Pastor Steve's Sermon Notes
September 1, 2002

James is the most practical book in the New Testament. It is the “How To” manual for the Christian life. As we touched on last week, life is full of problems which poses the question: “How Can I Be Positive Under Pressure?” This morning we’re going to look at four facts of life from James that will help you with the problem you're going through right now:
FOUR “FACTS OF LIFE” YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Problems Are Inevitable
Scripture doesn't say, “If you encounter problems consider it joy” but “whenever”—count on it, you're going to have problems. Jesus said “In the world you will have tribulation.” Peter said, “Don't be surprised when you have problems.” Count on it.

Problems Are Unpredictable
In verse 2 the word “face” in Greek literally means “to fall into unexpectedly.” It is the same word used in the story of the Good Samaritan where the man fell among thieves—it was unexpected. Trials are not planned. We seldom can anticipate the problems we're going to experience in life. That's probably good because if we could anticipate them we'd run the other way and we wouldn't get the benefit from them.

Problems Are Of Many Kinds
They come in all shapes and sizes. There are a wide variety of them. The word in the Greek for “many kinds” (vs. 2) is literally “multi colored.” There are problems of many shades and varieties. They vary in intensity, they vary in variety, they vary in duration. Some are minor inconveniences. Some are major crises.

Problems Are Purposeful
They have a purpose. Pain can be productive. Pressure produces. Suffering can accomplish something. It has value in our lives.

Three Purposes Of Problems In Your Life:
Problems purify my faith.
The first things trials do is test our faith. They purify us. Your faith develops when things don't go as planned.

Problems fortify our patience.
"...develops perseverance.” The Greek here is literally “the ability to stay under pressure.”

Problems sanctify my character.
They make me like Jesus. They help me mature. They help me to grow. God's number one purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus Christ. God is much more interested in building your character than in making you comfortable. If God is going to make me like Jesus, He's going to take me through the things Jesus went through.

HOW TO HANDLE YOUR PROBLEMS:

Rejoice (vs. 2) We don't rejoice for the problem, we rejoice in the problem. We don't thank God for the situation, we thank God in the situation. (I Thess. 5:18) (Psalm 34:1)
Request Pray. Of all times to pray, pray when you've got problems. What do you pray about? ( vs. 5) You ought to pray for wisdom when you're in the middle of problems so you won't waste the opportunity to grow. Pray for two things: wisdom to understand the trial and faith to endure the trial.
Relax Trust God to know what's best for your life. Cooperate with His purpose so you don't short circuit the process. That's what's called faith. “But when he asks he must believe and not doubt.” (vs. 6) Relax. Let God work.
God says the devil wants to use problems to defeat you, but God wants to use those problems to develop you. Which will it be?

West Phoenix Baptist Church

4449 W. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85031
Phone: 602-278-4012
Fax: 602-272-4672
E-mail: Information@westphoenix.org