Grow, Sow, and Go in Faith

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CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

Grow, Sow, and Go in Faith By Rick Warren — Dec 30, 2015 “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:7 NLT, second edition) God wants you to focus on growing, sowing, and going in faith. First, God wants you to grow in faith. He doesn’t want you to be a spiritual baby! The Bible says in Colossians 2:7: “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (NLT, second edition). And, God wants you to sow in faith. He wants you to learn to become generous, because you cannot become like Christ without becoming generous. The Bible says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV). This is the law of sowing and reaping, and it’s true in every area of life. If you sow criticism, you’re going to reap criticism. If you sow love, you’ll reap love. If you sow kindness, you will reap kindness. And you always reap more than you sow. When you plant one corn kernel in the ground, you don’t get one kernel back. You get a whole stalk. You always get more back —positive or negative — of what you put out in life. Then, God wants you to go in faith. Hebrews 11:8 says, “It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another place God promised to give him. He left his own country, not knowing where he was to go” (NCV). Would you do that? Abraham was up in years. He was in his retirement phase, just about to hang it up and settle down when God said, “No. Dust yourself off, and get ready for the greatest journey of your life.” When you live by faith, it involves going, often to places you were never planning to go. Why is it so important for you to develop your faith? Because everything that God does in your life he does by his grace and through your faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6a NIV). “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29b). “Anything that is not done in faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b GW). Talk It Over How have you grown in your faith in the last six months? What would the people who are close to you say that you are sowing in your life? Has God asked you to go somewhere in faith and you did not obey? What were the effects of your disobedience? CURRENT RADIO SERIES Awesome God   CURRENT TV SERIES Abide   And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:17-19 One of the great minds in the history of the world was Benjamin Franklin. During his life, he coined countless pithy statements that were packed with nuggets of truth. And one of my favorite quotes from Franklin is, “Doest thou love life? Then do not squander time, for time is the stuff life is made of.” This statement reflects a very biblical truth: God has given each of us a certain number of minutes with which we’re able to make an impact in the world. Yet, many people squander their time here on earth and do nothing that is of significance for the Kingdom. But the truth is that while we are here in the world (what today’s passage calls “exile”), God wants us to maximize our influence among others for the sake of the Kingdom. While many pursue riches that perish, we’re to pursue riches that will never perish… the things of Christ! Every day you live is a gift from God. So as the Christmas decorations get ready to come down, get ready to step into the coming year renewed and recommitted to living your days to their fullest for the sake of Christ! Maximize your life by making a real impact for Jesus Christ each and every day!

Proverbs 6:23

Proverbs 3:3



John 8:32

Hebrews 2:1

Matthew 24:24

Hebrew 4:12-13

2 Samuel 22:37

How Can I Know God's Will?

Faith Produces Resilience

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

Faith Produces Resilience By Rick Warren — Dec 29, 2015 “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT, second edition) Faith unlocks the promises of God and it shows us the power of God and it turns dreams into reality and it gives us the power to hold on in tough times. But faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem. Faith often takes you through the problem. Faith doesn’t always take away the pain. Faith gives you the ability to handle the pain. Faith doesn’t take you out of the storm. Faith calms you in the midst of the storm. I remember reading the stories of Corrie ten Boom, a young Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Holocaust before being sent to the Nazi death camps. She said that the people who lasted in those camps were those who had the deepest faith. Why? Because faith gives you the power to hold on in tough times. It produces persistence. Study after study has shown that probably the most important characteristic you could teach a child (and that you need in your own life) is resilience. It’s the ability to bounce back. It’s the ability to keep going. Nobody goes through life with an unbroken chain of successes. Everybody has failures and mistakes. We all embarrass ourselves. We all have pain. We all have problems. We all have pressures. The people who make it in life have resilience. Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to resign as pastor at Saddleback Church? Just every Monday morning. I go, “God, it’s too big. It’s too many people, too much responsibility. I’m not smart enough. What am I supposed to say to that many people? Get somebody else who can do a better job than this.” Yet God says, “Keep going.” Where do you get the resilience to keep going? Faith. It’s believing God could do something any moment that could change the direction of your life, and you don’t want to miss it, so you keep moving forward. It’s believing that God will give you exactly what you need when you need it as you learn to rely on him to accomplish his purpose in you. This is the testimony of Paul, a great man of faith: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT, second edition). PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>> Talk It Over What is God’s purpose of adversity in your life? How do you teach a child to be resilient? How has faith helped you persevere through a difficult time in your life? Today’s Scripture “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NIV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Release Your Cares and Rest God wants to give you rest. He wants to refresh and restore your soul—your mind, will and emotions. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “busyness” of life, and before long, your mind, will and emotions are so “spun up” that you can barely think straight! But even in the hustle of life, you can find rest, ease and relaxation. God wants to take care of everything that concerns you so that you can find rest in your innermost being when you come to Him. Imagine how you would feel if someone came up to you today and said, “Give me all of your monthly bills; I’m going to pay them.” You’d get pretty excited, wouldn’t you? But it wouldn’t happen until you did your part to actually hand that person your bills. They can’t pay them for you if you never release them. In the same way, when we release our cares and concerns to God, He promises to take care of them. Today, release your cares to the Lord. Let Him fill you with His peace and joy. Receive the rest that He promises and enjoy the fulfillment and blessing He has for you! A Prayer for Today “Father, today I humbly come to You. I choose to cast my cares on You so that I can live in Your rest. Thank You for Your goodness to me. Help me find ways to share Your goodness with those around me today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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What Faith Does to Your Dreams

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

What Faith Does to Your Dreams By Rick Warren — Dec 28, 2015 “Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” (Ephesians 3:20 TLB) Faith turns God-given dreams into reality. Nothing happens until somebody starts dreaming! The Bible is full of people who had God-given dreams. Abraham dreamed of being the father of a great nation. Moses dreamed of setting God’s people free. Joseph dreamed of saving a nation and his own family. Throughout Scripture, there are all kinds of people who were inspiring dreamers, like Daniel and Paul and David. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (TLB). Now, if there were ever a “blank check” verse in the Bible, that’s it. God is able to do far more than we would dare to ask. What are you afraid to ask God for? He is able to do far more than we could even dream of. I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty big dreamer. I can think of some pretty big dreams I’ve had in my lifetime. God says, “Warren, think of the greatest thing you could ever dream of, the greatest thing you think I could do in your life. Guess what? I can top that.” If there were tears in Heaven, it would simply be because we would get there and realize all the things that we could have done if we had just believed God a little bit more. To me that would be Hell! Hell for me would be being shown everything I could have accomplished and become as a husband, a father, and a pastor if I had just believed God a little bit more. But there aren’t any tears in Heaven, and God gives you everything you need right now to accomplish what he has planned for you. I want to challenge you to dream big about your relationships, your marriage, your family, and your career. Your faith can turn those dreams into reality, because God is able to do far more than we would dare to ask or even dream of. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over How do you know if your dreams are from God? What does it mean practically to apply faith to your dreams? Why don’t all of our dreams turn into reality? Today’s Scripture “After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, ‘Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.’” (John 6:12, NLT) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Nothing Wasted The Bible tells of a time when Jesus fed a crowd of five thousand families with only five loaves of bread and two fish. That day, everyone had more than enough to eat, and there were still twelve baskets full of bread leftover. That’s because we serve a God of abundance! When Jesus told the disciples to collect all of the leftovers, He said to do it “so that nothing is wasted.” With God, nothing is ever wasted. He’ll never waste an experience; He’ll never waste a hurt; He’ll never waste a dream; He’ll never waste even a single piece of bread. If you’ve felt like you’ve wasted years of your life in the wrong job, hanging around the wrong people, doing the wrong things, God will gather those years and restore them back to you. He’ll take those experiences that the enemy meant for your harm and turn them around for your good. He’ll make you stronger, wiser and better off than you were before. He can launch you further into your destiny than before. Be encouraged today because with God, all things are possible and nothing is ever wasted! A Prayer for Today “Father, I give You every bit of my life, my past, my present and my future. Thank You for taking every experience in my life and turning it around for my good. I know that with You, nothing is ever wasted in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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Your Faith Can Move Mountains

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

Your Faith Can Move Mountains By Rick Warren — Dec 27, 2015 “Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.” (Mark 11:22-24 CEV) Faith opens the door to miracles. If you study the Bible and history, you find that every time God moves on Earth and does a miracle, it’s because somebody believed. Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24, “Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith” (CEV). Faith can move mountains! God has set up the universe in a hierarchy of laws, and the law of faith is actually a higher law than the laws of nature. That’s where miracles come in. Because when faith is used, the law of faith goes into practice, and the law of faith can actually do more than the laws of physics. Does God still perform miracles today? Of course he does. Every time you stretch your faith, God does miracles — every single time. My question for you is this: What’s the mountain in your life that needs to be moved? What’s the thing you’ve already decided will never change? That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. How do you know it won’t change? Maybe God wants your faith to supersede the law of nature. He has in the past, He is doing it today all around the world. God is in the mountain-moving business. Do not doubt or underestimate what he wants to do in your life. Matthew 13:58 says, “[Jesus] did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (NIV). You might say, “I don’t see many miracles in my life.” I wonder why! Are you seeing with eyes of fear, or are you seeing with eyes of faith? Faith opens the door to miracles. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What is something in your life that you have given up on or believed would never change? How do you think God wants you to start praying for that thing? What does he want you to do in faith? What does it mean to see with eyes of faith and not eyes of fear? Today’s Scripture “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NKJV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS His Grace is Enough Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It’s kindness from Him that we don’t deserve. Grace empowers and strengthens us. No matter what has happened in your past, you can receive God’s grace and forgiveness and start fresh today. You can hold your head up high because His grace is enough. You may not be perfect, but you are forgiven. When you go around holding on to your past mistakes or think you have to try to make things up to God, it’s like saying that His grace isn’t enough. Hold on to the truth that Jesus has already paid for your mistakes. All you have to do is receive His grace and thank Him for His favor and empowerment in your life. In the same way, extend that grace to others. Don’t try to punish people for their past mistakes; instead, give them favor to start over. Let God’s grace flow through you so we can all rise higher together into the life of victory He has promised. A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You for Your goodness and grace today. I receive Your strength and favor in my life. Help me to extend that grace to others and always show Your love in Jesus’ name. Amen.”