Thank you, Brother Jesse, for leading us in worship. It was a wonderful time singing to our Lord this morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope that you do, please turn to the book of James. We are going to be starting a new series going through this precious book. I love the book of James. And so I've entitled the series that we're going to be going through, Faith in Action. Again, if you have your Bibles or Bible app on your device, turn to the book of James. We will be looking at chapter 1 verses 1 through 12. Book of James chapter 1 verses 1 through 12. And the Word of God says this, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes dispersed abroad, greetings. Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Now, if any of you lack wisdom, He should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting, for the doubter is like the surging sea driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, but let the rich boast in his humiliation. because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises, and together with the scorching wind dries up the grass, its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither, and while pursuing his activities, blessed is the one who endures trials. because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to all those who love him. Father God, we come before you this morning. We thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you, Lord, for this time together to worship you. Lord, we know, Lord, that it is not about the number that is here, but the hearts pointed towards you. Lord, we're here today, not for people, not for glory for ourselves, but we're here to worship you today. Help us, Lord, to have a heart pointed towards you in worship. As we look through your word and as we give you glory for the wisdom that you have just imparted to us by saints of old, Lord, 2,000 years later, we still find wisdom, encouragement, instruction, and, Lord, conviction and comfort in the scriptures. Thank you, Lord, for this time. I ask that you would just be with this preacher as he preaches your word. Give him power to give your word out boldly. Lord, I pray, Lord, for your anointing today. Lord, your word has everything worth hearing and I have nothing worth saying. Let everything that comes out be in, Lord, a exposition, Lord, of your scriptures. Lord, we love you. And we thank you, Lord, for this time together. Let your name be glorified through this time now. In your name we pray, and amen. Well, thank you guys for being here. Again, we're gonna be in the book of James, looking at chapter one, verses one through 12. It's fruitful for us to start off with verse 1 as we look at the author, background, audience, and also we're going to be looking at the big idea for this letter. We need to know the context of what we're reading, what we study, because everything in the Bible was written to a specific person, specific time, for a specific reason. And the book of James, the letter coming from James, is no different. The author of James is, of course, the half-brother of Jesus and the pastor of the Jerusalem church. James is mentioned many times in the book of Acts and even was involved in the Jerusalem council in Acts chapter 15. This letter, as we see, is written after the Jerusalem church was scattered by intense persecution by the Jewish religious leaders. And we saw that in Acts 8. If you were following along in our study in Acts on Wednesday night, we covered Acts 8. And so we read that the church, apart from the apostles, they were scattered. at that moment, right, through intense persecution. Hence, James' description of his audience as dispersed abroad. And now that brings us to the who. Who is James writing to? Who is James' audience? Well, we can confidently say that James is writing to scattered Jewish believers by what he says in verse one. As he describes them, he says, to the 12 tribes dispersed abroad. It is an obvious reference to Israel, referencing the 12 tribes of Israel. And so we've covered the author, the background, the audience. So as we go through this letter, through this series, it's fruitful for us to know what is the overarching theme of the letter. And it's this, real faith in Christ is proved by action. James is a practical letter. He's saying you should have real faith in Jesus Christ. And this is how your real faith in Jesus Christ should be put into action. These are the fruits of what you should see. And so in today's passage, James is highlighting for us what it looks like to have faith that perseveres through trials and sufferings. So how can a Christian put his faith or our faith into action to suffer well during a trial? Well, first we first have to have the right mindset toward the trials, that's verses two to four. Have an unwavering faith in God during those trials, verses 5 to 8. Have a God-honoring humbleness. We see that in verses 9 through 11. And of course, we look forward to the reward for our perseverance in verse 12. First thing is first thing. Let's look at verses two through four and having the right mindset toward the trials. James gives a tough command here in verse two. He says, consider it a joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials. Consider it a joy. And James is writing to a hurting group of believers that have been displaced from their homes and are right now suffering for the name of Christ. But James isn't being a distant and insensitive or disconnected pastor in this moment as he writes this letter. He isn't calling them to take joy in the suffering in and of itself. This pastor is encouraging his people not to take joy in trials and what comes in it, the suffering, but in what the purpose of the trials is. So in verse two, he says, consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials. Well, why should we take great joy in the trials that we endure as Christians? In verse three to four, he answers this question for us. Because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance. You think of it like going to the gym, right? You think of it like going to the gym. How do you get stronger? By constant resistance training. going as heavy as you can, as safely as you can by doing it, but by going as heavy as you can, and over time, what's gonna happen as you go through this training, your body is gonna become accustomed to what you're doing, and then you can go longer, you can lift heavier, you can run longer, you can have more cardiovascular endurance because you're going through that training. Well, when we go through trials as Christians, it's the same thing, because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance in the faith. The purpose of these trials is to strengthen their faith so that they can mature in their faith. Make no mistake, the trials that you are going through right now, Pathway, is because God is strengthening your faith through those trials. Make no mistake, God has a purpose for everything that we go through in this Christian life, and it's always for this purpose of making us more and more like Jesus. Whether it's testing your faith so you can build up endurance, or whether you're going through trials and tribulations because you've gotten off of the path of following Christ, and you've gotten off of this beaten path and you're going astray, God is putting you through trials and tribulations to get you back on that right path. But ultimately, that path is supposed to make you more and more like Jesus. So that is always the purpose when we go through trials and tribulations, to be more and more like Christ. Whenever we go, when we go through trials as a Christian, it builds up our endurance, right? Just like going to the gym consistently builds up your strength. It builds up our endurance and our perseverance in the faith. so that we can run the race well as we advance toward the goal of Christlikeness. Remember in Philippians when we talked about Paul's goal, his goal was to know Christ more and to be more like Christ. That's the goal for every Christian here today. It should be your goal to be more and more like Christ. Trials and tribulations help us to do that, gives us endurance so we can push forward to the goal. So what James is calling them to do is to have a mindset to look at their trials and know that God has promised that this trial is for their maturity and building up for the faith. It's for their good. God has a purpose through this. And this is not a popular truth today because Christians, many Christians have been fed the lie of that, of the lie that God won't let them go through trials and sufferings or hardships as if it isn't normal. Many Christians today go through their Christian lives having this expectation of effortlessness and just continued bliss. But we know if you've been a Christian long enough that that isn't the case. We know that God never promised us a life without suffering, without trial, without hardship. And the result of this is Christians, when they get, when they are fed these lies, they hit the ground running, right? Rubber hits the road. And next thing you know, they're discombobulated and think it's like, what's happened? What's going on? As if suffering was not normal. But this is what Peter says in verse, 1 Peter 4, verse 12, he says, dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeals comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. What Peter's communicating in this verse is like suffering is normal. Trials are normal for a Christian. If you're going through a trial right now as a believer of Jesus Christ, rest assured you're going through the normal process of sanctification. So suffering for the Christian life is a normal thing to experience in this fallen world. And let's just be honest, it's not just a reality for Christian, but also for non-Christians. Everyone who has walked, is walking, and will walk this earth will encounter some level of suffering and trials. But for the Christian, we have a comfort that non-Christians don't. We have the comfort of knowing that our trials have purpose to them. Our trials are ultimately in the hands of God, and it's working for God's purposes for our lives. We can have confidence that because God is sovereign over the trials, his hand is also in the trials, but he's also with us in the trials. When we become a Christian, or when you preach the gospel, and people ask, why should I be a Christian? Our answer shouldn't be because God's gonna keep you from trials and tribulations. God's gonna keep you from the hardships of life. God is gonna keep you from life smacking you in the face. But what we should be preaching on is the fact that you're not gonna be alone in those trials. God is gonna be with you in those trials. So after James highlights the right mindset that we are to have when experiencing the fiery ordeals, as Peter puts it, he moves into the fact that Christians aren't called to go through these trials relying on their own wisdom or with this wishy-washy faith, but we are to go through these trials relying on the wisdom of God and with an unwavering faith. We see that in verses 5 through 8. Wisdom is one of the first things that James tells his readers to seek when they find themselves in trials and tribulations. He says, now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to him. James doesn't just tell them to seek this wisdom in themselves or in some self-help book, but he tells them to seek this needed wisdom from God. This is one of the most beautiful verses in the book because James goes on to say that God gives this wisdom generously and ungrudgingly. He gives us wisdom generously and ungrudgingly and shows us the comforting reality that we're not called to rely on our own wisdom and to navigate these trials by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps and our own self-willed effort, but rather we are to be relying on God through these trials. We're not called to do this alone by our own wisdom. We're not called to navigate these trials and messy situations we find ourselves in, but we are called and we can be assured that we can wholeheartedly come to the Lord for guidance, direction, and yes, for wisdom during these trials. A lot of times we go through trials and tribulations and hard times and messy situations. We can think, how am I supposed to fix this? As if we're supposed, God just says, you have this trial, figure it out. No, God says, I put you through this trial. It's so you could get closer to me, rely more on me, be more like Jesus and know more of me. So what God's saying is like, I want you to come to me during these trials. How often do we go to God when we're in trials and tribulations as a first response A lot of times we go to God during trials and tribulations as a last resort, don't we? When we try to fix it by our own power, our own wisdom, and just end up making a bigger mess than what was already there. James goes on to warn us though. Warn them. When they ask God for wisdom, that they should ask in faith without doubting. But let them ask in faith without doubting, for the doubter is like the surging sea driven tossed by the wind. Jane gives us a visual aid to help flesh out what he's talking about. He says those who are doubters are like surging, it's like the surging sea driven and tossed by the wind. They can never rest in the goodness and faithfulness of God because ultimately they doubt and may even distrust God and his faithfulness. Have we ever gone to the Lord in prayer? A heart heavy with doubt, maybe even a mind of distrust that God will carry us through. He will bring us through that situation. I've been there. And the toughness, when you're in that storm, when you're in that fire, you pray to God, but inside you're just like, I doubt He's even hearing me. He can even do us something. Or maybe you distrust that God's gonna work it out the way that He knows is best for you and for His glory and purposes. His goodness, his promises, his characters is what they're doubting. They have this wishy-washy faith, and they pray to God with doubt in their hearts, but they also distrust that God will provide the wisdom needed to walk through these trials, or what is needed to go through these trials, or the fact that He has His hand in it, and the fact that He's gonna work it out to the betterment of our situation, of our faith, of us, and for His glory and purposes. When we do this, hear me now, Christian, when we do this, when we have this wishy-washy faith, when we are constantly doubting God in prayer, when we distrust his promises, his character, his faithfulness, we are treating God like that one friend that never comes through on a promise or commitment. We all know those people, don't we? They make a promise, they make a commitment. And then you say, okay, man, I'm counting on you. But in the back of your mind, you're saying like, you're not gonna be there. This is not gonna happen. I'm gonna have to take care of this myself, or I have to get somebody else to help me. When we come to God with distrust and doubt, we're treating God like that friend. Someone that is unworthy, someone that's unreliable, and someone who's really a liar. This is what we're saying when we come to God in prayer. But in our hearts, we doubt Him heavily. We distrust who He is. Tell me, if we can trust God with the direction of our country, our nation, why can't we trust God with the direction of our lives? We're so quick to post on Facebook, God is on the throne. I'm not worried about what happens to the country. And yet when we go through personal trials and tribulations, our first response is like, I have to fix this. God, you don't know what you're doing. This thing isn't getting fixed the way I thought it should be or the way I think it should be done. But hear me now, this is not an abnormal thing for a Christian to wrestle with doubts in our hearts. We all have those instances. We all have those moments in our lives when we have doubts toward the goodness of God. where people question, and we even see in the Bible instances where people question and even doubt God. However, we shouldn't wallow in our doubts. But let's be like the man who wrestled with doubt as to whether Jesus was going to save his son from being demon-possessed. In Mark chapter 9, verses 23 to 24, Jesus said, He said, if you can, in verse 23, Jesus responds to him and said, if you can, everything is possible for the one who believes. This is the man's response to them. Immediately the father of the boy cried out, I do believe, help my unbelief. How many times do we come to God in doubt and prayer and doubt the goodness and distrust? And we go, we don't take it to the Lord. We bottle that up inside. And let me just say this. We need, when you have doubt, you have to be like this man. Lord, I believe in your goodness. I believe in your character. I believe in your faithfulness. I believe that you are sovereignly working this out for your goodness, my good, your purposes, your glory, but help my unbelief. James goes on to say that this person with this level of doubt and distrust shouldn't expect God to—shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord. And this really does emphasize the importance of having an unwavering faith and trust in the Lord. One of the things that trials and tribulations do for the Christian is it builds up our faith and trust in the Lord. How many times have you gone through the trials of life and God has brought you through the other side? How many times has God brought you through this trial? You come to another trial and yet there's something about this other trial that's different. You say, Lord, I'm trusting you more. I'm building up my trust in you. When we remember the past faithfulness of God, we can have greater faith in the next trial and tribulation. Because let me just say this, you're gonna get past this one trial in your life and there's gonna be another. then there's gonna be another, then there's gonna be another. James then goes on into the danger of having such a divided mind and heart. Those who have such doubt and distrust in God become unstable in all of their ways. Being double-minded and unstable in all his ways is what James says. Those who have such doubt and distrust become unstable in all their ways, not just in their prayer life, but in every area of their life. When we have doubt that isn't brought before the Lord, and when we have distrust in the promising character of God, make no mistake, it will infect every area of your faith. It will lead to further distrust of God's word and even the validity of Christianity itself, which has led many to deconstruct and leave the faith Listen, we are to fight doubt, distrust, and unbelief with the Word of God and the promises found in it about God's faithfulness, His goodness, His holiness, and character. That's why the Bible tells us so often that we need to hide the Word of God in our heart. We need to meditate on the Word of God. We need to saturate our lives with the Word of God. Why? Because it will protect our minds and our hearts when distrust, when doubt, when unbelief creeps in. When we are faced with that, we look to the Word of God for the promises there. And let me tell you something, the Word of God will never fail you. Note, just a quick caveat, as we were talking about people who have, those who have deconstructed and have left Christianity, even going as far as renouncing Christianity, it has ripple effects to people, doesn't it? People around them, especially if that person happened to be somewhat had a status or a platform that people followed. But it's important to note that those who go as far as renouncing Christ publicly may have not had saving face at all to begin with. And that's why it's so important to do what scripture tells us to do and examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith. Second Corinthians chapter 13, verse five through seven. There are so many people who have their faith rocked by trials and tribulations. And there are so many people who leave Christianity, maybe renounce Christianity because their expectations did not match reality. The reality is that you and me will face tribulations, we'll face trials everywhere we go. And so, He tells us, so when we are faced with trials, we need to have a godly mindset toward them, knowing that they are there for the purpose of our sanctification or to be more and more like Christ. And we need to look to God for the needed wisdom, ask for that wisdom and guidance and direction with all faith, without doubting or distrust in the Lord. Now, James highlights for us that trials and tribulations aren't restricted to the rich or poor, but they are a reality for everyone. Now, let the brother of humble circumstance boast in his exaltation. James tells the Christian in poor and hard circumstance to boast in their exaltation. Who James has in mind here are the majority of the believers who have been displaced and driven out of their homes in Jerusalem during this intense persecution after Stephen's execution in Acts chapter 7. James is encouraging them that while they are poor here on earth, they are rich in Christ in heaven. While they have been rejected by the world, they are accepted by God through Christ. While they may not have a home on earth, they have an eternal home in heaven. And while they are considered the drag of society in the eyes of the world, they are exalted in the eyes of God. They can endure and have joy in the trial by focusing on the Lord and relying on His faithful character. and the coming exaltation that they'll have, their coming glorification in Christ, their eternal home that they're going to. You know, there's a popular saying that we say all the time that we are pilgrims passing through this fallen world. And that's a reality. You and me are not, this home, this place, this world that we live in is not our final home. Heaven is. And then one day when Christ comes back and restores creation, brings about a new heaven and a new earth, we'll reign with Christ then. We have a coming exaltation and glorification and hope that's laid up for us in heaven, despite the lowly circumstances that you and me may find ourselves. Hear me now, there are some people here that may be living paycheck to paycheck, who may live their entire lives that way. but take heart in knowing that this is just temporary. There's a coming exaltation, there's a coming glorification, there's a coming hope and joy that we will have with Christ in heaven, an eternal home where we won't have to figure out how we're gonna stretch this month's paycheck to make ends meet. James then points out the other side of the spectrum and now addresses the wealthy or the rich Christians And he tells them they should boast in their humiliation in the trials and tribulations of life. James reminds these Christians that they and their possessions will fade away just as fast as a flower in the field under the burning sun. What James is getting at here when he tells them to boast in their exaltation is this, they should rejoice in the trials because it will show them, one, that their riches won't keep them from experiencing trials and tribulations. Many of us think that Christians with money don't face trials and tribulations. I've known several people who have successful businesses. Let me tell you, the trials and tribulations that they have might be different from yours, but they still go through them. and it still tests their faith. They're not immune from trials and tribulations. And the second thing that he's reminding them of when he says, boast in your humiliations, that their riches won't comfort them through the trials of loss and brokenness, that their riches won't bring them any spiritual satisfaction or spiritual help in the face of trials. And ultimately their loss of riches, their loss of wealth will show them their utter dependency on the Lord as they may lose those comforts of life. And whether riches have failed them, Jesus will not. The rich should boast in their humiliation because it will bring them closer to God. It will show them their utter dependency upon the Lord, but also this passage really just shows us as we kind of wrap up this section here. It shows us that in the end, there is no difference between those in humble or rich circumstances when it comes to trials and tribulations. What does that mean? Both must rely on God in the trials and tribulations of life. Both must humbly look past their circumstances and their trials to the eternal hope and heavenly hope that is laid up for them in heaven. If we are going to honor God and have faith that perseveres in trials of life, then we must have a humble spirit that looks not on our circumstance, whether rich or poor, whether we have comfort or discomfort, but we must have a humble spirit to not look to those circumstances, but to the Lord and lean on him through the storm. Can I just say this? It's like, We think that the poorer you are, the more holy that you can be. And certainly there can be some truth to that. Can I just say this? My experience with people who have no money is that they're oftentimes very focused on their situation of having no money than they are relying on the Lord. And it flips the same way with the rich. They're more concerned about keeping their wealth. They're more concerned about, they're more comforted because they have their wealth than they are serving the Lord. Circumstances can blind us to the ultimate fact that there is no, that we're all gonna go through trials and tribulations, and that we all rely on the same God to get us through them. So after giving instruction to both the poor and the rich Christian about what to boast in during the trials, James moves on in chapter, verse 12, rather, of what reward awaits the Christian that perseveres. In verse 12, it says, blessed is the one who endures the trials because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James bookends this exhortation to persevere in the face of trials by reminding them that there is a reward for those who remain faithful at the end, the crown of life. And can I say, whether you're rich or whether you're poor, you endure for Jesus in this life. You endure past the trials and tribulations, you endure to the end, you're gonna get the same reward, the crown of life. Paul says in 2 Timothy, that he was, as he's telling Timothy, he's ready to go. He's run his race. He's ready to go. He's ready to receive his crown. That's the kind of attitude that we need to have when we're going through trials and tribulation. And the apostle Paul is like the personification of suffering for Christ well. We saw that in the book of Philippians, despite being in a Roman prison, despite being chained up, despite not having freedom, despite having to rely on the love offerings of fellow Christians, in particular, the Philippian church, he had joy in the Lord. Why? Because he knew that he was suffering for Christ now, but there was a reward coming at the end. Now, when we hear the word crown, and this is really gonna picture the image I want you guys to have as we're persevering through the trials. When we hear the word crown, we can conjure up images of a decked out golden crown, right? But here's what the first century Christian probably would have envisioned when they heard this word crown, this description. They probably would have imagined a reef that would have been placed on an athlete's head as they completed the race. And so why is that important? Because I want you guys to have an image of what it means to receive this crown. We are like athletes going through this race, running well, and at the end, we are gonna receive this crown or this wreath for going through this Christian life well, pursuing the goal, persevering in our faith, and enduring for Christ. This is an imagery that Paul used in the book of Philippians when he said he was reaching with all effort toward the goal. So this is a crown of life that will be given to all who persevere in the faith, stand the test and run with all effort to complete the race set before them. Are we looking at our Christian life as a race to run, to put all effort in? Or are we just on cruise control, letting Jesus take the wheel, tossing us to and fro? Because let me say this, if we don't have both hands on the wheel, if we're not running with complete dedication and eyes fixed upon Jesus and upon the end goal, then we are gonna be like children tossed to and fro in every wind of doctrine. We're going to be unstable in all of our ways, wrestling and going back with faith in Jesus, that he's going to do what he's going to do, and then doubt and distrust. We're constantly going to be going back and forth, back and forth. But we need to be like athletes, progressively getting stronger in our faith. And so James has shown us here what it looks like to put our faith into action when faced with the trials of life, and has given us very practical advice. I love the book of James because this is it. He says, you need to have real faith, you need to exercise, you need to put it into action, and let me tell you how to do that. Oftentimes, the book of James has been called the practical commentary to the Sermon on the Mount, because he touches on many subjects that Jesus actually talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. But I love the book of James because he says you need to put your faith into action and let me show you how to do that. So he gives us practical instructions here today on how to persevere through the trials. So how can we as Pathway today put our faith into action in the midst of trials and tribulations that every one of us right now are going through? Some may be severe, some may be small, but we're still going through trials and tribulations. So how do we put our faith into action in the midst of these times? We need to have a heavenly outlook on the trials of life and take great joy in the purposes of the trial. Hear me now, we're not taking great joy in the fact that we are suffering. in those trials, but we take great joy in the purpose of our suffering during those trials, which is to make us more like Jesus. And that's the goal for every Christian here. Your goal should be to be more and more like Jesus. And trials and tribulations help us to do that. That's why God puts us through it. You ever wonder how Paul was so strong in his faith? It's because he endured much for Christ. He experienced the faithfulness of God. He experienced the provision of God. He experienced the goodness and the peace that surpasses all understanding in his Christian life. And going through trials and tribulations, if we have this heavenly mindset, we are going to see that same thing. You look back on past trials, you're going to see the faithfulness of God. You're going to see the goodness of God. You're going to see how God provided. You're going to see how God took care of you. and you're going to see the goodness of Christ, and you will look upon this next trial with peace, because you're thinking, like, Jesus got me through this, he'll get me through, got me through that, and he'll get me through this as well. We can keep our eyes upon Jesus during the trials by having a fervent prayer life with God, and saturating our minds and hearts with the word of God, meditating by what scripture says, by reading it, studying it and meditating on it, especially the promises of God that's found in the Bible. You know, there's a big problem today in evangelical, in the evangelical church in general, is biblical illiteracy. People have struggle, are struggling with trusting in God. These are Christians trusting in God and battling with doubt, with God concerning His goodness, His faithfulness, His promises, because they don't know what the Bible says. Biblical illiteracy is on the rise. But that's why as a church, one of the things we should be just pushing into, pressing into is the importance of Scripture, the Word of God. If you have young kids in your house, teach them the Word of God, read to them the Word of God, show them how to study the Word of God. They need it. Because when trials and tribulations come, if they don't have an understanding of who God is, they're gonna be like the surgency, getting tossed with every wind. Number two, have an unshakable and unapologetic faith in and a reliance on God. We cannot make it in the trials and sufferings of this world without God's strength, power, and wisdom. Our lowly circumstance won't spare us from suffering and our material wealth won't save us from suffering either. So what will pull us through these fiery ordeals? The Lord will. and we can have confidence in his problem, his wisdom, his character. That's why we need to have a deep, intimate relationship with God through prayer and through his word. We can't have an unshakable faith in Christ if we don't know who Christ is, if we don't know who our God is. If we are unfamiliar of the God who we serve, then there's no way that we will have an unshakable faith in his character. We need to know God more. We need to know Christ. We can't have an unapologetic reliance on him if we never go to him and do not know him. And lastly, have your mind set upon the rewards of God. If you live long enough, you're going to bleed. And what that means is that you're going to live long enough in your Christian life that you will be tested and you will have times of suffering. And it always brings us to this reality that that's a normal thing in the Christian life, but take heart Christian and persevere through the fire of these trials and suffering during those seasons, because there is a crown waiting for you at the end of your race. Race toward the goal, Christian. Race toward the goal of the Christian life. And lastly, I want to go ahead and end our time here today by giving a call to Christ. We've just spent probably about 40 or so minutes talking about a faith that perseveres through trials and suffering. It's a reality that both Christian and non-Christians go through suffering in this fallen world. I want to tell you this morning that to have a persevering faith, you must first have a saving faith in the Lord. If we're going to persevere in the faith as Christians, first you need to be a Christian. You need to have saving faith. So Jesus made a way for us to do this. Jesus, the second person in the Godhead, came down to earth forsaking his own glory, majesty, and due reference as God to take the form of man. He lived a sinless life and did many miracles during his ministry. And then the Lord stooped even lower. Hear me now, the Lord stooped even lower when he suffered a humiliating death on the cross. He was beaten, he was mocked, he was spat on, and he was abandoned. But you know what the worst part of it was is when he took on the wrath of God that was rightly due for us as payment for our sins. You see, God is holy and just, and he can't be associated with sin. And that leaves us with a very, very big problem, because everyone has sin. We've all told lies, we've all taken the Lord's name in vain, and we've all stolen something at one point, whether it's big or small, just to name a few. So as the Bible tells us, that our wages, what we deserve is death, meaning that being separated from God in a real place called hell. And this is a place where only torment is found. But God, so rich in mercy and love, he sent Jesus. to take on our sin and pay for them on the cross. That's why he said on the cross, it is finished, meaning that sin debt was paid in full. The Bible says while we deserved hell, God made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. through the free gift of salvation brought by the blood of Jesus Christ. We just had a wonderful Bible study, didn't we, this morning about the significance of the Lord's Supper and what that pointed to. So how do we receive this free gift? Repent and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. for the forgiveness of your sins. And I want to close with this scripture here. If you confess with your mouth, the Lord, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised them from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness. One confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the scripture say, everyone who has believed on him will not be put to shame. Since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So before I pray, we're going to have a time of invitation. We'll have a time of invitation. If you need prayer, I will be up here. I'll be more than happy to pray with you. If you are here today and maybe you want to know about being a member of Pathway, I'll be glad to walk you through that and then to talk to you about that. Either today or through the week, I'm available. And also we'll have the time where if you're not saved, if you have not put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, One of the things that we talked about in our Sunday school class is the fruits of repentance. A Christian should have the fruits of repentance in their lives. If you have examined yourself this morning and you find yourself lacking these fruits of repentance, come up here so I can talk to you. I can talk to you during the week and we can go through that together. But I'm going to pray, and then we'll do business with the Lord. I love you, church, and I thank you so much for your faithfulness, your love, your support. And I'm so thankful to be serving Christ with all of you. Let us pray. Father God, we come before you, and we ask, Lord, that you would just be with us, Lord, as we come now in this time of invitation. Lord, we've read your word. We have gone through it. We've seen what we should do in the midst of trials. Help us to hide this passage in our hearts, to meditate on it, to think on it, and to, Lord, to follow it. Lord, we love you so much. And Lord, I just pray, Lord, that you'll just be with us during this time of invitation. Let us do business with the Lord. Lord, we love you. And we give you all praise and all glory.