Sermon: Facing Life’s Difficulties
Series: James - Real Faith for Real Life
James 1:1-12
Background of James
Written by James, the Lord’s Brother
Written around 45 A.D.
Written to show that a Real Faith is lived with Real Actions in Real Life
James tells us a real faith
Finds Joy in the midst of Hardship (v. 2-4, 12)
We can only experience this joy to God’s glory when we
Seek Wisdom through Faith (v. 5-8)
Take Pride in our Position in Christ (v. 9-11)
Slide
Series introduction
Living life in this world can be quite challenging.
We have so many things pulling at each one of us; Family, work, relationships, our relationship with God. It seems like we are rushing from one thing to the next down the busy sidewalks of life.
It is easy to sit here on a Sunday morning and talk about faith and believing God, but how does that translate to the real world? What does Real faith look like in Real Life?
Well, we are beginning a series where we are going to be looking into that. How is it that we live a Real faith in Real life. We are going to be going through the book of James through the summer and we have entitled this series Real Faith for Real Life.
Slide
We are calling it that because James is a very practical book that gives us a lot of good insight into what a real faith looks like lived out in the real world.
Transition to sermon
Now, if you are a Christian here today, you know that living out your faith can be challenging. And you know that just because you are a Christian, your life is not always easier to live. Many times it is more difficult. This morning, as we start this series, we are going to talk about Facing Life’s Difficulties.
Slide
We are going to jump right in this morning so I am going to ask you to turn with me to James 1:1-12
Slide
This morning, as we learn to live out a real faith in real life, we are going to see how James tells us that we can face the difficulties of life for God’s glory and our good.
Series encouragements
As we begin this series, I want to encourage you to keep up with it. I know that people have vacations planned in the summer and there will be days that you miss, but I want to encourage you to listen online to those messages you missed because this should be a great series to help each one of us live out our faith in real life.
And to help all of us get the most out of it, I want to encourage you to do a couple of things.
First, this week, I would like each one of us to read through the book of James twice.
It is only 5 chapters and will help us get an overview of the teaching in James.
Secondly, after this week, I am going to ask you to read each day the section of James we just studied as well as the section we are going to study next.
Thirdly, I am going to give you a few questions each week that will help you meditate on the verses we just studied so you can help to get the Lord’s word inside you so you can be better equipped to live it out.
It is my hope that this will be a great summer of spiritual growth as each one of us learn how to live out a real faith in real life.
Now let’s read James 1:1-12
James 1:1-12
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Ok, I want to stop here a second and, before we get into the main teachings of the first half of chapter 1, I want to give you a quick background of the book of James.
We see in this first verse that the book is written by James. James who?
Well this letter was
Written by James, the Lord’s Brother
Slide
Now, If you are coming from a Roman Catholic background, like me, and saying, “Hang on a second, Jesus didn’t have any siblings because Mary was a virgin for her whole life, so how could this be the Lord’s brother?”
Well, while I appreciate my Catholic heritage and the facts of the gospel that were taught to me, and while Scripture teaches that Mary was a virgin up until Jesus was born, there is no Scriptural support for the Catholic Church’s teaching that Mary was a virgin perpetually.
In fact Scripture teaches otherwise.
Matthew 1:25 tells us that after the angel visited Joseph that he took Mary as his wife but “he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.”
And the Bible also lists other half siblings of Jesus. When Jesus went back to his hometown of Nazareth to teach, the people who knew him growing up, took offense to his authoritative teaching. And they said in Mark 6:3, “Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?"
And Paul tells the Galatians he visited “James, the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19) one of the leaders in the church and this is after James the Apostle had been killed.
So it is James the Lord’s brother who is the most likely author of this letter to the 12 tribes scattered among the nations.
This letter was
Written about 45 AD
Slide
Only a dozen or so years after Christ’s death burial and resurrection, making it one of the earliest, if not the earliest letter of the New Testament.
This letter was written when the church was still largely a Jewish sect and when the church had faced persecution and had been scattered among the nations.
The people were facing hard times.
There was a perversion of the gospel that seemed to be going around as is apparent in even some of Paul’s letters that said something like if salvation is by grace through faith, then what I do doesn’t matter and in fact if I sin more, God will be glorified by giving me more of His grace.
In Paul’s letter to the Roman’s, he even addressed some of this. He said in
Romans 3:8 - Why not say-as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say-"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.
Understand this.
We are saved by Grace through Faith, but a real faith that receives God’s grace changes us in real life.
James writes this letter to show that a Real Faith produces Real Actions in Real Life
Slide
So let’s jump in and see what he tells these early Christians that a real faith will look like as we read the rest of this section
James 1:2-12
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 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. 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. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 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.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Pray
The main thing that James tells these Christians is that a Real Faith
Finds Joy in the midst of Hardship
Slide
This totally seems like an oxymoron, like 2 things that can’t be true at the same time, Joy and hardship.
Well, I think it is important to realize first, that the joy being spoken of here is not like being giddy with excitement.
This is more like a contentment and peace.
It can be translated as “calm delight.”
(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
It is a joy that we can experience when we are assured of an outcome.
Illustration – Drive to Vacation
If I told you that next month my family is going to go driving for 17 hours in a row, that seems a bit depressing.
But if I told you that my family is going on vacation next month, that would seem very exciting.
Well, for us to go on vacation next month entails a 17 hour drive. Now a 17 hour drive does not excite me too much.
But I know that the 17 hour drive is required to experience a week long vacation.
I don’t really focus on the drive, I focus on the vacation and it brings me joy.
When we are in the midst of a trial, we can take joy by focusing on the outcome of this trial in our life and in eternity.
James writes
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
The trials that we experience in our life are growing us to be mature and complete, so that we will not be lacking anything.
Now this is a lot easier said than done.
How do we really experience this joy in the midst of hardship?
Well James goes on to tell us that we need to
Seek Wisdom in Faith
Slide
James 1:5-8
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. 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. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
We are going to park on this for a bit, because I think this is essential for us to understand.
When we read this, I think a lot of us can see ourselves as someone who does not always have the strongest of faith and we will doubt if the Lord is really going to answer our request.
I don’t believe that this is what James is talking about here.
I believe what he is doing is contrasting 2 different people.
A faithful man who seeks wisdom and receives it.
An unfaithful man, a man who doubts the Lord’s goodness, a person who really only wants what he wants, and who will end up receiving nothing.
I first want to focus on
The Unfaithful man
Slide
I think this unfaithful man is like the man Jesus describes in the parable of the sower as “the seed planted on the rocky places.”
The parable is about the word of God being spread like a man who plants seed but it is on different soils which is really the heart.
In Matthew 13:20-21, Jesus says
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
When trouble or persecution comes, he turns away showing that he is not really a person of faith.
He is just someone who is looking for the thing that will make life easier.
If you have been at Hickory Creek very long, you have heard me say many times that the Christian life is not the easy life, but it is the better life.
Jesus flat out told us that in this world, we are going to face troubles and trials and hardships if we follow the Lord.
But He says in
John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Following Christ, while it is not the easy road, it is the road that leads to eternal life, a life that will eventually be free from pain and suffering and better yet, will be an eternity spent with the Lord.
So, the unfaithful man is one who is not really a believer, but only a man looking for the easy road. If it seems like following Christ will help out in the circumstance, then that is what he will do, but that doesn’t make him a true believer.
But James also talks about
The Faithful man
Slide
The faithful man seeks wisdom and receives it so that he might experience Joy in the midst of hardship.
He recognizes that he is not God and recognizes who God really is, a Holy God who has created all things and sustains all things by His powerful word. When we, by faith have that proper view of God, we can do nothing but have a reverent fear of the Lord, and fall on our knees before Him.
A faithful man is like Isaiah, who when brought into the presence of the Lord,
Isaiah 6:5 - "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
He had a proper fear and respect for the Lord.
Psalm 111:10 tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”
Now, does this mean that a faithful man can never struggle with doubt?
I do not believe so.
Each of us is going to struggle with doubt and situations that test our faith. This is why we need to be seeking wisdom.
For instance, consider the man with a demon possessed son in Mark 9. The man brought his son to the disciples and they could not drive the demon out. Then he comes to Jesus. The demon throws the boy into convulsions.
And in Mark 9:21-24,
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23 "’If you can’?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.
People of faith still struggle with unbelief, but it is not a doubt about who God is.
It may be a complete inability to understand what God is doing or how this could possibly be good, but it is a faith that turns to God anyway and clings to Him amid questions, amid the pain.
Illustration – Steven Curtis Chapman
This past week, I was reading an article about Steven Curtis Chapman.
He is a Contemporary Christian Musician who had has been used by God in great ways to minister through music to many people. As God worked in the life of him and his family they ended up adopting 3 little girls from China, in addition to their own children they have had.
In 1999, 11 years ago, in a CCM Magazine interview Chapman is quoted as saying, “Undoubtedly, there are season of loss ahead, loved ones I’ve yet to lose…but the more I grow and open myself up to painful experiences, the more I find God’s grace revealed in my life…” (Quoted in Outreach Magazine, May/June 2010, p. 87)
In 2008, in a tragic accident, their 17 year old son accidently hit their youngest daughter with the car and she was killed.
He says now that he has learned that “hope doesn’t become hopeful until we’re desperate for it, and the more desperate we are for it, the more hopeful it becomes.”
He quotes his pastor as saying the “We can never cry ‘Abba-Father’ until we’ve first cried ‘Uncle,’ until we’re desperate enough to give up. Only then can we really cry out to God.” (Outreach Magazine, May/June 2010, p. 90)
He says he “used to read Psalms and think, what am I missing? I’m not feeling it. Now the psalms that are the most precious to me are those where David seems so schizophrenic, saying, ‘How long, oh Lord, when are you going to rescue me?’ And in the same breath just a few verses down, he praises God: ‘You are my hope, God. You are my breath. I delight in your law.’”
“He is literally beating his own chest, saying, ‘Come on heart, beat! Don’t forget. This is your hope. Don’t believe just what you feel in this moment. You’re anchored to the hope that God has promised.’”
He says, “I love what Martin Luther says: ‘There are two days that matter: this day and that day.’ That day brings the hope and the promise of God. And we must anchor this day to that day, the day that is coming. That’s how we live with hope. And that’s why we’ll spend the rest of our lives telling others about that hope that the Gospel is real – for everyone.”
(Outreach Magazine, May/June 2010, p. 91)
That is a man of faith. A man who trusts amid the pain and hardships of life.
But to do that we not only need to seek Wisdom in faith, but it is imperative that we
Keep Focused on our position in Christ
Slide
Listen to what James writes in
James 1:9-11
9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 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.
If we are going to experience joy in the midst of hardship, then we have got to keep our focus on our position in Christ and not on our circumstances, whether our circumstances are good or bad.
James says when you are in humble circumstances, you need to be taking “pride in (your) high position,” your position in Christ that makes you a child of the King, and will bring you into His presence for eternity.
It is like Martin Luther said, “there are two days that matter: this day and that day.” We need to keep focused on that day so that we can take joy in this day no matter our circumstance.
And for those who are rich, for those whose circumstances are not so bad right now, it is also imperative that we keep focused on our position in Christ, that we are a child of the King, not because we are rich or because we are good, but because, by God’s grace, apart from anything we have done or could do, we have been saved.
Conclusion
James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
The only way we are going to experience joy in the midst of hardship is if we seek the wisdom of the Lord through our faith in Him, that He is good and that He is working all things “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
So where are you this morning?
Maybe you are facing some trials in your life and it is painful beyond anything you have experienced.
If you want to find joy in the midst of this, a peace and contentment that surpasses understanding, then you need to
Seek wisdom in faith
And
Keep focused on your position in Christ
If you are truly in Christ.
Paul tells you that you need to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Trials serve to test our faith.
Our faith in Christ shows us that our hope is not for this life only, it is for eternity.
Where is your hope?
Do you say that it is in the Lord, but the reality shows that it is in this life?
This week as you read through James, I want you to meditate on a couple of questions.
Write these down on your insert this morning and stick this in your Bible.
Questions to meditate on
Who am I? Am I a faithful man or an unfaithful man?
The reality is that the answer only comes to us as we are tested and as we persevere and we can see what is really in our hearts.
A faithful person, amid the pain in their hearts, amid tears, may cry out, “Lord, I don’t understand why I am going through this! Please help me! I am hurting so desperately! Where are You! Lord, I trust you to give me wisdom and strength to endure.
A faithful person can cry along with David as he writes in
Ps 31:9-15
9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends--
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in your hands;
Worship team come up
We are going to close in a song this morning as the worship team comes up.
We are going to sing “Trading My Sorrows”
This morning choose to find joy in Hardship.
Trade your sorrows for the joy of the Lord.
Make this your prayer that the Lord would help you to find His joy amid whatever hardship you may be facing
“Trading my Sorrows”
