Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry
Speaker 1: of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in our series
Speaker 1: called Strategies for Stressful Times. In these lessons, Rick SHARE's
Speaker 1: biblical wisdom for navigating difficult and stressful times so that
Speaker 1: you can experience God's peace and thrive in any situation.
Speaker 1: But before we get started, we want to let you
Speaker 1: know that very generous friends of the ministry are offering
Speaker 1: a one hundred thousand dollars matching grant. That means every
Speaker 1: dollar you give right now to help Daily Hope share
Speaker 1: the Hope of Jesus around the world will be matched
Speaker 1: up to one hundred thousand dollars, making your gift go
Speaker 1: twice as far. You can find out more by going
Speaker 1: to Pastorick dot com or by texting the word hope
Speaker 1: to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. Now
Speaker 1: here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part of a
Speaker 1: message call how to keep your tank filled instead of
Speaker 1: running on empty.
Speaker 2: Now we come now to the third steps. First, get
Speaker 2: fed up with how I've been feeling. And then second,
Speaker 2: come to Jesus because He's gonna give me rest for
Speaker 2: my soul. Now here's the third step, big one. Three words,
Speaker 2: give up control. Give up control. You see, the real
Speaker 2: reason for overload in your life is because we try
Speaker 2: to control things too much. We try to control things
Speaker 2: too much. We don't even realize how much we try
Speaker 2: to control things too much, but we act subconsciously as
Speaker 2: if it all depends on me. I have to hold
Speaker 2: everything together. I gotta make it all happen. Now, listen,
Speaker 2: I love you guys. Now, I just want to tell
Speaker 2: you that the greater you need to control things, the
Speaker 2: more overloaded and stress you're gonna be in life. You
Speaker 2: got to learn to give up control. The greater your
Speaker 2: need for control, the more overloaded, the more empty, the
Speaker 2: more stressed, the more depressed you're gonna be in life.
Speaker 2: Jesus's third solution to running on empty? Is this the
Speaker 2: next part of that verse? Take my yoke up on you.
Speaker 2: That's the third step. Get fed up, come to Jesus,
Speaker 2: give up control. Now, obviously this needs to be explained.
Speaker 2: What's he talking about here? Take my yoke? Well, he's
Speaker 2: not tiring about an egg yoke, Okay, not that kind
Speaker 2: of yellow egg yoke. He's talking about the wooden frame
Speaker 2: that you put over two animals. Farm animals so that
Speaker 2: they work together. And when you take two cattle and
Speaker 2: they're pulling, they're gonna pull a wagon together. You put
Speaker 2: a yoke over both of them and then they pull
Speaker 2: the together. He said, wait a minute, Wait a minute,
Speaker 2: that doesn't sound very relaxing. Takes my yoke. That sounds
Speaker 2: more like a burden. I'm already carrying too much of
Speaker 2: a burden. Why in the world would I want to
Speaker 2: take jesus yoke on me, Because you don't understand the
Speaker 2: purpose of a yoke. The purpose of a yoke is
Speaker 2: to lighten the load, not to make a heavier load.
Speaker 2: The purpose of a yoke is so that you share
Speaker 2: the load you're carrying. You're already carrying the load. Jesus says,
Speaker 2: yoke up with me, and I'll help you carry it.
Speaker 2: See when two animals team up together, it makes the
Speaker 2: load lighter, not harder. Now, Jesus is God, he's not
Speaker 2: carrying any load. He has no load because he's God.
Speaker 2: He's not carrying anything. And he goes on to explain
Speaker 2: that in the next verse, verse thirty. Look at that verse.
Speaker 2: He says, for my yoke is easy and my burden
Speaker 2: is life. I'm not gonna dump more on you when
Speaker 2: you're tired, when you're worried, when you're empty, when you're frustrated.
Speaker 2: He says, I'm going to take it off you by
Speaker 2: helping you carry your load. He says, my yoke is
Speaker 2: easy and life. I love the new living translation says,
Speaker 2: my yoke fits perfectly. In other words, it's not uncomfortable,
Speaker 2: it's not rough, it's not tight, it's not painful. Now, friends,
Speaker 2: a yoke is a symbol of partnership. It means you're
Speaker 2: no longer going through life by yourself. You're teamed up
Speaker 2: with God, and he's going to help you carry the load.
Speaker 2: You weren't meant to go through life carrying your load
Speaker 2: all by yourself. Hear and me. You weren't meant to
Speaker 2: go through life carrying the load that you're carrying all
Speaker 2: by yourself. You said, I'll take part of it, and
Speaker 2: I'll carry it with you. He doesn't have any load.
Speaker 2: He's God. He doesn't add to your load. He takes
Speaker 2: it from you. I'll share it. Now, you're not carrying
Speaker 2: the load by yourself. Now, this principle of giving up
Speaker 2: control to God, it's all through the scriptures and it's
Speaker 2: really the antidote to peace. Let me show you some
Speaker 2: verses Psalm fifty five, Verse twenty two. Pile all your
Speaker 2: troubles on God's shoulders. He'll carry your load and help
Speaker 2: you out. I love that in the message. He'll carry
Speaker 2: your load and help you out. You pile it on
Speaker 2: his shoulders. Yoke up with him. Let me ask you
Speaker 2: who's got a stronger back. You are God, Jesus says,
Speaker 2: Join up with me, Come to me, give up control.
Speaker 2: Join with me, and I'll put the load on me
Speaker 2: and we'll carry it together. Now what does that mean? Well,
Speaker 2: let me just be real honest with you. If you're
Speaker 2: feeling overloaded right now, it means that at this point,
Speaker 2: right now, you are not yoked to Jesus Christ. When
Speaker 2: I feel overloaded, when I feel stressed out, when i
Speaker 2: feel I'm going under, every time I feel that way,
Speaker 2: it means that somehow I've gotten detached or disconnected from Jesus.
Speaker 2: I've gotten detached or disconnected. So this yoke is a
Speaker 2: symbol of partnership, but it's also a symbol of control
Speaker 2: because it's used to guide animals. You see, when I'm
Speaker 2: yoked with Jesus we move together in the same direction
Speaker 2: at the same pace. When I'm not yoked to Jesus,
Speaker 2: I can move at a pace it's too fast, and
Speaker 2: I can go off in a ditch very easily. But
Speaker 2: if you're yoked to Jesus, there's no way he's going
Speaker 2: to let you outpace yourself, and there's no way he's
Speaker 2: going to let you go off in the ditch.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope be back in
Speaker 1: just a moment with the rest of today's lesson. You
Speaker 1: can sign up for Pastor Rick's free email devotional at
Speaker 1: pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.
Speaker 3: Do you ever feel like your prayer life has become
Speaker 3: inconsistent or routine and needs a boost, then you're going
Speaker 3: to want to get a copy of the brand new
Speaker 3: Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme, Experiencing God's Peace,
Speaker 3: will help you tap into God's power and presence as
Speaker 3: you discover the keys to praying with passion and purpose.
Speaker 3: This journal features a soft touch, vegan leather cover and
Speaker 3: two hundred and thirty five beautifully designed pages filled with
Speaker 3: over one hundred and fifty life changing Bible versus photos
Speaker 3: and artwork. It's a spiritual growth tool designed to help
Speaker 3: you enjoy a vibrant prayer life, connect with the Lord,
Speaker 3: and establish a consistent daily prayer time. As you use
Speaker 3: this journal, you'll be amazed at how faithful God is
Speaker 3: to answer your prayers. You'll be reminded every day how
Speaker 3: much God loves you and wants to be part of
Speaker 3: your life. When you give a gift to help Daily
Speaker 3: Hope reach people around the world with the hope of Jesus,
Speaker 3: will send you this brand new Daily Hope Prayer Journal
Speaker 3: to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't delay. Visit
Speaker 3: Pastorick dot com or call eight hundred at six hundred
Speaker 3: at five zero zero four to get this year's brand
Speaker 3: new Daily Hope Prayer Journal and all this month, any
Speaker 3: gift you gift will be matched by very generous friends
Speaker 3: up to one hundred thousand dollars. This matching grand is
Speaker 3: only available until midnight December thirty first, so please contact
Speaker 3: us today again. That's Pastororrick dot com or call eight
Speaker 3: hundred at six hundred at five zero zero four. Thank
Speaker 3: you so much for your support, and don't forget to
Speaker 3: tell us that you listen to Daily Hope on the radio.
Speaker 1: Now back to more from God's Word with Pastor Rick Warren.
Speaker 2: Galatians, chapter five. Look at that verse on your outline.
Speaker 2: Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in
Speaker 2: step with the spirit. How by being yoked to Jesus,
Speaker 2: partnering with Jesus, how do I keep in step with
Speaker 2: the spirit? Next verse Romans three twenty eight. Our lives
Speaker 2: get in step with God by read it and aloud
Speaker 2: with me together, letting him set the pace. Circle that
Speaker 2: letting him set the pace. If you're setting the pace,
Speaker 2: it's probably the wrong pace. You know. It's interesting to
Speaker 2: me that we have no record in scripture of Jesus
Speaker 2: running anywhere. Jesus was never in a hurry. You won't
Speaker 2: be either. If you're connected to Christ. Why not choose
Speaker 2: the easiest yoke Jesus the easiest yoke. Now, notice he says,
Speaker 2: take my yoke that's in exchange. What that means I
Speaker 2: take off the one I've been carrying, that yoke where
Speaker 2: I've been yoked to the world's expectations, what everybody expects
Speaker 2: me to do, and I put on the yoke of God.
Speaker 2: What Jesus says, The answer is give up control, give
Speaker 2: up control. Every time I give up control, my load
Speaker 2: gets lighter, and God gives me peace quickly. The last
Speaker 2: couple number four, he says, come, then he says take,
Speaker 2: and then he says learn. And here's the fourth thing.
Speaker 2: Learn to trust, learn to trust. This is the antidote anxiety.
Speaker 2: Worry lessen and trust more. And this is the fourth
Speaker 2: thing Jesus says to do. The rest of that verse,
Speaker 2: he says, and learn from me. Learn from me, for
Speaker 2: I'm gentle and I'm meek, I'm humble in heart, and
Speaker 2: you will find rest for your souls. You know, Jesus
Speaker 2: modeled how to live with peace and purpose, and the
Speaker 2: fourth step to refilling your spiritual and emotional tank is
Speaker 2: to follow Jesus' model. He says, learn from me, watch
Speaker 2: how he lived, and do it the way he did.
Speaker 2: Learn from Jesus. Now, if you serve the word learn,
Speaker 2: Learning is a process. You don't learn it overnight. You
Speaker 2: didn't develop your overloaded lifestyle overnight. You're probably not gonna
Speaker 2: get out of it overnight, but you're gonna learn to trust.
Speaker 2: What can I learn from Jesus? Learning is a process.
Speaker 2: Learning takes time. What can I learn from Jesus? Well,
Speaker 2: he says, you'll learn how to be gentle and humble.
Speaker 2: What how is that going to help me? Learning to
Speaker 2: be gentle? That doesn't seem like it's gonna help me
Speaker 2: because I'm stressed out and tired. Why is gentle and
Speaker 2: humble so important? I mean, Jesus didn't say learn from me,
Speaker 2: and I'll teach you how to have endure and stamina.
Speaker 2: That's what I would expect them to say, learn from
Speaker 2: me and I'll give you endurance and stamina. No, he says,
Speaker 2: learn from me and I'll teach you how to be
Speaker 2: gentlemen and humble. Why because listen very closely. The two
Speaker 2: biggest causes of overload and stress and emptiness in your
Speaker 2: life are aggression and arrogance. What let me explain aggression
Speaker 2: is we don't want to wait for anything. We're aggressive.
Speaker 2: We don't want to pause for anything. We don't want
Speaker 2: to consider anything. We don't want to be patient for anything.
Speaker 2: We want to just jump right in and we get
Speaker 2: over committed because of our aggressive behavior. It's the opposite
Speaker 2: of gentleness, being aggressive rather than being gentle, and that
Speaker 2: puts stress on you. And the other is arrogance. What's
Speaker 2: the sign of arrogance when we try to control everything.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you realize this or not, but
Speaker 2: your ego, my ego is responsibility for more stress and
Speaker 2: overload in my life than I realize. Your ego is
Speaker 2: responsibility for more stress and arrogance in your life than
Speaker 2: you realize. You try to do it all. That's ego,
Speaker 2: that's pride, that's arrogance. You try to have it all,
Speaker 2: you try to please everyone, You try to act like
Speaker 2: superwoman or Superman. That's arrogance. The more arrogant you are,
Speaker 2: the more egotistically driven you are, the more stressed you're
Speaker 2: going to be. The most stressful people I know are
Speaker 2: no are the most arrogant people I know. The antidote
Speaker 2: to the two biggest causes of stress in your life
Speaker 2: are generalist and humility. What does that mean? It means
Speaker 2: I need to remind myself every day I'm not God
Speaker 2: and I'm not everybody's savior, and neither are you. What
Speaker 2: was Jesus' secret of peace? He only did what the
Speaker 2: Father told him to do, and he didn't worry about
Speaker 2: the rest. You go read the Book of John twelve times.
Speaker 2: In the Book of John, he says, I only do
Speaker 2: what the Father tells me, and he says, follow my model.
Speaker 2: Why don't you start trusting God? Try trusting God? Let
Speaker 2: me give you a couple verses. Look at this layer
Speaker 2: on the screen Proverbs twenty, verse twenty four. Since the
Speaker 2: Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything
Speaker 2: that's happening along the way. Hmm, we keep trying to
Speaker 2: figure it all out? Says why don't you just trust God?
Speaker 2: Learn to trust? So I'm one forty two. Verse three
Speaker 2: says this when I'm ready to give up. Maybe you're
Speaker 2: feeling that way when I'm ready to give up on
Speaker 2: my marriage, or my job or anything else. When I'm
Speaker 2: ready to give up, he knows what I should do.
Speaker 2: Learn to trust? How do I trust more? Look at
Speaker 2: this verse on the screen. Romans ten seventeen. Faith comes
Speaker 2: by hearing the word of God that leads us to
Speaker 2: the last two steps. Number five. Start every day by
Speaker 2: refilling my take. Start every day by filling my tank.
Speaker 2: Now we've talked about this so many times, I don't
Speaker 2: feel like I have to go into it in any detail.
Speaker 2: But I'm talking about a daily quiet time. I'm never
Speaker 2: going to stop talking about this because it is the
Speaker 2: key to stability and the stee key to energy in
Speaker 2: your life Matthew sixty six. Jesus says this in the message.
Speaker 2: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted
Speaker 2: to role play before God, and just be there as simply,
Speaker 2: as honestly as you can, and the focus will shift
Speaker 2: from you to God and you will begin to sense
Speaker 2: His grace. Start every day by filling my tank. Remember
Speaker 2: I tried to teach you over a year ago. Hw
Speaker 2: FW and HWLW his word, first word, his word, last word.
Speaker 2: Start the day with God's word. In the day with
Speaker 2: God's word. Finally, one more step, number six, Stay connected
Speaker 2: to my spiritual family. That's gonna keep you refueled and
Speaker 2: refilled and keep you from going empty. Hebrews eleven twenty five.
Speaker 2: Let us not give up the habit circle the word habit.
Speaker 2: Let us not give up the habit of meeting together
Speaker 2: as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another
Speaker 2: all the more. Why do I need to be connected?
Speaker 2: Stay connected to my spiritual family, Because when you're empty,
Speaker 2: and when you need to be filled. Here's what God
Speaker 2: says about the church last verse on your screen. Pesians
Speaker 2: one twenty three. The church is Christ's body, and it
Speaker 2: is filled. That's the opposite of empty. It is filled
Speaker 2: with Christ, who completely fills, which is the opposite of empty.
Speaker 2: Everything else you empty. You need to be a church.
Speaker 2: You need to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Speaker 2: They will help refill your emptiness. Okay, let's wrap it up.
Speaker 2: Weighing you down right now. Problem with your children, problem
Speaker 2: with your finances, problem with aging parents, problem with your health.
Speaker 2: But I will tell you this. God brought you here
Speaker 2: today so he could say this to you. Let's look
Speaker 2: at the verse one more time on the screen. I
Speaker 2: love this. In the amplified translation, Jesus says this to you,
Speaker 2: if you're empty, come to me. Come to me, all
Speaker 2: you who labor and are heavy laden and overburdened, and
Speaker 2: I will cause you to rest that soul. Rest. I
Speaker 2: will ease and relieve and refresh your souls. Take my
Speaker 2: yoke on you. Partner with me and learn from me,
Speaker 2: for I'm gentle and I'm humble in heart. And you
Speaker 2: will find rest, relief, and ease and refreshment and recreation
Speaker 2: and blessed quiet for your souls. And that's beautiful. And
Speaker 2: the amplified translation this is the most important invitation you
Speaker 2: will ever receive in your life, and you took enough
Speaker 2: time to show up to let God give it to you.
Speaker 2: Here's the invitation. Get dissatisfied the way you've been feeling.
Speaker 2: Come to Jesus, not to anything else. Come to Jesus.
Speaker 2: Give up control, learn to trust, and stay connected. Pray
Speaker 2: this prayer. Dear God. I'm tired of trying to control everything.
Speaker 2: I'm tired of a life without rest and peace. Forgive
Speaker 2: me for all the times I've turned to other things
Speaker 2: for relief instead of you. Today, I'm coming back to
Speaker 2: you in your name. I pray Amen. Hi everybody, this
Speaker 2: is Rick and I hope you enjoyed today's broadcast. You know,
Speaker 2: if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time,
Speaker 2: or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today,
Speaker 2: would you let me know about it. There's something real
Speaker 2: about sharing your commitment. So write me Rick at Pastorrick
Speaker 2: dot com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment.
Speaker 2: I gave my life to Christ. And I'll send you
Speaker 2: some material that will help you on your journey with Jesus.
Speaker 2: And I'll also pray for you. God bless you.
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. Very
Speaker 1: generous friends have given a one hundred thousand dollars matching
Speaker 1: grant to this ministry. That means all this month, every
Speaker 1: dollar you give to help Daily Hope share the transforming
Speaker 1: love of Jesus with people around the world will be
Speaker 1: matched up to one hundred thousand dollars, So fifty dollars
Speaker 1: becomes one hundred dollars, five hundred becomes one thousand dollars,
Speaker 1: and so on. Whatever you give today will be doubled
Speaker 1: by the matching grant up to one hundred thousand dollars,
Speaker 1: but only till midnight, December thirty first. Anything not matched
Speaker 1: will be lost. So please give your best gift today.
Speaker 1: You can give right now by going to Pastorick dot
Speaker 1: com or by calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand
Speaker 1: and four, and we'll say thanks by sending you this
Speaker 1: year's brand new Daily Hope Prayer journal. That's Pastororick dot
Speaker 1: com or call eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your support, and don't forget
Speaker 1: to tell us you listen to Daily Hope on the radio.
Speaker 1: Right now, here's Pastor Rick with a letter from one
Speaker 1: of our listeners.
Speaker 2: I want to take a minute and tell you how
Speaker 2: important your support is to Daily Hope. Your generosity. When
Speaker 2: you give to Daily Hope, you're helping us take the
Speaker 2: message of Jesus Christ literally all around the world in
Speaker 2: the many places where there aren't missionaries or churches, these
Speaker 2: are called unreached tribes. Now, I'm sure you're familiar with
Speaker 2: the refugee crisis around the world. Literally millions of people
Speaker 2: have been displaced from their homes, particularly in the Middle
Speaker 2: East and in North Africa because of civil wars and violence.
Speaker 2: One of those places is South Sudan, where over two
Speaker 2: hundred thousand people are living in refugee camps. Now, when
Speaker 2: people are under tension and in transition, they are more
Speaker 2: open to the Gospel than in any other time. These
Speaker 2: people who are living in refugee camps right now need
Speaker 2: the hope of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Now, when
Speaker 2: you help Daily Hope Radio and Daily Hope Broadcast, we're
Speaker 2: not only broadcasts across America, but in places like South
Speaker 2: Sudan where the station airs our program three times a day,
Speaker 2: and we are told that many, many people are coming
Speaker 2: to Christ in this war zone as they listen to
Speaker 2: these Daily Hope broadcasts. So thanks, thanks to you. Now
Speaker 2: let me just read you one testimony that we've received.
Speaker 2: Here's a note from a woman who's living in a
Speaker 2: refugee camp there in South Sudan. She said, my name
Speaker 2: is Joyce and I'm from the Central Equatorial State in
Speaker 2: South Sudan. I lost all five of my children and
Speaker 2: my beloved husband. This is in the civil war that
Speaker 2: was going on there, as well as our family possessions.
Speaker 2: During the recent fighting in the capital of Juba. She said,
Speaker 2: I had planned to commit suicide. There's somebody who needs hope.
Speaker 2: When I listened to Rick Warren's broadcast, the one called
Speaker 2: when you feel Like giving Up, I got inspired and
Speaker 2: I dropped the idea of taking life that very night.
Speaker 2: And I'll continue to pray God to bless this great
Speaker 2: preacher and thank you for giving me hope. Joyce, we're
Speaker 2: happy to do that, and I want to say it's
Speaker 2: because of the listeners who are giving faithfully every month
Speaker 2: to Daily Hope. Do you realize that when you give
Speaker 2: to Daily Hope, you're helping reach people like Joyce. She
Speaker 2: was going to commit suicide in a refugee camp. Now,
Speaker 2: isn't God amazing How when you just give what you
Speaker 2: can give, God takes it and he multiplies it and
Speaker 2: we reach out to people that none of us could
Speaker 2: reach on our own. Here's what I want you to do.
Speaker 2: I want you to pray for Joyce and today I
Speaker 2: want you to pray for all of the people who
Speaker 2: are in refugee camps, and pray that we'll be able
Speaker 2: to continue to broadcast on these stations, taking the good
Speaker 2: news of Jesus Christ and hope to people who need
Speaker 2: it the most desperately. It's your sacrificial giving, it's your
Speaker 2: prayer support that makes this possible. So thank you for
Speaker 2: whatever you can do, and God bless you, my friends.
Speaker 1: Any gift you give will be matched by very generous
Speaker 1: friends up to one hundred thousand dollars. This matching grant
Speaker 1: is only available until midnight on December thirty first, so
Speaker 1: please contact us today. You can give right now by
Speaker 1: going to Pastorick dot com or by calling eight hundred
Speaker 1: six hundred five thousand and four, and we'll say thanks
Speaker 1: by sending you this year's brand new Daily Hope Prayer journal.
Speaker 1: That's Pastororik dot com or call eight hundred six hundred
Speaker 1: five thousand and four. Thank you so much for your support,
Speaker 1: and don't forget to tell us you listen to Daily
Speaker 1: Hope on the radio. Be sure to join us next
Speaker 1: time as we look into God's word for our daily hope.
Speaker 1: This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and
Speaker 1: your generous financial support