Introductory Considerations
1. It was one of the happiest and joyful times of my life. I had grown up in church and made confession of faith, but as most of you know, I went through a period of years when I stopped believing in Christ. It all seemed unreal.
2. For various reasons, used by God, I started going back to church. This time it was different. I couldn’t get enough of God. I wanted to learn more and experience more of Him.
3. It was a time of joy - the joy of knowing how much He loved me, the joy of discovering amazing truths from the word, the joy of worship in which I could freely express my praises of God, the joy of seeing how God was reaching out around me and through me into the lives of other people, the joy of giving - I just couldn’t give enough - the tithe was just the beginning. The joy was overpowering and overwhelming.
4. It included times of tears and struggles, but the joy I had - I cannot describe it.
5. I still feel joy today but that joy seems faded at times. I have developed something that I believe Satan is using to hamper my ministry. and he is using it in your lives and I believe in the church as a whole. The joy seems like it is slowly, almost without notice at times, being replaced with an attitude of negativity.
6. I see it in my preaching. My daughter comes home after months away and see it coming from me in my home
7. For what I am doing, and many or most, if not all of us - is this. We look around us - at our circumstances, at other people - and we see the negatives. Someone shares or gives of themselves and we question their motives or the theological correctness of what they say. We are a critical people.
8. We miss out on the wonderful, abounding grace and love of God by focusing on the things that are wrong or that bother us. And as long as we do that, there is no way out of our dilemma
9. For no one is perfect, no church is perfect - and if we look for what is wrong we will find it but somehow the joy of knowing and serving God is pushed to the background. Oh it come to the surface every so often but it is not what motivates and determines our thoughts, words and actions.
10. Do you agree with me? Lets test my assumption
11. Last Tuesday the ladies had a speaker from Chatham Outreach for Hunger come and share about that ministry. When you hear the words "Outreach Hunger" what thoughts or feelings come to mind. Do we think of people who are lazy, liars, people who are out to milk the system?
12. Yet I am told the lady who spoke opened the eyes of the ladies who were there. Even the numbers of ladies was down - could that be because of the topic and our negative feelings about it.
13. I pray and plead with God that I may get rid of these negative feelings that control me and that instead I would experience again the joy.
Teaching
1. James talks about joy in the midst of trials. What he teaches us makes us think about how we react to the things that take away our joy. For we have all been hurt, disappointed, challenged, and overwhelmed, but rather than these things causing our joy to fade they can become the opposite - they become sources of even greater joy.
2. Let’s see how.
3. James tells us to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of various kinds. This seems like a hard thing to do.
4. The joy that James talking about here is pure joy - the word pure means all, every, and whole or thoroughly, not just a surface joy but a joy that is all encompassing. A joy that is real.
5. As Christians we are to be joyful- sometimes circumstances make it hard to be joyful. Sometimes we fake joy to others - because of what they might think of us if we are not, because we might let others down, or because it would show a lack of faith. This is person who says "all is fine" when she really doesn’t feel that way. But it usually shows up. We should not lie, but doesn’t mean we need to share details of problems.
6. James is not saying that trials are joyful in themselves. Not "hit me again, that felt good" attitude. The blows of life are not joyful, but James tells us to "consider" or regard them as joyful.
7. Its not the circumstances but our response that is important. It’s being people that, when life hands us a lemon, make lemonade. It’s what allows us to not be victims, but rather victors over our circumstance.
8. The trials referred to here are overwhelming. And this is not just with temporary problems we have. The word "face" here means to fall into something that is all around us - to be surrounded with all kinds of trials - which hem you in like a band of robbers. Not one problem that stands before us but circumstances that offer no way of escape.
9. These trials are difficulties from without. (In vs,. 13-18 we will consider inner trials)
10. The Greek meanings of the word "trial" help us understand what these trials are. They are a putting to proof - a test of our faith - as we will see, this is the reason why we should consider them joy.
11. The test is by the experiment of good - the purpose is to produce goodness - from God’s perspective. It is by the experience of evil - the trial is the results of sins committed against us, and a sin Job, the desire of Satan to see us fall. It is adversity. It is a temptation - it tempts us to respond by outer sinful actions, by inward hate and bitterness, and by taking away our joy. It is discipline. (Heb 12:7-11).
12. To have the understanding of these meanings of trials in itself helps us to be able to consider them as joy.
13. James says that this is a testing of our faith. What this means is that our faith is refined like gold in which the impurities are burned away.
14. Works in two ways.
15. First, this testing reveals whether our faith is genuine. Imagine you have fake gold. When that gold is tested - when it goes through the refiner’s fire, what would be left afterward? Nothing! And so trials and our response to them help us determine whether there is any faith left afterward. If not, then our faith was not real. Some people have wrong expectations of God God does not promise a bed of roses. (John 16:33). There faith is on what they expect God to do for them here and now rather than in God Himself.
16. Now be careful, we will struggle - times when we will waver - "I believe, help my unbelief." During the battle we may have times we may seem to be losing but we can still be victorious. These tests may be long term tests - it is a process - "perseverence must finish its work". Testings shows whether faith is genuine.
17. Second, they also make our faith stronger by getting rid of the impurities - sin, pride, etc.. That is why those who have endured great suffering come out with faith that is more sure than ever before. Again we have the example of Job.
18. What greater joy than to grow in faith and to have the assurance of faith.
19. How does this work? The trials develop perseverance - a tenacity to stick-to-it no matter what is happening to us, to hold on to God in faith.
20. When I first worked in accounting and banking - I learned that things don’t always automatically balance. Perhaps you have found this out when trying to balance your bank statement. - eg. Rent Receivable - 1,000’s of amounts owing, 1,000’s of transactions, hundreds of pages of computer reports. After couple of hours, start wondering if I’ll ever find error. I have even after spending week going through every item, I was still out. I even re-added each page to make sure computer not make mistake.
21. Seemed impossible - but the amazing thing about accounting was that it has to work - if done right it has to balance. And so I’d persevere - go through it all again. Then unexpectedly the error would show up - sometimes a simple, foolish mistake. But while I did not always enjoy this aspect of my work, I found it easier to persevere as time went on - because I knew that my perseverence paid of in the past, it made it easier to persevere the next time.
22. So it is with our trials . We learn to stick to it, to stick to God, to not give up. Wen God proves faithful one time we grow in faith and trust Him, even when trials get harder.
23. The ability to persevere is not what give joy but the fact that we become more mature and complete as believers, not lacking anything. This does not mean we become perfect or sinless, but we grow in our desire to be perfect, but that we do not respond in sin when sinned against because we become more Christ-like. It means that we can forgive those who cannot forgive us. It means that we see that in all things, God will work out things for our good. It means that we know that the trials will not defeat us. (1Cor 10:13)
24. What are the trials you are facing? Do you consider it joy that you are surrounded by them?
25. I thinks of struggles of church. They need to be taken seriously, but even in them I see that God is using these to determine those who will remain true to His word regardless of temptations and influences of world.
26. We then are willing to patiently fight the battles, but then we do so joyfully. I feel I loose out when I argue truth but I am filled with negativity and with little joy.
27. There is a lot of negativity in our midst. Maybe this is a negative statement in itself. I see in some of you a joy, a deep walk and trust with Lord. May we grow in joy, see good God puts in others, not just bad. See how good God is in all things.
28. Then we can truly have thankful hearts and an effective witness.
