WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 And we're going to speak for a few moments today. 00:00:02.259 --> 00:00:07.339 My thought is the price of joy, the price of 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:10.119 joy. And if I had another title, I might call 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:12.039 it the price of perfection. But I didn't want 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:14.640 to use that one because I thought, well, maybe 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:17.559 that word perfection might, you know, mess with 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:21.839 some people's minds. But this is what we're going 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.260 to allow God to speak to our hearts today. Would 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:26.339 you pray with me? Father, we thank you for your. 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.640 presence that we feel today in this place. We 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:33.020 have come with a made up mind to give you all 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:35.880 the honor and all the glory. We were glad when 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:38.700 they said to us, let's go to the house of the 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:41.299 Lord. And we're thankful today, God, for all 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:44.679 your blessings, our health, our mind, our spirits, 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:47.619 our hearts, our families, God, every good thing 00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:49.679 that you have blessed us with. We thank you today, 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.600 Lord. And we thank you for your word that's about 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.549 to go forward. God, let it. Let it touch our 00:00:55.549 --> 00:00:59.229 hearts, God. Let it minister to us. Anoint our 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:01.609 hearing and anoint my lips of clay. In Jesus' 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:07.510 name we pray. Somebody say amen. You can be seated 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:12.129 in the presence of God. Joy and thanksgiving. 00:01:12.310 --> 00:01:19.230 Amen. These are two relatable ideas in Scripture, 00:01:19.510 --> 00:01:24.780 and they are often experienced together. Hand 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:28.939 in hand. Joy and thanksgiving. They appear in 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:34.680 such verses as Psalm 95 in verse 2, which says, 00:01:34.859 --> 00:01:39.560 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:47.260 Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. How 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:50.760 many of you came to do that today? Amen. We come 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.319 before his presence with thanksgiving. But the 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:55.340 verse doesn't end there. It says, let us also 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.920 shout with joy because thanksgiving and joy, 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:04.519 they work together. They go hand in hand. And 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.400 maybe these two spiritual realities are closely 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:13.240 related because when you really begin to think 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.639 about the Lord, you begin to think about all 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:20.710 that he's done. and all that He is doing in your 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:25.370 life, you can't help but be thankful. Amen. Can't 00:02:25.370 --> 00:02:28.610 help but be thankful. And at the same time, there 00:02:28.610 --> 00:02:33.849 is a superseding joy that comes over you when 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:37.129 you begin to think about the Lord and what He 00:02:37.129 --> 00:02:39.250 is doing. But I want to tell you today about 00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:41.430 that joy. I want to preach for a few moments 00:02:41.430 --> 00:02:45.610 about that joy because that joy is not cheap. 00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:51.349 That joy is not cheap. In fact, joy is very costly. 00:02:52.009 --> 00:02:58.750 Joy is painful. It's deep. It reaches into the 00:02:58.750 --> 00:03:04.789 very deep recesses of our soul and our humanity. 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:08.870 I didn't come today to talk about happiness, 00:03:09.069 --> 00:03:13.729 which is a beautiful idea in of itself. I came 00:03:13.729 --> 00:03:17.710 to talk about joy. Amen. There's a stark contrast 00:03:17.710 --> 00:03:23.289 between happiness and joy. Happiness is is cheap. 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:26.789 You know, it comes and it goes. But joy, real 00:03:26.789 --> 00:03:33.930 joy is costly. It's very easy to rejoice at the 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:37.629 end of your trial. That's the easiest thing to 00:03:37.629 --> 00:03:41.409 do when something is over. Right. After a long 00:03:41.409 --> 00:03:46.039 fought battle. After a long trial or after a 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:51.020 tough ordeal, emotionally, spiritually, financially, 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.979 it's easy to take a sigh of relief, just to breathe 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:59.180 a sigh of relief and just, you know, wipe the 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:03.000 sweat off your brow and just be full of thanksgiving 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:07.180 and to rejoice at the end of a trial. But let 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:09.280 me tell you, church, it takes a lot of faith. 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:14.460 to count it all joy in the midst of your trial. 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:18.720 Doesn't take a lot of faith to praise God and 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:22.379 to rejoice when it's all said and done, when 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.620 it's all over. But it takes faith. Someone say 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:31.600 faith. Takes faith to rejoice in the midst of 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:35.829 it. Takes faith. Why? Because. Things are not 00:04:35.829 --> 00:04:38.990 over yet, and it may still look like there's 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:42.410 a way to go. But there is a level of joy reserved 00:04:42.410 --> 00:04:47.209 for the believer who can view their trials through 00:04:47.209 --> 00:04:51.290 God's point of view, through heaven's point of 00:04:51.290 --> 00:04:56.110 view, who can see the reward in the midst of 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:59.350 their pain, who can see the crown on the other 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:03.850 side of their cross. Let me tell you, not any 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.670 believer can do that. It takes faith. It takes 00:05:06.670 --> 00:05:10.889 spiritual maturity. It takes hope, amen, to be 00:05:10.889 --> 00:05:14.370 able to live your life to that degree. Anybody 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:17.740 can praise God for what he's done. But it takes 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:21.120 a certain kind of faith and a kind of resoluteness 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.139 within each. And it takes a kind of vision you've 00:05:24.139 --> 00:05:26.959 got to have about God and about your life to 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:32.060 have joy in the midst of the trial. While there's 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:34.939 still that, you know, the dot, dot, dot at the 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:37.399 end of the sentence. You know, little dot, dot, 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:39.740 dot. You know, how many of you like that dot, 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:42.740 dot, dot when you're texting somebody, huh? And 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:47.199 you're waiting on an answer. And you're left 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.939 on dot, dot, dot. And you're staring at the screen 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:54.819 and you're waiting. Come on. Or when you're in 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:56.839 the checkout line, you're waiting for your loved 00:05:56.839 --> 00:05:59.019 one or your spouse or somebody to tell you, hey, 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:02.139 do we need to get this? They're about to call 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:05.300 my name. And you're stuck on. Well, sometimes 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:09.639 we're stuck on dot, dot, dot with God. And what 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.480 do you do? when that happens what do you do when 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.240 it's like dot you're staring and you see God's 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:17.139 typing something right now but I don't know what 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:19.660 he's saying yet I don't know what the answer 00:06:19.660 --> 00:06:24.060 is yet well can you still rejoice when you're 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:27.259 stuck on on hold like that can you still rejoice 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:31.660 when you haven't seen the fulfillment of the 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.800 promises of God well Jesus is our model the Bible 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.180 reads this way if you want to jot it down or 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:40.519 if you can go there quickly in Hebrews Chapter 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:45.420 12 and verse 2. Jesus is our model because the 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:49.879 Bible says there that for the joy, for the joy 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:53.980 that was set before him, he endured the cross. 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:57.500 You know, how many of you know that the cross 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:00.180 was not joyful, that the cross was not enjoyable? 00:07:01.379 --> 00:07:05.230 Huh? Well, we don't know that. but we know based 00:07:05.230 --> 00:07:08.509 on what Scripture tells us and what we have come 00:07:08.509 --> 00:07:11.790 to understand about the gruesome nature of the 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:14.269 cross, that there was nothing enjoyable about 00:07:14.269 --> 00:07:16.230 the cross. It was agonizing. It was torture. 00:07:17.009 --> 00:07:20.540 But it was the price of joy. And this is why 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:24.279 scripture says that for the joy that was set 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.120 before him, he endured the cross. See, Jesus 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.759 endured the cross because there was this joy 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.139 that he was holding on to. Not because what he 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:37.180 was experiencing was pleasurable or that it was 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:40.959 pleasant, but because of the joy, this reward. 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:43.939 And of course, we're all sitting here today because 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:47.600 of that joy, because of our salvation, because 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.040 he canceled the debt of our sins. sin and he 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.779 redeemed us amen somebody give God praise for 00:07:52.779 --> 00:08:00.279 that today amen but joy is it cost Jesus something 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:05.600 to obtain that joy it wasn't cheap it was costly 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:08.500 it was expensive and there was a price to pay 00:08:08.500 --> 00:08:10.819 for that kind of joy you're not just going to 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.980 get it on the clearance rack of faith you're 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:16.360 not going to get it in the bargain basement of 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:19.769 faith This kind of joy is going to cost you something. 00:08:19.829 --> 00:08:21.949 You're going to have to pay a price for it in 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:25.389 your life. And Scripture is replete with references 00:08:25.389 --> 00:08:28.569 about the kind of price we have to pay. Before 00:08:28.569 --> 00:08:33.429 you can reap in joy, you have to first sow in 00:08:33.429 --> 00:08:37.269 tears. The Bible says if you sow in tears, you're 00:08:37.269 --> 00:08:41.049 going to reap in joy. Before joy comes in the 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:46.110 morning, weeping must endure for a night. There 00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:49.990 is a weeping period. Before beauty, there's ashes. 00:08:50.370 --> 00:08:53.210 And before the oil of joy, there's a period of 00:08:53.210 --> 00:08:55.730 mourning. You see, we all want the joy. We all 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:59.289 want the beauty. We all want the great things 00:08:59.289 --> 00:09:01.669 that come in the morning. But the question for 00:09:01.669 --> 00:09:04.929 us today is, can we praise God? And can we find 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:07.830 a reason to be thankful? Can we tap into that 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.610 future experience that we're going to have and 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:14.399 count it all? This is what. what Peter meant 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.120 when he said, count it all joy. Well, how am 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.919 I supposed to count it joy when I'm not experiencing 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:22.340 very joyful things? Well, you have to count it 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:25.320 all joy. You've got to count it. You've got to 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:27.879 tally it up in your mind and say, you know what? 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:30.679 Despite what's going on around me, despite the 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:36.279 trial that I'm enduring, God is still good. Somebody 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:46.460 say he's good. all joy in my my theological point 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:49.480 of view is that it would be like like you sometimes 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:53.120 you just got to praise God on credit because 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:55.179 God's got how many you know God's got good credit 00:09:55.179 --> 00:09:58.639 amen I don't know what his credit score is but 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.570 it's a lot better than some of ours today Praise 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:04.029 God. Some of you, I'm shooting for 700. Pastor, 00:10:04.190 --> 00:10:06.110 I'm going to get there. I've got to get beyond 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:09.009 that. Praise be to God. Hallelujah. But you know, 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:11.250 God's got good credit. And because he's been 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:13.629 so good, when you go through a trial and you 00:10:13.629 --> 00:10:16.429 find yourself like you're starting to sink or 00:10:16.429 --> 00:10:18.970 things are getting overwhelming, that's when 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:21.149 you start to remember, hey, wait a minute, God's 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:24.230 been good to me. And even though things don't 00:10:24.230 --> 00:10:27.470 look too good right now, don't panic. Don't worry. 00:10:28.009 --> 00:10:30.470 God's still with you. So you got to count it 00:10:30.470 --> 00:10:33.049 all joy. It's all going to work out in the end. 00:10:33.090 --> 00:10:35.929 I know somehow, someway, God's going to be glorified. 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:39.990 But the big question today is how do you do that? 00:10:40.070 --> 00:10:42.149 Well, let me give you a few things before I get 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:46.220 out of your way today. There is a system. There 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:49.320 is some principles for us to understand about 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:52.220 how to count it all joy. Let me tell you, it's 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:54.840 about maintaining a healthy attitude, a healthy 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.299 perspective about your life, a Godward perspective, 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:01.220 a heavenward perspective about the challenges 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:03.700 that you face. And the first thing you've got 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:07.080 to do is, number one, again, no PowerPoint, so 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:08.340 you're going to have to write this stuff down. 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:11.340 Praise be to God. Hallelujah. Number one is you've 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:16.559 got to get over your why me attitude. That's 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:19.419 so good I need to say it again. Get over your 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:25.980 why me attitude. Someone say get over that. That's 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:30.710 right. James said, watch what he said. uh in 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:34.549 the verse that we read he said when you fall 00:11:34.549 --> 00:11:40.230 into trials he did not say if you fall into trials 00:11:40.230 --> 00:11:43.830 there's a big difference between when and if 00:11:43.830 --> 00:11:46.450 it's not a matter of if but it's a matter of 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:50.100 when And so for somebody here today, your most 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:52.559 important battle that you have right now at this 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.080 very time in your life is the battle over around 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:00.340 asking God, why are you allowing this to happen? 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:03.840 And why are you allowing this trial to begin 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:07.100 with? And that's a sticking point for somebody 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:12.120 to say, well, why me, God? Why not them? You 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.799 know, I'm doing the best that I can. And they're 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.019 just, you know, when we start comparing ourselves 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:19.659 to others, you know, why me, Lord? I've been 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:24.080 trying. I've been faithful. I've been persistent 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.000 in these things. So why me? In fact, let me tell 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.980 you today, it's natural to ask that question. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.120 It's only human to say, why me? And throughout 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.450 Scripture, some of our greatest. biblical figures, 00:12:38.710 --> 00:12:42.629 biblical heroes, dare to ask that question. Even 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:45.409 David, King David, a man after God's own heart, 00:12:45.490 --> 00:12:50.429 at one point say, my God, my God, why have you 00:12:50.429 --> 00:12:53.970 forsaken me? Jesus on the cross repeated those 00:12:53.970 --> 00:12:57.110 same words. My God, my God, why? It's totally 00:12:57.110 --> 00:13:01.710 natural to ask that question. Why me? But let 00:13:01.710 --> 00:13:05.000 me tell you, you can ask. I give you permission 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:06.799 to ask that question. It's okay sometimes to 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:12.559 ask that. Just don't get stuck there. God is 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:15.799 gracious with us. Amen. He'll put up with a little, 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:19.700 you know, he'll let us vent if we have to. He'll 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:21.879 let us get things off our chest if we have to. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:25.100 He'll let us, you know, just react to things 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:28.580 the way that we do in our own personality. But 00:13:28.580 --> 00:13:30.620 at some point, you can't get stuck there. You've 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.840 got to move on. And if not, the why me attitude 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.879 is a slippery slope to something that we would 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:43.090 call the woe is me attitude. Why me will become 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:46.649 the woe is me. And the woe is me is like why 00:13:46.649 --> 00:13:51.289 me full blown. Now it's a total attitude of self 00:13:51.289 --> 00:13:56.090 -pity and that will totally rob you of your joy. 00:13:56.409 --> 00:13:59.350 And this can happen to anybody. It happened to 00:13:59.350 --> 00:14:02.610 a woman named, for example, the woman scripture 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:06.490 tells us, Naomi, on her way back to Bethlehem. 00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:09.740 Many of you will recall the story. Amen. When 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:12.440 Naomi went back to Bethlehem, you can read the 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:16.559 details in the book of Ruth. And she is now making 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.059 an effort to turn her life around. But she hasn't 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:22.259 quite figured things out yet spiritually. She's 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:24.740 still got some things to work on. And it comes 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:28.340 out as she is entering Bethlehem. Her old friends 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:31.240 see her coming and they begin to call out to 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:33.200 her. They recognize it had been some years. I'm 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.919 sure, you know, time and age had caught up to 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.559 her. Very difficult, painful things she went 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:39.850 through. went through, but they recognized her. 00:14:39.889 --> 00:14:43.629 And they said, oh, here comes Naomi. They said, 00:14:43.649 --> 00:14:46.870 Naomi, it's good to see you. You know, we missed 00:14:46.870 --> 00:14:48.590 you, girl. You know, I don't know what they said. 00:14:48.830 --> 00:14:52.570 Welcome back. You know, welcome back. And all 00:14:52.570 --> 00:14:55.370 of a sudden, you know, they saw this. Naomi had 00:14:55.370 --> 00:14:58.730 like this demeanor about her. She just came in. 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:00.970 I don't know. Her face was long. Ever seen a 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:03.529 long face? Just like, my God. Some people look 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:06.230 like they got baptized in lemon juice. My goodness. 00:15:07.789 --> 00:15:10.929 Just the longest face. Here she comes back and 00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:14.730 her face is long. I said, whoa, what happened 00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:17.870 to Naomi? Is this the same gal that we knew back? 00:15:18.070 --> 00:15:22.690 And she tells him, don't call me Naomi. She said, 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:26.970 call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very 00:15:26.970 --> 00:15:30.509 bitterly with me. Now, here's the thing. Naomi's 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:36.049 name means pleasant or joy. And Mara is a name 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:39.509 that means bitter or bitterness. So check this 00:15:39.509 --> 00:15:43.269 out. She says, don't call me joy. Don't call 00:15:43.269 --> 00:15:46.389 me pleasant because of everything that I've been 00:15:46.389 --> 00:15:48.990 through. The season that I'm coming out of right 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:52.570 now, she said, call me Mara. Call me bitter instead. 00:15:53.070 --> 00:15:56.250 Let me tell you something. You cannot let that 00:15:56.250 --> 00:16:00.549 why me attitude replace joy with bitterness in 00:16:00.549 --> 00:16:03.470 your life. Let me tell you something. Can I preach 00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:04.970 this for a few moments? Hallelujah. Somebody 00:16:04.970 --> 00:16:08.370 say, go ahead. Amen. Hallelujah. Don't let your 00:16:08.370 --> 00:16:13.169 trial change your name. Don't let a season of 00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:16.789 pain, disappointment, heartbreak with God, with 00:16:16.789 --> 00:16:20.529 man, with fellow, with loved one. Don't let a 00:16:20.529 --> 00:16:23.190 season of heartbreak and disappointment change 00:16:23.190 --> 00:16:26.509 your identity. No, you need to remember that 00:16:26.509 --> 00:16:28.950 you're a child of the living God. You need to 00:16:28.950 --> 00:16:31.649 remember that God has a plan for you. You need 00:16:31.649 --> 00:16:34.250 to remember that you are the head and not the 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:37.090 tail, above and not beneath. You need to remember 00:16:37.090 --> 00:16:40.250 who you are. Somebody give God some praise today. 00:16:42.730 --> 00:16:45.830 But you know, Naomi got, she allowed the why 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:49.690 me to become a woe is me. And she said, call 00:16:49.690 --> 00:16:52.419 me bitter. And you know, some of us, we don't 00:16:52.419 --> 00:16:55.159 realize what we're telling people through our 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.159 actions, through our demeanor, through our body 00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:59.740 language, through our spirit, is don't call me 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:03.539 joyful, call me bitter. And we allow that to 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:07.460 consume us. But today, hallelujah, the joy of 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:10.599 the Lord is here, and we need to rejoice always. 00:17:10.819 --> 00:17:14.960 Amen. Hallelujah. Paul, or Peter writes in 1 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:20.890 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 4. And verses 12, he writes 00:17:20.890 --> 00:17:24.589 these words, Beloved, do not think it strange 00:17:24.589 --> 00:17:27.589 concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:30.109 as though some strange thing. In other words, 00:17:30.150 --> 00:17:32.349 don't think that you're some kind of spiritual 00:17:32.349 --> 00:17:36.309 oddball, that you're kind of a spiritual misfit, 00:17:36.329 --> 00:17:39.470 that God is punishing you or something. Something 00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:43.289 weird and bizarre and strange is happening. No, 00:17:43.369 --> 00:17:46.430 he said, don't think that way. He said, but in 00:17:46.430 --> 00:17:49.579 verse 13, but rejoice. Somebody say rejoice. 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:55.160 Amen. Say it again. Rejoice. Rejoice to the extent 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:59.220 that you may or that you partake of Christ's 00:17:59.220 --> 00:18:04.960 sufferings that when his glory is revealed you 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:09.839 may also be with exceeding joy. He said don't 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:13.740 think that some bizarre like you got struck with 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:18.859 lightning and This is so unusual. Why me? No, 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:23.200 it happens to everybody. I hate to tell you, 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:26.380 but you're not that special. Man, Pastor, you're 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.400 really tearing me down now. You're not that special 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:31.519 in this sense. You're not the only one going 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:36.059 through something. You're not the only one suffering. 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:38.279 You're not the only one in pain. You're not the 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:39.819 only one that's got a family problem. You're 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:41.240 not the only one who's got this problem. And 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.200 I know when we're in it, it feels like we're 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:46.890 the only ones. Okay, you never felt that way. 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:50.450 Praise God. You're the only one. I must got a 00:18:50.450 --> 00:18:52.289 target. Do I got a, do I got a, you ever feel 00:18:52.289 --> 00:18:54.230 like you got a sign on your back that says kick 00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:57.349 me? You know, do I got a target on me? Did I, 00:18:57.430 --> 00:19:00.529 did I, what did I do to deserve this? No, you're 00:19:00.529 --> 00:19:03.930 not, we're not that special. We all go through 00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:08.009 these things. Hallelujah. But we are, we have 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:10.750 a, we have a choice to rejoice and we're partaking 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:12.589 in the sufferings of Christ. And guess what? 00:19:12.609 --> 00:19:15.539 His glory is going to be revealed. All right, 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:17.180 number two. I spent a lot of time on that first 00:19:17.180 --> 00:19:20.140 one. But this is the next thing we must do. So 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.680 number one, to remind you, you've got to get 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.119 over the why me attitude. Number two, stand firm 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:30.880 when your faith is on trial. Stand firm. Somebody 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.440 say stand firm. Stand firm when your faith is 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:39.420 on trial. Notice James says, knowing that the 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:44.400 testing, the testing or the trying. of your faith. 00:19:44.619 --> 00:19:49.519 You see, God uses every trial to test your faith. 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:53.599 Why does he do that? Because faith is the primary 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:58.200 measuring stick that God uses to measure, to 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:02.480 evaluate your relationship with him. Not how 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:05.140 high you jump, not how loud you shout, even though 00:20:05.140 --> 00:20:08.079 those things are wonderful. Not what you do in 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:10.539 all the other capacities of your life, but your 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:14.680 faith. This is what God, so this is why scripture 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:19.099 says that it's the only way to please God. If 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:21.180 you want to please, you must come to him believing 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:24.059 that he is a rewarder of them that diligently 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:29.019 seek him. It is impossible to please him without 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:33.079 faith. Amen. But what is faith? Well, listen, 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:36.460 I could be here for another 30 minutes just reading 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:40.309 off different definitions of what faith is. One 00:20:40.309 --> 00:20:43.569 of the best definitions, however, I've seen about 00:20:43.569 --> 00:20:48.450 faith is that faith, this is good. I found this 00:20:48.450 --> 00:20:52.450 to be true. Faith is trusting in God's character 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:58.589 when you don't understand his ways. Mmm. Somebody 00:20:58.589 --> 00:21:02.960 say mmm. I'm telling you, it's about faith is 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:06.480 trusting in God's character. When you don't understand 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:09.740 his way, say, God, I don't understand what you're 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:12.400 doing right now in my life. I don't understand 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.180 what you're doing at my workplace. I don't understand 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.480 what you're doing in my family. I don't understand. 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.400 God, there's a lot I don't understand. And at 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:24.420 times I start to question. I start to wonder. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.880 But Lord, I believe that the best is yet. I believe 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.460 that you have something for me. me because the 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:34.960 word says you're a good God. And the word says 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.099 that all things work together for the good to 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:40.220 them that love the Lord and are called according 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:44.500 to his. I've got to hold on to what I know about 00:21:44.500 --> 00:21:48.900 the character of God when my circumstances tell 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:52.529 me something otherwise. Amen. This is what we 00:21:52.529 --> 00:21:54.730 got to do. So the bottom line, the bottom line, 00:21:54.750 --> 00:21:57.809 it's about trusting in God and trusting in his 00:21:57.809 --> 00:22:01.369 process. Somebody say trust the process. It's 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:03.529 about trusting that process when the pressure 00:22:03.529 --> 00:22:08.529 is on. When things are escalating in your life 00:22:08.529 --> 00:22:11.390 and you're searching and you're trying to find 00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:13.769 an answer, trying to find a cure, trying to find 00:22:13.769 --> 00:22:18.349 an open door, or just trying to make sense of 00:22:18.349 --> 00:22:21.420 what God's doing. I'll be just another. Five 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:26.119 or six or seven minutes. We'll see. Six, seven. 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:32.440 Something like that. Hallelujah. I just sanctified 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:36.819 it. Don't worry. Amen. It was bound to happen 00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:43.200 at some point. Hallelujah. Give me six or seven 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:48.859 minutes. Praise God. All right. But I don't understand 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:54.210 his ways. I don't understand. Imagine how Abraham 00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:59.890 must have felt when God required of him the unthinkable. 00:23:01.829 --> 00:23:05.309 God required him the unthinkable. In Genesis 00:23:05.309 --> 00:23:08.369 22, chapter 22, verse 1, the Bible says, and 00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:13.109 God tested Abraham. And this is what he told 00:23:13.109 --> 00:23:17.950 him. He said, take now your son, your only son, 00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:23.430 Isaac. whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah 00:23:23.430 --> 00:23:28.849 and offer him there as a burnt offering on one 00:23:28.849 --> 00:23:34.230 of the mountains of which I tell you. He says, 00:23:34.309 --> 00:23:39.009 take your only son. Now, again, I'm just going 00:23:39.009 --> 00:23:42.890 to presume and assume that you know some of the 00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:46.670 context here of this story. Very quickly, this 00:23:46.670 --> 00:23:49.609 was the son that him and his wife, Sarah, had 00:23:49.609 --> 00:23:53.730 waited all their lives, many, many years on God 00:23:53.730 --> 00:23:57.849 to answer a promise to give them a son, an heir. 00:23:58.410 --> 00:24:01.069 Through which they could transfer the deed to 00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:04.569 the promised land. And carry on the family name. 00:24:04.609 --> 00:24:07.730 And multiply as the stars of the heaven. I mean 00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:12.390 so much was riding on this child Isaac. And what 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:15.230 a promise. What a fulfillment of God's promise 00:24:15.230 --> 00:24:18.269 in his life. And this was the thing that God 00:24:18.269 --> 00:24:21.450 told Abraham. I want you to offer that up. Lay 00:24:21.450 --> 00:24:27.829 it on the altar. Slay it. And. To hear that must 00:24:27.829 --> 00:24:32.509 have pierced the hearing and the heart of Abraham. 00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:37.069 Like, you want me to do what? You want me to 00:24:37.069 --> 00:24:41.250 lay down the thing you gave me? It doesn't seem 00:24:41.250 --> 00:24:43.750 right of you, God, that you would ask me for 00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:46.589 this back. Now, there's so much going on here 00:24:46.589 --> 00:24:49.470 in this story. So many different spiritual truths 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:52.829 that we can extract. But this is something that 00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.910 really caught my attention. In thinking about... 00:24:56.140 --> 00:25:00.180 The price of joy. Amen. And the joy that is set 00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:04.779 before us as we endure our trials. Is that when 00:25:04.779 --> 00:25:07.200 you start to think about what Isaac represented. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.559 Amen. So Isaac, his name is special. His name 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:19.380 means laughter. Somebody say laughter. His name 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:23.119 means laughter. And as you know, laughter is 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:27.670 an expression of joy. We laugh when there's joy 00:25:27.670 --> 00:25:31.349 in our hearts. We laugh when something good happens. 00:25:31.430 --> 00:25:35.410 It's that joy. And so watch this. God says, I 00:25:35.410 --> 00:25:38.269 want you to put the thing that gives you joy 00:25:38.269 --> 00:25:44.569 on the altar. My, my, my. I want you to put the, 00:25:44.650 --> 00:25:49.190 I want you to lay down your laughter. I want 00:25:49.190 --> 00:25:52.529 you to lay it down at an altar. I want you to 00:25:52.529 --> 00:25:56.220 give it to me. What does this mean in our lives? 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:59.660 Is God asking you to literally put something 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:03.359 down at an altar? Well, it could be at times 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:06.220 that there is a physical thing that God is asking 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:09.259 of us. But I think more often than not, it's 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:14.599 about our faith. It's about when trouble comes 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:18.099 knocking on our door. It's about when God allows 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:23.890 trouble to touch the things we enjoy. Brother 00:26:23.890 --> 00:26:26.869 Tommy, if you can come in to the keys here, it's. 00:26:27.289 --> 00:26:31.089 It's when God allows the thing that we enjoy. 00:26:31.250 --> 00:26:33.970 I know every one of us, there are things in our 00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:36.809 life that God has blessed us with, has given 00:26:36.809 --> 00:26:40.650 unto us, has bestowed on us in one way or another 00:26:40.650 --> 00:26:44.309 that brings us some satisfaction, that brings 00:26:44.309 --> 00:26:48.549 us some joy, fulfillment. Maybe it fills our 00:26:48.549 --> 00:26:52.390 cup in some way. You know, it brings joy to us. 00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:58.599 It puts a smile. on our face. It puts joy in 00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:01.579 our life. It makes us laugh. It makes us smile. 00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:05.279 It gives us, you know, happy vibes, you know, 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:09.200 good vibes. It's just something that warms our 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:12.759 heart. It's something good and pleasant. Something 00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:16.799 that was a gift from God. Something that we receive 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:20.339 joyfully from the Lord. And there are times in 00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:23.279 our life, hear me today, and this could be in 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:25.150 our families, this could be It can be in our 00:27:25.150 --> 00:27:27.069 marriage. It can be with our children. It can 00:27:27.069 --> 00:27:30.450 be in our spirit, our relationships, even our 00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:34.269 finances. Amen. Any area. But listen, when God 00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:37.730 allows trouble to touch the very thing that he 00:27:37.730 --> 00:27:44.309 gave us to begin with. It happens when you experience 00:27:44.309 --> 00:27:47.710 trouble on the job. Watch this. The job that 00:27:47.710 --> 00:27:52.000 you fasted and prayed for. Like, God, how are 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.920 you going to bless me with a job and then give 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:56.420 me a crazy co -worker? We love you if you're 00:27:56.420 --> 00:28:02.880 watching right now. Or a demanding boss. This 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:07.660 is not what I signed up for. No, I signed up 00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:12.059 for the benefits, God. I signed up for the 401K 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:14.779 package. I signed up, God, for the health care. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:18.359 You know, I signed up to buy the car that I wanted. 00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:22.329 I didn't sign up for this. Sometimes we feel 00:28:22.329 --> 00:28:24.829 that way even about our relationships. Hallelujah. 00:28:27.410 --> 00:28:31.289 This isn't exactly what I. So trouble is striking 00:28:31.289 --> 00:28:35.269 now. My marriage is striking. My home. My ministry. 00:28:35.289 --> 00:28:38.089 God, you gave me this ministry, Lord. I didn't 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:41.869 ask for it. You know, you gave me this gift. 00:28:42.210 --> 00:28:45.430 You blessed me with this talent. And now. Something 00:28:45.430 --> 00:28:47.950 is happening in my life that is putting that 00:28:47.950 --> 00:28:51.069 into question. And trouble is coming. And now 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:54.670 I'm having to dig deeper. I'm having to dig into 00:28:54.670 --> 00:28:58.529 my reserves to find that joy and satisfaction, 00:28:58.990 --> 00:29:02.930 that happiness. I'm scraping the bottom of the 00:29:02.930 --> 00:29:07.670 joy barrel to find reasons to lift my hands and 00:29:07.670 --> 00:29:11.390 to be thankful. I don't even enjoy coming to 00:29:11.390 --> 00:29:13.690 church like I used to. It's not the same anymore. 00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:17.539 Ever since this or that. And so I'm having to 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:21.339 scrape to find. I'm having to muster up as much 00:29:21.339 --> 00:29:25.079 joy as I can because it's been so hard. Because 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:27.720 God, you've allowed, you've asked me to lay something 00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.980 down at the altar, Lord, that brings satisfaction 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:34.460 and joy to me. But let me tell you, if you will 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:37.960 trust God. When the thing that brings you joy 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.559 and satisfaction is tested, tried, or put into 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:44.960 question, if you will trust God, you will see 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:48.660 what Abraham saw. He said, Lord, nevertheless, 00:29:48.819 --> 00:29:51.279 at your word, God, if this is what you want, 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:54.660 if this is what God wants to know, will you still 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:58.019 worship me? Will you still praise me? Hallelujah. 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:02.319 Somebody magnify the Lord. I invite you to stand 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:07.910 with me at this hour. Hallelujah. still. And 00:30:07.910 --> 00:30:11.569 if you will trust him, hallelujah, if you will 00:30:11.569 --> 00:30:14.150 trust him, you will see what Abraham saw, which 00:30:14.150 --> 00:30:18.569 was a ram in the thicket. And he saw his provision. 00:30:19.450 --> 00:30:24.289 And he said, oh, he is Jehovah Jireh. He is my 00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:31.349 provider. And he saw the answer. When your joy 00:30:31.349 --> 00:30:33.609 is being tried, when your faith is being tried, 00:30:33.829 --> 00:30:38.390 and your joy is on the line. Your praise is a 00:30:38.390 --> 00:30:42.470 little shaky. It's in that moment. It might be 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:47.390 in the midnight hour. It might be in a dark period. 00:30:47.490 --> 00:30:51.849 It might be in a moment of vulnerability or weakness. 00:30:52.569 --> 00:30:56.670 But God, let me tell you, He will show up on 00:30:56.670 --> 00:31:02.230 time. Because He is an on -time kind of God. 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:08.619 You say, Pastor, what about Thanksgiving? Oh, 00:31:08.819 --> 00:31:12.099 I've got a reason to be thankful today. I've 00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:15.119 got a reason to be thankful to know that my life 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:19.640 is in His hands. And I can count it all joy today. 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:22.859 I can thank God and say, well, let me tell you, 00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:27.539 anybody can thank Him for what He's done. Woo, 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:32.359 Jesus. Like I said, anybody can praise him and 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:35.460 have joy and rejoice when the trial is over. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:39.839 But it takes faith. And it takes, hallelujah, 00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:43.779 zeal. It takes passion. It takes hope, hallelujah, 00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:49.000 to count it all joy. And to thank God in the 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.319 midst of it all. I wonder if there's somebody 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:56.339 here right now that says, Pastor. It's not all 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:59.660 figured out. It hasn't all been ironed out yet. 00:31:59.880 --> 00:32:02.759 It hasn't all been fixed yet. But I'm going to 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:06.380 thank God in advance. I'm going to thank God 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:08.539 for what he's doing. I wonder right there if 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:12.109 we all got this time. can dig a little deeper 00:32:12.109 --> 00:32:15.029 this afternoon and say, God, not only do I thank 00:32:15.029 --> 00:32:17.509 you for what you've done, I thank you for a good 00:32:17.509 --> 00:32:20.589 year. I thank you for my health, God. I thank 00:32:20.589 --> 00:32:23.549 you, Lord, for my wealth. I thank you, God, for 00:32:23.549 --> 00:32:26.900 your blessings. I thank you, Lord. that my mind 00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:29.720 is right. I thank you, God, that my heart is 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:33.099 right. I thank you, Lord, that I'm still standing. 00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:36.680 Hallelujah. But God, I also want to thank you 00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:39.779 for what you're going to do. I want to thank 00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:42.579 you for the blessings on the way. I want to thank 00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:45.079 you for miracles on the way. I want to thank 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:49.539 you, God, for my healing. Oh, I still got pain 00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:52.759 in my body, God, but I thank you, God, for my 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:53.200 healing.