Skip to content The Christian's Field Guide to Trials - James, Part 1 Sep 8 · 45 min ...more
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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:13 So James chapter 1 verse 1. Get there in your bibles or on your smartphone, however you wanna get there. I wanna talk to you about the Christian's field guide to trials. The Christian's field guide to0:25 trials. The book of James. Let's go there, and let's read, and we'll start right off the bat with the reading of God's word. Standing for the reading, if you would. Stand with me if you can. James, a servant of God and0:37 of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes in the dispersion greetings. Count it all joy. Somebody say joy. Joy. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds0:48 for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives0:59 generously or or graciously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the 1 who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that1:09 person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation because like1:20 a flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, its flower falls, its beauty perishes, so also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. First of1:32 last words we're reading today. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to1:43 those who love him. Amen. This is God's word. Let's ask the Lord to speak to us through it today. Father, in Jesus' name, I'm asking that you govern and rule over1:55 these next few moments. Wherever anyone is in the teaching of this word, I pray the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, pierces our hearts, opens us2:07 up to you, makes us more like Jesus, and embraces life with faith, with confidence and courage. Help2:19 us to see Jesus, him and him only. In his mighty name we pray and everybody said Amen. Amen. God bless you. Have a seat. Book of James is a great book for new Christians. Waters2:30 Church, lot of new Christians among us. Every week, people getting saved. Every week, people getting baptized. Every week, seeing younger people coming into the movement of Jesus. And as a pastor, can I tell you that is2:42 exciting? Oh, I needed a better amen for that. There's nothing better than seeing people come to Christ and be baptized. And so with all the new people coming, I thought, let's go to the book of James because this book2:53 is great for anyone new to the faith. Now some people avoid James like the plague because here's what James does. James gives it to you straight.3:06 I call James the book of James blunt force truth. Maybe you've heard of blunt force trauma. This is blunt force truth. And the theme of James is very simple. If you're a Christian, act like it. If you're going to3:18 claim this faith is yours, believe it and do it. Don't just say it. Don't just acknowledge it. Walk in it. And the subject that he opens up within this book3:30 is a subject that is near and dear to everybody's heart because everybody will experience it. Trials. The old preacher once said, you're either in a trial, coming out of a trial, or headed toward3:42 1. So if you're not in 1, take notes. Because he's gonna give us what scripture, what the holy spirit inspired him to say for when we meet trials, when we meet trouble3:54 in our life. In fact, that's where he goes right there after the greeting. But first, let's talk about the greeting. Verse 1, he says, James, a servant. If you got your notes out or if your bible is out, underline4:05 servant. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is James? Well James is actually the half brother of Jesus. Contrary to popular belief,4:17 Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus was born. The bible says that Joseph knew her not until Christ was weaned. So they had children. Now Jesus was not4:29 born of Joseph. He was born of the Holy Spirit. But he did have half brothers and sisters whom Joseph fathered through Mary. And what we know about James is that James was not a4:41 believer. He was a skeptic of Jesus' call and Jesus' identity. And let's be honest, if you are in a family where you have siblings and4:53 1 of those siblings starts acting like the Messiah, you'd have questions too. You would doubt, you would you'd be worried. And I5:05 always feel bad too for James because some of you have been through this your whole life. Mom has always asked you to be like the other person in the why can't you be more like your brother? Could5:17 you imagine James hearing this his entire life? Why can't you be more like the holy son of God? That's tough going for James. So he's skeptic. The bible says in Mark5:29 Mark chapter 3 that his family came to take hold of Jesus because they thought he was out of his mind. That includes Mary. They thought they that they think they thought Jesus was crazy when he started his public5:38 ministry at the age of 30. And then in John chapter 7, the Bible says that his brothers mocked and ridiculed him and kind of taunted him into going to the festival, the the the feast of booths that day because they5:50 didn't believe in him. But somewhere along the way, maybe after the resurrection, because I think about this, what would it take for you to believe that your sibling is the6:01 son of God? I'm going with if they get crucified and show up 3 days later alive. There's a good chance there's something more to this person6:13 than just flesh and blood. Amen, somebody? So Jesus rose again, and at some point between the resurrection and the ascension, I think James came to faith, which is6:25 good news for anybody here who's got an unbelieving loved 1. Can I tell you, there's still hope? Can I also tell you that your savior Jesus knows how it feels to have6:37 unbelieving family? He's been there. And his heart for James is like your heart for your unbelieving family member. And I just wanna encourage you, keep praying, keep believing, keep being a6:49 light for that person because God can save anyone. And so James is writing a letter. That's what this book is about. That's what this book is. It's a letter, and he writes, to the 12 tribes7:01 in the dispersion. The dispersion is a word that the Jew, Jewish people would know very well. It's the dispersion. It's the diaspora. It means that they were scattered around the world. And that's what Christians are.7:12 We're scattered around the world. We're gathered on Sunday, and we love Sunday. And Sunday's a wonderful faith builder. And I pray every time you walk out of Waters Church, you're ready to take on life in7:24 Jesus' name. But let's be honest, after Sunday's over, we scatter. We go to the world. We go to we go to places of darkness. We go to places of confusion. We go to places where we don't want to go, and we need help. And7:35 1 of the things that we're going to find in our scattering, we are going to meet trials. And I just want to look at verse 2 now. Look at how James approaches this tech this this conversation about trouble and trial in7:46 your life. What does he say? Verse 2, count it all. What? Joy. Joy. My brothers, when you meet trials, notice the plural of7:58 trials, and then of various kinds. You know what I hate about trials? They're always showing up in new ways and different faces. Nuanced trials are8:09 approaching your life that you're not even aware of. And I don't know if you're like me, but here's what I think about. I think about the inevitability of trials because James says, when you meet. Not, I I wish I wish he8:21 had said if you meet, but he didn't say that. He said, when you in other words, it's gonna happen no matter what you do, no matter who you are. So with me in my life, this is how I approach it. Sometimes when when8:32 everything is going really, really well, I start to go like, where is it coming from? Because there's gonna be a try and a trial I've never experienced before, and a temptation8:44 I've never experienced before, and a trouble I've never experienced before, and it's gonna come. Because there's a various, and they're gonna come, and there's no avoiding. Jesus said in John 16 33, he said, I've told8:52 you these things that you might have peace, but you will have trouble in this world. You have tribulation in this world. I I grew up in the days when we used to have promise books. Anybody remember the those books they9:02 were called they were called the bible promise books, little black books with all the bible verses that promised God's presence, God's peace, God's strength. Promise, promise, promise, all the good things that God wanted9:12 to promise us, and we would read those and we'd say, oh, wonderful. God is gonna be so good to me. I love this. But did you ever think about that John 16 33 is a promise? I don't like the promise that I will have9:22 tribulation. I'd like that 1 taken out, but it's a promise. It's gonna happen. We live in a fallen world. We live with sinners. We live with darkness around us. There's no avoiding trials. So if you're in 1, welcome to9:34 the club called humanity. Peter says it like this in first Peter 4. He says, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to9:46 test as though something strange were happening to you. In other words, if you're gonna be a follower of Jesus, and even if you're not a follower of Jesus, trials and trouble come standard. And9:58 you can't choose your trials. But listen, you can choose how to respond. The old pastor Chuck Swindoll said it like this,10:10 life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it. So instead of being a victim, instead of falling back on your heels, instead of10:22 feeling like life's not to get you, God's not for you, and everybody hates you, and and and doing what I call Charlie Brown faith. You know what I'm talking about? Charlie Brown faith. Nobody likes me. Everybody hates10:32 me. I'm gonna eat some worms, whatever it was. You know what I'm talking about? Instead of that faith, like, how about we respond the way scripture tells us to respond?10:44 So 4 points and then we're done. Number 1, write this down. What we need in times of trial is joyful optimism. Joyful optimism. Now please hear me today10:56 that James is not calling us to blissful ignorance of the troubles around us. No. That that's not what we're that's not the business that we're in, but there is a joyful11:07 optimism to be yours in trial. Here's how James puts it in verse 2 and 3, count it all joy. Circle the word count. Count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you11:19 know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Okay. Listen. First off, every trial is really just a test. That's really11:31 all it is. That sickness is a test. That hard relationship is a test. Getting fired from your job when you least expected it, that's just a test. And the testing of your faith is going11:43 to, listen, produce something stronger in you that you currently don't have. This is why the first verse the first word in the verse is count. Somebody say count. Count. Say it loud. Count.11:55 Count is a word meaning to evaluate, estimate. I want you to consider your trials as an opportunity12:06 for growth and development and stronger inward being. So I love that word. To value the trial for what it will produce in you12:19 on the backside of the trial. So so here's how Paul says in Romans chapter 5, look at this passage. He says, we rejoice in our what? Sufferings.12:31 Sufferings. Because we know. We know wait. Just like James says, Paul says it. Suffering produces what? Endure. You know what I find about a lot of Christians? Here's the deal. A lot of Christians12:43 want to grow stronger in the Lord, but they don't want the prescription that God gives you to grow stronger. So when you pray, God, make me stronger. God says, oh,12:55 that's music to my ears. Here's a trial. Here's a trouble. Here's a hardship. This is going to help you. Now God doesn't give us necessarily evil things. He doesn't do that.13:07 But he will use it. He will he will operate through it to create in you a stronger version of who you were. So when you look at your trials, it's about your13:18 evaluation. It's about your estimation. It's about how you see it. In fact, the word count could also be referring to take the lead. Take the lead in this. So here's the deal. In your trial, in your trouble,13:30 scripture is giving you full permission, take the lead of the trial and evaluate it based on what it's going to produce in you and not necessarily what's happening to you.13:43 This is so important. This is where the joy comes from. And by the way, joy is not happiness. Happiness is a temporary emotion based on the current conditions.13:55 Joy is an inward disposition knowing that even in spite of the current circumstances that there's gonna be a good result at the end. So I look at this trial,14:07 and when it comes and I say, oh, hello. I've been expecting you. James told me it would come. So welcome to my life, and here's what I know. My God is in charge, not you, trial. My God is in charge, not you,14:19 sickness. My God is in charge, not you, death. My God is in charge, not you, divorce. I know that God has an assignment for you to produce in me stronger faith. Amen. This14:31 is why we can rejoice. This is why we can take joy in the trial. See, it's all about your evaluations. Warren Wiersbe did a great treatment of this text in his commentary on the14:42 bible, and I'm stealing a line from his commentary, and I want you to write it down. I love this. He says, our values determine our evaluations. Our values,14:54 what we esteem in life, will determine how we evaluate what's happening in our life. So listen to me. Here's how this breaks down. If you if you value15:06 an easy life, then you will look at trouble and you will say, terrible thing, always bad, don't want it. But if you value personal growth,15:18 stronger faith, a bigger measure of patience in your heart, maybe towards others, maybe towards yourself. If you value those things, then when God starts to allow15:29 trouble to come into your life, now you can say, wait, this isn't a bad thing. This is a good thing that God is going to use to develop me into what he wants me to be. I'm gonna be better.15:42 James has promised us, Paul has promised us, Jesus has promised us, there is no weapon formed against you that will prosper over you. And if you hold on, better things are15:53 ahead in your life. I value in my life the things that God what does God value? I God values16:05 faith. Strong, resilient faith that says, I I don't care what people say, I'm gonna keep believing Jesus. What else does God16:17 value? He values compassion for others. And maybe the trial that you're experiencing right now is just, you know, maybe it's just to knock you off your high horse a little bit and to empathize with some people that are16:29 gonna go through what you're going through someday. And and there wasn't that wouldn't have been a possibility if you didn't go through the through the challenge, through the trial. What I'm trying to tell you is that16:39 God has some values that you need to embrace so that you can look at your your trial and say, okay. This is good for me, and this will benefit me. I might not like it,16:51 but I know the long term the long term result will be good in my life and great for the name of Jesus. What I know about life is that we test17:03 things that we value. We test things that we value. When you go to a car dealership, do you just walk in and just buy the car? I hope17:15 not. What do you do? You ask for a test drive. Is this car worth what I'm going spend on it? I don't know if you've ever heard of the water test for diamonds. I just heard about this this17:27 week. The water test for diamonds. Did you know there's a simple test that you can do with a diamond or potentially a fake diamond that will tell you whether it's real or fake?17:39 Just simply drop it in water. Because a real diamond, the molecular structure of a real diamond is so strong that when dropped in water, it will still sparkle. Listen to17:51 me. It can be underwater and still shine. That's what a real diamond does. A fake diamond stops shining when it's in the water. So ladies, listen up.18:06 Some of you are just dying to get home and pour yourself a glass of water. Single ladies, listen up. When he hands you the rock, just this is what you do. You just, oh, it's so beautiful, and poop.18:18 Oops. And then say yes or no accordingly. Amen, somebody. A valuable diamond. Hey. Listen to me very don't miss them don't miss the18:30 point with the parable. Okay? The the the the true diamond doesn't stop shining when it's underwater. The true believer doesn't18:42 stop singing when they're underwater. The true believer doesn't stop showing up for church and reading from God's word when it's underwater. No. The true Christian walks through the valley of the shadow of death and18:54 knows God is still with me. Some of you, God is dropped in water because he wants you to shine. Some of you19:06 pray, God, make me a greater witness for your glory. Okay. Here's how it's gonna happen. I'm gonna put you through something, and other people are gonna watch, And you're still gonna rejoice in the midst of it, and other19:15 people are gonna say, how do you do it? And then you're gonna be able to say, Jesus is my Lord and savior. Jesus has got all the days of my life mapped out for me. And19:27 this is how we grow as Christians. Valuable things are tested. Somebody say that with me. Valuable things are tested. If your faith is tested, it's19:39 because it's valuable. It's because you're valuable. You know how they refine silver? They stick you in the hottest part of the fire, and the silversmith waits as the19:51 impurities are burned away, and that's where some of your trials are for. That's what some of your trials are for. God wants to burn away those nasty things in you, and he'd and he'll check the20:03 purity of the silver by pulling it out of the fire and looking at it. And if it's not pure, he puts it back in. But the way that he determines whether it's purified or not is a very simple test. He waits until he can see20:14 his reflection in the silver. What does God wanna do with your trial? Can I tell you what he wants to do? He wants to see his reflection in20:25 you. And you don't have to pretend it's fun. Heat hurts. Underwater is scary.20:37 And some of you have been in the same trial for years, 5 years, and you're just like, when? When am I gonna come out? I don't know. I wish I had better news for you. But I do know that if you hold on, there's a20:49 testimony of God's power coming to you. There's a greater faith that's coming to you. There's a perseverance that's available to you. Hold21:01 on. Somebody say, hold on. Hold on. Alright. Number 2, a surrendered will. What we need in times of trial is a heart that says to God,21:13 have your way. Here's how James writes this in verse 4. He says, and let somebody say let. Let. Circle the word let in your notes. And let21:24 steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Now the perfect there is not morally perfect. It means mature, that you'll be grown up. The difference21:37 between a grown up Christian and an immature Christian is an immature Christian is always whining about their conditions. Just like an immature child.21:49 When you have a baby, when you have a child, you expect whining. Whining comes standard with immaturity. But you grow up and you stop whining. So too in faith. Young Christians, you're gonna whine. You're22:01 gonna say things like, why is God doing this? God's not doing it actually. Life is doing it, and God's using it. Or you're gonna say, how come it's always me? Well, not always you. We all have the same troubles and22:12 trials and tribulations in different nuances, but we all go through it. Or you're gonna say, it's gone out to get me. Does he have it out for no. He doesn't have it out for you. He loves you with an everlasting love. He22:23 wants what's best for you. But you gotta learn to surrender what you think you should have and let him give you what you should have. Because I 1 thing I know22:35 about me that I know about all of you, we are stubborn. I know what God should do in my life. Anybody with me on that? I know exactly what he should do in my life. The problem is he doesn't listen22:47 to me. See, God has a funny way of being God. In charge, sovereign, in control.22:59 And and so I have got this is on me. This is on you. I gotta get to the point where I say, okay, enough. Father, let this do what you want it to do, listen, in me.23:12 Whatever it is. Some of you, this is you you've got the why me complex. Why me? Why me? Okay. Stop. You're getting23:24 nowhere. You gotta you gotta adopt the death of me complex. Not why me, but23:36 slay me. Not physically, of course. What does Job say? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.23:48 Father, enough of me. What does Paul say in Galatians 2? He says, I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live.24:01 What does Jesus say? Die to yourself. Lose your life and you will find it. That stubborn, selfish, me first, I deserve24:13 attitude has got to be crucified with the Lord Jesus and buried in the grave so that the new life God wants for you can rise to life.24:26 What does surrender mean? I'll give you a working definition. Write this down. Surrender means letting the test take you where God wants you. Let the24:37 trial do what it needs to do. So I got this difficult relationship with my boss, and I don't understand them. And they're always it always seems like they're poking at me. They're always kinda, like, on me more24:49 than other employees. Okay, God. I'm gonna stop complaining, and I'm gonna start letting this relationship shape me in better ways. I think25:01 of Jonah. Some of you, you resonate with this story. Because Jonah was told by God, go and preach to the Ninevites and, and and and do your thing, and and and that's all he got. And Jonah ran away.25:13 The Bible says he got aboard a ship that was bound for Tarshish. The reason why that's important is because Tarshish was in the exact opposite direction as Nineveh. In other words, Jonah was saying, I am gonna run as far25:23 away from your assignment, God, as I possibly can. And he gets in that boat, and in just a little while, there's a big storm, and the other sailors are like, what's going on? Someone's God is mad at us. Someone's25:34 God is mad at us. They're they're not even believers. And General's like, that's my God. He's mad at me. If you throw me overboard, everything will be fine. They're like, no. No. We can't do that. No. No. No. We don't25:43 wanna kill you. Are you crazy? And so they try to row, and and and and it's useless. 3 hours later, still in the storm. They're like, let's throw him overboard. And then they throw him overboard, and he gets swallowed by25:52 a fish. And he's in the fish for 3 days, and then the bible says that the fish vomited Jonah on dry ground. And as soon as he's vomited, God says, now go to Nineveh.26:04 The assignment didn't change. Listen to me stubborn Christians. You resist, you fight, you kick, you scream, you throw your tantrum. Can26:16 I tell you? The assignment will not change. You'll just smell like fish guts. Some of you, that's where you are. You're26:30 why do I stink? Because you've been resisting God's work on you through what he has assigned to you. So God says go to Nineveh, he does. And he goes and he preaches the26:41 shortest revival message in human history. He says, 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, and the whole nation repents from the kings to the paupers. And Jonah's so mad, he goes up on a26:53 hill and he watches over the city. And he's watching over the city because he's he's still holding out hope that God will destroy Nineveh. But he doesn't. He relents. And he just pisses and27:05 moans. He just mad at it. And he says to God, I told you that this would happen. I know how compassionate you are. I know how merciful you are. And you know that's really the geopolitical situation for Noah was? Jonah27:16 was that he knew that Nineveh was the rising superpower that would come and invade his country, and he didn't want them to repent because they would be spared, and then they would be more strong to come and invade his27:25 country. So he saw the writing on the wall, and he didn't want that to happen. He hated them, and he felt justified in hating them. And God says, you have no right because you didn't make them. I made them. They're27:34 people that I love and I wanna save. And really what the problem was with Noah is that he had just a very insular view of the world, and it made him stubborn. But our stubbornness does27:46 not change the assignment. And at some point, friend, you gotta get to the place where you say, okay. Enough of me, Lord. Take me where you want27:58 me through this test. Shape me into what you want me to be through this trial. That is the heart of surrender.28:11 Number 3, a humble dependence on God. In the trial, you need humility. But more than humility, a dependence. Here's how28:22 James writes about this. It says, if any of you lacks wisdom Somebody say wisdom. Wisdom. Ask God and he will give it to you. It'll be given to you. In other words, you're gonna have plenty of wisdom if you just ask28:34 for it. And by the way, God gives generously to anybody who needs wisdom, and he doesn't find fault. I love that little qualifier. He will not find without reproach, he will not find28:46 fault. You know why God never holds it against you to give wisdom in your life? Because it's a lot of times, it's your foolishness that got you into the mess of your life. So he28:58 understands. This is what you need. And notice the prayer is not, if anybody wants out of their trial, let just ask God and he'll do it. That's not the prayer. I wish that was the prayer, but that's not the prayer.29:10 The prayer is ask for wisdom so that you can handle the trouble, handle the trial better. So, wisdom is so important. The bible says that in in Proverbs 16 16, it says, how29:22 much better to get wisdom than to get gold, to get understanding is better to be chosen than silver. In other words, wisdom is better than money. So many people are under the false impression that if I just get enough29:30 money, if I just have enough things, if I just get to another level of income in my life, then my problems will dissipate. Friends, nothing could be further from the truth. Money will fail you.29:42 Riches will dry up. You can the Bible says cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone. How many lottery winners do we have to hear about that get divorced and end up bankrupt and worse off than they ever were before?29:56 It happens on a regular basis because money does not do what God can do. Sustain you and give you the wisdom. How do I handle this person? See, some of you, you've got an assignment with a person that's difficult in your30:07 life, and and you just don't understand. And here's what you're tempted to do. You're tempted to run. You're tempted to just alright. I'm gonna move. I'm gonna move across the country, and I'm gonna get away from them,30:17 and everything's gonna be fine. And when you move, you get to the place where you are, and God has that exact same person on assignment waiting for you. Because God is the dean of academics in the school of30:29 life, and he will just reassign the class to anyone who fails or runs away. He never gives you an f. He gives you an I, incomplete. And you have a quest you30:41 you have a choice. Take the course and pass it with wisdom from heaven or just keep repeating it until you die. I'd rather pass it and get on with life. Amen, somebody?30:54 James says, let him ask in faith, verse 6, without doubting. For the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. When you ask God for wisdom, believe he's gonna give it to you.31:06 Because otherwise, you're just gonna this is that was what he's saying. You gotta be single-minded on your hope is in God. Hear me, Christians. Where is your hope? Is it31:17 in God and money? And that's why you don't tithe and you can't give and you're stingy because money is really my source. Or is it in God and the therapist who doesn't believe in God?31:30 And you go and meet with them for an hour, and then you get confused because you come and hear me for an hour, and I'm yelling at you 1 thing, and they're saying something else, and you're like, I don't understand which31:37 way to You're double minded. Or you come to the scriptures and you say, okay, that's what God says, but what does my neighbor say? What does my friend say? What does my confidant say? And they don't have a faith in31:45 Christ, and they don't have anything to do with the Lord, and they're leading you in the exact opposite direction as God. You're double minded. You gotta get to the point where you're like, I am going to go with what God31:54 says, come hell or high water. I'm gonna do what he says and trust him with the results, and then I'm no longer unstable and tossed32:06 around in life. Now look at verse 9. I love this verse. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation. What? And the rich in his humiliation. What?32:18 Here's what he's saying. There are 2 kinds of people at every moment of every day. The people who are lowly and know it, and the people who are lowly and32:30 don't realize it. And what he's talking about here with the rich person is the rich person thinks that their riches can save them, and they can't. They can't. Like we just talked about, the Bible says in the book of32:41 Proverbs that the rich see their wealth as an impregnable wall around a city. But it's not. It will fail you. It will dry up. It will run out. Or people would just befriend you because you have the money, and they're not32:53 real friends. And so he says, look, here's where you need to get to, where you realize that you are lowly, and if you don't feel that you're lowly, you feel like you're rich, when you finally feel33:04 lowly, exalt, boast, be glad, rejoice in that. Why? Because in that moment, in that moment where you've come to the end of yourself,33:17 there's God. He's with the lowly. James sounds just like Jesus here. Jesus said, blessed are the poor, what? In spirit, for theirs33:29 is the kingdom of heaven. The layman's translation of that verse is, blessed are the people who know they need God, for they get him.33:42 You you know when I ignore God the most? It's when everything's going my way. You know when I don't read my bible, don't pray, don't call on him? Do know when? When I feel like I am hitting it on all cylinders,33:54 and God who needs God? I got this. And what happened? Boom. Fall on my face. Oh, Lord. What the and that is an and and what here's what James is saying. That moment of humiliation.34:06 You thought you were rich, but you realized that your riches couldn't save you. That moment is the best moment because in that moment, you are open to all that God wants to say and do in your34:18 life. So I don't know if you can tell, but there's a hitch in my giddy up. Can you tell?34:29 Yes. Thank you. Honest woman in the front. There I got a bandage right here on my thigh because I turned 48 last Sunday.34:42 Happy birthday to me. Here's what I learned. After you're 45, your body gives you birthday presents. They you34:54 don't want them. You don't ask for them, and your body doesn't care. So I had to go to the doctor because it was so bad. I could not walk Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.35:06 And I would love to tell you that this happened because I was kickboxing a ninja or wrestling a lion into submission35:19 or virtually any other thing except what I'm about to tell you. I was crawling into bed.35:32 This is what your body does to you later in life. If you get into bed the wrong way, your body says, I'm knocking you out for a week. So I I had to go to the doctor.35:44 They said, you either pulled a tendon or you pulled a muscle. You did something. It's bad. So they gave me some muscle relaxers and all that stuff. So the fact that I'm walking today is a miracle, honestly. I could I35:56 I couldn't walk on Friday, and and that's my day off with Cheryl, and we usually go shopping, we do stuff together, and we couldn't. I was on the couch all day moaning. She's like, you're not gonna make it to church.36:05 You're not gonna be able to and I'm like and I'm having a moment with God. I'm mad at God. I'm like, you know, Lord, I don't know if you heard, but I go there to preach for you.36:17 And I'm, you know, so I'm mad at him. And then my wife, her whole Friday, Thursday have to be waiting on me. Do you know what that's called? That's called secondhand trials. Anybody know what I'm talking about? There's36:26 something called secondhand smoke. Somebody smokes and you pay the pay the pill. But this is secondhand trials. Somebody gets hurt and you gotta deal with it. So I got the trial. Cheryl's got the secondhand trial. That's36:36 our day, Friday. And I'm just, I need some water. I need some soda. I need some coffee. Can you make me a muffin on this side there? I'm moaning, groaning. Well, by God's grace, I get a little strength back on36:47 Saturday, and I gotta travel. I gotta fly. And I travel all the time, so I know I know my roots, and I know how to get to the airport really fast, and I take pride36:59 in flying through the airport. Anybody who's ever traveled with me, my wife, Shane, pastor Shane in our church, anybody who's ever traveled with me will tell you this. I don't wait for anybody.37:12 I speed walk through that sucker as fast as37:14 I can.37:15 Because if I can get to the Uber just a little earlier than the other person, then I'm home earlier than they are. And so and here's what I also do, because I I like to work out. I avoid escalators,37:26 elevators, and people movers. You know what I'm talking about? Moving walkway, that's for weak people. Escalators, do the stairs,37:38 Don't you realize we've got an obesity epidemic in this country? Get yourself some help. I mean, that's my attitude. I take pride, and I love it because I will get to the escalator at Logan Airport,37:50 and it's like 3 flights. And I watch people load up onto this escalator, and the stairs are wide open, and I double step. I skip stairs. I tick off my hall monitor from fifth grade. I'm skipping stairs all the way38:01 up. And I'm out running the escalator, and I just take pride. I'm like, yeah, suckers. So guess what happened yesterday?38:15 Can't move. My leg is killing me. I'm like this through the airport, and I am looking at that people mover for the first time in my life. ThereShow more
31:51
Guest Message - Pastor Geyser Pastor Tim Hatch
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