Knowing God Helps You Know Yourself

[Knowing God Helps You Know Yourself](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Current Teaching Series [The Foundation of a Life Well-Lived](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Listen to Today's Broadcast](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Knowing God Helps You Know Yourself](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) By Rick Warren — December 26, 2019 [Facebook](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Twitter](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Pinterest](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Email](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Devotional image from Rick Warren](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Hebrews 11:24 NIV). Someone in my church once sent me a note that said, “Pastor Rick, because I don’t really know who I am or who I’m supposed to be, I end up molding myself to the expectations of others . . . Can you teach us about discovering our identity?” It’s true that when you don’t know who you are, you live for other people’s approval. But God offers you so much more. He wants you to live in the true identity that he’s given you. The Bible tells a famous story of someone who chose to live in his God-given identity—the story of Moses. Moses was the greatest leader in the entire Old Testament. He led the Jews to freedom after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. He received the Ten Commandments from God. He’s credited with writing the first five books of the Bible. But Moses started life as a slave. As an infant, he was placed in a river basket as his mother tried to save him from genocide. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as a prince. Hebrews 11:24-27 sums up the rest of the story: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (NIV). So what happened to Moses during those in-between years? How did he transform from slave into prince? How did he become willing to leave it all behind to lead God’s people? Well, in short, he grew up. He grew up physically, but he also grew up spiritually. As he was growing up, Moses asked all the questions that everyone asks: Who am I? Where did I come from? What is my life all about? Eventually, he settled on the answer. He “refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” He grew up and refused to keep living a lie. He knew his identity and chose to live like God created him to be. That showed spiritual maturity. So how can you know your God-given identity? By getting to know God better. The closer you get to God, the better you’re going to understand yourself. That’s because God is your Creator. The more you understand your Creator, the more you understand yourself because you are his creation. Like Moses, you face a choice: Will you pretend to be someone you’re not for the rest of your life? Or will you choose to live as the person God created you to be? If you choose to live as God made you, some people may not approve of you. But that won’t really matter. You’ll know who you are and where you’re going. And you’ll have the approval of God. How can you beat that? [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Talk About It - How does knowing God help you know yourself better? - In what good ways and bad ways do you think Moses’ life changed after he “refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”? - When you think about people who choose to live out their God-given identity, how are they different from people who don’t? [Facebook](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Twitter](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Pinterest](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Email](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r [Get 2020 Daily Hope Prayer Journal when you give a gift to support Daily Hope](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) God loves to hear your prayers—and your words don’t need to be perfect. He simply wants you to come and spend time talking with him. And we want to help you do that with the 2020 Daily Hope Prayer Journal. You’ll find practical encouragement for your prayer life and space to record your requests and document God’s answers. [LEARN MORE](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Includes 3 full-length teaching CDs from Pastor Rick's series The Foundation of a Life Well-Lived. [LEARN MORE](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r [Series Summary](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Message 1: Your Timing is Everything Message 2: Learning My True Identity in Christ Message 3: God's Five Purposes for Your Life [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r)[Twitter](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Instagram](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) [Linkedin](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r) is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded The PEACE Plan to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](JpWLXNbNA:m:1:2618166767:90FC7E6BD9DB708AFDA9F528D86C45B9:r). © 2019 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. This message was intended for: {EMAIL} You were added to the system December 23, 2016. For more information [click here](. [Unsubscribe](