Rick Warren - Enabling the Vision Purpose Driven Giving Part Three

Pastor Rick Warren often says you were made by God and for God, and

until you understand that, life will never make sense. Welcome to Pastor Rick's

Daily Hope Today. In our series called God's Vision for the Rest of your

Life, Rick continues in his effort to help you discover the unique purpose and

vision that the Lord has for your life. Now, in just a few

moments, we're going to tell you how to get a copy of the brand

new Daily Hope twenty twenty one Prayer Journal based on the theme God's Great Adventure

for You, a great resource to help make your time in prayer the best

it can be. Go to Pastorick dot com 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 Warren with the final part of

a message called Enabling the Vision, Purpose Driven Giving. Imagine this. I

want you to get this. Let's say you had a father who was a

multi multi billionaire and one day your dad brings you in and he says,

I've got this huge fortune that I want to give to you. I want

to share it with you, but I need to know if you're capable of

handling it. And I need to test you to see if you can handle

this amount of wealth. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going

to give you a set amount of money to live on, and then I

want you to learn to live on less than the amount I give you.

And I want you to live on less than the amount I give you so

you can give some of it away to help other people. Now, I'm

going to be watching you to see how you manage and distribute my money.

Remember it's mine. I'm just gonna give it to you, and I'm gonna

watch and see how you manage and distribute it, and if you do well,

I'm gonna give it all to you. Now, what would you do

with that money? You'd be very very careful in how you used it.

God has said the same thing to you. He said, I want to

bring you to heaven one day, and I want you to share my wealth

in heaven forever and ever and ever. But this is a test, folks.

Life is a test, and God is watching you to see are you

gonna just spend it all on yourself. Wrong answer. I can't trust you

with it. Are you gonna be generous with what I give to you?

Says God? Are you gonna pass it around, spread it around? Are

you just gonna hoard it? God says, I'm watching and I'm testing.

The Bible makes very clear that this life is a test in preparation for the

next how to use your time, how you use your money, your relationships,

and everything else. That's why the Bible says this in Proverbs eleven twenty

four. The world of the generous gets larger and larger. The world of

the stingy gets smaller and smaller. Here's the point. The more you give

to others, the more God gives to you. I could give you a

personal testimony that would take the rest of the day on that one. The

more you give to others, the more God gives to you. Now,

why does he do that? Because God wants you to learn to be like

him. God. Probably the number one quality, or one of the main

qualities of God is He's generous. Everything you have in your life is because

of the generosity of God. You would have zip nothing, nada if it

weren't for God's generosity. You wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for God's

generosity he created you. He said, what about all the things I worked

for and I earn? Where do you think you got the ability to work?

Who gave you your mind, who gave you your hands, who gave

you your health, who decided to have you born here and give you the

freedom, who gave you all. Everything you have in your life is a

total gift from God. You'd have nothing without God. And God is generous,

And he says, you know what, I want my children to be

like me, like father, like son. So I'm going to set up

the universe that every time you're generous, I'm going to reward you because I

want you to learn to be like me. I want you to learn to

be giving and generous. And so the world of the generous gets larger and

larger, the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. Now, there's

one group of people that God really especially wants us to be generous with,

you know it is It's the poor. It's the poor. Over and over

in the Bible, God said, I'm watching how you handle the poor.

How do you react to the homeless, to the poor, that people have

nothing, and so he gives us promises. Here are just a couple of

them. Proverbs twenty eight says, give to the poor, and you will

never be in need. That's God's promise. But if you close your eyes

to the poor, many will curse you. And Proverbs nineteen says, when

you give to the poor, it's like lending to the lord, and the

Lord will pay you back. Do you remember last fall during forty days of

community and our church decided that we would feed every homeless person in Orange County

three meals a day for forty days. That was the task we took on

during forty days community, feed every homeless person in this county three meals a

day for forty days. And then we found out it was forty two thousand

people homeless, and we did it. And you gave and collected over two

million pounds of food and it took nine thousand, two hundred volunteers in this

church to collect the sort and to distribute and we fed them all for forty

days. You know what you were doing, those you participated in that,

you were investing in the Equity Service Fund. And God says, I'm banking

that in heaven The Bible says this that when I give to help the needs

of others, it's a test. Look at the next verse. Suppose you

see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say,

God, bless you, stay warm, eat well, But then you don't

give them any food to clothing. What good does that do. Faith that

doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all. It's dead and

useless. You know, the Bible calls the church the body of Christ,

the body of Christ. But today most churches have their hands and their feet

amputated, and all they are is to big mouth. And people know what

they're against, but they don't know what they're for. And in this church,

we've reattached the hands and the legs so we can invest in the Service

Fund. 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. If you want to make your time in prayer the

best it can be, then you're going to want to get a copy of

the brand new twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme,

God's Great Adventure for You, will help you tap into God's power and presence

when you learn how to pray with passion and purpose. Covered in soft vegan

leather with full color pages, this prayer journal has sections to pray for specific

people and situations, as well as space to express your gratitude and personal prayer

requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and filled with inspiring Bible verses,

photos, and artwork. The God's Great Adventure for You Prayer Journal is

a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy a vibrant prayer life. Connect

with God and establish consistent daily prayer time. When you give a gift to

help daily hope take the certain Hope of Jesus to people around the world,

we'll send you the all new twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal to say

thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't wait. Call eight hundred at six

hundred five zero zero four to get your prayer journal and have your gift matched

up to one hundred thousand dollars. Or you can visit Pastorick dot com.

That's eight hundred at six hundred five zero zero four or Pastorick dot com.

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

Now, God has a fifth purpose for your life. First, your plan

for his pleasure. You were formed for his family. You were created to

become like Christ, you were shaped to serve him. And number five,

you were made for a mission. God has a mission for you in the

world. He has a unique thing he wants you to fulfill. We're going

to talk about that next week. God's mission for your life. But because

He has a mission for your life, the fifth fund is he said,

I want you to invest in what I call the Global Fund. The Global

Fund. God says, I want you to use some of your money to

take the good news to the whole world. God has always cared about the

whole world. The Bible says this, I'm setting you up as a light

for the nations so that my salvation becomes global. Now, how do I

invest in this fund, the Global Fund? By using some of my money

to extend my mission? By using some of my money to extend my personal

life mission. God says, I want you to take part of it,

and I want you to invested in what I want you to do on this

earth. This is investing in yourself for the life mission God created you for

now. Luke sixteen nine is probably one of the most misunderstood versus in the

entire Bible. Jesus says, this, use worldly wealth to gain friends for

yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal

dwellings. What in the world does he mean by that? And I look

at that again. He says, I want you to use worldly wealth to

gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be

welcomed into eternal dwellings. What does that mean. Well, here's what it

means. He says, I want you to take some of your money and

I want you to use it to help other people get into heaven, so

that when you die and you get to heaven, they will welcome you there

and they'll say thank you for investing in me. I'm in heaven because of

you. And I'm not your friend for life, man, I'm your friend

for eternity because I'm in heaven because you cared enough. You bought me a

Bible, you bought me a ticket to event, you gave me a Christian

book. You did something with your money. You helped spread the news around

the world in some village that you'd never even been to. And because you

gave I'm now a follower christ and I'm in heaven because of you, and

i am eternally indebted to you. Friends, that is the greatest possible use

of your money. Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you?

Have you ever used any of your money to get anybody there to help spread

the good news, to help get the word out, to know the good

news and not share it. If I knew the cure for aids and I

didn't share it, that would be criminal. If I knew the cure for

cancer and I didn't spread it as fast as I could, that would be

criminal. But I know how people can have purpose in life, their past

forgiven, and a future in heaven, and to not share that would be

criminal. So God says, invest in getting people into heaven. It's the

highest use of your money to reach one more for Jesus, As I said,

is anybody going to be in heaven because of you? Now, let

me give you a little instant. If you don't get anything else I say

today, get what I'm saying next. If you invest your treasure on earth,

all you do is pile up treasure on Earth. Guess what, Every

day, you're getting further and further away from it. Because I hate to

tell you this, but we're all terminal. Okay, we're all terminal.

Nobody's going to live forever. You're going to get eighty at the most one

hundred years. And if you store up treasure on Earth every day of your

life, you're moving further and further away from it because you're going that direction.

On the other hand, if you store up treasure in heaven for eternity,

where you're going to get to enjoy them forever and ever and ever.

Every day you're moving closer and closer to it, because that's where you're going

to spend trillions of years, not here. So where do you want your

treasure to be? On earth or in heaven? It's your choice. Now,

God doesn't force you to do anything. Shoot, you can blow it

all on yourself. You can spend every single bit of it on your own

comfort. Just realize that every day of your life you're moving further and further

away from your treasure. But if you invest it in Heaven, every day

of your life, you're moving closer and closer to it, and you're going

to get enjoyed for eternity. I didn't say that. Jesus Christ said it,

and he is not a liar. God says it. It's a matter

of perspective. Now, last week we talked about the Global Peace Plan taking

the good news all around the world. I want to recommend that you in

this church, if you're part of this family, you set up a personal

Peace Plan savings fund, and every week you start putting a buck or five

bucks or ten bucks or whatever you can into that savings fund for you and

for your family if you have a family, so that at some point your

and your whole family can go on a piece trip somewhere in the world and

start saving for that. Why well, look at these verses. The Bible

says this, we must support believers who go on trips like this so we

can work together with them and spreading the truth. Look at the next verse.

You will honor God through this genuine act of service because of your commitment

to spread the good news of Christ, and because of your generosity and sharing.

You honor God every time you help spread the good news. Psalm two

eight, God says, ask and I will give you all the nations.

The whole earth will be yours. Now what does that verse mean, Ask

and I'll give you the nations. Here's what it means. If you want

God's blessing on your life, you want God to bless your life, bless

your career, bless your family. You want God's blessing on you, then

you must care about what God cares about most. And what does God care

about most? He wants everybody in the world to know him. He wants

every nation, every country, every person to have the opportunity to say I

accept your love. I accept your forgiveness, I accept your grace. I

accept what Jesus did for me. He wants everybody to know him. Now

listen, if you make God's primary concern the primary concern of your life,

God's gonna bless your socks off. He's gonna bless you in a way that

you cannot imagine, because God is looking for people who will care about the

whole world as much as he does. And when he finds somebody says,

you know, God, okay, you care about the whole world, then

I'm gonna care about the whole world. I'm gonna care about every nation.

When he finds people like that, he blesses them. There is no greater

cause on the universe, folks, than to live for the purposes that God

puts you on this planet, and then spread that news to as many people

around the world as fast as you can. I invite you to be a

part of the greatest cause in the world, which will be more significant than

any thing else you'll ever do. You say, how can I afford to

do this? Look at these last few verses, Luke sixteen. Jesus said

this, If you're untrustworthy about handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with

the true riches of heaven. Remember, life is a test, And God

says, I'm watching to see what you do with what I gave you.

What are you doing with what God gave you? Now? Your reward and

your responsibility to heaven, not your salvation, but your reward and responsibility for

eternity is going to be based on how you managed what God put in your

hands while you're here on earth. And it would be foolish and shortsighted to

spend it all on myself now in light of eternity. Now, the Bible

says this on the next page. God gives seed to the farmer to plant.

He'll also give you seed and multiply what you generously plant in your lives.

Read this with me. He will increase the things you do that have

his approval. My life is living proof of that verse that God will increase

the things you do that have his approval. God will multiply whatever you give

him. And God says, I want you to trust me in this.

You see, we make a living by what we get, but we make

a life by what we give. Nobody's ever remembered for anything they ever got.

They're remembered for what they gave away. I would encourage you to remember

the prayer of Agar. You've all heard of the prayer Jabez. Forget that

one and read this one. It says this, Lord, don't let me

become too poor or too rich, just give me what I need for If

I have too much, I might forget about you, And if I don't

have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name. Now that's what I

call a bounce perspective. You know, most people I know are willing to

pray the first half of this prayer out of the Bible. Lord, don't

let me become too poor. We'll all pray that one, but we don't

want to pray the rest of it. Or too rich. The bottom line

is either extreme can cause you to forget God. Wealth can make me prideful

and arrogant, and poverty can make me bitter. It's not about money,

folks. Life is not about the acquisition of things. That's not what life

is about. Money is a tool to do good. And I can do

good by investing it in the Treasury Fund and the Mutual Fund, and the

Growth Fund and the Service Fund and the Global Fund. And then I'm storing

up treasure for eternity. But I want you to know that for over forty

years, I have been investing in the Treasury Fund and the Mutual Fund,

and the Growth Fund, and the Service Fund and the Global Fund. And

when I get to Heaven, I'm going to enjoy the returns and the investment

for eternity, and I invite you to do the same. I recommend that

you use these five funds as a template in budgeting you're giving. This is

Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We're so thankful that you've chosen to spend some time

with us today. If you've missed any part of this broadcast, including portions

we didn't have time for, just go to pastorick dot com and listen online

anytime. Rick will be right back to close out our time today. But

first, if you want to make your time in prayer the best it can

be, then you're going to want to get a copy of the brand new

twenty twenty one Daily Hope Prayer Journal. This year's theme, God's Great Adventure

for You, will help you tap into God's power and presence when you learn

how to pray with passion and per Right now, here's Pastor Rick to tell

you more. Do you ever feel like your prayers get stuck in a rut?

Would you like to know what God told me to do? When my

prayer life got stuck in a rut. It was a time when I just

felt like I was praying the same thing over and over and over. In

fact, I was beginning to wonder if God was even answering my prayers or

even listening. Maybe you felt that way sometimes, or maybe you feel that

way right now. So what did God tell me to do? Well,

here's what he told me. It was such a powerful way to re energize

my prayer life, and it was so simple that I want to pass it

on to you. God told me to do this, he said, Rick,

start writing down what you're saying to me, and then I want you

to write down what I say to you, write down what you say to

me, and then write down what I say to you. You see,

it's really not that complicated. God just said I should start by writing down

what I'm feeling, and then I should write down what he tells me after

I've read his word. It's really just a form of journaling, and spiritual

journaling is a spiritual habit that will help your prayers stay fresh and effective.

If you've never tried it, I'm begging you try this for a week or

two and see if it doesn't reinvigorate your prayer life. Journaling has many many

benefits to your spiritual life. It'll help you stay consistent in your prayers.

It'll give you a permanent reminder of how God answers your prayers because you re've

written them down. It shows how God is working in your life. You

can go back and review it. It'll even help you worship God more and

more as you speak to him. God speaks to people who care enough to

write it down. So write down what God tells you. But you've got

to have a place to do that. Now. I want to encourage you,

and I want to help you take this simple step of learning this new

spiritual habit in your prayers, of writing down your prayers and writing down your

prayer request. So what I did is I had my Daily Hope team create

a brand new spiritual prayer journal. It's got a real simple to follow format

that will help you put into practice God's wisdom that is found in Philippians four

to six that says this, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about

everything, tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has

done. Those four things are part of the format of our prayer journal for

this year. It's really cool. You're gonna love this tool. Covered in

soft vegan leather with full color pages, this prayer journal has sections to pray

for specific people and situations, as well as space to express your gratitude and

personal prayer requests to God. Each page is beautifully designed and filled with inspiring

Bible versus photo work and artwork. The God's Great Adventure for You Prayer Journal

is a spiritual growth tool designed to help you enjoy a vie vibrant prayer life,

connect with the Lord, and establish a consistent daily prayer time. When

you give a gift to help daily hope take the certain hope of Jesus to

people around the world, will send you the all new twenty twenty one Daily

Hope Prayer Journal to say thanks. Quantities are limited, so don't wait.

Call eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four to get your prayer Journal and

have your gift matched up to one hundred thousand dollars, or you can visit

pastororig dot com that's eight hundred, six hundred five thousand and four or pastorig

dot com. 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 ricks Daily

Hope and your generous financial support