WEBVTT 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.559 We are an expressive church, right? 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:24.239 We are an expressive church. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:25.359 We're a church. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:26.399 There's a difference. 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.079 There's something that happens when you engage your gut. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:36.479 When you just engage it, it's like it's like the difference between saying, I love you. 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:42.560 Well, I guess that could sound really good too, but I didn't realize the impact of that being said. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:46.479 But it's like being saying, I love you versus, I love you, Brian, you're awesome. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:46.960 That's right. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.240 Give me five here. 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:50.159 How many of you love Brian today? 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:51.439 Yeah, right on. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:01:06.480 There's something about engaging your gut, actually being expressive in what you believe and in, and taking what you believe and actually translating it into a confession. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.879 Or the Bible talks about it being a praise unto God. 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:16.239 It's taking what is inside here and translating it to here. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:21.599 Faith is what's spoken. 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:26.319 Faith, when you believe something, it's said, it's spoken. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:32.239 And so today, we I just want to encourage you, if you believe something, you agree with it. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:34.799 And the Bible says, say amen. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:35.680 Amen. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:36.319 Yes. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:44.319 And when it comes to the promises of God, the Bible says the congregation needed to yell out, yes, and amen. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:46.000 Yes and amen. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:58.159 When you hear a promise, you agree with it because what you're doing is you're taking that promise, you're applying it in your heart, and you're confessing it again with your mouth that's saying, I come into agreement with that. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:00.719 I come into alignment with his word. 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:01.760 Amen? 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:03.439 Yes, amen. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:05.840 We're gonna have fun this morning. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:10.159 I hope uh you had enough candy and chocolate for a lifetime this week. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:18.400 How many of you actually, ladies out there, how many of you put some chocolate in your purse before you came to church to be a blessing to your husband? 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:19.360 Amen. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.960 Uh we had uh opportunity this week. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.199 Some of you are like, how do you know? 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:28.240 We had bags. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.080 I have to say, I I have a really wise wife. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:38.719 My wife actually, we my kids went out and they collected literally pounds of candy. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:48.719 Pounds of candy through scrupulous means, by the way, I'll get into that, but they were able to solicit all this candy. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:54.240 And my wife made them a deal and said, How about I make you a trade? 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.719 And the kids were listening, and this is all over a Costco hot dog. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:02.319 She's she's sitting there and she said, I'll make you a trade. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:07.199 And my son was like, Well, talk to me, like let's negotiate here. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:13.520 Because Natalie's objective is I'm gonna get them to trade all their candy in, each one of them, for something. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:22.000 And my she was able to work it, so with a little help from her husband, just a little bit of encouragement, to transfer. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:28.159 She was able, they traded all their chocolate for like cash, and it worked out pretty good. 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:38.319 A little bit of cash, ten dollars here, a little bit here, and we ended up with bags of candy sitting in our room, which I don't know what we're gonna do with right now. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:44.159 But she's like, I think I can get them, and she actually uh was able to make the trade. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:51.039 Some of them trade it for like cards, and my daughter was like, she always gets concerned about uh I'm not gonna talk about it. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:53.680 My wife's she she worked a good deal. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:55.840 You can talk to my daughter afterwards. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.000 But uh, we had this week a light on the street. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:18.399 This is where we uh we become a light in our neighborhood during uh October 31st, and so we put out tents and we put out hot chocolate and cookies and candy bags, and out front of our place we put two fire pits and we had a barbecue going for people coming up and down the street. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:38.639 And people came up to our house and they're like, Wow, you guys must really be into Halloween and love it so much! I'm like, I don't know if we're sending out the right message here today, but but we were intentional on actually being a light on the street because we believe that we are to be a light to the world, amen? 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:44.079 And that means 365 days a year, even on October 31st. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:05:01.920 But my kids, uh the thing about Halloween is it kind of reminds you of your own childhood a bit, and uh my kids had this great idea that they were gonna uh go to the neighbors or in our little cul-de-sac, go to the neighbors, and then what they were gonna do is come home and get changed. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:03.920 And this was their brilliant plan. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:11.279 Get changed, make certain select, you know, adjustments to their costumes, and then go again. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.399 And I I looked at my son, I said, you know what? 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.279 This has never been done before by any kid on the world anywhere. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:26.560 And we all know it was it's something that uh people do. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:31.519 But my son was uh doing that, and I just remembered what it was like to be a kid. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:37.040 He was trying to find out how can I like double dip or triple dip, you know, this can, they're giving out candy. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.199 I'm gonna find a way to get it. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:54.160 But this season of being a child, when um when you're thinking about that, our faith is actually spoken about in scripture as uh in some form uh as being a childlike faith. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:03.600 And it is separate from other faith that the scripture talks about, where people were mature or great in their faith. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:10.240 And Jesus, over time and examples, he actually said to people, man, they had such great faith. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.000 They had such large faith. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:19.279 Other people had small faith, others, their faith was like a child, which was a good starting place, but it wasn't mature. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:26.879 And as you grow up, people aren't fooled by the fact that you're wearing a different mask or you combed your hair on the other side. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.319 It just doesn't work. 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:32.720 But there's a problem, and there's no problem with the new faith. 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:36.800 We have to start somewhere, but eventually we're expected to grow up. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.680 Grow up in our faith, grow up in our relationship with God. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:47.120 So, how do we as a Christian assess our own maturity? 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:50.560 How do we as a Christian assess our faith? 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:51.680 Where we're at? 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:52.800 Are we a child? 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:54.000 Are we mature? 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.480 How far along the line are we mature? 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:04.160 And what if uh if you're experiencing your faith as a child when you should be experiencing it as one who's mature? 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:10.319 So, maturity of your faith is not determined by coming to church every Sunday. 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:17.120 It's not determined by the fact that, you know what, I read the Bible five times over, ten times over. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.000 That doesn't define a mature faith. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:30.399 You can know the Lord's Prayer, you can know Psalm 23 and recite it over and over and over, but that doesn't make you mature in your faith. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:35.759 You can know it and still be a child in faith. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:43.279 And so over the years, we have to look at ourselves and we have to say, let's assess our faith. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.160 Where are we in terms of our maturity? 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:50.560 And um, this can assist us in actually growing in our faith. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:58.079 And the Bible talks about this maturity as a process, a journey, a walk. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:08.079 And it's Paul said it like this: he said, there are time there are people when they they talk about their faith, when he was addressing them, he had to treat them like babies in the faith. 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:09.519 Babes in the faith. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.839 He said, I would only give you milk because that's all you could handle. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:22.000 But I want you to grow up so that you become the type of Christian who's actually able to be a meat lover. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.560 You love the meat of the word. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:40.720 And the difference between a babe and who loves the milk and those who are mature who are able to handle meat is the difference in someone's faith walk, the part of the journey along the way. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:48.240 And so Paul constantly was talking to different churches, helping them move from step to step. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:56.480 So one of these uh the scriptures he talks about is uh in Galatians, he says we need to walk in the Spirit. 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:02.480 And since you live by the Spirit, uh let us keep in step with the Spirit. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:14.080 It's a step-by-step process, and sometimes it includes highs, sometimes our journey has lows, and the Bible talks about these as seasons in our life. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:27.039 Do you know that there are certain seasons when you harvest a lot, and then there are certain seasons where you're just working a lot, you're breaking the ground, and then there are other seasons when you're sowing the seed. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:30.960 There are different seasons in a person a person's life. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:37.120 And in those seasons, it's moving through those seasons, we're progressing in our faith. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:38.960 We're growing in our faith. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:45.759 The word walk is actually translated by a Greek word, which is uh pronounced stotio. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:51.600 Stocio means step by step or one step at a time. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.200 How many of you are living life? 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.240 One step at a time. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.879 You're moving in faith, one step at a time. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:02.159 You're moving in your relationship with the Lord one step at a time. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:03.759 That's okay. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.200 That's the way we're supposed to be walking each day. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:12.559 Moving in our faith, growing in our faith one step at a time. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:22.320 In Corinthians, he said, brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly, as infants in the faith, because that's where you were at. 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:34.080 Now, the book of James, and this is our series this month, is we're actually going through a journal together as a church on the book of James. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:39.360 We're doing our own scriptural study using an application method called the soap method. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:50.320 We take a piece of the scripture, we write it out, uh, O is the observation, we make an observation, A is an application, and P, you begin to pray about it. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:56.159 Pray about what the what the scripture is actually saying to you and how you should operate and how you should live. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:06.639 And through this process, our hope is that you will take this journey to a deeper place, your journey, your walk with God into a deeper place. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:16.000 You will grow in your faith, you'll develop a deeper and richer relationship with God, and your experience with your faith will deepen. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.399 So let's talk a little bit about James today. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:35.600 James is uh a New Testament scripture, it's a book in the scripture, and it was focused on where a lot of the other New Testament was focused on the outsider in the faith of the Jewish faith. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:45.679 Uh James is a book that was directly, it was directly uh written for the insiders, the Jewish people. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:53.919 And because the Jewish people had actually had the scripture, they were actually, they had studied the scripture. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:12:16.960 Many of them grew up memorizing the scripture, practicing the ritual of the of the Old Testament and all, and they had they had uh practiced the scripture in a very ritualistic way, and they had even experienced or actually known of a great grace, but it hadn't translated to their own lifestyle. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.519 Now, how are you going to live? 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:29.759 And so his intent is actually to remind them of the fundamentals of their faith and the importance of developing and maturing in character. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:36.559 So it's a privilege for us for the month of November to actually be going through this scripture together. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:42.399 I know that a number of you probably uh grabbed a journal on your way out last week. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.399 We hadn't quite started the series, but this week they will be. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:55.919 The journals are still available out in the lobby after service, and uh we can share with them together and uh go through the study together. 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:59.679 So James is actually starts in the scripture. 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:11.600 James is actually uh identifying himself and the audience the book is being written to, and James is saying, I am first a brother of Jesus, a servant of Jesus. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:15.279 Now, James was actually Jesus' brother. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:25.120 And uh he as a brother uh he chose to actually serve Jesus, recognize Jesus as as the Lord. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:36.399 And the audience that James was actually writing to were the twelve tribes that were actually scattered across the nations, scattered among the nations. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:41.519 Now, let me just set a bit of a background template for for this. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:46.720 Um we can read about this great scattering in Acts chapter 8. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:55.919 What had happened in Acts chapter 8 was there was a uh persecution that was affecting the Jewish people in particular. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:12.320 Uh in Acts chapter 8 it says, On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, and godly men buried Stephen, mourned deeply for him. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:19.279 But Saul, who's later became Paul, began to destroy the church, going from house to house. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:24.000 He dragged off both men and women and put them in in prison. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:37.600 So Paul, uh James is actually writing to these group of people who were scattered among Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, around the surrounding areas. 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:43.679 He was talking to them during a point where they were being persecuted, taken out of their homes. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.919 They were being hunted by Saul. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:15:02.080 He was literally going door to door throughout the area, dragging out men, women, out of their homes, and then uh either imprisoning them and in some cases killing them for their faith in Jesus. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:07.519 So James, his audience are these individuals who are scattered about. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:15.360 He writes this letter, and he was encouraging them and telling them that this journey of faith is about true faith. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.559 To hold on to what's true. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.279 It's something worth dying for. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:31.759 And in fact, this trial that they're going through is actually going to build in them a maturity that nothing else could develop in them. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:51.440 So the first thing he does is he tells them about these trials that they were experiencing, persecution, telling them to this, and this is probably one of the scriptures that you you wish you could edit in scripture, but it's fundamental to how we grow in our journey in our faith. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:16:04.399 He says this, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:12.399 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete and not lacking anything. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.919 So he's saying this count it what? 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:17.360 Joy. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:19.919 Say that again. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:21.759 Count it joy. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.600 Now say it with a smile on your face. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:28.639 Count it joy, count it joy, my brothers. 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:36.799 When you when you experience, when you encounter, when you're surrounded by trials and tribulations. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:37.759 Amen. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.919 Thank you, Lord, for this trial and this tribulation. 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:49.840 Thank you, Lord, for I'm surrounded by these trials and tribulations. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:52.639 Amen. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.879 You sound so confident. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:01.759 When you're praying this prayer, it's a it's an odd place to be. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:08.319 It's like the first words of James to this people who've been dispersed and scattered. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:14.079 Count it joy when you experience great trial, great tribulation. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.799 Put a smile on your face. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:20.400 Get together, make a meal, enjoy it. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:26.880 Play games and sing to the Lord and do all these things, write new songs. 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:28.559 Don't get down. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.359 Lift up your head when you're experiencing trials and tribulations. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:35.359 Amen. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:37.519 Yes, Lord. 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:39.119 The promise for me. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:40.640 Yes and amen. 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:41.759 Thank you, Lord. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:46.240 And so what he's saying, let it have its perfect work in you. 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:54.480 Trials and tribulations will work something perfect in you so that you're mature and complete. 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.599 How many of you want to go on this journey to maturity? 00:17:57.839 --> 00:17:59.119 Spiritual maturity. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:06.799 If you're wanting to go on this journey to spiritual maturity, you're gonna have to walk through trials and tribulations. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:11.440 And the way you're gonna have to walk through them is like not, oh, I got through it. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:14.079 You're gonna have to walk through it with a smile on. 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:21.920 Because it's that trial and tribulation that builds, builds, uh, builds maturity. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:34.559 Maturity is your in your faith, requires you to do the right thing, even though it's painful, even though it's difficult, even though it's uncomfortable, and even though it's persistent or continual. 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:43.680 Uh when like the one of the great scriptures is when the disciples were out with Jesus, and they asked Jesus a question. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:46.799 They said, Jesus, and they're hanging out with each other. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:52.720 And when people are hanging out with each other, there's often times when they get into like little disputes. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:19:00.079 And they said, Okay, Jesus, tell me, how often do I need to uh forgive? 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:07.119 And Jesus' reply to them was this I want you to forgive 70 times seven. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:14.559 And some of you, like my son, who's very uh like, okay, I have to forgive 490 times. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.880 And at 491, no. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.440 Jesus was that that's the way my son works. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:21.359 He's just like that. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:24.079 Uh I I gave them, he's very just. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:27.359 I did what the scripture said, and now it's over. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:31.519 But uh 490 is not a 70 times seven. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:41.359 Jesus was saying, What I want you to be is absolute in your forgiveness, full in your forgiveness, continual in your forgiveness. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.599 When people abuse you, smile, your forgiveness. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.240 I'm sorry, I forgive you. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:49.839 I forgive you. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.519 We're back to square one. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:56.319 I I trust you, like I come back to that place of forgiveness. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:57.759 That's hard. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.559 I went away, uh, Natalie and I were away at a wedding, and we got a report back. 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.759 You know, the kids were fighting, and I hate so and so. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:09.759 I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.559 You're not allowed to hate. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:15.920 You are not allowed to hate. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:19.200 Well, maybe I am a little, but no, you're not. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:21.359 Can I? 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.279 We went through the Ten Commandments this week. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.079 Can I lie? 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.279 No, yeah, well, maybe no, you can't. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.440 No lying. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:36.640 Well, you lie sometimes about eating my candy, and I'm like, we no, I didn't. 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:38.240 That wasn't a lie. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:45.519 It fell in my mouth at night when it was I've gone under the wrapper, and Rhesus was everywhere. 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.279 When do you stop forgiving? 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.880 You don't. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:54.880 You do the right thing. 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:56.640 That's maturity. 00:20:57.359 --> 00:20:58.319 Where do you stop? 00:20:58.480 --> 00:20:59.359 You don't. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:02.079 Trials are never a waste. 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.359 There's some then they're always something that you need to go through. 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.640 And it's not a coincidence that you're going through the trial. 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:10.880 God brings trials your way. 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:17.359 So you go through it, and actually you have to say, Thank you, Lord, for bringing me this trial. 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:26.799 So my my dad, uh, he's been dealing with uh in uh viral pneumonia. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:34.880 And he's like I went over yesterday, and we were helping like rake some leaves with the kids and just trying to help out around the house. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:46.720 And uh he got a haircut, he looks really sharp, and he got dressed up and out of the house, and and uh just has been really weak, but he really wanted to be at the the AGM meeting tonight. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.839 And uh this morning I get a phone call from my mom. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:22:03.200 I was just prepping a little bit more for my message this morning, just setting my heart right, and and uh they said they got the phone call, and I'm like, mom, are you Everything okay, and there's just like uh silence at the end of the phone. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:05.759 My mom's pretty strong, she's a strong woman. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:14.160 And she just stops and she says, Well, dad had to go back to the hospital last night, and uh they have him uh just watching him. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:23.920 His his fever, he was up at 103 degrees, 103.5 or so, and uh his heartbeat was racing and he was coughing and he just couldn't catch his breath. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:27.599 And so I don't know if he'll be at the AGM tonight. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:41.119 And uh right away I was like I'm going through this message, and I'm thinking, Lord, we've got some great news, like some things to really celebrate this evening at our AGM. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:58.480 And my dad has been working really hard at the development and the property, and uh and the team has been working really hard, and the society's doing so well, church and schools are doing so well, and he just wanted to be able to celebrate with the church, and you he may not be able to be here. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:06.160 And uh I thought, Lord, and I started feeling that sense of like where you get down, right? 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:11.920 And it's a trial, it's uh it's uh a place where you feel down. 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:18.240 You're like, well, I'll miss out, you may miss out on something that's uh gonna go ahead. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.279 And and I just said, Lord, why? 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:26.000 And I started asking, Lord, it's okay to ask those questions, but I started saying, why? 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:30.880 And and the scripture just came back, count it joy when you go through these things. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:39.519 Like, don't don't go down, don't go down that path, don't go down that route, don't go down that road, don't like open that door. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.400 No, Lord, you've got all things under control. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:47.440 You're gonna make us stronger through this, you're gonna help us grow bit greater through this. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:53.440 Your blessings are still gonna come, wave after wave after wave, as you've promised. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.279 Your blessings and your promises to us are yes and amen. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:58.400 Yes and amen. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.920 Your gifts are still gonna come. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:02.799 You're the father of every good and perfect gift. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:04.000 It comes from you. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.319 We're expecting great things. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.480 I'm not gonna go down this path. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:09.920 Am I disappointed? 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:20.400 Yes, but will I turn my head towards heaven and say, Lord, we're gonna get through this, and and this is a pro step in the journey. 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:31.440 This is a step along the way to being stronger and to maturing as a church and maturing as a congregation and the church taking up the weight of where the church is going. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.759 We're gonna grow through this. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:38.240 These things are things that we have to factor in. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:47.200 The Bible says, consider it joy when you go through these things, when your faith is being tested, because you'll grow stronger. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:48.960 Stronger. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:53.440 Tell your neighbor, we're gonna grow stronger, stronger today. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:56.079 What you're going through will make you stronger. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.359 Tell them what you're going through will make you stronger. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:05.599 Tell them that because people are going through things here, but what you're going through today will make you stronger. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:09.839 Hard things will make you better, will make you stronger. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.359 It causes you to grow. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:13.839 So do the hard things. 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:16.799 These are things that you need to do. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.880 Don't avoid the hard things. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:20.960 Do the hard things. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:27.440 Do the things that cause you to be challenged, tested, tried, do the hard things. 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:29.279 The Bible says it's a test. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:35.519 And the testing of your faith will develop a maturity. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:26:12.160 So, what this word testing meant, this word testing was actually the words of a silversmith or goldsmith, and they would heat up uh gold or silver until the place where it was it was uh generate where the the dross or the impurities would come to the top, and the the uh the silversmith would actually take the the the top layer, take the dross off the top, and then he would heat it up again, and then he'd remove the impurities again, then they bubble up again, and he'd remove the impurities, and it didn't happen one time. 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:37.119 Over and over and over the the the mature the the things that were toxic, the things that were in it that were uh impure would come to the top and it'd constantly be swept out until the the place where the um the silversmith would be able to look into that pot of silver and would be able to see his reflection in the silver. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:49.759 And what happens, church, is that the Lord actually starts doing that, turns up the heat in our lives so that impurities come out and then he cleans it. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:57.359 Then impurities come out until you become to look more and more like your Maker, more and more like Him. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:03.839 The the place in our lives where we'll be tested can sometimes be like super exhausting. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:15.680 My mom said, I love what my mom says, at times she's she's like, her prayer is always like, I'm done, Lord, like you've tested me enough, I'm mature. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:17.519 I'm at that place. 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:19.599 No more testing required. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:22.160 I I've maxed out, like I've hit it. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:23.440 I'm at a hundred percent. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:29.599 I think she's trying to convince God that she's fully mature as a Christian. 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:36.720 But I found that it'll continually come, wave after wave, of these tests. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.839 Having money in the bank, there'll still be a test. 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:44.880 Having a new car, there'll still be a test. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.519 Retiring, there'll still be a test. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:50.240 Having children, test. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.640 They're gone from school, there'll be a test. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:55.200 There'll always be these tests. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:28:06.400 I remember being in Hawaii with uh friends of mine on holiday, and I remember the waves were just incredible at the peak of winter. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:12.400 They were getting almost a hundred-foot waves for the Quicksilver Surf Competition, and they had to shut it down. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:22.960 The waves were so high from the bottom of the where the wave was pulling, from the bottom to the very top of the wave, almost 95 feet or so, something like that. 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:24.480 Just really high. 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:28.400 And my buddy and I decided to go swimming in the ocean. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:32.480 Not in those waves, but we decided, let's go. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:35.839 We're only gonna play in the waves a little bit, right? 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:43.759 And so we were out in the waves and we were swimming around, and we're kind of riding the waves in body surfing and things like that. 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:50.079 And uh all of a sudden, uh kind of a rush of these waves came in. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:55.680 And we were only like a little ways out, probably from me to the pole, no kidding. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:29:04.559 And the water just like the sandbar just dropped down, and and all of a sudden, these waves came and it was like one crash, and we're like, oh, that was fun. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:12.400 And then as soon as you caught your breath, another crash came in, then another, and another wave. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:24.559 And I was fortunate enough I could, I, I could, I found a little sandy spot, and I just got my head up, and I and every time we tried to make it to short, the shore that little distance, we kept getting pulled back. 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:30.880 And I came to the place where it was like, I don't know how many more of these I can take. 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.839 And I looked at my friend, and my friend was in real trouble. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:41.759 And I got my foot on the foot on the on a hold, and I reached out and I grabbed my friend, and I said, Come on, like we're gonna make it. 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:50.000 We got like a little breath, and we just pulled ourselves to shore, and by the time we got to shore, I was exhausted. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:56.319 20 feet, wave after wave after wave. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:30:02.240 And sometimes we get into that place in our lives where those waves come crashing in. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:31.680 Trials, difficulty, and we're like, but the Bible, the scripture says there's no temptation so great that you can't sustain it, that the Lord will provide for you a way out when you call out and you reach out to Him, where His grace will not be sufficient enough for you, His grace will always be sufficient that in those times of challenge, church, God's grace is there to support you, his strength is there to support you. 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:34.960 I really feel like I don't know, is Debbie here this morning? 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:35.920 Debbie Fry? 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:37.519 Are you here? 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:38.799 Come on up here for a minute. 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:42.640 She doesn't know I was gonna call her up, but she shared something in prayer. 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:43.839 Come on up. 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:48.640 Is this okay? 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:49.759 Uh thanks. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:54.079 I just want you to share what you shared at pre-service prayer this morning. 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:55.599 Um preach it out. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:05.359 Yeah, I've got um I was um sharing that um, oh, there's so many things, you know. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:07.440 I could, I could preach. 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:15.359 Um anyway, I was uh, you know, I I just want to say something, and it's been as encouragement. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:25.039 You know, the Lord often will I I will hear a word and sometimes I will pay attention to it, and sometimes I I will dismiss it. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:34.240 And I want to encourage you to be uh attentive and um because God is always speaking. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:36.799 It's not the problem isn't God, it's me. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:38.160 Am I listening? 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:49.680 And so in this situation, I kept hearing the word settle, settle, and I would even get a picture, and I was thinking, you know, a baby settling a baby. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:32:01.599 And anyway, when I when I started, when I got handed this last week, and I was reading through James, which I love because there's only a couple of verses every day and it's doable. 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:09.839 And so I decided I came across that word settle again, and I thought, I'm gonna look this up, I'm gonna check it out. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:18.880 And it's um it talked about unsettled, it talked about uh instability, and you know, like that wave. 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:35.119 Um and I was thinking, I all of a sudden I felt like I heard Holy Spirit say, challenge me and say, you need to settle some things, you need to settle some things in your heart, Debbie. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:40.559 Like, am I for you or am I against you? 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:45.359 Are you believing truth or are you believing a lie? 00:32:45.599 --> 00:33:29.039 And I felt like I have a foot in this camp, but I have a foot in this camp, and the Lord wants me to put both feet in his camp, and that I resist, I'm not wavering back and forth and back and forth, that I make a decision that I am aligning myself with his truth, and I am not, and so after I had that, I did have a test, and I woke up one night over a situation, uh, bing, four o'clock in the morning, and I felt this incredible fear come against me on something was so random, it's like I shouldn't even be fearing this. 00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:31.599 So I, you know, it was just really odd. 00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:36.720 And I thought, no, no, this is not coming on me. 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:45.519 And I've spent, I don't know, I I bet two hours resisting, resisting, meditating on the truth, actually. 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:48.400 Not just resisting, but meditating on his truth. 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:53.519 And um, oh, the whole point was, yeah, that he really is my father. 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:56.799 He that that's a part of the heart, that's the foundation. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:34:06.559 You know, you started Pastor Brody with Psalms 40, where Holy Spirit says, you know, he he's reaching out his hand to take us out of the mirror clay. 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:14.960 And you know, prophetically, I reach my hand out to his and I say, Yes, Lord, and he sets me on that rock. 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:20.079 And the rock, really, the foundation is am I really connected to his love? 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:22.559 Do I really believe that he cares for me? 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:29.760 That he's looking out for me, that he really knows what he put in me from the very uh foundation? 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.159 Am I gonna align with that? 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:36.320 Or am I gonna align with that mask, that, that, that lie? 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:37.360 No. 00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:40.880 I'm gonna, you know, that's a decision I have to make. 00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:43.679 And yeah, I'll be, you know, we're testing on it. 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:48.000 So it is an exhortation to me, but it's also encouragement. 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:51.039 Like it it's like he is for us. 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:52.559 He is for us. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:35:01.519 And if I want to see miracles, and if I want to see healings, I I have to have both both of my feet in his camp. 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:02.079 Amen. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:06.719 Amen. 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:10.480 So we settle some things. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:11.920 We settle some things. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:26.400 We say, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, even in the difficult times, yes, Lord, even in the trials, yes, Lord, even in the temptation, yes, Lord, even in those things that the that we don't feel like we want to do. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:29.920 I I I love the even the simple example of the tithe. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:48.000 The tithe is uh is is our resources where we give of ourselves and and the Lord says, test, I'm gonna like you can test him in this, that if you give, the Lord will open up the floodgates of heaven over the windows of heaven over your life. 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:52.000 But the test isn't for him, it's not like he needs the money. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:57.760 The test is for us, are we willing to obey the commandment to actually give? 00:35:58.559 --> 00:36:03.519 Are we gonna obey that commandment to give so that we become more mature? 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:09.199 We're not held by money, we're not the root of the love of money, isn't in our hearts. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:14.480 Selfishness isn't in our hearts, poverty isn't in our hearts, like I'll never have enough. 00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:16.480 I have to hold on to this thing. 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:18.000 I have to hold on to it. 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:27.360 Where instead it's like, no, the Lord is my provider, he's sufficient for me, and I can give freely because I know that he'll take care of me. 00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:30.480 It's a maturity in our faith. 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:40.559 You'll never move to that place of maturity unless you start practicing these simple things, practicing these things that are hard. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:43.280 Because that's a tenth of my income. 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:49.599 That's a tenth of my resource, that's a tenth of what I love that I work for, that's mine. 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:51.440 It says, no, I'm gonna give it away. 00:36:51.519 --> 00:37:00.320 It's a hard thing to do, but in doing it, I I I know I'm growing in my faith and God's doing something in me. 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:01.440 Amen? 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:03.119 Amen. 00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:08.719 It's a beautiful picture because the more you go through the fire, the purer you become. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:12.400 And you're in the process of becoming more like Him. 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:16.480 So the the question is more or less your attitude. 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:28.559 How how will you approach difficult things, difficult times, difficult challenges, temptations in your life, difficult seasons in your life? 00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:36.559 Uh Chuck Swindall says this I'm convinced that in life it's 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. 00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:39.599 It's your attitude that will determine your altitude. 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:45.440 It's how you respond to these challenges in your life that will help you to grow. 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:49.599 Now, some may say, well, who else had to deal with this? 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:51.920 Going through hard times. 00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:55.199 Well, I'll tell you this: Jesus had to go through it. 00:37:56.239 --> 00:38:09.840 The Bible said that he learned what it meant to be a son through the things that he suffered, the challenges he went through, the sufferings he went through, and David went through it. 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:19.840 David was slaying giants, defending, doing what was right, and he went through challenges where he had his father-in-law winding him dead. 00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:34.000 He wanted to uh he had to run for his life, he had to live in caves and ditches, he had to uh live alone, and the place where he found the greatest escape was in actually in his enemy's camp. 00:38:34.159 --> 00:38:37.679 That's how much that's how far he had to run. 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:43.920 These issues that we go through are there on purpose for our life. 00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:47.360 I think about it like uh making a cake. 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:50.719