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| JAMES LESSON #12 Daniel 4:34-35 Who�s in charge? Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, Who is in charge? God is. He rules over the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of earth. He�s in charge. When the really tough stuff starts happening in your life, don�t ask �WHY� ask �WHO.� Asking �Who� will redirect your thinking to �trusting� �because in asking �Who� you�ll be reminded of His heart. When you ask �WHY� you�ve opened yourself up to spiraling accusations, one after another which result in �questioning� the heart of God, rather than �trusting� it. A tough situation in my life will not only prove how convinced I am of the love of God, but through my �response� to the tough situation will bring strength and endurance. You say, �How?� Have you ever seen a movie or read a story about a martyr � someone who is so convinced about something that they�d literally DIE to further it? What happens to that person when they are confronted, challenged or threatened? What happens on the inside of them in terms of what they believe in? It just grow more impassioned. It grows stronger. It grows more intense, more determined than ever to push the opposition out of the way. There�s a definite explosion that happens when confrontation and opposition come face to face with a heart that is convinced without any question - the explosion is one of intensified power and strength: a determination that can not be moved because it knows that it knows that it knows -�and absolutely NOTHING will change it�s mind. James 1:2-4 In verse 4 the word �complete� in the Greek is: holokleros and it means, to bring to maturity � with every part in tact. James explains what he�s trying to say after he says it: �lacking in nothing.� When you ask Jesus to take control of your life and He �saves� you, He plants righteousness in you. Without Him, you can�t be �righteous.� Once He�s planted it, He wants to perfect it � He wants to �grow you up� �to be just like He is. When you see Him, nothing is going to matter: Not status, money, position, power, not what everybody else says or thinks: the ONLY thing that�s going to matter is how much you are like Christ: complete, lacking in nothing. THAT, only comes through the tough stuff- trials. In James 1:3 James calls the tough stuff �a test of your faith.� The Greek word for �test of your faith� is �dokimion� which means �a test for the sake of proving genuiness.� There is another Greek word that is very similar that is spelled: dokimieon �which means �a crucible - a vessel used for melting and refining.� The word for �testing� of your faith in the Greek is: peirasmos �a test, a trial, a temptation. In James 1:2 James is saying �Consider it all joy when what you�re convinced of is put to the test-� There are three Old Testament words that give some depth to what this �testing� is all about. The first one is �Nasah.� (Hebrew word)- an attempt to prove the quality of a person or a thing. A time of pressure, a time of difficulty is what constitutes the test- a trial to prove genuiness. This kind of a test is for the sake of approving, not for the sake of destroying. The second Hebrew word is �Sarap� and it means to smelt or refine. It refers to the process of refining gold or silver. It was used to illustrate God�s purification through judgment of His people. Sometimes God will turn the heat up in your life to an all time high to get you to �let go� of stuff you�re hanging on to that you shouldn�t be hanging on to. (relationships that replace Him, money you�ve kept that He�s told you to give, someone you should forgive but won�t, someone you should confess to but haven�t, --you fill in the blank: all stuff that you hold on to because you�re afraid to do what He�s asked you to do. The tighter and longer you hang on, the hotter and higher the heat will get- Why? Because God is against you? NO! Because God is FOR you- Because He knows that if you do what He�s asked you to do, you�ll walk in freedom. As long as you hold on to �your own position� ��you in charge� and you�re not willing to �risk release� so that �God CAN� �you�re stuck. Some of the trials that we go through are specifically designed by God to cause the �crud� in our lives to surface, so that it can be removed. Where are you in this picture? Are you letting go? Do you choose to forgive and respond in obedience or are you seeking your own way out? Are you �clinging to your rights� � Having it �your way?� -running? A trial isn�t just to �get the crud� out of your life. Many times a trial isn�t just for �your� benefit. We�re surrounded by people who watch us constantly. People who need to be confronted by how �convinced� we really are. People who need to see how powerful and sustaining being �convinced� in the love of God can be. Many times our trials are for others as well. There�s another kind of trial: One you don�t want to experience. Turn to Ezekiel 22:18-22 In verse 18 the �dross� is the crud- the invaluable stuff- the metal you want to get rid of. READ ON through verse 22. So when the tough stuff starts happening in your life is God always angry with you? Pouring out His judgment on your life? NO NO NO. Trials are �gifts� from God � things He uses to �release� us from what holds us. When we don�t do what He wants us to do in the trial � when we try to manipulate our �own way out� �when we don�t learn what we�re supposed to be learning �God continues (He is extremely persistent) to send more and more and more which eventually moves from testing to wrath. He will use His wrath if that�s what �we call for� to prove what we�re really convinced of and what we�re not � what we choose to �trust� will be exposed- not for �God to see� � but for �US� to see. The third Hebrew word for �trial,� is �Bahan.� This word means to test in the spiritual realm with a focus on a particular quality (like integrity, patience, gentleness, etc.) This word for trial has the sense of examination designed to prove the existence of whatever quality is being sought: For instance: God wanted to prove the depth of His power of forgiveness through the life of Corrie Ten Boom. After the concentration camp experience where she watched her sister die in response to malnutrition and being beaten she was in a church giving a message. After the service she stood at the door of the church shaking hands with all the visitors. As she was shaking the hand of a woman she, in horror, looked up to see the face of the man who�d killed her sister. Everything in her went into revolt. In her heart she told God, �I can�t � I can�t forgive this man. I just can�t.� God�s response � because she sought HIS WISDOM � �Just open your hand- I will forgive Him through you.� Because she was OBEDIENT (contrary to EVERYTHING she felt) a great healing and �letting go� happened in her life. She was freed and God�s forgiving power was made evident not only to her, but to those watching. The trial was meant to prove the existence of God�s ability to forgive in the most heinous situations. Self Check: Who is it that you�ve grown �indifferent to� to protect your heart from vulnerability? Who is it that you�re �never going to forgive� � Who is it that has seriously �hurt� you? Who is it that doesn�t deserve to be forgiven- Who is it that makes you really angry? Has God asked you to �open your hand?� Have you? Are you convinced enough that He loves you and that He�s for you to trust Him with that relationship? Or do you have to fight your own battles � protect your own heart � and stay in control? If you are obedient, with this word �Bahan� as test- you will experience whatever quality �YOU� don�t have � because God will pour that quality into you and through you in HIS strength: for you and others to see. I�ve heard so many say in marriage situations: �But I just don�t love him/her anymore� ---it�s not about YOU�it�s about GOD and what He wants to do through you, for both you and the other person involved. The healing, help and recovery don�t happen BEFORE THE OBEDIENCE. Wrong- doesn�t work that way. God never said He�d make them love you and kiss up major before you forgive them. He never tells you HOW to fix the mess. THAT is HIS job. Get that! The key in this picture is �obedience�-a willingness to do whatever God asks you to do, even if it�s totally contrary to everything you feel or want to do. A trial is not always meant to get rid of the crud, or to set you in the middle of wrath � sometimes it�s meant to bring out something in you that you don�t even know you have � something you think you �can�t give.� � something God knows He can give. The key is obedience. The response of �obedience� is a tough issue because how quickly we respond is based on our perceptions of who is asking for the obedience. What�s that mean? When it comes to trials the enemy�s FIRST BLOW will ALWAYS be �disappointment.� There will be four areas that will be battle grounds over the �trust� factor. Pain, suffering, evil AND � the perceptions we have of God. Unfortunately many of us have met, been raised by, or work next to well meaning Christians who present us with images of God that are a far far cry from a God with an unconditionally loving heart. The images we see are those of a �giant fly swatter that waits to smash us flat if we don�t comply,� � or we see God as �unapproachable, too holy to get up next to, easily annoyed, demanding, haughty, indifferent or even angry: -when we see Him as someone we �cringe� in front of it GREATLY effects the �trust� ability that we have. Our perception of God at that point makes those who do trust God look like �brown nosing kiss ups� who royally turn us off as being cowards � unable to go out there and take life on like a man! Obedience? You say- but God says we have to �repent from our sins� � that we have to �change.� Yup � but did He ask for your obedience BEFORE He loved you or after? So many times well meaning Christians take the ball bat out and start swinging it, screaming �Repent� � forgetting that what reached their own hearts was the tenderness of Christ- the compassion- the willingness to include me in His day �crud and all� �KNOWING, that as I learned to trust Him more, I�d also learn to let go of the �crud.� Ironically many of us think �obedience� is a response to being condemned. Wrong. Obedience is a response to being loved. The more convinced we are that God loves us and that God is for us, the more obedient we become. Again, where does �being convinced� (faith) come from? It comes from hearing � deeply listening and receiving And hearing comes from what? The Word of God. James 1:12 Blessed-(enjoying great happiness) is the man who perseveres under trial- same thing as James 1:3 for once he has been �approved� � the Greek word is: �dokimos� � the same root word that�s given for the word �test� in verse 3 � for once he has been put to the test and found genuine, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Our first inclination in a trial is to run � to get out- to escape- in any way possible. God says, �ENDURE.� STAND STILL. The temptation: Do it my way: Get out of it in any way possible. Why stand? A) Nasah: to be proven genuine B) Sarap: so that the stuff in our lives that holds us back from really flying is forced to surface so we can see it and let go of it C) Bahan: to discover and experience a quality in our lives that we may or may not have � that God desires to release into and through us. Why are we �blessed� if we �STAND?� Because we become so convinced in the love of God that we learn to trust His heart no matter what we see or hear: The result? Nothing that surrounds us moves us away from all that He is. THAT is pretty blessed if you ask me! More tomorrow, Love to all of you, Robin �copyright 2001 Robin and Jim Hibschman |
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