The Purpose Of Your Pain | Herbert Cooper

Well, that was such an incredible time of worship that we just had. Don't forget, this Wednesday, we have Night of Worship starting at 7 p.m. It's gonna be so good. All right, now, we would love to welcome all of those who are joining us through our partnership with God Behind Bars and through the Pando app. We're so glad you guys are here. Yes, and right now, if you have your central app, make sure to open it, go to the dashboard in our app, and check out our teaching notes to follow along in today's message. Yes, you're in for a treat. It's an incredible weekend. There's a special message this weekend, so help me right now as we give it up big for Pastor Jud. All right. Welcome, welcome, everybody. Great to have you here with us today. I wanna say a special shout-out to our Central Summerlin family and our Central Kingman location. Love you guys. Central Aliante and Sunrise Mountain, thank you for being with us today. We have a special guest speaker here today that's no stranger to our central family, Pastor Herbert Cooper is in the house, and Pastor Cooper has been a extended part

of our central family for many, many, many years, is a dear friend of many of us and just a great supporter. He and his wife planted People's Church over 20 years ago in Oklahoma City, and God just continues to do an amazing work through that church, so Central, let's show him a lot of love. Let's let him know that we missed him. We're glad he's back. Will you help me welcome Pastor Herbert Cooper? All right. Thank you. Thank you, buddy. Thank you, buddy. Bear it up. What's up, Central? How we doing? Good. It is so good to be back at Central. It is home away from home. I love this place. I love what God is doing, and I'm excited to preach God's word, and I love your pastors so much. Are you grateful for Pastors Judd and Lori? Come on. The best of the best. It's so good to share and just to be able to teach God's word. I love the word of God,

and I believe this message is going to speak deeply to your heart. If this is your first time being introduced to me, I am married to the love of my life for 28 years now. Her name is Tiffany. We've got four children. I think there's a picture of my family right there. There's the best part of my life right there. That beautiful woman, those four kids that we've got, I think they're all still on my insurance. All four of them. Pray for me right now. I still need prayer for all these kids. Grown and still on my insurance. I need prayer. I want to talk to you for a few moments from this thought. The purpose of your pain. The purpose of your pain. You know, when I was a kid growing up and we woke up, Oklahoma, there were sayings I did not like, and I did not understand when I was a kid. I understand them now that I'm older, but they did not make any sense to me when I was a kid. Like when parents said, this is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you. Come again? Or parents would say, this is for your own good. Or here's one they said when I was a kid. One day you'll thank me.

Holla at your boy. I remember my dad saying, boy, money don't grow on trees. I'm like, yes it does. Just write one of them checks. Come on, you know what I'm talking about? Like, that's what I thought as a kid. I didn't understand. I remember my parents saying, I'm not trying to control you. I'm trying to protect you. Going to bed at 830 when I was 13 years old, that felt like control to me. You know what I'm talking about? This was my favorite one. I did not understand this. I'm doing this because I love you. Could you love me less? Like today, what I want to do is I want to give you a saying that's no fun to hear. It can be really hard to understand, but it's the truth about life. And if you embrace this saying and this teaching that I'm going to give you today, it has the power to change your perspective, your family, your life, your future, your relationship with God. I'm telling you, it's a game changer. Are you ready for it today? Here it goes. Now this is no fun.

Fun to hear. You're not gonna like it, but I gotta tell you. Here it goes. Pain never ends. You're like, could he go back to Oklahoma, please? Pain never ends. And I know some of you are going through marriage pain, some singleness pain, some children pain, some are going through all types of relationship pain, some are going through health pain, some are facing job and career pain. And I've come to Central with an encouraging word for your life. Pain never ends. For the next few moments, if you have your Bible, you can turn with me to James chapter number one. If not, the scriptures will be on the screen. And I wanna talk for a few moments from James chapter one. I wanna unpack three verses for you today. We're gonna dive deep into these verses. James chapter one, verse two, three, and four. Let's dive in. James chapter one, verse number two. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. In life, we face trials of many kinds. Anybody ever feel like me? That word whenever seems like it's every other week, and sometimes it feels like it's every day. Sometimes it feels like it's multiple times a day.

There are so many kinds of problems that leads to so much pain in life. Life is filled with problems and pain, problems and pain, problems and pain. And when you read the Bible, we see how God's people constantly face problems and pain. I mean, scripture is filled with problem after problem and pain after pain. Just think about it. Noah faced the pain of rejection. People mocked and ridiculed him for building a boat. Abraham had the pain of waiting until he was 99 years old for his wife to get pregnant. Sarah had the pain of a barren womb. Hagar had the pain of rejection and abuse from Sarah. Esau had the pain of betrayal as he lost his birthright and blessing through his brother's deception. Moses had the pain of leadership challenges as he dealt with constant complaining, criticism, and rebellion from the Israelites. Naomi had the pain of a broken and bitter heart as her husband and sons died. Elijah had the pain of depression as he struggled with his mental and emotional health. Nehemiah had the pain of opposition. While rebuilding the wall, he faced opposers, haters, and threats. I think about Job. He had the pain of unbelievable suffering as he lost his health, his wealth, and his children.

Peter had the pain of failure as he denied Jesus three times. Paul had the pain of constant hardship as he faced judgment and shipwreck and prisons and beatings and floggings and hunger. Jesus had the pain of paying the ultimate sacrifice as he was crucified for the sins of the world. And I could keep giving you biblical character after biblical character who faced problem after problem and pain after pain. You know, sometimes I feel like one of my top three jobs as a pastor is dealing with problems and pain. There are so many problems. There's so much pain. James was right when he wrote these words and said, trials of many kinds. I think about my life. I think about all of the pain I've been through. I think about just painful moments. I think about the pain of being sexually abused when I was 13 years old. Just pain. The pain of growing up in a broken and abusive home and watching my parents end up in divorce and just, it was painful. The pain of struggling with my own mental health as a teenager and thinking about taking my own life. It just, just pain.

I think about the pain of my dad telling me. I would never do anything with my life. I think about the pain of being lied on and betrayed by people. I think about the pain of people making up stories about me. I think about the pain of taking the high road when it would feel better to sling mud and to get even. I think about the pain of being misunderstood. One of the painful things as a pastor is the pain of watching my church family lose their job or lose their health or walking with them through a death of a loved one. The pain of watching people I've poured my life into drift away from God and start making poor choices. Painful. I think about personal pain when my marriage was in a really bad spot. It's painful. I think about the pain of watching my children struggle and walking with my children through their own pain. Pain never stops. The day we stop bleeding is the day we stop breathing. So here's the question I wanna pose to us today. Here's what I want us to wrap our minds and our hearts around today. Here it goes. So what in the world do we do as Christians? Since pain is just a part of what we deal with in life, what do we do?

Well, James answers this for us. Here it goes, here it goes. Point number two, pain and the right perspective. James teaches us one of the most powerful principles when it comes to problems and pain. And that is this, a painful life and a joyful life can coexist. James chapter one in verse two says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, it's possible to have problems and pure joy at the same time. Now I meet a lot of Christians who are losing their joy because they're facing the painful problems of life. Their perspective is, I can't have joy if people are talking bad about me. I can't have joy if people are leaving my life. I can't have joy if my dream is not happening fast enough. I can't have joy if my money is tight. I can't have joy if my family is struggling. I can't have joy if I'm dealing with sickness in my body or one of my family members is dealing with sickness in their body. I cannot have joy. But James says that doesn't have to be our perspective. James says we don't have to be a victim of our problems and our pain. What's happening around you does not have to dictate what's happening in you. You can have joy in the middle of the pain.

I mean, no, the world didn't give it and the world can't take it away. People didn't give it and people can't take it away. Money did not give it and money cannot take it away. Can I tell you, our joy comes from Jesus. I said our joy comes from Jesus. Well, one of the most joyful people I know is one of the pastors on our staff. His name is Scotty Gibbons. He's on our leadership team. He's one of our teaching pastors. And Scotty has had four or five back surgeries. Even today, he lives with a broken back. He's lived this way for years. He's in constant pain. He struggles with migraines. And I watch Scotty day after day, pastor, lead, and preach in pain. I watch him as he parents his six children. Matter of fact, here's a picture of Scotty and his six children and his wife. And how many of you know, you have problems when you have one child? Come on, somebody, huh, huh? If you have six children, you're guaranteed a problem three times a day. Holler at your boy. I'm talking about problems. But he leads with such joy. He's a joy to work with.

He is a joy to talk to. He lives out this verse. A painful life. and a joyful life can coexist even with living with a broken back and constant migraines, you could have joy. You see, the right perspective on pain is to understand you can have pain and still have joy. Let me give you another right perspective on pain, and that is this, pain is a test. It's a test. James says in chapter one, verse three, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Problems and pain are a test. Now, I know I'm going to date myself right now. I know some of you will have no clue what I'm going to be talking about right now, but just Google it, okay? Now, there are others of you that will remember watching television from 1978 through 1996, and the television station would be interrupted and say, this is a test. This is a test conducting a test of the emergency broadcast system. This is only a test. And then you would hear this noise. Boo! Boo!

Then after the noise was over, it would say, this is a test of the emergency broadcast system. If this had been an emergency, this station would have told you where to tune in for news and official information. This concludes the test of the emergency broadcast system. And I did some research on why did those tests happen? And I found out they had to ensure the system was functional and reliable for national level emergencies, such as natural disasters or attacks on the nation. So regular tests allowed authorities to check the system's operational readiness, to identify technical problems, and to confirm that the government can effectively alert the entire country when necessary. And God allows tests in our life to check our readiness. He uses tests to reveal problems inside of us that will keep us from our destiny. So God allows tests so we can change, so we can grow, so we can mature. God uses pain as his gym and testing as our trainer. He wants to grow us. He wants to mature us. He wants to develop us. Understand this, your problem is not just a problem, it's a test. Your pain is not just pain, it's a test. And every test has a question waiting to be answered. When we were in school, and some of you are still in school,

the test came in the form of a question. If we answered the questions correctly, we got promoted from sixth grade to seventh grade. If we answered the questions incorrectly, that we would get held back, not because the school was being mean to us, but because they knew we still needed to grow. Every test has a question that reveals where you are. Every test. I mean, you think about life, life is a series of tests to reveal where you and I are. We have eye tests, ear tests, driving tests, personality tests, ACT, SAT, IQ tests, all aimed at answering questions about where we are in life. And God gives us tests. But God doesn't test us to fail us. He tests us to reveal to us where we are. I don't ever want you to forget this about pain. Your pain is not just pain, it's a test. Your problem is not just a problem, it's a test. Think about this, Central. All locations, think about this. How are you doing on the test that God is allowing in your life? When things don't go your way, how's your attitude? Are you positive or negative? Your attitude is a test that reveals where you are. How do you respond to pressure? It's a test.

How are you responding to the challenging situations and conversations that you're engaged in? It's a test. Can people count on you to do what you say you're going to do even when it's hard? It's a test. Do you follow through on what's asked of you? Or do you make excuses when it's challenging? It's a test. When life is hard, think about it. When life is hard, do you take ownership of your life or do you find yourself playing the blame game? It's a test. How do you respond when you're hurt, when you're betrayed, when you're rejected? It's a test. Are you approaching difficult days with faith or with doubt? It's a test. How are you handling God's delays in your life? Do you trust God when it's not happening quick enough? Trials test whether you trust God's character or just His calendar. It's a test. How are you handling working with a difficult co-worker, with a difficult boss? How are you handling a difficult spouse, a difficult child? Just look at your neighbor right now and say, he's not preaching to me right now, but I hope you're getting something

out of this message right now, huh? I hope this is speaking to you. That problem, that pain, it's a, it's a test. God said the testing of your faith, God is trying to reveal something to you, why? So He can grow you. Correction today prevents collapse tomorrow. We must allow pain to expose where we need to grow. I tell myself frequently, here's how I talk to myself. Herbert Lee Cooper Jr., anybody else call yourself by your whole name sometimes, I am. Herbert Lee Cooper Jr., boy, you remember what you're going through right now. It's a test. That person is a test. That situation is a test. That trial is a test. That pain is a test. Herbert Lee Cooper Jr., this is a test. This is only a test of the emergency God broadcast system. This is only a test. Respond with the right answer. Respond correctly. It's a test. Why? Why? Because number four, pain always produces something in you. Always, it always produces something in you. Let's go back to James chapter one, verse three. Because you know the testing of your faith

produces perseverance 100% of the time. 100% of the time, problems and pain produce something in us. The question is, what are you allowing pain? What are you allowing problems to produce inside of you? When we respond incorrectly, it produces impatience, frustration, anger, bitterness. When we respond incorrectly, it produces a victim mentality, sinful behavior, worry, fretting, complaining. But when we respond correctly to pain, it produces perseverance. It produces this steadfastness, this faithfulness on the inside of us. We must be patient and allow pain to produce something good inside of us. If you rush what God is refining in you, you will forfeit what God is forming in you. Listen, church, so when you face pain, don't ask why me. Ask this question. What is God trying to build in me? God is trying to produce something good inside of you. Over the years, I haven't always been there. It's taken me a long time to get to this place. And over the years, I've learned to change my relationship with pain. I've changed my relationship with pain. I used to despise painful seasons. But here's what I've learned. This is a test.

And if I can just respond correctly, this is a game changer for somebody. It's a game changer. If I can respond correctly, pain is actually my friend. Because it produces something good in me. When I feel pain, I feel pain. You'll squeeze, it's not the devil defeating me, When I feel pain, I feel pain. it's God trying to develop me. And some of you need to change your relationship with pain. You keep asking God, do something big through me. And God says, I will, if you let me do something big in you. You have to change your relationship with pain. When God allows heat in your life, it's not to burn you down, but to burn away what's holding you back. The pain you experience, experiencing right now, it has a purpose. Hey Central, don't waste painful seasons. Don't curse it, don't hate it, don't run from it, don't get bitter, get better. My last point, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes. Number five, pain has a purpose. Pain has a purpose. Here's what James says, here's what James says. Verse four, James one, verse four. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature, complete, not lacking anything.

Hey Central, when you respond correctly to pain, it builds you, it develops you, it matures you, so you're not lacking anything you need for your next season of life. Your pain has a purpose. Every painful test is God's way of saying, I'm preparing you for what I've prepared for you. God is trying to mature you so you're ready for what he has next. You must embrace the pain and pass the test. James teaches us that maturity comes when perseverance finishes its work. If you short cut the process, you short circuit the promise. I like to say it like this, half finished faith never reaches full potential. You gotta persevere. He says perseverance must finish its work so we can be complete, not lacking anything. You cannot become who God wants you to be while staying who you are. You have to allow pain to grow you, to push you out of your comfort zone, to develop you, to mature you. Let, let perseverance finish its work. That means don't quit, don't give up because it's painful. Sometimes the pain will feel unbearable. You will feel like you can't take anymore. I've been there on multiple occasions. I'm just being transparent. There have been times and seasons

I did not know if I could take anymore. Tears streaming down my face. I was ready to quit. But today I tell you, I'm glad I didn't quit. I'm glad I didn't quit. I'm glad I didn't quit. The pain I went through from being sexually abused at 13 almost destroyed me, but God redeemed it and is now using it to bring healing to many others who are dealing with their own pain. I think about the pain of addiction that tried to take me out, but God set me free and is using my story of freedom to set others free. I think about the pain of being lost in my sin. I was so lost. I was so confused. I was so broken. It almost did me in. I was so broken before I met Jesus, but Jesus saved me and rescued me. And now he's using my story of salvation to rescue others out of their sin. All that pain is serving a purpose today. I'm talking to somebody right now. I know your life is painful. Don't you quit? Because there's purpose in your pain. There's purpose in your pain. Some of you, your purpose is to help you be

a better husband, a better wife. Some of you, your purpose is to be that godly single that God's called you to be. For some of you, that purpose is to be the parent God's called you to be. I know you're going through pain. There's a purpose so that you would be that friend God has called you to be, that student God's called you to be that you'd be that employer, employee, that you'd be that. Boss, God's called you to be that. You would be the follower of Jesus. God has called you to be. There's purpose in your pain. God wants to turn your test into a testimony. He wants to turn your mess into a message. Hey, Central, Central, Central, Central, Central, don't quit. There's purpose in your pain. The Apostle Paul wrote these powerful words he says in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. Paul said there's purpose in my pain. Paul said I'll endure anything if it will bring salvation to others. And as we head into this Easter season, God wants to use your pain, your story, your life to reach someone who needs the hope of Jesus. Central, this Easter season, God wants to use your wounds to be a witness. He wants to use your scars to be the story that you share with others. God rescued you to rescue others. God saved you to help save others. God reached you to help reach others. And I've come to tell somebody there's purpose in your pain. There's purpose in your pain. God wants to use your story this season to reach somebody, to invest in somebody, to invite somebody to church so their life can be changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, thanks for your word today. Thanks for speaking to us, Lord. Lord, somebody's in the middle of pain. Right now, right now somebody has tears streaming down their face. Somebody's had a horrible time. It's been hard. They're ready to give up. Father, I thank you for comfort. I thank you for the help of the Holy Spirit. I thank you for their strength right now. Lord, I thank you when the pain feels so unbearable. You're speaking to somebody's heart right now. There's purpose in the middle of this pain that you take the bad and you will use it

for good. I thank you for touching hearts right now in the name of Jesus. As eyes are still closed and heads are still bowed, I'm talking to somebody in all of our locations that you're not living your life for Jesus Christ. You don't know Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior. Today is your day. I say, God, I just surrender to you. I give my life to you. All my pain, all my struggles, all my failures, all my mess, I give it to you. And I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and as my Savior and make him Lord of my life. If that's you, as I count to three, would you just shoot your hand in the air? And I want to lead you in a prayer to say yes to Jesus today. One, two, three. Just lift your hand at every location and say, that's me. That's it. So awesome. So awesome. I see hands going up. So awesome. So awesome. So awesome. I'm going to ask every hand that's your age, just right there in your seat, just pray this prayer with me and confess it with your mouth and believe it in your heart. And God's going to wash away your sins today. Would you just pray this prayer with me? Just say, Heavenly Father, I turn my life over to Jesus Christ. I confess that Jesus is my Lord and my Savior, and I will live for Jesus the rest of my life. My life is yours, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.