Thanks for joining us for today’s program. It’s a blessing to look into God’s Word for guidance and instruction in daily life. This book is incredible; it is amazing how God’s Spirit speaks to us through His Word, and we look forward to hearing from Him.
Today, our lesson is from the book of James; it is our first lesson in this powerful and practical book. You will see many practical topics jump off the pages just by glancing over these five chapters. These are not just lovely things to think about; we are expected to put them into practice and live them. If you hear the teaching and think, “Hmmm, that is so good,” but go on living just like you were without changing a thing, you are doing exactly what the author tells us not to do at the end of chapter one.
We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only. This is the challenge for us, taking this practical teaching and doing it. It’s easy to look around and see others who should be doing this or that. Let’s not do that, let’s keep focusing on us and being doers of what we hear. The goal is to grow as disciples of Jesus. Growing as His disciples means becoming more like him. If our lives don’t align with His teaching, don’t justify yourself or make excuses, repent and change.
If you can turn to the book of James, J Mark will share the first lesson, “The Potential of Trials.”
The Book of James, a significant part of our faith, is one of the earliest books of the New Testament. James, Jesus’ half-brother, most likely wrote it. James was the presiding elder at the Jerusalem Conference in Acts chapter fifteen. He helped unite the Jewish followers of Jesus and those, like Peter and Paul, who had seen the Lord open the door of faith to the non-Jews.
James’s writings are not like those of Paul. Paul often builds a theological foundation and progresses to practical applications. On the other hand, James immediately delves into the practical outworking of the Christian faith, empowering us to apply our faith in our daily lives.
As we read the Book of James, it is evident that human nature has not changed throughout the millennia. James’s instruction is very practical. I hope our study of this book will bring you inspiration, challenge, conviction of sin, and significant spiritual growth. So, we begin our study of the Book of James under the title “Faith That Works.”
Our opening text is James 1:1-4. James echoes Jesus’ teaching that trials and suffering are expected in our Christian experience. Our text outlines our response and the benefits we can anticipate. If you and I want to develop a faith that works, we must understand the need to strengthen our faith by testing. I’ve titled the message “The Potential of Trials.”
1James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: greetings.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Three knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
As we consider the potential of trials, we note several distinct BENEFITS they can bring us.
The First BENEFIT of Trials is,
They Produce Joy
James begins by urging us to exercise joy in adversity. We think adversity is always a negative thing to avoid. But that is not biblical. Adversity is the tool God uses to develop our character and obedience. This principle spans the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
James’ instruction was initially given to Jewish followers of Jesus. The majority of the Jewish leaders wanted nothing to do with Jesus. To religious Jews, these followers of the WAY were heretics, a scourge to be eliminated. Yet followers of Jesus endured suffering with an unshakeable confidence and an unmistakable joy.
The potential of trials to produce joy in our lives is illustrated in the life of Joseph. After all the adversity he experienced, he told his brothers, “…you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
In Acts 5, after the apostles had been beaten and commanded not to speak about the name of Jesus, they “departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” The suffering was proof of their identification with Jesus. And it brought joy to their hearts. Does adversity bring joy to your heart?
How can trials produce joy? Someone answered this way; “You will have no test of faith that will not prepare you to be a blessing if you are obedient to the Lord. I never had a trial, but when I got out of the deep river, I found some poor pilgrim on the bank that I was able to help by that very experience.” We cannot “weep with those who weep” if we never experience the pain of a trial, nor can we rejoice with them. There is much joy in using our experiences to encourage and bless others. And there is also joy in embracing life’s things that matter.
Paul instructed the Christians in Thessalonica to give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will in Christ for you. You and I can rejoice in trials because God orders the steps of our lives. In His sovereign wisdom, He arranges life situations to teach us to understand and experience true joy. Do you know something? I’ve observed those who’ve suffered greatly in the fires of adversity, and they have a radiance and joy that is unmatched by those who’ve lived in ease.
The Second BENEFIT of Trials is,
They Produce Patience
The word patience is often used in the New Testament to refer to perseverance. It is the willingness to remain in a particular place and bear the trials of life with courage. In I Thessalonians 1:3, Paul joins patience with hope. James says that the testing of our faith produces a cheerful endurance.
How do trials produce patience, and of what value is patience to the follower of Christ? Paul says in Romans 5:3-5, “…we rejoice in our sufferings also: knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given unto us.”
How does God in grace fulfill this purpose? Not by shielding us from assault by the world, the flesh, and the devil, not by protecting us from frustrating circumstances, or by shielding us from troubles created by our temperament and psychology. Instead, he exposes us to all these things to overwhelm us with a sense of inadequacy and drive us to cling to him more closely.
From our standpoint, this is the ultimate reason why God fills our lives with troubles and perplexities of one sort or another: to ensure that we learn to hold him fast. God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing so we may learn to lean on him. Therefore, he takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence and teaches us to trust him.
Suffering trials will make you better or bitter. My brother-in-law struggled with health challenges for many years and died at the young age of 39. For those who knew him, he was a continual challenge. Whenever we’d visit him, we’d come away encouraged by his cheerfulness, confidence in the Lord, and urging us to be faithful. He was convinced that God had a reason for his suffering, and he departed this life with joy and a sense of expectation. He grasped the reality of Paul’s words in II Corinthians 4:17, 18: “For our light affliction which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
But what often happens when you and I face trials? Our first thought is often, “How can I escape?” rather than, “What can I learn through this?”
Listen to these words spoken about Jesus in Hebrews chapter two; “and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus patiently endured the severest trials and even death because of the joy that he anticipated.
The Final BENEFIT of Trials is,
They Produce Maturity
James urges us not to short-circuit God’s goal but to let the patience produced by testing bring us to spiritual maturity. If we allow God complete control, He will bring us to the place where we are complete in Him. The last part of verse four is emphatic, “that you may lack nothing at all, no, not even one thing.”
I don’t know about you, but I often lose sight of the goal of spiritual maturity. C. S. Lewis experienced that too because in his book, “The Problem of Pain,” he wrote, “I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contented condition when suddenly a stab of pain threatens serious disease, or a newspaper headline threatens us all with destruction.
At first, I am overwhelmed, and all my little pleasures look like broken toys. Perhaps, by God’s grace, I succeed and, for a day or two, become a creature consciously dependent on God and drawing its strength from the right sources. But the moment the threat is withdrawn, my whole nature leaps back to the toys.
Thus, the terrible necessity of tribulation is only too apparent. God has had me for only 48 hours, only by taking everything else away from me. Let Him but sheathe the sword for a minute, and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over — I shake myself as dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness in the nearest flower bed. And that is why tribulation cannot cease until God sees us remade.”
God aims to make us in Jesus’ image and bring us to spiritual maturity. Ephesians 4:13 tells us that God desires that we “all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Little by little, God uses the painful experiences of life to stretch us beyond ourselves and our comfort zone. He allows situations to come into our lives that we cannot manage independently, and we are forced to cry out to Him for help. At that point, He begins to show us the deeper meaning of life and the reality of the unseen.
How is it with you? As you face life’s adversities, are you confident that you are not alone? Do you believe that all life’s circumstances are filtered through the hand of your loving Heavenly Father? Praise God for His unfailing presence.
Thanks, J Mark, for sharing these benefits of trials with us. These are good things to remember the next time you go through trials. Most of us want to be more joyful, patient, and mature; however, when we are in the middle of our trials, we are not always sure it will be worth it. Hang in there; stay strong. God is faithful, and you can trust Him.
If you have any questions about today’s teaching or want to contact us, here is how to do so. Email is a great way to reach us. Our email is [email protected]. You can also visit our website, heraldsofhope.org. You can also write to us. Our address is Hope for Today, Box 3, Breezewood, PA 15533. We would love to hear from you. Please use the method that is easiest for you.
At the beginning of the lesson, I mentioned the verse that tells us to be doers, not just hearers of the Word. Here is James 1:25, and we bless you as you go and do wherever you are. “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
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