How True Faith Reacts to Trials

Bible Passage

In the meantime, please take your Bibles and turn to the book of Jacob… Jakobus… James. I’ll keep reminding you that for the first time, or maybe the other, this is the first time that King James is right that everyone else is [wrong] Die brief van Jakobus. That’s actually the correct [term.]

Introduction

Why must you listen to this sermon today? Well. James has made it very clear, as we read in, verses 1 and 2. and 3 and 4, that… trials will come our way. The Bible makes it clear that trials will come our way. The word of God makes it clear, that God uses trials of any kind. That is not necessarily the best trial [??]

 

You and I know that when we would rather avoid trials if we could. I mean, if I were to ask, how many there would like a trial, I don’t think anyone would raise their hand. I wouldn’t! I don’t want one. It’s never nice. However, trials will come our way, whether we like it or not. Whether we are ready or not.
There’s this game that we used to play when we were young, but I hated the game, but I used to watch others play. “Ready or not, here I come.” I just thought that was… I don’t know… you here…. Just come out.
I didn’t play. But you know, ready or not, here I come. So, trials do that.

What does James say?

Here it comes. James commands us to rejoice when trials come our way, now, if you hear that the first thing that comes to mind is James. You must have been smoking something. I’m very sure that there was cocaine, James, in your time, for you to have said, “Who rejoices when trials come?”

But that’s what he said! He says, but not to rejoice about the trial itself, but about how God will use that trial in our lives to grow us spiritually. That’s the part that we need to be focused on and rejoice – not in the trial itself. So, what James is saying, and I can promise you, he was not smoking anything, it says your focus should shift from the trial, but to the purpose. James says that when we do come across trials of various kinds, we should respond to the coming of this trial as a time of rejoice. James is calling for a positive Christian attitude towards trials that is used as opportunity under God’s grace for growth and development in the Christian life. Christian faith must apprehend that beneficial results are to be derived from trial and so accept them as occasions or rejoicing.

A Personal Perspective…

Some of you might have grown up culturally drinking some of the muti, that I know my grandfather was concocting for us in the family. When we had flu, when we had all sorts of [ailments.] I could have promised you that medicine did not taste well. But if you focus on the taste of that medication, you lose the focus on the benefits that comes with drinking that. I mean, there are certain medications also from pharmacists. I know there’s a flu medication that I think that medication comes from Jupiter – it is just bad! Even the doctor, when he wrote it, he said; maybe you need to be praying before you drink it! But, instead of three days of flu…[now] one day.

 

So the benefits are there, but you have to go through the trial, through the trouble, through the difficult time of having to swallow that. I don’t even think it’s better. There’s probably a new way that that medication can come up to describe how it. Now some of you are coming out of severe trials. Which may include loss of loved ones. Loss of health, or a job. An unruly child, even family members. Disappointments and ungodly business partners, abuse in all its form, discrimination in all its form. Some are still in the middle of [trials.] Some are about to get out of these trials, and some are about to get [??] We do not go around asking for the trials, but sometimes you pray for patience don’t you?

 

Life Lessons

I remember saying to Erika one day, I prayed so much for patience because my wife will tell you I’m not a very patient. And then in three weeks in a row, the first week I stood at the traffic department here in Witbank. Oh, that was a test of patience! And then I had to stand at the Home Affairs. I had these opportunities to be patient, to learn, to be patient, because I prayed!

So sometimes trials come because guess what, you ask God to grow you. They come at us unexpectedly and they are painful. There’s nothing more painful than standing at [public department.] Not knowing whether you will actually come in. And people telling you there’s a cut of time. So, there’s a possibility you might be online the whole day, and when you get to the door, they say. We’ll see you tomorrow. That takes patience. And self-control.
Our natural reaction when times come is to panic. To be worried, to be emotional, to be angry. To kick the door at the traffic department. “I will be helped! I’ve been waiting here since 5 o’ clock in the morning!” But James says, you ought to have a different attitude towards trials as they come.

 

James’ Example

When he started the very James 1: 1, James referred to himself as a slave. And we went through it. That that’s exactly how you and I should refer to ourselves. We are slaves of Christ! And all of the rest of James is a description of how a slave is to react to different things – starting with trials. If you are a slave of God, your Lord, your Master commands you to have a different attitude. James says if you are truly a slave of Christ, your attitude towards trials, despite pain and suffering, will be that of joy. You will see them as not only bringing doom and gloom, but also a time of rejoice.

Now this is unnatural to us. So, if you know in your heart that you simply cannot see trials this way and you are still of the view that James is smoking something. If you are, you know that you’re starting to see why you should rejoice at having to wait in the line from 5:00 in the morning and at 4:00 be told to go home. When you can’t find reason to rejoice despite being loved, you’re unwell. Losing your job or having an evil family member makes it hard to feel joy.

 

How to apply all this

If you look at your past trial, and you simply see that you simply can’t do it – then this sermon is for you! Because James will tell you how. He’ll tell you exactly. Now if you look at your past trials and you see that you have not seen them this way and you feel helpless because you simply do not have the ability to rejoice when trials come. Then you need to listen. James also knew that he was commanding and he still commanding us today. To do what to do us to do is unnatural and maybe difficult for us to understand, even to accept. So, what he says next it’s an answer to this question. James, what if I can and do not have the ability to rejoice when trials come?

You have said, and it’s a command, that when I encounter trials, I should look for the purpose of the trial and rejoice. What if I can’t? What if I simply… simply cannot and that my response is always anger…irritation… Even hatred. What do I do, James?

 

Answers

James answers that question. Now we’ll be looking at James 1: 5-8 James 1-5 to a part we’ve already looked at James 1: 5 – that was the first two points of the sermon. Will only look at James 1: 6-8. And the title of the sermon is how true faith reacts to trials – and this is part 4.

How True Faith Reacts to Trials. If you go back to the first slide, you know…. there. Yeah. No, the first one. Thank you. Just leave it there. How True Faith Reacts to Trials. The proposition or the main point of the whole of the book of James, is the following…

 

This is what James’ point is when he wrote this whole book:
It is not enough to be a Christian, if this fact does not show up in one’s conduct. It is not enough to be a Christian, If this fact, the fact that you are Christian, does not show up in your conduct. It’s not enough. And that’s the whole point and I’m not gonna give you smaller points because I want you to hang yourself only on them. Because that’s all that James is saying, and he’s going to give you so many things, trials – and all of that to make that point. That if you are a Christian, it must show in your conduct. How you respond, how you behave, how you think, how you feel must reflect that you are a Christian.

1. The Author –James 1: 1

2. The Recipient –James 1: 1
3. The Command – James 1: 2

Now in Part 4

4. The Reason for The Command – James 1: 3
5. The Purpose of The Command –James 1: 4