The sermon 'Experiencing Joy in the Midst of Our Trials' delivered by Mike Davenport explores the teachings of James 1:1-12, focusing on the concept of finding joy in trials. It begins by highlighting James's humble introduction as a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, asserting that trials test faith and develop patience, leading to a perfect and complete character. It emphasizes the importance of asking God for wisdom without doubting, as faith is critical to receiving divine wisdom. The sermon illustrates how both the lowly and the rich should perceive their circumstances—finding exaltation in humility and maintaining humility in wealth. The ultimate reward for enduring trials is the crown of life, promised to those who love God. The sermon encourages believers to view trials as instruments of growth, fostering joy, perseverance, and a deeper love for Christ.

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally, without reproach, and it will be given to him but let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man unstable in all his ways Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass, its flower falls and its beautiful appearance perishes.

So the rich man will also, the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. Blessed is the man who endures temptations when he has been approved, for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life Which the Lord has promised to those who love him Our father in heaven Lord teach us truly to delight and trials Lord teach us to delight and Hardships oh God that we might draw near to you in those times that we would grow in patience. O Lord, may our hearts cry, be like the blind man who is healed by Jesus, that I may receive my sight, O Lord. That I may receive my sight. Oh God, give us sight today to see your glory and your beauty in the face of Jesus Christ and our desperate need for him and Lord to love, a heart to love him more.

In Christ's name. Well, there was a king who ruled the greatest kingdom in Europe. Because of his intentions to build the largest and most beautiful palace known to mankind, He went through the countryside himself, searching for the perfect stone with which to build this palace. Having found such stone, he purposed to use from the sides of this cliff located above a steep and narrow valley. And so he sent his men to go to this place and to drill deep holes into this rock, to pour powder down in these holes and then to light the powder in an attempt to blow large chunks of this rock off the sides of the cliff into the valley below.

Then having gathered and retrieved these massive portions of rock, the workers sent them to the king's masons. And there in the hands of the masons with chisel and with hammer, they began to work on these stones to make them into usable shapes and sizes. Once this task was completed, The chiseled stones were then subject to sand and emery in order to buff and polish them in preparation for their place in the palace wall. Now, if the rocks had been given a voice to speak, what would they have said in this process of drilling, blasting, chiseling, hammering, and rough polishing? Chiseling, hammering, and rough polishing.

But now look upon them there, set in place in the palace of the great king, stately in appearance, strong and stable, smooth and shimmering in the sun. As you gaze upon that stone there in its beautiful and marvelous state, the means by which it got there no longer seems so significant and so devastating. Well today we begin a study through the book of James that will I pray by the work of the Holy Spirit weave itself into the very fabric of our daily lives. So today I hope to cover the first 12 verses of chapter 1 under the following five headings. First, the introductory remarks of a humble servant.

Secondly, the inexplicable response of genuine joy. Then thirdly, the indispensable request for heavenly wisdom. Fourth, These internal realities at work in real life and then lastly the indescribable reward of an eternal crown so first the introductory remarks of a humble servant. Verse 1, James, a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. Greetings.

Now the name of this book of the Bible bears the name of its author, James. Now there are a few New Testament characters who go by this name, James. Probably the first one that pops into most everyone's mind is James, the brother of John, the sons of Zebedee. This disciple James was the first martyr among the apostles being put to death by Herod Agrippa around AD 44. And that's recorded for us in Acts chapter 12.

However, the author of this book before us today is likely James, the brother of Jesus, who is in an unconvertible state, an unconvertible state when we first meet him in the Gospels. He's not converted When we first meet this man, we read of him in Matthew 13 55 and Mark 6 3 and John 7 5. It was to this James that Jesus had appeared after his resurrection as recorded by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15 verse 7. And by the time we reach the history of the church unfolding in the book of Acts and even in the Epistle of Galatians, we find this man James to be one of the elders in the church in Jerusalem. Well, In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas lead a group of men to Jerusalem to set before them certain questions that have been gathered from the scattered people of God.

And they go up to Jerusalem, to the Mother Church, and they set these questions before the church council. Now this council was made up of the apostles and elders. James being one of those elders there, and even in Acts 15, displaying a great place of authority among these men. Now these questions were coming from the Jews who had been scattered throughout these surrounding areas, And we'll discuss that more in a minute. So after meeting together, the council produced a letter which was sent out to these scattered brethren.

And it's possible that these are the very same brethren who had been the recipients of this earlier epistle of James for he writes to those who had been scattered. Now note the humility exhibited as he introduces his letter. Simply a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. A bond servant. Not James the brother of Jesus or James the elder in the Jerusalem church or James the head of the Jerusalem council.

He does not seek to prove his calling to his readers, but he simply connects with them by calling himself a bond servant of the Father and of the Son. For James, that is enough. Also, in referring to himself as the bond servant of both the Father and the Son, James is acknowledging the deity of Jesus Christ and in that acknowledgement the very basis of the reality of the Trinity. Now the statement of James here is no insignificant statement. As an elder in the Jerusalem church, he recognizes his ministry as chiefly among the Jews, and This is made clear in the next phrase in our text and So he is establishing the fact that Jesus is God As he writes to his Jewish brethren So we see that his readers are described in the next portion here to the twelve tribes, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.

Believing the author to be this James as described above, the chief elder in the Jerusalem church, or one who had a lot of authority among those elders, serving alongside the very apostles of Jesus Christ, it would be easy to understand his desire to write to the Jewish brethren who had been scattered, who had maybe even been part of this church where he was an elder. And these who had been scattered were being persecuted. In fact, it was persecution that had scattered them. We read in the opening verse of Acts 8, just after Stephen had been stoned, At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles. So all at that time in Acts 8, all had been scattered except the Apostles.

And James there standing as one of the elders with those Apostles. And so he's probably writing to some who had been under his oversight there in Jerusalem. With these realities in view, it means the epistle was most likely written sometime near A.D. 50, and it may have been the very first of the 27 books that comprise our New Testament. Well, having declared the audience to whom he writes, James simply tells them, greetings.

Greetings. Now there is more to this root word in the Greek than meets the eye. It is a typical salutation. It's typical. But it carries the meaning of rejoicing exceedingly.

In fact, of the 74 uses of the word in the New Testament, 42 of these 74 instances, 42 times it's translated rejoice, 14 times it's translated glad, and five times even just joy. So it's very interconnected with rejoicing exceedingly. And in fact, we will see the same root word that's here tied up in greetings in the very next verse is translated joy. So having looked at the introductory remarks of a humble servant, we now turn to verses two to four to consider next the inexplicable response of genuine joy. The inexplicable response of genuine joy.

The inexplicable response of genuine joy. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James' use of the word brethren makes it clear that he is writing to fellow Christians. This word brethren occurs 15 times in the five chapters of James. 15 times he refers to them as brethren.

Though the distance between them may have been great, he identifies with them still. He calls them even my brethren, his fellow bond servants in the Father and in the Son. Well let's look at some of the words James uses in this first admonition. He says to count it, count it. That is to consider it, to esteem it, to judge it.

Like an accountant, it is to place something in the proper category. James is here saying that our faith is to take our trials and place them in the credit column. Next in the admonition we have the words all joy. Count it all joy. This is no small means of measurement.

When we place our trials in the credit column of the worksheet, we are to place all of that trial in that column holding nothing back The word joy in the original carries with it the idea of cheerfulness or calm delight Count it all joy Now Thayer's Greek lexicon describes that next little word when, When. It describes that word when in the following way. This word is used of things which one assumes will really occur, but the timing of the occurrence is not definitely fixed. So it's not a matter of if the trials will occur, but simply a matter of the timing of their arrival. Then there is this word fall, fall, falling into various trials.

This Greek word is found only two other times in the New Testament It conveys the idea of falling into something that is all around, falling into something that is all around, or it means to be surrounded with or surrounded by. The other two instances of its use describe the situation of a traveling man who falls into the hands of thieves. The second place it's found, it describes a ship falling into a place where two seas meet. So it means to be in the thick of it, to be in the thick of it, to be surrounded, to be inundated. That's what this word fall indicates.

And we fall into various trials. What does James mean by trials? Well, we'll deal a little more specifically with this verse later on in our text. But for now, I wish to just simply point to how Gordon Keddie, in his commentary on James, explains this word trials here. He says, these trials encompass everything considered as tests of character.

Anything that seems to be a setback. Anything that casts us down. Anything that otherwise makes us angry and resentful. Things that people say or do that are injurious or annoying to us. Even things that we imagine to be problems.

All are included in James' category of trials. It is these that he says we are to count all joy. So James is telling these believers to consider it, to esteem it, to judge it, to be immeasurable fullness of joy and calm delight when you are surrounded by a multitude of trials of different types. Of trials of different types. Martin Lloyd-Jones points us in the right direction.

Every situation in life, every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God's love and goodness. Now is such a response the byproduct of our own judgment is it the byproduct of our nature Do trials typically just Just draw out joy from our hearts. No. Such a response to trials is an inexplicable response. It can't be explained by human reasoning.

However, it is something that we are called to do as Christians. And the Bible does not hide from our eyes struggles of Christians, men under their trials. For example, we heard earlier in our service of Asaph, back in Psalm 73, who said, But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked for there are no pangs in their death but their strength is firm they are not in trouble as other men nor are they plagued like other men. So knowing such a response doesn't come natural to us. James goes on to tell us a reason, a reason for pursuing such joy.

He says knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. The testing of your faith produces patience. The trials we are experiencing have an end result and we can be sure of it. James calls us to joy because we can know we can be assured of the results that come from these trials. Our trials are custom designed.

They are heaven sent. They are God orchestrated. They are love saturated. And they are purpose filled. They are laid upon us to test our faith in order that our faith might give birth to patience.

John Flavel reminds the Christian, you lie too near to the heart of God for him to hurt you. Nothing grieves him more than your groundless and unworthy suspicions of his designs." Now, this word patience, this word patience in the Greek conveys steadfastness, constancy, endurance. This is the same word found in the familiar passage of Hebrews 12.1, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, to run with patience, with endurance The race that is set before us to run with patience with endurance the race that is set before us James here is telling us that the trials God sends into our lives that these trials produce the endurance that we need to run the Christian life, to finish the race, and to keep the faith. The psalmist declares the benefits of afflictions, and he does so by means of his own personal testimony. He says in Psalm 119 67, before I was afflicted, I went astray.

Before I was afflicted I went astray. What is this going astray? It was a lack of enduring, a lack of persevering. It was leaving the course that God had prescribed. The psalmist indicates thereby that the God-sent affliction has sent him now on a path of perseverance But he says before I was afflicted I went astray What is he saying?

Because of my affliction I now endure I now persevere And having told us the reason, he knows our hearts. And he says, but let patience, let this perseverance have its perfect work That you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing if we are convinced of God's end goal if we can stay out of the way of this work of perseverance then we will experience a completing and Perfecting that will leave us Lacking nothing that God has intended for us It is like the fire of the metal worker. It has a perfecting work in the heating of that metal to such a high Temperature that the dross and imperfections are removed and what is left? The preciousness of that metal in all of its purity in all of its completeness lacking nothing I borrowed from Mr. Keddie's commentary again.

Thus the new man has deformities, his growth being inharmonious, without fitting proportion of parts. God's very discipline is designed to produce a perfectly balanced completeness of character. Now there are some elements of holy character which can be acquired only in trouble. The beautiful graces of resignation and sympathy cannot grow but in a soil through which has passed the plowshare of affliction and which has been watered by the rain of tears. Therefore it is that God scourges every son whom he receives and every branch of the true vine that bears fruit.

He purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. It is no accident that the sequence is trial, pure joy, perseverance, maturity, completeness. We would think it more appropriate to put joy at the end. After the pain of persevering was passed and done, God's point is that joy in Christ is the powerhouse of perseverance. To be sure, that joy looks ahead to the reward which will be garnered at the final goal.

But, joy is the leading motive of the Christian faith as it is lived out in daily life. Our calling is a happy one. Our perseverance in the face of trials partakes of that joy precisely because it is God's gracious purpose to work in us an eternal glory that far outweighs all of those trials. 2nd Corinthians 4 17 Do you know something of that rejoicing in your hearts in the midst of your trials a Rejoicing that finds its roots in Jesus Christ Matthew Henry makes the following observations Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles But Christianity teaches them to be joyful. Our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at last.

So we must see our trials as the instruments of God to carry our constancy and perseverance nearer to the ultimate goal. Let these trials do the work that God intended them to do Who among us? Which one of us wants to remain? Incomplete and immature So How can our faith rise to such an inexplicable response of true heart joy in the middle of our trials? Well, James does not leave us without hope.

He points us thirdly to the indispensable request for heavenly wisdom. The indispensable request for heavenly wisdom, verses 5 through 8. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. So as we come to these next verses here, we need to approach them with hermeneutical tools in hand. One of the tools you must always have in hand as you study the scripture is this. Context is king. Context is king.

Always Remember that when you're studying your Bibles, context is king. What was the author writing before this verse and what has he written after it? What is the overall flow of the passage? These verses here are often quoted and used outside of their context. That doesn't make that teaching untrue, but notice the context, which we find these words of this request for wisdom It seems that James is still writing about how faith deals with trials He anticipates he knows these people He anticipates that his readers will find it neither natural nor easy To respond to their trials with joy and so he writes to them of the necessity of Heavenly wisdom and he tells them how they can go about getting it.

It is not a deeper resolution that they need. It's not strength, inner strength that they need. It's not even a Digging in of their heels to bear up under these trials. No What is most needed? Wisdom wisdom This wisdom is indispensable if we are to ever be able to account our trials as things to rejoice over.

If we are not responding to our trials with joy, it's because we lack wisdom. That's why. Trials often drive the Christian to his knees. They often drive the Christian to his knees. And that's a good thing.

But what are we praying when we are on our knees? When our trials have driven us to our knees, what are we praying for? Matthew Henry makes the following comment regarding these verses. We should not pray so much for the removal of an affliction as for wisdom to make right use of it. We should not be praying simply, only, so much for the removal of an affliction as for wisdom to make a right use of it.

He doesn't say it's wrong to ask God to remove it. The Apostle Paul prayed three times. And that wasn't quick prayers. Those were longing prayers of the heart. He prayed on three occasions that God might remove the thorn in the flesh.

It's not wrong to pray, but don't pray so much for the removal of the affliction knowing that it's God's sent. Don't pray so much for that as for the right use of this affliction. So what are we to do? We're simply to ask God for wisdom. That is simply pray.

Now James just doesn't leave us there. Pray for wisdom. Pray for wisdom. He gives us reasons to be encouraged. Look at what he says.

We should be encouraged in our praying because God is willing to give. First, He's willing to give. We are told that he gives. He gives. One cannot give what they do not have.

God has this wisdom, and he gives. He is the unending source of all true wisdom. But secondly we should be encouraged in our praying because God is willing to give to all. He's willing to give to all. He does not discriminate in regards to his willingness.

If all come asking in faith, all receive. Thirdly, we should be encouraged in our praying because God gives liberally. He gives liberally. He is not miserly or stingy. He's not closed-fisted and This posture of liberality is held out to all who will ask He is liberal to all in his giving and Then fourthly we should be encouraged in our praying as James tells us because God will give without reproach He doesn't chide.

He doesn't blame He doesn't berate He doesn't remind you of your past failures. He doesn't rub your nose in the fact that you are so needy and so destitute. You won't go away wishing that you had never asked in the first place. We can be that way to our children sometimes. They can go away wishing they had never asked in the first place.

Our God's not like that. He gives of His wisdom to all, liberally and without reproach. We're encouraged. Now these realities beg a question. They beg a question.

If God is so ready and willing to pour out such wisdom to his children in order that we may have joy in our trials. And if we have cried out for such wisdom, then why are we so often overwhelmed by our trials? Well, James gives us a condition. He does give us a condition that we must meet in our asking. He says, but let him ask in faith with no doubting.

Let him ask in faith with no doubting. J.C. Ryle said, faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow. Without faith, prayer will not hit the mark. How much faith?

How much faith do we have to have in this coming to God to ask for this wisdom? Well, do you remember how much faith Jesus said was necessary to move a mountain? Faith the size of a mustard seed. Children do you know how large a mustard seed is? I've got a bag of mustard seeds here.

In this little small bag There's hundreds Hundreds of mustard seeds You may not be able to see how small they are where you're sitting you children come up to me afterwards, and I'll show you I'll show you the size of a mustard seed. In fact, if you take a ruler, I know you know about rulers in school, if you take that ruler and you were to line up the mustard seeds along that ruler, these 12 inches, this one foot, Depending on there's different types of mustard seeds, but you could get between 200 and 300 mustard seeds and just this 12 inches and Jesus said the faith of a one mustard seed is enough to move mountains Linsky in his commentary on James says in faith asking in faith implies prayer that comes to God and the Lord Jesus Christ with trust. Simple trust. And in the interest of this, it's trust that asks for wisdom to establish itself more and more, to be fully and in every respect the faith and trust it ought to be, so that by it the petitioner is made the complete Christian he ought to be. As God is the one who gives without any secret reservation in his mind, so we must ask for wisdom for our faith without any secret contrary vacillating notions in our mind.

To put it in our words, god is honest and frank in his giving and in his promise to give and he was every petition or to be honest Frank and true in his asking alas Too many speak proper words when they pray amid trials But they do not mean them and the bottom of their hearts The point is the size of the faith exercised is not what's important. What is important is the strength, the power, and the unlimited wisdom of the one in whom we are to place this faith. Place this faith. We are to place our small mustard seed faith in our great God. We must not doubt.

Doubting in us closes the fingers of our God around this wisdom. Let not that man who doubts Think that he will receive anything from the Lord. Come in faith. Come without doubting, but come, come and ask for this wisdom. Those who pray without faith are labeled double-minded by James and unstable in all their ways.

Gordon Keddie in his commentary on James says the following, The man who doubts in his praying is all at sea in faith and life. His prayers, if indeed he can ever decide on anything to pray for, go nowhere. Only back and forth in the indecision of his doubts, He halts between two opinions like a child pulling daisy petals. He goes on wondering, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, without any resolution. So that brings us to verses 9 through 11 where we see fourthly these internal realities at work in real life These internal realities that we've been talking about at work in real life.

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich let him glory in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away for no sooner has the Sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass its flower falls and its beautiful appearance Perishes so the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits James here gives us what I believe to be a case study a case study in finding joy in our trials a glimpse of these internal realities that work in real life Right where the rubber meets the road Most if not all of those James was writing to fell into the two categories mentioned here lowly or rich in fact the vast majority of them fell more into the category of the lowly. Why? Because he was writing to persecuted brethren, brethren who had been scattered abroad because of persecution. Persecution not only from the Gentiles but from the Jews. It was the work of Saul and his men that had really started the scattering.

So these people were lowly. And the distinctions at the time even between these two groups were much greater than what we know them here even in our own day and in our own time and here in this land the distinctions were far greater for these people. But no matter which category God had placed them in, he had providentially placed them there in order to test them, in order to provide their faith the necessary framework to produce perseverance, and that perseverance to bring them to the completion God intended. Do you grasp that reality? The circumstances and trials that God has ordained for you have been placed upon you in order to provide your faith the necessary framework to produce perseverance and that perseverance to bring you to the completion God intends for you.

Now we can understand how lowliness or poverty could be considered a trial. We can understand that. How it can be considered a trouble but but but riches having riches a trial Well James considers even riches to be a means of testing from God in fact he gives a warning specifically to those who are experiencing this type of testing, a warning that he doesn't give to them the lowly man. He gives a warning to those who are being tested by the riches. Now he who is in a lowly state is told to glory in his exaltation.

To glory in his exaltation. What exaltation? What? Well, what he is before God and Christ. And he who is in a rich condition is told to glory in his humiliation What humiliation?

What he is before God in and of himself what is needed by both of these men wisdom they need wisdom the man in The lowly state needs wisdom to not define himself by the circumstances he is in. That's his greatest susceptibility. He needs wisdom to see his position in Christ. Now as for the rich man, he also needs wisdom to not define himself by the things his hands have acquired and the pursuit of those things in order to maintain that comfortability. That's his greatest susceptibility.

He needs wisdom to see the beauty of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, a spirit of lowliness, of true Christian humility as is set before us in Philippians 2. Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. That's what he's telling the rich man. Linsky puts it this way, as the poor brother forgets all his earthly poverty, so the rich brother forgets all his earthly riches. The two are equals by faith in Christ Brethren we need wisdom We need wisdom we must not fall prey to the lies of the devil or the judgments of our own hearts.

Our trials and our circumstances do not define us. Okay? Our trials and our circumstances do not define us. We are what God has declared us to be in Christ Jesus. That's who we are.

And so the lowly man is to glory in his exaltation, and the rich man in his humiliation, because in Christ he's been humbled, and the lowly man in Christ has been exalted. That's what defines us. And that reality radically changes the way we look at our trials. May God grant us the wisdom to see as we should. Then lastly, We see the indescribable reward of an eternal crown.

The indescribable reward of an eternal crown. Verse 12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. We have before us in verse 12 a promise written in the likeness of the beatitudes found in the Gospels. Those beatitudes always set a condition before us and then a blessing that was tied to that condition.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation for he will receive the crown of life. So first we have the condition, the condition. That man is blessed who endures temptations. Who endures temptation. Now the word for endures in the Greek is the verb form of the same word that we saw back in verses three and four, patience.

It works patience, let patience have its perfect work. That's this word here, endures, same Greek word. As we said earlier, that word indicates a steadfastness or an endurance. It is important to note that the verb endures here in this verse is a present tense verb. Blessing comes to the man who is faithful in the act of persevering in the trial he currently finds himself in.

Blessing comes to the one who's currently in the trial who is currently persevering. Gordon Keddie again. Christian joy is not merely future. It is a present experience even in this veil of tears. We have turned full circle.

The exhortation of the second verse, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, has issued in the reality of God's blessing upon faithfulness. Blessed is the man who endures temptation. Also note there's a new word introduced here to us who are reading out of the New King James Version, the word temptation. Now the Greek word is the same and it's translated the same way in the Old King James. In the New King James, it introduces a new word, temptation, drawing a distinction in this chapter between what the translators of the New King James saw as trials and temptations, as separate things.

Now, that distinction that I think is helpful in our New King James translations, I feel like they applied it too early. To me, he's still talking about trials, and it's not until the next verse that there's a difference that I think is drawn out. Strong's concordance recognizes two different uses of this word. It defines this word in the Greek as putting something to proof. And in that way the words are the same, putting something to proof.

But he says it's putting, Strong says it's putting something to proof by experiment of good or by experience of evil. So this testing comes in two different avenues. That's what the Greek word holds before us and I think this two distinctions of experience and experiment of good and of evil is drawn out by the translators here but I feel like in this verse He's still talking about trials. Why do I say that? Well, it's having to do with enduring still.

It's having to do with persevering. He who's persevering through his temptation, through his trial. Next week Lord Willem will look at the other use of the Greek word as temptation. And from those temptations we're to flee. To flee.

It's not a matter of endurance. So that's the first condition. Enduring this temptation or this trial. But there's a second condition beyond enduring the temptation. We read, when he is approved.

When he is approved. This seems to refer back to the perfection and completeness that is a result of the perfect work of the endurance described back in verse 4. Remember there was separate things. There was this patience, this endurance. That's what he just said.

Blessed is the one who endures temptation. But that endurance, that perseverance, is doing something. Let it have its complete work that you may be complete, that you may be perfect, that you may be lacking nothing. That, I think, is this idea here in this approval. It's looking back to that completeness.

If we indeed have endured and persevered, and if we have allowed that perseverance to accomplish his perfect work we shall receive the blessing that's held forth before us but second not only do we have the condition we have the blessing the blessing in keeping with the attitudes. He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Listen to what Matthew Henry says, sufferings and temptations are the way to eternal blessedness. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one and the crown he shall wear will be a crown of life. We only bear the cross for a while, but we shall wear the crown for eternity.

The trials give way to a crown of life. The hymn writer Paul Gerhart expressed these realities well in his hymn, Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me? He said, why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near with his cheer. Never will he leave me.

Who can rob me of the heaven that God's Son for my own to my faith hath given. God oft gives me days of gladness. Shall I grieve If he give seasons two of sadness, God is good and tempers ever all my ill, and he will wholly leave me never. Death cannot destroy forever from our fears, cares, and tears it will us deliver. It will close life's mournful story, Make a way that we may enter heavenly glory.

Why should cross and trial grieve us? Do note the way in which James ends this verse, which the Lord has promised to those who love him, to those who love him. You might expect James to say, to those who have suffered. He holds forth this crown of life. He's promised it to those who suffer or to those who have endured the trial.

No. He says the promise is for those who love God. The trial not only tests our faith, it tests our love. It tests our love. If the Lord, think about it, if the Lord has promised the crown of life to those who love him and he says here that he will give this crown of life to the man who perseveres in the midst of trials what can we deduce If he's promised this crown of life to those who love him, and he says he will give this very same crown to those who have endured in the midst of their trials, what can we deduce?

That persevering with joys in our trials shows that we love God. It shows that we love God. So I close with several applications. First, How are you responding to your trials? How are you responding to your trials?

You are either complaining seeking to plow ahead with your head down and your feet dug in or you're finding joy in the midst of the storm. Which best describes you? Remember James is writing about true Christianity. This is what genuine faith does. It discovers the joy to be had.

And then asking yourself how you're responding, what should be your response to what you find? If you find yourself not finding this joy in your trials, what should you do? The answer is not to go and to hide ourselves in our shame. It's also not to try harder, to stand firm in the midst of our trials. It's simply to flee to Christ and ask for wisdom.

Second, how are you praying in Regards to your trials and the trials of others How are you praying? Is your prayer wrapped up in this removal of the trial. Well may God grant us grace to give thanks for our various trials. The same Psalmist there in Psalm 119 who in verse 67 said, before I was afflicted I went astray. He said this a few verses later in verse 71, it is good for me that I have been afflicted.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted. May God grant us grace to pray for heavenly wisdom in order to see the larger picture, to have the confidence that God means this for good. Isn't that what Joseph said? Think of what happened to Joseph. And he said, God meant it for good.

You meant it for evil. God meant it for good. May we have grace, wisdom for our faith to see that God means it, for our good. And may he grant us grace to pray that faith would persevere and accomplish his purposes, that as a result of our trials we would be made complete, lacking nothing. Thirdly, do you love Christ?

Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you looking to Him? Do you remember how the writer to the Hebrews encouraged his readers to run with endurance? We looked at that earlier. You know, seeing you're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses run with endurance, the race that set before you.

Do you remember how he told him how to run? Looking unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. And remember it's faith that's under trial. Looking unto Jesus.

Why? He's the author of your faith. And he's not just the author, he's the finisher of your faith the completer of your faith That faith that's working towards that completeness and the trials that he brings us. He's the author and finisher of our faith. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, receiving the crown.

For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. This message, the intentions of James, are not to discourage you. If you're like me, it's discouraging. That's not where we need to stay. We need to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, to run with patience the joy set before us.

Maybe you're here today and you have to say, preacher, I don't know anything of this love for Christ. I don't know anything of this joy in the midst of such hard circumstances. My friend, you have a personal invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ, a personal invitation to you from the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's found in Isaiah chapter 45 verse 22. It says, look to me, Look to me and be saved all you ends of the earth For I am God and there is no other Look to him He invites you to look to Him and be saved.

And you will be. And the things that we have read about today will be the inheritance that he will give you. A completeness, a perfection that leaves you lacking nothing. Something that gives Him himself to you even in the midst of the trials Look to him and be saved all you ends of the earth Let's pray Oh gracious God we we thank you We thank you. Oh Lord that in the midst of admonitions You give us grace to lift up our heads, to look to Christ, to pray for wisdom, to find in Him our all in all.

Give us grace to do so. Oh, may our faith be exercised as you see fit, oh God, And may we respond as we should. In Christ's name, amen.