WEBVTT 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:15.199 Very good to be here at Proclamation Church and to see the same faces we saw a couple of years ago and to see many more faces that I don't even know. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.640 So uh what a joy that uh God can do that. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:26.480 And um we have been blessed over and over and many times at Grace Church by Proclamation Church. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:38.640 So we thank you for that, whether it's from worship music to just um financially, and uh we're very thankful that you can pray for us and that we can pray for you and it's all all for God's kingdom. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.799 If you would, please uh let us pray together. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.799 Father, we come to you this morning, just grateful to be here. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:57.520 Grateful that you have set apart a day to where we could gather, that we our focus would be solely on you, on your word. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:13.040 Uh we ask that you would help us to seek you daily, not just today, but every day in our lives, that we can um find you and our hope in you, that our our hope is only in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.920 Please uh be with our hearts, encourage us from your word, edify us, and lift us up. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:21.120 In Jesus' name I pray. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:21.920 Amen. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.239 Our text from today for today, our sermon text comes from James 1. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:32.079 If you would, please turn with me there to James 1. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.159 Right after Hebrews, I believe. 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:37.599 Yes. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.519 James 1, and I'm going to read verses 2 through 12. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:58.480 It reads, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:05.840 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:13.280 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.439 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:22.479 He is double minded, he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:30.800 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. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.840 For the sun rises with his scorching heat and withers with grass, with the grass. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:45.280 Withers the grass, its flower falls, and its beauty perishes, so also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:56.159 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:05.520 One common thread that we all share as brothers and sisters in Christ are trials. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:14.400 If you just look at almost every book in the Bible, there are trials going on in the midst of believers. 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:25.439 You have from Abraham to Joseph to Job to David to Peter to Paul, and most nobly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.400 If you are a believer, you will face trials. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:30.960 It's a certainty in life. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:38.080 And Jesus even told his disciples in the book of John, in the world you will have tribulation. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:46.400 Jesus didn't say, health and wealth, seek prosperity, find what makes you happy, and live the easy life. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:54.400 No, Jesus said in Mark 8 that if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:01.759 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:04.400 This is not the easy life. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.719 It's a life of faith, but eternal rewards in the end. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.639 Some of you might say, Well, look at Dave Eaton over here. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:13.759 He's retired. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:15.520 The kids are out of the house. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.199 He looks to be doing pretty good. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.720 Life must be great. 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:27.600 If you sat down with Dave over a cup of coffee or dinner, Dave would tell you a list of life's trials and troubles. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:29.120 Look at the Martins. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:30.800 Actually, they're sitting right in front of Dave. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.000 They're my neighbors. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:33.680 The Martins. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:35.759 Wes has a great job. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:37.199 Andrea feeds them well. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:38.879 The kids are healthy. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:40.879 Life must be great. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:45.839 If you sat down with the Martins, they would tell you of all their life's troubles and trials. 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.720 Jess and I, we have two teenage boys, one 19, one 16. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:52.480 They have trials. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.439 And when they have trials, we have trials. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:02.160 And so I'm sure that for most of you, even today coming into church, you had trials. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:05.839 It's just what it is for the believer. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:15.360 So when James is talking about trials here, he's not just singling out certain believers in specific situations. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:27.680 He is giving us an applicable message for all believers, not only in his church in Jerusalem, but in the broader sense of all brothers in Christ throughout the world. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:38.399 With that said, we're going to follow James through this text here as he leads us through our need for trials and how do we address them when we're going through them. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:46.720 So if you've read the book of James before, you may have noticed that his writing style is a little different than most authors of the Bible. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.959 James' style is very practical and clear and concise. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:06:00.879 He starts out our text today with this directive to count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:10.560 So you're supposed to count, or in some translations say consider, meaning to look at and view trials through a spiritual lens. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:20.800 Our perspective of trials must be godly in order for us to go through them properly, to handle them properly. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:29.680 My coworkers are so hard to work with. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.360 I wish he would just listen to me and all would go better. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:38.720 This illness is just really getting the last of me. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:40.560 I just wish I was better. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:51.199 When we face trials, our first reaction is to not usually look through it through the eyes of a godly perspective, through a spiritual lens, is it? 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:58.959 Our first inclination is to think of it through finding relief or whatever will give us peace when we go through it. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:05.759 And that's why James tells his listeners to stop and consider, to look at it from a spiritual standpoint. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:08.160 Because what is a trial? 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:14.480 Verse 3, he tells us, James says, it is the testing of your faith. 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:21.920 Trials are used by God to test the genuineness and the strength of your faith. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:28.000 These are not events that just happen out of the blue with no reason to make life miserable. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:32.720 These are tests that show us if our faith is real. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:37.040 And they also show if our faith is weak or strong. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:45.199 We may have a strong knowledge of faith, but a weak life of faith. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.920 So not just specific trials, he says here, but various trials. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:52.160 They're very diverse. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:58.560 And in this context, the word trial can be used to be trial or temptation. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:09.519 So whether it's big, small, persecution, uh, an illness, your work, your marriage, this is all part of a trial. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.120 Even the school, there's no college kids here today, except mine. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:15.279 Um, but these are all part of the trial. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:16.319 They're very diverse. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:23.519 Each and every trial is used by God to test our faith, to see if we truly believe what we say. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.319 And that's where James is getting at. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:28.160 He's getting at the heart. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:34.000 The trials are external, but the test is really internal in our hearts. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.960 What is at the heart of your faith? 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.720 Is it real or is it fake? 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:46.399 If I say I have faith, then let me show it in my daily life. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:51.279 When life is good and when life is bad, let me show my faith in these things. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:57.600 So Jesus taught on this parable of the sower, which we can find in the book of Matthew. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.360 If you would turn with me to Matthew 13. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.559 We might exercise our Bibles a little bit this morning. 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:06.000 Matthew 13. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:11.919 And uh we're going to read about the parable of the sower. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.000 We'll start with verses 3 through 9. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:24.720 This is Jesus speaking, and he told them many things in parables, saying, A sower went out to sow, and he sowed. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:28.799 Some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:42.240 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, and since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:46.639 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:52.559 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:55.600 He who has ears let him hear. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:03.519 And then Jesus, in verses eighteen through twenty four, which we're going to read, he explains this parable, which is what we're trying to learn. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.000 Hear then the parable of the sower. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:14.480 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:18.159 This is what was sown along the path. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:24.960 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:35.120 Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:45.919 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:50.799 And for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:57.759 He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, and another sixty, and in another thirty. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:04.639 If you look back here, the one who received the word with joy, it had no root. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:05.840 He didn't have Christ. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:10.799 So when the trials came, the tribulation and persecution immediately fell away. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.360 And the same goes for the one that was sown among thorns. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:19.759 The word didn't take root, and the deceitfulness and his cares for riches, he turned away. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.320 Isn't this um it's it's kind of like where the mu the rubber meets the road? 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:33.279 I know the truth to trust in God, but do I trust him when life hits me in the mouth? 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:41.440 I know in truth not to sin, but when tempted, do I trust God for the goodness over my sin? 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:50.799 This is where James hits, right at the matter of we have the knowledge, but do we apply it in our daily lives? 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:55.279 When life gets tough, isn't that one of the hardest things for a believer? 00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:00.720 We know what Scripture says, but are we able to apply it and live it out? 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:06.399 Like Paul says in Philippians, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:10.720 We can't become mature Christians by sitting on our hands. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:19.200 Our maturity, our spiritual growth doesn't come just by knowing more, it comes from living out what we know. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:25.679 Faith is an action and it's grown and matured through testing? 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:31.279 How would you know how to forgive someone if no one ever did you wrong? 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:37.519 How would you know to rely on God for provisions if you had everything you needed? 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:42.960 How could you have empathy for others if you had never been through an illness yourself? 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.399 How could you console someone who had lost a loved one without losing someone yourself? 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:50.799 This is what trials do. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:56.399 They grow our faith, they give us perspective that we would not have otherwise. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:01.360 They shape us to walk and talk and think like Jesus. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:09.759 Um at work, we perform this test on any new part that is designed that would be a pressure-containing vessel. 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.600 I know that's a lot of words, but I'll simplify it. 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:15.679 So we call it a burst test. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:23.679 Um, for instance, if this new design cylinder, I'm gonna leave a lot of details out so for sake of time. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:29.279 We take this cylinder that's designed and we put it in this pit in the ground. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:38.159 And we fill it up with water, and then we plug all the holes, plug all the holes, then fill it up with water, and then we start pumping air into it. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:45.200 And as the pressure builds, the cast iron or the steel actually grows and expands. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:52.960 And if there's any weak point in the design, the weakness will cause the cylinder to break and blow apart. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:14:00.960 After you evaluate where the breaking point was, then you go back to the drawing board and fix the design flaw. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:03.519 It's in the same way. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.039 God uses trials as a tool to test us. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:12.879 If there is a weakness in our faith, it will be exposed by the pressure of the trial. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:24.000 The trials aren't made to destroy us, the trials are made to purify us, to set us apart, to make us holy, to mold us into the image of Christ. 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:34.000 So now that we know what trials are and why we have them, James tells us how to respond to these trials. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:42.480 He says in verse 2 there, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:53.759 For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and that steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:15:09.440 I've had many conversations over coffee with my wife, my sons, other brothers in Christ, and I've never heard them rejoice over their current troubles in life, or the current sin that befalls them. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:11.200 Now, don't get this wrong. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:19.200 James is not saying when someone shares life with you and needs encouragement to do a mic drop and say, consider it all joy, sweetie. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.279 Uh, God is testing your faith. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:27.279 This might not be the best way to handle the conversation. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:31.440 It's a spiritual truth, but it must be handled correctly. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:40.960 This joy that James is speaking of is not a joy of feelings, so much as it is a joy that acknowledges our position in Christ. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:50.320 It's a joy that aligns our hearts with a desire to trust in the Lord even when life is tough and we have troubles. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:57.120 It's a joy that knows the trials in life are producing in us something better than we currently see. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:04.960 So we must have joy in trials because we know that it's producing something in us. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:13.120 It's shaping our character, it's deepening our faith, it's producing steadfastness, as James says. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:19.600 Steadfastness, or another way that it's said in other translations, is endurance. 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:23.919 The testing of our faith builds our spiritual muscles. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:32.080 And the more trials we encounter, the more staying power, the more endurance we have, assuming the trial did work. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:39.679 So sometimes, if you're like me, God has to bang me over the head with trials until I submit to his will. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:49.279 If we fight trials, if we encounter trials with a prideful and selfish heart, then it won't produce in us what God had intended. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:58.879 But God will in one way or another come, continue to put trials in our lives until they conform to his will. 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:12.880 I think that's why David could say in Psalm 23 that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:19.440 David was aware of the trial, and he was fully aware that God was with him in the trial. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:28.480 He knew God was using the rod and the staff to guide and direct and to poke and prod David in the direction he should go. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:38.960 That's why he could say at the in 23 6, that surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:43.839 David wasn't looking at the trials of God's way of pushing him away. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.240 He was looking at it as a means to draw near to the Lord. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:57.039 David was assured by the Lord's presence in the trial, no matter the circumstance, he would be in the hands of the Father. 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:09.440 So David was so confident that while he was going in the trials, David was confident in directing him in the trials. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:18.799 And because God brought him through the trial, David was assured that he would be there over and over and over again, through the next trial and the next. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:25.119 When we go through trials and experience God's faithfulness, then we grow our dependence on him. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.799 Not only for today, but for the next trial. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:39.119 And this purifying work continues to build our endurance and draws us more and more near to Christ and matures our faith. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:46.000 Have you ever talked with someone who's walked with the Lord for many years and noticed how calm they are? 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:51.039 I always find it interesting to talk with some parents that have adult children. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.799 I ask them, like, through the cheap teenage years, what did you do? 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:58.880 What's the secret in the sauce or the sauce and the secret or however you say it? 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:01.839 And they kind of ignore it. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:07.279 And I always feel like they're they like it come, they glance over it and they're like, it's really not a big deal. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.200 And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.359 Um but you know why? 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:15.200 Because they made it to the other side and they're alive. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:20.559 They they graduated from that phase of life and they're on to the next trial. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.119 They keep pressing on. 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:32.960 A little over a month ago, through conversation, I heard that a sister actually here at Proclamation Church had fallen and broken a bone. 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:40.160 And so I reached out to her husband through a text message and I told him we're praying for him and offered him a word of encouragement. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.039 And listen to this brother's response. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:44.559 This is through a text message. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.000 She said, Thanks, Kevin. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:49.200 We are experiencing that grace and are thankful. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.920 God has his reasons for everything. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:54.480 I can see some but not all. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.559 Now but not quite yet. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:57.839 Coffee soon? 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:59.920 Hi to Jess and the boys. 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:09.039 This grizzle old man had experienced years and years of trials, and he wasn't going to let this slow him down spiritually. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:20.000 Trials upon trials that shaped his heart to rely on the only constant in his life, his Lord and Savior, and to know that God had a reason for all of it. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:26.960 Even if he doesn't know what it was, he knows God is faithful and good and will see him through it and his wife. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:46.160 Paul, while in prison in Rome, riding to the Philippian church with a joyful heart and full of thanksgiving, he said in 4, 11 through 13, Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am to be content. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:49.759 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:57.759 In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.880 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.839 Paul learned through his trials. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:10.319 He was shaped by each and every circumstance to draw near to the one who would strengthen him. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:17.440 He was humbled to the point of no longer feeling the need for anything of this world, just the one who created it. 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:23.440 So the trials gave him endurance, which in turn had its full effect, right? 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:34.160 That he would no longer rely on himself or his resources or anything of the world, but he relied fully on the strength of the Lord, he became mature in the testing. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:39.680 So, when you're in a trial and you need wisdom, what should you do? 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:41.519 Who should you ask for direction? 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:44.240 James takes us here to verse 5. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:52.319 And he says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives journeys to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.759 Before smartphones, if we were going out of town as a family and I'm driving along. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.960 Maybe someplace I've never been before, Jess would ask me, Do you know where you're going? 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.559 This is while we're driving. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:14.240 I'd say, like, well, I know in the direction I'm supposed to be going, but I don't exactly know how to get there. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.039 But if we have questions, I'll stop and ask. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.359 I mean, that's what gas stations are for. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:28.079 The trick is, when you're asking for directions, you first ask the person if they're from that area, right? 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:29.279 You're like, hey, are you from here? 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:30.480 And they say yes or no. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:33.599 Then you can find out if you can trust where they're going to send you. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:39.039 Usually, if they aren't from the area, they'll be like, hey Roger, do you know how to get from you know a coworker? 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:42.319 Hey Roger, do you know how to get to this area you're from you're from around here? 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:46.400 And that's you're you're trying to find the person that has the answers. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:58.880 In the same way, James tells us to ask God, when we are in need of wisdom, go to the one who's able to help in time of need, the one who actually has the answers. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:12.160 I remember very early on in my walk with Christ, I was seeking miracle advice from a friend, and at one point during a very low time, I was texting him, just begging him for any help in this situation. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:16.000 And all he texted me was a scripture. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:21.440 He had no words, no encouragement, no emoji, no nothing. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:25.839 He just texted me Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:33.599 And I was like, when I saw the text, I was like, that's I'm trusting you, and that's all you gave me. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:38.640 And I this I was I'm still a babe in Christ, and I was definitely a babe in Christ then. 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.119 And I was kind of annoyed by it, to be honest with you. 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:43.920 And so I was like, all right, so I looked up the scripture. 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.359 You probably all know it too. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:52.799 Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:57.680 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:03.920 In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your make straight your path. 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:09.119 What I needed most was the wisdom from above. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.720 And praise the Lord, he's been gracious in our marriage. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.480 So, first, we must ask God for wisdom. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.319 This is not something we do sometimes and not other times. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:24.400 This is where our hearts should always be directed to seeking Him. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:27.200 We don't naturally have wisdom, do we? 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:34.400 You don't sit a child down and say, Do this and don't do that and expect them to actually do it, right? 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:40.240 No, it's something that we teach them in our daily experiences of everyday life. 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:43.519 And that's why we ask for wisdom from God. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:51.119 Because we need to know how to apply and understand what he's teaching through real life circumstances. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.920 We wouldn't choose to do it through trials and testing, but that's the way he does it. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:05.440 It's so easy to fall prey to our education, our finances, and our resources before we ever go to God for help, isn't it? 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:16.480 Instead, our posture should always be to the one to draw near to the Lord and leaning on him to lead us, not relying on our own abilities. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:24.480 And James here gives us three things that we must know about God, God's character, which builds our faith in him. 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:29.759 First, God gives generously. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:35.119 God is not looking to give anything in return or pay up front. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.279 He's not giving us something then hanging overhead. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:42.400 There's no impure motives to God's generosity. 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:47.440 He has an abundance of wisdom and he's just waiting for us to ask for it. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.720 Second, God gives to all. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:52.240 He doesn't play favorites. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:54.079 God is generous to all his children. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:56.160 You gotta believe that. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.599 Third, God gives without reproach. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.200 Some translations say without finding fault. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:08.000 He doesn't give and say, You should have come to me earlier, but here you go. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:15.440 He doesn't give and say, You know, you should have been saving for this for the last several months, but here you go, anyways. 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:19.839 No, God does not deal with us how we deal with others. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:20.960 Praise the Lord. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:25.279 This is probably the one reason we don't go to Him in the first place. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:29.200 Because we forget the nature and character of God. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.599 He is a giving and gracious God. 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:34.160 He doesn't treat us like our heavenly fathers. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.079 No prefacing the gift, no paybacks, no interest. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:40.240 He simply gives. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.359 Think about it. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:44.240 It's at the core of the gospel. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:47.599 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:50.960 We didn't have any, we didn't do anything to deserve it. 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.160 Even our own faith is a gift from God. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:27:00.240 By grace you've been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it's a gift from God. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:01.680 It's a gift of God. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:09.200 He has given us salvation, he's given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, he is a giving God. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:16.559 But James says in verse 6, let him ask in faith with no doubting. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:20.880 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:30.960 If someone is doubting God to answer his prayer, not believing that God will answer the prayer, then he should not expect to receive it. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:37.599 As a new believer, this was one verse that uh would make me question my prayers. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:43.440 This is the one thing that I would question my prayers in from this scripture because James is so direct. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:45.839 I still had doubt. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:50.240 Like, why would God want to answer my prayers with all I've done? 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:53.519 I didn't fully grasp his grace. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:57.920 So this doesn't mean that believers never doubt, does it? 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:00.319 Because we know that is just not true. 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:12.720 Abraham had times of doubting, Peter had times of doubting, and God is not sitting there waiting on you to have this, say this perfect prayer in order to receive a blessing. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:16.000 He's not waiting to hear the right word. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.079 Oh, did he say it that way? 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.960 In order and to speak it eloquently. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:23.440 It's a posture of the heart. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.200 That's what he sees in the prayer. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:33.279 God knows our hearts and he knows our needs and wants and desires, and he gives us things when we don't even ask for them. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:35.920 He knows exactly what we need when we need it. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:42.319 Romans 8, 26 and 27 says, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:58.480 For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:05.200 But what he doesn't reward is someone playing the middle. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.759 You can't serve two masters. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:17.279 You can't put, can't ask God for wisdom and then have your feelers out here trying to make sure it's gonna happen another way with someone else, right? 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:18.400 You can't be doing that. 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:23.519 God, if God doesn't pull through, you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna have this guy over here help me. 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:25.680 And then what else do we do? 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:28.640 We ask, but with stipulations. 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:36.640 Well, God, I would like to get this fixed, but I don't want to ask others for help, especially not my neighbor. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:40.000 He's kind of annoying and he thinks he knows it all. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:43.440 Um I don't really want him to know I'm in need. 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:47.279 So if you could work this out my way, I would appreciate it. 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:49.920 This this is not asking in faith. 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.279 This is playing God because you think you know better and the way is better yours. 00:29:55.680 --> 00:30:01.839 We must ask in faith, knowing that God is deepening our faith and growing our dependence on him. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.599 God just wants us to trust him consistently. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:12.160 The doubter should not expect anything because at the end of the day, he simply doesn't trust God. 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:17.680 He has not surrendered his life to the Lord, it's all or nothing with God. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:25.920 So the next thing James teaches us that we need during times of testing is a humble heart. 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:34.960 Verse 9, he says, Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and ten, and the rich in his humiliation. 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:42.880 In order to go through times of testing, we need to remember our position in Christ. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:50.960 At the foot of the cross, everyone is on level ground, no one exalted higher than the other because of material possessions. 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:56.000 Both poverty and riches are used to test our faith. 00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:02.240 We may find ourselves saying that we don't have enough and we need and forget the rich blessings that we have in Christ. 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:11.119 Like I said earlier, that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, that we boast in Christ and in Him alone. 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:15.599 On the flip side of that, riches test us as well. 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:24.640 Because we can fall into the temptation of relying on the things of the world, on our material wealth for our happiness, on our comforts. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:31.119 Our comforts blind us, and we we can easily rely on them instead of relying on God for wisdom. 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:35.680 But James says the rich should boast in their humiliation. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:41.359 Paul explained this well in Philippians while he's in prison. 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:47.119 If you would turn with me to Philippians uh chapter 3, a couple books back. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:54.240 Philippians 3, I'm gonna read verses 4 through 11. 00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.160 This is Paul's perspective. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:00.240 By the grace of God. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:02.319 Verse 4. 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:11.200 Though I myself has reason for confidence in the flesh also, if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. 00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:25.359 Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.200 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:38.319 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 00:32:38.640 --> 00:33:08.799 For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, and may share his blessings, his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:16.880 Everything Paul had in his life, the prestige of his heritage, he regarded as nothing compared to knowing Christ. 00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:22.480 That his faith was not founded on his own righteousness, but on the righteousness of Christ. 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:26.319 In God's providence, we receive blessings, don't we? 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:34.559 Our jobs, our homes, our cars, the food in our fridge and in our pantry are all provided by God for his glory. 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:40.480 These are not things we received out of anything we could deserve or could earn from him. 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:44.960 When a loved one passes away, money can't buy them back. 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:55.839 When our health goes south, or we lose our job, or our family members mistreat us for the name of Christ, no amount of money can comfort us during these times. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:59.039 No amount of money will give us the peace in our heart. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:05.359 Riches don't bring us closer to God, and poverty doesn't push us further away. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:08.880 And in the end, it all passes away. 00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:15.599 If we boast, we boast in Christ, in his grace and mercy, not in our material possessions. 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:27.280 So lastly, James here tells us in verse 12 the reward for enduring to the end is the crown of life, eternal life. 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:39.360 James bookends everything we have read up to this point with a reminder that the man that is blessed is the man whose mind is on the Lord and his hope in God during times of trouble. 00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:52.719 This blessing isn't just a general feeling of happiness, uh, but a knowledge of what God is doing and what he has done during the testing of our faith. 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:59.519 That is what God, uh this is what God has done and protected us in each trial, that we can look at it from that perspective. 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:00.880 That's why we're blessed. 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:10.559 That's why we're happy and our focus is on what he's doing in us, that nothing, nothing came to you without it first going through the hands of the Father. 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:16.320 The joy of knowing each trial brought you closer and shaped you more into the image of Christ. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:17.840 This is the blessing. 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:26.159 This is why we press on, knowing that God is proving us and approving us as we continue to endure each test. 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:29.199 Not as a means of salvation. 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:34.880 We're not earning eternal life, but we endure because of our salvation. 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:43.679 If our faith was fake, we would not make it to the end, because it would not be, it would be in no other power but our own on our own. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:45.840 It wouldn't be on Christ's power. 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:57.599 But because our faith is real and it is proven through testing, we know that God, in his power, by the Holy Spirit, has been the one giving us what we need through each trial. 00:35:57.760 --> 00:36:03.519 Just like David in Psalm 23, he was the Lord, he recognized that the Lord was with him the whole time. 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:07.440 And that's what we must recognize if we're gonna persevere to the end. 00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:14.719 It would be so easy for us to look at verse 12 and say, There is no way I'm gonna make it to the end. 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:15.920 It's too much. 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:17.360 And you're right. 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:21.679 Outside of Christ, there is no way you're gonna make it to the Christ to the end. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:31.440 By God's grace, he brings you and I through each trial, and he will bring us to eternal life with Christ, where we will dwell with him forever. 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:38.159 And we do this all because we love the Father, a love that he put in our hearts. 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:43.280 The testing is what separates out true love from a false love. 00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:51.280 You see, this is um kind of like easily, I could easily describe it uh through like teenage dating. 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:59.360 You know, they they date for several months to a year, and you know, the love words thrown out there, I love you, and they're like, no, I love you more. 00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:01.760 And then they're like, well, when are we gonna get married? 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:04.239 And he's like, I don't know how many kids we're gonna have. 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:07.920 And then you know what I'm talking about, you know how it works. 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:18.880 And then something hard, some troubles enter the relationship, and it shows if the love that they had for one another was real. 00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:26.480 It if the one breaks up with the other, then you know that that love was not real love, it was a false love. 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:34.719 Um, in the same way, if we say we love God, our love will not fail. 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:37.599 Even under life's most trying times. 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:38.880 It can't fail. 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:42.960 Because it's God who is holding us in by his grace. 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:44.480 That's his grace. 00:37:44.719 --> 00:37:46.320 He's the one holding us in here. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:48.239 Philippians 1 6. 00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:56.159 I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will see it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:58.960 First Thessalonians 5 23 and 24. 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:09.119 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:13.360 He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it. 00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:15.599 He's the one getting us there. 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:18.400