Christianity For Dummies: How To Respond to Trials
James 1:2-8
I. Introduction
A. How many of you have ever used one of these? Show "For Dummies" book.
B. When Dan Gookin wrote "DOS For Dummies," the first "For Dummies" book, most bookstore chains didn't want to carry the book at all, claiming the title insulted their customers! Dan countered that the title was a "term of endearment" that readers would immediately relate to and identify with.
C. And people did and still do! Since Nov. 1991, more than 250 million "For Dummies" books have been printed with 1800+ titles!!! Discuss titles: Parenting, Potty Training, Anger Management, Auto Repair, Gardening, Self Hypnosis, Surviving the Holidays, Living Longer, The Bible.
D. Why the success? A simple, yet powerful concept...relate to the anxiety, frustration and/or intimidation that people feel about a subject through a book that is insightful and educational and makes difficult material interesting and easy. In other words, practical wisdom with simple "How To"s.
E. Wouldn't you agree trying to live out the Christian life is wrought with anxiety, frustrating and intimidating?? Wouldn't it be great if we had a "Christianity for Dummies" - a book full of practical wisdom and simple "How To"s that would instruct us on how to live out our faith?
F. You're in luck because we have JUST that! Truth be told, the original "For Dummies" book was actually written in the AD 40's by James, the brother of Jesus. While it's seen as an epistle, the Book of James is actually Wisdom Literature, in fact it's been referred to as the NT Book of Proverbs. No insult intended but a sort of "Christianity For Dummies."
F. For the next 12 weeks, we are going to break this gem down, chapter by chapter, verse by verse and let James school us on how to live out our faith...how to be a doer and not just a hearer of the Word. First, let's get a proper overview of this NT Book.
II. The Book of James - An Overview
A. Author: James, brother of Jesus. Called "James the Just" and nicknamed "camel knees" b/c he constantly prayed! Not a believer until after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to him personally. Leader of the Jerusalem church, called one of the "pillars" of that church by Paul (Gal. 2:9). Martyred in AD 62 by stoning.
B. Date: AD 44-49 so earliest written Book in NT canon.
C. Audience: Jewish Christians. Not one church but a scattered group of individuals living outside Palestine.
D. Occasion: #1 = Dispersion as a result of Stephen's martyrdom, scattered and traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus & Antioch. #2 = Persecution by wealthy Jews (drug into court - 2:6; taken advantage of by landowners [kept back wages, gorging selves on luxuries]- 5:4-6).
E. Literary Features: Not a true epistle, but Wisdom Literature! See this in the style: 1) loose structure, jumps one subject to another - "pearls on a string," 2) lots of imperatives (54 in 108 verses!), 3) diatribe - supposed objector asking questions.
F. Purpose: Dr. Constable = "His preeminent concern was the practice of Christianity, the manifestation of salvation in shoe leather." Adrian Rogers = "Faith is belief with legs on it!" In other words, living out our faith. What I'm going to call "Christianity For Dummies."
G. This AM I want us to learn "How to Respond to Trials." James gives us four imperatives in these seven verses that frame a believer's proper response to trials. James commands us to COUNT, KNOW, LET & ASK!
III. Scripture Reading & Prayer
A. Read James 1:2-8.
B. Pray - Father, we desperately want to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Help us to put aside our daily cares for a moment and receive the truths of your Word that we may do just that.
IV. How To Respond To Trials: COUNT Them Joy (James 1:2)
A. Read and explain James 1:2.
- #1 Trials are a matter of when, NOT if! James asserts that you WILL experience trials! The NT is clear...crystal clear in fact....that if you are a CHRISTian, you will have trials, tribulations, suffering. Read Acts 14:21-22. As it has been said, you are either in a trial, coming out of a trial or about to enter into a trial. Discuss conversation with Leah Coop.
- #2 Trials are various kinds. Greek = "many colored" James says that trials are like Skittles, a rainbow of fruit flavors! So did he he mean....discuss various trials by age - kids (bullying, homework, obeying), youth (boyfriends/girlfriends, peer pressure), college (balancing work & school, finding a job, student loans), married (money problems, marital issues, staying up all night with a sick child, work stress, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer), golden years (declining health, loss of spouse, loss of independence, dementia, arthritis), Christian (holy roller, Jesus Freak, ridicule for taking a stand against homosexual marriage, abortion, evolution and for Christ and the Bible)?? Yes, yes and yes! My trials are not yours and vice versa. Each stage of life brings a WHOLE new set of problems. Problems happen! How believers face them is the crucial issue!
- #3 Trials should evoke joy. Does this mean I jump up and down when? Give several examples. No! James is not being masochistic! But Scripture is CLEAR what our response should be...
Read Matthew 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23; Acts 5:41; Romans 5:3; 1Thessalonians 5:16.
"Suffering is inevitable, misery is an option." (Tom Blossom)
- #4 Trials are NOT sin! 1 Peter 4:14-15 = "If you're abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate...if they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that's a different matter. " (MSG) Give examples.
- #5 Trials should be shared. Galatians 6:2 = "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. " Spurgeon: "If we are not tempted ourselves at this moment, others are: let us remember them in our prayers; for in due time our turn will come, and we shall be put into the crucible. As we would desire to receive sympathy and help in our hour of need, let us render it freely to those who are now enduring trial."
B. Illustration: A dog fell into a farmer's well. The farmer decided neither the dog nor the well was worth the bother of saving. He'd bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery. When the farmer began shoveling dirt down the well, the old dog was hysterical. But as the dirt hit his back, the dog realized every time dirt landed on his back, he could shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up. No matter how painful the blows, the old dog kept shaking the dirt off and stepping up. It wasn't long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of the well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him.
IV. How To Respond To Trials: KNOW Their Meaning
A. Read and explain James 1:3.
- Notice James says KNOW...not guess or think or hope...KNOW!!!
- The meaning of trials per James is 2 purposes and 1 product. He gives one purpose and product here in v.3 and one in v.4.
- Purpose #1: The reason we should react with joy when faced with various trials is that they are a means of testing through which God works to perfect faith.
- Trials = Greek "peirasmos"; the verb form means "to put someone or something to the test" with the purpose of discovering that person's nature or that thing's quality. We see this as well in...
- Testing = Greek "dokimos"; a metalogist term, refers to process by which silver or gold is refined by fire - purified of dross and thus strengthened. The idea is not that trials determine IF we have faith, rather that they strengthen the faith that is already present. It's gold whether I put it in the fire or not! The true nature of gold becomes evident when the refiner heats gold ore over a fire. Likewise, the character of God within a Christian that is there because of the Holy Spirit's presence becomes apparent through trials.
- This is how God operates! He tests His children. Read 1 Peter 4:12. Going through a trial, your faith being tested?? Count yourself in Good Company!
- "Good people must never expect to escape troubles; if they do they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them." (Spurgeon) Abraham & Isaac (Gen. 22:1-2), Israel's 40 years in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2), Philip at feeding of 5000 (John 6), Jesus (Matt. 4), Paul (2 Cor. 11).
- Product #1: A means of withstanding the storms of life! Steadfastness = Greek "hupomone" "hupo" = under + "mone" = to abide. Thus it describes a quality that enables a person to stay on his or her feet when facing a storm. Discuss deer box stand and storm that came through after up...happy because I would see if it stood. Same with us...storm passes and when sun comes out, we have a deeper, stronger, more certain faith. Discuss as effect of Persecution in 1st/2nd century church. "The storms in my life have become workshops where I can practice my faith in God's sovereignty." (Jill Briscoe)
B. Illustration: Dr. Gardner Taylor tells the story when he was preaching in Louisiana during the Depression. Electricity was just coming to that part of the country, and he was out in a rural, black church that had just one little lightbulb hanging from the ceiling to light up the whole sanctuary. He was preaching away, and in the middle of his sermon, the electricity went out. The building went pitch black, and Dr. Taylor didn't know what to say, being a young preacher. He stumbled around until one of the elderly deacons sitting in the back of the church cried out, "Preach on, preacher! We can still see Jesus in the dark."
V. How To Respond To Trials: LET Them Effect
A. Read and explain James 1:4.
- Here James gives us a second purpose and product of trials...they change us, mature us into Christ-likeness! Notice first that James says LET - imperative, command which by implication means some people are not or will not LET a trial produce what God intends - spiritual maturity. Warren Wiersbe = "After over a quarter century of ministry, I am convinced that spiritual immaturity is the number one problem in our churches." Notice second that a mature Christian is described in three ways:
#1 Perfect = Greek "teleios"; means "fully equipped," "mature," or "ripe." It does NOT imply or suggest sinlessness. Paul uses the same Greek word in Colossians 1:28 in stating the purpose of his ministry: "that we may present everyone mature (teleios) in Christ." Full perfection will be attained only when Christ returns and believers are fully transformed.
#2 Complete = Greek compound word "holokleros" meaning "divinely alloted wholeness." "So surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us." (Spurgeon)
#3 Lacking in nothing - no deficiencies!
MSG sums these three up nicely: "Let it (trials) do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."
B. Illustration: Billy Graham once said, "Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys." Discuss how much I grew from times I wanted to quit Africa, quit ministry; how much Vicky and I have grown through RA battle. But we had to LET those trials effect us in the way God intended or else we wouldn't have changed or matured!
VI. How To Respond To Trials: ASK Their Wisdom
A. Read and explain James 1:5.
- If James grammar = he assumes it to be true that you and I lack the necessary wisdom to weather trials. Believers need wisdom to live a godly life; divine wisdom, God's view of life. The world which doesn't have or accept this wisdom, generally fails to appreciate the value of enduring trials. "My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways." (Isaiah 55:8) The Christian is apt to take the world's view toward his or her trials rather than God's and try to escape them at any cost - proof = divorce rate among Christians. We NEED wisdom!!! Notice the,
- Universal offer of wisdom: if any of you God's wisdom is available to His children. And look how He gives it! Generously Greek = liberally.
- Universal promise of wisdom: gives to all Not only is God's wisdom available to His children but it is also promised to ALL of God's children. Without reproach God is not a big meanie in the sky or stingy disciplinarian! Not going to withhold it until you're a good boy or girl! He is a loving parent who wants the best for His children! He does not play favorites! Other than when it comes to Alabama fans.
- So does this mean God will give you a higher IQ? No! What God promises is the ability to see the importance of enduring trials and persevering in them faithfully. And yet this promise is conditional. What is the condition?
B. Read and explain James 1:6-8.
- The condition to receive this wisdom is that we ask in faith.
- In Scripture asking in faith always means one of two things: either believing God WILL do what He has promised or, if He had not promised, believing that He CAN do what the person requesting asks. God has limited Himself to respond to the believing/faithful/trusting prayers of His kids!
- Doubting = wavering between two decisions or opinions, unsettled mind, lack of mature faith; double-minded = "dipsychos" literally two souls; unstable = Strong's says unstable, unsteady not strong enough, almost anarchy
- I love how William Barclay and A.T. Robertson describe these doubters - "The man is a walking civil war in which trust and distrust of God wage a continual battle against each other." "He is unsteady, fickle, staggering, and reeling like a drunken man."
C. Illustration: The great theologian Will Rogers said, "The problem with our prayers is that we use them as a means of last resort." Discuss old man at Pastor Raphael's church, Pastor Amos' village.
Remember earlier what I said about James, his nickname? Camel Knees. We would do well to follow in his foot steps and at the first sign of a trial drop to our knees!!!
VII. Conclusion
A. Discuss 3 greatest RBs in NFL history. Emmitt Smith 18,355 yds = 4.2 yds/carry; 164 TDs = 0.7/game. Walter Payton 16,726 yds = 4.4 yds/carry; 110 TDs = 0.6/game. Barry Sanders 15,269 yds = 5.0 yds/carry; 99 TDs = 0.6/game.
B. Keep getting up!!! A great reward in heaven awaits those who have read, heard and do Chapter 1 of "Christianity for Dummies" and know "How To Respond To Trials"! Read James 1:12. Let's pray.
VIII. Invitation & Benediction
Going through a trial? Need some laying on of hands & prayer?
Maybe your biggest trial is your lost...today is day of salvation!
Or haven't followed the Lord in baptism? Need a church to call home?
