Skip to content God Can Use Anybody - pt-3 ( Mercy, Selfless, Fulfilled) Apr 8 · 30 min ...more
God Can Use Anybody - pt-3 ( Mercy, Selfless, Fulfilled)
April 8, 2026 · 30 min
You’re not the center of the universe—God is. When you live a self-centered life, you become unfulfilled and eventually bored. Join Pastor Rick as he looks into Scripture to explain how God’s mercy helps us live for others.
Series The Miracle of Mercy April 8, 2026 · 30 min · The Miracle of Mercy
You’re not the center of the universe—God is. When you live a self-centered life, you become unfulfilled and eventually bored. Join Pastor Rick as he looks into Scripture to explain how God’s mercy helps us live for others. ...more Show the full description Show less You’re not the center of the universe—God is. When you live a self-centered life, you become unfulfilled and eventually bored. Join Pastor Rick as he looks into Scripture to explain how God’s mercy helps us live for others.
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Pastor Rick Warren shares the hope and encouragement you need to hear everyday. Listen in as he shares biblical truths to help you live the purpose driven life
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In this video 0:00 Second Chances: Danny's Path to Redemption9:58 Revival Behind Bars: Small Groups Ignite Change20:26 Focused on Eternity: Surrender Your Life to God
Second Chances: Danny's Path to Redemption 0:02 Hello, and thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. And today, we are continuing in a series called The Miracle of Mercy.0:14 Rick will show us how God's mercy can lift your guilt, heal your wounds, and transform the way you live. And now the final part of a message called God Can Use Anybody.0:26 You know, here at Saddleback Church, the the letters in our name, s a d d l e b a c k, every letter represents a value. We've taught on this many times, and many of you remember that the0:38 s stands for second chance place of grace. This is a place where we give people a second chance. This is a place for people who wanna start over. This is people a place for people0:50 who want a fresh start. That's the miracle of mercy. That's the grace place. And I want you to hear an example, a dramatic example of starting1:01 over a a place of grace. Danny Duchaine is gonna come out in just a minute and share his dramatic story. He was a double lifer in prison for 32 years. He is1:13 going to lead our Mercy Ministry, to prisons. To prisons. And, you know 2 and a half million people, Americans are incarcerated in1:25 a prison. We wanna start a Saddleback Church in every prison. And I thought, who could better know how to do this than a guy who spent 32 years, in prison? And so, I want1:37 you, 13 years ago, Danny actually gave his testimony here at Saddleback. He was in prison at the time. We couldn't videotape him. We couldn't even take a picture of him at the time, but they allowed us
1:49 to call on the phone and I played that phone call to hear and so he's back to give his testimony a second time. I want you to give a new warm welcome to our newest pastor at Saddleback, Danny Duchene. Give him a warm
1:59 welcome.
2:13 God bless you. Hello Saddleback family. Hi. My name is Danny Dushane and I would like to share with you how God has shown
2:25 me great mercy. And how God, because he is merciful, is able to use anyone even in the most unlikely places. I'd
2:37 also like to share how being part of a small group is a powerful way to experience God's mercy and to show his mercy to others. You know as pastor Rick just said, I've been part of the
2:48 Saddleback family since 2003. And 13 years ago I shared part of my story with you through a taped phone call from the prison that I
3:00 was in. That's getting a little ahead of my story. I grew up in Redding, California with my mom and stepdad, and 5 brothers. 1 thing I
3:12 remember about my childhood is that I had a lot of freedom to do whatever I wanted to do. I was a latchkey kid and by the fourth grade I was spending entire summers by myself. My parents had
3:24 nice homes and cars, and I grew up thinking that the goal of life was just having nice things. Possessions became a substitute for loving relationships. This way
3:36 of thinking led to insecurities and difficulties in standing against high school pressures. I started partying on the weekends and discovered how easy it was to make friends because I was the 1 who had the
3:48 car and had the freedom to throw a party while my parents were out. Shortly after I turned 16, I came home from school 1 day, and my parents were sitting with a friend with thousands of
3:59 dollars in cash, spread out on the kitchen table. I was told that they were going on a business trip to Peru, and that I would see them at Christmas. So I was left to take care of my 18 month old little
4:11 brother, who with the help of some family friends, but my parents did not return from that trip. Instead, on Christmas Eve 19 79, I learned that my parents had been
4:23 arrested in Mexico for smuggling cocaine. This was a total shock since my parents were neither drug users nor drinkers. The news that my parents were in jail in another
4:35 country filled me with fear, but soon my fear turned to anger. To cope with all the painful emotions I felt on that Christmas day, I drove to a parking lot and got high in my
4:47 car. Getting high gave me temporary relief, and I remember committing myself to a life of getting high every day. Little did I realize that the
4:59 decision to stuff my fear and anger and soothe myself with drugs would become an addiction that would imprison me long before I went to prison. At 16 years old, I didn't know
5:11 if I would ever see my parents again. And feeling abandoned as a teenager, I stuffed all my pain using drugs and alcohol. I became more and more impulsive, and began a downward spiral of
5:23 1 bad decision after another. I started committing crimes to support my drug habits. I was expelled from school, and then lost my new home as well. I take
5:35 full responsibility for my self destructive decisions. There were people around me who loved me, and tried to help, but I quickly became addicted to my way of dealing with all my loneliness
5:46 and pain. I was already in prison to my way of life. 2 years later, my mother was released from prison and tried to reunite our family. But at 18, I was
5:58 already a dual addict to alcohol and marijuana. I began to dread going to sleep at night if I didn't have something to drink and smoke in the morning. My life was out of control. I
6:10 robbed and stole and hurt others because I chose to please myself. As my debts piled up I struggled to keep myself supplied with an increasing need for alcohol and drugs. I was
6:22 reckless and never worried about getting caught for my crimes, and I certainly didn't consider the consequences to others. I was only thinking of myself. All this came to a crisis when I
6:33 was part of a crime in which 2 men were killed. Thankfully, I was quickly arrested in September of 19 82, which I also call
6:45 being rescued. Sitting in a county jail before my trial, it took about 3 weeks to withdraw from the drugs and alcohol, but once I became sober, the full weight of my crimes
6:58 came crashing down on my conscience. I was overwhelmed with depression and remorse as I realized how many people I had hurt. I believed I was lost and going to
7:09 hell. I was truly truly afraid. It was at my lowest point that God's mercy showed up in my life. God began bringing a lot of Christians to see me who shared the
7:21 love and mercy of God with me. At first, this good news seemed over my head. It seemed unbelievable and too good to be true that God loved me and wanted
7:33 to show me mercy after all I had done to hurt others. From growing up, I honestly did not know how to trust. I had lived too long pretending to be something on the
7:45 outside while being someone else on the inside. But the message of God's mercy eventually got through to me. I learned that Jesus could give me a fresh start, changing
7:57 me from the inside out, not from the external. I learned that God was concerned about me personally, even after making such a wreck of my life. I decided to open up my life to
8:08 Jesus and begin to serve him with whatever kind of life I had left. And knowing my crimes I didn't expect the rest of my life to be very long. On
8:20 November seventh 19 82 in a county jail waiting my trial, I ask Jesus to forgive all my sins, come inside, and to take charge as the lord of my
8:32 life. At this point I'd like to say again thank you to Monty, to Aubrey, and to Carol, who shared God's message of mercy and grace with me. The
8:44 bible says in Romans 4 20 that where sin increased, grace increased all the more. And I rapidly grew spiritually while in the county jail. I was hungry to know more about this God who
8:56 had shown me love and mercy, and I wanted him to use me even in prison. Graciously God blessed me with mentors, spiritual fathers, and spiritual mothers who took the time and
9:07 raised me in the Lord. At my trial, I was convicted and given a double life sentence for 2 deaths, and as a 19 year old, I was sent to prison for life in August 19
9:19 83. Never expecting to see the outside world again. But, I was thankful to be in Christ. And inside I had been liberated.
9:31 Let me make this clear, I never expected that I would ever be paroled, but I was free. Now I could describe many examples of ministry and hardships from life inside,
9:44 but let me just say, I'm Danny Duchene and not Andy Dufres from the Shawshank Redemption movie. And I have to say that movie, it's really just a
9:56 movie. But I do want to tell you how I became part of this Saddleback church while in prison, and how God used purpose driven small groups to transform the lives
Revival Behind Bars: Small Groups Ignite Change
10:08 of many inmates and brought a spiritual revival in our prison that resulted in the birth of a new church. God wants to use you by his mercy and he will do
10:19 amazing things with your life regardless of your past mistakes, if you totally surrender your life to his love. In prison I read The Purpose Driven Life by pastor Rick, and
10:31 in 2003 I contacted pastor Rick and told him that a small group of about 20 of us inmates wanted to participate in the national 40 days of purpose campaign that churches on the outside were
10:43 doing. We thought perhaps 50 men would participate in the small groups, but as we went door to door asking if men in the prison were interested more than 200 guys signed
10:55 up. Yeah. Within a few weeks our prison was buzzing with cell groups, which had a double meaning in
11:06 our context. Through the power of these purpose driven small groups, studying God's word together, we began to see radical transformation in the lives
11:18 of guys we never imagined would respond to the gospel. God's mercy was at work, and we had a new ministry. Then on August 30 first, 2003, Pastor Rick brought a team of
11:30 pastors from Saddleback to encourage us and lead a service on the yard. It was amazing. For 1 day the prison yard of this higher security prison became a Saddleback
11:42 campus. Rick was given a microphone and he preached to the
11:54 entire prison on the yard. Now for those of you who might worry about your pastor's safety, rest assured that Rick was protected by a single line of yellow caution tape.
12:08 But I should add, we also had over 100 men whose lives had been changed through the purpose driven life sitting right in front of him and there
12:20 was no way they'd let anybody hurt Rick. Pastor Rick spoke on the road to recovery then gave a public invitation inviting men from all across the yard to come and kneel with him in the dirt
12:32 and pray a salvation prayer aloud in front of the entire prison population. It was a moment of amazing grace. Then Rick said, we're going to baptize now in front of the
12:44 entire prison population. So we rolled out a large laundry bin filled with water under the guard tower.
13:00 That night more than 100 men gathered in on the prison yard to claim the Sierra prison as God's holy ground. As an act of humble reverence this group of men stood in a circle
13:12 in the prison yard and we all removed our shoes. As we began to pray for the men in each of the cell block buildings, together we officially established a purpose driven church with a mission and
13:24 ministry to impact the entire population. In faith, we believe that God in his mercy was going to use us all for his glory. A few months later pastor John Baker returned
13:36 to the prison and trained our church leaders to be celebrate recovery small group leaders in the prison. We were able to use the prison visiting room and also another building which gave us the
13:48 capacity of running 60 small groups a week. I cannot overstate the power of godly small groups in changing people's lives, and that they had never received,
14:00 for many guys being part of a small group was the first time in their lives that they had ever received support to do the right thing. I will say this to every man regardless of whether you are behind
14:12 bars or outside, you cannot be all God wants you to be on your own. You need support. You need a small group, and I'm sure my life would have been very different
14:24 if I'd had the support of a small group when I was a teenager. We followed up the 40 days of purpose campaign with another Saddleback small group study on the book of James. Then we studied the
14:36 purpose driven church together, and many other small group discipleship studies, and of course we kept repeating the celebrate recovery step studies, and even offered the purpose driven life again and again
14:48 to new groups of guys. In our purpose driven church, we appointed directors for each of the purposes and basis of membership, maturity, ministry, and mission. As our
15:00 church continued to grow, the climate and atmosphere of the prison changed so much that it began to attract the attention of the media. Not only was our church growing, but we were having such a positive
15:12 influence on the prison that local news stations, then the k love radio station, and eventually the New York Times reported on the impact of the ministry of a group of guys
15:24 inmates who had formed a purpose driven church in a prison. 1 of the big changes was a reduction in violence in the prison. Prior to doing the 40 days of purpose campaign,
15:36 racial and gang violence often controlled the prison. But during our 40 days of purpose, when we launched all those small groups, not a single fight or riot interrupted. Pastor
15:48 Rick told me So pastor Rick told me that the warden called him and said, what have you done to my prison?
16:01 He said, everyone is peaceful. As a result of what was happening in our prison, many other prisons began using the 40 days of purpose and celebrate recovery programs.
16:13 They are now both used nationwide. You may not know that each year Saddleback honors churches around the world that are building on God's 5 purposes by giving those churches the healthy church
16:25 award. It was so encouraging to our men when in 2004 Saddleback Church awarded the church we had started in prison with 1 of the 3 healthy church
16:37 awards for that year. And yeah, that's me. Here's the pastor in
16:48 prison with a black eye. All I can say is that you cannot expect to have a spiritual revival in a prison without at least some
17:00 opposition. The media attention given to our church and questions about me and other Christians crossing racial boundaries were causes of several assaults
17:12 on me and our other church leaders. At 1 point the prison captain considered moving me from the prison for safety. But God brought us through that time of opposition, and in less than a year of
17:23 growth we were granted an entire 200 man building cell block to be used by those participating in celebrate recovery. To this day, celebrate recovery small groups
17:35 continue to be the core curriculum for those in recovery. And in order in order to live in that cell block, you must commit to be part of celebrate recovery, commit to be in a small
17:47 group, commit to having an accountability partner or a sponsor, and to complete pastor Rick's video series on how to live in fellowship and community with 1 another.
17:58 Again, God is using ordinary people in unlikely places because of his mercy. Now I want to personally express my gratitude to pastor Rick for this letter, his support in this
18:10 Saddleback church, and the pastors of Saddleback for their support over all the years, and appreciate them because on Christmas Eve, December 20 14, I was
18:22 released after 32 years in prison. God's mercy. Since my release I've
18:34 been riding waves of God's mercy and grace. First of all, God gave me the gift of a wonderful wife, Susan. We were married a year after my release. You can clap.
18:46 You can clap. Now Susan and I will be leading a mercy campaign small group in our house that we are calling
18:58 welcome home. After working for a year as a drug and alcohol counselor at a San Francisco methadone clinic, I've been released to finally join the Saddleback staff. I've
19:10 been asked to serve as Saddleback's pastor of prison ministries through celebrate recovery. As I stand here today, I am aware that I am only here by God's mercy. I am very
19:22 grateful for the pastors, the friends, and family that God has shown his mercy through. You know the bible says in James 2 13 that mercy triumphs
19:34 over judgment and my life is an example of that truth. I know now that God has brought me from the inside out to proclaim that God's mercy is the
19:45 key to inner freedom. Whether your prison is physical, emotional, spiritual, or relational. By God's mercy and grace I will serve you for Jesus'
19:57 sake as best as I am able. This is the most amazing church, and thank you for welcoming me home Saddleback. God bless you.
20:10 Thank you for your mercy. Thank God for his mercy.
Focused on Eternity: Surrender Your Life to God
20:26 Your new pastor.
20:32 God bless you.
20:33 And this is Susan.
20:49 Yes. Now do you believe that the mercy of God will change everything and it really doesn't matter where you've been, what matters is the direction of your feet right now. I don't care how much you've messed up, you're
21:01 welcome and wanted at Saddleback Church, and this is a place, the s second chance place of grace. And, it's all about being used by God. Now, what
21:13 kept Danny going for 32 years in a prison? Can you imagine being in a prison for 32 years? What kept him going? He followed the fifth and final,
21:25 secret of being used by God and it is this, Paul's last secret, stay focused on eternity. Stay focused on eternity. You've gotta maintain an
21:37 eternal perspective. That way you don't get overwhelmed by your current problems. The bigger your picture of God, the smaller your problems are. The more you understand what's gonna happen in eternity,
21:49 the less you're bothered by the bad things that happen here on Earth. If you have a big picture of God, you have a small picture of your problems. And, if you lose your eternal perspective, you forget that
22:01 it's not about now. It's not only not about you, it's not about now. That then your problems are gonna overwhelm you. In second Corinthians verse chapter 4 verse 17 These little
22:13 troubles Paul says are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all of our troubles seem like nothing. These little troubles, what? Shipwreck?
22:26 Prison sentences? Beat 5 times? All those things. He says these small problems, that's eternal perspective. When you understand how short life is, it's not even
22:37 100 years, and how long eternity is. This is small potatoes. And you can put up with all kinds of stuff on this planet if you know what's gonna happen in eternity and you
22:49 know the rewards and the blessing and the joy of being used by God. These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all of our troubles
23:01 seem like nothing. And then in verse 18, he says, so we don't look at the troubles we can see right now. We're gonna stay focused on eternity. We don't look at the
23:13 troubles we can see right now. That's a choice. Rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles that we've seen right now in your life, they'll soon be
23:24 over. But the joys to come in eternity will last forever. Now friends, there are only 3 motivations in life. You're gonna live your life on 1 of these 3 motivations.
23:37 The first kind of motivation is internal motivation. And many people live their lives based on eternal motivation. I wanna be happy, I wanna be popular, I wanna be rich,
23:50 I wanna be loved, I wanna be famous, whatever. You've got your internal motivation that motivates you through life. Or, you can be motivated not by internal motivation but external motivation.
24:02 And, you you're you're afraid of being fired or you wanna get the promotion and it's external, carrot and stick and and it's the reward or the penalty of other people
24:14 around you and you're motivated by what other people think and that's external. But, the highest motivation in life is not internal motivation. It's not external motivation, it's
24:26 eternal motivation. It's being motivated by the fact that this life is a test and it's the get ready stage for the real show which is gonna go on trillions and trillions and
24:38 trillions of years in Heaven. Now, what is the key to staying focused now in spite of your problems? Because when you get tired, you lose your focus. When you get tired, you
24:49 forget about eternity. When you get tired, all you can see is all the problems you got right now and the bills you have to pay. The key to staying focused, write this down, Danny Deshane mentioned it 4 or 5 times in his
25:01 testimony. Small groups. Small groups are the key to staying focused. You need perspective from the support of other people. You need a support system in your life. Paul
25:13 never went anywhere without a small group. Paul never did anything in his life by himself. Everything Paul did, the most used by God person in history, he
25:25 did with a small group. He took a small group with him everywhere he went. I've often told you over and over how for 35 years I wouldn't be
25:37 the pastor of this church if it weren't for my small group. There were times in my life where there were difficulties that my small group showered me with prayer, showered me with mercy, showered me with love,
25:49 showered me with wise counsel. The Bible says this for Ecclesiastes 4 12, a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, But 2 can stand
26:01 back to back, that's support, and can conquer. And 3, that's 3 people, that's a small group right there, 3 people are even better for a triple braided cord is not easily broken. You get 4 people, you get 5
26:13 people, you got a support system in your life. Jesus said it as clear as I can possibly say it. Matthew 18 20. For wherever 2 or 3 come together, that's called a small group,
26:24 wherever 2 or 3 come together in my name, I will be there with them. You want Jesus with you? Get in a small group. Where 2 or 3 are gathered come together in my name, I will
26:36 be with them. Now, let me close with just 2 questions. 2 questions. Number 1, What's the prison that's been holding you back?
26:50 What prison have you been locked up in? What in your past has prevented you from being used by God in the present? And, you're locked up by fear, or
27:02 you're locked up by anger, or you're imprisoned by regret, or you're imprisoned by resentment, or you've been hurt in the past, or you've had a major failure, or you've had a
27:13 shame or you've had excuse what is keeping you? What's holding you back from going God, I'm all in. I've only been partial in, but I'm gonna be all
27:25 in now for you. Second question: Do you really wanna live the rest of your life just for yourself?
27:38 You're not a big enough reason to live. That's not a big enough reason to get out of bed in the morning. Do you wanna live the rest of your life just for yourself or do you wanna live your life to be used by God for the
27:50 purpose that you were created to live for? You don't wanna miss your purpose in life. And as I close with prayer are you gonna be all in? If so just
28:01 tell God, God I'm all in, I'm all in. I'm not gonna be a casual Christian anymore. Say, Dear God, I thank you for your mercy
28:14 and I wanna fully understand it. I wanna stop living for myself and I wanna start being used by you for the purpose that you created before.
28:28 I admit I've been afraid to go all in with you in the past, but I'm not gonna listen to my fears anymore. I'm not gonna let the past hold me back. I'm all in, In Jesus' name,
28:41 amen.
28:46 Hey. Did you know that the number 1 attribute of God in scripture is his mercy? It is, and he wants to be merciful too. Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they will be
28:58 shown mercy. Matthew 5 7. Now you can dive deeper into our current study with pastor Rick's miracle of mercy study kit. Through his 6 session video and workbook study, he'll show
29:10 you the 5 marks of mercy. You'll discover how mercy forgives the fallen, helps the hurting, is patient with difficult people, is kind to its enemies, and cares for the loss.
29:22 And as you grow in mercy, you'll experience the blessing God promises to the merciful. The miracle of mercy 6 session video study kit is perfect for both personal and small
29:34 group study time. So please be sure to request your copy today when you give a gift to help Daily Hope share the certain hope of Jesus with people everywhere. That's our way of
29:46 saying thanks. Just go to pastor rick dot com to get your copy of this great resource. That's pastor rick dot com or you can just text the word hope to 7 0 3 0 9.
29:58 Again, that's the word hope to 7 0 3 0 9. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and
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