Rick Warren - You Were Created to Be Loved by God

Now to understand your life purpose and understand your life calling,

you have to begin with God because God created you

and you can't tell yourself what your purpose is, only

your creator can tell you what your purpose is. And

your purpose, your calling in life actually begins in the

nature of God. Now the Bible tells us that God

is love. We have talked about this so many times.

That God doesn't have love, God doesn't just show love,

God is love. Love is the nature, the character, the

essence of God. There would be no love in the

universe if it weren't for the fact that God is love.

The only reason you're able to love, the only reason

you're able to give it and receive love is because God,

who is a God of love, made you in his image.

Ants can't love. Snails can't love. Cows can't love. But

human beings love because we're made in the image of God.

Now the Bible says that everything in the universe was

created so God could love it. God has never made

anything he doesn't love. He loves every rock, every tree,

every plant, every animal, every human being. God has never

made anything he doesn't love. So if you're alive, it

means God loves you. And you were created as an

object of God's love. The Bible says this in Ephesians

chapter one, there on your outline. Long ago, even before

he made the world, God loved us and chose us. Whoa,

let me just stop right there. Before God even created

the universe, he had already chosen you and loved you.

He made the universe so he could make Earth, so

he could make the human race, so he could make you,

so he could love you. If God hadn't wanted to

love you, all the other stuff wouldn't have happened. It says,

before he made the world, God loved us and chose

us in Christ to be holy and without fault.

In his eyes.

His unchanging plan has always been, from the very beginning

of time, to adopt us into his own family by

bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave

him this plan to have a family. God wanted a

family and he wanted you to be a part of it.

And the reason the universe exists is because God wanted

a family. It was all made so we could be made,

so we could be loved. And he says, and this

plan gave him, read it with me, great pleasure.

Circle that, great pleasure.

Now you remember when you read Purpose Driven Life, the

Bible says you are planned for God's pleasure. And the

reason you're alive is that God made you to love you.

Now, that's all background. We all know that.

In this series, when we look at the five callings

of God, and the word calling is used far more

than purpose in the Bible. When we look at God's

calling on your life, we're talking about God's assignment, God's

purpose for your life, God's reasons for creating you. I

want you to write this down. The first purpose of

my life is to be loved by God. The first

purpose of my life, the first reason you were created

is to be loved by God. God made you to

love you. Now let that sink in a little bit.

The first purpose of your life is not to serve God.

The first purpose of your life is not to trust God.

The first purpose of your life is not to obey God.

The first purpose of your life is not even to

love God. No, no, the first purpose of your life

is to let God love you. God didn't create you

in first place to do something. He created you in

the first place to receive something. Now, if you understand

this revolutionary truth, and most of you have never really

got this, it's gonna transform your life. That my number

one purpose in life is not to do something for God.

It's to receive something from God, to get his love.

Because I was made to be a receptacle, a receiver,

a benefactor of God's love. Let that sink in. Let

me say it again, because I don't want you to

get this. Your first duty in life is not to

do something. It's not to learn. It's not to listen.

It's not to pray. It's not to give. It's not

to sacrifice. It's not to serve. Those are all good things,

but they're not the first thing God created you to do.

He created you to accept, to receive his love, to

just let God love you. That's the first purpose of life,

to be loved by God. Now, this is taught all

through the scriptures. In the book of Jude, and I

always like to mention these little books that nobody ever reads.

The book of Jude is a very short book. It's

only one chapter, 25 verses. It's the second to the

last book in the Bible, right before Revelation. And I

always like to mention these, because when you get to heaven,

I don't want my people to be embarrassed in heaven.

And when Jude comes up to you and says, hey,

how'd you like my book? I don't want you to go, oh, Mr. Jude,

I didn't even know you were in the Bible.

No. No, when he walks over, he goes, hey Jude.

Loved your book. Loved that book, really good.

In fact, one of my favorites, because it was only

25 verses. You could memorize the book of Jude. Now,

very short book, but a lot of profound truth in it.

And in Jude chapter one, verse one, it says this.

This letter is from Jude.

Jude.

A servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.

Now I wanna stop here. That, friends, is one of

the most humble statements ever written.

You say, why?

He says, I'm a servant of Jesus Christ and I'm

a brother of James. He forgets to mention one thing.

He's the half-brother of Jesus.

You say, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Jesus had brothers? Yes, Jesus had brothers and sisters. They're

talked about in the Bible. When Mary gave birth to Jesus.

She was a virgin. That was a miraculous birth because

God was the father of Jesus Christ. But the Bible

tells us that after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph

had many other children. They're mentioned in the Bible. One

of them's named James. One of them's named Jude. Jesus

had half sisters. And they often came to see him speak,

watched him do miracles. The interesting thing about Jesus' brothers

and sisters, none of them became followers of Jesus until

after Jesus died on the cross and then rose again

from the dead. And when they saw him resurrected from

the dead, it was like he's back. And that made

a believer even of his brothers and sisters. They go,

he was who he claimed to be. They watched him

die and they watched him come back to life. And

it was only after that happened they became followers of

Jesus Christ. And Jude and James actually became leaders. I mean,

now can you imagine how difficult it would be growing

up with Jesus as your brother? But in Jude, it

says this. This letter is from Jude, a servant of

Jesus Christ. If anybody could have been the ultimate name dropper,

it would have been this guy. But he says, I'm

just a servant of Jesus and a brother of James.

Doesn't even mention that thing. And I'm writing to all

who are called to live in the love of God

the Father. Circle the word called. And what am I

called to do? I'm called to live in the love

of God the love of God the Father, and in

the care of Jesus Christ. Now, if the first purpose

of my life is to be loved by God, my

first calling is this. I'm called to enjoy a relationship

with God.

Write that one down. My purpose is to let God

love me.

My calling is to enjoy a relationship with God. I'm

called to live in the love of God. It's a relationship.

What I'm saying to you This is so fundamental, is

that the number one calling in your life is not

to a role, it's not to a responsibility, it's not

to a bunch of rules, it's not to regulations, it's

not to ritual, it's not to religion, it's to a relationship.

Now this is gonna surprise some of you. Christianity is

not a religion. People try to make it a religion.

They try to make it about rules and regulations and rituals,

but it's not about it.

Jesus said it's about a relationship.

God sent Christ so you could have a relationship, not

a religion, but a relationship to God because God is

love and he.

Wants you to learn to experience his love.

Do you ever wonder if your life really matters? or

what on earth you're here for, Pastor Rick wants to

let you know that God has a good plan and

purpose for your life. In his best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life,

he lays out a simple, life-changing roadmap to help you

discover and live it. This book has transformed millions of lives,

and it could transform someone you love. And great news,

it's been updated for today's generation. This edition includes a

video introduction and audio teaching from Pastor Rick for each chapter,

and two powerful bonus chapters on the biggest barriers to

living a purpose-driven life. As you go through this book,

you'll uncover that your deepest meaning and fulfillment doesn't come

from success or status. but from understanding and living out

the purpose that God created you for. Request your copy

today when you give a gift to help Daily Hope

share the gospel around the world. It's our way of

saying thanks.

Does God want you to be his soldier and fight

his battles for right and wrong in the world? No.

Does God want you to be his warrior?

No.

Does God want you to be his worker? No. Does

God want you to be his employee?

No.

Does God want you to be his minions?

No.

God wants you to be his son or his daughter.

He wants you in his family. Here's what the Bible says,

Romans chapter one. Dear friends in Rome, this is Paul writing.

God wants, loves you dearly. Circle that word dearly. God

loves you dearly.

And he has called you, there's that word, here's the

calling of God, he has called you to be his

very own people. So here are the three fundamental truths

of everything we're doing in this campaign. The first purpose

is to be loved by God. That's my first purpose.

My first calling is to enjoy a relationship with God.

And number three, that relationship that God wants me to

have is.

To be his son or daughter.

The relationship God created you for is to be his

son or his daughter. Now that is the most amazing

truth you will ever hear in your life. That the

King of kings, the Lord of lords, the creator of

the universe doesn't want you to be a slave servant

soldier but his son and.

His daughter. and his child.

God wants a family to love, and he wants you

in it. Here's what the Bible says, 1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

What an incredible quality of love the Father has shown

to us that we should be named and called and

counted the children of God. And so we are. I

love that in the Amplified. We're named the children of God.

We're called the children of God. We're counted the children

of God because we are the children of God. This

is your number one calling in life. Your number one

purpose in life is not to accomplish something. Your number

one purpose in life is not to make something of yourself.

Your number one purpose in life is not to make

a lot of money, to be famous, to have a

lot of fun. Your number one purpose in life, God

created you and called you to be loved by him,

to experience that love. And most people have never truly

experienced the love of God. Oh, they've heard about it.

Everybody here said, oh, God loves you. Yeah, yeah, I know,

God loves me. The very fact that you're bored by

that means you don't get it. Because if you got it,

you would be so excited about it. You've never experienced it.

You've heard it in your head, but you don't have

it in your heart. And a lot of people are

gonna miss heaven by 18 inches. because they got it

here and they don't got it here.

They don't have it here.

You've got to experience God's love in your life. He says,

we're named and called and counted children of God. Now,

why in the world would God do that in order

to express his love? And God's love is extravagant and

God's love is lavish And God's love is beyond comprehension.

And as I've said so many times, he loves you

on your good days and bad days when you feel

it and don't feel it, when you think you deserve it,

when you don't think you deserve it. You can't make

God stop loving you. God will never love you any

more than he does this second. God will never love

you any less than he does this second. Because God's

love is not based on who you are or what

you do, it's based on who he is, God.

Is love. So I'll say it again, because I want

you to get it.

Your number one calling in life is not to do something,

to impress God with what you do. Your number one

calling in life is to receive something, to let God

love you. Now the Bible says this in Ephesians 3,

I pray that Christ.

Will be more and more at home in your hearts.

as you trust.

In other words, that you get more and more comfortable

with Jesus in your life. May your roots go down

deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. Your life

needs to be rooted in the love of God. And

he says, and may you have the power to understand,

as all of God's people should, how wide and how

high along and how high and how deep His love

really is. And may you experience the love of Christ.

Not just know it, circle the word experience. God says,

I want you to feel love. I don't want you

to know your love. I want you to feel it.

I want you to feel it in every fiber of

your life. May you experience emotionally the love of Christ.

Though it is so great, you'll never fully understand it.

Now the Bible says, that part of your calling is

to understand how wide, long, high, and deep God's love

for you is. So let me explain it to you.

Write this down. How wide is God's love? Well, write

this down. It's wide enough to be everywhere. That's how

wide it is. There is no place on this planet

that God's love isn't. There's no place in the universe

that God's love isn't. It's in the bar where a

bunch of people are drunk. It's in the red light

district where people are being sold and selling their bodies.

It's in the barrio, the slum, the favela, the ghetto.

It's in the place of the poorest of the poor.

It's in every, there is no place where God's love

is not. You say, well, I don't see it there. Well,

that doesn't mean it's there and it's not there. There

are a lot of things you can't see that are real,

that are reality, you just can't see them. For instance,

right now through this airwave, there are radio waves going

through this air between me and you. Actually, these radio

waves are going through your body right now and they

carry music. And there are television waves right now going

through the air that are carrying colored pictures. You can't

see them and you can't hear them unless you have

a receiver and you are tuned in They're real, you

just can't see them. We can't see God here right now.

You don't see him, but he's here, he's real. And

if you tune in, you'll experience it. If you get

on God's wavelength, you will experience his love. You will

know he is as real as I am standing here today,

but you gotta tune in. And just because you can't

feel him or see him right now doesn't mean he's

not there. You can't see those radio waves. There are

a lot of stuff that you can't see. You can't

see an atom, but everything in life is composed of atoms.

So how wide is life? It's wide enough to be everywhere.

That means in your life, there will be no place

you go where God is not. And although you may

feel lonely and you may feel alone at different points

in your life, you will never, ever, ever truly be

alone because God's love is there whether you are aware

It's wide enough to be everywhere. Number two, it's long.

How long is God's love? It's long enough to last forever.

Now that makes it different than human love because human

love wears out and that's why we have divorces and

that's why we have breakups. That's why we have conflict

and that's why we have people estranged from each other

that are not reconciled because human love often wears out.

But God's love never wears out. God will never, never, never, never, never,

never stop loving you. Even if you chose to reject

him and go to hell, God will still love you.

Because God's love is eternal. He made you to love you.

God loves you with an everlasting love. It's long enough

to last forever. How deep is God's love? It's deep

enough to handle anything. Deep enough to handle no matter

what pain you're going through, what problem you're going through,

or what hurt you're going through. God's love is deeper still.

You say, man, I'm in the pits. I've hit bottom.

I'm in the pit of hell right now.

I'm in the pit of despair. I can't get any

lower than I am. Well, let me tell you what.

God's love goes deeper and lower than your problem. There

is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper.

It is deeper than any problem you're going to ever have,

deep enough to handle anything.

And how about height? How high is God's love? Listen

to this.

It is high enough to overlook my sins, to overlook

my faults, to overlook my mistakes. Because of Jesus Christ,

God is able to overlook my faults, my failures, my flubs,

my sin, my rebellion. And God offers forgiveness through the

cross because of his love, and he offers you a

fresh chance to start over. Now, one million years ago,

before anything existed, God had already thought.

Of you and decided to choose you and love you.

And God has been waiting your entire life for this

very moment where he could get you to sit still

for just a minute and he could say this to you.

You have no idea how much I love you. I

have always loved you.

There has never been a moment of your existence that

I didn't love you. I was the one who planned

your birth. I allowed that fertilization. I allowed that conception.

I wanted you alive so I could love you. And

I saw you formed in your mother's womb. I saw

you take your first breath. I heard your first cry.

There's been no moment of your life that I've turned

my back from you, that I have not listened to you,

that I have not watched you. I saw every pain

you go through, every sin you've ever done, the celebrations

and the sadness, the happy times and the sad times,

the grief, the pain, the exhilaration. I've been there at

every moment of your life. And whether you realized it

or not, I was gazing on you in love because

I made you To love you. So here's the question.

I wrote you this on an email this week. How

would your life change? How would your life be different?

How would it be transformed if you began to be

aware of God's unconditional, continuous, and never-ending love for you?

How would your life change if when you got up

in the morning, the first thing you felt was, I

am deeply and unconditionally loved by God. And as you

got out of bed and you went to take your shower,

you'd think, I can sense God's love in my life.

And how would it be as you got ready and

you ate your breakfast, you felt the love of God.

And as you got in your car to go to work,

you felt the love of God. And as you got

to work or you got to school, you felt the

love of God. And when you came home and you

went to a movie or you watched some TV or

you worked out in your backyard, you were sensing God's love.

What would it be.

Like if you felt God's love unconditionally in your life

totally and you were aware of it all the time?

How would that change your life? Hi, everybody. This is

Pastor Rick.

Because of the generous support of many of you Daily

Hope listeners, we're able to offer Daily Hope devotionals for

free worldwide. In fact, today I have a note from

Paul in Kenya that shows how God is at work

through the Daily Hope devotionals. Paul wrote me, he said,

I'd like to sincerely thank you with the free gift

of your Daily Hope devotionals. May God receive all the glory.

For some time now, your inspiring and encouraging messages, along

with scripture references, have helped me push through some really

tough times and get closer to God.

However, Paul writes, the.

Best part is that my faith in God has now

grown to the point that he recently gave me the

strength and wisdom to accept his free undeserved gift of

grace and salvation by accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as

my Lord and Savior. I feel like a new being.

And I yearn to keep growing.

More and more in God's word and in wisdom, surrendering

my life to his will alone. So please hold my

hand in this journey to the glory and honor of

God through Christ Jesus. Paul, without a doubt, I will

hold your hand as you journey with Jesus. There is

no greater decision that you could have made than believing

and receiving Jesus Christ. So congratulations. You're my brother in Christ.

And I want to encourage you to be on the

lookout every day to see how God guides you, how

God directs you. It's an exciting journey. And by the way,

keep studying his word every day. Get a Bible and

read it every day. I'm so thankful that Daily Hope

Devotional is helping you to do just that. Now, the

Daily Hope Devotional is helping many, many people, just like Paul,

all around the world, to grow closer to God. And

it's free. If you're not getting it, I want to

encourage you to go to dailyhopetv.com and sign up today.

Do you ever wonder if your life really matters or

what on earth you're here for? Pastor Rick wants to

let you know that God has a good plan and

purpose for your life. In his best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life,

he lays out a simple, life-changing roadmap to help you

discover and live it. This book has transformed millions of lives,

and it could transform someone you love. And great news!

It's been updated for today's generation. This edition includes a

video introduction and audio teaching from Pastor Rick for each chapter.

and two powerful bonus chapters on the biggest barriers to

living a purpose-driven life. As you go through this book,

you'll uncover that your deepest meaning and fulfillment doesn't come

from success or status, but from understanding and living out

the purpose that God created you for. Request your copy

today when you give a gift to help Daily Hope

share the gospel around the world. It's our way of

saying thanks. Thank you.