Time to Grow Up

Good morning children of God! We are going to look at the first seven verses of James this morning. I am not sure that there exists a book of the New Testament that cuts like the Book of James. I have studied different takes and theologies on the book of James. One thing that all of the scholars seem to agree upon is that James is a book that tells the maturing believer that “it is time to grow up.” I have told you before that I could not stand James early in my walk, and sometimes he still frustrates me. Why? It was hard to be honest with myself, others, and to be honest with God. If I am being completely vulnerable with you, sometimes it can still be difficult. James addresses the problems we try to pretend we do not have. Those behaviors, thoughts, and words that so many of us struggle with. You know, the same thoughts, behaviors, and words that we try to convince others we do not struggle with. Like when we act a certain way and then try to justify our poor behavior. I want to share a little story. Please know that when I share personal stories with you, it is not to make it about me. I want you to know that you are not alone when you have failed or fallen short. If we can not ALL share the real stuff with each-other, what are we doing? This is supposed to be the place where we can share those things as we seek to be more like Christ.

It took almost everything I have in me to get up here in front of you this morning. I do not feel like I should be up here teaching. I have failed. In the recent past I have lashed out at Carolyn, my wife, my best friend, my sister in Christ. This past Thursday I was at a meeting. I became frustrated and lashed out in a terrible way at someone I love, someone I call a brother in Christ. I have failed at being Christ-like. Not only that, I did it in front of five other people I call brothers and sisters. I made a fool of myself and I shamed myself. That is hard to come back from. Anybody else been there before? It was not a matter of if I was right or wrong, it is how I said those things and how I behaved toward a sister or brother in Christ.

I asked the LORD to forgive me, a broken sinner. I asked those I lashed out at to forgive me, and I asked the other people present to forgive me. In our brokenness God’s grace is ever present. We have to repent though, and call wrong wrong EVEN WHEN WE ARE THE ONE WHO IS WRONG! I could have blamed my behavior on a host of things: what I am going through, my health, what someone else said to me, but the truth is that my behaviors are mine alone. Glory be to God for His grace and forgiveness and the grace and forgiveness of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

A little about James before we jump in. Biblical scholars do not fully agree on the author. Some believe it was James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (the sons of thunder). Others believe it was James the lesser, the son of Alphaeus. Some try to claim that it was James, the father of Judas the disciple (not Iscariot, the other one). Many Catholics believe he was Christ’s cousin as a way of supporting the perpetual virginity of Mary. Then there are those who believe this to be James, a son of Mary and Joseph, the brother of Jesus Christ. I choose to go with the Occam's Razor philosophy: The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. You can decide for yourself, but I believe the author of James is the half-brother of Jesus Christ.

I had to stop right there and say “Oh my God, literally, our God.” Could you imagine being a sibling of Jesus? There is your mother, Mary, looking at you with all the love of a mother and saying “Why cant you be more like your brother!” James did not even believe that Jesus was the Messiah, he was telling mama Mary that Yeshua was a crazy liar! James did not believe until the resurrected Christ appeared to him. I can relate to James. There was a time I thought this whole Jesus thing was crazy lies. Until I had a Jesus encounter and accepted His crazy love for me. Now I want nothing more than to be more like Him. Which brings us to the book of James.

James 1:1 NKJV

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

The Hebrew word for “bondservant,” is ebed. We are using the Hebrew rather than the Greek because James was an ardent Jewish man. As a sister reminded me,The Mosaic Law allowed an indentured servant to become a bondservant voluntarily: “If the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges and keep the person on as a bondservant.

He could have started this letter with “James, the brother of Jesus (mic drop). Imagine being able to say that your a brother of Jesus! Guess what, you get to say that you are a brother or sister of Jesus this morning! He could have said “James the leader of the church at Jerusalem.” Instead he calls himself a slave to God and Jesus Christ. I asked myself “How many of us can honestly say that we are sold out bondservants of God and Christ. James had no desire for compliments, there is no desire for recognition of earthly power or prestige, simply a deep love and devotion for Jesus Christ. James is saying “I exist for Christ, I serve Christ, I desire to do only the will of God.” James was assured by Holy Spirit that this letter that we are reading right now would reach all Jews, converted to Christianity or not, scattered around the world. God’s word does not return void, we are reading it today, two thousand years later.

James 1:2 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

The fact is this: This life is filled with trials, temptations, sickness, disease, accidents, disappointments, sorrows, suffering, and death. We have been given something by God. Jesus Christ gives each and every one of us a guaranteed way to overcome all of the trials and temptations of this life. We are to possess a heart of joy and perseverance given through Holy Spirit. When we recognize that our attitude toward God should be one of absolute awe, thanksgiving, and gratefulness, our hearts and minds will be filled with Holy Spirit, peace, and His joy allowing us what we need to face any trial or temptation.

James 1:3 NLT

3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

If our faith CAN be tested that means we are NOT perfect and our endurance has a chance to grow. Thank you LORD! That tells me that it takes practice, and I am not going to get it right every-time. But God, in His grace and mercy will guide us and teach us. I had to ask myself “Why.” Why does God allow us to go through trials and temptations? I mean, I would not have to worry about having a spirit of joy if there were no trials or temptations! There is a reason, and it is the crux of James message here.

James 1:4 NLT

4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

As our endurance develops, we become more like Jesus. Follow me here: It is to make us stronger and pure. Conquering temptation purifies us, bringing us closer to holiness and righteousness, just like James says here. When we face the trials of this life with a Christ like approach, we become stronger and steadfast. When we stand up against trials and temptations, we become a witness to all those who see us because we are demonstrating the living presence and power of Christ in our hearts and lives. It is so we can make Christ more fully known to this world.

James 1:5 NLT

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

And there it is. Here is where I think we often make a mistake. We will not stop to take the time to seek God’s wisdom. In my failings over the past few weeks, had I stopped to pray and sought God’s wisdom, I would have reflected Christ rather than Bob B.C. God delights in us going to Him, praying to Him, talking to Him, and asking Him to guide us! God is not too busy nor is He going to tell us to take a number. He will help us. We do have a responsibility in this though, and this is critical.

James 1:6 NLT

6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

We must go in complete faith before the throne. That faith must be in God alone. There are different kinds of divided loyalty: Are we being loyal to ourselves over God, are we being loyal to this world over God, are we being loyal to the lies of the enemy over God? Think about this, “When we believe the lies, who are we being loyal to?” Let’s hit it some some hard truth here. As believers, when our loyalty becomes divided in any way, we are going to experience thoughts such as: “Does God really exist?” “Does God even hear me?” “Does God love me?” “Does God even care about me?” All the while, God is saying “My child, I love you, look at me, focus on me.” James tells us that if we go to Him with a divided loyalty:

James 1:7–8 NLT

7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

These two verses changed my prayer life. How small of a box can I put God in? If I am not going to God in complete faith, what am I to expect from a Holy and perfect God? God is who He says He is or He is not. God will do what He promises or God is a liar. God is not a liar. Do we go to the Father believing in full faith? Most importantly, are we glorifying God through the trials and temptations?

I heard a story about a sister in Christ from another church. This woman had a stroke, then her husband went blind, then he was rushed to the hospital where they were sure he would die. The pastor saw the woman at church one Sunday, and assured her that he was praying for her. She asked the Pastor “What are you asking God to do?” The Pastor was taken aback by this question. He said “I am asking God to help you and strengthen you.” “I appreciate that,” she said, “but pray about one more thing. Pray that I’ll have the wisdom not to waste all of this!”

This sister got it! There was prayer for healing and for strength. But this sister wanted the wisdom to not waste these trials as she wanted to give God glory through the trials.

Worship Team/Alter Call

Where are you this morning? Is it time to let go of some things and grow up in the faith? Are we focusing on God or just glancing at Him from time to time? When you make mistakes, look at it as an opportunity to learn from Him, and to seek forgiveness if needed. Maybe you feel forgotten, your not. Maybe you feel alone, He has not left you. Maybe you feel like God does not hear the cry of your heart this morning, He hears you. Go to Him, he will wipe away those tears. Abba daddy loves you, He calls you His own. God bless you.