James 1:2-8
What People Need
This is an auspicious occasion. Today, we are recognizing our
graduates, those finishing a level of school and moving on to the
next phase of their lives. We are honored to have several young
people present this morning who are making that step.
I have known most of the graduates for the greater part of their
lives. It will not be a surprise to them to hear me say that they
need Jesus. They do. Neither will it surprise them to hear me say
that everyone needs Jesus. No matter what success a person may reach
in life, without Jesus, their eternity is lost and their lives will
fail.
Typically, I would say that Jesus is all we need. In one sense, He
is. If you have Jesus, you have all you need to equip you for time
and for eternity. But James reveals to us that we need more than
Jesus. Because of our fallen nature, we need Jesus to do a work in
us and James lists some of the tools that God uses. It is that list
that I want to speak about today.
Young people, as you graduate from one place in life to another, let
me share with you a few more things you need so that Jesus can
complete His work in you.
I. You need problems.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations;
A. No one wants problems. In fact, we all work as hard as we can
to avoid them, but James teaches us that we need them.
B. The word that James used is "temptations."
1. According to Strong’s concordance, the word means a
provocation, aggravation, or a solicitation to adversity.
2. We can just redefine it to say "problems."
C. I fear that too many people are either not being exposed or not
being properly guided through the problems of life.
1. Illustration
This past week, we had two more school shootings. One in Jonesboro,
GA, with one killed and another in Santa Fe, Texas, with ten killed.
Of course the nation is still reeling from the shooting last February
of this year in Parkland, Florida, with 17 killed and another 14
injured. You may not have been aware of it but there have been
several other school shootings in-between these two being in
Birmingham. There was a school shooting in Birmingham on March 7
killing one and another a week later, March 14, killing two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_
States
Interestingly, school shooting deaths in 2018 exceed military deaths
for the year. 31 have been killed in school shootings this year while
while only 29 have died in combat and non-combat military duties.
https://www.bustle.com/p/school-shooting-deaths-in-2018-already-
exceed-military-deaths-theres-more-9137419
2. What is happening here?
(a) I am certain that there is no standard answer.
(b) But some people are reacting like they have never had
a problem before or else like they have never learned
how to react during a problem.
(c) A large part of that is probably due to the absence or
the near absence of parents in the home.
3. I understand that people today are experiencing problems
that I never experienced or at least in ways that I never
experienced them:
(a) bullying, violence, abuse
(b) neglect, betrayal, loneliness
(c) a drug and sexual culture that is beyond the ability
of grownups to handle let alone children
4. But people’s response to their problems is beyond reason
and understanding. It is an act of desperation and quite
honestly, of evil.
D. James teaches us that problems do not have to be bad—not if
you have Jesus.
1. Problems are nothing more than classrooms for Christians.
2. They are the place where God teaches us about ourselves,
Himself, and His power.
3. What kind of lessons does God teach with problems?
(a) \\#3\\ He teaches us about faith.
James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience.
(1) Faith is looking beyond the visible to the
invisible, beyond this world to the spiritual.
(2) Part of the reason some people are reacting so
badly to their problems is because they
believe that this is all there is.
(3) They lack faith to see the invisible.
(4) Friend, this is NOT all there is. This is very
little of what is. God is. Eternity is. and
God steps out of eternity and into our lives
every day.
i. You need faith to invite Him into your
life.
ii. Faith would change the way your life your
life.
(5) Faith is taught by the problems we have.
(b) \\#4\\ Problems and faith bring patience.
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.
(1) We want what we want and we want it now.
(a) Patience is the ability to wait WITHOUT
frustration.
(b) We lack patience today because we lack the
faith to see that God is working in our
lives to make us who He wants us to be.
(2) In talking to Barbara Waters yesterday, she
shared of an incident among her acquaintances
where a man was driving a large truck, stopped
at a red light, and the man from the car
following came to his window with a gun to
complain that he was driving too slowly!
(3) Fits of rage cause violence and a lack of
patience causes the fits of rage and a lack of
faith causes a lack of patience and a lack of
problems causes the lack of patience.
(c) \\#2\\ Problems, faith, and patience will bring you
joy.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations;
(1) People lack joy and its secular counterpart,
happiness.
(2) I understand that if you don’t have Jesus.
(a) This is all there is.
(b) There is little hope of it getting better
and no reward at the end!
(c) We need Jesus and problems for Him to teach
us who He is and how much He loves us and
what great power He has so we have a
reason to rejoice!
E. Let me tell you a fact.
1. You are going to have problems whether you have Jesus,
faith, patience, or joy.
2. In fact, problems often bring people into services just
like this searching for some answers.
3. Jesus is the answer.
4. Then you need to let Jesus use your problems to do a work
in you.
II. You need questions.
A. Questions can cause a Christian to get wisdom.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask
of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
B. Like people do not want problems so people do not want
questions—at least not questions that they cannot answer.
1. One of the reasons we go to school is to learn answers.
2. School teaches us to answer a lot of questions.
3. Questions like who, what, when, where, and how.
4. But school cannot answer the question, "How do we make it
when we can’t?" or "What happens after death?" or "Who
decides what right and wrong is?"
5. These kinds of questions require wisdom to be answered.
C. The problem is too many people won’t ask the questions
anymore.
1. I believe in education. I could certainly do with more.
2. But I am going to put a big part of the blame on today’s
education.
a. Today’s education won’t allow you ask and explore the
answers to those kinds of questions.
b. With arrogance and high-handiness they pretend to be
giving a full and impartial education when they only
allow their own views to be taught.
c. Would you please look at how that is doing?
(1) Students killing students.
(2) Protestors putting the blame on the gun and never
asking the question "Why did the child pick the
gun up? and even more "Why did the child do with
it what he/she did?"
d. Look at all the places where humanistic education has
replaced God’s wisdom.
(1) Free sex - Are children being raised in better
environments today?
(2) Freedom from religion - Are people free of guilt
and shame today?
(3) Discipline - These children who were never
spanked, are they better behaved and rounded out
than those of us who were?
D. You who are graduating today need to be aware of that.
1. You must be certain that you ask and seek out the answers
to such questions.
2. If you do, you will find the gates of wisdom and if you
will enter, you will be wiser than all of your teachers.
3. If I might do so, let me give you a question that may get
you started toward the gates of wisdom.
a. Ask yourself, if there is a God, where will He send me
when I die?
b. Ask and answer that question and it just might start
you on the wisest question you will ever undertake.
E. People need problems and people need questions.
III. \\#8\\ People need a single direction.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all
his ways.
A. To be double-minded means to be divided in loyalties, in
determination, in direction.
1. You can use the word philosophy, code, standard, or
several other words but the bottom line is that he is
either pulling or being pulled in two different
directions.
2. Jesus said it:
Mt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else
he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
B. Too many people are being pulled by two worlds.
1. Man calls them…
a. right versus wrong
b. good versus bad
c. moral versus immoral
d. legal versus illegal
2. But God calls is…
a. righteousness versus sin
b. obedience versus rebellion
c. light versus dark
d. God versus the devil
C. The result of trying to live in both worlds is plain,
instability.
1. The two worlds I am speaking of is God’s and the devil’s.
2. Only Christians can attempt this.
3. Unsaved people can only live in the devil’s world.
4. Christian, you are being pulled apart. No wonder you
feel like you are coming apart at the seams.
5. Choose God and get your foot out of the devil’s world!
D. By the way, for the lost and the Christian who chooses to go
with the devil instead of God.
1. You are not going to find any more stability over there.
2. In fact, you will find the opposite.
3. Sin and the devil will make you more crazy that you have
ever been.
E. Choose God. Choose God. Choose God!
What do people need? They need Jesus. Without Jesus, all is lost.
But Christians, we need to let God change and shape us with problems,
questions, and a single mindset. Let’s graduate to a better life
today.
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