WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:06.559 Today on Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren, we continue 2 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:10.560 in our riveting journey through the series The Invisible War. 3 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.320 In it will explore the unseen world of good and 4 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:18.199 evil and see how it impacts our day to day existence. 5 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:23.120 Join us for eye opening biblical insights into the spiritual 6 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:27.839 dimensions that influence our lives in ways we never imagined. 7 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:32.079 Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part 8 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:35.119 of a message called why is life in this world 9 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:35.920 so hard? 10 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:37.039 Number four? 11 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:42.679 The fourth damage is in relationships, and sin results in 12 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:49.920 relational distance and discord. Relational distance and discord. In other words, 13 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:53.759 you have conflict with people. In a perfect environment, where 14 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.119 there is no sin, you're not going to have any conflict. 15 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:00.159 But in a marriage where you take one person who 16 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:04.120 is imperfect and another person who's imperfect, two imperfect people 17 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.079 cannot make a perfect relationship. 18 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:07.000 It is impossible. 19 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:14.599 One sinner marrying another sinner cannot create a perfect relationship. Guys, 20 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:21.560 you married a sinner and she married a bigger one, 21 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.079 and so you're not gonna have a perfect relationship. You're 22 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:30.640 gonna have problems in any relationship. Now Solomon mentions this too. 23 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.400 He says, you know what In Ecclesiastes, he said, I've 24 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:35.120 looked out and I've been watching people in the world. 25 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:36.079 You know what I discovered. 26 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.239 They're not nice to each other. People don't treat each 27 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.439 other kindly. People misuse each other, people abuse each other, 28 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.480 people lie to each other, people fake each other out. 29 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.159 People are phoning in their relationships. People wear masks, they 30 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:55.040 cover up, they abuse, they take advantage of each other, 31 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:58.040 and all of these things, and they hurt each other, 32 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:02.719 sometimes intentionally unintentionally. What because nothing works on this planet 33 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.680 because Sin broke it all. When we don't follow God's will, 34 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.280 it causes damage. And he says, we have all these 35 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:12.960 messed up relationships. Why are mess Why is it so 36 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:18.080 easy to mess up a relationship causes pain because we 37 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:19.800 don't follow what God says to do. Look at this 38 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:23.680 verse Ecclesiastes. For one, I saw all the people who 39 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:27.719 were mistreated here on earth, and I saw their tears, 40 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.000 and I saw that they had no one to comfort them. Now, 41 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.120 how did it get so messed up? Well again, you 42 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.080 go back to the first couple, to Adam and Eve. 43 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.719 Adam and Eve rebelled, and when they said, we're gonna 44 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.159 do the one thing that God said not to do. 45 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:43.319 It. 46 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:47.120 Not only disconnected them from God, it disconnected them from 47 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:51.680 each other. Now, listen, you cannot have intimacy the kind 48 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:54.560 of intimacy God wants you to have with your spouse 49 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:59.080 without intimacy with God first. When you're disconnected from God, 50 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.840 there's no way you're going to be fully connected the 51 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:03.879 way God meant for you to be as a husband 52 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:07.520 and wife. It is interesting to me that when Adam 53 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.560 and Eve got disconnected from God by blowing it and sinning, 54 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:13.719 what's the first thing they did? They made clothes, They 55 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:15.120 sewed fig leaves together. 56 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:16.520 And how does that happen? 57 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.159 How is it that being disconnected from God disconnects me 58 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:22.080 from you and causes me to want to cover up. 59 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:25.120 How is it that when I'm out of whack with God, 60 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:26.840 all of a sudden, I'm out of whack with you, 61 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.599 and I want to pretend and cover up my faults. 62 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:31.560 How is it that when I'm out of whack with God, 63 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:35.639 I am ashamed of my sexuality? How is it when 64 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:38.560 I'm out of whack with God, I don't really want 65 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:40.680 you to see the real me. I don't want to 66 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.560 be exposed, and I don't want to be vulnerable because 67 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.319 if I'm not right with God, then I cannot be 68 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.639 right with you. And so we cover up and we 69 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:55.360 sew fig leaves. What's your fig leaf? You got one? 70 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:00.719 And it's it's the way you act and the attitudes 71 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:04.039 that you have. It's emotions that cover up the things 72 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.199 that you're most embarrassed about, are most afraid of in 73 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.120 your own life. 74 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:10.240 Notice this verse. 75 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.960 It says in Genesis three, they suddenly felt ashamed of 76 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.639 their nakedness, so they strung fig leaves together to cover 77 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:21.360 themselves up. Out of whack with God, out of whack 78 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:24.199 with other people Genesis three. Ten later, God says, what 79 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:28.399 are you guys doing? You're wearing clothes Genesis God. Adam says, 80 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:32.600 I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. 81 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:39.560 Sin always makes you defensive, Sin always makes you distant, 82 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.240 and sin always makes you demanding in a relationship. 83 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:45.560 You know, I remember a. 84 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:48.680 Guy who was preaching on this passage one time Genesis three, 85 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.519 about Adam and Eve covering up because they were embarrassed, 86 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.959 and he had one of these loose leaf bibles. I 87 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.279 don't know if you've ever seen these, but pastors have 88 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:58.399 loose leaf bible sometimes, so they can put their sermon 89 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:01.000 notes in there. So and they walk around with their Bible, 90 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.319 they can see their notes that they're trying to teach too. 91 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.319 And this guy had a loose leaf Bible, and as 92 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.040 he got up to speak from his chair, he walks 93 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.160 over to the podium, the page he's going to teach 94 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:11.439 on falls out on the floor. 95 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.240 He doesn't know it. He doesn't know it. 96 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:18.199 So he gets up and he starts to read the text, 97 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:20.560 and he says, and Adam said to Eve, and he 98 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:23.639 flips the page and obviously it's gone. It's out of order, 99 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.079 and so he says, because it's laying there on the floor. 100 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:32.879 And Adam said to Eve, and Adam said to he, 101 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:35.360 very interesting. It looks like a leaf is missing. 102 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.959 Now that's kind of result when you have you know, 103 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:44.480 so I used the real thing. I don't have one 104 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.639 of his phony, bolowny loose leaf Bibles. Okay, there it is. Okay, 105 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:59.160 Number five financial and vocational difficulties. Sin has damaged this 106 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.399 area too. He's damaged the area of your finances and 107 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:07.399 the area of your career. Sin has done that. How 108 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:11.319 do economies get broken? Oh's real simple. By ignoring the 109 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.279 biblical principles of finance that God has said in his word. 110 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.079 God has given us the principles for money management in 111 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:19.839 the Bible. They're very clear. We've covered them many, many, 112 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:24.120 many times. The principle of accounts, of accounting, keep good records, 113 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.920 the principle of spending budget you're spending, the principle of saving, 114 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:31.639 the principle of giving and tithing, the principle of investing, 115 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.920 the principle of being satisfied with what you have. I 116 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.240 could go on and on. There are many, many principles 117 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.639 of finance in scripture. When you and I ignore them 118 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.439 and we do not delay gratification, and we think I 119 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.279 got to have it now, even though I can't afford it, 120 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:46.519 and you spend what you cannot afford. 121 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:47.519 You're going to get in debt. 122 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.959 And all of the economic problems we have that the 123 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.199 government can't seem to put together and agree on is 124 00:06:55.240 --> 00:07:02.240 because of irresponsible living, spending money we didn't have, and 125 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:06.000 not obeying God's financial principles. Now here's what he says 126 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.839 in Ecclesiastes. Here's a terrible thing I've seen in the world. 127 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.639 People save up their money for a time when they 128 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.399 may need it, and then they lose it all and 129 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:22.680 some bad deal or bad economy or bad market. They 130 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:26.160 lose it all and some bad deal and end up 131 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.399 with nothing left to pass on to their children. That's 132 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:34.639 because the world is broken financially too. And then in life, 133 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:38.560 work is not meaningful. It's not purposeful, it's not satisfying 134 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:39.680 because it's broken. 135 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:40.920 Look at the next verse. 136 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.439 I hated life because the work I did under the 137 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.000 sun was meaningless to me, because they just felt like, 138 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.600 I'm not putting in punching my time card. It was 139 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.199 meaningless to me, so I turned in despair from hard work. 140 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:59.519 It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction 141 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.000 in this life. He said, you know, I thought, if 142 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.879 I just make a really good career and I succeeded 143 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.439 my career, then I'm really going to be satisfied. He goes, 144 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:11.439 that didn't satisfy me. It's broken too. Guy told me 145 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:13.439 one time, He said, you know, Rick, I climbed the 146 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.959 ladder of success, and I got to the top. But 147 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.079 when I got to the top, I realized the ladder 148 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.800 was leaning against the wrong wall, and I had wasted 149 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:27.160 all that effort on something that didn't matter. Number six, 150 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:34.399 the sixth area is spiritual discontent and darkness. Spiritual discontent 151 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:39.159 and darkness. There are not only emotional, relational, financial, vocational, 152 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.519 physical consequences to ignoring what God says, but there are 153 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:48.360 spiritual consequences. There's discontent and darkness. Have you ever felt like, 154 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:50.519 you know, I feel like God's a million miles away. 155 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.840 I feel like I'm praying and he's not listening. My 156 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.039 prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. I'm not I don't 157 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.840 feel close to God. Well, of course you don't. Here's 158 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.559 what why, Isaiah fifty nine up here on the screen. 159 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:08.039 Your iniquities have separated you from your God, because God's holy, 160 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.720 and your sins have hidden his face from you so 161 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:17.240 that he will not hear. If you feel far from God, 162 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.720 guess who moved. God didn't move, but you moved away 163 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.840 by saying, I'm going to do my thing, be my 164 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.039 own God, call my own shots. I'm not going to 165 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.519 obey what the Bible says. I know what the Bible says, 166 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:30.759 but I'm going to do what I want to do. 167 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:33.120 And you move away from God and then you wonder 168 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:37.279 why God feels distant, and then you start searching, and 169 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.120 you start looking for God in all the wrong places, 170 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:41.600 and a lot of people don't even know they're looking 171 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:46.440 for God. They call it happiness. I'm looking for happiness. 172 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:51.559 I'm looking for peace. I'm looking for security, I'm looking 173 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.679 for fulfillment. I'm looking for meaning and purpose. What they're 174 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.080 looking for is God and they don't know it, and 175 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:04.200 they still have it found what they're looking for. Job 176 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.720 says it like this, and Job six here on the screen. 177 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:13.399 I'm like a caravan lost in the desert searching for 178 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.679 water because I haven't the slightest idea where I'm headed, 179 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.399 where I'm going. I'm in the middle of a dry desert. 180 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:24.559 I don't know which way I'm going, and I'm thirsty. 181 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.759 And you start looking for all kinds of things to 182 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.960 quench that thirst, looking for God in all the wrong places, 183 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.440 and what does it do. It leads to more darkness 184 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.360 and more discontent and more discouragement. The next verse says this, 185 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:42.240 they have refused for so long to deal with God, 186 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:43.720 and they just keep putting it off. I'm not going 187 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.039 to deal with God. They've refused for so long to 188 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:51.399 deal with God that they have lost touch not only 189 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:56.559 with God but with reality itself. And friends, if you 190 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:00.440 don't believe that. Turn on the television. A lot of 191 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:04.759 television has lost total touch with reality. They're not only 192 00:11:04.759 --> 00:11:06.840 out of touch with God, they don't even know what 193 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:10.279 life's all about. They haven't the foggiest idea what life's 194 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.679 all about. They're spinning around in circles, making little tiny 195 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:16.240 things enormous issues. 196 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:18.360 They're majoring on the miners. 197 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:21.559 They don't know what life is all about, and they 198 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.960 are out of touch and they're in the dark. Now, friends, 199 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.799 that is not a pretty picture what I just shared 200 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.840 with you. And when I see that picture of what 201 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.840 sin does to the world, do you know what it 202 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:39.320 makes me want to do? Hate sin? You know the 203 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.919 problem today? We don't hate sin. We laugh at it. 204 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.679 We think it's a joke. We think it's a comedy line. 205 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:49.799 If you don't believe me, go home and turn on 206 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:54.080 HBO and any comedy show, and half the comedy is 207 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.759 going to be making fun of things that are wrong 208 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:02.799 and laughing about drug use, sexual promiscuity, all kinds of 209 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:08.320 sexual innuendos, immaturity, immorality, making fun of people who are 210 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:12.399 trying to do the right thing and celebrating the wrong 211 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.919 and we laugh at it like that's funny. 212 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:17.279 Friend. 213 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.759 When I hear about something that causes disasters and deformity, 214 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:27.600 death and decay, distress and disappointment, relational distance and discord, 215 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:32.200 financial and vocational difficulties, and spiritual discontent and darkness, that's 216 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:35.159 not a laughing matter. If you want to know how 217 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.200 bad sin is, you look at the cross. Jesus with 218 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:41.480 his arms outstretches. This is how bad the sin is. 219 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:44.960 I had to die for it. Now, that's not a 220 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:50.080 pretty picture. That's why you need a savior, because there's 221 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:53.279 no way you can undo all this damage in the world, 222 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:55.440 in your family, or in your own. 223 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.639 Personal life by yourself. You need a savior. 224 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:03.000 If you didn't need a savior for all of these things, 225 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.799 believe me, God wouldn't have wasted the time sending Jesus 226 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:10.200 as your savior. He sent you to save you and 227 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:14.399 to begin the restoration process in these six areas. Now 228 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:19.279 we're in the dark, he says, We're just totally in 229 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:19.840 the dark. 230 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:22.440 So what do I do? Well, there are two things 231 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:23.039 you need to do. 232 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:27.080 Number One, you need to accept I need to accept 233 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:28.679 Jesus as my savior. 234 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:30.320 That's the starting point. 235 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:32.399 Now in the week said we're going to talk in 236 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.679 detail about the answers to how. 237 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.279 To get along in a broken world. 238 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:38.600 But the first thing I've got to do is I've 239 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.159 got to accept Jesus as my savior because he's the 240 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:45.159 only one who can help me undo some of the 241 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:46.879 damage on this side of heaven. 242 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:50.320 John sixteen, verse thirty three. 243 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:55.000 Jesus says this in this world, in this world, you 244 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.919 will circle, will not might not could happen. 245 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:00.679 You will. 246 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.399 You can count on it. You will have trouble. But 247 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:08.279 he says, take heart, I have overcome the world. And 248 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:10.279 in the next few weeks, I'm going to teach you 249 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.840 how Jesus helps you overcome the world. In all of 250 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.559 these areas that have done damage in your life. You 251 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:19.399 got to accept Jesus as your savior. The second thing 252 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:23.320 I have to do is this, I must follow his light. 253 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:31.039 I must follow his light because a lot of times 254 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.320 I'm in the total dark about what I should do. 255 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.960 With the damage that's been done in my life. You know, 256 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:38.679 one of my favorite. 257 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:42.159 Vacations the number of years ago, we did a family vacation. 258 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.879 We went up to Montana and can and I and 259 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:49.960 then we went down to Yosemite, our Yellowstone and had 260 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.039 them fund. But right there in the corner of Montana 261 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:58.039 is a little known national park called Lewis and Clark Caverns. 262 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.600 It's underground caverns. I love this place. I think it's 263 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.879 better than Carlsbad Caverns. Carlsbad's a little too commercial for me. 264 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.879 Loosing car Caverns is still very rustic. You climb up 265 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.200 this mountain and then you go down this little shaft 266 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:20.720 on hundreds of rickety stairs and you're just walking down down, deeper, deeper, 267 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:26.320 hundreds of feet underground into the earth. And we got 268 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:30.279 down in the middle of this one of the big caverns, 269 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:32.720 hundreds of feet below, and they said, we're going to 270 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:38.960 show you what total darkness really looks like, because most people. 271 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:41.879 Have never seen total darkness. 272 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:44.960 And so they turn out a couple of the lamps, 273 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.600 the lamps that are there, and it's flat out pitch black. 274 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:51.000 I can hold my finger like this and I can't 275 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:57.679 see it. Kind of spooky total darkness. And then the 276 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:03.240 park ranger lights a match and lights a candle, and 277 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.399 that one little candle, all of a sudden, you go, okay, 278 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:09.639 maybe we are going to get out of here. Has 279 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.879 a little bit of hope. A little candle in darkness 280 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.320 gives me hope. It's not a big light, but it's 281 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:18.600 a light. And then he turns on his flashlight and 282 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.399 he says, follow me out. 283 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:23.480 Now, what do you think I'm gonna do? Go this way? 284 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.320 Not unless I'm an idiot, I'm not gonna do that. 285 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:31.720 I'm gonna follow the guy who's got the light. 286 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:33.639 If I'm in the. 287 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.679 Dark, I'm not gonna say I don't need you, mister ranger. 288 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.919 I'm gonna figure my own way out of this mess. No, 289 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:43.919 I'm gonna follow the guy who's got the light. That's 290 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.440 the only rational, reasonable, logical. 291 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:47.480 Thing to do. 292 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:54.600 Last verse John eight twelve, Jesus said, I am the 293 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:55.919 light of the world. 294 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:02.320 If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the. 295 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:09.279 Darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. 296 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:15.559 That's a bow our heads for prayer. Father. 297 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.799 We look at the world and we are disappointed. So 298 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.960 much of the time, we're disappointed in the events of life. 299 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.440 We're disappointed that things don't go the way we want 300 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:32.519 them to. We're disappointed with other people, and yeah, we're 301 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:38.839 disappointed with ourselves. Help us to realize that this is 302 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:42.160 not your plan. This is not your goal, but that 303 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:47.759 you want to restore that which was broken. Now you 304 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:53.000 pray in your heart, say, dear God, I admit that 305 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:56.599 I have rebelled against you. I've done things that I 306 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:58.759 wanted to do instead of what you wanted. 307 00:17:58.519 --> 00:17:59.920 Me to do. I've gone my way. 308 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:04.960 I've gone days without even talking to you, and I've 309 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.160 been disconnected from you. So I'm disconnected from other people. 310 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.400 I have sinned and transgressed, and I've hurt other people, 311 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:21.319 and nothing works perfectly in my life. I ask you 312 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.640 to work on these areas in my life. Jesus Christ. 313 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:29.480 I affirm you once again as my savior. Just say that, Jesus, 314 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.039 I affirm you once again as my savior. If you've 315 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:35.000 never asked him to be your savior, say, Jesus Christ, 316 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:40.279 I ask you to become my savior today and restore 317 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:47.279 physical health in my body, emotional help in my feelings, 318 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:54.200 relational health where there's distance and conflict. I want you 319 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:57.839 to work on financial health in my life. And I 320 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.720 want to have a healthy career and job. Most of all, 321 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:04.839 I want to be spiritually healthy. I don't want to 322 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:06.960 be connected to you. I don't want to walk in 323 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.839 darkness anymore. Jesus, You've got the flashlight. You are the flashlight, 324 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:16.359 so I accept you as my savior and I want 325 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:21.359 to follow your light as best I know how. Use 326 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:26.200 this series to help me get some healing in the 327 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:26.960 areas that are. 328 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:32.079 Broken in my life. I pray this in your name. Amen. 329 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:40.960 Hi everybody, this is Rick and I hope you enjoyed 330 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.319 today's broadcast. You know, if you just prayed that prayer 331 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:48.319 for the very first time, or you just recommitted your 332 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:50.960 life to Jesus again today, would you let me know 333 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.720 about it. There's something real about sharing your commitment. So 334 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.880 write me Rick at pastor Rick dot com and say, Rick, 335 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:01.200 I prayed that prayer of commitment, I gave my life 336 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.039 to Christ. And I'll send you some material that will 337 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.039 help you on your journey with Jesus. 338 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.680 And I'll also pray for you. 339 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.079 God bless you. 340 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.720 You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We're so happy 341 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:19.119 you've chosen to study along with us today. Why is 342 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.599 everything in life so hard? Why does the right thing 343 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.400 often feel like a battle. It's because every day there's 344 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:30.720 a spiritual war raging all around you. Here's Pastor Rick 345 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:31.720 to tell you more. 346 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:35.440 You know, we all face temptations every day. It's a 347 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:39.440 spiritual battle that takes place inside us, and it makes 348 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.559 us vulnerable, particularly if we don't know how to fight it. 349 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:47.720 To overcome temptation is absolutely essential that you know the 350 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:51.440 tactics that Satan uses to trip us up, and it's 351 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.519 vital to learn the biblical defenses that God gives us. 352 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:58.279 He has told us in his Word how to handle 353 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.920 and how to manage the acts of Satan. In order 354 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:05.799 to help you learn how to respond to the predictable 355 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:09.680 patterns that Satan uses to tempt you, I've created a 356 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:14.160 study kit called The Invisible War, Winning the Battle of Temptation. 357 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:17.519 This kit, The Invisible War Winning the Battle of Temptation, 358 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.599 includes a DVD with seven different sessions and a simple 359 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:24.440 booklet that will help you learn how to overcome and 360 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:29.079 defeat temptation in your life. You really need this. In 361 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:32.599 the series, I will teach you the three kinds of temptation, 362 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.960 God's antidote to temptation, and even how to avoid temptation 363 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.119 in the first place. It is a steady guide that 364 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.839 you can use by yourself, but you'll actually get more 365 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:44.279 out of it if you'll gather a small group of 366 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:49.279 friends together and study it together as a small group. Now, 367 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:51.839 I want to send you the Invisible War Winning the 368 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.799 Battle for Temptation study kit as my gift to say 369 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:59.200 thanks for your support of Daily Hope. With your financial gift, 370 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:02.880 we can't do this without you, and your generosity helps 371 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:05.599 us take the Hope of Christ into places all around 372 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:08.640 the world and now to places that have no Bible, 373 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.480 no believer, and no body of Christ. 374 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:15.720 Go to Pastorick dot com right now to get your copy. 375 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:19.759 That's pastorick dot com. Or you can just text the 376 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:24.000 word hope to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. 377 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.160 That's the word Hope to eight hundred six hundred five 378 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.519 thousand and four. There's only three days left to get 379 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:35.160 this great resource, so don't wait. Be sure to join 380 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:38.480 us next time as we look into God's Word for 381 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:42.720 our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's 382 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:46.160 Daily Hope and your generous financial support.