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.
Speaker 1: Today we continue a teaching series called Uncommon Courage. In
Speaker 1: these lessons, Rick is going to share biblical inspiration that
Speaker 1: will help you get the courage you need to follow
Speaker 1: God's calling for your life. If you'd love to help
Speaker 1: the kids you know learn God's work, then stay with
Speaker 1: us because in just a few minutes we're going to
Speaker 1: tell you about God's big plans for me and easy
Speaker 1: to understand storybook Bible by Pastor Rick Warren. You can
Speaker 1: take a sneak peek right now by going to Pastorick
Speaker 1: dot com while you listen to today's message, or if
Speaker 1: you want, you can just text the word daily to
Speaker 1: eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four. That's the
Speaker 1: word daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Right now, here's Pastor Rick with the final part of
Speaker 1: a message called standing Courageously for the Truth.
Speaker 2: If I claim to be a Christian, then I must
Speaker 2: believe that every single life is sacred. It doesn't matter
Speaker 2: if they have mental retardation, it doesn't matter if they're
Speaker 2: severely deformed. Every life is precious. God gave them them
Speaker 2: their life. He'll know when he wants to take them home.
Speaker 2: God is God, and I'm not. That's not a popular opinion,
Speaker 2: but it's the truth.
Speaker 3: And if you're going.
Speaker 2: To courageously stand for the truth, you have to believe
Speaker 2: in the sanctity of life. Don't call yourself a Christian
Speaker 2: because that's what Jesus taught, that's what you Every life
Speaker 2: is valuable from the moment that God planned you, which
Speaker 2: was before you even popped out of your mom Now
Speaker 2: the next one's even more controversial, and it is the
Speaker 2: sanctity of sex is part of the Christian worldview. The
Speaker 2: sanctity of sex is this sex, It's real simple, is
Speaker 2: only for marriage. I don't like that one.
Speaker 3: I don't like that. Well, I may not like it.
Speaker 2: It's not my opinion. It's in the owner's manual. Now,
Speaker 2: let's just remember who thought up sex. It was God's idea.
Speaker 2: What a god, I mean, what a god. God could
Speaker 2: have made sex. God could have made reproduction with no
Speaker 2: pleasure attached to it. God created those nerve endings. It
Speaker 2: was God's idea, and he created it to bond a
Speaker 2: husband and wife.
Speaker 3: Together.
Speaker 2: When a man and woman have sex together, it releases
Speaker 2: oxytocin in both of them. That oxytocin is the bonding
Speaker 2: chemical that binds a husband and wife together. It brings
Speaker 2: emotional commitment. When a woman nurses a baby, it releases
Speaker 2: oxytocin in both the mom and in the baby. It
Speaker 2: is a bonding agent. That's why there's no such thing
Speaker 2: as casual sex, because when you ask casual sex, it
Speaker 2: releases oxytoasted in you, which is a bonding element. Whether
Speaker 2: you like it or not, there's a bonding thing. That's
Speaker 2: why people get hurt, why people get broken hearts, when
Speaker 2: people are cheated on. It bothers them. Why because it's
Speaker 2: not just physical. That's nonsense. It's not just physical. It's
Speaker 2: emotional and it's spiritual. You see, sex isn't bad, Sex
Speaker 2: isn't dirty, Sex isn't wrong.
Speaker 3: Sex is holy.
Speaker 2: And the sanctity of sex is that God designed it
Speaker 2: for the creation of all of us and to bring
Speaker 2: husbands and wives together and to be a model of
Speaker 2: the union between.
Speaker 3: Christ and the Church.
Speaker 2: And I don't have time to go into all the
Speaker 2: spiritual implications of sex, but let me tell you they're
Speaker 2: about that long it's not just physical.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: The Bible says this in Hebrews thirteen, verse four. Marriage
Speaker 2: should be honored by all, whether you ever get married
Speaker 2: or not, you need to speak well of marriage. Marriage
Speaker 2: should be honored by all, Even single people should honor it,
Speaker 2: and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge
Speaker 2: the adulter and all the sexually immoral. Now this isn't popular,
Speaker 2: but let me just be clear about it. God's instructions
Speaker 2: have never changed. Pre marital sex. It's unacceptable to God.
Speaker 2: It always has been, it always will be living together
Speaker 2: without getting married, and the commitment of marriage and the
Speaker 2: blessing of God is unacceptable to God. Always has been,
Speaker 2: it always will be. Adultery is unacceptable to God. It
Speaker 2: always has been, it always will be. Pornography and the
Speaker 2: objectification of a woman's body this unacceptable to God. It
Speaker 2: always has been, it always will be. I want you
Speaker 2: to listen to this. Attraction is not a sin. Action
Speaker 2: is a sin. You can't control all your attractions, but
Speaker 2: you can control all your actions. I noticed that when
Speaker 2: I married Kay thirty seven years ago, I still found
Speaker 2: other women attractive. Big shock. But I've never acted on him.
Speaker 2: And Kay Warren is the only woman I've ever known.
Speaker 2: Attraction is not a sin. Action is a sin. Have
Speaker 2: I been attracted other women? Of course I'm a man.
Speaker 2: I mean a real man. I mean a manly man. Okay,
Speaker 2: uh huncle vernon love man, Okay, I mean just Have
Speaker 2: I been attracted to other women besides my wife? Of
Speaker 2: course I have, but I don't act on it. Have
Speaker 2: I ever gotten mad and had an impulse to slug
Speaker 2: some in the face, Yes, but I don't act on it.
Speaker 2: Not everything that I feel like doing, I do. You know,
Speaker 2: I noticed when we started this Daniel plan that when
Speaker 2: I started trying to get healthy, I was still attracted
Speaker 2: to the bad stuff that wasn't good for me. Well,
Speaker 2: I was expecting all those attractions to go.
Speaker 3: They didn't.
Speaker 2: Let me tell you, you know, whatever attractions you got about anything,
Speaker 2: you're going to have in the rest.
Speaker 3: Of your life.
Speaker 2: Now, if you're guilty of any of these sins, saddle
Speaker 2: back to your church, because we're all forgiven sinners. Okay,
Speaker 2: we are all forgiven sinners, all right, So welcome to
Speaker 2: the club. Welcome to the club. You can find forgiveness here.
Speaker 2: There is the sanctity of life. There's the sanctity of sex.
Speaker 2: And there a third one. This one's most controversy of all,
Speaker 2: right now, it is the sanctity of marriage. And the
Speaker 2: Bible is very clear about marriage. One man and one
Speaker 2: woman for life. That is God's intended original design. He
Speaker 2: even made the body parts to fit together, and they
Speaker 2: have a purpose in fitting together. One man and one
Speaker 2: moment for life. That's God's intended design. He said, for Rick,
Speaker 2: what about all the polygamy in the Bible. I mean
Speaker 2: there were guys in the Bible had multiple wives. Listen
Speaker 2: very closely to me. I talked about this in forty
Speaker 2: days in the word Bible interpretation. Not everything the Bible
Speaker 2: reports the Bible approves. Not everything reported in the Bible
Speaker 2: is affirmed in the Bible by God. If you take
Speaker 2: this book and you say, Holy Bible, it's amazing.
Speaker 3: It's called holy.
Speaker 2: It's harder to find a book that's got more violence,
Speaker 2: more incest, rape, molestation, murder, jealousy, greed, violence. Why do
Speaker 2: we call it the Holy Bible? Because this one tells
Speaker 2: the truth. If this were a human book, it wouldn't
Speaker 2: tell all the worts and flaws of the heroes. It
Speaker 2: just give biographies about all their good things, they did
Speaker 2: their great exploits. But the Bible, when it talks about
Speaker 2: Abraham and Moses and Davy, it tells us all their weakness. Says, well,
Speaker 2: you know what, they blew it just as much as
Speaker 2: we do. They make as many mistakes, their families were
Speaker 2: as messed up as ours are, and they had as
Speaker 2: many problems and addictions as everybody else.
Speaker 3: It tells the truth.
Speaker 2: The Bible gives examples that there's example of scripture where
Speaker 2: people had slaves, and yet the Bible is clearly against slavery,
Speaker 2: well all the way back in the very first books
Speaker 2: of the Bible. And then Jesus repeated them and says,
Speaker 2: I came to abolish, to eliminate slavery, to release your breast.
Speaker 2: And so just because you read something in the Bible
Speaker 2: of violence or some sexual deviation or something else, doesn't
Speaker 2: mean the.
Speaker 3: Bible approves it.
Speaker 2: It's just reporting the brokenness of humanity. Now here's what
Speaker 2: God says about marriage, Matthew nineteen. Jesus said, from the beginning,
Speaker 2: in other words, from the very beginning of creation, the Creator.
Speaker 3: Made male and female.
Speaker 2: This is the reason a man is to leave his
Speaker 2: father and mother and be united to his wife, and
Speaker 2: the two become one flesh, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and they
Speaker 2: are no.
Speaker 3: Longer two but one.
Speaker 2: And therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope Rip will be
Speaker 1: back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson.
Speaker 1: You cann enough for Pastor Rick's free email devotional at
Speaker 1: pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: The Bible says children are a gift from the Lord.
Speaker 4: Do you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or kids in
Speaker 4: your neighborhood that need to know God loves them and
Speaker 4: has a good plan for their lives. You can help
Speaker 4: them get closer to God by encouraging them to read
Speaker 4: His word. That's why we're so excited to tell you
Speaker 4: about a very special resource just for kids called God's
Speaker 4: Big Plans for Me. It's a storybook Bible by Pastor
Speaker 4: Rick Warren. This two hundred and twenty three page hardcover
Speaker 4: children's book includes forty well loved Bible stories to help
Speaker 4: kids engage with God's word. Each Bible story has an
Speaker 4: introduction from Pastor Rick that helps young readers understand the
Speaker 4: Word of God and has a closing thought. With a
Speaker 4: practical step, boys and girls can take to discover God's
Speaker 4: Big Plans for them. Their eyes will light up as
Speaker 4: they turn the beautifully illustrated pages and really start to
Speaker 4: get what God wants to say to their young hearts
Speaker 4: and minds. God's Big Plans for Me is so much
Speaker 4: more than just a book filled with cute pictures of
Speaker 4: Bible characters. It's a fun and effective way to introduce
Speaker 4: children to God's everlasting truth. This book makes a great gift.
Speaker 4: You'll want to get a copy for every child in
Speaker 4: your life. And today, when you give a gift to
Speaker 4: help Pastor Rick's Daily Hope take the certain hope of
Speaker 4: Jesus Christ around the world, We'll send you a copy
Speaker 4: of God's Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible to say thanks.
Speaker 4: To get your copy of this great resource, just call
Speaker 4: eight hundred six hundred five zero zero four or go
Speaker 4: to Pastorrick dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred
Speaker 4: six hundred five zero zero four or Pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: Thanks in advance for your support. Your gift to Daily
Speaker 4: Hope helps us share the hope of Christ with people
Speaker 4: around the world. There's only three days left to get
Speaker 4: God's big plans for me. Storybook Bible. So don't wait.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once again. Here's
Speaker 1: Pastor Rick Warren.
Speaker 2: Jesus said, from the beginning, in other words, from the
Speaker 2: very beginning of creation, the Creator made male and female.
Speaker 2: This is the reason a man is to leave his
Speaker 2: father and mother and be united to his wife, and
Speaker 2: the two become one flesh physically, spiritually, emotionally, and they
Speaker 2: are no longer two but one. And therefore what God
Speaker 2: has joined together, let no one separate. You know, there
Speaker 2: are many issues in life where people of goodwill can disagree.
Speaker 2: There's no healthcare plan in the Bible, so people of
Speaker 2: Christians can disagree on that. There's no defense plan in
Speaker 2: the Bible. So Christians can disagree on that, there's no
Speaker 2: economic recovery plan in the Bible. So Christians can disagree
Speaker 2: on this. But on the sanctity of life, and the
Speaker 2: sanctity of marriage and the sanctity of sex, these are
Speaker 2: non negotiable. If you call yourself a Christian, you need
Speaker 2: to line up with what God says is the original
Speaker 2: intent of all three of these things. And you not
Speaker 2: only need that, you need to have the courage to
Speaker 2: stand for it. These are clear and they're non negotiable.
Speaker 2: You say, who says, God says, not me. God says. Now,
Speaker 2: let's close, and let me give you some up. How
Speaker 2: to live with courage? How do I live with uncommon courage?
Speaker 2: There are two things you need to do to live
Speaker 2: with uncommon courage.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: Number one, I need to accept God's word as my authority.
Speaker 2: I need to accept God's word as my authority. Why
Speaker 2: because it's the only source that will never lie to you.
Speaker 2: It will always tell you the truth, even when I
Speaker 2: don't like it. It tells me the truth. The truth
Speaker 2: will set you free. It makes you miserable, but it
Speaker 2: eventually makes such free. I mean, I don't I mean,
Speaker 2: as somebodys I rick, you're stuck up. I don't want
Speaker 2: to hear that. But if I need to be humble,
Speaker 2: I need to hear somebody say you're stuck up first. Okay,
Speaker 2: So first the truth makes you miserable, then it sets
Speaker 2: you free. Okay, some of you are miserable right.
Speaker 3: Now, just admit it. Okay, all right, here's the point.
Speaker 2: If you're gonna have courage in life, you're gonna be
Speaker 2: a person of courage, a woman of courage. You're gonna
Speaker 2: be a man of courage. You need to build your
Speaker 2: life on a rock that never changes. If you build
Speaker 2: your life on the opinions of others, on popular opinion,
Speaker 2: you're gonna frequently have the ground pulled from underneath you.
Speaker 2: That gives you no stability and no courage. But if
Speaker 2: you build your life on God said it, I believe it.
Speaker 2: That settles it. Then you're going to build your life
Speaker 2: on the word of God. God said it, I believe it,
Speaker 2: whether I understand it or not. Hebrews six, verse eighteen.
Speaker 2: God has given us both his promise and his oath,
Speaker 2: and God says, I'm keeping my oath. And these two
Speaker 2: things are unchangeable. See truth never changes. These two things
Speaker 2: are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.
Speaker 2: God will never lie to you. That's why you need
Speaker 2: to hear what he says about marriage and sex and
Speaker 2: these other things. Therefore, we who have fled to Him
Speaker 2: for refuge can take new courage. Circle the word courage,
Speaker 2: for we can hold onto his promise with confidence. Where
Speaker 2: do I get courage by building my life on truth
Speaker 2: that doesn't change again. You will build your life either
Speaker 2: on the world or the word. You're going to build
Speaker 2: your life on what the world says, what's popular, what's
Speaker 2: politically correct, or you're going to build your life on
Speaker 2: the word. Now a lot of things. When you say
Speaker 2: stuff it's unpopular, you say reck. Why do you say
Speaker 2: stuff that's unpopular? Because I fear God's disapproval.
Speaker 3: More than yours.
Speaker 2: I only got to live with you for sixty eighty years,
Speaker 2: but I'm going to be an eternity for heaven, and
Speaker 2: I don't want to be ashamed and embarrassed that I
Speaker 2: whimped out and I denied Christ. I have been in
Speaker 2: the hot seat more than any of you, I'm sure
Speaker 2: on a public level, because as I'm on these interview
Speaker 2: things like Larry King and The Today Show and Good
Speaker 2: Morning America and Oprah Winfrey, and they'll ask me questions
Speaker 2: about these controversial issues.
Speaker 3: I want to be like you.
Speaker 2: I wanted people to like me, and every bone in
Speaker 2: my body wants to compromise and not say the truth.
Speaker 2: But I fear God's disapproval more than I do public disapproval.
Speaker 2: So I'm gonna tell the truth. Second thing, you're gonna
Speaker 2: like this one. How do I develop more courage? Spend
Speaker 2: personal time with Jesus. The more time you spend with Jesus,
Speaker 2: the less you're gonna be intimidated by the opinions of others.
Speaker 2: And the more time you spend with Jesus, the less
Speaker 2: other people's disagreements are gonna matter to you. Acts four thirteen.
Speaker 2: When they saw the courage of Peter and John, these
Speaker 2: were uncommonly courageous men. This is the city council that said,
Speaker 2: we're gonna kill you, We're gonna threaten you, We're gonna
Speaker 2: put you in jail if you keep talking about Jesus.
Speaker 2: When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and
Speaker 2: they could see that they were unschooled, ordinary men. That
Speaker 2: none of the disciples had advanced degrees. They didn't have PhDs,
Speaker 2: they didn't have college high school, they didn't have grade
Speaker 2: school degrees.
Speaker 3: These were just common fishermen.
Speaker 2: They said, how can these people who are uneducated but
Speaker 2: they have such enormous courage, It says they were astonished,
Speaker 2: and they took note that these men had been with Jesus,
Speaker 2: circle that ben with Jesus. The more time you spend
Speaker 2: with Jesus, the more courage you're gonna have. And when
Speaker 2: you spend time with Jesus, you pray and you talk
Speaker 2: to him. And in Acts four thirty one, after they
Speaker 2: had prayed, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and
Speaker 2: they spoke God's word without fear. I love it, they amplified, says,
Speaker 2: they spoke God's word with freedom and boldness and courage. Now,
Speaker 2: what I've talked to you about this weekend isn't easy.
Speaker 2: Standing courageously in an unpopular opinion is not easy to do.
Speaker 3: But the rewards of it are enormous.
Speaker 2: The rewards of standing courageously for the truth will last
Speaker 2: forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and
Speaker 2: ever and ever, and not millions, but trillions of years.
Speaker 2: The last verse on your outline says this, do not
Speaker 2: lose your courage, because it brings a great reward. That
Speaker 2: reward is far greater than any disapproval you might have
Speaker 2: to put up with. Let's bow our heads, Father. I
Speaker 2: look out on our church family, and I see people
Speaker 2: that I love, and I want them to be uncommonly courageous.
Speaker 2: I want them to be people of the Word, not
Speaker 2: people of the world who've built their lives on truth,
Speaker 2: not on popular opinion. Now you pray God. I want
Speaker 2: to be a person of courage. I want to be
Speaker 2: a man of courage. I want to be a woman
Speaker 2: of courage. I don't want to back down, wimp out.
Speaker 2: I don't want to deny you. I don't want other
Speaker 2: people to control what I say or think. And I
Speaker 2: want to build my life on a biblical God's worldview truth.
Speaker 2: So I make these two commitments today. First, Jesus Christ,
Speaker 2: I accept your word as my authority. If you say it,
Speaker 2: I believe it. That settles it, whether I understand it
Speaker 2: or not. And you will be my number one authority,
Speaker 2: your word. And Second, Lord, I want to spend time
Speaker 2: with you every day. I want to get to know
Speaker 2: you Jesus on a personal basis. I want to be
Speaker 2: able to walk into a store or into a business
Speaker 2: and be so full of joy and so full of
Speaker 2: confidence that people go that guy's been with Jesus. I
Speaker 2: want people to notice it in my countenance, in my face,
Speaker 2: in my life. Not that I'm super educated, not that
Speaker 2: I'm I'm super wealthy, not that I'm super beautiful. I
Speaker 2: want them to notice God, I've been with Jesus that
Speaker 2: I have been with you. I ask you to help
Speaker 2: me to be fearless for the truth. In your name,
Speaker 2: I pray Amen.
Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We're so happy that
Speaker 1: you've chosen to study along with us today. Now, if
Speaker 1: you'd like to receive ricks free daily devotional, go to
Speaker 1: Pastorrick dot com and sign up right now. Rick will
Speaker 1: be back to close out our time today. But first,
Speaker 1: the Bible says children are a gift from the Lord.
Speaker 3: Do you have.
Speaker 1: Kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or kids in your neighborhood that
Speaker 1: need to know God loves them and has a good
Speaker 1: plan for their lives. You can help them get closer
Speaker 1: to God by encouraging them to read God's Word. That's
Speaker 1: why we're so excited to tell you about a very
Speaker 1: special resource just for kids called God's Big Plans for Me.
Speaker 1: It's a storybook Bible by Pastor Rick Warren. Here's Pastor
Speaker 1: Rick to tell you more.
Speaker 2: In Matthew nineteen fourteen, Jesus said, let the little children
Speaker 2: come to me, and do not hinder them, For the
Speaker 2: Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. How do
Speaker 2: we bring children to Jesus?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 2: The best way is to read the Bible with them.
Speaker 2: You know, when my kids were growing up, I could
Speaker 2: always see their excitement about Jesus grow every time we
Speaker 2: read stories from the Bible together. Now I see that
Speaker 2: same excitement when I read the Bible with my grandchildren.
Speaker 2: I love teaching them at such an early age that
Speaker 2: God created them for a purpose, that they are not
Speaker 2: an accident, that they matter to God, and that He
Speaker 2: has a special plan for their lives. So I'm excited
Speaker 2: to tell you that I've teamed up with a very
Speaker 2: gifted children's illustrator to prepare an new Bible for children.
Speaker 2: It's called God's Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible. Your
Speaker 2: kids will learn from God's word in ways that are
Speaker 2: easy to understand, and long after they learn to read
Speaker 2: on their own, this Storybook Bible is going to keep
Speaker 2: on encouraging them to trust in God's promises. The God's
Speaker 2: Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible contains forty well loved
Speaker 2: Bible stories that will help your kids learn how to
Speaker 2: apply God's Word to their lives. Each story is beautifully illustrated,
Speaker 2: it's incredible, and includes an introduction from Me that encourages
Speaker 2: them to discover God's great purpose for them. It's fun,
Speaker 2: it's effective, it's entertaining, it's challenging, it's captivating. It's a
Speaker 2: great way to introduce children to God's eternal truths. Now,
Speaker 2: I'll send you this Bible for Children, God's Big Plans
Speaker 2: for Me Storybook Bible, just as a way of saying thanks.
Speaker 2: When you give a gift today, hope today we depend
Speaker 2: on your gifts. I want you to have this as
Speaker 2: my thank you gift to you. I hope you'll get
Speaker 2: a copy for all the children in your life, your kids,
Speaker 2: your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, even children you know in your neighborhood.
Speaker 2: They'll all love this. We've had nothing but one hundred
Speaker 2: percent great feedback from people who have seen the God's
Speaker 2: Big Plans for Me Storybook Bible.
Speaker 1: To get your copy of this great resource, just call
Speaker 1: eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four or go
Speaker 1: to Pastorick dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred,
Speaker 1: six hundred five thousand and four or pastorick dot com.
Speaker 1: There's only three days left to get God's Big Plans
Speaker 1: for Me Storybook Bible, so don't wait. 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.