A. Of all the New Testament EPISTLES (letters written to Christians) James is the most practical of all.
1. It is the “HOW TO” MANUAL FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
a. Every verse of this book speaks so POWERFULLY to everyday LIVING—to the “NUTS and
BOLTS” of Christianity.
b. It’s just as PRACTICAL today as when it was first WRITTEN almost 2,000 years ago.
2. So many of the New Testament books deal with great lofty THEOLOGICAL themes.
a. You study the book of Romans, and it lays out so beautifully the great themes of JUSTIFICATION,
SANCTIFICATION, EXPIATION, and REDEMPTION.
b. The book of Hebrews strikes up the theme of Jesus and His PRIESTHOOD of PROPITIATION
after the order of Melchizedek.
COMMENT:
All this THRILL me to PIECES, and thank God for every word of it. But there are so many mornings when I get out of BED, and the YEARNING on my heart is not the EXPIATIONS and PROPITIATIONS, but is: “Lord, how am I going to SURVIVE this DAY and have You pleased with me when it’s done!” That’s what this BOOK is all about.
B. Throughout this book, James is endeavoring to help Christians to MATURE in the FAITH—to GROW in
the LIKENESS of Jesus Christ.
1. I think one reason for that is—he was once an UNBELIEVER who did a lot of GROWING UP!
2. Most SCHOLARS believe that the author of this book is the BROTHER of Jesus, one of the sons of
Joseph and Mary.
a. In John 7:1-5, James along with his other brothers MOCKS Jesus (READ and COMMENT)
b. It wasn’t until after Jesus’ CRUCIFIXION and RESURRECTION that James became a
BELIEVER and a GODLY LEADER in the Jerusalem church.
COMMENT:
When James writes about JOY in SUFFERING, how to LOVE and TREAT people, how to CONTROL your TONGUE, how to RESIST the DEVIL and DRAW near to God, how to have a PRAYERFUL life, no doubt he had to LEARN much of what he writes by WATCHING how his big brother Jesus LIVED His LIFE while on this earth. He saw Jesus not only in PUBLIC but in His PRIVATE LIFE, and His BROTHER was the SAME PERSON no matter where He was.
3. So when James WRITES in practical terms about how we should LIVE our LIVES . . . I LISTEN!
C. James is a TO-THE-POINT kind of WRITER. Listen how he begins his letter- James 1:1-4 (READ)
1. Unlike many people who write letters, James SKIPS the NICETIES and gets right down to what really
MATTERS.
a. He announces who he is in v. 1 and then says in v. 2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds.”
b. How would you like to get a letter like that?
ILLUSTRATION:
“This is a letter from me... You got problems? Be happy!” What?! How? There’s no way I could be happy. You don’t know my situation.
2. The key is the phrase “BECAUSE YOU KNOW”.
a. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds BECAUSE YOU
KNOW that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
b. Yours and my attitude during LIFE’S PROBLEMS is determined by our UNDERSTANDING.
COMMENT:
Rejoicing is not just positive thinking—“When life hands you a LEMON…make LEMONADE!”—but it is BASED on some FACTS of LIFE.
MESSAGE:
I. FOUR “FACTS OF LIFE” WE NEED TO KNOW
A. Problems are INEVITABLE.
1. It’s not IF they will come . . . it is simply WHEN they will come.
COMMENT:
The Christian who EXPECTS his or her WALK with Jesus to always be EASY is in for some BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT.
2. Almost every major teaching in the book of James ECHOES a LESSON that his big brother taught.
- John 16:33b- “In this world you WILL have TROUBLE…”
3. Other New Testament writers agree with Jesus and their fellow-apostle.
a. Paul told his converts: “We must go through many HARDSHIPS to enter the kingdom of
heaven…”- Acts 14:22.
b. Peter wrote: “…do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you.- 1 Peter 4:12.
COMMENT:
I don’t care who we are and how godly we are, we can COUNT on PROBLEMS. NO one is IMMUNE.
B. Problems are UNPREDICTABLE.
1. James says, “…whenever you FACE trials…”
a. The word “FACE” in Greek literally means “to fall into unexpectedly”.
b. It is the same word used in the story of the Good Samaritan where the man “FELL among thieves” -- it was UNEXPECTED.
2. Trials are not planned.
COMMENT:
We seldom can ANTICIPATE the problems we’re going to EXPERIENCE in life. That’s probably good because if we could ANTICIPATE them we’d RUN the other way and wouldn’t BENEFIT from them.
We don’t plan to have a FLAT TIRE, or get SICK, or get LAID OFF from WORK. On your HONEYMOON, you don’t PLAN to get a DIVORCE. PROBLEMS come when we least EXPECT them. That’s what makes a PROBLEM a PROBLEM. That’s why some people’s LIVES are completely DESTROYED when PROBLEMS come.
C. Problems have MANY FORMS.
1. One thing about PROBLEMS, you don’t get BORED with them.
a. They come in all SHAPES and SIZES.
b. The word in Greek for “MANY KINDS” literally means “multi colored”.
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever tried to MATCH existing PAINT on your WALLS? Unlike to the TRAINED EYE of PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS . . . to me WHITE is WHITE.
But then when I go to buy WHITE PAINT to cover up some SCUFF marks on my WALL, the guy at the PAINT STORE will ask, “What SHADE of WHITE do you want? We have bright white, off white, ivory, egg shell, sea shell, vanilla bean, winter white, warm white, French white, Nordic white, summer white, milky white, foam white, etc.”
I have an UNEXPECTED PROBLEM just trying to find WHITE PAINT. Then you put what you think is the SHADE of WHITE on your WALL and it’s not, and you have to REPAINT
the entire WALL.
2. James wants us to realize that PROBLEMS come in many SHADES and VARIETIES.
COMMENT:
They vary in INTENSITY, they vary in ASSORTMENT, they vary in DURATION. Some are MINOR INCONVENIENCES. Some are MAJOR CRISES. But ALL are to be expected.
D. Problems are PURPOSEFUL.
COMMENT:
Problems are BENEFICIAL to our SPIRITUAL GROWTH. PAIN can be PRODUCTIVE. PRESSURE produces. SUFFERING can accomplish something. It has VALUE in our lives.
What value? Three PURPOSES of PROBLEMS in our lives:
1. Problems purify our faith.
a. James uses the word “testing”, as in testing or refining GOLD and SILVER.
ILLUSTRATION:
You would heat the PRECIOUS METAL in FIRE until all the IMPURITIES—the dross—was BURNED off.
b. Job with all of his TRAGEDIES and TRIALS that he went through points out to his so-called friends who were questioning his faith that, “When God has tested me through the refining
fire, I will come out as pure gold”- Job 23:10.
ILLUSTRATION:
Although we use WORSHIP ATTENDANCE as a benchmark of one’s FAITHFULNESS, merely sitting in this ASSEMBLY doesn’t PURIFY your FAITH. Faith is PURIFIED on the BATTLE LINES. Our FAITH is TESTED in EMERGENCY ROOMS, FUNERAL HOMES, and UNEMPLOYMENT CENTERS. These are the PLACES that REFINE and PURIFY our FAITH. Christians are like STEEL—when we are TESTED we come out STRONGER.
2. Problems fortify our patience.
a. James- “...the testing of your faith develops PERSEVERANCE.”
b. He’s talking about STAYING POWER, not a PASSIVE PATIENCE, but ENDURANCE—the
ability to KEEP on KEEPING ON, the ability to HANG IN THERE no matter what.
COMMENT
The Greek here is literally “the ability to stay under pressure.” We don't like PRESSURE and we do everything we can to AVOID it. We RUN from it. We try to DESENSITIZE it by taking DRUGS, drinking ALCOHOL, or going to a MOVIE, anything to get away from PRESSURE. But God uses PROBLEMS in our lives to teach us how to HANDLE PRESSURE, how to NEVER GIVE UP.
3. Problems build our character.
a. James goes on to say, "The testing of your faith produces perseverance that you may be MATURE
and COMPLETE, not lacking anything."
b. Problems help MAKE me like Jesus. They help me MATURE. They help me to GROW.
COMMENT:
That’s God’s long range GOAL. His ultimate PURPOSE is MATURITY. God wants you and me to GROW UP. God’s number one PURPOSE in our LIFE is to make us like Jesus Christ. God is much more interested in BUILDING our CHARACTER than in MAKING us COMFORTABLE.
c. Philippians 3:10- “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like Him in His death, and, so, somehow to attain to the
resurrection from the dead.”
COMMENT:
If God is going to make us like Jesus, then He will take us through some of the very SUFFERING that His Son endured. There were times when Jesus was LONELY, HUNGRY,
FATIGUED, TEMPTED, INSULTED, PERSECUTED, and finally MURDERED.
d. Remember, whatever Christ went through, He has already paved way for our VICTORY.
- John 16:33b- “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world.”
¬- 1 John 5:4b- “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
II. HOW TO HANDLE OUR PROBLEMS
A. REJOICE
1. James- “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials ...”- v. 2.
a. I must be honest with you. At face value, this is a STRANGE REQUEST.
COMMENT:
When’s the last time you threw a PARTY in the Emergency Room while the TRAUMA
TEAM is working on your CHILD after a serious AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT?
When a LOVED ONE was told that he had TERMINAL CANCER, did you burst into
JOYFUL LAUGHTER and say, “That’s the HAPPIEST news I’ve had in a long time!”?
b. James doesn’t mean that we rejoice FOR the problem—we rejoice IN the problem.
2. Here’s an example of Christians REJOICING in suffering- Acts 5:40b-41 (READ & COMMENT)
COMMENT:
The disciples didn’t find JOY in the BEATING (ILLUSTRATE BEING WHIPPED), but
in the fact that they were willing to SUFFER for Christ.
3. Along with the PROBLEMS you face, God makes this PROMISE . . . “We know that in all things God works for the GOOD of those who live him, who have been called according to His
purpose.”- Romans 8:28
COMMENT:
This means we that God will take the BAD in a Christian’s LIFE and TURN IT AROUND
and bring GOOD out of it.
I don’t care where our PROBLEMS come from. We may have BROUGHT them on OURSELVES. The DEVIL may have CAUSED them, as he did with Job. They may be a PROBLEM that SOCIETY has brought on us. The source of our PROBLEMS doesn’t really matter. God can use them all for our GROWTH and His GLORY.
B. REQUEST
1. PRAY . . . GIVE your PROBLEMS to God and let Him help you HANDLE them.
a. In the midst of our PROBLEMS James said we need to “ASK God for WISDOM”- v. 5
b. Why “WISDOM”?
COMMENT:
So we won’t waste the OPPORTUNITY to GROW. If we don’t LEARN it this time there will be one more LAP around the DESERT! God will give us another OPPORTUNITY.
2. When PROBLEMS come, let’s LEARN from them and see what God has in MIND for us.
a. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
We become OVERWHELMED when we don’t UNDERSTAND what God’s doing. PRAY
for WISDOM. WISDOM is seeing LIFE from God’s POINT OF VIEW.
b. Pray for WISDOM to UNDERSTAND the PROBLEM and to make the CHOICES that God
wants us to make.
C. RELAX
1. James said, “When you ask for WISDOM, you must BELIEVE and not DOUBT”- v. 6.
2. We turn our PROBLEM over to God. We ask for WISDOM as to how to DEAL with it and what we can LEARN from it. Now lets TRUST God to know what’s BEST for our LIFE.
CONCLUSION:
A. As a minister I am often called in to MINISTER to and PRAY for people during some of the most
DIFFICULT times of their LIVES.
1. My heart breaks when I think about the HEARTACHE and PAIN many of my Christian brothers and
sisters have gone through . . . many in this very church.
ILLUSTRATION:
Yet, you have maintained a SWEET SPIRIT in the odds of incredible pressure -- things that people DID to you, things that people SAID about you, SITUATIONS you have been living with,
TRAGEDY you have endured.
It’s not always easy to have a JOYFUL HEART in the middle of PROBLEMS, even when you want too. Yet, you are still here LOVING and SERVING the Lord—you’ve never QUIT.
2. And because you’ve never QUIT, there is a PROMISE that God makes to you- James 1:12 (READ and COMMENT)
