“Don’t Fall Into The Devil’s Trap”

Text:

JAMES 1:1-8

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

[2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. [5] If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. [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.

In the Bible waiting is a metaphor for the life of faith. All the great heroes in the Bible had faith and had to wait of God. Adam and Eve had to wait for grace as they were thrust out of the garden with only a promise in their hearts. Abraham had to wait for a family. A generation of liberated slaves had to wait in the desert for the Promised Land. David had to wait for the throne. Job had to wait for God to speak. The exiles in Babylon had to wait for the restoration of the kingdom. The Jews in occupied Palestine had to wait for the Messiah. Jesus waited thirty years to begin his ministry.

The early disciples of Jesus had to wait for the promised Holy Spirit after Jesus rose from the dead. The converted Pharisee Saul who became Paul had to wait fourteen years to be ready for his first short-term mission. All of us have to wait for heaven.

The process of waiting is faith evoking, as Job f ound out. He wanted instant answers to his excruciating pain and loss, answers that his friends supplied with very intriguing educated theories. But in the process of waiting for God to speak, Job discovered that he wanted God’s presence even more than he wanted answers. What if God were to give us everything we prayed for immediately? (Would we not be sorry for asking—knowing so little about our real needs?) What if God revealed himself to us totally and instantly in our first encounter? (Would we cry out for the mountains to cover us?) What if Christian maturity was given in one transcendent moment and we never needed to grow? (Would not the Christian life be boring?) What if there was no bodily resurrection to wait for? (Would not all healing in this life be utterly disappointing?) What if Christ were not to come again? (Would not the world then end in a mere fizzle or a bang?) Refusing to wait is like turning to the last page of a great novel to find out how it all ends. It spoils the whole story.

We must learn patience through this pandemic. American have been spoiled and have not had to wait for anyhing as a nation in a long time, but now with this pandemic God is teaching us about the importance of being patient and waiting on Him. As believers we must be careful to be led the Spirit of God before we go and get involved in much stuff while this corona virus is still prevalent among us. Satan is only setting a trap for many of us. He knows we are loosing up a little bit and He’s just waiting until we let our guards down before He pounces on us again.

IMPATIENCE WILL CAUSE YOU TO DESIRE TO A BLESSING OUT OF SEASON

[2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

One of the worst things that can happen to you is to receive a blessing out of season. A blessing out of season is actually a curse in disguise. It may look beneficial but actually it will bring trouble into your life. Many young star athletes’ lives have been ruin because they receive millions before they were mature enough to handle them. There are a few exceptions to that rule but many of them have had great difficulty. Many a Fool and his money have soon departed. Too much, too soon, too fast is an excellent recipe for disaster.

Right now is not the time reopen everything up.Right now we need to be patient and keep the virus from spiking up.Right now is the time to continue social distancing.Right now is the time to continue wearing mask.Right now is the time to continue praying for treatments and vaccines.Right now is the time to increase testing.Right now is the time to implement and increase contact tracing.Right now is the time to remain focus and not get side track with politics.

If we don’t take our time we could be cursing ourselves by not using the wisdom that God has already given us. We cannot serve two Gods. We can not serve God and Mammon. We can not serve God and wealth.

Matthew 6:24 KJV

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.

Joshua 24:15 KJV

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

My prayer for those of you watching me tonight is that you will choose to continue mitigating this pandemic by observing the CDC social distancing guidelines and staying home as much as possible to prevent the spread of this virus.

2. IMPATIENCE WILL CAUSE YOU TO RUSH YOUR PREPARATION

[4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Our preparation times in life are so very important. It takes time for adequate preparation and we can’t rush acquiring necessary knowledge to be successful. The preparation time should be longer than the time that we are engaged in a particular project. For instance, God took forty years to prepare Moses for his project to lead Israel out of Egypt. Jesus took 30 years to prepare for 3 1/2 years of ministry.

The young boy in the prodigal son story should have stayed home longer with his father and learned more about money management. His father could have warn him that staying up late all night and partying all the time was going to break him.

We need not get in a hurry for anything. The bible tells us to be anxious for nothing. We need to take our time. We need to look before we leap. Before you sign the dotted line young man, understand that it’s cheaper to keep her. Take time to get to know her. Young lady take time to get to know him. He may not be your knight in shinning amour after all. Everything that glitters is not gold. Impatience will cause you to throw away a fortune.

By being patient during this pandemic God is teaching us some things.God is showing us what’s good to hold on to and what’s dead weight.God is showing us what the necessities of life are.God is showing us what we can do without.God is showing us what’s important and what’s not important.

So God is giving us adequate time to prepare for His next major move. Hebrews 12:1 KJV

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

3. IMPATIENCE WILL LEAD YOU TO EMBARRASSMENT

[5] If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. [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.

What the Devil really wants to do is to make a fool out of you. He wants you to be responsible for your own demise. He wants you to create your Ishmael, who’s objective will be to take you out. Abraham and Sarah were classic examples of creating there own potential demise to this day. God told them to be patient and wait for Him, but instead they became impatient and tried to help God out. Ishmael was birth by Hagar the handmaid and Ishmael has been an embarrassment and an enemy to Israel every since that day.

You see the devil has a trap set for you. And the more impatient you are the quicker Satan can destroy you.

Don’t become a fool today by desiring to get back to normal before everything is in order.Don’t be responsible for your own demise by letting your guards down too soon.Don’t go outside God’s plan by becoming too impatient and create IshmaelDon’t try to help God out and go back to business as usual before He says so.Don’t let the devil get you out there and deceive you.

Not only can impatience lead to embarrassment but in our case it can lead to death, so we need to be extremely careful.

Psalms 27:14 KJV

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Isaiah 40:28 -31

28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

* AT SOME POINT WE HAVE TO LEARN THAT PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, PATIENCE IS A FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND GOD’s VERY NATURE IS PATIENT

James 1:4

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Transition – So the first part of our text tells us about the importance of patience in prayer, but the second part of our text, tells us about the importance of praying in faith, which is one of the keys to supernatural prayer.

Prayer is communication with God. The purpose of prayer is to glorify God and to bring about the redemption of mankind. The elements of prayer are worship, praise, confession, intercession and petition.

In our praise we Hallal the Lord, we Shabach the Lord, we Yadah the Lord, we Towdah the Lord, we Zamar the Lord, we Tehillah the Lord, we Barak the Lord and we Karah the Lord.

And these are the main points we need to know if we are going to pray in faith:

Pray in faith…

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Mark 11:22-24

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. [23] For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. [24] Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

It is not the amount of faith that matters, but the source of it. (God Kind of Faith)We don’t need more faith. We need God’s faith.

*The prayer of faith is simply an inward assurance and confidence that God has already made provisions for your need and will supply the provision when it is required. (That’s were patience comes in)

James 1:3-4

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. [KJV]

James 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. [KJV]

2 Peter 1:6

Add to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; [KJV]

Rev. 2:19

I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. [KJV]

Rev. 3:10

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. [KJV]

Rev. 14:12

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. [KJV]

SUMMARY:

1. IMPATIENCE WILL CAUSE YOU TO DESIRE TO A BLESSING OUT OF SEASON

2. IMPATIENCE WILL CAUSE YOU TO RUSH YOUR PREPARTION

3. IMPATIENCE WILL LEAD YOU TO EMBARRASSEMENT

SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD REMEMBER DO NOT ALL INTO (THE DEVIL’S TRAP ) OF IMPATIENCE