Walking with Him through a Broken World

Sermon

August 30

Walking with Him through a Broken World

 

 

Our text today comes from the first eight verses of the epistle of James:

 

“James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

 

Before we move any further into the epistle, let’s look more closely at the author of this letter because I think we all can learn a lot from his attitude. According to biblical scholarship, James was the brother of the Lord Jesus. Whether he was half-brother, sharing the same mother (but not, of course, the Lord’s Father), or he was simply a relative of Jesus growing up in the same household is not germane to the point. What IS the point is that James grew up with Jesus. They shared the same living environment, perhaps some of the same friends, and certainly the same synagogue and family training in Jewish Law and customs according to Moses and the prophets.

 

So, when James introduces himself as a “bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” his humility ought to be instructive. He could have called attention to his familial relationship with Jesus. Talk about ‘name-dropping’ – there could never be a more impressive resume than living in the same household with God incarnate. James could have also called attention to his leadership of the Jerusalem church, which was the largest church at the time anywhere in the world. He could have reminded his readers that it was he who led the first council of apostles and elders, as we find in Acts chapter 15.

 

But he did none of these things. He simply referred to himself as a bondservant – the Greek word means slave – a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. We tend to do our best to soften the New Testament term used for slave – perhaps in part because of America’s repugnant history of slavery in the South. But irrespective of American history, the writers of the New Testament reckoned themselves as being fully owned by their master, the Lord Jesus. Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; Likewise, he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 7:22-23a)

 

In fact, the humility of all the New Testament writers ought to be instructive to us. For example, Peter could’ve called attention to the time Jesus said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matthew 16:17-18) But he referred to himself in his letters as bondservant – a slave of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1).

 

What about Paul? No one did more in those early years to build Christ’s kingdom than he, yet he not only called himself a slave of Jesus Christ, but also the “foremost” of sinners (e.g. Romans 1 and 1 Timothy 1).

 

So, application time: What ought this point of humility mean to us here? Simply this: We ought to be very careful how we think and talk about our accomplishments in life. We ought to beware of boasting in our heart about our jobs or titles or ranks or prestige in the community or the accolades we’ve received during our working careers. After all, as James reminds us several verses later in this first chapter: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

 

Christian: Beware. God shares His glory with no one. Listen to what

He says to us through Jeremiah: (Jeremiah 9:23-24) “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things.”

This is NOT a minor point. Boasting about OUR accomplishments is the kind of pride that leads to disaster. Just look at the ancient nation of Israel. God warned them even before they entered the Promised Land to be careful to recognize where their blessings came from: Deuteronomy 8:11-18a

 

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery . . . .[and] you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth.”

 

But did they pay heed? You know they did not, and their pride resulted ultimately in their devastating judgments and exiles. So, Christian, be careful to remember and to quickly acknowledge, as Paul warned the Corinthians: “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7b

 

So, James continues, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 

Consider it ‘joy’ WHEN you experience trials. That counsel flies in the face of modernist preachers and those in pews who like to believe God wants them to always be happy and prosperous and healthy.

 

Well, of COURSE God wants those things for His children. He didn’t place Adam and Eve in that Garden for the express purpose of giving them a life of hardship. Their hardship came ONLY after their fall into sin. God did not design this world and this life to be corrupted by sin. That’s why hardships and trials continue to this very moment – because we live in a fallen and broken world.  And it will remain fallen and broken until Jesus brings about the new heaven and new earth as He promises through the various Old Testament prophets and in those last chapters of Revelation.

 

Please also notice James does not say, “IF you encounter various trials.”  He writes, “Consider it joy WHEN you encounter them.” He tells us why we should rejoice in the next clause, and we’ll get there in a moment – but first we need to park here at this clause for a short while.

 

Listen. There is not a person here who does not know that faithful Christians get cancer. Or die in car accidents. Or suffer chronic illnesses and disabilities. We know that faithful Christians become impoverished. And yes, are raped and murdered, as we know is happening in places like Nigeria, Iraq, Iran – and even here in America.

 

We live in a broken and fallen world. And it is to that very point the Lord Jesus counseled His disciples: John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

 

And it is toward that point that James circles back to in chapter five of this letter: “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. ⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near . . . . You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” James 5:7,8,11

 

Consider it all joy WHEN trials come. Why? Now to that next clause: “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” And if I may paraphrase what he then adds: “So let perseverance work its full effect, that your faith may be made mature and complete.”

 

It is a doctrine of demons when preachers tell us if we only have enough faith, we can be healthy and wealthy. That sounds suspiciously like the false teaching popular in the first century. You may remember the story of the man blind from birth. Here is part of that text in John 9:2-3 – “And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

 

Listen, God has something far better and eternally more important for us than temporary earthly blessings. Listen to Paul again: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

 

‘All things’ INCLUDE trials and losses and griefs and even tragedies. God causes all things to work for good. And what is that ‘good’? Look at the next verse in Romans 8: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” who, as the Holy Spirit tells us in Hebrews 5:8 –  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” Romans 8:28-29

 

Despite the lies of some modernist preachers, God PURPOSELY and PURPOSEFULLY brings varying degrees of suffering into our lives. That might be one reason Peter wrote: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

 

The reality of Christian suffering might be one reason Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi: (Philippians 1:29) “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

 

And Paul himself was no stranger to suffering. Listen to what he wrote to the Christians at Corinthian: (2 Corinthians 4:7-11) “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake . . .”

 

Christian, and this too is important, remember what Satan said to Jesus in the wilderness after 40 days of physical and emotional deprivation: “If you are the son of God” then do such and such. Likewise, he inspired the mob at the foot of Calvary’s cross to say it again to the Man as He suffered enormous physical and emotional deprivation: “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross . .. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him.”  Matthew 27:40-43

Christian, don’t be shocked that Satan speaks similarly to you through family, friends, and neighbors when you suffer through some terrible trial. He’ll make some sarcastic comments through them such as, “If you’re really a child of God, if God really cares about you, then why are you suffering like this?”

 

He does those things to demoralize you, to seduce you to give up your faith. Hey, he’s been doing that for millennia. One of the reasons James wrote this epistle was to encourage his readers to persevere for Christ. The book of Hebrews was written for the same reason. And even a cursory reading of the Lord’s remarks to the seven churches in Revelation tells us Satan is very skillful in discouraging and demoralizing Christians into giving up.

 

And I suspect that’s why James, so early in his epistle, tells his readers, “Hey, I know you’re struggling through trials, so do this: If you need wisdom to handle those trials – ask God for that wisdom, because He gives it to everyone who honestly asks for it. And then James goes on: But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

 

If we lack wisdom as to HOW to deal with and to endure our trials – then ask God. But if we go to Him with a double-mind, if we ask Him with an underlying plan to ignore His counsel if we don’t like His answer – then we should not expect to receive anything from Him.

 

It’s really that simple and straightforward. John Wesley said of a double-minded person is the person whose heart is not fully given up to God and His work in our life. John Calvin tells us that faith doesn’t require that we understand God’s plan, but it requires that we simply trust Him even when we don’t understand it. 

 

I think Job said it well: (Job 6:1-10) “Oh that my grief were actually weighed and laid in the balances together with my calamity! “For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas . . . “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, Their poison my spirit drinks; The terrors of God are arrayed against me . . . . “But it is still my consolation, and I rejoice in unsparing pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

 

The Psalmist, in the context of grief and loss, writes: “All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, and we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, and our steps have not deviated from Your way.

 

Do we want God’s wisdom? When I mentored nursing students, I often told them they must not wait until a patient emergency to ensure they have emergency equipment at the bedside. They were responsible for ensuring they had those things available when they first came on shift and went into their patients’ rooms to greet them.

 

I give the same counsel to myself – and to anyone interested in my counsel: Don’t wait until you NEED God’s wisdom to ensure you know what His word teaches about trials and grief and loss. Instead, make sure you’re prepared for trials BEFORE they occur.

 

How might we be prepared? I’ll tell it again what I do: In addition to my daily reading from both Old and New Testaments, every morning I also read a chapter or two from Psalms. I urge you to do something similar.

 

I close with this reminder: Christian, Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” And, “If any of you lacks wisdom to handle those trials, ask God in faith.”

 

Christian, our Father in heaven knows our names. He knows our addresses. He knows our needs and circumstances. So I close with the lyrics from a song by the group, The Imperials –

 

He didn't bring us this far to leave us/He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown/He didn't build His home in us to move away/He didn't lift us up to let us down.