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

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

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Now here's Pastor Rick Warren with part two of a messa.

It's called how to Be Happy No Matter what happened.

While Paul was in prison, there were people who criticized

his ministry. While he's down, they're kicking him all he's down.

They slandered Paul, they judged Paul, they criticized There were

those who were his friends, who supported his ministry, they

were companions and friends. There were those who competed with

his ministry while he's in prison, taking advantage that he's

off out of circulation. And there were those who undermined

his ministry. They actually attacked him and tried to destroy

him while he was in prison. And if Philippians Chapter one,

the next couple of verses, verses fifteen, sixteen to seventeen,

Paul describes four kinds of people. Three of these four

kinds of people are killed. Joyce and guess what. You're

going to have all four of these hope in your life.

Hopefully you're gonna have companions. But there are critics, there

are companions, there are competitors, and there are challengers. You're

going to have all four of these in your life,

and if you don't know how to deal with them,

you're not going to be happy.

Much of your life.

Verse and verse fifteen Paul had critics, and he says this,

it's true that some people preach Christ because they're jealous

of us, and they like to argue.

They're jealous of us.

They like to argue, you know the word they're eras

in Greek means they love to argue, they love conflict,

they enjoy creating controversy. These people hang out on social media.

They're contentious, they're divisive, they're critical, they love conflict, they

love debate people in the controversy. They're on social media

all the time. They've ever heard a preacher on the

radio or the television like that? He bates everybody by

being provocative and being critical of somebody else. Ever read

a blogger or someone in social media like that? Notice that,

Paul says, the critics motives are often jealousy, and they

want to have the influence you've got, and so they start.

Trying to tear you down.

Now, there are few things in life that cause you

to lose your happiness faster than criticism.

I mean, we all want people to.

Like us, Okay, But here is an important principle you

need to remember if you're going to be happy life.

You don't need other people's approval or permission to be happy.

You don't need other people's approval to be happy. You

don't need other people's permission to be a happy. Happiness

is a choice. You're happy as you choose to be.

So.

He deals with critics in verse fifteen. Then in sixteen

he talks about his companions. Now, these are the good people.

You want these people in your life, he says. Other

people preach from genuine goodwill, and they do so out

of love, and they know that God has given me

the work of defending the Gospel. You want to have

some friends in your life. You don't need a lot,

but you need a couple really good friends. That's why

we always talk about being in a small group. If

you're not in a small group, you need to get

in a small group. You need a group of companions

who will help you through the tough times in your life.

A small group I'm in right now, I've been in

I think over twenty years, and it has helped me

many times. They are a source of encouragement and happiness

for me. In the next verse, Paul says, you know

you're gonna have competitors in life. And he says this,

other people preach christ insincerely from a spirit of selfish ambition.

You know there're gonna be people in your life you help.

You're gonna have competitors, people who want to compete with you.

They're ego driven, and one of the things they do

you can tell them that they're competitive. Is they put

down others in an attempt to make themselves look good. Now,

let me just say this, whether you're a business person,

or you're a teenager, or you're a homemaker, whatever, competitors

who are trying to look like they're trying to compete

with you over what your house looks like, or what

your job is, or who's your best friend at school.

Competitors will rob your happiness if you let them. But

you can't. Happiness is a choice. Then, the second part

of her seventeen, he says they're challengers. There are people

out there who really just don't like you, their enemies.

And he says, others want to stir up more trouble

for me.

What a thing?

People actually want to stir up trouble for other people? Yeah,

they do, and they find their value in creating trouble

for other people. I heard about somebody in a neighborhood

once and they said she's only happy when she's making

trouble for the neighbors. He says, others just want to

stir up more trouble for me and add pain while

I'm in prison. Now, these are the trouble makers. And

the crazy makers of life. And you know what their

primary tool is gossip.

Gossip.

Gossip can ruin your happiness very quickly too, just like

criticism can. Now you're going to have all four of

these in your life. Critics and you know, companions and

the people who compete with you, and then they're these

crazy makers or they're always just trying to tear you down. Now,

regardless of the people in your life, people of the

second kill joy in your life. Look at Paul's attitude.

It's the next verse Philippians, Chapter one, verse eighteen, and

Paul says, this, you know what other people do all

these four he just mentioned, what others do doesn't really matter.

This is the Bible. What others do doesn't really matter.

The important thing is that in every way, whether for

right or wrong reasons, the message of crisis being shared.

So circle this, I am happy. Circle that I am happy,

and I will continue to be happy.

Circle that.

What is Paul modeling here? He's saying, I'm not going

to let anybody, whether it's a critic or a companion,

or a competitor or a crazy maker, or it's an

enemy whatever, he says, I'm just not I'm not gonna

let anybody steal my happiness.

Not only could Payne not take it away, people can't

take it away.

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

access 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 pastorick

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

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.

Now, the fact is the more blessed you are in life,

the more you're going to be attacked. Sometimes I'm asked

by people about the people who criticize me, and my

response is, always, what is this? What other people think

of me in no way controls what I think of them,

and I don't have to worry about it. You know,

a lot of times you're worried about what other people think.

Let me tell you something. They're not thinking about you

most of the time, they're thinking about themselves, So why

worry about it? Philippians, Chapter one, verse twenty eight, verse

twenty eight, in the same chapters as this, be fearless,

Be fearless, no matter who opposes you, it will be

assigned to them of their downfall, and that God is

with you and that He's going to save you. You know,

I can identify with this. After Matthew died, we were subjected,

can I, to the most vile accusations and things and

criticisms and armchair psychology, and people used Matthew's death to

really try to harm us, and they said some of

the most mean spirited things, and yet we made it through.

And then I actually, after we went through that gauntlet

of months, six months of it, I really thought, is

that all you got? Is that the worst thing you

can say? And I remember telling Kay one time, after

going through all of the criticism after Matthew's death, was

to honestly, I said to her, Kay, Honestly, I feel fearless.

I feel like I've been through the worst possible situation

and the worst criticisms and attacks you can imagine, and

I'm still standing by God's grace and by the power

of the Holy Spirit, and.

I feel fearless. What more can they do?

And it almost it didn't completely cure me, but it

almost cured me of caring about what other people think.

Jesus said it like this when he gave the Beatitudes

and the Sermon on the Mouth in Matthew five.

He said, blessed are you.

When men shall revile you and persecute you, and say

all manner of evil against you falsely. For my sake,

he said, rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is

your reward in Heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets

who we are before you. In other words, don't worry,

be happy now. Paul explains why you can be happy

no matter what. In verse twenty nine and thirty of

the Philippians, Chapter one, he says this, for you have

been given, you Christians, You have been given not only

the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege

of suffering for him. Did you know that's part of

being a Christian, The privilege of trusting Christ, the privilege

of suffering for Christ. We are in this fight together.

The Bible says, you have seen me suffer Paul's talking.

You have seen me suffer for him. Remember he's in

prison as he's these words. You've seen me suffer for

him in the past, and you know that I am

still in the midst of a great struggle. I'd say,

what do I want to say on this second point?

Summed up is this, 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 Thatsalonians

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, oh 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 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 hapy. 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 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

in 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. So

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 Thislyppians 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 a thing. Number four, write it down. Stay focused

on my purpose, not my problem.

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 pastorick dot com, where you can listen online anytime.

That's pastorick dot com and be sure to sign up

for ris 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.

Hello everybody, today, I want to share with you the

story of Christine who wrote to me. She says she

lost everything, but I want you to listen how God

is working in her life now. Christine wrote this to me,

Pastor Rick. Daily Hope has brought me out of some

truly dark times. Three and a half years ago, my

marriage of thirteen years ended. My husband was an atheist,

and I decided early on in our relationship that he

would be my number one priority, not God. And for

thirteen years I tolerated being lied to and cheated on

and told of, believing that God was stupid and foolish.

And then he ended it all and I was left

alone with nothing, no friends, no home, no family. And

as I was facing a new life on my own.

A coworker recommended that I listened to the Daily Hope podcast,

and after a few weeks of listening, I got up

the nerve to return to church for the first time

in over thirteen years. It's been challenging starting my life

all over again, and I still encounter obstacles almost daily,

but I have also grown and I've healed a lot

over the last three years. Now, I continue to listen

to the Daily Hope podcast, and I just purchased your book,

A Purpose Driven Life. I've been going to church steadily

and I even sing now on our worship team. Had

it not been for Daily Hope, I don't know if

I would have ever returned to church or to God,

but I'm so glad that I did. Thank you Daily Hope. Well,

you know, thanks for writing Christine. Your story is a

great reminder that God can use any pain in our

lives to draw us closer to Him if we'll give

it to him, and then He can bring good even

out of all the bad, if we will just trust him. Now,

notice that Christine found out about Daily Hope and the

podcast because a coworker shared it when she was facing

dark days. It was just a simple act by a

friend simply forwarding a podcast that helped Christine start her

journey back to God, and it helped her reconnect with

a church family. What a simple step to make such

a major change in someone's life. Can you think of

somebody in pain right now that you could forward on

the Daily Hope podcast too? Can you think of somebody

who's suffering, somebody who is questioning, somebody who's in despair.

Would you do that for a friend? Would you share

Daily Hope with someone in your family or someone at work.

I'd like you to just pray and ask God, say, God,

show me the people around me that you want to know.

You show me the people that I should share daily

Hope with. If you do that, I am certain God

will show you. He'll bring names and faces to mind.

Just try it. God bless you.

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

know how much this broadcast has helped you, please send

him an email at Rick at Pastorrick dot com. That's

Rick at Pastorrick dot com. Be sure to join us

next time as we look into God's word for our

daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily

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