WHOSE ARE YOU james
TEXT: JAMES 1:27-
SUBJECT:” WHOSE ARE YOU?”{
The mere hearing of the Word, then, is no guarantee of salvation, and James is very clear in its warning that there is the distinct possibility that a hearer can deceive himself that he is saved, for v.26 states that it is possible for the tongue of a man who thinks himself to be religious to deceive his heart, thus indicating that talking about religion can give the talker a false sense of security. (JESUS & WOMAN AT THE WELL)
DISTANT FROM GOD. The easiest person to deceive is one’s self.
(Will my previous background, social standing, is your way the only way,
“A true test of a man’s religion is not his ability to speak,” as we are so apt to think, “but rather his ability to bridle his tongue.”3 3 3. Lehman Strauss, James, Your Brother (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux, 1972), p. 64.
Hughes, R. K. (1991). James : Faith that works. Preaching the Word (80). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
How wonderful that you and I do not have to guess! How wonderful that we know. We know the origin of our universe and its destiny. We know that we human beings have been created in the image of God, are loved by Him, and are destined to live forever! We know the saving power God has unleashed in this world through Jesus. And, because we know, we are freed Richards, L. (1990). The 365 day devotional commentary. Includes index. (397). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
COMING TO CHURCH IS RELIGIOUS; PARTICIPATING IN WORSHIP IS RELATIONSHIP.
CARRYING A BIBLE IS RELIGIOUS; LIVING THE BIBLE IS RELATIONSHIP.
WEARING CERTAIN GARMENTS IS RELIGIOUS; LIVING HOLY WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE THEM ON IS RELATIONSHIP.
MAKING PUBLIC AFFIRMATIONS IN CHURCH IS RELIGIOUS; MEANING WHAT YOU SAY IS RELATIONSHIP (METAMORPHOSIS…A REBIRTHING)
YES, YOU JOINED THE CHURCH, BUT HAVE YOU CHANGED?
YES, YOU ARE DOING A FEW THINGS, BUT HAVE YOU CHANGED?
HEAR THIS, THE DOORWAY OF CHANGE IS ALL AROUND YOU.
EVERY MOMENT IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY.
TODAY, LET ME CHALLENGE YOU TO EMBRACE CHANGE.
DON’T SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE PEEPING THROUGH THE DOORWAY.
THROW OPEN THE DOOR, GRAB HOLD OF LIFE ..AND LIFE MORE.
TO REALLY CHANGE, ONE MUST MOVE FROM RELIGION TO RELATIONSHIP. (MODERN CHURCH PREACHES A GOSPEL THAT SUGGEST YOU CAN HAVE JESUS WITHOUT CHANGE.
IF WE ARE DOING THE SAME THING WE DID BEFORE JESUS , IF THERE IS NO VISIBLE DIFFERENCE ABOUT US………………………..
I NEED TO TELL SOME OF YOU, YOUR ISSUES ARE SHOWING!
TO REALLY CHANGE, ONE MUST MOVE FROM BEING YIELDED TO FLESH TO BEING YIELDED TO THE SPIRIT.
WHEN YOU ARE THROUGH CHANGING, YOU’RE THROUGH
THERE ARE TWO THINGS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE SPIRIT
OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY, AND ALL THINGS BECOME NEW”
THE KEY TO THE POWER OF CHANGE IS LETTING THE OLD THINGS THAT HAVE PASSED AWAY STAY AWAY.(CLOSURE) PUT SOME DIRT ON IT,
COVER IT UP AND MOVE ON. STOP PICKING UP WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BURIED.( OUR LIVES ARE LIKE OUR GARAGES)
WORTHLESS, USELESS MATTERS FROM THE PAST…CIRCUMSTANCES, PEOPLE, AND SITUATIONS NOT TOTALLY RELEASED…TOO MUCH ENERGY SPENT ON NEGATIVE MEMORIES, TOO MANY EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL BLOOCKAGES PREVENTING MOVING TO HIGHER GROUND.
“THE SUCCESS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THAT IT IS A SERIES OF NEW BEGINNINGS.
DISCOURAGEMENT WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD TO SUFFER FROM IT.
DEPRESSION WAS NEVER MEANT TO SUPPOSED TO STAY THIS LONG, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE ALL HAD OUR BOUT WITH IT.
WE ARE TOO TEMPTED TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS BOUND BY OUR RELIGIONS, RITUALS, DENOMINATIONS, AND TRADITIONS.
WE ARE CALLED TO REMEMBER GOD IS UNLIMITED AND CANNOT BE CONTAINED IN ANY OF OUR CONTAINERS.
WE CANNOT PUT HIM IN THE CONTAINER OF ANY CUSTOM AND DECLARE WE’VE GOT GOD COVERED.
NIETHER WILL HE FIT IN ANY OF OUR RELIGIOUS STUDIES, OR IN ANY OF OUR CHURCH INSTITUTIONS
“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.… Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.… When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:11–17)[1]
The finest worship we can offer to God is the giving of our “bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
THE FLESH MUST DIE SO THAT THE SPIRIT MAN MIGHT LIVE
IT’S TIME WE EXAMINE OURSELVES, DO OUR LIVES REFLECT
Trials and temptations are God’s invitation to overcome. Richards, L. (1990). The 365 day devotional commentary. Includes index. (1090). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
WHO AND WHAT WE ARE CALLED ON TO DISPLAY?
Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8
We will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17
For he [the Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:5-6
Stewardship of the Soul
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” Matthew 16:25-27
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“You who have no money” Isa. 55:1–7. It is impossible for us to “buy” salvation. And so, with the price of salvation already paid by God’s Suffering Servant (Isa. 53 again!), God invites us to “buy” what we need “without money and without cost.” Richards, L. (1990). The 365 day devotional commentary. Includes index. (433). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
IT IS SAID THAT WHEN COLOMBUS ALLEGEDLY DISCOVERED THE AMERICAS,
THE FIRST THING HE TOLD THE CREW WHEN THEY REACHED LAND WAS “BURN THE SHIPS.”
THE POINT BEING
WE WON’T NEED THEM ANYMORE
WE ARE HERE TO STAY.
WE ARE NOT GOING BACK TO WHERE WE CAME FROM
ONCE YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF THE POWER OF REAL CHANGE,
YOU NO LONGER NEED WHAT YOU CAME FROM.
YOU ARE THERE TO STAY.
YOU SERVE NOTICE I WON’T BE GOING BACK TO WHAT I LEFT.
I HAVE MOVED FROM FLESH TO SPIRIT, CARNAL TO SPIRITUAL, I BEEN CHANGED, BEEN DELIVERED, BEEN MADE BRAND NEW.
JAMES SAYS, WE ARE COMMANDED TO KEEP OURSELVES UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD.
WE ARE IN THE WORLD, BUT DEFINITELY NOT OF THE WORLD.
OUR LIVES ARE USELESS UNLESS THEY CORRESPOND WITH THE MIND AND WILL OF GOD.
PURE AND UNDEFILED IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
HE HAD TO LOOK INWARD AT THE TONGUE TO EXAMINE OUR HEART.
NOW HE BIDS US LOOK UPWARD TO SEE IF WE REALLY BELONG TO THE FATHER.
TO SEE IF HIS LIFE IS AT WORK IN US AND IF OUR LIFE BELONGS TO HIM.
Talk is not proof of salvation. How, then, can a hearer of the Word prove his salvation? The answer given by James is that the change in his life which comes with salvation will be demonstrated by his works and lifestyle (v.27). James is thus simply expressing the positive aspect of what our Lord said in His ministry, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:20).
Paul’s “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31)[2]
Having issued the solemn warning that it is possible to delude oneself about salvation, James invites its readers to examine themselves in the Law of Liberty in order to establish whether or not they are abiding in it, and thus to provide themselves with proof of their salvation.
The genuineness of anyone’s religion is not determined by his or her own qualifications or standards but by God’s.[3]
Paul was inspired to address this same question in I Cor 10:1–12, proving that membership of a church body does not save, and particularly II Cor 13:5.
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[1]Hughes, R. K. (1991). Jam RITUALSes : Faith that works. Preaching the Word (83). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
[2]Richardson, K. A. (2001, c1997). Vol. 36: James. The New American Commentary (100). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3]MacArthur, J. (1998). James (89). Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press.
[4]Mills, M. (1997, c1987). James : A study guide to the Epistle of James (Jas 1:21). Dallas: 3E Ministries.