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You know, when Steve asked me if I would participate in this service, I was thinking holiday weekend,

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sure, nobody's gonna be around, it's gonna be awful empty, and yet, here all of you are.

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You must have been real bad this week, otherwise I can't imagine why you'd be here listening

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to me.

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So my name is Jay Miller, as Steve said, and I usually reside right over here in this area

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with my beautiful wife Selena, my children Evelyn and Wyatt, my folks and my grandmother

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also usually join us on Sundays, so we participate and we're here pretty regularly.

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I'm excited and honestly just incredibly humbled to even stand here before you and share in

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the Word of God today, I'm just, I'm overjoyed, really.

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I'm also a part of a group, a handful of guys in here, part of a group called Man Time,

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and I'm gonna take just a couple of seconds to plug that while I have the microphone and

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can do so.

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So we meet on Monday nights, and it's a fellowship for men, as iron sharpens iron, so the Proverbs

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say, so do one man sharpen another, and that's what we do, we talk about life, we talk about

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issues, we talk about things that we're facing as men, the struggles and the battles, so

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if you fit the biblical prerequisite of being a man and not the worldly prerequisite of

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being a man, I encourage you to join us, I would love to have you there, it truly would

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mean a lot to us, so please come join us, Monday nights, 7 o'clock, we meet at Guns

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and Gear, but please note, tomorrow, Monday night, we will not be there for the holiday,

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but next Monday we will pick up on that.

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So today I'm gonna be in the book of James, and James 1 verse 1, and I thought it was

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important to talk a little bit about the book itself and the author, right, so it's a self-titled

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epistle, James being the oldest half-brother of Jesus, and you know, he wasn't always a

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believer, he didn't always, you know, we know from the Gospel of John that him and his brothers

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didn't always believe in Jesus, and you know, the book was written to fellow believers at

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the time of insane violence, with the first early church, and so they estimate between

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44 and 49 AD, which makes it the earliest canon, earliest epistle and earliest writings

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of the New Testament canon.

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We also know that James was a very significant leader, according to the book of Acts, and

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in Galatians he was even described as a pillar of the early church.

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I can't imagine life as, you know, Jesus being your older brother, right?

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Could you imagine the realness of that?

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And so it's easy for me to understand why he would be maybe rebellious, or he might

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push away this idea of who Jesus truly was, but then something changed, and his belief

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changed, and not only did his belief change, but he chose to become a servant of the church.

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He chose to become a significant leader of the church during a time that it probably

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wasn't real comfortable to do so, and I'm assuming that this happened after he saw the

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risen Christ, right?

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I don't know, but that's my assumption, and he made a choice to live a certain way, and

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we're going to talk a lot about this idea of choice today.

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It's going to be pretty thematic through the entirety of what we talk about.

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So from the book of Acts, we know that the early church, and this is what struck me about

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the, what to speak on in general, we know that the early church faced a lot of persecution,

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and we know that they faced a lot of trials, and as I look around in the world today, I'm

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starting to see more and more trials that are being placed upon the church, and I think

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it's important that we as believers, as fellow Christians, we take note of that, we think

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about it, and we be mindful of those things, because I think where we've been as believers

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is one place, but where we are going is a very different place, and we have to be ready

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for what those trials are going to look at, or look like for us.

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I mean, we have people being arrested for praying over abortion clinics, right?

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We have Catholic priests whose doors are getting kicked in, and FBI raids, and so these are

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things that we have to be conscious of, and be ready whenever the difficult times arise,

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in addition to the normal difficulties that we face in an everyday life.

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So James can typically be organized in a lot of ways, but the way that I organized it today

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for the first chapter is we're going to talk about the test of perseverance and suffering,

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we're going to talk about the test of blame through temptation, and then the test of response

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to the world.

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Those are the three sections, and before we dive in, we better pray over the word.

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Father God, we're just so grateful to be here before you, Lord.

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I pray that your Spirit would fill this place, that you would lift up each one of your believers,

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and that you would give them strength, you would give them courage, you would give them

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guidance, and Father, any trials that we might be facing as a church, or as a congregation,

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or as an individual, Lord, we know that there is but one solid answer, and that you are

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it, and I pray that somebody would be lifted through this idea, Lord, and we just, we thank

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you so much for your love, we thank you for your grace, and we thank you for your son

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Jesus, it's in his name we pray, amen.

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So kicking off in verse 1, James 1,1, "James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ,

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to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.

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Greetings."

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This first line sticks out to me, it struck me, because both James and Paul use it.

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The word for bondservant, the Greek word is doulos, which ultimately means slave, but

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in the Hebrew it's often elevated to be a willing slave, right?

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So a willing slave to the Lord, and both of these men, James and Paul, were incredibly

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valuable, they were incredibly important to the early church, and yet, they chose to use

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this title, right?

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Bondservant, slave, willing slave.

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I'm willing to bet that in today's culture, if we looked at their LinkedIn profile, we

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might see something like Executive Vice President of the First Church of Jesus Christ, or something

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crazy because that's what we do on LinkedIn, we give these elaborate fancy titles, and

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as the world, we love our titles, but these guys didn't care.

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They ultimately knew that our salvation and our eternal lives were bought with a price,

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and they had, since they've been bought, they were slaves.

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I know that if I'm to honor the debt as a believer, that I should be willing to make

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sacrifices for God's glory.

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In Romans 6, 17 and 18, it says this, "But God be thanked that though you were slaves

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of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart in that form of doctrine to which you were delivered,

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and having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

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Having been set free by the blood of Christ, I should take it upon myself to become a slave

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to righteousness.

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What does it mean to be a servant of Jesus?

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It isn't just a church attendance, although that's important, please don't stop coming

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to church.

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It isn't just the volunteer and how much we volunteer.

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It literally should permeate every single space in our lives.

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Everything we do should be to the glory of God, and that's not always an easy thing to

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do, but our lives should reflect an obedience in all situations, and this especially goes

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for the difficult ones of trial, which we're about to talk about.

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So picking up in verse 2, it says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various

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trials."

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James is speaking to the brethren.

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This is the fellow Jewish believers at the time, and I would argue in today's culture,

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this is us.

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This is fellow believers.

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He's speaking to fellow believers.

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"My fellow believers, count."

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This word for count can also be translated as consider.

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So my fellow believers, consider it all joy when we fall into various trials.

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Trial being a difficulty.

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The word here is a disruption of our pattern of peace, right?

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So this is something that's disrupting our life, and it's creating havoc, and it's disrupting

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what we do on a day-to-day basis.

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So what is our response to be?

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Well, I know what our natural response has a tendency to be, and it's typically not joy,

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right?

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When I'm blessed, and I get my furnace, and I replace that because it was really, really

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old 20 years, and I get out with a pretty good deal on it, and then I'm like, "Cool,

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I'm going to replace the fence too because my back fence is falling down."

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And then three weeks later, my AC decides it's going to die.

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I did not respond with joy.

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It turns out I failed the test.

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It was something that I had an opportunity, but I didn't do it.

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So we have to be really important, or excuse me, we have to be really mindful of that.

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And as a fellow believer, whom this letter is written to, we must make a conscious commitment

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to face difficulties in our lives with a positive attitude.

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This is a choice, right?

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And again, you're going to hear this a lot today.

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So it's difficult, and it's not an easy thing to do to face it with joy, but there is good

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reason to do so.

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And he gives it to us in verse three, "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

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We need to remember that trial provides an opportunity for us to be tested in our walk

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and in our faith.

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One way I've heard it stated is the proving of our faith, right?

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Through these trials and through these difficulties, we have an opportunity to prove our faith.

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These tests will produce patience, which can also be translated as endurance or perseverance.

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And continuing in verse four, "But let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect

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and complete, lacking nothing."

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So let endurance or perseverance have its perfect work.

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This doesn't mean that we're going to walk away from a trial and be perfect by any means,

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right?

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Every one of us, certainly myself, falls pretty short of the idea of being perfect.

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But what it does mean is that we may be brought into spiritual maturity.

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It's this idea that through each testing, our faith can grow, our spiritual maturity

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can grow, and we can grow with God.

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God will use our trials to shape us into exactly who He wants us to be.

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This testing or having to endure difficult situations requires us as believers to make

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a choice.

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We either will or we won't follow God.

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And it produces the kind of character that God wants us to have.

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I often say that I believe in God, right?

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But so do the demons, right?

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What and how will we show, how will we prove our belief?

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And I really believe strongly that it comes in the testing of these faiths.

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In the testing of our faith through difficulty, in Romans 5 and verses 3 through 5, Paul says

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it like this, "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation

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produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope."

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Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by

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the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

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So even in our most difficult moments of trial, if we persevere, if we maintain endurance

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and we grow through them, God will pour His love out on us through the Holy Spirit.

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If we're reading and we're studying in the faith, shouldn't we be ready?

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I mean, really, if we're walking it out every day, shouldn't we be ready?

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I liken it to an athlete in some senses, and I know the Olympics was, whoa.

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But when you think about the Olympics and you think about these athletes, and I'm not

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talking about men beating up women, I'm talking about real athletes that show up day in, day

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out, and they are literally giving it everything that they have.

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They're pushing their bodies in a way that is just incomprehensible in some senses.

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They're pushing their mind, and then all of a sudden they get this chance, they have this

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opportunity on a world stage to show what they can do.

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It's a lot like that, or the violinist that literally practices until her fingers bleed,

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and then all of a sudden she has that opportunity to stand on stage, and it's a test to show

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all of the work that's been done.

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I think it's much the same for us as believers.

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If we're walking in the faith and we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, it's an opportunity

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for us to show that we have the love and the Word of God that's rooted deep within us.

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So we should take comfort in moments of trial.

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We always have an answer, and the answer is Jesus.

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Now I'm guessing, I'm just going to go out on a limb here, that there are folks in this

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room that are going through a very serious trial right now, things that are far more

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important than my AC unit dying or an Olympic athlete.

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And I never want to minimize anybody's pain or struggle, so please don't take me on that

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level.

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I pray that you find God and you seek Him if you're going through something really hard,

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because I know from personal experience that He will meet you there.

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He'll find you in that place.

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And when we lean on God in these difficult moments, His love will be poured out and it

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will overflow upon us.

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I've seen it.

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Even in the most difficult moments, we can be made more complete through each trial.

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So picking up in verse 5, James 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who

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gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

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Now notice that it didn't say, "If you lack wisdom, just run a quick Google search and

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find the easiest and most effective five things to make me feel better today."

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Notice it didn't say that.

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The world will very quickly give you its wisdom, but we really shouldn't seek that.

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So what is wisdom then?

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It's used often, the word is used often in the Bible, but I decided that I would go to

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somebody who was infinitely more wise than I.

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And in the book of Proverbs, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

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and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

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The fear of the Lord, submission to the Lord.

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Submission is a choice.

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We have to choose to submit to the Lord.

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This is important.

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Now, if we do, there is reward and in Proverbs it tells us again, "Happy is the man who finds

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wisdom and the man who gains understanding, for her proceeds are better than the profits

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of silver and her gain more fine than gold.

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She is more precious than rubies and all the things you may desire cannot compare with

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her."

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My wife routinely likes to remind me that it is referenced as a her-men, just so you

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know.

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If you're struggling with that, come talk to us in man time.

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We talk about it every single week.

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I think she has a point, husbands.

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So if you're lacking, excuse me, if you're facing a trial and you lack the wisdom, you

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don't know what to do, what should you do?

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Go to God, pray, fall on your face and pray.

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Get in the word, find the word and find the wisdom because He will show us what it is.

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Each trial should drive us into a deeper connection with Him.

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Each trial that we face, every time we go through something difficult, we should grow

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with Him and grow dependence upon Him and realize that we must have this.

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Wisdom in its true nature from God, it'll enable us to find joy and remain submissive

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even in the most difficult trials that life can throw our way.

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But we have to make the choice to go to God for His wisdom.

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Let him ask in faith, picking up in verse six, "With no doubting, for he who doubts

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is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."

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If we believe that God is our source of wisdom and all of His ways are good, we cannot doubt.

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We can't doubt.

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Even when we don't like something that He's telling us.

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Now I find this to happen and I've experienced it in my own life where God's telling us something

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and most of the time we want to rebel because He's asking us to either get rid of something

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that we don't want to get rid of or He's maybe pushing us in a direction that we're not really

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sure that we want to go.

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It doesn't matter, right?

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It's uncomfortable and we must follow God.

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Perhaps we see His will but it's adverse to our own.

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Meaning if we continue to doubt, we will be like Peter, right?

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Man is literally walking on water with Jesus and then he begins to doubt and when he doubts,

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he begins to sink.

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When we're sinking, if we're doubting, reach up, find God.

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He will help us.

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Being a boat in the midst of the waves is a dangerous place to be when we have no rudder.

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It will knock us around.

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I don't know if anybody's been in the ocean but when the wave slams you into the ground,

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it hurts.

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I've experienced that once or twice.

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So picking up in verse 7, "For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything

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from the Lord."

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So when we're doubting, we won't receive things from the Lord.

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I had a funny experience personally, I don't know, maybe a month or two ago and I was sharing

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with a friend of mine that I didn't feel like God was talking to me.

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I didn't feel like I could hear God and in fact, I even went to a sermon and I was listening

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to the sermon and in the sermon it said, "If you feel like God's not talking to you, maybe

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it's because the last time he did talk to you, you didn't listen."

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And when I heard it, I went, "Uh-oh."

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And I told my friend about it and he's like, "See, dummy?"

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So if you're doubting God and you're not listening to his word when he is listening, he may stop

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talking to you and that's a dangerous place to be.

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Picking up in 8, "He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

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And what James means by this, he references it a few other times in the book of James,

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but he's talking about a man that's divided between the world and God.

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A man that confesses that he is a Christian but holds on to the things of this world when

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we really shouldn't do that.

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And I want to note that resisting the world in its temptation is not an easy thing.

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It's not an easy thing.

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It's incredibly difficult to do because the world has a powerful way to draw us in, sometimes

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in my opinion even disguising itself as things of God when it's not.

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And we have to be mindful.

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We must be prayerful in each of those moments and we must make a choice to set ourselves

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up on a firm foundation.

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In 2 Timothy 2.19, Paul writes it like this, "Nevertheless, the solid foundation of

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God stands, having this seal.

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The Lord knows who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

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If you've named the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.

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Put the stuff down.

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Get rid of it out of your lives.

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We're called to care less about what's important to the world and care more about the pursuit

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of holiness.

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And he continues with this in verse 9, "Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

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but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

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For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers with the grass.

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Its flower falls and its beautiful appearance perishes, so the rich man also will fade away

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in his pursuits."

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We should take comfort in this scripture because it doesn't matter what your place in life

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is, you are going to encounter and face trials.

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Everyone of us is going to face trials, no matter whether you're rich or poor.

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And in reality, when you think about it on a worldly scale, just about everybody in this

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room is pretty much on the qualified of rich, right?

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And that's not to minimize the struggles, believe me.

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Grocery bill's painful at my house too.

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But when you consider it, the poor, while they're going through their battles, they

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can rely on the Lord in those battles.

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And then the rich, the trials in this life for all of us, they should remind us that

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the glory in the riches of this world are not what we are to be seeking, right?

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We don't find genuine happiness in anything that we can buy.

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There's nothing that will give us God's happiness from an earthly wealth standpoint.

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And if we focus only on that, James reminds us how quickly things will change in that

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department.

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The reference that he made was from Isaiah, but Peter says it like this, "All flesh is

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as grass and the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

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The grass withers and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord lives forever."

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Scotty says it regularly, "It's all firewood."

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And I love that sentence.

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I love that statement because it is, everything here is firewood.

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That's how we should treat it.

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Now, I would like to note on that because I've recently had conversations and I think

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it's important to note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being blessed in this life.

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There's nothing wrong.

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It is okay to be blessed.

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It's okay to grow and grow wealth and those kinds of things, but we cannot worship God

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and money at the same time.

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We must be mindful.

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If you are in a position where you have been blessed, you need to be thinking about what's

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my primary focus?

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What is the first thing?

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Is it God or is it something else?

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Because if it's not God, we got to be careful.

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True blessing comes from the Lord, not from the world.

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And wow, would you look at that?

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James is going to touch on that right here in verse 12.

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He wraps up the test of trial really nicely here.

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He says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, trial.

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For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised

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to those who love him."

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So when we succeed in enduring the trials, when we persevere through the difficulties

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that come our way, there is a victorious outcome.

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If we look back in the Beatitudes, Mark chapter five, Jesus gives a list of those who are

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blessed.

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This word blessed that he uses stuck out to me.

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It's not the people we would normally think of.

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It's those who recognize their dependence upon God.

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They recognize that they have to depend upon God in order to be successful in this life.

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Blessed are the poor in spirit.

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Blessed are the meek.

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Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness.

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And what is their reward?

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It's kingdom of heaven.

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It's the kingdom of heaven.

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So if we stand in obedience in our trials and temptations, we win the crown.

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If we make the choice to follow God, we win the crown.

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We get to be brought into spiritual maturity.

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Persevering through a trial is an opportunity to walk out our faith or not.

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But what happens if we make the wrong choice?

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Because that does happen.

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And James touches on it here.

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He talks about what happens if we make the wrong choice, picking up in verse 13.

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"Let no one say when he is tempted that I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted

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by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone."

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When we're in a difficult position, when we're in a difficult spot, we're uncomfortable,

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hurting, in pain, it becomes real easy to make bad decisions.

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Becomes real easy to make bad decisions.

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And once we make bad decisions, it sometimes becomes easy to blame God for those mistakes

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that we might make in our lives.

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And we have to be really, really cautious of this.

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"Well, if God hadn't put that thing in front of me, I wouldn't have done it."

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Come on, that's not how that works.

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God will allow us to face difficulty.

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He will.

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But he does not tempt us.

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He doesn't offer the temptation.

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We shouldn't make the mistake of blaming God for our sin.

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God's holy.

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God is sinless.

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When the trial comes, it's okay to get angry with God in that brief moment.

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He can handle your frustration.

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What I like to call for me is what I call my internal temper tantrums.

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When I'm mad about something and I'm having that internal temper tantrum, God's okay with

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that.

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Turns out he's the creator of the universe.

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He can handle it.

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What happens though is it's not okay for us to make the bad decision.

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It's not okay for us to blame God when we do.

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That is not okay.

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So then who do we blame?

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Let's find out.

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Verse 14.

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"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

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Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings

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forth death.

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Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren, my fellow believers."

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Don't be deceived.

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Sin doesn't just miraculously appear.

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It's not like it's some magic thing.

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It's a process.

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It starts with a seed.

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It's usually a seed within our own heart.

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We were born sinners.

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So that seed, if we let it linger too long, fully develops and it grows into something

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else.

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That's what we have to avoid because when we let it grow and it turns into something

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else, that's what leads to a broken life.

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That's when the pain starts to hit.

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I've personally found that in moments of trial and temptation, there's this really small

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moment of time before a response or decision is made.

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This is what we have to be cautious of.

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In that small moment of time, we can go one of two directions.

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We could choose our natural tendencies, drawn away by whatever desire we have, that shiny

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lure, right?

398
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As the fish in the water, you got that shiny little lure and it's like, "Oh, that looks

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really nice.

400
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That's great."

401
00:26:59,220 --> 00:27:04,580
I just want anything that will take away the discomfort for a moment.

402
00:27:04,580 --> 00:27:07,740
And once we let that thought sink in, what happens?

403
00:27:07,740 --> 00:27:08,740
We have an enemy.

404
00:27:08,740 --> 00:27:09,740
He's good.

405
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He's good at what he does and he'll start shouting at you.

406
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It's okay.

407
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,400
You deserve to feel better.

408
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,680
You deserve to be happy, right?

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00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:23,840
These are things that he will shout.

410
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,820
Watching that thing on your phone's not really going to hurt anybody, is it?

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Pouring that drink isn't going to be a big deal, is it?

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And he'll start telling you these things.

413
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We have to make a different choice, right?

414
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Each of us has different desires, but when we fool ourselves and allow the shouts of

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devil to have a place in our lives, it never ends well.

416
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The other option in that brief moment, right?

417
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:51,640
So you have your trial, you have your moment, is to look to the Savior.

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Use the Spirit.

419
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My suggestion, and this is what I do for myself, is have some scripture in hand.

420
00:27:58,320 --> 00:27:59,800
Have some scripture on the top of your mind.

421
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Know something, right?

422
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You know what your bend is.

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Everybody in here has a bend towards sin of some flavor.

424
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So whatever it is, have that scripture in mind.

425
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Have that heart.

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Have a game plan when it pops up, right?

427
00:28:12,980 --> 00:28:16,880
That's how we avoid it and know how you're going to respond no matter what the situation

428
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:17,880
is.

429
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Know what your response pattern is going to be.

430
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That will help us.

431
00:28:20,420 --> 00:28:22,020
Sin is a choice.

432
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We were born sinners, but we do not have to participate in sin.

433
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Likewise, we have to choose His peace and joy.

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It's a choice.

435
00:28:31,180 --> 00:28:33,980
He will not make us participate.

436
00:28:33,980 --> 00:28:36,360
We have to choose Him and allow Him into our lives.

437
00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:40,140
And it turns out we have this thing called free will, and it doesn't matter because in

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either situation, He does not abandon us.

439
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,920
First Corinthians, Sens 13 says this, "No temptation has overtaken you, except such

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as is common to man.

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But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but

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with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it."

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Now I've heard this paraphrased at times that God will not give you more than you can handle.

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I disagree.

445
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:06,760
I disagree.

446
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,720
I think God will give you more than you can handle, right?

447
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:13,980
He will put you in situations that are beyond our own handling, right?

448
00:29:13,980 --> 00:29:17,140
That goes back to the meek or the poor in spirit.

449
00:29:17,140 --> 00:29:19,580
We have a dependence and a reliance upon God.

450
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That's what He wants for us.

451
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,780
But He will never leave you in a position where you can't escape the temptation.

452
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He's here.

453
00:29:27,780 --> 00:29:28,780
He will guide you.

454
00:29:28,780 --> 00:29:31,900
He will make a way of escape.

455
00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:38,900
If you fall down in moments of trial, and believe me, I have fallen down, surrender,

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repent, ask for forgiveness.

457
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,400
Ask for forgiveness, and it will be forgiven.

458
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,300
God has already forgiven you.

459
00:29:46,300 --> 00:29:52,800
There may be consequences for your sin if you fall into sin, but you are forgiven.

460
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,120
Jesus already died for that sin.

461
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,000
He's already done it.

462
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,200
There's a guy that I listen to.

463
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:06,200
His name is Chip Ingram, and he says that our feelings often follow our focus.

464
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,140
Where's our focus?

465
00:30:09,140 --> 00:30:14,180
If I'm focused inward, it is not on God.

466
00:30:14,180 --> 00:30:20,000
If I'm focused upward, and if I'm focused outward and serving others, it becomes more

467
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:26,140
difficult for me to find the boo-hoo moments when I want to focus inward.

468
00:30:26,140 --> 00:30:32,820
And James reminds us where we are to put our focus here in 17.

469
00:30:32,820 --> 00:30:39,200
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father

470
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,440
of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

471
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,780
Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first

472
00:30:47,780 --> 00:30:51,160
fruits of his creatures.

473
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,520
All good and bad are for the glory of God.

474
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,680
He is the Father of light, constant, never changing.

475
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:00,680
Never changing.

476
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,260
He's always good, even when we can't see it.

477
00:31:04,260 --> 00:31:09,100
Now in my own life, I've been through some trials, big trials.

478
00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:14,340
I've had trials that have tested my marriage, and I've had trials that have tested my finances.

479
00:31:14,340 --> 00:31:19,280
I remember one time I looked at my wife, and thank God for my wife.

480
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:22,540
I looked at my wife, I was like, "Babe, I don't think we could tithe anymore.

481
00:31:22,540 --> 00:31:24,700
Like we're struggling."

482
00:31:24,700 --> 00:31:27,660
And she's like, "Mm, well, we're tithing."

483
00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:30,380
That's when we're going to tithe, right?

484
00:31:30,380 --> 00:31:36,820
And thank goodness for her that she was encouraging in that moment because it all was okay.

485
00:31:36,820 --> 00:31:39,340
It didn't feel like it, but it was always okay.

486
00:31:39,340 --> 00:31:46,000
And most importantly, I have had trials that have 100% broke my pride.

487
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:47,580
And thank you, Jesus, for that.

488
00:31:47,580 --> 00:31:50,420
Now in the moment, none of it felt good.

489
00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:52,780
I didn't enjoy the trials.

490
00:31:52,780 --> 00:31:54,260
I wasn't happy at those.

491
00:31:54,260 --> 00:31:57,020
I did not respond with joy.

492
00:31:57,020 --> 00:32:03,260
But when I look back now, and I'm like looking over my life and where it has led, every single

493
00:32:03,260 --> 00:32:06,900
one of these trials was shaping me for the better.

494
00:32:06,900 --> 00:32:10,700
Every single one of them made me a better human being, and it was molding me into the

495
00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:16,500
man that God wants me to be, which is ultimately the most important thing that I can care about.

496
00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:19,340
Who am I for the Lord?

497
00:32:19,340 --> 00:32:22,860
And now I know that in future trials that our God is constant.

498
00:32:22,860 --> 00:32:24,400
He is always there.

499
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:31,880
He is always good, and He graciously offered me a relationship that I never deserved.

500
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,640
God might have you in a trial right now.

501
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:37,560
It might be incredibly difficult.

502
00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:44,420
And if He does, I would consider whether or not He's trying to realign your focus.

503
00:32:44,420 --> 00:32:45,600
Is it upward?

504
00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:46,920
Is it outward?

505
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:48,620
Or is it inward?

506
00:32:48,620 --> 00:32:52,960
If you're in that trial right now, consider that, because God might be trying to get you

507
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:54,400
back in line with Him.

508
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,580
I know that was a big part of the large trials in my life.

509
00:32:58,580 --> 00:33:02,340
So I love the book of James because of its practicality.

510
00:33:02,340 --> 00:33:07,940
In the next section here, James gives us some really practical application in how we can

511
00:33:07,940 --> 00:33:10,260
respond in the moments of trials.

512
00:33:10,260 --> 00:33:15,140
He gives us some ways to have an upward focus and outward focus, and we can have the inward

513
00:33:15,140 --> 00:33:17,700
focus sit in the back seat where it belongs.

514
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:25,900
So picking up in verse 19, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear,

515
00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:32,580
slow to speak, and slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness

516
00:33:32,580 --> 00:33:34,660
of God."

517
00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:36,760
Swift to hear.

518
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:41,420
Talk about an undervalued thing these days.

519
00:33:41,420 --> 00:33:42,740
Hearing.

520
00:33:42,740 --> 00:33:47,280
Listening is an undervalued skill, and I'm in sales for a living, and we talk about it

521
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:48,280
all the time.

522
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:49,980
Too many times we like to talk and talk and talk.

523
00:33:49,980 --> 00:33:50,980
We don't listen.

524
00:33:50,980 --> 00:33:51,980
Listen.

525
00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:53,980
I say it with my kids all the time, right?

526
00:33:53,980 --> 00:33:55,360
You've heard the old adage.

527
00:33:55,360 --> 00:34:00,420
We have two of these and one of these, so we should listen twice as much as we talk,

528
00:34:00,420 --> 00:34:01,420
right?

529
00:34:01,420 --> 00:34:02,420
They love that.

530
00:34:02,420 --> 00:34:04,980
They're probably shaking their head over there right now.

531
00:34:04,980 --> 00:34:07,320
But what are you to hear?

532
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:12,660
This verse can be applied in a few ways, but as it pertains to the context of the text,

533
00:34:12,660 --> 00:34:18,540
I go back to the previous verse in 18, and that says, "He," being God, "brought us forth

534
00:34:18,540 --> 00:34:23,940
by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

535
00:34:23,940 --> 00:34:30,080
So in our moments of trial and difficulty, we need to hear the word of God, the sword

536
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:31,300
of truth.

537
00:34:31,300 --> 00:34:34,120
That's what we need to hear, God's word.

538
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:37,200
And then we need to be slow to speak.

539
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:41,940
I'm confident that none of the godly believers and followers in this room have ever popped

540
00:34:41,940 --> 00:34:45,360
off at the mouth and gotten themselves in trouble.

541
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:49,480
However, I personally have been known to do that once in a while.

542
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:54,400
I can be quick, and I can be sharp, and I can cut.

543
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:59,440
And oftentimes when we do that, we end up hurting the ones that we love the most.

544
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,900
And more often than not, it's not only the ones we love the most, but it's the ones that

545
00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:05,900
love us the most.

546
00:35:05,900 --> 00:35:06,900
I mean, how silly is that?

547
00:35:06,900 --> 00:35:09,080
How do we do that?

548
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,100
And we have to be mindful of the things that we say.

549
00:35:12,100 --> 00:35:14,260
We have to be slow to speak.

550
00:35:14,260 --> 00:35:18,980
James says later in the chapter, "If you do not bridle the tongue and think you're religious,

551
00:35:18,980 --> 00:35:20,980
you deceive your own heart."

552
00:35:20,980 --> 00:35:26,680
So bridling that tongue is critically important.

553
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,580
Our words have a power.

554
00:35:28,580 --> 00:35:30,000
They can cut people.

555
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:35,420
I have ran an example, I really should, my wife and I, mostly my wife, have done this

556
00:35:35,420 --> 00:35:36,420
example with our children.

557
00:35:36,420 --> 00:35:39,320
I don't know if you guys have ever done this with your kids, where you get two big giant

558
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:43,660
things of toothpaste, and you put paper down, and then you tell them, "Okay, here's what

559
00:35:43,660 --> 00:35:44,660
I want you to do."

560
00:35:44,660 --> 00:35:47,960
You get the toothpaste and you squeeze out the toothpaste as fast as humanly possible.

561
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:49,620
And they're all excited to do it.

562
00:35:49,620 --> 00:35:51,460
And then you're like, "Cool, put it all back."

563
00:35:51,460 --> 00:35:57,460
And the kids kind of look at you, they're like, "What?

564
00:35:57,460 --> 00:35:59,460
That's not possible."

565
00:35:59,460 --> 00:36:01,200
Your words are the same.

566
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:02,220
Your words are the same.

567
00:36:02,220 --> 00:36:06,160
You can't put it back once you say it.

568
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:09,300
Once it comes out, it cannot go back in the tube.

569
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:10,300
Be careful.

570
00:36:10,300 --> 00:36:11,440
Be careful of what you say.

571
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:18,660
Be slow to speak, our brother James says.

572
00:36:18,660 --> 00:36:22,140
Proverbs speaks of this quite a few times, but the two verses I found in preparation

573
00:36:22,140 --> 00:36:25,280
that I really liked go like this.

574
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:32,200
Proverbs 18, 21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it

575
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,780
will eat of the fruit of it."

576
00:36:34,780 --> 00:36:36,100
Powerful words.

577
00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:42,820
The chapter before in 1727 in Proverbs, "He who has knowledge spares his words, and a

578
00:36:42,820 --> 00:36:45,720
man of understanding is of calm spirit."

579
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:46,720
Right?

580
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:50,300
So speaking to that calm and anger and that wrath, and then we get into the wrath.

581
00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:53,200
Slow to wrath is the final piece of advice there.

582
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:58,360
In Ecclesiastes 7, 9, it's said this way, "Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,

583
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:02,000
for anger rests in the bosom of fools."

584
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,340
So when the trial hits, slow down.

585
00:37:05,340 --> 00:37:08,700
Listen, don't speak.

586
00:37:08,700 --> 00:37:09,900
Right?

587
00:37:09,900 --> 00:37:16,380
Control our anger, for anger does not produce the righteousness of God.

588
00:37:16,380 --> 00:37:20,660
We must practice the last of the fruits, the last of the listed fruits in terms of the

589
00:37:20,660 --> 00:37:22,000
fruits of the spirit, right?

590
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,500
This is a moment of self-control.

591
00:37:23,500 --> 00:37:29,320
We must make a choice to live in self-control.

592
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:30,540
Kids are driving you crazy.

593
00:37:30,540 --> 00:37:31,820
One more thing breaks.

594
00:37:31,820 --> 00:37:34,380
Chronic pain is too much to bear.

595
00:37:34,380 --> 00:37:35,380
Sky cuts you off.

596
00:37:35,380 --> 00:37:36,380
It's a choice.

597
00:37:36,380 --> 00:37:41,020
It's a choice that we have to make.

598
00:37:41,020 --> 00:37:45,220
There are ways that we can make it easier on ourselves, and he talks to this in verse

599
00:37:45,220 --> 00:37:46,780
21.

600
00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:54,740
"Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the

601
00:37:54,740 --> 00:38:00,340
implanted word which is able to save your souls."

602
00:38:00,340 --> 00:38:04,820
It's so much easier to survive the adversity of trials when we're setting ourselves up

603
00:38:04,820 --> 00:38:10,420
and getting rid of some of the things that are going to, I guess, compound the trials

604
00:38:10,420 --> 00:38:13,140
for us, right?

605
00:38:13,140 --> 00:38:18,640
If we do a good job getting rid of the yuck, it's going to be an important thing.

606
00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:25,340
So we got to get rid of filthiness and overflow of wickedness, lust, greed, gossip, slander,

607
00:38:25,340 --> 00:38:30,580
rage, pride, covetousness, which is the lack of gratitude ultimately for what we have.

608
00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:36,380
I'm sorry to say this, but friends or activities or habits that maybe encourage us in these

609
00:38:36,380 --> 00:38:42,120
areas or encourage us in these behaviors, we should consider tossing them.

610
00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:43,120
Not always easy.

611
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,940
That's one of those moments where God's asking you to do something, and you're like, "Whoa,

612
00:38:45,940 --> 00:38:46,940
whoa, whoa, whoa.

613
00:38:46,940 --> 00:38:47,940
I don't know.

614
00:38:47,940 --> 00:38:49,820
I don't know about that."

615
00:38:49,820 --> 00:38:53,940
Abide in God, and he will guide you through them.

616
00:38:53,940 --> 00:38:59,260
As a point, I am a runner, and I've run some ultra races.

617
00:38:59,260 --> 00:39:03,920
In these ultra races, what happens is, and this one I ran, it was called the Putts, and

618
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:08,660
you go through about six, seven creek crossings throughout the course of 30 miles.

619
00:39:08,660 --> 00:39:11,280
So you basically would have this route.

620
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:16,420
Your feet would be dry, and then they'd be wet, and then they'd be muddy, and then they'd

621
00:39:16,420 --> 00:39:20,540
get dry and sweaty, and then they'd be wet and muddy, so on, right?

622
00:39:20,540 --> 00:39:22,500
Six, seven times throughout the course of the race.

623
00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:26,980
Well, through this race, I never changed my socks, because they were these compression

624
00:39:26,980 --> 00:39:30,580
sleeve socks, and I was entirely too tired to take them off at that point.

625
00:39:30,580 --> 00:39:37,280
At the end of the race, these things were gross, and I threw them in the bed of my buddy's

626
00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:40,260
truck because I didn't want them in the cab of his truck.

627
00:39:40,260 --> 00:39:44,260
They were that bad, and we got back, and he's like, "Do you want these?"

628
00:39:44,260 --> 00:39:46,140
I was like, "No.

629
00:39:46,140 --> 00:39:47,140
No.

630
00:39:47,140 --> 00:39:48,140
Toss them.

631
00:39:48,140 --> 00:39:49,980
They're filthy.

632
00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:51,940
They're disgusting.

633
00:39:51,940 --> 00:39:56,920
Toss the filthiness and the wickedness and get rid of it from your life."

634
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,960
That's what we have to do.

635
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:10,560
So that in meekness, in reliance on the Lord, we might receive the implanted word, right?

636
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:16,000
Once we receive the implanted word, then we have the real truth, the word of God.

637
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:22,080
That's where we should be focusing, the gospel, which will save our soul.

638
00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:26,780
In James' final instruction for practical application, he picks up in verse 22 here,

639
00:40:26,780 --> 00:40:31,820
"But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

640
00:40:31,820 --> 00:40:37,360
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his

641
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,220
natural face in a mirror.

642
00:40:39,220 --> 00:40:44,180
For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

643
00:40:44,180 --> 00:40:50,160
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful

644
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:58,640
hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

645
00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:02,020
We should strive to live out God's word every day.

646
00:41:02,020 --> 00:41:07,920
We should strive to be a doer and make the choice of God, make the choice that God wants

647
00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:09,180
us to have.

648
00:41:09,180 --> 00:41:16,020
I've been challenging myself lately a little bit.

649
00:41:16,020 --> 00:41:20,500
The challenge to myself is, if somebody walked away from you on a personal interaction, doesn't

650
00:41:20,500 --> 00:41:24,920
matter what it is, whether it be business, professional, personal, I met you somewhere,

651
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:34,420
whatever it is, would that person walk away and have a firm belief that I am a believer?

652
00:41:34,420 --> 00:41:37,860
Would they know that I am in love with the Lord?

653
00:41:37,860 --> 00:41:40,980
Technically, would they know that I'm a Jesus freak?

654
00:41:40,980 --> 00:41:42,700
That's kind of the question.

655
00:41:42,700 --> 00:41:46,720
Now I'm not advocating that we go bumping people over the head with the Bible.

656
00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:48,120
That's not what I'm talking about here.

657
00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:53,940
But just the love that we have and how we show up in our presence and the things that

658
00:41:53,940 --> 00:41:58,540
we say and the way that we live our lives, if they're seeing that, would they know that

659
00:41:58,540 --> 00:41:59,740
I was a believer?

660
00:41:59,740 --> 00:42:02,020
And that's something that is really important to me.

661
00:42:02,020 --> 00:42:06,020
I challenge all of you to think the same way.

662
00:42:06,020 --> 00:42:11,020
Jesus puts it this way in Luke 6 46, and I'm going to paraphrase a bit here.

663
00:42:11,020 --> 00:42:18,020
"But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?

664
00:42:18,020 --> 00:42:23,300
Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like.

665
00:42:23,300 --> 00:42:28,040
He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

666
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:33,020
But the one who hears and does nothing is like a man who builds the house without a

667
00:42:33,020 --> 00:42:34,740
foundation."

668
00:42:34,740 --> 00:42:37,300
So we know what happens to the house without the foundation, right?

669
00:42:37,300 --> 00:42:39,600
I mean, it's clear.

670
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:45,780
The storms of life show up, they beat it down, and it cannot survive.

671
00:42:45,780 --> 00:42:49,860
But when we have the foundation and we have a genuine foundation, which is the Word of

672
00:42:49,860 --> 00:42:58,860
God, we will survive the storms, the trials, the difficulties, temptation.

673
00:42:58,860 --> 00:43:05,860
We can survive all of these things if we have the right foundation.

674
00:43:05,860 --> 00:43:10,180
So often our decisions are made in a moment of temptation that we make in a moment of

675
00:43:10,180 --> 00:43:15,040
temptation lead to more difficult situations or trials because of something that we've

676
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:17,740
already done.

677
00:43:17,740 --> 00:43:19,980
Like I said, we compound upon itself.

678
00:43:19,980 --> 00:43:21,940
We have to get rid of the yuck.

679
00:43:21,940 --> 00:43:23,700
We have to be a doer.

680
00:43:23,700 --> 00:43:25,580
A doer for me means the choice.

681
00:43:25,580 --> 00:43:30,180
It's a choice between being obedient to God's written Word or what the world wants us to

682
00:43:30,180 --> 00:43:31,180
do.

683
00:43:31,180 --> 00:43:35,500
If I'm to have obedience, then I must know God's written Word.

684
00:43:35,500 --> 00:43:39,660
And if I need to know it, then that means I need to spend more time in it.

685
00:43:39,660 --> 00:43:44,300
And if I'm to spend time in it, it can't just be once a week here at church, although again,

686
00:43:44,300 --> 00:43:45,300
keep coming to church.

687
00:43:45,300 --> 00:43:46,300
It's important.

688
00:43:46,300 --> 00:43:47,520
Have the church family.

689
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:48,520
But it has to be every day.

690
00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:52,220
We've got to meditate on it, listen to other sermons and teachings on it throughout the

691
00:43:52,220 --> 00:43:53,720
week.

692
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:58,340
God's Word says that we are to trust Him with all of our heart.

693
00:43:58,340 --> 00:44:07,880
Lean not on our own understanding and submit to Him and He will make our paths straight.

694
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:12,060
This means that when I think I know the answer to something, I'm feeling pretty good or I'm

695
00:44:12,060 --> 00:44:13,980
confident about it.

696
00:44:13,980 --> 00:44:16,700
Oh, gut check.

697
00:44:16,700 --> 00:44:18,800
Gut check.

698
00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:20,580
Have I prayed about it?

699
00:44:20,580 --> 00:44:24,520
Have I sought advice from the Word?

700
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,320
Because that's where I need to be.

701
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:28,540
Obedience to God's Word is important in all of the big things.

702
00:44:28,540 --> 00:44:32,200
It's important in your relationships, your marriage, your friendships, right?

703
00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:33,940
It's important in your parenting.

704
00:44:33,940 --> 00:44:37,040
It's important in the way that you manage your finances.

705
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:40,180
All of the big decisions are important.

706
00:44:40,180 --> 00:44:47,860
But I would argue that it's equally, if not more important for us to think about the small

707
00:44:47,860 --> 00:44:49,260
decisions.

708
00:44:49,260 --> 00:44:53,820
All the little seemingly insignificant things that we think nobody's looking and we do or

709
00:44:53,820 --> 00:44:54,820
don't do.

710
00:44:54,820 --> 00:44:57,820
We have that little moment that arises when we can make a choice.

711
00:44:57,820 --> 00:45:02,060
We can follow the Spirit or we can follow the flesh.

712
00:45:02,060 --> 00:45:04,160
That's where every, right, that's the foundation.

713
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:07,420
That's the bedrock of who we are when nobody is paying attention.

714
00:45:07,420 --> 00:45:13,820
I once heard that a video, or it was a podcast rather, but one of the things that the guy

715
00:45:13,820 --> 00:45:20,620
was talking about, he's like, "I envision myself having a 24/7 video of my life, all

716
00:45:20,620 --> 00:45:26,540
day every day, no matter what I'm doing or where I am.

717
00:45:26,540 --> 00:45:32,420
At the end of my life, that video gets shown to my kids.

718
00:45:32,420 --> 00:45:33,420
Would I be proud?"

719
00:45:33,420 --> 00:45:34,420
Right?

720
00:45:34,420 --> 00:45:37,500
Now we know that Jesus sees everything that we do, right?

721
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:42,700
That's not, but would I be proud of who I was in all of the decisions when nobody was

722
00:45:42,700 --> 00:45:43,700
looking, right?

723
00:45:43,700 --> 00:45:45,740
Someone's in the car and somebody cuts you off.

724
00:45:45,740 --> 00:45:49,940
All right, we'll see how Christian you are then, huh?

725
00:45:49,940 --> 00:45:52,940
Fail, this guy.

726
00:45:52,940 --> 00:45:55,300
So did I covet my neighbor's new truck?

727
00:45:55,300 --> 00:45:58,420
That was another one I wrote down in my notes here.

728
00:45:58,420 --> 00:45:59,420
Guilty.

729
00:45:59,420 --> 00:46:03,360
I like my new trucks.

730
00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:05,460
These are the things that we have to make the good decisions in.

731
00:46:05,460 --> 00:46:09,100
This is the space where we need to spend time in the Word.

732
00:46:09,100 --> 00:46:15,180
These small details that sometimes seem insignificant, well, as they say, right?

733
00:46:15,180 --> 00:46:20,020
The devil is in the details and we have to be conscious of that.

734
00:46:20,020 --> 00:46:24,060
So to summarize real quick, and we're going to close up, in the first chapter of James,

735
00:46:24,060 --> 00:46:26,180
he gives us the following wisdom.

736
00:46:26,180 --> 00:46:28,640
Test, trials, temptations.

737
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:32,660
These are an opportunity for us to demonstrate our obedience and our faith.

738
00:46:32,660 --> 00:46:36,840
Everyone, no matter who you are, is going to face them.

739
00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:39,620
If we lack wisdom, we must seek it in God's Word and prayer.

740
00:46:39,620 --> 00:46:43,560
And the more we are in that moment of temptation, we must decide.

741
00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:44,560
We must pre-decide.

742
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:50,300
We have to pre-decide our path, knowing that the adversary is always trying to get us off

743
00:46:50,300 --> 00:46:52,380
of the path that we should be on.

744
00:46:52,380 --> 00:46:56,780
If we fail, we must not blame God.

745
00:46:56,780 --> 00:47:02,820
We must surrender, repent, ask for forgiveness, both from God and maybe those that we have

746
00:47:02,820 --> 00:47:03,820
hurt.

747
00:47:03,820 --> 00:47:07,760
And while we are forgiven from God, we must remember that there are consequences for our

748
00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:08,760
actions.

749
00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,240
And sometimes those consequences won't be immediately resolved.

750
00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:13,140
And we have to be patient through that.

751
00:47:13,140 --> 00:47:17,060
We have to be honest with ourselves.

752
00:47:17,060 --> 00:47:20,060
To succeed in perseverance, we must be quick to hear.

753
00:47:20,060 --> 00:47:22,100
We must be slow to speak.

754
00:47:22,100 --> 00:47:23,780
We must be slow to wrath.

755
00:47:23,780 --> 00:47:26,020
We must embrace self-control here.

756
00:47:26,020 --> 00:47:32,060
And most important with our obedience, being doers of the Word, walking out a life that

757
00:47:32,060 --> 00:47:37,620
is pleasing to God, which is a very different response than what the world would have you

758
00:47:37,620 --> 00:47:39,260
do.

759
00:47:39,260 --> 00:47:43,660
And when we do that, we will earn the crown of life, which has been promised.

760
00:47:43,660 --> 00:47:48,860
God is good, and God is holy, and He wants to walk out every single situation with you

761
00:47:48,860 --> 00:47:51,540
in deep, deep relationship.

762
00:47:51,540 --> 00:47:57,100
I want to encourage the folks, if you're going through a difficult time right now, three

763
00:47:57,100 --> 00:47:58,100
things here.

764
00:47:58,100 --> 00:48:01,160
If you're going through a difficult time, there is always this group of people that

765
00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:05,660
stand right over here after every single service, and they would love to pray for you.

766
00:48:05,660 --> 00:48:09,420
If you were recently baptized, I know there was a handful of folks that were baptized

767
00:48:09,420 --> 00:48:15,680
just a couple of weeks ago, I want to encourage you because once you get baptized, you're

768
00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:18,240
on the radar.

769
00:48:18,240 --> 00:48:22,520
Satan knows who you are, and he's coming for you.

770
00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:26,280
And if you're feeling that stress, if you're feeling that pressure right now, I want to

771
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:27,860
encourage you.

772
00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:29,180
Come talk to these folks over here.

773
00:48:29,180 --> 00:48:30,900
They want to pray for you.

774
00:48:30,900 --> 00:48:36,660
And as Steve said at the opening of service, if you have not surrendered your life to Jesus,

775
00:48:36,660 --> 00:48:44,040
if you're on the fence or you're unsure for one reason or another, even if you're not

776
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:48,600
ready to make that commitment right this minute, but you just want to talk to somebody honestly

777
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:50,540
and openly about it, I encourage you.

778
00:48:50,540 --> 00:48:51,540
I encourage you.

779
00:48:51,540 --> 00:48:53,160
These folks would love to talk to you.

780
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:57,600
They would love to pray over you and help guide you through those moments of difficulty

781
00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:01,220
that you might be facing.

782
00:49:01,220 --> 00:49:02,400
You have a network here.

783
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:05,980
You have people who care about you, you have people who love you, and I think that that's

784
00:49:05,980 --> 00:49:06,980
important.

785
00:49:06,980 --> 00:49:13,140
So to close, I want to close this, I figure I could pray, but it turns out that the words

786
00:49:13,140 --> 00:49:19,740
of the Bible are way better than mine, so I'm going to read from Ephesians here, and

787
00:49:19,740 --> 00:49:21,780
that's going to be our closing prayer here.

788
00:49:21,780 --> 00:49:23,520
This is my reading from Ephesians.

789
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:29,380
So it's chapter 3 verse 16, I might add.

790
00:49:29,380 --> 00:49:36,180
I pray that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened

791
00:49:36,180 --> 00:49:41,180
with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts

792
00:49:41,180 --> 00:49:47,500
through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend

793
00:49:47,500 --> 00:49:57,500
with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love

794
00:49:57,500 --> 00:50:03,340
of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

795
00:50:03,340 --> 00:50:09,360
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according

796
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:16,340
to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations,

797
00:50:16,340 --> 00:50:17,700
forever and ever.

798
00:50:17,700 --> 00:50:18,700
Amen.

799
00:50:19,700 --> 00:50:20,700
Thank you so much.

800
00:50:20,700 --> 00:50:23,220
I hope you all have a blessed Sunday and a wonderful rest of your weekend.

801
00:50:23,220 --> 00:50:26,580
[APPLAUSE]

802
00:50:26,580 --> 00:50:28,580
[ Applause ]