Good morning, church. It's good to be with you this morning. It's nice to see the sunshine.
I hope you've enjoyed some of the beautiful weather this weekend.
We're going to continue this morning in our series in the book of James.
I'm going to pray before we start, so will you pray with me as we look to God's word together?
Lord, we thank you this morning for the opportunity to gather virtually.
We thank you that by your grace, Lord, we are able to together hear your word this morning.
And I pray that your spirit would be at work in us, that we would be those who sit under it.
And Lord, that you would teach our hearts.
Lord, that you would bend our wills.
Lord, that you would renew our souls.
Lord, I pray that you would give me words this morning.
Lord, that you would help me.
Lord, that I might proclaim your word clearly, faithfully.
Lord, that you might use these words in all of our lives, we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I can remember it was my sophomore year in high school, spring.
I played high school lacrosse.
Our season was already not going well midway through.
We were not going to make it to the playoffs.
And yet, our defensive coach, Graham Standish, pushed us every day in practice.
If you've ever played lacrosse, you know what a ground ball drill is.
It's kind of like a fumble drill in football, except you have two guys with six-foot sticks
trying to pick up a ball while the other person is beating on them with said stick.
And so, it's quite a challenge.
And we would do this over and over and over again.
We had to go get the ball.
He would chuck it down the field 30 or 40 yards.
We had to sprint down, get the ball, pick it up, and get it back to him.
And we would do this over and over again.
And as the spring got warmer and the practices got longer, and as the playoffs faded, it became
a great trial.
And he was unyielding, pushing us daily, seemingly unaware or uncaring of the trial that we were
facing.
We weren't going to win the title that year.
What was the point?
And as we went on, I began to doubt Graham Standish.
Did he just enjoy torturing us?
Was this punishment for not doing well this year?
Or was this just a big ego trip for him?
And we were the pawns upon which he was building his reputation.
In the midst of that trial, I doubted his goodness and his intentions for us.
And I wonder if we do the same thing in the midst of trials with God as well.
It can be easy at times as we face various trials to think that God is unyielding.
We wonder, is he punishing us?
Is he ignoring us?
Does he care?
Is he good?
It is to some of these questions that the book of James speaks to us this morning.
We're in James chapter 1.
If you want to turn there in your Bible at home or on your app, however you're reading
along with us this morning.
James chapter 1.
We're going to start in verse 12 and read through verse 18.
So let's read together.
James 1 verse 12.
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.
Let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God.
For God cannot tempt with evil, cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin.
And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first
fruits of his creatures.
As James is writing this letter to the church dispersed throughout the Middle East,
as he's writing to encourage them to be steadfast in trials,
today we see that in the face of trials, he gives us a promise, a problem, and a provision from God
as we walk through trials together.
A promise, a problem, and a provision from God.
So let's look at these three things in order.
First, in verse 12, we see the promise from God.
The promise is that there is a crown of life that God will give to those who are steadfast in the face of trials,
steadfast in loving God.
Now, this imagery of a crown of life, a crown would have been probably not a heavy metal thing
that maybe we think of from European history, but it would have been back from the original Olympics,
it would have been a wreath, most likely.
And it would have been a living wreath made of vines or of ivy or something like that.
And it would be given for those who win the race.
Now, for James, winning the race is not coming in first, but winning the race is finishing it to the end.
It is remaining steadfast in our love here.
And for those who are able to stand fast in loving God,
then God comes and, like the emperor would come in the ceremony,
at the end of life, for eternity, God will come,
and like the emperor, he will bestow upon those who are steadfast this crown.
And this crown is characterized by life, life from God, life that extends for all eternity.
Life that comes from being with him, the author of life.
And we are the ones who, not creating this life, but who receive this from God as a gift,
as a blessing, as a sign of God's favor.
And so, blessed are those who stand fast in trials.
And friends, we need to remember that the Bible tells us that standing fast in the midst of trial
does not mean that we will have success.
We think of the book of Hebrews, chapter 11,
where it tells of great stories of people who, by faith, saw God do amazing things to provide for them.
And yet, at the end of that chapter, if you remember,
but there were others who, with the same faith, trusted God.
And rather than seeing God's work in their lives,
they suffered great trials and did not see the salvation in this life.
They did not see the success in this life.
And yet, there is a future hope,
an eternal hope that James is pointing us to here.
That is for all,
for all of us who are steadfast in our faith in loving God.
So, there is hope that the end of the race,
at the end of the race, there is something worth hanging in there for.
I wonder whether you've lost sight of this.
I know sometimes I do.
Times I'm overwhelmed by the moment.
Sometimes the pain of the trial feels beyond my capacity to bear.
Sometimes I just am afraid that I'm going to fail.
And I feel like I lack the ability to endure.
And sometimes I just lose sight of it.
I lose sight of the prize.
I lose sight of where we're going in the midst of all the stuff that's right in front of me.
I can't see the crown of life that God has promised me.
So, James reminds us this morning that blessed are those who,
with steadfastness, continue on in loving God
because there is a crown of life for us.
Why is it so hard to stand firm with such a good prize waiting for us?
Well, this is what James addresses in the next couple of verses
because he says we have a problem in that perseverance, don't we?
We have a heart problem.
Look with me in verses 13 through 15.
The problem is that our hearts doubt God's intentions
and His goodness in the midst of our trials.
See, James is a wise pastor and he knows that he set before us this great hope.
Run the race.
Blessed are those who stand firm because there's something at the end.
But we all know that when things get really hard,
our human hearts, our first desire is to look outward
to blame someone else for it.
The devil made to do it.
It wasn't me.
It was the drink.
Or you made me do this.
You were the one who made me sin, fail, stop loving God, continuing to be.
James looks deeper and he says that this impulse to want to blame others
for a Christian is particularly acute
because we know that God is sovereign in all things.
And so when we look externally at these circumstances
and we know that God is sovereign over all of them,
then our hearts turn to this.
You are tempting me, God.
You are the one pushing me to failure and to sin.
We want to blame him and accuse him for our responses.
We doubt his good intentions and we look for a way to pass the buck to him.
But as verse 16 reminds us, we have to think rightly about these things.
We have to think rightly about both God and ourselves in this trial.
James does this as we walk through this passage.
First, James clearly says,
God is not the source of our temptation,
though he may give us trials.
And it's important to know that in the first century rear,
if you were reading this,
you would recognize that the word for trials,
that's both in verse 2 and in verse 12,
has the same root as the word that's translated temptations
in your translation here in verse 13.
So it's going to sound like,
it's going to look like it's maybe the same word.
But what James is doing is drawing on the richness of this word
to distinguish between a trial,
which is something external,
and a temptation, which is internal.
Because we know from the Bible that God does test his people.
That God does give trials.
Think about Genesis 22.
God comes to Abraham,
and having provided with Abraham a son
who is the fulfillment of a promise
that he will be the father of many nations,
he then says,
Abraham, I want you to come and offer up this son.
And Genesis 22 says,
God did this to test Abraham.
Or we read in Deuteronomy chapter 8,
as God is recounting his faithfulness
to his people in the wilderness,
he said,
I put you into the wilderness to test you,
to see what was in your hearts.
God puts us at times through trials,
but his intention is always
that we would steadfastly persevere,
and that we would succeed.
Look back in verses 2 through 4.
God gives us trials so that we might grow in character,
so that it might produce good in us,
so that we might know more about his faithfulness,
and his power,
and his strength.
God's intentions are always good.
He does not tempt us to sin.
One commentator puts it this way,
what must be understood is that temptation
is an impulse towards sin,
and since God is not susceptible
to any such desire for evil,
he cannot be seen as desiring
that it be brought about in man.
This is contrary to his very character,
that God would lead people into sin.
And so,
though he may create
and sovereignly oversee
our external circumstances,
the power of temptation
comes from somewhere else.
And this is what James goes on to say
in verses 14 and 15.
The temptation comes from within.
It comes from our own hearts,
our own desires.
Look with me in verse 14.
Each person is tempted
when he is lured and enticed
by his own desire.
Now look,
we need to be careful here.
Not all desires are good.
We are meant to desire God.
We have the capacity
to desire good things,
but the word here,
and often in the Bible,
when it talks about our desires,
it's laying bare our sinful desires,
our desires for things
that are outside of God.
And to think more carefully about this,
we need to recognize
that the pull of temptation
is not the same thing
as being captured by temptation.
And so,
Martin Luther has this famous quote.
He says,
you can't keep the birds
from flying over your head,
but you can keep them
from nesting in your hair.
We may see things
that will flit in front of our faces
that we think,
oh,
I'm tempted to sin
in response to that.
But if we let it fly by,
if we resist that temptation
and it goes by,
we have not sinned.
We have actually withstood
the temptation.
But we know that in our hearts,
the pull to sin
is met with a desire.
We desire things apart from God
that will be our salvation.
Things that give us ultimate satisfaction.
Things that we think
will give us fulfillment
or comfort.
Friends,
think back over the last 10 weeks
as we've been walking
through this pandemic
and the trials that it's been.
Where has your heart turned?
And look,
it can turn
not to evil things,
but to good things
in bad ways.
Maybe you've had
a couple too many
Oreo packages
on a bad day.
Or maybe your binging of Netflix
has gone beyond
what maybe is healthy for you.
And some of us
are battling
turning to real evil
that enslaves us.
Addictions
that maybe we have overcome
are lurking again
to capture us again.
Whether it be pornography
or alcohol
or substance abuse
or other ways
in which we seek to
find life
in things
apart from God.
things that we treat
as God substitutes.
And when we take
these things
and not only do we
fight against them
and even sometimes fail,
but when we cherish them,
when we coddle them,
when we excuse them,
and when we keep them
rather than
taking them
and giving them back to God
and saying,
God, help me.
when we abandon faith
in God's goodness
and in His provision
for us
and reach out
for these things instead,
then,
like in verse 14,
we are like the trout
in the stream
and we see
the big fat worm
float by
or we see
the well-tied fly
traipsing on the top
of the water
and we strike.
And when we strike
at that thing
with our desire,
it hooks us
and it drags us away
into sin.
And then,
James,
his image changes
from fishing
to childbirth.
He then says
that there is
this inevitable process
just as
in a human body
conception leads
to the growth
of an embryo
which in time
produces a baby
that then grows
to a mature person.
So also,
when we allow desires
to implant themselves
in our will,
we engage
in a natural process
that will lead us
to sin
and it gives birth
to sin
and the final result,
the maturity of sin,
if you will,
is death.
Spiritual death.
Eternal death.
Distance.
Separation from God
because we have
turned our back
on Him
and turned
to these things
instead.
dead.
So when we're
facing trials
and we feel
the pull of temptation,
we need to take
responsibility
for the fact that
our,
the pull
and the power
of that temptation
and the result
of it,
if we give into it,
is our own
responsibility
for which we are
ansible to God
for.
Now,
look,
friends,
there is a proper
place for us
to
lament
and cry out
to God
when we don't
understand what
He's doing
and when it's
really hard.
But we must not
allow our hearts,
as James says here,
to turn from that
lamenting
and crying out
to Him
to turn into
a heart
of accusation
and doubt
and bitterness.
This is where
James goes
in the last
couple of verses
of our passage
today.
If in trials
our hearts
are so prone
to doubt
and blame God
and pursue
our sinful desires,
where is there
hope for us?
And verse 16
through 18
gives us
the provision,
the provision
that God's goodness
is sure
and certain
to deliver us
from such doubt
because He
has given us
new life
in His Word.
Rather than
thinking that God
is tempting us
towards sin,
we ought to think
of Him
as it says
in verse 17,
God is altogether
good
and He is
unchanging
in His goodness
to His people.
God is like
the sun.
The sun cannot
cast a shadow
because it is
the source
of all light.
So there is
no shadow
and the sun,
although now we know
that cosmologically
there would be
some variation,
for all of human
existence,
our sun has not
changed and will
not change
and so we know
that the sun
is an image
of this unchanging
reality
that rules
over all
of the world
and brings life
to all
who receive
its blessing
of light.
And James says
this is what
all of the images
in verse 17
mean.
every good
and perfect
gift comes
from God
above,
the Father
of lights
who is
unchanging
and who is
without shadow
in His goodness.
When trials
arouse,
doubt in our
hearts
about God's
goodness,
God
stands firm
and says
no,
I am good.
And then James
says,
and if you doubt
that,
because if the
circumstances
around you
look too hard,
verse 18 then,
this is where
we can look
to know
how to walk
through this.
Verse 18,
of His own
will He
brought us
forth by the
word of truth.
God initiated
with us,
God came
and pursued
us
so that we
might choose
Him in faith.
Now I don't
know about you,
but I know
that when I
came to faith
in Christ,
I thought I
was choosing
God.
I thought I
was deciding
to believe
in Him
and to put
Him in the
center of
my life.
And at one
level that
was very
true.
But as
the great
Bible
commentator
Alec
Maudier
says in
his,
we learn
that behind
our choice,
making it
possible and
making it
real,
is the
wonder that
He first
chose us.
God
initiated
and pursued
and wooed
us with
the message
of the
gospel.
And He
took the
message of
the gospel
and He
implanted it
in our
souls.
And from
that,
this gospel
word of
truth,
He then
brought forth
a new
life.
And just
as in
verse 14
and 15
talks about
how our
desires
implant
something that
leads to
sin and
death,
but that
that is in
our souls,
what God
brings to
us is a
different thing.
The word
of truth
implanted in
our lives
that then
brings us
new and
eternal life
with Him.
And not
only eternal
life with
Him,
but that we
might be a
part of His
eternal family,
the first
fruits of
His
creation.
Friends,
this is the
good news,
is that as
we are held
forth this
crown before
us,
this crown
of life,
God does
not require
that we
be good
enough to
save ourselves
or that we
be strong
enough to
stay steadfast
and endure
on our own
power.
That would
be a terrible
tease if God
asked us to
do that.
But God
instead has
come to us,
initiated with
us,
worked in
us who
believe in
Christ,
He has
given us
a new
life,
a life
without which
we won't
make it on
our own.
Our hearts
won't allow
us.
But because
we know that
Jesus came to
earth,
was tested
and tried
as we are,
and then died
on the cross
for our sins,
that Jesus
was raised
to new life
so that
all who
are joined
to Him
experience
this new
life,
a spiritual
life now,
and an
eternal life
with God.
This, then,
is the great
hope that we
have.
This is how
we know that
God is good,
and this is the
power that we
find to be
steadfast in
the midst of
trials.
we throw
our helpless
selves on
God's goodness
to us in
this.
Friends, do you
doubt that God
is good?
Do you wonder
if in this
season of
pandemic,
He is tempting
you to turn?
Turn from
Him to sin?
Turn from
Him to
indulge your
sinful desires?
Have you
begun to doubt
His goodness
and to
accuse or to
blame Him
for your
faults,
for your
failures?
The good
news of the
gospel,
the mercy of
God,
calls us
to stand
fast in
believing in
His goodness.
And the
eternal salvation
that we have
in Christ
stands as a
monument,
like an
unchanging
pillar of
truth,
that God
is good,
and that
He is
worth
trusting.
Rather than
trusting in
our own
hearts,
let us find
in Jesus
the unchanging
reason to
love Him
forever.
And in
Him, we
will find the
power to
remain steadfast
and to
endure to
the end
and gain
that crown of
life that's
promised for
us.
let's pray.
Lord, we
confess our
weakness to
You.
How easily
we doubt
Your goodness,
how quickly we
turn from You
to ourselves.
us.
Lord, how we
trust our
hearts rather
than trusting
in Your
Word.
Lord, how
often we
allow our
desires to
rule us.
But God, we
thank You that
in Your mercy
and grace,
Lord, that in
Christ there is a
salvation and a
life that is not
from us but is
from You.
And Lord, that in
that we will find
great comfort and
hope.
we will find
the strength to
endure and
hold on to Your
goodness, to be
steadfast in trial
and loving You.
Lord, as we look
forward to this
crown of life that
we anticipate, may
You help us today
to take hold of
these things.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.