Last time as we introduced the book, we commented that James is really talking about how to live or strive to live as a mature Christian. So his emphasis is not on faith and salvation by faith, but how that faith shows itself. So we'll see that as we begin going through the book. First, four verses. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, 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. Have you think about several different situations. Tom was a man who used to attend the worship service very regularly. And yet, after his wife and young daughter died about six months apart, he stopped going. And when the pastor inquired about what was going on, he said, well, it's so much of a bother. But the pastor could tell there's something much deeper that Tom didn't want to discuss. Or the case of Margaret. A young single woman on her own, struggling to make it financially, to make the rent payment every month. And she's just been told because of the economy, her hours need to be cut back. And so on Friday she doesn't have to show up. And so she goes from being a secretary who works 40 hours a week to one who works 32. And she wonders how she'll be able to pay all her bills. How could she buy food each month? Or George. He spent several months working on a special project for his work And he's worked hard, super hard, and he actually gets done with the project on Wednesday, ten days ahead of schedule, and brings it in a little bit below the cost. And he goes in, expecting to hear some word of appreciation, but it seems that his boss is in a bad mood. And he reprimands everyone who's there, and he's angry with everyone, and you just want to stay out of his way. And so George is wondering, is it worth it? Why should I be going through all that I am? The situation of Jerry and Sue. Their daughter has dropped out of college. She's headed toward the West Coast. They think she may be living in San Francisco. Last they knew, she was on drugs. And they don't even want to think about how she's getting money to pay for those drugs. Or Steve. He's been denied a promotion on a job. Once higher up in the company, wanting to get ahead no matter what, I've told him that it's okay to lie to the customer, to make false promises just to get the sale, to get the contract done. And as a Christian, he can't do that. He knows he's been denied a promotion because of that. They promoted somebody else who doesn't have nearly the records that he does. Frank, the husband of three young children, the doctor just told him that he has Lou Gehring's disease. His future, and more importantly to him, his family's future is bleak. because of his health. Such and much more can be the trials that a Christian faces. And consider what could be the reaction as you look at James' first words as he talks about what it is to be a Christian and to live by faith. He begins, verse 2, count, or we could translate it consider or reckon, count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds. You know, Frank, if you're told you have this deadly disease, count it all joy. Jerry and Sue, if you wonder what's happening in your daughter's life, count it all joy. It comes across maybe as callous, or even as mocking. And when you realize that standing behind James as he writes ultimately the author of these verses is God Himself, we can wonder what's going on. It seems crazy, almost cruel, to the point of being absurd. As you think of the death of a loved one, an economic setback, health problems, family problems. How can you be joyful in the face of those? And yet, this is the response of a mature Christian, of one who is pursuing to mature in the faith in Jesus Christ. And of course, we need to understand that that's not the normal response. If we're not living by faith, we can never respond to joy in these circumstances. that if our response is guided by faith, we'll see that joy is indeed possible. And so the first point is the command. We have a command here. It's something that we are to do. It's a moral obligation that is put upon us by God. It's not for those who are just super spiritual, for the spiritually there to do it. But it's addressed really to all Christians, to everyone who wants to grow, and their faith. And every word, and every phrase here in verse 2 is vitally important. You have those words, my brothers. And that phrase brothers, brethren, is used 14 times in the book of James. Sometimes with beloved brothers, or sometimes more simply, my brothers is here, my brethren. We have a sense of James' heart as he reaches out to his audience. There's a pastoral tone, a tone of concern. He's trying to get a command, an exhortation, things to be done, but it's out of a pastor's heart as he speaks with one of them who undergoes, who knows what it is to be in trials. He's not a little dictator demanding responses, but a fellow pilgrim on the journey heavenward, giving wisdom and counsel. And so he has a genuine concern, a humility for the people as he addresses them as brothers, as he sees them as brothers in Christ. And how we should be imitating that same thing, whether it be with Same attitude with Christians or even non-Christians, of a heart's concern. You can see the negative, I think, in terms of politics, and going on as the health care debate goes on and on. You have these sides, and how they view each other, they're seeing each other as an enemy. Instead of saying, well, how can we work together? How can I bring my brother or sister, my fellow American, to agree with me or to find some common ground? James has a much different approach of giving instruction, but as it is to one who is his brother in Christ, his sister in Christ, a concern for them. Or B, we can see the command. It's the word, verb, count, or consider, or reckon. It has the idea of really almost systematically in a mathematical way of putting things together. And it has the idea of pointing to a mental attitude. That you have to have a certain attitude. As you look at the trials that you go through, as you view what is happening in your life, There's a mental process that you have to go through. Notice it doesn't say, feel joyful. Because that would really be impossible. But it's saying, consider it. Look at it in this way. Come to focus your thoughts in the right way about what is happening to you. It enterprises something that's learned. It's not something automatic. Automatically, we feel self-pity. You know, why am I going through this? I really deserve a little bit better than my boss calling me on the carpet for what I've done, and maybe what I did was good. Surely it wasn't as bad as he said it was. And so it's really calling for a major realignment in our thinking, to make a definite decision that I am going to view things in a joyful light, with a joyful attitude. And if it isn't enough that we're to do that, look thirdly, it says all joy. Not somewhat joyful, not half joy and half sorrow, but really it's pure joy. And that would seem to be impossible. But that's what we're called to do. And it's not so much as viewing things as a blessing in disguise. Because we can often do that, you know. You have a last minute, you know, looking to have a job and you think it's all lined up and it falls through at the last minute. And you're able to look back and say, oh, that was good. You're going to get a job down in Mississippi, and you're going to live on the golf course, and you have the house all bought and ready to pay for, and the job falls through, and you don't go down there, and you find out that two months later, Katrina goes through, and your house would have been destroyed, and maybe one or two of your family members would have been lost. And you can say, God bless me in that. But what if it was reversed? What if you were living in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi, and you thought you had for sure a job offer in Terre Haute, and you're all set to move, and you know the house that you were going to buy here, and somebody doesn't like it that you're a Christian, and suddenly the job falls through, and you stay. in Mississippi, a Katrina comes through, and one or two of your family members, as long as everything that you own is lost. In those circumstances, are you to count it as all joy? James says that's what we're to do. It talks about various trials, or as the ESV says, trials of various kinds, and it's getting at this idea that there are different types of trials that we will encounter. As we go through life, there will be trials of one sort or another, and they may succeed one another, and there will be health trials, there will be trials with finances, maybe trials in relationships in your family, You know, maybe goals that are not met. You've had your goals set on something all your life, or a promotion or whatever it is. Maybe a natural disaster hits, a loss of job, an accident, death of a loved one, troubles at work. Just all sorts. The word really means multi-colored. There are all sorts of stripes and hues. A trial that will come upon us. And as one man has rightly pointed out, you're either in a trial right now, or you've come from a trial, or you're heading for a trial. Because these are things that are common to all of us. And one often comes right on the heels of another. And they often do leave a scar. Certainly having a loved one die in a tragic accident is not a light matter. And these trials are said to meet or come upon us. It's the same verb that was used in the parable of the Good Samaritan where the man going up from Jericho fell among the robbers. He just happened upon them as He's going that way. And as you happen to be going through life, these trials will come upon you. They're part of what it involves in being human beings. And the bottom line, as you look at verse 2, it is saying, whatever the trials may be, whether they're because you're a Christian or just the trials that come because you're living life, As a believer, you're to consider them as an occasion for rejoicing. It's a simple, but a profound truth. Let me mention two things that this does not mean. First, it doesn't mean that you rejoice over pain, or over injustice, or over misery, or that sort of thing. It's not that this is calling you to have a silly grin on your face and to say, praise the Lord anyway, no matter what happens. You know, your boss tells you you're fired, you say, well, praise the Lord and put a silly grin on. It's not that sort of thing. You know, the police comes and tells you your entire family's been killed in a car accident. There's pain. But rather, we're to respond with the right mental attitude of being able to see it all as part of what God is bringing about. And He's doing it out of love. Well, the second response that's not called for is that of being a stoic. You know, as the British would say, to have a stiff upper lip. You know, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That somehow we endure. Somehow we clench our teeth and our fists. No, it's calling us to joy. Joy. No matter what. And how is that possible? Well, it begins with understanding God's truth. And the fact is that God is sovereign. God is in control. So whatever trial it is going on in your life, Whether it be a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, a persecution because you're a believer, or whatever it is, you encounter it because God is bringing it into your life. And then the second thing, this whole part of a plan of a loving Father, who has your best in mind every single moment, God is allowing that trial in your life for some good reason. And He may not tell it to you. And you may not be able to see it. And sometimes you can. Sometimes you can see it very clearly, where He saved me from having to live through Katrina and having everything I have taken away. But sometimes it's a mystery. Why did I have to stay there? You cannot move up to Indiana and be safe. I think of the conversation I had with a man a while ago. He'd undergone a very severe trial. There was nearly a period of 12 years of testing in his life. And what he was involved in really ended in failure. And the world would say that, you know, that 12 years was wasted. They could point to maybe one or two good things that happened during that time. And I asked them the question, what lesson was so important that God took twelve years of your life to teach you it? Because I was convinced there was something that God I was trying to teach him what was more important than personal success and being successful in the eyes of the world. That God would not have him go through all that for no purpose. And I was encouraging him to think about, what was it that he needed to learn? Because God would not take him through that without some purpose. Well, the second point is in verse 3. We're to be armed with the knowledge that the testing of faith produces steadfastness. Trials are not an end in and of themselves, but a process that's aimed at producing a steadfastness. We can easily say we believe in the sovereignty of God. We can say that God is our Father in Heaven who cares about us. But the way that we really see that true in the doubt is when we face trials and adversities. What do we do when we go through this time? Do we cling closer to our Heavenly Father? Or do we ignore them? And as those trials are repeated, and there's a constancy, it produces a steadfastness. And we need to be aware that we live in a culture that is looking for instant success. You know, I've lived through one trial, that's it. I'm ready to go on to all the victories. And too often we don't want to do and go through that repeated time of learning. I think we can see that a lot of ways. I think we can see it in terms of handwriting. And I won't ask the younger ones about their handwriting, but I know my parents, my wife's parents, beautiful handwriting. Well, how did that come about? Well, steadfastness. day after day, practicing their letters, being told, oh, this is exactly how you hold the pen, how you make the A, and doing it, and practicing, and practicing, and practicing. I look at some of these younger ones, and I don't call any of your handwriting, so it doesn't involve you, but I wonder how the post office can ever deliver a letter. I can't read anything. We want to speed through it and be done. God is wanting to be built steadfast in us. And so it is often that we have repeated trials and go through trial after trial. And just as a beautiful handwriting is the end result of that repetition, trials lead us to greater hope and greater security. a deeper knowledge of God and the ability to rejoice in the good times and in the bad, in those troubled situations that one who has grown and developed through these trials is able to encounter any trial. Katrina that takes away everything and not lose their joy. I just read the autobiography of Peyton, a missionary to the inhabitants, who lost his wife and infant son. Great sorrow at that, but joy that he had in the Lord despite the circumstances. We respond with joy. Because we know of God's love. And that God is permitting these things to come upon us. And so the question is, if you respond with joy or not, the question is, do you really believe in God's sovereignty? And do you really believe that God cares for you? To the minutest detail of your life. And if you do, if you truly believe that God brings everything into your life for good, He's under no obligation to explain how it's working for good, but He brings every single thing into your life for good, then you need to rejoice. Then you can rejoice. It's when we grumble or complain, when we feel anger or resentment, When we have gloom or despair, we're indicating we really are not trusting in God. We question maybe His love for us, or His control of all things. Because if we see those things, and we're thinking about it, and we develop this town and all joy, It becomes obvious that God is doing 100% of the things He does for His people, 100% of the time, for their good. Everything is for our good. Even the painful things. And so we direct our thinking that way. We can count it. is joy, all joy. For the third point, as you look at verse 4, is the result. There is a maturity. It talks there about being perfect and complete. A maturity. So, first of all, a goal that we should be striving for in this life, a maturity, is the result of testing. And one of the things that we'll see is this attitude of joy. Can we go through a hard time without becoming bitter and grumbling and complaining, or do we have a joy? This is God is doing something good, and if He's inflicting me with all this pain, it must be very important that I learn it. Do we see it that way? As you go throughout the book of James, he's constantly stressing the need for a wholehearted commitment to God and His will. That's what this is called for, is it calls for us to be joyful, is that we're committed to God and His will, and knowing that His will for us is good no matter what. As we go through the ups and downs of life, we can be joyful. And both. And interestingly, the root sin in opposition to this, as you go through the book, is not unbelief, but it's being double-minded. Of not thinking correctly about your situation, of not seeing it from the perspective of heaven. And that is really why James begins by addressing the mental outlook. To count it. Not to feel joy, but to count it. To consider. Consider how what you are encountering is part of the good will of a good God for His child. And that's really easy when things are going great. When you experience the highs of life. But also, when you do it, Feel those loaves, just wear those valleys. And implicit in this is the fact that we're really looking to the future as well. Because the reality of being perfect and complete does not take place in this life. All our responses, even the most mature of us, will not measure up. There will be times when something happens and I guarantee that you will not consider it all joy. I know there are times that I will not consider it all joy. But we're looking to that future when in heaven, when we are perfect and complete, when there will be all joy and peace and all the rest. It's the future that's based upon faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only foundation for eternal life. It's the only foundation for having joy in the midst of trials. And think about the application for commanded to have joy. How is that possible? Well, it says, is guided by faith. To someone who is not a believer, this is sure foolishness. Hardship is hardship. The loss of a loved one is a struggle. But with faith, we can know that what happens is controlled by a God who loves us, who has our good in mind continually. And so we can have joy, no matter what. And as it's commanded, it's commanded to be developing that mental attitude. Because our initial response will always be to be feeling the pain, feeling the sorrow, and there's genuine sorrow that we should have at the loss of a loved one. But there should also be this attitude that we develop, that we cultivate, of thinking through in the right way and viewing what has happened, the good and the bad, with joy, because it is from our loving Father who brings it into our life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we see an immense challenge here in the command that is given to us, that we're to count it, that we're to reckon, that we're to formulate in our minds this joy when we encounter those diverse trials that we face in this life. Our natural response would be anything but that. It would be to despair, to feel resentment, to become bitter or angry, to wallow in self-pity, saying, I do not deserve this. Why is it happening to me? And yet if we're in Christ, we know that it's not happening by accident. that's based upon your love and your loving concern for us. It's based on your goal of developing Christlike in us. Help us to see that. And even though we may not understand fully your purposes, to realize that always you have our good in mind and that we can take joy in that. no matter what our outward circumstances might be, no matter what the inner turmoils might be that we face. Show us how you might do this more and more. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.