Rick Warren - The Prayer of Dependence Part Three

Hello, and thanks for joining us here on Pastor Rick's

Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor Rick Warren. Today,

Rick continues teaching a series called Connecting with God the

Lord's Prayer. In these lessons, Rick shows you what it

means to truly be spiritually connected to God and to

each other through the power of God's Love and God's Word.

In just a little while, we're going to tell you

how to get the Lord's Prayer Words of Hope and

Happiness gift book. This life giving resource will help you

strengthen the hope of the children you love by introducing

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to find out more, or text the word daily to

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

dot com. Or the word Daily to eight hundred six

hundred five thousand and four. Right now, here's Pastor Rick

with the final part of a message called the Prayer

of Dependence.

I once did a study on VH one and on

the Rolling Stone magazine the top five hundred love songs,

and I went through the list, and about half of

them aren't even love songs. They're lost songs. You gotta

give it to me, Give it to me now. I

want it. I gotta have it, And if you don't

give it, I'm gonna take it. Rock on. You see,

I'm really just a frustrated rock star. I know that's

not a love song. Hey tell you that, But you

know we're gonna party all night and you're gonna give it,

give it, give it, give it, give it to me.

That is a lust song. Has nothing to do with

the other person, has all to do without meeting your needs. Now,

God says, I want you to learn to love, and

love is all about sharing. Give us today our daily bread. Now.

God wants you to learn to trust him. And one

of the ways you learn to trust him is by sharing.

You see, God is testing you every day of your life.

God puts you on this planet and the entire time

you're on this planet, God is testing you to see

your reaction, and he's testing you in many different ways.

But one of the things he's testing you for is

how much will you trust God? How much will you

depend on God? And the number one way God trust

tests your faith. You know what it is, money finances.

It's the number one way God tests are you gonna worry.

Are you gonna trust me? Are you gonna worry about

your finances or are you gonna trust me? Are you

gonna be stingy? Are you gonna share? Are you gonna

hold on and hoard because you're afraid you're not gonna

get anymore? Are you gonna be open and generous with

people around you who are in need? God is testing you.

He wants you to learn to be like him. Now.

The problem is the more money you've got. I hate

to tell you this, but it's true. The less you

depend on God. You see, you don't depend on God

when you can just go charge it. You don't ever

pray about it, You just go buy it. You got

a big bank account. The more money you've got, the

less you depend on God. You depend on your bank account,

you depend on your checkbook, you depend on your investments.

It's why the Bible says it is more difficult for

a rich man to get into Heaven than for a

camel to go through an eye of a needle. Why

does he say that because money is bad? No, not

at all. Some of the greatest saints in history were

quite wealthy. Why is it because the more money you

have the less you tend to depend on God, you

tend to depend on your bank account. That's why the

Bible says that the poor God has chosen to be

rich in faith. Why because you don't know God's all

you need t God's all you got. The greatest people

of faith that I've met in life, none of them

live in America. None of them. Because when you don't

have anything, you're dirt poor. You don't have a house,

you don't have clothes, you don't have food. You're dependent

on God for your daily bread. We not at that

level of dependence. And yet God says, I want you

and to trust me, and I'm testing you to see

how much you'll depend on me. And I'm testing to

see whether you will share. I supply to you. Three

things you need to remember. Number one, what God gives

to me, he wants to give through me. Very important principle.

I had to learn this many years ago and it

changed my life. Whatever God gives to me, he wants

to give through me. God is looking for people that

he can bless the world with. And he looks around

and said, will you be a cup or will you

be a straw? If you're a cup, you just give

us this day or day to bread, and you fill

up my cup and that's it, and I'm going to

keep it all. But if you'll say, God, I'll be

a straw and you can channel through me to other

people blessing, physical materials, special blessing. God says, that's the

kind of person I want to bless. My life is

an example of that truth that the more you give

in your life, whatever you give in your life, the

more God blesses you and blesses you. Because the more

you care about other people, the more God cares. He says,

whatever I give to you, I want to give through you. Now,

let me give you an example of this. Look up

here on the screen. Very important verse tewod Corinthians, chapter nine.

God who supplies seed for the sower. That means the

farmer who's out sowing seed. God who supplies seed for

the farmer and bread to eat. Notice that God says,

I don't want to just give you daily bread. I

want to give you daily seed. I'm going to give

you enough that you can eat it bread to eat,

but I'm also going to give you more than enough

so that you can plant some of it. I'm gonna

give you more than enough, so you have bread to

eat yourself. But you also can use some of it

to give away, and you can use some of it

to invest, and you can use some of it as seed.

I'm not just gonna give you bread. I'm gonna give

you seed. God who supplies seed for the sower and

bread to eat, will also supply you with all the

seed you need, and he will make it grow. This

is amazing promise, and he will make it grow, and

he will produce a rich harvest from your What generosity

this whole promise is built on. Are you willing to

share what He supplies with you? Are you willing to

pass on the blessing others that God blesses you with.

He'll make it grow and produce a rich harvest from

your generosity. He will always make you rich enough to

be generous at all times. He said, Wait a minute,

I'm not rich enough to be generous. Oh, yes, you are.

No matter how much you've got, you can be generous.

There's the story of a Bible a woman in the

Bible who only had two pennies, and yet she gave

him away. You can always give something. It's a myth

that you, oh I don't have enough to give. You

can always give something. And God is testing you. He says,

a rich harvest for a generalisity. He will make you

rich enough to be generous at all times, so that

many will give thanks for your gifts the people you help,

the poor, your neighbors, your friends, whoever. And he says,

this service you perform, in other words, being generous with

what God has given you. This service you perform will

not only meet the needs of God's people, but will

also produce an outpouring of gratitude to God. And he

says this when you're going through a tough time and

you say, God, I don't have much, but whatever I've got,

I'm willing to share it. I only got a little

food here, but I'm willing to invite somebody over for dinner.

I'm willing to share whatever I've got. God says, I'll

do three things. One you grow spiritually, Two other people's

needs get met, and three God gets thanks. He gets praised.

God says, when you do that, I Am going to

open the door of blessing in your life like you

cannot believe. And that leads me to the second truth,

very important truth. When I meet others' needs. God takes

care of mine. When I meet others' needs, God takes

care of mine. This is a test. When I meet

others' needs, when I focus, even though I don't have

much at all, I've just got a little. When I

work on helping others, God says, that's kind of person

I'm gonna bless. And he takes care of my needs.

And let me show you an amazing verse. It's there

on your outline, and I want you to notice what

it says. And I'm gonna have you number the five benefits. First,

he says, share your bread with the hungry. Okay, I

can do that. I got it. Then he says, open

your homes to the homeless poor, got it, Give clothes

to those who have nothing to wear. Got it. And

do not refuse to help your own relatives. Oh come on,

I was with you, Lord till you got to that one.

Do not refuse to you mean I gotta help, oh

uncle so and so, our aunt so and so. Yep,

God says, this is a test.

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

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

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Perhaps the most important role you can play in the

life of a child is teaching them to trust God

through prayer. It's the key to living with hope. Jesus said,

we should always pray and never give up. That's why

it's important to strengthen the hope of children by introducing

them to Jesus's model for prayer at an early age.

And we're excited to tell you about a very special

resource to help you do just that. It's called The

Lord's Prayer Words of Hope and Happiness. This book brings

the poetic scripture of the King James version of the

Bible to life. Readers young and old will enjoy thoughtful

insights from New York Times best selling author Pastor Rick

Warren and stunning illustrations by award winning artist Richard Jesse Watson.

It's sure to become a meaningful bedtime ritual, a treasure memory,

and a lasting legacy that bears good fruit for generations

to come. This wonderful book is a perfect way to

share the beauty and richness of the Lord's Prayer with

the children the Lord has placed in your life, and

we'll send it to you to say thanks. When you

give a gift to Daily Hope, your gift will be

used to help take the good News of Jesus Christ

to people everywhere. Just call eight hundred six hundred five

zero zero four or go to Fastrick dot com. That's

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are only three days left to get your copy of

the Lord's Prayer Children's Gift Book, so don't wait.

You're listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once again. Here's

Pastor Rick Warren.

When you're going through a tough time and you say, God,

I don't have much, but whatever I got, I'm willing

to share it. God says, I'll do three things. One

you grow spiritually, two other people's needs get met, and

three God gets thanks, he gets praised. God says, when

you do that, I am going to open the door

of blessing in your life like you cannot believe. And

that leads me to the second truth, very important truth.

When I meet others' needs, God takes care of mine.

This is a test when I work on a helping others.

God says, that's kind of person I'm gonna bless. And

he takes care of my needs. And let me show

you an amazing verse. It's there on your outline, and

I want you to notice what it says. And I'm

going to have your number the five benefits. First, he says,

share your bread with the hungry. Okay, I can do that.

I got it. Then he says, open your homes to

the homeless poor, got it, Give clothes to those who

have nothing to wear. Got it. And do not refuse

to help your own relatives. Oh, come on, I was

with you Lord till you got to that one. Do

not refuse to have you mean, I gotta help old

uncle so and so, our aunt so and so. Yep.

God says, this is a test. Doesn't matter whether they

deserve it or not. This is a test. Now, he says,

when I meet others' needs, he'll take care of mine.

And God makes five amazing promises. I want you to

number them there on your outline. Put a number number

one one, he says. Then number one, My favor will

shine on you like the morning sun. That's good. I

get God's favor in my life. Number two, he says,

your wounds will be quickly healed. WHOA, my financial wounds, yeah,

my emotional wounds, yeah, my relation of wounds.

Yeah.

He says your wounds will be healed quickly because you

help somebody else. Then number three, he says, I will

always be with you to save you. That's a good thing.

Number four right, number four, My presence will protect you

on every side. WHOA? And number five, And when you pray,

I will answer you. Oh. The best time to learn

to be generous. The best time to start tithing is

in the middle of a drought, of a difficult time.

There's a third principle. You write this one down. Whatever

I give to God God, he multiplies. Whatever I give

to God, he multiplies. If I give God my talent,

he'll multiply my talent. If I give God my energy,

he'll multiply my energy. If I give God my time

and I start my day with the daily quiet time

with him, he will multiply my time. If I give

God my money, he will multiply my money. If I

give God my relationships, he will multiply my relationships. Whatever

I give to God, he's going to multiply and give

it back. This is the story example in the Bible

of the feeding of five thousand people. There's a miracle

in the Bible, and Jesus did it to teach this truth.

Five thousand people had followed Jesus out in the middle

of the desert and he teaches them for all day.

And at the end of the day, they're hungry and

there's no McDonald's anywhere, and the disciples, the twelve guys,

come to Jesus that Jesus them all away. They're all hungry.

And Jesus looks at these twelve guys says, you guys

feed him. I'm sure they swallowed hard on that one.

What's he doing, He's testing their faith? Will you depend

on me? You guys feed it? It's likely if he

says the Saddleback Church, there's millions of people in southern

California are spiritually hungry. I want your church to feed him. God,

we can do that. We're just one church. You have

it with me. I can do it. And they go

out and they find in this entire crowd of five

thousand people, one little boy brought a sack lunch and

he's got his little lunch pale, and inside his lunch

pale are five little loaves of bread, little tiny rolls,

and to fish, to dried fish. He's the only God

who's got a lunch. And a little boy brings his

lunch to Jesus, said, Lord, you have this. Whatever I

give to God, he multiplies. And Jesus took that bread

and those loaves, and it says he prayed and he

broke it, and he blessed it, and he multiplied it.

And as he began to tear it apart and break

it apart, it began to feed everybody. And it fed

all five thousand people, with five thousand witnesses to this miracle.

And then it says when they picked up all of

the leftovers at the end, there were twelve basketfuls of

leftovers of fish and loaves that weren't eaten. He always

gives you more than you can handle. He took it,

he broke it, he blessed it, and he used it.

That's what God does in your life. The hard part

is the breaking part. When God takes you and then

he breaks you, and then he blesses you, and then

he uses you. It's whatever I give to God, he multiplies.

Look at this verse on the screen we talked about

give us this day our daily bread. The Bible says,

then cast your bread upon the waters, and after many days,

you'll get it back. What in the world does that mean,

cast your bread on the west. It sounds like I

have a soggy loaf of bread if I throw it

on the water. It's just an old expression, you know.

It's like when we have the expression you're pulling my leg.

It doesn't mean you're pulling my leg. I mean you're

you know, you're kidding me. You're putting me on And

cash your bread upon the waters and then you'll get

it back. It's just this old principle that says whatever

you give the God, he's going to multiply and give

back to you. Let me give you another example of it.

Look at this verse. It's possible to give freely and

become more wealthy. It's possible to be generous and become

more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. Now,

the First Church in Jerusalem was very famous for this.

They were world famous for their generosity, world famous for

their compassion, helping each other out. I want you to

be that way. I want this church to be world

famous for its compassion, for its generosity, for its trust

in God. Now, friends, I don't know where you're hurting today. Okay,

you may be hurting financially already. Some of you are.

I know some of you are hurting from something way

long in the past, or emotional hurt or physical hurt.

You're going through a tough time right now. Regardless of

what you're going through, I want to invite you to

become a part of a movement, a movement that says

we're gonna trust God even in tough times. But I'm

gonna call it the STS Club. I'm gonna see God

as my source. I'm gonna trust God for today, and

I'm gonna share what He supplies STS. How do you

do that? Two things? You first, accept Jesus Christ into

your life. Last verse on the screen, Jesus said, the

true Bread of God is the one who comes down

from heaven, and he gives life to the world. Sir,

they said, give us this bread every day of our lives.

Jesus said, I am the bread of life. No one

who comes to me will ever be hungry again, and

those who believe in me will never thirst. No matter

how much you eat in a few hours, you get

hungry again. No matter how much you drink in a

few hours, you get thirsty again. Spiritually, there's a hunger

in your heart that only God can feel. No woman

will ever feel that hunger in your heart. No man

will ever fill that hunger in your heart. There is

that man does not exist. It is a hole in

your heart and it's a hunger for God. And you

don't know it. But it's God you're looking for and

you need him. And when you let Him feel that hunger, huh,

you never thirst again. You never hunger again. Now, I

challenge you to open your heart to Christ and then say,

we're gonna see God as our source, not Washington, not

Wall Street, not my job, not anybody else. And I'm

gonna trust God on a daily basis, not for monthly bread,

for daily bread. And I'm going to share whatever He

gives me, even if it's a little, I'm gonna share it,

and I'm gonna watch God multiply it. Jesus, today, i

want to take the STS challenge and this next year,

I'm going to see you Lord as my source, and

I'm gonna trust you for today, and I ask you

to help me to worry about nothing and pray about everything,

and help me to thank you in all things and

to keep my mind on the right things. And then

I want to share whatever you give me that what

you give to me, you want to give through me.

I want to focus on meeting others needs so you

can take care of mine. Me to learn that whatever

I give to you, you're going to multiply. And I

pray this in your name. Amen.

This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We are so happy

that you've chosen to study along with us today. If

you'd like to receive ricks free daily devotional, go to

Pastorick dot com and sign up right now. Rick will

be back to close out our time in just a moment.

But first, perhaps the most important role you can play

in the life of a child is teaching them to

trust God through prayer. It's the key to living with hope.

Jesus said we should always pray and never give up.

That's why it's so important to strengthen the hope of

children by introducing them to Jesus's model for prayer at

an early age. With this in mind, we're excited to

tell you about a very special resource to help you

do just that. It's called The Lord's Prayer Words of

Hope and Happiness. This book brings the poetic scripture of

the King James version of the Bible to life. Readers

young and old will enjoy thoughtful insights from New York

Times best selling author Pastor Rick Warren and stunning illustrations

by award winning artist Richard Jesse Watson. It's sure to

become a meaningful bedtime ritual, a treasured memory, and a

lasting legacy that bears good fruit for generations to come.

The Lord's Prayer Words of Hope and Happiness is the

perfect way to share the beauty and richness of the

Lord's Prayer with the children. The Lord has placed in

your life and will send it to you when you

give a gift to Daily Hope to help take the

good news to people everywhere. Call eight hundred six hundred,

five thousand and four to support Daily Hope and will

send you this powerful resource. Or you can visit Pastorick

dot com. That's eight hundred six hundred or Pastorick dot com.

There are only three days left to get your copy

of the Lord's Prayer Children's gift book, so don't wait.

Here's Pastor Rick with a closing thought.

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Thanks for listening today and join me next time as

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