And what sounds 1:22 says, I was glad when they said to me, let
us go to the house of the Lord. I was glad when I got invited to
go to church. That was the greatest invitation
that I could receive. Can I ask you a question?
If somebody were to ask you, Where's your favorite place to
be? Or where would your favorite
place to be? What would you be able to
answer? Would Church be the first thing.
I hope so. Do you know why?
Being in the house of God is the greatest place to be on this
side of Heaven. Because it's the closest thing
to Heaven. That's why to be surrounded with
God's people, to be surrounded with the truth of God and to
sing praises to God. Ephesians 2:20 to says that we
are being built up together as a dwelling place for God as a
dwelling place for God. So, even if your bone tired this
morning, because I see a lot of baggy eyes today, I know we had
we celebrated many people here, celebrated marriage, a marriage
between a man and a woman that represent Christ in the church
and are part of this church. So, I'm fully aware that many
people in here are exhausted, but even when you're exhausted,
it's still a good thing to be in the house of God.
With that being said, turn to James chapter, 5, James chapter
5, beginning in verse, Eight. James 58.
You also. Be patient.
Establish your hearts. Prepare your hearts.
Get your heart to ready. Establish your hearts for the
coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not Grumble against one
another brothers, so that you may not be judged behold the
judge capital J. The judge is standing at the
door. Verse 10 as an example of
suffering. And patience Brothers, take the
prophets. Who spoke in the name of the
Lord behold. We consider those blasts Who
Remain steadfast you have heard of the steadfastness of job.
And you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is
compassionate and merciful. Let's pray together.
Lord, as we just saying. And as we just read We establish
our hearts Lord, for your coming.
And we pray that. You would find us ready.
Lord, we just ask that you would speak through your word in the
power of the holy spirit that even through our weariness.
God, your where would grip has penetrate into the depths of our
soul. Or if there's anybody in here,
who's not ready for your return? Make them ready.
By convicted me of sin and reminding them that they need.
Jesus Christ as their lord and savior.
Let it be done today in this house for the glory of your
name. We ask that this meeting be free
from distraction discouragement. Or destruction.
And now your purpose is Prevail. We ask and the precious name of
the Savior Jesus we ask amen. Amen.
The scriptures are emphatic, Ali?
Clear that the second coming of Jesus Christ is an undeniable
event, that will take place at one point in history, based on
the trustworthy, testimony of the Bible.
You and I could be sure of this, that in the midst of all the
things that are happening in life.
Jesus said as in the days of Noah, this is fitting for our
context. There will be people who are
marrying. There will be people who are
buying they'll be people who are selling in the midst of all of
that. Jesus Christ will interrupt all
of our plans for his ultimate plan to bring the church to him
and to bring judgment on the world.
It's coming, it's coming whether you believe it or not, it's
coming whether you're ready for it or not.
And James here is reminding us of that.
But there's something else that he wants us to.
My to be reminded of that between this moment now and that
event that will take place whether it's in our lifetime or
not, there is a guaranteed experience that we will have in
that time period between now and Jesus returning.
There is a guaranteed just like the sucking Second Coming, is
guaranteed. This also is something that will
happen inevitably and it is this, that you and I will to
some degree. Free suffer.
And not just suffer, but be tempted in the midst of our
suffering. To become weary.
And to become relaxant and are faithful zealous obedience to
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the Holy Spirit does
through James and verse 10, verse 8 and verse 9, he's
telling the people his audience, he's telling us today.
Hey, hey, Jesus is coming back. And then he goes into this
seemingly random subject relating to suffering and
patience. And you go, what's the
relationship between now? And then we might suffer, and
some more than others, some with greater intensity than others.
But it is something that is surely to come to pass in the
Christian experience. And so he says, listen.
It's going to happen, the second coming and trials and
tribulations, and this is a beautiful thing for us because
he's not providing a philosophical explanation of why
Christians suffer he could have. And there are some places we can
go to explain that instead of giving us an explanation of why
we suffer, he wants to give us examples of suffering. he wants
to give us clear pictures in the Bible that you and I are to take
hope in and find life in You know what he does.
He says Annex as an example of suffering.
I want you to look to the prophets.
I want you to look at the prophets of old who spoke in the
name of the Lord. And I want you to see what they
experienced as as a means by which you can continue to walk
Faithfully with the Lord. Like they walked Faithfully with
the Lord. And this heads-up from the Lord
to say, hey, things might not go your way in life, should not
discourage you, and I should not discourage us if anything.
It should encourage us because we know that he already knows
what's to come, and he is Sovereign over our suffering.
So I have hope and I have, I have an anchor of my soul to
know that I've read in the Bible already that if I've been
stamped by the blood of Christ, if anything goes against me and
it's not for me per se on the surface level.
I can rest to know that God is in control.
Control. And we have this commandment
from God. This this prescription go to the
Old Testament and look at the prophets of old.
He says, because they suffered and James.
I don't think James has one type of suffering inspired by the
Holy Spirit, one type of suffering in mind.
When you hear the word suffering, what comes to your
mind immediately. Severe persecution, physical
pain, severe disease, extreme poverty.
What comes to your mind? What jolts in your mind as an
image? When you think or hear the word
suffering, the reality is suffering comes in different
packages in various forms. And I believe James here does
not have one idea of suffering per se.
Why? Because he says look to the
prophets, plural, not one prophet.
And what we know from the prophets, Is that though they
all suffered in different in one way in the sense that they were
persecuted. They all had their unique
experience. Each Prophet had a slightly
different bent to their experience of pain and trials
and tribulations, which is amazing to us as a source of
encouragement because we can look at the vast roster of
profit, and look at one of them in a season of life and say, oh,
if he went through it, I can go through it.
So, if that person experience that, surely I can experience it
and this is the beauty about the Theology of suffering in the
practical sense, isn't it true that when we go through
something, we tend to Magnetize ourselves towards those who have
gone through the very same thing or something, similar and have
overcome it. Our ears are more open to those
who can relate to US based on experience, because no matter
how shattered we are in the midst of what we're going
through. We are faced with someone who is
flesh and blood like us but as overcome and there is hope even
if it's a small small dosage of it, we are drawn to people who
have experienced what we've experienced.
And James is saying, listen, go to the prophets and draw some
help from them. Because as much as they're
calling was very preacher, like and full-time Ministry.
Based there is something about the prophets in which the Bible.
In wisdom says you can actually relate to them more than you
think. And there's suffering is not as
far-fetched as you are experiencing in this Western
age. The purpose of this message, the
purpose of James's message to us this morning, is that we would
glean from them. And that we would have the
strength from that to continue to walk Faithfully with the
Lord. Which profits can we go to?
Which profits can we go to someone who has overcome?
Something that we seem to be overcome with.
I think one that is. Undeniable is Jeremiah.
Jeremiah turn to Jeremiah chapter 20.
Jeremiah chapter 20 beginning in verse 7.
Jeremiah chapter 20. What's the context here?
Jeremiah is doing? What Jeremiah was called to do.
Preach the word of God. And I one point, his audience
was greatly discomforted uncomfortable by his words and
verse 1, you can just lean over as his Passion of the priest,
the son of immer, who was the chief officer in the house of
the Lord, her Jeremiah prophesying these things.
And what did he do? He beat the guy up and threw him
in a holding cell overnight. Some response to a message and
what is Jeremiah experience? What he's been experiencing for
most, if not all of his ministry, rejection after
rejection after rejection, after rejection, And in this chapter
in particular it seems like Jeremiah the single-minded
devoted man of God has reached a Tipping Point in his soul. where
he now begins to Open his heart bear before God, and begin to
express without filter. What he's truly sensing.
What is he saying? First verse 7 O, Lord you have
deceived me. And I was deceived.
You were stronger than I and you have prevailed.
I'd become a laughing stock, all the day, everyone mocks me.
Think about what he said, you have deceived me.
And you're stronger than me. And you and In this wrestling
match, you actually overcame me. That's a bold thing to say to
God. you have tricked me, you have Manipulated you have hidden
goals behind this whole thing. What does he mean?
By say, you deceive me? He's going back to when he was
called in chapter one. When he was called as a young
man to be a preacher in the first place.
And he is now slipped into such Despair and discouragement and
such raw form. He pretty much just saying in
modern language, I did not know that all of this was a part of
the package. So when you came to me Lord and
you this you just brought this idea to me and you you said
these wonderful things about who I was that I was consecrated for
my mother's room and I was chosen to be a prophet to the
nation's and when I came to you as a response to that and I
said, listen I'm but a youth. You told me not to worry and I
said I can't speak very well and you said, don't worry, I'm going
to be with you. And when I was fearful of this
apostate Nation, you said I will be with you to deliver you.
That sounded really, really Good.
But I didn't know all of this would be a part of it.
Because up to this point, I'm not really seeing much fruit in
my Ministry. That was all Splendid.
That was beautiful. Lord, that call.
I mean, we all go to that. Even we go to that chapter to
bring us, hope to know that God really has a plan for our lives
from the moment that we are even conceived in our mother's womb.
But Jeremiah saying, I feel tricked.
I did not see this in the small print.
I'm getting beat up and I'm getting thrown into prison and
I'm getting laughed at by everybody.
I was humbled at first, I was excited at first I was willing
to make any sacrifice. Do you realize in Jeremiah 16:1,
probably one of the hardest things that Jeremiah had to
hear. Read it read it one day, God
tells them you're not getting married.
And you're not going to have children.
In this place, it's not going to happen.
I don't think we really realized the waiting is the depth of this
ministry and the sacrifice that this man had to make in order to
serve the Lord and Jeremiah was willing to do it.
Whatever it is. You want to put a hold on my
season of marriage. You want to put a hold on?
I mean, wanting to have children.
That's fine. I'm willing to serve you Lord.
And who knows what was going on in Jeremiah's, my, but all these
wonderful things that God had called him for no converts.
I mean, at least, if I'm going to make these sacrifices, I
would see some fruit. Come out of my Ministry.
If I'm going to go to these Great Lengths of putting things
on pause and life and and preaching an unpopular message,
surely there's going to come some fruit out of it.
And in fact, I'll top of all the things that he had to lay aside
for the Lord. He's getting pummeled by his own
people. Never mind Gentile Nations.
Did God deceive him? Did God leave that out with God?
Like well if I don't tell him the whole thing he's not gonna
know know Jeremiah just did not realize the extent of it here.
This in chapter 1 verse 19. God told them this stuff was
already going to happen, but it's just in our fallen nature
that we have selective hearing. Not only that, we didn't, we
don't just do that. Jeremiah is not just doing that
because it's Jeremiah we do that with our Bible reading the only
We find ourselves picking the things that we like, and we find
ourselves kind of muting our ears to the things that we're
not too fond of. Jeremiah 119, this is what the
Lord says they will fight against you.
But they shall not Prevail against you for.
I Am with You declares the Lord to deliver you.
It's going to happen, Jeremiah, but it's not to the point where
it's going to overcome you. so he's just frustrated here, he
and in chapter 20, is come to a place of just Total despair.
And I believe a great part of his despair as the weeping
prophet was. He did not see much apparent
success. In terms of people turning from
their ways and walking Faithfully with the Lord.
And that crushed him. And you say, what's the point?
How does that relate to James five?
It relates in this way that between now and waiting for
Jesus to come back, you and I can suffer in the same way
Jeremiah did in what sense that we remain faithful and Ministry
and don't really see much things coming out of it.
And that can make us weary of remaining faithful in Ministry.
This point is for those who really want to live for Christ.
If you don't want to live for Christ, this point means nothing
to you but if you have made it your ambition to bear fruit for
the glory of God. I hope this encourages you.
Because you hear it from pastors and you even hear from Layman
that want to serve God, you hear from people that really want to
serve the Lord. And we're not seeing things.
What? They've been praying for what
they're believing God for what they read in biographies and
stories, but they're not really getting it, it wounds them.
It weighs them down. It takes the fight out of them.
Like Jeremiah. Especially when you believe that
God has called you to something, especially when you felt like,
God is open a door and gifted you with something and you're
walking into that and as you're walking into that, you seem like
everything else seems to be crumbling.
All the things that you knew that you sacrifice to get to
this point all the hours, all the energy, all the driving, all
the prayer meetings and nothing Little bit of Hope here and then
it ends up. It doesn't take much long before
the people that your ministry or backing, all these things that
are crushing the man can Crush you and me as well.
And it feels tricked. Was this really worth it?
Man, I could have bought into something else.
That would have brought me instant results.
I could have invested my time and energy and other things, I
would have brought some kind of instant satisfied satisfaction.
But here I am living for God. Feel like I'm all alone and all
these wonderful things that he's given me as promises and I don't
really seeing things I thought I would see.
Been there. Are you there?
My get there. One day.
But take hope. Because something happens to
this man in a moment. And what happened to Jeremiah in
this text. I believe it's happened to many
great men and women of God, you hear me very carefully.
In 1793, there was a man by the name of William Carey was a
missionary to India. He felt his heart stirred to go
to that place to preach the gospel and so he picks his stuff
up to go. He goes with his wife named
Dorothy and his sister-in-law Dorothy's wife sister Kitty and
they go to this place in India and they met a man named John
Thomas who was an acquaintance, a partner in the ministry.
So they have this band of people, you have, William Carey,
you have his wife, Dorothy you have.
Her sister Kitty of this man named John Thomas and you have
their families in a new land with Great Hopes believing that
Christ has commissioned, all Christians of all generations to
make disciples of all Nations. And it in a matter of a few
short years. In order to to, to sustain and
to live, William, Carey John, Thomas work in a factory, to
gain some income from their family, but this man John Thomas
ends up squandering all the money.
Within a short amount of time. William, Carey son, Peter died
at the age of five. Within a short amount of time,
William Carey sister-in-law, chitti abandons, the mission
field to go, marry a British shoulder Soldier within a short
amount of time because of some believe of the death of the sun
and the whole environment itself.
William carries wife literally, goes insane, To the point where
she saw her husband as the greatest enemy of her life.
And where people were trying to convince this man, put her in an
insane. Asylum.
And so wired, was she? With this mental illness that
she ended up dying. Probably due to that.
And you think, okay, this man had it on his heart to go.
He goes with his family, he has this plan, this Vision.
Surely something came out of this.
How many converts do you think William Carey saw in the first
seven years? Seven years baptized one person.
God, what did I get myself into did he have that know this man
is known now as the father of the modern Mission movement and
the fruit that came out of this man's sacrifice, As far beyond I
believe, what he thought, Bible translation school, and converts
in the hundreds after those first terrible years, at least
in the natural sense. What kept this man going?
What made him not jump ship and go back to England.
What was it? What was it?
That anchored him and faithfulness?
And not growing weary and serving the lord and proclaiming
the Lord? I believe, what?
Jeremiah in? Jeremiah 29. if I say, I will
not mention him, Or speak anymore in his name.
He's saying, if I say that if I come to the point where say I'm
done with this, I'm not preaching anymore.
I'm not gonna go and do these Mission things anymore.
I'm not going to serve and this I'm done.
I'd rather invest my time and my energy elsewhere.
If I say that there is something that reacts to very thought
before it leaves my tongue, what is it?
There is a my heart as a were a burning fire.
Shut up in my bones. And I am weary with holding it
in. I cannot I try to convince
myself. I try to make myself look like
the victim and right, when I'm about to press, right?
When I'm about to bring in my papers, right?
When I'm about to bring in my two weeks notice Something
begins to burn up inside of me and it's a fire.
What is that fire? I believe it's Jeremiah. 23:29
were Jeremiah says is not your word like a fire.
Like a hammer that smashes The Rock in pieces.
There was something in Jeremiah that was greater than the
discouragement that try to overcome Jeremiah and it was the
word of God. The word of the Lord that
consumed him and even listen, it was so deep inside of him, even
when he came to the place where he thought that he would not
even share it, he couldn't, he would burst open. and I believe
it's something that we can relate to in Acts chapter 4 20,
For Peter and the rest of the Christians were commanded.
Don't you dare preach anymore? In this name Jesus?
And you know what they say we cannot help but speak of what we
have seen and heard. We cannot help but to speak what
we have seen and heard you know what, Peter was trying to say
there. I've seen too much.
And I've heard too much. For me to retire.
And to retreat from what I believe, God is calling me to do
in this life. In other words, there are too
many testimonies, and too many Revelations that I have been
exposed to, for me, not to move forward for me to stop or to go
into reverse is actually in a possibility.
I have a question for you, this morning.
What have you seen? And what have you heard?
Have you been so blinded by the glory of God in your walk with
Christ? That to give up is actually
equal to dying. Have you been so enamored?
Have you been so stunned? Have you been so touched by the
Holy Spirit through the word of God?
Has your deliverance and salvation been so great?
That you're single purpose and the Earth is to glorify Christ
and whatever way he asked you to and if not then Lord take me to
Glory because it's all about your glory.
Anyway, Have you so burn the bridges behind you brother.
Have you so burn the bridges behind you sister.
Like, Elijah, when he was called by Elijah, he went back and he
made a barbecue out of his business.
You realize that he was a farmer with oxen and with plows, and
when Elijah call them, he said, let me just do one more thing
here. Hey guys, no turning back.
We have it on our sweaters, right?
I'm burning all of this and let's have a feast because it's
one way, and there's no turning back, you know, where God wants
to bring all of us this morning. God wants to bring all of us to
such a place in our devotion to God.
Is that turning back or retreating or ceasing is
actually impossible. Because that's the only reason
why you live. I don't live for any other
purpose. So I go back and there's nothing
to go back to because there's no Bridge.
Onward. Christian Soldiers.
Jeremiah say I can't do it even if I'm trying to convince myself
it's not working. Peter says, Hey we've seen and
heard too much to keep silent. The only way you're going to
actually keep us from doing what God's called us to do is if you
kill us and they ended up doing that.
I'm sure all of Hell, had vacation when Paul Peter and
John died. Jeremiah.
Said there's a fire in my bones. And I'm weary of holding it in.
This is the place where God wants to bring us.
So if you're here today and you're suffering and what sense
if you're suffering, With the emotions of discouragement and
despair in light of the lack of apparent fruit in your ministry,
take courage, it's not about the fruit, it's about the
faithfulness that God looks for in our ministry.
I believe Jeremiah Jeremiah Was A spectacle to Heaven and Hell.
Why? Because when all the nation was
going downhill, you had a man who would weep because he knew
God's heart and he remained the course, And he's just as human
as you and I are. Take courage.
Don't give up. Let's look at another profit
together. We might not consider this man
as a prophet. He was a man that perhaps
suffered in a way that we would not necessarily immediately
consider suffering. But once we explain them or
perhaps, you'll be able to say, oh yeah, I know what that feels
like. This man is a prophet according
to the scriptures saying, who is he Abraham?
Abraham Genesis 27, God describes Abraham as a prophet.
And this man is another faithful servant of the Lord.
And he had an experience like Jeremiah that we can all
somewhat relate to if we really meditate on it.
How did Abraham suffer I believe Abraham experience suffering and
patience like James says, in light of this one thing that all
of you have experienced all of us will experience something
called waiting on God. Waiting on God.
Go to Genesis 15. Genesis 15 too.
But Abram said, Oh Lord God,
there's a cry. They're all Lord God.
What will you give me? Fry continue childless.
And they are of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.
You can't read that verse without feeling the ache in this
man's heart. And he had a desire, and it was
not a selfish desire. This man had made great
sacrifices to follow the lord as well.
He was called to leave the comfort of his own home.
He was called to lead the familiarity of his area.
He was called to go somewhere where he did, not even really
know where he was going and to drag his family with him.
This man after a great victory in chapter 14 over many kings.
Had an underlying cry in his heart and that cry was I want a
child. I want somebody to continue my
legacy, I want to success sir, I want an heir from my own for my
own seed. And this is something that when
you read verse to, you know, that this is an ache in his
heart, you know, it was in the back of his mind, oh, even
throughout the whole adventure of following the Lord and all
the great acts of faith. And all the interventions of
God, this was still something that he could not fully bury.
This was something that always surface.
It was something that always came up, I'm sure as he laid
there in his tent at night, I'm sure when he saw other families
with their children, something was stirring and Abram.
And he would say, Lord, I really This.
And it's not a sinful desire. It's not a bad thing too long
for it's a. Holy thing.
It's a wonderful thing. It's a joyful thing.
It's a gift from God. He says, God will you give me
this? And God makes him wait.
And he's not in his 20s. He's not in his mid-30s, he's in
his 70s. He gets to his 80s and he's
just, he looks at his wife and he realizes, this is just
getting crazy. This is not going to happen.
Is it? But God promised him.
It's so this isn't just like it's going to happen within the
spent every single day counted at this point in his life.
It was a day by day thing that this man had to walk through and
trusting in the Lord's timing and again you could see that
because he is worried and he's anxious about this.
Very awesome thing. He starts to make plans even in
that statement. So as Eliezer of Damascus
supposed to be my Heir, is that the plan that somebody that's
outside of my family is going to continue my name and what
happens in the next chapter in chapter 16, his wife starts
getting antsy and a Buys in. And what does he do?
He marries Hagar. So, you can see that this guy,
he's fidgety in the soul and he's longing and he's wanting so
desperately that he begin to. Now maneuver In the Flesh, plan
in his own ways, to make something happen that God said,
what happened? But didn't tell him when it
would happen. And this man love God, he
sacrificed for God. But he had a concern for his
future, you have a concern for your future.
Do you want something from the Lord?
But you just want to right now. That's what Abram wanted.
The sooner the better Lord. Have you ever prayed that?
I'm ready to get it now. What else do I need to do?
What else do you want me to fulfill until you bring this
thing into my life? And we even start to give God
advise. Lord, I'm getting old here.
Laura. I think it can bring you more
glory in my younger years. If I do it.
Now, if you give me this opportunity, now if you give me
this relationship, now if you give me that job, now if you
give me that Ministry, now I think I'd be better now.
No answer. and you wait and you wait and you wait and you saying
yeah, I know that Abram waited So, what does that have to do
with suffering? Waiting can sometimes be
torturous. Sometimes the hardest thing in
life is to wait. In fact, some people in here,
maybe could testify that the most difficult thing in their
life right now. Is that they're waiting?
It's not that they don't have enough.
It's not they don't have the right people in their lives is
not like, no, they're waiting for something.
They're not getting it. And some maybe would even pay
money to get that thing, whatever it is.
Just so you can be satisfied in that area of your life.
But here's the joy. If you were suffering between
now and the second coming of Christ in your desire to walk
Faithfully with the Lord because it's amazing like Abram, we can
allow waiting on, God become so overwhelming that it begins to
affect our faithfulness. We get so impatient and we get
so antsy that we begin tonight. Begins to affect the way.
We obey him and walk by him and wait on him and seek Him and we
go. Well if I don't get it then I
can't serve him the way I want to serve him.
Listen listen, listen. Listen this morning if God says
wait, is he still worthy to be loved and served?
If God says, hold on, hold on. Wait is one thing?
Let's take another notch if God says, no, Is he still worthy to
be served? It's convicting.
You know, why you can say yes to both of those things?
Do you know why you can say, yes, brother.
I can, I can love him and worship him and adore him.
I can do it with joy. You know why?
Because whenever God says wait or no, it's always because he
has something better. Always, God is not in heaven,
using you as a guinea pig, just for the thrill of testing you to
see what he can get out of you. That's not God's heart or mine
God because he's your father and mine whenever like a good dad
says wait or no, it's because he loves you enough.
Can I give it to you right now? That's where the pain begins to
drain. When we realize, the reason why
he's not letting it happen in our timing is because he has a
mind and thoughts that we don't. Sometimes we need a sermon like
this. We need to be preached to for us
to be reminded of that. Even if it's a truth that we
already have memorized, You know how we can believe that?
It's because we know why Abram had the way to some degree.
How do we know? Let me read this to you from
Hebrews 11 12. Therefore, as is describing
Abraham. Therefore from one, man.
And him as good as dead. Were born descendants as many as
the stars of Heaven, as many as the innumerable grains of the
Sand by the seashore. Did you read that slowly?
Therefore, why did God make him wait so long?
Why at 100 years old of all times at 100 was Isaac born to
Abraham. You know why?
Because Hebrews says that God was waiting for him to be as
good as dead. Abraham.
I want to get you to an age and I want to get you to a Frailty.
I want to get you to such a dependency that when I deliver
what I promised to you. And when I want to give to you,
that very thing that's been stirring in your heart, all
these years I'm going to time this so specifically that the
timing itself will be a testimony to my glory. so that
when people see little Isaac in your arms, Whenever heat, they
hear his giggling and whenever they see him stumbling across
the field, they will know that this is a gift.
It miraculous provision from God.
They won't be able to attribute it to Natural circumstance.
They won't be able to say. This was some know, every time
they see Isaac, they'll see God. Every time they see your little
family picture that sent over to the neighbors for Christmas.
They're going to see God. In other words, I'm going to
make that desire that you want so bad I'm going to time it for
a testimony. God's timing is for a testimony
for his glory but all the goodness of God it goes even
deeper than that my family. Genesis 21:6.
Look what happens to Sarah. When Isaac was born and Sarah
said, God has made laughter for me.
Everyone who hears will laugh over me?
So when this baby comes, when Isaac the promise is fulfilled,
you know what she says? She's not speaking,
sarcastically hear someone assume.
She goes, whenever people hear of this they're actually going
to rejoice. So I look at that truth and I
say okay I really want something really badly and God knows that.
But I can take comfort to know that the timing of this being
fulfilled is so that God would get maximum glory.
And that my joy would be to the brim And that not just my joy
like Sarah, who laughed, but when other people see it, and
hear of it, they're going to rejoice as well.
What an awesome God. We serve That's hard for us.
You know why? Because the day we live in
everything in our day is almost instant.
You can order a precious product and get it at your front door
without you putting your shoes on in a matter of hours,
everything is in your hands whenever you want it and it is
so affected us. Listen, it is so affected us and
I'm not pointing I'm saying I'm included here too.
Here in the west with all of our services, we are growing more
and more impatient to things that are ridiculous.
Even things that 10 years ago would have taken weeks now, take
hours minutes even and unfortunately, because our food
comes so quick because our internet service comes so quick
because of our products that come in so quick, all of these
things that can come right in the snap of a finger.
We've translated that into our relationship with God, listen,
Amazon might have changed how their products come quickly to
your house but God's ways do not change.
God is the same in Genesis as he is today.
And God has wisdom. in his timing and he knows when to give
it for his maximum glory and for the joy of your own heart and
for those who would witness your patient endurance, Or you can
birth in Ishmael. I don't want to birth in
Ishmael. If there's a prayer, you can
pray between now and God fulfilling what you believe.
He wants to fulfill in your life or give to you a gift.
A natural. Holy Gift.
Ask God between that time. Don't let me birth and Ishmael
please. I rather not have one then have
one that's enough from you. Gosh.
You hear some married? Couples.
Say that even today. We can go on two different
Prophets. How many prophets can we go
through? We can go to so many prophets
that have experienced a unique Dynamic of suffering, but we go
back to James. And what is James choose to do?
Inspiration of the Holy Spirit? He goes to not a man who was a
messenger? Not a man who was a messenger
called to full-time Ministry but a family, man.
And in james511, it says, behold we consider those blessed Who
Remain steadfast, you have heard of the steadfastness of job.
And you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is
compassionate and merciful. So now he's owns it and he says,
I want you to consider job you've heard of him, right?
And not only have you heard of him, but you've seen how his
patient endurance during that time has brought about a
manifestation of the compassion, and mercy of God.
Now, if you've ever read the book of job, you might have a
different opinion. Because if you read the first
chapter of job, I encourage you to do this.
The next time, you read the book of Job, take a timer.
And we've done this before here. When we went through job, a long
time ago, anybody remember that long time ago, we've talked to
Joe, take a timer and read the moments where everything was
stripped away from Joe. From the moment you he gets the
news and read it and then stop the timer and realize that the
man lost his business, his family, everything around him
burned to the ground within a matter of seconds.
That's how the text reads because one person comes in.
As soon as he finishes another person comes, as soon as he
finished another, it was just literally chaos in a minute.
You know what that tells you and me though, because there was a
hedge of protection, if God were to remove hedge of protection
over you, and I it would be a matter of seconds before
everything in our lives would be destroyed by the devil.
Oftentimes, we don't see God doing something and we get
frustrated brother and sister, you have no idea what God is
saving you from every single day.
Seven. Job chapter 1 shows you and me
that when moment God lifts his hand from your life, all of Hell
will eat you up like cereal in a matter of seconds.
So we praise him and we thank him.
You read job and you go. Compassion and mercy.
Not only do I see that? The devil attacked a man to his
very bones. I see that God allowed it.
And like many things in life, it's not really until you get to
the end of the story where you see God's mercy and compassion.
Even during, but that's for another time.
Because something happens at the end of Book of Job job 4212.
He says in the Lord blessed the latter days of job, more than
his beginning. And the Lord blessed the latter
days of job, more than his beginning.
The end of the matter produced something greater than if
nothing had happened to job in the first place.
And in light of what James is saying, look to job and see the
mercy and compassion of God in light of suffering.
And patience, this is what we can take out of this, that no
matter what suffering I experienced between now.
And when Jesus comes back, we'll always in the end proof for
greater fruitfulness and blessing in my life.
That's the principle of the story of job in light of James.
So as I go through it, I may not get it.
But the at the end of it, there's going to be something
better in me, through me. And for me, then if I had not
been touched by the devil in the first place, do you see the
win-win in the Christian Life? That have God protects you.
It's a blessing, but of God allows the devil to touch you.
I'm going to be better at the end of it than what I've started
without it. so God bless him and in the Old Testament, there's an
emphasis on physical blessings material blessings, but in the
New Testaments emphasis on spiritual blessings, but I think
there's something even more that job experience that was greater
than more fields and crops and lands and everything else that
God gave to him in verse 5 earlier and job 42, the same
chapter liquid job says, I had heard of You by hearing of the
year. but now my eyes, see you This was a faithful man.
According to chapter one who feared God, who interceded for
his family without missing a beat day by day.
While they were having their celebrations out their houses
and they were eating and drinking.
This father came not in self-righteousness or hypocrisy
and Camus said, oh God less they've sinned against your
hearts. Would you forgive them?
Oh God I bring my children before you.
I love in the midst of all of his prosperity and blessing.
This guy was a business guy he'd never lost priority about God.
He never lost his relationship with the Lord and yet Through
his suffering and God's revelation of himself in that
suffering. Job says, at the end, I've only
heard of You by ear, but now I see you, like, I've never seen
you It's a wonderfully dangerous thing to ask.
God to know him more because he just might use suffering to do
it. Not to destroy you.
Not to harm you not to crush you, but only as we sang to
refine you. And in that refining, not only
do you look like him more, you get to see him with Clear
Vision. He said, how can you say that?
Because I know people who have suffered and when they've
suffered, they said, brother Jesus is near to me than ever
before. I don't want this to end.
You don't want this to end, man. You have cancer.
I know, but I know that the moment this cancer comes off me.
I'll start walking my own way. I only heard of you with my ears
but now I see what is he trying to say?
I perceived you in a manner that I've never perceived you before
in the midst of all. This chaos.
Oh God. If this is the only reward that
I have that you are more beautiful than you were.
When I first knew you then. Let me suffer.
Jesus is coming back soon. That's a promise. but know, this
is another guarantee that you and I as Christians may suffer
And some more than others, maybe you're suffering right now, in
light of these three examples, maybe you're suffering in the
fact that you're serving the lord Faithfully like Jeremiah.
But you are not seeing what you thought you would see.
In fact, you were seeing the opposite of what you
anticipated. To maybe you're suffering like
the prophet Abraham suffered in what sense, in which he was
waiting on God for a promise that he was walking with the
Lord. And you are, you are on the
verge of birthing and Ishmael God, right now is telling you
don't wait for the Isaac. Or three.
Maybe you have suffered like job has in a very real way where
you've lost someone or something and you don't understand why.
But let me tell you this, according to this book.
Wait till the end of the story of your life. you'll realize
something about God that you never thought you would realize
and you'll realize that it was better for you in the end and it
was before you were put on this journey of Trial.
Let's pray. Before we pray corporately, I
want to end with this note. Do you know how each of those
men handled their suffering while they were going through
it? Because though they're suffering
was unique, they all experienced one, common thing. if you read
those men's stories carefully, they all Express their pain to
the Lord while experiencing it. each of them came to God in
honest form and brought about their need While they were going
through it and funny enough here, this just hear it in James
5:13 after these instructions, about suffering and being
patient. Look what he says in verse 13.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
That's what it says. It is anyone among you
suffering? Let him pray.
I can come to God if I'm not seeing what I'm supposed to,
what I believe. I'm supposed to be seeing, it's
a god. I don't know what this is all
about. I did not sign up for this
necessarily. Would you help me as you're
waiting? God, when will you give me this
shot him? I say, get out of here.
You faithless kid. Jabba says all that I would have
a mediator. Oh that I would come before him
and plead my case and God comes and blesses him.
So if there's one Avenue between now and the end of this thing,
it is this that I can come before the Lord and say I need
you. He's all ears.
So now as a response to this message, we're going to do just
that because maybe you find yourselves in one of those three
categories or you're in a whole different category itself, James
by the holy spirit gives you permission to pray when no
matter what you're suffering with and God is there, why pray?
Why does why do we pray while we suffer what kind of, because
there's something that comes out of it for you to endure it,
that's why. Let's pray now.
You seek the Lord on your own just in your own heart.
You know what you're going through.
You know what? What part of this was for you
and just bring it before the lamb and just speak to your God.
And then we'll sing together and then closing prayer.
But just now just do what the Bible says and pray.