[0:00] Alright, please turn in your Bibles to James chapter 1. James chapter 1. Before I get into the text, I have a very important question to ask of you.
[0:17] Who here loves coffee? Put your hand up. Alright, I'm not asking who doesn't like coffee. I ask the question, who here loves coffee? Keep your hands up.
[0:31] Like you guys can't like start the day without having coffee? Good, because I got a job for you. Sabian is needing a break from making coffee here in the morning.
[0:46] So some of you guys have just opened up, confessed that you would love to be a part of coffee making. What we're asking for is, Sabian said if we get 12 people in, I think it's probably a bit much, because Sabian can do a lot.
[1:03] But if we can get 4 different people committing, there would be once a month responsibility, right? Because Sabian also wants to, he does driving of people who need jobs, and he also wants to do welcoming.
[1:16] So if you'd like to commit to one weekend, it's a pretty low threshold, right? One weekend a month to come in. He'll teach you everything you need to know about coffee, what it is, how to make it.
[1:29] Even if you don't like coffee like me, you can still learn, right? You can still learn, right? Alright, thank you. I have another announcement, in case you're wondering who this beautiful woman is at the front.
[1:42] That's my mom. So my mom has an opportunity to come visit. So if you have any questions on what it is to raise a perfect son, she will gladly take the time to tell you all about that.
[1:55] But she's heard so much about you, she hasn't been over in a while. But please continue to pray for my mom. Just going through some cancer, as you guys know, more tests and some of those things. So it's a blessing to have her here for part of this week.
[2:10] So, trials. Trials. Last time we spoke on this, I submitted to you some questions that most people struggle with when understanding trials.
[2:28] So, James, this book that we're looking at, is actually written by the half-brother of Jesus, who functioned kind of as the head guy in all of Jerusalem.
[2:40] Whenever there was a problem going on in the early church, James was involved. And this is one of the first books written to the early church. And what's interesting is it kind of describes these kind of spiritual health checks.
[2:57] Because at that time, the new Jerusalem church, Christians are coming to know the Lord by the thousands. And then Rome raises against them. Then there's persecution against Christians.
[3:08] So they then scatter to the four winds. So James is pending this letter. All right, there's trials. You know there's trials. You guys have had to leave your homes. You've had to leave your families.
[3:19] You've had to leave your jobs. So he's talking to people who are very acclimated in the understanding that there's trials.
[3:32] Okay? So two of the questions from last week I find are particularly important that I'm going to restate is, I'm going to answer the question, what is a trial?
[3:44] And the second question is, why does God allow trials? Because the reality is, as I said earlier today, as true as it is that you breathe air, you will suffer trials in this lifetime.
[4:06] So first, the question is, what is a trial? A trial is a life event or events in our lives that challenge us.
[4:17] They stretch us. They test us. And remember I talked about there's a difference between a trial and a temptation. All right? Temptation is an event that wants to draw us to sin.
[4:32] And that can happen both externally and internally. Like there's issues in our own hearts that cause us to want to sin. Could be greed, desire, lust, anything.
[4:46] And it doesn't even need an external stimulus to work. Right? But then there's also trials that are external to us and temptations.
[5:00] But I really believe those temptations don't become true temptations unless we've really allowed those to enter into our heart or we've failed at that trial.
[5:12] So we looked at a few verses that God never causes us to tempt us to sin. But there's trials that God gives us. So here's a few trials that happen.
[5:25] One, persecution of faith can be from your family, can be from your friends, can be from your workplace. It can be for your persecution of morals.
[5:37] And I think I told you when I was with CSIS, because I would not go to gentlemen's clubs, some of the guys didn't want to work with me. They just didn't want to be a part because, and they all know it's wrong, right?
[5:49] And all you have to be is that one guy in the group that's like, hey, I'm not going, is enough to pick their conscience to say, you know what, I shouldn't be going either. I'm married with four kids, but they tend to get a little bit mad at me rather than their own hearts, right?
[6:05] That's just the ways of men. Trials, poverty, bereavement, sickness, an accident could be an attack on our character.
[6:19] And as I stated, the reality is trials are unavoidable. Trials are unavoidable. In fact, the goal of our lives is not to avoid trials.
[6:33] It's not to avoid trials. You breathe, you will experience trials. And the reality is they will not stop from happening.
[6:44] The fact is we live in a fallen, imperfect world, and we will encounter many challenges in life. Some of these challenges are greater than others.
[6:58] So that's what it is, what a trial is. Now, why does God allow trials? If you want to hear more on this, I would encourage you to go back to the sermon preached two weeks ago, but I'm going to sum it up.
[7:11] One, to test the strength of your faith. Two, to humble you. Three, to remove our reliance on worldly or earthly things.
[7:24] Four, to call us to an eternal and heavenly hope. Five, trials are often used to reveal what we truly love.
[7:38] Six, trials teach us to value God's blessing. Seven, trials are to develop enduring strength for greater usefulness.
[7:51] And eighth, trials enable us to better help others when they experience trials. So this morning, the reality is we cannot escape trials.
[8:08] God wants us to go through trials. So the question that I want to answer for you this morning is, how can we do that?
[8:21] How can we respond to trials in a Christ-honoring, godly way? So, essentially, if trials are for learning in life, how are we to maximize the growth rate of our trials?
[8:40] So here it is, right? How to get the most out of trials. Is that a popular, if I told you I was teaching you on this Sunday, do you think you'd be here? Right? Probably not, right?
[8:50] You know? Unless you were making the coffee. All right. So, let's take a look in the text, James. Beginning in chapter 1 of James, he says, James is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the whole 12 tribes in this dispersion.
[9:10] Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
[9:21] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect, incomplete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
[9:38] 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. For what person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord?
[9:52] He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation. Because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away.
[10:05] For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass. Its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
[10:20] Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
[10:33] So right away in verse 2, we see the first attitude. And the first attitude to develop when it comes to trials is joy.
[10:47] The first attitude to develop when it comes to trials is joy. A joyful attitude. If you have a NIV that you happen to be using, in case you don't know, we usually use the ESV version.
[11:03] But the NIV says, consider it pure joy. So the ESV says, count it all joy. The NIV says, consider it pure joy.
[11:16] Joy. Is this not the first thing we happen to feel when we're confronted with a trial? Right? Joy. Joy. Joy. And if you happen to have your NIV Bible, pure joy.
[11:30] Pure joy. Pure joy. Right? It sounds a little bit contradictory. Contradicting. But I assure you, when we get to the end of this sermon, you will understand why trials are a joy.
[11:53] Notice the word count. It'll joy. If you're using your NIV, it says consider it joy. Joy. That word is a command.
[12:04] It's written in the imperative. It is a no argument thing with God. There is no other option.
[12:19] The thing you are to do when you are confronted with a trial is to count it all joy, joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.
[12:35] The fact of the matter is, we know that joy is not a natural response to trials, is it? If it were, James would need to command it.
[12:48] Right? Because our first impulse, first instinct, is to avoid the trial. And so we need to engage, not our feelings towards the trials, but an understanding of the trials, but an understanding of the trials, and commit our will to developing a joyful attitude.
[13:12] What this is, is this is to be a conscience-determined commitment of every faithful believer to be joyful in the midst of a trial.
[13:27] Why? Because as we learn two weeks as to why God allows trials in our lives, as we will get to in the next few verses, but we as believers in Christ need to understand that the Lord has not abandoned us in a trial, but in fact, he is in the trial as well as the blessings of life.
[14:00] Do you understand me on that one? A trial is not God abandoning you. A trial is not God punishing you.
[14:11] A trial is an event where God is with you in this event. And the joy comes from the understanding that it is for our benefit and ultimately for God's glory.
[14:30] So the ultimate question is, why does God want us joyful in a trial? It's because ultimately deep down it is for our benefit.
[14:41] And our benefit and growth leads to a growing of God's glory. Pretty easy, eh?
[14:57] But it's a thought that we often need to dwell on. We need to stop ourselves from our initial impulses in a trial.
[15:11] That the Lord is with us just as much in the trial as he is with us in overcoming the trial.
[15:25] The fact is, our joy is anchored in the sincere trust and promise of our Lord. And when we understand this, when we look upon them as something that will make us stronger in Christ, our attitudes will change towards these trials.
[15:46] You see, it's an understanding of looking beyond the immediate to the future. Right? It's like anything. And I was just thinking about, I have this aversion to systems.
[16:01] Like, if you told me six steps to becoming a millionaire, I wouldn't trust it. I just wouldn't. Not because it's too good to be true.
[16:14] It's because I, whether it's my fallenness or stupidity or foolishness, I kind of live in the moment. I experience the moment. The idea of thinking forward and the benefits are not always tangible to me.
[16:31] They aren't. That's why at school, I'm the last guy handing in that project. Right? Or getting that essay in just on time.
[16:43] And I was thinking about a story of my friend Bill. We'd go out, you know, Saturday night. Sometimes they'd have exams on Saturdays. We'd go out. And my friend Bill didn't want to go out. I got to study.
[16:53] What are you talking about? We've just been studying. We wrote our exam. Relax. Hey, there's another exam in six weeks. All right? So, about three years after graduation, my friend, one of our good friends from university, Mike, gets married.
[17:08] He's in Kingston. Bill flies in on a private jet. Okay? And at that time, I think he was worth $60 million. Okay?
[17:18] Let's just say he accomplished a lot more in those three years than most of us are going to accomplish. But it was because he loved the test. He loved the studying. He understood the exact reason he was at my school.
[17:31] There was a business school. He wanted to go to that business school. He wanted to suck every ounce of understanding, like sucking the marrow out of a bone. He just understood what he wanted.
[17:41] Most of us didn't get it. But it's the same when it comes to trials. We immediately see the hurt and pain it might be bringing.
[17:54] We don't see what's behind the trials. A few reasons why trials are good for us. For those of you who care to be honest, when we're in trials, when do we become more sensitive to God's presence?
[18:13] Right? We become sensitive to God's goodness. Even in the midst of a trial, to be able to eat just a nice family meal can be appreciative.
[18:30] Amen? Even it's like with all the storms surrounding you, but you know that God is with you in that moment.
[18:42] And the other thing we become is sensitive to his grace. Everything that we understand, the goodness that we are receiving, is also from God's grace.
[18:55] Do we pray more when we're going through trials or pray less? We pray more, right? If that isn't an indication that God wants us more on our knees before him, experiencing his present, being sensitive to his goodness, and experiencing his grace, I don't know what more there is.
[19:23] The fact of the matter is, some of you here are at church because you are in a trial. Perhaps you're searching out that maybe God would answer. We've met people like that here.
[19:34] They were going through a trial of life, and God, in his tender mercy, brought them here. For some of you, you call yourself a Christian now because it was a trial that led you there.
[19:50] Amen? It was a hardship of life that God used to redeem your soul eternally. And now you are a child of the king.
[20:06] And when you look back, perhaps, had there been no trial, there would be no relationship with the king of kings and lord of lords.
[20:23] Hear me. It's okay to pray for the Lord to deliver us from trials. However, the Lord may have a specific reason for these trials, and sometimes it may be beyond our comprehension.
[20:39] The point of trials is to endure them. Our natural inclination is to avoid them, to be safe, and to be comfortable, and to do everything we can to ignore that trial.
[20:59] But there's a danger. One commentator named Warren Wearsby wrote some very effectual words on this. He said, If we value comfort, then trials will upset us.
[21:22] If we value the material and physical more than the spiritual, we may not be able to count it all joy.
[21:32] If we live only for the present and forget the future, the trials will make us bitter, not better.
[21:42] Listen, our son has gotten in weightlifting. And he was a scrawny little kid. But he started bulking up.
[21:54] He's huge. He's big. And now when he can take a break off of the trial, he can be committed to working out because he knows what it produces. Right? He knows in the past.
[22:04] The problem with me and my systems is I've never finished the system to really trust, am I really going to get it? Sometimes people ask me about sermon prep.
[22:17] I know I'm going to get it at the end of the time I put in. Because I've done it hundreds of times and I know it. And it's never a bore. It's never a chore. So that's the first attitude.
[22:28] We need to develop an attitude of joy. And I know that sounds crazy. But I'm hoping as we get into this and we look at the other four attitudes, you're going to see why joy is mentioned.
[22:41] Number one. The second attitude to develop is an understanding mind. It's an understanding mind. Take a look at verse three. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
[22:56] What he's saying is, you know that the reason for these trials is steadfastness. If you use NIV, it's perseverance. It's the ability to continue on.
[23:11] Right? The fact of the matter is, a quality of saving faith is persevering faith. The Bible teaches this over and over.
[23:22] Faith that is eternal is one that endures. Amen? It perseveres through life. It uses this word, for you know.
[23:35] There's a lot of ways we use know. My favorite baseball player is Nolan Ryan. I've liked him since about 1976. If you don't know about him, let me tell you something about him.
[23:46] He holds the record for the most strikeouts, most no-hitters, most guys walk. He was by far, and I pitched, right? Right? I pitched and called and stuff. But he was the most feared man.
[23:58] When he was on the mound, he hit more batters than anybody else. And he threw over 108 miles an hour. Today, the fastest anybody's even come close is 103. Right?
[24:08] So, this guy, when you saw him get on the mound, if you know who, you guys know who Reggie Jackson was? He was a big baseball time player. He was a big baseball time player. He had three home runs in the World Series to win it for the Yanks.
[24:23] He was like bravado on fire. And he said, Nolan Ryan's the only guy I go to bed early when I know I'm facing him tomorrow. He said, anybody else I can beat.
[24:34] But Nolan Ryan, I go to bed early. Now, I know those things about Nolan. I know his wife, Ruth. He's got two boys, his son.
[24:45] He lives in Alvin, Texas. He's a rancher. But do I know him? If he'd walk in today and I told him, get out of here, you fruitcake. I don't know you. Right?
[24:57] No, no. The knowledge that James is talking about is an experiential knowledge. The reason why I know this is because I've experienced this.
[25:11] You with me on that? It's not just facts. Like I was saying, I can look at these six ways to become a millionaire. These facts. But if I haven't experienced them, I don't trust them.
[25:25] But James is pleading, you know this because you've already experienced this. He says, you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. It's not a theory.
[25:38] You know this from experience. Like I was stating, like an athlete who trains, they know they are better tomorrow than they were yesterday.
[25:51] You see, our joy in the midst of trials comes from an understanding that we are maturing. Amen? It comes from an understanding that I'm going to grow.
[26:03] The reality is if we do not know this, there will never be joy. If you do not understand that the purpose that God has you in that trial is to make you more mature, you will not be joyful.
[26:25] It will be a hardship. You will try to escape it. A lot of people want to say that trials produce patience. But the reality is it's the patience in the trials that build up the endurance for the Christian life.
[26:45] Paul in his letter to Thessalonians 1.
[26:57] 2 Thessalonians 1 writes, He writes, See, I believe, If you do know the Lord Jesus Christ, would you not want it said of you that you were considered worthy of the kingdom of God?
[28:15] So that's the second attitude. The first attitude is joy. The second attitude is understanding. And the third attitude that we must develop through trials is a submissive will.
[28:28] A submissive will. James 1.4 says, Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
[28:43] NIV just kind of says, Let perseverance finish its work. Right? So here we have another command. We have a command to be joyful.
[28:55] We have a command to know. And now we have a command to let steadfastness, let endurance have its full effect. What does this mean? We're to submit to the trial.
[29:07] That means no looking for a way out. What's that children's song? He used to sing in Sunday school. Can't go over it. Can't go under it. Right?
[29:18] Can't go around it. You got to go through it. Right? And we need to understand that. Because we want to escape. But God, I always find, when someone goes around it, that same trial is waiting for them right at the end.
[29:32] Right? You got this mountain. I got to go over the mountain. But I went around it. Guess what? There's another mountain there. Because God is wanting you to grow. And he wants him to be glorified in your growth.
[29:46] Isn't that great? God can be glorified in your growth. How you respond. How you are joyful. How you know and understand. And how you submit.
[29:58] See, God promises no bypass. Only that he will see his people through the trials without suffering spiritual harm.
[30:10] The fact is, the Lord wants us to grow in trials. To grow in our faith. To endure. When we learn to rejoice in our trials. And come to understand that God uses them.
[30:22] Not to harm us. But to strengthen and perfect us. We are motivated to embrace them as beneficial. Amen? Amen? Amen. We see this as the opportunity to grow in ways that we never knew.
[30:36] The word perfect here does not mean moral or spiritual perfection. Meaning to be without sin. But it means to be fully developed. To be fully strong.
[30:49] Fully ready. Fully patient. Fully steadfast. God wants us to grow in our faith. To be mature. And that is his intentions for us.
[31:00] James follows this with words saying, lacking in nothing. See, not lacking in some things, but lacking in nothing.
[31:14] How wonderful the thought is that God gives us all to grow and mature to be complete in him. These tests, although arduous at times, are meant to complete us.
[31:28] To grow us. To mature us. So it begins with a joyful attitude following with a knowledge of where God is taking us is a good place.
[31:44] Our third attitude is to willingly submit. And the fourth attitude that we are to develop is what's called a believing heart. A believing heart.
[31:56] Let's look at verse 5 of James 1. It says, If any of you, And this is probably the most exciting part of it all. If any of you lacks wisdom, Let him ask God, Who gives graciously to all without reproach, And it will be given him.
[32:10] 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.
[32:23] He is a double-minded man and stable in all his ways. All his ways. The reality is, If we are left to our own wisdom, To sort our way through the trials of life, We are not going to do well.
[32:38] And get this. And because God understands the toughness of dealing with trials, Guess what his command is?
[32:50] Ask him. Ask him. It's not pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. It's not rely on your great wisdom, Your great understanding, Or how joyful it is.
[33:04] But he's telling you to go to him. Do you guys see how wonderful that is? You're in the most complex, trial-filled, horrible time of your life.
[33:17] And God's not putting you there to say, Hey, figure it out. That will make you a stronger Christian. That's not what he says. Come to me. I will figure the trial out for you.
[33:31] You with me on that? I'm going to be with you in this trial. Now notice what it says.
[33:43] That first verse, it says, God, who gives generously to all without reproach. You see, what the participle in this text means here is, It is a present tense, Which indicates to us that God's nature is to be continually giving to us.
[34:04] You get this? It's not when God is happy with you, Or you've done something favorable to you, Have you earned some favor from God to do these things?
[34:16] No, God's disposition is that he wants to continually be giving to you. Have you ever been there when you ask someone a favor, And you know they will do that favor, But you feel you're going to owe them?
[34:46] Let's be honest. When the Smiths say, Hey, would you take care of our three dogs? Right? They know we're going to take care of their three dogs.
[34:57] Right? Like, we always think tit for tat. But that's not God. That's our own silly foolishness of life.
[35:08] And sometimes it's learned. If we had a parent that was not loving, Every time you came to him or her for something, It was always a condition.
[35:21] Yes, I'll bail you out of this, But you're not using the car for the next month. You know? At our house, when the kid asks you, It's picking up the dog poo.
[35:32] Right? You know, we all have conditions. But can I tell you something? That's not God. This word generously, It means to give without hesitation.
[35:45] To give without thinking about it. To give without reservation. My friends, If you do not see God in this way, Going through trials will be a struggle for you.
[36:01] The fact is, Many of us don't. When we come to him, We are afraid, Like we are waking up some grouchy old man, Who only gives us the answers to get rid of us.
[36:15] Listen, I grew up with a grouchy dad. I did. My dad was not a friendly man in any sort of way. And to ask him something, I knew there was going to be payback.
[36:27] Right? And it just grows up distrust. We're formulated by our early experiences. And sometimes to come to God and understand, God, we got to get rid of all that.
[36:43] We got to get rid of all that baggage. Because when we go to God, He will not chide us. He will not remind us, Well, I gave you that money two weeks ago, And look what you did with it then.
[36:55] Right? He doesn't scold us for being in that trial. Now, whose fault is it? You ever go to someone, You know what the problem is, And they want to figure out how you got there.
[37:07] I know how I got there, But I need to get out of it. He will not grumble. He will not hold a grudge.
[37:21] God will not place any strings attached. And here's the best thing. We don't need to bargain with God. How many of us have prayed the prayer, If you do this, God, I will help more.
[37:39] Maybe I'll even make coffee. Right? We always feel like there's a bargain. We've got to do something for God if we do it.
[37:50] My friends, God is not like this. He is sitting there. His character is waiting to give. We are His children.
[38:01] He wants the best foods for us. He wants the best for us. He wants to see us grow. He's not going to say, Why did you screw up in the first place?
[38:15] Why did you lose patience? Why didn't you believe? You see, when we finally get over ourselves And come to God, It simply says, He is waiting there to give generously.
[38:28] So if some of you guys have been in a trial for a long time, And you've been trying to deal with it on your own, And you feel shame going to God, You don't need to.
[38:41] He's waiting right there to give generously to you. My friends, This is a God we have to worship.
[38:54] God never reminds us how undeserving we are. And we are. God never reminds us how unworthy we are.
[39:05] But we are. Psalm 81, Ted says, I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, And I will fill it.
[39:19] So we're going through trials. There's to be joyful, To understand, To submit. But do you believe God? Do you believe God for who he says he is, Who he's proved himself to be, And who he's always been?
[39:39] But there's a warning. 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.
[39:50] For that person must not suppose That he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, Unstable in all his ways. If you're in that middle of trial, And then you come, And you're asking for God's wisdom, How many of us have been in that place Where we doubt God's character?
[40:13] We doubt God's promises. We doubt God's purposes. We may feel unworthy, But that doesn't matter to God. You know why? Because it's all on his reputation, Not ours.
[40:26] Amen? God makes these promises Based on who he is. Not whether I doubt his character. Not whether I doubt his promises. Not whether I doubt his purposes.
[40:41] I simply come to him because he is God. Fact is, We may think God doesn't care about our trials. We may think these trials too insignificant.
[40:53] But this is untrue. Because the reality is, It's not based on how great we are. It's always based on how great, loving, and graceful God is.
[41:08] If we run from God, We are only making things worse. The best place to be in a trial of life, Is at the foot of Jesus. Now, What does it mean to not believe?
[41:25] Unbelief is seen when you complain to God. When you argue against God. When you yell against God.
[41:38] When you doubt that God has a purpose for a trial. Well, that's the unbelieving part. So when we reflect those qualities to him, We are saying, I doubt you, God.
[41:52] I doubt this trial will really bring about what I need to make me better. It's always wondering why he allowed a calamity to come over you in the first place.
[42:09] And wonder why doesn't he provide you with the way out. The fact is, If you doubt God at his word, Then you doubt his ability and trustworthiness. And a faith like that, Is not a faith that's going to accomplish much.
[42:23] Fact is, When God is not trusted, The only course is truly from bad to worse. So what is a person to do if you doubt God is good in those?
[42:36] It says, 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.
[42:51] He's a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. It honestly breaks my heart when I see people play the Jesus card with their whole life, Except when a trial comes or they don't get away.
[43:07] Get their way. Then all of a sudden everything falls apart. It's like Jesus is really great when there's sun shining, no wind. But Jesus is really bad when there's a storm and the wind is blowing.
[43:21] What does your faith say then? Matthew 6.24 simply says, No one can serve two masters.
[43:34] For either he will hate the one and love the other, Or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. My friends, I know some of you here serve yourself, You serve your desires, And you serve the world.
[43:50] But the truth of that is you cannot do that and be at peace with God. The double-mindedness will drive you crazy and will defeat you. And the last attitude, finally, is to develop a humble spirit.
[44:08] A humble spirit. James 1.9 says, What James is saying here, It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.
[44:38] The poor can boast in their exaltation. And that word boast equals either to rejoice or to take glory in. His high position is in Christ, not in himself.
[44:50] It's the same way with the rich man. He can do all these things to make him feel good with his gardens, But as soon as the sun comes up, It dries up.
[45:01] 1 John 3.2, John says, Beloved, we are God's children now, And what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, We will be like him, Because we shall see him as he is.
[45:16] Any hopes that we have here on earth Is going to be destitute. Loss of material possessions will drive a rich person to God.
[45:28] But that doesn't mean they are safe from the family issue, Nor health issues. Riches are temporary. Poverty is temporary. What is truly of value is a trusting relationship with the Lord.
[45:44] And finally, look at the last verse, verse 12. My friends, if we adapt all these attitudes, We adopt the attitude of a joy, Of knowing, Of believing, Of submitting, Of submitting, It says, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.
[46:10] For when he has stood the test, He will receive the crown of life, Which God has promised to those who love you. What about you?
[46:22] Will you receive the crown of life? What do your responses to trials indicate about your heart? Do you grow closer to God, Or do you grow farther from God?
[46:37] Do you draw closer, Or do you question him? Or worse, like Job's wife, Do you say, Curse God and die?
[46:48] Do you complain and complain? Are you bitter? Do you doubt? My statement to you this morning is, Maybe it's time to finally submit, And receive all that God has for you.
[47:04] Because ultimately, Trials are there to prove your faith. May you develop a joyful attitude, An understanding mind, A submissive will, A believing heart, And a humble spirit, And thereby receive The crown of life.
[47:26] May God bless you. May God bless you.