WEBVTT 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:03.209 I don't know if y'all noticed, but we got a lot of pink going on in here today. 00:00:03.209 --> 00:00:22.873 No, we didn't turn into a different kind of church Saying that, wrap me up, october is best cancer awareness and so we are supporting by having a pink Sunday. 00:00:22.873 --> 00:00:30.565 It's important to lift up and honor those who suffer through things that some of us will never understand. 00:00:30.565 --> 00:00:46.134 So I got 60, I'll train eight, nine and Anybody have fun. 00:00:46.219 --> 00:00:47.506 Last week, last Sunday, at the lake. 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:53.109 Tell you my forehead was burnt. 00:00:53.109 --> 00:00:57.506 Seems the older I get, the more real estate. 00:00:57.506 --> 00:00:58.570 I got going on up here. 00:00:58.570 --> 00:01:16.980 I went out on Brother Josh's boat and I came back and apparently I still had hair stuff in from Sunday morning and I get off the boat and everybody's laughing at me. 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:19.887 I'm like what they said, your hair is just. 00:01:19.887 --> 00:01:23.709 That was the happy hair. 00:01:23.709 --> 00:01:25.945 Look, we had a blast out there. 00:01:25.945 --> 00:01:28.266 We will be out there again. 00:01:31.962 --> 00:01:36.218 We did also baptisms, and last week we had three families join the church. 00:01:36.218 --> 00:01:39.790 That was a good Sunday. 00:01:39.790 --> 00:01:49.811 So if you look at me, we have it on the screen already 1 Peter 1, verse 6 and 7. 00:01:49.811 --> 00:01:57.585 We're going to be looking at a couple of key verses here and then we are going to dive into God's word today. 00:01:58.762 --> 00:01:59.706 It says in verse 6,. 00:01:59.706 --> 00:02:04.162 It says anybody got it All right If you don't. 00:02:04.221 --> 00:02:04.864 It's back behind me. 00:02:04.864 --> 00:02:09.542 Anybody got it All right. 00:02:09.542 --> 00:02:10.263 If you don't, it's back behind me. 00:02:10.263 --> 00:02:10.644 So be truly glad. 00:02:10.644 --> 00:02:15.013 There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 00:02:15.013 --> 00:02:18.262 These trials say trials. 00:02:18.262 --> 00:02:24.128 These trials will show you that your faith is genuine. 00:02:24.128 --> 00:02:27.733 It is being tested, say tested. 00:02:27.733 --> 00:02:36.491 It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, though your faith is far more precious than gold. 00:02:36.491 --> 00:02:51.164 So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 00:02:52.487 --> 00:02:53.429 Let's pray, father. 00:02:53.429 --> 00:02:59.231 We are so grateful for your presence, honoring us with your presence one more time for one more service. 00:02:59.231 --> 00:03:09.110 Father, I pray for every heart that is in here today, for every mind that may be distracted and focused on other things, for every heart that may be in the wrong place right now. 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:21.890 Father, I pray you move your spirit on them, let them come to a place of repentance and let the saints understand that, even though we may be tested, there may be trials, you are with us In your name. 00:03:21.890 --> 00:03:23.153 We pray Amen. 00:03:23.153 --> 00:03:30.423 Are with us In your name, we pray Amen. 00:03:30.443 --> 00:03:30.903 One more announcement. 00:03:30.903 --> 00:03:33.671 I didn't tell him about it because I was going to say it. 00:03:33.671 --> 00:03:34.554 I had it in my notes, do not forget. 00:03:34.554 --> 00:03:43.284 If you want to be in leadership at any point, if you want to and it's a good thing to go through if you want to be a member, here at the church, we have what we call a growth track, and so what this is? 00:03:43.284 --> 00:03:49.051 I say it almost every single Sunday because it is so important to me that you go through this. 00:03:49.051 --> 00:03:49.532 Why? 00:03:49.532 --> 00:03:56.771 Because I want to know who you are and, as a person coming to this church, you need to know who your pastor and his wife are. 00:03:56.771 --> 00:04:02.925 We open up our home, we invite you in, we feed you, we break bread together. 00:04:02.925 --> 00:04:03.766 We get to know you. 00:04:03.766 --> 00:04:18.264 We have a actual, tangible handout that is our core values and our core beliefs and what we believe in biblical context to back it up, so that when somebody says, you go to that church over there I heard they speak in tongues, what's all with that? 00:04:18.264 --> 00:04:19.326 Well, I got a paper. 00:04:19.326 --> 00:04:26.302 Let me tell you about it, and here's the scripture that backs it up, which is the most important key to witnessing to somebody. 00:04:26.302 --> 00:04:30.380 If you don't have scripture to back up what you believe, you're living in false doctrine. 00:04:32.064 --> 00:04:33.788 All right, let's move on Anyways. 00:04:33.788 --> 00:04:38.206 So make sure everything that we talk about there's a sign-up sheet out there. 00:04:38.206 --> 00:04:43.182 If you want to support our kids as well, pastor D has offered her services. 00:04:43.182 --> 00:04:45.514 It's kind of behind this door. 00:04:45.514 --> 00:04:48.648 If you look back when you walk out and you look to your left, there are t-shirts there. 00:04:48.648 --> 00:04:50.360 You may have seen some of us wear it. 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:56.442 The leadership usually gets a free one, but every dollar that is spent on those t-shirts it goes to support our kids. 00:04:56.442 --> 00:04:58.704 So if you want to support the kids, you want a t-shirt. 00:04:58.704 --> 00:05:00.187 You want to buy one, you want to give it away? 00:05:00.187 --> 00:05:01.369 Have at it. 00:05:01.369 --> 00:05:05.994 So today's title is called Come. 00:05:06.475 --> 00:05:06.735 What. 00:05:07.175 --> 00:05:07.355 May. 00:05:07.355 --> 00:05:21.788 Now we as humans we love matter of fact, we probably indulge in a little too much of complaining and whining to the people around us. 00:05:21.788 --> 00:05:26.841 Maybe not any of y'all do it, but let me just talk about me for a second. 00:05:26.841 --> 00:05:36.069 Anyone ever be in a bad spot in your life or a dark valley in your life, and you go into everybody else's house flipping off lights so they can be in the dark too? 00:05:36.069 --> 00:05:39.322 What's this? 00:05:39.322 --> 00:05:41.148 Oh, we're in the dark together. 00:05:41.148 --> 00:05:41.970 Oh, woe is me. 00:05:41.970 --> 00:05:49.711 Or you have what's called in the gospel of I'm not going to do that. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:52.444 It's really not in the Bible. 00:05:52.444 --> 00:05:53.326 It's really not in the Bible. 00:05:53.326 --> 00:05:58.331 I was going to make up a Bible or a chapter of a one-upper. 00:06:00.821 --> 00:06:06.747 Where if you hear somebody going through something bad, oh well, let me tell you about my week last week. 00:06:10.961 --> 00:06:12.146 Because misery loves company. 00:06:12.146 --> 00:06:23.612 When you hear something bad going on in somebody's life, you know we gravitate towards more of gaining or joining bad stories than we do spreading the good. 00:06:23.612 --> 00:06:42.324 You'll be quicker to talk about your mishaps and your trials and your tribulations and your dark seasons and how your kid's acting like an idiot and how your kid got kicked out of football, or how your mom and dad are being weird and they should have just kicked it a long time ago. 00:06:42.324 --> 00:06:45.952 That get real dark, real quick, because that's real life. 00:06:45.952 --> 00:06:51.081 Sometimes you don't like the people you're around and then you find out well, you don't like who you're around either. 00:06:51.081 --> 00:06:51.805 Well, guess what? 00:06:51.805 --> 00:06:52.627 We're best friends now. 00:06:54.031 --> 00:07:07.833 And so this big ball of misery and anguish and suffering and all of a sudden, before you know it, you're living a life full of negativity and bitterness and we wonder why God never moves in our lives. 00:07:07.833 --> 00:07:09.687 Because he can't get past your whining. 00:07:09.687 --> 00:07:21.961 You know, I really think God shows us things in our life, physical things, to describe and explain spiritual warfare, for instance. 00:07:21.961 --> 00:07:26.550 There's not a whole lot that I want to make happen in my son's life because he whines about everything all the time. 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:34.091 Does anybody else understand that If someone's always whining about them, about something going on in their lives. 00:07:34.091 --> 00:07:38.271 You don't really want to help them much because you're afraid that you may end up on their lips. 00:07:38.271 --> 00:07:42.622 Let me tell you something. 00:07:42.622 --> 00:07:43.646 This is a little bit of wisdom. 00:07:43.646 --> 00:07:52.887 I know I'm younger than most of y'all, but let me tell you I got a wide streak in me and if they'll talk about somebody else, they will talk about you. 00:07:52.906 --> 00:07:55.692 All right, let's go back Now. 00:07:55.692 --> 00:07:57.194 Has anyone ever been guilty of? 00:07:57.194 --> 00:08:00.810 And especially if you're fresh and new back in church, you're fresh and new to God. 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:04.427 It feels so good when you first come to God. 00:08:04.427 --> 00:08:06.372 There's nothing like it. 00:08:06.372 --> 00:08:08.064 Matter of fact, I say it all the time. 00:08:08.064 --> 00:08:09.387 It is the best. 00:08:09.447 --> 00:08:12.322 I love my wife to death, but coming to Jesus was better than marrying her. 00:08:12.322 --> 00:08:17.874 Some of y'all clapping about what I just said she knows your names. 00:08:17.874 --> 00:08:24.865 I love my family, but God takes precedent over my family. 00:08:24.865 --> 00:08:27.370 I love my church. 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:29.994 I love you, but God takes precedent over you. 00:08:29.994 --> 00:08:35.924 God is higher than you in my life. 00:08:35.965 --> 00:08:55.299 But when I came to Jesus, when I came back to Jesus and I was free of the drugs and I was free of the alcohol and I was free of everything that Satan had on my meal plate every single week that he was trying to get me to partake of, I realized real quick that just because I came back to God did not make everything rainbows and butterflies. 00:08:55.299 --> 00:09:02.764 Just because I said yes to Jesus, it was going to be 10 times, a thousand times harder to say no to my flesh in the world. 00:09:02.764 --> 00:09:07.860 Now Life is just going to be an easy breeze because I've said yes to Jesus a thousand times harder to say no to my flesh in the world. 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:14.720 Now Life is just going to be an easy breeze because I've said yes to Jesus. 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:25.072 Now, magically, I'm going to get along with everybody in my life, my job is going to be perfect, my kids are going to act right again, my marriage is going to be immediately healed. 00:09:25.072 --> 00:09:26.160 Everything is going to be perfect. 00:09:26.160 --> 00:09:29.605 Everything is good. 00:09:29.605 --> 00:09:31.690 We forget that. 00:09:31.690 --> 00:09:40.961 Yes, god is good, but people are people and life will still hit you in the face after you leave this door, giving your heart completely over to God. 00:09:40.961 --> 00:09:45.152 Just because you got saved doesn't mean everybody else in your circle did. 00:09:45.152 --> 00:10:02.366 Just because you've changed the way that you think about things and you begin to have a biblical attitude and a spiritual walk and you begin to understand that it's not the people that are coming against you that is the enemy, but there's actually principalities that rule in this area, here over in the darkness, that are trying to come against you. 00:10:02.366 --> 00:10:13.808 It's not the person that is your enemy, it's what's influencing them that there will be no more pain no more drama. 00:10:15.432 --> 00:10:16.374 Anybody got it, never mind. 00:10:19.201 --> 00:10:21.629 There's really only one word I can think of to drive with drama, and it was mama. 00:10:21.729 --> 00:10:23.470 Now they want to call out the women, because it's not always them. 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:32.375 I could think of to drive with drama and it was mama and I didn't want to call out the women, because it's not always them. 00:10:32.375 --> 00:10:37.898 I worked in a machine shop before I became a youth pastor and photographer, more full-time, and it was nothing but men out in the shop and I was welding and stuff. 00:10:44.255 --> 00:10:45.438 And you talk about gossip girls. 00:10:45.438 --> 00:10:48.687 That's why they screamed the loudest, trying to blame the women for all the gossip. 00:10:48.687 --> 00:10:50.152 But it's just bad, as the women, the men were all I don't care about. 00:10:50.152 --> 00:10:51.054 You tell one person one thing. 00:10:51.054 --> 00:10:52.523 You go to the other side of the shop. 00:10:52.523 --> 00:10:55.812 By the time you could walk all the way down, it had gotten to there. 00:10:55.812 --> 00:11:01.863 I don't know how, I don't know if they had secret gossip radios or what it was, but they ended up getting the message all around the shop. 00:11:02.123 --> 00:11:14.469 And then you come in to eat lunch and everybody already knows your business and you think, when you come to God, all that's going to go away Magically. 00:11:14.469 --> 00:11:19.527 Now everyone will be nice and magically people that are driving in the fast lane will get over it. 00:11:19.527 --> 00:11:21.556 I'm sorry, it's just, it's all the time. 00:11:21.556 --> 00:11:23.744 Like I don't understand, like I pray. 00:11:23.744 --> 00:11:30.251 This message finds you ma'am or sir, you need to get off of the fast side of the road and get over. 00:11:30.251 --> 00:11:33.229 55 is not equal to 70. 00:11:33.229 --> 00:11:34.724 Not everybody gets a trophy. 00:11:34.724 --> 00:11:35.284 That's life. 00:11:35.284 --> 00:11:37.410 Get over. 00:11:37.410 --> 00:11:42.490 Okay, that there will be no more struggles and no more hurt. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.052 This is why, in the church, we somehow got it in our heads that this is why, in the church. 00:11:45.052 --> 00:11:50.126 We somehow got it in our heads that if people hurt you in the church you need to stop going there. 00:11:50.126 --> 00:11:57.793 Church hurt is some of the most detrimental issues in the house of God, in the body of Christ. 00:11:57.793 --> 00:12:19.835 That kills the spirit moving because there is issues between people in the church when actually, from cover to cover, the Bible tells us God even says that if we are in the middle of sacrificing, if we are in the middle of worshiping him, drop what we are doing and go fix what someone has done to you. 00:12:19.835 --> 00:12:21.580 It does not say if you have done wrong. 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:32.831 It says, even if the other person has done you wrong, you need to do right and make it right, because relationship is valuable to God. 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:40.494 That's why God doesn't really care about these religious movements, because he wants relationship. 00:12:40.494 --> 00:12:46.528 Just because you come to a church house doesn't make you a part of the body of Christ, excepting Jesus does. 00:12:46.528 --> 00:12:48.051 And then you become the church. 00:12:48.051 --> 00:13:03.889 That way, everywhere that you go, the spirit of God is in you and you can share that and the church becomes multiplied, when in fact, throughout the Bible, we are actually promised the opposite. 00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:13.802 Throughout the Bible we are actually promised the opposite that not everything will be perfect that now, magically, not everyone is going to love you. 00:13:13.802 --> 00:13:20.563 In fact, it says the opposite, that if you begin to profess your faith in Jesus Christ, the devil's hornet's nest gets kicked and he comes out to play. 00:13:20.563 --> 00:13:25.274 And when he comes out, he is out for blood because he knows that he just lost you. 00:13:30.341 --> 00:13:32.066 I know, Pastor, this is really encouraging. 00:13:32.066 --> 00:13:33.750 Thank you for all this encouraging word. 00:13:37.341 --> 00:13:39.726 Let's go save somebody and tell them hey, guess what? 00:13:39.726 --> 00:13:40.951 It's just going to get worse from here. 00:13:40.951 --> 00:13:44.163 But is that not life already? 00:13:44.163 --> 00:13:51.976 What a blessing we have to come to a church and be a part of a body of people who accept you for who they are. 00:13:52.076 --> 00:13:56.390 I've heard stories of churches that will not let you in until you get your stuff together. 00:13:56.390 --> 00:14:03.139 Listen, we'll hold your beer outside while you come inside and get Jesus. 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:09.139 We'll hold your beer outside while you come inside and get Jesus. 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:21.750 That sounds like a crazy statement, but I'm telling you I welcome people with it because someone welcomed me in in the depths of my sin, in the depths of my addiction, and someone showed me that, even though I am a sinner, I still have a savior. 00:14:21.750 --> 00:14:33.826 And when the church begins to look down on our noses and other people and we think that just because they don't have it together right now, we are all in the middle of a different process and a different season, trying to get our stuff together. 00:14:33.826 --> 00:14:41.605 But I promise you at the end of today's service, I hope that you will get a little more encouraged than these few verses. 00:14:41.645 --> 00:14:46.073 I just read and don't wait, I mean don't worry. 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:53.100 There is more Now. 00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:53.361 That is it. 00:14:53.361 --> 00:14:57.173 It will be an encouragement to you if you agree that it is an honor and a pleasure to suffer for the name of Christ. 00:14:57.173 --> 00:15:06.653 You see, we have this new church culture that they preach prosperity If you come to Jesus, oh, your bank account's gonna be large If you give to this church. 00:15:06.993 --> 00:15:07.875 Oh, god's gonna bless you. 00:15:07.875 --> 00:15:11.307 You got another crown in your or another jewel in your crown in heaven. 00:15:11.307 --> 00:15:13.869 God's gonna bless you for your faithfulness. 00:15:13.869 --> 00:15:15.767 That's not anything to do with God. 00:15:15.767 --> 00:15:20.729 That is 100% man-made, trying to do whatever they can do to get your dollar. 00:15:20.729 --> 00:15:26.048 That's why I have the policy here that if you think our church is after your money, give your tithe somewhere else. 00:15:26.048 --> 00:15:29.299 But give your tithes and let God show you how faithful he is. 00:15:31.664 --> 00:15:32.966 And then you'll come back to me and apologize. 00:15:35.091 --> 00:15:35.831 Why do I know this? 00:15:35.831 --> 00:15:45.250 Because there's been times in my life where I have been severely tested and when I took that test and I stayed faithful to what I know the Bible tells me to do, god always shows up. 00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:47.403 Now, why does he always show up? 00:15:47.403 --> 00:15:50.893 Because we know that he is faithful and true to his word. 00:15:50.893 --> 00:15:54.908 Anything that he says in his book he promises it will never return void. 00:15:54.908 --> 00:15:59.445 That means it always has substance and always has meaning. 00:15:59.645 --> 00:16:04.224 But we have a church culture today that we don't want to do any sort of sacrificing for the word. 00:16:04.224 --> 00:16:06.368 We don't want to do any sacrificing for the body. 00:16:06.368 --> 00:16:24.149 We want to come and get our hour in on Sundays and we don't want to do anything else because it's inconvenient and we literally live a life full of Christianity and there is zero suffering for the cross. 00:16:24.149 --> 00:16:34.322 We're scared to have and I say we. 00:16:34.322 --> 00:16:37.615 We are scared not all the times, but sometimes to speak out and witness to somebody because we don't want them to think that we are weird. 00:16:37.615 --> 00:16:41.565 And the fact is some of us have such a reputation of negativity and bitterness. 00:16:41.565 --> 00:16:43.548 If you witness, they will call you a liar anyways. 00:16:52.292 --> 00:16:54.158 All right, I'm going to go back to my notes. 00:16:57.190 --> 00:16:59.360 I want you to look over here with your Bibles in James, chapter 1. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:01.063 Now I want to give you a little context while you're turning over there. 00:17:01.063 --> 00:17:01.947 We're going to be starting in verse 2. 00:17:01.947 --> 00:17:07.842 The context here of James writing is this James is not writing to the people whose lives are perfect. 00:17:07.842 --> 00:17:15.001 James is not writing to the people who accepted Jesus Christ as the one true Son of God. 00:17:15.001 --> 00:17:17.227 And now everything is rainbows and butterflies. 00:17:17.227 --> 00:17:19.230 That's not who he's writing. 00:17:19.230 --> 00:17:20.862 He's actually writing. 00:17:20.902 --> 00:17:23.868 If you read in verse 1 of the first chapter he's writing. 00:17:23.868 --> 00:17:28.288 He says to the 12 tribes Now he specifically addresses them in verse 1. 00:17:28.288 --> 00:17:33.807 And these are the faithful ones who clung to the truth, in spite of what the culture said. 00:17:33.807 --> 00:17:39.645 They knew that Jesus came to die for the sin, that he was an actual living sacrifice. 00:17:39.645 --> 00:17:45.027 That was fulfilling prophecy throughout the Old Testament, and so Jesus died. 00:17:45.027 --> 00:17:45.648 He rose again. 00:17:45.648 --> 00:17:49.048 So, if you know the specific point in time, jesus had been crucified. 00:17:49.328 --> 00:17:50.840 Now we have a new wave of believers. 00:17:50.840 --> 00:17:52.946 They're beginning to call themselves Christians. 00:17:52.946 --> 00:18:01.564 These are the people that believe in Christ, that he was the one true Messiah, he was who he said he was, and all those who claim Christianity. 00:18:01.564 --> 00:18:09.826 They are now being persecuted and they are driven out from their homes, severely persecuted. 00:18:09.826 --> 00:18:11.868 Disciples are being murdered. 00:18:11.868 --> 00:18:20.489 The people that James is writing here are those who haven't yet been killed or martyred for the name of Christ. 00:18:20.489 --> 00:18:22.534 These are the leftovers. 00:18:22.534 --> 00:18:26.845 Some may call them a remnant. 00:18:26.845 --> 00:18:39.214 These were the people who literally had the fear for their lives because they said that Jesus was the Messiah. 00:18:41.821 --> 00:18:44.471 Now I don't know about you, but I live pretty comfortable here in East Texas. 00:18:44.471 --> 00:18:46.103 Now, I don't know about you, but I live pretty comfortable here in East Texas. 00:18:46.103 --> 00:18:48.907 Everybody believes something, usually about God. 00:18:48.907 --> 00:18:59.913 They may have a disordered view or definition, but in some cases most cases, very few cases that you don't have anybody that doesn't know about God, most cases Bible Belt. 00:18:59.913 --> 00:19:00.596 You know, we all believe in Jesus. 00:19:00.616 --> 00:19:01.078 Yeah, I go to church. 00:19:01.078 --> 00:19:03.868 Where you go, first Baptist over on the corner, blah, blah, blah and they tell you the story. 00:19:03.868 --> 00:19:09.682 Everybody goes to church somewhere. 00:19:09.682 --> 00:19:25.733 It's very rare that you don't have somebody who does, but none of us as of now have been persecuted for the right to say that Jesus is the one true son of God when there are people around the world in other countries right now, that cannot even. 00:19:25.733 --> 00:19:33.145 I saw a video and it was I don't know where, but it was Chinese or Japanese, I'm not sure, but they were in a secret group. 00:19:33.145 --> 00:19:38.826 They would have to take these different routes that were not the same ever they would go. 00:19:38.826 --> 00:19:43.643 I knew it had to be China, probably because they're very they'll kill you. 00:19:43.843 --> 00:19:51.682 They're going through all these little things on the back of whatever and then they sneak through this and you see these videos of no noise coming out of their mouth. 00:19:51.682 --> 00:19:54.008 It's very like coming from our culture. 00:19:54.008 --> 00:19:56.663 Looking over there, it's really weird to me, if I'm being honest. 00:19:56.663 --> 00:19:58.448 No noise is coming out. 00:19:58.448 --> 00:20:00.833 But that's how they're doing worship. 00:20:00.833 --> 00:20:04.387 They can't make sound when they clap together. 00:20:04.387 --> 00:20:14.509 They go like this Because if they make a sound and someone hears them, they may be discovered and they will be killed or locked up for the rest of their life Just for saying that Jesus is the one true son of God. 00:20:14.509 --> 00:20:21.126 I saw in the same video, the same post, that it was. 00:20:22.970 --> 00:20:24.672 I don't have one with me, it's actually at home. 00:20:24.672 --> 00:20:29.578 You know how we in America't have one with me, it's actually at home. 00:20:29.578 --> 00:20:32.583 You know how we in America we have Bibles everywhere. 00:20:32.583 --> 00:20:36.178 The Gideons actually even put them in places that you can go to a hotel right now and they're usually down in a drawer beside the bed of the New Testament. 00:20:36.178 --> 00:20:36.881 They hand them out. 00:20:36.881 --> 00:20:37.604 We have them freely. 00:20:37.604 --> 00:20:39.430 I have several here. 00:20:39.430 --> 00:20:45.711 We give newborns their first little Bible with some verses to encourage them and say how much we love them. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:51.845 And over there, they were praising God for a page out of the Bible. 00:20:51.845 --> 00:21:04.148 Sometimes just a verse that had been cut out and they would hold it and they couldn't even let anything come out of their mouth. 00:21:04.148 --> 00:21:09.768 They were holding it to their chest and they were mouthing Of how much they appreciate. 00:21:09.768 --> 00:21:17.512 They were crying and sobbing at just having a verse from the word of God and here in America we don't even give our five minutes. 00:21:20.506 --> 00:21:22.794 We suffer no persecution and we have the privilege. 00:21:22.794 --> 00:21:28.848 None of us understand really what it is to suffer for the name of Christ. 00:21:28.848 --> 00:21:30.008 That's right Supper. 00:21:30.008 --> 00:21:30.528 For the name of. 00:21:30.669 --> 00:21:34.894 Christ. 00:21:34.894 --> 00:21:38.417 We have a new wave of believers, and all those who claim Christianity are being severely persecuted. 00:21:38.417 --> 00:21:40.921 Now, those who haven't been killed yet are martyred. 00:21:40.921 --> 00:21:45.971 They've all had to flee and leave their homes. 00:21:45.971 --> 00:21:53.904 They had to give up everything that they knew, everything that they loved, in fear of being killed. 00:21:54.825 --> 00:21:57.934 Because when revival breaks out, the enemy does everything he can to stomp it out. 00:21:57.934 --> 00:22:03.528 And let me say that one more time, in a different way, here at Connect Church the enemy is going to fight you, to keep you home. 00:22:06.713 --> 00:22:15.450 He is going to fight you and inflict you in your daily, day-to-day life, whether it be your kid doing something stupid in school or your job situation. 00:22:15.450 --> 00:22:26.750 There's going to be something that is going to pop up in your life to try to keep you distracted, that will dismantle your divine destiny that God has for you and that is to be here, to be faithful and to show up and serve. 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:36.480 They're running for their lives. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:49.835 So now, when we know this context of what was going on in this specific time when James was writing them if you look at verse chapter 1 of James and 2 and 4, when I researched this and looked this up, I read this different. 00:22:49.835 --> 00:22:53.987 Now it shed a different light on why. 00:22:54.047 --> 00:22:55.651 James was the way James was. 00:22:55.651 --> 00:23:01.271 James was pretty stern in a lot of ways, but he was talking to a lot of people who had fear gripping their life. 00:23:01.271 --> 00:23:10.467 And if you've ever dealt with someone who they have nothing but fear that they see everything through, they have to be sternly talked to or they will never change. 00:23:10.467 --> 00:23:12.994 It says in verse 2,. 00:23:12.994 --> 00:23:22.990 It says, dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind, say any kind, any kind, come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:27.155 Say joy, joy, joy, joy. 00:23:27.155 --> 00:23:30.907 The church has lost its true roots in joy. 00:23:30.907 --> 00:23:32.712 And where does that come from? 00:23:32.712 --> 00:23:34.365 It comes from the testing of our faith. 00:23:34.365 --> 00:23:40.678 When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 00:23:40.678 --> 00:23:42.846 Verse four says so let it grow. 00:23:42.846 --> 00:23:43.910 What does that mean? 00:23:43.910 --> 00:23:45.653 So let yourself be tested. 00:23:45.653 --> 00:23:48.965 So offer yourself up as a sacrifice to God. 00:23:48.965 --> 00:23:50.067 God test me. 00:23:50.067 --> 00:23:56.900 Those are serious prayers, because when you say God test me, guess who's coming? 00:23:56.900 --> 00:24:04.325 Usually he allows the enemy to do something in your life. 00:24:04.325 --> 00:24:12.798 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and you will be complete, needing nothing. 00:24:12.798 --> 00:24:22.326 So trouble produces what Joy? 00:24:22.326 --> 00:24:26.150 I don't even want to say that Trouble produces joy. 00:24:26.170 --> 00:24:28.132 Look over in Psalm 66, verse 10. 00:24:28.132 --> 00:24:29.313 It's very short. 00:24:29.313 --> 00:24:29.953 I have it on the screen. 00:24:29.953 --> 00:24:30.694 We're going to move along. 00:24:30.734 --> 00:24:33.136 It says you have tested us, oh God. 00:24:33.136 --> 00:24:36.881 You have purified us like silver. 00:24:36.881 --> 00:24:50.276 You know, what's cool about silver and the same with gold is that when you begin it's dug from the earth, it's impure, it has to be refined, it has to be renewed over and over and over and over again. 00:24:50.276 --> 00:24:55.599 And something that I studied on and found out about silver is that the purer it becomes, the more reflective it becomes. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:57.761 God is not testing you to be mean to you. 00:24:57.761 --> 00:25:01.507 He is trying to get you so reflective. 00:25:01.507 --> 00:25:02.568 You reflect him. 00:25:02.669 --> 00:25:05.013 But that comes with a purification process. 00:25:05.013 --> 00:25:16.251 That comes through the refiner's fire, that comes through submission to the Holy Spirit to say God, whatever you want to do in my life, I know I'm praying something really stupid. 00:25:16.251 --> 00:25:18.356 It's going to look dumb to everybody else. 00:25:18.356 --> 00:25:26.269 My faith is going to be so large and so big it's going to measure up to the great God that you are, because faith looks stupid until it doesn't. 00:25:26.269 --> 00:25:39.619 Faith looks stupid until what you have faith for comes through and then everybody else is like well, man, I should have prayed for something Like yeah, maybe you should, bro, maybe you should. 00:25:41.006 --> 00:25:54.579 Maybe our faith, maybe our prayer, maybe our believing that healing can take place should measure up to the great God that we serve, because the God who healed in the Bible is still the same God today. 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:56.689 But what does it take? 00:25:56.689 --> 00:25:58.133 It takes prayer. 00:25:58.133 --> 00:25:59.597 It takes fasting. 00:25:59.597 --> 00:26:06.933 Fasting is a test of the devil, because I love food, man. 00:26:06.933 --> 00:26:10.619 It's like every time I'm fasting, somebody wants to go out to eat. 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:17.326 It's like every time I'm fasting, somebody wants to go out to eat and some people don't. 00:26:17.487 --> 00:26:19.371 Peter in the Bible was a different character. 00:26:19.371 --> 00:26:22.396 The Lord Jesus said get behind me, satan. 00:26:22.396 --> 00:26:28.242 To him and I think he took it very well. 00:26:28.242 --> 00:26:34.882 If you're inviting me out to eat and I say get behind me Satan, I don't think you'll take it the same. 00:26:34.882 --> 00:26:35.825 You probably will get a little bit offended. 00:26:35.825 --> 00:26:38.248 But Peter was like okay, lord, whatever you say, you're right. 00:26:38.248 --> 00:26:46.913 Always, when I'm trying to do something for God, when I'm trying to stay pure in my mind, things pop up on social media. 00:26:46.913 --> 00:26:53.624 When I'm trying to stay pure in my mind and my heart for my wife, summertime comes and booty shorts come out. 00:26:57.410 --> 00:26:58.050 There's no lie. 00:26:58.050 --> 00:27:01.619 You got another booty shorts. 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:04.917 Don't go to. 00:27:04.959 --> 00:27:05.279 Miami. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:10.806 But there's things in my life that I try to keep pure, that I try to keep safe. 00:27:10.806 --> 00:27:22.349 That's why my wife has access to all my accounts, because there's nothing that when you start hiding what you have done wrong or start hiding what you're thinking, the enemy begins to sense it and he comes for you. 00:27:22.349 --> 00:27:24.501 He knows what you're going to fall for. 00:27:24.501 --> 00:27:30.708 You see, some of you you may be, you may have an aptitude to go in the pornography way. 00:27:30.708 --> 00:27:36.587 Some of you may have the aptitude for going and drinking or drugs or whatever. 00:27:36.888 --> 00:27:40.480 You don't take an alcohol or a person who has recovered from alcoholism. 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:48.303 You don't take them and say, hey, man, you want to go out and hang out at the bar, do you? 00:27:48.303 --> 00:27:52.208 You don't take somebody who's addicted to drugs. 00:27:52.208 --> 00:28:02.284 Go underneath an overpass, go down to the wrong side of town and say, hey, man, I know this guy over here, I know you're trying to stay away from drugs, but he's got a deal for you. 00:28:02.284 --> 00:28:07.242 You don't take somebody who's addicted to buying things. 00:28:07.242 --> 00:28:08.707 Is this real, come on? 00:28:08.707 --> 00:28:11.742 Somebody who's addicted to shopping? 00:28:11.742 --> 00:28:19.028 Some of you, some of us, may maybe even a little bit addicted to Amazon, because it shows up to the door and all it did was click a couple of things. 00:28:19.028 --> 00:28:24.801 You don't take them into the mall. 00:28:24.801 --> 00:28:28.682 You want to go get some coffee from Starbucks? 00:28:28.682 --> 00:28:29.263 Yeah, where at? 00:28:29.263 --> 00:28:30.046 Oh, it's in the mall. 00:28:35.755 --> 00:28:47.685 Okay, you don't take somebody who has a problem looking at women down to Miami because, that is what's there Now, all these things that we can laugh at and we can say things about. 00:28:47.685 --> 00:28:50.663 A lot of times we laugh because we know we're really struggling with it. 00:28:50.663 --> 00:28:53.855 Things about a lot of times we laugh because we know we're really struggling with it. 00:28:53.855 --> 00:29:09.509 We don't want anybody to know our secret struggles, and so we struggle in private, we suffer in silence and then, when we fall, all everyone sees is the fall and they had no clue that you were going through what you were going through. 00:29:09.509 --> 00:29:14.946 This is why relationship is so important to God, because he wants us to talk to each other. 00:29:14.946 --> 00:29:21.667 He wants us to be open with each other, because if you don't have accountability, you will fail. 00:29:21.667 --> 00:29:28.545 The more you purify the silver, the more reflective it comes. 00:29:28.545 --> 00:29:33.784 When something is purified, it has to go through fire. 00:29:33.784 --> 00:29:44.986 It's going to be hot, it's going to be uncomfortable, but sometimes that fire that is so hot will keep you out of a hill. 00:29:44.986 --> 00:29:53.964 Psalms 31 through 5, it says this I will exalt you, lord, for you rescued me. 00:29:53.964 --> 00:29:57.965 You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. 00:29:57.965 --> 00:30:03.607 Oh Lord, my God, I cried to you for help and you restored my health. 00:30:03.607 --> 00:30:05.642 You brought me up from the grave. 00:30:05.642 --> 00:30:09.204 Oh Lord, you kept me from falling into the pit of death. 00:30:09.204 --> 00:30:11.742 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones. 00:30:11.742 --> 00:30:20.307 Praise his glory, his holy name, for his anger lasts only for a moment, but his favor lasts for a lifetime. 00:30:20.307 --> 00:30:24.821 Weeping may come in the night, but joy will come in the morning. 00:30:24.821 --> 00:30:34.738 It does not matter what season of life you were in, it does not matter what kind of addiction you face, it does not matter the level of loneliness in your heart. 00:30:34.738 --> 00:30:38.027 It does not matter depression trying to take hold of your mind. 00:30:38.027 --> 00:30:41.280 It doesn't matter anxiety trying to steal your peace. 00:30:41.280 --> 00:30:56.229 Know this we have a blessing assurance that no matter what is trying to consume you, no matter what is trying to take you down, trying to distract you, you can face whatever it is coming against you and scream God's Word. 00:30:56.229 --> 00:31:02.384 Reaping may last for the night, but the joy of the Lord will come in the morning. 00:31:02.384 --> 00:31:08.259 Devil, you've tried to take me down. 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:10.845 You tried to take me down. 00:31:10.845 --> 00:31:13.489 You tried to take me down, but all you did was drive me to my knees. 00:31:13.489 --> 00:31:23.140 You tried to destroy me, but all you did was reveal to me how much of me I need to get rid of, how much flesh I still have left. 00:31:23.140 --> 00:31:33.229 You tried to shut me up, but I understand that the power from God Almighty comes when I become an overcomer by sharing my testimony. 00:31:33.229 --> 00:31:38.746 The devil may try to shut you up, but my God can shut him down. 00:31:40.115 --> 00:31:55.130 I believe today that God is wanting us to stop focusing on how bad it is and start remembering how great, how good and how merciful our God is, how good and how merciful our God is. 00:31:55.130 --> 00:32:06.232 Today is the day that you have set in a joyless relationship with God. 00:32:06.232 --> 00:32:09.461 For far enough, the devil has been busy robbing you of what you need, and that is joy. 00:32:09.461 --> 00:32:09.821 Why? 00:32:09.821 --> 00:32:12.807 Because the joy of the Lord is our strength. 00:32:12.807 --> 00:32:16.144 If he can rob your joy, you become weak. 00:32:16.144 --> 00:32:26.306 If he can steal your laugh, he can replace it with bitterness. 00:32:29.876 --> 00:32:32.579 Joy is missing from the church today. 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:48.421 If you want freedom from depression, anxiety, addictions issues, marital problems, kids acting crazy, you can make it through all of this. 00:32:48.421 --> 00:32:55.179 If you remain joyful in the Lord, it through all of this. 00:32:55.179 --> 00:33:04.209 If you remain joyful in the Lord, if you understand that no matter what the enemy, somebody, no matter what the enemy throws your way, and you keep the joy of the Lord, the devil can't hold you. 00:33:04.209 --> 00:33:07.036 He can't contain you. 00:33:07.277 --> 00:33:10.663 There's something about when the joy of the Lord takes root in your heart. 00:33:10.663 --> 00:33:12.728 It drives the enemy out. 00:33:12.728 --> 00:33:23.549 When you realize that who the devil's been trying to whisper in your ear that you are is not who God says you are, your joy becomes restored. 00:33:23.549 --> 00:33:40.111 Then, no matter what the enemy is trying to call you, you know that God calls you his and that when you have joy it brings peace. 00:33:40.111 --> 00:33:50.623 Matter of fact, joy will produce the rest of the fruits of the spirit, because if you can stay happy and joyful even through the trial, see, happiness is good. 00:33:50.623 --> 00:33:52.126 Happy can be very superficial. 00:33:52.126 --> 00:33:54.819 It can be something that you buy, something I love. 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:57.866 My wife got me this shirt for pink day and it came in. 00:33:57.866 --> 00:33:58.676 I like the material. 00:33:58.676 --> 00:34:03.961 It's like that quick, dry stuff and I've been wanting some more polos because pastors apparently don't have t-shirts and jeans anymore. 00:34:05.104 --> 00:34:06.267 So when I meet with other pastors. 00:34:06.267 --> 00:34:07.317 I don't really have anything to wear. 00:34:07.376 --> 00:34:09.019 I said baby, I just want some polos. 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:15.621 And when it came in the mail I put it on, I said okay, a little bit of happiness came to me. 00:34:15.621 --> 00:34:16.717 Y'all know me. 00:34:16.717 --> 00:34:18.123 And shoes, we got a connection. 00:34:18.123 --> 00:34:21.157 When I put them on, I walk around, I'm like pal. 00:34:21.157 --> 00:34:23.664 Strangers in Walmart are like what are you doing? 00:34:23.664 --> 00:34:24.385 I'm like shoes. 00:34:24.385 --> 00:34:29.681 It brings me happiness. 00:34:29.994 --> 00:34:37.081 But nothing you can buy, no relationship that you can have, will bring you the joy of the Lord. 00:34:37.081 --> 00:34:42.579 You may try your hardest, your entire life, what you're trying to do? 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:51.704 You're trying to replace the joy of the Lord with a superficial happiness, come on With a synthetic joy. 00:34:51.704 --> 00:34:54.027 And what does that leave you? 00:34:54.027 --> 00:34:59.943 That leaves you starving, unhappy and miserable, feeling unfulfilled. 00:34:59.943 --> 00:35:02.507 Because what happiness will do? 00:35:02.507 --> 00:35:06.255 Happiness will try to drive you to the next thing that you want. 00:35:06.255 --> 00:35:09.159 Joy keeps you sustained in what you have. 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:19.369 I'll say it again Happiness will try to get you to buy the next thing, to have the next relationship, to go to the next place. 00:35:19.369 --> 00:35:21.585