April 17, 2025 • 21 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.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
That's good news. Where else can you get that kind
of news? Nowhere else?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
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
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
(00:35):
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
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
(00:56):
to hear from you. God bless you and Happy Easter.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Hey, everyone, welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Well, this weekend,
across every continent and in thousands of languages, millions of
people will join together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Christ, the cornerstone of our faith. But you know it
doesn't stop there.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Not only was Jesus resurrected, he is still alive and
now once again, Pastor Rick, he's got the final part
of a message called how Jesus Revitalizes Your Life.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
The last thing that Jesus did with his followers on
that very first Easter that he wants to do with
you today on this Easter is this.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It's my favorite one of all.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He helps you believe in spite of all your doubts.
He helps you believe. Now the twelve guys that Jesus
chose to follow him, My favorite of the twelve is
a guy named Thomas.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I love this guy, and I.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Love him because he's honest and authentic, and I love
him because of this story that's right here in this chapter.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It says this.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Now, Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. So
the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord.
But Thomas said, unless I see the nailmarks in his hands,
and I put my hand into his side wound.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm not gonna believe.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
A week later, the disciples were in the house again,
and Thomas was with them this time, and though the
doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them,
and he said, peace be with you. That's the third
time he said this. And he says to Thomas, Thomas,
put your finger here, right here, right here, in my hand.
Put your fingers see my hands. Reach out your hand
(02:59):
and put it into my side. Go ahead, it's all right,
touch me. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him,
my Lord, my Lord.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And my god. I love that story.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I love that story in the first place. I like
Thomas because he's honest and open about his doubts. This
guy's not putting you on. He's not pretending. He is
an honest seeker. He's gonna I got some real doubts.
He goes, wait a minute, I don't just automatically accept
what somebody tells me.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I check it out for myself.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
To me, that sounds pretty logical, pretty rational, pretty sane.
I don't just automatically accept what people tell me.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I want to check it out for myself.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
You see, people have gotten a bad idea of doubt.
Doubt's gotten a bad rap. Doubt is not a bad thing, friends.
Doubt is good if it motivate to investigate. If the
purpose of doubt is to motivate to investigate, that's a
good thing. If it causes you to say, I think
(04:07):
I need to check this out, great win in doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Check it out. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
If you've got doubts and you don't check it out,
well that's dumb. It's not even You're not even he doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It's just an.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Excuse for not doing anything. Doubts should motivate to investigate.
When in doubt, check it out. I'm going to check
it out for myself. That sounds pretty good sense to me.
You say, Rick, do you ever have any doubts? Of
course I do. Of course I do a lot of
times I'm reading this Bible and I'm going, WHOA, why
did God say that?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Or why did God do that? You know, if I
were God, I wouldn't do that. You should be glad
I'm not God. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you could
figure out why God does everything he does, you'd be God.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But you can't because you're not, and for you are me.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
To try to understand why God does everything he does,
says what he does, does what he does would be
like an aunt trying to understand the Internet. You don't
have the brain capacity, and neither do I.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I don't have the.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Brain capacity to understand the creator who had created the
entire universe.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So it's pretty ludicrous. And I have a list of doubts.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That I've made, and when I get to Heaven, I'm
going to sit down with Jesus say, can you explain
this one to me? Can you explain why you did
this one? And I'm just going to go through my
list of doubts.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And I like Thomas because he's honest. He goes, you know,
I got some doubts. Fine, Great.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The second thing I like about Thomas is that even though.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
He doubts where's he? Where is he?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
He's hanging out with believers. Well, now that makes sense.
If you are a doubt or you got doubts about God,
you got doubts about the Bible, about Jesus, this is
where you need to be. Right here, saddleback is your church.
This is a church for doubters. You will never be
put down for doubting. Here, you're never gonna be disrespected. Here,
(06:05):
you're never gonna be misjudged or anything.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Welcome to the club.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Here's a guy, Thomas who traveled with Jesus for three
years and still had his doubts.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So welcome to the club. Your pastors had doubts. Welcome
to the club.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
This is the thing is if you have doubts, if
you just hang out with doubters, guess what, You're never
gonna get any of them resolved. But if you hang
out with believers, there is a slight possibility that you
might just find some suitable answers for some of the
things that you have doubted. You're certainly not gonna find
it hanging out with doubters. So congratulations, you know you're
(06:39):
at the right place. The third thing I love about
this guy Thomas is that when he is eventually faced
with reality, come on, Thomas, touch my hands.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You know I'm not a ghost. Touch my hands, touch
my side.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
He doesn't waffle, he's not stubbornly prideful. He says, my
Lord and my God. He he makes the decision given
the evidence he's got. Many of you know, or some
of you may know, that this last week, Newsweek magazine
invited me to debate the leading atheist in America, Sam Harris,
(07:13):
and it was nearly a four hour debate. Now, I
didn't consider this guy an enemy. In fact, I hope
he considers me a friend now after four hours, because
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
See this guy in opposition.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I saw this guy as a guy who Jesus Christ loved,
Jesus Christ died for, and Jesus Christ wants him.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
To know him in a personal way.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
And we had a good, you know, exchange of views.
One of the things I said is, Sam, how much
of human knowledge would you say do we have of
the entire universe? Would you say that most of what
is known in the world we don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Would you say that of all the knowledge in the universe,
we might only know point zero zero zero zero zero
one percent. Yes, So as human beings, we don't know
ninety nine point nine nine percent of the universe. Yeah,
But you are certain there is no God?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Well, now, Sam, to say automatically rule out that God
could not possibly exist in the ninety nine point ninety
nine nine percent that we don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To me, that doesn't sound rational. That sounds like presumption.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
I said, you know, when I talk with atheists, it's
not that they don't believe in God. It bothered me,
doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is why
they don't believe in God. He said, if there was
a god, would you have to make some radical changes
in your lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Well, see, the real issue is you just don't want
a boss. You don't want a sovereign lord. It's not
that you can't believe. It's that you don't want to believe.
Because if you don't have to believe, you can just do.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Anything you want to do. You can be your own God.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
It's not that you can't believe, you don't want to believe.
You see, if you have real doubts, I respect that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I do. You have real doubts. I respect that.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
What I don't respect is stubborn pride masquerading a doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Now, if you have doubts, let me give you some
suggestions that have helped me.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
First, look around, okay, look around right now. There are
thousands of people seated here and saddle back in our
different venues, And a couple of minutes ago they were
standing singing, we'll be living for your glory. All of
these people could not be delusional. They all couldn't be
(09:58):
just making it up. Here at Saddleback Church, there are
tens of thousands of people whose lives have been changed
by a relationship with Jesus Christ. And in America America,
there are hundreds of millions whose lives have been changed
by Jesus Christ. And around the world there are two
point three billion people who claim I have a personal
(10:20):
relationship with Christ. I talk to them just like I'm
talking to you. That would mean that the burden of
proof is on you, and I would simply check it out.
That means it's not just some kind of little weird
cult one or two people. Not all of those two
point three billion people could be dumb. Some of them are,
(10:42):
but there might just be in those two point three
billions of people who are smarter than you, who have
a higher IQ than you, who are more intellectual than you,
And so really, when in doubt, check it out. The
second thing that I would say is doubt your doubts.
You know, I don't know why it is, but we
get this thing backwards. Doubts are meant to be doubted,
(11:02):
and beliefs are meant to be believed. But what we
tend to do is we tend to believe our doubts,
and we doubt our beliefs. Now, what's the logic of
that one doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. I
wish somebody had told me a long time ago that
I could come to Jesus Christ and begin a relationship
(11:25):
with him and get to know God and secure my
eternity in heaven without having all my doubts cleared up. First,
I wish I had known that I would have come
to Christ committed myself fully to him so much sooner.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You see, I thought I.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Had to have all the answers figured out, all my
doubts resolved. If that was true, I would have never
come to Christ. I still have doubts, as I said,
things I don't understand, but it didn't stop me from
enjoying a relationship to God. I learned a long time ago.
I don't have to understand something to enjoy it. Right now,
there are are television pictures floating through this air. Right now,
(12:03):
they're going through my body. I can't prove that to you,
but I tell you there's television pictures going through the air,
and if I had a tuner and I could tune
it in right now, you'd see the picture.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I personally can't explain that, but I learned a long
time ago.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I don't have to be able to explain to.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Television in order to watch Lost, Okay, I can enjoy it.
I don't understand how a cell phone works. I don't
understand how nuclear reactor works. I'm grateful for the energy
of it. I don't understand all of the chemistry of digestion.
That doesn't stop me from eating a steak or rack
(12:42):
of ribs at Lucille's. I don't have to understand it
in order to enjoy it. And I learned a long
time ago that I didn't have to understand all the
questions and doubts about God to enjoy him. And I've
enjoyed him a relationship and a friendship for decades with him.
(13:02):
The third thing I would encourage you to do is
ask God to help you with your doubts. If you
are truly intellectually honest. I mean, you're not just blowing smoke.
You're using doubt as an excuse because you don't want
a boss. Just say God, help me with my doubts.
If there is a God, then I want to know you.
(13:23):
And if there is a God and what Jesus said
is true, then I want to know the truth. So God,
help me with my doubts. If it's true. That's intellectually honest.
You know, a guy came to Jesus one day and
Jesus walking down the street and guy walks up to
him and he's got a daughter and who's very sick.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
She's very ill and she's about to die.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
And the guy comes up to Jesus said, Lord, I
need you to heal my daughter.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
She's dying.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And Jesus looks at the guy and says, well, do
you believe I can heal her? And the guy's answer
is classic. I love it because he's just honest, he's authentic,
and he says is, well, Lord, I want to believe.
Help me with my doubt, Help me with my doubts.
That's classic, Jesus, you believe I want to believe. Help
(14:11):
me with my doubts. And Jesus goes, well, that's good enough.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Damn he heals the girl. I love that. I love that.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Did you know that you can say that to Jesus
christ today, Hey, I want to believe. Help me with
my doubts. I dare you to say it. I dare
you to see I want to believe. Help me with
my doubts. If you're not willing to say that, it's
not really doubt that's holding you back.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It's pride. It's that I don't want I want. I
want to run my own life. Now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Jesus helps us believe in the way that's best for us.
And with some people they come to believe through an
intellectual argument, and some people come through an experience. And
some people they look at a person and Christian they go,
I want to be like that guy or her, or
it's a story, or it's an emotion, or it's a feeling,
or it's a circumstance, or it's logic. God knows what
(15:07):
you're gonna need to get to know him, and he
will use that. He will help you believe. Now, let
me just summarize this. You're running on empty. Jesus wants
to do for you the seven things that he did
for his disciples the very first Eastern The disciples were afraid,
So he comes and meets them where they are when
(15:27):
they're in hiding and he meets them where they are,
and the disciples are confused, like what's gone on?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
What's happened?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So he gives them a word of encouragement. Hang on, guys,
peace be with you. Chill out, It's okay. The disciples
feel unloved, so he says, this is how much I
love you. This much, look at my hands, this is
how much I love you. The disciples feel a shamed
for having flaked out on him and run away when
he needed a most So what's he doing? He offers
them forgiveness, and he does that to you. The disciples
(15:58):
are feeling all alone. They're locked in a house. They're afraid,
they're alone. Jesus said, you don't never have to be
alone anymore. I'm going to put my spirit in you,
and I will never ever leave you. A man may
leave you, a woman may leave you, but I'm never
going to leave you.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
They're feeling useless.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I think God couldn't use me anymore after all I've
gone through and all I've done. He said, you guys,
get it together. We're going on the greatest adventure of life.
We're going to go change the world. He gives them
a new reason to live and when they feel doubtfully,
he says, let me help you believe. He doesn't put
you down, he doesn't scold. He says, let me help
you believe. And He's ready to do the same for
(16:33):
you this Easter. Last verse on your outline, Jesus said,
you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even
better blessings are in store for those who believe without
seeing You know who that's talking about you.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
You. Let's bow our heads.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
As we close this Easter service. I'm going to pray
a prayer like I prayed many years ago when I
stepped across the line, and I invite you to follow
me in this prayer right now. Just say it in
your mind and God will hear you. It's the reason
God brought you to this service today. Just say me too,
Lord when I say this prayer.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Dear Jesus Christ, you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Know when I'm running on empty, and you know when
I hurt, and you know when I hurt others. This Easter,
I ask you to revitalize my life physically and emotionally
and spiritually.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Thank you for meeting me where I am. God.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I need your peace to handle the things that stress
me out. Thank you for showing your love for me
by dying for me. I ask you to forgive all
my sins and help me to let go of the
people who've hurt me. I ask you to fill me
with your presence. I need your power and love and
(18:03):
self control. Help me to discover your purpose for my life.
Help me to believe and to learn to trust you
more each day. Today, with all my doubts, I want
to step across the line and begin a relationship with you.
And I asked you to save and revitalize my life
(18:26):
in your name.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I pray amen.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Hey, if you've just prayed along with Rick to accept
Jesus in your life, Rick would love to hear from you.
Just email Rick at Pastorick dot com. And now this
is really one of my favorite parts of the broadcast.
This is letters from our listeners. And now here's Rick.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
You know, I've often said that I'm addicted to change lives.
Is what keeps me going. One good story from you
can keep me going for another month to hear how
God's working in your life. It just keeps me motivated.
So you bless me with your stories. Here's one that
came from a woman named Tania who's a brand new believer.
She wrote, Pastor Rick, I'm a new person in Christ
(19:14):
and I'm learning more and more every day. My supervisor
here at work came in about a week ago and
told me about your Daily Hope devotional and your broadcast.
I am now hooked. Listening to Daily Hope each morning
has become a blessing to my soul. It's really helped
me to implement the Word of God in my daily life. Well, Tania,
(19:38):
this is why we do what we do. This is
why we do Daily Hope for people like you, people
who want to grow, who desire to grow, and who
take the time to grow by getting into God's Word
on a daily basis. Now, I want you to notice
something about Tania's story. She didn't find the Daily Hope
broadcast or podcast on her own. It was her a
(20:00):
worker who told her about Daily Hope. Who have you
told you may have been listening to Daily Hope for
weeks or months or even longer. Would you be an
agent of love and an agent of hope and tell
four or five people this week? Look for somebody today,
Send an email, write a text, call someone in a
phone and say this has helped me in my spiritual life,
(20:22):
and I want to pass it on to you that
Daily Hope can help you grow in your faith and
in your walk in Christ. Thanks for listening today. Be
sure to join me next time as we continue to
look into God's word for our daily hope and tell
somebody about it. God bless you.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
You know a great way to share the good news
of Jesus is to share the Daily Hope messages with
people who need to hear them. Just go to Pastororick
dot com, click on the listen tap. There you'll find
buttons where you can share the message by email, social media,
or WhatsApp. That's pastorick dot com. Be sure to join
us next time as we look into God's word for
(21:02):
our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rich'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.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
That's good news. Where else can you get that kind
of news? Nowhere else?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
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
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
(00:35):
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
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
(00:56):
to hear from you. God bless you and Happy Easter.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Hey, everyone, welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Well, this weekend,
across every continent and in thousands of languages, millions of
people will join together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Christ, the cornerstone of our faith. But you know it
doesn't stop there.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Not only was Jesus resurrected, he is still alive and
now once again, Pastor Rick, he's got the final part
of a message called how Jesus Revitalizes Your Life.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
The last thing that Jesus did with his followers on
that very first Easter that he wants to do with
you today on this Easter is this.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It's my favorite one of all.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He helps you believe in spite of all your doubts.
He helps you believe. Now the twelve guys that Jesus
chose to follow him, My favorite of the twelve is
a guy named Thomas.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I love this guy, and I.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Love him because he's honest and authentic, and I love
him because of this story that's right here in this chapter.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It says this.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Now, Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. So
the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord.
But Thomas said, unless I see the nailmarks in his hands,
and I put my hand into his side wound.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm not gonna believe.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
A week later, the disciples were in the house again,
and Thomas was with them this time, and though the
doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them,
and he said, peace be with you. That's the third
time he said this. And he says to Thomas, Thomas,
put your finger here, right here, right here, in my hand.
Put your fingers see my hands. Reach out your hand
(02:59):
and put it into my side. Go ahead, it's all right,
touch me. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him,
my Lord, my Lord.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And my god. I love that story.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I love that story in the first place. I like
Thomas because he's honest and open about his doubts. This
guy's not putting you on. He's not pretending. He is
an honest seeker. He's gonna I got some real doubts.
He goes, wait a minute, I don't just automatically accept
what somebody tells me.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I check it out for myself.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
To me, that sounds pretty logical, pretty rational, pretty sane.
I don't just automatically accept what people tell me.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I want to check it out for myself.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
You see, people have gotten a bad idea of doubt.
Doubt's gotten a bad rap. Doubt is not a bad thing, friends.
Doubt is good if it motivate to investigate. If the
purpose of doubt is to motivate to investigate, that's a
good thing. If it causes you to say, I think
(04:07):
I need to check this out, great win in doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Check it out. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
If you've got doubts and you don't check it out,
well that's dumb. It's not even You're not even he doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It's just an.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Excuse for not doing anything. Doubts should motivate to investigate.
When in doubt, check it out. I'm going to check
it out for myself. That sounds pretty good sense to me.
You say, Rick, do you ever have any doubts? Of
course I do. Of course I do a lot of
times I'm reading this Bible and I'm going, WHOA, why
did God say that?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Or why did God do that? You know, if I
were God, I wouldn't do that. You should be glad
I'm not God. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you could
figure out why God does everything he does, you'd be God.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But you can't because you're not, and for you are me.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
To try to understand why God does everything he does,
says what he does, does what he does would be
like an aunt trying to understand the Internet. You don't
have the brain capacity, and neither do I.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I don't have the.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Brain capacity to understand the creator who had created the
entire universe.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So it's pretty ludicrous. And I have a list of doubts.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That I've made, and when I get to Heaven, I'm
going to sit down with Jesus say, can you explain
this one to me? Can you explain why you did
this one? And I'm just going to go through my
list of doubts.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And I like Thomas because he's honest. He goes, you know,
I got some doubts. Fine, Great.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
The second thing I like about Thomas is that even though.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
He doubts where's he? Where is he?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
He's hanging out with believers. Well, now that makes sense.
If you are a doubt or you got doubts about God,
you got doubts about the Bible, about Jesus, this is
where you need to be. Right here, saddleback is your church.
This is a church for doubters. You will never be
put down for doubting. Here, you're never gonna be disrespected. Here,
(06:05):
you're never gonna be misjudged or anything.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Welcome to the club.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Here's a guy, Thomas who traveled with Jesus for three
years and still had his doubts.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So welcome to the club. Your pastors had doubts. Welcome
to the club.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
This is the thing is if you have doubts, if
you just hang out with doubters, guess what, You're never
gonna get any of them resolved. But if you hang
out with believers, there is a slight possibility that you
might just find some suitable answers for some of the
things that you have doubted. You're certainly not gonna find
it hanging out with doubters. So congratulations, you know you're
(06:39):
at the right place. The third thing I love about
this guy Thomas is that when he is eventually faced
with reality, come on, Thomas, touch my hands.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You know I'm not a ghost. Touch my hands, touch
my side.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
He doesn't waffle, he's not stubbornly prideful. He says, my
Lord and my God. He he makes the decision given
the evidence he's got. Many of you know, or some
of you may know, that this last week, Newsweek magazine
invited me to debate the leading atheist in America, Sam Harris,
(07:13):
and it was nearly a four hour debate. Now, I
didn't consider this guy an enemy. In fact, I hope
he considers me a friend now after four hours, because
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
See this guy in opposition.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I saw this guy as a guy who Jesus Christ loved,
Jesus Christ died for, and Jesus Christ wants him.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
To know him in a personal way.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
And we had a good, you know, exchange of views.
One of the things I said is, Sam, how much
of human knowledge would you say do we have of
the entire universe? Would you say that most of what
is known in the world we don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Would you say that of all the knowledge in the universe,
we might only know point zero zero zero zero zero
one percent. Yes, So as human beings, we don't know
ninety nine point nine nine percent of the universe. Yeah,
But you are certain there is no God?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Well, now, Sam, to say automatically rule out that God
could not possibly exist in the ninety nine point ninety
nine nine percent that we don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
To me, that doesn't sound rational. That sounds like presumption.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
I said, you know, when I talk with atheists, it's
not that they don't believe in God. It bothered me,
doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is why
they don't believe in God. He said, if there was
a god, would you have to make some radical changes
in your lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Well, see, the real issue is you just don't want
a boss. You don't want a sovereign lord. It's not
that you can't believe. It's that you don't want to believe.
Because if you don't have to believe, you can just do.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Anything you want to do. You can be your own God.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
It's not that you can't believe, you don't want to believe.
You see, if you have real doubts, I respect that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I do. You have real doubts. I respect that.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
What I don't respect is stubborn pride masquerading a doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Now, if you have doubts, let me give you some
suggestions that have helped me.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
First, look around, okay, look around right now. There are
thousands of people seated here and saddle back in our
different venues, And a couple of minutes ago they were
standing singing, we'll be living for your glory. All of
these people could not be delusional. They all couldn't be
(09:58):
just making it up. Here at Saddleback Church, there are
tens of thousands of people whose lives have been changed
by a relationship with Jesus Christ. And in America America,
there are hundreds of millions whose lives have been changed
by Jesus Christ. And around the world there are two
point three billion people who claim I have a personal
(10:20):
relationship with Christ. I talk to them just like I'm
talking to you. That would mean that the burden of
proof is on you, and I would simply check it out.
That means it's not just some kind of little weird
cult one or two people. Not all of those two
point three billion people could be dumb. Some of them are,
(10:42):
but there might just be in those two point three
billions of people who are smarter than you, who have
a higher IQ than you, who are more intellectual than you,
And so really, when in doubt, check it out. The
second thing that I would say is doubt your doubts.
You know, I don't know why it is, but we
get this thing backwards. Doubts are meant to be doubted,
(11:02):
and beliefs are meant to be believed. But what we
tend to do is we tend to believe our doubts,
and we doubt our beliefs. Now, what's the logic of
that one doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. I
wish somebody had told me a long time ago that
I could come to Jesus Christ and begin a relationship
(11:25):
with him and get to know God and secure my
eternity in heaven without having all my doubts cleared up. First,
I wish I had known that I would have come
to Christ committed myself fully to him so much sooner.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You see, I thought I.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Had to have all the answers figured out, all my
doubts resolved. If that was true, I would have never
come to Christ. I still have doubts, as I said,
things I don't understand, but it didn't stop me from
enjoying a relationship to God. I learned a long time ago.
I don't have to understand something to enjoy it. Right now,
there are are television pictures floating through this air. Right now,
(12:03):
they're going through my body. I can't prove that to you,
but I tell you there's television pictures going through the air,
and if I had a tuner and I could tune
it in right now, you'd see the picture.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I personally can't explain that, but I learned a long
time ago.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I don't have to be able to explain to.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Television in order to watch Lost, Okay, I can enjoy it.
I don't understand how a cell phone works. I don't
understand how nuclear reactor works. I'm grateful for the energy
of it. I don't understand all of the chemistry of digestion.
That doesn't stop me from eating a steak or rack
(12:42):
of ribs at Lucille's. I don't have to understand it
in order to enjoy it. And I learned a long
time ago that I didn't have to understand all the
questions and doubts about God to enjoy him. And I've
enjoyed him a relationship and a friendship for decades with him.
(13:02):
The third thing I would encourage you to do is
ask God to help you with your doubts. If you
are truly intellectually honest. I mean, you're not just blowing smoke.
You're using doubt as an excuse because you don't want
a boss. Just say God, help me with my doubts.
If there is a God, then I want to know you.
(13:23):
And if there is a God and what Jesus said
is true, then I want to know the truth. So God,
help me with my doubts. If it's true. That's intellectually honest.
You know, a guy came to Jesus one day and
Jesus walking down the street and guy walks up to
him and he's got a daughter and who's very sick.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
She's very ill and she's about to die.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
And the guy comes up to Jesus said, Lord, I
need you to heal my daughter.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
She's dying.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And Jesus looks at the guy and says, well, do
you believe I can heal her? And the guy's answer
is classic. I love it because he's just honest, he's authentic,
and he says is, well, Lord, I want to believe.
Help me with my doubt, Help me with my doubts.
That's classic, Jesus, you believe I want to believe. Help
(14:11):
me with my doubts. And Jesus goes, well, that's good enough.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Damn he heals the girl. I love that. I love that.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Did you know that you can say that to Jesus
christ today, Hey, I want to believe. Help me with
my doubts. I dare you to say it. I dare
you to see I want to believe. Help me with
my doubts. If you're not willing to say that, it's
not really doubt that's holding you back.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It's pride. It's that I don't want I want. I
want to run my own life. Now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Jesus helps us believe in the way that's best for us.
And with some people they come to believe through an
intellectual argument, and some people come through an experience. And
some people they look at a person and Christian they go,
I want to be like that guy or her, or
it's a story, or it's an emotion, or it's a feeling,
or it's a circumstance, or it's logic. God knows what
(15:07):
you're gonna need to get to know him, and he
will use that. He will help you believe. Now, let
me just summarize this. You're running on empty. Jesus wants
to do for you the seven things that he did
for his disciples the very first Eastern The disciples were afraid,
So he comes and meets them where they are when
(15:27):
they're in hiding and he meets them where they are,
and the disciples are confused, like what's gone on?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
What's happened?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So he gives them a word of encouragement. Hang on, guys,
peace be with you. Chill out, It's okay. The disciples
feel unloved, so he says, this is how much I
love you. This much, look at my hands, this is
how much I love you. The disciples feel a shamed
for having flaked out on him and run away when
he needed a most So what's he doing? He offers
them forgiveness, and he does that to you. The disciples
(15:58):
are feeling all alone. They're locked in a house. They're afraid,
they're alone. Jesus said, you don't never have to be
alone anymore. I'm going to put my spirit in you,
and I will never ever leave you. A man may
leave you, a woman may leave you, but I'm never
going to leave you.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
They're feeling useless.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I think God couldn't use me anymore after all I've
gone through and all I've done. He said, you guys,
get it together. We're going on the greatest adventure of life.
We're going to go change the world. He gives them
a new reason to live and when they feel doubtfully,
he says, let me help you believe. He doesn't put
you down, he doesn't scold. He says, let me help
you believe. And He's ready to do the same for
(16:33):
you this Easter. Last verse on your outline, Jesus said,
you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even
better blessings are in store for those who believe without
seeing You know who that's talking about you.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
You. Let's bow our heads.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
As we close this Easter service. I'm going to pray
a prayer like I prayed many years ago when I
stepped across the line, and I invite you to follow
me in this prayer right now. Just say it in
your mind and God will hear you. It's the reason
God brought you to this service today. Just say me too,
Lord when I say this prayer.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Dear Jesus Christ, you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Know when I'm running on empty, and you know when
I hurt, and you know when I hurt others. This Easter,
I ask you to revitalize my life physically and emotionally
and spiritually.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Thank you for meeting me where I am. God.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I need your peace to handle the things that stress
me out. Thank you for showing your love for me
by dying for me. I ask you to forgive all
my sins and help me to let go of the
people who've hurt me. I ask you to fill me
with your presence. I need your power and love and
(18:03):
self control. Help me to discover your purpose for my life.
Help me to believe and to learn to trust you
more each day. Today, with all my doubts, I want
to step across the line and begin a relationship with you.
And I asked you to save and revitalize my life
(18:26):
in your name.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I pray amen.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Hey, if you've just prayed along with Rick to accept
Jesus in your life, Rick would love to hear from you.
Just email Rick at Pastorick dot com. And now this
is really one of my favorite parts of the broadcast.
This is letters from our listeners. And now here's Rick.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
You know, I've often said that I'm addicted to change lives.
Is what keeps me going. One good story from you
can keep me going for another month to hear how
God's working in your life. It just keeps me motivated.
So you bless me with your stories. Here's one that
came from a woman named Tania who's a brand new believer.
She wrote, Pastor Rick, I'm a new person in Christ
(19:14):
and I'm learning more and more every day. My supervisor
here at work came in about a week ago and
told me about your Daily Hope devotional and your broadcast.
I am now hooked. Listening to Daily Hope each morning
has become a blessing to my soul. It's really helped
me to implement the Word of God in my daily life. Well, Tania,
(19:38):
this is why we do what we do. This is
why we do Daily Hope for people like you, people
who want to grow, who desire to grow, and who
take the time to grow by getting into God's Word
on a daily basis. Now, I want you to notice
something about Tania's story. She didn't find the Daily Hope
broadcast or podcast on her own. It was her a
(20:00):
worker who told her about Daily Hope. Who have you
told you may have been listening to Daily Hope for
weeks or months or even longer. Would you be an
agent of love and an agent of hope and tell
four or five people this week? Look for somebody today,
Send an email, write a text, call someone in a
phone and say this has helped me in my spiritual life,
(20:22):
and I want to pass it on to you that
Daily Hope can help you grow in your faith and
in your walk in Christ. Thanks for listening today. Be
sure to join me next time as we continue to
look into God's word for our daily hope and tell
somebody about it. God bless you.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
You know a great way to share the good news
of Jesus is to share the Daily Hope messages with
people who need to hear them. Just go to Pastororick
dot com, click on the listen tap. There you'll find
buttons where you can share the message by email, social media,
or WhatsApp. That's pastorick dot com. Be sure to join
us next time as we look into God's word for
(21:02):
our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rich's
Daily Hope and your generous financial support
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