WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.560 --> 00:00:09.800 Recently, I got this letter and it said, dear Reverend Warren. 2 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:12.839 Anybody who says Reverend Warren doesn't know me obviously, So, 3 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.679 Dear Reverend Warren, I heard your program on the radio, 4 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:17.800 so I thought you might be able to help me 5 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:22.199 with my dilemma. I'm sure you're familiar with the U 6 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.239 two song. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 7 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:32.520 That line could be the theme of my life. It's 8 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.240 a strange feeling, since I have, by all standards, achieved 9 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:38.280 everything that most people work their entire lives to get. 10 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.399 My success as an investment banker has given me multiple homes, 11 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.560 nice cars, all kinds of perks and luxuries. I'm married 12 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.000 to a great woman, and I have two young kids 13 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:55.399 that I adore, and I enjoy good health. And all 14 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:57.359 of this came to me at a much earlier age 15 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:03.520 than I figured it would take. And yet, and yet, 16 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.280 I'm just not as happy as I think I ought 17 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:13.959 to be. To be honest, I'm often restless. I'm often 18 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:21.560 bored and unsatisfied. Sometimes at night I feel hollow and empty. 19 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.719 I keep thinking there's got to be more to life 20 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:31.680 than this. What do you think I should do? 21 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:32.439 Do you know? Friends? 22 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.959 There is an entire book of the Bible about this dilemma. 23 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.560 It's called the Book of Ecclesiastes, and it was written 24 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:44.200 by another guy who had everything. He had it all. 25 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:48.480 His name was King Solomon. Solomon was the king of 26 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:54.000 Israel at its apex of power. There was no man wiser, wealthier, 27 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:57.400 or more powerful in the world during the reign Solomon. 28 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:01.599 And yet Solomon has really in one sense of midlife 29 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.319 crisis in the Book of Ecclesiastes. And it's kind of 30 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:06.480 a negative book that you get to the end where 31 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.400 he comes to the right conclusion. But Solomon says, my 32 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:17.520 life just seems so empty, so meaningless, so painfully unsatisfying, 33 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.039 and so he said, I decided that I would try 34 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:26.000 to find meaning and purpose and fulfillment in life. And 35 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:31.159 Ecclesiastes is the book or the journey of his journal 36 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:37.120 of his journey trying to find satisfaction fulfillment in life. 37 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.240 And Solomon starts off in chapter one. He says, you know, 38 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:43.599 first they decided I'd try education, and I thought, I'm 39 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:46.120 just gonna get wise and I'm gonna learn everything there 40 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.000 is to know. So I learned everything I could learn, 41 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.759 and I discovered everything I could discover, and I became 42 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:52.919 as wise as I could be, became the wisest man 43 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:55.560 in the world. And he said, I read all the books. 44 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.159 In one part, he says, in the making of books, 45 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.680 there is much weariness. Yes, And at the end of 46 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:04.840 all of his education, he says, you know, I got 47 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:05.199 it all. 48 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.560 I knew what I needed to know, and I still 49 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:09.599 felt empty inside. 50 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:13.159 So he said, you know, then I decided I would 51 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:15.280 look for it in my career. And he said, I'm 52 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:18.719 the king of Israel, and I have enormous power. So 53 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:24.360 I am you know, embrace all kinds of big public works, 54 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.560 and I do all kinds of good things, and I 55 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.080 have great goals, and I have a big vision, and 56 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.120 I go after all the things in my work and 57 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:37.879 my career and my vocation. And I really gave myself 58 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:43.960 to it. But he said, I still felt empty. So 59 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.439 he said, well, maybe, you know, maybe the answer is 60 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.319 in money. And so he said, I amassed a huge fortune. 61 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:51.639 And of course Solomon became the wealthiest man in the 62 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.439 world in his day. And when the Queen of Sheba 63 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.360 actually came to see Solomon, she says, I've never seen 64 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:01.560 this kind of wealth it's just massive. 65 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:03.240 It's just unbelievable. 66 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:07.439 How much money, how much wealth, how many riches this 67 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:10.400 guy has. And he said, and I piled it all up, 68 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.319 and I bought nice things, and I did art projects 69 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:15.240 and all of these things. 70 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:19.800 But I still felt empty. I said. 71 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:24.519 You know, I tried everything that everybody tries, popularity, you know, fame, 72 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.600 I tried the party scene. I went out and I 73 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.639 gave my life to wine women in song, emphasis wine 74 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:36.399 and women. And he goes, at the end of that, 75 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:43.199 I still felt empty. It's a common common cause of 76 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.600 many many people. Now, let me just ask you. Have 77 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:48.720 you ever been so hungry? Let's say you get up 78 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:50.639 in the middle of the night. You've all done this. 79 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:54.199 Likely you go to the refrigerator and you opened the 80 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:59.480 door of the refrigerator and then you stare because you 81 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:03.399 know you're you're hungry, but you don't know what you're 82 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:06.079 hungry for. Okay, how many of you have ever been there? 83 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:06.879 Can I see your hands? 84 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:07.560 All right? 85 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:12.439 The rest of you are dirty, rotten liars. Okay, we've 86 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.600 all done this. You just stand in front of a 87 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:18.879 refrigerator and you go, I'm hungry, but nothing looks good. 88 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:23.600 You can't decide, what is this hunger inside of me? 89 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:26.600 You ever been so hungry all you can think about 90 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:27.040 was food? 91 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.000 Yeah? 92 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:32.839 Have you ever been so thirsty driving across the desert 93 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:34.759 you just think I've got to get something to drink 94 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:35.839 from my parched throat. 95 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.000 Yes, you have. 96 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:40.720 In this famous sermon of Jesus, he says, you know, 97 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:45.040 being spiritually hungry is actually a good thing. He said, 98 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:47.920 it's a good thing to be hungry, for God is 99 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:51.279 a good is a good thing. In fact, he says 100 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:56.319 it's one of the keys to living a blessed life. Matthew, 101 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:01.240 Chapter five, verse six, Jesus says, this God blesses those 102 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:10.000 who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 103 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:10.639 That's promise. 104 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.240 I want you to circle the word righteousness, and I 105 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:15.160 want you to circle the word filled, because we're gonna 106 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:18.600 spend some time on that today. First this word pill. 107 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:21.480 They will be filled. A lot of translations translated this verse. 108 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:25.639 They will be fully satisfied, they will be satiated, they 109 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:29.879 will have all of their needs fulfilled. They will be 110 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.839 fully satisfied with what happens in their life. And the Bible 111 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.439 says that you get that kind of fulfilled life you 112 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:42.800 get that kind of satisfying life, that meaningful life by 113 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:50.000 hungering and thirsting for righteousness. So obviously we need to 114 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:54.600 know what righteousness is. Now, Righteousness is incredibly important word 115 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:58.279 in the Bible. It's used hundreds and hundreds and hundreds 116 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:02.199 of times. The one day God is going to judge 117 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:08.319 the earth in righteousness, and so this is an important concept. 118 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.279 So what in the world does it mean to hunger 119 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.480 and thirst for righteousness? Because if I do that, then 120 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:19.879 I'm going to have a fulfilled and satisfying life. Well, 121 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:21.839 if you were to go to a theological dictionary look 122 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.600 up the word righteous, you'd find a long definition. In fact, 123 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:27.560 one dictionary I had had a twenty seven page definition 124 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:31.079 other word righteous. But let me just boil it all 125 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.759 down into statements. 126 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:34.199 It's it is. 127 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:38.639 About a relationship, and it is about a lifestyle. 128 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:40.800 First, it is a relationship. Write this down. 129 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:45.079 To be righteous means being right with God. In its 130 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:49.560 simplest form, it just simply means being right, being right 131 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:50.959 with God. 132 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:52.600 That's righteousness. 133 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:57.000 It is a position that God has in relationship to you. 134 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.680 You have in a relationship to God. Romans, Chapter one, 135 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:04.199 verse seventeen says this the good news tells us how 136 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:09.000 God makes us right with himself. Now, that word good news, 137 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:12.680 you know you've heard the word gospel, You've heard gospel music, 138 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:17.000 gospel preaching. Sharing the gospel with the word gospel simply 139 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:18.639 the Old English word for good news. 140 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.160 It simply means good news. 141 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:24.120 And the Bible says the gospel or the good news 142 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:28.560 tells us how God makes us right with him. Now, 143 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:30.600 I want you to notice that this is something that 144 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.720 God does for you. You don't do it, you don't 145 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:37.639 make yourself righteous. God does it for you. And we're 146 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.320 gonna look at that good news in detail in just 147 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:39.840 a minute. 148 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:42.200 It's a relationship. It's being right with God. 149 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:44.519 But the Bible also uses the word righteous to refer 150 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:45.440 to a lifestyle. 151 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:47.559 And when you write this down, it means. 152 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:54.039 Living right, living right as God intends, living right in faith, 153 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.639 living right in God's commandments. And this is not a 154 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:02.639 position of righteous it is the practice of righteousness. First 155 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:06.600 John chapter two twenty nine says this, All who practice 156 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:12.679 righteousness are God's true children. All who practice righteousness are 157 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:15.279 God's true children. So what I want us to do 158 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.320 today is to look at two things. How does God 159 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:23.679 make me? Write with him. Me being an imperfect, flawed individual, 160 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.559 and God being perfect and holy, How does God make 161 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.279 me write with Him? And then I want us to 162 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.720 look at practically on a daily basis, how do I 163 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.720 keep a spiritual hunger for God? Because the Bible says 164 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:39.720 if I am hungry and thirsty for God, to be 165 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:43.080 right with God and to do right with God, then 166 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:53.919 I will be filled. I will be fulfilled in life. Today, 167 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.000 I want to invite you to join me in something 168 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.679 that's very close to my heart, fulfilling the great commission 169 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:03.080 of Jesus Christ. Sharing the good news is the most 170 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.960 important thing we do. When we work together. There's nothing 171 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:12.000 that God cannot do to us. When we're unified through 172 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:16.320 daily hope. The message of Jesus Christ is now reaching 173 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:19.679 nearly every country in the world. That's one hundred and 174 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:23.320 ninety seven nations. We're going to even places where it's 175 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:28.840 difficult or dangerous or illegal to talk about Christ openly. 176 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:34.120 We're sharing the certain hope of Jesus and it's changing 177 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:39.440 lives every single day. Right now, we have an incredible opportunity. 178 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:43.279 That's why I'm saying this to you Personally. There's some 179 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:48.120 very generous friends that have offered to match every single 180 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:50.360 gift given to Daily. 181 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.639 Hope dollar for dollar. 182 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:57.480 That means whatever you give today is going to be 183 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:03.240 doubled in impacts you. I want to encourage you to 184 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.240 give as God leads you today, and I want you 185 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.440 to pray this prayer God, what do you want to 186 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.720 give through me? Not say God? What should I give? 187 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:15.399 Say God? What do you want to give through me? 188 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:19.679 That's called giving by faith, giving by revelation, and your 189 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:23.440 gift will go twice as far to share the certain 190 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:27.840 hope of Jesus Christ and make disciples all around the world. 191 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:29.679 God bless you. 192 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:31.919 You know when you give a gift to Daily Hope, 193 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.399 you're helping share the hope of Jesus with people everywhere. 194 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:38.720 And right now your gift will be doubled by the 195 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:43.320 fifty thousand dollars matching grant. Just scan the QR code 196 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:51.159 or go to dailyhopetv dot com. 197 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:57.399 Why should I care about being right with God? Especially 198 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.399 since none of my friends seem to care. The people 199 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.440 who you live next door to couldn't care less, most 200 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.080 likely about being right with God. There are millions of 201 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.360 people in America and hundreds or hundreds of millions or 202 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.320 billions of people who really don't care at all about 203 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:16.519 being right with God. They don't seem to be doing 204 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:21.279 so bad. So why in the world should I care? 205 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:24.320 Or why in the world should I hunger and thirst 206 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:29.799 for righteousness and nobody else seems to care about it. Well, 207 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.840 to put it simply, one it's the only way to 208 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:34.480 really live, and two it's the only way to get 209 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:34.840 to coven. 210 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:37.600 Let me show you some verses. 211 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:43.840 Proverbs chapter twelve, Verse twenty eight says this righteousness is 212 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:49.480 the road to life and the path to immortality. Proverbs 213 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:54.120 righteousness is the road to life and the path to immortality. 214 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:54.919 Now, when it. 215 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.120 Says it's the road to life, then it must mean 216 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.519 I'm not really living unless I'm connected with God. 217 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.080 Not you're not. 218 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:05.759 If you're not connected to God, you're just existing. You're 219 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:10.120 not really living. Righteousness is the path to real life, 220 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:13.519 to real living. Saint Augustine said it like this, this 221 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.000 thou hast made us for thyself, Oh God, and our 222 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:22.480 hearts are restless. We got spiritual add until we find 223 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:26.279 our rest in thee. This is the very thing Solomon 224 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.440 was talking about. Says, I'm looking for meaning in this, 225 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:30.360 and I'm looking for meaning in that I'm looking for 226 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.679 satisfaction and fulfillment in all these different areas, but nothing happens, 227 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.440 and I can only find it in being connected to 228 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:42.120 my creator. It's nonsense to try to live my life 229 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:46.799 disconnected from the one who made me. You're not going 230 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:50.200 to discover your plan, your purpose, or your meaning in 231 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.000 life unless you're connected to God. How many times have 232 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:57.120 you heard me say you were made by God and 233 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.919 you were made for God. And until you figure that out, 234 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:03.000 life is never going to make sense. Life is not 235 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.039 about the acquisition of things. It's not about the achievement 236 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:08.080 of goals. It's not about all these other things, because 237 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:09.919 that's only going to last sixty eighty at the most 238 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:14.799 one hundred years. It's about getting to know God, who 239 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.720 made you and who loves you. It is the road 240 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.840 to life. But the Bible says it's also righteousness is 241 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:26.960 the path to immortality. And what does this mean? What 242 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.519 does this mean? It means that God's not going to 243 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:32.360 force you to go to heaven. He said, what do 244 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:35.799 you mean? It's a choice? You see, God created you, 245 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:37.840 and he loves you deeply. He wants you to learn 246 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:41.440 to love him back. But love is not love unless 247 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:45.200 you have a choice. So God never forces anybody to 248 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.639 love him. You can spend your whole life thumbing your 249 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.519 nose to God. You can reject God, and God will say, 250 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:56.519 like Burger King, have it your way. God will not 251 00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:00.679 force himself on you. God does not. You can rebel 252 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:03.679 your entire life. You could ignore God your entire life. 253 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.360 You can act like God doesn't exist your entire life, 254 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.840 and God will let you do that. 255 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:09.440 He gave you. 256 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:11.240 He made you in his image, which means you have 257 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.399 the free moral will to make a choice, and He 258 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.480 wants you to choose to love him, not be forced to. 259 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:19.360 And so if I want to say God, I want 260 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.320 to live my entire life disconnected from you, God will, like. 261 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.519 Burger King, say have it your way. But here's the problem. 262 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.039 One day I'm going to die and I'm going to 263 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:33.840 stand before God, and God will be able to then 264 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:34.799 say to me, wait a minute. 265 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:36.000 You chose during your. 266 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.879 Life to totally ignore me, to rebel against me, to 267 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.159 disobey me, to ignore me, to live your life separate 268 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:44.840 from me. And I said, have it your way. So 269 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.399 obviously you must not want to live with me forever 270 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:52.320 an eternity, So have it your way, and you would 271 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.559 be eternally separated from God. And if you're separated from God, 272 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.679 you can't blame God. He gave you the choice. Why 273 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.679 would somebody want to live there life life completely separated 274 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:04.720 in denial of God and his will in your life? 275 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:06.840 And then once you die, Oh, by the way, I 276 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.960 want to love you and live in your house forever. 277 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.600 God will say, have it your way. You get what 278 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:17.799 you asked for you, what you chose. It was your choice. 279 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:23.039 Now you saw that verse where God says that the 280 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:28.320 good News shows us how God makes people write with himself. 281 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:31.879 That's called the gospel. What is that today? I want 282 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:35.519 to give you Christian theology one oh one? Okay, this 283 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:40.080 is the A. B. C's of our faith. What does 284 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:44.120 it mean for God to make me write or righteous 285 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:47.840 with him? Well, it means three things. Here's the plan, right, 286 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:50.159 you might want to write these down. And the first 287 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:52.840 thing is not necessarily good news. In fact, it's not 288 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:58.960 even news. But it's this. I can't make myself righteous, Okay, 289 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:04.680 I can't make myself righteous. Over In the Book of Jeremiah, 290 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.519 Chapter thirteen, verse twenty three, Jeremiah says, can a leopard 291 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.480 change his spots, And the answer is obviously not. And 292 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:16.119 he said, neither can an imperfect person make himself perfect. 293 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:20.680 I stop being perfect about the fourth breath of my life, 294 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.200 and nobody bats a thousand. In fact, I've never met, actually, 295 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.880 anybody who claimed to be perfect, except some people who 296 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.319 weren't all in their capacities. 297 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.200 And so we all know this. We all know. 298 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:42.920 But if I am imperfect, then here's the question. 299 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.160 How do I go to heaven if I'm imperfect? 300 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.039 Let me let me explain that the Bible says that 301 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:52.079 there is a heaven, and the Bible says Heaven is 302 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.240 a perfect place. There's no sadness, there's no sorrow, there's 303 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:59.960 no sickness, there's no suffering, there's no sin in heaven. 304 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:02.119 Now here's the problem. 305 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:06.799 I'm imperfect and I have problems like anger and fear 306 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:13.400 and anxiety and jealousy and self centeredness. If God lets 307 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:17.400 imperfect people into heaven, then guess what, Heaven would be 308 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:18.319 no better than earth. 309 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.240 So we got a problem here, because if. 310 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:25.240 God lets us into heaven with all of our sin, 311 00:18:25.640 --> 00:18:27.440 then there's gonna be jealousy in heaven. 312 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.279 There's gonna be rape and murder in heaven. 313 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:36.519 There's gonna be war, adultery, unfaithfulness, meanness, racial prejudice, injustice. 314 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.079 All the things we have on the broken planet would 315 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.880 be in heaven, and heaven would be no different than earth. 316 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:46.279 If God just let imperfect, sinful people bring all their 317 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:47.279 sins into heaven. 318 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.160 That ain't gonna work. That isn't gonna work. 319 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:55.839 The Bible says, I can't make myself righteous. Now God 320 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:57.799 comes up with a plan for this. But let me 321 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.160 show you what the Bible says. Ecclesiast the chapter seven, 322 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:06.240 verse twenty says this, there is not a righteous person 323 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.640 on earth who always does what is right and never 324 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:14.720 since that's you, me, it's the pope, it's everybody. There's 325 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.759 no righteous person who always does the right thing and 326 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:21.160 never sins. And in Romans chapter three, it says this, 327 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:24.559 no one can ever be made right in God's sight 328 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:28.680 by simply doing what his law commands, because the more 329 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.680 we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we 330 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:35.920 can't keep it because the standard of perfection is it's 331 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:38.359 you know, I was. I was on a plane one 332 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.279 time and the guy figured out I was a pastor. 333 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.559 So we start talking about heaven, and as we were talking. 334 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:47.200 I just happened asking. I said, so why do you 335 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.960 why do you think on what basis do you think 336 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.519 God's going to let you into heaven? He said, well, 337 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:59.200 I keep the ten commandments. I said, name them. I said, 338 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:03.079 you can't even know. I'm much less. Keep them, okay, 339 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:05.279 And the fact is we've all broken them all. 340 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:07.400 The Bible says you shall have no other gods for you. 341 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.000 I've had lots of gods before God many times in 342 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:12.079 my life, and so have you. Bible says, don't make 343 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.880 any idols. All we've idolized all kinds of things. We 344 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:18.319 ida liize success, we idolize beauty, we idolize money. You've 345 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.799 had all kinds of idols in your life. The Bible says, 346 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.720 don't lie, don't steal. You've lied, you stolen. The Bible says, 347 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:26.240 don't covet what somebody else says. 348 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.119 You've done that. When it comes to the commandments, I'm 349 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.839 ten for ten the wrong way. 350 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:35.200 Because Jesus said, hey, you know, if you have lust 351 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:37.039 in your heart, that's like adult treat He says, if 352 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:38.599 you have anger in your heart, it's like murder. So 353 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:41.920 guess what, I'm a murder and adulter. If that's true, 354 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:46.240 I'm ten for ten blanked out on that one. So 355 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:51.000 I need another plan, okay, and so do you. I 356 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:52.759 remember one time I was talking to God on another 357 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:55.480 plane and we were talking pretty much the same thing, 358 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:58.759 and I said, so, on what basis do you think 359 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.440 God's gonna let you into his heaven? And he said, 360 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:07.319 because I'm better than other people. And I said, so 361 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:12.039 you think God grades on a curve, okay, and that 362 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.240 your good works are this high and your bad works 363 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:17.039 are this low, so He's gonna you know, ignore or 364 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:17.839 vice versa. 365 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:18.880 You see, we all. 366 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.799 Want to be good enough to get to heaven, but 367 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:27.160 bad enough to be fun. Really, I said, no, No, 368 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:32.319 God's standard is perfection because God is a sovereign, holy, 369 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:37.960 just righteous God, and God cannot stand the side of sin. 370 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.920 The Bible makes us very clear over and over and over. 371 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:42.920 So how in the world do I get into God's 372 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:45.519 presence being an imperfect, sinful person. 373 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.039 There's got to be a plan for this. 374 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:54.519 Let's trying to earn God's approval by my works and 375 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:55.640 trying to earn perfection. 376 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.319 That it's like this. Let's say let's say. 377 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:04.200 La is Earth, and you know, and Hawaii is heaven. 378 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:08.279 Some of you think Hawaii is heaven, and so we 379 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.559 decide we're all gonna try to get to heaven on 380 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:14.599 our own, and we're all gonna get there by swimming 381 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.519 to Hawaii. Okay, now some of you don't know this, 382 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.920 but before I became a pastor, for three years, I 383 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:24.240 was a Red Cross lifeguard. So I let's say I 384 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:27.640 swim out twelve miles, but then I wear out and 385 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:32.440 I sink. And let's say you're an Olympic you Greg 386 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:36.640 Luganus or somebody, and you you swim out twenty miles 387 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.759 or thirty miles, and then you sink, And then you 388 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.559 and I we have a friend that we lack a lot, 389 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.519 but he doesn't even know how to swim, and he 390 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:50.680 drowns in the surf. And some guy doesn't even get 391 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.640 into the edge of the water. Do some people get 392 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:57.279 further than others? Yes, but the path is too far. 393 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:02.599 Nobody makes it all the way. I have no doubt 394 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.440 you're better than me. You're probably a more moral person 395 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.680 than I am. You're probably a more ethical person than 396 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:10.519 I am. I don't have any doubt that there are 397 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:12.559 a lot of people better people than me, and the world. 398 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:17.000 The thing is, none of us attain perfection and none 399 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.759 of us can swim all the way to Hawaii. So 400 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:23.480 we got to have a plan. Now, that's the second 401 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:27.200