WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:04.960 You know, we really live in a world that's full 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.480 of competing beliefs and values and choices, and what you 3 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.400 believe shapes how you live and ultimately who you become. 4 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:18.760 But the good news is God hasn't left us to 5 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:20.920 figure it all out alone. 6 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:21.239 No. 7 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.000 In fact, today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, we're going 8 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:30.079 to continue our series Reframing Your Worldview, where Rick Warren 9 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:34.119 unpacks powerful truths from God's Word to help you see 10 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:38.880 life clearly and live it with confidence and purpose. And 11 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.000 now to close out this message, here's Rick with the 12 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.960 final part called where did We come from? 13 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.679 Because there is a God, and because that God loved you, 14 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:54.640 thought of you, created you, sent usen to die for you, 15 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.439 puts His spirit in you, and all these things. Your 16 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:03.159 life has sanctity. You're identity has dignity. Number three, Your 17 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:08.480 days have destiny. Your days have a destiny That means 18 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:12.280 God has a defined purpose for your days while you're 19 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:15.280 here on earth. Now, they're not very long, but they're 20 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:18.840 here for a certain time. And the Bible says this, 21 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.560 All the days planned for me were written in your book, 22 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:28.840 that's God's book, before I was one day old. Did 23 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:32.000 you know that did you know that God already knows 24 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.640 everything that's going to happen in your life. He's not 25 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.560 surprised by anything. He knows it all. Hey didn't make 26 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:40.400 you do those things. He gave you a free will 27 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.760 to do it. But he knows it. And they were 28 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:47.760 all in that book before you were one day old. 29 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.079 Your days have a destiny. Now let's just review again. 30 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.200 The Bible says you're going to get about eighty years 31 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.799 on this planet, maybe ninety. Very few people make it 32 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:04.200 to one hundred years old. Now that's pretty tiny, pretty 33 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:08.199 insignificant compared to the billions of years you're going to 34 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.919 spend on the other side of death in eternity. And 35 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.960 so the Bible says, this life is preparation for the next. 36 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.120 This is the get ready stage, the kindergarten, the preschool, 37 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.080 the first lap, the warm up, the dress. Rehearsal for 38 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:25.360 the real show begins. And God wants you to practice 39 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:28.080 here on this planet what you're going to do forever 40 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.159 the purposes in eternity. We've talked about this many times 41 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:35.680 in detail, and God says, I put you here for 42 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:39.560 a destiny. And the Bible says this in Ephesians two 43 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:45.479 ten for We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 44 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:50.639 to do good works, which notice God prepared in advance 45 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.879 before you were even born, for us to do. God 46 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:59.000 prepared it in advance before you were born. God decided 47 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.639 how he was going to work whire you up. He 48 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:06.560 gave you certain ambitions, certain desires, certain drives. He gave 49 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.479 you certain interests. You know your hobby shore. Do you 50 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.199 think you got those? You got them from God. God 51 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.000 gave you those interests. And there's some things you couldn't 52 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.159 care less about. God gave those interests to somebody else. 53 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:22.360 And God uniquely shaped you to play a role in history. 54 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.719 And only you can play your role. And if you 55 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:28.479 don't be you, nobody else is gonna be you. We 56 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:30.960 talked about a couple of weeks ago. God likes variety. 57 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.280 There's nobody like you in the entire world, and He 58 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.560 wired you up uniquely to play a certain role in 59 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:42.280 this thing called history. Now, this is very important. God 60 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.400 never compares you to anybody else. Never. One day, you're 61 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.840 going to stand on a judgment day before God when 62 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:53.840 we'll all be evaluated, And the Bible says there that 63 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:57.039 God is going to look at your own life He's 64 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:58.520 not going to compare you like, well, why weren't you 65 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.080 more like that person over there? Why aren't you more 66 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:03.080 like your brother or your sister, your mom or your 67 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.039 dad or whatever. No, God does not look at what 68 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:11.439 you do. He looks at what you do compared not 69 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:15.960 to others, but compared to your potential. And he knows 70 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.399 your potential better than anybody else. He knows your potential 71 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.480 better than you do. And he wants to know what 72 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:26.279 are you doing with what you've been given? The talents, 73 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:29.879 the ability, the freedom, the parents, America, all of the 74 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.519 things that you have, the health, the eyes, sight, whatever, 75 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.639 what are you doing with what you've been given? He's 76 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:39.079 comparing you to what you could be, to what He 77 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:43.319 intended you to be when you started going on his 78 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.639 plan or you start going on your own plan. And God, 79 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:50.000 the Bible says, pays attention to every detail of your life. 80 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:55.319 He has every hair on your head numbered. The Bible 81 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:56.959 tells us that, in fact, he knows when one of 82 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.560 them falls out. So how could God keep track of 83 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:03.560 all those details? If human beings can create craze supercomputers 84 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:07.439 that can handle gazillions of computations in a nanosecond we 85 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.920 did that. God is bigger than all of us. He 86 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:14.360 can certainly handle the details of the universe, and he 87 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:16.879 cares about There is no detail of your life that 88 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.720 God is not interested in, none, because he sees it 89 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:24.199 all and cares about it all. Now can we miss 90 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:27.920 God's purpose in our lives? Absolutely, people do it all 91 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:29.839 the time. In fact, you can go all through life 92 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:33.000 and miss God's purpose for your life by your own choices. 93 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.079 And you choose say God, I'm going to go after 94 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.199 money instead of your purpose, Well, you will miss it. 95 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:40.560 Or God, I'm going to go after being popular at school, 96 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:42.879 You'll miss it. Or God, I'm going to do what 97 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.680 makes me happy with my boyfriend. Then you're going to 98 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.959 miss it. When you say God, I want your purpose 99 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:52.439 for my life, you won't miss it. He'll get you 100 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:54.920 in line, believe me, because he wants it more than 101 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:58.079 you do. But you can miss God's purpose in your life. 102 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:01.800 In fact, the tragedy is most people go through life 103 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:05.519 not knowing God's purpose. Well, is everything that happens to you? 104 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:08.120 It does. Everything that happen to you is that God's will, 105 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.920 God's perfect will for your life. Absolutely not. No, A 106 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:13.920 lot of things happen to you. That aren't God's will, 107 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.519 his perfect will for your life. What God gave you 108 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:19.680 a will, and you can choose to go God's will, 109 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.360 or your own will, or the devil's will. And we 110 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.920 always often choose to do our own thing instead of God's. 111 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.319 If I went out here tonight and I got drunk 112 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.680 and fell in a pool and drowned, that wouldn't be 113 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:36.000 God's will. That'd be a stupid decision I made. That 114 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.480 would be my will. Don't blame God for your problems. 115 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:43.519 We have our own problems. And God says I have 116 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:44.839 a will for your life, but I'm not going to 117 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.000 force it on you. You can choose to believe in 118 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.720 me or not believe in me. You can choose to 119 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:50.079 be a part of my family or not be a 120 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.600 part of my family. You can choose to follow my 121 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:55.439 purpose for your life or not. You were made in 122 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:57.959 my image. I give you the choice. I want you 123 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.120 to choose to love me. And that's why we're to pray. 124 00:07:01.240 --> 00:07:03.680 I will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God, 125 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:06.759 do your will in my life. It's done perfectly in heaven. 126 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:09.439 It's not done that way here. Now can God bring 127 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:12.439 good even out of the mistakes that we make in life. Well, 128 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:15.639 of course again he specializes in that, and that leads 129 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:20.040 us to the fourth benefit, the fourth implication. Because God 130 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:26.800 is God, my problems have intentionality. That means the problems 131 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.439 that you have have a purpose. Every problem in your 132 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:34.439 life has a purpose, every one of them. That means 133 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:38.480 there is meaning in the mess you're in right now now. 134 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:40.639 You can't see it. In fact, you rarely do. You 135 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.120 don't rarely see the meaning of the mess until you 136 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.000 get out of it and you look back and in hindsight, 137 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.720 hindsight's twenty twenty and you can see a whole lot better. 138 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.680 But there's meaning in the mess. God has a plan, 139 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:54.519 and God's purpose for your life is bigger than the 140 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:58.800 problems you're going through right now. Any of you remember 141 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:03.160 the TV show Guiver? Does anybody remember that show mcgiver? 142 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:07.399 Who is that guy? Richard Richard Dean Anderson. That was 143 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:09.600 a fun show to watch because this guy could make 144 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.279 something out of nothing. I mean, he could use anything 145 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:17.000 for his purpose. I mean it was fun just to 146 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:20.160 watch because you know, he'd take a lipstick canister and 147 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:23.199 a little carriage juice and some duct tape and make 148 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:27.959 a bomb. And whoa, that is cool. You know, he 149 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:29.839 just had this ability to take you know, a little 150 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:32.679 baling wire here and little you know, chewing gum and 151 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:34.879 a little acetone over here, and all of a sudden 152 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.440 he's got a rocket ship. And you know he could 153 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.399 just use anything ordinary things around him, good or bad, 154 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:42.840 for his own purposes. Let me tell you something. God 155 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:49.159 is better than mcguiver. Okay. He can take everything in 156 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.120 your life, the good stuff, the bad stuff, the nasty stuff, 157 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.759 the screwy stuff, the bizarre stuff, the hurtful stuff. He 158 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:00.120 can take any of it, and because he's God, he 159 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:03.919 can use it for good in your life. Now, God 160 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.960 doesn't cause the problems in your life, so stop blaming God. 161 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.320 God doesn't cause your problems. He doesn't have to. You 162 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:13.919 got plenty of problems on your own. Problems are cause 163 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:15.799 you cause a lot of your problems. They're caused by 164 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.799 other people. They're caused by the world. They're caused by 165 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:22.039 the environment, they're caused by DNA and genetics. They're caused 166 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:24.039 by the devil called God. Doesn't have to cause any 167 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.159 problems in your life. There are lots of causes, but 168 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:32.840 God allows them and God permits them for a good intention. 169 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.240 He has a good intention even when other people have 170 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:40.320 a bad intention. A great example of this is the 171 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.120 story of Joseph in the Bible. Over in the Book 172 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:46.320 of Genesis. Joseph was in a large family of He 173 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:51.559 had twelve brothers, and these brothers they were very jealous 174 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:56.120 of him. They were very, very jealous because he was 175 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.480 the father's favorite and they didn't like this guy, and 176 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.919 he was and so the brothers decided to throw him 177 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:05.080 into a pit and get rid of him. And then 178 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:07.440 some slave traders came by and they said, oh, let's 179 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.440 just sell him into slavery. So they sell their brother 180 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.240 into slavery, and the slave traders take Joseph to Egypt. 181 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.879 He's a Jew, he's from Israel. For the next forty 182 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:21.960 years of Joseph's life, everything goes wrong. Now he's doing 183 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:25.159 it right. He loves God, he's praying, he's doing the 184 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:28.399 right thing. He's trusting God. He has integrity. He gets 185 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.720 a job as the head of a master's household and 186 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.039 the wife of the master falls in love with him, 187 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.200 tries to seduce him, and he says, no, I can't 188 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:39.600 do that. I'm not gonna have sex with my master's wife, 189 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.159 so she accuses of him right falsely throws him into prison. 190 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:45.080 I mean everything, This is quite a story. You can 191 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:47.600 make a movie about this one. Everything goes wrong in 192 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.879 his life for forty years, and he's wondering, God, is 193 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.919 this really worth serving you? But he just kept on 194 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:57.639 having faith. Some of you are in that situation right now. 195 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:01.360 Everything's going wrong, and he just keep doing the right thing. 196 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:04.720 And God had him exactly where he wanted and at 197 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:08.480 the right time. Through a series of circumstances, Joseph is 198 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:11.960 raised up to power to become number two in the 199 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:16.159 nation of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. And he's not 200 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:20.759 even Egyptian, he's Jewish. But he sees that there are 201 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.440 famines in the Middle East, and so he puts into 202 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:27.840 it a government stories strategy where they start storing up grain. 203 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:30.480 And then when a seven year famine comes in the 204 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:33.759 Middle East, Egypt has enough food and he saves the day. 205 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.919 And he's very famous, and all the other nations start 206 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:39.600 coming down to Egypt to get grained because they didn't 207 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:44.320 save anything. And lo and behold these brothers, many many 208 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.840 years later are coming to Egypt to get grain from 209 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:50.360 the man. They don't realize is their brother that they 210 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:56.279 sold into slavery. When they finally meet, the brothers realize 211 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.879 that their lives on the line, that Joseph could be 212 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:05.399 in incredibly angry and upset and retaliatory. And we're chopped liver, 213 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:09.960 we're dead meat. You know, we're goners. And Joseph said 214 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.080 something very amazing. It's a mark of maturity. Here's what 215 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:16.399 he said on the screen in Genesis fifty twenty, you 216 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:20.519 talking to his brothers intended to harm me, but God 217 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.600 intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, 218 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:29.639 the saving of many lives. He said, you meant to 219 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:33.320 hurt me, and it hurt, but God intended it for good. 220 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:40.600 There is an intentionality behind my problems. Now listen, there 221 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.519 have been people in your life who intended to hurt you, 222 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:49.320 and they did. They hurt you with words. They may 223 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:55.080 have hurt you with physical you know, hurt. They may 224 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.000 have hurt you by being drunk and doing things to you. 225 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:05.759 They may have hurt you sexually. I'm sorry they intended 226 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:10.639 to hurt you, but God intends to bring good out 227 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.720 of it if you will give it to him and 228 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.039 trust him. If you will say, here are the pieces 229 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:17.200 of my life. God, the good and the bad. I 230 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.000 give you the pieces. God can bring peace out of 231 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:26.320 those pieces. God is bigger than the problems you've been through, 232 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:29.720 and His purpose is greater than the problems you've been through. 233 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.879 And he says, I have the problems are in heaven intentionality. 234 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.120 I will bring good out of them if you'll trust me. 235 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.720 God is more interested in your character than he is 236 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:46.679 in your comfort. You're not taking comfort to heaven. When 237 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:48.360 you get there, it's going to be comfortable. That's when 238 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.279 you get all the comfort and eternity. Right now is 239 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:54.600 the character building time? And how does God build character 240 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.679 in your life? Well, first, he builds it through truth. 241 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.559 That's why we're doing this series on World You so 242 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.440 that you know the truth about life. And the more 243 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:05.200 you know the truth that sets you free. So he 244 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.879 builds character through truth. He builds it through time. It 245 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.960 takes time to grow spirits, it can't happen overnight. He 246 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.840 builds it through testing. And God will test your integrity, 247 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.679 do you keep your promises? And he'll test your generosity, 248 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.120 and he'll test your humility, and he'll test your faith 249 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.360 all to make you stronger. And then he uses trouble 250 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.519 to help you grow in your life. You know, people 251 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:29.799 are like tea bags. You don't know what's inside of 252 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:34.879 him till you drop them in hot water. The Bible 253 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:39.639 says this in Romans chapter eight, Famous promise. We know 254 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:44.919 that God causes everything to work together for the good 255 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:47.879 of those who love God and are called according to 256 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:50.919 His purpose for them. Not everything's good, a lot of 257 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.799 bad in the world, but it works together for everybody. 258 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.320 To know. This is a promise for those who love 259 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.879 God and are trying to go in his purpose. Now, 260 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.879 if you don't love God, you're not trying to follow 261 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.279 his purpose in life. Everything does not work to good 262 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.240 in your life. It works for bad. God owes you 263 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:10.480 nothing if you're doing your own thing. But for those 264 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:12.360 to say, I love you, I want to be with you, 265 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:14.679 I want to know you, I want to follow your ways. 266 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:16.600 God says, you know what, then I'll take all of 267 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:18.159 the things that happen to you, even the stuff you 268 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:21.360 cause yourself, and I'll use it for good in your life. 269 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.919 And here's the problem. Because we aren't God, we can't 270 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.919 see the whole picture, and we can't see when you're 271 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.960 in that problem. You just can't see how any good 272 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.279 could come out of that possibility. You just can't see it, 273 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:37.480 and so you have to trust him. You have to 274 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.080 trust God to know what he is, what he's doing. 275 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.720 You see, most of the stress in your life comes 276 00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:47.559 when you forget that God is God and you're not. 277 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:51.279 And whenever you forget that and you try to be God, 278 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:54.360 it creates stress. That's why the Bible says, look up 279 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:57.320 here on the screen, Psalm one hundred, verse three. Remember 280 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:03.080 God is God. He may we didn't make him, So 281 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.720 we have to trust him in our problems. Because God 282 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:09.600 is God, your life has sanctity, your identity has dignity, 283 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:13.960 your days have destiny, your problems have intentionality, and best 284 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:19.200 of all, your future is eternity. It's not going to 285 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.960 end here on earth because there is a God and 286 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.840 you were made in his image. There's far more to 287 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.320 life than just here and now. Oh, this is just 288 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:29.080 a little sliver of what's to come. The Bible says 289 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.919 God made you to last forever. Your heart's going to 290 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.320 stop one day, your bodily functions are gonna shut down. 291 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.320 That's going to be the end of your body. It 292 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.919 will not be the end of you. You were made 293 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:45.120 in God's image, you have a spirit, and one day 294 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:49.200 that spirit will go on into eternity. And the Bible 295 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:53.480 says this in Psalm twenty three, the most famous sam 296 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:57.480 in the Bible. Surely goodness and love, Surely goodness and 297 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:01.320 mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 298 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:03.440 We can just stop right there. But then it adds this, 299 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:08.680 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 300 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:16.519 forever forever. That's a long long time. And God wants 301 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.559 you to be a part of his forever family. That's 302 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.119 why you were created. That's why he created the universe 303 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.880 so he could have a forever family. The Bible says 304 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.559 this Phesians one. This is God's purpose. When the time 305 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:34.759 is ripe, he will gather us all together from wherever 306 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:38.440 we are in heaven and or on earth, to be 307 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:44.279 with him in Christ forever. God wants to draw his 308 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:46.400 family together. Now, He's not going to force you to 309 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.039 be a part of his family. You have to choose 310 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:51.200 to be a part of it. He's not going to 311 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.200 force you to love him, to know him, to trust 312 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:56.960 him to do his purpose, and to be a part 313 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:59.119 of his family. You can say I don't believe in God, 314 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:01.640 don't I want to trust Jesus, I don't want to 315 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.000 follow the Lord. I don't want his purpose. I want 316 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.400 to do what I want to. God says, fine, have 317 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:09.839 it your way. He gives you the choice to reject him, 318 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.559 but you must be willing to live with the consequences 319 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:18.920 for eternity. You know, all of creation is preparing for 320 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.640 the biggest event ever in history. It's going to be 321 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:27.599 a time when the history on Earth ends and eternity begins, 322 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:31.799 and God gathers all of his children together who have 323 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.920 become his children, chosen to be his children, and He's 324 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:38.319 going to have a giant party for them, and it's 325 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:41.480 going to last for eternity. The Bible says this next verse, 326 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:47.920 all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when 327 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:56.279 God will reveal who his children really are. I'm going 328 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.200 to ask you the most important question you will ever 329 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:05.160 be asked in your life. Is your name going to 330 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:11.079 be on that list? Is your name going to be 331 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:15.759 on that invitation list? The party for God's children that's 332 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.960 going to last for eternity. You don't want to miss 333 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:24.680 that one. You want to make sure your name's on 334 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:32.759 the a list, because that one has eternal repercussions. You say, 335 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:36.039 how do I get on the list? It's your choice. 336 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:42.480 God has extended and open invitation. It's your choice. Here's 337 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.160 what he says, John one twelve up on the screen 338 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:49.559 to all who received him. That's received Jesus Christ into 339 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:53.319 your life. That gave them the right to become the 340 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.480 children of God. All they needed to do was trust 341 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:04.160 Him to save them. Friends, it's your choice. You can 342 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.240 live a life with God, or you can live a 343 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.039 life without God. It's your choice. God allows you to 344 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:12.519 do that. You're made in his image. You can live 345 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.000 a life with purpose, or you can live a life 346 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:20.200 without God's purpose. It's your choice. I told you last 347 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:22.920 week that I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. 348 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:25.839 I really don't. When I look at the world, when 349 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:28.240 I see everything created and I look around it at all, 350 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:32.319 I go, this is no accident. It takes far more 351 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:36.279 faith to believe that had just happened random chance accident, 352 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:40.759 like this watch just was a random chance accident. Yeah, 353 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.039 it just over a thousand years it became a watch, 354 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.920 or gazillion years it became. No, I don't believe that. 355 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.559 I believe design is an indication of a designer, and 356 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.799 you're blind to not see that I don't have enough 357 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.680 faith to not believe in God to be an atheist. 358 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:04.759 But not only that, I reject the logical implications of 359 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.480 rejecting God, which is a life with no sanctity, a 360 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:13.400 life with no dignity, a life with no destiny, a 361 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.599 life with no intentionality, and a life with no eternity. 362 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:25.880 That's not living, that's existing. What's bow our heads? Will 363 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.240 you pray this prayer in your mind? Say, Dear God, 364 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:36.279 thank you for creating the universe. Thank you for creating 365 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.640 this world. Thank you for thinking of me before you 366 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:45.880 created it all. I'm amazed that you would love me 367 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:49.920 that much. Thank you for wanting me to be a 368 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:56.799 part of your family forever. Jesus Christ, I thank you 369 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:01.880 for dying for me. I don't understand it all, but 370 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:05.079 I want to trust in you and invite you to 371 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:12.440 fill my life with your life and your spirit. I 372 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:14.400 ask you to make me a part of your family. 373 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:21.279 Thank you for making me for a purpose. Please forgive 374 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:25.680 all the things I've done wrong. Please restore my dignity, 375 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:32.759 give me a new identity, secure my destiny for eternity, 376 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:39.640 and help me to treat everybody with dignity and to 377 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.240 share this good news with those who don't know it yet. 378 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:46.519 I pray this in your name, Amen. 379 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.440 If you just prayed to receive Jesus congratulations, we would 380 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.079 love to send you some free materials to help you 381 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.279 along on your spiritual journey. Just email Rick at pastorick 382 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:07.720 dot com. That's Rick at pastorick dot com. Now here's 383 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:09.240 Rick with today's offer. 384 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:12.200 You know, I've been a pastor for over three decades, 385 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.319 and I've been teaching the Word of God for over 386 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:18.119 four decades. And in all of that time, the number 387 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.599 one question I've been asked by people is this, how 388 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:25.880 can I change or why can't I change? I've talked 389 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:29.119 to literally thousands and thousands of people who want to 390 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:33.200 change but are just stuck and they can't figure out 391 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.279 how to get unstuck. You know, the truth is you 392 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.279 can't change on your own because willpower alone isn't enough 393 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.839 to make permanent changes. Sure, you can force yourself to 394 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:46.359 change for a month or two months, but pretty soon 395 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.000 you're going to go back to your old ways. Pulling 396 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:53.279 yourself up by your own bootstraps is not enough. Talking 397 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:57.880 yourself into a change by positive thinking is not enough. 398 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:04.319 The Bible says true transformational change only comes through the 399 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:08.480 power of God inside you. So let me ask you 400 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:10.880 a personal question. How do you want to be different 401 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:13.759