The Practical Implanted Word, by John

THE PRACTICAL IMPLANTED WORD (Jamesbs2.ser)
James 1:18-27

1. We believe the Book of James was written around 45 to 50 AD. That makes it one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of the NT Books.
2. We know the Gospel of John was written at a rather late date. It begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
3. We know John considered Jesus the Living Word of God! But did John arrive at that conclusion later in his Christian experience, or did he and all of the disciples consider and call Jesus the Logos of God from the first?
4. I can’t answer that, but I can tell you I see that same Jesus in the verses we just read!

5. James was talking to people who knew how things grow. These weren’t people who thought milk came from a carton, or bread from a grocery store! These people had the concept of planted seed growing into something!
6. That’s the practical side of the implanted Word! If it is planted in good soil, it will grow well, but if only given a half a chance it still will grow! And produce fruit!
7. Our job is to give the Word of God a good seedbed to grow in! V. 18 is true! “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
8. V 19, Since this is true, James says something that could be loosely ts, “Listen to this!”

I. GOD’S WORD MUST BE RECEIVED FOR YOUR GOOD.

1. James gives three responses to God’s Word.
(1) We should be quick to hear. (“tachus” from which we get “tachometer.”)
(2) We should be slow to speak. (“Bradus”)
(3) We should be slow to anger. (“Bradus”)
(4) These are all three talking about our response to God’s Word!
2. We must receive the Word implanted, or planted, in our lives!
(1) In v. 21, James says the Word implanted is able to save our souls!
(2) The tenor of this letter indicates all the way through that James is writing to Christians. He doesn’t have to explain salvation so much as to state the truth of it.
(3) Is he talking about our souls being saved from hell here? Or something else?
(4) Salvation is so much more! Romans 5 gives three tenses of salvation; past, present and future.
3. I think James is not talking as much about salvation from hell as salvation from wasted existence! ill. I may have enough seed to plant five acres of garden, but they won’t grow! They have to be planted before they grow! Now suppose I planted a whole acre of garden, filled every nook and cranny and still didn’t have enough to eat. And suppose I had four acres unplanted. Do you think it would be wiser to complain because I was hungry, or to plant those other acres?
5. So it is with God’s Word. All that power does you no good until you provide a seedbed for it, and the bigger bed you give it, the greater your reward! And the fuller your salvation! (ill. Two men in Texas and five acres. MEN, Jan 05, organic fruits and vegetables.)

II. GOD’S WORD DIVIDES PEOPLE INTO TWO CLASSES.

1. I’ve always been glad God does all the judging.
(1) I wouldn’t know how to begin: There are too many shades of gray!
(2) God doesn’t have that problem. He sees far better than we do, and any gray at all is too much! But He has a better way.
(3) James says He divides the world into doers and hearers.
2. Hearers are self-deluded. Dr. Gregory and every commentator I’ve read, says these are not hypocrites, just deluded.
(1) A hypocrite knows what he is doing. He puts on a show to fool people!
(2) James is talking about people who have themselves been fooled into thinking they are doing exactly what God wants them to do!
(3) I think these are more to be pitied than hypocrites! If they realized they were wrong, I believe they would get things straight.
(4) James told us this because all of us need to check up on ourselves. Are we Christians, or just religious?
3. Vv 23, 24 tell us what happens with a hearer! Ill. Tom Olson ? the editor of the Le Touneau paper some years ago told about his three year old daughter. When she came to him, her face was covered with all kinds of dirt. He told her to go to the bathroom, get up on her little stool so she could see herself in the mirror and wash her face. She didn’t return, and he could hear the water running, so he moved to where he could see her. She was washing the mirror with a soapy rag! That’s a lot like what James is talking about here. Looking at a spiritual mirror will not get your life turned around!
(1) The hearer studies himself intently in a mirror. (The mirrors of that day were not silvered glass, but some kind of polished metal. They were at best imperfect.)
(2) After careful, intent study of the face he was born with, he leaves and forgets what he saw! Is that what happens when you look at yourself in God’s Word?
4. V 25 tells about the doer.
(1) He gives the perfect Law of freedom penetrating attention! (This refers to all revealed truth of God, not just the ten commandments.)
(2) He finds it good, and he continually lives in it!
(3) He never forgets it!
(4) He is a doer of the Word, and he is a doer of the work!
5. The doer’s whole life is blessed! (Compare this with Psalm 1).

III. GOD’S WORD HAS PRACTICAL RESULTS.

1. The Gk wd for religion here is “Threskeia.” It doesn’t refer to a lifestyle. It refers to outward observance, such as is practiced in worship. It comes from a word meaning clamor, or noise. (Does this suggest to you that people are showing off? It does me!)
2. When God’s Word rules in you, your vocabulary changes if it is not already godly.
3. Beyond that, your thought life changes, too.
4. What people think about you may hurt, but it becomes, and truly is, unimportant!
5. God’s Word converts our compassion into an acceptance of responsibility for the poor and helpless.
6. God’s Word causes us to struggle against temptation and to keep ourselves unstained from the world.
7. Other Biblical authors add to what James has said here, but this is enough! If God’s Word does not produce these practical results in you, or if it has not yet started making these changes in you, then His word is not in you, and Christ isn’t in you, and you’re lost!
8. God’s Word always bears fruit to life everlasting! It never returns to Him void!

CONCLUSION:

1. When you hear God’s Word, and it doesn’t suit you, what is your reaction?
(1) It should be a quick “That’s for me! I need that!”
(2) Or do you speak out against it? Do you have to have a lot of people tell you it is true before you are convinced? You should always be slow to speak against God’s revealed, implanted, living Word! And quick to accept it!
(3) Does God’s Word make you angry when it doesn’t fit into your scheme of things? (Remember the older son when the prodigal came home? Lk 15:11ff) You should be sure your anger doesn’t lead you right into sin, and that when you are angry, you don’t stay angry long!
2. You see there are just two classes of people: The doers and the hearers. Which are you?
3. Do you think your church attendance, whatever else you may do in the Lord’s name, will get you by? Be careful! There are a lot of people who have convinced themselves they are right with God, and they aren’t!
4. God’s Word is like a seed. Planted in good soil, it brings forth a lot of good fruit, and it just keeps on bearing fruit and growing! If that’s not the way it is with you, you’d better talk to the Lord about it. You may need Jesus!


ECC 1/30/2005

What Are You Worth? by Dolores

It used to be said that if one could melt down a human body into its elements, it would be worth about 87 cents. So, what does that tell us? It should tell us that as far as our bodies go, we're not worth a whole lot!
Sound foolish? Yet, how often do we measure our worth by what our bodies can accomplish?
After my mother got up in years and wasn't able to work in her church, nor even attend the way she once did, her self-worth took a nose dive. And I've observed over the years a lot of people see themselves this way. If they can't do the productive things they used to, they begin to feel worthless.

There are others who base their self-worth on how much money they have in the bank or other assets and possessions. I remember a true story a pastor friend related several years ago. A couple in his church had lived full and productive lives from the standpoint of worldly values. Their children were grown and all had successful jobs. This couple lived in a beautiful home full of expensive furnishings. The wife's life centered around her home, its furnishings, gardens, etc. Then one night there was a terrible fire which destroyed their home and its furnishings. The couple were able to escape without injury. As the pastor rushed to their side and sought to comfort them, the distraught woman could only cry "everything I cared about is gone!" That's going to happen with our worldly possessions, if not during our earthly life, certainly when we leave this earth!

What really determines our worth, then? If it's not strength and productivity, good works, or worldly possessions, what is it? Essentially, every person has to find that answer for himself. As for me, I found my worth in the knowledge that the Creator of the universe, designed me when I was conceived in my mother's womb; that He took special note of me and has shown me His unfathomable love through Jesus Christ, His Son.

You can realize your self-worth the same way I did. God wants you to know that you are specially and uniquely created, and greatly loved by Him. In fact, He loved you so much He sent His only begotten Son into the world to give His life in ransom for you. It matters not what your standing is in this world, whether you're educated or uneducated, rich or poor, weak or strong. Your Creator and Redeemer has had His loving eye on you from the time of your conception and if you return His love, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Your friend, Dolores

Thoughts on Personal Pain by John

Thoughts on Personal Pain
January 26, 2005

There are important responses we Christians must make when hurt, misunderstood, persecuted, or condemned. Our response is vital. It shows what our real Christian character is. We may discover that we are not nearly as perfect as we think and hope we are.

Suffering is important. Romans 8:16,17 says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” I can’t understand the full import of that, but it tells me that suffering is a natural part of a Christians life, and that I should expect it. The question naturally arises, what should I do when it happens?

All that we must do is readily seen in Jesus, of course. Jesus was and is perfect. We are not. We strive for perfection, but we never reach sinless perfection as long as we live on earth; therefore, we must take what is done, or spoken, against us without offense. We must always continue doing God’s work as if nothing important happened. We must avoid giving offense ourselves. If we offend because we were offended, we are acting in revenge, and we know God said that vengeance was His, not ours.

Every occasion of any sort of suffering produces profound pain in us, and I can begin to understand how painful it was for Jesus to suffer at the hands of his own countrymen! When we suffer, it is easy for us to strike back, to retaliate, but we must not! Instead, we need to take time not to count to ten, but to ask God who is right and who is wrong. He may reveal to us that we deserved what we got. In a sense, we always do, but we may discover we were right. In any case, we must remain staunchly where the Lord wants us, and we must be found living exclusively for Him.

We must do the work for which He called us. If we are not very careful, we will find ourselves in a predicament like Jonah did. From the point at which he decided not to do the Lord’s will, he went down, down, down. In the belly of the great fish, he came to his senses, and prayed. Even after he found himself on dry land and proceeded to carry out God’s will, he was angry with God. He didn’t believe God would destroy the Ninevites, and he waited outside the city to see exactly what God would do.
I am always amazed at the patience of God. He still had to teach Jonah another lesson. He caused a gourd vine to grow up over the stick tabernacle Jonahbuil toshade himself from the blinding heat of the noonday sun. It made Jonah happy! That night God sent a cutworm to kill the vine. It did, and Jonah grieved for the vine. God asked Jonah, “Do you have any right to be angry about the vine?” Jonah maintained that he did and said he was angry enough to die!

Actually, we don’t know whether Jonah repented of his stand, or not. We do know he recorded God’s message for us. God gently imformed Jonah that his compassion for the gourd vine was nothing compared to His Own compassion for the 120,000 people in Nineveh.

We must strive to see the world about us through the eyes of God! When we do, we will discover that God loves the people He created. Each one of us fits into that classification. Whether we like to believe it or not does not matter, God loves the people who hurt us! We have no choice but to do the same! At the same time, we must stand with God. We must not allow ourselves to be pushed away from His will for our lives by the opinions of others, or by whatever force they may use.

We can expect God’s enemies to be constantly seeking something wrong in our lives. Satan will help them do it! If we insist on convincing others we are right, we can expect them to tear us down, and they will probably be successful. Satan doesn’t care whether he uses Christians or lost people. He just seeks to get the job done! We need humility in our attitudes and actions because we are flawed and humble in reality! All of us when we see people lost in the depths of sin should be quick to say, “There but for the grace of God, go I!” I don’t remember who originated that saying, but it must become a very real part of our Christian lives.

It is humbling to me to realize that no matter what educational level I achieve, no matter how devoted to God I may become, every person has just as direct an access to God as I have! It doesn’t even matter what language the person speaks, or if he is able to speak at all. Our wonderful God reaches across whatever distance there is between us. He bridges the gap, and He opens the way for us to enter His presence through His only born Son Jesus!

The Psalmist said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” In our deepest, most despairing trouble God is with us. We recognize His presence by His correcting rod and His upholding, protecting staff! In the midst of defeat, in Jesus, there is certain victory!

Devotion: II Corinthians 5:20 (NAS) by John

POTENTIAL POWER

I have not lived up to my potential, I thought while watching water for tea coming to a boil. I felt helpless in a world full of overpowering people and events.
The water boiled, and I observed. Power is released when water boils. Contained and directed, it moves long trains with great loads over high mountain passes. People are a lot like water. Alone we are powerless, but Christians are never alone! Jesus is with us, and we are His ambassadors! We may feel powerless, but feelings deceive. His power is waiting whether we feel it or not. He is our strength!
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." II Corinthians 5: 20 (NAS)
Like water, we need to be spiritually heated to boiling. Our lives need to be contained and directed by his love into useful service. God's Holy Spirit is just waiting for us to let Him do it all! Then as Christ's ambassadors, we can deliver His message with powerful authority, "Be reconciled to God!"
I prayed, "I love you, Lord. I commit my life to you. Control me, and direct me by your love as I represent You to the people of this world!"
The Power that created the universe dwells and works in every Christian! Join Jesus in His work, and let Him fill your life with meaning

Devotion: God Does Hear Us When We Pray by John

GOD DOES HEAR WHEN WE PRAY!

At 2:00 a.m. the man on the phone was sincere. He was embarrassed, but hurt enough to call. He wasn't sure God cared. He already had trite answers for his problem. They didn't help.
"How do you know someone hears when you pray?" he said. "It's a matter of faith I guess, isn't it?"
Is there value in talking to God when you don't believe He exists? Yes. When we grope for Him, He reveals Himself as our real Father. God increases our faith as our relationship with Jesus grows stronger.
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." I John 5:14,15 (NAS)
God's Holy Spirit sets a seal on us the moment we trust Jesus. He indwells us: He reveals our Father and bears witness to us we are God's children. He prays for us in ways we can't, and He assures us the Father hears our prayers. Answered prayer is physical proof God listens.
In a later conference with the man who called, I showed and explained my prayer notebook. I gave the following reasons for his having one.
First, Satan wants us to forget people, events, and items we need to pray for.
Second, he reminds us of prayers God hasn't answered yet. Satan breeds despair and tries to break our faith. A record of answered prayers defeats him.
Third, we need to give God thanks, and records remind us how many, many prayers God has answered. A list helps us remember and sets our hearts singing!
Fourth, people have daily needs! It's easy to forget to pray for someone even though we've promised we would. A notebook reminds us to pray daily. It also makes sure we say something worthwhile when we pray!
Prayer lists tend to grow! Sooner or later, you'll give some people and/or things greater priority. You'll pray for them often. Others can be lifted up once a week, and some perhaps monthly.
The words of Jesus abound in invitations like John 16: 24: "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full." Be filled with joy! And be prepared, Satan will attack, and he is always prepared!

The Prince of Peace by John

Isaiah 9:1-7

1. We read this Scripture last Sunday, and now again today. This time we are dealing with the last three words of verse 6, The Prince of Peace.
(1) Nowhere is there a better description of our Lord in human terms than right here in Isaiah.
(2) When we read the New Testament accounts of Jesus, we find that both the actions and words of our Lord Jesus fit exactly with the description here.
(3) He was, and is, the Prince of Peace.
(4) There are 9 Beatitudes in Matthew 5, and the 6th one says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

I. Peace is more than absence of war.

1. We think the antonym of peace is war, and in this world it is, but “peace” as it appears in the Bible refers to far more than an absence of war.
2. It refers to that inner tranquility that only Christians possess.
(1) When you are content with everything around you, there is no need for that rush of adrenalin that anger produces.
(2) Buddhists frequently must practice for years before they can achieve an inner peace similar to what we are talking about. They think they find it, but being one with your surroundings does not compare with the peace of God in Jesus!
(3) God’s peace settles on us when we accept Christ, and we have immediate peace with God who created our surroundings, but peace with those surroundings, including people, comes only with devotion to the Lord and a Christian view of everything. That takes time to grow within our inner being.
3. It’s more than an absence of war. Can you imagine Jesus being called the Prince of an absence of war? Doesn’t that sound silly? That should tell us Peace is more than that!
4. Let’s see if we can get into this a little further.

II. Peace is the Love of God flowing through us.

1. The first real taste of peace for any human being comes the moment we entrust ourselves to Jesus!
2. Do you remember that Jesus said, ”This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21).
3. Sin causes guilt, and it always brings fear with it! God always hears our prayers, Christians, but when we sin deliberately, the next step we take is to stop praying! We don’t want to come to the light for fear that God will be like an earthly father and challenge us about our sins!
4. Let me give you a Biblical illustration from Jonah of how God usually treats us when we sin. Jonah was a proud man. He did not want to prophecy to Nineveh possibly because they were not Jews, and certainly because he believed God would forgive them, and his image as a prophet would be tarnished! He sat down outside the city to see what would happen. (Gourd vine up and died) Jonah 3:9-11 (READ).
5. Jonah belonged to God, but his inner peace was missing because of the way he lived!
6. The peacemakers Jesus said were blessed are those who are at peace with God first of all, and then they spread that peace to others.
7. Look at Mt 5:43-48: (READ)
(1) The way of the world is to love your friends and hate enemies.
(2) The way of Jesus is to love your friends and love your enemies!
8. John makes it very plain in I John 4:8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
9. Before John made that statement, he said, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him.” (I John 2:9-11).
10. The character of God is love! Remember the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
(1) The first thing God’s Spirit does for a new Christian is to fill him with God’s love, and that Christian begins to form the character of God! (2) That relationship results in joy, peace, and all the rest.
(3) Some say that all of these fruits of the Spirit result from love, and it is certain that there is a very close relationship to all of these.
(4) I believe the truth is that all of these come from the One Holy Spirit Who indwells us the moment we trust Jesus, and He never, ever leaves us!
(5) V 24 tells us that there is no law that applies here. There’s no need for law when we are indwelt and guided by God’s Spirit. No one has any need to fear such a person!
2. Peace, however, comes from the Prince of peace, Jesus! John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” So peace is a direct gift of Jesus, but it is also part of the fruit of the Spirit.

III. In a very real way hate can be the opposite of peace.

1. I put this point here because we are at war, and there are people saying that we have to hate the Iraqis in order to defeat them.
2. As far as Christians are concerned, we are to hate sin! Not sinners!
3. We are right back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:44, “I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
4. Christian! If you don’t develop the character of God, you are not filled with the Spirit of God! If you really are a Christian, stop hating people! Limit your hate to sin!
5. Hate is the opposite of peace when it is directed at other human beings, or even at yourself!
6. I’ve always liked that rather crude statement, “God don’t make no junk!” Human beings make sin. God makes human beings, and they are not junk!
7. Eliminating hate does not mean that we are pushovers for ungodly enemies. God sent Israel to destroy some nations who refused Him, and we have to sometimes remove criminals from society, depose, or destroy, leaders who war against God and His children when they get out of the control of human decency.
8. Guard yourselves against hating anyone. You will live longer and enjoy life more when you drop all of the hatred you have for other people!
9. In the Lord’s prayer we pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Why is that in our model prayer? Because God has forgiven us, and He expects us to forgive others. If we don’t, we don’t belong to Him, and He is under no obligation to forgive us!

Conclusion:

1. The Prince of Peace is Jesus.
2. He gives us peace.
3. It is a whole lot more than absence of war and worry.
4. We become peacemakers as God’s Spirit leads us.
5. We stop hating others. We forgive them. We pray for them. We seek the blessing of God in their lives!
6. When they become brothers and sisters in Christ, it will not be hard to show them our love, right?
7. Jesus wants us to show it now while they are unlovely in our sight.
8. You can do that in Jesus! If you can’t, you are not in Jesus! But you can be. You can trust Him now.

Emmanuel 12/19/2004

From One Slave to Another by John

FROM ONE SLAVE TO ANOTHER (JAMESBS1.SER)
James 1:1-18

1. James is mentioned 42 times in the N.T.
(1) The name “James” is really “Jacob.” (Jacob seems to be reserved for Israel). He is referred to 27 times in the NT. The only difference in the names is the language. “Yacob” is Hebrew, and “Yacobos” is Greek.
(2) There are four and perhaps five Jameses in the NT (Some think only three.)
a. James, the father of Judas not Iscariot is one.
b. James, the son of Alphaeus is another.
c. James the Less, (Mark 15:40) could be the son of Alpheus.
d. James, the brother of John.
e. And James, the half-brother of Jesus. (James, Joses, and sisters mentioned in MK 6:3)
2. We feel sure the brother of John was martyred before the Book of James was written. (Acts 12:2)
3. Except for the half-brother of Jesus, the others do not seem to have been well-known and respected enough to write this Book.
4. On the other hand, James, the brother of our Lord, saw Jesus after the resurrection according to Paul in I Corinthians 15:7. (Seeing Jesus is a canon requirement for a writing to be included in the NT.
(1) Most of us think this is the half-brother of Jesus who also was a church leader in Jerusalem (Acts 15).
(2) It hardly seems possible someone other than Peter or John could have risen to such prominence without a direct connection with Jesus.
5. The James of this Book calls himself simply a “bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
6. From his writing, we know he was steeped in Judaism, but sparkling with his new life in Christ! He considered himself as one slave writing to another.
(1) Dr. Joel Gregory says, “Faith Works!” and it does!
(2) If you have faith, you can see God at work all the time, all around you! And it’s important for you to know it’s true!

I. THE BOOK IS ADDRESSED TO THE DIASPORA.

1. Diaspora means dispersed.
(1) Strabo, who lived while Jesus was on earth said, “It is hard to find a spot in the whole world which is not occupied and dominated by the Jews.” (“James, Faith Works!” Gregory, p.7)
(2) Something like 4 million Jews were scattered across the Roman empire. God placed them in the right places to spread the Good News about Him!
2. We think of Paul having plowed new ground everywhere he went, but there were Jews already there, and some of them were godly people! They didn’t know who they were waiting for, but they were waiting for Jesus!
3. James was writing to all of them, but specially the Christians! At that stage, I think he expected all of the Jews to receive Jesus. Time may have dimmed that hope.
4. I believe one of the most important things we need to learn today is God wants us scattered!
(1) Years ago in Mississippi I was asked, “Why do you Baptists fight so much? Everywhere I look there’s a Baptist Church fight going on, and then there’s two or three little Baptists churches when it’s over! Why do you fight so much?”
(2) My answer was and is, “Because we don’t practice what we believe!”
(3) “You mean you believe in peace, but you don’t practice it?”
(4) “No. I mean we believe in, but don’t practice, missions! Oh, we send money overseas to start churches, but we won’t start one next door! God knows we aren’t doing what He told us to do, and He lets us have a falling out! Then a new work starts! Obedience is a better way, but this way works. Everybody knows there are more Baptists in Mississippi than there are people!”
5. I love what Joel Gregory said about Christians gathering in “holy huddles.” Listen, “Churches have built their own gymnasiums, schools, and intricate social structures. While none of these is wrong in itself, all of them together can keep believers from being scattered as salt and light in a rotting and darkened world. One minister received an advertisement for a Christian subdivision in which only born-again people could live within its walls. That conjures up the image of Christian grocery stores where only Christians may shop for consecrated corn flakes, justified jelly, and sacred sauerkraut!”
6. We will save ourselves so much trouble if we just begin to realize we can’t keep the great commission without leaving the comfort of the family house!

II. THE FIRST LESSON OF THE BOOK CONCERNS TRIALS.

1. The word, “peirosmos” used here, in the KJ, is translated seven ways in the verb form. It is only ts as “temptation” in the noun form.
(1) Paul used it in I Cor 10:13. It would be a little awkward to ts it “test” there.
(2) In Acts 16:7, neither of these would do. The KJ ts it “assayed” and the NAS as “were trying”.
(3) Remember, translators have to translate thoughts, not just words!
2. Even Webster’s definition of the word “temptation” has “to try” as the original meaning.
3. Now, if the same word is used all the way through the NT, why does the Bible say God never tempts anyone?
(1) The answer is, because He doesn’t!
(2) The event is the same. How you react to it determines whether it was a temptation or a trial!
4. God allows us to try out our faith by going into the enemy’s, Satan’s, realm. Satan is limited in what he can do. Read Job 1:1-2:6, and you’ll see God allowed, but limited, Satan. He does the same with us.
5. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus (Ulysses) had his seamen plug their ears and tie him to a mast as they passed the sea nymphs called the sirens. Their songs were supposed to be so beautiful seamen were drawn to them and crashed their ships on the rocks. Odysseus, as his own prisoner, heard them and lived! He knew how to overcome their temptation! For him it was a test! Because he prepared for it!
6. James says testing produces endurance! So that you may be complete, lacking in nothing!
7. V. 12 says the one who endures receives the crown of life!

III. HIS NEXT MESSAGE CONCERNS WISDOM.

1. Did you note the play on words between v.4 and v.5?
(1) “Lacking nothing.”
(2) “If any of you lacks faith...”
(3) This is a particular style of speech called “paranetic.” It ties thoughts together with catch words, and generally collects maxims or truisms under topics. In 108 verses, James uses 60 imperatives. Those are the three characteristics of paranetic literature.
2. If trials endured and passed bring completion and life, and failures bring instability and death, we need to know we are making the right choices, Amen?
(1) James saw that question coming, and he knew the answer.
(2) V. 5, Ask God for wisdom! (Whatever definition you give to wisdom, if it is Christian, it will be practical!)
3. How God gives the gift is important. God gives liberally, without accusation or reproach.
4. We must ask in faith, without doubt.
5. And the emphasis is on staying true until the answer comes!

CONCLUSION:

1. This wonderful message is written to and for Jews, particularly Christian Jews, but it has an undying message for us! We’ve just begun to touch it today.
2. God sees to it we are scattered as leaven in a lump so we can share the good news of Jesus with others.
3. He allows our faith to be tested. It produces strength, stability and perfection, so that we may become completely grown up in Jesus
4. No person has enough wisdom to know how to react when he is tested, but God will gift us with wisdom when we ask Him.
5. Now here you are. You don’t know whether you ought to trust Jesus, or not. Ask God. You don’t about whether you should receive Jesus and join the church, or not. Ask God. He has the wisdom, and He’ll give it to you!

Emmanuel 01/04/86
ECC 1/23/2005

We are...

We are Dolores and John. We've been in Christian work for more than 50 years, and we really enjoy sharing our faith with all we meet. We invite you to meet us here from time to time. We will post things we think are of importance and interest to anyone who seeks to know God better. We invite you to visit us for that purpose. We are careful to avoid judging anyone. We plan to avoid taking sides in politics should that occasion arise. We will welcome questions from visitors, and we will answer as many as we can as soon as we can.

We will also post sermons, devotions and Bible studies. We generally use the NIV since it is in modern English. We do not condemn any translation that seeks to be true to the original Greek and Hebrew. Both of us have seminary training as well as undergraduate degrees. We don't claim to be experts. We do intend to continue being students of the Word as long as we live, and we always try to be open to the truth in case our present stand should prove faulty.

Visit us, and you can see for yourself where we stand. If you e mail us, please place "Blog" in the subject area.

Thanks,

John and Dolores.