First Baptist Church
August 5, 2001
James 1:1-8, 12
I’m going to start out with a trick question, who wrote the book of
James? I probably made you second guess yourself, but James is
the author. For the next few weeks we are going to dig deep into
this book. James exhorts us to ‘authentic Christians.’ It’s believed
that James is the brother of Jesus. If you recall from the gospels,
nobody in Jesus’ family believed He was the Messiah and they
thought Jesus had lost His mind. Sometime after Jesus’
resurrection, James, his mother, Mary, and possibly other family
members came to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Paul wrote that
Jesus even appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians
15:7). This was the first New Testament book to be written,
around 48 - 50 A.D. James was stoned to death because of His
faith in the year 62 A.D.
Verse 1 tells us that James wrote this book to the Jewish believers.
Because of persecution, many Jewish people who came to believe
in Jesus as the Messiah had to leave their homes and were
scattered throughout the region. So, James wrote this letter to
teach and encourage these persecuted Christians.
I found the following story on the Internet: someone let their pet
ferret play in a pile of clothes in the laundry basket. The ferret was
having a great time frolicking in the clothes. But things got bad, real
bad, and real fast. One minute he was jumping and playing, the
next second he became part of the laundry.
The mom picked up a wad of clothes, tossed it into the washing
machine, and the ferret was part of that wad. The lid was shut and
all was dark.
Can you imagine what went through the ferrets mind as the water
poured in? When the churning water finally stopped and began to
drain out the ferret must’ve thought he made it . . . then the rinse
cycle began. And just when he thought the worse was over . . . the
spin cycle began.
Later that night, the little ferret was found in the washing machine,
alive, wet and confused. I wonder if that little ferret has ever
played in the laundry basket again?
Can you relate to that ferret? Most of us can. One minute your life
is going great, and like the ferret, you’re singing and thinking it
doesn’t get any better than this.
Then all of the sudden, out of nowhere, your world becomes a
place of spinning darkness. Your boss tells you you’re laid off.
Your spouse tells you, ‘I don’t love you anymore.’ A policeman
comes to your door and asks you to come to the station. The
phone rings and you hear the words "there’s been an accident."
The doctor tells you ‘there’s nothing they can do for you.’ Or your
mother calls and tells you your dad had a heart attack.
You didn’t see it coming, but in the blink of an eye, you find
yourself sucked into the darkness and your world begins to spin
hopelessly out of control. If you haven’t been there, James tells us
someday you will.
I’ve been there. It was June 22, 1990, I was dancing in the
drizzling rain on an island somewhere off the coast of Stockholm,
Sweden. A friend came down to get me to tell me that I had a
phone call. I knew nobody in my family would have known that
phone number and they weren’t calling to say hello. They were
calling to say ‘mom has cancer and is on a respirator and they are
keeping her alive until you come home.’
Think about this past week, Korey Stringer of the Minnesota
Vikings died from heat stroke and a Northwestern University
safety, Rashidi Wallace had an asthma attack and died.
None of these were supposed to happen, but they did and our
world feels like it is spinning out of control. When that happens,
James has challenging words, yet they are words that can bring
comfort.
In verse 2, James tells us "whenever you face trials consider it pure
joy." Notice that James doesn’t say if you face trials, but when you
face trials. Trials, hardships and difficulties are part of life. If you
think your life is going to be smooth and calm, you’re fooling
yourself. Jesus warned His disciples, "in the world you will have
trouble" (John 16:33) and Paul said, "We must go through many
hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Doesn’t it sound absurd, be joyful when you face trials? Come on.
It sounds good on paper, but not in reality. But, remember,
friends, James is about building character. We know people who
have endured and people who have given up. Those who give up
turn from God if their problem isn’t resolved within 24 hours. They
get a hang nail or something doesn’t go their way and BOOM!!
They become angry at the world. You see it in their faces and in
the way they communicate. They’re bitter people and their
testimony for Christ really doesn’t exist.
Then there are those who face amazing difficulties in life and
somehow they make it to the other side. What can we learn about
those people who face their trials head on, trusting that God is
good and sovereign, trusting that while life may not make sense,
God has a plan that will work out, even though it will be painful.
When we are tested, we must confidently turn to God, trusting
Him, not in ourselves.
Do you remember the Rocky movies? Rocky was getting
pummeled in the boxing ring and every time he got back on his feet,
the people in the theater would cheer. He even got a standing
ovation -- and this was in a movie theater! It seemed impossible
that he could get back up. He didn’t get up because of his strength,
he got up because he had the desire to get up one more time.
There’s power in persevering! If we want to survive the dark days
of life, then we must develop spiritual endurance. It’s the ability to
say "There’s nothing that life can dump on me that will cause me to
turn my back on God. God has proven Himself to me and my trust
in Him is so solid that nobody or nothing can persuade me to turn
away."
This kind of endurance will sustain you through your darkest hours,
your greatest challenges, your most devastating losses. This is the
kind of endurance we all need and James tells us it’s available to
everyone.
In 5:11, James refers to Job as a man who endured trials. Job was
a successful farmer who in the midst of 24 hours lost his children,
his livestock and his body was covered with boils that caused him
to suffer day and night. When it looked as if things couldn’t get
worse, his beloved wife suggested, "if I were you, I’d curse God
and die." But Job refused. Job didn’t like what was happening.
He was very angry and confused. He asked God many questions?
The thought of turning away from God seemed to cross his mind,
yet Job remained faithful to God. He endured and persevered
through his misery. And after it was over he discovered his faith in
God was stronger.
When James tells us to consider our trials "pure joy" he doesn’t
mean we should say, "Wow! My life is falling apart! What joy!"
That’s why he uses Job as an example. Job didn’t like what was
happening to him. Job poured his heart out to God. He made
statements like...
- Why didn’t I perish at birth?...For now I would be lying down in
peace. (Job 1:11)
- I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.
(Job 1:26)
- If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed
on scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas. (Job 6:1)
- I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my
complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. (Job 10:1)
Job didn’t consider his trials "pure joy!" When James says to
consider your trials pure joy, he isn’t saying you can’t be honest
with God about the way you feel. In fact, being honest with God is
an important part of the process. Job was honest about his pain.
He poured out his hurt and anger to God. He questioned God’s
care and he wanted answers. Sometimes, we’re afraid to do that.
We fear that honestly expressing our hurt to God will push Him
away. But the opposite is really true. When we’re honest with
God, it draws us closer to him.
So, what did James mean when he said, "consider it pure joy?"
You consider it joy, not because the experience is enjoyable, but
the end result is worth the price you’re paying right now.
A good example is childbirth. When a woman gives birth to a
child, she has to endure labor pains. While there is unspeakable
pain, the pain can be counted as joy because the end result is worth
the price she paid. Of course, being in labor hurts, but you
consider the pain of labor pure joy because the end result is worth
it.
This is exactly what James is saying to us when he says "consider it
pure joy when you face trials of many kinds." It’s not because the
experiences themselves are enjoyable; it’s because we know the
end result will be worth the price we paid.
You don’t have to pretend everything is wonderful when it isn’t.
And at the same time, you can face your trials with a sense of joy
that the outcome will make it all worthwhile. But you can only do
that when you really trust that God has a plan.
Now, listen to what James says in verses 3 - 4, "the testing of your
faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."
James is telling us that our faith will be tested when we are
under-going trials. When we’re in the middle of our bad times we
can cling to God all the more tighter and demonstrate our faith or
we can push God to the side and try solving our problems
ourselves. When we trust God to help us through those difficult
times we’ll benefit. We persevere. Because we persevered, we
gain character. In Romans 5:3-5, Paul wrote something very
similar, "we rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces
endurance and endurance produces character and character
produces hope and hope does not disappoint us because God has
poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He
has given us."
Those are beautiful words from Paul and they fit right into what
James is trying to tell us. When we suffer we can still have joy,
because joy is an inner quality, it is not contingent upon our
circumstances it is contingent upon our faith and trust in God. And
as long as we persevere we will gain character. We will be
different people, better people, people who have been tested and
tried, and survived. Paul concludes that when we gain character
we also gain hope, because hope is from God, not from ourselves.
Those are the end results of what testing and trials can produce.
Obviously nobody likes to be tested, we don’t like trials, we want
control over our lives, but that isn’t real life. We’re going to be
tested, we’re going to face trials, we’re going to struggle. It may
come expectantly or it may be a shock. The key is what will we do
when they occur. In essence, James says that suffering is necessary
in order for us to become the person God wants us to be.
When you go through trials, the trial itself is not God’s purpose for
your life; the end result — becoming like Christ — is His purpose
for your life. God’s goal is to make you perfect and complete, and
the only way you can accomplish that is to endure suffering along
the way. You may say, "I don’t like that. It’s not fair. Life should
be easy." Like it or not, God is more interested in building
character than in making us comfortable.
Maybe you’d like to live in a world where eating ice cream won’t
make you fat.
Maybe you’d like to live in a world where if you flap your arms
hard enough you’ll fly. Maybe you’d like to live in a world where
the Cubs have a chance of winning the World Series. But the fact
is, we don’t.
To become the kind of person God wants you to become you have
to endure trials and hardships. As you’re going through trials, give
God time to make His changes in you, so you become the person
He wants you to be. You’ll find you can endure anything that comes
your way, because you know the end result will be worth the price
you pay.
The final lesson from James is that we must ask God for wisdom.
In other words, rely on God for help. We need to know how to
handle the adversity and trials we’re faced with. We can pray,
"Lord make sense of this for me. Help me to see Your plan and
Your hand in this trial. Show me how to respond to get the most
out of what You want for me." That’s asking for wisdom.
And James tells us not to pray half-heartedly. Don’t pray like
someone who is doubting, but asking anyway. That will never get
you anywhere. A double-minded Christian wants to do it their
way, yet they still want God to do it His way. They want some of
God and some of themselves. And that will never work. When
you pray asking for two separate answers to your prayer, you’re
being double-minded.
That’s why James compares the doubter to a wave that’s being
tossed back and forth in the sea. The doubter is someone who
changes their mind constantly, they ask for one thing and then a
different thing. There is no constancy in their requests.
One of the most important aspects of becoming an authentic
Christian is developing the characteristic of spiritual endurance.
The question is NOT, will we face trials, the question is how will
we handle the trials that come our way? Will you run for cover and
turn your back on God and give up? Or will you endure? God
promises that the end result is worth it. The trials may be difficult to
endure, but the trials aren’t God’s purpose for your life, the end
result — your becoming like Christ — is His purpose for you.
If we value comfort more than character, then trials will upset us. If
we value the material more than the spiritual, we won’t be able to
consider it joy. If we live only for the present and disregard the
future, then trials will make us bitter and not better.
One last thought, James tells us in verse 12 that people who endure
temptation are blessed, for they have withstood the test and will receive the crown of life that Jesus promised to those who love Him. Not only
will you gain character and be an awesome witness for Jesus, you
will be demonstrating your faith in Jesus, and on that last day, you
will receive the cross of eternal life. Let’s pray. .
