1. I like what one man wrote about God’s curriculum for life:
• He has a course entitled, “Testing 101”
• The Class Yell is “Ouch!”
• The school colors are Black and Blue
• The class motto is: This too shall pass
2. Testing is a common experience – especially for those in the dispersion (Acts 8.4?)
3. James 1.2-4
4. Making Lemonade out of Lemons
• Charles Goodyear went to jail for a contempt of court citation. Imprisoned, he went to work in the kitchen and worked on an idea in which he developed the method for vulcanizing rubber.
• Martin Luther was forced to stay in Wartburg Castle and his lemonade was his translation of the Bible into the German language
• Charles Kettering broke his arm on the starting crank of his automobile – his lemonade was the development of the self-starter for engines.
• Jacob Schick could not shave at -40 degrees and invented the electric razor
• It is easy to talk about making the most of bad situations, it is another to do it
5. James (Jacob) begins this letter with a bit of “Reality Therapy” in dealing with trials
I. Chipping Off the Old Block (Isaiah 51.1-2; 1 Peter 2.4-8)
A. Trials Are Inevitable
1. “WHEN not IF (James 1.2)
2. Following Yeshua (Jesus) is not Easy
a. He Never said it would be easy(Foxes; count the cost; plow)
b. He only said it would be rewarding
c. We will be disappointed if we look for ease
3. Trials are universal
B. Trials Are Diverse
1. “Various Trials”
2. Generally unexpected – Luke 10.30
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Encounter/Meet = Fell
3. Come in Many Forms
a. Visible/External Trials
b. Invisible/Internal Temptations
c. Same word for both
II. Picking Up the Pieces
A couple visited a world-famous weaver where they watched workmen on their looms. They noticed that the underside of the rugs were not very attractive. Their guide told them, “Do not judge the work or the workers by looking at the wrong side.” Trials often display the “wrong” side of life. Our Maker sees the finished pattern as it develops in our lives.
A. The Pieces Are Revealing
1. Who We Are – 1 Peter 4.12-19
2. Who God Is – Abraham’s God who put him to the test (Genesis 22); Joseph
B. The Pieces Are Beneficial
“Satan tempts to bring out the bad; God tests to bring out the good.” Griffith Thomas
1. Trials Test Faith – in trials, whom do we trust?
2. Trials Produce Steadfastness/Perseverance
Cannot be attained by observation; reading; listening to a sermon; even by prayer
It has to be experienced so we will “trust and obey”
C. The Pieces Are Maturing
Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources person asked the young MBA fresh out of MIT, "And what starting salary were you looking for?"
The candidate responded, "In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."
The HR person said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks’ vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% salary, and a company car leased every two years - say a red Corvette?"
The graduate sat up mouth agape and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?"
And the HR person responded, "Certainly.....but you started it!"
That's the trouble with many of us – we want to start at the top and work our way up from there.
We as Christians are sometimes the same way. We want what's at "the top" without going through what lies below. For example, we want patience (and we want it right now!), but we don't want the trials that develop patience. We'd rather start at the top. James said,
Have you prayed for patience lately? Expect God to give it to you immediately. And, on top of that, you'll never have any problems in life at all. None! Everything will always go smoothly. You'll suffer no injustices, experience no heartaches, and never know what it means to fail. Am I kidding? Certainly........but you started it!
1. Job; Solomon (Ecclesiastes 12.13)
2. Immature Response – Boast in Self 1 Corinthians 1.26
Three faux boasts – own wisdom; own power; own pedigree
Kingdom of God is for poor (Luke 6.20) and Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5.3)
3. Mature Response – Boast in God – Romans 5.1-5
4. Proper Perspective – Ephesians 2.8-10
a. God’s Call Results in Our Salvation – God’s Work FOR Us
b. God’s Work Results in Our Sanctification – God’s Work IN Us
c. God’s Leadership Results in Our Service – God’s Work THROUGH Us
D. Trials Are a Reminder of the Presence of God in Our Lives –
A mother wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano brought him to a concert given by the famous Polish pianist, Paderewski. When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away.
At eight o'clock, the lights in the auditorium began to dim, the spotlights came on, and only then did they notice the boy upon the bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".
His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, "Don't quit. Keep playing."
Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.
In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear time and time again, "Don't quit. Keep playing." And as we do, He augments and supplements, until a work of amazing beauty is created.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow [pursue] me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23.4-6
E. Trials Produce Joy
1. Looking beyond the initial problem
2. See an opportunity to become more like Yeshua (Jesus)
3. See God advance his Kingdom in spite of the circumstances – Philippians 1.18
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Michelangelo went to the marble quarry to find the perfect piece of stone in order to create a masterpiece. Other sculptors had been there ahead of him and left only one stone. It was jagged and irregularly shaped. The others had left it because they could not envision a use for it.
Michelangelo studied it for a time and then accepted it. He ordered the stone to be taken to his studio. He worked on it for months. From this misshapen fragment he produced the incomparable statue of “David.”
Later he said, “Its outline was dictated by the imperfections of the block I worked with. The bend of the head, the twist of the body, the arm holding the sling; they were all there in that jagged, irregular piece of rock.”
God takes us from the quarry of Abraham and sees the possibilities in our lives. He chips here and then there. Slowly he cuts away the excess and creates the image of Yeshua (Jesus) in each of us.
