Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
This week we continue our series from the book of James titled The practical Expression of Our Faith in Daily Living.
Today we are talking about Candidates for the Crown of Life.
Text
James 1:12 AMP
12 Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Scripture Reading
James 1:5-12 (AMP)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.
7 For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].
9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God];
10 and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away.
12 Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
When we began our study of James’s epistle last Wednesday evening, we discovered that he plunged immediately, after the briefest possible introduction, into his theme, which had to do with how Christians are to cope with trials, temptations, and persecution.
In James 1:5 it appears James was changing direction altogether.
This is not the case, however.
He was simply striking the central note of his letter.
He was going to tell his readers how to meet these temptations when they come.
- James mentioned three vital needs for dealing with trials. (James 1:5-8)
First we need wisdom.
Verse 5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom”
Why is wisdom a necessary ingredient?
If Christians are to see their trials in a true light and make proper use of them, they must understand them.
This is often impossible with human capabilities alone.
To James, wisdom was more than knowledge or intelligence.
It was a moral and spiritual quality based on fear of the Lord, which is the essence of a practical faith.
This wisdom of which James spoke was considered by the Hebrews to be an attribute of God and later became identified with the very Spirit of God.
Thee is every possibility, then, that James was equating wisdom with the indwelling Holy Spirit.
He may have been saying that the more we allow God’s Spirit to fill us, the more of God’s wisdom we will have.
Secondly, we need prayer.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he is to ask of God”
James said that if we are conscious of a lack of wisdom in our lives, we should pray to God, and God will supply it.
Next James listed four encouragements to prayer.
God “gives to all men” it is God’s nature to give.
God “gives to all men liberally” God gives generously.
God gives “without rebuke or blame”
“And it will be given to him.” Here is the note of absolute certainty!
Thus, in all of this James was saying for us to come with assurance and confidence to the throne of grace.
Thirdly, we need faith.
Verse 6 says, “But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help],
We are to ask for wisdom with a trust in God that our request will be granted according to God’s divine will.
Note, too, that James warned that there is to be no wavering when we ask in faith.
We are not to flop between faith and unbelief, between trust and distrust, when we pray.
A person who prays like this, said James, is as unstable as the surge of a storm tossed sea.
2. James listed some specific examples of trials.
- He spoke first of “the brother in humble circumstances,” or the test of poverty in verse 9, referring to the Christians who live a humble existence.
When James uses the word humble or low, it doesn’t refer to spiritual condition, but earthly status.
People like this were numerous in the early church, and James exhorted them to “rejoice,” to rise above their outward poverty and the depression so often connected with it.
The poor, said James, are to realise they are truly exalted spiritually as new creations in Christ Jesus, as bearers of the divine image and partakers of the divine nature.
B. He then spoke of the “rich,” for who prosperity is a kind of test, in verse 10.
These people are not to glory in what they have come to possess materially but in the fact that they are “made low.”
That is, they must come to realise that they cannot be proud of their material wealth, understanding that all worldly glory is perishable and that true wealth consists of things that are eternal.
3. James described the reward for faithfully enduring temptation.
Verse 12 says, Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
This reward is twofold.
First in involves the possession of an inner “blessedness.”
“Blessed is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted.”
Blessed in the New Testament means favoured, and speaks of a kind of joy that is unaffected by outward circumstances.
James was not saying that the “blessedness” comes in the actual trial itself, but in the way in which the Christian receives and endures the test.
The Christian who emerges from such a trial strengthened is indeed blessed.
Second, such a believer will “receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
In the Greek world, crowns were given to athletes who were victorious in the games.
They were also given to citizens who distinguished themselves in some community service.
So the crown among the Greeks was either a prize of victory or a badge of honour.
The Christian who properly endures the trials of life has exceedingly great joy and a royalty that has never been realised apart from Christ!
It is the crown of life, that is, the crown that consists of life, abundant and overflowing.
Conclusion.
Is it not time we start seeking wisdom and stop blaming others when we are tempted?
Is it not time for a single minded focus on Christ not wavering from what He has for us?
Look at verse 12 again,
Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
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