WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.020 Well, we're going to turn to God's word now. 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:06.060 I'm going to ask our ministry apprentice, Jemima Allen, 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:06.060 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.920 And let steadfastness have its full effect, 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:38.659 that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:42.560 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:45.140 who gives generously to all without reproach, 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:46.159 and it will be given him. 00:00:46.980 --> 00:00:49.799 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:52.379 for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea 00:00:52.379 --> 00:00:54.140 that is driven and tossed by the wind. 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:56.700 For that person must not suppose 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:58.379 that he will receive anything from the Lord. 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:02.040 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:06.719 We're starting together today 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:09.020 in a new series on the letter of James. 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:12.579 And a lot of people, if you read on the letter of James, 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:14.920 oftentimes people will say 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:16.900 that it's the New Testament Proverbs, 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:19.240 that it's aphoristic, 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.240 so it's got different topics one after another. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:23.879 So even in our reading today, 00:01:24.300 --> 00:01:25.439 James talks about suffering, 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:26.560 then he talks about wisdom, 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:27.840 then he talks about doubting. 00:01:28.379 --> 00:01:31.819 But now scholars and commentators, 00:01:32.119 --> 00:01:32.959 and I think rightly so, 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:36.920 they see that it's far less the style of Proverbs 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.299 and far more a coherent vision 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:40.840 with a coherent background, 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:43.659 one big idea that James is trying to communicate 00:01:43.659 --> 00:01:45.219 to his listeners. 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:47.179 And so to see that, 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:48.679 you've got to ask the question, 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:50.840 who is James writing to? 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:53.840 And we read right there in the first verse 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.140 that he's writing to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. 00:01:57.980 --> 00:01:59.540 So who are these folks? 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:00.960 The dispersion, I think, 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.159 with lots of commentators and scholars recently, 00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:06.340 that the dispersion is referring there 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:09.159 to what happened in the earliest moments in the church. 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:10.680 Think about the book of Acts, 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:11.659 Acts chapter 8, 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:14.000 where Stephen was stolen to death, 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.360 and then the next thing we read is 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:17.000 the church was scattered, dispersed. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.319 And so primarily he is writing to Jewish Christians 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:21.080 from Jerusalem 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:24.280 that have been dispersed all over the Roman Empire 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:25.840 because of early persecutions. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.860 And not only them, 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:30.460 but then we read, 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:33.159 it's the twelve tribes of the dispersion. 00:02:33.920 --> 00:02:35.020 So why twelve tribes? 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:36.420 And one of the keys to know 00:02:36.420 --> 00:02:38.979 is that the name James in Greek 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.579 has a Hebrew name equivalent to it, 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:42.639 and that's the name Jacob. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:46.299 So a Jewish person would read the name James 00:02:46.299 --> 00:02:47.939 and think Jacob. 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:50.179 And you might remember from the Old Testament, 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:50.739 from Genesis, 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:52.599 Jacob is Israel, 00:02:53.359 --> 00:02:54.859 and Israel had twelve sons. 00:02:55.739 --> 00:02:56.780 And so he writes here, 00:02:56.919 --> 00:02:58.439 not as James in our minds, 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:00.659 but think more as Jacob, Israel, 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:02.759 writing to the twelve tribes of the dispersion. 00:03:03.459 --> 00:03:05.599 So this is one of the early apostles, 00:03:06.019 --> 00:03:07.679 Father Israel, Father Jacob, 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.680 writing to the whole church. 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:11.560 So this is not just to people 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:13.240 who were scattered by the persecutions, 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:15.879 but to the new covenant church. 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:17.319 So the twelve tribes of Israel 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:18.340 find their fulfillment 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:21.659 in all believers, Jews and Gentiles, 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:22.500 in the new covenant. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:24.879 And so he's writing to the whole church, 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:25.780 but very specifically 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:27.319 to people that were scattered 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:28.379 because of persecution 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:29.600 in the first century 00:03:29.600 --> 00:03:31.300 all over the Roman Empire. 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:36.300 And the book has this coherent argument, 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:36.800 if you will, 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:37.580 this vision. 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:39.000 And the vision is effectively 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.040 for James to answer the question, 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:44.340 how does a follower of Jesus 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:46.700 live holistically as a disciple 00:03:46.700 --> 00:03:48.300 in the midst of being scattered 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:49.300 all across the world? 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.420 So the church is not all together. 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.360 We're not yet in the new Jerusalem. 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:55.860 So really similar to the book of Daniel 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:56.820 that we've just looked at, 00:03:57.260 --> 00:03:58.020 the church is, 00:03:58.160 --> 00:04:00.080 we are scattered all across the world, 00:04:00.200 --> 00:04:00.900 all empires. 00:04:01.100 --> 00:04:02.960 And how do we live as followers of Jesus 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.120 consistently, coherently? 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.439 And he's going to address different issues 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:07.020 that that brings, 00:04:07.140 --> 00:04:09.319 especially when faith is being tested 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.439 constantly in all of those contexts. 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:12.759 So you're going to find, 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:13.879 as we work through this book, 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.319 that this letter is very plain spoken. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:19.360 It's very hard hitting. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.319 James cuts through appearances. 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:28.420 And this letter will change your life. 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:29.060 It really will, 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:29.980 if you will let it. 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:31.379 And it will shake you up 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:32.759 from your soul outward. 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:35.339 And so let's let it this semester. 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:36.459 And let's see today 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:38.040 the first thing he wants to tell us about, 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:39.459 about what it means to be a disciple 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:40.879 all across the world. 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:42.459 And he's going to teach us first, 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:43.579 the nature of a disciple. 00:04:44.540 --> 00:04:46.819 Second, the reality of trouble. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.199 Third, the good trouble can bring. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:51.340 And lastly, 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:53.480 the pathway to see it that way. 00:04:54.340 --> 00:04:54.939 All right, so first, 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.100 let's think about the very first verse, 00:04:57.100 --> 00:04:58.379 the nature of a disciple. 00:04:58.520 --> 00:04:59.480 That's what he teaches us first. 00:04:59.580 --> 00:05:02.060 Now, we said who he's writing it to, 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:03.080 but who is he? 00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:04.000 Who is this James? 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:05.939 And very probably, 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:08.200 by tradition and by all the evidence, 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:09.800 this is James, 00:05:10.020 --> 00:05:12.560 the biological brother of Jesus Christ, 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:13.480 James the Just. 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:16.280 He's technically the half-brother of Jesus. 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.020 And he was the most prominent pastor 00:05:19.020 --> 00:05:21.240 in Jerusalem in the book of Acts. 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:23.020 And he presided even over 00:05:23.020 --> 00:05:24.780 the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:25.840 which was a really big deal. 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:27.539 The first great church council. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.039 But notice in verse one, 00:05:30.119 --> 00:05:31.379 how he introduces himself. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:33.299 He doesn't point to any of that. 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:34.979 Instead, he says, 00:05:35.679 --> 00:05:37.459 servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:41.359 Now, when he says servant of God, 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:42.479 that sounds very polite, 00:05:42.739 --> 00:05:45.500 but the Greek word is the word slave. 00:05:46.659 --> 00:05:47.079 So he says, 00:05:47.719 --> 00:05:49.879 slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:51.779 And then for Jesus' name, 00:05:51.860 --> 00:05:54.319 he attaches a title, Lord. 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.579 And the readers that are scattered 00:05:57.579 --> 00:05:58.560 all across the Roman Empire 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.000 would know that the word Lord 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.120 is a very particular word. 00:06:03.219 --> 00:06:03.779 It's a Greek word, 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:04.500 kyrgios. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:05.560 And when, 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:07.339 before Jesus came, 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:09.920 some folks translated the Old Testament 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:10.759 into Greek, 00:06:11.159 --> 00:06:13.379 every single time the name of God, 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:14.000 Yahweh, 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:14.740 was used, 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:17.159 they chose to translate that as kyrgios, 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.780 the word Lord you read in the New Testament. 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.580 And so when you see Lord Jesus Christ, 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:25.380 that is Jacob, 00:06:25.520 --> 00:06:28.020 James saying Yahweh Jesus Christ. 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:30.920 And that would be an absolute astonishment 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:32.220 for a Jew in the first century 00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:33.840 who did not believe at all 00:06:33.840 --> 00:06:35.820 that God could become a human being. 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:38.860 And so he's saying Yahweh, 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:40.220 the creator of the world, 00:06:40.580 --> 00:06:41.300 Jesus Christ, 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:42.520 when he says this. 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.080 Now, the second reason that's so shocking 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:48.399 is because James is his biological brother, 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:49.819 the brother of Jesus himself. 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:53.479 Now, imagine the person you grew up with 00:06:53.479 --> 00:06:54.199 if you have, 00:06:54.359 --> 00:06:55.199 if you're a person in this room 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:56.259 who has siblings, 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:58.060 maybe a brother, in fact, 00:06:58.199 --> 00:06:58.860 or a sister. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:01.039 You grew up with them, 00:07:01.479 --> 00:07:02.139 bunk beds, 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:04.539 messy rooms, 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:06.560 drooling on the pillow, 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:09.919 nothing glamorous about it, 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:11.339 no pretense. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:13.439 You can't hide anything from your siblings. 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:14.199 Nothing. 00:07:15.139 --> 00:07:16.339 And you know that 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:18.040 when you were maybe in high school 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:20.360 and people would come along 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:21.300 and praise your sibling 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:21.839 and they would say, 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:23.639 oh, your brother, your sister, 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:24.740 they're so sweet. 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:26.279 They're so kind. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:27.240 They're so generous. 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:29.740 They're such a great young man, 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:30.259 young woman. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.360 You would have that inner eye roll 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:34.920 or that outward eye roll. 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:36.480 And you're thinking, 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:37.100 oh, yeah, yeah, 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:38.639 you don't live with them. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:42.360 And you know that nobody knows you 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.079 like your brother or sister knows you 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.039 and you cannot hide your vices. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:47.079 Not at all. 00:07:47.819 --> 00:07:49.539 And that's what makes this 00:07:49.539 --> 00:07:51.899 an absolute shock 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:53.860 that the brother of Jesus Christ 00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:54.800 who shared toys, 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:57.719 who undoubtedly slept in the same bedroom, 00:07:58.659 --> 00:08:00.139 who undoubtedly lived life together 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.279 holistically in every way, 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:03.319 would say, 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.599 I am his slave. 00:08:06.659 --> 00:08:08.599 He is my brother 00:08:08.599 --> 00:08:10.279 who I played with. 00:08:11.179 --> 00:08:12.419 As a little boy, 00:08:12.559 --> 00:08:13.319 I see him 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:14.419 and I will consider you 00:08:14.419 --> 00:08:15.679 that's the creator of the universe. 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.479 And you've got to be taken back by that today 00:08:19.479 --> 00:08:20.719 as we begin this letter. 00:08:21.539 --> 00:08:21.939 And we know, 00:08:22.059 --> 00:08:22.719 even more than that, 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.500 we know that James did not always follow Jesus. 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:29.100 So John chapter 7 verse 5 says, 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:31.680 the biological brothers of Jesus Christ 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:32.659 did not believe in him. 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:34.299 John tells us that explicitly. 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:36.019 So what happened to him? 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:38.759 You can imagine James as a 15-year-old 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:41.799 struggling with this idea 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:43.519 that Mary has been teaching him 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.000 that your brother is God incarnate. 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:48.539 And he was a skeptic, 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:49.820 as he would be, 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:50.799 especially as a teenager. 00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:53.059 And then all of a sudden here, 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:53.539 he's saying, 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:55.320 this is my master. 00:08:56.259 --> 00:08:57.179 I am his disciple. 00:08:57.259 --> 00:08:57.679 What happened? 00:08:57.799 --> 00:08:58.779 And at least this, 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:01.539 in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 7, 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:02.919 Paul tells us 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:04.659 that when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, 00:09:04.940 --> 00:09:07.360 he appeared specifically to James. 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:09.059 Can you imagine? 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:11.879 So Paul lists all the people 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:13.620 that Jesus appeared to, 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:15.340 but Paul goes out of his way 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:16.700 to reserve one clause 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:17.899 for one specific person, 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:19.039 and that's James, 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:20.179 his brother. 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:21.679 Jesus Christ, 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:23.100 the resurrected Savior, 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.240 showing up and meeting one-on-one 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:26.180 with his own brother 00:09:26.180 --> 00:09:27.180 that he grew up with. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.060 And James' life went from skeptic 00:09:30.060 --> 00:09:30.620 to servant, 00:09:31.060 --> 00:09:31.820 right in that moment. 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:32.700 Now that's a disciple. 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:34.360 That's how you become a disciple. 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:35.639 You look at the cross, 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:36.460 you look at the resurrection, 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:37.980 and you move from skeptic to servant. 00:09:38.700 --> 00:09:40.120 And that's exactly what happens here 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:41.259 in James' life. 00:09:41.379 --> 00:09:41.840 This is, you know, 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:42.840 we're reading his testimony 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:43.580 in verse 1. 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:47.020 And we learn what a disciple really is. 00:09:47.060 --> 00:09:48.440 A disciple is a servant, 00:09:48.540 --> 00:09:50.460 a slave of the Creator, 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:51.700 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:53.639 and one who says, 00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:55.280 I want to follow him, 00:09:55.400 --> 00:09:56.860 I want to be with him, 00:09:57.820 --> 00:09:58.680 relationally, 00:09:58.800 --> 00:10:00.080 not just follow his teachings, 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:01.400 but I want to follow him. 00:10:02.280 --> 00:10:04.220 And one who wants to become like him, 00:10:04.280 --> 00:10:05.480 and one who says, 00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:06.000 I'm his servant, 00:10:06.060 --> 00:10:08.060 I want to go and do 00:10:08.060 --> 00:10:08.879 as he goes, 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:10.200 as he tells me, 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:11.020 where he tells me to go, 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:11.879 and what he sends me to do. 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:12.779 That's a disciple. 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:14.500 We're learning right here 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:16.059 the nature of a disciple. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:19.600 And it's striking that James didn't say, 00:10:20.819 --> 00:10:22.699 hello, hey, my name is James. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:24.939 I am the pillar of the church. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:26.439 That's what Paul called James, 00:10:26.579 --> 00:10:27.460 pillar of the church. 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:28.840 And he doesn't say, 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.840 I am the top pastor in Jerusalem. 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:34.699 You know, my books sell the most 00:10:34.699 --> 00:10:36.939 in Jerusalem when I write books. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.399 No, he says, 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.340 slave of the Lord Jesus. 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:44.679 That's all I want to be known as. 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:46.179 That's the nature of a disciple. 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:47.980 And you've got to ask yourself 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:48.939 as we begin this series, 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:50.139 is that me? 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:53.319 Do I want to be with him 00:10:53.319 --> 00:10:54.480 and become like him 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.379 and go where he tells me to go 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:57.600 and do what he tells me to do 00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:57.939 and say, 00:10:58.139 --> 00:10:59.019 I am servant. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:00.199 That's what I want to be known as. 00:11:00.579 --> 00:11:02.459 Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:04.059 Yahweh, Jesus Christ. 00:11:04.819 --> 00:11:05.360 Now, secondly, 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:06.580 the very first thing 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:10.320 that then James wants us to learn 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:11.480 about how to be disciples 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:13.419 is how to face trouble. 00:11:14.060 --> 00:11:15.800 So the first thing he teaches us here 00:11:15.800 --> 00:11:16.539 in verse two 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:18.300 is the reality of trouble. 00:11:19.180 --> 00:11:20.000 Now, it's interesting that, 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:20.800 you know, it's not, 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:21.620 he doesn't turn and say, 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:23.700 okay, here's the manual for discipleship 00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:26.100 and talk about the details of theology 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:29.659 or how to gather as a church, 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:30.460 a church government, 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:31.920 when you're scattered all across 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:32.840 the Roman Empire. 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:34.399 The first thing he wants to say 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:36.580 is talk to you about how you suffer 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:37.700 and how you face suffering. 00:11:38.300 --> 00:11:39.200 And so you can see right there 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:39.960 in verse two, 00:11:40.920 --> 00:11:41.200 he says, 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:41.800 count it all joy, 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:44.100 my brothers and sisters, 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:46.600 when you meet trials of various kinds. 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:48.720 Now, the word that he uses 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:50.320 for meeting trials 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.600 is only found one other place 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:54.600 in the Bible connected to suffering, 00:11:54.820 --> 00:11:56.180 and that's in Luke 10, 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:58.139 the parable of the Good Samaritan. 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:00.820 And so it's a word for walking. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:02.660 So it could be translated like, 00:12:03.140 --> 00:12:04.120 count it various, 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:05.060 count it all joy, 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:05.500 I should say, 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:06.379 my brothers and sisters, 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:07.540 when you walk upon, 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:10.400 when you walk up on trials and suffering. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.940 Now, press pause there for just a moment. 00:12:13.280 --> 00:12:15.300 And I'll try to mention a few things 00:12:15.300 --> 00:12:15.780 along the way 00:12:15.780 --> 00:12:16.400 that will help us 00:12:16.400 --> 00:12:18.360 to all read James together as we go. 00:12:18.420 --> 00:12:19.400 And one of them is this, 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.000 scholars will come and say, 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:21.720 the book of James, 00:12:21.800 --> 00:12:22.460 the letter of James 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:24.220 is not Christ-centric. 00:12:24.420 --> 00:12:25.320 It's not Christ-centered. 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:26.600 It's theocentric. 00:12:26.680 --> 00:12:27.520 It's just God-centered. 00:12:28.400 --> 00:12:28.620 Why? 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.440 Because he only mentions Jesus 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:31.779 two times in the whole letter. 00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:33.620 So the one we just saw 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:34.759 and then one other time later. 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:37.340 But the reason they're so wrong about that 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:38.539 is because what he's doing 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:40.860 is he's constantly teaching you 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:41.860 Jesus' teaching. 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:43.080 So he's drip-feeding 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:45.000 the words of Jesus all throughout. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:47.740 So when he uses this Greek verb 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:49.659 for walking upon suffering, 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:51.240 that's only used one other place, 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:52.120 and that's in Luke 10, 00:12:52.179 --> 00:12:54.060 when Jesus said that 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:56.019 a man once walked up upon 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:57.899 suffering, trial, 00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:58.539 a robber 00:12:58.539 --> 00:12:59.779 in the Good Samaritan parable. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:00.939 In a moment, 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:01.599 he's going to say, 00:13:01.739 --> 00:13:03.639 suffering can make you perfect. 00:13:03.939 --> 00:13:05.019 That's probably a quote 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:06.079 from Matthew 5, 48, 00:13:06.199 --> 00:13:06.859 where Jesus says, 00:13:07.219 --> 00:13:08.479 you must become perfect 00:13:08.479 --> 00:13:10.259 as your heavenly Father is perfect. 00:13:10.339 --> 00:13:11.779 So he's drip-feeding 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:13.299 Jesus' teaching all throughout. 00:13:13.859 --> 00:13:14.699 And so in this instance, 00:13:14.739 --> 00:13:15.239 he says, 00:13:15.359 --> 00:13:17.159 you're going to fall upon trouble. 00:13:17.219 --> 00:13:18.159 And what is he trying to tell us? 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:19.179 He's trying to tell us here 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:22.319 that even as a disciple 00:13:22.319 --> 00:13:23.439 of Jesus Christ, 00:13:23.439 --> 00:13:25.399 who says, 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:27.099 I'm willing to take up my cross 00:13:27.099 --> 00:13:28.219 and follow Jesus, 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:29.719 you don't go looking for trouble. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.039 Trouble finds you. 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:34.059 Trials find you. 00:13:34.319 --> 00:13:35.299 Suffering finds you. 00:13:35.839 --> 00:13:37.159 You don't have to go looking for it. 00:13:37.199 --> 00:13:38.079 He's saying that Christians 00:13:38.079 --> 00:13:39.179 are not masochistic. 00:13:39.599 --> 00:13:40.019 No, no. 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:42.199 But trouble is coming. 00:13:42.479 --> 00:13:43.259 Trials are coming. 00:13:43.439 --> 00:13:44.179 Suffering is coming. 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:44.839 It's inevitable 00:13:44.839 --> 00:13:46.039 for every single human being. 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:47.500 So he's talking to us here 00:13:47.500 --> 00:13:49.320 about the inevitable reality 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:50.600 that suffering 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:52.299 is absolutely going to come 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:53.399 into our lives. 00:13:54.139 --> 00:13:54.580 It's a guarantee. 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:55.059 Suffering, 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:57.279 as all of you know better than me, 00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:58.419 does not make appointments. 00:13:58.779 --> 00:13:59.799 It finds you 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:01.940 on ordinary roads. 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:03.720 It comes upon you. 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:06.539 And he says here 00:14:06.539 --> 00:14:07.320 that it's suffering 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:08.500 of various kinds, 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:11.320 meaning there's big suffering, 00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:12.659 life-shattering suffering 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:13.360 that some of you 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:14.360 are walking through right now 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:15.179 that's going to come 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:16.360 for all of us at some point. 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:18.000 And then there's small suffering 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:19.220 that's every single day, 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:19.960 little annoyances. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:20.480 And he's saying, 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:21.720 I'm talking about all of it. 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:22.879 I'm talking about every bit, 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:24.100 every kind of suffering 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:24.820 there can be. 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:25.539 It's going to find you. 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:27.379 Now, I think we all have 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:28.940 an internal monologue 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:30.740 going on in our souls. 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:32.720 Maybe we've made it explicit. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:34.220 Maybe it's only been implicit. 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:35.500 But the internal monologue 00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:36.519 is something like this. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:38.000 We say to ourselves, 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:43.080 when I can get fill-in-the-blank, 00:14:43.300 --> 00:14:44.279 life will be better. 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:48.039 When I can finally get 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:48.679 a relationship, 00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:50.559 life will be better and easier. 00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:52.439 When I can finally get rid 00:14:52.439 --> 00:14:53.259 of this relationship, 00:14:53.839 --> 00:14:54.620 life will be better. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:55.500 Life will be easier. 00:14:55.839 --> 00:14:57.659 When I get a job better, 00:14:58.339 --> 00:14:59.839 when I get rid of this job 00:14:59.839 --> 00:15:00.339 that I hate, 00:15:00.579 --> 00:15:01.319 life will be better. 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:03.399 And we could say 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:04.159 about a thousand things. 00:15:04.199 --> 00:15:04.879 When I retire, 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:05.879 life will be so much better. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.079 When I finish my degree 00:15:07.079 --> 00:15:07.579 at university, 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:09.059 life will finally get easier. 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:10.639 And I think what happens, 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:11.019 actually, 00:15:11.019 --> 00:15:12.840 and as we age 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:14.019 and get older every decade, 00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:15.059 we learn this more and more, 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:16.939 that living for the horizon 00:15:16.939 --> 00:15:19.799 only seems to prove 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:21.079 over and over again 00:15:21.079 --> 00:15:22.620 that we encounter 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:24.220 different types of hard. 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:26.639 We get the thing we want, 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:28.480 what we said life would be. 00:15:28.699 --> 00:15:29.960 It will be better when. 00:15:30.079 --> 00:15:31.019 And then the when comes, 00:15:31.059 --> 00:15:32.159 and it can be a beautiful thing, 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:33.460 but it also brings 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:35.220 just a different type of hard, 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.519 a different set of trials 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:38.460 and suffering. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.160 Every road we walk down, 00:15:40.280 --> 00:15:41.320 it still meets us, 00:15:41.540 --> 00:15:42.280 no matter what, 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:42.980 even if we think 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:44.019 it was the greatest thing 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:44.580 we could imagine. 00:15:45.780 --> 00:15:47.700 There's a wonderful book 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:49.360 by the author Cormac McCarthy, 00:15:49.680 --> 00:15:50.200 The Road. 00:15:51.300 --> 00:15:54.160 And in McCarthy's book, 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:54.519 The Road, 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:56.600 it's a post-apocalyptic landscape, 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:58.060 probably from nuclear war 00:15:58.060 --> 00:15:59.340 in the southern United States. 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:01.240 And it is a raw, 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.420 bleak, dark book. 00:16:04.280 --> 00:16:05.440 So you should go read it. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.560 And in it, 00:16:08.660 --> 00:16:10.740 it's about walking 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:11.840 through this land of ash 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:12.840 in Tennessee. 00:16:13.880 --> 00:16:16.140 And the whole book 00:16:16.140 --> 00:16:17.700 is focused on the fierce love 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:18.580 between this one father 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:19.380 and this one son. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:21.300 They're all each other have. 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:22.480 And they're pushing 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:23.720 a shopping cart 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.060 through these old 00:16:25.060 --> 00:16:26.180 busted up roads. 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:27.720 And there's this refrain, 00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:28.100 I mean, 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:28.840 just trying to survive, 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:29.600 just trying to hold on 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:30.120 to something. 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:31.840 And there's this refrain 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:32.560 that the father 00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:33.620 always tells the son. 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:34.720 And it's a metaphor, 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:35.480 a theme throughout 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:35.980 the whole book. 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:37.220 And he tells the son, 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:38.580 son, you must learn 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:39.720 to carry the fire. 00:16:41.060 --> 00:16:41.740 And in it, 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:42.179 in the book, 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:43.440 fire is a metaphor 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:45.039 for purpose, 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:46.879 for a sense of a reason. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:47.360 In other words, 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:48.820 it's a metaphor for saying, 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:50.320 does my suffering 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:51.700 have any purpose at all? 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:53.820 And he's telling his son, 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:55.060 you've got to carry the fire. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:56.879 Don't let the fire go out. 00:16:56.940 --> 00:16:57.500 In your heart, 00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:58.200 you have to realize 00:16:58.200 --> 00:16:59.399 that there is some light, 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:00.399 some reason, 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:00.840 some hope, 00:17:00.899 --> 00:17:01.360 some purpose 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:02.159 in the midst 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:03.759 of this horrible thing 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:04.519 you're walking through. 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.319 And James is telling you today 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:09.339 that Christians 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:10.140 have a reason 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:10.660 to learn 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:11.620 to carry the fire. 00:17:12.860 --> 00:17:13.599 That you can have, 00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:15.740 you can face suffering 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:16.599 and suffering 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:17.660 cannot extinguish 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:18.240 your purpose. 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:19.640 And in fact, 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:20.480 suffering even more 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.980 can give you a purpose. 00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:23.279 What is it? 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:24.180 You see, 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:25.680 the question of this book 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:26.160 really is 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:28.480 not if trouble is coming, 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:29.640 but who are you 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:30.200 going to become 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:30.839 when it does? 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.299 That's the question 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:33.199 that he's posing to us. 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:34.059 So thirdly, 00:17:34.679 --> 00:17:35.500 what's the purpose? 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:37.039 James tells us here 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:38.679 that there is good 00:17:38.679 --> 00:17:39.740 in trouble, 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:41.559 good in suffering 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:42.679 for a disciple 00:17:42.679 --> 00:17:43.479 of Jesus Christ. 00:17:44.439 --> 00:17:45.779 And he tells us that, 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:46.559 especially in verse 2, 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:46.839 he says, 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:48.039 count it all joy, 00:17:48.199 --> 00:17:48.979 brothers and sisters, 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:50.399 when you face trials 00:17:50.399 --> 00:17:51.379 and tribulations. 00:17:52.199 --> 00:17:52.479 Now, 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:55.159 is that toxic positivity, 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:55.679 you know, 00:17:55.699 --> 00:17:56.459 the kind of positivity 00:17:56.459 --> 00:17:58.059 that some of us display 00:17:58.059 --> 00:17:59.740 and others get frustrated by? 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:01.059 No, 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:02.740 he is not saying there, 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:04.539 feel good about your suffering 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:06.339 because the word count 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:08.079 is an accounting verb. 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:10.380 It's a command of thinking. 00:18:10.620 --> 00:18:11.599 It's a cognitive verb. 00:18:12.120 --> 00:18:13.039 And so he's saying, 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.200 think about it as joy. 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:18.120 He's saying, 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:19.180 mind, 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:20.559 Christian mind, 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.299 tell your Christian heart 00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:24.059 that it is joy 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:25.819 because you don't feel that way. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:27.819 Count it joy. 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:29.099 Let your mind tell your heart 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:29.460 that it is. 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:29.799 In other words, 00:18:29.899 --> 00:18:31.000 it's when you say, 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:31.480 heart, 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:32.299 you talk to your heart 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:32.559 and you say, 00:18:32.639 --> 00:18:32.899 heart, 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.619 look at the ledger 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:36.700 of this event in your life 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:39.019 in red drying ink, 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:39.659 this suffering, 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.480 and you've got to transfer it 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:43.679 merely from the column of misery 00:18:43.679 --> 00:18:45.139 to the column of joy. 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:47.500 You've got to write it 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:47.899 and say, 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:49.899 this is joy to me. 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:51.939 And the question becomes, 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.159 in this cognitive reframe, 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:56.139 how could you say that? 00:18:56.140 --> 00:18:57.360 How could he possibly tell us 00:18:57.360 --> 00:18:58.120 to do something that? 00:18:58.380 --> 00:18:59.960 And the answer is in verse three 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:01.000 when he says, 00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:01.759 suffering, 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:03.540 test your faith 00:19:03.540 --> 00:19:05.540 and can lead to steadfastness. 00:19:05.820 --> 00:19:06.440 So here's how. 00:19:06.520 --> 00:19:06.700 He says, 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:08.080 for a disciple of Jesus, 00:19:08.800 --> 00:19:10.280 you can take suffering 00:19:10.280 --> 00:19:12.460 and you can account it as joy. 00:19:13.040 --> 00:19:14.460 Your mind can tell your heart, 00:19:15.040 --> 00:19:16.160 put it in the column of joy. 00:19:16.259 --> 00:19:16.480 How? 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:18.400 Because it is an opportunity 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:19.740 to test your faith 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:20.460 so that your faith 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:21.820 might grow and deepen. 00:19:22.600 --> 00:19:23.000 In other words, 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:23.339 he's saying, 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:24.599 suffering for the believer 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:26.380 has a fire to it, 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:26.900 a purpose, 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:29.519 and it's that you might change. 00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:31.400 And the way he puts it 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.799 is that you might become 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:33.940 complete, perfect, 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:34.940 lacking in nothing. 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:36.160 And the idea here 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:37.519 of perfect 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.500 is not sinlessness. 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:41.119 That's not what he means. 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:42.119 It's the word telos, 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:42.680 which means 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:44.299 that you would reach 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:45.039 your full purpose 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:45.720 in this life. 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:47.279 Same way that the Old Testament 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:48.619 uses the word blameless. 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:50.400 Job was blameless. 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:51.359 Jonah was blameless. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:52.259 It's not sinlessness. 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:53.500 No, no. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:54.220 It's complete, 00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:55.059 whole, 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:56.900 that God is taking 00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:59.000 the chisel of suffering 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:01.099 and hammering away at you 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:02.220 to form you into something. 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:02.980 In other words, 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:03.640 he's telling us 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:04.359 what the purpose 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:05.779 of discipleship is, 00:20:05.879 --> 00:20:07.259 of being a disciple of Jesus 00:20:07.259 --> 00:20:08.079 in your suffering. 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.140 It's to become mature. 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:11.400 It's to grow. 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:13.039 It's that every single event 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:13.720 and annoyance 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:14.799 and bit of suffering 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:15.279 in your life 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:16.259 can be approached 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:17.039 in a way 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:17.879 where you treat it 00:20:17.879 --> 00:20:18.740 as an opportunity 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:20.160 to mature, 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:20.960 to become, 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:21.799 what is a disciple? 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:23.000 One who says, 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:24.059 I will follow him. 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:26.240 I want to be with him 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.079 so that I can become like him. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:30.240 And this is telling us 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:30.799 that suffering 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:31.700 is the pathway 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:33.519 to becoming like him. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:34.859 Now, 00:20:34.919 --> 00:20:35.940 the word he uses, 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:37.980 steadfastness, 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:38.639 it can make you 00:20:38.639 --> 00:20:39.019 into a person 00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:39.680 who perseveres. 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:42.099 It's a gymnasium term 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:43.379 in the Greek, 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:44.500 Greco-Roman context. 00:20:44.639 --> 00:20:45.599 It's an athletic term. 00:20:45.919 --> 00:20:46.839 So you can produce 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:48.240 steadfastness over time. 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:49.640 So Paul takes you 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:50.240 into this metaphor 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:50.920 of the gym 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:51.880 and working out. 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:53.160 And you go to the gym, 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:53.779 you think about 00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:55.059 what it takes 00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:56.120 to reach your goals, 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:56.819 what it takes 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:57.759 to grow. 00:20:58.680 --> 00:20:59.559 And what it takes 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:00.200 is resistance, 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:00.740 right? 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:01.799 You've got to 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:03.240 pick something up 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:04.359 that is heavier 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:05.339 than you want it to be. 00:21:06.620 --> 00:21:07.420 And what happens 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:07.920 when you do that? 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:08.539 When you go to the gym 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.000 and you pick up 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:09.539 that barbell, 00:21:09.620 --> 00:21:10.680 you pick up those dumbbells 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:11.259 and they're heavier 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:11.859 than you want, 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:13.000 than your body likes, 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:14.279 you feel pain. 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:15.740 You don't feel good. 00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:16.940 You feel pain. 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:18.019 But then it actually 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:19.119 tears your muscles. 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:20.640 And then your muscles 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:21.779 grow back stronger. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:22.700 And you see, 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:23.700 he takes that metaphor 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:25.220 to say that is exactly 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:25.859 what happens 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:26.819 for the believer 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:27.859 who approaches 00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:28.539 their suffering 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:29.759 with the mindset 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:30.539 of theology, 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:32.279 who counts it all joy, 00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:33.619 who lets the mind 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:34.759 say to the heart, 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:35.779 see it the way 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:36.579 God is telling you 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:37.079 to see it. 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:38.480 It's resistance. 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:39.779 It's strength building. 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:40.779 It's maturing. 00:21:40.940 --> 00:21:42.279 It's making you complete. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:44.099 Not sinlessness, 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:46.119 but well-rounded, 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:47.279 mature, virtuous. 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.140 Think about it. 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:51.099 How in the world 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:52.920 can we become 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:55.559 humble like Jesus is humble? 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:56.720 How in the world 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:57.880 can we become compassionate 00:21:57.880 --> 00:21:59.740 like Jesus is compassionate? 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:02.119 You cannot go read 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:03.180 a book about humility 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:04.940 and then be a humble person. 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:06.240 You can't read a book 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:06.900 about compassion 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:08.200 and become a compassionate person. 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:09.059 No, not at all. 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:10.599 He's saying that the only way 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:11.359 to become humble 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.119 like James, 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:13.779 like Jesus, 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:15.179 like his elder brother 00:22:15.179 --> 00:22:16.579 is to actually walk 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:17.379 through the crucible 00:22:17.379 --> 00:22:17.919 of suffering 00:22:17.919 --> 00:22:20.779 and to have the dross 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:21.959 smelted away, 00:22:22.459 --> 00:22:24.559 to have your heart 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:25.479 chiseled away, 00:22:25.979 --> 00:22:27.259 to truly put on 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:28.019 the humility of Christ. 00:22:28.139 --> 00:22:29.119 And that's why Paul tells us 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:29.799 over and over again 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:31.639 we must complete 00:22:31.639 --> 00:22:32.979 or put on the sufferings 00:22:32.979 --> 00:22:33.939 of Christ in our life 00:22:33.939 --> 00:22:35.519 in order to become like him. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:37.299 And you all know 00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:41.019 those who, 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:42.940 those people 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:43.940 who have especially 00:22:43.940 --> 00:22:44.720 walked through 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.240 certain types of grief 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.879 are the best counselors 00:22:48.879 --> 00:22:50.599 to those walking 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:51.480 through that type of grief. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.180 Those people 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:54.119 who have faced addiction 00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:54.900 in their life 00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:57.539 are the absolute best counselors 00:22:57.539 --> 00:22:59.039 to come and walk 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:00.099 alongside those of you 00:23:00.099 --> 00:23:00.579 who are walking 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:01.099 through addiction. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.099 Grace grows best in winter 00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:05.039 as it's often said. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.240 Grace grows best in winter. 00:23:06.679 --> 00:23:07.379 It's the only way 00:23:07.379 --> 00:23:08.019 to truly put on 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:08.879 the compassion of Jesus, 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:10.299 the humility of Jesus. 00:23:10.419 --> 00:23:11.199 How about the freedom 00:23:11.199 --> 00:23:11.799 from idols? 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:13.119 How can you be free 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:14.139 from idols in your life 00:23:14.139 --> 00:23:15.419 unless you've actually 00:23:15.419 --> 00:23:16.059 had to have them 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:17.179 ripped away from you 00:23:17.179 --> 00:23:17.639 in suffering? 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:20.299 And Paul is telling, 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:21.799 James is telling us here 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:24.240 that we need, 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:25.740 we need the scars 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.980 to become like the one 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:28.980 who was scarred for us. 00:23:29.879 --> 00:23:30.459 There's a moment 00:23:30.459 --> 00:23:31.599 in Paul's letters 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:33.099 where he says it 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:34.399 almost identically 00:23:34.399 --> 00:23:35.819 in Paul's own language. 00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:37.899 Listen to the mouth 00:23:37.899 --> 00:23:38.500 of Paul here 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:39.740 from the book of Corinthians. 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:41.039 He says, 00:23:41.679 --> 00:23:42.480 the God of all comfort 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.359 comforts us 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.779 in all our afflictions 00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:46.459 so that we may be able 00:23:46.459 --> 00:23:47.159 to comfort those 00:23:47.159 --> 00:23:48.459 who are in any affliction 00:23:48.459 --> 00:23:49.500 with the comfort 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:50.559 with which we ourselves 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.779 are comforted by God. 00:23:52.419 --> 00:23:52.619 He said, 00:23:52.699 --> 00:23:53.599 God brings you comfort 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:54.179 in your affliction 00:23:54.179 --> 00:23:55.000 so you can turn around 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.839 and give that away to others. 00:23:55.919 --> 00:23:57.599 How else do you become perfect, 00:23:57.719 --> 00:23:58.099 well-rounded, 00:23:58.240 --> 00:23:58.579 complete, 00:23:58.959 --> 00:23:59.639 lacking in nothing? 00:23:59.640 --> 00:23:59.900 See, 00:24:00.580 --> 00:24:02.040 I think one of the 00:24:02.040 --> 00:24:03.240 most important takeaways 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:04.000 at the beginning 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:04.480 of this book 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:05.020 is to see 00:24:05.020 --> 00:24:06.100 that the goal 00:24:06.100 --> 00:24:07.700 of the Christian life 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:10.140 is not comfort 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:12.460 but maturity 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:15.460 and that suffering 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:16.200 is the pathway. 00:24:17.540 --> 00:24:17.920 Now fourth, 00:24:18.080 --> 00:24:18.440 finally, 00:24:19.320 --> 00:24:21.060 the path. 00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:21.940 How do we really 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:23.140 take this into our hearts 00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:23.880 and our lives today? 00:24:24.620 --> 00:24:24.960 Of course, 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:26.920 this is not automatic. 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:28.759 So even for Christians, 00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:29.680 this is not automatic. 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:31.779 We can face suffering, 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:32.839 trials and tribulations 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:33.759 that are going to meet us 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:34.240 on the road 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:35.980 and they'll do 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:37.259 one of two things for us. 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:38.460 They'll either make us, 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:39.000 grow us, 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:40.059 or they'll break us. 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:41.559 And it depends 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:43.000 on how we face them. 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:44.279 So let me give you 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:44.779 a few things 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:45.359 as we conclude, 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:46.160 just very practical 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:48.119 to do to take up 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:48.660 this vision 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:49.700 that James is giving us. 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:50.879 The first thing is 00:24:50.879 --> 00:24:52.960 we need a biblical vision 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:53.920 for facing suffering. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.359 We've been talking about it 00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:57.000 and it really is framed up 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:57.500 in that line, 00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:58.579 count it all joy. 00:24:58.680 --> 00:24:59.480 So we've got to take 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:00.039 that vision 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:01.420 into our hearts and lives. 00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:01.880 And the reason 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:03.039 we want to reiterate that 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.440 is because the commentators, 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:06.339 the sociologists, 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.079 the philosophers, 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:08.000 they all tell us 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:08.740 the same thing 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:09.779 and that's that 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:11.259 we're always being surrounded 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.000 by a cultural consciousness 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:14.920 that does the exact opposite 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:15.400 of that. 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:17.240 So in the contemporary world, 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:17.880 many authors 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:18.720 have pointed this out. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.119 We do, 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.640 as modern Western people, 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:23.539 we do not suffer well. 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:25.599 We are collectively 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.099 the worst sufferers 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:27.859 in human history. 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:29.839 We expect to be comfortable. 00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:32.200 We expect to have life easy. 00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:33.379 We talk about rights 00:25:33.379 --> 00:25:34.920 and rights all the time 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:35.740 give us a framework 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:36.579 of entitlement. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:37.940 And so suffering 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:39.259 comes as the biggest surprise 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:41.019 to modern Western people. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.059 And so Jamie Smith 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:43.399 says that 00:25:43.399 --> 00:25:45.299 in the modern consumerist mindset, 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:46.259 the question everyone 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:48.180 is asking in their soul is, 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.420 how do I change 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:50.279 the world around me 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:51.440 to fit my desires? 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:53.920 How do I engineer 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:54.779 my environment 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:55.920 for maximum comfort? 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:57.360 That's the modern question 00:25:57.360 --> 00:25:58.259 in our hearts. 00:25:58.320 --> 00:25:58.720 We're trained 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.600 for that question. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:00.799 But the biblical question 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:02.960 is exactly the opposite. 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:04.640 It's how do I conform 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:05.720 my heart 00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:07.039 to what God wants for me? 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:09.700 So not how do I engineer 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:10.400 my environment 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.240 to maximize my comforts, 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.539 but how do I engage 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:15.559 in my environment 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:16.920 to have my heart change 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:17.680 to desire 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:19.000 what God wants me to desire? 00:26:19.980 --> 00:26:20.380 See, really, 00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:21.480 the prayer of James 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:22.320 is this. 00:26:23.560 --> 00:26:24.400 I hope this doesn't sound 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:25.260 too tricky, 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:26.880 but it's to say, 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:29.220 Lord, help me 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:30.800 to want what I should want. 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:32.760 Teach me in my suffering 00:26:32.760 --> 00:26:34.220 to want what you want me to want. 00:26:34.840 --> 00:26:35.900 And that's the call, 00:26:36.060 --> 00:26:37.720 the real call of maturity, 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:39.920 to be shaped 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:41.500 by our suffering holistically. 00:26:42.520 --> 00:26:43.040 Now secondly, 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:44.240 what can we do about that? 00:26:44.340 --> 00:26:46.100 How can we take that up? 00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:47.940 Verse 5 tells us, 00:26:48.060 --> 00:26:48.760 here's how you do it. 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.700 You've got to ask 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:50.960 for wisdom from God. 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:53.140 So he tells you outright, 00:26:53.379 --> 00:26:54.400 ask for this vision. 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:55.180 Now this is where 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:58.200 some commentators 00:26:58.200 --> 00:26:58.700 and scholars 00:26:58.700 --> 00:26:59.359 will talk about 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:00.740 the disjointed nature 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:01.279 of James. 00:27:01.740 --> 00:27:01.980 You see, 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:03.019 James goes from 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:04.579 telling you who he is 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:06.240 to telling you 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:06.980 about suffering, 00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:08.099 and now he's turning 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:08.920 to a different topic, 00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:09.379 wisdom. 00:27:10.059 --> 00:27:10.940 But not at all. 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:11.400 Instead, 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:12.400 what is he telling us? 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.619 This is the same topic, 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:14.640 the same idea. 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:15.180 He's saying, 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:17.080 before suffering ever comes, 00:27:17.120 --> 00:27:18.060 you've got to ask 00:27:18.060 --> 00:27:18.620 for wisdom. 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:20.220 And what is this wisdom? 00:27:20.340 --> 00:27:21.060 It's the wisdom 00:27:21.060 --> 00:27:22.840 to see your suffering 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:23.380 the way God 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:24.200 is telling you to see it. 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:25.980 It's the wisdom saying, 00:27:26.360 --> 00:27:26.519 Lord, 00:27:26.600 --> 00:27:27.420 help me to count 00:27:27.420 --> 00:27:28.820 my suffering joy 00:27:28.820 --> 00:27:29.600 today 00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:30.480 before it ever even 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:31.420 comes into my life. 00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:32.600 So he's saying, 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:33.600 you've got to pray 00:27:33.600 --> 00:27:34.900 and you've got to ask for it, 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:35.980 and it's got to be 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:36.720 something that you're doing 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:37.759 before suffering 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:38.980 actually ever comes. 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:40.819 It's a vision 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:41.660 to say, 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:44.779 only the Lord 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:46.000 knows the secret plan. 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:46.880 Only the Lord 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:47.579 knows why 00:27:47.579 --> 00:27:48.259 he's putting us 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:49.059 through the trial, 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:49.660 the suffering 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:50.319 that we've come upon 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:50.860 on this road. 00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:51.940 But I know, 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:52.120 Lord, 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:52.779 give me the wisdom 00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:53.380 to believe 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:54.420 that I am growing 00:27:54.420 --> 00:27:55.259 because of this. 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:56.180 That somehow, 00:27:56.339 --> 00:27:56.640 some way, 00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:58.019 you are going to mature me 00:27:58.019 --> 00:27:58.980 in the midst of this. 00:27:59.120 --> 00:27:59.620 Ask for that. 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:00.900 Ask before it ever comes. 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:02.620 Third of four things here 00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:03.299 to conclude. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:04.940 But then he gives you 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:05.460 a condition, 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:06.680 and that's in verses 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:07.360 six to eight. 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:08.759 And the condition 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:09.259 is, 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:10.859 don't be a doubter, 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:12.379 don't be double-minded. 00:28:14.779 --> 00:28:15.200 Now, 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:16.160 the Greek text 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.559 very literally says, 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:19.059 don't be double-souled. 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:20.660 So it's not a mind term, 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:21.640 but a soul term. 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:22.900 Don't be double-hearted 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:24.519 is what the text says. 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:26.460 And he's telling us there, 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:27.180 these are parallels. 00:28:27.379 --> 00:28:28.779 Doubting and double-mindedness. 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:30.019 Is he telling you 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:31.299 that means 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:33.259 if you have doubts, 00:28:33.379 --> 00:28:34.259 then there's no way 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:35.180 you're a follower of Jesus. 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:35.900 There's no way 00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:36.879 you're a disciple of Jesus. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:37.859 And not at all. 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:39.339 He's talking here 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:40.359 in the context. 00:28:40.459 --> 00:28:41.299 Think about the context. 00:28:41.439 --> 00:28:42.599 There's Christians 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:43.659 who have been scattered 00:28:43.659 --> 00:28:44.519 by persecution 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:45.859 all over the Roman Empire, 00:28:46.159 --> 00:28:47.500 and they're being confronted 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:48.859 wherever they are 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:49.639 and saying, 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:51.159 do you really believe in Jesus? 00:28:51.719 --> 00:28:52.879 And many of them 00:28:52.879 --> 00:28:53.659 are defecting. 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:54.939 Many of them are saying no. 00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:55.879 In other words, 00:28:55.899 --> 00:28:56.419 he's saying you can't 00:28:56.419 --> 00:28:57.139 have it both ways. 00:28:58.459 --> 00:28:59.919 That when the persecution 00:28:59.919 --> 00:29:00.899 and the trial comes, 00:29:00.979 --> 00:29:01.599 you'll say, 00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:03.799 Jesus isn't making my life 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:05.299 comfortable in this situation, 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:07.059 so I'll deny even knowing him, 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:07.899 the path of Peter 00:29:07.899 --> 00:29:10.220 before he returned to Christ. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:11.519 And he's saying 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:12.539 you can't have it both ways. 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:13.480 Be single-minded. 00:29:14.139 --> 00:29:15.099 That no matter 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:16.579 what suffering comes, 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:17.240 and even if it's going 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:18.460 to bring you great suffering, 00:29:18.879 --> 00:29:19.259 you say, 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:20.299 I'm single-minded, 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:21.279 single-souled 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:22.480 for Jesus Christ. 00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:25.180 There's a letter 00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:26.779 from a man, 00:29:26.919 --> 00:29:28.079 a Roman governor 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:29.740 named Pliny the Younger. 00:29:30.139 --> 00:29:30.740 It was written 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:31.279 in the year, 00:29:31.399 --> 00:29:32.899 about 112 A.D., 00:29:32.900 --> 00:29:33.519 something like that. 00:29:34.860 --> 00:29:35.420 And Pliny, 00:29:35.560 --> 00:29:36.040 this governor, 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:37.920 he writes to the emperor 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:38.340 of the time 00:29:38.340 --> 00:29:38.940 of the Roman Empire, 00:29:39.120 --> 00:29:39.560 Trajan, 00:29:40.180 --> 00:29:41.259 and he talks about 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:42.200 exactly this, 00:29:43.100 --> 00:29:44.200 single-minded Christians 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:45.320 and double-minded Christians. 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:47.960 And this is what he wrote 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:48.480 to Trajan. 00:29:48.600 --> 00:29:48.900 He said, 00:29:49.560 --> 00:29:50.200 he describes 00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:52.019 capturing believers, 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:53.480 interrogating them, 00:29:54.100 --> 00:29:54.960 and then he says, 00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:56.420 even under the threat of death, 00:29:56.840 --> 00:29:57.620 many of them 00:29:57.620 --> 00:29:58.680 would not deny 00:29:58.680 --> 00:29:59.980 Jesus Christ. 00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:01.880 I asked them 00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:02.880 whether they were Christians, 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:03.940 and if they confessed, 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:04.519 I told them 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:06.900 that I would give them 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:07.700 a second try 00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:08.640 and a third try. 00:30:09.560 --> 00:30:10.360 And if they continued 00:30:10.360 --> 00:30:11.560 to confess knowing Jesus, 00:30:11.860 --> 00:30:12.759 I threatened them 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:13.820 with further punishments. 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:15.980 Those who persisted, 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.860 I then ordered 00:30:16.860 --> 00:30:18.160 publicly executed. 00:30:18.840 --> 00:30:19.600 I did not doubt 00:30:19.600 --> 00:30:20.680 that whatever it was 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:21.280 that they admitted, 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:22.340 their stubbornness 00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:24.019 and their inflexible obstinacy 00:30:24.019 --> 00:30:25.560 deserved to be punished. 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:27.720 Now, Pliny 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.000 and the Romans 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:29.600 of the first century 00:30:29.600 --> 00:30:30.019 and many others 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:30.460 looked out 00:30:30.460 --> 00:30:32.160 at the single-minded Christian 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:32.640 that said, 00:30:33.140 --> 00:30:33.800 confessing Christ 00:30:33.800 --> 00:30:34.940 is causing great suffering 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:35.460 in my life. 00:30:35.580 --> 00:30:36.160 And he said, 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:37.759 that is obstinacy. 00:30:37.820 --> 00:30:38.660 That is crazy. 00:30:39.360 --> 00:30:40.120 And he gave them 00:30:40.120 --> 00:30:40.740 a second chance 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:41.500 and a third chance. 00:30:41.620 --> 00:30:42.759 But the Christian said, 00:30:42.840 --> 00:30:43.860 that's single-mindedness. 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:45.519 That's single-souledness. 00:30:45.820 --> 00:30:47.279 That even if following Jesus 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.560 makes my life harder, 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:50.300 I will not deny him. 00:30:50.340 --> 00:30:51.320 I won't be double-minded. 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:52.460 I won't be double-souled 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:54.160 in the bottom of my soul. 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:55.519 My soul belongs 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.220 to Jesus Christ. 00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:56.840 Now, lastly, 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:00.740 how could we become 00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:01.539 people like that? 00:31:02.179 --> 00:31:04.279 How could we face 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:05.799 suffering like that 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:07.199 and be able to be 00:31:07.199 --> 00:31:07.859 single-souled, 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:08.579 single-minded, 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:10.299 to have a vision 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:10.919 for suffering 00:31:10.919 --> 00:31:11.779 that that's grand? 00:31:14.299 --> 00:31:15.599 History tells us 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:16.720 that James, 00:31:16.879 --> 00:31:17.939 the author of this letter, 00:31:18.139 --> 00:31:18.939 was murdered 00:31:18.939 --> 00:31:20.359 in the 60s. 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:21.939 So he was 00:31:21.939 --> 00:31:22.859 very probably 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:24.119 beaten 00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:24.939 and then taken 00:31:24.939 --> 00:31:25.479 to the top 00:31:25.479 --> 00:31:25.939 of the temple 00:31:25.939 --> 00:31:26.479 in Jerusalem 00:31:26.479 --> 00:31:27.419 where he was a pastor 00:31:27.419 --> 00:31:28.819 and thrown off 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:29.579 the top of the temple. 00:31:31.219 --> 00:31:32.259 And the history 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:32.779 tells us 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:33.399 that he faced 00:31:33.399 --> 00:31:33.879 the same thing 00:31:33.879 --> 00:31:34.439 that we read about 00:31:34.439 --> 00:31:35.019 with Pliny, 00:31:35.219 --> 00:31:36.579 the question after question, 00:31:36.719 --> 00:31:38.159 and then he refused 00:31:38.159 --> 00:31:38.679 to deny 00:31:38.679 --> 00:31:41.439 worship of his elder brother, 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:42.239 Jesus Christ, 00:31:42.439 --> 00:31:44.079 and he was murdered for it. 00:31:44.399 --> 00:31:45.599 How could you, 00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:46.199 we think, 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:47.259 I don't think I could do that. 00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:48.619 How can anybody 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:50.000 ever face 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:51.879 that kind of suffering 00:31:51.879 --> 00:31:53.419 that the first century 00:31:53.419 --> 00:31:53.819 Christians, 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:54.679 that James is writing 00:31:54.679 --> 00:31:54.919 to, 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:55.859 was facing? 00:31:56.139 --> 00:31:56.759 And the answer 00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:57.179 is simple, 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:57.579 and the answer 00:31:57.579 --> 00:31:58.119 is back 00:31:58.119 --> 00:31:59.139 to what's underneath 00:31:59.139 --> 00:31:59.759 this letter, 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:00.659 and that's that 00:32:00.659 --> 00:32:01.519 James, 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:02.679 Jacob, 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:04.379 never took his eye 00:32:04.379 --> 00:32:05.119 off his elder brother. 00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:07.659 He looked to his elder brother 00:32:07.659 --> 00:32:09.659 throughout the whole 00:32:09.659 --> 00:32:10.240 of his ministry, 00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:11.379 the whole of his Christian life. 00:32:12.159 --> 00:32:12.700 Now Jesus, 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:14.579 Jesus was literally 00:32:14.579 --> 00:32:15.599 older than James, 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:16.819 truly elder, 00:32:17.059 --> 00:32:17.579 biologically, 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:18.299 by age. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:19.220 But of course, 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:20.079 you know that 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:21.859 Jesus Christ 00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:22.480 was also James' 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:23.119 elder brother 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.099 in another way. 00:32:25.939 --> 00:32:26.939 And remember 00:32:26.939 --> 00:32:27.799 that the book of James 00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:28.939 gives you drip feeds 00:32:28.939 --> 00:32:29.779 for you the teaching 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:30.779 of Jesus all throughout. 00:32:32.259 --> 00:32:32.939 And you'll remember 00:32:32.939 --> 00:32:33.859 in Luke 15, 00:32:34.399 --> 00:32:35.459 the prodigal son story, 00:32:35.979 --> 00:32:37.759 where there was 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:38.639 a younger brother 00:32:38.639 --> 00:32:39.459 and an elder brother, 00:32:40.339 --> 00:32:42.419 and the younger brother 00:32:42.419 --> 00:32:43.839 went into the far country 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:45.059 and squandered everything. 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:46.559 He hated his own father, 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.460 but in the story, 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:49.139 you start to get the picture 00:32:49.139 --> 00:32:50.159 that the elder brother 00:32:50.159 --> 00:32:51.960 doesn't love his little brother. 00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:54.940 And you long for the elder brother 00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:56.839 to go out into the far country 00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:58.619 and get his little brother 00:32:58.619 --> 00:32:59.500 and bring him home. 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:01.679 You long for that in the story, 00:33:01.819 --> 00:33:02.839 and he never does. 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:03.779 And the story ends 00:33:03.779 --> 00:33:05.019 with an elder brother 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:06.319 basically just wanting 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:07.179 material possessions 00:33:07.179 --> 00:33:08.759 and hating his family. 00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:11.179 And we don't know 00:33:11.179 --> 00:33:12.079 all that happened to James, 00:33:12.139 --> 00:33:12.799 but what we do know 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:14.299 is that Jesus Christ 00:33:14.299 --> 00:33:15.759 in 1 Corinthians 15, 7, 00:33:16.399 --> 00:33:17.359 the elder brother 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:19.279 came to his little brother. 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:20.740 The resurrected Jesus, 00:33:20.899 --> 00:33:22.039 he came to him. 00:33:22.159 --> 00:33:22.259 You know, 00:33:22.740 --> 00:33:24.079 I think what James realized 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:24.639 in that moment 00:33:24.639 --> 00:33:26.019 is that Jesus Christ, 00:33:26.119 --> 00:33:27.379 the true and better elder brother, 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.779 came into the far country 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:29.399 of this life. 00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:31.440 And he came, 00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:34.659 he came to be crushed 00:33:34.659 --> 00:33:37.019 for our iniquities, 00:33:37.019 --> 00:33:39.180 to suffer to the uttermost, 00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.680 to walk through every trial 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:41.980 you will ever walk through 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:43.360 and know that 00:33:43.360 --> 00:33:44.240 when you face suffering 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:44.779 and trial, 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:46.079 it is not the final word. 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:48.360 You can say, 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:50.660 brothers and sisters, 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:51.579 as James puts it, 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:52.900 Jesus Christ is also 00:33:52.900 --> 00:33:53.720 my elder brother. 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:56.759 And that means that 00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:57.779 every single thing 00:33:57.779 --> 00:33:58.779 I walk through in this life, 00:33:58.839 --> 00:33:59.759 I know that he has 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:00.579 walked before me. 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:02.380 You know, 00:34:02.420 --> 00:34:04.000 he faced the cross 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:05.400 so I can face my cross. 00:34:06.099 --> 00:34:07.360 He faced the cross 00:34:07.360 --> 00:34:07.960 and even more, 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:08.719 what happened 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:09.659 when he was on the cross, 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:11.320 it says that the joy 00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:12.340 was set before him. 00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:13.880 What did he do? 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:16.440 He counted it all joy, 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:17.480 brothers and sisters. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:18.960 When he faced the cross, 00:34:19.100 --> 00:34:19.980 you were his joy. 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.240 So you can say, 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:22.519 because I was his joy 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:23.460 when he faced the cross, 00:34:23.580 --> 00:34:24.720 I can face my suffering 00:34:24.720 --> 00:34:25.420 and count it 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:26.039 in the ledger 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:27.280 of joy for him. 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:29.240 You see, 00:34:29.380 --> 00:34:30.240 the gospel gives you 00:34:30.240 --> 00:34:30.940 every reason, 00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:32.280 the true elder brother 00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:33.160 gives you every reason 00:34:33.160 --> 00:34:34.160 to say today 00:34:34.160 --> 00:34:36.200 that God is a master craftsman 00:34:36.200 --> 00:34:37.940 chiseling away at me 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:39.019 and it's the power 00:34:39.019 --> 00:34:39.559 of the gospel 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:40.440 that I can endure, 00:34:41.240 --> 00:34:41.940 that I can face 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:42.760 the trials in my life. 00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:43.679 When you walk 00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:44.200 through the valley, 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:44.900 you're not alone, 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:45.900 you've got your elder brother 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:48.099 and that means 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:49.579 he is there 00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:50.780 to be with you 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:51.360 and to grow you 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:52.200 so you can be with him 00:34:52.200 --> 00:34:52.960 and become like him 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:54.539 and that's the call 00:34:54.539 --> 00:34:55.039 of a disciple. 00:34:56.119 --> 00:34:56.579 Let us pray. 00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:56.840 Father, 00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:00.679 we want to become like him, 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:02.099 our true and better 00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:02.980 elder brother 00:35:02.980 --> 00:35:03.980 and so we think 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:05.199 and thank you 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:06.860 for this word 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:08.059 that's really hard 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:09.099 to receive 00:35:09.099 --> 00:35:10.619 that we have to face 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:11.760 suffering with a mind 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:14.360 that says we can change, 00:35:14.460 --> 00:35:14.920 we can grow, 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:16.940 we can become mature, 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:17.340 complete, 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:18.119 lacking in nothing 00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:19.079 so Lord, 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:20.219 reset our vision, 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:21.079 help us to want 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:21.780 what you want, 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:24.039 teach us how to desire 00:35:24.039 --> 00:35:25.719 in ways that we do not today 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:27.260 and so we repent 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:27.880 before you 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:29.659 of our bad desires, 00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:30.039 Lord, 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:31.980 we don't want 00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:33.779 the things that you call us 00:35:33.779 --> 00:35:34.380 to desire 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:35.239 so change us 00:35:35.239 --> 00:35:36.639 as we work through this epistle 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:37.079 we pray, 00:35:37.179 --> 00:35:37.480 oh Lord, 00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:39.860 we thank you for your word 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:40.719 and as we sing 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:42.279 we ask that the Holy Spirit 00:35:42.279 --> 00:35:43.779 would do a great work 00:35:43.779 --> 00:35:44.320 in our lives 00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:44.779 and we pray that 00:35:44.779 --> 00:35:45.539 in Jesus' name, 00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:46.300 Amen.