Rick Warren - How To Become the Person God Meant You To Be - Part 2

Life is hard. It's not easy. Why because this isn't heaven.

This is Earth. Everything on this planet's broken. Is there

pleasure on Earth?

Of course? There is?

Are there happy times on Earth? Of course there are

are there moments of joy on Earth.

Yes.

Are there times when things are going great? Yes, But

as a general rule, life is hard. You're not on

easy street. Everything in life you have to struggle for,

you have to work for. It's not easy. This is

intentional and you're learning through the school of character development,

the character that you're going to carry with you into heaven.

The Bible says this, look here on the screen, it's

not on your outline. Romans, Chapter eight. Since we are

his children, God's children, we will share in his treasures.

In other words, we get the inheritance. If you're in

a family, you inherit the family treasures. For everything God

gives to his son Christ is ours too. But here's

the butt. But if we are to share his glory,

we must also share his suffering. I don't like that part.

Let's just cut that part out of the Bible. Okay,

just forget that part. No, it says, if you're going

to share in his glory, then you're going to share

in his suffering. No no, God's no glory, no no pain,

no gain. And they said this is part of life.

Don't be surprised. And when life gets hard, you need

to remember the reward. Romans eight twenty eight says in

all things, God works for the good of those who

love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Number five, the fifth step in the marathon to maturity

is I must gather a team to run with me.

I gather a team to run with me. Now it's

your race, and nobody can run your race, but people

can support you in your race. And what is helpful

is that in your life, at different stages of the race,

you're going to need different people to run along with you.

Nobody is going to run your entire life with you,

because even if you married, there were years that you

didn't know that person.

But at different stages.

In life, you have people running with you through life,

helping you, encouraging you, supporting you. That's called a small group.

If you don't have anybody running with you, you're.

Not going to make it to the end of the race.

You're going to give up, you're going to discourage and

you're not going to become the woman you were intended

to be. You're not going to become the man God

created you to be. You need some other people in

your life who were encouraging you, spurring you on, helping

you run your race. You know, I've been to Africa

many many times. As an old parable or proverb in

Africa that says, to run fast, run by your self,

but to run far, run with other people. Hebrews chapter

ten says this, Let us consider how we may spur

one another on to love and to good deeds. Spur

that means encourage. How do we encourage each other to

do the right thing? Let us not give up meeting together.

Let's talk about a small group as some are in

the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another

as you see the day as approaching. Why do some

people not make it to the finish line? Why do

we get stuck? Why do we stop growing? Why do

we settle for second best and less than God's plan

in our life? Why do we cop out and give up?

One reason?

Fear?

It's fear, and a lot of times we don't even

realize how fearful we are. But what we think is

I am so afraid of failing. I'm so afraid that

I won't be able to measure up. I'm so afraid

that I can't keep this commitment. I won't even try.

And it is fear that causes you to miss God's

best for your life. But when you belong to a

small group, and that small group believes in you, and

that small group loves you, then when you are beloved

and you belong you can become and.

They give you the courage to do things.

Having a small group who loves you unconditionally gives you

the courage to start the race, gives you the courage

to stay in the race, gives you the courage to

finish the race, and gives you the courage.

To get up and start over.

When you stumbled and really screwed it up, they say,

you can do this, you can do it now.

That is a safe place.

When you get in a small group where people love

you unconditionally.

That doesn't happen overnight.

A small group doesn't become safe in three weeks or

five weeks or six weeks.

It takes time.

As you begin to learn to know these people that

you begin to trust them. You know their weaknesses, they

know yours. You begin to be more open. You say

I really had a tough time today, and you begin

to have more openness with them because you're safe. Then

you can grow. I am in a very safe small group.

But it didn't happen overnight.

Okay. Number six, This is a big one.

When you're running the race of life, you need to

realize God is cheering.

Me at every stage.

I need to realize when I'm running a race of

life to become the man or the woman God wants

you to be, that God is cheering me at every

stage of life. Some of you have the mistaken idea

that God only smiles at you when you do things right,

or that God.

Only smiles that you want. Once you've reached the finish line.

Once you've arrived at maturity, then God is going to

like you. But until you become spiritually mature, God doesn't

have any time of day for you. You're dead wrong. Nobody

shames a baby for not knowing how to read, You dumb,

dumb baby. You don't expect a baby to be able

to read. Nobody shames a ten year old for not

knowing how to drive or balance.

A check book, You dumb ten year old.

No, no, you know what is appropriate for that stage

of growth. When my grandkids draw me a picture and

they bring it to me, I say that's perfect. I'm

not saying it's a Picasso. I'm saying it's perfect for

that stage of their development. God smiles at you at

every stage of your development. He's not waiting for you

to get to a certain level of maturity before he

says you're okay. You're already okay in his eyes, because

Christ died for you. Nobody shames a baby for not

being mature, and you need to not be ashamed at

whatever stage of spiritual growth you are in right now.

A lot of times we secretly thinking, man, I should

be further along than this, given my age, I should

be a lot more mature. I shouldn't have these problems anymore.

I mean, I'm this number of years old. Why am

I still having this hang up? Why am I still

having this problem? Why am I still having this difficulty?

And we start shaming ourselves because we think God is

ashamed of us. God is not ashamed of you. There's

no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now,

why is this important that you realize that God is

cheering you at every stage of your life, because the

major reason you don't become the man you're supposed to be.

Is shame. Is shame.

And what happens is, instead of admitting that we don't

have it all together, we spend all of our time

and energy trying to pretend that we have it all together. Philippians,

Chapter three. In the Bible, Paul, this is the guy

who wrote most of the New Testament part of the Bible.

Paul says this, Saint Paul, I don't mean to say

that I have already achieved these things or that I've

already reached perfection. Women, this is the guy who wrote

the Bible, and he's going, hey, I don't have it together.

I'm not saying I've already achieved all this. I'm not

saying I've already done all this. I'm not saying I'm perfect.

He's not.

He say, thank God, I'm not what I used to be,

and I am what I am. Thank God, I'm not

what I'm going to be.

One day.

I don't have it already achieved these things. I haven't

already gotten the perfection. But he says, I keep working

toward that day when I will finally be all that

Christ saved me for and wants me.

To be one day.

I keep I'm going to be what God wants to be,

the man God wants to be. One day, I'll be that,

he says. I'm still not there. I'm still not all

I should be. But I am focusing on all my

energies on this one thing. I forget to pass. You know,

all those dumb decisions. It really messed me up. It's gone.

My past is passed. I'm going to forget the past.

Forgetting the past, looking forward to what lies ahead. I

strain to reach the end of the race and receive

the prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling.

There's that word, the third calling to become, is calling

us up to heaven. So they just keep on going.

I don't have it all together, but I keep straining ahead.

Now.

God is cheering you at every stage of the race.

Those of you are parents. Have you ever watched your

child run a race at school?

Yes?

At what point did you start cheering them when they

crossed the finish line? No, you start cheering your kids

the moment they started the race, When the whistle was

blown and the gun was shot, and they'd get out

of the starting box.

You're going, let's go, let's go, let's go. You could

do it, You could do it.

You're cheering them at every stage of the race.

God is doing that with you right now.

Hey, would you like to go deeper with Pastor Rick

to discover God's purpose in your life? Well now you

can with the video based study kit called What on

Earth Am I here for? This life changing study is

taught by Rick and includes a workbook and six video sessions.

As you go through.

These lessons, you'll embark on a journey of discovery to

answer life's most fundamental question, What on Earth am I

here for? You'll learn that it's only in God that

we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose,

our significance, and our destiny.

Every other path.

Leads to a dead end. This resource is packed with

biblically centered principles and is perfect for personal or small

group study. So be sure to request this study kit

when you give a gift to Daily Hope to help

share the hope of Jesus with a hurting world. We'll

send it to you today as our way of saying thanks.

God is sharing you every moment, and when you stumble,

he cheers more. Come on, I know you can do it.

I know you can do it. I believe I made you,

I created you, I died for you.

I love you. I've got to put my spirit in

your life. And he cheers even louder. You need to

never forget that truth number seven.

If you're gonna make it to the finish line and

be the woman God wants you to be, be the

man God wants you to be. I must take every

step with purpose, Take every step with purpose. Now, I'll

tell you I didn't do this for a lot of

years in my life. But I don't want to waste

any step anymore. I don't want to waste any energy anymore.

I don't want to waste any word anymore. I don't

want to waste any breath, any step because I don't

know how many steps I have left.

You don't either. You don't know if you're going to

live a week, a month, a year, or what. You

don't know.

So whatever steps you're going to take, you better do

them on purpose. And you need to be more disciplined,

and you need to be more self controlled, and you

need to take every step and every moment in your

life with purpose. Now, if you're gonna become the person

God wants you to be, that's the third calling in life.

I'll be honest with you, there are some things you're

gonna have to deny yourself. You're not gonna get to

do everything that everybody else does, because if you.

Want to be God's woman, God's man.

You want to be what you're created to be, you

just can't go out and do everything what everybody else does.

As I said, you can't follow their plan and your

planing God's plan all the same time, anybody who trains

for the Olympics gives up an enormous amount of things

to be a winner. They eat a certain way, they

go to bed at a certain time, they don't do

certain things, And you're gonna have to deny yourself. You

just can't tack on God's purpose to what you want

to do with your life. It's planned A or plan B.

And so you have to say, I'm gonna have to

be disciplined. I'm gonna have to take every step on purpose.

Saint Paul, you have to be purpose driven. Look at

this next verse one Corinthians nine. All athletes practice strict

self control. In other words, to be a win you

get in the Super Bowl, you gotta discipline yourself.

They do it.

They do all this self discipline, self control. They do

it to win a prize. It'll fade away, But we

do it for an eternal prize in heaven. So I

run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.

I'm not like a boxer who misses his punches. Paul says,

I'm way beyond the years of shadow boxing. If I'm

gonna take a punch, I'm gonna make sure it lands.

I'm not just out there beating the air. I'm not

just shadow boxing. I'm not wasting my time. I'm not

wasting my life. If I'm gonna land a punch, I'm

gonna make sure it has contact. And if I'm going

to take a step, I'm gonna make sure it has

a step of purpose in my life. That's how you

get to the finish line. Hebrews, the Book of Hebrews,

gives us more advice. Back to chapter twelve Hebrews twelve,

Verse thirteen, twelve and thirteen says this because God knows

you're going to get tired in the marathon of life.

He says lift up your tired hands then and strengthen

your trembling knees. In other words, when you feel like

I can't go on, I'm out of energy, I'm out

of gas, he says, you just ask God for more strength.

Keep walking when you're going through hell, what do you do?

You keep going. You don't want to stay in hell.

When you're going through hell. You keep walking. When you're

walking through hell, you keep walking. And he says, keep

walking on straight paths, circle straight paths. We'll come back

to that. So that your lame foot circle that lame

foot will come back to that may not be disabled,

but instead be healed. In the race of life, we

all run with a limp. Every one of us have limps.

I just said it early. You have some emotional limps.

Your emotion don't always work right. You have some relational limps.

You have some weaknesses in your relationships. You have some

physical limps. Your body doesn't always work right. You have

some spiritual limps. You're not as strong spiritually as you

could be. You have some financial limps. You don't have

the money that you could have.

You have all.

Kinds of limps. Everybody walks through life with a limp. Now,

if I have a natural limp, i'd better stay on

the straight path, because if I get on a crooked

path with a natural limp, I'm more likely to stumble.

And if I get on a rocky path with a

natural limp, I'm more likely to fall. If I get

on a crooked path and a mountain path, then I'm

gonna stumble because I have natural limp, a bent to fall.

Now there's one last step, and this is my favorite

one of all.

It touches me deeply.

The a thing that the Bible teaches us about the

race of life is this, I need to realize that

what I don't finish, God will. What I don't finish,

what I don't get finished in my life, God will.

I was created to become like Christ. But if I

don't get there and there's still some remaining parts left,

God is going to complete the character development in my

life one day, and He's going to finish it and

bring me to perfection, bring me to completion into heaven.

Philippians chapter one says this, this is a great promise.

I am sure that God, who began the good work

within you, will continue his work.

It's his work.

He will continue his work in you until it is

finally finished.

Circle that finally finished.

On that day when Christ Jesus comes back again, Friends,

what a day that is going to be. What a

day when you either go into heaven or he comes

here either one. What a day that's gonna be. Because

on that day when you see Jesus Christ, you don't

see him right now face to face.

He's invisible to you.

But when you see him face to face, every mirror

neuron in your body, in your brain is gonna start

go on overload mirror neuron and you are going to

be transformed to become like him. All your weakness is gone,

all your limps gone, all your fears and faults gone,

all your failures and frailties gone, all of your insecurities gone,

all of your blemishes and flaws gone. And you will

be transformed into perfection one day and those mirror neurons

are going to be un overload, and you will reflect

the glory of the Lord.

That is such good news. I'm not.

Who I ought to be, You're not who you ought

to be. We're not a fraction of what we could be.

But God says, that's okay. I'm taking my time. I'm

cheering you at every stage. You just take every step

with purpose, because one day I'm going to finish what

you didn't finish, and you're going to be changed boom

instantly into mind likeness if you have put yourself in

my hands first John three to two. It's an amazing promise.

Dear friends, dear dear friends, we are already God's children,

and we can't even imagine what we will be like.

When Christ returns, but we do know.

That when he comes, we will be like him, for

we shall see Him as he really is. And what

I don't finish in my lifetime, God is going to finish.

I am so so glad for that. In this race,

you may have stumbled, We've all been there. In this race,

you may have been sidelined, We've all been there. But

your race is not over. It's not your heart's still beaten. See,

your race isn't over. And it's never too late to

get back up and get in the race again. And

as your pastor, I am committed to helping you cross

the finish line. It's never too late, You're never too old.

It's time to get back up and get in the race.

That's bower heads. Now each week I give you one

or two baby steps as a suggestion, and I don't

know what baby step you're going to take out of

this message, but I want to begin with a prayer,

and I want you to follow me in this prayer. Say,

Dear God, just say that in your mind. Dear God,

for the first time today, I have realized that you

are cheering me at every stage in the race, and

when I stumble, you don't condemn me. You cheer me

more that you believe in me. I want to take

every step with purpose. I don't want to waste one

day of the rest.

Of my life. I've done too much of that.

I want to accept the third purpose of my life,

my calling to become like Jesus, and I'm willing to

take these steps. I want to lay off, strip off

the stuff that doesn't matter in my life, the stuff

that slows me down, holds me back, especially the sins

that trip me up. I want to simplify my life

and focus on the particular race that you have given

to me. I'm so grateful that you're patient with me.

Help me to not get into hurry. I want to

be an oak tree, not a mushroom, and so I

want to spend time with you so I can become

like you. I want to find a special place to

spend a few minutes every day focusing on Jesus so

that I can be a mirror that reflects your love

to others. And Lord, when it gets hard and I'm

winded and I feel like giving up, help.

Me to remember the reward.

Help me to remember, Jesus, all that you went through

and you never gave up.

Thank you make me strong.

Give me the support, keep me from falling as you've promised.

Help me to find a team to run with me

at this next stage of my life. I want to

get in a small group. I want to build a

safe place for others. I want to spur others on,

and I want them to spur me on. Most of all,

You're Jesus. I thank you that what I don't finish,

you will, and that one day all of those things

that I dislike about myself are going to be removed

from my life. And when I look at you and

those mirror neurons start flashing, I will become like you.

Thank you, Thank you that I don't have to stay

the same. Thank you that you give me the power

to change. Jesus Christ, I give you as much as

I know how, every part of my life. If you've

never done this before, say Jesus Christ, come into my

life and make yourself real to me.

If you said that, say Jesus Christ.

Today, I rededicate my life to you, and I thank

you that you will finish whatever I don't complete.

In your name, I pray amen.

Hey, would you like to go deeper with Pastor Rick

to discover God's purpose in your life? Well now you

can with the video based study kit called What on

Earth Am I here For? This life changing study is

taught by Rick and includes a workbook and six video sessions.

As you go through these lessons, you'll embark on a

journey of discovery to answer life's most fundamental question, what

on Earth am I here for? You'll learn that it's

only in God that we discover our origin, our identity,

our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny.

Every other path leads to a dead end.

This resource is packed with biblically centered principles and is

perfect for personal or small group study. So be sure

to request this study kit when you give a gift

to Daily hope to help share the hope of Jesus

with a hurting world. We'll send it to you today

as our way of saying thanks.