Rick Warren - The Light of Jesus for Your Darkest Days

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

of Pastor Rick Warren. Well, today we continue with our

special Christmas series called the Light of Jesus at Christmas.

In these lessons, Pastor Rick shows us how the Light

of Jesus brought into the world at Christmas, illuminates, purifies, heals,

and grows each of us in this season and beyond. Now,

before we get started, we want to let you know

that a very generous friend has given one hundred thousand

dollars matching grant to Daily Hope. That means that all

this month, every dollar you give to help Daily Hope

share the Hope of Jesus around the world will be

matched up to one hundred thousand dollars. You can find

out more by going to Pastorick dot com or by

texting 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 Warren with part one of

a message called the Light of Jesus for your Darkest Days.

Now, did you know that light is a major theme

of the Bible. That's why we're going to look at

a lot of Bible verses today. Light played a major

role in the First Christmas. The Bible tells us the

angels lit up the sky with a bright light, and

they put on a dazzling light show for the shepherds.

The Bible tells us the wise men were led to

Jesus by an unusually bright star. Christmas is the celebration

of God's light entering the world. Now why is that important?

Because the Bible tells us to expect dark days in

our lives. Let me read your verse from Ecclesiastes, chapter eleven,

Verse eight says this people should enjoy every day of

their lives, no matter how long they live, but they

should remember that there will be many dark days. The

Bible tells us that in life we will go through

many dark days.

No, what are dark days?

Well, there are any days where you're feeling negative emotions.

There are dark days of confusion when you don't know

which way to turn, you doubt which way you're going.

There are dark days of conflict when you're having relational

conflicts of people. There are dark days of disappointment when

things didn't turn out The way you wanted.

There are dark days of loss.

There are dark days of loneliness when you're feeling all alone.

They are dark days of grief when we've experienced a

loss of a loved one or or a job or something.

There are dark days of stress and anxiety and fear.

There are dark days of heartbreak, dark days of depression,

dark days even of despair. You know, Isaiah predicted dark

ark days in his book. In Isaiah chapter six, verse

twenty one and twenty two, he says this, talking about

these dark days, people will wander aimlessly, distressed and hungry

for what they don't have.

Does that sound like today?

In deep frustration, they'll become enraged, and they'll shake their

fists at leaders and even at God. And everywhere they

look they'll see trouble and darkness and despair, and they'll

have to live in dark days. That was a prediction

that Isaiah meant many many years ago. But he also

predicted the coming of Jesus to Earth at Christmas, and

in Isaiah nine, verse two, he says this, the people

who walk in darkness, they will see a great light,

a light that will shine on all who have been

living in the shadow of death. How do we have

the light of Christ in our darkest days? The antidote

to your darkest day is to turn to God's light.

The Bible is filled with references to the effect of

God's light in our lives. First off, it says that

God's character. God's character is the source of all light

in the universe. Without God, there would be no light.

Without God, there would be no universe. Firse John one

five says God is light, so it says it's his nature.

All light comes from God. God is light, and in

him there is no darkness at all. This is the

message Jesus has given us to announce. First John one five.

The Bible tells us that God's very first act in creation,

when he created the universe, the first thing he did

was create light Genesis one one to four. In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth, and God said,

let there be light.

And there was light.

And God saw that the light was good, and he

separated the light from the darkness. God is light. The

first act of creation is light. And at the First

Christmas twenty twenty years ago, God came to earth as

Jesus to give us more light. Light about himself, light

about life, light about death, life, light about eternity, love forgiveness, salvation,

and much much more. John twelve forty six. Jesus says this,

I have come as a light. I have come as

a light to shine in this dark world, so that

all who put their trust in me will no longer

wander in darkness. So you know what I did this week?

I restudied. I got out the physics books and stuff,

and I restudied all of the properties and all of

the effects of light, the properties of light to see

the parallels of what God's world created, He created in

his world, and what it teaches us about God himself.

Now what do we know about light? Well, let me

just give you a quick overview. Light is an electromatic

magnetic wave, and it's commonly classified in seven kinds of

different ways, from large or small, and they all travel

at the same speed, the speed of light. There are

radio waves, there are microwaves, there are infrared waves. There's

visible light. Then there's ultraviolet light, their X rays and

their gamma rays. And I learned this week how different

wavelengths of life interact differently with matter, and there are

actually spiritual parallels to how light interacts in different ways. Now,

we all know that light is illuminating, but we often

ignore the other effects of life of light, such as

light can be purifying, light can be warming, light can

even be transforming. So this Christmas, I want to ask

the question, how does the light of Jesus when he

says I'm the light of the world, How does the

light of Jesus help you in your darkest days? But

let me just suggest four ways, all right, four different ways. Now,

a first effect of light is this light can illuminate.

Light can illuminate. Ephesians five point thirteen says light makes

all things easy to see. Now, I don't have to

belabor this point because you use this principle every time

you flip a light switch. Why in the world do

you turn on lights to see better? And you can

always see more in the light than you can in

the dark. And the brighter the light, the better you

can see. Light illuminates. I mean, this is not a

big deal.

You know.

This light exposes, light uncovers, clarifies you. Ever shine the

light under your bed, you see stuff there you didn't

know was there. Life gives you a perspective completely different.

Then when you're in the dark.

Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

We've got some incredible news to share with you. A

very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand dollars

matching grant to this ministry all this month. Every dollar

you give to help Daily Hope share the certain hope

of Jesus around the world will be matched up to

one hundred thousand dollars, So twenty five dollars becomes fifty dollars,

fifty becomes one hundred and five hundred becomes a thousand.

Whatever you give will be doubled by the matching grant

up to one hundred thousand dollars, but only till midnight

December thirty first, So please contact us today, go to

Pastorick dot com or just call eight hundred six hundred

five thousand and four.

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

of Pastor Rick Warren. Once again, Here's Rick.

If you've ever had surgery, you know that surgeons always

want the brightest lights in that operating room so they

can see every little detail.

They don't want to miss a thing. I mean, no.

Surgeon has ever said, hey, let's turn these lights down

for a different mood in this surgery, let's make it

like a bar lounge.

No. No, they want it as bright as possible so

they can see as much as possible.

If I asked you to go on a night hike

with me to climb mount saddleback, and how would you

want to do it? Would you A want to do

it with completely in the dark or B Would you

like to use a weak dim flashlight that only shines

about a foot out?

Or se would you like to use.

A Costco maxipower lantern that you can see everything on

the trail for four hundred yards. Well, obviously, for clarity

and for illumination, you'd want to use the brightest light

you could get. It make the journey easier. Now listen,

the same is true for life.

To make the.

Journey easier, you need more light in your life, the

light of Jesus, who says I'm the light of the world.

The same is true for clarity. You need the brightest

light you can get. So where do you find the

best light for life?

John eight twelve.

Jesus said, I am the light of the world, and

if you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness,

for living light will flood your path. Okay, during dark days,

trusting Christ will help me see things more clearly. So

I want you to write this down number one. In

dark days, I need the light of Jesus. When I

can't see the way forward, When I can't see the

way forward, when I'm confused, when I'm undecided, when I

don't know what's best, when I can't figure out what

to do next, when everything looks black and I can't

see which way to go, I need the light of

Christ in my life. Now I know that the common

answer in the world when you're confused is this, trust yourself,

trust your gut, follow your instincts. But anybody who's tried

that knows that it best. You're only right about fifty

percent of the time. Your light is we your perspective

is small. It's like using one of those little wimpy

pen lights you put on your keychain. They don't illuminate anything,

and as a result, You've made a lot of bad

decisions in life. Instead, here's what the Bible says to

do Isaiah fifty.

Verse ten.

For anyone who doesn't know where you're going, anyone groping

in the dark, here's what to do. Trust in God. Yes,

lean on God. Don't trust your own light, trust the

light of the Lord. And you say, okay, Rick, I

would love to have God's perspective on my problems. I'd

love to have his help, his light on my challenges

and my choices and my future. But how do I

discover God's viewpoint? How can I see what God sees

in my life? How do I get God's light on

the things that matter to me? And the answer is this.

Get into this book, the Bible. You need to read it,

you need to study it, because God's will is always

found in God's word. Saturate your mind with the Bible.

Psalm one nineteen one oh five says this, your words

are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me

and keep me from stumbling. You know, if you hear

the farm noise out here, don't let it bother because

it doesn't bother me. They're working on stuff, they're cutting

down some stuff and tearing up some stuff. But you

know what, I'm always amazed at how many people are

always waiting around for God to give them a sign

in the air instead of just reading the directions that

He's already given us. Stop looking for a vision in

the sky and start looking for a verse in the Bible.

That's where you're going to find the light. You're going

to continue to stumble around in dark days. If you

spend more time listening to negative news in the media,

then you spend in time reading God's word. Saw Him

nineteen verse eight says this, God's instructions are always right,

and they point the way to happiness. His commands shine brightly,

and they light up the right way to go.

If you want to go the right.

Way, you got to get in this book, Colosso three

point fifteen says, the peace that Christ gives you will

guide you in the decisions you make. Now, I want

to show you on this first principle, how light illuminates.

It shows us where to go when we're in the dark,

when we're confused.

Let me show you an amazing promise of guidance that

God gives to you. If you let the words of

Jesus in this book guide your journey. It's Isaiah forty two,

verse sixteen. In the message that says this, God says, listen,

I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,

who can't see where they're going, that's in dark. I'll

be a personal guide to them, directing them through the

unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what

roads to take. This is God talking. I'll make sure

they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things

I'll be doing for them, sticking with them, not leaving.

Them for a minute. Not amazing promise from God.

God says, I will be your personal guide. If you'll

let me light up your life, you won't be stumbling

around in the dark. So let me ask you a

very personal question. Where right now do you feel you're

in the dark. I want you to think about that.

What is confusing to you in your life? What needs

to be clarified? Where do you need God's light to

shine and give you direction. Well, it's completely available to

you and it's free, but you have to ask for it.

Now.

You may be a little worried about what's happening, what's going.

To happen next? In your life.

But let me give you a Bible verse that you

might want to make your daily prayer.

Psalm twenty three, Verse four, David.

Prayed, even though I go through the deepest darkness, I

will not be afraid.

I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me.

So the first benefit of filling your life with God's light,

everything gets a lot clearer. You don't have as much confusion.

You'll have a bigger perspective on life. You'll see things

the way God sees them. And that's called wisdom. Why

because light illuminates. Now, let me give you a second

effect of light. Light not only illuminates. Light can disinfect.

Did you know that?

Yeah?

Did you know? Light is a great disinfectant. It can

kill germs, It can purify water. Light can cleanse and

sanitize a lot of stuff. You know, during our peace

teams visiting all around the world in rural villages, when

we teach good health practices and developing nations, one of

the things we teach is the importance of hanging out

your bedsheets to dry in the sun to sanitize them.

Light has a disinfecting impact. This week, I read an

article about how New York city officials have built a

water disinfection facility using ultraviolet light to destroy germs and

disinfect it's drinking water, which is brought in from about

one hundred miles away. And instead of using chlorine, which

most of us use, which has some downsides to it,

they're now using the sun's power to disinfect and sanitize

their water using light rays. They disinfect two point four

billion gallons of water every day.

Now.

In a similar way, getting the light of God in

your life can disinfect and sanitize and purify and cleanse harmful.

Bad stuff out of your life.

The harmful words, the harmful thoughts, the harmful actions that

make you spiritually and emotionally and sometimes physically sick. Here's

what the Bible says, First John, chapter one, verse six

to nine. If we claim to have a relationship with

God but we continue living in darkness.

Then we lie and we aren't following the truth.

But if we live in the light, as God is

in the light, then we can have real fellowship with

each other. And the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us.

That's cleanses, sanitizes, disinfects. God's son blood purifies us from

all sin, and if we claim to be without sin,

we're just fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.

But if we confess our sins to him, God is

faithful and just, and he will forgive and cleanse us

from every wrong. So I want you to write this

down number two. In dark days, I need the light

of Jesus when I want to clean start, when I

want to clean start. You know, I could not count

the number of times that people have said to me confidentially.

You know, Rick, I have made so many mistakes in

my life.

I really need a fresh start. We should.

You could just clean the slate, wipe it all off,

and begin again. I'm so tired of carrying a heavy

load of emotional baggage from all my poor decisions. So

many people today are going through dark days because they're

carrying a load, a secret load of guilt and shame

and regret. They may look successful on the outside, but

they're tortured by their secrets. Is there a way to

wipe the slate clean? Is there a way to get

a fresh start. Yes, it's called being born again. That

doesn't mean you turn over a new leaf and try harder.

It means you get a brand new life.

Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

We've got some incredible news to share with you. A

very generous friend has given a one hundred thousand dollars

matching grant to this ministry. That means that all this month,

every dollar you give to help Daily Hope share the

certain Hope of Jesus around the world will be matched

up to one hundred thousand dollars. Here's Pastor Rick to

tell you more.

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

do it without your financial gifts. And I know that

for many of you this is a real sacrifice in

order to be able to support the Ministry of Daily

Hope as we take the message of Christ literally around

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As you consider your year in giving, I want to

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Daily Hope that you've ever given. You know, the great

news is that in this month your financial gift will

be doubled because a generous friend is offering one hundred

thousand dollars matching grant, and they've challenged all of the

rest of us to give as much as we can

and they will match it up to one hundred thousand dollars.

That means that every dollar you give the Daily Hope

in December, up to one hundred thousand dollars will be doubled.

You give twenty five dollars, it's like given fifty dollars,

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of course Christmas is all about the spirit of generosity.

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No't forget to pray for us during this season. We're

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are more effective together, we're better together. God bless you

and have a great Christmas season.

Remember, as Rick just shared, whatever you give today will

be doubled by the matching grant up to one hundred

thousand dollars, but only till midnight December thirty first. Anything

not matched will be lost, so please contact us today.

You can give right now by going to pastorig dot

com or by calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand

and four. We'll say thanks by sending you the brand

new Daily Hope Prayer Journal that's pastorig dot com or

by calling eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four.

Be sure to join us again next time as we

look into God's Word for our daily hope. This program

is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous

financial support