Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20240828 - It Will Be Worth It - James 1:1-12

Transcript

#20240828 - It Will Be Worth It - James 1:1-12 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:05
Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
0:09
Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
0:12
resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
0:15
into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
0:20
dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
0:25
Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
0:30
Amen. Well, I am sorry.
0:32
My voice is not Pastor Ed's voice.
0:33
I'm, I'm, I shouldn't apologize for that, but I am filling in
0:38
tonight. It's a great privilege to be
0:39
with you guys. If you have your Bibles, if you
0:41
want to turn to James chapter one.
0:45
If I don't know you, my name is Josh.
0:47
I'm one of the assistant pastors here at the church, and I've
0:51
been here now in Colorado for two years.
0:54
So I don't know if that makes me an official Coloradian or if I'm
0:57
still kind of a newbie. I don't know.
0:59
But I love Colorado. I love this church, I love what
1:04
God is doing. I love our pastor.
1:06
I'm so thankful, so thankful to be a part of this family.
1:10
And we've always kind of considered Wednesday nights to
1:12
be sort of the core of the church.
1:15
And so just a joy to gather midweek.
1:18
I heard someone recently say most midweek services are going
1:22
away and they're being replaced with other things.
1:24
But I'm so thankful that we have a place in the middle of the
1:28
week, middle of the tough work day that maybe some of us had,
1:33
or just the long week it's been already to gather, to lift our
1:37
voices and worship, to be able to sing praise to the Lord, and
1:40
then to be able to open up his word.
1:42
Such a privilege. All right, James chapter one,
1:46
we're going to take a look here at the 1st 12 verses today.
1:49
If you're taking notes, the title of the message today is it
1:54
will be worth it. It will be worth it.
1:59
And as you can see, James chapter one starts with this
2:02
letter, begins with James, his name.
2:06
Now this is a letter written by James.
2:08
We tend to end our letters with our names or our emails.
2:11
I don't know how many of you write letters anymore, but we
2:14
tend to end them. But in this day you would start
2:18
with your name, so people would know immediately who it was that
2:20
was writing this letter. And so James starts.
2:22
Now, the problem is, as you read through the scripture, there are
2:26
four guys named James. And so we want to know which
2:29
James is this. There is a guy named James who
2:33
was the son of Zebedee, and he was, if you remember, Jesus
2:37
called this James and his brother John, the sons of
2:40
Thunder. And so that was one of the James
2:43
we're familiar with. There's another James we've seen
2:46
Mark chapter 2, the son of Alpheus.
2:49
And there's a third James who was the father of Judas.
2:53
We read now not Judas Iscariot, but there was another disciple
2:57
of Jesus named Judas as well. But this is none of those James.
3:03
This is James, the younger brother of Jesus himself.
3:09
It's amazing to me to think about the fact that Jesus had
3:11
brothers and sisters. Now, what would it have been
3:15
like to have Jesus as your Big Brother?
3:18
To grow up playing ball with him, or whatever it is they did
3:21
in those days must have been remarkable.
3:23
But to be more accurate, Jesus of course was the half brother
3:27
of James, right? They had the same mom, Mary, of
3:31
course. But Jesus, his dad, was God
3:35
Almighty himself. He was conceived through the
3:38
virgin birth. As we know, James's father was
3:41
Joseph. Which means of course that after
3:44
giving birth to Jesus, Mary and Joseph had normal physical
3:50
marital relationships. And so they had other children,
3:54
which goes to save some of the teaching that you may have heard
3:57
of where Mary was in had perpetual virginity isn't the
4:02
case because after Jesus there were others that were born.
4:06
And so we see in Mark chapter 6 and Matthew chapter 13 that
4:11
Jesus had four brothers, and the oldest of those four was James.
4:16
We know that because he was always named first when he's
4:19
with his brothers, which tends to give us the idea that he was
4:23
the oldest. Then there was Josie's, and then
4:27
there was Simon. And then fourthly there was
4:31
Jude. And Jude, of course, is the same
4:33
Jude that wrote the letter or the book of Jude.
4:39
And so he had these four brothers.
4:41
Jesus also had sisters. We don't know how many sisters
4:44
he had, but we it says sisters plural.
4:48
So we know that Jesus must have had at least two sisters, though
4:52
that would be 7 kids in this home. 2 parents must have been
4:57
something to be a part of that household.
4:59
And remember James and Jesus, along with all their other
5:03
siblings, they were being raised in a carpenter's home.
5:06
So it was a very blue collar home.
5:09
Seven kids, at least seven kids, maybe more than that.
5:13
They didn't have a lot of money. And we know this because it
5:16
tells us that when Mary went to offer sacrifice, she offered 2
5:21
turtle doves when instead of offering a lamb.
5:25
But there was an exception that was made.
5:26
If you didn't have the money, you could offer turtle doves.
5:29
And we see that that was the case with Mary, and they
5:32
probably didn't have a four or five bedroom home in Nazareth
5:36
there. So who knows what their home
5:38
situation was like. Probably felt very cramped in
5:40
there. But to have all these kids all
5:43
in the home, Big Brother Jesus. And we know this, that Jesus
5:48
must have been the best older brother to little Jimmy here,
5:52
right? He was certainly kind.
5:54
He was certainly caring. He was, of all the siblings, the
5:58
one that would share, right? He was the protective Big
6:02
Brother, no doubt. But because James was the oldest
6:06
of the four brothers, I have a feeling that Jesus and James
6:10
probably were especially close because they were closer in age
6:13
to each other. Maybe if they had a such thing
6:15
as bunk beds in those days, maybe Jesus and James shared a
6:18
bunk bed together. I don't know.
6:20
But the Bible tells us this because he had siblings that
6:24
grew up with him. Jesus, and that includes James
6:27
who wrote this book here. It says that they didn't
6:30
actually believe the things that when Jesus had his public
6:33
ministry that he was teaching. Jesus was beginning the the
6:37
process of healing people and preaching this message of the
6:41
Kingdom and beginning to speak of him being the Messiah.
6:45
But it tells us in Mark chapter 321.
6:47
They thought he was crazy. His own siblings thought that.
6:50
As a matter of fact, it says there that at one point he was
6:53
performing all these miracles. He began to proclaim I am the
6:56
Messiah. And he was so busy that
6:59
particular day he hadn't even eaten.
7:01
And it says that his family said of him, he is out of his mind.
7:06
They didn't believe their own brother Jesus.
7:09
As a matter of fact, John 74 tells us even his brothers,
7:13
Speaking of his biological brothers didn't believe in him.
7:18
And that would include James as well.
7:20
Imagine that all the public years of ministry and his own
7:23
brothers were like, Nah, he's just a little crazy.
7:27
But it tells us that James and his siblings eventually did
7:31
believe, but not until a significant event took place.
7:36
And that event was the resurrection.
7:39
At some point around the resurrection of Jesus is when
7:42
they believed. We know this after the
7:44
resurrection. James believed not just because
7:47
he heard about the resurrection. It tells us in First Corinthians
7:51
15 that after Jesus rose from the dead, it says this Jesus was
7:57
seen by Cephas. That's Peter.
7:59
Then he was seen by the 12 disciples all at once.
8:03
Then he was seen by over 500 brethren, it says at one time,
8:08
of whom the greater part remained to the present, but
8:11
some have fallen asleep. Paul writes there.
8:14
But then in verse seven of First Corinthians 15 it says after
8:17
that he was seen by James and then it adds all the other
8:23
apostles as well. So imagine that Jesus had a
8:27
special appearance after his resurrection with his little bro
8:32
James. And it was at that point that we
8:37
believe church history tells us, that James became a follower of
8:42
his Big Brother Jesus. Now imagine what that
8:44
conversation must have been like.
8:46
What was that meeting like the first time James saw his brother
8:50
Jesus after he had been beaten, after he had been crucified,
8:55
after he rose again from the dead?
8:57
What was that conversation like? Before that, we knew James
9:00
didn't believe. He thought Jesus was crazy.
9:04
But I can imagine Jesus as he's sitting face to face with his
9:07
brother Jesus, now risen from the dead.
9:10
And James was just sitting there saying, Jesus, I, I didn't know.
9:14
I didn't know this whole time, this whole time we were raised
9:17
together, this whole time that you were preaching.
9:21
I was so angry. Jesus, I'm so sorry.
9:24
I didn't know. And I imagine Jesus saying to
9:27
him, James, I forgive you, James, I love you, and let me
9:33
tell you something, I'm going to use you.
9:36
And they threw their arms around each other.
9:38
This is how I picture it in my mind, this appearance to James
9:41
afterwards. So this letter here that James
9:45
is writing is coming from that heart, Jesus brother himself.
9:50
He writes in James very straightforward.
9:54
Most of you have probably read through James, so you know, it's
9:56
very point after point. It's very easy to follow along.
10:01
One of the things I love about the book of James is it is
10:04
practical wisdom for your life. Some people say that this is the
10:08
New Testament version of what Proverbs is in the Old
10:12
Testament. It's just good.
10:14
It just helps us as we need some wisdom.
10:17
There are four or five major themes in the book of James, but
10:21
there's a lot kind of in between those themes that James adds
10:24
here. But the main point that James
10:27
wants for the listeners of this letter to know is that he wants
10:35
us to have a mature Christian life, a mature Christian life.
10:40
Because the point is, you have, and I have, and the listeners
10:44
here have the spirit of the living God living inside of you.
10:48
Jesus himself dwells in you. Imagine that he comes and makes
10:52
his home in you. It tells us also you can live
10:56
this mature Christian life because of who is doing it
10:59
inside of you, who is living it through you in your life and in
11:03
the days that we're living today.
11:05
And I believe that we're living in some of these last days.
11:08
There's no time for compromise. There's no time for messing
11:11
around. There's no time for half hearted
11:13
Christian living. If we've got God himself living
11:16
in us, then he is calling us forward and he's calling us
11:20
upward. And James knew this.
11:24
He knew there was a difference in growing old and growing up,
11:29
because every Christian grows old, but not every Christian
11:33
grows up. It's very possible to spend
11:36
years and years and years of your life as a Christian and
11:39
still be considered a spiritual infant, to still be considered
11:44
immature because time spent doing something isn't
11:48
guaranteed, that there's progress being made in that.
11:51
And so James here in this letter is speaking against some of
11:54
these things. He speaks against compromise.
11:57
He speaks against hypocrisy. He speaks against those that try
12:01
to act spiritual in front of other people, and then they end
12:05
up, of course, playing the religious game and they fall
12:09
into those pitfalls. But James wants to see Christ
12:12
like this in our life, and that's the heart that he's
12:15
writing this letter with. As I heard one pastor say, James
12:19
was overwhelmed knowing that he had his own brother dwelling in
12:23
his heart. Can you imagine that?
12:25
And his brother, of course, was God himself.
12:29
And so this letter's filled with the tenderness and the grace
12:31
that James must have learned from his brother Jesus.
12:35
You can feel it as you're reading this.
12:38
James was the head of the Jerusalem church.
12:41
Acts chapter 15. Acts chapter 21 tell us that
12:45
most people would have assumed that Peter would have become the
12:48
the pastor of the Jerusalem church.
12:50
It ended up being James. Church history also tells us
12:54
that James was known as James the Just and James the
12:58
Righteous. But the early church fathers,
13:02
guys like Tertullian, tell us that he was known by a different
13:06
kind of a nickname. He was known as old Camel knees.
13:11
Old Camel knees. I'm sure some of you guys have
13:13
heard this before. The reason is because it says
13:17
that he would go into the temple every day.
13:21
He would pray for 8:00 or 10 or 12 hours on his knees and he'd
13:26
be praying to God for the people, he'd be praying for
13:29
Israel, he'd be praying for the church.
13:32
And because of that, his knees were covered in calluses because
13:36
of how much time he spent on his knees in prayer.
13:40
So James here, old camel knees, spending every day in the temple
13:44
on his knees with his big bro. Just imagine what that was like.
13:48
Knees bent, wet eyes, heartbroken, no doubt.
13:54
And so it's through this lens that James is writing this
13:58
letter and, and, and tradition then tells us that James was
14:02
also martyred around the year 62 AD.
14:06
We know that he was stoned by the Pharisees.
14:11
Some say that he was thrown from the roof of the temple 1st and
14:15
after that he was stoned. And the early church fathers
14:18
tell us this about him that as he was dying, he said father
14:22
forgive them for they do not know what they do.
14:25
Just like his brother Stephen, by the way, if you remember when
14:29
he was being stoned said the same thing.
14:32
So here in James there's five chapters.
14:35
Chapter one here tells us this, that a mature Christian is
14:40
patient in trials. An immature Christian, on the
14:44
other hand, would be impatient in trials.
14:47
And so he begins here in verse one, James chapter one by
14:51
starting James a bond servant. Now James doesn't name drop
14:56
here. He could have right?
14:57
He could have been like, yo, I am the pastor of the Jerusalem
15:00
church. I am the brother of Jesus.
15:04
I know him more than any of you guys do.
15:07
I'm an apostle. So I got some authority behind
15:09
what I'm about ready to tell you.
15:12
But he simply starts by saying this, James, a bond servant, a
15:17
bond servant, a bond servant in the Greek is the word doulos.
15:23
And more literally, you could say they're a slave, a slave,
15:28
but a willing slave. I'm giving up my own interest,
15:32
my own rights, and I devote myself to Jesus and his work.
15:37
I am willing to be a slave to Jesus.
15:41
I surrender the throne of my life and Jesus, you're the
15:45
center of my life, so you get to call the shots in my life.
15:50
That's what a bondservant was. And by the way, this is the
15:55
heart of ministry for us. This is the heart of ministry.
15:59
Are you willing to be a slave? Now that sounds harsh.
16:04
I, I get it, but it's biblical because James said it, Paul said
16:09
it, John said it. As a matter of fact, I heard
16:12
recently this somebody say you will know that you have the
16:15
heart of a servant when you're treated like one, when you're
16:19
treated like one. So this is good for me to
16:21
remember too. If I ever think that I'm too
16:23
good or that I've arrived or I think too highly of myself that
16:26
I'm unwilling to take the trash out or if I'm unwilling to clean
16:29
the toilets here, I have to remember what James said.
16:32
And I've, I've gone here many times in my heart.
16:35
No, I am a doulos. I am a bond servant.
16:38
I am a slave of Jesus, and by proxy then I get to serve you
16:43
guys as a pastor in this church as well.
16:46
And it's a privilege. It's a privilege to be a
16:48
bondservant. And I'll tell you this, the
16:50
beautiful side of being the bondservant of Jesus and the
16:55
beautiful side of being his slave is that I get to call him
16:58
my master. And this is what's beautiful
17:01
about that. The one who knows you most and
17:04
loves you best is the one that you get to follow.
17:09
And that means that He gets to be this loving father in total
17:13
control of your life, which means all of your problems,
17:17
whatever perhaps you brought into this place tonight, are His
17:20
responsibility. And as our Master, He takes care
17:25
of us. He provides for our needs and
17:29
that's why Jesus would say so you don't need to worry about
17:31
anything because he's got it. If he's on the throne of your
17:35
life, your problems become his problems when you center your
17:39
life as his bondservant and as he's your master.
17:45
So again, verse one, James, a bondservant of God and of the
17:50
Lord Jesus Christ. James here is recognizing that
17:53
he's serving God and his brother, and his brother is the
17:59
Lord, his brother is the Christ, he is the Messiah.
18:04
And he says here he's writing to the 12 tribes.
18:08
This is James as a Jew writing to the Jewish people which are
18:12
scattered abroad because at this point is James's writing this in
18:17
history, the people of Israel were dispersed.
18:19
They were scattered outside of Israel all throughout the Roman
18:23
Empire because of great persecution that's taking place
18:27
at this time. And so of course he starts by
18:30
saying greetings and then he begins here right away.
18:33
Verse two, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
18:39
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
18:45
patience, my brethren, count it all joy.
18:49
This word count is actually it's a financial term, which means
18:54
this you're going through difficulty, you're going through
18:56
some kind of trial in your life right now.
18:59
Evaluate and think about this and count it out.
19:03
Consider it or reckon it to be joy in your life when you fall
19:08
into this very these various trials.
19:12
It's not saying here that you have joy in the trial.
19:15
He's saying there's joy because of what the trial is producing
19:20
in US. And what's that trial producing?
19:23
He says in verse 3, knowing, meaning you already know this
19:27
because you can't count it joy unless you already know that the
19:31
testing of your faith. This trial produces patience.
19:38
So here's the reality. James wants us to know, and the
19:41
Holy Spirit tonight wants us to know.
19:42
Trials are not electives in the Christian life.
19:47
Trials are mandatory for every single one of us, and the reason
19:51
is because they accomplish something in our lives.
19:54
God is at work behind the scenes because this is earth.
19:57
This ain't heaven. We're not home yet.
20:00
We haven't arrived there yet. God is now currently in all of
20:04
our lives. He is committed to the work of
20:07
conforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus.
20:11
That is his commitment to us. He began the good work in US.
20:15
He's going to be faithful to finish and complete the good
20:17
work in US. And God is never satisfied with
20:20
doing the job halfway. He wants to complete the work
20:25
that He's begun in US. So he is making you more like
20:28
Jesus, the Greek word, or the, I should say, the theological word
20:32
for that, that we use as sanctification.
20:35
He's making us more holy in our lives.
20:37
He's completing the good work that he began in US and trials,
20:44
difficulties, struggles and our Christian life is one of the
20:50
primary ways that God does this in our lives.
20:54
Now you might be thinking James starts a letter.
20:57
Paul when he normally starts a letter is like, hey, I praise
20:59
the Lord for you guys. I'm so thankful for you guys.
21:02
James just jumps right in and the very first thing he writes
21:05
to this group of believers is count it all joy when you face
21:07
various trials and you wonder, well, why would he start his
21:09
letter? But again, remember, verse one
21:12
tells us that these the audience here was scattered abroad.
21:16
They were experiencing great persecution during these days.
21:20
There were accusations, false things being said about them.
21:23
There was assault on their homes and on their families.
21:27
Often times children would be pulled out of the homes and
21:30
murdered in front of their parents and then sometimes wives
21:33
in front of their husbands and they'd be chained.
21:35
And this was a probably one of the most difficult times in the,
21:40
in the season of the early church.
21:43
And it was important as James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was
21:47
writing to them for them to know what it's important for you to
21:50
know tonight. And particularly if you're here
21:54
and you're new to the faith and you're a newer believer, it's
21:57
important for you to know this. You should expect trials in your
22:03
life. It's important for you to know
22:05
this, that when you come to Jesus by faith, putting your
22:09
faith and trust in him, not everything falls into place the
22:12
way that you hope it would. And if you ever preach that
22:15
message, we know it's not true. It's not like now that I'm
22:19
saved, it's going to be an easy ride from here on out.
22:21
It would be wonderful in some ways, right?
22:23
If that were the case, all the problems would be gone.
22:26
All the difficulties were would be gone.
22:28
It's just nonstop worship services our entire life.
22:32
Be wonderful. And again, I'm speaking from a
22:36
guy that has even recently been walking through my own trials
22:40
and I don't like trials any more than you do.
22:42
I actually get a little bit bothered sometimes when I get to
22:45
James, consider it all joy. I'm like, oh, that's what does
22:49
that even mean? That's so hard to do.
22:51
And again, this can be a hard verse to read if you're in the
22:54
midst of the trial. It's one thing to read it and be
22:56
like, hey, of course that's what we're supposed to do.
22:58
Put it on a mug, right? Put it up on your house.
23:01
When you're in the midst of it. That's when you're like, this is
23:04
hard, Lord, I don't understand what you're doing.
23:08
There's nothing about this, Lord, that makes me counted as
23:12
joy. I'm, I'm, I'm confused by this.
23:16
I know this, though. I'd rather have joy without the
23:19
trials if that were possible, Right, Lord?
23:22
Could I consider it and count it all joy with no trials?
23:25
That's the kind of Christian life I want.
23:27
Lord. Peter would say it this way.
23:29
First Peter chapter one in this you greatly rejoice, though now
23:35
for a little while, if need be, you've been grieved by various
23:39
trials. And This is why that the
23:42
genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold
23:46
that perishes, though it's tested by fire, may be found to
23:50
the praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus
23:54
Christ, whom you haven't seen what you love.
23:58
Isn't that beautiful? Peter is saying here when your
24:01
faith is tested through trials, it's proven then to be genuine
24:06
faith and it results in praise to God.
24:10
Or James would say here, when hard trials come, consider it
24:14
all joy because of what it's producing in your life.
24:19
Now. He's not saying that we have to
24:21
be thankful for the trial. If you got a hammer and you
24:25
accidentally hit your thumb, I don't think he's saying your
24:27
response should be, oh, joy, thank you, Lord, that it just
24:30
hit my or you have your iPhone and you drop it and it shatters,
24:34
right? And you're like, just praise the
24:35
Lord for that. It's so good.
24:37
I don't think that's what he's saying here.
24:39
He's not saying count it all joy because we are being tried.
24:43
He's not saying, oh boy, I cannot wait to be afflicted.
24:45
This is going to be great. What he's saying is we count it
24:49
all joy because of the end product, because of what He's
24:53
doing, the final result of what's being produced in us.
24:56
And we have to remember who is doing the work.
24:58
He's the one that loves you. He's the one that has a plan for
25:02
your life. He's the one that saved you when
25:04
you were far from God, when you wanted nothing to do with Him,
25:08
while we were still sinners. He saved you.
25:11
And He hasn't brought you in a relationship to frustrate you,
25:14
to hurt you, to make you suffer. He's doing a work in you.
25:19
The work is beautiful, but it's painful.
25:22
It's like walking through fire. It's not always easy, but the
25:25
end result of what God's accomplishing in US is He's
25:30
making us more like Jesus. And I'm so thankful for that.
25:36
So if you're here tonight and you're going through a deep
25:39
struggle, how do you find joy? How do you consider this?
25:44
How do you think of joy when you're facing the things that
25:47
you're up against? Well, if you're taking notes, if
25:50
you're a note taker of five things I'd like to just point
25:53
out here, number one, Number one, train for the trial you are
25:57
not yet in. Train for the trial you are not
26:01
yet in. You know, Pastor Ed says all the
26:03
time we are either in a trial, we have just come out of a
26:08
trial, or we're about ready to enter into a trial.
26:11
So train for the trial that you're not yet in.
26:14
The first step towards joy that we can take from James is to be
26:18
prepared because they are coming.
26:21
Trials are coming because he loves you because he loves you
26:25
Job chapter 5 verse seven tells us this this is true of
26:28
everybody man is born to trouble as sparks fly upward so we're
26:33
all we're that that's the world that we live in we're living in
26:36
a broken world believer and unbeliever alike but we as
26:40
Christians need to think biblically and soberly about
26:44
these trials about the struggle. So James is saying this they're
26:47
inevitable notice it says not if the trials come to you.
26:51
Of course, that word, when I have that circled my Bible, when
26:55
the trials come to you. And I like the fact that James
26:58
is addressing all Christians by using the plural.
27:01
He says they're my brethren. I love that because it tells me
27:05
trials aren't just unique to me, that we're all experiencing
27:09
these. Every single one of us that
27:11
wants to get closer to Jesus are going to go through trials.
27:14
Peter would say it this way in first Peter 4/12 he would say,
27:17
Brothers and sisters beloved, don't be surprised by the fiery
27:22
trial which is to test you as though some strange thing were
27:27
happening to you. Don't think that this is strange
27:30
when something really difficult comes into your life.
27:33
And I like the fact that because he's saying to the church here,
27:37
there's comfort in realizing, at least for me, there is.
27:40
I'm not the only one going through this, right?
27:42
The difficulties that I'm facing right now.
27:45
It's to be expected. It's to be expected.
27:48
So train for this in your heart right now.
27:50
Ask the Lord to begin to give you what it is that you're going
27:53
to need to to endure to face that trial.
27:56
And notice he says here that we can expect various trials.
28:01
There are trials in my life that may look different than the
28:04
trials in your life. There's various trials.
28:08
They may vary in length. Some of us have been through
28:13
very long trials. Some of us, it was a quick but
28:17
very difficult trial. There may be various trials
28:20
where if you've been in a season where it seems like everything
28:23
just seems to go wrong all at the same time.
28:26
Someone gets sick and the bills are piling up and it's just
28:29
like, I don't know how much more it can handle.
28:31
And then you get someone, the phone call comes and it's bad
28:33
news and it just seems that everything's piling up at once.
28:36
There's various trials, but Warren Weirsby, Pastor Warren
28:41
Weirsby says this of trials. When God puts his children into
28:45
the furnace, he keeps his hand on the thermostat and his eye on
28:50
the thermometer. Meaning this He won't allow you
28:53
to be in your trial one minute longer than what is needed, nor
28:58
will he allow you to be in the trial one minute less than what
29:01
is needed. He's watching you.
29:04
He is with you, He cares for you.
29:06
So train for the trial you're not yet in #2 when in a trial,
29:12
this is really important. James would tell us, grab hold
29:16
of God's joy. Grab hold of God's joy.
29:20
When James says count it all joy, it's important to know
29:24
this. The joy that James is talking
29:26
about is different than the joy of the world.
29:29
They're different. Joy from the world would tell
29:31
you this. It's all going to depend on your
29:35
circumstances. So you get a raise and you feel
29:38
joy. You, you end up dating and
29:41
proposing to the one you always wanted, right?
29:43
My soul mate. And there's great joy in that.
29:46
If things are going well, then I'll be joyful.
29:48
But that joy is temporary because it's going to fade right
29:53
when things get hard in our lives.
29:55
That joy that was there last week isn't here with me today.
29:59
That high that I had last week isn't.
30:01
I'm not feeling that right now. Because you can't cling to that
30:05
kind of joy when you lose a loved one.
30:08
And you can't cling to that kind of joy when you're facing
30:11
bankruptcy or when you're being slandered by somebody.
30:15
Joy from the Holy Spirit is different.
30:19
This kind of joy can't be taken away because of your
30:22
circumstances. This kind of joy might feel like
30:26
it can be removed from you, but joy will always be there because
30:30
you are promised that the Holy Spirit himself lives inside of
30:34
you, and he will never leave you, and He will never forsake
30:38
you. So you've got at least the
30:40
reservoir of joy there for you to draw from.
30:43
Now when you're sinking in your sorrows and your frustrations
30:49
and your setbacks and the difficulties of life, what do
30:53
you do? You grab hold of this joy.
30:55
You count it all joy. You think about this.
30:59
What is God accomplishing in my life?
31:01
Because we can do one of two things.
31:02
We can complain about it and get bitter and angry at God and we
31:06
can get frustrated, which is I think our human nature is just
31:09
to bend in that direction. Or we grab hold of God's joy
31:13
like a life raft. As one commentator once said it,
31:17
with the clutching intensity of a drowning man, we grab hold of
31:23
his joy. The early church was familiar
31:28
with this because they too grabbed hold of God's joy when
31:31
they were facing some of the most difficult circumstances.
31:34
Imagine this. Christianity was new.
31:37
It was not too soon after the Jesus being on the scene and he
31:41
descended into heaven and it was called the way it wasn't called
31:45
Christianity, but the way it was beginning to spread the news of
31:48
the gospel. And there was great difficulty.
31:51
Then it started powerfully and then got very, very difficult.
31:54
But listen to a couple verses from the early church.
31:57
It tells us in Second Corinthians chapter 8 verse 2
32:01
that in a great trial of affliction, notice this, the
32:04
abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the
32:09
riches of the liberality. They were generous because there
32:13
is joy even in their affliction. Tells us in First Thessalonians
32:17
16. You became followers of us.
32:21
Paul is writing here and of the Lord knowing this.
32:24
Or notice this, having received the word in much affliction with
32:29
joy of the Holy Spirit. Or how about Hebrews 1034?
32:36
The author here is writing for you had compassion on me in my
32:39
chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods,
32:45
knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for
32:49
yourself in heaven, joyfully having all your stuff taken away
32:53
from you. Jesus also face this, I don't
32:58
think Jesus would be asking for you to do this if he himself
33:03
didn't do this, because he is the one in you that's giving you
33:06
the ability to do this. And it tells us this.
33:09
And Hebrews 12/2, we know this one, looking unto Jesus, the
33:13
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set
33:18
before him endured the bloody cross, despising the shame, and
33:24
he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
33:27
So he says this when he's asking you to count it all joy.
33:32
It's because He knew. He knew that when he was facing
33:38
the cross, He knew the night that he was betrayed and He was
33:43
weeping great drops of blood, so much so that He even said,
33:47
Father, if it were possible, would you remove this cup from
33:50
me? But he endured the scourging.
33:54
He endured having his beard written, pulled from His face.
33:58
He endured the mocking, the way that they made fun of him.
34:02
He endured that for the joy that was set before him.
34:05
You were the joy. You were the joy that was set
34:08
before Him. He thought of you.
34:10
He knew you would be sitting here tonight.
34:13
And was it worth it for Him to endure the cross?
34:17
I'm thankful for it. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't
34:20
for that. He's not asking you to do
34:22
anything that he himself wouldn't do, couldn't do, and
34:27
won't do through you. He will.
34:29
He will again. He's not also not asking you to
34:32
fake it either. Sometimes I think we do this.
34:34
We think a Christian's always supposed to be spiritual.
34:37
So we're always supposed to be smiling.
34:39
We're always supposed to be excited about everything.
34:43
The reality is this attitude of being joyful in the midst of
34:47
these tribulations and these trials that he's talking about,
34:50
it's a process. It doesn't just happen
34:52
overnight. It's a process of faith and
34:56
we're walking with God and we're close to Him and James is
35:00
wanting us to know this is how He is maturing us, taking us
35:05
from spiritual immaturity to maturity.
35:09
We're going through this enduring process where we just
35:13
have to hold on. I have written in my note here
35:16
to endure is a picture of a heavy load and rather than
35:21
trying to escape that, you're staying underneath that load.
35:25
Our first response is Get Me Out of here.
35:27
Like I do not like this. And sometimes the longer we're
35:31
enduring, the more we're quick to say as as as our prayer point
35:34
was tonight, I'm done. Like I don't know if I can
35:37
handle this anymore. I'm this close to quitting.
35:40
Lord, this is so hard. So let your joy be genuine
35:45
because you can't mass produce joy.
35:47
It's impossible. That would actually be worse
35:50
than having no joy at all. But know this, some of the
35:53
deepest valleys that I've been through, I've shared this before
35:56
with the church, but my son Josiah, when he was six years
35:59
old, was super sick, ended up in the hospital for almost two
36:03
months. When he first went there, we
36:06
didn't know what was going on. So we had all these cancer
36:08
doctors coming in and he was getting sicker and sicker and
36:12
sicker. He was losing so much weight.
36:16
I remember at one point him taking his his shirt off to jump
36:19
into the shower. This is probably 2 weeks in and
36:21
it was just bone and I was so worried.
36:24
I was so worried that we were going to lose our first son.
36:27
Heartbroken. You talk about a trial.
36:30
I can't tell you how many times I said, Lord, if you could give
36:33
this to me, I would take this. How many of us parents wouldn't
36:36
say that? Just give it to me.
36:37
Lord, put this on me. Let me endure this.
36:40
Not my son, but I'll tell you this.
36:44
So many people from the church came and supported us.
36:47
So many people came to put their arms around us.
36:50
So many people loved us. I remember just guys coming in,
36:53
pastors coming into our our hospital room and just falling
36:56
into their arms and just weeping.
36:59
And my point is this great sorrow can also have accompanied
37:05
with a great joy. We tend to think it's either or
37:09
it's either sorrow or joy. It's either suffering, right, or
37:15
the things that God is accomplishing.
37:17
But it can actually be both. And when you're walking through
37:21
a trial, yes, you can grieve, but we grieve as not as those
37:26
who have no hope. We can hope and we can grieve at
37:29
the same time. So train for the trial.
37:32
You're not yet in grab hold of God's joy.
37:35
The number three know this, no trial is wasted.
37:39
No trial is wasted. God hasn't allowed trials into
37:43
your life. If you're in the midst of a
37:44
trial tonight and you're struggling tonight, He hasn't
37:48
allowed this into your life to frustrate you or He hasn't
37:52
allowed this into your life tonight to embarrass you.
37:55
As if somehow God is just enjoying and revelling and you
37:59
feeling shamed and He certainly hasn't allowed this into your
38:03
life to leave you so that you have to figure this out now on
38:06
your own. That is so far from the heart of
38:09
God. There is purpose in your pain.
38:13
Tonight God is producing something.
38:16
Verse three tells us this. Knowing that the testing of your
38:20
faith produces patience. You could say it this way.
38:24
The purpose in the pain produces patience.
38:28
The purpose and the pain produces patience so no trial is
38:32
going to be wasted in your life. Verse four tells us this.
38:35
Let patients have it's perfect work that you may be perfect and
38:40
complete lacking nothing. Verse three says that we can
38:46
know what God is doing in our pain.
38:50
Trials are testing your faith because we all love to come into
38:55
church and say God is great and I believe that he can move the
38:59
mountains out of my life. I believe that he is faithful
39:04
and then God's like, OK, well, that's good, but let's test that
39:08
and the way that it's tested. Do we really believe that is
39:10
when things get difficult? If things are great, how many of
39:14
us can say praise the Lord, Hallelujah, right?
39:16
It's wonderful to enjoy the good gifts of God, the blessings of
39:19
God. But James is saying that's not
39:21
when the the faith that you have is being tested.
39:24
It's tested when things get difficult in your life because
39:28
to test means to prove what something is worth.
39:31
That's the Greek word. It's proving what kind of faith
39:34
it is. What is your faith worth?
39:37
What kind of faith do you have? You say you have faith in God.
39:40
It's good. You say you want to grow closer
39:42
to God. Amen.
39:44
You say that you trust him. Do you?
39:47
Then God's going to come along and say, OK, well, let's test
39:50
that. Let's test that.
39:53
You know, the Winnie tested it. It's it's not for the purpose
39:56
again, of grading you on how well you did in the trial.
40:01
That's not what if you got AB plus in this one, the last time
40:04
you got AD. So you're moving ahead a little
40:05
bit and I'm graving you on the curve because you know, there's
40:07
all these other. No, what God does is he's
40:10
testing the genuineness of your faith.
40:13
He's testing the strength of your faith.
40:16
And This is why you're being afflicted.
40:18
This is why it's not the affliction itself.
40:23
But it's what is coming, the fruit that is coming, the faith
40:26
that is going to come on the other side of it.
40:28
I guarantee you this, if you are willing tonight to endure
40:32
whatever it is that you're facing, you will make it to the
40:36
other side of this and you will look back and you will say, God
40:40
was so faithful to me. God was nothing but good to me.
40:45
I almost gave up, but God gave me the strength I needed to make
40:49
it through. And in my test of faith, I
40:51
realized, you know what? My faith wasn't quite where I'd
40:53
like to say it was. I had areas of growth in my
40:57
life. There's still a lot in me that's
40:59
not yet Christ like that was revealed to me through this
41:01
process. But God is making me more like
41:03
Jesus. God is patient with me.
41:06
God isn't going to give up on me.
41:08
God loves me. And so the testing produces
41:12
patience. Some translations would say it
41:14
produces perseverance, but the best translation is endurance.
41:19
And Pastor Ed has mentioned this many times.
41:21
We probably all know the Greek word for this.
41:23
It's Hoopa moni. It's Hoopa Moni, strength on
41:26
under pressure. It's bearing up.
41:29
Imagine a weight that you have and it's bearing up under the
41:32
pressure. It's an active enduring.
41:35
You want to get the heck out of there, but he's saying no, no,
41:38
no, no, no. It's producing in you the
41:39
ability to stand up underneath that.
41:42
If any of you go to the gym and you like resistance training,
41:47
that resistance training is producing strength in you and
41:50
endurance in you. And the reality is this, some
41:53
Christians, they want it easy. They, they, they don't want to
41:58
have to endure hard things. And when there's a trial that
42:01
comes, we're looking for a way out.
42:03
And if we can't have a way out, then we begin to complain about
42:06
it. And I'm going to stand up here
42:07
and admit to you I'm the 1st to be in that category.
42:11
I do not like trials and I'm often complaining about the
42:15
difficulties that I'm in. But God doesn't want to keep me
42:17
in that category. It's not His heart for me.
42:20
He wants to bring me from a place of wanting a soft, easy
42:24
Christian life, which by the way, there is no such thing.
42:27
So just to spoil it for you. And He wants to make in me a
42:30
person that can endure, a person that can stick out my commitment
42:35
that I've said I'd made to him, that I can hang in there and not
42:39
grow weary, and that I can endure under the pressure
42:42
through the weight that I'm feeling.
42:45
And Jesus would also say, if you're feeling heavy, the weight
42:48
of that, if you're feeling heavy laden, come to me.
42:53
He's teaching us also to come to Him and you will find rest for
42:57
your soul. He says, my yoke is easy.
43:00
My burden is light. You don't have to carry this on
43:02
your own. So if you want to be used
43:05
mightily by God tonight, if you're in this place and you're
43:08
like, I want everything that God wants for my life.
43:12
I want to be used in ways that I could never hope for or imagine.
43:16
I want my life to matter. I want people to come to faith
43:20
as a result of my life. I want people to see me and to
43:23
think, man, there is a man or there is a woman that knows
43:27
Jesus. If that's what you want for your
43:29
life, then you need to know this.
43:31
Spurgeon said it this way. Whenever God means to make a man
43:35
great, he always breaks him in pieces first.
43:39
He always breaks him in pieces first.
43:41
This doesn't happen through reading books.
43:44
This doesn't even happen through sitting in Bible studies as
43:46
we're doing tonight. This happens through suffering.
43:50
This happens through trials. There was a young pastor who
43:55
went to an old pastor at one point and he says to this older
43:59
pastor, I could really use some counsel, I'm just been
44:01
struggling lately and I need patience.
44:03
Would you pray for me to have patience?
44:06
And the old pastor says, sure, let's pray right now.
44:08
So the old pastor prays, Jesus, we come before you and I pray
44:12
now for this young minister. Send him trials and affliction
44:16
and heartache in Jesus name, Amen.
44:19
And the young pastor kind of opens his eyes and goes, wait a
44:22
minute, I'm asking for patience. I'm not asking for trials.
44:25
I'm not asking for affliction. I'm not asking for heartache.
44:28
And the older pastor says yes. And the Bible says trials
44:33
produce patience. Trials produce patience.
44:36
It's also been said this trials will either make you bitter or
44:40
they will make you better. Trials will either break your
44:45
back or they will bend your knee.
44:48
So instead of praying for a lighter load as we often do, how
44:52
about praying for a stronger back.
44:55
And by the way, you can grow tonight as much as you want to
44:58
grow. It's it's an all you can eat
45:00
buffet. God is put the spread out before
45:03
you. And if if you want to bear
45:05
thirtyfold fruit in your life tonight, you can do it.
45:07
If you want to bear 60 fold fruit, you can do it.
45:10
If you want to be one that bears a hundredfold fruit in your
45:14
life, you can do it. And it's not just that you
45:17
endure for endurance sake. The result of enduring spiritual
45:21
trials is found in verse 4 here. Let patience have it's perfect
45:25
work. I like that.
45:28
Get your hands off of it. Get your hands off of the
45:32
situation. Don't try to figure it all out
45:34
and control it. Let patience have its work.
45:37
It's going to take some time, might not change overnight, and
45:42
that you may be perfect. It says here and complete
45:46
lacking nothing that you may be that word perfect literally
45:49
there is mature not saying like you're going to be sinless,
45:54
you're never going to struggle again.
45:55
He's saying this is what's going to make you mature that you're
45:58
not going to remain as a spiritual baby.
46:00
You're going to grow up. You're going to mature in your
46:03
faith. Jesus is saying God is going to
46:05
help use trials to mature us as Christians.
46:08
This is his design. He wants endurance.
46:11
So in His love, He sends you trials.
46:15
These trials are packaged just for you, and nothing is going to
46:19
pass to your life unless it's already been inspected and
46:22
approved by him. The one that loves you.
46:26
The one that loves you. He knows how to make you mature.
46:30
And the way He makes you mature might be different than the way
46:33
He makes me mature. And He wants you, by the way, to
46:36
lack nothing when it comes to your faith.
46:38
He wants everything for you. It's the heart that he has.
46:42
But our faith is only strengthened when it's tested.
46:47
Our faith is only strengthened when it's tested.
46:49
Or as it's been said, a faith that can't be tested, can't be
46:53
trusted. And so if you're here and you're
46:57
hurting tonight, I want you just to know the Lord loves you.
47:01
I want you to know he doesn't desire to destroy you.
47:05
It was AW Tozer that said, yes, the testing of our faith may
47:09
hurt you, but God will never harm you.
47:15
God will never harm you. Testing may hurt, but consider
47:20
it all joy. Think about it this way, is what
47:23
James is saying, because God is producing something in you,
47:27
something of vital importance. And so if you can hang in there,
47:31
if you can hang in there, the end result is that you are going
47:34
to be more mature than before the trial.
47:37
You're going to be stronger than before the trial.
47:40
You're going to be more like Jesus than before the trial.
47:43
And because of that, because of that, I can have joy and I can
47:48
say, thank you, God. How many of us have been through
47:52
a trial where we've said, oh, God, you know better than I do,
47:55
God, you know, whatever needs to be done in my life, then do it.
47:59
Lord, then do it. I'm surrendered to you.
48:02
If it's going to hurt, I'm going to trust you.
48:04
I'm going to trust you that I'm in your loving hand in the midst
48:08
of this, and I will be joyful in the process.
48:14
If it's difficult and you don't understand it #4 so you're
48:19
taking notes. We're about ready to wrap up
48:20
here. Ask God for wisdom in the trial.
48:24
Ask God for wisdom in the trial. If any of you lacks wisdom and
48:29
I'd be first to raise my hand, let him ask of God.
48:33
James hasn't changed the subject here, by the way.
48:35
He's still talking about trials. Seems like whoa, he just took a
48:38
right turn and started talking about wisdom.
48:40
Now he's saying if you're in a trial and you're suffering and
48:43
you've tried to count it all joy, then know that this trial
48:47
is not in vain. And if you're letting patients
48:50
have it's perfect work, then these trials are the very tools
48:54
that God is going to use to bring you to maturity.
48:57
And if you're still in that place where you're still
48:59
frustrated, what do you do? You ask God for wisdom.
49:04
Ask. The tense here is if anyone
49:07
lacks wisdom, let them continually be asking of God.
49:11
Let it be a continual process in your life.
49:14
Now, you may be thinking, well, why would I ask for wisdom in
49:17
the middle of a trial? Why wouldn't I be asking for
49:19
grace? Or why wouldn't I be asking for
49:21
strength in the middle of the trial?
49:22
And by the way, those are good things to ask for when you're in
49:25
a trial. But because you were asking God
49:28
for wisdom, you're really saying to him, Lord, I don't want to
49:30
waste. I don't want to waste the
49:33
opportunity that is before me. And so I need your wisdom to
49:36
know what it is that you want to get out of this.
49:39
God, what are you saying to me in this?
49:41
What are you doing in the midst of this?
49:43
I don't want to miss it, Lord. I don't want to miss it.
49:46
I want to learn from this. I want wisdom so that I don't
49:50
waste this opportunity. So ask of God who gives
49:54
liberally, literally, that is, he stretches out his hand and he
50:00
he doesn't hold back. He's a generous God and he gives
50:03
it to you without reproach and, and it will be given to you.
50:06
I love that he gives it without reproach.
50:08
In other words, you're not going to be praying and then God's not
50:11
going to say to you, you again, like, how many times are you
50:15
going to come to me? Haven't we had this conversation
50:17
before? And why do I only hear from you
50:19
when you're in the midst of trials, Right, fine, one more
50:21
time. But after this, no, God doesn't
50:24
give without reproach. And nobody knew more about
50:27
coming to the Lord Jesus than his brother, old camel niece,
50:31
James himself. He gives to everyone without
50:34
reservation. And he doesn't scold you when
50:37
you come to him. That's not the nature of God.
50:39
James knew this because he grew up with Jesus.
50:42
He saw Jesus, he knew his temperament, he knew his nature.
50:47
He knew that Jesus shows mercy, that Jesus doesn't hold in
50:51
anger, that Jesus isn't frustrated.
50:55
James knew that we often measure forgiveness and love on a human
51:00
scale, but God is offering us a love and forgiveness and wisdom
51:05
we can only see by faith. So if you're here and you're
51:09
saying, man, I've blown it so many times, if I go to him one
51:12
more time, he's going to be so frustrated with me.
51:17
And James is saying, no, he's not.
51:18
He's not going to be frustrated with you.
51:20
He's going to give you liberally and without reproach.
51:23
And then he says in verse six, let him ask in faith if you're
51:27
asking for wisdom with no doubting.
51:29
For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by
51:33
the wind. Or let not that man suppose that
51:36
he will receive anything from the Lord.
51:38
He's a double minded man, unstable in all of his ways.
51:42
You know, this is if you've ever asked something and then you've
51:44
said, I believe it in Jesus name, Amen.
51:46
But then when you're done, you're like, I don't think he's
51:48
really going to do it right. Like I believe I'm supposed to
51:50
pray, but I don't really think he's going to do it.
51:52
As soon as we pray, then we're actually negating the very thing
51:55
that we've prayed. So if you ask for wisdom,
51:57
believe that he's going to give you the wisdom and then step out
52:00
or move forward in the wisdom that he gives you.
52:03
Otherwise you're going to be like someone that's like going
52:05
up and down on the waves and I'm saved today and I'm not saved
52:09
the next day. And he loves me and he loves me
52:11
not. And it's just that's the way so
52:13
much of our Christian life is. And James is saying in verse 7
52:16
here, let not that man suppose he will receive anything from
52:19
the Lord. He's a double minded man.
52:21
He's unstable. Literally they're that word
52:24
unstable is he's never able to settle down.
52:28
He's constantly in this fluctuation.
52:30
He is never able to stick it out in all of his ways.
52:33
He says he there's a civil war inside of him.
52:36
There's a part of him, his new nature is saying trust in the
52:39
Lord. His old nature is saying you
52:41
can't trust Him and he's unstable in all of his ways.
52:45
So the hard thing is being patient.
52:47
The hard thing is enduring under the pressure that comes because
52:50
we normally want to find a way out.
52:52
But when we come ask Him for wisdom, He will give it.
52:56
But if you don't believe it, you're going to be tossed like
52:58
this man. And this is not the intention in
53:00
the heart of God for you. James uses an example here.
53:04
He says in verse nine, let the lowly brother glory in his
53:07
exaltation. I can imagine James thinking, my
53:10
brother Jesus was lowly, my brother Jesus went to the cross,
53:16
my brother Jesus was crucified, Now he's on the throne.
53:21
So you have no idea your future and your hope and the glory of
53:25
your calling. Verse 10 he says, but let the
53:28
rich, let him glory in his humiliation, because as a flower
53:32
of the field he will pass away. For no sooner as the sun risen
53:36
with a burning heat than it Withers the grass, it's flower
53:39
falls and it's beauty appearance perishes.
53:42
So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
53:47
He's saying here a rich man can't learn or he he is learning
53:51
that he can't buy peace. It's not what you do.
53:55
Because as a flower even the rich man is going to fade away.
53:57
He's going to pass away. The rich man is realizing that
54:00
in the end we are all the same. Because these trials and these
54:04
afflictions have a way of levelling all of us out or on
54:08
the same playing field. Being rich doesn't buy you out
54:11
of affliction or out of trials, even out of dying someday.
54:16
So for us as Christians, and this is where we're closing now
54:19
to walk through trials and difficulties.
54:21
My final point with this last verse, verse 12, if you're
54:25
taking those #5 I want you just to hear this.
54:28
It will be worth it. It will be worth it.
54:31
Look at what he says here in verse 12.
54:33
Blessed is the man who endures temptation or or literally
54:37
there. Blessed is man who perseveres
54:39
under trial for when he has been approved, when his faith has
54:43
been tested and proven, he will receive the crown of life which
54:47
the Lord has promised to those who love him.
54:49
James is saying here you're Hoopa Moni, your endurance,
54:53
you're not giving up, you're not quitting.
54:56
It's going to be rewarded. He says here with the crown of
54:59
life. I don't know if that's a literal
55:00
crown or if that's just a picture there, but the point is
55:04
he sees you, he's with you. He's going to reward you.
55:08
That's what James is trying to say.
55:10
And this reward is going to be to those who love him.
55:13
So how many of you guys love him tonight?
55:15
Yeah, Amen to that. Well, listen, whatever you are
55:18
going through as a Jesus follower, I just want you to
55:20
know you will get through this. I want you to know that he is
55:25
with you, that he sees you because he's going to reward
55:29
you. And I want you to know any of us
55:31
that receive whatever this crown of life is, it is going to be
55:35
worth it. And one final word, why don't we
55:37
stand together as a worship team comes out and I just want to
55:40
read this verse over us Galatians chapter 6, verse 9.
55:43
Paul would say this. And this is, I think, a great
55:46
way to end for you if you're struggling tonight in a trial,
55:51
if you're walking through and you feel like, again, I came in
55:54
here not sure if I could hang on anymore this close to giving up.
56:00
Here's what Paul would say, the Holy Spirit would say to you,
56:03
let us not grow weary. By the way, why would he have to
56:05
say that? Because he knows that we would
56:08
grow weary. He knows that that's what we're
56:10
meant to do. He says let us not grow weary
56:13
while doing good, for in due season, we will reap if we do
56:20
not lose heart. And you know, the purpose of
56:24
trials is to help you not to lose heart.
56:29
It's to help you to keep going. It's to help you not to quit.
56:33
You would think it makes me feel like I want to quit, but he's
56:35
saying, no, no, no. I'm producing something in you
56:38
that's going to help you. And then you're going to face
56:40
another trial at some point. And that trial might even be a
56:43
bit heavier and weightier than the one you just walked through,
56:46
but you're going to have more Hoopa money, you're going to
56:48
have more endurance. And you're going to be able to
56:50
say, I made it through that God was faithful.
56:54
And I'm going to make it through whatever's in front of me
56:57
because God is faithful. So I'm going to, I'm going to
57:00
count it all as joy. I'm going to count as all as
57:02
joy. It doesn't hurt.
57:03
Yes. Is God going to harm me?
57:05
No. Do I hate it sometimes?
57:08
Yes. But do I love what God's
57:11
accomplishing on the other side? Absolutely.
57:14
So in this last song, as we worship, let's just surrender
57:17
our hearts. I'm with you, I'm with you.
57:18
Like I said, man, trials are in all of our lives.
57:20
I've been walking through stuff too, but I'm encouraged by the
57:24
faithfulness of God, and I'm encouraged for you because I
57:27
know God is faithful in your life too.
57:29
I can say that without a shadow of a doubt, it will be worth it.
57:34
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
57:37
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
57:40
For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
57:50
To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
57:53
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
57:58
or download our free Calvary Church app.
58:01
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.