You'll Be Stronger, Even If...

James 1:2–4 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Change Changes Us

Ask:

How Many of You have ever changed something about yourself?

I want to let you know that when it comes to driving, I have always been a little bit of a led foot.

I’d see how fast I could respond from a red light to a green light.

I’d try and drive around people because they were going too slow

I’d cut people off and sometimes the other driver would give me the gesture that I could only assume meant that I’m number one.

I was a bit reckless, but then I had a baby.

and now this tiny precious little soul counted on me to drive her safely from point A to B

So now when I drive, I’m not as crazy as I was before

WHY?

BECAUSE the situation changed me, and it made me become different as a result.

EXPRESS:

Change Changes us

Tension

The meaning behind this statement is that when something changes in our lives, it does things inside of us.

Change can make us frustrated

Change can make us feel like we have no control

Change can even bring us pain

And we don’t have any idea when it will come.

So here’s the thing to know when it comes to change:

You may not be able to control the change that happens to you, but you can control your response to it

So the question becomes, How do we deal with the change that happens in your life?

Let’s turn to our passage today that’s in the book of James.

Now let’s talk a bit about why this book is written:

JAMES

Christianity was just getting warmed up in the first century and the Jews beginning to follow Jesus.

However, due to their decision to follow Jesus, there were many people who wanted to hurt them and so it caused these new Christians to become chased out of their homes and dispersed throughout the land around them.

It was a scary time to be a Christian, and so James, the author of this letter, who was also the brother of Jesus, wanted to encourage these people who didn’t know what to do, and who to turn to.

The truth was that things were not going to get easier for them, and so we are going to read in James 1:2-4

James 1:2–4 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

I don’t know if you remember last week, but there is a similar word in this passage as there was in last week’s passage in Isaiah 43:2, Does anyone see it?

It’s the word: WHEN

We have to be clear, hard times will come, and we need to be ready.

What does James say we should do when these hard times come?

Consider it an opportunity for great joy

When’s the last time you went through a really hard time and responded with “YES, I’m SO HAPPY”

probably NEVER.

Pick on student you know has a dog and ask if they’d be happy if they got home and found out their dog died.

And the crazy thing here is that the trouble that these Christians were in could lead them to DEATH.

So why should we consider it Joy?

Here’s WHY:

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

The goal of testing is that your faith would grow and be strengthened in a way that causes you to become like Jesus in His Character.

So when we experience a trial or a harsh situation, James is saying that it’s an opportunity for you to grow so that you can become more like Christ.

Resistance Band Illustration

Has anyone ever worked out with these before?

they are resistance bands.

Invite a student to come up to use them

ASK: “I want you to try using these, but before you do, I have to ask if you trust me to hold down the opposite side?”

If I lift up my foot and you’re using the band, it could whip you in the face.

Start with Light weight

- How hard is that band?

Move to heavier weight

- OK is this one harder now?

Move to heavier band

- OK how about now?

If you notice it gets harder and harder, so you have to learn how to handle the pain of the first band.

Then your muscles will tear and rebuild and cause you to be stronger so you can use heavier weight.

Change is like the resistance, it causes us pain, but when we press on, and we keep lifting it, we get stronger and stronger.

It doesn’t get easy, but

You WILL get stronger Even If the change keeps coming.

And guess what, God will always be there with you and He is powerful and faithful that if you would trust in Him to be your anchor while you endure the struggle, you will come out stronger.

ask student back to seat and thank them for the help

The change comes and it will change you, but

will you let it change you for the good or will you let the change get the better of you?

Change is uncomfortable, and sometimes it sucks, but we have to realize that the change helps us become better and stronger.

Our focus shouldn’t be on being uncomfortable, it should be on becoming stronger in our faith.

So How do we change our focus?

a couple of ways:

1. Stop fighting the change, and embrace it

You have to change the way you see change, but embracing the pain and the circumstance and focusing on what God is trying to show you in it.

The purpose of the trial is to help us become more like Christ, but if we only focus on the pain, then instead of becoming more like Christ, we will become consumed by the pain.

We are not meant to live our lives led by pain, our lives are meant to be led by a God who cares for you and wants to see you overcome.

He promises to help you through it all. Do you trust Him?

Embrace the change, and change how you see it.

2. Think Long-Term

When we experience change, our minds usually become set on it and we are only focused on the hear and now.

We have to understand that there is a bigger picture!

God is writing a bigger story for you life and is working all things together for the good of His purpose for you.

it involves patience and a long-term mindset

Being a Christian doesn’t mean your a prime member and can change the outcome of your circumstances overnight or in 1-2 business days.

Being a Christian is a way of living that surrenders all circumstances, all changes, all pain into the hands of God who has a purpose for your life.

3. Release Control

If you are in Christ, then you can trust that God has called you out by name to be set a part and He has a purpose for you that we cannot see right now.

All you have to do is trust Him.

Many of us like to be in Control and make our own plans.

What happens when something changes and your plans are ruined?

Feelings?:

Overwhelmed

Anxious

afraid

nervous

rushed

When your parents plan a trip what do you do?

You sit in the car, get on your headphones, and you probably don’t even keep track of how far you are from your destination.

All you do is pack-up, show up, get in the car, and trust that your parents know how to get to where your going.

With God it’s the same thing.

you are in the car, in the back seat, and Your heavenly Father knows where your destination is.

All you have to do is trust that He knows how to get to where your going.

It might seem like there are changes in your perspective, but with God, it’s all according to His purposes.

Do not fear, have joy in the fact that you don’t have to be in control, and the reality is, you never were in the first place.

All you need to do is release control to God, and rest in the fact that He knows what He’s doing.

CHANGE CHANGES US, BUT WE CAN TRUST IN A GOD WHO USES ALL CHANGE FOR OUR BENEFIT

CONCLUDE - CALL TO CHRIST

Have you experienced that rest before? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus in a way that has given you peace in the middle of your hardest trials? Being a Christian doesn’t mean that it will be easy to do, but it gives you reassurance that you don’t have to go through it alone, and that you have all that you need to get through the hard stuff.

All you have to do is trust in Jesus Christ.

Believe that He took the punishment you deserved on the Cross so that you can have a personal relationship with God.

Believe that He removed all of your wrong doings from your past

and keep yourself away from doing wrong and hurting others

Trust in the Holy Spirit to guide you into truth and be filled with His power so that you can endure hardships and grow to become more like your savior Jesus.

If you want Jesus to be the King of your life, or even if you want to learn more, we want you to fill out the yellow cards at the welcome center.

PRAY