WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:06.000 Hello, everybody, This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. 2 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:08.960 If you're joining us for the first time or you've 3 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.359 been listening every day for ten years, we just want 4 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.000 to say welcome, We love you, and we pray for 5 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:18.760 you every day. So we're continuing with this series called 6 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:21.960 Daring Faith the Key to Miracles. And in this series 7 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.600 you're learning how to have a bold, unshakable faith that 8 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.800 gives you courage to impact the world around you. And 9 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:31.199 if you're like me, you'd really like to be more 10 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.000 bold and have more courage to share your faith in Christ. 11 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:37.920 Now let's hear what Rick has to say today in 12 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:41.119 part one of a message called Daring to Believe. 13 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:47.039 The Bible records the first Easter morning this way in 14 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:52.200 John chapter twenty. Let me read it to you. Early 15 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:56.039 Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went 16 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:59.280 to the tomb to visit the tomb where Jesus had 17 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.280 been buried, and she found a huge stone had been 18 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.680 rolled away from the entrance. So she ran and she 19 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:09.599 found Peter and John, two of Jesus' disciples. She said, 20 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.560 they have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, 21 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:14.599 and I don't know where they've put him. See, in 22 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.920 this time, nobody expected the resurrection, even the disciples, even 23 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:21.640 though Jesus had predicted it, told nobody expected it. They 24 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:25.319 thought somebody had stolen the body. So then Peter and 25 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:28.239 John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. And 26 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:32.000 John got to the tomb. First he saw the linen 27 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:36.159 burial cloth lying there folded. Now, this is kind of strange. 28 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:38.400 If you're a grave robber, you're not going to take 29 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:41.439 a dead body, unwrap it, fold up the roll, and 30 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:44.040 sit the wrapping right there, and then take a dead 31 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.760 naked body. That would be kind of weird. So why 32 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:50.280 would they have the burial clothes sitting right there folded? 33 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:53.640 It says? Then Peter arrived and went inside, and he 34 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:57.400 also noticed the linen wrapping lying there with the cloth 35 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:02.319 that had covered Jesus' head. Now, when John saw this evidence, 36 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:08.479 he believed. For up until this point, the disciples still 37 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:13.000 had not understood the scriptures that said Jesus would rise 38 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:17.840 from the dead. Do you dare to believe? That's the 39 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.759 most important question you'll ever be asked, because your determined 40 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.560 eternal destiny will be based on the answer. Will you 41 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.560 dare to believe? Here at Saddleback Church. We're in a series. 42 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.360 This is week three that we're calling Daring Faith, Pikeita 43 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.360 Miracles and really what I want to do is just 44 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.919 two simple things this weekend. Answer two questions. First, what 45 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:43.520 are the benefits of believing in Jesus Christ? What are 46 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.960 the benefits to you for believing in Jesus Christ? And 47 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:49.439 then second, I want to answer the question what does 48 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:54.120 it actually mean to believe in Jesus? And then I 49 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.840 want to end with the personal testimony about believing in 50 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:03.080 your darkest days. Now let's begin for benefits. Write these down. 51 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:06.879 I could give you fifty benefits of what you benefit 52 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:08.639 from if you believe in Christ, but let me just 53 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:12.319 give you four. These four will cover the major areas. 54 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:16.000 Number one first benefit of believing in Jesus Christ. Everything 55 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.719 I've ever done wrong is forgiven. Everything I've ever done 56 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:25.759 wrong is forgiven because of what Jesus Christ did on 57 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.439 the cross and dying for your sins and mind. God 58 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:36.479 forgives you freely, completely, instantly and repeatedly. Even if there 59 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:38.599 were no such thing as a heaven, and of course 60 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:40.520 there is, but even if there were no heaven, it 61 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:42.919 would be worth believing in Jesus just to get a 62 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:46.000 clear conscience, because having talked to thousands of people, I 63 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.520 know that most people are carrying secret guilt, secret regret, 64 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.639 and secret shame. And you can be completely forgiven of that. 65 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.280 Here's what the Bible says, Acts Chapter ten. All who 66 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.039 believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through 67 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.800 Jesus's Romans three says this, we're made right with God 68 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.479 in God's sight when we trust Jesus Christ to take 69 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.639 away our sins, and we can all be saved in 70 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:14.159 this same way, no matter who we are or what 71 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.360 we've done. I love that last part. Doesn't matter who 72 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.360 you are, doesn't matter what you've done, who you've done 73 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:20.000 it with, how long you did it, or where you 74 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:22.519 did it, You can be saved. You can be forgiven. 75 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:27.319 Everything is forgiven when I trust in Jesus Christ. Number two, 76 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:31.079 I learn God's purpose for my life. That's the second 77 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:36.720 big benefit. I learn the purpose of my life, God's purpose. Now, 78 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:39.040 if you don't know your purpose, and most people don't 79 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.720 know the purpose of their life, you end up drifting 80 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:46.160 through life. You get bounced around. Life controls you rather 81 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:49.199 than you controlling life. Now there's only one way you're 82 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:52.160 going to learn the purpose of your life. You got 83 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.800 to talk to your creator. You can't tell yourself what 84 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:58.920 your purpose is because you didn't invent you. Sometimes people say, 85 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:00.839 if you want to know your purpose, then well I 86 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:05.759 did that. That didn't work. You can't tell you what 87 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.600 your purpose is because you didn't create you. Only the 88 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.480 Creator can tell you what purpose you were created for. 89 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:14.800 And you will never never, never, never, never, never never 90 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.279 know the purpose of your life until you believe in 91 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:23.079 Jesus Christ, because he is your creator. The Bible says this, everything, 92 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:28.399 absolutely everything got started in Christ and finds its purpose 93 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.959 in him. Today, so many people are confused about their 94 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.639 identity and their purpose. I don't know who I am 95 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:37.279 and I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing 96 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.800 with my life because you're looking in the wrong places. 97 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:43.480 The Bible says this, it is in Christ that we 98 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.439 find out who we are and what we're living for. 99 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:48.920 Who we are, that's identity, what we're living for, that's 100 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.360 our purpose. It is in Christ we find that out 101 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:55.160 part of the overall purpose He's working out in everything 102 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.959 and everyone. Number three third benefit believing Christ. I get 103 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:06.560 God's strength for daily living I get God's strength for 104 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.040 daily living. Now, I used to think this wasn't a 105 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.920 big deal, but I've realized that this is the number 106 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:15.199 one problem most people have today. Most people, the number 107 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.839 one problem isn't worry or fair or guilt or boredom 108 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:23.040 or bitterness. Their number one problem is weariness. I talk 109 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:24.680 to people all the time just say I'm just so 110 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:27.360 tired all the time. I can't get it all done. 111 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.160 I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I 112 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.319 don't have enough energy to get everything done that I 113 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.000 need to do. And the reason why you're tired all 114 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:39.399 the time is you have a power shortage. And the 115 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.639 reason you have a power shortage is you're not plugged 116 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.839 into God's power. You're trying to live your life on 117 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:48.399 your power alone. Now, there's no way you can fulfill 118 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.199 your purpose in life without being plugged into God's power. 119 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:57.639 A toaster unplugged is worthless. A blender unplugged is worthless. 120 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:01.639 A vacuum cleaner it has no purpose. It's just a 121 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.720 bunch of metal. If it's not plugged into the power source, 122 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.600 your life cannot possibly be all God intends for it 123 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:13.800 to be. Until you're plugged into God's power. The Bible 124 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.120 says this in Isaiah chapter forty, God gives power to 125 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.000 those who are tired and worn out, and he offers 126 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:24.040 strength to the weak. And in Ephesians chapter one, the 127 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.680 Bible says this, I pray that you will begin to 128 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:31.800 understand how incredibly great his power is. Whose power Jesus 129 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:35.720 power to help those who believe him. That's the key. 130 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.480 Belief unlocks God's power in your life. It is the 131 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.319 same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. Oh ho, 132 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.040 wait a minute, time out. Are you telling me that 133 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.600 the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, that 134 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:51.519 split history into AD and BC is available to me 135 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.399 on a personal basis date every day. That's exactly what 136 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.720 I'm saying. That the same power that raised Jesus Christ 137 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.120 from the dead. The Bible says, it's available to you 138 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:04.360 if you believe he said. Well, what do I need 139 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:05.959 power for? Oh? You need it in more ways than 140 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:09.879 your real life. You need it. You need God's power 141 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:11.879 to change things in your life you can't change on 142 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.079 your own power. The truth is, if you were honest, 143 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.040 there's some things about you you don't like about you. 144 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.160 There's some things about your personality. There's some things about 145 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.800 your past, there's some things about how you handle life 146 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:27.360 you don't like and you've tried to change, but you can't, 147 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.560 so you won't. And really, maybe you do will power 148 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:31.720 for a while and it works for a while, and 149 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.519 then you give up and you quit. You need a 150 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.080 power greater than yourself to make changes. You need God's 151 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.279 power in your life. And when you mess up and 152 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:43.000 you screw up and you make a big failure in 153 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.399 your life, you need God's power to start over. And 154 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.799 when you're ready to give up and throw in the towel, 155 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.720 you need God's power to keep going. And sometimes when 156 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.679 you have things, God gives you the power to say 157 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:57.759 no to things that you know, these aren't good for me. 158 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:01.799 They're messing up my life, the destructive on my relationships. 159 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:04.320 God gives you the power to say no, the power 160 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:06.960 to start over, the power to begin again, the power 161 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.679 to keep going, the power to change. Paul says it 162 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.120 like this, I have the strength to face all conditions 163 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:16.519 by the power that Christ gives me. Now, this is 164 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:20.039 not positive men latitude. This is not self help psychology. 165 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:23.360 This is not pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. 166 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:25.720 Every day and every way, I'm getting better and better. No, 167 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:29.720 this is supernatural power. I have the power to face 168 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:33.639 all conditions by the power that Christ gives me that strength. 169 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:37.240 What are the all conditions? The power to handle loneliness 170 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:40.519 when you're lonely, the power to handle pressure when you're 171 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.960 under tension, the power to handle stress, the power to 172 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.559 handle guilt and fear and boredom and bitterness and rejection. 173 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.000 The power to handle the financial crisis, the power to 174 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:56.200 handle a physical health crisis, the power to handle a 175 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:59.759 relational crisis. Where does that power come from. It comes 176 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:05.679 from God when you believe in Jesus Christ. So I 177 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:07.960 get all of my sins. Everything I've ever done wrong 178 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:11.200 is forgiven. I get my past forgiven. I get a 179 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:13.519 purpose for living, and I get a power for living. 180 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:16.440 Then there's a fourth one. This is a cherry on top. 181 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:22.720 I am guaranteed eternal life. Hello, now we're talking. Even 182 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.519 if none of these other things were available, I am 183 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:31.519 given eternal life because of jesus resurrection. When I believe 184 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.279 in him. You see Jesus bringing himself back to life 185 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:41.840 changed everything. When Jesus came back to life, it literally 186 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:47.159 split history into AD and BC. It's the most important event. 187 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.600 In fact, your birthday is dated by day, month, and 188 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:54.480 year in relationship to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every 189 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:58.360 time you write a date, you were using jesus resurrection 190 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:01.120 as a reference point. Because as God came to earth 191 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.360 in human form, split history into ADY and BC. Nothing 192 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:09.679 is bigger. And the resurrection proved three things. First, it 193 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.360 proved that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be. 194 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:18.399 Jesus repeatedly said I am God. I am God, come 195 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:22.399 in human form to die for your sins. Now a 196 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.120 lot of people say, oh, well, I don't believe Jesus 197 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.360 was God. I believe he was a great teacher. He 198 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.679 couldn't be a great teacher. That's the one thing he 199 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.960 possibly could not be, because a good great teacher would 200 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:36.799 not claim to be God. He's either who he says 201 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.919 he is, or he's the biggest liar in history. He's 202 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.720 a con man, or he's a lunatic like the guy 203 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:47.080 who thinks he's Napoleon or a fried Egg. A good 204 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.480 teacher is not an option. For instance, if I were 205 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:51.399 to stand up here today and I said, Hi, my 206 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:55.039 name's Rick Warren. I'm a good teacher, you might say, Okay, 207 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.200 I can buy that Rick's a good teacher. I might 208 00:11:58.240 --> 00:11:59.759 even be able to get away to say, Hi, I'm 209 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:02.080 Rick Arrant, I'm a prophet of God. I'm not sure 210 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.879 about that one, but maybe, okay, maybe. But if I 211 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:07.840 stood up here and it said Hi, I'm Rick and 212 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:13.840 I'm God, would that change our relationship? Yeah, because all 213 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:15.919 of a sudden you're forced to make a decision. He's 214 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.879 either who he says he is, or he's trying to 215 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:23.440 con me, or he's nuts. There's no other alternative, and 216 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.879 you have to decide. Was Jesus nuts, was he totally insane? 217 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:31.000 Or was he the biggest con man and he conned 218 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.639 two point three billion people. If that's true, we should 219 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:35.720 all close up shop and go home. There's no reason 220 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:37.960 for Christmas, no reason for Easter, no reason for Church 221 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.559 because he's deluded most of the world and deluded people 222 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:47.320 throughout history, or he is who he claimed to be. Now, 223 00:12:47.559 --> 00:12:51.679 throughout history, thousands of people have claimed to be God. 224 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:54.799 This is nothing new. Lots of people in history have 225 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:59.559 claimed to be God. But only one person said I'm 226 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:02.240 going to prove it, and that's Jesus. And he said, 227 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:03.519 here's what I'm going to do to prove that I 228 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:04.919 am who I say aim. I'm going to let my 229 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.320 enemies kill me, and I'm going to be buried in 230 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:09.320 a tomb for three days. Then I'm going to raise 231 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:13.519 myself back to life. And that's exactly what he did. 232 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:15.840 And when he came back to life, he didn't just 233 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.480 show up and appear to a few believers. He stayed 234 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.639 on earth for another forty days, walked around Jerusalem for 235 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:25.919 forty more days. All kinds of people saw him. One time, 236 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:29.080 he had a party with five hundred people. It's kind 237 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.559 of hard to fool five hundred people. Can you imagine 238 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:36.759 being the Roman centurions who nailed Jesus to the cross, 239 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.039 and the next week you're walking down the street in 240 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.879 Jerusalem and there he is, and he go, he's back. 241 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.440 That'd be kind of weird to see the guy that 242 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:51.799 you just killed walking down the streets. And that's why 243 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:56.080 so many in Jerusalem instantly became believers. It was in 244 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.679 a matter of years one hundred thousand people were followers 245 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:05.360 of Christ because everybody had seen him. The resurrection of 246 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.240 Jesus Christ is one of the most well attested events 247 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:10.759 in history. It would stand up in any court of law. 248 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:14.080 In fact, it has many many times throughout many centuries. 249 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.399 It proved Jesus was who he was, he is the 250 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:19.919 son of God. But more than that, it proved that 251 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.440 Jesus keeps his promises. And Jesus that I'm gonna let 252 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.279 him kill me and I'll come back to life. Now 253 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:27.440 did he keep that? Yes, Well, if he kept that one, 254 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.720 then I can trust the other promises in this book, 255 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:34.799 the ones that talk to me about my life, because 256 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.919 I know he keeps his promises. And the third thing 257 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:39.879 it tells me is that it proves that there is 258 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.279 life after death. If Jesus Christ hadn't resurrected, you have 259 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:47.279 no hope of the future, you have no hope of eternity. 260 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.360 You would have no knowledge of heaven or anything else. 261 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:53.919 Because Jesus Christ was the one who proved there's life 262 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:59.559 after death. If he hadn't resurrected again, it's all just 263 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:02.279 a big let's all go home, Let's go to the beach. 264 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:07.120 I'm buying. I'll get some hot dogs or something. Now, 265 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.240 let me show you what Jesus said. John eleven five 266 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:14.200 and twenty six. Jesus said, I am the one who 267 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.879 raises the dead and gives life again. Now, Buddha didn't 268 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:22.399 say this, Muhammad didn't say this. Karl Marx didn't say that. 269 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:24.440 Nobody else has ever said this, because nobody else has 270 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.279 ever raised themselves back up to life, because they're not God. 271 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.879 This is what puts Jesus in a unique position as 272 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.080 the son of God. I am the one who raises 273 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.240 the dead. And here's what he says. Because of that, 274 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:42.120 anyone who believes in me, even though he dies, shall 275 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:47.960 live again. He has given eternal life for believing in me. 276 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.320 Circle that eternal life. Give an eternal life for believing 277 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:54.759 in me, and shall never perish. Now, if Jesus Christ 278 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:57.639 has not written at Easter, this verse would be a joke. 279 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:02.559 It's just not true. You have no hope. When you're dead. 280 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.480 You're dead. It's over. That's it. But Jesus said, because 281 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.799 of that, I give eternal life to those who believe 282 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.039 in me. The most famous verse in the Bible talks 283 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.200 about this. John three point sixteen. You've seen this verse 284 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.080 held up on placards at football games for thirty years. 285 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.919 God so loved the world that he gave his only 286 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:29.279 begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish 287 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:33.960 but have everlasting life. Now again, I could give you 288 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.600 fifty benefits of believing Christ. I just gave you four 289 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.879 everything you've ever done wrong forgiven. You get a purpose 290 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.919 for living, you get a home in heaven, and you 291 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.480 get power for living here on earth. Question, where else 292 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.879 are you going to get that? Nowhere? Who else can 293 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:54.960 give that to you? No one. If you don't get 294 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.279 it from Jesus, you don't get it because He's the 295 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:01.120 only one who can give you those four things. Now, 296 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:04.720 these are amazing benefits you can't get anywhere else. And 297 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:09.279 the qualification I must believe. The Bible said, this is 298 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.920 what God wants you to do. He wants you to 299 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.920 believe in the one that he sent. So what does 300 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:18.160 it mean to believe in Jesus? A lot of people 301 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.720 think they believe, but really don't. A lot of people 302 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:24.440 are going to miss heaven by eighteen inches because they 303 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:26.440 got it up here in the head, but not here 304 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.200 in the heart. They have a head knowledge about God, 305 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:32.599 but they don't have a heart commitment to God, and 306 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.400 so they're going to miss heaven because they don't understand 307 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.240 the full meaning of the word believe. I was on 308 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:39.960 a plane flight one time. I think I was going 309 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.559 to China. Now sitting next to guy, and the guy 310 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:44.240 asked me, so, what kind of work do you do? 311 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:49.079 And when somebody asked me that on a planet, I 312 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.759 always say I'm an author, because if I say I'm 313 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:54.599 a pastor, then they think, oh, he's going to try 314 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:56.559 to convert me, and they clam up. They don't want 315 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:59.119 to talk for the rest of the flight. So I 316 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:01.880 always just say author. And so then he goes, so, 317 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:08.160 what's the name of your book? I said, well, one 318 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.440 of them's called The Purpose Driven Life. He goes, I 319 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:17.839 know who you are, and I said, he said, as 320 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.640 soon as he knew who I was. He goes, I'm 321 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:24.279 going to heaven. I said, great, see you there. And 322 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:27.599 I said great. I said, let me ask him, how 323 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.920 do you know you're going to heaven. How do you know? 324 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.839 He goes, because I believe in God, he said, Good 325 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.359 for you. I do too. I said, any other reason 326 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:40.720 why you think you might be going to heaven? He said, 327 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:45.000 because I believe in Jesus. I believe Jesus died on 328 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:48.440 the cross for the sins of the world. I said, 329 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:52.160 that's great. I said, would it surprise you if I 330 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:54.960 told you that believing there is a God and that 331 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:57.680 believing Jesus died on the cross is not enough to 332 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:02.519 get into heaven. He said, are you in me? I 333 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.839 said no, no. I said, let me ask you this. 334 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:07.359 Do you believe in the devil? He goes, oh, yeah. 335 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:10.000 Evil is obvious in the world. There's a lot of 336 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.000 bad evil. I believe in the devil. I said, do 337 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:15.240 you think the devil's going to be in heaven? He said, well, 338 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.359 of course not. I said, well, the devil believes in God, 339 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:21.680 and the devil who believes in Jesus. The devil knows 340 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.480 Jesus Christ as the son of God. That's why he 341 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:25.440 put him on the cross. He wanted to kill him. 342 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.960 He wanted to destroy the Messiah. I said, do you 343 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:31.240 think Satan's going to be in heaven? No? So obviously, 344 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.440 believing in God, believing in Jesus as the son of 345 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:36.519 God is not enough to get you to heaven, because 346 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:39.279 even the devil believes that. He goes where's that in 347 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:41.160 the Bible? I said, here's it, and I showed him 348 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.400 this verse James chapter two nineteen. Do you think it's 349 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:46.720 enough just to believe there's one God. Well, even the 350 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.000 demons believe that and tremble. But you're not going to 351 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:53.039 find them in heaven. Why because it's more than just 352 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:57.640 a head knowledge. You got to go back to what 353 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.720 the word believe actually means. And in the Greek in 354 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.960 which the Bible is written in Greek, was is the 355 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.400 word the belief, The word for belief is the word 356 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:12.160 pistuo comes from his faith. Pistuo means to believe, and 357 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:15.079 it actually means more than just knowing about something knowing 358 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:19.240 something happens. It means to trust in, to cling to, 359 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:22.440 to rely on, to adhere to, or to commit to 360 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.480 big difference. It's a heart commitment. We all know that 361 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:31.000 there's various levels of knowledge. For instance, there's real shallow knowledge. 362 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.279 For instance, you all know about the Kardashians, okay, but 363 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.640 you know now you don't really know them, but you 364 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.279 know about them. And we all know about celebrities. I 365 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:43.960 know about Tom Cruise. I don't know Tom Cruise personally, 366 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:48.440 but I know who he is. I believe he exists. Okay, 367 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:51.559 but I've never given my life to Tom Cruise. I 368 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:53.960 just believe he exists. And a lot of people believe 369 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:58.319 Jesus exists, they've never given their life to him. And 370 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:00.480 then then you have your neighbors, and you're neighbors, you 371 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:02.240 know a little bit more and you know a little 372 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:03.960 bit about their background. You may know where they work, 373 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:05.920 maybe where they came from. But you don't really know 374 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.960 your neighbors. But if you've been married and you know 375 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.680 your husband or your wife, you know them much more intimately. 376 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:22.000 I know my wife. Now she's still a mystery. Okay, 377 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.240 Now I'm not a mystery to her because she's deep 378 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:28.319 and I'm shallow. I mean, she knows everything about me. 379 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:31.599 I know very little about her, but I do know 380 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.960 that I love her. And when I say I believe 381 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:37.559 in k it means more than I know she exists. 382 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:40.920 That's far more than I know my wife exists. It 383 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:44.400 means I trust in her, I rely on her. I 384 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:47.799 have committed my life to her, and I know her 385 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:50.640 intimately in a way I don't know anybody else. Because 386 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:52.759 in two months I will have been married to her 387 00:21:52.799 --> 00:22:00.839 for forty years. Now that's the that's a kind of 388 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.079 knowledge and intimacy. And when I say I believe in 389 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:06.440 my wife, it's more than I just believe she exists. 390 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:10.200 It's I trust in her. I'm committed to her, I 391 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:14.319 rely on her, and I love her with all my life. 392 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:19.000 That's the kind of meaning pistuo means in Scripture. It 393 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.039 means to trust in, cling to you, to rely on it, 394 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.359 here to you. So what I want to do right 395 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.119 now is explain to you five expressions of what it 396 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:29.519 means to really believe in Jesus. Because you may not 397 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:31.640 have really believed in him. You may have been in 398 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:34.240 church all your life, or maybe this is your first 399 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:37.920 time and you know about Jesus, but you've never really 400 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.440 trusted in him. So I take these five expressions of belief, 401 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:43.759