Sermon Tone Analysis

James 1:2-4

Theme: Christians are a society of the suffering.

Count it all joy!

Date: 01/29/2023 File: James02.wpd

ID: NT20-01

We live in a culture where testing is a fundamental fact of life though it’s something most of us never see taking place.

Our food is regularly tested by the producers who make it, and government agencies to ensure its safety.

Our medicine goes through thorough clinical trials to be sure it works, but also to be sure it does us no harm.

The software we use on our computers goes through rigorous testing to make sure it doesn’t contain programing flaws that will cause the program to ‘crash’ or work improperly.

Some things are tested to verify their genuineness.

To test the authenticity of a diamond, jewelers often place it in clear water, which causes a real diamond to sparkle with increased brilliance.

On the other hand, an imitation stone will have almost no sparkle at all.

When the two are placed side by side, even an untrained eye can easily tell the difference.

James writes that, in this world, our faith will be tested through various kinds of trials.

In a sense, the testing of our faith, is God’s way of spiritual quality control in the believer’s life.

The way in which we handle our trials lets other see the difference between genuine Christians and counterfeit Christians.

Many people have great confidence in their faith until it is severely tested by hardships and disappointments.

How a person handles trouble will reveal whether his faith is living or dead, genuine or imitation, saving or nonsaving.

James writes his epistle to Christians who have been driven from their homes and had possessions confiscated.

He addresses people who suffer because they are exploited by the rich, dragged into court, and slandered for believing in the name of Jesus (2:6–7).

How they handle the trials that come their way will reveal if the genuineness of their faith.

To these people James directs a pastoral letter in which his first admonition is to rejoice when troubles come.

I. TRIALS ARE INEVITABLE

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,” (James 1:2, ESV)

1. you can read the Bible from cover to cover but nowhere will you find a promise that Christians will be immune to trials, troubles, and tribulations

a. Jesus was clear, “In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!

I have overcome the world.”

(John 15:33, ESV)

ILLUS.

In 1987 on a commuter flight from Portland to Boston, Henry Dempsey, the pilot, heard an unusual rattle coming from the rear of the Beechcraft 99 turboprop.

He turned the controls over to his co-pilot and went back to check it out.

As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door.

He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise.

The rear door had not been properly latched prior to take-off, and it flew open.

Dempsey was instantly sucked out of the airplane.

The co-pilot, seeing the red light that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport, requesting permission to make an emergency landing.

He reported that the pilot had fallen out of the plane and he requested a helicopter search of the area.

After the plane landed, they found Henry Dempsey — clinging to the outdoor ladder of the airplane for dear life.

He had caught hold of the ladder and held on for ten minutes as the plane flew 200 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet.

It took airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey's fingers from the ladder.

2. Moral: Sometimes life gets really turbulent, and you find yourself holding on for dear life

a. but have you considered the alternative?

A. NOBODY LIVES WITHOUT TROUBLES

1. here at the very beginning of his letter the apostle James tells the church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you - not if you - but when you meet trials of various kinds"

a. this is a corrective to an irrational expectation of many as to what the normative Christian life is like

1) there is, and you've heard me talk about this before, that segment of the Body of Christ that asserts that once you come to Christ there should never be any hardship or difficulties as long as your positively confess your faith

2) it’s called the Word of Faith movement, and it chief spokesman is Kenneth Hagin, who’s considered the father of the modern Word of Faith movement

a) Kenneth says, "What I confess, I possess"

ILLUS.

Well, that sounds good ... it’s juste wrong!

b) Hagin (and many others) teach that Christians must regularly claim the grace God has promised them, whether in material goods, health, social position, or roles within the church

1) you do this through positive confession — hence the name-it-and-claim-it nickname for their theology

c) if you don’t have material goods, health, social position it’s because you’ve not claimed them

b.

most of us are wise enough, and spiritually mature enough to understand that trials are a part of the Christian experience irregardless of how strong or weak our faith

c.

Jesus told his disciples, “A servant is not above their master.

Because I suffered, you’re going to suffer.”

2. when troubles come, people normally have a tendency to respond in a way that shows their true colors

a. many people tend to feel afraid, even traumatized when tragedy strikes

b. others tend to “shut down” and will withdraw from their family and friends

1) sometimes they descend into destructive behavior

c. some begin to doubt God, question His goodness and leave the church

3. trial come — this us one of the sad realities of life

a.

our trials reveal the true intentions of our heart

b.

James writes to encourage us in the faith so that when various trials do overtake us — and they will —we will find ourselves responding by faith in a way that grows our faith, and glorifies God

B. CHRISTIANS ARE NOT IMMUNE TO TROUBLES, AND MAY FACE MORE BECAUSE WE ARE CHRISTIANS

1. the normative Christian life is not a life without trials

a. now, we need to understand that the normal human life is a life full of trials, but the assumption of many Christians is that since they are a Christian that their life ought to be free of trials

b. but the entire New Testament reminds us that because we are Christians there are going to be trials we face simply because we are Christians

1) Jesus was pretty clear about this

""Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master."

(Matthew 10:16-24, ESV).

c. James writes when you meet trials or as the KJV says, when you fall into trials

1) the word meet here is the same word used by Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan

2) the “certain man” of the story who is on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho meets or, more literally, falls into the hands of robbers

a) the word implies the suddenness of an unexpected event

b) the man didn’t see the robbery coming, but suddenly, unexpectedly WHAM he’s assaulted, beaten, robbed and left for dead

3) doesn’t that sound like how some of our trials come to us?

2. trials are often used by God to jolt us out of the comfortable ruts into which we settle

a. our trials are not mindless, senseless woes unleashed upon us by a cold and impersonal fate

b. they are permitted by a wise and loving heavenly Father who is too caring to be unkind, and too wise to make any mistakes

C. HOW WE HANDLE TROUBLES MEANS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING SHALLOW AND BITTER, OR MATURE AND JOYOUS

ILLUS.

A Chinese proverb says: A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made perfect without trials.

1. at the end of this passage James tells us that the full effect of our trials are to make us perfect and complete

a. i.e. spiritually whole and spiritually mature

2. the way we respond to our trials tells us a great deal about our spiritual condition

a. trials are not electives in God’s school of sanctification; they are required courses

3. they are not intended to give God an opportunity to “see how we are doing” — God always knows how we are doing, and because He is omniscient, He always knows how we will respond