James: Wisdom & Prayer

James: Where Faith and Life Meet

Wisdom and Prayer

2/12/12

Introduction –

Aladdin is my second most favorite Disney animation film of all time (Beauty and the Beast is my favorite). I have many reasons why I have such a fondness for Aladdin but there are two reasons (one personal and one spiritual) I would like to share with you today. First, the voice and character of Genie played by Robin Williams is nothing short of brilliant. To this day whenever I watch this movie Williams never fails to make me laugh. Second, I like Aladdin because it gives a great example of what prayer and God are not. Let me explain; Often Christians view God and prayer in the way that Genie is portrayed as he grants wishes and is the servant to a human (namely Aladdin). People (many of which are Christians) tend to view God and prayer in this manner as well (although we would never say this). We are his master and He is our Genie. Hopefully as mature Christians you find the previous statement offensive and incorrect. Truth remains though, sometimes even us mature Christians get a wrong perception of prayer and God.

I share this video and introduce today’s message in the negative sense because I want to bring to your attention what James is NOT saying in this passage. Preachers, leaders and Christians around the world have misused these verses and misrepresented God and prayer for far too long. I have heard individuals use verses 6 & 7 as reasons why people do not have everything they want or they are pour because they lack faith. Prosperity preachers talk about asking in faith and if you do not receive what you ask for then you didn’t have enough faith. This is wrong and these verses need to be looked at in context. Note I will not make a case for faithless prayer because that would be unbiblical nor will I try to convince you that if you pray hard enough and find enough faith God will do what you ask. We are commanded throughout scripture to pray in faith thus we should ALWAYS pray according to God’s will and expect results for his glory. However I do want to dispel the false teaching that the reason you may be poor, sick, hungry, persecuted, and unsatisfied in life is because you do not have faith. The opposite is often true.

The Prayer for Wisdom

Last week I talked about trials and persecution and how God uses them to make us complete, whole and mature. We need to keep this context in mind as James writes in verses 5 – 8. It seems apparent that in this passage James is continuing to exhort his readers by telling them to seek wisdom in the midst of trials. The way a person should seek and receive wisdom is through prayer.

R. Kent Hughes writes in his commentary on James in regards to this, “When we are in the midst of trials, we may reflexively cry out, ‘God why me? There is nothing redemptive in my trial! Why does it go on?’ But how many of us say, while being tested, ‘Lord I need wisdom – Please use this trial to increase my wisdom and understanding of you, your people and life’”?[1]

Before we get too far in this short passage I think it would be best to take a moment and define wisdom and tie the importance of having wisdom and walking with God together. The simplest definition of wisdom could be in stating what wisdom is not… It is not just knowledge or intellect. It is much more than collecting data, learning more and holding degrees. The Greek word for wisdom is Sophia and means the ability to understand and as a result act wisely. It is a way of taking knowledge and understanding it and applying it to everyday life to make the right moral decisions. If we want to know about godly wisdom it would certainly benefit us to read the Proverbs of the O.T. which is also called the book of wisdom. Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,”

Just in reading this Proverb we understand why James tells his readers to ask God for wisdom… because he is the one who gives it. Not only does God give it but as verse 5 of James states God gives it generously and without reproach. This means God gives wisdom liberally or sincerely or simply and without scolding. God never tires of us asking for wisdom. He is not a God who says, “What do you mean you need more wisdom? I just gave you some yesterday! What did you do with it?” No, the treasure trove of wisdom from God is wide open and available whenever we need it. All we need to do is ask.

How are we to ask? We are to ask in faith and not doubt. I do believe this is not only how we should pray for wisdom but in prayer in general. I think James is referring to prayer in general (but also applies it for praying for wisdom in the midst of trials). In James 5:15 James writes about the importance of praying in faith for those who are sick. As I noted earlier I am not making a case for faithless prayer but I certainly do not believe James is making a case for the God/Genie scenario either. Author Douglas Moo writes, “Neither Jesus nor James intends to give to Christians a blank check on which they can write whatever they want and expect God to back it up. The ‘whatever you ask’ is clearly qualified in Scripture elsewhere to include only what God has promised to give his people. In James this point is clear from the connection with verse 5, where he speaks first of God’s desire to give wisdom to his people.”[2]

Asking in faith without doubt is essential in all prayer but what we usually forget to do most is to pray in God’s will. God will give to us what He has promised and he is not obligated in anyway to give anything more. Let us not forget though that He is a gracious God and He delights in giving good things.

In contrast James speaks about the one who doubts and the one who is double minded and it brings up a serious question, “Will God not hear any of our prayers if there is an ounce of doubt?” I don’t believe this is what James is implying or even saying. We all struggle with doubt in our lives. Sometimes I struggle with doubt in my prayers. I pray, I bring my requests before the Lord and sometimes I don’t actually believe God is going to do what I am asking. Most times I am not surprised when I don’t get what I ask for but there are times when God surprises me and blesses me with the request I ask. It’s not like the faith we have is actually something we posses by our natural abilities. Faith is given to us by God and when we pray we must pray in the faith that God has given to us and there will be times where our flesh and spirit war with each other but God honors the person who is open and available to Him.

So who is James talking to? D.A. Carson suggests that James refers to the doubters as the double minded. A double minded person is one who is divided in his own spirit between God and the world. He is not fully committed to God but wants the benefits He has to offer. In modern terms it is a person who is a fence walker; he has not fully committed his life to God but wants God to bless him. He is the person who goes to God only when he needs something. This is the person who wants to excel in the world for selfish gain but tries (and unsuccessfully I might ad) to hit up God to bless their endeavors. A double minded person can’t decide whether he wants to serve God or serve the world. He just can’t and won’t commit to either one. He wants the benefits of the world and he wants the benefits of heaven as well.

Conclusion

The crux of this passage then is intended for believers who are facing trials in their lives and need the wisdom of God to get them through or to teach them why they are experiencing what they are experiencing. This passage is relevant for you and me today as well. Are you facing a trial in your life? Take it to God in prayer and ask for wisdom in getting through it. I am certain there are at least one if not more of you here today that is facing a situation life where you need the wisdom of God. Maybe it is financial, maybe it is health related, or maybe it is family or work related. It could honestly be anything. I would encourage you today to go before the Father who has a store house full of wisdom and wants to give as much as you need without reservation. Pray and ask in faith for God to give you the wisdom you need. Do not be as the double minded person who only seeks to only gain for their own purpose. Ask in faith and God the Father will give to you liberally all wisdom you need for His glory.

---

[1] Hughes, R. Kent: James-Faith That Works. Wheaton, Il: Crossway Books, 1991, p. 26

[2] Moo, Douglas: The Letter of James. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000, p. 60

James: Trials and Perfection

James: Where Faith and Life Meet

Trials and Perfection

2/5/12

Have you ever faced a difficult trial in your life where you felt like giving up? Are you there right now? Maybe you have a situation at work where you were being plotted against for doing the right thing. Possibly you are a student in school where you continually are made fun of for standing up for your truth and convictions. Maybe you are a parent facing a difficult decision you need to make concerning your family and/or children. We all face trials at one point or another in our lives. Oftentimes our first response when faced with any kind of conflict, turmoil or tribulation is to turn and run or just plain give up. Typically we don’t like to face our trials head on.

Greg Asimakoupoulos tells of a commuter flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston. The pilot, Henry Dempsey, heard an unusual noise near the rear of the small aircraft. He turned the controls over to his co-pilot and went back to investigate.

As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise. The rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff, and it flew open. He was instantly partially sucked out of the jet.

The co-pilot, seeing the red light that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport, requesting permission to make an emergency landing. He reported that the pilot had fallen out of the plane, and he requested a helicopter search of that area of the ocean.

After the plane landed, they found Henry Dempsey—holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Somehow he had caught the ladder, held on for ten minutes as the plane flew 200 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet, and then, at landing, kept his head from hitting the runway. It took airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey’s fingers from the ladder.

“Things in life may feel turbulent,” said Asimakoupoulos, “and you may not feel like holding on. But have you considered the alternative?”^[1]

Holding on in the hard times or persevering is the theme for today’s message. The passage we will look at in James deals specifically with our attitudes and actions when faced with hardship and trials. Many consider this passage a jagged little pill which is painful to swallow, while others find it completely impossible to hold onto in their lives.

The Joy in Trials

Last week I spent a good deal of time giving an introduction to the Epistle of James. If you were not here for the message then I would encourage you to get it online at our Church website. One thing I did note about this Epistle is that it is a practical letter and is one that helps merge our faith and everyday living together.

Immediately James wastes no time getting to the purpose of this letter. He doesn’t mess around with greetings or salutations instead he tackles the issue right up front. Apparently the reason for this letter was the people he was writing to were facing various kinds of trials in their lives. We can only speculate what trials these Christians were facing but can make safe assumptions that it was probably related to their poverty (James takes up the argument against the rich a little later in the chapter) and it was religious persecution as well and most likely the two were interrelated.

I think we can all accept the fact that no matter where we are in life we will face persecution, trials and suffering. Notice James does not write, “If you face trials…” but writes “When you face trials…” What I think most of us have a problem with is the attitude James tells us to have. He says to “consider it pure joy” when we come face to face with various trials. Was this guy right in the head? I’m not sure about you but usually joy is not on my top ten list of responses to trials and trouble. I think it is safe to say that James isn’t telling us that we should be giddy with delight over persecution but a joy that is in anticipation of God’s future glory in the situation. James is giving the readers (and us) a lesson or reminder about the sovereignty of God. In these trying times we may be surprised or thrown for a loop but God is not phased in the least. Our responses to trials often speak volumes about our perspective of God. When we allow trials to overrule our lives instead of seeing them as moments where God is in control we have just defined our God as a God who can’t… Nowhere does James suggest having joy in trials is easy. He just states it is doable. In this opening passage we are reminded that God does allow difficulties in our lives and as believers they have a purpose. What that purpose is can only be revealed if we respond to them in a proper way.

Unfortunately many who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior have a misconception about their spiritual walk with Jesus. So many individuals have a false idea that it is wrong to experience hardships as a believer. What is more saddening is that many are quick to abandon their faith when faced with difficulty instead of persevering. The path of a believer will be faced with times of difficulty and trials (and joy inexplicable) but James informs the believer that when we face trials (the ESV states “the testing of your faith”) we are in a process of being refined in our faith. The testing of faith produces steadfastness which means endurance or patience.

I like Douglas Moo’s analogy, “Like a muscle that becomes strong when it faces resistance, so Christians learn to remain faithful to God over this long haul only when they face difficulty.”[2] In a sense when we face trials in the appropriate way we are building our spiritual muscles. So often when we are in the midst of trials we pray that God would take us out of the situation but God is the one who has allowed us to be in this situation in the first place. In reality instead of praying for deliverance from the trial we should be praying for God strengthen our faith and become refined so we may come out the situation stronger than when we entered it.

As believers when faced with trials the immediate result should always be perseverance or steadfastness. When the trial comes before us we must prepare to persevere because God has a purpose and it’s all under His control. However perseverance is not the end goal. The end goal is perfection and completeness. This may confuse some because you may say nothing and nobody is perfect except God, so how can we be perfect if perfection is impossible? The word used for perfect is telios which means, upright, sound, blameless or mature in character and faith. This is the ultimate goal of the believer in times of trials and trouble. Note that James is not saying that we attain this perfection in the earthly realm. Moral integrity, and a faith that is sound is what we get from persevering. Have you ever met a man or woman who has a maturity of faith about them? They are upright in their character, their faith is nearly unshakeable and their love for God is immeasurable? How do you think they got there? Answer: by practicing James 1:2-4. James is suggestion here that the testing, trials and persecution the readers face are intended to produce, in accordance to absolute trust, faith and endurance in God, maturity and uprightness in our character that is complete in all respects. This type of maturity is only developed when we face trials as James suggests. Does this whole reasoning seem a bit odd or backward? Well maybe to some, but it works.

Conclusion

At this time I would like to bring the text for today into our lives. Are you facing a trial or trials in your life where you are uncertain as to why you are going through it? I would encourage you to really take note and meditate on these verses this week. I know the difficulty involved when going through trials but I also know that God is on task and aware of what is going on. Somewhat recently I experienced something that was very difficult for me to face, borderline devastating and my first reaction was to turn and run. However as I faced this trial in my life I found that as a result of this trial I was praying more, reading the Word of God more, searching the Scriptures for answers and challenges and emerging from the trial victorious, complete and I believe even more mature. Was it a fun process? Absolutely not. Am I glad I went through it? Yes, I am and I am more complete in Christ as a result.

My friends, wherever you are; at work, school, home, the community, or just out there consider it pure joy when faced with various trials because the end result will be worth it. Jesus is our greatest example and he endured horrific trials. Imagine if He would have caved halfway through his persecution, it would have been devastating. The beautiful thing is He endured and as a result He has given us the opportunity to be complete and perfect and lacking nothing because he finished the task.

---

^[1] Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (614). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[2] Moo, Douglas: The Letter of James. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000, p. 55

James Introduction

James: Where Faith and Life Meet

Introduction

1/29/12

INTRODUCTION

When I first became a Christian back in the early nineties (1991 to be specific) one of the first things I did as a new believer was consume the Bible every moment I could get. I spent hours at home reading and feasting off the Word of God (I think this is rather common among new believers). In fact one of the books that I consider my favorite even to this day is the Epistle of James.

Now I have way too many Bibles in my collection and I wouldn’t be surprised if you were to pull one of them off my shelf and turn to the book of James to find it mostly highlighted and/or underlined. It helped shape me into the Christian I am today.

When I received the call to enter the ministry in mid 1994 as a fresh young green youth Pastor I believed wholeheartedly that God revealed one of my Spiritual gifts to be teaching. Since this was the case upon entering the pastoral ministry in my hometown of Jamestown, NY at my childhood church one of my missions or goals as a Pastor/teacher was and remains this day to teach the Bible in a manner that is relevant and easily understood and applied so the believer can live a life pleasing to God. This is no small task since many of the Epistles and letters of the Bible are confusing and chock full of theology that has been debated for centuries. I have not received the call nor do I have the desire to become a scholar of the Bible. I will leave that up to others. The ministry God has called me is rooted in God’s word and taking what I have learned and experienced through it and ultimately helping people take what is written in it and helping them figure out how to take what they’ve just learned and use it practically in their lives. This is pretty much what James has done with his letter and I am really excited to finally be preaching on my favorite books of the Bible.

Today my plan is to introduce you to the book itself. We will look at the person James, why this book appeals to so man believers and look at his purpose and intent in writing the letter. I have used many extra biblical sources to gain some background information and those resources include “The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to James” by Douglas Moo, “James: Faith That Works” by R. Kent Hughes, the “ESV Study Bible” and “The New Bible Commentary: 21^st Century Edition” by D.A. Carson. I would encourage you to get a resource for yourself if you are truly interested in delving deep into this book as I will not be able to give deep commentary from the pulpit on some of the conclusions that will be made but they will be conclusions that have been made with much study and prayer. The difficulty in any study (especially an introduction to a book) is to make it concise, understandable and applicable to you. I have read over a 100 pages just dealing with background of this book and I am going to strip it down to a 20 minute sermon, so please bear with me.

NOTES

James is a controversial book and has not always been widely accepted by Christians throughout history. Some have contested that it should even be in the Bible. There are many and various reasons for this that I will not include in the introduction. The reformer Martin Luther called it an “epistle of straw” because it does not refer to the Apostle Paul’s teaching on salvation by grace (which was the foundation of his faith). He believes James “mangles scripture” and thereby opposes Paul and all Scripture. It is believed that even up to the 4^th century that parts of both the Eastern and Western church did not accept James as a canonical (inspired) book.

The author of this letter (as stated in verse 1) is a person named James who refers to himself as a servant of God and of Jesus Christ. The majority of scholars believe this James is none other than the brother of Jesus, who was also known as James “the just”. There are other James’s in scripture that others believe could have been the author. However most of the arguments support the idea that the author was in fact James, the brother of Jesus and this is the position I will take for this series.[1] James not only was the brother of Jesus but he was also the first bishop of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 12, 15).

As you can imagine being the half brother to the Savior of the universe would have been interesting at best. We do know he was not a follower of Jesus until after his resurrection so I am sure James knew the Savior in a way that many never had the opportunity to know him. We also know that he didn’t parade around and brag about being the brother of Jesus. I am sure he could have used this fact to pull some clout but instead he chooses not to mention this truth and instead of calling himself the brother of Jesus he refers to himself as a servant to Jesus.

The letter was probably written around A.D. 49, but some have dated it as late as late as the early A.D. 60s. Regardless it is known as the oldest Epistle. If in fact it was written in A.D. 49 we should note that this is a mere 15 or so years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. So the church he Pastored was a young church in its early stages of life.

The letter of James may receive negative response by scholars but this Epistle quite possibly is the most relevant (and popular) letters of the N.T. Not surprisingly it appeals to the common, ordinary believer and deals with real life issues that are still pertinent today.

According to Douglas Moo James appeals generally to believers for three notable reasons…

1) James is intensely practical; and believers looking for specific guidance in the Christian life naturally appreciate such an emphasis.

2) A second factor making James so attractive to believers is his conciseness. He rarely develops the points he makes at any length, being content to make his point and move quickly on.

3) Third, James’s lavish use of metaphors and illustrations makes his teaching easy to understand and to remember.[2]

The Letter

The letter is not addressed to any single church that we know of. It was addressed to the dispersed Jews of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; probably to Jewish Christians living in Palestine and Syria. On the other hand some scholars do think it was written to a specific church; but more likely it is believed to have been written to a group of churches.

The Churches or gathering of believers to whom he was writing were believed to have been a group of Jewish believers who were under a certain economic pressure and persecution. They were not (yet) facing life threatening persecution but it was certainly an oppression that was affecting the unity and life of the church or churches.

We need to understand that the Church was still in it’s infancy at the time James was believed to have been written and it didn’t have strong legs (metaphorically speaking) to stand on. The church was beginning to break under the pressure.

D.A. Carson writes, “There are two ways in which church members may respond to extreme pressure. They can either pull together and help each other or they can compromise with the world and split apart into bickering factions.”^[3] It seems the latter was happening. We will see in latter chapters and verses what this looked like and how James addressed it.

The Theme

There are many “themes” to this letter of which include patience and joy during trials, being doers of the Word and not just hearers, God does not show favoritism, faith and works go hand in hand, the dangers of the tongue, true wisdom, staying away from the patterns of the world, the frailty of life, not hoarding riches for yourself, and praying in faith. As you can see James did jump around in his writing and when he addressed something he didn’t spend much time on it. Thus it would be hard to pinpoint one specific theme based on the writings. If I had to choose a general theme it would be instructions on how to put your faith into action. This would be the reason why I have entitled the series “Where Faith and Life Meet”. Metaphorically speaking I think of this Epistle as the skin that covers the skeleton and muscles of the Word.

Some have suggested that there isn’t a specific theme to the letter but it does have a central concern which is “Spiritual wholeness”; or how to merge the Word of God into the life of a believer. James exhorts his readers to not conform to the patterns of the world, to refrain from embracing the world and to live fully for Jesus Christ. I would affirm that James’s practical approach is why this letter is a favorite among many Christians.

CONCLUSION

In the coming weeks we will be looking more closely at the themes I mentioned a few moments ago. The goal for this series is to encourage each one of you to embrace the idea of living out our faith in the world we live in. My hope and prayer is for you individually to come to the intersection of your life where faith (intellectually knowing, believing and trusting in Jesus and His Word) and life (work, school, family, relationships, church, etc.) meet and being able to allow the two to come together to mesh and meld so you can truly live lives separated for the purpose of God in this world that clearly wants nothing to do with Him.

---

[1] This is where it would be good to have a resource of your own so you can read the arguments for and against the authorship of James, Jesus’ brother.

[2] Moo, Douglas: The Letter of James. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000, p. 1,2

^[3] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

James

Some have asked for hard copies of my sermon notes in my series in James. I have decided to make them available through this blog. I will upload a few at a time and please feel free to share. I have really enjoyed this series and I am learning a lot from it. My prayer is you would as well. Enjoy and God Bless

Jeff

When You Have To Practice What You Preach

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2 - 4

I love being a Pastor and I love God's Word. However sometimes I don't always like being a Pastor who has to practice what I preach from God's Word. I say this only half jokingly. Recently I began a series on the book of James. This Epistle was written to Christian Jews who were being persecuted (not to the point of death but more like being ostracized from society). James (probably the brother of Jesus) tells his readers in the second verse of chapter one to count it all joy when they meet various trials. This is, for me, probably one of the hardest passages to preach on because I have a hard time actually doing it and I also know that after I preach on it various trials will come my way.

Recently I have been facing some trials in my own life both physical and spiritual and am finding it difficult to find joy in all this. I am encouraged as I continue in this passage as I am reminded that when I do find joy in trials my faith ultimately is strengthened or as James writes the testing of faith produces steadfastness. Steadfast is defined as, "dutifully firm and unwavering". I need to be completely reminded that in my trials I will emerge a stronger and better follower of Christ. I think this truth is the only thing that helps me get through my trials.

The Confusing In-Between

As many of you know I have been reading (slowly) through Pete Scazzero's EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY and it has been a HUGE blessing in my life recently. As I have been reading through the chapter entitled "Enlarge Your Soul Through Grief and Loss" he introduces the concept of "Wait in the Confusing In-Between". I love when someone gives a name or title to something that I have been feeling but am unable to articulate. Scazzero writes, "My greatest challenge in following Jesus Christ for over thirty years has been waiting on God when things are confusing." To that I say amen.

As a person I tend to be wired as a "fixer". A fixer is a person who tries to fix something when things don't go the way he/she plans (especially when they are out of his/her control). Simply put, I am a man of little patience and I dislike not being in control of certain situations. I know and believe Psalm 37:7 (Be still and know I am God) but I find it hard to flesh out in my life. I don't like to wait in general but I really don't like waiting when I am uncertain of things around me. The confusing in-between is a place where I find myself often and I need to have patience in this place. Peter Scazzero writes, "The confusing in-between resists all earthly categories and quick solutions. It runs contrary to our Western culture that pervades our spirituality."

Lord, give me peace and patience in the confusing in-betweens so I may truly be still and know you are God.

Some Excellent Free Resources

I came across two resources from Pastor John Piper that I would like to share with you.

The first is John Piper's new book BLOODLINES which is a fantastic read on race, racism and Christianity. Dr. Piper gets very personal with his upbringing as a young Christian in the south and how God dealt with his racism. Click the link below to download a PDF of the book.

John Piper's New Book Bloodlines Ebook

The second is a four minute video clip on fighting bitterness. This clip challenged me greatly and hit the core of my need to learn forgiveness and overcome bitterness. Be prepared to be challenged by this...

Fighting Bitterness