In this powerful episode, we delve into the profound connection between anchoring our lives in God’s Word and finding unbreakable hope amidst life’s unpredictable storms. Pastor Rick shares personal testimonies and biblical insights, emphasizing the importance of grounding our identity, mission, and future in divine promises. He explores how understanding and embracing our eternal destiny can transform fear into fearlessness, empowering us to face life and death with newfound peace and confidence.
How being anchored to God’s Word is the key to hope.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, to live with hope when everything seems hopeless in the world, no matter what happens, I have to anchor my identity in what God says about me, and I have to anchor my life mission in God’s purpose for me. Not what other people want me to do, not what society wants me to do, not what politics wants me to do, not what my parents want me to do, what God says, this is what I made you to do. I anchor my purpose, my mission in my purpose. Third, I must anchor my future to God’s promises to me. Because remember I said the third cause of hopelessness is an uncertain future. Now, follow me on this. If you’ve ever bought an insurance policy, that policy promises to cover certain things. You don’t have to pay for it because the insurance policy promises to pay for it. Now, once you know what your policy covers, you don’t sweat it. You got a big hospital bill, insurance will pay for it. Your car gets dinged, insurance will pay for it. You don’t worry about what’s covered in the promise. There are 6,000 insurance promises to you from God in this book. You don’t even know them. That’s why you’re worried. If you knew them, you wouldn’t be worried. Now, let me say it another way. When you’re reading a novel, or you’re reading, or you’re watching a movie, a mystery movie, and you already know the ending, when it gets to the scary parts in the movie, you don’t get nervous, because you know, the hero, he’s gonna make it. She’s gonna make it. And so, yeah, it’s a little tense, but you can relax and not worry, because there’s no way this guy’s gonna die off. Okay, he’s got four more in the series. So Jason Bourne is not gonna die no matter how bad it gets. And Tom Cruise will always come back for another Mission Impossible or Top Gun. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, and you have trusted him for your salvation, and even though you don’t know what’s gonna happen in the rest of your life, and none of us do, you don’t know what’s gonna happen the rest of your life, I don’t know how many years I’ve got left, I don’t know the highs and the lows, you don’t know the highs and the lows that you’re gonna go through, the ups and the downs, but you already know one thing, you know how it’s gonna end in your life. That when you die, God is gonna resurrect you to heaven because Jesus made it possible by resurrecting himself and God promises to do that for you and God cannot lie. I know how the end, I know how it ends. I may get dementia and lose my mind but I’m going to heaven. I cannot lose my salvation. I may wanna let go of God’s hand, but he’s never letting go of mine. Now in Acts chapter two, look at this verse. Peter is quoting David, and he’s talking about the resurrection, and he says this. I know the Lord is always with me. So I will not be shaken, for he’s right beside me. He’s saying, I not only have God’s promises, I have God’s presence. So when I go through the earthquakes of life and everything falls apart and my ship’s in the storm and it’s cracking up, he says, I know the Lord’s with me. I’m not gonna be shaken. He’s right here with me. And then he says, my body, your physical body, my body rests in hope because God will never leave me in the grave. What’s he talking about? One day you’re gonna die and you’re gonna be buried in a grave or you’re gonna be cremated. That’s not the end of you. Oh no, baby. You’re not gonna stay in your grave. God is gonna resurrect you if you accept his gift of salvation through his son, Jesus. That’s why every Easter, 2.6 billion people in the world celebrate Easter every year, because it says the grave is not the end. Death is not the final story. That’s not the end of the story. Now I have the same hope that Peter has. When I die, I’m not gonna stay in the grave. God’s gonna resurrect me. Paul says the same thing in Acts 24. Look at this verse on the screen. Paul has the same hope that I have that Peter has. Paul says, I have the same hope in God that they have, the hope that all people, good and bad, will surely be raised from the dead. You go, whoa, whoa, whoa, I never heard that before. Okay, listen to me very closely, because it’s important. Every single human being, whether they’re Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist, whatever, they’re all made in God’s image. God has never made anybody he didn’t love. God has never made anybody he didn’t have a purpose for. God has never made anybody he doesn’t want in heaven. But heaven is a choice. You have to ask to be in God. Everybody’s created by God, everybody’s loved by God, but not everybody is in God’s family. You have, because you’re made in God’s image, everybody made in God’s image, you have an eternal soul. You have an immortal soul. That means you were made to last forever. Everybody in the world who’s a human being was made to last forever, okay? So they’re all made to last forever because they have an immortal soul. You’re not just a body, not just a body. The difference, the point is this, God’s gonna resurrect everybody. The difference is where you spend eternity after you’re resurrected. Okay, follow me on this. You’re gonna live in eternity forever, either with God or without God, and it’s your choice, and you make that choice on earth. You’re either gonna live with God, because you accepted him on earth, or you’re gonna live without God, because you rejected him on earth. I don’t need salvation, I don’t need Christ, I don’t need what Jesus did for me on the cross. That’s a big difference. When we live with God forever in eternity, that’s called heaven. To live without God forever is called, well, that would be hell. That would be hell. to live for eternity without God. Now, the choice is yours, okay? The choice is yours. You get to make the choice. With God in eternity or without God in eternity. But I encourage you to make the right choice because friend, somebody who loves you, eternity’s a long time to be wrong. It’s a long, long, long time to be wrong. So you better make the right choice. Now, in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, we get a little bit more of the details. Look at this on the screen. We want you to know about believers who have died so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope. Christians grieve, we do funerals, we grieve, but we grieve with hope. It’s very different. I have done thousands of funerals, or I don’t know how many, but I’ve done ones for people who are believers and ones who weren’t. Big difference in the attitude. We know that Jesus died and rose back to life again. So because of him, we also know that God raises those who have died believing in him. Now, at the funerals of people who’ve accepted salvation through what Jesus did for us, we don’t grieve those people. We don’t grieve for the person who’s died. They’re in heaven. They’re where we all wanna be for eternity anyway. Perfect, peace, heaven, beautiful, incredible. We grieve for ourselves because we’re gonna miss them for all the time between now and when we are united with them again when we die and go to heaven. It’s not grief for that person. We wanna be there too. The older I get, the more my friends have already beat me there. I hate them for that. And I don’t know how much time I’ve got here on Earth, but it means that God still has a purpose for my life. Let me give you my testimony about being near death. Because in September, I had a heart attack. Came out of the blue, total surprise. I was standing in my living room about nine o’clock at night and all of a sudden it felt like a train was driving through my chest. And I fell over backwards on the sofa and Kay immediately called the ambulance. Four guys got there, they walked in, they go, it’s Pastor Rick. Kay goes, okay fanboys, this is not a time for autographs and hugs. Just get my husband to the hospital. So they take me quickly to Mission. And I’m there, I mean, like in rapid time. Now, I know everybody in Mission Hospital. I’ve been visiting the sick for 44 years. I know every single room. I know all the doctors. A third of the staff come to Saddleback. It’s a very common place for me to be. And within seconds, I’m in the surgery room. and it’s bright lights, and I’m laying on a steel table, and I’m stark naked with six people around me, three women, three men, prepping me for surgery, one woman shaving my whole body. There’s no dignity at this moment. I’m totally vulnerable. It’s like, hey, looking good, Pastor Rick. Looking good. And I actually had the presence of mind to say, before they put me under the anesthesia, I said, okay, guys, if anybody happens to take a photograph of me, I’ll be happy to sign it after this is over. And one of the doctors said, Pastor Rick, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And I go, good. I don’t have time to tell you, I had a very profound experience laying on that table before they put me under for surgery, not knowing if I was gonna make it or not. And I’ll tell you that sometime, but I’ll just tell you one part of it. I’m laying there, stark naked, getting ready, not knowing if I was gonna make it through or not. And I said this, I prayed, I said, Lord, you know my life verse is Acts 13, 36. He served God’s purpose in his generation, and then he died. And I said, Lord, to the best of my ability, I’ve done that. I’ve served your purpose in my generation. And if this is the time that you wanna take me home, that’s okay with me. I felt no fear at all. I felt totally calm, totally at peace. I’ve been preparing for death my entire life. I know where I’m going. I’ve walked with Jesus for over 50 years. He’s my best friend. I know him better than I know you. So there was no fear, no anxiety over death at all in my life. And all I could think of was, Lord, I’ve had more blessings in my life than I could possibly imagine. And I’ve had experiences that other people haven’t had. And I’ve got to see literally thousands of lives changed by your grace. And if I die, it’s okay with me. It won’t be okay with Kay. And it won’t be okay with my kids or my grandkids. But it’s okay with me. And so, if I don’t make it through this surgery, and I wake up in heaven, thy will be done. I’m happy. It’s where I want to be ultimately. I get to see a bunch of my friends who are already there, including my son, Matthew, and my brother, and my parents, and a bunch of other people that I love, and members of this church that I led to Christ. And at that moment, it wasn’t a blinding light, no angels, no music, but all of a sudden, I felt completely enveloped in pure, unadulterated, unconditional love. I can’t even explain to you the joy that I felt laying on that table, not knowing if I was gonna live or die. I just felt, I love you, I love you, I love you. And I said, Lord, I feel this love. And if I don’t make it through this time, if I wake up in heaven, fine. If I wake up and I’m not in heaven, it means Rick 2.0. Okay? Rick the second act. And I just felt so loved. Nine hours, they put me under it. Nine hours later, I woke up and I looked around and I saw all of the, you know, wires and you know, things hanging out of my body and I’m going, well, this ain’t heaven. So here I am, here’s Ricky. And now the reason I tell you that story is I don’t want you to be afraid of death. Because if you know who you are, and you know what God’s called you to do, and you know the ultimate end of your story, you can be like me. I am fearless. I am fearless. Because I know my future, I know where I’m going. I can’t lose. I live, I can’t lose. I die, I can’t lose. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. And so that means, You know what I feel about critics? Forget them. They can’t hurt me because I am fearless. That’s the kind of confidence you get when you’re anchored in God’s word. Now let me talk about you. How are you to face whatever days you have left on earth? You don’t know when your time, when your number’s pulled, when the phone call will come. But God says this, he says that life We live life in a broken world. Everything’s broken on this planet because of sin. The economy’s broken, our bodies are broken, our relationships are broken. Nothing’s perfect on this planet except God’s word. And he says on a broken world, life is a daily battle. Everybody agree with that? Life is a daily battle. Life is tough. Sometimes life sucks. So God says in this battle, however many days you got left, you’re gonna need spiritual armor for protection. You’re gonna need spiritual body armor to protect your mind and your heart. What is spiritual body armor? It’s attitudes. It’s the attitudes of your father in heaven who loves you. It’s faith. hope, and love. Those are the body armors. And how do I get those? From the over 6,000 promises in God’s word that he wants you to trust those promises so you can face your future with faith, hope, and love. Now look at this verse on the screen. We’re getting to the end here. First Thessalonians 5.8. We should wear faith and love as a breastplate over our chest to protect us and hope as the salvation, the hope of salvation should be our helmet. Now the two most important things in your body are your mind and your heart. You gotta have those, all right? Now what does a breastplate do? It protects your heart. What does a helmet do? It protects your mind and your thoughts. And you’re supposed to be protected with faith and love in your heart and hope in your mind. Does that make sense? Faith and love in your heart, love everybody, trust God, and hope in your brain. But if you don’t know God’s promises, you’re not anchored to the word, friends, your mind is unprotected. You’re driving a Harley without a helmet. And Satan could put any kind of negative ideas in your mind. Now today, some of you, I’m sure, are feeling that you’re already in a storm and your ship’s about to come undone. Do you feel the way Paul felt in Acts 27, 12? Look at this verse on the screen. He says, for many days, he’s in the middle of a storm in the Mediterranean Ocean. For many days, we couldn’t see either the sun or the stars. Some of you are right there right now. You’re in total darkness. I can’t see the sun in the day. I can’t see the stars at night. I am totally in the dark. I haven’t any idea where I’m headed. I’m just floating around in a big black ocean. Can’t see any light. I’m in total darkness. And he says the storm would not let up. Many of you are in that situation right now. The problem you’re in is relentless. It will not go away. It’s relentless. The storm would not let up. It’s not like I’m getting no relief from this problem in my life. You’re there. And it says it was so severe that we finally began to just lose all hope of ever coming out of it alive. Hope is the last thing to go. Later in verse 40, a few verses down from that, it says that they finally cut loose the anchors of that ship and they began to drift. Friends, that always happens when you’re not anchored. You just drift. with no direction, and you’re battered back and forth by the winds and the waves of whatever storm you’re in. Are you drifting right now? Are you drifting right now? You’re not anchored to anything? Some of you have been drifting for weeks. Some of you have been drifting for months. Some of you have been drifting for years. Some of you have been drifting your entire life because you have never been anchored to something that is unchanging. It is time to stop drifting. You need to anchor yourself to the truth of the creator who gave you the truth in his word, who made you, who loves you, and who sent Jesus to die for you. Now listen. Filling your mind every day with God’s word will give you the faith and love to protect your heart and give you the hope you need to protect your mind to defeat all those thoughts that defeat you. Thoughts of discouragement. I feel like giving up. Thoughts of dread, I am scared to death. Thoughts of disappointment, my heart is breaking. Thoughts of depression, I can’t go on another day. Thoughts of despair, I’m thinking about giving up, maybe even taking my life. You need faith, hope, and love from the word of God. Now you may be thinking right now, Rick, You’ve been talking about this mission and all this stuff, it’s really interesting, but I’m in a shipwreck right now. My ship has already come apart. And I’m holding on to driftwood, and I’m about to go under. And Rick, I am just too wounded, too tired, and too weary, and too worn out, and too broken up. and too old or too young and too broken and busted for God to use and to bless in a life mission. I want you to listen to me. Somebody who really does love you and prays for you, you are dead wrong. You’re dead wrong. You need to start reading all the promises of God. You need to start reading through the New Testament for eight weeks. You need to read all the promises God made you in this book. Tasha Layton wrote a song called Never. And I love this song because the Bible says I will never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never leave you or forsake you. There’s never been a moment in your life God wasn’t with you. You might not feel him, that’s your problem. He’s there, he’s close, he’s never left you. And in that song Never, there’s a line where she says there’s never, there’s not a broken too broken for you. Talk to the God. There’s not a broken too broken for you. It’s time to get healed and to get into your mission. I want you to bow your heads right now as we pray. And I’m gonna pray for you, but I wanna pray, I want you to pray a prayer if you bow your heads. You don’t have to close your eyes. God knows what you’re feeling, what you’re thinking. He knows every thought. You don’t have to even pray this prayer aloud. He knows, you can say it in your mind. But if you are tired of drifting, You’re tired of having no anchor, no stability, no ultimate security in your life. You really need to get anchored today. That’s why God brought you here 1,000 years before you were born. He knew you’d be sitting in Saddleback Church so he could say this to you. You matter to me. You matter to me, and I want you in my family. I’ve loved you all your life. I created you, and I want you to learn to love me back. So pray this simple prayer. It really doesn’t matter the words, it just matters an attitude of humility that says, God, I need you, I need you. When you recognize your need and you say, I need a savior, I couldn’t save myself, that’s all God needs. So pray this simple prayer. Say, dear God, say that in your mind, dear, dear God, I have been drifting too long and I wanna live a life of hope Anchored to your love and to your promises and your word. Dear God, I want to anchor my identity in what you say about me and what everybody else has told me. God, I want to anchor my life mission, what I do with the rest of my life, in your purpose for me. And I want to learn and study that. God, I don’t know what’s going to happen in my future. It’s uncertain. But I want to anchor my future in your promise to resurrect me and take me into your home if I trust you. So today I’m saying yes to your son, Jesus Christ. I don’t even understand how all he did on the cross helps me. But Jesus, thank you for loving me before I even knew it. Thank you for dying for me before I even knew you. I’m asking you to accept me into your family. I humbly admit that I need a savior. I certainly can’t save myself. So today, as much as I know how, I’m saying yes to you. And I humbly ask you to save me. In your name I pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Did you just pray with Pastor Rick to accept Jesus? Well, if you did, congratulations. And if you email rick at pastorrick.com and let us know that you prayed that prayer, we’re going to send you some free materials to help you on your spiritual journey. Okay, and you know, people are being transformed by these messages every day, but that’s only because of your partnership with us. In fact, here’s Rick to tell you how you can help support this ministry.
SPEAKER 02 :
Did you know that today there’s still almost 3,000 groups of people around the world that have no Bible, no believer in Christ, and no body of Christ, no church? Over 3,000 of those small tribes. One of the reasons I started Daily Hope was was to help bring this awareness to the world and raise the funds to get a Bible, a believer, and a body of Christ in these last 3,000 tribes. I call it the final frontier. These people not only need to hear about the love of Jesus, they need to grow up. They need to be discipled in their faith. Now, I admit, this is a big vision, but it’s an important vision. It’s a global vision. It’s a timely vision. But every vision requires provision. And honestly, we wouldn’t be able to even go after these tribes without your help. And that’s why I can’t fully express how much I appreciate your support for Daily Hope. When you give to this ministry, you’re not only supporting this broadcast, but you’re supporting our efforts to go to the final frontier, the final 3,000 tribes that have no Bible, no believer, and no body of Christ. Now, the reason I’m telling you this is I’m excited to share we have a generous couple who’s offered a $100,000 matching grant gift to Daily Hope. What does that mean? It means any gift you give between now and the end of December will be doubled to match that amount. So I want to ask you to please prayerfully consider how you could give today to help us reach the final frontier of these tribes that have never heard the name of Christ in the coming year. Friends, even if you can’t help us financially, I want to ask you to pray. Pray for us and pray. These specific prayer requests, that I will faithfully teach God’s Word in a way that blesses you and penetrates the hearts of people who don’t know Christ. Pray for the Daily Hope team, that God will encourage them as they create all of our discipleship tools and materials which we want you to have to help you. And most of all, pray for these unreached tribes and groups of people who’ve never heard the name of Jesus. I’m praying for you during this Christmas season. Thank you so much for your generosity. Thank you for your prayers.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for your support. You make it possible. Well, today is the last day to have your gift matched up to $100,000. So please don’t wait. You can give right now by going to PastorRick.com or you can just text the word HOPE to 70309. Again, that’s PastorRick.com or just text the word HOPE to 70309. And thank you so much for your support. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God’s word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope and your generous financial support.
