This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren , "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal my wife or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD
2006-12-14 01:24:00 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
How come you got all that word-count to quote from Rick? Second question - who on earth are Barbara Bullock and Paul Bradshaw? Your question seems to involve them, somehow, but we need a few clues! Of course, if this is an American question then you'll need to translate for your cousins elsewhere. (I thought I was on the UK/Ireland site?)
So, despite not knowing what your question actually is, I'm delighted to say I have read that book by Rick Warren and it's excellent. In fact, I've taken some of the ladies in 'my' church through it several times as a Bible study aid. Our personal 'take' on it is that Rick is actually expounding the shorter catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith: "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever." He's absolutely right in saying "Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but... you were made for God, not vice versa". So he sets about showing that what God determines as the way to bring out his best in us is the only way that eternally-lasting purpose in life can be found. So I hope people looking at this page will get a copy and read it. Publishers, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530.
2006-12-14 01:55:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm so glad I switched on and found this - what an uplifting point of view. I've got the book, 'A Purpose Driven Life', and although I don't agree with all of it (especially some of the ideas in Chapter 2 - You are not an accident), it is an excellent book. Which reminds me, I didn't finish it, so I shall rectify that right away!
2006-12-14 01:51:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everything you need to know is in the Bible. The Old Testament is a history book. The two commandments in the New Testament are how we should live our lives today. God Bless!
Are you ready?
http://www.youtube.com/v/smlhypjhves...
2006-12-17 15:00:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you want to understand one of the reasons typical Law of attractionproduct does not work for lots of people?Think about it like a diet plan. If you wish to lose weight and you work hard to lose it
2016-05-17 12:39:34 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought you said this was a short interview! And what's your question? I don't see any question. This is a QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS site.
As for the person above me... the name of the church refers to its location, not its ideals. Sheesh.
2006-12-14 01:27:00 · answer #5 · answered by Viki 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Wow. I think your question was specifically for me because I have been reading Rick Warren's book . I'm glad to read this and pray I will always walk in God's purpose for my life.
God bless you and thanks for the question!
2006-12-14 01:33:26 · answer #6 · answered by nochickenhead 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is very encouraging thank you for sharing it and God bless you.
2006-12-14 02:31:35 · answer #7 · answered by shiro 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rick warren is a heretic & a deciver, he should not be trusted to find out more about go to
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
or
http://www.moriel.org
2006-12-14 01:33:33 · answer #8 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Saddleback church? are you serious? Is he taking us for a ride?
2006-12-14 01:26:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Im not finding the question.
2006-12-14 01:41:27 · answer #10 · answered by Michele H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋