October 15, 2025 • 23 mins
Trials testing your patience? Start here. In this episode, we unpack the Book of James with fresh clarity—who wrote it, why it matters, and how “count it all joy” becomes more than a phrase when life feels hard. Discover how faith and action work together without falling into legalism, and how trials can mature your faith instead of breaking it. You’ll walk away with a clear study framework, three kinds of trials to recognize, and practical steps to build a sturdy, joy-filled faith that stands strong when the floods rise.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is episode 105, and I'm your host, Latoya, and
this is Equip the Next, whereyou get equipped to lead the
disciple and move the missionforward.
Want a practical Christianliving book to read next?
You don't want to miss this.
(00:49):
If you are returning, thank youfor stopping by.
Anyway, I am your host, like Isaid before, La Toya, and I'm
gonna get into a book that somepeople don't talk about, but I'm
going to bring it up.
Um, if you are looking to umjust read uh I'm talking about a
book in the Bible, by the way.
Sorry about that.
A book in the Bible.
(01:10):
If there's a book in the Bibleand you're looking, like maybe
you finished a book in the Bibleand you want to read something
new, or maybe you just are like,I don't know what book to read.
Perhaps you'll want to readJames.
Um, and I'm gonna give you anoverview of James just to, you
know, just encourage you to giveyou some some tools, some
basics.
But I would encourage you to umread the book of James.
(01:33):
It's only five chapters, and I'mgonna just highlight some stuff.
Now I will say this there weresome naysayers when it comes to
James being in the Bible,canonized.
There were there were some therewere some naysayers.
One of those was Martin Luther.
Um, and he disliked the book ofJames because he believed it
(01:54):
contradicted the doctrine ofsalvation by faith alone.
A lot of people feel like itcontradicts um what Paul was
teaching, and it does not.
And so I want to kind ofhighlight some of that stuff so
that you will feel moreconfident when you read this
book.
So, first I want to say that theauthor is um Jesus'
(02:16):
half-brother.
As we know, when Jesus was onearth, um, his family didn't
really believe that he was theMessiah.
But that changed.
And so now we have James, who isover the Church of Jerusalem
writing this letter to Jewishbelievers that have been
(02:37):
dispersed.
And this is a very the theoverall theme is a very
practical Christian living themetheme.
Actually, a lot of people wouldsay that James is like the
Psalms for the New Testament,and so that's why I thought that
(02:58):
it would be fitting to give youan overview of this book so that
you can read and understand itsrichness.
Now, I'm gonna be completelytransparent.
I remember reading this book andI was like confused.
I was like, what is but Iunderstood after studying that
it may not be written in theright order, some teachers have
(03:20):
said, and so it was like, ohyeah, that makes sense, and then
it started to click.
And so I want to again encourageyou.
We're gonna kind of chop up somethings in this book and break it
down, and then I'm gonna have anoverflow um to this chat and
again so you can get to know mea little bit better.
So the themes are the mainthemes, are gonna be talking
(03:43):
about trials, faith, wisdom,speech, prayer.
I'm gonna cover um the trialsand the wisdom portion, and then
well, I guess fate too, becausethat kind of ties into it.
And then I'm gonna also talkabout the the fact that this
(04:04):
doesn't contradict what Paul issaying, that he's not talking
about works, this is not worksbased, and I do want to talk
about that, but let's talk aboutthe trials first, and I'm gonna
break that down.
So if you go, if you have yourBibles, if you go to James 1, 2,
chapter 1, verse 2, it says, Mybrethren, this is um the New
(04:25):
King James version, it says, Mybrethren, count it all joy when
you fall into various trials.
Now, when we're looking aboutjoy, this is not for you to raw
and cheer.
He's not talking about have joylike that, because guess what?
That's not joy, that's happinessanyway.
But nobody's like happy or likewoo-hoo when it comes to a
(04:50):
trial.
At least I'm not.
I don't know about you, but I'mnot up here cheering.
So this is not about emotionaljoy.
This is about counting it alljoy that got from God's
perspective, this is Him pruningyou and growing you up
spiritually and mature andnaturally, you know, for you to
be more mature in the things ofGod for to develop patience in
(05:13):
you, to develop character, countit all joy.
Now, depending on whattranslation you read, one
translation says, consider itpure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds.
So, what does that mean?
Well, if we look at the wordwhenever, that means that it can
(05:35):
happen whenever.
That means it's spontaneous.
That means you can't really plansometimes a trial.
You don't know when a trial iscoming, it's just spontaneous.
And guess what?
There are many kinds, there arenumerous, various kinds of
trials that can happen.
(05:56):
But I love the verses afterthis, and I love how it's put in
to this letter, how it falls in,because he's talking about
trials, then he's talking aboutknowing that the testing of your
(06:17):
faith produces patience, but letpatience have its perfect work
that you may be perfect andcomplete, lacking nothing.
We are not perfect, we areflawed, but the joy makes you um
content in the trial.
It's like you're in the middleof a storm, but you're not
(06:40):
moved.
It's like the the um, I thinkit's the eye or the middle of
the storm.
I think that's the the calmest,I think.
That's like that.
But I love what he says in versefive when it says, if any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask ofGod.
And he gives it generously,without reproach.
(07:03):
I love how that's put in therebecause now you should ask for
wisdom anytime, but when you aregoing through a trial, you
cannot figure out what to do inyour own strength.
You need God to help you inanything, but especially in a
trial.
I don't know, I don't know aboutyou or who's listening, but I am
(07:24):
a mother, I am a wife, um,business owner, whatever.
So guess what?
When trials come, I don't knowwhat to do.
I didn't, there's not a manual,especially on being a parent or
being a spouse.
I need the wisdom of God inorder to help me to navigate
that space.
(07:46):
And so when trial, he's sayingwhen listen, when trials come,
guess what?
You can ask for wisdom in that.
How do you deal with that?
What do you what should you do?
Maybe nothing, but you you havethe opportunity to ask, and he
gives it to you.
It's just like if you again, ifyou're a parent, and say you
(08:13):
maybe test your child, maybetest them to see if they're
honest, or just whatever.
Test them to see if what they'regonna what they are gonna do,
how they how are they going torespond.
And if they struggle, do you letthem struggle?
Do you sit back or do you helpthem or give them tips?
(08:33):
Maybe you won't give them theeverything.
You want them to try to figureit out, but maybe you would be
like, okay, maybe try this.
Maybe do that.
You're right there, right?
You're not just throwing yourchild and just letting them do
whatever and they're struggling.
You're not doing that.
You are actually saying, youknow what, let me let me help
(08:54):
you.
I'm not gonna, I'm not gonnasolve everything for you because
I want you to figure it out, butlet me give you some wisdom on
how you I would have handled itbetter.
That's how we learn.
And that's what this beautifulpassage is saying.
But not only that, he follows itup in verse six by saying, But
let him ask in faith with nodoubting.
(09:18):
For he who doubts is like a waveof the sea driven and tossed by
the wind.
He goes on to say that it'sdouble-minded and it's they're
unstable in all their ways.
If you believe in him and youbelieve he'll do it, and you ask
for for that wisdom, believethat he gave it to you.
(09:41):
No matter what, believe that hegave it to you.
So when we look at trials, I'mpretty sure there's a lot of
different trials that come ourway, but three of them, I think
three main ones, at least thatI've heard taught, are they they
they come from maturity ormaturation, correction, and
direction.
Sometimes you'll have a trialthat will correct you, and you
(10:04):
will think that it's that youare being punished when it's
actually a God move.
He's directing you again.
If you're a parent, you canrelate to this.
He's directing you on a Godmove, a godly move.
(10:27):
That's the importance of thetrials.
And I and the reason why Iwanted to also bring James up is
because I'm pretty sure all ofus are going through stuff in
this in this world we're livingin, this fallen world, this
sinful world.
I don't know, you might be goingthrough a trial.
I want to remind you, pray andask the Lord to give you wisdom.
(10:49):
A lot of people might be saying,oh, that's easier said than
done.
Well, guess what?
It is easy.
It's easy to ask and believe.
I've always said to myself, thethings that I cannot fix and
cannot control, I don't worryabout them because there's
nothing I can do about itanyway.
And so just believe, have faithand ask and surrender that to
(11:13):
him.
Now, I also want to point outverse one, I mean sorry, chapter
one, verse 22, because this isum some of the highlight of like
being doers of the word and kindof like what that looks like.
It says, but be doers of theword and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.
Now, again, a lot of people feellike James is um this
(11:38):
works-based type of book.
It's not what he's saying hereis that when you accept the Lord
in your life and you have theHoly Spirit in you, there's
going to be a transformationthat happens.
(11:59):
Whether it's quick, whether it'slong term, you're going to be
changed.
Hopefully, I won't tell my age,but if you've if you were a teen
and used to wear clothes and dostuff and all kinds of like
that, when you hit your 20s,you're still kind of like, yeah,
woo-hoo.
You hit your 30s, you aren'tdoing that anymore.
(12:20):
When you hit your 40s, youweren't doing that anymore.
You weren't wearing thatanymore, you weren't watching
that anymore.
It wasn't something that youknow you even noticed.
It just happened because youwere mature.
Those things, you don't have anappetite or a desire for those
things anymore.
(12:42):
Same thing here when we'relooking in the book of James,
and he's talking about, youknow, just your speech, you
know, how you talk to oneanother, how you treat one
another.
You can't say, you know, you'rerocking with Jesus and then you
(13:03):
treat your neighbor any type ofway.
Now you could be rocking withJesus and treat your neighbor
any type of way, but hopefullyyou're convicted.
Not condemned, but convicted,corrected.
Listen, we all make mistakes.
We all have our bad days, we allhave our ups and downs, okay?
But the Holy Spirit in us willbe like, okay, you know that one
(13:26):
right.
You shouldn't have did that.
You'll be like, Yeah, you know,you're right.
I don't know about you, but I'msometimes I'm like tussling with
the Holy Spirit, like, oh, Idon't want to do that.
You really need to do that.
I don't know about that.
You know what I'm saying?
It's just that type of thing.
But there's a transformation.
There comes you you getconvicted, you you you change
(13:47):
your thoughts.
You you it's something thattransforms you.
I I can't really explain itother than you know, you feel
free.
There's something else I wantedto share from um Luke chapter
six.
I'm gonna grab my Bible reallyquick.
(14:07):
So this is Luke six, and this isone of the parables.
When the the first class I tookin seminary, this convicted me.
This one right here, itconvicted me.
Um it convicted me, it broughtme to tears.
(14:28):
This is what I'm gonna let mesee, read six.
Um, so Luke 6, 49.
Is it says, but the one whohears and does not do them,
talking about um, maybe I shouldgo up a little bit more.
So it's this this parable isabout the two builders.
Um, and he's talking to thedisciples.
(14:51):
And I'll just I'll just read,I'll just start.
Let me bring my Bible up.
I'll just start at verse 46.
It says, why?
This is the ESV.
So it says, Why do you call meLord, Lord, and do not do what I
tell you?
Everyone who comes to me andhears my words and does them, I
(15:13):
will show you what he is like.
He is like a man building ahouse who dug deep and laid the
foundation on the rock, and whena flood arose, the stream broke
against that house and could notshake it, because it had been
well built.
But the one who hears and doesnot do them is like a man who
(15:34):
builds a house on the groundwithout a foundation.
When the stream broke againstit, immediately it fell, and the
ruin of that house was great.
And in a nutshell in a nutshell,this is a superficial
relationship with Jesus will notstand.
That's that's an that's whatthis is saying in a nutshell.
(15:56):
What he's saying to hisdisciples is the one who hears
Jesus' teachings and does not dothem is like a foolish man, the
foolish man that didn't thatbuilt on shaky ground.
But the one who hears histeachings and applies them and
does them, he's like the wiseman who builds his house on firm
(16:22):
foundation on the rock.
Rock happens to be Jesus, right?
But this is what he's saying.
So if you're gonna break it downa little further when we're
looking at this, he'shighlighting this, it's not a
(16:45):
works-based thing that he'stalking about.
This is this was Jesus talkingto his disciples, but this
wasn't a works-based thing.
This was, if you if you're gonnaread the Bible, at least try to
apply it, man.
Just try.
That's all he's looking for.
You know, when you have a childand they're trying their best.
(17:06):
I mean, even when my son, he umhe's taking what is what class,
like world, world um history,something like that.
And that's kind of a little of achallenge for him.
And he got a C on um a paper orlike a test he did.
And I asked him, I said, Well,did you try?
(17:26):
He said, Yeah, I did.
I tried my best.
I didn't have any notes oranything.
I was like, Okay, as long as youtry, that's what I'm looking
for.
Because now we can figure outhow to correct it.
And that's the thing here.
We are, you know, I I feel likeI always have to give this
disclaimer.
Like, I know I'm not perfect.
Listen, we are not perfect, weare all flawed.
(17:48):
We do not have to keep sayingthat every time.
We know that.
But are you at least trying tocome to him?
Are you at least trying tosurrender?
Are you at least trying to dowhat you're reading after you've
understood it and took it incontext and then you know
applied and had application?
I teach about how to study theBible in my Bibles Foundations
(18:11):
course.
Um, but this is what it'ssaying.
You know, he's he's looking foryou to surrender and the areas
in which you cannot do, likeyou're like, I'm just struggling
in this.
Give it to God.
Let him feel you in that area ofyour life.
(18:34):
Let him let him work on you andmold you into that area.
And don't beat yourself up ifyou don't get it.
Don't don't don't don't carrythat burden, man.
Give that to him too.
And then ask him to surround youwith people, godly people, who
can encourage you and you canfellowship with, break bread
(18:55):
with, and grow.
That's how it starts.
So I just wanted to.
Do I have any more nuggets?
Okay, no, I don't.
I just wanted to challenge youwith that, or just encourage you
rather, on studying that book.
I think it will be a blessing toyou.
(19:18):
Listen, I have a challenge.
Read James one this week and jotdown three themes.
Maybe you want to read the wholebook, but that's your challenge
this week.
I I just bless you.
I thank you so much.
Thank you for listening.
Don't forget to grab your freeguardrails book, the five Bible
(19:38):
study guardrails for confidence,at equipthenext.com forward
slash freebie.
Bless you.
So this is the overflow.
If you're still here and youhaven't clicked off, am I gonna
do this all the time?
Probably not, but yeah, we'rejust gonna try to see how this
goes because I figured if you'renew and you want to know who I
(20:00):
am, this is a great place tostart.
Um, tomorrow we have our Zoomparty where we're going to be
just mapping out or journalingour goals with God first.
And if you haven't registeredalready, I would encourage you
to do so.
Um, I don't think it's too late.
(20:21):
I don't know.
But anywho, let me get on withum something that I wanted to
talk about, which which is firstof all, we're gonna have some
guests come on, so you don'thave to just hear me talking.
So be on the lookout for that.
They are coming.
I've already got one lined up.
Thank you, Lord.
But also, um, a lot of you maynot know this, but I like Star
(20:47):
Trek.
Now, listen, hear me out.
I like the original series, StarTrek, and then I think um maybe
Star Trek Voyager, but for themost part, the original series.
When I was younger, it wascheesy, but now that I'm looking
at it, it's so many nuggets, somany teachable nuggets.
(21:10):
Why do I like it, or what do Ilike most about it?
Hmm, I love um Captain Kirk.
I'm gonna tell you why.
And I'm so sappy.
There are times where I've criedwatching certain episodes.
I like it because he shows youhow a real leader leads a team.
(21:36):
Because Captain Kirk puts theship and the people on it before
himself.
He cares more about that shipthan anything else.
The level of discipline,self-control, and resilience is
amazing.
And I'm talking about thecharacter, not William Shatner,
(21:57):
I'm just talking about thecharacter, Captain Kirk.
I really like that characterbecause it just shows how he
problem solves even in the faceof danger, and how he has an
amazing team around him.
And I look at that when it comesto discipleship.
This is not a one-and-donething, this is a kingdom thing.
(22:19):
And it starts with amazingpeople and an amazing team
around you of encouragingvessels of God who are
sharpening you, and you aresharpening them.
And whether they have flaws, youyou're helping them get out of
that.
And the same thing for you.
It's this building, thisnetwork, this team.
And we see so many churches andso many people that are falling.
(22:43):
There's so many things that arejust wacky and wonky out here in
these social media streets.
It's like it just makeseverything just look so bad.
But I know the kingdom of Godthat I've experienced and the
people that I've encountered,and they have blessed me, and
(23:06):
I've grown so much so.
And so I just wanted to sharethat little nugget because I
might just go watch some StarTrek if I have some time.
I don't know.
I'm a mom and a wife.
I'm going to try my best, but Iwanted to just sneak in.
Listen, if you want to ask me aquestion, feel free to email me
at hello at equithenext.com.
(23:29):
Bless you.
This is episode 105, and I'm your host, Latoya, and
this is Equip the Next, whereyou get equipped to lead the
disciple and move the missionforward.
Want a practical Christianliving book to read next?
You don't want to miss this.
(00:49):
If you are returning, thank youfor stopping by.
Anyway, I am your host, like Isaid before, La Toya, and I'm
gonna get into a book that somepeople don't talk about, but I'm
going to bring it up.
Um, if you are looking to umjust read uh I'm talking about a
book in the Bible, by the way.
Sorry about that.
A book in the Bible.
(01:10):
If there's a book in the Bibleand you're looking, like maybe
you finished a book in the Bibleand you want to read something
new, or maybe you just are like,I don't know what book to read.
Perhaps you'll want to readJames.
Um, and I'm gonna give you anoverview of James just to, you
know, just encourage you to giveyou some some tools, some
basics.
But I would encourage you to umread the book of James.
(01:33):
It's only five chapters, and I'mgonna just highlight some stuff.
Now I will say this there weresome naysayers when it comes to
James being in the Bible,canonized.
There were there were some therewere some naysayers.
One of those was Martin Luther.
Um, and he disliked the book ofJames because he believed it
(01:54):
contradicted the doctrine ofsalvation by faith alone.
A lot of people feel like itcontradicts um what Paul was
teaching, and it does not.
And so I want to kind ofhighlight some of that stuff so
that you will feel moreconfident when you read this
book.
So, first I want to say that theauthor is um Jesus'
(02:16):
half-brother.
As we know, when Jesus was onearth, um, his family didn't
really believe that he was theMessiah.
But that changed.
And so now we have James, who isover the Church of Jerusalem
writing this letter to Jewishbelievers that have been
(02:37):
dispersed.
And this is a very the theoverall theme is a very
practical Christian living themetheme.
Actually, a lot of people wouldsay that James is like the
Psalms for the New Testament,and so that's why I thought that
(02:58):
it would be fitting to give youan overview of this book so that
you can read and understand itsrichness.
Now, I'm gonna be completelytransparent.
I remember reading this book andI was like confused.
I was like, what is but Iunderstood after studying that
it may not be written in theright order, some teachers have
(03:20):
said, and so it was like, ohyeah, that makes sense, and then
it started to click.
And so I want to again encourageyou.
We're gonna kind of chop up somethings in this book and break it
down, and then I'm gonna have anoverflow um to this chat and
again so you can get to know mea little bit better.
So the themes are the mainthemes, are gonna be talking
(03:43):
about trials, faith, wisdom,speech, prayer.
I'm gonna cover um the trialsand the wisdom portion, and then
well, I guess fate too, becausethat kind of ties into it.
And then I'm gonna also talkabout the the fact that this
(04:04):
doesn't contradict what Paul issaying, that he's not talking
about works, this is not worksbased, and I do want to talk
about that, but let's talk aboutthe trials first, and I'm gonna
break that down.
So if you go, if you have yourBibles, if you go to James 1, 2,
chapter 1, verse 2, it says, Mybrethren, this is um the New
(04:25):
King James version, it says, Mybrethren, count it all joy when
you fall into various trials.
Now, when we're looking aboutjoy, this is not for you to raw
and cheer.
He's not talking about have joylike that, because guess what?
That's not joy, that's happinessanyway.
But nobody's like happy or likewoo-hoo when it comes to a
(04:50):
trial.
At least I'm not.
I don't know about you, but I'mnot up here cheering.
So this is not about emotionaljoy.
This is about counting it alljoy that got from God's
perspective, this is Him pruningyou and growing you up
spiritually and mature andnaturally, you know, for you to
be more mature in the things ofGod for to develop patience in
(05:13):
you, to develop character, countit all joy.
Now, depending on whattranslation you read, one
translation says, consider itpure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds.
So, what does that mean?
Well, if we look at the wordwhenever, that means that it can
(05:35):
happen whenever.
That means it's spontaneous.
That means you can't really plansometimes a trial.
You don't know when a trial iscoming, it's just spontaneous.
And guess what?
There are many kinds, there arenumerous, various kinds of
trials that can happen.
(05:56):
But I love the verses afterthis, and I love how it's put in
to this letter, how it falls in,because he's talking about
trials, then he's talking aboutknowing that the testing of your
(06:17):
faith produces patience, but letpatience have its perfect work
that you may be perfect andcomplete, lacking nothing.
We are not perfect, we areflawed, but the joy makes you um
content in the trial.
It's like you're in the middleof a storm, but you're not
(06:40):
moved.
It's like the the um, I thinkit's the eye or the middle of
the storm.
I think that's the the calmest,I think.
That's like that.
But I love what he says in versefive when it says, if any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask ofGod.
And he gives it generously,without reproach.
(07:03):
I love how that's put in therebecause now you should ask for
wisdom anytime, but when you aregoing through a trial, you
cannot figure out what to do inyour own strength.
You need God to help you inanything, but especially in a
trial.
I don't know, I don't know aboutyou or who's listening, but I am
(07:24):
a mother, I am a wife, um,business owner, whatever.
So guess what?
When trials come, I don't knowwhat to do.
I didn't, there's not a manual,especially on being a parent or
being a spouse.
I need the wisdom of God inorder to help me to navigate
that space.
(07:46):
And so when trial, he's sayingwhen listen, when trials come,
guess what?
You can ask for wisdom in that.
How do you deal with that?
What do you what should you do?
Maybe nothing, but you you havethe opportunity to ask, and he
gives it to you.
It's just like if you again, ifyou're a parent, and say you
(08:13):
maybe test your child, maybetest them to see if they're
honest, or just whatever.
Test them to see if what they'regonna what they are gonna do,
how they how are they going torespond.
And if they struggle, do you letthem struggle?
Do you sit back or do you helpthem or give them tips?
(08:33):
Maybe you won't give them theeverything.
You want them to try to figureit out, but maybe you would be
like, okay, maybe try this.
Maybe do that.
You're right there, right?
You're not just throwing yourchild and just letting them do
whatever and they're struggling.
You're not doing that.
You are actually saying, youknow what, let me let me help
(08:54):
you.
I'm not gonna, I'm not gonnasolve everything for you because
I want you to figure it out, butlet me give you some wisdom on
how you I would have handled itbetter.
That's how we learn.
And that's what this beautifulpassage is saying.
But not only that, he follows itup in verse six by saying, But
let him ask in faith with nodoubting.
(09:18):
For he who doubts is like a waveof the sea driven and tossed by
the wind.
He goes on to say that it'sdouble-minded and it's they're
unstable in all their ways.
If you believe in him and youbelieve he'll do it, and you ask
for for that wisdom, believethat he gave it to you.
(09:41):
No matter what, believe that hegave it to you.
So when we look at trials, I'mpretty sure there's a lot of
different trials that come ourway, but three of them, I think
three main ones, at least thatI've heard taught, are they they
they come from maturity ormaturation, correction, and
direction.
Sometimes you'll have a trialthat will correct you, and you
(10:04):
will think that it's that youare being punished when it's
actually a God move.
He's directing you again.
If you're a parent, you canrelate to this.
He's directing you on a Godmove, a godly move.
(10:27):
That's the importance of thetrials.
And I and the reason why Iwanted to also bring James up is
because I'm pretty sure all ofus are going through stuff in
this in this world we're livingin, this fallen world, this
sinful world.
I don't know, you might be goingthrough a trial.
I want to remind you, pray andask the Lord to give you wisdom.
(10:49):
A lot of people might be saying,oh, that's easier said than
done.
Well, guess what?
It is easy.
It's easy to ask and believe.
I've always said to myself, thethings that I cannot fix and
cannot control, I don't worryabout them because there's
nothing I can do about itanyway.
And so just believe, have faithand ask and surrender that to
(11:13):
him.
Now, I also want to point outverse one, I mean sorry, chapter
one, verse 22, because this isum some of the highlight of like
being doers of the word and kindof like what that looks like.
It says, but be doers of theword and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.
Now, again, a lot of people feellike James is um this
(11:38):
works-based type of book.
It's not what he's saying hereis that when you accept the Lord
in your life and you have theHoly Spirit in you, there's
going to be a transformationthat happens.
(11:59):
Whether it's quick, whether it'slong term, you're going to be
changed.
Hopefully, I won't tell my age,but if you've if you were a teen
and used to wear clothes and dostuff and all kinds of like
that, when you hit your 20s,you're still kind of like, yeah,
woo-hoo.
You hit your 30s, you aren'tdoing that anymore.
(12:20):
When you hit your 40s, youweren't doing that anymore.
You weren't wearing thatanymore, you weren't watching
that anymore.
It wasn't something that youknow you even noticed.
It just happened because youwere mature.
Those things, you don't have anappetite or a desire for those
things anymore.
(12:42):
Same thing here when we'relooking in the book of James,
and he's talking about, youknow, just your speech, you
know, how you talk to oneanother, how you treat one
another.
You can't say, you know, you'rerocking with Jesus and then you
(13:03):
treat your neighbor any type ofway.
Now you could be rocking withJesus and treat your neighbor
any type of way, but hopefullyyou're convicted.
Not condemned, but convicted,corrected.
Listen, we all make mistakes.
We all have our bad days, we allhave our ups and downs, okay?
But the Holy Spirit in us willbe like, okay, you know that one
(13:26):
right.
You shouldn't have did that.
You'll be like, Yeah, you know,you're right.
I don't know about you, but I'msometimes I'm like tussling with
the Holy Spirit, like, oh, Idon't want to do that.
You really need to do that.
I don't know about that.
You know what I'm saying?
It's just that type of thing.
But there's a transformation.
There comes you you getconvicted, you you you change
(13:47):
your thoughts.
You you it's something thattransforms you.
I I can't really explain itother than you know, you feel
free.
There's something else I wantedto share from um Luke chapter
six.
I'm gonna grab my Bible reallyquick.
(14:07):
So this is Luke six, and this isone of the parables.
When the the first class I tookin seminary, this convicted me.
This one right here, itconvicted me.
Um it convicted me, it broughtme to tears.
(14:28):
This is what I'm gonna let mesee, read six.
Um, so Luke 6, 49.
Is it says, but the one whohears and does not do them,
talking about um, maybe I shouldgo up a little bit more.
So it's this this parable isabout the two builders.
Um, and he's talking to thedisciples.
(14:51):
And I'll just I'll just read,I'll just start.
Let me bring my Bible up.
I'll just start at verse 46.
It says, why?
This is the ESV.
So it says, Why do you call meLord, Lord, and do not do what I
tell you?
Everyone who comes to me andhears my words and does them, I
(15:13):
will show you what he is like.
He is like a man building ahouse who dug deep and laid the
foundation on the rock, and whena flood arose, the stream broke
against that house and could notshake it, because it had been
well built.
But the one who hears and doesnot do them is like a man who
(15:34):
builds a house on the groundwithout a foundation.
When the stream broke againstit, immediately it fell, and the
ruin of that house was great.
And in a nutshell in a nutshell,this is a superficial
relationship with Jesus will notstand.
That's that's an that's whatthis is saying in a nutshell.
(15:56):
What he's saying to hisdisciples is the one who hears
Jesus' teachings and does not dothem is like a foolish man, the
foolish man that didn't thatbuilt on shaky ground.
But the one who hears histeachings and applies them and
does them, he's like the wiseman who builds his house on firm
(16:22):
foundation on the rock.
Rock happens to be Jesus, right?
But this is what he's saying.
So if you're gonna break it downa little further when we're
looking at this, he'shighlighting this, it's not a
(16:45):
works-based thing that he'stalking about.
This is this was Jesus talkingto his disciples, but this
wasn't a works-based thing.
This was, if you if you're gonnaread the Bible, at least try to
apply it, man.
Just try.
That's all he's looking for.
You know, when you have a childand they're trying their best.
(17:06):
I mean, even when my son, he umhe's taking what is what class,
like world, world um history,something like that.
And that's kind of a little of achallenge for him.
And he got a C on um a paper orlike a test he did.
And I asked him, I said, Well,did you try?
(17:26):
He said, Yeah, I did.
I tried my best.
I didn't have any notes oranything.
I was like, Okay, as long as youtry, that's what I'm looking
for.
Because now we can figure outhow to correct it.
And that's the thing here.
We are, you know, I I feel likeI always have to give this
disclaimer.
Like, I know I'm not perfect.
Listen, we are not perfect, weare all flawed.
(17:48):
We do not have to keep sayingthat every time.
We know that.
But are you at least trying tocome to him?
Are you at least trying tosurrender?
Are you at least trying to dowhat you're reading after you've
understood it and took it incontext and then you know
applied and had application?
I teach about how to study theBible in my Bibles Foundations
(18:11):
course.
Um, but this is what it'ssaying.
You know, he's he's looking foryou to surrender and the areas
in which you cannot do, likeyou're like, I'm just struggling
in this.
Give it to God.
Let him feel you in that area ofyour life.
(18:34):
Let him let him work on you andmold you into that area.
And don't beat yourself up ifyou don't get it.
Don't don't don't don't carrythat burden, man.
Give that to him too.
And then ask him to surround youwith people, godly people, who
can encourage you and you canfellowship with, break bread
(18:55):
with, and grow.
That's how it starts.
So I just wanted to.
Do I have any more nuggets?
Okay, no, I don't.
I just wanted to challenge youwith that, or just encourage you
rather, on studying that book.
I think it will be a blessing toyou.
(19:18):
Listen, I have a challenge.
Read James one this week and jotdown three themes.
Maybe you want to read the wholebook, but that's your challenge
this week.
I I just bless you.
I thank you so much.
Thank you for listening.
Don't forget to grab your freeguardrails book, the five Bible
(19:38):
study guardrails for confidence,at equipthenext.com forward
slash freebie.
Bless you.
So this is the overflow.
If you're still here and youhaven't clicked off, am I gonna
do this all the time?
Probably not, but yeah, we'rejust gonna try to see how this
goes because I figured if you'renew and you want to know who I
(20:00):
am, this is a great place tostart.
Um, tomorrow we have our Zoomparty where we're going to be
just mapping out or journalingour goals with God first.
And if you haven't registeredalready, I would encourage you
to do so.
Um, I don't think it's too late.
(20:21):
I don't know.
But anywho, let me get on withum something that I wanted to
talk about, which which is firstof all, we're gonna have some
guests come on, so you don'thave to just hear me talking.
So be on the lookout for that.
They are coming.
I've already got one lined up.
Thank you, Lord.
But also, um, a lot of you maynot know this, but I like Star
(20:47):
Trek.
Now, listen, hear me out.
I like the original series, StarTrek, and then I think um maybe
Star Trek Voyager, but for themost part, the original series.
When I was younger, it wascheesy, but now that I'm looking
at it, it's so many nuggets, somany teachable nuggets.
(21:10):
Why do I like it, or what do Ilike most about it?
Hmm, I love um Captain Kirk.
I'm gonna tell you why.
And I'm so sappy.
There are times where I've criedwatching certain episodes.
I like it because he shows youhow a real leader leads a team.
(21:36):
Because Captain Kirk puts theship and the people on it before
himself.
He cares more about that shipthan anything else.
The level of discipline,self-control, and resilience is
amazing.
And I'm talking about thecharacter, not William Shatner,
(21:57):
I'm just talking about thecharacter, Captain Kirk.
I really like that characterbecause it just shows how he
problem solves even in the faceof danger, and how he has an
amazing team around him.
And I look at that when it comesto discipleship.
This is not a one-and-donething, this is a kingdom thing.
(22:19):
And it starts with amazingpeople and an amazing team
around you of encouragingvessels of God who are
sharpening you, and you aresharpening them.
And whether they have flaws, youyou're helping them get out of
that.
And the same thing for you.
It's this building, thisnetwork, this team.
And we see so many churches andso many people that are falling.
(22:43):
There's so many things that arejust wacky and wonky out here in
these social media streets.
It's like it just makeseverything just look so bad.
But I know the kingdom of Godthat I've experienced and the
people that I've encountered,and they have blessed me, and
(23:06):
I've grown so much so.
And so I just wanted to sharethat little nugget because I
might just go watch some StarTrek if I have some time.
I don't know.
I'm a mom and a wife.
I'm going to try my best, but Iwanted to just sneak in.
Listen, if you want to ask me aquestion, feel free to email me
at hello at equithenext.com.
(23:29):
Bless you.
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