TRANSFORM THE PHILIPPINES

Taking the road less travelled is what the tandem is doing in their campaign for the presidency and the vice presidency. I am going to write something about these to fellows because as their ratings are right now, they have a slim chance of winning. Election in the Philippines is most of the time dealing with surveys and massive political ad expenses to uplift ones survey ranking. These 2 individuals are lagging behind in their political ad so therefore they lag also in their ranking. These two I am referring to are Senator Richard Gordon and MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando.

The ones leading in the surveys right now are Noy noy Aquino and Manny Villar. Aquino is leading obviously because of his last name which has already become an icon in the Philippines for democracy. The people of course would always want to think that what his parents have done will he do also. Villar on the other hand is creeping up to lead side by side Aquino because of his aggressive campaign ads. You can just imagine how kids love to sing his campaign jingle, it has I think reached the platinum if it had been recorded. It is a known fact in marketing that an advertisement repeatedly watched by anyone will have a subliminal effect to the individual. A black repeatedly advertised as white will eventually look white.

Gordon and Fernando are legitimate candidates with very strong unconventional political successes behind them. Gordon has transformed Subic to be a progressive City after the US bases have closed in the Philippines few years back. Fernando also has transformed Marikina to be the cleanest city in the Philippines when it used to be the dirtiest in the Metropolis for many years..

I am a witness to how Fernando managed move heaven and hell just to go through all people rich and poor just to send his message across - discipline. Fernando is an advocate of discipline and hard work. He cleaned the sidewalks from illegal vendors; he provided relocation to informal settlers. There was even one time when the tricycle drivers were protesting because the city ceased to renew franchises for tricycles ( I have a blog about tricycles which will explain well why I agree). No politician in the history of the Philippines has ever done such bravery going against the masses just to implement an unprecedented ordinance, to clean up the sidewalks.

Many polititians I know would cuddle these sidewalk vendors and informal settlers because these are the masses; these are where the votes are coming from. Fernando never bothered to consider their votes during that time because he was looking beyond the present. Indeed Marikina became what it is right now.

If the Philippines would really want to see a significant change in the country's political landscape, they should choose Gordon and Fernando over the others. This is maybe the only chance that the Philippines will see a better disciplined citizenry. Japan and Singapore are the epitome of discipline in Asia, therefore if we can emulate a little of their ways, the Philippines will also progress like them.

Shun the promises of these politicians that will bring health, money and food to their government because these are old rhetoric. What we need to see are proof of accomplishments and manifested leadership which have been proven effective. These transformers, Gordon and Fernando, where able to transform their old Cities to progress, therefore they should have the tool to bring progress to the ever poor Philippines.

It is just so sad that the Philippines don't see this vision. The people still cling to promises and popularity. If they win this election then I will be happy, but I don't care if they lose because it is expected anyway.

Expressing Your Love For God

There is an old gospel song that Rod Stewart sang about 10 years ago on MTV Unplugged. It goes like this: "Have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you, there’s no one else above you? You fill my heart with gladness. Take away all my sadness. Ease my troubles. That’s what you do." And he sings the song with so much passion. And love. That when he’s done, he has to wipe the tears from his eyes.

The song connected with the public because of its heartfelt expression of love and devotion. That’s the kind of message we have here in Psalm 116. In fact, the Jews sing this psalm at the dinner table every year on the first night of Passover. We did this when I was a kid. First we sing Psalms 113, 114, and 115. Then you eat! Then you lean back in your chairs. And relax. And talk about the good old days when God delivered us out of slavery in Egypt. Then we sing Psalm 116 to the Lord: "I love the Lord, for he hears my voice. I love the Lord, for he hears my cry. I love the Lord for he hears my prayer. Turning his ear, always to me. Turning his ear always to me."

The whole psalm is an expression of love of gratitude to God. The writer is saying, "I love the Lord. Because he took time for me. He didn’t blow me off. He didn’t treat me like a second class citizen. He saved me from the living hell that my life had become. He saved me in every way a person can be saved. And because he is so compassionate and loving and good to me, I will serve Him for the rest of my life!"

It’s hard to find a more tender expression of affection than the 116th Psalm. The only thing in the New Testament that comes close is John 21. Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you really love me?"

And Peter said, "Lord, it hurts that you’re even asking me that question. I know I let you down. I cut off a man’s ear. I denied you three times. But Lord, you know my heart! You know that deep down, I’m not really like that! That’s not who I am! You know all things! You know that I love you! I’m not lying!"

And Jesus says, "Then PROVE IT! Feed my sheep! Take care of my lambs! Don’t just tell me you love me! Show me that you love me by the way you live your everyday life."

At Chilton Village, there’s a resident there who has Alzheimer’s disease. And I noticed that every day at lunch time, there was this lady who would help him eat his food. She talked to him. She wiped his chin. She cleaned off the table. And I was impressed by how caring a staff person she seemed to be. And so I said, "I can tell you really care about your patient. I see you helping him eat every day."

And she said, "He’s not my patient. He’s my husband."

I never actually heard her say the words, ’I love you.’ But she demonstrated her love every single day. In the way she tended to her ailing husband. Even though he could no longer be at home with her. She brought a little bit of home to him.

It’s one thing to express love to someone you can touch. See. And feel. But how do you express love for someone you CAN’T touch or see or feel? How can we show the invisible, Almighty God that we really love Him? That’s what the writer of Psalm 116 is concerned about. In verse 12, he says "How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? How can I show him how much He means to me?" The first thing we should do is to talk to God. Every day.

When Jeanne and I first started dating, we used to talk late into the night. On our second date, we came back from supper. And sat in her car outside the old parsonage. Turned off the lights so that we wouldn’t keep Jerry and Darlene up. And we talked until 3 in the morning. In fact, that was typical of the whole time we dated. There were a lot of times where we just sat on the living room floor and talked until the wee hours. You know why? Because we wanted to build our relationship on something deeper than physical involvement. Something far more intimate than physical love.

And that’s the kind of relationship God wants with us. He wants us to go beyond the superficial. He’s not only interested in your wish list. He’s interested in your companionship. Your trust. And your love. In Psalm 116, the writer senses this. And that’s why he says in verse 2: "I will call on Him as long as I live!" And Ephesians 6:17 says, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions."

By the way, when I sit down in the office to say my prayers, before I ask for anything, the first thing I do is to tell God how much I love Him. I love Him for who He is. I love Him for how he watches over me. For all the blessings He gives me. But the greatest blessing of them all is the blessing of having Him in my life. And that’s what I tell Him. I talk to Him in plain English. Just like that. I encourage you to do the same thing.

We should also express our love for God by living for God. When Jeanne and I got married 5 years ago, I made promises before almighty God. To love her. To honor her. And to be faithful to her as long as I live. That’s what the writer of Psalm 116 is saying about his relationship to God. Two times, he says "I will fulfill all my vows to the Lord. I want everyone to know that I am a man of my word! I am going to be his servant forever. I want the whole world to know that I am going to live the rest of my life for God!"

There’s an old story about St Augustine. Early on in his Christian life, he was intensely absorbed in the writings of Cicero. And around this time, he had a dream that he had died. And now he was standing at the pearly gates. And the keeper of the gate said, "Who are you?"

And he said, "I’m Augustine."

Then the keeper said, "What are you?"

Augustine said, "I’m a Christian."

The gatekeeper said, "No, you’re not a Christian. You’re a Ciceronian!"

Augustine said, "What are you talking about? I’m a Christian!"

And the gatekeeper said this: "All souls on earth are judged by what dominated their interests. In you, Augustine, it was not the Christ of the gospel. It was the Cicero of Roman literature. You are not a Christian. You cannot enter here!"

Augustine was so startled that when he woke up, he resolved then and there to be fully committed to Jesus Christ for the rest of his life. And to live for Him.

That’s what the Bible says we’re supposed to do. Colossians 2:6 says "Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him." What concerns me is that sometimes I see people accepting Christ as their Savior. But their way of life doesn’t change. They honor the Lord with their lips on Sunday. But their hearts are far from Him the rest of the week. They still love the world way too much! Saying that you love God is a wonderful thing. But by itself, it is not enough. James 2:17 says "faith, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead! Simply saying, "I love you, Lord. And I lift my voice to worship you, o my soul," is not enough. Saying, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," is not enough. Matthew 7:21 says "Not everyone who says to me ’Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

So express our love for God, we must talk to God. Live for God. And number three: Serve God. Verse 16 says, "O Lord, Truly I am your servant. The son of your maidservant." One the best ways we can show our love for God is to serve him wholeheartedly.

I read a story about a lady named Ruth. One day, she went to her mail box and there was only one letter. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. And this is what it said:

Dear Ruth,

I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always, Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer."

With that thought, Ruth said to herself, "Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.

"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nevertheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

Then she noticed a man and a woman huddled in the alleyway. And one of them said, "Lady, can you help us?" I don’t have a job, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street. And now it’s getting cold. And we’re getting hungry."

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty. They smelled bad. But she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

And so she said, "Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a twinge in her heart.

And she said, "Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don’t you take this food. I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.

And they both said, "Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"

And then, Ruth noticed that the man’s wife was shivering.

And so she said, "You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders.

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.

"That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it. And this is what it said:

Dear Ruth,

It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always, Jesus

Matthew 25:40 says that "whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you’ve done it to me." The woman didn’t realize it at the time. But by serving two needy people in the back alleys of Chicago, she was serving Christ. By showing them love, she was showing God love.

I want to ask you this morning, "Do you love the Lord? Is it evident in the way you live your life? Is it reflected in your giving? A lot of people say they love Jesus. But like with St Augustine, when you look into their lives, it’s easy to see that they love other things more. Themselves. Their careers. Their hobbies. Matthew 6:24 says that "You can’t serve two masters." You have to make a decision. The Christian singer Steve Camp has a song called "The Gospel According to Jesus." And this what the chorus says:

To love Him more than father or mother.

To love him more than your own flesh.

To give all that you are for all that He is,

This is the Gospel According to Jesus

Make the right choice. And receive Jesus Christ as your only Lord and Savior. Say, "Your the Lord. Not me. Not my job. Not my ambitions. Only you."

WHY ARE YOU POOR?

All over the world we see poor people. In the Philippines, more than half of the population is poor. This has been the perennial problem since time immemorial, poverty. All our leaders from all times have often vowed to work and defeat poverty but all to no avail. People are still poor.

Asian neighbors are all progressing while the Philippines remain the same as she was more than 20 years ago. We may attribute this failure to the failure of our leaders, but I would say also that more often than not it is more on the people's mind set that more likely affects the direction of this country. The fate of this country is highly dependent on the people's state of mind.

From our leaders down to the lowest ranking individual, we need a total overhaul of paradigm. Paradigm shift, a change of mindset is what it is all about. Ask anybody from the Philippines on how they are, and you often will get an answer that they are alright. Nobody will even dare to tell you that they are great; they are progressing or have become richer. You will even see someone who used to commute in going to work and you meet him 10 years after already driving his own fancy car, and you ask him how he is, he might just even tell you that he is the same as before.

You will meet an acquaintance and greet him, then appreciate his shirt, instead of answering thank you for the appreciation, he will say that his shirt is cheap; he bought from a small bazaar which he got on sale.

Humility has its good side and bad side. It is always best to be humble all the time, as best practice. But the humility that you might have, referring to the preceding paragraph may just be falls humility. A false humility which is often said in response to an appreciation which honestly waits opposition so that what he really wants to say will instead be said by the one who appreciated him. It is like asking the person how he is and he responds I am the same then you say, no you look richer now! You tell him exactly the opposite of what he is humbling about and he grins at you with pride.

I am not going to speak about humility here anyway, so there is no problem if their humility was authentic or not. What I am saying is that when you do not stand to where you are suppose to stand then definitely you will never be able to proceed to where you are supposed to be heading. You have grown to be rich and yet you remain to be poor in your belief, then definitely you will always be acting as if you are poor. When you act like poor, you will be like poor and anybody who thinks they are poor though they are rich will always be poor forever.

Similarly, our leaders have the same shortcomings. Other nations are looking at inventions and high technology applications for energy and power, yet we are still left to bank on sending workers abroad, espousing on business process outsourcing to serve for the technology needs of another nation and never did they think of creating something of our own to at least raise the standard of living in this laid back nation.

Little does the government encourage entrepreneurship among its constituents. When you apply for a business license in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), it is not only a long queue of disorganized applicants will you be facing but a set of impolite personnel whom I would also be thinking to have been tired of doing the same thing over and over again with little hope of a brighter tomorrow.

The government has always been ecstatic about its achievements to have created millions of jobs for the Philippines, only to find out that these jobs are for call centers where our skilled engineers fall to answer calls and help callers instead of them being assigned to create products for progress. Ask some of our graduate what they intend to do, they want to pursue business but there is no help from the government. We have a lot of inventors who could create solar powered cars, wind energy, high technology robots, but the government just ignores these potentials.

It is said that your mind dictates your destiny. The bible tells us to be careful about what we think because our life is being shaped by our thoughts, if this is true then it must be your mind who tells you what to say, and if you keep on saying that your circumstances are bad, terrible or miserable, then most likely it will come to pass as it is.

Now therefore, if you start saying to yourself that you are rich, although you are poor, coupled with hard work and enthusiasm then who knows you might just get everything you have been confessing about. Look at yourself, determine for yourself what you see on that image, which will also tell you the kind of outlook you have right now in you. If you see a beautiful image in your own picture, so is it...if it is not, then it probably is. Look at the glass image above, you are a positive person with a brighter tomorrow if you see a half full glass compared to those people who sees it as half empty.

How God Tests Our Faith

Pastor Tom and I want to talk to you about, How does God test our faith?

The Bible says in Matthew 9:29 "According to your faith it will be done unto you." That’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible. What are you expecting God to do in your life? This is the law that God has established. It’s called the Law of Expectation. The fact is, we tend to get what we expect out of life. We tend to see what we expect to see. We tend to hear what we expect to hear. We tend to feel the way we expect to feel. We inevitably accomplish what we expect what we’re going to accomplish. This is the law of faith. God says you get to choose. Because "According to your faith it will be done unto you."

Another important verse on faith in the Bible is Hebrews 11:6. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." How many of you are parents? How many of you are pleased when your children trust you? God is the same way. God is our heavenly Father and God is pleased when we trust Him. That’s why the Bible says without faith it’s impossible to please God.

You can obey God. You can do the right thing and still not be pleasing God because you’re not doing it in faith. So it’s important to learn how to live expectantly as you learn to live by faith.

"Whatever is not of faith," the Bible says in Romans 14, "is sin."

Because that’s true we need to talk tonight about how do we grow in our faith. In Luke 17:5 the apostle said to Jesus, "Lord increase our faith." How do you do that? I’d like to have more faith. I know you’d like to have more faith. If that’s what pleases God then I want to have more of it. The question is how? If faith is what makes my life rewarding and fulfilling and confident how does God build my faith?

Let me ask you this: do you take vitamins for it? No. Is there some kind of therapy you go through to have your faith built? No. Is there some seminar that’s going to build your faith? No, not really.

Here’s the secret. And it’s not really something you’re real excited about when you first hear it. But the truth is God builds your faith and my faith by testing it. He builds our faith by putting it to the test, by trying it. Faith is like a muscle and when it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. When you test your muscles against weights then your muscles develop. And your faith develops as it is tested.

You don’t develop your faith just setting on your blessed assurance in church. James 1:3 says this "The testing of your faith [circle this] develops perseverance [circle "develops perseverance"] so that you may be mature and complete." He says the purpose of these tests is that our faith, our perseverance will grow and will be mature and complete.

Job says the same thing speaking from experience in Job 7:17-18 "What is man that You make so much of him and that You give him so much attention and that You examine him every morning and test him every moment." Circle "test him." Did you realize that God is testing you every moment of your life? In the Purpose Driven Life book I talk about how life is a test and it is temporary assignment and it’s a trust. These are the facts of life. Every moment of the day your faith is being tested. In fact all this past week it was tested and all this next week your faith is going to be tested.

Every day you have faith building opportunities. The problem is most of us don’t recognize them when they’re there. We flunk the test because we don’t even realize it is a test and that God is trying to help us grow.

So if God wants me to live by faith and if God builds my faith by testing it then the natural question is how does God do it?

I want to give you the four ways that God tests our faith so that you’ll be aware of them. Actually there are more than these but I just want to cover the most common. These are the four most common ways that God tests and builds our faith. You’ll probably get tested on every one of them this week. Count on it. In fact you’ll probably have them sometimes in a day.

1. God tests our faith through difficulties.

That’s trials, problems, pressures, tough circumstances. All the stresses of life. 1 Peter 1:6-7 "For a little while you have had to suffer great and all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." That’s a very powerful verse. The trials and the problems and the difficulties that come into your life come to test your faith and to prove your faith.

Nothing ever happens by accident in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. Everything is Father filtered. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that God plans all the bad things that happens to you. He doesn’t have to. We live in a broken world. A lot of problems we bring on ourselves and things like that. A lot of problems other people bring on us and we’re innocent victims.

What I am saying is that nothing comes into your life if you’re a child of God, nothing comes into your life without God’s permission. It couldn’t happen without God’s permission. There are no accidents in the Christian life. There are accidents in life. Of course there are. But God uses them and our disappointments are His appointments.

Sometimes God has to custom make a problem to teach you faith, to test you.

Jonah had a custom made problem. It just swallowed him up and got his attention. Sometimes God creates problems that swallow you up. You say, "There’s nothing else to look at except the Lord." And I’m sure that’s the way Jonah felt. In fact in Jonah 2:7 the Bible says, "When I lost all I once again turned my thoughts to God."

God uses these kinds of things to test our faith. Notice it says "all kinds." If life were easy then it wouldn’t require any faith. If you could feel God all the time then you’d just go by your feelings. Sometimes God removes His feelings -- the feelings of His presence -- just so you learn to trust Him in the difficulties.

Here’s a great verse when you’re going through tough times. Isaiah 48:10 "I have refined you though not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

What is the furnace of affliction? You’ve been there. It’s when the heat’s on. When the heat’s on it’s a real test. How are you doing in the furnace of affliction? Are you feeling the heat right now? Have you felt it this past week? Are you under pressure? Is it getting a little hot under the collar? The Bible frequently compares our problems and difficulties

to a furnace. The furnace of a refiner’s fire who heats it up so high that the gold and silver melt and all the impurities are burned away.

I heard of an old silversmith who was once asked, "How do you know when the impurities are burned away in the silver?" He said, "When I can see my reflection in the silver." When God can see His reflection in you then He knows that the impurities in your life have been burned away. That’s a test.

So what should I do when I’m going through difficulties? How should I respond?

The Bible tells us. When the problems come that God’s trying to test my faith James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." He says when you’ve got a problem relax. In fact he says, rejoice. Take it easy. Thank God. Praise God. Why? Because I know that God is with me. God has a plan for me. He has a purpose for my life and He’s going to help me through it. God’s purpose is greater than the pain or the problem or the difficulty I’m going through right now.

This is the first lesson. If I want to learn to live by faith I must learn to rejoice continually. James says "Consider it all joy when you go through problems." Notice he doesn’t say be thankful for the problems. God doesn’t expect you to thank Him for bad things in your life. Like if you get cancer you don’t say "Thank You God, for this cancer." Of course not. It says, be thankful in the problem." I must learn to rejoice in the situation continually if I’m going to learn to live by faith.

I want you to evaluate yourself on each of these four tests of faith. From one to ten. How quickly do I praise God when things go wrong? If you say "never", you rate yourself down at the bottom -- "1" or "0". If you say "Sometimes I thank God, I praise God in the problem," you get a "5". If you say, "I always do it. It’s my habit to continually rejoice when I’m dealing with a difficulty because I know God will help me." You get a "10."

The Bible says "Rejoice in the Lord always [That means all the time] And again I say rejoice," because God uses difficulties. And He tests our faith and He builds it not in the easy times of life but in the difficult times.

Tom’s going to talk about the second test of faith.

Tom: Here’s the second test of faith.

2. God tests our faith through demands.

He asks us to do things that are seemingly impossible. There are, in just the New Testament, 1050 commands for believers to obey. Of all these commands, some of them seem unreasonable. Some of them seem inconvenient. Some of them seem downright impossible. So what do you do when you have an impossible command that feels like a demand?

They are there, you realize they are there to test our faith.

When you have a command and it seems like I can’t do that, the issue at that moment is, Who am I going to believe? Who is it I’m going to trust? Am I going to believe what God says to do or am I going to believe what I think is right to do? All of the promises, all of the commands are there to test us. Some of them may seem simple at first but when you look at them that is demanding.

A command like "Don’t worry about anything." Anybody struggle with that one? That can be a tough one. Or a command like "Do good to your enemies. " Or "Forgive other people." Or "Be thankful in everything."

Every time. Every time God gives us a command in the Bible it is a demand that is placed on our life and it’s a test. Like "Confess your faults to one another." That’s a test. The test is am I going to trust what God says to do, what He says is right. Or am I going to trust my own opinion, what I think is right in my own eyes?

There are literally hundreds of examples in the Bible of people that God said, "Do this" and they trusted Him, they had faith, even though it didn’t make sense to them, even though it seemed impossible to them.

The people of Israel on their way from Egypt where they had been in captivity to the Promised Land. God put a demand on their life, something called manna. It was a command. Manna you might remember was the bread like substance that fell from the sky, flaky stuff. They had to go out each morning to gather enough to eat. God said here’s the command. All you can get is enough for that day.

Exodus 16:4 "The people are to go out each day and gather enough manna for that day. In that way I will test them [circle "test"] and see whether they will follow My instructions." There were all kinds of reasons why that command didn’t make sense. "Just enough for today? Why can’t I gather enough for the week? It’d be more convenient that way. It’d be a better use of my time that way. Just enough for one day? What if I get sick tomorrow? What if I trip and hit my head on a rock and a snake bites me? There’s all kinds of reasons why I need at least two days worth, God."

But that wasn’t the point. The point wasn’t does it make sense to you. The point was I want to test you so that you’ll trust Me in a day to day way. Follow My commands. I want to grow your faith. That was the point.

Often God asks us to do the impossible. Why? He wants to grow our faith.

A guy by the name of Abraham. You remember his story. He was seventy-five years old. He was about to hang it up and God said I want you to take it down. I want to take you out somewhere to make a difference in this world. I want you to go somewhere where you’ve never been, you don’t even know where you’re going. Abraham says, "Where exactly am I going?" God says, "I’ll tell you." "How am I going to get there?" I’ll show you. "How will I know when I get there?" When you get there I’ll tell you that you’ve gotten there.

How would you do with a command like that? We might say, "God, could I Google that first? I’d like to check it out. I’d like to get on MapQuest and get a point by point direction. Then I’m ready to follow Your directions."

Faith is often a risk. When it’s a risk it means you can’t understand it all in advance. Why would God do that? He’s not just interested in making us comfortable, helping us to see all the directions and points on the map. He’s wanting to test and grow our faith.

So the Bible says in Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham obeyed and went."

A guy by the name of Noah. God comes to Noah one day and says, "Noah, I’ve got a demand. I want you to build an ark." Remember Noah lived in the middle of a desert. And God says I want you to build an ark because there’s going to be a flood. The Bible says that until that time it had never rained. Water came up from the ground, a mist. It had never rained. And God says, "Noah, I want you to build an ark because it’s going to rain."

Would you build an ark in the middle of a desert when you’ve never seen rain and never seen a flood just because God says so? Noah did. The Bible says, "By faith Noah built an ark."

God tests our faith. He does it through difficulties. But He also does it through demands. These demands that He make on our lives. I do it just because I trust Him.

What’s the lesson with this one? If I want to learn to live by faith I must learn to not only rejoice continually. I have to learn to obey immediately. Obey immediately. When God says it, I do it. Whether I understand it or not, I do it. Whether it makes sense to me or not, I do it. Because I know it’s what God has asked me to do. That’s the test of faith. When God tells you to do it in the Bible then you do it.

This is where you hear what God says to do -- in the Bible. There’s a lot of people who want to speak for God. Have you noticed that? God’s voice in your life. No, you hear Him in the Bible. When God says to do it, you hear it clearly in the Bible then you act on it, you obey immediately.

How are you doing on that one -- one to ten. Evaluate. Circle one. How quickly do you do what God tells you to do? That’s the question. Do you do it just when it’s convenient? Give yourself a "1". Do you struggle with it maybe a while? Maybe quite a while and then do it? Give yourself a "5." Too often I get a "5". Or maybe you’re learning more and more to do it instantly, to do it unquestioningly. Then give yourself a "10."

Rick’s going to join us with a third way God tests our faith.

Rick: God says He tests our faith first through difficulties. Second through demands.

3. God tests our faith with dollars.

I’m talking about money. Did you know that money is one of the greatest tests of faith in your life? Few people understand how God uses our material possessions as a test of character and a test of faith. For many people finances are the greatest of all. They have no idea that God is actually testing them when they get into debt. When they’re going through problems. When they’re asked to give. All of these things have to do with faith.

Luke 16:11 Jesus says this, "If you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, [That’s dollars, that’s money] who will trust you with true riches?"

What is Jesus talking about here? He’s giving a truth that’s taught all through scripture that there is a definite, direct relationship between how I handle my money and the spiritual depth in my life. There is a direct connection. In fact Jesus says if I’m not faithful in handling material wealth He will not trust me with spiritual wealth. If I’m not faithful with my possessions He will not trust me with spiritual power. Money is a test. I can check out my checkbook to find out how I’m doing.

The fact is what I do with my money really does determine how much God can bless my life. You may have never thought of it but it has a real impact on it. This is taught all through scripture. I have learned it after walking over forty years with the Lord that God determines how much He can bless my life by how faithful I am with what He’s put in my hands. Every time I set down and write out a check for my tithes -- ten percent of my income -- knowing

that I could be using that money to pay bills, is that a test of faith? Of course it is.

In fact, it was a huge test of faith in the early years of our marriage when I had so little money and we were working on one income. I hadn’t written any books. Knowing that when I was writing that check, that ten percent could be used to pay bills. It was definitely testing my faith.

When I’m willing and ready and able to generously give the Lord knowing that this money could be spent for other things it is a test. Just like God uses difficulties and delays and demands He uses dollars.

I sat down this morning and I pulled out three testimonies and I nearly started crying. They were testimonies of sacrificial giving in the past in our church.

One family was selling their large home and moving into a smaller one so that they could help buy the land that we now set on. That’s what I call sacrifice.

I read about several families who were postponing or remodeling room editions in order to give to the current campaign.

I read about a lady who returned an expensive dress that she had bought for a party. She wore an older dress instead so she could give more money to help on the giving campaign.

I heard about a guy who gave up smoking. And on and on.

So many illustrations of this over the years. That motivates me. That moves me. These kinds of stories are stretching my faith. Yet there have been stories like that told for thousands of years.

All the way back in the New Testament Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 8:7-8 "...Excel in the grace of giving. I’m not commanding you but I want to test the sincerity of your love..." That could have been sincerity of faith too. But giving tests both our love and our faith. He says I want to test it by comparing it with your earnestness of others.

Did you know that Paul compared the giving of the Corinthians Christians with the giving of the Macedonian Christians? Then he challenged then. He said I want you to look and see what the Macedonians are doing. Look at their sacrifice. Look at what they’re giving to help the poor. Look at what they’re giving to serve the Lord.

This verse says that giving not only tests my faith it also tests the sincerity of my love. How much I really love God. Do you put your money where your mouth is? God challenges us to compare out sacrifices with others. If you’ve got a problem with that you’ve got a problem with the Bible. In fact, the only people that ever get upset about verses on giving is just people who don’t give. Givers don’t get upset about it.

You can’t ignore these verses. The fact is every time I give to God my faith grows. Every time I give it breaks the grip of materialism in my life. Every time I give I grow in love. I grow in hope. I grow in faith. I grow in maturity. It builds my life

In 1 Chronicles 29, that’s over in the Old Testament, the Bible tells us how David and the people of Israel raised the money to build the temple. In that one single offering they actually raised over four hundred million dollars in today’s terms -- the most successful building campaign in history. When people say God doesn’t need a building they haven’t read 1 Chronicles 29. God told them to raise the money and they gave sacrificially.

What I love abut that whole story is verse 14. 1 Chronicles 29:14 David says this after they’ve all given as a test of their faith. He says, "Who am I, and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You and we have given You what comes from Your hand. O Lord our God for all this abundance that we have provided for building You a temple for Your Holy Name, it comes from Your hand, and it all belongs to You. [In other words, it’s all God’s in the first place] I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things that I have given willingly with honest intent and now I see, with joy Your people who are here have given to You."

David says in this passage that giving not only tests my faith, it not only tests my love, it is the test of my heart, the integrity of my heart. Is Jesus Christ the Lord of every area? God wants to be Lord of the difficulties. God wants to be Lord in the demands of life. God wants to be Lord in the dollars of life.

The lesson is if I want to grow in faith I not only have to rejoice continually, I have to obey immediately and I must give generously. That’s the third way that God tests our faith.

I want you to evaluate how much faith your giving reveals. Get gut level honest right now. If God looked at the giving that you give to Him would God say that you really trust Him? Or have you been afraid to do what His word says?

It’s interesting that in giving God not only tests our faith but the Bible says in Malachi that giving tests God. Malachi 3, God says, "’Test Me in this,’ says the Lord. ’Bring all your tithes into the storehouse [that’s the place you worship] and test Me in this. See if I will not provide for you, throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing that you won’t even be able to handle.’" In other words, I’m going to play a game with you. You give to Me and I give to you and we’ll see who wins.

Giving not only tests me, it actually tests God. I dare you to test God. I dare you to put Him to the test to see that He will keep His promises.

I have to say that personally I have grown more in faith in this single area than in any other area of my life. Yes, I’ve learned through difficulties. Yes, I’ve learned from obeying commands and demands that God said to do that didn’t make sense. I’ve learned to grow in faith in many other ways. But in this area of giving the most sensitive nerve in the human body goes from the wallet to the heart. And God says I want all of you. I want what it represents.

Tom’s going to come back and he’s going to give us the fourth test of faith.

Tom: Here’s the fourth test of faith.

4. God tests our faith through delays.

If every prayer were immediately answered, if your every need were automatically met, if every problem were instantly solved you wouldn’t need faith and your faith wouldn’t need to be stretched. But it is not that way. We have to wait on things. It is human nature that we hate to wait. I hate to wait. I hate it!

Do you do this? You’re driving up to a red light and there are two cars there one in each lane. As you’re driving up you’re figuring out, which one is going to get off faster. I’m going to get behind that one now. Do you do that? We hate to wait. We hate waiting lines. We hate traffic. We hate everything about waiting. Doctor’s offices. Yet a large percent of your life is spent waiting. If you and I can’t learn how God wants to stretch and grow our faith during times of waiting we miss out on much of the faith lessons that God wants to teach in our lives.

I was doing my devotions last week. The encyclopedia of how long things take. A lot of waiting is the little trivial things. So if you want some trivia for the day here is some definite trivia.

It takes six seconds to fold a terry cloth towel. Think of how much of your life you spend folding terrycloth towels.

It takes ten seconds for a slinky to tumble down a flight of stairs.

It takes ten minutes for a snowflake to form.

It takes one hour and forty-seven minutes to watch the movie Ishtar. Wasted minutes in your life.

It takes thirteen hours for weekly food preparation for the average American family.

It takes twenty-four hours for plaque to colonize on your teeth. Aren’t you glad to know that?

It takes eighty hours and forty-two minutes to complete the household tasks in a family who have children under twelve. No wonder you’re so tired.

It takes one week for bacon to lose its freshness in a refrigerator at thirty-two degrees.

This is profound life changing stuff. Wouldn’t you agree? These are the kinds of waiting things, the trivia of life, the irritations of life. Yes, God can grow us through those irritating times of waiting no doubt about it. But the times He really grows us through waiting is the times they’re life tests. Waiting for something you never wanted to wait for.

A good example of this again is the people of Israel in the Old Testament as they’re on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. Going from Egypt to the Promised Land -- they could have made it - they could have traveled that distance in two or three weeks. But it ended up taking them forty years. Why all the wasted time? Because the Bible said God led them in their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Why all the wasted time? Because God was more interested in developing their faith than in getting them from point A to point B the most quick way, the fastest way. So it took forty years.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:2 "God led you all the way in the desert these forty years to test you in order to know what was in your heart." That’s what happens in times of waiting. We get to see God gets to see what is in our heart.

Do you ever find yourself in situations -- I’ll bet we all have -- where you feel like you’re in a hurry and you get the definite idea that God is not in a hurry. Anybody else feel that way? It happens all the time. Why does that happen? Because God is more interested in growing our faith than anything else.

So we start asking the ’when’ questions while we’re waiting. When is my marriage going to get better? When is it going to turn around? Or if you’re single, When am I going to find that right person and get married? Or, How long is it going to take until I get well? Or, When are we going to have a baby? Or, When am I going to find just the right job?

I’d say that it’s in this area, this area of waiting that God has worked to develop my faith more than any other area. He’s tested me again and again in this area of waiting and used it to develop my faith.

The most difficult time of waiting in our marriage was Chaundel and I waiting for children. We waited years longer than we wanted to wait to have children. In fact the doctors told us we weren’t going to be able to have kids. It was a tough time of waiting. Especially tough was right in the middle of all that Chaundel became pregnant but then had a miscarriage. It was what we thought was our only hope to ever have a child.

As tough as that time of waiting was did God develop our faith during that time that would have never been developed? Absolutely! Even with the difficulty of waiting God was developing our faith. God by His grace eventually did give us three children. That is simply by His grace. We look at our kids and say, Look at what God can do! That’s not what we think every time we look at our kids but most of the time we think, Look at what God can do. They’re almost grown now except for Luke who’s still in high school. It’s really incredible to see what God can do. Even as we wait.

Some of you are waiting on something right now. Maybe you’ve been waiting a long time. While you’re waiting God is there. He does not leave you alone. It just may be a test. Because God does use difficulties and demands. He uses dollars. But He also uses delays to build your faith.

Look at what God does, Isaiah 64:4 "God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him." It pays to be patient. Just remember this: while you are waiting God is working. You’re not waiting alone. Waiting in faith God is working. God is doing things behind the scenes, in your heart and other people’s hearts that you cannot even see.

So what’s the lesson on this one, the faith lesson? If I really want to learn to live by faith I’ve got to learn to rejoice continually. I have to learn to obey immediately. I have to give generously. And then this one: I must learn to wait patiently.

If I’m really going to grow in faith I have to wait patiently. Because God is not going to snap His fingers and give instant answers to my every prayer. Why not? Because He wants you to grow in faith.

How are you doing on this one? If after the first few minutes or the first few months you find yourself giving up then give yourself a "1" on this one. "I don’t wait at all. I give up." If you’re one of those people, you wait on God but you grumble and complain the whole time then you get a "2". That’s all you get for the grumbling and complaining. But if you’re learning to keep on believing. You find yourself living expectantly in waiting on God, give yourself a "10."

Before we end I want to look again at the verse at the beginning. Go back to the first question that Rick asked us, Do you really want God to increase your faith? The apostle said in Luke 17:5 "Lord increase our faith." Are you willing to pray that very dangerous prayer "God, increase my faith." If you are then let’s get practical about it. Which of these four areas that we talked about do you need to specifically pray for God to increase your faith?

Many of you need to pray, "God, I need You to increase my faith even through the difficulties of life, the struggles of life." Maybe that’s the area God is working to increase your faith right now.

Some of you are going through incredibly tough times right now. You’re not alone. If you’re going through that kind of a time then you need to pray, "Father, help me to learn to rejoice continually because I know You’re in control. I know that I’m not alone. I know that You have a purpose and I know You will give me the strength to make it through." So I’m going to rejoice continually not that this is happening but in this is happening because I know You’re with me.

Maybe God’s testing your faith right now through demands. Let me put that in another way. Let me put that as a question. What is it in your life that you know God has told you to do but you haven’t done it yet? That’s the place to put faith. Maybe it’s get in shape. Maybe it’s be baptized. Maybe it’s start reading the Bible. Maybe it’s to forgive a person you hold a grudge against. Maybe it’s something I haven’t mentioned but you know what it is. It’s in your heart right now. What is it that you know God has told you to do but you haven’t done it yet? And you pray, "Lord, help me to obey immediately. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. Give me the faith to do that."

Maybe God’s testing your faith through dollars. You can hardly make ends meet and Rick talks to us today about what the Bible teaches about tithing. Give ten percent of your income to God as a sign of your faith. You’re thinking, "But God! Don’t You know what I make?" And God would say, "Yeah, I know what you make. I know what everybody in the world makes. That’s not the point. That’s not the issue. The issue is your faith. I want to test your faith." Why is it that God touches this sensitive financial nerve in our body? Why does He do that? Because He wants to see how we’ll react. When He touches it do we get mad? Do we run away? We get bitter? Do we get angry? Do we get afraid? Or do we turn to Him and in generosity give and say, "It all came from You in the first place." Maybe that’s the test you’re facing right now. We’ve all faced that one.

Maybe you’re facing the test of a delay. What is it that you’ve been expecting God to do in your life and it just hasn’t happened yet? You’re thinking, God when? God, how long? God, why hasn’t it happened yet? God, why haven’t You answered my prayer? There’s this test of a delay.

God’s encouragement to you again and again in the Bible is, Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Look up to God. And realize that He is with you. As you and I wait on Him He not only increases our faith but He works out His plan. So pray, Lord, help me to wait patiently.

As we end I’d like to give you the chance to personally have a few minutes with God and talk to Him.

Prayer:

The question again is do you want to live by faith? Are you willing to pray? I want to encourage you to pray that dangerous prayer, Lord, increase my faith. It’s dangerous because the way God increases our faith is by testing our faith. All these ways we’ve talked about this morning and many others. But if you’re willing to pray with courage, that prayer, just say it to God right now. "Lord, increase my faith."

You might need to pray specifically, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin rejoicing continually no matter what happens because I know that You’re in control." Or you might need to pray, "Father, my faith, I’m going to begin obeying immediately. When I see something in your word, when I hear it in church, or a tape and You speak to me and touch my heart, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to procrastinate by faith I will act." Maybe you need to pray, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin giving generously. I realize it all comes from You in the first place." Or maybe your prayer needs to specifically be, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin waiting patiently. I don’t know when the answer is going to come. I don’t know when the miracle is going to happen, I don’t even know how You’re going to work it all out. But by faith I do know I can trust You. So by faith I’m going to begin waiting patiently."

If you prayed that prayer of faith just now God’s smiling on you. Because the Bible says He is pleased whenever we trust Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God but by faith we please the heart of God. So today He’s smiling on you. And Father, together we thank You. We thank You for Your word that builds our faith. We thank You, Jesus, for Your unconditional love for us. Thank You that we do not have to earn Your love. That just in faith we can receive it. Lord, I pray that we would trust You to use these tests in our lives to make us more like You.



by: Rick Warren

TRUTH ABOUT TRIALS

The Christian does not have to be a victim of his circumstance, but can have victory even in times of trials and testings.

Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11.

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares." It’s hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart. “Sucked in, washed up, and Blown over” That about sums up how many of us feel at times isn’t? It describes the certainty of trials and feelings of powerlessness that trials bring. An Army Chaplain had a sign on his door that said, “If you have troubles, come in & tell me all about them. If you don’t have troubles, come in & tell me how you do it.” James reminds us of the reality that even in the Christian life, there are trials and temptations. However, the Christian does not have to be a victim of his circumstance, but can have victory even in times of trials and testings. James tells us No matter what the trials on the outside, we can experience victory through faith in Christ. How do you respond when Life Deals You A Lemon?……..

There are four essentials for victory in Trials:-

Count - A Joyful Attitude James 1:2

Know -An Understanding Mind James 1:3

Let - A Surrendered Will James 1:4, 9-11

Ask - A Heart that Wants to Believe James 1:5-8

1.Count - A Joyful Attitude James 1:2

Count or consider is an accounting term. It means to take stock of. Consider carefully. Investigate fully. Line up all the numbers them add them all up. What are the things we are to consider?

A. Consider the facts about trials: James does not say if trials come, but when they do come. Expect them! Do not hide your face in the proverbial sand. Notice that just because you are a believer, you are not exempt. The Proverbs tell us that rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Satan fights us, the world opposes us and makes this life full of battle!

B. Consider many different trials: James says we face trials of many kinds. This can refer to two things. Firstly, it can refer to types of trials. Emotional trials, trials at work, physical trials etc. Or it can refer to the source of trials. Trials generally come from one of two sources. There are the trials that we experience as a result of living the Christian life. In fact this is probably what James had in mind as he wrote this letter. His audience was the “twelve tribes” scattered throughout the earth...” He was addressing those believers who had been uprooted from their homes and families just because they were believers. There are still many in our world who are experiencing persecution for their faith. Christian World Report, says that in China alone, 1100 people are executed monthly just because of their Faith. In some restrictive Nations in the middle east, to become a believer is an automatic death sentence. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are experiencing such trials. It is a reminder to us to be thankful for our momentary window of freedom we presently have to worship God without restrictions, and to be ready for when the door might one day be slam behind us. For the most part, we have it pretty good on the western world. Our trials come from another source. They are the unknown, unexpected experiences of life. For the most part people do not have control over such experiences. No one could have predicted or controlled the hijacking of four air planes by some crazed, deluded, terrorists and the subsequent destruction of the Trade Centre with its unbelievable loss of life. These kinds of trials are unexpected. They find you, you don’t need to make your own trials.

C. Consider your response to your trials. James says Count it joy when you face them. The Apostle Peter also says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if something strange were happening to you. Instead be very glad (rejoice) because these trials will make you partners with Christ in His suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.” Warren Wiersbe made this observation that the trials of life are not all alike. They are like multicolored yarn that the weaver uses to make a beautiful rug. God arranges and mixes the colors and experiences of life. The final product is a beautiful thing for His glory.

Evaluate your goals and priorities –– old & new

Live for the things which matter the most.

Our values determine our evaluations

If you value comfort more than character, then trials will upset us.

If we value the physical and the material more than the spiritual, we will not be able to count it all joy.

If we live for the present and not the future, then trials will make us bitter, not better.

Job 23:10 When God has finished with me, I shall shine as gold. When trials come, don’t pretend, don’t try self hypnosis, simply look at the trial through the eyes of faith. Outlook determines Outcome –– to end with joy, begin with joy! But how is it possible to rejoice in the middle of trials?

2. Know - An Understanding Mind James 1:3

What do we as believers know that makes it easier to face trials and benefit from them?

A. Faith is always tested –– to increase our faith! God tests to bring out our best, Satan tempts to bring out our worst!

B. Testing works for us, not against us! (1 Peter 1:7 –– the testing of your faith) - the approval of your faith –– it is genuine, proven. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold and your faith is far more precious to god than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tested by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day Jesus is revealed to the whole world. A gold prospector brings his ore sample into the assayers office to be tested. The sample itself may not be worth more than a few dollars, but the approval, the official statement about the ore, is worth millions. It assures the prospector that he has a gold mine. God’s approval of our faith is precious because it assures us that our faith is genuine. God’s approval of our faith is precious, because it assures us that our little faith is genuine faith. Trials work for the believer because God approves of our faith when we trust Him through the trial.

C. Trials rightly used help us to mature How does God spell maturity? –– patience, endurance - the ability to keep going when it’s tough to keep going!!!! Kids on a long trip to wonderland –– Are we there yet? How long? Too Immature to understand the journey. Immature people are often impatient –– they want the blessings of maturity without walking the road of growth. The only way God can develop patience and character in our lives is through trials! (not reading, prayer, sermons) When we go through trials, when we trust God and obey Him, the result is patience and character. This is how we can face trials with a positive attitude –– we know what trials will do in us & for us –– that the end result will bring Glory to God.

3. Let - A Surrendered Will James 1:4, 9-11

God cannot and will not build our character without our cooperation. He is a gentleman and will not push, prod, pull or drag us against our wills. If we resist him, the natural consequence will be His chastisement. However, when we submit to him, then He can accomplish His work. God’s goal for our lives is maturity. It would be tragic if our little children remained little babies. We enjoy watching them grow through the various stages of life. There are times when naturally we want to shelter our kids from the dangers of life. But we can’t. Many Christians make the mistake of trying to shelter themselves from the trials of life, and as a result never grow up. How can you tell? Because they keep experiencing the same trial over and over again.

God has three tasks to complete in our growth:-Eph. 2:8-10

A. For us –– this is salvation. Jesus completed his work on the cross.

B. In Us ––We are His workmanship or literally his masterpiece. This is sanctification. God builds our character and we become more like Jesus.

C. Through us –– This is service. He has created us anew s that we can to the good things he planned for us long ago.

God doesn’t work in us without our consent –– we must surrender our will to His! If we face trials without a surrendered will, we will remain immature infants. James 1:9-11 explores this truth with two classes of Christians –– the poor and the rich. God’s testing has a way of leveling us all. It is not our material resources that are going to get us through the trials of life, but our spiritual resources. Sometimes God uses a trial to pose the question –– “Which do you

love more - this or Me?” (immaturity)

4. Ask - A Heart that Wants to Believe James 1:5-8

When the unexpected trials of life land on our doorstep, How are we to respond? How are to pray –– what should we ask God for? James gives the answer, Prayer for WISDOM> Wisdom is more than knowledge. Someone has said that knowledge is the ability to take things apart, while wisdom is the ability to put them together. Wisdom is using knowledge rightly. Why do we need wisdom when we are going through our trials? It is popular in charismatic circles to want to pray for more power or strength or deliverance. We need wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. Wisdom helps us to use these circumstances for our good and God’s glory. One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up! Don’t waste the opportunities God gives you to prove Himself.

James tells us what to pray for –– wisdom

He also tells us how to pray ––

• confidently,

• specifically,

• and unwaveringly in faith.

When we do God promises to answer

• generously

• to all

• without finding fault.

No need for fear –– God is anxious to answer. No need to doubt –– God is faithful to His promises

Conclusion:

So what’s in it for me? –– James 1:12

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When a Christian endures trials, there is compensation both now and ahead:

a. Now –– Character, Endurance, Patience

b. Ahead –– a Crown of Life God doesn’t help us by removing the trials, he makes them work for our growth and maturity Satan wants to use these trials to tear us down, but God uses them to build us up. (Who are you letting control your growth in trials?)

What motivates me to act in this way? James identifies the response as Love (James 1:12)

- Love motivates a joyful attitude –– We love God, God loves us and will not harm us.

- Love motivates an understanding mind –– God teaches us through the trials, and we grow.

- Love motivates surrender of my will –– when love reigns, we can surrender and obey

- Love motivates belief –

- Love and belief go together. When you love, you trust and ask for help.

Where is your love found? –– God or the world.

What are you trusting in trials –– will it get you through?

God wants us to grow when trials come.

In love to Christ - count, know, let, and ask.

by Ralph Juthman

LIFE IS FAIR

Everywhere you go you will hear people complain about life being not fair. It is also a known fact that most people believe that life isn't fair too. We know that life is precious, and it is appointed unto man to die once and after death judgment, but, what is life really, is it really not fair?

Those who say that life is not fair may have all the reason to believe that it really is. On one side of the world you will hear and see people dying of hunger while on another side of it you will see people living in utmost luxury. There are people living in cramped homes contrary to the rich and famous who live in houses only Kings can afford to build. life must not really be fair with this kind of scene you see everywhere.

You might have had the experience working all your life to death and yet find no success. Haven't you been to life long struggle to find greener pasture but greener pasture is nowhere to be found. You spend half your life looking for the reason for your existence and find no answer to your queries.

Then you look around you, exactly opposite your experience, you see somebody who is having the grand time of his life. You see him buy a new car, he gets promoted and he builds a new house. His family is happy, his wife loves him and his children are healthy. Looking at the contrast of these 2 experiences, one can really conclude that life is indeed unfair.

What I believe to be is that life is fair. I don't claim to be having all the good things in life, neither do I see myself living in dire misery. Everybody is given the same cards to play, the same paths to follow with different choices to make. It is in the choices that we make that makes one different from the rest.

On each choice we make are given equal amount of joy, equal amount of heartaches, opportunities and bad luck. Those who are living in luxury made a choice once in their lives and the choice they made had the same amount of joy and happiness, sadness and misery as opposed to those who have made different choices and yet lived in misery. Neither can you therefore claim that because you are living in Vanuatu and living in a poor condition makes your life less fortunate than those living in Japan with expensive lifestyle, nor can the Japanese claim that since they have a very high suicidal rate makes their lives more miserable compared to the people in Vanuatu who was recently tagged as the happiest people in the world.

Life as being fair is likened to a balloon where all the components to make life is squeezed in, and when you step on this balloon, one part of it will be pressed while another will expand. The part that is hard-pressed is the time of your life that you may feel the lowest but then on the other part of you may have the grandest.

It is not a rare experience that when a person is at the height of his success, he tend to forget that his wife and kids are at home waiting for him until he falls down, lose his job and go bankrupt. It is only then that he realizes his family is more important than wealth.

It is often said that the measure given to you will also be the same measure asked of you. A poor man is given one cup of joy which is easy to fill up while the rich man is given a bucket of joy which is harder to fill up. The poor man on the other hand had a bucket of misery which is not easy to empty while the rich man has a cup of misery which is easy to empty. the irony however of these buckets of joy and misery is that it may just be a cup of misery for the rich man to empty but no matter how small it is it cant be emptied.

Don't sulk about how your life has been because you can rest assure that everybody experiences what you are experiencing. It may be that the degree is different but all the same it has the same intensity as how you have perceived it to be.

Man can only contain so much joy and happiness, suffering and pain. Anything beyond what man can afford to have is death to him.

What Is Man That You Care For Him?

A few years ago, Time Magazine featured a story about Peter Sellers. It told about him appearing on the Muppet Show & being interviewed by Kermit The Frog. His interview began with Kermit telling Peter Sellers, "Now, just relax & be yourself." Peter Sellers responded, "I can’t be myself because I don’t know who I am. The real me doesn’t exist." Now I suppose that Peter Sellers was trying to be funny, because he was a comedian by trade as most of you know. But on this particular occasion his words were anything but funny. In fact, they were rather sad. One of his long-time friends, commenting on those words, said, "Poor Peter! The real Peter disappeared a long time ago. What he is, is simply an amalgamation of all the stage & screen characters he has ever played, & now he is frantically trying to unsnarl that mess & find out who he really is." I don’t know if Peter Sellers was ever able to unsnarl the mess or not, for just six months later he was dead. But whether or not he did, he wasn’t alone in his feelings. I’m convinced that the majority of us go through life wondering who we are, & what we’re supposed to be doing, & where we’re going.

Today, let’s turn our attention to the words of a Psalm written by David a long, long time ago. It is the 8th Psalm, & as I read it, I can just picture young David sitting on a hillside outside of Bethlehem, gazing up at the moon & stars, his heart filled with the wonder of it all. Then taking out his harp, David begins to sing, & here are some of the words of his song:

"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children & infants you have ordained praise. . . "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon & the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, & the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels & crowned him with glory & honor. "You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks & herds, & the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, & the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the sea. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

As David looked up at the vastness of God’s universe, he felt his own smallness. So he asks God, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Psychologists tell us that there are two major crisis periods in life. One comes during adolescence, & the other when we reach middle-age. During the early teens our bodies go through tremendous changes. We develop acne, & our feet seem awkward. Our voices begin to change. And as a part of the growing up process we begin thinking about who we really are, & what we’re going to do with our life. Now that’s adolescence!

Adults face some of the same problems during middle-age, & we call it the "mid-life crisis." You see, our bodies go through changes, too. Our skin no longer has acne, but it loses its elasticity & develops all kinds of wrinkles. We men begin to lose our hair, & often start fighting the battle of the bulges. The print on the page gets smaller, & the lights seem to get dimmer. But one middle-age mother came to the conclusion that there was not a whole lot of difference between some of her physical problems & those of her teen-age children. Take their eyesight, for instance. Both of her children seemed to have a real problem with their eyesight. For example, her teen-age son could look in a refrigerator full of food & say, "There’s nothing to eat." Her daughter could open a closet full of clothing & complain, "I don’t have anything to wear." Psychologists tell us that birthdays with zeros behind them are often considered either a blessing or a curse. For instance, we look forward to the birthdays of 10, 20, & 30 as stepping stones on the road to maturity. And the 70th, 80th & 90th birthdays are seen as milestones to a triumphant old age. But birthdays at 40, 50, & 60 are not seen as milestones, but as millstones around our necks because that’s when we begin to realize that the battle between youthful strength & decay is being won by decay. I really do like Snoopy, the dog in the Charlie Brown cartoon series. One day, Snoopy was on top of his doghouse saying, "I can hear my heart beating." "I can hear my stomach growling." "I can hear my bones creaking." Then he complained, "My body is making so much noise that I can’t sleep." I feel that way sometimes, don’t you? I feel as if I’m losing the battle, & decay is winning. So before it’s too late, it is important to find an answer to David’s question, "What is man that God is so concerned about us?" What are we, & where are we going?

The world gives us all kinds of answers. Some scientists tell us that we’re just by-products of nature, no more important than the cockroach that runs across the kitchen floor. But that kind of answer just doesn’t satisfy. It seems to me that the only place we can find an accurate answer is in the Word of God. And the first answer that it gives to the question, "What am I?" is this, "You are a special person created in the image of God."

YOU ARE A VERY SPECIAL PERSON CREATED IN GOD’S OWN IMAGE

In Genesis 1, God reaches down & takes the dust of the ground. He forms it into a human body, & breathes into its nostrils the breath of life. Adam blinks his eyes, begins to breathe, & becomes a living human being. God realizes that it is not good for man to be alone, even though surrounded by the beauty of paradise. So God puts Adam to sleep & takes a rib & forms woman. God causes her to live & breathe & become a part of Adam’s life. For some time, we’re not sure how long, Adam & Eve live in God’s created paradise, walking & talking with Him in the cool of the evening, enjoying the purpose for which they were created, to have fellowship with the Lord God Almighty, to honor Him with their lives. And we’re told that they’re created in His image. Not that they look like Him, but that they think like Him. They can make decisions like He makes decisions, & they’re responsible for their decisions. They can love in the same way that God loves. They can hate the things that God hates. They are mirrors of God Himself because God created them in His own image. He created them to be the objects of His love. It is important, I think, in those lonely, frantic moments, that we recognize first of all that we are created by God & that we’re important to Him. Therefore we must not think too lowly of ourselves. As David started to praise the majesty of God, he realized this great truth, "God, You’ve made me just a little bit lower than Yourself, & that is pretty high on the ladder of things. You crowned me with glory & with honor. You’ve made me ruler over all of the works of Your hands."

BUT DON’T THINK TOO HIGHLY OF YOURSELF

But then the Bible teaches us, "Don’t think too highly of yourself, either, for your sins have scratched & marred the image of God in which you were created." Adam & Eve did the very thing that God told them not to do. They had all these things they could do, & only one thing they shouldn’t do, but they chose to do what God told them not to do. They yielded to Satan’s temptation, & all the world trembles & groans because of it. All of us suffer the consequences. Adam & Eve suddenly realize that they are naked, & are ashamed to be in the presence of God. So they cover themselves up & try to hide from Him. But they find that you can’t hide from God, & soon they are no longer in paradise. They have children, & their children learn to argue & fight. And the first thing you know, Cain kills his brother. Why? Because they are the products of a sinful environment. They learned it from their parents. We see that in our offspring, in our children & our grandchildren. They learn from us. The very thing we were created to do we don’t do. We were created to walk with God. We were created to talk with Him. We were created to have fellowship with Him. But now we can’t because there is a great chasm between us. And that chasm is created by sin. So the 2nd thing we need to learn is, "Don’t think too highly of yourself, either." You see, there is danger there. If we think too much of ourselves, pretty soon we think, "I am not just created in the image of God. I am God. I will control my own life, & my own destiny." On the other hand, we can become so focused on our sins that we are totally defeated, & walk around feeling that we’re worth nothing at all. So there is this happy medium that must come from this. "I am created in the image of God, but my image is scarred by my very own sin."

JESUS CAN RESTORE THAT ORIGINAL IMAGE AND BRILLIANCE

The third point is found in Colossians 2:9, "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, & you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power & authority." Paul is telling us, "Christ is fully & completely God. There are no empty crevices in Him, no empty parts, nothing that needs to be filled." Here we are, walking around wondering who we are, trying to fill the empty places in our lives, searching, & making foolish mistakes, trying to stuff something into the empty parts of our lives. But Paul says, "You don’t have to live that way. You’re created in God’s image, & the image has been marred. But you can once again reflect the glory of God. Through Christ you can be made full & complete." Who am I? Of all the other labels that I may give myself, the one that counts the most is this, "I’m a Christian." I have been born again in Jesus Christ. "Born of the water, born of the Spirit." I have a new life. I have been bought & paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ,& I am His. That gives me identity. That is who I am. Bob Russell preaches at the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. His Chairman of Evangelism a few years ago was a medical doctor. Dr. Sumi never took a course in evangelism. He just loves God & loves people, & can’t stand to see people lost in their sins. So he goes out to tell people the good news about Jesus Christ. One day they went calling together in an apartment complex. They went from apartment to apartment, ringing doorbells, passing out tracts, witnessing to people, sharing their faith. Dr. Sumi was so enthusiastic in what he was doing that Bob was almost embarrassed. Bob said, "Here was this fine medical doctor who was just compelled to tell people about Jesus." After they completed their time of calling & were heading home, Dr. Sumi looked over at Bob & said, "Preacher, you know what? The church has so much more to offer than we have to offer at the hospital where I work." Bob Russell asked, "What do you mean?" He said, "Well, at the hospital I can perform surgery. I can make an incision & remove diseased parts of the body & sew it back up again & give people a few more years of life. But," he said, "here we’re talking eternal life. We’re talking about eternal life."

Eternal life! Sometimes I sit back & wonder, "Why in the world am I so concerned & anxious about things?" You see, the only thing that really counts, people, is whether or not Jesus Christ is your Lord & Savior. In the long run, nothing else really matters. We extend the invitation this morning & pray that you will respond to it. It is offered in love, & we pray that you will respond to it in the same way & accept the unspeakable gift that God has given in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

by Melvin Newland