Pastor Rick shares biblical truth and practical tools for living the full life God desires for everyone.
Closed captions
Show Timecode
Pastor Rick's Daily Hope | Who Do You Think You Are Talking To? Part 2 | April 24, 2022
- ♪♪♪
- 00:00:00.791 --> 00:00:19.676
- Pastor Rick Warren: Because God is always good, and God is
- 00:00:19.743 --> 00:00:22.779
- always gracious, when we pray, we can be always bold and
- 00:00:22.779 --> 00:00:26.983
- always confident.
- 00:00:26.983 --> 00:00:28.752
- Hebrews chapter 4 in the Bible, verse 15 and 16.
- 00:00:28.752 --> 00:00:32.823
- The Bible says, Jesus, talking about Jesus, "Understands our
- 00:00:32.823 --> 00:00:37.260
- weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations that we do,
- 00:00:37.260 --> 00:00:41.465
- yet he did not sin.
- 00:00:41.465 --> 00:00:43.467
- So let us come boldly with confidence to the throne of our
- 00:00:43.467 --> 00:00:47.604
- gracious, our good God."
- 00:00:47.604 --> 00:00:50.340
- It's talkin' about prayer.
- 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:52.008
- "And there we will receive his mercy, and we will find the
- 00:00:52.008 --> 00:00:56.813
- grace to help us when we need it."
- 00:00:56.813 --> 00:01:00.417
- Now here's the third one, third factor for God's goodness.
- 00:01:00.417 --> 00:01:04.521
- Because God is always good, this almost sounds like heresy, but
- 00:01:04.521 --> 00:01:09.092
- it's right out of the Scripture, God puts my good above his
- 00:01:09.092 --> 00:01:14.631
- own good.
- 00:01:14.631 --> 00:01:18.168
- Because God is always, always good, he puts my good even above
- 00:01:18.168 --> 00:01:26.343
- his own good.
- 00:01:26.343 --> 00:01:28.111
- Friends, this is the heart of the gospel.
- 00:01:28.111 --> 00:01:31.915
- This is the good news.
- 00:01:31.915 --> 00:01:34.184
- That the king sacrifices himself for the peasants.
- 00:01:34.184 --> 00:01:38.755
- The reason I know that the Bible is true rather than a fairytale,
- 00:01:38.755 --> 00:01:42.659
- 'cause in the fairytales, everybody dies for the king.
- 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:47.864
- Protect the king at all costs.
- 00:01:47.864 --> 00:01:49.666
- Protect the queen at all costs.
- 00:01:49.666 --> 00:01:51.401
- Protect the princess at all costs.
- 00:01:51.401 --> 00:01:53.870
- And all the peons and the peasants and the slaves and
- 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:56.840
- the soldiers, everybody's dying to protect the king.
- 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:00.777
- There's only one story in the world where the king dies for
- 00:02:00.777 --> 00:02:03.914
- the people, it's called the gospel.
- 00:02:03.914 --> 00:02:12.656
- This is what makes our faith different from every other
- 00:02:12.656 --> 00:02:15.625
- storyline in the world.
- 00:02:15.625 --> 00:02:18.862
- God says you've sinned, you deserve punishment, you deserve
- 00:02:18.862 --> 00:02:23.200
- to go to hell, but I'm a good God, and I love you, but I'm
- 00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:28.572
- also holy and just, and somebody's got to pay for
- 00:02:28.572 --> 00:02:31.708
- your sins.
- 00:02:31.708 --> 00:02:33.510
- So here's the deal.
- 00:02:33.510 --> 00:02:34.844
- I'll do it.
- 00:02:34.844 --> 00:02:36.346
- I'll pay for your sins.
- 00:02:36.346 --> 00:02:37.914
- I will come to earth as the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and I will
- 00:02:37.914 --> 00:02:42.886
- die for your sins.
- 00:02:42.886 --> 00:02:44.254
- You're not dying for mine, I'm dying for yours.
- 00:02:44.254 --> 00:02:47.390
- God doesn't have any sins.
- 00:02:47.390 --> 00:02:49.392
- This is the gospel.
- 00:02:49.392 --> 00:02:50.927
- This is the king sacrifices himself for the peasants.
- 00:02:50.927 --> 00:02:54.297
- This is the ultimate expression of love.
- 00:02:54.297 --> 00:02:57.567
- The shepherd dies for the sheep.
- 00:02:57.567 --> 00:03:01.271
- Look at this next verse.
- 00:03:01.271 --> 00:03:02.973
- Jesus says, John 10, "I am the good," there's that word, "I'm
- 00:03:02.973 --> 00:03:09.913
- the good shepherd.
- 00:03:09.913 --> 00:03:12.649
- I know my own sheep, and they know me.
- 00:03:12.649 --> 00:03:16.052
- And I will sacrifice my life for the sheep," really?
- 00:03:16.052 --> 00:03:22.225
- That's unbelievable, that's almost too good to be true.
- 00:03:22.225 --> 00:03:25.462
- But God, the Creator of the universe, is a good God, he dies
- 00:03:25.462 --> 00:03:28.698
- for you.
- 00:03:28.698 --> 00:03:30.033
- The shepherd dies for the sheep.
- 00:03:30.033 --> 00:03:31.835
- "I'm the good shepherd."
- 00:03:31.835 --> 00:03:33.270
- Look up here on the screen, John 15:13, "The greatest love you
- 00:03:33.270 --> 00:03:37.741
- can have is to give your life for others."
- 00:03:37.741 --> 00:03:43.113
- Nobody has ever offered to pay for your sins except God.
- 00:03:43.113 --> 00:03:48.585
- Nobody ever will offer to pay for your sins, except God.
- 00:03:48.585 --> 00:03:53.690
- When Jesus was dying on the cross, he didn't die from the
- 00:03:53.690 --> 00:03:57.861
- Romans, he died love in the first degree.
- 00:03:57.861 --> 00:04:04.601
- It was love.
- 00:04:04.601 --> 00:04:05.935
- I love you this much.
- 00:04:05.935 --> 00:04:07.270
- I'm willing to die for you, why?
- 00:04:07.270 --> 00:04:08.638
- Because I am the good God, and all that is good in the universe
- 00:04:08.638 --> 00:04:13.176
- comes from me, and all that is bad in the universe comes from
- 00:04:13.176 --> 00:04:16.579
- when you reject my goodness and do what you wanna do.
- 00:04:16.579 --> 00:04:22.552
- Here's the mind-blowing thing: not only did Jesus die to pay
- 00:04:22.552 --> 00:04:29.492
- for your sins, that's good enough right there, but he has
- 00:04:29.492 --> 00:04:32.462
- another thing he does, in that there is a great exchange.
- 00:04:32.462 --> 00:04:36.433
- He imputes his goodness, he puts his goodness inside you.
- 00:04:36.433 --> 00:04:41.971
- He takes all the bad out and puts all the good in.
- 00:04:41.971 --> 00:04:46.509
- In God's eyes, it's like blood transfusion.
- 00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:49.145
- This is the great exchange.
- 00:04:49.145 --> 00:04:50.480
- Look at this next verse in the Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
- 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:53.750
- "God took the sinless Christ," he'd never done anything wrong,
- 00:04:53.750 --> 00:04:58.221
- "And poured into him all our sins.
- 00:04:58.221 --> 00:05:01.191
- Then," here's the unbelievable part, "In exchange, he poured
- 00:05:01.191 --> 00:05:05.328
- God's goodness into us."
- 00:05:05.328 --> 00:05:08.898
- Are you kidding me?
- 00:05:08.898 --> 00:05:10.800
- When God looks at you, he does not see your sin, he sees
- 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:14.304
- God's goodness.
- 00:05:14.304 --> 00:05:16.373
- He sees the goodness of Christ.
- 00:05:16.373 --> 00:05:18.541
- He takes all the bad out, he puts all the good in.
- 00:05:18.541 --> 00:05:21.644
- This is the great exchange.
- 00:05:21.644 --> 00:05:23.980
- Notice the next verse, Romans 4:25, "Jesus died for our sins
- 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:29.619
- and rose again," that's Easter, "To make us right with God," and
- 00:05:29.619 --> 00:05:33.990
- then here's the phrase, "Filling us with God's goodness."
- 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:38.061
- In God's eyes, God does not see any sin in your life, the one
- 00:05:38.061 --> 00:05:42.399
- you did today, the one you're gonna do tomorrow.
- 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.134
- He doesn't see it, he sees all the goodness of Christ poured
- 00:05:44.134 --> 00:05:47.370
- into you.
- 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:49.005
- If you were to die tonight, and you were to go to heaven, and
- 00:05:49.005 --> 00:05:52.709
- you'd say, "Now, God, about that sin yesterday," he'd go, "What
- 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:54.611
- sin, what are you talkin' about?"
- 00:05:54.611 --> 00:05:57.213
- 'Cause all been wiped out.
- 00:05:57.213 --> 00:05:58.581
- It's all been washed away.
- 00:05:58.581 --> 00:05:59.916
- It's all been paid for.
- 00:05:59.916 --> 00:06:01.284
- It's all been taken by Christ.
- 00:06:01.284 --> 00:06:03.186
- So, what sin, what are you talking about?
- 00:06:03.186 --> 00:06:05.989
- All he sees is the goodness of Christ in you.
- 00:06:05.989 --> 00:06:08.892
- That is the good news.
- 00:06:08.892 --> 00:06:10.226
- That is amazing.
- 00:06:10.226 --> 00:06:11.561
- Now, what in the world, this is what I've just talked about for
- 00:06:11.561 --> 00:06:13.430
- the last five minutes, have to do with prayer?
- 00:06:13.430 --> 00:06:17.033
- It has everything to do with prayer, and if you don't
- 00:06:17.033 --> 00:06:19.469
- understand what I just said, you'll never understand prayer.
- 00:06:19.469 --> 00:06:23.273
- This is amazing.
- 00:06:23.273 --> 00:06:24.707
- What God did for you at the cross makes prayer possible.
- 00:06:24.707 --> 00:06:28.511
- Look at the next verse.
- 00:06:28.511 --> 00:06:29.846
- Romans chapter 8 in the Bible, verse 32.
- 00:06:29.846 --> 00:06:33.683
- "Since God did not spare even his own Son, but gave Christ up
- 00:06:33.683 --> 00:06:41.624
- for us all," he sent his Son to die for the sins that you
- 00:06:41.624 --> 00:06:44.894
- committed and I committed.
- 00:06:44.894 --> 00:06:47.664
- "Since God didn't spare even his own Son, but gave Christ up for
- 00:06:47.664 --> 00:06:51.901
- us all, won't he now also give us everything else we need?"
- 00:06:51.901 --> 00:07:00.543
- You see the logic of this verse?
- 00:07:00.543 --> 00:07:02.712
- That when Jesus Christ died for you on the cross, he solved your
- 00:07:02.712 --> 00:07:05.482
- biggest problem.
- 00:07:05.482 --> 00:07:06.850
- Any other problem you have in your life is small potatoes.
- 00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:11.454
- If Jesus Christ and God loved you enough in their own
- 00:07:11.454 --> 00:07:17.026
- goodness, in God's goodness, to die for you, don't you think he
- 00:07:17.026 --> 00:07:22.899
- loves you enough to help you with your bills, and your
- 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:28.338
- health, and your relationship?
- 00:07:28.338 --> 00:07:32.408
- Everything else in your life is small potatoes.
- 00:07:32.408 --> 00:07:34.611
- There is nothing you can't bring to God in prayer.
- 00:07:34.611 --> 00:07:38.581
- If he loved you enough to die for you, he loves you enough to
- 00:07:38.581 --> 00:07:42.952
- answer your prayer, because he is a good, good Father.
- 00:07:42.952 --> 00:07:49.959
- Because God is always a good God, this is the hard one,
- 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:54.797
- you're not gonna like this one.
- 00:07:54.797 --> 00:07:58.735
- God is good, so he always has a good plan for your life, and God
- 00:07:58.735 --> 00:08:02.005
- is good because he always gives you what you need, not what
- 00:08:02.005 --> 00:08:04.340
- you deserve.
- 00:08:04.340 --> 00:08:05.675
- God is good because he puts my good ahead of his own, and
- 00:08:05.675 --> 00:08:09.479
- here's number four.
- 00:08:09.479 --> 00:08:10.813
- Because God is always good, he does not say yes to
- 00:08:10.813 --> 00:08:15.351
- every request.
- 00:08:15.351 --> 00:08:18.655
- There's nothing in the Bible that says that everything you
- 00:08:18.655 --> 00:08:21.724
- ask for, you're gonna get.
- 00:08:21.724 --> 00:08:24.127
- No matter how self-centered or off base, God answers every
- 00:08:24.127 --> 00:08:29.299
- single prayer one of four ways.
- 00:08:29.299 --> 00:08:33.036
- When the request is not right, God says no.
- 00:08:33.036 --> 00:08:39.108
- Well, God has said no to a lot of your prayer requests, and
- 00:08:39.108 --> 00:08:42.278
- parents say no to their kids for a hundred good reasons, and God
- 00:08:42.278 --> 00:08:45.348
- doesn't owe you an explanation for every time he says no to
- 00:08:45.348 --> 00:08:48.418
- something you ask for.
- 00:08:48.418 --> 00:08:50.253
- You'll know it when you get to heaven, but you're not gonna
- 00:08:50.253 --> 00:08:52.055
- know all the reasons God said no, but no is an answer.
- 00:08:52.055 --> 00:08:56.292
- You say, "Well, you didn't answer me."
- 00:08:56.292 --> 00:08:57.627
- Yes, I did, I said no, that's an answer, no.
- 00:08:57.627 --> 00:09:02.465
- So, God says no when the request is not right.
- 00:09:02.465 --> 00:09:07.704
- When the timing is not right, God says it's a good request,
- 00:09:07.704 --> 00:09:12.175
- but not yet.
- 00:09:12.175 --> 00:09:13.943
- God says slow.
- 00:09:13.943 --> 00:09:15.745
- Write down that word, "slow," no, slow.
- 00:09:15.745 --> 00:09:19.949
- Slow means I intend to give this to you, but not yet.
- 00:09:19.949 --> 00:09:24.754
- The timing is not right.
- 00:09:24.754 --> 00:09:26.756
- There's a big difference between a delay and a denial.
- 00:09:26.756 --> 00:09:31.060
- No and not yet or not same thing.
- 00:09:31.060 --> 00:09:32.929
- Now, if you don't understand that, means you're immature,
- 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:35.431
- 'cause kids don't understand the difference between
- 00:09:35.431 --> 00:09:37.467
- no and not yet.
- 00:09:37.467 --> 00:09:39.402
- If a parent says to the kid, not yet, they think it means no, and
- 00:09:39.402 --> 00:09:43.006
- they have a fit.
- 00:09:43.006 --> 00:09:45.541
- Maturity is when you learn the difference between no and
- 00:09:45.541 --> 00:09:47.810
- not yet.
- 00:09:47.810 --> 00:09:49.145
- A delay is not denial.
- 00:09:49.145 --> 00:09:50.513
- So, sometimes God says no, but sometimes God says, yeah, I'm
- 00:09:50.513 --> 00:09:53.082
- gonna give this to you, but not yet.
- 00:09:53.082 --> 00:09:55.184
- Slow, it's gonna be a while.
- 00:09:55.184 --> 00:09:58.254
- It might even be years, you don't know; slow, God knows.
- 00:09:58.254 --> 00:10:02.859
- Sometimes the request is right, and it's an okay timing, but
- 00:10:02.859 --> 00:10:07.830
- you're not right, and God wants to do something in your life
- 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:11.601
- before he gives it to you.
- 00:10:11.601 --> 00:10:13.069
- You're not ready to handle the answer, because often his
- 00:10:13.069 --> 00:10:16.472
- answer's a bigger one than you want to get.
- 00:10:16.472 --> 00:10:19.308
- And when God wants to give you something and he's waiting on
- 00:10:19.308 --> 00:10:21.611
- you, he says grow.
- 00:10:21.611 --> 00:10:23.913
- That's an answer.
- 00:10:23.913 --> 00:10:25.281
- Sometimes God says, yeah, I'm gonna give this to you, that's a
- 00:10:25.281 --> 00:10:28.317
- good request, that's fine, but you're not ready to handle it.
- 00:10:28.317 --> 00:10:31.354
- It's like giving a little kid, you know, travel luggage to
- 00:10:31.354 --> 00:10:35.124
- carry into the airport.
- 00:10:35.124 --> 00:10:36.492
- They can't carry it, it's too heavy.
- 00:10:36.492 --> 00:10:38.628
- And so, sometimes God's answer is, yeah, I'm gonna give it to
- 00:10:38.628 --> 00:10:41.330
- you, but grow first.
- 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:43.032
- And once you grow up spiritually in that area, I intend, fully
- 00:10:43.032 --> 00:10:46.769
- intend, to give this to you.
- 00:10:46.769 --> 00:10:49.872
- Now, when the request is right, it's not some self-centered
- 00:10:49.872 --> 00:10:53.776
- thing, and the timing is right, and you are right, then God
- 00:10:53.776 --> 00:10:58.381
- says go.
- 00:10:58.381 --> 00:11:00.683
- That's the fourth one.
- 00:11:00.683 --> 00:11:02.051
- All systems go, green light.
- 00:11:02.051 --> 00:11:03.386
- I'm going to give it to you right now.
- 00:11:03.386 --> 00:11:05.521
- All four of those are legitimate answers.
- 00:11:05.521 --> 00:11:08.791
- Many times, God will say no.
- 00:11:08.791 --> 00:11:10.927
- Many times, he'll say slow.
- 00:11:10.927 --> 00:11:12.895
- Many times, he'll say grow.
- 00:11:12.895 --> 00:11:14.831
- And many times, he'll say go.
- 00:11:14.831 --> 00:11:16.999
- This is it.
- 00:11:16.999 --> 00:11:18.334
- I'm going to give it to you right now.
- 00:11:18.334 --> 00:11:19.702
- But each of those are answers to God.
- 00:11:19.702 --> 00:11:23.372
- Luke chapter 11, Jesus says this, verse 11 to 13, "You
- 00:11:23.372 --> 00:11:28.377
- fathers--you fathers, if your children ask for fish to eat,
- 00:11:28.377 --> 00:11:35.685
- would you give them a snake instead?
- 00:11:35.685 --> 00:11:38.521
- Or if they ask for an egg, would you give them a scorpion?"
- 00:11:38.521 --> 00:11:40.923
- This is obviously humor by exaggeration.
- 00:11:40.923 --> 00:11:45.962
- "Of course not.
- 00:11:45.962 --> 00:11:47.296
- So if you, as sinful people, know how to give good gifts to
- 00:11:47.296 --> 00:11:50.867
- your own children, how much more will your Heavenly Father," who
- 00:11:50.867 --> 00:11:54.403
- is a good, good Father, "Give the Holy Spirit to those who
- 00:11:54.403 --> 00:11:57.440
- ask him."
- 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:58.941
- The point God is saying here is God's never gonna give you
- 00:11:58.941 --> 00:12:00.943
- anything that'll be hurtful or bad for you, but he says if you,
- 00:12:00.943 --> 00:12:04.680
- being an imperfect parent, know how to give good gifts to your
- 00:12:04.680 --> 00:12:07.150
- kids, and you do know how to do that, certainly God, who is the
- 00:12:07.150 --> 00:12:09.852
- perfect and good, always good, Heavenly Father knows how to
- 00:12:09.852 --> 00:12:12.755
- give good gifts to you.
- 00:12:12.755 --> 00:12:14.123
- But he'll never give you anything that's not good for you
- 00:12:14.123 --> 00:12:17.360
- in that moment, in that moment.
- 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:21.931
- Sometimes we ask things and we don't really know what we're
- 00:12:21.931 --> 00:12:24.100
- asking about.
- 00:12:24.100 --> 00:12:25.468
- One time, the mother of James and John, who were two of the
- 00:12:25.468 --> 00:12:30.139
- disciples that Jesus picked, the 12 guys who traveled with him,
- 00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:33.209
- she comes to him, and like a good mom, she's proud of her
- 00:12:33.209 --> 00:12:37.113
- boys, they're traveling with Jesus.
- 00:12:37.113 --> 00:12:39.348
- She goes up to the Lord, and says, "Lord, when you get to
- 00:12:39.348 --> 00:12:42.819
- your kingdom in heaven, can my boys sit on either side of you?"
- 00:12:42.819 --> 00:12:47.390
- I can just see a mom doing this.
- 00:12:47.390 --> 00:12:50.092
- And John's going, "Oh, Mom, come on," and Jesus, in Matthew 20
- 00:12:50.092 --> 00:12:55.464
- verse 22, "Jesus replied, 'You don't realize what you're
- 00:12:55.464 --> 00:12:59.402
- asking for.'"
- 00:12:59.402 --> 00:13:01.003
- Many times, God has wanted to say that to you.
- 00:13:01.003 --> 00:13:04.073
- You don't realize what you're asking for.
- 00:13:04.073 --> 00:13:06.475
- And in that point, when God says no, you need to go, I trust a
- 00:13:06.475 --> 00:13:10.580
- good, good Father than I do my own judgment, 'cause I think
- 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:14.383
- this would be good for me, but God, you got the bigger picture,
- 00:13:14.383 --> 00:13:18.621
- and you can see my whole life in front of me.
- 00:13:18.621 --> 00:13:21.724
- You don't know where this turn is gonna take me, I don't know,
- 00:13:21.724 --> 00:13:25.161
- but you do, and if you say no to that job, or no to that
- 00:13:25.161 --> 00:13:29.832
- engagement, or no to whatever I've asked for, I'm just gonna
- 00:13:29.832 --> 00:13:34.337
- trust that you are a good Father, 'cause you can see what
- 00:13:34.337 --> 00:13:38.574
- I can't see, and I don't realize even what I'm asking for.
- 00:13:38.574 --> 00:13:47.450
- female announcer: We all experience disappointments,
- 00:13:51.554 --> 00:13:53.890
- obstacles, and seemingly impossible circumstances in
- 00:13:53.890 --> 00:13:57.493
- our lives.
- 00:13:57.493 --> 00:13:59.262
- Maybe you need a breakthrough in your marriage, your finances,
- 00:13:59.262 --> 00:14:03.032
- relationships, or with habits and painful memories that have
- 00:14:03.032 --> 00:14:06.702
- held you back.
- 00:14:06.702 --> 00:14:08.604
- You'll get a breakthrough in your life when you seek one, and
- 00:14:08.604 --> 00:14:11.908
- the way you do that is through prayer.
- 00:14:11.908 --> 00:14:15.111
- That's why Pastor Rick created the "40 Days of Prayer"
- 00:14:15.111 --> 00:14:18.080
- study kit.
- 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:19.615
- In this life-changing, six-session DVD and workbook
- 00:14:19.615 --> 00:14:22.785
- study, Pastor Rick helps you cultivate a powerful
- 00:14:22.785 --> 00:14:25.888
- prayer life.
- 00:14:25.888 --> 00:14:27.890
- You'll learn how to pray for a breakthrough and how to pray
- 00:14:27.890 --> 00:14:30.927
- with more confidence and greater faith than ever before.
- 00:14:30.927 --> 00:14:36.065
- Get the "40 Days of Prayer" study kit today, and experience
- 00:14:36.065 --> 00:14:39.669
- the blessing of answered prayer.
- 00:14:39.669 --> 00:14:43.005
- When you give a gift today to help "Daily Hope" take this
- 00:14:43.005 --> 00:14:46.008
- certain hope of Jesus to people around the world, we'll send you
- 00:14:46.008 --> 00:14:50.346
- the "40 Days of Prayer" study kit to say thanks.
- 00:14:50.346 --> 00:14:57.086
- Pastor Rick: Now, let's just be honest, it's easy to trust God's
- 00:15:01.324 --> 00:15:06.629
- goodness when things are goin' good.
- 00:15:06.629 --> 00:15:11.567
- No sweat, everything's going good in my life.
- 00:15:11.567 --> 00:15:13.903
- God is a good God.
- 00:15:13.903 --> 00:15:17.640
- The test is can you say that when everything's bad in
- 00:15:17.640 --> 00:15:21.010
- your life?
- 00:15:21.010 --> 00:15:23.079
- When things aren't workin' out.
- 00:15:23.079 --> 00:15:25.414
- When you're not seeing the changes.
- 00:15:25.414 --> 00:15:27.416
- When you're not getting the answers.
- 00:15:27.416 --> 00:15:29.452
- When it seems dark.
- 00:15:29.452 --> 00:15:31.787
- When you feel alone or afraid.
- 00:15:31.787 --> 00:15:35.091
- When things are not going good in your life, can you still say
- 00:15:35.091 --> 00:15:37.893
- you're a good, good Father?
- 00:15:37.893 --> 00:15:39.261
- It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are.
- 00:15:39.261 --> 00:15:42.298
- That is the ultimate test of your faith, and God is going to
- 00:15:42.298 --> 00:15:45.735
- test your faith thousands of times in life.
- 00:15:45.735 --> 00:15:49.005
- Do you trust your feelings?
- 00:15:49.005 --> 00:15:50.373
- It's easy to feel good when God is good, when things are good,
- 00:15:50.373 --> 00:15:53.676
- or do I trust the faith that God is good even when I can't
- 00:15:53.676 --> 00:15:57.646
- see it?
- 00:15:57.646 --> 00:15:59.048
- That the sun is still shining when I can't see it.
- 00:15:59.048 --> 00:16:03.552
- The test of your faith is not how high you jump in praise,
- 00:16:03.552 --> 00:16:07.356
- singin' a song when things are going good in your life.
- 00:16:07.356 --> 00:16:09.625
- The test of faith is how straight you walk when
- 00:16:09.625 --> 00:16:12.194
- everything sucks, and you're still goin' straight.
- 00:16:12.194 --> 00:16:19.568
- I'm still trusting in the goodness of God.
- 00:16:19.568 --> 00:16:21.670
- I did not get that job.
- 00:16:21.670 --> 00:16:23.039
- I just got fired.
- 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:24.373
- I'm trusting in the goodness of God
- 00:16:24.373 --> 00:16:26.942
- that his plans for my life are good plans.
- 00:16:26.942 --> 00:16:29.879
- God, I trust you.
- 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:31.247
- I don't see it, but I trust you.
- 00:16:31.247 --> 00:16:32.848
- Ultimately, I'm going to trust you.
- 00:16:32.848 --> 00:16:35.551
- When I have two prayers in my life that I've prayed every day
- 00:16:35.551 --> 00:16:39.455
- for over 40 years, and I'm still waiting for the answer, is God a
- 00:16:39.455 --> 00:16:44.093
- good Father?
- 00:16:44.093 --> 00:16:45.928
- Yeah, yeah, he's still good.
- 00:16:45.928 --> 00:16:51.934
- When my youngest son lost his lifelong battle with mental
- 00:16:51.934 --> 00:16:56.605
- illness that I had prayed every day God would take away, and he
- 00:16:56.605 --> 00:17:01.544
- takes his own life, and he makes a permanent solution to a
- 00:17:01.544 --> 00:17:05.915
- temporary mood, is God a good Father when your son
- 00:17:05.915 --> 00:17:11.720
- commits suicide?
- 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.723
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's still good.
- 00:17:14.723 --> 00:17:23.132
- Not everything that happens in the world is good.
- 00:17:23.132 --> 00:17:25.668
- Not everything that happens in the world is God's will.
- 00:17:25.668 --> 00:17:28.637
- So, there are a lot of things God doesn't want to happen, but
- 00:17:28.637 --> 00:17:31.540
- he's given us a free choice.
- 00:17:31.540 --> 00:17:34.076
- It's your greatest gift and it's your greatest curse, 'cause he's
- 00:17:34.076 --> 00:17:37.713
- not gonna force you to love him.
- 00:17:37.713 --> 00:17:40.916
- Is God a good God in that moment?
- 00:17:40.916 --> 00:17:44.820
- Yeah, the moment of ultimate test of your faith is when you
- 00:17:44.820 --> 00:17:49.058
- can say, like Job, when you've lost everything, all your
- 00:17:49.058 --> 00:17:52.561
- family, all your crops, all your business, all your health,
- 00:17:52.561 --> 00:17:57.800
- you've lost everything, and Job says, "You give and take away.
- 00:17:57.800 --> 00:18:05.074
- You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, Lord,
- 00:18:05.074 --> 00:18:08.911
- blessed be the name."
- 00:18:08.911 --> 00:18:11.480
- You're a good, good Father, even when I've lost it all.
- 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:15.651
- I trust you.
- 00:18:15.651 --> 00:18:18.487
- That is maturity.
- 00:18:18.487 --> 00:18:21.257
- That's where God wants to take you.
- 00:18:21.257 --> 00:18:23.459
- That you do not live your life based on your feelings, but you
- 00:18:23.459 --> 00:18:26.795
- live your life based on the truth that God has a plan.
- 00:18:26.795 --> 00:18:33.202
- And if I'll follow that plan, it's a good plan, and even the
- 00:18:33.202 --> 00:18:36.205
- bad things that happen, God said I'll fit that into the
- 00:18:36.205 --> 00:18:38.774
- plan, too.
- 00:18:38.774 --> 00:18:42.444
- You know, a lot of times when you pray for stuff, it
- 00:18:42.444 --> 00:18:44.480
- doesn't happen.
- 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:45.848
- Let's just get real honest here, okay?
- 00:18:45.848 --> 00:18:47.183
- Let's talk about this.
- 00:18:47.183 --> 00:18:48.551
- Most, or many of your prayers, you have not seen the
- 00:18:48.551 --> 00:18:51.086
- answers to.
- 00:18:51.086 --> 00:18:54.990
- You know, this week, on Wednesday, I got a terrible
- 00:18:54.990 --> 00:18:59.595
- stomach ache.
- 00:18:59.595 --> 00:19:01.330
- I mean, it was bowled over, in a fetal position, and you can't
- 00:19:01.330 --> 00:19:06.602
- handle it kind of pain.
- 00:19:06.602 --> 00:19:09.538
- And I'm laying there, bowled over in pain, and I cried out to
- 00:19:09.538 --> 00:19:13.342
- God, "God, take away this pain."
- 00:19:13.342 --> 00:19:19.815
- You know what happened?
- 00:19:19.815 --> 00:19:22.818
- He didn't take it away.
- 00:19:22.818 --> 00:19:25.788
- Anybody ever been there on that one?
- 00:19:25.788 --> 00:19:28.691
- He didn't take it away, and actually, the pain lasted
- 00:19:28.691 --> 00:19:32.261
- several hours longer.
- 00:19:32.261 --> 00:19:33.596
- It eventually subsided, but he didn't take it away.
- 00:19:33.596 --> 00:19:36.298
- Now, what does that tell me about prayer?
- 00:19:36.298 --> 00:19:40.369
- That prayer doesn't work?
- 00:19:40.369 --> 00:19:42.871
- No, I've seen it work too many times.
- 00:19:42.871 --> 00:19:45.541
- That God isn't good?
- 00:19:45.541 --> 00:19:46.909
- No, God is good whether I'm in pain or not.
- 00:19:46.909 --> 00:19:50.512
- That God doesn't care?
- 00:19:50.512 --> 00:19:51.880
- Of course God cares.
- 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:54.216
- That I should give up on prayer because I don't get everything I
- 00:19:54.216 --> 00:19:57.853
- selfishly ask for every time?
- 00:19:57.853 --> 00:19:59.622
- No, God is not a vending machine, he's not a genie, I've
- 00:19:59.622 --> 00:20:05.694
- said that, and prayer is not a painkiller.
- 00:20:05.694 --> 00:20:11.700
- It is not a painkiller that takes away all of your pain.
- 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:15.304
- God has not guaranteed a pain-free life to you, that's
- 00:20:15.304 --> 00:20:18.674
- called heaven, but not here on earth.
- 00:20:18.674 --> 00:20:22.711
- Nowhere in the Bible does it say God wants you to live pain free.
- 00:20:22.711 --> 00:20:27.549
- Actually, pain keeps us from, many times, getting into
- 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:29.718
- worse situations.
- 00:20:29.718 --> 00:20:31.186
- Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God said prayer will make
- 00:20:31.186 --> 00:20:34.623
- every single moment of your life easy.
- 00:20:34.623 --> 00:20:36.892
- It is not God's job make every moment of your life easy.
- 00:20:36.892 --> 00:20:40.596
- You'd never grow up, you'd be immature, you'd be spoiled,
- 00:20:40.596 --> 00:20:43.532
- you'd be incredibly self-centered.
- 00:20:43.532 --> 00:20:46.001
- It just doesn't say that.
- 00:20:46.001 --> 00:20:49.204
- So, when I'm in pain, and I pray, and I don't see the
- 00:20:49.204 --> 00:20:51.307
- answer, should I give up?
- 00:20:51.307 --> 00:20:52.775
- No, my job is to keep praying, keep trusting God with the
- 00:20:52.775 --> 00:20:59.348
- answer, because I know that everything he does, and
- 00:20:59.348 --> 00:21:03.652
- everything he allows in my life, he will use for good.
- 00:21:03.652 --> 00:21:10.059
- And so, I accept a no, or a slow, or a grow, or a go,
- 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:16.432
- because I know that God is a good, good Father, even when I'm
- 00:21:16.432 --> 00:21:19.001
- in pain.
- 00:21:19.001 --> 00:21:21.870
- If the doctor does a surgery on you, and cuts you open, that's
- 00:21:21.870 --> 00:21:26.141
- gonna cause some pain.
- 00:21:26.141 --> 00:21:28.310
- But if that surgery saves your life, it's a life-saving
- 00:21:28.310 --> 00:21:32.147
- surgery, and you were in pain in the surgery, and then you're in
- 00:21:32.147 --> 00:21:35.651
- pain in the recovery, do you say that's a bad, bad doctor?
- 00:21:35.651 --> 00:21:40.489
- No, he just saved your life.
- 00:21:40.489 --> 00:21:47.429
- When God doesn't immediately end your pain, as he didn't mine, he
- 00:21:47.429 --> 00:21:51.900
- was just saying to me in that moment, my grace is sufficient
- 00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:56.505
- for you.
- 00:21:56.505 --> 00:21:57.873
- Rick, you can handle a little pain in your life.
- 00:21:57.873 --> 00:21:59.241
- You can handle a lot of pain in your life.
- 00:21:59.241 --> 00:22:02.311
- I've had a lot of pain in my life.
- 00:22:02.311 --> 00:22:04.947
- In fact, almost everything I've learned in life, I learned
- 00:22:04.947 --> 00:22:08.183
- through pain.
- 00:22:08.183 --> 00:22:10.119
- I've learned nothing from pleasure, zero, zip, nada.
- 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:15.891
- I learned very little from success.
- 00:22:15.891 --> 00:22:18.460
- But I learned boatloads through pain.
- 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:22.698
- And God is more interested in making me a man of God than he
- 00:22:22.698 --> 00:22:26.001
- is in making me comfortable.
- 00:22:26.001 --> 00:22:28.871
- God is more interested in making you a man of God than making
- 00:22:28.871 --> 00:22:32.808
- you comfortable.
- 00:22:32.808 --> 00:22:34.143
- God is more interested in making you a woman of God than making
- 00:22:34.143 --> 00:22:36.578
- you comfortable.
- 00:22:36.578 --> 00:22:37.946
- Comfort's gonna go on for trillions and trillions of years
- 00:22:37.946 --> 00:22:40.082
- in heaven.
- 00:22:40.082 --> 00:22:41.450
- But right now, you're in the grow-up stage, and so not
- 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:44.820
- everything you ask for it you're gonna get, otherwise that's like
- 00:22:44.820 --> 00:22:47.156
- Midas's touch, everything turns to gold.
- 00:22:47.156 --> 00:22:51.293
- If you've never had any pain or difficulty in your life, how
- 00:22:51.293 --> 00:22:53.462
- strong, how mature would you be?
- 00:22:53.462 --> 00:22:54.897
- Not very, you don't know God is all you need until God is all
- 00:22:54.897 --> 00:23:00.202
- you got, and then you realize that God does everything
- 00:23:00.202 --> 00:23:04.072
- for good.
- 00:23:04.072 --> 00:23:05.407
- Isaiah 55 verse 8 and 9, God says, "My thoughts are
- 00:23:05.407 --> 00:23:09.211
- completely different from yours," which is why he doesn't
- 00:23:09.211 --> 00:23:14.650
- answer the way I want him to many times.
- 00:23:14.650 --> 00:23:18.187
- "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
- 00:23:18.187 --> 00:23:21.890
- For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
- 00:23:21.890 --> 00:23:25.661
- ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your
- 00:23:25.661 --> 00:23:28.197
- thoughts," and Rick, you're praying at one level, and I'm
- 00:23:28.197 --> 00:23:30.666
- thinkin' about your life at another level, because I want
- 00:23:30.666 --> 00:23:33.535
- good for your life, even more than you do.
- 00:23:33.535 --> 00:23:36.705
- Finally, because God is always good, he invites us to live with
- 00:23:36.705 --> 00:23:43.679
- him forever.
- 00:23:43.679 --> 00:23:45.414
- God is going to show you his goodness forever and ever and
- 00:23:45.414 --> 00:23:48.650
- ever and ever and ever and ever, for all of eternity, wow.
- 00:23:48.650 --> 00:23:52.821
- Because God is always good, he invites us to live with
- 00:23:52.821 --> 00:23:56.425
- him forever.
- 00:23:56.425 --> 00:23:58.360
- And the last verse, Psalm 23 says this, "Surely goodness,"
- 00:23:58.360 --> 00:24:04.833
- "Surely goodness."
- 00:24:04.833 --> 00:24:06.201
- God's goodness, "And love will follow me all the days of
- 00:24:06.201 --> 00:24:10.539
- my life."
- 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:11.907
- That's good, but then he adds this in, "And then I will dwell
- 00:24:11.907 --> 00:24:17.379
- in the house of the Lord forever."
- 00:24:17.379 --> 00:24:19.214
- That's a good plan.
- 00:24:19.214 --> 00:24:23.185
- Why am I saying this?
- 00:24:23.185 --> 00:24:25.187
- When you realize no matter how I feel, and no matter what it
- 00:24:25.187 --> 00:24:28.323
- looks like, God is for me, he's not against me.
- 00:24:28.323 --> 00:24:32.160
- God is a good God, and he wants what's good for me more than I
- 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:36.698
- even want it myself, and he knows what will make me happy
- 00:24:36.698 --> 00:24:39.401
- more than I know it myself.
- 00:24:39.401 --> 00:24:40.936
- God is a good God, and that's the foundation of all
- 00:24:40.936 --> 00:24:45.707
- your prayers.
- 00:24:45.707 --> 00:24:47.042
- Now your prayers become passionate, and purposeful, and
- 00:24:47.042 --> 00:24:51.547
- they've got a point to them, and you have power in your prayers.
- 00:24:51.547 --> 00:24:56.552
- So, let me ask you this.
- 00:24:56.552 --> 00:24:58.120
- What do you want to see happen in your life the next 40 days?
- 00:24:58.120 --> 00:25:01.256
- I want you to commit the next 40 days to learning how to pray.
- 00:25:01.256 --> 00:25:06.428
- I'm going to teach you in the weeks ahead, both in small group
- 00:25:06.428 --> 00:25:08.931
- and here, how to pray effectively, but it starts with
- 00:25:08.931 --> 00:25:12.367
- the goodness of God.
- 00:25:12.367 --> 00:25:14.570
- Nothing's more important in your life than you learn how to pray
- 00:25:14.570 --> 00:25:16.939
- effectively, friend.
- 00:25:16.939 --> 00:25:19.141
- It's the way you tap into God's power, God's presence, God's
- 00:25:19.141 --> 00:25:22.511
- peace, God's purpose, God's plan.
- 00:25:22.511 --> 00:25:25.781
- It's the way you tap into all of that.
- 00:25:25.781 --> 00:25:28.383
- So, what do you want to see in the next 40 days?
- 00:25:28.383 --> 00:25:30.118
- Start thinkin' about that.
- 00:25:30.118 --> 00:25:31.553
- "You have not because you ask not," the Bible says.
- 00:25:31.553 --> 00:25:44.900
- announcer: We all experience disappointments, obstacles, and
- 00:25:49.071 --> 00:25:52.541
- seemingly impossible circumstances in our lives.
- 00:25:52.541 --> 00:25:56.812
- Maybe you need a breakthrough in your marriage, your finances,
- 00:25:56.812 --> 00:26:00.549
- relationships, or with habits and painful memories that have
- 00:26:00.549 --> 00:26:04.186
- held you back.
- 00:26:04.186 --> 00:26:06.121
- You'll get a breakthrough in your life when you seek one, and
- 00:26:06.121 --> 00:26:09.391
- the way you do that is through prayer.
- 00:26:09.391 --> 00:26:12.694
- That's way Pastor Rick created the "40 Days of Prayer"
- 00:26:12.694 --> 00:26:15.564
- study kit.
- 00:26:15.564 --> 00:26:17.132
- In this life-changing, six-session DVD and workbook
- 00:26:17.132 --> 00:26:20.335
- study, Pastor Rick helps you cultivate a powerful
- 00:26:20.335 --> 00:26:23.372
- prayer life.
- 00:26:23.372 --> 00:26:25.407
- You'll learn how to pray for a breakthrough and how to pray
- 00:26:25.407 --> 00:26:28.443
- with more confidence and greater faith than ever before.
- 00:26:28.443 --> 00:26:33.582
- Get the "40 Days of Prayer" study kit today, and experience
- 00:26:33.582 --> 00:26:37.185
- the blessing of answered prayer.
- 00:26:37.185 --> 00:26:40.522
- When you give a gift today to help "Daily Hope" take this
- 00:26:40.522 --> 00:26:43.525
- certain hope of Jesus to people around the world, we'll send you
- 00:26:43.525 --> 00:26:47.863
- the "40 Days of Prayer" study kit to say thanks.
- 00:26:47.863 --> 00:26:54.503
- CC by Aberdeen Captioning www.aberdeen.io 1-800-688-6621
- 00:26:58.674 --> 00:27:03.612
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:03.612 --> 00:27:30.000
