Opening Illustration: “I knew there was something different about your kids” at the beach.  Our family had such a good time away last week, but I missed you all!  We spent most of our days doing all the beach things.  What’s cool about the beach is that it often brings people together.  Last week, we happened to set up each day by another family.  Our kids would play together every day and we got to know each other.  It wasn’t until the end of the week, that I finally got the question, “So, what do you do?”  I’ve mentioned before that most people are ready for my answer.  It’s like they almost immediately regret asking me because they are trying to think if they’ve said anything offensive in the conversation.  But this time was different.  When I told the dad of the other family that I was a pastor, he immediately replied, “I knew it!”  For the first time, I didn’t know what to say.  Thankfully, he followed up his comment with, “I could tell there was something different about your kids. They are so kind, considerate, and just fun kids. It makes sense that they believe in Jesus.”  It was such a proud dad moment for me. I think I had the biggest smile on my face.  But as he walked away, I realized that he said “my kids and not me…”  But I am so proud of my kids. They were living their lives in a way that their faith in Jesus was observable.  Your pastor, not so much, but they sure did. 

Over the next 12 weeks, that’s our goal for our time in God’s Word.  I want us all to see how our faith can become more visible.  We’ve been building towards this all year:  1 Peter was all about our identity in Christ.  We looked at what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  2 Peter was about growing in grace.  The call to action in 2 Peter was let your faith grow so that you can stand up against those who want to pull you away.  Our new Sermon Series: The Book of James: Faith and Works.  And now, today, we start the book of James, which is about putting your faith on display.  It’s about your internal faith producing external works and actions.  As one pastor put it, James isn’t about becoming a Christian, it’s about behaving as Christians[1]  The book of James is challenging.  There are 108 verses in the book.  And there about 60 imperatives or commands in those 108 verses.  That means each of us, along way, is going to get a gut punch.  The Holy Spirit will convict you of something in your life.  But that’s a good thing!  It’s an opportunity to grow.  It’s an opportunity to make the hope of Jesus more prominent in your life.  Let’s journey together. It’s going to be good. We are going to look at the first 8 verses in James 1 to see the stage being set. And this stage being set is this: Take the opportunity to make your faith visible.  Read James 1:1-8.  James doesn’t waste any time.  He gives a quick introduction and then he’s off to the races.  We see quickly that our lives will face many trials.  So, here’s where we start off: Look for the opportunity in the trial.

[1] https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/when-trials-come-pt-1/#back-[4]

1) Look for the opportunity in the trial. (vs. 1-2)  Like most of the letters in the New Testament, James starts off the letter with a brief introduction.  James starts by identifying himself.  ¹This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!  What is so unique about this introduction is that James leaves out a major part of who He is.  Do you know James’ relationship to Jesus?  James was the half-brother of Jesus.  But he didn’t put that in the introduction. Why? This is one of the things I love about James. He knew Jesus as a brother, but He came to know Him as Lord. And it wasn’t always that way. He didn’t always believe Jesus as Lord. We see this in John 7: ² But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, ³ and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! ⁴ You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” ⁵ For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.  But in 1 Corinthians 15, we see that the resurrected Jesus appeared to James. At some point along the way, James went from calling Jesus his brother to calling him his Lord. I know my two brothers and there is no way that I would even come close to calling them “Lord”! Even those I’m the youngest (and favorite), I wouldn’t even call them my “elders”. James had a front row seat to the life of Jesus – behind every closed door – and James still believed.  James even goes so far to call himself a “slave” in verse 1.

We see who he’s writing to in verse 1.  ¹This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!  There’s a parallel to how Peter opens his first letter with how James opens his letter. We see in both books that the audience is one that is scattered – one that is not permanently fixed in place. It appears what James is doing is taking a known Jewish term and exploding it out. Jews were, and are, looking to be united with their homeland. So, James is taking this concept and apply it to the broader Christian context. All Christians are longing for their permanent home with Jesus in heaven. That was a good bit for verse 1, so let’s look at how James starts the letter in verse 2: ² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James doesn’t waste any time getting to the matter at hand: we will have trails in this life. I don’t need to spend much time on this truth. We all know this to be true. Life is hard. But what is uniquely Christian about going through hard times is found in verse 2. What does the world tell us to do with our problems? Get rid of them. Ignore them. If something doesn’t make you happy, then replace it or replace someone with something that will. Now, what does James say? “consider it an opportunity for great joy.” “Count it all as joy” “Consider it great joy” There seems to be a direct contradiction. Our culture is all about getting rid of or avoiding trials because trials are what keeps us from our happiness. But here, James tells us that hard times are the best opportunity for joy.   What gives? The deepest joys are often found in the hardest trials.  I like how CS Lewis puts it: Quote: “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.” – CS Lewis. 

Here’s what I’ve learned about verse 2: I’m a mess. If you could see the invisible backpack I wear every day, you’d see just how much of a mess I am. My favorite preacher calls it his wheelbarrow. I grew up a city boy and I think I’ve used a wheelbarrow like 10 times in my life, so the analogy doesn’t resonate with me. But I have these struggles, hurts, temptations, anxiety all in this invisible backpack that you can’t see unless I let you see them. And here’s the reality: we all have our backpacks. I can’t see them on you, but I know they are there. I’ve tried to get rid of my backpack. And oh, I’ve ignored them for a really long time, which only made matters worse. I’ve hated them for so long, but now, I see purpose in them (at least some of them). Because I’ve caught some of those deep joys in some of my hardest trials. And here’s what I can tell you firsthand: every trial is an opportunity for joy. James gives us all the reasons why that is true. Starting in verse 3, we see that we can look for growth in the trial.

2) Look for growth in the trial. (vs. 3-4)  Now, to be clear, trials and hard times, in and of themselves, are not joyful.  That’s not where the joy comes from. So, where does the joy come from? Take a look at verse 3: ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  There is this progression that takes place in verses 3 and 4: You go through something hard. Your faith is tested. A tested faith has the change grow. To grow into what? Look at verse 4: ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. Your faith will have the chance to grow into something enduring. And that endurance will then complete, which is maturity. What this entire progression and process does is drive you deeper into relationship with Jesus. And that’s where joy is found – in Jesus. I want to point out two things about this progression:

1. How does verse 3 start?  
   • “For you know”
     • When you go through trials, there is going to be a battle between what you know and what you feel
       • Our feelings, at times, will tell us to panic, to run
       • But what we know, is that trials are an opportunity for growth
     • We are to know that going through hard times should result in maturity
     • We are to know that God wants us to grow in maturity
   • At the end of verse 3, it says “your endurance has a chance to grow”
     • If you don’t have the NLT translation, it probably says something to the effect of “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
     • The only way that your faith produces endurance is if endurance is the goal.
     • The paraphrased Message puts it this way:
       • “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
     • Illustration: My child’s summer workout plan
       • It was the same routine everyday
       • I explained growth doesn’t happen if you don’t let your muscles rebuild
       • You have to let process work. You have to let your muscles do its work.
   • We have to arm our minds with the right understanding and perspective
2. And the second thing about this progression is in verse 4
   • How does the verse start?
     • “So let it grow…”
       • I am almost made my second point for today’s sermon “Let it grow,” but it was too close to the Frozen Movie song…
     • Those words “let it grow” caught my attention this week
       • If the command during hard times is to let our faith grow in maturity, then by implication, we have the ability to not let our faith grow
         • We have the power to stop the growth
           • Now, I don’t think we intentionally set out to stop spiritual growth in our lives
           • But we do things in our lives that actually hinder growth
         • We have the power to stop the growth when we run from the trial
         • We have the power to stop the growth if we take our eyes off Jesus and put them on ourselves or our circumstances.
         • We have the power to stop the growth when choose to stop growing.
       • Spiritual growth is restricted when spiritual growth isn’t the goal.

When you hit hard times, that’s the question to ask yourself, “What’s the goal?”  If your goal is to JUST change your circumstances, then change your goal. Now, it’s not bad to want to change your circumstances. But if that’s your ONLY goal, then change your goal. If your goal is to fix your circumstances, your goal will never be achieved because you can’t always fix your circumstances. It leads to life constantly trying to avoid future pain. Pain that you never know will actually happen. You get caught in a cycle of avoiding an unknown future. And that does not grow your faith.  If we were to stop here, I think it would be enough for us.  We could stop and go, “Okay, that makes sense. I can move forward with that.” But James gives us more. He gives us one more piece that lets us know that we don’t have to do it all on our own. Here’s what we see last: You’ve got to be all in with God in the trial.

3) You’ve got to be all in with God in the trial. (vs. 5-8)  I read verse 5 so matter-of-fact. ⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. “If you need wisdom, then just ask God. I mean, seriously, what’s the big deal? God is a generous God and He wants you to grow, so just ask Him already! He’s not going to get mad at you!” Why do we ask God for wisdom when we are going through hard times? First, we don’t know it all. It doesn’t matter how many trials you’ve walked through, you don’t know it all. You may not have the right perspective, you may not have the right knowledge, you may not have the experience. We go to God because God does know it all. And if He is willing to give us what you need to get through the hard times, then why wouldn’t we ask Him? Second, what is your goal? What is the goal when you are walking through trials? It’s to grow in maturity. And the best way to grow in maturity is to draw close to the infinite source of wisdom. Verse 5 is amazing promise! If we ask to draw close to God, God will draw us close to Him. God wants you to draw close to Him, and give you what you need to grow in maturity and grow closer to Him. I tell my kids all the time that I am always there for them. And they know it. Why? Because when they need to be there for them, I make good on my promise. Now, I’m not perfect it, but the track record is there. It’s even better with God. God always makes good on His promise.

Here’s my challenge to you:  Stop asking “why?” and start asking “what?”  Stop asking “Why is this happening to me?”  Start asking “God, what are you teaching me?”  “God, what do you want me to learn about this life, about you, and about eternity?” If you ask, He’ll answer. There’s one aspect of asking God for wisdom that James wants to make sure we know. What does it say in verses 6 through 8? ⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. If you have been given the promise that God will grant you wisdom, you can’t ask in doubt. James later on addresses having the faith to believe in what God does and what God can do. It’s all about having the faith to believe God will do what He says He does. There’s this element of our prayer life that we can’t let doubt creep in about who God is and what God does. And it’s acting on the wisdom that God gives you. We can’t go to God in prayer, asking for wisdom, receiving that wisdom, and then going, “No thanks, God.” If God wants you to sever an unwholesome relationship in your life and you go, “No, I’ll do it my way,” you are missing the wisdom and growth that God is offering. We can’t hedge our bets on both God and ourselves.  Mattress Mack: He bets millions of dollars on sporting events. The reason why? He promises to refund money to customers who buy a mattress if a particular sports team wins. He places a bet on that same team, so either way he comes out on top. That’s not how our faith works. We have to go all-in with God.  

We have opportunities to make our faith visible.  Sometimes its on the beach. But often, it’s during the hard times. Here’s my challenge to you as we begin this time in the book of James: Seek to let God’s Word change you over the next 12 weeks in a way that it makes a visible impact.  Maybe you are going through something difficult right now.  How can God give you wisdom so that you faith may be visible? Maybe you are in a season of calm, what are things you can do right now to start making your faith visible? Maybe you are in a season of change, how can you make your faith visible? Maybe you’ve never begun a relationship with Jesus and never experienced His wisdom in your life. Let’s talk today. Don’t waste this time. Seek wisdom from God. Act on the wisdom from God. Let’s be a church that seeks the wisdom of God that seeks to grow in our faith that seeks to make the hope of Jesus known. 

Previous Page