Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Guest (Male): Hey, thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. Today, we're continuing our series called The Habits of Happiness. In this series, Rick dives into the book of Philippians and helps you discover God's path to true and lasting happiness. All right, now here's the final part of a message called How to Be Happy No Matter What.

Pastor Rick Warren: Paul says that even in the ministry, there are competitors. They are selfishly, ambitiously, and insincerely preaching the good news. Then in the second part of verse 17, he talks about conspirators or enemies. These are people who just want to mess him up. He says other people just want to stir up more trouble for me and they want to add to my pain while I am in prison.

I did a whole series on this called The Crazy Makers. Remember that one? There are troublemakers and there are crazy makers, and they will rob your happiness unless you know how to deal with them. By the way, do you know what the favorite tool of crazy makers and troublemakers is? Gossip. Gossip is the number one sign of a troublemaker. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs that a person who gossips is as bad as a saboteur. They are an emotional terrorist. You should not gossip.

You are going to have all four of these in your life: critics, comrades, competitors, and conspirators. I certainly have. Don't let them rob you. Now I want you to see Paul's attitude. He says, I am in prison, I am already down, and these guys are kicking me while I am down. Critics, conspirators, and competitors are trying to get at me.

Look at verse 18. Here is Paul's attitude: what others do doesn't really matter. Circle that. The important thing is that in every way, whether for right or wrong reasons, the message of Christ is being shared. So he says, I am happy, and I will continue to be happy. I love that. I am not going to let other people control my attitude.

There may be people criticizing me for what I am doing. There may be people competing with what I am doing. There may be people who are conspiring to make sure I fail in what I am doing, but it doesn't matter. What I am going to do is focus on Christ. I am choosing to be happy, and I will continue to be happy. He says he is not going to let anybody steal his joy.

There are a few well-known guys in America who like to take potshots at me, pastors and people. Every once in a while on social media, someone will ask, "Pastor Rick, have you heard what so-and-so said about you, and what do you think about them?" My answer is always the same. It has been the same for years and years. I say that what they think of me in no way controls what I think of them, and I have nothing but the highest admiration for their ministry. I am not going to let anybody rob my joy or my happiness. I don't care what they say about me; they do not control what I choose to think about them.

That is why I don't let people rob my happiness. Some of you remember I told you this during the last series, that when Matthew died, there were some really mean-spirited people out there who were saying all kinds of vile things and celebrating Matthew's death. They were saying I should die and go to hell too. I remember going through that fire and Greg Laurie, my friend, asked me what I felt coming out of it. I said that I honestly felt fearless.

The truth is, if I ever cared about what other people think, I certainly don't now. You can't throw anything worse at me than what has been thrown at me in the last six months. You just can't. I have always felt that since that moment. Then this week I was studying this passage and I saw verse 28 where Paul says, "Be fearless, no matter who opposes you. It will be a sign to them of their downfall and that God is with you and that he will save you."

If I want to stay happy even if I am in prison, I look at everything that is going on in my life from God's viewpoint, and I realize he is going to work it all out for good. It has worked out for the gospel. It is a witness to unbelievers and an encouragement to believers. I just say that no matter who the critics, complainers, conspirators, and competitors are, they are just not going to stop me from being happy. I am going to keep my focus right, and I am going to be fearless.

Jesus said it like this in Matthew chapter five. It is called the Beatitudes, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. He says, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." So he says to celebrate.

Paul explains why you can be happy no matter what. In verses 29 and 30, he says, "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this fight together." Paul says that you have seen him suffer for him in the past, and you know that he is still in the midst of the great struggle. It is a privilege to suffer when you are doing the right thing.

He said it is a privilege to believe in Christ and a privilege to suffer with Christ and for Christ because you are most like Jesus when somebody is trying to get at you. I am not going to let other people rob my happiness. I can be happy no matter what happens if I look at every problem from God's viewpoint and if I never let what other people say or do control my happiness. They just don't.

Number three, here is the third habit from verses 19 to 20: I can always be happy no matter what happens if I always trust God to work things out. I don't try to work it out myself. When things are falling apart, I don't try to put them back together. I just let God put them back together. This is the faith factor.

When you are going through a problem, you have two options. You can worship or you can worry. That is it. If you worshiped more, you would have a whole lot less to worry about. You can pray or you can panic. Those are the options you have got. Paul says in Philippians 1:19, "I will continue to rejoice." Circle the phrase "I will." That is an act of the will. It is your choice to rejoice. I don't care how bad things are in your life right now; it is your choice to rejoice.

He says he will continue to rejoice in spite of all the bad things going on. "For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, all that has happened will all turn out for my deliverance." This is a very powerful verse. In that one verse, Paul gives four sources of strength in tough times. This is how you stay positive and happy no matter what happens in your life.

First, I have God's perspective on my problems. That is when he says, "For I know." It is what you know that keeps you going. He knows God is working in this. Second, I have people praying for me. That keeps me going. Third, I have the Holy Spirit helping me. And fourth, I expect that I am going to be delivered. I have faith that God will work it for good. I have got perspective, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and faith. Therefore, I choose to be happy.

Number four, I can be happy no matter what happens in my life if I stay focused on my purpose, not my problems. If I stay focused on God's purpose for my life, I can be happy even when life seems to be falling apart. Picture this: Paul is an old man now. He is in prison in Rome, a long way from home. He is awaiting death by execution. These are not exactly happy times.

They have taken away everything from Paul. They have taken away his friends, his freedom, and his ministry to travel around. They have even taken away his privacy. He has a guard chained to him 24 hours a day. But there is one thing they cannot take away from Paul: his purpose and his ability to make choices.

I never forget reading Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning. Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who was taken to the death camps in Nazi Germany. All of his family and friends were being murdered. He remembered one day when they stood in front of the Gestapo, stark naked. They had taken away their clothes and even his wedding ring. He stood there with nothing at all.

Suddenly, he realized there was one thing they could not take away from him: his choice in how he would respond. Nobody could take that away. I cannot control what other people do to me or around me, but I can control how I respond. Paul says he is going to stay focused on his purpose even though they have taken away everything. His purpose was serving God by serving others.

In Philippians chapter 1:22 to 25, he talks about the conundrum of sometimes wanting to go to heaven and sometimes wanting to stay here and serve the Lord to help other people. He says, "If by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work for Christ, then I am not sure which I should choose." He is pulled in two directions.

He wants to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing. But for the sake of others, it is much more important that he remains alive. He says, "I am sure of this, that for your sake it is more important that I remain alive. So I know that I will stay on with you all so that I can add to your progress and your joy in the faith."

Paul is such an amazing man. He doesn't just have a purpose for living; he has a purpose for dying. We talk about purpose in life a lot, but do you have a purpose in death? Paul says it doesn't matter whether he lives or dies; he has a purpose either way. On earth, his purpose is to serve God by serving other people.

The only way you can serve God on earth is by serving other people in Jesus' name. That is why we do the P.E.A.C.E. plan. When you give a cup of cold water, help an orphan, care for the sick, assist the poor, educate the next generation, fight corruption, or plant a church, you are serving God by serving others.

When he is alive, his whole purpose is simply to serve Christ by serving people. When he dies, his purpose is to be with Christ. Either way, he wins. Selfishly, it would be better for him if he died because then he would go to a place with no problems, no pressures, no picky people, and no pain. There are no killjoys in heaven.

Selfishly, he is ready to go to heaven, but he stays alive for the sake of others. The reason why most people are miserable is because they think that happiness comes from self-gratification. They think if they get more possessions, pleasures, position, status, and better stuff, they will be happier. That doesn't work. Self-gratification is not the way to happiness. The way to happiness is self-sacrifice.

Paul says the reason he is happy is because as long as he is alive, he is giving his life away to help others. Are you doing that, or are you living for yourself? If you are living for yourself, you are not very happy. Happiness does not come from status, salary, or sex. Happiness comes from service and giving your life away. Until you understand that, you are not going to be happy much of your life.

Paul sums up his purpose in verse 21: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." That is a pretty simple purpose. If somebody asked you to fill in the blank, what word would you use? For me to live is entertainment, or sports, or clothes, or making money, or family, or friends.

There can be a lot of good things, but nothing deserves that place except the one who created you and gave you your life. How you fill in that blank will determine how happy you are in life. Success, fame, pleasure, and power are fine, but they don't deserve first place. God has a far greater purpose. There is only one answer that leads to happiness. Let's bow our heads as we pray.

As I pray this prayer, you say, "Dear Jesus, me too," in your mind. Dear Jesus, you know that I often let circumstances determine my happiness. You know that I often allow the killjoys of pain, problems, pressures, and picky people to rob my happiness. Starting today, I want to practice the four secrets that Paul modeled.

Help me to look at every problem in my life from your viewpoint. I want to handle problems in a way that is a witness to non-believers and an encouragement to believers. Help me to remember that what others say and do does not control my happiness unless I allow it. For the things that happen that I don't understand, I want to trust you to work it all out for good.

Help me to stay focused on your purpose for my life, not my problems. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you by serving others. I pray that most dangerous prayer: Lord, use me. My purpose for living is to serve you by serving others, and then I want to be with you in heaven for eternity. From this day on, for me to live will be Christ. In your name I pray. Amen.

If you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There is something real about sharing your commitment. Write to me at rick@pastorrick.com and say you prayed that prayer of commitment. I will send you some material that will help you on your journey with Jesus, and I will also pray for you. God bless you.

Guest (Male): What a moving message from Rick, and I am also so moved when we hear from you. In fact, here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners.

Pastor Rick Warren: Have you ever taken a step of faith with no idea what is next? Well, with the help of Daily Hope, Nicole did just that. She wrote this note to me: "Hello, Pastor Rick. A close friend of mine suggested I listen to Daily Hope four years ago. While I had faith and I loved the Lord, I was lost. But Daily Hope rescued me. My relationship with Jesus grew in ways that I never knew possible.

I was soon baptized and over the next four years, I grew in boldness and in faith in the Lord. I even left a high-powered and high-salaried position to follow a different purpose-driven path with the Lord's guidance. It has been a literal step forward in faith without knowing the next steps. Certainly not something I was capable of years ago, and already God is showing me his goodness.

As my husband explores his own relationship with Jesus, again, your ministry is literally a godsend. Your ability to teach the good news in ways that are easy to understand and apply is just amazing. We also follow your suggestion to find a good local church. Thanks for all you do for believers and those who are seeking Christ around the world. Rick, you are loved and appreciated, and no doubt a vessel of God's grace and mercy. Signed, Nicole."

Well, Nicole, I am so glad that you have grown in your relationship with Jesus and you have taken the important step of getting baptized. Finding a church home, really listening to the Lord, and living a purpose-driven life happens when you take time to listen to God's word. I love how your friend shared Daily Hope with you and now you have shared it with your husband. Any of you can do this. You can share Daily Hope with your friends and watch how God brings life to others through his word.

Guest (Male): 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.