Witnessing The Truth Of The Gospel

Witnessing Authentically

1 Thessalonians 2

As we go through these lessons of the early church, we get an opportunity to meet the Apostle Paul on a new level. The Apostle Paul had a great love for the lost and was very passionate in his desire for all men to be saved.

This is what is expected from each of us. The "Gospel of Jesus Christ" is the message given to us from God but it is for the benefit of every man, woman, and child on this Earth!

A great question we can ask ourselves is this, "Is God pleased with us in the way we are handling His Word"?

As we see Paul in his words, we can see the heart of a Pastor but Paul was called by the Lord to be the Pastor to all the early church and not just one church.

**Paul was a Church planter. Paul was a Minister of Christ, and it was God's purpose for Paul to deliver the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ to all who would hear him!

**Paul was a Pastor to the infant Church. God uses people to bring the "Gospel" to this lost world but God also uses people to feed, educate, and train those who He has saved.

**Paul was not to remain and be the full time Pastor. Paul was a Missionary. A Missionary is one who has been sent of God!

Today Paul will show us how he preached and how he felt about the Church.

The Apostle Paul had a "Christlike" ministry and it showed!

The theme of our lessons this quarter is "practical Christian living" James taught us much and we can learn much more as we follow the life of the Apostle Paul.

We are all to be faithful ministers of Jesus Christ. This is what sets the children of God apart from the World.

The entire world is trying to remove Jesus Christ.

It is the Christian that brings the pure message of Jesus Christ!

The truth is still the truth even when it is not believed and God's Word will never come back void!

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

We can only be the messenger sent of God, it is God who controls the results!

Rain may seem lost when it falls on desert or in the oceans but God has a purpose for each drop of rain, no matter where it falls.

So, the "Gospel" has it's purpose no matter where it falls!

At the very least it will leave the lost without an excuse at the time of "judgment"!

What is the pure fact of the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"?

Psa 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

There is no hope for success of the "Gospel" unless we are founded on the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****1Th 2:1  For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:
1Th 2:2  But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

Paul and Silas had been unjustly arrested in Philippi. They were then beaten and thrown into the dungeon of the local prison.

When most of us would have given up, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to the Lord:

Act 16:23  And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
Act 16:24  Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Act 16:25  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Some say that this was the first "Gospel Concert" in Europe.

When Paul was released after many were saved, Paul refused to sneak out of town but forced the same government that locked him up to return and release him.

The Apostle Paul had no shame for preaching the "Gospel".

Most of the world will not like the "Gospel message" but this should encourage us more than defeat us!

Paul had moved on to Thessalonica and many were saved, but Paul and Silas were again sent away for their own personal safety.

Act 17:10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Paul wrote this epistle from Corinth so the Church in Thessalonica was well aware of all these things that had happened to Paul!

This is why Paul was so bold, because the "Gospel is still the truth", even when it is rejected!

*****1Th 2:3  For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

What is the character to the true "Gospel" preacher.

Every preacher of the "Gospel" must live the "Gospel"!

Exhorting is giving advice in a way to incite the listener. Preaching is exhorting!

Exhorting the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ opens our eyes to our sinful ways.

Exhorting the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ teaches us to apply the Word of God to our daily lives.

The entire Book of James taught us how to apply the Word of God to our daily lives!

This is also the message of the Apostle Paul.

The preaching of the "Gospel" will turn evil to good, misery to happiness, from Satan to God, and from Hell to Heaven!

**The "Gospel" is not deceiving!

Paul was very careful not to live his life in deception. We cannot live our lives in deception and be counted as Christians!

**The "Gospel" is clean!

A clean  person is one who who maintains a pattern of personal cleanliness while also taking care to insure that their personal environment is kept clean.

Cleanness refers to spiritual cleanness. We are all spiritually unclean because of the fall of Adam.

Human sin becomes a barrier between us and a Just, and Holy God!

The Apostle Paul had to live a life of cleanness, because the Word of God is clean.

Pro 30:5  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Those that take the Word of God into uncleanness usually live their lives in uncleanness and are not called of God!

**The "Gospel" is the truth!

Guile is to be crafty and cunning in deceit.

Paul had to live his life with great integrity and uprightness, without hypocrisy and deceit, either before God or before men!

There is no deceitful design in the ministry of the Word of God.

There is nothing false or impure in the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

The "Gospel" came from God and He has called certain men to preach the "Gospel"!

Not everyone that stands behind a pulpit has been called of God!

*****1Th 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

You see that it was God's choice for Paul to become a Missionary, Paul just had to submit to that calling.

It was by God's permission that Paul preached the "Gospel", and Paul considered it a privilege.

It is a privilege to study the Word of God!

Paul, Timothy, and Silas were allowed of God to be put in trust of the "Gospel" so their goal was to please God and not to please men.

When the "Gospel" is tailored to please men or for the betterment of mankind, then we have missed the point of the "Gospel"!

The "Gospel" must be preached to get men saved!

When that lost sinner gets right with God, then he will have no problem being a better person, and all mankind will be better for it.

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.

Our job is to keep the main thing, the main thing, and that is getting people saved by leading them to the Lord!

It is God's job to clean them up!

*****1Th 2:5  For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
1Th 2:6  Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

At no time did Paul praise these Thessalonians when he preached the "Gospel".

Their beauty, their wealth, their talent, nor their accomplishments could hide their need for the truth of the "Gospel"!

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Paul had carefully avoided all these things so he could be faithful to the command of God.

It is important for the lost to realize the sin in their lives and the "Gospel" preached according to the Word of God, will point these things out!

Jesus said:

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.

Paul, Silas, And Timothy had that "gift of faith". They had no concern for their own welfare. They depended on God to supply all their needs.

Their concern was for the welfare of others and the Glory of God!

This is the right attitude for every Pastor and Preacher!

This is the right attitude for every Missionary!

And add to that these things.

*****1Th 2:7  But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

A mother that is nursing a child will not give that child up to another.

A mother will not nurse the children of another, the same way they nurse their own children.

Paul looked upon these Thessalonians as his own children in the faith!

A nursing mother provides nourishment to her child.

The Apostle Paul was providing nourishment to these born again Thessalonians!

Luk 4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

To preach the "Gospel" and explain salvation, it must begin with the purpose and the love of God, as The Father.

God's love shows His greatest power in the death of His Son Jesus.

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

"Grace"==="God's Riches At Christ's Expense"!

*****1Th 2:8  So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

There are many in the world who will actually lay down their own life for what they believe.

All of us who have placed our trust in Jesus should feel this way!

But Paul goes even farther saying he would have laid down his own life for these Thessalonians.

Some of us would probably lay down our lives for our own families, especially our own children, but not many of us would lay down our lives for strangers such as these Thessalonians.

Paul said: "you are your own witnesses".

*****1Th 2:9  For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
1Th 2:10  Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

It can never be said that the Apostle Paul ever made a living off the "Gospel".

Sure, some of of the churches sent support but this was not enough to sustain Paul and those with him.

Paul and Silas did not preach the "Gospel" in order to secure money as some do today.

To Paul this was done in order to avoid any appearance of any self-serving in his ministry.

The Apostle Paul went through real agony to bring people to Jesus Christ.

As a nursing mother, Paul provided the spiritual nourishment to all who would listen to the "Gospel".

As a father who works to support his family, Paul worked to provide his own way so he was not a burden on the babes in Christ.

As many Pastors have found out, it is not easy to work a full time job and be a full time minister of the "Gospel".

We know the Apostle Paul was a tent maker and no matter where he traveled there was always a market for tents.

Act 18:3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent makers.

The tents of that day were made by sewing cloth that was frequently made from goat hair together and attaching ropes and loops.

Tent making was considered an honorable trade in those days!

Many times Paul was exhausted to the point of fatigue and the Thessalonians knew this to be true.

They had witnessed the hardships, they had seen the hard work, and they had heard the "Gospel" of the of the Lord Jesus Christ and they knew all these things came because of the love Paul had for lost.

Paul was truly an example of Jesus Christ to these new disciples of Jesus.

*****1Th 2:11  As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
1Th 2:12  That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Remember "exhorting" is the inciting to do good, by definition.

Exhorting leads to willingness of serving the Lord and the joy in serving God!

These things are comforting to everyone who realizes that they are a sinner in need of a Savior!

Paul served this new church as the minister of the "Gospel" but even more important Paul served this church as the Pastor and shepherd to the flock of God.

Paul served for the "Glory of God" and not for himself!

It is our only job after salvation to walk worthy of God!

We are to be an example of Christ to all those in this lost world. Why?

Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

These things happen when we accept the truth.

*****1Th 2:13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

These Thessalonians had witnessed the "Gospel" in the life of the Apostle Paul.

They saw such evidence of reality in Paul that they finally knew the life they had been seeking for themselves.

They knew they had actually heard the Word of God and they yielded to God's Message, and it went home to their hearts!

They believed what God says!

The Apostle Paul always made sure to claim to preach the "Inspired Word Of God".

Gal 1:11  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The "Gospel" is energized by the Holy Spirit and God's Word will work effectively in the heart of those that will listen to it and believe.

1Pe 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

The Word of God is powerful!

Jesus said:

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Those that hear the truth usually know they have heard it, and it then becomes the time to accept it or to reject it.

It is the plan of God to bring everyone to this point in their lives!

*****1Th 2:14  For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
1Th 2:15  Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

All those that were Jews by birth had to turn away from their loved ones.

They had to turn away from their closest friends to accept the Word of God.

They were persecuted simply because they accepted Jesus Christ.

Those that were Gentiles had to turn away from their former friends and their relatives.

Those that reject the Word of God develop a prejudice toward anyone that believes upon Jesus Christ.

The Non-believers for some reason will do everything within their power to "hinder the Gospel".

A point I have never understood, except to understand that it is the work of Satan!

God is going to deal with those who reject His Son and those that hinder those who believe on Him!

This is also the truth of the "Gospel"!

*****1Th 2:16  Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

God is long-suffering toward all sinners but even God has a limit.

God warned those before the flood:

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man", for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Regardless what the Evolutionist say, there is real proof of a world-wide flood!

God delayed giving the Promised Land to Israel until the sin of the Amorites was full.

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

But the command did come when God knew there would be no Amorite believers.

Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

The Lord is long-suffering still today but the "Day of the Lord" will still come!

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.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Those Jews of whom Paul was writing had slain their own prophets.

They had crucified the Lord Jesus Christ.

They were doing all they could to hinder the "Gospel", not only from other Jews but also from the entire world.

Their iniquity was full in 70 AD and The Temple and Jerusalem was completely destroyed and those that were remained were scattered all over the world for near 1900 years, until May 1948.

We should also wonder how much longer will God be patient with America!

Satan is still busy hindering the Word of the One True God, Jehovah!

*****1Th 2:17  But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
1Th 2:18  Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

As Christians we know for a fact that one day in the not so distant future, we will get to see again all those that have gone on before us face to face.

Paul had this same desire to see those Thessalonians.

We should have that desire to see all our brothers and sisters in Christ at every opportunity, after all we will spend eternity with them and we will be known by them all.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

But Satan is a powerful creature.

Satan will do everything he can to hinder those that carry the "Gospel" to the lost.

Paul says that Satan hindered him at least on two occasions to get back to these Thessalonians, but God does what God does.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The Apostle Paul was forced to write this epistle to those Thessalonians and now the entire world can read the Inspired Word of God and know the work of the Apostle Paul.

God's Word cannot be stopped by Satan nor this world we live in!

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Satan may cause us some problems but Satan is not a problem for God!

*****1Th 2:19  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Th 2:20  For ye are our glory and joy.

There are rewards for serving the Lord and furthering the "Gospel of Jesus Christ".

There is a great joy from knowing that you were involved in some way in leading someone to the Lord!

Any reward will be given at the "Judgment Seat Of Christ".

Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

These are the crowns that are mentioned for believers:

1) The "incorruptible crown.

1Co 9:25  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

2) The crown of righteousness.

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

3) The crown of life.

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.

4) The crown of glory.

1Pe 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away

5) In our verse the crown of rejoicing.

We should notice that near the end of every chapter in this book the Apostle Paul makes a reference to the return of Jesus Christ.

The return of Christ is a prominent doctrine in the scriptures and is mentioned more than 300 times in the New Testament.

It is in Heaven where we can discuss these things without being hindered by anyone!

Php 3:20  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Proclaiming The Gospel

Proclaiming Diligently

1 Thessalonians 1

Last week we ended our study of the Book of James. We certainly did not spend enough time to learn all that is in this great Book of the Bible but we did learn many things about living like Christ.

If we are not living like Christ Jesus, the Messiah that has come, then how can we be known as Christians?

A Christian is not for us to decide but it is for others to see!

We should be very clear, God will never force any of us to trust Him!

God tells us what sin really is and how sin leads to eternal spiritual death.

God's Word will convict us of our sin!

Once we realize that we are all sinners then we will also realize the need for a Savior!

This is the beginning of a life of prayer!

That first prayer for salvation is the beginning of our faith and the first step in drawing nigh to God!

Today we will leave the writings of James and begin a short study into the writings of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Thessalonica.

We already know that the Book of James was the earliest of the Church Epistles.

We already know that though the Book of James was written to Christians most of them were converted Jews at that time.

We already know that by the Apostle Peter, it had been established that God deals with "whosoever" will believe upon Him and salvation is for all believers, even the Gentiles.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God "by faith in Christ Jesus".

1Co 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body", whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Today we will begin with the earliest of writings of the Apostle Paul to the Christian Church.

The city of Thessalonica still exist today simply called Salonika.

The theme of this first book to the Thessalonians is "the return of Jesus Christ".

Thessalonica was at the time of Paul the principle city but also the Capitol city of Macedonia.

Thessalonica is named after the sister of Alexander the Great.

The city of Thessalonica was the crossroads of where the East met the West at the time of the Apostles.

Paul had been in the East when he received the call of God to spread the "Gospel" to Europe which eventually came to America.

Act 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Act 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the early church for many reasons.

Paul wrote to assure his new friends of his love and his concern for them.

Paul writes to all believers to ground us in the "Doctrines" of the Christian faith!

Paul writes to us all to assure us of the return of Jesus Christ to get His Church!

All the letters of Paul were inspired by the Holy Spirit to correct the weaknesses "that come from inside the Church" just as James had done!

Confusion about prophecy exist today because there are so many preachers and teachers who contradict each other upsetting the saints.

Many ask, is the coming of the Lord near?

Many ask, what are the signs of Christ coming soon?

Many ask, will God's people go through the Tribulation Period?

The Apostle Paul answered these questions and much more in the two letters to the Thessalonians.

Above all the Apostle Paul teaches us how to live holy lives in this sin-filled world and respect the Church that Christ built with His own blood!

Faith, Hope and Charity are the best evidence of being Christians with Charity being the greatest.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

So let's begin:

*****1Th 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because the preaching of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ had stirred up a turmoil in Thessalonica, Paul had to leave and was now in the city of Corinth.

He had left Timothy and Silas behind and a Church had been established.

At the time of this letter both of them had rejoined Paul and had brought with them many questions from the believers.

In our area there are more churches per square mile than probably any other place on this earth but we always seem to have these same old questions!

We have questions because we refuse to study the Word of God as He commands us all to do!

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

We may all accept that we need to study more but at the same time we always seem to seem to listen to vain teaching which causes confusion.

Babblings are fruitless discussions that lead to confusion!

Paul was deeply concerned with these young converts and knowing that he could not return to them at this time, he did the next best thing, he gave them the written Word of God.

We do not have the Apostles with us today!

We do not have the eyewitnesses of Jesus with us today!

We do not have as many great instructors of the "Gospel" with us today!

But we do have something much greater!

We have something that the early Church did not have, we have the Complete Holy Inspired Word of God!

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.

No matter how many so called prophets come.

No matter how many preachers come.

The most sure thing we can have in our possession is the complete, Holy Ghost Inspired Word of God!

2Pe 1:19 "We have also a more sure word of prophecy"; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

And according to the Holy Inspired Word of God, the Church is only a Church if it is established in God the Father, "through" the Lord Jesus Christ!

All other so-called religions are cults!

As we go through these letters to the Thessalonian Christians we will find that the Second Coming of Christ Jesus will be referred to in some way in every chapter.

The Apostle Paul realized that every believer needs clear and precise instructions because we all begin as babes in Christ!

Many today are taught that the Second Coming of Christ is not so important to the Church, because the Church will already be in Heaven because of the "Rapture" when Christ first returns in the clouds like a thief.

But, the Apostle Paul gives us much teaching on this subject and we need to know these things!

These new, mostly Gentile believers, were now linked to the infinite 'Grace" of God and it was important for them to know that this "Grace" can come only through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God!

It is important for us all to have this same understanding!

The "Grace" that saves from judgment was already known to these new believers.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, "to them who are the called according to his purpose".

The "peace" that comes from salvation was already known to these new believers.

It was now time to learn of the "Grace" that sustains each of us from day to day!

Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

It was time to learn of the "peace" that comes from a daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ!

It was now time to pick up their own cross and walk with the Lord Jesus!

The Apostle Paul now introduces them to these things.

*****1Th 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

That "we" of course was Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

We should not forget, Paul was a Church Planting Missionary and was very busy about the work of God.

If Paul was not preaching, he was visiting house to house.

If Paul was not doing these things, he was busy as a "tent maker" to meet his personal needs.

But Paul always found the time to pray for the Body Of Christ, the New Testament Church.

As we saw in the Book of James, faith without works is dead faith!

Without men such as Paul, who interceded in behalf of the Church, the "Gospel" would not have spread very far.

Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

We will reach that point in our lives when we cannot be the feet and legs of the "Gospel" but until we reach the grave we need to always pray for the Church to succeed!

*****1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

"Without ceasing" means continuously more than it does continually!

Faith, love and hope are the foundations of Christianity!

***What is the "work of faith"?

Our foundation must be set on the solid ground of "Faith"!

Faith is the only way man can approach God!

But that faith must be based upon the work of Jesus Christ!

We must remove faith in ourselves and fill that void with faith in Jesus Christ!

Then there is the "gift of faith".

We cannot be Christians without "saving faith"!

This "saving faith" will sustain each of us through our daily walk with the Lord.

The "gift of faith" is not possessed by all believers. The "gift of faith" comes from the Holy Spirit and has the capacity to see something that needs to be done and the belief that God will provide all the things needed to accomplish that thing.

Our Pastor, Preacher Sam, had the "gift of faith" to begin this Church we now call Gethsemane.

This is stepping out in the call of God, knowing that God will provide!

In our study of the Book of James we learned that there is a work of faith after salvation.

This Church in Thessalonica had a true work of faith but they also had this "gift of faith" and it showed.

Faith is the key that opens the door to do the Work of the Lord!

Faith is the key to touching the Heart of God which leads to the labor of Love!

***What is the "labor of love"?

Out of "faith" rises love.

No one can love God unless they believe that God loves them!

God is love!

1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

When those times come when our "faith" seems to fail us, if we will continue because we love the Lord, we will find that God's love will never fail us!

When we are saved we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

If God did not possess love then He could not produce love in each believer!

God has proved to us that He loves us and for this same reason we need to love one another.

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.
1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

To be "Born Again" is to be born of God and therefore to resemble God.

The Church in Thessalonica knew the love of God and had love for one another, and had a labor of love for the lost and it showed in their personal lives.

***What is "patience of hope"?

Patience of hope is the endurance of hope!

The is the persevering endurance of the trials that all Christians go through.

We can only have this patience when we look to the end of our faith and not just linger at the beginning of out faith!

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Hope is looking to the future and not in the now!

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

This Church in Thessalonica was looking forward to the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ and it showed!

Their faith, love, and hope was in the Lord Jesus Christ because they realized there was no other way to Heaven.

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.

They also realized that God is always watching because He truly cares!

When we realize that we are under the watchful eye of God while we yet live, we will not have to concern ourselves with appearing before God at the White Throne of Judgment.

Pro 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

*****1Th 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

When all our faith, all our love, and that love is in the Lord Jesus Christ then we can become the elect of God.

To believe on the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be the chosen of God!

Jesus had these words:

Act 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me", to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Elected means God has elected each individual believer.

This does not mean that God has already preselected those that He will save as some teach!

The key to being the elect of God is being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the choice we all must make!

Every elect of God must accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Savior!

*****1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

It is the job of each one of us, after we are saved, to proclaim the "Gospel" to this lost world we live in!

1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

We should realize that without the Holy Spirit there would be no results from this preaching.

What did Jesus say to the Apostles?

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, "after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you": and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Without speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit there will be no results!

Paul did not mean that the "Gospel" originated with him, or Silas, or Timothy, but that it was they who had delivered to them the "Gospel" by the Holy Spirit.

***For the Word of God to be effective, it must be preached:

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

***The Word of God must be bathed with the power of God's "Grace":

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

***The Word of God must be preached with the assistance of the Holy Ghost:

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;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

***The Word of God must be preached in assurance:

It is a fact that that most preaching today does not give much assurance.

We are truly blessed here at Gethsemane.

But this is not the assurance of the speaker!

The "Gospel" must produce assurance in the believer!

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Paul said: just as you know what manner of men we are by the way we conducted ourselves and we know what manner of people you are by the way you are conducting yourselves, after receiving the "Gospel"

Jesus said:

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

***The "Gospel" must be preached for only one purpose:

2Ti 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

The salvation that is in Christ Jesus will not only save us from the wrath to come but brings with it the glory of being with the Lord Jesus Christ.

***Glorification is the fullest expansion of salvation:

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Knowing all these things will make followers of Christ.

A follower is therefore an imitator of Christ and therefore a Christian!

*****1Th 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

It is truly important that we walk before God in holiness of life and righteousness before all others!

Righteousness means, to do all things right according to the Word of God.

Each believer then becomes a weapon that God can use in this sin-filled world!

Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

More and more people in our world have never even heard of the "Gospel" nor Of Jesus Christ, but they see what the world looks like everyday.

If they cannot see Jesus in us, then our words will have no meaning to them!

Paul said if you see us(Paul, Silas, Timothy) you are seeing the ways of Jesus!

1Co 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

We will receive the Word of God in affliction because the Word of God cuts:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God will reach deep into our flesh to separate us from the desires of this world and cause much affliction within us, until we feel the joy that comes from its freedom.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

There is great joy in being free from the wages of sin!

This change was so great in these Thessalonians that most all others soon noticed.

*****1Th 1:7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

Shortly after 146 BC all Greece south of Macedonia was formed into a Roman province named Achaia.

There was then the province of Macedonia and the Province of Achaia.

The Church in Philippi had been established previous to this one in Thessalonica, both in Macedonia.

The Apostle Paul was in Corinth where a Church had been started in Achaia but those of Thessalonica were setting the example for all the Churches in Europe at this time.

*****1Th 1:8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

Thessalonica was a great commercial and political center but these saved of God, had no problem spreading the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ even to all the strangers that passed through this great city.

They not only witnessed in Achaia and Macedonia but to anyone who would listen no matter what part of the world they called home.

They lived in a nation of false gods and Greek folklore, but now their faith was directed toward the One True God!

They did not need for the Pastor to encourage them to go out on visitation.

They did these things on their own and allowed their Pastor to be about the business of the Lord.

These people evangelized!

2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, "do the work of an evangelist", make full proof of thy ministry.

It was evident by the change in their lives, that these of the Church of Thessalonica were in touch with God!

It was even more evident to the Apostle Paul who had endured much, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

These people were evidence of the truth of the Word of God to the Apostle Paul and to the world around them.

*****1Th 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols "to serve" the living and true God;
1Th 1:10 And "to wait" for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

What is the job of the Christian after salvation?

To serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to wait on His return!

To repent is a complete change of mind which leads to a complete change of ways!

All those in Thessalonica could noticeably see the change in these that were "Born Again" of God!

They had completely turned from idols to worship the True and Living God!

These people were busy about the Master's Work, because they fully believed that the Lord Jesus Could return at any moment!

The more we believe this truth, the more we should telling others about the salvation that comes by the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

Surely we love our families this much!

This wrath that is coming, is not to those that love the Lord Jesus but to those that will not accept the Lord Jesus.

Col 3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

This wrath is still in the future but the opportunity to miss this wrath of God, will run out when the Lord returns to get His Saints, which could happen at any moment!

When we are not looking for the Lord to return at any moment, we do not believe the truth of the "Gospel" and it will show up in our lack of "Good Works"!

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.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

This is our message to the world we live in!

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

We know that Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels.

But we also know that Heaven is prepared for the people of God!

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. "I go to prepare a place for you".

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

When we do not believe the Words of Jesus, how can we say we love Him!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Praying

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

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!