When You Feel Like Giving Up with Rick Warren (Korean Subtitles)

yesterday before the first service I was sitting upstairs in my little study at home had the window wide open because it's such a beautiful day and you know all of a sudden comes in that wafting smell of barbecue and you go somebody's barbecuing and that just smells so good and then after a little while I realized that's not barbecue that's somebody's burning trash and then it got a little bit stronger and the more I smell of it that's not trash that's a grass fire so Kay and I went out in our backyard and the slope was on fire and so she calls the fire department they said somebody just beat you to it we've got four trucks on the way and they did show up and the helicopter came over and was bombing the canyon because I live out in the canyon and and it was it was an experience I spent about an hour before the last service you know kind of watering down my precious fruit trees so that they wouldn't get couldn't get singed I didn't want toasted peaches and or dried apricots or whatever and and and so you know I was a little late to getting to the first service and so I ran out to my truck and I got in the gut in and started up and the battery was dead now this just teaches a very key truth of life one of the important lessons of life is just three words it's always something okay you just need to know that it's always something you're either coming out of a problem or you're in the middle of a big problem or you're getting ready to go into the next one because life is simply a series of problems one after another and because of that you often get tired you get fatigued and you feel like giving up and that's what we're gonna look at this weekend now this letter is old but it's just as true today it was when I got it your pastor Rick if I could sum up my life in a single word it would be the word conflict it seems I have to fight for everything everything's a battle a battle with my kids battle with my husband battle with my job even my walk with the Lord is a battle and we struggle in our home we struggle with our money we struggle with our intimate life we struggle even just to understand each other plus I got all my internal battles on my internal fears and the wars going on inside me I can't seem to stick with stuff even when I know it's the right thing to do why is life so tough well the battle ever end I hope so because sometimes I just feel like walking away from it all it's a good question why is life so tough because it is it is tough you see we're not in Paradise anymore John Milton wrote a poem about that Paradise Lost when Adam and Eve decided to disobey God to rebel when Adam and Eve decided you know what God we think we know what will make us happier than you do more than you do and so we're gonna make our plan for life rather than your plan sin entered the world and we lost paradise and everything was broken by sin in the world we've talked about this many times we live in a fallen world nothing works perfectly on this planet that's why we play pray thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven because God's will is done perfectly in heaven it is never done perfectly on earth everything is broken the weather is broken that's why we have all of these cataclysmic you know freak accidents and tornadoes and hurricanes and stuff like because the weather is broken the economy is broken your body is broken it doesn't work right it's not a perfect body it has problems with it every relationship is broken nobody has a perfect marriage nobody has perfect children nobody has perfect every family is broken nothing on this planet works perfectly except God's Word is truth now that's enough to discourage you but in addition to that there is a cosmic battle going on in your life it is an unseen war there are forces that are meant to destroy your soul the Bible calls these three enemies of your soul the world the flesh and the devil the first is the battle going on inside you and that's the biggest one of all it's the war inside you because when you're at war with God you're at war with yourself and the war inside you is you have an old nature a sinful nature that doesn't always want to do the right things do you ever do things that you know aren't good for you but you do them anyway yes have you ever done things that were self-defeating that still you went ahead and did it yes have you ever made bad decisions yes have you ever done the thing that made the problem worse rather than better yes are there habits in your life that you cannot seem to break free from yes that's the battle within the Bible calls it your flesh it calls it your old nature it wants to do the wrong thing it's like don't touch the hot stove or don't touch the Wetpaint what do you want to do touch it does to see what it's like and that is the battle within then there's the battle around you and that is the world that is our culture everything in our culture tears you down it doesn't build you up the culture says if you're not the most beautiful or the most talented or the most perfect or the smartest person you ain't worth squat and if you're not the valedictorian you're just an also-ran and really your life doesn't matter and we glorify and idolize the top and forget 99.9999 of everybody else and the world wants to pull you down and you have peer pressure at work at school from friends from relatives to pull you in all kinds of directions that many times you don't even want to go those directions and that's the battle around you and then there's the battle against you Satan is real there is a real devil now he is not equal to God he was created by God and he rebelled and God is in control but Satan wants to destroy your life now Satan cannot hurt God so the best way he can think of is to hurt God's children and he wants to destroy your life he wants to mess it up he wants he is committed to your failure in life now you don't have to be afraid of Satan if you know the right tools you know the right defense you know the right ammo to use and that's why this summer we're going to start a major series that I'm calling the invisible war it's an encouraging series that you really need this because everything is a battle and you need to know how to overcome the battles of life now the people in the Bible who won their battles who finished the race well who finished well in life are called gods Hall of Fame and gods Hall of Fame is found in one chapter of the Bible the book of Hebrews chapter 11 if you have your message notes go ahead and take it out in Hebrews chapter 11 it talks about all these great men and great women who made it through the battles of life they fought the war and they won they were victorious they succeeded with their lives now it's a list of people that you've heard of many many times people like Noah and Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses is mentioned Joshua is mentioned the Bible talks about David and Gideon and Samson and all of the prophets and it just there's a list in Hebrews 11 of the people who won the battles in their life but at the end of Hebrews 11 at the beginning of chapter 12 it gives a passage for your encouragement and it says you know just because you're living a life of faith doesn't mean you're going to have a happy ending in every area of life just because you are doing the right thing and God is pleased with you you're still going to have some suffering you're still going to have some pain you're still going to feel like giving up and it starts by talking about a group of other people who didn't see their prayers answered who saw the promises that God had made to them delayed or unrealized and who experienced great pain in verse 35 of Hebrews 11 it says this but others talking besides the Abraham and Joseph and Moses all these people but others trusted God and they were tortured preferring rather to die than to turn from God and be free did you know that more people died this last year 14 million people were killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ around the world people don't talk about that much more people have died for their faith in the last 100 years than all previous 2,000 years combined so torture is still going on of Christians today all around the world it says preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free they placed their hope in the resurrection to a better life they weren't just living for here and now and then it goes on and tells us some of the things that people of faith have had to go through some are mocked and their backs were cut open with whips others were chained in dungeons and some died by stoning and some were sawed in half and others were killed by the sword some went about in skins of sheep and goats hungry and oppressed and mistreated they were too good for this world I want God to be able to say that about you that you were too good for this world they wandered over deserts and mountains hiding in caves and holes in the ground and all of these people we've mentioned they received God's approval God was pleased with them because of their faith yet none of them received all that God had promised for God had far better things in mind God had far better things for us that's us he's talking to you right now that would also benefit them for they can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race whoa now this is a heavy passage I could spend the entire morning just on this but I want to get to the practical section in the next few verses but I do want to point out three important things that this passage teaches us first it teaches us that faith does not spare me from pain the health and wealth gospel that says if I just have enough faith I'll never be sick if I just have enough faith I'll never have any debt if I just have enough faith I'll never have any problems is a total bogus lie the bible does not teach that the Bible teaches that some of the greatest tests of faith are when you are sick when you are in debt when you are in pain that's when it's hard to trust God it's easy to trust God when everything is going your way the real test your faith is when life sucks when things aren't going well that's when your faith is really tested and faith does not spare us from pain the second thing that teaches is that some of God's promises will be fulfilled in eternity now we think all of God's promises have to be filled fulfilled here and now because you're only thinking about the 80 or 90 or a hundred years you're going to live on this planet but you were made to last forever and God has all of eternity to fulfill his promises to you and some of the promises that God has made in his word he is going to fulfill them to you and everyone else in all of eternity he's got all of eternity to do it he doesn't have to fulfill them all right now before you die the third thing that we see from this passage is that we are runners in a far bigger grand historical relay race notice it says they can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race now imagine this your life is just one cog in a giant wheel God has a plan to create a family that's going to live with him forever and he's been building this family for thousands of years and the previous generation ran with the Pathan and handed it off to our generation and now we are running with the Pathan the race that God has for us and we will hand it off to the next generation and they will run the race God has for them until they hand it off to the next generation until God's timing is finished for history on this planet now how absurd would it be if you're at the Olympics and you're watching the 800 meter relay and the guy who finishes the first 200 meters stops and says may I have my gold medal now and you say well time out the race isn't fish well I finished my part well yes you may have finished your part but you're part of a relay and you don't get the reward until everybody finishes and then when you win at the end your team wins then you get the gold some of the rewards that God has planned for you you're not going to get in this lifetime they're going to come when the race is finished and it says that the people who were before us these Abraham's and Moses and David's and Joseph's and Joshua's and all these people says they can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race so how do we make sure that we finish the race more specifically how do we make sure you finish the race God has planned for you so that you get the reward that you don't give up 50 yards in because life isn't a myth is a 50-yard dash it's a marathon how do you make it to the end where God says good job that's my boy good job that's my girl well in the next passage Hebrews chapter 12 it gives us six powerful keys to handling discouragement what to do when you feel like giving up let's read it it says in verse 1 therefore since we are surrounded now I always tell you whenever you see it therefore in the Bible you want to find out what it's there for right is it in light of what I've just said about Abraham and Moses and David and Joshua and Noah and all of these great people our Bible therefore because of all these people since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses these people are witnessing what's going on to the life of faith the one that we're living let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us now we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus on whom our faith depends from start to finish he was willing to die shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards he's looking past the cross to the joy in heaven now he's seated in the place of highest honor besides God's throne in heaven now think about all he Jesus endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him so you don't become weary and give up when you feel like giving up think about what he endured after all you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against then he says I don't see you being a martyr you haven't shed any blood for the faith now this is a very powerful passage with six key truths on what to do when you feel like giving up in Hebrews 12 God tells us there are six things you need to do when you feel like giving up I don't know what's been discouraging you maybe something maybe you're out of work maybe something in a marriage or with your kids or a health issue but whatever it is you picked a good Sunday to come to church because we're gonna look at these very helpful steps now let's get right into it number one the first thing God teaches us Hebrews 12 is that when I feel like giving up I need to remember heaven is watching me remember that heaven is watching me now I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on this but you have a what audience in heaven watching your life not just God and we know that God is watching your life we know the Bible says in job 31 for he sees everything I do and every step I take God has never missed anything in your life God saw you being formed in your mother's womb he saw you take your first breath he saw you watch take your first step he has seen everything and heard every thought you've ever had he knows the good and the bad and the ugly and he still loves you the Bible says he has every hair on your head counted the Bible says the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth that in him before him all things are naked and unseen and seeing and the Bible tells us that God is aware of everything in your life so obviously God's watching but more than that verse one says this therefore in light of Abraham Moses all these guys since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith now that's that's it a pretty heavy thought to think of the fact that Abraham may be watching your life and Moses may be watching your life or Joshua may be watching your life and seeing how you're doing in your battles and I'm sure knows going you think you had a tough one I had to build an ark and Moses gonna you think what you're going through right now stuff I had to lead a million complaining spiritual babies out of slavery and Abrahamson you think you're going through stuff I had to leave my home at age 80 and pack up my entire family and move to a country I had never seen and been to and start over at 80 you think you're going through a tough time this is the cloud of witnesses but they're not there to judge you they're there to encourage you they want you to succeed they want you to win you have an audience what am I saying nothing you do in your life is really private nothing you do in your life is personal nothing you do in your life is a secret heaven is watching since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to this life of faith we need to not give up because we know people who have already been there done that gone through it and some of them much much worse than things we've gone through and they made it and they're pulling for us the Bible tells us that in heaven Jesus is praying for you did you know that Jesus is praying for you to make it now number two the second thing we need to do when we feel like givin up is we need to eliminate what doesn't matter if I'm going to make it to the end of the race I need to take off any extra clothing any extra heavy things any responsibilities that are holding me back and eliminate what doesn't matter now the Bible says in the second part of verse 1 because we're surrounded by this crowd of witnesses let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress now circle weight and circle sin because these are the two things that hold you back sins and weights these are the two things that discourage you sins and weights these are the two things keep you from completing the race sins and weights now what's this what's a weight a weight obviously is not a sin because it's different a weight could be a good thing a weight is anything that slows me down you might write that down a weight is anything in my life that slows me down in God's race for me it can be a good thing it could be a relationship it could be a job it could be an activity it could be a sport that you're spending too much time with and it's slowing you down from what you were put on this planet to do it's good thing have you realized have you learned that some things are not necessarily wrong they're just not necessary have you learned that you don't have time to do every good thing in life that just because it's a good thing doesn't mean you should do it it's like money just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should buy it you need to learn the discipline of saying no that's a strong thing for growing up spiritually that just because I can afford it doesn't mean I'm going to buy it and just because it's a good thing doesn't mean I should do it you can drowned in good things you can be overwhelmed by good things you can get discouraged by too many things in your life that are a good thing to do but you're trying to do too much if you are burning the candle at both ends you're not as bright as you think you are and you filled your schedule and you've packed it would you agree it's easier to fill a schedule than to fulfill it how many would agree with that yeah and so you must learn to say no to good things some things aren't bad they're just you can't do every good thing you may write this down to grow I must say no to grow I must say no you've got to learn the two letters in the middle of the alphabet in O and that's gonna free up a lot of time you've got to lay aside the weights the things that that hold you back now a weight could be a memory some of you are stuck in the past and it's either a positive memory and you don't want to get out of it or it's a negative memory and you want to hold on to it and you can't get on with your life cause you're stuck in the past that's a weight a memory a tradition can be a weight we've always done it this way in fam and our family but families change and so you may have to do it in a new way a tradition can be a wait it's not a bad thing it's just a tradition an unrealistic expectation can be a weight what you're expecting of yourself is totally unrealistic or maybe it's an unrealistic expectation put on you by your parents or by your partner or by peers or pay professionals and the people around you and you're living for the approval of other people peer pressure you need to declutter your life you need to lay aside every weight when something is not going right when you start to get discouraged when you feel like you've stopped making progress it's time for a little personal evaluation and you do a little spring cleaning and you clean out the clutter spiritually in your life or whatever you need to do now you know that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting different results that's the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting it that be different you know some of you you know I'm so proud of you who became a part of the Daniel plan you know we started in January it's a one-year plan it's not too late to join up you can go to the Daniel plan comm and we said we're going to get in shape this year we're going to have a healthier Church at the end of the year physically than we were at the beginning and over 14,000 of you have signed up online and are tracking your progress online on a daily or weekly basis 14,000 in fact since January our church has lost over 200 thousand pounds that that's just what's been reported that's amazing okay that's it that's what those of you who've reported in online on the website that's over a thousand pounds a day you just look better from here this point of view I want to tell you that yeah you know and but as we've got into mid-year you know your your motivation starts to wane and you start skimping and cheating and you know a hot to admit I hit a standstill at the beginning of June the whole month of June I was just tired the whole month I don't know if it's allergies or what but I was just fatigued and tired all the time and during the whole month of June I didn't lose any I lost 35 pounds pretty quickly in the first three months over three and a half months and then in June I didn't lose any weight at all now again insanity is just keep on doing what you're doing and expect different results so I went and I did a little self evaluations okay what's the problem here why have I stalled and I figured out looking at frankly four things number one I wasn't drinking enough water you got to drink water if you're gonna lose weight and I had stopped drinking enough water yet not as much as I did in the early days second I wasn't getting enough sleep I was burning the candle at both ends I was trying to get a whole lot done I was writing a whole news curriculum for our small groups on temptation which you're gonna reduce we read how do you say it make it available in a couple weeks and you know and I was and I wasn't getting enough sleep if you don't get enough sleep your body starts storing fat you're not getting enough sleep a third thing I went to doctor and found out I had low thyroid and so they put me on a thyroid med and the fourth thing is I had stopped keeping my food journal well you know if you don't actually write down what you're eating and you're still in learning the habit stage you're gonna cheat you've never done that good say I ate a few nuts how many five or six handfuls but it was not so you knows not and so I you know I made those changes what am i doing I'm doing a little evaluation a little decluttering I'm laying aside the weights cuz I want to finish the race I don't just give up to all I stalled I guess I'm not gonna lose anymore now you just reap reconsidered and refigure now it says you also want to lay aside the sins now what's what's the sin a sin is knowing what to do and not doing it you may write that down a sin is knowing what to do and not doing it it's not like you don't know what to do you know the right things to do in your life you just don't do it you know what the Bible says about money you know what the Bible says about time you know what this Bible says about eating and sex and every other thing in your life you just don't do it and as a result we get further and further in in in in trouble James 4:17 says this up here on the screen anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it since so I remember when I start to get discouraged heavens watching me and Abraham and Moses and all those guys they're pulling for me and they've been through this and then I stop and I go what do I need to eliminate what do I need to streamline what do I need to declutter in my life even some good things some weights that are holding me back and some sin certainly if I've got any unconfessed in if I'm holding on to a grudge I'm holding on the guilt then that's going to hold me down then number three I must run God's race for me not other people's race for me I must run God's race for me not others race you see God loves you and everybody else has a wonderful plan for your life and they would love for you to run their race the only thing is God doesn't give you energy to run other people's races he only gives you the energy to do what he put you on earth to do now the third part of verse once is this let us strip off every weight all the things hinder us a sin and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us Circle the phrase God has set you are not expected to run the race other people set for your life you are not expected to run the race culture sets for your life you're not expected to run the race your parents set for your life you are not even expected to run the race that you set for your life God hasn't promised to bless your plan for your life he's promised to bless his plan for your life what he put you on this planet to do now let me just tell you if you try to run somebody else's race you're going to fail you're going to lose you're not going to make it to the finish line you're going to tire and give up because God doesn't give you the strength to run other people's race you were to run the race God meant for you to run and you've got to stop caring so much about the approval of others and living for their approval and you've got to be who God made you to be you say well Rick that's great how do I know the race that's my race how do I know the one that I'm supposed to run drill simple look at your shape look at your shape now if you've forgotten what shape is you need to go take class 301 again because in class 301 we teach how to understand and discover your shape the five things that make you you spiritual gifts s H your heart a your abilities P your personality e your experience is good bad and ugly these five things what am i gifted to do what do I love to do what am i talented to do what fits with my personality and what's based on my experience shape determines the race you were to run shape determines purpose God doesn't expect rabbits to fly and God doesn't expect eagles to swim and God doesn't expect fish to run their shape to do what they are meant to do and your shape to do what you're meant to do and when people try to get you to run your race it's like a fish trying to fly it isn't going to work and you're going to get discouraged and you're going to get tired number four I must focus on Jesus not my circumstances if I'm going to make it to the end of the race if I want to to make it to the end I want to be all the God wants me and I don't want to get discouraged give up in the middle of the race I need to focus on Jesus not my circumstances we are to run with endurance the race God's set before us and how do we run it says next verse we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus not the road on Jesus not the crowd on Jesus not the critics on Jesus in whom our faith depends from start to finish you know when they're teaching a dog at obedience school they'll put a dog at one end of the room and they'll put the master at the other end of the room and between the puppy and the master they put a bowl of food and if the pup and then the Masters to call the puppy the puppy spies the food he's a goner he's gone straight to the food because he's distracted by it he's tempted and so in obedience school they teach dog to keep their eyes on the master that's what you got to do you can't be looking at your bankbook balance you can't be looking at the fact that you haven't had a job in a year or that some your marriage is falling apart you cannot simply look at the situation you've got to look at the Savior you can't look at the as a victim you've got to look at the victor you can't look at the problem you've got to look at the problem solver you must keep your eye on Jesus you say Rick you don't know what I'm going through what I'm going through right now is unendurable friend the only way you will be able to endure the unendurable is to keep your eye on the invisible if you look at Corrie ten Boom said it like this Corey and her sister Betsy were incarcerated in ostridge because they were Christians in Holland and then she wrote a book about this the hiding place and they hid Jews in their home to protect the Jews during the World War two from the Nazis and one day they found the Jews and they not only took the people they were hiding but they took the Corrie and her entire family and took them to ostriches - Betsy died there in the death camp Corrie later wrote if you look at the world you'll be distressed if you look within you'll be depressed if you look at Christ you'll be at rest it all depends on what you've got your eyes on it's all a matter of perspective you can only do the impossible if you see the invisible we keep our eyes on Jesus what does that mean it means I remember God's goodness to me in the past I remember God's closest to in the present I remember God's promise of power for me in the future and I get my mind off by discouraging circumstances I can either worry or I can worship I can panic or I can pray one of my favorite verses is Jonah 2:7 you know the story of Jonah God said Jonah I want you to go to Nineveh which was over in Syria and he said I want you to preach there and Jonah didn't want to do that because he hated he was racially prejudiced against them so he gets on boat abort gone as far the opposite direction east as possible and goes to a seaport on the coast of Spain and you know the story that God planned a little Mediterranean cruise for Jonah the sailors throw him overboard and it says the great fish swallows him out now by the way it doesn't say in the Bible whale it does not use that term it says a great fish if God wanted to create a one-in-a-lifetime fish with an apartment building in it God could do that I don't have a problem with a god who if he can create the universe he can create anything he wants okay really if you believe God can create a universe you don't have a problem God creating anything he wants to create for as long as he wants created but while job Jonah is at the bottom of the ocean and he's helpless and he's hopeless in Jonah chapter 2 he repents and he cries out to God and then Jonah 2:7 he says this when I had lost all hope I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord that's a verse to memorize Jonah 2:7 when I had lost all hope I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord I want you to hear the story of Rob trail off Rob trial off is a doctor he medically trained was a doctor at Mayo Clinic and then on his own private practice he is married to a Harvard trained attorney he lives in Minnesota and rod leads to Saddleback online small groups an amazing story if anybody knows pain Rob knows it when Rob was nine years old his father was the minister of music at a church up in Anaheim and one day at a freak accident car accident their car flipped and caught on fire his mother and his brother were burned in that fire and died burned alight he was burned over much of his body so this is a man who understands pain and whether you give up or you keep on keeping on but he went on to become a doctor and as I said served at Mayo Clinic and then five years ago another pain came into his life he developed a very painful degenerative back disease which left him 100% disabled having to lay on his bed in the basement of his house unable to live life normal but rod Rob would not give up and he had a friend in this church Glen sty fee who said why don't you start watching Saddleback Church online and so Rob started watching the church online and instantly this became his family because he was confined to his basement and he heard about small groups and he heard about the peace plan and he said I want to be a part in spite of the pain I want you to watch this my name's Rob draw-off for the past five years I've been living my life flat on my back my spine is literally falling apart if someone were to asked me 20 years ago or 30 years ago where I would be right now being flat on my back with constant pain is not where I would have put myself rob has I think maybe 20 different medications takes maybe 50 pills a day there are days where he literally just can't do anything he's just laying there in pain in the past 10 years I've had four major surgeries on my spine after the major spinal reconstruction that we underwent at the Mayo Clinic the surgeon came in and sat down and told Chris and I that I was going to be permanently disabled and literally that I had to get used to the fact that I would no longer be able to continue my profession as a physician rob is not unfamiliar with pain when we were growing up we were in a car accident I was burned over 40% of my body my mother and brother never did make it out of the truck and were killed in the accident God has used these experiences many of them painful to prepare me for ministry in a variety of ways I think of the scripture when you look and reflect on the things that he's going through God has a way of putting in perspective by calling it light affliction so suddenly I find myself limited to a 12 by 12 room and a bed and I've gone from activism practice now to essentially absolute peace environment I think God has put me on a shelf I'm done I started watching Saddleback online services investor Rick was consistently telling us that we shouldn't living out our Christian lives in the small group setting so I became involved in an online small group as a host right from flat on my back as I'm watching services as though Pastor Rick were speaking to me begins to talk about the importance of sharing our faith on a daily basis and I think there's no way I can do this I don't even get out of the house except to go to the doctor and I began to pray God use me and you're gonna have to bring it to me because I can't move then a friend from Saddleback gift made cog and asked if I would be interested in working with the peace team as going down to Rwanda they're beginning a pilot program called telemedicine in which doctors were difficult patients can contact us physicians and ask questions about how to deliver the best care yes sir yes and uh Sofia technology in the sky I'm able to connect with the physician in Rwanda face to face as they examine and talk about a patient now instead of the doctors in Rwanda seeing the peace team several times a year with doctors now they can contact a doctor in the US that's a part of the be seen a game-time good Georgie that's is we do be right God's given me a wonderful second chance to be able to share my faith to help care for patients literally around the world using technology being face to face with people that are out there and in the trenches to watch how God answered those prayers he's taking me off the shelf dusted me off and put me right back into action offer his glory now I know Rob is watching this service so let's all say hi Rob I her have alright now tell me again your legitimate reason for not hosting a small group tell me again your legitimate reason for not being a part of a peace plan project there really is no excuse he began this online a small group and then it went he now actually it was so successful he now leads to online small groups and then as you said he said using Skype he began consulting our peace teams that are doctors national doctors there in Rwanda and and became so helpful to him on a daily basis that the government asked rod to teach a cardiology conference to the three hospitals and all of their entire staff in Rwanda from his bed and so he's going to do that yeah now I I said is there anything you want to say to your church family he said yes through the online ministry of Saddleback I now have an international ministry if I can lead to online Saddleback groups and I can be a part of the peace plan even while being completely confined to bed God can use anyone there is no excuse if you're watching online and you would like to start an online group just contact us and we'll help you start an online group we have them all over America and we have them around the world now and for those of you who are here at Lake Forest and in all of our campus I would say to you who do you know who's disabled or who is aged who or can't get around a whole lot who do you know that you need to tell about Saddleback online and they could be doing their part and making a contribution where they are even if they're confined to a bed this wouldn't happen in Rods life Rob's life if Glen Steiff hadn't taken initiative to invite him to be a part of it so do that now the fifth point is one that Rob perfectly models and it's this if I want to overcome my discouragement I must minimize the pain and maximize the profit I must minimize the pain and maximize the profit the future reward the benefit of keeping on keeping on everything that's worth doing has some pain to it getting in shape has some pain to it getting in spiritual shape has some pain to it getting out of debt has some pain to it getting an education has some pain to it anything worthwhile has some temporary pain in order for there to be long term benefit reward or payoff the Bible says this about Jesus dying on the cross verse 2 the second part he was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards circle the word afterward he's looking past the pain to the pay off and what would that payoff be your salvation you could have your sins forgiven I could have my sin forgiven we could go to heaven because of what Jesus would do on the cross for us he knew he could handle the death because of the joy that would be his afterwards and now he is seated in the place of highest joy and highest honor besides God's throne in heaven you minimize the pain in fact write this down you want to play it down and pray it up the pain you play it down and you pray it up you say this is not that big a deal people have gone through worse problems that I'm going through right now like the guy we just saw I could give you let me just take on a trip around the world most people would love to have your problems so play it down it's not that big a deal it's not the end of the world I'm still alive my mind still is here I'm still free play it down and pray it up let me give it a biblical example of this in the book of second Corinthians in chapter 11 Paul lists all the pain he went through in order to do his race to follow the plan God has for his life and it's not a happy list listen to this 2nd Corinthians 11 Paul says I've worked hard I've been put in jail more often I've been whipped times without number I face death again and again and again five times I was given 39 lashes imagine that if you've been whipped 39 times and five five times 39 would be the number of lash marks on your back can you imagine the scars in his back five times I was given 39 lashes just three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked once I spent a whole night in the day adrift at sea I've traveled many weary miles I face dangers from flooded river person from robbers and I've faced dangers for my own people as well as the Gentiles I face dangers in the cities and in the deserts and on stormy seas I face dangers from men who claim to be Christians but aren't I've lived with weariness I've lived with pain and I've lived with sleepless nights I've often been hungry and thirsty and gone without food and I've often shivered without cold without enough clothing to keep me warm Paul said I went through all of this in order to be a missionary to the entire Roman Empire now that's what he went through then you go back in the same book and and in Chapter four you can read this is what he says about it his perspective on it in light of all this we do not lose heart we don't give up though outwardly we're wasting away yet inwardly were being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all now he calls all that he went through light and momentary troubles would you call that light and momentary troubles I'd call that life a disaster if I'd been in prison that many times been beaten that many times whipped at many times shipwrecked cold thirsty hungry robbed beaten up bruised stoned and he goes now these light and momentary afflictions what that is a matter of perspective he said this stuff is small potatoes compared to the reward I'm going to get in heaven play it down and pray it up minimize the pain of doing the right thing yes staying in that marriage and getting counseling will cause you some pain but it's much more rewarding to resolve a relationship than to dissolve a relationship stay in it don't give up and he says I'm going to I'm going to have these rewards forever you maximize the reward what's the reward oh just eternal life and by the way how long does that one last forever and what's it worth priceless priceless and nobody can take it away from you once you've got it your salvation so in light of this let's all read Galatians 6 verse 9 together and let's read it slowly aloud let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up now circle the phrase proper time God says we will reap a harvest at the proper time if we do not not give up but what I learnt is that the proper time is not in my time because my time is I always want the harvest now today instantly I want to microwave harvest the law of the harvest is real simple you plant in one season and you eat the fruit in another season you do not plant one day and then eat the fruit the very next day that has never happened you plant one day and then you go through the seasons winter spring summer fall all you got to do is call he'll be there now you plan in one season you reap in another if you plant good things in your life you will reap the harvest from that good works later on but not instantly if you start planting the seeds of a daily quiet time you're going to reap the benefit of it in your life but it's going to be in another season if you start tithing your income you're going to reap the benefit from it but it's going to be in another season if you start disciplining the way you eat you're going to reap the benefit from it in another season if you do anything good you share the good news with a friend at work you're going to reap the benefit from it for eternity now some of you are not in the planting season you're in summer and the Heat's on and you're burning up and you think it I'm dying I want to give up and some of you have gotten into the fall and you're in the fall season and all the leaves have fallen off and you look pretty barren and you go nothing's going on in my life right now I feel dead inside and some of you even though it's summer you're in a spiritual winter and in the spiritual winter it's frozen and it's cold and it's gloomy and it's stormy and it's windy and there's nothing no fruit on your branches but you're putting down roots you can't see it but you're putting down roots hang on Springs coming again in 1981 I was some depressed the entire year I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of this church it was the second year of Saddleback I was still quite young and I just thought I'm not competent enough to handle this and really it scared me and I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of this church and for an entire year I went through a period of depression and God had to teach me some things in that darkness that would prepare me to handle enormous amounts of stress later on you don't just get this overnight and God had to take me through a year the dark year in order to prepare me for other good better years and I remember on Saturday each Saturday I'd like to I like to drive down to Laguna Beach and I would sit at the beach kind of calming my mind and clearing my mind getting ready for the message on Sunday and I would just watch the ocean one of the great truths that I learned that year was this the tide goes out but it always comes back in the tide goes out but it always comes back in and when the tide goes out the beach is ugly and you can see driftwood and exposed rocks and junk and all kinds of things it doesn't look that very good but it's coming back in the tide may be out in your life right now you may have been out of work for a long long time are you going to trust God the tight you say you know I've been waiting so long I've been waiting to get married I've been waiting to have a baby I've been waiting to get feel better I've been waiting I've been waiting on and on and on and on the tide goes out but it always comes back in will you trust God this is the sixth thing you need to do and that is remember what Jesus did for me remember the suffering he went through when I'm suffering remember what he endured not for his own sake but what he endured for my sake on the cross and he says when you are enduring a tough time you need to think about the attacks and the criticisms Jesus experienced think about the abuse and the cruelty Jesus went through think about the meanness and the torture and the painful death he went through not for his benefit but for you verses 3 & 4 think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him that's what you think about what he endured so that you don't become weary and give up after all you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin you need to think about what Jesus has done for you when you're going through a tough time now I don't know what you're going through but I do know this it's a test of faith it's a test of faith it's a test of faith God as I said it's easy to trust God when things are going great it's when life doesn't go great that tests faith is proven and so my question is will you endure will you finish the race will you finish well my question is this what have you started that you need to finish what is it that you've started that you need to finish and not give up in the middle of it you know a year before Paul wrote the book to the Corinthians church the Corinthian church did basically like a decade of destiny offering where they did an offering they said we're going to take up an offering for the church at Jerusalem now in those days no church was going through good times it was all tough times but they said we're going to take up an offering to help the Church of Jerusalem and a year later they had made the commitment but they still hadn't given it and Paul wrote this to them 2nd Corinthians 8 finish what you started a year ago what did you start a year ago for you were first to begin doing something about it now you should carry this project to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it give whatever you can according to what you have so I ask you again what commitments have you made that you need to complete maybe you made a commitment to finish your education and you never did it maybe you made a commitment to get out of debt and learn how to get out of debt and then you got discouraged and you just gave up and you're not even trying anymore maybe you've thought I need to be baptized and you have still haven't done it yet you need to go out to day after service then I'll baptize you out there we've got a baptism after every service maybe you've intended to join a small group or start one and you've heard me talk about it for months or maybe even years and you're still not in a small group what do you need to finish what do you need to follow through on in a commitment maybe you started on the Daniel plan five months ago and now in the middle of you kind of gotten a little lazy about it and you've kind of given up and and you haven't finished the race you haven't reached your goal and you need to recommit to that six months ago we we made a commitment like the Corinthian church we did a decade of destiny and where our members we committed to give over a three-year period in order to do 12 major projects that are going to help you in your physical life your financial life your spiritual life all these different things and some of you I know at the time we're going you know Rick I'm out of work and I I just don't have the faith to make a commitment okay that's between you and God but what about now I'm gonna give you a chance now you could do it today and right in front of you maybe didn't pray new envelopes are the same ones from last six months ago you need to join us and be a part of that or maybe you made a commitment to decade of destiny and then you kind of haven't been real faithful to complete it you need to do that you need to finish I I don't know I really don't know what it is in your life that you need to finish what you start but God does so I want us to bow our heads right now and with your head bowed I want you to ask God what you need to complete maybe you've never finished 101 to 1 301 401 oh I don't know maybe he'll give you 2 or 3 things but say god I don't want to be a loser I don't want to be a quitter I don't want to stop in the middle of the race I want to finish what I started and if he tells you something or tells you company I want you to write it down on your on your outline right now because if you don't write it down you'll forget it and even after we've talked about it you won't do anything write down one or two things that you need to finish that you made a commitment to do that you haven't been faithful and doing now follow me in this prayer dear God help me to remember that heaven is watching me that there is a crowd of witnesses observing my life help me to declutter my life to eliminate what doesn't matter to focus on what matters most help me to lay aside the weights and the sins that are slowing me down holding me back and causing me to want to feel like giving up I want to run your race for me not somebody else's race I want to be exactly what you intend for me to be now what other people expect me to be help me to focus Jesus on you not my problems not my debts not my circumstances not my pain help me to focus on you Jesus keeping our eyes on him whom our faith depends from start to finish I want to minimize the pain and maximize the profit help me to play it down and pray it out to not become weary in doing good but to wait for the right season when I see Harvest Jesus most of all I want to thank you for what you did for me how you suffered and what you endured so that I could be forgiven and I could be saved and I could go to heaven and I could be in your family if you've never invited Jesus Christ into your life say Jesus Christ come into my life right now I want to love you and trust you and serve you I want to get to know you from this day forward in your name I pray amen

Channel: Saddleback Church

Views: 519,474

Rating: 4.7237792 out of 5

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Id: 4yYBRqVMjNU

Length: 65min 40sec (3940 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 19 2015