Faith That Endures

All right. Well, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to James, the book of James. We are going to actually be starting another study. We’re going to be going through the book of James. Everybody say, “Oh yeah.” Oh yeah. I don’t know where that came from. I’ve never done that in my life.

We recently finished our study through the book of Hebrews, and we were just praying about the direction that we were going to be going, and we really just felt of the Lord to go through the book of James. James is a very practical book. How many of you like practical books, right? Where you have these short statements — it’s a lot like the book of Proverbs. A lot of people compare it to the book of Proverbs, where there’s these short, distinct statements that are very practical for the Christian life and how we’re to navigate through our Christian life as believers.

Who was James?

And so just to start off this morning, we’re going to give a little context and kind of open it up as we go into this new study. The book of James was written by James. There you go. There’s the spoiler. Now, there’s actually several Jameses that are referred to throughout the New Testament, but reliable biblical tradition believes that it is James the Just, or James the brother of Jesus — the half-brother of Jesus. It’s a little bit more accurate probably to say Jesus had brothers and sisters, but they were really half-brothers and sisters, because Jesus was born of a virgin and conceived by the Holy Spirit. And so His brothers and sisters were birthed naturally to Mary and Joseph. James was one of those brothers, and it is believed that he was the leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem.

After Jesus had ascended into heaven, the Christian church really began in Jerusalem, and there was a heavy emphasis on that Jewish tradition and the Jewish ways. And many of the other apostles went elsewhere. And so James was considered a leader in the church in Jerusalem.

But this is a unique letter because of its practical applications for Christian living. It is both to impart wisdom for life and also to challenge the reader to live in a godly way. And it is likely that the book of James was actually one of the first New Testament books that was written, earlier on in the writing of the New Testament. It was written predominantly Jewish in its character. It was not exclusive to Jewish believers, but it was written with them in mind, and we see that alluded to right away in verse 1. But these truths really apply to all believers. And so we can be assured that it is a letter for Christians in the world.

It was a letter that was written to believers at that time, as the church was growing, as the church was spreading. It started in Jerusalem. But how many of you remember Jesus’ Great Commission: go into all the world, right? You guys remember that? And so as the church was being birthed, we have this letter that was inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by James to the church that was in Jerusalem.

Now, something I love about the book of James is that it echoes Jesus’ teaching so soundly. Specifically, there are about 15 direct references or allusions to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon that has ever been preached. If you have not read that, I would encourage you to go to Matthew chapters 5 through 7. There is so much there, and we actually even did a study through that recently. But James knew the teaching of Jesus, and he took the teaching of Jesus very seriously. And so he’s bringing this letter to the early church, and he’s saying, listen, in light of everything that you’ve received, in light of what Jesus has done, that the Messiah has come, that you’ve been given new life — this is how we are practically to navigate our Christian life.

A bondservant

And so what I would like to do is start in James chapter 1 this morning. Today the title of the message is “Faith That Endures.” Everybody say that: “Faith that endures.” Anybody ever have faith that kind of gets a little shaky sometimes? Right? You have your highs and then you have those lows. You have the times where things are happening and you feel spiritually alive, and then there’s those times where things are just a little bit dry. And really, the Bible talks about how we are to have faith that endures. That no matter what we see happening, no matter what is going on, we have faith that is solid, faith that is firm, faith that is sure in who God is and what He has said. Faith that endures.

And so we’re going to start in James chapter 1, verse 1 this morning, and we’re going to read through verse 8. If you have your Bibles, you can follow along. We’ll be reading out of the New King James Version, and you can also follow along on screen. But let me read this to you. It says, “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Can we just pray this morning? Lord, we thank You for Your word. Lord, we thank You that it is life to us, that it is food for us, Lord, that it is the receiving of Yourself. And so, Lord, we open our hearts, and we say, come teach us, Holy Spirit. Open our understanding to Your Scriptures today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

This is why people like James: there’s really no beating around the bush. Very direct, very distinct. Really a take-charge moment. And I love how James starts the book. I want you to notice James’ chosen title when he makes his introduction. Notice it says, “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He doesn’t introduce himself as James, the brother of Jesus. How many of you know that would be something pretty good to put on your résumé, right? That would probably build some credibility when you’re trying to make a case or bring instruction to the church. But notice James’ preferred title: a bondservant.

What is a bondservant? A bondservant is someone who was bound to serve a master. There was this tethering, this connection that could not be broken. And so he refers to himself as a bondservant. And it gives us this picture of a voluntary, lifelong, and submitted service — that this wasn’t just when I’m available, this wasn’t just when it was convenient. This was who he was. I am this.

Now, interestingly, there were slaves in biblical times. There was oftentimes a legal obligation there to be a servant to their master. But even when the opportunity would arise that they would have their freedom, oftentimes slaves were so indebted, or so convinced that they wanted to be faithful to their master, that they would choose to remain with their master even when freedom was available. And really, James is painting a picture of someone who deems it better to be considered a slave to God than a free man who was separated from God. I am bound to Him. I am a bondservant of Him.

Now, it’s interesting, because we read throughout the Gospels that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus’ brothers and sisters didn’t believe that He was the Messiah. In fact, we saw in John chapter 5 they even questioned His sanity. They’re like, “Are you okay? Aren’t you just our brother? What are you talking about? You’re just our oldest brother.” They began to question His sanity in Mark 6 and Matthew 13. They were not fully supportive of His messiahship and His mission.

But yet after Jesus’ resurrection, it is clear that not only did they accept Jesus as the Messiah, they believed in Him in a mighty way. And we actually read in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that James received a special resurrection appearance of Jesus Himself. He had a moment. Can you imagine having a face-to-face moment with the resurrected Christ and having this private conversation?

And so here was James. And not only did James believe in Jesus as the Messiah, he had such great devotion that early tradition said he literally had calluses on his knees that were so big, because he would spend so much time on his knees in prayer. The calluses were so great that they said he had the knees of a camel. When he was martyred, he was martyred by being pushed off the high point of the temple, but that didn’t kill him. And when the people came down to finish the job and to beat him to death, tradition says that he was praying for them as he was being killed. You see, clearly James was someone who lived in a permanent state of love and devotion to Jesus. This was not a part-time gig. He was sold out. He was all in. How many of you would say, “I want to be all in”?

Count it all joy

And so in verse 2, James gets right into it. After the introduction, he gets right into the instruction. Verse 2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy” — everybody say, “Joy” — “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” That sounds like opposites. That doesn’t sound normal. He says consider it all joy when you fall into various trials. Why? “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Notice: consider it all joy, count it all joy, when. Everybody say, “When.” You see, what I love about that is James regards it as inevitable that as believers you will face trials in life. This is very similar to what Jesus said, right? Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man who built his house on the rock.” And when the storm came — the storms of life, the turmoil, the destruction — because they were founded on the rock, they were not shaken.

In the same way, James is saying, listen, count it all joy when trials come. How many of you know life isn’t always pretty? We know this. Trials will come. But there is a way that as believers we are to approach those trials. There is an attitude that we’re to have. There’s a way that is honoring to the Lord and even unlocks something in our life. Count it all joy when you face trials.

Well, what does it mean when it says trials? These aren’t courtroom trials, right? This isn’t only applicable if you are going through the court system and having a trial. That’s not what this is referring to. Trials are anything. It alludes to afflictions, persecutions, or testings of any kind. It is a testing or experience where your faith will be pressured. It will be a time where things are going to get a little bit uncomfortable, where you’re going to be stretched. And we must know that life as a believer will involve trials or testings.

And so notice what we’re to do when we experience these trials. What is it? Count it all joy. In other words, when we face challenges or difficulties in life, we can greet those situations as something that God is going to use. We can greet those trials as something that God will be glorified in, something that God will work through. Do you guys understand that? This isn’t just, “Oh, woe is me. This is going to be a terrible time. Why does this always happen? Of course it happens to me.” But when the trials come, there is this attitude or this approach where we can say, “Even though this is difficult, even though I don’t know what I can do, I’m going to count it all joy that, Lord, You will be glorified even in this. You are with me even when I don’t feel it. Even when I don’t see it, You are there.” Do you see the difference?

Active patience

You see, your faith will be tested in the trials. And notice verse 3: “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” I’m just going to let that word sit there for a moment. That’s the hard part. Patience. Because patience doesn’t happen overnight. Patience takes time, and it can only happen with pressure. You see, Scripture is saying that patience must be produced in the life of the believer. In fact, it even goes on to say “that you may be perfect,” or complete. If you do not have patience, you are not complete, according to Scripture.

You see, your faith will be tested, and that test will produce something called patience. Now, when we think of patience, we usually think of patience as a passive activity, right? “Well, I’m just going to sit and do nothing. I’m just going to wait, and I’m going to do my time, and eventually I’ll get through this.” But actually the Greek word for patience that is used here is the Greek word hupomone, which is actually an active endurance. It is an active patience. It isn’t sitting on your hands and just letting life come to you. It is a patience that is active. So rather than quietly sitting or quietly waiting, it is a patience of endurance, to finish what has begun.

Right? So if you are training for a marathon and you just sit inactively, let me ask you, will you be ready for that marathon? According to my wife, yes. She signs up for marathons and then just does them. But in all honesty, if you sign up for a marathon and you are inactive, patiently waiting for this race, are you actually going to be ready to run the race? No. How do you patiently wait for the race that is about to happen? You train for it. You prepare for it. You actively wait for what is about to take place. And so this word patience is not a passive waiting. It is an active endurance.

Trials reveal faith

Also notice that faith is tested by trials. Notice, faith is not produced by the trials. Faith gets tested by the trials. In other words, when we face trials in life, it reveals the faith that is already in you. There is this barometer, this litmus test, of where your faith actually lies.

When life is going good, it’s easy to think, “Well, me and God are good, right? I do my thing. I go to church on Sundays.” But when things hit the fan and things aren’t going according to plan and trials come, what do you really believe? Because trials will actually tell you what you believe. Who’s the first person you go to when you don’t know what to do? What’s the first thing you look to when bad news comes? Do you look to the Lord? Do you trust in Him? Or are you trying to get advice from everybody else? Are you trying to find all the alternatives besides Him? Do you get what I’m saying?

You see, trials don’t produce faith; they reveal your faith. They show you what’s actually inside. And so there’s times where I’m like, “Man, I just love the Lord. Things are good. I read my Bible.” But then that discouragement comes, and all of a sudden He’s the last thing on my mind. Do you guys understand? You see, the trials will show us where our faith really lies.

So if trials don’t produce faith, where does faith actually come from? Well, Romans 10:17 says faith comes by what? “By hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The way that we actually build our faith is not just by going through pain day after day. Pain itself is not enough to create faith in your life. Believe it or not, you can be pretty uncomfortable for a long time and you can just be. Trials themselves do not produce faith. What produces faith? Faith comes by what? Hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

In other words, the way that we build our faith as believers, the way that we build our trust in Him, the way that we become solid in our faith so that when the storms come we’re not shaken, is what? By hearing the word of God. Right? So when we are in our word and we’re just reading our chapter in the morning, and we’re going through a book, and we’re saying, “Lord, would You speak to me?” — what are we doing? We’re hearing the word.

When I’m doing my devotions in the morning, I actually like to listen to it as I read it. So I’m reading it, and I also usually have an audio Bible going, and I’ll just be listening to it as well. Why? Because faith comes by hearing. It just hits a little bit different. That’s why we’re here at church on Sundays and we have a time of a message. Why? Because faith comes. How many of you have ever left church and it’s like, “Man, I feel different than when I came in”? What is that? Faith is being produced, because you received the word of God. It wasn’t any awesome stories. It wasn’t anything other than the Holy Spirit breathing His word into your heart through the preaching of the word. And so faith comes not through trials, but by hearing the word. But what trials will do is show you where your faith lies. Amen.

And so when trials come, it’s really not because God is trying to destroy your faith or weaken your faith. Instead, He uses trials to reveal the faith that is in you. And through that process there is an opportunity to build something in you. You see, when you are going through trials, you have a choice to make. Will I be inactive and just do my time and hope things work out? Am I just going to try and fix it myself? Or will I actually allow the Lord to bring faith to my life, by going into His word and finding out, “Lord, what do You actually have to say about this?” Do you see the different approaches?

That’s why James is saying, listen, count it all joy. Why? Because there’s an opportunity in your pain, in the trial, that is not present anywhere else. It’s easy to follow the Lord when everything’s good and comfortable. It’s hard to follow the Lord when bad news comes. And so there is a choice. There is an option. How will you follow the Lord when trials come? Will you be inactive? Will you stop going to church? Will you stop talking to believers? Will you stop praying? Will you stop getting into the word when you are disappointed, and maybe God didn’t live up to your expectations, because we don’t understand why this would happen? When you don’t understand why the bad news came, will you trust Him and pursue Him more, or will you just pull back?

Because there is an opportunity in the trial. We’re to count it all joy when the trial comes. Why? Not because the trial is good. Not because we love the trial. It’s because I get to put my trust in the Lord. And when I put my trust in Him and I seek Him, He’s going to do something in me. And I don’t even know what it’s going to be. But there’s something that He can do right now that could not happen if this trial was not present. Do you see? You cannot go through life avoiding trials. You can try your best to go through life and stay as comfortable as you can, but they are inevitable. So how will you approach the trial?

So faith and endurance are not inevitable. They only come by hearing the word of God. And James isn’t saying that the trial is joy, or to feel it as joy, or that the trials themselves are joy. No, but we’re to count it as joy: yes, God will be glorified even in this.

The strength of God in the trial

So verse 3 says, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” The work of patience comes slowly. It takes time to produce this patience. And I don’t know about you, but when I get sick — maybe I have the flu, and I just got over the flu, but it was longer than it normally took — I was like, “Lord, deliver me,” right? “I don’t want this. I’m uncomfortable. It hurts. Take this. Lord, You’re my healer.” And all of that is true. But we’re to consider it all joy and say, “Thank You, Lord, that You are with me.”

Are we to pray for healing? Let me ask, are we? Yeah, absolutely. Do we cry out for healing when we’re sick? Yes. And then right after, we say, “Lord, I thank You that You are with me. Lord, I thank You that even though my body doesn’t feel strong — it feels weak — in my weakness, You make me strong.” Do you see the difference? There is this attitude and this approach.

The work of patience comes slowly. It has to be allowed to develop. But notice what Scripture says here. Patience is the mark of the person who is perfect and complete. In other words, if we embrace the trials and difficulties of life, then God can do a wonderful work in our life, in and through these trials.

I’ve said it before, but usually when I’m feeling not 100%, I feel like those are moments and times where I’m more close to the Lord than I’ve ever been. And I don’t root to be sick. Trust me, I don’t. But when I am, there’s something in me that becomes more desperate for Him. There’s this brokenness and this understanding that I don’t have it all together, that I really am not as strong or invincible as I sometimes feel. And what it does is it makes me cry out to the Lord, saying, “Lord, I need You.”

Charles Spurgeon has a quote that I love. He says this: “I have looked back to times of trial with a kind of longing — not to have them return, but to feel the strength of God as I have felt it then, to feel the power of faith as I have felt it then, to hang upon God’s powerful arm as I hung upon it then, and to see God at work as I saw Him then.” In other words, we don’t long for the pain. We don’t long for the trials. But when we see the strength of God come through in the midst of our trial, how many of you know we’re seeing the Lord in a new way? Our eyes are open to His glory and to His power and to His majesty. And that is something that our hearts long for. Even when we’re weak, there’s these moments where, yeah, I don’t feel right, or I feel weak, or I feel like I’m being overcome, and yet the Lord is near me. And there’s something there that our heart longs for in that moment. Amen.

Ask God for wisdom

Now, as we go into verse 5, we can see how we can receive the wisdom that we need from God. Verse 5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

And so verses 2 through 4 refer to the value of trials, and now in verses 5 through 8, James moves to the value of wisdom. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I’m in the midst of a trial, I need wisdom. When things are real and trials come, I oftentimes don’t know what’s best to do. But how many of you know the Lord always knows what’s best? And so there’s this immediate follow-up: yeah, when you are facing trials, count it all joy. The Lord is with you. Find Him. Build your faith. Use that as a moment. But let me tell you something. When trials come, you won’t know what to do. But you can ask of God, and He will give you wisdom. Amen.

You see, I love this promise. Verse 5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him” what? I’m going to test this. Let him what? You know, I think sometimes believers think they ask, but they don’t ever actually ask. We just think about it. We face a problem, and we just think about the problem, and we think, “I should really pray about this.” How many of you know that’s not actually praying about it? When we face trials and we face tribulation, Scripture says let him what? Ask of God.

You see, trials in life will bring a necessary opportunity to seek wisdom from God. And something that we need to do when it comes to going through trials is ask. Sometimes something that I will ask is, “Lord, is this something that You are wanting to take from me, or is this something that You are wanting to give me grace and strength to endure for another purpose? Lord, what do You see?” But we can always stand on the promises of God.

When it comes to trials, we need wisdom more than we need knowledge. How many of you know knowledge is informational, but wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge? Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s actually the best answer or the best way about it. Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge that is available. And so what do we do when we need wisdom? We ask of God. If you want to receive wisdom, Scripture says this: ask, and it will be given.

Now, something that I often like to do when I pray is pray the Scriptures. I like to actually pray the word, because how many of you know His word is eternal? His word is true. Do I pray with my understanding? Absolutely. But I only pray to the best of my understanding. Does that make sense? But when we pray the word, when we pray the Scriptures, we are praying the truth of the word of God that is unchanging.

And so when I am praying and I say, “Lord, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. I don’t know the best route. I don’t know the best option” — so what do I say? “Lord, You said anyone who lacks wisdom, let him ask, and it will be given. So, Lord, I’m asking, and I’m asking in faith, believing that You will give it to me.” Do you see that? That’s basically praying the Scriptures. This is something that is available to us. If you are a believer, He’s saying, “Ask of me, and I will give it.” But we have to ask. It’s not enough to think about it.

Ask in faith

Verse 6 says, “But let him ask in faith” — everybody say, “In faith” — “with no doubting.” In other words, if you’re going to ask for wisdom, it must be done in faith. We can’t be double-minded, saying things like, “Lord, I ask that You would give this to me,” but once we’re done praying, we’re like, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what God’s going to do.” You see, faith is believing that what is not yet seen will come to pass, that what is not seen is real.

And so when we ask, we must ask in faith, without doubting, that number one, it is His desire to give it, and we must also believe that He has the ability to give it. And so we must ask in faith without doubting, because notice: “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” Does anybody ever feel like there’s moments in life where maybe the storm comes and you feel like you’re just in it and you’re all over the place? You’re over here and then you’re over here, right? Your mind — it’s just all over. There’s no peace. There’s no stability. There’s no course, right? And that’s what this is saying. If you ask without faith, don’t expect that you’re going to receive. You’re like someone who is just being tossed to and fro by the waves of the sea.

Verse 7 says, “For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” And so you see, a lack of faith or a lack of trust in God shows that we really have no foundation, that we’re actually unstable in our ways, like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

This really is a good picture of what it means to live in doubt towards God. You see, a wave of the sea is without rest, and so is the doubter. A wave of the sea is unstable, and so is the doubter. A wave of the sea is driven by each gust of wind that comes, and so is the doubter. And a wave of the sea is capable of great destruction, and so is the doubter. You see, we don’t want to be like the waves of the sea. We want to believe in God. We want to trust in the Lord. We have a loving God in heaven who hears us, who hears our prayers, and who answers us. Amen. And we must trust that. We must believe that.

And I would encourage you, maybe you’re here today and you’re like, “Man, I don’t even really know how to pray.” Let me ask you this: how would you talk to me right now? Because here’s the thing. We serve a living, breathing God who is real and available. And the way that we talk to Him is the way that you would talk in just normal conversation. Do we come with reverence and an understanding of His holiness? Yes. Right? I don’t really recommend that when you pray, you go, “What up, big guy?” No. We want to come with a worshipful heart. We want to come and say, “You’re God. But, Lord, I thank You that I can come into Your presence by the blood of Jesus. Not what I’ve done — it’s what You’ve accomplished on the cross. That I can come boldly before the throne of grace, and I can make my requests known to You.”

And so when you pray, pray like you’re praying to someone who’s real, because He is. And say, “Lord, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. I don’t know what you’re going to do, but, Lord, I pray that Your will would be done. Lord, I do ask for breakthrough in my life.”

In fact, can we do that right now? Can we just stand together, and let’s just begin to ask of the Lord. Maybe as we’re talking, there’s things in your heart. Maybe there’s things in your life that you know you have need of. Maybe there’s questions that you have. Maybe there’s things that you’re going through. But can we do this right now? If you can come out and just begin playing very lightly for us. Can we just do this with our eyes closed? I want to invite us to just lift our hands to the Lord. This really is just a posture of surrender, but this is also a posture of receiving. And oftentimes our heart and our spirit follow our outward actions. And so this is why we lift our hands, to receive from the Lord and to give Him our attention.

But I just want to encourage you right now that we just begin to say, “Lord, You are great. You’re a holy God. There’s none like You, Lord. Lord, I give my heart to You. I come with a full surrender today, Lord. I come with a humble heart, Lord, that is desperate for You, that wants more of You, that wants to know You.”

And right now, as we are coming together, I just want to encourage you, just begin to make your request known to the Lord. Whatever it is that you need, just begin to ask of Him. If you need peace, just begin to ask, “Lord, I need peace in my life.” If you’re here and you need direction, just begin to ask Him, “Lord, I need direction. Lord, I don’t know which path to take. I don’t know the decision to make.” If you need a fresh revelation of His love and His heart towards you — because here’s the reality: the Lord loves you. He sees you. He brought you here today. He’s the reason you’re breathing right now. Just begin to call on the Lord and say, “Lord, I need You. I want to know You.”

And let’s just take the next 30 seconds, with our hands lifted and our hearts on the Lord, and just begin to ask of the Lord. If you need wisdom, just say, “Lord, I need wisdom. And I thank You, Lord, that Your word says that when I ask, You give liberally and without reproach.” Which means, here’s the thing: He does not hold it against you for asking. He knows that you don’t have it all together. He knows you don’t have all the answers, but He’s giving an invitation to ask.

So let’s just take this time and just begin to ask. And I would encourage you — yeah, can He understand my thoughts? Yes, He can. But there is something that happens when we speak our request, when we begin to mutter and we begin to ask the Lord. So I would just begin to say it just under your breath. Just begin to make your request known to the Lord. You don’t need to shout it. This is between you and Him. But just begin to make your request known. Let’s just take the next 30 seconds.

And now just begin to give thanks to the Lord. Just begin to thank Him and say, “Lord, I trust You. Lord, I put my hope in You. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, Lord, but no matter what comes, I’m going to give it to You. I’m going to trust You, Lord. I’m going to trust that You’re faithful to Your promise, because You’re a good God who loves me, who sees me, who cares for me.” Come on, just begin to say thank you. And if you don’t know what to say, just say, “Thank You, Lord. Thank You, God. You are good.”

We thank You, Lord Jesus. We thank You, Lord, for Your word. We thank You, Lord, that when trials come, we can count it all as joy. We can count it as joy — not because we love the pain. No, Lord, it’s because we love You, because we want more of You, Lord. And even in the trials, Lord, we can find You. You are our very present help in time of trouble. Lord, when we don’t know the answers, we can seek You. Your word says that Your Spirit will lead us into all truth, that You show us the things to come.

And so, Lord Jesus, we ask for wisdom. We ask, Lord, that You would show us the things that we need to know, that You would fill us with Your Spirit, and that You would lead us in truth, that You would lead us in strength, Lord. That as we go from this place, we would be filled with You. We give You our hearts, Lord. We give You our love. You are worthy of it all. In Jesus’ name — say amen. Come on, can we act like we received from the Lord? Say amen. Amen.

Amen. The Lord is wonderful. Let your requests be made known to God, right? Scripture says, “Be anxious for nothing” — think about that — “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” I think we need to ask more of the Lord. Not that we demand it, but He wants us to ask. Do you know what I mean? Because it says He gives without reproach. He does not hold it against you for asking. Amen. So let’s not underuse that — the ask of the Lord. And the best prayers are always ending, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Amen. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.