referenced as the verse they ended on last week, about being blessed for patiently enduring testing
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.
referenced to say God will not reject a broken and repentant heart
1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.
4 Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
5 Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
11 Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.
16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
quoted at the close, telling believers not to be surprised at fiery trials but to be glad, as trials make them partners with Christ in his suffering
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;
2 that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
4 They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:
5 who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
8 And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.
11 If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.
13 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.
15 For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.
16 But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
18 “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.
quoted by a congregation member extending the Romans 8:28 thought, about being predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ and the chain from foreknowledge to glorification
29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Carl walked through James 1:13-18 on a Wednesday night, finishing up the first chapter of James. The passage deals with where temptation comes from, what it leads to, and what it tells us about who God is. The thread running through the whole message was that God uses trials and temptations, including failed ones, to make us more like Christ.
What was said
James picks up right where he left off the previous week. The promise in verse 12 is that God blesses those who patiently endure testing, but verse 13 makes an important correction: enduring a test is not the same as saying God set you up to fail. God may allow testing, but he is never the one doing the tempting.
Pastor Carl pointed to the moment in Luke where Jesus tells Simon Peter that Satan has asked to sift him like wheat, and that God allowed it. That detail matters, because it shows that Satan has to ask permission. He does not get to do whatever he wants. And even while allowing the sifting, Jesus told Peter he had been praying for him, that his faith would not fail.
Peter did fail the test. He denied Jesus. But the story did not end there. When Peter repented and turned back, God forgave him, restored him, and used that failure to strengthen Peter and the disciples around him. Pastor Carl held that up as evidence that a failed test does not make someone a failure or unusable by God.
Verses 13 through 14 trace how temptation works. It does not come from God. It comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. Those desires give birth to sinful actions, and sin, if it is allowed to grow, leads to death. Pastor Carl compared it to fishing in a stocked pond, where the fish fall for the bait every single time, that image of being dragged away and enticed by something that looks good but leads somewhere destructive.
In contrast, verse 17 describes who God actually is. Everything good and perfect comes from him. He created the lights in the heavens and does not change or cast a shifting shadow. Several people in the room said that line landed for them, the comfort of a God who stays the same when everything else shifts. Pastor Carl put it plainly: God is not shifty, not crafty, not setting anyone up to lose.
Verse 18 closes the passage by naming us God's prized possession, chosen by his true word, the opposite of illusion or bait and switch. The congregation took a few minutes to share what had stood out. Stories came out, including one man whose wife led people to Christ from an oncology ward while dying of cancer, and another who described the particular pain of sin as losing the ability to hear God's voice. Those testimonies pushed the passage further than the sermon notes alone could have.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Pastor Carl shared the Max Lucado quote that God loves you the way you are but refuses to leave you that way. Where have you seen that at work in your own life?
James is clear that God tests our faith but does not tempt us. When have you been tempted to blame God for a temptation, and what helped you see it differently?
We're gonna do Only King Forever, Jesus Firm Foundation, How Great Is Our God, And then we'll end with We're set. Alright. Very good. Welcome, church. Happy Monday.
Happy Monday night. Who's who's limping through the week so far? I know. And you know how many how many will have spring break for, like, the the school? Do you guys have spring break?
Next? Okay. The same. Okay. Oh, I'm just praying for it.
So looking forward to it. Come soon. Can we give Andy and Shauna a round of and just thank them for thank you guys so much for dinner. It was delicious. Loved it.
Oh, so we can bring some home? Wonderful. They're to go containers, and there's some potpie left. So please grab some for home if you'd like. We we want it to disappear.
Oh, yes. We've got a couple announcements. Here's one. Candlelight vigil, prayer for Ukraine, Wednesday, March 23. That is this Wednesday.
This Wednesday, day after tomorrow, 06:30 at the Catholic church, just two blocks that way from here.
Yep. So if you'd like to go, know that you can. Next one is, yes, IF Conference, an addition retreat to the IF Conference, which is Heart to Heart Ranch, May sixth and seventh, on your radar if you'd like to go. And sound booth volunteers, if you don't want to work with that guy, something's wrong with you. But really, we do need people so that our sound people can have a day off.
So if it's at any interest to you, there's a need there. But that's all we got for announcements. I wanna sing together. So what do you say we stand and sing? The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever. I wanna sing about it. God, what a great way to start. To think be to be thinking and singing about your kingdom. You said, my kingdom's not of this world.
And, God, you've established this kingdom on Earth. You invite us, God, to be a part of this kingdom. The culmination is coming. You're coming to you are going to return to to gather us for this kingdom, and it's a kingdom we can enter through belief in you. But, God, with that belief, we're gonna see in James comes doing.
We we with faith comes action. But, God, thank you. Thank you for the for inviting us inviting us to be a part of your kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen.
That is trusting in Jesus has lured, will rest on into the darkest of storm. And though even El should endeavor
Here's an oldie butty goodie.
Our God.
Oh God. It's good to sing to you and it's good to just be in your presence. God, would you speak to us in a in a way maybe we've not heard from you before through your word. In Jesus name, amen.
Amen.
Can I have a a seat here for a moment? Alright. So I gotta just like a little should I say. I'm not a I'm not a storyteller or I'm not I'm not a joke teller. So I'll just I'll start there with that.
But I'm gonna share a little story with you. Alright? Is that okay? K. Here's the story.
It's about it's about a guy, and and he's struggling to stay on a diet much like myself. Actually, I'm not even trying. And one day, he goes downtown, and he knows that he's gonna pass his favorite donut shop. And so he's getting close to the donut shop and he thinks, well, a cup of coffee would be good, I think. You know, I'll just get some coffee when I'm when I'm there.
But as he's he's getting closer and closer, he starts to think about how delicious those donuts are. And so he he begins to pray. Well, lord, if if you want me to have a donut too, let there be a parking spot just right there in front of the shop. And sure enough, after his seventh time around the block, there was the spot that he prayed for. Get it?
Is it the seventh time? Thank you. Thank you. Robert Orban said, most people want to be delivered from temptation but would like to keep it in touch. Yep.
So last week, James opens his letter with trials and troubles, and he writes to tell us that our trials and our troubles have purpose, and that purpose is to make us more mature and complete. I've always loved this little quote from Max Lucado here. He says, God loves you the way that you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus. I think that's good.
First Thessalonians says it just a little bit differently, and with last words. It says, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, to become more like Jesus. If you've ever wondered, God, what is your will for my life? Ultimately, God's will for our lives is to make us more like Jesus. And every day and every trial and every trouble is an opportunity to do it.
Whether we ask for them or want them or not, they're there to make us more like Christ. In that same vein, James goes on to talk about temptation in verses 13 through 18, and he spends some time in those verses explaining where it comes from, what it leads to, and who God is in light of it. And so my hope as we read these verses is that we will see trials and temptation as a means to make us more like Christ. He's gonna use it all, every bit of it. Whether we pass or fail trials and temptations, they will bring us closer to God.
So that being said, we're in James one thirteen through 18, finishing up the chapter. And here's what James says. He says, remember when you're being tempted, do not say, God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our father who created all the lights in heavens in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
He chose to give us to give birth to us by giving us his true word, and we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. So we'll stop there for for tonight. I'd like to pray first. I always love to pray and, ask God to shed some light on the scripture. God, we do pray just that.
Would you illumine illumine this scripture? Bring it to life in us. Last week, we read that if anyone is lacking wisdom, we should ask, and you give generously without finding fault. So we ask for your wisdom. We ask that you illumine scripture, point out anything, God, that you would want to change in us to make us more like you.
In Jesus' name. Amen. So last week, we ended with, verse 12 here where it says, God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. That's a great promise, by the way. Blessed, he says.
That means happy, fortunate, enviable even. Wow. Because we've patiently endured testing and temptation. Blessed because we've endured testing and temptation just like Jesus did. But in verse 13, James makes it clear that we should never say, well, God is tempting me.
He's the one doing the tempting because God isn't tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts us. He may test our faith, but God does not tempt us by trying to seduce us into, into to temptation and and sin. That's just not God's character. It's not his nature. We may be tested, and those tests may become a a temptation for us to fall into sin because of our own selfish desires, but that's not on God.
He isn't the one doing the the tempting. You're you're tracking so far. I've been thinking a lot about, this example here in, Luke, and I I, can't seem to get there. Maybe just one forward. Thank you.
And, it's when God allowed Peter to be tempted by Satan. Do you remember this? Where Jesus says, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, and I'm gonna let him. I'm gonna let him. Isn't that interesting?
Satan has to ask God what he can and cannot do. I feel like this is a very, very powerful example of God's sovereignty and authority over Satan. Does Satan have reign as the prince of the power of the air? Yeah. But does he get to do just whatever?
No. I mean, he had to ask. And God gets to decide what the enemy can and cannot do. And in this case, he allowed Satan to be, sifted and tempted. Simon.
Sorry. What did I say? Satan. I'm I'm in Simon. Thank you, Ray.
But look what Jesus says. He goes, I've pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. That's the goodness of God right there. Pleading for Peter that his faith shouldn't fail. I haven't given up on you, Peter.
Even though you've been sifted, I've not given up. I prayed for you, Peter. So when you've repented and you've turned to me again, strengthen your brothers. You know what is encouraging to me about this is that, yeah, Peter failed the test when he denied Jesus. Sure.
We all know that. But when he repented and he turned back to God, God forgave him and he redeemed him. Like, that wasn't it for Peter, and that's not for us. He used that failed trial to strengthen Peter and strengthen his brothers. He strengthened the disciples around Peter.
He and they came out stronger on the other side. And the reason I love that is because we'll all blow it from time to time. We we all do. The test can become a temptation, and then because of the evil desire in our own hearts, we could fail. But it doesn't mean that we're failures.
It doesn't mean that we're unusable by God. God can redeem a failed test and turn it around for good. So and I and let's hold on to this right here from first John one nine, that when we confess our sin God, I've blown it again. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from wickedness. Fresh start.
And then Psalm 51, here's another. He will not reject a broken and repentant heart. This is such good news. So, again, there was a testing of Peter's faith, but God didn't tempt him. And Peter's story shows us that when we turn back to God, he could forgive us, redeem us, and even use those failures to strengthen us and the people around us.
I just I just feel like this is good stuff here. Because isn't the tendency sometimes to think, well, I've blown it. I'm done. I'm unusable. God can't God can't with me.
No. He can, and he does. And there's proof in the scriptures of it over and over and over again. Like the song, greater by mercy me. There'll be days that I lose the battle.
Grace says that it doesn't matter because the cross has already won the war. I'm learning I'm learning to run freely, understanding how just how he sees me, and it makes it me love him more and more. Because I hear a voice and he calls me redeemed when others say I'll never be enough. And greater is the one living inside of me than he who is living in the world. Isn't that a great song?
We should have sang that one tonight. James one thirteen through 14. This right here doesn't offer a whole lot of hope. James is only explaining where temptation comes from and what it leads to if we don't repent and turn from it. So where does it come from?
It comes from our own evil desires. That's on us. As believers, are we a new creation? Yes. We are.
Do we have the spirit of God living in us? Yes. We do. But Galatians reminds us here that if we're not yielding our will to the spirit, we have the potential to yield our will to what the sin nature craves. We can walk in either.
Right? Do you remember the sermon that Ray gave a while back? It's which wolf are you feeding? You know? When we yield to temptation, dragged away and enticed, ultimately, it leads to death.
Sin leads to death, period. I think of this, picture. This was a fishing trip I took a while back in Sheridan with my buddy Renzi Reno. He used to be the youth pastor here. And, Tim and I, and we're fishing in this kinda like a private, pond and private property, whatever.
And it's just stocked with fish. And it was it was getting ridiculous. Like, we just threw out the line. I mean, it was just you know? And every single time, like, every single time we pull a fish out, they fall for it.
And I feel like that's kind of a picture of what James paints in in verse 14 about being dragged away and enticed. You know, it looks good. Yeah. That fleshy you know, our selfish desire goes, yeah. Yeah.
I'll go for that. And it's that classic bait and switch where, you know, maybe maybe like greed or hate or envy or gossip or malicious talk, whatever seems so satisfying at the time that we want to act out on, it actually leads to death and destruction. And that's why I think Peter says from experience, stay alert. Watch out. Watch out your great enemy, the devil.
He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, saying don't don't fall for it, and don't blame God for those temptations. James is clear. Whatever is good and perfect, it comes down to us from God our father. He created all the lights in the heavens, and he doesn't change or cast shifting shadows. From day to day, I can be this.
I have no idea sometimes where I'm gonna be. God remains the same. He is steady. Is solid. That's comforting to me.
God is not shifty and he is not crafty and he is not deceptive and he is not setting us up to lose. Everything that's good and perfect comes from him. He came to give us life and life to the full measure, not to rob us of our joy, not like the enemy. Verse 18. He chose to give us birth by giving us his true word.
And true means true, straightforward. It's the opposite of illusion. There's no bait and switch with God. He does he says what he means, and and and he means what he says. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
I know this. God loves you. God loves you. He cares about you deeply. So much he would lay down his life for us.
And although we are tested, he will not tempt us. He's not the one doing the tempting. But regardless, those trials and those temptations, they can be used. They will be used for his glory and our and our good, our eventual good. We may not see it at the time.
I want to end with one Peter four because I feel like this fits so well with James. It says, Dear friends, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised at the fiery trials that you're going through and as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, he says, be glad. I'm not there yet, but I'm I'm working on it.
For these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it's revealed to all the world. These trials and temptations, they have a purpose. If we patiently endure, we will have the joy of seeing God's glory when it's revealed to the world. Crown of life, we saw in verse 12 last week. But for right now, my encouragement is to keep on trusting, to keep on asking for wisdom.
We need it daily. He gives generously without finding fault. And not even if, but when we fail a test, to get back up and turn to him. Because he can turn a failure into victory. A learning experience for us, but also we can strengthen the people around us after we blow it.
And God has redeemed it. So those are just a few of of thoughts from from James one thirteen through 18 tonight. And, I'd like to stop talking for a moment. And if there was a verse from James tonight or a word of encouragement, I'd love to give you a chance to share. If not, that's okay too.
But if there was something that just reached out and grabbed you and and you thought, this was good. I should share this. I'll pause for a moment here and give you a chance to do so. Gannon.
What was the I think it was maybe it said that out of all creation, we became his prized possession. That was James or was that
That was it. That was it.
Yep. I really like that one and I just like it because I really like animals. I really like creation and that's what brought me out here initially. I love wildlife, and it's as much as I love seeing these creatures and see what they're created to do, just live their lives out in the wild, it's also really encouraging that we are made in God's image and that, you know, I do believe he cares for all animals, but he he we're special. We're we're his prized possessions.
That's always as encouraging, As beautiful and, you know, wondrous as the natural world is and which we are a part of, but it's just it's always encouraging to kind of just be reminded that though we can feel very small out there amongst the stars, amongst the mountains, amongst grizzlies, it's cool to know that we're actually, the biggest. We're we're the most prized. Yeah. I find it very encouraging.
I agree. I absolutely agree. Thank you for sharing that. Any other thoughts? Kenneth, you got one?
Oh, here you go.
It's a little bit off the search. I just wanna I just been through a a lot the last couple of days, and it seemed like the only answer that I'm getting is out this Bible. And as much as I stare away, he find his way to make it back to me. He make me realize that all my answers is in here. And I just gotta take the crooked with the straights.
Bad days does come, but it's just how you take it. And, I just wanna be more selfish with my time with God. That's all.
Amen. Thanks for sharing that, Kenneth. Yep. Elsa too.
Hi, guys.
Hey.
Let's see. Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of lights. Who does not change like shifting shadows? Thank God he doesn't change, right, like shifting shadows because I know that I change a lot. I know that I'm always indecisive in certain things.
So thank God that our God, he's made up his mind, that's what he is, He loves us. That's not going away. You know? Sometimes yeah. So to me, I'm like, oh, good.
Our God, he's got it all under control. Because sometimes I feel like I don't have it under control. He does. He's got it. So, yeah, that that to me stood out.
Thank God he's not changing. He's not.
Amen. I had the same thought this week. I thought, thank you. Yeah. Thank you that you are steady and solid.
I you you are solid foundation I can stand on. My mind, come on.
Yeah. All over the place. I'm like, thank God, he's got it. He knows.
Thank you for sharing that. Any other thoughts from James?
And since I have it right here, you might be next. I'm just joking. As you know me, I'm I'm not, afraid or shy to say, that there's been a time in my life when I walk away from from the Lord and follow my own desire, and I know how difficult it was and how tough it was. So there's a little part here that it's wow. It's so good.
It says, and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. Mhmm. One of the worst experience I've I've I had in my life is when when I know when I saw my life doing to myself in life doing something that it was not the way God wanted me to live my life. And the worst experience I had during these trials and difficult times is when I could not hear God's voice.
So
the reason, of course, obviously, we wanna follow the Lord, stay in touch with the Lord, confess our sins, and work in our sanctification, that progress until we die. Right? But when if there comes a time in your life or in my life when you see yourself in a in a deep hole and you've noticed that sin kind of took control and it's hard to get out of there, just remember that difficult pain that that Florian experienced. I couldn't hear God's voice, and that was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life. So I wanna encourage you.
If there's anything small, something small in your life and you feel the Holy Spirit says, this is not good for you, fight against that. Fight against that. Throw it away from your life because it would it would slowly destroy your your life. This is from a life experience. It might not be for everybody here.
But for me, I know when I I led the sin, slowly took control of my life, and and then I end up not hearing his voice. I know I repeat this over and over. I think it's very important for us as Christians to hear his voice. And how we can do that? By staying in touch with our Lord.
Confess our sins as pastor pastor Carl preached tonight. Confess our sins and hear his voice. And and remember that we are passing through this world. We are not meant to be here forever as we all know, and we are not meant to gain everything in this world. Let's keep our hearts and minds connected with with the kingdom of God with the with the beauty of heaven.
Amen.
Amen. Thank you for that. That's a good word. That's a sermon right there. I would have been happy if you would have said that tonight.
We could all just went home.
I guess it's my turn. I'll pass this to you next. Romans eight twenty eight, it says that, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called to his purpose. When I think of how God uses our mistakes. He uses our failure.
He uses maybe the things that are the darkest things in our life. He turns all thing for good if we love him and are called to his purpose. And I just think of all the things that that come into our lives and we question God about, you know, why would you bring sickness to a loved one? Or or how come this person passed away? And but I trust that somehow God will make it good for those who love him and call to his purpose.
You're kind
of putting me on the spot now. Kind of build a little bit off from what you said. Not a whole lot of you know much of my story. I'd been married for about ten years. And my wife came down with colon cancer.
And it was diagnosed at stage extremely aggressive. And she didn't last quite a year. It was something pretty horrific to watch and witness. One of the most amazing things through the whole process was her faith never wavered one iota. We would be sitting in oncology here.
And I honestly believe she led three or four people to Christ in oncology. Folks from other rooms would be like, how can you maintain this positive attitude? And she would just witness to them. I I would have sworn that I would probably never fall in love again, let alone get married. And that joke was on me very quickly, and I'm blessed.
So yep. Yep. Yeah. God is good in all things.
What a powerful example of God working all things. All things, the things we think, that's just unimaginable. How could anybody endure after that? And all things really means all things. Thank you for sharing that.
So the eight twenty eight, as we know all things work together for good. The very next one, next verse next two verses actually, right, Von. So the 28 is we know God causes all things to work together for good. Not all things are good. All things work together for good.
To those who love God and are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined them to be conformed into the image of his son. So God has taken us as the raw material, and he has already decided the outcome, what it it is to look like. When Tanya and I met, I was a sculpture major, and so I was used to taking, a block of stone, and I would decide what it was gonna be, and I would draw on the side of it. Know, side view of an elephant, top view of an elephant, front view of an elephant, and I'd start chipping away everything in that stone or that piece of wood that didn't look like an elephant.
And if I had determined it was gonna look like an elephant, that's what I was going for, and I was chipping away everything that didn't look like that. When God says he's causing all things to work together for good, for those whom he foreknew, he predestined them to be conformed into the image of his son. He's already drawn the template for us in Christ, and he's chipping away through our circumstances at everything that doesn't look like Christ. And if you've got a spouse, that person is the sharpest tool in that's the sharpest tool in God's toolbox. But your circumstances are chipping away at things that are not Christ like in your life.
And the hardest times are gonna be some of the times where you're you're becoming more and more familiar with the sufferings of Christ. But also, it says, if I go further, it says that the ones that he had predestined to be conformed into the image of his son so that Christ would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, and those that he predestined, he also called. And those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he's also glorified. It's already set.
The image is set. He's working us that direction by all of our circumstance. Amen.
Thank you, guys. Thanks for sharing. It just makes it so much richer, the study and testimony too. It's so powerful. We say we stand and we'll we'll sing again.
I'd like to pray, though, first. God, I thank you for the encouragement from James tonight, and also, God, for the encouragement in this room and through the testimonies. God, it it may not seem like trials and temptations would would do any good, but they have a purpose. They have a purpose. God, you're chipping away at us.
You're you're carving us into your, image and likeness. And, it it sometimes it is painful, but you have a purpose in it, God. You truly do. Help us to see it. Help us to see it, Lord, and to endure.
You say we are blessed when we endure. In Jesus' name, amen. Let the redeemed. Good song to end on.
So. He's our deliverer. You are my deliverer. The freedom I'm living in. You are my deliverer.
You brought my promise land. Oh, you brought my deliverer. The freedom I'm living in. You brought my deliverer. You brought my promise I
like that song. I like it lot. A And I love this. If any of us lacks wisdom, let's ask God, gives generously to all without finding fault, and it'll be given. Amen.
Ephesians, I've got a question for you. Well, first of all, comment. There's food left. So there's there's to go boxes. Don't forget that.
But also, if there's a few people that could stay, we've got a little bit of heavy lifting to do. And that is some speakers and some stage parts here because our and and tables and chairs too. Yes. So breaking down tables and chairs, and they go right out here in this door. And then later, we'll we'll a little further instruction for those who will will stay just a little bit longer, if you're willing.
Alright. That's all I got.
There's a wedding risk rehearsal dinner happening here.
