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Practical Faith Series
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We're beginning a new sermon series today called Practical Faith, and I want to start by acknowledging a hard truth: every person will face storms in life. As one of my former pastors used to say, "At this very moment you are moving into a storm, you are in a storm, or you are coming out of a storm."
The Bible confirms this reality. Job put it bluntly: "Man is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." No one escapes family problems, financial difficulties, health challenges, or relational conflicts. This has always been the human condition.
Even the Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius, writing in 170 AD, understood this. In his Meditations, he advised himself each morning: "The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly." Though Aurelius sounds pessimistic, he recognized that learning to live at peace with difficult circumstances is essential to success in life.
Today, the book of James teaches us how to suffer successfully—how to navigate life's storms with faith and maturity.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes dispersed abroad, greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Now, if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation. But let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises and together with the scorching wind dries up the grass. Its flower falls off and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities. Blessed is the one who endures trials because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Within these verses, James identifies five essential things we'll need when we head into a storm.
"Consider it pure joy whenever you face all kinds of troubles."
The Greek word for consider is a command. We are commanded to maintain joy during difficulties—not to merely accept trials without complaining, but to view them as growth opportunities.
I won't pretend this comes naturally. My instinct in trouble is to complain, to ask God, "Why are you letting this happen to me?" Yet James calls us to something radical: to weather the storm with great joy, anticipating what God will do.
John MacArthur captures this beautifully: "James speaks of a unique fullness of joy that the Lord graciously provides his children when they willingly and uncomplainingly endure troubles while trusting in him, regardless of the cause, type, or severity of the distress."
The example of Joseph illustrates this perfectly. Joseph was betrayed, overlooked, heartbroken, and jailed repeatedly. Yet through every storm, he maintained a positive attitude. At the end of his story, he tells his brothers: "What you intended for evil, God intended for good." He kept joy because he knew God had called him to it and would reward it.
"Because you know that the testing of your faith will produce endurance."
Keep head knowledge close when trouble comes. Take a moment to imagine standing at heaven's gates with perfect hindsight, looking back at a graph of your spiritual growth. It would likely resemble the stock market—ups and downs—but with a few dramatic spikes where crisis drove you to your knees.
When did you grow most spiritually? In those moments of testing.
David testified in Psalm 40 about learning patience through trials:
I waited patiently for the Lord. And he inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm.
David had to sit in that pit, feel his feet stuck in mud, before he could learn to wait for God's hand to lift him up. This is how spiritual growth works: we know it in theory until trouble makes it real.
"Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
Circle those two words: "and let." This is the language of surrender. Trials serve us only if we cooperate with God instead of fighting against Him.
The Apostle Paul illustrates this through his transformation. Before becoming Paul, Saul was ambitious, proud, and self-reliant—persecuting Christians and resisting God's purposes. On the Damascus road, Jesus confronted him with a striking image:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
A goad was a sharp stick used to direct oxen. When an ox kicked back in resistance, it only hurt itself more. The more it resisted, the more pain it inflicted on itself. Jesus used this image to describe Saul's futile resistance to God's will.
We all have a stubborn streak. Think of a season when you were determined to do things your way. How did that work out?
A personal example: Before my senior year of college, I proposed to a girl before I was ready. My friends were getting engaged and married, and I panicked. I hit the accelerator without consulting God. That decision brought tremendous pain to myself, her, and her family. I was kicking against the goads, trying to make something happen before God's timing.
If you're in a storm, ask yourself: Am I surrendering to God's will, or fighting against it?
"But let him ask in faith without doubting, for the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
Clarify: doubting is not always sin. John the Baptist, imprisoned and facing despair, sent word to Jesus asking, "Are you the one to come, or should we expect somebody else?" Jesus didn't rebuke him as sinful. John was being human.
What James condemns is a settled attitude of disbelief—the habit of counting God out in crisis, living as if God is uninvolved, uninterested, or unwilling to help.
Conviction in times of crisis is your most compelling witness.
There's a famous story about the atheist philosopher David Hume in the 1700s. Though he rejected Christianity and miracles, he once attended a sermon by George Whitfield. Afterward, someone asked why he came. Hume replied: "I don't believe any of this, but he clearly does." He was drawn to conviction.
When you walk through storms, people are watching to see if you hold on to your faith or, like Job's wife, curse God and give up. Your conviction becomes a powerful witness.
"Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation. But let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field."
This teaching feels upside down from what society teaches about success. But here's the principle: the poor person with one dollar must learn to rely on God. When he has nothing, he cannot trust money to rescue him. He must trust God alone.
The rich person, by contrast, has a dangerous advantage. When afraid or insecure, he can open his bank account and feel secure. Money creates a false sense of security and becomes an alternative god.
Consider this challenge: Has your relationship with God grown or diminished since you became more financially secure?
Jesus said: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven." He painted an absurd picture to help wealthy people feel the spiritual danger of trusting wealth instead of God.
Money has a unique power to pull your eyes off what matters most.
I love country music, and George Strait's song "I Can Still Make Cheyenne" illustrates this. A rodeo cowboy is consumed by his sport, always chasing the next adrenaline rush. His girlfriend leaves him, but he says: "If I hurry, I can still make Cheyenne." He chooses the rodeo over love. He's chasing something that will never satisfy him—it will break his bones and his heart, but he goes anyway.
That's the warning James offers. Don't let the pursuit of money ruin your relationship with God and family. Stay humble.
If I'm honest, I struggle most with keeping a God-believing heart when life doesn't make sense.
Christian counselor Larry Crabb's book Shattered Dreams helped me see this. Early in the book, Crabb sat alone in a coffee shop and wrote the names of his six closest friends on a manila folder. When he asked why these six, he realized: "They respond quickly when I have a need."
But then he noticed something troubling: Jesus's name wasn't on the list.
Crabb had become bitter toward God because God allowed some of his dreams to shatter. God hadn't been as responsive as his earthly friends. But he eventually arrived at this realization:
Shattered dreams destroy false expectations, such as the victorious Christian life with no real struggle. We need shattered dreams to create in us a felt appetite for better dreams.
When my dreams get canceled, I'm tempted to question God's goodness. But maturity means recognizing: "God must have something better for me. If He closed this door, I know He has my back and my future. He's preparing me for something greater."
This is why shattered dreams often mark our greatest spiritual growth spikes. Looking back, we see: God took something away so He could give me something of greater worth.
Why do two people from the same home respond so differently to suffering?
Two brothers grow up in a home where their parents' marriage is broken. One says: "I'll build the marriage my parents never had. I'll love my spouse the way my father never loved my mother." The hardship becomes motivation.
The other says: "I'll never marry. I won't let anyone get close to me. I don't trust happiness." He isolates for life.
The Bible answers this in Hebrews 12:11:
No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness—to those who have been trained by it, to those who didn't kick against the goads.
The difference is the soil of the heart. When difficulty comes, some allow the Holy Spirit to redeem the pain; others become bitter. Jesus constantly said: "Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
A student asked: "I work an hourly job and think about money constantly. Is it selfish to want a better-paying job so I don't have to count every dollar?"
The book of Proverbs has much to say about this. The Bible repeatedly warns against laziness and celebrates hard work. There's nothing wrong with working hard, chasing dreams, pursuing promotions, or becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or business owner.
Receive these opportunities with gratitude—but remember: You didn't earn it. There's no such thing as a self-made person.
Even those who claim to be "self-made" are actually God-served. God provided the opportunity, whether they recognize it or not.
However, money is a dangerous master. One of God's great tests is what we do with money when nobody's watching. The biblical principle is tithing: God says, "If you make ten dollars, keep nine. I'm letting you keep them. Give me one as a weekly reminder that all your money is Mine."
Everyone I know who tithes without exception has story after story of their faith in God growing as they gave more.
So to the student: as you make more money, be careful. You might wake up one day owning the quesadilla restaurant, only to realize you have no strong relationship with God. "The love of money is the root of all evil," the Bible warns.
Let me address something that has burdened me as your pastor. This week, our finance committee reported that we're averaging 900 more people in attendance than last year—wonderful growth. Yet our giving is 3.7% behind where it was last year.
I'm not sharing this to shame anyone. I'm sharing it because as your pastor, it's my job to speak uncomfortable truths.
One of God's tests for all of us is what we do with our money when nobody knows. God is discerning who He can trust with blessing. He gives us a little and watches what we do with it. If we prove unfaithful with small amounts, why would He entrust us with more?
I care about you. I want your life to be blessable. And the pathway to that involves faithfulness with what God has given you—starting with what you do with your money in the offering plate.
