Divine Promise

Recap of last week:

Recap of last week:

is a warning of judgment and encouragement of victory. To the lowly man who boasts in his exaltation is the encouragement of victory. To the rich man who is to boast in his humiliation is the warning of judgment. James was telling us last week that judgment is coming. That's why I shared that verse out of 2 Peter that talked about the flood as the first judgment and fire as the next.

The lowly person can boast in the exaltation of Jesus who saves us from judgment.

The rich person boasts in their humiliation because they are trusting in material things to satisfy them. The reality James presented them with was that of fire and judgment when God refines the world through fire.

So last week was a warning of judgment to those who don't believe and encouragement for those of us who believe. That's what verses 9-11 mean.

This week we are in so let's read it together.

NLT - God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

NASB - Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved (accepted, received, welcomed), he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

So what does blessed mean? It's a very deep rich word, but what does it mean? Blessed is the climax of all compliments in the Bible. It means that God's favor rests with you. There are good things happening in your life therefore you are blessed. But it doesn't just mean "things" or experiences, because then you start to mistake God for things and experiences. God is real because you "have" things and that's not completely true. Do you know what I mean? Here's an example... There are friends I made in college who weren't really following God, but when something good happened or they got a job promotion or whatever, it was only THEN that they would say hey I'm blessed! You never really heard them praise God during the difficult times or just praise Him for being God and not needing a reason. Experiences and monetary things defined blessing for them. What a shame... Blessing IS SO MUCH greater than that.

What James is saying to us here IS TOTALLY OPPOSITE. James was saying that when the bad times come and you persevere because of the LORD, you are blessed! I think the people who got this letter were mistaking things and experiences for God. I want you to consider this... God's favor means God's Presence. There is absolutely NOTHING greater than God's presence. Nothing.

Therefore, WE are blessed because WE HAVE GOD. All the time. The Bible demonstrates and shows us how God's eyes are everywhere and the Psalmist composed scriptures of them never being alone because God was there. The only place God is absent is hell.

Here are some more examples to help us understand who the blessed are...

Whom God chooses. Whom God calls. Who know Christ. Who know the Gospel. Who are not offended at Christ. Who believe. Whose sins are forgiven. Who suffer for Christ. Who have the Lord for their God. Who trust in God. Who fear God. Who hear and keep the Word of God. Who delight in the commandments of God. Who wait for the Lord. Whose strength is in the Lord. Who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Who frequent the house of God.

God or Jesus or the Bible are in almost ALL of those. You have to understand how the Bible really expressed who the blessed are.

Let's move on through this verse...

The next part of the verse is where James says "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation, AND, another Bible says blessed is the man who perseveres under trial."

There is 2 types of perseverance I want us to consider tonight...

There is specific perseverance, such as "Perseverance under trials."

And

There is general perseverance, such as "Perseverance through life."

Let's talk specific first. Specific perseverance is really what James was pointing to in this letter. Even though these Christians had been kicked out, James says, hey don't give up, keep going. They are specifically persevering through the trial of persecution. OR, when we get sick, we specifically persevere through the sickness by drinking fluids, taking medicine, etc. Those are specific situations that require perseverance to get through. And persevering through specific situations is good!

General Perseverance is thinking more broadly. If you step back from your specific situations, everything is moving forward. Like, we persevere through this message, through another day, through another week, through another month, through another year, through another 5 years, and generally we're persevering whether we admit or not. This may sound funny to you or confusing, but let me explain. If general perseverance were not true, then I believe suicide would not exist. People who commit suicide cannot live to see another day. They are overwhelmed by their specific situation, but also by the general situation of their entire lifetime. They think IT WILL NEVER get better. Honestly though, that is true. Specifically things can get better, but eventually there will be another hard time that you will have to work through. AND IT ONLY MAKES SENSE IF YOU READ THE BIBLE AND LOVE JESUS.

Let me explain..keep tracking with me...

I was reading one of my favorite preachers when studying for this sermon and he too preached on this verse during his lifetime. Throughout his sermon, he referenced the Garden of Eden and I could not ignore what he pointed out. It totally speaks to us today.

So in the Garden, what happened?

God made everything God made man and woman God was with them Satan tempted the man and woman They fell God kicked them out

What did God command the man and woman after they were kicked out? That's a command to work and inhabit the land! Was it easy soil, ground, etc.? We don't know other than that the Bible says the ground was cursed and thorns and thistles were brought forth. So Adam had to work hard and diligently to produce! Here's what I want to point out:

Adam had to persevere.

Don't believe me?

Think about it... As the sinful human, just like we are, he probably struggled with believing life was worth living. I wonder if he could see the Garden from where he worked. I wonder if he thought, "my garden, will never be like what God gave us." BUT as you proceed through the text of Genesis, you see that Adam and Eve lived a LONG time. 930 years to be exact. HOW ON EARTH DID MAKE IT THAT LONG? Y'all there's only one answer. Are you ready? It's Jesus.

How great is that? Let me unpack. And I'm still explaining to you the general perseverance, it'll all connect just hang.

Look at . What's it say?

"The serpent would be crushed!"

Adam SAW God curse the serpent and PROMISE that he would lose! That's amazing guys! This man held onto the SAME promise that WE are holding onto. You know we're gonna start the Gospel Project this Sunday and these are the types of things we see in scripture throughout that study. It's incredible.

But you see... this is the general perseverance connection, generally we are ALL striving towards eternity and persevering until Jesus' return or we go to be with Him. As Christians, we struggle just like Adam, but WE HAVE hope just like he did. I honestly don't know how people get through this life without Jesus other than God honestly just taking care of them every step of the way and THEY STILL CHOOSE TO IGNORE HIM. That shows God's intense love and our depravity.

Whether James intended to or not, the Holy Spirit inspired him to speak to both types of perseverance here that encourage us!

Let's look at the last part of this verse...

Your Bible says - "Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

2 Important things real quick!

Only those who love God receive crown of life. You can persevere and endure for the wrong thing!

Turn to

This is an intense image! John was seeing into heaven and saw the throne of God. What he sees is VERY necessary and important for us to think about. In verse 10, elders are referenced with crowns and what are they doing? They are worshipping Jesus forever, laying their crowns at his feet. WOW.

This shows us a few things...

We are rewarded for our love and devotion to Jesus. The glory and honor doesn't go to us, it goes to Jesus. He's worthy, because He's the only one who could reconcile us back to God. He did it all in Love for you and me.

The crowns that we receive for perseverance are not for us. But Him.

James basically sums up verses 1-11 with this verse right here and it's incredibly important that we understand perseverance and what we're persevering for.

This verse speaks to a lot of things, but what I think it really calls us to do is to repent of worry and anxiety.

Turn to . Explain context and why he wrote again, and how WE get discouraged!

If we love God, we win. If we love Jesus, we have hope. If we persevere, we are rewarded.

Let's pray.