John Gunter: Well, good morning. Certainly glad to be with you this morning as we worship God together. Next week, I will be gone, so you will get another chance to hear Ryan speak. He's been doing a phenomenal job. He said the next sermon might not be as happy.
Is that right? You ready to beat him down? Is that what it is? But I know Ryan is going do a great job. He's going to fill in for me in class.
Why I'm gone is I have been I've been coaching Logan's soccer team, and I just filled in because they needed a coach two years ago, and that's how it starts. And now, I am I have just been blessed beyond measure to be able to be in the lives of kids I would have never met, to be in the lives of families I would have never met otherwise. And so, I've continued that process by getting I'm going through my d license as a soccer coach, and so right after that is the c. If you see Katie shaking her head no, she's incorrect. The c is right after that, and that's what I'm going to do.
But I love it. I love just being in people's lives and getting to meet new people, and competition is a part of it. I just love that as well. And so, it's one of those things that has richly blessed my life. It's allowed me to to be in this community in ways, again, that I I would have never seen.
But in soccer, like in in many things in life, what you see often are truths that you go, oh, that's Christian. And something will stick out to you, like, I can apply that to my life in in every single way. And so one of the things I'm gonna share with you today, one of the things that has stuck with me is we talk about the the topic of faith under pressure. In soccer, they will talk about a skill is not a skill until you can perform it under pressure. Let me say that one more time.
A skill is not a skill until you can perform it under pressure. So a kid can come and practice and do all kinds of passing and do all kinds of fancy moves, but if the kid can't do it with another person guarding them, it's not their skill yet, they're still practicing. And so, when we see something like that, the same is true of faith, isn't it? We can come, and we can come to bible class, you can come to services every Sunday, you can even read your bible all the time, but unless you can use that in your life under pressure, it's not your skill yet, and you are still working. It doesn't mean you're worthless or anything like that, but you are still working.
Faith is not proven in the classroom, it's proven in the storm, isn't it? And that's how we see because often we've about over the years that so and so is a faithful sister in Christ, and the only thing we meant by that was she was faithful to have her rear end in the seat at a certain time. Not necessarily that she had her life together, or that she was actually walking with Christ, it was that she was faithful to the time we'd allotted for her. And we don't want to be that kind of person. Now, I want you to be faithful to be able to be here, I want you to be faithful to hear the words of God as we read every week, but if that's as far as it goes in your life, what are you doing?
Go do something else. I bet you have a hobby, go do that. But if you really wanna follow God, you not only are are faithful to come and to encourage one another to all the benefits we get from meeting together, but it has to permeate your life, doesn't it? You have to take that and go out and do something with it. Because if you don't do that, what are we doing?
And so we get a lot of different spiritual truths from this. Again, faith is not proven in the classroom, it's proven in the storm. James one verses two through four, verses that we wish weren't written, I think. It says this, count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. How many perfect people we got in here besides me?
Anybody else? Don't talk to Katie about that either. What I wanna point out this morning is what it says, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Now, steadfastness, the word that we've translated steadfastness here, is the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. Steadfastness is the capacity to hold out or to bear up in the face of difficulty.
So you are building when you get trials of various kinds, you are building up your capacity to be able to handle those situations. Now, I don't know that you that what this verse is saying is you need to enjoy those situations. I'm pretty sure I attract all the random weirdness out there. You know, you catch yourself just coaching soccer, and all of a sudden I realize I have to talk to another grown man about how he's acting like a child. But I need to do it in such a way that that shows who I serve, that I am a follower of Christ, Not that I'm out here just telling people that's what I do, or that's what I do for a job or anything like that, but I need to be the type of person that that shows himself as a follower of Christ.
Amen? That's who we need to be. That's what I try. I track the weirdness of stuff that, you know, your brain has to catch up to what's going on. Oh my goodness, I've got to handle this now.
Yeah. But every time that something happens in your life, and I'm sure you have plenty of random weirdness in your life as well, you are building up that capacity to handle those difficult situations. I've had people ask me, because I I'm in ministry, unfortunately, you deal with people who are not very happy sometimes. And I've had people ask me, how do you how do you remain calm? Unfortunately, the answer is, I've been through so many of those situations that it doesn't get me as bad as it used to.
Right? You ever been in a situation where all of a sudden, pressure goes up, and you're stuttering over your words, and all of a Well, as you deal with difficulty, you again, you build that capacity. And it says, and let that steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And James does not say, if you face trials, does he? He says, when you meet these trials, because we know in life they're going to happen.
Now, one of the things I want you to if you don't hear anything else today, and you need to, you need to have a mindset. When you meet those difficult situations, do you see those situations as opportunities or obstacles? And if you get the right answer on that, it will change everything about your mindset, how your week goes, how your day goes, how your month goes. Do you see those hard situations as opportunities or obstacles. I wish Heath was here this morning, I was telling him about a situation I'd gotten into having to talk to someone recently, and he said, you know, John, he said, you have the opportunity to show people what it's like to be a Christian man.
Not somebody who says, I'm a Christian. Right? But to actually live it out. And I said, shut up. I want to be rude.
I didn't say that. He's absolutely right. Because all of those situations are opportunities. But if you see them as obstacles, that's when the negative comes in. Oh, woe is me, all this stuff keeps happening to me, Why why do I have to deal with it?
Or, I have the opportunity to be a witness for Christ. I have the opportunity to impact other people in my life. How many people saw that interaction? How many people were affected by that? We can see it as opportunities and not obstacles, and I think that that matters.
And practice matters. Prayer, study, worship, all of these things help build that capacity for dealing with difficult things. Hebrews five fourteen says, but solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Now, you may be asking yourself, you know, we pray. Right?
We pray for bad things not to happen. I don't want bad things to happen. I'm not asking you to start praying, God, give me more bad things in my life. Right? But we know that things happen.
Right? And and and notice what it says here, who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. And so if you're not seeing both good and evil, it's hard to train. It's hard to get better at those things unless you're out dealing with them. And again, is that an opportunity or an obstacle for you?
What do you see it as? And so, when pressure comes, practice becomes performance. Daniel six ten, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed signed, remember this was a document that said, you're not gonna do this anymore. You better have your worship directed at someone else, and so you were going to be killed if you didn't follow this. And Daniel didn't let that bother him at all when he knew the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem, he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.
Daniel already had a process, and he was going by that process. It didn't matter what thing was signed into law, it didn't matter what happened in his life, Daniel knew it happened and he continued the process. I'm gonna talk to God, I'm gonna pray to God. Notice, he didn't go down in the basement and say, what I'll do is I'll be quiet about this. He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem, if you wanted to see him you could.
And there, he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. Daniel continued what he had began. And we might think about it this way, that right now as we sit here studying the word of God, we leave here in a few minutes, and we go out continuing what we had begun here. That we don't hear these things and just, okay, that sounds good, I'm glad we talked about them. But as we go, we say, okay, yes, that needs to impact my life.
Maybe I didn't do that very well this week. Anybody want to say that this morning? Yeah. Because we can always grow and learn. Right?
We can always change. We can always continue on. Back to my my soccer team. We are playing older teams this year. I am playing in u eleven, and I have u ten and u nine kids.
So if what we're expecting, if what we desire is just a smooth, easy road, guess what? We're not gonna get it. But as we practice, as we move forward, we get some benefits from all of that, don't we? We grow in our capacity to deal with these very tough things, and so pressure moments can be obstacles or opportunities. Faith chooses to see them as opportunities for growth.
In Matthew seven verses 24 through 27, Jesus says this, he says, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. So what we see here is pressure does not create your foundation.
The storm here did not create the foundation, it revealed what the foundation was. And one thing is rock and one thing is sand, and we understand that, alright, sand is not gonna hold up. And so when life presses in, we see whether we rely on Christ or we're relying on ourselves. In Luke 22, talking about Peter and John here well, that's in Acts, I'm sorry. When they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, we're talking about Jesus being taken in, and Peter following along, and Peter was following at a distance.
And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, this man was also with him. Uh-oh. He's busted. But Peter denied it saying, woman, I do not know him.
I like saying that to my wife, woman, she enjoys that greatly. And a little later, someone else saw him and said, you also are one of them. But Peter said, man, I am not. And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted saying, certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean. He probably heard his voice, heard his accent.
But Peter said, man, I do not know what you're talking about. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said to him, before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. Now, what we should see from this instance is that Peter, in this moment, had his foundation revealed. Even though Jesus had given given him the heads up, this is what's gonna happen, he still fell into it.
And so, his foundation in that moment is more self preservation than anything. He's not relying on Jesus, he's on, I've gotta get myself out of this. But then we go to Acts four, and this is Peter and John, and Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you as well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, which we must be saved.
What changed? Peter has matured, hasn't he? Peter has grown. And so as you hear the words of scripture this morning, if you are not there, don't beat yourself up. Neither was Peter, and he denied Jesus.
But through those storms of life, through those opportunities, now we see in Acts four a Peter that is very, very different. A Peter that is empowered by the Holy Spirit to stand up. He was imprisoned with John, and he you can just see him pointing his finger, can't you? This Jesus whom you crucify, this is no other name under heaven given among men which we must be saved. He's facing prison, and who knows what else.
Yet now, he has grown, he has matured, and so pressure doesn't just build your foundation, it reveals what your foundation is. And in first Peter one, Peter says this, in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes the way it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, and glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, the key to all of this is right there at the beginning of seven, so that the tested genuineness of your faith How many of you know that there are a lot of people out here that like to talk? There are a lot of people, maybe in this room, that like to talk and claim things that are not genuinely true. I'm from Arkansas where there are lot of chicken houses, a lot of farming, a lot of things like that, and and we say, just claiming you're a Christian doesn't mean you're a Christian any more than standing in a chicken house means you're a chicken.
Coming to church doesn't mean you're a follower of Christ. Now, hope that's a part of your walk with Christ, but just coming and sitting in a certain place at a certain time does not mean I'm actually following Christ. Correct? What we have to do is live it. And notice, it says, the tested genuineness.
You have to be put into situations where you've got to deal with that. And so this week, when you deal with someone who's difficult, how do you react? I told you, I used to say, because I'm very easygoing, I used to say I could get along with anyone, and then I worked with a lady who changed my mind, and now I say, I can get along with anyone who wants to be gotten along with. I think that lady was fueled by hatred and bitterness, I don't know. But she was a very difficult person to be around, and even in moments like that, where somebody is just unreasonable, and even cruel, and speech is just horrible, you have an opportunity, if you see it that way, to hold yourself in a different light.
Because the easy thing is, I think, is to kind of blend into that and meet them where they are, instead of staying where you should be. That following Jesus is more important to you than maybe getting one over on the angry person at work, or even the person on I 10 that cut you off for no reason at all, not that that ever happens to me. So, do you see it as an opportunity or an obstacle? In Romans five verses three through five, not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Now, I don't know that I do this first part very well.
Rejoice in our sufferings? I don't know if I do that in the midst of the suffering. I'll just be honest with you. I I think it's often it's later where I can look back and go, oh, okay. I I grew from that.
I'm not real happy in the moment, but if I see it as an opportunity, I respond in a certain way, and then later I can look at that and say, oh, okay. I grew through that. I was a good example through that. And I understand what he's saying here, knowing that suffering produces endurance. Again, that capacity.
I'm able to withstand, endure, and endurance produces character. It starts becoming who I am. Right? Part of my character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us ashamed because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, that you're not alone, you're not out here by yourself, you're able to endure by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And these trials in life are not random accidents to ignore, I don't think. They are opportunities God uses to produce spiritual growth. I don't think God is out here just planning bad things for you. I think because we live in a fallen world, bad things happen. And I think the good question to ask is what is God going to use this for?
Because even the worst of the worst, even some of the things we've experienced here in the last couple of weeks, God can use for good. If we're looking for that, we'll see it. Now, if all you see is an obstacle, you will stay in the negative, that negative mindset that, oh, woe is me, the earth is the world is going to you know where and whatever. But if I see it as an opportunity, if I see that God can use this for something good, that's way different. That is something that we can use.
Think back to the story of Joseph. Joseph has been given this this coat of many colors, he's been he's been given this thing that made all his brothers jealous, and his brothers respond in a mature way by selling him into slavery. Nothing? Okay. They sell a man into they sell their own brother into slavery.
How would you respond if that was you? I don't know that my first inclination would be, oh, happy day. Thank you, Lord, for these trials. I was looking for some sort of slavery for myself. No.
But Joseph, again, God helps through this time. That you see Joseph grow into a man where, you know, the end of the story when his brothers need help because this famine has happened. They don't even know who they're talking to, they're talking to their brother. And he is in a different place in his life because God has used him, he has relied on God, and notice this in in Genesis 50 verse 20. As for you, again, talking to his brothers who sold him into slavery, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.
God used this for good to bring it to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. Joseph had the capacity to look around and say, God has used that terrible situation you put me in to help keep many people alive today. And so how is God using you? Don't leave here today thinking, oh my goodness, all the bad things that are happening to me. How is God using you through those things?
But what is the good thing that's coming out of those things that that you are now a part of? Because you have said yes to God, God use me, mold me, shape me. God uses this pressure not to break us, but to build us, to build that capacity, to build that endurance, to allow us to be his hands and feet out in the world. John sixteen thirty three, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Have you heard any verses so far this morning that said, what you're going to find in the world is just peace, and tranquility, and riches?
Just enjoy yourself because it's going to be smooth sailing. I'd love to preach that sermon to you, and if I preach that sermon to you, we'd keep getting more and more people here because we'd love to hear that. But the truth of the matter is we live in a fallen world with evil in it, and we're gonna have to deal with things, aren't we? You're going to in this world, you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Okay.
It matters what your faith is in, because if your faith is in yourself, you're gonna struggle. If your faith is in everybody else to just take care of their business, you're gonna struggle. But if you take heart, if you have faith that Jesus has overcome the world, that's different. That leads you to a different conclusion. Acts fourteen twenty two, strengthening the souls of disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.
Amen. Through many tribulations. Don't walk away here just hanging your head today. All John talked about was all the tribulations we're gonna deal with. But if your foundation is weak, today is the day to turn to Jesus, isn't it?
To have faith in the foundation, not to to trust in something that is like sand, Jesus says. Every challenge in front of us this week will either be an obstacle that derails us, or an opportunity that matures us. It depends on how you respond. Who is your faith in? Which one will it be for you?
Obstacle or opportunity? And so, back to my soccer team. Each week, we are going to play teams that we should not be competitive with. Each week, we're gonna face our own giants of sorts as we face older kids that are faster, have longer legs already. The deck is stacked against us.
But our mindset is not, we're we're only good if we win. Our mindset is we need to get get better each week. Win, lose, tie, we have to learn. We have to mature. We have to grow.
Winds are not gonna come easily for us, but we can still celebrate the process. We can sit on the sideline and watch our kids grow from week to week, and that's what I'm getting to do. We can take pride in knowing where we came from and where we are today. You can do that in your life. I was involved for a short time in a homeless ministry in Texarkana, and one of the guys that ran that, his wife ran into someone from high school right in front of me.
I was having a conversation, and all of a sudden, I was a part of that one. And he introduced himself to her, and was talking about the ministry, and when she realized who it was and that she knew him, her first response was, I am not the same person that I was then. Like, in an apologetic way. Like, please forget that that all happened. And I had to process that.
But every one of us should be able to say that, not necessarily in a negative way, but look what God has done for me in my life. Look how God has helped me mature and move closer to him. I hope that as we sit here today, what we see are are are people that though physically we may look similar, spiritually, we have grown greatly. That's what I pray for us, that we are not just sitting and say we're practicing, or just coming and claiming one thing, living another life, but as we encounter the world, we are being molded and shaped and changed, we can take pride in knowing where we were and where we are now. My soccer team knows that all of this adversity, all of this struggle week in and week out leads to our team getting better in the future if we keep marching forward.
That goes directly to our faith. You are continually maturing if you are seeing life as an opportunity to grow, praying to God to help you move closer to him. Our faith under pressure does the same thing. So are you allowing God to help you mature, or are you just going through the motions? Do you fear the storm, or are you ready to trust in the one who can calm it?
Come today as we have a time of invitation. We love to pray with you. We'd love to see you put on Christ in baptism today to pledge your allegiance that I'm gonna put my faith in you. I'm gonna walk with you from this day forward that I know hard days come. I know difficult situations come.
And through those, I wanna put my faith in you. So at this time, we're gonna sing a song in the table.