Rick Warren - How To Be Happy No Matter What Happens—Part Three

This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry

of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in our series

called Strategies for Stressful Times. In these lessons, Rick SHARE's

biblical wisdom for navigating difficult and stressful times so that

you can experience God's peace and thrive in any situation. Now,

in just a bit, we're going to tell you how

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is a limited time offer, so go to pastorick dot

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Now here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part of

a message called how to be Happy no matter what happens.

If you live for the approval of other people, you

get your happiness from the approval of other people, whether

it's likes on your Facebook page or how many people

give you a thumbs up on your Instagram or whatever.

If you live for the approval of others, you will

die by their disapproval. Okay, that's the wrong way to

find happiness. You have to learn you don't need anybody

else's approval to be happy. You were as happy as

you choose to be first Thesalonians five eighteen. No matter

what happens, that's the theme of this message. No matter

what happens, always be thankful for this is God's will

for you who belong to Jesus Christ. Notice this is

God's will. You want to be in the center of

God's will. Always be grateful and thankful, even no matter

what happens, no matter what other people say, what other

people do. Okay, now let's review. I've already given you

two principles. You can be happy no matter what happens

in your life if you choose to do two things.

The first, remember that God can bring good out of anything.

That's Romans eight twenty eight. And so you look at

the situation with faith not fear. Just start saying, God,

help me to look at everything that happens in my

life with faith not fear. Look at problems, look at pain,

look at people, look at pressure with faith not fear.

And then number two, never let what other people say

or what other people do control your attitude. These are powerful.

We could just stop right there, but Paul has two

more keys to being happy in life no matter what happens.

Third number three, I can be happy no matter what happens.

If I choose to write this down, trust God to

always work things out. That's the third key. I must

trust God to always work things out, whether it's pain

or pressure, or problems or people. This is the third

faith factor in happiness. You're gonna either worry about what's

happening in your life, or you're gonna worship. You're gonna panic,

or you're going to pray. You're gonna have faith, or

you're gonna have fear. This is verse nineteen in Philippians

chapter one. He says this, I will continue to rejoice.

Now circle again the word will. If you're taking notes

on the outline, that's a choice. It's a choice of

the will. It's a decision. I will continue to rejoice.

Why for I know that as you pray for me,

and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, all

that happened will all turn out for my mind deliverance.

Remember He's writing this from prison. He has no physical

evidence of this. This is a statement of faith, not

of fear. Now in that verse I just read, if

you're looking at it still, Paul gives four sources of

strength in tough times. I want you to circle these

four sources. First, I have God's perspective on my problem

that helps me be happy. Notice it says, for I know,

circle the word No, that's God's perspective. I know. I

don't guess, I don't imagine, I don't hope, I don't think.

I know. I have God's perspective. And I'm looking at

my situation, the pain, the problems, the pressures, the people.

I'm looking at it from God's point of view. I

have God's perspective of my problem, I know. Second, I

have people praying for me. Did you notice that's circle

the word pray. You're praying for me. That gives makes

me happy. Number three, I have the Holy Spirit helping me.

He says, I've got the spirit of God in me.

And then number four, he says, I have the faith

that God will work it out for good. Therefore I

choose to be happy. He says, I will. That's a choice. Now,

trusting God when you don't see the whole picture and

you can't see the end of the story. Trusting God

gives you hope, It gives you courage, and it gives

you happiness. Look at the next verse there in Philippians,

Chapter one, verse twenty. It is my eager expectation. That's

faith and hope. That's hope. It's my eager expectation and

hope that I will not be ashamed. Remember he's in

prison as he's writing this, but that with full courage

now as always, Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death. He goes, I don't

know the end of my story. I don't know if

I'm going to get out of this prison and be

a free man again, or if they're going to, you know,

feed me to the lions, or I'm going to be

set in with gladiators or just be hung or crucified.

He said, I don't know whether by life or death.

I am trusting God. I love this verse Hebrews ten

thirty five. There on your outline, it says this in

the Living Bible, do not let your happy trust in

the Lord die away. Do not let your happy trust

in the Lord die away. Don't let it fall away

no matter what happens. He says, remember your reward. That's

long term perspective. Short term, I see all the problems

and the pain and the pressures and the people. Long term,

I see the reward. Don't let your happy trust circle

the word phrase happy trust. Happiness and trust go together.

If you don't trust God, you're going to be fearful

and unhappy for most of your life. You must choose

to trust God, just like you have to choose to

be happy, and no matter what it looks like.

You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Rick will be

back in just a moment with the rest of today's lesson.

If you've missed any part of today's teaching, you can

listen online anytime at Pastorick dot com. That's pastorick dot com.

Do you ever wonder if your life really matters? Or

what on earth are you here for? Pastor Rick says

God has a good plan and purpose for your life,

and in his best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life,

he lays out an easy to follow roadmap for your

spiritual journey, a journey that will transform your life. As

you go through this book, you'll discover that real meaning

and significance come from understanding and fulfilling God's purpose for

you here on earth, and how living out the purpose

you are created for moves you beyond mere survival and

success to a life of significance, the life you were

meant to live. For a limited time, we are offering

this timeless classic and a special leather edition featuring gold

foil cover art and gilded pages. It's a great addition

to your personal library and it also makes a wonderful

gift with eternal benefits. Get your special edition of The

Purpose Driven Life with a beautiful leather cover today as

a thank you for your gift to help take the

hope of Jesus to people around the world through Daily Hope.

Quantities are very limited, so act quickly. Go to Pastororrick

dot com right now to get your copy. That's Pastororick

dot com or you can call it eight hundred, six

hundred five zero zero four. That's eight hundred at six

hundred five zero zero four. Thank you so much for

your support, and don't forget to tell us that you

listen to Daily Hope on the radio.

Now back to more from God's Word with Pastor Rick Warren.

Let's just review now again. I can be happy no

matter what happens in my life if I one choose

to remember that God can bring good out of bad,

out of anything. God can bring good out anything. God

specializes in that. If I look at every situation with

faith not fear. Would you start saying, God, help me

to look at every situation with faith not fear. If

I never let what other people say or do control

my attitudes, and if I trust God to always work

things out. I know this is not the end of

the story. Some of you, you're at the end of

a chapter in your life, but you're not at the

end of your story. Now. Finally, there is a fourth

principle in this Philippians Chapter one powerful passage on how

to be happy. Finally, I can be happy no matter

what happens in my life if I choose to do this.

For thing number four, write it down. Stay focused on

my purpose, not my problem. Stay focused on my purpose,

the purpose of your life, God's purpose for real, not

your problem. Now again, remember what Paul is experiencing as

he writes these words. Paul is old. He's in bad health,

his body aches, he's in a dank dark, depressing, Roman

prison and a dungeon. He's awaiting death by persecution, our execution.

They've taken away everything. They've taken away his freedom, they've

taken away his friends. They've even taken away his privacy.

He's chained to a guard twenty four hours a day.

He doesn't even have any privacy. But they couldn't take

away his purpose, God's purpose for his life. And that's

why Paul says this. In verses twenty two to twenty

five of Philippians, Chapter one, he says, by continuing to live,

I can do more worthwhile work for Christ. He goes,

If I continue to live and I can do more

worthwhile work for Christ, then I'm not sure which I

should choose. He says, I'm pulled in two directions. I

want very much to leave this life and be with

Christ's talking about in heaven, which is a far better thing,

No more sadness, sorrow, sickness, tears, suffering. I want to

very much to leave this life and be with Christ.

It's a far better thing. But he says, for your sake,

it's much more important than I remain alive. And then

he says, I am sure of this, So I know

that I will stay on with you all so I

can add to your progress and joy in the faith.

He says. The reason I'm here is not for my benefit.

The reason I'm still here is for your benefit. I'm

writing these letters to all the different churches which became

the New Testament, so I can add to your progress

and joy. Now noticed here, Paul has a purpose very clear.

It even explains what its purpose is. He says, I'm

living for your benefit and for the glory of God.

But Paul has a purpose not just for living. Paul

has a purpose for dying too. He says, I really

don't know whether it's better for me to stay here

and go on to heaven. Listen, you're not ready to

fully live until you know clearly what you'd die for.

What are you willing to live for? What are you

willing to die for? Paul says, on earth, my purpose

is to serve God by serving others. After I die,

my purpose is to be with God forever in heaven.

And Paul is saying, I just stay alive for the

sake of others. Wow, he says, you know selfishly, it'd

be better for me to go on to heaven. No,

more problems, no more pain, no more no more pressures,

no more picky people. Now, don't miss this fourth secret

principle of happiness. I'm gonna say it as clearly as

I can say it. Happiness does not come from self

gratification living for yourself. Happiness does not come from selfishness.

It doesn't come from living a self centered life all

about me, Me, Me, myself and I the kingdom of me.

Happiness never comes from selfishness. Happiness doesn't come from self gratification.

Happiness comes from self sacrifice, living for the benefit of

the glory of God and in order to serve others. Now,

Paul sums up his entire purpose and the entire reason

he is happy, regardless of what happens in his life.

He sums it up in a single sentence, one of

the most famous sentences in the Bible, Philippians, Chapter one,

verse twenty one. Paul says it, here, here's my purpose.

He's purpose driven. For me to live is Christ and

to die is gain. For me to live is Christ

and to die is gain. I'm going to go be

with my Savior, who died for me, who loved me,

who created me, who filled me. You had a purpose

for my life. For me to live is Christ. For

me to die is gain. I'm not afraid of death.

It's where I want to be. I don't want to

live on a broken world for the rest of eternity.

Now let me close and wrap this up by asking

how would you fill in the blank? For me to

live is what would you put as the last phrase.

For me to live is my hobby. For me to

live is my sport. For me to live is to

make more money. For me to live is to get

a house, to have nice things. For me to live

as a promotion, how would you fill that last line?

For me to live is the approval of others. For

me to live as sex. For me to live is

getting married. For me to live is becoming well known,

being known as a success. Friends. And I'm sharing my

heart with you right now. How you fill in that

blank will determine happiness for the rest of your life.

For me to live is and until you're able to

say the right thing there, you're going to have a

lot of misery in your life because all of those

other things lead to unhappiness. Ultimately, there's only one answer

that leads to happiness, no matter what happens. Are you

ready to settle this issue today and get on with

the rest of your life. To make the rest of

your life the best of your life, You've got to

fill in the blank correctly. For me to live is

what's going to be the answer for the final years

of your life, however many years that is, fifty years,

seventy years, ten years, one year For me to live

is I want to still bow our heads right now?

Would you bow your head? And I want you to

pray this prayer in your heart. Okay, Just say, Dear Jesus,

he knows your thoughts, he knows things. Say it in

your mind. Dear Jesus. You know that I often let

my circumstances determine my happiness. Just say that. Tell that

to God. Be honest to God God. I've often allowed

the kill joys of pain and problems and pressures and

picky people to rob my happiness. But I don't want

that to be true anymore. Starting today, I want to

practice these four principles of how to be happy no

matter what happens. Secrets that Paul modeled help me to

remember that you have a good plan even out of

the bad things that happen in my life that you

can turn bad into good. Help me to remember that

your viewpoint is the key. Help me to look at

everything in my life from your perspective. I want to

be a wise man. I want to be a wise woman,

and I want to handle the situations that come into

my life that in a way that is a witness

to non believers and is an encouragement to believers. Father,

help me to remember that what other people say and

what other people do does not control my happiness unless

I choose to allow it. And help me to remember

that things that I don't understand and things I can't

figure out, I don't have to have the answer to

trust you. I want to trust you to work it

all out for good and help me to stay focused

on your purpose for my life, not my problems. I

want to use the rest of my life in serving You,

by serving others, and then I want to be with

You in heaven for eternity. So from this day on,

I'm going to fill in the blank. For me to

live will be Christ. Just say that to him for

the rest of my life. I want the answer to

be for me to live is Christ. I know he

is the ultimate source of happiness. I ask you, Jesus Christ,

to take over every area of my life, guide me

and lead me, protect me, and use me in your name.

Pra Amen. Hi everybody, this is Rick and I hope

you enjoyed today's broadcast. 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.

You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you've missed

any part of this message, or you'd like to find

out more about Pastor Rick Warren in this ministry, just

visit Pastorrick dot com where you can listen online anytime.

That's Pastorick dot com, and be sure to sign up

for Rick's free daily email devotional. While you're there. Rick

will be back to close out our time today. But first,

do you ever wonder if your life really matters or

what on earth am I here for. Pastor Rick says

God has a good plan and purpose for your life,

and in his best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life,

he lays out an easy to follow roadmap for your

spiritual journey, a journey that will transform your life. As

you go through this book, you'll discover that real meaning

and significance come from understanding and fulfilling God's purpose for

you here on earth, and how living out the purpose

you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and

success to a life of significance, the life you were

meant to live. For a limited time, we're offering this

timeless classic in a special leather edition featuring gold foil

cover art and gilded pages. It's a great addition to

your personal library, and it also makes a wonderful gift

with eternal benefits. Get your special edition of The Purpose

Driven Life with a beautiful leather cover today as a

thank you for your gift to help take the Hope

of Jesus to people around the world through Daily Hope.

Quantities are very limited, so act quickly. Go to Pastorick

dot com right now to get your copy that's Pastorick

dot com. Or you can call eight hundred six hundred

five thousand and four. That's eight hundred six hundred five

thousand and four. Thank you so much for your support,

and don't forget to tell us you listen to Daily

Hope on the radio. Here's Pastor Rick with a letter

from one of our listeners.

Friends. I love it when you write me, and today

I want to take a moment to share an encouraging

letter from a woman named Tara. She's a listener from

Georgia who says putting God first every morning has changed

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like to thank you for your Daily Hope messages. I

was going through a lot of depression and I was

actually hating myself. I had no motivation to do anything

but go to work and take care of my husband.

Then one day I decided to start my mornings with

a Daily Hope devotional, putting God first before my day began.

Your teachings about putting God first at the first part

of every day are so true. My thought processes are

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But I know that if it wasn't for the Daily

Hope teaching me about God's Word, I'd still be lost.

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If you'd like to bless Pastor Rick by letting him

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