Christian Survivor – Part One
Living a Godly Life in a Godless World
(How to have faith when the pressure to give up is intense)
James 1.1-8 January 7, 2001
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. 5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Each Wednesday night [last] summer, 26 million Americans tuned in to watch the CBS program "Survivor."
One of the 16 castaways attempting to be the lone survivor who would walk away with a million dollars was a 24-year-old youth ministries major from Seattle Pacific University. When advised that each of the contestants could bring one "luxury" item to the remote island in the South China Sea, Dirk Been took his Bible. "I couldn’t imagine not having my quiet time with the Lord for a single day, let alone thirty-nine," he said.
Being forced to eat beetle larvae was not the most difficult ordeal Dirk had to face on the island. The hardest aspect of being marooned on a remote island was not having anyone around who shared his beliefs.
"The spiritual isolation was tortuous," Dirk admits. "The other members of the Tagi and Pagong tribes couldn’t understand where I was coming from.
When faced with the tensions of insufficient food and sleep (not to mention members of your tribe stabbing you in the back in an attempt to win a million dollars), he said, "I didn’t have someone I could really open up to and pray with."
Fortunately for Dirk, he felt the support of family and friends at home praying for him each day. The day before he left for Malaysia, about 70 members of Prairie du Sac Evangelical Free Church gathered around him to pray for his health and safety.
"It was awesome!" Dirk recalls. "And it didn’t end there. Even though I was alone and lonely as the sole Christian, I felt the presence of the Lord in incredible ways."
(I have to admit, I didn’t watch a single episode of Survivor. Stupid human behavior, backstabbing and big-time in-your-face attitudes sounded too much like Jerry Springer or Judge Judy for my taste. I probably will watch the next generation of Survivor, if only to be honest about this preaching series.)
There is another ongoing survivor event, the survivorship of genuine Christian living in an increasingly postmodern, and even hostile, anti-Christian world. People with commitment to follow Jesus Christ unreservedly are something of an endangered species. Committed disciples of Jesus sense that the world views us as dinosaurs, outdated and disconnected Neanderthal thinkers in a space-age, Internet era. I once heard the comedian George Goebel describe perfectly that sense, I feel like the whole world’s a tuxedo, and I’m a pair of brown loafers.
Do you feel that way about you living in this world? One person said it well, If you feel content in this moral darkness, you might be part of the darkness! Another wag opined, If you seldom meet Satan head-on, perhaps its because you’re going the same direction as he.
There is a truth to those negative statements. While we don’t care to dwell in the negative, the reality is glaring:
a. This is not a christian world
b. This is not a christian country
c. Thomasville is not a christian city
And so, the proposition before the house this morning:
If you are a christian committed to following christ
you will find some tough roads ahead;
…you will be in the minority;
…and the world won’t care that you don’t like it!
If you find yourself in that brown loafer category, there is some really good news for you. It is found in the book we will study this winter – The Epistle of James. This is the Christian Survival Manual. If you would be an overcomer, a survivor in this postmodern world, James has the kind of practical advice you need.
James tells us important things a Christian worldview needs; he tells us about attitudes and convictions a Christian must possess – actions we must take – if we are to be survivors in a world that is spiritually stone cold dead!
Consider some of James’ advice we will study:
1. How to have joy in the midst of your trials
2. How to grow strong in your faith.
3. How to hang in there, when your “hanger” is broken.
4. How to love others, and not lose it
5. How to control your tongue so you can act wisely.
6. How to make morally wise decisions.
7. How to be unselfish, and still contented.
8. How to be patient!
9. How to pray and see real answers.
If those sound like some helpful topics for Christian living, well – you’re on the right track. Join with me and be a survivor – a Christian disciple!
Christian Survivors know the Owner of the island.
James 1:1 (KJV)
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James is the younger (half) brother of Jesus Christ. Six months before the cross and resurrection, he wasn’t even a believer. Yet now he calls himself a servant of God and the Master, Jesus. The word is doulos, or bondslave. It is the word you would use to describe someone who voluntarily chooses to enslave himself to another.
James was doubtless one of the 500 who saw the resurrected Jesus, and became a believer. He later became pastor at Jerusalem, and presided over the Jerusalem council mentioned in Acts. His life was profoundly changed from one who thought his brother was crazy, to one who was martyred for his brother. James was a Christian survivor – he knew the Owner of the Island!
It is important to see this commitment in James. There are 60 imperative commands in James in only 108 verses. He tells us to follow the same road of commitment to the One who owns the island. There are some pretty life-altering decisions to make if you take him seriously.
And so, at the outset of this study, in the spirit of full disclosure, we ought rightly to announce that investigating James – with the intention of obeying God with whatever we find out – can be extremely hazardous to the health of playing at discipleship. The claims and imperatives of James are so strong that it caused even the great reformer, Martin Luther to doubt James belonged in the Bible. He called it a right strawy epistle.
However, any believer who knows the Owner of the island also knows He demands loyalty from would-be survivors:
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
So, if this morning you cannot say for certain that you have nailed down your relationship to the Owner – a saving relationship in Christ, based on His sacrifice on the cross for you, then the first step is still before you in becoming a Christian survivor – you need to be saved. Tell Him you repent of sin, you want to be His child.
Then, publicly take your stand with Him at the close of this service. There will be an invitation time, and you will be invited to come to Christ, accept His name. You can identify with Him in public Christian believer’s baptism. That’s how you get to be friends with the Owner of the island.
Christian Survivors know the value of difficult times.
James 1:2-4 (KJV)
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.
There is a difference between tempting and testing. The “temptations” of our text refers to a test. (The word is dokimion, a proving, as in a test drive. God never tempts – see James 1.13). Years ago my seminary professor, Dr. Graham, put the difference to his class, and it stuck with me (one of the few things I actually retained). He said that an easy way to remember the difference between a tempting and a testing is:
a temptation is from Satan, and it is designed to make you fall;
a test is from God, and is designed to make you stand tall!
So, when you have a difficult time before you, pay close attention which direction you’re being driven. If away from God and His kingdom, then it is designed to make you fall – a temptation!
If the difficult time creates a desire to find God’s will and way –
to compel you to prayer, and
fellowship with believers for comfort, and
Bible study for answers –
Well, that’s a test. God is doing something! THAT’S why you can count it all joy!
Portable camcorders have a battery pack for power. Instructions typically recommend that users allow the battery pack to completely discharge before recharging, especially the first few times. This actually increases the endurance of the battery. In like manner, our trials discharge us, emptying us of our dependence on human strength and increasing our capacity to receive God’s limitless power.
It takes a developing patient spirit to become mature, to live a Godly life in a Godless World. One lady told about how driving seventeen hours to the beach for a week’s vacation took its toll on [her family], especially four-year-old Katie. Strapped in her child seat for hours at a time, she expressed the tedium [they] all felt when [the family] finally exited for our motel. She plaintively asked, "Can I please be excused?"
Mike Huckabee, Southern Baptist Pastor-turned-Governor tells about …a pastor in Florida who used to have count-it-all-joy parties every now and then. He so believed this verse, that when he would face a difficult situation, he would call friends over to his house. He’d say, "I want you to come over to my house for a party." They’d say, "Oh, is it a birthday?" "No," he would say. "Uh, you got a promotion?" they’d continue. "No," he’d say. "What’s the situation?" they would finally ask.
"Well," he’d say, "I’m going through this incredibly difficult crisis right now, and I’m having a count-it-all-joy party. We’re going to celebrate the difficulty, because I know that this difficulty is going to bring something of special value to my life. I don’t know what it is yet, but I want you to come and count it all joy with me."
Have any of you ever thrown a count-it-all-joy party? I haven’t either. To tell you the truth, it’s tough to consider it pure joy, because it hurts. Yet it’s important to realize that unless we go through some test, we will never know what our faith is made of.
It is hard to accept the difficult times, but becoming mature in the faith demands those times. The Message New Testament translates verse 4 this way:
James 1:4 (TMNT)
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
We may kick and groan about difficulties in our lives, but often that is what God is using in His perfect way to change us into His useable servant. A ship was wrecked, and the only survivor washed up on a small uninhabited island. He was exhausted. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon, searching for help. Finally, he managed to build a rough hut and put his few articles in that hut.
One day, coming home from hunting for food, he was stung with grief to see his little hut in flames and a cloud of smoke. The worst had happened. But early the next day, a ship drew in and rescued him.
He asked the crew, "How did you know I was here?"
They replied, "We saw your smoke signal."
Maybe the difficulty you have now is a smoke signal that will lead to great blessing.
Christian survivors know the Island’s Owner, and the value of difficult times, and…
Christian Survivors trust God.
James 1:5-8 (TMNT)
If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help.
You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
There is a certain abandoning of ourselves – a putting-aside of our options when it comes to really trusting God. You may have had the experience of purchasing a gift for your child for his birthday; you spent all you could afford, and then some. It’s the best gift ever. Prior to the birthday you are in a store with your young child and he asks for a different toy – much less in cost than you just spent. You’ve broken the budget on his birthday, so you have to say “no” to the lesser toy. Your child is somewhere from disappointed to furious! He doesn’t understand that your “no” today is only because you have a great big ”YES” just ahead. That’s childish behavior – but that’s what we do when we don’t trust God.
The Lord is pleased to give us wisdom and all the help we need. He isn’t into making us guess – He wants us to have His wisdom. The King James Version says God won’t upbraid when you ask for wisdom. Literally translated from the language of the New Testament, that means God won’t snicker in derision when you ask.
Getting that wisdom does, though, come with a price. If we are going to have His wisdom, we must trade in ours. Abandoning our prerogatives, trusting God, is all about Christian living.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
When you trust Him, it means you take your stand with Him – publicly, privately, and any other way He demands. Barry Lorch in his San Diego Union column recently told of a debate on the floor of the United States Senate about 130 years ago. The issue was whether alcohol should be sold in the territories seeking statehood. One notoriously anti-alcohol senator, who, according to one description, was so dry he was a known fire hazard, challenged one of his colleagues to state his position on alcohol.
Supposedly his colleague stood up and said this: "You asked me how I feel about whiskey. Well, here’s how I stand on the question. If when you say whiskey you mean that Devil’s brew, the poison spirit, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yes, literally takes bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man from the pinnacle of righteousness and gracious living and causes him to descend to the pit of degradation, despair, shame, and helplessness, then I am certainly against it with all my heart.
"But if, when you say whiskey, you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in an old man’s footsteps on a frosty morning; if you mean the drink whose sale puts, I’m told, millions of dollars into our treasury which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, or blind or deaf or dumb, our pitifully aged, and our infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then I am certainly in favor of it. This is my stand, and I will not compromise."
Maybe he was running for president.
And so, it’s decision-time, and we need to ask the question:
Do you want to be a survivor?
If so, you have to ask the Owner – its His island!
If so, you will learn the value of difficult times – its His wisdom!
If so, you will have to learn to let go and trust – its His way!
Be a survivor!
