Values: We Embrace And Enjoy The Journey

Values

Welcome:

Good morning, church family! It is great to see you this morning, and I want to welcome you to Eastern Shore Baptist Church. We are thankful that you have chosen to worship with us today.

If you are visiting with us, we are especially glad you are here. We know you could have chosen a lot of places to worship this morning, and we are honored that you chose to spend your Sunday with us at Eastern Shore. We hope you already feel at home and know that you are among friends.

I also want to welcome everyone joining us online this morning. Whether you are traveling, at home, at work, or unable to be here in person, thank you for worshiping with us. You are an important part of our church family today.

Remember, if you have a prayer need, we would love the opportunity to pray with you and for you. You can call or text our Prayer Line at 251-709-7202. Send us your prayer request, and we will be honored to pray with you.

We believe God has brought each of us here for a reason today. My prayer is that as we open His Word, He will speak to our hearts, encourage us, challenge us, and draw us closer to Jesus.

Introduction:

Good morning Eastern Shore Baptist Church. Do you know what these little babies are? That’s right, they are glasses. Not just any glasses mind you but they are my glasses. Without them, I am blind. A few months ago I went to the eye doctor. It had been several years since I had been to the eye doctor and do you know what I discovered? I discovered that my vision had degraded over time. That’s correct, my vision had become worse since the last time I visited. The visit to the eye doctor and the subsequent diagnosis was a startling reminder of age. In fact, the doctor told me that as I got older, the poorer my vision would become. He said that some people’s vision actually improves with age, but not me. My vision, because I have some very unique “optic” issues, will continue to degrade over time. 

He told me, “Stuart, you really need to come in once a year to check your vision. You need to come in once a year to make sure that you are seeing correctly, that your eyes remain healthy, and that if we need to make course corrections, we can accomplish those corrections.”

So here I am, the owner these here glasses that will hopefully improve my vision. 

The entire experience got me thinking about this series that we are enjoying together. We are in the fifth week of a six week series entitled “Values”. You know a church, just like a pastor, needs to have it vision evaluated. 

A church needs to have it’s vision checked to make sure that it is seeing correctly, that it’s spiritual eyes remain healthy, and that if it needs to make course corrections, the church can accomplish those corrections. 

Over the last 5 weeks we have been talking about our new fresh vision. Let’s read that together this morning. It is written there for you on your sermon notes.  

Our Fresh Vision:

ESBC is on mission to share Christ with every family in the community of Lake Forest and the greater Eastern Shore.

That is our vision. A church’s vision is what we hope to achieve. A vision is a destination, a place where we want to one day hopefully arrive. Yet, over the last 5 weeks we have been talking about our values as a church. 

Our values represent our core beliefs. Our values make us who we are, who we want to be. 

Introduction of Today’s Message:

Our first value is that we put God first. 

Our second value is that we do our best. 

Our third value is that we are contributors, not consumers and we possess an eternal perspective. 

Our fourth value is we above me. That’s right, we above me. At Eastern Shore Baptist Church, there is a place for you! We are not designed to walk in isolation, but rather in community. No matter your age or stage of life, you will find opportunities to build deep relationships where you are known and loved.

Our fifth value is that we enjoy and embrace the journey. 

In fact friends, that is the title of my message this morning. We enjoy and embrace the Journey

Friends, in a fallen world, the journey is not always easy. But we know that Jesus has overcome the world! So we choose to live with contagious joy that only the power of the Holy Spirit can bring. We give generously, cheerfully, and sacrificially. 

The journey, this life, is not always easy is it folks. Sometimes life can just flat beat you up. Chew you up. Spit you out. The world is a cold harsh place. I was 18 years old, probably a bit old to have this realization, but I was 18 years old when I realized that not everyone loved me. I was 18 when I found out that not everyone had my best interest at heart. People could be cruel. They could be unkind. They could be hurtful. That was a hard day. However, that was when I found my refuge. That was when I discovered my shelter in the storm. That shelter, that refuge was the church. The church, the pastors, the people were there for me when no one else was. I could run there like a fugitive in the Middle Ages running to the church and cry “sanctuary”. 

I had a pastor tell me a long time ago that “we need Jesus and we need each other”. Do you believe that this morning because I sure do?

Introduction to Today’s Thought:

Friends, fill in the “Today’s Thought” in your sermon notes. 

Today’s Thought:

Good News! Every Season Has A Purpose, Every Struggle Can Produce Growth, And God Is Present With Us Through It All!

Some seasons are exciting, some are exhausting. Some are filled with celebration, others are marked by disappointment, uncertainty, or loss. We do not get to choose every season we walk through, but we do get to choose how we walk through it. James, the brother of our Lord who we will be reading this morning, teaches us that even our trials can produce something valuable in us, endurance, maturity, and a stronger faith. 

God does not waste the difficult places of our lives. He can use what hurts us to shape us. He can use what challenges us to strengthen us. He can use what we would never have chosen to develop something in us that could have been developed no other way. That is why we can embrace the journey. Our confidence is not that every part of the journey will be easy. Our confidence is that wherever the journey takes us, God will be there, always working, always faithful!

Introduction of Today’s Quote:

When we talk about enjoying and embracing the journey, we are not saying that everything in the church is always perfect. It does not mean everybody is always happy, nobody suffers, nobody grieves, and nobody hurts. In many ways, it means just the opposite. It means that when life gets hard, you do not have to walk through it alone. You are part of a body, a family of believers who surrounds you, loves you, prays for you, supports you, and helps carry you when the burden becomes too heavy to carry by yourself.

That became very real to me and Josh Raybon on July 5th. We received a call that one of our dear church members had suddenly and tragically passed away. Her husband, Lance Baker, had also been terribly injured and was taken to USA Health University Hospital in Mobile with significant trauma. Lance would spend weeks in the hospital recovering. His injuries were so severe that he was not even able to attend his wife’s funeral.

During those weeks, I watched Eastern Shore Baptist Church be the church. I watched our people wrap their arms around Lance and his parents, Johnny and Susan. People prayed. People brought food. People sat in hospital waiting rooms. People visited. People showed up. They could not take away Lance’s pain. They could not change what had happened. They could not make the journey easy. They could make sure he did not walk the journey alone.

Church, that is part of what it means to enjoy and embrace the journey. We celebrate together when life is good, and we hold one another up when life is hard. We laugh together, cry together, pray together, worship together, and keep walking together. Sometimes embracing the journey simply means looking beside you and realizing, “I am not walking alone.”

Lance Baker is a church member, a friend, and today, his words are our Today’s Quote. Listen to what Lance wrote about his church family…

Today’s Quote:

“During the most difficult moment of my family’s life, Eastern Shore Baptist embraced us and walked with us every step of the way. Though we had only recently returned to ESBC, our church family rallied around us with seemingly endless prayers, meals, and practical help while I remained in the hospital. Without ESBC and the broader Christian community, this journey would have been unbearable. While those practical needs could have still been met, the greatest gift was the tangible love our Eastern Shore family showed us when we needed it most.”

-Lieutenant Colonel Lance Baker, U.S. Army Reserve 

Eastern Shore Baptist Church Member

That is pretty powerful quote right? The church is a lot of things to a lot of people. The church should be a shelter to get out of the storm. The church should be a launching pad for ministry to take off. The church should be a hospital for sinners. The church should be a helping hand to the hurting. If I had to say there was a value that served as the heartbeat for all of our other values, we enjoy and embrace the journey would be that heartbeat. The church should be the place where we discover our closest friends. It should be the place where we receive our greatest encouragement. It should be the place where we see God’s greatest spiritual movements. 

We enjoy and embrace the journey. 

Background and Context:

Turn in your Bibles to James 1:1-4. Before we begin, let me set up the context and background for you. 

The book of James is traditionally attributed to James, who is believed to be James the Just, a half-brother of Jesus and a leader in the early Christian church in Jerusalem. He is also known as James the son of Alphaeus, to distinguish him from James, the son of Zebedee.

James addresses his letter "to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations." This is a reference to Jewish Christians who were living in various regions outside of Judea. These Jewish Christians were a people who had been dispersed across different lands and nations. 

James wrote this letter to encourage and instruct these Jewish Christians. He addresses practical aspects of the Christian life and provides guidance on living out one's faith.

Before we read our Scripture today, let me remind you that…

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect. 

Today’s Scripture:

James 1:1-4 ESV

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. [2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His Holy name.”

Enjoy and Embrace The Journey…But How?

I. Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly vs. 1

So, our fifth value is that we enjoy and embrace the journey. That’s sounds great right? Of course it does. Still, how do we do that? How do we accomplish this goal? Enjoying and embracing the journey is a nice sentiment but for those of us who are mature believers, we know that the journey of life is not always enjoyable. Life is hard. It can be difficult. So how do we enjoy and embrace the journey?

Fill in this first blank for me this morning. 

Well, let’s follow what James says in verse one. Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly! 

There is a short explanation there on your outline of this first point. Read it along with me. “Give yourself completely to God, and faithfully serve Him wherever He leads.”

We see this point illustrated in verse one. 

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

What’s the world that jumps off the page for you in that short verse? For me, it is the world “servant”. In fact, that is our first point this morning. Serve the Lord completely. 

The Greek word being used here is the word “doulos”. You have probably heard other preachers say that word or give commentary on that word. Back in the days when James was writing, this was a common word, a common term. The same word was also used to discuss a servant or bond-slave. James identifies himself as a “servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” emphasizing his submission and devotion to God and Jesus. 

What James is really communicating is that he belongs wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ. James is all in. Sold out. Locked up and dialed in. 

No matter what God calls him to do, no matter what Jesus demands, James is ready, willing, and obedient. 

Question for you this morning, who do you serve? Most of us would say ourselves. You’d be correct. Most of us, including yours truly, serves himself. Serving others does not come naturally to any of us. From the moment we are born, we are focused on having our needs met. That is why babies cry when they exit the room. That baby wants to have its needs met. That baby might enter this world naked, cold, hungry, confused. What does the baby do? It cries. It screams. That baby demands that those needs are met immediately. Sadly, we do not change much as we age and mature. Instead of crying and screaming, we use our words. Although I have met plenty of people that still cry and scream when their needs, wants and demands aren’t met. 

How do we serve the Lord completely? How do we serve the Lord with all of our hearts. We serve the Lord completely when we love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind. We serve the Lord when we obey His commands. This means we wake daily to put ourselves second and God first. We serve the Lord completely when we serve others with love and humility. 

Friends, ask yourselves this morning, who do you serve? Yourself? God? Who? Remember the words in I Samuel 12…

1 Samuel 12:24 NIV
“But be sure to fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.”

Enjoy and Embrace The Journey…But How?

I. Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly vs. 1

II. See Opportunities For Growth Joyfully, vs. 2-3

How can we enjoy and embrace the journey? Serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Our second point is that we should See Opportunities For Growth Joyfully. 

“Even difficult seasons can become opportunities for God to strengthen our faith, shaping our character.”

Go back to verses two and three this morning. 

[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

Did you hear that? Count it all joy when you meet trails of various kinds. 

How many of you, when you meet trails of various kinds, are joyful? Anyone? Show of hands? 

When you lose your job and you have a baby on the way, joyful?

When your husband falls, breaks his neck, faces a difficult surgery, joyful?

When your wife leaves, takes your children, and says “I don’t love you anymore”, joyful?

When you are so far behind in your classes that you don’t think that you are going to pass, joyful?

I think that you are getting the point. Is what James even saying even possible? How can you be joyful when you are facing obstacles on every corner?

Friends, as Christians you need to know that one of God’s greatest tools for Christian growth is hardship, difficulty, and trials. Have you ever noticed that the greatest personal growth seems to always come in moments of great turmoil? 

James instructs us to consider that our trails are a joy. He also invites us to see how our trials present us with unique opportunities to have our faith tested so that we can grow to maturity and endurance. He wants us to know that the test of our faith is a gift, not a curse. 

The best news is that this testing is not done in a vacuum. These trails do not happen to you and you alone. When you suffer, when you go through these hardships, you are not alone. If you are a part of a church, you have people who have suffered like you, who can encourage you. They have been there before and come out on the other side. They can pray for you like no one else can. In the church you have people who have lost their job just like you. We have people whose businesses when under, just like yours. We have people whose marriages failed, just like yours. We have people who have lost sons and daughters, just like you did. We have people who have had to walk through the deep waters of suicide, just like you are walking though now. You are not alone. The church is there to help. 

Not only can the church pray for you in ways that no one else can. The church can also encourage you in ways that no one else can. When you are being tested, afflicted, or suffering, the church is there to hold your hand. The church becomes the literal presence of Jesus in your life. Inspiring you. Uplifting you. Pushing you forward. 

I know that it is hard to be cheerful in days of defeat. I get it. Ive been there. However, God uses those days to sharpen us, to teach us, to grow us. 

Speaking of growth, this is a pumpkin that my son Jett grew a few years ago. Do you know how long it took for Jett to grow this pumpkin? More than 150 days. This pumpkin grew through the harshest of summer days. It had to push up through the dirt, through the muck, to finally reach the light. There were days when it wasn’t watered. There were days when the sun beat down on it, scorching the leaves and vines. At one point, I thought for sure that the vine was dead. I even cut it back, not with a knife or scissors. No no. I used a weed eater. That was pretty brutal on that little vine I imagine. Still, it kept growing. Finally, the other day I was in the backyard and found this pumpkin. After all that, the vine finally produced. 

Friends, we are a lot like that vine. We have to go through some pretty difficult times. But God uses those days, those times, to grow us. To make us stronger, wiser, more dependent on Him. The more dependent we are, the more He can use us. 

Be the pumpkin. 

See Opportunities For Growth Joyfully,

Listen to Paul’s words in Romans 5

Romans 5:3-5 NLT
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Enjoy and Embrace The Journey…But How?

I. Serve The Lord Wholeheartedly vs. 1

II. See Opportunities For Growth Joyfully, vs. 2-3

III. Stay The Course Continually, vs. 4

So, how can we enjoy and embrace the journey? Serve the Lord with all your heart. See opportunities for growth with cheer and gladness. Lastly, stay the course continually.

“Refuse to quit. Trust that God is still working even when the journey is long or difficult.”

Look at verse 4 one last time.  

“And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Again the Greek word being used here for steadfastness is “hedraiotes”. It means to be firm, unwavering, and resolute in one’s beliefs or actions. 

It means to not compromise.

Remember James’ audience. These were Jewish Christians. They were facing desperate persecution. Many of them were being hunted down, losing their businesses, and they were often threatened. So James is trying to encourage them that God has a point for their pain. He has a plan for their problems. He is building a testimony from their turmoil. 

The Lord does the same with us. The promise, although given to these ancient Jewish Christians, the principle of that promise is for us today. 

Stand firm friend. 

Brothers and sisters, one of the things that makes it easy to stand firm is when we realize that we are not standing alone. 

You know that we are a big baseball family. I love the game and I love the history of the sport. One of my favorite stories from baseball is that of Pee Wee Reese and baseball great Jackie Robinson. 

When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, he faced pressure most of us can hardly imagine. Fans shouted racial slurs. Opposing players threatened him. Some pitchers threw at him. There were people who did not simply want him to fail, they did not want him on the field.

One of Robinson’s teammates was Pee Wee Reese. Reese was from Kentucky, a respected player and eventually the captain of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Reese could have kept his distance. He could have decided that Robinson’s struggle was Robinson’s problem. Instead, Reese made it clear that Jackie Robinson was his teammate and that he stood with him.

That is what makes standing firm a little easier. It is easier to stand when somebody is standing beside you.

Church, there will be moments when life hits you so hard that you wonder if you can keep going. There will be grief. There will be disappointment. There will be sickness. There will be seasons when your strength feels gone. One of God’s great gifts to us in those moments is the church. Sometimes God strengthens you through a brother who stands beside you. Sometimes He encourages you through a sister who prays for you. Sometimes He reminds you that you are loved through a church family that refuses to leave you alone.

We may not be able to stop the storm someone is facing, but we can stand beside them while they face it.

That’s enjoying the journey. 

The other day I was watching an old Pixar movie. You know the one, Finding Nemo. Remember that movie? There is a scene in the movie when Marlin, the main character who is trying to find his son Nemo. Marlin is trying to make it to Sydney, Australia by way of the East Australia Current, also known as the EAC. On his way, Marlin runs into a swarm of deadly jelly fish. Marlin is nearly stung to death. You know, the world will do that to you won’t it? The world is filled with deadly jelly fish just out there waiting to sting you. Marlin after being stung nearly to death wakes up on the back of a swift moving sea turtle named Crush. Remember that scene? Crush is just riding along without a care in the world. No problems. No issues. Just riding along. Then there is poor Marlin whose son Nemo has disappeared. He is carrying the world on his shoulders. He is discouraged, defeated and depressed. He has been stung repeatedly by the jellyfish in the world. It was in this moment that he landed right where he needed to be. Right in the middle of the EAC, riding Crush’s shell. Crush had been carrying him the entire time. 

Crush is the epitome of enjoying the journey. As Crush sails along, he screams “righteous…righteous”. Crush is a lot like the church as a whole and Marlin is a lot like you and me, sometimes needing to be carried. 

In fact it was righteous. It is the most righteous thing ever to carry one another when we are feeling defeated, down, discouraged. 

It is always easier to stand when you are not standing by yourself. 

Reminds me of I Chronicles 16:11, 

I Chronicles 16:11 ESV

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

That’s our fifth value, enjoy and embrace the journey. Sure, the journey can be hard or it can be joyful. Either way, God wants to use it to grow the church and grow you and me. 

Remember…God Is With You…ALWAYS!

Closing Prayer:

Father, thank You for the journey. Thank You for the good days and for Your faithfulness through the difficult days. Thank You that no season is wasted, no struggle is without purpose, and no child of God ever walks alone.

Lord, help us to serve You wholeheartedly. Give us eyes to see opportunities for growth, even in the trials we would never choose for ourselves. Give us the strength to stay the course when we are tired, discouraged, hurting, or ready to quit. Remind us that You are still working, even when we cannot see what You are doing.

Father, thank You for Eastern Shore Baptist Church. Make us the kind of church that walks with people through every season of life. When someone is hurting, help us stand beside them. When someone is grieving, help us carry their burden. When someone is discouraged, help us speak hope. When someone cannot stand on their own, help us hold them up. Teach us to laugh together, cry together, pray together, serve together, and keep moving forward together.

Most of all, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Whatever this journey brings, remind us that You are with us. You will never leave us. You will never forsake us. You are faithful today, You will be faithful tomorrow, and You will be faithful every step of the way.

Help us to enjoy and embrace the journey, trusting You through it all.

In the strong and saving name of Jesus we pray,

Amen.