How to Help Someone Find Hope and Healing, Part 2

[How to Help Someone Find Hope and Healing, Part 2]( Current Teaching Series [Life's Healing Choices]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [How to Help Someone Find Hope and Healing, Part 2]( By Rick Warren — 07/12/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Have you ever felt that someone was a hopeless case? That they never were going to come to Christ? Maybe it was an alcoholic relative, a drug-addicted parent, or a codependent neighbor—someone with a hurt, hang-up, or habit that kept them from knowing God. The truth is, no one is outside of Jesus’ reach! Yesterday you learned about the importance of small groups in helping “hopeless” people find healing. We looked at the story in Luke 5 of a group of men bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed. That story showed three characteristics (compassion, faith, and intervention) of a small group that God uses to heal. Today we’re going to look at four more characteristics: Persistence. You may get discouraged as you try to reach your family, friends, and acquaintances with the Gospel. But you can’t give up! The friends in Luke 5 didn’t let difficulties discourage them. It didn’t matter that crowds were between them and Jesus. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (NIV). Innovation. These friends dared to do something different. It’s pretty innovative to get up on a roof and tear it apart to get a guy to Jesus. Imagine the mess they made! Ministry is messy because it involves people. Small groups that won’t step out of the box won’t be willing to be messy enough to be instruments of healing. Cooperation. Obviously, these men worked together to bring their friend to Jesus. It was too big of a job for one guy. It’s the same way with small groups. People come to Christ faster when they do it in the context of a supportive small group. A supportive community is a powerful witness for God. Sacrifice. Have you ever wondered who paid for the roof after this story? I think the group of friends did. They wouldn’t just tear it up and leave it for someone else to fix. Whether it’s time, money, effort, or something else, there is always a cost to bringing someone to Christ. Luke 16:9 says, “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home” (NLT). Small groups must be willing to make sacrifices if they’re going to be agents of healing in the world. God wants to use you to bring healing to those without hope. But he doesn’t expect you to do it alone. Form a good small group of Christians. Then ask God for the persistence, innovation, cooperation, and sacrifice it will take to reach the hopeless with the hope of the Gospel. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Describe a time when your ministry got messy and you wanted to give up. What kept you going? Did someone help you through it? - What are some ways small group members can encourage each other when they are discouraged by difficulties? - What people in your life have you witnessed to or prayed for God to save? How can your small group help you in your witness to these friends? The post [How to Help Someone Find Hope and Healing, Part 2]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get the Life's Healing Choices Study Kit when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( You’ve probably experienced pain in your life, even caused some to others. We all have. As a result, every single one of us struggles with some sort of nagging hurt, hang-up, or habit. But how you respond to these difficulties often determines whether you get better—or bitter. Get practical help finding freedom from your hurts, hang-ups, and habits with Pastor Rick’s, Life’s Healing Choices DVD and workbook study kit. Using the Beatitudes of Jesus as a foundation, this study guides you through eight healing choices that promise true happiness and life transformation. As you learn to apply these biblical principles, you’ll find God’s pathway to wholeness, growth, spiritual maturity, and healing. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 10 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Life's Healing Choices. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: The Reality Choice Message 2: The Hope Your Need for Change Message 3: Letting Go and Letting God Message 4: The Housecleaning Choice Message 5: The Transformation Choice Message 6: The Relationship Choice Message 7: The Growth Choice Message 8: The Sharing Choice Message 9: What Destroys Relationships and What Builds Them Message 10: There's No Recovery Without Prayer [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( 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]( 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](. © 2021 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States