WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:06.400 So last week Russ taught through verse 4, and he kind of talked through how, hey, you're gonna suffer, it's gonna hurt. 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.679 Um, but James encourages us to rejoice even in the midst of that. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:11.679 Um, and that's hard. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:12.960 It's hard. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:21.519 Because James argues that as we go through suffering, as seasons are hard, as we go through things that hurt, James says it brings us to maturity. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:24.239 But I'd like that not to be the case, wouldn't you? 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.519 I'd like for my growth in Christ to just be a nice, pretty upward slope. 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:35.359 But what James is saying is that, and the most most of the time the growth we experience comes through suffering, and that's hard. 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:44.960 I think that we can argue, and I think what James is arguing, is that verses two through four, which say, you know, count at all joy, my brothers, when you go through suffering. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.039 I think verses two through four are kind of the ideal. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:59.359 That's kind of like what Jesus would respond with in seasons of suffering, and so I think James knows that, and I think in verses five to eleven we see, okay, when I'm not living in the ideal, what do I do? 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:04.000 This past Tuesday, uh, my wife Grace and I celebrated our three-year wedding anniversary. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.719 So I know that you're thinking, they get it now. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:08.959 They're masters now, figured it out. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:10.560 Three years, they know it. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:16.879 For Christmas of last year, Grace and I were given a gift card to a restaurant in Atlanta called Houston's. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:22.000 Uh we've spent my whole life going there for birthdays, celebrations, things like that. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.120 And it's become a very special place for us. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:31.280 So, our original plan for anniversary on Tuesday was to just go to dinner, hang out, and then come back home, just have a chill night. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:39.760 Um, but a few days before this, I think it was Friday, Grace and I were sitting there watching a movie, hanging out, and I was thinking about our anniversary, and I was like, maybe I could brainstorm. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:49.200 And so I pulled up the Marriott Bonvoy app, as one does, start scrolling, looking through, man, what sort of nights in Atlanta could we maybe figure out on our you know, salaries? 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.000 And so I Marriott gets me good. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:57.120 They pull up this little message and it says, You've pre-qualified for the Marriott Bonvoy boundless credit card. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:01.760 And if you accept it, you get a$250 e-gift card effective immediately. 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:05.120 And so I thought, heck yeah, all right, we're gonna treat ourselves on Tuesday then. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.400 So I look over at Grace and she loves surprises, loves surprise. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:08.879 She eats it up. 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.919 And so I looked at her, I was like, Grace, I have a surprise for you on Tuesday. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:12.800 And she was like, what? 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:14.479 Like it made her day. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:24.800 So pack our bags on Tuesday, go to Houston's, and we pull up and I look at Grace, and as we're pulling up, we see Houston's there, and all of a sudden I'm like kind of emotional, and I'm like, what's going on? 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:25.680 Why am I emotional? 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:31.360 You may be thinking, Sam, like if a restaurant makes you emotional, maybe you need to get out more, like that this is you know what's going on here. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.199 So let me explain why Houston's means so much to Grace and I. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:39.120 So my father died about almost exactly two years ago, unexpectedly. 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.439 Uh, next week is the anniversary of that. 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:48.240 I realized as we were pulling up that Grace and I had not been to Houston's, just to the two of us, since he died. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:54.879 So all of a sudden, Grace and I are in the parking lot inconsolable because this truth is just weighing on us, like, oh my gosh, we haven't been here yet. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:56.159 This place means a lot to us. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.639 So the tears are just flowing out of nowhere. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:01.759 Houston's is very tight on the reservation schedule. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:02.960 They do not like you to be late. 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:04.400 Our reservation was at 7. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:11.120 We pull up at 6.58, we start crying, we have minutes to get inside and lock it up and go tell the Maider D we're here, okay? 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:13.919 So Grace sits in the car for a second, gathers herself. 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.319 I try to gather myself, and I go to the Maider D. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.039 I'm like, hey, you know, reservation for Sam choking it out. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.240 Uh reservation for Sam's at 7, rap, whatever, and she's like, okay, Mr. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:23.680 Rap, no worries, we'll get that for you. 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:25.599 And I first of all I was like, she's calling Mr. 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:25.919 Rap? 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:26.719 I don't get that much. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:27.439 Okay, Mr. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:28.400 Rap's here. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:31.199 So I have literal tears in my eyes as we're doing this. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.319 I'm like, okay, sounds great. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:38.080 And so then I go outside, and Grace and I sit on a bench, cry a lot uh more, and people are probably like, These people are crazy. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:40.080 You're at a restaurant, why are you sobbing? 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:42.080 And then the girl comes back, I was like, Mr. 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:43.280 Rap, your table's ready. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.680 So we go, we sit down, we order our drinks. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.560 The server didn't even take our drink order, the host did. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:50.879 And then he set a little pretty piece of paper on the table. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:51.759 I was like, what's going on? 00:03:51.919 --> 00:04:04.000 So we sit there, it's our anniversary, got this beautiful little corner table that looks over the whole restaurant, have a delicious glass of wine, we talk, we cry, we laugh, we process together. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:05.840 And let me just say this. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:10.879 It's pretty easy to laugh and cry at the same time like that. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:18.959 It's easy for the reality of pain and the reality of joy to also coexist when you're at a table like that. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.120 It's our anniversary. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:22.959 We're at our favorite restaurant. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.160 We got a fancy hotel coming next. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.879 I'm at dinner with my favorite person. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:31.759 The dinner is pretty much free because of the card. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:37.600 The hotel is also free uh because of the credit card, other than the sneaky little yearly fee that they threw in there. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:38.879 Didn't tell me about that. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:40.959 That's alright, figure that out. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:46.240 The reality of death still really stung at that table that night. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:51.040 Even with the glass of wine, even with the delicious food, even with the special night. 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:56.160 But like I'd like for my dad to still be here. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:03.199 But that night was pretty special for us to be able to find joy and have our eyes set at the cross in that. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:20.319 So when it's not an ideal night like that, when it's not the special anniversary, when it's just the normal Tuesday, when it's the sad, lonely Friday night, when we fall into that sin or that addiction again, how do we rejoice in God on those days? 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:21.279 That's the question. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:24.240 I think that's what James is hitting at here. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:39.839 And what the world is gonna argue, and what your teenagers are being discipled by on Instagram and uh by their friends, there's the world is saying this since the world is broken and suffering exists, there cannot possibly be a God that exists, and even if he did exist, he can't be good or he can't be all-powerful because it's still here, right? 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.519 That's what your kids are hearing. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:48.480 That's what the atheist philosopher David Hume argued, and it's a philosopher that your kids, when they go to college, will probably read, even if it's a school like Samford. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.839 But here's how James's argument lands it says, you will suffer, and your suffering is not meaningless. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:54.480 Why? 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.360 Because in your suffering you're brought to maturity. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:04.879 What James argues is that the present evil and suffering in the world do not mean that God's not here or active or exists. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:10.720 It actually is part of God's redemptive plan in Christ to come defeat the very evil and sin that we experience. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:19.199 So the big argument that James is hitting on here is when you suffer in your maturity, you get Christ. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.079 You get more of Jesus through that. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.839 And in our ideal moments, it's easier to believe that, right? 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:34.079 Like on the anniversary night where we're able to laugh and cry together all on this perfect, beautiful night, but what about the other 364 days in between? 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:38.560 How do we how do we process the pain of our lives then? 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.600 So let's pick up in James 1, verse 5. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:49.519 Says this if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:51.600 So quickly James shifts. 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.480 He shifts. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.160 He says, if any of you are lacking, which assumes you're gonna lack. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:58.240 And he says, lack what? 00:06:58.560 --> 00:06:59.120 Wisdom. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:01.920 So what does James mean by wisdom? 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:09.199 Wisdom, I think, for James is properly living and understanding the ideal of verses two through four. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.160 And he acknowledges pastorally that we won't be living in this wisdom most of the time. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:18.639 Because most of life is not the ideal, beautiful anniversary night, like Grace and I had on Tuesday. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:21.360 Most of life, we're not living in the ideal. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:26.959 Wisdom, I think, to James, is when our will and God's will mesh. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:29.759 When we recognize, hey, this suffering is not meaningless. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:30.079 Why? 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:31.839 Because I have the mind of Christ. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:34.639 But here's the encouragement. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:40.240 When we lack, not if, when we lack, when our wisdom is not like God's wisdom, what do we do? 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.399 James says, ask God. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.000 We learn three things about God's heart just in verse five. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:48.000 Three things that I just pulled out from the text. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.480 Number one, it is in God's nature to give. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.000 It's not just like something he does, you know, uh reluctantly. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:55.839 It's it's in his nature to give. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.560 Number two, God gives generously and without hesitation. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:07:59.600 We see that in verse five. 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:05.199 And then lastly, number three, God's generosity is boundless, and all who ask in faith will receive. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:06.240 That's the promise. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:07.519 It's not a maybe. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:09.360 We will receive this wisdom. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:21.360 And what James is doing here is this when you suffer, when you're finding it hard to rejoice, when you're finding it hard to find Christ as rest and refuge, ask. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:23.120 Ask. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:25.360 Lord, give me this joy. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.199 I would like to rejoice in my suffering, Lord, but I'm finding that hard. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:30.240 Help. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:31.199 Great. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:31.519 Okay. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:34.240 James seems a little bit more pastoral than we remembered. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.559 Let's look at verses six through eight. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.399 Verse six. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.320 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:46.000 For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:49.039 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:52.399 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:54.559 Whoa. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:56.960 Full disclosure. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:00.000 I've been student pastor here for about three years. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:05.600 I have had countless students come to me with those three verses with tears in their eyes. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.080 Because they think God's mad at them for doubting. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.240 So this that's why this passage matters. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.960 That's why we've got to make sense of what James is doing here. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.480 So how do we make sense of this? 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.559 First, we need to remember who James is writing to. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:23.440 James is writing to Christians, which means he's writing to people who are fully, freely, and forever forgiven by the blood of his son, Jesus. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:28.399 Not because they've held it together, not because they never doubt, but because Jesus is sufficient for salvation. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.600 So we read these verses in the context that he's writing to people who are forgiven in Christ forever. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.039 Justified. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:37.360 And James gives us some direction. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:46.639 Hey, when you're lacking, when you're doubting, when you're having a hard time believing that God is good in your situation, ask. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:48.000 Ask. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:49.120 He says, how? 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:50.639 He says, in faith. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.080 Not doubting. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:53.279 So let's talk. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.679 That's what we need to, that's what we need to talk about. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.720 If we're honest, I'm honest. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:03.279 I probably doubted like on my drive here this morning about the character of God. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:06.799 So it's like, I'm preaching on this, does that mean I'm disqualified? 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.320 James says, person will not receive anything from God. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:11.519 Whew, okay. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:15.759 So James does say, with no doubting, not even just a little, none. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:20.159 So I think in order for us to understand what he means by this, let's look at verses 7 through 8 one more time. 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:24.080 It says, For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:27.200 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:33.039 What I want to say first is that God never condemns honest faith struggles. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:36.240 From Genesis to Revelation, never condemns it. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.000 In fact, he welcomes it because God is big enough to handle your struggles. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:44.879 So if we want to know what a life of honest faith and doubt and struggle is, we can just read the Psalms. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.360 Look at King David wrestling and lament with God. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:50.559 Even Jude 22 says, Have mercy on the one who doubts. 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:51.919 What about Thomas? 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.240 He's a pretty good apostle until the one moment, and then we change his name to doubting Thomas. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.000 He did pretty good other than that. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:10:59.840 It's a tough nickname. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:03.519 When Thomas doubts, how does Jesus respond? 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:05.360 Does Jesus condemn him? 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:09.360 No, Jesus doesn't even open the door, he appears in the room all the time, so that's crazy. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:16.639 Appears in the room, moves towards Thomas in grace, resolves Thomas's doubts and love, says, Hey, here are the holes. 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.919 One of my favorite examples of doubt in the whole Bible comes in the end of the Gospel of Matthew. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:23.600 It's right before the Great Commission. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.480 You know, yeah, go forth and make disciples, I'll be with you. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.200 Heck yeah. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.200 Let's look at verses 16 and 17. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.960 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.919 And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:38.960 I love that. 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:40.000 The eleven. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:41.120 Some doubted. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:43.279 I love how honest the Bible is. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:47.679 This is the resurrected Christ about to ascend to the Father. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:53.360 Holes in his hands, hole in his side, hole in his feet, rose from the grave on Sunday. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:55.919 Some of them are like, I don't know. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:57.360 Can you imagine? 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:00.799 You're standing there on this mountain right by Galilee. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:02.000 You see the risen Christ. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.000 He's like rising up to heaven. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:05.840 You're like, ah, I don't know. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:06.879 I'm good. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:07.600 What? 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:08.720 That's crazy. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:10.000 I love the Bible. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:10.960 It's so honest. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.360 It doesn't condemn them for doubting either, does it? 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:14.639 It just makes note of it. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.159 It's fascinating. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:21.840 So we read hard passages like this in James 1 in light of the rest of the canon. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:27.519 In light of what the rest of the Word of God has made clear, which is that it's normal and regular to have doubts. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.000 It's normal and regular to have questions. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.960 And we see God nowhere condemning believers for that. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.639 So please hear that as we have this hard passage. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.879 So in that case, what on earth kind of doubt is James talking about? 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.879 So in verse 8, James uses the phrase double-minded. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:47.840 Double-minded. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.799 So in the Greek, let's have a Greek little nerd out. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:55.600 The word for double-minded is only used three times in the whole New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:00.000 It's only used three times, two of which are in the book of James, and one is in the book of 1 Corinthians. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.200 The word could better be translated as double-souled. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.559 Person with a divided soul, the soul cut in half. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.200 This person essentially has a divided heart. 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:11.120 Allegiance here and allegiance here. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:14.399 And even Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount says that's not possible. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.919 So the doubt that this person is experiencing isn't just an intellectual one. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:22.000 It's a moral and a spiritual one. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.480 And this is way deeper than just honest questions in our faith. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.600 It would be like someone asking God for wisdom, but not even believing God can give them wisdom. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:39.679 So in a few weeks, on September 30th, the Georgia Bulldogs are driving down to Auburn, Alabama, play the Auburn Tigers. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:43.519 Now let's just say, for story's sake, that Georgia loses. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:44.720 That's a silly story, I know. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:47.440 But let's just say that Georgia loses the game. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:47.840 Okay. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:49.519 It's possible, and now it might happen. 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.720 I don't want to speak that. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:55.200 Now, let's just say, say I'm at the game, got my Georgia jersey on, cheering. 00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:00.159 But then all of a sudden it's becoming very clear that Georgia's not going to win the game. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:10.559 Now, let's say, as the seconds are winding down, games coming to a close, I you see me, and I start slowly peeling my Georgia jersey off just to reveal an Auburn jersey underneath. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:12.480 Let's say that's what you see me doing. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:14.080 That's not what's gonna happen in that moment. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:20.320 I'll probably be crying and pretty sad, but I'm not changing my allegiance to be for the Tigers all of a sudden because Georgia loses to them. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.000 That's kind of what James is doing here. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:23.279 It's about allegiance. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:26.639 It's about where our heart is finding its identity and our rest in. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.480 This isn't just a Christian wrestling with doubts in their faith. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:35.919 This is a person who doesn't even actually believe in God, asking God for something, kind of like a genie in a bottle. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:37.759 This is an author named Paul Copen. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:42.080 He writes in this article, he's talking about our passage here, verses six through eight. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:47.679 And he's speaking specifically to parents with students, but I think what he talks about can actually speak to all of us. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.919 This is what Paul writes, Paul Copen. 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:57.360 He says there is a secret infidel in every believer's heart, a kind of internal dialogue between one's believing self and unbelieving self. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:07.039 The wrong response to doubting and to questioning youth is to keep them in a Christian bubble, or simply to dismiss their questions and exhort them to pray hard or read the Bible or just believe. 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:10.639 The right response is to teach them to doubt wisely. 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:19.519 Christian leaders and parents should give the young people entrusted to them ample room to grapple with doubts, to ask questions around the supper table or over a cup of coffee. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:24.240 The next generation should receive direction in honestly working through these questions. 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.480 We should seek to sharpen their minds and strengthen their faith so they can embrace it as their own. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:30.480 I love this quote because it does two things. 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:35.679 First, it accepts that all of us, young and old, will experience doubts. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:37.840 Will experience doubts. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.159 And it offers no condemnation for that. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:46.639 And then, second, it encourages us to find safe community with people that we love and trust to wrestle with them through. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.600 So I want to say this again with this hard passage. 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.799 You are free in Christ to wrestle with God in faith. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.320 He actually welcomes it. 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:59.360 Christ in Matthew 11 says, Come to me all who are heavy laden, and I will give you what? 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:00.320 Rest. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:02.960 God wants you to think deeply about him. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.639 He wants you to think deeply about him. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.600 And when you think deeply about something, you're gonna have doubts. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:09.759 And God actually welcomes that. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:17.440 But in the midst of our doubts, what I think James wants us to know is that the heart of Christ is for you as you wrestle. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:22.320 And James, the blood brother of Jesus of Nazareth, knew that. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.000 You think James never had some doubts about his brother? 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:27.200 Bet he did. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.960 So when we read verses five through eight, I pray you don't find condemnation there. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:35.200 I pray you don't find yourself like the student coming to me with tears thinking God hates them. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:39.360 So James closes our passage with another abrupt transition. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:43.440 So he goes from our doubt passage, verses five through eight, and goes right into talking about money. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:45.840 So here we go, verses nine through eleven. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:17:02.000 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away, for the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, its flower falls and its beauty perishes, so also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:07.599 So if you remember, verse 2, James talks about trials of many kinds that we will all face. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:13.759 When you face trials of many kinds, what James is doing here is giving us an example of a trial of various kinds. 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:22.640 He could have used a number of things: sickness, health, death, life, marriage, divorce, addiction, healing. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.759 But he chooses money, finances. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:26.799 Why? 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:31.039 I think we can all agree that money is the great equalizer. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:34.079 Like life and death, we all are in these verses. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.680 James is reading us here. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:37.680 We are all either poor or rich in the world. 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.079 Most of us probably finding ourselves somewhere in the middle. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.200 And what James is doing is driving the point of verse 2 home. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.440 He's saying, whatever your circumstance, rich or poor, boast in the Lord. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:48.720 That's what he's saying. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:55.599 He's saying, hey, when you face trials in the world, whether you're rich or whether you're poor, find Christ there. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:58.880 So, poor or rich, find Christ. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:17:59.920 That's what he's saying. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:03.839 He says, for the poor, verse 9, look how rich I am in Christ. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:07.519 For the rich in verse 10, look at my great need for Christ. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:08.640 That's what he's doing. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.519 And the big point he's driving home, I think. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.079 Our wealth will change. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.319 Our savings accounts will change and one day not be here. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:23.759 The kitchen renovation that one day was the best thing in our life will become dull. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.319 Because what James says is that riches fade. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:30.400 Beauty perishes. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.960 Grass one day won't be green. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.119 But what's the one thing that stays forever, unchanging? 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:42.160 Our beloved identity as a son or daughter of the King of Kings who loves us and gave himself up for us. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.279 That's what won't perish, no matter what. 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:47.440 So James is reminding us here. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:54.559 True joy, true contentment, true secure identity in this life, unwavering, cannot be found in riches. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:56.079 Okay. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:59.920 The draw of riches is pretty magnetic, though, isn't it? 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:08.559 We scroll on Zillow, we see houses we can't afford, you know, cars and clothes and country clubs and all that good stuff, shoes. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:15.359 I think, oh, all the pain and sorrow of my life will go away if I had that$80 million house in the Hamptons, wouldn't it? 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.640 It's like, yeah, it's silly, but I get it. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.160 James gets it. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.000 That's why he's hitting on it. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:24.960 What's interesting is that the Bible doesn't condemn wealth. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.640 It never condemns wealth. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:29.839 I mean, you just look at Solomon, King David. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.519 Like those dudes were like rich, rich. 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:33.440 Like, I know y'all know some people that are rich. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:36.480 Like, we're talking rich rich, like fun money plus sum, right? 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:38.400 And here's what James is doing. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:46.400 He's showing us that God cares less about how much we own and more about what weight what we own holds on our hearts. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:48.000 That's what he's hitting on. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:49.920 And this is what James is doing. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.640 He's saying, hey, like, suffering's gonna come. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:56.400 Life will shoot you off out of nowhere. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:58.880 And life on the side of heaven is hard. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.920 So James is nailing this down, saying, hey, the cure of the pain of your heart is not more money. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:10.000 The cure of the pain of your heart is not a better house or a renovated kitchen or a better perfect vacation. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.720 What he's saying is the cure is Christ. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:20.400 The cure is aligning our hearts with the heart of God and finding our secure standing in the person and work of Jesus. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:27.920 So the offer for us this morning from James is to run and collapse once again at the feet of Jesus. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.440 It's the invitation every week, because that's the invitation of the gospel. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:34.319 It's to remember, to return back once again. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:37.519 And even some things we can pray are, Lord, life is hard. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.839 Verses two through four are a real present reality for a lot of us in this room. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:43.359 Life has beat us up. 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.599 And so we can come to the Lord saying, Lord, life is hard. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:46.960 I don't have the wisdom I want. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.200 I don't understand why life hurts so much. 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.279 Lord, I'm finding myself frustrated at you. 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:54.319 I'm finding myself hard to find the joy in the midst of this pain. 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:55.920 So, God, help. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.880 I'd love to have this joy that you're talking about. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:02.319 I'd love to have the joy that Christ had, but I don't. 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:04.160 So I'd love to have it. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.240 James says, Come to Him. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.240 Find a refuge in the only one who has the words of eternal life. 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.559 The only one who loves you perfectly. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:17.200 The only one who you can be fully yourself and still fully free and loved by. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:22.079 And the one who, like Peter, you can look at him confidently and say, Lord, where else would we go? 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:24.559 For you have the words of eternal life. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.000 Let's pray. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:28.400 Father, thank you for your word. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:32.960 Thank you that your word is without fault. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.480 These 66 books, give us the beautiful person of Christ. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:48.240 Who, Lord, in our mess, in our addiction, in our shame, in our pride, in our messiness, Lord, we find perfect love there. 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:54.799 So Lord, I pray for the person in here who man, life has just beat them up this year. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:58.559 Lord, I pray that they would not feel ashamed in questioning you. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:05.920 I I pray, Lord, that they would not find you judging them in anger for wondering where you are in the midst of the pain. 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:12.720 I pray for all of us in this room, Lord, that we would collapse into the mercy of Christ, maybe in a new way this morning. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:14.640 Thank you for Jesus. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:19.200 Thank you that even in hard passages like this, Lord, we can find you there. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:25.039 And I pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would continue to do a work on us through your word and through the sacraments. 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:26.160 Pray this in Jesus' name. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:26.720 Amen.