I taught my first sermon EVER before a body of believers.
WILD, right?
On Sunday, our pastors allowed six up-and-coming young adult leaders to share a 15-minute message from the Lord.
God gave me the message of mental fortitude and courage to remain consistent and disciplined, move forward in pain or adversity, or suffer patiently.
As instructed in James 1:2-4 (ESV)—Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I am no stranger to fortitude and endurance—this is not a blind leading the blind. Each day, we must find joy in how God decides to mature us. James 1:2-4 provides us with a strategy to suffer patiently.
Watch the video below to listen to the complete message:
Faith is tested after we count it all joy, rejoice, celebrate, and find delight that we “get to” experience trials of various kinds. By suffering patiently as we mature spiritually and develop an inner peace that knows (Ginosko: by way of encounter) that God is who he says he is.
Nothing catches God by surprise.
God gives us free will to choose him daily, instructing us to take every thought captive to OBEY Him. The advisory wants to hold us hostage to the lies.
Instead, place those thoughts under the magnifying glass of Philippians 4:8 to ask yourself, is this thought true?
Honorable?
Just?
Pure?
Lovely?
Commendable?
Excellent?
Worthy of Praise?
Think of those things ONLY.
Shift your perspective to see God in the suffering.
The testing is for us to be perfected—never perfect—constantly transforming to look more like Christ.
If you still look and sound like you tomorrow, something is off. We must partner with the Holy Spirit—the helper, the one who came after Jesus left, who dwells within, greater in us than he (the advisory) who is in this world. The
Holy Spirit is doing the will and the work within us. Endure.
Your accountability partner,
Janae Carlee