WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:05.919 Hello, and thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's 2 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.480 Daily Hope. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren, 3 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.960 and today we are continuing in a series called the. 4 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:14.080 Miracle of Mercy. 5 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:17.600 Rick will show us how God's mercy can lift your guilt, 6 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:21.679 heal your wounds, and transform the way you live. And 7 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:24.559 now here's part two of a message called God can 8 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:25.600 Use anybody. 9 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:29.320 Now here's the third key, the third secret of being 10 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:31.559 used by God the rest of your life, no matter 11 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:34.200 what's happened in your past. Here it is number three. 12 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:42.119 Remember it's not about me. Remember it's not about me. Now, 13 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.359 every time you forget that, you're gonna either get bitter 14 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:50.840 from problems or you're gonna get prideful from blessings in 15 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.759 your life. And when you forget that it's not about you, 16 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.159 you take everything personally. In verse five, Paul gives this 17 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:05.560 third key. He says, this our message is not about ourselves. 18 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:11.439 It's about Jesus Christ. It's about Jesus Christ as the Lord. 19 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.000 We are merely. 20 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.439 Your servants for Jesus's sake. He uses this phrase for 21 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:20.400 jesus sake twice in this chapter. He says, it's not 22 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:25.799 about us. It's all about Jesus. Does anybody remember the 23 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:27.560 first sentence of the purpose driven. 24 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:32.879 Life, It's not about you. It's not about you. 25 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.359 That is the most counter culture statement you could possibly 26 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:42.840 make in today's society. It's not about you. It's the 27 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:48.040 exact opposite of everything you're taught, because everything else in 28 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:54.000 our society says it's all about you. Every advertisement appeals 29 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:58.280 to your self centeredness, it appeals to your narcissism. Every 30 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:00.799 single message you get every day goes. 31 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.599 It's all about you. We do it all for you. 32 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:08.639 Have it your way, You deserve the break today, Today 33 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:12.759 you get the best your number one. It's all about you. 34 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:15.560 You need to think of what's best for me. I 35 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.680 need to think of what's best for me, and on 36 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:21.240 and on every a thousand times a day. Our society 37 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:25.560 says it's all about you. It's very hard to live 38 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:29.800 an unselfish life in today's culture because our entire culture, 39 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.759 in our entire economy, is built on the fact that 40 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:36.280 everybody says, no, it's all about you. It's not. You 41 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.240 are not the center of the universe. God is the 42 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:41.639 center of the universe. And when you live a self 43 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.039 centered life, as I said, you become frustrated, you become unfulfilled, 44 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:49.680 and eventually you become bored. You know, when I wrote 45 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.560 that sentence and purpose Liven Life, first sentence of the book, 46 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:58.240 it's not about you. Honestly, I had no idea that 47 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:00.759 I was going to be tested on that sense every 48 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:06.319 day for the rest of my life. I sometimes thirty 49 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:08.400 forty times a day I have to say that sentence 50 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:12.520 to myself, It's not about you. And when I get 51 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.240 a great opportunity to do something, it's not about you. 52 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.879 And when I face a big, big problem, it's not 53 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:24.080 about you. And when I'm criticized fairly or unfairly, it's 54 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:28.599 not about you. And when I'm praised and somebody says 55 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:33.360 something nice, it's not about you. And when somebody gets angry, 56 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.560 I go, it's not about you. And when somebody's upset 57 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.280 because their needs not being met, it's not about you. 58 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.680 I sometimes have to say that twenty thirty forty times 59 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:47.360 a day to myself, it's not about me. In fact, 60 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:52.680 sometimes I wish I hadn't written that sentence because I 61 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.080 didn't want to be tested on it every day for 62 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.199 the rest of my life. That God's gonna say Okay, Rick, 63 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:02.120 you wrote it, you're gonna live it? Are you going 64 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.439 to live it? It's not about you, It's all about God. 65 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:06.879 Now. 66 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:10.199 Learning to follow Christ and learning to let Jesus Christ 67 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:13.159 use you in an amazing way is all about motivation. 68 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.199 God is far more interested in why you do what 69 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.879 you do than what you actually do. There might be 70 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.720 one hundred things you could do with your life that 71 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:26.759 God say, fine, that's great. I made you, I shaped you. 72 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:28.720 Any one of those would be fine with me. There 73 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:30.600 might be one hundred different things God would say that 74 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:32.240 would be fine for you to do with your life. 75 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:34.040 What he is interested in is why you do it. 76 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:39.120 God is not interested in your methodology as much as 77 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:44.720 he is interested in your motivation. You can have the 78 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:49.439 right methodology and you do everything right and you're very 79 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.519 successful in life, but if you've got the wrong motive, 80 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:56.439 it doesn't count with God. On the other hand, you 81 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:59.319 could really mess up and you do it all wrong, 82 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:01.160 and you have so many failures and you have so 83 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.160 many mistakes you have, but you got the right motive. 84 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:04.360 God goes, that's good enough. 85 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:08.879 Why is always more important than what, And when you 86 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.639 figure out why you do what you do in life, 87 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:16.920 God will show you how. It's always about motivation, and 88 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:19.079 you've got to remember it's not about me. So I 89 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.560 have to continue to ask why am I doing this. 90 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:26.920 I see this happening all the time in people who 91 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.040 become believers, that become followers of Christ, and then they 92 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:32.959 want to get involved in like a ministry of Saddleback Church. 93 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:37.800 We have every week over twenty five thousand people volunteer 94 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:40.759 their time for free in one of five hundred and 95 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:43.399 fifty ministries in the community. We don't do ministry in 96 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.720 the church. We do it out in the community helping 97 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:49.040 other people. And over twenty five thousand people every week 98 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:53.199 volunteer their time in this church. And I noticed that 99 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:55.439 when they first start serving as a brand new believer, 100 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.079 you're doing it with the right motivation. You're aut of 101 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:02.240 gratitude to God. But nobody's telling you to do this, nobody. 102 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.600 You're not fearful, you're not pressured. It's just I want 103 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:07.519 to give back God has saved me. 104 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:09.399 I want to do something with my life. 105 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.839 I want my life to count and I just ingratitude. 106 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.480 I want to serve God. But I see slowly, over time, 107 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.120 sometimes people who are doing a particular work or service 108 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:23.879 or ministry. All of a sudden, the motivation starts changing, 109 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:25.839 and all of a sudden, I do it for the 110 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.680 wrong reasons. I like the approval I get, I like 111 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:30.839 the applause I get. 112 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:32.040 It makes me. 113 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.680 Feel important, and all of a sudden, I'm doing it 114 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.279 for me. And a lot of times what happens is 115 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.399 people who start off as servants end up as celebrities. 116 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.240 I see this happen in pastors all the time. You know, 117 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:49.360 I coach pastors. Success is actually not really good for 118 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:52.480 pastors because it can mess with your mind, particularly if 119 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:55.160 you have a lot of success early in your life 120 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.800 in your ministry and your church. And I see guys 121 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:02.079 who started off genuinely loving God in serving Christ in 122 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:06.360 their church, and they turn from servants into celebrities, and 123 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:10.759 they're not realizing it's not about them. It's not about them. 124 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.560 They're doing it for Jesus' sake. Now, Paul is crystal 125 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.240 clear twice in this passage. Jes says, I do what 126 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:19.800 I do for Jesus. I do it for Jesus Ac 127 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.120 not for me. And he says we're just servants for 128 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:25.759 Jesus ake. Now down in verse seven, he continues this, 129 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.279 and he says, you know, we're just like clay jars. 130 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.120 We're just like jars of clay in which this treasure 131 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:37.720 is stored. God puts his power, God puts his love, 132 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:42.040 God puts his mercy inside you. You're just the jar 133 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:44.920 of clay. He puts his treasure in you. He says, 134 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.279 the real power comes from God and not from us. 135 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:51.279 So he says, you know, our frail bodies are like 136 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.319 clay jars. 137 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.879 And some of us have big jars. 138 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:01.240 Okay, what happens if you drop a clay prop pot? 139 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:08.079 It breaks, and we're all crackpots. We're all crackpots. We're 140 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:13.279 all broken, we're all flawed. Nobody is flawless, nobody is blameless, 141 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.920 and we're all a little cracked. And that's okay because 142 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:20.120 when it is through the cracks that the light can 143 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.600 shine out and the glory of God shines out. See 144 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:25.399 a lot of people think that God wants to use 145 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:28.360 your strengths. Well he does, but he actually uses your 146 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:32.200 weaknesses even more than your strengths. Because, as as I 147 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:35.320 just said, when when you go out and say, hey, 148 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:38.399 let me tell you what I'm good at, I could 149 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.240 tell you all the things I'm good at all the 150 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:42.519 awards I've won, all the opportunities I've had. 151 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.919 You go well, goody for you. That doesn't make us 152 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:46.639 feel close. 153 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.399 And when people you share your strength, people they resent you, 154 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:52.600 they're jealous of you, they're envious of you, and they 155 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.320 just they blow you off. The guy's full of pride, 156 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.879 she's full of pride whatever. On the other end, when 157 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:02.759 you share your weaknesses and you share the problems you're 158 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:07.039 going through, and you share how God shines through your weakness, 159 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.840 people go wow. It draws them close, It pulls them 160 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:13.799 into intimacy. This is why a lot of marriages aren't close. 161 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:18.120 They don't share their weaknesses with It hasn't ever. 162 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.120 Got to that stage. 163 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:26.679 God has always used flawed instruments. Every person God has 164 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:30.399 ever used was flawed, except Jesus Christ. 165 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:31.840 Because obviously he was the son of God. 166 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:35.559 I'd have to admit, looking back over my life, that 167 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:40.240 I've gone through four stages in dealing with my own weaknesses. 168 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:44.240 When I was a young man, I actually just denied 169 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.600 my weaknesses. I was so afraid of my own weaknesses 170 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.080 I wouldn't even admit him to myself, much less anybody else. 171 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.120 And sadly, you can find people who are thirty, forty 172 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:59.759 fifty years old who can't admit their weaknesses, and they 173 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:02.879 never I apologize for anything, and they won't admit when 174 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.159 they're wrong, and they can't admit their weakness. And anytime 175 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:07.960 you find somebody who can't admit a weakness, you know this, 176 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:14.759 they're extremely insecure. The more secure you are in God's mercy, 177 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.080 the more secure you are in God's love, the more 178 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.639 open and honest you will be about your weaknesses. The 179 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.759 more insecure when you don't feel God's mercy and you 180 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.600 don't feel God's love, the more you're going to deny 181 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:30.600 your weaknesses. And I did that as a young man. 182 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:35.000 I denied my weaknesses. I wouldn't even admit it to myself. Later, 183 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.519 they just got so big I couldn't deny them anymore, 184 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:40.679 and so I moved to phase two, in which I 185 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:41.519 just hid them. 186 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:43.279 I knew them, I knew. 187 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.320 My weaknesses, but I didn't want anybody else to see them. 188 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.440 So I hid my weaknesses. And that always makes more stress, 189 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.240 and it can give you fear and panic and all 190 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:56.200 kinds of things when you're hiding your weaknesses. Then I 191 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.360 finally moved, and this was decades ago where I actually 192 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.159 accepted my weaknesses and I said, okay, this is part 193 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:05.440 of the package. You are a bundle of both strengths 194 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:08.200 and weaknesses, and so am I. You have some great 195 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.480 strengths in your life, but you also have some major weaknesses. 196 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.200 They do not cancel out each other. Both are true. 197 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:17.919 I have some great strengths in my life, but I 198 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:21.080 also have some great weaknesses in my life. And God 199 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.039 gives us these both so that we don't get too 200 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.320 prideful and think we don't need God and think we 201 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.840 don't need other people. But I finally accepted them, and 202 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:34.759 then a couple decades ago, I actually started glorying, glorying 203 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.919 in my weakness and goes, hey, look at my weaknesses. 204 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:41.960 God is using me. I am a trophy of God's mercy. 205 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.200 I am a trophy of God's grace. I don't deserve 206 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.679 to be the pastor sadle Back church. I don't deserve. 207 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.120 I didn't deserve to write purpose driven life. I don't 208 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.720 deserve all these places. I've been invited to speak all 209 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.399 around the world and meet with famous people. They like 210 00:11:58.639 --> 00:11:59.159 none of that. 211 00:11:59.440 --> 00:11:59.840 It's all. 212 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.960 It's just God's mercy in spite of my weaknesses. And 213 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.559 when you do that, then God can use you and 214 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:12.000 you realize it's not about you. You see, Humility is 215 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:17.159 not denying your strengths. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses. 216 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.840 God only uses humble people. God does not use prideful people. 217 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.000 But pride is not going out and saying, well, I'm 218 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:26.200 just not good at this when you really are. No, 219 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:31.519 that's fake pride, that's false pride. That's actually, you know, 220 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.639 a false humility, that's actually pride. A false humility says 221 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.480 I'm not really good at this when you really are 222 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:40.159 and you know you are good at it's okay to say, hey, 223 00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.320 I'm good at this. There's some things in your life 224 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.399 you're good at, and it's okay to admit it. I'm 225 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:47.720 good at this, but it's the mercy of God that 226 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.320 made me good at this. I was just I didn't 227 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:52.879 ask for my talents, it's just what God gave me. 228 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.039 So thank God, I'm good at this. But then at 229 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:56.679 the same time, you go, but I'm not good at 230 00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:02.440 this or this or this. That's true not putting yourself down. 231 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:07.080 It's humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking 232 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:13.279 of yourself less and all of a sudden, the focus 233 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.919 is not on you. You focus on everybody else. I've 234 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:18.159 told you this for you walk into party and if 235 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:20.000 the first thing you're thinking is what does everybody think 236 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:20.360 about me? 237 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:21.279 That's pride. 238 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:24.879 When you walk into a room, the same room and 239 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.559 you go, what do these people need that I might 240 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.360 be able to give them? Who's in pain here that 241 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.480 I might be able to help, that's humility. You're not 242 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:35.240 thinking less yourself, You're thinking of yourself less, and so 243 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:39.440 you admit that it's not about me. Here's number four 244 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:42.919 and this is a really big one. And if you 245 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.720 get this, God will use you and bless you in 246 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:49.960 ways you cannot possibly imagine. Paul talks about this in 247 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:54.000 the next passage, and it is this, use my pain 248 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:58.840 to help others. This is a secret of being used 249 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:04.919 by God. Use my pain to help others. If you 250 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:08.039 do this, God will bless you in ways you cannot 251 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:12.360 possibly imagine. Use the things you're ashamed of, Use the 252 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.000 things that have hurt you the most, Use the things 253 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:17.240 that have been problems in your life in order to 254 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:19.480 help other people going through those same things. 255 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:21.919 Use my pain to help others. 256 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:25.480 Now, Paul went through enormous pain in his life, which 257 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:29.279 was why Paul could be used by God in enormous ways. 258 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:30.360 Look up here on the screen. 259 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.000 Later in the same book Second Corinthians, he says this, 260 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.000 He's given his testimony about pain. He says, I've worked 261 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:43.320 much harder. I've been in prison more frequently. I've been 262 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:47.600 flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and 263 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:50.440 again in my ministry. In other words, the work that 264 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:55.399 God has me doing. He says, five times I've received 265 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:59.840 thirty nine lashes. Now, think about how many scars were 266 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:02.639 on on the back of Paul. Five times thirty nine. 267 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.159 That's how many stripes, how many scars he out on 268 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:08.440 his back? Five times I received thirty nine lashes. Three 269 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:12.279 times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. 270 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:14.200 And it's not the kind of stone you're thinking of. 271 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.720 He says. Three times I. 272 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:24.399 Was shipwrecked out in the Mediterranean a sea, not once, 273 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:27.399 not to watch. Three times I was shipwrecked, he said. 274 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:28.799 I spent a night in the day in the open 275 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:31.799 cy one day just holding on the driftwood after one 276 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.679 of those shipwrecks, before I floated ashore at Cyprus. And 277 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:39.080 he says I've worked much harder. I've been in prison 278 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.159 more frequently. I spent a night in the day in 279 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.720 the open sea. And I've been constantly on the move, 280 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:47.840 he said. I'm never able to settle down. I'm always 281 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:50.279 on the move because I'm trying to help other people. 282 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.279 He said, I've been in danger from rivers. I've been 283 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.200 in danger from bandits from my own countrymen from Gentiles. 284 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:59.559 I've been in dangers in the city, in the country, 285 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.639 at sea. I've been in danger from false brothers, people 286 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.159 who betrayed me and cheated me. 287 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:04.879 He said. 288 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:10.279 I've often gone without sleep. I've known hunger, and I've 289 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:14.399 all known thirst, and I've often gone without food. I've 290 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.279 been cold, I've been naked. I took my clothes away. 291 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:21.279 Besides everything else, I faced the daily pressure of my 292 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.639 concern for all the churches. And tell me again your problem, 293 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:30.279 and you think you got problems. Paul was used in 294 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.159 an enormous way because he had enormous pain, and he 295 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.440 used it for good and God. Now, if we were 296 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.399 to bring Paul here on the stage today and say, Paul, why. 297 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:39.399 Did you put up with all that? 298 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:42.840 Why did you go through all those beatings and all 299 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.600 those whippings, and allow yourself to be thrown into prison 300 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:50.480 so many times and robbed? And why did you travel 301 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.279 by foot all over you know, the Roman Empire? And 302 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.480 why did you put up with shipwrecks and go without 303 00:16:57.519 --> 00:16:59.440 food and go without water? 304 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:00.799 And and why. 305 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.600 Did you put up with going without sleep and without 306 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.799 comfort and without safety? And why did you never give up? 307 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.680 And he would say the same thing, I'm using my 308 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:13.319 pain to help others. I want to bring people to 309 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:17.519 Jesus Christ. I'm using my pain to help others. Here's 310 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.640 his response, verse eight and nine. He says, we often suffer, 311 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.759 but we're never crushed. And even when we don't know 312 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.880 what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, 313 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.640 God is with us. And when we're knocked down, we 314 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.480 get up again. Now you're going to go through pain 315 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:39.519 in your life, you may as well use it for good. 316 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.599 Don't waste your pain. You're going to have pain in 317 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:48.039 your life, use it to help others. In next verse, 318 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:51.200 verse fifteen, he says this, now, all of these sufferings 319 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.119 that He's gone through, all of these sufferings of ours, 320 00:17:54.440 --> 00:18:01.920 are for your benefit. This is called redempt suffering. It's 321 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.720 suffering for the benefit of other people. In life, there 322 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:10.039 are three kinds of suffering. Three kinds of suffering. The 323 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.480 first is the kind of suffering that we bring on ourselves. 324 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.160 We do this all the time. You know, eat the 325 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.799 wrong food, you don't exercise, your body is going to 326 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.559 suffer from it. We bring a lot of problems, a 327 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:24.279 lot of suffering we cause because of our poor decisions, 328 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:27.720 words we say, things we do, responses we make, and 329 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:31.559 relationships and bad decisions, and so a lot of suffering 330 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.799 we just bring on ourselves from our own poor judgment. 331 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:38.160 That's one kind of suffering. God can even use that though, 332 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.920 to help other people. Second kind of suffering is innocent 333 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:46.440 suffering through no fault of yours. You're hurt by somebody else. 334 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.079 You may have been molested, you may have been raped, 335 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:54.559 I'm sorry. You may have been abandoned, you may have 336 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.680 been rejected, and many people, all of us, have been 337 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:02.000 have suffered innocently at the hands of other people. You 338 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:03.799 may have been scammed, you may have been ripped off, 339 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:08.240 you have been cheated on, somebody who was unfaithful to you, 340 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.720 And we're all hurt by the sins of other people. 341 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:15.359 And that's innocent suffering. God can use that too for good. 342 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:19.960 But the highest form of suffering is redemptive suffering, where 343 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.279 you choose to put up with pain and problems in 344 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.759 order to help other people, in order to bless others. 345 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.079 When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he was doing 346 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.599 redemptive suffering. He was redeeming the world. He was paying 347 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:38.519 the redemption for your sins. He wasn't dying for his sins, 348 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:43.000 he was dying for your sins. That's redemptive suffering, suffering 349 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.960 on the benefit of others. Now, God can use all 350 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:48.519 three of them for good, even the ones you bring 351 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:51.680 on yourself. He can use it all for good if 352 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:53.680 you'll give it to him and say, God, I want 353 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.880 you to use my pain to bring. 354 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:56.960 Benefit to others. 355 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.119 He says, all of these sufferings are for your benefit. 356 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.240 That's why I put up with all this. And he says, 357 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.720 in the more of you who are one to Christ, 358 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:10.240 he said, the more there are to thank Him for 359 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:15.720 his great mercy, and the more God gets glory. Now 360 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.039 you know, Kay and I have tried to do this 361 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.440 with our lives. We've tried to use our pain to 362 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:23.279 help other people. We're not going to waste our pain. 363 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.319 Many of you know that our marriage was a wreck 364 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:30.319 in the early years and we could have been in 365 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.039 divorce court early on in our marriage and we did 366 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:35.400 not get along. But we went and got counseling, and 367 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.680 then we said, we're going to use our pain. 368 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:39.119 To save other people's marriage. 369 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.839 And so we talked openly about our problems and our 370 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:45.680 less than perfect marriage and how God used that to 371 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:50.480 help others. Kay's had cancer twice. I had a father 372 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.519 in law with cancer, had a father with cancer. Kay 373 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:57.599 had cancer, had a child who had cancer. And we've 374 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:01.920 used that for good. And you know, even having a 375 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:06.279 son who is mentally ill who took his life. We said, 376 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:09.799 we're not gonna waste our pain. We're gonna even use that. 377 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.119 And all this last week Kay was on a road 378 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:16.680 trip back on the East Coast speaking at universities and 379 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.839 things on mental health because we're not gonna waste our pain, 380 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:31.359 We're gonna use it for good and God. And Paul says, 381 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:36.000 I keep going because I know it's helping others and 382 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:39.880 I know it's bringing people to Christ. Now, why does 383 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:45.000 Saddleback Church keep growing? I mean, how big does Saddleback Church. 384 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:45.279 Need to get? 385 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:48.079 Couldn't we have like just stopped to say ten thousand people. 386 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:49.000 That's enough. 387 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.359 Ten last weekend for Easter, fifty four thousand people came 388 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:55.599 to a saddleback campus. 389 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.279 Fifty four thousand, right. 390 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:04.599 More important than that, one thousand, eight hundred and sixty 391 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:10.640 four people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Okay, eight 392 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:14.799 hundred and sixty more people. Now, that took ten thousands 393 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:18.720 of hours of volunteer time, people who did all kinds 394 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.039 of volunteer work at every campus in order for that 395 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:22.519 to happen. 396 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:23.319 Why do we do it? 397 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.440 We do it for Jesus' sake, and we do it 398 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:28.720 because people need the Lord. We do it for the 399 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:30.960 benefit of others. We're not doing this for our benefit. 400 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:33.200 We don't grow for our benefit. We don't need a 401 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:35.960