"The Prayer that Changes You." a sermon given Jan 23, 2011, by Rick Warren at Saddleback church.
The reason sermons are posted on the internet is
so that they can be listened to, and if you listen to them,
The following is an observational review.
After a worship song, Rick Warren began this Sunday service celebrating Pastor Tom, his staff member and fellow "pastor," (not to mention- brother-in-law,) He wished him a happy birthday, noting that he had been at Saddleback for twenty years, and saying what an amazing Bible Teacher he is... mentioning how so many people listen to him every week. We also heard about how brilliant Rick Warren, and his sister, (especially his sister,) is.
Observe here, that Rick takes every opportunity
to ensure that his listeners can be impressed
by numbers and the perception of "greatness."
---Worship Song---
Rick came back, after the worship song and "welcomed" the Saddleback congregation as well as “ten” different campuses, including of course, their pastors, introducing some of them by name, all while making mention of more numbers to make sure we all know how big his church is and how much it is growing. He talked about some pastors that serve to "represent" Rick in their various locations... on the internet and across the United States, "everywhere.”
You can rest assured that if you are a part of Sadlleback
anything, you are part of something measurable and "BIG!"
Then, he talked about his new partners, Mark Hyman, Mehmet Oz, and Daniel Amen, and his newest endeavor, the "Daniel Plan." He defended, and promoted, his choice of these associates saying that these were "nationally known" doctors and telling his church how fortunate they were to have these three great and knowledgeable guys as their "personal" coach for a year! He gave us his slogan for it too... telling us all how the Daniel Plan is the launching point for "a New You for a New Decade."
Rick has joined forces with these men,
“experts” in how to have healthy minds, bodies and spirits,
In order to bring “health” to the church
and he calls them, “personal coaches.” Really?
This is as personal and as one-sided
as a pre-recorded, video seminar.
as a pre-recorded, video seminar.
He also gave an update to the congregation of his" Decade of Destiny," making sure to announce how popular the Daniel Plan is turning out to be, saying that the whole thing was “Just exploding!" Then, in order to impress us even more he began sweeping out numbers left and right, to impress us no doubt… to grow our understanding of how big and great and popular his projects should be thought of as by us who were listening to him speak.
Amidst all the numbers and figures, he said 6,000 people have put their Daniel Plan profiles on the web, and we heard about the 1,000 people who has signed up for the "clinical trials," which of course, made this all sound so very scientific. He mentioned that churches everywhere want to do this program, dropping more numbers, as he told us how 30,000 churches in America wanted to do the Purpose Driven Life when it first came out, but to the request to do the Daniel Plan, Rick decline, telling those inquiries that they could do it…” next year,” and to his immediate church, (obviously the lucky ones who could be a past of this highly sought after program, he said that all the eyes of America are on them, so they "better not screw up."
(Ha-ha. The crowd was pleased by the joke, and so was Rick.)
Additionally, we heard about how there were "some very exciting things happening" (things that he, for some reason.. could mention , but he couldn't talk about. Apparently they were still secret... but we were assured that big names were involved and it would be profitable. Whatever it was, we would "probably hear about" these exciting things that were in the works, (thanks to Rick and the Daniel Plan,) sometime soon in the news.
Do you get the idea that something GREAT and BIG is going on?
Do you get the impression you should be impressed
with Rick and just how GREAT and BIG
this all really is?
Looking at the sermon outline with the crowd, Rick Warren then talked about how people, like us, have good intentions in starting off to make changes- in things like finances or health, "but we loose our momentum" and "nothing really happens." The obvious came next… he was there to help remedy all of this as he told us that the subject of the day was going to be about, "What it really takes to change. "This week, in particular, it was going to be, "the Prayer That Changes You,” taught by Rick Warren, specifically, he was going to teach how the “Lord's Prayer is actually a model for our lives."
Pointing out the importance of breakfast in starting your day, which was a truth that he said could be testified to "by any doctor," he told the crowd, that the way you start your day, (not only physically, with breakfast, but spiritually and emotionally too,) was important.
"Write it down," he said... and the people all write down, ”My time alone with God, every morning"... (is important,) "…because that's going to set the pattern of my attitude and my response to every event and every person for the rest of that day."
He taught that the most important start to our day was a “quiet time" with God” He said, this is "where you do three or four things," and this time with God goes by many "names." Pointing out how it is sometimes called, "quiet time," or "morning devotions" or even, "daily devotions," he said he "really doesn't care what YOU call it..." It's a time when YOU spend time alone with God and you do three or four things, and it sets your thermostat spiritually for the day.
Do you get the idea that there are three…or maybe four
things you are supposed to do in your quiet time with God?
You can be sure that this list of
"three or four things" consists of things that
he will teach in a moment.
To prove the importance of this morning time spent with God, Rick said this was the habit of all great people of God in the Bible. He then made note of Jacob, David Samuel, many of the kings... Elijah, and Elisha, emphasizing that they all had a quiet time with God in the morning. He mentioned Jesus too and told us how it was Jesus' "pattern" to have a "quiet time" with God like this. Then quoting Psalm 5:3 (in the NCV) Rick said, "Lord, every morning you hear my voice, every morning I tell you my need and I wait for you to answer," stressing for us all the "every morning" in David's words. He reiterated that these words of the Psalms was David speaking about his "quiet time with God.
Observe how he selectively displays for us
a sample of how God hears "my voice"
and how God is poised to respond to what "I tell" him.
This might be the reason for using this particular version
The NCV. But, God is not "at our command" No.
David is writing here about
being secure in God,
knowing his care. He is talking about how he, David,
makes supplication to God and
looks up to and looks to God,
awaiting His deliverance
from enemies...
from evil.
Rick said what he wanted to do this weekend was first explain the four components of a "quiet time" and then explain six elements that REALLY "will help you change your life" using this method."
But, hark! After going on and on about how important, "quiet time" with God is, Rick says something quite the opposite. He says that you can have a quiet time with God every day and it doesn't change your life. In fact, he said that he knows a lot of people who read the bible everyday and they never change; that "it is not what you do that will make a difference, but how you do it that makes a difference;" and he said that he was going to… "teach you [how to do it right,] a little bit different that you have learned or known about it the past."
But, hark! After going on and on about how important, "quiet time" with God is, Rick says something quite the opposite. He says that you can have a quiet time with God every day and it doesn't change your life. In fact, he said that he knows a lot of people who read the bible everyday and they never change; that "it is not what you do that will make a difference, but how you do it that makes a difference;" and he said that he was going to… "teach you [how to do it right,] a little bit different that you have learned or known about it the past."
That's right. You have to learn the right methods from Rick ...
because he wants you to know that your time with God is useless, unless of course you are doing it the way he here presents it. In other words... no one ever until now did it right....
$Rick is the expert.... and he is the change agent...
making sure you will get it right....
and he will teach you new meanings of words.. like mediation
he will give you new presentations of what it means to pray...
new presentations of ancient texts...
teach you to pray...
teach you how to spend time with God in "mediation"
Teach you how to pray....
(like David) because just you spending time with God... is not enough and you have to do it RIGHT, like he does.
Rick is wrong.
Because if you are not purpose driven....
if you are not listening to "healthy" Rick...
if you are not purpose driven
you are obviously "unhealthy"
You can be assured what Rick teaches will be
"a little different that what you have learned or known in the past."
. because it is unbiblical, not in the Bible,
a weird twisting of truth and notably worthy of scrutiny
So then, in teaching the elements of spending time alone with God, Rick began by saying that that it didn't matter "where" you spent time with God, he said that it just needed to be someplace special, quiet....secluded, and silent. He suggested even in a car would be acceptable, if that was the only "quiet place" around, especially for a busy om. But, back to the Outline...
The Four Components of Spending Time with God
1.Read God's Word...
Rick teaches that you do not have to read a lot... he says, "just read until God speaks to you." He says also that you do not have to read it if you do not like to read; you can simply listen to it, in any version... or you can even watch it, like when it is acted out on video. Above all, just be sure to use the four components!
Then he made a point to mention how famous the King James Version of the bible is, how it is "the most famous version. He called it, "beautiful," "poetic" and "a classic," stressing to us how the King James Bible "established our English Language" and our "English culture..."
But observe...he neglected to mention how it established our "Christian" faith.
....and then he dismissed it’s use for today, saying that it was archaic, because today, nobody really talks in "thee's and thous"... and so, he said "it's okay" to get a more modern version.
He then recommended various bibles, including the NLT and the NIV specifically mentioning that these were available in his book store... and he recommended his church e start reading through the book of Proverbs and the book of John.
Using Isaiah 50:4 as an example... Rick said that spending time with God will give you wisdom... and he asks if people have ever come to you in a discussion, someone with problems, and you "didn't have an answer for them?" He said that if you didn't have an answer for them it was probably because you didn't spend some "quiet time" with God that day. He said if you do spend time with God then God will tell you what to say to people you meet with that day and then he made it a point to let everyone know that HE SPENDS TIME WITH GOD EVERY MORNING. He added that he "can't tell you how many times he was able to share with someone this way." Then he tells us that this is what happened to a guy named Isaiah.
Observe how Rick has just demonstrated for us, that he has answers from God.
Not only is he is told by God, what to say to people, but he’s like that guy, Isaiah.
Rick read from Isaiah 50:4 while it was posted on the screen in the room he was at
He read: "The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom," (... interrupting the reading, Rick interjects: "God wants to give YOU His words of wisdom... " and then he repeats it all from the top.)
"The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones... (Rick interjects again, saying: "...and all around you, there are weary ones. People tell me all the time, 'Rick, when you get up and you teach, I feel like you are speaking right to me.' Well, I am, and the reason I am and I'm speaking directly ....(garbled words)… is because I spend time with God, and as I spend time with God, the Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom so I know what to say to all these weary ones."
Observe how he has just given you the opportunity
to think that he, like Isaiah, is hearing from God, “The Sovereign Lord.”
And he also takes opportunity to present this notion
that people are attracted to his teachings…People, "all the time"
recognize, this wisdom, and since they do,
the premise is set that we too, should somehow, join in with the trend.
Apparently, there is a bandwagon of people who
tell him “all the time” that when he teaches
they feel like it is a direct word for them, from God.
He continues the reading in Isaiah,, " Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will." (Rick interjects again saying Notice, the reason why Isaiah was so wise...is 'cause every morning he got up and he spent time with God in the word and if you do that, you will become wise.. I don't care how much or how little schooling you had , you will become a wise person if everyday, you spend time in this book."
Really? Did he just say that?
Hold on a moment. Let's .think back to that unveiling of
that old PEACE PLAN...in September 2003,
when Rick talked about the second "evil giant" in the world,
("Corrupt leadership" he called it,
placing it in category with "poverty" and "disease,")
One the day he announced that he intended to conquer
all these evil giants with his P.E.A.C.E. PLAN he talked about
“leaders” in the church
and he explained “corrupt leadership” saying,
"Not only have these leaders
not gone to seminary or Bible school,
they haven’t even gone to high school or primary school.
They have no training whatsoever --
and yet they lead the church.
This must be remedied."
What made them corrupt?
HE called the “corrupt.”
But really, the only thing he described wrong with them,
was that they were untrained, unschooled, ordinary men
who had never been to seminary.
Now he says, "I don't care how much or little schooling you had,
you will become a wise person if you spend time in this book."
Seems these people must read their Bible, or at least know Jesus,
after all he is talking about them as pastors of a church.
2. Be quiet before God
This leads Rick to then begin talking about the reason for us experiencing stress and poor health ... (the very things his Daniel Plan with the personal coaches, is supposed to remedy.) Rick quotes Isaiah 30:15, "In quietness and confidence is your strength"
Then before quoting Isaiah 40:31, (Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint,) Rick Warren says to those listening.... the ones interested in the Daniel Plan, to those learning how to be “healthy” from him, and their new personal coaches, "The reason you have stress and poor health is because you do not have enough quietness in your life."
"A lot of you are like Job," he says, going on to say that we have "no peace," "no quietness" and "no rest," but "only turmoil." He read a portion of Job and reminded his listeners that God wants you to just be quiet before Him, in order to "recharge" your emotional battery, which one does by, he says, being "connected to God."
Rick uses Job, as an example of someone… "not connected" to God?
Poor Job. HE, like us, was just too busy and stressed out… unhealthy.
Thanks to Rick...now we know why Job was so sick.
Yes, Job sure looked "unhealthy" to his friends, as well as to his dear wife.
In fact, in his trials, Job lost all his family, all his possessions and his health.
Wow. Did you know that this was all because he probably neglected that “quiet time” in the morning… was not, "connected to God?"
THEN… came the whole reason for this lengthy introduction
about spending “quiet time” with God..
Rick commented about how he had been receiving some unwarranted criticism regarding his use of the word, "meditation."
It was now apparent he was going to give this talk
about quiet time with God EVERY morning,
to help derail and deflect some of the criticism
he has received from outspoken individuals
in the Christian community,
whom Rick called,
"confused Christians."
Rick said, there is no reason why Christians should be wary of something as benign as "meditation." To show how confused those people were, he suggested that words have different meanings, causing confusion for people. Then, he used the examples of words like "grass" and "pin," to prove that there was only some confusion on this issue. He demonstrated for us that he was being biblical and they were simply confused Christians, saying, "the Bible says," meditation means "focused attention on the word of God."
It's a little hard to point out
something wrong with meditation
something wrong with meditation
when Rick asserts that
"meditation” is a biblical word.- and truly, it is.
"meditation” is a biblical word.- and truly, it is.
How can anything be amiss if
"meditation" simple means, “quiet time”
"meditation" simple means, “quiet time”
like he says...
after all, the word is in the bible!
(Maybe it is not the word meditation itself,
--it is a very fine word--
but rather, maybe it is the kind of meditation
it is... like the kind of "pin" you are using...
and how it is being done, that matters...
. What do you think?) Taking this a step further, he said that another word for meditation is "rumination."
He explained that this idea of “rumination” is like when the cow who has just eaten grass is "ruminating" it, "soaking that grass,” “getting every once of nutrition out of it, in a relaxed way." He insisted that when he mentions "meditation," he is not talking about "putting your mind in neutral" and "contemplating your navel," (No… far be it from Rick to do that.) No, he is obviously teaching , right now what meditation means; "meditation," like he just said, is biblical and means, "focused attention on the word of God.
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