This passage has to do with going through trials - and being purely joyous all the while... Well to start off with a Biblical example of someone who had to go through some major trial, read the first chapter of Job:
There once was a man in the land of Uz...
As far as we've read, what happened to Job? Did Job deserve what happened to him?
Notice this: how did this all come about? Satan was trying to get involved with what God had going on on the Earth. God showed Satan His most faithful servant and assured the devil that Job was so faithful to God, anything could happen to him and he would still love God just as much. Satan tempted God to show God that no one can possibly survive without all of their comforts they received as blessings. God allowed Satan to try and turn Job against Him - as long as Job himself was not hurt.
Job started off with everything: he had ten children, thousands of livestock, hundreds of servants and helping hands, and lots of lands. He prayed daily, and constantly asked God for forgiveness for the sins of his children. Job was close to God and God, therefore blessed him. When Satan saw Job, he told God that there's no way Job would remain faithful if He took everything away from him. God's faith in Job lead to Satan taking everything away from him, including his own children. When this happened, Job ripped his clothes, shaved his head, and cried out to God asking why this was all happening, and he said, "God gives, and God takes away" and He is still a good God - never once did Job turn away from God, or curse God for what had happened. And for about 40 chapters, Job was constantly questioning why such things had happened to him - still never blaming God.
In your opinion, what was the point of doing this?
Why did God let this happen?
When you've felt like God has left you, how have you reacted, or handled it?
Introduction to the Book of James
Faith & Wisdom
If you remember last week, we talked about our calling out of Ephesians 4 written by Paul, the Apostle, to the Church of Ephesus. Paul encourages and explains more on how to become a Christian and what a Christian should be like. James, on the other hand, takes a different appraoch and explains how to act like a Christ-follower. They are both working towards the same goal, just using different ways of explaining how to live a Christ-like life.
*Basic History on James*
The author of James is controversial. However, the most accepted understanding of the author by scholars is that James, who wrote this book, was the brother of Jesus. There are two other James' that is up in the top spots for runner-ups, however, more evidence points to James, brother of Jesus, than the others. Against popular belief, Jesus - yes - had brothers and sisters. Granted, they were half-siblings (Mary, the mother, and Joseph, the father of the siblings) but siblings nonetheless. Jesus was the eldest of them (Mary was a virgin before giving birth to Jesus) and there is some speculation that Joseph had children from another mariiage. I personally don't know if I believe that or not, but regardless, Jesus had siblings one way or another. Among these brothers were James and Jude. James was one of the Twelve Disciples and followed Jesus around throughout His ministry on earth (and I guess his whole life, too...) The Epistle of James begins stating that James is a, "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." Similarly, if you were to look at the Book of Jude, you would notice that Jude starts out his greeting the same way, and also adds that he is the brother of James. He was also mentioned in Scripture as being the brother of Jesus as well. In the end, the Book of James has a lot of good theological meat on its bones and it states very valid ad encouraging points about how we are to walk in our faith.
Moving on...
We are going to splice the passage into a few parts, but only talk about on of them tonight:
1. James 1:1 - Salutaion (that we just talked about)
2. James 1:2-8 - Faith and Wisdom
1:2-8
So...
*What does trial and wisdom have to do with one another?
Trial comes, and we cannot stop or help that. How we seek help, and accept help, throughout the trial (whatever it may be) is where the wisdom comes in. How? Wisdom grows from not understanding. Wisdom grows from not knowing much. Wisdom comes from humility and understnading that we will not have all the answers when we are in need.
*How do you seek wisdom? Just in general, but also in trial?
How have you personally sought wisdom? A lot of times, the opportunities we have to recieve God's wisdom, we end up passing those opportunities for these reasons: not hearing what we want to hear; wanting to do things our own way; naivity; too distracted by other voices, that we cannot hear the one we need to; etc. I encourage you to take a look at the following advice (this might be the wisdom you need right now, so should you pass it up??) from the Book of Proverbs:
1. The Purpose of Wisdom
2. Wisdom's Rebuke
3. Moral Benefits of Wisdom
4. Wisdom Bestows Well-Being
5. Get Wisdom at Any Cost
The Book of Proverbs, alone, is full of SO much advice and wisdom - turn there often when you're wondering how you should act about something. Best advice ever - and it's all God-inspired ;)
Often times, we don't feel like God is hearing our prayers, like what we say to Him is just disolving into thin air as they leave our mouths. Ever felt that way? What about times when you have to WAIT for a prayer to be answered? The hardest part of the trial is going through it. Well, duh! But think about it, there are three parts to trial: before, during, and after. And which is the hardest? During. Why? Becuause we are so unsure of what is to happen. Whether we are the kind of person to not want to have to deall with it and therefore wait for someone else to handle it for us, or if we don't want to deal with it and scramble to get everything done on our own, we have the most difficult time not understanding what our next move should be.
*Where does perseverance come into the picture, and what is it?
A friend once explained to me that we cannot rush time, and we cannot slow it down - neither of those are God's time. God's time. Isn't that a generic phrase? "It'll all happen in God's timing," yes, but what does that actually mean to each of us. Think about it: we have always heard phrases such as this one to 'pray' about things to happen - but only in 'God's timing' becuase 'He's always there' - yet how often do you truly take these things seriously when you are struggling? Do they mean anything to you at all? And at times, when you pray for God's timing to always be with you, do you truly believe that He hears you, or do you doubt that He's listening, or that He's even there at all? And this is the perseverance, helping us from the inside out to come to full completeness in Christ when He calls us home.
*What does maturity have to do with trial?
*Do you think that the same maturity you recieve from trials should apply to
your maturity in faith? How or why?
My roommate, freshman year of college, gave me some advice when I was having a hard time dealing with some people in my life. She explained to me that it's easy for us to understand purpose and meaning in our heads, but it's not until we understand purpose and meaning in our hearts that we truly begin to mature. Basically, anyone can hear advice and think about it and whatnot, but it doesn't apply until it's engrained in the heart. Until then, we lack maturity. Just like patience and wisdom, we cannot expect maturity to show up on our doorstep from overnight post wrapped with a pretty bow and out name of the tag. Maturity comes in trial when recognizing what your part is in a trial or situation - not focusing on what others should be doing, but doing what your part is - and then actually doing it. Maturity in faith comes when you recognize your part to play in your relationship with God - you know He's there, and you live by rumor of Him. But then you actually live FOR Him when you realize that is what's right - maturity. Job got to this point in his struggle; he speant nearly 40 chapters of his own book wondering why he was facing such terrible things. All the while, his friends with him kept saying, "you should curse God, " "yeah, man, curse God, why not?" "Hey, maybe you should curse God..." At a certain point Job realized, 'God can do anything even if I don't like it, and there;s nothing I can do about it. I can't blame Him for what's happening, because He obviously loves me! I need my possessions to know that God loves me!"
Katie Brown shared with us last night about a man named Fred (that is his real name) that spoke at a conference we went to for youth a few years ago. He told us that he was offered a higher paying position in the church but he and his wife prayed about it and felt that that isn't where God was calling him. So they settled for way less, and while they were struggling, Fred felt pure joy like never before from relying on God so much more than ever. When his trial was done, God blessed Fred with an amazing ministry and grew an amazing churhc under him to lead. Wow! Remember that ;) The thing about God that we don't always understand is that God gives us lots of opportunities on Earth! But sometimes, those opportunities He gives us are supposed to be rejected. He gives us opportunities to say 'No," just as much as ones to say, "yes" to. Read about what Job had to say to God, and think about what he's saying - how should these mean something to you in your time of struggle?
Did you read that? Job was living off of rumors of God - rumors! What do you think that means?
We have heard about God, we know about Him, and His mighty power, we might know the Bible stories, and we might pray to Him because we are told that we should. And how often do we do these things, then experienced long hard strife, and blame it on God? In verses 6 & 7 of James, James explains us. Every day. We live by rumors of God and pray for help and prosperity. Whenwe don't recieve it in the way we want it, or think we should get it, we get upset and frustrated and wonder if God even cares. We doubt His faithfulness, and therefore suffer the consequences even further. So when we ask for help from God, as hard as it might be, we must remember His faithfulness to us, so we should remain faithful to Him. A Jesus example: when Jesus when in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was captured and taken to die, he was crying and sweating blood and prayed in Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will be done, but Yours!" Jesus himself never gave up on God bringing him to full completeness. Great outcome of Christ following God;s way rather than his own? We have the gift of salvation. Awesome, right?
WRAP-UP
To end the suffering of Job, God had Job's unfaithful friends bring sacrifices to Job and have Job pray for them - God wanted nothing to do with the tongue that spoke against Him, and to keep from punishing them, He had Job pray for them. Once he did this, read about what God did for Job because of his suffering: Job 42:10-16
I know it doesn't seem at first that anything good could possibly come out of your struggles and trials. You might not even see the fruit of it for years. But God really is faithful, and I don't say that as a generic rumor, but as truth from someone who has had that experience.
In the end, does God punish those who obey Him? No. He does not punish us, He is not an angery God who pays us back for our wrongdoings. In old times, we had sacrifices, now we have Jesus. No punishment. But if He brings us to it, He can bring us through it, and He never leaves - even if we don't think He's there. God allowed Job to be ripped apart by Satan, but it wasn't God who did this. Today, people blame God for things that are bad and things that go wrong, wondering why God would let something like it happen. WE are the ones to blame. We are naturally evil, born-sinners, sinning until we die, creating division, causing corruption, encouraging malice, imposing destruction - and we sit back and blame it all on God. God is still there, and maybe there is something to learn from what we are going through. If we hang on to Him, and rely on Him more than we ever truly have before, if we genuinely love Him and stop living by the rumors of Him, Satan will fail in his attempt to divide us from God. If we give in to the pressure though, and curse God for our misery, what life do we have?
What maintenance do you need to bring within YOURself to walk closer with God - even in the trials?
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