As we take a look at our newest memory Scripture let’s look at the preceding verse
James 1:1
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.”
Who is this James?
There were two of the twelve named James
Matthew 10:2-4
“These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
“Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”
We also know that Jesus had a half brother named James
Matthew 13:55-56a
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s Son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all His sisters with us?”
James the brother of John, the son of Zebedee was put to death before the book of James was written
Acts 12:2
“[King Herod] had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.”
1 Corinthians 15:7 says that after the resurrection …
“[Jesus] appeared to James, then to all the apostles ….”
Now, if we look again at Jesus’ brothers we see that the writer of Jude was also one of Jesus’ half brothers but he identifies himself as
Jude 1:1
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James …”
The folks who have translated the Bible have used the Greek form of Judas’ which is Jude as the name of the book written by Jesus’ half brother the brother of James.
It appears that James and Jude were not believers until after Jesus rose from the dead.
Can you imagine what it must have been like to think, “Jesus really IS the Messiah!”?
James becomes one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
Let’s read the new memory Scripture again …
James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2
“Consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials of many kinds …” NIV
“Count it all joy … when you meet trials of various kinds …” NASB
“… count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations …” KJV
This seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
Count it all joy when you face trials, temptations, testing, difficulties???
Those are not things which bring joy to our lives.
It reminds me of a “Deep Thought” I once read …
"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,'
I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' "He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. 'I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.’"
Now, this kid had the response we would expect based on life in this world.
Trials, testing, difficulties, temptations are not fun.
Trials and testing can be fun if they result in victory.
No one wins a race without training for the race.
The preparation is a trial
The race is a time of testing
There may be the temptation to cheat
Winning honestly because of discipline and effort can bring joy.
This verse, however, is not talking about something we could accomplish on our own. It is not intended to be. It’s in the Bible after all and the Bible is all about God and human relationship and victory over trials and tests and temptations by cooperating with God’s grace and strength living in and through us.
When King David was just a shepherd boy he faced dangerous trials. He killed the lion and bear and Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:34-37
“Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David would have been lunch for the lion and the bear and he would have been like a chunk of chicken on a skewer if he had tried to fight Goliath in his own strength but when the trial presented itself David trusted in God.
In and through those trials he felt the joy of knowing and cooperating with God.
There was another test, another trial where King David cast God aside and turned his back on God in the time of testing.
Trial failure: King David and the wife of Uriah the Hittite
Now, contrast those victories which God gave to David with the despair of failing the test, the trial, the temptation when he tried to go it alone.
King David is now pleading with the Lord, in Psalm 51:12
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
What are the trials and tests and temptations that you are facing in your life?
Are you trying to handle them in your own strength? You will fail.
You may succeed in earthly things but in things that are eternal and of true value you will fail and will only find emptiness instead of joy if you try to do them on your own.
There is not one single spiritual victory that any one of us can have apart from the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding and strengthening us.
Trying to live like a child of God while not being one is one of the most frustrating things in the world. It will only lead to sadness, emptiness and bitterness.
This is perfectly described in one of our memory Scriptures
John 15:5-8
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
“If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”
James 1:2-3
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
So, not only does joy come from this testing but so does perseverance, endurance, patience and steadfastness.
Endurance - something most people lack if it’s not fun!
What takes endurance??? A New Year’s Resolution takes endurance …
In the gym after the New Year ….
How long does the diet last ….
Read the Bible and pray more?
Forgive everyone we can think of to forgive?
Percent of people in their twenties who achieve their resolution each year - 39%
Percent of people over 50 who achieve their resolution each year - 14%
This is the exact opposite of what should be happening in the life of a Christian! As we grow older in Jesus our ability to endure should increase!
And what good is endurance?
James 1:4
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:4 NKJV
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Perfect and complete!
This is such a great Scripture on holiness!
“Count it pure joy, my brothers” means that we have a relationship with God and are part of His great kingdom on earth.
“Joy … whenever we face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” shows that we have already been through some trials with Jesus and have at least begun growing in perseverance, endurance and patience.
And this last verse is amazing James 1:4 NASB
“Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
This part of living a sanctified, holy life into Christian maturity is so awesome!
Pastor Karenlee and I love to drive over to Lima where our son Josh and his family live. On the way we go past some immense crop fields. Some of them seem to stretch on for miles and are quite wide.
I am sure that the farmer who originally started clearing that field did not have a vision for what it would one day be, but God did.
(Note) For those of you who think that fields were already cleared when the first farmers arrived - they weren’t!
So, the farmer cleared a small section one year.
The next year he planted that section and with endurance cleared another section.
The next year he planted those sections and with endurance he cleared another section.
The following year he planted those sections and with endurance he cleared another section.
This he continued to do with endurance year after year after year after year.
Each year it was perfect and complete because that was what the Lord had enabled him to do that year through the power of endurance.
Just as the farmer could not see the vastness of what the field would one day be we as Christians cannot see or fathom what Jesus can make of us, especially in our early life of walking with Him.
But, faithfully, every year the Lord points out some spiritual scrub tree or bush that needs to be cleared away from our spiritual life and just like the trees in the field many of them do not come out easily. These are the trials and tests and temptations.
The Lord helps us to rout them out and then He plants the seeds of His love and grace and mercy and justice in our hearts and they grow and our spiritual endurance grows as well.
And then soon the Lord points out some spiritual scrub tree or bush that needs to be cleared away from our spiritual life and just like the trees in the field many of them do not come out easy. These are the trials and tests and temptations.
The Lord helps us to rout them out and then He plants the seeds of His love and grace and mercy and justice in our hearts and they grow and our spiritual endurance grows as well.
And on and on it goes as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and our hearts knit to His.
It’s a wonderful thing, this relationship we can have with Jesus.
So, where are you today?
Do you know Jesus as your Savior?
Do you consider it to be joy when you face trials of many kinds?
Is the Lord building endurance in you through victories that come by faithfully following His lead whether it makes sense to you or not?
This world is filled with sadness and despair because with or without Christ we will all face trials of many kinds. Pray for those who do not have Jesus, those who are tying to make it on their own.
Where do the broken hearted go - to find a comfort for their pain?
So many hurting need to know - the hope there is in Jesus’ name.
I tried to make it on my own. I kept on drifting far away.
But now I finally have a home - in Jesus’ love I’ll always stay.
I have joy in the time of sorrow. I have peace in the raging storm.
I have faith that Jesus holds tomorrow. I have hope resting in His arms.
Conclusion and invitation if the Lord leads ...
