WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:05.839 This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry 2 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:09.320 of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we bring our series called 3 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.279 forty Days in the Word to a close with a 4 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.920 final look at practical Bible study tools that will reignite 5 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:21.440 your passion for God's Word and revolutionize your life as 6 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:26.320 you grow closer to Jesus. First, we are excited to 7 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.679 let you know that very generous friends of Daily Hope 8 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:33.799 have stepped forward with a special fifty thousand dollars matching 9 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.000 grant that means any gift you give now to help 10 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:41.159 Daily Hope share the Gospel with people everywhere will be double. 11 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:46.079 But the grant expires tonight at midnight, so please contact 12 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:50.320 us right away. Go to Pastorick dot com. That's Pastorick 13 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:54.200 dot com, or text the Word Daily to eight hundred 14 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:58.359 six hundred five thousand and four and have your financial 15 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:02.719 gift matched up to fifty thousand dollars. Here's Pastor Rick 16 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:06.480 Warren with the final part of a message called integrating 17 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.079 God's Word into My Life. 18 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.599 Now, let me give you God's prescription for relationships. Number one. 19 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:18.200 Instead of finding the right person, become the right person. 20 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:21.920 You focus on building character in your life. The kind 21 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.480 of person that you know is worthy of marriage. Okay, 22 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.640 become the right person. Then number two, instead of falling 23 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.680 in love, walk in love. You see, love is a choice. 24 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.159 It's one hundred percent under control. You say I fell 25 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:37.079 out of love. Well, you chose to fall out of love, 26 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:39.280 because you choose to fall in and you choose to 27 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.239 fall out. Love is a choice. It's not an emotion. 28 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.359 Love creates emotion, oh baby, oh baby, some really good ones. 29 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:50.280 But love is not an emotion. Love is a choice. 30 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:53.519 It's making your problem my problem. It's choosing your need 31 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:57.519 over my need. It's being other centered rather than me centered. 32 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:03.719 So third step is fix your hope on God and 33 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:08.919 honor him through your relationship. And then number four. If 34 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:14.360 failure occurs, repeatstebs one, two, and three and that's the difference. 35 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.400 Now you want to build your life on the word 36 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:19.840 of God. Say, you know, I don't always agree with it, 37 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.199 I don't always like it. It's not always convenient, it's 38 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.879 not always poetically correct. But if God said it, it's 39 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.240 got to be true. So God, I'm going to build 40 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:31.680 my life on the Bible. It is my final authority. 41 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.280 This is my final authority for life. Now, I've asked 42 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.400 Pastor Buddy to come and share the next couple of points. 43 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:45.159 Okay, the second way to integrate the Word of God 44 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.800 into your life is to feed on it. Feed yourself 45 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.360 on the Word of God. The Bible tells us that 46 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:53.840 the Word of God is spiritual food. In fact, it 47 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:58.080 uses several pictures. The Bible describes itself as the water, 48 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:03.280 the milk, the read, and the meat of the spiritual life. 49 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.360 So it has everything that you're going to need for sustenance. 50 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:08.719 But you have to be feeding yourself. You have to 51 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.240 be eating something because just like you need physical food 52 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:16.080 for physical strength, well you've got to have spiritual food 53 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:20.520 for spiritual strength. We need to be feeding ourselves so 54 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.879 that we have strength to accomplish the tasks ahead of us. 55 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.599 The Bible says that we are all building, and the 56 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:30.439 Bible also says that we're all in spiritual warfare, and 57 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.719 you're not going to have much success in building your 58 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:35.719 life or in winning the spiritual battles that you face 59 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:38.800 if you're starving yourself to death. So we need to 60 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.840 be feeding ourselves on the Word of God. Now, one 61 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:43.599 of the things that I have found is unlike regular food, 62 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.000 when I eat. When I feed on the Word, the 63 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.479 more I eat, the hungrier I get, the more I 64 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.520 taste to see how good the Lord is. The more 65 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.560 of the sweetness of the honey of the Word, the 66 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.159 milk of the Word, the hungrier that I get for 67 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:02.439 it Collautions three sixteen. The Bible says, let the Word 68 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.759 of Christ dwell in you richly. Let it dwell in you, 69 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:09.879 Let it move into you, let it inhabit you. Take 70 00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:13.439 up residence in a rich, a profound, and a life 71 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.680 changing and a life giving way. That's what that verse 72 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.360 is saying. So how do we feed ourselves on the 73 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.040 Word of God to allow that to happen, so that 74 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.839 God's Word is dwelling in us and building us up. Well, 75 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:28.240 let me give you some things to write down. These 76 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.639 are actually some review points from what Pastor Rick talked 77 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.759 about just a few weeks ago. The first way that 78 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:36.439 you can take the Word of God in is I 79 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.399 can receive it with my ears. Write that down. I 80 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.800 can receive it with my ears. That means I have 81 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:45.480 to be hearing the word of God. Bible says faith 82 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:48.759 comes through hearing the word of God. The second way 83 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.319 to feed on the Word of God is I read 84 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.839 it with my eyes. So I hear it with my ears. 85 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:56.560 But now I read it with my eyes. Why do 86 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.399 you think God gave you this book not just so 87 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.519 you can put a on a shelf. Having a Bible 88 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:03.959 in your house is not going to bless your life. 89 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:06.000 You've got to have the Bible in your heart. You've 90 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.920 got to take it in by reading the Word of God. 91 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:11.319 So there's a third way that we can feed on 92 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:13.879 the Word of God, and that is that I research it. 93 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.800 I research it with my hands and with my mouth. 94 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.959 Now what does that mean. It's talking about studying the 95 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.600 Word of God. Remember the difference between reading devotionally and 96 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:29.560 studying the Bible is that when you study the Bible, 97 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:31.920 you've got a pencil in your hand. You've got to 98 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:35.040 be writing things down, writing down your thoughts, journaling what 99 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:37.480 God is saying to you. A fourth way to feed 100 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.160 yourself on the Word is I can reflect on it 101 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.360 with my mind. I reflect on it with my mind. 102 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:45.319 I don't just read it, maybe talk about it, and 103 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.720 then go on as though nothing had happened. But I 104 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.759 spend time meditating on the Word of God. That's what 105 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.160 forty days in the Word has been all about. Giving 106 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:57.120 us different ways to meditate, to reflect on the Word 107 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.600 of God, to think about it, to chew on it. 108 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.199 And then a fifth way I can feed myself is 109 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:06.680 I remember it with my heart. I remember it with 110 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.600 my heart. There's a difference between remembering with your mind 111 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.800 and with your heart. This is talking about memorizing scripture. 112 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.079 But now, why does God want us to do this? Well, 113 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.439 that brings us to the next point. Not only are 114 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:20.319 we to feed on it, I want you to write 115 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.560 this down. We integrate the Word into our lives when 116 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:26.639 we live by it. You've got to live by the 117 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.800 word of God. It is the word of God that 118 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.279 sets the standard by which you judge everything else of 119 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:36.199 value in your life. It's the standard by which you 120 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.759 make decisions for the things that you are facing in life. 121 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:41.959 You've got to build your life on something. You've got 122 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.079 to base those decisions on something. And it comes when 123 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:47.759 we allow the Word of God to become the standard 124 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:51.040 by which we live. The Bible says in Psalm one 125 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:55.000 blessed is the one, the man, the woman who doesn't 126 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:58.240 walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but who meditates 127 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:00.600 on the Word of God. What does that mean? It 128 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.120 means if you want your life to be blessed, you 129 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:05.680 don't build your life on the counsel of the world, 130 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:09.199 on the way the world thinks, but you meditate, you 131 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:13.360 build your life on the way that God thinks, the 132 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:15.560 counsel of the ungodly. That's the step that we hear 133 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:20.480 all the time on television, in movies, in the print media. 134 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.319 It's the talk that goes on around the world around us. 135 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:26.600 It's the values of the world, and the Bible says, 136 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.399 if you want your life to be blessed, you don't 137 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:31.839 build your life. You don't live your life by that 138 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:35.120 kind of counsel, but live your life, build your life, 139 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:39.560 feed your life on the word of God, because it's 140 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:41.920 the word of God that will give you hope when 141 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.199 you're in crisis. It's the word of God that will 142 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.000 give you comfort when you are in despair. It's the 143 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:50.600 word of God that will give you strength when you 144 00:07:50.600 --> 00:07:52.839 are weak. It's a word of God that will give 145 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:56.199 you wisdom when you're confused. It's the word of God 146 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.720 that will give you guidance when you're looking for direction. 147 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:00.839 And it's the word of God that will give you 148 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.519 strength to resist, to fight against temptation. Look at this 149 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.920 next verse in your outline, Psalm one, nineteen eleven. The 150 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:11.399 Bible says, I've hidden your word in my heart so 151 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:15.199 that I might not sin against you. He says, this 152 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.879 is the reason I've hidden your word. That's what memorizing 153 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.639 the Bible is about. It's about hiding it, taking it 154 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.680 into my heart. He says, I've hidden your word in 155 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.839 my heart. Not so that I can just be a 156 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:30.160 goodie two shoes little Christian, but so that I will 157 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:34.039 not sin against you. Remember in Matthew chapter four, when 158 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.360 Jesus was tempted, there were three times the devil came 159 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.679 and tempted him, and all three times Jesus only used 160 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:46.399 one weapon to defend himself. He said, yeah, but it's written. 161 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:49.879 And the devil would tempt him again, and he would say, yeah, 162 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.519 but it's written. It is written. It was the only 163 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:56.639 weapon he used to defend himself. If you want to 164 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.200 be like Christ, you've got to defend yourself the way 165 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:02.919 he did. When you let the word of Christ dwell 166 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:08.120 in you richly, you absorb the nature of Christ, the 167 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:12.080 flavor and the aroma of Christ. But something else happens 168 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:16.039 to you. You take on a whole new identity, and 169 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:19.600 you begin to become the man or woman of God 170 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.879 that he has always wanted you to become. You begin 171 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.559 to become the man or woman of God that you 172 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:28.080 have always wanted to be. When you let the Word 173 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:31.440 of Christ dwell in you richly, not only do you 174 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.639 know what the Word of God says, you begin to 175 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:40.960 become more and more like the author. Now, Pastor Rick 176 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:42.879 is going to come and share with us the fourth 177 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.360 way to integrate the Word of God into our lives. 178 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.360 To become a woman of the Word or to become 179 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:51.360 a man of the Word, you got to first make 180 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:54.159 the Bible your foundation and you build on it. Then 181 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.639 you got to make the Bible your food and eat it. 182 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.399 And then the third metaphor is you make it your 183 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:05.759 lifestyle in which you're going to live by. You make 184 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:10.360 it your standard in which you live by. The fourth 185 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:12.440 thing you do is you make it the seed that 186 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:16.000 you grow through. Okay, this is the fourth metaphor. How 187 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.320 do I integrate God's Word? I grow through it? Now, 188 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.120 I told you a couple of weeks ago that the 189 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.200 Bible is often referred to as a seed, and it's 190 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:29.200 planted in your heart and when the truth is planted 191 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.120 in your heart, if it finds good soil, it grows 192 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.080 and it produces fruit. Remember last week, no root, no 193 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.120 fruit and fruit. God wants you to be fruitful in 194 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.000 your life. In order to have that, you've got to 195 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:44.039 have an open heart. You've got to have a receptive heart. 196 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:47.759 You've got to have good soil in your life. Now 197 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.080 the fourth verse that we looked at, that we memorized 198 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:54.440 earlier this month. So I'm one nineteen eighteen. Open my 199 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.159 eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 200 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:00.399 There's a lot of wonderful things in the Bible, but 201 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.360 you can't see unless God opened your eyes. Circle the 202 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:05.679 word open. That means being receptive. I've got to be 203 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:08.000 open to the word of God. So if I'm going 204 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:09.720 to become a woman of the Word or a man 205 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.000 of the Word, I've got to be open to it. 206 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:14.879 That means, as I said earlier, even when I don't 207 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.919 like it, Okay the least, Lord, I'm open to it. 208 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.399 I'm going to listen to it. Now. Jesus told the 209 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:23.039 whole story about this. It's in Luke chapter eight. It's 210 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.200 called the Parable of the Soils, and he says there 211 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.000 a farmer goes out in so seed and it falls 212 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.200 on four different kinds of soil, and it gets four 213 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:34.360 different kinds of results. And he says, this represents four 214 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:38.000 different attitudes you can have toward the Bible. Now, I 215 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.919 used to think that these four soils represent four different 216 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:44.159 kinds of people. They don't. It represents four attitudes, and 217 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:48.240 on the same day I could have all four attitudes. Okay, 218 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.279 the first is the hardened soil, and the hardened soil 219 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:56.039 represents a closed mind. The hardened soil in this story 220 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:59.039 represents a closed mind. Sometimes we don't ever even give 221 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:01.320 God a chance to talk to us. Our minds are 222 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:04.360 made up, our hearts are hardened. We're unwilling to listen. 223 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:06.080 I don't want to hear what God has say about 224 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:08.440 my boyfriend. I like my boyfriend, so I don't want 225 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:09.679 to hear what God has I don't want to hear 226 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:11.519 what God has to say about my debt. I don't 227 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.360 want to hear what God has say about sex. I 228 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.799 don't want to hear what God has to say about 229 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:16.799 this or that because I've already got my mind made up. 230 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:20.080 That is a closed mind. And a narrow footpath is 231 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:23.159 narrow and it's hardened. And that's the way a lot 232 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.000 of people's minds are. They're narrow minded and they're hard minded. 233 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:29.960 They're not open. They really aren't open to learning new things. 234 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.480 And so the first action is I must cultivate an 235 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:34.360 open mind. 236 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:41.279 You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be 237 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.200 back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson. 238 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:47.679 You can sign up for Pastor Rick's free email devotional 239 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:52.000 at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com. 240 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:55.200 Pastor Rick is always reminding us about the importance of 241 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.440 getting God's word into our hearts, because only God's word 242 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:03.720 can true transform your life. As you spend time focusing 243 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.639 on his word, you'll be better equipped to make wise decisions, 244 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:12.919 resist temptation, find comfort when you're sad, and you'll experience 245 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:17.200 the peace of God's presence. That's why Pastor Rick created 246 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:20.879 the Hearing the Voice of God Scripture Box, and it 247 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:24.639 is beautiful with a soft black leather look and feel 248 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.240 and an embossed Bible verse on top. It's filled with 249 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:32.480 fifty two Bible verses specially selected by Rick to inspire 250 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.799 you to listen to God's voice in everything. You do, 251 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.440 they'll help build your confidence in asking God for what 252 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.679 you need, and they'll help you find the biblical wisdom 253 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:47.240 necessary to understand God's vision for your life. The scripture 254 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:51.039 cards are thoughtfully designed with artwork and gold foil accents, 255 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.759 and they'll help you memorize these life changing verses so 256 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:57.840 they come to mind when you need the most. If 257 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:01.240 a scripture really speaks to you, frame it, put them 258 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.480 in places where you can read them during the day 259 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:06.679 for encouragement. By the way, today when you give a 260 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:09.240 gift to Daily Hope to help take the hope of 261 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:12.840 Jesus to a hurting world, generous friends of Daily Hope 262 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:16.159 are going to match your gift up to fifty thousand dollars. 263 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:19.559 But you only have till midnight tonight to make your 264 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:23.240 gift go twice as far. Go to Fastererik dot com 265 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.600 or call eight hundred six hundred five zero zero four 266 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:29.519 and as a special thank you, we'll send you the 267 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:33.279 Hearing the Voice of God scripture box. Again. That's Fastrick 268 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.919 dot com or call eight hundred six hundred five zero 269 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:40.000 zero four. Today is the last day to get this 270 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.240 great resource and have your gift matched by the fifty 271 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.200 thousand dollars matching grand so contact us today. 272 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.639 And now here's Pastor Rick Warren with the second half 273 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:55.759 of today's lesson. 274 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:58.799 Sometimes we don't ever even give God a chance to 275 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:01.399 talk to us. Our minds are up, our hearts are hardened. 276 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.799 And so the first action is, I must cultivate an 277 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:09.799 open mind. Cultivate and open mind. If I'm going to 278 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.840 let God's truth really change my life, I just got 279 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:14.440 to be open to it. I gotta have a cultivate 280 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:18.120 and open mind. Then Jesus said, now, the second kind 281 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:21.440 of soil that the farmer throws seed on is what 282 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:26.279 he calls the shallow soil, and that represents the superficial mind. 283 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.679 And so what is the action step? How do I 284 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:31.440 get some roots in my life? How do I get 285 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.320 some spiritual maturity in my life? Well, here's the second 286 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:39.919 action step. I must make time for God's word. If 287 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.480 I just spind a quick little glance at it once 288 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.919 a day, I glance at it, I don't gaze at it, 289 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:47.360 I don't give it any time. Then I can't build 290 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:51.120 any roots. Roots take time to develop, and no roots, 291 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:56.279 no fruits. Busyness is a major barrier that keeps you 292 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:00.600 from being a man of the word or a woman 293 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.840 of the word. Now, a third soil is the soil 294 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:08.960 with weeds, and the soil with weeds represents a preoccupied mind. 295 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.159 In other words, the seed God gives a truth and 296 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:14.320 he plants it in my mind in my heart, and 297 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:15.919 I go, yeah, okay, and I let it sit there 298 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:18.799 and it starts growing. But then I let other things 299 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:22.519 choke it out of my life, worry and busyness and 300 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.240 money and job and all these other things, and the 301 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:28.919 weeds choke it out, and I get preoccupied and I 302 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:33.120 can't really do anything with it. All the circuits are 303 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.320 busy in my life. So that's why I can't hear God. 304 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:39.639 What's the action step. I must eliminate the distractions in 305 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:42.879 my life. Then, finally, Jesus says, there's a fourth kind 306 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.240 of soil that's a good soil with the seed of 307 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.600 truth gets planted in your brain in your heart, and 308 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.200 it really is allowed to grow and develop, and it 309 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:54.639 gets roots and then it gets fruit. And this is 310 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:58.840 a willing mind. And a willing mind, says God. I'm 311 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:04.039 willing to learn, teachable, I'm humble, I'm teachable. I don't 312 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.160 I don't think I know it all, so God teach me. 313 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:11.079 And the action step is to cooperate with what God says. 314 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.680 That leads us to the fifth action step. If I 315 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:17.680 want to be a woman of the Word, if I 316 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.599 want to be a man of the Word, I got 317 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.759 to build on it. I got to feed on it. 318 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.519 I got to live by it. I've got to grow 319 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:27.400 through it. Number five, I've got to act on it. 320 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:30.920 And the fifth Bible verse that we've memorized during these 321 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:35.279 six weeks together is James one twenty two. James one 322 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:38.240 twenty two. Do not merely listen to the Word and 323 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:44.759 so deceive yourselves. Do what it says fall I do 324 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.279 is I go to church and it's going in one 325 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.200 ear and out the other. I listened to it. I 326 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.039 am living in a life of self deception. I think 327 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.519 because I've written notes down, I've got it. No, I 328 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.880 don't have it. I only have it. You only believe 329 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.440 the parts of the Bible you actually do. Finally, there's 330 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:01.720 one last thing I need to do with the Word 331 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.400 of God if I'm going to become that person that 332 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:08.599 has an integrated life of integrity, and that is I 333 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:13.279 must trust in it. I build on it, I feed 334 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:16.279 on it, I live by it, I grow through it, 335 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:21.279 I act on it, and I then live it out 336 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:27.200 by trusting in it. Now, why can't I trust the Bible? 337 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.440 We did a whole session on that. God is never 338 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.640 going to guide you in the wrong direction. You can 339 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.079 always trust him. If he tells you go that way, 340 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:40.000 you better go that way because it's always going to 341 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:42.000 be the right way. It's going to be the best way. 342 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:45.200 It's going to cause a whole lot less problems if 343 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.759 you do that. So I'm one nineteen one oh five 344 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:51.200 is our memory verse for this week. This is the 345 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.920 one I want you to work on. Your word is 346 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:56.839 a lamp for my feet to my feet and a 347 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.720 light for my path. Said some of you go, I 348 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:02.799 have the slightest idea what I'm supposed to do about 349 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:06.519 this relationship I'm in right now. I haven't the slightest 350 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.839 idea whether I should accept this job, offer what I 351 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:11.920 should do with the next five years of my life. 352 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.880 I'm confused. No, you're in the dark. What do you 353 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.000 do when you're in the dark? You flip on a light. 354 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.759 This is why you need to memorize this verse, because 355 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.319 it's a promise from God. And the next time you're 356 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.759 in the dark, and you're confused, and you don't know 357 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:29.400 which way to turn, and you don't know what to 358 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.680 do and how to go, what to do or all 359 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:34.200 of that. You just go God, you have said this 360 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.480 on one nineteen. Your word is a lamp to my 361 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:40.720 feet and a light to my path. God, keep your promise. 362 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.839 I'm going to start reading your word. Show me what 363 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:48.480 you want me to do. Let's bow our heads. Father, 364 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:49.920 I want to thank you for the Word of God. 365 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:55.359 I thank you that it calms our fears, It enlightens 366 00:19:55.440 --> 00:20:02.920 our mind, it strengthens our will, it grows our maturity. 367 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:08.720 I thank you Lord that it calms our worries and 368 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:12.599 it leads us in the dark. Oh, all of the 369 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:17.160 things that your word does. We want to commit to 370 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:21.440 being a part of an ongoing process of continuing in 371 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:25.240 your word. If you've never invited Jesus Christ in your life, 372 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.160 said Jesus Christ, I don't understand it all, but I 373 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.079 opened my life to you, and I want to start 374 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:32.839 that journey. I want to get to know you and 375 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:36.640 I want to know your purpose for my life. In 376 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:50.279 your name, I pray Amen. Hi everybody, This is Rick, 377 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:53.519 and I hope you enjoyed today's broadcast. You know, if 378 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:56.039 you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, 379 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:00.319 or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, 380 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.200 would you let me know about it. There's something real 381 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.160 about sharing your commitment. So write me Rick at Pastorick 382 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.359 dot com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment, 383 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.079 I gave my life to Christ. And I'll send you 384 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:16.440 some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus. 385 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.119 And I'll also pray for you. God bless you. 386 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:30.400 This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you've missed any 387 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:32.960 part of this message, or if you'd like to find 388 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:36.640 out more about Pastor Rick Warren in this ministry, just 389 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:41.240 visit Pastorick dot com where you can listen online anytime. 390 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.359 That's Pastor Rick with two rs inthemiddle dot com, and 391 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.160 be sure to sign up for Rick's free daily email 392 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:51.359 devotional while you're there. Rick will be back to close 393 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:55.119 out our time today. But first we have some really 394 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.160 exciting news. Generous friends of Daily Hope have offered a 395 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:03.240 fifty thousand thousand dollars matching grant that means whatever amount 396 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.799 you give to help share the hope of Jesus worldwide 397 00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:11.400 will be matched up to fifty thousand dollars, So twenty 398 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:15.720 five becomes fifty one hundred dollars becomes two hundred and 399 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:20.440 five hundred dollars becomes one thousand. Whatever amount you give 400 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.920 will be doubled by the grant. But don't wait, because 401 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.440