I'm not gonna have another cigarette.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna have another cigarette. I'm not gonna have
Speaker 2: another I'm not gonna take another drink. Whatever you resist persist.
Speaker 2: The key is not did you know that? In the Bible,
Speaker 2: not once are you told to resist temptation. We are
Speaker 2: told to resist the devil, and that's the whole different issue.
Speaker 2: That's another sermon. But in temptation, the key to overcoming
Speaker 2: temptation is not push back.
Speaker 3: The temptation has just.
Speaker 2: Changed my focus, and all of a sudden, I'm not
Speaker 2: interested in not anymore. When I get a new focus,
Speaker 2: when I refocus, all of a sudden, that which had
Speaker 2: my attention I forget about. It's not that I'm resisting it,
Speaker 2: I just forget about it. And that principle works in
Speaker 2: every single area of life. Whatever gets your attention gets you.
Speaker 2: The battle for sin always starts in the mind. That's
Speaker 2: why the Bible says this up here on the screen,
Speaker 2: thinking about your commands will keep me from doing some
Speaker 2: foolish thing. Why because if I'm thinking about your commands,
Speaker 2: I'm thinking about truth. I'm not thinking about the dumb
Speaker 2: stuff I.
Speaker 3: Could be doing.
Speaker 2: You ever looked over a cliff bent up real line,
Speaker 2: looked over cliff and felt like you were being drawn
Speaker 2: to jump off, kind of like you're being pulled off,
Speaker 2: not like a temptation, but just like felt like there
Speaker 2: was this force that was pulling you. It's because whatever
Speaker 2: you focus on pulls you. It's true in every single
Speaker 2: area of life, good or bad. You focus on good
Speaker 2: things in life, godly things in life, true things in life,
Speaker 2: it's gonna pull you that direction. You focus on the
Speaker 2: stuff that's at the movies and the stuff that's in
Speaker 2: the magazine and the stuff that's in all the harlequin
Speaker 2: romance novels.
Speaker 3: That's going to pull you that direction.
Speaker 2: Whatever you focus on gets your attention, and whatever gets
Speaker 2: your attention is going to get you. I don't know
Speaker 2: if you've realized this, but the more you think about something,
Speaker 2: the more it upsets you, and it gets worse and
Speaker 2: worse and worse, and it gets a stronger hold, and
Speaker 2: you repeat it and repeat it and reinforce it and
Speaker 2: reinforce it. And you know, the first time you think
Speaker 2: about that really upset me. The more you think, man,
Speaker 2: that really did upset me. The more you think about, man,
Speaker 2: I am kicked off, then you know, and then you're
Speaker 2: ready to drop an atomic bomb on that person. By
Speaker 2: the time you've thought it over and over, you know what,
Speaker 2: it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. So whatever
Speaker 2: is tempting you whoether it sex or food or anything else.
Speaker 2: Whatever you focus on is going to pull you that direction.
Speaker 2: And so the key is to just change your mind.
Speaker 2: You see, temptation always follows a predictable pattern. Attention arousal action.
Speaker 2: Attention arousal action. That's the way every single temptation works.
Speaker 2: Attention hmm, what was that, Paul and lean and long
Speaker 2: and lanky.
Speaker 3: Do know something?
Speaker 2: Your mind gets hooked arousal, Your mind kicks in emotions action,
Speaker 2: you act on it.
Speaker 3: That's what the Book of James says, chapter one.
Speaker 2: So you don't fight a temptation, you just churn your
Speaker 2: mind to something else.
Speaker 3: Look at this verse.
Speaker 2: We capture every thought and make it obey Christ. We
Speaker 2: capture every thought. Now, friends, what that verse says to do.
Speaker 2: That's a secret to temptation. You're not good at that.
Speaker 2: You're not very good at that, capturing every thought and
Speaker 2: turning at the car, Chris, because that takes practice. That
Speaker 2: takes practice. You can't always control your circumstances. And by
Speaker 2: the way, you can't always control the way you feel,
Speaker 2: but you can control what you think about. That's always
Speaker 2: your choice. You can't always control the way you feel.
Speaker 2: But you can control what you think. And if you
Speaker 2: change the way you think, it changes the way you feel,
Speaker 2: and that will change the way you act. When Jesus
Speaker 2: was resisting temptation in the Bible and Satan said, turn
Speaker 2: these stones to bread, he did and say.
Speaker 3: Oh, no, I'm not hungry.
Speaker 2: He was hungry, fasted for forty days. He just turned
Speaker 2: his mind to something else. Quoted the Bible, would you
Speaker 2: write this down. The more I fight it, the more
Speaker 2: it controls me. The more I fight it, the more
Speaker 2: it controls me.
Speaker 3: So the answer is, I'm not telling you to go.
Speaker 2: Out of here and fight temptation. You can't fight a feeling.
Speaker 2: But let me tell you how you ignore a very
Speaker 2: powerful feeling.
Speaker 3: I just told it to you. You ignore it. That's it.
Speaker 2: You don't fight a feeling. Can't fight this feeling anymore.
Speaker 2: What you go gotta do is you just ignore it.
Speaker 2: You refocus on something else, and the feeling loses its
Speaker 2: attraction because of your attraction and attention on something else.
Speaker 2: Look at the next verse Romans twelve twenty one. Don't
Speaker 2: let evil conquer you, but overcome or conquer evil with good.
Speaker 3: Now, what is this right.
Speaker 2: Underneath that the principle of replacement. That's what this is.
Speaker 2: It's the principle of replacement. Fill your mind with truth,
Speaker 2: good thoughts, good things, and it pushes out all the
Speaker 2: junk in your mind.
Speaker 3: Now, learning this kind.
Speaker 2: Of stuff that I'm talking about is this pattern of
Speaker 2: thinking is not easy, but it is possible, and you
Speaker 2: can learn how to do it. So here are the steps.
Speaker 2: First five, Identify what makes me vulnerable. I know why
Speaker 2: I get tempted. Then I plan to avoid those places.
Speaker 2: Just stay away from those things. Don't watch that channel.
Speaker 2: Have somebody put a block on your on your computer,
Speaker 2: your your wife, or on your on your television or whatever.
Speaker 2: Guard your heart. Know when you're emotionally low, pray for
Speaker 2: God's help. Ask God to give you deliverance. Pray the
Speaker 2: prayer of deliverance. Turn my attention elsewhere. And then here's
Speaker 2: number six, and this is the number one thing. Get
Speaker 2: a group and a partner, the friends. I've been helping
Speaker 2: people through temptation for over thirty years and nothing works
Speaker 2: like this. That's why I keep talking about you need
Speaker 2: to have an accountability partner. You need to have a
Speaker 2: spiritual partner. You need to have a spiritual you need
Speaker 2: to be in a small group. So I told you
Speaker 2: when we started. The reality is willpower is not enough
Speaker 2: for permanent change. You've got to get a group, and
Speaker 2: you've got to get a partner. Now, look up here
Speaker 2: on the screen. The Bible says this. I love this
Speaker 2: in a message paraphrase. Sheer, muscle and willpower don't make
Speaker 2: anything happen. But every word I've spoken to you Jesus
Speaker 2: is a spirit word. So it is life making, it's
Speaker 2: life changing. Change has to come inside. Here's my question
Speaker 2: to you, is your pastor somebody who loves you, how
Speaker 2: serious are you about breaking free that thing that just
Speaker 2: you keep going back to it, and you keep going
Speaker 2: back to it, and that habit, that pattern of thought,
Speaker 2: that pattern of I always get angry in that situation.
Speaker 2: I always get impatient in that situation. I always tend
Speaker 2: to build myself up in that situation. I always get whatever,
Speaker 2: How seriously are you interested in changing and breaking free?
Speaker 3: Because if you are, let me be very blunt with you, you.
Speaker 2: Will never do it without support. You will never do
Speaker 2: it on your own. I don't give you any hope
Speaker 2: of success in changing by yourself.
Speaker 3: Zero.
Speaker 2: Because God has wired us in a way that we
Speaker 2: need each other to grow. We need each other to
Speaker 2: break free of habits and hang ups and hurts. And
Speaker 2: you need accountability in your life. The very thing that
Speaker 2: you want least is the very thing you need most.
Speaker 2: You need a friend who checks up on you, and
Speaker 2: you need a group that supports you.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be
Speaker 1: back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson.
Speaker 1: You can sign up for Pastor ricks free email devotional
Speaker 1: at pastorick dot com. That's Pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: Fall us here now, and that means Christmas is right
Speaker 4: around the corner. That's why we want to let you
Speaker 4: know that Pastor Rick and his wife Kay created an
Speaker 4: advoct calendar with specially commissioned custom artwork. It's beautiful. This
Speaker 4: two part resource includes a calendar with a special door
Speaker 4: for every day of December that opens to reveal a
Speaker 4: hidden image and an encouraging Bible verse. Use it with
Speaker 4: a companion daily devotional booklet to help you and your
Speaker 4: family draw closer to Jesus and prepare your heart for
Speaker 4: the real celebration. The Daily Hope admitt calendar will help
Speaker 4: you spend the holidays, worshiping instead of worrying, slowing down
Speaker 4: and reconnecting with God and expressing gratitude for the true
Speaker 4: meaning of the season. You want to get the Daily
Speaker 4: Hope Admit calendar and devotional booklet in your hands now
Speaker 4: to start using it on December first. This resource is
Speaker 4: a perfect way to share the gift of Jesus said
Speaker 4: Christmas with your friends and family, and we'll send it
Speaker 4: to you to say thanks when you give a gift
Speaker 4: to Daily Hope to help take good news to people everywhere.
Speaker 4: Quantities are limited, so get yours now. Just call eight
Speaker 4: hundred six hundred five zero zero four or go to
Speaker 4: Pastor Rick dot com. That's eight hundred and six hundred
Speaker 4: and five zero zero four or go to Pastor Rick
Speaker 4: dot com. Thanks so very much.
Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once again.
Speaker 3: Here's Rick.
Speaker 2: The Bible says this Ecclesiastes four. Two are better than
Speaker 2: one because together, if one falls down, the other can.
Speaker 3: Help him up.
Speaker 2: But if somebody is alone and he falls into temptation,
Speaker 2: there's no one there to help him up.
Speaker 3: It just doesn't work.
Speaker 2: I can't tell you how many times I started a
Speaker 2: program of exercise and quit, started another one and quit,
Speaker 2: and started another one and quit and starting another one.
Speaker 3: Quit.
Speaker 2: Can I give an excuse? You're an excuse there, an
Speaker 2: excuse there, and all of that. And so this year
Speaker 2: when we started it, said, I know this principle. You've
Speaker 2: got to have a group and you've got to have
Speaker 2: a friend. And so I asked a friend in this
Speaker 2: church named Tom, and I said, Tom, he's a remember
Speaker 2: of the.
Speaker 3: Church, said will you be my partner? Will you help me?
Speaker 2: I said, I want to set five days a week
Speaker 2: to work out, so I'll hit four of them because
Speaker 2: nothing goes as planned in my life or yours. So
Speaker 2: I'm setting five days a week, So I hit four
Speaker 2: and I've been consistent for two months now. Is that
Speaker 2: because of me? No, it's because of Tom. Okay, you
Speaker 2: need a Tom in your life, or a Terry or
Speaker 2: Tony or something you need in your life to help
Speaker 2: you on the three biggest habits in your life that
Speaker 2: you want to change. You're not going to change them
Speaker 2: on your own, So just quit kidding yourself. If you could,
Speaker 2: you would, but you cancel, you won't. And you're never
Speaker 2: gonna change without a group giving you support and without
Speaker 2: a person giving you accountability. They were talking about this
Speaker 2: Thursday night in my small group, and we were talking
Speaker 2: about temptation. One of the people in our small group said,
Speaker 2: you know, the temptation I really struggle with most is
Speaker 2: the temptation to make myself look good all the time?
Speaker 2: Would you ever have enough authenticity to say that.
Speaker 3: In your small group? Would you? Would you ever.
Speaker 2: Own up to the fact that ninety nine percent of
Speaker 2: the time you're all about trying to make yourself look good?
Speaker 2: Would you ever own up to that? You see, you're
Speaker 2: never gonna be free. And until you own up. If
Speaker 2: there's just one thing I could do as your pastor,
Speaker 2: it would be to get you in a group and
Speaker 2: get you with a person that you could be totally
Speaker 2: honest with on the things that you think I don't
Speaker 2: want to tell anybody about, because you're never going to
Speaker 2: break free until you share them. And if we were
Speaker 2: more consistent in confessing our temptations to each other, then
Speaker 2: we wouldn't have to spend so much time confessing.
Speaker 3: Our sins to each other.
Speaker 2: I'd rather have you confess in temptations in having to
Speaker 2: confess sins, wouldn't you? Yeah, So, what's the big deal? Well,
Speaker 2: I've never been tempted. Liar, everybody's tempted. It is a
Speaker 2: myth that says you're going to get to a point
Speaker 2: in your spiritual life you're not tempted. No, in fact,
Speaker 2: tell you this. The more mature you become, the more
Speaker 2: Satan's going to put you on as most wanted to list.
Speaker 3: You're going to get worse temptations as you grow.
Speaker 2: It doesn't just go away. It gets worse different kinds,
Speaker 2: but they're there. And if we are more consistent confessing
Speaker 2: our temptations, if men would confess their temptations to other men,
Speaker 2: they wouldn't have to confess their sins. If women would
Speaker 2: confess their temptations to other women, they wouldn't have to
Speaker 2: confess their sins.
Speaker 3: The Bible says this, brothers.
Speaker 2: And sisters, if someone in your group, we're talking about
Speaker 2: small groups right now, if somebody in your group does
Speaker 2: something wrong, you who are spiritual. That means you who
Speaker 2: haven't done that week, because next week it'll be you. Okay,
Speaker 2: you are spiritual, should go to that person gently, help
Speaker 2: them make it right again. Who'll be careful because you
Speaker 2: can be tempted by sin too, But by helping each
Speaker 2: other with your troubles. You obey the law of Christ.
Speaker 2: What's the law of Christ? Love your neighbor as yourself.
Speaker 2: How do we love our neighbors as ourselves? The Bible
Speaker 2: says right there, by helping each other through temptation.
Speaker 3: That's how you love your neighbor.
Speaker 2: By helping them through temptation, by helping them be consistent
Speaker 2: in the things they want to be consistent in, to
Speaker 2: help them break bad habits and help them start good habits.
Speaker 2: That's the best way you can love your neighbor and
Speaker 2: obey the law of Christ. God wired us to need
Speaker 2: each other. And when we do this, when you're authentic
Speaker 2: and you start admitting your temptation other people, it's liberating.
Speaker 2: The moment you admit your temptation, you start moving to
Speaker 2: freedom that second, because if I can't talk about it,
Speaker 2: it's already out of control.
Speaker 3: In my life.
Speaker 2: If you can't talk about it, it's out of Whatever
Speaker 2: you can't talk about is out of control in your life.
Speaker 3: Otherwise you're just in denial. It's out of control.
Speaker 2: And when you talk about a problem, it helps you
Speaker 2: gain control. And holding on to a hang up only
Speaker 2: intensifies that, it makes it worse. And you, and wearing
Speaker 2: a mask makes you miserable, and pretending makes it worse.
Speaker 2: It's liberating, it's empowering. The moment you share with somebody
Speaker 2: in your small group, and you don't have to share
Speaker 2: even with everybody in your group. Just get one person.
Speaker 3: Say will you be my partner?
Speaker 2: Here's some stuff I want to change, things I want
Speaker 2: to work on for good, positive habits, get in shape
Speaker 2: or whatever. Or here's some negative things I want to
Speaker 2: stop doing, watching pornography or whatever. Okay, and remember I said,
Speaker 2: everybody's got different temptations, so nobody has a right to
Speaker 2: judge anybody else. We're all shaped for different things. But
Speaker 2: the moment you enlist somebody, the pressure starts dissipating, the
Speaker 2: temptation starts weakening. And you know what else it does
Speaker 2: when you are authentic, it is endearing.
Speaker 3: We love.
Speaker 2: We gravitate toward people who are authentic. We gravitate toward
Speaker 2: people who are real. We don't want to hang around
Speaker 2: phonies who pretend like everything's going right in their Life's
Speaker 2: why we have.
Speaker 3: Testimonies in this church.
Speaker 2: We've had thirty years of a parade of people saying,
Speaker 2: my life is so messed up. And here's what's happening.
Speaker 2: And it's not even completely fixed yet, but here's what
Speaker 2: I'm working on, and here's how God's helping me. And
Speaker 2: why do we do that to model that this is
Speaker 2: a safe place. There is no sin that shocks me anymore.
Speaker 2: I've heard every one of them. There's no sin in
Speaker 2: our church that could shock me. It's all here in
Speaker 2: our church. Why, Because we're human beings, Following Christ.
Speaker 3: Does not exempt you from temptation.
Speaker 2: Now, what I'm telling you is on this earth, you're
Speaker 2: never going to be sinless, but it is possible to
Speaker 2: sin less. Okay, you're never going to be sinless, but
Speaker 2: it is possible.
Speaker 3: To in less. And look at this first James five.
Speaker 2: My dear friends, if you know people who've wandered off
Speaker 2: from God's truth, don't write them off, go after them,
Speaker 2: get them back, and you will have rescued precious lives.
Speaker 2: Let me ask you, do you know somebody in your
Speaker 2: life who's struggling right now who needs your help and
Speaker 2: you need to go after them. You don't need to say, well,
Speaker 2: that's none of my business. It is your business as
Speaker 2: if you love them, it's your business to go after
Speaker 2: them and to bring them back and help them out
Speaker 2: and be their partner and love them unconditionally and listen
Speaker 2: to their confession and encourage them and help them grow.
Speaker 2: That's bower heads. Why don't you pray this prayer if
Speaker 2: you're ready for a change. Dear God, you know all
Speaker 2: the habits and temptations in my life that have tripped
Speaker 2: me up for years, and you know the tempting situations
Speaker 2: I'm facing right now. And you even know the temptations
Speaker 2: that lay ahead of me this week that I don't
Speaker 2: even know about yet. So I'm asking for your help.
Speaker 2: I'm praying the prayer of deliverance, and I'm willing to
Speaker 2: follow the path of your principles of escape so I
Speaker 2: can change and be free. Help me to clearly see
Speaker 2: the patterns in my life that lead to temptation. Give
Speaker 2: me the strength to start avoiding them, to plan to
Speaker 2: avoid them. Help me to refocus my attention on other things.
Speaker 2: When I'm tempted today, I want to commit to getting
Speaker 2: in a small group or starting a small group. Or
Speaker 2: I can be encouraged and help others too and find
Speaker 2: a partner. Most important, Lord, I need you to do
Speaker 2: some heart surgery on me. Remove the negative emotions that
Speaker 2: make me vulnerable and replace them with your love, and
Speaker 2: you forgive us and your trust. I ask you, Jesus Christ,
Speaker 2: to start changing me from the inside out, beginning today.
Speaker 2: In your name, I pray Amen.
Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's daily Hope. We are so happy
Speaker 1: that you've chosen to study along with us today. If
Speaker 1: you'd like to receive ricks free daily devotional, go to
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Speaker 1: be back to close out our time in just a moment.
Speaker 1: But first fall is here and that means Christmas is
Speaker 1: right around the corner. That's why we want to let
Speaker 1: you know that Pastor Rick and his wife Kay created
Speaker 1: an advent calendar with specially commissioned custom artwork. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1: Here's Pastor Rick to tell you more.
Speaker 2: You know, friends, one of the most common questions that
Speaker 2: you hear this time of the year is are you
Speaker 2: ready for Christmas? It's a question that shows how much
Speaker 2: preparation we think is necessary just to celebrate this holiday
Speaker 2: and this holy day. We think getting ready for Christmas
Speaker 2: means putting up decorations and buying and wrapping gifts and
Speaker 2: sending cards and planning meals, and helping with school plays
Speaker 2: and church musicals and office parties, and the list goes
Speaker 2: on and on, making sure that we help all the
Speaker 2: people who are in need. But does doing all that
Speaker 2: really get us ready for Christmas? We'll making it through
Speaker 2: a checklist prepare me for celebrating the Birth of Jesus.
Speaker 2: We both know the answer is no, And we both
Speaker 2: know that it's too easy to get so caught up
Speaker 2: in doing too many things, many of them good things,
Speaker 2: but so many things that we forget the real reason
Speaker 2: for the season. So you know what, Here at Daily Hope,
Speaker 2: we put together a brand new resource that I want
Speaker 2: you to have. I hope it will help you really
Speaker 2: get ready for celebrating the Birth of Jesus. It's an
Speaker 2: advent calendar, a calendar of preparation. And each day on
Speaker 2: this calendar, you'll open one Bible verse and then you
Speaker 2: just turn to the corresponding page and a companion book
Speaker 2: that we've put together, and you read through the very
Speaker 2: short Spiritual Growth devotional. Not only takes a couple of
Speaker 2: minutes to read the Bible verse and the devotional, but
Speaker 2: it's going to prepare your heart for the coming of Christ.
Speaker 2: At Christmas. My hope is at this resource. This advent calendar.
Speaker 2: Preparing your heart for Christmas will help you spend the
Speaker 2: holiday expressing your gratitude to God, worshiping instead of worrying,
Speaker 2: and taking things off your schedule so you can appreciate
Speaker 2: the true meaning of Christmas.
Speaker 3: I don't want you.
Speaker 2: To miss the miracle of Jesus this Christmas.
Speaker 1: You'll want to get the Daily Hope Advent Calender and
Speaker 1: devotional booklet in your hands now to start using it
Speaker 1: on December first. This resource is a perfect way to
Speaker 1: share the gift of Jesus at Christmas with your friends
Speaker 1: and family, and we'll send it to you to say
Speaker 1: thanks when you give a gift to Daily Hope to
Speaker 1: help take the good news of Jesus Christ to people everywhere.
Speaker 1: Quantities are limited, so get yours now. Call eight hundred
Speaker 1: six hundred five thousand and four to support Daily Hope
Speaker 1: and we'll send you this powerful resource, or you can
Speaker 1: visit Pastororrick dot com. That's eight hundred, six hundred five
Speaker 1: thousand and four or Pastorick dot com. Be sure to
Speaker 1: join us next time as we look into God's word
Speaker 1: for our Daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor
Speaker 1: Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support