Count It All Joy // Wendy Perez

would you open your Bibles to James chapter one my husband I moved 14 years ago to Las Vegas and we have three kids BJ is 17 he is he's as tall as Benny and broad shoulders and he's driving and all that good stuff and I thought that my prayer life was good and then my child got her driver's license you know it's like really really intense BJ is also a verbal processor I don't know if any of you are married to or have sons that are verbal processors it's frankly exhausting okay they are exhausting to talk to because they have to talk about every single thing that's happening in their life and then embellish she's beautiful and she's sweet and and I think somewhere in heaven God got Gracie and Bella mixed up cuz Bella reminds me so much of pastor Chelsea she's just so kind but it's fully in control of the whole family fully in control and I mean that in the best possible way she knows that but she just doesn't also gently and kindly and all of a sudden you realize you have completely conformed to her will and I just love her she's probably gonna be running the church next year and she's 13 so and then God gave me benaiah oh my calling the spice of life you know because you you know spice makes the food you're eating so much better but too much of it can make you cry choked a little bit you know he was talking to Bella one day and I overheard him and he said Bella there's just three things you need in life she's like what do you mean benaiah he said you need a mansion you need a jacuzzi and you need a Beyonce Bella goes vinaya do you even know what a Beyonce is and he goes nope but I know you need one oh my gosh you can pray for me actually I'm just gonna tell you something but if he ever comes to this church you can never tell him that I told you this because I think it's just the cutest thing in the whole wide world he's ten years old and we were in prayer and fasting at the church I'm not sure if I believe in fasting yet but I'll let you know in just a few more days and we're investing and then you know we're being creative with the fasting and soap and I as fasting being mean to people which at 10 that's a pretty good thing too fast right and so he sits down with me and he's doing his Bible reading and he's you know writing down three things that he learns from his Bible reading and he sits there and he says mom I have a really short temper and I said yeah you do and he's like do you think I could go to counseling or something - just isn't that the sweetest thing ever and I'm like of course you can go to counseling baby I just said though I mean I never were you did you ask for counseling when you were 10 like I've never heard a ten-year-old asks for counseling ever but I thought it was adorable and I'm gonna find one so he's so cute but he would just die he would just die alright you open to James chapter 1 James chapter 1 starting in verse 2 I'm reading out of the ESV translation counted all joy my brothers or sisters when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing go back to verse 2 just just for a fact count it all joy my sisters when you meet trials of various kinds can we pray father I just thank you so much for this evening lord I just pray more than anything more than my words or funny stories Lord that you your word would go forth tonight Oh Lord and will go down deep in our hearts and bear good fruit in our lives in Jesus name Amen my husband and I have been married 18 years we'll be married 19 years in March this year it basically feels like 25 but we have a really great marriage we had a little bit of a rocky start those first five years we went to plenty of counseling that's how B'nai I got the idea about counseling uh we worked through that and now it's been really it's been really really great how many here tonight are multitaskers you're a multitasker I look at these are the women that make the world go around you are awesome well I am just a failure of our gender in general I am NOT a multitasker like I basically thought that was just like a given like if you're a woman right you can bring home the bacon you can fry it up in a like you can just do it all but I'm not I'm not a multitasker it took me a few years to figure this out and my husband just doesn't understand he just doesn't get it how I can't do two things at once so for example if I'm sitting down and I'm watching television you know something really encouraging and you know uplifting to my spiritual walk with Jesus like Real Housewives or something like that and I'm sitting there and I'm watching this and my soul's being ministered to um he doesn't understand why I can't do a laundry at the same time right he's like I just don't understand I mean let me clarify like I do not live in the olden days we have modern-day plumbing in Las Vegas I don't have to go down to the creek right and scrub laundry all I gotta do is put it in the machine you don't even have to measure the soap anymore you just put a tab in the machine I don't even have to turn a knob anymore I just have to push a button and literally like if you are laying in my bed I can see the laundry room from my room and he'll come home and I'll be laying on the bed watching my television show and be like why why why can't you just put a load of laundry nice I don't know it just Rob's it just Rob's from the experience when I do laundry well r18 amen where our 18th anniversary rolls around and I'm a words person any other words people out there love language words that wasn't very many of you maybe maybe we were rare I don't know okay all right I'm words and so um you know I'm getting ready for 18 years like pretty big accomplishment we made it we didn't kill each other this is great let's celebrate so we're getting together and I have about five cards and I've hid them around the house and you know and I write long cards long drawn-out things and so I'm getting so excited we go to dinner that night and he slides the card across the table so I'm imagining you know maybe a poem maybe maybe it's gonna open up and there's gonna be like an original song I mean he could just pay someone to write it but you know like something special maybe you know something to just really say that he loves me so I open up the car sure enough it's a long card you know that has like a couple pages in it lots of words because he knows I love the words and I'm reading the card and it's just getting better and better and I'm loving every minute and I just can't wait to get to the end to see what he has written as he's going to profess his love for me after 18 years and I get to the end of the card and he says this card says it all Benny but I found something out and learning to get over a few things in my life that didn't always add up to me is I'm not going to you know like give up on the marriage because he can't express his I mean he's a preacher for heaven's sakes you think he could get some anointing and tell me he loves me right I'm just saying but I'm getting over and I'm going to counseling but right I'm not gonna I'm not going to quit the marriage just because he can't you know speak the love language I want and thankfully he's not going to quit the marriage just because I can't do a laundry and watch TV at the same time but we do have to move forward adjusting our expectation we do we have to adjust we expect from one another in order right to continue to love one another to build our marriage we're in James and James kind of gets a bad rap now we're not completely positive and pastor Judah and pastor Chelsea can fix all of my theology in the next six weeks as you learn about James but from my study in James and I am by no means a Bible scholar we're not exactly sure which James wrote this book but for the sake of tonight we're going to I think safely assume that it was James Jesus brother now James Jesus brother he didn't believe in Jesus until the resurrect maybe crucifixion resurrection and Jesus appearing again and Jen James was the one that stayed in Jerusalem and started the church so he's a pastor and he's a builder now before we you know kind of start bagging on James and like oh my gosh he didn't believe in Jesus and he was his brother is there anyone here tonight that had like a perfect older sibling that you had to grow up under I was that to Judah but actually that's totally true but you know that's hard that's like hard isn't it it's just like so annoying and then legitimately Jesus was the perfect human being like oh my gosh and I know the Bible says that Jesus didn't do any miracles you know until until he turned water into wine but where's the fine line in miracles like you can't tell me Jesus never liked tasered his little brother you know like I don't know like I have boys I see the way they treat each other you know nerf wars throughout the house so I just can't believe that there wasn't you know some frustration growing up with Jesus as your older brother but that being said James is a builder now I don't know if you've ever read the book of James you're about ready to embark in the book of James and I don't want to scare you off because it is a really good book but James is very emphatic in his language he's a little bit in your face with his language he's a no-nonsense kind of guy right he just writes it he's a builder I don't know about you but I really don't want the person that's building my house to be super creative I want that person right to follow the rules I want to share foundation James is a no-nonsense not very creative kind of guy and that's why right out of the gate absolutely the very second verse of the whole book he's like counted oh joy when you fall into trials of various kinds now I have never counted it joy when I have fallen into a trial of any kind I don't know about you like I I didn't I I don't like pain any I mean maybe there's like some crazies out there you know you've high pain tolerance like if I could have gotten an epidural at being pregnant six months I would have done it in fact I would rather have had a sleep induced coma just take the baby out of me and wake me up when it's all over like I didn't like any part of being pregnant whatsoever and I frankly hate people that get on Instagram and they're like doing yoga and pregnant I was huge I was miserable it was a horrible experience but it was worth the child right so I'm already turned off by this book I'm just I'm just like no I'm not into pain and I obviously you are James and maybe this book just isn't for me but then I read on and I like the ending I like the perfect complete and lacking nothing and so I realized if I wanted to grow in my walk with Jesus I had to not just be a good starter but I also had to be a good finisher you know we tend to get starting lines and and finish lines mixed up right we put so much planning into the wedding and anybody that's been married and I'm not I'm not putting you down if you're planning your wedding and you're engaged you go girl you have a blast you do it all have so much fun but man I mean you first day of a honeymoon all of a sudden you realize all that planning it doesn't matter it doesn't make you have a better marriage sorry and you won't like those pictures like one hairstyle later you won't anyway I'm not trying to put that down but we just have to be really careful that we don't mix up our starting lines and our finish lines right we're getting to the end of the pregnancy and we have the baby that's the starting line right we can we get to the wedding day starting line and it's important that we make sure that we have good expectations moving forward because the fact remains that a lot of us having started something and it getting a little bit difficult and it getting a little bit challenging we have the temptation to give up but I hope after this night that you won't want to give up anymore and that I help begin to change your perspective so James says consider it pure joy considerate my sister's when you meet trials of various kinds so I started looking up this word I'm like no Lord this has to have another meeting like I got a I got to find something what does that word mean consider it another translation says count it up and so I begin to look it up and begin to read more definitions of that word and one of the commentaries said it could be more aptly defined by saying count it up count it up or consider the sum I don't know if you remember the day that you walked in now when I was in school it was a junior year that you walked into this specific math class but it's probably like you know sixth grade now because everybody's so advanced but I don't know if you remember back in high school the day that you walked into mat what you thought was math class and on the board someone decided to take English class to put it with math class to have a baby and call it algebra and if you weren't confused enough right you're no longer working with number just just numbers now you have to work with letters and then they say something like ma equals this a plus B equals C if a equals this and C the sum equals this well then what's B and I'm sitting there like you already know the answer so why do we need to know B right Benny and I were going through a challenging time in the history of our church this was just last year and it was a difficult time we had suffered some betrayals we had suffered close friends changing pathways and not walking the same journey with us anymore and and we're really struggling the pain was immense we didn't see it coming and we were try really hard as pastors not to talk about church situations in front of our kids because they don't have you know the same ability to to reason like like we could and so we're really careful not to say anything in front of the kids but I unfortunately this this time we were actually in the car and you know when you have the music on or the video on and you think they're not listening but you know there's always that one kid that has big ears right the one kid that's eavesdropping on your conversation and so we're driving along in our minivan and when he's going I don't know Wendy maybe maybe we're done in Vegas like I really don't know I don't know where God is leading us I'm confused we we just decide note we were in 18 months of negotiations to get the Kmart building so there was a lot of ups and downs on that journey he goes I just don't know maybe we're done maybe this is God saying you know just just give it to some and move on somewhere else and I said I don't know Benny I think maybe I'm done too like I just I can't do it anymore maybe I'm not good enough maybe you know I'm not enough I just I don't know what to do and so we're just talking like this openly and we think quietly and we're driving along he's like yeah I'm just I'm gonna talk to the elders and you know see what they think and just pray and we just kind of look down and kept on driving and about a half a mile down the road we heard a little voice from the back of the car Bella pipes up and she says would you do it for me daddy and I realized in that moment that I would do anything for my Bella girl I would do anything to have her serve Jesus to love his church to love going to church to love leading in church I would do anything to save her to make sure that she continues to follow Jesus in her life and it was just in that simple moment just the simple shift of perspective at that one phrase then I realize that my circumstance didn't change the pain didn't magically go away I still needed to talk to someone I still needed to go to the Word of God I still needed to pray and ask the Lord for help I still needed to forgive I still needed to walk out my Christianity my love for Jesus every single day but in one moment my perspective shifted because if a is the trial a is the pain a is the circumstance that I don't understand and I'm asking God why but C is my Bella girl it didn't matter what B is I don't need to solve the equation because I already have my answer I would do anything for my little girl and I want you to know today I wish I wish I had come from Las Vegas I wish I could have the answers for you I wish I could answer the why question I really wish I could my pastor's heart says men men I would love to be able to give you answers to help you understand to see the big picture but unfortunately there are some I don't knows in life and we have to as women of faith we have to make the decision that God the reality is I do not understand and I may never understand I do not understand why 25 years ago we walked around to Kmart and God knew that it would take 25 years for that to come around I do not understand that my dad went to be twins went to heaven seven years ago I don't understand everything but I realized at the end of the day I'm willing to put my faith in Jesus because that is the most important thing the most important thing in this life is following him and serving him but I also realized I also realized in this journey of faith that unfortunately there will be times in our life where the pain is so unbearable that if C is just our life if our sum if our conclusion is just about me speaking to hear me starting a business me having this marriage me me me me me me there will become a challenge in life where if it's all about me I'll just say it's okay it's okay it's not worth it and we will go on with life and we will have a nice life maybe we won't create anyways we'll just get through it some of those dreams unrealized because we're we're headed towards a little bit different finish line than everyone else this finish line isn't like the Olympics where it's the first person that is across the line that wins the race no this is an unusual race because it's not about beating anyone to the finish line because that would mean you're dead okay so it's okay what's gonna here and do more for Jesus right this finish line is different this finish line isn't just about finishing in a specific time this finish line is is is actually crossed and successfully crossed when we cross it with others when it just isn't all about us but that we get to the other side of our life and our destiny and our journey with Jesus and we get to the other side and we look behind us and we see a trail of women behind us that were affected because of our faithfulness because of our obedience and because of our willingness not to quit and getting to the end and being perfect and complete lacking nothing isn't so much about being perfect lead rest manicured but it is about having amazing people around you and beside you that you are willing to say Lord I do not understand everything but because I have the perspective of other people on the other side of my faith and of my journey I am willing I am willing Lord to keep on going to trust you more to lean more fully into your grace and lord I I might not understand it and it might even be painful and it might be hard to forgive but on the other side of forgiveness is my daughter it's my niece it's young people it's generations because I'm telling you if we charge this mountain if we cross that finish line and we don't look behind us and see someone else there I'm telling you it will be an unfulfilled moment in our lives it will be sad and we will be disappointed to have arrived but not I think fulfilled everything that God had for us and so I I don't know I don't know what the see is for you I don't know what the sum is for you but I know in this journey of faith that God took me through and kind of forced me to read James even though it's very intimidating as I begin to listen and learn from a builder a finisher someone who stayed behind in Jerusalem when all of the disciples were out on their instagrams were so amazing in their you know out just just witnessing for Jesus and getting everyone saved and someone just had to stay home build the church deal with cranky people teach them they don't want to get along ask him to forget you someone had to stay someone had to do that and that was James and we have a lot to learn from him Hey we hope you loved it we hope you had a good time there's more for you if you want to subscribe grace what do they do and if you want to see more videos you click right over here perfect we love you goodbye

Channel: Churchome

Views: 4,864

Rating: 4.909091 out of 5

Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: jpyYrDt7FDo

Length: 25min 56sec (1556 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 24 2018