Perseverance Postulates
! James 1:1-18
Warren Wiersbe says that realism is idealism that has been through the fire and got purified; cynicism is idealism that has been through the fire and got burned. Now whether you get burned or purified is not determined by the intensity of the heat but by the malleability of your spirit.
n R. L. Russell, "Triumphing over Trials," Preaching Today, Tape No. 119.
The Extent of our Endurance is directly proportional to the Depth of our Desire. (1-4)
The same root word is used for both trials and temptations in this portion of scripture. Here referring to troubles from without and in the latter part of the chapter referring to trouble or temptation from within.
Often “joy” is the first casualty when we face problems in our lives. The scriptural admonition to “consider it joy” is either a very real possibility for the Christian or God is teasing us, causing to search for something that can never be attained.
First in dealing with the difficult spots in life it is absolutely necessary to gain a different perspective.
We gain a different perspective in the physical world by:
n Changing our position – we move to a different location to see the same thing from another angle.
n Step back – there are times when we can be so close to something that we cannot fully appreciate it.
n We compare what we see with other objects. Often people will photograph people against another object in order to define size.
These same things work in the spiritual realm as we face difficulties. But the real significant key to “enduring” our trials is found in our desire. Paul talks of a progression here in verses 3 and 4.
“…..you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. [4] Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
The bottom line to it is that there is a goal that must be embraced as worthy or not worthy of our sufferings. Do we really believe that God uses the natural trials and troubles of life to do something in us that further conforms us to the likeness of his Son and to produce spiritual maturity?
When Handel wrote the "Hallelujah Chorus," his health and his fortunes had reached the lowest possible ebb. His right side had become paralyzed, and all his money was gone. He was heavily in debt and threatened with imprisonment. He was tempted to give up the fight. The odds seemed entirely too great. And it was then he composed his greatest work--Messiah. Could we not say of Handel that the Spirit entered into him and set him upon his feet?
-- Peter Marshall, Sr., "Who Can Take It?," Preaching Today, Tape No. 131.
No trouble seems pleasant at the time. Yet in God's economy, it is this pain which brings forth new faith. How often we hear, "I thank God for that hard time; it was the best thing that ever happened to me." Even when we may not find the grace to thank God for our tribulation, we can thank Him for the good that comes from our fire.
n Virginia Law Shell in Good News (Nov./Dec. 1990). Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 115.
The distance between the limits of your ability and the end of the race are the defining moments in our spiritual experience.
The marathon race is not preparing to run 26.2 miles – it is preparing to run the distance between the “wall” and the end of the race. It is training in such a way to push that wall as far away from the starting point as possible and then once reaching the end of your resources, physically, tapping into your metal and emotional resources to complete the course.
Life is just like that and there are few people who develop the resources to run beyond themselves.
Karl Ingersoll
It’s really the goal that we have that makes the difference isn’t it. That is where we find the motivation to persevere and to carry on. If our heart’s desire is God then we will go through whatever we have to go through to discover him in His fullness.
The Degree of Direction that we receive from God is directly proportional to our Readiness to Respond. (5-12)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. [6] But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; [8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
JAS 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. [10] But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. [11] For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
God does not present His will to us as another option. We do not have the light that we are unprepared to walk in.
James says:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
And as we ask, He gives. I think that it is true so much of the time that we know what we ought to do and yet we do not do it. It’s tough to get out of the boat as leaky as it may be, to opt for the water is not always an attractive option.
Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
Colonel George Washington Goethals, the man responsible for the completion of the Panama Canal, had big problems with the climate and the geography. But his biggest challenge was the growing criticism back home from those who predicted he'd never finish the project.
Finally, a colleague asked him, "Aren't you going to answer these critics?"
"In time," answered Goethals.
"When?" his partner asked.
"When the canal is finished."
In the final analysis, what we get from God becomes evident as we move forward in faith – as we act on what we believe – as we act on what we have asked God for and what He has promised to give.
The Danger of Deception is inversely proportional to our Familiarity with the Father. (13-18)
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; [14] but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. [15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. [17] Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. [18] He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James talks in these verses of the source of temptation and that it is different than the trials of life – God does not use temptation to cause us to grow as he may use trials. He tempts no one James says. He does not use confusion relative to truth or doubt to bring us to a higher level
You know as much as we may think that the solution to our unanswered questions may bring us greater knowledge of God, it is still a knowledge of God that will give us the ultimate answers that we are looking for. Become a student of God for it is the truth that sets a person free. – Now by the truth, I do not mean the doctrine of the Wesleyan Church. I don’t mean the words that I say to you this morning – I mean a personal encounter between you and God, where you see the truth. I can proclaim what I believe the truth to be but what you accept must be what you personally encounter. You must pick this book up and search the heart of God out for yourself.
Interview With God
With my newly acquired title as a journalist, I decided to strike a high note.
"Come in," God said to me, "so you would like to interview me?" "If you have time," I said.
He smiled and said, "My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything, what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
"None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?"
He answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then they long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..."
His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question?" He smiled at me.
"As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?"
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that it take years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it. To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them. To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve. To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they forgive themselves. To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say. To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love, they will harvest happiness. To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they have already achieved. To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different. To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life. To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain. To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever. To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated. To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for me to love them; I simply do. to learn that the shortest distance they could be from me is the distance of prayer."
~ Author Unknown ~
The Brazilians describe a person who sticks with something with the word "garra." If you look up "garra" in a Portuguese dictionary, you see that it means fingernails. If someone has "garra," he has nails, he hangs in there. That to me is one definition of success because Jesus said, "He who endures to the end will be saved." He who has "garra" will be saved.
-- Max Lucado, Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 3.
n Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
The "Weak" Man behind "A Mighty Fortress"
In intense turmoil, Luther wrote his greatest hymn.
It was the worst of times--1527--one of the most trying years of Luther's life. It's hard to imagine he had the energy or spirit to compose one of Christendom's most memorable hymns.
On April 22, a dizzy spell forced Luther to stop preaching in the middle of his sermon. For ten years, since publishing his 95 Theses against the abuse of indulgences, Luther had been buffeted by political and theological storms; at times his life had been in danger. Now he was battling other reformers over the meaning of the Lord's Supper. To Luther, their errors were as great as those of Rome--the very gospel was at stake--and Luther was deeply disturbed and angry. He suffered severe depression.
Then, on July 6, as friends arrived for dinner, Luther felt an intense buzzing in his left ear. He went to lie down, when suddenly he called, "Water or I'll die!" He became cold, and he was convinced he had seen his last night. In a loud prayer, he surrendered himself to God's will.
With a doctor's help, Luther partially regained his strength. But this depression and illness overcame him again in August, September and late December. Looking back on one of his bouts, he wrote his friend Melanchthon, "I spent more than a week in death and hell. My entire body was in pain, and I still tremble. Completely abandoned by Christ, I labored under the vacillations and storms of desperation and blasphemy against God. But through the prayers of the saints [his friends], God began to have mercy on me and pulled my soul from the inferno below."
Meanwhile, in August, the plague had erupted in Wittenberg. As fear spread, so did many of the townspeople. But Luther considered it his duty to remain and care for the sick. Even though his wife was pregnant, Luther's house was transformed into a hospital, and he watched many friends die. Then his son became ill. Not until late November did the epidemic abate and the ill begin to recover.
During that horrific year, Luther took time to remember the tenth anniversary of his publication against indulgences, noting the deeper meaning of his trials: "The only comfort against raging Satan is that we have God's Word to save the souls of believers." Sometime that year, Luther expanded that thought into the hymn he is most famous for: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." This verse, translated by Frederick Hedge in 1853, comes from one of more than sixty English versions:
And though this world with devils filled
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim? We tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure.
One little Word shall fell him.
n "Martin Luther--The Later Years and Legacy," Christian History, Issue 39.