Count It All Joy!

When you're under attack in the midst of your struggles, God says, count it on joy and give him the glory, but how do we do that? We're going to tell you right now. On our at nightamerican.com website, we post Ignite America certified statistics that are taken to the bank statistics. You know the truth is most of the statistics you hear today are almost worthless because you can literally find a statistic that will support anything you want to say. I mean, it's crazy. That's why we've gone the extra mile to give you certified statistics that are supported by three or more major research studies and they're all footnote. And so whether you're preaching a sermon or writing a dissertation, these are statisticians. You can stake your life on. Okay. I mean, they're absolutely fantastic. And it appears that God is allowing all this chaos to get to your attention because most Americans are now living in fear and wondering where God is. We know this statistically. And from a soul-winning viewpoint, fear is a good thing. Over 80% of the end church are now looking for someone to tell them about God. I mean, that's fantastic. The problem is that fear is also permeated the church. The research tells us that a higher percentage of Christians are living in fear than non-Christians. It's crazy. This could not be more diabolically opposed to the love and joy and peace that God has promised us. Most Christians are not living in the good news of the gospel. That's the truth. So if you're a Christian in a bad place right now and worrying, this message is for you. I know what I speak. This is not academic for me. I've been there and done that. I've been moments away from a corporate takeover. I was an ICU and the doctors gave up on me saying, I had no chance to live and we lost one of our adult daughters two years ago. And those are just some of the highlights of a lifetime of struggles and obstacles that, like most of us have, that built my faith into rock solid faith. So I know what I'm talking about. God never leaves you or forsakes you. He just doesn't his words true. And through it all, Karen, I have grown from being double minded, still worrying faith-believing Christians in our early marriage to, to watching God work miracles in our lives in spite of our lack of wholehearted faith, knowing our hearts and grooming us for bigger struggles, way bigger struggles. And over the years, our faith has grown into rock solid faith. And as we look back, we realize that we could never have the childlike faith that we have now. Like a child, we just believe if we had not had those challenges in our lives, if we had not had those moments of isolation and despair, and thoughts of there being no way out believing that even God can't solve our problems, it's called hopelessness and I've been there folks. I know if you're there now, I've been where you're at. I remember those times like they were yesterday. One of them lasted for two and a half years. We had Civil War in our family business that was about to end our family business. And I went on a two and a half years search for a solution with potential investors or new partners or anyone who can inject wisdom and peace into our turmoil. I never prayed harder or more diligently in my life for two and a half years. I prayed for an answer. And one day driving in my car, listening to Christian Reader, the minister yelled at me saying, who's your God? My every response was, I think I got that down. I know my God is. And then he yelled at me again. Yeah, he was speaking to me. He says, who's your God? At that point I reached over and changed the radio station, you know what I mean? But I didn't do that before I heard it say, I'll tell you who your God is. Whatever you're, whatever's filling your prayers is your God. Wow, it was like shooting a bullet at my forehead. I was so shaken. I had been praying almost nonstop for two and a half years, but I've been praying for my business. My prayers were filled with prayers for my business. My business had become my God. I knew better. How can I let that happen? How can I let my business become my God? I couldn't wait to get home and on my knees and call out to God, ask him to forgive me and promising I would never do that again. And I haven't, that it didn't matter if I lost my business. All I wanted was my connection to him, my relationship with him and to never have anything separating from me from him. Ever again, I just wrote more of your heart. And that's my free everyday. I completely stopped praying for my business for years. And you know what? The family's Civil War ended about a week later with the literally praying and loving of my uncle in the hospital. It was a miracle. And a huge lesson for me that I hope will be for you. Don't let any problems, no matter how big they are, interfere with your relationship and your love and your faith in God. God is everything and everything else is nothing. Keep your eyes on God and everything will be just fine. It's so simple. We should know that, but we hear it, but then we just go off into our own ways, you know? I graduated college with my favorite verse being Proverbs 3.5 and I still love that verse. Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and lean not under your own understanding and all your ways, all your ways acknowledge Him and He would direct your path. I love that verse. I still love that verse. It was the easiest verse in the Bible for me at the time. I was taking a small family business into the mass consumer market and I had not clue what I was doing. I was so lost. I had no understanding to lean on. So leaning on Him was easy. I always sat and followed His lead and quite frankly, that part was easy. But when the troubles came and boy, do they come to a little company trying to enter the mass consumer market that part about trust the Lord your whole heart becomes a whole lot more difficult. And I failed physically. I mean, I really did. At one point, at one point, I closed the door of my office and yelled at God and I literally said, after all I've done for you when you keep jerking me around, it's exactly what I sound. I never forget I was so mad and God is so patient. Even when He's not obligated to be patient but He knows our heart is longing for Him. I wanted to believe, even Paul, once prayed, Lord, I believe, I helped out my unbelief. That's where I was. Here's the bottom line on worry. If you're praying at a problem and still worrying about that problem, you're what God calls double-minded and you can't expect your prayers to be answered. You just can't. It's very clear in James 1.5, God speaks to Christians who lack wisdom and He promises to answer your prayers unless you're worrying. This is what it says, asking faith with nothing wavering. For He that wavereth is like a wave of the seed driven by the wind and toss. A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. Get this. This is a powerful statement. If you're worrying and praying, this is what he's talking to you. Let not that man think that he should receive anything of the Lord. If you're worrying, He owes you nothing. Millions of Christians are not having their prayers answered because they're praying and worrying at the same time. That's like oil and water they don't mix. You either have faith or you don't have faith and it's impossible to please God without faith. Have harder faith just to cut it. I try that as well. All the way up to 99% faith. Here's the problem at 99% faith. You still have that 1% of doubt which keeps you worrying and double-minded and unable to know for sure that God is going to save your bacon. He might, but He might not. And that's where you want to, that's not where you want to live. You don't want to live there. In fact, Satan loves the name name for sinners because discouragement is right there knocking on your door. The children Israel were. Out of their minds excited to follow Moses out of Egypt until they got to the water and then their jubilation turned anger. Boy, were they mad at Moses. I mean, what they said, they were not happy. Until the water's parted and God loved them safely to the other side. Were they immediately built an all right and began singing songs? The famous pastor, evangelist, and founder, Teen Challenge David works and preached a message on this entitled, Right Song, wrong side. You can find it on YouTube. He points out that the children Israel should have been singing to the Lord before He parted the waters. Not after. When you have unwavering faith, you celebrate the miracle before the miracle. Let me tell you a quick story. I mentioned earlier, I should have died more than a decade ago. And in the pre-dawn hours, they were racing me to surgery. And my daughter Nicole was running as fast she could beside me to keep up with me, knowing my thoughts on unwavering faith. You know, it saw as I'm my back yet I'm on the gurney and I'm feeding the bumps of the floors and going along. I'm watching the can lights of Satan whizzing by. Some of you have been there, you know what I'm talking about. What a cold kept yelling at me. Dad, this is your testimony. What? This is my testimony. And then it hit me. She was saying, Dad, you already know you're going to be fine before the surgery. This is your testimony. This is what it means to have unwavering whole hard to faith. This is when you sing the right song on the right side. And I did. As I hit that door, I went into surgery with a smile on my face. And oh, by the way, the surgery was a success and I'm still alive, okay? What do you think that did with my faith? What else could possibly have built my faith more than having that life and death experience and knowing before I was fine again that I was going to be fine again? Does this speak to you? Some of you are at that point right now. This is just one of the many challenges I face and don't get me wrong. I wouldn't want to do anything again. But I honestly thank God for every one of them, honestly, because they give me and caring both wholehearted, unwavering faith and it's priceless. Thank God for the tough times. James Bunn says it was. Says it wonderfully. When chose of any kind come upon you, consider an opportunity for great joy, really? Yeah, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. And when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete needing nothing. I'm living proof of that scripture. And by the way, no matter what you're going through, Romans, they remind us that our present sufferings are nothing compared to the glories that are going to be revealed before us. We get to see Him face to face. And we're going to be there to tweak to Him and I. We call them on fire Christians. You know, the ones that are always happy, full of joy and telling people about Jesus all the time. Well, guess what? Every single one of them I've talked to have been tested in their faith to the outer limits. But guess what? There's an easier, faster way to get to unwavering whole hardened faith. You don't necessarily have to go with those huge tests although you still want them. But it doesn't have to take decades to get there. What are the most known and misunderstood scriptures in the Bible is Romans 8.28. You know the one where God promises to make everything in your life work for good and you wonder why he hasn't done that. It's because you have to read the entire scripture. And that says he'll make everything work for good but only for those, get this, for those who love Him and for those who live their lives for His purpose. There's no argument on what God's purpose is. He came to seek and save the lost. That's what He's saying here. If you love the Lord they guide with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength, you will live for His purpose to seek and save the lost to move everyone, every day closer to Jesus. And that's when He'll make everything in your life work for good. Do you understand what I'm saying here? That's the end of worrying, the beginning of unwavering whole hardened faith and you didn't have to wait decades again. You can get there right now. You get there so easily by simply living your life starting today for His purpose. If you need help doing that, just go to Ninemarica.com. We've got all kinds of information. We'll send you on your way. If you're in a bad place right now, I don't care what it is. God's right there and He wants to honor your faith and use your faith in the midst of your struggle to bring Him glory and to move everyone watching you closer to Jesus. Listen to me there. There's no stronger witness than the joy of a Christian in the midst of their struggle and it brings purpose to your struggle and it brings it into your struggle no matter what your job is to move everyone every day closer to Jesus. It's the great commission for all of us. And here's the shocker. Wouldn't the loss is not the number one reason God mandate that you share your faith. Why he made you his witness. This is incredible information. If you're not sharing your faith, you got to read this scripture. I say him 43 did. He tells us, thus say it, the Lord. I appointed you as my witness. I appointed you as my witness so that you will believe. I'm going to say it again. I appointed you as my witness so that you would believe. I would think he'd say so, so they would believe. But no, he says so that you will believe. If you won't have unwavering whole-hearted faith, guess what? Sharing your faith is how you get there. Here's, here's why. When you follow the nudge of the Holy Spirit and take the time to pour out God's love on someone you know or don't know and the person opens up and reveals the need and then you experience God speaking through you directly to that need and you see a life change happening right before you bury your eyes. I mean, wow, you have to experience that. Understandable. There's nothing that rivals that kind of intimacy with God. Knowing he just spoke through you to change a life. And there's nothing that would night your prayer life and Bible life and Bible study faster. Effortlessly. Nothing will ever inshake your faith in God and his faithfulness and his ability to use you and your testimony of trusting God through your most difficult times will give him glory and move everyone watching you closer to Jesus. Guaranteed. When you're in the midst of your struggle, that's when to really share your faith. You're knowing that he's helping you. He's right there with you and people watching that. Everybody, the nurses, the doctor, everybody walking that room will be moved closer to Jesus without you mentioning a word of scripture. Faith and your fires are blessing from God. Where you shout your faith and conquer your problems and unwavering wholehearted faith become automatic for the rest of your life. Wow. See you next time.