April 15, 2025 • 24 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, this is Rick Warren, Bible teacher for the Daily
Hope Broadcast. Did you know that because of Easter, your
past can be forgiven, you get a purpose for living,
and you can have a home in heaven. That's good news.
Where else can you get that kind of news? Nowhere else?
And did you know that at Easter, studies have shown
people are more open to an invitation to go to
church than at any other time of the year. Don't
(00:22):
go to church by yourself, but bring somebody who doesn't
know Jesus Christ, a family member, a friend, a coworker,
a neighbor, a relative. And if you bring them to
that church service and they come to know Christ, You're
going to be making a friend for eternity. It'll be
the most important investment you can ever make in their lives.
And by the way, if they come to Christ, would
(00:43):
you let me know about it. I'd love to hear
that story that you brought somebody to Easter and they
found Jesus. You can write to me Rick at Pastorrick
dot com. That's rickat Pastorrick dot com. I would love
to hear from you. God bless you and Happy Easter.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Hey, this is Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Hope.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We are so glad you've.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Joined us well. This weekend, across every continent and in
thousands of languages, millions of people will join together to
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith.
But friends, it doesn't stop there. Not only was Christ resurrected,
but he is still alive. So let's jump right in
(01:30):
with pastor rig for the first part of this powerful message,
how Jesus revitalizes your life.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, without a doubt, the
single most important event in history. I say that without
any fear of contradiction, because every other event in history
is dated by its relationship to the resurrection AD or BC.
Everything else is dated by this event. Even people who
don't believe in Jesus Christ every day their life used
(02:00):
Jesus Christ as a reference point for their clocks, their calendars,
and their schedules, because it's all dated according to this event.
Easter proved that Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be.
He said, I'm the Son of God on the way
to heaven, and to prove it, I'm going to let
them put me to death. I'm going to die on
the cross for everyone's sins. Three days later, I will
(02:22):
come back to life. And that's exactly what he did.
If there had been no Easter, no resurrection, there would
be no forgiveness for your sins, there would be no
hope of heaven, there would be no purpose in living.
It is the most important event. Now. It's interesting and
ironic that when Jesus Christ was crucified and died on
(02:42):
the cross, his followers fell apart. They just scattered to
the winds. They were devastated. In fact, it wasn't supposed
to happen that way. In their mind, Jesus Christ was
going to set up a literal kingdom here on earth,
a theocracy, and ruin the Roman Empire. And all of
a sudden he's being killed between two thieves on a cross,
(03:05):
and they're going, what's happening? Did we miss this? Did
we mess it up? And when Jesus Christ was arrested,
all of his followers they were called disciples, ran away.
They fled like cowards. Some of them even denied that
they knew him, and they all just scattered to the winds.
And so for several days until Jesus rose again, these
(03:29):
guys were bewildered, they were discouraged, they were defeated, they
were disillusioned, they were demoralized, they were defeated, they were depressed.
In a word, they were running on empty. Now three
days later, on Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ comes back to life,
and that night, Easter Sunday evening, late in the evening,
(03:52):
he goes to meet with his followers, the disciples, and
what happens in that room so forever changes them. That
the transformation is unbelievable. And those who are once cowards
are now full of courage, and those who are once
empty are now empowered. And those who are once defeated
(04:13):
and discouraged and demoralized are now daring. They are full
of boldness, they are afraid of nothing and no one.
They're ready to take on the Roman Empire in the
entire world. And they have ultimate confidence. They're full of joy.
And they're not even the same people that they were
three days earlier. They are incredibly empowered. What happened? What
(04:35):
changed them? How did Jesus refill their empty tank when
they were running on empty? Now, we're going to start
a series this week that I'm calling when you're running
on empty, And I want to begin with just a
little survey. How many of you, when you're driving, never
let your gas tank get below half empty? Anybody here?
All right? There are a few people here, God bless
(04:57):
you compulsive people? Just kidding? How many of you you
fill up when you get three quarters empty? You never
let it go beyond the quarter left? Can I see
your hands? All right? How many of you see how
far you can go after the little light goes on? Yeah? Yeah, okay?
(05:18):
How many of you think E means enough to keep going?
All right? Okay, I expect the same hands to go up.
How many of you have ever in your lifetime run
out of gas? Can I see your hands? You're not
very bright, are you? Friday? I ran out of gas,
(05:45):
And the embarrassing thing about it is Kay was with
me when I ran out of gas. Fortunately I was
at the top of the hill in at La Pause,
so I coasted all the way down the hill into
the gas station. Now I got to think, and I
was going to do this series on when you're running
on empty. I've just run out of gas, and I thought,
what are all the reasons that I have run out
(06:07):
of gas in my lifetime, and I decided I would
make a list. So while Kay is pushing the car
into the gas station, I made a list of the
ten reasons we run out of gas next weekend. I'm
going to share those with you in part two because
they think you will be amazed at how much they
(06:28):
parallel when we're running on empty emotionally and running on
empty financially, and running on empty relationally, and running on
empty physically and spiritually. But today, because it's Easter, I
want us to look at how Jesus refills our tank,
how he revitalizes us, how he re energizes us when
(06:50):
we're running on empty. Now, the story of what Jesus
did with his followers on Easter is recorded in John
chapter twenty in the Bible. Let me read a little
bit of it to you. Now, this is happening. This
is eastern night, on the evening of that first day
of the week. It's Sunday, when the disciples were together
(07:12):
with the doors locked for fear of the authorities. And
Jesus came and stood among them, and he said, peace
be with you. And after he said this, he showed
them his hands. You know where he had the nail
prints and his side where the centurion speared him in
the side when he was on the cross. And the
disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And again
(07:35):
Jesus said, peace be with you this the second time,
as my father has sent me, I'm now sending you.
And with that he breathed on him, and he says,
receive the Holy Spirit. And if you forgive anyone his sins,
they are forgiven. Now, going down to verse twenty nine,
it says, then Jesus tells Thomas, because you have seen me,
(07:56):
you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen,
and yet they believe. Now Jesus did many other miraculous
signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
recorded in this book, but these are written that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing, you may have life in his name. Now,
(08:20):
I don't know what kind of week you've had, and
I don't know what kind of month you had, or
what kind of year you've had, or what kind of
life you've had. But if you've ever felt like you
were running on empty, you're just out of gas anything.
I don't know that I can go on. I'm at
the end of my rope. I'm ready to throw in
the towel. I'm at my wits end. I feel like
(08:40):
I'm going to resign from the human race. If you've
ever felt frustrated, fatigued, fearful, or just weary, sick and
tired of being sick and tired, you picked a good
Sunday to come to church, because I've got good news
for you. The seven things that Jesus did with his
disciples that turned him from cowards into confident people are
(09:02):
the seven things he wants to do in your life
this Easter. Now, if you've got your message notes, take
them out. And there are seven things that he did.
And the first thing that Jesus does when he wants
to refill your tank when you're running on empty, is
first he meets you where you are. He meets you
where you are. The disciples were scared to death, they're afraid.
(09:25):
They're hiding in a room with the doors locked. And
when you're running on empty, Jesus doesn't wait for you
to come to him. He comes to you. He takes initiative.
In fact, it says here in verse nineteen, they're on
your outline. It was late that Sunday evening. The disciples
were gathered together behind locked doors because they were afraid
(09:46):
of the authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them.
The point is Jesus went to them. Now, notice it's late,
it's late in the evening. Have you ever been so
tired but so upset you couldn't get sleep? This is
what's happening here with these guys. They've had a roller
coaster week, emotional highs and lows, and they've gone through
(10:06):
the arrest and the trial, and the crucifixion and the
death and the burial of their leader, Jesus Christ. And
these guys are emotionally spent their drain, but they can't
get to sleep. And it's late in the evening, and
most of them probably hadn't slept for days. And then
it says they were hiding why. Vince Lombardi once said,
(10:26):
fatigue makes cowards of all of us, And it does.
And these guys are probably second guessing themselves. Were we wrong?
Is Jesus not who he claimed to be? Is? And
they not really? God? Where we deluded? What are we
gonna do? Now? They're gonna get us. They're second guessing themselves.
It says they were locked behind doors. Locks are put
on doors to keep people out, But the amazing thing
(10:47):
is that locks also keep us locked inside. I wonder
who you've locked out of your life. Some of you
have locked God out of your life. You see, when
you put a lock on your life, you not only
lock people out, you lock yourself in. And fear creates
a self imposed prison. Jesus says, I want to release
you from your fears. Why it says they were locked
(11:09):
because they were afraid. It's fear that locks us in. Now,
suddenly Jesus shows up among them. And when he first
showed up in the room, they didn't recognize him. Why
they weren't expecting him. They weren't aware. Now, this is
very common, the fact that happens in your life all
the time. God shows up in your life all the
time and you don't even know it he does. He
(11:32):
shows up in your life all the time in circumstances
and situations, and you don't even recognize it because you're
not looking for him now right now, you may feel
God's a million miles away, you may feel that he's
on some distant planet. But the fact is he's closer
than you realize. He's here, and he's near, and he
(11:54):
wants to help you tonight. Now, the second thing he
does is he not only shows up where you are,
gives you encouragement. Notice the very first thing that Jesus
says to them in verse nineteen. Then Jesus said, peace
be with you. Now I love this because he says,
calm down, you guys, chill out, take a deep breath, relax,
(12:15):
It's gonna be okay. I got it under control. And
the very first thing Jesus says to these guys who
were defeated, demoralized, the pressed, discouraged, running on empty, he says,
peace be under you. It's okay. I got it. I
got it handled. Now. I love this because what he
didn't say. Jesus could have walked into the room. And
(12:36):
the first thing he said to his followers says, why'd
you guys leave me? Why did you abandon me? Where
were you when I needed you most? Why didn't you
show up? You were with me for three years, and
then when I go through tough times, you flake out.
He didn't criticize them, he didn't rebuke them, he didn't
(12:57):
scold them. He didn't put them down, He didn't correct
them or reprimand him. What's the first thing Jesus does
when you're running on empty? He encourages you peace be
under you. Now. Why did he do that? Because he
understood their confusion. Now, if you don't get anything else,
I want you to get this right now. Nobody understands
(13:19):
how you feel as much as Jesus Christ does. God
understands how you feel more than you understand how you feel.
You know, I'm a guy. I don't always know why
I feel why I feel. Kay, well ask me, hey,
you know, what are you feeling? I don't know. You know,
as a guy, men don't really know what we're feeling.
We just feel it. Now, if you're a woman, you
(13:41):
can take thirty five minutes to explain how you feel.
But it's a guy. I don't know what I'm feeling
or why I'm feeling, and I just feel it. And
the point is is that God understands you, whether you're
a man or a woman, exactly how you feel, so
he can relate to that at that moment, and he
knew these guys were confused. Confusion is a hallmark of
(14:03):
running on empty. Now, because he understands exactly how you feel.
There's nothing you can't talk to God about. There's nothing
too big, there's nothing too small, there's nothing too insignificant.
There's nothing too frivolous that you can't talk to God about.
Because He understands everything you're feeling in every moment of
your life. So go and talk to him about it,
(14:25):
unload yourself, and receive encouragement from him. The Bible says this,
look at the next verse, do not worry about anything
but pray and ask God for everything you need, always
giving thanks. Now let me stop there. He says, you
got too alternatives in life. You can pray, or you
can panic. You can worry, or you can worship. Now,
(14:46):
if you don't pray, you're gonna panic. If you don't
worry worship, you're gonna worry. And he says, I'm giving
you an opportunity. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything.
And he says, and God's peace, which is so great
that we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ. Jesus, you know I can tell you
(15:09):
from personal experience. So many times in my life I
should be stressed out and I'm just not. There are
so many times there's conflict around me, chrisis around me,
criticism around me, pressure, deadlines, and I'm just not stressed
out by it. Why because I'm unstressable? No, because I
(15:30):
talk to God about it and I say, hey, God,
help me with this, Lord, I need your help with that.
And when I pray, I don't panic. And so many
times in my life I've thought, you know, I have
every reason right now to be totally stressed out, but
I'm just not. It is a peace that is beyond
my understanding, and it comes from God. When God says,
(15:51):
bring it to me and I'll take it, he meets
you where you are and then he gives you encouragement. Now,
I have no doubt some of you came in here
to night stressed out, so there's no reason why you
should hold on to it. Let's just let it go
to God. I don't care if it's big or little.
Let's pray about what's stressing you out. Worry, kids, work, finances, help,
(16:13):
a conflict, whatever's got you running on empty? Why don't
you give it to God? Right now? Let's just pause
and give it to God. Tom pastor Tom come up
here and lead us in prayer. Would you bow your
heads right now and let's just give God the worries
that we're holding onto. Let's pray.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
You might just say to God, God, here it is.
Here's what's stressing me and your family or at work
or in your personal life. Here it is, and just
tell them God, I really need your encouragement right now. Jesus,
give me your peace, give me your comfort, give me
(16:55):
your strength. Help me to know that I do not
have to face this alone as I trust in you.
Thank you for your love in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Amen. When you're running on empty, the first thing he
does he comes and meets you on your territory where
you are. And then the first thing he does is
he encourage you, doesn't put you down for feeling bad.
He says, let me help you. Here's number three, he
shows you his love. That's the third thing he does
when you're running on empty. This is what he did
with his followers that very first Easter. The Bible says this,
(17:33):
as he spoke, Jesus held out his hands for them
to see. In other words, look at the nail prints
in my hands where I was crucified. And he showed
them a side. Look at where I was stabbed speared
by the centurion when I was hanging on the cross,
and they were filled with joy when they saw their lord.
Now what is Jesus doing? He said, Look, guys, look
at this. He's first validating his identity. He said, it's me, guys,
(17:56):
this is me. See the nail prince here. You're not
looking at a ghost. You're not looking at a vision.
You're not having an illusion, you're not dreaming. Touch me, guys,
it's really me. This is me. I'm back. So he's
identifying himself. He's saying it really is me. But second
thing he's doing is he's showing how much he loves you.
He's saying, I love you this much. See you know
(18:20):
that Jesus Christ died on the cross. Did you know
that he died on the cross for you, not just
for the whole world, for all the sins of the world.
He died for you. And if there'd been nobody else's
living on earth, he would have still come to earth
and died for you so your sins could be paid for,
so you could go to heaven. Because heaven's perfect and
you're not, and neither am I and so he did
(18:42):
it for you. The greatest act of love ever done
in your behalf was not done by your parents. It
was not done by your husband, your wife, your boyfriend,
your girlfriend, or anybody else. The greatest thing that's ever
been done in love for you is when Jesus died
for you on the cross, and he says, look at this,
see these nail princesses for you. And when Jesus stretched
(19:03):
out his hands from the cross, he's saying, I love you.
I love you this much. Look at this. This much
is how much I love you. I love you so
much it hurts. I love you so much. I'd rather
die than live without you. He was showing his love.
No one will ever love you like Jesus does. No
(19:26):
man will ever love you, no woman will ever love
you the way Jesus Christ does. Look at the next
verse there in your outline. God showed his great love
for us by sending Christ to die for us while
we were still sinners. Now, how does that help me
when I'm feeling stressed out, when i feel overwhelmed, when
i feel at the end of my rope and I'm
(19:46):
running on empty. Well, I'll tay you how it helps
when you really feel unconditionally loved by God, you relax.
The reason you overwork, the reason you push so hard,
reason you drive yourself is you don't feel loved. Insecurity
and the fear of failure and the feeling of I
(20:08):
have to prove myself is what drives you to overwork.
And when you work, work, work, work, work, and you
push push, push, push, push, and you're running on empty
when you don't have anything left to give, it's because
you want to say to the world, Hey, everybody, I'm okay,
I'm valuable, I'm worthwhile, I'm lovable, I'm successful. It is
driven by your insecurity. Now when you really feel totally
(20:33):
loved by God, and most people have never felt that.
They've heard it, Yeah, yeah, I know God loves me,
but they've never experienced the unconditional love of God. When
you experience it, all of a sudden, you don't care
what other people think anymore. If God loves me and
I like me, what's your problem? In other words, I'm
not a slave to your expectations anymore. I'm not driven
(20:57):
by the approval of others, and I don't have to
prove anything. And when you feel totally loved by God,
it turns off the pressure valve in your life and
you stop trying to perform. Anything you do is because
you're called to do it, You're not driven to do it.
That is what God says I want to do. I
bring you my love.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
What a special message from Pastor Rick, and now let's
hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick
with a letter from one of our listeners.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
You know my prayers that Daily Hope will bring hope
to you, the kind of hope that we find in
the Bible, and that will bring it not only to you,
but to the people that you come in contact with
every day. You know I love getting letters from you,
and let me just read you one that came in
from a guy named Bill. He says, your Pastor Rick,
your podcasts and your study materials have helped me tremendously
(21:56):
this past year. A year ago, my wife Linda was
told that a cancer had returned, and after surgeries were
performed to remove the cancer, it was about that time
that I started to listen to you teach on Daily Hope,
and I've been inspired ever since. This past October, Linda
succumbed to sarcoma after a twenty month fight, and the
(22:20):
time between finding out that the cancer had returned until
the time that she passed away was so difficult for me.
And yet your podcast gave me hope in the future
and in the wisdom of God on how to care
for Linda in her final months, you know, Pastor Rick.
Since her death, the podcasts have been helping me understand
(22:41):
where God is leading me. Now I now have the
mindset that I'm prepared for what God is asking me
to do. Instead of just praying for a path, He
is guiding me. So now you know how you can
pray for me. Yours in Christ. Bill. You know, Bill,
I am so sorry for your loss and I'm grieving
(23:05):
with you. God is with you, Bill, But I want
you to know that you are right that God does
have a good plan for your life even in the
middle of all this pain and this grief and this heartache.
And I'm encouraged that daily hope is helping you during
this difficult time. I want you to know I'm going
(23:25):
to be praying for you as you seek the path
that God has for you next.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Hey, maybe right now you're in a tough place and
you really need hope. So if so I would encourage
you to sign up for the free Daily Hope devotional
where you're going to be encouraged by God's Word every day.
It's easy, just go to pastorick dot com and sign
up today. Be sure to join us next time as
(23:50):
we look into God's Word for our daily hope. This
program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your
generous financial support.
Hi, this is Rick Warren, Bible teacher for the Daily
Hope Broadcast. Did you know that because of Easter, your
past can be forgiven, you get a purpose for living,
and you can have a home in heaven. That's good news.
Where else can you get that kind of news? Nowhere else?
And did you know that at Easter, studies have shown
people are more open to an invitation to go to
church than at any other time of the year. Don't
(00:22):
go to church by yourself, but bring somebody who doesn't
know Jesus Christ, a family member, a friend, a coworker,
a neighbor, a relative. And if you bring them to
that church service and they come to know Christ, You're
going to be making a friend for eternity. It'll be
the most important investment you can ever make in their lives.
And by the way, if they come to Christ, would
(00:43):
you let me know about it. I'd love to hear
that story that you brought somebody to Easter and they
found Jesus. You can write to me Rick at Pastorrick
dot com. That's rickat Pastorrick dot com. I would love
to hear from you. God bless you and Happy Easter.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Hey, this is Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Hope.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We are so glad you've.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Joined us well. This weekend, across every continent and in
thousands of languages, millions of people will join together to
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith.
But friends, it doesn't stop there. Not only was Christ resurrected,
but he is still alive. So let's jump right in
(01:30):
with pastor rig for the first part of this powerful message,
how Jesus revitalizes your life.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, without a doubt, the
single most important event in history. I say that without
any fear of contradiction, because every other event in history
is dated by its relationship to the resurrection AD or BC.
Everything else is dated by this event. Even people who
don't believe in Jesus Christ every day their life used
(02:00):
Jesus Christ as a reference point for their clocks, their calendars,
and their schedules, because it's all dated according to this event.
Easter proved that Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be.
He said, I'm the Son of God on the way
to heaven, and to prove it, I'm going to let
them put me to death. I'm going to die on
the cross for everyone's sins. Three days later, I will
(02:22):
come back to life. And that's exactly what he did.
If there had been no Easter, no resurrection, there would
be no forgiveness for your sins, there would be no
hope of heaven, there would be no purpose in living.
It is the most important event. Now. It's interesting and
ironic that when Jesus Christ was crucified and died on
(02:42):
the cross, his followers fell apart. They just scattered to
the winds. They were devastated. In fact, it wasn't supposed
to happen that way. In their mind, Jesus Christ was
going to set up a literal kingdom here on earth,
a theocracy, and ruin the Roman Empire. And all of
a sudden he's being killed between two thieves on a cross,
(03:05):
and they're going, what's happening? Did we miss this? Did
we mess it up? And when Jesus Christ was arrested,
all of his followers they were called disciples, ran away.
They fled like cowards. Some of them even denied that
they knew him, and they all just scattered to the winds.
And so for several days until Jesus rose again, these
(03:29):
guys were bewildered, they were discouraged, they were defeated, they
were disillusioned, they were demoralized, they were defeated, they were depressed.
In a word, they were running on empty. Now three
days later, on Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ comes back to life,
and that night, Easter Sunday evening, late in the evening,
(03:52):
he goes to meet with his followers, the disciples, and
what happens in that room so forever changes them. That
the transformation is unbelievable. And those who are once cowards
are now full of courage, and those who are once
empty are now empowered. And those who are once defeated
(04:13):
and discouraged and demoralized are now daring. They are full
of boldness, they are afraid of nothing and no one.
They're ready to take on the Roman Empire in the
entire world. And they have ultimate confidence. They're full of joy.
And they're not even the same people that they were
three days earlier. They are incredibly empowered. What happened? What
(04:35):
changed them? How did Jesus refill their empty tank when
they were running on empty? Now, we're going to start
a series this week that I'm calling when you're running
on empty, And I want to begin with just a
little survey. How many of you, when you're driving, never
let your gas tank get below half empty? Anybody here?
All right? There are a few people here, God bless
(04:57):
you compulsive people? Just kidding? How many of you you
fill up when you get three quarters empty? You never
let it go beyond the quarter left? Can I see
your hands? All right? How many of you see how
far you can go after the little light goes on? Yeah? Yeah, okay?
(05:18):
How many of you think E means enough to keep going?
All right? Okay, I expect the same hands to go up.
How many of you have ever in your lifetime run
out of gas? Can I see your hands? You're not
very bright, are you? Friday? I ran out of gas,
(05:45):
And the embarrassing thing about it is Kay was with
me when I ran out of gas. Fortunately I was
at the top of the hill in at La Pause,
so I coasted all the way down the hill into
the gas station. Now I got to think, and I
was going to do this series on when you're running
on empty. I've just run out of gas, and I thought,
what are all the reasons that I have run out
(06:07):
of gas in my lifetime, and I decided I would
make a list. So while Kay is pushing the car
into the gas station, I made a list of the
ten reasons we run out of gas next weekend. I'm
going to share those with you in part two because
they think you will be amazed at how much they
(06:28):
parallel when we're running on empty emotionally and running on
empty financially, and running on empty relationally, and running on
empty physically and spiritually. But today, because it's Easter, I
want us to look at how Jesus refills our tank,
how he revitalizes us, how he re energizes us when
(06:50):
we're running on empty. Now, the story of what Jesus
did with his followers on Easter is recorded in John
chapter twenty in the Bible. Let me read a little
bit of it to you. Now, this is happening. This
is eastern night, on the evening of that first day
of the week. It's Sunday, when the disciples were together
(07:12):
with the doors locked for fear of the authorities. And
Jesus came and stood among them, and he said, peace
be with you. And after he said this, he showed
them his hands. You know where he had the nail
prints and his side where the centurion speared him in
the side when he was on the cross. And the
disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And again
(07:35):
Jesus said, peace be with you this the second time,
as my father has sent me, I'm now sending you.
And with that he breathed on him, and he says,
receive the Holy Spirit. And if you forgive anyone his sins,
they are forgiven. Now, going down to verse twenty nine,
it says, then Jesus tells Thomas, because you have seen me,
(07:56):
you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen,
and yet they believe. Now Jesus did many other miraculous
signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
recorded in this book, but these are written that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing, you may have life in his name. Now,
(08:20):
I don't know what kind of week you've had, and
I don't know what kind of month you had, or
what kind of year you've had, or what kind of
life you've had. But if you've ever felt like you
were running on empty, you're just out of gas anything.
I don't know that I can go on. I'm at
the end of my rope. I'm ready to throw in
the towel. I'm at my wits end. I feel like
(08:40):
I'm going to resign from the human race. If you've
ever felt frustrated, fatigued, fearful, or just weary, sick and
tired of being sick and tired, you picked a good
Sunday to come to church, because I've got good news
for you. The seven things that Jesus did with his
disciples that turned him from cowards into confident people are
(09:02):
the seven things he wants to do in your life
this Easter. Now, if you've got your message notes, take
them out. And there are seven things that he did.
And the first thing that Jesus does when he wants
to refill your tank when you're running on empty, is
first he meets you where you are. He meets you
where you are. The disciples were scared to death, they're afraid.
(09:25):
They're hiding in a room with the doors locked. And
when you're running on empty, Jesus doesn't wait for you
to come to him. He comes to you. He takes initiative.
In fact, it says here in verse nineteen, they're on
your outline. It was late that Sunday evening. The disciples
were gathered together behind locked doors because they were afraid
(09:46):
of the authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them.
The point is Jesus went to them. Now, notice it's late,
it's late in the evening. Have you ever been so
tired but so upset you couldn't get sleep? This is
what's happening here with these guys. They've had a roller
coaster week, emotional highs and lows, and they've gone through
(10:06):
the arrest and the trial, and the crucifixion and the
death and the burial of their leader, Jesus Christ. And
these guys are emotionally spent their drain, but they can't
get to sleep. And it's late in the evening, and
most of them probably hadn't slept for days. And then
it says they were hiding why. Vince Lombardi once said,
(10:26):
fatigue makes cowards of all of us, And it does.
And these guys are probably second guessing themselves. Were we wrong?
Is Jesus not who he claimed to be? Is? And
they not really? God? Where we deluded? What are we
gonna do? Now? They're gonna get us. They're second guessing themselves.
It says they were locked behind doors. Locks are put
on doors to keep people out, But the amazing thing
(10:47):
is that locks also keep us locked inside. I wonder
who you've locked out of your life. Some of you
have locked God out of your life. You see, when
you put a lock on your life, you not only
lock people out, you lock yourself in. And fear creates
a self imposed prison. Jesus says, I want to release
you from your fears. Why it says they were locked
(11:09):
because they were afraid. It's fear that locks us in. Now,
suddenly Jesus shows up among them. And when he first
showed up in the room, they didn't recognize him. Why
they weren't expecting him. They weren't aware. Now, this is
very common, the fact that happens in your life all
the time. God shows up in your life all the
time and you don't even know it he does. He
(11:32):
shows up in your life all the time in circumstances
and situations, and you don't even recognize it because you're
not looking for him now right now, you may feel
God's a million miles away, you may feel that he's
on some distant planet. But the fact is he's closer
than you realize. He's here, and he's near, and he
(11:54):
wants to help you tonight. Now, the second thing he
does is he not only shows up where you are,
gives you encouragement. Notice the very first thing that Jesus
says to them in verse nineteen. Then Jesus said, peace
be with you. Now I love this because he says,
calm down, you guys, chill out, take a deep breath, relax,
(12:15):
It's gonna be okay. I got it under control. And
the very first thing Jesus says to these guys who
were defeated, demoralized, the pressed, discouraged, running on empty, he says,
peace be under you. It's okay. I got it. I
got it handled. Now. I love this because what he
didn't say. Jesus could have walked into the room. And
(12:36):
the first thing he said to his followers says, why'd
you guys leave me? Why did you abandon me? Where
were you when I needed you most? Why didn't you
show up? You were with me for three years, and
then when I go through tough times, you flake out.
He didn't criticize them, he didn't rebuke them, he didn't
(12:57):
scold them. He didn't put them down, He didn't correct
them or reprimand him. What's the first thing Jesus does
when you're running on empty? He encourages you peace be
under you. Now. Why did he do that? Because he
understood their confusion. Now, if you don't get anything else,
I want you to get this right now. Nobody understands
(13:19):
how you feel as much as Jesus Christ does. God
understands how you feel more than you understand how you feel.
You know, I'm a guy. I don't always know why
I feel why I feel. Kay, well ask me, hey,
you know, what are you feeling? I don't know. You know,
as a guy, men don't really know what we're feeling.
We just feel it. Now, if you're a woman, you
(13:41):
can take thirty five minutes to explain how you feel.
But it's a guy. I don't know what I'm feeling
or why I'm feeling, and I just feel it. And
the point is is that God understands you, whether you're
a man or a woman, exactly how you feel, so
he can relate to that at that moment, and he
knew these guys were confused. Confusion is a hallmark of
(14:03):
running on empty. Now, because he understands exactly how you feel.
There's nothing you can't talk to God about. There's nothing
too big, there's nothing too small, there's nothing too insignificant.
There's nothing too frivolous that you can't talk to God about.
Because He understands everything you're feeling in every moment of
your life. So go and talk to him about it,
(14:25):
unload yourself, and receive encouragement from him. The Bible says this,
look at the next verse, do not worry about anything
but pray and ask God for everything you need, always
giving thanks. Now let me stop there. He says, you
got too alternatives in life. You can pray, or you
can panic. You can worry, or you can worship. Now,
(14:46):
if you don't pray, you're gonna panic. If you don't
worry worship, you're gonna worry. And he says, I'm giving
you an opportunity. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything.
And he says, and God's peace, which is so great
that we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ. Jesus, you know I can tell you
(15:09):
from personal experience. So many times in my life I
should be stressed out and I'm just not. There are
so many times there's conflict around me, chrisis around me,
criticism around me, pressure, deadlines, and I'm just not stressed
out by it. Why because I'm unstressable? No, because I
(15:30):
talk to God about it and I say, hey, God,
help me with this, Lord, I need your help with that.
And when I pray, I don't panic. And so many
times in my life I've thought, you know, I have
every reason right now to be totally stressed out, but
I'm just not. It is a peace that is beyond
my understanding, and it comes from God. When God says,
(15:51):
bring it to me and I'll take it, he meets
you where you are and then he gives you encouragement. Now,
I have no doubt some of you came in here
to night stressed out, so there's no reason why you
should hold on to it. Let's just let it go
to God. I don't care if it's big or little.
Let's pray about what's stressing you out. Worry, kids, work, finances, help,
(16:13):
a conflict, whatever's got you running on empty? Why don't
you give it to God? Right now? Let's just pause
and give it to God. Tom pastor Tom come up
here and lead us in prayer. Would you bow your
heads right now and let's just give God the worries
that we're holding onto. Let's pray.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
You might just say to God, God, here it is.
Here's what's stressing me and your family or at work
or in your personal life. Here it is, and just
tell them God, I really need your encouragement right now. Jesus,
give me your peace, give me your comfort, give me
(16:55):
your strength. Help me to know that I do not
have to face this alone as I trust in you.
Thank you for your love in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Amen. When you're running on empty, the first thing he
does he comes and meets you on your territory where
you are. And then the first thing he does is
he encourage you, doesn't put you down for feeling bad.
He says, let me help you. Here's number three, he
shows you his love. That's the third thing he does
when you're running on empty. This is what he did
with his followers that very first Easter. The Bible says this,
(17:33):
as he spoke, Jesus held out his hands for them
to see. In other words, look at the nail prints
in my hands where I was crucified. And he showed
them a side. Look at where I was stabbed speared
by the centurion when I was hanging on the cross,
and they were filled with joy when they saw their lord.
Now what is Jesus doing? He said, Look, guys, look
at this. He's first validating his identity. He said, it's me, guys,
(17:56):
this is me. See the nail prince here. You're not
looking at a ghost. You're not looking at a vision.
You're not having an illusion, you're not dreaming. Touch me, guys,
it's really me. This is me. I'm back. So he's
identifying himself. He's saying it really is me. But second
thing he's doing is he's showing how much he loves you.
He's saying, I love you this much. See you know
(18:20):
that Jesus Christ died on the cross. Did you know
that he died on the cross for you, not just
for the whole world, for all the sins of the world.
He died for you. And if there'd been nobody else's
living on earth, he would have still come to earth
and died for you so your sins could be paid for,
so you could go to heaven. Because heaven's perfect and
you're not, and neither am I and so he did
(18:42):
it for you. The greatest act of love ever done
in your behalf was not done by your parents. It
was not done by your husband, your wife, your boyfriend,
your girlfriend, or anybody else. The greatest thing that's ever
been done in love for you is when Jesus died
for you on the cross, and he says, look at this,
see these nail princesses for you. And when Jesus stretched
(19:03):
out his hands from the cross, he's saying, I love you.
I love you this much. Look at this. This much
is how much I love you. I love you so
much it hurts. I love you so much. I'd rather
die than live without you. He was showing his love.
No one will ever love you like Jesus does. No
(19:26):
man will ever love you, no woman will ever love
you the way Jesus Christ does. Look at the next
verse there in your outline. God showed his great love
for us by sending Christ to die for us while
we were still sinners. Now, how does that help me
when I'm feeling stressed out, when i feel overwhelmed, when
i feel at the end of my rope and I'm
(19:46):
running on empty. Well, I'll tay you how it helps
when you really feel unconditionally loved by God, you relax.
The reason you overwork, the reason you push so hard,
reason you drive yourself is you don't feel loved. Insecurity
and the fear of failure and the feeling of I
(20:08):
have to prove myself is what drives you to overwork.
And when you work, work, work, work, work, and you
push push, push, push, push, and you're running on empty
when you don't have anything left to give, it's because
you want to say to the world, Hey, everybody, I'm okay,
I'm valuable, I'm worthwhile, I'm lovable, I'm successful. It is
driven by your insecurity. Now when you really feel totally
(20:33):
loved by God, and most people have never felt that.
They've heard it, Yeah, yeah, I know God loves me,
but they've never experienced the unconditional love of God. When
you experience it, all of a sudden, you don't care
what other people think anymore. If God loves me and
I like me, what's your problem? In other words, I'm
not a slave to your expectations anymore. I'm not driven
(20:57):
by the approval of others, and I don't have to
prove anything. And when you feel totally loved by God,
it turns off the pressure valve in your life and
you stop trying to perform. Anything you do is because
you're called to do it, You're not driven to do it.
That is what God says I want to do. I
bring you my love.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
What a special message from Pastor Rick, and now let's
hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick
with a letter from one of our listeners.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
You know my prayers that Daily Hope will bring hope
to you, the kind of hope that we find in
the Bible, and that will bring it not only to you,
but to the people that you come in contact with
every day. You know I love getting letters from you,
and let me just read you one that came in
from a guy named Bill. He says, your Pastor Rick,
your podcasts and your study materials have helped me tremendously
(21:56):
this past year. A year ago, my wife Linda was
told that a cancer had returned, and after surgeries were
performed to remove the cancer, it was about that time
that I started to listen to you teach on Daily Hope,
and I've been inspired ever since. This past October, Linda
succumbed to sarcoma after a twenty month fight, and the
(22:20):
time between finding out that the cancer had returned until
the time that she passed away was so difficult for me.
And yet your podcast gave me hope in the future
and in the wisdom of God on how to care
for Linda in her final months, you know, Pastor Rick.
Since her death, the podcasts have been helping me understand
(22:41):
where God is leading me. Now I now have the
mindset that I'm prepared for what God is asking me
to do. Instead of just praying for a path, He
is guiding me. So now you know how you can
pray for me. Yours in Christ. Bill. You know, Bill,
I am so sorry for your loss and I'm grieving
(23:05):
with you. God is with you, Bill, But I want
you to know that you are right that God does
have a good plan for your life even in the
middle of all this pain and this grief and this heartache.
And I'm encouraged that daily hope is helping you during
this difficult time. I want you to know I'm going
(23:25):
to be praying for you as you seek the path
that God has for you next.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Hey, maybe right now you're in a tough place and
you really need hope. So if so I would encourage
you to sign up for the free Daily Hope devotional
where you're going to be encouraged by God's Word every day.
It's easy, just go to pastorick dot com and sign
up today. Be sure to join us next time as
(23:50):
we look into God's Word for our daily hope. This
program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your
generous financial support.
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