The Christian and Trials
Notes
Transcript
Greeting
Greeting
1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
There are 4 different James in the scriptures
James the son of Zebedee the brother of the Apostle John
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
2. James the son of Alphaeus, also one of the apostles
13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
3. James the father of the Apostle Judas (Not Judas Iscariot
16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
4. James the brother of Jesus
55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
James the brother of Jesus wrote the book
He was not an Apostle.
He actually did not believe in Jesus until afterChrist was raised from the dead.
5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
James called himself a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
A slave..I believe that James was a slave but a volunteer slave
12 “If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. 13 “When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 “You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 “It shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; 17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant. 18 “It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.
“to the 12 tribes who are dispersed abroad”
Although the twelve tribes split into two nations (Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom), God's chosen people always consisted of the Jews from all twelve tribes, which one day God will sovereignly reunite
abroad refers to any place in the world outside of Palestine
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
If a person's faith is genuine, it will prove itself during times of trouble, whatever the nature or source of the trouble may be.
Scripture mentions at least eight purposes for the Lord's allowing trials to come into the lives of His people
1. To test the strength of our faith
Abraham ans Isaac
Gen 22:1-13
2. To humble us, to remind us not to let our trust in the Lord turn into presumption and spiritual self-satisfaction.
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 your paths straight.
3. To ween us from our dependence on worldly things
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
4. To call us to eternal and heavenly hope.
5. To reveal what we really love.
6. To teach us to value God's blessings
7. To develop in His saints enduring strength for greater usefulness.
8. To enable us to better help others in their trials.