WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.290 --> 00:00:04.129 Now to understand your life purpose and understand your life calling, 2 00:00:04.150 --> 00:00:06.650 you have to begin with God because God created you 3 00:00:07.389 --> 00:00:09.830 and you can't tell yourself what your purpose is, only 4 00:00:09.869 --> 00:00:12.849 your creator can tell you what your purpose is. And 5 00:00:12.890 --> 00:00:16.449 your purpose, your calling in life actually begins in the 6 00:00:16.510 --> 00:00:19.250 nature of God. Now the Bible tells us that God 7 00:00:19.510 --> 00:00:22.370 is love. We have talked about this so many times. 8 00:00:23.070 --> 00:00:26.829 That God doesn't have love, God doesn't just show love, 9 00:00:27.309 --> 00:00:32.960 God is love. Love is the nature, the character, the 10 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:36.009 essence of God. There would be no love in the 11 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:41.009 universe if it weren't for the fact that God is love. 12 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:45.070 The only reason you're able to love, the only reason 13 00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:47.909 you're able to give it and receive love is because God, 14 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:50.649 who is a God of love, made you in his image. 15 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:57.829 Ants can't love. Snails can't love. Cows can't love. But 16 00:00:58.369 --> 00:01:01.729 human beings love because we're made in the image of God. 17 00:01:01.750 --> 00:01:05.750 Now the Bible says that everything in the universe was 18 00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:10.170 created so God could love it. God has never made 19 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:13.319 anything he doesn't love. He loves every rock, every tree, 20 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:17.700 every plant, every animal, every human being. God has never 21 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.060 made anything he doesn't love. So if you're alive, it 22 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.980 means God loves you. And you were created as an 23 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:29.510 object of God's love. The Bible says this in Ephesians 24 00:01:29.549 --> 00:01:35.400 chapter one, there on your outline. Long ago, even before 25 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:41.260 he made the world, God loved us and chose us. Whoa, 26 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.840 let me just stop right there. Before God even created 27 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:46.180 the universe, he had already chosen you and loved you. 28 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.739 He made the universe so he could make Earth, so 29 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.659 he could make the human race, so he could make you, 30 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.719 so he could love you. If God hadn't wanted to 31 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.049 love you, all the other stuff wouldn't have happened. It says, 32 00:01:59.090 --> 00:02:04.250 before he made the world, God loved us and chose 33 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:07.810 us in Christ to be holy and without fault. 34 00:02:07.629 --> 00:02:08.310 In his eyes. 35 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:14.090 His unchanging plan has always been, from the very beginning 36 00:02:14.129 --> 00:02:18.159 of time, to adopt us into his own family by 37 00:02:18.219 --> 00:02:23.310 bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave 38 00:02:23.349 --> 00:02:26.310 him this plan to have a family. God wanted a 39 00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:28.270 family and he wanted you to be a part of it. 40 00:02:28.509 --> 00:02:31.990 And the reason the universe exists is because God wanted 41 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:35.009 a family. It was all made so we could be made, 42 00:02:35.389 --> 00:02:38.030 so we could be loved. And he says, and this 43 00:02:38.229 --> 00:02:42.520 plan gave him, read it with me, great pleasure. 44 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:43.819 Circle that, great pleasure. 45 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:46.460 Now you remember when you read Purpose Driven Life, the 46 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.150 Bible says you are planned for God's pleasure. And the 47 00:02:50.189 --> 00:02:53.770 reason you're alive is that God made you to love you. 48 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:57.460 Now, that's all background. We all know that. 49 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.960 In this series, when we look at the five callings 50 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:04.000 of God, and the word calling is used far more 51 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.060 than purpose in the Bible. When we look at God's 52 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:10.870 calling on your life, we're talking about God's assignment, God's 53 00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:15.569 purpose for your life, God's reasons for creating you. I 54 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:18.389 want you to write this down. The first purpose of 55 00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:23.750 my life is to be loved by God. The first 56 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:26.569 purpose of my life, the first reason you were created 57 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:31.289 is to be loved by God. God made you to 58 00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:33.610 love you. Now let that sink in a little bit. 59 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:37.449 The first purpose of your life is not to serve God. 60 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:40.650 The first purpose of your life is not to trust God. 61 00:03:41.349 --> 00:03:43.960 The first purpose of your life is not to obey God. 62 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:47.000 The first purpose of your life is not even to 63 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:50.500 love God. No, no, the first purpose of your life 64 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:56.159 is to let God love you. God didn't create you 65 00:03:56.780 --> 00:04:00.229 in first place to do something. He created you in 66 00:04:00.270 --> 00:04:04.530 the first place to receive something. Now, if you understand 67 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:07.449 this revolutionary truth, and most of you have never really 68 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:11.590 got this, it's gonna transform your life. That my number 69 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:15.870 one purpose in life is not to do something for God. 70 00:04:16.769 --> 00:04:20.819 It's to receive something from God, to get his love. 71 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.920 Because I was made to be a receptacle, a receiver, 72 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:30.879 a benefactor of God's love. Let that sink in. Let 73 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.240 me say it again, because I don't want you to 74 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.589 get this. Your first duty in life is not to 75 00:04:35.670 --> 00:04:39.750 do something. It's not to learn. It's not to listen. 76 00:04:40.269 --> 00:04:43.189 It's not to pray. It's not to give. It's not 77 00:04:43.230 --> 00:04:47.310 to sacrifice. It's not to serve. Those are all good things, 78 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:50.040 but they're not the first thing God created you to do. 79 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:54.759 He created you to accept, to receive his love, to 80 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:59.279 just let God love you. That's the first purpose of life, 81 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:02.339 to be loved by God. Now, this is taught all 82 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.649 through the scriptures. In the book of Jude, and I 83 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:09.379 always like to mention these little books that nobody ever reads. 84 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.639 The book of Jude is a very short book. It's 85 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:15.220 only one chapter, 25 verses. It's the second to the 86 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:18.339 last book in the Bible, right before Revelation. And I 87 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:20.220 always like to mention these, because when you get to heaven, 88 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:22.600 I don't want my people to be embarrassed in heaven. 89 00:05:24.670 --> 00:05:26.430 And when Jude comes up to you and says, hey, 90 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:29.329 how'd you like my book? I don't want you to go, oh, Mr. Jude, 91 00:05:29.389 --> 00:05:30.930 I didn't even know you were in the Bible. 92 00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:34.870 No. No, when he walks over, he goes, hey Jude. 93 00:05:39.050 --> 00:05:42.149 Loved your book. Loved that book, really good. 94 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:44.029 In fact, one of my favorites, because it was only 95 00:05:44.029 --> 00:05:49.500 25 verses. You could memorize the book of Jude. Now, 96 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.569 very short book, but a lot of profound truth in it. 97 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.439 And in Jude chapter one, verse one, it says this. 98 00:05:57.860 --> 00:05:59.310 This letter is from Jude. 99 00:05:59.350 --> 00:05:59.689 Jude. 100 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:05.240 A servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. 101 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:08.100 Now I wanna stop here. That, friends, is one of 102 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.519 the most humble statements ever written. 103 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:12.519 You say, why? 104 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.839 He says, I'm a servant of Jesus Christ and I'm 105 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:18.620 a brother of James. He forgets to mention one thing. 106 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:20.860 He's the half-brother of Jesus. 107 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:23.720 You say, wait a minute, wait a minute. 108 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:27.660 Jesus had brothers? Yes, Jesus had brothers and sisters. They're 109 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:33.410 talked about in the Bible. When Mary gave birth to Jesus. 110 00:06:33.750 --> 00:06:36.209 She was a virgin. That was a miraculous birth because 111 00:06:36.329 --> 00:06:39.639 God was the father of Jesus Christ. But the Bible 112 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:42.930 tells us that after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph 113 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:46.329 had many other children. They're mentioned in the Bible. One 114 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:50.410 of them's named James. One of them's named Jude. Jesus 115 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:55.439 had half sisters. And they often came to see him speak, 116 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:59.339 watched him do miracles. The interesting thing about Jesus' brothers 117 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:04.000 and sisters, none of them became followers of Jesus until 118 00:07:04.259 --> 00:07:07.550 after Jesus died on the cross and then rose again 119 00:07:07.589 --> 00:07:09.850 from the dead. And when they saw him resurrected from 120 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:13.709 the dead, it was like he's back. And that made 121 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:16.439 a believer even of his brothers and sisters. They go, 122 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.740 he was who he claimed to be. They watched him 123 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.379 die and they watched him come back to life. And 124 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.259 it was only after that happened they became followers of 125 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:31.029 Jesus Christ. And Jude and James actually became leaders. I mean, 126 00:07:31.189 --> 00:07:34.790 now can you imagine how difficult it would be growing 127 00:07:34.850 --> 00:07:38.910 up with Jesus as your brother? But in Jude, it 128 00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:42.389 says this. This letter is from Jude, a servant of 129 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:45.750 Jesus Christ. If anybody could have been the ultimate name dropper, 130 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:49.310 it would have been this guy. But he says, I'm 131 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:51.649 just a servant of Jesus and a brother of James. 132 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:54.889 Doesn't even mention that thing. And I'm writing to all 133 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:59.000 who are called to live in the love of God 134 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:01.480 the Father. Circle the word called. And what am I 135 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.100 called to do? I'm called to live in the love 136 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.540 of God the love of God the Father, and in 137 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:12.339 the care of Jesus Christ. Now, if the first purpose 138 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:14.639 of my life is to be loved by God, my 139 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:19.250 first calling is this. I'm called to enjoy a relationship 140 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:19.730 with God. 141 00:08:20.649 --> 00:08:24.009 Write that one down. My purpose is to let God 142 00:08:24.069 --> 00:08:24.470 love me. 143 00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:29.129 My calling is to enjoy a relationship with God. I'm 144 00:08:29.250 --> 00:08:34.590 called to live in the love of God. It's a relationship. 145 00:08:35.190 --> 00:08:39.129 What I'm saying to you This is so fundamental, is 146 00:08:39.169 --> 00:08:42.129 that the number one calling in your life is not 147 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:46.690 to a role, it's not to a responsibility, it's not 148 00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:50.250 to a bunch of rules, it's not to regulations, it's 149 00:08:50.309 --> 00:08:54.720 not to ritual, it's not to religion, it's to a relationship. 150 00:08:56.559 --> 00:08:58.940 Now this is gonna surprise some of you. Christianity is 151 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:02.669 not a religion. People try to make it a religion. 152 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:06.750 They try to make it about rules and regulations and rituals, 153 00:09:07.070 --> 00:09:07.980 but it's not about it. 154 00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:10.409 Jesus said it's about a relationship. 155 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:14.279 God sent Christ so you could have a relationship, not 156 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:18.000 a religion, but a relationship to God because God is 157 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:19.139 love and he. 158 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:21.600 Wants you to learn to experience his love. 159 00:09:27.730 --> 00:09:31.360 Do you ever wonder if your life really matters? or 160 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:34.620 what on earth you're here for, Pastor Rick wants to 161 00:09:34.659 --> 00:09:37.379 let you know that God has a good plan and 162 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:42.399 purpose for your life. In his best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life, 163 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:46.379 he lays out a simple, life-changing roadmap to help you 164 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:51.110 discover and live it. This book has transformed millions of lives, 165 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.990 and it could transform someone you love. And great news, 166 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:59.129 it's been updated for today's generation. This edition includes a 167 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:03.200 video introduction and audio teaching from Pastor Rick for each chapter, 168 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:06.940 and two powerful bonus chapters on the biggest barriers to 169 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.049 living a purpose-driven life. As you go through this book, 170 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:13.909 you'll uncover that your deepest meaning and fulfillment doesn't come 171 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:17.960 from success or status. but from understanding and living out 172 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.490 the purpose that God created you for. Request your copy 173 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:24.250 today when you give a gift to help Daily Hope 174 00:10:24.730 --> 00:10:28.250 share the gospel around the world. It's our way of 175 00:10:28.330 --> 00:10:29.129 saying thanks. 176 00:10:45.210 --> 00:10:47.429 Does God want you to be his soldier and fight 177 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:49.649 his battles for right and wrong in the world? No. 178 00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:52.190 Does God want you to be his warrior? 179 00:10:52.350 --> 00:10:52.490 No. 180 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:55.080 Does God want you to be his worker? No. Does 181 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:56.720 God want you to be his employee? 182 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:56.980 No. 183 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.100 Does God want you to be his minions? 184 00:10:59.279 --> 00:10:59.559 No. 185 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:03.440 God wants you to be his son or his daughter. 186 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:08.500 He wants you in his family. Here's what the Bible says, 187 00:11:08.610 --> 00:11:13.149 Romans chapter one. Dear friends in Rome, this is Paul writing. 188 00:11:13.830 --> 00:11:18.370 God wants, loves you dearly. Circle that word dearly. God 189 00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:19.529 loves you dearly. 190 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:22.870 And he has called you, there's that word, here's the 191 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:26.090 calling of God, he has called you to be his 192 00:11:26.210 --> 00:11:30.100 very own people. So here are the three fundamental truths 193 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.220 of everything we're doing in this campaign. The first purpose 194 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.679 is to be loved by God. That's my first purpose. 195 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:39.980 My first calling is to enjoy a relationship with God. 196 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:44.340 And number three, that relationship that God wants me to 197 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:45.129 have is. 198 00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:47.250 To be his son or daughter. 199 00:11:48.230 --> 00:11:51.769 The relationship God created you for is to be his 200 00:11:51.929 --> 00:11:58.549 son or his daughter. Now that is the most amazing 201 00:11:58.610 --> 00:12:01.860 truth you will ever hear in your life. That the 202 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:05.080 King of kings, the Lord of lords, the creator of 203 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.919 the universe doesn't want you to be a slave servant 204 00:12:07.980 --> 00:12:09.200 soldier but his son and. 205 00:12:10.820 --> 00:12:12.679 His daughter. and his child. 206 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:16.070 God wants a family to love, and he wants you 207 00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:19.970 in it. Here's what the Bible says, 1 John chapter 3. 208 00:12:19.970 --> 00:12:25.980 What an incredible quality of love the Father has shown 209 00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:31.779 to us that we should be named and called and 210 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.129 counted the children of God. And so we are. I 211 00:12:36.190 --> 00:12:39.029 love that in the Amplified. We're named the children of God. 212 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:42.230 We're called the children of God. We're counted the children 213 00:12:42.250 --> 00:12:45.490 of God because we are the children of God. This 214 00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:48.509 is your number one calling in life. Your number one 215 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.620 purpose in life is not to accomplish something. Your number 216 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:55.580 one purpose in life is not to make something of yourself. 217 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.399 Your number one purpose in life is not to make 218 00:12:58.419 --> 00:13:00.480 a lot of money, to be famous, to have a 219 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.399 lot of fun. Your number one purpose in life, God 220 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:07.399 created you and called you to be loved by him, 221 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:12.460 to experience that love. And most people have never truly 222 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.899 experienced the love of God. Oh, they've heard about it. 223 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.700 Everybody here said, oh, God loves you. Yeah, yeah, I know, 224 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:19.919 God loves me. The very fact that you're bored by 225 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:24.019 that means you don't get it. Because if you got it, 226 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.129 you would be so excited about it. You've never experienced it. 227 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.919 You've heard it in your head, but you don't have 228 00:13:30.970 --> 00:13:33.019 it in your heart. And a lot of people are 229 00:13:33.070 --> 00:13:36.230 gonna miss heaven by 18 inches. because they got it 230 00:13:36.309 --> 00:13:37.929 here and they don't got it here. 231 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:39.129 They don't have it here. 232 00:13:40.129 --> 00:13:45.419 You've got to experience God's love in your life. He says, 233 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:47.450 we're named and called and counted children of God. Now, 234 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:51.379 why in the world would God do that in order 235 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:56.370 to express his love? And God's love is extravagant and 236 00:13:56.429 --> 00:14:00.470 God's love is lavish And God's love is beyond comprehension. 237 00:14:00.870 --> 00:14:02.769 And as I've said so many times, he loves you 238 00:14:02.830 --> 00:14:04.850 on your good days and bad days when you feel 239 00:14:04.889 --> 00:14:07.120 it and don't feel it, when you think you deserve it, 240 00:14:07.129 --> 00:14:09.799 when you don't think you deserve it. You can't make 241 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.580 God stop loving you. God will never love you any 242 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:17.299 more than he does this second. God will never love 243 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:21.200 you any less than he does this second. Because God's 244 00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:24.470 love is not based on who you are or what 245 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.710 you do, it's based on who he is, God. 246 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:32.320 Is love. So I'll say it again, because I want 247 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:32.740 you to get it. 248 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:36.980 Your number one calling in life is not to do something, 249 00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:40.990 to impress God with what you do. Your number one 250 00:14:41.049 --> 00:14:45.710 calling in life is to receive something, to let God 251 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:51.909 love you. Now the Bible says this in Ephesians 3, 252 00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.850 I pray that Christ. 253 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:57.340 Will be more and more at home in your hearts. 254 00:14:58.279 --> 00:14:58.779 as you trust. 255 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:01.000 In other words, that you get more and more comfortable 256 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:06.490 with Jesus in your life. May your roots go down 257 00:15:06.710 --> 00:15:10.590 deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. Your life 258 00:15:10.649 --> 00:15:14.230 needs to be rooted in the love of God. And 259 00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:17.120 he says, and may you have the power to understand, 260 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:22.779 as all of God's people should, how wide and how 261 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:27.820 high along and how high and how deep His love 262 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:33.279 really is. And may you experience the love of Christ. 263 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:36.200 Not just know it, circle the word experience. God says, 264 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:38.120 I want you to feel love. I don't want you 265 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.190 to know your love. I want you to feel it. 266 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:41.870 I want you to feel it in every fiber of 267 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:45.789 your life. May you experience emotionally the love of Christ. 268 00:15:47.230 --> 00:15:53.070 Though it is so great, you'll never fully understand it. 269 00:15:53.809 --> 00:15:56.519 Now the Bible says, that part of your calling is 270 00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:00.799 to understand how wide, long, high, and deep God's love 271 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:02.580 for you is. So let me explain it to you. 272 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:06.860 Write this down. How wide is God's love? Well, write 273 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:12.389 this down. It's wide enough to be everywhere. That's how 274 00:16:12.429 --> 00:16:15.289 wide it is. There is no place on this planet 275 00:16:15.509 --> 00:16:18.789 that God's love isn't. There's no place in the universe 276 00:16:19.029 --> 00:16:22.789 that God's love isn't. It's in the bar where a 277 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:25.929 bunch of people are drunk. It's in the red light 278 00:16:25.970 --> 00:16:29.610 district where people are being sold and selling their bodies. 279 00:16:30.049 --> 00:16:38.179 It's in the barrio, the slum, the favela, the ghetto. 280 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:41.019 It's in the place of the poorest of the poor. 281 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:44.830 It's in every, there is no place where God's love 282 00:16:45.009 --> 00:16:48.190 is not. You say, well, I don't see it there. Well, 283 00:16:48.210 --> 00:16:50.570 that doesn't mean it's there and it's not there. There 284 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.009 are a lot of things you can't see that are real, 285 00:16:53.169 --> 00:16:55.960 that are reality, you just can't see them. For instance, 286 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.440 right now through this airwave, there are radio waves going 287 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:04.480 through this air between me and you. Actually, these radio 288 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:07.650 waves are going through your body right now and they 289 00:17:07.690 --> 00:17:12.130 carry music. And there are television waves right now going 290 00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:15.970 through the air that are carrying colored pictures. You can't 291 00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:18.289 see them and you can't hear them unless you have 292 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:22.630 a receiver and you are tuned in They're real, you 293 00:17:22.650 --> 00:17:25.940 just can't see them. We can't see God here right now. 294 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:29.480 You don't see him, but he's here, he's real. And 295 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:33.839 if you tune in, you'll experience it. If you get 296 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:37.789 on God's wavelength, you will experience his love. You will 297 00:17:37.849 --> 00:17:40.589 know he is as real as I am standing here today, 298 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:44.869 but you gotta tune in. And just because you can't 299 00:17:44.930 --> 00:17:46.730 feel him or see him right now doesn't mean he's 300 00:17:46.789 --> 00:17:48.950 not there. You can't see those radio waves. There are 301 00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:51.400 a lot of stuff that you can't see. You can't 302 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:54.160 see an atom, but everything in life is composed of atoms. 303 00:17:57.099 --> 00:17:59.589 So how wide is life? It's wide enough to be everywhere. 304 00:17:59.789 --> 00:18:02.529 That means in your life, there will be no place 305 00:18:02.569 --> 00:18:06.930 you go where God is not. And although you may 306 00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:11.150 feel lonely and you may feel alone at different points 307 00:18:11.210 --> 00:18:15.519 in your life, you will never, ever, ever truly be 308 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:20.720 alone because God's love is there whether you are aware 309 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:26.970 It's wide enough to be everywhere. Number two, it's long. 310 00:18:27.049 --> 00:18:30.569 How long is God's love? It's long enough to last forever. 311 00:18:32.309 --> 00:18:35.109 Now that makes it different than human love because human 312 00:18:35.150 --> 00:18:39.380 love wears out and that's why we have divorces and 313 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.480 that's why we have breakups. That's why we have conflict 314 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.019 and that's why we have people estranged from each other 315 00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:48.619 that are not reconciled because human love often wears out. 316 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:57.349 But God's love never wears out. God will never, never, never, never, never, 317 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:03.250 never stop loving you. Even if you chose to reject 318 00:19:03.289 --> 00:19:05.849 him and go to hell, God will still love you. 319 00:19:06.829 --> 00:19:10.569 Because God's love is eternal. He made you to love you. 320 00:19:11.609 --> 00:19:16.400 God loves you with an everlasting love. It's long enough 321 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:19.269 to last forever. How deep is God's love? It's deep 322 00:19:19.329 --> 00:19:24.130 enough to handle anything. Deep enough to handle no matter 323 00:19:24.190 --> 00:19:27.029 what pain you're going through, what problem you're going through, 324 00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:30.609 or what hurt you're going through. God's love is deeper still. 325 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:35.500 You say, man, I'm in the pits. I've hit bottom. 326 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:38.500 I'm in the pit of hell right now. 327 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:42.259 I'm in the pit of despair. I can't get any 328 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:43.940 lower than I am. Well, let me tell you what. 329 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:48.339 God's love goes deeper and lower than your problem. There 330 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:52.519 is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper. 331 00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:56.380 It is deeper than any problem you're going to ever have, 332 00:19:56.460 --> 00:19:57.579 deep enough to handle anything. 333 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:01.160 And how about height? How high is God's love? Listen 334 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:01.460 to this. 335 00:20:02.809 --> 00:20:08.309 It is high enough to overlook my sins, to overlook 336 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:13.559 my faults, to overlook my mistakes. Because of Jesus Christ, 337 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.980 God is able to overlook my faults, my failures, my flubs, 338 00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:23.500 my sin, my rebellion. And God offers forgiveness through the 339 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:26.680 cross because of his love, and he offers you a 340 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:33.779 fresh chance to start over. Now, one million years ago, 341 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:39.400 before anything existed, God had already thought. 342 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:41.140 Of you and decided to choose you and love you. 343 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:48.329 And God has been waiting your entire life for this 344 00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:52.390 very moment where he could get you to sit still 345 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:55.339 for just a minute and he could say this to you. 346 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:04.980 You have no idea how much I love you. I 347 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:06.009 have always loved you. 348 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:09.059 There has never been a moment of your existence that 349 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:12.519 I didn't love you. I was the one who planned 350 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:18.319 your birth. I allowed that fertilization. I allowed that conception. 351 00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:22.509 I wanted you alive so I could love you. And 352 00:21:22.569 --> 00:21:25.500 I saw you formed in your mother's womb. I saw 353 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:28.309 you take your first breath. I heard your first cry. 354 00:21:28.609 --> 00:21:31.289 There's been no moment of your life that I've turned 355 00:21:31.349 --> 00:21:33.769 my back from you, that I have not listened to you, 356 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:36.650 that I have not watched you. I saw every pain 357 00:21:36.690 --> 00:21:40.390 you go through, every sin you've ever done, the celebrations 358 00:21:40.509 --> 00:21:43.619 and the sadness, the happy times and the sad times, 359 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:47.539 the grief, the pain, the exhilaration. I've been there at 360 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:50.019 every moment of your life. And whether you realized it 361 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.940 or not, I was gazing on you in love because 362 00:21:53.019 --> 00:22:02.759 I made you To love you. So here's the question. 363 00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:06.299 I wrote you this on an email this week. How 364 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:10.920 would your life change? How would your life be different? 365 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:14.460 How would it be transformed if you began to be 366 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:21.549 aware of God's unconditional, continuous, and never-ending love for you? 367 00:22:22.809 --> 00:22:25.390 How would your life change if when you got up 368 00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:28.490 in the morning, the first thing you felt was, I 369 00:22:28.579 --> 00:22:32.200 am deeply and unconditionally loved by God. And as you 370 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:34.900 got out of bed and you went to take your shower, 371 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:38.190 you'd think, I can sense God's love in my life. 372 00:22:38.869 --> 00:22:41.089 And how would it be as you got ready and 373 00:22:41.130 --> 00:22:43.549 you ate your breakfast, you felt the love of God. 374 00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:45.549 And as you got in your car to go to work, 375 00:22:45.750 --> 00:22:47.910 you felt the love of God. And as you got 376 00:22:47.950 --> 00:22:50.269 to work or you got to school, you felt the 377 00:22:50.309 --> 00:22:52.430 love of God. And when you came home and you 378 00:22:52.450 --> 00:22:55.170 went to a movie or you watched some TV or 379 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:58.250 you worked out in your backyard, you were sensing God's love. 380 00:22:58.609 --> 00:22:59.349 What would it be. 381 00:22:59.289 --> 00:23:03.670 Like if you felt God's love unconditionally in your life 382 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:06.700 totally and you were aware of it all the time? 383 00:23:07.019 --> 00:23:18.440 How would that change your life? Hi, everybody. This is 384 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:19.049 Pastor Rick. 385 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:21.569 Because of the generous support of many of you Daily 386 00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:25.029 Hope listeners, we're able to offer Daily Hope devotionals for 387 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:30.029 free worldwide. In fact, today I have a note from 388 00:23:30.109 --> 00:23:34.460 Paul in Kenya that shows how God is at work 389 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:37.660 through the Daily Hope devotionals. Paul wrote me, he said, 390 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:41.200 I'd like to sincerely thank you with the free gift 391 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.849 of your Daily Hope devotionals. May God receive all the glory. 392 00:23:45.589 --> 00:23:49.410 For some time now, your inspiring and encouraging messages, along 393 00:23:49.430 --> 00:23:52.990 with scripture references, have helped me push through some really 394 00:23:53.069 --> 00:23:55.349 tough times and get closer to God. 395 00:23:56.309 --> 00:23:57.769 However, Paul writes, the. 396 00:23:57.829 --> 00:24:01.170 Best part is that my faith in God has now 397 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:03.150 grown to the point that he recently gave me the 398 00:24:03.210 --> 00:24:06.430 strength and wisdom to accept his free undeserved gift of 399 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:11.480 grace and salvation by accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as 400 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.759 my Lord and Savior. I feel like a new being. 401 00:24:15.349 --> 00:24:17.089