Trials

James 1:1 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.

Prayer

Introduction - Context/Background/Theme

Who is James? Jacob, half-brother of Jesus

When is it written? Early 40s AD - oldest book in the NT

Who is it written to? The church at-large (Jewish Christians at this time)

Theme: Living Out Your Faith (Wisdom, Sanctification, and Discipleship)

Knowing God’s will and doing God’s will.

Walking in faith, growing in faith, and being sanctified.

Discipleship (God loves us enough to meet us where we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there.)

1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

1:1 In the dispersion: Scattered, aliens among unbelievers. Persecuted and misunderstood. A relevant word for us who are surrounded by unbelievers in the workplace, in our communities, even in our families. James gives a challenging word to the church about how to live a life for Christ amongst unbelievers.

James, a servant: 1)He’s a bondservant - totally sold out for and committed to Christ. 2) IDENTITY. Our identity is in Christ. I don’t care if you’re a doctor or a lawyer or an uber driver or a stay at home mom. You are first and foremost called to be a servant of God. When we put our identity in something other than God, at BEST, we get temporary fulfillment from it. At worst, when that person or thing that we put our identity in is taken away from us, our whole world is flipped upside down.

Your identity is in Christ alone, and your title, just like James is servant of God. And if we live by that title of servant, if we live as if Christ is truly our Lord and we are truly His followers, His servants, then the Bible says that we will face hard times. 2 Timothy 3:12 says “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

This is a truth that is consistent throughout the Word of God. It’s something that James and the early church know all too well, and so it’s how James begins his instructions to the church, beginning in verse 2.

He says 1:2 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 (endurance, perseverance). 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Before we get into the trials that James is discussing here, I want to look at these 3 verses, James 1:2-4, and how they show us a broad view of what the Christian life looks like and how these verses really hone in on the theme of this book: living out our faith.

📷

So justification is instantaneous - it’s a moment when we come to a genuine, saving faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In that moment, we are justified before God, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we are forever changed.

Like justification, glorification is instantaneous. When we draw our last breath here on earth, we immediately go to be with the Lord. We become perfect and complete, lacking nothing, and we will spend all of eternity that way, in our glorified bodies.

We are here: sanctification. Sanctification is this chunk of your life between the moment you were saved and the moment you die. It is a process..a process through which we grow in faith (a working faith, not just a head knowledge). It’s a process through which we grow in holiness. And the teachings of James are in-your-face teachings that say, “Come on, Christian. Let’s work out your faith.” It’s a very challenging book. And it starts with trials. So tonight we’re going to take a close look at the role that trials play in our sanctification, in our growing faith, in our discipleship.

Trials are essential to us becoming who God has called us to be.

Sometimes we suffer because of our own sins.

Sometimes we suffer because people sin against us.

Sometimes we suffer because we’re getting attacked by the enemy - he’s lying and deceiving and trying to pull us out of the will of God.

Sometimes we suffer because a sovereign God, a good Father, says I’m going to give you this hard thing to walk through, but the outcome, the result of this trial you’ll face, will be so worth it..because the thing I’m going to do through you is going to have such a huge impact on you and on others that you’re going to one day say thank you Lord for that trial. You will one day count it all JOY.

It’s not our job to understand why the trials come (Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. );

It's our job to trust God in the midst of the trial (Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.).

Trials are always a means of God’s grace for those who love Him. Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

And that’s why we count it all joy when we face trials, because those trials, regardless of who or what brings them on, are an essential part of our spiritual growth, an essential component of us walking in God’s will, of becoming who God has called us to be here in our Christian life.

Even when we mess up, even when we’re out of God’s will, He works our trials for good, according to His purpose.

Trials are a means of God’s mercy when we miss the mark. (Trials redirect us when we’re out of the will of God). Sometimes we suffer/face trials because of our own sins.

Jonah - God could have just struck Him down, but He didn’t. He still used Him for good, to fulfill His purposes.

Paul on road to Damascus - Paul was a terrorist against the church, killing Christians; it would have made logical sense to wipe him off this earth…but God saw what no one else could. He worked it for good and changed the world forever through Paul

My salvation

We will continue to miss the mark throughout our Christian walk…as we mature progressively…as we progressively become more holy. Proverbs 3:11-12

11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

I discipline Luke because I love him.

James says that the testing of our faith through trials produces steadfastness (endurance, perseverance). When we miss the mark, when we screw up, and a trial follows as a result of our mess up, steadfastness looks like dropping to our knees, confessing our sin to God, repenting of that sin and walking the other way.

But oftentimes, what leads us to that repentance is the trial. Without the trial, without the discipline of a loving Father, we don’t walk in God’s will the way He’s called us to, amen?

...that means that God is growing us through the trials. Receive that discipline and mature through it. When we walk out of God’s will, then oftentimes, the trials that we encounter are a means of His correction.

Sometimes we suffer/face trials because of circumstances completely out of our control.

Trials are the stepping stones to who and where He’s called you to be.

No one in the Bible did anything of significance for the Lord without experiencing trials on the way to their calling. (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, JESUS, Peter, Paul).

There’s a reason for this challenging season. It’s a growing season. God is purifying you. He’s strengthening your faith. Testing=dokimion…is it real? Because you’ll need real faith to walk in what I’ve called you to.

Raise your hand if you find yourself, right now, in a season of trials… GOOD!