James 1:1-11

James 1:1-11
The text

Sunday 11 September 2011

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
[2-4] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, because
you know that the testing of your faith produces
perseverance. Let perseverance ﬁnish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.


[5-8] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask
God, who gives generously to all without ﬁnding
fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask,
you must believe and not doubt, because the one
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind. That person should not expect
to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is
double-minded and unstable in all they do.


[9-11] Believers in humble circumstances ought to
take pride in their high position. But the rich
should take pride in their humiliation—since they
will pass away like a wild ﬂower. For the sun rises
with scorching heat and withers the plant; its
blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the
same way, the rich will fade away even while they
go about their business.


James, a servant of God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among
the nations:
Greetings.


[2-4] Consider it pure joy, my brothers
and sisters, whenever you face trials of
many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith produces
perseverance. Let perseverance ﬁnish
its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.


Are you asking the right
questions?

Why me? Why do I suffer?


What is God doing?
What is God teaching me?
What area of my life is
God challenging and
changing?
Are you maturing in
God?


“Perseverance is not simply
the ability to bear things; it is
the ability to turn them to
greatness and glory...it is the
quality that makes people
able not simply to suffer
things but to overcome them.
The effect of testing borne in
the right way is strength to
bear still more and to conquer
in still harder battles.”
William Barclay

Floods
Fires
Family
Funds
Fights
Failures
William Carey


"By the way we
meet every
experience in life,
we make ourselves
ﬁt or unﬁt for the
task which God
meant for us to do."


“Blessed are you who are poor,
   for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
   for you will be satisﬁed.
Blessed are you who weep now,
   for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
   when they exclude you and insult you
   and reject your name as evil,
      because of the Son of Man.
Luke 6:20-22


F. B. Meyer explained it this way:
“A bar of iron worth $2.50, when
wrought into horseshoes is worth
$5. If made into needles it is worth
$175. If into penknife blades it is
worth $1,625. If made into springs
for watches it is worth $125,000.
What a ‘trial by ﬁre’ that bar must
undergo to be worth this! But the
more it is manipulated, and the
more it is hammered and passed
through the heat, beaten, pounded,
and polished, the greater its value.”

[5-8] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask
God, who gives generously to all without ﬁnding
fault, and it will be given to you. But when you
ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the
one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown
and tossed by the wind. That person should not
expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a
person is double-minded and unstable in all they
do.


Who are you asking the
questions?

Where do you go ﬁrst?
Pastor, Uncle, Aunty, Family, Friends...
Ask God!


Trials, when handled
wrongly, can lead to us
thinking and doing the
wrong things
Fear, despondency,
hopelessness, self
protection, anger


1. God gives - Ask (seek,
knock)
2. God gives - Generously -
to all
3. God gives - Graciously - no
fault in you - no mocking or
making fun of you
4. God gives - ask in Faith -
who God is and what he is
like


“Does God promise to give us the
outline for our lives if we ask, or to
give us complete clarity one every
decision we might ever need to
make? No, he promises wisdom,
namely, the ability to discern how
he would have us live...that we will
receive the practical knowledge and
understanding we need to endure
our trials when we ask God whom
we know gives without hesitation.”
Craig Blomberg

From what
perspective are
you asking the
questions?


This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let the one who boasts boast about
this: that they have the understanding to
know me, that I am the LORD, who
exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:23-24


How many have been
destroyed by prosperity!
Many have I known who
in a cottage seemed to fear
God, but in a mansion
have forgotten him...It is
no easy thing to stand the
trial of prosperity...


James 1:1-11

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James 1:1-11