Being Joyous

Thank you.

Well, let us pray that the Lord would open our hearts

to what he's just spoken to us in his precious word.

Loving Father, we thank you that we can hear you speak to us.

We ask, Father, that you would open our hearts

and we ask, Father, that your word would dwell in us

and enrich us in every way this morning.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, Graham has a week up his sleeve

at the end of each sermon series

and I thought it might be helpful in these filler weeks

if we would have a look at the letter of James

because you can delve into James every now and then quite easily.

James' letter doesn't really build up an argument

the way that Paul's letters often do.

It's a bit more like a grab bag of reflections on the Christian life

and the very first aspect of the Christian life

that James wants to reflect on

is actually the first point that Graham raised in his sermon last week.

So thematically it connects quite nicely.

Now who can remember the first point of Graham's sermon last week?

Time to put somebody on the spot

and see how much we listen to sermons.

Maybe I should ask one of the elders.

So, anybody?

What was Graham's first point from last week?

No hands.

The elders are starting to sweat.

So, who could remember?

Oh.

To stand firm and cry.

In order to wait.

Almost.

Almost.

Graham's first point was to rejoice.

To be joyful.

That's right.

Rejoice.

The Apostle Paul was indeed telling the Philippians

to rejoice and stand firm in their trials

and to rejoice always.

He was commanding us to rejoice

not just according to the circumstances

that we find ourselves in

but because what God has done for us in the Lord Jesus

is so amazing.

But let's just think about that for a minute.

If you had to write a list of your all-time moments of pure joy,

what would go down on paper?

Perhaps it would include Scotland's glorious defeat of Australia

a few weeks ago.

Particularly sweet,

given what happened in the 2015 world final, quarterfinal.

I was on the other side of the globe

so that wasn't quite so painful for me.

Perhaps it would include signing on the dotted line

of your first home

or a reunion perhaps with a long-lost friend.

But what about a difficult job?

What about getting cancer?

What about a very strained marriage?

Would any of these things make it onto your list?

Of course not.

These things aren't sources of joy.

They're unpleasant.

They're painful.

But astonishingly,

James begins his letter by saying

that they should make it onto such a list.

In verse 2, James says,

consider it pure joy,

my brothers,

whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Now what kind of jerk writes that?

It's completely insensitive.

What pastor says that?

Wouldn't it be a bit more pastoral to say,

I'm sorry,

I'm so sorry to hear

that you're going through such a rough time?

Wouldn't that be the properly Christian response

to a trial,

a serious trial of our faith?

The thing is,

it's actually hard to imagine anyone better qualified

to offer a more properly Christian response.

The James who wrote this letter knew Jesus better than anyone.

He spent many more years alongside Jesus

than any of the disciples.

As far as we know,

this is the James who grew up in the same home as Jesus.

More than anyone,

James knew the Lord Jesus best.

And perhaps that's why James actually became

the most prominent leader of the early church.

Well, that doesn't seem like it at first glance.

What James is saying here is in fact

a profoundly Christian response

to the sufferings and difficulties

that we face in life.

And I think if we don't try to get to grips with this,

if we don't try to get to grips with it,

we stand to lose a lot.

But in order to do that,

we've got to slow down.

We've got to slow down

to think very carefully about the what

and the why and the how

of this very short sentence

to consider it pure joy

when we face trials of many kinds.

And the what, I think,

is like to suggest the what

is especially easy to get wrong.

It's very easy to get wrong.

And I think a lot of Christians

actually do get it wrong.

And it's very easy to misunderstand

what James is saying.

It's easy to hear him getting a bit zen,

as if James is telling us

to convince ourselves

that what is painful

is actually not painful after all.

That we just pretend it away,

to turn pain off like a tap

and pretend that trials are fun.

This reminds me of a series

of children's books

that I had as a child.

Maybe some of you might have had them.

They were written by Monroe Leaf.

He's actually a British author,

so maybe some of the people here

have seen them.

Has anyone come across them?

No?

The titles of these books

all end in Can Be Fun.

So manners can be fun.

Safety can be fun.

And they have this bizarre

psychological agenda.

They're full of pictures

like this one.

It's kind of South Park

meets Pilgrim's Progress.

And if I show any more

it'll completely distract you

and you won't listen to anything

more I've said in the sermon.

But the point is fairly clear.

I mean, how is this going to work?

Trying to convince a child

that something is fun

when it isn't

is madness.

I mean, what six-year-old boy

having read one of these books

is going to think

that manners are fun

or safety for that fact?

Anyway, the problem is, of course,

a lot of Christians

read James' letter

as if it were, in fact,

written by Monroe Leaf.

They hear James

trying to convince them

really that getting sick

or going through

some other kind of crisis

can be fun.

That's not at all

what James is saying.

James is not saying

that trials can be fun.

More than anyone,

James knew that trials

are painful

and unpleasant.

According to tradition,

James himself

was martyred in Jerusalem

by being thrown off

the roof of the temple

and then clubbed to death.

I'm sure that wasn't fun.

So we need to take care

with what James is saying.

Trials are not fun

and he's not trying

to convince us

that they are.

He's actually saying

something quite different.

He's talking about

what trials achieve for us.

He's telling us

that as painful

as they may be,

they are, in fact,

a means to a glorious end.

We are to consider it joy

when we face trials

of many kinds

because of what

they bring about for us.

And he's calling us

to a shift of mindset

in that.

But before we go any further,

I want to suggest

this is a shift of mindset

that's actually not

all that unfamiliar.

Perhaps you've made it yourself

and if you haven't,

I'm sure you've observed

it in others.

Take, for example, running.

I honestly can't ever imagine

wanting to run a marathon.

I enjoy running in moderation.

I usually run up and down

the Union Canal

on a Sunday morning,

depending on how my aging knees

and hamstrings are holding up.

I'll happily run five miles.

I have no desire whatsoever

to run 26.

Although I know there are

a few people here that do,

so you're mad and I'm not.

But in any case,

the bandmaster of our children's

former school back in Sydney,

he really, really, really does.

In fact, he's run 50 of them.

Noel even has a blog

on the internet about his running

and recounting a recent

ultra-marathon.

So ultra-marathons,

that's in another level.

He writes,

if I have a weakness

in these kinds of events,

it would have to be a cramp

around the four-hour mark.

Four-hour mark.

In so many cases,

I've suffered excruciating

cramps in my upper legs.

Today would be no different.

Will I do it again?

Yep.

Count me in.

Noel simply loves it.

He ran from Newcastle to Sydney,

which was about from Edinburgh

to London, I think.

But anyway, who cares?

He loves running.

And does he love the pain?

Of course not.

He really suffers.

But he makes a mind shift

about that pain,

which is very similar

to the one that James

is talking about.

Noel loves the end

that the pain achieves for him.

He loves the glorious end

of finishing the race.

And this is the same

as what James is saying.

James is saying that

if we fix our eyes

on the glorious end

that our trials are achieving for us,

it will transform

our experience of pain.

And the key thing, therefore,

is that we understand

what this end is.

And thankfully,

James tells us

exactly what it is.

Consider it pure joy,

my brothers,

whenever you face

trials of many kinds,

because you know

that the testing of your faith

develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish

its work so that what?

So that you may be mature

and complete,

not lacking anything.

Mature and complete.

This is the glorious end

for those who entrust themselves

to the Lord Jesus.

More literally,

James says,

perfect and complete.

See, James isn't talking here

about just a basic Christian maturity

where you leave

your gross sins behind

and you learn more

about Jesus.

No,

he has something much,

much bigger in mind.

James speaks of

a glorious hope,

the hope of becoming

a perfect

and complete

human being.

Right now,

we're very imperfect

and very incomplete

human beings,

aren't we?

we've been forgiven

if we put our trust

in Jesus,

but we fail

on a daily basis.

We fall down

and sin.

We might have

changed a bit,

but we still drift back

into that place

where we came from.

We might be growing

a bit,

but we barely come up

to Jesus' waist.

Kate bought some

high-heeled boots

the other day

because our

eldest son,

Joe,

who's growing so fast,

Joe,

is growing into

his full

physical stature

and the Lord willing

in the course of his life,

he will also attain

to the full stature

of Christ.

And that is the glorious

end of the Christian life.

God changes us

from the inside out

until we attain

to the full stature

of Christ.

And irrespective

of how much progress

we actually make

in this,

in the course of our life,

God will bring this

to completion

on the day

that he raises us

from the dead

and transforms us

in glory.

On that day,

we won't be raised

as incomplete

and imperfect

human beings

that we are now.

We will resemble

the Lord Jesus

in every way.

This is the maturity

and completeness

that James is talking about.

This is the glorious end

for which trials

are the means.

And James resumes

his train of thought

in verse 12

to flesh this out

where he writes again,

blessed is the man

who perseveres

under trial

because

when he has

stood the test

he will receive

the crown of life

that God has promised

to those

who love him.

The crown of life

is the glorious

perfection

and completeness

that God will bestow

on those

who love him,

on those

who have entrusted

themselves

to Jesus

who will raise

him from the dead.

On that day

they will resemble

Jesus

in all his

magnificent beauty.

We will be raised

as Jesus is raised.

And I think

James actually

had someone

very much

like Noel

in mind

when he chose

the metaphor

of a crown

because it's

running imagery.

When James

uses the word

crown

it refers to

the laurel wreath

presented to

the winning athlete

in the ancient games.

Standing firm

through trials

James says

is just like that.

It's like a race

with lots of pain

but at the end

you are crowned

with eternal life.

There's a bit of

difference between

the Olympic games

and the Christian life.

The metaphor

kind of falls down

a bit

as all

preaching metaphors

do

because we're not

exactly competing

against each other

for this crown.

There's more

than one of them.

In the Christian life

you just need to

finish to get the crown.

You don't need

to come first.

So I guess

James' crown

is more like

the t-shirt

that you get

at the end

of finishing

a modern marathon.

In any case

James' point

is pretty clear.

There is a glorious

end for us

if we stand firm

through the trials

of our faith.

That glorious end

is the perfection

and completion

that we await

at the resurrection.

And when you get this

what James is saying

about joy

starts to become

a little bit

more clear.

It starts to make

more sense.

We are to consider

trials as pure joy

not because they're fun

but because they are

a means to a glorious

end.

And if you see that

the what makes

more sense

but if you're

really honest

you'll admit

that a new problem

actually starts

to arise.

And that's the problem

of the why.

why would trials

be God's means

for our perfection

and completion?

Why would he do that?

Why would God

choose terrible experiences

as the means

of our transformation?

Who here hasn't

asked that question?

Perhaps only the people

who have never experienced

what James is talking about.

James is not silly.

He knows that this

is a very serious question

and so he wants

to offer an answer to it.

We can be tempted

to blame God

or even wonder

whether God somehow

enjoys our suffering.

These are dark thoughts

and James wants

to protect us from them.

But to understand

his answer

a very brief

Greek lesson

is necessary.

There's a connection

between verse 13

and verse 2

which is invisible

in our English Bibles.

unless that is

you're following

on with

one of the very few

translations

that preserves

this connection.

Has anybody here

grown up

with the King James

version?

No?

I know that this fellow

was reading it

until a little while ago.

The King James

actually preserves

this connection

between verse 13

and verse 2

and this connection

holds the key

to warding off

the feeling

that creeps up

on us

the feeling of

blaming God

for the trials

we face.

and the key

is seeing

how there is

an element

of temptation

in every trial.

Think about it.

Every difficulty

challenge

and instance

of suffering

presents a powerful

temptation

to give up

on God.

Many of us

will be able

to think of

a difficult time

in our life

which nearly

brought us

to give up

on God

and that temptation

was every bit

as real

as being tempted

to sin

in some other way.

Every trial

is a temptation

to give up

on God

and if you're

being persecuted

for your faith

you can be tempted

to stop trusting God

especially in that situation.

If you're suffering

a terrible physical

or mental illness

you can be tempted

to stop trusting God

in that situation.

Whatever the trial

might be

it tempts us

to give up

on God

and it's exactly

the same

as being tempted

to sin

in lust

or anger

or envy.

we are tempted

to put faith

to one side

just in a different way.

As Paul says

in Romans 14

Romans 14:23

verse 23

whatever does not

proceed from faith

is sin.

So when trials

do bring us

to want to give up

on God

it's very easy

to blame him

for that

and that's why

James reminds us

in verse 13

when tempted

no one should say

God is tempting me

for God cannot

be tempted by evil

nor does he tempt

anyone.

Difficulties

challenges

sufferings

might bring us

to resent him

for bringing these things

into our lives

but we must never

blame God for that.

He isn't trying

to deliberately

undermine our faith.

Pain and suffering

come as part

of the consequences

of humanity's

disobedience

and rejection

of God

wholesale.

We're the ones

who opened

Pandora's box.

We're the ones

who brought pain

and suffering

into the world

and this is

James' answer

to the why.

But James

also knows

that this is

fairly cold comfort.

James knows

that by itself

this why

actually isn't

really going

to bring us

any closer

to considering

trials as joy

and that is

why he's

careful also

to say

something about

the how.

Coming to grips

with what

holds the key

to this mind

shift

is what James

is talking about

when he goes on

in verses 16

and 17

to say

don't be deceived

my dear brothers.

Every good

and perfect gift

comes from above

coming down

from the father.

Don't be deceived

James says.

Adam and Eve

brought the paper

but God is using

it to wrap

a glorious gift.

By themselves

trials are bad

news

but God takes

them and he

uses them

as a means

of bestowing

on us

a good

and perfect

gift.

The crown

of life

that he was

just speaking

about in

verse 12

and the how

simply consists

in focusing

on the gift

and not

the paper

in not

allowing the

challenges

these trials

pose to our

faith

to deceive

us into

thinking that

the crown

of life

is actually

a fairly

average gift.

The how

simply consists

in seeing

really seeing

the glory

of the end

to which God

calls us

in his gospel.

If we

really see

what we

will be

it will

kindle a joy

that cannot

be quenched

by any pain

or difficulty.

The transformation

that God

holds out

for us

in his gospel

is so

immeasurably

great

it defies

all description.

No eye

has seen

no ear

has heard

no mind

has conceived

what God

has prepared

for those

who love

him.

But

God

has revealed

it to us

by his

spirit.

So says

Paul

God has

revealed it

to us

what we

shall be.

In the

scriptures

God has

revealed to

us that

the Lord

of glory

the crucified

one

now risen

from the

dead

and seated

in glory.

God

has revealed

Jesus

Christ

and the

promise of

the gospel

is that

we shall

be like

him

and that

we shall

share with

him in

his glory.

2 Thessalonians

2.14

God called

you to be

saved through

the gospel

that you

might share

in the glory

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

God has

revealed what

God has

prepared for

those who

love him.

He has

shown us

his good

and perfect

gift which

awaits us

at Christ's

return.

All we need

to do is

fix our

eyes on

the horizon

of our

faith.

The problem

is though that

in times of

trials our

horizon becomes

so foreshortened

that we can

barely see two

feet in front

of us.

It's like when

the horror

comes in.

I was quite

surprised in

St Andrews

recently at

a conference

someone turned

a smoke

machine on

outside St

Mary's

College and

then I had

to remind

myself that

I was in

Scotland.

But this

is exactly

what happens

in our

trials.

We can

see nothing

of what

lies beyond

our trials

when we're

in the midst

of them,

let alone

the eternity

that stretches

out for us

in the

resurrection.

The trials

block everything

out.

The pain

and the

difficulty

of what we're

experiencing

simply clouds

our vision.

But we can

rejoice in

trials if

only we

gain a

fresh glimpse

of what lies

ahead.

In this

respect it's

a bit like

driving on

the autobahn.

There's no

speed limit on

those things

which means

you have to

look a very

long way

forwards and

back because

the cars are

travelling so

fast.

And it's

exactly the

same when we

go through

trials we

need to be

looking a

long way

back.

And a

long way

forward we

need to be

looking back

to the

resurrection

and forwards

to Christ's

return if we

are to rejoice

in our

trials.

If we can

lift our

eyes from

our trials to

see what lies

ahead, even

for a moment

we will see

things that can

move us in a

very different

way.

If we can

gain a glimpse

of the risen

Christ reigning

at the right

hand of the

Father in

glory, it

will stir

something.

joy.

If we look

long enough

and see in

him the

promise of

what we

shall be,

it might

even become

joy.

Seeing in

Christ a

reflection of

our future

selves is

what holds

the key to

making the

mind shift

James is

speaking about.

unless we

see Christ

in his

glory, we

will not

be moved

to joy by

the prospect

of being

like him.

Unless we

are transfixed

by his

beauty, we

will not be

moved to joy

at the thought

of attaining

to his full

stature.

The key to

considering trials

as joy consists

in this one

thing, constantly,

regularly,

repeatedly,

regaining a

glimpse of

who we

shall be.

And this

is why we

need to be

soaking ourselves

in all that

the scriptures

tell us of

this.

This is why we

need to be

scouring the

word of God

to fill out

an identikit

of our future

selves in the

face of Christ

so that we

can recall this

in the midst

of our trials.

When we're

feeling weakened

in our faith

and vulnerable

to sin,

who Christ

is must be

at the very

front of our

minds so

that we can

cast our

eyes on

his features,

on his

majesty,

on his

mercy,

and allow

something of

his glory

to displace

the anger

or the

despair

or whatever

it is

that may

have robbed

us of that

joy.

In our

congregation

back in

Sydney,

there was a

retired

minister who

once told me

how when he

was feeling

overwhelmed by

the difficulties

of his

ministry,

and there

were many,

things like

he might be

driving in

his car to

some meeting,

which would

really put him

to the test.

He would

recall the

vision of

Christ in

Revelation

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

and fill his

mind with

John's

astonishing

description of

the Lord

Jesus.

What's

spiritual

wisdom?

Don knew

in a very

deeply practical

way the

how of this

mind shift

James is

speaking of.

But he

could make

this mind

shift only

because he

had etched

the detail

of what God

has revealed

in his

word onto

his mind.

He could

recall this

because he

had looked

so long

at Christ's

features so

many times.

You cannot

recall what

you have not

seen, and

you can recall

only in very

poor detail

what you've

seen in the

distant past.

To see the

reflection of

our future

selves in

Christ, we

must study

him like

the artist

studies their

subject.

We must

study Christ

if we are

to allow

his glorious

features to

move us to

joy in the

midst of

trials and

make this

mind shift

that James

is speaking

of.

It's at this

point though

that we may

need to pause

for a moment

and consider

briefly whether

God is not

actually calling

you to a

more fundamental

mind shift.

It's possible

that you attend

church and

even identify

as a Christian

but may have

never seen

Christ's glory.

It's possible

that you have

heard that

Jesus died

and rose

again but

have never

internalized the

fact that he

died and

rose for you.

It's possible

that you have

heard Jesus'

words but have

never really

taken him at

his word.

If that's you

this morning,

God is calling

you to a more

fundamental mind

shift.

God is calling

you to turn

to him in

repentance and

faith.

For without

this mind

shift there is

no crown

of life.

You are

running a race

where there is

no finish line

and you remain

in your sins.

If that's you

this morning,

God is calling

you to entrust

yourself to

Christ for the

forgiveness of

your sins.

God is calling

you to receive

the promise

of life,

the crown of

life that he

holds out in

his gospel.

But to those

of us who

have made

this more

fundamental

mind shift

and received

what Christ

promises,

God is calling

us again once

more to see

the beauty and

glory of this

promise.

He's calling

us to see the

goodness and

the perfection

of his gift

once more so

that it might

begin us a

movement that

will bring us

to regard trials

with joy.

So in

closing I

invite you

to meditate

now quietly

on where you

may need to

make this

mind shift

in your

life.

There will

be a

tremendous

range of

experiences

in a group

of people

this large.

There will

be people who

feel like it's

an impossibility,

that joy is

an impossibility,

that they're

being stretched

so far beyond

their capacity

to rejoice

in their

salvation.

others will

have perhaps

gone through

trials in

their past

and remember

this difficulty

well, and

there will be

yet others

for whom

these difficulties

lie in the

future.

Wherever God's

word meets us

this morning,

let us allow

to bring our

eyes to us

once more on

the perfection

and completion

of the crown

of life.

Let us gain a

fresh glimpse

of Christ in

his glory so

that we will be

moved to the

prospect of

being like

him.

Let us

allow ourselves

once more to

be transfixed

by his beauty

so that we

will be moved

at the joy

of attaining

to his full

stature.

Let us pray.

Loving

Father, we

thank you that

you have

revealed your

Son.

We thank

you that we

see him in

the precious

words of his

gospel.

Lord, we

ask that you

would bring us

to see once

again a

reflection of

our future

selves in

his face and

sustain us,

Lord, and

bring us to

the joy of

our salvation,

which as

Nehemiah

reminds us,

is our

strength.

And we

ask this for

the glory of

your Son

until the day

he returns.

Amen.