Living In Faith

March 25, 2024 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Life of a Living Faith

Book of James Chapter 5

If the Book of James has seemed to be confusing to anyone, we can see that a good study of what James is teaching will clear this all up.

There are no contradictions in the Bible and those that say so are the same ones who do not trust the Word of God to be the truth!

The Book of James is about practical, faithful living!

We must base our faith on the Word of God. We must understand that most of this world we live in will never agree with our creation as described by the Word of God.

For them to believe in our Creation, they would have to acknowledge our Creator and they will not do this.

Our faith in the One True God says that we accept the Words He has given to us as the absolute truth!

The plan of our salvation did not begin when our Savior came to this earth!

The plan for our salvation began immediately upon our creation in fact before our creation and the creation of this world we live in!

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and “belief of the truth”:

We are to have so much faith in the truth of God that it should the main topic of our salvation until the day God takes us home or we last until the time of the rapture of the Church, which could happen at any time now as God begins to work with Israel as He promised them.

It is not just some of the Word of God is true, it is that all the Word of God is true!

It is because we live in this world so full of doubt that we must strive for our faith in this truth.

Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, “with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”;

Our faith then is based upon the Word of God, all the Word of God.

Striving means we must put forth the effort to defend the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Another word for strive is contend.

To contend is to struggle in opposition to the falseness of this world.

Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

James is teaching us that we must be patient in this striving until the coming of the Lord.

It is best stated as Living in Faith!

*Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

The one thing we must stay focused upon is the “Coming of the Lord”!

The Lord Jesus said He was coming again and we are to accept that as the truth and stay focused on Him.

The Holy Spirit has given us the example of the farmer.

The farmer has invested all he has to buy the seed.

The Lord has provided the seasons and will provide the early and later rains.

The ground is prepared and the seed is planted.

Then is the time for patience!

The Lord Jesus explain this as the act of spreading the Gospel.

Luk 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luk 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Luk 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luk 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Luk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

The life of each Christian is under the same law of growth!

Gal_6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Time and again the Scriptures teach us the second coming of the Lord.

The same Scriptures teach us that before this Second Coming, He will stop in the clouds and take His Church out of this world.

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The Scriptures agree that the Lord is returning to reward “every person” for the work that they have done while He has been back in Heaven.

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Mat 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

This obviously goes against anything this world is teaching.

The world is trying to save a world that the Lord says is not worth saving because of sin!

Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead.

2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

Jesus Christ is returning to execute “judgment on all those who reject His truth!

Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

No matter what this world is doing, we who are practicing “Living Faith” are to continue living for Jesus Christ!

Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

We must be patient and show this patience until the Lord takes us out of this world.

When the Lord repeats Himself, we certainly had better pay attention.

*Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Sometimes it is not until we have hemmed ourselves in and are not able to take another step that we try to do what the Lord ask us to do.

It is in those times that we just need to stand still and watch what the Lord does to solve our issues.

What did the Lord say to Job? Job_37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.

We cannot do these things unless we have faith and that faith will teach us patience.

Our strength will come from the thought that the Lord could return to take us home at any moment!

If those in the Old Testament had this faith, then we should ask ourselves why we do not have this faith when it is evident that we are in the “Last Days”.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

We do not see the coming of the Lord as afar off but as it could happen any time now!

We should have no doubt that our redemption is closer than it has ever been and we can “stablish” our hearts, which means we are to make this truth an absolute fact in our hearts.

We must never become dissatisfied with the Word of God!

*Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

It is not time to complain about the things we see in this world.

It is certainly not time to bring these complaints inside the Church.

When we complain we are again assuming the office of a judge.

If we rest in the truth of the Lord’s soon coming, then we should act as if He is standing at the doors of Heaven just about to open the door to return to take us home.

Until the Lord completes the work He came to do for our salvation, He will not be standing at the door of His return!

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Until the Church Age is complete the Lord will remain in Heaven as our High Priest.

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

If we even think we are suffering now, especially here in the United States, then we need to go back and read about the Apostle Paul and all the other Apostles and even the things that happened to our Lord and Savior and we will see that we are not suffering at all.

The Holy Spirit will hold back more of evil in this world, if we only do our part.

Almost all of the Old testament prophets were murdered by the various governments of Israel during the time of kings.

*Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

We must patiently endure the persecution of this world just so we can get that opportunity to witness for Jesus.

These men and women patiently endured all these things because they held on to their faith.

It would have been easy to turn their back on Jesus and stayed alive a little longer, but they refused because they knew they had the truth.

How can we grumble against God who has made such wonderful promises to us?

Look at Moses for a great example.

Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

The rewards of Heaven are just too good to give up following the Lord Jesus!

Job was also a great example.

*Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

We see here that James looked upon the Old Testament as actual history and we should to!

Job endured to gain the rewards of Heaven and the things that happened to Job happened in just a few days.

Every child of Job all died on the same day.

Few have ever suffered the trials and temptations of life that Job suffered through.

Along with the death of Job’s children, he suffered bankruptcy, the loss of his property, all his livestock and even his employees and even his wife turned on him because he refused to complain to God.

Job never gave in. Job never forsook his faith in God even though he did not understand what was happening to him.

Job said: Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Job stated that he just could not be a hypocrite: Job 13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

It is hard to even imagine the absolute conviction of Job to hold onto his faith!

We must never take our eyes off the prize of the coming of the Lord to take us home.

It is sure and it is real!

The Apostle Peter also knew this to be the truth: 1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

No matter how much we are provoked by this world, we must never break into fits of swearing or the making of oaths.

When our answers are yes then say yes.
When our answers are no then say no and it will be enough.

We always seem to forget the Holy Spirit who is living within us.

He is our strength!
He is our comforter!

*Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

No matter how much this world provokes us we must not swear by the name of the Lord.

What the Lord is saying here is to let your words stand firm. Always speak the truth and let your words be your bond of truthfulness.

He does not forbid the raising of our right hand and swearing to tell the truth in a court of law, but we had better be telling the truth when we do this.

The Jews in the day of Christ were notoriously guilty of common swearing.

They would swear on anything in God’s creation, but not so much by God Himself.

Most of the time when we hear men swearing, they are trying to hide the fact that they are being dishonest.

If what we are saying is the truth then we do not have to swear to it.

Even in a court of law, God is watching us so we should take care that every word we say is the truth.

It is the same for us every time we open our mouths to speak. God is always watching His children.

We must never be that person who thinks we have to swear to cause someone to believe us!

This should hold to be the truth, even when we are going through trials and temptations because we are already being watched by Heaven’s audience.

Most trials and temptations are tests to begin with.

Almost all of our answers can be “yes I will”, or “no I will not”.

If we are afflicted because of trials and temptations the best thing we can do is to pray.

Giving our burdens to the Lord is always the best thing we can do!

*Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

When we are going through troubles we need to pray!

When we are not going through troubles, then we need to pray and praise the Lord thanking Him for not going through troubles.

In fact, we need to praise the Lord in the midst of our troubles, thanking Him ahead of time for removing those trials and temptations from us.

Everyone upon this earth are facing trials and temptations at some point in their lives and usually quiet often.

As Christians we can depend upon the Lord to help us through these things when the lost have no such help.

Worldliness, lust and pride are the enemies of the Christian!

Also accidents, disappointments, unfaithfulness, bad times and bad feelings affect everyone from time to time.

We can all have good days and bad days.

For the Christian we can always rejoice no matter what we are going through because our names are written down in Heaven.

At some time or another we all seem to have sicknesses and most of those things are the same things we all suffer from, such as the “Common Cold”.

There are also sicknesses that only affect certain people such the things of the heart, and that terrible word cancer that no one wants to heal and some other terrible things.

Many other things come about because nations are seeking some new disease that can stop an army in its tracks and make them easier to defeat.

We must understand that there is no illness that Our Savior cannot heal.

There is no problem that Our Savior cannot solve.

There is no nation that our Savior cannot defeat.

And thank goodness there is no one upon the face of this earth that Our Savior cannot save.

There are always some who are sick among the Church.

There may occasionally be a congregation that have no one sick on a given day but this is unusual.

There are those that think that the preacher’s job is to preach and nothing else but this is not true and every body of believers should have what are called elders.

It is the job of these elders and anyone else to visit the sick, but as we gather in God’s house there is no better time to anoint that person or persons with oil and pray over them.

This is where our faith kicks in.

A prayer of faith, not just by these elders and the preacher but by all those present that day, especially including that one who has that sickness can indeed save the sick.

Notice the Holy Spirit adds that this prayer in faith can save the sick.

Notice what the Lord Jesus says: Mar_2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

It takes the same faith to be healed as it does to be saved and this we must remember.

Over and over the Lord Jesus said this was true.

Mar 10:52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Luk 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

We must also understand that our prayer of faith must also be a fervent prayer.

*Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Confession is also a key to our forgiveness and our healing!

This does not mean we are to go around confessing all our sins to each other.

We are to confess our sin in closet prayer, between us and the Lord.

If the Church is aware of our sin, then yes, we can confess that sin to them.

If we have wronged some other Christian then we can confess our sin to that person and ask for forgiveness and that forgiveness should come.

If we have misled or lied to someone, we should confess that sin to them.

If we have caused someone to stumble and sin, we certainly need to confess our sin.

If we have publicly committed some crime, then we need to confess and forgiveness is required but this does not mean we hide them from the law.

If we have a pastor who we can trust we can sometimes confess our sin to them.

When we confess to one another then we must also pray for one another.

We simply cannot overlook the power of prayer.

Prayer is the greatest gift the Lord has given to us after our salvation.

Our prayers must be in the will of God for our lives and the lives of God’s people.

The Holy Spirit gives us an example with the prayer of Elijah.

*Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Elijah a prophet of God in the time of the Kings showed us the power of fervent prayer.

Elijah was a man just like we are, a human being who had passions and feelings just like we do.

Elijah earnestly prayed for it to not rain for three years and six months and it did not rain.

Then Elijah prayed for the rain to come and he could not get to shelter fast enough to keep from getting wet because of a thunderstorm.

If we can live our lives knowing that we can contact Heaven then, we will know that the Lord God of all Creation has heard our prayer.

If that prayer goes along with His will for our lives, then it is highly possible that we will get a favorable answer.

If our trial or temptation came upon us because of our sin then it is possible that the Lord will remove that obstacle from our path if that chastisement is sufficient.

If our sickness came upon us for doing something God said to not do then we may not get an answer at all or we may get an answer we did not expect.

The main thing is for us to live in the will God has for our lives and give the Holy Spirit our reins and do what He leads us to do, always.

This is called following in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is being a Christian.

Notice it is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, not a self-righteous man.

It is the righteous man that gets the help of the Holy Spirit!

Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We need to stick to the truth of the Word of God and we can depend upon it to be the truth!

Amen

What Is True Faith

March 18, 2024 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Humble Dependence of a True Faith

Book of James Chapter 4

What is the theme of our lesson today?

Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

No matter what we say, we do have that fear of when that last war will come because we know these politicians that are elected in all nations will one day set off the nuclear armament, they are so proud of and refuse to do away with.

It is a fact that the leader of every national power today is trying to cement themselves and the things they have changed while in office to remain the law, long after they are gone.

We simply cannot allow this to happen.

All of us see war on the horizon, because every nation is trying to dictate what happens in other nations and have forgotten how to take care of their own people.

It may look like the end for us all, but the Lord made a promise to His children and this takes away some of that fear for most of God’s people.

Jesus said: Luk_21:9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, “be not terrified”: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

The world will tell you that religion has caused most wars and that maybe true, but I have no faith in religion.

It has always been evil men seeking some imaginary power they desire who use people to cause wars.

Eph_6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

According to the Lord these things are just a part of our lustful flesh.

1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, “abstain from fleshly lusts”, which war against the soul;

James is saying that coveting the things that we do not have but we think we must have, are a cause for most wars.

Today the drug traffic and human trafficking have become so profitable that men are willing to go to war over them.

No doubt sin is the biggest moneymaker in all this world and those who will pull the trigger are in high places in every nation.

Who would ever believe war would be so profitable and death would be so cheap!

This is not to be the way of the Christian!

It simply does not register with us just how sinful our flesh is!

We all seem to think we have some good in us when the Word of God says we have no good in us.

Jas 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

These are all things that the Devil has influenced in this world while we all go about thinking we have some good in us.

The only way we stand a chance for peace in our lives is to humble ourselves before the Lord!

*Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submitting ourselves to God means that we will receive His Messiah as our Savior.

That Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ who came to this earth just as described in the Old Testament, fulfilling every prophecy that was written of Him.

If God was willing to send a Savior surely, we can take some time to listen to what He has to say!

We know that we face the temptation to do evil on every side.

When temptation comes sin will follow, unless we have the strength to say no to temptation.

We have no strength to overcome temptation without the strength that comes from the Lord.

Every sin is preceded by temptation!

When we are young, we try to imagine a world without war, without murder, without hatred, without arrogance, and without neglect, but it takes some time to realize all these things come about because of sin and most do not ever figure this out.

We think that every person has some good in them when the fact is that none of us have any good in us at all.

Every person has a different definition for the word good!

In fact the word good comes from the word god.

In the best dictionaries the word good can cover a whole page.

Everyone in this world has a god whether they acknowledge it or not, but there is only One True God.

He is the only God who is denied and His name was Jehovah in the Old Testament and the Old Testament says He is the Messiah, the Christ of the New Testament called Jesus.

The Lord Jesus said that God is the only one who is good.

Mat_19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

The Lord Jesus then said He is that God, He was the Messiah of the Old Testament.

Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears”.

The Bible is specific, we are to submit ourselves to the Messiah of the New Testament.

It is He and He only, the One who can bind the Devil!

Once we submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will move into our Soul and it is then, that we have the power to Resist the Devil and only then.

Other than this, no lost person can resist the Devil!

2Ti_2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, “who are taken captive by him at his will”.

No one can overcome the wiles of the Devil who has not submitted themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is a fact!

We can turn away from temptation and push it out of our mind, only if we have the truth of God on our mind.

When we focus our mind on the truth of Jesus Christ the Devil will flee and that temptation will be gone.

1) We must submit to the Lord!
2) We must resist the Devil!

It is a two-part thing.

We can never defeat the Devil if we are fighting him alone.
We can never defeat the Devil if we are going our own way.
We can never defeat the Devil by giving in just a little.
We can never defeat the Devil by not obeying the Word of God!

If we even listen to the Devil’s tempting offer, we have begun our path to defeat!

Even if we have been enslaved to the Devil for years, the Lord Jesus can break that bondage!

Our freedom begins when we draw nigh to God.

*Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

That nearness to God is the promise that is attached to true and earnest prayer!

We cannot get any closer to God than just getting on our knees in submission, and just telling our Heavenly Father just what is happening in our lives, and He cannot hear us unless we are one of His children or part of our prayer is submitting to His Son.

Psa_66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Drawing near to God includes repentance!

We must walk away from that old life we had, and join the many others in knowing that we are never alone when we are facing trials and temptations that all come in one way or another from the Devil himself.

The Devil is a real person and he will make himself known to you the very moment you have the Lord on your mind.

Other than this he will remain hidden in this world of sin because he is a coward!

Get close to God, as close as you can.

We get close to God with a good prayer life.
We can get close to God by reading His book.
We can get close to God by remembering what we have read and discussing it with others.

If we take one step toward God, He will take two steps toward us!

God knows how this world affects us!

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We cannot draw near to God if we have sinful, unclean hands.

When we touch the things, God forbids us to touch, why would we think He will accept us.

Even after our salvation our soul has been saved, but these bodies that soul lives in is still just as sinful.

It is this closeness to God that can overcome that sinfulness!

1Ti 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Holy hands are clean hands.

Those who have the right to draw near to God are those same ones who are not ashamed to walk in fellowship with the Lord!

These are the same ones to walk in victory over the Devil and victory over the trials of this life!

1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

What was the message of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

James gives us this same thought.

*Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

When temptation comes it is not time to be laughing and joking around.

We need to have a sense of urgency and misery.

The Apostle Paul wrote: Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The Lord Jesus wrote: Luk 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

While we are to enjoy the truth of our salvation and we should, we must always be prepared for that next battle with trials and temptations, for they will surely come.

This Scripture is teaching us that laughter at trials and temptations is that of a careless, selfish world and the sport of a fool.

Pro 10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Trials and temptations are real and they are nothing to laugh about, and we are never to laugh at others while they are going through them no matter how serious we think they are.

How can we expect the Lord to be merciful to us, when we do not take these things seriously?

Temptation is an affliction and we must discipline ourselves to be in control of the comforts and joys of this life.

To have victory over our temptations we must be humble before the Lord!

*Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

We must understand that the Lord has His eyes upon us at all times and He understands that we have needs and He will fulfill those needs when we remain close to Him in obedience.

We must never look upon temptation seeing how attractive and enticing it is!

We must see temptation for what it is, the Devil trying to cause us to fail while the Lord has His eyes upon us.

It is looking at that second helping of food that is not needed, just as it is that second look at an attractive man or woman or any other thing that is considered sin.

Remember King David would have saved himself from a lot of problems had he not taken the second look at Bathsheba.

If we look upon any other human being with hatred, we are just as guilty and these are also temptations.

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

This verse is speaking to our own disobedience, when we are to be obedient to all the Word of God!

When we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up. This is His promise!

This is something we are to do first and not wait until we have no choice, but to seek God.

Most of the time we will only go to the Lord when we realize that we cannot cope with life by ourselves, and we waste the limited time we have to get close to the Lord.

Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The Lord hates all sin, but we can be sure that if we become a judge of other people that God will hate this sin the most!

*Jas 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Over and over again the Lord has said we have only one Master, and we can be sure that we also have only One True Judge.

There is no one in this world who does not understand the meaning of both judge and judgment!

Act_10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
2Ti_4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

What is speaking evil?

To criticize, to backbite, to gossip, to condemn, to grumble, and to judge any other person than ourselves, is speaking evil of others.

When we tear down some other person or even share things of them that we should not be sharing, we can cause harm to them that they may never overcome.

When we speak evil of another person, then we have judged them to be evil!

We will all come up short and fall or fail, as we try our best to serve the Lord.

The Lord Jesus expressly teaches us not to do this!

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

We already know the Lord Jesus gave us the “Royal Law” and we are to be obedient to that law!

The Lord Jesus is the Lawgiver to the Church and the Holy Spirit warns us, that it is only Our Lord Jesus who is able to save and able to destroy us!

There is no other in any place that has this power that only the Lord has!

Sure, another person can take our life and snuff it out, but if our soul belongs to the Lord, we will still wake up in the arms of the Lord.

Satan has been designated as our accuser and we are never to follow in his footsteps!

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: “for the accuser of our brethren” is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The reason we are given by the Lord, is that these are our brothers and sisters in the Church and each and every one of them have already been judged by the Lord, and again we will be making ourselves to be judge of the Church.

This position is filled by Our Lord and we cannot ever over rule Him.

We are to reach out to help our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and certainly not to condemn them!

We must concern ourselves with what is going on at this very moment because we cannot ever be sure of the next moment in the day and certainly not tomorrow.

*Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

None of us are self-sufficient. That song that says “I Cannot Walk Without Him Holding My Hand”, we all know to be true.

When we plan without including the Lord in our plans we are just asking for failure!

There is nothing wrong with making plans even for our future and we all should.

Rom 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

This Scripture is not talking about planning before we act, this Scripture is speaking of planning without the Lord.

We can be sure that if we are planning to move to another location it will not be any better if we do not stay close to the Lord.

Our life is not in our own hands!

We do not need the Lord just on Sunday and Wednesday, we need the Lord every moment that we are alive and our plans must include what happens after our death.

We have never been able to completely handle our own affairs alone!

We must accept God’s plan for our lives. We must accept God’s will for our lives!

We must realize that utter destruction of our future could happen in the next moment that we cannot see.

The next time we go to the doctor our plans could change.

The next time we drive our car our plans could change.

We are completely in the dark with what our future will bring.

We do not know what will happen in the next hour!

The only thing we can depend upon, is the truth of Our Lord and Savior!

Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

We seldom know when death will come but we certainly know it is coming to us!

When death comes, we are snatched into eternity never to return to this life. We are gone forever!

Refusing to face up to this fact is certainly foolish!

Some of those plans we had been making in that old life had better been about seeking the Lord Jesus our Savior.

Compared to a life that we can have in the glory world which is for eternity, our life in this world is not more than a vapor which is only here for a moment and gone forever.

*Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Being self-sufficient is failure to acknowledge our God, Our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is also our Creator.

This verse is very simple! We should not do anything until we have talked it over with the Lord!

Pro 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

The things we do must be part of the will of God for our lives!

Everything concerning life, whether we live or die and how well we live, should be discussed with the Lord and this daily, and sometimes moment to moment.

We depend upon the Lord for life!

Most everything in this life can be found in the Word of God and we should make it our guide in this life!

We should say “if the Lord will we shall live, and do this, or that”.

Even the Apostle Paul did this: 1Co 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.

As he wrote to the Corinthians. Christ has the power to influence the heart of the Christian, when there is no power in the vanity and pride of man.

We must know that everything we do is dependent upon the Lord.

We are not able to do anything that goes against the will of God, not a single thing.

A million different things could happen to us in the next moment and prevent us from carrying out any plan that we have made.

It is just best we talk over all our plans with the Lord or search for an example of God reactions to a similar event in the Word of God.

We know that God never changes no matter what some man says!

We must be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and sometimes He will speak softly just to see if we are listening.

We should see that the miracles of Christ in the New Testament show us His power to deliver us from the consequences of this world, if He so chooses.

We should never brag that we can do anything we want to do because the Lord will show us the folly in that statement.

*Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We all have a tendency to look back on life and say, “look what I have accomplished”.

This in itself is boasting that we are better than those around us, who have not accomplished much.

We can all say that we will do even better next year and we have no power to do so.

Both of these things are in the hand of God.

I felt pretty good about my life about three years ago and then cancer came back into my life and it seems that I lost more than a year and I still struggle to get motivated to do things that I want to do now.

To be quiet honest, I just do not pray enough!

But I am still here and still serving the Lord because this is what He wants me to do!

Everything else is secondary to this!

We must just trust the Lord and know that He has a better plan!

Our theme for this lesson holds true every time!

*Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We can almost say that life is a test.

Other humans, angels, the Devil’s helpers, Heaven, and Hell are watching to see if we are going to pass this test.

The Lord will help us.

The devil will hinder us.

The Lord Jesus tells us He has a better plan for our life and we just need to have faith in His plan.

We cannot get to Paradise, that is called Heaven, without the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to walk in fellowship with the Lord all the days of our lives.

Refusing to do this, is the sin that will send us to Hell!

Amen

Why It Matters

March 11, 2024 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Warnings and Words to Teachers.

Book of James Chapter 3

Today our lesson concerns those who teach the Word of God.

*Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

The word “masters” means instructors or teachers.

James included himself when we said we shall receive greater condemnation.

What James is saying is, that the Lord Jesus is our Master and we are to teach the things that He said or that He approved, which is the Word of God we have in our possession.

What did the Lord Jesus say? Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

We certainly only have one Master and He is our Lord and Savior.

We can never be a master teacher but we can teach the way Jesus taught by using all the Word of God, rightly divided.

2Ti_2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Is teaching a calling?

We must understand a Pastor is a calling and the biggest majority of them are also great Teachers like our own Pastor.

A Teacher on the other hand is not a Pastor and neither can he be unless he is called of God.

A teacher also is not self-appointed.

How did I get into this position? I first thought I was drawn to help in the youth department.

At that time Travis was our youth Pastor and I asked him if there was a place where I could help him with the youth.

And I began to teach the kids and I loved it.

As time passed the previous teacher of this class asked me if I could help him by teaching every other Sunday.

Now do not get me wrong, I do not feel I was called but I was pushed along by the Holy Spirit and felt I could not say no to either of these things.

So I was trying to teach the youth on Sunday night and every other Sunday in this adult class.

During this time I began having some medical issues which cause me to run to the bathroom.

I did not have a helper with the kids which was needed and you cannot just run off and leave a bunch of kids to themselves for any amount of time.

It was during this time that I had to make a choice and I chose the adult class because I can run off to the bathroom and leave you lovely people.

My issues have cleared up and I am much better now.

The previous teacher left to go to another Church and I became the full-time person filling in until this class elects someone else.

Any time someone else wants to teach in this class we can have an election and that person will be the new teacher if the votes are his.

I have been here since 2013 filling in until that teacher arrives.

What James is saying is, to love the work of being a teacher, but do not strive to be after the honor of a Teacher like our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, I must learn just like you do and then we can all learn together the truth of the Scriptures until we get what the Lord is trying to teach us.

You see, the temptations and trials that we face, we will face them together!

Just so we understand, the tongue is the tool of the teacher and because of this, if I use my tongue for a sinful purpose in this class, I will face a harsher judgment from the Lord!

I must never give you a warning from the Lord without applying it to myself also.

To be honest, teaching this class has given me an opportunity to learn more from the precious Words that the Lord God, our Creator, has given to us.

****Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

If I allow the Word of God to be my bridle then, in that sense only, I have become a perfect teacher, but in no way am I a perfect person, as only the Lord Jesus Christ has been perfect in the time He was upon this earth and He is our only Master!

All this being said, I will not allow this fear of judgment to neglect doing my best as a teacher.

I depend upon the Holy Spirit to keep me straight, and I know I still make mistakes, and if you hear me do that then tell me and we will get the right answer from the Word of God.

The Words God has given to us, are the only perfect thing upon this earth!

Psa_119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Sometimes I use too much politics and I will try to use less.

You see, as long as there is fuel to our temptations, then we have to be on guard in this life until Jesus Christ returns to take us home.

You see, I always know if I got the message across that I had and failed to do so.

I also know that when I stand before you that the Holy Spirit will bring out things that need to be said.

Another thing I know is, that when I have prepared a lesson that has too much information in it for the time we have, I try to rush the lesson and sometimes mess it up completely.

I am trying to do better.

The one thing my tongue shows me is that I am always stumbling and coming up short with what I am trying to teach, but I make no excuses because I know the Lord rewards effort and the Holy Spirit will correct my mistakes.

We know our tongue will speak about what is on our minds and what is in our hearts so, that same tongue will either justify us or condemn us before God.

This is exactly what the Lord Jesus said!

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

The Lord Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I depend upon Him to teach me!

Every part of me, from my head to my toe and everything inside me, was designed to serve the Lord and I want to try to make sure that they do!

The Lord wants us to be clear about the harm and the good that can come from the proper use of our tongues.

*Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

Sometimes, we can understand what the Lord is saying by the way we do things ourselves.

A horse is a powerful animal, but a bridle and a bit can place this large animal under our control.

The Lord says if we follow His instructions, we will not need a horse’s bridle with that bit that controls the tongue.

Psa 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psa 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

A piece of rope or leather connected in the right places, with a bit can control a very large horse!

Even the largest of ships have a small rudder compared to their awesome size, but that rudder turns the ship in the way it should go!

So it is with our tongue! It is such a small member of our body, but the destructive power of our tongue is very great!

We can boast about anything, but no matter how that boasting is done, it is almost always destructive.

Boasting is nothing more than vain or empty talk, unless we are boasting about what the Lord has done in our lives!

Our words are the expressions of our thoughts!

There was no such phrase in the American language as “brotherly love”, until Christians used it!

We should understand that every word we speak has its own history and at its appointed time, it was added to the library of the world’s thoughts.

It is only the wisdom that is from above that gives us the proper way to use our tongues!

We should ask ourselves, why are we so willing to freely speak about the business of others than to attend to our own affairs, when we should be freely speaking the Words of Christ Jesus and His affairs?

A kind word has helped more people than can be counted when cruel words can break the heart of weak spirits who may never recover from them.

We must consider that we are the king of our tongue, but we are also a slave to suffer from its abuse.

In most cases, it takes a bridle to calm a nervous horse and a ship is only a useful thing if it can turn to a set course.

That small rudder gives safety to a ship, just that bit gives calmness to a horse.

Those that do not know the Lord do not have the power to control their tongue, and we see this increasingly today in this wicked world.

*Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

We have an upcoming election between two men.

We will be asking ourselves, are we voting on what they say or are we voting on the actions we have seen from them both.

The main thing we should be asking is, what is their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?

We know that all the fires that roar over our nation every year, each began with one spark.

One of the greatest fires in California was started by a man lost in the wilderness so someone might find him.

Billions of dollars were lost and several people died because he made a foolish mistake in a dry forest.

This is the same action of our tongues if we do not bridle them and give the Lord the reins and the control of that bit in our mouths.

We know that a forest fire can destroy everything in its path and our tongues can destroy every good relationship we have ever made.

Boasting is also a sin of the tongue.

What are some of the things Our Lord hates?

Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

We see a lying tongue, and a false witness using his tongue to speak lies, when he that sows discord by the use of his tongue.

Any sort of falsehood will ruin our testimony!

Any sort of falsehood can ruin the testimony of any Christian.

I wish our politicians could understand this one thing as well as each of us are to understand.

Lies destroys marriages.
Lies destroys friendships.
Lies destroys our reputations.

In this life we have now, our tongue is an ever-present tool of evil, unless we allow it to be bridled by the Word of God.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

If the Potter does not remake us, then our tongue will lead us into the fires of Hell!

Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

We must allow the Word of God be the bits in our mouths, to control that terrible wicked tongue that we have!

The tongue can defile our whole body!

Our nation is on a slide to Hell, because of all the lies that are spoken in it today!

Our news sources no longer post the truth but use politics to sway others to certain things almost always against the Word of God and the actual truth.

Only the Lord Jesus can tame our tongues!

*Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

In our world we hear that word “religion” an awful lot and we should be able to see that “religion” is not good for anyone, because religion cannot tame the tongue!

Religion cannot rule the speech so, it is a failure and it is fraud.

The tongue is like a wild beast that needs taming, but religion is not a tool that will work!

The tongue is fierce and uncontrollable, and religion does not have the answers to tame it!

Why, might we ask? It is because the unbeliever is a child of the Devil.

1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can tame the tongue because it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can cage the Devil!

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Religion is only a friend of the Devil, but the Lord is the Master of all His creation.

*Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

No matter how much we claim to be Christian, it must show in our actions, and our tongue and our speech is a ready indicator of what is in our heart.

All of humanity were first made in the image of God!

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

What people seem to forget is that image did not really mean our bodies.

God is Spirit and you cannot see a spirit.

It is true that the Lord Jesus was a man and also God, but He took on the looks of man.

There is an enormous difference between “image” and “likeness”.

“Image” is our reproduction in form and substance.

“Likeness” is more our resemblance of thoughts and actions other than outward similarity.

We should understand that it is our nature that was made in the image of God.

It was the sin of Adam that changed this image!

The truth of these things is that humanity possess qualities that no animal could ever possess, and most true scientists have found this to be true while evolutionists try to make this to be false.

Evolutionists have great imaginations but they have no concept of the truth!

We can trust that the Lord speaks the truth!

The truth is, when we bless the Lord, our Heavenly Father, and then, use that same tongue to curse some person who is made in the similitude of God we are not who we say we are.

We cannot profess the Lord Jesus Christ and act like the heathens that are in the world!

Heathens meaning idolaters who oppose the truth of the Lord Jesus!

Psa 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Psa 50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

Psa 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

The Lord gives us His own examples of what He means here.

Then the Lord asks, “are we really wise or fools?

*Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

When you go to a water fountain you will get either bitter water or good water.

If you go to an apple tree you cannot get oranges.

If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not act like those of the world!

When the Holy Spirit speaks of wisdom, He is speaking of a moral matter rather than an intellectual quality!

To be “foolish” is to be without the Lord Jesus Christ!

Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

It is only by the Lord Jesus Christ that this wisdom comes to us!

1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The wisdom of God brings about the good life we all deserve, the life that our Heavenly Father intended for us, when He first created mankind until the sin of Adam.

We cannot twist and turn the Word of God to mean something that God did not intend!

As teachers, if we cannot teach the Word of God as God intended, then we are not teachers to begin with!

The wisdom of the world cannot compare to the wisdom of the Lord!

The Christian teacher must apply the facts of the Bible, and they are facts, no matter what this lost world says.

We must have a translation into our language from a reliable source which is the Received Text.

A translation from a translation such as the Vatican Text, will never have the complete truth!

Not only is the Biblical teacher to teach the truth of God, that Christian teacher must live what he teaches!

A knowledgeable teacher is not a person who has all kinds of facts and theories, speculations, and notions in his mind!

A Biblical teacher is a good moral person who is just, loving, and caring, and who lives what he knows, and teaches according to the Word of God!

Meekness is the strength to control and discipline and does so at the right time.

Meekness does not make us weak; meekness is a strength!

Meekness is having strong self-control!

The Christian teachers who teach should show a control with righteous anger against injustice and evil again, according to the truth of God!

Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is only false wisdom and wrong teaching in this world and especially in our own nation.

*Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

Each teacher is to concentrate on those before him and not be envious of others.

Teachers cannot compare themselves to other teachers because comparison cuts and hurts.

If any teacher begins to teach a false doctrine, then those he stands before must question him immediately.

It is the same for any preacher who stands before any congregation anywhere.

As Christians we do not have to tolerate such things!

False wisdom and wrong teaching can only cause problems in the entire church!

We have seen much of this throughout our nation.

As teachers, we must not react angrily while being corrected if that is the case!

The Bible, the Word of God will settle all disputes!

True wisdom comes only from the Lord who knows all things!

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

We must understand that envy is the mother of strife, just like the Devil is the father of all lies.

When these two things come together nothing but wickedness can come from it!

Ambition can sometimes lead to these things, when we all should be seeking the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of some man!

*Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

To be honest if these things are allowed in a church, then that church will cease to be a tool in the hands of God!

The soul will become restless and the soul will not be at peace with itself nor with others!

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

When we have grieved the Holy Spirit then He cannot do His work of Redemption.

Some can feel pride in their different beliefs, but the teacher must not give in to different beliefs that go against the Word of God.

The Word of God can settle all differences rightly divided!

2Ti_2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This is a command unto all of us and not just to the teacher or the preacher.

Any teaching that goes against the Word of God is false teaching and false wisdom!

When we are not teaching the truth then we are not living the truth!

All false teaching is of this earth because there is no false teaching that comes from Heaven.

We must be very clear on this!

*Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

America is full of false teaching today as is the world and we have allowed it to happen!

There is no such thing as a modern Gospel!

The Gospel we have today is the same Gospel that has worked since the time that the Lord Jesus Christ taught the truth of the Word of God!

The source of true wisdom is from the Lord!

True wisdom does not come from the knowledge of this world we live in!

True wisdom has first got to be pure!

It must be pure from fault and defilement, which means it must be morally pure!

All we have today is an immoral world from the knowledge of immoral men.

A person with pure wisdom will lead a clean and pure life!

He will discipline himself in all things and keep himself fit for the use of the Lord.

A wise person will keep his relationships pure!

He will lead a moral and just life!

He will protect his family from this immoral world!

Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

A truly wise person will keep himself pure before God, so that his relationship with God is always open to the being used of God!

A true teacher works to bring mankind closer to the Lord and closer to each other!

A true teacher will be gentle in dealing with other people.

The effect of true wisdom is the fruit of righteousness!

Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

If we can just get people to be at peace with each other, this world would be a much better place!

As true Christians we are not the enemies of this world, we in fact want to be friends, but take note, we will not tolerate the worlds objection to us living according to the Word of God because we have no choice!

We have chosen to live by the truth and we will and nothing in this world can change that!

We must maintain our relationship with the Lord!

We will not force the Word of God on anyone!

We just ask that the world just take one look at what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say.

Why is this world so afraid to take one look at Jesus?

Most of our world does not know what the Lord says, because the world listens to false teachers and false Christians.

Every building with a steeple is not a Church.
Every gospel that is taught is not the true Gospel.
Everyone who claims to be a Christian is not a true Christian, because a Christian must walk in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Church is to be peace makers and not war mongers, but we will not allow the world to walk all over us!

Amen

The Royal Law

March 4, 2024 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Living Faith in the Life of the Church

Book of James Chapter 2

As our first lesson discussed, the fact that we face temptations and trials every day.

One the greatest trials we face today is that of showing favoritism or partiality or discriminating against people.

Our world and our nation are caught up in the middle of this crisis today, and as is normal, the world and our nation have chosen the side of sin.

It maddens me every time our nation tries to follow what Europe is doing. Europe has never been right about much of anything!

Remember the Lord says, “to come as you are”!

This means every person upon this world can come to the Lord Jesus Christ just as they are.

It is then when we give in to the Lord that the Holy Spirit will begin His work in us.

These things are the main headlines in our nation today and the cause of many of the problems we face in America and throughout this world.

We must clearly understand that there are only two types of people in this world and they are those who are saved and those who are lost.

The color of their skin, the way they dress, nor whether they are rich or poor, have anything to do with it.

It is only if they have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ or not.

By the way, as Christians we have become the greatest enemy to our government today because we refuse to fall in line with their policies and the policies of this world.

*Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

Showing partiality means to favor some people over others or to pay special attention to a person because of his wealth, social standing, position, authority, popularity, looks or influence.

James has addressed this message to the Church and we need to be active in obedience to it because it came by the Holy Spirit, from our Heavenly Father.

What is going on in the world we cannot solve, but we can solve these issues in the Church.

The Church is to always be obedient to the Word of God which will never change because says He will never change.

Those in the world are the lost and we need to reach out to them with the message of Christ and we cannot expect them to act in a way suitable to the Lord.

Those in the Church who get caught up in this foolishness are the ones we need to address.

Our number one job is to be obedient to all the Word of God.

Our last lesson stated: Jas_1:22 But be ye “doers of the word”, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Of all the people upon this earth, the people who should never show partiality are believers!

Everyone in the Church stands on equal ground with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Everyone that knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, bow before Him As Lord.

All those who refuse to do so, the lost, are those same ones that we must pray for their salvation!

When we bow before the Lord, it is as a servant or a slave, all with equal standing!

The Lord Jesus throughout His short lifetime was no respecter of persons.

Mat 22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

Every Christian will share the same glory of the Lord when He returns to take us to our home in Heaven.

So, we cannot allow these things to become part of the Church and we cannot expect those who are lost outside the Church to act any different than they do because they do not know Jesus!

We must pray for them, but the ones we need to reach are those who have not heard the Gospel or have only heard lies about the Gospel.

When we stand before the Lord no matter what we think of ourselves we can only see His glory which we cannot compare ourselves with because of His infinite glory.

On any given day we can expect many different people to step into the sanctuary of the Lord.

We must immediately show them the love of Christ!

*Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

In the time of James a man with a gold ring probably had several gold rings because it was rare for any of those people to even come into the Church, unlike today when many wear gold rings for many reasons, marriage being one of those reasons.

Many a person with no gold rings or even goodly apparel would enter into the Church to hear the wisdom of Jesus Christ and not much fanfare was made over those, unlike the attention that the man with the gold rings would attract.

This is showing partiality and it is sin.

When we see that phrase “weareth gay clothing” it just seems to fit in with the things going on in our nation.

The fact is that if such a person comes into the doors of the Church, we should welcome them as we would anyone else.

They also have a soul that is valuable to the Lord!

If their actions prove to be against the Church, then we should ask them to leave as much as we would anyone who is not civil in God’s House of Prayer, but we must refrain from being the cause of their actions.

If they refuse to leave, then we may have to get help to get them removed without causing harm to the Church.

We must allow the Word of God to convict them just as it has done to each of us.

Any house of worship that has specific good places for those who seem to be of high rank and bad places for the poor to sit, is not a Church!

Every Sunday there could be those who represent the extreme ends of wealth and poverty. If partiality is not to be shown in this case, then partiality should never be shown in any case.

In the Church there must be no distinctions, no distinctions of social class, standing, position, wealth, prestige, or recognition.

We should ask ourselves how many times a poor person has visited our Church and not been welcomed with open arms.

My church is mostly white so let us ask ourselves, how many times has a black person or a brown person come into our church and not be welcomed with open arms.

Since I have been at my church for over twenty years, I have not seen any rejected of any color, but I also know we can improve because the future that is front of us will weed out the true Church from the false church.

We must never think we cannot improve as a church!

We have the message of truth and a Pastor to preaches it.
We have loving people who show it.
We have prayer warriors who can make it happen.
We serve the one Lord of Salvation that says, “come as you are”.

We will never feel uncomfortable around those we show the love of Jesus Christ!

*Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

When we show partiality, we have set ourselves up as a judge!

When we become a judge, then we think of ourselves as God!

We are saying that we can judge better than our Heavenly Father!

We judge by what we can see, but we cannot see into their hearts, but God can!

We do not know what is on their minds, but God does!

So we do not qualify as a judge in the Church of the Living God!

When we focus on the outward appearance of someone, we cannot focus on that person who possesses a soul that the Lord Jesus came to save.

Material things upon this earth will never be as important as the humans that live upon this earth!

Much of the world has forgotten this today!

The purpose of every human being upon this earth is to serve the Lord and make the fullest contribution to society. We can only do both by being in the family of God!

We are not put here to despise anyone!

*Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

Who are we to despise the poor?

When we despise the poor, we are showing contempt.

I do not know anyone in our church who is considered to be rich. In fact, Gethsemane is the most down to earth church that I know and I know there are other true churches.

Very seldom do the poor cause problems for anyone.

It is the rich and the high and mighty that oppress the poor and take from anyone if they get the chance to.

It is the rich and the high and mighty who will take advantage of every law to cause more problems for the poor.

No matter what our government tells us, the rich just get richer because it is they who make the laws.

The poor are getting poorer and the middle class is disappearing!

Why in the world would we try to impress the rich or show partiality to them?

The rich are those same ones who make themselves lords over us all!

Even the Lord Jesus cautioned us on this thing.

Mat 20:25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

It is the rich of this world who have placed themselves above the Word of God.

It is the rich of this world who have shown that they are the enemies of the Church today, and it is sickening to watch the world bow to them and grovel at their feet.

To grovel is to beg like a hungry dog.

We do not need any of this in the Church because the Church is a place to worship the Lord and we all stand on level ground in the Church.

What we see today is that everyone has been taught how to criticize.

In America today, everyone criticizes everyone else and the Church gets dragged into the middle of it when the Lord says to avoid it.

I am guilty myself.

Let us just pray for the salvation of the lost and use the power of discernment to make the right decisions in our own lives and serve the Lord according to the Word of God.

*Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

What is royal law?

The royal law came from King Jesus!

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

A neighbor is today considered to be those who live closest to us, but this is not at all that the Lord Jesus means.

Our neighbors are all those who are connected with us in the bonds of humanity, and the love of God in us requires that we treat them all as friends.

The Lord Jesus means, that the entire world is to be considered our neighbors!

The Lord Jesus means, that we must not do to others that thing we would not do to ourselves.

A good example would be the parable of the good Samaritan.

It is a sin to show partiality!

James was speaking to Jewish people who knew the Laws of Moses, and James reminded them that the Laws of Moses directly forbade all respect of persons.

He also reminded them that it they broke one of the Laws of Moses, they were guilty of them all.

If we say we love the Lord and then, not show that same love to all others, then we are not being like the Lord Jesus Christ and if we are not being like the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are not being Christians.

This is the message James was giving to the Jewish Christians and to all Christians no matter their so-called race!

God does not see race; He only sees humans!

The Lord Jesus said if we could keep the Royal Law the Laws of King Jesus, then we will be keeping all the laws of Moses and all the laws of God.

If we could just love like Jesus loves, this world would already seem like Paradise.

*Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Some think faith is just believing the truth of Jesus Christ when in reality we show our faith by our conviction in action.

We show faith in our conduct in this world.

Head faith cannot save anybody!

We should ask ourselves, “is our faith moving us in the right direction”?

We could say that the greatest tragedy in the Church, is people who confess faith in Jesus Christ yet, they do not live for Him!

Millions profess Christ and are baptized and confirmed and made members of the Church, but they do not follow the Word of God, nor do they live for Christ Jesus.

Are they saved, it is between them and God, but the Lord Jesus said to deny ourselves and to pick up our own cross and follow Him.

Our faith must be more than a faith of speech, our faith must include our behavior and how we live our lives.

It should also include giving what we have in an effort to reach the lost!

A dead faith does not help anyone!

*Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

We must understand that our faith must be more than just sharing words of comfort!

There must be action in our faith!

When a brother or sister has a need, we must offer more than words of comfort, we must try to get the things they need for them.

Now James is talking about the Church and the members of that Church.

This does not mean we are not to help the lost, but helping the lost must include evangelism.

True faith begins with the Love of the Lord who cares for and is compassionate for all those who are in need by providing that need when we are able.

Now this does not change the fact that we are saved by faith without the works of those old Laws of Moses.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

There is no contradiction between these Scriptures they both tell the truth of God.

True faith cannot subsist without works after our salvation!

There is empty faith and there is faith working by love, which is being like the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

So many believe they are saved by faith and God accepts them because they believe in Jesus Christ regardless of if they fail to live for Christ and this is between them and God.

Once they have first believed in Christ then, in obedience to Him, professed Him before the church, and been baptized and joined the Church, God has accepted them and will take them to Heaven when they die and this is the truth.

I personally believe we can be saved by doing these very things.

I also believe we have an obligation to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is these who do so who are called Christian.

What does the Lord Jesus say?

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

We must ask ourselves, then what is the will of our Heavenly Father after He has saved us?

The Lord goes on further to say:

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Jesus goes on to say all those who hear His Words and Does Them, are the same ones who are wise Christians.

Those who hear the Words of Jesus and do nothing else are then, the opposite of wise.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

The Lord Jesus is saying we are fools if we are not following Him, doing the things that He did, with all their heart.

James says show me your faith without thy works and I will show you my faith by my works.

These things sound tough, but the Word of God is always right.

*Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

James says that even the devils and the demons and even Satan have head faith and are convicted with the fear of God, but they still follow Satan knowing they will spend eternity in Hell.

We need to ask ourselves; do we have more faith than the devils do? They not only believe, but they tremble knowing this truth because they cannot be saved.

They faith that they have cannot save them!

The question we must ask is, do we just have a head faith or a faith that knows our work is outside the Church and it consists mainly of reaching out to those in the world who do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to be working on our relationship with Christ at all times!

What was the purpose of Jesus Christ?

Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Joh 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Joh 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

We are to enter into the labor of all those who are Christian and who have gone before us.

This was the will of God for His Son and it is the will of the Lord for us after we are saved.

This takes more than just Head Faith!

Why are we hated today?

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
Joh 15:23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
Joh 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
Joh 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

It is the Gospel that points to sinners and they cannot hide their sin from the eyes of God!

It is because the work we are to do, is to show those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ that they have no cloak to hide their sin.

We have a work to do after we are saved, and it begins by studying the Word of God so we can give them the truth of salvation!

Amen

Facing This World Today

February 26, 2024 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Living Faith in Trials and Temptations

Book of James Chapter 1

We know that this James was the half-brother of Jesus Christ.

Mat 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Mar 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

It was this James who was one of eyewitnesses to the resurrected Lord.

1Co 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

It was this James who became the Pastor of the first Christian Church after Peter had to flee, which was in Jerusalem.

This is also when Peter started a mission for Jesus Christ.

Act 12:16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
Act 12:17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.

It seems it was this James that took over for Peter who actually began this first church of Christianity.

It was this James who was the presiding officer of the first Jerusalem Counsel.

Act 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Act 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

It was this James who was named one of the pillars of the early Church.

Gal 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

We can see that the half-brother of our Lord was held to a high standard to be mentioned along with Peter and John.

We know that this James was well versed in the Old Testament.

We know that this James knew how to apply the Old Testament to the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that this James was really familiar with the Sermon on the Mount, because he has included much of it in this first Book of the New Testament named after him.

We can trust this Book of James to be written under the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit!

This Book was written to the Christians who were scattered because of the persecution of the Jews.

*Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

We can imagine it took a lot of faith for a brother to confess that his brother was actually the Messiah and the Creator of this Universe.

That faith came when he saw his brother, the Lord Jesus Christ after his death, as He was resurrected from the grave, because the grave could not hold Him because death could not hold Him!

No doubt James was proud to say he was a servant to his half-brother Jesus because he did so.

We know that Moses was a slave to God, along with Joshua, and David, and Paul, and Jude, and all the Apostles and this James along with all the Prophets and now each of us who believe the truth and are all called Christians.

James had a calling to reach out to all Christians.

God used this letter so James could remain with the early Church when Peter had to flee from Herod and begin his own mission to reach the lost.

We should understand that it is not always easy to be a Christian in this world and it has been that way since the beginning of the Church.

We should expect trials and temptations and prepare for them because they will surely come!

When we think about having joy in these things, it first seems ridiculous, but in truth, life is not an easy walk for most people to begin with.

We should also understand that temptation also means to test, to try, and to prove, so we can have a better understanding of it.

When we conquer temptation and the trials of life, we become a much purer person, more holy, more righteous and more just.

We become a stronger person and become ready to be that servant the Lord can use.

The more we conquer these things, the more we become like the Lord Jesus Christ which must be our goal after salvation!

Remember the Lord Jesus told us take up our own cross and follow Him. That cross is a sign of death.

Mar_8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Then the Lord teaches us:

2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Joy is not one of the things we feel while we are going through these things.

But Joy is the attitude that is needed.

The Lord is saying that when we look back on the things that have made us more Christian, we will find that some of our reactions were indeed laughable.

In reality, we should have joy in the fact that the world sees us as a Christian.

One of the greatest rewards we can receive upon this earth is patience!

We should understand that the Lord did not send us temptations nor trials in this life, but He will chasten us for our sin.

Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Will the Lord test our faith? We can be certain that He will!

An untested faith is a faith that may not exist.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

The Lord is seeking to improve our endurance to all these things.

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Notice the Lord says, if it gets too bad in some areas, we may have to flee, but we can be assured that the Lord is coming back to get those who have not already gone home to Heaven.

This is called the rapture of the Church.

In all things we must allow patience to be our rule in this life!

*Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

We should understand that if we truly want to become a citizen of Heaven, we must not refuse to enter the school of suffering which the Lord Jesus Himself has established here on earth!

When we look at these things as opportunities to get the blessings of the Lord, then we will see that we can have joy as we go through them.

When we can conquer our trials and temptations and get stronger, then we have fulfilled the purpose that God sent them.

We can see how these words become real in this day we are living.

Listen to the Lord Jesus:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

God’s purpose for us is to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot say we are Christian if we are not becoming more like Jesus. Do not let this world fool you!

The more like Jesus that we become the more this world will hate us, because this world hates the Lord Jesus Christ!

If we stand firm in our faith in Christ, then we have conquered death just as He conquered death!

This is when the Lord opens the windows of Heaven and pours out more blessings than we can absorb while we are upon this earth.

We will have an eternity of perfection.

We will have an eternity of fitness, of completion, and fulfillment and all these things throughout eternity and that mansion will not be a bad thing either.

My pastor once preached that some of the people left behind might be injured for all those false teeth, those old joints that have been replaced with steel, all those glasses we need on this earth, all those braces, and crutches and any other thing that was placed in our bodies while we were living on this earth as they fall down as we are going up.

It will be the strangest rain they have ever seen!

We will lack nothing.
We will want for nothing.
We will have the abundance and the fullness of this life, but it cannot compare to those days of eternity in God’s Heaven in His House!

We cannot reach this fullness of life if we lack the wisdom of the Lord!

*Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

We will not be able to conquer anything in this life without the wisdom of the Lord!

Wisdom means far more than knowledge.

Wisdom is far more than just being intellectual about life of some area of this life.

Many people in this world have much knowledge; they are very common.

Many knowledgeable people fail trials and temptations because all that knowledge did not help them.

Only wisdom can grasp the great truths of life.

Scientists of today when they do not understand life they just add another billion years or so to it.

They may have knowledge, but they lack wisdom and they certainly lack understanding in the truth of God, at least most of them do!

Wisdom is seeing and knowing what to do about life!

Wisdom grasps the great truth of life without having to make up some false idea about life.

Wisdom sees the trials and temptations that surround life and death, the Lord and mankind, time, and eternity, good and evil, the deep things of the universe and the reality of the Lord our Creator.

Wisdom not only understands these things but wisdom knows what to do with these things!

Wisdom gains victory over all these things!

Psa_111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Pro_2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Pro_3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

The Lord is willing to share all His wisdom with us, but it can be too much for us, so he shares it a little at a time.

Asking wisdom of God is the way to conquer our trials and temptations and the Lord will always, will always, provide a means to escape.

God will never scold us for not knowing how to handle some trial or some temptation!

We must understand there is no question that the Lord cannot answer.

We must also understand if we cannot believe that the Lord has those answers we dearly need, then He will not provide that answer.

*Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

If we are making a cake, then flour would be a necessary ingredient.

If we are making sweet tea, then sugar would be a necessary ingredient.

If we are praying to the Lord our Father in Heaven, then “faith” is a necessary ingredient.

Not just any faith, but faith in His ability to answer our prayers.

How can we ask in Christ’s name, which is another ingredient, if we do not believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

There will be no answer for those who are not true believers!

Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

The things we ask for must be an object of our faith!

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

That word wavering means being in doubt.

How can anyone who rejects the truth of the Lord even think that our Father in Heaven would even consider answering their prayers when He has said He will not?

No matter how great the storms of life are to the unbeliever, they do not bother our Savior.

Mat 8:24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

He was asleep, because these twelve men had no faith and the things of this world, no matter how severe they seem to be they do not bother the Lord!

Those that pray without faith, how can they expect their prayers to be heard?

Those that reject the Lord, how can they expect to go to Heaven?

Prayer is the greatest gift the Lord gives to believers after the gift of salvation that comes by faith and faith only!

*Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Unbelieving prayer is useless.

Though they may receive something it did not come from the Lord and they certainly have no right to blame the Lord either way.

They cannot expect anything more because they are not under the assurance of God’s promises as is the believer.

Now the believer may not receive an answer they expected, but the Lord will listen to their prayers and His answer will be what is best for them.

God will never reward doubt!

God cannot answer the prayer of a doubting person because if He did, He would be rewarding doubt.

We must believe that God is who He says He is!

God will not hear nor can He answer any person who wavers in his faith!

Those who waver in their faith do not know the value of the gifts of God and cannot receive those gifts!

Those who waver in their faith are unstable in all their ways.

We cannot live our lives up and down, or back and forth and say we belong to the Lord, because we are not sure of anything.

We cannot be unstable in our Christian life and still insist we are living in the will of God. It is not God’s will that we live in such a way!

This is the very reason so many saved people receive so little from the Lord.

Some have enough faith to be saved, but they remain babes in Christ all their days, never taking that next step of being Christian, a servant of the Lord trying to be like Him.

We must understand that the fruits of our prayers are received from the nail scared hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the middle person by whom God conveys His blessings!

Our strength comes from our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

*Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

We must understand that we will face the temptations of Satan, the Devil.
We must also understand that we will face the temptations of those who are lost in this world, our fellow human beings who are the children of the Devil whether they recognize it or not.
We must also understand that we will be tempted by the actions of those of this world that is so full of sin!

The Lord expects us to endure temptation no matter who we are.

It is true that sometimes, the strongest among us fail because they felt like they could not fail.

We must rejoice in the Lord no matter our circumstances!

Even the lowest Christian on the face of this earth will be exalted as a king and prince when the Lord returns.

No one has rank in God’s New Heaven except the Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing this, then if we are poor in this life we can think of ourselves as kings when the Lord returns.

All kings live in mansions and the Lord is building us all a mansion.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

We must never accuse the Lord of things that He cannot do!

We must never think our temptations come from the Lord!

*Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

So, where does temptation come from if not from God?

Because we still have that sin nature, sometimes the desire and the craving for things upon this earth are almost unbearable.

This is what temptation is: the desire and the craving for wrong things, things that the Lord forbids, and are harmful to our bodies, and to our spirits.

Just because some man justifies it, and says that it is acceptable, does it make these things right for us.

Such as alcohol, the Lord will never approve the drinking of any alcoholic beverage!

Pro 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Pro 23:32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

Certainly if we are not to look upon alcohol, then we should not be drinking it!

It does not matter that some religions allow the consumption of alcohol when the Lord says no to partake of it. They are wrong!

In this case the Holy Spirit uses wine and He says to not even look upon it.

We must not take into our bodies anything that dulls our senses and lowers our moral tone.

We must not yield to the temptation of anything that influences us to go against the Word of God!

God will never tempt us to go against Him!

We always want to blame someone else for our failures, but our failures are our own and we are the blame for all of them.

*Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

While we are in these bodies with that sin nature that we cannot avoid, evil thoughts and immoral desires will rule our lives if we allow them to.

These things will lure us into sin!

Even the unbeliever cannot use other excuses for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is their decision to make and their opportunity to miss.

God cannot ever induce anyone to act against His will.

God will never go against anything He causes to be written down for us.

There is never a modern Gospel and there never will be a more modern Gospel than we have now. God never changes!

The Word of God is a Living Word that is real and is the truth, in all ages.

We must understand that some of our desires can be a sin, even if we do not act upon them!

Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

When we face temptation from the normal and natural desires of man or woman, and think we cannot turn away from them, then these things become sin.

There is no person who is not a man or a women based upon the sex with which they were born.

Those that desire to be someone of the opposite sex is living in sin just as much as any of those desires that goes against the Word of God.

We cannot desire to do what sinners do and still say we are the children of God!

We are never to given in to our desires if they go against the Word of God!

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

We must understand that it is the intention of the Word of God to be our guide in living the way that God has decided what is best for us, because we prove over and over again that we do not make good decisions based upon the rules of this world.

*Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

The Lord Jesus does not see us as wise unless we are keeping the Word of God!

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Our house is this body we have been given, and it is this house we are to build upon with that Rock of Jesus Christ!

We must understand that just because we sit in God’s house and listen to that sermon God gave to our pastor, that these things make us acceptable to Him.

It is not these things that make us safe and secure!

When we slip into some sin, we must not believe that God will forgive us just because we ask this of Him.

We must never think that God will not reject us.

We must clearly understand, God does not accept us because we hear and know the Word of God nor because we confess our sins.

These things are necessary and are very important but God accepts us because we confess our sins and then repent of them.

Repentance is turning away from sin and turning toward God!

God accepts us because we turn to Him and live for Him.

When we truly believe the Lord Jesus, then we will trust and follow Him and doing exactly what He says.

So many believe they can hang on to that pet sin they keep hidden and ask for forgiveness when we slide into it, but repentance is still required.

We are only deceiving ourselves when we think that God will just forgive us because of His grace!

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

There is no sin that we can continue in claiming God’s Grace to be forgiven!

It is the doer of the Word of God who is blessed and not those who just hear the Word of God!

We are deceiving ourselves if we believe otherwise!

We are attempting to defraud the Lord Jesus Christ when we attempt to do these things.

We owe Him all we are and all we have!

*Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

When we see the Word of God as our mirror, we can see just how great a sinner we have been since our birth

This holds true to every human being upon the face of this earth, no matter who they are.

Eze 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
Eze 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

Many of those who are lost do see the Words of God as great words to live by, but they go their own way because they do not see the Word of God applying to them.

They have made themselves self-righteous.

Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Much of this world believe the Word of God is too harsh to live by, and they go their own way doing what suits them.

In either of these cases these who are lost forget that they are sinners in need of a Savior and the Bible says that Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ and there are no other saviors.

They forget the destruction of this world that the Bible says will happen.

These are the loudest voices when the world speaks of “climate change” or “nuclear war” because they see this world as savable when the Lord says it is not savable.

Rev_21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

The Lord would not make all things new if this world were worth saving!

The greatest gift we can give to our pastors or preachers who preach the message God has given to them, is obedience.

When they preach, they must be looking for fruit.

As hearers we must carry out what we hear, or the preaching of the Word is falling upon deaf ears and that preacher will get discouraged and quit.

There are not enough true preachers today, but there are many impostors.

We cannot get the blessings of God from an impostor!

If we cannot find faith in the Word of God then as hearers, we also become impostors.

Then there are some who find the truth of God.

*Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

What is the Word of God? It is the perfect law of liberty. Liberty from the bondage of Satan!

It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can make us free from the bondage of the wickedness of this world.

When we live according to the Word of God, we will find that we can be freed from all the things that enslave our souls upon this earth.

We are free to know and fellowship with the Lord forever and ever.

We must continue in the Word of God all our days.

The trouble with this world is that those who deny the Lord Jesus, deny that there is life after the death of our bodies.

You would think that even the greatest believer in evolution could see that the miracle of life must extend after death.

They see animals of many kinds that can go dormant for periods of time and then come back to life and this is what God is telling them, there is life after death!

The Lord promises us that it is in this life that we are to prepare for the next life which is eternal!

The Word of God is the truth.

Heaven and Hell are real places!

Amen

Praying Devotedly

June 29, 2014 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praying Devotedly

James 5

We have found that James has been teaching us things that we should all practise as Christians.

To be a Christian is still to be like Jesus Christ.

How did this name come about?

A handful of Jews from Jerusalem had gone to Antioch of Syria and preached the “Gospel” to the Gentiles.

Act 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
It is the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes Christians.

If we are not like Jesus Christ then we are not Christians!

James has been preaching to Christians, who were scattered because of persecution, and this lesson continues today in chapter 5.

We ended last weeks lesson with this verse:

Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

When we know how to do good by the Word of God, and reject God’s Word then we are living in sin!

Let’s Begin:

*****Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

The Church is a mixed blend of people from all parts of society and from all cultures in this world. We should not be surprised when we find some in the Church who are rich.

It is not sin to become rich!

If those riches come from your own sweat and the work of your own hands then you need to thank God for what he has done.

But when those riches come at the expense of others then it was gained in a fraudulent manner.

James begins to condemn this type of rich man.

Happiness can never come from the riches in this world!

The quicker we find this out the better off we will be!

A comedian once said “money talks but all it says to me is goodbye”

Most of us find this to be true.

To “weep” is to be in misery and is a sure sign of grief.

To “howl” is to be in overwhelming distress as this misery has taken over your life.

Where does this misery come from?

*****Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

That word riches means “all possessions”.

That word “corrupted” means all those possessions have perished or will perish.

Many of the early Christians had been robbed of all their possessions simply because they had become disciples of Jesus Christ.

A moth breeds in yarn and garments and will eat the material thus destroying that garment.

That word “motheaten” means “the ways” of the rich will be destroyed!

*****Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

That word “cankered” means that the best your riches will ever do for you, is to provide corruption.

That word “rust” is what happens to metals such as steel or iron, but the same Greek word used here can also mean the poisonous venom that is emitted by a serpent.

It is hard to have a good testimony and be very rich, if you have not used those riches to further the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ.

It is even harder to have a good testimony if you have lost those riches but still have a great desire for them!

It is that “lust for those riches” that will eat at your flesh and gnaw at your conscience until you have been consumed in your own misery.

Communism began when a certain group of the rich, took advantage of the hopeless poor. And on the backs of these poor they built themselves great riches and in some cases large nations.

By the means of slavery, many men have become rich and prosperous and human trafficking is still prevalent in our world today and it is still about riches.

Even today in what is called democracy and democratic governments, the reality is, that wealth and political influence have concentrated the wealth of the world into the hands of only a small number of multinational power brokers.

It is these men that have more control over the things of this world than we realize!

Even in America, even in an administration that says they are taking from the rich to give to the poor, the super rich have gotten even richer.

The intent of our governments today is not to take away from the rich to help the poor, it is to take away from what is called the middle-class, and make them all poor, while the rich just get richer.

The proof is in the results and not what the politicians say!

These things have always taken place and these things will increase until the time of Christ, when He will put an end to them!

Mar 14:7 “For ye have the poor with you always”, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

But when our Lord returns we also have this promise:

Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and “the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies”.

Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; “for no man buyeth their merchandise any more”:

Rev 18:17 For in one hour “so great riches is come to nought”. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; “for God hath avenged you on her”.

There is the sinful Babylon of false religion.

There is the sinful Babylon of those rich who have gotten rich off the backs of innocent people.

Both will fall at the return of Jesus Christ!

*****Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

That word “behold” means that the things written in the Book of Revelation will come to be true, “as sure as all the Word of God”!

God will avenge all the wrong that has been done to His people!

God will avenge all the wrong that has been done to His creation!

Jesus had these words:

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Our God is a righteous God!

God came down from Heaven in the flesh to become our Savior!

Our Savior will return again as Judge and what we look for in a true Judge is “equity”.

Psa 94:20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
Psa 94:21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
Psa 94:22 But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
Psa 94:23 And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

Our God is righteous in all His ways!

2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

That Lord of the Sabaoth is in fact the Lord of Hosts!

The Lord Jesus shall be revealed coming from Heaven with His mighty angels and that day gets closer every tick of the clock!

Those that have oppressed the people of God’s creation, will be judged!

*****Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

That judgment will come to all who have lived and gained their wealth off the backs of others and ignored the Word of God.

They have lived in luxury on this Earth but there is no luxury in Hell.

They have indulged in wantonness or have made a sport of the way they live.

In other words they take great pleasure in all the evil things they have done!

They have fed off their desires, like beast eat their prey until they can eat no more.

Like sharks, they love the “feeding frenzy” over those less fortunate than themselves!

There are sometimes another reasons for the great wars that we see.

Most all wars have no real winners except for those that financed them and who are the underwriters of those wars.

In our past there have been those that have financed both sides at the same time, not choosing sides but only choosing riches over the death of the masses of people.

This still happens today, there are great riches to be made in every war!

In some wars the truly guilty are those that supply the weapons that have condemned those that are innocent and cannot resist!

God’s answer is patience!

*****Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Just as the farmer must be patient until his crop comes to harvest, the Lord is very patient waiting on His precious fruit!

This is something that we all need to understand!

There are somethings that are just worth waiting for and the Lord sees every “Born Again” child of God as “one worth waiting for”!

There is great joy in the presence of angels in Heaven at every salvation!

It has now been over 2000 years since the Lord Jesus went to prepare our place.

He knows exactly how many places to prepare and He is truly waiting on those to fill those mansions.

Not one home in Heaven will be unoccupied!

Not one home will ever be sold or up for rent!

Someday soon the last part of the Body of Christ will be saved and the Church will be complete and we will all go to our new home in Heaven!

As the Lord is patient until this time we need also to be patient!

*****Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

We are living in sin, “if we do not live expecting the Lord to come at any time”!

We should know that the Lord Himself prays for each of us and this is one of His prayers as He prayed for Peter!

Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, “that thy faith fail not”: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Our time to go home draws closer every moment that passes!

The Lord will make all things right when He comes in “judgment”!

*****Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

What are the signs of impatience? To “grudge”, is to murmur, and groan and express your feelings against those that oppress the Church.

When we do these things it will affect our testimony and if one soul is lost because of our actions we will face that judgment also, at the judgment seat of Christ!

The eyes of the Lord are on every thing that has been done to us and is being done to His Church but His eyes are also on us in any wrongdoing!

If we study the Word of God and listen to it’s truth, and see the things that are going on in our world, we should have no doubt that our “Judge is standing before the door”, prepared to come to us at any time!

We are not the only ones who have seen hard times!

*****Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

“My Brethren”, means all God’s people, and we should know that all those that have spoken in the name of the Lord are our examples of others who have suffered.

Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Though some may be able, not many of us can say we have suffered as these mentioned in the Book of Hebrews.

These are our examples for suffering affliction.

The Bible never says that God’s people will never suffer!

These that gone before, are our example in suffering and also our example in patience!

And God says those that do not believe, those that trust the world, are not even worthy of one child of God left behind to tell them about Jesus.

We are all a part of God’s “Grace” to the unbeliever when we follow in the ways of Jesus Christ!

*****Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

God saved each of us for a specific purpose and God knows what is best for each of us to fulfill that purpose!

Not many will ever prosper and be much help to others if they have had an easy life!

We will never realize what a good day is all about, until we have actually had a bad day.

True happiness comes from enduring what “has to be” endured!

To be a Christian is to be like Jesus Christ and Christ “had to endure” all the things that happened to Him in order to bring joy, first to Himself, and then for us.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; “who for the joy that was set before him” endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What does endurance look like?

Act 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, “so opened he not his mouth”:

All things were created by the Lord Jesus and we know that “God spoke” our world into existence.

But when He could have stopped His own death, He endured all these things and “opened not His mouth” and He did this for you and I.

We read many things in the Bible, such as the patience of Job, to encourage us in our bad times but we seem to forget the perfect example of our Lord as He endured death so that we can live and live forever!

Job was a real person and the story of Job is a real story and Job did have much to endure but after these things, then Job had real joy.

The Lord Jesus had much to endure and then came His joy for our Salvation!

When we endure the things of this world we should remember the absolute “joy” that is soon coming for all those that love the Lord.

And there are other things we need to do.

*****Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

We must remember that as Christ Jesus endured the all the things that led Him to the cross, He also opened not His mouth!

We should remember there are no victories in Jesus until there are battles!

Blessings can come while we are in our trials but the greater blessings will come after we have endured that trial!

When we become impatient in our trials and temptations, it first noticed in our speech and then in our ways.

It is easy to say things that we do not mean, when we are suffering!

The Jews would swear often to back up the statements they had made but they were very careful not to blaspheme God in their swearing.

They would swear by heaven or by earth or even Jerusalem, but James teaches us all that all these things were created by the Lord and “it is impossible” to avoid swearing by God in any oath.

It is always better to just say yes when the answer is yes and no when the answer is no!

Even Jesus said to speak more than these things, is sin!

Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: “for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil”.

So what is the best way to use our tongues? Prayer!

We may think that we are nourished by the food we eat and it is important.

But the absolute best use of our mouths are in prayer!

*****Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

When we find ourselves in the furnace, the most important thing we can do is pray!

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

It was the cross of Jesus that tore down the barrier that was between us and God.

There is not any part of the day that we cannot go to the Lord in prayer!

We have no set times as some do, that we can reach out to the Lord. Our God is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

To be afflicted is to suffer from some difficult things in our life.

These are things that come not by our own sin, but by the things that we must go through in this life.

We are not to grumble and complain!

We are not to blame the Lord or anyone else!

“We are” to go to the only One who can help and that is our God in prayer!

This is the time to pray and not put it off!

Even Paul prayed that God would change his circumstances but God just gave Paul more “grace”.

The Lord Jesus prayed, if there could be another way than to be separated from His Father for even one moment but God gave Jesus more strength.

And while you are going through your troubles there will always be others who are not!

If we are not down in the valley of transgression and are on the mountain top then we need to be singing Psalms of praise!

BUT, it is the “mature” Christian who can sing Psalms of praise and pray “while he is yet suffering those afflictions”!

Anyone can sing after their troubles are over!

It is through our prayers and our songs that we can worship our Lord!

This is what true worship is all about!

What songs should we sing?

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The Bible teaches us much about prayer and when we sing we need to be singing?

We need to be singing, Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs!

*****Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

It would be a rare thing to find a congregation that gathered that did not have someone who was sick in some way among them.

The Greek word “astheneo” is used here and it means to be feeble, diseased, sick, or weak.

No doubt that this person should also be praying for themselves in closet prayer!

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Today this person would also ask to be put on a prayer list at his place of worship.

But James says to also call on those that have been Christians for a long time, the elders in the Church, and not so much the novices, who are new converts.

1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6 “Not a novice”, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

These would be men who have been through many trials and temptations and would have experienced many blessings of the Lord and had followed and lived by the Word of God!

Pro 4:10 Hear, O my son, and “receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many”.

These would be men who had “the gift and the grace of prayer” but they could also offer a word of counsel and advice.

It is true that in the time of the Apostles that they and some few others, had the gift of healing but James is not saying this in this passage.

When the Lord healed and the Apostles healed the results were instantaneous, the were complete, and they were permanent.

They were also unconditional and each one had a purpose!

And these healings were always secondary to the Word of God!

Luk 9:6 And they departed, and went through the towns, “preaching the gospel, and healing every where”.

The preaching came before the healing!

The “gift of healing” terminated once the New Testament was written!

There was no further need for the “gift of healing” and there are no more Apostles.

God now responds to the prayers of His children “at His own will and for His own purpose” but He will still respond!

We should also remember that even in the day of James and Paul, God chose not to heal everyone.

Timothy was a preacher of the Gospel but Timothy was not healed:

1Ti 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

The Apostle Paul prayed to be healed 3 times but God would not heal Paul:

2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

This is the same answer that is given the most today!

God’s “Grace” must be sufficient enough for us to get through the trials of life!

In the day of James, oil was one of the few medicines that existed, and to be anointed with oil and the laying on of the hands are symbolic of the “healing power of God” and a sign of seeking the divine “Grace of God”.

In other words “let them use oil who can by their prayers obtain recovery for the sick”.

All healing then and now, are by the hand of God!

No human possesses the gift and the power to heal!

How do we know this?

*****Jas 5:15 And “the prayer of faith shall save the sick”, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

It is not the oil, it is not the laying on of the hands, nor is it any medicine that heals and saves, It Is The Prayer Of Faith!

And it is by the will of God and and the purpose of God that all prayers are answered!

The sick cannot be raised up unless the Lord raises them up!

The lost cannot be saved unless they are saved by the Lord!

Sins cannot be forgiven unless they are forgiven by the Lord!

Sin is the greatest sickness in this world we live and God sent His Son to solve that problem!

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

And this is also why a prayer of faith is required!

Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31 And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”, and thy house.

Prayer is the key to life on this Earth!

And without Prayer in the name of Jesus, you will never make it to Heaven!

*****Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

To confess means a full, a frank, and an open confession!

If we have sinned against any person, then we need also to forgive them!

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

We must pray for each other, and not to some priest as Rome insists!

Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: “but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”.

We must intercede for one another because we have a Savior who intercedes for us all!

Jesus Christ’s intercession restores us to fellowship with God when that fellowship is broken through sin!

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

To pray for one another is also some of the “good works” that come from a “saving faith”!

That word “availeth” means “the profit of”!

The effectual fervent prayer is a prayer that profits!

This is not just a prayer from someone.

This is the prayer of someone who is justified by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and has the truth of God’s “Grace” within him.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

This is the “Grace” that saves and also the “Grace” that heals!

If you are not looking for that blessed hope, the appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, then do not expect much from your prayers nor your prayer life!

It is this one thing that can energize our prayers above all other things!

It is this one thing that makes for fervent prayers!

Elijah was such a man.

*****Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

When the rain stopped it was because Elijah prayed, and it was by the hand of God!

The systems that make rain, put in place by the creating hand of God,were still in place but all God’s creation is still under His direct control.

Luk 8:25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! “for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him”.

Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? “who hath established all the ends of the earth”? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
Pro 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

There are many great wonders of nature but “they are all” under the absolute control of our supernatural God!

God can answer any prayer at any time because it is He who sits on the throne of His Own Creation!

All prayers that meet God’s conditions will be answered!

*****Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and “shall hide a multitude of sins”.

What is one good reason for “soul winning”?

There will be at that point in time, less sin in our world!

The more souls saved, the less sin in our world!

What is the truth?

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Too many churches have erred from this truth!

Jesus Christ is the “only way” to our Father in Heaven!

Jesus Christ is “the truth” of what we will find in the Father when we get to Heaven!

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Jesus Christ is all the life that can be given to us from our Father in Heaven!

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

When we can incite others to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for all their needs, we are completing the Will of God in our lives that we live for Jesus!

Every soul that is saved is one less soul that will never see spiritual death!

This will complete our study in the Book of James.

Next week we will look at some things in the Book of 1 Thessalonians.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Submitting Compliantly

June 22, 2014 / Bobby Mayfield / 3 Comments

Submitting Compliantly

James 4

We have been learning that “good works” will follow a “saving faith”.

Saving faith is a complete belief in the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The “Gospel” is saving ministry of Jesus Christ, His life, His ministry, His death, His burial, and His resurrection all done for “whosoever” will believe on all these things.

The “Gospel” does not come in parts, the “Gospel” begins and ends with the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

When we are “Born Again” of God and filled with His Spirit, it will produce “good works” as we have seen but just as important it will show up in our speech.

SO, What is submitting?

Submitting is yielding to another source, surrendering your view to another view, referring to someone else before making a decision.

What is being compliant?

Bending your own will in favor of someone else’s, yielding to the request of another.

When we can yield ourselves to the will of God, we can live a righteous life which means we do the “right things” and that will bring peace not only to ourselves but also to those around us.

Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The results of peace is then a lack of wars.

What is the cause of wars?

Wars usually begin because of changing relationships and opposing interest of people.

Many wars have begun because of power grabbing, someone seeking to be in power.

Many wars have begun because of the conflict between the social classes.

History has proven all these things to be true.

But James tells us why there wars within the Church.

Let’s begin:

*****Jas 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Remember James is still speaking to Christians.

That word “whence” means, “though the search will always begin with outside circumstances”, the problems are most always internal, within the “Body of Christ”.

In other words, the Church is destroying itself from the inside!

These wars go against the peace that comes from being obedient to the Word of God.

These “fightings” are the carrying out of the wars within the Church.

James says these wars always begin within our own selves because of wars within our own members.

When we are living by the Word of God, we will be at peace within our own selves and we will not be a part of any war.

We will never have true revival in the Church until we have peace within the Church.

Revival has nothing to do with adding members, it is a setting of existing members on fire for God

How do these things begin (“come they not”), James says we already know the answer.

The beginning of all wars begin with our own “lusts”!

Desires that you have, that war against your brothers and sisters in Christ and against your fellow man!

Desires that go against the Word of God, cause a war within our own bodies against the will of the Holy Spirit!

The Apostle Peter wrote of these same things:

1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, “which war against the soul”;
The Apostle Paul also knew these things very well:

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, “warring against the law of my mind”, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin “which is in my members”.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

How are we to be delivered from this war within ourselves?

*****Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

We must first realize the source of this turmoil is within ourselves.

Jesus Christ explained it this way:

Mar 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

When we allow the things of this world and the cares of this world to to replace the “good news” of the Word of God, then we will war with our own selves and we must be honest, our lusts are hard to control.

When we set our minds on certain things and our will is weak through the cares of this world, we will most often yield to that desire.

To make matters worse, we often desire things we know that we can never obtain which in turn will make us do almost anything to obtain them to fulfill that desire.

When we simply cannot obtain that thing we desire the most, then that lust will change to envy of those that have what we most desire!

This will often turn into an all out war within our own selves and affect everyone and everything around us in a sinful way.

We should be very clear, God promises to provide everything we need to fulfill “HIS WILL” for us and He will do this when we pray properly.

We should also be very clear, that God makes that promise to those that pray, not to those that are fighting within themselves!

We have already learned that a double minded man can receive nothing from God!

This is also the answer to the whole problem.

We need to know how to pray and then pray often!

It is not enough just to ask for good things but we must ask for the right things to be used for the right reasons along with having the right intentions!

God deals in needs and not wants!

In most cases, it is our lack of faith that will even keep us from receiving something we may actually need, for the ministry God has for each of us.

And it is for sure that if we receive anything for the work of the Lord and then use that thing to satisfy our own lust then there would little need to pray for God to replace it!

God is not fooled by our sinful ways!

*****Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

We know that an adulterer has allowed his affections for another woman to interfere with his affections for his wife and the same for the adulteress has done for her husband.

But James is speaking of “spiritual adultery” in this verse.

James is speaking to those “Born Again” men and women of the Churchm, who have put the cares of this world before their relationship with the Lord, Our God!

We are not to be concerned with the motives and the ways of this world we live in, as we go about serving God.

We are only to be aware that we are in a war with the evils of this world as a soldier in the army of God!

That word enmity means how it sounds, those that are friends with the world are the “enemies” of God.

The Apostle John wrote:

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father “is not” in him.

We must believe the Word of God are the Words from God!

One of the first things the Athiest will say is, “is not the Bible written by men”?

We know that these men were inspired by God and that these are the actual Words of God!

No one can serve two Masters. We can have only one Master in our life!

Jesus said these words:

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: “for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other”. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The Words of God are life and God’s Word will bring eternal life!

*****Jas 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

The Apostle Paul wrote that the Old Testament is to be our schoolmaster.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

A schoolmaster in the time of Paul was intrusted with the care of children until they reached the age when they could have their own children.

The lessons that we can learn from the Old Testament are timeless!

These “scriptures” teach us how to cope in our sin filled world by showing us what happened in the past to God’s people.

We can see how God has dealt with sin, from the time of Adam.

God will never change in the way He deals with sin!

We must study the Word of God to learn the lessons of the past.

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

There are no vain scriptures in any part of the Word of God!

We must rightly divide the Word of God!

If we think that God has placed His Holy Spirit within us to sow discontent, or uneasiness, along with hatred, then we have misjudged the will of God!

Envy springs from our own pride, our own ambitions, and our own sinful desires.

In fact the Apostle John wrote;

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, “but is of the world”.

All these things are from the world and it is these things that are the cause of wars in the world and the wars within our own selves!

God gave us His Holy Spirit for other reasons than to war with each other!

We saw last week the fruit of the Spirit.

To be sealed with the Holy Spirit of God is to be confirmed as the “Blood Bought” children of God!

The Holy Spirit of God is our down payment on our still to come inheritance!

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

We already know that Our God is a jealous God!

The Scriptures of God teach us the truth.

The Spirit of God encourages a lust within us but that lust is for us to learn the truth of the Gospel and then be a doer of the Word of God!

God’s answer to all our mistakes in the Church Age, is to give more “Grace”!

*****Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

God gives us many things that we do not deserve.

We do not deserve to be saved.
We do not deserve to be filled with the Spirit of God.
We do not deserve the “Grace” of God!

God even gives us more “Grace” than we deserve.

God gives us more “Grace” than we desire. If we do not desire spiritual things, then we do not desire spiritual life!

God gives us more “Grace” than we know. When we reach the “Judgment seat of Christ” we will see that God has given us more “Grace” than we know.

God will also give us more “Grace” than we can use!

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, “grace did much more abound”:

God’s “Grace will flow from the mind of God into the heart of each of us that know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

But God’s “Grace” is reserved for those that humble themselves before Him!

1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: “for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble”.

AND, to be humble is to be submissive!

*****Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The title of this lesson is “submitting compliantly”.

We submit to God when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our “personal Savior”!

We must surrender ourselves to Jesus!

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

When we surrender ourselves to Jesus the power to resist the Devil is revealed in us.

The Devil is far more intelligent and powerful than we are, so we cannot resist him through the strength of our own flesh.

The Lord Jesus defeated the Devil with the Word of God.

We can do this same thing and the Devil knows this.

Satan will be stubborn until we mash his head with the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

SO, to claim victory in this life we must draw nigh to God.

*****Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

When we take a step toward God, He will also take a step toward us. Our steps are then doubled.

It does not take long to get close to God after that first step!

How do we draw nigh to God?

1) We must sanctify ourselves.

Exo 19:22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

How do we sanctify ourselves?

A.) We must cleanse ourselves of the filth of this world.

Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

B.) We must admit that we are still sinners.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

C.) We must purify our hearts.

We must obey the truth of God!
We must love our neighbors as our own selves.

1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

D.) We must stop being “double-minded”.

Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We must take a stand on the Word of God and then Stand on it!

*****Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

We must be aware that sin in our life will bring with it sadness and regret. This is Holy Ghost conviction who makes us aware that we have done wrong.

We must mourn at every failure we have in being obedient to God!

Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

We cannot celebrate in our sin, our laughter must turn to mourning.

Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Any joy that comes from sin will not last very long and that joy will turn to heaviness.

Heaviness is sadness and sorrow.

Pro 12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

When we can reach this point quickly we will then humble ourselves before God.

*****Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Pride is the same sin of the devil!

1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Pride is also the most difficult of our sins to overcome and will always lead us to other sin.

When we are humble, we recognize that we are continuously in the presence of the Lord and He is watching our every move, because He loves us.

In order to grow in the Lord we must be aware of the presence of the Lord in our lives!

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

The Lord would not watch over us, if He did not care for us!

The Lord will not only lift us up fully into the world to come but He will even lift us up in this world we live in now!

But we must keep the “Royal Law”! “Love thy neighbor as thy self”

*****Jas 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Why do we find it so easy to condemn the faults of another brother or sister in Christ?

When we get involved in gossiping and slandering we are actually ruining our own testimony!

We will be found out and people will avoid us.

We should look at these verses as the commandments of God!

Not one of us are qualified to sit in judgment of another!

There is and can be, only one Lawgiver!

It is only Our Lord who is able to save and who is also able to destroy at His will.

God has given us several commands in our lesson today.

We are commanded to submit ourselves before God.

We are commanded to resist the Devil.

We are commanded to draw nigh to God.

We are commanded to cleanse our hands of evil.

We are commanded to be afflicted and mourn because of our sin.

We are commanded to “humble” ourselves in the sight of God.

We are commanded to speak no evil of another.

When we obey these things we will find that God has more “Grace” than we have faults!

*****Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

James gives us another absolute fact of life and he says “listen to these words”.

Not one of us knows for sure what we will be doing on tomorrow!

Life is made up of many activities and many decisions will have to be made but we very seldom get to make those decisions until that thing is before us.

We do not know what is going to happen in the next moment and even much less about tomorrow!

Apart from the will of God, life is truly a mystery!

In our best interest we need to seek the will of God that He has for each of us.

Life begins to make sense when we follow the Lord Jesus Christ!

A wise man once wrote:

Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

We may not know what tomorrow may bring but we do know what our future has for us when we follow Christ Jesus.

To us, life may seem long because we measure it in years but we live life in this flesh one moment at a time.

BUT, in comparison to the eternal life that is promised by the Lord, truly the duration of this life is no more than a vapor.

Even Job who gave us the earliest Book of the Bible knew this truth:

Job 7:7 “O remember that my life is wind”: mine eye shall no more see good.

And Job lived more than 200 years.

Job 42:16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.

Even Moses who lived 120 years said:

Psa 90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: “we spend our years as a tale” that is told.

We may count our days by our birthdays but God says we should number our days:

Psa 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

God says we should spend this short life that we exist in this flesh, seeking His wisdom!

We have only one chance of succeeding in this life!

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

We should not forget who sits on that Heavenly Throne!

*****Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

When we leave God out of our plans, we find that we have no plan at all!

God is behind the scenes of everything in our lives and His knowledge extends even into the little things we do everyday.

There is nothing in our lives that does not fall under the control of God!

Pro 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
Pro 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; “nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand”.

*****Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

When we rejoice thinking we have accomplished anything on our own, then our thinking is wrong!

We cannot even live without breathing God’s air!

Remember James is writing to Christians who are supposed to know these things.

The same God that saves, is the same God that provides all our needs!

The more we think we accomplish in our lives, the more we think we can do all things on our own.

This is wrong thinking!

We have no potential without God!

Being in God’s will is not a formula for living in misery, it is living outside the will of God that will bring with it misery.

Going against the will of God is always sin!

*****Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

There is the sin of “commission”, doing things that God has told us not to do. We oursleves and those that we love will suffer from the commission of these sins.

Then there is the sin of “omission”. This sin comes from failing to do the things that God wants us to do.

Many times it is only that certain person God has asked something special or has a special calling from the Lord, who knows of this sin he or she is committing by not answering the call of God.

When we know that we are to depend on the Lord for all things and we fail to recognize the work of God in our lives we are committing the greatest sin.

We are commanded to witness for Jesus. It is sin not to do so.

We are commanded to tithe, it is sin not to do so.

We are commanded to evangelize, it is sin sin to do so.

And keeping with the theme of the Book of James.

We are commanded to separate our selves from the things of this world, and it is sin not to do so!

We are commanded to honor our God and keep Him first in our lives, to go against any part of the Word of God is sin!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Speaking Wisely

June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Speaking Wisely

James Chapter 3

James has given to us many things that are necessary once we are saved.

James has taught us how we can live in the victory of Jesus.

James has taught us that we should love without discrimination.

James has taught us how to be dependable servants.

Today James will teach us how powerful our words can be.

We should clearly understand that the same faith that saves us from the eternity of Hell, will also produce good works after salvation.

Not only are we to live by following the ways of Jesus Christ, we are to also weigh our words to others wisely.

We must listen to what the Word of God teaches and God’s Inspired Word will bring us to the right kind of “faith”!

No amount of works can ever produce “saving faith”.

And, the wrong “faith” will never produce “good godly works”.

James continues with this theme in our lesson today.

*****Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

James is still speaking to our brothers and sisters in Christ as he continues.

That word “masters” in this verse means, an instructor or a teacher.

Teaching is a gift of God.

1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, “thirdly teachers”, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

We should note that this gift of teaching is not the same as a talent but comes only after salvation.

Some people truly have the a talent to teach and God will make use of such people in some way.

This gift of teaching in verse 1, is the gift that comes by the Holy Spirit after salvation and it must be done for the glory of God.

Every preacher will also be a teacher, but not many teachers will ever be preachers which is a special calling from God!

Every teacher must have a great interest in the Word of God and must be willing to study God’s Word.

Every teacher must fully believe the Word of God!

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Every teacher must be apt to teach:

2Ti 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

James says there will not be many teachers because God will condemn that teacher who does not teach the Word of God according to it’s truth.

At the judgment-seat of Christ, God will require more from teachers than from others!

This chapter of James is more about the teacher and the preacher than it is about the believer.

Each believer must know these things in order to know the truth when they hear it!

The study of the Bible is for every believer!

*****Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

There is not one single preacher or teacher who can walk so closely to God that he never stumbles.

There is not one single preacher or teacher who will never say something that will not be offensive to someone.

And God’s Word will always offend the non-believer in many ways.

There are no perfect preachers nor teachers and there are no perfect believers!

The lesson for us all is, that through the Word of God, we can learn to be in control of our entire body.

No man can live without sinning against God and in many things we will offend all who listen to our words.

It is the Word of God that must be our bridle!

*****Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

Horses are without man’s understanding. Horses are strong animals and would be unruly unless bits and bridles were put into their mouths.

A good use of the bit will have a great influence on the attitude of this animal!

God tells us that we must not be like the horse:

Psa 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

A good use of the Word of God will also have a great influence on our attitudes.

*****Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

Ships are a very large and would drift endlessly without direction if not for the small rudder. To control the helm is to control the direction of the ship.

The tongue is to the rest of our body as the rudder is to a mighty ship.

The New Testament Church is that mighty ship on the open ocean, tossed to and fro when driven by Satan’s temptations, and the world’s persecution, ready to be carried away by false doctrine.

But the Church can be directed on the right path, when those in it control of their tongues and preach and teach the truth of the Word of God!

When we walk in the Word of God, we are going in the right direction!

*****Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

The tongue is one of the smallest parts of our body but can be the largest troublemaker that we have!

As Christians we are to control our tongues!

We are to keep our speech truthful:

Eph 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

We are to keep our speech gracious:

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

We are to keep our speech serious:

Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

We are to keep our speech relevant:

Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

We are to keep our speech courageous:

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

We are to keep our speech corrective:

Tit 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

And we must keep our speech purposeful:

Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

We must always be ready to speak the Word of God!

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

When the Word of God is on our tongue then foolish people will come to know the truth of Our God!

Psa 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

Pro 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

When we just boast of great things, the fires of sin will be kindled.

*****Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

It can be said that our words are the expression of our thoughts and our thoughts are the revelation of our character.

The spoken word can be a weapon or it can be a thing of peace.

Because of this we need to exercise complete control over our tongue.

The tongue can be a fire.

When our words inflame others we leave from controlling of our tongues to become part of that same flame.

Our tongue must be treated as any other part of our bodies in which we have complete control.

We control our arms and legs and we need to control our tongue.

It does not matter how much good work for the Lord we have done with our bodies, our tongue can ruin our testimony!

The Greek word used here for our English word “Hell” is “Gehenna”.

This word appears 12 times in the New Testament and by it’s meaning is “the fire of Hell”, the “everlasting fire” and “eternal punishment”.

Of those 12 times the Lord Jesus Christ used this word 11 times and in James is the only other occurrence of this word.

The tongue can be a world of iniquity when it is set on the fire of Hell!

Every fire begins with a small flame but every flame that that is fanned can grow until it consumes everything it it’s path!

Sin is exactly the same!

Sin begins with a simple thought but when the flames of sin are fanned then that sin will grow until it has consumed the entire body, the soul, and our entire being.

Hell is itself a world of iniquity and there is no deliverance from Hell once you are there!

We are all sinners that can only be saved by the “Grace of God”!

So inside this body of flesh we are still full of depravity, and unfaithfulness.

Hell is exactly the same!

All those that will inhabit Hell will be there by choice because they have refused to accept the eternal presence of God made available only through God’s sacrificial love by Jesus Christ!

There is no deliverance from Hell beyond the grave but there is a deliverance on this side of the grave by our faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

A true Christian will have some control of his own tongue just as he will in all of the actions of his body.

*****Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

James, by the Holy Spirit, is teaching us that if the actions of our “faith” in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot control the actions of our flesh, including our tongue, then our faith that is lacking.

Every animal on the face of this Earth can be tamed except maybe the sheep.

The sheep is a dumb but peaceable animal that will always be in need of a shepherd to keep from becoming lost which is why God chose to come as a Shepherd for His Own lost sheep which we are.

In the act of salvation, God delivers us from deceitful tongues.

Psa 120:2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

If we then continue with our own lying lips and our own deceitful tongues, how can we say we have been delivered?

When we have been delivered we will have the proper tongue:

Psa 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that our tongue can be tamed!

*****Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Even though we are scarred by thousands of years of sin, we should not ever forget, that all humans were created in the image of God.

We need to acknowledge ourselves as God’s “created beings” and respect that every human being are also part of God’s special creation.

God is still a “whosoever will come” God!

Even the most depraved sinner can still be “Born Again” into that image of God!

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

God’s new man will then be changed!

*****Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

When we can come into God’s house and worship Him and offer Him praise and then leave God’s house and speak as the world speaks, then we must question our salvation!

The Apostle Paul gave us these words:

Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, “but not according to knowledge”.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, “have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God”.

Words are very powerful and almost everyone has been harmed by words from time to time.

If we say we love God then we cannot also not love God’s created beings and all of God’s creation.

To believe in any part of evolution is to not believe the Word of God!

We seem to always forget that God will first judge the Church before He will judge this world we live in!

James gives us some examples.

*****Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

This question has an obvious answer. A spring of water from the ground will either be sweet or bitter, it cannot be both.

So it is with the believer.

Holiness cannot come from a heart that is unholy!

*****Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

All the way back in the Book of Genesis, God says that each plant and animal can only reproduce after it’s own kind.

We can see that James clearly understood Creation was an act of God.

Just as a fig tree cannot bear olives and a fountain cannot yield both salt and fresh water, there is something wrong with a man’s mouth that can worship God and curse his brothers and sisters in Christ and any other human being!

When our hearts are with with God, then our tongues will be right in every circumstance!

Where did James learn these things? From his half-brother, Our Lord Jesus.

Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

We should be able to see a Christian before he ever speaks and when he speaks it should only confirm what we have seen.

Christianity is an inward principle practiced by living holy and sound speech.

When we are filled with the Spirit of God our heart and our mouth will react in the wisdom of Jesus Christ.

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, “the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”.

*****Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

Wisdom signifies the knowledge, the lovingkindness and the fear of the Lord.

Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Why are these things so important? Let’s ask Daniel.

Dan 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, “thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words”.

When we do all these things in the ways of the Lord and through the Holy Spirit can control not only our tongues but our entire body, then God will hear our words and He will come to us in our prayers.

Why should we pass up this tremendous blessing?

The lack of Godly wisdom will surely open the door for the Devil.

Our conversation will reflect our style of life!

*****Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Envy is the mother of strife.

Envy is the source of all errors in our doctrine.

Envy is a desire for our own fame and will cause us to act on impulse.

Envy can poison the Church.

All these things were part of our “Old Man” before salvation.

Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

When we boast of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and these things still come from our mouths then we are lying against the truth of the Gospel!

We must understand there is no wisdom of this world that can lead us in the ways of God.

It is God’s Word that must be our road map to glory!

1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

Worldly wisdom is of the world, the flesh, and of the Devil.

Worldly wisdom is humanistic and will most always lead to envy and strife.

Envy and strife will always lead to confusion and then to the evil work of Satan.

Our “New Man” must be centered on Christ Jesus!

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

*****Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

What are the pillars of wisdom?

True wisdom comes from above.

Pro 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

1) God’s wisdom is first pure. This is not only the first thing on the list but without the “pure wisdom of God” none of these other things will amount to anything.

We also must begin in purity:

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

2) God’s wisdom is peaceable. We must make allowances for others. We must not only love peace but we must bring peace while keeping in mind that purity comes before peace.

Peace at any price is not worth having. We must stand on the Word of God!

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
1Pe 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

3) God’s wisdom brings with it gentleness. A Christian should always be a gentleman. We will always have to make allowances for others.

Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

4) God’s wisdom is easy to be intreated. God is reasonable. SO, We must be just, not unjust. We must yield to the things of God. We must believe the things of God. When we can give in to all the things of God we will be easy to live with.

Remember what we learned from the 1st chapter of this book.

Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

5) God’s wisdom is full of mercy and good fruits.

To be full of something is to be controlled by it. When we follow God’s mercy we will also be full of mercy.

Luk 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

And everyone that is faithful should also be fruitful!

We are not walking worthy of the Lord unless we are fruitful!

Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

6) God’s wisdom is without partiality. We must look on every human as a special creation of God in His own image. We must remember God has a purpose for each of His created beings.

We must look into the heart of each individual just as God does. We must not be swayed by outward appearances.

Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

7) God’s wisdom is without hypocrisy. There will not be one hypocrite in Heaven!

We cannot be hypocrites in our relationship with God, and we cannot be hypocrites in our relationships with other individuals.

We absolutely cannot pretend to be something we are not!

We must be sincere in our worship of God and we must be sincere in our relationships with others.

Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Righteousness is the product of the wisdom that comes down from above!

*****Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The theme of our lesson is “speaking wisely”.

There is a great difference between man-made results and God-given fruit!

Our fruit must be the product of our lives for the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we share the fruit of God with others, then they can be fed and they can also produce good fruit.

We must see the connection between what we say and what we say we are!

When our hearts are right with God, then the Holy Spirit can control our lives and the fruit of the Spirit will produce good fruit from good works!

Jesus said:

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Serving Dependably

June 8, 2014 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Serving Dependably

James 2:14-26

Last week we saw the sin of discrimination in the church, this week we will see that “saving faith” will also show up in our actions.

One of the greatest tragedies in the Church today is that we see so many confess the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior but there is then no change in their behavior nor their character.

This absolutely cannot be true, if we obey the Word of God!

We must first answer this question that Jesus ask us all:

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Christianity is not a matter of opinion.
Christianity is not a matter of feeling.

Christianity is a matter of life!
Christianity is being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Christianity must be what we are and what we are shows up in what we do!

Christianity is in obedience and not in a feeling, nor is it an opinion!

So what is true saving faith?

Let’s Begin:

*****Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Everyone has faith of some kind even the Atheist who say there is no God.

It is the object of that faith and the results of that faith is what makes the true “saving faith” valid!

James asks us all, what profit do we obtain from our faith?

If we were in a business and had made an investment we would expect at some time to see a profit.

To be saved is to have made an investment in the Word of God!

We must ask ourselves:

1) Do I truly believe the Words that God has given to me?
2) Do I really trust in God’s promises?
3) If I believe what God says then what does He expect of me?
4) What is the profit I receive from my faith?

Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth”.

The Lord Jesus said that He was the truth.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The truth is, that what we believe in our hearts will make itself known in our actions!

The profit of this truth is that the Lord Jesus Christ is our salvation and our eternal life.

Jeremiah wrote to the Jews that there is no profit in lies.

Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

So what is true saving faith?

Even in the early church there were those that claimed a saving faith but they were not saved.

Jesus has these words for all those:

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Jesus says that a person of faith will produce some fruit.

When saved we are filled with the Holy Spirit and the fruit, not the fruits, is this:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

And there is more fruit:

Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

And Jesus adds these words:

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he “that doeth” the will of my Father which is in heaven.

You see, it is not what we say that makes us saved, it’s what we do with our faith after we are saved that is the proof of saving faith!

Even Jesus teaches us that just to say we believe is not enough, our belief in the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior must show also in our actions.

Again this is the greatest tragedy in the church today!

James gives us an example.

*****Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister “be” naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

In this example of James the terms brother or sister, let us know that these are all fellow Christians who are all bound by God’s Word to help others in a time of need if we are able.

That word “be” in verse 15, means we know about this need and/or we are aware of this and know this to be true.

That word “be” also tells us that we have it in our means to offer that help and have not already done so.

In other words we have witnessed with our own eyes that this person is certainly in this position of need.

That word “destitute” means that his lack of nourishment is showing up in his health. It is noticeable for all to see.

This fellow brother or sister in Christ is lacking nourishment and has been for awhile and has reached a point in their lives that they sincerely need some help and they have approached you, honoring you also as a child of God and fellow Christian.

They would have had to humble themselves greatly in order to do this.

You already know what they are, “now” they will see what you are and the truth will show up in your actions.

This is not even a stranger from another assembly but you both attend the same house of God and live in the same neighborhood.

God says to love thy neighbor as thyself.

But what we see is a “faith” that has not resulted in a changed life!

There is nothing wrong with praying for those in need.
There is nothing wrong with wishing for prosperity and happiness for them.
There is nothing wrong with praying that they will be warmed and filled with all the accommodations of this life.

Food and clothing are the basic needs of life in this world we live in now.

In fact God says this:

1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

But we also know that we have more than what we actually need.

The wrong comes when you have it within your own power to help, especially those that are brothers and sisters in Christ, but you refuse to do so.

You know you have some clothes you can spare.
You know you have food in your cupboard that you can spare.
You know you have the time to even prepare them a hot meal while they warm them selves at your fire.

You know you have the means to help them but your “so called faith” has not profited them at all.

Your faith then has no works!

And James says.

*****Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

What is dead faith?

Any declaration of faith that the Lord Jesus Christ can forgive us of our sins and this does not result in a changed life and good works, is a false declaration of faith!

True saving faith can never be alone because it will also bring with it a new life and that new life will bring forth with it, good works!

This person may know in his mind the doctrine of salvation but he has never submitted himself to the Lord Jesus Christ for His work, nor does he even trust God for his salvation!

True faith in Jesus Christ brings life eternally.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, “but have everlasting life”.

And where that new life exists there will be first growth and then fruit.

Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

We know that it is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that justifies us before God, but that faith can never be alone, that faith will always bring with it good works.

We certainly have a right as Christians, to believe that a profession of faith which does not bring a changed life may be an empty profession!

This is not being a judge of others!

Remember it is the Word of God that must our mirror.

We also know that only God knows who is saved because God can see into the heart of the believer!

And James continues:

*****Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will indeed produce fruit that demonstrates it’s reality!

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus “unto good works”, which God hath before ordained that “we should walk in them”.

By that same faith we are to walk in good works after salvation!

This is a command of God and not a request!

God saved us so that we can show forth the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the only job God has given us to do!

James never says that good works produce salvation!

James never says that faith plus good works can save!

James does say that good works will always be a part of true saving faith!

*****Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

We already know that James was writing mainly to the Jews.

The main difference between the Jewish religion and that of other nations was the fact of monotheism as opposed to polytheism as all other nations of that day believed.

Even now there are only 3 monotheistic faiths.

1) Orthodox Judaism.
2) Orthodox Islam.
3) Orthodox Christianity.

That word “orthodox” simply means those that believe the genuine doctrine of their own scriptures.

In Christianity it means that we must accept the complete Word of God!

All other religions are structured around evolutionary pantheism and not one of these pagan beliefs are never condoned in the Bible.

The Jews believe in Jehovah God, but not Jesus Christ.

In Islam their faith is in the writings of Muhammad, not Jehovah God, nor Jesus Christ.

The true Christian places their faith in Jehovah God who came to this Earth as the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah!

James said it was good to be Monotheistic but even that is not sufficient enough for salvation!

Only Christianity acknowledges that our Creator will also be our Redeemer!

And James adds that even the devils(demonic beings) believe in the one God Jehovah and they tremble in fear of Him yet they will never be saved!

The Devil can neither love the Lord nor will he ever obey the Lord!

Satan has made his choice and Satan knows his particular ending.

The “Burning Lake Of Fire” was created for Satan.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, “prepared for the devil and his angels”:

Any human being that ends up in this place has chosen to be there themselves and have only themselves to blame.

*****Jas 2:20 “But wilt thou know”, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Many people today say that James was conflicting with the Apostle Paul but James received these words from the Holy Spirit many years before Paul had written any of his epistles.

And we should never forget these words:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

It is the Word of God that is our guideline for “good works”!

Actually there is no conflict “at all” in the writings of Paul and these of James.

James taught that by the works of the law no one could be saved!

Paul clearly taught that genuine faith would produce good works!

Salvation must be by the “Grace” of God, and accepted by “Faith”.

Since no one can earn salvation and only God can see into the heart of the believer, then only God can know for sure who is saved and who is not.

But it is a fact, that the reality of that “faith” can only be demonstrated to others by “good works”!

So the truth that James states is that faith without good works is a dead faith!

These are all facts of Scripture!

Then James refers to the faith of Abraham giving us an example.

*****Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Just so we can be sure let’s see what the Apostle Paul wrote:

(Rom 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; “but not before God”.)

These two verse may seem to contradict each other but they do not.

Abraham was raised in Ur, a place of pagan worship and he left that place and obeyed the One true God, Jehovah.

Abraham had not been seeking God nor did he deserve any gift of God! (A picture of Grace)

Abraham accepted God at His Word and this was the object of his faith. (A picture of faith)

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, “when he was called” to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, “obeyed”; and “he went” out, not knowing whither he went.

Abraham left his fallen state behind in Ur, to live by faith as a man in a strange land. (A picture of being “Born Again”)

Abraham was then justified in the sight of God. (Once justified forever justified)

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

James words do not conflict with this statement of Paul!

James simply says, was not Abraham justified “before men”, when he offered up his son Isaac.

Abraham was justified, before God by his faith and his obedience to God after he was already righteous in the eyes of God!

This took place when Abraham left Ur in search for that Heavenly City of God!

These good works of Abraham followed after after his righteousness before God!

There is no conflict between the writings of Paul and the writings of James.

In fact there is no conflict in any of the scriptures in the Word of God!

It is by our good works, “that our faith is made perfect” in the eyes of God and the eyes of those that are always watching, you if you claim to be a Christian!

*****Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

The scripture was not “confirmed” but “the scripture was fulfilled”.

Fulfilled means, the Word of God was executed just as God said!

Confirmed would mean that the Word of God was only established.

It’s very important for us to realize that “all” the Word of God “will be fulfilled” just as God says and just as it is written.

It will be the same for us as it was for Abraham!

Abraham did not just believe in God, but Abraham believed every Word that God had said to him.

Gen 15:6 And “he believed” in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed the Words that God said, the promises that God had made.

The Word of God was not an “act” of Abraham’s faith, the Word of God was the “object” of Abraham’s faith!

It was not the promise that Abraham believed, Abraham believed all the things that were promised!

Abraham believed that he would have a seed and a very numerous seed while he also believed that the Messiah would spring forth from his seed.

Abraham believed in the end result as if it was already in his possession!

This is what we are all to do!

This is faith’s true meaning!

We are not just to believe the promises that God makes, but we are to accept the complete fulfillment of those promises to a point, “where we can act on them while we are still living”.

Abraham had no problem offering up Isaac as requested by God because Abraham knew that God had plans for Isaac that would be fulfilled no matter what was done to him.

Abraham believed that God would have to resurrect Isaac by some means if he killed his only son! (A picture of Jesus)

Abraham was justified by his faith way before he was justified by his works!

This is the same faith God expects from us all!

This is the faith that brings righteousness before God!

This is saving faith!

This faith comes from considering the Word of God in our own minds and making the decision that it is the Word of God that is real and our own thoughts are vain!

It is this seed of Abraham who can also be “friends with God”.

Jesus said it this way:

Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, “if ye do whatsoever I command you”.
Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

True “faith” is accepting the end result of the promises of God as complete but we just haven’t reached them yet, just as Abraham did.

The results of this faith is that we are to be busy about the work of God and we must leave our old life behind as already dead!

Born Again means an immediate change!

So we should begin to see these things clearly.

*****Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

The faith that justifies, must include obedience to the “Royal Law” of the Lord as we studied last week.

But all these things do not happen at once.

We must first have saving faith which brings Salvation.

We must grow in the Word of God which brings Sanctification, to come out from among our old ways and those of the world we live in.

And the object of our faith will be Glorification, the day we meet Christ Jesus.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Our works can only begin when we can separate ourselves and our works from those of this world.

James gives us another example.

*****Jas 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

It should be observed that Rahab was a known harlot.

This was her trade, her means of making a living.

Her trade was legal, condoned, and even participated in by the standards of her ruling government but illegal in the eyes of God.

Just as I am now, Rahab was a the chief of sinners in her family.

But God’s amazing “Grace” can save the chieftest of sinners, praise the Lord.

Rahab had received the spies and the messengers of Joshua into her house and believed God’s Word.

(Remember Joshua in the Greek is Jesus)

Rahab showed her faith in her confession to God’s messengers.

Jos 2:9 And she said unto the men, “I know that the LORD” hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

Jos 2:11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: “for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath”.

Even Rahab knew she could not loose her salvation!

Then Rahab showed her “faith” by her works in helping God’s people.

Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them “that believed not”, when she had received the spies with peace.

Rahab did not have a dead faith!

Rahab had a faith that worked in love, by the Word of God!

*****Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Faith is a spiritual thing!

Works are material things!

Where true faith abides, then God will also abide.

It is the Holy Spirit of God who gives eternal life.

God’s love will cause actions from each born again body that did not exist before salvation came.

What is the “Divine Principle”?

The more we exercise our faith in Christ Jesus, the more we will believe.
The more we believe the more “faith” we will receive.
The more “faith we receive, the more we are able to work for the Lord.
The more we work for the Lord, the more we increase our faith.
And this cycle should continue until the day God calls us home!

It is our works after salvation that show our growth in the Lord!

Just as the body without the Spirit is dead, then faith without works is also dead!

Saving faith begins when we believe that there is a God!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If we cannot believe that God exists then we will remain lost in this dying world!

Because no amount of good works can get you to Heaven!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Loving Impartially

June 1, 2014 / Bobby Mayfield / 5 Comments

Loving Impartially

James 2:1-13

Last week we learned that we need to be a doer of God’s Word and not hearers only.

Today James will give us an example that will hit home in every place.

*****Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

SO, what is showing partiality?

Being partial is favoring one person more than another to a point where it affects our good judgment. This comes from our own will and our own affections and not from a love of the truth and justice.

Even though James was writing more to Jewish Christians, that term brethren includes all Christians as we are all brothers and sisters in the “Faith”.

We cannot be united to our Saviour if we do not believe with our whole heart and all our mind on Him. We cannot reap the benefits of redemption without our sincere faith in our Lord Jesus.

Remember, because we have been redeemed, we have a new owner and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are to follow in His ways and not the ways of any other!

What thing do we know for sure?

God does not practice partiality!

Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

On the day of judgment God will not look on the outside of the person.

Eph 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; “neither is there respect of persons with him”.

We are to do these same things as Our Lord does.

Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: “and there is no respect of persons”.

When we become judges ourselves, then we will be judged by our own prejudices.

God does not see a difference between the rich and the poor!
God does not see a difference between the slave and the free man!
God does not see a difference between the servant and the master!
God only sees the human race and never sees the color of any man!
God will only do that which is just and right to all who seek Him!

The sin that is being addressed by James in this passage is, “respect of persons”.

Favoritism has no place in the life of anyone to claims to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Ti 5:21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, “doing nothing by partiality”.

Then James gives us a hypothetical example that we all can relate to.

*****Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

1) We have our assembly.

The Greek word used here for “assembly” is where we get the word “synagogue” but James is referring more to the Greek word “ecclesia” which means “a called out group”.

These are believers whom God has called to be a special group of His own.

The church is a union of Jews and Gentiles on equal footing as fellow heirs in Christ!

Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

James was speaking to all those that assemble in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

2) We have the man with a “gold ring”.

For the most part a gold ring would signify a person of great importance but rings were a common part of Jewish dress. In reality only a few Jews could afford gold rings but those that did would certainly wear them. There were always a few prosperous people in the early church but for the most part the early church was made up of the poor.

It is the poor that most often are the objects of God’s greatest concern and the reasons are obvious even today!

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

3) We have the “goodly” apparel, the “gay” clothing.

These clothes would give the appearance of a man of means. These clothes would also be clean, expensive and impressive.

But that term “gay” has a darker meaning, it would mean attention-getting clothing.

This would be a person who was deliberately trying sway the judgment of those that saw him or her!

4) Then we have that poor man.

This gives us a picture of a man who was not only poor but beggarly, unbathed, and in filthy clothes.

5)We have that “vile” raiment the poor man was wearing.

This gives us a picture of absolute filth. Someone who gave the appearance of evil but no one knew him.

Not just wearing rags but foul smelling and dirty rags. This man would have had an odor of filth!

James paints us a picture of stark contrast between these two men.

They are what they are, but it is the “assembly” of God’s people who are wrong and the sinners in our picture and not either of these men.

They say to the poor, we may have a place for you but you will have to stand, there is no seat for you.

They say to the poor, just do as you are told and we may allow you to stay in God’s House.

But they say to the man in the “gay” clothing, sit in the place reserved for those of honor.

Sit in the place reserved for our pastor as he will be at the pulpit and his seat is not taken.

In a synagogue of the Jews, they would have insisted that he sit Moses’ seat!

Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

Then James explains this sin for us all to understand.

*****Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

It is a fact that we are prone to judge by outward appearance!

It is also a fact that Jesus never did this!

The Lord Jesus never looked on the outward appearance of anyone but will always accept “whosoever” into His family!

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that “whosoever” shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Mat 12:50 For “whosoever” shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

“Whosoever” still means anyone, any person, from any walk of life!

Showing partiality is then our greatest sin!

To see this more clearly let’s see what happened to Our Lord Jesus.

Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus was a picture of this the poor man and was despised and rejected by His own self-righteous nation.

In this hypothetical story of James, this poor beggar was despised and rejected simply because of the way he looked and smelled, by a self-righteous people.

No one took the time to even get to know him.

If the Lord Jesus would show up in our Church of today, He would go unnoticed or even rejected because their was nothing in His appearance to make us desire Him.

Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

In our assemblies today, we reject those that we say are not our kind of people.

But what did Jesus do?

Mar 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

Jesus Christ was a friend to sinners though He disapproved of their sins.

Jesus did not compromise with sin, but He had compassion on the sinner!

Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The religious experts in the day of Jesus judged Him by their human standards and He was rejected.

To the religious experts:

Jesus came from the wrong city.
He did not attend the right schools.
He did not have the approval of the people.
He did not meet the requirements of the government.
Jesus had no wealth.
Jesus ran with the wrong crowd.
Jesus lived on the streets because Jesus was homeless. Jesus did not even have a home.

Luk 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

We become “unjust” judges when we judge by appearance and this is a terrible sin in the eyes of God.

To reject a stranger simply for his looks is to reject the Word of God!

Those that cater to those “that appear” to be rich think that there will be some benefit that will come from those people.

It is a fact in America that the richest men support many charities and some of those may do some good but they do not support the spread of the Gospel which brings eternal life.

They do not support the Church!

They do not support missionaries!

So, what would Jesus do?

1) If the visitor is a Christian then we accept him. (The Spirit of God abides in him)
2) If the visitor is not a Christian then we accept him. (Christ Jesus died for all sinners)

Jesus Christ is the link of love for us all!

Why?

*****Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

It is a fact that the Word of God has held true but the Word of God is alive and is even more valuable, especially in our day!

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

We always seem to forget, that this is God’s plan and we need to be involved in His plan, rather than seek ways to change it to suit ourselves.

James cautions the Church to listen to these words.

The poor, as a class of people furnish more believers and more support to the Church than all the rich class. This is a fact!

The rich must first renounce the power of his riches to have any power toward salvation and most of them find this hard to do.

We are all poor in spirit and we must all realize this, to ever become rich in the Spirit of God!

True riches begin with faith!

Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

We become rich toward God by serving Him.

1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

It is in these things that if we will learn, we will be more like Jesus Christ our Lord!

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

We must all become poor before we can become rich in the things of God!

Sometimes those that are already poor in this world understand this in a better way and we can learn from them!

To despise the poor is to reject the ways of the Lord!

For after all, most of our problems in this world come from the rich rather than the poor!

This is also a fact!

*****Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

When we base our opinions on looks and appearances as seen by our eyes, we seem to always reject those that are lest fortunate than ourselves.

To be honest we see what we do not want to become!

When we see those that are more fortunate than we are, then we see what we want to become.

BUT, we are then judging by the ways of this world!

To “despise”, is to have the lowest of opinion for someone.
To “despise” someone is to have a low opinion of one of God’s created beings.

Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

These poor that we despise very seldom ever cause us any personal problems.

Pro 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

In this time of James, Christians were being being persecuted from all sides at this time.

Jews were corrupt in their religion and their government and hated the Christians.

The Romans were corrupt in their government and worshipped false gods and hated Christians.

The Christian could not expect justice from anywhere but from God!

It was the rich of this world who would drag the Christians into court.

It was the rich in society who made laws to single out and afflict the Christians.

It was the rich of the Jews who would take away all the possessions of the Christians.

Act 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

It was these rich in worldly goods who blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ in all these things.

But by despising those that were poor, but called of God, these Christians were committing the greater sin!

*****Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

What is the “royal law”? The laws of King Jesus.

It is these two laws of Christ that link God to man and man to God!

Love is the fulfilling of the law!

Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: “therefore love is the fulfilling of the law”.

Those that do not know the “royal law” do no not know God!

It is a serious and a grievous sin to show partiality in the Church!

Why?

*****Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

The wages of sin is death!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When sin is our commander, we will have death to eat as pay!

Sin must be treated like a person!

In fact when sin rules our lives, then sin becomes our god!

If we would treat sin like the “living enemy” that it is, then the more we are likely to fight against it!

When we treat sin like a simple mistake, or having a bad day, we will over look the seriousness of sin and that in itself is a greater sin!

We already know that the death of our flesh is a fact of life!

But this “death”, the “wages of sin”, is total and complete separation from God, Our Creator and is the Second Death.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. “This is the second death”.

Physical death is the separation of body and soul and the separation from this world in which we now live!

“Eternal death” the wages of sin, is the final, ultimate and total separation of the body and soul and from Heaven and God forever!

If there was anyone who could keep every law of God, (613 laws of Moses), and break only one law, that is enough sin to cause a permanent separation from God.

James gives us this example.

*****Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

From the ten moral laws.

Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Adultery is fornication with another man’s wife but like fornication it is also sin against our own bodies as well as before God.

Remember Jesus even said, if we are just think about committing adultery we have committed that sin already.

But fornication is a greater a sin against our own bodies!

1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

This also the same for incest, sodomy, bestiality, and all other immoral sexual contact “because it is an impure action to our own bodies” that was given to us by the Lord God.

And to murder.

Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

To take the life of another human being.

God’s plan has always been for all His creation to preserve life.

God is the giver of all life!

It is Satan who had the keys of death!

But it does not matter to God which of the 10 moral laws were broken because God just sees sin!

God sees a people “who have made sin their god” and all these things reflect back to the greatest sin!

Anytime we reject the Word of God, we have rejected our God and made our own selves little “gods”.

This takes us back to the very first commandment!

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

All sin violates this law of God!

So, what is the remedy?

*****Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

What is the law of liberty? God’s law of love!

The Bible is still our love letter from our Father in Heaven!

When we need man-made laws to keep us from doing wrong, then we do not know the “perfect law of liberty”.

When God’s laws are written in our heart, we will not want to violate the things written in God’s love letter.

That’s what repentance is all about! A change in our direction. A change in our mind. A change in our heart!

It is the “perfect law of liberty” which gives us our freedom from the curse of all man-made laws!

What is the basic law of liberty?

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”.

If we do not practice this law of liberty, then the law of “Grace” will condemn us more heavily than all those man-made laws.

This is the judgment that we will face and that will take place when we face Jesus at the “Judgement Seat of Christ”!

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

As Christians we will never be again judged for our sin, they are under the Blood of Jesus.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

But our works after being saved will be judged and judged without mercy!

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

1) Our words will be judged:

Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

2) Our deeds will be judged:

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

3) Our attitudes will be judged: Jas 2:13

*****Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

There will be consequences for treating others without mercy and compassion, and we make it much worse when we show mercy to some and no mercy to others!

God has shown us His Mercy and Grace by saving us from the pits of Hell.

God will not show His Mercy at the “Judgment seat of Christ” for He will have judgment without mercy!

When God finds repentance and faith, then He will show mercy.

When God finds rebellion, then God must show justice!

If our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ does not control our behavior in this world, then we have not only failed in the purpose of God but we have failed our own selves!

We must practice the doctrine that we defend and that is the complete Word of God!

To be a Christian is to be like Christ Jesus in all our ways!

God will not allow discrimination in His Church to go unpunished!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

Book of James

Living In Faith

What Is True Faith

Why It Matters

The Royal Law

Facing This World Today

Praying Devotedly

Submitting Compliantly

Speaking Wisely

Serving Dependably

Loving Impartially

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