Rick Warren - Sustaining Grace—Part Two

You know, none of us can earn our way into

heaven because eternal life is a free gift when you

accept Jesus as the Lord of your life. Hey, everybody,

this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, and today Rick Warren

continues a series called Good News about Grace. You can't

truly understand the Christian life until you understand grace. It's

at the heart of your faith and your relationship with God.

And in this series you're going to discover how not

to only understand grace, but how to experience it and

the joy that it brings. Well, I can't wait to

get started. So here's the final part of a message

called Sustaining Grace.

Now, there are three kinds of trouble.

There's the kind of trouble that kind of blows you

away like a wind. There's the kind of trouble that

weighs down like carrying a sack of potatoes. There's the

kind of trouble that it's kind of like the rug

is pulled out from underneath you and you go, where

did that one come from? But the most difficult kinds

of trouble to handle are the troubles and the problems

of life that are unplanned, unrelenting.

And undeserved. Would you agree with that?

Unplanned, unrelenting, and undeserved. There are some things I bring

on myself. When I bring a problem on myself, I figure, Okay,

I made the mess.

I got to clean it up.

I don't mind handling problems that I created. I figure

that's par for the course. I mean, I did it,

I may as well have to clean it up. But

the most difficult problems in life to ones to handle

are the unfair ones where you are an innocent party.

What happened to here? I didn't plan this.

I don't feel like I deserved it. I didn't ask

for it, I didn't cause it. Those are the ones

that are hard to handle, and they're especially hard to

handle when they're not only undeserved, but they are unrelenting.

You know, most of us can handle problems if we

can see an end in sight. See well, there's you know,

light at the end of the tunnel. I can see

the problem is going to be over in six months

or eight months. Sure, I can handle anything for lat

length of time or a year or whatever. But there

are some things in your life that hurt you, that

harm you, that are unsolvable that you're going to live

with the rest of your life and nothing's ever going

to change that. There are some situations in life. There

are some things, some handicaps or disabilities, some background. You're

never gonna be able to change your background. You grew

up in that background. And there are some hurts that

they hurt you and you cannot and all all the

wish into the world isn't going to make it go away.

There are some things in life that are unplanned, unrelenting,

and undeserved, and they hurt the most. Now what do

you do in those situations? Well, you first stop doing

the if only game. Well, if only I had different parents,

if only I had married somebody else, if only if

only that doesn't work. That doesn't solve your problems, and

it doesn't ease your pain playing the if only game. Instead,

you need to focus on Christ and focus on his

sustaining power. God says is say I forty one. Don't

worry because I am with you. Don't be afraid because

I am your God. I will make you strong, I

will help you. I will support you with my right

hand that saves you. Now in that verse, I want

you to circle all the things that God has promised

to do for you. He says, I'm going to be

with you. He says, I'm going to make you strong.

I will help you, I will support you, and I

will save you.

That pretty much covers it all.

God is our refuge of strength, always ready to help

in times of trouble.

That's how you get sustaining grace.

What do you do when you can't fix an unfixable problem?

What do you do when you can't solve an unsolvable riddle?

What do you do when you can't change an unchangeable circumstance?

What do you do when you can't control something that

hurts deeply in your life? You throw yourself on the sustaining.

Grace of God.

Our culture loves to teach us self reliance, and we

think that we can handle anything. And I know that

all around you you're brought up to think I am

the master of my faith. That's a bunch of whoy.

It's just not true. You cannot control the major events

of your life. You didn't control when you were born,

you didn't control where you were born, you didn't choose

your parents. You don't know where you're gonna die, and

you don't know most of the things are going to

happen between now and then one day you're gonna wake

up to the realization of the fact that there are

limitations in your life that you cannot control.

That's called midlife crisis.

And one day you wake up and you realize you

are not God and you cannot control everything that happens

around you.

So what do you do when it hurts so bad.

And you can't change it. You rely on the sustaining

grace of God. You say, how do I get it?

How do I get that kind of grace? To keep

on going in spite the temptations, trials, tension, tiredness, and troubles.

You do four things.

Number one, call out, cry out to God.

Cry out for God's help.

See, as long as you pretend to be self sufficient,

you short circuit God's power in your life. You need

to admit your inadequacy, say God, I can't handle this,

and you cry.

Out for God's help.

The Bible says give God gives grace to the humble

circle that word humble, So give yourselves completely to God.

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

Now who gets grace the humble? Those who admit they

can't do it on their own, the humble. And then

you draw near to God and you cry out to God,

and you pray to God. You pray earnestly, you pray fervently,

You pray passionately, You pray with integrity, you pray with emotion,

and say, God, it hurts.

Help.

Did you know that God listens to the tone of

your prayers? He does because he knows that you don't

really want everything you ask for. When I ask my

kids at Christmas, what do you want? Well, I want

this or that, this or that. I don't listen to that.

I don't write it down. But when they go, Dad,

I really really really want this, that's the one I

write down. And God does not answer perfunctory prayers where

you just mouth the words, go through the motion. Your

heart's not in it. He wants you to pray passionately,

fervently to him. And you want a good example of it,

go read the Book of Psalms, because David did it.

Chapter after chapter, call out for God's hope. Number two

to get God's sustaining grace. Fill your mind with God's word.

Fill your mind with God's word. This book let it

comfort you. Let it strengthen you, let it fill you,

let it soothe you, Let it give you the energy you.

Need to keep going.

Get into this book every single day of your life.

Get a modern translation, new living version or something, and

begin to read it and read it and read it

and get it into your mind. Notice what the Bible says,

David prays, I am completely discouraged. Revive me by watching TV.

That's not what it says, is it. Oh no, well

that one doesn't work. You good, Revive me by your word. Now, folks,

there is some advice that's going around today that I

am so tired of.

Here.

If I hear it one more time again, I'm gonna

lose my lunch. It is in every movie, it's in

every talk show, it's in every book.

It is the.

Standard New Age answer to your problems. It started in

the movie Star Wars about twenty five years ago, where

that great theologian Obi Wan Kenobi.

Says to young.

Luke Skywalker when he's going through his crisis. He says,

the answers are within you, Luke, look inside yourself. And

everybody's been spouting that for twenty five years, as if

that's the big answer.

Now listen.

There's nothing new about the New age. All the new

age is a repackaging of old lies, all put together.

They didn't work a thousand years ago, they don't work today.

And this one here is just look within yourself when

you're in trouble.

Come on, that's the problem.

I looked within myself and I went yuck. I didn't

like what I saw. I got depressed when I look

within myself. I don't need to look within myself the

answers listen. I don't care how many people tell you

that the answer is not look within yourself, because if

it was, you'd already be changed. It doesn't work. You

need to look to God. He's the only one who

can change you. He's the only one who can help you.

He's the only one with sustaining strength. And you need

to look not within you. You need to look outside

of yourself to the creator who made you. Because the

answers are not in you. The answers are in God.

It doesn't work the other way. Did you see this?

On Friday?

Cut this out of the business section of the Register.

The Psychic Friends and Network file for bankruptcy. Now now

I'm reading this, No, listen, to this. Listen, this is great.

Their lawyer says, quote, they apparently made some bad decisions

due to unforeseen circumstances. Hello, perhaps they should have seen

it coming. And people are paying big money for that

kind of whoey.

You need to.

Get into a book that's been around for thousands of years,

the Word of God. Call out for God's help. Fill

your mind with God's word, the number three. In those

unfixable situations of life, accept support from God's people. The

Bible says, by helping each other with your troubles, you

truly obey the law of Christ.

What is that law? Love your neighbor as yourself the

great commandment.

And if you don't have some strong Christian friends, mature believers,

and you're not in a small group where you can

have some feedback and some support when the crisis is on,

I feel pity for you. I really do. We don't

continually to harp on this issue week after week after week.

Get in a small group. Get in a small group.

Get in a small group. Just because it's an idea.

It is essential for your physical, spiritual, and mental help.

You need a support group. God never meant for you

to go through life alone on your own. You're not

a lone ranger. In fact, God intentionally, the Bible says,

puts weaknesses in our lives so we realize how much

we need each other. We need each other. You're not

gonna make it on your own. You need to accept

support from God's people. And then number four, when you're

facing the unfixable problems of life, you need to hold

on to God's promises.

Hold on to god It's promises.

There are over seven thousand of them in the Bible

waiting to be claimed, waiting for you to just grab

onto like blank checks. Here's one of them, Isaiah forty.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power

of the week.

Even youths go tired.

But those who hope in the Lord circle that hope

in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar

on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint. Keep your hope in

the Lord, and even more than that, keep your eyes

focused on the hope of heaven, not just on the

here and now. Focus on the hope of Heaven. Look

at the next verse, so we don't look at the troubles.

We can see right now. Rather, we look forward to

what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we

see will soon be over, but the joys to come

will last forever. In heaven. There's gonna be no problem

in heaven. There's gonna be no sorrow in heaven. There's

gonna be no sadness, no grief, no messed up lives.

Now where do you need god sustaining grace today? Where

are you discouraged and you feel like giving up? Are

you being tempted? You go, man, I just I'm being

pounded with this and I can't get rid of this temptation.

Are you tired?

He said, I just, I don't think I can put

another foot in front of each other? Or are you

under tension? Are you in trials and troubles that you

can't fix? No matter what you're going through, God's grace

will sustain you if you will let it. Look at

this last verse, Paul said, I begged the Lord three

times to take this problem away from me, But he

said to me, my grace is enough for you. When

you are weak, then my power is made perfect in you.

When you're going through a problem you can't fix, don't

give up, look up, Look up, let's bower heads. I'd

like to close with a special prayer for those of

you who are discouraged this morning. You may be struggling

with worry, Well, he can fix that. May be struggling

with guilt and shame, he can handle that. You may

be dealing with depression or financial conflict, or conflict in

your home. Or you may be dealing with unemployment or

infertility or something you cannot control. He can handle it.

So tell him right now, what is discouraging you? Tell

him passionately. It's okay to shed a tear. Tell him passionately,

what is discouraging you. Jesus Christ, you know every single

need represented here today. You know what we need even

before we ask. You know our hurts, and you know

our fears. You know our struggles, and you know our sins.

You know our loneliness, you know our grief. For those

who are hurting here this morning, may they find relief.

For those who are discouraged, may they experience your sustaining grace.

May they sense your arms of love wrapping around them today.

For those who are carrying a heavy load, may they understand.

Your power and your peace is available.

For those who are tempted, for those who are addicted,

For those who can't stop doing what they don't want

to do, May they find release in Christ. For those

who are depressed, would you restore their joy? For those

who are separated from a loved one. For those who

are in conflict with a husband or a wife, may

they find restoration and reconciliation. For those who are guilty

and ashamed, help them sense the freedom of your forgiveness

that you say graciously give. And for those who lack

purpose and meaning and salvation, may they find you. Now

it's your turn to pray. Why don't you pray this

in your mind? Dear Jesus Christ, I need your sustaining

grace in my life. If you've never asked him for

a saving grace, say, I need you to save me

and then to sustain me, and I'm giving myself to you.

Help me to cry out to you for help and

not try to do it all myself. Help me to

fill my mind with your word. Help me to accept

help and support from your people, and help me to

hold on to your promises. Thank you that I'm going

to make it to the finish line in heaven, not

because of my performance, but because of your sustaining grace,

I love you and I want to trust in you

and amen. You know, if you just prayed that prayer

for the very first time, or you just recommitted your

life to Jesus again today, would you let me know

about it. There's something real about sharing your commitment. So

write me Rick at pastor Rick dot com and say, Rick,

I prayed that prayer of commitment, I gave my life

to Christ. And I'll send you some material that will

help you on your journey with Jesus. And I'll also

pray for you.

God bless you.

What a special message from Pastor Rick. And now let's

hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick

with a letter from one of our listeners.

I love to end our broadcast by reading letters from

people like you. Here's one from Melissa, who lives in Columbia.

Pastor Rick, I just want to say thanks to you

and thanks to God for helping me understand the Bible

and for helping bring so many souls to Jesus Christ.

I've been blessed because you put your messages online for free,

and because of that free ministry, I have access to

the truth. I cannot thank you enough, she says. I

want to help and I want to give what God

commands to give me to give so that his message

can reach the entire world. Thank you, Melissa for Colombia. Well, Melissa,

thank you, thank you for your encouragement, and thank you

for your financial gift, and thank you for caring about

people who haven't heard the good news. You see, when

we work together, we're able to do things we cannot

do on our own. Together, we reach people that would

never be reached any other way. And when you get

to heaven, we're going to celebrate all the souls that

have come to know Jesus Christ. So thank you for listening,

thank you for supporting, and thank you for praying.

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