Hooyah!
Anyone here a Navy SEAL? Anyone here want to become a Navy SEAL? I’m afraid it’s a pretty elite group and none of us would be qualified to enter the training program. First of all, you have to be a man … sorry, ladies. You have to be an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy. You have to be 28 years old or younger … although waivers for 29 and 30 year olds are possible. You have to be a U.S. Citizen. You have to pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. You have to have good vision … that counts me out … well, that and the 28 to 30 year old qualification and the physical qualifications: swim 500 yards … that’s the length of five football fields, followed by a 10-minute rest, followed by 42 push-ups in under two minutes, followed by a two-minute rest, followed by 50 sit-ups in under two minutes, followed by a two-minute rest, followed by a mile-and-a-half run in boots and long pants that has to be finished in 11 and half minutes. I don’t know about you but need a 10-minute rest just hearing all this.
You have to do all this just to get your foot in the door! You’re still a long, long ways off from becoming an actual Navy SEAL.
Does anyone here know what “SEAL” stands for? It’s an anacronym … S-E-A-L. That stands for “Sea-Air-Land” … all the places where they will be called to perform. Their primary role is to get in and out of an area as quickly as they can without being seen … gathering intelligence … destroying strategic targets … and performing rescue missions. Any place where there are currently U.S. troops, you’ll find that the SEALs are either there now or were there first. SEALs are extremely good at what they do. A SEAL has never been left behind on a mission and a SEAL has never been taken prisoner … though they’ve come close a number of times.
Once a potential SEAL qualifies for training, the real fun begins. It takes 30 months … that’s 2 and half years … to receive your trident pin and become a full-fledged Navy SEAL. Only about 25% of the trainees make it through the training to become SEALs. Currently there are less than 3,000 SEALs on active duty.
Understandably, there is no fun and certainly no joy in going through the training process. The training is brutal and designed to push them to the limit, both mentally and physically, in order to weed out those who may not be able to successfully complete the demanding missions that the trainees will eventually have to face. The types of stresses and challenges that they will have to endure during their 30 months of training are the same stresses and challenges that they will have to endure and overcome when they become actual SEALs. If they can’t withstand it when lives are not on the line, chances are good that they won’t be able to withstand it when there ARE lives on the line.
SEALs are trained to perform specific tasks under any type of circumstances and in any environment. Their training takes place in the desert, in the jungle, in urban areas, certainly on the water, in extreme hot and cold weather.
What does it take to become a Navy SEAL? Even SEAL instructors can’t predict who will make it all the way. The common trait that instructors see in future SEALs can’t really be defined. They call it a “fire in the gut.” You either have it or you don’t. There may be no joy in the process of becoming a SEAL but there is satisfaction and indescribable joy when you pass and receive your trident pin, amen?
After all this, the process is not over. When SEALs aren’t on a mission, they’re in constant training … continually honing the skills that they acquired in training … and learning new skills and techniques that will make a difference when they are deployed.
Being a SEAL doesn’t mean you get the cushy missions or assignments. They are sent to dangerous places to do tough, dangerous, grueling missions. And when they are faced with these challenges, they persevere because of their training and the greater good that will come out of it … not for themselves but for the lives of their fellow soldiers and for the greater goals of their leaders and the good of their country. More is expected of them because they have demonstrated that the are capable of more than the average civilian or soldier. They don’t just go around showing off their trident pins … they have to earn them over and over and over again. There’s no kicking back, no coasting on their laurels or past achievements. IT is an honor to be a Navy SEAL … but it is an honor that’s hard won.
Hooyah!
“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4)
The Israelites thought that being God’s “chosen” would give them a free pass. Imagine their surprise when God pointed out to them that being God’s chosen meant that more was to be expected of them … they were expected to face life’s challenges with perserverance because they knew that El Shaddai, Yahweh, would be with them and that their victory over them would bring glory to God. The fact that they were God’s chosen was an honor that should bring them joy … not doubt, not fear, not whining. “Why us, O Lord!?” “Why? Because, my children, you are my chosen and you are called to be an example to the world. You are my Navy SEALs, you are my Airborne Rangers, my Green Berets. Can I get a ‘HOOYAH!?’”
The Disciples thought things were going to be smooth sailing because they were Jesus’ disciples. “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to Him, ‘Grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left, in Your glory.’ “Ahh,’ says Jesus ‘you don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.’ They replied, ‘we are able’” (Mark 10:35- …). They had no clue what they were agreeing to, but Jesus did. Remember, He chose them. He knew their hearts and He knew what they were capable of. “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized” (Mark 10:40).
As Jesus’ chosen, they expected to sit on thrones of gold, eating peeled grapes while beautiful slave girls waved fans over their heads to keep the flies away. The reality, says Jesus, is going to be very different from what they expect. “… because you’re my disciples,” Jesus tries to explain to them, “you are going to be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them” (Mark 13:9-10). “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Luke 12:48). Being a disciple, being one of God’s chosen, should never been seen as a burden or a chore but an honor. Being chosen by God should bring us joy … can I get a “hooyah?”
“Hooyah” is the war cry of the navy SEAL. It becomes an automatic response for SEALs during their torturous SEAL training. “Hooyah” means “yes” … “understand.” It means I’m not going to let this challenge or this difficulty get the best of me.
When the apostles were preaching the Gospel in opposition to the Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin had them arrested and flogged. Some of them died from the flogging. How did the Apostles respond? “Hooyah!” In Acts 5:41, we are told that the Apostles “left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been found worth of suffering dishonor for the sake of the name.” They were found it worth suffering dishonor … for the sake of what name? The name “Christian.” Christ had considered these men worthy to bear His name and to suffer shame for His sake. This was an honor … so they weren’t depressed and angry about this turn of events. They considered it pure joy.
When Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi, they had been roughed up, given an unjust trial, lashed, and put in stocks in the dungeon … but they considered it a reason for praise. They had been faithful servants of the Great Servant, Jesus Christ, who suffered innocently and triumphed over His enemies … our enemies of sin and death … and this gave Paul and Silas confidence … and their confidence gave them the strength to endure, to persevere … Hooyah! The world was going to hear the Gospel and God had chosen them to be a part of that. At midnight, they were not depressed, sulking. They were singing psalms, praising God, and rejoicing!
In verses 2-4, the Apostle James gives us a command and then he gives us a reason for the command. The command is to “consider it nothingt but joy” when we face trials. And the reason for the command is that facing trials tests our faith … and the testing of our faith produces perseverance or endurance … “so that we may continue to mature as Christians, lacking nothing” (v. 4).
James is not suggesting that we always go around singing and rejoicing every time we are faced with trials. We’re only human after all. When your body is wracked with pain … when you’ve just lost a loved one … when your heart is broken … when God seems to be a million miles away … when your prayers seem to be going unanswered … when you have no earthy hope at all … the last thing you want read or hear is someone like me telling you to rejoice, to say ‘hooyah,’ to … gulp! … count what you’re going through all joy, am I right? That your joy should come on account of your trails, your difficulty. How can I consider it pure joy when my worsts fears are being realized? When the world is crashing down all around me? When my heart is breaking? James’ advice would be insane were it not for one very important word: “because”! “… because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4).
It does not mean that we rejoice in cruelty, suffering, shame, injustice, destruction, or waste. It does not mean no tears or sense of loss. How can we be joyful when we are faced with trails of many kind? Again, another important word … “consider.” Think. To “consider” is to think. James is not saying that we should “feel” joy but that we should “think” joyfully in our trials.
How do we do this? By thinking about our trials from God’s perspective. Who is with you in your trials? The God of Providence … your Savior … the Lord of Love … the promises of His Word … the “fire in the gut,” which we call “the Holy Spirit.” Consider all that as you face trials of many kind.
Pure joy does not just happen. It takes some action on your part. It means coming to church … reading the Word … hearing the Word preached. It means seeking wise council from godly people. It means brining it to God in prayer.
It is during times of trial that you and I need to lean into God … to draw nearer to God. We need to talk to Him. We need to yell at Him. We need to cry to Him. We need to share our pain, our joy, and our struggles with Him. We need to share our hearts with God so that He can begin to align our heart with His. When our hearts and God’s heart are aligned, we will have the faith and the hope and the strength to persevere, to endure all of the trials we face, amen?
I think one of the reasons we don’t draw closer to God or lean into God during our times of trial is that we see our trials as some kind of punishment or some pass/fail test from God … and nothing could be further from the truth … which is something you’ll quickly realize when you do pray and lean into God. God does not allow pain or anguish or hurt or doubt or illness or financial strain or loss because He’s sadistic or mean. He doesn’t get a perverse joy out of our trials and suffering. But He will use our trials and our struggles to mature and increase or “complete” our faith.
The purpose of SEAL training is not to get you in shape. You have already be in shape to even be invited to begin the process. Remember: swim 500 yards, do 42 push-ups in two minutes, 50 sit-ups in two minutes, run a mile and half in 11 minutes wearing long pants and boots. The purpose of SEAL training is not to get you in shape but to find out what you’re made of … to find out if you’ve got what it takes in real life combat situations. And whether you make it through the process or not, you learn a very valuable lesson … you learn what you’remade of. You not only learn what your strengths are, but you also learn what your limitations are as well. And, as we come through our own personal trials, we not only discover what our strengths and limitations are, but we also discover God’s limitless strength. And the more we lean into God, the more we lean upon His strength, the more we learn that we can trust His power and His strength. And the more that we know that we can trust His power and His strength, the more our faith grows … and the more our faith grows, the more confidence we have in God’s strength, God’s love, God’s ability to help us face and overcome any and all trials in our life. Faith leads to endurance … endurance leads to faith.
Everyone who applies for the SEALs and enters their program believes that they have what it takes – otherwise, why would they bother to apply, amen? The program is designed to find out whether that is true or not.
I pray … I read the Bible … I come to church … I say that I have faith … great faith … but life has a way of coming along and showing us just how much or how little faith we really have, amen? And that’s not a bad thing! Don’t you want to know if the faith that you have is real, solid? That it is sufficient to face anything that life can throw at you? Pretty scary questions, amen? But not knowing produces false faith, and false faith doesn’t produce perserverance, endurance … and our faith doesn’t grow and mature. Each time our faith is tested, however, and we come through the trial or trials, there might not be joy in the suffering but there is great joy to be found in our victory over them. Each victory builds up our faith, our trust, our confidence for when we face the next trial … and trust, me, brothers and sisters, there will be another trial … and another trial … and another one after that … a real scary bummer unless you lean into God and experience the enduring growth that comes from facing life with God covering your back, amen?
The Greek word that James uses for “testing” is only found in one other place in the Bible … 1st Peter 1. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.”
Listen … here comes the good part.
“In this” you what?
“… you rejoice!”
“… even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, …”
Ahh … here’s the important part: “… so that the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold that, though being perishable, is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor” … for whom? For you? No! For Jesus Christ. You see, my glory, my honor comes from bringing glory and honor to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
You see, the Navy SEALs are a pretty exclusive and elite group of men. But you and I are part of the most elite group in the world …. We are Christians! Nobody … absolutely nobody … is qualified to be a member of this group. None of us. Not matter how hard we try, we will never be morally perfect. No matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we persevere, we can never earn our own way into Heaven. We have a 100% wash-out rate. As Paul says in Romans 3:23: “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But! We are now “justified by Jesus’ grace” because He literally went through “Hell week” on our behalf. Over 50% of all SEAL applicants wash-out during Hell week but 100% of Christians who put their faith and trust in Jesus make it all the way through the trials of this life. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made a way for us to have a relationship with God because we can’t earn it. Jesus persevered for us and died for us. Jesus endured the agony and shame of the cross for you and for me to forgive us our sins. When God asked His Son to do this for Him … to do this for us … His answer was ….
“Hooyah!”
[Serve Communion]
Trials of many kind make us a better person in Christ when we allow God to mold us and shape us through the trials. We come to understand God more fully. We internalize who Jesus Christ is to us when our world is collapsing. We draw comfort from the Holy Spirit when our heart is in a hundred pieces. We come to understand the role of faith more after it has been tested. A person of faith who has been through trials is a person with a mature faith who trusts God more and more. Each experience increases our faith and our trust in God. Like James, I believe that a person who trust God, no matter the trial or test, will be perfectly complete in their faith. Can I get a “hooyah?”!
Let us pray …
