Speaker 1: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry
Speaker 1: of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue with a series
Speaker 1: called how God Turns Setbacks into Comebacks. We're so glad
Speaker 1: that you've joined us today. Now, if you know someone
Speaker 1: who needs some encouragement right now, be sure to invite
Speaker 1: them with a text or a phone call to listen
Speaker 1: along with you. But first studies have shown the more
Speaker 1: grateful a person is, the happier they are. But it's
Speaker 1: not always easy to be thankful. That's why Pastor Rick
Speaker 1: developed the Power of Gratitude. It's a special interactive Bible
Speaker 1: study to help you grow your gratitude. You can find
Speaker 1: out more by going to Pastorick dot com while you
Speaker 1: listen to today's message. If you want, you can just
Speaker 1: text the word hope to eight hundred six hundred five
Speaker 1: thousand and four for more information. That's the word hope
Speaker 1: to eight hundred six hundred rid five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Right now, here's Pastor Rick with part one of a
Speaker 1: message called.
Speaker 2: When you feel like giving Up.
Speaker 3: You'd probably agree that it's always easier to start something
Speaker 3: than it is to finish it. Right, It's easier to
Speaker 3: get into something than it is to get out. It's
Speaker 3: easier to fill your schedule than it is to fulfill
Speaker 3: your schedule. It's easier to get into debt than it
Speaker 3: is to get out of debt. It's easy to make
Speaker 3: a commitment, it's harder to keep a commitment. And yet
Speaker 3: life is really like a marathon because as time goes on,
Speaker 3: people start thinning out. You know, at the start of
Speaker 3: a race, it's always very, very crowded, but as the
Speaker 3: race progresses, you have fewer and fewer people in. There
Speaker 3: are wider spaces between the runners. And the reason why
Speaker 3: is because in the race of life, we have setbacks.
Speaker 3: And that's why we're doing this whole series. Life is
Speaker 3: not easy. My goal during this series, as your pastor
Speaker 3: who loves you, is to help you finish well. And
Speaker 3: it's why I'm teaching this series on how God turns
Speaker 3: setbacks into comebacks. Now, it's part of the character building
Speaker 3: process where God wants to make you like Jesus that
Speaker 3: he doesn't make life easy. He lets you experience the
Speaker 3: things that happen in a broken world. Now, because we
Speaker 3: all have setbacks, one of the great enemies of your
Speaker 3: spiritual maturity is actually discouragement. Discouragement is deadly. It can
Speaker 3: get you off track. When you have a setback and
Speaker 3: you get discouraged, you can get set on the shelf.
Speaker 3: Discouragement is common. We all get discouraged. It's powerful, it
Speaker 3: is universal and involves everybody, and it is recurring. It
Speaker 3: doesn't just happen one time in your life. Some of
Speaker 3: you came to worship today feeling discouraged about something that's
Speaker 3: been happening in your life. Well, today we're going to
Speaker 3: look at a story that illustrates both the causes and
Speaker 3: the cures for discouragement, and it teaches us what to
Speaker 3: do when you feel like giving up. So, if you've
Speaker 3: been discouraged, you picked a good week to come to church. Now,
Speaker 3: the story we're going to look at us found in
Speaker 3: the Book of Nehemiah, chapter four. By the way, if
Speaker 3: you're in leadership in your business, or in government, or
Speaker 3: in any kind of industry of any type or social area,
Speaker 3: or if you're in management, you really need to study
Speaker 3: this book Nehemiah. Now, the story of Nehemiah is the
Speaker 3: story of rebuilding the city wall around Jerusalem. Now, the
Speaker 3: background is after spending seventy years in captivity in Babylon.
Speaker 3: That was during the days of Daniel. The Jews, the
Speaker 3: entire nation of Jews who'd been taken captive and moved
Speaker 3: over to Babylon, were allowed to return to their capital
Speaker 3: city seventy years later, to Jerusalem. And when they got back,
Speaker 3: it was a mess. It was in ruins. But what
Speaker 3: was needed before they could rebuild the city was they
Speaker 3: needed to rebuild the wall around the city for protection
Speaker 3: because the wall had been torn down. And then once
Speaker 3: they were protected by the wall, they could build everything else. Now,
Speaker 3: the Bible tells us that everybody worked very hard at
Speaker 3: the start, and they quickly rebuilt the wall to half
Speaker 3: its original height. Once all the people got back home,
Speaker 3: but the initial enthusiasm wore off and they got discouraged.
Speaker 3: And they got discouraged because of four very common causes
Speaker 3: of discouragement. And I think as we go through this
Speaker 3: passage today, you're going to see yourself in summer maybe
Speaker 3: all four of these causes of discouragement. So let's pick
Speaker 3: up the story of Neemiah in chapter four, and Namiah
Speaker 3: is narrating the story. Let's read it here. Neamiah four,
Speaker 3: starting with verse six down to verse twelve. Them I says,
Speaker 3: So we rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem until it had
Speaker 3: reached half its original height because the people worked at
Speaker 3: it with all their heart. But then, and here's where
Speaker 3: it turns. Then the other tribes in our area heard
Speaker 3: about our progress and how Jerusalem the walls were being repaired,
Speaker 3: and how all the gaps were being closed, and they
Speaker 3: became very angry, and they all plotted together to attack
Speaker 3: Jerusalem and to create some confusion to stop the progress.
Speaker 3: So we prayed to God for protection, and we posted
Speaker 3: twenty four hour guards. But about that same time, the
Speaker 3: people of Jerusalem began to complain.
Speaker 2: And here's what they said. They said, we're.
Speaker 3: Tired and we're worn out, and we can't keep up
Speaker 3: this pace. Besides that, there's so much rubble and trash
Speaker 3: to be removed. We now realize that we can't finish
Speaker 3: this wall. Meanwhile, our enemies are threatening to kill us
Speaker 3: in order to stop this work. Then those of us
Speaker 3: who lived closest to our enemies, that's the Jews had
Speaker 3: come back, but lived outside of the walls of Jerusalem.
Speaker 3: Those who lived closes to the enemies kept reporting over
Speaker 3: and over and over ten times that our enemies kept
Speaker 3: saying it doesn't matter where you go, we will attack you.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be
Speaker 1: back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson.
Speaker 1: You can sign up for Pastor Rick's free email devotional
Speaker 1: at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: Did you know experts have discovered that gratitude is the
Speaker 4: healthiest human emotion. It makes you more resistant to stress
Speaker 4: and increases your overall happiness and satisfaction. In fact, study
Speaker 4: show the more grateful a person is, the happier there.
Speaker 4: That's the power of gratitude. The Bible tells us to rejoice, always,
Speaker 4: pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. So it's
Speaker 4: clear that God wants us to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Speaker 4: But we all know it's not always easy to feel grateful.
Speaker 4: That's why Pastoric developed a Bible study called the Power
Speaker 4: of Gratitude. This innovative study is filled with scripture, teaching, exercises, quotes, prayers,
Speaker 4: and journal pages. As you go through the study, you'll
Speaker 4: discover the many and often unique things you have to
Speaker 4: be grateful for every day. You'll develop the lifelong habit
Speaker 4: of expressing gratitude to God, a habit that leads to
Speaker 4: true happiness and satisfaction. Will send you Pastor Rick's Power
Speaker 4: of Gratitude Bible study to say thanks when you give
Speaker 4: a gift to help daily hope. Take God's Word to
Speaker 4: people around the world. Go to pastoric dot com right
Speaker 4: now to get your or you can call it eight
Speaker 4: hundred six hundred five zero zero four. That's Pastorick dot com.
Speaker 4: Or call eight hundred six hundred at five zero zero four.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much for your support, and don't forget
Speaker 4: to let us know which radio station you heard us on.
Speaker 4: Today is the last day to get this great resource,
Speaker 4: so don't wait.
Speaker 1: Now back to more from God's Word with Pastor Rick Warren.
Speaker 3: Now we're gonna look at four common causes of discouragement
Speaker 3: out of this passage, and I want you to see
Speaker 3: what happened. What happens first when it typically sets in.
Speaker 3: When does discouragement sets in? Well, Verse six says they
Speaker 3: worked hard on the wall, rebuilding it until it reached
Speaker 3: half its original height. You might underline that half its
Speaker 3: original height. Now, this is typical because discouragement sets in
Speaker 3: at the halfway point, not at the beginning, not at
Speaker 3: the end, but when you get discouraged is right in
Speaker 3: the middle. For instance, let's say you're on one island
Speaker 3: in Hawaii. Let's say you're on a Wahu and you're
Speaker 3: gonna row a boat over to Maui. Well, where are
Speaker 3: you gonna get the most discouraged. Well, you're not gonna
Speaker 3: get discouraged at the beginning. You're not gonna be discourage
Speaker 3: when you can see Maui. You're gonna get discouraged when
Speaker 3: you can't see either shore. That's right in the middle.
Speaker 3: You can't see where you came from. You can't see
Speaker 3: where you're going. Typically, discouragement strikes at the midpoint of
Speaker 3: a project. For instance, if you're climbing up a mountain.
Speaker 3: Halfway up the mountain, you go, I still gotta get
Speaker 3: to the top, and then I gotta get all the
Speaker 3: way back. Have you ever been in a painting project,
Speaker 3: like painting a room or painting your house. Halfway through
Speaker 3: the painting, you go, oh, man, we still got half
Speaker 3: to go and then we got to clean up. Halfway
Speaker 3: through writing a book, you get discouraged. Halfway through college
Speaker 3: you go, maybe he wasn't fit for college. Halfway you
Speaker 3: know through the year you go this year's not over
Speaker 3: the dog days of summer, halfway through your career, halfway
Speaker 3: through your marriage, halfway through your life. That's called a
Speaker 3: mid life crisis. That's when discouragement often sets in. Sometimes
Speaker 3: you have it in little areas, but sometimes you have
Speaker 3: it in big areas. Now, in this story, we have
Speaker 3: a very clear example of the four kinds of setbats
Speaker 3: that cause discouragement. I want you to write these down.
Speaker 3: Here's what they are. Number one, we get discouraged twen
Speaker 3: something takes longer than I expected. When something takes longer
Speaker 3: than I expected, and that causes fatigue. Now, in this story,
Speaker 3: the buildings would work very, very hard, and there's a
Speaker 3: lot of physical work. They're physically exhausted. They're weary, they're
Speaker 3: worn out. And in Neiamiah four, verse ten, the first
Speaker 3: part of the verse that says this, they said, we're
Speaker 3: tired and we're worn out, and we can't keep up
Speaker 3: this pace. Some of you have been saying that this week,
Speaker 3: I'm tired, I'm worn out. I can't keep this pace.
Speaker 3: We've simply run out of energy. Now I know this.
Speaker 3: I was talking to the guys who are taping this
Speaker 3: right now, that the first part of this week was
Speaker 3: very rough for me because of some issues in my
Speaker 3: health and then a couple of crises that I had
Speaker 3: to deal with as pastor the first eighty hours of
Speaker 3: this week, I only got six hours of sleep. That's
Speaker 3: not a good thing. And you know what, I was
Speaker 3: worthless and I was ineffective because I couldn't really get
Speaker 3: anything done. When you're tired, when you're worn out, you
Speaker 3: can't even think straight. You know, studies show that most
Speaker 3: Americans are sleep deprived, and the number one cause of
Speaker 3: discouragement is physical and emotional exhaustion. Last week, in that
Speaker 3: message on Elijah, I quoted Vince Lombardi, the great football coach.
Speaker 3: You said, fatigue makes cowards of all of us, and
Speaker 3: how amazing it is that things look better after just
Speaker 3: a good night's sleep.
Speaker 2: Now, this principle is true.
Speaker 3: When things take longer than you think, you start getting tired,
Speaker 3: you start getting weary, you start getting exhausted. If you
Speaker 3: don't get your rest, you're gonna get discouraged. That's why
Speaker 3: God created the Sabbath. Every six days, you take a
Speaker 3: day off.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: In agriculture, farmers rotate their crops because They know that
Speaker 3: a field that's rested it hasn't had that year, hasn't
Speaker 3: had a crop on it, that a feel's rested produces
Speaker 3: a greater harvest. Some of you don't know who Frederick
Speaker 3: Taylor is, but you ought to thank him. He say, why, Well,
Speaker 3: in eighteen ninety three, this guy named Frederick Taylor did
Speaker 3: the first scientific study of work habits, and he did
Speaker 3: it in a steel mill. And mister Taylor proved that
Speaker 3: people accomplish more if they take regular rest breaks. So
Speaker 3: you need to thank Frederick Taylor for all your coffee breaks.
Speaker 3: He's the guy who thought that up our best requires rest.
Speaker 3: You know, the other day I learned that the reason
Speaker 3: that bats can live twenty years, which is a long
Speaker 3: time for small animals. Small animals don't live a long time.
Speaker 3: Bats can live twenty years because they have the ability
Speaker 3: to do deep relaxation. A bat can lower its pulse
Speaker 3: from one hundred and eighty beats a minute to just
Speaker 3: three beats a minute, and that extends their life. When
Speaker 3: you're tired, you're much more vulnerable to all kinds of things,
Speaker 3: including attacks from other people and criticism. It tends to
Speaker 3: affect you more when people say things about you, and
Speaker 3: you're full of energy and vitality, and bigger doesn't bother you.
Speaker 3: But when people say things about you and you're tired,
Speaker 3: it gets to you. Deuteronomy twenty five, verse eighteen. Look
Speaker 3: at this verse. It says, never forget how the Malakites
Speaker 3: attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they
Speaker 3: struck you down those who began to lag behind. When
Speaker 3: you're weary, when you're exhausted, you start to lag behind.
Speaker 3: That's when Satan is going to attack you. Here's the
Speaker 3: point that when you're tired, you're being set up for
Speaker 3: an attack, and it may be an attack of discouragement,
Speaker 3: maybe attack of temptation, and maybe attack of self pity.
Speaker 3: And if you're tired right now, guess what, you're probably
Speaker 3: going to be facing some attacks. How are you being
Speaker 3: attacked right now? Fatigue makes you vulnerable. So the first
Speaker 3: cause of discouragement is if you just get tired, you're
Speaker 3: going to be more susceptible to discouragement when things take
Speaker 3: longer than you expected. Now, here's the second kind of
Speaker 3: setback that causes discouragement, and we see that in the
Speaker 3: in the next part of this verse and it's when
Speaker 3: something is more complicated than than you expect it then
Speaker 3: I expected. In other words, you start out on a
Speaker 3: project and discovery it's not only taken longer, it's just
Speaker 3: a whole lot harder than I thought it would be.
Speaker 3: And how long a project takes can cause fatigue, But
Speaker 3: how complicated a project is can cause frustration. And both
Speaker 3: fatigue and frustration can cause discouragement. Have you ever trying
Speaker 3: to clean out a closet or or your files and
Speaker 3: and and what you do is you sit down and
Speaker 3: you dump all your files out on the floor in
Speaker 3: your office, and you start trying to decide what to
Speaker 3: do with all you've got, and and and you know,
Speaker 3: work on it for a few hours, and then you go,
Speaker 3: this is crazy. And then you just dump them all
Speaker 3: back in into uh, into the files and throwback. You know,
Speaker 3: in the way that we're you got discouraged. It just
Speaker 3: was more complicated, you were having to make too many decisions.
Speaker 3: I remember a couple of years ago we remodeled our house,
Speaker 3: and I was amazed at how much trash and junk
Speaker 3: they had to carry off, you know, just in remodeling,
Speaker 3: broken bricks and dirt and dried mortar and rocks, and
Speaker 3: that permanent porta potty and that wonderful smell that it
Speaker 3: had all the stuff that had to be carried off,
Speaker 3: just when we were trying to build something. You know,
Speaker 3: here's the point. Anytime you try to build anything, a career,
Speaker 3: a plan, a project, a life, a hobby, a family,
Speaker 3: a marriage, ain't trying, and you try to build anything,
Speaker 3: you're going to have some debris. And that is frustrating
Speaker 3: because things take longer than you expect, and things are
Speaker 3: more complicated than you expect, and that causes discouragement. And
Speaker 3: that's the second back, a setback that the people faced
Speaker 3: in Jerusalem. It was not only taking too long building
Speaker 3: this wall was too complicated, and it was too much
Speaker 3: junk and trash laying around. The second part of Nehabiah four,
Speaker 3: verse ten says this second complaint said, we're tired. But
Speaker 3: second they said, there's so much rubble and trash to
Speaker 3: be removed, so much rubble and trash to be removed.
Speaker 3: Now follow me on this. They get discouraged because there's junk.
Speaker 3: The walls have been torn down, and there's piles of garbage, rubble, plaster, junk, trash, rocks,
Speaker 3: layd all around and they can't even move. There's so
Speaker 3: much rubble in their lives. You may not realize it,
Speaker 3: but you've got rubble in your life. It could be
Speaker 3: emotional rubble, it could be relational rubble. Too many relationships,
Speaker 3: it could be you know, a material rubble. You've got
Speaker 3: too many things in your life. You need to simplify.
Speaker 3: So let me, on this day give you ris rules
Speaker 3: of Rubble. This isn't in your notes, but how I'm
Speaker 3: gonna give it to you anyway. Rix Rules of Rubble,
Speaker 3: all right here they are. Number one, Rubble is a
Speaker 3: part of life. In other words, you can't avoid it.
Speaker 3: You're gonna have piles of trash in your life. You're
Speaker 3: gonna have stuff that piles up in your life that
Speaker 3: you haven't dealt with. And the bigger the pile gets,
Speaker 3: the more frustrated you get by it. You're fatigued by
Speaker 3: the work, but you're frustrated by the complexity of all
Speaker 3: you've got to do. So rubble piles up. Ris Rule
Speaker 3: number two, you have to clean it out of your
Speaker 3: life periodically. You have to take out the trash emotionally.
Speaker 3: You take out the trash by confession to God. Number three.
Speaker 3: If you don't deal with it, it'll eventually take over. Let
Speaker 3: me let you in on a little secret. You've probably
Speaker 3: already figured this out. Trash multiplies when you aren't watching.
Speaker 3: Have you noticed that.
Speaker 2: It's just kind of mold? You know? Where'd all that
Speaker 2: come from?
Speaker 3: How do the dishes pile up so quickly in the kitchen?
Speaker 3: How to close pile up so quickly in the bedroom?
Speaker 3: And so many that multiplies while you aren't watching. Let
Speaker 3: me give you a fourth roull of rubble. You don't
Speaker 3: always recognize what's rubble in your life, but other people do.
Speaker 3: Other people can see stuff in your life that you've
Speaker 3: allowed to stay there that's really holding you back, that's
Speaker 3: hindering you, And maybe you don't even see it because
Speaker 3: you're so used to living with it that you don't
Speaker 3: even realize it's rubble.
Speaker 2: There's some stuff you need to clean out and clear
Speaker 2: out in your life.
Speaker 3: Some activities, some relationships, some things, some events, some bad attitudes,
Speaker 3: some wrong thoughts, some misconceptions, mental, physical, emotional, spiritual rubble
Speaker 3: in your life that you need to clear out. You know,
Speaker 3: and a lot of people don't see it. We don't
Speaker 3: see in our own lives, but other people see it.
Speaker 3: In fact, sometimes it takes an expert to point it out.
Speaker 3: By the way, that's why all those clean out shows
Speaker 3: on TV you're so popular, where somebody comes in and
Speaker 3: helps them organize and say, man, you've got trash all
Speaker 3: over here. Let's get let's get your house cleaned out
Speaker 3: and cleaned up. Question, what's the rubble in your life?
Speaker 3: This was the second cause of discouragement in the in
Speaker 3: the in the Jews of Jerusalem.
Speaker 2: What's the rubble in your eye? It's the stuff that
Speaker 2: keeps tripping you up.
Speaker 3: You might write that down. The rubble is the stuff
Speaker 3: that keeps tripping me up in life. It may be
Speaker 3: a misconception, an attitude, it may be a habit.
Speaker 2: It's the stuff that keeps tripping you up.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We are so
Speaker 1: happy that you've chosen and to study along with us today.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to receive hope and encouragement every day
Speaker 1: delivered right to your inbox, then sign up for Rick's
Speaker 1: free daily devotional by going to Pastorick dot com. Right now,
Speaker 1: Rick will be back to close out our time today.
Speaker 1: But first experts have discovered that an attitude of gratitude
Speaker 1: bolsters your health and happiness. So how do you practice
Speaker 1: daily gratitude even when life is tough. Here's Rick to
Speaker 1: tell you about a Bible study he's developed to help
Speaker 1: you practice daily gratitude.
Speaker 3: One of the things that God wants us to do,
Speaker 3: and he says it over and over scripture, is to
Speaker 3: practice gratitude. Did you know that gratitude is good for us?
Speaker 3: The Bible tells us in First Essalonians five eighteen, give
Speaker 3: thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you.
Speaker 3: In Christ, Jesus. You want to know God's will is
Speaker 3: for you right now? Is that you learn gratitude in
Speaker 3: all circumstances. There's always something you can be thankful for.
Speaker 3: In fact, I've discovered, and I've read many reports that
Speaker 3: experts have told us that gratitude is the healthiest human emotion.
Speaker 3: Did you know that gratitude makes you more resistant to stress?
Speaker 3: Did you know that gratitude makes you less susceptible to illness?
Speaker 3: Did you know that gratitude increases your overall happiness and satisfaction,
Speaker 3: That gratitude gives your life more meaning and significance. I
Speaker 3: don't know if you've ever noticed that the more grateful
Speaker 3: a person is, the happier they are. That's the power
Speaker 3: of gratitude. So I want you to live with the
Speaker 3: attitude of gratitude, the attitude of thankfulness. Now I've put
Speaker 3: together a brand new Bible study called the Power of Gratitude,
Speaker 3: and in it you'll find scriptures and teaching and exercises
Speaker 3: that will help you develop the habit. Cultivate the habit
Speaker 3: of gratitude, discover how to state in God's will, how
Speaker 3: to defeat discouragement, how to conquer complaining, how to reduce stress,
Speaker 3: and how to experience God's blessing through gratitude. Friends, I
Speaker 3: want to help you develop a deep and a profound
Speaker 3: attitude of gratitude. The world is craving people like this,
Speaker 3: and you will be able to experience all that God
Speaker 3: has for you. So today, when you partner with me
Speaker 3: by giving a gift, a financial gift to daily hope,
Speaker 3: to help us take the certain hope of Jesus to
Speaker 3: people all around the world, I'm going to have my
Speaker 3: team send you the Power of Gratitude Bible Study. I
Speaker 3: just want to say thanks to you. I want to
Speaker 3: be grateful for you. You know your support is essential
Speaker 3: for us taking the Daily Hope message of Jesus all
Speaker 3: around the world.
Speaker 2: So do that today.
Speaker 3: Send us a gift and let me send you a gift,
Speaker 3: and you'll be grateful and so God bless you.
Speaker 1: We'll send you Pastor Rick's Power of Gratitude Bible study
Speaker 1: to say thanks when you give a gift to help
Speaker 1: Daily Hope take God's word to people around the world.
Speaker 1: Go to Pastorick dot com right now to get your copy,
Speaker 1: or you can just call eight hundred six hundred five
Speaker 1: thousand and four. Today is the last day to get
Speaker 1: this great resource, so don't wait. That's Pastorick dot com
Speaker 1: or call eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your support, and don't forget to
Speaker 1: let us know which radio station you hurt us on.
Speaker 1: Be sure to join us next time as we look
Speaker 1: into God's Word for our daily hope. This program is
Speaker 1: sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.