Don't Worry, Be Happy

The Book of James

The book of James

The book of James is an interesting one. In scholarship and debate about authorship and authoritative respect, it is one of the more controversial ones. Martin Luther, the magisterial reformer, was very critical of this book. Many have question the historic acknowledgement that James, the brother of Jesus was in fact the one who wrote it. And at the same time, it is one of the most popular books in the church for several reasons:

James is intensely practical, believers looking for specific and tangable guidance for the Christian life find that in waves in the book. More commands per square footage, if I may, than any other book in the NT.

James’s purpose is clearly not so much to inform as to chastise, exhort, and encourage.

Moo, D. J. (2000). The letter of James (p. 1). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

It is not that James is unconcerned with theology, but he focuses on how theology should instruct living.

2. Secondly, James is very popular because it is concise. He rarely develops any points at length, but is satisfied to state it and move on. It becomes similar to OT wisdom literature like the book of proverbs.

3. James uses these great metaphors and illustrations that grab your attention and are very clear about their meaning and intended force.

James is a general letter, written to the “12 tribes of Israel scattered among the nations.” It was meant for general reading and spread.

As I mentioned, there has been some debate over the author. Is this James the brother of Jesus, the leader in Jerusalem that we find in the book of Acts. Or is this one of the disciples, or a different James. Most scholars think that for James to introduce himself in the way that he does that he must be important and well known and respected. The only one that convincingly fits this bill is the James in Jerusalem, the half brother of Jesus.

Why is this significant, well authorship is important, but also interestingly, we know from scripture that James was not a follower of Jesus until the resurrection.

John 7:5 NIV

For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

No doubt it would have been difficult to have Jesus as an older brother.

If anyone being convinced of the lordship of Jesus is convincing for us....it is the skeptic brother.

We are starting this book today and in this beginning of this new year because I believe this book is where we need to be right now. James is going to push us to see what it looks like to have a faith that is alive!

Scripture

James 1:2–8 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Pray.

Introduction

Top 10 things from 2020?

If you go to 100, it is probably not there. Listen if it is then you are a masochist.

Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds....

(Picture) Don’t worry, be happy, Bobby McFerrin

Here's a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Don't worry, be happy In every life we have some trouble But when you worry you make it double Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy now

Ain't got no place to lay your head Somebody came and took your bed Don't worry, be happy The landlord say your rent is late He may have to litigate Don't worry, be happy

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style Ain't got no gal to make you smile Don't worry, be happy 'Cause when you worry your face will frown And that will bring everybody down So don't worry, be happy

For anyone that is facing trials, and most of us have in some fashion in the past year, this song is not helpful. Pithy, glass half full, just be positive, has not power.

And James is not doing this here either. He is going to deliver a powerful promise for those facing trials and for us as well.

James connects two concepts that do not feel like they belong together. Joy and trials.

Biblical Joy

Understanding biblical joy is a little tricky. There are numerous words in greek and hebrew that are translated to our english joy, rejoice, joyful, etc. Each word has some different nuance but they basically mean what we think of for joy or happiness.

Psalm 65:11–12 NIV

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.

Try not to amen this one....

Psalm 104:15 NIV

wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.

or a wedding...

Jeremiah 33:11 NIV

the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

or in children....

Proverbs 23:24–25 NIV

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

However the biblical world is not just a joy fest…the Bible and our own experience tell us that we live in a time where joy is difficult to muster. What do we do with joy when things are difficult, what does joy look like when things go wrong? Is joy simply just be happy and grateful for what you have? Is joy something that just is when perfect circumstances come together?

No, the bible argues for something different.

Joy is not just happiness in a vacuum but instead it was an attitude that God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances but because of their hope in God’s love and promise....

Joy in Isaiah 35 is different! Look at the first couple of verses

Isaiah 35:1–2 NIV

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

This is about joy in the wilderness....when it is hard.

Joy is a gifted attitude rooted in relationship with a faithful God looking forward with anticipation to a promised hope

Still the question is, in the face of COVID, in the face of loss, or difficulty, in the face of parenting difficulty, or financial loss, how do we have joy?

Joy is knowing that God is working in your trials

Joy is a gifted mindset, knowing that even in your most difficult days all is not lost.

Let me just clarify something here. I do not know why we face some of the real difficult things in our life. But God does not cause pandemics. God does not bring about terrorist attacks to teach a country a less, God does not put cancer in your life to build your character. But in the midst of it he is working all things for good for those who love him.

One scholar points out that James is not interested in solving the age old question of why does all this crap happen, Doug Moo writes:

Why does God allow the righteous to suffer? is, indeed, one of the most perplexing and difficult questions that God’s people can ask. James gives no complete answer. But implicit in what James says is a conviction that the suffering of believers is always under the providential control of a God who wants only the best for his people.

1 Moo, D. J. (2000). The letter of James (p. 53). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

This is the mindset, that God is at work.

Let me say a word about the trials here...

Look at the verse:

James 1:2–3 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Trials of many kinds… the greek work talks about multi-colored trials. It is an interesting word choice. It is like saying all the trials you might face will be like the color wheel. Because having one trial would be boring.....let’s have full joy at facing all of them.

Testing of your faith

And what does the word testing mean.

Well the same word for temptation, like that of sin is the same word, or it can mean trials. So only the context will tell us fully what it means.

Peter in another place uses it to talk about testing to know if faith is genuine or not....not here, it is more like a couple of OT uses...which has more to do with refining like gold or silver. This is the testing of fire that helps to remove impurities. Testing you face is not meant to test if you have faith, it is intended to purify faith that already exists. To build it.

What if God does his greatest work in you when the stakes are high? What if his best work in you are in those hard times. Moments of vulnerability, curiosity, and dependence.

What if these trials you are going through are not to show you what you are not, but to show you what you are?

This is a radical mindset change isnt it?

When Luke was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, we had to stay in the hospital for many days. They put us on a floor where there would be these educators and we took like quizes and practiced in front of them. It was extremely overwhelming at first. And in the months after with every stomach virus, every weird occurence or unexplainable hiccup, it was tough. I still remember a friend looking at Lauren and I in our small group and telling us that God is building something in this journey. That we would be able to help people down the road, that we would be able to navigate really hard things after coming through this journey.

It is not that God is unconcerned with your circumstances, but he is much more concerned in your character, your heart, and how you participate in the kingdom all around you.

Joy is knowing that God is working....

Second, we have joy because that work is bringing perseverance.

Perseverance is our core muscle

Consider it pure joy when you face many trials, not just because, but because in the refining it is producing perseverance.

I heard a preacher compare perseverance to our core muscle one time.

Have you ever worked out with a trainer? All they want to do is core exercises. It is frustrating because I want some immediate results and I dont even know what the core is. Right? I want to do some biceps, some squats, sure help me lose this gut, but get out of here with all the core. And if something is hurt....my back, oh you need to work your core, my hamstring…oh work your core. My big toe, your core. What in the world!

But they are right, it is the core, that supports every other part of your body. Strong core and you can rehab and recover any other part of your body.

That’s perseverance.

If you have perseverance then you will find healing and victory. If you have perseverance then the other things that go wrong along the way will find healing and restoration. If you can keep walking and keep fighting in joy because you know God is at work then God will work out everything that needs to take place.

Perseverance is trusting in God when it is hard

One caveat here for James: perseverance is not just human endurance of strength, as Luke Timothy Johnson describes it:

Letter of James: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary Comment

The “endurance” here is not the demonstration of a human being’s moral character, but of a community’s fidelity to God as the source of its being and worth.

Perseverance is about increasingly, trial after trial, trusting more and more in God’s work in your life.

And just like the goal is not actually for you to have the most fit core....working the core is to make the whole body the healthiest it can be

Perseverance is not the goal, God does not care if you are the toughest person around

Perseverance is the means to completion, wholeness, perfection

The goal is perfection

We have joy in trials because the testing builds perseverance and perseverance brings wholeness and maturity.

The word is teleios, it means perfection. People get in such a tizzy about this word..... it does not mean that you will all of sudden be without fault, or the possibility of sin is not there.

But it means that God’s love can be so shed abroad in your heart that you love him and others fully. Perfection is what he is talking about in the final verse of this section:

James 1:18 NIV

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

So that we might be first fruits of all he created. So that we might be who we were created to be in the first place.

See, for too long the church has painted the Christian journey like, we go to church, at some point we asked Jesus to come into our hearts and then that’s that. We should attend church regularly, pray sparingly, read scripture conveniently, and give money regularly, and hopefully experience a life that is not full of too many ups and downs. Good retirement etc etc.

Preach this out:

The truth is, your first day of the journey was day one of a new birth, of a new life, of growing, of maturity, of something more that it is in front of you. God does not just want you forgiven and free, he wants you to be all that you can be in Christ, One of his own with the inheritance that comes with that intimacy.

The love you have for yourself, for God, and for your neighbor is not the end of the barrel....it is only the beginning. There is more.

And God does this work as you walk with him through those difficult moments, days, and seasons.

Conclusion:

As we close, I just want to talk about a couple of things and challenge all of us a little. The rest of this section, I am not covering because we just do not have the time, and I knew God needed us to talk about joy in the trials. And in future parts of the letter similar things will be covered. The proud will be humbled and the humbled will be lifted up.

Friends, let me challenge you....

Do not come out the other end of this trial unchanged.

Whatever you are facing, do not waste it. God will not waste it, but it requires your own engagement.

Cancer, work, family struggles, hardship in your marriage....Do not get to the other end without asking God to show you what is happening....

James 1:5 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

It is the same thing we are asking about the church right now. To come through COVID, when that day comes, and if everything looks the same then we have woefully missed something that God intended.

Christian, we are not just called to survive, we are called to live

James 1:2–4 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.