Daily Hope - Rick Warren

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, friends, thanks so much for joining us today on
Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible Teaching ministry of Pastor
Rick Warren. We're so glad to have you with us.
And today, Rick continues in his series called Transformed. Together,
we'll dive into God's word and discover powerful principles that
can truly change our lives from the inside out spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, financially,

(00:31):
and vocationally. You'll experience how God's truth brings real transformation
to every part of your life. All right, well, let's
get started and join Rick for the final part of
a message called Change your Life by Changing your Mind.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
The reason why most people are ineffective in life and
actually fail at life and actually don't enjoy life is
because they've never learned how to fight the battle of
the mind. This is so important. I just want to
explain to you one simple thing, how temptation works. Because

(01:09):
Paul says, we're not supposed to be ignorant of how
satan works. We need to know how it works so
you're not caught off guard. So let me explain to
you how temptation works. Because it always uses the same
pattern James one fourteen and fifteen tells us the pattern
temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires,

(01:32):
and these evil desires lead to evil actions, and then
the evil actions lead to death. And I notice temptation
is a process. It's not an isolated event, you know
when people talk about I don't know. It just caught
me off guard. It was just a one night's stand.
No it wasn't. No, it wasn't. There were a lot

(01:52):
of things that you gave into before you got to
lowering that barrier. Temptation is a process and the byble
the Scott describes exactly how it thinks. And there are
four phases. Write these down. Phase number one is temptation
starts with desire. So number one is desire. If you
don't have any desire for something, it's not a temptation.

(02:17):
I have never, ever in my life been tempted to
smoke a cigarette. Why there's no desire in me? I
think they stink. Okay. Somebody asked me one they will
smoke and send you to hell. I said, no, make
you smell like you've been there, but it won't. But
it's not going to send you to hell. Okay, all right.

(02:42):
Do you remember when they used to have smoking on airplanes?
That was terrible. I had a friend who used to
carry a card with him and when a guy would
light up next to him on the plane, he'd hand
him the card and said, I notice you smoke. Will
I chew? If you won't blow smoke on me, I
won't spit on you. You Now, I've never been tempted

(03:06):
because it just didn't smell good to me. Now, there's
a lot of stuff I've been tempted in that you
haven't been tempted in. But it always starts with an
internal desire. Now, he says, there the lure of our desire.
It begins inside you. Temptation doesn't start out there, doesn't
start on TV, doesn't start on the street corner. It

(03:27):
starts inside your mind. And it often begins with a
natural desire, not even an evil desire. It can begin
with a natural desire. You have a natural desire for sleep.
You have a natural desire for water. You have a
natural desire for food. You have a natural desire for sex.
You have a natural desire to succeed in life. These

(03:49):
are all God given drives. The drive to achieve the
drive for sex, the drive to breed, the drive. Those
are normal drives. There's nothing wrong with them. Okay, listen closely.
Temptation turns a routine desire into a runaway desire, and
that's what makes it bad. It becomes more important than

(04:12):
anything else. It's all you can think about, and any
desire out of control is destructive. Fire in a fireplace
can warm, fire on a cooking stove can cook great food,
but fire uncontrolled can burn your house down. All of
God's gifts, misused and abused, will burn your house down.

(04:34):
Any of them will sex, sleep, eating, any of those things.
They're good desires, good drives, but misused and abused, they
mess you up. Now. Often, temptation is an attempt to
fulfill a legitimate desire in your life, like I just
want to be loved. There's nothing wrong with that in
the wrong way. But the point is it's like steel

(04:55):
in a magnet. If there were no desiring me, there
would be no temptations. That makes sense, okay, So temptation
doesn't start out there. It starts in here, in my
mind with desire. Step two in temptation always happens this
way is doubt, and what you do in doubt is
you begin to doubt two things. You doubt that God

(05:18):
loves you, and you doubt that God knows best. Because
when you start to get tempted, you go, did God
really say, don't have sex outside of marriage? Did God
really say forgive the person instead of get even with him?

(05:38):
Did God really say it's more blessed to give than
to receive? And you start doubting God's word. We see
this from the very first temptation and Adam and Eve
they're in a perfect environment. Okay, it's paradise. They have
no clothes and no kids. Hello, how do you mess

(06:06):
up that? Really? Satan comes and says, hey, see that
tree over there. Did God really say you can't eat
of that tree? What is he doing? He's getting you
to doubt God's word. And then he says, God knows

(06:29):
that if you eat that tree, you'll be as smart
as he is. What's he doing? He's getting you to
doubt that God loves you, that God's rules are for
your benefit. Every time you give into temptation, you are
believing a lie. You think you know better, You think
God doesn't know best. You think that you know what

(06:50):
will make you happy more than he does. So there's
always the desire, and then there's the doubt did God
really say? Do I really? Does God really love me?
Isn't God just being a little prudish about this? Is
it really true? And on and on and on. Then
the step three is deception. And the third thing that

(07:15):
Satan does is he replaces God's truth with his lie,
and he says, God, you won't die if you eat
this God had already said you eat this fruit, you're
gonna die. Now God said, you can eat anything in
the hole in the entire park, Yellowstone Park called Eden.
You can eat anything in the park except this one tree.

(07:36):
What does man do? He goes immediately to the one tree.
It's the minimum amount of temptation possible, but it allows
a choice. Satan changes the alls of God, says you
can't eat a bunch of stuff, and reason he doesn't
want you eat because he doesn't want you to be
as smart as he is. He is giving you a lie.
He is deceiving you. Notice it says in that verse

(07:58):
he says, I am lured. He said temptation comes from
the lure of our own evil desire. Circle the word lure.
That's a fishing term. Hek I'm enticed he're talking about
using bait there. Now, any of you fishermen, some of
you are, the secret of good fishing is real simple.

(08:20):
You got to use the right bait. Salmon eat a
certain kind of bait, and trout eat another kind of bait,
and fish will even change what they're eating feeding on
at different times of the day. And how many fish
are you going to catch with a bare hook? None? Zero, none,

(08:42):
So obviously you got to put some bait on there.
You got to have a lure question. What kind of
bait does Satan use on you? Do you even know?
Do you know the one he always uses on you?
And he keeps coming back to it because it gets

(09:04):
you every time. It hooks you every single time. It
may be from something long time ago that a parent
said to you, but man, when that thing comes out,
you are just so hooked. You immediately get depressed, or
you immediately get angry, or immediately get worried. And Satan

(09:24):
got her hooked. I put the right bait on that hook.
Satan knows your weaknesses and he hides the hook. Now,
I call this phased deception because you know why often
we know there's a hook there, but we still keep nibbling.
We know there's a hook, but we still keep nibbling.

(09:49):
It's like people who flirt in the office. How stupid
is that? You know there's a hook there, you know
it's gonna there's only one way it could go bad,
but you still keep nibbling. You say, I'm an adult,
I won't get hurt. I'll be careful. You're being deceived.
And there's a lure. Now, anybody who's done fishing, Tom's

(10:11):
a fly fisherman knows that lures can when you fly fish,
they can be pretty flashy, pretty flashy. And the flashier
the lure that what was that? That fish goes? What
was that? Holy I'm gonna swim over there. That thing
looked it's flashy, it's shiny. Man. That looks like Las Vegas.

(10:38):
You know what. Las Vegas is one giant lure in
the desert and it's shiny and it's bright, and they've
got all you can eat buffets for nothing, and somebody's
paying for that, and you're gonna get hurt, and you know,

(10:59):
the poor suckers are gonna you know, Las Vegas should
just be called lost wages, because next time you're going
to tempt to be going to Las Vega. Just give
me your money, okay, just give it to me, okay, okay,
and then you save the time, save the effort, and
we'll use it for good, all right. Temptation always looks
better than it is. The step four is disobedience and defeat.

(11:21):
Disobedience and defeat. Now we've moved from desire. There's something
that's I want to doubt God's word and God's love
to deception. I'm believing the lie that Satan's telling me.
It's gonna be Okay, you can get away with this,
It's all right, just this once, and it's not that bad,
and I don't know. And then you go to disobedience

(11:42):
and then defeat, and now it's sin. What began in
the mind gets translated into action and it goes like this,
My attention becomes an attitude, and my attitude becomes an action. Well,
you really spend a lot of time on this, but
this is how it works in the battle for your mind.

(12:02):
I've had guys say to me, what's the danger of
a harmless fantasy? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?
It's not harmless? I want you to write this down.
What I flirt with, I'll fall for whatever I flirt with.

(12:23):
It may be a cupcake, I'll fall for. Whatever I
flirt with, I'll fall for. I need to refocus my attention.
The Bible says, after desires conceived, it gives birth to sin,
and the end result is death. Says the Tragic consequt.
What's death the exact opposite of living. Now, listen, you

(12:46):
are free to choose anything you want in life. You're
free to make your choices, but you are not free
from the consequences of those choices. The moment you make
that choice, you are no longer free because there are
consequences that come to every choice, often unintended consequences, And
what you sow you will reap. And you cannot choose

(13:09):
the behavior and not choose the consequence. Now what am
I saying? The best time to win the battle with
temptation is before it begins. Look at this verse on
the screen. PS. I'm one nineteen one twelve. I have
made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no

(13:32):
matter what. Until you come to that point, you're just
gonna keep stumbling and stumbling and stumbling and stumbling. I
have made up my mind. That's a choice. I have
made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no
matter what. All right, Three things, I said, You got

(13:54):
to make these choices every day. I have to focus,
I have to free, I have to feed. I said. First,
I have to feed my mind constantly on truth, not garbage.
And then I have to free my mind from destructive thoughts.
We talked about how that happens. And the third is,

(14:14):
I must focus my mind on the right things. For
mental health, I must focus my mind on the right things.
Three things that will make the most difference in your
mental state. Number one, think about Jesus. Think about Jesus.

(14:37):
You've heard that old cliche. You become whatever you think about.
Most Well, you think about Jesus. Guess what you're going
to become like like Jesus. Tecond time of the two eight.
Keep your mind on Jesus Christ Hebrews twelve Three. Think
about Jesus. Example, he held on. Are you having a

(14:59):
hard time? Hold on? He held on while wicked people
were doing evil things to him? So do not get
tired and stop trying. Don't do that. When you start
feeling like you're ready to give up, Think about what
Jesus went through. Think about Jesus. Number two, think about others.
Think about others. Philippians two four says don't just think

(15:23):
about your own affairs, but be interested in others too
and what they are doing. Do you realize how counterculture
that is everything in the world teaches you to think
about yourself and nobody else. How many times have you
heard this phrase, I've got to do what's best for

(15:45):
me looking out for number one. Yeah, I could go
on down a whole list of these phrases that basically say,
it's all about me, It's all about me, it's all
about me, it's all about me. That's why when I
wrote Purpose Driven Life, I thought, what's the most counterculture
statement I could think of in our culture to begin
this book with? And I just said, it's not about you.

(16:06):
That is the most counter culture statement you can make
in our world today. It's not about you. It's like
a slap in the face. So I just thought, I'll
start the book with a slap in the face. It's
not about you. Okay, it's not about you. It's not
about you. It's not about you. It's all about God.
And it's only in giving your life away that you

(16:28):
will understand what it really means to live. So think
about others Hebrews ten twenty four. Let us think about
each other and help each other to show love and
do good deeds. And the best place to practice that
is in your small group. Practice that version in your

(16:48):
small group this week. Let's think about each other. Let's
help each other to show love and do good deeds.
In your small group. That's the laboratory for love. It's
the place to learn and unselfishness. Think about Jesus, think
about others. Number three, Think about eternity. That's the third
one that'll make the biggest difference in your mental state.

(17:12):
Think about eternity, that there's mortal life than just here
and now. The problem that we do today is we
have short term thinking. We only think about what's happening
right now. Colossians three to two. Let Heaven feel your thoughts.
Do not think only about things down here on earth.

(17:33):
King James version says, set your minds on things above,
not upon things on the earth. Let Heaven fill your thoughts. Now,
have you heard this old canard? He's so heavenly minded,
he's no earthly good. That's a bunch of balgoney. You
know what I found. Only the people who are heavenly

(17:55):
minded actually do any good, And those who are most
heavenly minded throughout history are those who've done the most
good on earth bar none. It is not the earthly
minded people who get the most done on earth. It
is the most heavenly minded people who get the most
done on earth for good. It's just not true. He's

(18:18):
so heavenly minded and no earthly good. The problem is
the opposite. We're so earthly minded, we're no heavenly good.
All we think about is budget and baseball and bills
and stuff like that. One Corinthians two nine. No eye
has seen, no ear has erred, and no mind has

(18:40):
imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.
Think about that, and when you start thinking about that,
all of the problems, little nitpicky problems in your life
seem so inferior compared to the glory, the joy, the pleasure,
the enjoyment, the things we have to look forward to

(19:02):
in eternity. I need to feed my mind on truth
every day. I need to free my mind from those
destructive thoughts. I can choose not to think them by
changing the way I think and then I can focus
my mind on the right thing. And when I'm focused

(19:23):
on the right thing, I don't have time to pay
attention to the wrong thing. When I'm watching TV, I
don't like what I see. I just flipped the channel.
Change your attention. I'm no longer tempted. It's real simple.
Let's vow for prayer. Father, you gave us our minds.
We were made in your image. This is the greatest

(19:43):
gift You've ever given us, the gift of intellect. And
we realize it's our greatest asset, and yet it is
the greatest battleground. And we realize that the world, and
the flesh, and the devil all team up to thwart
our best intentions. Now you pray, just say a simple prayer. God,

(20:06):
help me to put into practice what I've just learned.
Just say, God, help me put into practice what I've
just learned. Help me to make these choices on a
daily basis. I want to feed my mind with truth

(20:27):
all the time. And I want to free my mind
from destructive thoughts by taking every thought captive, to make
it obedient to Christ, to not just let my mind
run wild. Help me to be wise. The temptation realize
when desire is turning the doubt to deception to disobedience.

(20:51):
Just say this, God, I'm going to make up my
mind to obey your word forever, no matter what to
think about Jesus, help me to think about others. Help
me to think about eternity, that my life may be
truly transformed in your name. I pray.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Amen, such great words of wisdom from Pastor Rick today,
and I hope you were blessed like I was. And
now here's Rick to tell you about a resource that
he created to help you in your walk with Jesus.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
Imagine the difference the world would be if lives were
really transformed by the grace of God. Now, it's always
been my goal here at Daily Hope not just to
show you what God says to do and how to
do it, but to supply you with practical tools for
doing it on a daily basis. So I've created a
special Transformed Bible study Kit. Now in this kit, there

(21:55):
are a number of resources that I want you to have. First,
seven lessons on DVD that help you go deeper and
explore what the Bible has to say about each of
these seven key areas of your life and then there's
a two hundred and twenty five page leather bound workbook
filled with tools for personal evaluation, goal setting, daily devotions,

(22:18):
versus to memorize, a place to take notes and journal
information about additional resources. This study kit can be used
not just in your personal life, but as a small
group study guide with your friends. I want to send
the Transformation Bible Study Kit to you as my gift

(22:39):
to tell you how much I love you and to
say thanks for your financial support of Daily Hope.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
Now, in this seventh session video and workbook study, Rick's
going to guide you through all the key areas of
life spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, relational, financial, and vocational equip
seing you with practical steps to experience real lasting change
with weekly lessons, daily devotions, and exercises that will help

(23:09):
you dive deeper into God's word. This study is perfect
for personal growth or sharing with your small group. Request
the Transformed Study Kit today when you give a gift
to Daily Hope and join us in bringing the Hope
of Jesus to people around the world. Your transformation starts here.
Just go to Pastororrick dot com to get your copy

(23:32):
of this great resource that's Pastorick dot com or you
can just text the word hope to seven oh three
oh nine. Again, that's the word hope to seven oh
three oh nine. And thank you so much for your support.
Your gift to Daily Hope helps us share the hope
of Christ with people everywhere. We hope you'll join us

(23:53):
next time as we continue to look into God's Word
for our daily hope. And this program is sponsored by
past to Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
H