WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000
When I say bring it on, I'm saying, look, I've got confidence in Christ.

2
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.240
I say bring it on, I mean that God's going to use this for good.

3
00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:13.760
I say bring it on because there's a resiliency and there's an endurance that's getting built

4
00:00:13.760 --> 00:00:22.280
into me because this thing is hard.

5
00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:27.880
When I'm tired, when I'm frustrated, I feel the frustration starting to come, I say bring

6
00:00:27.880 --> 00:00:28.880
it on.

7
00:00:28.880 --> 00:00:32.000
I say it daily because there's frustrations every day.

8
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:39.920
It really helps me, it helps me take my eyes off the problem and put my eyes on my capacity

9
00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.860
to withstand what it is that's coming my way.

10
00:00:42.860 --> 00:00:46.240
When I say bring it on, I'm saying, look, I've got confidence in Christ.

11
00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:49.520
I say bring it on, I mean that God's going to use this for good.

12
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:56.040
I say bring it on because there's a resiliency and there's an endurance that's getting built

13
00:00:56.040 --> 00:00:58.840
into me because this thing is hard.

14
00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:05.560
I say bring it on because I will get wisdom, I'll know what to do through this circumstance

15
00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:12.600
that I couldn't learn any other way, and I say it out loud instead of, oh no, I can't

16
00:01:12.600 --> 00:01:17.400
believe this, are you kidding me?

17
00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:19.560
Instead of saying that, why not say bring it on?

18
00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:26.080
Nobody's going to help sometimes in our situations with our reactions to those circumstances

19
00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:27.080
except us.

20
00:01:27.080 --> 00:01:34.000
We have to decide in our spirit, are we going to have a take it on mentality?

21
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:35.960
Are we going to have a bring it on mentality?

22
00:01:35.960 --> 00:01:41.440
Are we going to have, I've got what it takes here, or are we going to just collapse, get

23
00:01:41.440 --> 00:01:44.200
all mad, blame God, and blame others?

24
00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:49.000
Well, I'm challenging you that this little phrase can be helpful.

25
00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.880
If it's not, then quit listening to this because you'll be bored, but it's been helpful

26
00:01:53.880 --> 00:01:54.880
to me.

27
00:01:54.880 --> 00:01:55.880
Bring it on.

28
00:01:55.880 --> 00:02:03.000
It builds confidence, takes your mind off the problem, and it puts the problem into

29
00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:10.160
a solution in your heart that you have the resiliency to do what needs to be done to

30
00:02:10.160 --> 00:02:11.960
tackle any situation you're in.

31
00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:18.560
There's this Bible verse, James 1, if you have your Bible, look at James 1, 2, 3, 5,

32
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.320
because this is the capstone of what I'm talking about from a biblical perspective.

33
00:02:24.320 --> 00:02:30.080
James says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing

34
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:36.480
that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that

35
00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:40.080
you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

36
00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.560
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally without reproach,

37
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:46.160
and it will be given to him.

38
00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:47.360
Bring it on.

39
00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.040
Bring on the joy.

40
00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:50.200
Bring on the joy.

41
00:02:50.200 --> 00:02:52.160
Bring on the joy.

42
00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:53.600
What does he mean, man?

43
00:02:53.600 --> 00:02:54.600
This is crazy.

44
00:02:54.600 --> 00:03:04.000
He says, Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

45
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.000
So is he saying that we're supposed to be joyful about hard circumstances?

46
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.440
No.

47
00:03:10.440 --> 00:03:12.960
Are we supposed to be joyful about hardships?

48
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:14.120
No.

49
00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:16.880
Are we joyful about losing our marriage?

50
00:03:16.880 --> 00:03:17.880
No.

51
00:03:17.880 --> 00:03:19.800
Are we joyful about being rejected?

52
00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:20.800
No.

53
00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:22.760
Are we joyful about losing our job?

54
00:03:22.760 --> 00:03:23.760
No.

55
00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:24.920
That's not what he's saying.

56
00:03:24.920 --> 00:03:32.080
He's not saying count the circumstances that you're going through as joy.

57
00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:34.240
Listen to what he says, because there's one verb.

58
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.920
One verb changes the whole meaning of the passage.

59
00:03:37.920 --> 00:03:43.960
He says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing.

60
00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:45.520
That's the verb.

61
00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:47.320
Knowing that.

62
00:03:47.320 --> 00:03:48.800
Knowing what?

63
00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:50.640
Knowing that.

64
00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:54.200
That knowing is the key to everything in the verse.

65
00:03:54.200 --> 00:04:01.720
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect

66
00:04:01.720 --> 00:04:06.480
work that you may be perfect and complete and lacking nothing.

67
00:04:06.480 --> 00:04:07.480
Let me ask you.

68
00:04:07.480 --> 00:04:08.480
Do you want to be perfect?

69
00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:10.920
Do you want to be complete?

70
00:04:10.920 --> 00:04:12.320
Do you want to lack in nothing?

71
00:04:12.320 --> 00:04:13.920
Do you want that?

72
00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:23.320
When you can have joy knowing that these bad circumstances or bad people or a diagnosis

73
00:04:23.320 --> 00:04:29.680
of something that you have in your body, like cancer or something, that's not what you're

74
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:31.040
joyful over.

75
00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:39.960
You're joyful over the fact that God counts you worthy to go through something that's

76
00:04:39.960 --> 00:04:45.560
really hard because of the person he's creating you to be.

77
00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:47.600
Because of the new person that he's making you to be.

78
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:51.920
In other words, you're not going to have the wisdom you need to be successful unless you

79
00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:57.080
go through suffering that creates wisdom.

80
00:04:57.080 --> 00:04:59.200
And in this case, I'm talking about joy.

81
00:04:59.200 --> 00:05:00.040
The next one I'm going to talk about is joy.

82
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:08.080
talk about wisdom, but joy really does come when you know that your faith is being tested

83
00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:13.760
and if and on the other side of the circumstances that you're going through, God's making you

84
00:05:13.760 --> 00:05:16.160
a better person.

85
00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:23.320
God's making you perfect and complete and lacking in nothing.

86
00:05:23.320 --> 00:05:30.800
We're joyful because we know our faith is getting tested and strengthened.

87
00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:39.300
We are joyful because we know we're being developed into patience and endurance.

88
00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:43.860
We're joyful because we know that we're being perfected.

89
00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:48.480
We're joyful because we know we're being made complete.

90
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.820
We're joyful because we know we're being developed into a man or woman who lacks in

91
00:05:53.820 --> 00:05:54.820
nothing.

92
00:05:54.820 --> 00:05:57.820
Isn't that amazing?

93
00:05:57.820 --> 00:06:01.400
That your joy is not in what's happening to you.

94
00:06:01.400 --> 00:06:07.240
Your joy is what's going to be made in you through going through the things that are

95
00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:08.240
happening to you.

96
00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:12.120
I already got to say years ago that it's not things, it's not so much things happening

97
00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:15.880
to you, it's things happening for you.

98
00:06:15.880 --> 00:06:23.360
And so I was in a conversation with a guy today who was sharing about his brother, stuff

99
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:26.720
happening with his brother, mistakes that he had made.

100
00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.700
I said to him, I said, you know, I know a lot of guys that have gone through a lot worse

101
00:06:31.700 --> 00:06:36.760
than your brother's going through and at some point they're going to wake up, they're going

102
00:06:36.760 --> 00:06:39.600
to wake up and they're going to say, I want to change.

103
00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.320
I'm going to quit blaming my parents.

104
00:06:42.320 --> 00:06:44.320
I'm going to quit blaming my job.

105
00:06:44.320 --> 00:06:46.560
I'm going to quit blaming the fact that I don't have any money.

106
00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:51.400
I'm going to quit blaming, blah, blah, blah, all these blame game things that people do.

107
00:06:51.400 --> 00:07:00.640
And they'll wake up and my prayer was, I pray Lord that you would take some icy, cold, spiritual

108
00:07:00.640 --> 00:07:08.760
water and just splash it on the face of this guy's brother and wake him up.

109
00:07:08.760 --> 00:07:10.240
He's hurting tons of people.

110
00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.520
He's addicted to drugs.

111
00:07:12.520 --> 00:07:15.080
He's gotten two girls pregnant.

112
00:07:15.080 --> 00:07:16.080
He's a mess.

113
00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:17.080
The guy's a mess.

114
00:07:17.080 --> 00:07:22.440
Grew up in the church, has had every opportunity to make good decisions and he continues to

115
00:07:22.440 --> 00:07:23.720
make poor decisions.

116
00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:28.160
That guy needs to learn how to say, bring it on and find his confidence in Christ and

117
00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:32.600
see that through these things that he's gone through, most of which are his own doing,

118
00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:34.400
he created the problems.

119
00:07:34.400 --> 00:07:43.080
God can use him, facilitate within him a new spirit and a new future if he'll choose the

120
00:07:43.080 --> 00:07:44.080
Lord's way.

121
00:07:44.080 --> 00:07:47.440
I want to share a story.

122
00:07:47.440 --> 00:07:55.560
Jerzy Grgorek was an alcoholic and high school dropout before he was 18 years old.

123
00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.880
He lived in a tiny hovel of a house in communist Poland.

124
00:07:59.880 --> 00:08:04.960
He hated what communism had done to his people and despite his early failures in life, he

125
00:08:04.960 --> 00:08:11.920
decided to join this dissident movement in Poland called the Solidarity Movement and

126
00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.760
he fought against Soviet communism in the 1980s.

127
00:08:15.760 --> 00:08:20.480
By 1986, he migrated to America because he had lost everything.

128
00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:22.280
He had lost his career.

129
00:08:22.280 --> 00:08:24.720
He had lost his home.

130
00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:27.600
He came to America to rebuild his life.

131
00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:35.640
Jerzy went on to win four world weightlifting championships and establish one world record.

132
00:08:35.640 --> 00:08:42.640
In 2000, he and his wife, Anelia, founded and coached the UCLA weightlifting team.

133
00:08:42.640 --> 00:08:49.360
Jerzy and Anelia went on to earn MFA degrees in creative writing and the National Endowment

134
00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.040
of the Arts awarded Jerzy the Literature Fellowship in 2003.

135
00:08:54.040 --> 00:09:00.840
As a popular speaker, coach, and blogger, Jerzy coaches from the vantage point of facing

136
00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:05.680
and overcoming hardship as the key to success.

137
00:09:05.680 --> 00:09:10.720
His most famous saying is this, easy choices, hard life.

138
00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.240
Hard choices, easy life.

139
00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:14.240
You know what Jerzy's saying?

140
00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:20.360
Jerzy's saying that when you make the hard choices, you decide to get up in the morning

141
00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:24.880
and you're going to work out, you're creating an easier life.

142
00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:29.680
When you make the hard choices not to sleep around, you don't get anybody pregnant, you're

143
00:09:29.680 --> 00:09:32.660
setting yourself up for an easier life.

144
00:09:32.660 --> 00:09:37.440
You make the easy choices, like, you know, have sex with everybody, go get drunk, which

145
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:43.800
is what he did before, you're actually creating a harder life.

146
00:09:43.800 --> 00:09:48.520
If you're harboring unforgiveness towards someone who's hurt you, that's easy, that's

147
00:09:48.520 --> 00:09:49.520
not hard.

148
00:09:49.520 --> 00:09:50.520
Anybody can do that.

149
00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:56.120
Anybody can withhold forgiveness, that's the easiest thing to do, and you're just creating

150
00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:57.960
a hard life for yourself.

151
00:09:57.960 --> 00:09:59.960
But if you start to forgive, which

152
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:05.160
is harder to do, your life actually goes easier.

153
00:10:05.160 --> 00:10:09.720
You see, that's the same thing that's being said in our passage, that we count it all

154
00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:16.640
joy when we go through various trials because we make the choice to be joyful about the

155
00:10:16.640 --> 00:10:22.320
fact that God's perfecting us and completing us and giving us patience and endurance.

156
00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:23.760
And that's an easier life.

157
00:10:23.760 --> 00:10:27.200
Harry Fostick, a 20th century Protestant pastor, once said,

158
00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:33.040
He who knows no hardship will know no hardywood.

159
00:10:33.040 --> 00:10:36.880
He who faces no calamity will need no courage.

160
00:10:36.880 --> 00:10:44.000
Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in

161
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:49.080
the soil of a strong mixture of troubles.

162
00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:52.000
So say it.

163
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:53.440
Bring it on.

164
00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:55.000
Bring it on.

165
00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.040
Bring it on because you know there's joy on the other side.

166
00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:04.200
Bring it on because God's making you complete, God's giving you endurance, God's making you

167
00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:05.200
a stronger person.

168
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:06.800
I hope that's helpful to you today.