James 1:2-4- Need for Endurance

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Introduction

Good Morning Church
Yesterday at 4:59pm I posted on our church’s social media that our services had been canceled, and at 4:59:30 I got a phone call that the city actually is okay with us coming into the park and utilizing the pavilion.
So Trust me when I say… It is so good to see you this morning, but would you go to the Lord in prayer with me?
Pray
So, believe it or not, but I’ve somewhat fallen in love with endurance running.
Now, it’s not fun
And I’m not any good at it...
But one of the reasons I love it is because of the deep parallels marathoning and being a Christian have in common.
There are many…
But at the most foundational level, to be a mature marathoner you have to possess Endurance.
It’s always funny to watch the inexperienced rookie runner toe the line and full of the adrenline of the moment run the first few miles significanly faster than they can sustain, only to burn out later in ther race.
But listen… at the most foundational level, to be a mature Christian you have to possess Endurance.
It’s actually not funny, not funny at all… but just as common to watch an inexperienced, immature Christian toe the line of faith only to meet their first obstacle, or trial, and their faith is unsustainable, and they burn out.
To be a decent marathoner, and to be a Mature Christian we have to possess endurance.
Endurance is the power to sustain a difficult process or situation without giving up.
Its the ability to withstand hardship or adversity.
And what’s neat, is that endurance is not something you’re born with.
No, Endurance is developed. It’s built up, over time.
And when it comes to marathon training the essential component to building endurance is volume.
Simply increasing your distance, week by week, and ensuring that each week you have a Long Run.
It can be boring, but it can not be ignored.
Marathon Endurance comes from More Miles.
But… in the chrisitan faith. Endurance similarly is developed. It’s built up, over time.
But Christian endurance comes from more trials.
Trials. The only way to grow into a mature christian who follows Jesus with endurance.
Church, as our city and community seems to continually be tested, and Richmond Hill in my opinion just seems to be a microcosm of what’s happening on a more global scale…
Trials are abounding, and listen… until Christ returns, or we die whichever comes first, Scripture promises it will only get worse.
Therefore, we must not waste our trials. We must grow in endurance.
So if you have your Bible. Quickly turn to James 1:2-4.
James 1:2–4 ESV
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Endurance. That’s the topic for today. And let me say 2 brief things about it.
Perspective
Purpose
Perfection

Perspective

James 1:2 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,”
The perspective we must have as Christians, is to count our trials as Joy.
This is our role, our responsibility in the matter.
We don’t create our trials. Those are placed in our lives by the Sovereign Hand of God.
We also don’t decide the duration of our trials. Like, our job isn’t to hurry them up so we can be done with them.
No, we have one responsibility when we face trials… count them as joy.
Now, James isn’t telling us that trials are joyful, or inherently fun.
He isn’t saying that when hard times come, we should “feel” deep joy.
That’s what masochists and psycho paths feel lol.
No he says, to count.
To make a concious choice.
To intentionally regard something.
To choose.
This means to make a mental judgement and choose to look at our trials differently than the world.
When the world faces various trials, usually the goal is to overcome them as fast as possible, because the purpose of life is pleasure and happiness and comfort.
And if the purpose of life are these, then it would only make sesnse to count our trials as hindrances, and roadblocks to run through as fast as possible.
Trials are meaningless. Possessing no purpose other than a hindrance to my happiness.
But not so with you church… we are commanded to count them as joy.
Why… because there is Purpose in Your Pain.

Purpose

Now as you survey Scripture you’ll find many purposes God works out in the midst of pain.
Romans says he builds character.
Or to encourage us to long for Christ’s return
But here, James tells us that a primary purpose of trials is to “test our faith.”
James 1:3 “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
The reason we can have a different perspective of trials, to actually count them as joy, is becuase they are used by God to test our faith.
God uses them to prove to us what we are actually made of.
1 Peter 1:6–7 “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Trials test our faith, to reveal to us what we are actually made of.
Annie gave me this illustration this morning. She said, if you’re I’m walking with a cup of coffee and somebody bumps me, what spills out of my mug?
The bump reveals what’s inside my mug.
Similarly, the trial reveals whats inside of us.
You see, it is all too easy to maintain a pretensious facade of faith in God when things are going well.
But what’s really inside you will be revealed when you’re bumped.
And this is such a gracious gift of God.
As we have gone without power this weekend, and many of you still today.
What was revealed?
Have idols been exposed?
Desires and comforts?
You see what is truly in our hearts and minds are revealed in trials.
That’s the purpose of them.
As Peter writes, trials test the genuineness of our faith.
Don’t waste your trials church.
There is deep purpose in them. But so often, becuase we’re uncomfortable we rush through them, trying to get rid of them as soon as possible because of the discomfort they create.
All the while, missing the Divine Purpose in the giving of them.
But they Reveal so much about what we believe, and who we are.
They reveal our idols, they reveal our sins, they reveal our true desires.
So slow down let their purpose produce in you steadfastness or endurance.
But we have to look at vs. 4 because God doesn’t reveal for revelation sake… but for transformations sake.
He reveals what’s inside of us, so that we can be changed, and transformed… or perfect.

Perfect

James 1:4 “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
To be perfect.
The trial reveals, and the trial produces endurance… all that we may be perfect and complete.
Another word there is Mature. An Adult in the faith. Fully developed.
You see our failure frequently lies in cutting the process short.
It’s painful so we escape.
It’s unconformtable so we numb.
Rather than working through the difficulty of marriage, allowing that trial to reveal us and transform us, we quit with divorce.
Rather than processing the loss, we numb it by turning to alcohol, or drugs, or suicide.
Rather than allowing the trial to reveal our character, we escape into some hobby determined to ignore the deep uncovering of God in our lives.
Or the worse response… we give up on God. We find the quickest exit and apostate.
But your trials aren’t pointless church.
They are purposeful, and that purpose is to reveal so that you may be refined into a mature Christian.
You see, endurance isn’t the goal…
Just in marathoning, enduring isn’t the goal either. The Finish Line is the Goal.
Endurance is just he essential component to get there.
It’s the same… we need endurance to be the people, the church God has called us to be.
And endurance is the essential component to get us there.
And it is trials that He sovereignly uses to build endurnace, that we may be perfect.
Your faith is not built. by prosperity, comfort, and happiness. But only through difficulty, trial, and pain.
No. these trials test our faith.. and produce in us endurance. And as we endure we become mature.
Therefore, Praise God for our trials. Count them all as joy.

Conclusion

Perspective--- one of joy. Purpose— revealing and transforming. Perfect— leading to maturity.
Can we not all agree, this is an area we need growth in?
When you survey the history of the church, beginning in Acts--- the story is one of endurance.
In every era, the church has undergone trials and testing, and emerged with stories of great maturity and faithfulness.
Yet… what about the church of America?
For the most part, our story is one of freedom, ease, comfort, and prosperity.
Collectively, we haven’t had to learn endurance, and consequently on the whole we are less developed, immature, lacking many things.
And I worry sometimes, that we are just beginning to be tested. Things are just now starting to get harder for us as a people of faith.
I’m not a prophet, but scripture attests that things may and probably will get harder.
And if you, or if we at CBC want to be an enduring church… we must not waste our trials.
We must count them as joy, let them expose us, and ultimately let them transform us.
So as Noah comes back up, I want ot lead us in a time of prayer.
If you are undergoing a particular trial. A situation or circumstance, that is trying you yet also tempting you to escape, or ignore, or fast forward through… would you raise your hand?
Alright, if there is somebody with a hand raised in your vicinity, would you be willing to come alongside them. Maybe even place a hand on their shoulder, and join me in prayer.
Father, we are turning to you in prayer, asking you to show us what needs to be exposed. What needs to change. We are not asking you to get this over with. We’re not asking you to take away the pain. We’re not telling you to relent, or enough is enough. Instead, we are asking you to show us our flaws, expose our weaknesses, reveal our character. God, let endurance have its full effect in our lives, and help us to choose joy as you work. Don’t stop this trial Lord, instead, let this trial teach us. We want your Perspective. We want your Purpose. We want your perfection. Amen.
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