Joy in Pain
Notes
Transcript
Joy in Pain
James 1:1-4,12
Tug of war.. marriage.. finding balance..not about winning but finding the common ground..
Losing weight.. balance of eating healthy and working out..
Work.. balance of success working hard and enjoying life and providing
James 1:1-4,12 (ESV)
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James
James 1:1a (ESV)
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
James half brother of Jesus
James is possibly the first book written of the New Testament.
Bond-Servant Doulos ..absolute obedience .. absolute humility.. absolutel loyality.. one who devotes their whole life to the mission of the gospel…
James uses perfect many times..attain spiritual maturity complete.. not sinless but grown up.. James 1:4, 17, 25 2:22, 3:2.
54 of the 108 verses in James are imperitive verbs.. ACTION..
James is the proverbs of the New Testament
Practical
Key vs:
James 1:22 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Our actions reflect our faith
James 2:17 (ESV)
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 1:1b (ESV)
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
this is to the jews who are living outside Isreal. They where scattered because of persecution.. The Roman Empire became more aggressive toward those who professed in Christ.. espedially after Stephen was martyred. James hears about these afflicitions and hears that some of the Jewish believres are gong back to their superficial religion and longer practicing the teachigns of Christ.
There is a good argument that James is practically applying Jesus greatest sermon.. all throughout his book
Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Our tug of war this morning
the first action James wants us to take is finding
Joy in pain
James 1:2 (ESV)
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
This guy has lost his mind.. hospital visits..
1 Peter 4:13 (ESV)
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
Romans 5:3 (ESV)
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Football ..heat.. conditioning.. following covid
To find the Joy in pain.. we have to have
An attitude of Joy
Choice…
Count/Consider.. weigh the facts..
When you go through trials
The test/trials do two things.. reveal and strengthen us
We take a test and we get honest results ..did we study..
Did we put in the work..
Deal with the emotions..
Feelings are valid
Romans 12:15 (ESV)
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
and even Jesus wept..
when we do this we begin to experience relationship with Christ..this is what our Joy is founded in.. just knowing him. His perspective.. His way of life
Joy is not necesaraliy happiness like the world tells us but its joy and hope is a unshakeable confidene that our future is in Heaven with Jesus
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So we have to make a choice in our pain
Do I trust God or not? Will I find Joy or not
If you are going to find the Joy in Pain you have to trust God.
James 1:3 (ESV)
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
What is God testing? Your trust.. do you trust Him, do you depend on him..
Steadfastness means stability of mind, stability of purpose your faithfulness..
Do you trust God is in control?
Proverbs 16:33 (ESV)
33 The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.
Job.. Satan to take away Job’s wealth and his children. Later, God allowed Satan to afflict Job physically.
Job 27:6-12 (ESV)
6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
Job 13:15 (KJV)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
Let me ask who or what do you call upon when life’s trials hit you?
We can trust God for his salvation
We are to keep our eyes on Christ. On his word..
Extravagant time..Packers game boys..
Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
We are able to trust him more when we realize
Founder of our faith
Perfector of our faith
These trials perfect us.
Removing fear and doubt
Sometimes removing all the things of the world we depend on causing us to depend completely on Christ.
Example
Communion.. today..
We remember this example, the trails and God’s deliverance for us which leads to
Steadfastness… stability…
Consistency.. how would we ever learn to trust if we never went through anything hard?
If you are going to find the Joy in Pain
James 1:4 (ESV)
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
You.. me .. we are a work in progress.. some of us have some great pain in our lives right now..
Do we trust him.. Do we trust that together with Christ..he can make us perfect, complete, lacking nothing..
I have learned in my life that one of the best teachers in this world is experience
These tests..these trials are never fun but looking back I have so much more of Christ to stand on because of them.
The words “and let” He wants and desires for us to become spiritually mature..
Don’t stop letting the holy spirit work in you.. you are getting there..you are on the way.. run the race…
Grow up in Jesus, become like him… There is Joy in the pain in this tug of war
1 Peter 5:10
English Standard Version
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Communion
James 1:12 (ESV)
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Many of you have asked us about Pastor Tim and we want to thank you for asking about him and praying for him. We also want to update you on Pastor Tim. About two month ago, we asked that you would pray for Pastor Tim and his family, please continue to do so. He is still working through some issues at home and we are going to continue to support him. Thank you for praying for us and him through this situation.
Haiti
Michael
Jeanne Padgett
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