COUNT IT ALL JOY
James 1:1-4
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: EVOLUTION JOKE
1. Orangutan One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species.
2. Surprised, he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?" "Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."
B. TEXT
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. NKJV.
Message Version James 1:1-4
1 I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello! Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
C. THESIS
1. James says, “Count it.” This word, hegeomai, is the most common word used for counting/ computation in the N.T.
2. James says that Christians need to be trained to be good accountants; to know what to place on each side of the ledger.
3. On one side we’re to put, "Various temptations" and on the other side we’re to put "Large profit!" How is this possible?
4. We’re going to look at James’ outrageous proposal, why Christians - above all others - are destined for trials, and how Christians should respond differently to them than other people.
5. The title of this message is “Count It All Joy.”
I. JAMES’ OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL
A. NOT AN ERRONEOUS TEACHING
1. James advances one of the most outrageous and remarkable teachings of Scripture: that we Christians should “throw a party” when terrible things happen to us.
2. This isn’t a fluke, an accident, or a wrong interpretation, for 3 different apostles imply the same thing; Peter (1 Peter 1:6), Paul (Rom. 5:3), and James 1:2.
3. This view of adversity being a “blessing” is really only possible to the Christian.
a. A worldly person regards such ideas as crazy.
b. Many people would see troubles as our inevitable fate.
c. Atheists have no explanation for the caprice of calamity. Only the Christian has the alchemy by which our sorrows may be turned into joy.
B. THIS DOESN’T MEAN IT FEELS GOOD
1. We rejoice in trials, not because they’re pleasurable, but because God makes them beneficial for us.
2. Now this doesn’t mean we’re to be glad when the devil tempts us. We’re told to pray, "Lead us not into temptation."
3. The temptation James speaks of here (Gr. peripesate) implies temptations which are external, for the same word is used of the man who fell among thieves (Lk. 10:30).
4. HUMOR: The Math Teacher
a. A Math teacher was having trouble teaching arithmetic to one little boy in her class, so she decided to use an illustration.
b. "If you reached in your right pocket and found one dollar, and you reached in your left pocket and found $5, what would you have?"
c. "Somebody else's pants."
5. James is trying to teach us to count it all joy.
II. WHY CHRISTIANS ARE ESPECIALLY DESTINED FOR TRIALS
Three reasons trials are necessary:
A. HEAVEN IS FOR THE PURIFIED
1. James implies troubles and afflictions are the lot of even the best Christians. Those who expect to receive the greatest joys later may expect to now experience a greater number of trials.
2. The character that has never been tried may be innocent, but it’s lacking in the strength and vigor that comes from repeated testing.
3. Trials and troubles are the blast furnace that God uses to separate the dross from the silver. That’s why “Judgment must begin at the house of God.” “God will have a tried & tested people.”
B. SATAN WILL ATTEMPT TO STOP YOU
1. The devil attempts, by sufferings and disasters, to push all people into discouragement, to rob them of their confidence in God, or get them to give up their devotion/ duty to God.
2. But Remember: God turns the devil’s curses into His blessings, actually making them work for our good!
C. ARE ALLOWED FOR OUR GROWTH (3X)
1. TRIALS PROMOTE SELF-KNOWLEDGE. The person who stands on the deck of a sinking ship will learn, if he did not know it before, whether he is a hero or a coward. Affliction shows us "all that is in our heart." Frequently defects of our character surface.
2. IT DEVELOPS PATIENCE
a. James regards the grace of endurance/ patience as extremely valuable.
b. The man/woman who uses every fresh trial to only increase their strength in God is unquestionably a “gainer” by their troubles.
c. How could the enemy stop such a one? How could not every negative be converted into a positive? It would almost impossible for such a one to be subverted!
3. IT CONTRIBUTES TO MORAL PERFECTION
a. Some of the most refined Christian virtues can only be acquired by affliction. A delicately balanced Christian character is not the outcome of a smooth and unruffled life, but because the person has been made "perfect through sufferings."
b. Patience is seen as the "Queen of virtues" because it has the end-product of perfecting us.
4. Someone has said, "Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up" on which our souls climb nearer to God.
III. HOW CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND DIFFERENTLY
A. HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE
1. The human tendency is to sink into a sad and depressed frame of mind, which might make us faint under our trials.
2. Instead, we must by faith, endeavor to enlarge our worldview/ minds to see our trials from the heavenly perspective.
3. Moses "counted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Paul sang hymns to God in the prison at Philippi with his feet in the stocks. The apostles "rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer this honor for Christ's name."
4. Chickens scratch and fight in the barn yard for their food. They only see what’s at their feet. Eagles, on the other hand, soar high in the sky and see far vistas. They’re never troubled about necessities because their vision is so great.
B. FUTURE FOCUS
1. When the troubles of this life are severe, sometimes the only hope we have is in the future: heaven.
2. The lost mock the idea of living for the next life; this life is all they know. But for us who’ve been born again, our heavenly hope is as real as anything in this world.
3. Our joy in what God has promised us: eternal life and our inheritance we will receive in heaven. That’s exactly what Jesus did.
4. “For the joy set before Him” He endured the cross (Heb. 12:2). Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” Rom. 8:18.
5. Those who’re mature keep their eyes on their crown that awaits at the end of the race.
C. OUR SUFFERING IS LIGHT, MOMENTARY
1. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” 2 Cor. 4:17.
2. When we are in the midst of the trial, we can easily become consumed by it. Paul understood this. He who suffered many trials knew what it meant to feel pain.
3. But He held on to the hope that this suffering is only momentary, that in a short while we will reach our final destination where “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
4. During those times when sorrow is at its peak, we must remember that we’re strangers here, that the labor pains only last for a little while and joy will come in the morning.
5. That is our hope. That is what enables us to count it all joy as we endure suffering and pain.
6. Finally, to be able to ‘count it all joy,’ you have to be able to trust God. Do you have confidence in the goodness of God? Do you look to Christ in the midst of your sufferings, or do you tend to focus on the present situation until it harms your faith?
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: POTATO, EGG, OR COFFEE?
1. Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It was one problem after another.
2. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.
3. Once the three pots began to boil, he put potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter.
4. After 20 minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes and eggs out and placed them a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out into a cup.
5. Turning to her he asked. "Daughter, what do you see?"
"Potatoes, eggs, and coffee," she hastily replied. "Look closer", he said.
6. She did and noted the potatoes were soft and the eggs were hard-boiled egg. Finally, she sipped the coffee and its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. "Father, what does this mean?"
7. He explained that each item (potato, egg, coffee) had each faced the same adversity - the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
8. The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but became soft and weak. The egg was fragile but became hard.
9. The coffee was unique. When exposed to the boiling water, it had changed its environment (the water) into something new.
10. "Which are you?" he asked. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
B. THE CALL
1. What really makes people satisfied with their lives? Amazingly, the secret may lie in a person's ability to handle life's blows without blame or bitterness.
2. A study of 173 men reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry, noted that one potent predictor of well-being was the ability to handle emotional crisis maturely.
(Today in the Word, November 2, 1993).
3. The Message Bible begins the Beatitudes as:
“You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”
4. Let’s let God heal us of our past hurts, surrender our need to understand ‘why’, let go of our bitterness, and begin to trust God again.
5. Do you need healing for your past? Please stand. Let’s pray.
