Thank you.
Well, let us pray that the Lord would open our hearts
to what he's just spoken to us in his precious word.
Loving Father, we thank you that we can hear you speak to us.
We ask, Father, that you would open our hearts
and we ask, Father, that your word would dwell in us
and enrich us in every way this morning.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, Graham has a week up his sleeve
at the end of each sermon series
and I thought it might be helpful in these filler weeks
if we would have a look at the letter of James
because you can delve into James every now and then quite easily.
James' letter doesn't really build up an argument
the way that Paul's letters often do.
It's a bit more like a grab bag of reflections on the Christian life
and the very first aspect of the Christian life
that James wants to reflect on
is actually the first point that Graham raised in his sermon last week.
So thematically it connects quite nicely.
Now who can remember the first point of Graham's sermon last week?
Time to put somebody on the spot
and see how much we listen to sermons.
Maybe I should ask one of the elders.
So, anybody?
What was Graham's first point from last week?
No hands.
The elders are starting to sweat.
So, who could remember?
Oh.
To stand firm and cry.
In order to wait.
Almost.
Graham's first point was to rejoice.
To be joyful.
That's right.
Rejoice.
The Apostle Paul was indeed telling the Philippians
to rejoice and stand firm in their trials
and to rejoice always.
He was commanding us to rejoice
not just according to the circumstances
that we find ourselves in
but because what God has done for us in the Lord Jesus
is so amazing.
But let's just think about that for a minute.
If you had to write a list of your all-time moments of pure joy,
what would go down on paper?
Perhaps it would include Scotland's glorious defeat of Australia
a few weeks ago.
Particularly sweet,
given what happened in the 2015 world final, quarterfinal.
I was on the other side of the globe
so that wasn't quite so painful for me.
Perhaps it would include signing on the dotted line
of your first home
or a reunion perhaps with a long-lost friend.
But what about a difficult job?
What about getting cancer?
What about a very strained marriage?
Would any of these things make it onto your list?
Of course not.
These things aren't sources of joy.
They're unpleasant.
They're painful.
But astonishingly,
James begins his letter by saying
that they should make it onto such a list.
In verse 2, James says,
consider it pure joy,
my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many kinds.
Now what kind of jerk writes that?
It's completely insensitive.
What pastor says that?
Wouldn't it be a bit more pastoral to say,
I'm sorry,
I'm so sorry to hear
that you're going through such a rough time?
Wouldn't that be the properly Christian response
to a trial,
a serious trial of our faith?
The thing is,
it's actually hard to imagine anyone better qualified
to offer a more properly Christian response.
The James who wrote this letter knew Jesus better than anyone.
He spent many more years alongside Jesus
than any of the disciples.
As far as we know,
this is the James who grew up in the same home as Jesus.
More than anyone,
James knew the Lord Jesus best.
And perhaps that's why James actually became
the most prominent leader of the early church.
Well, that doesn't seem like it at first glance.
What James is saying here is in fact
a profoundly Christian response
to the sufferings and difficulties
that we face in life.
And I think if we don't try to get to grips with this,
if we don't try to get to grips with it,
we stand to lose a lot.
But in order to do that,
we've got to slow down.
We've got to slow down
to think very carefully about the what
and the why and the how
of this very short sentence
to consider it pure joy
when we face trials of many kinds.
And the what, I think,
is like to suggest the what
is especially easy to get wrong.
It's very easy to get wrong.
And I think a lot of Christians
actually do get it wrong.
And it's very easy to misunderstand
what James is saying.
It's easy to hear him getting a bit zen,
as if James is telling us
to convince ourselves
that what is painful
is actually not painful after all.
That we just pretend it away,
to turn pain off like a tap
and pretend that trials are fun.
This reminds me of a series
of children's books
that I had as a child.
Maybe some of you might have had them.
They were written by Monroe Leaf.
He's actually a British author,
so maybe some of the people here
have seen them.
Has anyone come across them?
No?
The titles of these books
all end in Can Be Fun.
So manners can be fun.
Safety can be fun.
And they have this bizarre
psychological agenda.
They're full of pictures
like this one.
It's kind of South Park
meets Pilgrim's Progress.
And if I show any more
it'll completely distract you
and you won't listen to anything
more I've said in the sermon.
But the point is fairly clear.
I mean, how is this going to work?
Trying to convince a child
that something is fun
when it isn't
is madness.
I mean, what six-year-old boy
having read one of these books
is going to think
that manners are fun
or safety for that fact?
Anyway, the problem is, of course,
a lot of Christians
read James' letter
as if it were, in fact,
written by Monroe Leaf.
They hear James
trying to convince them
really that getting sick
or going through
some other kind of crisis
can be fun.
That's not at all
what James is saying.
James is not saying
that trials can be fun.
More than anyone,
James knew that trials
are painful
and unpleasant.
According to tradition,
James himself
was martyred in Jerusalem
by being thrown off
the roof of the temple
and then clubbed to death.
I'm sure that wasn't fun.
So we need to take care
with what James is saying.
Trials are not fun
and he's not trying
to convince us
that they are.
He's actually saying
something quite different.
He's talking about
what trials achieve for us.
He's telling us
that as painful
as they may be,
they are, in fact,
a means to a glorious end.
We are to consider it joy
when we face trials
of many kinds
because of what
they bring about for us.
And he's calling us
to a shift of mindset
in that.
But before we go any further,
I want to suggest
this is a shift of mindset
that's actually not
all that unfamiliar.
Perhaps you've made it yourself
and if you haven't,
I'm sure you've observed
it in others.
Take, for example, running.
I honestly can't ever imagine
wanting to run a marathon.
I enjoy running in moderation.
I usually run up and down
the Union Canal
on a Sunday morning,
depending on how my aging knees
and hamstrings are holding up.
I'll happily run five miles.
I have no desire whatsoever
to run 26.
Although I know there are
a few people here that do,
so you're mad and I'm not.
But in any case,
the bandmaster of our children's
former school back in Sydney,
he really, really, really does.
In fact, he's run 50 of them.
Noel even has a blog
on the internet about his running
and recounting a recent
ultra-marathon.
So ultra-marathons,
that's in another level.
He writes,
if I have a weakness
in these kinds of events,
it would have to be a cramp
around the four-hour mark.
Four-hour mark.
In so many cases,
I've suffered excruciating
cramps in my upper legs.
Today would be no different.
Will I do it again?
Yep.
Count me in.
Noel simply loves it.
He ran from Newcastle to Sydney,
which was about from Edinburgh
to London, I think.
But anyway, who cares?
He loves running.
And does he love the pain?
Of course not.
He really suffers.
But he makes a mind shift
about that pain,
which is very similar
to the one that James
is talking about.
Noel loves the end
that the pain achieves for him.
He loves the glorious end
of finishing the race.
And this is the same
as what James is saying.
James is saying that
if we fix our eyes
on the glorious end
that our trials are achieving for us,
it will transform
our experience of pain.
And the key thing, therefore,
is that we understand
what this end is.
And thankfully,
James tells us
exactly what it is.
Consider it pure joy,
my brothers,
whenever you face
trials of many kinds,
because you know
that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish
its work so that what?
So that you may be mature
and complete,
not lacking anything.
Mature and complete.
This is the glorious end
for those who entrust themselves
to the Lord Jesus.
More literally,
James says,
perfect and complete.
See, James isn't talking here
about just a basic Christian maturity
where you leave
your gross sins behind
and you learn more
about Jesus.
No,
he has something much,
much bigger in mind.
James speaks of
a glorious hope,
the hope of becoming
a perfect
and complete
human being.
Right now,
we're very imperfect
and very incomplete
human beings,
aren't we?
we've been forgiven
if we put our trust
in Jesus,
but we fail
on a daily basis.
We fall down
and sin.
We might have
changed a bit,
but we still drift back
into that place
where we came from.
We might be growing
a bit,
but we barely come up
to Jesus' waist.
Kate bought some
high-heeled boots
the other day
because our
eldest son,
Joe,
who's growing so fast,
Joe,
is growing into
his full
physical stature
and the Lord willing
in the course of his life,
he will also attain
to the full stature
of Christ.
And that is the glorious
end of the Christian life.
God changes us
from the inside out
until we attain
to the full stature
of Christ.
And irrespective
of how much progress
we actually make
in this,
in the course of our life,
God will bring this
to completion
on the day
that he raises us
from the dead
and transforms us
in glory.
On that day,
we won't be raised
as incomplete
and imperfect
human beings
that we are now.
We will resemble
the Lord Jesus
in every way.
This is the maturity
and completeness
that James is talking about.
This is the glorious end
for which trials
are the means.
And James resumes
his train of thought
in verse 12
to flesh this out
where he writes again,
blessed is the man
who perseveres
under trial
because
when he has
stood the test
he will receive
the crown of life
that God has promised
to those
who love him.
The crown of life
is the glorious
perfection
and completeness
that God will bestow
on those
who love him,
on those
who have entrusted
themselves
to Jesus
who will raise
him from the dead.
On that day
they will resemble
Jesus
in all his
magnificent beauty.
We will be raised
as Jesus is raised.
And I think
James actually
had someone
very much
like Noel
in mind
when he chose
the metaphor
of a crown
because it's
running imagery.
When James
uses the word
crown
it refers to
the laurel wreath
presented to
the winning athlete
in the ancient games.
Standing firm
through trials
James says
is just like that.
It's like a race
with lots of pain
but at the end
you are crowned
with eternal life.
There's a bit of
difference between
the Olympic games
and the Christian life.
The metaphor
kind of falls down
a bit
as all
preaching metaphors
do
because we're not
exactly competing
against each other
for this crown.
There's more
than one of them.
In the Christian life
you just need to
finish to get the crown.
You don't need
to come first.
So I guess
James' crown
is more like
the t-shirt
that you get
at the end
of finishing
a modern marathon.
In any case
James' point
is pretty clear.
There is a glorious
end for us
if we stand firm
through the trials
of our faith.
That glorious end
is the perfection
and completion
that we await
at the resurrection.
And when you get this
what James is saying
about joy
starts to become
a little bit
more clear.
It starts to make
more sense.
We are to consider
trials as pure joy
not because they're fun
but because they are
a means to a glorious
end.
And if you see that
the what makes
more sense
but if you're
really honest
you'll admit
that a new problem
actually starts
to arise.
And that's the problem
of the why.
why would trials
be God's means
for our perfection
and completion?
Why would he do that?
Why would God
choose terrible experiences
as the means
of our transformation?
Who here hasn't
asked that question?
Perhaps only the people
who have never experienced
what James is talking about.
James is not silly.
He knows that this
is a very serious question
and so he wants
to offer an answer to it.
We can be tempted
to blame God
or even wonder
whether God somehow
enjoys our suffering.
These are dark thoughts
and James wants
to protect us from them.
But to understand
his answer
a very brief
Greek lesson
is necessary.
There's a connection
between verse 13
and verse 2
which is invisible
in our English Bibles.
unless that is
you're following
on with
one of the very few
translations
that preserves
this connection.
Has anybody here
grown up
with the King James
version?
No?
I know that this fellow
was reading it
until a little while ago.
The King James
actually preserves
this connection
between verse 13
and verse 2
and this connection
holds the key
to warding off
the feeling
that creeps up
on us
the feeling of
blaming God
for the trials
we face.
and the key
is seeing
how there is
an element
of temptation
in every trial.
Think about it.
Every difficulty
challenge
and instance
of suffering
presents a powerful
temptation
to give up
on God.
Many of us
will be able
to think of
a difficult time
in our life
which nearly
brought us
to give up
on God
and that temptation
was every bit
as real
as being tempted
to sin
in some other way.
Every trial
is a temptation
to give up
on God
and if you're
being persecuted
for your faith
you can be tempted
to stop trusting God
especially in that situation.
If you're suffering
a terrible physical
or mental illness
you can be tempted
to stop trusting God
in that situation.
Whatever the trial
might be
it tempts us
to give up
on God
and it's exactly
the same
as being tempted
to sin
in lust
or anger
or envy.
we are tempted
to put faith
to one side
just in a different way.
As Paul says
in Romans 14
verse 23
whatever does not
proceed from faith
is sin.
So when trials
do bring us
to want to give up
on God
it's very easy
to blame him
for that
and that's why
James reminds us
in verse 13
when tempted
no one should say
God is tempting me
for God cannot
be tempted by evil
nor does he tempt
anyone.
Difficulties
challenges
sufferings
might bring us
to resent him
for bringing these things
into our lives
but we must never
blame God for that.
He isn't trying
to deliberately
undermine our faith.
Pain and suffering
come as part
of the consequences
of humanity's
disobedience
and rejection
of God
wholesale.
We're the ones
who opened
Pandora's box.
We're the ones
who brought pain
and suffering
into the world
and this is
James' answer
to the why.
But James
also knows
that this is
fairly cold comfort.
James knows
that by itself
this why
actually isn't
really going
to bring us
any closer
to considering
trials as joy
and that is
why he's
careful also
to say
something about
the how.
Coming to grips
with what
holds the key
to this mind
shift
is what James
is talking about
when he goes on
in verses 16
and 17
to say
don't be deceived
my dear brothers.
Every good
and perfect gift
comes from above
coming down
from the father.
Don't be deceived
James says.
Adam and Eve
brought the paper
but God is using
it to wrap
a glorious gift.
By themselves
trials are bad
news
but God takes
them and he
uses them
as a means
of bestowing
on us
a good
and perfect
gift.
The crown
of life
that he was
just speaking
about in
verse 12
and the how
simply consists
in focusing
on the gift
and not
the paper
in not
allowing the
challenges
these trials
pose to our
faith
to deceive
us into
thinking that
the crown
of life
is actually
a fairly
average gift.
The how
simply consists
in seeing
really seeing
the glory
of the end
to which God
calls us
in his gospel.
If we
really see
what we
will be
it will
kindle a joy
that cannot
be quenched
by any pain
or difficulty.
The transformation
that God
holds out
for us
in his gospel
is so
immeasurably
great
it defies
all description.
No eye
has seen
no ear
has heard
no mind
has conceived
what God
has prepared
for those
who love
him.
But
God
has revealed
it to us
by his
spirit.
So says
Paul
God has
revealed it
to us
what we
shall be.
In the
scriptures
God has
revealed to
us that
the Lord
of glory
the crucified
one
now risen
from the
dead
and seated
in glory.
God
has revealed
Jesus
Christ
and the
promise of
the gospel
is that
we shall
be like
him
and that
we shall
share with
him in
his glory.
2 Thessalonians
2.14
God called
you to be
saved through
the gospel
that you
might share
in the glory
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
God has
revealed what
God has
prepared for
those who
love him.
He has
shown us
his good
and perfect
gift which
awaits us
at Christ's
return.
All we need
to do is
fix our
eyes on
the horizon
of our
faith.
The problem
is though that
in times of
trials our
horizon becomes
so foreshortened
that we can
barely see two
feet in front
of us.
It's like when
the horror
comes in.
I was quite
surprised in
St Andrews
recently at
a conference
someone turned
a smoke
machine on
outside St
Mary's
College and
then I had
to remind
myself that
I was in
Scotland.
But this
is exactly
what happens
in our
trials.
We can
see nothing
of what
lies beyond
our trials
when we're
in the midst
of them,
let alone
the eternity
that stretches
out for us
in the
resurrection.
The trials
block everything
out.
The pain
and the
difficulty
of what we're
experiencing
simply clouds
our vision.
But we can
rejoice in
trials if
only we
gain a
fresh glimpse
of what lies
ahead.
In this
respect it's
a bit like
driving on
the autobahn.
There's no
speed limit on
those things
which means
you have to
look a very
long way
forwards and
back because
the cars are
travelling so
fast.
And it's
exactly the
same when we
go through
trials we
need to be
looking a
long way
back.
And a
long way
forward we
need to be
looking back
to the
resurrection
and forwards
to Christ's
return if we
are to rejoice
in our
trials.
If we can
lift our
eyes from
our trials to
see what lies
ahead, even
for a moment
we will see
things that can
move us in a
very different
way.
If we can
gain a glimpse
of the risen
Christ reigning
at the right
hand of the
Father in
glory, it
will stir
something.
joy.
If we look
long enough
and see in
him the
promise of
what we
shall be,
it might
even become
joy.
Seeing in
Christ a
reflection of
our future
selves is
what holds
the key to
making the
mind shift
James is
speaking about.
unless we
see Christ
in his
glory, we
will not
be moved
to joy by
the prospect
of being
like him.
Unless we
are transfixed
by his
beauty, we
will not be
moved to joy
at the thought
of attaining
to his full
stature.
The key to
considering trials
as joy consists
in this one
thing, constantly,
regularly,
repeatedly,
regaining a
glimpse of
who we
shall be.
And this
is why we
need to be
soaking ourselves
in all that
the scriptures
tell us of
this.
This is why we
need to be
scouring the
word of God
to fill out
an identikit
of our future
selves in the
face of Christ
so that we
can recall this
in the midst
of our trials.
When we're
feeling weakened
in our faith
and vulnerable
to sin,
who Christ
is must be
at the very
front of our
minds so
that we can
cast our
eyes on
his features,
on his
majesty,
on his
mercy,
and allow
something of
his glory
to displace
the anger
or the
despair
or whatever
it is
that may
have robbed
us of that
joy.
In our
congregation
back in
Sydney,
there was a
retired
minister who
once told me
how when he
was feeling
overwhelmed by
the difficulties
of his
ministry,
and there
were many,
things like
he might be
driving in
his car to
some meeting,
which would
really put him
to the test.
He would
recall the
vision of
Christ in
Revelation
chapter 1,
and fill his
mind with
John's
astonishing
description of
the Lord
Jesus.
What's
spiritual
wisdom?
Don knew
in a very
deeply practical
way the
how of this
mind shift
James is
speaking of.
But he
could make
this mind
shift only
because he
had etched
the detail
of what God
has revealed
in his
word onto
his mind.
He could
recall this
because he
had looked
so long
at Christ's
features so
many times.
You cannot
recall what
you have not
seen, and
you can recall
only in very
poor detail
what you've
seen in the
distant past.
To see the
reflection of
our future
selves in
Christ, we
must study
him like
the artist
studies their
subject.
We must
study Christ
if we are
to allow
his glorious
features to
move us to
joy in the
midst of
trials and
make this
mind shift
that James
is speaking
of.
It's at this
point though
that we may
need to pause
for a moment
and consider
briefly whether
God is not
actually calling
you to a
more fundamental
mind shift.
It's possible
that you attend
church and
even identify
as a Christian
but may have
never seen
Christ's glory.
It's possible
that you have
heard that
Jesus died
and rose
again but
have never
internalized the
fact that he
died and
rose for you.
It's possible
that you have
heard Jesus'
words but have
never really
taken him at
his word.
If that's you
this morning,
God is calling
you to a more
fundamental mind
shift.
God is calling
you to turn
to him in
repentance and
faith.
For without
this mind
shift there is
no crown
of life.
You are
running a race
where there is
no finish line
and you remain
in your sins.
If that's you
this morning,
God is calling
you to entrust
yourself to
Christ for the
forgiveness of
your sins.
God is calling
you to receive
the promise
of life,
the crown of
life that he
holds out in
his gospel.
But to those
of us who
have made
this more
fundamental
mind shift
and received
what Christ
promises,
God is calling
us again once
more to see
the beauty and
glory of this
promise.
He's calling
us to see the
goodness and
the perfection
of his gift
once more so
that it might
begin us a
movement that
will bring us
to regard trials
with joy.
So in
closing I
invite you
to meditate
now quietly
on where you
may need to
make this
mind shift
in your
life.
There will
be a
tremendous
range of
experiences
in a group
of people
this large.
There will
be people who
feel like it's
an impossibility,
that joy is
an impossibility,
that they're
being stretched
so far beyond
their capacity
to rejoice
in their
salvation.
others will
have perhaps
gone through
trials in
their past
and remember
this difficulty
well, and
there will be
yet others
for whom
these difficulties
lie in the
future.
Wherever God's
word meets us
this morning,
let us allow
to bring our
eyes to us
once more on
the perfection
and completion
of the crown
of life.
Let us gain a
fresh glimpse
of Christ in
his glory so
that we will be
moved to the
prospect of
being like
him.
Let us
allow ourselves
once more to
be transfixed
by his beauty
so that we
will be moved
at the joy
of attaining
to his full
stature.
Let us pray.
Loving
Father, we
thank you that
you have
revealed your
Son.
We thank
you that we
see him in
the precious
words of his
gospel.
Lord, we
ask that you
would bring us
to see once
again a
reflection of
our future
selves in
his face and
sustain us,
Lord, and
bring us to
the joy of
our salvation,
which as
Nehemiah
reminds us,
is our
strength.
And we
ask this for
the glory of
your Son
until the day
he returns.
Amen.