August 5, 2018
Morning Service

James wasted little time in his letter to the Jewish Christians (and us) in challenging us to receive the trials and temptations that will come against them with joy; trusting that God is perfecting us through the times of trouble.  He also wants us to realize that when we have needs in our lives we need to ask God believing He will deliver.  James also instructs us to be humble and content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in putting Him first.  As we finish this chapter he begins by explaining the source of many of our temptations.

 James 1:12-15 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because having been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  (13)  Let no one being tempted say, “I am tempted from God.” For God is not tempted by evils, and He tempts no one.  (14)  But each one is tempted by his lusts, being drawn away and seduced by them.  (15)  Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is fully formed, brings forth death.

·        Perhaps to motivate us further James reminds us that there is a reward at the end of the trials to those who are faithful.  We are blessed of God in this life and then promised that we will receive the “crown of life.”  This needs to be on our mind as we are enduring tough times.  God will walk with us through the trials of this life and bless us when we endure it.  He will then reward our faithfulness when all our struggles are completed.

·        He then makes it very clear that God is not the tempting us with evil, but our troubles come from within us.  We are often our own worst enemy.  It is our own lusts that we fight against the most and then when we yield to that lust sin is conceived.  The temptation alone is not sin.  It is the acting upon that temptation that produces the sin. 

·        This is our spiritual battleground.  Our flesh cries out and pulls us in one direction but God is clearly calling us in another one.  It is these battles that help us to grow in our faith and become more of a yielded vessel in God’s hand.  God is not tempting us to sin, but testing our faithfulness.  He uses the very nature He created us with to help to perfect us into that “Full stature of Christ.”  Our struggles are not meant to tear us down but to build us up.  We must learn to trust in the strength of our Lord and not our own.

 

James 1:16-18  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.  (17)  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation nor shadow of turning.  (18)  Of His own will He brought us forth with the Word of truth, for us to be a certain first fruit of His creatures.

 

Matthew 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

·        God is not the source of our temptations, but He gives us “every good gift and every perfect gift.”  He is the “Father of lights” and there is no dark side or shadows to Him.  Everything in Him is holy, just and pure.  The greatest of all gifts is the gift of new birth.  He offers the gift of salvation to all that allows us to be spiritually reborn having our sins forgiven and giving us a chance to start life anew.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17  So that if anyone is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

·        Could there be any greater gift than a chance to have our sins forgiven?  We are given the chance to be able to leave our old selfish person behind and become a new person whose desire is to please and follow Christ our Savoir.  We are able to take a life that we have made a mess of and hand it over to the Lord to straighten it out.  It is a start over button.  That gift is offered to us only because of Jesus’ love for us and His faithfulness to give Himself upon the cross.  Because we are given such a perfect gift James begins to explain the changes in our lives that should occur.

 

James 1:19-20 Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.  (20)  For the wrath of man does not work out the righteousness of God.

·        Our reaction to receiving such a wonderful gift is that we begin to take control, with the Holy Spirit’s help, of how we conduct our lives.  First James tells us to be quick to listen.  God sometimes speaks in a still small voice and we need to have our ears open and ready to hear Him speak.  Paul told the Roman church this:

Romans 10:17 Then faith is of hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

·        Listening has become a lost art.  To really listen we have to slow down and be quiet.  We all need to be able to turn off the radio, television and cell phone and be quiet with the Lord to listen.  We need to be fully present giving our full attention.

·         Is there a time in your day that you set aside for God to speak to you as you read His Word?  We all desire God to lead us in our daily lives, but do we give Him the chance to give us directions?  Praying is us talking to God, but reading and studying is us listening to God.

·        What about listening to others?  Our busyness also keeps us from having old fashioned conversations with one another (investing).   Being fully present and truly listening cannot occur while you are looking through your phone either. Young parents set a time every night to allow your children to talk to you and you listen.  Let’s all heighten our sense of hearing and be “quick to hear” others as well as God.

·        James instructs us also to be “slow to speak.”  Our first reaction in times of trial or conflict is to lash out with our tongue.

·         Has anybody said things in the heat of a moment that you wish you had never said?  Talking is not a lost art; people can talk all day long and say nothing at all.  With talking less is more.  Choose your words wisely and say what you mean being clear and confident.  By engaging our mouth before putting our brain into gear we are headed for trouble every time.  Proverbs says a quiet answer turns away wrath.  Let our speech be slow and thoughtful.

·        Thirdly he tells us to be slow to wrath because it never imitates the righteousness of God.  It is easy in the times of trials and troubles to lose our temper.  Wrath is defined as violent anger or indignation.  We allow our anger to dictate our actions.  Paul told the Ephesians:

 Ephesians 4:26 Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath,

·        Paul is actually quoting Psalms here as he tells us it is okay to be angry, but we can’t let that anger turn to sin (wrath).  We need to be in control of our emotions and have a way to calm ourselves down before we react in a way that we will later regret.  Our wrath does not fulfill the righteousness of God.

 

 

 

James 1:21-25 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and overflowing of evil, receive in meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls.  (22)  But become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  (23)  For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man studying his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he studied himself and went his way, and immediately he forgot what he was like.  (25)  But whoever looks into the perfect Law of liberty and continues in it, he is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. This one shall be blessed in his doing.

·        “Putting aside” shows that we are doing something; taking action.  We are purposefully working to remove the things in our life that don’t belong as pointed out by our listening to the Word.  Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior creates a desire within you to change.  You want to become all He wants you to be (you are receiving the Word).  As we read in the Word the things we need to add or subtract from our lives we have to take action (be a doer).  Bible study becomes Bible “doing.”  James gives us the perfect example of a man looking into the mirror.  The Word is our mirror and God will reveal to us what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right.  It is up to us to make the changes needed.  Listening is fruitless without doing what you hear.

 

In summary James points out that God is not tempting us with evil, we are tempted by our own lusts.  When we yield to those lusts sin is conceived.  God has given us the greatest of all gifts; a chance for a new life and a home in heaven.  That gift should cause changes in our lives.  We need to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.  Our listening to God will then help us to become doers of His Word, adding good things to our lives and removing the evil ones.

 

Heavenly Father thank You for the greatest gift ever given and please help us to be doers of Your Word and not hearers only.