{"id":18684,"date":"2020-09-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/james-003-rejoicing-in-trials-part-1\/"},"modified":"2020-09-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T05:00:00","slug":"james-003-rejoicing-in-trials-part-1","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/james-003-rejoicing-in-trials-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"James 003 – Rejoicing in Trials, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[104],"series_event":[514],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18684","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-james","series_event-james","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"James 003 - Rejoicing in Trials, Part 1","sermon_date":"20200916","sermon_month":"9","sermon_year":"2020","sermon_notes":8434,"sermon_slides":8435,"sermon_mp3":8436,"sermon_id":"91620203581173","series_or_event":514,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":104,"chapter_and_verse":"1:1-5","sermon_transcript":"James 003 \u2014 091620\n\nStart 2:54\n\nJames 1:1 \u2014 We have gone through the background to the book of James, and below are the 11 questions that we asked and answered:\n
    \n \t
  1. Who wrote it?\u00a0 James<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  2. What do we know about the author?\u00a0 Christ\u2019s half-brother<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  3. Who was the audience?\u00a0 Believing Jews in the Diaspora<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  4. Where was it written from?\u00a0 Jerusalem<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  5. When was the book of James written?\u00a0 AD 44-47<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  6. What was the book\u2019s occasion?\u00a0 Practical righteousness<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  7. What is the book\u2019s purpose?\u00a0 Achieving practical righteousness<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  8. What is the book about?\u00a0 Practical righteousness<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  9. What is the book\u2019s theme? Daily living<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  10. What makes the book different? Practicality<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n \t
  11. How is the book organized? Faith and wisdom<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nSo what is the book\u2019s occasion, purpose, about \u2014 really, it is about not how to become a Christian, but about how to live as a Christian.\u00a0 We would call this a book not so much about positional righteousness but practical righteous-ness.\u00a0 Once a person is saved, how do they live for God in such a way that their practical righteousness is pleasing to God?\u00a0 Our positional righteousness is already pleasing to God.\u00a0 But how do let our practice catch up with our position; that is really what the book of James is about.\u00a0 The dominant theme is daily living<\/u><\/strong> and it is a very practical book.\u00a0 We also talked about how the book is organized around faith and wisdom.\n\nWe are moving into the actual verse by verse teaching, so we start with James 1:1, which is the salutation, a fancy name for greeting, and the greeting is found in verse 1.\u00a0 Here, we have the writer<\/strong> and the audience<\/strong> both mentioned.\u00a0 Who is the writer?\u00a0 James 1:1 \u2014James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes who are dispersed. \u00a0So who is the writer<\/strong>? \u00a0It is this man, James, but the problem is that in Greek, it doesn\u2019t say James.\u00a0 The Greek word there for his name is basically Jacob; the Hebrews would pronounce his Hebrew name as Yaakov or Jacob, just like the Jacob in the book of Genesis.\u00a0 So how do we get James out of Jacob?\u00a0 Why do we call it James? Why does every study Bible have on the top of the letter of James?\u00a0 Why is the English translation James? \u00a0This history is interesting.\u00a0 The Hebrew name is Yaakov, and that name in Hebrew, which was James' name, \u201cJacob,\u201d when translated from Hebrew into Greek, the name [lak\u014dbos<\/em>], (the name in brackets) is the result.\n\nOne of the interesting things is that the Greeks have no \u201cY\u201d sounding letter, so the \u201cY\u201d sound, Yaakov, was changed to an \u201cI\u201d sounding letter and that \u201cI\u201d sounding letter, the very first letter in that word in brackets above, so Yaakov became, if I'm pronouncing this right, \u201cAyakobas.\u201d\u00a0 This is akin to the Hebrew name for Jesus, \u201cYeshua,\u201das it became Jesus, as we pronounce it. \u00a0But Jesus in Greek, begins with an \u201cI\u201d sounding letter.\u00a0 Just as Yeshua became Jesus, in the same way, the \u201cY\u201d was changed to \u201cI\u201d as we move from Hebrew, James' name because James, for his entire life, was Jewish.\u00a0 All of Christ's disciples were Jewish; his name was Jacob, so when you take that Hebrew name and translate it into Greek, and you take into account that the Greeks have no \u201cY\u201d sounding letter, and that they substituted \u201cI\u201d for \u201cY\u201d that is the name in Greek \u2014 for the name, Jacob.\n\nThen that name was translated into Latin \u2014 why Latin?\u00a0 Around the 4th century, Jerome came up with the Latin Vulgate.\u00a0 The Roman Empire had been on the scene for a long time, and the dominant language that Rome brought in was Latin.\u00a0 Jerome was trying to create a version of the Bible that could be read in the common language, and that\u2019s why it is called the Vulgate \u2014 in that word, \u2018vulgate,\u2019 you will recognize the word, \u2018vulgar,\u2019 which essentially means \u2018earthy\u2019<\/em> or \u2018common<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Today, we use the word, \u2018vulgar\u2019 as a cuss word, but it originally meant \u2018common.\u2019 \u00a0So, Jerome translated the Greek and Hebrew into Latin in Jerome\u2019s Latin Vulgate around the 4th century.\u00a0 As Latin evolved, the \u2018I\u2019 sound, which you see here in Greek, was changed to \u2018J.\u2019 \u00a0So \u2018I\u2019 was changed to a \u2018J\u2019 sounding word as Latin evolved, thus the name, Jacobus.\n\nThen as Latin continued to evolve, the \u2018B\u2019 sounding word in Latin was replaced by an \u2018M\u2019 sounding letter, thus the name, Jacomas.\u00a0 Then when that word, Jacomas, is translated into English, we get the word, James.\u00a0 So where does the name, James, come from?\u00a0 It comes from transitioning from the Hebrew to the Greek to Latin to English.\n\nArnold Fruchtenbaum says this better than I can; in his Messianic Epistles, he says this concerning the book of James:\n\n\u201cThe author\u2019s name appears as James in English Bibles; however, that is only the anglicized form.\u00a0 His real name in the Greek text is Jacob\u2014the same as the Jacob of Genesis.\u00a0 So how did Jacob\u2019s name develop into James?\u00a0 The transition proceeded as follows: \u00a0in Hebrew, Jacob is Yaakov.\u00a0 Since the New Testament was written in Greek and Greek does not have a \u2018Y\u2019 sound, the Hebrew \u2018Y\u2019 changed to a Greek \u2018I\u2019 sound.\u00a0 Thus in Greek, his name is \u201cIakobos\u201d in the same way \u201cYeshua,\u201d the Hebrew for \u201cJesus,\u201d became the name that we have for \u2018Jesus\u2019 in Greek.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>\n\nThat is where the name that in brackets above originated.\u00a0 Fruchtenbaum goes on to say, \u201cHowever the English form<\/em>,\u201d [James, the name that we know this Bible writer by], \u201cdid not emerge directly from Greek, but via Latin<\/em>.\u201d [Fruchtenbaum doesn\u2019t explain here why they translated it into Latin, and I tried to provide that background \u00a0\u00a0through the Latin Vulgate]. \u201cWhen his name was translated to Latin, initially, it was similar to the Greek, Iakobus.\u00a0 But as Latin evolved, Iakobus of Latin became another Latin form, Jacobus.\u00a0 As the Latin language progressed, the \u2018B\u2019 changed to an \u2018M,\u2019 and his name was Jacomus.\u00a0 Finally, the Latin Jacomus became the English James.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>\n\nThe names James is not found originally in the Greek text but it goes from taking Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English. So if you want to be absolutely technical about it, the writer\u2019s name is not really James, it is Jacob.\u00a0 Arnold Fruchtenbaum, in his Messianic Epistles, refers to him as Jacob\/James, just to avoid confusion.\u00a0 So that is where this name, James, comes from.\n\nSo, when you get into the salutation or the greeting, we know who this man is \u2014 it is James, and you\u2019ll notice that he describes himself as \u201ca bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>The Greek word for bondservant is \u2018doulos<\/em>,\u2019 meaning \u2018 slave<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 So, he considered himself, although he was the half-brother of Jesus Christ per previous discussion, \u2018a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 And frankly, what has always impressed me about the biblical writers is that they don't tout their credentials.\u00a0 If you were the half-brother of Christ, wouldn\u2019t you go around telling others?\u00a0 Particularly if you're trying to add authority to your book. You will notice that the biblical writers don't typically do that; they just call themselves \u2018slaves of Jesus Christ.\u2019 <\/em>\u00a0I find that somewhat convicting because in modern day ministry, when you look at peoples\u2019 websites and bios, they spend most of the time talking about themselves, their education, experience, etc., and notice how James doesn\u2019t do that; he doesn\u2019t really want a lot of attention to go to himself\u2014he calls himself \u2018a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u2019<\/em>\n\nI tried that once, I was speaking at a conference and the guy said, well, how do you want me to introduce you?\u00a0 And I was convicted by what I am saying now, and I said, \u201cwell, why don't you just introduce me as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ?<\/em>\u201d I could see that he was rather disappointed when I said that, because he wanted to tout this kind of resum\u00e9 and wow everyone, but the fact of the matter is that is all we are when you think about it; we would be nothing without Jesus Christ, and the only thing we are as New Testament Christians is slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 A slave is not there to execute his own will, but to execute the will of his master. That is why we are on the earth; we are not here to execute our own will; we are here to execute the will of our owner because we are slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n1535\n\nHe goes on in this salutation, and gives the audience, who you already know a bit about from our background study.\u00a0 It says, \u201cJames, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes<\/u><\/strong> who are dispersed abroad:\u00a0 Greetings.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Now, \u2018twelve tribes\u2019 is very significant, so obviously he is writing to a Jewish audience.\u00a0 This is important to understand because there are a lot of people running around, even some of my seminary professors told me that the Twelve tribes are lost, the lost Twelve tribes, and they think that when God brought discipline against the northern kingdom, at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 BC, the ten northern tribes were scattered and have been lost since 700 years before Christ.\u00a0 You can see easily that this theory isn\u2019t true; even if they're lost to man, God knows where they are.\u00a0 So, he addresses the Twelve tribes.\u00a0 How do you address the Twelve tribes if they're lost?\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t make any sense.\n\n1655\n\nPaul, the apostle in Acts 26:7, makes a reference to the Twelve tribes so they weren\u2019t lost in Paul\u2019s day, and there is an elderly prophetess waiting for the Messiah in Luke 2:36 named Anna, and Luke 2:36 gives her tribal identity; she is from the tribe of Asher.\u00a0 It says, \u201cAnd there was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.\u00a0 She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,\u201d <\/em>so obviously the tribes aren\u2019t lost because we can identify which tribe she came from 700 years after the tribes were supposedly lost.\u00a0 Nor are the tribes lost today; we know that from genetics and DNA, and because in Revelation 7:4-8, the Lord is going to raise up 144,000 Jewish evangelists subsequent to the rapture of the Church to preach the gospel to the whole world, and the Twelve tribes are mentioned there.\u00a0 There are 12,000 from each tribe, \u201c\u2026from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher; twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali<\/em>,\u2026\u201d and down the list where it says, \u201ctwelve thousand from each tribe<\/em>;\u201d 12,000 times 12 = 144,000. The bottom line is that the tribes weren\u2019t lost in James\u2019 day or in Paul's day, they weren\u2019t lost in Christ's day, nor are they lost today; but even if they are lost to man, which they aren\u2019t, God knows where they are, and God is going to use them again in the end times.\u00a0 So, don't pay any attention to Mysteries of the Bible; A & E, the History Channel, when they start blathering about the lost tribes of Israel.\n\nAgain, it says in the salutation, \u201cJames, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the Twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad\u201d <\/u><\/strong><\/em>[the word \u2018dispersed\u2019<\/em> there is \u2018Diaspora<\/em>,\u2019 or scattered<\/em><\/strong>] meaning that they\u2019ve been scattered<\/em><\/strong> outside the land of Israel.\u00a0 Who kicked them outside the land of Israel?\u00a0 Saul of Tarsus in Acts 8:3,4 and Acts 11:19 did when Saul became very angry after Stephen made his speech condemning Israel historically and presently in Acts 7.\u00a0 It says in Acts 8:3 (this is before his conversion in Acts 9), \u201cBut Saul<\/u><\/strong> began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.\u00a0 Therefore, those who had been scattered<\/u><\/strong> went about preaching the word\u2026\u201d <\/em>Then in Acts 11:19, it says, \u201cSo then those who were scattered<\/u><\/strong> because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.\u201d<\/em>\n\n\u00a0<\/em>So, outside of those places that are mentioned, the Jews went one of two places \u2014 up north into north central Turkey, and to Babylon. Why would they go to Babylon?\u00a0 That is where their kin were because most of the Jews did not return from the Babylonian captivity.\u00a0 Thus, they either went up north or to Babylon.\u00a0 I am of the view that James is writing to the scattered<\/em><\/strong> Hebrew Christians in Babylon primarily because later, Peter is going to address the folks up north, so that would leave the folks in Babylon unaddressed, thus, I think James\/Jacob is writing from Jerusalem to his parishioners because all of these folks used to be in his church, the Jerusalem church, but they were scattered<\/em><\/strong> by Saul of Tarsus into Babylon.\u00a0 To reiterate, that is what is meant by the word, \u2018dispersed<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 The word there \u2018Diaspora\u2019<\/em> means Jews, in this case, it is Hebrew Christian believers in Yeshua living outside the land of Israel, likely in Babylon.\n\nThe word, \u2018Diaspora\u2019<\/em> is only used three times in the Greek New Testament, and every single time it refers to Jews living outside the land; in other words, it is a technical term which always refers to Jews living outside the land. The three references referring to the Greek word, \u2018Diaspora<\/em>:\u2019\n\n-The first one is in John 7:35 which says, \u201cThe Jews then said to one another, Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him?\u00a0 Will He go where our people live, scattered<\/strong> (that is the word \u2018Diaspora\u2019) among\u00a0the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?<\/em>\n\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 -<\/em>The second reference is in 1 Peter 1:1 where Peter says, \u201cTo those who reside as aliens scattered<\/strong>, that is the second use of the word, Diaspora, throughout Pontus, Galatia Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia who are chosen.<\/em>\u201d Those are the ones who made their way up north into north central Turkey, where Peter would address them, and it would make sense that Peter would address those Jews living there because Paul was the apostle to the gentiles, and Peter was the apostle to the Jews.\u00a0 Therefore we believe that both Peter letters are written to the Diaspora Jews living in north central Turkey.\n\n-The third use of the word Diaspora<\/em> is here in James 1:1 which refers to the scattered<\/em><\/strong> Jews thanks to Saul of Tarsus living in the Babylon area.\u00a0 The bottom line is that because the word Diaspora<\/em>, is a technical word, always meaning the same thing every time it is used, we believe that this book was written by Jacob\/James, pastor of the Jerusalem church to his scattered<\/strong> flock in the area of Babylon between the Euphrates and the Tigris, modern-day Iraq, and James is addressing them because he is their pastor.\u00a0 They're concerned about practical righteousness, and James wanted to address that issue, and they got kicked out of there from Israel to Babylon thanks to the persecution brought against the early church, which was all Jewish, by Saul of Tarsus.\n\nJames, therefore, says to the Twelve tribes dispersed, \u201cGreetings<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Greetings is a salutation, and he is sending his greetings.\u00a0 So that takes us outside of verse 1, and once we get outside of verse 1 and into verse 2, we move into the first half of the book, which is basically teaching these people to live by faith outside of the land.\n\nThe first part of the book is James 1:1-3:12 where he says that a practical righteousness that pleases God is a righteousness that lives by faith.\u00a0 <\/strong>\n\nIn the second part of the book beginning in chapter 3:13 through the end of the book, he will get into the subject of wisdom, which is knowledge applied.\u00a0 He will deal with that later, but that\u2019s not what he is dealing with in the first part of the book \u2014 he is dealing with trusting God through all kinds of circumstances.\u00a0 He wants these people who are already saved to continue<\/em> to walk by faith as they walk through trials per James 1:2-18; as they obey God's Word in James 1:19-27; as they not<\/em> show favoritism in the assembly or the synagogue per James 2:1-13 and as they allow their serving<\/em> faith to demonstrate itself through good works per James 2:14-26.\u00a0 However, the ultimate good work you can do is to \u2018keep your mouth shut<\/em>\u2019 per James 3:1-12, because if you can master that good work, all the other good works are easy, yet that\u2019s the hardest thing for us to do.\n\nSo this is basically the outline for the first half of the book of James. \u00a0As time permits, we are going to look at the subject of trials. How do we live lives as Christians where our practice catches up with our position \u2014 where we\u2019re not just pleasing to God in terms of our position but in terms of our daily lives to the point where He doesn\u2019t really have to bring discipline upon us\u2014how to do that exactly?\n\nWell, the first thing to do is to develop the right perspective on trials or adversity.\u00a0 He is going to deal with this in James 1:2-18, and that section has two major parts to it.\u00a0 He is teaching his readers, and us by extension, how to rejoice during trials per James 1:2-12.\u00a0 Next, he will teach us how not to charge God foolishly in the midst of trials.\u00a0 He will do that in James 1:13-18, because the problem with us is that when we run into difficulty, we always want to blame God, and we tend to say that God is trying to wreck our lives; God is trying to destroy us.\u00a0 So that we don't adopt that mindset, he instructs us in James 1:13-18.\n\nWe will start that first section where he teaches us that to achieve a practical righteousness that is pleasing to God, we need to develop a mindset where we rejoice in the midst of adversity.\u00a0 So why should we rejoice in the midst of adversity as a New Testament Christian?\u00a0 Three reasons:\n
      \n \t
    1. Trials produce something.\u00a0 God produces things in our lives in the midst of trials that cannot and will not be produced any other way:\u00a0 by patience<\/strong> and maturity<\/strong>.\u00a0 When we go through adversity, we should rejoice in the midst of it because we have a promise from God that He is using that circumstance to produce patience<\/strong> and maturity<\/strong> in us (James 1:2-8).<\/li>\n \t
    2. Trials produce intimacy and dependence upon God (James 1:9-11). \u00a0Isn\u2019t it interesting that our prayer lives have a tendency to pick up some in terms of frequency and intensity when thing are difficult?\u00a0 When things are going well, we have a tendency to say to the Lord, \u2018I've got this under control, I'll check in with you when I need you.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 But when we are going through a trial, it\u2019s different because now we have to depend upon the Lord to get through it.\u00a0 Thus, the trial itself will push us into the arms of Jesus if<\/em><\/strong> we don't become embittered at God in the midst of it.<\/li>\n \t
    3. The third reason we should rejoice in the midst of trials is James 1:12, where we are promised that believers are rewarded in the next life for enduring trials in this life, because the psalmist says that God keeps our tears in a bottle.\u00a0 In other words, He keeps a record of our sufferings, and the day will come in the next life where He will reward us for every single injustice or adversity that we have suffered in this life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n3118\n\nSo when we keep those three things in mind while encountering a trial, it\u2019s easy to rejoice in the midst of it.\n\nHaving said that, let's start with our first one:\n
        \n \t
      1. Why should we rejoice in the midst of trials?\u00a0 Because trials produce patience and maturity<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 James 1:2, \u201cConsider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0Joy is, I don't believe, the same thing as happiness.\u00a0 Happiness comes from the word, \u2018happenstance\u2019<\/em> from \u2018hap\u2019<\/em> or \u2018luck<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 The world will say that we can experience tranquility or peace when things are going well.\u00a0 Joy, which we talked about in the book of Philippians, is the ability to experience the peace of God; to experience a deep, down abiding sense that God is in control even when things goes south or become difficult; that\u2019s what joy is.\u00a0 Therefore when we enter into a valley in our lives, James says to consider it all<\/em><\/strong> This is the exact opposite reaction that we get from people who are worldly and who don't have the Holy Spirit inside of them; they don't even have the foggiest idea how to tap into this because it is something that can only be tapped into through the resources of God; that\u2019s why James said, \u201cConsider it all joy, my brethren.<\/em>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nOnly believers have the resources necessary to rejoice in the midst of adversity; an unbeliever doesn\u2019t have the vaguest clue.\u00a0 It reminds me of what Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:11-12, \u201cBlessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because<\/strong> of Me<\/em> \u2014 read Matthew 5:12, \u201cRejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you<\/em>.\u201d As maturing Christians, how are we supposed to react when people insult us?\u00a0 Persecuted\u2014for example, social media gives people a lot of opportunities to do this in our day and age; to insult us and run YouTube videos against us, saying all kinds of things that aren\u2019t true.\u00a0 What do we do in the midst of that?\u00a0 My own carnal reaction is to consider making my own video to get back at them.\u00a0 No, what the Bible says is that we are supposed to rejoice in the midst of that.\n\nBy the way, we should make sure we're being persecuted for the right reasons.\u00a0 \u201cAll kinds of evil about you because of me<\/strong><\/em>\u201d \u2014 many people are persecuted just because they're obnoxious.\u00a0 We had a situation in a college not far from where I grew up where there were some Christians who would get big bullhorns and microphones using them to shout \u2018hellfire and brimstone\u2019<\/em> at the students who were going to class. \u2018Repent; turn or burn,\u201d <\/em>etc. \u00a0Some even painted their clothes like fire and their cars, etc. Then the administration would clamp down on them, and they\u2019d say that they were being persecuted for the Lord.\u00a0 No<\/strong>, they weren\u2019t being persecuted for the Lord, they were being persecuted because they were acting like idiots.\n\nSo, when we're being persecuted, we should make sure it is for the right reasons.\u00a0 Jesus said, \u201cpersecuted because of Me<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> but when<\/em><\/strong> it happens, not <\/em><\/strong>if, because 2 Timothy 3:12 says that it is impossible for all to live a godly life in Christ Jesus without<\/em> being persecuted.\u00a0 In 2 Timothy 3:12, \u201cAll who seek to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 At some point we will be treated unfairly, or slandered, passed over for a promotion, etc., by someone, so when it happens, what we are instructed to do is to rejoice and be glad.\u00a0 And that is what James is saying here, \u201cConsider it all joy, my brethren, whenever you encounter various trials<\/em>.\u201d\n\nNow think about this:\u00a0 what trial had this immediate audience been experiencing?\u00a0 They had been persecuted by Saul of Tarsus who was dragging them off, putting some of them in prison, kicking them out of the land of Israel and into the Diaspora<\/em>.\u00a0 So we lose our home, or perhaps disconnected from our family, or lose our employment, and mwe can see why this<\/em> audience was struggling with how to react in the midst of this.\n\nSo, James, their pastor, writes them and says that when these kind of things happen to you, to consider it all joy.\u00a0 Now, you might be reading this and saying, \u201cwell, that\u2019s their circumstance, this doesn\u2019t relate to me; I haven\u2019t lost my job, my house, my country; I haven\u2019t been exiled, so this doesn\u2019t apply to me<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Well, look very carefully at what James says: he uses language that is broad enough to go outside of the immediate context of his readers to any<\/em> trial someone experiences as a New Testament believer.\u00a0 He says, \u201cConsider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various<\/strong> trials.<\/em>\u201d You will notice that there are various<\/em><\/strong> trials; that trials and difficulties is not a one size fits all.\u00a0 There are all kind<\/em><\/strong> of trials we go through at different levels.\u00a0 The word, \u2018various\u2019<\/em><\/strong> is interesting when studied in Greek.\u00a0 That word was used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to describe the coat of many colors that Jacob put on Joseph that invoked the brothers\u2019 jealousy.\u00a0 When the Septuagint translators wanted to describe that coat of many colors, they used this word, \u2018various<\/em><\/strong>,\u2019 the same word used here.\u00a0 The point is that trials are a sort of technicolor, like the various colors of the rainbow; there are all kinds of trials God puts us through in terms of scope, size, degree\u2014maybe one year it will be a physical problem, the next month it is a relational problem, then a financial problem.\u00a0 It\u2019s the idea that God is using all<\/em><\/strong> of these \u2018multi-colored\u2019 various<\/em><\/strong> trials to mold and shape our character in a particular way.\n\nFor example, I might have a particular blot in my character that only a certain piece of sandpaper can fix, and God knows which piece of sandpaper is going to fix that problem, and He knows how to use the exact trial at the precise time in my life to round off that particular deficiency\u2014not in my position, but in my practice.\n\nAgain, that is what is meant here by various<\/em><\/strong> trials.\u00a0 You might say, \u2018their trial is different from mine.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 James uses language that is broad enough to include a type of a rainbow; multi-colored issues.\n\n1 Peter 4:10 uses the same word, \u2018various\u2019<\/em><\/strong> to describe the various<\/em><\/strong> forms of God's grace.\u00a0 It says, \u2018each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various<\/strong> forms<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 So when you use your spiritual gift or gifts, a certain color comes out in the grace of God in His church.\u00a0 When the person next to you uses their spiritual gifting, another color comes out, and if all of us are using our spiritual gifts in harmony with each other, we have a multi-colored technicolor rainbow. That is the same word, \u2018various\u2019<\/em><\/strong> in 1 Peter 4:10 that is used here in James 1:2.\u00a0 So when you encounter any of these trials, James says to consider it not just<\/em> joy, consider it all<\/em><\/strong> joy.\n\nObviously when he says, \u2018my brethren<\/em>,\u2019 this is something that could only apply to Christians because only Christians would have the resources necessary to rejoice in the midst of adversity.\u00a0 What could an unbeliever know about it?\u00a0 Nothing.\n\nSo, why in the world, when I encounter a trial or trials of various<\/em><\/strong> kinds, would I ever think about rejoicing in the midst of it?\u00a0 His point here in James 1:2-8 is what that trial(s) is going to produce.\u00a0 What exactly will it produce?\u00a0 It will produce two things:\n
          \n \t
        1. It is going to produce patience<\/strong> (James 1:3)<\/li>\n \t
        2. It is going to produce maturity<\/strong> (James 1:4)<\/li>\n \t
        3. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\nShow me a Christian that never goes through these various<\/em><\/strong> trials, and I will show you a Christian that has no patience<\/strong> or endurance in daily life; one who is lacking in maturity<\/strong>.\u00a0 The purpose of our going through these trials is that they are producing those two things automatically.\n\nLook at verse 3, patience<\/strong>, and then we will move to maturity<\/strong>.\u00a0 Notice what James 1:3 says, \u201cknowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that it says that \u2018the testing of your faith\u2019<\/em> \u2014 that means his audience already has faith because something that doesn\u2019t exist cannot be tested.\u00a0 That is clear evidence that he is writing to Christians; believers; he is not dealing with them in the first tense of their salvation but in the second tense of their salvation.\n\nAgain, using the quote from Lewis Sperry Chafer that we showed last time, here James is not dealing with saving<\/em> faith but with serving<\/em> faith.\u00a0 He is not dealing with saving<\/em> faith but with sanctifying<\/em> faith, and I like the way Lewis Sperry Chafer says this: \u201c\u2026The justified one, having become what he is by faith, must go ahead living on the same principle of utter dependence upon God<\/em>.\u201d So this isn\u2019t evangelism here, this is how to get saved people to keep living on the faith that they already have and move on into maturity<\/strong> because in the Christian life faith is like a muscle, for example, if you go back to 24-hour fitness without having been there for five years (\u201cthis fits me pretty well, because I went in there with a kind of \u2018he-man\u2019 attitude thinking I could go back and do stuff that I did in my 20s, and did that make me sore for a couple of weeks! I am barely getting over it<\/em>\u201d). \u00a0But now why was I so sore? \u00a0Because these muscles were not being used for a long period of time so they were atrophying.\u00a0 Muscle only gains strength in the natural world when it is used consistently \u2014 like the saying, \u2018if you don't use it, you lose it<\/em>). Isn\u2019t that true with faith? How is your faith ever supposed to go to the next level if you're never placed in a circumstance where you have to trust God for your problems?\u00a0 Until God puts into your life something that\u2019s too big for you, then you have to trust God to get you through it; that is your faith muscle is being exercised.\n\nThis is what James is talking about regarding the testing of your faith.\u00a0 What do the trials produce?\u00a0 The testing of your faith, and then he says, that<\/em> in turn, produces endurance<\/strong> (James 1:3) or patience<\/strong>.\u00a0 The Greek word endurance<\/strong> here is \u2018hupomon\u00e9<\/em>\u2019, and it has to do with the ability to endure<\/strong> as a Christian whatever God has called you to do \u2014 in the midst of adverse and unfair treatment.\u00a0 \u2018Hupomon\u00e9\u2019 <\/em>is something sorely lacking in the Body of Christ today because the average Christian when joining a church, figures out pretty fast that the church is not perfect.\u00a0 By the way, if you find a perfect church, don't join that church because your<\/em><\/strong> imperfection will ruin that church.\n\nSo, the first relational problem or disappointment that they encounter, boom, they're out that door and off to the next church.\u00a0 Then after a little time passes, and the same circumstances occur somewhere else \u2014 the trial is a little different, and boom, they're off to the next church.\u00a0 So, there is just a lack of steadfastness or what we call, \u2018hupomon\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>,\u2019<\/em> endurance<\/em><\/strong> under trial.\n\nThis is what God is trying to produce in us.\u00a0 He is trying to get us to the point where we are enduring difficulty for His glory. That, by the way, is one of the fruit of the Spirit \u2014 \u201clove, joy, peace, patience<\/strong>, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control \u2014 against such things there is no law<\/em>.\u201d\n\nPaul gives the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4, \u2018Love is patient; love is kind, is not jealous, does not brag, is not arrogant<\/em>,\u2019 etc., so one of the things that God wants to produce in us is patience<\/strong>.\u00a0 Have you ever prayed? \u2018Lord, give me patience<\/strong>, and give it to me right now<\/em>!\u2019\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t work that way.\u00a0 Patience<\/strong> comes through having a multi-colored trial come into your life for which you have to trust God.\u00a0 That\u2019s where patience<\/strong> comes from.\u00a0 That is why James says, \u2018when you hit that trial, rejoice!<\/em>\u2019 because look at what God will do in your life now; He will produce patience<\/strong>, so you will exercise that faith muscle; those opportunities wouldn\u2019t be there without the trial.\n\nLet\u2019s be honest, we really don't trust God unless we have to, right?\u00a0 I don't. \u00a0I would rather do anything than trust God; I would rather figure everything out for myself, execute things in my own strength, and I can get pretty good at that in my flesh.\u00a0 Then God says, \u201cI will fix that problem. I'll give you a problem that you can't handle<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 And then comes anxiety because you can't fix the problem.\u00a0 Finally as a last resort, we say, \u2018Lord, can you help me with this?<\/em>\u00a0 And the Lord says, \u2018that\u2019s the response I wanted in the beginning.\u00a0 So now we will exercise your faith muscle and you will learn patience<\/strong><\/em>.\u2019 Now without the trial you can't learn patience, so when you hit the trial, James says to, \u2018rejoice in it,<\/em> knowing <\/u><\/em><\/strong>that the testing of your faith produces endurance.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>So this is a promise of God\u2014that when you hit a trial, if you're open to the leading of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, God will use that to build into you something that isn\u2019t there naturally \u2014 patience<\/strong>.\n\nThen as patience is allowed to have its work, it leads to maturity<\/strong>.\u00a0 James 1:4, \u201cAnd let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.\u00a0 <\/em>The way the NASB says this is to \u2018allow\u2019<\/em> or \u2018let<\/em>;\u2019 let<\/em> endurance have its result. In fact, the word, \u2018have\u2019<\/em> there in Greek, is a command; a Greek imperative, and he is telling me that under stress, to let God do what He wants to do, which implies that I have the ability, as a New Testament Christian, to shut down the process. \u00a0If it is telling me as a command to let patience<\/strong> have its result, that means that I must have an ability as a New Testament Christian, to not<\/em><\/strong> let patience<\/strong> have its result.\u00a0 Make sense? It wouldn\u2019t be a command if I didn\u2019t have the ability to shut it down because a command implies that I have the ability to disobey the command.\n\nIt reminds me of 1 Thessalonians 5:19 which says, \u201cDo not quench the Spirit.<\/em>\u201d \u00a0How do you quench the Spirit in your life?\u00a0 By not cooperating with the Lord in the midst of trials.\u00a0 By not letting it make you better, you become bitter.\u00a0 Frankly, 75-80% of American Christians are right there because they\u2019ve been taught a version of Christianity that is a life of ease and prosperity, of self-empowerment; and when they hit an adversity, they believe that God has cheated them since they\u2019ve been mistaught, or they're just angry at God for allowing this to happen.\u00a0 They close down the process, they don't let patience have its work, so they stay in the same place of immaturity for decades.\u00a0 Then God tries to get their attention again by giving them another problem, and they have the same result.\u00a0 They don't get closer to God; they get further away from Him.\u00a0 I think that is what it means when it says, \u201cDo not quench the Spirit<\/em>.\u201d\n\nIt has to do with how we are going to react in the midst of adversity. To a large extent, you cannot control the adversity that comes into your life unless you bring it on yourself by dumb decisions.\u00a0 But that isn\u2019t what James is talking about here; he is talking about adversity beyond our control<\/strong>.\u00a0 These people have been kicked out of their land, their homes; they're living in the Diaspora<\/em>; they didn\u2019t ask for\u00a0 but that is what happened to them, and they have no control over this adversity that they\u2019ve suffered.\n\nBut here is what you<\/strong> can<\/strong> control<\/strong>:\u00a0 your reaction<\/em><\/strong> to the adversity.\u00a0 That is totally within your control, and how you respond to it, determines whether you will be a growing or a stagnant Christian.\u00a0 So, let patience<\/strong> have its perfect work because, that in turn, will put you into a situation so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.\u00a0 The Greek in this passage for complete or lacking in nothing is \u2018telios\u2019<\/em> which means the end; it doesn\u2019t mean sinless; it means you sin less; you are growing up, maturing<\/em><\/strong>; no longer sucking your thumb.\u00a0 You are out of diapers; like we experienced with our daughter while she was learning to walk\u2014when she was a toddler and couldn\u2019t walk without parental support, but how exciting it was when she was walking on her own!\u00a0 So that is what it means \u2014 \u2018telios<\/em>;\u2019 maturity<\/strong>; lacking in nothing; you are on the road to growth.\n\nThat is what happens when we allow trials to have the work that God wants to do in us through those trials.\u00a0 Patience is developed, verse 3, maturity<\/strong> starts to be developed verse 4, and that is why James 1:2 says \u2018when you hit the trial, rejoice because look at what God is going to do through it<\/em>.\u2019 You will become a more patient person than you were last year because of your trial in 2020, and you will become a more mature<\/strong>, spiritually speaking, person than you were because of your trial.\u00a0 So, James says to rejoice.\n\nNow this is the problem with drugs; this is why our society is hooked on drugs.\u00a0 I am not a medical doctor, but even many so-called prescription drugs, alcohol, all of these kind of substances \u2014 are trying to numb the pain; the user is trying to pretend the pain is not there by injecting or ingesting some kind of substance that numbs the pain.\u00a0 As they're numbing the pain, all of those years of maturity<\/strong> are forfeited because God actually uses pain to bring us to maturity<\/strong>.\u00a0 So, if you get yourself involved with something that numbs the pain to non-existence, then all of those years of maturity<\/strong> where you could have actually been maturing<\/strong>, have been forfeited.\n\nPeople who have been on drugs since their youth are basically like emotional infants because they forfeited all of the \u00a0years of potential growth which they could have experienced.\u00a0 I am not here to give medical advice about what legal drugs people should or shouldn\u2019t be on, I am just saying to think about it since we are living in a culture that says to take \u2018this pill\u2019 or \u2018this shot.\u2019\u00a0 The goal is to numb the pain; whoever said that all pain is bad?\u00a0 Obviously, God can use pain, and here I am talking primarily about emotional pain that will take us to the next level of faith.\n\n5704\n\nYou might say, \u2018Gee Pastor Andy, I don't think like this; I sure don't rejoice in the midst of my trials, so what should I do? How do I get myself into such a position to have the mind of God that you're describing in the midst of trials because I don't have it naturally<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 James tells you exactly how to get the mind of God in James 1:5, \u201cBut if any of you lacks wisdom\u201d<\/em> (the mind of God in trials).\u00a0 I don't have the mind of God in trials; I don't react with rejoicing in the midst of trials, so how do I get the divine perspective)? \u00a0James says, \u2018\u2019But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,\u201d<\/em> (not your counselor, not Dr. Phil) \u201clet him ask of God <\/em>(now isn\u2019t that interesting how we will go and talk to everyone and anyone about our problems except for the Lord, when it is only the Lord who can give us the right perspective on problems)\u2026\u201dif any of you lacks wisdom, let<\/em> him ask of God<\/em>\u201d (now, is God really going to give wisdom to me)?\u00a0 The remainder of verse 5 says, \u201c\u2026God<\/em> who gives to all generously without reproach, and it will be given to him.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>So, if readers lack this perspective, they should ask in faith of God, and He will give them His point of view on trials.\n\nNow, is God in the wisdom business?\u00a0 If you ask God for wisdom on something, is He the type of God that answers that request?\u00a0 We don't have to look far in the Bible to see that God gave wisdom beyond their abilities to many people.\u00a0 Remember what He did for Solomon?\u00a0 1 Kings 3:5, \u201c\u2026the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night and said, \u201cAsk what you wish Me to give to you.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>How would you like this dream; how would you like for God to show up in a dream tonight and tell you to ask whatever you want and He will give it to you?\u00a0 That was in 1 Kings 3:5, so what does Solomon ask for?\u00a0 In verse 9, \u201cSo give Your servant an understanding heart to judge between good and evil.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 So, Solomon had become the third king of the united kingdom; he reigned for 40 years, probably very young at this point in his tenure, and he said, \u2018well the only thing I really want from You, Lord, is wisdom on how to be a king; how do I do the job<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 So God answers in 1 Kings 3:12, \u201cBehold, I have done according to your words.\u00a0 Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.<\/em>\u201d In other words, you will be unique, Solomon, I am going to give you wisdom.\n\nThat is why Solomon authored 3 books of the Old Testament:\u00a0 Ecclesiastes, Proverbs and Song of Solomon.\u00a0 Song of Solomon, first, Proverbs, second, and Ecclesiastes, third. Why would Solomon write 3 books of the Old Testament?\u00a0 Because God gave him wisdom.\u00a0 Solomon was involved in many poems, Proverbs, zoology, and botany; all kinds of literature \u2014 because he asked God for wisdom.\u00a0 Then God says this, \u201cI have also given you what you have not<\/strong> asked for<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Solomon could have asked for riches and honor; for the death of his enemies.\u00a0 Solomon never asked for an of that; he just said \u2018give me wisdom so I can govern your people<\/em>.\u2019 And God said, \u2018not only am I going to answer that request but I'm going to answer all of the other requests that you never asked for.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 1 Kings 3:13, \u201cI have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you in all your days.<\/em>\u201d\n\nSo, you read a story like that and you say, \u2018Wow, God is in the wisdom business.\u00a0 God wants to give wisdom.<\/em>\u2019 Now in this context<\/strong>, it is dealing with wisdom in trials; there is a specific context<\/strong> here, but I believe that almost any matter that you inquire of God, this is true as was in the case of Solomon, so God will give you His wisdom if you really want it on that matter.\n\nThis context<\/strong>, though, is dealing with wisdom<\/em>, or \u2018sofia<\/em>\u2019 or \u2018chokm\u00e2h\u2019<\/em> or right standing; right understanding concerning trials, and is God going to hold out on us when we ask that kind of thing of Him?\u00a0 No, James 1:5 says, \u201cBut if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 \u2018Well, gee, don't I have to be a member of Sugar Land Bible Church to get that kind of wisdom<\/em>?\u00a0 No, God gives it without reproach.\u00a0 \u2018Well, don't I have to be an elder, a deacon, a pastor to get that kind of wisdom<\/em>?\u2019\u00a0 No, God gives to everyone who wants it without reproach.\u00a0 \u2018Well, don't I have to be walking with the Lord for 800 years to get this?<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 No, God gives it to anyone who asks for it without reproach because God shows no partiality<\/strong> per Acts 10:34.\n\nRomans 2:11, \u201cThere is no partiality with God<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 God is not like a person where you have to butter them up, get on their good side, give them a few compliments, schmooze, and then get what you want.\u00a0 No, that is not how God is.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t care about your status, your standing, where you live, which neighborhood, your socioeconomic bracket.\u00a0 He is so interested in giving wisdom to anyone who wants it that He will give it.\n\nSo that is how we get the divine perspective on trials which produce patience and endurance as you walk through these trials so that we can rejoice in the midst of these trials.\u00a0 If we are not rejoicing in the midst of trials, maybe we need to ask God for His mind on the subject.\u00a0 If we are just getting angry at God for having to go through trials, then maybe we don't have His mind on it, and if we don't have His mind on it, maybe we should ask for His mind on it, and He will give it without reproach.\u00a0 If fact, that is what He is doing here in James 1:2-5.\n\nBut when we ask, are we supposed to ask in a particular way?\u00a0 Yes, we are, and I can't talk about it right now as we are out of time, so we will pick it back up in James 1:6 next time.\u00a0 When we ask of God,x we have to ask a particular way; it isn\u2019t even a particular way, we have to ask with a particular attitude because our attitude determines our altitude with God \u2014 it is all about our attitude.\u00a0 So, if we are coming to God with the wrong attitude, He won't answer us, but if we come to God with the right attitude, He will answer.\n\nEND","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t