Rick Warren - The Greatest Gifts You’ll Ever Get—Part Two

Hi, this is Rick Warren. Did you know that the

best gift you can give anybody is to bring them

into a relationship with Jesus Christ? And did you know

that the best time to do that is it Christmas.

Here's what I want to challenge you to do. I

want you to make a Christmas list of people. Think

of all the people who you know who don't know

Jesus or who might know Jesus but don't go to

church anywhere. And I want you to start praying for them.

And then I want you to invite those people you've

prayed for to come to a Christmas Eve or Christmas

Day service at your church.

Hey, everybody, welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible

teaching Ministry of Rick Warren.

Well, we're so glad you're here.

Today. Rick is going to finish up a message called

the Greatest Gifts You'll Ever Get. This is a powerful

Christmas message about how God's love, grace and purpose will

bring you lasting hope and joy.

So let's hear what Rick has to say.

See, you weren't meant to go through life all alone.

You never were. You were meant to know God, and

you were meant to have a family around you that

supports you. We always change better in a group than

we do on our own. So why most diets and

most personal self health plans don't work Because it's all

about you and you don't have any spiritual family to

support you. The Bible says God created an entire universe

because he wanted a family. Look at this verse Ephesians,

chapter one. The Bible says, because of his love. Remember,

it all comes back to God's love. God so loved

that he gave because of his love. God's unchanging plan

has always been to adopt us into his own family

by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Now I

want you to circle the word adopt. You're not automatically

in God's family. You have to be adopted into it.

And how does he adopt us? Circle through Jesus Christ.

That's how he adopts us. Through Jesus Christ. God says,

I don't want you to just believe in me. I

want you to belong to my family. That's so important.

I'm going to say it again. If you don't get

anything else, I say, I get this. It's not just

enough to believe in Jesus. You need to belong to

his family because you need that support. Now. Is everybody

in the family of God? No, not everybody is in

the family. You've got to be adopted into it. Is

everybody a child of God? No, not everybody is a child.

Everybody is loved by God. God has never made a

person he doesn't love. Everybody is created by God. God

has never made a person. He doesn't have a plan

for God does memory a person he doesn't want in heaven.

God has never made a person. Jesus didn't die for

God has never made a person. He doesn't want to

know him personally. But the only way you get in

God's family is by choosing. It's a decision. See when

I was born physically, I automatically became a part of

the human race. I didn't get a choice when I

was born. I became a part of the human race.

But I didn't become a part of a family until

somebody chose to take me home from the hospital. And

then I became a part of a fan. Somebody made

a choice. I want that kid. God says, I want

you and my family. Then you've got to choose to

be in his family. And God says, I'm going to

give you not just identity new identity, not just a

new ability. I'm going to give you a new community,

a family around you to help you change. What is

that family? We'll look at what the Bible says One

Timothy chapter three. That family is the Church of the

Living God. Now, before I read the rest of the verse,

notice the church is a family. It's not a business.

It's not an organization. It's not a club. It's a

spiritual family. Now, a lot of churches act like a business,

they act like a club, they act like an organization.

But that's not what God had designed it for. God

designed the church to be a family where we love

each other, we support each other, and we care for

each other. Now, the Bible says God created the family

for your support. Notice that family is the Church of

the Living God, the support and foundation of the Truth Circle.

Support and foundation. You need support, and you need a

foundation for your life. If you don't have a foundation

for your life, and you don't have the spiritual support

of a family, you are not going to become what

God wants you to be. Now, in California, we all

know the importance of a good support and a good

foundation because we have a thing here called earthquakes. And

if you don't have a good support, you don't have

a good foundation. The house crumbles when the earthquake comes.

Most people don't realize the necessity of a church family.

It's not enough to just say, oh, I believe in Jesus.

You need a church family. If you don't have a

church family, what is your support? What is your foundly

you don't have one. God says, without this, you're not

gonna have foundation to support. When my son died, my

small group was there within thirty minutes. You see, when

it comes to support, the smaller the better. That's why

this church is built around seven thousand small groups. A

crowd can't support you, We can't support you as Christ.

You need to be in a small group. We actually

in our church have more people in small groups that

come on the weekend. Why because that's where the support

and foundation come from. And if you're not in a group,

you need to get in a group so you have

that when the rogue winds and the earthquakes of life

come in your life. God says, you need it. You see,

we're better together. We need each other. We compensate for

each other. Now, notice what the Bible says next verse,

a different spiritual gift. There's that word gift again. A

different spiritual gift is given to each of us in

God's family, so we can help each other for the

common good. In other words, I have some gifts and

abilities and talents. They help you. You have gifts and

abilities to talents. They help the person next to you.

They have some gifts of billis downs that helped me,

and on and on. We help each other. That's what

the family's for, that's what the community is for. For

thirty three years, we've been building a community of love

called Saddle Backed Church. We don't want this church to

be famous for its size, for its buildings, for the music,

for the messages. We want this church to be famous

for the love, the support. And we've been working together

building this family of love, and we invite you to

be a part of it. I want you to watch

a video that's kind of a metaphor. It's just a

few of the members. I could give you thirty eight

thousand stories, but just watch this of the metaphor of

a family of love. Watch this.

Before I came to Christ, I felt I had everything

the world had to offer, and nothing seemed to just satisfy.

It was never enough.

All I cared about was money, material goods, and what's.

In it for me.

Before I knew Christ, my life was prideful, selfish, and

really only caring about myself.

After a few years in my marriage, my husband had

an affair and I broke. I was broken.

I felt alone. I felt like God wasn't there and

that he didn't care, and that he abandoned me like

my father did.

I was lost, and I don't really think I even

knew what real love was. Surrendering to God and just

seeking him and following him. That was everything that changed everything.

The only thing that could redeem me was love. The

only thing that could redeem me was perfect love. And

I met people at Saddleback who loved me, who saw

value in me.

I felt love and accepted for the first time, and

not judgment and condemnation.

I joined with other women who struggled with the same

issues that I did. I joined a small group, and

I just felt that they didn't judge me, that they

loved me right where I was at, for who I was.

Saddleback Church truly modeled Jesus Christ through the love, grace,

and forgiveness they showed me.

Falling in love with Jesus has just transformed my entire life,

the way I do things, the way I think. I'm

no longer trying to fill that void with anything, but

with the love of Christ.

I run to Him instead of looking in the mirror

and saying I hate you.

Now that I know Christ and I know that I'm

loved by Him, I am more open.

More honest, and more empathetic for others.

I have a restored life today and restored relationships.

Who I am in Christ now is completely changed from

the inside out, and I'm celebrating because of this church

and what Jesus has done. Four years of sobriety for

drugs and alcohol and three years of sexual purity.

I do not worry about what people think of me.

I do not need others approval. I can live and

be loved by a God who doesn't need anything from me.

Now that I've experienced the love of Christ, I am fearless.

Why does so many people call Saddleback Church their spiritual home?

Because this is a place where you will be loved,

you will be wanted, you will be needed, you will

be forgiven, and you will be supported and if you

don't have that gift in your life, you need it now.

Who is God's family for? Who is the community? For?

Who is the church? For? Look at the next verse.

The Bible says in Galatians three. In Christ's family, there

are are no divisions. In other words, no distinctions, no

distinctions between Jew and non Jew, or between slave and free,

or between male and female. Instead, we're all equal in

a common relationship with Jesus Christ the Church. God's family

is not based on heredity. It's not based on ethnicity,

it's not based on affinity, it's not based on nationality.

It's based on the fact that you are loved by

Jesus Christ. And doesn't really matter what religious background you are.

You may be Jewish, You're welcome here. You may be

Muslim or Mormon, or Buddhist or Baptist, You're welcome here.

You may be Catholic or Hindu, or atheist or agnosty.

I don't really care what your religious background is, because

this is not about religion. God didn't come to give

you a religion at Christmas. He came to give you

a relationship to Jesus Christ, one of love. And you

know at saddleback. Now we speak sixty seven different languages.

We call ourselves an all nation congregation. And I get

up on the weekend and I look out at you

and I see one million flavors. Why that's intentional. We

say we want our church to be a preview of Heaven.

We want our church to look like Heaven's going to

look like, because in Heaven it's going to be people

of all backgrounds, all sizes, all shapes, all colors, all races,

all ethnics, all languages, all different fat people and skinny people,

tall people and short people, all kinds of people. And

that's the way we want our church to be. Now,

there's one other gift that's wrapped up in the big gift.

There's this gift of Jesus, God so loved the world

that he gave the first Christmas gift gave his son,

and wrapped up in the big box is a new identity,

a new ability, and a new community. But there's one war,

and this one's going to outlast everything. It is a

new destiny. God gives me when I accept Jesus Christ

in my life, a new destiny. Now, some gifts don't last.

I remember as a kid I got some Christmas gifts.

They were broken by noon. And there were some gifts

you get that you don't even want. You instantly regift them.

Ones like the chia pet. You know nobody really wants

a chia pet. You just pass it on to somebody else.

Somebody's laughing all the way to the bank on that

one we actually got. It's like people who got bought

a pet rock thirty years ago, and God says, no, No,

here's a gift that's gonna last forever, a new destiny. Now,

this gift means the most to me out of all

of them. I now have a lot of friends in heaven.

I have a father in heaven. I have a mother

in heaven. My older brother is in heaven. I have

a son in heaven. Have many friends in heaven. And

I said this a couple of weeks ago. If my

son Matthew were able to contact me right now and

say Dad, I'm up here, and he goes, he would

say to me, it's so much better then you told me.

Dad, It's so much better than you told me. And

I can't wait for you to get here.

How do I know my son is in heaven because

one day he accepted the big gift. He accepted Jesus

Christ into his heart and life. I was there when

it happened. And the Bible says this first Peter, God

has reserved for his children the priceless gift. There's that word,

the priceless gift of eternal life. It is kept in

heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of

change and decay. And in Romans chapter six we're told this,

the gift of God is eternal life. That's the new destiny,

eternal life through Christ, Jesus our Lord. It comes in

the package of Jesus, the free gift. You don't earn

your way to heaven. You don't buy your way to heaven.

You don't bribe your way to heaven. You don't bargain

your way to heaven. You're never going to be good

enough to get into heaven. You can't talk your way

into heaven. It's simply a free gift. When you receive

the big gift, it's inside, it's part of the package. Now,

for the past couple weeks, every parent has been frantically

searching for the perfect gifts for children, for their kids.

Look at what Jesus has to say about this the

next verse here on the screen. It's here on the screen,

Matthew seven to eleven. If you, though imperfect and sinful,

know how to give good gifts to your children, how

much more will your father in heaven give good gifts

to those who ask him? Look at this again. If

you though imperfect, hibo, you're an imperfect parent. I'm an

imperfect parent. None of us are perfect parents. If we

know how to give good gifts to our kids, how

much more will your father in heaven, who's perfect and

loves you unconditionally give good gifts to those who ask him.

And notice the phrase, the word ask. The key is

there are some gifts you have to ask for. Every

gift in your life. Everything in your life is a

gift from God. The air you breathe, the son, your brain,

your own life. Everything you have is a gift from God.

But there are some gifts you have to ask for.

And you say, I want Jesus Christ in my life.

And let me summarize it. God says, I sent the

first Christmas gift, my son to die for you so

you could go to heaven. And I'm going to give

you a new identity. I'm going to give you a

new ability to change the things you want to change.

I'm going to give you a new community, call my

church family to support you through life. And I'm going

to give you a new destiny in eternity. Who else

are you going to get that? Nowhere? Nowhere else. That's

why I called it the greatest gifts you'll ever receive. Now,

what do I do with these gifts of Jesus Christ.

I humbly and I gratefully accept them. The Bible says this,

Look at this verse. Thanks be to God for his

indescribable gift. There is no better gift than what I

just talked about. And here's the offer. The Bible says this.

It makes no difference who you are or where you're from.

If you want God and you're ready to do as

he says, the door is open. He just got asked,

Dear God, I need your son in my life, and

I need a new identity, a new ability, a new community,

and a new destiny. And He will give them to

you because of his grace. I'm going to pray a

prayer in just a minute, and I'm going to invite

you to follow me in it. To invite Christ into

your life to accept God's Christmas gift to you. Can

you imagine somebody giving you a million dollar gift and

you never open it. That would be stupid. But I

know a lot of people who God's given this gift you.

They've never opened the package. And what's crazy is they

celebrate Christmas. How is it possible to celebrate Christmas year

after year after year after year after year after year

your entire life and never open the gift?

Hello, what do you think It's all about?

God so loved that he gave his son for you.

You need to open the gift. You need to receive

the gift. This gift is for you.

This Christmas.

The blessing, the prayer that I have chose for you

is a two thousand year old prayer and I feel

it very deeply for you. If Estins chapter three says this,

I pray, I pray that Christ will be more and

more at home in your hearts as you trust him.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of

God's marvelous love.

And I pray.

That you will be able to feel, not just know,

you'll be able to feel and understand.

How long, how wide, how deep, how high? God's love

for you really is. And do you experience this love.

For yourself? That's my prayer for you, though it is

so great you'll never fully understand it. That's bower heads.

This is your moment. Before you were born. God knew

that you would be at this point in this day

hearing this, so he could say this to you. You

matter to me, and I have offered you this gift.

God so loved the world. God so loved you that

he gave a son, and and his son are a

new ability and a new identity, and a new community

and a new destiny. Would you pray this prayer? Just

say it that the words really don't matter.

What matters.

You have to have the right attitude. And the right

attitude is you must be humble. You must humble yourself

before God. God is God and you're not. And you

need to put away pride and arrogance and say this

just in your heart. Dear God, Dear Jesus Christ, thank

you for the Christmas gift of yourself. Thank you that

you loved me so much you came to die for me.

I don't understand it all, but today I'm saying.

Yes to you.

I receive the Christmas gift of Jesus, and I want

my roots to go deep into your love. And I'm

asking you to give me my true identity, not what

everybody else has told me. I am, but Dear God,

you made me. Help me to see what you made

me to be. Give me my true identity, Give me

a new ability I can't change on my own. I

need your power in my life and I want to

have this new community. I don't want to go through

life without the support and foundation you've prepared. And I'm

humbly asking for a new destiny that one day you

will accept me into your place in heaven, not because

I deserve it, because I don't, because I have received

your son and your Savior. And I pray this prayer

humbly saying I want to learn to love you and

trust you in the days ahead. In your name, I

ask this amen, if you prayed that prayer for the

very first time, would you let me know about it.

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

I prayed that prayer of commitment, and I'll send you

some material that will help you on your journey with Jesus.

And I'll also pray for you.

Such a great message by Rick today and every day.

I sure hope you were just as encouraged as I was.

And now here's Rick with a special message.

I know I tell you this all the time, but

again I want you to know how much I thank

God for you and appreciate your support of Daily Hope.

We couldn't do this without your prayers, and we can't

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As you consider your year in giving, I want to

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Join us next time as we look into God's word

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