When Life Is Hard and Unfair

thanks for checking out this week's podcast from Center Street Church we pray it blesses encourages and inspires you welcome the Center Street Church to those of you here at central campus also those of you meeting at one of our other campuses in Airdrie down in Bridgeland in south Calgary and also in the crowfoot theatres in Northwest Calgary and of course we welcome those of you who are on line well we're in a study of the book of James and in the passage we're looking at today James instructs us in how we should respond when life seems hard and unfair and so would you please stand and join me in reading the passage that we're going to be exploring today be patient then brothers and sisters until the Lord's coming see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains you to be patient and stand firm because the Lord's coming is near don't grumble against one another brother and sisters or you will be judged the judge is standing at the door brothers and sisters as an example of patience in the face of suffering take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as you know we count as blessed those who have persevered you have heard of job's perseverance have seen what the Lord finally brought about Lord is full of compassion and mercy above all my brothers and sisters do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else all you need to say is a simple yes or no otherwise you will be condemned let us pray our Heavenly Father we again thank you for the words that you inspire James 2 right here in the scriptures and Lord we do value them we see them Lord as food for our lives direction for our lives we ask Lord that you would expand our understanding of what you want to say to us in this passage not only what you want to say to the people of that day but to us today and so we ask that you would help us to remain focused and Lord you would soften our hearts that we would have the courage to respond in whatever way you'd have us to before we pray it in the precious name of Jesus amen you may be seated you know virtually everyone in this place has or will face trouble or hardship at some point in their life jesus said in this world you will have trouble now Jesus wasn't being pessimistic when he said this he was just being realistic we live in a broken world a world that is so far from what God intended it to be when he first created it as some troubles come our way because of wrong choices on our part and we have no one to blame but ourselves and still other troubles come our way because of the selfish and sinful choices of other people when people are greedy when people are slanderous when they're dishonest when people are unforgiving unkind or live immoral lives other people are going to get hurt that's just the way it is and Jesus said expect that and then there are troubles that we really struggle making sense of like the sudden death of a loved one or the loss of one's health here is a young woman who has a huge heart for God has committed herself to being a full-time missionary for God but then one day on her way home from college her car swerves on some black ice and she hits another vehicle head-on she's paralyzed from the neck on down and you find yourself asking how do you make sense of that some of you are enduring chronic illness or you have a child that's disabled or perhaps a child that's making decisions that's tearing your heart out others of you have a spouse or a parent with the early early onset of Alzheimer's or perhaps you can't conceive a child that you so desperately want or maybe you're just plain lonely just can't seem to find a compatible companion others of you are struggling with an unexpected job loss or a very difficult or dysfunctional work environment perhaps a difficult boss who is not only Keira Nichol but it's treating you poorly we've all faced hardship and unfair treatment and if you haven't buckle up your seat belt because Jesus said one day trouble will come your way well in the first century one of the hardships most people were facing was unfair and unjust unjust treatment by the rich in those days there was no middle class you were either rich or poor and most of the people were poor and the wealthy were not only living in luxury and stockpiling more than they would ever need in several lifetimes but were either oblivious or just plain insensitive to the needs of the people around them and so as we learned last time James gives the wealthy three warnings on the danger of greed or the danger of loving money he says wealth can tempt you to accumulate more than you need secondly he said wealth can tempt you to live a life of self-indulgence of luxury and thirdly he said wealth contempt you to be insensitive to the needs of others and this is exactly what many of the rich were doing in James's day they were living in luxury they were stockpiling more than they would ever need their greed drove them to not only mistreat the poor but to take advantage of them financially now in the passage that we just read together James shifts his focus from the wealthy to those who are being taken advantage of by the wealthy those who are being treated unfairly those who are facing hardship in their lives and he essentially asks them even as he asks all of us today how are you going to respond when you are treated unfairly how are you gonna respond to the hardships that come your way however you perceive those hardships to be and James implies here when life is hard when life is unfair we will face two major diss of temptations as well and the first temptation we will face is to take matters into our own hands when people cheat us when they mistreat us we're gonna be tempted to take our eyes off the Lord and to strike back to get even to fight fire with fire and James implies here we'll be tempted to become bitter and negative to grumble and complain a lot there's just going to be this attitude toward God in which we say this isn't fair this isn't right and it's just going to affect all of our relationships we're gonna find ourselves lashing out taking out our frustrations on people at work and particularly people that we love the most we're going to be tempted to lower our integrity to the same level as those who are taking advantage of us to say okay you want to fight dirty then I'm gonna fight dirty and as James suggests in verse 12 we're going to be tempted to make promises or oaths knowing full well that we have no intention of keeping them see the issue there isn't that it's wrong to take an oath or a vow they were playing a game they were making commits making oaths and promises in such a way they were engineering them in such a way that they could wiggle out of them they did it consistently and James is saying these are the kind of things you're going to be tempted to do the first temptation we face when life gets hard and unfair it's to take matters into our own hands the second temptation will face us to give up to quit to pack it up and walk away and in verse 7 to 12 the passage we're looking at today James pleads with them and us not to fall for these temptations don't get sucked into a way of thinking that will ultimately destroy you no says James in verse 8 be patient and stand firm he says when hard times come your way when you're treated unfairly let your response be directed by the following two words patience and perseverance let's look at them a little more closely first of all when life seems hardened unfair be patient look at verse 7 be patient then brothers and sisters until the Lord's coming see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rings you to be patient and stand firm because the Lord's coming is near James says learn from the farmer the farmer does what he can do he plants the crop he does the best to remove the weeds and remember he's talking to farmers in the first century they would do what they could do however beyond this the farmer has to trust God to do what he can't do the farmer can't determine if or when it's going to rain or even how much it's good to rain he can't stop hail from falling or pests from destroying the crop all he can do is plant the seed and then wait patiently for God to do the rest in the same way says James honor God with what you can do you can pray you can choose to not grumble and complain you can choose to not seek revenge or to get even with those who have hurt you and/or are treating you unfairly on the other hand says James there are things beyond your control things you need to trust God for the way that a farmer does the farmer is patient believing that there will be a harvest even though for a period of time he sees no physical evidence that there's ever going to be a harvest in the same way we must be patient believing that God's working behind the scenes even though in the present moment we see no evidence of that at all a delay friends does not mean a denial patience is believing that while I'm waiting God is working James says be patient knowing that Jesus is coming again which means God's in control there are no stopping his purposes in this world he's coming again and as surely as he came the first time he will come again and that's going to be a day when God makes all things right when wrongs will be made right when justice will be done and that those who have hurt you will have to answer to God those who think that perhaps they got away with it in this life won't get away with it because God will make all things right sometimes when life is hard and unfair have you ever noticed that you get impatient with God did you find yourself a bit tempted to kind of try to help him out get engaged and you know move things along a little bit because he's just not getting it pastor Philip Brooks was pacing the floor one day like a caged lion and somebody in the room turned him and said dr. Brooks what's the trouble my books replied the trouble is that I'm in a hurry but God isn't you ever felt that way have you ever wanted God to hurry up do something in your life perhaps you're dealing with some injustice or maybe it's some unfairness that or frustration at work or you've prayed and you've done what you can do but nothing seems to be changing nothing seems to be happening James implies this times like those that we need to exercise patience we need to trust in God in his perspective in his timing in his ways in his wisdom you know in psalm 46 God says be still and know that I am God the psalmist says when trouble comes and you're filled with fear don't try to take matters into your own hands no stop be still which means relax let go stop your striving be patient and focus on God and his perspective now folks our God is a good God who knows our needs more than we do who loves us more than we could possibly imagine in Romans 8:28 he says and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to his purpose now please note this verse does not say that everything happening that happens to us is good no it acknowledges that trouble and bad things come our way but he assures us that God can use them to accomplish good in our lives or the lives of others neither does this verse promise that God will bring good out of bad for everyone no it says this promise applies only to those who love him but for those of us who know and love god of this we can be certain whatever calamity or adversity we're in we can know with confidence that God has a loving and good purpose in it Johnnie Erickson tada the age of 17 at a swimming accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down for the past 50 years she has been confined to a wheelchair and when she was with us a while ago she said God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves and she went on to say I'd rather be in a wheelchair with Jesus than to be on my feet without him and in those statements she was revealing what really matters to God having a close friendship with him it isn't all about our comfort and our happiness she was revealing why God sometimes permits what he hates to come into our lives sometimes it is to get our attention to wake us up to his reality to not miss the most important decision we'll ever make in life and that's our relationship with him sometimes it may be to draw us closer to himself because perhaps you know our walk with God or more accurately our Christianity is just defined by going through the motions we really don't know him we kind of know about him and he wants to know us he wants to engage us it might be to build our character or maybe to get our eyes off the lesser temporary things of life and to focus more clearly on the eternal things of life things that really going to matter in the end and so first of all James says here when life seems hard and unfair you're going to be tempted to take matters into your own hands but don't do it be patient knowing that God loves you he has your best interests at heart and whether you see it or not is accomplished things accomplishing things for your ultimate good and his ultimate glory furthermore when life seems hard and unfair you're going to be tempted to give up and again James challenges us not to do so but to stand firm to persevere to keep on keeping on look at verse 10 brothers and sisters as an example of patience in the face of suffering take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as you know we count as blessed those who have persevered you have heard of job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about the Lord is full of compassion and mercy James says look at the example of the Old Testament prophets like Jobe who in the midst of unbelievable trouble stood firm and persevered the job was the wealthiest man who ever lived in his day had everything going for him and then in just two short days everything fell apart his children were murdered everything he had was destroyed and he himself ended up with a deadly painful disease his friends said job we have a word for you from God it's all your fault there's some deep dark sin obviously in your life that you haven't dealt with and as if that wasn't enough his wife says God's the problem job curse God and die she had the gift of encouragement you see job had every reason in the world to give up to pack it in and to curse God and to walk away from God but he didn't know he questioned God like 40 chapters worth he let God know his honest feelings because none of this made any sense but he never turned his back on God even though his friends try to convince him that he was being punished by God for something he did wrong and even though his wife was convinced that God is a sadistic despot who delights in our pain job tenaciously hung on to his conviction that God is good job refused to relinquish his faith in God or his belief that God is a loving and a good God even as lamentations 333 says that God does not willingly bring affliction or grief on anyone job said though he slay me yet will I hope in him or take the example of Joseph Joseph is 17 years old when God told him through a dream he had a very special plan for his life including that he would be in a position of power not only over his family but over Nations Joseph innocently at least we believe it was pretty innocently he goes to his family his brothers included and he tells them about this dream and his brothers who have already been struggling with some Envy toward Joseph you know this pretty much pushes them over the edge they're totally incensed with his apparent egotism and they sell him into slavery he's taken to Egypt where he sold to be a slave in the house of the captain of the guard a man named Potiphar now joseph´s a good-looking fellow and before long his master's wife tries to seduce him and joseph wants to live his life God's Way and so he refuses and he literally runs out of the house but you see he has scorned Potiphar's wife who now accuses him of rape and so he ends up in prison and spends the next ten years pretty much his 20s in bondage and misery and you know we say that so quickly ten years ten years in prison for something he's innocent of his entire 20s in bondage some of you in college feel that sometimes now imagine what Joseph must be feeling what he must be thinking at this point God remember this plan that that that you had for my life you know people are going to actually bow down and serve me what was I just did I just make that up what was that really from you so far Lord I've been beaten up I've been thrown in a pit I've been sold into slavery and now I'm rotting in prison did I miss something did I do something to deserve this undoubtedly his hope was fleeting despair was setting in and some of you know what this is like some of you have experienced this in your marriage you just keep hoping but after a while you feel like you just can't hope anymore or some of you experienced that with your children your children or a child has gone down a bad path in you just keep hoping and praying but at some point you you you just can't go there emotionally anymore you can't take being disappointed one more time some of you battle with an illness and you know the roller coaster of emotions you get good news and then you get bad news you pray until you don't even know what to pray about anymore and after a while you just feel like you can't hope anymore and that must have been how Joseph felt I mean that every turn it just seemed like his situation was going from bad to worse and yet he stood firm he refused to give up he refused to change his mind about God now why was he able to do that because he made a decision to trust God with his life he surrendered his life to God firmly believing that God had his best interests at heart that God was in control that God is a good God who's working out his purposes in his life even though his circumstances seem to communicate the exact opposite and that not only gave him deep peace but it nurtured hope in his life in the midst of the greatest disappointments of life he simply refused to give up when Joseph ended up as a slave and part of his home you know it would have been easy for him to say at that point you know I didn't sign up for this III give up I'm done with this I may have to work for Potiphar the rest of my life but I don't have to like it I mean I'm gonna go on autopilot I'm just going through the motions and yet you see during one of the lowest points of his life Joseph is reminded of a great truth even his job was reminded a truth that was directed at various various characters in the Old Testament of truth that we read in Genesis chapter 39 verse 2 which says and the Lord was with Joseph and the Lord was with Joseph he was not alone the Lord was with him in the midst of his loneliness his hardship and his disappointment because God was with him Joseph made a decision to be faithful and obedient to his God and in doing so he won over the admiration the trust of his master Potiphar who in turn made Joseph his overseer the chief officer of his staff so to speak because Joseph didn't quit he set into motion the deepening of his own faith and the development of his character that would one day enable him to become the most effective leader in all of Egypt and fulfill the role that God had in mind for him now folks I want to remind you that if you're a true follower of Jesus Christ then God has chosen you to play a unique role however small or however significant it may be in the redemption of the world and he has been preparing you for that role all along it may have been at the University of Cairo instead of the dungeons of Cairo but he's been preparing you do you realize that my question is do you ever quit something when you're disappointed or hurt do you ever pack up and run the truth is quitting is always easier than standing firm it's always easier to stop and have a doughnut then run another lap it's always easier to leave a meeting angry a nurse a grudge than it is to stay in that meeting and do the hard work of reconciliation when trouble comes our way the option of giving up on God and quitting you know it can look very appealing perhaps your marriage isn't anything like you thought it would be it requires a lot of hard work can you didn't sign up for this you just want out or maybe you're disappointed with your job or your ministry I mean you had planned for some great things you thought God called you to have a much greater impact than you're having you dreamed that your job your influence your ministry would grow leaps and bounds or you envisioned rapidly kroc climbing the ladder of the organization but here you are it's not anything that you envisioned it to be originally and so you're thinking of bailing out john work berg says quitting may bring temporary relief but every time you do it chisels away at your character and makes quitting a little easier next time strong character and faith in God gets forged when you stand firm even though you feel like giving up that's the kind of resolve that builds great friendships that's the kind of resolve that builds great marriages and families and great churches when people buckle down and say even though life is not turned out the way that I planned or hoped even though I'm disappointed in my present situation God has called me to this and so I'm standing firm I'm not gonna quit I'm gonna be like Joseph whatever you're going through however tempted you are to give up here this God is with you he's working behind the scenes and he's forging your character through it all so don't give up stand firm let him fulfill his purpose for your life well we know the day came when the dream that God had given to Joseph became reality he was miraculously promoted from a prison cell to a palace became second in command and the day came when Joseph's brothers would bow before him begging for food during a time of great famine which you will remember is the reason and the plan that God had for Joseph and Joseph could have made them pay for selling him as a slave some 15 years earlier but Joseph joyously revealed his identity to them because he knew that all the stuff he went through all the hardship and the unfair treatment was part of God's greater plan in life oh he didn't see it at the time but 15 years later as he looked back he saw it as clear as ever and that's why in Genesis 15 verse 19 he said to his brothers who were shaking in their boots he said don't be afraid am I in the place of God you intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives see Joseph realized that even in the darkest moments of those 13 years God was working and folks God takes our choices we must realize this God takes our choices no matter how bad or how sinful they are he weaves them into the outcome of his holy purposes for our lives and that's why he's God and we're not James says be patient stand firm persevere knowing that no person no circumstance can frustrate God's purpose for your life if you're in the middle of one of those 13-year periods of darkness right now I remind you that we serve a good god who sees the whole picture and he has our best interest at heart in all things but God says I need you to trust me I need you to surrender your life completely to me because I see things that you don't see I know things that you don't know jobs life and Joseph's life teach us that God is far more interested in deepening our character and our relationship with him than he is elevating our happiness or our comfort and he will use whatever comes along to shape our character because our ultimate destiny is not so much about what we do with our lives or what we achieve for him but on who we are becoming in him now please understand it's wonderful that in God's plan the second half of job's life was more blessed than the first it's wonderful that in God's plan Joseph went from prison to the palace but we have to remember that sometimes God's plan is that we die in prison and that does not mean that God is any less faithful that does not mean that God loves us any less it does not mean that God is punishing us it does not mean that God does not have a plan for us what it means is that God is sovereign he's in control he's in charge I really wish you know that I could tell you that if you commit yourself to God and you walk in faith everything's going to be just peachy that you will have a nice life and you won't have any problems and there are preachers that will tell you that they'll tell you that if you just follow their prescribed formula you'll get it all I mean you're gonna get the six-figure salary you're gonna get the mansion you're gonna get the girl the Porsche and the white picket fence but it's simply not true look around the world folks there are people in the world millions of people in the world who love Jesus way more than we do and they have next to nothing the truth is sometimes life's really hard and sometimes it doesn't make any sense sometimes it seems unfair and yeah we wonder where God is in all of us it's in those moments when we're disappointed when we're disillusioned with God we have to make a choice we can get bitter and angry we can walk away from God and lose all hope which if you really think about it accomplishes absolutely nothing just leaves us in a state of despair or we can choose to believe what God says about himself and about his love and care for us is true even though it doesn't line up with our present circumstances sometimes this is something that Johnny Erickson says sometimes when you've got all your theological ducks lined up in a row explanations just don't cut it 10 biblical reasons as to why all this negative stuff is happening just doesn't do it what you longed for more than anything during times like that she says is not something but someone the Lord it's like a child who was hurting and in tears looking up in the face of her daddy she's not looking for answers she does not need reasons so much as for daddy just to reach down and to lift her up and hold her close and to say it's okay everything's going to be okay daddy's here that's really what we longed for the fatherly assurance that even though our world is spinning out of control there is one who loves us who is very much in control and that everything will be okay friends I may not be able to tell you why you're facing hardships in your life but as one who has walked through the valley of the shadow of death I can tell you whatever the problem whatever crisis you need not face it alone God's presence is with you his purpose for you does not change whatever path you go on you don't travel it alone he's with you to the very end because he's as real as I am standing here you know so often when we're in the middle of a storm our first response is emotional and that's understandable it's natural but the way to peace is not to respond by what we feel it is to respond by what we know we may not know says Joseph Stoll we may not know how it's all going to work out but we know the God who will work it out and friends one day we're all going to realize the truth that knowing God is better than knowing the outcomes and so relax and the sovereign character of God pray without ceasing but as you do as you wait on the Lord face your circumstances with the sure confidence that God will work all things together for your ultimate good and his ultimate glory and as you do you will discover that when all you have left is God God is enough would you stand for closing prayer just open our hands before the Lord again let's ask those two questions Lord what he is saying to me and Lord what is what is it that you want me to do by what's one step you want me to take what's one attitude you want me to change what's one belief you want me to embrace [Music] I'm just gonna ask our prayer partners if you'd come up and just be at the front facing the congregation and I'm going to also ask any pastors that are here that you would also just make your way up here because friends we want to pray for you we want to pray for anyone here who's just burdened down right now you're dealing with some crisis you're dealing with some issue in your life and you just you just need prayer there are people that are making their way up here Lord about making their way up here who want to pray for you and so I'm just gonna encourage you even right now just to get up make your way out into the aisle and come down here and spend some time in prayer over this issue surrendering your life completely to God and surrendering this issue to him you just come we're just gonna wait a few moments I'm gonna close in prayer in just a few moments [Music] let us pray our Heavenly Father thank you for these words the inspire James to write the challenge Lord to be patient and to persevere even when life is hard and so unfair Laura there are times when we can totally relate to how Joseph must have felt when he was forgotten in prison but thank you for the reminder that while he was forgotten by others Lord he was not forgotten by you we affirmed today that you are a good faithful loving God we see your love demonstrated through your son Jesus who became flesh died on a cross so that we might have eternal life and be restored in our relationship with you we know that but sometimes Lord our circumstances in life just overwhelm us sometimes it feels like you're nowhere to be found and so lord I pray for anyone here who's feeling that right now that you will give them help Lord that you will remind them by your spirit that you love them that you have their best interests at heart and that you can be trusted Lord I pray that you will deepen our conviction that you are who you say you are and that we just won't let that go in the midst of whatever it is we're facing that we will not run away from you Lord but we will turn to you will run to you for when we do you will meet us Lord and give us the strength we need to keep on keepin on I pray for marriages here today I pray for families I pray for friendships I pray for individuals Oh God that you will bring hope and healing into these lives Lord into these relationships we pray in the precious name of Jesus and now may the Lord bless you and keep you may Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his precious peace in the name of God the Father the Son the Holy Spirit amen thanks for listening we hope this message has impacted you we'd like to challenge you to take it one step further and get connected for any questions or prayer please visit our website at sea s Church CA you can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

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Views: 3,613

Rating: 4.7468352 out of 5

Keywords: Centre Street Church, Centre, Street, Church, Calgary, Calgary Church, CSC, Central Campus, cschurch, mycschurch, Christian, Faith, Jesus

Id: JUfigYh4Zl4

Length: 49min 59sec (2999 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 13 2017