Sermon Tone Analysis

*"Dealing with the Struggles of Life" - James 1:1-8*

*March 4, 2007 - Byron H. Hand *

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*Charlie Brown builds a beautiful sandcastle, works on it for hours.

Finally he stands back, looks at it.

It’s wonderful.

Just as he’s admiring it, a storm comes up and blows over all of his sandcastle.

Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, saying to himself, "I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is."

\\ \\ *

*One thing everyone here has in common is that we have had storms come and wipe out our sandcastles.

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*WE have all faced trials and have wrestled through the struggles of life.

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*Some our struggles are extremely tragic … some, by comparison, are less traumatic.

But they are all real … the Bible refers to these struggles as trials.

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*Introduction: *The term /trials/ used in this verse means a “test,” and it is often translated “temptation” in other contexts.

The trials in this case are the tests of faith that come from low-grade persecution from outside the church and from conflict within it.

*Trials = struggles; adversity; affliction; sorrow.

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*Reactions to Struggles: Throw up hands and give up; anger; bitterness; turn to something to ease the pain; hostility.

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*3 Questions in Dealing with Struggles: *

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#. *How should I view my struggles?

(1:2)*

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*3 Observations on trials – *

*a) They are inevitable – “Whenever” not if - *Scott Peck's book The

Road Less Traveled ... the first sentence is "Life is difficult."

It is.

It is inevitable that you will have

problems in life.

1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

 

*b) They are unpredictable – “Face trials” – Face = Literally to fall into unexpectedly – *Trials are not planned.

We seldom can anticipate the problems we're going to experience in life.

That's probably good because if we could anticipate them we'd run the other way and we wouldn't get the benefit from them.

We don't plan to have a flat tire, or a crisis.

They are unplanned and unpredictable -- when we least expect them.

That's what makes a problem a problem.

Often it's inconvenient when you fall into it suddenly.

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*c) They are not all the same – “Many kinds” – Idea of multi-colored trials – They come in all shapes and sizes.

*

Some are minor inconveniences.

Some are major crises.

We have all kinds and shapes of

problems.

They come in more than 31 flavors.

Some problems are custom made and you know it.

Sign I saw this week: "Into every life some rain must fall, but this is ridiculous."

Lots of varieties of

problems in our life.

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*Message: *Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.

*Net Bible*: My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials,

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True joy does not come cheaply or as a fleeting, superficial emotion.

Real joy is produced by much deeper factors than the circumstances that produce superficial happiness.

If you are struggling through the negative circumstances of life, floundering in doubt and dismay, you have forgotten that genuine joy resides in the confidence that your life is hidden with Christ in God.

In God’s providence, that joy and assurance can be most strong during a trial.

/"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials ..." /v. 1. Don't misunderstand what he's saying.

He's

not saying "Fake it.

Put on a plastic smile, pretend, be something you are not" God never asks you to deny

reality.

He doesn't mean some kind of psychological pump-up based on nothing.

He's also not talking

about masochism.

"Good!

I get to suffer!

I just love to suffer!

I feel so spiritual when I feel bad!" He's

not having a martyr complex.

We don't rejoice for the problem, we rejoice in the problem.

We don't

thank God for the situation.

Why would I thank God for evil?

But I thank God in the situation.

The key word is /count./

It is a financial term, and it means “to evaluate.”

Paul used it several times in Philippians 3. When Paul became a Christian, he evaluated his life and set new goals and priorities.

Things that were once important to him became “garbage” in the light of his experience with Christ.

When we face the trials of life, we must evaluate them in the light of what God is doing for us.

*This explains why the dedicated Christian can have joy in the midst of trials: /he lives for the things that matter most./

We are to evaluate our trials on the basis of eternal realities.

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*What realities?

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1)      *That God is in control – Genesis 50:20 “*As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people// should be kept alive, as they are today.”

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2)      *Trials are God’s special gifts to us – Psalm 55:22 “*Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

- Hebrew literally reads “Commit to the Lord what He has given to you (or laid upon you)”  - Word for burden literally is “that which is given (as a gift)” 

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3)      *God promises his deliverance and eternal blessing – Hebrews 12:2 “L*ooking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the *joy* that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

 

Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychologist who spent time in the Nazi concentration camp in Germany said,

"They stripped me naked.

They took everything -- my wedding ring, watch.

I stood there naked and

all of a sudden realized at that moment that although they could take everything away from me -- my

wife, my family, my possessions -- they could not take away my freedom to choose how I was going to

respond."

You choose to rejoice in the situation.

Psalm 34:1 /"I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth."/

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#. *What does God want to produce in me through my struggles?

(1:3-4)*

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In order to use us, God sets in motion a plan for shaping us into the kind of people He wants us to be.

Sometimes that means we experience awful pain, giving up what we want to keep, and going forward into areas we’d rather leave unexplored.

But if we are going to be used by the Lord for His purposes, that process has to take place.

*Our problems are purposeful … they have a point.

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*1)  **In my trials God wants to purify my faith*

* *

He uses the word "testing", as in testing gold and silver.

You would heat them up very hot until the impurities -- the dross -- was burned off.

Job said /"He has tested me through the refining fire and I have come out as pure gold."

/The first things trials do is test our faith.

They purify us.

Christians are a lot like tea bags.

You don't know what's inside of them until you drop them in hot water.