James 1:1-12
January 19, 2020
preached by Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“Though my natural instinct is to wish for a life free from pain, trouble, and adversity, I am learning to welcome anything that makes me conscious of my need for Him…”

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss (1958-present), American speaker author and radio host

“So surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), English minister

“All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestations of His grace, power and love.”

~ Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), British missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission

“Health is a good thing. But sickness is far better, if it leads us to God. Prosperity is a great mercy. But adversity is a greater one, if it brings us to Christ.”

~ J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), English writer and minister

“In the hands of a loving God, sorrow and suffering become the doorways into the greatest and most indestructible joys.”

~ David Powlison (1949-2019), American counselor, author and professor

“The road is rugged, and the sun is hot. How can we be but weary? Here is grace for the weariness – grace which lifts us up and invigorates us; grace which keeps us from fainting by the way; grace which supplies us with manna from heaven, and with water from the smitten rock. We receive of this grace, and are revived. Our weariness of heart and limb departs. We need no other refreshment. This is enough. Whatever the way be – rough, gloomy, unpleasant – we press forward, knowing that the same grace that has already carried thousands through will do the same for us.”

~ Horatius Bonar (1808-1889), Scottish minister, poet and hymnodist

“On this side of the cross misery persists, but the scales are tipped in favor of joy.”

~ Edward Welch, contemporary counselor, author and professor

Sermon Passage

James 1:1-12 (ESV)

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹² Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.