Trials of Faith.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Again, welcome to the village. My name is Steve. If this is your first time, I just want to thank you for being here. [0:06] And I pray that God can use us to reveal Himself to you, and that you are able to connect with Him and worship. [0:13] I just want to thank you guys for bringing all that food. My cupboards are going to be so overflowing now. Just kidding. [0:21] Now, this is for Tomahawk Creek Middle School. The school we’re actually meeting in is having a food drive for our local food banks. [0:28] Which, if you didn’t know, are in need, big time, of just any type of non-perishable food item. [0:36] And the fact that you guys stepped up to the plate and are going to help us bless back the school,

[0:42] as they have blessed us with a fantastic place to meet on Sundays, and show that we are a church and community for the community. [0:52] And that we want to practice what James is actually next week going to call true religion. [0:57] But it’s just so great to see you guys respond. I had overwhelmed. I did not expect that much. [1:04] Maybe I should have. We’re going to talk about faith today. So I guess I failed on that one. [1:09] But I just want to thank you guys for showing up. And this isn’t just a one-time thing. [1:14] We do stuff like this to hopefully create within this church a culture of people who are constantly looking.

[1:23] Where we can be a blessing to the community around us in the name of Jesus. [1:29] Spreading the gospel. Paul writes, and I believe it’s 2 Corinthians, that those of us that trust Jesus, that are following Jesus, [1:36] He is leading us in a triumphal procession. Spreading the fragrance of Him everywhere. [1:44] And what better way to do it than to do what He said and serve. He said, the first will be last, the last will be first. [1:50] And then He said, the way that you will have me as He example to the disciples was by getting down His hands and knees and washing their feet. [1:58] He told them to serve. And the way that they are going to know that we truly are followers of Jesus is that we serve.

[2:06] Not that we just come together and sing songs, which is beautiful. But out of this attitude of worship, [2:12] where we’re singing the praises of our God, where we’re in His word, will come a lifestyle of care and of love in the name of Jesus [2:20] so that more will be reconciled to Him as we have been reconciled to Him. [2:25] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open to the book of James. Right after Hebrews, right before the book of 1 Peter. [2:32] We are going to spend the next 10 weeks in the book of James. Let me just tell you, for me that’s very uncomfortable. [2:38] And I’ll tell you why. Because I am very long-winded. I don’t know, some of you that have been here for a while know that.

[2:46] I like to talk. I don’t know why. It’s the way I was born. But this would typically take me like 25 weeks. [2:54] Man, we’re going to do it in 10 weeks. We are off to the races. We’re going to cover 18 verses today. [2:59] It would usually take me 3-4 weeks to unpack these verses. So what we’re going to do is I am going to basically be a wall painter. [3:07] In other words, I am not going to paint a masterpiece for you this morning. [3:11] But what I am going to do is I am going to paint the wall for you. Because there is a huge difference. [3:15] When you paint a masterpiece, you are looking at the intricate details. You are going line by line.

[3:21] When you paint a wall, you get a roller, baby. And you just, BOOM! You slam that out and just make sure you left everything touched. [3:29] You got the paint on, you’re good. Alright, let’s move on to the next wall. [3:32] So what we’re going to do this morning is we’re going to paint a wall. In our community groups this week, we’re going to do a little bit of masterpiece painting. [3:42] Alright, so what I want you to do is if you’re in a community group, make sure you’re there this week. [3:47] If you’re not in a community group, this is a great week to join. [3:51] Because what we’re going to see in our community groups is actually being able to unpack more and more in dialogue rather than monologue.

[3:57] How do we take what we learned in James chapter 1 and begin to live that out in our lives? [4:03] I’m going to give you everything I got this morning for the next 45 minutes. [4:09] Alright, I want you to pray that it’s 45 minutes and then hopefully God will fill me so that I can help him answer that prayer for you. [4:17] Alright, I’m going to get you to lunch on time. Because I know some of you are smart. [4:21] You’re like, I know Steve. 18 verses 45 minutes, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. [4:27] I’m going to try guys. I’m going to try. Welcome to the village.

[4:30] Alright, James chapter 1. I’m going to start reading in verse 1 and then we’re going to have to unpack verse 1. [4:35] Which will frighten many of you because you’re like there’s 17 more. [4:38] Alright, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes in the dispersion. Greetings. [4:46] Alright, now what I want to unpack for you here is number one, who is James? So who’s writing this? [4:51] It is James that is writing this. James is actually the half brother of Jesus. [4:58] So he is actually the son of Joseph and Mary, whereas Jesus is the son of God and Mary.

[5:05] Okay, James is actually the son of Joseph and Mary after Jesus was born. They got married and had children. [5:11] James is one of those people. Alright, so he’s the half brother. [5:14] So what he’s doing in this book is basically saying my half brother is God. [5:21] That is one of those great things that I would call circumstantial evidence for the deity of Jesus. [5:27] I have a sister and I promise you she will never say that I’m God. [5:32] She actually has all the evidence to the contrary.

[5:36] But James, the half brother of Jesus, who has seen Jesus his entire life, [5:43] who’s actually probably one of the people in the gospels that’s trying to get Jesus out of a crowd [5:50] where he’s about to do a miracle, trying to talk sense into him, say, buddy, you’re my brother, you’re not the Messiah. [5:57] And then after the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see James emerge as a committed follower of Jesus as God. [6:09] But more than that, James at this point, upon the writing of the book of James, he is the lead pastor of the church in Jerusalem. [6:17] The very first church planted in the New Testament is this church in Jerusalem, and James is actually leading it.

[6:25] More than that, if you go through church history, James dies for the gospel. [6:32] During his life, he had the nickname camel knees. [6:37] And it wasn’t because he ran funny. [6:40] They called him camel knees because the story goes that he spent so much time on his knees in prayer [6:47] that it caused his knees to have dents in them and it caused him later in life to have knee problems.

[6:55] What a testimony of the conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. [6:59] But more than that, at the end of his life, he’ll die for the gospel. [7:02] They will take him up the Jews will in the temple, the Pharisees will take him up to the top of the temple [7:08] and say, you take back the fact that your half brother is Jesus. Deny your brother as God. [7:15] And James says, I cannot.

[7:17] So they throw him off of the top of the temple. [7:21] He lives, he survives. [7:24] And when he lands, he’s a broken man, bones shattered, probably bleeding profusely. [7:30] And they come down and they look to him again and say, you’re still alive? Deny your brother. [7:34] And he says, I can, it’s true.

[7:37] And so then they stone him to death. [7:40] So when you read in the book of James, and what we read this morning about the trials that he just starts off, [7:48] he’s saying, count it all joy, brothers, when you face trials. [7:51] Understand that this is a man that knows what he’s talking about.

[7:56] This is a man that loved the gospel. [7:58] And he’s writing it at a time around 48 A.D., right at the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, [8:03] where Paul, I promise 45 minutes, where Paul has gone around the world, the known world at that time, [8:10] starting churches, seeing Gentiles come to faith in Jesus. [8:13] And they never thought that was possible. [8:15] People that weren’t Jews coming to faith in the Son of God.

[8:19] And so Paul goes around planting these churches, and at the very end he comes back and undoubtedly gives a report [8:24] to James and the church at Jerusalem of all the conversions that have happened. [8:28] And James writes this book on a foundation of the gospel for people who have just come to faith in Jesus. [8:36] And most of us look at the book of James and we’re like, this is like the advanced class. [8:41] Now James wrote this as the first class in discipleship, the people who didn’t know anything about religion [8:48] because a lot of them were Gentiles.

[8:50] They’ve just started forming churches. [8:53] And he writes them and he says, let me tell you what Christianity 101 is all about.

[8:58] So understand that this book is built on a foundation of the gospel. [9:05] And what we’re going to see unpacked throughout the text for the next ten weeks [9:10] is that the gospel not only takes us and reconciles us to God and gives us right standing before God, [9:21] but it also endures us through life. [9:26] The gospel doesn’t just justify us, the gospel also sanctifies us. [9:31] The gospel gives us the strength to live for the gospel of Jesus Christ

[9:37] as much as it did to be saved through the gospel of Jesus Christ. [9:42] So what we’re going to take a look at is what does it appear to be? [9:46] What does it look like to be reconciled to God and live in light of that truth every single day of our lives [9:55] as we confront living? [9:59] Because I don’t know if you know this, but you probably do. [10:03] Maybe you don’t know that I know this, but once you leave these doors, you have a life, right?

[10:09] Most of you are going to go to work tomorrow, or you’re going to go to school tomorrow, [10:13] or you’re going to sit around and play video games tomorrow. [10:17] Maybe some of you will go to the gym. [10:19] But you’re going to have real life.

[10:23] And some of us, we don’t know, we don’t see what’s going on in here. [10:26] Maybe this is spiritual, this isn’t necessarily real. [10:28] Well, what James is going to say is he’s going to tear down that wall. [10:31] He’s going to say there’s no sacred, secular divide. [10:35] There’s no regular life, spiritual life divide. [10:40] The gospel that saves you is the same gospel that you go into your regular everyday life and live.

[10:45] So let’s jump in, alright? I’ve gone on for far too long. [10:48] Verse 2. He just jumps right into it as well. I love it. [10:52] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. [10:57] For you know that by the testing of your faith it produces steadfastness. [11:04] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

[11:14] So he jumps right into it. He doesn’t give us this long, drawn out introduction, [11:19] but rather he says, alright, I’m James and I’m writing to you, the church, the 12 tribes of the dispersion. [11:26] And understand there’s significance in that as well. [11:28] The fact that he’s saying the word dispersion doesn’t typically show up until after 70 AD. [11:33] And this is 23, 24 years before that. [11:36] What he’s saying is, Jew, Gentile, you’ve been joined together in Jesus,

[11:40] and now the Gentiles have been brought in, and they’re as much a part of God’s plan as the 12 tribes of Israel originally were. [11:47] We’re no longer the 12 tribes of Israel, we’re the 12 tribes of the dispersion. [11:51] In other words, the church, the gospel, it’s going all over the world, and everybody that believes it, everybody that trusts it, you’re all a part.

[12:01] Man, that’s just one word, and look how much was in there. 10 weeks, how am I going to do this? [12:06] Alright, James begins this book though by going directly and immediately into where each and every one of them were going to be at their lives. [12:16] When he says, count it all joy, when you meet trials of various kinds.

[12:24] He’s prophesying about where the gospel is going to take them in their lives. [12:30] Because this is also soon after, a couple of years post, the death of the first Christian martyr, his name was Stephen. [12:39] He was stoned to death in Jerusalem. [12:41] James undoubtedly knew the guy who had died because of his faith in Jesus. [12:48] And so the church of Jerusalem is experiencing the suffering that the gospel will oftentimes and usually lead us headlong into. [12:58] And he’s writing to people who are about to experience that as someone who has already experienced it.

[13:04] And he says, brothers, when you go into trials of various kinds, count it as a joy to experience them. [13:10] And right there is where I have a disconnect. [13:14] Because I don’t know about that. [13:16] I don’t… you know what I count as joy?

[13:21] I count it as joy to sit in my recliner. [13:23] Alright, this is my wife. [13:25] I should tell you, I’m telling you the truth right now. [13:27] Sit in my lazy boy, rear it back, and be where she found me at 11 o’clock last night. [13:34] Leaned back, mouth wide open, snoring. [13:38] Oh joy. Oh the joy of my soul.

[13:44] [13:44] Now, some of you, man, and guys that don’t have kids, you don’t really start experiencing that until you become a father. [13:52] It just is exhausting. [13:54] So, it’s exhausting. It’s a trial. [13:57] Whoo! [13:59] But that’s what I think joy is.

[14:01] Or a day when I’m allowed to go out and it’s beautiful weather. [14:05] And you’re just having so much fun. [14:07] Or you go out with your wife on Valentine’s Day and it’s just you and her. [14:11] No distractions. [14:12] And all the joy that I’m having in this occasion. [14:15] And James writes, he says,

[14:17] When you go into trials, [14:21] when your life is harder than you ever thought it could possibly be, [14:25] he says, that right there is where you’re going to find joy.

[14:32] I say, wow, I don’t know. [14:33] Why does he say that? Let’s keep going. He unpacks it. [14:37] And he says, [14:39] When you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [14:44] And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. [14:49] What he’s saying is, trials reveal your joy.

[14:56] Think about this. [14:57] When is the moment when you have ultimate dissatisfaction in life? [15:05] What is the thing that can be taken away from you to where you will say, [15:11] I don’t have any joy. [15:13] It’s gone. [15:15] That thing that I loved so much is gone.

[15:20] See, that right there is the very thing. [15:24] Or the very things that you spend your life worshipping.

[15:32] See, he’s not writing about an attitude where you’re like, [15:35] Okay, I’ve got to deny myself happiness. [15:38] I’ve got to run headlong into pain. [15:40] I’ve got to take everything that gives me any type of happiness in my life or comfort in my life, [15:44] throw it all away, and I’ve got to go start having like nails rammed into my arms, [15:49] and I’ve just got to be as miserable as possible, because that’s what God says happiness is.

[15:53] So I guess I just need to be miserable in order to be happy according to God. [15:58] No. [16:00] No. [16:02] What he’s saying is, the things that you find the most joy in life, [16:07] typically are the things where you will either find your identity, [16:12] your worth, your purpose, or your satisfaction.

[16:19] And this is what the Gospel says. [16:20] The Gospel says your utmost joy, your utmost satisfaction, [16:25] your identity, your purpose, are found only in Jesus Christ. [16:33] And everything else is a counterfeit, temporary, and fading joy [16:39] that you are pursuing when God has ultimate satisfaction, [16:45] ultimate joy, ultimate happiness to offer to you.

[16:49] So when you are going through trials, what is happening is, [16:53] is that those things that you find joy in that are not God, [16:57] are being stripped away so that your faith can be shown as either sincere or counterfeit.

[17:07] That’s why his grammar is so important here. [17:09] When he says, in the ESV now, when he says,

[17:19] He says, [17:20] He says, trials serve as a test. [17:23] Not because you are earning anything from God, [17:25] and I think that’s where our misconception comes from. [17:28] But so that validity and sincereness can be shown.

[17:33] Because when we go through trials, and when we experience them, [17:36] and when we get to a point where we say, [17:40] I have nothing except God left to find joy in, [17:44] that moment right there is where you see if you really believe the Gospel,

[17:53] or if you believe a false Gospel.

[17:56] This is because trials produce steadfastness. [18:01] See, in most of us, we see trials as the thing that make us weaker. [18:05] The thing that make us weaken the knees, the things that make us falter, [18:08] the things that make us fall away from the faith. [18:12] Where we are begging God to do something different, [18:15] we are begging God to heal us, we are begging God to take this pain away,

[18:19] we are begging God to do this, and God is there saying, endure, persevere, [18:24] because I will deliver you out of this pain, [18:27] I will deliver you ultimately over to myself for eternity. [18:30] But what this is doing, when you emerge through this trial, [18:35] you will emerge with more faith than you started in. [18:38] Because we have this misconception of faith.

[18:41] We have this conception of faith, that it serves to give us what we want.

[18:47] When you get what you want, you don’t need faith anymore.

[18:54] I read a story by a Christian psychologist named Larry Crabb. [18:58] He writes about his father, and his father was receiving treatment for cancer in the hospital. [19:02] He had surgery, and he came out, and he was in remission. [19:08] And Larry is driving his father home from the hospital, and he says, [19:12] son, his father is a believer, he says, I spent days begging God to show up.

[19:19] He says, I spent hours in agonizing prayer, that God would just make me feel him. [19:25] He said, God didn’t show up though. [19:28] He said, I felt nothing.

[19:31] But then, get this, he says, I’m so glad he didn’t give me what I wanted.

[19:42] And Larry said, I didn’t understand what he was saying, but then he unpacked it, and he said, [19:46] by not showing up, he forced me to trust his word more. [19:53] By not giving me what I wanted, he gave me the moment and the opportunity to have real faith and real trust in him.

[20:06] Count it all joy, brothers, when you experience trials.

[20:12] Because it’s the testing of your faith to produce steadfastness.

[20:17] But he keeps going, and he unpacks it even more.

[20:21] He says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, [20:27] and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting. [20:32] For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. [20:37] For the person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. [20:41] He is a double-minded man, unstable in his ways.

[20:49] Understand it this way. [20:51] In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus is speaking, and he gives this parable about a man sowing seeds. [20:58] He says that a man goes out and he sows seeds, and some falls along the pathway, some falls on the side of the road, [21:05] some falls among some weeds, and some falls on some good soil. [21:09] And then when he’s unpacking what each of those represents, when some of them grow up and die, [21:14] some of them grow up and are choked out in the weeds, some of them never grow at all,

[21:18] and then the stuff on good soil grows up and it produces fruit. [21:22] Tenfold, thirtyfold, fiftyfold, a hundredfold. [21:24] He gives us these examples and he says, you know, be the seed that’s planted in good fruit. [21:29] But in context of what we’re talking about when we’re counting our joy in trials, [21:35] and when we’re asking God for wisdom, what are we doing? How do those two get connected? [21:39] Well, what happens here is when Jesus unpacks the seed that was sown in the ground,

[21:47] and it rooted itself in the side of the road where the soil was really shallow and it had bedrock underneath it, [21:55] and it sprang up for a little while, and then the sun beat down on it, and it withered and it died. [22:01] Here’s how he unpacks it in Matthew chapter 13, verse 20. [22:03] He says, As for that which was sown on rocky ground, the side of the road, [22:08] this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. [22:12] See, there’s that word joy that’s so important in this passage.

[22:15] He says, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, [22:20] and when tribulation and persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

[22:31] He says, there are those who would hear the gospel of Jesus, [22:36] who would hear of redemption and reconciliation with God the Father, [22:41] and they’re in that church service, or you know, you’re in that youth rally on Friday night when 150 kids get saved [22:46] and you never see any of them again. [22:48] He’s in that moment and he hears the gospel and he says, wait a second, I know I’m a sinner, [22:54] and if I take what Jesus did, I’m going to go to heaven.

[22:56] That sounds pretty good. Give me some of that. I don’t want to go to hell. Give me some of that. [23:03] And so he gets the gospel, and it looks like it took root because look how happy he is. [23:07] I can see instant transformation. [23:09] He says, then when that person goes throughout life and times get tough and life gets hard,

[23:18] then that person looks and says, this isn’t what I signed up for. [23:21] I thought it was going to take all my pain away.

[23:26] He says, that person falls away as the plant withered and died under the beating sun. [23:35] He says, that person was not truly saved because that person didn’t truly believe the gospel. [23:41] And I think this goes in the face of a lot of what those of us who have been raised in the church in America think the gospel is. [23:49] The gospel is not an insurance plan for when we die. [23:55] The gospel is reconciliation with God so that we can truly experience life so that when we die we will be in his presence forevermore.

[24:06] And so what Jesus is saying in this place is that when you just receive it because it sounds good, footloose and carefree,

[24:17] you’re not truly finding your joy in God, you’re finding joy in your own pursuit of not suffering.

[24:25] So when suffering does come in life, that’s not the gospel you originally believed in because it’s not the gospel at all.

[24:35] Go back to the text.

[24:39] If any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask God who gives generously. [24:43] And then skip down to verse 7. [24:46] For that person who doesn’t have faith must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. [24:52] He’s a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. [24:55] In other words, those trials that you were in that are the reason that you’re asking for wisdom, [25:01] those trials put life to faith.

[25:06] Without trials, there is no need for you to have faith at all. [25:12] So when trials do come into your life, it actually activates your faith and puts your faith to life. [25:21] That is why you’re asking for wisdom to go through trials in the first place. [25:26] But here’s the preconditions that we have to have, that he’s going to give us. [25:30] Number one, you have to legitimately have faith.

[25:36] If you do not have faith and you doubt, if the trials come into your life, [25:41] which is just leaving here and going back to your life, that’s the trial. [25:47] Because each and every one of us are going back to something. [25:50] I don’t know what it is, but there’s something in my life, there’s something in your life that is a trial. [25:55] Some of us, it seems a little more painful than the others of us, but we have trials. [26:01] He says, when you go into those trials, what is your first response?

[26:05] Is your first response to declare bankruptcy and say, my God, where are you? [26:09] You’re not here. If something bad is here, then I don’t have you, so I guess I don’t have you. [26:14] There’s no faith in that. [26:17] He says, you’re a double-minded man. [26:18] But is your response in the midst of trials to say, this is hard.

[26:27] I know the word. [26:29] And Jesus said, if I suffer, you’ll suffer. [26:32] And did he suffer?

[26:34] Is your response to blame? [26:38] I hate this person. [26:40] Is your response to self-loathe? [26:43] I can’t do anything right. [26:46] Is your response in the realization of your own sinfulness and the source of your salvation to say, [26:54] oh God, only you are wise?

[26:58] Give me wisdom.

[27:02] Help me to endure through this. [27:05] And help me to know, number one,

[27:10] what are you trying to teach me in this trial, Father?

[27:15] Scripture says the Lord disciplines those whom He loves. [27:19] What are you trying to teach me, God?

[27:23] God, how can this build my faith and endurance?

[27:27] Because I know in the times of trial, that’s when I need to trust you the most. [27:31] Help me trust you. [27:34] Help me, Father.

[27:37] Number three. [27:39] God, how do you want to use this trial for your glory and for me to be a better worshiper of you?

[27:48] I don’t know about you, but can I just be authentic with you? [27:52] Are we in a safe place? I don’t know. [27:54] These aren’t the questions sometimes I ask.

[27:58] You know what I usually start with? [28:00] Why me?

[28:03] Why me? [28:05] Aren’t I good?

[28:07] I was at church Sunday, right? [28:09] That won me some cool points with you, Jesus, right? [28:12] I read my Bible today. How did that happen? [28:15] I prayed and said, God, don’t let anything bad happen today. [28:18] And something bad happened. You didn’t hear me, right?

[28:22] You see how foolish we are? [28:23] Do you see how self-protective each and every one of us are? [28:27] And how the Gospel that reconciled us to God [28:30] and then said, now that you’re reconciled to me, go and be reconcilers of others. [28:34] Take the message of reconciliation. [28:35] Others is 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

[28:37] But the Gospel that says that, that’s the furthest thing from my mind [28:41] when I’m going through any type of trial.

[28:44] And everything that I ask God for is like, why am I not comfortable, God? [28:48] Why can’t I just experience that lazy boy moment when I fall asleep in my lazy boy all the time?

[28:56] Because why would I need to trust God if life just always had me on top? [29:02] If I was just always comfortable, where would it be that I lived for the Gospel?

[29:09] And then when we’re asking for wisdom, understand, he might give us wisdom that we might not think is wisdom. [29:15] So when he answers, and he will, doesn’t he say in here, I’ll give?

[29:21] Because sometimes he’ll answer and he’ll say, you know that trial you’re in? [29:24] I want you to be in it for a few years. [29:28] You know that trial you’re in? [29:29] I want you to run headlong into it further. [29:32] You know that trial you’re in? [29:33] It may last the rest of your life and it may kill you.

[29:38] But I’m going to use that trial. [29:41] I’m going to use it to mold you. [29:43] That Ephesians 2, chapter 10 thing where it says we’re his workmanship created in Christ Jesus [29:48] to walk into good works that he has prepared beforehand for us. [29:52] That means those trials we’re going into, he knew they were there, he placed them there, and he’s pushing us through it. [29:58] We’re not alone.

[30:00] That’s the faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took into the fiery furnace where they said, [30:04] you know what, God can save us from that furnace, buddy. [30:07] But then all the faith when they say, even if he doesn’t, [30:11] and we go in there and burn alive, it’ll be for his glory.

[30:17] Count it all joy. [30:19] But you’re not going to count it all joy unless you’re getting wisdom from him. [30:24] Because he is the source of wisdom for our lives. [30:28] This is the type of faith that in Philippians chapter 1, [30:31] when we actually begin to apply the gospel to our lives, which I struggle to do, [30:36] Paul writes in Philippians 1.27 where he says,

[30:54] The wisdom that you will receive from God, [31:02] This is not a token proverb for when you are simply trying to figure out what mortgage you want to get, [31:09] and what’s the best rate to go with, should I go with the arm? [31:12] Probably not. [31:13] Or should I go with the fixed rate? [31:14] Probably.

[31:15] But what should I go with? [31:17] Oh, God says, if I lack wisdom, ask. [31:20] Oh, well this is a perfect moment, I need wisdom. [31:22] God, what mortgage?

[31:25] Okay. [31:26] I got wisdom from God, I chose the good one.

[31:30] Isn’t that how we read that verse?

[31:33] We just relegate it to some proverb to give us a more successful life. [31:36] And I’m not saying that when you’re making those types of decisions you shouldn’t go to God. [31:40] Absolutely. [31:40] But what is the context of what James is actually talking about here? [31:45] Not what is the context that you want to put it to. [31:48] You didn’t write it, God did.

[31:50] The context is when you are going through trials on a foundation of the gospel. [31:57] So what Paul is saying here, that you would have one spirit for the gospel. [32:03] What he’s actually saying is that you are building your life on a foundation of the gospel. [32:09] You’re living in light of the truth that God has reconciled you to himself. [32:14] You’re living a lifestyle in which, if the gospel wasn’t true, [32:20] that your life would be in shambles.

[32:22] You’re living that type of lifestyle, and you encounter struggle, [32:26] which if you live for the gospel, you will. [32:28] And you encounter struggle, and you’re going in, and it’s hard, and it’s hurting, [32:33] and you have to endure, and you need faith, and you need to trust him more, [32:37] and then you come and you say, God give me wisdom so that I can love you and serve you more for the gospel.

[32:44] Why else would you need to stand firm in one spirit? [32:47] If it didn’t take endurance instead fastness, why would the scriptures say it does? [32:54] If it’s easy, why would we have to stand firm?

[33:00] If it’s easy, why would Paul say in Ephesians chapter 6, [33:03] when you’ve done all to stand, stand firm?

[33:08] Because the strength that you go through this life with is not a strength that you are going to build [33:14] through religious obedience, religious action, self preservation, self sufficiency. [33:21] The strength and the power to live life for the gospel has one source from God himself, [33:28] who redeemed us and wants to strengthen and equip us to live for his gospel.

[33:34] And God says, that’s the only place you’re ever going to find yourself where you’re going to have true joy. [33:40] Because joy by our definition is nothing, it’s worthless. [33:44] It’s nothing compared to the joy that God has for us.

[33:50] Without faith, there is no wisdom.

[33:56] That’s why he says the one who lacks faith, he needs to ask for faith, he needs to ask for wisdom. [34:05] But the one who doubts, the one who’s saying to himself,

[34:17] this doesn’t sound like it’s going to benefit me that much.

[34:22] The one who isn’t building his life on a foundation of the gospel. [34:27] Remember, who’s James writing to? [34:30] He’s writing to people who just came to faith in Jesus around the world.

[34:34] When you’re not building your life on a foundation of the gospel, [34:37] that means you’re building a life on a foundation of you.

[34:42] And he says, you’re saying you have faith in God, but you’re building your life on a foundation of yourself. [34:48] He says, you’re a double-minded man. [34:51] And he says, you shouldn’t expect any wisdom because you don’t have faith in God. [34:56] You’re not living your life according to his plan. [34:58] You’re not living life according to the gospel. [35:00] You’re not living life as if the gospel is true.

[35:03] You’re simply saying that you think the gospel is true, but your life doesn’t back it up. [35:07] He says, how can you expect God to give you wisdom when you’re doing everything to the opposite of his wisdom?

[35:16] This is where the prosperity gospel falls apart.

[35:23] Because the prosperity gospel says, if it ain’t working out good for you, then it’s not gospel. [35:28] And the real gospel says that if it’s working out just for your good, it ain’t the gospel. [35:33] It’s got to work out to the good of God to be good. [35:36] And that’s where true joy is found. [35:39] The prosperity gospel just says true joy is found in everything in this life. [35:41] So ask God for it, and he’ll make you rich, happy, and healthy.

[35:45] Actually, the fact that all of the apostles died for the faith is just an affront to the prosperity gospel.

[35:53] I’ve never had the faith they have. [35:56] I’ll get off my soapbox.

[36:00] Then we get into the real nitty-gritty, and I’ll finish up soon. [36:03] We hope. You hope.

[36:08] So he gets through building this foundation of trials and wisdom and joy in the middle of those trials. [36:17] And then he gets down to the people who need to do this. [36:20] Look in verse 9. [36:22] He says, let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation. [36:27] Wow, that’s everybody. [36:29] He says, let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation.

[36:31] He’s talking to people in poverty. [36:34] He’s saying, you’ll be lifted up. [36:36] He’s saying, boast in that. [36:37] That these trials and the struggles that you’re going through, if you’re in the gospel, they’re just temporary. [36:42] You’ll have eternity being a servant of the King in heaven. [36:46] He gives the poor people one sentence, and he’s going to spend the rest of the text talking to those of us who are rich.

[36:53] There’s something that poor people seem to get that rich people struggle with in the scriptures. [36:56] I’m just saying.

[36:59] And the rich in his humiliation. [37:03] Because like a flower of the grass he will pass away, for the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass. [37:09] Its flower falls and its beauty perishes. [37:12] So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

[37:17] Here’s where he really defines who the double-minded man is. [37:20] He starts with the lowly brother, or those that I would say are in the lower class, or the poor, or the poverty stricken. [37:27] And he says, understand the first will be last, the last will be first. [37:30] That’s what Jesus said. [37:31] And he says, boast in the fact that though you are low in this life, Jesus has promised through the gospel to exalt you with his future promises. [37:42] Live your life trusting those future promises.

[37:45] And he’s realizing that your life should not be about being lifted out of poverty, but rather your life should be about boasting in the gospel.

[37:54] And if you’re poor, that’s a hard thing to believe.

[37:58] But then he really nails the other side, the people on the other end of the spectrum, who I believe, in my experience, because you know what, I live in the United States and most of us, we have like the top 95% of wealth in the world. [38:11] I have two cars and they’re both air-conditioned. [38:15] How wealthy am I? [38:18] He says, understand rich man, boast in your humiliation. [38:22] Because here’s why it’s so hard to be rich in the gospel. [38:25] And I’m not saying wealth is an affront to the gospel, it’s not, because that’s not what he’s saying here.

[38:31] What he’s saying is, is when you are affluent, when you have nice stuff, when you have air conditioning, when you have cars, [38:39] when you have really good health insurance, when you have a bank account at all, when you have nice stuff, because all of us in here are rich to some degree. [38:47] Some of you just have a lot more money than others of you do. [38:51] All of you have wealth, because you’re all going to go home and you’re probably all going to sit in a heated house. [38:58] All right? [38:59] What he says is, there is this idea inside of wealthy people to be self-sufficient.

[39:06] To base their security and safety on their possessions. [39:10] To live life trusting in your wealth to get you through any trials. [39:15] So when you are wealthy, when you have nice stuff, when you have things, and you go through trials, [39:23] you retreat to your lazy boy. [39:26] Click. Click. [39:31] It will all just go away if I ignore it. Click. Click.

[39:38] Wealthy have this attitude, and I’m one of you. [39:42] Trust me, I’m not as rich, I’m a church planner, we don’t have much money. [39:45] But I’m in the United States, so I’m far better off than those in the Sudan. [39:50] Absolutely.

[39:52] Understand that our first temptation in life when we encounter trials is not to ask God for wisdom, [40:00] is not to say, where is this taking me in the Gospel? [40:02] Our first thought is, how can I protect my possessions? [40:07] How can I protect my position? [40:09] How can I protect everything that I’ve got? [40:11] How can I build more walls around my stuff?

[40:14] How can I be more self-sufficient? [40:16] Isn’t that the cry of the rich? [40:18] Well, if you had been as smart as me, wouldn’t you have as much stuff as me?

[40:23] And you strive and you struggle to be self-sufficient, needing nothing from anyone. [40:30] And what happens in that mindset is quite often we end up equating that also with our relationship with God, [40:36] where we go to Him and say, thank you for all this stuff, now give me more. [40:40] And we build our identity on our stuff. [40:44] And James says, when you do that, you don’t understand the fact that everything that you have [40:50] in your material possessions will fade away, and it will die, and it will go away.

[40:57] That’s why in the same attitude, when he says, when persecutions and struggles come, [41:03] those people that leave didn’t endure to the end in that parable of the sower. [41:06] The next one is, he says, he threw some other seeds into the weeds. [41:10] And those weeds represent the cares and possessions of this life. [41:15] And those cares and possessions grew up around that gospel. [41:18] And they squeezed the life out of it because you cared more for this world than you did God.

[41:26] And so for those of us that are steady, we’ve got a firm life. [41:30] It’s not shaky. We’ve got lots of stuff. [41:33] We’ve got a family. We’ve got everything around us we need.

[41:38] We’re not even asking God for wisdom anymore because we’re wise.

[41:44] We’re saying, God, go help those other people, those poor wretched souls. [41:49] They don’t have as nice of stuff as I do.

[41:55] Because what he’s saying in this is that trials give purpose to hope. [41:59] When you are that rich man and you encounter those struggles, you encounter those trials, [42:05] because you will, they give you an opportunity to show that your life is not built on your bank account. [42:14] Your life is not built on your five bedroom house. [42:17] Your life is not built on your automobile. [42:20] Your life is not built on your clothes.

[42:22] Your life is built on the gospel. [42:24] And that’s the only place that you have hope in. [42:26] Not that you need to live your life running away from it. [42:29] If God gives it to you, He gave it to you. [42:31] But that you are actually looking at all of it and you’re saying, God, give me wisdom. [42:35] Because if I don’t use it for you, then it’s all just going to fade away.

[42:39] So you leverage your wealth for the gospel. [42:42] You say, really? Keep going.

[42:47] Look in verse 12.

[42:56] When he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. [43:01] Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God. [43:05] For God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself temps no one. [43:09] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [43:14] Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin. [43:17] And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

[43:22] What does that have to do with being rich? [43:23] It has everything to do with being rich. [43:26] Here’s what he’s saying. [43:28] He’s saying, when trials come into your life, there is a huge temptation for you to say, [43:34] how dare you God?

[43:37] Haven’t I been doing everything right? [43:38] Haven’t I built a good life? [43:39] Haven’t I been responsible with my life?

[43:42] And then we go to the scripture and we say, oh look, God doesn’t send trials into life, [43:48] Satan does that. [43:50] So I just need to live in denial of those trials and say that’s from Satan and only [43:56] the good stuff comes from God, right?

[44:01] No, this text is not saying that trials don’t come from God. [44:06] This text is actually saying, if you don’t have any trials in your life and you’re on [44:11] easy street, you need to start asking yourself, where is God in that? [44:15] What this text is saying is, God sends trials, but inside of those trials, when you start [44:23] to question God because everything’s not as easy as you think it should be, that is because [44:29] you are not building a foundation on the gospel and you need to start.

[44:33] Look at what it says, alright? [44:35] Here’s how I know. [44:37] It says, but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by what? [44:43] His own desire.

[44:48] He doesn’t even mention the devil.

[44:52] He says, those trials come from God so that you’ll stop trusting this life and you’ll [44:57] start trusting the gospel. [44:59] And when those trials do come from God, when you think, I don’t want to endure in the gospel [45:06] because I’m not having the life I thought I should have, how dare you God? [45:10] That comes to show you that you need to live a life of repentance because it is your own [45:17] base desire to be comfortable, to be rich, to not live for the gospel that’s saying

[45:23] these trials prove that God doesn’t love me. [45:30] Everything goes down to the foundation of what you’re building your life on. [45:34] If you are building a foundation on your affluence, on your comfort, on your family [45:40] being perfect, on your kids meeting every standard you set, what happens when it all [45:51] falls apart? [45:53] What happens when your kids can’t meet your standards?

[45:56] What happens when your husband or wife doesn’t fulfill you the way that you thought they [46:00] would? [46:00] What happens when you lose your job? [46:02] What happens when you go bankrupt? [46:03] What happens when you lose that car, lose that house, lose everything? [46:07] What happens when you actually go through trials where God sends them into your life

[46:11] so that you will see whether or not you have real faith? [46:16] What happens?

[46:19] Some of us are enticed by our own desires above being enticed by our gospel desires.

[46:30] What happens when you get sick?

[46:33] God wouldn’t. [46:35] No. [46:35] God is love, right? [46:39] He didn’t. [46:40] No.

[46:44] Yeah, He did.

[46:48] Here’s how I know.

[46:51] Verse 16. [46:53] And here’s where our understanding of the Word of God is so jacked up. [46:59] Look at this. [47:00] [47:01] He says, do not be deceived. [47:05] He just said our own desires, they’ll deceive us sometimes because we’ll be tempted by

[47:10] them. [47:10] He says, do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. [47:13] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. [47:18] Coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to [47:23] change. [47:23] Of His own will He brought forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first

[47:29] fruits of His creatures. [47:32] Here’s why I say we have a bad definition. [47:34] Because we look at every good and perfect gift and we say, I think good looks like this. [47:42] I think perfect looks like this.

[47:46] God though, thanks good and perfect, looks like killing His own son.

[47:53] Sacrificing everything He has to redeem sinful man.

[47:59] God says good and perfect looks like sacrificing everything that you have so that you can [48:06] live for the gospel which He says will bring you trials, will bring you suffering. [48:12] Where Jesus says, if they persecuted me, don’t you think they’ll persecute you?

[48:20] You see, often times good is a trial.

[48:27] So that it can perfect your faith and make you steadfast. [48:32] See how it comes full circle?

[48:35] Sometimes every good and perfect gift may not meet our standard of good and perfect [48:42] because our standard is tilted towards ourself. [48:45] His standard is tilted towards His glory. [48:49] And He says, I use my standard to bring you to a place where you give me glory. [48:55] Because you see, that’s why He redeemed us in Jesus. [48:59] He redeemed us so that we would stop trusting the sinful and temporary things of this world.

[49:05] Because notice what He says in verse 17 when He says, every good and perfect gift is from [49:11] God above coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow [49:15] due to change. [49:16] In other words, what He’s saying is the wealth of this world that’s fading away under the [49:21] sunlight, under the burning sun. [49:22] He’s saying that stuff is temporary.

[49:24] Stop trusting that stuff. [49:27] That stuff is not going to help you endure through trials. [49:30] He says instead, trust in God with whom there is no variation due to change. [49:37] In other words, God is immovable. [49:39] God is constant. [49:41] And He says when you do that, you will emerge with a life that is built on top of the gospel.

[49:47] You will not emerge with a life that is built on top of all your stuff. [49:51] A life that is built on top of all the baggage and the hurt of this life. [49:55] You will not have a life that is built on top of hating people. [49:59] You will not have a life that is built on top of resentment. [50:02] You will not have a life that is built on top of woe is me. [50:05] You will have a life that is built on top of the gospel where you say, here am I, Lord.

[50:11] Yes, send me. [50:13] You have saved me from my sin. [50:15] You have reconciled me to Yourself. [50:17] Where do You want me to go? [50:19] Because no matter how hard, no matter what happens, no matter the outcome, [50:25] I know that You are constant.

[50:27] You are immovable. [50:28] And Your love for me is certain because You showed it for me in Jesus. [50:34] And I know that if I lose everything, I still get You.

[50:43] That’s faith.

[50:47] Trust that is not tried is not necessary.

[50:55] How is it necessary if it’s never tested?

[51:00] Faith that has never lived, what is its purpose?

[51:07] He starts out with a cannon blast.

[51:15] Here’s my question this morning.

[51:20] Does it take faith to live the life that you are living?

[51:26] Does it?

[51:29] Let’s make that more specific actually.

[51:33] Does it take faith in the gospel to live the life that you are living? [51:40] Because some of you would say, absolutely it takes faith. [51:43] I have mortgaged myself up to my eyebrows.

[51:47] I just trust that the money will be there at the end of the month. [51:51] Granted, God wants you to pay that.

[51:54] But is that what your faith is built on? [51:58] Because that is one of those things that is really shaky.

[52:04] Your mortgage is going to fade away. [52:07] Your house isn’t going to be there in a hundred years. [52:11] Because they don’t build them like they used to, folks.

[52:15] God says, He’ll be there. [52:19] And He won’t move.

[52:24] Does your life require a trust in the gospel? [52:27] In other words, if the gospel wasn’t true, would your life be a shame?

[52:35] And on the flip side, since the gospel is true, [52:40] what do you do to show that you believe it? [52:44] See, that’s what James is asking.

[52:47] Because he says that when we live life that way, and I promise I’m done. [52:52] It was 18 verses, folks. Come on, give me a break. [52:54] When we live life,

[52:59] showing that our life is built on that foundation of the gospel.

[53:04] He says at the very end, He says, [53:08] of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth. [53:11] Salvation belongs to our God. Amen. [53:14] That we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. [53:20] In other words, that idea in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, [53:23] where when you’re new in Christ,

[53:26] the new has come, the old has gone, you’re a new creation, you’re transformed. [53:31] What he’s saying is, God is doing something in your life [53:34] so that you can just clearly be His and not belong to anybody else. [53:37] So that when people see the life that you live, it’s like, wow, it’s obvious that they belong to God. [53:45] Look in Romans chapter 8, and I’ll be done, it’ll be up on the screen. [53:50] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together

[53:53] in the pains of childbirth until now. [53:55] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits, [53:59] there’s that word again, of the Spirit, [54:02] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [54:07] For in this hope, we were saved. [54:10] Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes? For what He sees.

[54:17] In other words, the only way to live and see the first fruits of the Kingdom of God, [54:23] the first fruits of the Spirit, [54:24] is to live your life for things that you haven’t seen yet. [54:30] You haven’t seen Jesus, have you?

[54:33] You haven’t seen the Kingdom of God in all its glory, yet have you? [54:37] You haven’t worshipped before the throne of God, yet have you? [54:41] You haven’t been glorified, yet have you?

[54:46] That’s what we’re supposed to be living for. [54:49] But most of us are too busy and too distracted with all of the things that we already see [54:54] that we never get to see this. [55:00] Because finally, trials demand trust in God.

[55:10] Otherwise, you don’t endure in the Gospel. [55:14] You just endure in your own strength. [55:18] And when you endure in your own strength,

[55:24] you’re just trusting in you.

[55:28] Trust in Jesus. [55:31] Father, we love you. [55:36] God, I pray that you take the words that I’ve spoken, [55:41] and more importantly, the words that you’ve written, [55:44] and that you will drive them into our hearts, [55:49] drive them into our minds,

[55:52] drive it into our life. [55:54] God, may we count it all joy when we suffer for the Gospel.

[55:59] But God, before that can ever happen, [56:03] we have to begin by living for your Gospel.

[56:08] God, may we start doing that at the village. [56:11] May I start doing that.

[56:16] May I stop basing my life on everything that I can see, [56:20] on everything that I’m building with my hand. [56:23] And may I just say, because God has given me His Son, [56:27] and He will take me to glory, [56:30] I’ll live for His faith.

[56:36] Right now, we’re going to respond by taking communion like we do every week. [56:41] If this is your first Sunday here,

[56:44] and you’re a believer in Jesus, these tables are wide open for you. [56:48] Because God’s table, the people that can come and eat with Him, [56:54] is everyone who trusts in Jesus. [56:55] Nothing else is needed. No restrictions.

[57:00] But if you don’t know Jesus, [57:02] today can be the day of salvation for you. [57:08] You just simply need to realize that you’re building your life on a foundation of sin, [57:14] and He wants to build your life on a foundation of the Gospel through Jesus. [57:19] Trust Him and not yourself.

[57:22] I’ll be right here. [57:24] If any of you need prayer, need to talk, [57:28] come on up.

[57:31] I’ll be right here.