Well, we turn back to our study in the book of James this evening, James chapter 1. If you're using the pew Bibles in front of you, that should be found on page 1199, 1199. We're just a few verses into the first chapter of this book, and we pick up tonight at verse 9 and we'll consider through verse 11. I know in the bulletin it says 9 through 12, but I thought 9 through 11 is sufficient for us tonight. So we're going to begin our reading back up at verse 2 for context. So James chapter 1, beginning our reading tonight at verse 2. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation. Because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass. Its flowers fall and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. Well, as we learned last time we studied this book, trials are typical to the Christian life. Contrary to what many Christians may want to believe, trials are typical to the Christian life. And it's not only James who makes that point here before us in our text. Peter makes the same point in 1 Peter 1 where he says, In this salvation you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Paul and Barnabas also make this point in Acts 14 after Paul had nearly been stoned to death. They summarize the Christian life by saying through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And then of course the Lord Jesus says in John 16, in this world you will have tribulation. Now of course Jesus Christ finishes up that statement with one of the most comforting passages in scripture where he says, take heart, I have overcome the world. But we get the point, right? Trials are part of the Christian life. And so James here in our passage gives us some godly wisdom for trials. We saw in this chapter last time that the Lord promises to use the various trials of our lives to build us up in the faith, to strengthen our faith in Christ, to make us steadfast in our faith that's what james says in verses two through eight which we considered last time and it's specifically verse eight that james mentions wisdom he says if anyone lacks wisdom let him ask god who gives generously and without reproach when we face trials of various kinds in our lives we certainly need a hearty dose of godly wisdom on verses nine through 11 James will further expound upon godly wisdom but specifically in regards to the trial of poverty and the trial of wealth and those will serve as our two points this evening wisdom for the lowly and wisdom for the rich verse 9 says let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation who is the the lowly brother that james refers to here well the term lowly could also be translated poor or humble or as other translations put it those in humble circumstances the lowly brother that james is referring to here are those who find themselves in humble meager poor circumstances you see in the first century people typically fell into one of two social classes you were either wealthy and well-off or you were poor and impoverished it wasn't like it is today where you have various degrees or levels of middle class upper middle class middle middle class lower middle class in the first century there was basically no middle class and so there existed a stark contrast between the two classes of rich and poor and that division existed also within the church and so you could imagine this division being an important aspect for james to address and tackle especially since he wants to deal with the practical matters of the christian faith see although there were some wealthy christians in the church majority of christians in the first century would have been poor it would have been people in humble and meager circumstances stances remember these are christians in the first century they were christians who had something of an exile status for their faith in jesus christ that's why james in part calls his audience here in verse one the 12 tribes of the dispersion many of these christians would have been cut off cut off from their families cut off from their culture because they claimed the name of christ to be christian in those days was not an accepted thing to claim. Now, today, we may not experience that kind of exclusion or exileness, but it seems like more and more today, like that's the way things are headed for Christians. We too today are maybe losing our accepted status in our country. And so we too today need to be ready to face the kind of trials that Christians would have faced in the first century. We like these Christians that James is addressing must be willing to give up our homes, be cut off from our families, our possessions, all for the name of Christ. You see, what this passage is going to ultimately force us to ask ourselves, regardless of our economic status, it's going to force us to ask the question, how much do you treasure christ how much do you treasure christ do we treasure him more than the things of this world that's a difficult question i think for us especially given the the level of wealth we enjoy in this country but that's a question that this text will confront us with tonight would we be satisfied with a lowly position in this world as long as we have christ is christ our greatest joy is he our greatest possession is christ the treasure of our hearts you see when jesus is our greatest possession then and only then will we be able to face various trials of the faith and be able to do so with the words of the the great hymn let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill god's truth abided still his kingdom is forever well as we could imagine poverty was one of the major trials that christians faced in the first century and that's why james brings it up here and notice what james says let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation now if we read this too quickly or without thinking too deeply or biblically about what james says here this could sound like anything but wisdom in fact it could sound pretty harsh let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation the poor should boast in their exaltation what what is James talking about here these are brothers and sisters who are poor who are in need who are in meager circumstances they may be suffering these are Christians who may have been cut off from their family their homes their culture they may have been exiled dispersed all across the region what do they have to boast in well this is where biblical wisdom should inform and shape a christian's perspective even on a lowly situation or state station or status in life yes these christians were poor yes they may have been cut off in many ways and so in the eyes of the world they are lowly and poor but let me ask you are we to think of ourselves in light of what the world thinks of us are we to think of our status in life from the perspective of worldly wisdom aren't we to think of ourselves and our status from the perspective of god from a heavenly perspective and from god's perspective these christians are indeed exalted exalted you see the primary problem for these christians isn't that they need more wealth or a better economic status or situation they may need that but their primary problem is that they need to see themselves in light of what they have in jesus christ and you see themselves from the perspective of christ remember back in verses two to four james talks about seeing and understanding trials from from the perspective of god a heavenly biblical perspective a godly perspective on trials teaches us that we can receive various trials even with joy because we know that God is working in and through those trials in our lives. And He's working to make us perfect, complete, lacking in nothing, as James says. Well, here in verse 9, James applies that wisdom to the issue of poverty. He says, don't see yourself, Christian, through your present economic status don't see yourself through the perspective and standards of this sinful world don't see yourself from a a worldly perspective sure from that perspective the lowly brother and sister in christ is poor lowly maybe it's thought of as having no part to play in society but as christians again we don't think of ourselves according to the wisdom of the world we understand our status our position from the perspective of God it's like what Jesus told his disciples in Luke 18 after Peter confesses to Christ and says look Lord we've left everything for you home and family and Christ responds truly I say to you there's no one who has left house or wife or brother or parent or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more in this life and in the age to come eternal life and so the wisdom that james offers us here the wisdom that he offers the lowly christian here is to see themselves from the perspective of what they have in jesus christ now i understand this is difficult to do maybe one of the most difficult things for us to do easy to agree with yes we should see ourselves in light of what we have in jesus christ but tremendously difficult to adopt and practice and apply to our lives but you see christian we already practice something along these lines in our thinking see when it comes to struggling with sin when it comes to striving to live righteously when it comes to being sanctified in all honesty we know in ourselves that we are impoverished by nature we are spiritually poor but in christ we are more than conquerors in christ we are told that we are the righteousness of god god has made him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be the righteousness of God. See, because of Christ, because He came to the earth, took on flesh, lived and died for us, resurrected as we celebrated today, we can now, as His people, stand before God righteous. Righteous. Not righteous in and of ourselves, of course, but righteous in Christ. And that's the comforting and encouraging message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, isn't it? And so now we see and think of ourselves, not through the wisdom of this world. If that was the case, we would know we are sinners, unworthy, have no place with God the Father. But in God, through Christ, we're righteous. So just as Paul says to the church at Corinth, we no longer regard each other according to the flesh because if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. And so now we consider ourselves from a godly perspective, righteous, holy, saints, sanctified. Now allow me to ask you, why shouldn't our perspective on our present circumstances be any different when it comes to our present circumstances consider not according to the wisdom of the world but in light of all that you have in jesus christ why shouldn't we consider ourselves in that way remember it was christ who was rich but became poor for our sake so that in him we might indeed be rich now i realize in order to correctly put on this perspective we must realize what we have in christ so i ask you what is the exaltation that james is referring to here in this text what does he call the poor christians to boast in well it's everything that we have in christ isn't it it's salvation redemption reconciliation to god it's that we've been chosen in christ predestined before the foundations of the world holy and blameless before him is that we have righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. The love of God has been lavished upon us. Our sins have been forgiven in Christ. And the wrath that God had against us has been propitiated. We have a new life in Christ. We are new creations in Him. We've been given the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us, renewing us and strengthening us. We've been adopted into the family of God. We are sons and daughters of God Most High. We are heirs and co-heirs with Christ. We have an eternal inheritance, an eternal life. Now let me ask you, when comparing all of this to the worldly standards of men and women of this world, it should be clear to us tonight we indeed have been exalted we've been given an exalted position every christian poor middle class lower class rich have been exalted in jesus christ so brothers and sisters don't boast in your worldly positions don't boast in your worldly status. Don't boast in what you have or don't have. But let him who boasts, boast in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's exactly what Paul tells the church at Corinth and 1 Corinthians 2. The church at Corinth was caught up in all the standards and wisdom of the world to which Paul asked the church consider your calling brothers not many of you were wise according to worldly standards not many of you were powerful not many were of noble birth but god chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise god chose what was weak in the world to shame the strong god chose what is low and despised in the world even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God and because of him you are in Christ who became to us wisdom from God righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Yes, the lowly, poor Christian has something to boast in. Christ. Christ and all that they have in Him. Now it comes to the rich brother. He too is enduring a trial. It's the trial of wealth. And this trial is the exact inverse of what the poor brother faces. Instead of being tried by a low estate in this world, the rich is tried by a high estate. Remember what Jesus says, how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom. Riches and wealth can be trials just as much as poverty can. Because the wealthy can be tempted to trust in their wealth. And therefore their wealth can become something of a stumbling block for them. I think this is an important point for us to realize today, especially given the kind of class warfare that exists in our culture where the media and politicians try to pit lower classes versus higher classes. You see, when we are in need, it's easy to look across town, to look across the street maybe at our wealthy neighbors, Even maybe to look across the sanctuary at a wealthy member of the church and to compare our situation to theirs and think falsely. They don't have to deal with what I have to deal with. The poor brother and sister can be tempted to think that way. But it's not true. As this text teaches, both rich and poor, wealthy and needy, have their own respective trials to face. In fact, we should never compare trials that we face to each other. That will get us nowhere. In fact, that will breed division, discord, discontentment, and even bitterness within the people of God. And it will contribute to a kind of identity politics within the church. That's not James' intention here by any means. Although James has a lot to say about the rich and poor. This is a theme and an issue that he's going to revisit a number of times. But here, James is telling us that every Christian faces their own respective trials. And those trials ultimately come from the hand of a good and faithful Heavenly Father who knows what we need and what it is we can handle. So Christian, when you're tempted to compare your situation to that of someone else, stop and realize the Lord gives to you the trials that he determines to give to you which he knows are good for you and what you need and he is worthy of our trust while we endure those trials so trust him don't compare yourself to others now it's important to realize that the rich person that james is speaking of here is indeed a brother and sister in christ james is not speaking of the the rich of the world here in verse 10 he's speaking of fellow brothers and sisters in christ based on the language of this text and verse 9 and 10 we should import the term brother from verse 9 to verse 10 so that the verses read let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich brother in his humiliation. James has Christian brothers in mind here in both situations, poor and rich. You see, although many Christians would have been poor in the first century, there were some Christians who were wealthy. And so notice the wisdom that James imparts to the rich brothers in Christ. He calls them to boast in their humiliation. I don't know if you've ever been humiliated. I'm sure we all have been humiliated to one degree or another. And you know that when you are in that state of humiliation, there's not much to boast in, is there? So what is it that James is referring to here? Well, James refers, what he refers to has to do again with one's perspective on their status specifically the the station and the status of being rich worldly wisdom teaches that the rich person has it made the rich person has no need they're fully satisfied the rich can go anywhere they want whenever they want and do whatever they want their riches afford them a kind of special access and privilege that the poor could only imagine only dream of and in this world maybe that is indeed true but when compared to godly wisdom this worldly wisdom is shown for what it really is foolishness and short-sighted because as jesus teaches the life of a person does not consist in the abundance of their possessions Jesus makes that point in Luke 12 with the story of the rich fool you remember the story a landowner whose land produced plentiful so he thought to himself what shall I do I for I have nowhere to store my crops and he says to himself I'll do this I'll tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grains and good And I'll say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for you many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool, that night your soul is required. This night your soul is required of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. you see wealth is a trial for the wealthy wealth tempts a person to put their faith in the abundance of their possessions but when it comes to the most significant matters of life that is one's relation towards god as jesus says wealth affords no special access no special privilege no special status or position god's no respecter of wealth he's no respecter of status or class and so the wealthy christian must humble themselves or as james says here boast in their humiliation remember what jesus told the rich young ruler he told him sell everything that you have distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and then come come and follow me jesus basically told the rich young ruler to humble himself humble himself and be satisfied with what he has in christ over against his possessions find in jesus his greatest treasure sadly because the man was exceedingly rich he could not treasure christ above his possessions that was a humiliation too far for the rich young man you see worldly wisdom taught that rich young ruler that his riches afforded him access and position even with jesus the christ even within the kingdom of god he thought he had special access special privilege now contrast the rich young ruler with the man Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus, who is one of the, well, most known figures in all the Bible. Children, you know the story of Zacchaeus, right? You know the story by maybe the song that we sing. Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up into a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. Well, that song doesn't teach us that Zacchaeus was also exceedingly rich Zacchaeus was a tax collector but not just any tax collector he was a chief tax collector but Zacchaeus after humiliating himself by climbing up in a tree to see Jesus Jesus comes to Zacchaeus's house and listen to how Zacchaeus the rich man the exceedingly rich man responds to Jesus he says behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I've defrauded anyone of anything I restore it fourfold. Zacchaeus was willing to humble himself. He knew his wealth meant nothing when standing in the presence of the God-man Jesus Christ. Zacchaeus came to realize that Jesus was worth far more than any of his worldly riches. Zacchaeus came to realize that the life of man of a man does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. It consists in the relationship that he has to Jesus Christ. This is the humiliation that James is referring to here. The rich Christian must come to this realization in godly wisdom and boast in his humiliation. Now what's the alternative? Live according to the wisdom of the world to that perspective james says here there's a great problem riches do not last they don't endure they're here today gone tomorrow james compares the riches and wealth of a person to the flowers of the grass here one moment gone the next so is the man who trust in the abundance of his possessions. Now it's important to realize that James is not speaking here of a rich Christian losing his salvation. James is warning a rich Christian, if anyone trusts in their wealth, they will be like their wealth and fade away. Here's the point that James is impressing. The rich Christian needs to remember that in faith they identify with one who is meek, lowly, humble, poor in the eyes of the world. By faith, they identify with one who was rich, but for their sake became poor. The rich need to remember they identify with a Savior who humiliated himself for their sake and for their sins. See, from the perspective of the world, when a poor Christian is compared to a rich Christian, The world sees a difference, doesn't it? It's a difference that is significant to the world. Riches and wealth, poverty and need are significant distinctions among people in the world. But not in the eyes of Christ. In the eyes of Christ, there is no distinction. At the foot of the cross, we all stand the same before Him. Sinners in need of the salvation that comes from Christ alone. And a true Christian, however rich they may be, knows this truth. And they know that however humbling it may be to identify with the humble, lowly, meek Savior, He is worth it. He is worthy of it. True Christian realizes that there is no greater wealth, no greater riches, no greater abundance than what one can have in Jesus Christ. And so here in this text tonight, James opens our eyes to the transient nature of possessions and wealth of this world. And he gives to us a godly perspective, godly wisdom. And it's a perspective that really should shape our expectations on life and on success and wealth and material possessions. Things that we certainly need. But remember what Christ says, first seek the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. And that doesn't mean necessarily that we will have riches in this life but we have Christ we have Christ and therefore we are indeed rich beyond all measure and so the wisdom that James gives to us here tonight is indeed what he says in this text let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and let the rich brother boast in his humiliation for they have Christ and Christ is all. Let us pray. Father, as those who lay hold of Christ by faith and the riches, the wonder of what you have given to us in Christ, we are people who have much to boast in, Lord. Not in and of ourselves for we know who we are. We know who we are apart from Christ. But He who was rich became poor for our sake. And so, Lord, we give You praise and thanks tonight for the wonders of the mercy and grace that You've given to us in Jesus Christ. And we pray, Lord, that we would live lives of boasting, boasting in Christ, lives of gratitude, thankful for all that You have given to us in Jesus Christ. May we trust You at all times, even in trials, for You are worthy of our trust. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.