The Testing of Your Faith Part 1 (Pastor Josiah Shipley)

The Testing of Your Faith and the Call to Obey James 1

Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military size. Would you please turn with me to James chapter 1. That's the book of James chapter 1. This book means a lot to some of us.

Yeah, how many of you and Jesus does not do half hands? So either you do or you don't so would you raise your hand and tell me how many of you? Actually believe not just cuz your grandmammy told you actually believe that this is the sovereign word of the Almighty God.

Okay hands down. How many of you have any desire at all to submit to it as such?

Now.

And I'm here to tell you today and this will hurt some of your feelings if you have no desire at all To submit to it as such then you actually don't believe it's the Word of God. You can't believe it's the sovereign word of the Almighty God and yet have no inkling of a desire to obey it as such.

Have you ever met someone who told you they loved you, but their action showed different then you love you. Did they? It works the same way in your life towards Jesus. Yes or no. Last same ends on that ones.

You notice that ladies and gentlemen, I Am NOT here to offend but the Bible can do that for us. It does it to me every time I open it. Soften your heart to that mindset right now. This is God's Word if you hear no words I say.

Except what I read from this book. You did not waste this morning. You did not waste today. How many of you are experiencing trials today? How many of you are considering those reasons for joy? Let's change that mindset today.

Yeah. Or let's let the Spirit change that mindset today. Read with me if you will. James chapter 1 and I do have to read a good portion of this of this chapter. So stay with me, okay. Starting in verse 2.

Count it all joy my brothers meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness. But let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete.

Lacking in nothing, please skip down to verse 12. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial when he stood the test that will see the crown of life, which God has promised all who love him as We read this morning during announcements verse 13.

Let no one say when he's tempted I'm being tempted by God. God can't be tempted with evil and he himself tempts. No one but each person is tempted when he's Lord enticed by his own desires. Desire when conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it's fully grown brings forth death.

Don't be deceived my brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above. Coming down from the Father of lights where there's no variation or shadow of change of his own will. He brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits among his creatures verse 19.

Know this my beloved brothers let every person Be quick to hear. Slow to speak and slow to anger for the anger of man will never produce the righteousness of God. Therefore verse 21 put away all filthiness and trampant wickedness and receive the meekly implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Now here's what I was talking about verse 22 and 23. But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. The doers of the word actually obey it not just hearers deceiving yourselves. For anyone who's a hearer of the word and not a doer.

It's like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror when he looks at himself and goes away. He forgets immediately what he looks like by the one who looks into the perfect law the law of Liberty and.

Perseveres.

Endures. Being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts he will be blessed in his doing Amen.

Trials Produce Steadfastness, Not Meaninglessness

Why?

Should we consider trials to be a reason not just for joy, but what it's a verse to all joy. Why should we consider that a reason to be joyful? Because it produces something. The testing of your faith is not meaningless.

It has a purpose it produces something. What's it say produces it produces? Steadfastness. Endurance.

Patience.

The ability to keep going grit. It produces that. If you let it have its full effect, and that's what we're talking about today.

You see God.

Test us.

Satan tempts us. God test us. Satan tempts us. This is what happened to Christ in the wilderness. You can read about it in Matthew for Luke chapter 4. And the Spirit God the Father test Jesus the Son in the incarnation in the flesh.

While he could have had a moment of weakness. Yes Jesus the eternal Son of God becoming man. The Father test him in the wilderness. He was led out there by the Spirit, but Satan tempted him. What's temptation?

It's an enticement to disobey God. Temptation is an enticement to disobey God. Whereas testing is An opportunity given to you by God to grow your faith in the midst of adversity. His purpose is to grow you even in difficulties.

Satan is to lure you away from faithfulness to Jesus. And what did Jesus what was his ultimate answer. Matthew chapter 4 verse 4. It's written on your paper here. Go ahead and circle that and memorize that this week.

Matthew chapter 4 verse 4. It is a bit ironic if you don't already have this verse memorized because it says Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Man won't live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

You see there is a purpose it worked Mike. Look at that. There's a purpose to our trials there's a purpose to our testing and It's to produce steadfastness,. I'd like to read for you this poem. This poem was written by Martha Snell Nicholson, it was read at a funeral by Elizabeth Elliot and by the way ladies If you're looking for someone who a saint who's now gone to be encouraged by I encourage you to listen or read from Elizabeth Elliot that woman knew what faithfulness was but here's a poem written by someone she quoted I Stood a mendicant and I didn't know what that word meant.

Maybe you did it means beggar. So anyway, I stood a beggar of God before his royal throne and I begged him for one Priceless gift which I could call my own. I took the gift from out his hand. But as I would depart I cried Lord, this is a thorn and it's pierced my heart.

This is a strange and Hurtful gift which you have given me. He that is God said my child I give good gifts and my best I gave to thee. I Took it home and thought at first the cruel thorn hurt sore. But as long years passed I learned to love it more and more.

I Learned he never gives this thorn without this added grace. He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil that hides his face. You see ladies and gentlemen the purpose of trials Is not just to give us thick skin and toughen us up.

And so let us see his face a little more clearly To see him in the purity of which he truly is.

To view him.

Not just as beautiful but as the most beautiful. See we sing worthy. You know that word worthy means worth it. Do you see God as the most valuable? the most deserving. The most admirable thing that this universe has to offer.

That's the purpose of trials to produce endurance and a reliance on him as opposed to ourselves. Don't you see it yet Christian? This is the purpose of our trials our suffering now. I'm not talking about the world.

I'll have to get to you in a moment before the believer in this room. You're suffering is not meaningless.

It's not.

Meaningless. There's a purpose behind it. I don't know of anything more scary than having died wasting your life. A Wasted life may be the scariest thing to me to die with no purpose Having lived your entire life Focused only on the things of earth and not on the things above.

But you see ladies and gentlemen if we allow it to Christians in the room our suffering has a purpose and That purpose is to learn a little bit of steadfastness to learn a little bit of endurance. To see him as he actually is now note.

This is compared you see in verse 14. He says don't think I'm talking about temptation. That's from the evil one. He says in verse 17 including the testing That every good and perfect gift is from above.

Josiah.

Dare you say? That our testing is a good and perfect gift from God. No, I'm not saying that God did. Every good and perfect gift is from above. Because it produces something. Now note the comparison of what does not produce anything.

Verse 19 let every person be quick to hear slow to speak and slow to anger. Is That not difficult. Man is that not difficult to be quick to hear. When you're talking to somebody are you listening or just thinking about what you're gonna say next right?

Let every person be quick to hear slow. To speak and slow to anger. Why what's it say? The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. The anger of man does Not produce. So your testing produces endurance.

Your anger produces nothing useful. Nothing, it does not produce the righteousness of God. Is that this point? That we note. I heard a recently I heard a pastor say that anger is an omnivorous emotion.

Carnivores only meat. Vegetarians only plants. The omnivore like the bear eats everything right? Say anger is an omnivorous emotion. It eats joy. It eats. Every happiness. Peace. It is an omnivorous emotion that eats all in its way.

You let it sit there. David Abbott in a Bible study last week noted. The Bible says don't let the Sun set on your anger because at that moment it will turn to bitterness and a hardened heart that will take a massive work and Pain for God to soften.

It is at this point that I must distinguish. This is another point where someone won't like me. I must distinguish between trial and consequence. Consequence means with sequence. It is the next thing to happen in a sequence of events.

Trial is not a direct result of your action. It happens from living in a fallen world and serving a sovereign God who has a purpose behind it. Consequences merely is merely the next thing to happen in a sequence of events.

If my three-year-old is running to the through the parking lot and Rachel tells her not to and she runs through the parking lot and falls and scrapes up her knee. That's not a punishment. That's not a trial.

That's just a consequence. That's the next thing that's going to happen. Unathletic child runs through parking lot. Which looks a lot better. Marty, by the way, but runs through parking lot and falls.

That's not that's not a punishment.

That's not a trial.

That's just the next thing to happen in sequence of event gentlemen. Now look if you have five different kids By four different women and you don't have a job and you're calling the financial burden of the court cases a trial.

Listen to me. Yeah, I see your face. That's disrespectful to call that a trial. That's just a consequence man. That's just a consequence of your actions. You hear the lack of amens there. That's just a consequence of actions.

Ladies and gentlemen That's just a consequence of actions. If you want to know what a trial is go talk to Debbie Smith. How many y 'all know. Debbie raise your hand? Debbie are you in here right now? Where's Debbie right there right there?

Hey, we tell you something. You want to know what trials is go ask her about her life. That's a trial. That's a series of trials That puts whatever you're gonna complain about today to shame. I'm serious I've told this story before but I can't help but tell it again and I'm preaching so I can say what I want.

She I.

Guess it was last year. Forgive me for not remembering the date Debbie. I guess it was last year when Scott died when her husband died. He died and we did this service in here like on a Thursday, I think.

And.

Jake and Michelle in their master schedule thing for Sunday school teachers. Don't ever look at their binder it will make you feel unorganized in every part of your life, but Obviously, it was her son that it teach.

So obviously Jake without asking her got a substitute. Right. I mean her husband just died. Okay. Well, if I remember correctly, it was Lowell who was the substitute and Lowell was in my son's class. He gets up to go start.

And he comes back 30 seconds later. I'm like, why'd you come back? He goes. Debbie's in there. I mean, no, she's not her husband died three days ago. She's not in there. I Walked to the door and I can't remember the passage but Debbie was reading.

If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me daily.

Y 'all didn't know Jesus was from Horn Lake. Did you? And I said Debbie, what are you doing? She said well, I'm teaching the kids about Jesus. By the way, maybe you weren't in Sunday school this morning because you woke up late or I had a headache.

Debbie Smith. What is the difference. Because many people have faced trials just like her and haven't grown from them. How do you let endurance have its full effect? How do you let endurance have its full effect?

By maintaining a trust and obedience to a sovereign God that he has a plan even if you don't see it. By staying faithful. Get a little bit thicker skin get a little bit of endurance a little bit of steadfastness.

So that you can handle more. So you can handle more. That's the difference. That's how you let endurance have its full effect. It's a mindset. I Had a. I had a coach. He was our weight room coach when I was in high school.

We called him coach hammer. Coach hammer was one of those Coaches that every day was a great day, even if it was 30 degrees outside and it was time to do sprints.

He.

Always had a.

An attitude of it's a great day to work. Even in two days when it's a hundred and five degrees outside. He's excited. He's playing the music and singing. He's excited. You know, he would set it up to where we would do squats leg day in the gym and then go outside to run sprints on the back end and he would say things like.

Simply your attitude should be gratitude. If you want to be a winner, you better eat a good dinner. Can you add all these corny little sayings? Yes. But you know what? Coaching MMA. Now, you know if we start working out two people can be doing the exact same exercise.

But one can be trying to get through it. Just trying to get through it. The other can be engaged in it. Saying yeah, this stinks, but I'm getting stronger. One of them will get stronger from that workout.

The other won't. Even though they're passively doing the same thing. Even though they're passive doing the same thing one is engaged. One's just trying to pass on by and get through it.

You see.

Mike Burkett has been lifting weights at the gym with the guys for like six months now and Mike you tell me I'm lying if you Embrace the pain and just go on to accept. Yeah, this is gonna stink. But in the midst of that, I'm gonna have a mindset that I'm going to get stronger.

You'll see an increase in your maxes.

Go.

It hurts so good says Burkett. But if but someone can go and just exist. Like the waves and the wind just being pushed around and technically do the same thing and not get any stronger. Because the mindset you're submitting your body to your mind ladies and gentlemen in the midst of Trials and I mean actual trials the mindset behind it is what we need.

That's what we need we need the mindset behind it of. There's a purpose behind this and I'm going to accept my place in it. That's the idea behind it. The idea behind it is this is. Producing something it's producing.

Steadfastness endurance now. This is an analogy I've used before by the way pastor Jeff you and I need to get on building a new one of these. This one is too small. But we talked about it before we just haven't done it yet.

We're building stuff for the mission trip right now. Okay. Now, let's see if I can do this to where this makes sense. Okay. So here we have here a little Puerto Rico travel things. Y 'all remember when Omar gave us this.

He's talking about coming back this summer. That would be amazing. I would love that. All right now. Yeah, I know I spilled some so all the perfectionists just get over it. Yeah, there is.

Roughly.

The same amount of water in each vessels. I want to agree with that. Roughly the same amount of water now. This little one right here Is so overwhelmed. One more drop would just spill over. It can take no more.

It can take no more. It's overwhelmed. This one it's got a little in it like that little part at the bottom of the coke can you can ever finish? But it's fine it can handle it. This one when I'm looking down on it if I didn't know I just poured water in it I would think it was dry.

It looks like there's nothing in there. I mean, I know I just did it but it looks like there's nothing in there. Now this water represents the trials of life. All three cups are experiencing the same amount of trials aren't they.

But one is overwhelmed. One is fine the other can barely tell. It's there ladies and gentlemen. The mark of Christian maturity is not how fast you can remove the water. All that's going to do is get you to tomorrow when there's another thing that hits you and you're going to be filled back up.

Overwhelmed again and not able to contribute to anybody. But if you focus on increasing the size of the vessel. Letting the trial have its full effect and increasing the size of the vessel what used to overwhelm you.

Will soon be a drop in the bucket. That's the mark of Christian maturity and we spend some of us a whole.

Lives.

Trying to empty the water out of the vessel not recognizing. It's there for a purpose. That's a wasted life. That's a wasted life. I Want to be a better vessel for God. I want to let the trial have its full effect to increase the vessel.

So I can be a more useful tool in the hand of an Almighty God. That's not meaningless. That has purpose. It's like the one who is rowing in a boat and there's a hole in the boat and instead of fixing the boat They just keep taking the bucket and pouring water out.

Which will last about five seconds to more waters in the boat, but if you repair the boat and make it a more useful vessel. Making a more useful vessel. Then you can serve a purpose beyond the only purpose you're serving is trying to get rid of the water in the boat.

That's a wasted life. I want to be more than that. I Want to be more than that. I want to be used by God for a better purpose than that. The results of gaining endurance. I wrote this on your paper under number three.

I'm just gonna read from first Peter. This is first Peter chapter 1 verse 6. In this you rejoice. There's that word again in this you rejoice. Though now for a little while if necessary, you've been greed by various trials not consequences trials.

So that the tested Genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though. It's tested by fire May be found to result in the praise and the honor and the glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him. Though you have not seen him you love him though. You don't see him now you believe in him and rejoice with a joy that's inexpressible and filled with glory. That's a joy the world will never be able to understand.

That's a joy certain people in this room who don't actually know Jesus. You have a mental idea of him, but you don't actually know Jesus. That doesn't make sense to you and I get it.

Knowing the Real Jesus and Not a Made-Up One

You see.

Ladies and gentlemen some of us Everyone in this room has a view of Jesus. The problem with our world is That some of us have a view of Jesus different than the Jesus of the Bible you're actually believing or Supposedly following someone who doesn't exist.

It's a Jesus you've made up in your mind. Maybe some of us only ever listen to People who only tell you part of the Bible. So then your view of Jesus is skewed and you're actually believing in a Jesus that doesn't exist.

Could you not believe in the way he revealed himself in the Bible? Friends that's a waste. I want to know what Jesus says about himself and Follow the real true Jesus not one that's made up in a fairy tale in 2nd Corinthians.

Paul puts it this way. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. But we have this treasure and jars of clay to show the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We're afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

Perplexed but not driven to despair persecuted not forsaken struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body of a death of Jesus. So the life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus sake.

So that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith According to what's been written. I believe that I spoke we also believe and so we speak.

Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead Will also raise us with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it's for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase in thanksgiving to the glory of God verse 16.

So.

We don't lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed day by day. Is that true for you? Is your inner self being renewed by Jesus every day. Are you just living life and the other day another month another year passes?

And you are no more mature in your knowledge and love for Jesus than you were before. This verse 17. Now some of us listen, especially those of us who like to play the victim card how we have the worst life ever.

No one would ever understand. No one has ever experienced what I've experienced. I have the greatest amount of trials ever been seen on the planet. Read verse 17.

For this light.

Momentary affliction. Take it up with God.

This light.

Momentary affliction. Is preparing us? See it's doing something again. It's preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look here's the key, how do I do that. Josiah as We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient. But the things that are unseen are eternal. Do you understand? that by showing the love of Jesus the sacrifice the Selflessness that your Savior calls you to.

You are helping prepare someone else for an eternal weight of glory. And that's something and preparing yourself at the same time. More and more every day We allow him to make us more. Holy more obedient more pure more lovely to him less selfish less prideful less obstinate to his will.

Our text says back in James our text says That the result of obtaining this endurance or steadfastness or patience or perseverance will be that we are mature and complete lacking in. Nothing, you know of all the skill in the world but if he has no endurance whether from a sense of cardio or from a sense of a No quit mentality, it's worthless.

He will be the guy that forever look good at practice when it comes time to get on the line he folds. Years ago we had a fighter just like this. He left our gym because I told him he was not ready to fight and he said Basically I Have all the skill in the world.

What he didn't understand. Was that what is needed to be a fighter is not just the ability to perform the movements. Not just the ability to train your body to lose body fat. But it's the ability to get hit and keep moving.

Its ability to have a little grit about yourself. This guy had none. He looked great on the outside, but the moment he was pressured a bit He folded and fell on the ground.

Grit.

Steadfastness is what is required of us in the Christian life. Now ask yourself. You don't have to raise your hand or anything like that. Do you have that grit? You got that. Are you gaining that? See the Bible says faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

I had somebody in this room and I'm not making fun of them. I'm Just showing him. He said I'm a Christian Josiah and I said that's excellent. How do you know you're a Christian? He said because I trust Jesus.

I Said okay, you trust Jesus. What percentage of the Bible do you know. He said 1 I asked him to name the people he trusted the most in this world. And he named five people that he knows very well.

And I said, why do you trust them? He said because I know them. You trust Jesus and you know 1 of what he has given you to know him by we're not catching this or we're just not gonna say amen. You know 1 of what he said to know him by 1 of the evidence of himself he left.

And based on that 1 you can say that you trust Jesus wait for it with your eternal Soul, but on a human standard you can only trust somebody if you know him, huh? You don't know him. You have an idea of him.

You've heard someone else say you have an idea of him you create in your head and that's okay. That's okay. So long as you're aware that you need to get to know him. Not the version of him you've created the actual Jesus is this hitting home with anybody.

Let all of us including myself. Learn to love the Jesus as he revealed himself. Not the one you heard on the internet have never even seen him talk about himself. Let's learn to love that Jesus. The one who actually existed the one who actually came to earth was born of a virgin.

The one who actually lived the sinless life the one who went and died the death I should have died and was resurrected and ascended in the right hand. I want to know that Jesus. I want to know him. Because that's the Jesus that's coming back.

And that's the Jesus coming back to judge and that's the Jesus that will balance every scale. That's that Jesus and I want to know him. But it says in verse 4 that I got a lens said fastest have its full effect that I'd be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.

If I could end with this analogy and it's not a perfect analogy, but just go with it for a minute. Every human being is born spiritually dead spiritually dead. Every single human being on the planet. It's like.

Dead bodies.

Floating down a river. The end is eternal destruction and they're just going with the flow. Floating down you see but in some way maybe like the matrix or however you want to think about it. They're living in a dream state where their conscience in a dream and They think that dream is real and that dream they have freedom to do whatever they want and that dream They're living their own life and that dream they have control of their own destiny.

But what they don't realize and that dream is not real and in reality. They're a dead body floating down a river, but one day a Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit awakens that soul through whatever means he sees fit through the preaching of a word through the boldness of a friend to tell someone the truth and that soul is awakened and That soul is pulled into a boat.

With other folks that have been awakened. And they're rowing upstream. They're going against the grain. They're rowing upstream and they're paddling and they're paddling and you see the guy who just got on the boat is getting tired of paddling.

He's only been paddling for 20 minutes. He's just learning how to do this and.

Somebody who's mature. Somebody who's.

Learned what it means to be steadfast. Comes beside him and shows him How to row upstream a little more efficiently a little better and to call out to those dead bodies floating down that there's a better way and That the end there is destruction that you may be perfect and complete lacking and nothing.

So you can show someone else how to row. So that you can show someone else how to paddle more effectively.

That's the difference.

And you see sometimes We want to get back in that water and though we're alive we want to flow with the other dead bodies to the other end. But it's the mature Christian who comes alongside us and says my friend.

It's a better way. It helps us get back in that boat and paddle. That Ladies and gentlemen is what a mature believer can do that immature one can never do. Show someone else how to paddle. That's the lesson that's the teaching and you know what the mature believer When trials come is steadfast.

Been through this one before God brought me through then he'll bring me through this one. Instead of the immature believer who sees every day as the end of the world. Another thing they can't get through.

Another thing when the sky is falling. Another thing that overwhelms them because they've never increased the size of the vessel. So everything is drama mama. 10 out of 10. Horrible day. Have no joy have no purpose have no vision beyond today.

I don't want to be that way. I want to be that way. Let this be a place when we have the answer not in ourselves, but from the Word of the Holy God as We close.

A Call to Mature Faith, Help Others, and Come to Christ

Maybe.

You're one of those mature believers. But you haven't helped someone else paddle in a long time. Ladies and gentlemen, look around this room. We could use some help. Maybe you're a genuine believer, but you're sitting on the ledge of that boat thinking about jumping back in the water and just going with the flow.

Floating with the other dead bodies my friend. It's a better way. Maybe for some of us in this room. You're one of the dead bodies floating in the river and you're living in a dream world. You're spiritually dead.

With no hope without God in this world and you're just floating along. Please hear not my words, but the words of God. Two things. One. Do you recognize the sovereign creator of the universe? We have longed him he's coming back to judge the living in the dead and Yet he himself came to pay the penalty.

I can never pay. That I can never pay and that by trusting and believing in him he gives me the life. His life that he's earned and takes on the death that I should have. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the good news.

But here's the problem. Because some of us are living in the dream world some of us are in that river floating to death and you think you're alive. You actually think you're living. That's the power of deception.

Well, how do I know Josiah be doers of the word and not hearers only? Deceiving yourselves if you are a hearer of the word only and not a doer you're deceiving yourselves. In other words, you're not a Christian.

You're not a Christian. The Christian though imperfect loves to please God and Maybe you really are in that boat. But you just need to learn how to paddle a little better and love God a little more. That's what this place is for.

Join the club. What I want right now in just a moment I'm gonna ask everyone to stand. Instead of just sitting there on another Easter Sunday and going home the exact same coming back here next year being just like you are.

No difference with no difference whatsoever. How about today we actually change something about it today? I want you if you're a genuine Christian raise your hand, please keep them up if you're not. Go find one of those people with their hand up right now.

Once I'd say stand up and ask them to pray with you and to show you from God's Word how to love him a little more. The last call ladies and gentlemen to be steadfast in the trial. Remember it produces something useful and that mindset is infectious to those around us.

There's nothing more encouraging to me than when I saw Debbie that day. You know what that made me realize I Can get through what I'm going through? No problem and show someone else how to do it, too.

Would you please stand with me and right now go encourage somebody or get right with the Lord as we speak you come as the Lord leads.