The Perseverance of God’s People -- James 1:2-12
The Perseverance of God’s People -- James 1:2-12
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 1, 2009 AM
Why is it we like to hear bad news? Now you may say, “Pastor, I like to hear good news,” but if this were really the case then why does the news media focus on the bad news so much? Study after study has shown that folks like to hear about bad news. You know, the “gloom, despair, and agony on me” kind of news! In fact this is why people will slow down and gawk at accidents. And how many times have you shared that you were going into the hospital for something minor and folks always have to share with you how so-and-so “went in with the same thing and got their leg cut off instead!” Ladies, who are pregnant for the first time have to suffer through the horror stories of other women’s lengthy labor pains and discomfort. Why? We like to hear and share bad news.
I think this is why we also like to grouse about our own aches, pains, and sufferings so much in life to the Lord as well. We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world that love to focus on how bad things are instead of seeing God’s handiwork in our lives. James addresses this for us in the verses we will look at this morning. But James gives us new insights as to how the believer is to persist in living, loving, and praising the Lord no matter what the world may throw at them. It is simply a matter of our heart’s focus. Let see what James writes about in the perseverance of God’s people, shall we?
READ: James 1:2-12
What is your happiness dependent upon? Now be careful before you answer because if you immediately say, “The Lord,” you had better make sure this is true. Far too often we measure our spiritual happiness by whether or not our life is going easy or hard. If it is going good, then we are experiencing God’s blessing, but if it is going bad, well then we must be hurting because God is not blessing us. Right? This is a spiritually myopic view of how the Lord works. James related that in the perseverance of God’s people…
I. We are to be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! (vv. 2-3)
1. Pretending that we are not going through difficulties in life, does not make them any less real! James is not asking us to think this way nor to live our lives in the Lord this way. James understands what we go through because he has as well. This is why he calls us “my brothers.” We are “brothers” with him in the Lord and also in the life we experience. However notice that he says for us to “consider it pure joy.” Is he irrational? No. The word used in the NIV “consider” is an accounting term that means for someone to do it just once. Also the word for “trials” in the NIV should really be “temptations.” James is speaking about a Christian going through various temptations in life or quite literally “testings” of our faith. In other words, we must realize immediately that when we are tempted that we are because of our faith in Christ! Why would I say that? James writes that it is “because you know that the testing of your faith develops” something that every believer needs: “perseverance!” Paul writes that it was so “you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12) WOW! We as believers will face many trials and temptations in life, but when we do we can be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! It is our faith in Him where “the testing of [our] faith develops perseverance.”
EXAMPLE: There are those who claim that when Paul wrote that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13) that God provides for us an “Easy Button” to push during difficult times. A way we can bail out of the problem or whereby the problem will disappear! But this is not what Paul is relating at all. In fact, he is agreeing with James! Paul’s “way out so that you can stand up under it” is Jesus Christ and not an easy out button. We may well go through the trial or temptation, but Jesus is right there with us as well! The believer is to rejoice in the fact that they face temptations against their faith because if they did not, they may not have faith! The Christian faces various temptations simply because they are the Lord’s children and in this realization you should “consider it pure joy!” The Christian will face many trials and temptations in life, but when they do they can be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! It is “the testing of our faith [that] develops perseverance.”
Maturation in the Lord is not always easy. It deals with us rewiring our brains to the way we have always thought and acted about what happens in our lives in the past. Instead of the “me first” attitude we used to think, we are to live for the Lord. As the old classic rock song goes, “This is not always easy and not always kind,” but we definitely do have to make up our mind on how we are going to live for Jesus! In fact, we discover that James writes that in the perseverance of God’s people…
II. We are to persevere so that we might mature! (vv. 4-8)
1. It all depends in the how and on the why we are truly asking God for help! Perseverance is only the beginning of the benefits a believer develops. James says that this is “so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” as a Christian. We discover that the word “mature” is often translated “perfect” or “finished,” and is frequently coupled with “complete” to convey the idea of being perfected or fully developed as a believer. A Christian’s temptations can be faced with joy because when it is steeped in the stew of faith the outcome is perseverance. The result is a thoroughly complete Christian. He will be all God wants him to be! If you “lack wisdom” in this, James advises that you should, “ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to” you. Jesus taught, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) James cautions his readers however by advising: “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.” In asking for God’s wisdom during times of temptation the Christian needs to be wise in his asking. The believer should not think he will get the answer he desires, but rather the one God gives, and that God will answer! If you enter into your asking by placing your own qualifications on the answer you want, or thinking that God does not hear you, then you are already displaying a undermined faith. James says for us to be careful and not think that way because if we do we are “a double-minded man, unstable in all” we do for the Lord! We do not have the mind of Christ but are only looking out for ourselves! James says we are to persevere so we might mature!
EXAMPLE: Many a parent has been asked for help in with school work, only to discover that the child really wanted them to do the work for them. The wise parent knows that when you do your child’s homework for them that they do not learn what they are supposed to learn if they did it on their own. In fact, a child who comes to a parent with ulterior motives with a request for help is not just lying but is being sneaky. It shows a lack of character. Now I am sure that none of your children have ever done this or if they did you as a parent immediately helped them to see the error of their ways, right? Why? A child needs to learn godly character traits and to do the work themselves. Often when folks go to God to ask for “help,” they are really asking God for a different answer than the one He has already given them. Or they are asking for a way out of a situation they put themselves in, in the first place! So if we come to God and ask him with these kind of wrong motives, are we being “double minded” and “unstable in all we do” as believers? James would say, “Yes.” We are to persevere so that we might mature! It all depends in how and why we are truly asking God for help!
Dear Child of God have you forgotten the one all important fact of the gospel message for you? Namely, that God loves you and desires the best for your life in Him. We cannot measure our position with Christ by the things in life we go through. If we do, we will have a faulty understanding of life and the Lord. James writes that in the perseverance of God’s people…
III. We are to remember our standing in the Lord! (vv. 9-12)
1. Our perseverance depends a lot on how we view ourselves and the Lord! James related that personal humility goes a long way with God: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.” His “high position” with God. If we are well off in this life we need to “take pride in [our] low position, because [we] will pass away like a wild flower.” Jesus reminded His followers to “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28-30) James graphically reminds his readers that “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.” And dear Child of God, it is the same with those who have little as well. Even the poor can become conceited and forget their standing with God. In fact, sometimes even more so! Far too often in our day and age we think we deserve what others have worked for, thinking that it is fair that wealth should be redistributed, that is, until we earn a little more ourselves! Then, we want to keep what is ours! James writes that the believer is not to glory in his wealth or lack thereof, but rather, happiest, “blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” We are all nothing before God who created all things. Everything in life will fade, including us, just like the flowers of the field, but if we have faith in Jesus we will “receive the crown of life” God has promised us. In the perseverance of God’s people we are to remember our standing with the Lord!
EXAMPLE: We are not to go to God as a servile beggar, Igor-like, nor arrogantly and flippantly think we deserve God’s graciousness simply because we have begrudgingly agreed to follow Him. What parent loves to answer their child’s plea for help when the child comes with a begging whining attitude or arrogantly thinks they deserve something for nothing from them? My father used to tell us, when we came to him with the wrong motives or attitude, “Now ask me like a human being.” He hated it when we tried to be puppy dogs, begging for a favor or when we thought we deserved something for nothing. Especially when we wanted him to get us out of a jam of our own making! As a head cook told me one time, “You made your stew, now peel your own potatoes!” However, make no mistake, God does desire that His children come to Him for answers, but we want to be sure of our standing in the Lord. Have we truly trusted the Lord with our lives by humbly submitting to Him? Our perseverance depends a lot on how we view ourselves and the Lord!
Conclusion:
In the perseverance of God’s people we are to be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus, we are to persevere so that we might mature, and we are to remember our standing in the Lord! Do you?
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 1, 2009 AM
Why is it we like to hear bad news? Now you may say, “Pastor, I like to hear good news,” but if this were really the case then why does the news media focus on the bad news so much? Study after study has shown that folks like to hear about bad news. You know, the “gloom, despair, and agony on me” kind of news! In fact this is why people will slow down and gawk at accidents. And how many times have you shared that you were going into the hospital for something minor and folks always have to share with you how so-and-so “went in with the same thing and got their leg cut off instead!” Ladies, who are pregnant for the first time have to suffer through the horror stories of other women’s lengthy labor pains and discomfort. Why? We like to hear and share bad news.
I think this is why we also like to grouse about our own aches, pains, and sufferings so much in life to the Lord as well. We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world that love to focus on how bad things are instead of seeing God’s handiwork in our lives. James addresses this for us in the verses we will look at this morning. But James gives us new insights as to how the believer is to persist in living, loving, and praising the Lord no matter what the world may throw at them. It is simply a matter of our heart’s focus. Let see what James writes about in the perseverance of God’s people, shall we?
READ: James 1:2-12
What is your happiness dependent upon? Now be careful before you answer because if you immediately say, “The Lord,” you had better make sure this is true. Far too often we measure our spiritual happiness by whether or not our life is going easy or hard. If it is going good, then we are experiencing God’s blessing, but if it is going bad, well then we must be hurting because God is not blessing us. Right? This is a spiritually myopic view of how the Lord works. James related that in the perseverance of God’s people…
I. We are to be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! (vv. 2-3)
1. Pretending that we are not going through difficulties in life, does not make them any less real! James is not asking us to think this way nor to live our lives in the Lord this way. James understands what we go through because he has as well. This is why he calls us “my brothers.” We are “brothers” with him in the Lord and also in the life we experience. However notice that he says for us to “consider it pure joy.” Is he irrational? No. The word used in the NIV “consider” is an accounting term that means for someone to do it just once. Also the word for “trials” in the NIV should really be “temptations.” James is speaking about a Christian going through various temptations in life or quite literally “testings” of our faith. In other words, we must realize immediately that when we are tempted that we are because of our faith in Christ! Why would I say that? James writes that it is “because you know that the testing of your faith develops” something that every believer needs: “perseverance!” Paul writes that it was so “you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12) WOW! We as believers will face many trials and temptations in life, but when we do we can be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! It is our faith in Him where “the testing of [our] faith develops perseverance.”
EXAMPLE: There are those who claim that when Paul wrote that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13) that God provides for us an “Easy Button” to push during difficult times. A way we can bail out of the problem or whereby the problem will disappear! But this is not what Paul is relating at all. In fact, he is agreeing with James! Paul’s “way out so that you can stand up under it” is Jesus Christ and not an easy out button. We may well go through the trial or temptation, but Jesus is right there with us as well! The believer is to rejoice in the fact that they face temptations against their faith because if they did not, they may not have faith! The Christian faces various temptations simply because they are the Lord’s children and in this realization you should “consider it pure joy!” The Christian will face many trials and temptations in life, but when they do they can be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus! It is “the testing of our faith [that] develops perseverance.”
Maturation in the Lord is not always easy. It deals with us rewiring our brains to the way we have always thought and acted about what happens in our lives in the past. Instead of the “me first” attitude we used to think, we are to live for the Lord. As the old classic rock song goes, “This is not always easy and not always kind,” but we definitely do have to make up our mind on how we are going to live for Jesus! In fact, we discover that James writes that in the perseverance of God’s people…
II. We are to persevere so that we might mature! (vv. 4-8)
1. It all depends in the how and on the why we are truly asking God for help! Perseverance is only the beginning of the benefits a believer develops. James says that this is “so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” as a Christian. We discover that the word “mature” is often translated “perfect” or “finished,” and is frequently coupled with “complete” to convey the idea of being perfected or fully developed as a believer. A Christian’s temptations can be faced with joy because when it is steeped in the stew of faith the outcome is perseverance. The result is a thoroughly complete Christian. He will be all God wants him to be! If you “lack wisdom” in this, James advises that you should, “ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to” you. Jesus taught, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) James cautions his readers however by advising: “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.” In asking for God’s wisdom during times of temptation the Christian needs to be wise in his asking. The believer should not think he will get the answer he desires, but rather the one God gives, and that God will answer! If you enter into your asking by placing your own qualifications on the answer you want, or thinking that God does not hear you, then you are already displaying a undermined faith. James says for us to be careful and not think that way because if we do we are “a double-minded man, unstable in all” we do for the Lord! We do not have the mind of Christ but are only looking out for ourselves! James says we are to persevere so we might mature!
EXAMPLE: Many a parent has been asked for help in with school work, only to discover that the child really wanted them to do the work for them. The wise parent knows that when you do your child’s homework for them that they do not learn what they are supposed to learn if they did it on their own. In fact, a child who comes to a parent with ulterior motives with a request for help is not just lying but is being sneaky. It shows a lack of character. Now I am sure that none of your children have ever done this or if they did you as a parent immediately helped them to see the error of their ways, right? Why? A child needs to learn godly character traits and to do the work themselves. Often when folks go to God to ask for “help,” they are really asking God for a different answer than the one He has already given them. Or they are asking for a way out of a situation they put themselves in, in the first place! So if we come to God and ask him with these kind of wrong motives, are we being “double minded” and “unstable in all we do” as believers? James would say, “Yes.” We are to persevere so that we might mature! It all depends in how and why we are truly asking God for help!
Dear Child of God have you forgotten the one all important fact of the gospel message for you? Namely, that God loves you and desires the best for your life in Him. We cannot measure our position with Christ by the things in life we go through. If we do, we will have a faulty understanding of life and the Lord. James writes that in the perseverance of God’s people…
III. We are to remember our standing in the Lord! (vv. 9-12)
1. Our perseverance depends a lot on how we view ourselves and the Lord! James related that personal humility goes a long way with God: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.” His “high position” with God. If we are well off in this life we need to “take pride in [our] low position, because [we] will pass away like a wild flower.” Jesus reminded His followers to “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28-30) James graphically reminds his readers that “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.” And dear Child of God, it is the same with those who have little as well. Even the poor can become conceited and forget their standing with God. In fact, sometimes even more so! Far too often in our day and age we think we deserve what others have worked for, thinking that it is fair that wealth should be redistributed, that is, until we earn a little more ourselves! Then, we want to keep what is ours! James writes that the believer is not to glory in his wealth or lack thereof, but rather, happiest, “blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” We are all nothing before God who created all things. Everything in life will fade, including us, just like the flowers of the field, but if we have faith in Jesus we will “receive the crown of life” God has promised us. In the perseverance of God’s people we are to remember our standing with the Lord!
EXAMPLE: We are not to go to God as a servile beggar, Igor-like, nor arrogantly and flippantly think we deserve God’s graciousness simply because we have begrudgingly agreed to follow Him. What parent loves to answer their child’s plea for help when the child comes with a begging whining attitude or arrogantly thinks they deserve something for nothing from them? My father used to tell us, when we came to him with the wrong motives or attitude, “Now ask me like a human being.” He hated it when we tried to be puppy dogs, begging for a favor or when we thought we deserved something for nothing. Especially when we wanted him to get us out of a jam of our own making! As a head cook told me one time, “You made your stew, now peel your own potatoes!” However, make no mistake, God does desire that His children come to Him for answers, but we want to be sure of our standing in the Lord. Have we truly trusted the Lord with our lives by humbly submitting to Him? Our perseverance depends a lot on how we view ourselves and the Lord!
Conclusion:
In the perseverance of God’s people we are to be joyful in the temptation because of Jesus, we are to persevere so that we might mature, and we are to remember our standing in the Lord! Do you?
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