WHAT DO DO WHEN YOU DON’T GET IT
James 1:1-8
I know you will find this hard to believe, but we are finished with John’s gospel. Today we will start Jim’s epistle. And Jim isn’t even here today. Let’s remember to pray for him as he often has to travel.
Do you ever wonder why some Christians seem to have it all together? They seem to be living their lives with purpose and while their lives are not trouble free, they are often able to rise above their difficulties.
Or why some Christians are always having difficulty but it often seems to affect every aspect of their lives.
Often I get asked “what does God want me to do?” in a difficult situation. Like because I’m a pastor and a missionary I have all the answers.
Well guess what? I don’t have all the answers. But we’re going to look at a book written by someone who doesn’t claim to have all the answers but he gets them from the One who does have them; God. It’s a small book, just after one of those NT greats; Hebrews.
For those of you who have patiently endured my messages on John, week after week, (and we’ll talk about patiently enduring today by the way), I think you will find a difference in James. Because the one thing I remember hearing over and over again in seminary, that whenever we taught the Bible, whenever we gave a message, the goal was a changed life. I enjoyed teaching from the book of John, but often it was difficult to get a message because of the way it was written. For example, remember the first 18 verses, when John writes about the deity of Jesus Christ. I can tell you all these lofty things about Jesus, that He existed in the beginning before the foundation of the world; He created all things, He existed with God and He was God. But what are we supposed to do as a result of hearing these things? If you don’t believe in Him, obviously you need to believe in Him. And if you do believe in Him, come away with a greater understanding of who He is and tell it to somebody who doesn’t believe in Him.
James will preach. Because you won’t see any of the lofty theology you saw in John. Of the 5 chapters with 108 verses you will notice that half of those verses are commands. I won’t be able to expand on that.
But, you see if you want to grow as a Christian, if you want to be mature in your faith, then this book is for you. Because the whole message of this book is Christian maturity. There are no shortcuts, or easy roads. As a matter of fact this is rubber meets the road Christianity. But if you follow the things you see in this book, you will grow as a Christian and be everything God wants you to be. So if this is what you want, you are in the right place. And if it’s not what you want, gomennasai, I’m going to preach it anyway. So fasten your seatbelts because we are taking off for a journey that won’t end until we go to be with Jesus.
Let me also say this before we get any further into James. This is not a book on how to become a Christian. You won’t get to heaven by doing everything in this book. James will later show how that’s impossible. James wrote this to those who were believers, and were probably going through great difficulties at the time. James didn’t write it to preach at them or look down on them. No, you will see his compassion as he often refers to them as “brethren” or “my beloved brethren.” I hope you find this book encouraging. I know I have.
OK, here we go. This was written by James, the half brother of Jesus. Now if any of you have your Japanese Bibles it probably says “Jacobu” or “Jacob.” I remember at a prayer meeting some time ago, Pastor Wada referred to this book. And the person translating for me, and I won’t say their name to embarrass them, referred me to the book of Jacob. And I said there is no book of Jacob. So I gave her my Japanese/English Bible and told her to find it. James comes from the Hebrew name Jacob.
Now I know it is very easy to skip his introduction, but let’s not do that. Look at verse 1.
James 1:1 ¶ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
James was the half brother of Jesus. You would think that would give him lots of clout and extra privileges like I had because I worked for American Airlines. Someone wrote that this is very similar to Thomas, who confessed Jesus as “My Lord and my God.” Because James considered himself a servant of God of of Jesus, even though he was His half brother. Lord is one who has the authority to rule over his life. And Christ is the anointed one; the Messiah. So James recognizes Jesus as the One who saved him from sin and death, and the One who is Lord over him. What about you? Is He your Saviour and Lord also?
This book was written to Jews. If you read Acts you see how the church began in Jerusalem but it spread out from there. Most likely they were suffering from persecution. James wrote this to encourage them and to help them in their faith.
Let me ask you this; how many of your lives are trouble free? No problems, you’re just sailing smoothly along. Probably none of us. Right now there is a lot of uncertainty in my life with my time coming to an end at SEFC and God’s direction from there. Some of you can read between the lines and know what else I’m talking about. I’m having problems with one of my family members which is stressing me out. I hadn’t heard from my friend in several days and I was concerned about her. (I got an email from her this morning.) And Friday afternoon, I could not access the internet and I called OCN only to find out my service had been suspended because it wasn’t paid.
Some of you in here have unsaved husbands and I know how much you want to see the believe in Jesus. We pray for them every Sunday in here, and I’m sure you pray a lot more than that. Yet they still do not believe.
Life isn’t always a first class seat on a 777. And just remember, even though I get first class we still have to land sometime. If you’re like me, your more likely to kick and scream when difficulties come your way. This isn’t fair, you say. I don’t deserve this. It probably isn’t fair and you probably don’t deserve it. But it’s the way for most of us. And unless you can see it from God’s perspective, you’re probably going to react the way the world reacts when you encounter difficulties. James tells us not only can you stand in these times of difficulty, you can also be joyful. And remember, we need to see it as God sees it. Because if you gain His perspective, you will pass the test He sends your way. Some simple commands when you are in a difficult situation.
First, be joyful. Verse 2 tells us this.
James 1:2 ¶ Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
Why should I be joyful? What do you think I am, some kind of masochist who enjoys suffering? James will answer that.
Friends, trials are the way of life for us. And notice they may be of many kinds. You might suffer in your family or at work because of your faith in Jesus Christ. You might be having financial problems because you don’t have a job. It may be an illness, or in the case of Pastor Wada, a permanent disability. I heard him once give a message on this same passage. He knows what he is talking about, and he has done what James said to do. It might be problems on your job. Trials come in all forms, shapes and sizes. But James tells us to be joyful.
The reason he tells us to be joyful is because of what the trial produces in us, patience. Now I know some of you probably want to get up and leave, but please be patient with me, because there’s more to come. Let’s look at verse 3. That’s my next point; be persistent.
James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Because when your faith is tested, it is a chance to grow. The world doesn’t see it like this. I’ve had my mother and both my sisters ask me at different times, “Why is God doing this to me?” or, “Why is God punishing me?” Have you ever felt like that? I have at times. Probably my biggest weakness is discouragement. And I will go ahead and tell you I haven’t always done what James says to do. More often I like to throw the pity party and quit.
When you are going through a difficult situation, then take note that it is a chance for your faith to grow. Now we’ll get to this later, but James is referring to trials that test our faith. He is not talking about temptation. We’ll talk about that in a couple of weeks.
What exactly is perseverence or persistence? 5 years ago I went through an institution called “Boot Camp Fitness.” I think you might have heard me tell this one. My church back home, Irving Bible Church was sponsoring that. It was announced each Sunday for several weeks, and it was in the church bulletin. We met Monday and Friday mornings at 6:00AM, for 6 weeks. And like my pastor said, they had been announcing it all this time and only 20 people showed up. I was one of them.
Jay Johnson, a former Army sergeant was our instructor. And yes, he put us through all the rigors of boot camp. We did stretching exercises, calisthenics, and ran. I hadn’t done anything like this in 30 years. And on top of all this, we had to pay to take Boot Camp Fitness!
We finished off our first session with a 1 mile run. I had to walk most of it. But you know what? Most everyone was there encouraging each other.
Now my muscles were very sore for the next few days. It was difficult to do anything, like get out of bed. But I went back to our next meeting of Boot Camp Fitness. And I went for the next 6 weeks and completed it. I only missed one session because I was on a 777.
And you know what? As I continued with Boot Camp I didn’t find it so hard. My muscles weren’t as sore. And as a matter of fact near the end of the 6 weeks, I ran my mile and told Sergeant Jay, “That was fun. Can we do it again?”
You see that’s what perseverence does. No it wasn’t easy the first time. But I went back a second time and a third time. And with time, I was able to do everything. As a matter of fact after Boot Camp I got into a routine of 50 pushups, a 2 mile run, 50 more pushups and 50 situps. I couldn’t do any of those before Boot Camp. But I persevered and I could do them. That’s what happens when you persevere. You are able to do what you thought you couldn’t do. That is what God wants us to develop in our lives, so He brings trials our way. He wants us to grow in our faith. It’s like a baby learning to walk for the first time. He or she doesn’t just get up and walk. No, he or she takes a few steps And often time the baby falls. But his parents are there to help him or her back up and encourage them.
I didn’t learn to ride a bicycle or swim until I was 9. I was too scared. But I decided one day, I’m going to do it, and I did. I’m not going to tell you I never fell off my bicyle. But I persisted and I learned to ride it.
The Greek word for persevere means “to bear up under.” You develop perseverence and your faith holds up under difficulties. This is what God is trying to do. He’s not trying to punish you or go out of His way to make it difficult for you. I tell myself that He already punished His Son for us, and so every evil thing we did was nailed to the cross.
The world won’t tell you to bear up under trial. No it will tell you to escape it. And if you don’t see it as God sees it, you will try to escape. He doesn’t want us to be joyful for the trial, He wants us to be joyful in the trial.
But it doesn’t stop here. Because when we persevere through a trial there is a result; maturity or we grow up. That’s my next point, be complete. Let’s see verse 4.
James 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
I had to attend 6 weeks of Boot Camp to be able to do all the pushups, situps and running I told you about. But the end result was that I could do it. Remember I couldn’t even run a mile our first session. A couple of months later I was running 2 miles.
You see, God does have an end result in view, and that is that we become mature and complete, not lacking in anything. I didn’t say perfect without sin, I said mature or complete.
When you first believed in Jesus your sins were forgiven, you became a member of God’s family, your faith gave you good standing before God and you had fellowship with Him you didn’t have before. But it doesn’t stop there. Like a baby learns to walk and grow up, we need to grow up as Christians. I always get a kick out of my English classes with the children. Because I like watching them grow. I remember we started a class for 5 year olds 2 ½ years ago. Now it’s a class for 7 year olds.
You know, the most mature Christians I know are not the ones who have always had it easy. No, they are the ones who have had a chance to grow. So remember when you are going through a trial to be joyful and persevere through it, because God is using it to help your faith grow. If you don’t see it this way, you will never be able to understand what God is trying to develop in your life. But you won’t grow as a Christian. Now if you don’t want to grow as a Christian, that’s your choice and there’s nothing I can do about it. But if you really want to grow as a Christian, if you want to live for God’s glory, if you want to be used by Him, there is no shortcut to spiritual maturity. I remember the man who led me to the Lord. He was a Jewish believe like me and he took off like a rocket. He spent hours in prayer, studying his bible and talking to others about Jesus. In just a few months, he was teaching the Bible like a pastor or seminary professor. He was a very mature Christian. I wanted to be like that, so I did courses on discipleship, read and studied my Bible. In a few months, I would know every book of the Bible and be able to teach from it with authority. Guess what? It didn’t happen like that. That was 32 years ago and I’ve even been through seminary and I’m still not sure if I know every book of the Bible so well and can teach it with authority. I’m still learning and I’m still growing.
I have to say that the story with my friend did not have such a happy ending. He got into an immoral relationship and fell away from the Lord. I last talked to him a year after that happened, and he wanted no part of it. I heard several years later he came back to the Lord, but I never heard from him.
Friends, this is something God will do until He takes you to be home with Jesus. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. It is a process. But look at the result of it, you become mature in the process. This is what God wants for you and me. Do you want it? If you do, then you need to start by seeing your trials and difficulties the same way God sees them.
What if you are in a difficult situation and you don’t know what to do? That’s my next point, be wise. Look at verse 5.
James 1:5 ¶ 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.
What is wisdom? It is the ability to see a trial the way God sees it. Do you want to gain God’s wisdom? It’s all over the Bible. For example, the book of Proverbs is a great place to start. And go to the gospels and read the words of Jesus Christ Himself.
God will give you wisdom when you are in a difficult situation. I remember when KC was very sick and I didn’t know what to do. A friend emailed me and told me that God will give me wisdom and I will know what to do. When the doctor told me there was nothing more he could do and she would die, it was OK with me. I didn’t want him trying to do anything heroic to save her. It still hurt when KC died. But I knew what I needed to do, just let nature take it’s course.
I am having a difficult time with one of my family members which is really stressing me out. What I usually want to do is not look to God, but to try to handle it in my own flesh. But that causes all kinds of problems and doesn’t really solve anything. When I prayed about it and asked God for wisdom, I sensed He wanted me not to do anything for now, just to leave it alone.
I’ve found out, that when I come to God with a problem and ask Him for wisdom, He always give me the wisdom I need. This does not mean I know everything, or have all the answers, but I have all the wisdom I need for the particular situation.
And you know what? God will give us wisdom when we ask for it. Not He might give us wisdom, He will give us wisdom. And He is very generous too. And we can ask Him as often as we need to. Did you ever think He says, “You again?” Guess again. You can ask Him all you want and He will give it to you. I’ve never heard Him say “You again?” I don’t think you have either.
We need to be wise when facing trials. But there is one other condition and we’ll see that in the last 2 verses; be believing. This might be a good follow up for Doubting Thomas. Look at verse 6.
James 1:6 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.
Let’s not be like Doubting Thomas. I want you to notice something. James is very good at describing things. Here he uses the example of a wave of the sea.
I’ve been in Japan 3 ½ years and I haven’t seen a whole lot of the Pacific Ocean. I usually see it from the window of a 777 when I fly over it.
A wave of the sea is at the mercy of the wind. It is blown and tossed both up and down and from side to side. If you are ever in a boat in a storm you are at the mercy of the wind and the waves. There’s nothing you can do about them.
Did any of you see the movie, The Perfect Storm? It was based on a true story of the fishing boat, the Andrea Gale, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Fisherman make their money by the number of fish they catch. So the bigger the catch, the more they get. And in The Perfect Storm, the crew of the Andrea Gale was not making a lot of money because they didn’t catch much. So they decided to go into an area where they were sure to catch a lot of fish. Unfortunately when trying to return to Gloucester, there was a storm in the Atlantic. Actually there were 2 storms and they were coming together. The story was a tragedy because the Andrea Gale was caught in the storm and perished. All of her crew died.
But this is what happens when you doubt. One moment you’re believing God, the next moment you’re doubting. You’re inconsistent. And it shows in your life. Do you want to be like this person? Remember Jesus will do whatever it takes to help you believe Him. Remember His words to Thomas.
John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
And what was Thomas’ response?
John 20:28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
What about you? Is that your response?
Because you can doubt if you want. It’s your choice. But you won’t get anything from God if you do. Look at verse 7.
James 1:7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
God has promised He will give us wisdom if we need it. He will gladly give it to us as often as we need it. But when you ask Him for wisdom and He gives it to you, what do you do? Do you thank Him for it and act on what you know? Or do you doubt it? Remember I said James is good the way he describes things? Let’s look at verse 8 and we’re done.
James 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
This does not describe a mature Christian, does it? It sounds like one who thinks one way then another way, and is not very stable. No, this person is the one who is tossed about like the waves of the sea.
God cares about what you go through, and remember He is not trying to punish you. That was all done 2000 years ago when Jesus took the punishment for our sins. He is giving you a chance to grow in your faith and to be mature. I remember I went through a time many years ago wondering if God really did want me to become mature in my faith. He did, but He did it His own way in His own time. And you know what? He is still doing it. Because there are some situations in my life I do not yet know how they will turn out. But I just need to trust God to do His work in me and give me wisdom when I need it.
The 12 tribes James was writing to weren’t probably going through things like a family problem or their internet service being cut off. No, they were probably facing persecution like we may never have to face. But if you read the testimonies of first century saints, you will read about how they persevered through their trials. Do you want this to be your testimony? Do you want to sense God’s pleasure, and let Him equip you for good works? Then this is the way to do it. Remember, if you want to grow in your faith, James will tell you what you need to know.
I’ve talked with Graeme’s parents on the phone and they are handling the situation very well with his mother’s cancer. It’s not something they are enjoying. But they are trusting God through this, and He gives them wisdom. I remember when Graeme told me he and Mariko were thinking of moving to Australia. You know what? I didn’t want them to go. I suggested he wait another year and we can both leave at the same time. But they prayed about it and sensed it was God’s will for them to go. And looking back it was a very good choice, so they could be near his mother. It is encouraging to me seeing how they are handling this. This is the result of living life by God’s principles and letting Him use these trials to make us mature.
Let me close with these words. Just listen.
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
1 Peter 1:9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Do you know who wrote that? Peter. And he was no stranger to suffering. But remember we saw the result of God’s work in him when Jesus restored him? And his readers were no strangers to suffering. They were having to put up with Emperor Nero, who was not the nicest man around. But look at the result. Do you want God to say this about you? We need to follow these words of James and be joyful in trials because they result in our perseverence which results in our becoming maturity. His wisdom is always there when we ask for it, and when we do, we become the kind of people James and Peter write about. Let’s pray.
