Sermon Tone Analysis

Today, we continue with our study of James.

We are learning from him how to have a Faith That Works.

Remember that James is a very practical man… He doesn’t waste time with “fluff”… He gets right to the point and doesn’t sugar-coat the truth…

So far, we have learned that we MUST welcome trials with JOY… KNOWING that they produce endurance… and that endurance produces spiritual maturity and completeness…

James has been straight with us… If we are to persevere through the trials we face, we MUST remember that trials require wisdom, wisdom requires prayer, and prayer requires faith.

Today, James shifts his focus slightly…

— At first glance, this passage seems out of place… It seems to not fit into James’s narrative about trials, but…

— James has not stopped talking about trials…

Money… wealth… material possession… riches… bring with them their own trials…

Trials come from both having too much money, and having to little money....

Sounds crazy doesn’t it?

I mean, how can trials come from having more money?

How can it be a test to have more to care for my family with?

Many of us think: “I can understand the trial of having to little money… after all, many of us are there… But, I can’t imagine how having too much money would be a trial… (if it is, Lord, give me a chance to go through that trial!)”

The Character, Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, expressed this: “If riches are a test or trial, smite me with it, Lord!”

BUT… That’s not what James is talking about...

— He is not talking about riches as some sort of “can we handle it thing”… or as a “test in giving“ thing… like many want to believe…

— James isn’t talking about the rich being made poor, and the poor being made rich…

— He isn’t talking about some sort of “socialism” where the rich are forced to give their stuff to the poor…

— James is not talking about the riches of this world here…

He is talking about the FACT that True Riches come only from the Kingdom of God…

James wants us to understand that the riches of this world only create trials.

If we are going to hold on to a Faith that Works — a Faith that walks us through the trials and tribulations of this world and strengthens us by drawing us closer to God — then we MUST adopt God’s perspective on wealth and trials…

BUT…

Probably the most difficult challenge Christians in America face is that… We struggle with adopting God’s Perspective on poverty and riches.

The truth is… we do not understand what wealth and poverty is…

Let me ask you: “Which category are you in?”

Are you wealthy… rich… or, are you poor?

It seems like an easy question, doesn’t it?

It seems pretty straight forward, but it’s not!

What does it mean to be rich… or poor?

How do we define it?

What are we comparing it to?

Let me ask you another question: “How materialistic are you?”

(Now, be honest…)

How focused on money and possessions are you?

It’s not so easy to answer these questions…

You see… It’s easy to say, “I’m not!

I don’t care about money or things!”

(especially when we are in church, amen!)

BUT… How often in our hearts — and in our thoughts — do we find ourselves reacting emotionally and judgmentally about money and possessions… especially when other people have things we don’t?!

We’ve been talking about “Lust” in the men’s group…

What is Lust?

Most people will define it as solely having to do with sexual desire… especially in sexual immorality or adultery…

But that is not a good definition of “lust”…

The best definition is really rather simple…

Lust — “I WANT IT!”

“I want it!”

That can have to do with anything.

— Lust is the desire for more… that leads us to fantasize… to seek after it… no matter the cost… because we are convinced we will be better with it!

Lust… for sex… for wealth… for material possessions… even for power and prestige… comes from the heart!

Now… don’t get me wrong… we all need money.

We need money to live.

— We have food to buy… a mortgage or rent to pay… we need clothes… our children have needs… we need gas for the car… we ALL have a lot of financial obligations…

There never seems to be enough money, BUT… How many of those things… those obligations… those “needs”… are there because of our choices and desires?

We look at all these things… we compare our finances with the finances of others and it becomes easy to convince ourselves that we are poor…

But, Are we really poor?

If you google: “How rich are Americans compared to the rest of the world?”

You find out some interesting facts…

Compared to the rest of the world, even the poorest Americans is wealthy!

— To us, $10,000 per year is not enough to live on, but 84% of the world lives on much less than that…

— Gallup surveys show that about 22% of the world lives on $1.25 per day… and 34% of the world lives on $2.00 a day!

We have a difficult time accepting that… We tend to make excuses — “It costs less to live in other countries”… “Money goes farther there...”

But the truth is… from a global perspective… I’m rich, and so are you!

Hear this — A lot of our “struggles”… our “problems”… are created by US, not by a lack of finances!

— We have a huge list of things we call “needs” that really are just “wants”.

Let me tell you:

If you have indoor plumbing, you are rich.

If you have a car, you’re rich.

If you have a job — a source of income, even if that source is a government welfare program — that keeps a roof over your head… you’re rich.

If you have the ability to buy junk food, sodas, alcohol, cigarettes, ( and these days) beef… if you have the ability to obtain anything beyond the basic means of survival… you are rich!

Compared to others here in America, you may be poorer… But there is always someone with less!

We need to change our perspective!

And that is what James is saying.

James wants us to see the difference between the permanent and the perishable.

And so does Jesus…

We get so focused on the perishable things of this world that we fail to see the PERMANENT things of the Kingdom!

We need to take our eyes off of this world, and focus on the things God has ALREADY given us!

But… How do we do that?

— By getting our eyes off the “perishable” and onto the “imperishable”.

A Faith that Works realizes that our riches are in the One who created us, and strives for HIM!

Look at James 9:1-12 again…

James begins by contrasting the rich and poor with a paradox that seems to turn things upside down.

James says: “The poor are rich and the Rich are poor.”

But, how can that be?!

That’s obviously not true to their physical conditions…

What is James saying?

There was an exclusive private school in Hollywood where the movie stars, producers, and directors sent their children…

One day the teacher asked the children to write a paper on the subject of poverty.

One little girl started her paper with this: “Once there was a poor little girl.

Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her governess was poor, her chauffeur was poor, her butler was poor.

In fact, everybody in the house was very, very poor.”

Another story is told about a young man who went to see a fortune teller…

The fortune teller studied his hand carefully, and told him, “You will be poor and very unhappy until you are 37 years old.”

“Well, after I’m 37, what will happen?

Will I be rich and happy?”

“No,” said the fortune teller, “You’ll still be poor, but you’ll be used to it by then.”

Which one do you think understood poverty, the little girl, or the fortune teller?

— I would say that — whether she realized it or not — the little girl had the better understanding!

A true understanding of “rich” and “poor” is woven throughout James’s letter…