How God Doesn’t Waste Your Hardest Days

but y'all, we got work to do today. So y'all need to take a seat and let's jump in. We're starting a brand new series, a brand new series of messages. If you're new around here, that just means we pick one theme and we study it for a whole bunch of different weeks until I get tired of talking about it. And then we move on. And today it is a repeat series, a repeat series. You know how you find a favorite song, you put it on repeat and you just listen to it over and over again. Well, that's kind of like this series. It's a repeat series, same concept, different contents. And so every year we come back to this same series concept. The concept is simple. We believe here in this church that God's word is awesome. That's the concept, everybody. We just think it's awesome. We love the Bible. And so every year, I think this is our fifth year, every year we pick a different book of the Bible and we spend a whole series of going through that book chapter by chapter, verse by verse. We study it together on Sundays. I preach from it on Sunday. And then the challenge is for you to read from it all throughout the week.

And I kind of like to think of it like, it's like I'm using Sundays to whet your appetite. It's like today I'm opening up a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Come on, somebody. I'm a Cool Ranch kind of guy. I know you might be the OG, that's fine. You can be the OG nacho guy, but I like the Cool Ranch. And we can all agree this, no matter what flavor you like, all of them make your breath stink. All right, can we just agree on that? So it's like today I'm opening up a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and here's what I know. If I were to open a bag, you couldn't eat just one. You'd want more. That's the way Cool Ranch Doritos are designed. You can't just have one. They sprinkle crack cocaine or something up in there. I don't know what it is, but it makes you want more. And I kind of am hoping and praying that today feels like that with the word, that as I open up the Bible and introduce you to a brand new book of scripture that I'm making you want more, that you leave from here saying, I can't have just one. I gotta wake up tomorrow morning and have some more. I gotta open the word for myself. I've gotta come back next week and get more. And that's really the design of this whole series. So today I'm gonna preach from a book of the Bible. We're gonna jump into chapter one

and then all week long, here's the challenge, that I'm challenging you to read from that chapter of that particular book all week long. In fact, I would encourage you to start every day, start every day in chapter one of this book and read a few verses every day. If you wanna like up the ante, you could do this. You could read the entire chapter every day. Just put it on repeat, read the entire chapter every day. The goal is to get God's word off the pages of the Bible and into your heart. That's what I really want. I wanna get God's word in your heart. And we're gonna do that with a brand new book we haven't studied before in this series called The Word. We're gonna do it for five weeks, studying through a brand new book. You ready for it, everybody? It's the book of James. Let's go get fired up for the book of James. Three of you are fired up. Hey, by the time we're done today, you're gonna be ready for James. It is an awesome little book. It is, most scholars believe, the very first book written in your New Testament, the earliest book. It's not placed first in your New Testament, obviously, but it is perhaps the earliest book written in the New Testament,

written probably around the year 44 to 49, somewhere in that range, AD. So not long after Jesus's death, the book of James was written, written by a guy named, anybody wanna guess? A guy named? James. James, let's go. Let's go. James wrote the book of James. And I wanna jump in and just dig right in. In fact, this is how James starts the book of James. Let's look at the scripture. James 1, chapter 1, starts like this. James, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. So James starts just identifying himself. He is James. That's who it is, writing this book, this character named James. And he starts the book by telling us his name. I'm James. Hello, everyone, I'm James. But he starts by telling us his identity. And I think that's really what I need you to understand as we start this study. together that James says, I'm James, but more importantly than my name, let me tell you who I am. And look at what he says.

He says, I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're gonna understand this little book, we're gonna study together over these next several weeks called James, you gotta understand this big idea. The big idea is that who you are, your identity determines what you do. That's the big idea. That's why James starts by giving us his identity, that who you are determines what you do, that understanding your right identity will actually result in right living or right behaviors. Now, here's what's interesting is that James could have told us some other things about himself. James could have actually identified himself in various ways. James had other titles. James had other claims to fame. And I'll give you maybe the most impressive of all. James could have said, hello, everybody. I'm James, I'm the half brother of Jesus. Mic drop right there, right there. When somebody says, I'm the half brother of Jesus, they have your attention. That's all James needed to say. Hello, I'm James. I grew up with Jesus. Jesus' mom and my mom, maybe you've heard of her, Mary, that's the same mom.

We came from the same household. But notice James didn't say that. James didn't say, I'm James, I'm the half brother of Jesus because that wasn't his identity, even though it is true that James is the half brother of Jesus. Let that settle in for a moment. When James is giving you and I, the readers of this little letter, his identity, he could have said, it's James, the half brother of Jesus, but he didn't say, it's James, the half brother of Jesus. Look at the verse again. James says, it's me, James, I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the way, happens to be my half brother, but I'm not gonna wave that flag right now because that's not really what my identity is made up of. Like my identity isn't that Jesus is my brother. My identity is that Jesus is my Lord. Think about that. Think about that. Let's talk about this for a minute. How many of you, by a show of hands, how many of you have a brother? You have a brother, raise your hand, raise it high. Let me ask all of you, okay, me too. Let me ask all of us a question. You put your hands down. If you have a brother, what would it take? What would it take for you to be convinced

that your brother is God in flesh? Exactly. Exactly. You're like, that's not happening. What would it take for those of you who have a brother, what would it take for in the next letter you write, when you say your name, hey, I'm Stu, and I am a servant of my brother. What would it take for you to say, I'm a servant of my brother? You're like, that ain't happening. That's not gonna happen. Unless your brother really is God in flesh. Unless your brother really is who he said he is, the son of God, you wouldn't say I'm his servant unless it was actually true. And if you're here today and you're like, I don't really know about this Jesus guy. I'm not really sure if I can believe he is who he said he is. One of the most undeniable reasons to believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be is the story of James. Just look at James. Just look at what Jesus's brother, his own brother says about him. He says, I'm a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a servant of my brother. He's not just my brother. He's my Lord. He's my savior.

He's my God. I follow him. I am his servant. By the way, James had other titles. He was the head of the Jerusalem church. He could have written that as his title. James was eventually martyred for his faith, for believing in Jesus, his brother, believing that Jesus is who he claimed he was be. He was martyred for his faith around AD 62. But here's an interesting thing. And for those of us with brothers, we can appreciate this. James didn't always believe. James didn't always believe that Jesus is who he said he was. James wasn't always convinced. In fact, if you have a little extra time this week and you want a little fun Bible study, you should look up these scriptures. I'll put them on the screen for you. These references, you should look these up because all of these tell a part of James's story as a follower, excuse me, as a brother of Jesus and what you'll discover by looking up all these verses is that James was actually a naysayer. James was actually a scoffer. James wasn't actually convinced. James thought Jesus was a little bit kooky, a little bit out there, a little bit wild and crazy. James thought there was no way that Jesus is God's son.

After all, think about it. James had seen Jesus squeeze a pimple. James had seen Jesus lose at a kickball game. James had heard Jesus pass gas at night. Are y'all listening to me right now? Like he grew up with Jesus. So it would take a lot to convince someone that your brother is the son of God. But when James saw his brother crucified, buried, and then he saw his brother rise again, James was convinced. Jesus is who he said he is. James knew, O-M-B, oh my brother. You are, oh, that's funny. Come on, O-M-B, that's funny y'all. You are who you said you are. You are God's son and his life was radically changed. And James got a new identity. Yes, that's my brother. But more than that's my brother, that's my Lord and my savior. By the way, I'm just gonna tell you, I'm praying. I'm praying that even today for some of you, that today would be a day of new identity for you, that your life would be radically changed. Like James's life was radically changed. Like Reba's life was radically changed the first week of at the movies. Because when you have a new identity, it changes the way you live.

And that's really what the book of James is all about. According to James, when you change your identity, you change your behavior. Now your behavior doesn't change your identity. Jesus changes your identity. Everybody got that? You don't change the way you act to change who you are. No, Jesus changes who you are. But when you're changed by Jesus, when who you are is changed by Jesus, the way you act, the way you respond, it changes your thinking, it changes your behavior. In fact, James is gonna go on to say things like this. In the book of James, we're gonna see that James says because of who you are, the way you respond to trials, the way you respond to trouble will be different because of your identity. And James is gonna say things like this, because of who you are, the way you handle your money will be different because of your identity. And because of who you are, the way you treat people, the way you speak to people, the way you serve people will be different, why? Because of your identity, because of who you are, you won't be prideful, you'll be patient, James is gonna say. Because of who you are, you'll pray more in faith. Because of who you are,

you'll become more deeply connected with others in truth. Because of who you are, you'll have more wisdom in your life, and it's all because of your identity. And the reason, the reason, listen, people love or hate the book of James in the Bible is simply because it gets very practical, very fast, and it gets very intentional about the way faith works itself out in our lives. That's what we have to look forward to, studying about a faith that matters, a faith that changes the way you live, that changes the way you think, that changes the way you react. Some have called the book of James, they've called it the Proverbs of the New Testament. You know how Proverbs in the Old Testament is so practical? Well, some have said that this is the Proverbs of the New Testament. It's just that practical. Some have called it the common sense gospel, that it takes God's truth, his word, and it moves it from just Sunday, and it moves it to Monday, that it's the gospel with blue jeans on, some say, that it takes the truth of God's word, and it makes it practical for our everyday lives, and it's all rooted, it's all rooted in our identity. Let me take you back to. verse one, because I want you to see that James is writing this book to Christians, to Christ followers,

to people of faith. And that's why it says, James is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes. What are the 12 tribes? This is an Old Testament reference. James does that a lot, by the way, in the book. You'll see it as you read it on your own. He references a lot from the Old Testament. It's an Old Testament reference to a term that was used all throughout the Old Testament to talk really just about all of God's people. That's really what the 12 tribes is referring to. The 12 tribes refers to all of God's people. And notice he says that they are scattered, these 12 tribes. These all of God's people are now scattered among the nations. The people of God have been scattered. They've been scattered. Many of them scattered after a guy named Stephen in Acts chapter eight is stoned to death for his faith. And a great persecution breaks out among all the Christians. And so the God's people have to scatter from town to town, from city to city, from where they used to live to new places to live. And times are tough for these Christians. They're living in cultures. Now they're living among people who do not believe like they believe.

And therefore they do not act like they act. By the way, this should sound familiar to us today. That James's assumption as he writes this to all Christians scattered throughout all the area is that we are among those Christians he's writing to. And he's writing to us to say, hey, you live in a culture among people in neighborhoods sitting side by side in cubicles next door to people that, hey, don't believe like you believe and don't act like you act. By the way, if they do believe like you believe and act like you act, you might not be believing and acting the right way, everybody. That's the implication here is that as Christians we're to look different, be different, act different, think different, respond different, react different because we have a different identity. So today, you know Jesus. If you're a follower of Christ, if you're one of God's people scattered, as James writes to us, he says, hey, your identity informs the way you live. And times might be tough in the way you're living, in the place you're living, among the people you're living, but your faith should change some things. It should change some things. And so James says, I'm writing to you Christians with this letter and I'm starting with identity and I'm about to instruct you about behavior. Now, can we just call out the elephant in the room

for a moment and talk about the tension that I feel because that little clock in the back of the room says, I've got 25 minutes left and we've only gotten through verse one in our first 15, everybody. And that's why I really today is just wetting, it's just wetting your appetite. It's hoping to inspire you to wake up tomorrow morning, to open the word, the Bible, the book of James for yourself and start reading right here where I am, James chapter one, verse one, and read the chapter if you can and do it every and every single day. So with our time remaining, here's what I wanna do. I wanna show you from James chapter one, what James says about the way your identity should change your problems. The way your identity should change your problems. How many of you, how many of you have some problems? You got some problems, you got some trouble, got some challenges. Okay, some of you aren't quite sure, let me ask this. How many of you have kids? Okay, this sermon's for you, all right, cause you got some problems. If you've got some issues, if you're facing some trials, if you're up against some troubles, if you're feeling some pressure, James is about to tell you, because of who you are, you're gonna have to change your identity.

Your next trial, your next trouble should not shake you. You're gonna have to change your identity. You're gonna have to change your identity. That's what James is about to tell us. Now, I want that to settle in before we get there and study it together, because some of us, some of us right now are facing something. We're in the middle of something. We're walking through something right now, a trial, and you're shook. You're in the middle of something and it's rocked you to the core. Maybe that's a little too dramatic for what you're facing, but the thing you're dealing with, the situation you're facing, the pressure you're feeling, it at least has you disturbed. It has you unsettled. It has you staying up later than you usually would thinking about it. It wakes you up in the middle of the night with thoughts about it. You wake up early in the morning talking to yourself about it. You're shook over something. You're bothered or you feel pressure over something. If that's you, and my guess would be that's most of us today. That's most of us. If that's you today, by the way, if it's not you today, it will be you tomorrow.

Hello. So if that's you, you're gonna love James chapter one. Oh, you're gonna love it. You're gonna love it. Here's what James says, verse two. James says this. James says, consider it pure joy. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, consider it. Everybody say it with me. Consider it, say these two words with me. Consider it pure joy. Woo, get fired up for a little trial. Get excited for some trouble. That's what James is saying. Put a smile on your face the next time you're facing some trouble. Now, I don't know what happened in Newport News. Maybe somebody did get fired up in Newport News. I'm not sure. They're a pretty fiery bunch. Maybe somebody in Virginia Beach shouted. I'm not sure. But here on this campus, when I said get fired up for the next trial, somebody laughed. That's about all I got. That doesn't count. You see, this is the complete opposite

of what happens when we face trials. James is presenting to you and I a complete twist on perspective when it comes to trials. Look at the verse again. Let's study this word right here. This word, consider. Look at that, consider. Think about that word, consider, for just a few moments. Notice, James does not say, James does not say feel. Feel pure joy. My brothers and sisters, he does not say that. You know why he doesn't say that? Because faith is never a factor of your feelings. That's why he doesn't say feel it. He says, consider it. James would suggest that the next time you and I face a trial, that you take feelings out of the equation. Not that you don't feel something, but you don't let feelings control your response. That's what James would suggest. By the way, that is really, really great counsel for all of us as Christ followers, that feelings don't drive our decisions. Somebody asked me the other day, they said, hey, how do you feel about this particular, this particular social issue,

this issue happening in society? They said, how do you feel about this particular social issue? And my response to them was, that's a bad question for a Christian. How I feel about it doesn't really matter. Let me tell you what God's word, his truth says about it, because that's what matters. And then God's truth sets my feelings. So feelings, feelings are never the engine of the train. Feelings are always the caboose of the train. And the engine of the train is the truth of God's word. And so as the truth of God's word sets direction, my feelings will follow. And according to this verse, the truth of God's word. is that we should consider, consider. Notice nobody chooses, nobody feels joy when they face trials, but everybody can choose it. Let me take you back to the word, that word consider. It means careful, deliberate judgment. It means extensive evaluation. Let me give you another word, a word that I actually like better. It's used in other translations and that's the word count. Count it pure joy, I like that. Count it is a mathematical term and nothing is less emotional than math. Have you ever met an emotional CPA?

Seriously, exactly. So I think this is a pretty deliberate word to use is count it all joy, take the emotion out of the trial and count it, consider it, evaluate it. James is saying that because you have a new identity, you are a follower and a servant of Jesus Christ because of who you are, you're now gonna have a new response to trouble in your life. My response is joy, joy, there's trouble, joy. What's the takeaway? Here it is, thank God for this trial. That's the takeaway, that's the takeaway. Thank God for this trial. Now, again, this is radically different. My response to trial is usually get me out of this trial. Thank you God for protecting me from this trial. That's usually my response. God, I don't wanna be in a trial. But James says, thank God for this trial. And then look back at the verse because he says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters. And he says, whenever you face trials of many kinds, now that phrase, many kinds, it can mean a lot of different things, but here's at its core, it means anything that happens to someone that breaks the pattern of peace, comfort, joy, and happiness in their life. That's the trial he's referring to here.

Anything that happens that breaks the pattern of peace, comfort, joy, and happiness in your life. The word actually can mean this, it can actually mean multicolored. Maybe a translation you'll read will say various trials, multicolored trials. So all the different shades and all the different shapes and all the different colors of all the different trials that you're gonna face in a given day, James says, let them produce joy. Thank God for them. Thank God that my two-year-old is acting terrible today. Thank you, God, for the nail in the tire that made me late to work today. Thank you, God, for the terrible customer service I'm getting today at the drive-through at McDonald's. Thank you, God, for these cold French fries. Thank you, God, for the bad doctor's report. Thank you, God, that I'm gonna now have to have surgery. And because I'm gonna have to have surgery, thank you, God, that I'm gonna have to miss some work. And thank you, God, because I'm gonna have to miss some work, I'm gonna be short on my paycheck. Thank you, God, for this trial. Thank you, God, that my air conditioning went out, and thank you, God, that now my house is hot. And thank you, God, that because my house is hot, my wife is grumpy, thank you, God, for my grumpy wife.

And thank you, God, that because my wife says it's hot, she now says I gotta go to Target because it's cool at Target. Thank you, God, for Target. Thank you, God, that she went to Target and she spent way too much money. Thank you, God, for this trial. You see how it works? You're like, oh my gosh, that's crazy. That's so silly. That sounds ridiculous. Why would I ever thank God for these crazy, various, multicolored trials? James says, to consider it, count it, be joyful about it. Anything that disrupts your peace, anything that disturbs your soul, consider it pure joy. Now that sounds really crazy until you read what he says next. Why would we consider it pure joy? Because James says this, these trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith, that's the purpose of a trial, by the way, the trial is testing your faith. That it's doing something. What's it doing? It's producing perseverance. This is why you can have joy in any trial. It's because your faith is being tested,

it's producing something, and it's producing perseverance, perseverance, the ability to withstand, perseverance, the opportunity to do hard things, perseverance, the ability to keep going and not give up, perseverance, the ability to stand up under pressure, the ability to have bad things happen and still have big faith, the ability to be let down, to be disappointed, to be frustrated, but not throw in the towel, the ability to take a hit, to take a punch, to get in a fight with the devil himself and still stand and not get knocked out of the fight, this is perseverance. Perseverance is what's being produced in you through a trial. It's endurance, it's steadfastness, it's patience, it's staying power, it's steady Eddie, not up one minute, down the next, not here for this and gone for that, not saying I believe, but no, I don't really believe, not falling apart and getting crushed under the pressure, perseverance is what God wants to produce in you. And how do you get it? The only way to get perseverance friends is through trials. That's the only way. That's the only way you get perseverance. It's like the only way to build muscle is to lift weights. At least that's what they tell me.

And the only way to build perseverance is to go through a trial. So when the next trial comes, thank God, consider it joy. Because you're getting something from it that you can't get any other way. Thank you God my car won't start. Because if my car started, I wouldn't get perseverance. But now I'm gonna consider it pure joy because my car won't start and I'm getting something out of it. But perseverance isn't even the goal, it gets better. Look back at the verse because perseverance leads to something else. Then it says, let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking nothing. That's the Stu Hodges translation. This is what perseverance leads to. It leads to you being mature, complete, whole, fully developed, not lacking anything. And listen, I don't wanna be a middle school Christian all my life. I don't wanna be stuck in a place that God doesn't desire for me. I wanna be fully grown, all mature, healthy and whole as a Christ follower, not lacking anything. And the way I get it is through perseverance. And the way I get perseverance is through trials. So thank you God for this trial. Because with every trial, God is maturing me. God is molding and making and shaping me with every trial.

So thank you God for this trial. Don't you love James 1, everybody? It's awesome. It's awesome. There's a pattern, I want you to see it so you know it and you can look for it in your life. The pattern just goes like this. Trial, a trial leads to a test. You pass the test, you get perseverance. You get perseverance, you get maturity. Guess what happens? You repeat it. I just explained the circle of life. This is how we develop as followers of Jesus. This is how we're developed as Christians. We go through a trial, the trial is a test. We pass the test, we get perseverance. We get perseverance, then we get fully developed and mature and then God does it over and over and over again. So thank God for every trial. And it comes, it comes from your identity in Jesus. Okay, let me do this. Let me fast forward, and I wanna take you to how James ends James chapter one. It's a whole lot more stuff in James chapter one. You're gonna read it on your own this week, but let me get you all the way to the end. James chapter one, I want you to see how he ends James chapter one, verse 22. Verse 22, he says this.

He says, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Everybody read this last little phrase with me. Come on, read this with me. He says, do what it says. Come on, everybody, do what it says. So the only way for this word to work in your life is for you to take it and do something with it this week. That's the only way. It's for you to leave from here and actually practice what we just preached, and that is thank God for this trial. That's the only way this word works in your life. If you leave from here and say, thank you, God, for this trial, that's the only way it works. Otherwise, you're just fooling yourself. That's what James says. You're just deceiving yourself. You actually have to do what the word says. And maybe you're thinking, how in the world do I do what the word says? How in the world do I leave from here with this god-awful situation I'm facing and actually thank God for it? Let me give you two final thoughts as we wrap up today. How do you give thanks for a trial? Number one is this, you get ready for it. You get ready for it. I'm not talking about walking around gloom and doom

looking for negativity and trouble around every corner. I'm not saying that. But I am saying that you are wise enough now and aware enough now that you recognize trials are coming. So you get ready for it. I'm not caught off guard by the trial. And guess what? I'm saving you now. I'm saving you the question that so many of us get stuck with in the middle of a trial. You know the question? It goes like this. Why? Why? You can ask why, but it's not a very helpful question in the middle of a trial. Can I just tell you that? Why? So we're gonna escape from the why question because we already know the answer. I'm ready for the trial because I know the trial is gonna produce something in me. What's it gonna produce? Perseverance. And if I can persevere, what do I get? To be fully developed and mature. So that's the purpose of this trial. So I don't need to waste time asking why. I just need to thank God for this trial

because now I'm ready for the trial. You're ready for it. You're ready for it. A trial's coming. Well, pastor, you don't sound very positive. Well, I am positive a trial is coming. It's happening. Trouble will come your way. God uses it. And when you're ready for it, here's what you know. You know that a good God is forming something good in me through something bad I'm walking through. But I can walk through the bad thing because I got a good God forming something good in me. You see it, everybody? It changes your perspective. So get ready for it. Get ready for it, thank God for the trial. How do I thank him for it, I'm ready for it. Thank God for the trial, how do I thank God for the trial? Number two is this. You just look to Jesus in the trial. You look to Jesus in the trial. You stop magnifying the trouble, you stop magnifying the situation, you stop magnifying the hardship, you stop magnifying, you stop focusing on the trial and you start focusing on Jesus in the trial. What if this was the case?

What if every trial in your life was a catalyst for you to get closer to Jesus? Wouldn't the trial be worth it? Yes, yes. If every trial in your life was a catalyst for you to get closer to Jesus, the trial would be worth it. So just determine today, every trial, I'm gonna look to Jesus. When I look to Jesus, I get closer to him. And because I'm closer to him, this trial is worth it. So I'm closer to Jesus because of this difficult situation our family's walking through. I'm closer to Jesus because of that cancer diagnosis. I'm closer to Jesus because of that breakup. I'm closer to Jesus because of this financial strain in my life. I'm closer, why? Because I'm choosing, not feeling, I'm choosing to consider it pure joy and I'm choosing to look to Jesus. And while I look to him, I get closer to him. And by the way, some trials, some trials feel like they're more than you can handle. And maybe they are, but no trial is more than Jesus can handle. It makes me think of this scripture from the writer of Hebrews, who said, and let us run with perseverance. There's our word, the race that's marked out for us.

How do we do that? We fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Who for the joy set before him, consider it pure joy, for the joy set before him. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and he sat down at the right hand of God the Father. You were his joy when he went to the cross. And now he is our joy when we walk through a trial. So thank you, God, for this trial. Can I tell you what God's doing right now in your life? Like a skilled sculptor, with a chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other. God is sculpting you into who he wants you to be. God sees in you a perfect design, a masterpiece. He sees in you a tremendous destiny. He sees in you gifts and talents, skills and abilities that need to be released to advance his kingdom. He sees in you exactly who he created you to be. And like a skilled sculptor, he's chiseling with a trial. He's hammering with the trial so that you, my friend, will be fully developed into the person he desires you to be. And so we say, thank you, God, for this trial. Come on, every voice, would you dare say it with me today? Would you say thank you, God, for this trial? Come on, every voice. Thank you, God, for this trial. Now, bow your heads and close your eyes. And I want to pray for you. If you're walking through a trial, I want to pray for you. That you would experience his peace and his presence as you consider it pure joy. God, every person within the sound of my voice facing a difficult situation today, we choose to consider it pure joy. Producing us that fully developed, mature man or woman you desire for us to be. We thank you for this trial because it's drawing us closer to you. We're ready for it. We fix our eyes on you, Jesus.

We will not be shaken by the trial, the trouble that comes our way. And now with every head bowed and every eye closed, I'm going to give you a chance to say yes to a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you've never given your heart and life to him, this is your moment. This is your time. He went to the cross for you. And I'm going to ask you now to boldly give your heart and life to him. To make him your Lord and Savior like James. To become his servant. So if that's you today, pray this simple prayer and really mean it from your heart. Say, Jesus, I want to know you. I want my sin forgiven by you. I want to live my life for you. Come into my life, be my Lord and Savior. With heads bowed and eyes closed, I want to know, was that you? Did you pray that prayer? Is today your day of salvation? On the count of three, if that was you, I'm just going to ask you to boldly slip your hand high so I can know today was your day. And you're going to mark this moment down so you never forget it. One, two, three. You gave your life to Jesus today. Hands up all over the room. Let us know there online. This was your day of salvation. God bless you. God bless you. May you never be the same. In Jesus' name, you can put your hands down. Thank you, God, today. As we receive your word, it changes us. Our identity changes our behavior and our response.

We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen? Amen. Come on, everybody. Thank God for his word today. It's awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.