Fleshed Out Faith: Choosing Your Path in Trials

• Fleshed Out Faith Series Context 00:49:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the book of James, written by Jesus' half-brother, addressing believers facing trials, famine, and persecution, emphasizing the need to move belief from head to hands.
• Prayers for Trials 00:51:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts prayers for relief or release with the superior prayer for 'reason' or wisdom, explaining that God uses trials to produce character traits like patience and love.
• Illusion of Control 00:53:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses how trials reveal the illusion of human control and the reality of God's sovereignty, noting that believers cannot choose their trials or temptations.
• Enemy's Counterfeiting 00:54:13 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that the enemy acts as a counterfeiter, trying to hijack God's process of completion by interjecting temptation and negative emotions like anger and frustration.
• Picking Your Path 00:55:16 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that while trials are forced upon believers, they retain the agency to choose their response, which activates either God's process or the enemy's process.
• [James 1:13](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A13&version=KJV) Interpretation 00:56:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor interprets James 1:13 to clarify that God does not tempt anyone to sin; such temptations originate from the enemy who seeks to hijack the trial.
• Choice of Response 00:56:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that while trials and temptations are not chosen, the believer always has control over their response and the path they take.
• The Enemy's Process 00:56:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains how the enemy hijacks trials by introducing temptation to hijack the process, aiming to ruin the believer rather than transform them.
• Biblical Analysis of [James 1](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1&version=KJV) 00:56:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor breaks down James 1:13-15, clarifying that God does not tempt, but the enemy does, and that desire leads to sin when it conceives.
• The Mechanism of Temptation 01:02:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the enemy's process of 'bait and hook,' where temptation changes beliefs and behaviors, leading to destructive outcomes.
• God's Process of Sanctification 01:05:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the enemy's process with God's plan to shape believers into the image of Christ through the word of truth.
• Practical Application: Anger 01:08:23 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor applies the text to the specific temptation of anger, warning against the lie that anger can accomplish God's work faster than God's timing.
• Anger and Trials 01:08:23 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that anger is a temptation during trials that hijacks God's work, noting that human anger cannot produce righteousness.
• Sanctification and Soul Saving 01:10:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor distinguishes between the instantaneous salvation of the spirit at conversion and the ongoing process of saving the soul through receiving the implanted Word with meekness.
• Authority of Scripture 01:11:49 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines 'binding oneself under the authority of the Word' as allowing God's views on sexuality, marriage, and money to govern the believer's life rather than their own.
• Doers of the Word 01:14:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts hearers who forget their reflection with doers who persevere in the perfect law, resulting in blessing.
• Spiritual Warfare and Choice 01:17:37 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the enemy's tactic of hijacking trials with temptation and urges the congregation to actively pick the path of the Lord to activate the process of transformation.

• Sermon Illustration 00:53:47 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a rhetorical question about choosing a 'trial of being blessed by a hundred million dollars' to illustrate that people do not get to choose their trials, highlighting the absurdity of wanting to control difficult circumstances.
• Sermon Illustration 00:55:46 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a 'wheel of roulette' to describe the unpredictability of car troubles, illustrating that mechanical failures are forced onto believers just like other trials.
• Sermon Illustration 01:02:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the illustration of fishing to explain how the enemy dangles bait (temptation) and hooks the believer, pulling them into a stronghold where beliefs become behaviors.
• Sermon Illustration 01:00:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical account of Jesus' 40-day fast in the desert, detailing the three specific temptations the enemy used: turning stones to bread, jumping from the temple, and worshipping for kingdoms.
• Sermon Illustration 01:09:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his experience as a parent to young children, describing how he would get angry when his kids said or did something crazy, illustrating the struggle with anger in trials.
• Sermon Illustration 01:09:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his past anger as a parent, where he would 'blow up' at his children for speaking disrespectfully, realizing in hindsight that his anger was counterproductive to producing godly disciples.
• Sermon Illustration 01:14:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a humorous personal analogy about his aging eyebrows and the barber's inability to trim them to illustrate the concept of looking intently at one's natural face in a mirror.
• Sermon Illustration 01:15:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of seeing a filtered photo on Facebook that doesn't match one's self-image to describe how a 'hearer' of the Word forgets their true spiritual state after looking away.

• Pastoral Charge 00:55:16 ▶️ 📄
  > Take notes on the distinction between choosing trials and choosing one's response path.
• Pastoral Charge 01:02:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to look at their neighbor and verbally declare that they will not take the enemy's bait.
• Pastoral Charge 01:18:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls the congregation to pray and choose the Lord's path in the midst of trials.
• Pastoral Charge 01:19:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to make a specific prayer their daily practice for the week, focusing on binding themselves to God's authority and desiring transformation.
• Pastoral Charge 01:20:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to pray specifically against the enemy's attempts to hijack their trials through temptation.

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:05:05] Yes, community, can we stand together? It's good to be in the house of the Lord. I'm so thankful that God's Word is true. I'm so thankful that He calls us sons and daughters of the Most High King. Yes, amen. Let's worship Him in spirit and in truth in this place this morning. Come on.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:05:18] ...place this morning. Our worship is a choice. Will you choose to worship Him with us this morning? Come on. He's been so faithful. He's been so true. We can always count on Him. Yes.

[00:10:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:10:56] You're working on things

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:11:38] Let's join in Could you be in the house of God today?

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:14:40] Find somebody, let them know you're glad to see them And you can have a seat And if we haven't got a chance to meet yet My name is Garrett, I am one of the pastors here
[00:14:54] On behalf of Pastor David, his wife Katie, our entire staff, our team here I wanted to say welcome to Christ Community Church this Sunday And I am thankful for two things One, the 4th of July and the 250 years of America
[00:15:08] that we are in a country where we're free to talk about Jesus, and also for air conditioning.
[00:15:14] You know it's hot outside whenever 95 degrees is the high. Seems like it's a good deal.
[00:15:20] And if this is your first time worshiping with us, we're just so honored that you would come and worship with us today.
[00:15:27] We'd love to get to know you before you head out to do whatever it is indoors that you're going to do for the rest of the day.
[00:15:33] So in the seat bag pocket in front of you, you'll see a couple of different cards.
[00:15:36] The blue one is our Connect card.
[00:15:37] If you would take a few seconds and fill that card out.
[00:15:40] And then at the end of service, head right across the lobby to our Connect booth.
[00:15:44] And somebody is going to give you a gift in exchange for that card.
[00:15:48] Just as our way of saying thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:15:51] So, church family, could you help me make our first-time guest feel special in the house today?
[00:15:55] So glad you're here.
[00:15:58] And if you're curious what we're all about here at Christ Community Church, it is right there in our name.
[00:16:02] We exist to see people come to know Christ, to love their community, and to live as the church.
[00:16:07] And one of the ways that we live as the church is by partnering with missions organizations locally, but also we take extended missions trips.
[00:16:15] One of the trips is to Slovakia, and that's coming up in a few weeks.
[00:16:19] But this week, we're sending off our Mexico missions team, our high schoolers that are going to Mexico this summer.
[00:16:26] They leave on Saturday.
[00:16:27] And so during this service, we're going to pray over them.
[00:16:29] We're going to commission them.
[00:16:30] And so if you're on that Mexico missions team, would you go ahead and start making your way up to the front of the stage here?
[00:16:36] And I'm going to say some stuff about that trip as they make their way up.
[00:16:41] Nick has been a busy guy.
[00:16:43] He just got back from camp where we took 18 high school and middle school students to camp.
[00:16:48] And then he's leaving on Saturday to go to Mexico.
[00:16:51] And I'll just say this.
[00:16:53] I didn't say it in first service, but if you have a high schooler or middle schooler that is not plugged into a youth ministry, we have one of the finest youth ministries in the area. Seriously. And Nick and our leaders
[00:17:04] are doing an amazing job. So get them here on a Wednesday night. Most youth groups take it easier, slow down over the summer. We speed up. And so Nick's doing an amazing job leading them.
[00:17:15] And these guys are part of 27 high schoolers that are going to, high schoolers and leaders that are going to Mexico this summer. And if you're not familiar with what we do in Mexico, we partner
[00:17:27] with an organization that puts on summer camps for orphanages. And so what they do is they partner us up one-on-one with Nino, a kid, and you're there for the entire week. And it makes memories
[00:17:40] that heal. And think about it like this, everything that you would imagine in a summer camp and then some is what these guys are going to be doing with their Ninos. Last year, they put in a water slide
[00:17:51] and this water slide was fantastic it was on a steep hill and so you could get going so they had all these rules that you could know you can't do it this way or that way because you'll go too
[00:18:03] fast our guys figured out how to go super fast they had a blast doing it the ninos were loving it uh some of them would were a little small so they didn't want to go down the big water slide
[00:18:14] but then other ones wanted to go all the time and it was really hot that day and so uh so going up the hill, if you didn't have sandals on, your feet would kind of burn. And I remember one
[00:18:28] of our guys, his Nino wanted to go up the, down the water slide the entire time. And he did not have sandals. And his feet were just blistering. And I was like, buddy, do you want me to take
[00:18:40] your Nino this time? I've got sandals on. And he's like, no, this is why I'm here. You know, and I think that that's the heart of every single student that was on that trip last year and every
[00:18:48] single student that's going this year. And so we're going to pray over these guys and commission them and send them out as a part of our body here at Christ Community Church to go and do the work
[00:18:59] that God's ordained for them. So if you're friends or family with those that are up here, some of our elders that are in the room, maybe come and lay hands on them, elder emerituses as well, and
[00:19:08] everybody else, would you go ahead and stand up? And if you feel comfortable doing so, extend a hand out to these guys as we pray over them, commission them, and just send them to do what it is that God
[00:19:23] is calling them to do. So Jesus, thank you so much that you have prepared these students for this week, that they may have made the decision to go on this trip this year because it seemed like the fun thing to do, or their friends were going, or they wanted to go and do
[00:19:52] this trip. But God, you knew that they were going to be on this trip for longer than they knew they were going to be on this trip. And God, I'm reminded as I'm praying about whenever the believers
[00:20:04] commissioned Barnabas and Saul and sent them out to do the work that you had prepared for them in advance, that these guys in the same way, we lay our hands on them and we send them out to do
[00:20:16] the work that you have prepared in advance for them. And so God, right now, I pray for every single one of these students, every single one of these leaders. God, I pray that you would begin to
[00:20:28] put gifts and talents and abilities inside of them that they don't even know are there. God, that you would awaken things that you have placed inside of them from before they were even born.
[00:20:39] God, I pray that you would call forth and bring forth those things so they can use them for the expansion and the benefit of your kingdom. God, we pray for miracles to take place. We pray for
[00:20:51] healing to take place. God, we pray for encounters with you to take place on this trip. God, we pray for powerful encounters from our team and from the ninos. God, that they would go and that they
[00:21:01] would love. God, that there would not be a language barrier because love does not have a language barrier and they would carry your heart to every single person that they encounter. God, that our team would be a blessing to the staff and Rancho Genesis that is exhausted and worn out because
[00:21:15] this is not their first week of camp. God, that they would revive them and breathe fresh life into them. God, for every single Nino that's going to come in contact with one of our students,
[00:21:25] they would go, man, we've been around other Amigo teams, but this is a different team.
[00:21:30] They have something different. And so God, right now, that you would cover every aspect of the trip. God, for travels. God, we pray for peace for every single one of our students and leaders.
[00:21:39] If anybody's nervous about getting on an airplane, Lord, we pray for calm nerves.
[00:21:44] God, safe travel, safe van trips, safety crossing the border, God.
[00:21:48] We pray for all of that.
[00:21:49] Hotel, everything to go smooth from check-in to check-out, going to Mexico, eating tacos, and coming back home.
[00:21:55] Lord, we pray for all of it.
[00:21:57] God, that everywhere they go would be ground taken for your kingdom.
[00:22:00] God, that you've given them every bit of authority that you gave to the apostles, that you gave to the believers in the early church, that they have the same Holy Spirit inside of them that they had back in 2,000 years ago
[00:22:12] when the church was established.
[00:22:13] And God, they would see you do incredible things in and through their lives.
[00:22:16] And so right now, Lord, we send them out as the church in Morrisville, North Carolina.
[00:22:21] We send them to do the work that you prepared in advance for them.
[00:22:24] And God, we give you, you, all of the glory ahead of time for what we're believing you to do in and through their lives.
[00:22:31] And it's in Jesus' name that we pray these things.
[00:22:34] and everybody said amen amen amen all right they're going to give some hugs to the people that they're with and uh head back to their seats i'm going to turn things back over to pastor

[00:22:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:22:44] michael and we're going to continue in a time of worship amen the lord is so good yes amen i'm so thankful for his word i'm so thankful that his word from john says that who the son sets free
[00:22:57] is free indeed i'm also thankful that the psalmist writes that praise the lord oh my soul for his faithfulness endures from generation to generation. And I love the fact that we can cling to the
[00:23:09] promise and the hope that we are made in the image of God, that we were spun together in our mother's womb in the secret place and that God saw us and he knew us and he loved us. And so as this
[00:23:21] team goes out in the power of Jesus' name, I pray over those orphans that they know that they were created in the image of God, and that He loves them with an unfathomable love. And guess what?
[00:23:34] He loves you the same way, church. And so we sing together in unity. We sing in freedom, and we sing in faithfulness and thankfulness of the faithful one. Yes? Amen. Shed His blood for us. Amen.
[00:30:18] When there was no other way. Come on. Are you excited about the cross this morning?

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:30:23] And He died for you and me to save us from our sins, and we get to walk in that freedom. Let's sing.
[00:35:46] This place that you feel that this over caught me up in here and you feel unbelievable guilt

[00:42:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:42:06] and shame. And I want you, if that's you, I want you to bring the powerful name of against that sin in your life. The Bible says, if we confess our sins is faithful and he's just
[00:42:21] to forgive us of every single sin. You haven't gone too far. You're not in too deep. You out of that pit and set your feet on a rock he can forgive you and cast away all of your sins as far
[00:42:36] as the east is from the west he'll throw him into the sea of his forgetfulness and he won't even remember them anymore cover them with the precious blood and forgiveness of Jesus and so right now if
[00:42:50] you're feeling extreme guilt and shame would you just say Jesus I bring the power of your name against my sin. I receive your forgiveness. There's some of you in this place that you need to bring the powerful name of Jesus against sickness or sadness, depression or anxiety or
[00:43:16] grief. We can bring the powerful name of Jesus to stand in the face of those things. That doesn't mean that automatically the depression goes away or the anxiety goes away, but his powerful name stands in the face of all of those things and he can breathe a peace on your mind that even when
[00:43:39] the circumstances haven't changed at all he breathes his peace over you a peace that's not explainable by anything in this world but he wants to bring his peace with your grief he wants to bring his peace and his presence to stand beside and stand against the anxiety and the depression
[00:44:00] Some of you who are feeling that right now, would you just call on the mighty name of Jesus?
[00:44:06] Say, I bring the name of Jesus against my anxieties and against my depression.
[00:44:14] He's the one who's in charge of it all.
[00:44:20] I surrender all of me to all of him.
[00:44:24] And I trust that his peace is going to come and meet me in this situation.
[00:44:30] there's some of you in the house that you you're facing a really tough situation where you need to see God as the provider and would you just speak the powerful name of Jesus he's the one who owns it all
[00:44:49] he's the one who breathed the stars and the galaxies into existence there's no resource he doesn't have access to and he wants to show you that he's the one who meets all of your needs according to his riches
[00:45:05] in glory. So in this moment, would you just call and speak the name of Jesus and say, Jesus, I believe you are my provider. Show up in miraculous ways through your provision for me to meet this
[00:45:23] need right now. There's some of you have friends or family members who don't know Jesus, and we need to speak the name of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit, he's going to open their eyes. He's going
[00:45:40] to woo them and draw them to a place where all the lies that the world tells them is exposed.
[00:45:47] Everything the world says will give them a happy and healthy and peaceful life. It just leads to more chains and more bondage. But Jesus can set them free. And so would you just speak the name
[00:46:00] of Jesus over that friend, over that family member and say, God, open their eyes. Let your spirit blow on them so that they see how good you are and the grace and forgiveness that you offer,
[00:46:15] the friendship and the satisfaction in life that you can bring.
[00:46:20] There's nothing else like it on earth.
[00:46:24] Just continue to pray and let's sing it like you mean it.

[00:47:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:47:37] We first loved us.

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:48:51] And Lord, I pray that today we would, as we open your word, I pray that your spirit would continue to speak over us, that you would wash over us with your word and strip away everything that doesn't look like Jesus.
[00:49:04] Give us your heart.
[00:49:07] Give us your mind.
[00:49:10] Give us your thoughts about life and about sin and about trials and about temptations so that we can show the world that you're real, Jesus.
[00:49:21] And so, Lord, we pray that you would move in authority in this time.
[00:49:25] In Jesus' name, we all pray together.
[00:49:28] and God's people said, amen. As you're being seated, let's go ahead and open our Bibles to James chapter one, James chapter one. We're in the middle of this series. It's our summer book club series. And we're going through the whole book of James together as a church family. And so James
[00:49:44] was written by the half brother of Jesus. His name was James. That's why it's called James.
[00:49:50] And he's writing, he was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. And so he's writing to a group of people that were going through a difficult season anybody in the house going through a difficult
[00:50:01] time people were going through difficulty relationally difficulty financially there was a worldwide famine so economically they were going through a really difficult season but they were also starting to face persecution and they all moved away from Jerusalem sort of
[00:50:15] to escape the hardship in the times and they took the gospel with them to Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth wherever they went but but how many of you know change of locations doesn't
[00:50:25] change your problems. Yeah, they just kind of go with you, right? And so now they're in the midst of a hardship. They're in the midst of a hard time. There's this worldwide famine. They don't
[00:50:34] have the support structure that they once had. And they're really walking through seasons of great difficulty. And James, as a pastor, he wants to write to them about how do we take the beliefs we have in our head and get them into our hearts and out through our hands? How do we make sure
[00:50:53] that we aren't just saying we believe certain things, but we're really letting the beliefs we say are so deeply rooted in us sort of exercise out through our hands in the midst of whatever we're walking through.
[00:51:07] And so we're calling this series Fleshed Out Faith.
[00:51:10] And usually what happens for us as you walk through seasons of difficulty is the Lord has a way of fleshing out what you really believe.
[00:51:18] what's really in your heart what's really deep down your deeply held beliefs as you walk through seasons of great fire and difficulty what ends up happening is all the impurities rise to the service and you have this opportunity to not just say you believe something but to really live it
[00:51:35] out and so last week we talked about when you encounter trials there's three different prayers that you can pray you can say god give me relief could you just make it a little easier that's a
[00:51:44] prayer we often pray. Or you could say, God, give me release. Could you just make it stop? I'm just ready for the finish line of this trial. And if you pray those, those aren't bad prayers, but
[00:51:53] there's a better prayer that you could pray. And it's God, would you give me reason? Give me your reason, your spirit filled wisdom so that I pursue what you're trying to produce. God's trying to
[00:52:05] produce something as you walk through this trial. He saw something in you that was lacking. Some place where you didn't reflect the character, the nature, the image of Jesus Christ. And so as a loving father, he lets you walk through this season of difficulty because he wants that to come to the
[00:52:24] surface so he can strip away the things that don't look like Jesus. He's trying to produce the patience of Jesus in you. He's trying to produce the love of Jesus in you. He's trying to produce the forgiveness of Jesus in you. He's trying to produce all these things so that you
[00:52:40] look like him. And so we said a better prayer is give us reasons so that we pursue what you're trying to produce. So we don't just say make it easy or make it over. We say, God, make it worth
[00:52:52] it. That we get to the end of the trial and we would say, wow, that was so hard and I wouldn't have chosen that. I wouldn't have chosen to walk through that season of difficulty. But man,
[00:53:03] I am so grateful for what God produced through that trial and through that hardship. Well, today we're going to look at the second part of James chapter 1. And how many of you like to be
[00:53:15] in control? How many of you like to be in control? That's right. Yeah, good stuff. Yeah, that's a lot of us. A lot of us like to be in control. And one of the toughest things, especially for those like
[00:53:26] of us that like to be in control, is when you walk through seasons of trial, you are not in control.
[00:53:34] it shows you sort of the illusion that you uh sort of control everything in your world and it shows you who's really in church and who's really in control and i don't know about you but
[00:53:47] sometimes it gets frustrating because you don't get to choose your trial how many of you would like like to choose the trial of being blessed by a hundred million dollars that you have to spend the right way you know what i'm saying like that's a trial lord i could do it you know or
[00:54:03] whatever it is. Like we don't get to pick our trial and you don't get to pick your temptation in the trial. And here's what I would say to you in the same way that God is trying to produce
[00:54:13] something through the midst of the trial. Look at me. The enemy is trying to produce something in the midst of the trial too. The enemy is a counterfeiter. He's a thief. He likes to take
[00:54:25] this gift from God of what God is trying to produce through this difficult season.
[00:54:30] and he takes and he tries to hijack the trial that the loving father gave you to complete what was missing and what was lacking. And then he tries to interject his temptation into the midst
[00:54:43] of the trial. In the midst of the trial, you start to think, well, I don't deserve this. In the midst of the trial, we have temptation to be angry. In the midst of the trial, we have temptation to
[00:54:53] express frustration. In the midst of the trial, we have temptation to pursue other things. And so he wants to hijack the process. God has this process that he wants us to walk through so he completes
[00:55:06] what's lacking, but the enemy has this process in place too. And here's what I would say to you today if you're taking notes, just jot this idea down from James chapter one. You can't pick, you don't
[00:55:16] get to choose your trial or your temptation. You don't get to choose your trial or temptation, but you can always pick your path. You can always pick how you respond. You don't get to pick
[00:55:27] whether I walk into a trial with cancer. You don't get to pick whether you walk in through a trial of financial hardship. Always. Sometimes those things are forced onto you. You don't get to pick
[00:55:38] if your car stops working. Like how many of you this week, if you're like, all right, let's do the wheel of roulette. Here we go. Car troubles, right? Like you don't, nobody's going to pick
[00:55:46] that. But at the same time, you don't get to pick your trial. You don't get to pick the temptation that comes in the midst of the trial. Look at me. But you always can pick your response. You pick
[00:56:00] your path of response. And here's what I would say. This is so important because the Lord has plans for this process and the enemy has plans for the process and the path you pick makes all
[00:56:12] the difference. It makes all the difference. So just jot this idea down. Your path activates a process. It sets off a chain link of events. So you can't choose your trial. You can't choose your temptation. But what you always have control over is the path that you pick. And the path that
[00:56:32] you pick, it activates a process that absolutely will determine your progress. You're going to have a process and it's either going to go the Lord's way or it's going to go the thief's way. There's
[00:56:45] this process that's happening. And I want you to see, you can always pick your path. Look at what it says in James one, verse 13. Here's what he says. James says, let no one say when he's tempted,
[00:56:57] read this out loud. He says, don't let anybody say this. I'm being tempted by who? By God. The Lord gifts you a trial to complete what's lacking. He doesn't want you to fail. He wants to build you up.
[00:57:09] Right? So, so if it's a temptation to sin, if it's a temptation to tear down, if it's a temptation to destroy. That's never from the Lord. That's always from the enemy. He's trying to hijack
[00:57:21] the trial that the Lord gave you to complete what's lacking in you. He has a goal in trying to hijack that trial. He's going to whisper these temptations in the midst of the trial because he doesn't want you to look more like Jesus. He wants you to go through the end of
[00:57:36] the trial and still be the exact same. Having walked out the other side, not being transformed at all in fact he doesn't just want you to not be transformed he wants to ruin you in the midst of
[00:57:49] your trial and so he interjects his temptation into the midst of this and look what he says God can't be tempted with evil he himself tempts no one God can't give you the temptation he that's
[00:58:03] that's not his thing he gives you the test he gives you this gift as a loving father to complete what's lacking but then the enemy hijacks it it interjects temptation into the midst of the trial
[00:58:14] because he has a process he wants you to go through you cannot choose your trial or temptation but you can always pick your path and whatever path you pick it activates this process of something that's going to happen and that determines your progress look at what he says
[00:58:29] verse 14 he says but each person is tempted read this out loud with me what does he say what's that word when he is lured and what? Enticed by his own desire. Anybody like to fish? One person.
[00:58:44] Fantastic. Great illustration, Pastor David. Okay, we'll move on. No, no. So here's what he's saying.
[00:58:50] He says, he says, all of us have different desires, the desires that tempt us. And here's what he's saying. He says, there was an old fleshly part of you that was killed off whenever you surrendered
[00:59:03] your life to Jesus. But there's like the zombie dead life inside of you that tries to come back awake every now and again. He says, here's what happens. We all have appetites. We all have
[00:59:18] desires, right? And how many of you like salty snacks? How many of you are sweets fans, right?
[00:59:26] How many of you are married to the opposite person, right? So that's not a good mix. Yeah.
[00:59:31] so he says all of us have different appetites for me it might be a appetite to express anger in an unrighteous way for you it might be lust or for you it might be fear or anxiety whatever it is
[00:59:42] he says but the enemy knows your appetites from your old way of life he knows what used to make you thirsty he knows what to dangle in front of you he knows how to lure you so he waits
[00:59:54] for the time of testing. Do you remember when Jesus had 40 days of communion with the father in the desert? He has this time of testing. And when is it that the enemy comes to strike
[01:00:08] at the end of the 40 day fast, right? When Jesus is weak at the time of the testing, the enemy comes in and tries to hijack the test by tempting Jesus. And here's what he whispers to
[01:00:19] him. He's like, you know, you really don't have to fast, right? I mean, you're so powerful. You could just turn those rocks into bread feed your hunger bro like what are you doing make it a crispy
[01:00:27] cream like enjoy right now jesus says no no i'm not gonna live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the father then he takes him to the temple and he's like you know
[01:00:38] you should just not wait for the cross you should do some kind of crazy miracle right here you should just like throw yourself down in front of everybody and just levitate all right he's like the angels
[01:00:51] will catch you, right? Doesn't it say in some Psalm somewhere that they won't let you hit your foot against the stone? The Lord's anointed one. And Jesus says, no, no, no, I'm not going to do
[01:01:00] that. I'm not going to put the Lord, my God to the test. Then he takes him up to the high mountains.
[01:01:06] He shows him all the kingdoms of the world. And he says, you know, you really don't have to go through this test that the father is asking you to walk through. You don't have to go to the cross
[01:01:15] to get all the kingdoms of the world. I have all the kingdoms of the world right here. Look, you can see them all. They're my power to give. I'm the prince of the power of the air. This world is
[01:01:25] my domain. All you have to do is just bow down right here in front of me and worship me. And then you don't have to go to the cross. You can rule all the kingdoms without any of the pain.
[01:01:37] Just bow down. And he says, no, it is written that there is no other God. He's the only one that should be worshiped, right?
[01:01:48] And this is what the enemy does for us.
[01:01:49] We're in there in the midst of a test.
[01:01:52] He comes and whispers to you and he says, you don't deserve this.
[01:01:57] And he starts to whisper these temptations and he lures you.
[01:02:01] He dangles in front of you.
[01:02:02] Whatever from your old way of life would be tempting to you.
[01:02:07] And then he goes, he throws the bait and then he hooks you, he lures you.
[01:02:14] And this word for entice, it literally means that he pulls you along until he changes your way of thinking. Here's the enemy's process. In the midst of the trial that the Lord has, he brings temptation and he throws out bait.
[01:02:30] Look at your neighbor and say, I ain't taking the bait, right? Like it's bait. And here's what he does. He dangles it in front of you and then you bite and he doesn't set the hook hard. He wants
[01:02:42] you to think it was your idea. So he'll whisper stuff in your ear until you make an agreement with him. The apostle Paul calls that a stronghold. And then he drags you along until you start to
[01:02:55] think about that topic the way that he does. And so here's what it is. Bait becomes beliefs and then beliefs become behaviors. And then eventually you wake up and you say, how on earth did i get here how did i get here i don't understand how did this happen right because we
[01:03:17] took the bait and then he pulled us along and he whispered these things and we agreed with him until our beliefs matched his and then beliefs become behaviors they don't stay thoughts they become actions and then your behaviors blow up your life have you ever had a moment where you
[01:03:35] blew up your life small ways or big ways this is what the enemy's process is listen you can't pick your trial or your temptation but you can always pick your path and whatever path you pick it
[01:03:48] activates this process that will determine your progression the enemy dangles it out he says take the bait oh yeah see how good it is like i'm just gonna drag you along until you start to think
[01:04:00] like i do you believe what he believes and you have this stronghold and then he it becomes behavior and then you blow up your life but the lord has a different plan and a different process in mind
[01:04:12] look at what he says he talks about the enemy's plan verse 15 he says desire when it has conceived gives birth to what sin and sin when it's fully grown when you got a teenage sin in your house
[01:04:25] right he's like listen to me you know one of the biggest lies the enemy tells you it can stay small it can stay manageable it's just a little pride it's just a little unrighteous anger it's just a little lust it's just a little greed everybody's a little greedy right
[01:04:48] and he promises that it'll stay small but the goal is not for it to stay small the goal is that you take the bait and then you start to think and believe like he does then your behavior starts
[01:05:00] and then you blow up your life he says it doesn't say small it has a gestational period it starts to grow and then it gives birth and then it becomes a teenager and it takes over your life he says this
[01:05:15] is satan's process in the midst of the trial he hijacks it with temptation and when it's fully grown it brings forth death death it blows your life up now just like there's a process that the
[01:05:30] thief has when you take his path the father has a process when you take his path aren't you glad there's another process in place you can't always choose your trial or your temptation but you can
[01:05:42] always choose the path look at what he says verse 16 he says but don't be deceived my beloved brothers and sisters every good gift and every perfect gift is from where from above coming down
[01:05:54] from the father of lights with whom there's no variation or shadow due to change aren't you grateful that God doesn't switch it up on you you can count on him he's the same yesterday today and
[01:06:05] forever look what he says of his own will he brought us forth how by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits as his creatures his goal wasn't for you to be saved
[01:06:20] his goal was to become just like Christ it wasn't his goal wasn't just to get you out of hell and get you into heaven his goal wasn't just that you'd be forgiven his goal is that every single
[01:06:35] day before you go and meet with him in glory that you would think like he thinks that you would respond like he responds, that you would live how he lived. He wants to make you into the image of
[01:06:48] Christ. He is the potter and you are the clay and he's shaping you into the image of Jesus.
[01:06:53] So that when you look at a situation, you think like he does. When you see somebody who is lost or you see a refugee or you see someone who's walking through intense poverty or whenever you
[01:07:04] encounter hardships or whenever you see suffering or whenever you feel depressed, that whatever Jesus would do in that situation, that's what you do. His goal isn't just that you know him, it's that you know him so deeply, so intimately that he starts to shift how you look until you
[01:07:25] start to mirror who he is. And he says, the goal is that you would become like the first fruits of creation. He, see with Jesus, it doesn't start with, with bait. Here's what it starts with. You
[01:07:38] ready? New birth. He plants his seed inside of you. Look at what it says. Verse 19. Know this, my beloved brothers. He gives this example. Let every person be, this would be a great life verse
[01:07:51] for me right here because I don't do this well. Look at what it says. Let every person be what?
[01:07:57] Quick to, quick to tell your mind, right? You better share your opinion. Don't let anybody talk over you. Let every person be what? Quick to hear. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a
[01:08:10] reason. Let's apply it, right? That's what he says. He says, be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get. I'm convicted this morning. Here's what he says. Look at what he says. Here's why. Here's
[01:08:23] what? Because in the midst of the trial, anger is one of the greatest temptations. And here's what you say. I can accomplish what needs to be accomplished in a better timeline than God can.
[01:08:38] You know what would fix this situation? My anger. I mean, he gave it to me. This trial is a gift, but Satan is tempting me right now to hijack the trial the Lord wants to produce something in,
[01:08:51] and so I'm going to act in anger, and I'm going to get out of this trial by my anger, right?
[01:08:58] and look at what he says this verse convicted me so bad as a parent to young kids i'll never forget reading this verse and the lord burning it into my mind right because i would think
[01:09:11] something would happen in the kids it would be a tough day tough situation the kids would say something just absolutely insane or do something crazy and i would get like how dare they speak to
[01:09:24] me like that as a parent right you know what i'm gonna do in my anger i'm gonna produce a godly disciple of jesus and so i would blow up i can't believe i would never have spoken to my father
[01:09:39] that way right like in my anger i'm gonna produce repentance look at what it says you can't do this with a spouse you can't do this with a friend you can't do this with a child you can't even do it
[01:09:52] with yourself. Look at what he says. For the anger of man does not, what? Produce the right. You can't do what God does. God's anger is totally different than our anger. You can't produce righteousness
[01:10:06] in somebody else because you got angry enough. He says, don't hijack the trial by giving into temptation. Look what he says. For us, it's different. He says, you follow the path of the Lord, it starts with birth, but, but it doesn't just end with the new birth. Look at what the
[01:10:26] next step is. Look at what he says. Verse 21. So therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive, read this out loud with me. This is a beautiful phrase. Look at what he
[01:10:35] says. Receive with what? Meekness the what? Implanted what? Word, which is able to what?
[01:10:44] Save your spirit. Is that what it says? No, it's save your what? Soul. See, the second you surrendered your life to Jesus, we're three parts, body, soul, spirit, right? The second you surrender to Jesus as your savior, your spirit is totally saved. The Holy Spirit of God joins himself to
[01:11:03] your spirit and he awakens a brand new part of you that you never knew existed, right? You are totally whole and saved in your spirit at that moment. If you were to die, your spirit goes to
[01:11:14] be with him, right? But for the rest of your life, God is saving your soul. He's transforming you to look more like Jesus. Your soul is your mind, your will, your intellect. The day after you got saved,
[01:11:29] did you have a totally new will or did you still have desires that were wrong? Of course you did.
[01:11:34] You still had desires that were wrong. So the rest of your life, it's like looking in a mirror and him showing you what doesn't match up with Jesus.
[01:11:43] And he says, I implanted my word in you, but every day you've got to receive it.
[01:11:48] Here's what that means.
[01:11:49] You put yourself under the authority of his word.
[01:11:52] It's not just that I prayed it.
[01:11:54] It's not just that he's my savior.
[01:11:57] He's Lord over me.
[01:11:58] So that means whatever he says in the word, that's what governs my life.
[01:12:03] Because it's not me sitting on the throne.
[01:12:05] It's him sitting on the throne.
[01:12:07] So whatever he thinks about sexuality, that's what I think.
[01:12:11] Whatever he thinks about marriage, that's what I think.
[01:12:14] Whatever he thinks about money, that's what I think, right?
[01:12:18] And he says, so I receive with meekness, meekness, power under control.
[01:12:24] I examine my life through the filter of this implanted word.
[01:12:28] And the Holy Spirit shows me, you're not looking like Jesus here.
[01:12:35] You're so impatient.
[01:12:37] How patient has Jesus been with you?
[01:12:41] He's forgiven you billions.
[01:12:44] And you're ready to squeeze the throat of somebody over hundreds?
[01:12:49] How does your anger elevate this?
[01:12:53] Like he shows us in that moment.
[01:12:55] He says, you receive the implanted word.
[01:12:59] That's birth.
[01:13:00] But then you bind yourself.
[01:13:02] Listen, this is the process for us.
[01:13:04] Birth.
[01:13:04] Then we bind ourselves under the authority of the word.
[01:13:07] whatever he says that's what governs our life and then he pulls us along until our beliefs change where we start to think like he does so it goes from birth to binding ourselves under his authority
[01:13:20] of his word we receive it daily it's not enough to just receive it once we receive him as his lordship over our lives whatever you think about this god that's how i want to think however you
[01:13:31] would act that's how i want to act and i'm not there yet but lord just show me places in my life that I don't match up with you and then he changes our beliefs and then that becomes behavior and
[01:13:41] then guess what he produces not a bomb that blows up your life he produces beauty this beauty where you reflect the one who made you look at what he says I love this he says receive the implanted
[01:13:55] word that's able to save your souls he says it starts with birth and then you bind yourself under his word then it changes your beliefs and then your beliefs become behaviors and then he brings beauty out of it. Look at what he says, verse 22. He says, so be doers of the word,
[01:14:10] not just hearers. He's like, it's not enough just to put on your Bible app and listen to it.
[01:14:15] That's not accomplishing anything other than you just hearing. You're being exposed to the word of God. But he says, instead of just being a hearer of the word, be a doer also, not deceiving yourselves. He says, because if anybody chooses just to be a hearer of the word and not a doer,
[01:14:33] he's like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror I'm getting older and I'm like I look in the mirror and every time I'm like when did that get there what is what is happening like
[01:14:45] what is that new spot like I've got eyebrow hairs that have decided to have them under their own like this like every time I go to the barber I'm like can you trim me up on my like no not on the
[01:14:55] hair because that doesn't grow anymore just right here on the eyebrows that would be great right But he says, he says, what happens is when you read the word of God, if your goal isn't just to be a hearer, but to be a doer, to bind yourself under the authority of scripture.
[01:15:12] So your beliefs become his beliefs and his behavior becomes your behavior to produce a life of beauty.
[01:15:19] He says, then you're going to look in the mirror and you're going to see all the blemishes.
[01:15:25] He says, but the person who's just a hearer, look at what he does.
[01:15:30] he looks in the mirror and then verse 24 he looks at himself and then he goes away and at once he what forgets what he looks like he's like have you ever seen a picture of yourself and you're
[01:15:41] like is that what I look like like you have an image in your own mind of what you look like and then you see the reality on somebody's Facebook post you know I did not approve that
[01:15:51] picture right you're like is that what I really look like there's a filter it's got to be a filter right and here's what he says he says every day as a believer in the midst of the trial he says
[01:16:04] God has a process he gave you new birth and he wants you to receive with meekness the word of God where you say God I want to look in a mirror and see anything that doesn't look like you
[01:16:16] I want you to show it to me and I'm going to bind myself under your authority so my beliefs change to be what your beliefs are and then my behavior becomes what your behavior is to produce
[01:16:27] a life of beauty god this is what i want he says don't be like the person in the midst of the trial that has it hijacked by the tempter so you stop the process he says that person they look in the
[01:16:40] mirror and they're like they walk away and they're like man i'm looking good they start to compare their sums up well at least i look better than that person they start to compare sins right
[01:16:53] in the midst he says don't let the enemy hijack look at what he says verse 25 but the one who looks into the perfect law the law of liberty and perseveres keeps going until the lord gets it all
[01:17:06] until every part of me looks like every part of him until he strips it away all the places that i don't mirror his image he says the one who perseveres being no here who forgets but a doer
[01:17:24] who acts what does he say he will be hashtag what blessed in his doing it's a life of beauty he says you don't get to always choose your trial and you don't get to always choose your temptation
[01:17:37] but you can always pick your path and the path you pick activates this process that determines your progress if you give into the enemy if he hijacks your trial he's going to try to get you
[01:17:51] to give in to temptation. So he'll dangle a little bait. He'll whisper the lies. He'll hook you before you even know it. And he'll make you think it was your idea. Then he'll pull you along until you
[01:18:01] start to believe what he believes. And then you behave how he would behave. And then it blows up your life. He says, or you can pick the path of the Lord. And you could say, God, you birthed
[01:18:14] something new in me. But I want you to save my soul. I want you to transform every part of me to look like every part of you so I bind myself under the authority of your word I'm saying it's
[01:18:29] going to govern my life until I believe what you believe and behave how you behave because I want to be beautiful when I stand face to face with you your path you pick makes all the difference
[01:18:45] would you pray with me this morning in the midst of trial and hardship would you pick the Lord's path let him accomplish his full work and his full plan don't let the enemy hijack it you can't
[01:19:08] produce what he's trying to produce would you just make it your prayer every day this week as you walk through difficulty God I just want to come out the other side looking more like Jesus I want
[01:19:24] it to be worth it I want you to produce in me what you're trying to produce so Lord take the new birth and the seed that you've planted in me, that implanted word, and let it wash over me until I see
[01:19:42] in reality all the places that I don't look like Jesus. I bind myself to the authority of your word.
[01:19:52] I want to believe what you believe. I want to behave how you behave. Bring a life of beauty.
[01:20:00] Would you just pray that this week? Don't let the enemy hijack your trial with his temptation.
[01:20:08] Lord, would you do that in us so we all look like Jesus?
[01:20:11] And all God's people said, amen.
[01:20:14] We're going to close out our service today.
[01:20:15] We prayed and sent off our Mexico Missions team.
[01:20:18] And now we're going to get a chance to pray and send off an elder family.
[01:20:22] Would the Pfeffer family come on up?
[01:20:26] We give it up for the Pfeffers.
[01:20:28] We love them.
[01:20:34] So Adam and Ashley and their whole family have served faithfully in eldership and in leadership in the church.
[01:20:40] over the past two years. And we're so grateful for them. We love them so much and all the areas that they have sacrificed to bring about care for the body of Christ. And they're moving to
[01:20:53] California. So they're answering the call to go and be near Adam's parents who are going through some health issues. And so they're shepherding and caring for his physical family in the same way that they've cared and shepherded the body of Christ. And so, um, we just wanted to bless them.
[01:21:14] And so nobody will know all the hours of time that goes into leadership in the church. And so it's a cost to the family and, and we want to thank them for their service. So we have this
[01:21:26] little certificate of appreciation. It's, uh, this certificate is presented to Adam and Ashley Pfeffer given in honor of your exemplary service over two years as elder. Thank you for faithfully shepherding and overseeing the body of christ may god continue to unite us with the heart of the
[01:21:42] father the love of jesus and the power of the holy spirit and then we have a little gift card to send as a little thank you as you go to california i'm sure that you can find a spot to eat along the way
[01:21:53] that would be great for you or or maybe a nintendo switch for your new house i don't know like malachi was saying that his cousins have one but he doesn't so i'm just saying maybe the kids get a
[01:22:05] vote on what happens with the little gift. I don't know. But we are going to miss you guys terribly.
[01:22:14] But we're so proud of you for not just shepherding the body of Christ, but for answering that call to shepherd and care for your parents. That's something that you will never, ever regret. And we know that you guys are going to California, but you're always going to be family for us.
[01:22:31] We love you guys. And so can we give it up for the Pfeffers?
[01:22:35] Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Before Matt prays for us, do you want to say anything? I didn't ask you beforehand, but yeah, it's totally okay if not. Come and see Adam and Ashley and all the kids and say a little prayer of blessing over them as they get ready to head out this week.
[01:22:55] They're loading trucks. So say a little prayer for them. Maybe if your kids went with Ashley to the Kentucky youth trip last year for the youth missions trip or whatever it might be, or maybe if they've shown up and brought you a meal
[01:23:08] or maybe Adam has prayed for you during an emergency call as an elder on call, whatever it is, just say thanks and send them with your prayers and your blessings as they go and take care of family in California, okay?
[01:23:20] Did you want to say anything?

[01:23:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:23:24] Yeah.
[01:23:25] Just thanks for the privilege of getting to be a shepherd and, you know, pastoral person here.
[01:23:31] And it's been a huge blessing to be a part of this family and this community.

[01:23:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:23:37] All right.
[01:23:38] Would you stand? Matt's going to pray for us, and then we're going to say our benediction all together.

[01:23:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:23:43] Lord, we just come before you today. We pray for the Pfeffer family as they head out to California.
[01:23:48] It was a blessing getting to know them over the years, and we just pray for their safe travels.
[01:23:53] We just pray for this church, this community, you know, as Pastor David talked about, that these burdens that fall on us, that we just give them to you, Lord, and that you continue to guide us and direct us in everything we do.
[01:24:05] and we just lift up those that are struggling today.
[01:24:09] Again, thank you for everything you've blessed us with.

[01:24:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:24:11] You ready? Let's pray together.

[01:24:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:24:16] God, unite us to have the heart of the Father, the love of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
[01:24:23] Amen.