0:11 all right James chapter one is where we
0:15 are tonight you can take your Bibles and
0:17 go with me to this new book study as we
0:19 venture on through the Bible if you're
0:21 new here to Cornerstone we go straight
0:23 through the Bible and on Wednesday
0:25 nights we go even deeper we go verse by
0:28 verse and so we just finished Hebrew so
0:30 we're now moving on to the book of James
0:32 if you need a Bible tonight one of the
0:33 ushers will be glad to give you a Bible
0:35 if you want to raise your hand they'll
0:39 hand one your way James chapter one
0:43 we'll see how far we get tonight but I'm
0:45 gonna first pray and then I'm gonna give
0:46 you the background as we always do when
0:48 we start start a new book study together
0:49 I always like to give you the background
0:52 who wrote it when why
0:55 so James chapter one let's first pause
0:58 and pray lord thank you for your
1:00 goodness to us we just continue to
1:03 rejoice concerning all that you did over
1:05 Easter weekend we thank you that we
1:09 serve a risen Savior Lord and that you
1:10 are the same yesterday today and forever
1:13 and we just continue to celebrate you
1:16 and worship you we thank you for the
1:19 hundreds of people who got saved we just
1:21 commit them to you Lord we pray that you
1:24 would especially just fill them afresh
1:26 with your Holy Spirit and that you would
1:28 guide them and direct them and help them
1:30 to grow in their faith as they journey
1:34 with you it's a privilege Lord Lord just
1:38 to be able to witness some things this
1:40 side of heaven that you're doing in
1:43 visible tangible ways and we thank you
1:45 for the invisible intangible ways that
1:47 your providentially at work as well and
1:50 be with us now as we open up the book of
1:51 James we pray that you would strengthen
1:53 our hearts and that you would encourage
1:55 us and challenge us where we need it
1:57 tonight I thank you for all those who
1:58 are here and those who were watching
2:01 online we commit our study to you now in
2:05 Jesus name and everybody said amen
2:07 for you note-takers here's a little
2:08 background on the book of James the
2:11 writer is none other than the guy after
2:15 whom this book is named James but he is
2:17 distinguished from James the Apostle
2:20 this is James the half-brother of Jesus
2:23 remember Jesus
2:26 some half-brothers and some half-sisters
2:29 they shared the same mother but not the
2:31 same father their father was Joseph but
2:33 the father of Jesus of course was God
2:37 and his supernatural birth was very
2:39 different unlike any other conception
2:42 unlike any other birth ever and so this
2:44 is James the half-brother of Jesus
2:48 Matthew chapter 13 verse 55 names for
2:51 half-brothers that Jesus had James is
2:54 one of them also Joseph Simon and Judas
2:56 a different Judas and it tells us that
3:00 he also had sisters plural although
3:01 they're not mentioned by names so we
3:03 know that he had at least two sisters
3:06 because it is plural so we had in
3:09 essence four brothers half-brothers - at
3:11 least two half-sisters and so it was you
3:16 know a large family by some comparison
3:19 and and so this is James the
3:20 half-brother of Jesus James the Apostle
3:25 was martyred in AD 44 by Herod his death
3:27 by the sword is recorded in Acts chapter
3:32 12 remembered that the siblings of Jesus
3:34 the family of Jesus did not initially
3:37 accept him as Messiah they doubted that
3:40 he was the Christ John chapter 7 verse 5
3:43 said that specifically Jesus's brothers
3:45 did not believe in him but they would
3:48 later come to believe because in Acts
3:50 chapter 1 verse 14 it says that they are
3:53 numbered among the hundred and twenty in
3:56 the upper room after Jesus ascends back
3:59 into heaven and the early church
4:01 numbering initially about 120 are
4:03 meeting in the upper room and they are
4:05 waiting for the gift that Jesus promised
4:07 which was the gift of the Holy Spirit
4:11 among those mentioned there in acts 1:14
4:15 are the Brothers of Jesus so at some
4:17 point they become believers in him as
4:20 the Messiah and then in Acts chapter 15
4:26 it tells us that that this James the
4:28 half-brother of Jesus the writer of this
4:29 book who was inspired by the Holy Spirit
4:35 to write it becomes the leader / pastor
4:37 of the Church of Jerusalem
4:40 and history tells us that he will lead
4:44 the church there for some 30 years he is
4:46 consulted along with some of the other
4:49 early apostles regarding some church
4:52 doctrine issues and so in acts 15 he
4:54 speaks to that and he gives leadership
4:58 and direction concerning those doctrines
5:01 of the faith and so here he is the
5:04 half-brother of Jesus the leader of the
5:07 Church of Jerusalem and and the one that
5:12 the Lord used to pan this epistle he is
5:15 traditionally and affectionately called
5:18 old camel knees and the reason he is
5:20 called that is because James had an
5:23 incredible prayer life and he was on his
5:26 knees so much that his knees became
5:30 calloused and if you've ever seen camels
5:33 knees they are calloused and they're
5:34 gross looking
5:37 and so tradition says that James was
5:39 called old camel knees because he had
5:42 developed such calloused knees as the
5:46 result of such incredible times of
5:49 Prayer such a prayer warrior tradition
5:51 says that he was martyred in the year 80
5:55 62 by being thrown from the temple wall
5:59 church history says that Ananias who was
6:03 the high priest at the time convened a
6:05 meeting with the Sanhedrin which was the
6:09 Jewish ruling council and they demanded
6:12 that James renounce his faith in Jesus
6:15 as the Messiah and when he refused to do so
6:16 so
6:19 church history says that they ran him
6:22 off the pinnacle of the temple they
6:24 threw him to his death from the highest
6:28 point of the Temple Mount area in the
6:31 city of Jerusalem so that's the
6:33 background on the writer himself the
6:36 date of this epistle is somewhere around
6:40 ad 50 which makes it the earliest of all
6:44 the New Testament books some theologians
6:47 some church scholars date this book even
6:49 earlier than that some dated around 45 80s
6:50 80s
6:53 somewhere between 45 really no later
6:56 than 50 ad James was inspired to pen
6:58 this epistle so again it makes it the
7:00 earliest your Bibles are not in
7:02 chronological order if they were in
7:03 chronological order the New Testament
7:06 would begin with the book of James and
7:09 and so it predates Paul's epistles by at
7:13 least two years the recipients of this
7:14 letter as you'll notice in the first
7:19 verse is the scattered Jewish believers
7:21 and when we say scattered Jewish
7:22 believers are talking about the dice for
7:24 the dice for is the Jews who have been
7:28 now dispersed throughout in this
7:30 particular time Asia Minor in particular
7:33 and so this letter is apparently going
7:36 to be read in multiple churches
7:38 throughout Asia Minor to minister to
7:42 these Jewish believers and the overall
7:45 theme of this letter is practical
7:49 Christian living he addresses it if
7:50 you'll notice real quickly in your
7:52 Bibles there to the 12 tribes scattered
7:54 among the nations so the twelve tribes
7:58 are referenced to Jews they were
8:02 suffering and they were living in
8:05 poverty they were suffering persecution
8:06 because if you were a Jew who believed
8:08 in Jesus as the Messiah you were
8:11 basically ostracized by your own people
8:13 the majority of the Jews did not believe
8:15 that Jesus was Messiah remember Jesus
8:16 came among his own his own received him not
8:17 not
8:18 so when you were a Jew who was a
8:21 believer in Jesus as the Messiah as the
8:23 one who fulfilled more than 300 Old
8:25 Testament prophecies related to the
8:27 coming of the Messiah the first coming
8:29 you were shunned by your family some
8:31 families would have funerals for you you
8:33 were ostracized if you had a business
8:36 people would stop buying from you and so
8:37 it was a very difficult time of
8:39 persecution it was a very difficult time
8:41 for Jewish believers to basically
8:44 survive and so James is in part
8:47 encouraging them in in the midst of
8:49 their persecution and their poverty as a
8:52 result of nobody buying from them and
8:56 and and yet it's causing some of them in
8:59 their persecution to start living in a
9:02 worldly manner and so the overall theme
9:03 of this
9:04 having to do with practical Christian
9:06 living is that James is going to
9:09 challenge them to go on to spiritual
9:11 maturity he is going to give us if you
9:15 count somebody did I didn't fifty-fifty
9:18 exort ations throughout this ladder
9:20 the book of James has been compared to
9:21 the book of Proverbs in the Old
9:23 Testament in that you're going to read
9:27 very short succinct pithy exhortations
9:29 one after another after another after
9:30 another it's kind of the wisdom
9:32 literature of the New Testament that
9:35 proverbs is to the Old Testament and and
9:39 James is going to challenge his readers
9:43 here that the evidence of a Christians
9:46 life is how that Christian lives and
9:48 that's why he's going to talk here about
9:50 the the delicate balance between faith
9:53 and words because while he's going to
9:56 make the argument that works don't save
9:59 you he's going to make the point that
10:02 works show that you are saved now this
10:05 book has become problematic for for some
10:07 people in fact Martin Luther when he
10:10 read this book he called it the Epistle
10:13 of straw he didn't like it he in fact he
10:14 was he questioned whether it should even
10:16 be included in the Canon of Scripture
10:20 because Luther came out of Roman
10:22 Catholicism and he was liberated by the
10:24 book of Romans and he really understood
10:26 the whole idea that we don't work our
10:28 way to heaven that it's by grace are we
10:30 saved through faith and he was he was
10:32 liberated in his understanding so he he
10:36 posts his you know 95 thesis on the
10:38 Wittenberg adora in there in Germany and
10:42 he and he basically then was he is
10:43 excommunicated from the Roman Catholic
10:45 Church but he but he basically leaves
10:49 his own volition and and so then
10:52 Protestantism really that vein that
10:54 stream of product is it products protest
10:57 easy for you to say Protestantism that
11:02 stream then begins to to emerge and and
11:03 here we are related to that stream and
11:06 so Luther's liberated from the whole
11:09 idea of works works works and he reads
11:10 the book of James that he feels like
11:13 James emphasizes works too much and in
11:15 reality what James is going to teach us
11:16 is that we're
11:18 are the evidence if you're truly a
11:19 Christian you're gonna live like one and
11:21 if you're not really a Christian it's
11:23 going to it's going to be evident by the
11:25 way you live and so there shouldn't be a
11:28 contradiction there if you really are a
11:31 Christian by belief then you should also
11:34 be a Christian by behavior and so he
11:36 calls Christians this why this is a good
11:38 practical book he but for us today he
11:41 calls Christians to holiness he calls
11:43 Christians to holy living and he says
11:45 listen if you really are Christian
11:47 there's gonna be some ways that you live
11:49 out your faith and and so he's gonna
11:51 develop all of this in five short
11:53 chapters so the overall theme is
11:55 practical Christian living and and the
11:58 idea of holiness but if we if we drill
12:00 down to basically five main themes of
12:03 this book it would be these five main
12:05 themes number one is trials and
12:07 temptations and that's one because it
12:09 goes together here in Chapter 1 he's
12:11 gonna talk about trials it's going to
12:12 talk about temptations but it's really
12:16 one kind of continuous stream of thought
12:20 number two another main theme here is
12:22 again this relationship between faith
12:25 and deeds or faith and works number
12:28 three he's gonna talk about speech you
12:30 know Christians should watch their
12:33 mouths and and part of the evidence of
12:34 you know that you really love Jesus is
12:36 by the way you your you know your
12:38 speeches by the way you talk by that by
12:41 your language and number four he's going
12:43 to talk about wisdom and that number
12:45 five he's gonna talk about prayer so
12:47 we're gonna be looking through you know
12:49 the whole book here but we're gonna come
12:51 across these themes you'll see it and he
12:54 doesn't necessarily talk about these
12:57 different themes in in chronological
13:01 order it's he kind of mixes it all up
13:03 throughout throughout the book so it's
13:05 some it's somewhat ordered and in other
13:07 ways it's somewhat of a disorganized
13:09 book which is another reason why Luther
13:11 felt like James wasn't the author of it
13:13 but anyway that that's for another
13:17 debate but but here we are in James
13:18 chapter 1 I'm going to read just the
13:20 first two verses because the first two
13:25 verses will actually I'll read the first
13:28 four verses the first four verses here
13:29 are full of
13:31 just a lot it's rich I mean there's a
13:34 lot of meat here in this book we're
13:35 gonna take our time and we're gonna go
13:38 through it slowly but you'll notice here
13:41 how rich it is just in the first four
13:43 verses so follow along here in your
13:47 Bibles James 1 verse 1 James a servant
13:50 of God that word servant in the Greek is
13:53 doulos so he's happy to say listen I'm
13:55 just I'm a slave of Christ I'm a servant
13:58 of his I belong to him he's a servant of
14:02 God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
14:04 twelve tribes scattered among the
14:05 nations again these are the Jewish
14:07 believers that have been dispersed
14:12 throughout Asia Minor greetings he says
14:15 in verse two consider it pure joy my
14:18 brothers and sisters is just a universal
14:20 term whenever you face trials of many
14:24 kinds because you know that the testing
14:27 of your faith develops perseverance
14:30 perseverance must finish its work so
14:32 that you may be mature and complete not
14:34 lacking anything
14:36 all right let's park it there for just a
14:39 few minutes because first to is a very
14:43 challenging verse consider it pure joy
14:45 my brothers by the way he's going to use
14:47 that term my brothers he's going to talk
14:48 about brothers 15 times he's going to
14:50 specifically say my brothers
14:52 eight times so it this is an
14:55 affectionate letter but it's also a very
14:57 strong exhortation he's writing to
15:00 people that he loves he's writing people
15:02 that he shares a common bond with they
15:04 come in faith with they love Jesus he
15:07 loves Jesus and right out of the gate
15:09 here he says something that's very
15:12 challenging I mean yeah who among us
15:17 naturally consider it joyful when we
15:19 face trials of various kinds but he but
15:21 he says it right at the beginning here
15:24 consider it pure joy my brothers
15:27 whenever you face trials of many kinds
15:29 so first thing he's gonna talk about
15:31 here the first topic is trials and
15:35 temptations and in regards to trials he
15:37 mentions this here in verse 2 about
15:39 considering a pure joy whenever you face
15:41 trials of many kinds now I've I've
15:42 underlined three
15:46 words in this verse whenever many and
15:50 kinds to point out that what he's
15:52 basically saying is three things from
15:54 these three words at least in the NIV
15:57 translation number one that trials are
15:59 somewhat spontaneous that's what he
16:02 means by whenever you face okay it's
16:05 unpredictable trials don't tell you in
16:06 advance when they're coming don't you
16:09 wish you could prepare a little bit but
16:11 if they're not going to call you up and
16:12 say listen there's a trial coming next
16:16 Tuesday get ready trials are spontaneous
16:18 they are unpredictable number two they
16:19 are numerous
16:22 he says whenever you face trials of many
16:24 many is the key word there they are
16:28 numerous they don't just simply come
16:31 once only in your lifetime over the
16:33 course of your life you will experience
16:39 many trials and he says many kinds the
16:41 third word there is kinds meaning
16:45 various so trials come in spontaneous
16:49 ways the trials come in numerous ways
16:53 trials come in various ways there are
16:56 many kinds of trials that we will face
16:59 we face trials in the world we face
17:03 trials in relationships we face trials
17:08 in health we face trials from Satan you
17:10 know he's a part of trying to afflict us
17:15 we we face trials of various kinds and
17:18 yet James says here consider it pure joy
17:21 now he doesn't mean it in a celebratory
17:25 way he means it well I'll just quote for
17:27 you out of Albert Barnes Barnes has
17:29 written a Greek commentary and and
17:31 Barnes put it this way we are not to
17:34 consider it meaning our trials as
17:40 punishment a curse or a calamity that's
17:42 that's that's what James means here by
17:45 joy we are not to consider it as a
17:48 punishment when we go through a trial as
17:50 a curse when we go through trial or as
17:53 calamity in other words trials are not
17:55 the result of a bad
17:58 God but of a fallen world that's what
18:00 he's trying to say here which is why
18:05 then we can consider it joy because when
18:08 we realize that trials are not the
18:10 result of a bad God but of a fallen
18:13 world then we can turn to God to find
18:16 the source of our joy through the trial
18:17 now everybody understands right Joy's
18:19 different from happiness happiness is
18:21 very circumstantial happiness is very
18:23 temporal happiness you know will come
18:26 and Happiness will go depending on what
18:27 day it is what mood you're in if it's
18:30 sunny if it's rainy if your boss likes
18:31 you if you know all these kind of things
18:33 very circumstantial that's happiness joy
18:37 is a constant if you know Jesus and that
18:38 isn't to say that you don't have bad
18:40 days because trials come in various
18:41 crimes various ways spontaneously
18:44 numerously and and and in many different
18:47 ways but it is to say that in the midst
18:50 of the trial there's this constant
18:54 there's this peace in the midst of it
18:58 there's this reliability on the Lord in
19:02 the midst of it there's the source of a
19:05 contentment that does not fluctuate
19:10 based on the circumstances our joy is
19:14 rooted in Jesus that's why this is not a
19:16 you know this is not saying put on a
19:19 plastic face at the act hypocritical
19:21 pretend like you know everything's fine
19:24 when everything's NOT fine but it is
19:26 simply to say hey things aren't fine I'm
19:29 going through this trial but the source
19:31 of my joy the source of my strength the
19:35 source of my peace is in knowing Jesus
19:38 this is why Psalm 34 verse 15 says the
19:39 eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
19:41 and his ears are attentive to their cry
19:45 and it says in Isaiah 41:10 so do not
19:48 fear for I am with you do not be
19:50 dismayed for I am your God I will
19:52 strengthen you would help you I will
19:53 uphold you with my righteous right hand
19:58 and because of that we can say like the
20:00 psalmist did in psalm 46:1 that God is
20:05 our refuge our strength our ever-present
20:08 help in times
20:10 trouble that's how we have joy in him
20:13 because he helps us to face our trials
20:16 not alone but with his help and with his
20:20 presence then the question becomes why
20:24 why do trials come when you look at the
20:26 Bible there are basically three reasons
20:28 why trials come and here they are for
20:31 our maturation for our correction and
20:36 for our direction all trials basically
20:37 fall into one of those three categories
20:41 or maybe a combination the first one is
20:44 for our maturation that's basically what
20:45 this passage is saying to us here in
20:48 verses 3 & 4 he says that the testing of
20:51 your faith develops perseverance
20:54 perseverance must finish its work so
20:57 that you may be mature new King James
20:59 and ESV says you might be perfect and
21:04 complete not lacking anything now this
21:05 is very similar by the way to what
21:08 Romans 5 tells us Paul Paul writes in
21:10 Romans 5 3 to 5 he says we also rejoice
21:12 in our sufferings because we know that
21:13 suffering produces perseverance
21:16 perseverance character character hope
21:18 and hope does not disappoint us because
21:19 God has poured out his love into our
21:21 hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has
21:25 given us so trials tend to grow us up
21:28 they build character in our lives we
21:29 don't you know I don't know anybody
21:31 really welcomes them I'm just telling
21:34 you the residual effect of trials is
21:38 that it tends to grow us up it draws us
21:41 closer to the Lord in ways friends and
21:42 those who've you been through trials
21:45 can't acknowledge us they bring us
21:47 closer to God in ways that the good
21:51 times just don't I mean you know I love
21:53 to press near to Jesus in the good times
21:57 but I'm telling you I've pressed into
22:01 him harder in the bad times and as much
22:03 as we don't like to go through the bad
22:07 times we grow more during the bad times
22:09 than we do the good times is it is that
22:12 anybody's testimony you grew by leaps
22:16 and bounds through the difficult times
22:18 through this stretching times through
22:21 the challenging times
22:22 Paul would write in second Corinthians
22:24 one eight and nine when he was talking
22:26 about his own trials and his own
22:27 difficulties he said we're under great
22:29 pressure far beyond our ability to
22:31 endure so that we despaired even of life
22:33 he said indeed in our hearts we felt the
22:36 sentence of death but this happened that
22:38 we might not rely on ourselves but on
22:42 God who raises the dead and so Paul was
22:44 saying I didn't like the trials but I
22:47 can tell you this much it purged me of
22:51 self-reliance and it made me more God
22:54 dependent and that's the nature of
22:57 trials you know we esteem in our culture
23:00 people who are self-made people but let
23:01 me tell you something the problem of
23:04 self-made people is they're self-reliant
23:08 because they're self-made and when you
23:12 go through a difficult time if you think
23:14 you're gonna be the source of your
23:17 strength you're mistaken and that's when
23:20 people begin to realize their desperate
23:23 need for God and so when Paul says that
23:24 he said you know these Charles happen
23:26 and I might not rely on myself as much
23:30 as I would on God Trials have a way of
23:34 moving us in God's direction trials have
23:36 a way of growing us up and maturing us
23:39 and refining us and deepening our walk
23:43 with Him Billy Graham once wrote this he
23:46 said quote when a ship's carpenter
23:49 needed timber to make a mast for a
23:52 sailing vessel he did not cut it in the
23:56 valley but up on the mountainside where
23:58 the trees had been buffeted by the winds
24:02 these trees he knew were the stronger of
24:06 all hardship is not our choice but if we
24:09 face it bravely it can toughen the fibre
24:10 of our souls
24:15 end quote and so Trials come from
24:17 maturation number two for correction
24:19 sometimes the trials we face quite
24:20 honestly are brought on by our own bad
24:25 choices when we disobey God
24:28 we sometimes invite difficulties we
24:32 sometimes invite trials God isn't
24:34 pleased with our choices
24:37 sometimes but he will use our bad
24:41 choices to bring correction so that we
24:45 might learn and therefore some of the
24:47 trials we experience are the direct
24:49 result of our own disobedience you look
24:51 at the prodigal son in the story of the
24:54 New Testament Jesus shared that story
24:56 you know it was clear that the prodigal
24:59 son wanted to live life the way he
25:01 wanted to live it
25:04 and he was given Liberty to do that but
25:08 in living life the way he wanted to live
25:11 it without real regard for God and he
25:13 squandered everything that his father
25:17 had given him it wasn't until he was in
25:22 the pig crib eating what pigs eat that
25:24 he began to realize his own desperate
25:27 condition and and sometimes that's where
25:31 we need to go before we finally will be
25:33 corrected enough the trial brings
25:36 correction a similar thing remember
25:37 Jonah the story of Jonah I mean Jonah
25:39 disobeyed God I don't want to go pretty
25:40 sure than advice I don't want to go do
25:44 this so you know he ends up going the
25:46 opposite direction from Nineveh gets on
25:49 a ship and tries to sail away from God
25:51 God's call I guess if you could do that
25:54 and then God brings along the storm you
25:56 know you know the story and Jonah then
26:00 is thrown into the sea by his own
26:02 admission he's like yeah the reason
26:03 we're in a bad storm is because I'm
26:05 running from God and so you got you all
26:07 ought to just throw me overboard and
26:09 they're like no no no we love you join
26:10 it we'll just row faster back the shores
26:12 like no and then the storm gets worse
26:13 remember that and so he's like no and
26:15 they're like yeah you're right we ought
26:16 to just throw you overboard and so then
26:19 they throw them over and then a
26:21 swallowed by a big fish this isn't this
26:23 isn't a fable it's it's a real story
26:25 it's just it's just it was a big fish
26:27 now you know we say whale but the Bible
26:29 doesn't really say whale the Hebrew word
26:36 is dag da G as in dag that's a big fish
26:39 swallowed them up spit him out guess what
26:39 what
26:41 all the sudden Jonah's obedient now he's
26:43 gonna go to Nineveh you know it's
26:44 nothing like being swallowed by a big
26:46 fish to you know get you on the right
26:49 track and so sometimes correction comes
26:52 our way and and the trial is something
26:54 we brought on ourselves
26:57 Jonah brought the trial on himself but
27:00 God used it to to correct him and then
27:03 of course we have not just maturation
27:06 not just correction but sometimes trials
27:09 come for Direction sometimes a
27:12 difficulty can actually be the way that
27:17 God redirects our lives maybe he has
27:19 other purposes that we cannot see
27:21 until hardship moves us in that
27:23 direction you you can see a couple of
27:24 examples in the Bible you look at the
27:27 Apostle Paul when he was on his way to
27:30 Rome sailing in the Mediterranean Sea
27:32 Acts chapter 27 28 record the whole
27:35 incident when the ship ends up wrecking
27:38 and he ends up surviving barely and
27:41 comes ashore on a little island of Malta
27:44 in the middle of the Mediterranean but
27:45 it was there on the island of Malta that
27:48 God used him in miraculous ways to heal
27:51 people who were sick on that island and
27:53 you know it's interesting you know Paul
27:55 hadn't sinned he hadn't done anything
27:58 wrong just circumstances and trials you
28:01 know being shipwrecked he ends up on the
28:05 island of Malta and God used that to
28:08 bring healing to people and God just
28:11 redirected Paul's life because here Paul
28:13 is on his way to Rome and God's like
28:15 nope I got some people in Malta that you
28:17 need to see and so sometimes trials
28:19 happen because God is redirecting our
28:20 lives and it doesn't have anything to do
28:23 with like disobedience there's another
28:25 example in Scripture related to Paul -
28:27 in Acts chapter 16 verse 6 it's
28:29 interesting that tells us on one of
28:32 Paul's missionary journeys that Paul was
28:35 on his way to Macedonia but it's and he
28:37 was in the region of Galatia and in acts
28:41 16 6 it says but we were kept by the
28:44 holy spirit from going into Macedonia
28:47 why would the Holy Spirit keep the
28:48 Apostle Paul
28:51 going somewhere to advance the gospel if
28:54 in fact God is going to use a trial to
28:57 redirect him for other purposes and what
28:59 we end up finding then when we read the
29:02 letter to Galatians in Galatians 4:13
29:04 Paul says to the people of Galatia as
29:06 you know it was because of an illness
29:09 that I first preached the gospel to you
29:11 it's very interesting when you put
29:14 together acts 16 6 and Galatians 4:13
29:17 what we learn is the reason why Paul did
29:20 not advance into Macedonia the reason
29:22 why he was sidelined in Galatia is
29:26 because he got sick he hadn't sandy i
29:28 disobeyed God he I'm done anything wrong
29:31 but God then sidelined him in Galatia
29:34 and then the gospel came to the
29:36 Galatians because Paul ended up staying
29:39 there instead of moving on and so God
29:42 used an illness to bring about actually Paul's
29:43 Paul's
29:45 advancement of the gospel there in
29:46 Galatia rather than moving on to
29:48 Macedonia so there are different things
29:51 listen the point is simply this there
29:53 are some times that God will use a trial
29:55 to redirect your life and it doesn't
29:56 have anything to do with your
29:59 disobedience sometimes it can be you
30:01 know the difficulties say the breakup of
30:03 a dating relationship because God is
30:07 going to redirect you to another person
30:10 sometimes it's the loss of a job and at
30:12 the moment that feels devastating it's a
30:13 trial is difficult how are you gonna pay
30:15 the bills but it's because God wants you
30:19 to get somewhere else you know sometimes
30:21 it's that flat tire and we think oh this
30:22 isn't you know this is an inconvenience
30:24 is the difficulty but maybe God is
30:26 redirecting you you know there are
30:28 different things that happen not every
30:32 trial is is is to be seen as something
30:34 that is terrible because in the long run
30:36 it might actually be God's way of
30:39 redirecting so these are typically the
30:43 three reasons why Trials happen for our
30:45 maturation for our correction and for
30:47 our direction but I want you to notice
30:50 if you're still here in James 1 if you
30:53 jump down to verse 12 because again he
30:56 doesn't some of this information is you
30:58 know not all that organized but in verse
31:02 12 of chapter 1 he says blessed
31:03 is the man or the woman it's just a
31:05 generic term blessed is the one who
31:08 persevered under trial because when he
31:11 has stood the test he will receive the
31:13 crown of life that God has promised to
31:14 those who love him
31:17 and so what he's saying to us is
31:20 whatever the reason for the trial
31:22 whether it's for your maturation
31:25 correction or direction all trials in
31:29 the end you can rest assured if you
31:33 persevere you'll be blessed because the
31:36 one who persevered no matter what the
31:39 trial no matter what form the trial
31:41 takes or no matter for what purpose the
31:44 trial happens God gives this promise
31:48 that if you persevere you will be
31:51 blessed now go back up here in Chapter 1
31:55 where we left off at verse 5 he says if
31:59 any of you lacks wisdom he should ask
32:02 God who gives generously to all without
32:05 finding fault and it will be given to
32:09 him but when he asks he must believe and
32:10 not doubt because he who doubts is like
32:13 a wave of the sea blown and tossed by
32:15 the wind that man should not think he
32:16 will receive anything from the Lord for
32:20 he is a double-minded man unstable in
32:24 all he does so this section here now he
32:26 talks briefly about wisdom he's going to
32:28 talk about wisdom further in the book
32:31 but first he talks about wisdom here for
32:33 you note-takers jot down this verse as
32:36 proverbs 4 verses 5 through 7 this is
32:39 what it says proverbs 4 5 through 7 get
32:43 wisdom get understanding do not forget
32:46 my words or swerve from them do not
32:48 forsake wisdom and she will protect you
32:51 love her and she will watch over you
32:55 wisdom is supreme therefore get wisdom
32:58 that's interesting there it tells us two
33:01 things there in proverbs 4 that wisdom
33:03 is attainable otherwise God wouldn't say
33:03 get it
33:06 wisdom is attainable that's one thing it
33:08 tells us but it also tells us that
33:11 wisdom does not come naturally God
33:13 wouldn't tell us to get something if we
33:15 just naturally had it
33:18 so that's important to recognize wisdom
33:20 is attainable but wisdom does not come
33:24 naturally so why does God tell us to get
33:27 wisdom and James talks about wisdom here
33:30 what is wisdom and how do we get it so
33:31 first things first
33:34 why does God tell us to get wisdom and
33:35 the answer to that folks is basically
33:38 this because because circumstances in life
33:39 life
33:43 demand it knowledge is not enough
33:46 knowledge is not enough there are
33:49 problems that you will face there are
33:52 challenges there are circumstances that
33:56 confront all of us that need something
33:59 more than what knowledge can provide
34:03 have you ever been in situations where
34:07 you realize not enough book smarts and
34:09 not enough street smarts is going to
34:10 help me with this
34:13 I need wisdom from above ever been in
34:15 situations like that where you just
34:17 realized not enough book smarts is gonna
34:18 help me
34:21 not enough street smarts I need wisdom
34:24 from above and that's why God says get
34:28 wisdom wisdom is supreme you see we live
34:31 in a culture that says get knowledge we
34:33 live in a culture that is almost deified
34:37 education is I get knowledge get education
34:37 education
34:40 now listen nothing wrong with getting
34:41 knowledge and nothing wrong with getting
34:46 education only if that is like the God
34:48 in your life right I like smart people
34:50 especially if they're gonna take out my
34:52 appendix you know what I'm saying to you
34:54 I want somebody who's really smart and
34:56 knows how to take out my appendix if I
34:57 ever need that and when somebody is
35:00 really smart if I get on an airplane I
35:02 want somebody really smart in the
35:04 cockpit who knows exactly what he or she
35:06 is doing so I want smart people and
35:08 smart people are good we need we need
35:10 smarts we need knowledge but knowledge
35:13 is not the solution to everything in
35:17 life and so while we tout education you
35:19 know in our culture we've made we've
35:22 made knowledge the premium we don't talk
35:25 much about wisdom we talk about
35:27 knowledge get a good education
35:29 okay fine get a good education
35:30 and getting a good education has made a
35:32 difference in a lot of people's lives I
35:36 get that but we can't dismiss the
35:39 importance of wisdom and God says for us
35:43 to get wisdom here's basically an
35:45 understanding in a differentiation
35:47 between knowledge understanding and
35:50 wisdom think of it like this knowledge
35:54 is the accumulation of information
35:58 understanding is the interpretation but
36:01 wisdom is the application see I know a
36:04 lot of smart people they've they've got
36:05 a lot of knowledge they've accumulated a
36:06 lot of information and they can
36:09 interpret it well but data they don't
36:12 know jack squat how to apply it and so
36:13 it's like what that person is really
36:15 smart you ever run into people who are
36:17 brilliant they got a lot of letters
36:19 after their names but they can't tie
36:21 their shoes and you're like what
36:24 happened here well because there's
36:26 sometimes a disconnect between you can
36:27 have a lot of information you can just
36:29 be a receptacle of information you can
36:31 even regurgitate the information that's
36:34 basically how I pass school I just I got
36:36 it i regurgitating it right but there's
36:38 a whole difference between gathering
36:41 information interpreting it okay and
36:46 then applying it and for the application
36:49 we really need help from above
36:52 you know you for example you can read
36:55 all the parenting books in the world to
36:58 try to be a good parent but all that
37:01 parenting information will be useless to
37:04 you unless you have wisdom as to how to
37:07 apply it and as to how to apply it
37:10 related to your particular children who
37:13 are different and who are unique you can
37:15 read all the self-help books you can
37:17 read all on approving your marriage and
37:19 books on dieting and books on investing
37:23 but if you don't have wisdom all that
37:25 information will just be an accumulation
37:27 of stuff wisdom is supreme contest
37:30 therefore get wisdom when you're facing
37:33 a crisis you need the wisdom of God when
37:35 you're making life impacting decisions
37:37 you need the wisdom of God when you have
37:40 questions or fears you need the wisdom
37:42 of God wisdom
37:45 is supreme therefore get wisdom and so
37:48 James talks here about wisdom there is a
37:50 difference by the way between worldly
37:53 wisdom and heavenly wisdom and James is
37:54 going to talk a little bit more about
37:58 that further on in in chapter 3 worldly
38:01 wisdom is basically the accumulation of
38:05 knowledge and the accumulation of life
38:08 experience so people it is it isn't to
38:10 say because I want to make make clear on
38:11 this it isn't to say that only
38:14 Christians have wisdom I I would say
38:15 this only Christians have wisdom from
38:17 above but there's an earthly wisdom
38:19 however Paul says in first Corinthians
38:21 3:19 that the wisdom of this world is
38:23 foolishness in God's sight so there is a
38:25 certain measure of wisdom that people
38:27 can have obviously who don't know the
38:30 Lord but that wisdom is basically based
38:32 on what has been developed in their
38:35 lives over time and experience and the
38:40 accumulation of life experiences but
38:42 godly wisdom is from above and it has
38:44 nothing to do necessarily with how old
38:44 you are
38:47 you know I I've met some very young
38:49 people who have liked wisdom beyond
38:53 their years because they know the Lord
38:55 and they have a wisdom from above to be
38:57 able to see and discern things in their
38:59 world that doesn't come through text
39:02 books or life experience it is something
39:05 that is really from above and so how do
39:07 we get it he tells us right there in
39:09 verse 5 look at your Bibles again if any
39:13 of you lacks wisdom he should want ask
39:18 God pray and ask see how do I get this
39:22 wisdom you ask and it says and God who
39:25 gives generously to all without finding
39:27 fault in other words God is no respecter
39:28 of persons
39:29 he doesn't discriminate doesn't say well
39:31 I'm gonna give wisdom to you but not to you
39:31 you
39:34 if you ask he'll distribute it he'll
39:36 give you wisdom from above generously
39:39 without finding fault and it will be
39:45 given to him but when he asks you must
39:49 believe and not doubt because doubting
39:51 is like a wave of the sea blown and
39:54 tossed by the wind
39:56 don't think you're gonna get anything
39:58 you're just a double-minded person in
40:00 other words don't do this don't say lord
40:02 I need wisdom I got this incredible
40:05 decision I I have to make and I just I
40:07 need your wisdom from above so give me
40:10 wisdom I probably won't you know don't
40:11 do that
40:14 just just say thank you Lord I'm gonna
40:15 trust that you're gonna give me the
40:17 wisdom for this and and and I'm gonna
40:19 trust you based on your word and you're
40:21 faithful to your word and you said you
40:23 give generously you give liberally to
40:25 all who ask without finding fault and so
40:27 thank you for the wisdom that I need
40:29 today and thank you for the wisdom that
40:31 I need tomorrow and pray and don't doubt
40:33 because God gives generously to all
40:37 without finding fault so pray for wisdom
40:39 which is a good place for us to pause
40:41 tonight and we'll do just that and
40:43 because our time has escaped this and
40:46 we'll pick it up here next week so read
40:50 ahead we'll pick it up at verse 9 but
40:52 for tonight let's pause and ask the Lord
40:54 for wisdom and maybe there's something
40:56 in particular in your life that you need
40:59 God's wisdom for let's just take a
41:00 moment as we close our service and
41:02 specifically asking for that would you
41:05 pray with me
41:07 Lord we thank you for the promise of
41:10 your word you tell us directly that if
41:14 we lack wisdom we should ask and you
41:16 will give generously to all without
41:20 finding fault but if we ask we should
41:23 not doubt that just makes us double
41:27 minded and you don't honor that and so
41:30 lord I pray by faith and we could all
41:32 use wisdom Lord no matter if we're going
41:34 through something specifically or we
41:38 just need wisdom for everyday life we
41:41 pray for it right now Lord we pray in
41:44 Jesus name for just a fresh outpouring
41:48 of wisdom from above that is beyond
41:51 knowledge beyond degrees beyond
41:55 education information Lord we don't lack
41:57 for information we live in the
42:01 information age so much information is
42:07 at our fingertips but we lack for wisdom
42:10 so Phyllis Lord with your wisdom from
42:14 above I'm just gonna pause in my prayer
42:16 just still your heads bowed just in an
42:18 attitude of prayer and I just want to
42:20 invite you right now just between you
42:24 and the Lord just quietly just tell them
42:26 specifically lord I need wisdom for and
42:30 then just tell them just say lord I need
42:35 wisdom for whatever that situation
42:40 whatever that need and now I want you to
42:42 just respond by saying thank you Lord I
42:45 trust you that according to your word
42:49 you give liberally generously without
42:51 finding fault so I just receive your
42:56 wisdom right now and I trust your word
42:58 that you are faithful to all your
43:04 promises that if we ask you will give it
43:09 so we don't doubt we just refuse to
43:11 doubt right now instead we receive and
43:14 believe that you have given us your
43:17 wisdom from above for whatever our need
43:22 and help us Lord to always remember this
43:24 verse so that we don't run to other
43:27 sources trying to figure things out
43:31 may we first pause and seek you and ask
43:38 for wisdom give us your wisdom Lord and
43:40 in regards to trials that we talked
43:42 about tonight to whoever might be facing
43:46 a trial Lord thank you that you are
43:50 faithful to us that if we persevere you
43:55 bless us and for some your you're just
43:57 trying to grow us up more for others
43:59 you're trying to correct us for others
44:01 you're trying to direct us Lord whatever
44:03 the situation we thank you that if we
44:07 persevere you tell us that you bless us
44:10 and so take us through the trials
44:13 whatever we might be facing and we trust
44:14 you Lord we love you and we thank you
44:17 together in Jesus name and everybody
44:18 said a man
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