Turning Trials into Triumph

James 1:2-11

Biblical Passage: James 1:2-11

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing
that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its
perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask
in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will
receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all
his ways.

9 But the [h]brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass
he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the
grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so
too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

Introduction:

As we begin this morning, buksan po natin ang ating mga Bible sa James 1. Mula po sa mga
talatang iyan ay pag-uusapan natin kung paano natin haharapin ang mga trials sa buhay
natin. Sa mundong ito, may mga pagkakataon na ang nadarama natin ay kaligayahan o
kasiyahan. Subalit hindi sa lahat ng panahon ay maaliwalas ang takbo ng ating buhay. Sa
hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ay dumarating sa atin ang mabibigat na pagsubok o ang mga
bagyo ng buhay. Sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ay maaari nating maranasan ang
mahigpit na pagsubok. Ang mga halimbawa ay: biglang pagkawala ng trabaho, pagtatakwil
ng mga mahal sa buhay, pagkakasakit ng malubha kung kailan nagdaraan sa kahirapan,
pagdating ng malubhang kalamidad o aksidente, pagkamatay ng magulang, asawa, o anak
na siyang tanging nagtataguyod ng kanyang sambahayan. At sa trials walang exempted.
Kung tayo ay nakaharap sa malubhang suliranin, papaano natin ito pakikitunguhan at
pakikiharapan?

Ang title po ng ating message is Turning Trials into Triumph. Sa message po na ito titingnan
natin ang mga Biblical na pagtugon, ang mga pagtugon na nais ng Diyos na gawin natin sa
mga trials na kinakaharap at mga kakaharapin natin. Let's read James 1:2-11

The book of James was written to help Christians build genuine faith. Genuine faith has to
be tested and will often be tempted. Without such tests and trials, faith remains weak and
self-focused. God doesn’t want His people to remain weak or lazy or timid; so He moves us
out of our comfort zones where trust in Him is necessary. The first chapter of James is all
about how to face various trials and temptations in life so that faith will be built-up and not
destroyed.
Think of the way we typically respond to hardship. Almost by instinct, people stop listening;
they start complaining; and they get angry at God and their circumstances. When life’s
difficulties begin to strangle us, some people are tempted to avoid going to church to hear
God’s Word. But a faithful church will always present God’s Word and apply the truth of
Scripture to your present circumstances. Everything God says is supremely relevant. There
is no such thing as an irrelevant word from God. This is exactly what we need most during a
difficult situation.

So today, let us consider the ways to respond to life’s trials in a way that pleases God and
strengthens your faith. Each of these points is designed to help you.

Preaching Idea:

● Facing trials the right way leads to the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for us.

Transitional Statement: Ways to respond to life’s trials in a way that pleases God and
strengthens your faith

Sermon Outline:

1. A joyful attitude - v. 2

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials

Una sa verse na ito makikita natin ang isang imperative. Ang salitang consider ay
actually isang utos na tayo ay maging joyful. Dahil ang joy ay hindi natural na
response ng tao pagdating sa mga trials. Christians are under divine command not
simply to be somewhat joyful in their trials but to look upon them with all joy. Ang joy
dito ay pure joy or complete and total joy.

From the context, tila ang lahat ng mga kahulugan ay angkop. Dito sinasabi ni James
sa atin ang kakaibang kagalakan na ganap na ibinibigay ng Panginoon sa Kanyang
mga anak kapag kusang-loob at walang reklamo tayong tinitiis ang mga problema
habang nagtitiwala sa Kanya—anuman ang dahilan, uri, o kalubhaan ng paghihirap.
Lagi Niyang gagamitin ang mga ito para sa ating kapakinabangan at para sa
Kanyang sariling kaluwalhatian. Sa pamamagitan ng isang buong-pusong pagtitiwala
sa pangako at kabutihan ng ating Panginoon, maaari nating tingnan ang mga
pagsubok bilang isang mabuting bagay, sa paniniwala na lahat ng maaaring sinadya
para sa kasamaan laban sa atin, ay niloob ng Diyos ay para sa kabutihan natin.
(Gen. 50:20; cf. Rom. 8: 28).

Our Lord Himself, “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame” (Heb. 12:2). He looked beyond the trial to the joy that He knew would be His
when the trial was over and it had accomplished the glorious work it was divinely
ordained to accomplish. “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners
against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart,” the writer of
Hebrews goes on to say (v. 3). If our perfectly holy Lord could endure the
unimaginable agony of undeservedly taking the world’s sin upon Himself, how can
 we not endure-willingly and with thanksgiving—the immeasurably lesser and
deserved sufferings that test us from time to time?

We are not just to act joyful, in reluctant pretense, but to be genuinely joyful. It is a
matter of will, not of feelings, and should be the conscious, determined commitment
of every faithful believer. And because God commands it, it is within the ability, under
the Spirit’s provision, of every true Christian. When faith in Jesus Christ is
genuine, even the worst of troubles can and should be cause for thanksgiving
and rejoicing.

The more we rejoice in our testing, the more we realize that they are not burdens but
privileges, ultimately beneficial and not harmful, no matter how destructive and
painful the immediate experience of them might appear. Kapag nahaharap tayo sa
mga pagsubok na may kagalakan gaya ng sinasabi sa atin ni James, matuklasan
natin na ang pinakamalaking bahagi ng kagalakan ay ang paglapit sa
Panginoon.—the Source of all joy—by becoming more sensitive to His presence, His
goodness, His love, and His grace. Our prayer life increases, as does our interest in
and study of the Word, and in each of those ways our joy increases all the more.

2. An understanding mind - v. 3

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Ang pangalawang paraan ng matagumpay na pagtitiyaga sa mga pagsubok ay ang

pagkakaroon ng isang understanding mind. The word knowing carries the idea of full
understanding of something that is beyond the merely factual and that often comes
from personal experience. Jesus used this word in the parable of the fig tree, saying,
“When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that
summer is near” (Mark 13:28)

Bilang mga Kristiyano, alam natin mula sa ating sariling karanasan, gayundin mula
sa Salita ng Diyos, na ang pagsubok sa [ating] pananampalataya ay nagbubunga ng
endurance. Nalaman natin na ang Kanyang pangako ay talagang totoo, dahil,
pagkatapos nating tiisin ang pagdurusa, paghihirap, o pagsubok, natuklasan natin na
ang ating pagtitiwala sa Panginoon ay hindi lamang buo kundi mas malakas para sa
pagsubok. The Lord will not allow His children to face anything that they
cannot, in His power and provision, survive.

When Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, he was greatly
concerned about their faith (1 Thess. 3:5,10). Less than a year later, however, he
was able to tell them,

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting,
because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward
one another grows ever greater; 4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of
you among the churches of God for your [a]perseverance and faith in the
midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. - 2
Thessalonians 1:3-4
 Dahil sa kanilang mga pagsubok na ang kanilang pagtitiis ay tumaas at lumakas, at
ang kanilang pananampalataya at pagmamahal sa Diyos ay nadagdagan at lumakas.
To make us a useful vessel of God, He will sovereignly bring suffering in our lives.
Hardships can transform us into something beautiful. That is cause for
unspeakable joy—not because of the pain but because of the purpose behind it. In
God’s providence, you have bad days on purpose. God uses trials to develop us
spiritually. He breaks us sometimes to build us. So the way we gain with God is to lay
down our lives and lose because the secret of fruitful ministry is learning how to lose.

We are to realize that God intends the testing of our faith to produce perseverance.
Without these trials, some characters would be undeveloped. God also uses trials to
purge and remove defects from immature faith.

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny” - C.S

Lewis

How often in our lives there are messy broken pieces? Hard things. Struggles. Hurts.
Failures. I don’t know what the hard things in your life might be right now. But I know
each of you has at least a few really difficult things you’re dealing with.

Don’t give up! You never know what those hardships might be preparing you for. But
it might be something more beautiful than what you can imagine. “The greatest good
that suffering can do for me is to increase my capacity for God”

3. A submissive will - v. 4

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing.

A third means to perseverance in trials is a submissive will. The only way out of a trial
is through it. The Lord promises no bypasses, only that He always will see His people
through the trials without their suffering spiritual harm. But God cannot do His
perfect and complete work in and through us without our willing
submissiveness.

When we learn to rejoice in our trials and come to understand that our gracious
heavenly Father uses them not to harm us but to strengthen and perfect us, we are
motivated to embrace them as beneficial. Kapag natututo tayong magalak sa ating
mga pagsubok at maunawaan na ginagamit ito ng ating Ama sa langit hindi para
saktan tayo kundi para palakasin at gawing perpekto tayo, motivated tayong
tanggapin ang mga ito bilang kapaki-pakinabang. The testing of your faith produces
endurance. It is trying to make you perfect and complete (1:4).

Perfect is from teleios, which does not connote moral or spiritual perfection, or
sinlessness, but rather refers to that which is fully developed. The word is therefore
better rendered “mature,” referring to spiritual maturity fulfilled in Christlikeness,
which is the goal of endurance and perseverance.
 Complete translates a form of holokléros, which carries the idea of being whole,
entire.Para mas malinaw na ipaliwanag ito, James adds lacking in nothing,
nagpapatibay sa pagiging komprehensibo ng kanyang punto. That is the end result of
trials: maturity, completeness, not lacking in anything of spiritual importance and
value.

We should never become despondent or discouraged when passing through trials.

Hindi tayo dapat mawalan ng pag-asa o panghinaan ng loob kapag dumadaan sa
mga pagsubok. No problem is too great for our Father. Some problems in life are
never removed. We must learn to accept them and to prove His grace sufficient.

Illustration: Paul asked the Lord three times to remove a physical infirmity. The Lord
did not remove it, but gave Paul the grace to bear it (2 Cor. 12:8–10).

When we face problems in life that God obviously isn’t going to remove, we should
be submissive to His will. Kapag nahaharap tayo sa mga problema sa buhay na
halatang hindi aalisin ng Diyos, dapat tayong maging masunurin sa Kanyang
kalooban. Sa halip na ang prayer natin ay alisin agad tayo sa trial, ipagpray natin sa
Lord ang biyaya at kalakasan upang harapin ang mga ito. God is working to produce
endurance in you, so let endurance have its full effect.

4. A believing heart - vv. 5-8

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he
must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like
the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought
not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A fourth means to persevere in trials is a believing heart, a comprehensive phrase

that summarizes these four verses.

The first requirement for such belief is godly understanding. Especially when they are
going through trials, believers need a special measure of understanding to help them
through, kapag tayo ay dumaranas ng mga pagsubok, nangangailangan tayo ng
pang-unawa upang matulungan tayong malampasan ang mga trials, at ang
pangangailangang iyon ay dapat magtulak sa atin na hilingin sa Diyos na ibigay ang
pang-unawa at karunungan na mula sa Kanya. Strong, sound faith is not based
on feelings but on knowledge and understanding of the promises of God’s
truth, which is spiritual wisdom.

When believers face times of testing—whether physical, emotional, moral, or

spiritual—they have special need for God's wisdom. At such times one should
remember the words of Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not
lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
 make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn
away from evil” (Prov. 3:5–7).

Hindi natin kailangang harapin ang mga problema ng buhay sa sarili nating
karunungan.Kung, sa panahon ng pagsubok, kulang tayo sa espirituwal na pananaw,
dapat tayong pumunta sa Diyos at sabihin sa Kanya ang lahat ng ating kalituhan at
kamangmangan. All who seek God’s purposes in the trials will be liberally rewarded.
And they need not worry that God will scold them either; He is pleased when we are
teachable and tractable. God’s word gives us general principles in how we should
face our problems. We must apply these principles to problems as they arise day by
day. We all lack wisdom that is why we need (spiritual) wisdom. Spiritual wisdom is
the practical application of our Lord’s teachings to everyday situations.

We must approach God in faith, with no doubting. We must believe He loves and
cares, and that nothing is impossible with Him. Kung pagdudahan natin ang Kanyang
kabutihan at ang Kanyang kapangyarihan, hindi tayo magkakaroon ng katatagan sa
panahon ng mga pagsubok. One minute we might be resting calmly on His promises,
but the next we will feel that God has forgotten to be kind. We will be like the surge of
the sea, rising to great heights, then falling back into valleys—troubled and tossed.
God is not honored by the kind of faith that alternates between optimism and
pessimism. He does not give divine insight to such vacillating, unstable men (vv. 7,
8). In verses 5–8, the source of wisdom is God; it is obtained by prayer; it is available
to everybody; it is given liberally and without reproach; the crucial condition is that we
ask in faith, with no doubting.

5. A humble spirit - vv. 9-11

9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high

position; 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like
flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching
wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its
appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his
pursuits will fade away.

A fifth means to persevere in trials is a humble spirit. James addresses the brother of
humble circumstances, that is, the saint who was economically poor and who
represented most of the scattered and persecuted Jewish believers to whom he
wrote. Many of them, no doubt, had once been at least somewhat well-off financially
but had their homes and other possessions confiscated or had to leave them behind
when fleeing their persecutors. At this time, their most common problem was poverty.

At first glance, verses 9–11 seem to introduce a completely new subject, or at least a
parenthesis. James, however, is continuing with the subject of trials by giving specific
illustrations.

Mahirap man o mayaman ang isang tao, maaari siyang magtamo ng

pangmatagalang spiritual benefits mula sa mga kalamidad at krisis ng buhay. For
instance, when a lowly brother finds himself dissatisfied and discouraged, he can
 always rejoice that he is an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ.
Makakahanap siya ng aliw sa katotohanan that all things are his, and he is Christ’s
and Christ is God’s. The lowly brother probably has no control over his humble
circumstances. But God has seen fit to place him in a low income bracket and that is
where he has been ever since. Perhaps if he had been rich, he never would have
accepted Christ. Ngayon na siya ay na kay Kristo, siya ay pinagpala ng lahat ng
espirituwal na pagpapala sa makalangit. What should he do? Should he rebel against
his station in life? Should he become bitter and jealous? No, dapat niyang tanggapin
mula sa Diyos ang mga pangyayari kung saan wala siyang kontrol at magsaya sa
kanyang espirituwal na mga pagpapala na inihanda ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ng
mga ito.

Next James turns to the rich. But strangely enough he does not say, “Let the rich
man rejoice in his riches.” Rather he says that the rich can rejoice that he is made
low. He agrees with Jeremiah 9:23, 24:

23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not
the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24
but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that
I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on
earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

The rich man may actually find real cause for rejoicing should he be stripped of his
material possessions. Perhaps business reverses would bring him to the Lord. Or if
he is already a Christian, then he could joyfully take the spoiling of his goods knowing
he has in heaven a better and more enduring possession (Heb. 10:34). Earthly riches
are destined to pass away, like the flower of the field (Isa. 40:6, 7). If a man has
nothing but material wealth, then all his plans will end at the grave. James dwells on
the transiency of grass as an illustration of the fleeting life of a rich man and the
limited value of his riches. He will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Any trial is intended by God to weans us away from the love of passing things and
sets our affections on things above. Thus the same grace that exalts the lowly
humbles the rich. Both are cause for rejoicing.

Conclusion:

To test the genuineness of a diamond, jewelers often place it in clear water, which
causes a real diamond to sparkle with special brilliance. An imitation stone, on the
other hand, will have almost no sparkle at all. When the two are placed side by side,
even an untrained eye can easily tell the difference.

In a similar way, even the world can often notice the marked differences between
genuine Christians and those who merely profess faith in Christ. As with jewels, there
is a noticeable difference in radiance, especially when people are undergoing difficult
times. Many people have great confidence in their faith until it is severely tested by
hardships and disappointments. How a person handles trouble will reveal whether his
faith is living or dead, genuine or imitation.
Consider again the ways to respond to trials according to James;

1. A joyful response
2. An understanding mind
3. A submissive will
4. A believing heart
5. A humble spirit

Action Point:

Are you facing a difficult situation right now? Have you asked for Godly wisdom to endure
them? Facing trials the right way leads to the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for us.
Don’t give up, keep persevering, focus on God!