Resilient - It's Powerful, Part 1

We are living in unusual times under unusual pressure would require unusual resilience, the ability will empower and motivation to bounce back and overcome whatever you're going through today, you'll learn how to stay with. Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with your finger tips are Bible teacher on this international discipleship program were currently in a series called resilience standing the storms of life. If you've ever wondered how in the world, past the problem of trauma were studying through the first chapter of the book of James. James was the pastor of the first church in Jerusalem time when believers were forced to leave. Homes, families leave jobs very loved ones life was hard hard now. Which is why chips helping us with James teaching see how it's possible to stand strong.

No matter what's going on. Just before we get started, let me encourage you to try using chips message notes while you listen all of the Scripture references are there along with the fillings to help you remember what you're learning a quick download when you go to LivingontheEdge.org or tap notes on the storage for part one of his message powerful James chapter 1 in a resilient II love even on top of the notes the ability to withstand and recover from a difficult situation and and we learned it's tempting we learned it's emotional and I want to share its powerful and do something I don't normally do. I tend to do a fairly quick introduction jump into the text applied all the way through.

I want to just get you to lean back and I want to talk about power because I think right now we feel power less right. I mean, when we can get to go back to work. What about the future.

What about my plans. I mean it. It is really a challenging time and I think God wants us to be resilient and we overcome challenges and difficult situations and I think there's a number of things at play here. So let me give you three very quick stories. All that have to do with the power of something and by the time we get done. I think those three stories will be being being being wow maybe I want to remember that this story number one, a young pastor of 28 years old. My very first pastor.

We don't even have an office and so there was it's a small little town of under 3000.

Not even a stoplight and there was an area where I could sort of office in the back of someone's place. They just put up a little, almost cardboard type thing, let me stay in the back just a little place to study and it was a businessman and he you know was a Christian went to sort of the main church in town and trying to be nice to me and he came and said don't hang but no I know what what version the Bible using is a work to talk about the Bible and all I know is he's you know a person who goes to this church very open about his faith were talking about the Bible and its phone call picks up the phone. What what you tell that in word I would never have an N-word that blankety-blank blank blank.

This is a and I mean I'm sitting there going now.

Are you kidding, and he hangs up the phone and then he comes over this. Now the version I was telling you about. I mean there there there was not a skip in the beat's the power of deception that there was absolutely no connection between him being a follower of Jesus our conversation about the word of God that screens no partiality in the words and the prejudice and the anger coming out of his mouth about a human being made in the image of God. I mean I was a young pastor and 28 I'm thinking, whoa, candidly, I grew up in Ohio and I grew up in the suburbs and I was deeply offended. I grew playing basketball so outdoor courts and then you know very mixed racially college team and it was just like I member. How can anyone be that deceived powerful powerful deception story number two. Number of years later, it was a young man and from all practical appearances was doing great. You know been married. I don't know, seven, eight years had like a five-year-old at the time. Good job good family just bought a house you know attractive. He and his wife came to church regularly.

I mean you just think upwardly mobile, kind, generous, good dad and I got a call he said I can talk to you right away and I said woo hoo assurances can can I come down right noticeable.

Sure, go ahead and he he he comes to goes. This is the note that was on the refrigerator as it was a site since I don't love you anymore. I never loved you, and I've taken our daughter and I'm gone.

And that guy.

I mean if a lightning bolt would hit him. It it couldn't have been more drastic.

He was completely relationally deceived or unaware what ever it if I ask him. You know I mean you like a day before house at grade home great with a wife great with work great with Emily. I mean, he was absolutely 100%. Things are fine will. Honestly, they weren't obviously he he didn't see he didn't recognize.

He didn't see the hurt he didn't see the body language. He wasn't listening to what she said. I mean, people just don't do that. That was a long slow burn that ended up in a dramatic ending to someone that for all practical purposes, was oblivious deception, powerful and him.

I'm telling stories. But here's what what you get what with this have to do with like you or me what what deception is that powerful that you can actually be convinced you are in right relationship with God and things are superduper or you are in right relationship with someone you love and you're completely wrong completely deluded third story about power. This is a positive one. This was during my college years and I was growing Christian and I got into a Bible study and then I was meeting one-on-one with a bricklayer who was discipling me then little by little I was meeting with one or two guys and I had a Bible study in my dorm and I was just learning everything was new was getting to God's word and I was observed pretty slow learner. It was so hard to get up in the morning and spend time with God daily took me about a year and 1/2 maybe two years before it became a habit and and little later became a joy and I begin to write down some verses that were meaningful to me on cards early on.

They wanted me to memorize Scripture. Not that that's stupid, you know it's and it's in the Bible. I can look it up when I wanted. I had no idea the power of renewing your mind. The power of the word of God, of the power of meditating. I I I was clueless but I was growing now and I was even starting to teach a little bit so it's about might my junior year in college and a bit Christian over three years and we had a guy on our campus who came transferred in and his name was George. He would mind me using his name.

Becca used publicly before and George was just as no other work. He was socially awkward came from a immigrant family.

His parents moved here in the New York area of Slavic backgrounds. We had a pretty decent little accent and then there's nothing like being like 19 years old and and in a prematurely balding and you know when you're in college. Everyone wants to be cool and George was not cool and so you know George did didn't really have a relationship with God. He started coming to Bible study. He struggled and then on the confession you know when someone sort of trencher group Hugo, you know, if they break up into groups. I hope he's in another group you know I just hope it's not in my group yet hand that's terrible but it was true and is so George, I got to know them for that first year and then an amazing thing happened is he heard about something in the summer and he went to some sort of conference and in this conference. They were talking about God can completely change your life and his word is so powerful in all these verses and they said the way it really works is by memorizing and meditating on Scripture and I think George just got super desperate.

I mean this is one of the most socially awkward people, pushing him away or to the fringes and the poor guy ended up he ended up in a dormitory with the fraternity guys meet all they did is make fun of them all the time so George comes back after the summer and I notice it is his shirt pocket.

He's got like a stack of 3 x 5 cards about this thick, very small small print and II said George what you got there and he he said okay and I went this conference I started memorizing Scripture and I had started and I got to get some little ones here and in my first 60 versus topical memory system and was kind of track inside maybe 100, maybe two.

I'm really spiritual spiritual leader here, you know, and any said well I started out and I memorized the book of James and and that I did Matthew I said no you need the book Matthew is yes so because and then I forget, I think it was the book of John and then first and second Timothy and I said George you can eat as no takes me unit. I spent like the first 45 minutes of my day just reviewing is versus ever so I thought you could be telling the truth and it fast-forward.

You know when you meet someone where there's an inner beauty that comes out of their countenance that comes out of their speech that there's an attractiveness that you can't even put your finger on it's not physical, that just draws like bees to honey. I watched this metamorphosis. I George got in one of my small groups and just the calm the wisdom of the I don't know. I can't even explain it for the year goes on. Pretty soon, fraternity guys are looking both ways and going down to his dorm room to get counsel about their girlfriend or something that's happened at home and pretty soon George is emerging is this leader and everyone wants to be around him and he's not socially awkward.

He's just like one of most winsome attractive guys I've ever met. Deception lies, delusions, thinking everything's okay superpowerful God's word superpowerful and that brings us to our text, and I think you can see this played out. Ryan taught us that we should be what quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger, why for the anger of man does not fulfill the righteous life that God desires it, and then we pick it up.

I put it in your notes. We pick up in verse 21 that Ryan ended on. Therefore, here's the application. This this anger that we have this speech that we need to have this listening and caring about people.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent is the Eris tent that means make a radical step of faith in anything morally or the evil and the references to relationships that are not good in places where you shouldn't go and influences that are messed with your life. Make a radical radical departure and put that behind you so there's a negative command and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you were back to the word and notice it's planted in you, literally. It says that you received the word remember the parable of the soils member.

Jesus said, you know, to his disciples explain this to you. The Son of Man went out and he cast the seed upon the ground. The seed is God's word and the seed of God's word fell on hard path at the heart heart and the seed of God's word fell on shallow soil and that someone who responds quickly, but when it gets tough to be a follower. They fade away in the seed of God's word falls on on through thorny soil and that's a person who they love God and their sincere and they start to grow the riches of this world, the deceitfulness of them and other things and distractions choke out the word, and so instead of the person becoming more and more like Christ and more and more loving and more and more transformed they get stuck.

But then the last one.

Luke eight verse 15, but the seed that falls in the good ground is the person with a good and honest heart who receives the word implanted and obeys it. That's what he's talking about is talking about when you receive the word of truth, the gospel of first Peter says that we are born again by an imperishable seed verse 23 to 25 that our new relationship with God happened because we responded to the gospel of grace in the gospel of grace, put the seed of new life in us in this new life grows and our heart is the kind of soil and so he says here except it humbly, literally, with a teachable heart, which can save you if you printed out your note circle that little word can if I did not. This was dry just learned this this week because I was doing little extra study and it's it's it's the word we get to later became a word that they used for obsolete and have dynamite in that day, Dumas. It's a word for power. It has the power. The word implanted you has the power to save you and the word salvation. I think we always think of you like justification is what I prayed to receive Christ. The word means deliverance.

Your salvation is your delivered from death delivered from the power of sin. Your delivered from the penalty of sin. So what he's saying is the word of God implanted in our hearts when we trusted Christ has the power to deliver us from what will from all moral filth from all evil from many for this deception member earlier earlier in the text. What's it say he says do not be deceived.

We had the word of truth, and so is you looking your notes. Let me read the entire passage and then I want to break it down and then here's the deal. I want you to think about how much power, you'd really like to have you know we just were all in this together and we all struggle we struggle with temptation. We struggle with the emotions anger, resentment, lack of forgiveness struggle with discipline struggle with a lot of stuff this passage is can remind us that there is an amazing power of deception over here and there's a power in God's word that will deliver you, but it only does that if you do something with it. Let's read it. He goes on to say, do not merely listen to the word, and so there's our word deceive yourselves. Do what it says illustration. Anyone who listens to the word but doesn't do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like contrast but the man who looks intently into the perfect law, speaking of Scripture that gives freedom, and continues to do this so there's a practice there's a habit, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it. Notice the result, he will be blessed in what he does now when I study the Bible and when I prepare to teach it to one of the things I do is all studied the passage all of all break down. You know the different verses in terms of grammatically how they fit and then when I try and do for me and give it to you. But normally I don't give this to people I usually give them just sort of my my big outline, but you were, studying. This is about God's word so I thought it show you what I do so then what I did is I said okay what does it really mean what I just studied and then I want to put it in one clear sentence that accounts for all the words that really make sense. And so what we learn from verse 21 the beginning of verse 22 is that freedom to become the joyful, mature, Christlike person who lacks nothing word. I get that member. Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials were were in a trial right knowing the testing of your faith produces what endurance will allow endurance to have its perfecting maturing result, you might be perfect, mature, Christlike notice, lacking nothing. So freedom to become the kind of person requires a radical repentance from sinful practices and relational patterns that that's exactly verse 21 said moral filth and provoke prevalent evil then noticed the positive and a wholehearted cultivation of the word implanted in our hearts so you want to experience God's power his life change. I don't know about you but regardless of circumstances I would have joy of, regardless of temptations on have great relationships and be connected regardless of emotional issues.

What might tick me off or what might make me feel resentful I want to be a joyful, loving, winsome person, dad friend husband and and he says to do that I have to make a radical repentance away from the things that are pulling me away from God.

And then I need to make a wholehearted I mean cultivation of taking this word that's written now, but the living word that's been planted in my heart and cultivated in such a way like you would a garden home and this is the most precious card in the world and that garden is your heart to be back with his application. Just a quick reminder, this message is from our series called resilience withstanding the storms of life. Navigating life's storms is never easy, but as believers in Christ, God gives us the resources we need to keep standing strong.

No matter what comes our way, trips, teaching provides a fresh perspective from James chapter 1 on not only how to do it, but how to do it well, and bless others along the way for a limited time, the resources for resilient are discounted and the MP3s are always free to order your copy or to send it to a friend visit us@livingontheedge.org Special offers on the app or give us a call at triple late.

333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003 will chip the teaching today under struggle with discouragement often go hand-in-hand. I mean we've all experienced up to some degree or another. So just know that we have a lot of brothers and sisters in Christ were discouraged right now your latest book called the art of survival has the potential to bring a lot of hope and healing of someone asked what would you tell them about it. What I would say is I think were all struggling regardless of our background or perspective of discouragement to some degree and discouragement is really rooted in something called perspective and reader have God's perspective, we see life through his perspective or receipt through our own lens, and when our problems are very up close to RI the whole world looks pretty dark and winter problems get pushed back and we see things from a large and big perspective, then we can overcome our discouragement and the very last chapter in that tiny little book is how to slay the dragon discouragement of all the things I've shared people told me over and over and over. One guy said you know the first chapter was good.

I really really like the second chapter but the last chapter that was awesome.

That's what got me over the hump so I would pray that that little book and especially that chapter I can help our brothers and sisters that are really struggling with discouragement. It's called the art of survival. Art is an acronym ART a is the attitude that helps us navigate adversity are is the resource God offers and adversity. NT is the theology guides our perspective in adversity in a world of chaos and confusion. Chip explains there's an art to survival skills honed by practice that lead to joyful endurance. No matter what.

If you're looking for a pastor perspective and peace. You need to read Chip's new book, the art of survival. Get your discounted copy@livingontheedge.org with the chipping roadmap or by calling us at triple late. 333-6003 that's triple late. 333-6003. I hope you'll do it today as we wrap up today's message I told three stories, two of them were about deception and one was about power. I want you to really pause for just a moment I want you to hang in there with me because I just don't think you grass no matter how much you think you grasp how deceived you can be and I can be. I mean the first story was about a guy that was tell me all about his church and his version of the Bible and out of his mouth was the most prejudiced communication I've ever heard in my life. The second one was about a guy who was absolutely convinced everything was great until he came home and there's a note on the fridge raider and his marriage was in shambles and the only one who didn't know it was him.

Would you be willing just today to say all Lord if there's anything anything at all that I'm deceived about would you show me and then sit quietly and in and if the Holy Spirit it will be very specific. It won't be your bad person or your terrible it would be very specific about something that needs to change so we can draw you close the second thing I want you to hear is this is that just casually reading the Bible or somehow listening to podcasts and thinking that dynamic supernatural power in change will come from that is false. Your deceived power comes when, what, when we put it into practice.

That's what he says. He says you hear the word of God, you deceive yourselves. He says do what it says and there's something the word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. The writer of Hebrews says it pierces the division of soul and spirit in joint and marrow. Listen carefully and is able to discern or judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. I don't read the Bible because a chapter a day keeps the devil away. I read the Bible to renew my mind. Slowly, thoughtfully asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me who God is, how things are with us and then holding tightly to a promise to say Lord I need to do this today and I need your power and this is what you promised. We have a tool called learning to hear God's voice in Scripture that's absolutely free. You get some information about how to get it.

If you're not in the Bible for yourself and experiencing power. Please check it out. Great word shipped FedEx to check out how to hear God's voice in Scripture. You'll find it on either the chipping roadmap under online courses or@livingontheedge.org on the free tab.

There are several other free resources there. You might find helpful to as we wrap up I want to say thanks to those who make this program possible through your generous financial support.

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