“WHEN YOUR FAITH IS TESTED” James 1:1-4
FBCF – 9/11/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – First responders face tests all the time.
- Firefighters – Every time pager goes off or call comes in, we know that we will face some sort of test. May be a minor test, a relatively easy test, a quick test. Or may be a huge test of our skills & training, a test of our mental, physical, & emotional toughness. May be a test that lasts a long time – a large fire that we have to fight through the night, or a major accident that requires extrication w/ multiple injuries, even dealing w/ fatalities.
- Same goes for LEOs & the many different calls they respond to & situations they deal with. The social & political climate of our day exacerbates the severity of those tests sometimes.
o Met former LEO on vacation who had retired early from his law enforcement career as a homicide detective in a large city. Made the decision to retire due in part to the way things have changed so much.
Every first responder has their stories. Some we talk about – some we don’t. We all have had those calls that stay w/ us, the ones we continue to think about, the ones that impacted us the most – Rachel’s car wreck. Sometimes we wish we could go back & do things differently or wonder if we could have done something to cause the outcome to have been better.
Sept 11, 2001 was the greatest test that any first responder had ever faced in our nation. Huge response from multiple agencies. Tremendous courage, skill, bravery, & sacrifice – HUGE sacrifice w/ hundreds giving their lives in the line of duty that day & in the week, months, & years that followed.
- Total fatalities – 2996
- Number of Firefighter deaths – 343
- Number of NYPD deaths – 23
- Number of Port Authority police officers – 37
- Bodies found intact – 291
- Remains found – 21,906
- Number of families who got no remains – 1717
- Number of people who lost spouse – 1609
- Number of children who lost parent – 3051
- Number of firefighters on leave w/ respiratory problems by Jan 2002 – 300
- Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed – 98
- Tons of debris removed from site – 1.8 million
- Days fires continued to burn after attack - 99
But it wasn’t just a test for first responders – it was a test for our entire nation.
- Fear gripped us – church members calling me in tears, asking if it was the end of the world.
- Anger gripped us.
- Disbelief gripped us.
- We were stunned like we had never been stunned before – Mama’s cancer treatment. The waiting room in silence
As a nation, we rallied together, grieved together, worked together, &, at least for a little while, worshiped together. For many of us, 9/11 was our Pearl Harbor moment – The day after Pearl Harbor attack, Pres Franklin D. Roosevelt called Dec. 7, 1941 as a “day that will live in infamy” – a moment when our nation collectively saw the true face of evil. Sept. 11, 2001 was another “day that will live in infamy.” The test of our nation’s strength was on full display.
All of us have our 9/11 moments in our lives – those moments when we suddenly find ourselves in extreme pain, fear, uncertainty.
- Planes crash into buildings on a picture-perfect day – Adversity crashes into our lives when things seem to picture-perfect.
- Fires rage out of control causing massive destruction – Situations in our lives spiral out of control destroying our health, our marriages, our families, our businesses, our futures.
- Buildings collapse into huge piles of rubble – Our lives come crashing down around us.
All of these things cause our faith to be tested & we wonder how we will ever come out of it. Questions abound:
- Why is this happening?
- How did I get in this situation?
- What is God trying to teach me in this?
The only place we can turn to in order to find the answers is right here – in the Word of God. And today we are going to strive to understand what’s going on when our faith is tested as we begin this new series from the book of James – “Faith that Works.”
EXPLANATION – James 1:1-4
Since this is my 1st sermon in this new series in the book of James, I want to do some background work to start.
AUTHOR – James, the half-brother of Jesus. According to Galatians 2:9, considered to be one of the first pillars of the Church. Interesting that James did not make a big deal of being Jesus’ earthly little brother. Wasn’t concerned w/ trying to impress anyone w/ his pedigree. He simply referred to himself as a “servant of God & of the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1). “More significant than being the younger brother of Jesus is being one of His people. And the sign of being one of His people is that we devote ourselves to His service” (James Allberry, James for You, p. 11).
DATE – Probably oldest book in NT – written in AD 45 – James martyred about 17 yrs later in AD 62 – historical tradition says he was stoned to death.
PURPOSE – “Dispersion” (v. 1) refers to Jewish Christians that God had scattered among the Roman Empire – James’ primary audience in this letter. Wrote to encourage them to keep growing in their newfound faith in Jesus Christ.
This book is sometimes called “the Proverbs of the NT” – Teaches us as Christ-followers how to practically & faithfully & wisely live out our faith. Some people think this book contradicts Paul’s teaching of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone apart from good works (Martin Luther detested this book). James’ emphasis is that good works must grow out of our faith, & if they don’t, then our faith is not a genuine faith. Books written about James:
- The Behavior of Belief – Zodhiates
- A Belief that Behaves – King
- Make Your Faith Work - Evans
APPLICATION – God uses tests in our lives to help us trust Him more.
THE TESTS DON’T SURPRISE US – v. 2 – “Pop tests” in school – unexpected – may surprise us, catch us off-guard, unprepared, didn’t know it was coming.
We already know that tests in life are coming. James didn’t say, “Count it all joy, my brothers, IF you meet trials of various kinds” – he said, “…WHEN you meet” those trials – tests - examinations. They’re inevitable. This verse means that “whenever” they come – that there will be a definite point in time that they are going to come – that we need to be ready for them as often & as long as they come.
- May not know the timing of the tests
o Could be when you’re on a mountaintop
o Could be when you’re full of great joy & happiness
o Could be when things have never been better
- May not know the form of the tests – James made it clear – “various kinds” – lit “of all kinds”
o In this room, all kinds of tests going on RIGHT NOW!
- May not know the duration of the tests
Although the tests themselves don’t surprise us, the way we are to respond to those tests is surprising – “Count it all JOY” – “Think about JOY when you encounter these trials of various kinds” – HOW do you think about JOY when you’re going through a time of testing?
First, here’s what he’s NOT saying: Pretend like this is fun! Just put on a happy face. You don’t have to feel good about your test at all. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to answer, “I’m fine” when you’re really not. You don’t have to have attitude, “May as well grin & bear it b/c there’s nothing I can do about it.”
The JOY comes in know that there IS something that GOD can do about it – in fact, He’s already doing something about it. Our joy is not connected to our to our ability to withstand the tests – Our joy is connected to our confidence in the Lord to carry us through the tests.
- They may be painful, but there’s a purpose behind them.
- They may be difficult, but there’s a design in them.
- They may be confusing, but there’s a cause for them.
Here’s that purpose, design, & cause:
THE TESTS DEVELOP STEADFASTNESS – v. 3 – We desperately need some steadfast Christians in our world today! Word means “endurance, perseverance.” Desribed this way: “…the characteristic of [someone] who is not swerved from their deliberate purpose & loyalty to their faith…by even the greatest trial & suffering” (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5281/kjv/tr/0-1/)
When you think about swerving, what comes to mind? Driving your car. Have a destination in mind & you’re headed that way. Someone crosses center line. You swerve & it knocks you off course.
The tests that come our way are like those drivers who cross the center line into your lane. Steadfast Christ-followers will not swerve. They’ll keep pressing on. Sometimes they’ll even crash when the test comes. But they get up, get back on course headed to their destination, & they press on. They are deliberate in their pursuit of the the Lord. They are loyal in their commitment to Him. They are willing to endure the tests of life, knowing that the test they’re going through is making them stronger for the next one. It’s making them more compassionate toward others who are going through tests. It’s making them more patient, more prayerful, more powerful in their trust in God’s plan for their lives. It takes going through the tough times to produce the steadfastness that we need in our lives to live for the Lord.
Problem is that fewer & fewer people are willing to be inconvenienced or have their easy lives interrupted in order for this necessary growth to take place.
- Read a startling statement recently – Dir. of a program designed to prepare freshmen for the college years said, “Eighteen is the new twelve. Our students are emotionally underdeveloped. They’re much less resilient than any we’ve ever encountered, & I’m not entirely sure why.” (John Eldridge, Resilient, p. 43)
- We live in a “comfort culture” (Eldridge). A culture of convenience. A culture of instant gratification.
- Reality is that we are never guaranteed comfort & convenience & instant gratification. In fact, those things work against the necessary development of the steadfastness that God wants to build into our lives.
God, in His infinite wisdom & love for us, knows that we need that steadfastness. Why? B/c, like it or not, another test is coming down the road.
- Katrina – another major test for many of us.
- But it wasn’t the last hurricane. A month later, Rita hit. About a month after that, Wilma hit.
- That’s a picture of life! And God prepares us by developing steadfastness – that endurance & perseverance we need to keep pressing on.
THE TESTS DELIVER SPIRITUAL MATURITY – v. 4 – The steadfastness – that ability to persevere when things go south - & they’re going to keep going south – leads to an absolutely essential place for EVERY Christ-follower. That place is spiritual maturity.
- “Maturity is no longer optional, dear ones; wholeheartedness is no longer something we can go without.” (John Eldrdige)
Spiritual maturity comes when we:
- Renew love for Jesus
- Remember the promises of God in His Word
- Refocus priorities we are living by
- Realign our lives to live in obedience to God
- Reach out to others when you need help
Early morning – Birds on beach with storm rolling in. No human on beach. Sitting in our condos or on our balconies. Comfortable. Dry. Out of the wind & rain. But the ospreys out there, flying against wind gusts, soaring over the waves, looking for food, knowing that his life depended on it. The seagulls, terns, & sanderlings are out there on the beach, watching to see what the churning waves would bring to them. And while I was watching, an osprey flew by my 10th floor balcony with a fish in his talons.
Here’s the deal: God created them.
- He is going to provide for them.
- He created the sea that holds their food.
- He created the waves that are bringing their food.
- He created the moon that is causing the tide to come in.
- He created the storm that is churning up those waves.
And spiritual maturity means that you & I know that, even when the storms roll in, when those times of testing come, our Father who promised to take care of the birds of air & the birds on the beach is going to take care of us in the storm. In fact, that’s the very reason that He’s allowed that storm into your life – to show you His faithfulness, to prove His steadfast love for you, to deepen your faith in Him, & to give you a story to tell to others. That storm is an integral part of His sovereign plan for your life.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – I hope & pray 9/11 never happens again. But we all know that the tests will continue to come into our lives. So how do we pass the tests when they come?
- You’ve got to know Jesus personally, passionately, & intimately.
- You’ve got to trust God w/ every fiber of your being, even when you are freaking out w/ fear & anxiety.
- You’ve got to have other brothers & sisters in Christ to lean on in those times – folks to talk to, to cry with, to pray with – or have them pray when you can’t pray. You’ve got to drop your pride & let folks in.
