WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible

2
00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.560
<v Speaker 1>teaching ministry of Rick Warren. You know, with Thanksgiving just

3
00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:12.960
<v Speaker 1>around the corner, we're pausing our current series to bring

4
00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.079
<v Speaker 1>you a special message from Pastor Rick, one that will

5
00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:19.359
<v Speaker 1>help you reflect on God's goodness and grow a heart

6
00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.000
<v Speaker 1>of gratitude. Now, let's jump right in with part one

7
00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:27.320
<v Speaker 1>of a powerful message called being thankful even in bad times.

8
00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.120
<v Speaker 2>Thanksgiving is not an easy holiday for a lot of people.

9
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.920
<v Speaker 2>Anybody in pain has a hard time being grateful. How

10
00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.200
<v Speaker 2>do you be thankful of Thanksgiving if the doctor just

11
00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:45.479
<v Speaker 2>told you it's cancer. How do you be thankful of

12
00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:48.359
<v Speaker 2>Thanksgiving if the person you love the most just walked

13
00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:50.640
<v Speaker 2>in and said, I don't love you anymore and I'm

14
00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:56.359
<v Speaker 2>leaving you for somebody else. How do you be thankful

15
00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:58.960
<v Speaker 2>when you have a chronic illness that just isn't getting

16
00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:03.799
<v Speaker 2>any better. How do you be thankful this Thanksgiving when

17
00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.640
<v Speaker 2>you've been laid off and you've gone to fourteen job

18
00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:11.000
<v Speaker 2>interviews and they've all turned you down. How to be

19
00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.680
<v Speaker 2>thankful when your dream has collapsed, or when an economic

20
00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:18.760
<v Speaker 2>tsunami has wiped out everything you've earned in your lifetime.

21
00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:27.799
<v Speaker 2>How to be thankful when your son commits suicide? Twenty

22
00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.680
<v Speaker 2>thirteen was the worst year of my life. How am

23
00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:36.840
<v Speaker 2>I supposed to be thankful at Thanksgiving? And yet the

24
00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:42.239
<v Speaker 2>Bible tells us to always be thankful? And one Thessalonians

25
00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:45.439
<v Speaker 2>five eighteen, the first verse on your outlined. It says this,

26
00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:53.840
<v Speaker 2>give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will

27
00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:57.400
<v Speaker 2>for you in Christ Jesus. You want to know God's

28
00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:59.359
<v Speaker 2>will for your life. Part of God's will is that

29
00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:04.959
<v Speaker 2>you give that in all circumstances. Now, the key to

30
00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:10.000
<v Speaker 2>this verse is the little word in, I am grateful

31
00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:15.159
<v Speaker 2>that it doesn't say give thanks for all circumstances. It says,

32
00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.840
<v Speaker 2>give thanks in all circumstances. The difference between the word

33
00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:23.680
<v Speaker 2>in and the word for is the difference between maturity

34
00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:29.639
<v Speaker 2>and masochism. God doesn't expect you to be grateful for

35
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.400
<v Speaker 2>everything in your life because there's a lot of bad

36
00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.199
<v Speaker 2>in your life. There's a lot of bad, there's a

37
00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.000
<v Speaker 2>lot of evil, there's a lot of sin in the world.

38
00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.319
<v Speaker 2>And it would be stupid, it would be masochistic to

39
00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.120
<v Speaker 2>be grateful for sin and the suffering it causes. I'm

40
00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:46.800
<v Speaker 2>not grateful when somebody gets leukemia or loupus. I'm not

41
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.879
<v Speaker 2>grateful when a woman is raped or a child is molested.

42
00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm not grateful when there are wars. I'm not grateful

43
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:59.719
<v Speaker 2>when there's racial profying and people are prejudiced and bigoted.

44
00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:04.439
<v Speaker 2>Again it's because of their race. I'm not grateful when

45
00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:06.599
<v Speaker 2>there's injustice in the world. In fact, the Bible says,

46
00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:08.879
<v Speaker 2>there's some things you ought to get mad about. You

47
00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.960
<v Speaker 2>gotta get anger is often an evidence of love. Somebody

48
00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:15.080
<v Speaker 2>hurt my kids or grandkids, I get angry. That's an

49
00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:19.639
<v Speaker 2>evidence of love. God gets angry when he sees evil

50
00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:23.280
<v Speaker 2>in the world. So the Bible doesn't say be thankful

51
00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:27.719
<v Speaker 2>for everything. That would make God a tyrant. But the

52
00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:32.599
<v Speaker 2>Bible says, in everything, give thanks. Why Because even in

53
00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:36.639
<v Speaker 2>the darkest times, in the worst periods of desperation, even

54
00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:41.520
<v Speaker 2>when my life is totally falling apart, there's always some

55
00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.759
<v Speaker 2>good things that I can thank God for. No matter

56
00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.400
<v Speaker 2>how good things are in your life, there's some bad

57
00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.680
<v Speaker 2>things you need to be working on. And no matter

58
00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.800
<v Speaker 2>how bad things are in your life, there are some

59
00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:55.680
<v Speaker 2>good things and some blessings you can be grateful for.

60
00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.840
<v Speaker 2>So how do I be grateful when I don't feel

61
00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:04.000
<v Speaker 2>like how do I be thankful even in bad times?

62
00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:06.400
<v Speaker 2>Will you look at the things that you can always

63
00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:10.759
<v Speaker 2>be thankful for? And the Bible gives us five things

64
00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:14.240
<v Speaker 2>you can always be grateful for. I don't know what

65
00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.040
<v Speaker 2>you're going through right now as we go into the

66
00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:20.160
<v Speaker 2>Thanksgiving holiday, but I do know that these are five

67
00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.399
<v Speaker 2>things you can always be grateful for. So one of

68
00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.319
<v Speaker 2>the things I can always thank God for, well, let's

69
00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:28.360
<v Speaker 2>get right into it. Number one. The Bible says, I

70
00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:32.480
<v Speaker 2>can always be thankful for the grace God shows me.

71
00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.079
<v Speaker 2>I can be thankful for the grace that God shows

72
00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:41.399
<v Speaker 2>to me. Now, what is grace. Grace is when God

73
00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:45.000
<v Speaker 2>gives me what I need, not what I deserve. Grace

74
00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.959
<v Speaker 2>is when God gives me what I don't deserve. Everything

75
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.920
<v Speaker 2>in your life is a gift of God's grace. The

76
00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:54.519
<v Speaker 2>air you're breathing right now is a gift of God's grace.

77
00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.399
<v Speaker 2>You didn't own it, you didn't buy it, you don't

78
00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.600
<v Speaker 2>deserve it. The next beat of your heart is a

79
00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:02.240
<v Speaker 2>gift of God's grace. The Bible says, every good and

80
00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.160
<v Speaker 2>perfect gift, everything in your life you owe to God,

81
00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:09.600
<v Speaker 2>even your own life. He gave you your mind, he

82
00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:12.319
<v Speaker 2>gave you your sight, he gave you your hearing, he

83
00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:15.720
<v Speaker 2>gave you your voice. Everything in your life is a

84
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.240
<v Speaker 2>gift of God. And if God hadn't decided to create

85
00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.879
<v Speaker 2>you to love you, then you wouldn't exist. So it's

86
00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:26.000
<v Speaker 2>all by God's grace. Now, the Bible says in Ephesians

87
00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.839
<v Speaker 2>two eight, you have been saved by grace through believing.

88
00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.560
<v Speaker 2>You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God.

89
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.399
<v Speaker 2>I can't earn my way to heaven. I can't work

90
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.120
<v Speaker 2>my way to heaven. I can't buy my way into heaven.

91
00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:41.680
<v Speaker 2>I can't bargain my way into heaven. It is just

92
00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:45.040
<v Speaker 2>a flat out gift of God's grace. He says, you

93
00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:49.560
<v Speaker 2>earn it, No, you receive it. It is a gift.

94
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:52.639
<v Speaker 2>Salvation is a gift you receive, and the only thing

95
00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.920
<v Speaker 2>you have to do is believe. You have to believe

96
00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.839
<v Speaker 2>that Jesus Christ came and died for your sins paid

97
00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:03.680
<v Speaker 2>for your ticket to heaven. That's it. You didn't do anything.

98
00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:05.839
<v Speaker 2>It was all done by Jesus. And on the cross,

99
00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.079
<v Speaker 2>he cries out, it is finished. In other words, I

100
00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:12.360
<v Speaker 2>have paid for your salvation. It's all a gift. In

101
00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:16.319
<v Speaker 2>some one O three David gives us a list of

102
00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.839
<v Speaker 2>the gifts of God's grace. These are things we can

103
00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.639
<v Speaker 2>be thankful for. I will not forget the glorious things

104
00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:24.959
<v Speaker 2>God does for me, in other words, the gracious gifts

105
00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.879
<v Speaker 2>of God. He forgives all my sins by grace. He

106
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.759
<v Speaker 2>heals me by grace. He ransoms me from hell by

107
00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.800
<v Speaker 2>his grace. He surrounds me with his love. He fills

108
00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:39.399
<v Speaker 2>my life with good things by his grace. He's merciful

109
00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.079
<v Speaker 2>and tender towards those who don't deserve it. That means me.

110
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.560
<v Speaker 2>He's slow to get angry. He never bears a grudge man,

111
00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:51.480
<v Speaker 2>I like that one. He never bears a grudge by grace.

112
00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:55.519
<v Speaker 2>He has not punished us as we deserve for our sins.

113
00:06:55.839 --> 00:07:00.639
<v Speaker 2>If I got what I deserved in life against God,

114
00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:03.079
<v Speaker 2>my trying to be God, my playing God, my thing,

115
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:07.319
<v Speaker 2>I don't need God, I wouldn't even exist. I can

116
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:11.319
<v Speaker 2>always be thankful for grace, the grace that God shows

117
00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.480
<v Speaker 2>me every single second of my life. I don't deserve anything.

118
00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:18.399
<v Speaker 2>God gave me this next second of my life, and

119
00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:19.920
<v Speaker 2>if He didn't want me to have it, I wouldn't

120
00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:22.160
<v Speaker 2>have it. So I'm grateful for the grace that God

121
00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:24.800
<v Speaker 2>shows me every moment of my life. Number two, I

122
00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.879
<v Speaker 2>can always be thankful for the plans God has for me,

123
00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:33.199
<v Speaker 2>the grace He shows to me, and the plans He

124
00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:39.079
<v Speaker 2>has for me, because God has good plans for your life. Now,

125
00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:42.519
<v Speaker 2>it's very obvious that life is not always good. A

126
00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:46.439
<v Speaker 2>lot of things that happen in life are bad. They're painful,

127
00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:51.199
<v Speaker 2>they're difficult. Life is tough. Life is not all sunshine

128
00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.800
<v Speaker 2>and lollipops and roses and rainbows and my little ponies

129
00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:03.720
<v Speaker 2>and rainbow bright. And although life is not always good,

130
00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.199
<v Speaker 2>God is always good, and God's plan for your life

131
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:13.399
<v Speaker 2>is always good. They said, well, not everything that happens

132
00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.439
<v Speaker 2>in my life feels good. Well, not everything that happens

133
00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:20.879
<v Speaker 2>in your life God planned. Don't blame God for your mistakes.

134
00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.639
<v Speaker 2>Don't blame God for your choices. When we say that

135
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:26.360
<v Speaker 2>God has a plan for your life, that doesn't mean

136
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:33.000
<v Speaker 2>that you're in it. If you could be out of

137
00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:36.679
<v Speaker 2>God's plan your entire life, you have to choose to

138
00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.279
<v Speaker 2>be in God's plan for your life. God says, there

139
00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:41.399
<v Speaker 2>are many ways that seem right into a man but

140
00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.440
<v Speaker 2>the ends there life in the way of death. There's

141
00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:48.679
<v Speaker 2>one road. You've got to choose. God's plan. The Bible

142
00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:54.399
<v Speaker 2>says this. I have good plans for you, says the Lord.

143
00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.320
<v Speaker 2>Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven. I circle the word good.

144
00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:01.919
<v Speaker 2>I have good plans for you, say the Lord. I

145
00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.679
<v Speaker 2>don't plan to hurt you. I plan to give you

146
00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.840
<v Speaker 2>hope and a good future. Some people believe they worship

147
00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:13.759
<v Speaker 2>a God who causes all their suffering. I worship a

148
00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.000
<v Speaker 2>God who bears all my suffering Isaiah fifty three and

149
00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:21.159
<v Speaker 2>Isaiah fifty six. And he was bruised for our transgressions.

150
00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:25.200
<v Speaker 2>He was wounded for our iniquities. The chastisement of our

151
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.440
<v Speaker 2>sins was laid upon him. Jesus Christ on the cross

152
00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.080
<v Speaker 2>took my suffering, took my death. We have a God

153
00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.559
<v Speaker 2>who doesn't watch our suffering callously. We have a God

154
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.320
<v Speaker 2>who suffers with us, and not only that takes our

155
00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:42.600
<v Speaker 2>suffering on himself dies in our place. That's the plan

156
00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:46.960
<v Speaker 2>of God. Now, as I said, God doesn't plan, God's

157
00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.840
<v Speaker 2>plan does not. God doesn't plan the sins, either the

158
00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:54.639
<v Speaker 2>ones you do or the ones other people do and

159
00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.080
<v Speaker 2>hurt you, and you get hurt, you know, innocently because

160
00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.919
<v Speaker 2>of other people's sins. God didn't plan those. But God's plan, says,

161
00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.440
<v Speaker 2>my plan is bigger. And since God already knows every

162
00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:08.639
<v Speaker 2>stupid mistake I'm gonna make and you're gonna make in life,

163
00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.679
<v Speaker 2>He goes, I can fit that into the plan. And

164
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.639
<v Speaker 2>God already knows how other people are gonna hurt you

165
00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.320
<v Speaker 2>and sin against you. And God goes, that's not good.

166
00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.159
<v Speaker 2>But I can fit that into the plan. I can

167
00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.440
<v Speaker 2>use that, and I can use that, and I can

168
00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:25.919
<v Speaker 2>use that, and I can use that. God has no

169
00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:30.360
<v Speaker 2>plan B for your life. That's something I'm gonna be

170
00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:35.039
<v Speaker 2>thankful for. I'm not on plan eed FG or H.

171
00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:37.840
<v Speaker 2>God says, yeah, you know all this stuff. I didn't

172
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.919
<v Speaker 2>want this for you. It wasn't part of my plan.

173
00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.559
<v Speaker 2>But because you walked off and did your thing, that happened.

174
00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.240
<v Speaker 2>But you know what, I can fit that into the

175
00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.480
<v Speaker 2>plan for your life. That's something that we can be

176
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.759
<v Speaker 2>grateful for. That's something we can we can expect God

177
00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:56.919
<v Speaker 2>to use in our lives. Let me compare your life

178
00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:01.799
<v Speaker 2>to a cruise line. Let's say we got on a cruise,

179
00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.240
<v Speaker 2>you and I and you and me, and we got

180
00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.480
<v Speaker 2>on the cruise and we go from La to say Tokyo.

181
00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:12.519
<v Speaker 2>Now that cruise ship is headed toward Tokyo. But while

182
00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:14.759
<v Speaker 2>we're on that cruise ship, like in your life, you

183
00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.360
<v Speaker 2>have a lot of free choices. You have a free will.

184
00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:22.039
<v Speaker 2>It's just not completely free. You have limited free will. So,

185
00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:25.799
<v Speaker 2>for instance, on that cruise line, you could eat all

186
00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:31.039
<v Speaker 2>seven buffets. I would advise it, but you could and

187
00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:33.679
<v Speaker 2>stay up for the midnight buffet and all of that too.

188
00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.039
<v Speaker 2>You could go play shuffle board. I don't know why

189
00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:40.320
<v Speaker 2>anybody would want to, but you could. You could go dancing,

190
00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:45.399
<v Speaker 2>You could play some slot machines. Most likely, you could

191
00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:49.399
<v Speaker 2>sleep the whole time. You could a lot of things

192
00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:51.720
<v Speaker 2>you could do on a cruise ship. But no matter

193
00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.919
<v Speaker 2>what you do on that ship, it's going to Tokyo

194
00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.320
<v Speaker 2>and nothing's gonna change it. And it is the CAP's

195
00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:04.360
<v Speaker 2>job to get it to Tokyo, not your job. God

196
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.279
<v Speaker 2>has a plan for your life, and once you put

197
00:12:06.279 --> 00:12:08.279
<v Speaker 2>your hand in Christ's hands, he says, I'm gonna get

198
00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:12.279
<v Speaker 2>you to heaven. Whether you realize it or not, it's

199
00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:15.240
<v Speaker 2>not in your hands anymore. And there are times you

200
00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.320
<v Speaker 2>may want to let go of God's hands. But God's

201
00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:19.720
<v Speaker 2>not gonna let go of yours because you put your

202
00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:22.600
<v Speaker 2>hand in his by putting your faith in Christ. And

203
00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.480
<v Speaker 2>like the captain's job to get us to Tokyo, it's

204
00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.279
<v Speaker 2>God's job to get you to heaven. It doesn't depend

205
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.159
<v Speaker 2>on you. Can you be grateful for that? Oh baby,

206
00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:35.720
<v Speaker 2>oh baby, Yeah, yeah you can, because it doesn't depend

207
00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.000
<v Speaker 2>on me to keep myself saved. If I worked to

208
00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:42.559
<v Speaker 2>earn my salvation, then anytime I stopped working, the salvation

209
00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.639
<v Speaker 2>would stop working. But I don't earn my salvation. It

210
00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.200
<v Speaker 2>is the gift of God's grace. And I put my

211
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:52.120
<v Speaker 2>hand in his and I accept it through Christ, and

212
00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.159
<v Speaker 2>then He's gonna hold on for the rest of the

213
00:12:54.320 --> 00:13:00.000
<v Speaker 2>cruise line. So God says, I'm gonna use it all.

214
00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:05.279
<v Speaker 2>I can use the plans that God has for you. Now,

215
00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:09.480
<v Speaker 2>sometimes we doubt God's plan. Ca and I decided to

216
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:14.720
<v Speaker 2>do one television broadcast interview on Matthew's death, and I

217
00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:17.440
<v Speaker 2>chose CNN because I knew CNN the scene all around

218
00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:21.080
<v Speaker 2>the world, unlike a lot of other networks. And one

219
00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.240
<v Speaker 2>of the parts of that one hour interview, Piers Morgan

220
00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.159
<v Speaker 2>asked both Ky and me, did we ever doubt God

221
00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.799
<v Speaker 2>and did we ever doubt his plan? And I want

222
00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:36.679
<v Speaker 2>you to hear our response when Matthew died, Satan thought

223
00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:41.679
<v Speaker 2>he had won, but actually he had lost. Why because

224
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:43.320
<v Speaker 2>he couldn't torture him anymore.

225
00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:48.039
<v Speaker 3>Pastor Rick's first summon off his son Matthew's tragic suicide.

226
00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:49.879
<v Speaker 3>Rick and his wife Kay am back with me. Now,

227
00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.519
<v Speaker 3>you oversely have talked about how difficult it was. At

228
00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:56.759
<v Speaker 3>the same time, you're one of the most famous pastors

229
00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.600
<v Speaker 3>in America, and you knew it to have to be

230
00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:01.399
<v Speaker 3>a moment when he got back out there and talked

231
00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.080
<v Speaker 3>about this. What was that moment? Like, I know you

232
00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:07.240
<v Speaker 3>both went out on the stage. Kay, you only lost

233
00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:09.279
<v Speaker 3>a couple of minutes because you found it scient difficult,

234
00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.720
<v Speaker 3>which is completely understandable. But for you rate that moment

235
00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.480
<v Speaker 3>when he walked.

236
00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:21.320
<v Speaker 2>Out, I was overwhelmed by the love of our people.

237
00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.639
<v Speaker 2>Can I have given thirty three years to this church

238
00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:29.639
<v Speaker 2>and I feel like they all gave it back in

239
00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:33.840
<v Speaker 2>a moment. It was just a very tender moment for me.

240
00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:39.559
<v Speaker 2>As a pastor. I have walked through the valley of

241
00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:43.320
<v Speaker 2>the Shadow depth with thousands of people. I have walked,

242
00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.919
<v Speaker 2>I've stood at the bedsides and seen lots of people

243
00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.919
<v Speaker 2>take their last breath. I have been there for those

244
00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.559
<v Speaker 2>people for thirty three years, and they were there for

245
00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:58.279
<v Speaker 2>us when we needed it most. There are different levels

246
00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.320
<v Speaker 2>of grief. The easiest funeral to do is when an

247
00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:05.679
<v Speaker 2>elderly person dies. They've lived a good life, they loved

248
00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:07.279
<v Speaker 2>the Lord. They're ready to go to heaven. When my

249
00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.320
<v Speaker 2>parents died, case bad died, it was kind of a homecoming,

250
00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.679
<v Speaker 2>celebration of a life. More difficult is the death of

251
00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:16.799
<v Speaker 2>a spouse. More difficult than that is the death of

252
00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:22.759
<v Speaker 2>a spouse with little children at home. That's tough. A

253
00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:27.759
<v Speaker 2>murder is a tough funeral to do, without a doubt.

254
00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.240
<v Speaker 2>The most difficult kind of funeral is the death of

255
00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.120
<v Speaker 2>a child, because parents aren't supposed to outlast their children.

256
00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:37.639
<v Speaker 2>And then on top of that is a suicide. Why

257
00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.120
<v Speaker 2>now I'm doing the death of a child funeral, the

258
00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.000
<v Speaker 2>death of my child's funeral. The death of my child's

259
00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.639
<v Speaker 2>funeral is a suicide. And then, as you said, as

260
00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:52.440
<v Speaker 2>a well known person, everybody knows it's on the CNN

261
00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:57.559
<v Speaker 2>ticker and it's on everywhere else, and that's difficult. And

262
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.240
<v Speaker 2>that's why we just decided. I decided I was going

263
00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:02.799
<v Speaker 2>to use social media to grieve.

264
00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:08.360
<v Speaker 3>This is the tough question for you, right, there must

265
00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.720
<v Speaker 3>have been a moment after Matthew took his life when

266
00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:15.120
<v Speaker 3>even you questioned your faith in God.

267
00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:20.480
<v Speaker 2>I never questioned my faith in God. I questioned God's plan.

268
00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:24.679
<v Speaker 2>There's a big difference. I know God is a good God.

269
00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.519
<v Speaker 2>Nothing can shake that from my life. I know God

270
00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:31.759
<v Speaker 2>is a loving God. The question is, it's like my children.

271
00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:34.480
<v Speaker 2>My children have never doubted that I love them, but

272
00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:37.600
<v Speaker 2>they sometimes doubt my wisdom and they don't think I've

273
00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:42.120
<v Speaker 2>made the right decision. Not Everything that happens in the

274
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:44.840
<v Speaker 2>world is God's will. Everything that happens in the world

275
00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:50.320
<v Speaker 2>God allows, He permits, but because it couldn't happen without

276
00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.639
<v Speaker 2>his permission. But we live in a world where there

277
00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:54.720
<v Speaker 2>are free choices, and if I choose to do wrong,

278
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.600
<v Speaker 2>I can't blame God for that. So God isn't to

279
00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.879
<v Speaker 2>blame for my son's death. My son his life. It

280
00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.200
<v Speaker 2>was his choice. And if I chose to go out

281
00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:05.480
<v Speaker 2>and get drunk and get in a car and I

282
00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:07.759
<v Speaker 2>was in an accident killed somebody, I can't blame God

283
00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:07.960
<v Speaker 2>for that.

284
00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.559
<v Speaker 3>Kay have you gone through any doubt about your faith.

285
00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.759
<v Speaker 4>You know, as Rick said, it's not Our faith is

286
00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:18.400
<v Speaker 4>probably what's got is the foundation what's gotten us through,

287
00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:20.279
<v Speaker 4>and it's solid and strong. But I have to tell

288
00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:23.359
<v Speaker 4>you that, you know, before I have something I want

289
00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:27.240
<v Speaker 4>to show you. There's this this box that that I

290
00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:29.759
<v Speaker 4>that I was given to me a few years ago,

291
00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.599
<v Speaker 4>and and I it's got the word it's a it's

292
00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:35.400
<v Speaker 4>a marble box, and it's got the word hope on it.

293
00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:37.440
<v Speaker 2>And her hope box.

294
00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:40.359
<v Speaker 4>It's my hope box. And I filled it with verses

295
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.279
<v Speaker 4>that gave me comfort, that gave me encouragement, that versus

296
00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.799
<v Speaker 4>that just kept my faith really strong. Before Matthew passed away,

297
00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:49.400
<v Speaker 4>and every day I would sit and I would read

298
00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.599
<v Speaker 4>these verses. And that morning, after we had been to

299
00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.000
<v Speaker 4>his house the night before and I was pretty certain

300
00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.160
<v Speaker 4>that he had taken his life, I got up that

301
00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:58.880
<v Speaker 4>morning and I opened my hope box and I went

302
00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.519
<v Speaker 4>through those verses one more time. And then after that

303
00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:03.279
<v Speaker 4>I didn't open it for a month.

304
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.319
<v Speaker 5>I couldn't. And then I started to think, so where

305
00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:07.079
<v Speaker 5>do I go from here?

306
00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.359
<v Speaker 4>What do you do when your hope has been crushed?

307
00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:10.960
<v Speaker 5>And the only way I know how to rebuild.

308
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.480
<v Speaker 4>It is to go back to my faith into God's word.

309
00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.200
<v Speaker 4>And this time I started putting verses in that give

310
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:17.119
<v Speaker 4>me hope.

311
00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:17.799
<v Speaker 5>For the future.

312
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:21.119
<v Speaker 4>Like there's this amazing verse that's in one Corinthians fifteen

313
00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:21.880
<v Speaker 4>forty three.

314
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:25.440
<v Speaker 5>It says, our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they

315
00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:28.680
<v Speaker 5>will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness,

316
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.240
<v Speaker 5>but they will be raised in strength. And so every

317
00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.359
<v Speaker 5>time when I go to the cemetery, I quote that

318
00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.160
<v Speaker 5>verse because you know what, Matthew's body was broken. A

319
00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.480
<v Speaker 5>gun broke his body, and he was buried in brokenness,

320
00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:41.440
<v Speaker 5>but he's going to be raised in glory. He was

321
00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:44.039
<v Speaker 5>buried in weakness. I say, Matthew, you were buried in weakness,

322
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.680
<v Speaker 5>but you will be raised in strength. So the struggle

323
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:48.920
<v Speaker 5>has been not.

324
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.519
<v Speaker 4>In believing that God exists, not that God.

325
00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:54.319
<v Speaker 5>Is evil, because God is good.

326
00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:57.359
<v Speaker 4>But I have this other little tiny pot. When there's

327
00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:00.079
<v Speaker 4>questions I can answer, like did Matthew think of.

328
00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:01.400
<v Speaker 5>Before he pulled the trigger?

329
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:03.440
<v Speaker 3>Did he.

330
00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.039
<v Speaker 5>Was there any moment in which he suffered? Why after

331
00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.519
<v Speaker 5>all those years of prayer and effort did he die?

332
00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:16.279
<v Speaker 5>All these things that I have no answers for. And

333
00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:19.079
<v Speaker 5>I put him in this little pots my mystery pot.

334
00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.599
<v Speaker 5>So here's my hope box, not a little mystery pot.

335
00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:23.559
<v Speaker 5>And so every day almost I fill it with another

336
00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.039
<v Speaker 5>question that I can't answer. But what I know to

337
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.319
<v Speaker 5>be true is that God will answer those questions. They

338
00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.240
<v Speaker 5>will be answered. And my hope is very certain.

339
00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.079
<v Speaker 2>And that Matthew was not in heaven three seconds when

340
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.200
<v Speaker 2>all of his questions.

341
00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.000
<v Speaker 5>Were answered, his life makes sense to him that yet.

342
00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:50.759
<v Speaker 1>Wow, what a great message from Pastor rig today, and

343
00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:53.400
<v Speaker 1>I have some exciting news to share with you.

344
00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.640
<v Speaker 6>For just a limited time, you can get the Daily

345
00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.519
<v Speaker 6>Hope devotional three hundred and sixty five days of Purpose,

346
00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:04.839
<v Speaker 6>Peace and Promise in a beautiful special leather Loook gift edition.

347
00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:09.240
<v Speaker 6>This stunning Keepsake volume brings together three hundred and sixty

348
00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:13.559
<v Speaker 6>five of Pastor Rick Warren's most loved devotionals, each design

349
00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:17.799
<v Speaker 6>to help you start your day with clarity, strength, and hope.

350
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:21.160
<v Speaker 6>Pastor Rick often says, the most important decision you'll make

351
00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:24.720
<v Speaker 6>each day is what you focus on, and this devotional

352
00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.960
<v Speaker 6>will help you center your heart on God every day.

353
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.000
<v Speaker 6>You'll find a Bible verse to ground you in God's

354
00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.920
<v Speaker 6>Word and a short teaching to help you understand God's truth.

355
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:39.200
<v Speaker 6>So whether you're seeking deeper peace, stronger faith, or a

356
00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:43.640
<v Speaker 6>renewed sense of direction, this book provides a trusted framework

357
00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:47.240
<v Speaker 6>to grow spiritually one day at a time. And because

358
00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:51.039
<v Speaker 6>this leather look edition makes such a meaningful and lasting gift,

359
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:54.160
<v Speaker 6>it's also a powerful way to share God's love with

360
00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.559
<v Speaker 6>the people you care about most. Be sure to request

361
00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:00.440
<v Speaker 6>your copy today when you give a gift to help

362
00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.279
<v Speaker 6>Daily Hope bring the Word of God to people all

363
00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:06.680
<v Speaker 6>around the world. Just go to Pastorick dot com to

364
00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.079
<v Speaker 6>get your copy of this great resource.

365
00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.799
<v Speaker 1>That's Pastorick dot com. Or you can text the word

366
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:16.240
<v Speaker 1>hope to seven oh three oh nine. Again, that's the

367
00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:19.720
<v Speaker 1>word hope to seven oh three oh nine. Be sure

368
00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:22.640
<v Speaker 1>to join us next time as we look into God's

369
00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:26.039
<v Speaker 1>Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by

370
00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:30.039
<v Speaker 1>Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.