Adulting When Times Are Hard - James 1:2-8 | Skip Heitzig

welcome to Calvary Church with skip heik we're so glad you've joined us today while many books articles and social media posts offer advice on adulting in our daily lives there's only one resource to help us become spiritually mature Believers God's word this study in the Book of James with Pastor skip will encourage you to embrace discipline and difficulty to glorify God and demonstrate your faith to others um let me take you back to when I was in grade school and I forgot an assignment that was due and the teacher made it clear that this assignment this paper uh will be turned in tomorrow and a large portion of your grade will be determined by that project so I came to school and class started and I realized I had forgotten my paper my assignment so I decided to get it I decided to leave leave the classroom without telling my teacher and I'd walk home about 6 miles see I wasn't thinking straight I just panicked I was gripped with fear and I thought I got to go get it so I started walking I did not call my parents they didn't know the school didn't know but my parents got a call from the school saying your child is missing and we don't know where he is we think maybe he like has to get his paper so my dad went out looking for me and he found me so just picture a little Skippy out there walking around in the field trying to go home get his paper and my dad finding me and when he found me he had the paper in hand and he drove me back to school and I turned it in that's a little Skippy now let me tell you about little chippy Chippy the parakeet Chippy the parakeet never saw it coming one second he's peacefully perched in his cage the next he is sucked in washed up and blown over the problem began when chippy's owner decided to clean chippy's cage with a vacuum cleaner she removed the attachment from the end of the hose stuck it in the cage the phone rang and she turned to pick it up she had barely said hello when chippy got sucked in the bird owner gasped put down the phone turned off the vacuum opened the bag there was chippy still alive but stunned since the bird was covered with dust and soot she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom turned on the faucet and held chippy under running water then realizing the chippy was soaked and shivering she did what any compassionate bird owner would do she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air poor chippy never knew what hit him a few days after the trauma the reporter who initially had written about the event contacted chippy's owner to see how the bird was recovering well she replied chippy doesn't sing much anymore he just sits around and stares okay that's okay for Chippy okay for Skippy that is not okay for adult mature followers of Jesus Christ suffering as an adult should be markedly different from suffering as a child because when we become mature we become equipped to handle hardship pains and trial a baby when a baby doesn't get is way how tell me how does a baby communicate cries right wow good imitation there um so if the baby is feeling pain or the baby is hungry or disappointed or has unfulfilled desires or is tired or doesn't get his or her way same mode of communication it's a cry the mother has to figure out what that cry means as the child GR grows a little bit he or she handles trials pain difficulty much differently as a toddler instead of crying they might just pout or uh act impulsively or blame others then the child grows and becomes a teenager by now the individual has learned the fine art of manipulation perhaps or becomes argumentative or Acts recklessly or just feels isolated and overwhelmed but the older we get the more mature we should be we not always are but we should be we should suffer differently children don't have the same emotional capacity that adults have the mode of expression varies as a mature individual we handle difficulties much better than when we were younger as a Christian you and I should be handling difficulties much much better the main theme of the book of James is grow up Christian maturity marks of a mature believer the sub theme might be genuine genuine faith will produce genuine proof If you have legitimate real authentic faith in Jesus Christ there should be real genuine proof the first line of proof is how that Christian man or woman faces hardship we're going to look at verses 2 through verse 8 the title of this message is called adult ing when times are hard and it's all about trials so I'm going to give you four realities about trials first trials are normal They're Not Unusual they're normal verse two my brethren count it all joy we'll get to that part when notice the word when not if it's not like this is a real possibility but it's going to happen when it happens count it all joy when you fall into various trials suffering is a fact of life of every life including your life this is why uh Peter said uh my beloved Brethren don't think it a strange thing when you encounter fiery trials as though some strange thing happened to you it's not strange it's normal job in chapter 5 we are told man is born to trouble as surely as the Sparks Fly upward light a fire and you can expect the same thing to happen every time little incandescent pieces are going to be flying off the top of that fire and you got to watch that they don't catch others on fire man is born to trouble as sure as the Sparks Fly upward now if you're a Christian and you're listening to what I just said you might have a rebuttal and say now wait a minute not us not Christians in the same way that unbelievers have them certainly not us we're children of God somebody told me sometime that that if I have enough faith and I really believe that I don't have to suffer I don't have to go through the same kind of hardships I can have glorious Prosperity that's fake news Jesus said that God causes the rain and the sun to fall on the just and on the ungodly alike Jesus said to his disciples in the world you shall have tribulation same thing not might not maybe you shall have tribulation now go back to verse two not only should you notice the word when you fall into various trials but look at the first two words what are they my brethren who's he talking to Christians his brothers and sisters in Christ Jewish Believers of the diaspora but they are believing in Jesus so my brethren counted all joy when you fall into various trials why why is it that that there's no immunity if you're a Believer why is it that as Believers sometimes God allows us to go through some of the most severe kind of Trials here's why if you're going to pick up on anything in this sermon pick up on this the reason Christians go through trials is to show the superiority of a life lived in God we are on display it's as if we say you want to know how to suffer I'll show you I will be on display I will show the superiority of a life lived in God this is the reason Christians get cancer this is why Christians face bankruptcy this is why Christians deal with depression this is why Christians have their hearts broken people of God handle things differently than people who are not the people of God we should be better at it and this text will show us why Charles Haden Spurgeon put it this way I believe the hardeste hearted most unlovely Christians in all the world are those who have never had much trouble and those who are the most sympathizing loving and Christlike are those that have had the most afflictions the worst thing that can happen to any of us is to have our path made too smooth well God's got you covered he's going to make sure your path is not too smooth he loves you that much to make sure that you don't skate by real easily by the way notice how it is written my brethren counter all joy when you fall into various trials you don't even have to go looking for him you you'll just be walking along bam you'll fall into it and that's part of the pain you say I didn't see that coming I didn't anticipate it exactly you fall into them something else about these trials what is the word that modifies trials what kind of Trials are they various trials that's a very interesting word pilos is the word used in Greek and pilas means many colored many colored it's the same word used of if it was the septu in Greek translation of the Old Testament Joseph's coat of many colors our word would be variegated many Hues as many colors as are on the panone color chart which are 1,114 to be exact God has different shades of trial for you and I one day you might be feeling blue the next day you might have a gray day the next day you might be Green With Envy and the following day red hot with anger they are various trials some are big some are small some are short we like those kind some are prolonged over months and years some are intense some are Mild they are various trials there's physical trials there's emotional trials there's spiritual trials physical trials include cancer Strokes heart attacks birth defects traffic accidents in the Bible job had a physical trial he lost his health he had a loathsome skin disease and he couldn't figure out why and to add to his misery his friends just kept saying it's cuz you got sin in your life sin in your life sin in your life none of that was true then there was Paul Paul had a thorn in the flesh probably uh an eye disease most think Simon was a leper that Jesus went to go visit all those are physical trials but then we have emotional trials if you're familiar with the book of Psalms how many Psalms are steeped in emotional trauma even David said I make my bed swim with tears you wonder how much I cry feel my pillow it's soaked with my tears Elijah was a dynamic Prophet but he got overwhelmed by exhaustion and depression it got so bad he lifted up his voice and just said kill me God take my life from me he came to an end of himself he was so disr he wanted to die e Stanley Jones who was a missionary to India told of a preacher who prepared a 10 sermon series called how to avoid a nervous breakdown before he could even finish the series he himself had a nervous breakdown so there are physical trials there are emotional trials and there are spiritual trials we agonize over sin over guilt over doubt or spiritual expectations that we thought God should do and he didn't do it John the Baptist suffered doubt like that he was locked up in jail persecuted waiting for Jesus to do something finally sent a note to our Lord saying are you the one or should we be looking for someone else like come on you're the Messiah do something Messianic Step It Up by the way something else about trials they don't lessen with time I wish that I could say they do but it's not like well when you're 35 you have less trials than when you did when you were 25 or when you're 60 you know it's a just it's easy then when you were 50 it's not same amount same amount but hopefully by then you have learned how to deal with them better and differently so trials are normal that's the first of the four realities about trials second this is the hard part trials can be joyful there's always silence when I say that cuz cuz and I know what that means like okay explain yourself trials can be joyful look what it says my brethren count it all joy means pure joy sheer Joy when you fall into various trials now be honest you have read this verse and you have thought that is one of the most outrageous statements in the New Testament am I right I would vote it as that if I didn't know exactly what it meant that sounds irrational that sounds like that 1988 Bobby mcferren song you remember that don't worry be happy that's a good song If like life is good but if you are going through a hardship and you hear that song it is the most irritating tune on Earth so my brethren count it all Joy you don't expect to have that in the same sentence trial and joy joyful trial that sounds like an oxymoron you know like airline food you have one word that cancels out the other word or political science would be an oxymoron or government intelligence or pretty ugly or Microsoft Works all those are oxymorons joyful trials are you kidding my joy comes when the trials over my joy is directly proportional to the absence of a hardship not the presence of one that's how we think so let me explain what it means when it says my brethren count it all joy pure joy sheer Joy when you fall into various trials first of all there's a huge difference between joy and and happiness that's right Joy is not happiness happiness is not Joy James is not saying don't worry be happy he's not doing that happiness is a passing emotion in California where I come from if it's a sunny day and the waves are good all the Surfers are out there going dude dude the waves are so epic they so awesome and I'm so happy dude but when they're not good it's like I'm so not happy because happy depends on the happenings the circumstances the circumstances are good happy circumstances are bad unhappy that is not joy joy let me explain what Joy is joy is a supernatural Delight doesn't come from you it's a supernatural Delight in the person in the purposes and in the people of God come on that's joy and that doesn't depend on what's happening outside of you that's a decision you make inside of you Joy is a supernatural Delight in the person purposes and people of God that takes us to the word count look at that my brethren count it all joy that's a very important word he's not saying feel joyful he's saying count it all joy what does that mean count means consider calculate or evaluate he's not telling you to feel something he's telling you to think something evaluate something calculate the benefits of suffering and then Embrace that suffering as a means to that end that's what it means to count something as Joy JB Phillips translation puts it this way when all kinds of Trials and temptations crowd your lives my brothers don't resent them as Intruders but welcome them as friends don't don't resent them as in I can't believe this why is this happening to me welcome them as friends you can only do that if you counted Joy if you are Forward Thinking enough to say what is the benefit of this going to be see Christians are not masochists we're pragmatists and what I mean by that is we are rejoicing in the benefits that that suffering is going to bring you know sort of like going to a dentist um when my mom used to say uh you have a dental appointment I didn't go awesome love that drill and want a needle right here I hated it today I'll go to the dentist I think a little bit differently about it I see the benefits of going like my teeth won't fall out that's good so I'll go through the suffering because I know what the benefit is going to be in in the book of Acts when the Sanhedrin arrested jesus' followers Apostles and uh beat them and then commanded them not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus listen to their reaction so they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name they counted it Joy because God counted them Worthy on later on Paul and Silas were put in jail also beaten and chained but at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them free concert and God liked the concert so much he brought the house down later on Paul gets put in jail again now this guy goes from prison to prison right every time he goes to a town it's like where's the jail I got to find out where I'm spending the night so he's in Rome in jail for two years he writes to the Philippian Church the letter to the Philippians in which though he is a prisoner he uses the word Joy rejoicing Rejoice 16 times joy joy Joy I Rejoice I'm happy I'm joyful you can only do that if you're nuts or you're doing this you're counting it evaluating It Forward looking and making the decision now unbelievers can't do this they're unable to do this and here's why for an unbeliever this life is all there is and if this life which is all there is there's no afterlife for them if this life is marred by suffering and pain and hardship they have lost it all for the believer they can do this because no matter how dark it gets it's for a good reason there's a benefit there's light at the end of the tunnel and then and then when life is over with a reward in heaven so when we do this when we suffer like this we are showing the superiority of a life lived in God so spiritual maturity then can be measured by what it takes to steal your joy what does it take to steal your joy for some of you it's just drive out on a Sooner Road after service and uh and gosh you know and I always wonder you know why is it that um people are in the left lane they passing Lane going slow this and it's like if you come to Albuquerque that's the first thing you got to learn go slow in the fast L anyway you can see how easy it is to steal my joy trials are normal trials can be joyful third reality about trials trials could be transformational the very thing you hate the most the suffering the trial the pain could be the pivotal point where you are transformed let's look what is says verse three knowing knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing you see trials prove something and trials produce something first of all they they prove something what do they prove they they prove your faith they they prove it's real or they prove it's fake well how do I know if my faith is is is okay put it through a trial trials become the faith Omer to show you if you have faith at all in God a lot of people say they have faith in God they don't and you know by putting them through a trial or if the faith is weak or strong so that's what it says here knowing verse three knowing the testing of your faith that's the phrase I want to zero it the testing of your faith a jeweler was always able to tell if the gold was fake or real by putting a flame under it and heating it up and somebody might have sold it to him but he finds out if it's real or not by the impurities that rise to the surface so uh this is what Peter writes it sounds very much like James this is 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 6 in this you greatly Rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuiness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise honor and Glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ you see a faith that can't be tested is a faith that can't be trusted how do you know if your faith is any good put fire under it if it's counterfeit it will show that it's fake it will reveal you see I am not naive to think that every single person in this room right now is a genuine follower of Christ most of Y all are I would assume and I think that's fairly accurate but but probably not everyone here is a follower and the proof is always in the pudding folks and that is the trial that you face when the pressure is on when the pressure is on there's people who say yeah I used to come to church I believed in God I read my Bible I don't do that anymore I went through so many hardships okay you just proved the whole point Jesus spoke of the seed he said some of it fell on Stony places where it didn't have much Earth immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of Earth but when the sun was up and they were scorched and because they had no root they withered away I watch people go through crisis all the time I've been doing this a long time I've walked with different ones through different times of life and when the when the pressure is on the trials are on the fire is on some get stronger and better some crumble fade away are consumed so trials prove something that's one benefit second trials produce something where do they produce here it is knowing that the testing of your faith produces ah what does it produce patience patience a better translation would be perseverance and there's even better translations than that um the Greek word patience let's put it up on the screen here can you read that on top so I just you think I'm smart when I do this kind of stuff I have to look this stuff up but this is the Greek word Hoopa Mane Hoopa Mane and uh let me tell you about that word it's an important word it comes from two words Hoopa hoop which means under below and then man or um men means to remain when Jesus said abide in me and I in you in John 15 he used the word men stay remain so Hoopa man is a word that means to remain under or to Bear up under so instead of Translating that word hoam patience I think there's a better rendering staying power staying power heroic endurance is another translation fortitude would be another one I like this one toughness patience Hoopa man is having a holy toughness a holy tenacity when you are repeatedly tested and you Prevail you get tougher and you get better and you get better able to handle what is coming after this so Romans 5:3 Paul writes this and not only that but we also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance hoam same word and perseverance character and character hope and hope does not disappoint so we have a couple benefits and that's why I say trials could be transformational they prove something but they produce something and what they produce is staying power holy toughness holy toughness tenacity but look at verse four but let patience have its perfect work oo now that's different okay they're going to produce that only if if you do this let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing see you got to stay under it you got to let the process go on until that Holy toughness is developed so you got to stand it um so okay I'm going to have you Pastor Reverend come on up here this is Pastor Nick right give Nick a hand because here's why you got to give Nick a hand I'm the trial and he's the triy okay ready so when you go through a um trial you feel pressure pressure comes on you and when the the pressure comes on you does that feel good yeah it's like a massage yeah yeah yeah okay I'll do that all day so when the pressure comes on you the first thing you want to do when you feel the pressure is what Buckle he said Buckle or move out of the way or go somewhere else I don't want this I don't like this this is painful it hurt it's just there's a monkey on my back a pastor on my back so you want to bail you want go somewhere else you want to leave town you want to quit the marriage you want to quit the job if the nail doesn't remain under the pressure of the hammer it will never hold up the wall if if the diamond doesn't remain under the pressure of the Chisel it will never become a fine Jewel if the gold doesn't remain in the fire it will never be refined if the Christian doesn't remain under the pressure he'll never be what God wants him to be good job you passed the [Applause] trial we want to cut the process short let let let patience have its perfect work remain there don't run remain there what separates the men from the boys is the ability to suffer well come on everybody suffers right not everybody suffers well the what separates the men from the boys is the ability to Suffer Well take pain graciously by the way parents you don't do your kids any favors by trying to deliver them from every problem well if Johnny does that there' be a consequence I can't let let it happen let it happen or he will grow up weak and anemic you want him to be tough let it happen a nature teaches us that if you free a butterfly from its Crysis from its individual struggle to get free you will destroy its life it will never soar let that struggle occur so trials could be transformational they're normal they can be joyful they could be transformational fourth and final final reality about trials trials should be educational okay so maybe right about now you're going okay I'm in I'm going to stay put I'm going to remain under I'm going to let God do what he wants to do I want to change but I I need some help here I need some insight I need some wisdom God's got you covered verse five if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him but let him ask in faith with no doubting for He Who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man literally twoo unstable in all his ways first of all I believe that verse 5 is one of the most misused verses in the New Testament you know um I didn't study last night God but I'm taking a test today so God just please please please give me wisdom download all the information in my little brain right now in jesus' name amen it's not wisdom like that it's in context the wisdom you need in a trial that's the context here the contexts are trials tribulation hardship in that context ask for wisdom usually when we're going through a trial and we pray we pray for deliverance James says pray for intelligence pray to find out what's up God what what are you trying to do here now whenever we go through a trial first question we ask is why and that's a good question to ask but don't ask why in the in the normal way you ask why not not the ultimate why why is there suffering on Earth there are good answers to that question question now is not the time to be asking it in the midst of a trial not the ultimatum why God I don't know why you let this happen you have till Friday to let me know why not the comparative why why do I have to go through why why didn't she have the same trial I have none of that is helpful what is helpful is the personal why Lord why why now why for me what what is it you're trying to do I would like the wisdom to know what you're trying to teach me that's the wisdom he's all about one of my favorite stories about this comes from a commentary written on the Book of James by Warren wiby he was the pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago he said while he was a pastor he had a secretary who had a stroke and her husband went BL blind at the same time and was rushed to the hospital and they thought he was going to die he almost did die Pastor weby saw her at church and saw uh his secretary and said man I'm praying for you which is a good thing to say when you see somebody going through it and she said what are you praying for and he said why I'm praying for courage and peace and she said that's good I appreciate that but pray for one more thing Pastor pray that I will have the wisdom not to waste all of this it's a good prayer and here's why if you're if you're going through a struggle a hardship and that's the hand of God you believe trying to teach you something learn what he's trying to teach you so you don't have to have a doover learn to graduate from that lesson don't be in fifth grade for 10 years in a row right you see what I'm saying it's like okay I need to learn this today so I don't go through this again so ask God for wisdom if any one lacks wisdom let them ask of God who gives liberally without reproach I love that in other words if you're if you're struggling and you pray to God and you want want wisdom God won't scold you oh you again don't you know I'm God I'm like running the universe and you're pestering me with your little trial God won't do that God invit you to ask him for wisdom but let him ask in faith in other words make sure you really want to know ask in faith and what do I mean by really want to know total submission I'm totally submitted to you God nothing is off limits whatever it is you're trying to show me I am open to it all you know none of this uh well I kind of sort of want to know what God wants but I'm not going to stay with that man another day or I'm going to not put up with that at work any longer really really that's not remaining under that's not asking God for wisdom of what he's trying to do in your life ask in faith nothing wavering if you suffer and you are not leaning on God's wisdom you're going to be like a cork bobbing up and down in the ocean up and down happy sad happy sad unreliable minded now let me close let me close with what I think is a good example of somebody who encapsulates all of this this morning as soon as I say his name you're going to go oh yeah that's him Joseph Joseph in the Old Testament ever just make a little running list of what Joseph went through first of all his father set him up for failure by giving him preferential treatment in front of his brothers which caused them to hate him they hated him and sold him as a slave so they human trafficked him to Egypt where he worked as a slave then he was falsely accused and did prison time for a false accusation just horrible thing after horrible thing and he did not deserve any of it he did everything right and everything wrong happened to him why why if anybody had the reason why me it' be Joseph but if you ask for the wisdom that is mentioned about here ah well now that makes more sense the trials were allowed by God to train Joseph to be a leader when the world faed its darkest famine the only way you get trained to take the whole world through a time of dark despair is if you've gone through personally dark despair that's the training grounds so think of it this way if Joseph's brothers didn't hate him they wouldn't have sold him if they wouldn't have sold him he wouldn't have gone down to Egypt if he wouldn't have gone down to Egypt he wouldn't have gone to work for pipar if he didn't work for pipar he wouldn't uh have been falsely accused by Piper's wife if he wasn't falsely accused by Pip's wife he never would have been thrown in jail if he hadn't been thrown in jail he never would have the opportunity to interpret the dream of the Butler and the baker if he didn't interpret the dream of the Butler and the baker he wouldn't have had the opportunity to stand before pharaoh and interpret Pharaoh's dream if he wouldn't have interpreted Pharaoh's dream he wouldn't become the second most powerful dude on Earth because he interpreted the dream so perfectly so trial trial trial trial hardship hardship hardship hardship then where's the wisdom of of God well I'm certain that Joseph asked what is it you're trying to do what are you trying to show me and that shows up in chapter 50 of the Book of Genesis where Joseph finally says to his brothers as for you you meant this for evil but God meant it for good to save many people alive as it is this day that's the wisdom of God now I get it now I know why I went through it all he was training me for this so I want to close by asking you three questions question number one do you believe God's in control yes really really in control that means nothing is happening to you you willy-nilly haphazardly I just I don't know why no there's a sovereign God orchestrating every single thing that he allows to come into your life even Temptations God's in control second question do you believe God is good even though you can't see it right now do you believe God is good third are you willing to wait on him until you see that good worked out to remain under to stay put to learn perseverance patience the ability to have holy toughness because the trials are not slowing down the older you get they're just going to be different and you're going to be able or not able to handle them so father we want to commit to you what James called various trials we fall into them they happen they're normal first of all Lord I pray that we would understand there is a holy Sovereign perfect God who allows certain things for our benefit all things work together for good to those who love God therefore we can make a evaluation to be joyful to count it all joy and to let the moment of pain transform Us in evaluating our faith and in producing a holy tenacity patience give us wisdom Lord what our next move is what should we do what are you trying to show us because you are good your way is perfect in jesus' name amen thank you so much for joining us for this message from Calvary Church with skip heik we would love love to know how this teaching has impacted you share your story with us email my story at Calvary nm. Church and if you'd like to support this Bible Teaching Ministry with a financial gift visit Calvary nm. Church

Channel: Connect with Skip Heitzig

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Keywords: Calvary, Albuquerque, Skip, Heitzig, Sermons, Calvary Church, Jesus, How to Study the Bible, Gospel, adulting, deliverance, educational, emotional, faith, happiness, intelligence, joy, joyful, learn, mature, patience, people, person, physical, pressure, produce, purpose, rejoicing, spiritual, suffer, suffering, test, trial, tribulation, trouble, wisdom

Id: PNtmI05wIVQ

Length: 45min 15sec (2715 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 29 2024