Fellowshipmtz

TEMPTATION - (Part 1 - God, You, Me)

James 1:12-15

Continuing his opening theme, James makes clear there are (only) two possible outcomes to TRIALS (difficulties, adversities, hardships) --

Positive (verse 12): "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him."

Negative (verse 13): "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one."

David and His God

2 Samuel 22:21-31

John Davis, student at Southern Seminary, teaches/preaches this morning.

Guest Message: God's Sovereignty & Goodness

Let the Lowly Boast! (And Who Are the Rich?)

James 1:9-12

In order to respond to trials with joy (verses 2-4), a Christian needs to ask GOD for wisdom (verses 5-8).  James immediately provides a relevant application in verses 9-11: The advantage of wisdom for the lowly.  James also offers his first harsh warning (indictment?) of the rich.  Is he speaking TO them? or ABOUT them?

Asking in Faith, Without Doubting

James 1:5-8

Last week our attention was on God's willingness to give wisdom.  The only stipulation James offers is that the asking must be done "in faith, with no doubting".  Unfortunately, there are many misunderstandings as to what that entails, requires.

WISDOM: My Need / God's Supply

James 1:5-8

The audio recording is missing the first 7-8 minutes, so I have made the first page of my Sermon Outline Notes available to fill in the gaps.  What was recorded begins with the reference to Philippians 3 (corresponding to the bottom of page one).

======================

INTRODUCTION:  James is writing to his Jewish brothers who are believing in Jesus as the Messiah. These disciples have discovered that following Jesus is not going to be altogether easy & comfortable.

REVIEW (Previously), verses 2-4:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

SUMMARY (from Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary): The "trials" are a testing sent by God to demonstrate the genuineness of the believer's faith (cf. 1 Pet. 1:6). An attitude of joy is the proper perspective for such tests of faith. The command of James 1:2 is issued because joy in trials is easily missed. The way to finding joy while suffering trials is to see the direct result of endurance developed in one's life (1:3). Steadfastness [endurance, patience] means to bear up under any given situation, not to escape it. The author's exhortation was to stay in the testing so that it would result in endurance rather than sin. The result of endurance is maturity (1:4); the purpose of the testing is to produce maturity. A process is in view: enduring just one trial is not enough. James encouraged his readers to let the process of trials keep working to bring complete maturity; for this reason trials had to come in all areas of life.

BEFORE LEAVING VERSES 2-4:
Trials are intended to effect a transaction -- an exchange of one thing for another thing.
In a sense, what happens in a trial is something of a demonstration of the $10,000 principle: Every time you say "Yes" to something, you are saying "No" to other things (possibilities).
The Exchange: When GOD dispenses a trial into a Christian's life, there really is a LOSS on some level, to some degree.
But it is EQUALLY TRUE that when GOD dispenses a trial into a Christian's life it is for the purpose of acquiring some GAIN.

The GAIN is always of greater value than the LOSS!

However, when trials and hardships come our way, we are very good at identifying what is being lost, taken away --
some ability, pleasure, resource, enjoyment, aspiration, dream, financial means/security, health, ability, activity
some loss of freedom, loss of control -- But we are very poor at identifying what is being gained:

• STEADFASTNESS, patience -- character that more closely resembles Christ
• GOD's WISDOM
• GOD's BLESSING (reward) -- v 12, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him."
• AWARENESS of my weaknesses, limitations, finiteness
• RELIANCE on God's provision, care, intentions (objectives)
• a refined faith
• Philippians 3:7-11 -- But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Trial from God or Temptation from Satan?

James 1:2-4

In most Bible translations James begins by telling believers to "count/consider it all joy when you meet (or fall into) "various TRIALS", but the Old King James Version Bible translates "trials" as "divers TEMPTATIONS".  What?  Are believers to rejoice in temptations too?  Are trials and temptations the same thing?

Introduction to the Epistle of James

Today's message "sets the table" for where our church will be for the foreseeable future as we begin our study of the General Epistle (Letter) of James.  We answer the questions: Who wrote it?  When?  Why?  And, What should we look for, expect?

You can "see" some Power Point slides that provide suggested outlines on our church's Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/littlebbaptist/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2277675405817983

Ascension (& Session) Theology

Assorted Scriptures

Christianity Today Magazine carried an article in May 1998 by Barbara Brown Taylor entitled: "The Day We Were Left Behind."  The article is particularly well written and it has always intrigued me.  Let me quote a small sample:

"Luke ends his gospel by telling us that the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  But you have to remember that it had just happened for them, that they had just been with Him, and the memory was fresh.  They were still running on adrenaline; you can see it in the pictures.  Almost every church with stained-glass windows has an ascension window tucked away somewhere.  In it, Christ generally hovers in the air, His hands upraised in blessing, while the disciples look up at Him with something between awe and delight.  But He is there with them — He is in the window — and if they went away joyful, then I cannot help but thinking that it was because they thought He would be back in a day or two, next week at the latest.

"Two thousand years later, we tend to see the whole thing a little differently.  We need a new window to describe our own situation: a window with just us in it — no angels, no Jesus, no heavenly light —just us, still waiting, still watching the sky, our faces turned up like empty cups that only one presence can fill.  But He is not present anymore, not the way He used to be.

"Ascension Day is the day the present Lord became absent, which may be why it is the most forgotten feast day of the church year.  Who wants to celebrate being left behind?  Who wants to mark the day that Jesus went out of this world, never to be seen again?  Hungry as we are for the presence of God, the one thing we do not need is a day to remind us of God's absence."

How should we understand the Church's relationship to Christ's Ascension?  Was the Church left behind?

God Is Not to be Tamed!

GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Paul Kissling is a professor of Old Testament at Lincoln Christian University. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses and lectured in more than 40 countries on four continents.

Lessons from Rahab - Joshua 2 (and others)

Rahab is just one of many believers recorded in Scripture who seems (to religious types) as especially unlikely to ever be a recipient of saving grace.  Dr. Kissling summarizes her story and provides several points of application.