When Life Is Hard

We are starting a new series, and we're going to do the Bible reading in a few minutes' time.

We're starting a new preaching series. We're going to be going through the book of James.

And the book of James is this really interesting little book of the Bible.

It's right at the back of your Bible.

And just because it's little doesn't mean it's unimportant.

The book of James is fascinating for a couple of reasons.

It's one of the books of the Bible that Christians, most Christians, really enjoy,

and pastors really struggle with.

And the reason is this.

It's so practical and concise.

And pastors really struggle with this because, you know, we like theological arguments

and digging into Greek and our ivory tower study stuff.

And James isn't really interested in any of that.

He is very practical and to the point.

One of the most famous sentences in the book of James is found at the end of the first chapter.

So he says, don't merely listen to God's word and deceive yourself.

Do what it says.

Very to the point.

Very wonderful.

So the book of James is a great book in that way.

It's also very interesting because James is the brother of Jesus Christ.

His younger brother.

And technically his half-brother.

He had the same mom, different dad.

They would have grown up in the same house together.

Sat at the same dining room table together.

He would have watched Jesus growing up.

And what's interesting is James no doubt realized there's something special about Jesus.

But James didn't believe that Jesus was the Christ.

And so even when Jesus is an adult, John's gospel tells us that his brothers didn't believe

what everybody else was saying about Jesus.

And yet later on, James did come to believe.

And it's amazing how he writes about, he calls him our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

As the result of seeing Christ rising from the dead, James came to believe that Jesus really

is who he said he was.

I, by the way, I have this wonderful older brother.

His name's Simon.

He's also a pastor.

He lives in Singapore.

He's two years older than me and I really look up to him and respect him in many, many

ways.

But I've never called him Lord Simon.

Or the glorious Lord Simon Murphy.

But James came to see that his brother really was who he claimed to be.

And so he writes here in the first verse, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And later on, our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

It's wonderful that this man who was once filled with doubts and skepticism, later on

came to write a book of the Bible.

And we see that, as we read the book of Acts, we actually see that James came to be the leader

of the church in Jerusalem, which was one of the biggest churches in the first century.

In chapter 15 of Acts, he is the chairman of this very important council.

And so James is this really important figure in the early church.

He's the brother of Jesus.

He's the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

He's one of the key leaders.

And yet, if you look at verse 1, how he describes himself, he says, James, merely a servant of

God and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This man who has this remarkable CV, brother of Jesus, leader of the church, just sees himself

as this humble servant.

And then maybe the last thing to say by way of introduction is, who is James writing to?

Well, he says he's writing to the 12 tribes of the dispersion.

In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, God's people, were made up of 12 tribes, 12 clans.

It was a way of describing God's people.

And in Acts chapter 8, we see that God's people in Jerusalem, the Christians, encounter persecution

Acts 8 · chapter mention

and difficulty.

And so they flee out of Jerusalem.

They go and live all over kind of the Roman Empire.

But James, who was this pastor in Jerusalem, still carries these men and women on his heart.

Even though they're no longer part of his church, he loves them.

He wants to know how they're doing.

He's concerned about the fact that they're facing these trials.

And so he writes to these Christian Jews all over the Roman Empire to encourage them, to

encourage them in their faith.

This is what the book of James is about.

It's written by this humble pastor to these Christians that are going through a difficult

time, who are facing these various trials, to encourage them to keep on going when life

is hard.

And so on that note, let's listen to the reading from this morning.

And Karen is going to come and read James chapter 1, verses 1 to 8.

James 1:1–8

Let's listen up.

Lord, please speak to us from the book of James.

This is chapter 1, starting in verse 1, we read, James, a servant of God and of the Lord

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know

that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking

in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach,

and it will be given him.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.

For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

This is the word of God.

Great, thanks, Karen.

Let me pray for us, and let's ask God to speak to us.

As Karen prayed, Lord, we want you to speak to us.

We want to hear your wisdom for real life.

This week, God, as we go into the great city of Hong Kong, we want our eyes fixed on you,

God.

We're going to face various trials.

Lord, we want to experience and encounter your grace.

And so, God, won't you encourage us from your word?

Won't you speak to us from James' words to us?

May we hear not just James' message, but your word to us today.

We pray this in your great name.

Amen.

Okay, so this passage today, nice and short, is broken up into two sections,

verses 2 to 4 and verses 5 to 8.

And the two big ideas are this.

When life is hard, okay, I know that's not really a full sentence, but when life is hard,

to seek the wisdom of the gracious God.

When life is hard, seek the wisdom of the gracious God.

So let's look at what James says just here.

Firstly, when life is hard.

I'm sure you probably don't need too much convincing that life is hard.

It's testing.

It's challenging.

If anyone doubted the reality of that, COVID-19 just reminded us of the reality that life is not always a bed of roses.

But the danger, of course, is that sometimes we think, oh, COVID was this wild anomaly,

a once-in-a-century anomaly.

Now that we got through that, let's just get back to the good old days, and life will continue wonderfully.

But the reality is that even before COVID, and certainly post-COVID, life is full of trials, full of difficulty, full of challenges.

And so look at how James says this.

He says in verse 2,

James is writing to these Christians, not because he thinks they might be a good one.

He might possibly, on a bad day, have experienced some trial.

But because he knows they will.

He says when you encounter trials.

Not if that may happen.

When.

It's going to happen.

We are a very young church.

35% of Watermark is between the age of 20 and 29 years old.

And let me just say to those of us that are younger in our years, and especially if you're a high schooler,

the world tells you that the world is your oyster.

And you can do anything you want, and be anything you want.

And just look inside yourself, and you can fulfill any dream you want.

Friends, let me tell you, life is full of challenges.

It is hard.

And so let me encourage you, don't believe the Instagram life.

That is not real life.

You know, sometimes I meet up with people, and someone will say,

I'm going through a really difficult time.

Really, really struggling.

Life is hard.

I wake up full of anxiety.

Sometimes the dark cloud hangs over me.

And yet, when I see the Instagram account there, in Bali, you know, with a cocktail in their hand and an infinity pool,

I think life couldn't get better.

Friends, Instagram is not real life.

That's called a holiday.

Real life is the baby not sleeping throughout the entire night, crying all night long.

Real life is getting a miserable teacher at school.

Real life is having your girlfriend break up with you.

Real life is not getting that promotion or having that psycho boss that makes your life difficult.

Real life is getting cancer or moving to another country that you don't want to move to.

Life is full of disappointments.

And a hundred times a day, we're told in our culture and our society,

that just look within yourself to be what you want to be.

Fulfill your dreams.

Do whatever you want.

Friends, don't believe it.

Life is full of trials.

Various trials.

And when these trials come, James wants to tell us that the Christian worldview tells us not merely to respond just passively,

not to respond emotionally, but to think about it, to engage with it.

Look at what he says here.

He says, count it all joy or consider it all joy when you face these trials.

Now, James is not saying, you just lost your job.

Your wife's about to give birth to twins.

Your cell phone just broke.

Yeah!

What a joy!

Life couldn't get better.

No, no, he's not saying that.

He's not saying, enjoy the trials, or look forward to suffering,

or make, you know, cause the person in your CG to suffer, because that's a good thing.

He's saying, rather than responding emotionally or stoically, engage with it.

Think about it.

Consider it.

Consider how God might want to use this trial in your life for your good.

You see, what do we tend to do when life is hard?

One of the temptations is, as I said, to respond emotionally.

We can say, God, why is this happening to me?

How can you let this happen?

I don't deserve this.

Woe is me!

Or, we can respond stoically.

We can disengage and numb ourselves through escapist behavior.

We can binge on Netflix, or binge on social media,

or food,

or work out at the gym twice as hard,

or dial into our work,

as a way of escaping the reality,

and the pain, and the difficulty of life.

But James says something else here.

He says, no, no, make a deliberate and a conscious decision.

Not to feel sorry for yourself.

Not to just seek the comfort in Netflix or social media.

But actually, engage with the God who is allowing this to come your way.

And seek the comfort and the joy that God will bring as He works in you and through you in this trial.

This week, I was listening to a podcast of somebody that I really look up to and respect.

And he was talking about the fact that 10 years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer.

And at the same time, his wife went through major, major health trials.

Many surgeries.

And for a couple of years, both husband and wife were battling these major trials.

He is a pastor, or was a pastor.

And at the same time as all this was going on, there were difficulties at his church.

There was a bit of division.

The staff weren't quite aligned.

And he said, for about three years, he really wondered, God, I don't know if I can do this anymore.

Maybe I need to find another job.

I'm not cut out for this.

And yet, he said, I learned some things about God, and I learned some things about myself.

And in that period, I learned how to pray.

And then at the end of the interview, he says this.

He says, as hard as that time was, it was completely worth it.

I wouldn't change it for anything.

I was diagnosed with cancer, my wife going through trials, work difficulty.

I wouldn't change it for anything.

Because I discovered some things about God.

Friends, when God brings trials and challenges, and they'll come,

don't run away from it.

Don't feel sorry for yourself.

Engage the God who wants to do something in you and through you.

Seek out the good that God wants to do in your life.

And that's what he says in verse 3.

Now here, James has a very specific outcome.

Look what he says here.

He says,

Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness,

resoluteness, endurance, stamina to keep going.

And let steadfastness have its full effect,

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So James tells us that when, not if, trials and difficulty come our way,

when life is hard, we have a choice how to respond.

We can either get bitter and defensive.

We can feel sorry for ourselves and ask,

Why me, Lord?

We can get angry.

We can blame others.

We can retreat into a cocoon.

We can engage in escapist behavior.

But all of those will short circuit the process,

the work that God wants to do in your life.

To shape you and mature you and grow you

to the kind of person that he wants you to become.

To develop a steadfastness,

a resilience,

an endurance,

that is necessary to become a mature and wise person.

And so he says,

Let steadfastness have its effect in you.

Let it do its work in you.

Don't bail out and short circuit the process.

Let it do its work in you to make you a wise and mature person.

Friends, God tells us that often,

one of the only ways that we grow up and mature in life

is by going through and engaging

with the difficulties and the trials that he brings.

And so that's why he says,

Submit to the process.

Yield yourself.

Let God do his work in you.

Kind of like when you go to a physio.

I don't know how many physios we have in Watermark.

I know Mandy, one or two.

But when you go to a physio,

sometimes you're lying there and you're feeling like,

What on earth have I done?

Why am I letting this person abuse me?

And you cringe and you think,

How much longer can this take, right?

It's painful.

But as you submit to the physio's strength and work,

what are they doing?

They're bringing an element of healing and health

to an area of weakness or insufficiency in your body.

As you submit to the painful process of them working on you,

actually healing and growth comes.

Friends, that's what God says here.

He says,

Don't resist God's physio work in your life.

When trials and difficulty come,

don't play the victim.

Don't say,

Why me, God?

Don't run away and avoid it.

Submit yourself to his work

and let him grow you through the process.

When life is hard,

engage with God's process.

Now, all that I think is good and true.

And I think that's why it's in God's word.

But there are two problems with this.

I don't know if you experience any problems with this.

I find two problems with this.

The first one is,

it can sound very much like,

When life is hard, keep calm and carry on.

Right?

Or it can sound like,

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

And if that's the case,

then where does Jesus Christ come to this?

What's the point of a Christian worldview?

Why not just be secular and say,

Keep calm and carry on.

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

The other problem I have with what James says here

is that when we go through these trials,

one of the challenges is,

you can,

it can be really hard to process.

It can be confusing.

You can feel like you're lost in a mist

and you don't know the way out.

Sometimes the very problem that trials bring

is that you can't think straight.

I actually had this recently.

I was,

not too long ago,

I was going through a difficult time.

Weighed really heavily on my heart.

I was a bit,

I felt like I was in a bit of a slump,

both emotionally and even spiritually.

And I didn't know how to handle it.

But part of what was so confusing

was that I felt so guilty about it.

I felt so confused about it.

I felt,

God,

I'm a pastor.

I'm not meant to feel like this.

I'm meant to give my own heart wise counsel.

I'm meant to quote some Bible verse.

God,

I shouldn't feel like this.

And I felt confused about the fact

that I wasn't in a great space.

And so there was kind of this double confusion.

Not only was I unsure about

what was going on in my life,

in my heart,

I then felt guilty and confused

about the situation.

I wonder if you can relate to that.

And so how do we handle it?

Where do we find the tools,

the wisdom,

to navigate the trials

and the challenges that we face?

And once again,

this is where James' wisdom

is so different from modern culture.

You see,

modern culture says,

just be true to yourself.

Just look inside your heart

and do what you feel is good.

All right.

One culture tells us to

just be true to your own desires.

But that seems to me

to be no less confusing

than just keep calm and carry on.

That doesn't seem to really help

in the trials and the difficulty.

Friends,

when you're lost,

what do you need?

You need somebody

who knows the way

that can lead you out.

You need somebody

who knows

how to get you

where you need to be.

When you're lost,

you need more

than just keep calm

and carry on.

You need more

than just what doesn't kill you

makes you stronger.

You need the wisdom

of somebody

who knows how to guide you

out of the confusion

into clarity.

James says that

in the trials

and the difficulties of life,

and particularly

when you feel lost

and confused

and not sure

which way to go,

look at what we should do.

Look at verse five.

Verse five,

if any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God

and it will be given to him.

Friends,

are you in a difficult season

at the moment?

Are you lost,

confused?

Are you facing some trial

that is overwhelming?

What are you turning to

in this season?

Who are you turning to

in this season?

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God.

But what does that

actually mean?

I mean,

does that mean

God,

I've got this deal

on the table,

I don't know

which way to go.

Go option A

or option B.

God,

give me your answer.

And God,

you know,

the option B

just kind of highlights

on the screen,

right?

Or maybe,

God,

I've got a university

to choose.

Should I go to HKU

or CUHK?

And suddenly,

an angel appears

at the end of your bed

and says,

go HKU.

Is that what he means?

You know,

if anyone lacks wisdom,

ask God

and God will give it to you.

Well,

I don't think that's the way

that God works.

Certainly not in my life.

I don't know if any of you

have had that.

Sometimes God speaks directly.

We mentioned this earlier

a few weeks ago.

God can speak in dreams.

He can speak a hundred ways.

But seldom is God's answer,

seldom is God's wisdom

just a direct piece of information.

Do A,

not B.

In fact,

in the Bible,

wisdom is not just

knowledge or information.

It's something

altogether different.

In the Bible,

wisdom is not simply

having the intellectual smarts,

having street knowledge,

or being savvy.

Wisdom is a character trait

that has developed

or grown within you

as a result of

walking with God,

thinking carefully

about His will

and His ways.

Wisdom is a character trait

that's developed

or grown within you

over a period of time

after thinking carefully

about God

and His will

and His ways.

If you've got a Bible,

flip over the page

to James chapter 3

James 3 · chapter mention

with me.

I want to show you.

Look at how James

thinks about wisdom.

Look at verse 13.

James says,

Who is wise

and understanding

amongst you?

By His good conduct,

let Him show His works

in the meekness of wisdom.

In other words,

let Him show

what wisdom looks like.

Let Him show the fruit of it.

Verse 14.

Because if you have

bitter jealousy

and selfish ambition

in your hearts,

do not boast about this.

This is not the wisdom

that comes from above.

No, this is earthly wisdom.

This is unspiritual,

even demonic.

For where jealousy

and selfish ambition exist,

there will be disorder

and all sorts

of vile practices.

But the wisdom

that comes from above,

the wisdom that you need

in trials and challenges,

though this is different.

The wisdom from above

is pure.

It's peaceable.

It's gentle.

It's open to reason.

It's full of mercy

and good fruits.

It's impartial.

It's sincere.

And a harvest

of righteousness

is produced.

Friends,

James is telling us here

that he's saying

when you go through

trials and difficulties,

we need a wisdom

that's going to guide us.

But it's a unique

kind of wisdom.

It's not just the wisdom

that's going to help you

get ahead in life.

It's not just the kind

of wisdom that

is going to make you

look after yourself

or progress your career.

There are many people

that are very smart,

very savvy,

very streetwise,

that know how to get ahead

in their careers,

know how to look

after themselves,

know how to look

after themselves.

But what's the consequence

of that kind of wisdom,

that kind of street smart?

It's often broken

relationships, right?

It's people walking

over one another.

It's a trail

of destruction.

It's what James calls here

selfish ambition

and jealousy,

brokenness.

James says

that's not the kind

of wisdom we need

when life is hard.

there's another kind

of wisdom.

And surprise,

surprise,

it turns out

that this wisdom

looks a lot like Jesus.

Look at how he describes it.

It's pure.

It's full of peace.

It's gentle.

It's open to reason.

It's full of mercy.

It's the wisdom

that comes from

knowing him

and walking with him

and having your life

shaped by him

is the wisdom

that will get you

through the trials

and the challenges

of life

without the trail

of destruction

behind you.

James says

that if anyone

lacks wisdom

and will know it

by the fruits

of their lives,

broken relationships,

broken homes,

broken marriages,

maybe it's because

we've been living life

on our own terms.

Having never come

to Jesus

to ask him

to lead us

and guide us.

Never having

had our lives

shaped by him.

If any of you

lacks wisdom,

ask God for it.

Let your life

be shaped by God.

That doesn't mean

ask God to bail you

out of this difficult

situation

and solve all your

problems.

It means ask God

to have his way

in your life.

Why should we do that?

Why should we come

to God?

Well, in verse 6,

James gives us

a reason.

Every reason

to let God

shape our lives

and lead him.

Friends,

maybe you're here

this morning,

you're not a Christian.

I'm trying to urge you

that you cannot

get through life

on your terms.

When trials

and challenges come,

you need your life

to be shaped

by Jesus.

But why Jesus?

What's so special

about him?

Well, look at

what he says.

James here reminds us

of the nature

and the character

of Jesus.

Look at what he says.

If any of you

lacks wisdom,

let him ask God.

Let him come to God,

asking God to have

his way in his life.

Let him ask God

and look at how

he describes God.

God who gives

generously.

This God

is not stingy.

He never says,

that's enough,

I think you've had

enough good things

for one year.

Time to suffer,

right?

I was just thinking,

when I was preparing

this brief confession,

I was eating a chocolate

at the time.

And I was just thinking

about how I treat

my kids when they

ask for chocolate

or ice cream,

right?

Very stingy.

That's enough,

that's enough.

I think you've had

enough for one day.

I'll say things like,

no more,

okay?

God is not like that

with his good gifts.

I don't know if you

remember the story

Oliver Twist,

right?

Very famous Oliver Twist

written by Charles Dickens.

Oliver Twist is this orphan.

He's growing up

in an orphanage

and they're given

this measly bowl

of food

each mealtime

and they're always

grumbling,

complaining because

they're hungry

and one day his friends

dare him to go

to the master

and ask for some more.

And Oliver Twist

goes up to the master

and the whole orphanage

is in silence.

Nobody's ever done

this before.

And he says,

please sir,

can I have some more food?

And the master freaks out.

What?

You want more food?

After all I've done

for you?

Friends,

that's not how God is.

God is generous,

lavish,

extravagant

with his kindness.

God loves to give

of himself.

When you're navigating

trials and challenges,

ask God who gives

generously of himself

to help you

through the storms.

Look what else he says.

He says,

God who gives generously

to all,

not those who

have it all together,

not to the wealthy

or the privileged

or the few,

not to the respectable,

to those that have

read all of the

Watermark Bible

reading plan this week,

those who have

never missed CG,

those that have been

good boys and girls.

God generously gives

to all who will

come to him.

Friends,

are you a high schooler

this morning

and you're facing

a challenge or trial?

You can look to God

and he will give

his grace to you.

Are you a stay-at-home mom?

A young mom

with infants?

That's a challenge.

You can cry out to God

and he gives to

all who need him.

Are you in the business world

and it's cutthroat

and it's challenging

and there's high pressure?

You can cry out to God.

Friends,

are you looking

after your elderly parents?

Are you a fresh graduate?

Are you middle-aged

and you're finding

that hard?

Have you got

teenage kids?

God doesn't give

his grace

to those that have

earned it

and deserved it

and merited it.

He generously gives

to all.

And then look

what he says.

He generously gives

to all

without reproach.

The word reproach

means finding fault

or reprimanding somebody

or correcting somebody.

Now to be honest,

I always thought

that what this meant

was God gives

his grace

to all those

that he doesn't

find fault with.

That he has no reason

to correct.

Right?

So if you've got

all your ducks

lined in a row,

God's got nothing

to hold against you.

I mean,

none of us are perfect

but by and large.

Then he will

give his grace

to you.

But that's not

what it means.

It actually means

the opposite.

It means

God will generously

give of himself

his grace,

his wisdom,

generously

to all people

without finding fault.

So God doesn't

look at his book

and say,

Jeremy,

I see you haven't

quite read the Bible

very often this week.

I think you better

come to me next week.

God doesn't

point out

our faults.

If you're in need

of his grace,

he generously gives

to all

without

finding

fault.

Friends,

isn't that amazing?

How gracious

and kind

our God is.

He doesn't come to us

when we call out to him

and say,

oh really,

now you want me?

After all,

you've done.

That's very brave of you.

He's so generous,

so kind,

so gracious.

Friends,

are you in a trial

and a difficulty

this morning?

Do you need wisdom

to navigate

the challenges of life?

You can come

to this God

who is gracious

and kind

and generous

and he gives

of himself

his grace

and his wisdom

without finding fault.

How do we know

this is the case?

Well,

because it sounds

a lot like the gospel,

doesn't it?

God gives generously

for God so loved

the world

that he generously

gave of his one

and only son

to broken sinners

like us.

Jesus gave

of his life

on the cross

so that people

like you and I

can encounter

his grace.

God gave to all,

not to the privileged,

to the wealthy,

to the educated.

God gives himself

to the educated,

the uneducated,

the privileged

and the unprivileged,

the rich and the poor,

those that have got it together

and those that don't

have it together,

those whose lives

are neat and tidy

and those whose lives

are down and out.

God gives himself

to all

on the cross

and friends,

he gives himself

without finding fault.

We get what we

don't deserve

because our very faults

and failings

have been wiped away

by the blood of Christ.

If any of you

lacks wisdom,

let him come to God.

Let him come to Jesus

who gives generously

to all

without reproach

and it will be

given to him.

Friends,

James is telling us here

that Jesus' word

is a far better word

than just keep calm

and carry on

or what doesn't kill you

makes you stronger.

James is telling us

that when the trials

and the challenges

and the difficulties

of life come,

you can draw near

to a good

and gracious God

who gave himself

for you

and will still

give himself to you

in the trials

to get you through.

There's one last

qualification.

Look at verse 6

to 8 with me.

James gives the qualification

and it sounds

but challenging.

He says,

if anyone lacks wisdom,

let him come to God.

Let him ask God.

Let him come to Christ

who gives generously

to all

without reproach

and it will be

given to him.

But,

let him ask in faith

without doubting.

For the one who doubts

is like a wave

of the sea

that is driven

and tossed

by the wind.

That person

must not suppose

he will receive

anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded

man or woman

unstable

in all their ways.

Now,

does James mean here

that if you're in trouble

and you need God,

what you've got to do

is you've got to

really, really,

really, really ask God

and trust him

and not have any doubt

in your heart

that he's going to help you.

Well,

I don't think

that's what James means.

Remember,

this book is written

by somebody

who was wracked

with doubt

once upon a time.

I don't think

James means

that if you are

sincerely wrestling

and grappling

with God

and scripture

that God

won't answer you.

James doesn't mean

that if you really

want God

to answer your prayer

you've got to

clench your fists,

squeeze your eyes

and really, really, really,

really, really

raise your voice

so that God

will hear your prayers

and prove to him

how sincere you are.

Now, what he's talking

about here

is someone

who has split loyalties.

They come to God

when it helps them.

When they're in trouble,

they cry out,

God, I need you.

But actually,

most of their lives,

they're quite content

to live life

on their own terms.

When they're in trouble,

they quickly cry out

to God,

God, I need your wisdom.

But all they're really

interested in

is God just helping them

to get through

their problems

so that they can get back

to life on their own terms.

And James says

that such a person

is double-minded,

two-faced in a way.

They've got one foot

in God's camp

when we need it,

but actually,

largely,

our weight is living life

on our own terms.

James says,

that's not faith.

That's superstition.

That's falsehood.

Friends,

James says that

the wisdom that God gives,

the wisdom that comes

from above,

the wisdom that actually

grows and matures us

through the trials

and the challenges,

isn't something

that you just pick up

by crying out to God

in a moment of difficulty

or reading in a book

or listening to a podcast.

It's developed

and grown within you

from walking with God

and coming to Him

and entrusting yourself

to the one

who is utterly trustworthy.

And so, friends,

this week,

you are going to face

some trial.

Maybe today,

you are going to face

some trial.

Maybe this week,

you are going to face

some trial

that's going to be

so difficult,

you are going to be

left confused

and unsure

how to respond.

How are you going

to respond?

Are you going to look

within yourself

and think,

what doesn't kill me

only makes me stronger?

Are you going to tell yourself

just to keep calm

and carry on?

Are you going to numb yourself

by binging on social media

and food

and Netflix?

Are you going to go

to the gym

and just work twice as hard?

Or are you going to

consider

what God wants to do

and take comfort

from the God

who is utterly trustworthy,

the God who gave himself

for you

and will you draw strength

from him

knowing that if you

draw near to him,

he will give you

the wisdom

and the grace.

He will give you himself

to navigate these trials

but to grow

and to mature you.

friends,

will you consider it all joy

when you face trials

of many kinds

knowing that God

is at work in you

to make you

a wise and mature person?

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

we thank you

for the practicality

of James.

God,

thank you for

the testimony of James,

this humble pastor

who had to deal

with his own doubts,

his own concerns,

and yet came

to be convinced

that you,

Jesus,

really are

who you said you are,

the Lord of glory,

the glorious

Lord Jesus Christ.

Father,

James is so real,

it's almost like

he reads our mail,

he knows what's going

on in our life.

It's amazing

to think that this book

written 2,000 years ago

can speak to our

own lives

so clearly.

Father,

I pray for us

as a church

and I pray for

us individually

this morning.

many of us

here,

God,

are facing trials,

difficulties,

challenges.

God,

won't you give us

the grace

to turn to you,

to invite you in,

to come to you,

to yield ourselves

to you,

and to let you

guide us

through the trials

and to do

your work in us.

God,

you promise

that you won't

just deliver us,

but actually

you'll work in us

through the trials,

and I pray

that that'll be true.

God,

this morning,

some of us,

God,

it's hard

to trust you.

We are

wrapped with

concerns,

wrapped with fears.

It feels,

God,

like letting go

of the reins

of our life

is so scary.

God,

I pray,

won't you,

Holy Spirit,

give us faith?

Won't you

help us

this morning

to open up

our hands

and to trust you,

knowing,

God,

that you are

utterly trustworthy,

knowing,

God,

that you

generously

give of yourself

your grace.

God,

won't you

help us,

I pray.

Friends,

maybe you're here

this morning

and you're

not a Christian,

not a follower

of Jesus.

God's word

to us

this morning

is not just

when difficulty

comes,

what doesn't kill

you makes you

stronger.

It's an invitation

to come and know

him,

to entrust

your life

to his hands.

What are you

trusting?

Who are you

trusting?

Where are you

turning

when the trials

and challenges

come?

Jesus Christ,

who was the same

Christ who was

alive and

real to James,

is alive and

real today.

And he's

offering an

invitation for

you to come

and entrust

your life

into his

hands,

to surrender,

to yield

yourself to

him.

He is so

good.

He is so

gracious.

He is so

faithful.

He won't

take advantage

of you.

He will

graciously

walk with

you.

Friends,

if you're

not a Christian

this morning,

why don't

you come

to him?

Why don't

you acknowledge

that you've

so often

done life

in your

own terms?

Come and

let him

have his

way in

your life.

Let him

be your

Lord and

your king.

Come and

surrender to

him.

Christ,

I pray that

in our

church you

will help

us to be

a steadfast

church.

Lord,

I pray for

the many

young adults

in our

church.

I pray

for the

youth,

God,

the teenagers,

the high

schoolers,

the university

students,

the fresh

graduates.

God,

I pray that

you will

give us

a faith

that is

steadfast,

that in

30,

40,

and 50

years'

time,

we will

still be

following you,

still trusting

you,

that we will

be wise and

mature men

and women

because our

faith is

steadfast,

rock solid,

that the

roots of our

faith have

gone deep

into you.

God,

I pray do

that in our

hearts.

In your

good and

gracious name

we pray.

Amen.