Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Rick Warren and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry
Speaker 2: of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we bring our special Christmas
Speaker 2: series called The Light of Jesus at Christmas to a close.
Speaker 2: In these lessons, Pastor Rick shows us how the Light
Speaker 2: of Jesus brought into the world at Christmas, illuminates, purifies, heals,
Speaker 2: and grows each of us in this season and beyond. Now,
Speaker 2: before we get started, we want to let you know
Speaker 2: that a very generous friend has given one hundred thousand
Speaker 2: dollars matching grant to Daily Hope. That means that all
Speaker 2: this month, every dollar you give to help Daily Hope
Speaker 2: share the Hope of Jesus around the world will be
Speaker 2: matched up to one hundred thousand dollars. You can find
Speaker 2: out more by going to Pastorick dot com or by
Speaker 2: texting the word Daily to eight hundred six hundred five
Speaker 2: thousand and four. That's Pastorick dot com or the word
Speaker 2: Daily to eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 2: Right now, here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part
Speaker 2: of a message called the Light of Jesus for your
Speaker 2: Darkest Days.
Speaker 1: Let me show you an amazing promise of guidance that
Speaker 1: God gives to you if you let the words of
Speaker 1: Jesus in this book guide your journey. It's Isaiah forty two,
Speaker 1: verse sixteen. In the message that says this, God says, listen,
Speaker 1: I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,
Speaker 1: who can't see where they're going, that's in darkness. I'll
Speaker 1: be a personal guide to them, directing them through the
Speaker 1: unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what
Speaker 1: roads to take. This is God talking. I'll make sure
Speaker 1: they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things
Speaker 1: I'll be doing for them, sticking with them, not leaving
Speaker 1: them for a minute. Not amazing promise from me God,
Speaker 1: God says, I will be your personal guide. If you'll
Speaker 1: let me light up your life, you won't be stumbling
Speaker 1: around in the dark. So let me ask you a
Speaker 1: very personal question. Where right now do you feel you're
Speaker 1: in the dark. I want you to think about that.
Speaker 1: What is confusing to you in your life? What needs
Speaker 1: to be clarified? Where do you need God's light to
Speaker 1: shine and give you direction. Well, it's completely available to you,
Speaker 1: and it's free, but you have to ask for it. Now,
Speaker 1: you may be a little worried about what's happening, what's
Speaker 1: going to happen next in your life. Well, let me
Speaker 1: give you a Bible verse that you might want to
Speaker 1: make your daily prayer. Psalm twenty three, Verse four, David prayed,
Speaker 1: even though I go through the deepest darkness, I will
Speaker 1: not be afraid. I will not be afraid, Lord, for
Speaker 1: you are with me. So the first benefit of filling
Speaker 1: your life with God's light, everything gets a lot clearer.
Speaker 1: You don't have as much confusion. You'll have a bigger
Speaker 1: perspective on life. You'll see things the way God sees them.
Speaker 1: And that's called wisdom. Why because light illuminates. Now, let
Speaker 1: me give you a second effect of light. Light not
Speaker 1: only illuminates. Light can disinfect Did you know that? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Did you know? Light is a great disinfectant. It can
Speaker 1: kill germs, It can purify water. Light can cleanse and
Speaker 1: sanitize a lot of stuff. You know. During our peace
Speaker 1: teams visiting all around the world in rural villages, when
Speaker 1: we teach good health practices and developing nations, one of
Speaker 1: the things we teach is the importance of hanging out
Speaker 1: your bedsheets to dry in the sun to sanitize them.
Speaker 1: Light has a disinfecting impact. This week, I read an
Speaker 1: article about how New York City officials have built a
Speaker 1: water disinfection facility using ultraviolet light to destroy germs and
Speaker 1: disinfect it's drinking water, which is brought in from about
Speaker 1: one hundred miles away. And instead of using chlorine, which
Speaker 1: most of us use, which has some downsides to it,
Speaker 1: they're now using the sun's power to disinfect and sanitize
Speaker 1: their water using light rays. They disinfect two point four
Speaker 1: billion gallons of water every day.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: In a similar way, getting the light of God in
Speaker 1: your life can disinfect and sanitize and purify and cleanse
Speaker 1: harmful bad stuff out of your life, the harmful words,
Speaker 1: the harmful thoughts, the harmful actions that make you spiritually
Speaker 1: and emotionally and sometimes physically. Here's what the Bible says,
Speaker 1: First John, chapter one, verse six to nine. If we
Speaker 1: claim to have a relationship with God but we continue
Speaker 1: living in darkness, then we lie and we aren't following
Speaker 1: the truth. But if we live in the light as
Speaker 1: God is in the light, then we can have real
Speaker 1: fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus God's
Speaker 1: son purifies us. That's cleanses, sanitizes, disinfects. God's sons blood
Speaker 1: purifies us from all sin. And if we claim to
Speaker 1: be without sin, we're just fooling ourselves and refusing to
Speaker 1: accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him,
Speaker 1: God is faithful and just and he will forgive and
Speaker 1: cleanse us from every wrong. So I want you to
Speaker 1: write this down number two. In dark days, I need
Speaker 1: the light of Jesus when I want to clean start.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much much for listening to Pastor Rick's
Speaker 2: Daily Hope. We've got some incredible news to share with you.
Speaker 2: A very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand
Speaker 2: dollars matching grant to this ministry all this month, every
Speaker 2: dollar you give to help Daily Hope share the certain
Speaker 2: Hope of Jesus around the world will be matched up
Speaker 2: to one hundred thousand dollars, So twenty five dollars becomes
Speaker 2: fifty dollars, fifty becomes one hundred and five hundred becomes
Speaker 2: a thousand. Whatever you give will be doubled by the
Speaker 2: matching grant up to one hundred thousand dollars, but only
Speaker 2: till midnight December thirty first, so please contact us today
Speaker 2: go to Pastorick dot com or just call eight hundred
Speaker 2: six hundred five thousand and four.
Speaker 3: If you want to make your time in prayer the
Speaker 3: best it can be, then you're going to want to
Speaker 3: get a copy of the brand new twenty twenty one
Speaker 3: Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme, God's Great Adventure
Speaker 3: for You. Will you tap into God's power and presence
Speaker 3: when you learn how to pray with passion and purpose.
Speaker 3: Covered in soft vegan leather with full color pages, this
Speaker 3: prayer journal has sections to pray for specific people and situations,
Speaker 3: as well as space to express your gratitude and personal
Speaker 3: prayer requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and
Speaker 3: filled with inspiring Bible verses, photos, and artwork. The God's
Speaker 3: Great Adventure for You Prayer Journal is a spiritual growth
Speaker 3: tool designed to help you enjoy a vibrant prayer life,
Speaker 3: connect with God, and establish a consistent daily prayer time.
Speaker 3: When you give a gift to help daily hope take
Speaker 3: the certain hope of Jesus to people around the world,
Speaker 3: we'll send you the all new twenty twenty one Daily
Speaker 3: Hope Prayer Journal to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so
Speaker 3: don't wait. Call eight hundred and six hundred five zero
Speaker 3: zero four to get your prayer journal and have your
Speaker 3: gift matched to one hundred thousand dollars. Or you can
Speaker 3: visit Pastorick dot com. That's eight hundred and six hundred
Speaker 3: at five zero zero four or pastorick dot com.
Speaker 2: Once again, here's Pastor Rick.
Speaker 1: So many people today are going through dark days because
Speaker 1: they're carrying a load, a secret, load of guilt and
Speaker 1: shame and regret. They may look successful on the outside,
Speaker 1: but they're tortured by their secrets. Is there a way
Speaker 1: to wipe the slate clean? Is there a way to
Speaker 1: get a fresh start? Yes, it's called being born again.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean you turn over a new leaf and
Speaker 1: try harder. It means you get a brand new life,
Speaker 1: not a new leaf, a new life. Everything is forgiven
Speaker 1: and forgotten, everything is cleansed by the light of Christ.
Speaker 1: And then the darkness is lifted in your light on
Speaker 1: Samuel twenty two to twenty nine says says you Lord
Speaker 1: are my light, and you dispel my darkness, the darkness
Speaker 1: of guilt, the darkness of regret, the darkness of shame,
Speaker 1: the darkness of I wish I could have done it differently.
Speaker 1: He says, you dispel my darkness when you are my
Speaker 1: Lightphesians five eight and nine describes what it means to
Speaker 1: be completely cleansed and forgiven of your sin and born again.
Speaker 1: Here's what it says, and the one to think past
Speaker 1: your life. In your past, your life was full of darkness.
Speaker 1: But now you're full of light in the Lord. And
Speaker 1: now you can live like children of light. And God's
Speaker 1: light brings every kind of goodness and right living and truth.
Speaker 1: So here's my question for you this Christmas. What secret, regret,
Speaker 1: or guilt or shame in your life needs to be
Speaker 1: cleansed and disinfected by exposure to the light of Christ.
Speaker 1: I want you to think about that. Okay, think about that.
Speaker 1: What needs to be cleansed with the light of Christ
Speaker 1: in my life. Let's move on to the next benefit
Speaker 1: of having God's light in your life. He said, Light
Speaker 1: illuminates and I could see what I couldn't see before.
Speaker 1: Light disinfects. It cleans up the mess and the germs
Speaker 1: and the sin in my life. Third effect of light
Speaker 1: is this light can heal things. Did you know that
Speaker 1: light can heal things. Scientists are discovering more and more
Speaker 1: about the healing properties and the healing powers of light.
Speaker 1: In medicine, light is now being used in all kinds
Speaker 1: of therapeutic ways. We use them, from lasers which we
Speaker 1: use in surgeries and wounds and all kinds of thing,
Speaker 1: to different levels of infrared to LFE therapy for depression.
Speaker 1: One of the most common uses of light found in
Speaker 1: dermatology because of its ability to fight bacteria. Blue light
Speaker 1: is routinely now used in doctor's offices to treat acne,
Speaker 1: and red light is being used to treat wrinkles, and
Speaker 1: light stimulates the mitochondria in your skin. Of course, for
Speaker 1: over one hundred years, doctors have placed patients in beds
Speaker 1: out on sunny balconies as part of their recovery. We
Speaker 1: are now just learning how different wavelengths of light have
Speaker 1: different healing and pain relieving properties. Now, when you think
Speaker 1: about it, I mean literally, when you think about it,
Speaker 1: if everything God created is good when it's used in
Speaker 1: the way God intended, then that makes sense. I mean
Speaker 1: in the physical realm. Water is good for you in
Speaker 1: the right dose, air is certainly good for you in
Speaker 1: the right dose, and light is good for you in
Speaker 1: the right dose. All of these are essential to your
Speaker 1: physical health. But what about your emotional health and your
Speaker 1: spiritual health. What about your emotional wounds and mental illnesses
Speaker 1: and spiritual sicknesses that afflict all of us in a
Speaker 1: broken world. Well, the parallels apply here too. I want
Speaker 1: you to write this third thing down. In dark days,
Speaker 1: I need the light of Jesus when I'm wounded and
Speaker 1: in pain. When I'm wounded and in pain emotional pain,
Speaker 1: spiritual pain, physical pain, relational pain. With when I feel
Speaker 1: discouraged or disappointed, or depressed or in despair, the antidote
Speaker 1: is turned to the light of Jesus in those dark days.
Speaker 1: Let me show you some verses from the Bible. SOB.
Speaker 1: Sixty nine twenty nine says, I am wounded and in pain,
Speaker 1: So rescue me, Oh God, by your saving power, so
Speaker 1: im one oh three. He forgives all my sin, and
Speaker 1: he heals me. Sometimes people feel they have to like
Speaker 1: prove to God that they deserve to be healed. I've
Speaker 1: got to go fast and pray for days to be healed.
Speaker 1: But God says no, no, just show compassion to other
Speaker 1: people the way I do. Look at this verse, Isaiah
Speaker 1: fifty nine, verse six eight. Instead of fasting, he says,
Speaker 1: here's what I want you to do. I want you
Speaker 1: to break the chains of injustice. I want you to
Speaker 1: stop all the unfairness the oppressed. I want you to
Speaker 1: share your food with the hungred, shelter the homeless. And
Speaker 1: when anybody needs clothes, clothe them, and don't refuse to
Speaker 1: help even your own relatives. And if you do these things,
Speaker 1: here's what he says, my light will shine on you
Speaker 1: like the morning sun, and your own healing will quickly appear.
Speaker 1: So many people today and their dark days, feel trapped,
Speaker 1: trapped by thoughts, trapped by compulsions, trapped by fears, trapped
Speaker 1: by anxieties, trapped by secret addictions. Where do we find
Speaker 1: the freedom from that kind of darkness? Colossians one twelve
Speaker 1: and thirteen says this, your Father has made you able
Speaker 1: to share all that He's prepared for his people in
Speaker 1: the kingdom of Light, that's the Kingdom of God, the
Speaker 1: kingdom of Light. For he has freed us from the
Speaker 1: power of darkness. The light of Jesus can free us
Speaker 1: from our darkest emotions and thoughts. So here's my question
Speaker 1: here for this third point, what needs healing in your life?
Speaker 1: What needs healing in your what needs to be exposed
Speaker 1: to the light of Christ. Because light illuminates shows me
Speaker 1: when I'm confused. Lightness infects, It takes care of all
Speaker 1: the junk in my past, and light heal. Let me
Speaker 1: give you just one more property of light. The fourth
Speaker 1: effective light is this, light grows things. Light grows things.
Speaker 1: Light is life for anything living. Okay, it's the key
Speaker 1: to light. Every plant grows by photosynthesis, which is dependent
Speaker 1: upon light. No light, no growth, no light, no power.
Speaker 1: You can't live without life. Now, I'll tell you personally,
Speaker 1: as a vegetable gardener, I can tell you that the
Speaker 1: more hours of light you have, the bigger your crops
Speaker 1: will grow. I can also tell you that many crops
Speaker 1: won't even grow in wintertime with shorter days. You know,
Speaker 1: I have a thing that I've kept used for twenty
Speaker 1: five thirty years. You know what this is. Looks like
Speaker 1: just a light bulb, but as a special kind of
Speaker 1: light bulb. It's a grow light. It has it emits
Speaker 1: a certain kind of light that causes plants and trees
Speaker 1: to grow. And you use it in areas where there
Speaker 1: isn't enough light for plants to survive. I actually use
Speaker 1: these grow lights on young redwood trees that I planted
Speaker 1: on the shady side of my house until they got
Speaker 1: tall enough to get sunlight on their own, And today
Speaker 1: those trees are about forty feet tall.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: In many ways, church services, like the one we're in
Speaker 1: right now, there are a growth light for your spirit.
Speaker 1: They help you grow in dark days when the sun
Speaker 1: is hidden, when you can't see the light. Now again,
Speaker 1: the same physical effect of light is true in the
Speaker 1: spiritual realm, So write this down number four. In dark days,
Speaker 1: I need the light of Jesus to change me for
Speaker 1: the better. I need the light of Jesus to change
Speaker 1: me for the better. You know, I've often said there
Speaker 1: are two ways that we change, when we see the
Speaker 1: light and when we feel the heat. One of those
Speaker 1: ways is far less painful. If we would just change
Speaker 1: when we see the light, then we wouldn't have to
Speaker 1: change when we feel the heat. Phesians one seventeen and
Speaker 1: eighteen says, I'm asking God to give you spiritual wisdom
Speaker 1: and understanding so that you will grow. That's the grow light,
Speaker 1: so that you will grow in your knowledge of God.
Speaker 1: And I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light,
Speaker 1: the light of God. That's going to help you grow
Speaker 1: when your life's flooded with light, so that you can
Speaker 1: understand the wonderful future God has promised to those he
Speaker 1: called in the Bible. Light and life go hand in
Speaker 1: hand Psalm thirty six, Verse nine. You Lord are the
Speaker 1: giver of life, and your light lets us enjoy life.
Speaker 1: Did you know that verse? Your light lets us enjoy life?
Speaker 1: God says, life is meant to be enjoyed. I'm merely endured.
Speaker 1: But the key is living in God's light. The more
Speaker 1: you live in God's light, the more you'll enjoy life.
Speaker 1: That's why Jesus said this John eight twelve. I'm the
Speaker 1: light of the world, and if you follow me, you
Speaker 1: won't be stumbling through the darkness because you'll have the
Speaker 1: light that leads to life. We all know Jesus that
Speaker 1: in John ten ten I came to give life, life
Speaker 1: and all his fullness. The Second Corinthians, chapter four says,
Speaker 1: the same God who once said let there be light
Speaker 1: in creation, let there be light in the darkness, has
Speaker 1: now made his light to shine in our hearts. It
Speaker 1: is the brightness of God's glory that we see shining
Speaker 1: in the face of Jesus Christ. See all of these verses.
Speaker 1: Why does God talk so much about light in the Bible.
Speaker 1: Because God is light and the light is the light
Speaker 1: of love and the light of God's life one John
Speaker 1: two to eighth. The darkness in our lives disappears and
Speaker 1: the new light of Christ shines in. So here's the
Speaker 1: Christmas question this year. Here's my question for you at Christmas.
Speaker 1: Are you ready to exchange your darkness and the dark
Speaker 1: days you're going through for God's light. This is what
Speaker 1: Christmas is all about. Jesus came to light up your life.
Speaker 1: By the way, when Jesus came at Christmas, he didn't
Speaker 1: start with his birth. He's always existed because he's God.
Speaker 1: John chapter one tells us this first five verses. Before
Speaker 1: anything else existed, there was Christ with God. He didn't
Speaker 1: come alive simply at Christmas. He's been in existence for eternity.
Speaker 1: He has always been alive, and he is himself God.
Speaker 1: He created everything. Eternal life is in him, and this
Speaker 1: life gives light to all mankind. His life is the
Speaker 1: light that shines through the darkness, and the darkness can
Speaker 1: never extinguish it. When you try to live your life
Speaker 1: without God, you live it in the dark. That's why
Speaker 1: things don't make sense to you because you don't have
Speaker 1: the illumination. It's why you're burdened down with negative emotions.
Speaker 1: It's why you're not healed of the brokenness in your life,
Speaker 1: and it's why you stop growing. You know this, Christmas,
Speaker 1: It's time to let the light of Christ into your life.
Speaker 1: Not just for your dark days, for all your days.
Speaker 1: It's time to exchange your darkness for His life light.
Speaker 1: I would like to pray with you. Would you bow
Speaker 1: your heads and pray a simple prayer like this, say,
Speaker 1: Dear God, I've had many dark days in my life,
Speaker 1: but I need your light in my life. I need
Speaker 1: your light to heal me. I need your light to
Speaker 1: guide me. I need your light to help me grow.
Speaker 1: And so as much as I know how, Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: I open my life to the light of your love. Christmas,
Speaker 1: I want to accept you as God's Christmas gift to me.
Speaker 1: I pray this and ask this humbly in your name. Amen, Hi,
Speaker 1: this is Pastor Rick. If you just pray to accept
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ into your heart. Congratulations you're now my brother
Speaker 1: or sister and the Lord and you need to tell somebody,
Speaker 1: and why don't you tell me? Write to me Rick
Speaker 1: at Pastorick dot com. Just email me Rick at Pastorrick
Speaker 1: dot com and tell me your story. I would love
Speaker 1: to read it. And by the way, I'll send you
Speaker 1: some free material to help you start in your new
Speaker 1: journey with the Lord God bless you.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.
Speaker 2: We've got some incredible news to share with you. A
Speaker 2: very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 2: matching grant to this ministry. That means that all this month,
Speaker 2: every do you give to help Daily Hope share the
Speaker 2: certain hope of Jesus around the world, will be matched
Speaker 2: up to one hundred thousand dollars. Here's Pastor Rick to
Speaker 2: tell you more.
Speaker 1: Merry Christmas, everybody. Do you even know why we give
Speaker 1: Christmas gifts to each other? It's because God gave the
Speaker 1: first Christmas gift, the gift of his son. God has
Speaker 1: been using you and your generous support to literally transform
Speaker 1: the lives of so many people who've never heard about
Speaker 1: the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We couldn't
Speaker 1: do any of this without you, without your support. You know,
Speaker 1: I do this for free. I serve Daily Hope for free.
Speaker 1: We're one hundred percent listener funded. And I want to
Speaker 1: thank you for being obedient to God. When he tells
Speaker 1: you to give to Daily Hope. You might not thank
Speaker 1: You've got a lot to give. It's the regular giving,
Speaker 1: month after month after month that God multiplies and thanks
Speaker 1: to all of you, we are reaching more and more
Speaker 1: people with the good news every day. So let me
Speaker 1: just say it this time of the year, I want
Speaker 1: to appreciate your partnership in this ministry. Any success that
Speaker 1: we have is because God is working through us together.
Speaker 1: Your prayers make a difference, Your giving make a difference,
Speaker 1: and you telling other people about the program makes a difference.
Speaker 1: Here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. Would you
Speaker 1: continue to pray for me. I really need your prayers.
Speaker 1: Pray that God will give me just the right words
Speaker 1: to say this next year as we go into a
Speaker 1: year of Daily Hope sharing the good news of Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ with people all around the world. Then let me
Speaker 1: know how you're doing. Let me know how we can
Speaker 1: pray for you. We have a prayer team here. It
Speaker 1: blesses me to hear from you, and so just write
Speaker 1: me Rick at pastorick dot com. It's real simple, Rick
Speaker 1: at pastorick dot com. Thanks for listening, thanks for giving,
Speaker 1: thanks for sharing, and thanks for caring. God bless you
Speaker 1: all this month.
Speaker 2: Every dollar you give to help Daily Hope share the
Speaker 2: certain Hope of Jesus around the world will be matched
Speaker 2: up to one hundred thousand dollars, So twenty five dollars
Speaker 2: becomes fifty dollars, fifty becomes one hundred and five hundred
Speaker 2: becomes a thousand. Whatever you give will be doubled by
Speaker 2: the matching grant up to one hundred thousand dollars, but
Speaker 2: only till midnight December thirty first. Anything not matched will
Speaker 2: be lost, So please contact us today. You can give
Speaker 2: right now by going to pastororig dot com or by
Speaker 2: calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand four. We'll say
Speaker 2: thanks by sending you the brand new Daily Hope Prayer
Speaker 2: Journal that's pastororig dot com or by calling eight hundred
Speaker 2: six hundred five thousand four. Be sure to join us
Speaker 2: again next time as we look into God's word for
Speaker 2: our daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Ricks
Speaker 2: Daily Hope and your generous financial support.