Sermon Tone Analysis
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*The Good News About Troubles*
James 1:2-8
Introduction
Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming.
One second he was peacefully perched in his cage.
The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner.
She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage.
The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up.
She’d barely said “hello” when “ssssopp!” Chippie got sucked in.
The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag.
There was Chippie—still alive, but stunned.
Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water.
Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . .
she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.
A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering.
“Well,” she replied, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore—he just sits and stares.”
It’s hard not to see why.
Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . .
That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.
· We are told that every cloud has a silver lining.
· We are told that if life hands you lemons make lemonade
· We are told that if you fall off a horse we need to get right back on.
· A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
· It is always darkest before the dawn.
· No pressure, no diamonds.
· If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant
· A kite rises against the wind rather than with it.
· Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.
· The distance doesn't matter; only the first step is difficult.
· Whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
· Determination, patience and courage are the only things needed to improve any situation.
More often we feel like this:
· If you're not top dog, you're its fire hydrant
· There's a light at the end of the tunnel, unless it's an oncoming train
· The harder you try the more you fail
· Your Hopes And Dreams Are Like A Beautiful Daisy - Until Someone Stomps On It
· If At First You Don't Succeed - Quit
· It's Always Darkest Before The Storm
· It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.
· No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now, remember, you've probably only seen the tip of them.
· For every winner, there are dozens of losers.
Odds are you're one of them.
· If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style.
· Troubles are inevitable but that does not mean the end of hope.
· God assures us in our study of James that troubles are beneficial despite the despair that the world offers.
· The dispersed Christians had their troubles, many of which are greater than we have faced and James offers hope for them and in turn for us as well.
The Benefit of Troubles (1:2-4)
*1:2** My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
1:4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.
*
· Verse 2 begins by calling the reader to have joy.
This would be great and easy to digest but James calls his readers to have joy in trials.
· As Christians are we to be happy about trials?
· It’s important to explain what James means by joy: It is more than just being happy about it but it is an excitement about the troubled circumstances…Why should we be excited about trials?
· To “fall into all sorts of trials” tells us something about the type of troubles James is talking about.
v He is not talking about circumstances that we deliberate walk into or invite.
v These are troubles that happen to us.
v Some scholars restrain James to only mean troubles brought on because of believing in Jesus.
But it can include any troubles that can either cause you to rely or draw away from God.
v But he is not referring to temptation (The Greek word for trial and temptation is the same) that is brought upon to produce sin.
· The idea of joy in the midst of troubles is not just taught by James in fact this was a teaching of Christ in Matt.
5:3-11:
*5:3** “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.
5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.*
· Verse 3 provides the reason why joy in troubles should be possible.
· James tells us that when we are tested in our faith that this testing produces endurance.
v It is interesting that he calls it testing.
This is similar to his testing of the Israelites in Deut.
8:2:
*8:2** Remember the whole way by which he has brought you these forty years through the desert so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.
*
v God uses the troubles you face to test you in order to produce endurance…What does he mean by endurance?
v The word endurance is in direct reference to not giving up on the faith or put another way: maintaining trust in God.
· But why is endurance valuable?
Verse 4 tells us that maintaining our trust in God in the middle of troubles has a perfect effect of making us perfect, complete lacking nothing.
v Being perfect according to James throughout his book means that we will have a character of righteousness that produces good works.
v James 1:27 states what he means:
*Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.*
* *
· When we maintain our faith in the middle of troubles God makes us complete.
This growth spiritually has a dynamic effect of producing a faith that desires to demonstrate itself by what it does.
My burdens keep me humble \\ And they teach me to pray.
\\ If I murmur, if I grumble \\ Forgive the words I say.
Give me strength to just carry \\ My load day to day.
\\ Just don’t take my burden \\ Or my cross away.
With the cross on my shoulder \\ My feet cannot stray.
\\ For my cross leads me onward \\ To my home so far away.
And I’ll never question \\ The price I must pay.
\\ But don’t take my burden \\ Or my cross away.
For I would grow careless \\ And idle I fear.
\\ My eyes would be dry \\ I’d never shed a tear.
Lest I forget \\ That I need You today.
\\ Don’t take my burdens \\ Or my cross away.
· Why can James call his readers to have joy in troubles?
· It is because the joy comes from what only troubles can produce- a perfected faith living for Christ daily.
Understanding Troubles (1:5)
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