Trials Of Poverty And WealthJames 1:9-11
INTRODUCTION
1. What would you do if tomorrow you lost
everything that you have, or you inherited the wealth that you could only dream
about? How would either of these
scenarios change you walk with the Lord Jesus Christ? 2. So much of our time is often taken up with
how we can make more money to pay for this or that, or worrying about what will
happen to the wealth that we have accumulated.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our whole attitude toward wealth
should be turned completely around. Our
focus is too often on what we do or do not have in this world rather than
putting our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. James has already discussed how we can
turn trials into triumph, dealing with trials in general (1:2-8) 4. In verses 9-11, he discusses specifically
the trials of being poor and being rich, and the attitudes we should have. 5. At first glance it might look like James
has just changed the subject and launched himself off into a new direction, but
that would not be correct. When you
study the Word of God, you need to study it paragraph by paragraph, and then
verse by verse. Just as we learned in
Composition class to write in such a way that we develop our theme paragraph by
paragraph, so do the Biblical writers.
James has already told us that we need to be joyful in the face of
trials, and now he will tell the poor and rich Christians that they should
“rejoice” or glory in what God has and is doing in their life. I. THE TRIALS OF POVERTY AND WEALTH
(Prov 30:7-9) “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me
with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the
LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” A. IN
"POVERTY", WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO CURSE GOD... 1. Notice that Solomon says that often when a
person is poor they steal and they take the Lord’s name in vain. 2. Like Job's wife wanted her husband to do,
when they had lost everything - Job 2:9 Dost
thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 3. And as many do today when things don't go
well 4. How often have you found yourself getting
upset when things did not work out for a particular job which could have
provided nicely for you and your family, or when a health need takes away all
the money you had saved up? B. IN
"WEALTH", WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO FORGET GOD... 1. On this subject, Solomon feared that when
he was wealthy he would deny God and forget that it was God who had provided
for him. 2. This is what God warned Israel that could
might happen to them - Deut. 8:10-14,17 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt
bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that
thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his
judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast
eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when
thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied,
and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou
forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt,
from the house of bondage; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might
of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 3. And as it did in fact happen to them - Hosea 13:5-6 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of
great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were
filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. II. THE REASONS FOR JOY IN POVERTY OR
WEALTH (James 1:9-11) Introductory
Remarks: I believe one of the main points that James wishes
to make in these three verses is that whether a believer is poor or rich, we
are all part of one body, the Body of Christ, the Church. Our wealth or lack thereof does not
determine our maturity in Christ or place in the church. James is going to deal more with this
subject in chapter 2. We each need to
understand that in the church there are going to be all economic levels but
that should not separate us from one another - for Christ hasn’t! The Body of Christ, the Church, provides a level
field for all believers. A. IF WE
ARE "POOR", THEN WE CAN REJOICE THAT WE HAVE BEEN
"EXALTED"! 1. God has chosen the "poor" to be
rich in faith - Is
66:1-2 Thus saith the LORD,
The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that
ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath
mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man
will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word.; James 2:5 READ a.
It is the poor who first had the gospel preached to them - Lk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, b.
It is the poor slave who becomes Christ's "freedman" - 1 Cor. 7:21-22a Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but
if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord,
being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being
free, is Christ’s servant. 2. So even if economically poor, we can still
be "spiritually rich" in Chirst - Rev 2:8-9 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;
These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know
thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue
of Satan. Illustration:
Nuthin’ Is Sumpthin’
B. IF WE
ARE "RICH", THEN WE CAN REJOICE THAT WE HAVE BEEN "MADE
LOW"! 1. The rich are "made low" or
humbled by their: a.
Becoming Christ's "slave" - 1 Co 7:22b likewise also he that is called, being free, is
Christ’s servant. b.
This is the state they ought to rejoice in, even as the poor saints ought to
rejoice in their exaltation. 2. Why is it good that the rich saint rejoice
in being so "humbled"? a.
Riches are temporary - James 1:10-11 The picture that James wants us to see is
that of a beautiful field of flowering
grass. Suddenly, a hot desert wind,
called a sirocco, moves over this field of beautiful flowers and they all dry
up and blow away. James equates what
happened in this scene to what will happen to the rich person whose trust is in
their riches. Prov 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches
certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.;
b.
Riches are unable to redeem our souls - Heb. 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were
not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: c.
The love of money is a "quagmire" and a source of
"self-inflicted injuries" - 1 Tim. 6:9-10 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.; Rev. 3:16-17 So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out
of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked: d.
So often those who are rich in the things of this world become self-satisfied
with those things and lose their fervor for the Lord. When we are finally brought to the place of understanding that
the riches of this world are just that, of this world, and that riches are here
one moment and can be gone the next, we are brought “down” to the place where
we need to be in our daily walk with the Lord.
Our security is not in riches but in the riches of our Lord. CONCLUSION 1. Even in the trials of poverty or wealth,
there can be a cause for rejoicing! 2. For Jesus is "The Great
Equalizer" a.
Exalting the poor who are rich in faith b.
Humbling the wealthy by basing their salvation not on wealth, but on that which
cannot be bought: the blood of Jesus
and the obedience of a humble and contrite spirit 3. Keeping these thoughts in mind will help
us learn to be content in whatever financial conditions we may find ourselves;
as Paul wrote: Phil.
4:11-13 READ The important question is not "How rich
are you?" but "How rich IN FAITH are you?" 
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