James 1:1-4

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” That statement from James 1:2 is easy to make, and so difficult to obey. Count it all joy when you’re in the midst of pain and difficulty. How can you and I rejoice when everything around us, seems to be going against us? 

Well number one, we know something; we are in on a divine secret. What do we know? Well James tells us, “Knowing this, that the testing of your faith worketh patience.” In other words the trials of life are not working against us, they are working for us. This is James’ way of quoting Romans 8:28 and, “We know that all things are working together for good to them that love God.” Old Jacob said, “All of these things are against me,” (Genesis 42:36) and actually God was working all of those things for him. We know that trials work for us.

Secondly, we know that God’s goal is maturity. You see the testing of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work. God wants to develop maturity in our lives. Children for the most part are usually impatient. You get in the car to head off on vacation or just to go to the grocery store and right away they are wriggling and they are impatient. “Are we there yet?” “No, we’re not.” “How many more hours?” Well Christians get this way even adult Christians. God’s goal is maturity. How does God mature his children? Not by lecturing to them, but by putting them into the experiences of life that build character.

Thirdly, the secret is faith. “Knowing this, that the testing of your faith worketh patience.” Not your love, not your hope, your faith. Do you really trust God? Ah, he says let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect. That means mature, entire, lacking nothing. You see we do not live on explanations, we live on promises. And when you live on promises you live by faith. You don’t try to second guess God. We know that trials are working for us if we’re trusting God. We know that He will develop a maturity if we are trusting God. Therefore count it all joy and let patience have her perfect work.

Ephesians 6:24

Paul always ended his letters with the same benediction, a benediction of grace. This was his seal of approval. This was his official signature. Ephesians 6:24, “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” That’s a wonderful way to end a letter. He reminds us that the mark of a true disciple is love. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciple, as you have love one for another” (John 13:35). “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” Grace and love go together, don’t they? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit of God. Christ loves us. We say that so often we get accustomed to it, but Christ loves us. 

Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “He loved me and gave himself for me.” In Ephesians 5:25 Paul tells us “He loved the church and gave himself for the church.” He died for the sins of the whole world. Now if we have experienced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and we’re saved by grace, and if we know in our hearts the love of God because the love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit; then we should love the Lord Jesus Christ. How should we love Him? Sincerely. “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” Some translations read “that love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love or imperishable love.” That’s the idea. It’s not an artificial love. It’s real. It’s not something that comes and goes, that ebbs and flows. Rather it has a depth to it. It’s imperishable. It’s undying. 

Our relationship to Jesus Christ is a living relationship, and it’s a loving relationship. Paul has talked about Christ in the Church. “Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church.” We should love Him because He first loved us. How do we show our love to Him today? By obeying Him. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Our word to you today is “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”

Ephesians 6:23

If you have problems ending your letters, then try a Christian benediction. That’s the way Paul ended his letters. Here for example is Ephesians chapter 6 verse 23. Paul writes, “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I wish that when I finish my letters, I could put these three marvelous blessings in the envelope and send them off: peace and love and faith. You and I have the peace of God in our hearts. We have peace with God because of Jesus Christ. “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). It’s interesting. In this chapter Paul has been talking about war. Now he ends up talking about peace. He’s saying in this warfare against the devil, our goal is peace. Peace to the brethren. I wonder, when I walk into a room do I bring peace or war? Do I bring delight or division?

Then he talks about love. “Peace to the brethren, and love.” Here he’s talking about our walk with the Lord. Our walk in love. In fact, he had said that! “Be imitators of God as dear children; and walk in love” (Ephesians 5:1-2). I wonder when I walk through this day, am I going to be sharing the fragrance of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ? Peace and love go together, don’t they? If you have the peace of God in your heart and peace with God, you certainly want to love God and love one another.

His third benediction was faith. “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith.” Oh how we need faith! Faith and faithfulness go together. By faith I claim God’s wealth. Here we have a summary of Ephesians. In chapters 1, 2 and 3, God’s wealth in Christ; 4 and 5, our walk in Christ; chapter 6, our warfare, peace; our walk, love; our wealth, faith. Claim the wealth that you have from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace, love, faith. As we go through the day, these would be wonderful treasures to leave behind to encourage others.

Ephesians 6:21-22

Do you have in your home what I call the mailbox miseries? You say, “What in the world is mailbox misery?” Well, do you get a lot of mail you really don’t want to get? Now sometimes we even get mail from various Christian ministries, and they’re telling us about their ministry and sometimes even asking for support. And we say, “Well, why do they send this?” Well, the next time you complain about ministry mail, try to remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:21-22. “But that you also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.”

You see, Christians need to know what God is doing. When this kind of mail comes to our house, we open it and read it. Now if it’s from some organization we don’t believe in, we don’t waste our time. But I’m glad to hear from schools and radio stations and mission boards. I want to know what God is doing! Paul wasn’t embarrassed. Paul didn’t apologize for sending Tychicus to give the account of what was going on.

Also we need to know what Satan is doing. Paul had just finished writing about the armor of God, the whole armor. He’s warning us about the wiles of the devil. I need to know what Satan is doing in this world and as I read missionary prayer letters, missionary magazines, reports from various Christian schools or other ministries, I can find out how I need to pray.

Finally, we need to encourage one another. Paul said I’m sending him that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts. That word “comfort” means encourage. I get encouraged when I read what God is doing in various parts of His Church. I need to know what God is doing. I need to know what Satan is doing, and I need to have my heart encouraged by what God is accomplishing in other places. So when you get your mail today, don’t complain. Oh, some of it isn’t worth reading, but you find out from Christian ministries what God is doing; and then you enter in to pray for them and to encourage one another.

Ephesians 6:19-20

It is most unusual for an ambassador to be arrested. As I understand it, ambassadors have certain special privileges and usually the police can’t come and arrest them. But I know of one ambassador who was arrested. His name was Paul. He was an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what he wrote in Ephesians 6:19-20, “Pray for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that in this I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” The Apostle Paul was an ambassador. Not a diplomat. A diplomat says what is safe. Not a politician. A politician says what is popular. No, he was an ambassador. An ambassador says what is right. I am representing my king.

Now what does he want me to do? Well, you and I are ambassadors for Christ. We read that in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that “we are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:20. An ambassador has to be a citizen of the country he represents. We’re citizens of heaven. The ambassador represents the king. He doesn’t invent his own message, his own approach, he does what the king wants him to do. We’re ambassadors for the King; obeying Him. The ambassador is protected and provided for. When you lay hands on the ambassador, you’re laying hands on his country. In fact, I understand the embassy is really a part of that country. When you walk into the American Embassy in London, you are in the United States.

The Apostle Paul was not praying for open doors for his prison. He was praying for an open mouth that the prisoner, Paul, might give forth the message of the Gospel. He said, “I’m an ambassador in bonds but this doesn’t limit me! I can still pray. I can still witness. Pray that I will use this experience to the glory of God!” I’m afraid if I had been in prison, I would’ve been saying, “Pray that these doors will be open that I might get out!” He says, “Pray that my mouth may be opened that I may help other people to get out of the prison house of sin.” He was a good ambassador of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:18

The Christian soldier’s power is prayer. Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” There are a lot of universals in that verse: always, all prayer, all perseverance, all saints. Prayer covers everything. Let’s start with always. “Praying always.” Just about the time you and I think we have won the battle, we stop praying. “Oh, I don’t have to pray about that. It’s such a minor matter.” Then it becomes a major matter. “Praying always.” Pray without ceasing. Some people don’t pray about anything. Some people pray only about important things. The winning Christian soldier prays about everything; especially those things he knows and does best. The soldier says, “Well I’ve been through this battle before. Oh, I know how to do this!” And before long he fails. He’s depending on his experience, his expertise. He’s not depending on the Lord.

All prayer. There are different kinds of prayers. There are prayers of supplication; we cry out to God. Prayers of request, prayers of rejoicing, prayers of thanksgiving. “All prayer and supplication.” Taking every need that we have and laying it before the Lord. All perseverance. “Watching thereunto with all perseverance.” Staying with it. Not giving up. “Pray on, oh soul of mine, pray on.” Oswald Smith wrote a song like that. It speaks to our hearts. Just keep on praying until light breaks through. All perseverance. You’re praying about something today and nothing seems to be happening. Just keep on praying. And pray for all the saints. Don’t just pray for yourself and your needs and your family.

Have you prayed lately for all of the saints? And by the way he puts in the middle of this verse the word “watch.” All diligence. Keep your eyes open. Be alert while you are praying. Don’t close your eyes. The devil may move in on you. Through prayer we put the armor on and through prayer we make the armor work and through prayer we keep the armor bright. “Praying always with all prayer.”

Ephesians 6:17

It’s not enough for the Christian soldier to be wearing the armor. That’s good protection for defense, but what about offense? How do we fight against the strategy of the devil? Well, Ephesians 6:17 tells us, “Taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” That’s interesting. “Taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Now he also mentions “the helmet of salvation.” That covers the mind and helps us to think the way God wants us to think. But we take that “sword of the Spirit” because we have to fight against the devil. It’s not enough just to have defense. You’ll never make any progress that way! You also have to have the “sword of the Spirit.” Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “the Word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, it pierces down within the inner person” (paraphrase).

The “sword of the Spirit” is not like a material sword. The Roman soldier carried a sword with which to hack away at his enemy. We have a spiritual sword. Peter one night tried to use a material sword to fight a spiritual battle, and he got into trouble. In Acts chapter 2 Peter used instead the spiritual sword, the Word of God, and he won 3,000 people to the Lord Jesus. You see, our sword is not like a material sword. The “sword of the Spirit” has life in it. A sword made of metal does not have life. Somebody has to pick it up and use it. We have the Holy Spirit living within us. He wrote the Word of God, and He can help us to use the Word of God against the wicked one. A material sword gets dull, but God’s spiritual sword doesn’t get dull, it gets sharper and sharper as we use it in the power of the Spirit and it always overcomes the devil.

This is how Jesus won the victory in His temptation, Matthew chapter 4. He simply said to Satan “It is written, it is written, it is written,” and those three thrusts from the spiritual sword vanquished the wicked one. That’s why it’s important today that we read the Bible, study the Bible, understand the Bible, memorize the Word of God and have that sword ready when Satan comes to attack.

Ephesians 6:16

Did you ever experience a sudden thought in your mind, a thought that was so terrible, so unlike you, it frightened you? Well, where did it come from? Well, it probably was one of the “fiery darts of the wicked one.” Paul writes about this in Ephesians 6:16 as he admonishes us to “put on the whole armor of God.” “Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Martin Luther used to say, “I can’t stop the birds from flying around my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair.” It’s a different image, but the same idea. Satan has his fiery darts. These are darts that he throws at our mind. He wants to start a fire in the mind.

For example, he’ll use fear. He can throw a fear in our mind, and we get a hold of that fear; and then we lose our faith; and we lose our peace. Sometimes he throws the fiery dart of doubt. Is the Word of God true? Is Jesus really what He claims to be? Am I really a Christian? Sometimes he puts certain words into our minds, and these words start little fires. Words of slander or criticism, bitterness or malice. Sometimes evil words that we would not say with our lips. Sometimes he throws the fiery dart of confusion, and we don’t know where to go and what to do and we’re wondering what do we do next?

Now how do you take care of these fiery darts? With the shield of faith. Faith in what? Faith in God. Faith in God’s Word. God said to Abraham, “I am your shield.” Now God can protect us if we will trust Him. You will notice that the shield of faith covers all of the armor. It makes sure all of the armor is protected. It covers all of the person. And by the way, the Roman soldiers had their shields so fixed that they could lock them together like one long wall. The shield of faith ought to bind us together to other Christians who are also fighting the battle. All of the fiery darts of the wicked one can be quenched by the shield of faith. Today by faith pick up the shield of faith and trust God to give you the victory all day long.

Ephesians 6:15

It’s interesting how much the Bible has to say about feet. We don’t pay much attention to our feet until we have an ingrown toenail or our feet are tired from a long shopping expedition. You’ll recall that Jesus washed His disciple’s feet and told them to keep their lives clean as they walked through this world. We should have clean feet, and we should have beautiful feet. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings of great joy” (Romans 10:15). Our feet should carry the message to the ends of the earth.

Also we must be careful what kind of shoes we wear. At least Paul gives us that admonition. In Ephesians 6:15 he’s talking to Christian soldiers and he says, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” An interesting statement. “The readiness of the gospel of peace.” Now shoes were important to the Roman soldier. To begin with they gave him stability. If something was wrong with his shoes, he would not be able to stand and to carry on the battle. Well, Paul has told us to stand and to withstand, and then when the battle’s all over, to stand and you’ve got to have the right kind of shoes. Stability. What is our stability? The Gospel. We know where we stand. Romans chapter 5, we stand in the grace of God. We stand in the blessing of God. We’re standing on the Rock, Christ Jesus. Shoes give us stability.

They give us balance. The person was able to be balanced in his battle because he was wearing the right kind of shoes. We need balance in the Christians life. Mobility. By wearing the right kind of shoes, and the Roman soldier shoes would have cleats on the bottom, they would have mobility. They could move from one place to another, from side to side. Satan has his tactics. He’ll try one thing, and then he’ll bring something else and we as Christians must be able to move even quickly. It also means ministry. “The preparation of the gospel of peace.” Imagine a soldier bringing peace! That’s what we are. We are soldiers to bring not destruction but reconciliation. We’re messengers of peace. Be ready today wherever you go to share the Good News of God’s peace.

Ephesians 6:14

It’s not enough for us as Christians to know how to walk. Paul talked about that in Ephesians chapter 4 and 5. We also must know how to stand, and the only way to stand in the battle of life is to be clothed in the whole armor of God. In verse 14 of Ephesians 6 Paul gives this instruction, “Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” Now what does he mean by the girdle of truth? Well, the Roman soldiers girdle was not a little belt such as we men use to hold our slacks up. Nor was it a piece of cloth that he wrapped around. It was kind of a leather thing that not only held things together but it was a protection over that part of his body. What Paul is saying is you need the girdle of truth to pull things together. In one word he’s talking about integrity. Integrity. Oh, how we need that today.

You see if we don’t have integrity, we might have hypocrisy or even worse, duplicity. Now what’s the difference? Integrity means we are one. Everything in our lives is held together. We are not lying. A hypocrite is somebody who knows he’s a hypocrite. He knows he’s pretending. But someone who practices duplicity doesn’t know it. He actually thinks that what he’s doing is right! He’s walking in darkness and thinks he’s in the light. Integrity. A soldier with a double mind is not going to win the battle. A soldier with a double heart is not going to win the battle. We must have on the girdle of truth, God’s truth, to hold our lives together. And then over our hearts, the breastplate of righteousness. The devil is the accuser. Other people accuse us. Sometimes we accuse ourselves. But when the soldier goes into the battle knowing he is right, his cause is right, his heart is right; then he can take all of the armor, and he can win the victory.

Before you step forth onto the battle field today be sure you are wearing the armor, and the place to start is integrity. Pull your life together with God’s truth. Make sure that God’s righteousness is protecting your heart. These are essentials for victory.