Dale Johnson, "How to Live with the Mind of Christ in an Abnormal World?" (Session 6)

I want to tackle this idea that how to live with the mind of Christ in an abnormal world how do we live with the mind of Christ in an abnormal world and when I talk about abnormal I just mean different post Genesis 3 in a world that's broken after Genesis 1 into the beauty of paradise and and what we see now there are a lot of ways we can describe this I foreshadowed this by talking about Jesus as being normal I think it's interesting when we look at the scope of the scriptures and we look at the beginning and we see Adam and the intention as God created Adam was to live as a human being and part of what that humanist meant was to be yes both body and soul and to live life unending and Adam could not fulfill that example so to speak he demonstrated brokenness but then we have one who was become who immediately was foreshadowed I believe in Genesis chapter 3 who would crush the head of Satan and therefore undo all that was broken in Adam and so the story of the scripture begins with all of its primary themes and expressions and long awaited throughout the time of the Old Testament we wait until the Messiah the one who would come and my focus on talking about Jesus in this way is in no way to disarm or to lessen the idea of his divinity Jesus was God in the flesh but I also want to make sure that we appropriately highlight his humanity so when we describe Jesus as being normal what I mean by that is that Jesus was born as a man and he lived the life that we were designed to live he lived in such a way that was according to the design of humanity what do I mean by that that Jesus and represented God in every conceivable fashion as we already read earlier today Colossians 1:15 he's the image of the invisible God you see what makes Jesus distinct indifferent is everything he did came from the father as a reflection of the character in the nature and the glory of God and in those days of the New Testament so many people thought that God looked like the Pharisees in their projection of God Jesus comes on the scene in the very first sermon that he preaches and the Sermon on the mountain he says you've heard it said but I say to you what Jesus is doing not only by his teaching but by his life of righteousness is he's fulfilling the image of God he's reflecting the character the nature the grandeur and the glory of God in humanists and as I think about Jesus as being the plumb line I think that's helpful for us now to start to dive into the world of how to explain abnormal you see the scriptures are simply a reflection of the character in the nature of God I mean this is the beauty of what God did in giving Moses the Ten Commandments God was not giving Moses the Ten Commandments a list of do's and don'ts you have to notice when God visited Moses on Mount Sinai that was a terrible and terrifying thing but the beauty is that God was giving Moses himself God was giving Moses his character in written form and notice the way Paul describes this if we could do this quickly Paul describes I didn't know that I had sinned until I knew what your law said you see when we see ourselves in relation to this God he's the plumb line and we as human beings are intended to reflect the character and nature of God but we know we don't do that well something is broken now we begin to get into the pursuit of describing that which the world proposes as being abnormal we have categories for this in the scriptures and I think it's important for us even when we look at something like James chapter 1 verse 25 where James is trying to teach us this understanding of ourselves how to become self-aware how how do we understand who we are he says you you you in the perfect law of Liberty you look into this word because it's the mirror that will reflect you naturally and appropriately you see what we do is we begin to compare ourselves to normal Christ because he reflected the character the nature and the glory of God by design and I don't think this is an accident that those who are redeemed God tells us in Romans 8:29 that we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ I think by design what's happening is God is taking all that was broken by processed the power of the Spirit the crucified and raised Christ he is now restoring everything that was broken by the curse and this is a part of the process that in sanctification this is why biblical counseling pursues sanctification and describes abnormalities the way that we described them in problems the way that we describe them and that's often in contrast as we've talked about much and it's often in contrast to what we see in the worldly systems so when we come to the scriptures I want us to look first we're going to spend all of our time but almost all of our time in James chapter 1 but I want us to see how Paul in first Corinthians approaches this idea and if I wish we had time we will see what we have to go through but what I want to do is to help us to understand our primary goal and role is to be conformed to the image of Christ that's really the definition of what it means to be healthy is as we pursue Christ the way we interpret the world becomes different the way we endure suffering the way our character is built it grows in it we become different we become more whole so to speak to the point to where we we long for glorification and wants to come let me read just a couple of passages that will help get us started in the direction that we need to go when we get to James chapter one because I think it's important for us to consider a couple of things that we need to know that this is our primary aim and goal despite the world that we live in not to unnecessarily dissect humanity in the world that we live in this is the aim and goal if you have a Christian distinction if you have a biblical inkling this is the direction that we're called to go and this is the way in which God couches our understanding of normal and what what it is that we're pursuing what makes us healthy what helps us to become whole so to speak and Jesus is not negotiable nor is the scripture negotiable and certainly not the work of the Spirit in New Testament language which restores our soul so starting chapter 2 of first Corinthians I'm going to read the first five verses and then skip down to the last few verses and I when I came to you brothers did not come proclaiming to you this testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom for I decided and this is an interesting passage I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified and notice that throughout the book what Paul is talking about is salvation in total he's not just simply talking about justification many times what happens in integrationist fields is they they like to say that well Jesus has given us everything sufficient for salvation and often primarily talking about justification I would argue that Jesus has given us everything we need for all of life and godliness he becomes necessary for the whole of the process not just justification but certainly sanctification and we most assuredly agree glorification at that time where we will become most whole verse three he says and I was with you in weakness and in fear and a much trembling in my speech my message were not listen to this we're not implausible words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power this is a critical verse I think that that we need to anchor our cellphone where he says that your faith may not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God can I caution us in our drift in our world even in the Christian culture where what we desire and we have an appetite for us to state our premises and to state our understanding of humanity in ways that make sense to the wisdom of the world God makes very clear here through Paul that any thing that's wise in the world is actually quite folly to God and anything that is folly to the world is actually wise unto God let's get down we could talk about he argues here basically that we're going to focus on the wisdom of God in the in the passages in between verse 14 he says the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for their folly to him it's not that a natural man can't see can't see bits and pieces of truth they just he can't infuse the full meaning of reality because there is a spiritual realm in the reality that you and I live in right there's underlying forces if you will that that the faeces chapter six described right we find not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the natural person can't see that with eyes this is why with his natural eyes this is why Paul would describe in Colossians chapter three to think on things above not on things on the earth because you get a different perspective perspective and perception when we just see from the category of our natural eyes we see things but we don't see as Jesus would describe with the Pharisees he says for they are falling to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned the spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one for who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him but we have the mind of Christ what we see here I think Paul is going to encourage them is with all the problems he's about to address and the totality of the first Corinthians is he saying what anchors you and what helps you to think rightly about all of these sociological problems that you're facing is that your mind be anchored in Christ it's going to begin to correct and make you whole in your intentions and your behaviors in the way that you interact with the outside world now turn to James now what I want to do with James is I want not just to us for us to talk about that what makes you normal is the way in which you're conformed and transformed by the renewing of your mind into the image of Christ this pursuit of sanctification as we talked about so often in biblical thing that we put off things and put on things that we mortify the flesh and we live to the spirit or we walk according to the spirit so that we not will not gratify the desires of the flesh and that is all good and true but as we talk about this process God is doing something with us God is doing something in us in his kindness he's taking us from unhealthy and broken and it's a process that's why we say this is progressive sanctification and he's conforming us into the image of Christ he's not making you a better you he's not making you more comfortable in the world that we live in he's actually making you now fashioning you into the image of God and the reason that that's a good thing is because that's what it means to be healthy what it means to be healthy is that we return back to the way in which we were designed which is to be in the image of God to reflect the character in the nature of God that had been broken by the curse of sin that now the Spirit has awakened us too and we now based on 2nd Corinthians 5:15 we now have the freedom in Christ to live for him and no longer live for ourselves so turn to James chapter 1 what I want to contrast this with is not just tell you that our goal is that we aim at becoming like Christ I want methodologically I want us to see how that happens I want us to see at least one of the ways and this is not exhaustive this is not conclusive in every aspect of how God does this but it's certainly one way in which we experience how God fashions us how God makes us how God pressures us to refine us to make us more whole to make us more healthy and I'll be honest as we think about this text it's quite paradoxical to the way we think about how we should become healthy in whole we think it should be a little bit more easy little bit less difficult but God knows best and here's what the rider says James a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad greetings counted all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and lets that fastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him but let him ask in faith with no doubting for the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind for that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord for he is a double minded man and unstable in all his ways the first thing that we see is the Scriptures tell us to consider to count now I have to be honest I agree with Thomas Brooks there are some times that truth is both shining and scorching this is one of the truths I would put in the category of scorching where he says that we're gonna walk through various trials and he tells us to pause and consider in James starts in a very different way than what we see Paul begins you see Paul as I mentioned earlier he starts often with indicative x' this is who you are and so now do this James begins straight out with the command but this is actually an imperative this is a command James right off the bat calls us to do something because he assumes that what's gonna happen is you're gonna walk through trial and so you need to pause they'd mentioned this earlier that when we go through trial when we go through darkness and difficulty sometimes the best thing we can do is just pause here he gives language to that he says to count or to consider now what that means is to weigh it's it's an accounting idea how do we weigh what's going on and I think what James is trying to get at is don't just follow your natural eyes when temptation or when trial comes because that can be deceiving you see what most most to to us is we're deceived by our natural eyes and when a temptation or a trial or a difficulty comes and and it comes upon us suddenly we begin to respond and react to that trial in what we can sense with our five senses and in response what starts to happen as we begin to lose sight of considering it over and against the truths that God has compiled for us to consider it against this is how in Paul's language we would see not as men of the earth we would see is people who think on things that are above James begins with this command why does he tell us to consider this joy right is do we line up in the joy line whenever we know a trial is coming right that's not the idea he says to consider this joy and the reason he tells us to do that is what's not a normal and natural response whenever you encounter trials to you joy is not natural in fact it's quite natural for us to experience all other sorts of responses but here he's saying there's something radical about considering who God is his promises over and against what's physically happening to you in this moment of trial and difficulty and so he tells us to consider it I think this is important because this demonstrates that we are and we are not at the mercy of our trials can you just be free from that for a moment we feel that we're at the mercy of what happens to us you are not at the mercy of what happens to you joy is not something that's waiting on your trials to work out we're not at the mercies of our trials for joy trials are inevitable this is what he says here counted all joy when he doesn't use the word if when you encounter trials of various counts or when you meet them so it's not the idea of if but but when what he means is these are normal human experiences in our broken world listen to Matthew five twelve blessed are you when others revolver and other all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven notice the eschatological focus the future focus for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you John 16:33 which I've referred to several times Jesus says I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace so he's given us the location of all that we want this rest and peace again is reiterated in him but in the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world that's a promise we will incur tribulation first Peter one through six through seven in this you rejoice we've already gone through this passage for a little while if necessary that you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it be tested by fire may be found to result in the praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus not only will we definitely incur trials but sometimes these trials happen suddenly look at the look at the text when you meet or when you actually a better translation from the ESV is when you fall into trials of various kinds it's really a description of the story of the Good Samaritan that he fell among robbers the same word is used here it's a description of this happens not when you're expecting it like Lord can we wait on these trials because today's quite busy it wouldn't be a good day for that to happen or this to happen right you'd never sign up for that none of us would because we don't often see what God is doing in such things so these things are absolutely sudden and notice that they are various trials there they come in different shapes come in different sizes coming varying degrees of intensity and their various in that they're not just simply quote/unquote spiritual trials these are trials of various kinds this is when you encounter the doctor and he says I think we need to do a blood test and I think it might be cancer this is trials of various kinds this is when you can't seem to grab a hold of your emotions they're ABing and flowing out of control you see doesn't distinguish here between internal and external trials doubts because they are typically indistinguishable listen to the way John McArthur describes this whether the trials began as a financial problem or a physical illness as a disappointment criticism fear or persecution it is our attitude about artists and our response to it that reflects our spiritual condition you see I want you to notice that not only do we encounter trials consistently this is going to happen to us but these are trials of various kinds and they often happen suddenly but I want you to notice that God has an intent God has a desire look at verse 4 he says unless steadfast us have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing now find that odd because in the previous session you and I talked about this very thing that this was Jesus's goal for us is that he would bring us blameless and above reproach before the father this is what Paul borrowed from Christ to say this is intended to be the purpose and point of the church but now he's saying Jameses is using this to say this is a part of the way God manufactures this happening is God has a desire and what's that desire that we lack nothing what's the goal that you be mature that you be complete that you lack in nothing because the fact is in in our daily lives we lack all the time Romans 8:29 we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ I find that interesting because it's on the heels of one of the most quoted verses in our modern day does anybody know Romans 8:28 right he works together for good those who love him and are called according to his purpose he works all things together for the good and it's interesting how we describe and define good I see you and I would describe and define good as Lord I'll go through this trial as long as you pay me back Sevenfold and like you use King James language to think it's gonna manufacture it kind of happening right that's how we define good and God if this benefits me and that's the definition that we begin to build a good but yet he expresses what good is you see this is God's definition of good that we be pretty we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ do you see the beauty in that do you see the beauty of what God is willing to do for you that you're not willing to do for yourself the God I want it to be easy even though I have flesh still living in me that's destroying me and yet God is willing to allow us to go through all sorts of things various trials trials of various kinds and it would happen often and sometimes sudden for what purpose for good that we be conformed to the image of Christ why because that is actually the most healthy thing for us you know it's interesting when I think about this passage what James is doing here is is quite paradoxical it's interesting here to me that James contrasts the contrast that he's giving to us here about trials we typically equate trials with the loss of something but what James is doing is he's saying that trials will position us to like nothing I want you to think about that for a moment what we often think is that trials are taking something away what James is doing is he's saying no no that's not how it works when you encounter trials of various kinds what God is doing is he's wanting to give you give to you so that you lack nothing we can consider trials joy because of what it produces not because of the trial itself you seen I find this to be very wise according to God you know what it means to have wisdom what it means to have wisdom is that you you can connect the dots between between what's happening today and how that might flesh out tomorrow for example in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 he tells us to take thoughts captive now why is that wise well because you know if you dwell on this particular thought today if it's a particularly helpful or godly thought it's a sinful or lustful thought it doesn't stay in lustful form it doesn't stay in the thought world it as you dwell on it it begins to produce fruit that comes out of you a fruit of the flesh and know that whether it be two weeks a month or a year from now if we dwell on that thought that's what's coming out that's that's wisdom that's applying the wisdom of the Lord a lack of wisdom is to not be able to see what I do and think today affects tomorrow I think about this most really kids are great illustrations aren't they this was an example that we saw in my house my kids were younger we had just brought our twin girls home and it was it's quite an exciting time in our house and grandmother was watching three of the boys and in the oldest girl and for some reason they thought it was a really good idea in the moment that the boys would lay on their back and with their feet up in the air and the girl who was three at the time would would sit on their feet and then launched like a rocket across across the room and so like it was happy-go-lucky and joyous for about ten minutes until that one time and see what's happening is the lack of wisdom they're not thinking like this might be dangerous somebody might get hurt they're just thinking like this is fun now and we love it and so they keep going and eventually she she falls awkwardly breaks her arm and so we have this very expensive ambulance ride and two surgeries later and about $12,000 and and she's repaired right it was it was a trial to say the least my point is is that this is how a lack of wisdom works is we choose what's imminent not thinking about what's to come you see God warns us about the things that are to come and where to rest in the here and now to know that what's coming based on his word is satisfactory this is exactly what James is trying to help us to understand now as we think about trials and that their various in their kind and that they happen they're going to happen to all of us and that they often come upon us suddenly he tells us the way in which this produces something verse three for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and lets that fastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing this testing of your faith produces steadfastness some versions say in other versions say patience now I want to just make one quick note that I think is important for us that we miss in the modern most of the techniques that we have from worldly systems is to do what we can to alleviate the pressure immediately I think it's interesting that when God describes trials of various kinds and these types of trials that we walk through what God is producing in us is very similar to the language of something like Romans 5 that these types of difficulties produce in us character a type of character that produces hope and that type of Hope will not put us to shame and all the while what it's building is patience it's building endurance it's building steadfastness based on what it's building a patient longing and a patient waiting for the day and time that has been promised to those who believe we're all these things that we encounter because of trials and sometimes the negative effects that we see consequentially whether they be physiologically or emotionally that they're come there will come a day where it will be eradicated once and for all forever what should happen in our mind when we encounter trials is the beauty of heaven should flourish when we think about what's to come and what God has promised and this is what's building in us a steadfastness a patience and this is the type of character that builds hope and a type of hope that will not put us to shame you see the intention of trials is to crucify and mortify the flesh so that a hope a hope that's enduring I hope that's lasting a hope that's patient that we could say with John the Revelator come Lord Jesus come quickly and as a lady-in-waiting we wait and long and look just like Paul would talk about in Titus 2:13 that he longs for the glorious appearing of Christ that's what's working in us he tells us the the method by which this happens the testing of our faith produces endurance and here's the thing this method that God employs as we encounter various trials this method that he gives seems quite paradoxical to us it's hard for our natural minds to be wrapped around this idea that are you serious like trial is going to produce something that's good we want to do everything we can to avoid trial I mean if the AC is broken we got to get it fixed today right because it's uncomfortable any type of trial God's wisdom says this and this is the part that's non-negotiable that I think we often miss this is the part where Jesus in his normalcy always submitted to the wisdom of God you remember Jesus in the garden is there another way let this cup pass from me is there another way and yet he resigns to say not my will but yours be done you see in that moment what he's doing is is what is intended for us as humanity to resign to the wisdom of God even though to him in the outward pressure the stress that he was enduring in the Garden of Gethsemane the crying out to the Lord yet he resigns in his own will to say not mine but yours be done this is really intended to the intended effect for us when we endure trials it's intended to strip all the hopes that we have that's killing us all the hopes that we have in the temporal things of the world that we place affections upon and God and His wisdom is saying I want to demonstrate to you how much of a leaning post this is to you because when you lean upon this this causes all kinds of turmoil all kinds of struggle of various kinds which will see unfolded later but this is the method this is the wisdom of God which seems so counterproductive to us but this is the way God unfolds his wisdom we must trust this wisdom we may never know why we are going through the trial but I want you to notice that that's not a requirement for your joy you may never know the why but that's not the requirement for your joy in this passage our faith in God's wisdom is necessary for our joy through the trial through the trial as we walk through it listen to Spurgeon strong sound faith is not based on feelings but on knowledge and understanding of the promises of God's truth which is spiritual wisdom you see in moments like that we don't feel like doing anything we don't feel like doing anything we just want to resign ourselves but we're called to trust in the wisdom of God at that moment now he also tells us to do something look at the next next verse and this is quite curious to me now I want you to wrestle with me in regard to this truth that he says because here all of a sudden we've been talking about counting it joy when we encounter various trials and God's gonna do something in that he's gonna build steadfastness and and the whole thing he's going to do is he's actually gonna make us complete lacking in nothing and now James gives a contrast James gives a contrast and the question that he asked I think is significant because he doesn't ask questions related to our physical responses he doesn't ask questions related to other things that we might want when we're needy and in trial the thing that he associates with our difficulty in our struggle is a lack of wisdom he says if any of you lacks wisdom if any of you lacks wisdom what kind of a question is that you see what James is trying to articulate is he's trying to say all of us lacks wisdom so when we encountered trials of various kinds what's it going to reveal in us it's going to reveal in us the wisdom that we've been trusting in it's going to demonstrate that it's not normal and natural for us number one to consider it joy it's not normal and natural for us to resign ourselves to be strengthened in the inner man to be steadfast to put our hope in Christ to feel like Christ is giving us something to where we lack nothing it's not normal we would lack wisdom why because we expect that God should be doing something else in a different way listen to Spurgeon again he says you cannot work long for your heavenly Lord without perceiving that you need greater wisdom than your own can we all just admit up front in church that we lacked wisdom all of us lack wisdom and if you live life for very long especially with the intent of trying to pursue holy things it becomes very apparent very quickly that we lack wisdom most people think well you pursued a PhD you must be pretty smart let me tell you what the PhD demonstrated to me is how dumb I is all the horizons of knowledge that are out there that I know nothing about I think that was a reminder to me of just how beautiful God is in that he's all-knowing and that he's all-wise and trials have this type of effect to where we we lack wisdom we say how do I know if I like wisdom look at the rest of the passage here he says if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach it will be given to him we'll come back to that in a second he says but let him ask in faith without any doubting for the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea how do we know if we like wisdom it'll become very apparent it's not some sort of cognitive thing that just appears to your mind in an aha moment right this is something that experientially you begin to see I'm lacking wisdom how because my life seems to be in turmoil and I'm tossed to and fro it's arrogance to say in moments like that nothing's wrong it's absolutely ok and fine to humble ourselves at that moment and know that we are needy people we are desperate people and how is he described as he gives three basic ways in which he describes the demonstration that we like wisdom when we're encountering trials the first thing he says is we're driven and tossed by the wind what he means is his life is happening think of the language that's used in Matthew chapter 7 when Jesus is talking about not just to be a hear of the word but to be a doer of the word and then he gives us illustration where he talks about two houses and these men were building two houses and one was building it on the rock and when the winds came and the and the storm blew his house remained but the the other guy built his house on the sand you see he was a here he knew intellectually what Jesus had just talked about but he didn't he didn't put it into practice I want you to notice that when we don't put the word into practice what does Jesus promise will happen to us we'll be cast away we will fall into trials of all sorts of kind or all sorts in all kinds now we think about that and we think through that path doesn't sound very enticing and rightfully so why because if we had our own way in our own ignorance we would continue to live life pursuing the things that we want and we desire but in God's goodness and kindness he's willing to snatch us from this being driven and tossed to and fro this is our experience this is what we're experiencing in that moment he says it another way look at the way he says it for the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind verse 7 for that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord verse 8 he is a double minded man he's a double minded man that word is actually Daisuke which is in the Greek it just simply means a double sold man he's a man trying to pursue God and Mammon or God and earthly things in that moment his soul is in conflict he's wrestling I love the way John Bunyan describes us in his in his famous story pilgrims progress he describes this man is mister facing both ways you know that's interesting when when that happens to us when we find ourselves in trials and we're wrestling with which way to go and we feel the pressure of being tossed to and fro and we feel ourselves even divided emotionally vexed and in turmoil in soulish amounts it's not a not a point of condemnation it's a simple fact that in our humanity we lack wisdom and just as impossible it is it as it is for John Bunyan's mister facing both ways to see both ways his eyes are only in one side of his head it's impossible for us to truly serve two masters and so in these instances this is a cry for submission a cry that we would resign to our own ways and to our own wisdom and to the wisdoms of the world and now resigned to the wisdom of God at which he would produce faith and steadfastness in us you see God wants to use these things to please himself so that we would no longer continue to seek to please our own self he says a final way in verse 8 that this man is on stable that this man is unstable in all of his ways now this is an interesting word and I think it's an appropriate word that we would talk about the instability I talked a little bit about one description of what it means to be unstable when I gave the illustration of the toddler earlier but this word seems to have some sort of a different kind of expression it's only used to my knowledge in two places in the New Testament here in James chapter one verse 8 and also in James 3:16 and this is a word that actually translated best might say the word disordered it's out of order in all of my ways if you ever experience life like that I think it's interesting that even the world tries to describe what's wrong with humanity what's abnormal about humanity in terms of being diagnosed with a disorder and yet we act as though the Bible doesn't speak to these types of human disorders I would argue that here James is fully expressing some of those same ideas that we are double minded and we are disordered in all of our ways when we trust in our own wisdom you see the effects of our trial reveal the wisdom upon which we lean believer what's what's being exposed is what we already know that we lack wisdom trials expose our dependence upon wisdom what's in question at the moment is not that we are dependent upon wisdom but which wisdom is our leaning post of Hope in that particular moment trials give us a gaze into our inner man in a way that transcends our typical human reflections the exposure of our inner man is both uncomfortable and welcomed what I mean when I say it's both uncomfortable and welcome first of all I think it's uncomfortable because of how difficult it is for the flesh to be exposed that's uncomfortable for everyone that when trial happens and we don't know which way is up right we've never experienced this emotionally in our disposition before I've always thought that depressed people were those people I thought people who were bound by anxiety were those people like I felt worried but that's not the same right it's uncomfortable why because it exposes us it exposes us not just to ourselves and before God but often it exposes us before others and that's uncomfortable maybe we would even say that that's embarrassing when we're exposed to that degree we retract from what we see our frailties and weaknesses we retract from that as natural men even worse when others may have a window into our souls when others see this occurring to us and you have to notice the flesh doesn't die easy in moments like this when we see our flesh exposed and we see God unveil some of those desires and difficulties in our own heart our wrestling with the flesh and loving the flesh it doesn't die easy weakness is that never easy to admit but it's even more difficult for us to embrace and for you Christian the paradox is that when God exposes these this lack of wisdom that you're trusting in your own wisdom or the wisdom of the world is that we learn to embrace that weakness not run from it not try to alleviate yourself from it because listen it's in your weakness that now Christ can be strong when you try to alleviate the weakness in some other form Christ is no longer necessary you see what trials do is they they expose and make us very raw so that now what we see is we need to bomb with Christ we need the medicine of Christ we need the hope of Christ we need the wisdom of Christ we need the restoration of Christ but it's also welcomed it's welcomed because we have hope in the source of all wisdom that promises work together for our good when James comes around with a second command in verse 5 if any of you lacks wisdom thanks James we weren't aware of that we lacked wisdom and what does he tell us to do you see just like Adam and Eve in the garden our tendency when we fall into our own wisdom is when God comes near we run and we hide is it that the same way that we think about the church is that's where holy people go I can't go there we don't desire to become near to the people of God into the presence of God we want to run away but here what James is saying is listen when you're exposed when you lack wisdom when when your soul is vexed and God exposes it ask God ask in faith he says I would say not to ask his arrogance its arrogance but even more it's disobedience because this is a command and James does not give good advice here but a command that we ask of God can I please with you that when moments like this happen and they will that your this would be your first response is to ask God and not your last resort I fear that what we've what we've done is we've we found ourselves in a cycle and pattern of living life to such a degree that when moments like this happen we run to cover ourselves with so many other things besides the covering that's Christ and what we find is that those things when the next trial comes are just as inadequate as the wisdom that we leaned on before and we find ourselves cyclically in more and more turmoil complicating the matters more and more and more Spurgeon who is well aware of this said when believers base times of testing whether physical emotional moral or spiritual they have special need of God's wisdom it's okay to admit that it's okay for us to be honest with how we lack wisdom that we're not God can can you understand that trials are just a demonstration and a proclamation to you that you're not God none of us are and we need wisdom that comes from the only source that is wisdom himself you see when we experience these types of moments them and this is what it means in the New Testament to be thirsty where we longed for something that we don't have we're thirsty and what we often do is we run too superficial remedies there's one way that I can remember I've done a lot of mission work traveling overseas and I've spent a lot of time in Honduras my my sister and her husband are missionaries there for over a decade and one of the times I don't know I've been 30 or 40 times and going down there it's interesting they're out in very rural places and I took a team one time and this was a team of young people and I warned them ahead of time like don't eat lettuce don't drink the water you know don't brush your teeth and don't do things like that well we were going to this remote place that was about 6500 foot elevation and we start at the bottom at this river and there's no way to cross the river there's no bridge you can't drive up this this place and the only gospel witness was a teacher who had moved in only about two years before every every everywhere else was basically just kind of a very interesting type of religion syncretistic non gospel oriented for sure so I was going to take this group of young people and I was much I was a much better shape then I don't think it would go very well today but we were gonna check up this mountain and to say the least when we're going up this mountain elevation becomes an issue and you get tired and hot and it's literally like at points on the mountain where you have a switchback that goes back and forth and as you're walking you're literally touching the mountain which is right here as you go back and forth so it's quite grueling we get up to the top and there's a spring that leads to a stream and I'm telling these young people they obviously beat me up there I'm like guys you shouldn't drink the water well but it looks clear and it's fine and we're at the top like it's gonna be okay and you see what happens is at that moment like they were thirsty they had gone through trial they had gone through difficulty and they needed to be quenched they didn't have what they needed within themselves and they needed something else and to their natural I had looked quite clean and crystal clear and so they drank and actually a quench their thirst quite well the problem is you can just imagine what was happening the rest of the night and so I resigned even in my thirst because I knew there was probably something that was not healthy in the water I trusted the wisdom of so many who had gone before who said don't drink the water even though you can't see with your natural eye can I tell you that that's what we do often what we do often in trial is we become thirsty we become wanting we become desirous because we know we need something that we don't have in our own strength and God has given us remedy he's given us way that we should pursue that our thirst would be quenched the Lord Jesus the fountain of life fountain of water living water but yet we resign ourselves to choose things that look good to the natural eye but are quite contaminated and often what we find is it's quenching for the moment but it really complicates matters as life goes on how do we ask in faith I used to always ask this question you guys probably did this I had a very godly mom and dad and my mom used to say to me all the time they will just trust the Lord what does that mean right Dale just trust the Lord okay mom what does that look like well here this is really something similar ask in faith well what what does that mean like name it claim it style I would argue no he says to ask in faith well what are we asking in faith about we always ask in faith according to the wisdom of Scripture and look back at verses 3 and 4 this is the wisdom of God this is what's contrary to us in our natural understanding and it takes faith to be able to ask according to this wisdom of God how do we ask in faith for you know that the testing of your faith produces something and that God is going to bring it about to where we now like nothing and God I don't see it god I can't see how in this moment you're going to bring that about but I'm gonna ask in faith that you do according to your wisdom and I'll resign myself to my desires and my own wisdom and the wisdom contributed from all human sources and I'm going to trust what you say in this moment that's asking in faith but he also tells us who to ask and you couple this with first Corinthians there's a warning not to ask of human wisdom but to ask of God and notice this is a beautiful description I'm very conservative guy but this is the beauty of the liberality of God he says to ask of God ask in faith of God he tells us the source and he says that he'll give to all men liberally now we need to pause here and with the very few minutes that we have left we need to consider what he's saying there's a reason that that James tells us to ask of God and not some other source because in trial you know the thing that's most questioned yes we question our wisdom we question the wisdom of others but immediately what begins to happen is we naturally question the wisdom of God we begin to question things like God are you merciful you see we begin to question whether God is truly merciful or not because God I don't deserve this is what we would say what did I do to deserve this is a question we might ask what we don't realize is in those moments God is actually operating quite mercifully because if he were to give us what we what we deserved he would just leave us to ourselves the beauty of God engaging with us even through difficulty in trial is he's using that now to refine us that is merciful because you're not getting what you deserve aw Tozier says it like this if we could remember that the divine mercy is not a temporary mood but an attribute of God's eternal being we would no longer fear that some day it will cease to be and sometimes trials make us question is God merciful you have to remember what God is doing in the trial and you'll see that he's stripping you of all those things that are killing you James later would tell us that when sin is full-grown it brings forth death and in context this is what God is saying he's stripping you of even through trial you know one of the things that we question is well about the character in the nature of god that often keeps us from running to him in difficulty as we forget that God is good we forget that God is good God's goodness in our trial is seen in his willingness to go to battle against those pesky desires that pollute and ruin your heart in my heart CH Burgess says it like this those cuts of The Lancet are sharp and you think the surgeon means to kill but he intends to cure you see in that a beautiful thing that what God knows that you need he's willing to do and he's willing to wield the scalpel of the Word of God to accomplish it that is God being good for God to allow our own selfish desires and our own wisdom to fester in our heart and mind would make him not good but the beauty of God willing to do the things that are necessary as a surgeon with skill and precision to cut the festering wounds in our heart and in our mind that's the beauty and the goodness of our God one of the things that we question as well as God's providence God are you really are you really sovereign are you really engaged in this moment are you taking a nap somewhere what's happening did you forget me this is a question of the psalmist consistently God where are you are you near did you forget me you are you listening to me are you hearing what I'm saying are you you watching what's unfolding to me George Swinney has comforted my soul with his words describing the Providence of God he says the hand that made everything maintains everything you see when when we endure trial of various kinds God's not asleep at the wheel Paul would teach us that Jesus this one who spoken things came into existence the Bible says he holds all things together in his hand we can trust the Providence of a good God the final thing I think that we struggle with is questioning whether or not God is is faithful is God faithful just be comforted by the word here we question God are you faithful in working in us and with us listen to the Word of God therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God more than that we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope will not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us for while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare to die but God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us since therefore we have been justified by his blood much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God for while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more shall we be saved by his life God has not forgotten you his promises are still true what you're seeing unfold in the natural realm has no power to diminish nor destroy what God has promised to be true stop believing what's happening in the natural realm unfolding that you can feel incense with your five senses he says ask in faith of this God whose character remains true and pure see the whole point of us walking through trial as we often question the character of God God is using that to comfort us with it I think it's interesting the way that God reveals himself in the word as a shelter as a strong tower as a rock as a shield as a fortress as a buttress he gives these pictures because in difficult times that's the place we run to hide this is seen as normal and there demonstrated in our human experience so that we can experience God for who he is listen friend there are a thousand more mercies in God than there are mercies to be found in your trial run to him ask of him leave behind the broken cisterns of the world and the world's wisdom as we walk through trial can I just tell you as we bring this to a close that I think this is a demonstration of how God in His wisdom one way that God and his wisdom tries to allow us to be conformed through the refining fires of trial and difficulty to be conformed for what purpose so that you can be healthy so that you can be like Christ in reflecting the character and the beauty and the nature of God in a broken and desperate world if you remember a verse that we started with yesterday come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest for your soul you see here's the point the point is that we lack what's necessary to live life appropriately and what God is doing in his beauty and his kindness toward us is he allows us to demonstrate that he's strong enough to walk us through the difficulty of life for what purpose so that you could live for the reason that you were designed to live to be at rest in peace as you walk with God demonstrating to a watching world the character and the kindness and the compassion and the care and the love and the faithfulness and the goodness and the mercy of this kind God as you live life expressing his glory to others let's pray father we're so grateful for your love and mercy and grace toward us I pray father that we would see what's normal and natural and that by your wisdom and by your power that we would trust in faith that you're doing something in us by the spirit helping us crucify the flesh so that God we can live normal we can live in a way that reflects your glory which is what we intended to be in to do and that God we would find ultimate satisfaction ultimate rest and ultimate peace in your goodness and what you do for us in Christ name Amen

Channel: DESERT SPRINGS CHURCH

Views: 882

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 3Bfdno0bGyo

Length: 56min 47sec (3407 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 17 2019