Changing how you count

James 1:2

James a servant of a God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings

My brethren count it all joy

My brothers and sisters allow me to begin my sermonic by suggesting unto you that when you grow into the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus that your life is never the same..

Matter of fact when you accept jesus into your life , when you are born again, the bible declares old things are passed away and behold all things are brand new.

Don’t matter how you were born, what generational curses that may haunt you, no matter what sins you have commited when you are born again ,christ gives you a new start a new lease on life and you began to walk in the newness of christ.

Not only are you born again but the old man in you dies and the new you start living for christ

Your born again and the First thing God does is give you a new set of eyes. He gives you a new set of eyes so you wont look at situations the same way you would have looked at them before.

Because the worldly person and a christian can both have 20/20 vision but we dont look at situations the same.

because you have to understand when you walk in the newness of christ, you no longer looking from the carnal perspective but you are looking from the spiritual perspective.

Thats why when worldly folk lose they job they look at it as a door closed and get bitter

‘but the christian looks at it as a door opened and get ready for better

when worldly folk get bad news from a doctor, they start planning for a funeral, but the christian keep planning there future because we say by his stripes i am healed..

when worldly folk lose a love one

they break out and break down they act a fool at the funeral and try to jump in the grave with the casket, ,but the christian that while we may mourn we don’t mourn with those with no hope because we understand that absent from the body is present with the lord

believers who are born again see things different but #2 you talk different. Things you used to say, you find yourself not saying them anymore

The old you couldn't just walk away without giving your 2 lil cent, the old you wouldn't leave without giving folk a piece of your mind the old you if you got mad enough you knew what to say, how to say it when to say it to make folk back up off you, but when you are converted in christ (i wish i had some help in here this morning, instead of talking bad to them you go get on your knees and talk to him

when your born again

you see different

you talk different

but #3 you move different

you don’t handle situations the same way you used to

back then it was eye for a eye and tooth for a tooth

if somebody got you you got them back

but since you met jesus you don’t move the same way you used too

now instead of putting hands on somebody you lay praying hands on them

instead of clubbing on Saturday

you churching on Sunday

instead of cussing and fussing

now you fasting and praying

and since im here and its my sermon and i got the mic let me just throw this in here

if you still doing both and straddling the fence

if you got one foot in and one foot out

if you secular on saturday and saved on sunday

if you big tipping at the club, but claim you cant afford to tithe in the church

if you hell at your house but all holy in God house

you might need to draw a line in the sand a pick what side you want to be on because you not as saved as you think you are.

Don’t get me wrong brothers and sisters im not saying when you saved and you know the lord you will be perfect, that you wont ever make no mistakes, that you will dot every i and cross every t

because no matter how saved you are you will never be sinless

but all of us ought to strive to sin-less

sinless one word

sin-less 2 words

some of yall will catch that on the

on your way home

but such is the case in our text this morning when we arrive at the site setting and scenery of the text James is instructing new christian converts on how they ought to conduct themselves as children of God.

James was writing to jews who had recently converted over to Christianity and They were having trouble in thier new found faith as young Christians because like some of us they were under the impression that once you gave your life over to christ that all your troubles, all of your trials all of your tribulations and your test would be over, but they found out like the rest of us

being a christian don't eliminate your trouble but yet it enhances your trouble.

If i had 9 people and ill make 10 who could testify before i surrendered my life to christ i didn't have all these problems, i didnt have all these people plotting and preying on my downfall, it wasn't until after i gave the preacher my hand and gave god my heart that i experienced the drama the dilemma the division and the depression

that listen

that most of the confusion in my life came with my calling...

my anxiety came with the anointing

most of my problems came with the pulpit

but James is trying to tell these young converts the same thing im trying to tell you today and that is God is not using your drama and your dilemma to destroy you but he is actually using it to develop you.

but you have to change the way you count.

walk with me thru the text

James ch 1 it starts with a salutation

because after James gives his greeting he starts by introducing himself as James.

theologians go back and forth over which James this was who penned this text because there were several people named James in the bible

Paul wrote his introductions like this as well but there is only one paul in the bible

peter wrote his introduction like this but theres only one peter in the bible

but the reason i have tension with the way james introduced himself is because there are several james in the bible and he says nothing to differiente him from any other james

but Due to the time this text was written which was around 64 ad. most theologians agree that this James who penned this text was the half brother of Jesus christ. James is actually the younger brother of Jesus , and he is the half brother of Jesus because they have the same mamma who was Mary but they had different daddies.

you see because James father was Joseph... but although Jesus was raised and reared by Joseph Jesus didn't come from the seed of a man,

because Jesus father is GOD...

So James the half brother of jesus writes this text and notice how he introduces himself he says James a servant of GOD and the lord Jesus christ.

Notice that while he was indeed the half brother of jesus notice when he introduces himself he says nothing about his physical relationship with Jesus, he only mentions his spiritual relationship with Jesus.

He says im james a servant of God and the lord jesus christ

can i be honest this morning

if it were me writing this

i think i would have wanted you to know who i was..

i would have been like like hey yall its me James

you know the brother of Jesus...

i wouldn't even put half brother in there, i would have left the half off, they didn't need to know all that, i just would have said im the brother of Jesus...

i would have wanted everyone to know, since its so many people name James walking around here, you can identity me as James the brother of Jesus.

but notice James doesn't mention his maternal or paternal side, he only mentions his spiritual side because James says its not about who i am, but its all about who’s in me,

and that's a word for all of us in this house

we have to stop being

relevant off our relationships

and so tied up in our titles , and so consumed with our credentials

because God aint looking for someone with a high status he looking for a humble servant!!!!

Can i give you some news you can use,

if you do make it in on judgement day

God and gonna call you by no title or postion that you gained down here

he wont say well done dr

he wont say well done president

he wont say well done preacher/deacon

it dont matter how high up you are down here but all our crowns will be the same size

we goin have the same robe, the same shoes , the same mansion

and he goin call us by the same name

he goin say well done thy good and faithful servant.

i gotta move

but this text intrigued me the way James uses the phrase servant of God and the lord jesus christ

that word servant , some translations say slave, but the word servant means bond servant

because in that day if a slave was free and he master treated him well he could make the decision to remain a slave and give up his rights and surrender himself completely to his master, and that's what James is meaning when he says im a slave to christ Jesus that jesus is his master.

Its interesting James uses this wordplay because James did not believe jesus was the messiah when Jesus was alive.

And don't that sound like family sometimes, its the ones closest to you who don't believe in you

James stayed in the same house with jesus, ate from the same table as jesus, probably shared the same room with jesus but didnt believe jesus was who he said he was.

They thought jesus was a lil strange because you remember one day coming from the passover Mary and Joseph lost jesus. they was looking for him and when they finally found him he was in the temple, somebody told a 12 yr old jesus your momma and brothers out here looking for you and jesus said who is my mother, who are my brothers, my brothers are the ones who do the will of GOD

So James had to meet the resurrected christ in 1 Corinthians 15:7 and thats when he actually believed in him.

James says he a servent of God and the lord Jesus christ , he says to the 12 tribes who are scattered abroad greetings...

and just like today we have christians who are scattered aboard.

now remember i told you these people james were addressing are babes in christ.

and thats why i want to tell you you have to be careful what u say around people who are new to christ because saying the wrong thing will cause them to scatter..’

and listen nowadays you gotta be careful what you say around anybody in church because everyone aint rooted and grounded in the word.

You know when you rooted and grounded when folks talk about you but you keep on serving..

folks lie on you but you keep on serving

others in the committe fickle ut you stay faithful

when other folk stop showing up but you will show up and serve even if u gotta serve all by yourself everybody not rooted and grounded but let me tell you serving the lord will payoff…afterwhile

and if you really wanna know who rooted and grounded

just let trouble show up...

trouble will show you who is really in it to win it because when trouble comes its those who claimed they living for the lord be the first ones to leave. Whole lotta folk i seen in church i thought they was ride or die for the lord and his church but as soon as something happened they didn't agree with they took flight and abandoned they assignments.

and watch this

its not just young folk either

its some old folk at the church

and they been in church all they life and still walked away

but thats the problem

all they life they was in church but the church never got in them...

and Dont think for one second everyone with age is chewing on meat and every young person is on milk because let me tell you

its some people walking round here with grey in the head still sippin on milk...

i know they been in church all they life but they just have religion and not a relationship

the bylaws is more important than the bible

they believe in tradition

more than biblical truth

they go off what grandmomma said

instead of what GOD said

that's why they ppick on folks and try ro run folks away from here

but just let God will bless you for the ones you brought to the church

you will have to answer for the ones you drove away from the church.

.i gotta get outta here

James servant of God and the lord jesus christ

to the 12 scibes scattered abroad greetings

then he says in verse 2

my brethren..

notice when he says my brethren

hes not talking

to everybody.

hes speaking to a particular crowd..

because its only a certain group of people of are going to be able to do what hes about to instruct them to do...

that everybody wont understand the next few words that will come from the pen of james

watch what he says count it all joy

that we dont look at our troubles like the world look at it

we count them as joy

because what we look at as losses are really gains

thats how we can give God praise in situations when the world will give up because we count it as joy

joy

j-o-y

the j stands for jesus

the y stand for you

but we count things wrong when the o stands for other things

your relationships

your money

your job

because whenever you have anything bewteen you and jesus you will never look at it right..

but when ysou tart counting right

the j stands for jesus

the y stands for you

but you take the o and change it to a mathematical 0

that way its nothing bewteen you and jesus

i gotta get outta here today

i gotta leave you

he says count it all joy