Right before Christmas, I showed you this picture that I took of our dogs. I forgot to mention that only two of those dogs are ours. The other two belong to Lara’s parents. So many of you asked if we have four dogs, so I thought I’d set the record straight. Besides, this gives me an opportunity to show you just how exhausting Christmas was for these dogs. They stayed up the whole night barking at Santa and his reindeer. (Note to reader: A picture of four dogs sound asleep on the couch was shown to the congregation.) How many of you feel like these dogs as you begin the new year?
James was the half-brother of Jesus.
As you can see from the bulletin and the way the stage looks, we’re starting a new series of messages through the book of James. James was the half-brother of Jesus. James’ biological mother was Mary and his biological father was Joseph. The reason he is Jesus’ half-brother is because Jesus wasn’t Joseph’s biological son. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born of a virgin.
James didn’t believe in Jesus’ identity until later in his life. In Mark 3:31-35 (NIV) we find James, his brothers, and their mother distracting Jesus from his ministry. This passage says, "Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, 'Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.' 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother.' "
It wasn’t until the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to James, that James' heart turned. We then find James in Acts 1:14 (NIV) praying in the upper room with all the disciples. "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." James would go onto become a prominent leader, an elder, in the church at Jerusalem. And at the end of his life he was martyred for believing Jesus was the Christ.
The book of James is profound instruction for practical Christian living.
I should tell you that of all the books of the Bible, this book has had the most profound impact on my life. I’ve read this book more than any other book of the Bible. It all started the summer after I graduated from high school. When you graduate from high school, you feel kind of lost and disconnected. All of my friends quickly moved on. Some went off to join the armed forces, some to various universities, some to technical schools, and many to join the workforce. Several other friends just moved away. Their parents had been waiting for them to graduate before they moved.
I decided to stay in Herscher and enroll at Kankakee Community College in the pre-engineering program. I wanted to design hardware and write computer software. My parents promised to pay my entire tuition if I stayed. Then I could transfer to a university to finish up my Bachelor's degree. It seemed like a great plan.
But as the summer wore on and the fall approached, I became increasingly unsettled. I kept thinking to myself, "This is my life! I only have one life to live. I want my life to count for something. Is this really what I want to do for the nextfourty to fiftyyears?" Do you ever find yourself repeating these same questions?
During this time there was a lot of junk going on in our family. I was angry and frustrated about a lot of things. There were things I couldn’t change, things I couldn’t control, and things that kept spiraling downward. And I was completely powerless to stop those things. Things in my life. Things in my family. Things at church. Do you ever just look at your life and feel overwhelmed? Well, that was me.
There were a lot of Christians I looked up to; people at church who I wanted to imitate. Some simply took an interest in me, some taught my Sunday school class, and some were prominent leaders in the church. But then one by one, the facade was lifted. I discovered that one of my favorite Sunday school teachers was cheating on his wife. Then it happened to another couple who’d taught my class and then to a third couple. Within the church itself there was a great deal of conflict, anger, unresolved conflict, gossip, back-biting, favoritism, self-centeredness, and worldliness.
The truth is that I became cynical. Better to work on Sunday than go to church! The people I worked with were of no lesser character than the people at church, or so it seemed. Part of the reason I was so judgmental was because I didn’t like who I was becoming. I was a hypocrite too. I was angry, worldly, self-centered, contentious, and impure. Do you ever notice that the times you're most judgmental are also the times you are struggling with your own sin and unrighteousness and shortcomings?
The bottom line is that I was drifting. I was like a wayward sheep wandering off in the wilderness. But my pastor reached out to me. I don’t know how or why, but I found myself attending a week of church camp toward the end of the summer. I hadn’t been to camp in years. One day they sent us out into the woods with our Bibles. They told us to get quiet before the Lord and let his word sift our hearts. They said, "Read any passage you find. No sleeping. No talking to other campers. Just you and the Lord."
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God."
So off I went carrying my Bible. I sat underneath a tree and after thumbing through the Bible a few minutes, I ended up in the book of James. I read a little and napped a little. But the words of James 1:5-8 (NIV) leapt off the page at me. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
Don’t you hate it when God sort of ambushes you? "Alright God," I prayed. "It’s just the two of us here. I only have one life to live. What do you want me to do with my life? And don’t tell me to be a preacher or something stupid like that. Give me wisdom!" And I prayed again, "Alright God. What am I to do with all this junk in my life? What am I to do with all this stuff going on in my family? I hate the way things are. I am so incredibly overwhelmed. Things aren’t as they should be. What shall I do?" And as God convicted me, I prayed again. "Alright God. I’m a big hypocrite. I’m making excuses. I don’t pray. I don’t read my Bible. I’ve stopped going to church. I don’t even believe in you, though I am praying to you. I feel lost and disconnected. My friends have moved on. I’m struggling with my sins and shortcomings. Give me wisdom! Give me wisdom!" I prayed that last phrase over and over again.
The book of James has been a spiritual anchor for me. Instead of going it alone, this book shows us how to do life with God. I’d read this book sitting in my car, sitting on my bed, or on Sundays before teaching. There is something about God’s word and this book of James in particular, that will just change you from the inside-out. It's simple. It's practical. I’m confident that this is going to be time well spent for all of us in the coming weeks.
James wants us all to be mature and complete in our faith.
One of James’ concerns is that we become mature and complete in our faith. Our churches are starved for authentic faith. James 1:4 (NIV) says, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Is developing an authentic faith one of your goals in this new year? When I look at my own life that’s what I crave. I want to be mature and complete and not lacking anything in my spiritual walk.
In your outline I’ve written down five questions for you to consider. There are five chapters in James and each question corresponds to a chapter.
Question number one: Am I turning trials into triumphs?
There are two types of trials that we face in life. Trials from without, or external circumstances, and trials from within ourselves. Here is what James says about trials without. James 1:2-5 (NIV), "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." And James 1:12 (NIV) says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
What external factors are testing your faith in God in this new year? A situation at work? Family trouble? A health crisis? A personal loss? Financial distress? A relationship? Discouragement? Frustration?
James also refers to trials from within. James 1:13-15 (NIV) says, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
The tough stuff isn’t necessarily what happens to us, it's what’s happening within us. We're going to dig into this and see what wisdom God has for us in James in future weeks.
Question number two: Am I practicing what I profess?
In James 2:14-19 (NIV) we read, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
Are we practicing what we preach? Is our faith more about words or more about action? And if it isn’t about action, what can we do about it?
Question number three: Am I training my tongue?
James 3:2 (NIV) says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." James 3:6 (NIV) says, "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:9-10 (NIV) says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be."
When is the last time you said something you later regretted? When is the last time you lied or gossiped or cursed, even under your breath? The tongue is a kind of final frontier for discipleship.
Question number four: Am I making peace or am I creating problems?
James 4:1-2 (NIV) says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God."
James 4:11-12 (NIV) says, "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"
Question number five: Am I prayerful in times of trouble?
James 5:13-16 (NIV) tells us, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
If you are struggling with something in your life, there is a pretty good chance that James addresses it in this book. If sometime this week you can get away from everyone and everything and for a few hours read the book of James, this message will have been a success. Why not accept this simple assignment? Have a quiet time with the Lord, just the two of you. Go out into the woods, go hide in your closet or basement or lay on your bed, and let the word of God sift your soul. No sleeping or napping. No yapping at your neighbor.
Instead of going it alone in 2007, why not find a way to do life with God?