The Fortunes Of God's People James 1:9-12

Adapted from a Tim Bond sermon

http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-fortunes-of-gods-people-tim-bond-

sermon-on-faith-48424.asp

In China many years ago there lived an old man, with his son and a horse. Back in

those days, having a horse was like owning a car today, so you can well imagine how valuable a property the animal must have

been. One morning, when the man went to his field to feed the horse, the animal was

gone.

People in the village said, "What bad luck to lose a horse!" But the old man said, "Good luck or bad luck, who’s to say. The horse happens to be gone, and we’ll leave it at

that." The people thought the old man silly, and wondered, "How could losing a

horse not be a bad thing?"

A couple days later, the horse returned and brought with it a beautiful mare.

People came by again. "You were right. Not only was your horse not stolen, it brought

you another horse. How lucky you are!" But the old man said, "Good luck or bad luck,

who’s to say. It’s not always a good thing to have another horse. The fact is, now I have two horses, and we’ll leave it at that." This time, his neighbors just shook their heads.

"How could it not be a good thing to get another horse for free?"

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the old man’s son, while trying to break in the new horse, fell and broke his leg. When the neighbors learned of the incident, they said, "You’re

right. Since the new horse caused your son to break his leg, maybe it wasn’t exactly a

good thing to get another horse. In fact, you might say it was unlucky for you that

another horse showed up.

Same as before, the old man was indifferent about the whole thing, and said, "Good luck or bad luck, who’s to say. My son fell off and broke his leg, and we’ll

leave it at that." This time the neighbors thought that maybe

the old man was right, and went back home. A few days later, a war broke out and

a government official came into town. He drafted all the able-bodied young men to go

and fight in the war.

However the old man’s son was exempt because of his broken leg.

I think that James would have liked that story. He seemed to enjoy an ironic twist or

two as he began his letter with such a challenging thought as “consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials,”In verses 9-12 of the first chapter, he gives

us another ironic turn of a phrase.

James 1:9 NET Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high

position. 10 But the rich person's pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will

wither away.

12 Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be

genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.With just a quick read that passage can be

tough to understand. To reveal its full message takes a little study & putting it in context. It is obviously talking about rich

and poor people, but just what is he saying about them.

After a little pondering and study, I came to understand what I believe James wants us to recognize. The fortunes of God’s people

cannot be determined simply by their financial status. That is a good lesson for those of us who live in 21st century USA.

Our culture tends to believe that if a person is wealthy they have it made, while those

who are poor face difficulties and pain because of their poverty.

James turns that kind of wisdom on its head as he challenges us to recognize that

neither poverty nor wealth is a means of determining the fortunes of a person.

“the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position.”

In verse 9 James points out how fortunate the people we think of as unfortunate in this

world really are.

It’s pretty common for people whose situation in this world is not too great to find encouragement in the reward that God has

in store for them.

The Hebrew people, living in the wilderness during the exodus eagerly anticipated living

in the Promised Land.

The exiles during their captivity in Babylon longed to have their homeland back.

The slaves in the 1800’s yearned for the freedom that heaven would bring so they

sang songs like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Comin’ For To Carry Me Home."

They say if you really want to get goose-bumps, go to a funeral of a black believer in the poor end of a city. The descriptions of the pleasures of heaven supposedly will

make both your mouth and your eyes water. When you talk to people struggling with

terrible pain and hardship, if they are believers, they long for the blessings of heaven in a way that a healthy person

doesn’t truly understand.

Out of hardship comes the deep desire for the blessing of God, and there is a blessing

in that understanding that can’t be experienced by someone who is wealthy or

healthy. So, when we read verse 9 “Nowthe believer of humble means should take pride in his high position.” I think James is challenging those who are going through tough times be grateful for the blessings

that can only come from difficulties.

I think this is something of what Jesus means when he says in Luke 6:20 NET

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the

kingdom of God belongs to you. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be

satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

There is something fortunate about suffering misfortune, that James points out

in verse 9.

Verses 10-11 can be a little tougher to understand. 10 But the rich person's pride

should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will

wither away.

The commentaries were quick to point out how riches were temporary and passed

away like a wild flower. They would explain the image about the flower and the sun in Judea. You see in the cool spring flowers

come up and bloom beautifully, but then the Summer arrives.

The Middle East is especially known for Siroccos, scorching winds that are like a

convection oven. With little water, blistering heat and wind, the flowers are baked and

destroyed. The commentators made one of 2 mistakes. They either said that was what

would happen to riches that people gathered up. Like Jesus said “Moth and rust destroy them.” (Matthew 6:19) While that is

true, that isn’t what these verses are saying.

10 But the rich person's pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11 For the

sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and

its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither

away.James says the “rich person in the midst of

his pursuits will wither away.”

Others picked up on that and said that James must not be talking about rich

Christians. Some of them did a little rich person bashing. They quoted Jesus saying,

“it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew

19:24 NET) and determined that James was talking about the eternal punishment due

the rich.

But I couldn’t go for that, because I knew that some of God’s most honored servants were rich. Abraham was incredibly wealthy. Job ran an upper-class household. David as

king lived in a palace. Even Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimethea, Zacchaeus, these

were all rich people who did God’s will and God seemed to be pleased with them.

Looking at the “BIG” picture, every one of us is rich beyond belief compared to

millions of people in third-world countries. It doesn’t seem consistent to believe that God

automatically condemns rich people for their wealth. Besides the passage is best understood that James is talking to both

rich and poor brothers.

But the more I pondered the passage, the more I listened to it, the more I looked to the

context of the passage, the light began to dawn. You see, James has never quit

talking about suffering. Remember the first couple of verses in chapter 1. In that twist of words, James told us to rejoice in trials

and suffering. Then he talked about wisdom and how to deal with trials wisely.

Now he is talking about two different types of trials, the trial of poverty and the trial of wealth. That sounds foreign to our 21st

century ears, but hang with me and hear what he is saying. In his next breath, in v.

12 he comes back and says, “Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he

has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those

who love him."

You see, James is talking about the fortune of those who are unfortunate in this world

and the misfortune of those who seem very fortunate in this world. He’s playing with

words to get us to grasp an eternal concept. The fact he is trying to get us to understand is that both being poor and being rich have their own type of trials that go along with

those circumstances.

Not having enough money is the easiest to understand. We know how not having food or clothes is tough. But in our culture it is

difficult to grasp the fact that being rich is a trial. We have been taught that if you are wealthy enough, you can buy happiness. Just a little more will give you everything

you want. If you want to be satisfied, gain a little more material possessions and you will

be able to buy satisfaction.

But it isn’t true. The real truth is that wealth has a tendency to so confuse a human

being’s perspective that it can be eternally damning. Money is one of the most

seductive idols of our time, and the desire for it leads millions to believe that they are fortunate if they have it and unfortunate if they don’t. That is a false perception that

can ruin your life if you aren’t careful.

As a matter of fact you and I have to be very careful living in this culture to keep our

priorities straight. We live better than the kings of years gone by. Caesar couldn’t have contacted anyone in the world on a

moment’s notice. King Solomon didn’t have access to 1/10th of the knowledge we have

at our fingertips. In the scope of world history, we are among the wealthiest 1%,

the elite of history.

And that is why some of the truths of Scripture are hard for us to grasp

sometimes. That is why we misunderstand the words about the rich, because they are speaking to us. You see, the trial that rich people go through is that they, we, tend to believe ourselves to be self-sufficient. We tend to trust in ourselves so much that we

can’t bring ourselves to trust in God.

We tend to think we can gain happiness and security by our own means rather than the way God says, so we work harder, buy

more, gather and store, collect and spend in an effort to find fulfillment. But in the end, both rich and poor suffer the same fate,

death. I think James mentions it about the rich just because they needed to be

reminded of it. This life doesn’t last forever, it will fade away.

He’s warning the rich "You better glory in eternity rather than getting too hung up in the here and now." And that is really hard.

You see when your hands and pockets and garages and basements and safety deposit boxes are full, it is difficult to say "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling."

But Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:9 NET For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus

Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich. Jesus Christ

died so that everybody might have the opportunity to know the fortunes of being

members of God’s people. You and I, whether rich or poor can become members

of the wealthiest people in all eternity.

We can know the fullness and satisfaction of true eternal wealth. You see, if you are a Christian, your fortune is not determined by your checking account balance, or the trade

in value of your car, or the equity of your property, or the size of your portfolio. Your

fortune is determined by the glorious riches of your Heavenly Father. Listen to what

Paul prayed for us.

Ephesians 1:17 NET I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of

him, 18— since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the

wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who

believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.

Do you see what Paul is saying? We are given a great inheritance because of our

relationship with our Heavenly Father. But far too often we get so hung up on material wealth that we miss out on the blessing of fully understanding and appreciating what God has done for us. In our culture, we are so prosperous that when we think of riches our minds flash to the green of our currency

rather than the true gold of our eternal inheritance.

We miss out on the blessings of being children of the King of the universe because we are so involved in the matters of gaining wealth for ourselves. But God has so much more in store for us. Imagine you are sitting at home and the doorbell rings. At the door

are two guys in dark suits who tell you "We’ve got bad news and good news." A distant relative of yours has died and left

you an inheritance.

There is reason to believe it is large, but right now we know for sure it is around

$5,000.00. If you would like, you could join in the investigation to learn the scope of

inheritance. Now $5,000.00 from nowhere is nothing to sneeze at, and you are thrilled

to get it. You decide to go along with the investigation on the chance that it is worth more than that. Before long you learn that

your part of the estate is worth at least $50,000.00. Now you’re really getting

interested.

You continue to investigate and 1 year later the tally is at $500,000.00. The deeper you dig, the greater you find your inheritance to

be. You think to yourself, “What if I had been satisfied with the initial $5,000.00.

What would you have missed?” That is the way it is when you become a Christian. At

first you are thrilled with the idea of not going to hell. Far too many people never

get past that.

But the deeper you go, the more you come to understand the fullness of God’s riches

and the depth of His love for you. You study His Word and come to know Him better and

better. Before you know it there is a richness and a depth to your spirituality. It’s not that life gets any easier or smoother, but

you learn how to handle it better.

As you continue to grow in your faith you discover there is a depth to your

relationships with other people that you never knew was possible. Before you

related to others superficially, "Hi, how are you?" but now there is a fellowship in which you really know people and you allow them

to really know you. Life isn’t just going through the motions any

more.

Your life becomes really significant as you become purposeful in pursuing the cause of

Christ in your work, your family and even your leisure.

Do you know what is happening here? You are coming to understand “the wealth of his

glorious inheritance in the saints,” You haven’t even gotten to the heavenly portion, you have only scratched the surface of this endless supply of blessing that God has in

store for you.

Yet the more you invest yourself in it, the more there is for you. What an incredible

blessing the grace of God is!But don’t forget, that grace did not come cheap. Remember that passage we read earlier? 2 Corinthians 8:9 NET For you

know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty

could become rich.

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to give us eternal riches. The truth is without

accepting his gift of grace it doesn’t matter what your checkbook balance or your equity

is, you are living a life of poverty. Without him, everything you have will dry up

and blow away some day.

But the truth is, if you are willing to bow your knee and suffer the humiliation of

saying "I don’t have a clue about this life or about eternity without Jesus as my Lord," then you are on the road to riches that will last forever. It seems to me that James is

saying that a person’s fortune is not determined by the quality and quantity of their assets, but by their relationship to

Jesus Christ. From an eternal perspective, that is all that really matters.