Rev. David Holwick V Book of James #2
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 1, 2007
James 1:2-4,12
TRIALS AND TROUBLES
I. YOU HAVE TO HANG ON.
On a commuter flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston, Henry Dempsey,
the pilot, heard an unusual noise near the rear of his small
aircraft.
He turned the controls over to his co-pilot and went back to check
it out.
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 take-off, and
it flew open.
Dempsey was instantly 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 and held on for ten minutes as the
plane flew 200 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet.
Then, at landing, he had kept his head from hitting the runway,
which was a mere twelve inches away.
It took airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey's fingers
from the ladder.
Things in life may be turbulent, and you may not feel like
holding on.
But have you considered the alternative?
#1717
A. Nobody lives without troubles.
B. Christians are not immune, and may face more than their share.
C. How we handle troubles means the difference between being
shallow and bitter, or mature and joyous.
II. BEING ON TRIAL.
A. Two definitions of trial (NIV) / temptation (KJV):
1) An enticement to sin.
a) This is what the devil does.
b) He wants to trip you up.
c) This kind of trial is mentioned elsewhere in James,
but probably not here.
2) A trial to test faith.
a) Similar to Job's ordeal.
1> God is ultimately behind it.
2> Purpose is not to shatter faith, but reveal its
genuineness.
b) This definition is key to James 1:2-4.
B. Three varieties of trials that Christians face.
1) Reap-what-you-sow trials. Gal 6:7
a) We make stupid mistakes, we pay for them.
b) The "Law of the Harvest."
2) Spiritual trials. 1 Pet 4:12
a) Persecution and rejection.
This is typical in many parts of the world.
Mahendra Singal was born into a strict Hindu home in India.
They interpreted troubles as divine wrath against family.
They also felt powerless to change fate.
An important duty was making offerings to the god Shiva.
He was depicted sitting on the world, holding skulls.
One year Mahendra skipped this offering, and all the family's
bad luck was blamed on him.
Seeking a higher truth, he answered a newspaper ad for a
Bible study course.
In the Bible he found answers to his questions.
Mahendra became a teacher and taught at a Christian school.
He still wasn't a believer, but the missionaries witnessed
about Jesus to him.
The fact that the Christian God reaches out to people
was intriguing to him.
His dilemma was that his family would suffer disgrace.
Only after urgent pleading did he become a Christian.
In his own words, "I was not ready for what came my way
after conversion.
My family disowned me, my friends shunned me, as if I had
a dread disease.
Even more surprising, most of the missionaries left me
alone because in their view they had reached their
objective."
Fortunately, Mahendra did find Christian friends to support
him.
But for many people, becoming a born-again Christian carries
a heavy price.
Even here in Ledgewood, even in your own family.
#2631
b) Christians should be out-of-step with society.
1> If we don't cause some friction, we are not doing
our job.
3) Mysterious trials.
a) Some trials do not have a clear-cut reason.
1> Job's example.
b) Ramifications of living in a fallen world.
III. THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARD TRIALS.
A. Many turn to bitterness and get angry at God.
1) God is blamed for not changing things.
2) God is blamed for not living up to expectations.
B. Others become apathetic and withdraw from life.
1) They may feel they have been singled out.
2) Life is not fair to them.
C. James gives another alternative - joy. 1:2
1) Sounds like simplistic clichŠ, or even masochism.
a) Not a pasted-on smile.
b) "Consider" it pure joy, not that pain is joyful, but
our attitude about it makes the critical difference.
Micca Campbell's husband was waterproofing her sister's basement
when the air-conditioner clicked on, and the fumes ignited.
The explosion left him severely burned.
In the hospital, she helplessly watched him lay in excruciating
pain for eight days. And then he died.
Micca found herself alone, a brand-new mother and a widow at the
age of 21.
How would she get through such a crisis?
During the following days, she often turned to the Bible for
answers.
This passage in the Book of James annoyed her: "Consider it pure
joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."
Where was the joy, she wanted to ask James, when she walked into
the emergency room and couldn't recognize her husband?
Micca discovered that some grief, such as death, may take a
lifetime to heal.
But the good news is that during that lifetime you can, once again,
experience joy.
Over the years, she has found joy by discovering that her grief is
in fact working for her good.
At first she felt angry and betrayed by the God she had loved since
she was a little child.
She even had a desperate night when she shook her fist at God.
But over time she focused on His promises instead of her
circumstances.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:28, "we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him..."
She believes God is saying, "In this fallen world, not all of your
experiences are going to be good ones, but because you love and
obey Me, I will make them good."
She stopped asking, "What am I going to do?" and instead asks,
"What is God going to do?"
She feels God is making her stronger and more Christ-like because
of what she has experienced.
#27294
2) Joy in trials is an alien attitude to us, but common in
the Bible.
a) Jesus: Blessed are you when persecuted. Matt 5:11-12
b) Acts: Apostles rejoiced that they were
considered worthy to suffer. Acts 5:41
c) Paul: In all his troubles, his joy knows
no bounds. 2 Cor 7:4
d) Hebrews: Joyfully accepted confiscation, knowing
they had lasting possessions. Heb 10:34
D. We have joy, because we know pain has a purpose.
1) We hate the pain, but look beyond it.
2) God uses pain to reach and teach us.
IV. GOD'S PURPOSE IN TRIALS.
A. God is testing us to see if our faith is truly in HIM.
1) Meaning of "testing."
a) Word used of testing of coins, if real or counterfeit.
b) Refining process, to get rid of bad and reinforce good.
2) Every situation in life shows what we're really made of.
a) Hard circumstances can burn away the negatives.
b) They can also reveal the realities - perhaps your faith
isn't as solid as you thought.
1> Your faith might be based on an unrealistic view
of the world.
2> Your faith might really be a "bargain" with God --
you'll believe as long as he blesses you with
good things,
B. God is testing us to produce perseverance.
1) Not just "patience," but stick-to-it-iveness.
2) We need a faith that can overcome adversity.
Sara Henderson was watching her grandmother diminish before her
eyes.
Physically she was growing thinner and more stooped.
Mentally she was losing her ability to sort out reality.
Alzheimer's disease was eroding who she had always been, and even
her grandmother sensed it.
Sara's grandmother had always been a strong woman.
She had a career before it was even common for women to have
careers.
In her eighties, she was still dragging out her stepladder every
spring to wash all the windows in her house.
She was also a woman with a deep faith in God.
She had to move in with Sara's father.
There were moments when grandma was lucid, but they were rare, then
stopped altogether.
Toward the end of her life she became convinced that her mother
had knit everything she owned.
"Mama knit my boots," she would tell strangers, holding up a foot
wearing galoshes.
"Mama knit my coat," she would say with a vacant smile as she
zipped up her raincoat.
During her grandmother's last autumn, they decided to take a family
outing.
They went to a local fair for a day of caramel apples and carnival
rides.
Grandma loved flowers, so Sara's dad bought her a rose.
She carried it proudly through the fair, stopping often to breathe
in its fragrance.
Grandma couldn't go on the carnival rides, of course, so she sat on
a bench close by and waited while the rest of the family rode.
A sullen-looking young woman already occupied the bench but said
she wouldn't mind sharing it.
"Mama knit my coat," my grandmother told the young woman as she sat
down.
When the family came back, they saw the young woman was holding the
rose.
She looked as though she had been crying.
"Thank you for sharing your grandmother with me," she said.
Then she told the family her story.
She had decided that day was to be her last on Earth.
In deep despair and feeling she had nothing to live for, she was
planning to go home and commit suicide.
While she sat on that bench with Grandma, she found herself pouring
out her troubles.
"Your grandmother listened to me," the young woman informed them.
"She told me about a time in her own life, during the Depression,
when she had lost hope.
She told me that God loved me and that He would watch over me and
would help me make it through my problems.
She gave me this rose.
She told me that my life would unfold just like this rose and that
I would be surprised by its beauty.
She told me my life was a gift.
She said she would be praying for me."
The family stood, dumbfounded, as she hugged their grandmother and
thanked her for saving her life.
Grandma just smiled a vacant smile and patted her arm.
As the young woman turned to leave, she waved good-bye to them.
Grandma waved back and then turned to look at her family, still
standing in amazement.
"Mama knit my hat," she said.
#34716
C. God is testing us to develop our character.
1) What are you really made of?
2) The goal is maturity/perfection. Matt 5:48
a) Not absolute sinlessness.
b) More like fully grown, reaching our potential.
3) "Lacking in nothing" sums it up.
V. YOU ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS.
A. You can learn from the blessings.
B. You can learn even more from the trials.
C. What are you learning right now?
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 1717 "Holding On," by Greg Asimakoupoulos, Leadership, 1991 Summer,
p. 49.
# 2631 "Rejection By Your Family," (SCP, Vol. 12, #3, Sept 1987),
From old sermon by Rev. David Holwick, September 6, 1987.
#27294 "Focus On His Promises Instead Of Our Circumstances," by Micca
Campbell, Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org,
Abe Kudra Collection
#34716 "Mama Knit Some Hope," by Sara L. Henderson, Wit And Wisdom at
http://www.witandwisdom.org by Richard G. Wimer, June 14, 2007.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
