A Study of the Letter of James
James 1:9-18
August 28, 2013
Read Scripture: James 1:9-11
9Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
When springtime comes it is a true joy to look out the window and see the grass turn green and lush and our yards become a thing of beauty...
The same goes for the flowers and blooming bushes that we all enjoy each spring and summer here in LA... I know that I love the blooming Azaleas and seeing the lush grass in my yard...
But what begins to happen in late October or early November? We begin to see the grass die out... the flowers stop their blooming. Now because of our climate we rarely ever see our grass totally die off, but we can tell when it is NOT thriving!
Here in this passage James is comparing the withering of the grass or the fading of the flowers to the temporary nature of “material” things!
We all see the grass turn green in the spring and we see it flourish and become lush and green all summer. BUT no matter how much we try to keep it that way, it will not last… it simply cannot last!
This is what James is saying with his comparison to ‘material’ things. He is teaching us that JUST like the grass will wither away… the material things of this world will not last!
The material things we place so much value upon are JUST like that...These material things in which many of us find our identity and believe we ARE what we have…
These material ‘things’ can and do bring pleasure for a season...In these material things we may find satisfaction and 'beauty' for a time, but in time their beauty fades and the satisfaction we once found in them is gone! Material goods/things do not last.
I believe that James uses the term 'Rich' here because in his time the ‘rich' had the material wealth! They had those extra ‘things’!
During this time and for MUCH of human history there have been those who have what they desire and then there were the rest of the people!
There was no 'middle class' in James’ day and the rich tended to NOT want to be poor so they held onto STAYING rich even if it meant preying on the poor to do so...
Now YOU may think or say, "Preacher this is not speaking to me, I am NOT rich! I work hard, but I’m not rich!" It may be true that in our society you may NOT be considered 'rich' but in the eyes of the world ALL of America, even our poorest people are rich!
Statistics prove out that even the poorest people in America are in the top 10% of wealth in the world! Did you know that in America if you make $23,550 or less per year… you are considered to be poor and living below the ‘poverty line’!
When we break that down it is a little less than $2000/mo or $500/wk. I will admit in our society, that is not a lot of money…
BUT lets compare those numbers with the numbers we find in 2 other countries! First let’s look at our neighbor to the south, Mexico: The average minimum wage earner in Mexico will work 6 days/wk and they make about $4.00/day. This equates to less than $2000 PER YEAR!
Let’s look at INDIA: Statistics reveal that OVER 40% of the population in India makes LESS than the 'international poverty level' of $1.25/day. If we set their wage at $1.25/day & they worked 6 days/wk this would equal about $500 PER YEAR!
Now compare those countries to our country… To the people in India, Mexico is looking good! But America is the dream country… every one dreams of coming to America to succeed!
Our country is focused on getting things and consuming things... our culture constantly bombards us with the message that these things are what will bring us happiness. To many in America, 'things' equate to happiness...
But as we look here in v9-11 of chapter 1, James lets us know that those who rely on material things are going to be greatly disappointed! However, those who rely on God are going to find honor from Him!
What we MUST understand and keep in focus is that God is our sufficient Savior! In Him, we find provision and He is all we need. So the question for believers should be... "When will we make the decision to begin to live our lives seeking Him first and NOT the things and materialistic lusts of our hearts?"
Now James then begins to deal with the idea of temptation… We all know what temptation is and what brings temptation into our own lives!
James 1:12-13 [NLT]
12God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
God blesses those who patiently ‘endure’ temptation is what James tells us… This is similar to what he says earlier in this chapter about trouble, trial and difficulty!
James is alluding to the fact that temptation is inevitable for the believer… for anyone! As long as we live in this broken, sinful world, temptation is a reality for us all!
Now there are many who will point the finger of blame at God when they are tempted by the ‘things’ of this world. They point to God because they believe God should not allow them to be tempted… but that is not biblical!
Nowhere in Scripture does God promise that we would be free of temptation! On the contrary, we are commanded to either FLEE temptation OR realize that when temptation comes we are not overcome because God has promised that He will provide a way to escape the temptation…
James cautions believers from blaming God for the temptations in their lives! He teaches us that God does NOT tempt… and this makes sense! Think about this for moment…
God sent His Son to die on the Cross for our sin, to deliver us FROM sin, to save us from an eternity separated from Him… WHY would He jeopardize that by tempting us TO sin? People, temptation does NOT come from God!
Now all temptation is NOT the same. I am tempted by things that don’t tempt others… others are tempted by things that would not be a temptation to me… but the fact of the matter is that temptation is real and we should expect it!
Temptation does not come from God but actually it comes from our evil hearts! James says this in v14-15
14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
We are tempted because of our own desires… in other words when our desires take control of our hearts, we surrender to what WE want!
God is calling us to surrender our hearts to HIS desires… to His calling… so that when temptation comes we realize that it is TOTALLY against what God is calling us to do and we see it for what it is…evil and sinful!
Now this does not mean it will be easy, but God provides us with a means of escape, it is up to us to use that means of escape and avoid falling to the temptation in our life!
This means that when we see a situation developing where we KNOW that temptation will come… we should avoid or flee that situation.
It also means that when temptation flares up unexpectedly in our lives, that we will have a way to turn away from it, but we must be prepared FOR it… we can only be prepared FOR temptation if we are in the Word and praying like we should.
When our relationship with Christ is healthy, we know what to do when temptation comes… we know where to go when temptation strikes… we know how to endure thru temptation and we know how to flee FROM temptation…
So James tells us not to be fooled, by others OR by our own selfish hearts… God does not tempt, but only good things come from God! We see this in v16-18
16So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
God is a good God who created us and provided His son for our salvation… He is a loving and caring God who is NOT capricious or fickle in His love! He will not say, “I love you” one day, and then abandon you if you stumble in your walk with Him the next day.
James uses a phrase in v17 that we can find great solace in… he says: “…He [God] never changes or casts a shifting shadow…”
What this means is that God is the same, all the time. He comes from the same perspective and approach, all the time! He is not here one day and THERE the next… He is not on ONE side of an issue one day and the other side of the issue the next day…
This phrase ‘never casts a shifting shadow’ speaks to the immutability of God. Write down that word: Immutable (spell it out for them) God is immutable!
Don’t be intimidated by this word! Immutable simply means something does not change, is not changing OR is not able to be changed! Something that is ALWAYS the same… Always true…
Think about the sun for instance. The sun is a constant in our lives, but the sun is NOT immutable! The sun rises in the east and travels across the sky and sets in the west. BUT according to where you live on earth the sun has a different perspective!
Also, there are clouds that can block out the sun’s rays… there is a time EACH day where the planet itself blocks the sun’s rays!
We know that the sun is there, but the sun is ever changing… the sun changes according to the seasons… the sun changes according to where you live… the sun changes according to what time of the day it may be…
The sun causes a shadow… but that shadow moves as the sun moves… God does NOT move… God does NOT change…
God is NOT swayed by cultural pressures or a shift in our cultural paradigm. God is the same yesterday, today and forever! God is the same! We can rely upon God!
People, the things of this world will NOT satisfy and they will fade away… they are NOT permanent! The desires of our heart will lead us into temptation, but God has promised that He will deliver us FROM temptation…
God’s promises are not something we have to wonder about… He is unchangeable… what He says will come to pass… WHO He is will not change! We can rely upon Him and trust IN Him!
Let’s pray! God help me... help me to NOT focus on things, but to focus on You and that YOU will never change or fail in your promises! Lord remove from my heart and desire the lust for 'things' and position and instead fill it with a desire for obedience to Your desires!
God never let me fall prey to think you are tempting me away from righteousness, but help me to see my own evil heart and repent!
God show me your unchangeable nature and reveal to me your unchangeable and always TRUE promises! God I want to focus on You!
