Joy of Trials

John chapter 15 on page 1083 of our Bibles.

John 15 · chapter mention

So from John chapter 13 into chapter 17,

John 13 · chapter mention

we have a teaching of Jesus to his disciples

the night of his arrest,

the night before his death on the cross.

And here in John chapter 15 and verse 18,

John 15 · chapter mention

through to chapter 16,

Jesus begins to prepare the disciples

for what they will face for his sake.

So John 15 at verse 18.

If the world hates you,

keep in mind that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world,

it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world,

but I have chosen you out of the world.

That is why the world hates you.

Remember the words I spoke to you.

No servant is greater than his master.

If they persecuted me,

they will persecute you also.

If they obeyed my teaching,

they will obey yours also.

They will treat you this way because of my name,

for they do not know the one who sent me.

If I had not come and spoken to them,

they would not be guilty of sin.

Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

He who hates me hates my father as well.

If I had not done among them what no one else did,

they would not be guilty of sin.

But now they have seen these miracles,

and yet they have hated both me and my father.

But this is to fulfill what is written in their law.

They hated me without reason.

When the counselor comes,

whom I will send to you from the father,

the spirit of truth who goes out from the father,

he will testify about me.

And you also must testify,

for you have been with me from the beginning.

All this I have told you,

so that you will not go astray.

They will put you out of the synagogue.

In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you

will think he's offering a service to God.

They will do such things

because they have not known the father or me.

I have told you this,

so that when the time comes,

you will remember that I warned you.

I did not tell you this at first

because I was with you.

And then at the end of chapter 16,

just at verse 33,

as he concludes, he says,

I have told you these things

so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble,

but take heart,

I have overcome the world.

And then in the letter of James,

as we begin to look at the letter of James this evening,

James chapter 1 on page 1213.

James 1 · chapter mention

And we will read the first eight verses together.

So James chapter 1,

James 1 · chapter mention

first eight verses on page 1213.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.

Greetings.

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 you may be mature and complete,

not lacking anything.

If any of you lacks wisdom,

he should ask God,

who gives generously to all without finding fault,

and it will be given to him.

But when he asks,

he must believe and not doubt,

because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea

blown and tossed by the wind.

That man should not think

he will receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man,

unstable in all he does.

Let's think together about what James says

regarding joy in trials.

I don't know if any of you are like me,

where sort of post-Christmas,

eating a lot of food,

typically not very healthy food,

you have new resolve for good diet and good exercise.

Well, I came up with my post-Christmas,

and I suspect it's becoming annual running resolve

at least three times a week,

which lasted about three days of that week,

because then the wind and the rain came,

and I discovered I am definitely a fair-weather runner.

You'll hear lots of people saying,

in terms of exercise and going to the gym,

no pain, no gain.

That's received wisdom,

only if you receive it.

You come to the book of James,

and we've got New Testament wisdom.

James, the half-brother of Jesus,

who describes himself interestingly,

not in terms of his biological relation to Jesus,

but in terms of his spiritual relation.

He is servant of God

and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's writing to the Jewish Christians,

picture of the 12 tribes there in verse 1,

scattered by persecution,

and he is writing what's regarded

as New Testament wisdom.

But we might again say,

really?

James, is what you're about to say,

really, wisdom?

Joy in trials?

You can easily sound like an oxymoron, can't it?

Two things that just don't belong together.

How do joy in trials fit together?

Rather, we perhaps more typically,

when it comes to trials and suffering,

think in terms of fear.

We recognize the hurt that might come,

the cost that might be involved to us

on any number of levels.

So trials are something we typically look to avoid.

There is fear as a response.

Or another response is perhaps

to fixate on our suffering

so that's all we can see,

so that our very identity is bound up

with the trial that we are going through.

It's hard to see a way out.

It's hard to look up.

We find ourselves consumed by it.

Sometimes our attitude towards trials

is to forget.

Forget, perhaps,

that we've been there before

and we learned important lessons

in relation to Christian experience.

So we come to a new trial

and again,

we're asking lots of why questions

and what questions

and we can't see

that there can be any useful purpose

to serve in our suffering.

So we might ask James,

really, is joy in trials wisdom?

James gives us another response,

a fourth F,

and it's the F of faith.

There can be joy in trials

when we have Christian faith

and when we learn to look at them

in the right way.

So that's why I hope this evening

we'll be able to begin

to consider together

how can we look at trials

in such a way

that it's possible for us to have joy

because we understand

what God wants to do.

So three questions.

Our first question is

the most basic one, I suppose.

How can I have joy in trials?

Let me begin with a statement

and then we'll begin to see

how James unpacks it.

I'm going to feel like

I'm talking about myself

in the third person

for this whole series.

I can tell already.

As a Christian,

I can see through the trials

that God sends

to God's purpose

and that purpose

is mature faith

and Christ-likeness.

Let's look at verses

two to four together.

Begins,

consider it pure joy,

my brothers.

We can have joy in trials

if we experience them

in the first place

as Christians.

That's the idea

of my brothers,

brothers and sisters,

as Christians.

The Christian faith

has a theology

of suffering.

It gives an understanding

to where suffering

comes from.

The fall of man,

Adam and Eve,

the fall of man

into sin

brought curse

and dislocation

and suffering

as a consequence.

Our theology

also gives God's response

to human suffering

caused by sin.

It's the gospel.

God himself

in Jesus Christ

enters into

a world of suffering

in order to

redeem us

and to give us

the hope

of eternal life

beyond suffering.

So the promise

of our Christian faith

is that

while we will suffer now,

there is glory

to follow.

There is freedom

from suffering

still to come.

That path

that Jesus walked

of suffering first,

glory to follow,

is the path

that all his followers

walk after him.

And in this theology

of suffering

that the Christian faith

has,

James introduces us

to another

significant idea

and it's this,

that the sovereign God

is able to use

our trials,

the suffering

we endure,

human evil even,

to accomplish

his good purposes

in the world

and in our lives.

And so as Christians

we have answers

in the Bible

to the problem

of suffering.

The Bible says

it has meaning

and in our Emmanuel,

God with us,

we also have

God's response.

We can have joy

in trials

as Christians

if and when

we can see

through the trials

to God's purpose.

purpose.

One thing that we recognize

is that James

is honest

and the Bible

is honest

that trials

and suffering

are part of

Christian experience.

Notice

verse 2,

consider it pure joy,

my brothers,

whenever,

not if you face trials,

but whenever

you face trials.

That was the preparation

Jesus gave

to the disciples

before he was to die.

Opposition

will be real,

hatred

will be real,

trouble

will come.

Of course,

Jesus offered

them real hope

as well.

You belong

to me,

I have overcome

the world,

but Jesus

is honest

about the cost

of discipleship.

What are

these trials

that James

speaks about?

These trials

are external

pressures

and those

are,

in some measure,

the suffering,

the human experience

that is common

to everybody

because we live

in a fallen

and a broken world,

but there is also

within that

the particular

suffering

that people experience

for being

a Christian.

As Jesus said,

you'll be hated

as my followers.

But notice

that James

deliberately

keeps things

vague

and broad

rather than

specific.

Whenever you

face trials

of many kinds,

this is a general

principle he is

introducing.

In the letter

of James,

you see some

of the trials

that Christians

experience.

He'll talk

about poverty,

he'll talk

about injustice

and conflict

and sickness

and grief

to name

just some.

So then it's

perhaps surprising

that he issues

the command

that he does

in verse 2.

The command

is to consider

it pure joy

whenever you

face trials

of many kinds.

Now,

he's not saying,

and we'll notice

this,

he's not saying

we should go

out of our way

to seek out

suffering.

We shouldn't

be looking

for ways

to beat

ourselves up

and to make

our life

more difficult.

nor is

the Bible

saying to us

we should put

on a happy

face in pain

and act like

we are full

of joy

when our life

is falling

apart.

Rather,

we can consider

our trials

joy because,

verse 3,

because of

what God

is doing.

There is joy

as we see

through our

trials

to God's

purpose.

When we see

that God

hasn't abandoned

us,

but rather

is working

in us

and in

those trials

to give us

a mature

faith

to conform

us into

the image

of Christ,

then we can

have joy

in our

trials.

I had a

triumph

over the

Christmas

holidays.

As a kid,

I grew up

with our

local news

agent

having

magic eye

posters

for sale.

If you

don't know

what magic

eye

posters

are,

there's

those

pictures

that

were

just

a

collection

of

random

shapes

and colours

and you

had to

sort of

go cross-eyed

and look

at them

in a certain

way and

then these

wonderful

images would

appear.

Well,

I have

never

been able

to see

one of

these

magic eye

pictures

until the

Christmas

holidays

and I

was very

delighted

because the

instruction

all of a

sudden

made

sense.

It said,

if you

want to

see this

picture,

you need

to focus

not on

the page,

you need

to focus

beyond

the page.

When I

did that,

it all

became clear.

From a

chaotic

pattern

came a

nice animal

picture.

When we

are facing

trials and

life seems

chaos,

how do we

look through

to see

God's

purpose?

What picture

is God

wanting us

to see?

What is it

that we need

to focus

on

through

and

beyond

our

trials?

And it's

this reality

that God

has a

purpose.

God has

a purpose

to grow

our faith

and to

make us

more like

Jesus.

Verse

three,

consider it

joy because

you know

that the

testing of

your faith

develops

perseverance.

There's a

testing

process.

It's the

idea of

a refining

process,

of dross

being burned

away,

leaving the

pure gold

behind.

Trials

have that

effect on

us as

Christians.

In different

ways,

perhaps that

dross is

to make us

once again

devoted and

dependent on

God.

Sometimes it's

in trials

that we

realize the

choking effects

of idols

in our lives

that we are

living for

other things

and it's

only as we

suffer that

we realize

that nothing

else ultimately

can help

except for

our God

and Savior.

Perhaps the

dross that

trials burn

away is that

sense of

self-reliance

when all is

going well.

We can imagine

we have the

natural resources

to deal with

the situations

we face

and it's only

when we get

in above our

heads that we

cry out to

God and we

return to

Him perhaps.

Sometimes that

testing process

reveals to us

that we've been

squeezed into

the world's

mold, that

we've been

looking at

things and

considering truth

from the wrong

point of view

and again these

trials have the

process of

turning us

back, they

bring us to

repentance.

So there is a

refining process

that goes on

and it goes on

so that the

testing of our

faith would

develop

perseverance,

that it would

develop in us

staying power.

In the face of

adversity we are

not going to

give up, we're

not going to

be those fair

weather runners

that go with

God when all is

well but when

we face trial

we are going to

sit on the

sidelines.

No, perseverance

is God's

intention.

Just as an

exercise our

muscles are

built by a

process of

resistance so

the muscle of

faith grows

strong against

the resistance

of trials.

It's trials that

test how strong

our faith is and

allows our faith

to grow and

develop with

God's intention,

verse 4,

that we may be

mature and

complete, not

lacking anything.

Perseverance

must finish its

work so that

you may be

mature and

complete, not

lacking anything.

That we would be

able to give a

Christian response

as we suffer,

that we might be

dedicated to doing

the will of God

and being concerned

for the glory of

God even as

life perhaps

becomes difficult

or chaotic.

We can think

about the

example of

Job after

tragedy and

calamity came

to him.

The Lord gave

and the Lord

has taken away.

Blessed be the

name of the

Lord or Jesus,

the obedient

sufferer.

Ultimately,

God's aim,

James tells us,

is that we would

be perfected.

This is about

the end of

the journey,

when we would

know him

perfectly,

when we would

be made like

Christ,

sinless

and perfect.

That's the

aim and

trials are

part of

making us

more like

him,

that we would

be growing

into that

future reality

day by day.

Trials do

that for us.

It was

Martin Luther

who said,

affliction is

the Christian's

theologian.

He was saying

there are some

lessons as

Christians we

can only learn

as we

experience

trials,

as God

sends hard

providences to

us.

Maturing takes

place only in

adversity.

And so,

James is saying

we actually

need this

for the sake

of our

faith to

mature.

God's

ultimate

purpose for

us being

to be more

like Jesus,

to ultimately

become like

him,

requires us

to go

through trials.

It made me

think of

a butterfly,

you know,

that metamorphosis

of a caterpillar

becoming a

butterfly.

Imagine if we

were to come

across a

butterfly fighting

to get out

of its

cocoon and

we were to

sense,

maybe to hear

the tiny

flapping of

wings and to

sense the

struggle,

maybe to see

it trying to

get out.

We would

try and

short circuit

the process

to help it

on its way

to open up

the cocoon,

to let the

butterfly fly

for free.

What would

happen was

that butterfly

would fall to

the ground

and have

no hope.

It needs

that resistance

so that its

wings can be

strengthened.

And so

too as

Christians we

need trials

in order to

strengthen and

mature our

faith.

And as we

go through

trials, as we

experience hardships,

we remember that

Jesus has gone

there before us.

In fact if we

turn back in our

Bible just one

page, Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12 and verse

2, we are

encouraged as

Christians to

fix our eyes

on Jesus, the

author and

perfecter of

our faith, who

for the joy set

before him endured

the cross, scorning

its shame and sat

down at the right

hand of the throne

of God.

Consider him who

endured such

opposition from

sinful men so

that you will not

grow weary and

lose heart.

If we feel that we

are growing weary

as we battle

through trial, we

are to fix our

eyes on Jesus, to

see that he has

faced the

suffering of the

cross with joy

for what that

would accomplish.

For him that

meant returning

to glory, to be

in the right hand

of the Father, but

also it would

mean his bringing

many sons and

daughters to glory

in the fullness

of time also.

When we fix our

eyes on him, the

author to the

Hebrews says, that's

our antidote to

weariness and

losing heart.

To remember, as

we go through

trials, our God

will enable us,

will provide for

us, will walk

with us so that

we might have

joy in trials.

That's the first

point.

That's the main

thing for us to

see.

But we're not

done here.

Second question,

thinking about

verse 5, what if

you and I don't

find joy in our

trials?

Sometimes the

book of James can

seem like he dots

around from topic

to topic and we

might think he's

moved from trial,

now he's talking

about wisdom.

But I think we

should see these

two topics relate

to one another.

If we don't find

joy in our trials,

we should ask our

generous and

gracious Father for

wisdom to see

from his

perspective, to

see his

purpose.

Let's read verse

5 together again.

If any of you

lacks wisdom, he

should ask God,

who gives generously

to all without

finding fault, and

it will be given

to him.

So notice there's

a linking word.

Verse 4, the goal

is that we would

not be lacking

anything.

Then verse 5, if

you do lack

wisdom.

So if when it

comes to trials, we

find ourselves time

and again profoundly

fearful or forgetful

of what God has

taught us in the

past, if we always

find ourselves

wrestling with, why

me?

Why this?

Why now?

When we're really

struggling to know

what good purpose

trials can accomplish,

we are to ask our

Father for wisdom,

to learn how to look

at our reality so

that we can give

him glory with the

providence that we

are going through.

Notice, and this is

important, James

doesn't say to us we

should ask for

knowledge.

Rather, we should

ask for wisdom.

Sometimes we want to

know the why and the

what.

But James says,

rather, you should

ask for wisdom, to

know how to respond

to our circumstances,

to know the will of

God so that we might

apply it to our

day-to-day life.

The book of Job is a

classic example of

someone who suffers

and he's never told

why, but he's invited

to know God.

And once he is in the

presence of God, once

God reveals himself, he

is content.

James, being a wisdom

book, we can perhaps

remind ourselves of the

book of Proverbs, where

we are reminded that

the fear of the Lord is

the beginning of

wisdom.

Wisdom for us looks

like catching hold of

God's character in the

middle of our trials so

that we are able to

remember our good God,

our gracious Father.

Wisdom is more

important than knowledge

for us when we're going

through trials.

We are in the digital age

when almost any type of

information is available

to us.

We are in the Ask Alexa

age and there's wonderful

opportunities in that and

it's a good thing, but it's

limited.

We can have access to all

the knowledge in the world,

but that does not and it

will not make us wise.

So James is not saying to

us, ask that we would know

it all, but rather trust the

one who does know it all.

That we would hold on to

God's character.

That we would recognize when

trials come that our God is a

gracious and a generous

Father, that we wouldn't lose

sight of that and that we

would ask Him for wisdom.

Verse 5 is helpful for

reminding us of the qualities

of God that we discover in

the gospel.

We discover in receiving faith

and receiving salvation that

we have a God of generous

grace.

We have a God who is generous

to all.

This grace that He offers isn't

just for an elite.

No, it's for anyone who will

hear and believe and in the

same way this wisdom is for

all God's children.

Whoever we are, God makes His

wisdom available to us.

And He will do it without

finding fault.

Just as when we came to

Jesus and we were repenting

of sin and we wanted to trust

in Him, the Father wasn't

shaking His head or tut-tutting

for past mistakes.

Rather, we are welcomed by a

generous God of great grace.

So it is when it comes to His

giving us wisdom.

The same God who is generous in

salvation, it is generous in

supplying wisdom.

So if we lack it, we should ask

and it will be given.

James is reminding us that God

doesn't change so we should

trust His promises.

Just as Jesus said, ask and it

will be given.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be

opened to you.

God is not reluctant to give us

the wisdom that we need.

Rather, God is generous and

longing to give that wisdom so

that when we face trials, we'd

have the right perspective on

them so that we might find joy

because we'd see God's purpose.

But it's important for us to

understand that wisdom is

connected to the Word of God.

That we can't expect wisdom from

God if we are not being connected

to the source of that wisdom.

Where do we go when we're looking

for God's wisdom?

We go to His Word and we ask the

Spirit to reveal His truth and

supply what is lacking.

We need word and prayer and

fellowship if we are to receive

the wisdom that God wants to

give to us.

And of course, we need union with

Christ who is Himself the very

wisdom of God.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, we preach Christ

crucified to the Jews, a

stumbling block and to the Greeks

foolishness.

But to those who are called, both

Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power

of God and the wisdom of God.

So if we are struggling to find joy

in trials, we are to ask God for

wisdom.

One last question.

As we think about ourselves, do I

trust God to give me joy in trials?

Do I think that's something God wants

to give?

Do I believe it's something He can

give?

For this, we're going to look at verses

6 to 8.

And in here, we have a warning against

doubt and against divided loyalties.

Verse 6,

But when he asks, he must believe and

not doubt, because he who doubts is

like a wave of the sea blown and

tossed by the wind.

That man should not think he will

receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man, unstable in

all he does.

Just as we teach our children that

there's a right way and a wrong way to

ask, so it is when we ask for wisdom,

the right way is to trust.

To trust God's character and to trust

God's Word.

And for that to be a solid foundation.

That before we come to trials, we want

to have that foundation in our life that

God's character is trustworthy and so is

His Word.

In the middle of trials and suffering,

it's hard to build a solid theology

it's hard sometimes to recognize and

grasp the character of God.

This is something we need to do even

before trials come.

To determine that I can and I will

trust God and trust God as He's

revealed in His Word.

So the right way to ask is to believe,

to trust, but the wrong way is to doubt,

is to be double-minded, is to have those

divided loyalties.

Because when we ask that way, James says,

we won't receive anything from the Lord.

So if we're saying, well, I'll ask God and

I'll look into His Word for wisdom, but I'll

also listen to the world and I'll listen to

what popular culture and the people around me

have to say about suffering, we're going to

get very conflicted messages.

Because when it comes to the voice of the world,

as they talk about trial and suffering,

it's very hard for people to see any purpose

in hardship, in trial, in suffering.

The whole purpose of our existence seems to be

that we would be happy and live pain-free and

carefree lives, that we would entertain ourselves

until death.

That the voice of the world would say,

avoid suffering and hardship at all costs.

Would even challenge us and say, well, a good God

would never allow this, that, and the next thing.

So if we're listening to that voice, then we won't

receive the wisdom from God.

When we try and keep a foot in both camps and we're

not sure where ultimate truth lies, the outcome is that

we will not receive the help that we need as we go

through our trials.

Verse 6 says,

we'll be like a wave in a stormy sea,

sort of tossed about and going nowhere.

I think I've probably mentioned before,

swimming off the coast of Peru and getting stuck in

sort of riptides and feeling like I was in a washing machine.

I had no clue of which way was up and which way was down.

It was probably the worst experience of my life and it

was danger for those moments.

For us as Christians, that's not a place we want to be.

We will only make progress and mature through trials if we

have a clear direction where we're going to trust God and

His Word, even if it's difficult.

There's danger in being the double-minded man,

the man who is unstable in all he does.

Again, to stick with a water-related image,

it made me think of what you see sometimes at church camp.

So I used to help out at church camps a fair bit and a lot of

camps would have sort of team-building exercises.

They'd have raft-building exercises.

And every so often, you'd find one group that prepared something

that could only very loosely be connected with anything

remotely seaworthy.

And so there'd be some brave souls who'd be like,

regardless, I'm going to get on this thing,

which we'll call a raft.

But there might be that one person who just wasn't convinced,

wasn't convinced by the workmanship that had gone in.

And so you could see them kind of standing on the edge,

kind of wanting to lift that foot.

And, you know, if you ever find yourself in a position where

you've got one foot on the shore and one foot on an unstable raft,

you know you're going for an early swim.

And you can see that.

And it's the same in our Christian experience.

Doing the spiritual splits is dangerous.

That we will not find wisdom from God unless we are committed

to trusting His will.

And so James is saying to us, right at the beginning of his letter,

that in our trials, and we will face trials,

we are to trust in the character of our generous God,

to believe that He is at work in us through trials,

that they are not pointless, that He is renovating us,

He is preparing us for glory, He's making us more like Jesus,

so that we might find joy in trials through faith in Jesus,

our Savior, our suffering Savior, our great high priest,

the one who now intercedes with us,

the one who sympathizes with us in our weakness,

the one who doesn't leave us alone in our trials.

And we find our hope in knowing Him as our Savior

and having God as our Father.

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