The Growth Choice - Part 3 - Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Summary

Podcast Summary: Pastor Rick's Daily Hope – "The Growth Choice – Part 3"

Episode Information:

Title: Pastor Rick's Daily Hope
Host/Author: PastorRick.com (Rick Warren)
Description: Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer.
Episode: The Growth Choice - Part 3
Release Date: February 27, 2025

In the third installment of "The Growth Choice" series, Pastor Rick Warren delves into the transformative journey of overcoming personal struggles through faith. This episode, titled "Life's Healing Choices," offers listeners a profound biblical exploration of healing from hurts, breaking free from harmful habits, and fostering lasting spiritual growth. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented by Pastor Rick.

1. Embracing God's Unfailing Forgiveness

Rick begins by addressing a common concern: the fear that God grows weary of our repeated sins and relapses. He reassures listeners of God's boundless forgiveness and unconditional love.

"God is love. He never tires of forgiveness. He's waiting on you..." ([00:40])

Citing Psalm 103, Rick emphasizes that God forgives all sins and blesses with love and mercy, not judgment. He encourages individuals struggling with recurring sins to approach God openly for forgiveness as the crucial first step toward healing.

2. The Path to Spiritual Healing

Rick outlines a five-step process essential for achieving spiritual growth and overcoming personal challenges:

Daily Time with God: Establishing a consistent relationship with God through daily devotion and prayer.
Filling the Mind with God's Word: Immersing oneself in Scripture to guide thoughts and actions.
Focusing on the Future: Concentrating on positive aspirations rather than dwelling on past failures.
Immediate Forgiveness and Renewal: Quickly addressing faults and choosing to forgive oneself to move forward.
Fleeing Temptation Without Fear: Actively avoiding temptations while understanding that feeling tempted is not sinful.

"Temptation is not a sin. It's what you do with it..." ([09:30])

Rick elaborates that while experiencing temptation is natural and not sinful, giving in to it is. He encourages listeners to recognize the origin of temptations and to actively resist them without shame.

3. Understanding and Managing Temptation

Rick differentiates between attraction and lust, clarifying that being attracted to someone is natural and not sinful, whereas lust becomes sinful when it leads to inappropriate thoughts or actions.

"Attraction is not a sin. It's what you do with lust that makes it wrong." ([12:15])

He emphasizes maturity in handling natural attractions by honoring commitments and resisting the urge to act on fleeting desires.

4. Overcoming Fear of Temptation

Addressing the intimidation some feel when faced with temptation, Rick asserts that fear should not govern one's response. Instead, understanding the source of temptation empowers individuals to reject it confidently.

"You don't have to fight temptation. Just walk out of the situation." ([14:20])

He advises avoiding environments and associations that heighten temptation, such as steer clear of certain places or media that trigger unwanted desires.

5. The Importance of Support Systems

Rick underscores the necessity of forming and maintaining support groups for prayer and encouragement. He explains that healing and growth are collaborative processes that thrive within community settings.

"You need other people. God wired us to need each other." ([16:45])

By participating in small groups, individuals receive prayer support and mutual encouragement, which are vital for sustaining personal growth and overcoming challenges.

6. Perseverance Towards the Finish Line

Concluding the episode, Rick inspires listeners to remain steadfast in their faith journey, reminding them of God's promise to complete the good work He began in them.

"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ." ([18:50])

He encourages resilience, citing Galatians 6:9, urging believers not to become discouraged but to continue doing good, with the assurance of future blessings.

7. Real-Life Testimonials and Encouragement

Towards the end, Rick shares a heartfelt letter from a listener named Holly, who attributes her personal growth and renewed joy to Pastor Rick's daily devotionals. This testimonial serves as a testament to the impactful and life-changing nature of the messages conveyed in the series.

"People say they notice joy shining from me and I know it's because my heart is being fed every day." ([20:10])

Rick invites listeners to share their stories, fostering a community of shared experiences and mutual support.

Conclusion

In "The Growth Choice – Part 3," Pastor Rick Warren masterfully combines biblical wisdom with practical advice, guiding listeners through the intricate process of personal and spiritual healing. By emphasizing God's unending love, the importance of community, and the power of perseverance, Rick provides a comprehensive roadmap for overcoming life's challenges and achieving lasting transformation.

For those seeking encouragement and direction in their faith journey, this episode serves as a beacon of hope and a source of actionable insights grounded in scripture.

Transcript

A (0:02)

Hey, everyone.

B (0:03)

It's so great to have you with us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We are going to continue our very encouraging series today called Life's Healing Choices. And in these lessons, Rick Warren will guide us through a deep biblical exploration of how to overcome the hurts, hangups, and habits that really hold us back. So get ready for some practical insights and powerful truths that can lead to lasting change and freedom in your life. Okay, let's jump right in with Rick as he begins the final part of a message called the Growth Choice.

A (0:40)

What does God do when I come to him with my relapses? Does he go, oh, come on, not that sin again. Can't you come up with any new ones? You've come to me with that sin 9900 times. Can you come up with any. Come on, I've already forgiven you 9,900 times. No, he doesn't say that at all. God is love. He never tires of forgiveness. He's waiting on you, so you come to him. The Bible says this. Read it with me. Psalm 103 on the screen. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love and mercy, not criticizes me with judgment and scorn. He blesses me with love and mercy. God gives me what I need, not what I deserve. So if you have been stumbling in an area, a thing that you've had a natural attraction to do, you just need to come to God and say one more time, lord, I need your forgiveness now. That's not the end of it. There are ways to get over it, but that's the starting point, and you don't hold it back. The Bible says God is the healer of the brokenhearted. And when my heart is brokenhearted over something I've done again, God says, I'm here to. Now there's three more steps. If I'm gonna make it to the finish line, if I'm gonna be all God wants me to be, I have to fix a daily time with God. I have to fill my mind with his word. I have to focus on the future and what I want, not what I don't want. All my faults and hangups, I have to forsake and forgive and face my failures instantly, quickly. And then I have to flee temptation but not fear it. I'm not afraid of it. That's number five. I flee temptation, but I don't fear it. So many people, when they're tempted, get all intimidated by it, like, whoa, I shouldn't even be tempted. Oh yes, you should. Don't ever let temptation. Listen, it is not a sin to be tempted. So don't feel guilty about temptation. It's not a sin to be tempted. It's a sin to give in to temptation. The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all points, like as we. Yet he sinned not. That means Jesus experienced every single temptation known to man, every one of them, but he didn't give into it. Temptation is not a sin. It's what you do with it. You know? Have you ever had kind of some just kind of gross thought come through your mind? You go, where'd that come from? Or maybe you were even praying and you're praying and all of a sudden just some gross thought comes through your mind. You go, where'd that come from? I'll tell you where it came from. It came from Satan. You're not responsible for the thoughts you have. You're responsible for what you do with those thoughts. When God gives you an idea, we call it inspiration. You're inspired. When Satan gives you an idea, we call it temptation. What you do with those determine whether it's good or bad, right or wrong, sin or righteousness. Don't be intimidated by temptation. Go, oh, I know where that one came from. Get out of here. Satan, when he reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future. He doesn't have one, you do. And so where does that come from? Martin Luther said, you can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can't keep them from building a nest in your hair. Which, by the way, let me explain to both men and women the difference between lust and attraction. Attraction is not a sin. Lust is. It is normal for both men and women to be attracted to beauty. Woman sees a good looking guy, man, he's a hunk. It's like when you look at me, okay, you can't keep your eyes off me. That's no sin, okay? That's just normal. Attraction is not lust. It's what you do with lust. If a good looking woman comes by and a guy goes, wow, she's good looking. That's not lust. That's not lust, friends, that's attraction. And God wired men to be attracted to women and God wired women to be attracted to men. That is a normal God given attraction. It's what you do with it. If you start mentally undressing her, if you start wishing you could have sex with her, if you start wanting, I wish I could drop my wife and have her, that's lust. But attraction is not lust. And a lot of guys go around beating themselves up over God given attraction. If you're attracted to women, congratulations, you're a man. Okay? It's not what the attraction is, it's what you do with it that makes it wrong. Okay? Now, as a normal male, if I'm attracted to other women, that doesn't make it wrong. What makes it wrong is if I acted on it or I thought about it all the time. And maturity is when I don't act on my attractions, I act on my commitments. Does that make sense? That's maturity. And God calls us all to act on our commitments. Not. I might, for instance, have a natural attraction. If you get mad at me, I might naturally want to hit you. Doesn't mean I do it. I might feel anger and I want to smack your face. But I say, well, I should be able to smack your face because I naturally feel like doing it. Friends, you don't always get to do what you naturally feel like doing. Does that make sense? That's called maturity. Okay, so I flee temptation, but I don't fear it. The temptations come into your mind. You don't get intimidated by, ah, I know where that came from. Some people think they actually get shamed. Because I've been a Christian 20 years, why would I have that temptation? Let me let you in on a little secret. The closer you get to God, the harder Satan's gonna fight you. If you're not close to God, Satan doesn't even worry about you. Cause you're messing up your own life. But if you get close to God, he's gonna throw out all the attacks. I wrote a tweet the other day. I'm on Twitter. Did you know that? You can follow me, Rick Warren, on Twitter. And about five or six times a day I put out these little gems of insight. And one of them, the other day I sent out to, to young pastors. And I said, guys, if you have quick early success in your ministry and no problems, just realize that Satan is more than happy to wait until you get some notoriety. He's happy to let you go for a long time and let you become famous. And then he'll pour out all the attacks. Cause he can do more damage that way. So you just need to understand that temptation. You know, I would guess Billy Graham probably got more temptation than maybe anybody. Why? Because Satan wanted to take him down. And if, you know, given the right situation, you are capable of anything, and I am too, then you walk humbly before God. Now it's not a sin to be tempted, but the Bible says we need to flee it. In fact, look at these verses. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16, 13, be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage. Be strong. Circle. Be alert. That means you need to know what tempts you and you need to stay away from it. And there are two things you need to stay away from. Tempting situations and tempting associations. Tempting situations stay away from circumstances and tempting associations stay away from people that tempt you. If you don't want to get stung, you stay away from the bees. John Baker always says, you hang around a barbershop long enough, you're going to get a haircut. It's true. If you have a problem with alcohol, you don't go to the bar to eat a sandwich. You just don't go to a bar. You just stay away from it. So you need to know what tempts you, when it tempts you, where it tempts you, who tempts you, and just stay away from those situations. If you get tempted by airport bookstores, don't go to airport bookstores. If you get tempted by a certain channel, don't have that channel on your tv. Do you have parental block on your television? I do. And the youngest person in my family at our house is Kay. We don't have kids at home anymore. But you know what? I don't want to even be going over the channels, and all of a sudden a picture comes. What was that? I don't even want to see the flicker. So you just got to put a block, a parental block. And if you want me to come over and set the password, I'll send Rick. Much. You need to avoid tempting situations. You need to avoid tempting associations. Look at the next verse. Don't be fooled. Bad companions ruin good character. There's some people you need to stop relating to. There may be some friends who need to not be your friends. Because it's always easier if you got a friend down there. It's always easier for them to pull you down than for you to pull them up. There's some friends you need to drop. They're not friends if they're leading you away from Christ, they're not friends. Bad company corrupts good character. There's so much we could go into on this, but let me just give you two real common areas you need to flee from. One of them is sexual temptation. Bible says this First Corinthians 6, 18. Saunter away from sexual sin. No, it doesn't say walk. It Says what? Run, my lady, run, run. When Joseph was tempted by a woman in the Old Testament, he left his coat. If you have to leave your coat, you run. You don't argue and say, no, no, no, I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. I always tell kids when I was a youth pastor, you don't make up your mind to be pure in the backseat of a car. You make the decision much, much sooner so you don't end up in the backseat of a car. Cause if you get in the backseat of your car, you're going by your glands, not your plans. And in that moment, you're gonna lose. Glands win over plans. And so you need to just get out of the situation. Don't fight it. Oh, I'm not gonna have that drink. Oh, I'm not gonna read that magazine. I'm not gonna watch that channel. I'm not. I'm not gonna lose my temper. No, you just walk out of the situation. Just get away from it. Run. Not only that, not just in sex, but also money. This one might hit a little home here. The Bible says in First Timothy 6, people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap. People who wanna get rich fall into temptation and a trap, into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. That's one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. It doesn't say money is the root of all evil. It's not. Money is a tool. But the love of money is a root. It's one of the three roots of evil. Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. They've sold out for money. But you, man of God, flee. There's that word, flee. Flee from greed. Flee from all this. Flee from the desire to make money.