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everyone it's good to be in the house of our God on this lord's day we can turn in our Bibles to psalm 34 a call to worship Psalm 31 of the attendant benefits of studying 1st and 2nd Samuel is to see the historical occasion of the songs specifically this one says a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son certainly a difficult and dark period and David's life Absalom basically works the crowd and gets persons or the people of Israel he steals their heart and then he ultimately steals the crown from David himself so a read beginning in verse 1 a psalm of David when he fled from absolument son Lord how they have increased who trouble me many are they who rise up against me many are they who say of me there is no help for him in God say law but you O Lord are a shield for me my glory and the one who lifts up my head I cried to the Lord with my voice and he heard me from his holy hill say law I lay down and slept I awoke for the Lord sustain me I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around arise O Lord saved me oh my god for you have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone you have broken the teeth of the ungodly salvation belongs to the Lord your blessing is upon your people say law well please take your Trinity hymnal and turn to number 302 him number 302 will stand as we sing together well let us pray our God and our Father we gather again on this lord's day Sabbath and the house of the living and true God and it is our privilege and we acknowledge your majesty we acknowledge Lord God your eternity you are from everlasting to everlasting this david says so many places in the Psalms and in his own life history that you are a great God and truly you are worthy to be praised and glorified and honored we come to You Father and we trust through the son the Lord Jesus Christ our great high priest and mediator of the New Covenant we do so in the power of the Holy Spirit so that God may be all in all that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your people in this place that you would receive our glory that you would receive our worship that father you would indeed be pleased to bless and encourage our our souls and our hearts we acknowledge our Father that you have saved us it's not we ourselves for there is none righteous no not one there is none of us who sought after you but we acknowledge sovereign grace as the means by which we have been brought out of darkness into marvelous light we were lost and you saw us we were dead in our trespasses and sins and you made us alive together with your dear son we were in slaved and you freed us from that bondage certainly our God all glory and honor goes to you as the Prophet says salvation is of the Lord we can attest to this we know this to be the case and we pray God in heaven that others that are outside of Christ would know that power displayed in their own hearts and lives we pray that you would be pleased to save sinners through the preaching of the gospel and through the power of the Holy Spirit we would ask that you would call them forth and that you would cause them to praise and glorify the living and the true God with us we ask that you would just look with favor upon each and every one in this local body we pray father that you would encourage our hearts as we all face various tations and trials and difficulties in this world we would ask our God that the Holy Spirit would just end well us so that we may be kept by your grace and for your glory that you would help us to be faithful in this world help us to testify concerning the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and we would pray that you would just lift the hearts of any who are downcast that you would just meet us in our sorrows and in our difficulties and refresh our souls and cause us to reflect upon the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior cause us to reflect upon the passages in Scripture that demand us or call us to be still and to know that you are God may we understand these things and may it be for the benefit of our own hearts we pray for all those in our midst with physical challenges and we commit them to you and pray that you would undertake on their behalf we think of the ditto family and we pray for the surgery on the 28th for little Jael we just ask God that all would go well and that the doctors would be given great wisdom and precision and that this little one would come out on the other side healthy and strong and thriving we pray that you'd comfort our brother and our sister at this time she would uphold them and strengthen them and cause them to know that peace that does surpass all understanding we pray for others in our midst that that have ongoing difficulties and we know that you are the great physician though the outer man-made decay day by day we pray their inner man would be renewed that they would be strengthened with might and the inner man that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith and that they may serve and glorify and praise and honor you the great and living God we ask thee would bless other churches we thank you that we're not alone in this community we pray for those churches that do preach the gospel we pray that you would prosper them that you would protect them she would bless them richly look with favor upon the men of God that proclaimed the truth of God and use them for the glory of God we pray for the Saints in these places that they would be strengthened and built up and God together as churches of christ in this community maybe we may we be used in your hand for the salvation of others in this in this city we ask our Father for the church's as a whole throughout Canada we pray for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit we pray that you would revive your people she would cause us to think your thoughts after you caused us to be a prayerful people cause us to be a faithful people and we pray that you would awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins we live in a day and age similar to what the prophet Isaiah faced when men call good evil and evil good we know that there is all manner of wickedness not only legalized but subsidized we think of this recent ruling concerning euthanasia god what a horrific in a wretched situation that image bearers of the living and true God can be can be dispensed with so easily we pray God that in your wrath you would remember mercy she would change the hearts of those in high places she would put the fear of God in their hearts as pastor cam read Psalm 2 this morning David's instruction David's council holds good today that the kings of this earth and those rulers ought to kiss the Sun they ought to bow before the Lord Jesus Christ lest they perish in his way when his wrath is kindled but a little we ask our Father in heaven that you would be merciful to those that are in these places of authority and that they would not legislate immorality but they would legislate righteously and with justice and equity our Father we pray now that you would forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions whenever we look at scripture whenever we consider the living and true God we think holiness and when we look at ourselves we think unholiness so we confess our iniquities to you now we confess our transgressions are lack of conformity unto your law and we pray that you would cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his Most Blessed name that we pray amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal again to number 704 704 will stand as we sing together well you can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Ezekiel chapter 18 Ezekiel chapter 18 beginning in verse 1 the word of the Lord came to me again saying what do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the Land of Israel saying the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge as I live says the Lord God you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel behold all souls are mine the soul of the father as well as the soul of the Sun is mine the soul who sins shall die but if a man is just and does what is lawful and right if he is not eaten on the mountains nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel nor defiled his neighbor's wife nor approached a woman during her impurity if he is not oppressed anyone but is restored to the debtor his pledge has robbed no one by violence but has given his bread to the hungry and covered the naked with clothing if he is not exact adduser inor taken any increase but has withdrawn his hand from iniquity and executed true judgment between man and man if he has walked in my statutes and kept my judgments faithfully he is just he shall surely live says the Lord God if he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood who does any of these things and does none of those duties but as eaten on the mountains or defiled his neighbor's wife if he has oppressed the poor and needy robbed by violence not restored the pledge lifted his eyes to the idols or committed abomination if he has exacted usury or take an increase shall he then live he shall not live if he has done any of these abominations he shall surely die his blood shall be upon him if however he begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has done and considers but does not do likewise who is not eaten on the mouth nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel nor defiled his neighbor's wife has not oppressed anyone nor withheld a pledge nor robbed by violence but has given his bread to the hungry and covered the naked with clothing who has withdrawn his hand from the poor and not received usury or increase but has executed my judgments and walked in my statutes he shall not die for the iniquity of his father he shall surely live as for his father because he cruelly oppressed robbed his brother by violence and did what is not good among his people behold he shall die for his iniquity yet you say why should the Sun not bear the guilt of the father because the Sun is done what is lawful and right and has kept all my statutes and observed that he shall surely live the soul who sins shall die the son shall not bear the guilt of the father nor the father bear the guilt of the Sun the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself but if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die none of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him because of the righteousness which he has done he shall live do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die says the Lord God and not that he should turn from his ways and live but when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does shall he live all the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which which he has committed because of them he shall die yet you say the way of the Lord is not fair here now o house of Israel is it not my way which is fair in your ways which are not fair when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness commits iniquity and dies in it it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies again when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed and does what is lawful and right he preserves himself alive because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed he shall surely live he shall not die yet the house of Israel says the way of the Lord is not fair o house of Israel is it not my ways which are fair in your ways which are not fair therefore I will judge you o house of Israel everyone according to his ways says the Lord God repent and turn from all your transgressions so that iniquity will not be your ruin cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit for why should you die o house of Israel for I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies says the Lord God therefore turn and live amen well God through the prophet addresses this particular proverb at the very beginning what do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the Land of Israel saying the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge essentially what was happening is that this particular generation standing under the judgment of God we're blaming their forefathers why is it that nice and wonderful people like us are facing the Babylonian captivity when it was our fathers who actually transgressed the covenant well God through the Prophet highlights that the soul who sins shall die there in this mess because of them they cannot blame their fathers they cannot find recourse with this proverb they cannot wine or mon or complain about it but rather they are to repent they are to forsake their sin they are to flee to the living in the true God as well we notice something of their utter blasphemy against God notice in verse 25 yet you say the way of the Lord is not fair that is just incredible to consider that a sinful man or sinful group would actually call into question the fairness of God love the answer here now o house of Israel is it not my way which is fair and your ways which are not fair you are the ones that have broken covenant you are the ones that have departed from the Living God you are the ones that engage in blasphemy idolatry and all manner of evil and as well we see the heart of God I speak as a man I speak improperly concerning the nature of God but the text here indicates something concerning his being or his goodness rather notice repent and turn verse 30 from all your transgressions so that iniquity will not be your ruin cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit for why should you die o house of Israel and now when God says for I have no pleasure in the death of one who died says the Lord God therefore turn and live certainly we understand the larger context of biblical theology God is glorified in all that takes place so when he sends a sinner to hell as a manifestation of his justice and of his righteousness he is glorified in that but I take the Prophet to me that he has no sadistic pleasure in this he doesn't sort of you know deal with sinners the way a young boy deals with ants and a magnifying glass on a hot day he's not that type of God he's not that sort of a sadistic being he takes no pleasure in it rather he calls sinners to repent and to come to the Lord Jesus Christ will let us pray our Father we thank you for these prophets we thank you for what they tell us concerning God concerning us certainly we find ourselves in a passage like this blaming everybody else for our sin help us to accept responsibility and help us to go to the Savior that one in whom is forgiveness that one in whom there is mercy and grace and kindness and love God in heaven may we learn from passages such as these the way to deal with our sin it's not to cover it but it's to confess it to forsake it it's to find mercy from the living and true God we pray these things through Christ our Lord amen well you can turn again in your Trinity hymnal to number five hundred and eighty five hundred and eighty will stand as we sing together we can turn in your Bibles to the book of James James chapter 1 James chapter 1 i'll read the chapter then we're going to look at just the introduction and the first section the believers response to trials in verses 22 for James chapter 1 beginning in verse 1 James a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad greetings my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God the gifts to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him but let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man unstable in all his ways let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation but the rich in his humiliation because as a flower of the field he will pass away for no sooner has the Sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass its flower falls and it's beautiful appearance perishes so the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him let no one say when he is tempted I am tempted by God for god cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death do not be deceived my beloved brethren every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures so then my beloved brethren let every man be swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror free observes himself goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was but he who looks into the perfect law of Liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this one will be blessed in what he does if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle is a bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart this one's religion is useless pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world amen will let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word and we pray again for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit that one who breathed through the human authors to pen the very word of God Most High give us ears to hear and hearts to receive and especially in a topic like our response to trials may we heed this brother may we listen may we understand may we know that the remedial ends in view the trials and afflictions that we face in this world we thank you our God that you work all things for your glory and for the good of those who love you those who are the called according to your purpose even trial and affliction and in difficulty these things are overruled by a great and glorious God who has purpose to conform us under the image of your beloved son give us grace Lord give us help now and give us the power and presence of your spirit and we pray through Christ our Lord amen well as I said our focus this morning this evening will be on versus two to four but just by way of a general introduction we won't look at everything involved in introducing a biblical book but just some of the highlights concerning this epistle of james first in the first place we identify the author james 11 james a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ now he indicates just by stating his name and showing us his relationship to the Father and to the Son that he is pretty well known he doesn't have to give us any further identifying marks he doesn't have to describe at great length which James in the New Testament he is and that's one of the things that we ought to do is consider how many james's there actually are in the New Testament there are various contenders various persons have thought that one of these particular James's was the author of James the first place there's James the father of Judith's not Iscariot he's mentioned in Luke 616 and again in acts 1 13 but otherwise he is completely unknown secondly there is the James the son of Alphaeus I think Calvin took this particular James as the author this James the son of Alphaeus is mentioned in Matthew and a marked and in Luke when Jesus calls the apostles or calls the disciples he's obscure and probably not the one who needs no identification then there is James the son of Zebedee and the brother of John probably one of the James as we know even more popularly because he fares often in the gospel records however that particular James was martyred in a d44 according to Hebrews chapter 12 I'm sorry Acts chapter 12 verse 2 so he is most likely not the author and then there is James the Lord's brother you can turn to Matthew 13 verse 55 just to sketch a little bit about what we know concerning the James who authored the Epistle of James he was a brother of our Lord Jesus Christ they of course had the same mother the Lord Jesus Christ however was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit Matthew 55 is this not the carpenter's son is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James Josie's Simon and Judah Judas and then again in march 63 and then in Galatians chapter 119 we learned that this James is the Lord's brother as well John seven indicates that during Jesus earthly ministry at least at some borscht at this particular James was not a believer in jesus christ john 7 verse 54 even his brothers did not believe in him again those of Mary's household and then also we see in first Corinthians chapter 15 that at some point most likely relative to the resurrection of our Lord James had become a believer first Corinthians 15 verse 7 Paul writes after that he was seen by James then by all the Apostles notice Paul assumes that people know which James he's talking about so it's a well-known James in the early church that's why in James 11 he doesn't have to give us any long description as to who he is James was very well known and that's the point we look at now he was a leader in the church in Jerusalem he can learn to Acts chapter 12 Acts chapter 12 specifically in verse 17 but motioning this is the account where Peter escapes from prison but motioning to them with his hand to keep silent he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and he said go tell these things to James and to the Brethren and he departed and went to another place James fares in this particular passage indicating something of his leadership in the Jerusalem church acts chapter 15 James is the leader of that church that does preside over this Jerusalem Council and so we see that this man clearly and early emerged as a leader Galatians to you can turn their specifically in verses 9 and 12 Galatians 29 and when James Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that had been given to me they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles and day to the circumcised and then dropping down in verse 12 for before certain men came from James most likely a reference to the church in Jerusalem now this has been a very quick sketch Swan a quote from one commentator he says that James became a respected and beloved figure in the early church especially among Jewish Christians he was considered the first bishop of the Jerusalem church now Bishop doesn't mean big hat it simply means the overseer in the church in Jerusalem of the church and he was called the righteous or the just because of his faithfulness to the law and his devotion to prayer hegde esopus claims that James was stoned to death by the scribes and Pharisees for refusing to renounce his commitment to Jesus recorded for us in Eusebius the history of the of the church and then the Jewish historian Josephus confirms the essentials of this story and he also enables us to date the incident to ad 62 so james died in AD 62 so if you understand properly you'll note that that makes James an earlier letter written in the New Testament in fact when we consider the date we'll put it at around 46 to 49 and there are reasons for that but notice the audience to whom James writes back in James 11 to the 12 tribes which is scattered abroad this is most likely a reference to Jewish Christians living outside of Israel called the dispersion they were dispersed they went to places outlying the nation or the state of his of the nation of Israel and they lived as foreigners as sojourners we see the Jewishness of the letter itself again indicating it's a very early epistle in the New Testament the word is synagogue is used and interchangeably with church as well the reference or an absence of a friends to anything concerning Gentile prez jets James presided over the Jerusalem Council that probably occurred in the early for I'm sorry that occurred in a t49 so if he had written later no doubt he would have written something concerning that particular situation how Gentile Christians were relating to Jewish Christians as well James's references to God in this particular epistle Alison says the god of James is the God of Abraham to 21 to 23 he is the god of Rahab to 25 he is the god of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord 510 he is the god of job 511 he is the god of elijah 5 17 and 18 in other words he is the God of Israel that makes sense concerning or considering that James is writing to a primarily Jewish audience of believing Christians so the fact that James is written in this particular manner in this particular style and as well I said it's probably one of the earlier dates now I just want to share something very quickly just to hopefully pique your curiosity so that you'll read a book the book is called white four Gospels and it sets forth the dates of the Gospels and provides the rationale for the four Gospels that we presently have to book by the book by the book written by a man named David Allen black and I just set this in context or I set this for you to show you something of the context of the early church song have long believed there's a synoptic problem Matthew Mark and Luke those are the synoptic Gospels they're very similar in nature to one another most scholars today believe that mark wrote first and one of the primary reasons they believe that is because mark is the shortest or the briefest and then they suppose that Matthew and Luke used mark but they also used a document called Q in order to write their particular gospel records so they have long since held this particular position and in many respects it really doesn't help the believer it doesn't help us to make heads or tails cells of some of the differences in the gospel narratives David Allen black proposes a much simpler solution and he does so parallel to the growth of the church indicated in the book of Acts what was the first phase of the church it was in Jerusalem he says that Matthew wrote first and I've often believed that that was the case as well this was a good confirmation not you know bully for me what a great guy but it just seems to me that Matthew is the priority but Matthew wrote first for that Jewish phase of the church Matthew was published probably in a be 42 and it was highly circulated and it's satisfied and did all that it was supposed to do up until the point not up until but when Paul started going out to evangelize Gentiles remember the pattern of Acts you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth well when paul the apostle to the Gentiles starts going out and ministering to the Gentiles he sees a need for a gospel record that isn't so Jewish and so he Commission's Luke to write Luke and Paul then goes out any or rather he has Luke right this particular narrative so Luke uses Matthew mostly but then Luke does his own investigative research this probably took place during Paul's imprisonment in cesaria so Luke planta pens the Gospel of Luke and then Paul realizing that neither him or Luke or original in terms of the Twelve Apostles what Paul does is he appeals to Peter and he says Peter I want you to validate and verify that this Gospel according to Luke is good it is legit it does jive with Matthew so Peter preaches a series of lectures he has Matthew on one scroll and he has Luke on another scroll and he preaches from that and he gives his stamp of approval to Paul and to loop for the Gospel according to Luke now the person sir rather mark was a close companion of Lu mark might have been the one rolling down the scrolls mark was certainly recording this particular data and scholars have long known this that mark is dependent upon Peter the way that Luke is dependent upon Paul and so Marc records these lectures and this makes sense because in mark there's no introduction and there's no conclusion it's sur mon it there are details in it most likely because what Peter preaches from Matthew and Luke are those things he was an eyewitness to have you ever read through mark and seen certain things that make you stop and you know consider for a moment when Jesus goes to lie down in the boat we learn in mark that he does so on a cushion it's my doctrine of naps by the way he lies on a cushion when Jesus feeds the 5,000 Mark's Gospel tells us they sat on the green grass these are details from an eyewitness so Peter preaches to authenticate and validate and affirm the Gospel according to Luke Marc records it and the persons that Peter preach to say we want a copy of this so this supposition says that mark was never really intending to write a gospel record but because Peter preaches he writes this stuff down this then becomes the gospel and we see in the early church fathers they always indicate Matthew some indicate Matthew Luke mark but you can see the rationale for the the list now Matthew Mark Luke mark is that sort of go-between that transition between that gospel to the Jews and that gospel to the Gentiles again they're all substantially the same there's no doctrinal contradictions there are nothing there are no things that are that are out of sort or out of place or out of out of mine but rather they are based on the specific contact and so black and I think he's right dates Matthew at ad 42 morrow Luke is written in 80 58 to 60 it's published and sent out for circulation in 80 62 and then mark comes to pass in about ad 68 now I tell you all that so that you'll understand I think that at times we have this idea that first century Christians were just kind of doing this and what are we supposed to do the apostles were brilliant Paul saw a need i'm going to Gentile Christians some of the stuff and Matthew they just don't track with because there are Jews Luke I want you to penned this gospel so I can take it into these Gentile areas Peter I want you to validate authenticate confirm and affirm that this is indeed apostolic so that nobody questions the existence of Luke the church was highly organized in the sense that they saw they had they received a body of divine revelation they took pen to paper they wrote it down and they started preaching and teaching and circulating these documents well James by virtue of his conversion by virtue of his status in the church James then writes this epistle that again is very early it's to Jewish believers it's very much oriented that particular way now let's look at verses 22 for know the believers response to trials for things we ought to consider first the identification of the trials in view secondly the expectation concerning trials thirdly the disposition necessary during trials and fourthly the recognition of God's purpose in our trials no the identification of the trials in view verse 2 my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials notice verse 12 blessed is the man who endorse temptations now those two words are the same context is necessary to help us make heads or tails out of what is view what is in view here specifically in verse verse 12 we have those trials or those tests or those afflictions or those difficulties or those hardships that befall Christians later in James to he's going to a point to the example of Abraham remember how Genesis 22 verse 1 starts off God calls Abraham in order to test him we the reader have that information as we ascend Mount Moriah with Abraham and Isaac now Abraham doesn't have that information but that's what's going on the Lord God is testing him to validate confirm to testify concerning his faith in the Living God verse 2 deals with those types of trials the word is used similar similarly in first Thessalonians 2 4 and then as well in Hebrews 11 17 again a reference to Abraham and the test that befell him now the temptation or I'm sorry the it was verse 13 let no one say we is tempted that's the solicitation to do evil that's not what James is talking about inverse to my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various solicitations to do evil that would be most unlikely this solicitation to do evil occurs by the prodding of the devil but as well even without the devil according to James and 1 14 and 15 we have enough remaining corruption in our own hearts to lead us away to tempt us to sin and so the verse to temptation or verse to trial that we see are those afflictions those difficulties and hardships that we as God's people face as a regular course of life James tells us when we fall into these particular things now certainly we can be irresponsible certainly we can be foolish certainly we can be not so bright and bring these things on ourselves and in that case the same counsel holds true but James envisages a point where the believing a Christian falls into a various trial and his counsel proceeds on that way Gill says concerning this distinction not the temptations of Satan or temptations to sin for these cannot be matter of joy but grief these are fiery darts and give a great deal of uneasiness in trouble but afflictions and persecutions for the sake of the gospel which are so called here and elsewhere because they are trials of the faith of God's people and of other races of the Spirit of God everybody on board that was a lengthier introduction than we normally make but fall in with me now to verse to count it all joy when you fall into various trials hardships difficulties testings of your faith the Apostle or James rather wants us to understand how we are to bear up when we come to these hardships we looked at this a bit last week in the week before in our studies in Hebrews 12 run with endurance the race that is set before you realize that within this Christian race there are hardships there are afflictions in there are trials note secondly as we move forward the expectation concerning trials he doesn't say my brethren be absolutely shocked and perplexed when you fall into various trials sometimes that's how we respond something happens to us we just can't believe it I that this would happen a man yeah I mean are you kidding me I'm me why would these things happen to me I understand it happen in others but but to me James assumes the presence of trial James acknowledges the fact that believers from time to time fall into various trials there ought to be a certain settled expectation in your heart that trials are part and parcel of the Christian life I hope that doesn't take much convincing to you notice in John 15 our Lord's Upper Room discourse John 15 verse 18 if the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love its own yet because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will keep yours also you see Jesus alerts his disciples to this present reality that there is going to be hardship affliction difficulty testing in their Christian lives John 1633 how does the Lord and the Upper Room discourse before he transitions into the high priestly prayer he ends on this note therefore I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world you will have tribulation you see brethren James does not say when you fall into various trials panic freak out and lose it because why in the world would anything that bad ever happened to you know there ought to be a certain expectation of the reality that there is / difficulty in the Christian life there is trial in the Christian life the experience of the early disciples I already read just a bit from acts 12 to show you that James is most likely a leader of the church in Jerusalem at that time but what happens in acts 12 peter is in prison because he's a Christian James the son of Zebedee loses his head because he's a Christian acts 14 22 Paul the Apostle tells the people we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God the early church was not shocked they were not freaked out they were not absolutely caught unawares when difficulties had come they saw the way the master was treated they reckoned that that's the case that's going to be for us the servants and it makes sense when we live in a world curse or under the curse of sin and we live in a world where people are in opposition to the living and true God certainly they're going to target God's people I hope brethren you have some certain expectation that there are the possibility of trials in your life if you've made it thus far with no significant trials then praise God I'm not saying you know go out in court trials try to jump into trials he doesn't say count it all joy when you jump into various trials you've heard that account of the martyrs when somebody was burning in the fire and other martyrs came along and jumped in with them and said we're with them now that's certainly a noble thing to do by all means but jesus also said that you can flee from city to city when they come to persecute you in one don't jump into trials but don't think that there will never be trials it's not always someone else's problem note the specific experience still under the heading the expect expectation concerning trials note specifically the experience of James's audience if you're not in James go back verse 11 they are exiles they are exiles that would mean something akin to you and I having to leave chilliwack or abbotsford or Langley or from whence we hail and having to go live somewhere else being cast out or being dispersed from our homeland and having to go elsewhere exile is a trial exile is a hardship exile is a difficulty the several references to poverty in this book of James indicates that some in his audience were poor certainly poverty can present its share of challenges trials afflictions difficulties and hardships the people James wrote to suffered religious persecution to six and seven but you have dishonored the poor man do not the rich a press you and drag you into the courts do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are call and certainly the people to whom James wrote suffered with remaining corruption James 1 14 and 15 I've already indicated this so you see there was no absence of suffering and trial and affliction and hardship and difficulty that had been experienced by these people so Pastor James comes along with his my brethren in a very loving and a very gracious and in a very kind way with a heart that is generally characterized are genuinely characterized as pastoral and he provides to them a remedy so that while they face these particular things they know how to bear up under it they know how to deal with the difficulties associated with the Christian life they don't rage against God they don't panic when they come into these situations they don't just go off and you know live in a hut somewhere hope that it all goes away no there's a particular strategy that Pastor James lays forth here for the people of God and that brings us thirdly to the disposition necessary during trials notice verse 2 count it all joy now why does James say this because it is absolutely counter to the way that we think isn't it when trials come do you count it all joy let me just think experientially and your own hearts and your own lives a bad thing has happened do you count it as all joy now this isn't some sick grin you fall off a ladder and you break your spine and you're happy and that's not what's in view here it's not that sort of thing that would be psychologically impossible and would be scripturally foolish I suggest that James is telling us in preparing us for the eventualities of trials and what ought to dictate in terms of our understanding God has a purpose in it God is doing something here God is conforming me further under the image of Christ I may not be able to explain every jot and tittle they may not be able to see every part and parcel of it but I realize this that there's a theological context for the suffering that I'm engaged at and i'm going to count my joy in the reality that God the Lord is tending to my good God the Lord is looking after me and he is going to watch over me count it all joy notice in Matthew 5 at the last of the Beatitudes Matthew 5 Jesus the brother of the love James says this blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you this is probably the same direction that James has in view is not again laughing when calamity strikes but rejoicing at the reality that there is an end in sight rejoicing at the reality that there is a new heavens and a new earth rejoicing in the reality that there is a scatological benefit for the people of God that we can resign in the face of trials to not lose our joy but to be firmly grounded in it because we know that God is working these things out for our good it's that romans 8 28 emphasis we paul says that God does cause all things to work for good that's what James is doing that's what we ought to be doing that's how we ought to be preparing if we are in trials we need James 1224 if we are not in trials we need James two or 12 24 we need to gird up our minds in our hearts so that we appreciate and appropriate the reality of this passage when we go into the midst of suffering now some of you will say you don't let my life's pretty good i don't really have many difficulties and when it does come i'm able to you know just kind of knuckle under and bear up well that's not what James wants that's not what James says he says you are to count it all joy when you fall into various trials you're supposed to see the grandeur greater purpose of God in the midst of this and what's one of the first things that goes when trials come we don't see God we only see our suffering we don't see God we only see our affliction we don't see God we only see our hardship now maybe this isn't your experience but that least has been in mind and in some of the people that I've spoken to over my years as a Christian we forget God when we need to remember him the most you ever done that you've encouraged a brother who's going through a particularly hard part in his life and you you bring scripture to bear upon him and and he just like doesn't hear it why is that I think sometimes persons Christians are you know we don't want to just throw Bible verses at them why not that's what they need but it's like at times when we as believers go through these hardship that's like giving you no broccoli to a dog it just doesn't even it doesn't even faze them James says count it all joy when you fall into various trials same teaching is in Romans 53 in 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 6 to 9 you see the apostles in concert realize that the people of God face hard times and the people of God need to be prepared in the church for those hard times and the people of God need to keep in their minds and hearts these truths for those hard times Calvin says he means in short that there is not in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy another commentator says the imperative to rejoice in the midst of trials which can be construed as consolation is paradoxical for not only do people often view trials as punishments or calamity but everyone avoids trials precisely because they bring misery not joy right hey you want some trial tomorrow morning no thanks I'll just take you know bacon and eggs I don't want trials I don't want hardship I don't want misery we are not inclined that way but whether we want it or not when it falls upon us james's council James command James's exhortation must be heard my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials that means step back it means survey the situation it means consider what God the Lord is doing what lessons you are supposed to glean how this will conform you more and more under the image of Jesus Christ you want excellent exposition in terms of practicality on this passage no one beats Thomas Manton he will take you to the school of Christ and lead you by the hand inappropriate appropriating this passage for your good in the midst of trials James calls for a counterintuitive or unnatural interpretation of events which then becomes educational we need to keep the proper perspective David's a commentator says this is not the detachment of the Greek philosopher my brethren counted all joy joy in some schools of Greek philosophical thought was detachment stoicism being removed from a situation and there in having some sort of peace he says it's not that but the eschatological joy of those expecting the intervention of God at the end of the age you see some suggest that we as Christians have this pie in the sky mentality that we somehow stick our heads in the sand we neglect the hardship in the pain and the suffering and the aching that goes on in this world we just look for that great cosmic event at the end of the age hopefully we don't have our head stuck in the sand we ought to be looking for that great cosmic event at the end of the age we have the hope of heaven brethren and that ought to promote in us zeal in this world sched fastness in this world testimony in this world and joy in the midst of struggle trial and difficulty james says it must be done now notice fourthly and finally the recognition of God's purpose in our trials says my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials then he highlights a particular virtue and then indicates its value notice verse 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience the word can be and probably is better translated as endurance it's the same word we met in Hebrews 12 we run with endurance the race that is set before us patience here suggests a passivity endurance suggests a bravery endurance suggests a steadfastness the word can also be interpreted or translated as perseverance knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance just like a person that wants to build muscle what do they do when they go into the gym they ripped the muscle apart so that what happens is that growth takes place in its way it's just like taking a metal and throwing it into the refining furnace why do you do that so that the finished product is much better we need to understand that God uses the trial in this particular fashion so that it will promote in us or producing us endurance or perseverance and know what James tells us in verse 3 you need to know this you need to understand this you need to be equipped in this you need to read your Bible you need to see how other saints of Dell you need to understand the theology of suffering and trial so that when it happens to you you don't freak out I mean that is some people's response to trial and difficulty they freak out they just lose it they panic they rage against God they say proverbs like in you know Ezekiel 18 it's because of our fathers that we reap all this sourness because of our fathers all that no no no you need to think biblically righteously and properly concerning these things manton says ignorance is the cause of sorrow ignorance James says knowing that these things transpire manton rightly affirms that ignorance is the cause of sorrow notice knowing that the testing of your faith produces patients again Manton God's aim in your affliction is not destruction but trial as gold is put into the furnace to be refined not consumed see God has a purpose in this it would be nice if God could give us an airline ticket and fly us to the shores of Hawaii and have a sit down and have us drink beverages so that we could learn how to endure but that's not how it is how do military personnel trained for battle do they go lay on the beach do they go swimming do they go play get know they train for battle through military exercise how are we conformed under the image of him who learned obedience through suffering we are conformed by learning obedience through suffering more often than not and James's exhortation and command to us is to count it all joy when we fall into various trials again not because our spine snap but because our God is involved in our lives he is sanctifying us he is putting us through the fire so that the finished product will be far more lovely than what he began with and then note the value involved in verse 4 but let patience or let endurance so let perseverance have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing the presence of this endurance ultimately leads to perfection virtue begets virtue is what the Apostle says this is what Paul says in the various places in his epistles this is what Peter says in second Peter chapter one virtue begets virtue this endurance this patient leads to perfection now the perfection here is not perfection is you've heard of John Wesley John Wesley taught a version of Christian perfection is up meaning that a believer could be fully sanctified on this side of heaven that is absolutely untrue and that's not what James is suggesting notice in James 112 blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him James has an eschatological view in verse 12 so what are you suggesting in verse 4 is more likely something like completeness or maturity the word is used for maturity or adulthood in first Corinthians 14 20 and in Ephesians 4 13 how do we receive or how do we achieve adulthood in the Christian life how do we mature yes read your Bible yes pray yes go to church yes read the confession of faith yes read Birkhoff there's a an aspect of maturity involved in all that but more often than not we achieve maturity by going through the furnace of affliction it's just the way it is it doesn't do us any good to say well I don't like that well it doesn't matter what you like if Christ learned obedience through suffering and the sons who have been called by grace are going to likewise learn obedience in the same manner this perfection and view could possibly be blameless pneus or having integrity the marginal note for Genesis 69 or describes Noah as being a perfect man the margin reads they was blameless or you had integrity Deuteronomy 18 13 they're commanded to be perfect again the idea is blameless it's having integrity so note the Jameses procession here counted joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patients or endurance and that endurance will have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing the path to Christian maturity is through the veil of Tears and this is what our brother is telling us turn to Philippians 3 where you see Paul use these this term in two separate ways just so we don't come out wesley ins i don't want that to happen to you you know the best proof that leslie and perfectionism isn't correct it's your life and my life best proof right there just go out and try to do something that's good just go try to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself it's probably not going to happen so John Wesley at least in that doctrine was wrong notice in philippians 3 12 not that i have already attained or am already perfected but i press on that i may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me you see Paul realizes he's not perfected Paul realizes he's still in this life Paul realizes he hasn't reached that eschatological prize but notice he uses the same language to identify the fact that he's mature verse 15 therefore let us as many as are mature have this mind and if anything anything you think otherwise God will reveal even this to you so back to James chapter 1 what we are not told is that if we endure trial will become Wesley and perfectionists if we endure trial we will be without sin that's not what's in view when we by God's grace endure through these tests that testing or that endurance rather yields the peaceable fruit of maturity it yields the peaceable fruit of completion it yields the peaceable fruit of conformity on to Jesus well in conclusion the first place the believers preparation for trials hopefully you listen to sermons like these i think if christians listen to sermons not like these but on this passage let's say and they get this in them it will be very helpful be most helpful for you to understand something about the nature of trial the nature of affliction the nature of christian hardship Manton said this Christ's I must clear your site or else you cannot make a right judgment there is no proper and fit apprehension of things to you get within the veil and see by the light of the sanctuary lamp a man that hath no other light but reason in nature cannot judge of those things I love this this is an appeal to Samson he says God's riddles are only open to those that plow with God's heifer and it is by God's Spirit that we come to discern and esteem the things that are of God so the means by which you prepare is to be in passages like these to be in the scriptures so that you'll realize that there are trials coming to the believer and there is a strategy presented to us in the Word of God on how we are to deal in the second place the believers disposition during trials we are to count it all joy that means we're not supposed to rage against God we're not supposed to get angry with God we're not supposed to yell at God we're not supposed to kick and scream like a child at walmart who doesn't get a lollipop sometimes you are not given the lollipop and the response is not to be i hate you and i can't scan you it you never give me anything good you ever been at walmart and seen one of those spectacles and it takes every ounce of grace in you not to go assist that parent and subdue their little one and bringing them under the sweet submission of God's rod you see sometimes believers act that way I can't believe God is doing this in my life I can't believe he's not giving me this in my life I can't believe he's frustrating my pursuit for something good why is it that the Lord is always against me James says no to that count it all joy when you fall into various trials don't count God is your enemy when you fall into various trials don't scream in his face don't raise your fist at him don't imitate Israel in Ezekiel 18 and say the way of Yahweh is not fair because if the way of Yahweh was fair I'd have everything I wanted but he only confounds me know count it all joy when you fall into various trials secondly James tells us not to freak out panic never helps trial maybe you've heard the story growing up in Southern California I heard it often because we go to the beach and at least maybe it was just a you know an urban legend that you know when lifeguards had to go out and save somebody they'd give him a good whack and you know make them pass out so that they could then bring them back to shore what's the justification of the rationale while the guys flailing and flipping out in the water the lifeguard can't get a good grip on him and he certainly can't bring him back to the shore so a nice pop in the face to put him out for a little while will help to bring him to the shore now again whether that's true or not I don't know but it made for good fare when I was a youngster you see sometimes believers that happens to us trials come and we freak out we may not rage a god but we forget all our Bible and theology we forget crucial tax like psalm 46 10 we forget to be still and know that God is God we forget to realize that our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases then my god is or my troubles and my difficulties God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform so James tells us counted all join Hut freakout not panic not lose it but rather have that resolution that steadiness that calmness of heart as well James highlights that we need to count it all joy when various trials come will you do this will I do this I'm going to breach this so I'm just going to happen tomorrow I'm going to whine and cry and moan and grumble and flail my arms and get all upset banica we need to take this to heart again listen to Manton a Christian is a bird that can sing in winter as well as in spring he can live in the fire like Moses bush burn and not be consumed nay lead in the fire see this is a rich storehouse brethren if you want the works of Manton it's a big big daddy set but I think they sell the exposition of James on its own but it's rich it's wonderful as well we must endure trials during or must endure during the trial so that God's purpose is realized in our lives James assume something count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patients or it produces endurance what does James assume you're not going to freak out you're not going to rage against God but you're going to count it all joy you see there's an unspoken assumption by James you're going to do what he says and then these things will be true you're going to do what the what he says and then endurance will lead into maturity but if you lose it and you get mad at God and you fail about as a as a swimmer in the ocean then you're not going to no endurance you're not going to no maturity you're not going to know that Christian completion or that blameless pneus of that integrity or that loyalty that seems to be James's emphasis throughout his epistle something like showing spiritual integrity is what James is all about as he writes this particular letter as well we must consider the conduct of other Saints who went through trials this goes along with what we considered in Hebrews 12 1 since we have so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and every sin that so easily entangles us running with endurance the race that is set before us consider the lives of those brethren and Hebrews 11 consider the life of King David of Israel I mean I don't know about you but wednesday night was heartbreaking I mean David as is ousted by his son that's terrible David at certain point before the Bathsheba incident is able to say the Lord has preserved me out of all are delivered me out of all adversities but even post Bathsheba post em and post Tamar post Absalom in first Kings one he's able to testify of the same day the Lord has delivered me from all adversity brethren you and I listen to him we need to fill our hearts with the songs we need to fill our hearts with the stories of men like Horatio Spafford that man who wrote 580 that ham we just sang concerning my co the bliss of this glorious thought he lost his family at sea and yet nevertheless he writes hymns of praise to the living and the true God I suspect that he understood James's admonition and he took it seriously he counted it all joy when he fell in the various trials and we must seek wisdom so that we can successfully navigate through the trials and God willing we'll focus on that next week when we come back to James we ought to consider as we close the Savior who endure two trials I hope it never rises up in our hearts or upon our lips to say you know why is it God seems to always be picking on me why is it that there's all these hardships and all these difficulties that befall me what about the Savior he learned obedience through suffering he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief we hid as it were our faces from him he came to his own his own received him not I mean he was in exile in the land of Palestine because no one wanted amp they despised him they rejected him they forsook him they ultimately crucified him so brethren before the servant starts to lament the treatment that they receive look at the master and see what he he withstood at the hands of godless man in obedience to his father and with a firm and steady resignation went all the way to the cross who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is sat down at the right hand of God on high that's our hope after this present world that is punctuated with trials afflictions and difficulties we will sit at the right hand of God not because we've earned it but because we are in union with the Savior will let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you so much for your word and we pray that you'd help us to take these things to heart it is so counter to the way that we oftentimes respond to trials we do panic and we do get upset we pray that you would help us to be calm help us to be still help us to know that you are God and you are working out your purpose in our lives and may we indeed count it all joy may we be that bird who sings not only in the spring but in the winter as well and may we give glory and praise and honor to you and may we set forth a good testimony a good a good witness to others who who would see us in such such a state go with us now and watch over us in this coming week and protect each and every one of your people here and we pray these things through Christ our Lord amen you close with the brief time of meditation is indeed you