April 20, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello, everybody, This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you're
joining us for the first time or you've been listening
every day for ten years, we just want to say welcome,
We love you, and we pray for you every day.
So we're continuing with this series called Daring Faith the
Key to Miracles. And in this series you're learning how
(00:22):
to have a bold, unshakable faith that gives you courage
to impact the.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
World around you.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And if you're like me, you'd really like to be
more bold and have more courage to share your faith
in Christ. Now let's hear what Rick has to say
today in part one of a message called Daring to Believe.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The Bible records the first Easter morning this way in
John chapter twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Let me read it to you.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb to visit the tomb where Jesus
had been buried, and she found a huge stone had
been rolled away from the entrance. So she ran and
she found Peter and John, two of jesus disciples. She said,
they have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb,
(01:12):
and I don't know where they've put him. See, in
this time, nobody expected the resurrection, even the disciples, even
though Jesus had predicted it, told nobody expected it. They
thought somebody had stolen the body. So then Peter and
John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. And
John got to the tomb. First he saw the linen
burial cloth lying there folded. Now, this is kind of strange.
(01:36):
If you're a grave robber, you're not going to take
a dead body, unwrap it, fold up the roll, and
sit the wrapping right there, and then take a dead
naked body.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That would be kind of weird.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So why would they have the burial clothes sitting right
there folded?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
It says?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Then Peter arrived and went inside, and he also noticed
the linen wrapping lying there with the cloth that had
covered Jesus's head. Now, when John saw this evidence, he believed.
For up until this point, the disciples still had not
understood the scriptures that said Jesus would rise from the dead.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Do you dare to believe?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That's the most important question you'll ever be asked, because
your determined eternal destiny will be based on the answer.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Will you dare to believe? Here at Saddleback Church. We're
in a series.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
This is week three that we're calling Daring Faith the
Key to Miracles. And really what I want to do
is just two simple things this weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Answer two questions.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
First, what are the benefits of believing in Jesus Christ?
What are the benefits to you for believing in Jesus Christ?
And then second, I want to answer the question what
does it actually mean to believe in Jesus? And then
I want to end with the personal testimony about believing
in your darkest days.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Now let's begin four benefits. Write these down. I could
give you fifty benefits of.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
What you benefit from if you believe in Christ, but
let me just give you four. These four will cover
the major areas. Number one first benefit of believing in
Jesus Christ. Everything I've ever done wrong is forgiven. Everything
I've ever done wrong is forgiven because of what Jesus
Christ did on the cross and dying for your sins
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and mind. God forgives you freely, completely, instantly and repeatedly.
Even if there were no such thing as a heaven,
and of course there is, but even if there were
no heaven, it would be worth believing in Jesus just
to get a clear conscience, because having talked to thousands
of people, I know that most people are carrying secret guilt,
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secret regret, and secret shame. And you can be completely
forgiven of that. Here's what the Bible says, Acts Chapter ten.
All who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their
sins through Jesus. Romans three says this, we're made right
with God in God's sight when we.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Trust Jesus Christ to take away our.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Sins, and we can all be saved in this same way,
no matter who we are are what we've done.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I love that last part.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what you've done,
who you've done it with, how long you did it,
or where you did it, you can be saved. You
can be forgiven. Everything is forgiven when I trust in
Jesus Christ. Number two, I learn God's purpose for my life.
That's the second big benefit. I learn the purpose of
my life, God's purpose. Now, if you don't know your purpose,
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and most people don't know the purpose of their life,
you end up drifting through life. You get bounced around.
Life controls you rather than you controlling life. Now there's
only one way you're going to learn the purpose of
your life, you got.
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To talk to your creator.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You can't tell yourself what your purpose is because you
didn't invent you. Sometimes people say, if you want to
know your purpose, then.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Well I did that. That didn't work.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You can't tell you what your purpose is because you
didn't create you. Only the Creator can tell you what
purpose you were created for.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And you will never never, never, never, never, never never.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Know the purpose of your life until you believe in
Jesus Christ, because he is your creator. The Bible says this, everything,
absolutely everything got started in Christ and finds its purpose
in him. Today, so many people are confused about their
identity and their purpose.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I don't know who I am and I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
What I'm supposed to be doing with my life because
you're looking in the wrong places. The Bible says this,
it is in Christ that we find out who we
are and what we're living for. Who we are, that's identity,
what we're living for, that's our purpose. It is in
Christ we find that out part of the overall purpose
He's working out in everything and every one number three third.
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Benefit believing Christ.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I get God's strength for daily living I get God's strength.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
For daily living.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Now, I used to think this wasn't a big deal,
but I've realized that this is the number one problem
most people have today. Most people, the number one problem
isn't worry or fair or guilt or boredom or bitterness.
Their number one problem is weariness. I talk to people
all the time just say I'm just so tired all
the time. I can't get it all done. I'm sick
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and tired of being sick and tired. I don't have
enough energy to get everything done that I need to do.
And the reason why you're tired all the time is
you have a power shortage. And the reason you have
a power shortage is you're not plugged into God's power.
You're trying to live your life on your power alone. Now,
there's no way you can fulfill your purpose in life
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without being plugged into God's power. A toaster unplugged is worthless.
A blender unplugged is worthless. A vacuum cleaner it has
no purpose. It's just a bunch of metal. If it's
not plugged into the power source, your life cannot possibly
be all God intends for it to be. Until you're
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plugged into God's power. The Bible says this in Isaiah
chapter forty, God gives power to those who are tired
and worn out, and he offers strength to the weak.
And in Ephesians chapter one, the Bible says this, I
pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great
his power is. Whose power Jesus power to help those.
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Who believe him. That's the key.
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Belief unlocks God's power in your life. It is the
same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh ho, wait a minute, time out.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Are you telling me that the same power that raised
Jesus from the dead, that split history into AD and
BC is available to me on a personal basis date
every day. That's exactly what I'm saying. That the same
power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible says,
it's available to you if you believe he said. Well,
what do I need power for?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Oh? You need it in more ways than your real life.
You need it.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
You need God's power to change things in your life
you can't change on your own power.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
The truth is, if you were.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Honest, there's some things about you you don't like about you.
There's some things about your personality. There's some things about
your past, there's some things about how you handle life
you don't like and you've tried to change, but you can't,
so you won't. And really, maybe you do will power
for a while and it works for a while, and
then you give up and you quit. You need a
power greater than yourself to make changes. You need God's
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power in your life. And when you mess up and
you screw up and you make a big failure in
your life, you need God's power to start over. And
when you're ready to give up and throw in the towel,
you need God's power to keep going. And sometimes when
you have things, God gives you the power to say
no to things that you know these aren't good for me.
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They're messing up my life. They're destructive on my relationships.
God gives you the power to say no, the power
to start over, the power to begin again, the power
to keep going, the power to change. Paul says it
like this, I have the strength to face all conditions
by the power that Christ gives me. Now, this is
not positive men latitude. This is not self help psychology.
(09:20):
This is not pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
Every day and every way, I'm getting better and better.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
No, this is supernatural power.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I have the power to face all conditions by the
power that Christ gives me that strength.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What are the all conditions?
Speaker 3 (09:35):
The power to handle loneliness when you're lonely, the power
to handle pressure when you're under tension, the power to
handle stress, the power to handle guilt and fear and
boredom and bitterness and rejection. The power to handle the
financial crisis, the power to handle a physical health crisis,
the power to handle a relational crisis. Where does that
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power come from. It comes from God when you believe
in Jesus Christ. So I get all of my sins.
Everything I've ever done wrong is forgiven. I get my
past forgiven. I get a purpose for living, and I
get a.
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Power for living.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Then there's a fourth one. This is a cherry on top.
I am guaranteed eternal life. Hello, now we're talking. Even
if none of these other things were available, I am
given eternal life because of jesus resurrection.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I believe in him.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
You see Jesus bringing himself back to life changed everything.
When Jesus came back to life, it literally split history
into ad and BC, it's the most important event. In fact,
your birthday is dated by day, month, and year in
relationship to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every time you
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write a date, you were using jesus resurrection as a
reference point.
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Because as God came.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
To earth in human form, split history into AD and BC.
Nothing is bigger. And the resurrection proved three things. First,
it proved that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be.
Jesus repeatedly said I am God. I am God, come
in human form to die for your sins. Now, a
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lot of people say, oh, well, I don't believe Jesus
was God. I believe he was a great teacher. He
couldn't be a great teacher. That's the one thing he
possibly could not be, because a good great teacher would
not claim to be God. He's either who he says
he is, or he's the biggest liar in history. He's
a con man, or he's a lunatic like the guy
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who thinks he's Napoleon or a fried Egg. A good
teacher is not an option. For instance, if I were
to stand up here today and I said Hi, my
name's Rick Warren.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I'm a good teacher, you.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Might say, okay, I can buy that Rick's a good teacher.
I might even be able to get away to say, Hi,
I'm Rick Arrant, I'm a prophet of God.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I'm not sure about that one, but maybe, okay, maybe.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
But if I stood up here and it said Hi,
I'm Rick and I'm God, would that change our relationship? Yeah,
because all of a sudden you're forced to make a decision.
He's either who he says he is, or he's trying
to con me, or he's nuts. There's no other alternative,
and you have to decide. Was Jesus nuts, was he
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totally insane? Or was he the biggest con man and
he conned two point three billion people. If that's true,
we should all close up shop and go home. There's
no reason for Christmas, no reason for Easter, no reason
for Church because he's deluded most of the world and
deluded people throughout history, or he is who he claimed
to be. Now, throughout history, thousands of people have claimed
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to be God. This is nothing new. Lots of people
in history have claimed to be God.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
But only one.
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Person said I'm going to prove it, and that's Jesus.
And he said, here's what I'm going to do to
prove that I am who I say aim. I'm going
to let my enemies kill me, and I'm going to
be buried in a tomb for three days. Then I'm
going to raise myself back to life. And that's exactly
what he did. And when he came back to life,
he didn't just show up and appear to a few believers.
He stayed on earth for another forty days, walked around
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Jerusalem for forty more days. All kinds of people saw him.
One time, he had a party with five hundred people.
It's kind of hard to fool five hundred people. Can
you imagine being the Roman centurions who nailed Jesus to
the cross, and the next week you're walking down the
street in Jerusalem and there he is.
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And he go, he's back.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
That'd be kind of weird to see the guy that
you just killed walking down the streets. And that's why
so many in Jerusalem instantly became believers. It was in
a matter of years one hundred thousand people were followers
of Christ because everybody had seen him. The resurrection of
Jesus Christ is one of the most well attested events
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in history.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
It would stand up in any court of law.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
In fact, it has many many times throughout many centuries.
It proved Jesus was who he was, he is the
son of God. But more than that, it proved that
Jesus keeps his promises. And Jesus that I'm gonna let
him kill me and I'll come back to life.
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Now did he keep that? Yes, Well, if he kept that.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
One, then I can trust the other promises in this book,
the ones that talk to me about my life, because
I know he keeps his promises. And the third thing
it tells me is that it proves that there is
life after death. If Jesus Christ hadn't resurrected, you have
no hope of the future, you have no hope of eternity.
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You would have no knowledge of heaven or anything else.
Because Jesus Christ was the one who proved there's life
after death. If he hadn't resurrected again, it's all just
a big let's all go home, let's go to the beach.
I'm buying. Well, I'll get some hot dogs or something. Now,
let me show you what Jesus said. John eleven five
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and twenty six. Jesus said, I am the one who
raises the dead and gives life again. Now, Buddha didn't
say this, Muhammad didn't say this. Karl Marx didn't say that.
Nobody else has ever said this, because nobody else has
ever raised themselves back up to life, because they're not God.
This is what puts Jesus in a unique position as
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the son of God. I am the one who raises
the dead. And here's what he says. Because of that,
anyone who believes in me, even though he dies, shall
live again. He has given eternal life for believing in me.
Circle that eternal life. Give an eternal life for believing
in me, and shall never perish. Now, if Jesus Christ
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has not written at Easter, this verse would be a joke.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
It's just not true. You have no hope. When you're dead.
You're dead. It's over. That's it.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But Jesus said, because of that, I give eternal life
to those who believe in me. The most famous verse
in the Bible talks about this. John three point sixteen.
You've seen this verse held up on placards at football
games for thirty years. God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in
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Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now again,
I could give you fifty benefits of believing in Christ.
I just gave you four everything you've ever done wrong forgiven.
You get a purpose for living, you get a home
in heaven, and you get power for living here on earth. Question,
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where else are you going to get that?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Nowhere? Who else can give that to you? No one.
If you don't get it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
From Jesus, you don't get it because he is the
only one who can give you those four things. Now,
these are amazing benefits you can't get anywhere else. And
the qualification I must believe. The Bible said, this is
what God wants you to do. He wants you to
believe in the one that he sent. So what does
it mean to believe in Jesus? A lot of people
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think they believe, but really don't. A lot of people
are going to miss heaven by eighteen inches because they
got it up here in the head, but not here
in the heart. They have a head knowledge about God,
but they don't have a heart commitment to God, and
so they're going to miss heaven because they don't understand
the full meaning of the word believe. I was on
a plane flight one time, I think I was going
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to China and sitting next to guy, and the guy
asked me, so, what kind of work do you do?
And when somebody asked me that on a planet, I
always say I'm an author, because if I say I'm
a pastor, then they think, oh, he's going to try
to convert me, and they clam up. They don't want
to talk for the rest of the flight. So I
always just say author. And so then he goes, so,
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what's the name of your book? I said, well, one
of them's called The Purpose Driven Life.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
He goes, I know who you are, and I said,
he said.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
As soon as he knew who I was. He goes,
I'm going to heaven. I said, great, see you there.
And I said great. I said, let me ask you,
how do you know you're going to heaven. How do
you know? He goes, because I believe in God, he said,
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I do too.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I said, any other reason why you think you might
be going to heaven? He said, because I believe in Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on the cross for the sins
of the world.
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I said, that's great.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
I said, would it surprise you if I told you
that believing there is a God and that believing Jesus
died on the cross is not enough to get into heaven.
He said, are you okay me? I said no, no.
I said, let me ask you this. Do you believe
in the devil? He goes, oh, yeah. Evil is obvious
in the world. There's a lot of bad evil. I
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believe in the devil. I said, do you think the
devil's going to be in heaven? He said, well, of
course not. I said, well, the devil believes in God,
and the devil who believes in Jesus. The devil knows
Jesus Christ as the son of God. That's why he
put him on the cross. He wanted to kill him.
He wanted to destroy the Messiah. I said, do you
think Satan's going to be in heaven?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
No?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So obviously, believing in God, believing in Jesus as the
son of God is not enough to get you to heaven,
because even the devil believes that.
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He goes, where's that in the Bible?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
I said, here's it, and I showed him this verse
James chapter two nineteen. Do you think it's enough just
to believe there's one God. Well, even the demons believe
that and tremble. But you're not going to find them
in heaven. Why because it's more than just a head knowledge.
You got to go back to what the word believe
actually means. And in the Greek in which the Bible
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is written. In the Greek was is the word the belief.
The word for belief is the word pistuo comes from
his faith. Pistuo means to believe, and it actually means
more than just knowing about something knowing something happens. It
means to trust in, to cling to, to rely on,
to adhere to, or to commit to big difference. It's
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a heart commitment. We all know that there's various levels
of knowledge. For instance, there's real shallow knowledge. For instance,
you all know about the Kardashians, okay, but you know
now you don't really know them, but you know about them.
And we all know about celebrities. I know about Tom Cruise.
I don't know Tom Cruise personally, but I.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Know who he is.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
I believe he exists, Okay, but I've never given my
life to Tom Cruise.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I just believe he exists.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And a lot of people believe Jesus exists, they've never
given their life to him. And then then you have
your neighbors, and you're neighbors, you know a little bit
more and you know a little bit about their background.
You may know where they were, maybe where they came from.
But you don't really know your neighbors. But if you've
been married and you know your husband or your wife,
you know them much more intimately. I know my wife
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now she's still a mystery. Now I'm not a mystery
to her because she's deep and I'm shallow. I mean,
she knows everything about me. I know very little about her.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
But I do know that I love her.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
And when I say I believe in Kay, it means
more than I know she exists. That's far more than
I know my wife exists.
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It means I.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Trust in her, I rely on her. I have committed
my life to her, and I know her intimately in a.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Way I don't know anybody else.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Because in two months I will have been married to
her for forty years. Now that's the that's a kind
of knowledge and intimacy. And when I say I believe
in my wife, it's more than I just believe she exists.
It's I trust in her, I'm committed to her, I
rely on her, and I love her with all my life.
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That's the kind of meaning pistuo means in Scripture.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It means to trust in, cling to you, to rely
on it, here to you.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So what I want to do right now is explain
to you five expressions of what it means to really
believe in Jesus. Because you may not have really believed
in him. You may have been in church all your life,
or maybe this is your first time and you know
about Jesus, but you've never really trusted in him.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So I take these.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Five expressions of belief, and I'm just for fun. I
put him in the crossing t r ust. What does
it mean to trust in Jesus?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Christ? Write this down?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
The T means I turn everything over to Jesus. T
is I turn everything over to Jesus. The good in
my life, the bad in my life, the ugly in
my life, the secret things in my life. I turn
over my past, my present, and my future. I give
him rein in my finances, in my relationships, in my
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sex life.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
In my health, in every area. I turn everything over
to Jesus.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
What a great message from Pastor Rick today, There's something
I always take away from his message. Well, friends, I
want you to take just a second and think, is
there anybody I know that is graduating this year? Could
be a son or daughter, a grandchild, or maybe a
neighbor or a family friend. Well, as you celebrate this
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important milestone and they begin the next phase of their journey,
they really need to know that God created them, loves them,
and has a plan for their lives. So Rick created
a special resource just for graduates called The Purpose Driven Life.
Selected Thoughts and Scripture for the Graduate. This is a
beautiful book that I've given to my own kids. It's
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filled with inspirational scripture, biblical wisdom from Pastor Rick, and
some really beautiful imagery. It's a really unique hardcover giftbook
that they'll want to keep, and it provides an awesome
reminder of the great life that God has planned for
your graduate. I'm telling you it will inspire them to
seek His unique plan and purpose for their life. Please
(24:31):
don't miss this great opportunity to minister to the graduate
in your life.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Today.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
We'll send you a copy to say thanks when you
give a gift to Daily Hope to share the hope
of Jesus Christ with people all around the world. Just
go to Pastorick dot com or you could text the
word hope to eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and
four to get this great study tool. Again, that's Pastorick
dot com. Or text the word hope to eight hundred
(25:00):
six hundred five thousand and four and thank you so
much for your support. Please join us next time as
we look into God's Word for our daily hope. This
program is sponsored by Pastoris's Daily Hope and your generous
financial support.
Hello, everybody, This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you're
joining us for the first time or you've been listening
every day for ten years, we just want to say welcome,
We love you, and we pray for you every day.
So we're continuing with this series called Daring Faith the
Key to Miracles. And in this series you're learning how
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to have a bold, unshakable faith that gives you courage
to impact the.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
World around you.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And if you're like me, you'd really like to be
more bold and have more courage to share your faith
in Christ. Now let's hear what Rick has to say
today in part one of a message called Daring to Believe.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The Bible records the first Easter morning this way in
John chapter twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Let me read it to you.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb to visit the tomb where Jesus
had been buried, and she found a huge stone had
been rolled away from the entrance. So she ran and
she found Peter and John, two of jesus disciples. She said,
they have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb,
(01:12):
and I don't know where they've put him. See, in
this time, nobody expected the resurrection, even the disciples, even
though Jesus had predicted it, told nobody expected it. They
thought somebody had stolen the body. So then Peter and
John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. And
John got to the tomb. First he saw the linen
burial cloth lying there folded. Now, this is kind of strange.
(01:36):
If you're a grave robber, you're not going to take
a dead body, unwrap it, fold up the roll, and
sit the wrapping right there, and then take a dead
naked body.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That would be kind of weird.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So why would they have the burial clothes sitting right
there folded?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
It says?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Then Peter arrived and went inside, and he also noticed
the linen wrapping lying there with the cloth that had
covered Jesus's head. Now, when John saw this evidence, he believed.
For up until this point, the disciples still had not
understood the scriptures that said Jesus would rise from the dead.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Do you dare to believe?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That's the most important question you'll ever be asked, because
your determined eternal destiny will be based on the answer.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Will you dare to believe? Here at Saddleback Church. We're
in a series.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
This is week three that we're calling Daring Faith the
Key to Miracles. And really what I want to do
is just two simple things this weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Answer two questions.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
First, what are the benefits of believing in Jesus Christ?
What are the benefits to you for believing in Jesus Christ?
And then second, I want to answer the question what
does it actually mean to believe in Jesus? And then
I want to end with the personal testimony about believing
in your darkest days.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Now let's begin four benefits. Write these down. I could
give you fifty benefits of.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
What you benefit from if you believe in Christ, but
let me just give you four. These four will cover
the major areas. Number one first benefit of believing in
Jesus Christ. Everything I've ever done wrong is forgiven. Everything
I've ever done wrong is forgiven because of what Jesus
Christ did on the cross and dying for your sins
(03:27):
and mind. God forgives you freely, completely, instantly and repeatedly.
Even if there were no such thing as a heaven,
and of course there is, but even if there were
no heaven, it would be worth believing in Jesus just
to get a clear conscience, because having talked to thousands
of people, I know that most people are carrying secret guilt,
(03:47):
secret regret, and secret shame. And you can be completely
forgiven of that. Here's what the Bible says, Acts Chapter ten.
All who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their
sins through Jesus. Romans three says this, we're made right
with God in God's sight when we.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Trust Jesus Christ to take away our.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Sins, and we can all be saved in this same way,
no matter who we are are what we've done.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I love that last part.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what you've done,
who you've done it with, how long you did it,
or where you did it, you can be saved. You
can be forgiven. Everything is forgiven when I trust in
Jesus Christ. Number two, I learn God's purpose for my life.
That's the second big benefit. I learn the purpose of
my life, God's purpose. Now, if you don't know your purpose,
(04:38):
and most people don't know the purpose of their life,
you end up drifting through life. You get bounced around.
Life controls you rather than you controlling life. Now there's
only one way you're going to learn the purpose of
your life, you got.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
To talk to your creator.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You can't tell yourself what your purpose is because you
didn't invent you. Sometimes people say, if you want to
know your purpose, then.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Well I did that. That didn't work.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You can't tell you what your purpose is because you
didn't create you. Only the Creator can tell you what
purpose you were created for.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And you will never never, never, never, never, never never.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Know the purpose of your life until you believe in
Jesus Christ, because he is your creator. The Bible says this, everything,
absolutely everything got started in Christ and finds its purpose
in him. Today, so many people are confused about their
identity and their purpose.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I don't know who I am and I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
What I'm supposed to be doing with my life because
you're looking in the wrong places. The Bible says this,
it is in Christ that we find out who we
are and what we're living for. Who we are, that's identity,
what we're living for, that's our purpose. It is in
Christ we find that out part of the overall purpose
He's working out in everything and every one number three third.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Benefit believing Christ.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I get God's strength for daily living I get God's strength.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
For daily living.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Now, I used to think this wasn't a big deal,
but I've realized that this is the number one problem
most people have today. Most people, the number one problem
isn't worry or fair or guilt or boredom or bitterness.
Their number one problem is weariness. I talk to people
all the time just say I'm just so tired all
the time. I can't get it all done. I'm sick
(06:28):
and tired of being sick and tired. I don't have
enough energy to get everything done that I need to do.
And the reason why you're tired all the time is
you have a power shortage. And the reason you have
a power shortage is you're not plugged into God's power.
You're trying to live your life on your power alone. Now,
there's no way you can fulfill your purpose in life
(06:49):
without being plugged into God's power. A toaster unplugged is worthless.
A blender unplugged is worthless. A vacuum cleaner it has
no purpose. It's just a bunch of metal. If it's
not plugged into the power source, your life cannot possibly
be all God intends for it to be. Until you're
(07:10):
plugged into God's power. The Bible says this in Isaiah
chapter forty, God gives power to those who are tired
and worn out, and he offers strength to the weak.
And in Ephesians chapter one, the Bible says this, I
pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great
his power is. Whose power Jesus power to help those.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Who believe him. That's the key.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Belief unlocks God's power in your life. It is the
same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh ho, wait a minute, time out.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Are you telling me that the same power that raised
Jesus from the dead, that split history into AD and
BC is available to me on a personal basis date
every day. That's exactly what I'm saying. That the same
power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible says,
it's available to you if you believe he said. Well,
what do I need power for?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Oh? You need it in more ways than your real life.
You need it.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
You need God's power to change things in your life
you can't change on your own power.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
The truth is, if you were.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Honest, there's some things about you you don't like about you.
There's some things about your personality. There's some things about
your past, there's some things about how you handle life
you don't like and you've tried to change, but you can't,
so you won't. And really, maybe you do will power
for a while and it works for a while, and
then you give up and you quit. You need a
power greater than yourself to make changes. You need God's
(08:37):
power in your life. And when you mess up and
you screw up and you make a big failure in
your life, you need God's power to start over. And
when you're ready to give up and throw in the towel,
you need God's power to keep going. And sometimes when
you have things, God gives you the power to say
no to things that you know these aren't good for me.
(08:57):
They're messing up my life. They're destructive on my relationships.
God gives you the power to say no, the power
to start over, the power to begin again, the power
to keep going, the power to change. Paul says it
like this, I have the strength to face all conditions
by the power that Christ gives me. Now, this is
not positive men latitude. This is not self help psychology.
(09:20):
This is not pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
Every day and every way, I'm getting better and better.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
No, this is supernatural power.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I have the power to face all conditions by the
power that Christ gives me that strength.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What are the all conditions?
Speaker 3 (09:35):
The power to handle loneliness when you're lonely, the power
to handle pressure when you're under tension, the power to
handle stress, the power to handle guilt and fear and
boredom and bitterness and rejection. The power to handle the
financial crisis, the power to handle a physical health crisis,
the power to handle a relational crisis. Where does that
(09:58):
power come from. It comes from God when you believe
in Jesus Christ. So I get all of my sins.
Everything I've ever done wrong is forgiven. I get my
past forgiven. I get a purpose for living, and I
get a.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Power for living.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Then there's a fourth one. This is a cherry on top.
I am guaranteed eternal life. Hello, now we're talking. Even
if none of these other things were available, I am
given eternal life because of jesus resurrection.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I believe in him.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
You see Jesus bringing himself back to life changed everything.
When Jesus came back to life, it literally split history
into ad and BC, it's the most important event. In fact,
your birthday is dated by day, month, and year in
relationship to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every time you
(10:54):
write a date, you were using jesus resurrection as a
reference point.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Because as God came.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
To earth in human form, split history into AD and BC.
Nothing is bigger. And the resurrection proved three things. First,
it proved that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be.
Jesus repeatedly said I am God. I am God, come
in human form to die for your sins. Now, a
(11:22):
lot of people say, oh, well, I don't believe Jesus
was God. I believe he was a great teacher. He
couldn't be a great teacher. That's the one thing he
possibly could not be, because a good great teacher would
not claim to be God. He's either who he says
he is, or he's the biggest liar in history. He's
a con man, or he's a lunatic like the guy
(11:42):
who thinks he's Napoleon or a fried Egg. A good
teacher is not an option. For instance, if I were
to stand up here today and I said Hi, my
name's Rick Warren.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I'm a good teacher, you.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Might say, okay, I can buy that Rick's a good teacher.
I might even be able to get away to say, Hi,
I'm Rick Arrant, I'm a prophet of God.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I'm not sure about that one, but maybe, okay, maybe.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
But if I stood up here and it said Hi,
I'm Rick and I'm God, would that change our relationship? Yeah,
because all of a sudden you're forced to make a decision.
He's either who he says he is, or he's trying
to con me, or he's nuts. There's no other alternative,
and you have to decide. Was Jesus nuts, was he
(12:27):
totally insane? Or was he the biggest con man and
he conned two point three billion people. If that's true,
we should all close up shop and go home. There's
no reason for Christmas, no reason for Easter, no reason
for Church because he's deluded most of the world and
deluded people throughout history, or he is who he claimed
to be. Now, throughout history, thousands of people have claimed
(12:50):
to be God. This is nothing new. Lots of people
in history have claimed to be God.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
But only one.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Person said I'm going to prove it, and that's Jesus.
And he said, here's what I'm going to do to
prove that I am who I say aim. I'm going
to let my enemies kill me, and I'm going to
be buried in a tomb for three days. Then I'm
going to raise myself back to life. And that's exactly
what he did. And when he came back to life,
he didn't just show up and appear to a few believers.
He stayed on earth for another forty days, walked around
(13:20):
Jerusalem for forty more days. All kinds of people saw him.
One time, he had a party with five hundred people.
It's kind of hard to fool five hundred people. Can
you imagine being the Roman centurions who nailed Jesus to
the cross, and the next week you're walking down the
street in Jerusalem and there he is.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And he go, he's back.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
That'd be kind of weird to see the guy that
you just killed walking down the streets. And that's why
so many in Jerusalem instantly became believers. It was in
a matter of years one hundred thousand people were followers
of Christ because everybody had seen him. The resurrection of
Jesus Christ is one of the most well attested events
(14:08):
in history.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
It would stand up in any court of law.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
In fact, it has many many times throughout many centuries.
It proved Jesus was who he was, he is the
son of God. But more than that, it proved that
Jesus keeps his promises. And Jesus that I'm gonna let
him kill me and I'll come back to life.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Now did he keep that? Yes, Well, if he kept that.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
One, then I can trust the other promises in this book,
the ones that talk to me about my life, because
I know he keeps his promises. And the third thing
it tells me is that it proves that there is
life after death. If Jesus Christ hadn't resurrected, you have
no hope of the future, you have no hope of eternity.
(14:47):
You would have no knowledge of heaven or anything else.
Because Jesus Christ was the one who proved there's life
after death. If he hadn't resurrected again, it's all just
a big let's all go home, let's go to the beach.
I'm buying. Well, I'll get some hot dogs or something. Now,
let me show you what Jesus said. John eleven five
(15:10):
and twenty six. Jesus said, I am the one who
raises the dead and gives life again. Now, Buddha didn't
say this, Muhammad didn't say this. Karl Marx didn't say that.
Nobody else has ever said this, because nobody else has
ever raised themselves back up to life, because they're not God.
This is what puts Jesus in a unique position as
(15:31):
the son of God. I am the one who raises
the dead. And here's what he says. Because of that,
anyone who believes in me, even though he dies, shall
live again. He has given eternal life for believing in me.
Circle that eternal life. Give an eternal life for believing
in me, and shall never perish. Now, if Jesus Christ
(15:54):
has not written at Easter, this verse would be a joke.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
It's just not true. You have no hope. When you're dead.
You're dead. It's over. That's it.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But Jesus said, because of that, I give eternal life
to those who believe in me. The most famous verse
in the Bible talks about this. John three point sixteen.
You've seen this verse held up on placards at football
games for thirty years. God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in
(16:26):
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now again,
I could give you fifty benefits of believing in Christ.
I just gave you four everything you've ever done wrong forgiven.
You get a purpose for living, you get a home
in heaven, and you get power for living here on earth. Question,
(16:48):
where else are you going to get that?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Nowhere? Who else can give that to you? No one.
If you don't get it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
From Jesus, you don't get it because he is the
only one who can give you those four things. Now,
these are amazing benefits you can't get anywhere else. And
the qualification I must believe. The Bible said, this is
what God wants you to do. He wants you to
believe in the one that he sent. So what does
it mean to believe in Jesus? A lot of people
(17:18):
think they believe, but really don't. A lot of people
are going to miss heaven by eighteen inches because they
got it up here in the head, but not here
in the heart. They have a head knowledge about God,
but they don't have a heart commitment to God, and
so they're going to miss heaven because they don't understand
the full meaning of the word believe. I was on
a plane flight one time, I think I was going
(17:39):
to China and sitting next to guy, and the guy
asked me, so, what kind of work do you do?
And when somebody asked me that on a planet, I
always say I'm an author, because if I say I'm
a pastor, then they think, oh, he's going to try
to convert me, and they clam up. They don't want
to talk for the rest of the flight. So I
always just say author. And so then he goes, so,
(18:02):
what's the name of your book? I said, well, one
of them's called The Purpose Driven Life.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
He goes, I know who you are, and I said,
he said.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
As soon as he knew who I was. He goes,
I'm going to heaven. I said, great, see you there.
And I said great. I said, let me ask you,
how do you know you're going to heaven. How do
you know? He goes, because I believe in God, he said,
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I do too.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I said, any other reason why you think you might
be going to heaven? He said, because I believe in Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on the cross for the sins
of the world.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I said, that's great.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
I said, would it surprise you if I told you
that believing there is a God and that believing Jesus
died on the cross is not enough to get into heaven.
He said, are you okay me? I said no, no.
I said, let me ask you this. Do you believe
in the devil? He goes, oh, yeah. Evil is obvious
in the world. There's a lot of bad evil. I
(19:10):
believe in the devil. I said, do you think the
devil's going to be in heaven? He said, well, of
course not. I said, well, the devil believes in God,
and the devil who believes in Jesus. The devil knows
Jesus Christ as the son of God. That's why he
put him on the cross. He wanted to kill him.
He wanted to destroy the Messiah. I said, do you
think Satan's going to be in heaven?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
No?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So obviously, believing in God, believing in Jesus as the
son of God is not enough to get you to heaven,
because even the devil believes that.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
He goes, where's that in the Bible?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
I said, here's it, and I showed him this verse
James chapter two nineteen. Do you think it's enough just
to believe there's one God. Well, even the demons believe
that and tremble. But you're not going to find them
in heaven. Why because it's more than just a head knowledge.
You got to go back to what the word believe
actually means. And in the Greek in which the Bible
(20:02):
is written. In the Greek was is the word the belief.
The word for belief is the word pistuo comes from
his faith. Pistuo means to believe, and it actually means
more than just knowing about something knowing something happens. It
means to trust in, to cling to, to rely on,
to adhere to, or to commit to big difference. It's
(20:24):
a heart commitment. We all know that there's various levels
of knowledge. For instance, there's real shallow knowledge. For instance,
you all know about the Kardashians, okay, but you know
now you don't really know them, but you know about them.
And we all know about celebrities. I know about Tom Cruise.
I don't know Tom Cruise personally, but I.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Know who he is.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
I believe he exists, Okay, but I've never given my
life to Tom Cruise.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I just believe he exists.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And a lot of people believe Jesus exists, they've never
given their life to him. And then then you have
your neighbors, and you're neighbors, you know a little bit
more and you know a little bit about their background.
You may know where they were, maybe where they came from.
But you don't really know your neighbors. But if you've
been married and you know your husband or your wife,
you know them much more intimately. I know my wife
(21:17):
now she's still a mystery. Now I'm not a mystery
to her because she's deep and I'm shallow. I mean,
she knows everything about me. I know very little about her.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
But I do know that I love her.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
And when I say I believe in Kay, it means
more than I know she exists. That's far more than
I know my wife exists.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
It means I.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Trust in her, I rely on her. I have committed
my life to her, and I know her intimately in a.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Way I don't know anybody else.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Because in two months I will have been married to
her for forty years. Now that's the that's a kind
of knowledge and intimacy. And when I say I believe
in my wife, it's more than I just believe she exists.
It's I trust in her, I'm committed to her, I
rely on her, and I love her with all my life.
(22:14):
That's the kind of meaning pistuo means in Scripture.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It means to trust in, cling to you, to rely
on it, here to you.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So what I want to do right now is explain
to you five expressions of what it means to really
believe in Jesus. Because you may not have really believed
in him. You may have been in church all your life,
or maybe this is your first time and you know
about Jesus, but you've never really trusted in him.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So I take these.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Five expressions of belief, and I'm just for fun. I
put him in the crossing t r ust. What does
it mean to trust in Jesus?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Christ? Write this down?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
The T means I turn everything over to Jesus. T
is I turn everything over to Jesus. The good in
my life, the bad in my life, the ugly in
my life, the secret things in my life. I turn
over my past, my present, and my future. I give
him rein in my finances, in my relationships, in my
(23:13):
sex life.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
In my health, in every area. I turn everything over
to Jesus.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
What a great message from Pastor Rick today, There's something
I always take away from his message. Well, friends, I
want you to take just a second and think, is
there anybody I know that is graduating this year? Could
be a son or daughter, a grandchild, or maybe a
neighbor or a family friend. Well, as you celebrate this
(23:45):
important milestone and they begin the next phase of their journey,
they really need to know that God created them, loves them,
and has a plan for their lives. So Rick created
a special resource just for graduates called The Purpose Driven Life.
Selected Thoughts and Scripture for the Graduate. This is a
beautiful book that I've given to my own kids. It's
(24:08):
filled with inspirational scripture, biblical wisdom from Pastor Rick, and
some really beautiful imagery. It's a really unique hardcover giftbook
that they'll want to keep, and it provides an awesome
reminder of the great life that God has planned for
your graduate. I'm telling you it will inspire them to
seek His unique plan and purpose for their life. Please
(24:31):
don't miss this great opportunity to minister to the graduate
in your life.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Today.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
We'll send you a copy to say thanks when you
give a gift to Daily Hope to share the hope
of Jesus Christ with people all around the world. Just
go to Pastorick dot com or you could text the
word hope to eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and
four to get this great study tool. Again, that's Pastorick
dot com. Or text the word hope to eight hundred
(25:00):
six hundred five thousand and four and thank you so
much for your support. Please join us next time as
we look into God's Word for our daily hope. This
program is sponsored by Pastoris's Daily Hope and your generous
financial support.
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