Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Pastor Rick Warren: Hi, this is Rick Warren, Bible teacher for the Daily Hope broadcast. Did you know that because of Easter, your past can be forgiven, you get a purpose for living, and you can have a home in heaven? That's good news. Where else can you get that kind of news? Nowhere else.

And did you know that at Easter, studies have shown people are more open to an invitation to go to church than at any other time of the year? Don't go to church by yourself, but bring somebody who doesn't know Jesus Christ: a family member, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, a relative.

And if you bring them to that church service and they come to know Christ, you're going to be making a friend for eternity. It'll be the most important investment you can ever make in their life. And by the way, if they come to Christ, would you let me know about it? I'd love to hear that story that you brought somebody to Easter and they found Jesus.

You can write to me: Rick@PastorRick.com. That's Rick@PastorRick.com. I would love to hear from you. God bless you and have a happy Easter.

Guest (Male): You know, none of us can earn our way into heaven because eternal life is a free gift when you accept Jesus as the Lord of your life. Hey everybody, this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Today, Rick Warren continues a series called Good News About Grace.

You can't truly understand the Christian life until you understand grace. It's at the heart of your faith and your relationship with God. In this series, you're going to discover how to not only understand grace but how to experience it and the joy that it brings. So let's jump right in for the final part of a message called "Restoring Grace."

Pastor Rick Warren: Many people do not understand the difference between fellowship and relationship. Fellowship is your current status; relationship is your permanent position. Can I be out of fellowship with my wife and still be married to her? Of course I can.

Can a child be out of fellowship with his or her parent and yet still be a child? Of course. When you sin, you don't lose the relationship; you lose the fellowship. You see, those of you who are parents, you have children, and as much as you try to raise them in the right way, when they get older, they're going to make their own decisions.

And I hope this doesn't happen, but you might have a child who does the very thing you despise the most. You might even have a child who one day in a fit of anger publicly disowns you and disavows you as a parent. You might even have a child who, when they get older, never even talks to you.

But nothing will ever change the fact that they're your child. Nothing will ever change that. The fellowship is damaged, but the relationship will always be there because they were born into your family and they cannot be unborn.

When you become a believer in Christ, you are born again into God's family and you cannot be unborn. So although the fellowship with God has been broken, the relationship is still there and you're only one step away from returning.

What should I do when I sin? As a Christian, what should I do? You do one word. Are you ready for it? Here it is: Return. Return. Come back to Christ. It's that simple. I blew it and I'm back.

Listen to these beautiful verses. Jeremiah 15:19, God says, "If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me." No matter what you've done, God says this in Isaiah 1:18: "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow." That ought to be the Clorox verse of the Bible.

He said it doesn't matter, and no matter what you've done, in Isaiah 54:7 He says, "With great compassion, I will take you back." You know, there's a happy ending to the story of Peter's denial. If ever there was a sin that you'd think was unforgivable, it's deny Jesus three times on the night He's betrayed.

But Jesus knew Peter would deny Him and even knew he would come back to Him. In fact, before it even happened, Jesus said to Peter in the upper room, "Peter, Satan has desired to sift you, but I have prayed for you. And when you have returned, strengthen the brothers." Did you get that? "When you have returned." He knew he would come back.

He says, "I've prayed for you." Did you know that the Bible says Jesus prays for you? It says that He's in heaven right now and He liveth to make intercession for the saints. He is praying for you every day. If you could lose your salvation, that means Jesus' prayers don't work. That's impossible because He prays for you every day to the Father.

Jesus said, "I know you're going to fall away, Peter, but when you come back, strengthen the brothers." Jesus knew that Peter's ministry would be more effective after his denial than it was even before, and sure enough, it was. Peter wrote two of the books of the Bible; it's called First and Second Peter. And then he shared his memoirs with a relative called Mark, and that's called the Gospel of Mark.

And there are two poignant incidents in Peter's life that happened after his denial. The Bible tells us that in the book of Mark, chapter 16, verse 7, on Easter morning when the three women went to the tomb—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome—and they went there and the stone was rolled away and the angel sitting on it, the angel says, "He is not here; He is risen."

And the angel said this, "Go tell His disciples and Peter." Did you hear that? "Go tell His disciples and Peter." Jesus knew that Peter was devastated by his denial. He was humiliated, he was ashamed, he was depressed. He thought he could never face Jesus Christ again for what he had done.

And Jesus threw in a little special personal recognition. "Go tell His disciples and Peter." It's as if He were saying, "It's okay, Peter. It's okay. All is forgiven. Come on home. All is forgiven." That is the grace of Jesus Christ. "Come on home. It's okay. I haven't stopped loving you."

And later in John chapter 21, in one of the many incidents where Jesus appeared to people after His resurrection, He's on the coast on the border at land of the lake. Peter and the fishermen are out fishing and they see Jesus on the shore. Peter goes, "Let's go in," and he goes, "I'm not waiting," and he dives in and he swims to shore.

Jesus has a little one-on-one conversation with Peter, his first encounter really to talk personally, privately. And Jesus says to Peter, "Peter, do you love me?" And Peter says, "You know, Lord, I love you." Jesus says, "Peter, do you really, really love me?"

And Peter said a second time, "Lord, you know I love you." And Jesus said a third time, "Peter, do you really love me?" And Peter said, "You know, Lord, I love you. I do." What was going on there? A healing. Jesus was giving Peter three times to affirm what he had denied three times. That is the grace of God.

And you may think God's forgotten you. He hasn't. The Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep to go after the one, and He knows how you've fallen away. And if you have and you say, "I don't know how it happened, either it was one giant step, some big humongous sin, or it was a series of petty steps where you just slipped away," and you're not as close to Christ as you used to be, you need to pray the prayer that David prayed when he came back to God.

In Psalm 51, which David prayed by the way after he had committed adultery, he said, "Restore to me again the joy of your salvation." Notice David did not have to pray, "God, restore to me my salvation," because he hadn't lost it. He had lost the joy. He'd lost the joy. And some of you have too, so come home to Christ today. Let's bow our heads.

I'd like to close with a time of personal evaluation, and I want you to consider a few questions. Was there ever a time in your life when you were closer to Christ than you are right now? If so, what happened? Have you allowed the slippage? Why? What got in the way? A career? A relationship? Bills? A hobby? Television?

Has your relationship to Christ gone stale? Are you just heartlessly going through the motions? Has duty replaced delight? Let me ask you this: have you stopped caring about the salvation of those people around you? When was the last time you shared a positive word about Christ with a seeker? Have you been ashamed of your relationship to Christ?

What is it that you know God wants you to do, but you've been putting off and procrastinating? Being baptized? Joining the family here at Saddleback Church? What is it that you used to do, but you've slacked off on? Reading your Bible? Tithing, giving? It's just possible that that's why you've lost your joy.

And maybe you've committed something you think, "I'm so ashamed and I'm so afraid to come back to full commitment to Christ." Don't. It's just one step back. And as your pastor, I want to pray for you.

Father, I know that there are people here this morning who have been fighting a civil war in their minds. And they know the right thing to do, but they've been fighting it. And they've wanted to do the convenient thing or the popular thing or the easy thing.

Now they've lost that spark and they're ashamed. And there are others who are here who are filled with a deep regret for the things they've done and they've been afraid to return to You. Help them to experience the freedom of restoring grace today. Now you pray.

Say, "Jesus, you know I've wandered away and my heart has started growing cold and my level of love and commitment to you is not like it used to be. But I want to thank you for your unconditional love, and I thank you that you've never stopped loving me."

"And I really want to thank you that my salvation isn't based on my performance. And Jesus, it's almost unbelievable, but I thank you for taking all the punishment for my sin. And I thank you, Jesus, that you understand and sympathize with my human weaknesses."

"And I want to thank you that you don't hold on to grudges and that you're not angry with me. So by grace, I ask you to take me back today and I come home to your open, loving arms. And I want to follow you by grace. I come back home today."

If you've never invited Christ in your life, you really need the grace of God. You need to accept it today. Say, "Jesus Christ, I don't understand it all, but I accept what you did for me: your forgiveness, your grace. And I want to be a part of your family and I want to follow you, too. In your name I pray. Amen."

You know, 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's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me: Rick@PastorRick.com and say, "Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ," and I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus and I'll also pray for you. God bless you.

Guest (Male): Hey, thanks for joining us on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. You know, Rick has created a stunning keepsake book called Journey with Jesus. And it's a beautifully illustrated, oversized book filled with glossy photos and vibrant mosaics that bring to life the sacrificial journey Jesus made to save us.

You'll walk with Pastor Rick through Jerusalem to Calvary, uncovering biblical and historical insights into the most powerful event in human history, and experience a deeper understanding of the love Jesus showed for you on the cross.

Be sure to request your copy of Journey with Jesus when you give a gift to help Daily Hope share the love of Jesus around the world. It's a one-of-a-kind resource you'll want to keep and give to friends and family. But quantities are limited, so get yours today.

Just go to PastorRick.com to get your copy of this great resource. That's PastorRick.com. Or you can just text the word "HOPE" to 70309. That's the word "HOPE" to 70309. 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.