Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible
Speaker 1: teaching ministry of Rick Warren, and today we're continuing with
Speaker 1: this powerful series called the Jesus Model. In this series,
Speaker 1: Rick will walk you step by step through the process
Speaker 1: of true biblical discipleship. Rick's giving you practical tools to
Speaker 1: grow spiritually, experience God's peace, live with greater purpose, and
Speaker 1: become more like Jesus in every area of your life.
Speaker 1: So let's jump right in. This will be the final
Speaker 1: part of a message called how Jesus Handled Stress.
Speaker 2: Would you agree that noise is a stress? Yeah, it's
Speaker 2: a stress. And would you agree that the world is
Speaker 2: getting noisier? Yes, So you have to make intentional times
Speaker 2: of quietness and solitude in your life.
Speaker 3: Are you going to go batty?
Speaker 2: And if there's always noise in your life and the
Speaker 2: TV is always on and the radio is always on
Speaker 2: and the earbuds are always in your ear, You're not
Speaker 2: going to have the spiritual emotional resources to handle the
Speaker 2: stress in life. If Jesus knew he needed to get
Speaker 2: alone and pray and listen to God, so do you.
Speaker 2: So let me give you a little suggestion. Start your
Speaker 2: mourning with the good news, not the bad news. See,
Speaker 2: the reason why you're cranky all day is because you
Speaker 2: start your day the wrong way. In the first place,
Speaker 2: you wake up.
Speaker 3: To an alarm clock.
Speaker 2: So you start the day in a state of alarm and
Speaker 2: I'm alarmed. Okay, get rid of that thing, throw it away.
Speaker 2: Get a clock that has pastor Rick speaking to you.
Speaker 2: Wake up, Let a sleepyheads. You don't think about turning over.
Speaker 2: You see a lot of time we make excuses for
Speaker 2: not getting out and having a quiet time with guys.
Speaker 2: Oh God, I'm sorry. Something came up this morning, said yeah,
Speaker 2: I saw it as big and white.
Speaker 3: It's called a sheet, and.
Speaker 2: That kept me from having my time with God. So
Speaker 2: what you do is you get up, you know, put
Speaker 2: on some praise music or something.
Speaker 3: Don't get up in the morning.
Speaker 2: The first thing you do is get up and watch
Speaker 2: Bad Morning America. Are you read the paper or you
Speaker 2: listen to the radio. You're filling your mind with all
Speaker 2: the negative stuff. Now, if I asked you how many
Speaker 2: of you believe everything you're reading the newspaper, nobody'd raise
Speaker 2: your hand. If I asked how many of you listen
Speaker 2: to every believe everything on the radio, Nobody would raise
Speaker 2: their hand. How many of you believe everything you watch
Speaker 2: on TV? Nobody raise her hand. How many believe what
Speaker 2: God says in the Bible, you'd raise your hand. Why
Speaker 2: do we spend more time reading and listening to something
Speaker 2: we don't believe than some we do.
Speaker 3: That's not very logical.
Speaker 2: If you want to lower the stress in your life,
Speaker 2: you have to make a daily time with God where
Speaker 2: you listen to God and set your mood. Number six,
Speaker 2: the sixth principle of stress management. Here you'll think I'm
Speaker 2: making this up, but I didn't. It's right there in
Speaker 2: the word. The sixth principle collaboration is join a small group.
Speaker 2: Join a small group. Why because Jesus did. You were
Speaker 2: never intended to handle the stress in your life by yourself.
Speaker 2: You know the stress you're going through right now, that
Speaker 2: all that stress that you're caring right now. God never
Speaker 2: intended for you to handle it on your own. In fact,
Speaker 2: God wants you to share it with other people. We
Speaker 2: were made in the image of God, which means we're relational.
Speaker 2: God is love, father, son, Holy Spirit, is in relationship
Speaker 2: to himself. We were made for relationships. That's why the
Speaker 2: first thing God said is it's not good for men
Speaker 2: to be alone. You need other men in your life,
Speaker 2: you need other women in your life, and you need
Speaker 2: a small group. You weren't meant to carry all of
Speaker 2: the stress that you're carrying by yourself. Now complete this
Speaker 2: sentence for me. If you want a job done right,
Speaker 2: do it. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Okay,
Speaker 2: if you want a job done right, hire an expert
Speaker 2: to do it. Somebody can do it better than you.
Speaker 2: If you want a job done right, do it yourself.
Speaker 2: That's the motto of a perfectionist headed for burnout.
Speaker 3: Even Jesus didn't do that.
Speaker 2: If anybody had a right to say, if you want
Speaker 2: to do it right, do it yourself, Jesus would do it.
Speaker 2: Would Jesus do it better than his disciples?
Speaker 3: Yes? Did he still involve them in doing it? Yes? Why?
Speaker 2: Because we were meant to live life in community, in connection,
Speaker 2: in a group. And the the very first thing Jesus
Speaker 2: did before he ever started his ministry, as he started
Speaker 2: a small group, and he got twelve guys to be
Speaker 2: a part of his group. And he never did anything
Speaker 2: by himself. He did everything in ministry with a small group.
Speaker 2: He had a connection. He had a community. The Bible
Speaker 2: says this in Mark chapter three. He appointed twelve.
Speaker 3: Designating them apostles.
Speaker 2: The apostles just means somebody sent out. He was going
Speaker 2: to send him out after he left, that they might
Speaker 2: be with him, circle the words with him. This is
Speaker 2: the with him principle. If anybody had the right to
Speaker 2: do it on his own, it was Jesus. And even
Speaker 2: Jesus needed a small group. Now, so much of our
Speaker 2: stress is self imposed because we get uptight when we
Speaker 2: think it all depends on us. You're not the general
Speaker 2: manager of the universe, and if you resign as general
Speaker 2: manager of the universe.
Speaker 3: It's not going to fall apart. I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: When the Church Saddleback reached about five hundred people, I
Speaker 2: was burning out. I was still trying to be superman.
Speaker 2: I was trying to do every wedding, trying to do
Speaker 2: every funeral. I was trying to visit everybody in the hospital.
Speaker 2: I was trying to counsel everybody, save everybody's marriage. I
Speaker 2: was trying to do it all personally, and I was
Speaker 2: burning out. And we had about five hundred people. One
Speaker 2: man can handle about one hundred people. That's what he
Speaker 2: can add that's why most churches have one hundred people
Speaker 2: in him, because that's what one pastor can handle, about
Speaker 2: one hundred people. But now I had five hundred and
Speaker 2: I was just dying. And one night we had a
Speaker 2: midweek prayer service Bible study, and I went to the
Speaker 2: folks and I said, you guys, I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 2: I'm still in my twenties, but I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 2: I cannot personally meet everybody's needs. I can't counsel everybody.
Speaker 2: I can't go to everybody's funeral, everybody's wedding. I can't
Speaker 2: be at everybody, visit everybody in the hospital. There's too
Speaker 2: many people. And I'm dying and I'm going to burn out.
Speaker 2: But I said, you know what, as I read the Bible,
Speaker 2: that's not what God says pastors are supposed to do anyway.
Speaker 2: The Bible says the members are the ministers. They're supposed
Speaker 2: to take care of each other in small groups. They're
Speaker 2: to care for each other. And it is my job
Speaker 2: as a pastor to train and equip and pray for
Speaker 2: you and lead you and feed you, and you do
Speaker 2: the ministry to each other. And I said let's make
Speaker 2: a deal. If you will do the ministry of the
Speaker 2: church and you'll all get in small groups and take
Speaker 2: care of each other's needs, then I will make sure
Speaker 2: you're well fed. And the people said that, great, Rick,
Speaker 2: let's do it. And we shook hands on it, and
Speaker 2: we signed a covenant, and Saddleback exploded with growth because
Speaker 2: I wasn't the bottleneck anymore, and the bottleneck is always
Speaker 2: at the top for the bottle. Today, we have over
Speaker 2: four thousand small groups. We have one in every city
Speaker 2: in southern California, one hundred and forty six cities. We
Speaker 2: have Saddleback small groups from Santa Monica to Carlsbad.
Speaker 3: And if somebody.
Speaker 2: Is in a small group, I don't ever worry about
Speaker 2: them because I know that group's going to take care
Speaker 2: of their need. When they get sick, or they get
Speaker 2: laid off, or they're going through a stress, or they
Speaker 2: have a family member die, those people are going to love.
Speaker 2: It's the church being the church caring for each other. Now,
Speaker 2: if you're not in a small group, nobody's going to
Speaker 2: care for you in this church because we don't have
Speaker 2: any organization or system to care for you. Our system
Speaker 2: is what the Bible teaches it's small groups. It's from
Speaker 2: house to house. Why don't we get in small groups?
Speaker 3: There's two reasons.
Speaker 2: One of them is fear, I'm afraid I might have
Speaker 2: to say something, Well, you don't, And the.
Speaker 3: Other is arrogance. I don't need it.
Speaker 2: Even Jesus needed a small group. He didn't do anything
Speaker 2: without small group. In fact, when the rogue wind comes
Speaker 2: and things are tough and tied in your life, who
Speaker 2: are you going to turn to? And what you need
Speaker 2: is somebody to You need to have the safety net
Speaker 2: in place before the crisis comes.
Speaker 3: You're going to have.
Speaker 2: Crises in your life. You're going to get sick. People
Speaker 2: are going to die in your life. You're going to
Speaker 2: have there will be diseases, there'll be difficulties, marriage problems, divorces,
Speaker 2: drug issues. There are all kinds of things of friends
Speaker 2: and family. Things are going to happen in your life,
Speaker 2: and you need that thing in place. Did you know
Speaker 2: that Jesus before he went to the cross the night before,
Speaker 2: he knew he was going to be arrested, and so
Speaker 2: he went to a place called the Garden of Death Semone,
Speaker 2: and he went there to pray. But he didn't go alone.
Speaker 2: He took his small group with him. Even Jesus needed
Speaker 2: a small group in the tough time, and he was perfect.
Speaker 2: And you're not notice this. Next verse, Jesus said to them,
Speaker 2: that's his small group. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
Speaker 2: to the point of death. And he goes, Guys, I'm
Speaker 2: dying on the inside. I know what's going to happen tomorrow.
Speaker 2: I'm going to the cross. I'm gonna be crucified. My
Speaker 2: soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Speaker 2: Stay here with me, Stay here and keep watch with me.
Speaker 3: He said.
Speaker 2: I don't need your advice. I don't need your words
Speaker 2: of comfort. I just need you to be here with me.
Speaker 2: Even Jesus needed a small group of tough time. If
Speaker 2: you don't think you need a small group, there's a
Speaker 2: word for that, arrogance and foolishness. You must get in
Speaker 2: a small group if you want God's blessing on your life,
Speaker 2: and if you want the stress to go down. It's
Speaker 2: God's way of saying we need each other. Pride says,
Speaker 2: I don't need anybody.
Speaker 3: I'm okay on my own. I don't need to make
Speaker 3: time for a group.
Speaker 2: Yes, you do for your spiritual health, you need to
Speaker 2: be in a small group and it will reduce the
Speaker 2: stress in your life. You know, there are people in
Speaker 2: this church right now who'll be willing to help you
Speaker 2: with what you're going through right now if you just
Speaker 2: knew who they were. He said, well, Rick, you don't
Speaker 2: know my problem that my problems I'm going through right
Speaker 2: now are unique.
Speaker 3: Oh no, they aren't.
Speaker 2: We all have the exact same problems, just different variations.
Speaker 3: They're all a little tweaked.
Speaker 2: We all have the exact same problems, just in little variations. Now,
Speaker 2: Saddleback Church now has over one hundred thousand names on
Speaker 2: our role of attenders. That's the size of a city.
Speaker 2: Our church is larger than the city we're in. What
Speaker 2: does that mean? It means that in a church that size,
Speaker 2: how many other people have the same problem you're going
Speaker 2: through right now and are going through it right now?
Speaker 2: I guarantee you dozens, dozens of people in this church
Speaker 2: are going through the identical problem you're going through right now.
Speaker 2: But if you don't know them, how can you get
Speaker 2: any comfort?
Speaker 3: Share?
Speaker 2: And there are people who've already gone through what you're
Speaker 2: going right now, and they could help you with advice,
Speaker 2: been there, done that, and they could.
Speaker 3: Help you out.
Speaker 2: You got to be willing to get in a group,
Speaker 2: to humble yourself. Say okay, I'm gonna make the time
Speaker 2: to get in a small group. And now the number seven,
Speaker 2: the last one is This one's a fun one and
Speaker 2: you're gonna need this one too in your life. And
Speaker 2: it's just as important as all the others. It is
Speaker 2: the principle of recreation, and recreation is this, take.
Speaker 3: Time to recharge.
Speaker 2: If you're going to reduce the stress in your life,
Speaker 2: know who you are, know what you're living for, know
Speaker 2: your calling, focus on what matters most, don't worry about
Speaker 2: the rest, Listen to God, get in a small group,
Speaker 2: get connected, and then take time to recharge.
Speaker 3: Now Jesus did this. He frequently.
Speaker 2: He had more important work than you and I do,
Speaker 2: but he took time to relax, to go to parties,
Speaker 2: to weddings, to have fun, to kick back. In fact,
Speaker 2: look at this verse. The Bible says in Mark chapter six,
Speaker 2: crowds of people were coming and going. In other words,
Speaker 2: Jesus was he'd had no privacy. Crowds were just around
Speaker 2: him all the time. Crowds of people were coming and
Speaker 2: going so that they that's the disciples did not even
Speaker 2: have time to eat. When you don't have time.
Speaker 3: To eat, you're really busy. Okay.
Speaker 2: If you don't have time to eat, it means your
Speaker 2: your schedule's packed. They didn't even have time to eat.
Speaker 2: And so Jesus said to them, come away by your sels.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 2: And the King James says, come apart for a while.
Speaker 2: And I always say, if you don't come apart, you're
Speaker 2: gonna come apart. Come come away by yourselves, and we'll
Speaker 2: go to a lonely place to get some rest. Now,
Speaker 2: Jesus looks at his small group and he says, fellas,
Speaker 2: you deserve a break today, so let's get out and
Speaker 2: get away to McDonald's. Actually, Jesus often went to the
Speaker 2: desert to retreat. Seven different times in his ministry. He
Speaker 2: retreats to the desert and he goes out. You know,
Speaker 2: there's these palm trees and there springs of water. It's
Speaker 2: palm springs.
Speaker 3: That's what it is. Actually, and this.
Speaker 2: Is the biblical definition of a vacation. You need to
Speaker 2: go to palm springs. Okay, that's where you need to go.
Speaker 2: Palm springs palms and springs, go out to the desert.
Speaker 2: But you need to get away by yourself. Relax, get
Speaker 2: away with some friends, have some fun. Jesus frequently retreated
Speaker 2: to rest. Now, friends, rest and recreation are so important.
Speaker 2: They're right up there in the big Ten. God put
Speaker 2: them in the big Tin, the ten commandments, right along
Speaker 2: with don't commit adult tree and don't murder anybody. He says,
Speaker 2: every seven days, you take a day off, and you worship,
Speaker 2: and you rest and you have fun. And that's all
Speaker 2: I want you to do on that day. Don't do
Speaker 2: any work, rest, recreation, worship. It's called the Sabbath. And
Speaker 2: God says, right up there with don't kill anybody. He says,
Speaker 2: every seven days, you take a day off, and you
Speaker 2: spend a little bit of time in worship, and you
Speaker 2: spend a little time in rest, little respiration. Jesus said,
Speaker 2: the Sabbath was made for man's benefit, not man for
Speaker 2: the Sabbath. The reason God made the rule of every
Speaker 2: seven days you worship and you rest was not for
Speaker 2: his benefit. It was for ours, because most of us
Speaker 2: are not smart enough to take time off. I wonder
Speaker 2: right now, in our services, in all of our venues,
Speaker 2: and campuses. How many hours of untaken vacation are stored up? Hmm.
Speaker 2: If you're too busy to take your vacation time, you're
Speaker 2: too busy. And if you're too busy to pray, you're
Speaker 2: too busy. And if you're too tired time too busy
Speaker 2: to relax, you're too busy. You need to stop and
Speaker 2: smell of roses. You need to enjoy the moment. And
Speaker 2: unless you take time to relax and schedule, it is
Speaker 2: always going to be something more urgent. I love the
Speaker 2: verse Matthew eleven nineteen. The Phillips paraphrase says, Jesus came
Speaker 2: enjoying life. You know, the Pharisees accused Jesus being a
Speaker 2: party animal. So the guy's always going to parties, he's
Speaker 2: always drinking, eating. You want to be christ Like, be
Speaker 2: a purpose driven eater. Life is meant to be enjoyed,
Speaker 2: not merely endured. Now, sometimes we just are not smart
Speaker 2: enough for our own good. And if you don't take
Speaker 2: time off, God will make you take time off because
Speaker 2: He cares for you. In the most famous psalm in
Speaker 2: the Bible, it says Psalm twenty three, he makes me
Speaker 2: lay down by and green pastures by Still Waters. Has
Speaker 2: God ever made you lay down because you weren't smart
Speaker 2: enough to do it on your own? God says, if
Speaker 2: you will, if you won't look up to me, I'll
Speaker 2: just lay you flat on your back.
Speaker 3: Then you'll look up to me.
Speaker 2: And if you don't take time off, believe me, you will.
Speaker 2: Eventually you'll get sick, you'll get ill. You're gonna have
Speaker 2: it because God did not wired you for continuous work.
Speaker 2: Sometimes he has to use drastic measures to slow us down. Now,
Speaker 2: would everybody agree that stress is increasing in our culture?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: It is, And so you've got to take some intentional
Speaker 2: steps to combat the stress in your life.
Speaker 3: And what are the steps? These seven things? Know who
Speaker 3: you are.
Speaker 2: I'm created by God. He loves me, He made me,
Speaker 2: He has a plan for my life. Jesus died for me.
Speaker 3: Know what you're living for.
Speaker 2: I'm not living for the approval of my parents, or
Speaker 2: my wife, or my husband or my boyfriend. I'm living
Speaker 2: for the approval of God. I'm living for God. And
Speaker 2: if I do that, it will always be the right thing.
Speaker 2: Know you're calling. God has called me to do this,
Speaker 2: but not this. And I don't have to be everything
Speaker 2: to everybody know my purpose. Focus on what matters most.
Speaker 2: Don't get distracted. We're free to do all kinds of things,
Speaker 2: but it doesn't mean I should do it. Just because
Speaker 2: I can afford it doesn't mean I should buy it.
Speaker 2: And just because I got the time doesn't mean I
Speaker 2: should do it.
Speaker 3: Listen to God.
Speaker 2: That's the principle of meditation. Be quiet on a daily basis,
Speaker 2: have a quiet time, Join a small group so you
Speaker 2: got the relational connections to share the problems that are
Speaker 2: going on in your life, and when you need help
Speaker 2: that they're there to support you. And then take time
Speaker 2: to recharge. Now here is my homework a sign for
Speaker 2: you this week. As your pastor who loves you, and
Speaker 2: as your spiritual leader, I am commanding you to have fun. Okay, now,
Speaker 2: I don't want you. I don't want you doing honeydew lists.
Speaker 2: I don't want you catching up on email. I don't
Speaker 2: want you doing work that you haven't got done all
Speaker 2: the other time. You need to have some fun. It
Speaker 2: is better to have loafed and lost than to have
Speaker 2: never loafed at all. So your spiritual leader is commanding
Speaker 2: you to have fun tomorrow, and I have a good
Speaker 2: time Now there's one more stress reliever that Jesus didn't
Speaker 2: need because he was the son of God. He was
Speaker 2: very But we need it. And the last one is there,
Speaker 2: the last verson in your outline. This is the principle
Speaker 2: of salvation, and the principle of salvation is real clear.
Speaker 3: Give it all to Jesus.
Speaker 2: If you want to overcome your stress, you give it
Speaker 2: all to Jesus. Here's what Jesus said, Matthew eleven, Come
Speaker 2: to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
Speaker 2: and i will give you rest. Notice he doesn't say
Speaker 2: I'll give you more burdens. He says, I'll give you rest.
Speaker 2: Take my yoke up on you. What's a yoke. A
Speaker 2: yoke is when you take two animals and put them
Speaker 2: together so two are pulling the load instead of one.
Speaker 2: Jesus saying, yoke up with me, and I'll help you
Speaker 2: pull your load, so you won't be carrying it by yourself.
Speaker 3: I'll pull it with you.
Speaker 2: Put the yoke on with me, and I'll help you
Speaker 2: pull your load.
Speaker 3: He says.
Speaker 2: Take my yoke upon you and let me teach you
Speaker 2: because I'm humble and gentle, and you will find rest
Speaker 2: for your souls.
Speaker 3: Now, friends, this offer still stands today. He says.
Speaker 2: If you're tired, you're worn out, you're beat up, you're frustrated,
Speaker 2: you're ready to throw in the towel, you're stressed out,
Speaker 2: he says, don't give up. Look up, look up to God,
Speaker 2: because the single greatest source of stress is you trying
Speaker 2: to live your life disconnected from Jesus Christ. It's like
Speaker 2: being unplugged. There's no power in your life if you're
Speaker 2: disconnected from God. So what do you do, he says,
Speaker 2: Jesus says, come to me. It's real simple.
Speaker 3: Come to me.
Speaker 2: Come to Christ today. Give him your stress. He's very
Speaker 2: aware of all the load you're caring and he will
Speaker 2: help you. That's bow our heads. Let's pray this prayer
Speaker 2: together in our hearts. I'll say it, and you can
Speaker 2: just say me too.
Speaker 3: In your mind.
Speaker 2: Dear Jesus Christ, there's a lot of stress in our
Speaker 2: lives today, and we want to give it all to you.
Speaker 2: We want to give the good and the bad and
Speaker 2: the ugly of our lives to you.
Speaker 3: We want to.
Speaker 2: Invite you into every room of our lives, into the
Speaker 2: living room, into the study, into the bathroom, and the
Speaker 2: bedroom and the kitchen. We want you to be in
Speaker 2: charge of every area of our lives. We want to
Speaker 2: know who we're living for, and so we ask you
Speaker 2: to help us take these steps today. Now you pray
Speaker 2: this in your heart. You're Jesus Christ. Thank you that
Speaker 2: you made me to love me. Help me to know
Speaker 2: who I am and not depend on the approval of others.
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. I want to live for you, not for
Speaker 2: other people, not for the approval of peer groups, but
Speaker 2: for you. Help me to know my calling, to fulfill
Speaker 2: the thing that you gave me the desire to fulfill
Speaker 2: in my heart. Help me to focus my life on
Speaker 2: what matters most, not on stuff that didn't gonna even
Speaker 2: matter tomorrow. Teach me to listen to you. I commit
Speaker 2: to spending a time with you every day, just being quiet,
Speaker 2: even if it's just five minutes, reading your word, talking
Speaker 2: to you and letting you talk to me. If you're
Speaker 2: not in a small group.
Speaker 3: Today's your day, you say, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: I commit to getting in a small group, either starting
Speaker 2: one or with some friends, or or getting in a
Speaker 2: small group because I know that I need other people
Speaker 2: in my.
Speaker 3: Life like you did.
Speaker 2: And help me to take time to recharge, to learn
Speaker 2: to relax. Most of all, I want to yoke up
Speaker 2: with you. I want to go your direction at your pace,
Speaker 2: because you're not going to make me a workaholic. I
Speaker 2: want to find the rest for my soul. And so
Speaker 2: I give myself completely to you in your name, I pray.
Speaker 3: Amen.
Speaker 1: What a special message from Pastor Rick, and now let's
Speaker 1: hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick
Speaker 1: with a letter from one of our listeners.
Speaker 2: Hi, everybody, today, I want to read part of a
Speaker 2: letter that I received from June, who is a prisoner
Speaker 2: that was given a second chance by God. He wrote this,
Speaker 2: I'm a prisoner here in the National Penitentiary serving my sentence.
Speaker 2: I came to know the Lord inside myself thirteen years ago,
Speaker 2: and now I'm serving the Lord as an inmate. Pastor Rick,
Speaker 2: I always use your Daily Hope preaching and devotionals in
Speaker 2: sharing the words of God to my fellow prisoners, and
Speaker 2: I see people come to the Lord in many many ways.
Speaker 2: You know, before I was in prison and I came
Speaker 2: to know the Lord, I was a high ranking police
Speaker 2: officer and I was about to commit suicide because of
Speaker 2: the numerous charges filed against me. But when God saved
Speaker 2: me physically and spiritually, my journey in prison became the
Speaker 2: most wonderful vessel used by God to manifest his love
Speaker 2: to me. He never leaves me, nor forsakes me, and
Speaker 2: may His name always be glorified. Thank you, Pastor Rick,
Speaker 2: You're an inspiration and encouragement to all of us. Well, June,
Speaker 2: it's amazing to know your story and to hear that
Speaker 2: you're using the Daily Hope messages to teach your fellow
Speaker 2: inmates about Jesus Christ. That is fantastic. I couldn't be
Speaker 2: more happy. They need to hear that God gives second chances.
Speaker 2: They need to hear that He still has a plan
Speaker 2: and purpose for their lives even though they're in prison.
Speaker 2: Your story is a great reminder that any one of
Speaker 2: us can use what we learn through Daily Hope podcast
Speaker 2: devotionals and we can take these things and teach others
Speaker 2: about God's grace and forgiveness and unconditional love. Keep it up,
Speaker 2: my friend, God bless you.
Speaker 1: You know you can share the good news of Jesus
Speaker 1: by sharing Daily Hope. Just go to Pastor Rick, click
Speaker 1: on the listen tab and you'll find buttons where you
Speaker 1: can share the message by email or on social media
Speaker 1: or WhatsApp. Just go to pastorick dot com. Be sure
Speaker 1: to join us next time as we look into God's
Speaker 1: word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by
Speaker 1: Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support