Rick Warren - Choosing Your Future III

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. In just a few moments,

we're going to tell you how to get a hardcover copy of Pastor Rick's

wonderful book, The Purpose of Christmas, just in time for the season.

Go to pastor Rick 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 part three of a message called Choose

your Future. See, you can't blame anybody else for the direction of your

life. If it sucks, it's because you're letting it suck. Now,

let me be real clear. We are products of our past, but we

are not prisoners of our past. Yes, your past has influenced you,

but it doesn't control you. Other people can hurt you, and they will.

I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Other people can hurt you, they

can harm you, and other people can scar you, but nobody can ruin

your life except you. They don't have the power to ruin it because you

have the power of choice. They can harm you, they can hurt you,

they can scar you, but they cannot ruin you unless you allow them

to do. You accept responsibility and say I'm gonna choose short term pain for

long term gain. Now, let me just say to I know we've got

a young students in our services today, so let me just tell you this.

You're going to have pain in life either now or later. And you

can either do the easy thing now, easy life now, hard life later,

hard life now, easy life later. In other words, if I

do the hard thing right now, and I put in the effort and the

discipline to learn, to grow, to become strong, to mature, and

I do the hard things now later in life, I get to benefit from

all of that. I right now am benefiting from decisions I made in my

twenties. And I'm benefiting from those financial decisions that I made in my twenties

to not spend more than I made to save, to tithe to honor God

all of the I'm benefiting from that many years later because I was disciplined.

I did the hard thing first. Now, if you're a teenager and you

do the easy thing first, you're gonna do the hard thing later. My

life will be hard. The rest of your life. You can goof off

in school and you not learn, and you cannot grow, and you not

accept responsibility, not grow up, and then the rest of your life it

will be hard. So it's either going to be pain now or later.

I suggest you get the pain out of the way early. There are a

couple promises from God about pain there on your outline. First thing God says

is even the pain you go through Number one, it's going to help you

grow. Romans five, we can have joy even in our troubles because we

know that these troubles produce patients, and patience produces character, and character produces

hope. So I even know when I'm going through the short term pain,

it's producing character in my life. And the second thing I know God promises

is He's going to reward me for the pain I go through in heaven next

verse. Yet, these present troubles that we're going through are quite small,

and they won't last very long. I mean, even if they lasted my

entire life, that's only nine years compared to trillions of years in heaven.

Yet they produce problems, are productive. They produce for us an immeasurably great

glory that will circle this last forever. We're gonna have eternity to celebrate short

term pain for long term gain. Because God's more interested in your character than

your comfort. Why are am I going through all these problems. God's more

interested in your character than your comfort, and there's long term gain for the

short term pain. The verse after that, when we just read, is

verse eighteen. Look up here on the screen, Paul says, So we

fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. The problems

that I'm looking at right now in my life, I have seen you on

my problems, financial problems, relational problems, physical problems, emotional problems,

mental problems. I see those problems. But then I gonna last. What's

gonna last is the character I developed from going through them. What's gonna last

is my trust in God that I'm going through. What's gonna last is the

reward I get for putting my faith in Christ when I'm going through the problems.

So what do I do. The first thing I do is I say,

I am going to refuse to define, let myself be defined by other

people. And second, I'm gonna choose short term gain for long term short

term pain for long term gain. That's what Moses did. Third thing Moses

did, third life shaping resolution. I choose God's values, not the world's.

I choose God's values for my life, not the world's values. This

is what Moses did, and this is why God used him. Hebrews eleven,

verse twenty six. The next verse Moses regarded. Now that word regarded

means to evaluate. It means to consider, It means to way in the

balance. He's making a value judgment. He's clarifying what matters most. Moses

regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ. In other words, I'm gonna be

treated like a slave. He regarded being disgraced for sake of Christ as of

greater value. That's a value judgment than the treasure of Egypt. He would

have inherited all the treasure of Egypt as Pharaoh's grandson, because he was why

looking ahead to his reward long term gain. I'm not gonna have short term

gain. I'm gonna have long term gain. Okay, he's making a valuate.

He clarifies what matters most. Let me ask you this question. What

matters most in your life? What are the top three four five values in

your life? Can you name him? Just like that? Bam bam bam,

bam bam. What are the most important values in your life? If

you ask me, I would tell you real simply integrity, humility, generosity.

Because they decided over thirty years ago that's what I wanted to build my

life on. Integrity, humility, generosity. I'm not there, but that's

what I want to build my life on. Integrity, humility, generosity,

because are the antidotes of the three traps of leadership. Can you just name

the three most important values in your life right now? If you can't,

you certainly can't live by them. You're not living your values if you can't

even name them. So you need to go home, and before you go

one more day into this year, you need to sit down and say what's

most important to me? What are the top values in my life, and

you need to write them out. Until you clarify them, you can't live

by them. Moses chose God's values over the world's values. And why is

this so important? I'll tell you why. Here's a little secret. If

you don't decide what's important in your life, other people are going to decide

it for you, and they're going to push you into their mold, and

you're going to live their values, not yours. You got to decide what's

important to me and then live by those values, not live by other people's

values. No, Moses said, I'm not going to live by the world's

values. What are the world's values? Whether the same ones that the world

is valued throughout history? Every single advertisement is built on one of the three

values of the world passion, possession, position or sex, salary and status

or less of the flesh, less of the iyesh, pride to life.

They haven't changed in thousands of thousands of years. We see them in these

three verses. In verse twenty four, we see the world values popularity,

power, and prestige. In verse twenty five, we see the world values

pleasures the pleasure of sin. In verse twenty six, we values possessions,

the Treasures of Egypt. Moses walks away from the very thing we spend our

entire lives trying to get. We want the world's treasure, we want the

world's pleasure, and we want the world's measure of success. Moses walked away

from a all what we just say. I want to look good, I

want to feel good, and I want to have the goods. I want

to be famous, I want to be rich, and I want to have

fun. That's the world's value system, pleasure, passion, position, popularity,

possessions. It's ironic by moses standards. He had it made in the

Pharaoh's house, he would have all of these things. There would be nobody

else wealthier in the world, nobody else more important. And he walks away

from what we call the American dream. He walks away from what most people

spend their entire lives trying to get. Why because he knew it wouldn't last.

The Bible says this on the screen first John, chapter two. The

world and everything that is in it that people desire is passing away. But

those who do the will of God live forever. That's long term gain.

So the wise way to live is to live not by the world's value system,

but by God's value system? What does God value? You're listening to

Pastor Rick's Daily Hope rip 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. What the

True Reason for the season? Fill your heart with hope this year when you

discover Pastor Rick's inspirational book The Purpose of Christmas. In it, Rick shows

you how Christmas is designed to meet your three deepest needs and out receiving the

three Christmas gifts God has for you will transform your life forever. This book

is sure to become a loved family favorite, to be read at every and

to be shared with your friends who may not know how much God loves them.

We'll send you the inspiring and beautifully illustrated book The Purpose of Christmas as

our way of saying thanks when you give a gift to help daily hope take

the Certain Hope of Jesus to people around the world. To get your copy

of this great resource, just call eight hundred six hundred five zero zero four

or go to pastor Rick dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred and

six hundred five zero zero four or Pastorick dot com. There's only three days

left to get the Purpose of Christmas book. So don't wait. You're listening

to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope once again. Here's Pastor Rick Warren. I want

to be famous, I want to be rich, and I want to have

fun. That's the world's value system. Pleasure, passion, position, popularity,

possessions. It's ironic by Moses' standards. He had it made in the

Pharaoh's house, he would have all of these things. There would be nobody

else wealthier in the world, nobody else more important. And he walks away

from what we call the American dream. He walks away from what most people

spend their entire lives trying to get why, because he knew it wouldn't last.

The Bible says this on the screen first John, chapter two. The

world and everything that is in it that people desire is passing away. But

those who do the will of God live forever. That's long term gain.

So the wise way to live is to live not by the world's value system,

but by God's value system. What does God value. Well, these

verses of Moses tell us the three things God values. You might write them

down. Number one, Godd's purpose is more valuable than popularity. God's purpose.

Doing God's purpose for your life is far more important for your life than

being popular. Now, as Pharaoh's grandson, Moses is heir to the throne.

He's a celebrity, he's a young playboy, he's the it guy,

and he's famous. He's Pharaoh's grandson. Now, let me tell you,

as somebody who has had an experience with just a little bit of fame,

fame does it last? And fame is worthless. Never invest one second of

your life trying to be famous, because it doesn't last. Does anybody remember

who was on the cover of People magazine two weeks ago? No, because

that's how quick. One minute you're the hero and the next minute you're the

zero. Do you remember when you were in high school how important it was

for you to be popular. Do any of those people actually even care about

you today? Doubtful. In fact, when you were on campus, you

were trying to be the big man on campus, or the beauty queen or

whoever you wanted to just be with the in crowd and you wanted to be

popular, you could graduate from that high school, go back two years later,

walk on the camps name campus, and people go and who are you?

That's how long it lasted. And you're trying to win the favor of

people who don't even care about you. So never waste your time on popularity,

on trying to be famous, because God's purpose. Doing God's purpose for

your life is far more important than being popular. Number two, people are

more valuable than pleasure. That's the second thing. Moses decides that freeing those

slaves was far more important than living a life of luxury in Pharaoh's palace twenty

five, and he trades a royal lifestyle in order to help the neediest of

the needy slaves. This is why we're doing the Peace Plan, to help

people around the world, who are in poverty, who have disease, who

have a literacy, who are under oppression, who have aids orphans. You

can't get more vulnerable than that. And the first ten years of the Peace

Plan, we said we're going to go to every nation, and we did

that. And now the second over seventeen thousand of you, you went out

and it was at personal expense to go help somebody else, and you valued

you valued people more than pleasure. The money you spent to go on a

peace plan. You could have bought a widescreen TV with that, but you

didn't. God took note of that. You valued people over pleasure and the

things you could have done with that money just for pleasure. You help people.

And now in this next ten years, we're going to the remainings,

now down to about three thousand tribes who have no christian no church, and

no Bible. And they're all small tribes around the world, and we're gonna

go and we're gonna take the Peace Plan to them, and many of you

will go, and you're gonna sacrifice pleasure in order to go because these tribes

when you get there, Hey tell you this, there's no Rich Carlton,

there are montage, they're not even a holiday inn where these tribes are.

And people go, Why would you sacrifice money you could spend on your personal

pleasure to go help somebody in some tribe in some distant country. Because people

matter more than pleasure, and God's purpose is more valuable than popularity. Number

three, peace of mind is more valuable than possessions. You could have a

house stuffed full of possessions. And if there's antagonists and anger and disappointment and

discouragement in the house, peace of mind is far more valuable than possessions.

And where do you get peace of mind from doing the will of God?

You know, advertisements lie. Advertisements tell you that you can buy peace of

mind. You can't. You can't. You know why people buy things because

it gives temporary happiness when you when you buy a new car, or you

buy an iPad, or you get you get a new video game or something

like that. You love that and you feel happy for a while, but

after a while it wears off. Why Because people change and things don't,

and so we get bored with things that don't change. That's why you have

to redecorate, because that piece of art you just thought was so cool and

so beautiful and brought you so much pleasure, and five years later on e

can we do something else with this? Why? Because they possessions don't give

ultimate pleasure, and they certainly can't give you peace of mind. You can't

buy it. Peace of mind comes from doing the will of God. Now

again, Moses gave up what everybody else spends their life, trying to get

success, fame, power, money, in order to do God's will because

people are more valuable than pleasure, and peace of mind's more valuable than possessions,

and God's purpose is more valuable than popularity. And I'm going to do

short term pain for long term gain. Why the Bible says there he was

looking ahead to his reward. Wants you to write this down. Vision sets

values, vision sets values. What you're looking at will determine what you value.

And if you keep your eyes on Jesus, that's what you're going to

value. If you keep your eyes in the catalog, that's what you're gonna

value. Now there's a fourth life shaping choice that Moses made. It's a

fourth and it is this number four. I choose to live by faith rather

than by fear. I choose to live by faith, not by fear.

If you will make this resolution and you'll keep it, it will change your

life dramatically for the rest of your life. You stop living in fear and

you start living in faith Verse twenty seven. By faith, Moses left Egypt,

in other words, with all of the slaves not fearing the king's anger.

That's favors angery. Circle, faith and circle. Not fearing. You're

gonna live by one or the other. You're gonna live by faith in life,

You're gonna live by fear in life by faith. Moses left Egypt not

fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible as

Christ. Now Moses goes to the most powerful man in the world, and

he says, you know these slaves that are building all your pyramids, I'm

taking them and we're all leaving. We're packing up and we're leaving, and

you're not going to have slave labor anymore, letting my people go. Now,

Moses had every reason to be afraid because he's going up against the most

powerful man on the planet. At this point. Pharaoh's Egyptian empire is the

most powerful empire on the planet at this point. Pharaoh in those days was

considered a god. And whatever Pharaoh said, you had to do. If

Pharaoh said cut your right arm off, you had to cut your right arm

off. If Pharaoh said murder your wife, you had to murder your wife.

If Pharaoh said you got to drown your children, you had to drown

your children. What he said was the law. And Moses comes and says,

We're not going to do that anymore. I'm going to choose to live

by faith, not by fear. We're leaving, We're out of here.

Goodbye, and Pharaoh goes you and who else? And Moses, I'm not

afraid of you because I report to a higher authority. And the closer you

get to God, the less fear you're going to have in your life.

The more further you get away from God, the more you're going to be

filled with fear. The closer you get to God, the more you're going

to be filled with faith. I cannot overemphasize the importance of faith for the

rest of your life. The Bible says whatever is not of faith is sin.

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 pastorrick dot com

and listen online anytime. Rick will be right back to close out our time

today. But first, let the true reason for the season fill your heart

with hope this year. When you discover Pastor Rick's inspirational book, The Purpose

of Christmas. In it, Rick shows you how Christmas is designed to meet

your three deepest needs and how receiving the three Christmas gifts God has for you

will transform your life forever. Right now, here's Pastor Rick to tell you

more. Have you noticed that people are more open to talking about Jesus at

Christmas than at any other time of the year, regardless of their religious background,

or their problems or the circumstances. Everybody needs to know that Jesus loves

them, that Christmas means that God has a plan for their life, and

that God is with us. So this Christmas season, I want to encourage

you to share the story of Christmas with your family, your friends, and

your neighbors. Now. One of the ways you can do this is through

a little book I wrote called The Purpose of Christmas. It explains the true

meaning of Christmas and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. And when

you give somebody a copy of The Purpose Christmas, it's going to start a

conversation with them about Jesus and about the purpose of his love and the purpose

for their lives. You can invite them to a Christmas Eve service at your

church this month. I'd like to send you a copy of this book,

The Purpose of Christmas. You can read it, you can pass it on

to friend who needs to know the true meaning. Just partner with us at

Daily Hope and let us partner with you in reaching your friends and family for

Christ. By the way, write to me Rick atpastorick dot com and let

me know who you're praying for, who you want to come to Christ this

Christmas, who you're inviting to church. I'd love to pray with you about

that. God bless you. This book is sure to become a beloved family

favorite, to be read every Christmas and to be shared with your friends who

may not know how much God loves them. We'll send you a hardcover copy

of the inspiring and beautifully illustrated book The Purpose of Christmas as our way of

saying thanks when you give a gift to help Daily Hope take the certain Hope

of Jesus to people around the world. To get your copy of this great

resource, just call eight hundred six hundred five thousand and four or go to

Pastorick dot com to get yours. That's eight hundred six hundred five thousand and

four or Pastorick dot com There's only three days left to get this great resource,

so don't wait. 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.