Bridge Church Vancouver

Last week we considered how wisdom for living our lives comes from God, He is the one who knows how life is to work and when we ask Him to give us wisdom, He will, but we must trust Him in what he says, believing that His ways are best.

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind

This week we get a very practical picture of what James is talking about.  And we are going to discover that we are completely upside down to the way God put the world together and the way we have been conditioned to think and live. 

The world is disoriented – and we are use to the disoriented pressure.

           Scuba Diving – look for the bubbles going up

The message of James is

Through Jesus, God rescues us from living upside down

God’s wisdom will show us how to live and live well.  And it is going to cost us by trusting God’s ways are true and right and then living them out. 

The problem is…

We like living upside down!

We come into this world upside down and spend the rest of our life making it work

We start out upside down

We grow up upside down

We find our thrills upside down

We organize our life upside down – like we think that’s the way it is supposed to be

We view life upside down, we look at our relationships upside down

We even study life upside down -

We balance life upside down   We think we see life clearly upside down!

The teaching of Jesus was a paradox

Paradox:  a contradictory statement that is true, a statement contrary to the received opinion.                  Jesus begins to turn our lives back right side up.

Jesus said…

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Matt 20:16 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:4 

The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt 23:11-12 

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. Mark 10:43-44 

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.   Luke 6:35 

To find real wealth you have to give all you have

To be his disciple you have to pick up your cross and follow him

Jesus described life in the kingdom and he came to rescue us to take us to his kingdom. 

He came into a world where everything happened upside down and God’s wisdom is going to turn our lives right-side up and it changes our perspectives of God, ourselves and our world.

James jumps right in addressing this completely alternate way of living…

James 1:9-11

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

Those who know they really are needy are ready to discover God’s greatness

Those who use all they have to serve others are blessed

Life is short, the things of this world will pass away, don’t get caught by the trappings of this place  - there are more important things to point your lives towards.

Lets look closer at what James is trying to say…

9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 

• James turns things upside down right away…Reversal in roles between rich and poor
  • in ancient culture – there was no middle class - 90% poor / 10% rich - did not mix socially
• What Jesus is talking about is the one in humble circumstances depicts a person of little significance in the worlds evaluation, even oppressed by the world – but they should take pride in their high postion.
  • A person may be poor economically or socially or both but there is more at stake than the physical conditions we experience -  gaining God’s perspective of our circumstances is more important in the scheme of eternal life. 

• James contrasts physically rich / poor literally as opposites alluding to a spiritual state
  • Mixing the physical / spiritual realms – what is happening in one affects the other.  We build barriers in our life that we think can’t be broken or overcome

• James is not making an application to all poor people in general, but address this to “the brother in humble circumstances…”
  • The readers likely responded to this because they were viewed in this light – of no regard – dispersed into the world, no ‘home’, reminded everyday they didn’t ‘fit’ in their current place = all because of their religious choice to follow Christ. 

• Perhaps they have made a conscious choice to follow Christ that has left them in a compromised physical state economically
•  [present tense imp] “boast” “take pride” –  live in this perspective every day
  • Normally negative concept – inappropriate expression; inflated sense of righteousness
• Because “his” is singular present tense it carries the same tense to “high position”.  This understanding does not come from society, but God’s perspective.  This is not just an “attitude” but REALITY that affects how we live today.  James is saying “when you live this way you are fitting precisely to the kind of life of the Kingdom.  This perspective can only come from a relationship with God.  This is not some kind of mind game where you maintain a different perspective of yourself but we let Jesus break in and permanently turn our understanding of ourselves right side up.

• James redirects the reader’s attention towards the promised anticipation of the life to come.  “Focusing on our future destiny can begin to reframe our perspectives on the present as well, as we look beyond our socioeconomic status and begin to see the world through God’s eyes.”  (Bloomburg, 55 [Moo])

Those who know they need Christ realize they have been adopted into God’s family – they have a future that is real time and eternal.

Also they realize that those who use all they have to serve others in the name of Jesus are blessed

10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.

• James is talking to people seen as literally wealthy
• These people are told to “boast”, “take pride in” an attitude / action often associated with wealthy people. – but the reversal here is the call to boast in humiliation
  • The only way to get there is a change in self-perspective – James seems to be intending some kind of spiritual humbling – because they are wealthy
• James reminds them they will die like everyone else and forfeit all their material positions – don’t put your value in temporal wealth
  • He who dies with the most toys still dies”

• Here James does not call the reader “brothers” – he is making a purposeful point…

Luke 12:15

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

• The worlds view of wealth is not God’s view of a person’s life.  God is not impressed by a person’s bank account.
  • Like William Buffet would not be impressed with my financial portfolio or yours, because Buffet’s portfolio is a magnitude greater than mine’  God is equally not impressed with William Buffet’s – and honestly we are the ones who draw the distinctions of importance / value by the world’s standards.  In God’s view He owns everything I have and Buffet, and He sees no distinction between the wealthy and the poor. And when we do we are not acting like “brothers” of God’s family.
  • James, in his letter, is going to talk quite a lot about how we view others and use our wealth, and he is establishing up front – we are upside down in our worldly thinking.
• “wildflowers” only last a few days before drying up and dying; beauty only lingers in memory

Prov 23:5

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,

for they will surely sprout wings

and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

• James is stressing that wealth and status of the rich remain remarkably transient and we can use what we have to bless others – and in so doing we are blessed too.

Life is short, the things of this world will pass away, don’t get caught by the trappings of this place

11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

• James is using illustrations to portray timeless truths rather than past life events.
• Scorching heat withers the plant– searing (scorching) wind – sirocco wind swept through the desert
  • Produces drought
  • Heat of the day peaks not at sun’s rising but early afternoon
  • The complete destructiveness of heat and wind
  •  inevitably comes
• Grass withers, flowers fall [lit. the beauty of its face is destroyed]
  • The flowers beauty and glory turns out to be utter ruin, destroyed by the extremes of the elements / nature’s cycles
• The rich will fade away even in the midst of their daily pursuits
  • Destruction is inevitable and thorough – through the “comings & goings”
• While “on the go” from place to place, the rich will die, regardless of specific activities of the moment.

If we are going to live our life demonstrating a faith that is real and showing up in our lives, it is going to look upside down to the rest of the world. 

Only God’s wisdom is going to give us the framework to re-calibrate our lives, and we will have to trust that what God says is right and true.  As we make decisions to live His ways in our life we will be living our faith that makes a difference.

This morning, you may not even know all the ways you are living your life upside down to the way God intends you to live, but maybe he has shown you one or two areas that He wants to change in your life… are you willing to trust Him and do it his way? 

Where do you know you really need God to show up = maybe it is in your finances, or marriage, or relationship at work, or your health, when you realize you have been adopted into God’s family – you have a future that is real and eternal – how does that change the way you could respond to your situation as God would in His wisdom?  Are you willing to do that.  Maybe it means a phone call or visit, maybe it means enduring a bad situation for the hope of bringing something good, maybe it means changing your job or moving or staying where your at because of what God is doing in you and through you.

Where are you wealthy?  Can you realize that those who use all they have to serve others in the name of Jesus are blessed?  What you have, your wealth, your education, your experiences are for God to use to bless others, not just yourself. 

Life is short – don’t get caught up in the trappings of this upside down world. 

Where have you been trapped?  Let Christ bring you freedom this morning. 

• Acknowledge where / how you are trapped upside down to His truth – ask Him to forgive you – take responsibility for your own upside down living
• Confess that you do not want to live this way anymore
• Ask Him what you should do to live in His right side up ways – this is asking for His wisdom
• Do what he tells you to do – tell someone what he is doing in your life.

Father thank you that you want to turn us right side up and help us see you, ourselves and this world from your perspective.  We know your ways are right and true, help us trust you as you calibrate our lives to live in your ways.

This morning, if you have been trapped living upside down to God’s ways and you want to experience Him turning your life right side up then:

• Ask Him to show you where / how you have been living opposite of His ways
• Ask Him to forgive you, acknowledging it has been your choices that have kept you living upside down.
• Confess to Him that you don’t want to live like this any more
• Ask Him what you should do to live right side up – ask for His wisdom
  • Maybe you need to commit to become a follower of Him
• Do what He tells you to do – that is the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart – what God tells you to do you should do. 
• Thank Him for loving you enough to turn your life right side up

Thank you Father for loving us and showing us Yourself, ourselves and how we should live today.

Rom 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.