James 1:1-4

Will You Choose Joy?

Welcome....

Good Morning my friends, So good to see you and your families this morning.

And again we wish all our moms today a very Happy Mother’s day.

This morning I want us to consider a topic that I would say that many of us wrestle with, it’s the topic of joy.

Do you have joy today?

Think of that idea for a moment, Joy? Am I joyful?

I think that is difficult to answer at times simply because at times we don’t know what or how to fill. I think this is becasue of the world around us.

The world around us has an idea of what they believer happiness or joy is for people.

I will make this statement right up front, and I will back up my words through this message, Jesus is the true source of Joy.

So lets begin this morning with the word of God.

If you have your Bibles, lets go to the book of James in the New Testament.

And lets start with James chapter 1, right off the bat James hits the ground running. Verses 1-4

James 1:1–4 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.

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Alright, lets do just a little background here at the start of the message. The book of James is written of course by a gentleman by the name of James.

Now this is not James the brother of John, one of the sons of Zebedee, a sons of Thunder.

This is James, who is the half brother of Jesus. So what do I mean by him being the half brother.

Jesus was born of Mary, but remember Jesus is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit came upon her and she conceived and bore a son.

So Jesus was born of Mary, but afterwards, she knew her husband Joseph, and one of the children born to Mary and Joseph is James. So it is through the connection of Mary, that we could consider him the half brother of Jesus.

Now James becomes a believer sometime around the resurrection, and now James is known as the head of the church in Jerusalem in the days after Jesus ascension. Now from what we can tell, this is most likely written about 40-45 AD.

And we know from verse 2, and without a doubt, the message is written to Jewish Christians, given the reference to the 12 tribes in Dispersion, those who have fled due to all manner of persecution.

So that is just a little background for us today to get a idea of James and his audience. James is a very practical person in regard to ones faith and practice. James tells us that our faith and how we live must go hand in hand. We cannot live for ourselves.

So lets get started and let me share with thought with you.

1 Trials will Come...

My friends, as long as you live in this life, there is no doubt that trials will come your way. James testifies to this truth..

I think everyone here could agree with that, we have experienced trials at different points in our life.

In fact there is an old saying..either you are in a trial, coming out of a trial or you are getting ready to enter into a trial.

We can even look to the testimony of Scripture and see many of those who are spoken of in the Bible, they experienced trials as well.

The most famous, well it is probably Job. And His words ring true, ““Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” Job 14:1.

But lets make something absolutely clear, trials and temptations are not the same thing, they are completely different.… And we need to make sure we understand this...

So what is a trail? We could call it “testing”— an impediment or obstacle as we journey in life.

And those trials could be almost anything. But in the midst, the question is always.... how will we respond in the midst of that trial, and what will we do?

And here is a truth about trials. They have the awesome potential to make us better.

Have you ever thought about that.… Trials can make you better?

But it is hard to think of that in the midst of that storm..but it can..

But a temptation, well that is a horse of a different color.

Temptation is not of God, why? Temptation is meant to lead people astray, it is there to lead people into sin. And God the Father, nor the Son or the Holy Spirit will never lead you to a point where by you fall into sin.

That is always the evil one.

One of the greatest illustrations of temptations is found after Jesus baptism in Matthew chapter 4. This text is were Jesus is led into the wilderness for 40 days and there the devil came and tempted him 3 times.

The purpose was to lead him away from God and into sin.

I tell you the difference between these two, trials and temptations to help you see and know the difference.

You are always tempted to sin, while trails always give us the opportunity to draw closer to God.

And here in our text this morning James tells us something unique… “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds...” verse 2.

Wow… consider it or count it joy when you face these things… What? How?

First off, who are you? — I am more than Lonnie, I am more than your Pastor, I am more than all the things that have transpired in my life, good and bad..Why? Because I am a child of God.

Because I am a child of God — I can examine and look at life differently than I used too. Why? God will sustain me, and you too if you are His child.

In the midst of trials we are called to change our perspective.

So knowing that you belong to God, James tells us to count it, consider the trail with joy, in fact embrace the trail knowing that our Lord is with us, and we can draw closer to him.

How?

It really comes about as we lean upon the Lord, as we allow our self to just place everything in his hands, becoming more and more dependent upon the Lord.

Now lets open a huge can of worms.… Are you ready? Your joy and your happiness are two different things..

Man, this is one of the hardest lessons of life that I have had to learn.

Believe me, I have lived this and I am still living this...

We as a society, I think have been taught that our happiness defines our joy. And if you are not happy then we cannot have any joy.

That cannot be true...

Happiness, is a fleeting emotion. happiness is dependent on our circumstances, what is happening in and around us. We are happy if we have the right relationship, the right monetary means, the right type of house, the right car, the right type of whatever.

And if we do not, well we are miserable, we are unhappy and we are scrambling for those things that we think we need...

But they will not help us, in fact none of those things can or will help us. Here is the truth, all of those things can pass away. Then what happens to our happiness?

The Lord himself and His way is where our joy is defined.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

And so this brings about a moment of challenge.… Can you stop for a moment and just ask… Do I have joy today? Not just happiness, but joy?

And if you say, I don’t think so...or no. Then I would challenge you to stop, stop what you are seeking and seek the Lord and His face and there you will find the joy of the Lord.

I realize that is easier said than done… but what do you really want.. You are not defined by anything other than the Lord

Stop trying to fills those gaps with worldly things...

Re prioritize your mind, your values and your life in front of God, wait on Him and see what happens.

Secondly today...

Knowing that trials will come, Our goal is to grow through them.

2. Grow Through Trials...

So lets consider the trials we face in life.

Trials can come in a variety of forms, events and certainly some can be devastating to us. Remember Job, he lost family, he lost wealth, and yes, he even lost his health.

But one thing we can see through this life, he refused to allow those events to shatter his trust in the God the Father.

What about us, how do we face trials?

Have you ever thought that trials can make you better instead of bitter, instead of tearing your down?

Let’s go back to our text… James 1:2-3

James 1:2–3 ESV

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.

Do you see it, James tells us that we can grow through the these trials, How?James says - it is the testing of our faith.

The word testing in the Greek is the word “Dokimion,” it means to make sure it is authentic, genuine.

The testing or the trail you face proves who you are, and the evidence of that is steadfastness.

Steadfastness is the natural by-product of a genuine life in Christ.

So the trial isn’t just there to hurt you, to wear you out at times… NO, it is there to make you stronger.

When I thought of this, I thought of those who make knives and axes, they heat the steel and then subject it to water or oil to wench the heat quickly to tempter the metal, so that it is stronger and able to hold an edge when sharpened.

Your trial, your testing is there to grow you stronger, more rigid, more like Jesus each day… That is what we desire, that the old man pass away, the new man emerge better.

You see you are incomplete right now, oh you are saved, don’t doubt that… but you are not like Jesus yet… all of this life is to conform us into his image.

Let me ask you a question here… Have you every wondered why God allowed you to walk through the trials that you have?

I think many of us, we do...

Look at Job, God in His permissive will allowed Job to be tested. And the outcome is unique, God blessed Job, He gave him more family, more wealth and more life.

And I think Job walked closer to God than ever before..

But even then we wrestle with it....we ask — Why did God allow it?

Those are questions we cannot always answer, but turning back to our text we find that each trial can produce steadfastness.

Steadfastness is the strength to endure… to persevere

I want you to consider a huge, giant redwood out west. They are massive and beautiful, but they have weathered many storms.

Why? They have sent their roots deep into the earth, so that they can stand. Likewise we must sink ourselves deeply in to the Lord our God, so that we can endure and be steadfast.

Steadfastness is a life marked by faithful endurance. We have walked through the storm, not alone but with the Lord by our side and we have endured.

Are you enduring right now...

Are you weathering the storm of life well right now?

The answer is Jesus!

Now let consider one last thought....

3. Let Jesus Shine...

Storms can be scary, but they can also be beautiful. I love to watch lightening… the power there is magnificent. And when the storm has passed, there is peace, a beautiful fragrance of the rain. It is really cool.

When I consider this last point, I want you to think about the storms you face, the trials and now think about or consider the outcome.

I think of this a lot, God can and will take all of your days and craft them into something beautiful for you.. but it is not for you, it is for His glory.

Lets to James in verses 2-4 again James 1:2-4

James 1:2–4 ESV

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.

Do you see where God is leading you? Maturity… steadfastness, perseverance, is a lifestyle that grows us toward maturity.

James says let steadfastness have is full effect… the word “full” there is “teleios”, in the Greek and the meaning implies a complete person, wholeness in your character.

The Apostle Peter reminds us of this in I Peter 1:7

1 Peter 1:7 ESV

7 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.

Why does God all us to suffer at times, why walk through the fire?

Thomas Schreiner says that Suffering functions as the crucible for faith. It will test the genuineness of your faith.

The whole out come, the goal is to make you complete. The testing will reveal if your faith is authentic..

I have always said when you are pressed down upon, squeezed by trial, by testing..what comes out is what is on the inside when you are squeezed.

The trials aren’t just to wear you down, but they can make us more dependent upon the Lord.

Now go back to verses 3-4 again in James 1. James 1:3-4

James 1:3–4 ESV

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.

A steadfast faith is the character trait we are seeking, Why? When steadfast faith in us endures and continues until we reach maturity.

And this is what is necessary, Just as you grow into adulthood, so your faith is to grow so that you are mature lacking nothing.

This is what is meant is meant when you tie the words perfect and complete together, in the Greek they imply the gradual process of adding virtue upon virtue in ones life until you lack nothing.

In considerations with faith, a life is grown, build upon, it faces and weathers the disturbances of life, and all the while, Jesus is seen more and more...

And a mature faith allows Jesus to shine.

When we look back at the “greats” of God, we might see all the great contributions, their hard work, their sacrifice, but those are just the by-product of Jesus in their life.

They counted it joy, the hard work, the suffering, the trials in order that God might be lifted up and glorified.

So i pause here my friends and ask you this question..

Do you have joy.. Not just happiness, but joy.

Lean into the difficulties of life asking God the Father, how you can grow and be made complete in them.

If you have a need today, will you come.

Lets pray