WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:05.879 Well, hello, and welcome to Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren. Today, 2 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.640 Rick's going to kick off a new series called Building 3 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:12.759 My Life on Values that Last. In these inspiring lessons, 4 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.960 Rick shows us practical ways to apply the Biblical principles 5 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:23.359 of trust, self control, balance, respect forgiveness, moral purity, fairness, honesty, 6 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:26.719 and love. Now, here's Pastor Rick with part one of 7 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:29.079 a message called Choosing My Standard. 8 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:34.200 What are your values? Your values are your core beliefs 9 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:38.520 that shape everything you do in life. There are a 10 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.039 lot of people who say, you know, it really doesn't 11 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.399 matter what you believe, But that's just not true, folks. 12 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.320 It is not true. It does matter what you believe 13 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:51.719 your beliefs. Let's get this. Your beliefs determine your behavior, 14 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:56.119 and your behavior determines what you become. So the kind 15 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:58.159 of person you are, if you look at his foundation, 16 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:01.640 is based on the things you've chosen to value. In 17 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:07.079 other words, your convictions in life determine your conduct, and 18 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:11.400 your conduct determines your character. So whatever you want to 19 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.599 be in life, you better figure out quick what your 20 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:18.879 values are because they determine your stress level, your success, 21 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:24.159 your salvation, and many many other things. Now, if you 22 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:28.239 want to build a lasting life of success and significance, 23 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:32.480 you must build it on lasting values. And that's what 24 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:34.760 we're going to look at in this series. Now, one 25 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:38.560 thing that basically everybody in our society agrees with today, 26 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:43.280 whether you're liberal or whether you're conservative, Democrat, Republican, independent, 27 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.480 whether you are religious or irreligious, a Christian or an 28 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:51.359 Unchristian or an atheist, or whatever be'st the majority of 29 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:54.640 people say that our society today is in a stage 30 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:59.200 of spiritual or not spiritual, but moral decline. There's a 31 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:06.400 decaying of values in our society. Many studies, many surveys 32 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.599 say that over eighty percent of Americans say that the 33 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:13.479 number one problem in America now is not the economy, 34 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:17.879 but it's the decline and decay of moral values. George 35 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:22.599 Gallup just recently did a poll and discovered that Americans 36 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.759 today are more interested in values than at any other 37 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:30.560 time in the past sixty years. It's a very very 38 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:34.080 hot item. In fact, I asked my researchers who helped 39 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:36.919 me with studying for messages to go. I said, go 40 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.840 out and find me. Just see if there are any 41 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:43.479 current articles in magazines, not religious ones, but just secular 42 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:48.479 magazines that deal with the concern about the moral decline 43 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:52.319 and decaying and values in America. Just find some recent ones, 44 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.319 and they came back with three hundred and fifty articles. 45 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:58.800 I thought i'd read you just a few of the titles. 46 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.400 These are out of all the major national magazines. These 47 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:06.520 are the titles. Is the US morally in trouble? Can 48 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:11.120 we save our culture? The character deficiency syndrome? Fighting to 49 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:15.439 fill the values gap? The decline of a nation, a 50 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:20.719 nation of liars, the moral obtuseness in America living in 51 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.680 the new dark ages, a nation of finger pointers blaming 52 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:29.759 everyone else. How moral deprivation breeds kids with attitudes, morals 53 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.319 and mixed signals. The People magazine sin Pole, I'd like 54 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:38.520 to read that one the new dangers of relativism shifting 55 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:42.879 realities are moral makeover, the spiritual void, and drug use 56 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.759 when winning is the only thing signs of hope amid 57 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:52.759 moral decay. Why is common courtesy less common? Beyond materialism? 58 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:58.120 The sexual revolution reconsidered faultiness, the lack of responsibility in 59 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.360 our society, and how in disregard for the truth has 60 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:07.159 become epidemic in America. And what we discovered is that 61 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:11.759 every single national magazine has devoted at least one cover 62 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.479 to this issue of values and moral decline in the 63 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:20.639 last two years. Now, this crisis can be seen in many, 64 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:26.439 many areas. I've just listed five of them. There, politics, business, entertainment, education, 65 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.399 even religion. FI said, take some time right now and 66 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:32.040 write down the current scandal in each of these areas. 67 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:36.399 You'd be able to do it because of this crisis 68 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.560 that's going on. Now, what is the cause of all 69 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:42.279 of this? Why is there so much concern about this 70 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.199 in our society? Well, we're today We're going to look 71 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.759 at the cause of moral decline, the cause of why 72 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.560 people aren't building their lives on values, the cost of 73 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:53.639 it to our families and ourselves. And we're going to 74 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.279 look at the cure. And the next week we get 75 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:58.120 into all of the problems. This is just I mean, 76 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:01.079 all of the solutions. This is just the the introduction. 77 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:05.240 What is the cause of the crisis of values in 78 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:10.519 our society? Two words? Would you write this down? Truth decay? 79 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:15.839 Not truth decay, but truth decay. And the fact is 80 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.560 we no longer value the truth, excuse me, in America. 81 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.920 Instead we value two other things. We value Convenience is 82 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.839 it easy, and we value pragmatism. Does it work? Today 83 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:32.040 people really don't care about the truth. In fact, some 84 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:34.120 people even question is there such a thing as truth? 85 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.399 Universal truth? And they say, what I want to know 86 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.240 is does it work? And is it easy? And if 87 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:42.439 it works in my life? And if it's easy, I 88 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:44.720 don't care if it's true or not, that's good enough 89 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.319 for me. Now. In the generation that fought World War 90 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:52.360 War two, those people, when they did wrong, they knew 91 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.639 they were doing wrong, and they chose. They said, I 92 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:57.160 know this is wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway, 93 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.319 and they would do it. There was no disagreement what 94 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:03.079 was right or wrong or what was true. Today, though 95 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.480 it's very different. We have an entire generation of young 96 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:10.560 people and children who don't even know the difference between 97 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:14.240 right and wrong. And there are parts of our society 98 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:16.600 today say there's no such thing as right and wrong. 99 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:18.360 What may be right for you may be wrong for me, 100 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:19.680 and what may be right for me may be wrong 101 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:22.720 for you. So there are no standards by which you 102 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:28.160 can evaluate your life or evaluate your behavior. Now, what happened? 103 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.560 Why is it that in just one generation's time, we 104 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:37.560 went from general agreement on this is true. Today. If 105 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:39.079 I stood up and said this is true, and this 106 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:40.959 is true, and this is true, and this is right, 107 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:42.680 and this is wrong, there would be all kinds of 108 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.800 controversy about it. And it just happened in one generation. 109 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:50.439 What happened we were sold a bill of goods. We 110 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:56.839 fell for three very destructive philosophies that have replaced truth 111 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:00.199 in our society. You might write these down, and then 112 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:02.920 we're going to all explain the implications in your life. 113 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:11.439 The first of these destructive philosophies is individuality, our individualism. 114 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:18.360 An individualism says basically, this live for myself, that only 115 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.480 I can be the standard of my life. Only I 116 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.279 can judge what's really true, only I can judge what's right, 117 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.959 and only I can judge what's wrong. And you don't 118 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.040 have any place in telling me what's right or wrong 119 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.600 or true, because I basically am my own god and 120 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:35.319 I live for myself. And have you ever heard this phrase, 121 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:42.439 I've got to do what's best for me. That's called individualism. 122 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:45.199 I'm A recent survey by the Wall Street Journal of 123 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:49.240 executives across America discovered that when executives in America have 124 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:53.360 an ethical crisis about forty four percent of them say 125 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.639 I consult with myself, and only three percent say I 126 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:02.879 consult with God. See they're saying I set myself up 127 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:06.480 as the standard. Now, this is nothing new. Individualism has 128 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:10.759 gone on in nations for centuries, millenniums. In fact, thousands 129 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:13.560 of years ago, the nation of Israel fell prey to this. 130 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.759 If you ever want to read the dark ages of 131 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.560 the Nation of Israel, read the Book of Judges, because 132 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:23.040 it was a time of total chaos. Why was it chaos? 133 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:25.759 We'll look at this verse on your outline, Judge is 134 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:30.079 twenty one. In those days, Israel had no authority, in 135 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.799 other words, no king or anybody else. So the people 136 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:37.799 did read the rest with me whatever seemed right in 137 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:44.080 their own eyes. Does that sound vaguely contemporary? I'll just 138 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:46.480 do whatever I think is right. And if there are 139 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:49.000 no judges, there are no standard, there's no rule, there's 140 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:52.440 no law, there's no absolutes, then hey, I can do 141 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:55.639 whatever I want. Now that's an easy philosophy to hold 142 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:57.759 on to because it means I never have to feel 143 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:00.519 guilty because I don't have to marry up to my 144 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:03.240 standards or your standards anybody else. And if you say, 145 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:04.960 well this is right, then even well, that may be 146 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:09.480 right for you, but for me, I am an individual 147 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:15.320 and I run my own life. And that's the first philosophy. 148 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:18.000 The result of it in the nation of Israel was anarchy, 149 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:21.720 and that's going to be the result of if America 150 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:25.200 keeps going that way here, because I'm only thing that 151 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.679 matters is me. The second philosophy that we've bought into 152 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:34.679 is called secularism, and secularism can be summarized in three words. 153 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:40.320 God is unnecessary. Doesn't mean I don't believe there is 154 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:42.200 a God. Oh yeah, I believe there is a God. 155 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:45.279 I just don't need him in my life. And for 156 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:50.000 the last forty years, we have been systematically removing God 157 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.879 from every area of public life, out of the schools, 158 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:57.399 out of the government, out of the media, out of 159 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:00.200 the newspapers, out of all of the different areas is 160 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.039 the public opinion in life, and we've basically relegated God 161 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:08.080 to Sunday mornings. Oh. I believe in God, but it's 162 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.200 just he's just a little slice over there. And then 163 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.679 I really lived the rest of my life because God 164 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.159 isn't necessary. I've got it all together on my own. 165 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.240 You see, again, this has all happened in just forty years. 166 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.320 Forty years ago, most school rooms had the Ten Commandments 167 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:30.559 hanging on the wall a standard of moral authority. And 168 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:35.120 forty years ago, many, if not most school rooms, classes 169 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:39.679 began with prayer. And forty years ago, the majority of 170 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.240 people in America went to church. More people went to 171 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:47.360 church than didn't go to church. Now today that's exactly 172 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:51.039 the opposite. It's flip flopped. Obviously, there's no Ten Commandments 173 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:54.600 or prayer in schools, and the majority of people don't 174 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.360 go to church today than do. And the number one 175 00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:02.600 purveyor of value used today is not God or Bible 176 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:08.600 or church or even parents. It's television. And so in secularism, 177 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:11.840 God's been removed from the mainstream. This has talked about 178 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:15.200 in the Book of Romans, Chapter one. It says they 179 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:19.879 exchange the truth of God for a lie, and they 180 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:26.559 worshiped created things rather than the Creator. That's called today, folks, materialism. 181 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:31.720 When you worship things instead of the God who created everything. 182 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:34.879 That's why there'll be more people at the beach and 183 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:37.879 at the mountains today than worshiping their tan than they 184 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:42.120 are in church worshiping God. And we hear about all 185 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.200 of these uneducated tribes in some dark forest. So we say, 186 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.679 isn't it sad that these tribes they get a little 187 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.320 piece of wood and they carve it into an idol, 188 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:53.720 then they bow down in front of it and they 189 00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:59.360 worship it. How uneducated. But Americans have idols too that 190 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.759 we worship. The only difference is our idols have chrome 191 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:07.559 on them, okay, And they have a little thing out 192 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.159 on the front of the hood that says, this is 193 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.480 how much I paid for this car. And a lot 194 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.799 of people worship their boat, their house, their career, and 195 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:22.279 anything that is created, rather than worshiping God. So God 196 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:26.440 is unnecessary and I live for myself. The third philosophy 197 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:31.799 that we've fallen prey to is called relativism. Relativism, now 198 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:33.639 that doesn't mean you have bad relatives sty at your 199 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:39.000 house for weeks. You can summarize relativism in two words. 200 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:45.000 It's the words no absolutes, no absolutes, And the idea 201 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.879 behind relativism kind of goes like this. You know, what's 202 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:53.519 true for me may not be true for you, and 203 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.639 what's truth for you may not be truth for me. 204 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.120 Therefore what's right for me may not be right for you. 205 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:00.600 What's right for you may not be right for me, 206 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:03.799 And nobody can say what's right or wrong because all 207 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:08.360 truth is relative and it just you know, it's kind 208 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:11.159 of vague out there. Now. Again, that's a great way 209 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.279 to live if you don't want to have any guilt, 210 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:15.519 because then you say, well that's your standard. Well my 211 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:18.519 standard's this, And if I don't measure up to God's standard, 212 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:20.840 will I just lower the bar a whole bunch And 213 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.879 then I say, oh, look, how great I am. Now 214 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.840 this is a problem, and it comes up in a 215 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:29.919 lot of familiar phrases. For instance, have you ever heard 216 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:36.279 this one? It doesn't matter what you do as long 217 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:40.320 as you're sincere, And it doesn't matter what you believe 218 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:44.840 as long as you're sincerely believe it. Are you familiar 219 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:48.279 with this? And it doesn't matter what you believe as 220 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.440 long as you're sincere. And whenever I hear that, I 221 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:55.480 want to go, oh, really, have you thought through the 222 00:13:55.559 --> 00:13:58.320 logical extension that oh really, it doesn't matter what you 223 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.559 believe as long as you're sincere. You can be sincerely 224 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:06.759 wrong and be sincere. I mean, let's say this, let's 225 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:09.399 say this, cup, I think this cup is filled with 226 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.919 water for me to drink, but it's really filled with 227 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:22.600 sulfuric acid, just kidding. And I could drink that thinking 228 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:24.799 it was water but sulfuric acid, and I would be 229 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:32.440 sincerely dead. It does matter what you believe. How about this. 230 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:34.879 Let's say after church, you're gonna go get on the 231 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:39.399 freeway and you go up what you sincerely believe is 232 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:44.440 the on ramp to the freeway, but the truth is 233 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:49.919 it's really the off ramp. Now is sincerity enough to 234 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.879 keep you from having an accident? No? Does the truth 235 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:58.480 matter in that situation? Absolutely it does. Because you're getting 236 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:02.639 ready to have a major collision that may take your life. 237 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:07.480 It takes more than to sincerity. And so while you're 238 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.720 driving up this on ramp, which is really an off 239 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:13.519 ramp the freeway, some guy's coming off the off ramp. 240 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.080 He rolls down his window and he's irately yells to you, 241 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:22.759 wrong way. And if you believe in relativism, you say, well, now, 242 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:27.519 who are you to tell me what's wrong? Who made 243 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.399 you the judge of my life? I mean, it may 244 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:32.120 be true for you, but it may not be true 245 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.200 for me. I mean, for you, this may be an 246 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:39.840 offramp for me, it's an on ramp. Okay, So don't 247 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:45.679 be so judgmental and narrow minded. And you know, let 248 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.039 me tell you something. When people tell you the truth, 249 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:54.039 they're not judging you. They're being kind, they're being kind. 250 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:56.960 And there are very few people who will level with 251 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:59.440 you today and say, look, you're blowing it. You go 252 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:02.399 down that train, you're gonna miss it. You're gonna heading 253 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:06.240 for a major head on collision. And when people go 254 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:10.200 through a major crisis, like you know, should I move 255 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.799 in with this guy, or should I get a divorce, 256 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:16.639 or should I you know, take drugs or in any 257 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:19.200 kind of ethical crisis, and people already and go, well, 258 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.080 you know, you just whatever's best for you. They don't 259 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:26.440 love you, because people who tell you the truth are 260 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.120 those who love you. They're not judging you, they're just 261 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.519 telling you the truth. Now, there's another phrase that relativism uses, 262 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:38.240 and it goes like this, there are no absolute truths 263 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.840 in life. There are no absolutes. Have you ever heard 264 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:44.840 this one? Any of you ever heard this one? Yeah? 265 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:49.039 Most of Yeah. Whenever somebody says to me there are 266 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:51.000 no absolutes. In fact, that was in a class one 267 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:54.080 day as a high school student, and the teacher stood 268 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:55.919 up in a philosophy class. He said, there are no 269 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:04.319 absolutes in life, And I said, are you absolutely sure? Now, folks, 270 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.319 let me tell you something. Don't ever let anybody con 271 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:12.599 you with pseudo intellectualism, with statements like it doesn't matter 272 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:14.480 what you believe as long as you're sincere and there 273 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:18.200 are no absolute truths. That, folks, is not only illogical, 274 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:23.119 it's irrational. In the first place. It's illogical because that 275 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:28.359 statement in itself is an absolute There are no absolutes. 276 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:32.119 You've just stated one, which means obviously that one's wrong. 277 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:39.079 Take that through now and think that through. You cannot 278 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:43.279 make an absolute statement that there are no absolutes. That's illogical. 279 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:46.000 But more than that, it's just pure irrational, because the 280 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.720 fact is, the whole world proves that the world is 281 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.720 built on things that you can depend on because they 282 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:58.200 are absolutely true. For instance, there is an absolute truth 283 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:02.240 called gravity. Are you familar with this one? What if 284 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:04.039 all of a sudden, say every eight or nine minutes, 285 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:09.920 God turned off gravity, cute, A'll be floating up in 286 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:14.279 the ceiling here. Okay, But one of the reasons we 287 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.359 build chairs is because you can depend on gravity to 288 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:19.720 pull you down as something needs to hold you up. 289 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.559 When NASA, NASA makes a rocket launch to the moon, 290 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.839 you know the moon's over here. They don't aim the 291 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:30.759 rocket toward the Moon. They aim the rocket way over here. 292 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:34.240 Why because the Moon is moving and so is the Earth, 293 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:36.960 and so they have to aim at a place where 294 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:39.480 there isn't even a moon yet, so that by the 295 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.559 time the rocket gets there, the moon's there. Now, how 296 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:47.160 do they figure that out? Because God has established the 297 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:51.920 entire universe on some universal laws that are always true 298 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:55.680 and can always be depended on, and you never have 299 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:59.599 to doubt that. Well, maybe one time it won't be true. No, 300 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:06.359 God always makes these laws true, and truth is ongoing now. 301 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.519 For instance, Let's say you got a bronchitis or sore throat, 302 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.200 and you get a prescription and you walk and say, 303 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:17.200 here's the prescription that the doctor gave me for my bronchitis. 304 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.559 Ten minutes later, the pharmacist comes back and gives you 305 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:26.799 medicine for schizophrenia. I don't need this. Well, you know 306 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.680 there are no absolutes, so I thought this medicine would 307 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.279 be as good as any other. In fact, you look 308 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.279 a little neurotic, And so I thought you could take this, 309 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:38.680 you know, and I know that there's a certain thing 310 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:41.680 that says only eighty mgs of this medicine, but I 311 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:46.200 thought three thousand megagram would be MG's would be exactly 312 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.440 what you need. So I know this is five times 313 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:50.960 over the limit of axilent dotes. It may kill you, 314 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:55.759 but I don't care, because it really means truth is evasive, 315 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.720 and it may be true for that doctor, but not 316 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:03.640 for me. So now, when you go to a pharmacist, 317 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:07.960 are you interested in absolute truth? Yes, you want just 318 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.400 the right amount of just the right medicine, because not 319 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.680 any medicine will do, and every medicine is not equal, 320 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:18.119 and every medicine is not valid, and every medicine is 321 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.440 not equally good for you. You want the one. See. Truth 322 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:26.160 is narrow, folks, that's why it's called the truth. And 323 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.200 God says, I want you to know the truth. I mean, 324 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.599 what if there were no traffic laws. What if, for instance, 325 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.720 let's say, stop signs meant stop whenever you feel like it. 326 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.000 What if the line in the middle road meant stay 327 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:47.279 on this side if you want to, we would have 328 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:51.720 no world. You'll all be dead even people, even philosophers, 329 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:55.920 who claim there are no absolutes in life, get very 330 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:59.359 interested in absolutes when they're being violated. For instance, if 331 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:01.279 all of a sudden, my neighbor says, I don't believe 332 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.880 there are any absolutes, so I start building an extension 333 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:08.079 to my house twenty feet onto his property. All of 334 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.880 a sudden, he's very there needs to be a law here. Well, 335 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.680 there cannot be any law unless there are some absolute 336 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:19.000 things that are right and wrong. So don't let anybody 337 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:22.279 con you, because we have been conned by individualism. Live 338 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:27.880 for myself, secularism, God is unnecessary. And relativism, which is 339 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:32.599 there are no absolutes. You see now in today's society 340 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:37.400 in relativism, which is the prevailing attitude. The highest value 341 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:44.039 in our society is tolerance, tolerance, because we value tolerance 342 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:46.839 more than truth. You don't want to say the truth 343 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:49.759 because you may hurt somebody, you may offend somebody. They 344 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.880 may disagree with you. And what we're supposed to do 345 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:56.119 is tolerate each other. The worst sin in our society 346 00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:03.839 is to be intolerant. The worst labeled to be labeled 347 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:09.200 is to be labeled judgmental. You're narrow minded, you're judgmental, 348 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:14.160 you're intolerant. Now would you write this down. It's not 349 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:20.599 judgmental to tell the truth. It's not judgmental to tell 350 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:25.759 the truth. You say, well, I believe that this lifestyle 351 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:27.880 is the right way. Oh no, but I believe this 352 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:32.519 lifestyle is the right way. Well, God says this lifestyle 353 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.400 is the right way, and he's telling the truth. He's 354 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:40.279 not being judgmental, he's just telling the truth. It's not 355 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.000 judgmental to tell the truth. In fact, not only that, tolerance, 356 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.680 the word tolerance has been redefined in our society. Go 357 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:50.160 look up the word tolerance in a dictionary, and this 358 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.079 is what it used to mean. Tolerance used to mean 359 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:59.240 I will respect you and treat you with dignity even 360 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:04.799 though iviolently disagree with you. That's what tolerance means. I'll 361 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.440 respect you and treat you in dignity even though I 362 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:09.119 disagree with what you believe. 363 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:17.440 Hey, thank you so much for joining us here on 364 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.640 Daily Hope with pastor Rick. I've got some great news 365 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:23.640 to share with you today. We've got some generous friends 366 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:26.839 of Daily Hope that have offered a fifty thousand dollars 367 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:29.440 matching grant and now here's Rick to tell you more 368 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:29.920 about it. 369 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:32.519 You know, I started Daily Hope so I could spread 370 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:36.000 the good news about Jesus, not just across America, but 371 00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:39.599 all around the world. And we want people to know 372 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:43.400 that God's word is filled with hope and truth and 373 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:45.759 the power that we need to follow him every day 374 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.400 is available to every single one. You know as well 375 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:50.759 as I do, that the Word of God changes lives. 376 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.599 It's a live it's active, and it breathes new life 377 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:57.200 and new love into all of our lives. So wherever 378 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:59.920 you listen to this, whether you listen on the website, 379 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:02.519 whether you listen on a radio station, or whether you 380 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:05.440 listen to a podcast, you're a part of the Daily 381 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:09.200 Hope family, and I need your help. We could not 382 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:11.400 do this without your support. Now, you know, I don't 383 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.200 take any funds from this broadcast. We don't have any giant, 384 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.519 million dollar donor who's giving big gifts to this. It 385 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:23.400 comes from daily donations from listeners like you. We're one 386 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:27.279 hundred percent listener funded. Would you continue to pray for 387 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:30.880 this broadcast and would you continue to support us and 388 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:32.799 let write to me, let me hear from you. 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Again, please 400 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.880 go to pastorick dot com or just text the word 401 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.480