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WELCOME: Elder Higgins Reflections Group Tuesdays @ 7:30 pm
Icebreaker:
Reflections Church Service
July 31st, 2022
Pastor Straker
“BAPTISM BY FIRE"
Luke 3:15 - 17
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”
Luke 12:49 - 53
49 “I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished! 51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Baptism by fire is a common idiom. Fake it till you make it.
Q: Can you recount a time when you experienced a baptism by fire?
Pastor clarified the biblical meaning of baptism: Full immersion: Christ is in you and you are in Christ
The Holy Spirit is the fire of God, don’t put out the fire you need it to do the work.
Luke 12
When Jesus brings the fire, He brings division. He does not bring peace. The fire of Christ comes to divide.
Q: Am I on fire for God, or do I want to be loved by everybody?
One of the greatest dangers for a believer is being lukewarm.
How do you know where your fire is? Get a little persecution. Loose a job, get a headache and you can’t serve God.
The most revealing sign: You will know you are immersed by the things you crave.
Introduction of James chapter 5:
Once again, James packed together numerous practical instructions on several themes. the goal is to live as Christians in every moment of our lives.
Q: Do you find it easy or difficult to let go of “stuff”?
James 5:1 - 6
1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. 4 Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.
The corrosion of wealth is testimony to this sickness of the wealthy. Hoarding for the last days only gives more fuel for the fire that will consume the lost.1 It is not the wealth itself that is condemned, but the greedy attitude toward it and the grisly actions with which it was obtained.1
1 Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 832). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Some of God’s servants were wealthy (e.g. Abraham, Job), and money was not their problem. What is condemned here is a mindset that turns gold into a god. The key is to recall Jesus’ teaching:
Matthew 6:19 - 21
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Remember the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16 - 22)? Remember Jesus’s story of the rich man and Lazarus in (Luke 16:19 - 31)? Materialism (when the physical and financial take precedence over the spiritual and the eternal) has a high price tag.
James 5:7 - 11
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Many people equate patience with twiddling their thumbs. But that’s not biblical patience. “Be patient” (makrothymēsate) comes from a compound of “long” (makros) and “temper” (thymos). The idea is to set the timer of one’s temper for a long run. Think long. Focus on the final lap in the race of life. Have a long fuse. Look ahead to the Lord’s coming.1 James further illustrates this with the example of the farmer. He doesn’t sit on the porch in a rocking chair. They must fulfill their responsibilities on earth. Similarly, Christians must act responsibly and faithfully with the time they have.
1 Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 833). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
James 5:12
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
Give a simple yes or no because if you have to swear to convince someone that your’re sincere, you have a reliability problem. The greatest assistance any believer can offer another is faithful prayer. Prayer is clear evidence of care. Prayer is the “hotline” to the One who can provide for any need no matter how complex or impossible it may seem. To share in prayer, a believer must have a sensitivity to someone’s needs, engage in diligent supplication for those needs, and recognize the significance of those needs.1
1 Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 834). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
James 5:13 - 16
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
Let clarify what the passage is not saying, that every physical sickness will be healed. That would suggest we would never die. The application is wider. The prayer offered in faith will provide divine encouragement in the midst of problems.
James 5:19 - 20
19 My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
One who strays from the truth is a backslider. He or she is not progressing in the faith but regressing. These verses are not so much about the backslider as they are about those around him or her. Though many believers fail to comprehend their responsibility to the family of faith, your Christianity is real when you see a brother or sister in Christ backsliding and act in love. We cannot be passive believers.
Prayer:
Announcements:
I want to encourage all those who are willing to make a pledge to our building fund.
Hold off on all RG outings per Pastor there is a transition coming shortly