Rick Warren - God's Promises Are Bigger Than Your Problems

Today, I want us to look at God's promises about

your future. Now, you ought to be interested in this

for three reasons. First, the rest of your life is

in your future. None of your life is left in

the past or even today. All your life is in

the future. And the two things I can say about

that are, number one, you don't know what it's going

to be. And two, you can't control it. So I

should definitely be interested in what God has to say

about my future because I don't know, none of us

know what's going to happen tomorrow, much less next year.

and we certainly can't control it. One of the ways

we try to control the future is worry, but worry

is worthless. It doesn't work. Number one, God knows everything

that will happen. God knows everything that's gonna happen in

your life already. He knows the beginning and the end.

This is called the omniscience of God. It means God

knows everything. There is nothing that God doesn't know. If

I were to take you to, the Rose Parade up

in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day. And if you

were standing there on the ground watching the parade, all

you could see is what's right in front of you.

You can't see the parade that's already passed, and you

can't see the parade that's coming in the future. All

you can see is what's in front of you. And

that's the way we pretty much live our lives. On

the other hand, If I were to take you up

in a plane or a helicopter or a blimp and

we got up real high with a different perspective, you

would be able to see the beginning and the end

of the parade all at the same time. You wouldn't

have a problem. You could see the beginning of the

parade and the end at the same time. It's a

matter of perspective. God is so high, he can see

everything in history. He can see the beginning and the

middle and the end all at the same time. It

doesn't bother him. because he has a different perspective. Now,

because God knows everything will happen, and it's not limited

by time, we know these verses. Hebrews 11, 13. Nothing

in all creation is hidden from God's sight. He can

see it all. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before

his eyes. So there are no secrets with God. Now,

here's the second thing that we know, second fact about

the future. God's plan... For my future is good. God's

plan for my future is good. It's not a bad plan.

In fact, God has no bad plans for people. God

is a good God. And because God is a good God,

all of his plans are good. He doesn't have any

bad plans for you. All of his plans for you

are good. One of the most famous verses in the

Bible is Jeremiah 29, 11. I know the plans I

have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you

and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and

a future. God has long-range plans for your life. He

has a purpose for your life. He has a plan

for your life. God has thought far more about your

life than you ever have. He's thought about every detail,

every thought, every part of it, and he has a

plan for your life, and his plan is good for you. Now,

to fulfill my created purpose, here's the third thing. I

must choose to trust and obey God. God knows everything

that's gonna happen in my life and he has a

good plan for my life, but I have to choose

that plan. I have to choose to trust God and

I have to choose to obey God. And every single

day of my life, God's given me a free choice.

God says this in Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 19. God says, today,

Deuteronomy 30:19

I'm giving you the choice And this is, it's your choice.

He's not gonna force you. God's a gentleman. I'm gonna

give you the choice between life and death. You wanna

really live or you wanna have a dead-end life? It's

up to you. I'm giving you a choice between real

living or a dying life, between blessings or curses. You

wanna bless life? Well, do what I tell you to do.

But it's up to you. I'm not gonna force you

to do the right thing because I want you to

love me out of free will. Now, here's the fourth fact.

And then we can start looking at the promises. God

will be with me every step of the way. In

my future, I don't know what it's gonna be like,

and I know I can't control it, but I do

know this. God will be with me every step of

the way. How do I know that? Because in the Bible,

one of the most repeated promises of God is this.

You're not gonna be alone. I will never leave you.

I will never forsake you. I will never abandon you.

I'm gonna be with you. My presence will be with you.

He says it hundreds of times. I'm going to be

with you because God made you to be connected to him. Now,

you may not always feel God's presence, but God is

not a feeling. Something doesn't have to be felt for

it to be real. You don't have to feel something

for it to be real. There are a lot of

things that are real that you can't see. You can't

see protons and electrons. You can't see atoms, but they're real.

Everything's made up of atoms. And so I may not

feel God, I may not sense God, but he is

always with me. Now, that's an encouragement because although I

don't know what the future holds, I do know I'm

not gonna face it alone. So we can say with confidence,

a lot of people are scared about the future. He says,

we can say with confidence, Christians can be the most

confident people when it comes to the future, why? Because

the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid

because what can people do to me One plus God

equals a majority. So no matter what happens in your future,

you're not gonna go through it alone. Now this comforting

truth that I just shared with you is called the

faithfulness of God. That God is not only a good God,

he is a faithful God. That means he keeps his

word and he always does what's good in your life.

And it's part of his character. He keeps every promise.

If you're struggling with anxiety or worry in your life,

every fear, is a misunderstanding of who God is and

what he's promised. Every fear is a misunderstanding of who

God is and what he's promised. If you knew what

God is really like and you knew what he's really promised,

you wouldn't be afraid. You wouldn't be anxious about the future.

You wouldn't be worried or nervous about what's gonna happen

tomorrow because if you really knew who God is and

what he's promised to do in your life, you wouldn't

be afraid. The weaknesses that you have today, you'll probably

have to struggle with them the rest of your life.

As I said, you'll get better, but if you, for instance,

have a predisposition to be controlling, and in every situation,

you intend to try to control everything, the rest of

your life, you're gonna be tempted to try to control things.

As I said, hopefully you'll get better and not give

in to it so much, but you're gonna be tempted

to do that the rest of your life. But God

promises to help you. This is a good thing. So

let me give you the bad news, the good news,

and the great news about temptation. The bad news is

you're never gonna outgrow temptation. Some people think, well, maybe

I'll get to the point in my spiritual life, I'm

just not tempted anymore. Fat chance. It's gonna happen the

rest of your life. In fact, I know this. I've

been walking with the Lord. I've been a friend of

Jesus for over 50 years. You know what I've discovered?

The more mature I get, the more Satan tempts me.

Because Satan doesn't bother with you if you're not doing anything.

But if you can make a difference with your life,

he's going to really go after you. And so actually,

some of the temptations in your life, the more mature

you get, the more you'll be tempted. You just have

better resources. You know how to deal with it. Doesn't

mean the temptation to go away. It just means you

don't give into them anymore. And so they will actually increase. See,

some people, some of you are carrying false shame because

you think I should be at the stage. This doesn't

tempt me anymore. I shouldn't have this thought. I shouldn't

have this feeling this way. Well, that's just not true

because you're not responsible for every thought that comes into

your mind. You're responsible for what you do with it.

When Satan gives you an idea and puts it in

your mind, we call that temptation. The bad news is

you're going to be tempted the rest of your life.

The good news is it's not a sin to be tempted.

It's sin to give in to temptation, but it's not

a sin to be tempted. The Bible says Jesus was

tempted in every point as we were, but he never sinned.

Temptation is just a choice. That's all it is. So

don't get intimidated about like, how am I being tempted

by this? Well, because you're human. That's why. It's just

a choice. And every time you choose to do the

right thing, you grow. Every time you choose to do

the wrong thing, you stumble, you fail, and you go back.

But temptation is just an opportunity to grow. So don't

be intimidated by it and don't be ashamed of it.

Let me say it another way. You might write this down.

I can't control what gets my attention. I can control

what keeps my attention. the best news is this. God

has promised to provide a way out of temptation. The

Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. Remember

1 Corinthians 10:13

that the temptations that come into your life are no

different from what others experience. Now, I know Satan tells you,

nobody else feels this like you do. Nobody's tempted this way,

and he wants to isolate you. The Bible says, no,

we all have the exact same temptations. Now, if they're

common to humans, then there are common solutions to them.

And here's the thing. If we all share the same temptations,

then if we talk about it with each other, they

lose their power over us When you have a temptation

and you keep it a secret, then it's gonna get worse.

God is faithful. And because God is faithful, he promises

two things. First, he will keep the temptation from becoming

so strong that you can't stand up against it. That's

his first promise. Second, and when you're tempted, he'll show

you a way out so that you'll not give into it.

Now it's comforting to know that God understands our struggles.

And he knows exactly what you're going through, when you're

going through it. He's pulling for you. Jesus experienced the

same temptation. He's prepared an escape route. He says, I'll

strengthen you and I'll prepare an escape route. That's the

promise of God. Second Thessalonians chapter three, verse three says this.

The Lord is faithful. There's that phrase again. He keeps

his promises. And he will give you strength and will

protect you from the evil one. God promises to support

me in trouble. He's gonna guide me when I'm confused.

He's gonna help me when I'm tempted. And he's gonna

support me when I'm in trouble. Now what's the difference

between temptation and trouble? Oh, big difference. Temptation is inside me.

Trouble is outside me. Temptation is internal. Trouble is external.

Temptation has to do with my character. Trouble has to

do with my circumstances. And in life, for the rest

of your life, because we live on a broken planet,

you're gonna have temptations and trouble. Internal temptations, external trouble.

Sometimes you hear a big disaster or you hear a

big terrorist attack and people say, it must have been

God's will. That wasn't God's will. God is not the

author of evil. If I go out and I get

drunk and I get in an accident and kill myself,

that wasn't God's will. That was my will be done.

So don't blame God for evil. The Bible says God

cannot do evil. God's will is not always done on earth.

That's why we're to pray thy will be done on earth.

One of the greatest promises in the Bible in Isaiah

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

chapter 43, verse two and three. And here's what God

promises about your future. When you go through deep waters,

notice he doesn't say if, it's a matter of when. Okay,

you're gonna go through deep waters at times in your life.

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I

will be with you. I'm gonna support you. And when

you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

And when you walk through fires of oppression, you know,

when the heat's on, you will not be burned up

for I am the Lord your God. Now look at

that verse, it doesn't say when you go through deep

waters and rivers of difficulty, you won't get wet. Doesn't

say that. It says you won't drown. You're gonna go

through some problems that have pain. You're gonna get wet.

You're not going to drown. And it says when you

go through the fire, when the heat's on in your life,

it doesn't say it won't get hot. It doesn't say

it won't get uncomfortable. It says, you're not gonna burn up.

I'm gonna make sure you make it through. The next verse,

Philippians 4.13. I have strength for all things, the good

and the bad. Everything that's gonna hit me in the future,

which I don't know about. I have strength for all things.

This is confidence. I have all strength for all things

in Christ, not in myself, who empowers me. I am

ready for anything and equal to anything through him who

infuses inner strength in me. That's a confident way to

look at the future. I can do anything. I can

handle whatever God allows in my life with the strength

of Christ. The strength I need will come when I

need it. God doesn't give me strength today for a

problem I'm going to have next week. The Bible doesn't

say we're to pray, give us this day our weekly

bread or our monthly bread. It says, God, give me

my daily bread. I need just enough strength for today.

God's not gonna give you strength for tomorrow until it's tomorrow.

And God knows what you can handle. And he says,

I will support you in trouble and the strength I

need will come when I need it. God promises to

repay those who hurt me He doesn't want you seeking retaliation.

He says, let me handle this. Have you noticed that

the world seems to be getting meaner, more hateful, more rude,

more uncivil, more unfair? God never said that life is fair.

In fact, it's unfair because of the sin in the world.

Jesus came to make things right. And one day they

will be made right. But life is not fair right now.

Sometimes bad people win. Sometimes good people suffer. Come sometimes

the innocent get hurt. Sometimes well-meaning people get abused and

are betrayed and are cheated on. And you say, well,

why didn't he stop it then? Well, God could stop

all the evil in the world. just like that, take

away our freedom to do it. But if he's going

to be fair, he's not only going to have to

take away other people's freedom, he's going to have to

take away yours too, if we're going to be just

and fair. And the fact is, you've hurt people. You

haven't always done the right thing to people. I've hurt people. Yes,

God could get rid of all the evil in the

world instantly. Just take away our freedom to choose to

not follow him. Take away our freedom to say, I'm

gonna do what I think's best. That would instantly get

rid of all the evil in the world. So we

can't blame God for that because he's given us the

freedom to make that choice. God's never stopped me from

hurting people, stopped you from hurting people. But I do

know this, God is keeping a record. The Bible says

very clearly that God is keeping a record of all

the ways you've been hurt in life. Did you know

that in Psalms, Psalm 56, verse 8, it says, God

Psalms 56:8

stores up your tears in a bottle. You don't even

know all the tears you've shared. God does. He says

he's kept an accounting of how many tears you've shed

in your life. That's how much your good, good father

cares about you. And that kind of God says this,

Romans 12, 19. Here's the next promise. Never avenge yourselves.

In other words, don't retaliate. Don't try to get revenge

against the person who's hurt you. Never avenge yourselves. Leave

that to God, for he has said that he will

repay those who deserve it. Wow. Now follow me on this.

God is a God of love. And because God is love,

that's why we all have love in our lives. If

our creator wasn't loving, there would be no love in

the universe. God is the source of all love. Because

God is loving, as a loving God, he is also

a God of justice. God is a just God. God

is a fair God. He is a righteous God. Why?

Because to allow evil to hurt his children and not

seek justice would be unloving. Justice is sometimes the loving

thing to do. And protection. Sometimes if somebody tried to

hurt my wife or my kids or my grandkids and

I did nothing about it, And I didn't care about it.

That's called being unloving. Sometimes love fights. Sometimes love defends.

Sometimes love fights for the protection of other people. The

Bible says, greater love hath no man than this, that

a man lay down his life for his friends. God says,

the people who've hurt you in your life, he says,

trust me, I'll handle this. And I've got more weapons

than you do. And I can administer justice better than

you can. And God says, I don't want you wasting

one second of your life on resentment and retaliation and

revenge and trying to get even because that's just gonna

fill you with the poison of bitterness. And I don't

want you to waste your precious life being bitter. Some

of you are still allowing people who hurt you 10

years ago to hurt you today because you're holding on

to the memory of it. That's dumb. That's just stupid.

They can't hurt you anymore. Your past is past. They

can't hurt you anymore. The only way they can hurt

you is you're holding on to the hurt. You won't

let it go. God says, I want you to let

it go. Not because they deserve it, because they don't.

You don't deserve forgiveness either. I don't. you let it

go because you go I want to get on with

my life Some of you today need to go, I'm

going to trust this promise that God's going to settle

the score. I'm going to stop trying to get even.

And I think I've been thinking that I was getting

even by holding on to the hurt because they haven't

gotten judged for it. And so I feel like I

got to hold on to it so I can remember

that somebody remembers how much they hurt me. That's faulty logic.

Justice delayed is not justice denied. The Bible says there

will be a day of reckoning. There will be a

day of accounting. There will be a day of judgment.

And God is very aware of what people have done

to you. And he's going to settle the score one day.

Do you trust him? If you do, you'll let it go. Why?

Because it's hurting you. God will settle the score. God

promises for my future to keep me saved until heaven.

He's going to keep me saved until I get to heaven.

I don't have to keep myself saved. Thank God. Because

if it were up to me to keep myself saved,

I'm in deep, deep weeds. There's no way I could

save myself. God says, it's not up to you. Once

you put your hand in the hand of the man

who stilled the waters. You may want to let go,

but he's not going to let go. And once you

are saved, it is his job to keep you safe

no matter what happens in your future. Three verses, three promises,

and we'll close. John 10, 28. Jesus said, I give

them eternal life and they shall never perish. It's a gift.

He doesn't take it back. They will never perish and

no one can snatch them out of my hand. When

you put your hand in God's hand, there are times

you're going to want to let go. One time I

took my kids to the Grand Canyon and my two

boys were young and they were squirrely and wiggly and

I held onto their hands and we walked up to

the edge of the Grand Canyon and they wanted to

let go. There was no way I was letting go

of their hands. Not a chance because as their father,

I love them too much. And there have been times

in my life when I have put my hand, I

put my hand in God's hand a long time ago.

There's been times in my life when I've gone, God,

it's not convenient right now to be a Christian, to

be a follower of Jesus, to be a disciple. And

God says, well, you might want to let go of me,

but I'm not letting go of you. You are in

my hand and no man can snatch you out. I

had a person say to me one time, well, you

can't be snatched out of God's hand, but you can

jump out. And I said, how big do you think

God's hand is? You think it's so small you can

get to the edge of it? His hands is bigger

than the universe. You'll never get to the edge of

God's love. You'll never get to the end of God's love.

You'll never get to the end of him keeping you

safe and saved. Once you are born again, you can't

be unborn. Once your name is written in the eternal

book of life, it's written in indelible ink in the

blood of Christ, it can't be erased. Once I am saved,

I am always saved. That's good news. I don't know

what my future holds. I don't know how many years

I've got left. And I might lose everything. I might

lose my health. I might lose my wife. I might

lose my family. I might lose my mind. But I

am never losing my salvation. That's the good news. And

that means I can do all things through Christ who

strengthens me. And I don't know what's coming. And I

don't know how the world's gonna turn out. But that's

not my job. And the fact is, No matter what happens,

there's one thing I can count on. He'll always be

with me. He's never going to stop loving me. And

he's going to keep me saved until I'm safely home

in heaven. That's good news. You say, well, what if

I mess up and I really sin and I deny Christ? Yeah, well,

lots of people have done that. Next verse. Promise. 2

Timothy 2.13. If we are faithless, he, God, will remain faithful,

for he cannot disown himself. Thank you, God. I can

be unfaithful, but he's never going to be unfaithful to me.

That's how much he loves me. Last verse, Philippians 1.6.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good

work in you will carry it on to completion until

the day Of Christ Jesus. What God started in your life,

he is going to finish. God never leaves anything half finished.

So you can be confident of this, that God who

started something in you is going to finish it in

you and you're going to make it to the finish line.