Count It All Joy

0:46 Some of y'all know Natalie. Natalie was texting us to tell us she was in the hospital, that overnight she got to a place where she could not breathe. We've been in those moments before where she could not breathe, but she said this was the worst case of her inability to breathe that she's ever experienced in her life. Let me calm y'all down. She's fine. She's home. I see some of y'all looking at me.

1:18 She's okay. She's fine. She's home now. She got home early this morning after we got this text. It was a shocking text message that we received from her this morning. She had not called us or anything. She just sent a text. I'm in the hospital. I couldn't breathe. As a matter of fact, her breathing was so bad, she said, they started to put her on a breathing machine, which means she could not breathe herself.

1:57 She's been in that place before in her life. Some of you have heard me testify some years ago when she was a little lad of how one night we thought we had lost her and we called the ambulance and they came and took her to the hospital. We thought she had died. I called the 911, and they're trying to tell me how to do, yeah, whatever it's called, CPR, trying to do all of that. And we thought, I actually thought she had died that day. And this was another one of those startling, challenging situations. now I want to talk to you about this because I'm not the only person to face a challenging moment in life we're not the only one she's not the only one truth be told you've probably had a few in your life if not you somebody on your row look up and down your row see if you can figure out who it is don't point to them just say you know some of you might just want to raise your hand some of you had several startling challenging situations in life something that you've experienced that you thought you would not overcome anybody here ever been in a situation where you saw something that you thought was going to take you out Yeah.

3:25 James, one of the, the brother of Jesus, actually, James, in his epistle writes these words. Turn to James chapter 1. This is where I'm preaching from for a few moments. James chapter 1. It's in the New Testament. Just go to the table of contents and just figure out where it is because it's a little small book. If you don't know where it is, you ain't going to find it. it's only about four chapters it's chapter one and he says this verse two James one verse two he says my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

4:25 Ooh, that's such a powerful passage right there. I don't know if y'all got it. It's profound. It's amazing. It's significant. he tells us to count it all joy.

4:47 I know that sounds strange to you because most of you probably don't know how to count anything joyfully when you're having a tough time. As a matter of fact, let me pause for a moment. I want to look back over my life and think about things that I've gone through that I thought I wouldn't be able to overcome. And as I'm looking back over the stuff I've gone in my life. James says count it all joy. Thank all 20 of y'all for clapping on that. I appreciate that. Some of y'all ain't got it, but here's what he's trying to tell us. When you go back over the instances and the circumstances of your life that you want to put in the joy column, he says, while you're counting them, here's what he says. He says, don't skip any of them, but count them all joy.

5:42 He tells us what to do. He says, I want you to put, don't put anything in the negative column. Some of y'all got a positive column and a negative column. You got a good column and a bad column. He says, you might not see it while you're in the midst of it, but I guarantee you, when you get to the end of the story, you're going to be able to put it in the positive column. I can already tell this is going to be a tough crowd right here on this.

6:19 So, how could I count it joy that my daughter was in the hospital overnight, through the middle of the night, and we didn't know anything about it until this morning? She told us something that made me count it joy. Here's what she said. my boyfriend on our way to the hospital prayed for me. Don't play a hate. Don't get mad. All the single sisters in the world. Give God praise that the pastor daughter got her a praying boyfriend. You just want a boyfriend whether he prays or not. I'm thankful that he put his arms around her on the way to the hospital and interceded for her.

7:13 That's what I want my daughters to have is a praying young man. And I can look, I'm counting it all joy. I look back over my life at the circumstances. I remember back in 2005, I had a brain. I got sick one night, one morning I woke up. I was vomiting. My wife took me to the hospital.

7:36 And they ran tests and they said, you have a brain aneurysm. Y'all know what that is? You got a vein in your brain that's leaking. blood. They said, oh, we cannot do it here. We have to send you to another hospital. And so they made arrangements to helicopter me to the Washington Hospital Center in D.C. I was getting excited for the helicopter ride. Come on, holler back at me for a minute. But unfortunately, the weather was bad, so I couldn't get the helicopter ride. I had to go over in the ambulance. Shuts, I missed the helicopter ride. When I got to the Washington Hospital and they ran their test, they said they can't find no brain in it. Y'all, excuse me, I'm going to give God a...

8:34 I'm giving God the praise. Now, either they misdiagnosed me at the Bowie Town Hospital Center, or God did something between Bowie and Washington Hospital Center. Somebody give God a praise for me. But as I look back on the moment, I'm not only thanking God, I can not only count it joy that I didn't have a brain aneurysm, I can count it joy because when they said I had a brain aneurysm, my wife, this one right here, decided to call the church to prayer. She made a few phone calls and the church came together and called my name out before Almighty God.

9:27 Woo! I'm counting it joy that I had a wife that knew what to do when she didn't know what to do so James tells you and I what to do when we are faced with challenging circumstances I don't know who I'm preaching to today I need you to get this in your spirit and you get this in your heart I know you're facing some challenging moments I know your marriage ain't what it used to be or shouldn't be or what you want it to be I know your children giving you hell I know you don't have enough money to pay your bills. I know you got sickness and diseases and conditions all over you, but here's what James says. I want to give you some advice. He says, when you are counting the success and wonderful things that go on in your life, don't skip those things that look bad. Don't spot over them. Don't flip over them. Don't walk over them. Don't ignore them, but somehow or another, something good is going to happen. Something good is going to come out of it.

10:34 Something positive is going to be the fruit of it. You might not see it at the moment, but by the time you get to the conclusion, count it all joy. Somebody high five your neighbor and say, I got to learn how to count it all joy. As a matter of fact, that's what he tells us. Look at the passage again. He says, count it all joy. Then he tells us what to do. Delight in it. Be excited about it. Don't skip it. I know you didn't like it while you were going through it, but don't skip it. As a matter of fact, while you're in it, count it joy.

11:09 I am preaching better than y'all are saying amen. I feel like running around this building this morning. count it joy, have a cheerfulness. The word joy means to be cheerful. Have a delight. Be excited about it. James tells us count it all joy. He tells us what to do, and then he tells us when to do it.

11:32 Y'all supposed to say when we supposed to do it. When we supposed to do it. Y'all a little slow. I'm having a tough time here. Right here, he says count it all joy when, not if, when you fall into various trials. Look at your neighbor and say, it's not a question of if, it's a question of when. did y'all all tell the person sitting next to you it's not a question of if it's when you're going to have trials you're going to have tough situations there's going to be some drama you can't avoid it you can't escape it as a matter of fact he says when you fall into various trials I'm glad y'all see that he tells us when to do it when you that word fall means when you get surrounded by. Somebody say, I got surrounded by. I got drama all around me. I got drama in every situation. When I got drama in circumstances, I've got trials, adversity, things that are not going my way, things that are not going in my direction, things that I don't like, things that I would never have chosen to go through, things I would have never picked up. He says, when you count it all, count it joy. Somebody say, I'm going to count it joy.

12:50 Oh, I feel a shout coming on my soul right now. I'm trying to give y'all some help. Oh, I feel tension. Oh, you know what? There's tension in the room. I'm preaching better Pastor Yuri I'm preaching better than these jokers are saying amen Preach it He tells us what to do when to do it but here's the tension you want to know why why in the world should I be shouting when all hell breaking loose why in the world should I be counting it joy when I ain't got enough money to pay my bills why should I be counting it joy when I got sickness and disease that I don't know how I'm gonna get well from why I feel y'all kicking back at me today I'm glad you asked the question because he tells us in verse 3 and 4 why what did he say knowing that stop pause he says I want you to know why you want to count it all joy.

14:03 Let me give you the reason, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Oh my God. I got to find one of these sections that will help me preach this sermon. This is my normal crowd. Let me come over here to this section right here. Because they ain't saying nothing. They ain't giving me no help. They're not encouraging me. So I'm coming over to my tried and true section. Thank you. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for walking with me. Thank you for preaching with me.

14:55 Thank you for saying amen while I'm trying to preach. Look at them jokers over there, quiet as they can be. That's why I can't preach to them over there. But over here, I got this. This is my tried and true section. They know what I'm talking about. Knowing that, knowing that the testing of your faith, let me tell you point one, here's why you need to count it all joy, because it proves that your faith is being tested.

15:28 Look at your neighbor, say, my faith is being tested. Your faith has got to be tested. You don't even know if you have faith until it's been tested. it. You don't know if your faith is genuine until it's been tested. You don't know that your faith is real and authentic until you done been through something where you had to believe that God was going to make a way somehow, that God was going to work it out somehow. And as a matter of fact, when you see God work it out, when you see God work a miracle, when you see God solve it, It builds up your faith and confidence that you know that I serve a God who is more than able to work it out. Somebody high five your neighbor and say, my faith has been tested. As a matter of fact, Get this.

16:27 Lean over and tell your neighbor, get this. Pay attention. You were wondering why you keep going through the same thing over and over and over again. Because you haven't passed the test. Let me come over here because they ain't got no. I keep going through the same thing because I didn't pass it the first time. I got to go through it again until I get the right attitude, until I respond the right way, until I believe in the right manner. That's why I kind of keep going through it over and over and over again. That's why I keep having the same trials. God's waiting for me to get mature so that I can pass the test. Wai, wav! Were! W ro! W w! Your faith will be tested, and your faith being tested produces patience.

17:29 The testing produces patience. I knew y'all weren't going to say amen on that the word patience means that it gives me the capacity to stick with God even in tough circumstances I need y'all to get that right there. That's important because the devil will make suggestions to you. And unfortunately, some of you have bought into what those suggestions are. The devil has said, God don't love you. There ain't no such thing as God. He ain't real. The devil will make and suggest to you ideas. God don't love you. That's why he allowing you to go through this and to go through that. and that's why you got this trial and this tribulation and this issue.

18:25 And the devil has gotten you to walk away from God. Some of you have quit church. Some of y'all have stopped serving. Some of you have stopped believing God. Stop reading your Bible because the devil has convinced you that God doesn't care about you. There is no God. There's so many things. But listen here. Here's what I'm trying to tell you. When you done gone through some stuff and you see God working out and you hang in there and you trust God and you know he's going to make a way, when you got the confidence that He is a way maker. Excuse me for a second. When you know that He's a bridge builder, a problem solver, a heart regulator, a mind fixer, when you see that God changes your circumstance, you get to a place where you know that you serve a God who can and who will work it out. You have confidence. Somebody high five your neighbor and say, I got confidence. I got confidence in the God that I serve.

19:19 I know he's a way maker. I know he's a miracle worker. I know he'll fix it It's a great day! It's a great day! It's a great day! It's a great day! Yeah! Woo! I'm tired.

19:41 Y'all make a brother have to preach hard. I have to preach hard. Let me read this to you again. Knowing, here's what you got to know, that the testing of your faith produces patience. It's the fact that you've gone through some things that you saw God work out that gives you the capacity and ability to stick with God when trials come into your life. We used to sing a song when I was young. it went like this, you can't make me doubt him, you can't make me doubt him, you can't make me doubt him, in my heart, you can't make me doubt him, I know too much about him, you can't make me doubt him, in my heart, You can't make me doubt him You can't make me down.

20:58 You can't make me down in my heart. Oh, you can't make me down. I know too much about you. You can't make me down in my heart.

21:19 When you done been through some stuff that you seen God work out, when you've been through some trials and you see God fix it when you've been through some stuff that you couldn't see no way out but God somehow worked it out and you know that nobody but God could have worked it out it puts something inside of you we call patience that makes you stick with God regardless of what the circumstances look like and the way the clad and the way the fron and the way the ron and the way the lel and the way the fos

22:18 Somebody tell your neighbor count it all joy. Count everything joy. Every situation. And we know that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose.

22:48 Somebody say, count it all joy. Count it all joy. Count it all joy. Count it, count it, count it. Who am I preaching to today? I don't know what you're facing. I don't know what your circumstances are. But this is the posture God wants you to have. Count it all joy. Look at your neighbor and say, don't skip nothing.

23:14 Look at him on the other side. Don't you skip nothing. don't miss anything it may not the story might not be complete at the moment but God's going to bring completion to the story somebody say I'm in the middle of my trial tell yourself I'm in the middle of my hell right now I'm in the middle of my struggle but here's what I know I know when I get to the end of this story somehow God will get the glory. Hey! Hey!

24:07 Wow. I count it all joy.