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Notes
Transcript
Ned Bartlebaugh, "Resolving to Know Christ"
One day, a man hired an experienced guide to lead him on a hike into the Swiss Alps. After many hours, they came to a high and remote mountain pass. To the man’s dismay, he saw the path had almost been washed out. What could he do? To the left was a sheer rock cliff, to his right, a precipice that dropped nearly 1000 ft. Looking down, he felt his head growing faint and his knees beginning to buckle. At that moment his guide shouted, "Do not look down or you are a dead man, keep your eyes on me, and where I put my feet, put yours there as well." The man did as he was instructed and soon he passed from danger to safety.
(From a sermon by Ned Bartlebaugh, "Resolving to Know Christ")
Each of us have chosen a path and my prayer is that you have chosen the narrow path that Christ has given us to follow. I recognize that this path is fraught with opportunities to fall off. But you can follow Christ and stay on this path.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
The difference is your perception of the need for this change. Our understanding of the needed change is what makes it possible to make this change.
Text: James 1:1-4
Intro: James is an incredible figure in Scripture. Many hold it as the NT writing of Wisdom much like Proverbs or Psalms for the OT. I along with many Bible preachers hold that this is none other James than the brother or half-brother of Jesus. Not to be confused with James the son of Zebedee, or James the son of Alphaeus. In fact the specific place of James is unclear except that he would not have been numbered among the original 12. But it is likely that he was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem.
Thompson says that James is employed highlighting the identifiers of true Religion. He is taking the truths of Jesus Christ as the transformation from dead religion to true Christlikeness. This letter is written to the newly converted Jews that had been scattered by persecution.
In our series I want you to see how God uses the pattern of Christ to change us from “The Inside Out”.
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A man awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size water bed. In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily. The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain. He tried to hold it back, but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes which poked it full of holes.
Disgusted, he threw out the water-bed frame and moved a standard bed into his room. The next morning, he awoke to find a puddle of water in the middle of the new bed. The upstairs bathroom had a leaky drain.
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Patience will only come through victory over temptation or trial. God is using a difficulty of spirit over flesh to bring us to victory over flesh.
In other words we watch as God takes a man into an outwardly produced anxiety to produce an inward peace. This is an immensely positive procedure because it takes man from constant loser to victor. The sin that vanquished you yesterday will one day be an easy after thought.
I. Weirdest Reason to Rejoice (2)
Exp: Could it be that there are reasons to rejoice in Trial. James is stating an expectation that the believer would not just in mechanical fashion smile when everything is falling apart. He is not expecting us to just grin and bear it. But rather in light of what is being said, we can rejoice.
Trial and temptation are not in themselves reasons to rejoice, but in the context of Christianity we can rejoice. We have access to a mindset the world will never understand.
Arg. Your temptation is of certain characteristics.
§ Step Down (fall)
It is not the blight of a Christian to face temptation, but of mankind.
We are above the temptation we have to step down to face it.
Paul told us that we are seated in “heavenly places.”
Meaning there are no temptations that have a right to you. Just the ones you choose
The key to understanding triumph over temptation is to understand who you are in Christ. You are already a victor. You are “in Christ”.
§ Stationary (into)
It is not permanent
Temptation must come and GO.
II. “Knowing This” (3)
This is the main piece of information, their joy is specifically connected to this statement.
“The trying of your faith Worketh Patience”
Define Spiritual Growth
We have explained from this pulpit before that when someone speaks of “growing spiritually” what they are describing is the increasing faith.
Define Faith
At the same time I want to recognize the Bible definition of Faith.
Faith is the Pursuit of God. “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”.
§ Faith is the commitment.
§ Faith draws us to know God.
§ Trials make patience transform faith to reality.
Define Patience
Patience as described in the First letter to the Thessalonians. Patience of Hope is the work that God does in each of our lives. So understand that the rejoicing comes when we understand that God is doing a work in our live through the trial that has come.
It is not just a natural process that we are all of the sudden going to have patience because of temptation but rather it is God placing us on the potters wheel to produce an image that pleases him.
III. Hope demands we surrender “let” (4)
This is to say the primary reasons we fail to grow is we cease to be submissive to the process of patience.
In adversity we usually want God to do a removing job when He wants to do an improving job. To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the storm.
Different Temptations
§ Spiritual Dryness
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
§ Soul Devastation
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
§ Satiated Desires
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Principle: When the object of your faith not in focus. You have lost biblical use for material things.
IV. Danger to the Believer
§ 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
The danger to you and me is that we can err. We can pull the plug we fall into temptation, we can quit God in the storm, we can satisfy our hunger on humanistic thoughts. There is a danger.
Promise to the Believer
§ 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.
You may wonder if that is such a bad thing, but I tell you in eternity you and I will care. There are eternal rewards that are to be gained as long as we are will in to stay with it. Don’t quit.
Application:
Throw them on grace
Truth you need to be convinced of:
Your material possessions are a test, a test of where you have placed your faith.
Principle: When the object of your faith not in focus. You have lost biblical use for material things.
Jesus warned
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus passed the test
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
You have a choice tonight you can get your focus on the wealth of the world or the poverty you struggle with or you can get your eyes on the Christ who never allowed it to conquer him. knowing that same grace is available to you by your birthright as a child of God.
Here is the hope of passing this test...
Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He is not the example of how to hold loosely to earthly things… He is the source for the grace to hold loosely hold earthly things.
The Psalmist got it right
“turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will go strangly dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
We cannot afford to lose the object of our faith