Practical Living - Part 1 - Living Reverently - James 1:1-4

INTRO: When I travel I often go to places where I have little knowledge of the culture. So I am limited to my LIVING experiences in that county.

In the Kingdom of God, many believers have limited knowledge of the Christian culture. So the ABUNDANT LIFE Christ promised is often limited and confused about how to live PRACTICALLY.

Today - a study from the book of James on PRACTICAL LIVING ~ to strengthen our understanding of Kingdom Culture and how to Live in the world but not of the world.

Live in Humility ~ Live In Joy~ Live in Perfection

LIVE IN HUMILITY - v.1

E - James Brother of Jesus - MK 6:3 “3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.”

Leader of the Church - Acts 15:13 “13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me.”

YET, slave of God and Jesus.

R - Slave = one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another; no free will - his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.

What does it mean to be “a SLAVE of God?”

RESPECTING AUTHORITY - Obedient - Matt. 8:9 “I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers.

RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY - I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.””

Responsible - Matt 24:45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.”

46 “If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.”

A - To Live in Humility is = your will decreases so that His increases.

Humility = not regarding others as inferior : not overly proud.

Phil 2:7-8 “7 Instead, he gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

CARRY OUT YOUR ASSIGNMENT TO GIVE GLORY TO YOUR MASTER. NOT TAKING THE CREDIT.

LIVE IN JOY - v. 2

E -James informs us how to respond when troubles come...consider it an opportunity for GREAT JOY.

Joy = a feeling of pleasure and delight; comes from success, good fortune, or a sense of well-being

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22 So joy is part of the Christian Life.

Joy is what we express in Praise PS 100:1-2 “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.”

Joy is the experience of VICTORY over FEAR - 1 Sam 18.

R - So, Great Joy with Troubles, Troubles are TEST/TRIALS.

Self Driving Automobile is tested and tried before it is approved for the masses.

God wants to APPROVE you for the masses, but first He has to prove you through His process.

A - So James is encouraging us to Live in JOY when we are tested, when we are tried, when troubles come, because we KNOW God is on our side.

No Weapon Formed...

SO don’t stress when the troubles come - consider it an opportunity.

What OPPORTUNITY? The Opportunity for GREAT JOY!

LIVE IN PERFECTION - Vs. 3-4

E - James is reminding us that to be a believer there is a process that leads to Perfection = a state of completeness or absolute wholeness. freedom from fault or shortcoming. “maturity.”

R - The PROCESS Grows our PATIENCE.

1st Step - Patience = the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Weight Lifter.

God says “In order to get you to PERFECTION, you need to GROW (some muscle) - remain under the weight of misery - CAST YOUR CARES UPON HIM...; persevere in adversity - ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER...; bear up under when people talk about you - BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU;...

Because when your ENDURANCE/PATIENCE is fully developed you will be PERFECT.

A - The call to be perfect means, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children” - Ephesians 5:1.

As children tend to imitate their parents, God’s children ought to imitate their Lord and reflect His perfection in the way they live.

You won’t need another drug; another human; anything material in order to LIVE; because you have been tested and tried by God and received His approval.

And That’s Perfection!

CLOSE: PRACTICAL LIVING.

It’s not hard when you LIVE IN HUMILITY

LIVE IN JOY

LIVE IN PERFECTION -