1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,920 As we continue, now we're going to jump in. 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,080 Last week was an overview of kind of the book of James, 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:10,880 where we were going. 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:15,080 Again, this was the half-brother of Jesus writing in the first 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,160 century, not that, scratch that, it wasn't the first century. 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,360 But as he was writing to the church, writing to Jew and 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,960 Gentile, he is writing a message not only of hope, but of just 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,200 real life, kind of in your face things that believers deal with. 9 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:33,640 And so I want to start off, we're going to be in the first 10 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,080 chapter, and we're going to look at the first 18 verses today. 11 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,040 As we go through this, this is going to be one of more of our 12 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,840 expository series, meaning we're going to leave no verse 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:42,280 uncovered. 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,060 We're going to look at every verse, some for a longer time, 15 00:00:45,060 --> 00:00:48,920 some for a shorter time, of what James may have for us today. 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,120 Today we're going to look at this ideal of trials. 17 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,120 What does it mean to endure trials? 18 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,800 What does it mean to have our faith tested? 19 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,640 So I'm going to start, and we could talk about all the 20 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,400 negative things about trials and all the bad things, and I'm 21 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,840 sure we could fill a lot of the time. 22 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,780 But I'm going to ask first and foremost, so taking trials and 23 00:01:09,780 --> 00:01:15,920 pausing that for a second, where in your life do you find joy? 24 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:21,120 J-O-Y, where do you find joy in your life? 25 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,660 Just shout it out. 26 00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:26,700 Playing with your friends, absolutely, yeah. 27 00:01:26,700 --> 00:01:29,460 Grandchildren, sure. 28 00:01:29,460 --> 00:01:31,560 Pokemon, absolutely. 29 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,300 But in order to have it, you got to catch them all, right? 30 00:01:34,300 --> 00:01:36,000 Yeah, all right. 31 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,660 Others. 32 00:01:37,660 --> 00:01:39,400 Vacations. 33 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,480 In our heart, man. 34 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:44,580 Abram, right? 35 00:01:44,580 --> 00:01:45,580 You're the Abram one, right? 36 00:01:45,580 --> 00:01:46,580 OK. 37 00:01:46,580 --> 00:01:49,220 In your heart, high five. 38 00:01:49,220 --> 00:01:50,880 Give me an air high five. 39 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,180 That was an excellent answer. 40 00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:55,380 We're going to come back to that. 41 00:01:55,380 --> 00:01:57,260 All right, try to beat it. 42 00:01:57,260 --> 00:01:58,860 Anyone else? 43 00:01:58,860 --> 00:01:59,960 Work, OK? 44 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,160 Finding joy in our work. 45 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:03,600 Family. 46 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:04,820 Giving gifts, right? 47 00:02:04,820 --> 00:02:08,660 Maybe to your pastor on his birthday, absolutely. 48 00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:10,400 Others. 49 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,280 Sitting on the couch, amen. 50 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,240 The Bible, OK? 51 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,440 Serving. 52 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:18,340 All right, balcony. 53 00:02:18,340 --> 00:02:19,840 You guys scored a lunch last week. 54 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,820 You got quiet this week. 55 00:02:23,820 --> 00:02:24,680 Yahweh. 56 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,020 Finding joy in God, OK? 57 00:02:26,020 --> 00:02:27,220 Very good. 58 00:02:27,220 --> 00:02:30,080 So we find joy in a lot of things. 59 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:36,060 But notice how none of you said trials. 60 00:02:36,060 --> 00:02:38,460 None of you said, and a lot of you 61 00:02:38,460 --> 00:02:40,500 knew where I was probably going with this, 62 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:44,560 but none of you said when life's really hard. 63 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,880 When I just don't know if I'm going to make it. 64 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,280 When everything just seems to be down. 65 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,740 When God just feels like that bully in the sky 66 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:57,640 with the magnifying glass, and I'm the ant, right? 67 00:02:57,640 --> 00:02:59,320 None of you said you find joy in that. 68 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:00,520 I wonder why. 69 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,180 Because we don't look at it that way. 70 00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:05,960 We don't look at the trials we go through in life. 71 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,000 This is going to sting. 72 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:07,600 And I'm looking at it. 73 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,720 If there was a mirror here, I'd look at myself first. 74 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,040 The main reason why none of us said that 75 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,240 is because we're selfish. 76 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,200 Because we love when life goes well. 77 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,800 I don't know anybody that comes into my office and I say, 78 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:22,680 hey, how you doing? 79 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,940 They're like, man, life is going so well. 80 00:03:24,940 --> 00:03:28,140 But I know it's going to come like a freight train and stop. 81 00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:30,780 And I am looking forward to that, pastor. 82 00:03:30,780 --> 00:03:33,280 Nobody has ever said that. 83 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,120 No, on the flip side, you sit down 84 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,220 with your individual that may be going through a long cancer 85 00:03:38,220 --> 00:03:42,500 battle, and they've come to reside to themselves that, 86 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:47,160 you know what, joy may be coming when I enter glory. 87 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:48,800 When they may come to peace with the fact 88 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,440 that their life on this earth may be over 89 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,180 or coming to an end. 90 00:03:53,180 --> 00:03:58,780 But for a lot of us, we don't find joy in trials. 91 00:03:58,780 --> 00:04:01,120 Well, James told you you got it all wrong. 92 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,180 And we're going to start with the very beginning. 93 00:04:03,180 --> 00:04:05,180 So James 1, where it says, James, 94 00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:07,380 a servant of God of the Lord Jesus Christ, 95 00:04:07,380 --> 00:04:10,080 to the 12 tribes of the Disperion, greetings. 96 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,120 Count it, all joy, all joy, my brothers, 97 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,520 when you meet trials of various kinds. 98 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,640 For you know that the testing of your faith 99 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:24,500 produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness 100 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:30,440 take its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, 101 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,520 lacking in nothing, lacking in nothing. 102 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,280 Leave that up there. 103 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:42,960 Consider it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds. 104 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,040 You know where I think this comes from is 105 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,480 because these are the Disperion are groups of the way, which 106 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,320 is what Jesus followers were called. 107 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,760 The term Christian didn't come till much later 108 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,120 when Constantine kind of made it the world religion 109 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:58,000 of that time. 110 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,280 But the followers of the way, they counted it joy 111 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:05,160 when they met trials. 112 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:06,960 And do you want to know why? 113 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,840 Because they knew they were coming. 114 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:12,040 They knew they were going to come from the Roman Empire. 115 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,120 They knew they were going to come from the Sanhedrin. 116 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:15,640 They knew they were going to come from all the people. 117 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,320 Remember in Easter when we talked about as the women were 118 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,440 going to give the message, they were 119 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,960 trying to already create a money laden cover up 120 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,160 to say it never happened? 121 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,080 Like, oh, that doesn't sound like today at all. 122 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,160 No, it sounds exactly like today. 123 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,320 But understand that they knew it was coming, 124 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,920 and they counted it as a badge of honor. 125 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,400 Considerate, preer, joy is the same as saying, 126 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,560 may I have another, please? 127 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,240 That's their mindset. 128 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:50,960 What has changed so much that by 2024, when I ask 300 people, 129 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,760 what brings you joy, none of you said when life is hard? 130 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:57,720 Anyone want to take a stab at why none of you 131 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,600 answered it that way outside of I called all of us selfish? 132 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,720 Anybody? Because it's uncomfortable. 133 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,440 Because if we're being honest, we don't like having bad days. 134 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,560 Now, for some of you, you actually do, 135 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,000 and that's a different conversation 136 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,120 that you and I can have. 137 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,840 But understand that we don't like feeling bad. 138 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:19,720 We don't like going through bad things. 139 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,560 But Eli, I'm going to use your testimony for an example. 140 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,280 You went through some very difficult medical stuff 141 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,040 over the last 18 months, two years or so. 142 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:33,800 How do you look at that stuff now? 143 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,600 You grew in your faith. 144 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,480 I had Eli about a year ago kind of hobble into my office 145 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,680 because of the pain he was experiencing, 146 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,320 and he wanted to turn his pain for a purpose, 147 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,360 and he started writing songs. 148 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,560 I don't know about you, but it was decent, right? 149 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,520 That God is using a lot of the pain 150 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,880 that he was being put through, and he made it purposeful. 151 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,400 That there was actually purpose in the pain. 152 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,320 That there was an understanding of God was at work. 153 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:10,000 But for a believer, that should be our go-to. 154 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,080 Man, life's really hard right now. 155 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,640 I wonder what God is trying to teach me. 156 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,200 But for a lot of us, we don't go there. 157 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,880 Or if we do, it's after we've exhausted all of the self stuff 158 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:22,800 of trying to make it better. 159 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,520 Because what James is saying is not only should we consider 160 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,320 a pure joy that we know when we meet trials. 161 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,960 It would read very different if it said, count it all joy, 162 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,520 my brothers, if you meet trials of various kinds. 163 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,600 Because there will be some of us that want to camp out, 164 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:40,880 and ooh, he meant if. 165 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,720 I might not ever have to face trials. 166 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,240 No, when we face trials of various kinds. 167 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,440 For you know that the testing of your faith 168 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:56,440 produces steadfastness of way that I like to understand 169 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,040 that word, because it's really hard to say from the stage, 170 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,560 is the understanding that in all things, 171 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,360 you have your center. 172 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,240 In all things, you have your foundation. 173 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,680 That though you may get bent by the wind 174 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,080 and the waves of life, you may be struck down, 175 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:14,840 but you're not destroyed. 176 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,280 That that is the steadfastness of your faith. 177 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,760 And let steadfastness have its full effect 178 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:25,760 that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 179 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,240 Now, we know perfect doesn't mean actual perfection. 180 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:33,360 That we may be perfect and complete seeing your pain 181 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,840 and your trials as a part of your story. 182 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,240 The crazy thing is, one of the things we all have in common 183 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,880 in this room, is that you all have a testimony. 184 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,480 Knowing that there might not be believers here this morning, 185 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,440 but we're so thankful that you are here. 186 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,920 But we all have a testimony, because a testimony 187 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,680 is your life before the cross and your life after the cross. 188 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:59,320 Holston's testimony got a little bit more defined today 189 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,200 as he grows up, that it's gonna be talked about. 190 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,240 Hey, when were you baptized? 191 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,040 I was baptized at eight weeks old. 192 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:07,360 Again, he's not gonna remember any of it, 193 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,280 but it's a part of his life. 194 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,680 For some of you, your testimony started 195 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,320 when you came back to church. 196 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:17,440 And when maybe you got yourself, 197 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,000 or the Lord brought you to the cross, 198 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,560 and now you're someone different. 199 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:22,720 For some of you, if you're not a believer this morning, 200 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,680 your testimony may be impacted absolutely today. 201 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:27,640 We have no idea. 202 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:31,120 But the perfection and the completeness 203 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,160 that James is talking about is that in all situations 204 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,600 in life, we can look back to God, we can lean and rely 205 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,000 on God that he is doing a work. 206 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:43,720 But I know that there are some of you here today 207 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,720 when you're going through it, 208 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,960 when the fertilizer is hitting the ventilator, 209 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:49,720 all of a sudden, your understanding of God 210 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,440 is that God has checked out. 211 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,000 Friend, I'm here to tell you, that has never been the case. 212 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,840 That will never be the case, because God doesn't lie. 213 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,760 And God always has been consistent and steadfast 214 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,720 in his words that he will never leave you or forsake you. 215 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,000 That I will be with you always to the very end of the age. 216 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:14,320 In this world, you will have trouble, 217 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,280 but take heart, I overcome the world. 218 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,560 Many different things that he has said. 219 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:22,160 And Jesus never pays us lip service. 220 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,400 Though for a lot of us, we love to pay him lip service, 221 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,680 he never pays lip service to us. 222 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,960 So understanding trials, understanding that trials 223 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,600 are going to come and understanding that trials 224 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,280 not only are gonna happen, but they may be severe. 225 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,400 What are some things we can pull out for that 226 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,720 when it comes to the trying the true testing of our faith? 227 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:43,920 How many think it's be, so we can go through 228 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:45,720 all of this alone? 229 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,360 Even my introverts, you better not put your hands up. 230 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,720 No, consider a pure joy, our brothers and sisters, 231 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,320 read it as count it all joy Munster Church. 232 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,640 When you all go through, it may be collectively as a church, 233 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,360 but it could also be individually as families. 234 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,160 That we are here to do this together. 235 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,960 We're here to band together when things go wrong. 236 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,000 Not to always come and give the answers. 237 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,600 We all know those people and they drive us insane. 238 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,920 When life's going wrong and they just wanna preach 239 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,040 the Bible to us, and I'm saying this as a pastor, 240 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,440 I understand that when life goes wrong 241 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,120 and you call me to come over or you come to my office, 242 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,160 you don't wanna Bible study. 243 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,520 You just need comfort, you just need prayer, 244 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:38,240 you need community. 245 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,120 Because more times than not, in of my ability, 246 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:46,120 I can't fix your problem, but we can acknowledge it together 247 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,720 and actually explore what God might be doing. 248 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,800 I don't know about you, but that's pretty awesome. 249 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,160 That's pretty amazing that the family of God 250 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:55,680 has that understanding. 251 00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:57,400 Let's go on the flip side. 252 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,280 For a world that doesn't believe in Jesus, 253 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,160 that doesn't have that comfort or that peace, 254 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:05,840 where do they find their joy? 255 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:10,480 If we're supposed to find joy in trials, 256 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,080 because it's supposed to enhance our relationship 257 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,040 with Jesus and grow it to make us steadfast in our faith, 258 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,560 what about a world that denies his existence? 259 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:22,400 Or that Jesus was just a guy? 260 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:25,960 How do they handle trials? 261 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:26,880 Any guesses? 262 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,680 Drugs, yeah, wow, we went straight there. 263 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:36,560 Absolutely, yeah, self-loathing, it could be drugs, sure. 264 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:38,280 Or we'll just kinda umbrella that, 265 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,280 look for some kind of escape for all of that. 266 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,800 But where I was kinda going was they look inward. 267 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,880 So how does that work? 268 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,800 If I'm the one going through the muck in the mire, 269 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,560 and if we're being honest, a lot of times it's our fault, 270 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,680 why am I looking to myself to be the answer? 271 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,280 The problem, right, to quote the great theologian, 272 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,440 Taylor Swift, hi, the problem is me. 273 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:06,280 I can't be my own answer. 274 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,600 I publicly apologize for saying her name in a sermon. 275 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,000 We have elders tomorrow, I bet that's gonna come up. 276 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,440 Anyway, but understand that that is a world's understanding 277 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,200 that if I'm the problem, how am I gonna be the solution? 278 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,640 Because we've been sold on crazy pills in this country, 279 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,800 in this world, in our understanding 280 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,800 that we are the answer to all of the problems. 281 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:32,760 How does that work when I turn the TV on 282 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,080 and in the first three minutes I go, 283 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,600 oh, no, no, no, no, the problem isn't, the problem is us. 284 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,200 We're not the answer, we are the cause of all of this. 285 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,040 We're the cause of the hypocrisy, 286 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,600 we're the cause of all the death and destruction. 287 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:54,920 But for a believer, the trials is an opportunity. 288 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,720 So I challenge you as we go through the book of James, 289 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,720 when you have trials of many kinds, of various kinds, 290 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,400 it's not, hey, you're gonna have these three, that's it. 291 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,720 No, it's gonna be different in type, different in number, 292 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,080 different in length of trial. 293 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,720 Because someone that's battling a relationship crisis, 294 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,840 that may take years and years and years. 295 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,920 And to the person that runs over the tire, 296 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:27,560 gets a flat tire and says, why is all the world against me? 297 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:29,640 God, why do you hate me? 298 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,480 God's like, no, drive better. 299 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:36,480 Like, understand that we need to consider it joy 300 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,800 that we go through these things. 301 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,240 Because it's an opportunity for growth. 302 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,920 It's an opportunity to grow our faith. 303 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,560 So that means that growth must mean something, 304 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,240 that growth must be producing something actual. 305 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,240 And James is gonna talk about that, chapter, or verse five. 306 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,360 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, 307 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,440 who gives it generously to all without reproach. 308 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,320 And it will be given you. 309 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,680 But let him ask in faith with no doubting, 310 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,120 for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, 311 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,120 that is driven and tossed by the wind. 312 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,520 For that person must not suppose that he will receive 313 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:18,120 anything from the Lord. 314 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:23,120 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 315 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,040 Oof, this is tough. 316 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,160 But I love the, so we go from, 317 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,640 I love the steadfastness to have its full effect 318 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,680 that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 319 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:39,360 So then he's giving us an opportunity. 320 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,040 So ask for wisdom. 321 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,200 For a cup of coffee and a conversation with Pastor Jim, 322 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,600 who do we know in the Bible that actually did that? 323 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,960 Solomon, over there? 324 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:51,320 Mike, okay? 325 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,080 So understand, guess what, God gave it. 326 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,040 And James is telling us, he'll give it. 327 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,040 But isn't it funny that he says you have to ask for it? 328 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,560 Because for a lot of us in this room, myself, 329 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,560 I'm gonna put myself at the top of the list, 330 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,360 I don't always ask for that when I ask for how do we get, 331 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,400 how are we gonna get through this? 332 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,720 Because there are times, I do just kinda wanna sit 333 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,920 on the couch and let God do all of it. 334 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,720 Or say, God, raise up someone else to fix it. 335 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,560 Yet he's telling us, the half-brother of Jesus, 336 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,600 the half-brother of Jesus is saying, 337 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,360 if any of you lacks wisdom, which meaning we will, 338 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,800 ask for it, and God will give it generously, 339 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,080 without reproach, meaning without proof. 340 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:39,760 God doesn't need proof that you're gonna be 341 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,160 a good steward of it, he will give it to you. 342 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,200 He will give you the wisdom that you are asking for. 343 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,200 But, let him ask in faith. 344 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,200 What does James mean by this? 345 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:59,200 Well, when we ask, and this is so, this is tough. 346 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,320 In our prayer life, when we ask God to fix something, 347 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,160 what God is desiring of us is to ask him 348 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,800 without any doubt in our heart. 349 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,520 It's got real quiet in here. 350 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,920 Because understand, for a lot of us, that's really tough. 351 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,040 Because we struggle intellectually, 352 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,160 we struggle kind of emotively, 353 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,480 we struggle analytically with this idea of prayer, 354 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,160 with this idea of asking God for anything. 355 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,520 Because in some ways, it shows the one or two percent 356 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:37,520 that might be within you, that you might not think God exists. 357 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,960 I'm a passing grade, I'm a 98 percenter. 358 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,000 I'm an A plus in most school systems. 359 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,240 That I can have an A plus in prayer, A plus in faith, 360 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,240 but I'm gonna hold that little two percent 361 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,400 that he might not actually be real. 362 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:55,240 So if that's the case, 363 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,400 I'm gonna end up doing this myself anyway. 364 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,920 Doesn't that kind of throw the whole case out? 365 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,720 God, I trust that you're gonna do this. 366 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,720 I seek wisdom and discernment 367 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,520 for how we're gonna move forward. 368 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,240 Look at your counsel. 369 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,880 We're looking at potential new addition. 370 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,720 And we are trying to be the best stewards we can. 371 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:20,320 But what would a counsel look like 372 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,360 if we ask God to give us the discernment 373 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,800 to make the best stewardship decisions for this and for that, 374 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,160 yet there is a two percent in the room 375 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,480 or in each one of the counsel folk that go, 376 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,480 but I don't know if God exists. 377 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,320 Doesn't it fall in on itself? 378 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:40,400 Doesn't it cancel each other? 379 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,880 Doesn't that two percent completely destroy the 98? 380 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,040 Because we can't be 98 percent in. 381 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:49,960 We need to be all in. 382 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,360 And I know exactly how that sounds 383 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,480 because I don't know if I believe it all the time. 384 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,800 Because I struggle with that. 385 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,320 That's the struggle of faith. 386 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,120 That we're gonna give our faith, give our lives, 387 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,600 and look to this thing, this person, 388 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,960 that's supposed to have my best interest at heart 389 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,280 when I just am entering this hard season of life. 390 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,560 Well, let me turn it another way. 391 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:20,120 Who are you to have a perfect life? 392 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,520 What have you done, what have I done, 393 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,160 to not have any troubles in this life? 394 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,240 How many of you have made mistakes in your life? 395 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:30,080 I'll wait. 396 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:31,800 No, no, keep them up. 397 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,640 Yeah, some of you wake up. 398 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,680 So if your hand's raised, then you're not promised that anyway. 399 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:43,960 But what we are promised is wisdom to work through things, 400 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,600 compassion and love and acceptance and an understanding 401 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:53,600 of what God is doing in our lives to offer to other people, 402 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:56,960 to get out of our own self-crazy 403 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,280 that we have to do this life alone. 404 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,760 What kind of parents would Curtis and Hope be 405 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,560 if they raised Holston to understand, 406 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:08,360 Holston, you gotta do this faith on your own. 407 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,320 No one's gonna help you, said his parents. 408 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,400 What would the baptismal vows you just make mean? 409 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,000 Absolutely nothing. 410 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:18,240 Zilch. 411 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:20,720 Just wasted all of our time. 412 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:24,920 But think about it from God's point of view. 413 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,480 That he's the one cheering you on. 414 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,760 And if you ever, I'm just gonna use it for Sox fans this year 415 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,560 because it is what it is, right? 416 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,040 We're gonna keep cheering on something 417 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,400 that Jack's team could probably beat. 418 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,000 And we're gonna keep the faith, right? 419 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,320 We're gonna keep cheering, 420 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,240 we're gonna keep going to the games by the hundreds 421 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,680 and all of those things because we believe one day 422 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,760 things are gonna be better. 423 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,480 Friends, we already have the everything. 424 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,400 We celebrated that two weeks ago. 425 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,000 We already have the salvation, 426 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:03,840 we already have the new life in Christ, 427 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,840 we already have the relationship with God 428 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,920 we already have the relationship with God now 429 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:11,320 which Christ is the mediator. 430 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,560 We already have all of these things. 431 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,160 And what God is trying to get us to wake up to 432 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,440 is that when life goes wrong, he is still right. 433 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,160 When all the chips are down, 434 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:27,440 we still belong to the resurrected King. 435 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,560 That you and I are sons and daughters of the King 436 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,680 and one day we will get it. 437 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,680 But for a lot of us, that's not enough 438 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,480 because we want that now. 439 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,600 James is gonna make it pretty clear 440 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,800 that we can't have that, that it takes that faith. 441 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,800 Because in those trials, in seeking wisdom, 442 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,640 in trying to make sense of it, 443 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,520 there's actually blessings in trials. 444 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,520 I'm gonna use a pretty personal moment 445 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,880 that a lot of us have had. 446 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:07,200 And I know that there's a lot, 447 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,160 Carrie and I included, that had trouble with infertility. 448 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,200 And what should be a sacred time, 449 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,880 a time that should be celebrated and excited about 450 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,160 and all that can be met with disappointment 451 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,720 after anger and hurt and disappointment 452 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,440 and then a nasty cycle of all of those feelings 453 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,000 when things just aren't going the way 454 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,080 that we believe they should go. 455 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,960 One of the things I love, 456 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:31,400 not that I love when couples go through that, 457 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:32,240 I don't mean it that way, 458 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,720 but when I'm walking alongside couples 459 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,080 that are going through that, 460 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,080 how God opens their eyes to a lot of these other blessings, 461 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,880 a lot of these other things that are going on 462 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,920 in their relationship in the world around them. 463 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,360 One of the things that this church does pretty well 464 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,760 is they love on people that are hurting. 465 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,600 Right, you saw it even in the News and Notes. 466 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,200 And with the passing of a man, 467 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,840 even in the News and Notes, and with the passing of a loved one, 468 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,960 we loved on the family that's still around 469 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,040 and they recognize that. 470 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,240 That couples that go through those things 471 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,440 can recognize the support and the care. 472 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:11,480 Oh, and believe me, friends, 473 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,440 there are those that think they're caring 474 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,640 and they make it so much worse. 475 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:20,040 We have people in our lives say, 476 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,800 oh, don't worry, it's gonna happen for you, 477 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:23,440 I just know it. 478 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,920 Do you, really, do you know that? 479 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,280 Like you just wanna rip their, no you don't. 480 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:29,840 But maybe you do. 481 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,240 That people are gonna say these things 482 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,000 thinking they're caring and they're really not, 483 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,440 but then there's gonna be those true friends, 484 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,160 that true community that's gonna come alongside you, 485 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,200 care for you, and then throw one heck of a party 486 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,000 when it actually happens. 487 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,560 That's just one glimpse of many glimpses 488 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,120 of what we get to experience in trials 489 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,200 because of Christ. 490 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:58,440 Yet we forget. 491 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:01,840 And maybe I'm gonna go so far to say is, 492 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,920 maybe we don't forget about this, 493 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,400 but we don't want the blessings that come from trials. 494 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,200 Because we would much rather have it like Burger King. 495 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:13,940 What is that? 496 00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:15,800 Our way, right away. 497 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:16,920 We want it that way. 498 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:18,800 We want it, we think, we know best, 499 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,360 we want it to go that way, 500 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,240 or go down that line, that thread, whatever, 501 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:24,480 that that's how we want it, 502 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,360 and God, you are basically a genie, 503 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:28,400 so we're just gonna pray and wish to that, 504 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,520 and that if you don't give it to me exactly how I want it, 505 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,000 that I am, I'm gonna take that 2% and make it 3% 506 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,240 that you don't exist. 507 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:40,480 Huh? 508 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,720 The God of the universe? 509 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,520 The God of the wind and the waves? 510 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,440 The God that said star, star, star, star, star, star, star. 511 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,920 The one that brought humanity into existence? 512 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,480 That's the edge you wanna take? 513 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,260 That's the reflection of God you wanna be? 514 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,840 You're misunderstanding the blessings. 515 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:06,800 Let's go to verse 12, right? 516 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:07,880 Is that the next one? 517 00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:10,040 Verse 12. 518 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,320 Bless is a man who remains steadfast under trial, 519 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,760 for when he has stood the test, 520 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,840 he will receive the crown of life, 521 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,300 which God has promised to those who love him. 522 00:25:20,300 --> 00:25:22,360 Let no one say when he is tempted, 523 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:26,240 I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted. 524 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:27,640 God cannot be tempted with evil, 525 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,000 and he himself tempts no one, 526 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,940 but each person is tempted when he is lured 527 00:25:32,940 --> 00:25:35,640 and enticed by his own desire. 528 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,480 Then desire when it gives, ah, 529 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,840 then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, 530 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,040 and sin when it is fully grown 531 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,320 brings forth about death. 532 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,800 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers, 533 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:53,400 for every gift and every perfect gift is from above, 534 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,520 coming down from the father of lights, 535 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,560 with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 536 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,520 Of his own will, he has bought us forth 537 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,000 by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of, 538 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,640 first fruits of his creation. 539 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,040 So there's a lot there. 540 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,780 But the blessing that James wants us to understand today 541 00:26:14,780 --> 00:26:19,780 is that when we remain steadfast under trial. 542 00:26:20,860 --> 00:26:22,460 I've used this analogy before, 543 00:26:22,460 --> 00:26:25,060 but I think it's relevant today. 544 00:26:25,060 --> 00:26:28,260 Baseball was my favorite sport, played it for a long time. 545 00:26:28,260 --> 00:26:30,260 And my mom remarried to Dan. 546 00:26:31,700 --> 00:26:34,220 How do I, I say this lovingly, and dad, if you watch this, 547 00:26:34,220 --> 00:26:35,540 you know what I'm about to say. 548 00:26:35,540 --> 00:26:39,260 My dad, the athletic side, that athletic bone, 549 00:26:39,260 --> 00:26:42,140 his sister's got that. 550 00:26:42,140 --> 00:26:45,660 And understand that when it comes to his computer mind 551 00:26:45,660 --> 00:26:48,180 and all that nerd nerd and all that stuff, 552 00:26:48,180 --> 00:26:50,040 my dad was fantastic at it. 553 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,880 And I remember we were in the townhouse in Orland 554 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,460 and he must have been told by my mom to do this or something 555 00:26:57,460 --> 00:27:00,780 that he'd say, hey, do you wanna go out and play catch? 556 00:27:00,780 --> 00:27:03,780 And kinda like, through gritted teeth, I was like, sure. 557 00:27:04,700 --> 00:27:06,140 Because I kinda knew how this was gonna go. 558 00:27:06,140 --> 00:27:09,140 And I remember, probably after the third or fourth time, 559 00:27:09,140 --> 00:27:12,300 of it really not going well, I was getting frustrated. 560 00:27:12,300 --> 00:27:14,100 He could tell that I was getting frustrated, 561 00:27:14,100 --> 00:27:14,940 all of those things. 562 00:27:14,940 --> 00:27:17,180 And so, he just relied on the fact 563 00:27:17,180 --> 00:27:18,580 that I had other people to play catch with. 564 00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:20,700 And that's fine, and I love my dad for that. 565 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:23,600 But I guarantee you that I could always, 566 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,100 I could pick his cheering out of a lineup. 567 00:27:31,940 --> 00:27:35,580 That when I succeeded in sports, in baseball, 568 00:27:35,580 --> 00:27:39,080 his cheer raised above all of them. 569 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:42,780 And I will remember that to the day I die. 570 00:27:43,740 --> 00:27:45,540 That then, even in my failures, 571 00:27:45,540 --> 00:27:49,140 he came alongside and he encouraged. 572 00:27:49,140 --> 00:27:52,060 And I think that's what James is trying to tell us today, 573 00:27:52,060 --> 00:27:55,460 that we need to be that for each other. 574 00:27:55,460 --> 00:27:57,300 That when we go through those trials, 575 00:27:57,300 --> 00:27:59,900 when we go through the muck and the mire of life, 576 00:27:59,900 --> 00:28:01,920 when we think we're doing it alone, 577 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,640 know that you're not. 578 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,120 You never have been. 579 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:09,440 And if you're in the body of Christ, you never will be. 580 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,840 That there are people that will come alongside of you. 581 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,840 And church structures have made it so that there are. 582 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,480 There are 10 individuals, we call them elders, 583 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,680 that are there whenever you go through those things. 584 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,120 But a healthy church isn't that the elders 585 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:25,960 are doing all of the loving on people. 586 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,760 No, it's that we're doing it together. 587 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,240 That we go through trials as organization, 588 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,000 but as individuals together. 589 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,000 And it's in that that Christ is glorified. 590 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,800 It is in that that Christ is seen and heard. 591 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:42,360 And guess what, friends? 592 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:46,440 In that, the world around us sees that. 593 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,360 Because remember where joy is found 594 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:49,200 when we don't have God? 595 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:50,520 It's found in self. 596 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,360 And that has an expiration date. 597 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,860 But the family of God doesn't. 598 00:28:57,860 --> 00:28:59,200 That we have this understanding 599 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,080 that we can walk alongside all of those 600 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,840 that are in trials as they walk alongside you and me. 601 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:09,840 Blessed is the man, or blessed, yeah, 602 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:12,160 blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. 603 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,400 For when he has stood the test, 604 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,640 he will receive the crown of life. 605 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:22,440 That doesn't happen on this earth. 606 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,320 I know for a lot of us we secretly want it. 607 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:31,320 But what would a crown of life do on a world like this? 608 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:33,240 Nothing. 609 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,840 And it's not for the right now. 610 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:39,320 That we go through these things 611 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,640 not for the instant gratification, 612 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:43,440 though we desire that always. 613 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:48,440 It is for the day when we get to be in glory forever and ever. 614 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:53,800 James even gets into our skeptics 615 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,400 and says, let no one say when he is tempted, 616 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:57,640 I am being tempted by God, 617 00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,600 for God cannot be tempted with evil 618 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,640 and he himself tempts no one. 619 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,600 Man, God's tempted me to do this, eh, wrong. 620 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,640 No, God doesn't dangle carrots. 621 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,080 God doesn't stand up on the cross and say, 622 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,960 all right, you gotta do all these things 623 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:15,120 and you gotta do it this way 624 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:16,800 and then you can come and be with me. 625 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,760 No, he's gone to you. 626 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,880 And he said, this will make it better. 627 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,720 I am with you always. 628 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,360 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 629 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,040 I love what Isaiah says and I use this on Easter too. 630 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,840 When you pass through the waters, 631 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,960 the waters of death, the waters of chaos, 632 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:38,080 the waters of whatever it is, 633 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:39,880 the waves will not overcome you. 634 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,960 Yeah, you may get banged up, you may get bruised, 635 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,040 but you're not gonna be destroyed. 636 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,560 The flames, right, the flames of hypocrisy, 637 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:49,960 the flames of hurt and pain, 638 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:51,800 the flames of financial burden, 639 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,280 the flames of insert whatever here, 640 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,000 they'll never take you down fully. 641 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:00,720 That's a promise we have. 642 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,520 It's a promise we should believe in. 643 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,600 Then at the very end, every good gift and perfect gift 644 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:14,080 is from above coming down from the Father of Lights 645 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,760 and to me this sentence is the sentence of the sermon. 646 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:23,760 With whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 647 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,720 God's gonna come down the way God comes down. 648 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,120 God's not changed by the forecast of the day. 649 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,520 God is still God regardless of life's going well or not. 650 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:41,120 God's gonna come down as God does 651 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,560 to bring the blessings he's going to bring 652 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,600 for the people it's meant for 653 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,520 for the season of life that they're in. 654 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:53,680 And all we need to do is receive it, count it as joy, 655 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,240 and just keep swimming. 656 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,400 Just keep going. 657 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,080 It's the believer that comes in the office and says, 658 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,280 I have fully given up. 659 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:07,400 Given up on what? 660 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:09,800 I can't do this anymore. 661 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:10,640 Do what? 662 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,160 I'm not gonna do this or that anymore. 663 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:14,000 What is that? 664 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,400 I never get an answer. 665 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:20,160 But it's always just everything that we do that. 666 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,440 When one thing goes wrong, everything's going wrong 667 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,880 and therefore God doesn't exist. 668 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,200 Friend, no. 669 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,000 Regardless of whether you believe or not this morning, 670 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,640 God not only exists, God loves you, 671 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,200 wants the best for your life, 672 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,560 and will give you the wisdom to work through the trials 673 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:40,880 if you ask. 674 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:45,040 But there can be no doubt. 675 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:48,000 That's the hard part. 676 00:32:48,000 --> 00:33:09,840 The doubt.