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| JAMES LESSON #32 Yesterday we looked at prayer � and relationship. I want to continue with the idea of �relationship� and look at the question: Are you finding that your hands are forever reaching outward for something, instead of inward and upward toward God? The question I have is- �When I am reaching �inward� what am I finding that directs me �upward� toward God?� Most would answer, �nothing.� That being the case, we get caught in the trap of allowing �personal responsibility� to replace �personal response� to God. When that happens, �discovery� is lost and �aimless effort� consumes us. Aimless effort concerning what? Our spiritual, intellectual, and emotional well being. Who�s responsible for that? We�re going to take a look at who �Mother is� and who �mother isn�t.� The reason James is writing this letter is to define clearly what �real faith� is. Yesterday we talked about being a �hearer� � that, in order to �hear� you have to �be still� and �listen.� If you �listen� and �hear� you will become a �doer.� A �doer� has �real faith.� He will no longer walk by what his eyes can see. He will no longer respond to what his ears hear. His faith produces good works. His faith brings control over his tongue. His faith brings a wisdom that�s extraordinary � usually such that others can�t figure out how he comes up with the answers he comes up with. His faith seeks God�s will instead of his own. His faith does not walk according to lusts. His faith causes him to hang on when he�s not sure he can. That kind of faith had to be �nurtured and cared for� by someone � or something. A baby doesn�t learn to walk on it�s own. A baby doesn�t learn to eat on it�s own. A baby doesn�t learn to distinguish right from wrong on it�s own. A baby doesn�t learn how to respond on it�s own. A baby doesn�t discover who he is on his own - He�s told. He�s taught. He�s fed. He�s disciplined. He�s loved. In James 1:13-16 James explains that doing evil is never of God. Remember, the source of �evil� is within. What�s the Word of God going to do inside you as you receive it? It�s going to deal directly with that evil inside you. What�s a child do when he�s made aware that mom is standing behind him as he reaches into the cookie jar to get a cookie he�s been told not to get? Awareness of mother�s presence stops the action � the �desire� for the cookie is still there � but it�s countered by awareness that �restrains� the desire. Look at James 1:17 James explains that good comes from God. This is God�s �nature.� God never departs from what He is. The light takes care of all the shadows. In verse 18 it says that in the exercise of God�s will � God �brought us forth� � this is a term that means �giving birth� � well- if we were �birthed� by God, there had to be a Mother somewhere in the picture. God �birthed us� how? By using the Word � so that we would be the �first fruits� of His creation. Ok � stay in �context� here- To whom is James speaking? Newly converted Jewish Christians. Who were the �first� to receive the �gospel � the message concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ?� The Jews. On the day of pentecost there were a few proselytes (people who had converted totally to Judaism but were not by blood Jews) � on that day, God added 3000 people to the church of God. They were Jews. When James writes about the �first fruits� he�s referring to these first converts. James is going to use two metaphors (a metaphor is a figure of speech that compares one thing to another � like: �the whole world is a stage�) 1) Birth and 2) seed and planting. Let�s start with �birth.� According to James 1:18 God �birthed� you. He�s your Father right? So, who�s your mother? How have you answered that? What�s �defined you?� What�s �fed� you? What�s �taught� you? Experience? Trial and error? A biological parent? A surrogate parent? A step � parent? Have they met your needs? Are you �roaring to the edge of the cliff in the deepest of night knowing that one of two things will happen: something will be there to step on � or, you�ll fly? Or, are you forever reaching outward because when you reach inward to find upward, you�re totally lost, terribly confused, extremely lonely and undeniably empty? Mother. Who is she? Why isn�t she what I need her to be? Is something wrong with me? Perhaps she�s giving. Perhaps she�s loving. Perhaps she listens to my heart. Perhaps she cares. But I�m still reaching outward because when I reach inward to find upward, I can�t find an answer: and it�s still incredibly empty. Am I hanging on to the wrong thing? Have I missed the point? Have I lost sight of mom? Am I clinging to �good� and missing �best?� Sometimes as believers we forget that when we give Christ control of our lives, we are �new creatures.� The �old us� dies in the crucifixion with Jesus � and the �new us� emerges up out of the grave with Jesus. There�s a lot that happens in this picture. You were once �born in sin� through an �earthly fleshly mother.� That �mother� can only go so far in the area of �nurturing, caring, disciplining, and guiding,� because just as you are limited, so is she. She is not capable of knowing your heart. She is not capable of being aware of your needs. She is not capable of knowing your thoughts. And whether or not she disappoints you or pleases you immensely, she is not capable of guiding your hands upward as you reach inward. At that point, she loses her influence. Her wisdom is earthly. He vision is earthly. Her hearing is earthly. Only as God gives to her can she minister outwardly to you in any of those areas. Yet, many if not most of us get caught in constantly reaching �outward� for mom because when we reach inward, we can�t find mom. The result? We walk around on empty most of the time, hoping to find someone that can fill in the �blank� that we carry and show us the way home. The way we get their attention? Personal responsibility: We work hard at �being good enough� only to not be good enough, to work harder at �being good enough� only to not be good enough to try some more - When asked how things are, �we smile and say fine� � and walk away in tears. What�s the deal here? What are we missing? What are we holding on to that we should let go of, and what should we be reaching for that we�re missing. I know that I know you�re going to roll your eyes and think � yeah right, but here we go. Stay with me on this. Your Father is God. Your Mother, is the Word of God. If you didn�t automatically say, �Ok � so show me where it says that in the Word, I�m disappointed in you!� I�m going to take you through several passages so study carefully and THINK. When you ask Jesus to take control of your life you are asking to be �born again.� Can you be �born again� without the Word? Turn to John 3: Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; (this guy was high up politically-a greatly respected teacher) this man came to Him by night, (obviously he didn�t want anyone to know what he was doing) Rabbi, (teacher) we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, �Truly, truly, (which means, Absolutely Absolutely) I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.� Nicodemus said to Him, �How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother�s womb and be born, can he? (His flesh has known one mother. His spirit has known no other) Jesus answered, �Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (born of water is a phrase used as a metaphor, referring to the Word of God : hang on, I�ll show it to you) and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (So at this point, every believer experiences 3 births: 1) Born of flesh 2) Born of water (Word) 3) Born of the Spirit (we�ll get to this one next) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Notice that one �Spirit� is referring to the Holy Spirit, and the other �spirit� is not capitalized, referring to �my spirit.�) Do not marvel that I said to you, �You must be born again.� (Don�t get all worked up when I tell you you have to be born again. Why?) The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so it is with the Spirit. (You can experience wind, but not explain it. You are aware of the effects it has on you directly, but don�t know where it came from or where it went. You can not �identify� it by any other means than �effect.� So it is with �being born again.� You will see the �effect.� ) Nicodemus answered Him and said, �how can these things be?� Jesus answered and said to him, �are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness. (Buddy, we�re telling you about stuff we�ve seen and witnessed and you still don�t get it-) If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (I�m telling you stuff many have actually seen and heard-and you don�t believe- do you really think you�ll believe if I tell you about stuff nobody�s seen or heard?) And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven (Jesus) even the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (If you read Numbers 21:1-9 you�ll see that the people ticked God off because they complained and grumbled against Him, so God SENT serpents that bit the people. The people began to die. The people came to Moses and said, �We�ve sinned, please pray.� He did. God told him to make a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole (it�s the medicinal symbol for medical practice today). When the people who were bitten looked to the serpent on the pole they lived. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,(for healing and forgiveness of sin) even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; (Jesus) that whoever believes (that is a present active participle which means: keeps on believing)may in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes (keeps on believing) in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the word should be SAVED through Him. Look at John 1:1 In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was �with God, and the WORD what? WAS GOD. Jump to verse 14: And the WORD became �flesh� (means tabernacle) and dwelt (means tabernacled) among us- In the Old Testament, The Shikinah Glory of God filled the Tabernacle with it�s presence. Here, God is filling flesh (a tabernacle) with His presence and He Himself is Tabernacling with us. �and we beheld His glory:circle the word HIS � because all of a sudden, the WORD is a �HIS� �glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the Word. Can you be born again without the Word? Can you be born again without Jesus? No. Now for the answer to �Who is your Mother?� Turn to I Peter 1:23 � Who is it that stands behind you when your hand is in the cookie jar and merely by presence causes you to withdraw your hand? Who is it the loves you in moments and in ways that no one else could? Who is it the teaches you who you are and carefully reminds you to remember? Who is it that exposes what will harm you and protects you from what could destroy you? Who is your Mother? Who gave you birth? I Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable (earthly seed)but imperishable (heavenly seed), how? Through the living and abiding Word of God. For, all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but what? The Word of the Lord abides forever. Are you running to the wrong mother? Are your hands forever reaching outward because when you reach inward you can�t find upward? The only Mother that can nurture you, hold you, protect you, discipline you, understand you, direct you, define you, and lead you right to the heart of the Father � is the Word of God. There is NO OTHER PLACE you will find those needs met. Who or what defines �you?� There is only one Mother who will offer you unconditional love and acceptance � the Word of God. As Paul Tillich states: �Trust� is the courage to accept acceptance. It�s there, that you will discover the Father. More tomorrow- Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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