Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
28, 2019
Introduction
The book of James is possibly one of the earliest things written in the New
Testament.
It’s thought to have been written around AD 40-50
It was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus.
He was a half-brother because though they both had Mary for a mother, they
had different fathers.
James’ father was Joseph, while Jesus’ father was God.
He was known in the early church as “James the Just” because of his great
devotion to God and purity of life.
Ancient historian Eusebius describes James’ prayer life:
was frequently found upon his knees begging
forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a
camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and
asking forgiveness for the people[1]
The book begins like a letter.
The book is a legacy of the wisdom that James had learned over the years.
His teachings are going to be very practical and will draw much from Jesus’
Sermon on the Mount, as well as the book of Proverbs.
This book is sometimes referred to as the “Proverbs of the New Testament”.
The way the letter is laid out –
Chapter one is filled with short little statements that are sort of a hint
of the themes that will be discussed a bit longer in chapters 2-5.
Background
The history of James
(Mark 3:20–21 NKJV)
—20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so
much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard
about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out
of His mind.”
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, his brothers didn’t believe in Jesus.
They even thought Jesus was crazy.
(Mark 3:31–35 NKJV)
—31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they
sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around
Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside
seeking You.” 33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and
said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever
does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
It sounds like Jesus felt that those who believed and followed Him were
closer than His actual family.
(Mark 6:1–6 NKJV) —1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His
disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He
began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him
were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things?
And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works
are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son
of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and
Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they
were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet
is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in
his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work
there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the
villages in a circuit, teaching.
The people of Nazareth knew who James was.
(John 7:2–5 NKJV) —2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into
Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be
known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
His brothers did not believe.
(1 Corinthians
15:3–8 NKJV) —3 For I delivered to you first of all
that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He
rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He
was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that
He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due
time.
James was among those who saw Jesus after His resurrection.
(1
Corinthians 15:7 NKJV) After that He was seen by James,
then by all the apostles.
(Acts 1:14 NKJV) These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
James was among those who were meeting in the upper room after Jesus
ascended into heaven.
He would have been there on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell.
(Acts 12:16–17
NKJV) —16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door
and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But
motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the
Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to
James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.
James is considered one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
(Galatians 1:18–20
NKJV) —18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s
brother. 20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed,
before God, I do not lie.)
James was one of those that Paul consulted with very early after having
come to believe in Jesus.
(Acts 15:13–21
NKJV) —13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and
brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the
first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is
written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will
rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will
rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek
the Lord, Even all the
Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who
does all these things.’ 18 “Known to God from eternity are all
His works. 19 Therefore I judge that we should not
trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from
blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him
in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
At the first church council in Jerusalem, it was James that summarized what
had been said and who gave the decree of what the church thought was correct
concerning the Gentiles being saved.
(Galatians 2:9
NKJV) and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to
the circumcised.
I believe this is another reference to what happened in Acts 15.
James saw his ministry being focused on reaching the Jews.
(Galatians 2:11–13
NKJV) —11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face,
because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from
James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and
separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so
that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
After the conference in Acts 15, there was controversy in Antioch when some
of the Judaizers who were in the church at Jerusalem exerted a little peer
pressure on Peter. That these men “came
from James” doesn’t mean that they expressed what James wanted them to.
(Acts 21:18–19
NKJV) —18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all
the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in
detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
On Paul’s last journey through Jerusalem, James was still there, and Paul
checked in with him.
In early church writings, he is known as “James the Just” because of his
piety and reverence for the law.
Ancient church historian Eusebius mentions James’ prayer life:
was frequently found upon his knees begging
forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a
camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and
asking forgiveness for the people[2]
There are various accounts of James’ death.
There are at least three historical accounts (Eusebius, Hegesippus,
Josephus).
It seems that he had been preaching to the Jewish leaders.
The high priest Ananus took him to the pinnacle
of the temple, and when he refused to recant his belief in Jesus, he was tossed
down.
He didn’t die from the fall. Some
began to throw stones at him until a man came up with a club and killed him.
he was thrown from the pinnacle of the
temple, and was beaten to death with a club[3]
he delivered them
to be stoned[4]
This all happened shortly before the last Jewish revolt.
He became a true witness, both to Jews and
Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian besieged them.[5]
His death took place somewhere around AD 66.
1:1-4 Trials
:1 James, a bondservant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad: Greetings.
:1 James
In Greek his name is Ἰάκωβος
(Iakobos), or the Greek equivalent of “Jacob”.
There were two other men by the same name among Jesus’ twelve disciples
(James the son of Zebedee, James the son of Alphaeus)
James is one of those people
mentioned in the New Testament that we don’t really pay attention to, but he’s
there quite often in the background.
Our first glimpse of him comes as
the crowds around Jesus are growing in number:
(Mark 3:20–21 NKJV)
—20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so
much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard
about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out
of His mind.”
The text is a little vague, “people” translates the phrase, “those from
him”
The phrase “His own people” is a reference to Jesus’ family.
They thought Jesus was crazy.
(Mark 6:2–6 NKJV) —2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.
And many hearing Him were astonished, saying,
“Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is
this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James,
Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here
with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus
said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among
his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could
do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and
healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their
unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
John records,
(John 7:5 NKJV) For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
Something would change all that. Paul records that after Jesus rose from
the dead:
(1 Corinthians 15:5–7
NKJV) —5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of
whom the greater part remain to the present, but some
have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James,
then by all the apostles.
Some time between that first Resurrection Sunday
and the day that Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus appeared to His half-brother
James.
When the apostles were in the upper room in Jerusalem waiting for the
coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Luke records,
(Acts 1:14 NKJV) These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
James would have been in that upper room when the disciples were filled
with the Holy Spirit.
James would eventually be recognized as the leader of the Jerusalem church.
Lesson
Believe in Jesus
Some people say they want proof
before believing in Jesus.
The issue is not about
“scientific proof”, but “historical proof”.
Is there proof that Jesus was an
historical figure, that He lived, that He died, and that He rose from the dead?
The reliability of historical
truth is based on the witnesses to an event.
In court, truth is determined by
evidence and witnesses.
The New Testament contains the record
of numerous eye witnesses who recorded their testimony of Jesus’
Ministry
Arrest
Trial
Scourging
Crucifixion
Death
Burial
Resurrection
He kept showing up for a period
of forty days before ascending into heaven.
Those witnesses ALL went to
their grave proclaiming these things to be true.
James became one of those
witnesses.
During Jesus’ entire ministry,
James did NOT believe.
Something changed all that.
Jesus rose from
the dead.
Is it time that you stop
ignoring the evidence and join James in believing in Jesus?
Lesson
Recognize God’s work
There’s an interesting thing
that Jesus said during one of those times when it was evident that some of the
people closest to Him didn’t initially believe in Him.
(Mark 6:4 NKJV) But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in
his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
I imagine it might have been
hard growing up with Jesus – after all, He never sinned, right?
For those three and a half years
that Jesus made it clear that He was the Messiah, James just couldn’t see it.
He couldn’t get past the fact
that something special was happening in his older brother.
For some of you, there are
people close to you in whom God is at work.
It may be that they’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, and you think it can’t be
real.
And yet if you
look close, you see that things are changing in their
life.
It may be that someone close to
you has started to do ministry, and you just can’t stop thinking of them as
anything else other than your “stupid brother” (or sister, son, daughter…)
Paul wrote,
(1 Corinthians
3:5–7 NLT) —5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is
Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each
of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted
the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it
grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering.
What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
We get focused
on the people God uses, but the important thing is to recognize that God is the
one at work.
:1 a bondservant of God and …
the Lord Jesus Christ
bondservant – doulos – a slave,
bondman, man of servile condition
Paul called James “the Lord’s
brother” (Gal. 1:19)
(Galatians 1:19
NKJV) —19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s
brother.
James just refers to himself as a slave of God, and a slave of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
He recognized his brother,
Jesus, as his “Lord”.
He recognized Jesus as the
Messiah, the “Christ”.
:1 To the twelve tribes
scattered abroad – diaspora – a
scattering, dispersion; of Israelites dispersed among foreign nations
This is a reference to the
nation of Israel which had been scattered among all the Gentile nations.
While Paul had a calling to
reach out to the Gentiles, James had a burden for the Jewish people.
Initially, the entire church was
Jewish.
Jesus was Jewish.
All the disciples were Jewish.
It wasn’t until Peter had this
strange vision and the gospel was preached to a Roman Centurion named Cornelius
(Acts 10), that the first Gentiles began to be saved.
Just as James had a burden for
the Jews, Paul the apostle had a burden for the Gentiles.
As more and more Gentiles were
saved under Paul’s ministry, a tension grew in the early church about their
salvation.
Did Gentiles need to be
circumcised and become Jewish in order to be saved.
The church decided to handle the
controversy by holding its first big church council in Jerusalem in AD 50.
Paul and Barnabas were there to
share what had been happening around the world.
Peter also got up and shared how
the first Gentiles were saved on that day at Cornelius’ house.
Luke recorded that it was James
who led this council and who gave the final word that Gentiles were indeed
saved by grace, and didn’t need to become circumcised, but to stay away from
immorality and doing things that would stumble the Jews (Acts 15).
(Acts 15:13–21
NKJV) —13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and
brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the
first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is
written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will
rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will
rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek
the Lord, Even all the
Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who
does all these things.’ 18 “Known to God from eternity are all
His works. 19 Therefore I judge that we should not
trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him
in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
Paul gave his recollection of
the council when he wrote,
(Galatians 2:9
NKJV) and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to
the circumcised.
Notice that James considered his ministry to be to the
circumcised, the Jews.
Though this book seems to have
been written before the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 (AD 50), notice that
James’ heart is for the Jews.
:2 My brethren, count it
all joy when you fall into various trials,
count – ἡγέομαι hegeomai – to lead; to consider, deem,
account, think
Aorist middle imperative
There are two imperatives –
“count” and “let it have”
joy – chara – joy, gladness
:2 when you fall into
fall into – peripipto – to fall into
as to be encompassed
Aorist active subjunctive
It’s literally falling “into”
something where you’re surrounded on all sides. Luke uses it…
(Luke 10:30 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his
clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And then the walls start closing
in on you.
Sometimes with trials you aren’t
really looking for trouble but you just “fall into” the middle of it.
:2 various trials
trials – πειρασμός peirasmos – enticement to sin, adversity
Though it’s possible that our
passage could be talking about both types of trials, it’s probably more likely
to be talking about difficult times in general (adversity).
various – poikilos – a various
colors, variegated; of various sorts
There isn’t just one flavor of
trial – they come in all sorts of shapes and sized.
It might be illness, financial, relationships,
or even outright persecution.
When James was head of the
church in Jerusalem, life was very hard.
He knew all about “trials”.
There was persecution of the
church.
The apostles had been arrested
several times.
James the son of Zebedee, John’s
brother, had already been killed.
Peter had been imprisoned for a
time.
There was a famine that impacted
Jerusalem (Acts 11:27-30)
(Acts 11:27–30
NKJV) —27 And in these days prophets came from
Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then one of them, named Agabus,
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine
throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to
send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 This they
also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of
Barnabas and Saul.
History tells us that a few
years after the writing of this letter James himself would be martyred.
The Jewish leaders had been
trying to get James to stop telling everyone that Jesus was the Messiah, but
James wouldn’t stop.
James was taken to the pinnacle
of the temple and thrown off it, except that didn’t kill him. So they starting
throwing stones at him, and when that didn’t kill him, someone came up with a
big club and beat him to death.
There are various accounts of James’ death.
There are at least three historical accounts (Eusebius, Hegesippus,
Josephus).
It seems that he had been preaching to the Jewish leaders.
The high priest Ananus took him to the pinnacle
of the temple, and when he refused to recant his belief in Jesus, he was tossed
down.
He didn’t die from the fall. Some
began to throw stones at him until a man came up with a club and killed him.
he was thrown from the
pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club[6]
he
delivered them to be stoned[7]
This all happened shortly before the last Jewish revolt.
He became a true witness,
both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian
besieged them.[8]
His death took place somewhere around AD 66.
And James says to be “joyful”
about these things?
:3 knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience.
knowing – ginosko – to learn to
know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
present active participle
:3 the testing of your faith
testing – δοκίμιον dokimion – the proving; that by which
something is tried or proved
It’s testing to see if something
is genuine or not.
Difficulties are a way of
testing to see if our faith is real or not.
In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and
no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into
molds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to
smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course
many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were
passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in
circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no
counterfeit money. They were men of honor who put only genuine full weighted
money into circulation. Such men were called “dokimos” or “approved”. (Donald
Barnhouse)
:3 testing … produces
patience
produces – katergazomai – to perform,
accomplish, achieve; result in; to fashion i.e. render one fit for a thing
Present middle indicative
patience – ὑπομονή hupomone – steadfastness, constancy, endurance
This is literally “remaining under”.
It’s the characteristic of a person who will not bail on their faith, but
who will continue clinging to Jesus even when things are hardest.
How do we develop patience?
By going through trials.
It’s like building muscle – you have to stress the
muscle if you want to build it – you need to exercise.
:4 But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
patience – hupomone – steadfastness,
constancy, endurance
in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his
deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest
trials and sufferings
have – echo
– to have, i.e. to hold
Present active imperative
As a present tense it’s probably
carrying the idea of being “continuous”.
Letting something have it’s perfect work doesn’t sound like something we actively
“do”, but something we “let” happen.
work – ergon
– any product whatever,
anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; an act, deed
:4 that you may be
perfect and complete
“Perfect” and “complete” is what
“patience” will make you.
Both of these words speak of the same thing: Growing up.
perfect – τέλειος teleios – brought to its end; full grown,
mature
complete – ὁλόκληρος holokleros
– complete in all its
parts, in no part wanting or unsound
lacking – leipo – to leave; to
be destitute of, to lack; to be wanting, to fail
Lesson
Difficulty + Endurance = Maturity
Difficult times are like putting
metal into a furnace.
(1 Peter 1:6–7a
NLT) —6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you
must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials
will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and
purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.
When gold is put into a furnace,
the metal turns to liquid. The
impurities in the metal rise to the surface where the goldsmith can skim it off
until the metal is pure.
That’s what happens to our faith
when we allow ourselves to go through the process of the furnace.
“Endurance” is learning to stay
in the furnace.
Do you remember this from 1960?
Doesn’t the
idea of being Peter Pan sound fun?
Flying? Fighting Captain Hook? No grownups?
In the 1991 movie “Hook”, Robin
Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan who goes back to Never Land to find his
children.
Don’t get me
wrong here – I understand the idea behind the Peter Pan/Hook story – about not
losing the joy and innocence of childhood (that’s what I love about being a
grandfather).
And that “Hook”
scene is a pretty heart-stirring scene, but think of
it from this perspective – those “children”, the “Lost Boys”, are all forty
year old men who never grew up. That’s
kind of sad…
I believe it’s been said that an
addict will stay emotionally frozen at the age they started their addiction
until they learn to deal with their addiction.
I’ve seen fifty-year-old men
throwing temper tantrums like a child because they didn’t get their way.
Why is this so? I wonder if it isn’t related to the idea that
an addict “self-medicates” or indulges their addiction rather than feel
whatever pain or difficulty they are going through.
In the Greek text there were two
commands (imperatives) in our passage today, two things that James asks me to
do.
:2 count it all joy
Lesson
Perspective brings joy
The first command is that I need
to “count” my trials as “joy”.
count – ἡγέομαι hegeomai – to consider, account, think
I need to think through the
process if I’m to see the bigger picture.
Seeing the bigger picture in my
trials gives me the ability to endure them with joy instead of anger or
depression.
I apologize for the low
resolution of this video…
We need to keep
in mind what we’re doing in life, and why we’re doing it – kind of like
building an airplane in the air while it’s flying.
We endure
because we want to grow and be useful to Jesus.
You see this joy in persecution
in the early church.
When Peter and John were
repeatedly arrested and even beaten for their faith,
(Acts 5:41 NKJV) So they departed from the presence
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame
for His name.
Paul and Silas had been arrested
and beaten during their trip to Philippi…
(Acts 16:25 NKJV) But at midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
My attitude helps the refining
process.
(Hebrews 12:1–3
NKJV) —1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider
Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become
weary and discouraged in your souls.
The word “consider” may be different than the one in our
passage, but the truth is still the same – I need to think about these things so I won’t quit.
In our passage, the perspective I need to focus on is maturity (teleios).
I want to grow up.
Maturity only comes from enduring difficulty.
You may not understand why you are going through a difficult time, but you
can count on the fact that God loves you, He knows what He’s doing, and He’s
working to grow you through it.
Paul wrote,
(2 Corinthians
12:10 NKJV) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs,
in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I
am strong.
The second command is
:4 let patience have its perfect work
Lesson
Let it work
This is a command from the verb
“to have”.
It’s a present tense, meaning it
has a continuous aspect.
Patience (endurance, hupomone) will
result in a “perfect work”, my maturity.
But I need to give patience time
to work.
There are times when I need to
run from trouble as fast as I can (“flee youthful lusts”)
But there are times when enduring
the trouble is the very thing I need to grow.
Illustration
PUSHING AGAINST THE ROCK
There was a man who was asleep
one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior
appeared. The Lord told the man He had a work for him to do,
and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained
that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely
against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock pushing with all his
might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that
his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of
discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the
man’s mind such as; “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time
and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move
it? etc.”
The man began to think the task
was impossible and that he was a failure. He was discouraged and disheartened.
“Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just
put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good
enough.”
Yet one day he decided to make
it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he
said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to
do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged
that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
To this the Lord responded
compassionately, “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you
accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your
strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected
you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your strength
spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?
Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant
pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you
have grown much and your abilities now surpass that
which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to
be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This
you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.
That’s not a
perfect illustration. God doesn’t always
remove the rock.
But we do grow
as we keep pushing.
Are you struggling in your
marriage?
Don’t be quick to bail on your
partner.
Are you having trouble at work?
Sometimes the lessons you’re
learning at work are not just important for you, but for the others who are
watching you and your faithfulness to God.
[1]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 125). New York: Christian Literature
Company.
[2]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 125). New York: Christian Literature
Company.
[3]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 125). New York: Christian Literature
Company.
[5]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 127). New York: Christian Literature
Company.
[6]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 125). New York: Christian Literature
Company.
[8]
Eusebius of Caesaria. (1890). The Church History of Eusebius. In P. Schaff
& H. Wace (Eds.), A. C. McGiffert (Trans.), Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in
Praise of Constantine (Vol. 1, p. 127). New York: Christian Literature
Company.