“THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN FACES TOUGH TIMES”
James 1:1-12
INTRO – Begin series out of James today – “The Genuine Christian Life.” Theme of James – the marks of maturity in the Christian life. James dealing with several different issues and problems in this book, but all are due to spiritual immaturity on the part of the readers.
There is a tremendous need within the church today for maturing believers, genuine Christians who go beyond mere words about their Christian life. There is a great need for those who will “walk the talk,” who will live out the Christian devotion with a life of obedience and service to their Lord. James will challenge us later in this chapter when he says that we ought to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” (1:22). Wiersbe – “Spiritual maturity is one of the greatest needs in churches today. Too many churches are playpens for babies instead of workshops for adults. The members are not mature enough to eat the solid spiritual food that they need, so they have to be fed milk…God is looking for mature men & women to carry on His work, & sometimes all He can find are little children who cannot even get along w/ each other.”
If we are going to get the most out our study of this book, then there are some basic essentials that must be present in each of our lives:
- First, we must know Jesus personally as our Savior and Lord. Can’t talk about spiritual maturity if we’ve never been born again. Stop right here.
- Secondly, we must honestly evaluate our lives in the light of God’s Word. Notice that we evaluate in light of God’s Word & not in light of someone else’s life. James compares the Bible to a mirror (1:23) – we see ourselves as we really are. Too many people are like the savage who looked at himself in a mirror for the first time. So shocked by what he saw that he broke the mirror.
- Third, we must obey – PERIOD!
- Fourth & finally, be prepared for some extra trials and temptations. If we get serious about growing in spiritual maturity and living an obedient Christian life, our enemy is going to certainly notice and step up his attacks against us. Don’t be surprised if over the course of the next 9 weeks you find yourself tempted & tested in many different ways. There will be tons of different excuses and reasons to miss church and miss the study of this book. The enemy will be firing barrage after barrage of flaming arrows at your spiritual heart as you commit to growing in spiritual maturity.
That’s where we begin today – The genuine Christian faces tough times. (Show video clip – Barney buys a car)
Tough time tips for genuine Christian:
Tough Time Tip #1 – Expect the tough times to come – v. 2
The word is “whenever” not “if.” I looked at 17 different Bible translations and versions. Every one of them had either the word “whenever” or “when” in this verse. Didn’t find a single one that said “if.” Point is: Tough times are inevitable. They are a part of life, and not just life in general, but they are an expected, inevitable part of the Christian life. If you got saved and expected to have an easy life after that, you’ve got a big wake-up call coming if you haven’t already had it.
Def. of “trials” – a putting to the test. We talk about doing “trial runs” in different situations, meaning that we are going to put something to the test. Going to try something out to see if it works, if it’s for real.
The trials and tough times that God allows to come into our lives are those times where our faith is put to the test. Those are the times when we find out if what we believe about God is for real, when we find out if it works.
Just like Barney Fife in the video clip, how many times have you found yourself cruising along in life, everything seems to be going fine, and then the breakdown happens? While the actual time of trial may be unexpected – the shock of the death of a loved one; the loss of a job; the buyout of the mill; an accident or illness that changes your life; a major letdown or disappointment by a friend – the fact that you are going through a tough time ought not to surprise you at all. Jesus told us in John 16:33 – “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.”
Tough Time Tip #2 – Keep the right perspective – v. 2a
What is the right perspective for the genuine Christian? JOY! “What? How can you have joy when tough times come?” Key word – “consider” or “count” (KJV). Means “to evaluate; to lead out before the mind; to view.” When we accept Christ as our Savior, we must evaluate our lives and set new priorities and goals. Things that once were important to us pale in significance to the “surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.” And when the tough times come to our lives, we must evaluate them in the light of what G is doing for us.
That’s why the genuine Christian can have joy in the midst of trials and difficulties. The genuine Christian lives for the things that matter most. The genuine Christian is not living for worldly success and gain. Not living for power and position. Not living to be entertained and have his/her needs met, but living only to glorify God and please Him in every way. Our values are different; our priorities are different; our passions are different. If we are living only for the here and now, then trials and tough times will upset us. If we are more concerned about the physical than the spiritual, then tough times will upset us.
But when we truly evaluate our lives as children of God, we’ll see and understand that as the old song says, “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through” and we can have joy in the midst of our tough times. Clinton White – how can he be at youth camp just 2 ½ months after death of wife? Perspective! Hurting as bad as anyone could possibly hurt in this life, but perspective of joy b/c his priorities and passions are not worldly priorities and passions.
Tough Time Tip #3 – Remember that God is at work – v. 3-4
God’s desire for each of our lives is that we know Him personally & that we grow in our walk with Him. There is no Christian anywhere whom God has saved and then said, “OK, now stay the way you are and don’t ever take any steps of maturity and growth. I want you to remain a baby Christian for your entire life.”
As ridiculous as that sounds, that’s how many of us live our lives. We reach a certain level of spiritual maturity and just stay there, which is really an indication of spiritual immaturity.
But God’s desire for us is that we continue growing, developing perseverance and maturity and completeness in our spiritual lives. And that is a lifelong process. God uses ALL of the tough times that He allows to come into our lives to grow us, mature us, develop us, strengthen us, change us, and teach us. The perseverance factor is so important in our walk with Christ. Perseverance is the staying power that you and I have when we totally trust God no matter what our circumstances around us look like. GOD IS ALWAYS AT WORK to grow us up in our faith. C.S. Lewis – “God whispers in our pleasures but shouts in our pain.”
Dover, Pennsylvania flooded. Ruby Selack. Her favorite Bible was among possessions totally submerged when five feet of water entered her home. In the cleanup she laid the book out to dry, opened at random.
The following night she returned, and 20 to 30 pages had folded over and a pointed piece of metal had fallen on the Bible from the ledge above. The piece of metal, she reported, pointed to Psalm 93, part of which reads: "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea..."
Remember that when the floods come, God is at work.
Tough Time Tip #4 – God gives us the wisdom we need – v. 5-8
God does not expect us to understand everything. We are not going to know every reason that we are going through our difficult days. Sometimes we have to rest in the fact that He tells us in Isa. 55 that His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
But while we may not understand all that He is doing, we can and should ask Him for the wisdom we need to make the most of the tough times that we are enduring. We need wisdom so we will make the most of the opportunities God is giving us to mature. With the wisdom that God WILL give to us when we ask for it, we can understand how our tough times merge into God’s plan for our lives. How we need this wisdom! God’s wisdom brings commitment to His plan as we trust in Him, asking in faith, and living according to His will. It brings steadfastness and strength, not doubt and wavering.
CONCLUSION – One of first sermons I preached was from this passage. Title – “The Purpose of Trials.” Secretary made typo – “the Purpose of Trails.” But point is that as we go down the trails of life as God leads us, He uses every twist in the trail, every bump on the road, every hill we have to climb to teach us and move us further down the path of spiritual maturity.
