1 00:00:15,458 --> 00:00:16,750 Howdy Mars Hill Church. 2 00:00:16,833 --> 00:00:19,833 Pastor Sutton Turner here and I'm in Ethiopia. 3 00:00:19,875 --> 00:00:21,667 And I just want to thank Jesus 4 00:00:21,708 --> 00:00:25,000 for continuing to use Mars Hill Church 5 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,583 to make disciples and plant churches. 6 00:00:29,167 --> 00:00:34,292 Mars Hill Global is the arm of Mars Hill Church 7 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:35,917 that makes disciples 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,833 and plant churches all over the world. 9 00:00:38,917 --> 00:00:40,375 We not only do church planting, 10 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:43,333 but we help better equip church planters. 11 00:00:43,417 --> 00:00:47,042 Most recently we shipped and now distributed 12 00:00:47,125 --> 00:00:49,500 1,000 bibles into Amharic, 13 00:00:49,542 --> 00:00:52,125 which is the language here in Ethiopia. 14 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:54,042 And we launched a project 15 00:00:54,125 --> 00:00:59,250 to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's doctrine book into Spanish. 16 00:00:59,333 --> 00:01:02,583 We have people from over 29 different countries 17 00:01:02,667 --> 00:01:06,167 that are giving on a monthly basis to Mars Hill Global. 18 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:08,125 So whether you're a member 19 00:01:08,167 --> 00:01:11,083 of one of our Mars Hill church locations 20 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:12,542 in the United States, 21 00:01:12,625 --> 00:01:18,208 or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters every single week, 22 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:19,667 we encourage you to pray 23 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:23,083 about giving above and beyond your tithe 24 00:01:23,167 --> 00:01:24,625 to Mars Hill Global. 25 00:01:24,667 --> 00:01:28,958 Thank you and let's see more materials translated, 26 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,167 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 27 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,500 and more people saved by Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:51,375 --> 00:01:55,125 Brotherhood, it's a bond as old as time. 29 00:01:55,167 --> 00:01:57,625 It's a love that runs deep. 30 00:01:57,667 --> 00:02:00,083 It's bold. It's strong. 31 00:02:00,167 --> 00:02:01,875 It's enduring. 32 00:02:01,958 --> 00:02:04,500 There's a trust that's built among brothers, 33 00:02:04,542 --> 00:02:07,583 from the trials to the triumphs. 34 00:02:07,667 --> 00:02:11,083 It's a trust that comes from living life together. 35 00:02:11,167 --> 00:02:13,833 No one knows you like your brother. 36 00:02:13,917 --> 00:02:17,458 He knows your strengths; he knows your weaknesses. 37 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:22,083 A bold brother will lay it all down for his family. 38 00:02:22,167 --> 00:02:25,667 It is difficult to describe that kind of loyalty, 39 00:02:25,750 --> 00:02:29,667 that kind of courage, that kind of strength. 40 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:31,667 It's the love of a brother. 41 00:02:31,750 --> 00:02:34,375 It's that kind of love that compelled James to become 42 00:02:34,458 --> 00:02:38,958 Jesus' bold little brother. 43 00:02:43,667 --> 00:02:46,167 So, do you like my backpack? 44 00:02:46,250 --> 00:02:47,625 Yes or no? 45 00:02:47,667 --> 00:02:49,917 Yes? No? 46 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:51,625 Well, you should. It's a great backpack. 47 00:02:51,667 --> 00:02:53,167 Grace bought it for me. 48 00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:55,500 I needed a backpack, and so Grace found me 49 00:02:55,583 --> 00:02:57,333 this old military backpack. 50 00:02:57,375 --> 00:02:58,833 It says U.S. on it. 51 00:02:58,875 --> 00:03:00,292 It's kind of faded. 52 00:03:00,333 --> 00:03:03,292 Somebody tried to tell me it was a Canadian military backpack. 53 00:03:03,333 --> 00:03:07,542 I said, "No, I would only wear an American military backpack." 54 00:03:07,625 --> 00:03:10,875 So, this is an American military backpack, and I want to use it 55 00:03:10,958 --> 00:03:14,250 as an illustration for your life, for my life, 56 00:03:14,333 --> 00:03:18,167 that, really, we've got limitations. 57 00:03:18,250 --> 00:03:21,458 There's only so much that fits in the pack, and similarly, 58 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:23,333 your life has capacity issues. 59 00:03:23,417 --> 00:03:25,083 There's only so much you can do, 60 00:03:25,167 --> 00:03:27,083 so much time and energy you have. 61 00:03:27,167 --> 00:03:28,583 In addition, there are load limits. 62 00:03:28,667 --> 00:03:31,333 There's only so much weight you can put in this thing, 63 00:03:31,417 --> 00:03:32,833 and I can still carry it. 64 00:03:32,917 --> 00:03:35,833 At some point, I just don't have the energy to carry something 65 00:03:35,917 --> 00:03:38,375 that is beyond my ability. 66 00:03:38,458 --> 00:03:39,792 And life is like that. 67 00:03:39,833 --> 00:03:43,083 And there invariably reaches a point with all of your burdens 68 00:03:43,167 --> 00:03:47,167 collectively weighing you down that you reach a point where you 69 00:03:47,250 --> 00:03:51,125 get discouraged, or at least distressed, and wonder, 70 00:03:51,167 --> 00:03:55,333 "Can I continue? Like, can I carry this? 71 00:03:55,375 --> 00:03:59,208 Can I live like this?" 72 00:03:59,292 --> 00:04:02,667 And counselors will tell you that one of three things happen, 73 00:04:02,750 --> 00:04:05,875 and you see if one of these is you: 74 00:04:05,958 --> 00:04:09,375 Fight, fright, or flight. 75 00:04:09,458 --> 00:04:10,958 How many of you are fight? 76 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:12,667 You're like, "Hey, I can carry it. 77 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:14,083 "Load me up. I'm tough. 78 00:04:14,167 --> 00:04:16,083 "I'll make it happen. I'll go to work. 79 00:04:16,167 --> 00:04:18,292 I'll grind it out. I can carry the load." 80 00:04:18,333 --> 00:04:20,000 How many of you are like that? 81 00:04:20,042 --> 00:04:21,500 How many of you are fright? 82 00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:23,667 You reach a certain point, your load's so heavy, 83 00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:25,875 your burden is so much, you're like, "I'm panicked. 84 00:04:25,958 --> 00:04:27,667 "I'm paralyzed. I'm scared. 85 00:04:27,708 --> 00:04:29,167 "I don't know what to do. 86 00:04:29,208 --> 00:04:31,625 "I don't know to take stuff out of my pack, 87 00:04:31,667 --> 00:04:34,833 "put stuff in my pack, to keep walking, to stop, to go back. 88 00:04:34,875 --> 00:04:37,000 "I have a hard time getting out of bed. 89 00:04:37,083 --> 00:04:39,500 "I have a hard time trying to figure out decisions. 90 00:04:39,583 --> 00:04:41,000 "I don't know what to do. 91 00:04:41,083 --> 00:04:42,583 I'm just sort of overwhelmed." 92 00:04:42,667 --> 00:04:44,500 How many of you are more fright? 93 00:04:44,583 --> 00:04:46,292 You just get panicked. 94 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:49,000 And then there's flight, and that is, 95 00:04:49,083 --> 00:04:51,333 "That's it. I'm done. I quit." 96 00:04:51,375 --> 00:04:54,292 Like, it's literally like, "Hey, we're getting a divorce, 97 00:04:54,333 --> 00:04:57,333 "I quit my job, and I threw my phone in the lake. 98 00:04:57,375 --> 00:04:59,833 "I'm done, right? I'm done. 99 00:04:59,875 --> 00:05:01,375 "I give up. I quit. 100 00:05:01,458 --> 00:05:02,792 "That's it. 101 00:05:02,833 --> 00:05:07,500 "Whatever I was called to carry, whatever burdens I was given, 102 00:05:07,542 --> 00:05:10,792 "whatever load the Lord has handed to me, that's it. 103 00:05:10,833 --> 00:05:12,250 I want it off." 104 00:05:12,333 --> 00:05:15,250 This is where you quit your job, quit your relationship with God, 105 00:05:15,333 --> 00:05:17,458 quit your church, quit your family, quit your marriage, 106 00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:19,375 quit your friendships, quit your commitments. 107 00:05:19,458 --> 00:05:22,375 Just start off-loading everything just because you feel 108 00:05:22,458 --> 00:05:24,750 the weight of burden and responsibility, 109 00:05:24,833 --> 00:05:27,792 and you just want to be out from under it. 110 00:05:27,833 --> 00:05:29,250 There's a fourth way. 111 00:05:29,333 --> 00:05:34,000 It's the way that we're going to examine today in James 5:7-12 112 00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:36,125 on feeling burdened but being blessed. 113 00:05:36,167 --> 00:05:39,375 And it's not the way of fight, it's not the way of fright, 114 00:05:39,458 --> 00:05:40,875 it's not the way of flight. 115 00:05:40,958 --> 00:05:42,583 It's the way of faith. 116 00:05:42,667 --> 00:05:45,417 What does it mean to take the burden, 117 00:05:45,500 --> 00:05:48,833 the load that God has called you to carry for your life, 118 00:05:48,875 --> 00:05:51,625 and to, in faith, carry it. 119 00:05:51,667 --> 00:05:54,625 And James is a pastor and he's writing to people 120 00:05:54,667 --> 00:05:57,875 who are under a tremendous burden, 121 00:05:57,958 --> 00:06:01,083 and he himself is under a tremendous burden. 122 00:06:01,167 --> 00:06:03,792 He's pastoring a very large, very influential 123 00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:06,375 church-planting church in Jerusalem. 124 00:06:06,458 --> 00:06:08,375 It's sort of headquarters for Christianity 125 00:06:08,458 --> 00:06:11,000 and all that is happening in that day. 126 00:06:11,042 --> 00:06:12,833 And there is great opposition, criticism, 127 00:06:12,917 --> 00:06:15,958 persecution that's come against the church. 128 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,042 And the religious people, they're attacking, 129 00:06:18,125 --> 00:06:20,083 and they're criticizing, and they're maligning, 130 00:06:20,167 --> 00:06:24,375 and this is having implications for people's vocations, 131 00:06:24,458 --> 00:06:27,375 for their relationships, for their emotional well-being, 132 00:06:27,458 --> 00:06:28,833 for their family. 133 00:06:28,917 --> 00:06:32,125 These people are paying a high price for being Christians in 134 00:06:32,167 --> 00:06:37,917 a hostile cultural context filled with very hostile 135 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,500 religious people. 136 00:06:39,583 --> 00:06:43,000 James himself is a pastor who is feeling that burden. 137 00:06:43,083 --> 00:06:45,500 He's feeling that pressure-- 138 00:06:45,583 --> 00:06:47,792 So much so that invariably, 139 00:06:47,833 --> 00:06:50,833 the people who are most religious 140 00:06:50,875 --> 00:06:54,000 and opposed to Christianity, they actually devise a plot 141 00:06:54,042 --> 00:06:56,125 to murder Pastor James. 142 00:06:56,167 --> 00:06:59,208 And they take him to the top of the temple, history records, 143 00:06:59,292 --> 00:07:00,958 and they throw him off. 144 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:02,375 They murder the pastor. 145 00:07:02,458 --> 00:07:03,875 That's how bad it's gotten. 146 00:07:03,958 --> 00:07:06,083 And he doesn't die when he hits the ground, 147 00:07:06,167 --> 00:07:10,458 so an angry mob encircles him, as it did his brother Jesus, 148 00:07:10,500 --> 00:07:12,292 and as they encircled and beat Jesus, 149 00:07:12,333 --> 00:07:16,250 they encircled and beat James until they killed him. 150 00:07:16,333 --> 00:07:20,500 So, this church is in a very conflicted, difficult, 151 00:07:20,542 --> 00:07:23,167 complicated state, 152 00:07:23,250 --> 00:07:25,083 and the pastor is under some serious 153 00:07:25,167 --> 00:07:28,167 heavy fire, and that's where they find themselves. 154 00:07:28,208 --> 00:07:32,000 So, he's writing to the church that is scattered throughout 155 00:07:32,042 --> 00:07:35,125 their multiple locations, similar to ours, 156 00:07:35,167 --> 00:07:36,625 and he's giving them pastoral counsel. 157 00:07:36,667 --> 00:07:38,625 And here's what I need you to know. 158 00:07:38,667 --> 00:07:40,167 James has a big brother. 159 00:07:40,250 --> 00:07:41,833 What's his name? 160 00:07:41,875 --> 00:07:43,333 Jesus. 161 00:07:43,375 --> 00:07:49,500 And James saw his big brother Jesus shoulder the biggest load 162 00:07:49,583 --> 00:07:51,625 in the history of the world. 163 00:07:51,667 --> 00:07:54,292 Nobody carried the load that Jesus carried. 164 00:07:54,333 --> 00:07:57,333 Nobody had the burdens that Jesus bore. 165 00:07:57,375 --> 00:08:00,083 And he watched his big brother Jesus, and he learned from 166 00:08:00,167 --> 00:08:03,750 his example and also from his instruction. 167 00:08:03,833 --> 00:08:05,875 And Jesus said things--tell me if you've heard 168 00:08:05,958 --> 00:08:07,375 this before--like this. 169 00:08:07,458 --> 00:08:09,083 "Come to me." 170 00:08:09,167 --> 00:08:11,542 It's an invitation in love. 171 00:08:11,625 --> 00:08:15,250 "Come to me, all you who are weary." You're like, 172 00:08:15,333 --> 00:08:18,167 "I don't know if I can keep going." 173 00:08:18,208 --> 00:08:22,667 "And heavy-laden or heavily burdened." 174 00:08:22,708 --> 00:08:26,083 "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden. 175 00:08:26,167 --> 00:08:32,208 My yoke is easy, my burden is light." 176 00:08:32,292 --> 00:08:35,875 In farming, when there was a load that was too heavy 177 00:08:35,958 --> 00:08:40,333 for one animal to carry, they'd yoke two together. 178 00:08:40,375 --> 00:08:42,833 And Jesus is saying, "Bring your burdens to me. 179 00:08:42,875 --> 00:08:44,333 "Bring your load to me. 180 00:08:44,375 --> 00:08:45,833 "Bring your weariness to me. 181 00:08:45,875 --> 00:08:47,500 "Bring your frustration to me. 182 00:08:47,583 --> 00:08:49,833 "And you're going to still need to carry it, 183 00:08:49,875 --> 00:08:52,000 "but I'm going to put a shoulder under it 184 00:08:52,083 --> 00:08:54,000 "and I'm going to carry it with you, 185 00:08:54,083 --> 00:08:55,500 "and we'll yoke together, 186 00:08:55,583 --> 00:08:58,208 "that I will make this a lighter load for you. 187 00:08:58,292 --> 00:09:00,083 "Not that I will lighten the load, 188 00:09:00,167 --> 00:09:03,875 but that I will carry a portion of it alongside of you." 189 00:09:03,958 --> 00:09:07,083 Now, James saw this and heard this from the life 190 00:09:07,167 --> 00:09:08,583 of his big brother Jesus, 191 00:09:08,667 --> 00:09:11,083 and he knows that the people are at that point 192 00:09:11,167 --> 00:09:13,875 where they're feeling literally overwhelmed, burdened, 193 00:09:13,958 --> 00:09:17,750 exhausted, and they're considering their options. 194 00:09:17,833 --> 00:09:20,042 And he says, "There's this way of faith." 195 00:09:20,125 --> 00:09:23,667 And I'm going to pose them to you, these four principles, 196 00:09:23,750 --> 00:09:27,000 in the form of a question so you can search your own heart, 197 00:09:27,042 --> 00:09:30,167 and then with your friends, family, Community Group, 198 00:09:30,208 --> 00:09:33,833 you can then explore these together. 199 00:09:33,875 --> 00:09:36,125 The first question is this: 200 00:09:36,167 --> 00:09:37,875 How's your heart? 201 00:09:38,542 --> 00:09:40,333 How's your heart? 202 00:09:40,375 --> 00:09:43,500 And the big idea here is, you can't always control what's 203 00:09:43,583 --> 00:09:46,625 happening around you, but you have far more control over 204 00:09:46,667 --> 00:09:51,583 what's happening in you, OK? 205 00:09:51,667 --> 00:09:55,333 They can't get all of the religious opposition to go away, 206 00:09:55,375 --> 00:09:59,583 but they can establish their hearts to be right with God. 207 00:09:59,667 --> 00:10:01,333 And when we're talking about the heart, 208 00:10:01,375 --> 00:10:03,500 we're talking about a massive theme in the Bible. 209 00:10:03,583 --> 00:10:05,500 It appears roughly 900 times. 210 00:10:05,542 --> 00:10:09,125 And what we're talking about is the center of who you are. 211 00:10:09,167 --> 00:10:11,625 We're talking about you at the deepest level. 212 00:10:11,667 --> 00:10:14,375 We even use this nomenclature in our day when we say, 213 00:10:14,458 --> 00:10:17,125 "You need to get to the heart of the matter," right? 214 00:10:17,167 --> 00:10:19,875 That's getting to the core; it's getting to the essence. 215 00:10:19,958 --> 00:10:22,417 Well, the core and the essence of who you are, 216 00:10:22,500 --> 00:10:24,875 truly, it's your heart. 217 00:10:24,958 --> 00:10:26,708 It's your heart. 218 00:10:26,792 --> 00:10:28,625 And so Pastor James says this: 219 00:10:28,667 --> 00:10:31,000 James 5:7-8, "Be"--what? 220 00:10:31,042 --> 00:10:32,583 "Patient." 221 00:10:32,667 --> 00:10:35,583 How many of you were hoping he would not start there, right? 222 00:10:35,667 --> 00:10:37,333 How many of you are not patient? 223 00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:42,083 OK, OK, raise your hand if you're impatient or alive, OK? 224 00:10:42,167 --> 00:10:46,208 If you're impatient or alive, those are the same people. 225 00:10:46,292 --> 00:10:48,583 Alive people are impatient. 226 00:10:48,667 --> 00:10:50,792 And some of you are more patient than others, 227 00:10:50,833 --> 00:10:52,167 but you're still impatient. 228 00:10:52,250 --> 00:10:54,167 I am, perhaps, the most impatient of all. 229 00:10:54,250 --> 00:10:56,917 I have a friend of mine who not long ago said, 230 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:58,583 "It's really nice being your friend. 231 00:10:58,667 --> 00:11:00,042 "I'm the most impatient person 232 00:11:00,125 --> 00:11:01,792 I've ever known until I met you." 233 00:11:01,833 --> 00:11:03,958 And at first, it sounded like a compliment, 234 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,458 and then it dawned on me that it probably wasn't. 235 00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:08,583 I am not patient. I'm not. 236 00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:11,083 And he starts with, "Be patient." 237 00:11:11,167 --> 00:11:12,792 Some of you are like my wife. 238 00:11:12,833 --> 00:11:14,292 You're more naturally patient. 239 00:11:14,333 --> 00:11:16,583 Some of you are like me, and it's something 240 00:11:16,667 --> 00:11:18,792 we always need to work on by God's grace. 241 00:11:18,833 --> 00:11:20,292 "Be patient therefore, brothers"-- 242 00:11:20,333 --> 00:11:21,667 talking to Christians. 243 00:11:21,750 --> 00:11:24,167 So immediately, if you're like me, you're like, "Be patient. 244 00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:25,583 OK, for how long?" 245 00:11:25,667 --> 00:11:27,083 That's what us impatient people do. 246 00:11:27,167 --> 00:11:29,583 "Lord, how long do I need to be patient for?" 247 00:11:29,667 --> 00:11:33,333 He says, "Until the coming of the Lord." 248 00:11:33,375 --> 00:11:35,500 That's a while. 249 00:11:35,583 --> 00:11:36,917 How long has it been? 250 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,917 Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, went to heaven. 251 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,625 OK, you say, "OK, be patient." 252 00:11:42,667 --> 00:11:45,917 How long's it been? 253 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,625 Two thousand years-ish. 254 00:11:48,667 --> 00:11:52,500 True or false, that's a lot of patience. 255 00:11:52,583 --> 00:11:55,167 How many of you, you're like, "Can I get ice cream?" 256 00:11:55,250 --> 00:11:56,667 "You're going to get ice cream." 257 00:11:56,750 --> 00:11:58,083 "When?" 258 00:11:58,167 --> 00:11:59,500 "In 4,000 years." 259 00:11:59,542 --> 00:12:00,958 You're like, "Really?" 260 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,333 "Yeah, be patient." 261 00:12:02,417 --> 00:12:04,667 Well, it's going to taste so good. 262 00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:06,083 Be patient. 263 00:12:06,167 --> 00:12:09,292 And what we tend to think of--we tend to think in terms of 264 00:12:09,333 --> 00:12:12,042 life span, and God tends to think in terms of millennia. 265 00:12:12,125 --> 00:12:14,583 He's very patient. 266 00:12:14,667 --> 00:12:17,292 And Peter addresses this because sometimes we can get frustrated 267 00:12:17,333 --> 00:12:20,667 with God and think God's slow. 268 00:12:20,708 --> 00:12:25,833 The Bible says that God is not slow, he's patient, 269 00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:29,833 and he wants us to grow in patience. 270 00:12:29,917 --> 00:12:32,208 When's Jesus coming back? 271 00:12:32,292 --> 00:12:34,792 It says, "Until the coming of the Lord." 272 00:12:34,833 --> 00:12:36,500 When's Jesus coming back? 273 00:12:36,583 --> 00:12:38,000 We don't know. 274 00:12:38,083 --> 00:12:41,375 Now, a few of you, you study something called eschatology. 275 00:12:41,458 --> 00:12:43,208 It's the study of last things. 276 00:12:43,292 --> 00:12:45,833 You put together a chart, you figured it all out, 277 00:12:45,875 --> 00:12:50,125 you know when he's coming back, and you're wrong. 278 00:12:50,167 --> 00:12:53,500 Because for 2,000 years, people have made those charts and then 279 00:12:53,583 --> 00:12:57,000 set them on fire because they're always wrong, OK? 280 00:12:57,083 --> 00:12:58,583 You don't know. 281 00:12:58,667 --> 00:13:01,000 So we live by faith, not by sight. 282 00:13:01,042 --> 00:13:02,750 We trust that Jesus is coming back, 283 00:13:02,833 --> 00:13:05,250 and we need to persevere until we see him face-to-face, 284 00:13:05,333 --> 00:13:07,750 and we have no idea when that's going to be. 285 00:13:07,833 --> 00:13:10,000 It could be today, yay! 286 00:13:10,042 --> 00:13:12,000 It could be 2,000 more years. 287 00:13:12,042 --> 00:13:13,542 It could be 200,000 more years. 288 00:13:13,625 --> 00:13:16,792 I don't know. 289 00:13:16,833 --> 00:13:18,792 "Be patient until the coming of the Lord. 290 00:13:18,833 --> 00:13:21,792 "See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, 291 00:13:21,833 --> 00:13:23,167 being patient." 292 00:13:23,250 --> 00:13:25,167 There's that word again. 293 00:13:25,208 --> 00:13:27,167 "Being patient about it, until it receives 294 00:13:27,208 --> 00:13:28,667 "the early and the late rains. 295 00:13:28,708 --> 00:13:30,667 You also, be patient." 296 00:13:30,708 --> 00:13:32,000 Do you see a theme? 297 00:13:32,083 --> 00:13:34,500 Any of you are like, "I'm not a good reader, 298 00:13:34,583 --> 00:13:36,500 "but I see this word a few times. 299 00:13:36,583 --> 00:13:38,292 I think we've stumbled across a theme." 300 00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:41,125 "Establish your hearts," there's the key, 301 00:13:41,167 --> 00:13:43,583 "for the coming of the Lord is at hand." 302 00:13:43,667 --> 00:13:47,833 And what he says is that life is like farming. 303 00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:51,667 Now, I'll just admit I haven't done a lot of farming, 304 00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:55,667 but all the research I've done talking to farmers and looking 305 00:13:55,750 --> 00:14:01,042 at farms indicates that things grow according to their season, 306 00:14:01,125 --> 00:14:04,667 and there's nothing you can do to make them grow out of season. 307 00:14:04,750 --> 00:14:07,167 Like, you can't go to Alaska, plant oranges, 308 00:14:07,250 --> 00:14:10,583 and get them in January because you want them. 309 00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:13,375 That's not the time. 310 00:14:13,458 --> 00:14:16,292 That the way God created the world, 311 00:14:16,333 --> 00:14:22,292 things grow in a season but they don't grow for every season. 312 00:14:22,333 --> 00:14:25,042 You are like that, OK? 313 00:14:25,125 --> 00:14:27,042 Our church is like a field, 314 00:14:27,125 --> 00:14:29,250 and every one of you is like a tree 315 00:14:29,333 --> 00:14:31,792 that God wants to bear good fruit. 316 00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:33,792 And God is like a patient farmer. 317 00:14:33,833 --> 00:14:36,167 He's working on him, and he's working on her, 318 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:38,083 and he's totally working on that guy, 319 00:14:38,167 --> 00:14:40,417 and he's got overtime with this guy, right? 320 00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:42,417 He's got a lot of work to do. 321 00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:44,208 And there are seasons where he's pruning, 322 00:14:44,292 --> 00:14:46,000 and there are seasons where he's nourishing, 323 00:14:46,083 --> 00:14:47,708 and there are seasons where he's feeding, 324 00:14:47,792 --> 00:14:51,083 and then there's seasons where we're growing 325 00:14:51,167 --> 00:14:52,583 and we need to be patient. 326 00:14:52,667 --> 00:14:58,417 And you can't rush fruitfulness. 327 00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:01,375 You can't rush fruitfulness in your own life. 328 00:15:01,458 --> 00:15:04,500 You can't say, "I want to be more mature more quickly." 329 00:15:04,542 --> 00:15:06,375 It's going to be a process. 330 00:15:06,458 --> 00:15:09,333 "I want them to grow and change more quickly." 331 00:15:09,417 --> 00:15:11,792 It's going to be a process for them too. 332 00:15:11,833 --> 00:15:13,792 And as the Lord is patient with us, 333 00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:16,167 we need to be patient with one another. 334 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:18,000 And so this becomes the great theme. 335 00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:20,500 And he's going to say in verse 7, "Be patient. 336 00:15:20,542 --> 00:15:21,875 Being patient." 337 00:15:21,958 --> 00:15:23,292 Verse 8, "Be patient." 338 00:15:23,333 --> 00:15:24,667 Verse 9, "Patience." 339 00:15:24,750 --> 00:15:26,083 Verse 10, "Patience." 340 00:15:26,167 --> 00:15:27,500 Verse 11, "Steadfast." 341 00:15:27,542 --> 00:15:28,875 Verse 11, "Steadfastness." 342 00:15:28,958 --> 00:15:31,125 You're going to see this theme. 343 00:15:31,167 --> 00:15:34,292 And you need to know that we live in, arguably, 344 00:15:34,333 --> 00:15:38,167 the most impatient time in the history of the world. 345 00:15:38,250 --> 00:15:40,500 We don't walk, we take airplanes. 346 00:15:40,542 --> 00:15:42,917 We don't walk, we take cars and honk our horn 347 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,625 because the other cars are going too slow, right? 348 00:15:45,667 --> 00:15:48,167 We don't have to go out and pick our food. 349 00:15:48,250 --> 00:15:50,917 We put it in the microwave and yell at the microwave 350 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,500 because it takes too long, OK? 351 00:15:53,583 --> 00:15:58,292 We are people who can't sit down and watch a television show. 352 00:15:58,333 --> 00:16:02,583 It has to be live streamed to us as we want it, 353 00:16:02,667 --> 00:16:05,458 and we have to fast forward through the commercials because 354 00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:07,375 we don't have time for that. 355 00:16:07,458 --> 00:16:10,375 OK, we are the most impatient people 356 00:16:10,458 --> 00:16:11,875 in the history of the world. 357 00:16:11,958 --> 00:16:13,667 Some of you right now, you're like, 358 00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:15,458 "How long's this sermon going to take?" 359 00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:17,458 Longer than you were hoping, OK? 360 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:20,083 Because it's about patience, OK? 361 00:16:20,167 --> 00:16:25,750 So Pastor James' big idea is, "Establish your heart." 362 00:16:25,833 --> 00:16:30,083 And sometimes the effort is, "I want to hurry up the process 363 00:16:30,167 --> 00:16:32,333 in them, or in me, or in us." 364 00:16:32,375 --> 00:16:34,833 And James is like, "Can't hurry up the process. 365 00:16:34,875 --> 00:16:36,875 It's just going to take a while." 366 00:16:36,958 --> 00:16:38,292 "Well, what can I do?" 367 00:16:38,333 --> 00:16:40,375 "Establish your heart." 368 00:16:40,458 --> 00:16:45,000 Establishing your heart means courage, it means resolve, 369 00:16:45,083 --> 00:16:49,833 it means perseverance, it means endurance, it means forbearance. 370 00:16:49,875 --> 00:16:54,375 It means, as the Holy Spirit gave Jesus that persevering 371 00:16:54,458 --> 00:16:57,500 power, that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to give us 372 00:16:57,542 --> 00:17:00,292 that persevering power. 373 00:17:00,333 --> 00:17:03,875 And as you establish your heart, it guards against 374 00:17:03,958 --> 00:17:06,583 the anxious heart and the sad heart. 375 00:17:06,667 --> 00:17:09,458 And let me say, from my own experience and time 376 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:13,458 being your pastor, when you're feeling overwhelmed, 377 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:14,958 when you're feeling overburdened, 378 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,583 when you feel like, "This is a load I cannot bear. 379 00:17:17,667 --> 00:17:21,292 It will crush me"--whatever that might be for you. 380 00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:24,667 And I want this sermon to be for you, and then I want you 381 00:17:24,750 --> 00:17:27,542 to use it to help somebody else as well. 382 00:17:27,625 --> 00:17:30,833 The anxious heart is the one that sees the future 383 00:17:30,875 --> 00:17:33,500 with no hope. 384 00:17:33,583 --> 00:17:36,333 The Bible often puts three words together in the New Testament: 385 00:17:36,375 --> 00:17:38,583 faith, hope, and love. 386 00:17:38,667 --> 00:17:44,792 We have faith that God loves us and that gives us hope 387 00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:47,000 for our future, OK? 388 00:17:47,083 --> 00:17:50,708 What an anxious heart is, it's faith without hope or love. 389 00:17:50,792 --> 00:17:53,708 I'm not sure the Lord loves me, and I don't have hope 390 00:17:53,792 --> 00:17:55,125 for my future. 391 00:17:55,167 --> 00:17:57,500 As a result, I'm anxious. 392 00:17:57,583 --> 00:18:01,667 I have a cataclysmic vision of my future. 393 00:18:01,750 --> 00:18:03,583 It is foreboding, 394 00:18:03,667 --> 00:18:06,375 and discouraging, and overwhelming. 395 00:18:06,458 --> 00:18:11,083 I know it is coming and I'm living anxiously in light of it, 396 00:18:11,167 --> 00:18:16,750 bracing myself for something that may not even happen. 397 00:18:16,833 --> 00:18:19,375 This turns us into false prophets. 398 00:18:19,458 --> 00:18:23,083 We're predicting a future that might not even come to pass. 399 00:18:23,167 --> 00:18:25,875 And what this causes is an anxious heart. 400 00:18:25,958 --> 00:18:28,167 It shows up mentally with racing thoughts. 401 00:18:28,250 --> 00:18:30,542 This is where people have a hard time sleeping. 402 00:18:30,625 --> 00:18:33,333 This is where they're self-medicating with caffeine 403 00:18:33,375 --> 00:18:35,125 and simple carbohydrates. 404 00:18:35,167 --> 00:18:39,417 This is where people have a hard time making decisions, 405 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:42,917 getting out of bed, that sort of overwhelmed, anxious, 406 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,208 frightful, fearful state. 407 00:18:46,292 --> 00:18:49,208 You say, "Well, what should I do?" 408 00:18:49,292 --> 00:18:51,375 Establish your heart. 409 00:18:52,875 --> 00:18:55,792 Establish your heart. 410 00:18:55,833 --> 00:18:57,917 In addition to the anxious heart, 411 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,167 some who are feeling overwhelmed, and exhausted, 412 00:19:01,208 --> 00:19:04,667 and frustrated, and discouraged, or despairing, or depressed, 413 00:19:04,750 --> 00:19:08,167 they have a sad heart. 414 00:19:08,208 --> 00:19:13,667 And the sad heart is one that is living in light of 415 00:19:13,750 --> 00:19:17,875 a constant funeral. 416 00:19:17,958 --> 00:19:23,875 The sad heart doesn't have weddings; it only has funerals. 417 00:19:23,958 --> 00:19:27,375 And everything dies, and everything is dying, 418 00:19:27,458 --> 00:19:31,917 and even if it's alive, I'm sure it will die. 419 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,000 In our culture, we call this depression. 420 00:19:35,042 --> 00:19:36,625 That's the clinical diagnosis. 421 00:19:36,667 --> 00:19:38,833 What do you think the number one category of 422 00:19:38,875 --> 00:19:41,333 prescription medication is in the United States of America? 423 00:19:41,375 --> 00:19:44,333 Anti-depressants. 424 00:19:44,375 --> 00:19:49,000 We're a melancholy people filled with sad hearts. 425 00:19:49,042 --> 00:19:51,667 And I'm not saying that we always need to be joyful 426 00:19:51,750 --> 00:19:53,167 and kind of like that religious-- 427 00:19:53,250 --> 00:19:55,500 "Put on a happy face and think good thoughts." 428 00:19:55,583 --> 00:19:58,208 Ecclesiastes says that a sad face is good for the heart. 429 00:19:58,292 --> 00:19:59,625 There are seasons of mourning. 430 00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:01,000 There are things to grieve. 431 00:20:01,083 --> 00:20:04,333 God weeps with those who weep, and he rejoices with those 432 00:20:04,375 --> 00:20:07,417 who rejoice, and so should we. 433 00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:12,167 But if your life is always anxiety or misery, 434 00:20:12,250 --> 00:20:16,500 if it's always governed by fear or a funeral, 435 00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:20,500 you fail to establish your heart. 436 00:20:20,583 --> 00:20:23,292 And when he's talking about establishing our heart, 437 00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:26,000 it is trusting that God loves us, 438 00:20:26,083 --> 00:20:30,000 having faith that he is for us, and walking into the future with 439 00:20:30,083 --> 00:20:34,000 some degree of hope because of his affection for us 440 00:20:34,083 --> 00:20:36,083 and his presence with us. 441 00:20:36,167 --> 00:20:40,667 Some practical things I want to share with you. 442 00:20:40,750 --> 00:20:43,708 And I would say, for those that have a sad heart, 443 00:20:43,792 --> 00:20:46,833 when it comes to this issue of depression, 444 00:20:46,875 --> 00:20:50,167 clinically and historically, there has been some confusion. 445 00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:52,792 You will hear some say that the majority of those 446 00:20:52,833 --> 00:20:54,375 who are depressed are women. 447 00:20:54,458 --> 00:20:56,875 Actually, now the research indicates that men and women are 448 00:20:56,958 --> 00:20:59,333 similarly and equally depressed, but women and men manifest 449 00:20:59,375 --> 00:21:01,667 their depression differently. 450 00:21:01,708 --> 00:21:05,375 For a woman, the sad heart shows up in grief, 451 00:21:05,458 --> 00:21:07,792 or weeping, or sadness. 452 00:21:07,833 --> 00:21:12,083 For a man, it tends to show up in anger, and a temper, 453 00:21:12,167 --> 00:21:14,000 and a curtness. 454 00:21:14,042 --> 00:21:19,667 That men and women manifest their depression differently. 455 00:21:19,750 --> 00:21:21,500 Do you have an anxious heart? 456 00:21:21,542 --> 00:21:23,875 Do you have a sad heart? 457 00:21:23,958 --> 00:21:26,875 The answer is to establish your heart. 458 00:21:26,958 --> 00:21:28,500 And a couple of practical things 459 00:21:28,542 --> 00:21:31,500 I would say can help you with this: 460 00:21:31,542 --> 00:21:34,708 I'm just trying to be your pastor and trying to be helpful. 461 00:21:34,792 --> 00:21:37,625 I'll talk about a person, and I'll talk about thing. 462 00:21:37,667 --> 00:21:40,375 A person, you need a lightning rod. 463 00:21:40,458 --> 00:21:43,500 I don't know if you've ever been in a big lightning storm. 464 00:21:43,583 --> 00:21:47,167 The first time I was in one that I remember, I was a little boy. 465 00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:49,583 We went to my grandparents' farm in North Dakota, 466 00:21:49,667 --> 00:21:52,333 and I remember it got dark, and then boom! 467 00:21:52,375 --> 00:21:55,000 You could hear the thunder, and you look out the window, 468 00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:57,875 and lightning just flashed down and lit up the sky. 469 00:21:57,958 --> 00:22:00,292 I mean, it was scary as a little kid. 470 00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:03,292 And what I learned was they have lightning rods in places 471 00:22:03,333 --> 00:22:05,792 like that because you need to ground out the storm. 472 00:22:05,833 --> 00:22:08,500 There's a lot of energy--a lot of negative energy--that 473 00:22:08,542 --> 00:22:11,250 comes with that, and if you don't ground out the storm, 474 00:22:11,333 --> 00:22:14,000 things blow up, and things get set on fire. 475 00:22:14,042 --> 00:22:17,000 Let me say that you're going to have storms in your life, 476 00:22:17,042 --> 00:22:18,667 and lightning is going to strike, 477 00:22:18,750 --> 00:22:20,167 and you need a lightning rod. 478 00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:23,167 This is somebody to talk to who's not trying to fix it, 479 00:22:23,250 --> 00:22:26,375 they're just trying to ground out your storm. 480 00:22:26,458 --> 00:22:29,667 The person needs to be godly, they need to be humble, 481 00:22:29,750 --> 00:22:31,125 they need to be helpful. 482 00:22:31,167 --> 00:22:34,333 They need to know that this is you just trying to ground out 483 00:22:34,375 --> 00:22:35,708 your storm. 484 00:22:35,792 --> 00:22:37,500 They're not trying to solve it. 485 00:22:37,583 --> 00:22:40,333 They need to know that this is their role. 486 00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:42,208 Like, "I'm in the middle of it. 487 00:22:42,292 --> 00:22:45,000 "I'm just going to talk, and you buy more chicken wings, 488 00:22:45,042 --> 00:22:46,500 "and agree with me, OK? 489 00:22:46,542 --> 00:22:48,000 "Can we just do that? 490 00:22:48,042 --> 00:22:50,167 "And don't quote any verses, because I'm not ready 491 00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:51,583 for verses yet, OK?" 492 00:22:51,667 --> 00:22:53,000 "Rejoice in the Lord always." 493 00:22:53,042 --> 00:22:56,000 "I will do things, all right, so don't quote me verses yet. 494 00:22:56,042 --> 00:22:57,375 I'm not there." 495 00:22:57,458 --> 00:23:01,000 And the best person to be your lightning rod is the Lord. 496 00:23:01,042 --> 00:23:03,500 When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, 497 00:23:03,542 --> 00:23:07,458 distressed to the point of sweating drops of blood, 498 00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:09,833 he went to the Father as his lightning rod, 499 00:23:09,917 --> 00:23:11,333 and he was very honest. 500 00:23:11,417 --> 00:23:13,292 He was still submissive, but he was honest. 501 00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:15,792 Like, you know, "Father, if there's another way, 502 00:23:15,833 --> 00:23:18,083 take this cup"--I believe it's the cup of suffering-- 503 00:23:18,167 --> 00:23:19,500 "from me." 504 00:23:19,542 --> 00:23:23,000 And it says he was in anguish, but he brought it to the Father, 505 00:23:23,042 --> 00:23:25,167 and he let the Father be his lightning rod. 506 00:23:25,250 --> 00:23:27,375 If you want to know what this looks like, 507 00:23:27,458 --> 00:23:30,083 go to the book of Psalms and just start reading it, 508 00:23:30,167 --> 00:23:32,333 and you're going to see people bringing their burdens, 509 00:23:32,375 --> 00:23:34,500 and their hurts, and their frustrations, and their fears, 510 00:23:34,583 --> 00:23:36,708 and their anxieties, and their griefs to the Lord. 511 00:23:36,792 --> 00:23:38,875 And they're very emotional, and they're very honest, 512 00:23:38,958 --> 00:23:41,000 and he becomes their lightning rod 513 00:23:41,083 --> 00:23:43,167 that grounds out their storm. 514 00:23:43,250 --> 00:23:46,167 That helps to establish your heart, OK? 515 00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:49,208 The second thing is to help establish your heart is, you need 516 00:23:49,292 --> 00:23:51,792 an acceptable and godly release valve. 517 00:23:51,833 --> 00:23:55,583 You've got, in your house, condo, apartment, dorm, 518 00:23:55,667 --> 00:23:57,083 whatever the case may be-- 519 00:23:57,167 --> 00:23:59,083 somewhere there's a water heater, right? 520 00:23:59,167 --> 00:24:02,333 And if you're not aware of this, you should go home and check. 521 00:24:02,417 --> 00:24:05,542 Your water heater should have a release valve, 522 00:24:05,625 --> 00:24:07,042 and it should be functional. 523 00:24:07,125 --> 00:24:09,667 What happens if your release valve on your water heater is 524 00:24:09,750 --> 00:24:11,083 non-functional? 525 00:24:11,167 --> 00:24:12,500 What's happens? 526 00:24:12,542 --> 00:24:15,833 You have a former water heater that is now a bomb. 527 00:24:15,917 --> 00:24:17,250 And it explodes. 528 00:24:17,333 --> 00:24:20,500 You ever seen a house where either the water heater 529 00:24:20,542 --> 00:24:23,875 release valve was not functional or was disabled? 530 00:24:23,958 --> 00:24:27,583 Eventually the pressure builds up and the house blows up. 531 00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,667 Your life is like that. 532 00:24:29,750 --> 00:24:32,708 As burdens come upon you, there's weight and pressure that 533 00:24:32,792 --> 00:24:35,833 wells up within you, and you need to find an acceptable 534 00:24:35,875 --> 00:24:38,000 release valve, not an unacceptable one. 535 00:24:38,042 --> 00:24:39,833 This is where people self-medicate with food, 536 00:24:39,875 --> 00:24:43,625 alcohol, violence, anger, gambling, sex, 537 00:24:43,667 --> 00:24:45,625 all kinds of unacceptable release valves. 538 00:24:45,667 --> 00:24:48,292 It's not that you need to carry all the pressure, 539 00:24:48,333 --> 00:24:51,792 it's not that you have an excuse to release it in an ungodly way, 540 00:24:51,833 --> 00:24:54,833 but there has to be a godly way of releasing some pressure 541 00:24:54,875 --> 00:24:58,125 so you can establish your heart, OK? 542 00:24:58,167 --> 00:25:03,958 For you who work with your minds--you're teachers, 543 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,750 engineers, you're accountants, whatever the case may be--it's 544 00:25:06,833 --> 00:25:10,167 probably going to be a release valve with your hands, right? 545 00:25:10,208 --> 00:25:12,667 Playing a sport, working out, going for a hike, 546 00:25:12,708 --> 00:25:15,667 hugging your kids, snuggling with your spouse. 547 00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:17,583 I like all of that. 548 00:25:17,667 --> 00:25:20,000 I like chopping wood. 549 00:25:20,042 --> 00:25:22,750 I just--for some reason, it's like, I get an axe 550 00:25:22,833 --> 00:25:26,667 and swing it, and I feel better. 551 00:25:26,708 --> 00:25:28,583 I don't know why. 552 00:25:28,667 --> 00:25:30,667 I like pressure washing. 553 00:25:30,750 --> 00:25:35,167 I have no idea why, but I just... 554 00:25:35,250 --> 00:25:36,708 I like that. 555 00:25:36,792 --> 00:25:40,792 In addition, I like leaf blowing. 556 00:25:40,833 --> 00:25:43,375 Grace bought me a leaf blower, and Grace bought me 557 00:25:43,458 --> 00:25:47,292 a pressure washer, and I bought my own axe. 558 00:25:47,333 --> 00:25:50,625 But when I put the leaf blower on, 559 00:25:50,667 --> 00:25:53,875 I just get to go out and blow things around and, you know, 560 00:25:53,958 --> 00:25:55,500 clean things. 561 00:25:55,583 --> 00:25:56,917 I like it. 562 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:58,417 I don't know why, OK? 563 00:25:58,500 --> 00:26:01,875 I like to snuggle with my kids, I like to hold my wife's hand, 564 00:26:01,958 --> 00:26:04,375 I like to go for a walk with the kids, 565 00:26:04,458 --> 00:26:06,375 I like to play catch with the boys. 566 00:26:06,458 --> 00:26:07,792 Those are release valves. 567 00:26:07,833 --> 00:26:10,292 You're going to need some of those to help establish 568 00:26:10,333 --> 00:26:11,667 your heart. 569 00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:13,375 What does that look like for you? 570 00:26:13,458 --> 00:26:15,375 For some it's prayer, for some it's fasting, 571 00:26:15,458 --> 00:26:17,167 for some it's journaling, the spiritual disciplines. 572 00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:19,667 You're going to need that to help establish your heart 573 00:26:19,708 --> 00:26:22,667 so that you don't blow up or find an ungodly release valve. 574 00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:25,833 And what he does in each of these is he brings each point 575 00:26:25,917 --> 00:26:28,333 back to Jesus, and I love that about James. 576 00:26:28,417 --> 00:26:31,083 He says, "For the coming of the Lord is at hand." 577 00:26:31,167 --> 00:26:32,625 Here's what he says: 578 00:26:32,667 --> 00:26:37,125 "Establish your heart and be patient until Jesus comes back, 579 00:26:37,167 --> 00:26:40,792 and Jesus is coming back!" 580 00:26:40,833 --> 00:26:43,208 Here's what I find: 581 00:26:43,292 --> 00:26:46,875 we tend not to think about the second coming of Jesus 582 00:26:46,958 --> 00:26:48,917 until we're hurting. 583 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,208 Like if today you say, "I lost 20 pounds, I won the lottery, 584 00:26:53,292 --> 00:26:54,708 and got engaged." 585 00:26:54,792 --> 00:26:56,208 Miracle, right? 586 00:26:56,292 --> 00:26:58,208 Look at all those-- miracle day for you. 587 00:26:58,292 --> 00:27:01,958 If I came to you and said, "When do you want Jesus to come back?" 588 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,292 you'd be like, "Today's not a good day. 589 00:27:04,333 --> 00:27:05,667 "Today's not a good day. 590 00:27:05,750 --> 00:27:07,292 I've got some plans." 591 00:27:07,333 --> 00:27:09,375 If I came to you and you said, 592 00:27:09,458 --> 00:27:11,083 "Man, my fiancé broke up with me, 593 00:27:11,167 --> 00:27:12,667 and I got diagnosed with cancer." 594 00:27:12,750 --> 00:27:14,667 "When do you want Jesus to come back?" 595 00:27:14,750 --> 00:27:16,792 "Today would be a really good day." 596 00:27:16,833 --> 00:27:22,083 When we're hurting, we're more longing for Jesus' coming. 597 00:27:22,167 --> 00:27:27,167 A friend of mine one time he got really dire news 598 00:27:27,250 --> 00:27:29,875 about a fatal health condition 599 00:27:29,958 --> 00:27:31,875 for a member of his immediate family. 600 00:27:31,958 --> 00:27:35,292 He sent me a text and said, you know, "This could be the end." 601 00:27:35,333 --> 00:27:38,792 And then the end of his text, he said, "Come Lord Jesus," right? 602 00:27:38,833 --> 00:27:41,000 That's the heart's cry of, like, "Oh my gosh, 603 00:27:41,042 --> 00:27:46,000 "this is so much burden on me, I don't know if I can carry it. 604 00:27:46,042 --> 00:27:48,708 "Lord Jesus, come right now, and make it all go away, 605 00:27:48,792 --> 00:27:51,833 and make it all better." 606 00:27:51,875 --> 00:27:54,667 The New Testament speaks of the second coming of Jesus 607 00:27:54,750 --> 00:27:56,083 about 300 times. 608 00:27:56,167 --> 00:27:57,917 That's about once every 13 verses. 609 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,167 It's a big, massive, megatheme. 610 00:28:00,208 --> 00:28:03,167 And he says that the coming of the Lord is at hand. 611 00:28:03,208 --> 00:28:06,167 Well, to the Lord, it seems like it's not been that long. 612 00:28:06,208 --> 00:28:08,333 For us a few thousand years into this journey, 613 00:28:08,417 --> 00:28:10,375 it feels like it's been forever. 614 00:28:10,458 --> 00:28:14,958 But hear me in this: 615 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,667 Imagine there was no Jesus. 616 00:28:18,708 --> 00:28:23,042 Imagine that God did not enter into this world. 617 00:28:23,125 --> 00:28:26,083 Imagine that our sin was not forgiven. 618 00:28:26,167 --> 00:28:29,083 Imagine that there would be no resurrection of the dead. 619 00:28:29,167 --> 00:28:31,417 Imagine that there would be no justice, 620 00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:36,208 that there would be no healing, that there would be no kingdom. 621 00:28:36,292 --> 00:28:38,000 Imagine. 622 00:28:38,083 --> 00:28:40,500 The only thing worse than whatever we go through is 623 00:28:40,542 --> 00:28:45,625 going through it not believing in and belonging to Jesus, 624 00:28:45,667 --> 00:28:48,917 and not having any sense that there is a King with a kingdom, 625 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,125 and he is coming, and he will wipe every tear from our eye, 626 00:28:52,167 --> 00:28:54,333 and he will rise every saint from the dead, 627 00:28:54,375 --> 00:28:56,333 and he will right every wrong, and reconcile 628 00:28:56,375 --> 00:28:57,708 every relationship. 629 00:28:57,792 --> 00:29:00,458 If we didn't believe that, then the load would be 630 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:02,458 too much to bear. 631 00:29:02,500 --> 00:29:05,083 But sometimes, as we are under the burden of the load 632 00:29:05,167 --> 00:29:07,167 and we're looking at our circumstances and ourselves. 633 00:29:07,250 --> 00:29:10,167 Here, James is saying, "Look up to your Savior, and look down 634 00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:13,292 "the horizon, and see that it might be a long time, 635 00:29:13,333 --> 00:29:17,042 but all will be made well." 636 00:29:17,125 --> 00:29:19,333 How's your heart? 637 00:29:19,417 --> 00:29:22,083 Have you established your heart? 638 00:29:22,167 --> 00:29:27,250 Number two, how's your relationships? 639 00:29:27,333 --> 00:29:30,083 James 5:9, "Do not grumble against one another, brothers," 640 00:29:30,167 --> 00:29:33,583 Christians, members of the church, 641 00:29:33,667 --> 00:29:35,917 "so that you may not be judged; behold, 642 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,917 the Judge is standing at the door." 643 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,625 OK, true or false, when you're under a lot of pressure, 644 00:29:40,667 --> 00:29:42,000 you're heavily burdened, you're overwhelmed, 645 00:29:42,083 --> 00:29:44,208 you're feeling weighed down, maybe your heart is anxious 646 00:29:44,292 --> 00:29:48,125 or sad, you tend to have less patience with others? 647 00:29:48,167 --> 00:29:50,875 Is it just me or--here's what weird: 648 00:29:50,958 --> 00:29:53,333 kike, some of you saying, "No, I'm not like that," 649 00:29:53,375 --> 00:29:55,500 but the person you're with is saying you are. 650 00:29:55,542 --> 00:29:56,875 That's interesting. 651 00:29:56,958 --> 00:29:58,625 Just an observation from up here, OK? 652 00:29:58,667 --> 00:30:00,000 OK, we're like that, right? 653 00:30:00,083 --> 00:30:03,417 How many of you find you're more curt--your words, your tone, 654 00:30:03,500 --> 00:30:06,708 your perseverance, your patience? 655 00:30:06,792 --> 00:30:09,417 When it says to persevere and to be patient and steadfast, 656 00:30:09,500 --> 00:30:12,708 it's also talking about with one another. 657 00:30:12,792 --> 00:30:15,708 Yes, it's with the Lord and it's also with one another, 658 00:30:15,792 --> 00:30:17,917 being patient with one another. 659 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,375 How many of you find that your patience decreases 660 00:30:20,458 --> 00:30:22,708 as your burden increases? 661 00:30:22,792 --> 00:30:24,167 You notice that? 662 00:30:24,250 --> 00:30:26,333 I have. 663 00:30:26,375 --> 00:30:29,625 And the result is as pressure comes upon the church 664 00:30:29,667 --> 00:30:31,917 and as pressure comes upon people in the church, 665 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,708 the brothers and sisters in Christ, 666 00:30:33,792 --> 00:30:35,583 they start grumbling against one another. 667 00:30:35,667 --> 00:30:38,208 And you may think this is like the grumbling in Exodus. 668 00:30:38,292 --> 00:30:41,208 Exodus is sort of the great biblical narrative of grumbling. 669 00:30:41,292 --> 00:30:42,833 It's actually different, but in Exodus 670 00:30:42,875 --> 00:30:44,792 they were grumbling against the Lord, right? 671 00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:48,500 They were like, "Why in the world did you give us Moses? 672 00:30:48,542 --> 00:30:51,500 "He murders people and stutters, you know? 673 00:30:51,583 --> 00:30:54,167 "Why bread for breakfast? 674 00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:59,667 "We hate bread, bread, bread. 675 00:30:59,750 --> 00:31:06,500 "I'm allergic to gluten, why? I have a gluten allergy. 676 00:31:06,542 --> 00:31:09,167 "Bread, bread, bread. 677 00:31:09,250 --> 00:31:11,542 "It seems like we've been walking in a circle. 678 00:31:11,625 --> 00:31:14,167 "Yes, it's a circle. 679 00:31:14,250 --> 00:31:16,500 "Why do I need to walk with them? 680 00:31:16,542 --> 00:31:19,333 "They're terrible people. 681 00:31:19,417 --> 00:31:22,792 Lord, when is it over?" 682 00:31:22,833 --> 00:31:25,792 They're grumbling against the Lord. 683 00:31:25,833 --> 00:31:27,500 This is a different grumbling. 684 00:31:27,542 --> 00:31:29,500 This is grumbling against one another. 685 00:31:29,542 --> 00:31:31,417 "God, why haven't you given me better friends? 686 00:31:31,500 --> 00:31:33,500 "Why haven't you given me a better spouse? 687 00:31:33,583 --> 00:31:36,500 "Why do you give these people that annoy me? 688 00:31:36,583 --> 00:31:39,167 "Why do you give me these people who take from me? 689 00:31:39,250 --> 00:31:42,167 "Why do you give me these people who are inconsiderate of me? 690 00:31:42,250 --> 00:31:45,167 "Why do you give me these people who are critical of me? 691 00:31:45,250 --> 00:31:46,583 Why, why, why, Lord?" 692 00:31:46,667 --> 00:31:49,083 And what can happen is suffering people become selfish people, 693 00:31:49,167 --> 00:31:51,000 and they feel very vindicated in it. 694 00:31:51,042 --> 00:31:54,167 And all of a sudden, you see all the relationships in your life 695 00:31:54,250 --> 00:31:56,333 as a circle and you sit in the center. 696 00:31:56,375 --> 00:31:58,333 "You all need to pay attention to me. 697 00:31:58,375 --> 00:32:00,167 "You need to be available for me. 698 00:32:00,208 --> 00:32:01,667 "You need to orbit around me. 699 00:32:01,708 --> 00:32:04,167 "You need to serve me. You need to help me. 700 00:32:04,208 --> 00:32:05,875 "You need to be sympathetic with me. 701 00:32:05,958 --> 00:32:07,583 You need to be patient with me." 702 00:32:07,667 --> 00:32:10,792 And God is saying, "Why do you get to sit in the center 703 00:32:10,833 --> 00:32:12,875 "of the circle? 704 00:32:12,958 --> 00:32:14,792 "Maybe they're struggling. 705 00:32:14,833 --> 00:32:18,292 "Maybe they're suffering. 706 00:32:18,333 --> 00:32:23,750 "Maybe you should be patient with them as you want them 707 00:32:23,833 --> 00:32:26,667 to be patient with you." 708 00:32:26,708 --> 00:32:29,000 And what this does is this changes a culture 709 00:32:29,042 --> 00:32:30,375 among a people. 710 00:32:30,458 --> 00:32:33,125 It's talking about culture formation here, 711 00:32:33,167 --> 00:32:35,500 that everybody's got a burden, and a load, 712 00:32:35,542 --> 00:32:38,000 and a weight that they're carrying. 713 00:32:38,042 --> 00:32:40,708 And we're all walking with Jesus going to the same kingdom, 714 00:32:40,792 --> 00:32:42,917 and we're not there yet. 715 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:46,625 And along the way, we need to be patient with one another 716 00:32:46,667 --> 00:32:50,333 because God's still working out some new fruit in them, 717 00:32:50,375 --> 00:32:52,125 and he's working new fruit in them, 718 00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:55,125 he's working new fruit in them, he's working new fruit in them. 719 00:32:55,167 --> 00:32:57,625 We need to be patient because he's not done yet. 720 00:32:57,667 --> 00:33:00,542 He's not done with us; he's not done with them. 721 00:33:00,625 --> 00:33:04,458 And so the remedy for grumbling 722 00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:09,958 is persevering in your relationships. 723 00:33:11,542 --> 00:33:16,458 And there's a book I was reading that says that some people reach 724 00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:20,792 a point in their life where it's like a relational migraine. 725 00:33:20,833 --> 00:33:22,958 For those of you that have had migraines, 726 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,167 you know any sound is overwhelming, 727 00:33:25,208 --> 00:33:27,792 any light is devastating. 728 00:33:27,833 --> 00:33:31,125 You're so sensitive. 729 00:33:31,167 --> 00:33:35,500 As the burdens of life come upon us, there will be seasons where, 730 00:33:35,542 --> 00:33:39,125 for us, we feel like we've got a relational migraine. 731 00:33:39,167 --> 00:33:41,625 It's like what you said is not a big deal, 732 00:33:41,667 --> 00:33:45,417 what you did is not a big deal, but--OK moms, 733 00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:47,208 we say these phrases: 734 00:33:47,292 --> 00:33:52,708 "I'm at the end of my rope" and "This is the last straw," right? 735 00:33:52,792 --> 00:33:54,833 We have language that indicates, 736 00:33:54,875 --> 00:33:57,333 "I've got a relational migraine." 737 00:33:57,375 --> 00:34:01,292 And what we need to do in those moments, 738 00:34:01,333 --> 00:34:04,167 we need to tell the people around us, 739 00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:09,167 "Look, I'm in a difficult place right now, so if I'm grumpy, 740 00:34:09,250 --> 00:34:12,375 "if I'm grumpier, if I'm grumpiest, 741 00:34:12,458 --> 00:34:14,667 "wherever I'm at in the scale, 742 00:34:14,750 --> 00:34:17,375 "I need you to know it's probably not you. 743 00:34:17,458 --> 00:34:21,792 "When you see me getting like that--impatient, curt, 744 00:34:21,833 --> 00:34:27,083 "harsh--I need you to, in love, say, 'Hey, come on. 745 00:34:27,167 --> 00:34:30,792 You're not going to a good place here.'" 746 00:34:30,833 --> 00:34:33,917 Then we need to be slow to speak. 747 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,208 James has got that very phrase here in the book somewhere else. 748 00:34:37,292 --> 00:34:40,625 Slow to speak like, "I'm just going to--I'm not going to say 749 00:34:40,667 --> 00:34:43,125 "anything right now because I've not established my heart, 750 00:34:43,167 --> 00:34:45,333 "and I'm going to grumble out of my heart, 751 00:34:45,375 --> 00:34:47,667 and that's going to hurt my relationship." 752 00:34:47,750 --> 00:34:51,583 And when we say or do something that is harmful and not helpful, 753 00:34:51,667 --> 00:34:53,917 it's apologizing. 754 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,333 "I'm sorry. 755 00:34:55,375 --> 00:34:59,000 "Actually, what you said or did, the response you got 756 00:34:59,083 --> 00:35:03,542 "was not commensurate, and it's not an excuse, 757 00:35:03,625 --> 00:35:05,167 "but it's an explanation. 758 00:35:05,250 --> 00:35:08,167 Here's where I'm at and I'm sorry." 759 00:35:08,250 --> 00:35:11,042 And that invites people into your life, 760 00:35:11,125 --> 00:35:14,167 and it creates safety in the relationship so that they 761 00:35:14,250 --> 00:35:16,375 can invite you into their life. 762 00:35:16,458 --> 00:35:18,875 And you stop grumbling at one another and you start 763 00:35:18,958 --> 00:35:22,167 persevering and enduring with one another. 764 00:35:22,250 --> 00:35:24,875 And the worst thing is when, you know, 765 00:35:24,958 --> 00:35:28,250 the burdens of life have got you so weighed down that you 766 00:35:28,333 --> 00:35:31,208 respond in such a way that creates conflict, 767 00:35:31,292 --> 00:35:35,000 and then the other relationships start to be additional burdens 768 00:35:35,042 --> 00:35:37,708 that weigh you down even more. 769 00:35:37,792 --> 00:35:39,167 And James loves you. 770 00:35:39,250 --> 00:35:40,583 He's a good pastor. 771 00:35:40,667 --> 00:35:42,000 He loves me. 772 00:35:42,042 --> 00:35:43,500 He's trying to teach us all. 773 00:35:43,542 --> 00:35:46,500 And he says, "Jesus is"--so he goes to the picture of Jesus-- 774 00:35:46,583 --> 00:35:49,292 "Jesus is the judge." 775 00:35:49,333 --> 00:35:52,625 Not every right's going to be--not every wrong, rather, 776 00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:54,000 is going to be righted. 777 00:35:54,083 --> 00:35:56,500 Not every injustice is going to be corrected. 778 00:35:56,583 --> 00:35:58,875 Not every apology will be granted. 779 00:35:58,958 --> 00:36:02,667 Not every lie will be thwarted in this life. 780 00:36:02,750 --> 00:36:05,750 But again, how do you establish your heart and stop grumbling in 781 00:36:05,833 --> 00:36:07,292 your relationships? 782 00:36:07,333 --> 00:36:10,000 Trust that Jesus is coming, and when he comes again, 783 00:36:10,042 --> 00:36:11,375 he's coming to judge. 784 00:36:11,458 --> 00:36:13,292 He's going to figure it all out. 785 00:36:13,333 --> 00:36:16,500 And I know in the moment you're thinking, "But I want it now," 786 00:36:16,542 --> 00:36:18,500 and it's patience, steadfastness. 787 00:36:18,542 --> 00:36:21,083 You've got to wait, but it's coming. 788 00:36:21,167 --> 00:36:25,042 That allows us to have perseverance, and endurance, 789 00:36:25,125 --> 00:36:28,833 and forbearance, even in the face of injustice. 790 00:36:28,917 --> 00:36:32,208 Not that it is OK or it causes us to be entirely passive, 791 00:36:32,292 --> 00:36:34,667 but we entrust ourselves to the judge who will make 792 00:36:34,750 --> 00:36:38,000 all things right at the right time. 793 00:36:38,083 --> 00:36:41,125 How are your relationships? 794 00:36:41,167 --> 00:36:43,208 Number three, how's your steadfastness? 795 00:36:43,292 --> 00:36:46,833 This is really the heart of his exhortation. 796 00:36:46,875 --> 00:36:51,417 James 5:10-11, "As an example of suffering and patience." 797 00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:55,292 True or false, it's hard to bring those together? 798 00:36:55,333 --> 00:36:59,375 Usually it's suffering or patience. 799 00:36:59,458 --> 00:37:03,083 He's bringing suffering and patience together. 800 00:37:03,167 --> 00:37:07,167 It's not hard to be patient with something that's awesome. 801 00:37:07,208 --> 00:37:09,083 I have an 18-inch neck. 802 00:37:09,167 --> 00:37:12,000 When Grace rubs my neck, if she takes a long time, 803 00:37:12,042 --> 00:37:17,667 patience is not hard for me because I like it, OK? 804 00:37:17,708 --> 00:37:21,750 Suffering and patience are hard to bring together. 805 00:37:21,833 --> 00:37:25,500 Pleasure and patience are not hard to bring together. 806 00:37:25,542 --> 00:37:28,167 Suffering and patience are hard to bring together. 807 00:37:28,250 --> 00:37:31,625 This can take the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit 808 00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:33,125 in the life of the believer. 809 00:37:33,167 --> 00:37:34,833 As an example, because immediately you're like, 810 00:37:34,875 --> 00:37:36,500 "Well, who does this? 811 00:37:36,583 --> 00:37:38,625 Who has suffering and perseverance?" 812 00:37:38,667 --> 00:37:42,083 We're going to go to the Bible, and he's going to pull out 813 00:37:42,167 --> 00:37:45,083 the example of the prophets and the example of Job. 814 00:37:45,167 --> 00:37:48,083 "Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 815 00:37:48,167 --> 00:37:50,625 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained"--what? 816 00:37:50,667 --> 00:37:52,500 "Steadfast." 817 00:37:52,542 --> 00:37:54,333 They persevered. They endured. 818 00:37:54,375 --> 00:37:56,333 "You have heard of the steadfastness of Job"-- 819 00:37:56,375 --> 00:37:59,333 second example--"you have seen the purpose of the Lord, 820 00:37:59,375 --> 00:38:03,083 how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." 821 00:38:03,167 --> 00:38:05,083 Here's what he says. 822 00:38:05,167 --> 00:38:07,292 I would ask you a similar question. 823 00:38:07,333 --> 00:38:10,875 How many of you really respect, appreciate, 824 00:38:10,958 --> 00:38:14,792 and admire the prophets in the Bible? 825 00:38:14,833 --> 00:38:17,000 Their steadfastness, their truthfulness, 826 00:38:17,042 --> 00:38:20,667 their perseverance in the face of adversity and persecution. 827 00:38:20,750 --> 00:38:23,667 How many of you really admire the prophets? 828 00:38:23,750 --> 00:38:25,333 OK, raise your hand. 829 00:38:25,417 --> 00:38:30,000 How many of you still don't want to be a prophet? 830 00:38:30,042 --> 00:38:31,417 Why? 831 00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:32,833 You're like, "Well, they're amazing. 832 00:38:32,875 --> 00:38:34,708 I don't want to be one." 833 00:38:34,792 --> 00:38:36,917 Why? It's going to hurt. 834 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,000 It's going to hurt. 835 00:38:39,042 --> 00:38:42,208 Here's what Hebrews 11:35-38 says about the prophets. 836 00:38:42,292 --> 00:38:44,208 "Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, 837 00:38:44,292 --> 00:38:47,000 "so that they might rise again to a better life. 838 00:38:47,083 --> 00:38:49,333 "Others suffered mocking and flogging, 839 00:38:49,375 --> 00:38:51,708 "and even chains and imprisonment. 840 00:38:51,792 --> 00:38:53,708 "They were stoned, they were sawn in two, 841 00:38:53,792 --> 00:38:55,208 "they were killed with the sword. 842 00:38:55,292 --> 00:38:57,417 "They went about in skins of sheep and goats, 843 00:38:57,500 --> 00:38:59,292 "destitute, afflicted, mistreated--of whom 844 00:38:59,333 --> 00:39:00,750 the world was not worthy"-- 845 00:39:00,833 --> 00:39:03,500 there's a great line-- "wandering about in deserts 846 00:39:03,542 --> 00:39:06,667 and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." 847 00:39:06,708 --> 00:39:08,875 See, we consider them heroes, but in their day, 848 00:39:08,958 --> 00:39:12,083 they were villains. 849 00:39:12,167 --> 00:39:16,375 We need to be careful when we are under a heavy burden 850 00:39:16,458 --> 00:39:18,958 and we're suffering that we don't immediately read 851 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:20,667 all the godly people in the Bible 852 00:39:20,708 --> 00:39:23,500 who suffered and think we're one of them. 853 00:39:23,542 --> 00:39:25,500 "Well, they're treating me like they treated Jesus." 854 00:39:25,542 --> 00:39:27,042 Maybe not. 855 00:39:27,125 --> 00:39:29,250 You're not exactly like Jesus. 856 00:39:29,333 --> 00:39:31,708 Everything that Jesus got was undeserved. 857 00:39:31,792 --> 00:39:34,083 You, at least some percentage on the scale, 858 00:39:34,167 --> 00:39:36,500 you deserved it, OK? 859 00:39:36,583 --> 00:39:40,208 Me too, OK? 860 00:39:40,292 --> 00:39:43,000 But here, he does give the example that the prophets, 861 00:39:43,083 --> 00:39:46,792 they suffered because they were obeying the Lord. 862 00:39:46,833 --> 00:39:50,000 There will be times and seasons where you are suffering 863 00:39:50,042 --> 00:39:52,583 because you're obeying. 864 00:39:52,667 --> 00:39:55,333 You're marching in the direction that God has for you, 865 00:39:55,375 --> 00:40:00,500 and that's why opposition has come against you. 866 00:40:00,542 --> 00:40:03,917 Second example he uses is the example of Job. 867 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,917 Some of you may or may not be familiar with Job. 868 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,917 You can go home and read the book of Job for yourself. 869 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:11,333 It'll take you a while. 870 00:40:11,375 --> 00:40:12,708 It's a pretty long book. 871 00:40:12,792 --> 00:40:15,625 Job is one of those amazing characters in the Bible 872 00:40:15,667 --> 00:40:19,292 that I would encourage you not to turn into a superhero. 873 00:40:19,333 --> 00:40:21,625 Just let him be a man. 874 00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:23,667 Job is a guy that we read about. 875 00:40:23,750 --> 00:40:25,667 He was godly, very godly. 876 00:40:25,750 --> 00:40:28,667 OK, early in the book, he says, "My kids threw a party. 877 00:40:28,750 --> 00:40:30,167 "Maybe they sinned in their heart. 878 00:40:30,250 --> 00:40:31,583 "I'm not sure. 879 00:40:31,667 --> 00:40:34,083 "I'm going to offer a sacrifice and confess their sins 880 00:40:34,167 --> 00:40:35,500 to the Lord." 881 00:40:35,542 --> 00:40:39,417 How many of you did not recently confess the potential heart sins 882 00:40:39,500 --> 00:40:42,208 of your children to the Lord, right? 883 00:40:42,292 --> 00:40:45,708 Like, there's a guy who is really godly. 884 00:40:45,792 --> 00:40:49,000 I mean, he's a very godly man. 885 00:40:49,042 --> 00:40:53,375 He loves the Lord, he serves the Lord, he knows the Lord. 886 00:40:53,458 --> 00:40:55,000 He's also a healthy man. 887 00:40:55,083 --> 00:40:57,917 He's in good shape, no injury, no illness. 888 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,167 He's also a very wealthy man, large estate, huge portfolio, 889 00:41:01,250 --> 00:41:05,292 great company, very successful. 890 00:41:05,333 --> 00:41:09,292 And then something happens, and it's something that Job 891 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:12,583 doesn't know, but for those of us who read the story of Job, 892 00:41:12,667 --> 00:41:16,167 we know because the Bible allows us to peer behind the curtain 893 00:41:16,250 --> 00:41:20,958 to see what's going on offstage. 894 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:25,542 On the stage, Job is going to see his life get destroyed 895 00:41:25,625 --> 00:41:31,125 and devastated, and he doesn't know why. 896 00:41:31,167 --> 00:41:33,833 He doesn't know why. 897 00:41:33,875 --> 00:41:36,417 He's got a beautiful family--seven sons, 898 00:41:36,500 --> 00:41:40,500 three daughters, ten kids. 899 00:41:40,583 --> 00:41:43,583 Satan comes to God and says, "You know, 900 00:41:43,667 --> 00:41:46,625 the only reason that Job loves you is because you bless him." 901 00:41:46,667 --> 00:41:48,417 I'm summarizing. 902 00:41:48,500 --> 00:41:54,375 "I bet you if you stop blessing him, he'd stop loving you." 903 00:41:54,458 --> 00:41:57,875 And God removes his hand of protection and he allows 904 00:41:57,958 --> 00:42:00,292 Satan's affliction. 905 00:42:00,333 --> 00:42:04,542 There's a great mystery there. 906 00:42:04,625 --> 00:42:09,542 Job's ten children die, OK? 907 00:42:12,250 --> 00:42:16,292 Parents, emotionally just go there for a minute. 908 00:42:16,333 --> 00:42:22,958 It's not just that you lost a child, which is devastating. 909 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,333 You lost all your children. 910 00:42:26,417 --> 00:42:32,125 Your funeral had ten coffins and ten holes in the ground. 911 00:42:32,167 --> 00:42:37,000 He was bankrupted; he lost everything financially. 912 00:42:37,083 --> 00:42:39,708 His reputation would have been gone. 913 00:42:39,792 --> 00:42:41,917 Everybody's saying horrible things about Job. 914 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,375 He lost his health. 915 00:42:44,458 --> 00:42:46,000 Boils broke out on his body. 916 00:42:46,083 --> 00:42:48,792 It says that he sat on the dust of the earth, 917 00:42:48,833 --> 00:42:52,000 and he would literally scratch his itchy skin 918 00:42:52,083 --> 00:42:55,083 with shards of broken pottery. 919 00:42:55,167 --> 00:42:58,375 The two things he didn't lose was his wife and his, 920 00:42:58,458 --> 00:43:00,958 quote-unquote "friends." 921 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,500 That was not a real gift. 922 00:43:03,542 --> 00:43:06,375 His wife was not a real encourager. 923 00:43:06,458 --> 00:43:08,750 She said, "Why don't you just cuss God out 924 00:43:08,833 --> 00:43:10,542 and have him kill you?" 925 00:43:10,625 --> 00:43:12,542 "Thank you, Sweetheart. 926 00:43:12,625 --> 00:43:17,292 "As we sketch out our options, I will add that to the list. 927 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:20,583 "Cuss at God and explode. That's a possibility. 928 00:43:20,667 --> 00:43:22,750 "We can always circle back around to that. 929 00:43:22,833 --> 00:43:25,667 "Thank you, Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. 930 00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:27,875 That was tremendously helpful." 931 00:43:27,958 --> 00:43:30,083 And then his friends come around. 932 00:43:30,167 --> 00:43:31,833 His friends are guys in Bible college 933 00:43:31,875 --> 00:43:34,125 who have not yet had any ministry experience, 934 00:43:34,167 --> 00:43:39,667 and so they want to have a theological argument with him 935 00:43:39,750 --> 00:43:43,500 because they're religious guys who think in terms of karma. 936 00:43:43,583 --> 00:43:45,417 "Good things happen to good people, 937 00:43:45,500 --> 00:43:46,917 "bad things happen to bad people. 938 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,292 "Very bad things have happened to you, Job. 939 00:43:49,333 --> 00:43:51,000 "You must be a very bad person. 940 00:43:51,083 --> 00:43:52,708 Where's your sin. What did you do?" 941 00:43:52,792 --> 00:43:54,208 You got any friend like that? 942 00:43:54,292 --> 00:43:56,917 You get hit by a car; you're lying in the road. 943 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,125 They come by, they're like, "What did you do?" 944 00:43:59,167 --> 00:44:00,667 "I got hit by a car." 945 00:44:00,750 --> 00:44:02,167 "No, what'd you to deserve it?" 946 00:44:02,250 --> 00:44:04,167 "Thanks. Thanks. 947 00:44:04,208 --> 00:44:07,000 Thanks for the prayers, the encouragement." 948 00:44:07,042 --> 00:44:08,542 "Did you sin? What sin? 949 00:44:08,625 --> 00:44:10,083 "I know you sinned. 950 00:44:10,167 --> 00:44:12,792 You must have sinned to get hit by the car." 951 00:44:12,833 --> 00:44:19,583 "Or I got hit by the car and you're not really a comforter." 952 00:44:19,667 --> 00:44:22,583 Job's friends are like that. 953 00:44:22,667 --> 00:44:25,292 So, the only people he gets are people that aren't even 954 00:44:25,333 --> 00:44:27,667 comforting, encouraging. 955 00:44:27,708 --> 00:44:29,792 They're not helpful, they're not loving, 956 00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:32,000 they're not affectionate. 957 00:44:32,042 --> 00:44:36,333 Now, be careful when you study the story of Job you don't do 958 00:44:36,375 --> 00:44:39,417 as some do and they say, "But then later, God blessed him," 959 00:44:39,500 --> 00:44:42,167 because Job struggled with God, but he didn't deny God. 960 00:44:42,250 --> 00:44:44,833 And I need you to know there's a difference between struggling 961 00:44:44,875 --> 00:44:46,333 with God and denying God. 962 00:44:46,375 --> 00:44:49,000 There are points that are painful in the story of Job 963 00:44:49,083 --> 00:44:52,625 as you read Job that he's coming to the--he's struggling. 964 00:44:52,667 --> 00:44:54,333 He's got faith seeking understanding. 965 00:44:54,375 --> 00:44:56,417 He's trying to figure-- "What is going on? 966 00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:57,917 "Why is it like this, God? 967 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,167 Why am I in the season that I'm in?" 968 00:45:00,250 --> 00:45:02,833 And there are moments of painful anguish, 969 00:45:02,917 --> 00:45:06,292 but they're not moments of unbelief. 970 00:45:06,333 --> 00:45:08,167 They're moments of struggling. 971 00:45:08,250 --> 00:45:11,375 And life with God is like that. 972 00:45:11,458 --> 00:45:13,583 I mean, Jesus had moments, as I said, 973 00:45:13,667 --> 00:45:16,667 like the Garden of Gethsemane where he was wrestling with 974 00:45:16,750 --> 00:45:18,500 the load he was called to carry. 975 00:45:18,542 --> 00:45:21,500 There'll be seasons that you and I will feel like the psalmist, 976 00:45:21,542 --> 00:45:24,000 and we'll be wrestling and struggling with the load that 977 00:45:24,042 --> 00:45:27,000 God has called us to carry, and things that we don't understand, 978 00:45:27,042 --> 00:45:29,000 and don't seem right, and don't make sense, 979 00:45:29,042 --> 00:45:31,000 and, "Where are you and what is happening?" 980 00:45:31,042 --> 00:45:35,000 And Job had those moments, and he's still a righteous man. 981 00:45:35,042 --> 00:45:37,333 He didn't turn his back on the Lord, 982 00:45:37,375 --> 00:45:39,125 he brought his concerns to the Lord. 983 00:45:39,167 --> 00:45:41,625 That's faith. 984 00:45:41,667 --> 00:45:44,125 And some will say, "And God made it all better, 985 00:45:44,167 --> 00:45:45,625 and he got it all back." 986 00:45:45,667 --> 00:45:47,333 Well, he did get his health back, 987 00:45:47,375 --> 00:45:50,500 he did get his wealth back, but he didn't get his kids back, 988 00:45:50,583 --> 00:45:53,583 not until the resurrection of the dead. 989 00:45:57,167 --> 00:46:02,167 How many of you respect Job, admire Job, appreciate Job? 990 00:46:02,250 --> 00:46:07,958 What he's saying is his life is not one just to be admired 991 00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:10,500 but imitated. 992 00:46:10,542 --> 00:46:13,167 By the grace of God, this is what patience looks like. 993 00:46:13,250 --> 00:46:18,292 And be honest and say if we take the load that God has called us 994 00:46:18,333 --> 00:46:21,000 to carry and we compare it to the prophets, you're like, 995 00:46:21,042 --> 00:46:23,500 "It's not that heavy." 996 00:46:23,542 --> 00:46:26,083 Take the load that God has called us to carry, 997 00:46:26,167 --> 00:46:32,167 look at the life of Job, and say, "It's not that heavy." 998 00:46:32,250 --> 00:46:34,625 It's heavy, 999 00:46:34,667 --> 00:46:39,500 but it's not heavy. 1000 00:46:39,583 --> 00:46:43,000 And let me tell you something that's really important, 1001 00:46:43,042 --> 00:46:45,417 and because I'm your pastor and I love you. 1002 00:46:45,500 --> 00:46:49,125 I praise God I get to tell you this: 1003 00:46:49,167 --> 00:46:54,000 Almost everybody quits too soon. 1004 00:46:54,083 --> 00:46:58,375 Almost everybody quits too soon. 1005 00:46:58,458 --> 00:47:01,583 They quit on God, they quit on their spouse, 1006 00:47:01,667 --> 00:47:04,250 they quit on their friends, they quit on their church, 1007 00:47:04,333 --> 00:47:07,000 they quit on their life. 1008 00:47:07,042 --> 00:47:12,875 They quit because they're not patient. 1009 00:47:12,958 --> 00:47:16,667 And God is patient, 1010 00:47:16,750 --> 00:47:19,792 and oftentimes, if we just wait, 1011 00:47:19,833 --> 00:47:25,583 God compels us to become the person that the others 1012 00:47:25,667 --> 00:47:27,583 wanted us to be, 1013 00:47:27,667 --> 00:47:31,292 and they become the person that we wanted them to be. 1014 00:47:31,333 --> 00:47:33,208 And if we're patient with one another, 1015 00:47:33,292 --> 00:47:36,500 we get to see the harvest of righteousness. 1016 00:47:36,583 --> 00:47:39,375 That's exactly what he's intonating at. 1017 00:47:39,458 --> 00:47:43,333 "Then you'll have seen the purpose of the Lord." 1018 00:47:43,375 --> 00:47:44,875 You see that? 1019 00:47:44,958 --> 00:47:48,000 Steadfast, steadfastness. 1020 00:47:48,042 --> 00:47:50,875 Only if you persevere, only if you hang in there, 1021 00:47:50,958 --> 00:47:54,833 only if you endure, only if you don't quit, then down the road, 1022 00:47:54,875 --> 00:47:57,208 you'll see the purpose of the Lord. 1023 00:47:57,292 --> 00:47:59,500 Oh, that's what he was doing. 1024 00:47:59,583 --> 00:48:01,333 That's what he was doing in them, 1025 00:48:01,417 --> 00:48:05,000 that's what he's doing in me, that's what he's doing in us. 1026 00:48:05,042 --> 00:48:08,000 One of the most painful conversations I have had 1027 00:48:08,042 --> 00:48:09,583 in the history of my ministry 1028 00:48:09,667 --> 00:48:12,167 was a guy who quit on his wife too fast. 1029 00:48:12,250 --> 00:48:14,833 He's like, "She's not the way I want her to be. 1030 00:48:14,917 --> 00:48:16,583 "She's not the way she should be. 1031 00:48:16,667 --> 00:48:18,000 "I've hung in there. 1032 00:48:18,042 --> 00:48:20,500 "I'm sick of it, I'm tired, I quit, I'm out." 1033 00:48:20,542 --> 00:48:21,875 Hit the eject button, 1034 00:48:21,958 --> 00:48:23,875 got a divorce, moved on with his life. 1035 00:48:23,958 --> 00:48:26,875 And the Lord was more patient with that woman than the husband 1036 00:48:26,958 --> 00:48:29,375 was, and the Lord was like a patient farmer, right? 1037 00:48:29,458 --> 00:48:33,208 Pruning, watering, nourishing, and then there's fruit. 1038 00:48:33,292 --> 00:48:35,417 She began to change, and grow, 1039 00:48:35,500 --> 00:48:39,333 and become quite a remarkable woman. 1040 00:48:39,375 --> 00:48:42,000 And then her former husband looked back, 1041 00:48:42,083 --> 00:48:43,917 and he saw the purpose of the Lord, 1042 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,125 and he realized that he quit too fast. 1043 00:48:46,167 --> 00:48:49,500 I met with that guy and he said, "The biggest mistake I ever made 1044 00:48:49,583 --> 00:48:51,000 "was giving up too soon. 1045 00:48:51,083 --> 00:48:53,500 The Lord wasn't done, I don't know why I was." 1046 00:48:53,583 --> 00:48:57,167 I'm not saying that there's never a season for change 1047 00:48:57,250 --> 00:49:00,333 or perhaps biblical grounds for divorce, 1048 00:49:00,417 --> 00:49:03,667 but let's just say that we live in a world that is absolutely 1049 00:49:03,750 --> 00:49:08,667 hard-wired for quitting. 1050 00:49:08,750 --> 00:49:11,250 When we run to the Lord Jesus, he's not a God who says, 1051 00:49:11,333 --> 00:49:14,042 "I live up here, you live down there, I don't relate. 1052 00:49:14,125 --> 00:49:15,917 "I live in a world of perfection, 1053 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,417 "you live in a world of sin, I don't understand. 1054 00:49:18,500 --> 00:49:20,042 "My relationships have never been complicated. 1055 00:49:20,125 --> 00:49:21,625 "Nobody's ever betrayed me. 1056 00:49:21,667 --> 00:49:23,250 "My reputation's never been destroyed. 1057 00:49:23,333 --> 00:49:25,750 "I've never suffered physical injury or pain. 1058 00:49:25,833 --> 00:49:29,042 "I've never had a day where I was struggling to pay my bills. 1059 00:49:29,125 --> 00:49:30,833 "I'm not a God who entered in. 1060 00:49:30,875 --> 00:49:32,250 "I don't relate; I don't understand. 1061 00:49:32,333 --> 00:49:34,500 "Bring me your cares and concerns, but frankly, 1062 00:49:34,583 --> 00:49:38,250 I have no experience by which to sympathize with you." 1063 00:49:38,333 --> 00:49:41,333 Jesus says, "I understand. 1064 00:49:41,375 --> 00:49:43,667 "Everything you're experiencing, I've experienced. 1065 00:49:43,708 --> 00:49:46,958 "The place you are is the place I've been. 1066 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,958 "And I was there for you and I'll be there with you. 1067 00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,167 "I'm compassionate, I understand, and I'm merciful, 1068 00:49:53,208 --> 00:49:56,667 I'm here to help." 1069 00:49:56,708 --> 00:50:01,250 Jesus is wonderful, 1070 00:50:01,333 --> 00:50:04,833 and he's patient, and he's steadfast. 1071 00:50:04,875 --> 00:50:09,208 Isn't it great that Jesus isn't impatient with us? 1072 00:50:09,292 --> 00:50:11,958 How many of you are really glad that Jesus is steadfast 1073 00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:15,167 with you, right? 1074 00:50:15,208 --> 00:50:17,167 Tomorrow, Jesus isn't filing for divorce. 1075 00:50:17,208 --> 00:50:18,542 He's not going to quit. 1076 00:50:18,625 --> 00:50:20,542 He's not going to give up on you. 1077 00:50:20,625 --> 00:50:22,250 He's not going to say, "I tried. 1078 00:50:22,333 --> 00:50:24,333 They're not changing. I quit." 1079 00:50:24,417 --> 00:50:27,125 He's like a farmer who just keeps pulling weeds, 1080 00:50:27,167 --> 00:50:31,750 and working his field, and waiting for a harvest. 1081 00:50:31,833 --> 00:50:33,958 And you need to know this friend: 1082 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:36,458 he does it with a smile on his face. 1083 00:50:36,500 --> 00:50:39,042 It's not begrudging; it's not because he has to, 1084 00:50:39,125 --> 00:50:43,958 but because he's good and he loves you. 1085 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:45,375 He's compassionate. 1086 00:50:45,458 --> 00:50:46,792 He's merciful. 1087 00:50:46,833 --> 00:50:48,875 The question is, are you steadfast? 1088 00:50:48,958 --> 00:50:50,667 That's the question. 1089 00:50:50,750 --> 00:50:53,500 How's your steadfastness? 1090 00:50:53,542 --> 00:50:57,500 And then lastly, number four, how's your mouth? 1091 00:50:57,542 --> 00:51:00,250 OK, now, I know you don't struggle with this, 1092 00:51:00,333 --> 00:51:03,500 but I know a guy who does, OK, 1093 00:51:03,583 --> 00:51:10,042 and so I want that guy named Mark to listen to James 5:12. 1094 00:51:10,125 --> 00:51:12,250 How many of you, when you're frustrated, you're burdened, 1095 00:51:12,333 --> 00:51:13,833 you're overwhelmed, you're exhausted, 1096 00:51:13,917 --> 00:51:16,542 you say things you wouldn't otherwise say or you say them 1097 00:51:16,625 --> 00:51:20,250 in a way that you wouldn't otherwise say it, OK? 1098 00:51:20,333 --> 00:51:24,417 "But above all, my brothers, do not swear," and this is oaths, 1099 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:27,125 "either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, 1100 00:51:27,167 --> 00:51:30,625 "but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, 1101 00:51:30,667 --> 00:51:34,833 so that you may not fall under condemnation." 1102 00:51:34,875 --> 00:51:38,625 He's quoting Jesus in Matthew 5:34-37. 1103 00:51:38,667 --> 00:51:42,000 James has learned from Jesus, and he's always echoing Jesus. 1104 00:51:42,042 --> 00:51:45,167 May we be the same by God's grace. 1105 00:51:45,208 --> 00:51:49,875 And Jesus says, "Let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no." 1106 00:51:49,958 --> 00:51:52,792 So what he's saying is once you've made a commitment, 1107 00:51:52,833 --> 00:51:55,292 be steadfast in it. 1108 00:51:55,333 --> 00:51:58,500 Therefore, be careful in the commitments you make. 1109 00:51:58,542 --> 00:52:01,917 And when you're under stress and duress, the burden is heavy, 1110 00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:08,125 the pack feels overwhelming, you can quit on things 1111 00:52:08,167 --> 00:52:11,167 you've committed to or you can commit yourself to things 1112 00:52:11,208 --> 00:52:13,042 you should have not committed yourself to. 1113 00:52:13,125 --> 00:52:15,750 Some of our worst decisions with far-reaching, 1114 00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:19,333 long-standing implications are made in stressful moments where 1115 00:52:19,417 --> 00:52:24,000 we lost sight of the long view and we were restricted 1116 00:52:24,083 --> 00:52:26,333 by the short view. 1117 00:52:26,417 --> 00:52:33,208 So, if you made a vow to your spouse, let your "yes" be yes. 1118 00:52:33,292 --> 00:52:35,208 If you made a vow to the Lord 1119 00:52:35,292 --> 00:52:36,958 and you're going to be a Christian, 1120 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:40,333 let your "yes" be yes. 1121 00:52:40,417 --> 00:52:43,875 If you've made a vow to other people in your life, 1122 00:52:43,958 --> 00:52:48,583 let your "yes" be yes. 1123 00:52:48,667 --> 00:52:53,875 God is not a God who says "yes" and then says "no." 1124 00:52:53,958 --> 00:52:57,500 We're really glad about that, amen? 1125 00:52:57,542 --> 00:52:59,083 Jesus doesn't say, "I love you. 1126 00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:00,833 "I forgive you. I'll help you. 1127 00:53:00,917 --> 00:53:03,042 "I'll serve you. I've got a kingdom for you. 1128 00:53:03,125 --> 00:53:05,250 "I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. 1129 00:53:05,333 --> 00:53:10,750 You did what? I quit!" 1130 00:53:10,833 --> 00:53:12,333 Jesus, you said, "Yes." 1131 00:53:12,417 --> 00:53:15,250 "Well, now I'm saying no." 1132 00:53:15,333 --> 00:53:20,458 See, we love the steadfastness of the Lord. 1133 00:53:20,500 --> 00:53:24,250 We cling to it as an anchor for the soul, 1134 00:53:24,333 --> 00:53:31,167 and we then need to carefully make our vows, give our pledges, 1135 00:53:31,208 --> 00:53:33,167 give our word, give our life. 1136 00:53:33,208 --> 00:53:36,042 And as we have given it to the Lord and to others, 1137 00:53:36,125 --> 00:53:39,417 and commitments, we need to walk in them with steadfastness. 1138 00:53:39,500 --> 00:53:41,792 That's what he's saying. 1139 00:53:41,833 --> 00:53:46,458 And if you quit too early, you'll grieve deeply. 1140 00:53:46,500 --> 00:53:50,500 And what causes people to quit too early and later forces them 1141 00:53:50,542 --> 00:53:55,750 to grieve deeply is that they feel that the load is too heavy, 1142 00:53:55,833 --> 00:53:58,667 it is going to overwhelm them, it is going to crush them, 1143 00:53:58,750 --> 00:54:01,167 it is going to destroy them. 1144 00:54:01,208 --> 00:54:04,250 And again, just like James has done, 1145 00:54:04,333 --> 00:54:07,333 we need to continually go back to the Lord Jesus. 1146 00:54:07,417 --> 00:54:12,250 Friends, the Lord Jesus carried a heavy burden. 1147 00:54:12,333 --> 00:54:18,458 On his barren, devastated, 1148 00:54:18,500 --> 00:54:20,958 wounded, bleeding back, 1149 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:23,333 he literally carried what? 1150 00:54:23,375 --> 00:54:25,333 A Roman cross. 1151 00:54:25,417 --> 00:54:32,333 Hewn, heavy timber on his broken, bloodied body, 1152 00:54:32,417 --> 00:54:37,458 and that was his burden to carry. 1153 00:54:37,500 --> 00:54:40,500 And he's not just carrying a physical cross. 1154 00:54:40,542 --> 00:54:45,167 Spiritually, he's carrying the sin of the world. 1155 00:54:45,208 --> 00:54:50,583 There is no burden that is even comparable to the burden 1156 00:54:50,667 --> 00:54:53,083 that the Lord Jesus placed on his back, 1157 00:54:53,167 --> 00:54:56,750 carrying his cross to atone for the sin of the world, 1158 00:54:56,833 --> 00:54:58,792 yours and mine. 1159 00:54:58,833 --> 00:55:00,958 And he didn't quit. 1160 00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:04,333 He was steadfast. 1161 00:55:04,417 --> 00:55:06,167 Yes, in the Garden of Gethsemane, 1162 00:55:06,208 --> 00:55:07,667 he had an earnest, honest, 1163 00:55:07,708 --> 00:55:10,333 heartfelt conversation with the Father, 1164 00:55:10,417 --> 00:55:16,500 but he ended it with this, "Not my will, but your will be done." 1165 00:55:16,583 --> 00:55:20,333 And he took his cross, and he took it for us, 1166 00:55:20,417 --> 00:55:23,542 and he took his sin with us, and he bore that heavy burden 1167 00:55:23,625 --> 00:55:27,333 and load, and he went to the cross, and he was steadfast, 1168 00:55:27,375 --> 00:55:30,042 and persevering, and enduring. 1169 00:55:30,125 --> 00:55:34,833 And God died in our place for our sins. 1170 00:55:34,917 --> 00:55:39,667 And he made a promise before the foundation of the world 1171 00:55:39,708 --> 00:55:43,375 that he would seek and save you. 1172 00:55:43,458 --> 00:55:46,583 And Jesus was steadfast, Jesus was enduring, 1173 00:55:46,667 --> 00:55:48,792 Jesus did not quit. 1174 00:55:48,833 --> 00:55:53,958 And he went to the cross, and he ran his race, he kept his faith, 1175 00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:56,667 he finished his mission. 1176 00:55:56,750 --> 00:56:02,750 And he said something for you and me, 1177 00:56:02,833 --> 00:56:07,917 that we should pick up our--what did he say? 1178 00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:12,458 Our cross, not nearly as big as his. 1179 00:56:12,500 --> 00:56:16,250 "Pick up your cross and"--what? 1180 00:56:16,333 --> 00:56:20,042 "Follow me." 1181 00:56:20,125 --> 00:56:23,708 Follow me. 1182 00:56:23,792 --> 00:56:27,125 Friends, that's the Christian life. 1183 00:56:27,167 --> 00:56:30,417 That's the Christian life. 1184 00:56:30,500 --> 00:56:35,208 It's following in the footsteps of the life of Christ. 1185 00:56:42,500 --> 00:56:46,833 And Jesus says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 1186 00:56:46,917 --> 00:56:49,833 "I'm really good at carrying crosses. 1187 00:56:49,917 --> 00:56:55,375 "You walk with me. I'll put my shoulder under the other side. 1188 00:56:55,458 --> 00:56:58,083 "You put your shoulder under your side. 1189 00:56:58,167 --> 00:57:00,167 "And here's the deal, friend. 1190 00:57:00,208 --> 00:57:01,958 "We'll carry this together to the kingdom, 1191 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:08,292 and it's all going to be better forever." 1192 00:57:09,833 --> 00:57:16,333 The only thing worse than this life is this life without Jesus. 1193 00:57:16,375 --> 00:57:17,833 Do you know Jesus? 1194 00:57:17,917 --> 00:57:19,250 Do you love Jesus? 1195 00:57:19,333 --> 00:57:20,667 Do you belong to Jesus? 1196 00:57:20,708 --> 00:57:22,667 Have you confessed your sin to Jesus? 1197 00:57:22,708 --> 00:57:26,417 Have you brought your burdens to Jesus? 1198 00:57:26,500 --> 00:57:30,458 I would beg you to do that. 1199 00:57:30,500 --> 00:57:33,667 He is compassionate and merciful, 1200 00:57:33,708 --> 00:57:40,125 and once he says yes to you, he says yes forever. 1201 00:57:45,125 --> 00:57:48,333 We're going to respond by giving our tithes and offerings 1202 00:57:48,417 --> 00:57:50,667 as an act of worship to the Lord, 1203 00:57:50,750 --> 00:57:53,250 partaking of Communion as we remember the broken body 1204 00:57:53,333 --> 00:57:55,292 and shed blood of Jesus in our place 1205 00:57:55,333 --> 00:57:58,292 for our sins, that he was steadfast to the end. 1206 00:57:58,333 --> 00:58:01,750 And one thing I want to do, I want to invite you not only 1207 00:58:01,833 --> 00:58:04,042 to Christ but to community. 1208 00:58:04,125 --> 00:58:06,750 He's talked a lot in this text about brothers and sisters, 1209 00:58:06,833 --> 00:58:08,750 and we do what we call "Community Groups." 1210 00:58:08,833 --> 00:58:11,250 This is where people get together to do life together 1211 00:58:11,333 --> 00:58:13,667 around Jesus in the Scriptures. 1212 00:58:13,708 --> 00:58:15,958 And this week in Community Group, 1213 00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:17,750 here's what I want you to ask: 1214 00:58:17,833 --> 00:58:19,917 The four questions that I asked in the sermon, 1215 00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:21,333 I want you to discuss: 1216 00:58:21,375 --> 00:58:22,708 How's your heart? 1217 00:58:22,792 --> 00:58:24,125 How's your relationships? 1218 00:58:24,167 --> 00:58:25,500 How's your steadfastness? 1219 00:58:25,583 --> 00:58:27,750 How's your mouth? 1220 00:58:27,833 --> 00:58:30,458 And here's what I'm thinking: 1221 00:58:30,500 --> 00:58:32,333 Do you remember--OK, stick with me. 1222 00:58:32,375 --> 00:58:34,625 Do you remember when Jesus was carrying his cross, 1223 00:58:34,667 --> 00:58:37,667 there were occasions when it became so heavy? 1224 00:58:37,708 --> 00:58:39,833 What happened to him? 1225 00:58:39,917 --> 00:58:42,792 He fell and was crushed under the weight of the cross. 1226 00:58:42,833 --> 00:58:48,083 So, what happened was a friend came along and helped him. 1227 00:58:48,167 --> 00:58:51,333 We need friends to help us carry our cross. 1228 00:58:51,417 --> 00:58:53,875 I'm not saying that our cross is like Jesus'-- 1229 00:58:53,958 --> 00:58:57,292 it's that heavy or atoning-- but it's the burden that we 1230 00:58:57,333 --> 00:59:01,042 have to bear until we finish our race. 1231 00:59:01,125 --> 00:59:04,042 And part of the motive, and goal, 1232 00:59:04,125 --> 00:59:07,125 and hope of Community Group is that people would have those 1233 00:59:07,167 --> 00:59:10,125 kinds of friends to help carry that kind of load together. 1234 00:59:10,167 --> 00:59:12,125 And if you're not in a Community Group, 1235 00:59:12,167 --> 00:59:15,750 I would ask you to get in one, I'd beg you to get in one. 1236 00:59:15,833 --> 00:59:17,250 Go try one. Check it out. 1237 00:59:17,333 --> 00:59:18,667 We'll find one near you. 1238 00:59:18,708 --> 00:59:21,458 And when you go, don't go with this attitude, 1239 00:59:21,500 --> 00:59:26,917 "I'm here to find a friend to help carry my cross." 1240 00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:30,833 Instead, you go saying, "I'm here to be a friend 1241 00:59:30,917 --> 00:59:34,042 and help someone carry their cross." 1242 00:59:34,125 --> 00:59:36,250 And if everyone has that attitude, 1243 00:59:36,333 --> 00:59:38,542 then you will be a steadfast people together by 1244 00:59:38,625 --> 00:59:41,167 the grace of God. 1245 00:59:41,208 --> 00:59:47,417 In addition, lastly, Jesus died, Jesus rose, he was steadfast, 1246 00:59:47,500 --> 00:59:50,333 and we celebrate this with Good Friday, 1247 00:59:50,375 --> 00:59:54,458 remembering the death of Jesus in our place for our sins. 1248 00:59:54,500 --> 00:59:56,167 It's a funeral. 1249 00:59:56,208 --> 00:59:58,958 And then Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection-- 1250 00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:01,708 it feels like a wedding and we throw a big party. 1251 01:00:01,792 --> 01:00:03,708 And Mars Hill, if you've been around a while, 1252 01:00:03,792 --> 01:00:06,125 we like Easter, amen? 1253 01:00:06,167 --> 01:00:11,042 It's a thing for us, and so we are inviting you to join us 1254 01:00:11,125 --> 01:00:13,417 for Good Friday and for Easter Sunday. 1255 01:00:13,500 --> 01:00:17,042 And if you've not been baptized, sign up to be baptized. 1256 01:00:17,125 --> 01:00:19,333 And it shows the life, death, burial, resurrection, 1257 01:00:19,417 --> 01:00:21,833 and steadfastness of the Lord Jesus, 1258 01:00:21,917 --> 01:00:23,750 that as water cleanses us from filth, 1259 01:00:23,833 --> 01:00:28,208 Jesus cleanses us from sin, that he was steadfast to us, 1260 01:00:28,292 --> 01:00:32,333 and we seek to be steadfast toward him together. 1261 01:00:32,417 --> 01:00:34,333 And if you have family, friends, neighbors, 1262 01:00:34,417 --> 01:00:36,833 coworkers who don't know Jesus, invite them, invite them, 1263 01:00:36,917 --> 01:00:38,250 invite them. 1264 01:00:38,333 --> 01:00:41,292 We always see a lot of people meet Jesus on Easter Sunday. 1265 01:00:41,333 --> 01:00:44,958 And so I want to share a little bit of what's coming with you. 1266 01:00:51,125 --> 01:00:55,250 ♪ As I went down in the river to pray ♪ 1267 01:00:55,333 --> 01:00:59,292 ♪ studying about that good old way ♪ 1268 01:00:59,333 --> 01:01:02,917 ♪ And who shall wear the robe and crown ♪ 1269 01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:09,208 ♪ good Lord, show me the way ♪ 1270 01:01:11,625 --> 01:01:15,167 ♪ O sinners, let's go down ♪ 1271 01:01:15,208 --> 01:01:19,208 ♪ let's go down, come on down ♪ 1272 01:01:19,292 --> 01:01:23,000 ♪ O sinners, let's go down ♪ 1273 01:01:23,083 --> 01:01:26,417 ♪ down in the river to pray ♪ 1274 01:01:28,708 --> 01:01:32,042 ♪ O sinners, let's go down ♪ 1275 01:01:32,125 --> 01:01:36,333 ♪ let's go down, come on down ♪ 1276 01:01:36,375 --> 01:01:39,833 ♪ O sinners, let's go down ♪ 1277 01:01:39,917 --> 01:01:43,958 ♪ down in the river to pray ♪♪ 1278 01:01:55,542 --> 01:01:56,917 Pastor Sutton here, 1279 01:01:57,000 --> 01:01:59,958 we've just finished our services here in the Bellevue church 1280 01:02:00,083 --> 01:02:05,833 and really excited today to tell the extended family of Mars Hill Global 1281 01:02:05,917 --> 01:02:07,500 about Text to Give. 1282 01:02:07,583 --> 01:02:10,250 Just came out and many of you know my story: 1283 01:02:10,333 --> 01:02:14,417 2007 heard Pastor Mark at a pastor's conference 1284 01:02:14,500 --> 01:02:16,708 went there, started podcasting. 1285 01:02:16,792 --> 01:02:19,667 I still gave my tithe to my local church, 1286 01:02:19,708 --> 01:02:23,042 however, gave a contribution amount to Mars Hill Church. 1287 01:02:23,125 --> 01:02:27,708 So this Text to Give, the video that we have produced for you, 1288 01:02:27,792 --> 01:02:29,958 you're going to love, so check this out. 1289 01:02:32,125 --> 01:02:34,833 Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene and I work here 1290 01:02:34,875 --> 01:02:37,333 at the Media and Communications team at Mars Hill Church. 1291 01:02:37,417 --> 01:02:39,125 If you're a mobile user like me, 1292 01:02:39,167 --> 01:02:41,292 I've got some exciting news to share with you. 1293 01:02:41,333 --> 01:02:43,750 There's a new way to give at Mars Hill Church 1294 01:02:43,833 --> 01:02:46,000 and it's just as easy as sending a text. 1295 01:02:46,083 --> 01:02:48,792 Now, many of you take advantage of our online giving options, 1296 01:02:48,833 --> 01:02:51,500 which is a great way to set up recurring gifts, 1297 01:02:51,583 --> 01:02:54,750 but until now, we haven't had a way to set up mobile, 1298 01:02:54,833 --> 01:02:57,667 where you can give on the spot during our services. 1299 01:02:57,708 --> 01:02:59,667 If you're like me, you don't carry cash 1300 01:02:59,750 --> 01:03:03,333 you don't carry a checkbook, so Text to Give is the way to go. 1301 01:03:03,417 --> 01:03:07,792 It's fun, it's simple, and best of all, it's secure. 1302 01:03:07,833 --> 01:03:09,750 I want you to do something with me. 1303 01:03:09,833 --> 01:03:11,667 Take out your smart phone right now; 1304 01:03:11,750 --> 01:03:13,500 we're going to do something together. 1305 01:03:13,583 --> 01:03:15,458 Don't worry, you're not obligated to give, 1306 01:03:15,500 --> 01:03:17,458 but try this out. 1307 01:03:17,500 --> 01:03:20,333 Simply send the amount you want to give 1308 01:03:20,375 --> 01:03:26,333 and the word "Mars Hill" at the end to the following number: 45777. 1309 01:03:27,542 --> 01:03:29,208 The first time you give via text, 1310 01:03:29,292 --> 01:03:31,875 you will be asked to fill out a one-time form, 1311 01:03:31,958 --> 01:03:35,000 which will safely link your card to your smart phone. 1312 01:03:35,042 --> 01:03:38,417 Now, this new way of giving doesn't go into your phone bill, 1313 01:03:38,500 --> 01:03:40,333 and in case you make a mistake, 1314 01:03:40,375 --> 01:03:44,042 you can always get a refund for the gift that you've given. 1315 01:03:44,125 --> 01:03:46,083 And that's it; you're done. 1316 01:03:46,167 --> 01:03:48,250 You'll receive a text back confirming your gift 1317 01:03:48,333 --> 01:03:50,792 and from this moment forward, you'll be able to give 1318 01:03:50,833 --> 01:03:53,500 anywhere, anytime with just a single text. 1319 01:03:53,583 --> 01:03:56,292 Don't forget to save the number in your contact list. 1320 01:03:56,333 --> 01:03:59,417 I've saved it as "Mars Hill Text to Give." 1321 01:03:59,500 --> 01:04:01,333 For more information about our giving options 1322 01:04:01,417 --> 01:04:04,625 you can visit marshill.com/give. 1323 01:04:06,333 --> 01:04:09,250 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1324 01:04:09,333 --> 01:04:12,333 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1325 01:04:12,417 --> 01:04:14,958 This ministry is generously supported 1326 01:04:15,000 --> 01:04:17,583 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1327 01:04:17,667 --> 01:04:21,167 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1328 01:04:21,208 --> 01:04:24,167 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1329 01:04:24,208 --> 01:04:27,042 by visiting marshill.com/give.