male announcer: The following program
is paid for by the ministry partners
of the Hour of Power and viewers like you.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore you ♪
♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
♪ Hearts unfold like flow'rs before you ♪
♪ op'ning to the sun above
♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
♪ drive the dark of doubt away
♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day ♪
♪ Amen, Amen ♪
♪ Amen! ♪
Bobby Schuller: This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Good morning.
Hannah Schuller: And welcome church family.
Thank you so much for being here today, for tuning in with us.
We are so honored to have you here.
You know, every word that comes from God's mouth
is an everlasting truth and what he is saying about you right now
is you are free from condemnation through Christ.
You are an incredible work of art.
You are my beloved. I love you.
Those are the eternal words he's speaking to you.
Wow, thank you, Lord.
Turn around and shake the hand of the person next to you
and say, "God loves you and so I do."
Bobby: Here at Shepherd's Grove and "Hour of Power"
we believe the moment you walk through the doors
or the moment you tune into this program
you really become a part of this spiritual family.
We want you to know how blessed we are to have you join us
in worship.
Hannah: As part of our family, we want to pray for, encourage,
connect with you.
So we've created brand-new resources
that we hope will inspire and uplift you every day.
Today, we wanna send you this 5 x 5 card
with the words from John 3:16.
Bobby and I want this card to be a reminder of how much
God loves you and the sacrifice he made in sending
his own Son for you.
Bobby: That's right.
Hannah and I hope you'll reach out and connect with us
so we can better encourage you.
Please call, write or go online today, and as a thank you,
we'll send you this John 3:16 card.
Remember always God loves you and so do we.
Bobby: Hey, we're so glad you guys are here today.
It's such a privilege to have you in our church and whether
or not you're visiting or you're a member here, we're just so
grateful that you would come and worship with us today
and believe that you're gonna leave here full of joy,
full of life.
We want you to leave feeling encouraged.
You're not judged.
God is just saying good things about you and whatever's
stressing you out or whatever's bugging you from last week,
check it at the door, right?
Just leave it at the cross, and we're gonna come in here
and enjoy life 'cause God has given it to us in abundance.
So, we'll say thank you to him for that.
So Lord, we thank you that you love us,
not because of what we do or what we have.
Not because of our reputation,
not because of our accomplishments.
When we sin, you love us.
When we do great things, you love us.
In our achievements and our failures,
you love us and we say, Father, thank you.
You're so good.
It's in Christ's name we pray, amen.
Hannah: Amen.
♪ Wheel in the air, in the air ♪
♪ was a wheel was a wheel ♪
♪ Wheel in the air, in the air ♪
♪ was a wheel was a wheel ♪
♪ Wheel in the air, in the air ♪
♪ was a wheel was a wheel ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ The big wheel run by faith
♪ and the little wheel run by the grace of God ♪
♪ There's a wheel in a wheel ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Gazed upon the wheel
♪ way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Gazed upon a wheel
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ He heard the voice of God say ♪
♪ "Tell my children, change your ways." ♪
♪ He heard the voice of God way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Some go to church but to sing and shout ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Before six months, they're all turned out ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ The big wheel run by faith
♪ the little wheel run by the grace of God ♪
♪ Wheel in the air in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Wheel in the air, in the middle of the air ♪
♪ A wheel in the air was a wheel in a wheel ♪
♪ Wheel in the air was a wheel in a wheel ♪
♪ Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
♪ He gazed upon the wheel
♪ way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ He gazed upon the wheel
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ And then he heard the voice of God say ♪
♪ "Tell my children change your ways." ♪
♪ He heard the voice of God way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Wheel in the air was a wheel ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Some go to church for to sing and shout ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Well, before six months they all turned out ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air
♪ I said Ezekiel saw the wheel ♪
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Ezekiel saw the wheel
♪ Way up in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Wheel was a wheel was a wheel ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ The wheel was in a wheel in a wheel ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ Wheel in a wheel in the air was a wheel in a wheel ♪
♪ way in the middle of the air
♪ way in the middle of the air, way in the middle of the air ♪
♪ in the middle of the air ♪
[congregation applauding]
Hannah: In preparation for Bobby's message, the words of
our Lord found in Matthew 3:13, "Then Jesus came from Galilee
to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
But John tried to deter him, saying,
'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'
Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us
to do this to fulfill all righteousness.'
Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased.'"
Church, God loved Jesus and was wholly pleased with him
before he did any ministry.
God cherishes us, not for what we can do for him,
but because we are his beloved kids, amen.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ On the first day of January 1892 ♪
♪ They opened Ellis Island
♪ and they let the people through ♪
♪ And the first to cross the threshold ♪
♪ of that isle of hope and tears ♪
♪ Was Annie Moore from Ireland who was all of 15 years ♪
♪ Isle of hope, isle of tears ♪
♪ Isle of freedom, isle of fears ♪
♪ But it's not the isle you left behind ♪
♪ That isle of hunger, isle of pain ♪
♪ Isle you'll never see again
♪ But the isle of home is always on your mind ♪
♪ In a little bag, she carried all her past and history ♪
♪ And her dreams for the future ♪
♪ in the land of liberty
♪ And courage is the passport when your old world disappears ♪
♪ But there's no future in the past when you're 15 years ♪
♪ Isle of hope, isle of tears ♪
♪ Isle of freedom, isle of fears ♪
♪ But it's not the isle you left behind ♪
♪ That isle of hunger, isle of pain ♪
♪ Isle you'll never see again
♪ But the isle of home is always on your mind ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ When they closed down Ellis Island in 1943 ♪
♪ 17 million people had come there for sanctuary ♪
♪ And in springtime when I came here ♪
♪ and I stepped onto its piers
♪ I thought of how it must have been when you're 15 years ♪
♪ Isle of hope, isle of tears ♪
♪ Isle of freedom, isle of fears ♪
♪ But it's not the isle you left behind ♪
♪ That isle of hope, isle of pain ♪
♪ Isle you'll never see again ♪
♪ But the isle of home is always on your mind ♪
♪ Isle of hope, isle of tears ♪
♪ Isle of freedom, isle of fears ♪
♪ But it's not the isle you left behind ♪
♪ That isle of hunger, isle of pain ♪
♪ Isle you'll never see again
♪ But the isle of home is always on your mind ♪
♪ But the Isle of home is always on your mind ♪♪
♪ But the Isle of home is always on your mind ♪♪
[congregation applauding]
Chloe Agnew: Thank you so much.
Bobby: Well, we're so honored to have Jen Lilley with us.
Jen is an actress who starred in several movies such as,
"The Book of Esther", Twin Betrayal,"
and "Evil Doctor," and currently stars
a Theresa Donovan, the villain in the long running
soap opera "Days Of Our Lives."
She's also an advocate for children's rights and works with
an exceptional list of different charities and ministries.
Would you welcome with me Jen Lilley?
Hi Jen. So nice to meet you.
Jen Lilley: So nice to be here, what an honor.
Bobby: It is our honor.
So, for those who don't watch "Days Of Our Lives,"
I think there's a lot of fans in the house, actually.
By the way, actually six of our TV crew here I think
work on your show.
Jen: I know. Bobby: Which is very cool.
Jen: Amazing.
Bobby: It really is cool. We have that crossover.
So, on "Days Of Our Lives,' you're this villain, right?
Theresa's like a bad guy.
Jen: Yeah, she is.
Bobby: You're actually like a really sincere Christian.
Jen: Yes.
Bobby: So, tell me a little bit about how did you get into
that role and what's it like being like a bad guy
even though like you have a heart for God?
Jen: Well, in short, it was the Holy Spirit, which sounds
so funny but, you know, in, I believe it's in John it says,
"My sheep will know me by my voice."
And so, when I was auditioning for the role,
I didn't want to do soap operas.
I do a lot of comedy and I was like, no,
don't want to go out for the soap operas.
They're so much work.
I'd already done "General Hospital."
I didn't think I could do it, and I really felt the Lord say,
"This is your role."
And so I said, "Okay, I can't say no, Lord.
That's an oxymoron."
But it does say in John what we are supposed to test the spirits
and because we've been given the Holy Spirit,
we have discernment.
So I said, "All right, Lord, I'm not gonna say no,
but I am gonna ask you why."
And it gets me every time because the Holy Spirit is so
convicting because he says his loving kindness leads you
to conviction, right?
And he said, "I want a Christian to play this role because you
can play the unspoken moments when she sleeps with a guy
and she has a one night stand.
You can play that moment where the camera's still lingering,
you show that she is empty and it didn't fill her
and it didn't fill that God-sized hole.
And Theresa is the exact condition of humanity that I
sent my Son for to die, and there are so many people
in the audience that need to know that they are not beyond
redemption and there is no pit so low."
Psalm 139 says that if I make my bed in hell,
behold you are there.
There is no pit so low that God can't take his Spirit
and just pull them back out.
So, that was the Holy Spirit.
Bobby: That's awesome.
I know like downstairs we were talking about how you're really
this kind of driven, but also like type A personality,
trying to control everything.
And so, a big part of even taking this role was sort of
holding it loosely and just trusting the Lord.
Wasn't that a big part of it?
Jen: It was huge for me and I thought,
"Lord, what am I supposed to say?
How am I supposed to justify just in the Book of Ester,
how am I supposed to say that I'm playing this role now?"
But in Galatians 1:10 it's my favorite verse probably.
It says, "Am I now trying to please man,
or am I trying to please God?
For if I am trying to please man, I am no longer
a follower of God."
And it's so convicting so you have to trust the Lord is asking
you do what he's asking you do.
Bobby: Wow, that's great.
I'm even preaching on that exact theme today.
Jen: Oh, amazing.
Bobby: So, a big part of your personal life is you and your
husband are big advocates for foster care and you've done
foster, you're a foster parent and you're really trying
to encourage churches to do that as Christians.
Tell me a little bit about that.
Jen: Okay, I'm so excited.
To keep it brief, children in foster care, there was a study
by an organization called AFGARS,
and they're kind of like the U.S. census
for foster care and they found that 50% of polled
Americans thought that children in foster care were often
juvenile delinquents, but the truth is is that children in
foster care were placed there at no crime of their own.
They were often placed there because of abuse or negligent.
So, what's amazing is children who have been in foster care
often go on they're most likely that human trafficking victims
upwards of 80%, which is kind of unsubstantiated I'm trying to
find that statistics, of inmates in our jails and prisons came
from foster care and 50% of our homeless population.
So, I started looking at that and I was like, wow, if you can
remediate and solve the foster care issue as a church, what an
amazing impact we're having on all these things that
the Lord deeply cares about.
And the encouraging statistic is that 29% of kids that go through
foster care are later eligible for adoption.
The average of a child eligible for adoption is 7 1/2 years old,
and if--so there are currently in the United States
about 118,000 children in the foster care system.
They're eligible for adoption, they are orphans and as we know,
James 1:27 says, "Pure religion for the Lord is this, to help
the widows and the orphans in their distress and to remain
unstained from the world."
So, it's not the government's issue, it's the church's issue.
Now, there's 300,000 churches in the United States so on average
if one household or one family out of every three churches,
which is what?
One person out of every 500 people, you'd say?
Became a foster person and adopted those orphans,
we would obliterate the orphan crisis in the United States.
Bobby: And that's your vision.
I mean, that's what you see happen.
Jen: Yes, and I believe it can happen, right?
Bobby: That's such a good Word.
Well, what do you say to all these people who are here today
or watching on television who are that controlling type A
person trying to trust God with things like foster care
or playing a villain in a TV show.
What do you say to somebody like that?
Jen: Just to trust that the Word of God is true, you know?
It says that, "The Lord is the Lord and he changes not."
That's one of my favorite verses in the Bible because he's
not a man that he'd be found a liar.
And so, you can just trust that he does have good plans for you,
right, Jeremiah 29:11.
And he knows exactly the path that you're supposed to take
and you have to trust him that your current mission field
is your mission field.
And he will lead you when you sow into the Lord.
Another favorite Scripture of mine that I just like constantly
pray about to keep myself openhanded is that I am
a co-laborer with the Holy Spirit.
So, he's gonna take that part that I can't control
and he can do so much more.
Bobby: It's encouraging.
Thank you, Jen Lilley, for all that you do.
Let's give her a hand.
Thank you so much for being with us.
I appreciate your work.
Jen: Thank you so much.
Bobby: Hannah and I are so happy you've joined us
in worship today.
We hope that you have found incredible hope and inspiration
in this program.
We're in a message series based on my new book,
"You Are Beloved: Living in the Freedom of God's Grace,
Mercy, and Love."
Based on the creed of the beloved,
this book is my desire to share how my life
was radically changed when I began reciting
this creed on a daily basis.
Hannah: Every week, we say this creed: "I'm not what I do.
I'm not what I have.
I'm not what people say about me.
I am the beloved of God. It's who I am.
No one can take it from me. I don't have to worry.
I don't have to hurry.
I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with the world."
By resting in God's boundless and unconditional love,
you too can fully experience the blessings God intends for us.
When we embrace our position as beloved children of God
we'll experience our true identity,
allowing us to be courageous, to take risks,
and to follow God's call on our lives.
Bobby: That's right.
You know, practicing this creed was like changing the dial
on my life by one degree.
At first, I didn't really notice any change, but over time,
by training and aligning my mind with the Word of God through
praying this creed, I found a deep sense of rootedness.
Tap into the godly energy, joy, love, and power found in the
kingdom of God and experience the creed of the beloved
in your life.
announcer: Call, write, or go online today
and request Pastor Bobby's new book,
"You Are Beloved: Living in the Freedom of God's
Grace, Mercy, and Love."
Based on the creed of the beloved,
Pastor Bobby shares his personal experience
of praying and practicing this creed daily.
In this book,
each chapter will guide and encourage you
as you practice this creed in your own life.
By living out the creed of the beloved, you'll discover
the energy and motivation to do great things for God.
We're asking for a generous gift of any size, so call, write,
or go online today.
Your generous gift of $60 will include the book and two-disc,
"You Are Beloved, You Are Free" DVD set.
This best of Bobby's "Beloved" series contains four messages
to guide and encourage you to embrace your identity
as God's beloved child.
In addition, Bobby and Hannah are excited to announce
that a group of Hour of Power friends
have created a matching challenge.
Whatever gift you give today will be matched
dollar for dollar to go twice as far
to share this life-affirming truth of God's love
with people in need.
Call, write, or go online today.
Thank you for watching the "Hour of Power"
and for your ongoing generous support
to help keep this program on the air.
Now, let's return to the service.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ Every night in my dreams I see you ♪
♪ I feel you
♪ That is how I know you go on ♪
♪ Far across the distance And spaces between us ♪
♪ You have come to show you go on ♪
♪ Near, far, wherever you are ♪
♪ I believe that the heart does go on ♪
♪ Once more you open the door ♪
♪ And you're here in my heart ♪
♪ and my heart will go on and on ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ You're here, there's nothing I fear ♪
♪ And I know that my heart will go on ♪
♪ We'll stay forever this way
♪ You are safe in my heart
♪ and my heart will go on and on ♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
[congregation applauding]
Bobby: Thank you for joining us today, and wherever you are,
we want you to know that God really does love you
and so do we.
If you're ever in Irvine or Orange County California,
come down to Shepherd's Grove and Irvine Pres,
we want to meet you.
Let me give you a big hug and encourage you.
So, come on down and we love you.
Friends, would say, say this creed with me?
Hold your hands out like this as a sign of receiving.
Let's say this together.
"I'm not what I do. I'm not what I have.
I'm not what people say about me.
I am the beloved of God. It's who I am.
No one can take it from me. I don't have to worry.
I don't have to hurry.
I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with the world."
Thanks, you can be seated.
Well, we're in the middle of a series on that creed we just
said and in particular on a book I just wrote on that creed
and really do want to encourage you to get that book.
I know it's shameless self-promotion, but it really is
a book and a message that I believe in and this is the
promise I will give you, that this book for you if you need
more energy in your life.
Many of us, our souls, and our minds, they're kind of like
computer batteries where when we have too many programs running
underneath the surface, the battery runs out.
And we don't recognize how much thought and energy is going into
managing our reputation or hustle for worthiness and so,
this book will teach you what it means to move in the direction
of letting go of some of those things, and the thing you find
is a deeper sense of peace, joy, and energy.
And so I want to encourage you to get that book.
It would mean the world to me if you did but, of course, the of
all the parts that we're gonna talkings today is the one that
in terms of wanting to accomplish things in your life,
in terms of wanting real achievement, no matter how old
or young you are, you can do amazing things, especially if
you can let go of one thing, let go of reputation management.
You let go of focusing on what people think about you.
Now, of course, you want to be respectful and you need to be a
moral person but in the end, we should live a life geared
towards honoring God and worrying about what God
thinks about us and not what people think.
This is a real trap for most of us that when we're trying to do
things that we feel like we're called to do or just in living
life, just the way that we constantly apologize when we
don't need to, things like that, that it drains our battery
because we're constantly worried about what people think.
That's why the famous quote from Elbert Hubbard he said this,
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing,
be nothing."
And that's the only way, and even then you'll get some.
And you might invert that quote.
If you're gonna be somebody, if you're gonna do something,
if you're gonna lead, and you're gonna speak, you're gonna get
criticisms, and you're gonna get a lot of it and that's okay.
You're terrific and you have everything you need to endure
the yammerings and the criticisms of people you don't
even care about or respect.
Our souls and our lives are very much, like I said, like
batteries where we spend so have time worried about
what people think about us.
Oddly, most of the time those people are not in our family
or close friends.
These are strangers, colleagues at work,
people at the grocery store.
Let it go.
If you're anything like me, if maybe some guy in a car
flipped you off, somebody you never even knew or care,
or didn't even know his name, or somebody crossed you
at the bank, or somebody cut in line and then turned
and said something snarky, you might have been up
all night thinking about a great response.
You thought of the perfect line, it's too late.
He's already gone. Tossing and turning.
But in truth, if no wound was received, no wound was cost.
We can let it go.
We don't have to think about it and we don't have to worry about
what people we barely know anything about us,
we don't have to worry about what they think about us
and what they say about us.
The truth always comes out.
Hey, this is not to say that words are not powerful
or those things don't affect us.
They affect all of us.
Doesn't matter how little you know someone,
if they say something to you positive or negative,
it's gonna affect you, usually.
Words have power.
God created the whole universe using words.
DNA is, in a way, kind of a set of words that describe a life.
Anytime anything was made, words preceded that thing
which was made.
Someone, once upon a time, looked at a plot of land where
this church is and said, "Let's build a church there."
So, everything that exists, good and evil, almost always began
with somebody speaking something aloud, an idea spoken to a group
of people, spoken over people.
And words even have a sort of spiritual power to them as well,
don't they?
I mean, people have always known this across
every religion and worldview.
That's why you have things like taboos and things
you're not supposed to say in baseball games.
Man, every time an angel's pitcher is doing well,
Chad has to say, "Oh, he's gone six innings without a hit,"
and I want to hit Chad.
We have these things, these ways in which we understand
whether it's superstition or very often it's true,
that words have power.
I mean you think of even Balaam who was not a really
a Godly man.
Balaam was an enchanter who was hired, as weird as it sounds,
to not a Jewish man.
He was hired to speak curses over armies.
And when he was hired to curse the Jewish people,
God prohibited it.
Told Balaam don't do it, why?
Well, apparently even if you're not a man of God,
your words have power.
Words have power.
And all this is to say it's a big deal when people
speak over you.
It's a big deal when someone speaks a blessing over you.
It's a big deal when one of the pastors here speaks
a benediction over you.
That's a good thing to receive.
And also, it's a big deal when someone curses you,
when someone puts you down, when someone says you're worthless,
when someone says you've done nothing with your life
and you're going nowhere, you don't belong,
and all these things that you've heard
maybe when you were a child.
Maybe the people who said those things, they've been gone
for a long time but you still hear these words in your soul
and in your heart.
I know words have power but I want to say something,
life is too good to spend even one second being offended.
Life is too good, isn't it?
Life is too good to spend one minute worrying about what
somebody said about you.
Hey guys, you live in southern California.
You're filled--you're in a church full
of terrific people, good friends.
You got to hear amazing music today.
And by the way, you look terrific.
This is a good-looking church.
You've got a lot of good in your life and life is way, way,
way too awesome, beautiful, and good, to spend
one second worrying about what somebody said about you.
Listen to what the Lord says about you.
He says, "You are the beloved. You are chosen.
You are called. You are above and not beneath.
You are blessed.
No curse spoken over you will prosper.
You have a hedge of protection around you.
The angels and the power of God is working on your behalf."
These from the promises of God, the words of God,
put faith in them.
Put faith in the voice of the beloved that says,
"You're not what you do.
You're not what you've done. You're not what you have.
You're not what you lost and you're certainly
not what people say about you.
You're the beloved."
Live from that place and watch the amazing things that you'll
accomplish with your life when you pursue what God's calling
you to do rather than feeling guilty about people pleasing or
trying to manage the way people see you, that's a trap and
you'll never be happy if you spend your life doing that.
So, the thing we need to do is focus on the voice of the
beloved who just continually sings over us,
"My beloved son, my beloved daughter, I love you.
I love you.
Listen to my voice. Listen to my voice."
Grace always leads to holiness and life shame
always leads to sin.
Grace always leads to life. Shame always leads to sin.
It is fact.
It is a rule in the universe and it is just.
Believe in the grace that God has for you.
In Matthew chapter 3, there's a great story
where Jesus is baptized.
You ever wondered if Jesus never sinned,
why did he need to be baptized?
Was he getting saved?
And this alone, the fact that we don't understand why Jesus
was baptized, I think is a criticism of our theology,
that we don't--very clearly the reason Jesus got baptized
was to receive grace from the Father.
And if you can't understand why Jesus needs grace,
it's time to study grace again.
Grace doesn't mean mercy. Grace means favor.
Grace means God's abundant love, power, and energy,
an overflowing of his very self that is abounding in mercy,
that covers of all of our sins but it does more than that.
It fuels us.
Dallas Willard says that grace is to a Christian
like jet fuel is to a jet.
In fact, disciples need grace more than sinners do and even if
you are able to live a week of perfect love and live completely
by the Spirit, that person also needs more grace
than anyone else.
The more you're called to do, the more grace you need.
Grace is fuel. Grace is energy.
Grace is God's life and love.
It's his favor, it's his abundance.
It's an overflowing of his very self and that's why Jesus, the
Son, when he was baptized, was receiving grace from God,
receiving this power from God and we see it happen.
He was also doing it to fulfill the law, and he says that.
But then it says Matthew chapter 3, verse 13,
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan
to be baptized by John.
But John tried to deter him."
I would too.
Wouldn't you want to be baptized by Jesus?
Wouldn't that be cool?
Actually, you are baptized by Jesus.
"John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized
by you, and do you come to me?'
Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us
to do this to fulfill all righteousness.'"
Then he, that is John, permitted him.
"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
And at that moment heaven was opened, and he saw--"
Everyone say, was it they saw or he saw?
He saw.
"Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting on him.
And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased.'"
One of the first things I want you to see here is, and I think
there's evidence to show in this passage actually, that although
we actually think a crowd sort of heard a voice or something,
it actually seems to say that only Jesus saw this and only
Jesus heard this voice.
That he, alone, it was like he was able to see the Holy Spirit
come down on him in his baptism and just remind of love.
You, know Jesus would have been in his early 30s
when this happened.
He didn't accomplish anything really notable at all.
In fact, I remember when I was in Israel not long ago
and I was walking in this area called the Decapolis
near Nazareth, and I would visit Nazareth and the areas
around it, there was these Roman ruins.
You know, Jesus is often described as a carpenter
but he may not have been a carpenter,
because the Greek word there can be more translated a builder.
He probably worked with stone.
And so, when you go to these theaters, and you see these
buildings, you see that Jesus might have built this building
with Joseph as an apprentice and for all those years was just
faithful without any great accomplishment whatsoever.
And now he's beginning a three-year ministry
and will ultimately culminate in the cross and Resurrection.
He needs grace to do that.
He needs to hear the voice that says, "You're my beloved.
When all those people call you a heretic, when all those people
say you're sent from the devil, when those people lie about you
and slander you, and they beat you, you need to remember
this one thing, my son, you're my beloved.
You're my beloved. You're mine.
You belong to me."
And notice, the Father was pleased with Jesus
before he accomplished anything notable.
No miracles yet, nothing crazy, just Jesus
and he was pleasing to the Father.
You know, God takes pleasure in you, not because
of your accomplishments, your accolades.
He just likes you 'cause you're his kid.
Some of you like your kids.
God likes you more than you like your kids.
He loves you more than you love your kids.
You forgive your kids when they mess up?
You stop loving your kids when they mess up,
even though we're fallen?
Mothers out there, you stop loving your sons
or your daughters when they mess up?
God's love is greater than any mother, any father,
any friend, and it never fails.
He loves you.
He's saying good things about you, even though other people
might be some negative things they're saying.
I'm teaching my kids to be respectful and don't ever be
offensive to people as best you can,
but are we making a mistake?
Are we teaching people to be offended
instead of being resilient?
This is a real question and it matters because no matter
who you are, if you have an opinion, you have an enemy.
No matter who you are if you're doing something noteworthy,
you have a competitor.
You have someone who disagrees with you.
You have plenty of people who want to lie
and gossip about you.
Oh, and by the way, if you're doing things for the kingdom of
God, you're now an enemy in the kingdom of darkness, and the
kingdom of darkness above all is founded on deception.
It is the number-one tool the enemy uses to bring down people.
If you're gonna do things for God, you're gonna be lied about.
You're going to be slandered. You're gonna be mistreated.
That's kit and caboodle, friends.
It's kit and caboodle.
So, we need to teach people and we need to live ourselves,
recognizing almost in a stoic way, that people are offensive
and always will be offensive, and there's nothing we can
really do about it for them.
There's something we can do and that is to be resilient, to let
it go, and to become the kind of person that just doesn't hinge
on praise and doesn't hinge on criticism, we just let them both
go and we listen one voice, the voice of the Father
who says you are beloved.
You can do anything you set your mind to.
You can achieve any goal. You can do anything.
Be creative. Break the rules.
Do what God's called you to do, and don't worry
about people putting you down.
Always do what's right, always do what's moral,
but never fall into this trap of people pleasing.
We can become a resilient people.
We can become like that lighthouse that you always see
that's like this light beacon and it's like the wave smashes
against it and water goes everywhere,
but nothing happens in the light.
That's you, that is you.
Shining a light, helping people, saving people even,
and never worrying about what other's say about you.
You just let it go.
I had to learn this early on that criticism
is a part of achievement.
If you're achieving anything, prepare to be betrayed,
prepare to be offended, prepare to be slandered,
and don't say I didn't tell you so.
It will happen and that's a part of leading
and influencing others.
It's maturity not to shout and scream and say,
"They shouldn't be offensive to me," but rather recognize
that criticism is training.
Just gonna let that simmer for a second.
Criticism is training.
It's a temporary opportunity for a permanent gift.
Sam Chan, that's why he said that, "Your ability to lead is
equal to your tolerance for pain because leading is bleeding."
When you lead people are gonna hurt you, and attack you,
and it's gonna just make you stronger, amen?
You're gonna get stronger and stronger.
This totally happened to me as a pastor.
I remember when Hannah and I, I was a worship leader and I
worked with youth, but I never got any criticism at all until I
became a senior pastor of a little church in Orange and
I remember just getting so much, I felt like so much criticism.
Looking back I'm like, I was a wimp.
I got, man.
And I remember there was times, for example, like we would, you
know, you know me, when I speak, I don't always have a filter.
I'm a risk taker. I'm a taboo breaker.
I remember when we had our church, and we wanted
to make flyers to invite people to our church.
I said, we can't make flyers. People hate flyers.
We'll make them hate our church and say what we need
to do instead is make matchbooks.
We need to make matchbooks.
They're the same price as flyers, believe it or not,
and everybody loves match books.
Every time you go to a hotel and they have that little basket
of match books, who doesn't take one?
It's like, I don't want to lose money.
You know, it's like right there.
And we made these matchbooks with Jesus's face on them
and a little thing when you open it that talked about our church.
And people said, "You're encouraging smoking."
I mean, you should have seen it's like a third of our church
was just like, "Well, I never."
And we're like guys, smoking's not even a sin,
which is one thing.
But I'm like, look, you know, people will be excited to get
matchbooks every time they want to light a candle.
Anyway, and I remember I would get hung up on these little
things that really weren't a big deal, but what I didn't know was
God was training me for greater things
and that's when it happened.
When Hannah and I went on television with
the "Hour of Power," we were not prepared for the slander,
personal attacks against me and my family members,
super-inappropriate things about women and children.
I mean, this is stuff like, you know, the Internet.
And seeing this just really wasn't ready for that.
There was one website in particular that was dedicated to
just gossiping and slandering about us and our family.
And I just remember thinking this is crazy.
The stuff that they're posting, it's not even true.
It doesn't make any sense.
And it was really, really bothering me a lot.
And the more our reach expanded, the more this kind of thing
was happening and it was keeping me up at night.
How dare they say that about my wife?
How dare they say that about my kids?
So, I remember one day when we were, Hannah and I
were at Universal City, and I was stewing about this
and wasn't even praying, you know?
I forgot God was even around.
I was just angry, you know?
And I was mad and upset, and I saw this kid
and he had this shirt on.
He was walking.
It was a black shirt with white letterers and it said,
"If you ain't got haters, you ain't doing," expletive.
We'll just say expletive.
And it was so funny because when I saw that shirt,
it was like the Lord used it to speak to me.
Somehow that shirt really, shirt with an R, that shirt,
it got through to me, you know, it got through.
And I realized and that was when the Lord just said it as plain
as day, "It's training."
You want to do great things with your life, prepare to be lied
about, prepare to be slandered, and gossiped, and put down.
You're ability to lead is equal to your tolerance for pain
and that's why you need to be a resilient person.
You've got stuff to do. You got stuff to do.
You can't sit around being offended all day and being
worried about what people say about you, you've got things to
do and they're God's things, no one else's things,
so do them, amen?
You're gonna do great.
And that's why we realized I just was like,
"All right, Lord, give me.
I want ten websites.
I want one of these days, I'm gonna be on the cover of some
newspaper and it's gonna be a total lie
and that's gonna be awesome.
I can't wait."
So, we built into--no, I'm just being silly but, you know,
it's good to view things that way.
People aren't criticize you if you're not doing anything.
To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.
I would even say if you don't have critics,
it's time to get some, really.
If you have zero critics in your life, pray about that, really.
Take some time and think about why that is.
I'm sure you're a nice person, but Jesus teaches us that
blessed are you, blessed are you, blessed are you when people
insult you, persecute you, and falsely say
all evil against you, why?
'Cause you're a change agent.
You're doing things.
You're making an impact and I'm proud of you.
The other way that this inverts is also when we really look
to try and get all the credit and all the thanks to
for the stuff we've legitimately done.
This can happen on a small level, maybe you're caring
for somebody in your family and they never thank you.
Maybe your job, your boss never thanks you
and he always takes the credit.
And maybe you're a leader and you really, you have a team
but you struggle with sort of taking the glory.
Always give glory to other people.
Pass on the credit to the people in your team if you're leading.
And when leaders and groups that you're a part
of don't give you credit, let it go.
God sees what you're doing.
God sees what you're doing and actually did, you know,
principles in the kingdom of God say that the good things you do
in secret that nobody notices, builds up favor in your life.
It actually begins to spiritually open doors.
I don't know about you, if I had to choose between God seeing
the good thing I do and man seeing the good thing I do,
I want God to see it, because he can open some doors.
He can make it rain, am I right?
He can rain opportunity and life and faith is just trusting
that that's the case.
And so, let go of needing credit.
That's why Harry Truman said that, "It's amazing what you can
accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit."
Stop living for people's credit, and glory, and approval.
Live according to the voice of God, and where he's going,
and what he's doing.
Whatever God is doing, it's already blessed,
so do that thing.
And when we learn to be resilient and not be offended
all the time and just let it roll off our back,
we become stronger and tougher.
We get a sense of grit and we get more energy and most of all,
it allows us to discern the difference
between insult and correction.
And this is important, this is my last thought.
Many of us, because we're so offended,
we don't have the toughness to take legitimate feedback
from people who love us, people who care about us.
We get defensive.
We get our feelings hurt, but very often our friends
are just trying to help us go farther and do better.
That's why Proverbs 9:8 and 9 says, "Instruct the wise
and they will be wiser still.
Teach the righteous and they will add to their learning."
Friends, we can let go of what people say about us.
We can let go of being offended.
When somebody flips you off you, just say,
"It's just 'cause I'm such a good driver."
When somebody gossips about you, the truth,
the truth will always come to light.
It always does.
And if people are watching, responding to something like
that with quiet dignity and an inner strength, that's alluring.
Gentleness, forgiveness, Jesus teaches us,
"Forgive our offenses," we should pray to God,
"as we forgive people who have offended us."
Our first response when we get offended should be forgiveness,
mercy, quiet, and that the greatest and the best
is to be just strong.
Life is too good.
Life is too good to spend even one minute being offended.
Enjoy your life and pursue what God's calling you to do, amen?
Lord, we love you.
Lord, we thank you so much that you've called us in this place
and we can let go of what others say about us and live
a life for you.
You don't have to people please.
We're gonna live our life for you and trust God that
what you say is good and where you're taking us is good.
We love you.
In Jesus's name we pray, amen.
announcer: Please stay tuned for the closing benediction.
Bobby: Hannah and I are so happy you've joined us
in worship today.
We hope that you have found incredible hope and inspiration
in this program.
We're in a message series based on my new book,
"You Are Beloved: Living in the Freedom of God's Grace,
Mercy, and Love."
Based on the creed of the beloved,
this book is my desire to share how my life
was radically changed when I began reciting
this creed on a daily basis.
Hannah: Every week, we say this creed: "I'm not what I do.
I'm not what I have.
I'm not what people say about me.
I am the beloved of God. It's who I am.
No one can take it from me. I don't have to worry.
I don't have to hurry.
I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with the world."
By resting in God's boundless and unconditional love,
you too can fully experience the blessings God intends for us.
When we embrace our position as beloved children of God
we'll experience our true identity,
allowing us to be courageous, to take risks,
and to follow God's call on our lives.
Bobby: That's right.
You know, practicing this creed was like changing the dial
on my life by one degree.
At first, I didn't really notice any change, but over time,
by training and aligning my mind with the Word of God through
praying this creed, I found a deep sense of rootedness.
Tap into the godly energy, joy, love, and power found in the
kingdom of God and experience the creed of the beloved
in your life.
announcer: Call, write, or go online today
and request Pastor Bobby's new book,
"You Are Beloved: Living in the Freedom of God's
Grace, Mercy, and Love."
Based on the creed of the beloved,
Pastor Bobby shares his personal experience
of praying and practicing this creed daily.
In this book,
each chapter will guide and encourage you
as you practice this creed in your own life.
By living out the creed of the beloved, you'll discover
the energy and motivation to do great things for God.
We're asking for a generous gift of any size, so call, write,
or go online today.
Your generous gift of $60 will include the book and two-disc,
"You Are Beloved, You Are Free" DVD set.
This best of Bobby's "Beloved" series contains four messages
to guide and encourage you to embrace your identity
as God's beloved child.
In addition, Bobby and Hannah are excited to announce
that a group of Hour of Power friends
have created a matching challenge.
Whatever gift you give today will be matched
dollar for dollar to go twice as far
to share this life-affirming truth of God's love
with people in need.
Call, write, or go online today.
Thank you for watching the "Hour of Power"
and for your ongoing generous support
to help keep this program on the air.
Thank you and remember always God loves you and so do we.
Bobby: And now the Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you his peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
♪♪♪
CC BY ABERDEEN CAPTIONING 1-800-688-6621 WWW.ABERCAP.COM
announcer: The preceding program was paid for
by the ministry partners of the Hour of Power
and viewers like you and is accredited
by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
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