From Trouble to Triumph

FROM TROUBLE TO TRIUMPH

James 1:1-12

Introduction:  Were you ever told that coming to Jesus guaranteed that you would have no more troubles in life?  They lied, didn’t they? If you have been a believer for more than a week you know that faith in Jesus does not translate to no trials in life!  One of the themes we saw repeated in the upper room discourse in John was the certainty that “…in the world you will have tribulation…”  James begins his very practical epistle touching on this truth that in one way or the other every believer can relate to.  In one sense this is a New Testament letter that I am not anxious to preach, since the truth is that God will often give me the opportunity to practice what I preach! [The title for the message, "From Trouble to Triumph," comes from an excellent chapter in John MacArthur's commentary on James].

  Teaching about troubles and tribulations in the Christian life is quite frankly not what most people want to hear.  There is a line of theology that is very popular in the Western world today, even in some emerging nations like Brazil it is exploding in popularity, that talks about prosperity, health, and physical blessings as something we can claim by faith (if we really believe!). Such health and wealth teaching is attractive. It would be a great way to build a larger congregation. The only problem is it is not biblical! 

I recall that when we were doing our remodeling of the sanctuary, one outside worker that was here looked at our baptismal and said “Wow, they have a Jacuzzi in this church!”  One of the great modern theologians J.I. Packer is also in tune with the relevance of theology to the everyday lives of believers. He wrote about “hot tub religion.” He said it’s a religion that is warm and relaxing. It makes you feel good. Like a good massage, it helps you unwind. You forget for a while about any troubles. He said that is what many people want, if you take out all the pews and put in hot tubs instead you’ll have a full house! Hot tub religion!  That all sounds just dandy. But it is not biblical. Consider how Paul described his life and ministry in his second letter to the Corinthians.

“But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,  ⁵ in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings…”  (Cf. 2 Cor 6:4,5).

Then a little further on in the letter he more specifically detailed some of the trials through which he had come after he believed in Jesus...

“…in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.  ²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness --  ²⁸ besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Cor 11:23b-28).

No Jacuzzi in Paul’s church, was there!?  Didn’t he have faith? He understood suffering because he experienced it. He empathized with pain in the lives of people because he lived it. And he stood firm through it all because He knew Jesus was right there, and he understood the promise that “the suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).

The Big Idea: Got trouble? Be encouraged, God is at work, and your genuine faith will endure and even deepen as He brings you through.

I. How should we think about troubles when they come?  James says to “count it all joy…”!  James gives us four things to “do,” four imperatives that guide a Christian response to “trouble” when it comes our way. The first relates to how we think: “Count it all joy…”  Recognizing God has a PLAN can allow us to have joy even in times of trouble (1-4). True faith allows us to have a joyous attitude in the midst of trial. If we’ll receive it, troubles can remind us that God is working everything, even this, for our good and for His glory. The foundation to right thinking is to first remember who we are and why we are here (v.1).

        First of all, notice to whom he is writing, “…twelve tribes dispersed among the nations…”  The expression “twelve tribes” must refer to Jews, and by the context in the letter, to believing Jews. The word “dispersed” or “scattered” here is related to the root word that we have in Acts 8:1,4; 11:19.

First read Acts 8:1-4,   

“Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.  ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.  ³ As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.  ⁴ Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”

Then a few chapters later we read in 11:19-21,   

¹⁹ Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.  ²⁰ But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.  ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

So think about that: the Jewish believers scattered about following the persecution that arose against the church after Stephen’s martyrdom are being addressed about suffering and troubles. They were in the thick of it and James is writing to offer hope and encouragement and to build their faith. 

A side note here. Can you see how this persecution, and the scattering of the church, were used by God? They went out, and brought the message with them. Ultimately some arrive in Antioch and plant a church there, and that church becomes the key missionary sending church in the second half of the book of Acts. Now it gets harder: if God used it, might it be possible that God planned it?  That was certainly true with the cross of Christ. Evil and hatred from corrupt human hearts lead to the crucifixion, but it was “…according to the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God…” (Acts 2:22,23)!  With respect to the scattering of believers that resulted from the persecution of the church in Acts 8, it is certainly true that God allowed it, and that He would use it for the expansion of the church. Whatever trouble or hardship we face we have to believe that it didn’t catch God by surprise, “…nothing touches us that hasn’t first passed through the hands of our loving heavenly Father, nothing.” (Swindoll).  In canonical order, after James comes First Peter and in that letter the apostle is even more extensively dealing with the question of suffering. To summarize, Peter says if Christ suffered you will too! He wrote in I Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you…” “Fiery trial” is not defined, but rest assured there are no hot tubs there!

        Secondly, notice how the writer describes himself: James describes himself as a doulos, a  “servant” or “slave” of  God and the Lord Jesus.  Whether this is James, one of the original twelve (a little less likely, since he was killed by Herod at the beginning of Acts 12), or James the half-brother of the Lord (obviously they had different fathers!), it is a remarkably humble way of referring to himself.  A “bond servant” of God the Father and the Lord Jesus. James is implying in that title that His mission in life is to serve the King, to be faithful to Him. We are not born slaves who grudgingly submit to the whims of a cruel task master. We are like the Jewish slave who has been freed, but because He loves his master chooses to stay with Him and submit his life to Him (Exod 21:5,6).

Choose to have a joyful attitude because we know that God is working (v.2-3). An understanding mind allows as to have joy in the midst of crisis: Praise God, He is in control!  Remember the analogy Jesus used in John 15, He is the vine, the Father is the Vinedresser, we are the branches. And the Father stands around and watches to see if we grow, right? No, He prunes us, expertly cutting a little here, trimming a little there, shaping us into the fruitful branch He wants us to be. It hurts, but its for our good, and for His glory. So count it all joy. The verb tells us how we should think about trials, “consider…” or “reckon…” it all joy. That is an accounting term, it tells us how we should think, not how we should feel about them!

Have a submissive will, knowing that Father knows best (v.4). We are willing to be teachable, wanting God to teach us the lessons He knows that we need. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” That you may be perfect and complete, the idea seems to be “mature.” God grows us through the hard things we pass through in this life (see 2 Cor 4:7-10).  Got trouble? Be encouraged, God is at work, and your genuine faith will endure and even deepen as He brings you through.

II. How should we respond to troubles when they come? Our response to the trials we face should be to turn to God in PRAYER, in faith asking Him for wisdom (5-8). We go to the Father with a believing heart, even when we don’t understand.

Notice first that we are to ask God for wisdom (v.5). The proverb says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Wisdom is not knowledge, it is submission to the will of God, it recognizes He is sovereign.

   

A second key is that we must ask God in faith, even when we don’t understand (6a). When we ask God for wisdom in the midst of our trials I don’t think the idea is knowledge or insight into “why” something was allowed to happen, but rather discernment and direction as to how God would have us to respond.  What are you trying to teach me Lord? What change do you desire to work in me?

We are also reminded to Keep both feet on solid ground (6b-8). Tim tells about Molly when she was a little pup. (She is a big, very friendly Yellow Lab if you haven’t met!). She was just small and had two feet on the dock and two in the boat.  You know what happened! Baptism by total immersion!  God is good, all the time. Will we trust Him, all the time?  The call to discipleship is a call to commitment, to follow Him, wholeheartedly.  Have you got trouble? Be encouraged, God is at work, and your genuine faith will endure and even deepen as He brings you through.

III. How can we grow through troubles when they come? Trials can give us PERSPECTIVE, getting our eyes off this world and onto eternal things (9-11).  This is the first of three passages in James that deal with the question of the rich and the poor. One clear take away from what he says is that “joyful living” is not necessarily related to your level of financial or material prosperity. Rick Warren made the point in a devotional this week: we’ve all seen the bumper sticker philosophy “He who dies with the most toys, wins.” The truth is, he who dies with the most toys still dies. Then what? And its not only the “then” but also the “now” that James wants us to think about. Money can buy some toys, it can allow you to do some things that are “fun,” but it can’t buy real joy. Some of the richest people you might meet are miserable, and some who are dirt poor are filled with joy. What’s the difference? James gives a clue in the following verse.

             “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation…” People who have nothing in this life might find it easier to have a heavenly perspective, believing and rejoicing that “…the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us…”  They might more easily identify with Christ in His suffering. The imperative here is to rejoice in our true standing as children of the King. This week there was excitement over a certain baby that was born across the pond, a future king. If you have been born again, there was much more rejoicing in heaven over you… “Behold what manner of the Father has given unto us that we should be called children of God, and such we are!” (I Jn 3:1). You are a child of the King!

            “But the rich in his humiliation…”  Suffering and trials are a great equalizer. We know that money does not solve the problems of the human heart. We constantly hear stories of athletes with multi-million dollar contracts or entertainers that performed before the masses destroying their families through infidelity or their own bodies with drugs and alcohol.  Its also true that money doesn’t mean that hardships won’t come. Financial disaster, sickness, accidents, loss, death of loved ones, it all comes to the rich as surely as they do the poor. For the believer in Christ they are a reminder that we should not be so comfortable in this world, its all temporary, fading, passing away.  Rich or poor, in times of trouble we can be encouraged that God is at work, and that your genuine faith will endure and even deepen as He brings you through..

IV. How can God’s promises give us strength to endure? The PROMISE of Trials: This too will pass (12)!  

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation…” This is the same word that Jesus used in the sermon on the Mount. It’s the happiness that comes from knowing you are in a right relationship with God, and that no matter what you are His for eternity.

“…for when he has been approved…” There is no question of “if” here. For a genuine believer in Christ will not abandon the faith, but will come through the fire and through the flood stronger. You remember when God pointed to Job and said, “Have you considered my servant Job?” Job’s life was systematically dismantled and yet he could say, “Though He slay me, yet shall I trust Him!”(Job 13:15).

James promises in 1:12 of the persevering saint that “…he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” This is nothing other than the salvation, eternal life, that is promised to all who believe. It is not earned, rather it is promised to all who believe. As Paul said, “The sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.” Job seemed to understand that by the way, when he said, ^“For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;  ²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God…” (Job 19:25-26).   

What is God saying to me in this passage? Have you got trouble? Be encouraged, God is at work, and your genuine faith will endure and even deepen as He brings you through.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Some in our church family have gone through trials. Some are in the thick of it right now. Troubles at work, troubles getting work, tensions in the family, sickness, even mourning.  Some are in it now, and for others, be patient, it's coming.  When it does be assured of this: God knows, He has a plan, you can trust Him.  He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion,  AMEN.