Our sermon text this morning comes from the letter of James, James chapter 1, and we'll read verses 1 through 4, and those are on page 1184 in the Pew Bible. So James chapter one, starting at verse one, hear God's word. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Amen. You may be seated. And let's pray together. Thank you, our Father. Thank you for giving us your word, which is truth, and your word which makes us wise unto salvation through your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we ask your blessing on this word to our hearts and our lives, that you'd use it to strengthen us, to encourage us, to help us to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we would grow in our sanctification and grow in our faith and that our faith would have the fruit that you want it to bear in our lives. And so, bless us and make us a blessing and receive the glory and honor and praise of your people, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Trials and sufferings are the common experience of all people. It's natural to think negatively of trials, but God's word presents a different view of trials, of difficulties, and sufferings. Though God created the world very good, and without death and suffering, man rebelled against his creator and became subject to the curse of death and suffering in the world that God created. But God also promised to redeem fallen man and redeem suffering through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is right to rejoice in trials. And so the main point this morning, count your trials all joy. Count your trials all joy. Now the word translated count means to regard or think of in a certain way. In our case, it might mean that we need to change the way we think of trials. Instead of our way of thinking, we need to have God's way of thinking regarding affliction, suffering, and trials. Now is this wishful or empty positive thinking? No. The biblical perspective is this, God uses trials for good. What good? Well, in our passage, we see four things. Through trials, God proves our faith. Through trials, God produces patience. Through trials, God perfects his people. And lastly, through trials, God provides perfectly. Well, let's look at the first one. Through trials, God proves our faith. Verse three says, knowing that the testing of your faith. Here's a recurring theme in James. that genuine faith must make a difference in our life. Genuine faith must make a difference in our life. Faith must lead to patience, maturity, and good works. And faith must produce good fruit. James says, you have faith, great. Show me that it's real. And again and again, James is going to push us, to prod us, to provoke us to genuine, real, living faith. Amen? Amen. God proves our faith through trials. This idea is also in 1 Peter, 1 Peter 1. The word there for test is to prove by fire. And so 1 Peter 1 7 says, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory. at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So our faith, which is more precious than gold, our faith is also tested, it's proved, it's refined by the fires of trials. And Daniel has the same The same view of trials in Daniel 12. In Daniel 12, he's talking about the great tribulation that will come in the latter days. And during that time, Daniel says that in verse 10, Daniel 12, 10, that many will be purged, cleansed, and refined. And how will they be purged, cleansed, and refined? As they go through tribulation, they will be purged, cleansed, and refined. And so faith is like a muscle. Through testing and exercise, it becomes stronger. Some trainers say you need to exercise every muscle that you want to keep. And the idea is if you don't exercise those muscles, you lose what you don't exercise. Well, it's the same thing with faith. Faith needs to be exercised. Pastor David Mathis said, faith does not flourish when it lies untested. It atrophies when it goes unexercised. And eventually it dies. So when God loves us with his saving love and gives us saving faith, he commits, because he cares for us, to inject our lives with various trials to train, grow, sweeten, strengthen, and mature what matters most in us. And so God does that through trials. Through trials, God proves our faith. Also through trials, God produces patience. In verse three, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Patience must be a good thing because God wants to produce it in us, amen? Now the word translated produces means to work out or to bring about. And so how does God work out or bring about patience? He does it through the testing of our faith. He produces patience, endurance, steadfastness. But it is the patience that comes from faith, a faith that trusts God in the midst of trials. Why? We need patience. so God produces it in us. Amen. Hebrews 10 says something similar. It says in Hebrews 10.36, for you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. And so if we want to receive the promises of God, we need to endure so that we can receive what he promises. Amen? Amen. Romans 5, we read it earlier, 5.3 tells us that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. And so there again is a good reason to count trials all joy, is that they are productive. They produce good in us. And in this case, they produce patience. Amen. Another reason trials are used for good, through trials God perfects his people. Verse four, James one, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete. Perfect? Well, God is perfecting, God is maturing his people, and that's the word translated perfect can also be to complete or to mature. He is making us complete, making us mature, making us more like Jesus, who is the perfect Son of God. Amen. And He uses trials to do that. God promises to glorify His people. What is glorification? Well, God is glorious. He's full of greatness and goodness beyond comparison and beyond our full comprehension. And he created us to experience his glory and be transformed by it. We reflect God's glory back to him. And that's what he created us to do. That's our primary purpose. Our primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That's Westminster Shorter Catechism question number one. And so we're created to glorify God and to enjoy him. But we're also created to be glorified. And so God promises our glorification in the golden chain of redemption in Romans 8, 29, 30, where it says, for whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Now here's the golden chain. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. And whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. Amen. So if the Lord predestines a certain number then that certain number will also be called. And then that number which is called, these he also justified. And you notice it's in the past tense, like it's a done deal from God's perspective. These he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified. So the same group he predestines He called, he also justified, and he also glorified. All past tense, all a done deal from God's perspective. And I add, hallelujah. So if you have believed in the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God promises that he who began a good work and you will complete it to the day of Christ Jesus. So if you're believing and you are justified by faith in Christ, you're sanctified by faith, you also will be glorified by faith as well. And God uses trials in that process of sanctification and as we move on toward glorification. Amen. Romans 8.18, some strong backup for this idea of glorification. Romans 8.18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And so the idea there is that we may suffer now, and we will, but that's nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. Amen. Do you believe it? God's word says it. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Hallelujah. Now we won't be perfect until glory. So there's always room for improvement. And so we are in that process of becoming more and more like Jesus, more and more mature and more complete in him. And so through trials, God perfects his people. And lastly, through trials, God provides perfectly. It says in verse eight, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Wow. What a promise. God promises that we will be perfect and complete Lacking nothing. Amen. Now sometimes we feel like we may be lacking. But we'll find out that the Lord in our lack wants us to ask. And to ask for what we need because the Lord will provide what we need. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.19. So we need to trust that God provides perfectly for his people. Amen? So we will be perfect, lacking nothing of what God has planned for his people. We see this idea of the Lord's perfect provision in Exodus 16, 18, when the people gathered manna. God provided bread for heaven for his people. It says in Exodus 16, 18, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. So the Lord provides exactly what we need. And then 2 Corinthians 8, 15, quoting Exodus 16, says, as it is written, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Paul quotes Exodus to remind God's people when they give that there should be equality and parity in giving. Not that we all should give the same amount, but that we should give in proportion to how God blesses. And so training wheels for that is the tithe. We should give a tenth of what God has provided for us, but we also can give above and beyond as the Lord blesses, so there are tithes and offerings. And those who are blessed with much wealth should be enabled to give more than those who are blessed with less wealth. And so there's this idea that there will be equality among God's people, and that together we will bear the load and the burden of the finances for God's ministry. And so that's the idea. Whoever gathers much has nothing left over, and whoever gathers little has no lack. Amen. Then in Psalm 3410, it says, even strong lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. And the same idea is in Psalm 23.1. This is in the New English translation. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. Amen. And I can attest to the truth of that. As we trust in the Lord, as we believe him for his provision, and believe his promises, it's true, we lack nothing. And then, afflictions are what God uses to work good in us. Barnes said, afflictions, perhaps more than anything else, will do this, and we should therefore allow them to do all that they are adapted to do in developing what is good in us. And so we need to trust that God is using these trials, various trials, difficulties, afflictions, suffering for our good. Romans 8 says the same thing. And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose. And so one of the things he uses in that is afflictions to work good in us. And so through trials, God provides perfectly. He perfects his people. He produces patience. And he proves our faith. And so God is about using trials for our good. And so for that reason, let's count our trials all joy. Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we do thank you. We praise you. We give you honor. We give you glory. Thank you, Lord, that it is your plan and purpose for all of your people to not only be saved, but also be glorified in you. and to become those who reflect the mature image of your son, Jesus. And so we thank you for this blessing and thank you, Lord, that even if we, if need be, suffer, it's not to no end, it's not for no reason, but it's for your purposes to produce in us patience, to produce in us the character of your son, and to perfect us so that we lack nothing. And so thank you, Lord, for all these ways that you use suffering for good. Thank you for the way you even used suffering in the perfecting of your son. And so we pray, Lord, that you would use these trials and difficulties in us, that we would trust you in the midst of the difficulties, and then that we truly would rejoice. Because we're not rejoicing in the trials, we're rejoicing in you and what you do through them. We want to thank you and we want to pray that you would bless this word and cause it to bear fruit in us. We pray, Lord, that our faith would be genuine and that it would show forth your glory, your goodness, and the glory and the beauty of your son, Jesus. For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.