PROPERLY RESPONDING TO TRIALS

---

Sermon June 21st, 2015 “PROPERLY RESPONDING TO TRIALS” James 1: 2-18 Introduction: We have all encountered them, and we at Lakeview Church are by no means immune to them. I am referring to those challenging and difficult times such as: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Financial hardships; an Untimely Death of a loved one; A severe or chronic illness suffered personally or by a family member, Experiencing some sort of unfairness at your job; or It may be a difficult relational problem with a child, spouse or parent.

This list can go on; circumstances that causes you to ask – “Why?” • “God, why is this happening to me – What’s the purpose?” • “God, why did you allow this to happen to me AGAIN?” • “What did I do to deserve this? Am I being punished?” or • “How can I believe that God loves me when He allows all this to happen in my life?” These are legitimate questions, because as Christians we know NOTHING can happen to us unless God permits it. However, in order for God to accomplish His will and purpose in our lives, sometimes He requires us to go through difficult times of testing and trials, to go thought pain and suffering we don’t like and may not understand. Listen to what one Commentator Wrote about Job’s Suffering: “The writer of the book of Job pulls back the curtain on the ultimate reality beyond what we can see in the natural world and allows us to see the supernatural battle behind the scenes in Job’s suffering. Satan had a destructive purpose in Job’s suffering: to destroy Job’s trust in the God he loved. But God also had a purpose in giving Satan permission to harm Job: to develop Job’s trust in the God he loved. Satan intended to bring Job to the place where he would curse God to his face. But God, in his sovereignty over Satan and suffering, intended for the steadfastness of Job to be a demonstration of his glorious grace. Context –Testing and Temptations: Even though it may be very difficult for us to grasp the godly purpose when Trials come upon us, James encourages us to recognize that God has a purpose which is to : Strengthen our faith in Him, to bring us to Spiritual Maturity, to become more and more Christ-like, and to receive the “Crown of LIFE”, which is Eternal Life with Him. James is aware that his readers are experiencing tough times, including, poverty, persecution, injustice; so he wants his readers to know that even though we have an ALLPOWERFUL God; a God who is ALL- GOOD, we are not to find it strange, disheartening, or a reason to lose faith and hope, when these things come our way. Page | 1

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

He is encouraging us to Properly Respond to Trials by…

1. Having the right attitude, which is to Receive Trials with Joy, 2. We are to have the right perspective; which is to know that God allows them for our good;

3. We are to seek the right tool to successfully overcome them – which is the Wisdom that comes from God.

4. We are to have an eternal perspective, remembering God has promised LIFE to all who remain Steadfast in their faith.

5. And finally, in the midst of Trials, we are to continually recall the Character of God – and to remember that He is on our side.

I. What Is A Trial? A “Trial”, or if you have the KJV, “a Temptation” refers to “Any difficulty or challenge; Any circumstance or situation in life that may threaten our faith in Christ.” Trials can come from two places, they can be:

1. An outward trail, referring to an external hardship: Like Job: the loss of loved ones, loss of your livelihood, financial calamity, illness, suffering injustice.

2. OR, it can be an inward enticement, a temptation from within to sin – when we encounter something that arouses an inner desire for: Money, or love or relationships; a desire for recognition, to be seen as right, or to continually trying to justify yourself, and so on... Trials are also inevitable, James writes “when you face trials1” – trials WILL come our way – they’re a given, and we will see, they are a necessary part of the Christian life. And trials also come in all shapes and sizes. James says, “Of various kinds” – which means they will come with different: intensity, duration, and frequency. Regardless of how they show themselves, we must remember what Trial’s are, and that is: “Any difficulty or challenge; any circumstance or situation in life that may threaten our faith in Christ.”

All of us go through times of trials, hardships, suffering and pain. Sometime they last a night, sometimes they last a week, sometimes week after week after week and last months. Some last years and for some, they last a life time. The issue before us is, “How do we Properly Respond to Trials?

1

#3986 – Or Temptations

Page | 2

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

James 1: 2 – 4: 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The Responding to Trials with Joy and with Purpose James instructs us on how we are to respond to Trials by:

1. Receiving them with Joy, and 2. Facing them with the right mindset, the right perspective; knowing Trials have a practical, spiritual purpose – they are placed in our life by God for our benefit.

3. I am going to take these two in reverse order because as we gain the proper perspective on Trials, we will be better able to understand why we can receive them with Joy.

The Right Perspective – Trials are for Our Good. [vs. 3-4] 3

…for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. “For you Know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness…” “For you know” tells us that we Christians are to be fully aware and know that TRIALS WILL COME into our lives and they come with a purpose. When God allows Trial into our lives, it has the purpose of “proving” our faith – not in the sense of “Proving” that we HAVE faith – but in the sense of strengthening our Faith in Him. When our faith is tested by trials we can choose to: Avoid them by running away from them; respond or react to them in our old, fleshly nature; OR we can trust God by responding to those trials in obedience to His Word. When we respond to trials with trust and obedience and faith in God; when we look for Him to guide us through the trials, our faith becomes more steadfast, we are more able to Faithfully Persevere through difficulties. As the KJV would say it, we develop a faith in God that allows us to patiently endure hardships and trials. Having a steadfast faith means that when Trials come crashing against us, causing us to question, wonder, start to feel hopeless… We don’t run away or lash out and respond in the weakness of our flesh; we commit to putting our Trust and Faith in God, and responding consistent with His character, responding in obedience to His Word. So you can see that “Steadfastness” is the quality to stand firm, to bear up under a situation without buckling under the pressure. Trials strengthen our faith in the same manner a muscle becomes stronger when it faces resistance, and as our brain becomes more developed through testing. Page | 3

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

When our faith is tested by difficult circumstances, we are to go to God and say: “God, I am standing with you and putting my trust in you to see me thought this difficult time, regardless of what is happening around me.” The more we respond to Trials in this manner, our Faith becomes more steadfast, it is this type of faith, that has been tested, and tested and tested; able to stand firm and unwavering under pressure to sin; that becomes the foundation for Christians to attain God’s ultimate goal for us, which is to become Mature Believers who are perfect and complete, who lack nothing. A “Perfect and Complete” Christian is not one who is sinless or who doesn’t make mistakes, but it is in their spiritual make-up, they lack nothing. They are the ones when you observe them in times of Trial, they exhibit the key qualities and virtues and attributes that define a mature “godly Character”. When they respond to difficulties and challenges, they do so in: Love, joy, peace, they respond with patience and kindness. They have a bridle on their tongue, they don’t fly off the handle in anger, they turn the other cheek, they seek reconciliation NOT vengeance – they don’t hold grudges, they forgive. Their loyalty and commitment is to God and God alone, and are not swayed or influenced by circumstances or people – you get the picture – they are mature, they lack nothing when it comes to their spiritual character. God desires this for all his people because it is this type of person who is able to serve the Lord in any capacity He calls them. I want to stress that “It is not just being tested that is good for us but it is in the passing, the overcoming of the test – by patiently enduring with steadfast faith in God!! So when we face Trials, we to pray: “God, how am I going to face-up to this Trial You’ve allowed in my life in order for it to produce in me the spiritual maturity you desire for me. What am I to learn in this Trial that will strengthen my faith in you?” I will not try to stand here and pretend that I understand all the intricacies about Trials, but Scripture is very clear on this point - God has something tremendous in mind when He allows us to go through difficulties and pain, regardless if it is having a cross word said to you or facing a terminal illness. God knows each of us, and what it will take to instruct us, to guide and form us and to prepare us – in order to accomplish His Purpose and His Will in our life. He is God, and nothing will come upon us that will take Him by surprise; there is always a purpose: Through an illness we may become more compassionate. Through financial hardships we may become more generous, through a difficult relational problem we may become more merciful, in conflict we may become more humble and forgiving, through pain we may learn how to become a servant to others. The list goes on and on, but the point is, as we overcome each trial, part of our old sinful nature is replaced with a Christ-like, spiritually mature character trait, and the more trials we overcome the more of our old sin nature is removed and the more perfect and complete we Page | 4

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

become, transforming us and bringing about a change in our lives that makes us more useful to God and to His Kingdom than you can ever imagine. This is the right perspective on why God allows Trails into our lives.

III. The Right Attitude – Receiving Trials with Joy [v. 2] 2

Count it all [pure] joy, my brothers,

And having this perspective on Trials this is the reason we can face them with Joy. Joy is not an emotion like Happiness. Happiness is a fleeting emotion which depends on external factors like our current circumstances or other people. Joy on the other hand is a state of mind; it’s finding true contentment knowing that God is in control of all things allowing us to look beyond EXTERNAL FACTORS to the reality that God has a greater purpose for us other than this momentary suffering. In the book of Hebrews it says that Jesus endured the Cross for the Joy that was set before Him. Jesus accepted all the pain and suffering the cross would bring Him, in order for the Will of His Father to be accomplished through Him. Jesus experienced JOY because He kept His eyes focused on the goal of his earthly ministry, which was: The glory of His Father and the Salvation of His Church. Likewise, Paul experienced Joy despite being chained up in prison. He had true contentment and Joy in the LORD because he kept his eyes focused on his mission; the preaching of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Now, James is not telling us to deny what we are going through - as if we are to always smile and perpetually be happy and blissful. We can experience both Joy and at the same time, embrace sorrow, tears, pain, and anguish, in the same manner that Jesus and Paul were able to experience JOY in their earthy sufferings. What he is telling us is to persevere through trials by keeping our EYES focused on the greater purpose God has for us – because that is where we will find our True Joy.

Page | 5

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

IV. Gaining the Right Resource – Seeking Wisdom from God [v. 5-8] 5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 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. 7 For that 8 person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. In the midst of trials we may feel confused, overwhelmed, and hopeless; left wondering or questioning God “What is your purpose for me in this; what do you want me to do; what are You saying to me, what do you want to change in my life?” The answer to these questions can only come from one place and that is from the Wisdom that comes from God. Wisdom is asking God to allow us to see the trials from His perspective, and to look beyond what is happening in our life. Gaining His Wisdom provides us the ability to understand and navigate the trials in order to respond properly. When we go to Him for Wisdom we are to ask in Faith, having the confidence that God will give us all we need to overcome our trial. And we find His Wisdom in: The Bible, Prayer, The counsel of mature Christians, and rooting yourself in godly community. James contrasts going to God in Faith with someone who is a “Doubter”, who is DoubleMinded. This person continually doubts God and His goodness; and lets their circumstances dictate their faithfulness to God. This would be someone who would say, “God doesn’t care about me, he has abandoned me, look what He’s allowed to happen to me. I’ll ask Him, but He’s proven to be untrustworthy and doesn’t care about me.” Their faith in God is not steadfast and firm, it sways with the wind. Here, a steadfast Faith in God reminds us despite the circumstances, He is on our side – so we can go to Him with the utmost confidence that He will provide all we need to overcome.

Page | 6

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

V. Remember God’s Promise – Eternal Life – Our Motivation to Persevere [v. 12] 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial [temptations - 3986], for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. What about the times when Trials may last a long, long time, a lifetime for some. Sometimes Trials end in death of a loved one, where we don’t see the conclusion of the trial ending in a positive way. How do we keep on persevering when it seems as if sorrow and pain and suffering is all we have to look forward to? In verse 12 James provides us with an eternal perspective on how to properly respond to trials and sufferings – where he points us to our future hope – which is Life with God. This verse is written as Beatitude: Blessed are you who remain steadfast when tests and trials come your way. God promises “to those who love him”, to those who persevere and are faithful to the end, they will be rewarded with the “The crown of life.” Here, we have the assurance that regardless of the type, length or intensity of our trials, whatever our earthly circumstances, if we endure them with faith and commitment, with perseverance, by patiently enduring, we have God’s promise that we did not strive in vain, but will receive the “The Crown of Life”, which is everlasting Life with God.

VI. Recall God’s Character – He is Unchanging and Good [v. 13-18] “Trials and Temptations” – Don’t Blame God - He cannot Tempt [v.13-15] 13

Let no one say when he is tempted2 [3985 – or tested], “I am being tempted [3985] by God,” for God cannot be tempted 3 [551] with evil, and he himself tempted [3985] no one. 14

But each person is tempted [3985] when he is lured [drawn away] and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Recall it is James’ purpose is to teach us how to properly respond to trials, well it seems as if some were responding to trials by sinning – And they go as far as to blame God thinking, “Ok, God put these trials in my life and that leads me to sin, so it’s God’s fault that I sinned.” Maybe they are poor so they steal, or someone has hurt them so they seek revenge. Obviously, this is a twisted picture of God so James makes two points to correct this error. First, God tempts no one – so don’t blame God for causing you to sin, and then second,

2

NJB: “Never, when you are being put to the TEST, say, ‘God is tempting me…”. According to the interpretation reflected in this translation, James makes the transition from 'Testing" to "Temptation" within v.13. This is the best way to handle the movement to the text. No solid line should be drawn between v.12 and v.13, as if James drops the topic of testing to take up the issue of temptation. 3 This word is used only in James as it means “incapable of being tempted”.

Page | 7

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

sinning is entirely the responsibility of the one who makes the choice to give into their evil, sinful desires.

VI.a. – God Temps No One But God Does Allow Temptations: It is true that God does tests His people and allows temptations into their lives. For instance, God “tested” Abraham and God “tested” the people of Israel, but God never “tempts” His people; He never entices them to commit an evil act. God allowed King David to gaze upon Bathsheba, so do we blame God for testing David and him failing the test? No!! As we learned in the verses 3-4, God’s trials are designed to bring about a positive outcome - Maturity in the Faith. James tells us that “God cannot be tempted 4 with evil” meaning that God CANNOT tempt us BECAUSE it is not in His character or nature to do so, it is never God’s purpose to tempt us with evil intentions to lead us to sin. On the contrary, it is God’s character to provide a way for us to bear up under the pressure and not to cave in to sin. Recall what Paul wrote in 1st Cor. 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

VI.b. – Sinning Is Our Fault 14

But each person is tempted [3985] when he is lured [drawn away] and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Someone may ask: If all things come from God and if He doesn’t tempt us – where does the tempting to sin come from? James’s short and sweet answer is that it comes from you, from your OWN “evil desire”. Being tempted – means we give into our flesh, we respond to temptations in a negative way, which is the opposite of where the Wisdom of God would lead us. It’s our DESIRES that draw us away to sin. Desires can be good or evil, for instance, a desire to serve the Lord, His Church, to be a servant to your spouse and family, those are good desires, but here, he is referring to Evil Desires which are intense longings for ANYTHING that gets in the way of our pursuit of God.

4

This word is used only in James as it means “incapable of being tempted”.

Page | 8

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

We are given a picture of how evil desires work within us to lead us to sin by using two words from hunting and fishing which his hearers would be very familiar with. Evil Desires “Entice” us, in the same way a hunter puts out bait to bring an animal into range; when we let our eyes dwell on something that we naturally lust or desire, we are enticed by it, and, These desires “Lures” us, like a worm on a fishhook; so when the fish sees it, it is drawn to it, grabs it and it trapped and is reeled in to its death. Putting all this together, we see the sequence of actions where temptation, left unchecked, leads to death. First, Trials are set before, and then we can either call on God for Wisdom to receive what we need to overcome our sinful desires, lust, greed, anger, jealousy, vengeance, selfishness, OR allow these desires to kick-in and entice and lure us away from God. •

Think David and Bathsheba: A temptation is set before Him; he “saw” a beautiful woman, he is enticed by her – he “inquires” about her and finds out that she is married.

When left unchecked, those sinful desires grow and feasters in our heart and eventually they give birth to sin. •

Even though he knows Bathsheba is married, he calls for her – he is lured, he grabbed the hook.

When we allow sin to continue to grow and take over our thoughts, our actions, our lives, in the end, when sin has been given free reign and has fully matured, it results in death. •

Even though he knows Bathsheba is married , he sleeps with her and she becomes pregnant. In the end he murders Uriah, and God takes his son.

God’s fault? No! James forces all of us to take an honest look that evil desires still reside in us, warning us that sinful actions begin as casual thoughts and it is our evil desires that are the source of our sin. But we have a choice. We can allow them to entice us and lure us away from God, or we overcome temptation by asking God for His Wisdom to overcome temptations. In the end, it is our own evil desires that work to pull us away from our Lord.

Page | 9

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

God is the Source of Everything Good [v. 16-18] 16

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James Concludes by Reinforcing that God is on our Side: And that is why James concludes as he does – with a warning not to be “deceived” – when we face trials and temptations, when difficulties come our way, it is not God’s desire to make us fail or to sin; on the contrary, He is the one who freely and generously gives His people only things that are good and perfect for us – for our benefit. James reinforces this by referring to God as the “Father” the Creator of the “Heavenly lights”, the sun, moon and stars, and in the same way that the Creator continually cares for His creation, He continually care for us, we are His Creation, we are His first fruits. And unlike His creation that continually undergoes change, in God there is no change, and because He is Unchangeable He will always act according to His eternal character – He is Trustworthy, He is Reliable, He is Good. Our God and Father brought us forth as his first fruits though Jesus’ death and resurrection and in the New Life we have in the Spirit; so even in the darkest trials, we can be confident that He will keep us, and watch over us, He will provide and care for us until the day when Jesus returns.

Page | 10

6/22/2015 9:50 AM

VII. Conclusion Trials are never easy – and the point here is not to minimize or trivialize or over spiritualize suffering – they are real, they are painful, they are challenging. However, we are called to Properly Respond to Trials by remembering that God has a glorious purpose for the Trials we face, and that is: •

To Strengthen our faith in Him,

•

To bring us to Spiritual Maturity – to become complete and perfect Christian, lacking in nothing,

•

To become more and more Christ-like so that we can more faithfully and fully bring Glory and Honor to Him, while we serve Him and His church , and then,

•

Untimely to receive the “Crown of LIFE”, which is Eternal Life with Him.

Trials help us to get our eyes off of this world, redirecting our focus to God – learning to depend upon Him for His Grace and Strength and Wisdom. God will allow certain things to happen in our lives in order to prepare us for a greater purpose; it will be OUR CHOICE to decide how we will respond.

I will conclude with what one commentator wrote: In his sovereignty over Satan, God purposed to use the suffering Satan inflicted on his own Son to accomplish His good purposes in the world. It is only when we see that God could actually use the immense suffering of the Son of God hanging on a cross to accomplish the great good of the salvation of sinners that we can begin to believe that God could use the unexplainable suffering in our own lives for his good purposes. “If God puts you to the test of suffering, recognize that your life is about much more than the here and now, and about more than your own concerns and comfort. God intends for you to be a living demonstration of his magnificent glory as you rest in Him, even when you can’t understand or explain Him.” Persevering under trials demands that we do not lose faith in God, by focusing more on the situation than on who God is and His character. So in times of Trials and Temptations, go to Him and ask him to supply you with wisdom and grace to overcome and persevere through those times, so you can overcome it, continue to grow spiritually for God’s glory and for our Good, and ultimately, receive the Crown of Life.

Page | 11

6/22/2015 9:50 AM