This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor Rick Warren.

Today we begin a series called Building Character.

In these teachings, Pastor Rick teaches us why it's important for us to mature in our faith.

He shows us how to continually grow and develop spiritually so we can become more like Jesus.

Before we get started, we want to let you know that very generous friends of the ministry

are offering a hundred thousand dollar matching grant.

That means that every dollar you give right now to help daily hopes share the hope of Jesus

around the world will be matched up to one hundred thousand dollars.

Making your gift go twice as far. You can find out more by going to pastorrick.com or by

texting the word daily to 800 600 5000 4. Right now, here's Pastor Rick with part one of a

message called Making Hard Changes in Me.

If you'll take out your message note and I want us to look at making the hard changes in me.

How do I make the changes in me that I want to make but just seem to be stubborn parts of my

personality that I just can't seem to change? You know, God loves you just the way you are but He

loves you way too much to let you stay that way. And so his goal is to make you like Christ.

How does he do that? Are you just walking down the street one day and he zaps you and instantly

you fake like Christ and feel like Christ and talk like Christ and have emotions like Christ?

No, no, no, it's a process. The verse there on the top of your outline, second Corinthians chapter

3 verse 18 says that it's a process. It says it like this. As God's spirit works within us,

we're being transformed to become more and more like Christ. This change from one degree of glory

to another comes from the Lord. Now notice it's a process. It's incremental. It's not instant

that the changes that you want to make in you and the changes God wants to make in you to make

...