James 1:1-12

(James 1:1-12)

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:  But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.  For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

 

There is a test. It is also in the Lord's Prayer. Those who desire the Lord are made in the test. In the test, the ability of discernment develops. Regarding discernment, in Romans 12, 『And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 』

"Prove" means that "the result is made as a result of discernment." It is not that humans can discern, but it is discerned. To be like this, we have to change. It is changed and renewed. Discernment is linked to renewal. "Prove" is the Greek word for Dokimazo (δοκιμάζω), which is the adjective of this (Tokimas), "to endure trials" in James 1:12. In order to discern, believers are recognized as being right in the test.

In James 1:2-3, 『My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 』. It means you need patience. Expressing that keeping the word of God is the word of patience. If you try to keep the Word of God, you need patience. After all, God's Word means to deny yourself. It is said that a good field is 100 times sixty times thirty times fruitful with patience. It is said that ``count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations''.

This test is a test of faith. The test comes because we believe in God. In temptation, God seeks those who trust Him. The Lord is also in the test. The test of faith creates patience, because in 1:4, 『But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. So, only the Lord is looking at the test.

When David was running in the wilderness, no one could help. The Lord had put David there. Psalms are mostly prayers in the wilderness. Today, God may want us to leave a prayer like a psalm even if we live a wilderness-like life. In tests, James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

It is patience to seek in the test, but first, "Pray and ask." The word psalm means praise. It is praise that David prays in pain. When we are completely pleased with the test and do not lose patience, our prayers are praised. When the Lord does so, he will gain wisdom. So we are pleased with the test, endured with patience, and in this process we offer to the Lord as a living sacrifice.

This is the story of Joseph. Ten elder brothers tied him up and sold Joseph to another country. Joseph becomes bound and dragged. He was sold to Potiphar's house. The Bible says that it was sold to Potiphar's house, but the Lord was with him. It was the Lord that Joseph sought. It is offered as a living sacrifice that pleases God. When he was loved by his father, he only enjoyed it in the house, but now his body is offered as a living sacrifice that pleases God.

Joseph's second temptation comes to him when he is satisfied with the Lord at Potiphar's house. This is a test from Potiphar's wife. However, he passes the exam. He threw up his clothes without compromising injustice. The situation gets worse. It wasn't slavery, it was the beginning of prison. It became a body that could not get out of prison. But to God it is to pass the test. He discerns what the will of the Lord is. Joseph's throwing off his clothes at Potiphar's house was also the day he took off his dirty clothes and wore white clothes. He had a new mind and became a transformed life.

One day, the official in charge of alcohol and the official in charge of rice cake dreamed, and the will of the Lord was discerned. God made Joseph to discern the king's dream from Joseph, who discerned the prisoner's dream. In this process, those who endure the test will be blessed. Because it is made in the test. It is because they are pleased with God, seek God, and gain the wisdom of the Lord. Joseph's interpretation of dreams is wisdom. Joseph gains wisdom in prison and becomes the man Pharaoh needs. This crown of life is hidden from everyone. This is to discern what the will of the Lord is. It is recognized that discernment is right. (Dokimasu)

There is a noun, "Distinguish". In Romans 5:3 『And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; Blessed are those who endure the exam. The word "podium" is the word Tokime (δοκιμή), a noun of Tokimajo. Among the three types of patience, podium, and hope, the word podium has been translated into various forms.

When Joseph endures in temptation, the Lord makes Joseph just as God made Joseph in slavery. So, the character of Saints is changed. In temptation, the saint gains the character of God. The character created by patience is meek. The word gentle means ‘adjusted character’.

In Deuteronomy 8:2 『 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 』 God is not testing anyone. The Lord lowers the people in the wilderness. People may suffer in the world, but this does not mean that they are lowered, but that those who worship the Lord in the wilderness are lowered. That's why you have to worship the more you go to the exam, and "worship" means "fall down, lower." The Lord lowers and tests. God sold Joseph, who was loved in his father's house, to Potiphar's house to lower it, and to test it through Potiphar's wife. He passes the exam and becomes the prime minister of Egypt.

In Deuteronomy 8:16, 『Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end』
How does Joseph know that the blessing is hidden in prison? In prison, he would have thought, "My life is over." In prison, the cross is the key. All our judgment and knowledge die. That is where the Lord begins. Pharaoh's servants entered the prison. Who knew Joseph would be prime minister?

At the end of the test, the Lord finally blessed Joseph, and "finally" means "in your end" in English. It is the end of my judgment, my thoughts, and my plan. For God's people, the moment when all of my plans, judgments, and thoughts are over because of temptation is the starting point of God's work. So the prayer comes out, "Don't do what I want, but I want you to do what your father wants." At first, you will say, "If you can, let this cup pass." For those who go to the Lord, prayer changes like Jesus did. Our thoughts are renewed, changed, and changed. That is why God's good, joyful, and complete will is discerned. The wisdom of the resurrection begins at the end of the death of the cross in prison.

Job 23:10-12 says, ``But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. 』 The same is true in Deuteronomy 9 and Psalm 105:17.