WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:07.160 This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible teaching ministry 2 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.919 of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in a series 3 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:15.439 called the Awesome Power of Vision. In these lessons, Pastor 4 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:19.079 Rick shows us how to pursue God's amazing vision for 5 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:22.160 each of our lives so that we can see our 6 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:26.480 future with faith and not fear. But first, do you 7 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.079 ever feel like you've lost your spark your joy? In 8 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:32.520 just a few moments, We're going to tell you about 9 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:37.240 an exciting new resource that will deepen your relationship with God. 10 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:38.799 And restore your joy. 11 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.600 You can take a sneak peek right now by going 12 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:45.079 to Pastororick dot com while you listen, and if you want, 13 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:48.200 you can just text the word Daily to eight hundred 14 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:51.840 six hundred five thousand and four to find out more. 15 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:55.479 Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with part two of 16 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:58.960 a message called My pardon Fulfilling Christ Vision. 17 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.159 In the Church at Corinth, they were having a lot 18 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:07.599 of conflict and they started having conflict and division in 19 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.159 their church family for many many different reasons, but the 20 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:14.760 biggest one of all was because they started placing their 21 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:21.079 loyalty and giving their loyalty to leaders over their common 22 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:25.040 loyalty to Christ and each other, and all of a 23 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:28.000 sudden they started dividing up over well, I like this 24 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:31.239 leader and I like that leader, and I'm of that party, 25 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.239 and I'm of this party, and that's my guy and 26 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.959 that's your guy. And then they brought it all into 27 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.560 the church. So Paul actually had to write a letter 28 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:41.200 to them. 29 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:43.000 To rebuke them. 30 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:47.000 That book, that letter is called First Corinthians, and it's 31 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:51.239 filled with rebukes to Christians who had started acting like unbelievers. 32 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.159 In fact, in every chapter in First Corinthians, Paul deals 33 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.319 with a different cause of division in the church. And 34 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.040 let me just show you want. In chapter three, he's 35 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.920 talking about when you're showing favoritism of different leaders. He 36 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:11.639 says this First Corinthians three, verses two to five. He says, 37 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:15.000 you're acting talking about in the church, you're acting in 38 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.280 the same way unbelievers act in the world. He says, 39 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.000 the proof of your immaturity is you're arguing and quarreling. 40 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:30.080 The proof of immaturity is you're arguing and quarreling, and 41 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.680 the divisions you've created. He says, whatever you find create 42 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.759 a division, quarreling, arguing. Says, the people that are immature, 43 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:39.520 He says, still proves proves that you still belong to 44 00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:45.080 the world and that you're living by worldly values. And 45 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.120 then he gives an example. He says, you know when 46 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.800 one of you says, you know, I support Paul, I'm 47 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.319 from the party of Paul, and another says, I support Apollos, 48 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.840 I'm from the party of Apollos. He said, you're acting 49 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:00.199 like unbelievers, not like Christ. He says, is a fall 50 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.680 is important? No, he says, if Paul is Paul important? No, 51 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.879 So he says, here when you start, when when you 52 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:14.280 start having personality issues and people are choosing up, well, 53 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:16.639 I like this leader, but I don't like that leader. 54 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:17.319 He said. 55 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:21.080 You know what, then you're going to have division. If 56 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:25.360 you let me listen, if you ever let me, or 57 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.680 a TV preacher or a radio preacher, or a politician, 58 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:35.120 or even yourself cause division in a church, you're going 59 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:38.719 to know that worldly values have seeped into the church. Okay, 60 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:43.240 So avoid bringing what the world thinks is important into 61 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:47.719 the church. Second thing to avoid to work at unity 62 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:52.199 is this, don't be sucked into the world's fights. Don't 63 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.599 be sucked into the world's fights. Now I don't have 64 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.879 to tell you there's a lot of conflict out there 65 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:01.599 in society, in our culture, in the world, people are 66 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:05.159 arguing about everything, and today it's gotten worse because we 67 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.360 have the communication tools through the Internet where anybody can 68 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:14.800 argue about anything, and they do and they do. You know, 69 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.360 I was interviewed the other day and one of the 70 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.399 first questions they always want to ask you about politics, 71 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:23.959 and I couldn't care less about that. But the first 72 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.920 question they asked was what did Jesus think and say 73 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:32.279 about politics? And my answer was not much. Not much. 74 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:35.240 In fact, in all my studies of jesus ministry, and 75 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.839 I've read through the Gospels hundreds of times, I've only 76 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.519 found two statements that Jesus made that were political statements. 77 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:45.879 In three and a half years now, I distinguished between 78 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:49.279 moral statements, which are about right or wrong, political statements 79 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.800 which are offen a matter of opinion. But moral statements 80 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.000 you can back up with scripture. But there's no verse 81 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:57.279 in the Bible. For instance, there's no verse in the 82 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:00.279 Bible tells you that taxes should be higher or lower. 83 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:01.319 This is not a verse. 84 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.199 But I do know that Jesus said this in John 85 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.879 eighteen thirty six, when he was asked a political question, 86 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:10.920 he said, my kingdom is not of this world. If 87 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:14.839 it were, my servants would fight. My kingdom is not 88 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.920 of this world. If it were, my servants would fight. 89 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.480 This is not our fight. The fight and that's going 90 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:24.160 on out there, that's not our fight. We got a battle, 91 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.279 but it's not that one, okay, And our weapons are 92 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:32.240 different too. Now, as Christians, we are called to speak 93 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.120 up for the truth. We are called to speak up 94 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.160 for the vulnerable. We are called to speak up for 95 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:43.279 the elderly, for the unborn, for the poor. We are 96 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.959 called in scripture to speak up for those imprisoned, for immigrants, 97 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:51.079 as the Bible calls them foreigners or strangers or aliens. 98 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.600 We are called to speak up for those denied justice. Now, 99 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:58.319 those are moral issues that can be backed up with 100 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.839 hundreds of verses in the Bible. In fact, did you 101 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.600 know they're over two thousand verses in the Bible about 102 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:08.680 taking care of the poor two thousand, and they're about 103 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:11.800 that same number about making sure everybody is treated fairly 104 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:16.560 and justly. Justice has a couple thousand verses two. So 105 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.199 we got to wonder about what are we going to 106 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:22.079 do with those? But there are a lot of issues 107 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.360 out there that people are fighting over. The Bible is 108 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:29.079 silent about It just says nothing. If it's not our fight, 109 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.519 it's not our fight. Now, if you've ever been on 110 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.759 social media, you know that there are a lot of 111 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:37.600 Christians out there who are ready to pick a fight 112 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:41.079 with you because they're addicted to anger as much as 113 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:45.040 some people are addicted to drugs. What do you do 114 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:49.040 with those people? Now, I'm trying to be practical in 115 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:54.639 this message. What do I do with internet trolls? They 116 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:56.399 just want to pick a fight, and many of them 117 00:06:56.439 --> 00:07:00.879 are Christians. Well, here's what the Bible says. We always 118 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:03.680 go back to the word. It's not my opinion is worthless. 119 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.519 What matters is what does God say about these questions? 120 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.399 And in tewod Timothy chapter two, verses twenty three and 121 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.319 twenty four, it says this about dealing with people who 122 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.360 are just like to fight, like to get in arguments. 123 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.439 Second Timothy two, twenty three and twenty four says this 124 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:26.879 don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments. 125 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:32.360 That's pretty clear. Don't have anything to do with foolish 126 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:36.120 and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels, and 127 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:41.199 then it says this, listen, the lord's servant must never quarrel. 128 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.399 Are you a servant of God? 129 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:47.959 Well, that's scripture, and the Bible says the lord's servant 130 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.639 must never quarrel. As a servant of God, I am 131 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:55.920 not allowed to quarrel. The lord's servant must never quarrel. Instead, 132 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:58.519 it says, you must be kind to everybody. If you're 133 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:00.519 going to be a servant of God, if you're going 134 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:02.360 to be a woman of God, you're going to be 135 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.639 a man of God. The lord's servant must never quarrel. Instead, 136 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.920 you must be kind to everybody, able to teach, and 137 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:15.759 patient with everyone. You must be humble, gently teaching those 138 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:17.279 who oppose the truth. 139 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:23.839 You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope rip will be 140 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.720 back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson. 141 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.920 If you've missed any part of today's teaching, you can 142 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:35.960 listen online anytime at pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com. 143 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:39.559 How do you feel spiritually right now? Maybe you feel 144 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:43.320 spiritually dry, like you're in a desert, or like you're 145 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:47.200 just going through the motions. Maybe you've lost your spark 146 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:51.320 your joy. God knows how you feel right now. You 147 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:55.799 are not alone. He knows even David and the Bible 148 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.960 felt like that and Jeremiah twenty nine thirteen. God said, 149 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.360 you will seek Me and find Me when you seek 150 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:07.039 Me with all your heart. When you seek God intentionally, 151 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:10.279 it leads to a renewal of your relationship with Him. 152 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:14.440 That's why Pastor Rick created a very special, brand new 153 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:19.279 resource called Going Deeper with God, a Personal Renewal Retreat, 154 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.039 and it He'll personally leave you on a spiritual journey 155 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:27.039 to help you seek God. Together, you and Pastor Rick 156 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:30.399 will go through a series of audio lessons and after 157 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.120 each session you'll take a little time to complete exercises 158 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:37.240 in the Companion workbook. You can do this at home 159 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:40.240 in short sessions, or you can get away for a 160 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:43.600 day and do it in one sitting. Through this retreat, 161 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:47.759 you'll experience a renewal of life within you. God will 162 00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:53.519 restore your joy. As he renews, refreshes, invigorates, and revives 163 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:57.960 your spiritual life. You'll never be the same again. Will 164 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.759 send you Going Deeper with God, a personal renewal retreat, 165 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:04.559 as our way of saying thanks when you give a 166 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:07.639 gift today to help daily hope, share the hope of 167 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:11.639 Jesus with a hurting world. Just call eight hundred and 168 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.600 six hundred at five zero zero four or go to 169 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.240 Pastorick dot com to get your copy of this great resource. 170 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:21.399 That's eight hundred at six hundred five zero zero four 171 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:28.600 or Pastorick dot com. 172 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:30.240 Once again, here's Rick. 173 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:32.960 If you're going to be a servant of God, if 174 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.879 you're going to be a woman of God, you're going 175 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.159 to be a man of God. The Lord's servant must 176 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:40.600 never quarrel. Instead, you must be kind to everybody, able 177 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:45.360 to teach, and patient with everyone. You must be humble, 178 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:51.120 gently teaching those who oppose the truth. So what does 179 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:54.200 that mean? It means in the in the world where 180 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.799 everybody likes to argue. Today, don't start arguments, don't get 181 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:01.399 into arguments, don't get hooked in to an argument, don't 182 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:02.840 participate in an argument. 183 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:04.799 In many, many. 184 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:09.000 Places, in Scripture, particularly Psalms and Proverbs, particularly Proverbs, we 185 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:12.320 are told to stay clear of argumentative people. 186 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:13.399 Did you know that? 187 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:16.679 Just go read Proverbs. We are told to stay clear 188 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:20.279 people who like to quarrel, liked to argue. And yet 189 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.679 you know I heard actually heard of small groups and 190 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:26.960 churches that split up because they argued over secondary issues, 191 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.919 and they allowed non essentials to take precedent over our 192 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:36.440 commitment to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. 193 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:41.080 That makes our heavenly father sad. But it's not new, No, 194 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.440 it's not new. It's been going on for two thousand years. 195 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.639 In fact, then the church meeting in Rome, the church 196 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.679 that met in Rome, and Paul had to write to them. 197 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.840 They got into a big conflict. And you know what 198 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:54.120 the conflict over was there in the church in Rome. 199 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:54.720 Food. 200 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:59.919 The Church in Rome started having a split because they 201 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.360 had a conflict over rules about what you could and 202 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.159 couldn't eat. And Paul had to write them this word 203 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:08.879 Romans twelve twenty. 204 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:10.399 It's a word we need. 205 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:16.240 In twenty twenty one, Romans twelve twenty says this, don't 206 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:21.000 tear apart the work of God. Don't tear apart the 207 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:26.279 work of God over a rule about food. Now, it 208 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.159 may not be a rule about food. It may be 209 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:31.080 who you voted for, it may be some other issue. 210 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:35.240 Don't tear apart the work of God over a secondary issue. 211 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.000 You know, as I mentioned earlier, the church in Corinth 212 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.440 was a very divided church, and they fought over everything, 213 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:46.200 but their favorite conflict was over leadership. And so in 214 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:48.639 chapter three, Paul had to remind them that if we 215 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:51.600 allow our support of any leader of any kind to 216 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:55.120 create division or tension in the church between us and 217 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:58.519 our brothers and our sisters, God says, our priorities are 218 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:02.159 out of whack. God, it's not christ like and it's 219 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:07.960 a sin. A God will judge now. First Corinthians, Chapter three, 220 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:11.320 verse two to five. Paul says, you know what, I 221 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.600 wanted to teach you some deeper truths from the Word 222 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:17.240 of God, but I couldn't because you were arguing all 223 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:20.399 the time. And he said, it just showed your level 224 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:23.559 of maturity. In fact, here's what scripture says. First Corinthians three, 225 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:27.360 two to five. Paul says, I had to feed you 226 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:33.120 with milk, not solid food, for you still aren't mature. 227 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:37.120 You're not mature enough to digest it. You're acting in 228 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:41.080 church the same way unbelievers act in the world, and 229 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.919 this proof of your immaturities. You're arguing, quarreling, and the 230 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.240 divisions you're created, and it proves you still. 231 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.240 Belong to the world. You're living by worldly values. 232 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:52.879 So he's talking about this thing about who says, well, 233 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.720 I'm of this club and I'm of that club, and 234 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:56.559 I'm supporting this guy, and I'm supporting that guy. 235 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.679 It doesn't really matter now. 236 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:04.879 The third step, the third step in creating unity in 237 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:09.039 your small group, unity in your church, unity in your family, 238 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:13.480 unity in your marriage. Here's a big one. Be realistic 239 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:19.360 in my expectations. Be realistic in my expectations. All of 240 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:23.559 us had unrealistic expectations when we got married. All of 241 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:28.159 us bring unrealistic expectations to church. And to expect any 242 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:33.039 church to always do everything right and to minister perfectly 243 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:34.519 to everyone all the time. 244 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:35.399 That's fantasy. 245 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.320 In the first place, the church is filled with imperfect people, 246 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:42.440 sinners like me. You're looking at number one. I'm the 247 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.519 chief of sinners. The church is filled with imperfect people. 248 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:48.440 So a group of imperfect people will never be able 249 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.080 to create a perfect community. It's like in a marriage. 250 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:56.879 I'm a sinner, my wife's a sinner. She married a 251 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:02.799 bigger sinner me and can't create a perfect relationship. We 252 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:06.000 need to remember Psal one, nineteen ninety six. It says 253 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:11.840 this nothing is perfect except your word. So one nineteen 254 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:18.279 ninety six. Nothing is perfect except your words. Everything is 255 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:23.440 broken on this planet, the weather, the economy, our bodies, marriages, 256 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:29.000 our relationships, our minds. Nothing on this planet works perfectly 257 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:33.919 except God's word it's perfect. So to expect perfection in 258 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:39.559 your church is to set yourself up for a massive disappointment. Now, 259 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:45.120 a church can be healthy without being perfect. Okay, just 260 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:50.879 like your kids are grandkids. Okay, my kids are not perfect, 261 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:55.480 but they're healthy. They're healthy. My grandkids have never been perfect, 262 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.639 but they're healthy. And a church can be healthy without 263 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:01.639 being perfect. You know, one of the things I've noticed 264 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.799 is that when people read a lot of books about 265 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.519 the ideal church and the way it ought to be, 266 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.639 it just makes them cynical. Why because they're hoping for 267 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:16.159 something that doesn't exist. And when you discover that what 268 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.279 God intends in real fellowship to be, it's easy to 269 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.279 get discouraged by the gap between the ideal. 270 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:23.200 And the real. 271 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:26.519 All right, Well, you know, you read all these books 272 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.519 about the ideal church and then you go live in 273 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.720 the real church, you just get cynical. But let me 274 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:35.200 say this, and I want you to listen closely. Even 275 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:39.480 with all its faults and all its favors, failures, and 276 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:44.320 all its mistakes and all its sin. Jesus passionately loves 277 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:49.320 his church, and he wants us to do the same. 278 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:52.919 If we're going to be christ Like a lot of 279 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.320 people use the church but don't love it, we must 280 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:03.320 passionately love the church in spite of its perfections. Longing 281 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.599 for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of 282 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:15.759 spiritual immaturity. On the other hand, set settling for the 283 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:22.319 real without striving for the ideal is complacency. You know 284 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:27.440 what maturity is. Maturity is living with the tension. For 285 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.279 forty one years, I have lived with the tension of 286 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:34.240 saddle backed church between the ideal what I knew it 287 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:38.200 could be, and the real what it was. I have 288 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.119 loved our church deeply at every stage of its growth. 289 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.559 When we had five people, I loved it. When we 290 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:47.799 had fifteen people, I loved it. When we had thirty people, 291 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:50.759 I loved it. When we had thirty thousand, I loved it. 292 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.640 But I, of all. 293 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:59.240 People, can see the glaring weaknesses in our church because 294 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:02.519 I'm intimate. I've seen it from day one, and I 295 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.000 have lived for forty one years with the tension between yeah, 296 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.160 it's really good. This is good, but it could be here. 297 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:15.319 See it's like parenting. In parenting, you don't wait for 298 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.599 your kids to grow up before you start loving them. 299 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.799 You don't wait for your kids to be mature before 300 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.319 you start loving them. You love them at every stage 301 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:27.039 of maturity. When my kids would bring me a picture 302 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:30.079 at two years old and it would be just scribbling, 303 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:35.079 and I'd say, that's perfect, honey, that's just perfect. What 304 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:39.240 I mean by that, it's perfect for that stage of maturity. Now, 305 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.519 if Amy brought that to me, you know, in her thirties, 306 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:46.279 I go, there's a problem here. But it's perfect at 307 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:50.920 each stage. You need to learn to love people at 308 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.599 every stage of their growth. And you need to learn 309 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:57.759 to love our church as a whole in every stage 310 00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:02.240 of growth. To be honest with you, as somebody who 311 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:08.000 has walked with Jesus now for over sixty years. Now, 312 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.279 I'll just tell you this from experience. Other believers will 313 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:17.480 disappoint you. Other believers are gonna let you down in life. 314 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:23.319 But that's no excuse to stop fellowshiping with them. It's 315 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.279 no excuse to stop loving them. God wants you to 316 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:30.319 love the real Church, not the ideal church. These people, 317 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.960 the people you have a hard time with. They're your family. 318 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:37.799 You're going to live with them for eternity, and when 319 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.920 they don't act like it, you can't just walk out 320 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:45.880 on them. Instead, God tells us this Ephesians four to two, 321 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:51.680 New Living Translations. Be patient with each other, making allowances 322 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.799 for each other's faults because. 323 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:55.960 Of your love. 324 00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:59.839 Believe me, in all of the counseling that I've done 325 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.720 with people in our church, people can become disillusioned with 326 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:08.799 the church for many understandable reasons, and the list could 327 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:11.039 be what quite long. I could give you a long 328 00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:14.359 list of legitimate reasons for becoming disillusioned with the church. 329 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:17.039 But rather than being shocked and surprised, we just got 330 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:20.000 to remember the churches made up of real people, sinners, 331 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:24.079 including ourselves, and because of that we hurt each other, 332 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:29.720 sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. But if you walk out of 333 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:33.119 every situation in a church that you have difficulty with, 334 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.119 where are you going to build christ like character? You see, 335 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:41.119 becoming like Christ requires problems and pressure and pain and 336 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.720 persecution and a lot of other things we don't like. 337 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:46.599 But as they told you many times, God's not interested 338 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.799 in your comfort as much as he's interested in your character, 339 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:52.799 because you're not taking your comfort to heaven. You're taking 340 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:55.279 your character to heaven, and the comfort is going to 341 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:00.319 be in heaven. This is the get ready stage. 342 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:04.559 This is Pastor Rick's daily hope. We're so thankful that 343 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.400 you've chosen to spend some time with us. If you've 344 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:10.759 missed any part of this broadcast, just go to Pastorick 345 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:14.119 dot com and listen online. Anytime. Rick will be back 346 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:17.200 to close out our time today. But first, how do 347 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:21.240 you feel spiritually right now? Maybe you feel spiritually dry, 348 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.039 like you're in a desert, or like you're just going 349 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.839 through the motions. Maybe you've lost your spark, your joy. 350 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.599 God knows how you feel right now, and you're not alone. 351 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:35.079 He knows even David and the Bible felt like that 352 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:39.039 and Jeremiah twenty nine thirteen. God says you will seek 353 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:41.960 me and find Me when you seek Me with all 354 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.680 your heart. When you seek God intentionally, it leads to 355 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.960 a renewal of your relationship with him. And that's why 356 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:53.039 Pastor Rick created a very special, brand new resource called 357 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:58.000 Going Deeper with God, a personal renewal retreat. In it, 358 00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:01.039 he'll personally lead you on a sp spiritual journey to 359 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:04.599 help you seek God. Together, you and Pastor Rick will 360 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:07.960 go through a series of audio lessons, and after each 361 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.680 session you'll take a little time to complete exercises in 362 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.640 the Companion workbook. You can do this at home in 363 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.440 short sessions, or you can get away for a day 364 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:20.599 and do it in one sitting. Through this retreat, you'll 365 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:24.839 experience a renewal of life within you. God will restore 366 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:29.400 your joy. As he renews, refreshes, reinvigorates, and revives your 367 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:33.160 spiritual life, You'll never be the same again. We'll send 368 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.440 you going deeper with God a personal Renewal retreat as 369 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.799 our way of saying thanks when you give a gift 370 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:43.359 today to help daily hope, share the hope of Jesus 371 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:47.359 with a hurting world. Just call eight hundred six hundred 372 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:51.039 five thousand and four or go to Pastorick dot com 373 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.480 to get your copy of this great resource. That's eight 374 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:59.319 hundred six hundred five thousand and four or Pastorick dot com. 375 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.799 Here's Pastor Rick with a letter from one of our listeners. 376 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:06.119 Hi, everybody today, I want to share a note that 377 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:07.440 we received from Darren. 378 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:08.640 He wrote me. 379 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:13.039 He calls daily hope his morning cup of God because 380 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.839 it helps him stay focused on God throughout the day. 381 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:18.880 Darren wrote me this, he said, Pastor Rick, I thank 382 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:21.920 God for Daily Hope. I support daily Hope because Christ 383 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:25.559 Hope is for me and in me, and I support 384 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.640 it because it sends Christ's message. 385 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:30.480 To people all over the world. He wrote. You know, 386 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:32.720 I've dealt with my share of demons in my life. 387 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:38.640 I've had cancer, huge financial losses, addictions, permanent disability, chronic pain, 388 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:43.400 and depression. But Daily Hope gets me going in the morning. 389 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:46.759 It's like a cup of coffee for me. But if 390 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.599 I haven't had my cup of God in the morning, 391 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:52.480 then I feel like I'm less able to pass on 392 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:55.240 the good news to others. So thank you, Pastor Rick. 393 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.119 You know, daily Hope helps people like get their lives 394 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:04.759 back on track because it connects them not just with God, 395 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.759 but with God's Word. And it is so important for 396 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:11.000 each of us to spend time with God and in 397 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:15.079 God's Word every day. So I want to encourage every 398 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:19.000 one of you to make a daily habit of opening 399 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:19.519 the Bible. 400 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:20.920 Sit down and open the Bible. 401 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:24.039