James 1:1-12

It's with some trepidation that I approach this morning's lesson because I know what some of you have experienced.

Some of you are facing serious illnesses and you don't know what to do with your family or say to your family or your children. Some of you have experienced significant financial difficulty. some of you have lost your jobs some of you have experienced the death of someone you love dearly and the pain of that death is still with you

some of you don't know what to do at your job because your faith is being tested there because on your job you're either not allowed to express your faith as you wish situations at the job that make it very difficult because if you stand true for your faith your job could be endangered or there may have to be significant changes in your job situation

but you know that what we experienced today the early church experienced

um james in his book writes as he says at the beginning of the book in verse one to the 12

Scattered among the nations. That's an interesting phrase. To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. He's writing to Christian Jews who have been scattered. They probably were scattered at a time of great persecution.

When Stephen was martyred for the faith. If you read Acts 8, 1, you see a great persecution broke out against the church. And many of the Christians that had been living in Jerusalem scattered. They left Jerusalem. They went into different cities and different towns.

And it is likely that James, knowing that those Christians are now scattered abroad, he now writes to them in maybe the first book ever written of the New Testament. James may be the first one. Possibly was written before James. But James is certainly one of the first one or two New Testament books written. Written at a time when the Christian church was largely still Jewish.

Before Paul's great Gentile missions began to bring Gentiles into the Christian church. And as James writes his book, he knows that there are Christians scattered abroad who have already experienced the trial of persecution. in their settings with the new faith, are experiencing all sorts of trials for their faith, in addition to the normal human trials that we all face. The Christians of the first century experienced the loss of family members. The Christians of the first century faced illness.

The Christians of the first century experienced job loss and job difficulties. So the question for us this morning as we turn to our study, really our second lesson in the book of James is how do we endure these trials. The lesson today is how to endure the trials of life. We're focused in James, that shouldn't say 2, that should say 1. James 1, 1-12.

So if you have your Bibles, let's turn there.

James 1 verses 1 to 12. How are we to endure the trials of life? There are two verses you ought to memorize. And your homework for next week is to memorize, if you're willing to, verses 2 and 3 of chapter 1. And then for next week, you need to read verses 13 through 18 for the lesson for next week.

But let's read the first two verses.

Verses 2 and 3. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

How do we endure the trials of life?

here's lesson number one expect trials how do you endure them number one you just need to know they're on the way if you haven't already experienced them and many of you have just know they're coming there's a strain of christian thought out there if you pray certain prayers and pray them in certain ways well then everything will just be blessing and glory. It is not the reality of the Christian faith. It is not the teaching of scripture. God does bestow many blessings, but the reality of life and the reality of God's way of dealing with us is that we often have trials and there is no trial we experience that has not first gone through the heart and hand of God.

Do not be mistaken. Whatever trial you face, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a reason for it. And God has a purpose in the trial. There is no trial you face that did not first go through the heart and hand of God. So expect trials.

They're part of the Christian life. And James makes that very clear to us. He says in the second half of verse 2, whenever, or some translations say when you face trials. It's not if you face trials, it's whenever you face trials. A recognition that you will experience trials.

There's an interesting word picture here where it says when you face trials or some translations say encounter trials. And the picture is this, that word encounter or face. It's a word that gives the sense of being surrounded by something. It's as if you are in the midst of difficulty, but there's not just one difficulty. There are multiple difficulties, and it's like you're surrounded by these difficulties.

Do you ever feel that way? That sometimes life is just coming at you from so many directions, there's so many things you face, and it seems that trials don't come in ones. It seems they happen all together. One thing happens and then another, and suddenly we feel surrounded by trials and difficulties.

recognize that these trials whatever they may be from illness to loss of a loved one to job loss to persecution for your faith they are all test of your faith

but they are a normal part of the Christian experience in fact Christ would tell his disciples In this world you face tribulation or in this world you face trouble. So don't think that simply because you face trials you are not part of God's blessing. In fact, we're going to see in just a moment the fact that you are facing trials may be a sure sign that God is blessing you. And want something deeper and better. So lesson one, expect the trial.

Here's lesson two. How do you endure trials? You must consider the trials as pure joy.

I read that a number of times. I even went up and looked in my Greek Bible and checked it out. And you know what? This lesson number two, we need to turn out that light right there. Sixth switch from the left.

Consider trials as pure joy. It is not an optional teaching. In fact, if you look at it in the Greek, it is a command that we are to consider trials as pure joy.

Now, what does he mean? Surely to goodness, James isn't telling me, be happy i'm sick or that i'm happy i lost a loved one no he's thinking he's teaching us something deeper here and here's what he's teaching us when he uses the word consider

or some translations say count trials as pure joy he is telling us to evaluate our trials in light of all the facts, including the spiritual benefits that the trial will produce. So he's saying, I recognize the trial may be difficult. I recognize that pain hurts. I'm not asking you to go around smiling as if it doesn't hurt. But he's saying, I want you to take the long view.

And I want you to evaluate the immediate pain with the long-term spiritual benefits that can come from the difficulty. When the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3, he used a similar, this word consider. He used it.

I consider all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And he basically said my wealth, my heritage, all my status, all that I consider a loss when compared to the value of knowing Christ. In other words, when Paul did his evaluation, when he weighed his status, his possessions, and he compared it to the value of knowing Christ, he said all this other stuff is a loss because Christ is so great. And it's that kind of evaluation process that we're supposed to go through when we look at the trials. We're supposed to certainly see the pain, but then we are to weigh that against what we can learn from the difficulty and the spiritual benefits we can gain.

so consider it pure joy literally it says consider it all joy and the niv says pure joy because if it's all joy it means it's like pure gold there's nothing else if we're mature in our faith we're supposed to be able to see that this pain this difficulty can produce a condition of blessedness from god

keep that there. We're going to see why. Why should we consider it pure joy, but understand it is a command in light of what the difficulty will teach us? So number one, how do we endure trials? We must expect them, be ready for them.

And number two, when we encounter them, let's consider it all joy. In other words, evaluate the trial in light of all the facts. Number three, recognize what trials are and what they can develop in us. Trials are a testing of faith. And where faith is genuine, where faith is genuine, trials will produce at least two important results in our lives.

Number one, trials will teach us perseverance.

That word perseverance, I've given you several other words there. The word means patience combined with endurance. Perseverance means fortitude. Perseverance means steadfastness. Perseverance means tenacity.

the person who endures the trial is the person who learns how to stand steady in the storm.

Steel is tempered in fire. And because the steel goes through the fire, it is stronger than it was before the fire. That's the kind of perseverance trials can produce. It can make us steely tough. It's sort of like the veterans that came off of Guadalcanal.

They might have gone in green troops, afraid, unsure of themselves, not knowing how to deal with all the difficulties they would face, but after they had been through the battle, those were men you could put in any situation, and they knew how to handle it. they had that steely-eyed resolve there was nothing that was too overwhelming for them they knew how to go through the battle that's what god wants he wants us to be people who can stand in the storm and when all others turn and run we can stand there trusting no matter what the difficulty is we can be firmly rooted and grounded in our faith and take whatever comes. It's the kind of resolve that a guy like Joseph could have, who is thrown into slavery, who is then put in prison when he gets to Egypt. But through all the trials, he perseveres so that at the end of the day, he is there, the one who is there to protect the nation and his own family famine. It's the kind of perseverance we see in somebody like Daniel, who as a teenager is thrown into captivity, taken away from his home, has to endure various trials. And then when you see him at age 80, in his 80s, and the king says, you can't pray. And if you pray, I'm going to throw you in the lion's den. And what does Daniel do? This tough, tenacious, persevering saint, he goes and gets on his knees and he prays.

And he leaves his windows open too. And when they throw him in the lion's den, did he flinch? Nah. The king had nothing to throw at him. Because he had perseverance.

He had been through the trial. And that perseverance leads to mature Christian character. I didn't read the verses, did I? Let's read verses 3a, 3-4. Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature. Some translations say perfect here, but it's the notion of not being perfect in the sense there's nothing wrong with this. It means we've perfected, we've matured in our faith so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. so that as we go through and persevere in the trials not only do we develop perseverance but we develop a mature christian character do you know people who have who are christians who have just been through all sorts of difficulties and when you get around those people those who have persevered through the difficulty you see something about their character that is impressive a gentleness about them in the midst of the tenacity. There's a meekness while there's steel. There is a submissiveness to God's will. And instead of an attitude of anger at God, there's an attitude of acceptance and trust in God. There's peace. No matter what the storm is, this person has this gentle spirit, this peaceful spirit, and there's a great hope. That's what Christ wants to see in us. But how do we develop this perseverance?

How do we develop this mature character? You got to go through the fire. And when God sends the fire, it's not because he doesn't love us. It's because he does love us. Let's the verses that make this same point. Romans 5, verses 3 to 4. This is Paul talking. Romans Romans 5 verse 3.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings.

Romans 5 verse 3. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and character, hope.

And Paul will write in 2 Corinthians 4, 17, I do not consider the sufferings of this life worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. And you see this person who's been through pain and difficulty and testing, but boy, he's looking to the glory.

And this is part of God's working all things together for good when we face trials. We know he causes all things to work together for good. Part of the good is developing Christian character that is mature. So, how do we endure trials? We expect trials.

We must consider them pure joy when evaluated properly. Thirdly, we must recognize what trials are and what they can develop in us. That is perseverance and mature Christian character. But then, the fourth lesson is that we need wisdom. We need to seek wisdom.

That's what Paul says in James 1 verse 5. Let me just read verses 5 to 8. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all that he does.

So if we're going to endure trials, we need to seek wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is God-given practical discernment and insight.

Have you ever been in a difficult circumstance and you just did not know what you were going to do? How will we pay the bills? What do we tell our children now that mom has a terminal illness? How do we prepare them for the death of a parent?

Should we do the chemotherapy? Should we not?

should I go talk to my boss about this practice at our business even though it may cause me to lose my job or should I not

and some days it's just Lord how do I put one foot in front of the other how do I just make it through another day things are so tough we need wisdom the reality is that all of us lack complete wisdom it's almost humorous I can just see James writing if any of you lacks wisdom and he almost says and we all do we're not all wise we all need wisdom so what do we need to do as we seek this wisdom the first thing we need to do is to ask for it That's what he says. He says, ask God for wisdom. And the word ask there is a present continuous verb. Which means that we ask and we ask and we ask and we ask and we ask and we keep on asking. Because every day we need more wisdom to deal with the trial.

It is a continuous asking for wisdom. And when we ask, we must believe and trust God.

We must believe that He gives wisdom. And we also must believe and trust that He will see us through the difficulty. when Kari Ten Boom was in a Nazi concentration camp a trial that was just beyond almost human description she said in the midst of that trial she learned that no matter how deep the difficulty God is deeper still and there needs to be this trust in him that he will not only give us wisdom, but that he will see us through. It's the sort of trust of a Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You remember?

They were going to throw them in the fiery furnace, and these three young Jewish men look the king in the eye and say, we will not bow down. The king was threatening them with death if they didn't bow down to the graven image. We will not bow down. And by the way, King Nebuchadnezzar, our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. But we want you to know something.

Even if he does not, we will not bow down.

That's real trust in God. That even if it's death, he's still going to take care of you. So that you don't bow down in the midst of the trial. because you trust him so much that he will see you even through death. It's the kind of trust that a Job had when he said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.

But if we want this wisdom, not only must we ask, not only must we believe and trust God that he will give it to us and see us through the trial, But we're not to doubt.

You know, there's a strain of our culture that thinks it's sort of the right thing to always be doubting God. It's sort of the, if you're kind of the elite, knowledgeable, educated person, you're supposed to always have some doubt about God. James will have nothing of it. He says, do not doubt because doubts, our doubts, say we don't have a complete view of God. If we have a right view of God who is all powerful and all sovereign, then we will not doubt.

And when we doubt, it says we've got a wrong view of God. In fact, Hannah Whitehall Smith in her book, The Christian Secret of a Happy Life, makes a very compelling point about doubts. She says doubts aren't spiritual conflicts. She says doubts are spiritual rebellions. Doubts are blasphemy against God.

Doubts are an attack of the enemy. Because when we doubt, it means we are not recognizing God to be who He is. and so she argues we need to practice the principle of total abstinence from doubts and in the midst of doubt and when we're facing the trial she says we should repeat over and over jesus saves me jesus saves me or jesus i trust you say it is written And she says, say with Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. So do you need wisdom? Yeah, we all do.

Ask. Believe. Don't doubt. And in the midst of the trial, focus on the spiritual eternal things of life, not things that fade away. And James makes this point in verses 9 to 11.

It almost seems out of place in the passage, but just listen to these words.

Hold it, I want to make one point before I go to that. I forgot to make one point. If we doubt, we're like the person tossed on the wave. That's the imagery that James uses. and what he's saying is if we doubt god we will always be disoriented never knowing what to do which direction to turn going from this opinion to that opinion never having a solid secure feeling about where we go and what we do never having peace it's only when we trust him and don't doubt and that we can have a stability and a peace.

And the notion is that we are to have a single-minded trust in God. We're not to be double-minded thinking one minute we can trust Him and the next minute we can't. There's to be a single-minded devotion and commitment and trust in Him. Very important if we want to experience peace. Now let's go to the next.

Focus on the spiritual eternal things of life, not things that fade away. Here's what verses 9 to 11 say. The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position, but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

There was an interesting dichotomy in the early church. Most of the church was poor. The Christian faith was largely a faith for slaves, women, and poor people. And that's why people often made fun of it. Slaves, women, poor people.

What kind of religion is that?

But trials are a great leveler, aren't they? Poor people go through trials and rich people go through trials. Poor people get sick, poor people die, but so do rich people. And Paul is saying, if you're poor, when you're in the midst of trial, glory that you're poor because you already have faced the trial of poverty. You have already learned that it is not the temporary possessions, the temporary things of this life that is important.

As a poor person, you've already had the chance to learn that what really is important is the spiritual, the eternal. But then he says on the other side, if you're rich, glory in your trial because you're going to learn that lesson. You're going to learn that your riches fade away. You're going to learn your riches are going to get burned up. if you're a rich person, that all this stuff really doesn't matter in the long run.

So quit putting your trust in it and start taking the long view. Focus on that which is eternal, that which is spiritual, rather than that which is temporary and temporal. You see the point he's making? And it's an important point. 2 Corinthians 4, 17-18 For I do not consider the sufferings of this life worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed to us.

And what does Paul then say? So we fix our eyes not on what is temporary, but on that which is eternal. For that which is temporary will pass away, but that which is eternal will last forever.

So if you're rich, praise God for His blessing, but don't let the blessing become a curse by trusting in riches. And if you're poor, thank God. You get to learn the lesson that He is most important in a more easy fashion. You don't have anything else to trust on, lean on, or trust in. Last lesson.

so expect trials consider trials as pure joy recognize trials for what they are and what they can develop seek wisdom focus on the spiritual eternal things of life and remember faith that perseveres will be rewarded and that's verse 12 which says blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life God has promised to those who love him. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. Blessed is an objective statement. That means that the person who perseveres under trial will be the person who receives God's blessing. And knowing we're going to receive that blessing, we should have joy in the trial.

the reward that is promised is the reward that goes to the one who perseveres because perseverance shows faith to be genuine who is the one who inherit inherits eternal life it's the one who perseveres until the end the scriptures say well i thought it was the one who put his faith and trust in christ that received the reward that's true but was the faith genuine the trial tells us whether it was and if it's genuine it will persevere through the trial so that it is the one who perseveres who by his perseverance proves the genuineness of his faith and thus he is the one who will inherit eternal life and that is the reward of which Paul of James speaks here the reward is the crown Anybody in here named Stephen? Great name. Means crown. Stephanos. Crown.

The crown of life was the crown, the Stephanos, was the reward the crown put on an athlete who won the contest. And James is saying if you persevere until the end, you go into glory. and when you walk through the portals of heaven, you're going to get the crown that the righteous judge will give to you, the one who helped you persevere.