Devoted to Standing Firm
James 1:2-4
With God’s help, we can be steadfast, staying the course no matter what.
SLIDE #1
INTRODUCTION
• It is so good to be back together today!
• How many of you are enjoying the current situation we all find ourselves?
• How many of you sit at home and eagerly wait for trials to come to you?
• How many of you have had an easy life with no trials, temptations?
• Have you ever wanted to leave your relationship with God because life seems too difficult?
• Have you ever wonder where was God while you were in the middle of the storm?
• Today we begin a new series entitled, Devoted: Obedience in the Same Direction.
• This four-week series addresses the importance of faithfulness to God, even when we are bombarded with other options.
• How can we be steadfast, committed, and live with integrity and devotion when each day offers us a plethora of choices?
• When trials come upon us, many of us have trouble committing to a worldview, to other people, to the Christian faith, and even to our families and a local church.
• We like having the freedom to choose our own way and adjust as we go.
• But the Bible has much to say about staying faithful over time, no matter what comes, with God’s help.
• I do not think anyone of us likes facing trials.
• I believe conventional world wisdom would tell us to avoid trials at all costs; however, today, we will examine three things that will help us to face the trials we are hit with in a way that will help us to see something positive, which will help to strengthen our faith.
• In the world we reside, we will be hit from all directions at times with trials, the question we have to answer is, HOW WILL WE DEAL WITH THE TRIALS and WILL WE LET THE TRIALS BREAK US OR MAKE US STRONGER.
• During this series, we will spend time in James 1. I love the book of James; it is easy to read, practical, as well as profound.
• Big Idea of the Message: With God’s help we can be steadfast, staying the course no matter what.
• Let’s turn to James 1; we will begin in verse 2.
SLIDE #2
Bible Verse
James 1:2 (CSB)
2Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
SLIDE #3
• The ability to being devoted to standing firm requires…
1. I. The proper attitude in the midst of your trials.
Explanation
• Ok, I have heard enough count it JOY when I face various TRIALS? Argh!
• Not only does James tell us to face trials, but we are to consider it GREAT joy whenever we experience various trials!
• This verse challenges the conventional wisdom of the world.
• The world tells us there is no value in suffering, so, therefore, pain is to be avoided at all costs.
• We are told that only pleasure can bring happiness.
• As Christians, we need to understand that suffering through various trials is a part of life.
• We have all seen things that make us shake our heads; we have all probably experienced something that could cause us to wonder if there is a God out there who cares for me.
• One thing that verse two does not tell us to do is to look for trouble or seek out trials so we can go through them.
• The phrasing in the Greek shows us that James says the brothers fall into trials.
• They do not seek them, but they come. To be human is to suffer.
• These trials are not chosen but fall upon the believers unexpectedly.
• These are the unavoidable difficulties of life. Falling into trials is like falling among robbers, as did the traveler in Luke 10:30.
• Interestingly, James commands us to consider it great joy when the trials come to us.
• The word WHENEVER doesn’t allow much room for doubt.
• We are urged to be joyful not IF we face trials, but WHENEVER.
• Trials, problems, situations can be joy-robbers if we lack the proper attitude. Later in the chapter (1:13–15),
• James deals more directly with temptations that are self-inflicted. But there will be times when, no matter where we turn, we encounter trials.
• Christians are called to stand face to face with the trials that come to us.
• When you think about it, we know trials are coming, so in a way, what James tells us does make some sense.
• How do you make it through a difficult time in life?
• Our attitude is vital in one being able to be able to stand in the face of trials and stay devoted to standing firm in our faith.
• When the difficult times come, if I spend all my time crying about ut, being mad at God over the situation, I will probably not be able to stand firm in my faith.
• Many things in life are about attitude. The correct attitude can take you places you never thought you could; however, the wrong attitude can contribute to one’s failure and ruin.
• Our attitude is to be one of pure joy (genuine rejoicing).
• This attitude is not joyful anticipation for trials.
• Instead, it is joy during trials. The joy is based on confidence in the outcome of the trial.
• Joy is a deep sense of well-being that one can possess in the middle of trials because we know who we serve.
• Joy gives one the ability to trust God, and yet embrace the sorrows, tears, laughter, anger, and pain.
• One thing we have to guard against is thinking that the outcome has to be the way we want it, or else God failed me.
• In the world we live in, life is unfair; people die, both good and bad, things are not always easy.
• I cannot imagine how hard it is for some folks not to fall apart and lose their faith when I see some of the trials they have faced.
• Joy is more of a decision than a feeling.
• Joy is choosing to live above feelings but not deny them.
• It is not intense happiness, although choosing joy sometimes produces happiness.
• Joy is a particularly Christian response to life since it depends on faith in God’s sovereignty.
• If our attitude is not right, we will be devoured by the trials, and we will give up.
• In a moment, we will examine WHY we can possess joy when the trials of life come to us.
• We need to understand that in verses 2-12, James speaks of trials that hit us from the outside, whereas verses 13-18 deal with temptations from Satan within us.
• This distinction punctuates the point that the trials we are to face with the proper attitude are the ones that blindside us, ones that we do not bring upon ourselves.
• Last week I shared with you how hard it is for me to be motivated to get out of bed to exercise.
• I would find pretty much any and every excuse to sleep in and miss my workout.
• Other than when I was riding my bike a lot, my attitude was not where it needed to be for me to get myself out of bed and go work out.
• Honestly, other than when I went low-carb a few years ago, I had a terrible attitude about dieting or turning away things I wanted to eat.
• The reason why was my heart and attitude was not into what I needed to do, so when faced with a hunger pang, I would be angry if I could not satisfy it.
• Whenever I would get stressed, I would crave junk food, and if there were none around, I would get upset because my attitude was not right.
• As I said last week, something changed for me; something happened inside of me that changed my attitude.
• Believe me, this thought, although not entirely what James is speaking of when he speaks of trials, the principles apply.
• Let’s turn to verse 3 for some deep insight.
SLIDE #4
Bible Verse
James 1:3 (CSB)
3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
SLIDE #5
• The ability to being devoted to standing firm requires…
2. II. Understanding the purpose of your trials.
Explanation
• How can we maintain the proper attitude when we face trials? We must understand the purpose of our trials.
• Verse three gives us a reason why we can possess joy in the middle of the storms of life. We must understand what trials are capable of producing.
• James tells us that we know that the test of our faith produces endurance.
• The reason we face trials is so that our faith can be strengthened and that our faith can have the endurance to run the race until the end.
• The word TESTING is a word that was used of the instrument or means by which silver was tested to determine if it was genuine.
• Trials put our faith to the test to see if our faith is genuine, to see if our faith will endure.
• God does not usually cause the trials; trials are a part of the life we live on earth.
• God can use these trials to see if we will stand firm or stay faithful.
• For James, there is no vital Christianity without faithfulness.
• Joy comes because we know the trials are tests of faith that we are eager to pass!
SLIDE #6
Bible Verse
1 Peter 1:7 (CSB)
7so that the proven character of your faith ?—?more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire ?—?may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Explanation
• Passing the tests of faith produce endurance. We see many of the saints of the Old Testament who faced trials, and those trials made their faith stronger.
• Think of Abraham, Job, Joseph.
• Passing these tests leads to perseverance. PERSEVERANCE is a rich word in Greek, implying steadfastness, fortitude, constancy, persistent determination, strong consistency, and staying power. Holloway, G. (1996). James & Jude (Jas 1:3). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub.
• The best translation might be “heroic endurance.” Standing the trials of life produces more than a passive patience or a cynical resignation; it gives (in the words of the hymn by William H. Bathurst) “a faith that will not shrink, tho’ pressed by every foe.” (College Press Commentary)
• It is one thing to be strong; it is another thing to be strong and have the strength to endure.
• The human body is an example of this.
• When you go to the gym, you might be able to throw up a lot of heavyweight on the bar; however, you may only be able to do it once.
• You are strong, but you have no endurance.
• One of the things my trainer is doing with me is to help me not only to be strong but to have endurance.
• The way you do that is high repetition with small amounts of weight.
• Then as that gets easier, you keep increasing the weight, then over time, you are not only strong, but you are in shape.
• When we grasp that our trials do have a purpose, it can drive us to be joyful because we know we will be stronger for getting through the trials.
• One of the things that drives me to get up at 5:15 am and who have dedicated myself to a new way of eating is because I know who I need to go through the pain, discipline, and hard work.
• There is something good that will happen; the end results are important enough to me to make real changes in my life.
• I have so much joy waking un in the mornings now; it is worth it!
• When we understand what we will accomplish when we are devoted to standing firm during our trials, we too will be able to do so with joy.
• Let’s look at verse 4.
SLIDE #7
Bible Verse
James 1:4 (CSB)
4And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
SLIDE #8
• The ability to being devoted to standing firm requires…
3. III. Embracing the results of standing firm in the midst of your trials.
Explanation
• We have to envision the goal to be able to be devoted to standing firm.
• We are not to endure just to make it through the rain; we are to make it so our endurance will carry us across the finish line!
• Even heroic endurance is not the end within itself; this endurance is to help make us complete in Christ; it helps our maturity in Christ!
• To be able to stay devoted to standing firm, we must embrace the results that will come as a result of standing firm.
• For me, I know that I am eating right, and I exercising like never before, so I know that even if I step on the scale and see no change, that I am changing.
• IF I get tempted to eat junk, I should not eat, embracing the goal that my trainer said I could obtain will keep me inline.
• I know if I stay disciplined, things will change for the better.
• For me to endure trials, I have to embrace the fact that these trials will help my faith to grow strong, I have to know that what I may be going through has a purpose.
• Enduring trials thus produces joy because such tests shape believers into the image of Christ. In that image, one lacks nothing. Perfection in James is not just the result of our own efforts; it does not come from a “works righteousness.” (College Press Commentary).
• Perfection in James is not just the result of our own efforts; it does not come from a “works righteousness.”
• Instead, it is brought by God and is the end of steadfast obedience. Here James echoes Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount, who urged his hearers, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
• Pressure can make things beautiful.
• Let me ask you, ladies, a question.
• What would you have reacted if when your man proposed to you, he hands you the ring box, and in that box was a ring that featured a black chunk of carbon.
• I mean, it would be a massive chunk of carbon, it looks like a piece of charcoal.
• What would you say when your “want to be man” explains that technically, he gave you a huge diamond ring, the diamond just not finished, nor will it be in your lifetime!
• Diamonds are formed by pressure over a long period of time.
• We are all lumps of carbon; however, if we allow God to work through our trials, we will all be flawless diamonds one day!
Application
• Our application today is important to grasp.
• Even in struggle and suffering, we can remain faithful and joyful, for we know that God will be faithful to us through it all.
CONCLUSION
• Would you rather wear jewelry made from carbon or from diamonds?
• The beautiful, pure (and expensive!) diamonds we admire were once carbon that experienced extreme temperatures and pressure.
• By God’s grace, when our lives and our faith go through extreme pressure and fire, his faithfulness will create in our souls something “perfect and complete”—steadfastness and joy (James 1:2–4).
• The joy that we find in being steadfast during trials is not a happy mood, but a deeply held belief that spans the entire Christian story.
