Sermons
Victory in the Midst of Adversity
Series: Dependence with PersistenceLink to sermon video: Victory in the Midst of Adversity - L Siegle
Victory in the Midst of Adversity
(James 1:12-15)
Thesis: What Does it MEAN to TRUST God?
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of this message is Victory In the Midst of Adversity
2. The illustration of what is on the inside of an Orange.
a. Take this Orange and squeeze it….hard as you can, or with some other pressure, what do you get? (OJ)
1) No matter what you do to this, it will never produce apple juice, grapefruit juice, or lemon juice.
2) What is one the inside is determined by the characteristics of the fruit.
3) Nothing can be done to change the nature of what is found on the inside.
b. What happens to us, when we are ‘squeezed’ by the daily circumstances and situations of life?
1) Does anger manifest itself?
2) Do we become bitter and express resentment?
3) Do we experience fear, anxiety, depression?
c. Our reaction to others who may say something negative about us, or who treats us badly, is a sign of what lies
deep within our hearts and minds.
1) It might be easy to blame the other person: “I would not have reacted that way if they had not said or done
what they had done to me.”
2) If this negative experience had not happened to me, “I would not have gotten angry…”
3. The reality is that nobody can make us “feel” in a certain way…
4. The term “gaslighting” has become common today:
a. “Gaslighting” according to psychologists “is a form of emotional abuse that undermines the rational response in a
given moment--causing a person to ‘second guess, question, or cause doubt--to gain power of a a person that
avoids their own responsibility.”
1) It makes us feel as though we are being hypersensitive in our feelings.
2) It causes questions about our own memory of how a conversation or situation occurred.
3) We find ourselves constantly apologizing over and over.
4) We begin to make excuses for the other people involved.
5) We begin to think there must be something wrong with us.
b. The responsibility for how we react or respond in any given situation lies with US.
1) What manifests itself is the reality of what is already on the inside of us.
2) Only we have control over our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
UNDER PRESSURE
1. What we say and what we do arises from that which is stored within our hearts (Luke 6:43-45)
a. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21).
b. Israel was warned of what would happen to them through their disobedience (Deut 28:20-47).
1) Consequences follow actions and what we say and practice in our daily lives (Gal. 6:6-8)
2) The goal of self-control is the foundational basis that prevents us from the consequences that follow (Prov.
21:23).
3) God has equipped us with what is essential to overcome whatever form adversity takes in our hearts and
lives (II Tim. 1:7-9).
2. What is the nature of “adversity” in our lives?
THE LETTER OF JAMES
1. The letter written by James, the “brother of Jesus” (Matt. 13:55), probably written as an earlier book of the NT, from
Jerusalem to a primarily “Jewish” audience (James 1:1; Gal. 1:18, 19)--those who had been “scattered abroad” among
the nations (Deut. 28:64; Joel 3:1, 2)
a. The persecution during this time was rooted in the conflict between Isaac and Ishmael (Gal. 4:21-31).
1) Abraham = God
2) Sarah = New Covenant
3) Hagar = Old Covenant
4) Isaac = New Covenant believers “children of promise”
5) Ishmael = Old Covenant Israel “children of the flesh”
b. The persecution during this time was over the issue of identity and true “sonship” (who were the people of God?)
(Rom. 8:14-23; Rev. 7:2; Eph. 1:13, 14)
c. No longer was sonship based on having been born into the “natural” seed of Abraham (Matt. 3:9; John 8:39).
1) The work of the Holy Spirit through signs and miracles was a witness to Old Covenant Israel that Christians
had become His true children (Mark 16:19, 20).
2) The 144,000 were those “firstfruit” (James 1:18) believers in the first century being “called” out of Old
Covenant Israel into the New Covenant people of God (Rev. 14:1-5; Rom. 8:23)
THE JOY OF SUFFERING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
1. There is no joy or value in being the victim of “gaslighting”--being “triggered” by others whose motives are to justify
themselves as the expense of others.
2. There is a sense of joy when called upon to suffer for the things of God (Matt. 5:10, 11).
3. God is never the source of evil or wicked temptations (James 1:13).
4. Temptations arise from within the human heart (James 1:14)
a. The world around us is filled with sources that ignite the desire (of the flesh) within us--
b. When you meditate on whether or not to do something--the strength and power of the temptation increases and
in the moment we are “drawn away” and “enticed” by the desire to do what we know is wrong.
c. The thought leads to the desire, the desire leads to the action, the action results in death (James. 1:17).
d. He ends the discussion with the warning against deception (James 1:16).
TRUSTING GOD
1. Our theme for July is that of trusting in God--the various aspects of what it really means.
2. The questions today we should ask ourselves:
a. When put “under pressure” what does my response and reaction reveal about how weak and unprepared we are
to handle the situations of life?
b. Whether the struggle is about relationships, our jobs, others around us, financial issues, medical problems--or any
other area of life, where are we in our desire to stand in doing what is right? What honors and glorifies God?
1) Two strangers were both driving down the same roadway when the one car “cut off” the car behind him.
2) The driver of that vehicle pulled up beside the first vehicle and offered a “hand-signal” to express his anger at
the other driver.
3) Not to be outdone, the driver of the other vehicle rolled down the window and proceeded to express himself
with an articulate string of profanities…
4) Several minutes later, both vehicles turned into the church parking lot to attend worship services.
3. The person of who we really are is revealed in what proceeds out of our mouth.
4. God is calling us to put away those words (Eph. 4:29-32; Col. 3:8).
a. When we are around people whose language is full of expletives--we can be influenced.
b. These words are on our televisions, books that are popular, movies--giving the impression that such words are
perfectly acceptable.
CONCLUSION
1. God is calling His people into holiness in every thought, word, and actions (James 3:1-12).
2. We are made in the “image” and “likeness of God” (Gen. 1:26) therefore our character is being molded and shaped
into the “image” of Christ (Rom. 8:29).
3. Holiness is a way of life (Eph. 4:24).
