Transcription
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Good morning everyone. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. This is Pastor Sanja Dawson of the New Mount Calvary Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California. And I am so excited about being with you this morning, uh, here in Morning Inspiration. You know, if it's nine o'clock in the morning on Tuesday, it's time for Morning Inspiration. Thank you for your faithfulness and your support for all of those who tune in either live or on the replay. If you're joining me live this morning, please put your name in the chat and say good morning to me. Say good morning to everyone. Let us know that you're out there. We have a lot of people who watch from all over. Uh, if you're watching from outside of California, put the state that you're watching from in and we'll know the reach of Morning Inspiration. A lot of people enjoy it because it's just a short little nugget, a word for the day to encourage you, a Bible teaching to start our day, and, um, just glad to be here.
Now, I want to mention a special thank you to everyone. This past weekend, we had two amazing services on third Sunday. Remind you that every first and third Sunday at 7:30 a.m. we have early service in addition to our 10:30 a.m. service. And I know that you had a great time and I want to thank all of you for being there. I want to thank, uh, our speakers who blessed us and I look forward to seeing you very soon.
So, uh, today's inspiration, and I like to take this space, um, say more to talk about things that I've already talked about, but to give you a little more insight, go a little deeper, share with you some different things that are on my heart about things that I've already spoken about. Last week I talked about really leadership and being availability, and that was a word that the Lord had really put in my heart to share with New Mount Calvary in particular. I hope that there are pastors and leaders who can benefit from last week's, uh, video. You want to go back and watch that? It is here am I Lord and how your elevation is connected to your availability. The week before that, it was on my heart to talk about keeping your heart for ministry and how you are able to stay fresh, stay engaged, stay passionate, and how you can stay close to God in ministry so that you can be useful and effective. You can go back and watch that video as well.
Now, today, and we should all be in by now, make sure you tag someone, hit the subscribe button if you're on YouTube, hit the like button, uh, send them a message, let them know that we're getting ready to start the Bible teaching. Put someone's name in the chat. But I want you to put someone's name in the chat who is dealing with pressure. Dealing with pressure. I'm going to talk about faith under pressure. And this is from the young adult Bible study that I conducted last week at New Mount Calvary. But it's for not just young adults. It's for all of us. No matter whether you're seasoned adults, young adults, male, female, church leader, not a church leader, whoever you may be. This is a general teaching for everyone who experiences life's pressures. So turn with me to James 1 verses 2-4. James 1:es 2-4. And in our anchor anchor Bible study, we have started a verse byvere teaching through the book of James. We meet every second Wednesday and just a little short plug. So young adults, come out and meet with me, uh, for that Bible teaching.
So here's the text. It says, "Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Well, morning, inspiration family. No matter where you're tuning in from, maybe you're sipping your coffee at work or sitting in your dorm room if you're a student or catching this on your lunch break. I want to talk to you about how to deal with pressure. How to have faith under pressure because one of the biggest challenges to our faith are the trials that we go through. Now, pressure comes in different forms. For some, it's bills piling up. For others, it's a job that's wearing you down. Maybe you have a health concern that keeps you awake at night or some relationships that are just draining and heavy. In the book of James, James tells us that something very surprising about those moments when we feel pressure, the pressure of trials and tribulations. And he says this, "Count it all joy." Can you put that in the chat for me? Count it all joy. We have heard that scripture over and over and over. If you grew up in the church like I did, or if you even knew to the church. We recite it all the time. Well, this is where it comes from. Count it all joy when you f fall fall into various trials and temptations. Why would James say joy? Really? Joy when I'm having problems at work? Joy when I get a bad diagnosis or report from the doctor. Joy. When my money doesn't last the whole month. Joy. Well, that's what he says. Let me tell you why. Because when gold is refined, it goes through fire. Not to destroy it, but to purify it. And that's how trials are in the life of the believer. They're not sent to destroy you. They're sent to develop you. They're not sent to destroy you. They're sent to develop you. God uses pressure to shape you, to stretch you, and to strengthen you. I'm going to say that again. He uses pressure to shape you, to stretch you, and to strengthen you. He joy doesn't mean that you're ignoring the pain. It means that you're trusting in the God who is with you right in the middle of it. So if you're feeling pressure today, I want you to remember you're not breaking, you're being built. And when you let God finish the work that he's doing in you, you will come out stronger, more complete, and you'll be ready for what's next.
One of the things that we learned in the Bible study last week is that trials are preparation for what God is preparing for you. First, he prepares us and then we're ready to receive what he's prepared for us. So, here are your key takeaways today. Trials aren't punishment. They're preparation. Joy is a choice you make before the breakthrough. You choose before the breakthrough that you're going to have joy. It's a choice you make. You can make it every single day. I choose to be happy. I choose to trust God. I choose to believe that he's going to work it all out. I It's a choice that you make every day. And growth takes endurance. Don't rush God's process. When the time comes for you to have what he's prepared for you, trust that you'll be ready. Here's your challenge this week. When you feel the pressure rising, stop and pray and say, "Lord, let this pressure produce perseverance in me." And at the end of the week, I want you to write down one way that you saw God strengthen your faith and then thank him for it. So, hold your head up today. You might be under pressure, but you're also under the hand of God. And he knows exactly what he's doing.
So, I just had a short word for you this morning. Faith under pressure. Your trials aren't punishment, they're preparation. Joy is a choice you make before the breakthrough. Growth takes endurance, but don't rush the process. God is preparing you for what he has prepared for you. Now, if this message blessed you, if you think it would bless someone else, I want you to share it out. Send it to that friend, that coworker, that family member who you know needs to hear that God is doing something with that pressure. That they're being shaped, they're being formed, they're being stretched, but they're also being strengthened. And I'll meet you here next week. God said the same here on Morning Inspiration. But in the meantime, don't just get inspired, be an inspiration, and know that your faith is working for you. That the pressure is going to produce something great. You just got to hang in there. God bless you and God keep you. We'll see you soon.
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