WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:05.440 This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the broadcast ministry of 2 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:10.119 Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in the series Essentials 3 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:14.000 for Living. In these lessons, Pastor Rick shares the power 4 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.239 you need to live on, the principles you need to 5 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.600 live by, and the purpose you need to live for 6 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:25.280 so that you're truly living and not just existing. Now, 7 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.679 in just a few minutes, we're going to tell you 8 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.160 how to get a copy of the Daily Hope gold 9 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.520 scripture box called Versus of Hope, a great way to 10 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:37.960 keep God's word right at your fingertips all year round. 11 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:38.960 You can go to. 12 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.640 Pastorick dot com, or you can text the word Hope 13 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:46.600 to eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and four to 14 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:51.119 find out more. Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with 15 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.320 part one of a message called how to Tell God 16 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:56.240 You Love Him. 17 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:58.520 If somebody ask you to describe the Christian life in 18 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.799 two words, what would you say? Somebody asked you, what 19 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.480 does God really want from us more than anything else? 20 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:05.519 What would you say? 21 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:10.239 If you said moral devotion, if you said ethical behavior, 22 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:14.840 if you said religious ritual, you would be wrong. Because 23 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:17.000 the essence of the Christian life can be summed up 24 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:22.719 in two words, love affair, love affair. God wants to 25 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:26.799 have a love affair with you. The Bible says that 26 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:28.959 you were created as an object of God's love. 27 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:30.560 God made you to love you. 28 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.799 He made you to be an object of his love, 29 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:36.439 and God wants to have a relationship with you. 30 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.120 Now that means that you were created for. 31 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.840 The purpose of having a relationship, and as a result, 32 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:48.120 the most important thing you can know in life is 33 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:51.000 a God loves you, and the most important thing that 34 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:51.560 you can do. 35 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:53.879 In life is to love him back. 36 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.719 Jesus said it like this in Matthew chapter twenty two. 37 00:01:57.799 --> 00:01:58.920 Let's read it aloud together. 38 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:03.120 The Lord your God, with all your heart and with 39 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.760 all your soul, and with all your mind. This is 40 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:09.840 the first and greatest commandment. 41 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:11.840 Nothing's more important. Now. 42 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.719 If you do this, you have fulfilled your primary purpose 43 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:17.240 in life. If you learn to love God and you 44 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.479 let God love you, your life has fulfilled its meaning, its purpose. 45 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.840 If you miss this part of your life, your life's 46 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:28.240 a failure because you missed the very reason God created 47 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:30.319 you and put you on earth for to love and 48 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.800 be loved. Now, there's a term in the Bible for 49 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:38.360 expressing love to God. And that term is called worship. 50 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:41.800 We often think worship is a ritual or a routine 51 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:44.520 or something you do in a church building. Worship simply 52 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:49.520 means expressing love to God. Anytime you're expressing love to God, 53 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:52.960 you're worshiping, whether you're by yourself in a small group, 54 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:54.360 in a large crowd like. 55 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:55.199 This, or wherever. 56 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.360 When you express love to God in any way, you 57 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.759 are worshiping. Now, you may have noticed that sometimes for 58 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:08.240 some people it's hard to say I love you, especially 59 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:11.039 for men. Sometimes we feel it, we just don't know 60 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:13.800 how to get it out, how to say it, and 61 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:15.759 so we don't know how to express our love to 62 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:19.280 our children, to our wives, to our husbands, to our 63 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:21.639 friends and neighbors and people we work with, or even 64 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:25.599 to God. It's just kind of difficult. Why does that happen? 65 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.319 Why is it sometimes hard to say I love you? Well, 66 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.159 you may have been raised in a very non expressive 67 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.080 home where there was love, or maybe there wasn't, but 68 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:37.159 you just didn't talk about it that much. You didn't 69 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:40.719 frequently say I love you, Or maybe you were taught 70 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.280 to stuff your emotions and to push them down to 71 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:48.120 hide your feelings. Maybe you have been hurt in the past, 72 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:49.599 and you say, I don't want to get hurt again, 73 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.479 so I'm not going to tell anybody. 74 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:53.000 I love them or God. 75 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:56.080 Or maybe you're resentful about hurts that have happened in 76 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:58.159 your past, and so you say, well, I don't want 77 00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:59.759 to love God. Are there are things in my life 78 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.240 don't like or maybe you just don't know how. 79 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:05.560 To express your love for God. 80 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:10.800 I would say to you, this is your day, because 81 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:12.719 today we're going to talk about how to do that. 82 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.360 Last night I saw on the internet a book called 83 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:18.759 ten Thousand Ways to Say I Love You, and today 84 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:23.160 we're going to cover all ten thousand. Actually, I've just 85 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:26.240 kind of narrowed it down to six six ways to 86 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.079 tell God you love him, and I'm going to encourage 87 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.319 you to take a self test on each of these 88 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.360 six ways to kind of evaluate yourself. Now here's my goal. 89 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.439 By the end of this hour, I hope that you 90 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.120 will feel loved by God more than you ever have 91 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.160 in your life. And I hope that you will have. 92 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:47.000 Learned to express love to God more than you ever 93 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:48.879 have in your life, that you will have learned a 94 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.120 deeper level of worship. And for some of you, I 95 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.720 know that you're going to begin a relationship with Jesus 96 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:58.560 Christ for the very first time this morning. Now, let's 97 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:01.079 look at these six ways. The first way we can 98 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.360 express our love to God is one that we're real 99 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:05.199 good at here at saddleback, and that. 100 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.319 Is by singing to him. By singing to him. 101 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.519 Now, you've probably noticed that music and love go together 102 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.680 because music comes from the heart. It's not something you 103 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:18.040 do intellectually. It comes out of your soul, out of 104 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:21.120 your emotions. And of course, there are many love songs 105 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:23.279 in the world. There are, in fact, radio stations that 106 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:27.600 are dedicated entirely just to the love song format. But 107 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.560 did you know that more songs have been written about 108 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:32.000 Jesus Christ. 109 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:34.120 Than any other. 110 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.079 Topic in the world. Nothing even comes close in second place. 111 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:40.480 Over the last two thousand years, there have been more 112 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:45.319 love songs and songs written to Jesus Christ than any 113 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.399 other subject. Christianity is a singing religion, a singing faith. 114 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:54.800 Why because it's not about religion. It's about a love affair. 115 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:58.519 It's about a relationship with God. That God loves you 116 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.120 so much that he's sent us on the die, or 117 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.040 he wants you to love him back. Now, so I'm 118 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:06.240 one forty seven. Verse seven says, sing out your thanks 119 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:10.079 to Him, sing praises to our God. Nothing will make 120 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:13.439 you more aware of God's love and God's presence in 121 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:18.160 your life than singing and praise. Now, I know somebody saying, 122 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.879 but Rick, you don't understand I can't sing well. The 123 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.639 Bible says, make a joyful noise. 124 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:26.439 And I know all of you can do that. 125 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.920 You go to football games, or you know somebody's getting 126 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.279 married or something. You make a joyful noise, and so 127 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:34.839 just let it out. You don't have to hit the 128 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:37.680 right note. You just have to make a joyful noise. 129 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:40.399 I know that there are some people who come to 130 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:44.000 saddle Back intentionally late, and they say, you know, I'll 131 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.120 miss the crowd going in, and. 132 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.199 You know, I'll miss the warm up act, you. 133 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.800 Know, all the preliminaries, because I'm coming for the main event. 134 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:54.120 I'm coming for the teaching. That friend, is a big mistake. 135 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:59.000 Big mistake, because you need principles for your head and 136 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.319 you need music for your heart. 137 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:03.519 You need to worship God. 138 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:11.399 Music inspires, it refreshes, it rejuvenates, it revitalizes. Music and 139 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.120 worship in praise to God has a healing element to it. 140 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:17.360 If you're depressed, you need to sing the songs. In fact, 141 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:22.000 I've noticed this. When I least feel like singing, that's 142 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.279 when I need to do it the most. When I 143 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:29.199 don't feel like participating in worship, when I don't feel 144 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.279 like getting involved, when I wanted to stand still and 145 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:35.600 be a spectator, that means my heart is cold and 146 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.279 it needs to be warmed up, and so I need 147 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:39.879 to get involved. 148 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:43.759 And I need to let my mood be lifted by worship. 149 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.079 You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be 150 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.000 back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson. 151 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.160 If you've missed any part of today's teaching, you can 152 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:02.120 listen online anytime at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com. 153 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.480 In the Bible, Jesus told us that in this world 154 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.879 we will have trouble, but we should take heart because 155 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:13.199 He has overcome the world. It's easy to forget Jesus's 156 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.720 words of hope when you're experiencing difficulties in your life. 157 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:21.279 You may even find yourself feeling overwhelmed and distraught. That's 158 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.279 why you need to grab hold of God's word. It's 159 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:26.920 an anchor for your soul that will fill you with 160 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.920 hope and to help you, Pastor Rick has created the 161 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:33.840 Verses of Hope Scripture Box, featuring a very special collection 162 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:37.480 of verses to restore your sense of hope daily. This 163 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:40.759 beautiful scripture box is gold with a look and feel 164 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.679 of leather, and there's an embossed Bible Verse on top. 165 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:48.639 It's filled with artfully illustrated and inspiring scripture cards along 166 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.759 with well designed blank cards for your personal notes. This 167 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.039 unique tool will help you anchor yourself in God's word 168 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:57.879 and fill you with hope. We'll send it to you 169 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.399 when you give a gift to help daily hope. Take 170 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:04.480 this certain hope of Jesus to people everywhere. Just go 171 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.519 to Pastorick dot com right now to get your copy, 172 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:10.440 or you can call eight hundred six hundred at five 173 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.320 zero zero four. That's Pastorick dot com or call eight 174 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:18.559 hundred six hundred five zero zero four. Quantities are limited, 175 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.279 so be sure to act quickly and be sure to 176 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.919 let us know which station you heard us on. Thank 177 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.000 you so much for your support. There's only two days 178 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.720 left to get this great resource, so don't wait. 179 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.960 Now Back to more from God's word with Pastor Rick Warren. 180 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:42.399 Now, in each of these six ways of expressing love 181 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:44.080 to God, I'm going to ask you to valuate yourself. 182 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:46.840 So what about this first one here? How often do 183 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:49.879 you sing your thanks and love to God? Do you 184 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.039 do it on a daily basis? Do you do it regularly? 185 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.360 Do you do it occasionally? Do you do it rarely? 186 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.919 Why don't you check which one represents your current view? 187 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:02.759 And why don't you put a star by where you'd 188 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:06.279 like to move to? You see, when you really think 189 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:08.559 about what God has done in your life, when you 190 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.960 really realize what He's done, you can't help yourself. It's 191 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.639 about to bust out of you. You have to worship. 192 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:18.080 There's a second way you can express love to God, 193 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.000 and that's by talking to him. 194 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:22.399 By just talking to him. 195 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.000 Now, it took me a while, folks, I admit I'm 196 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:28.200 a slow learner, but I finally figured out that this 197 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:34.159 marriage thing is about communication. I know I'm a little dense, 198 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:38.440 but I finally realized that the key ingredient in my 199 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:43.679 marriage was talk. And I discovered that on the days 200 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:48.240 that when I have deep soul communication with K I'm 201 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:49.799 not talking about Hi, how are you? I love you, 202 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.799 see you later, honey. I'm talking about deep soul communication. 203 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:59.159 Our relationship grows. And on those days where we have 204 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:04.600 little are none of that communication, our relationship decays. Because 205 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.799 a relationship is never standing still. It's always either growing 206 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:11.320 or decay. The same is true with God. On the 207 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:16.279 days that you have deep, significant talk with God, your 208 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:19.679 relationship grows. On the days you have little or no 209 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.399 talk with God, your relationship decays. 210 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:24.200 It's that simple. 211 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.720 Now, when you really love somebody, you not just want 212 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.240 to spend time with them, You want to talk with them. 213 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:32.360 Do you remember when you first fell in love as 214 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.000 a teenager and how your parents got upset that you 215 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.440 were always on the phone. 216 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:39.360 And you, you know, it's like you had a phone 217 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:39.840 in your ear. 218 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.159 You were, you know, just talk and talk and talk 219 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.720 because you were getting to know that person. That's how 220 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:49.960 you get to know them through communication. If you if 221 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.240 your husband or your wife never ever talks to you, 222 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:56.080 you have every reason to start wanting do they love me? 223 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:00.639 That's why husbands listen, read my lips. Talk to your wife. 224 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:06.039 She needs this like multiple vitamins, okay, a daily dose. 225 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:08.840 Now what do you talk to God about? If you 226 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:10.159 want to express love to God. What are you talk 227 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.679 to him about anything? You'd talk to your best friend 228 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:18.440 about everything, your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your anxieties, 229 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:20.600 the things you're embarrassed about, the things you're proud of, 230 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:25.759 the things you're ashamed of, your goals, your ambitions, your hurts, 231 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.519 your cares, every part of your life. You come to 232 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:33.240 God and you talk to God about it. The Bible 233 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.320 says this in Someone sixteen. I love the Lord because 234 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:40.440 he hears me and answers my prayers, because he bends 235 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.799 down and listens. I will pray as long as I 236 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.879 have breath. Now, if you don't feel close to God, 237 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:48.799 and some of you don't, some of you have been 238 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:51.320 believers for quite a long time, and you honestly have 239 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:58.080 lost your spark. Your Christian life has become routine, dull, joyless, lifeless, 240 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.440 and there's no real joy and sparked anymore. There's a 241 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.879 simple remedy for that. Start talking to God again. You 242 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.679 don't talk to him the way you used to talk 243 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:09.840 to him. You don't talk to him as gut levels 244 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:11.399 used to do. Now you got all these kind of 245 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.480 these and thousand write little cliches that you repeat over 246 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.440 and over and over, and you need to just talk 247 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:19.840 to him more often. 248 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.159 You see, prayer is not some duty that you have 249 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.679 to do. It's a privilege that you get to do. 250 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:29.159 You get to talk to the creator of the universe, 251 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.000 and he has invited you, and he wants to. 252 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.600 Talk with you. He wants to talk with you. 253 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.960 So why don't you rate yourself on this one of 254 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.240 expressing love to God? How often do I talk to 255 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:42.679 God each day? Do I do it once a day, 256 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.480 twice a day, ten times a day in morning, afternoon, evening? 257 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:48.279 Do I do it regularly? Occasionally? Rarely? 258 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:49.799 Why don't you put a circle around what it is 259 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:52.480 in the star by or an arrow by the one 260 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.720 that where you'd like to go. You say, Rick, I'd 261 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.200 like to have more prayer time with God. I'd like 262 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.559 to talk to God more. I just don't have the time. 263 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.440 Then you're too busy. 264 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.879 You're too busy anyway, You'll never have the time. You 265 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:11.240 must take the time to pray. There's a third way 266 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:12.840 that you can express your love to God, and that 267 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:13.360 is by. 268 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:14.399 Listening to him. 269 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:17.919 By listening to him, listening is one of the greatest 270 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:21.000 gifts you can give to somebody. The gift of listening 271 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:23.360 because we all want to be understood. We all want 272 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.600 to be listened to. When you listen to someone, you 273 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.240 are saying you matter to me. When I listen to 274 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:31.120 my children, when I listen to my wife, when I 275 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.919 listen to anybody, I'm saying I value what you have 276 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:38.200 to say. I value your opinion, you are important to me. 277 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:40.519 On the other end, when I don't listen to somebody, 278 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:43.879 I'm basically saying you don't matter to me. You are 279 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:45.720 not important to me. What you have to say I 280 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:48.720 don't value. And so one of the ways you express 281 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.919 love to anybody is by listening to them, and the 282 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:55.440 same is true with God. Every time you listen to God, 283 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:57.399 you're saying, God, you matter to me. 284 00:14:57.559 --> 00:14:59.159 God, I value what you have to say. 285 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:04.200 Now, listen is the most misunderstood and a left off 286 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.320 part of prayer. Most of us think that prayer is 287 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:10.639 just talking to God. No, that's only fifty percent of prayer. 288 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.759 The other fifty percent of prayer is shutting up and 289 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:17.279 being quiet and letting God speak to us. Now, usually 290 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:18.879 we're in too much of a hurry to do this. 291 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:21.799 Well we do is say Hi, God, it's me. I 292 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.200 got ten things I need for you today. I want 293 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:24.919 you the five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Thank you, 294 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.120 good buddy, over and out ten. 295 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.879 Four bye bye. And we don't stop, We don't wait, 296 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:32.200 we don't listen, we don't. 297 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:33.879 Say, oh God, do you have a few things to 298 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.200 say to me? And we don't listen. Now, God is 299 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:42.480 speaking to you all the time, you see me. Yes, 300 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:45.519 God is speaking to you all the time, or at 301 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.279 least he's trying to speak to you all the time. 302 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:49.840 So well, I don't ever hear him because you're not listening. 303 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.519 You don't ever take the time. You don't ever get quiet, 304 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:55.360 You don't ever pause inived to day and say, by 305 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.799 the way, God, you got anything you want to say. 306 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:02.039 To me right now? You're so I'm busy. Your life 307 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.200 is so full of noise. 308 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:07.159 You always have a channel on a radio, TV, cell phone, 309 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:13.039 something God couldn't get through because the lines are all busy. 310 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.360 And you need to not just take time to talk 311 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:18.279 to God, you need to take time to listen to God. 312 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.759 And you stop and you pause because God is speaking. 313 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.600 How does God speak to us? Well? 314 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:24.039 Many ways. 315 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.759 One he speaks to the Bible, his word. If you're 316 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:28.879 not spending any time in this book. Obviously, He's not 317 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.279 going to speak to you through this book if you're 318 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.360 not reading it. Number two, He speaks to us through 319 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:35.120 the experiences we go through in life. 320 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:37.080 Everything that happens. 321 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.279 To you, the good and the bad, the big and 322 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:42.200 the little, the irritating, the unavoidable, the painful, all of 323 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.039 those things. God is talking to you through everything that 324 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:48.519 happens in your life. He said, well, I don't see 325 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:52.000 what God's saying because you're not listening. You're not reading 326 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:55.159 these principles in this book, and you're not being aware 327 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:57.840 that God may be trying to tell you something through 328 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:04.039 that irritation. God speaks to us through other people, through 329 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.880 the advice of Christians and godly people who say, well 330 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:08.839 what about this? And God oftens will speak to you 331 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:12.480 through another person. God will speak to you through impressions. 332 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:15.400 He puts ideas in your mind, some great, good idea. 333 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.920 Where do you think you got that idea? God put 334 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:21.240 it there now, Not every idea you get us from God. 335 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:23.279 When we get an idea from God, we call it 336 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:25.279 an inspiration. When we get an idea from the devil, 337 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.920 we call it a temptation. When we get an idea 338 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:33.599 from ourselves, we just call it dumb. Now, you have 339 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.279 some good ideas, you do because God gave you a 340 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.279 brain to come up with good ideas. But how do 341 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:39.799 you know if an impression is from God or not? 342 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:42.279 You test it. The Bible says you're to test it. 343 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:44.720 And we've talked in the past about six ways to 344 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:46.400 test an impression or an. 345 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:47.799 Idea from God. 346 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.240 Did you know that the Bible says that hearing God's voice, 347 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:54.519 being able to listen to God and hear God speak 348 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:56.920 to you is the test of whether you're really a 349 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:00.279 true believer or not, whether you're in the family or not, 350 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.440 whether you're headed for heaven or not, whether you are 351 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:05.799 in the flock of God. Jesus said this in John 352 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:09.799 chapter ten. I am the good shepherd, and I know 353 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:14.119 my own sheep, and they know me, and they listen 354 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.240 to my voice. If you've never ever got an idea 355 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:20.480 or an impression or heard from God in your life, 356 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:23.960 you have every reason to wonder, do I really know God? 357 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.319 Do I really have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Am 358 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:30.200 I truly a believer? Have I stepped across the line yet? 359 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:34.400 Because maybe you haven't. Because God is trying to speak 360 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:37.119 to you and maybe you haven't made that relationship. 361 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:42.319 Now here's the question. How often do I pause to 362 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:43.640 listen to God each day? 363 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:46.240 Do I do it in the morning, in the afternoon, 364 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:48.519 in the evening, Do I do it hourly? Do I 365 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:50.640 do it occasionally? Regularly? Rarely? 366 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.119 Do I pause and just say? God? Is there anything 367 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:54.279 you want to say to me about this? 368 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.640 A decision you're working on, an event, you're getting ready 369 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.480 to go to, somebody you're getting ready to talk with. 370 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:05.119 Why don't you evaluate yourself on that. The fourth way 371 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.559 you can express your love to God is by publicly 372 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:14.279 identifying with him, by not being ashamed of him at work, 373 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:17.359 at home, in your neighborhood, by not saying, I'm not 374 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:19.480 going to let anybody know I'm a Christian. I'm not 375 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:21.680 telling my neighbors, I'm not telling the people at work, 376 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.480 I'm keeping it a secret. Then you don't really love God, 377 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.119 because if you love somebody, you're not ashamed of them, 378 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.319 you publicly identify with them. Can you imagine how do 379 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.799 you think my wife would have felt if years ago, 380 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:38.119 when we were dating, I said, honey, let's get married 381 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:41.480 and we'll be committed to each other, but let's just 382 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:46.799 keep it our little secret. Let's don't tell anybody about it. 383 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.000 You know, I'll be committed to you, you be committed to me. 384 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:53.119 But when we're in public, let's pretend like we don't 385 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:58.160 know each other, and let's just act like total strangers. 386 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:01.759 Won't that be great? She'd say, what kind of love 387 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.039 is that? Buster? It didn't any kind of love. 388 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:07.519 At all, because when you really love somebody, you're not 389 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.000 ashamed of him. You say this is my husband, this 390 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:12.880 is my wife. You take on a name and you 391 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:15.519 say we are a family, and you identify with each other, 392 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.799 and you can't say you love Jesus Christ and be 393 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:22.440 ashamed of him at the same time. 394 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:27.079 Jesus said it like this, Mark eight thirty eight. 395 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:31.519 If anyone is ashamed of me and my teachings, then 396 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:33.440 I will be ashamed of him when I come in 397 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:34.839 with the glory. 398 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:35.319 Of my father. 399 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.039 Jesus said, if you are ashamed of me on earth, 400 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:43.880 I'm going to be ashamed of you in heaven. 401 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.920