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Walk Your Talk: The Blessings of Trials
September 10, 2023 · 48 min
This week we began a new series in the book of James entitled, Walk Your Talk. The emphasis of the series is how a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can live the life that God requires of His servants. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wastes no time as He makes the point that trials are good. No matter where a believer lives or what a believer does, they can be certain that trials will be a part of their life. However, when trials arrive the believer is to respond with gratitude because of all the great benefits and blessings that will occur if the trial is handled properly. These short twelve verses have great impact for every Christian in every generation. Our prayer is that this week's message will be helpful to believers in their continued pursuit of the Lord. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
Series BRAVE Church September 10, 2023 · 48 min · BRAVE Church
This week we began a new series in the book of James entitled, Walk Your Talk. The emphasis of the series is how a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can live the life that God requires of His servants. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wastes no time as He makes the point that trials are good. No matter where a believer lives or what a believer does, they can be certain that trials will be a part of their life. However, when trials arrive the believer is to respond with gratitude because of all the great benefits and blessings that will occur if the trial is handled properly. These short twelve verses have great impact for every Christian in every generation. Our prayer is that this week's message will be helpful to believers in their continued pursuit of the Lord. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub ...more Show the full description Show less This week we began a new series in the book of James entitled, Walk Your Talk. The emphasis of the series is how a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can live the life that God requires of His servants. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wastes no time as He makes the point that trials are good. No matter where a believer lives or what a believer does, they can be certain that trials will be a part of their life. However, when trials arrive the believer is to respond with gratitude because of all the great benefits and blessings that will occur if the trial is handled properly. These short twelve verses have great impact for every Christian in every generation. Our prayer is that this week's message will be helpful to believers in their continued pursuit of the Lord. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
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0:00 Our father, we give you great glory, honor, and praise. Lord, we thank you for this new campus today. Lord, for all that you're doing and the way that you're expanding your kingdom, we give you glory, we give you honor,0:09 and we give you praise. And, lord, we thank you for your living and active word that every time that it is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you speak. And so our prayer this morning, Lord, is speak for we are0:20 ready to hear. And so now for those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus speak to you, who will believe what he says and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you, Will you agree with me very0:30 loudly this morning by saying the word amen. Amen. 1 of the biggest criticisms of those who are followers of Jesus Christ and 1 of the greatest challenges of the church are for those0:42 who say they're Christians but then don't walk it out. And when the world looks on at people like that they have a word for it. They say I wouldn't go to church because the only group that's there is just a bunch of, say0:53 it with me, hypocrites. That's what people say all the time. Sometimes those aren't very valid descriptions. Other times perhaps that they are. And so God in his word, he not only tells us how it is that we can be saved1:04 but how we can grow in our faith and grow into spiritual maturity, and that is just as important as being saved. And I'm afraid too often in the church, we tell the story of how to come to know1:16 Jesus personally as our Lord and savior, but we don't do as good of a job with explaining to people now that you know him, how do you continue to grow in him? And so we're gonna begin a new series in the book of James1:26
1:38 There are many people who come to Christ that when you don't walk it out, you lose your spiritual life with Christ and your enjoyment in being all that he wants you to be. So I know this is gonna be a great series for
1:50 us. I wanna encourage you to open your bible up to the book of James. And as you're turning there, let me give you just a little history of this book. The author of this book is the half brother of Jesus. The reason he's
2:00 only a half brother is because Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. Right? Jesus didn't have a earthly father. He had his heavenly father. And Jude and James, those 2 books in the back of your New Testament are both
2:10 written by his half brothers. And I love this book of James because James does not pull any punches. You will see from the very beginning of this book, he comes out like a title fighter just punching
2:22 and helping people to grow in their sanctification. Some people throughout the church history age have said, I don't like the book of James. Matter of fact, Martin Luther, 1 of the great reformers, hated this book. He
2:32 called it a right straw y epistle because he was so much about grace through faith, and he saw James saying, yeah. But what good is your faith if you don't have any works? And both are equally true. We're saved by grace
2:44 through faith, but if you are saved, what is it good what good is it to be saved if you're not walking it out? This book is all on walking your talk. Now let me be clear from the beginning. This is not how to help your
2:54 neighbor walk their talk. This is not for the person that should have been in church today to walk their talk to get them to listen. This is for you personally to walk your talk. And today we're gonna talk about the
3:05 blessing of trials. The blessing of trials. You heard me right. And by the end of the message, you'll understand why. So I want you to open your Bibles up to the book of James and we'll start walking our way through
3:16 those first 12 verses here this morning. And you're seeing those first couple, James is gonna introduce himself and then he's gonna talk about who he's addressing this book to. He says, James, a bond servant of
3:27 God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's just pause there for a second. He doesn't defend his apostleship. He doesn't say Jesus was my older brother when he was here on the earth and I have special
3:39 privilege. How does he refer to himself? He refers to himself as a bond servant or literally the word is slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Meaning this, the only significance
3:51 I have in relationship to Jesus Christ is that he's my God and I am his slave. I will do whatever he asks of me. He doesn't pull on family privilege. He doesn't pull
4:03 on anything he ever known. He doesn't say I grew up with a guy. You should know what he's really like. Right? He talks about the fact that Jesus is God and I'm here to serve him. That's his only introduction,
4:15 right? I'm a bond servant up to God and of the Lord Jesus Christ and then he's gonna tell us who he writes to. He says to the 12 tribes who are dispersed abroad and then here's his big introduction. Greetings. That's
4:26 it. Now if you're familiar with the New Testament, oftentimes when the Apostle Paul writes a letter, he tells about who he is. He's Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you. I've been praying for you.
4:35 I've been thinking this. So and so has been praying for you. This is it. James is like, hey, let me tell you who I am. I'm a slave of Jesus, and I'm writing to you who are dispersed. And who were dispersed? Well, the
4:46 Jews throughout their history have been dispersed all over the place. In 7 21 BC, they were dispersed by the Assyrians. But I believe James is writing more to the dispersed crowd that happened in Acts chapter 8 after the
4:56 stoning of Stephen, martyrdom began to take place, persecution began to spread, everybody scattered. James stayed in Jerusalem, was the head of the church in Jerusalem until he was martyred, and he's writing to all
5:08 those dispersed and here's his big word, greetings. Now who's he writing to? He's writing to those who have lost their homes. They've lost family members to martyrdom. They've lost their jobs. They've been in
5:20 persecuted. They've been suffering. This is who he's writing to. Now get that in your head because when you're talking to somebody who's hurting because they've been through significant challenge and trial,
5:32 how would you want to spend time talking to them? He says, greetings. Then the first words out penned by the Holy Spirit are this. Consider it all
5:44 joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So
5:56 he's writing to his friends. He's saying, brothers. He's like, I'm in this with you. Greetings to you. I know you've been through some of the worst trials you've ever had in your life. So let me just tell you this,
6:05 consider it all joy when you face trials of many kinds or various kinds. That word there is really multicolored. Now what's a trial? It's hard to define
6:17 but you know it when you have it. Don't you? I mean I'll give you a definition and then I'll shorten the definition so we can have 1 that we can work with and remember. But I think of a trial as a temporary season of
6:27 increased intensity or challenge designed by God for significant spiritual growth in you and greater kingdom impact for others. That's what a trial is. I'll say it again. It's a temporary season of
6:39 increased intensity or challenge designed by God for significant spiritual growth in you and greater kingdom impact for others. That's what a trial is. Let me sum up that. Brave, what's a trial?
6:51 A trial is God designed seasons for spiritual growth. That's what a trial is. It is a God designed season for spiritual growth. Here's why you need to know that. Because when things go well in our lives, we get a we
7:03 get a promotion. We get engaged. We get married. We have our first child. People speak highly of us. Here's what we think. God, praise you. Thank you so much that you're in control of this world because I know you're in
7:15 control because my life is going so well right now. And when trials come, what do we do? God, why'd you leave your throne and why is this happening to me and why would you allow this to happen? And God, if you're so
7:25 good, then how come? Right? No. No. No. Trials are God ordained seasons in your life for significant spiritual growth. The purpose of a trial is to grow you. God wants you
7:37 to know 4 ways this morning that you can grow through trials. Now here's the truth. Here's the truth. Listen. If you're a believer, here's a promise, biblical promise, you will experience trials.
7:52 I got no amens. Okay. Let me say it again. As a believer, you will experience trials. And when you do, they're not fun.
8:06 They're not fun. That's why we don't like to talk about them. There's nothing in our self or in our flesh or in this world where we would say, oh, it's it's so fun. I'm I'm I'm I'm praying to God for more trials in my
8:18 life. We don't. We we would never design them. We would never engineer them, but you need to know that God is behind the scenes and he's the 1 in charge of every trial. When you lose that job because you work for a bad
8:29 boss and he promoted somebody else when you deserved it and you earned it and it was right, you can spend all your energy and time getting mad at that boss or you can think, God, you designed this trial for me. You're in
8:40 charge of all this and there's an opportunity here for significant spiritual growth. Trials come in all sorts of kinds. They come in they're multicolored. They're multifaceted. They come and
8:52 they attack your health. They come and attack your family. They come and attack you as a single. They come and attack your children. They come and attack you at work. They come and attack your finances. I mean, there's
9:02 all sorts of different ways. And whatever trial it is that you're going through, there's a tendency to think, wish I had their trials. Their trial will be a lot easier. But God designs the trial for you because he knows
9:12 what he needs to get out of you. That's why your trials are different because God loves you enough to give you a curriculum for your life that's different than anybody else's. And God uses those circumstances in
9:24 trial to get your attention. It's as if he's on a megaphone when you go through a trial like, okay, may I have your attention, please? If you're not a believer and you've been exploring the truths of the
9:36 faith, perhaps you're going through a trial, perhaps you're finding yourself face down, here's what the Lord is doing in your life. He loves you so much. He wants you to know that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on
9:47 the cross for you, who paid for all your sins, who rose from the dead. He's looking to have a relationship with you. The reason you're going through trials is God's trying to get your attention so that you can come into
9:56 a relationship with Christ. And if you know Christ and you're going through a trial, here's what God is saying. May I have your attention, please? There there are some things in your life that I'm trying to chisel
10:08 away that otherwise I wouldn't be able to chisel away to help you become everything that I want you to be. This is why when James writes and he says, this is who I am. I'm a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm writing to
10:18 those dispersed Jews. Greetings. Consider it all joy. Let me just cut right to the quick. When you face trials of many kinds, that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let the endurance have its perfect
10:30 results so you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. Let me give you the first way to respond to a trial that'll give you a benefit. We'll talk about 4 benefits today, 4 blessings today. When you respond
10:40 correctly to a trial, you grow in spiritual maturity resulting in greater Christ likeness. When you go through a trial and you respond correctly, you grow in spiritual maturity
10:52 resulting in greater Christ likeness. Now this word consider, it's an accounting term. K? You guys ever met any accountants? Accountants by trade are not very emotional creatures.
11:04 Alright? This is an accounting term. This is considerate. This means when you go through a trial, it's not like, oh, praise God. This is awesome. That's not what it means. It means consider that this is actually
11:16 something to rejoice in because the benefit about what's about ready to happen is more significant than what you're currently experiencing. It doesn't mean I rejoice about my trials. I rejoice
11:27 in the trial. Right? I rejoice that God loves me enough that he has sent this trial my way because there's something he wants to see me grow in that otherwise I wouldn't be able to grow in. So I'm
11:39 gonna stop. I'm gonna pause. I'm gonna consider it that this is all joy. This is a really good thing because if we come here and we're Christian and we're hey, I sign I'll I'll sign up for spiritual maturity. I want more
11:51 of that, but don't send me any trials. Trials is oftentimes how God grows us to become spiritually mature, resulting in what? Christ likeness. That's the goal of our faith is to be like
12:03 Christ. 1 day in eternity, we'll be translated, transformed into the very glory of who we are in Christ, and it'll be a glorious day. In the meantime, God's trying to grow us. And here's the
12:14 problem. There's nothing wrong with being new to the faith. There's nothing wrong with being a babe in Christ as the New Testament talks about. There it's just like when you have a child and you bring them home and you
12:25 have no idea what you're doing with that first child. And the the child cries and it wets and it it's selfish and wants everything to eat right on time and all those things. And even as that child grows, when the child's
12:36 young, the child wants everything in his own way or her own way and that's fine. I mean we can handle that from ages 0 to 4 sometimes. But if that child's 18 acting just
12:48 like that, we got a big problem, don't we? Right? Oftentimes in the church, there's nothing wrong. If you're brand new to Christ and there's things that you need to grow, we we love you. We're so glad you're here. We
12:58 don't have any higher expectations for you than God does, but for some of us, God's been trying to send trials in our life and help us grow because we've been Christians for 3 or 4 or 5 decades, and we're still acting
13:09 just like we did when we first came to Christ, and that's a problem. That's when the world looks on and says, you've been a Christian for how long and you still act like this and you still do that and there's no
13:19 difference in you. That becomes the problem. And if you wanna grow in spiritual maturity, then you gotta respond rightly to the trials that God sends your way. You don't need to pray for trials. I promise you they'll
13:29 come. Some of you are in the middle of a hard 1 right now. Some of you, whether you know it or not, are about ready to enter 1. Some of you are coming out of 1. And if you say, have no idea what you're talking about,
13:39 check out this message in a couple weeks, and it'll be really timely for you. Right? And that's why God wants us to respond that way. Paul said it this way in Philippians 4 4, rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it
13:50 again. Rejoice. He says in first Thessalonians 5 17, rejoice always. Give thanks in all circumstances. Right? I mean, rejoice. That's that's part of what God wants us to do. And notice the
14:02 benefit of doing that. When you can rejoice in a trial, it not only begins to bless your heart and show where your identity is rooted, but others around you begin to ask questions. Why is it you're rejoicing when I
14:14 see what you're going through and there's anything but good? And your answer, well, because Jesus Christ is my lord, which is why he tells us that he grows our testimony. Notice what he says, knowing that the testing of
14:24 your faith produces endurance. Trials test your faith. I believe in Jesus. He's my Lord and savior. Trial comes. Do you still? Do you still? Trials are
14:36 opportunities for you to demonstrate that you really believe what you say you believe, not only for your own personal growth and edification, but for all the others out there that heard you say, I'm no longer like this.
14:47 I'm like this. The trial hits and that that's where the rubber meets the road. Are you really gonna walk your talk? Do you really believe that Jesus is still in charge even when you're going through this challenge, even
14:58 when you're going through this difficulty, even when the intensity has been turned way way up in your life? That's how we grow spiritually. It trials are great because it tests our testimony. I don't have a testimony.
15:10 If you've been through a trial, you have a testimony. That's why God sends them and designs them. And notice this word, endurance. Sometimes it says steadfastness. Sometimes it says perseverance. The Greek word is.
15:23 The it means to remain under. It's it's as if you have a weight on your back. If you've been through a trial, it feels like the walls are closing in and on top of the walls closing in, it feels like there's a weight on
15:34 top of you and there's nothing you can do to remove it. And the only thing you can do is what? Endure. Endure. Take the next endure. Because what happens when trials hit
15:46 oftentimes, if we stay in our flesh, I want to get out of the trial as fast as I can. I want to either muscle out of it. I want to complain my way out of it. I want to make changes to how things happen out of it.
15:58 I'm not going to handle this trial. I'm leaving this 1. I'm going to go over here. Here's how loving our heavenly Father is. Listen Christian, listen to me. He loves you so much that if he sends a trial your way and
16:09 you fail to respond the way God wants you to respond to grow spiritually, he'll send you another until you pass that test. And then there's some Christian like, how come it is in my
16:21 life? I keep saying the same thing over and over. I have the same trial. I have the same trial. Perhaps. And it's just perhaps. Perhaps God's been sending you an opportunity to grow spiritually. You just haven't taken
16:30 advantage of it. You haven't rolled it back onto the Lord and say, okay, this stinks. This is hard. This is horrible. I'm gonna let the walls close in on me a little bit. I'm gonna let the weight get on me, and I'm gonna
16:41 continue to go. Now, you realize if you play a sport or if you're in school or whatever, if if you're gonna grow academically or if you're gonna grow physically or whatever, there there has to be things that you do that
16:53 you do not enjoy in order to get there. And no nobody wakes up and just decides when they're 30, think I'll be a brain surgeon. You know, I have a passion for that. There are painstaking ways and schooling you
17:04 have to do and training you have to have to get there. Professional athletes, same thing. Business owners, same thing. Whatever your skill or discipline is, if it's cutting hair or whatever, if you're good at what you
17:16 do, there were pain taking things that had to happen in order for you to grow to be able to do what you have to do. Spiritually is no different. Spiritual maturity is not automatic just because you're a Christian
17:27 and the Holy Spirit's living inside of you. You have all the Holy Spirit inside of you from the moment you trust Christ. The question is, does the Holy Spirit have all of you? And trials are opportunities to give the
17:38 Holy Spirit more and more reign in your life so that he can lead who you are. Amen? When trials come, if you correctly respond, you'll grow in spiritual maturity, growing in Christ likeness.
17:50 And you'll run with perseverance. I mean, you just look back, you know, a couple chapters in the book of Hebrews. It says, therefore, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every
17:58 encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles and let us run with what? Endurance, the race that is before us. Endurance is spiritual muscle. It means this, as a Christian, you're gonna get kicked. As a Christian,
18:10 you're gonna get pushed down. Anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. In this world, you will have tribulation. Endurance is what gives you the spiritual muscle when you get kicked as a
18:21 Christian or spoken poorly of as a Christian or pushed around as a Christian. Okay. But I'm gonna get back up. And I'm not exchanging what I know for what I don't know. And I know Jesus Christ is my lord, and I'm gonna
18:32 keep on walking. Endurance is what helps us do that. Amen? And trials build that. Trials build that. So when we have trials and endurance leads to maturity. That's where we get this word perfection. Now James is
18:44 borrowing from his older brother Jesus's best sermon ever. Sermon on the Mount and we read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 verse 48 it says therefore be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect
18:55 and we read the Sermon on the Mount like that's not for me. Well who's it for. Who is he talking to. He's talking to those that are gonna be followers of his. Be perfect therefore as your heavenly father is perfect.
19:06 Here's what we say. Well, I know I never can be because I've sinned on this side of heaven. I'll never be perfect. So why try? That's not what Jesus was saying. He was saying, I'm perfect. That's my standard. If you're
19:16 growing into Christ likeness, you're gonna become more and more perfect. So when trials come, remain under them so I can develop your spiritual muscle so that you will grow into Christ likeness. Trials
19:28 are a blessing. They're not fun. They are not enjoyable. They're not something you're going to call your friend on the phone about and say, hey, let me tell you about this. I'm having a blast today. Just got a call from
19:38 my doctor. I got 4 weeks to live. Hey, I'm having a blast today. Just found out my spouse has been having an affair and leaving me. Hey, I'm having a blast today. Hey, just found out that my kid's wayward, having a
19:48 blast. It was so much fun. Just found out that my business went belly up so much. I love this. So great. You're never gonna call anybody and tell you tell them how blessed the trial is. What you're gonna do is you're
20:00 gonna make a careful assessment and say, wow. The more difficult it is you're gonna say this, God you must be entrusting me with something really special because this is so hard. Amen. And also a word of
20:12 caution to those in the church which is us. When people are going through a trial it doesn't mean that they're sinning. Oftentimes, some of the strongest saints are the ones going through the greatest trials. Just
20:22 remember that when you're counseling other people. You will have trouble. You will have tribulation. But here's the good news. When you respond correctly, spiritual maturity is there resulting in greater Christ likeness.
20:33 And you don't get to choose the trial you go through. You don't get to choose the duration. You don't get to choose anything. But here's what you know. Here's what you know. Listen. Listen. Listen. It's temporary. It's
20:44 temporary. You say, well pastor Jeff, I remember Joni Eareckson taught us. She was paralyzed. She had it for the rest of her life. It's temporary. This world is temporary. Nothing here is permanent. Everything in
20:56 this life is preparation for the life that we're about ready to spend. You don't get to choose the duration of how long your kid's gonna be wayward. You don't get to choose the duration of how painful this trial is gonna
21:05 be. You don't get to choose any of that. But I can tell you this, it's temporary. The apostle Paul, do you think he went through some trials? I mean, city he went in, he was gonna go to prison or be beat up or have a mob
21:16 or people inside the church didn't like him, people outside the church hated him and wanted to kill him. And everywhere he went, he was basically on death row. And here's what he said, these light and momentary
21:27 afflictions are nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory that is to come. Think about weightier trial is right now. Let me just say, it's a light and momentary affliction compared to the
21:39 glory that is on the way. Amen? That's what he wants you to know. That's why even Peter, 1 of Jesus' inner circle in first Peter chapter 4 verse 12,
21:51 he says, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,
22:02 keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. Friends, this is temporary. Trials remind us that friendship with the world is hatred towards God.
22:14 The longer you live as a Christian and the longer you endure under trials, you'll feel this in your spirit. I feel it all the time. Come, Lord Jesus. Like, you can't come too soon for me. I'm I'm looking forward to the
22:26 day I meet you face to face. I don't wanna go through this. Now it's not like I'm a martyr and I'm, oh, I hate the world. And I love God. I love his people. I love what we get to do. And I'm not a victim of anything, but
22:36 I'm just telling you, the more I go through this, the more I want more of Jesus and less and less of what's currently taking place. Amen? Trials are good. They're a blessing. When they come in your way, just stop and
22:48 pause and thank God that he counts you worthy enough to go through a trial because he's growing your spiritual muscle and maturity and he's making you more like Jesus. Secondly is this. When you respond correctly to a
23:00 trial, you grow in spiritual insight resulting in greater faith. You grow in spiritual insight resulting in greater faith. Now I love this because when we go through a trial oftentimes like why
23:11 me and what happened. Here's what God says in the context of trials. But if any of you lacks wisdom, means I don't even know why I'm going through this or what I'm supposed to do, but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him
23:22 ask God who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him. But here's the caveat. He must ask in faith without any doubting for the 1 who doubts is like the
23:33 surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the lord being a double minded man, unstable in all of his ways. Here's what he says. When you go through
23:45 a trial, God's right there. Now you don't complain as a victim like, why me? This is so unfair. This is so wrong. It's Lord, okay. You chose me. Why am I going through this now? Help me
23:57 understand what you want me to gain from this. What what are the significant things that I need to change in my life or that you're trying to change in me? Is there any way that I need to be cooperating with you now that
24:07 would look different than if I was just to respond to my flesh? Like, what do you want from me? And here's what he says. If you ask questions like that, God will tell you from his word what the answer is. He's not gonna
24:17 hold back. He's designed this trial for you. He'll speak to you. But here's the caveat. But when you ask, you must ask in faith and not doubt. Meaning this, when God shows
24:29 you in his word what the answer is, you better take the answer. Sometimes we go through a trial. You know you're dating someone and things go bad and you ask the Lord what's going on and God says
24:41 because I don't want you with them anymore. Now if you hear the Lord say that then you're done with them and you move on. If not then you say well the Lord said this but you know what I'm gonna
24:53 do it my way. I'm gonna stay in this relationship. I'm gonna make it work which is only gonna make it worse and then if you get married then you have a significant trial that you didn't have to begin with because God
25:03 loves you so much that he will continue to intensify the heat until he gets your attention. That's what the Lord does. If you fail to listen in the little things, it's only gonna get bigger and bigger
25:15 and bigger. Why? Because he loves you so much and he wants you to have spiritual insight. And I find even as somebody who's been walking with the Lord for 30 plus years and has read through the Bible significant times
25:25 and knows what the word of God says, there's oftentimes in a situation when I'm going through a trial, I'll open the Bible and all over I'll see things. I'm like, I've never seen it like this before. I I never noticed
25:35 this, God, I'm sorry. This is this is what it is. And sometimes even that's uncomfortable. Well, why didn't you tell me that 20 years ago? I could have been working on you know, why do I have to go through this pain to
25:46 learn this? It's always through pain that we learn. Pain is has a way of growing us and growing us spiritually if we'll embrace it. In the book of Hebrews it says no
25:58 discipline is fun at the time but painful. But if we'll be trained by the discipline we can grow into something different. That's why God disciplines us like a loving parent. He cares about us.
26:09 That's who our God is. And we get spiritual insight. So when you lack wisdom, like why am I going through this trial? You should be able to answer from the word of God why you're going in it.
26:21 Trials produce a greater understanding of God's word, God's will, and God's ways. So when you're going through a trial, this book should come alive. The word of God is living and active. It's sharper than any 2 edged
26:32 sword. It penetrates to divide both soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the attitude as intentions of the heart. When you're going through a trial, I find that this book shouts. This book has a way of reading
26:43 me like no other words in the world have a way of reading me. And when I'm going through a trial and I'm asking the okay, Lord, help me understand why I'm going through what what what do you wanna say to me? I mean, you
26:52 have my attention. When God has my attention, he has a way of speaking through his word where things jump off the page. And if normally I read my bible and, you know, some days he speaks a little more clearly than others
27:03 and other days it's not so strong, but during a trial, oftentimes, the words are jumping off the page in my heart, especially the words I don't wanna see or hear. Right? Because
27:15 he's trying to get make me aware of what his word says. Why is his word so important? Because his word will give you the answers to what you're looking for. That's why his word has always been from the very beginning a
27:26 place of debate. I mean, even the enemy. First thing the enemy says quoted in the Bible is what? Did God really say that? And I promise you when you're going through a trial and you read what God says, you'll hear the
27:37 enemy in your in your ear saying, did God really say that? I mean, that's different than your family did it. That's different than your office place does it. That's different than how you've ever handled money before.
27:45 That's different than how you've ever handled a relationship. I mean, that's that's are you sure? Did God really mean yeah. He meant everything he says. He meant everything he says. And I found in my life through
27:55 multicolored trials all the time. God's taught me how to love people different. He's taught me how to forgive people better. He's taught me how to play pray blessing on people who have been hurtful to me. And I wish I
28:06 could tell you, man, he's done so much. Because I could spend 5 hours talking about trials I've been through and ways guys grow me in it, but he's not done. I mean, I knew when I was preaching through the book of James
28:14 and I'm looking at the first week, I'm like, okay, where is it gonna come from now? And God was so gracious, he gave it to me. Right. And I've had friends I'm close to that I've had really challenging
28:26 week with 2 of them this week. Been super super hard. It's taking me back to the world where God's showing me things in his word to help me understand how much he loves me and what he's trying to teach me and what he's
28:37 trying to do and how to love people. Right? And that's the whole purpose. I mean in Matthew chapter 5 he said blessed are you when people insult you or say all kinds of evil about you. Rejoice and be glad for your reward
28:49 in heaven's great. Right? All all of the Sermon on the Mount is all the same stuff. You're blessed, and you get spiritual insight because you start asking questions like this during trials. Are there changes I need to
29:00 make? Are there new ways I need to see things? Are there new opportunities I need to pursue? Is it just that you're wanting me to remain under and that this is terrible and this doesn't seem fair and this doesn't seem
29:10 right, but I'm staying in this because I'm doing it for you, Jesus, because you gave it all for me and I'm giving it all for you. See it's not just escaping it because if you escape it you get a retest because
29:22 God loves you so much. And wouldn't we want greater spiritual insight. Wouldn't we want to result in greater faith. Mean, he must ask in faith. And when you know what God's doing, it says for that man that
29:33 asked without faith is double minded, unstable in all of his ways. It's really 2 souled. It's the the 2 faced person. They say this, but they act like that. God says this, they do that. And many of you, if you've been
29:44 walking with the Lord for a long time, you've had the experience where you're counseling another believer, and I don't mean like in a formal counseling session, but you're talking to someone. They're going through a
29:51 trial, and you're showing them in the word. But this is what God says. And I know that's uncomfortable for you, but God wants you to stay in this. God wants you to fight like this. God wants you to forgive them. God
30:01 actually wants you to pray blessing over them. And the person says, yeah I see that but I'm not doing that. I'm gonna do just the opposite. Breaks your heart. Right. It happens all the time. It's God's word. And then
30:12 what else is it? It's God's will. You want to know what God's will is? Everybody's always asked, what's God's will for my life? When you go through a trial, you'll understand the will of God much much better because
30:21 things will be spelled out for you and you're asking the question, Lord, is this the way you want me to go? Because I want you to go this way. I want to do what you want me to do. And you'll understand God's ways. Like,
30:32 how does God operate and what does he do? It's been through if you've ever been met somebody that's significantly older in the faith and you see them and when they talk, they talk with just incredible wisdom and they
30:41 seem to know what to do in every situation and you're you're almost like jealous of what they know of the Lord and you're asking, I wish I had that kind of insight. When you have that person in your mind, just just go
30:52 ask them the question sometimes. Say, have you been through any trials in your life? And they will laugh at you and then follow-up with this. What are some of the trials you've been through in your life and how have
31:02 those trials grown you in Christ? And it's really interesting because when you watch a believer go through a trial that endures through it, that remains under it, it's pretty obvious to say, man, they're going through it
31:13 and that stinks. And when somebody stays in there and their prayer life is growing and their love for God's going and their worship's growing, it does something in your heart too to say, I wanna grow more like that.
31:24 They're they're a testimony and a witness to the world because of their insight. You can read the Bible every day for the rest of your life, and God will give you some insight. But sometimes going through 1 trial will
31:33 give you more insight than reading the entire New Testament if you respond correctly. It's not about how much you know, it's about what you've been experiencing with him. And we all wanna grow on our spiritual insight.
31:45 We all want greater faith, and this is where it comes. It comes through trials. And the bible says in Hebrews 11 6, without faith, it's impossible to please God. When you go through a trial, you have a new way of
31:55 operating in faith. It's a new opportunity. It's a new experience. I mean, anything that comes in your life is an opportunity. I mean, you get a fight in your marriage, that's a marital opportunity. You get in a fight
32:05 with your kids, it's a parenting opportunity. You gotta challenge at work, that's a work opportune I mean, if you see it as opportunities to grow in Christ, you'll view the response differently. Invite Jesus
32:17 into it. Say, wanna grow in spiritual maturity. I wanna grow in spiritual insight. I wanna be more like Christ. I wanna have greater faith. That's what I wanna do. God will come through. He'll do that. And
32:28 then the third 1, when you respond correctly to a trial, you grow in spiritual dependence, which results in greater power. Spiritual dependence, which results in greater power. Now notice verses 9,
32:40 10, 11. They seem as if they're out of place, but contextually, they perfectly fit. Notice what he says. He says, but the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in
32:52 his humiliation because like flowering grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed, so too the
33:04 rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Now he's talking about 2 different groups of people. He's talking about the 1 in humble circumstances. The 1 in humble circumstances when they go through a trial,
33:14 they do not have the money to get their way out of the trial. Right? They don't have enough money at the end of the month to pay their bill. They don't have enough money when they get the call for cancer, and they don't
33:23 have the insurance to get it taken care of. They're they're in humble circumstances. They don't have the means to help get them out of the trial. And when that happens to you, glory in God.
33:35 Glory in your position. Glory in the fact that you belong to Christ. Glory in the fact that this place is just temporary even when you don't have the means to solve your problems. Amen. It's good news right.
33:47 And then he starts talking to the rich and just so we're clear on who rich is, if you have a car and a house, you're rich compared to the whole world. He's talking to the rich and he says there's a time where trials come
33:57 into lives even if you have all the means that money won't buy your way out of the trial. You can't buy your way out of cancer. You can't buy your way to extend your life. You can't buy a
34:09 relationship. I mean there's certain things that even money can't buy. And here's what he's saying to both groups of people. Whether you have the means or don't have the means, there are certain trials that come into
34:18 your life you don't have the answers to. And if you do get answers where money can help, hey, be humble that God's the 1 that provided. If you don't, glory in the fact that God is the
34:30 provider. Either way, we're totally dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for whatever he wants to do because God has a way of orchestrating trials regardless of your means that hit your heart really really hard. Rich
34:42 people have trials. Poor people have trials. And here's what God says. We're all passing and fading away. So don't try to get rich so you can take care of your trial. That's what he's trying to say. He's trying to say,
34:53 cling dependence upon the Lord. And the more dependence you have on the Lord, the more you'll see spiritual power. You say, well, where do you get that from the Bible? Well, I'm glad you asked.
35:05 In this very book, if you flip over to chapter 4, we'll get there. But I want to highlight this verse for you today. In In chapter 4 verse 6, he says, therefore, it says, God is opposed to the proud but gives
35:17 grace to the humble. This is a quote from Proverbs 3 verse 34. God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble. Now we have to ask ourselves, well, what is grace? Grace is God's power on display in our life.
35:29 Ephesians 2 8 9 says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. It's not your own doing. It's a gift of God so no 1 should boast. Well, what is grace? Grace is the spiritual power that can take a person who
35:39 is far from God, who is completely dead in their sins, who's doing their own thing, who's rebelling, and God's grace, his supernatural power is able to rescue them from the kingdom of darkness, transfer them into the
35:49 kingdom of God's beloved son and whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins. That's power on display. Amen. But God's power doesn't stop there. God's power continues on. In the book of Titus, as
36:01 Paul writes to Titus in chapter 2 verse 11, he writes to him and he says this. He says, for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men. All those who have been saved have been saved by the power of
36:13 God. But notice he doesn't stop there. Instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of our of the
36:25 glory of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ. So what's he say? He says, yes, grace is the power that saves, but grace is also the power that sanctifies. And the same measure of grace you needed to get saved, which
36:37 had nothing to do with you, you need that same measure of grace to continue to mature in Christ. Because maturity in Christ is what helps us to say no to ungodliness and worldly behavior and to live differently. I had
36:47 the privilege this weekend of going back on Friday night to where God called me to 100 person church to start my ministry and as I was standing there and I was kinda sharing, I I I I'dShow more
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