Finding Joy and Hope Through Life's Trials
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "When I was going through that cancer, it was extremely difficult. Not just physically, but also spiritually. I wondered at the time, God, why me? And we do that a lot when we go through difficult times. Why me? But I knew instinctively that I needed to cling on desperately to what I know about God, that God is good. And I think I only missed church one Sunday in that whole time. Not because I'm Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, because I knew I needed to hold on to God. I would still wake up in the morning while Dee was still asleep, and I would read my Bible. I'd be in the Word. I'd be praying. I'd be praying for others who were sick. Praying for my children. And it's in those times that we have to make a decision, even though we don't feel it, that we trust in what we know about God know that we have to cling tenaciously." [01:03:42]
2. "The cancer diagnosis was bad, but the truth is, again, that we all might die. But I would share that the real, the tragedy, there was a tragedy that I had cancer. It was a horrible time in my life. But the real tragedy would have been that if the cancer had taken my life, and I didn't know Jesus, that would have been the eternal tragedy. Cancer's not fun. Financial troubles are not fun. But the tragedy is if we go through it without Jesus Christ. That is the real tragedy. I'm confident that when I pass into eternity, I'm going to stand before God, and in the light of eternity, this cancer will not matter one iota, not one bit, from the glory and all that I see, and what I have found in God." [01:06:40]
3. "Peter's telling the same people, you haven't even seen Jesus, but because Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have this inexpressible joy of the living hope. Peter said it like he believed it. And then I love one of my favorite verses, all scripture talks about that living hope we have, 1 Corinthians 2, 9. Paul the apostle wrote that as it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor have entered in the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. There can be joy when you put your heart and thoughts on that in the midst of suffering." [01:00:31]
4. "When I get to heaven, and when we get to heaven, I hope there is a replay video room I can go to. I would love to see that meeting between James and Jesus. Imagine James and the others, they had heard these rumors. Some people say, Hey, we saw that Jesus. He's up in the ground. He's alive. And you're perhaps like doubting Tom's people don't raise from the dead, particularly not from a Roman cross. You don't believe it. Imagine if you will, you're coming out of your house or in your room, and out of nowhere, Jesus is standing right there in front of you with his hands open. And you can still see the nail scarred hands. And he's looking at you in love. And all you can say, Jesus, I didn't know. I'm so sorry for doubting. And then you would fall at your feet and worship you. Worship you, Lord. I didn't know. And I can see if I saw that video that Jesus would pick him up and hold him and hug him. And all you could do is weep and cry out of love and amazement." [46:11]
5. "So I hear there's pizza. Some of you don't want pizza. But I still encourage you to hang out and have fellowship, particularly if you're new around here, and you can get to know somebody. And have a great week. Pastor Mike should be back Wednesday and next Sunday. Next Sunday is next weekend's Memorial Day." [01:17:31]
### Quotes for Members
1. "James is saying in this context, if this is hard to understand, if you don't get it, pray to God, Lord, help me understand this. I'm going to, help me understand, help me to get it. You know, when I was in high school, I had biology class. I didn't like biology. But we had the textbook, and we read the textbook and the biology, what it all meant. And then we had labs. We went into the laboratories to build something fantastic, to dissect the frog. I never liked the labs. And that's kind of a sense what it's like to be a Christian. We have our textbook, and we study it, and we memorize scripture, and we learn of But God has also created for us a laboratory, a lab that we have to go through. And that's the struggles in life that we can grow. On this side of eternity, we've got the laboratory from birth until death. That's our walk as we study scripture, as we memorize it and take it to heart. God wants us to appropriate it. He wants us to appropriate these texts that God's right there with us." [01:10:20]
2. "And finally, two of my best heroes in scripture, Moses and David. Moses was a prince in Egypt. He had everything that the most sophisticated culture of that time had to offer as a prince. He had servants. He had money. He had chariots. He had everything. And then when God called him away, he went into a desert in Midian. A desert somewhere in Arabia. And his school, his laboratory, was 40 years before God used him. David was anointed as king of Israel. But it was almost 20 years before he actually realized that because God had to use Saul and other enemies of him to mold him and to shape him so he'd be the man it would take to be representing God for the nation of Israel. And every one of us who are going through stuff, every one of us who are sometimes wondering where is God in all this, sometimes God's going to use the desert of Midian. Sometimes God is going to use someone like Saul to chase us around the desert for 20 years. But he wants to use it for his glory." [01:11:53]
3. "Peter, again in his first epistle, writing to a crowd the same as that James wrote to, dispersed Jewish Christians, he says, in verse six, in this you greatly rejoice. Sounds familiar. Joy, be cheerful. Now Peter says, greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. Then he really gets excited. He says that the genuineness of your faith, this is the purpose of it, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to the praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love him, though you do not see him yet believing. Yet you rejoice with joy, inexpressible, full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." [59:44]
4. "And I can confidently declare that this morning, if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, no matter what your background, no matter where you come from, no matter what guilt and pain that you carry in your mind and heart, that that same Jesus would pick you up out of your miry gutter and clay, wherever you come from, just like he picked up his brother and embraced him. He will lovingly welcome you in the family of God. And that goes, for anyone in this room who is a believer, who may have walked away, stepped back into the world and made some wrong choices recently. And just as the story of the prodigal son who went away and lived the party life and blew all the money on wine, women and song until his money bag and his heart was empty. The father tells us that the Bible tells that the father ran to him, a symbol, a story of the heart of God ran to him and hugged and kissed him and welcomed him." [47:29]
5. "James tells us tribulations produce patience. Paul expounds and says it gives us perseverance and patience, and it produces character. I've been told I'm a character, but I don't think that's the kind of character he's talking about. When we go through these days, we are to come out greater and stronger and firmer in faith than ever, that we have found him to be faithful in his promises, even though we don't feel it. And I know these passages that we've read about being cheerful and joyful, and count it all joy, are not the easiest in scripture. I don't, I've yet to see a bumper sticker that says, count it all joy when you're going through it all. I don't have a magnet on my refrigerator." [01:09:02]
6. "That our spiritual victories will be a testimony to our friends and family, the reality of Christ, Christ in our lives, that we're not just talking about Jesus, but we're living Jesus in us, that it's something powerful in our lives that we can look through the pain and suffering we have and look beyond it. Look at our verse again from James chapter 1. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 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. So we learn from this as Christians that we should know that we're going to have trials. We learn from this that they're going to test our faith. We also learn from other verses that it's temporary, it's not eternal, and that there's a purpose, and there literally can be an eternal benefit from it." [56:43]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "When I was going through that cancer, it was extremely difficult. Not just physically, but also spiritually. I wondered at the time, God, why me? And we do that a lot when we go through difficult times. Why me? But I knew instinctively that I needed to cling on desperately to what I know about God, that God is good. And I think I only missed church one Sunday in that whole time. Not because I'm Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, because I knew I needed to hold on to God. I would still wake up in the morning while Dee was still asleep, and I would read my Bible. I'd be in the Word. I'd be praying. I'd be praying for others who were sick. Praying for my children. And it's in those times that we have to make a decision, even though we don't feel it, that we trust in what we know about God know that we have to cling tenaciously." [01:03:42]
2. "The cancer diagnosis was bad, but the truth is, again, that we all might die. But I would share that the real, the tragedy, there was a tragedy that I had cancer. It was a horrible time in my life. But the real tragedy would have been that if the cancer had taken my life, and I didn't know Jesus, that would have been the eternal tragedy. Cancer's not fun. Financial troubles are not fun. But the tragedy is if we go through it without Jesus Christ. That is the real tragedy. I'm confident that when I pass into eternity, I'm going to stand before God, and in the light of eternity, this cancer will not matter one iota, not one bit, from the glory and all that I see, and what I have found in God." [01:06:40]
3. "Peter's telling the same people, you haven't even seen Jesus, but because Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have this inexpressible joy of the living hope. Peter said it like he believed it. And then I love one of my favorite verses, all scripture talks about that living hope we have, 1 Corinthians 2, 9. Paul the apostle wrote that as it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor have entered in the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. There can be joy when you put your heart and thoughts on that in the midst of suffering." [01:00:31]
4. "When I get to heaven, and when we get to heaven, I hope there is a replay video room I can go to. I would love to see that meeting between James and Jesus. Imagine James and the others, they had heard these rumors. Some people say, Hey, we saw that Jesus. He's up in the ground. He's alive. And you're perhaps like doubting Tom's people don't raise from the dead, particularly not from a Roman cross. You don't believe it. Imagine if you will, you're coming out of your house or in your room, and out of nowhere, Jesus is standing right there in front of you with his hands open. And you can still see the nail scarred hands. And he's looking at you in love. And all you can say, Jesus, I didn't know. I'm so sorry for doubting. And then you would fall at your feet and worship you. Worship you, Lord. I didn't know. And I can see if I saw that video that Jesus would pick him up and hold him and hug him. And all you could do is weep and cry out of love and amazement." [46:11]
5. "So I hear there's pizza. Some of you don't want pizza. But I still encourage you to hang out and have fellowship, particularly if you're new around here, and you can get to know somebody. And have a great week. Pastor Mike should be back Wednesday and next Sunday. Next Sunday is next weekend's Memorial Day." [01:17:31]
### Quotes for Members
1. "James is saying in this context, if this is hard to understand, if you don't get it, pray to God, Lord, help me understand this. I'm going to, help me understand, help me to get it. You know, when I was in high school, I had biology class. I didn't like biology. But we had the textbook, and we read the textbook and the biology, what it all meant. And then we had labs. We went into the laboratories to build something fantastic, to dissect the frog. I never liked the labs. And that's kind of a sense what it's like to be a Christian. We have our textbook, and we study it, and we memorize scripture, and we learn of But God has also created for us a laboratory, a lab that we have to go through. And that's the struggles in life that we can grow. On this side of eternity, we've got the laboratory from birth until death. That's our walk as we study scripture, as we memorize it and take it to heart. God wants us to appropriate it. He wants us to appropriate these texts that God's right there with us." [01:10:20]
2. "And finally, two of my best heroes in scripture, Moses and David. Moses was a prince in Egypt. He had everything that the most sophisticated culture of that time had to offer as a prince. He had servants. He had money. He had chariots. He had everything. And then when God called him away, he went into a desert in Midian. A desert somewhere in Arabia. And his school, his laboratory, was 40 years before God used him. David was anointed as king of Israel. But it was almost 20 years before he actually realized that because God had to use Saul and other enemies of him to mold him and to shape him so he'd be the man it would take to be representing God for the nation of Israel. And every one of us who are going through stuff, every one of us who are sometimes wondering where is God in all this, sometimes God's going to use the desert of Midian. Sometimes God is going to use someone like Saul to chase us around the desert for 20 years. But he wants to use it for his glory." [01:11:53]
3. "Peter, again in his first epistle, writing to a crowd the same as that James wrote to, dispersed Jewish Christians, he says, in verse six, in this you greatly rejoice. Sounds familiar. Joy, be cheerful. Now Peter says, greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. Then he really gets excited. He says that the genuineness of your faith, this is the purpose of it, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to the praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love him, though you do not see him yet believing. Yet you rejoice with joy, inexpressible, full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." [59:44]
4. "And I can confidently declare that this morning, if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, no matter what your background, no matter where you come from, no matter what guilt and pain that you carry in your mind and heart, that that same Jesus would pick you up out of your miry gutter and clay, wherever you come from, just like he picked up his brother and embraced him. He will lovingly welcome you in the family of God. And that goes, for anyone in this room who is a believer, who may have walked away, stepped back into the world and made some wrong choices recently. And just as the story of the prodigal son who went away and lived the party life and blew all the money on wine, women and song until his money bag and his heart was empty. The father tells us that the Bible tells that the father ran to him, a symbol, a story of the heart of God ran to him and hugged and kissed him and welcomed him." [47:29]
5. "James tells us tribulations produce patience. Paul expounds and says it gives us perseverance and patience, and it produces character. I've been told I'm a character, but I don't think that's the kind of character he's talking about. When we go through these days, we are to come out greater and stronger and firmer in faith than ever, that we have found him to be faithful in his promises, even though we don't feel it. And I know these passages that we've read about being cheerful and joyful, and count it all joy, are not the easiest in scripture. I don't, I've yet to see a bumper sticker that says, count it all joy when you're going through it all. I don't have a magnet on my refrigerator." [01:09:02]
6. "That our spiritual victories will be a testimony to our friends and family, the reality of Christ, Christ in our lives, that we're not just talking about Jesus, but we're living Jesus in us, that it's something powerful in our lives that we can look through the pain and suffering we have and look beyond it. Look at our verse again from James chapter 1. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 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. So we learn from this as Christians that we should know that we're going to have trials. We learn from this that they're going to test our faith. We also learn from other verses that it's temporary, it's not eternal, and that there's a purpose, and there literally can be an eternal benefit from it." [56:43]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from May 20, 2024. Do you have any questions about it?