Counting It Joy in Trials

e e e e good morning brothers and sisters praise God that we could all come today um and hear today God's word and message that he has on our on his mind to share with us and if you ever had the pleasure of reading through proverbs um the common theme of Proverbs is a very important theme and it begins with uh Proverbs 1 where Solomon is um is writing these Proverbs or maybe his father is writing it to him and it says to know wisdom and instruction to understand the word of insight to receive instruction in Wise dealing and the common theme of Proverbs through every chapter that you go through it begins with my son or remember these wisdoms that I give you remember my Commandments store up my Commandments keep them on the tablets written on your heart and it's this reminder that keeps telling us before it gives us this wisdom it tells us to remember it to make that effort to think about it and you know with any type of message that we hear in the mornings uh whether it be a sermon or someone's testimony it sometimes might look like a beautiful painting when people will explain it with their wonderful uh words but the most important thing is remembering what we hear on Sundays because a preacher doesn't simply come out to say a word on Sunday so that we can uh be satisfied to hear the message but it is to go further than that deep into our hearts deep into our souls so that we may accept it and live by God's word which will change our lives which will mold us into the men and women that he ultimately desires for us to be and so as we're going to be standing up and praying uh ask God to prepare your heart to prepare your ears to accept whatever he has today to speak and if it is a rebuke then accept it if it is a good word for your soul and an encouragement to not fear or not have anxiety Then accept it but prepare your hearts to hear what God has uh wanting to say so with that let's all stand up let's pray and bless this service and all we have prepared father God I lead everyone here today on this morning in this service Lord we've gathered here today to hear your word to be blessed by it and to live by it Lord and so God may it Pierce our hearts Lord may may you make our heart of Flesh Lord that we may accept these words Lord that it may change and impact our lives that when we walk outside the these uh Church walls that we may live and prove to people that we are Christians and influenced by you oh holy God and so Lord may you teach us to live righteously and in fear of you Lord and in Jesus name I pray amen and to start off our service we're going to sing a wonderful song by the name of amazing [Music] grace Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that save the like me I once was lost but now I'm found was F but now I see my chains are gone I've been set free my God my savior as Rome me and like a flood his Mercy Reign unending love unending gra was Grace that t My Heart To Fear and Grace my fears really how preious day that Grace appear the hour I first believe my chains are gone I've been set free my God my savior has Ransom on me and like a flood his Mercy R unending love unending R through many dangers TOS are sares we have already come it was gra that brought us sa us far and Grace will lead us my chains are gone I've been set free my God my savior has Ransom me and like a FL his Mercy Reign unending love unending Grace [Music] there's a name above all others wonderful to hear bringing open Che is the lovely name of Jesus ever more the same what a lovely name what a lovely name this name of Jesus reaching high and far then the brighter star sweet than the songs they sing in heav Let the world Proclaim what a lovely [Music] name he return in clouds of Glory Saints of every race Shall Behold his [Music] face with him enters Heaven City ever to aim what a lovely [Music] day oh what a this name call Jesus reaching high and [Music] far than the brightest star and it's sweet than the songs they seen in heaven let the world Proclaim what a lovely [Music] name oh what a lovely name this name called Jesus reaching higher for and the brightest star and it's sweet than the songs they sing in heaven let the proaim what a lovely name praise the Lord brothers and sisters for this morning that we can all come here today together to hear his word and worship His name uh that is by the mercy of God and I'm going to read a Bible verse um in 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 and it says here so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary Affliction is preparing for us an internal weight of Glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen But to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are trans sent but the things that are unseen are Eternal praise God and I also want to announce our program for this morning uh we will have sister Gwen sing uh her testimony for us and then right after that we will have brother Tim continue his word uh God bless about a month and almost a month ago when I was at U CD of Lights my legs went completely numb on me and I fell on my wheelchair and they ended up having to call the ambulance for me I went to the hospital for about a week and a half then they transed AR Valley well let's just say last Friday day I was clear Jesus on my own and if it wasn't for him I would not be saying this right now because of him I have the strength to tell this and also keep my mom in your prayers cuz she was also in the hospital before Christmas she's now back at um her where she came from so just keep her in prayers good morning my dear friends and praise God it's a wonderful day and um I know it's kind of chilly outside but I think if the weather didn't change it wouldn't have been as fun you know but since the weather changes we get to experience the cold and the Heat and the spring and the fall but um I'm just happy that we're all here this morning and to learn about our Lord Jesus Christ and thank you Gwen for your testimony you know um I I actually like yesterday we we were driving in the car and my wife was listening to a a mother who lost her child um to to a person that just murdered him in the parking lot uh he was sitting in his car and this this mother she was she was reading her her pains you know and I I was kind of thinking you know since our topic that that we're going through is James and we're going to be kind of going into uh passages 2 to8 which talks about trials that maybe instead of me trying to explain uh her story I want us to to listen to it it's about 9 minutes long but before we we uh hear her story I just the reason why I want want us to listen to it is because you know my dear friends in our life we're going to face trials it's not the fact if we're going to face them it's the fact when are we going to face them and the the question then then arises how can we go through them you know I um I was like in one of my friends hearings he had a hearing and um I've never been to to a courtroom like this where there's about 12 different uh cases that are being tried um like in one day and there was there was one like one lady that um that I guess she was stealing money from the company and the owner of the company was there too and it kind of shocked me how the owner of the company acted I mean yes the the the that lady she she stole the money and she was uh being tried for that but the owner when he got his turn to speak with anger and hatred he's just yelling give her justice put her in prison put her away I don't want to see her and I mean it wasn't even that much but I was thinking you know when a person has no Jesus in their life they they view as their trial as to get back at somebody or to get back at God but when a person has Jesus Christ in their life and they are going through trials much larger than maybe some of those that that are yelling give them Justice put them away but because they turn to Christ because their eyes are on him they have the strength to overcome and in the midst of the trials they have the strength to love their enemy and over here James he opens up to us how we Christians are to deal with trials and if we are not a Believer yet if we have not accepted Jesus in our life just yet just know one thing with him with him we can do all things like the Bible says through Christ who gives me strength I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and trials can be hard and heavy at times it it might seem as if the rock is too heavy the trial is too heavy sometimes it feels like we're going to buckle under pressure and over here James he opens up to us how to deal with our trials trials are essential for our Lives why because one is they expose our weaknesses two they they strengthen us three they get rid of all the unnecessary things in our life and four they influence people around us in a positive way and so when we go through trials it's not just me myself and I but God has a purpose for each one of you including myself when he tests our faith and um there's this one teacher he said you know like I hear messages that oh just come to Christ he will remove all your pain and suffering come to him and you will live in Paradise you know but he says when I came to Jesus all my troubles just began his name is David pawson and he said and then I got the power of the Holy Spirit and all my troubles got even worse so so you see my dear friends just because we're Believers doesn't mean that on this Earth we won't face trials matter of fact we might face more trials because God is trying to mold us into somebody he can use and I would like to read from verses 2-8 let's turn to James chapter 1 verses 2-8 James chapter 1 verses 2-8 oh yeah so so I passed out some Bibles but if you guys don't have a Bible uh we have some here and we can have somebody give them to you just raise your hand and okay um David can you come here and grab a Bible and give it to the brother in the back does does anybody else need a Bible okay awesome so I think that's it yeah I just want to remind everybody to to please bring your Bibles because we will be reading and um it's important that that we know where we read and over here it says James chapter 1 1: 2 my brethren count it all joy when you fall into different trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him but let him ask in faith with no doubting for He Who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man unstable in all his ways over here we see key words Joy trial patience Perfection wisdom and double-minded trials they bring forth something in us they produce something in us and over here one of the things that trials produce is patience and patience when we are patient it produces Perfection but then we read that we need wisdom wisdom for what wisdom for trials to make the right right decisions to be perfect and complete lacking in nothing and the scariest position of a person who's going through trials is when he is double-minded a double-minded man when we are unable to make the right decisions we're our mind is everywhere what should I do here should I call this person or should should I go there what should I do instead of turning to God he's turning to man people might have good intentions to give good advices but they might not know your your pain or your trial that you're going through so advice that they might give you is not correct for your trial that's why it says to ask wisdom for what for trials to make the right decision so your patience can produce its fruit and Perfection I'm going to leave it at here but I want us to to watch this testimony of this lady and how she was able to go through through her trial and then we'll we'll start from that um maybe turn off it has a translation my name is Lissa stukova and I am the mother of r ruvan was our long awaited second child for whom we prayed for for 10 years from the moment he was born he brought immense joy to our family Ruben was an extraordinary child with a tender heart and Will T that blessed him with many talents he excelled in his studies and graduated from school with honors with great enthusiasm ruim learned to play musical instruments such as the violent piano and guitar he loved singing and glorified god with his uniquely beautiful voice bringing joy to everyone around him on December 8th 2021 ruim left for a Christmas rehearsal at church that was the last time we saw him in the evening as usual we waited for him to return home but when it grew late and he still had it come back or answered his phone we began to feel that something terrible had happened it is very painful for me to recall that day and relive those moments that day our son Ruben was brutally murdered this tragedy was a tremendous shock to me and our entire family my husband Peter stukov struggled deeply with the loss of her son mourning him every day his heart could not bear the pain and on July 7 2024 he passed away from a heart attack this was yet another another devastating blow to our family only 6 months later on December 24th 2024 my father rin's grandfather also passed away in such a short time I lost my son my husband and and my father words cannot fully Express these losses but I find the strength to keep living only through my faith in God he gives me Comfort and the strength to endure this grief I am also deeply grateful to God for the church which which supported me in my darkest days and continues to do so to this day my faith and the church Community have been a Pillar of Strength for me on this difficult Journey this tragedy happened in a family that deeply believes in God even during my husband Peter's lifetime we often talked about how we wanted to share the message of Jesus Christ with you Leonel Jesus Christ came to this Earth with a mission of [Music] Salvation he knew that he would willingly give his life for our sins and he did so for each one of us though sinless and perfect he died a criminal's death to atone for the sins of of all Humanity if we believe in what he accomplished on the cross in his death burial and Resurrection we can be saved Jesus wants to spend eternity with us he does not want anyone to perish but desires for everyone to come to repentance a complete change of heart a transition from unbelief to Faith it do not this means turning your life around 180° and trusting him the Bible says that God is love this love lives in our hearts and gives us the strength to forgive you Leonel this is the greatest expression of God's love for Humanity he offers everyone the chance for salvation and etern life through faith in him we want you to know this and open your heart to God I pray for you that you may accept Christ into your heart and receive salvation I would like to give you a Bible that will show you the way to Salvation if you don't mind I can visit you uh this is a yeah this is a Bible that they want to give to lanel later I know not today uh but the mother really feels it's important there's an inscription that she wants me to read here thank your honor the Bible contains the story of a criminal who committed murder his name was barabus barabus sentence had not been brought to fulfillment because Jesus Christ the son of God took his place Christ was executed instead of him taking on the punishment for barabus barabus crime and sin there were two other criminals who were crucified with Jesus on Calvary one of those criminals believed in Christ and received Mercy entering Paradise With Jesus after his death the other man remained unrepented in his sins and went to hell I want to give you this this Bible so that you do not end up in Hell which you deserve for your horrible crime regardless of the Judgment made by Earthly courts you can still repent before God and receive eternal life by the Lord's Mercy believing that Christ died for your crime and sin for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life John 3:16 may this Bible remind you of the horrible crime that you committed as well as the Forgiveness that the Lord can give you today I forgive you Lissa stukov mother of St [Music] praise God oh I forgot my Bible but yeah you know it's um it's a mother as we as we over here that lost her child then then she lost her husband and she lost her father all in a Year's period and what she was saying here is that to the person that took the life of her son she said that that Jesus Christ even though you took the life of my son he can give you a new life an eternal life and um that's she she had not not hatred for him but love and what I want to point out here is when a Christian goes through a trial like she was saying that my strength is in the Lord my strength is in the Lord you know and when we know Christ and we go through our trials he's the one who gives us the strength to endure to persevere to move on he's the one who helps us when we are in pain and suffering you know there's going to be a trial that each one of us go where nobody can help you not your friend not your mother not your father not even your pastor the only one who will help you is God and where she found Comfort was in Jesus Christ and she said and the church because the church is a body that God has on this Earth that helps and prays and Comforts as much as we can so over here we see that go back to the last slide trials is is another word for uh tribulation tribulation is a Latin word for tribulum and back in the day when um they needed to to remove the seed from the wheat they would make these boards and they would put rocks on these boards and then another person would stand on those boards and like an ox would push him and and the seed would would separate from the the the thing the the chef chef she yeah it just flew out of my head but you know and sometimes we're when we are in Trials we feel like everything is just going against us it's not sometimes it's all the time like that when we are are going through a trial it feels like the whole world the weight of that rock is going to crush us during a trial God is trying to build us up while the devil is trying to tear us apart tear us apart so he can take us down but God tests our faith how is Tim going to do I gave him this trial who is going to turn to what is he going to do you know like we don't choose our trials they come unexpectedly they they test our emotions they test our decisions and most importantly they test our faith but when we read that what trials produces it's it produces patience and that's what we're going to talk about next week the patience and patience it does not come overnight it's actually a fruit of the spirit that we will learn patience doesn't come just because you want it it's actually takes time for it to grow and I just want to encourage you if you are currently going through something hard in your life if you are currently in a position where you have a decision to make you came to your friend he gave you his advice you came to your leaders they gave you their advice but turn to Christ say Lord what should I do and when you turn to him and when you seek Him He will give you the right answer to make the right decision so whatever trial you're going through my friend right now seek strength from the Lord amen let's Bow Down and pray All Rise we're going to sing a song by the name of the savior is [Music] waiting your s to enter your are I know you let come [Music] in there's nothing this world to keep you apart what is your answer to [Music] him time after time he has wa waited before and now he is waiting again to see if you're willing to open the door oh how he wants to come in you take one step for the Savior my friend his open wide receive him in all love your Darkness will end within your heart heal AB time after time he has waited before and now he is waiting again to see if you're will to open the door oh how he wants to come [Music] in oh oh how he wants to come [Music] in praise God my dear friends our service has come to the end and um I just want to say that if anybody needs prayer for them today uh maybe you're sick or more than that you know you can come up front and we'll uh Pastor Henry myself and uh brother Ivan will come and we'll uh pray with you and for you you know that God brings healing but um I just want to remind us that today we heard about trials but next week we're going to talk about what trials produces and we humans we like to look at the negative things at the negative light of things but God has a purpose for the positive and just understand that if you're going through something today God has a purpose for that not to only teach you but to strengthen you and maybe strengthen those people around you so take courage be strong and don't give up um does anybody have any needs there's a lot of people that are sick right now so we're going to pray for all those that are sick I know that a lot of people um they're probably not going to be coming to church because they're just feeling bad but we're going to pray for them and Dima okay okay we're going to pray for gima and also uh brother Vlad the person who starts the service he he got really sick and he is currently in the hospital so we're going to pray that God sends healing on him he's a young guy full of energy um there's something going around but we believe in God's protection and in his mercy and in his healing power so let's pray Lord God we thank you we thank you for this message Lord God that you teach us Lord God Lord God may we understand Lord that when we are going through something there's a purpose for that Lord and may our eyes Lord God turn to you God where you give the strength to persevere where you God give the strength to keep on going may you bless each person here you know each one's struggle you know God maybe some people here are needing to make some kind of decision may they ask you for wisdom Lord that you can give to them we also pray for the sick Lord for Vlad and for everybody else that that got this thing that's going around Lord but we ask for full healing full healing upon everybody that is sick Lord God may you may you uh strengthen our immune systems Lord that they can overcome this sickness Lord God and we also pray for dimma for his test Lord may you give him the wisdom and the guidance to pass this test that he can rejoice in you Lord God thank you for everything may your name be praised and glorified in jesus' name we pray amen Our Father in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from the evil one for your kingdom your power and Glory forever are yours amen be blessed