Finding Joy in Strange Places

When you get saved all the way I'm tied to see it halfway Christian when the world and so you need to be all limb for Jesus. And when you are he can use your life in a significant way for years. James was skeptical of his older brother but when Jesus Christ rose from the grave. The sibling became a servant hello and welcome to Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard makes are making as part of your day for James and up close and personal look at Jesus for his entire life, but not until after the resurrection to be truly believed he became a passionate leader in the early church sold out for the cause of Christ boldly encouraging others today pastor Paul begins a deep dive into the book of James written to Jewish Christians who have been scattered all over the world by the persecution of the church.

Stay with us here visit pastor Paul.net to listen to Destin for victory on demand. You can also subscribe to our podcasting Google podcasts or wherever you enjoy your peers pastor Paul. Today's Destin for victory message finding joy in strange places. James chapter 1 verses one through eight.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes scattered among the nations greetings consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him. But when he asked he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man unstable in all he does. I will talk to you from the subject, finding joy in strange places. Now this letter is one of the earlier letters written in your New Testament and it is written by a man named James. Now if you study the New Testament, you'll know that there are five different men named James who are spoken of in the pages of the New Testament, but this particular James is the oldest of Jesus for brothers want you to know that Jesus was the firstborn because he was born of the Holy Spirit through the womb of Mary, but he was not the only born of Mary, so please know that the Lord used her when she was a virgin. She was engaged to be married to Joseph but they had not been officially united and they had not come together sexually. They were merely be trolled at that point, when the Holy Spirit came upon her. You know that story chapter 1 tells you all about it.

The angel Gabriel Kaman announced that God had chosen Mary, well after the birth of Jesus and after they were officially married. They would like every other couple and they had children, so never think Jesus was the only child of Mary.

That's not true.

The Bible lets us know that Jesus had for brothers James is the oldest of the other of the remaining siblings. In other words, he is the second born son in the family. Interesting thing about James is that he was not a follower of Jesus during the three years of Jesus earthly ministry, he did not come to have faith in who his older brother really was on until after the resurrection. So during the year that Jesus was was moving about Galilee in the various regions preaching and teaching and healing and blessing and delivering folks during those years he was not a follower of his brothers ministry he needed to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was someone sent from God, and he really didn't come to recognize that until he himself sold Jesus alive after he knew that he was killed on that cross.

The Bible tells us that James is one of the more than 500 people who sold Jesus alive, when you see your brother alive after you know he would be data shake up your spiritual existence and that is when James came to faith and I tell you what he won an earlier follower, but when he surrendered. He surrendered all the way and before long you see James being named among the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem became to be one of those people who worked under the auspices of the apostles, he himself wasn't one of the original 12 again because those were people who had walked with Jesus, as well as who witnessed his resurrection, and so he wasn't one of the original 12 but he was later called an apostle.

In other words, he was one of those who assume that title and that responsibility after the church was born on the day of Pentecost.

And so he was late to faith, but he gave his whole life to the Lord is what we ought to do when you get saved all the way I'm tied to see it halfway Christian halfway in the world what you're doing threatening the church you will buck while in the world and so you need to be all limb for Jesus. And when you are he can use you life in a significant way and that's what happened with James and he also tells you that you should write off anybody in your family and your neighborhood on the job. Don't ride anybody off. Let James be an inspirational personal inspiration that you don't look at focusing how you know he he been out in the world for so long now know one encounter with the resurrected Christ can change their life forever and you said, but Jesus is back and have anything to identify the know, just like he revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus world he can reveal himself to your level onto your friend to a person who doesn't yet know the Lord has little ride anybody off. Don't like anybody is beyond the grip of the Holy Spirit, but wanted to share the good news of Christ and pray for them and believe God for their salvation because we just want encounter away from having our lives changed. So James is the author of this book be a younger brother of Jesus Christ himself, and he says James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want you to think for a moment about that introduction he's introducing himself as he writes this general epistle.

Now this is one of the epistles not written to a particular church but it was written to Saints with scattered abroad. They are called here.

Those who are scattered and I want you to know that this is not a reference to a particular group of people, but to God's people were scattered among the nations. When persecution broke out in the early church.

People began to flee from the area of Jerusalem, and they established themselves. They relocated in other places where persecution had not yet broken out and he's writing a general epistle and the idea is take this letter anywhere when you know groups of Saints are gathered in living and read it to them. It's one of what is called the general epistle because he didn't have a specific search target audience, but I want you to know of all the ways he could've introduced himself. He says James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to go to said James John the brother Jesus.

Don't brag about being Jesus brother Aiden said James, one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem although he was James, a highly respected apostle. Although he was one of those named apostle after the church was launched. No, he sees himself, and he identifies himself as a servant of God before I get into the meat of the passage I want to ask you, how do you identify yourself you identify yourself by what you do you identify yourself by your vocation. Do you identify yourself by your ethnicity, you identify yourself by your gender, did you identify yourself by anything that might be considered a earthly identification. If you are missing the whole point and James shows this best way to look at yourself is as a servant of God, he says yes I lead.

I lead the church. Yes, a lot of people count on my spiritual guidance but at the end of the day. I'm not confused about who I am.

I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love that about James.

It encourages and inspires and reminds me and people like me, hopefully at the end of the day all of us are just God's servants yet what you do is great. Your activity is great, but your activity is not your identity. Anybody hear me on that. Your identity is who God is in your life and if he is your Lord and you are his servants. That's our identity, no matter what vocation you're in some your big shots on the job and I'm not just on the job on the supervisor on the what good wonderful. I'm glad happy for you but that's on your job in the kingdom where all servants, servants of the most high God, and in James case is in my case, and many others about called of God to shepherd and lead God's people. Our activity is leader, but our identity is servant when I teach a pass discomfited. I try to remind my colleague because so many of the trip. So many preachers and pastors and and bishops and stub their trip and fall real and when I have a chance to be a speaker on a pastors confidant. Tell them listen.

Your activity is leader and God calls people to obey you and listen to you because you're representing his word in their lives but don't trip you are identified as a servant. In other words, we are not leaders who serve. We are servants who lead servants to lead and this church is always going have a pastor who knows the difference between the two, and I'm trying to help some other colleagues to some of them got 19 members since the mama bear I got to help my brother out.

You got 19 members and 60 mama bear's guard knew what I got you from shooting at you because you saw somebody else when the bearers and all that stuff not only to wait till you need it for you get. Anyway, we are all servants of the most high God.

That's all he identifies himself and then he launches into what he really wants to begin to say to the slaves were scattered coming up next. The rest of today's message finding joy in strange places with pastor Paul Sheppard, senior pastor, destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. If you've never stop by our website pastor Paul.net. I invite you to do so when you have some time. You find all the pastor Paul's recent messages on demand. Plus, there's a host of great resources in our online store, including books and DVD messages from Pastor Paul. Learn more about the ministry and all the great things friends like you are doing through your prayers and financial support.

That's pastor Paul.net. If you enjoy this program, we know you love watching selected video clips by subscribing to pastor Paul and YouTube for more details and links to all the social media sites. Be sure to visit pastor Paul.net for the book of James. Again let's rejoin pastor Paul Sheppard for the rest of today. Suggestion for victory message finding joy in strange places first two my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, consider pure sale comes people are just following my just be a little happy consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds that sounds at first glance like very impractical advice. You know something just give you advice that that does make sense. You have any them in your life you just lost about a man did you harden it to you. Don't cry, shut up and at first glance, this looks like that kind of information but it's not because of the word he uses to get when you're going through trials of many kinds.

He says consider it pure joy. He says I want you to put a designation on the trials and let them cause you to choose joy.

Joy can be chosen. See happiness typically depends on what happens word has to do with what happens with events and all of us can be happy in all of us are happy when the right things happen. Get a raise happy right did a good review on your job.

Happy kids do some good, praiseworthy, happy spouses at the like they really do like you, happy know those kind of things make us happy people do nice things for you say nice things about you makes you happy depends on what happens happiness when you enjoy it. I love happiness. I love Corel so so happy because I'm happy for long. If you feel like a room without a roof because I'm happy, along if you feel like happiness is the true because I'm happy if you know what happiness is to you because I'm happy, clap along if you feel like that's what you're going to do so. IPod is because I am happy when you grab it so it but we all know that happiness sometimes needs because of what happens and so he didn't say choose to be happy when you're going through trials of many kinds, because trials there is no direct correlation between trials and happiness because happiness depends what happened when a child happening is hard for me to get the happy so he uses a better word, he says consider it pure joy. You read designate your response. You choose to have a different response when you're going through trials of many kinds, and he says the choice you make on a being one of pure joy and he tells you why he wants you to make this kind of recalibration. He says because because there is a basis for this advice because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Some your translations may use the word patients. The Greek word there is Hooper Monet. You heard me.

Perhaps preach from passages that use that word.

There always pointed out, because Hooper Monet is the word translated in some patients with some perseverance. I prefer perseverance because patient is not as a bad word, but our connotation, we often think patient made to sit somewhere and wait and that's really not what Hooper Monet means perseverance means I learn how to joyfully indoor things that I cannot otherwise enjoy go through some things that aren't thrilling to you and Monet were called in this passage and in others. For instance, in Hebrews chapter 10, you know that passage that tells us you have need of perseverance so that when you've done the will of God. You express what is promised same word Monet. It means you have need of pressing on through the tough stuff but don't do it which you head down in your belly ache him and telling anybody a sad story. Monet said God had the loins and puts on through what you gotta go through like your little baby clothes are going to a trial itself, and so on through says joyfully indoor don't say all just come out one travel right into another one that is not the Monet desk Monet know when you experience what James is encouraging us toward here and means you say well this is what I got to go through to get to where God taken me so let's just go ahead and push through this with a good attitude and a good disposition with faith in our heart and he says the reason you counted toward joy when you go through trials of many kinds, because they are working to a good end.

Now let's let's comb through here. There's some stuff you need to grab.

Notice that he doesn't assign the trial to God to the devil to the world. He doesn't assign the trials. He says when you go to trials of many kinds.

You do know there are many, trials, something the Lord personally takes us into some trials, the Lord will put you in other times, the trial came because we live in a fallen world among fallen people and bad things happen in this world. That's why I tell these Christians who try to act like earth is always bold to be like heaven knowest not.

We get a taste of heaven by mouth authority by walking in our spiritual authority we get a taste of heaven and little blessings. But this will never be where we going end up. I tell folks you will know you are in heaven because you will notice the improvement heaven is nothing like this and having no say said no more crying no more dying no more sickness no more trials of various kinds. Nobody causing you to cry nobody treating you well know prejudice in heaven no discrimination in heaven. No gender or miscellaneous are just as valuable as men in heaven and now you get the same crap get but here you will be paid as much talking about all over the news when all they made women doing the same and get less pay, you know that's not right, but when I but when you get the same crown. The brothers get bigger.

Probably not the brothers you know God never gives us a command that would be impossible will be so when he tells us to consider it all joy when we go through various trials is because he knows he's already given us the gift of joy as well as the power to choose it no matter what you may be going through allow the Holy Spirit to help you choose joy today. It will not only produce endurance, it will draw you into an even deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. In Psalm 107. King David writes then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. If you need prayer today. The destined for victory ministry team would like to join you in prayer from the homepage of Pastor Paul.net use the contact feature list know how we can pray for you and why you're there, be sure to ask for pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement. Yours, at no cost or obligation.

What we have a great resource to share with you today.

A booklet from Pastor Paul Sheppard the goes hand-in-hand with his message junk removal for the soul. All of us have some habits from her old life that we need to set aside so that we can embrace the newness of who we are in Christ, Pastor Paul offer some practical biblical advice about doing just that in this booklet our gift to you this month by request for your generous gift to Destin for victory today.

Call 855-339-5500 or visit Pastor Paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 again that address is Destin for victory. Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. God says when you go through trials of many kinds considering joy because when I get work in you will you don't have spiritual muscles that you didn't have before you use the week trial for breakfast. That's next time. Would Pastor Paul Sheppard shares his message finding joy in strange places. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory