1)Introduction
a)Statements made: children don’t come with an instruction manual.
b)Society says that there is no standard way to live your life. Just do it your way, make yourself happy, and according to Nike “Just Do It.”
c)The Book of James however, is a Do It Yourself Guidebook on Faithfully Living the Christian Life. I’ll be preaching through the Book of James over the next several weeks. Today we will examine the first 12 verses of chapter 1 as James encourages us to Faithfully Persevere in the midst of trials.
d)Date: This book was written approx. A.D. 44-49 which makes this the first New Testament book to be written.
e)Read the text.
f)Author: James, the half brother of Jesus. Initially James and his brothers rejected Jesus but later James came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, his Lord and Savior. James became the “Senior Pastor” of the church in Jerusalem. In the first verse James identifies himself as a bond-servant of Christ. Instead of identifying himself by his title as the leader of the church he chooses to identify himself humbly as a bond servant, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The term Doulos refers to a slave who has no personal freedom, is totally loyal, obedient, and completely under control of the master. A Doulas was born a slave. James became a Doulas, or bond servant when he was born into new life through faith in Jesus Christ. People typically get their identity from what they do, what their title or position is, what material belongings they own, how much money they have or how successful they perceive themselves to be. James gained his identity from whom he served because nothing was more important to him than serving his Lord, Savior and Master Jesus Christ.
g)Purpose: James is writing to Christians from the Jerusalem Church who fled to other lands due to being persecuted for their faith. James fully expected that this letter would be an encouragement to them to continue to live out their faith in a world that was not very accepting of their faith
h)Transition: In these first 12 verses James encourages us to “Faithfully Persevere in the midst of trials.”
2)Attitude of Joy (vs. 2-4)
a)Joy vs. “Woe is me”. We should not be surprised when we face trials. This text does not say “if” you face trials but “when” you face trials. We have the ability to choose how we respond to the trials we encounter. It’s a “Joy vs. Woe is me” attitude choice. Some trials occur simply because we are human such as illness, accidents, disappointments, and tragedies. Others occur simply because we are Christians and Satan opposes us and the world around us opposes us. But how do you choose an attitude of joy? We need to focus not just on the immediate physical circumstance but also on the spiritual situation and KNOW and have FAITH in certain things:
b)KNOW that Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. “ And
c)HAVE FAITH that the second part of that statement is also true when Jesus said “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”1 Jesus overcame every trial and struggle that faced him including death on the cross. Death and the grave could not defeat Jesus and no struggle or trial can defeat a child of God whose faith is firmly entrenched in the power, mercy, and saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
d)Know and Have Faith that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate you from the love of Christ and that your God is right there with you in the midst of the storm because he tells us in Deut 31:6, Deut 31:8, Josh 1:5 and Heb 13:5 that He will be with us in the struggles and He will never leave us nor forsake us.
e)Know and Have Faith that the end result of the trial is that your faith will be stronger and you will be more spiritually mature. Every time we go to the gym we test our muscles to their full capacity. As a result we become stronger. So it is with our faith. Paul tells us in Romans 5:4 that “suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character hope.” Each time we go through a trial and look back and see how God carried us through it strengthens our faith and allows us to trust Him more fully in the next trial.
f)Joy comes from focusing upon what God is doing in and through us rather than focusing upon the circumstances we find ourselves in. That is why Paul tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter or our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (HEB 12:2) Jesus’ joy was not found in the circumstance. It was found in the grace and power of God that was going to be poured out on all humanity after he persevered through his trials of crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection.
3)Attitude of Persistent Faith (vs. 5-7)
a)When we experience trials James tells us to pray, he tells us how to pray and he tells us what to pray for.
b)First, he tells us to pray for wisdom. He doesn’t tell us to pray for strength, mercy, grace or a way out. God’s wisdom allows us to understand how He wants us to respond in the trial so that we may make appropriate use of the situation and mature in our faith and glorify God.
c)But James also tells us that we need to pray with an attitude of faith. He tells us to believe that God hears your prayer and will generously give you wisdom. In Mat 7:7 we are told, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.2 Also, Mark 11:24 says “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”3
d)The kind of prayer James is talking about is a persistent prayer of faith. This is not a one-time prayer. It is a continual prayer of belief knowing that God loves you, hears you and will answer you. It is seeking God’s wisdom with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. It could be a struggle that will last a lifetime that God shows you how to endure or it could be a temporary struggle.
e)Margaret and I are friends with a married couple that are a beautiful example of persistent faith in times of trials. She has epilepsy and has had epilepsy for their entire marriage of approx. 20 years. She suffers from grand-mall seizures that many times leave her severely bruised and battered. They have one child and at approx. 40 years old she is now in a wheel chair so that when she has the next seizure there is less of a chance that she will harm herself. They have tried every medical treatment available. We would expect her to complain about not being able to do things with her son that she might want to do. Maybe she would complain or wish that they could go on more of the trips that other families do. Maybe he would complain about having to do so many things around the house after work because his wife is unable to. Instead, here is what she said to us in an email, “I am doing well, still struggling with health issues and now having to use my wheelchair full time – but my sweet Jesus leads me and guides me every day and I am thankful for each seizure and hardship because it only draws me closer to Him and there is no place I would rather be.” This is the kind of persistent faith God wants us to have in the midst of trials.
f)In the midst of trials God wants us to have an attitude of spiritual joy, an attitude of persistent prayerful faith, and an attitude of humility.
4)Attitude of Humility (vs. 8-11)
a)James is telling everyone in these verses that all of us need to be humble and trust in the strength, wisdom, grace and mercy of our God, our Lord, our Savior, our Master. Instead, many times we put our trust and faith in our own abilities or wealth. We receive our status from the world as the world evaluates our earning potential or the things we have accumulated or the position we hold in society. James reminds us that we will eventually pass away and none of our achievements or wealth will matter. The only thing that will matter is in whom we have placed our trust and how we lived our life.
5)Conclusion (vs. 12)
a)The result of persevering through times of trials with an attitude of joy, an attitude of persistent faith, and an attitude of humility is the evidence of one who truly loves God with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul, and all his strength. At the end of the race you will sense God say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
b)If you are not in the midst of a trial today you will be eventually. If you are experiencing trials now I encourage you to faithfully persevere with an attitude of spiritual joy, an attitude of persistent faith and an attitude of humility.
