Leaving a Legacy of Hope — Part 1

Hi, I'm Rick Warren, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is going to be here very soon, and Jesus said in Luke 14:23, Go out into the highways in the countryside and urge everybody you find to come in so that my house will be full. Who are you thinking of to bring to your church? Maybe it's a friend or a neighbor or maybe your accountant or the person who rings up your groceries at the local market. Whoever it is, I want to challenge you to be a light at Christmas and invite them to services at your church.

Hey, everyone. This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. You know, sharing your faith with the next generation. Well, it's one of the most important things you can do. And we're so glad you're here, because today, Rick is continuing in his Leaving a Lasting Legacy series. Rick gives you some very special tools to help you share the biblical principles of faith, hope, love, and generosity with the next generation. Okay, are you guys ready for a wonderful message? Here's Rick with part one of a message called Leaving a Legacy of Hope.

A lot of people seem hopeless today because they're looking at the circumstances. And honestly, if I didn't have Christ in my life, I'd be pretty hopeless because there's a lot of things that are going wrong on this planet. But we of all people have a reason to be hope. And actually, God commands us to pass on hope to the next generation. If you pull out your message notes, hope is as essential to our lives as error is. And in Psalm 78, he says this. God commanded our ancestors to teach his word to their children so the next generation might know them, that they in turn might teach their children so each generation can set its hope anew. Would you circle that phrase, set its hope anew on God? Now, why are we the most hopeful people of all? Because we don't base our hope on anything circumstantial. We don't base our hope on entertainment or entertainers or sports figures or economists or politicians. But our hope is in something that lasts a whole lot longer than any human program. Our hope is in God. And today we're going to look at the eight reasons why you never need to be hopeless. If you've been feeling a little down, a little discouraged, a little under the weather, you picked a good weekend to come to church. Because I guarantee you that when you leave here today, you're going to be filled with more hope. I guarantee it. Because you cannot look at what God has promised to do in the world, in you, through you, for you, to you, and will do in the future and not coming away going, wow, what a God we serve. What an amazing God we serve. Now in Romans, chapter eight, we have the greatest chapter on hope in the Bible. And he gives us eight reasons to never be hopeless. Let's get right into it. First, because I put my trust in Jesus Christ, what he did for me died on the cross, paid for the penalty of my sins, broke the power of sin, gave me eternal life and all these other things. There are eight reasons. First, I can live a life without condemnation, and that means I'm forgiven. That's the first reason for hope, that God has forgiven you for everything you've ever done wrong when you accept his forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Now, the truth is, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, we all blow it. We all have problems. We all do things wrong. I took Kay down to the beach yesterday morning. We had breakfast down there, and as we were driving back, I said, honey, if a man is in a forest by himself without a woman, is he still wrong? The fact is, we're all wrong some of the time. In fact, we're all wrong a lot of time. We all make mistakes. And because we blow it, we don't measure up to our own standards, much less God's. That means that we live lives that carry secret, hidden guilt. We carry regrets. Man, I wish that had never happened. We carry guilt. We carry shame. And most people subconsciously take it out on themselves. They live with self condemnation. You're much harder on yourself than you realize. And the fact is, when you violate your conscience, it keeps score, it finds a way to get even. And you may be rationalizing it and say, well, it wasn't really that bad, or it wasn't that wrong, but in your heart, you know what you did was wrong. You know it. And all of the rationalizing isn't going to convince yourself otherwise. You try to convince yourself it wasn't wrong, but you know in your heart that it was wrong. And as a result, your conscience finds a way to get even. A lot of people get sick. A lot of people sabotage their relationships unconsciously, or they sabotage their success. They have enormous potential for success and they keep bumping up against failures but making dumb decisions. What's behind that? A lot of times it's guilt. Doctors say they could take about 80% of the people out of the hospital if you. If they could remove resentment and guilt out of people's lives. So this first thing that I'm forgiven, no condemnation, is an amazing thing because guilt and shame are Hope killers. Romans 8. 1. First verse of this great chapter on hope. Let's read it together. There is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Now, does that mean that after I become a believer, I don't make any mistakes? No, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. Does it mean after you become a believer, you'll never sin again? No, you're gonna sin a lot. Does it mean you'll never fail? No, you will fail. Does it mean I'll never have any errors? No, you will make errors. It means this. You're forgiven for them already in advance. You are not condemned. God is not mad at you. A lot of people go around in life thinking that God is trying to get even with them. When something goes wrong in their life, they go, I know what's happening. God's getting even with me. For, no, your conscience is holding onto that, but that's not God. If you put your trust in Christ, there is no condemnation. That word in the original Greek language. No, there means is the strongest version of it. It means, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not in a million years. It isn't gonna happen. Don't even think of it. There is zero condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What does that mean? It means I'm not condemned for not only the things I've already done, but already for the things I'm not gonna do. In God's eyes, I'm already forgiven for those things. Why? Because Jesus Christ took the penalty for me on the cross. He's already paid for every one of your sins and including the ones you'll do today and next day and the next day and the next day. You say, well, that isn't fair. Of course it's not fair. It's called grace. The fact is, God gives you not what's fair. He gives you not what you deserve. He gives you what you need. If we all got what we deserve, we wouldn't even be sitting here right now. We wouldn't be alive. I don't deserve forgiveness any more than you do. It's a gift. It's a gift of God. It's his free, gracious love because he gave it to us. Now, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, he took all of the sins of me and you on himself. And that's why he said, it is finished. In other words, I've paid it all. And the judge throws down the gavel and says, case closed, penalty paid. You're free to go. You are free to go.

Why?

Because all of the penalty was paid. By somebody else. Jesus Christ. And there's a law of the universe called the law of double jeopardy. You thought it was a TV show, but it's actually, it's a legal term. Double jeopardy means you cannot be tried, convicted and punished for the same crime twice. You can't spend a penalty in jail for a crime, get out. They try you again and you go back to jail for the same crime. That's what's called double jeopardy. It is not allowed. And the same is true in the spiritual sense. Jesus Christ already paid the penalty for all the things you're ever gonna do wrong. So why would God make you pay a penalty for it when Jesus has already paid for it? That's double jeopardy. What that means is you are totally forgiven. Friends, is that good news? Oh baby, is that good news? It means that even if there were no heaven, it would be worth it. Just having a clear conscience. Knowing that no matter how bad I screw it up in the past, the present or the future, as I put my trust in God's grace. God says, wiped out, paid in full, clean. You are pardoned. Now a pardon means that when God pardons you, it doesn't matter what anybody else says. They may try to accuse you stuff, but God says you're pardoned. Years ago, when President Ford pardoned President Nixon, that really ticked off a lot of people. They got pretty mad about it, they got pretty upset, but it didn't really matter because once you're pardoned, you're pardoned and you can't go back and then put em back in jail or whatever. What does this mean in a practical sense? It means if you've accepted what Jesus Christ did for you, you've stepped across the line, what he did in dying for you. It means that when you blow it, God does not reject you. And God does not dump you when you sin. God does not hold a grudge, he doesn't hold a resentment. He doesn't try to get even with you. It means that when you're inconsistent, he doesn't get impatient with you. He doesn't scold you. Why? Because all your sins have already been paid for. That is such incredible news. It's called the good news, the gospel. Pardon is a final word. Now pardon is great because it takes care of all your guilt. But you need more than a pardon from sin. You need free from the power of sin. In other words, how do I stop it? Because if I know that I'm already forgiven for every sin I'll ever commit, well then why not just go out and sin. Well, there are a lot of reasons for it. First, every sin hurts you more than it does anybody else. But then new it hurts others. It harms your joy in life. But the truth is this. If I know that God has already shown me grace, it just makes me want to love him more. I don't want to do the wrong thing. In my heart of hearts, I want to do the right thing. I don't always do it, but I want in my heart of hearts to do the right thing because I know how much God loves me. And no condemnation means I'm forgiven. But I need more than forgiveness. I need the power to change. And that means the second step. God says it's possible to live a life with no domination. In other words, I'm set free. I am set free. Now everybody is a slave to something. You're controlled by far more things than you realize. You're controlled by your circumstances. You're controlled by your genes. You're controlled by your environment. You're controlled by the family you grew up with. You're controlled by the approval of others. You're controlled by society. You're controlled by habits that you can't stop. You're controlled by passions you can't get ahold of. There are a lot of things in your life that are out of your control. In fact, most of your life is, how do I get control of things that I just can't control? Why do I do things I don't want to do? Why don't I stop doing those things and start doing the things that I do want to do that are good for me? Well, the Bible calls this the law of sin and death. It says it is the gravity, the spiritual gravity that holds you down, that keeps you from becoming what God wants you to be. It's the things that holds dominion or control on your life. One of the most common complaints that I hear from people is Rick, I feel stuck. I feel stuck in a career. I can't get on with it. I can't get out of it. I feel stuck in a relationship or a marriage. I can't get on with it. I can't get out of it. I just feel stuck. I feel stuck with a habit. I have tried and tried and tried and tried, and I don't like this about myself. And I want to change, but I don't and I can't. You're right, you can't. If you could, you would have, but you can't, so you won't. You need more than your own power. You need God's power in your life to change. You weren't meant to live through life just by yourself, on your own power. And the way you break free is by letting God's power and his spirit come into your life. Notice what the Bible says in Romans 8:2. Through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. In other words, I have the power to break free from things that control me. Free from what? You name it. Free from the fear of death, free from the approval of others, free from the worries of today, free from guilt, free from resentment, free from bitterness, free from loneliness, free from boredom, freedom from no purpose in life, freedom from habits and hurts and hangups that hold you back. All of the things that enslave you and you don't even know how to change. Now, the Bible calls this the law of sin and death. What is that? The law of sin and death is why do I do things that I know are bad for me, but I still do them? And why do I hurt people when I really don't want to hurt people, but I do. And the law of sin and death does that. And the only way you can get over that is have a stronger power that breaks that law. For instance, in physical terms, there's a law called the law of gravity, and it says that things that are heavier than air are going to fall. That's the law of gravity. So how does a plane get off the ground? Because there's a law that's higher than the law of gravity, and it's called the law of aerodynamics. And the law of aerodynamics says that if you do a certain speed and with a certain angles that you can lift something off the ground. The law of aerodynamics allows planes to break the law of gravity. Spiritually speaking, there is God's power in you that breaks the laws of sin and death that keep you bound up, that keep you tied up. What have you been telling yourself? I could never do that? In what areas of your life have you said, I give up, I just can't change? Well, you can change. You can't on your own, but you can. With God's power in you. It breaks that grip of the gravity of sin in your life. Now, you can't save yourself, but God can. Look at the next verse. The law of Moses. This is verse three. The law of Moses. That's the Ten Commandments. The law of Moses could not save us because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to Save us. God destroyed sin's control over us. That's the dominion, the domination. By giving us His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He says, when Jesus did that on the cross, he didn't just break the penalty of sin. I'm free, forgiven. He broke the power of sin. I'm set free. I now, if all, trust him, have the power to make changes in my life that I never thought possible. And friends, I've seen this happen tens of thousands of times. I've seen marriages put back together when there was no they were already divorced and God changed their hearts. I've seen kids get off of drugs. I've seen failures become successes. I've seen very angry men become very loving men. I've seen people who lied and cheated their entire life become honest people of integrity. And on and on and on. Only Jesus Christ can make changes like that. I'm forgiven, but I'm also set free. Look at this next verse. Those dominated by their sinful nature think about sinful things. That's like people who get hooked on pornography. That's all they can think about. They keep coming back to it. They're dominated by it. Those dominated by their sinful nature think about sinful things. But those controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please God. If the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is. Read it with me. Life and peace. Friends, I want life and peace in my life. I'm sure you do too. How do you get it? Let God's spirit live through you. Do you know what controls you most? People don't even know what it is. What controls you is what you think about most. If you think about money the most, you are controlled by money. If you think about sex the most, you are controlled by sex. If you think about, how do I look to others? You are controlled by other people. If you think about your past all the time you are controlled by your past. Whatever you think about most is the controlling element in your life. And God says, I don't want anybody being in control of your life except me. Because when I set you free, then I really set you free. Mastered by Christ, I can master any circumstance. No condemnation, I'm forgiven. No domination, I'm set free. No termination. I'll live forever. That's the third reason we have hope. I'm going to live forever. That is a life without termination. Death is not the end. There's more to the story. One day your heart will stop beating. That will be the end of your body. It's not going to be the end of you. You were made in God's image. You were made to last forever. You're going to spend trillions of years on the other side of eternity compared to here. This is not all there is. And why do we have hope? Because no matter how bad it stinks on earth, in your life, it's just for a while. Ultimately, if you put your trust in Christ, you're going to spend trillions of years in eternity with no more sorrow, no more sadness, no more sickness, no more suffering. And I can live a life with no termination. I am going to live forever.

Hey, thanks so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I hope you were as blessed as I was from today's show. And now here's Rick to tell you about today's offer.

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 and 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 prayer 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. 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. Cause we'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 gotta have a place to do that. Now I wanna encourage you and I wanna 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'll help you put into practice God's wisdom that is found in Philippians 4. 6 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.

This is a journal that features 240 beautifully designed pages filled with over 100 life changing Bible verses, photos and artwork. So be sure to request the brand new Daily Hope Prayer Journal when you give a gift to help Daily Hope reach the people around the world with the hope of Jesus. Just go to pastorrick.com to get your copy of this great resource. That's pastorrick.com or you can just text the word hope to 70309 again, that's the word hope to 70309 and thank you so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope helps us share the hope of Christ with people everywhere. Be sure to join us 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.