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| JAMES LESSON #41 If you have a true faith it shows in the way you respond in trials. You won�t walk away from God and deny Him. It shows in the fact that if you blow it, you don�t blame God. If your faith is real, your affections will be controlled, your tongue will be controlled, there will be mercy in you, and your life will show the reality of your faith. Turn to Ezekiel 36:26-33 You say�HOW CAN I DO ALL THIS STUFF! I WILL NEVER MEASURE UP! You can�t..and you won�t. Goes back to the �joint effort� opportunity. READ Ezekiel 36:26-33. A Christian can not help but show good works because the heart of stone is taken away and replaced by a heart of flesh. The �law� that was �external� is now �internal.� The Holy Spirit is put within and the Holy Spirit is your power plant � your �engine� � it�s what makes the �car� run the way it�s supposed to run. He�s the One who enables you to be what God designed you to be. On your own, forget it- you�ll never ever measure up. You don�t have what it takes to get there. What�s James all about? It�s about what you �be� because of what you �is� �smile. Turn to Phillipians 2:12-13 READ � �Just as you have always obeyed � (as a result of true faith) �What�s James pushing right now? Faith that doesn�t just �hear� � but faith that �obeys� - It says, �WORK OUT� your salvation with fear and trembling � mark this: IT DOES NOT SAY �WORK FOR� �your salvation with fear and trembling. �Work out� in the Greek means: to carry to completion. You can�t understand verse 12 without verse 13. So: How can I have a faith that�s real? It�s NOT a �me� thing � It�s NOT a �me� list of �to do�s� � wrong wrong wrong: It�s a �joint effort opportunity.� I can have a faith that�s real because God has put HIS SPIRIT �within� me- WILLING to work and do for His good pleasure in response to my believing: it�s a two way operative street here. Read Romans 5:1-2 Romans talks about entering into grace through faith. James talks about walking in that faith. Read Romans 6:1-4 What�s James all about? It is all about walking in the newness of life. James is all about the works that �justify� �(defend) our faith. Romans 6:15-16 True faith obeys. James says, don�t be a hearer- OBEY. Big question: Do you obey out of love for God � or out of �duty� and �response to expectations?� Huh? Most of us don�t want anyone to know that we are judgmental, lazy, vulnerable, screwed up, and afraid, for fear of losing �face� � not our �own face� � but the �mask� we hide behind. Sometimes, if not always, �obedience� calls us to step out from behind the mask and �trust� that God can be in the �joint effort� what we can not be�God. Ironically, when asked for �obedience� our focus gets so directed on �relationship� with God, that we lose sight of God altogether. Instead of praise, adoration, wonder, and thanksgiving, the focus shifts to relationship � to where we stand with God � huffing and puffing in an effort to impress Him � thrashing about trying to �fix ourselves� �rather than �complying in obedience to His answer, His purpose, and His direction and His timing� in the journey. According to Manning, we place our security in our �resume,� always feeling the need to read another book, listen to another tape, or make another retreat. Whenever we hear the words, �Blessed are the poor in spirit � the ones who know they�re broken� � Matthew 5:3 �we think �that�s for people on the streets who do not have my track record of awesome service to the Kingdom of God. Our inner �Pharisee� is alive and well. Defenses of every kind protect us from rejection, loss and emotional pain. We rationalize everything possible and remain on the merry-go-round of denial and dishonesty. Unable to accept our brokenness, we wear a thousand masks to disguise the face of fear. Humility and honesty are really the same thing. A humble person is simply a brutally honest person about the whole truth. Humble people are small in their own eyes, honest about their struggles, and open to constructive criticism: THIS, is the platform for a response of obedience at any cost: and it�s rooted, in �trust.� Earlier I asked: �Are you obedient out of duty to expectation � or out of love.� The answer: Can you truly be �obedient� out of �duty to expectation?� No � why not? Because the call for obedience will always draw you out of your comfort zone- sometimes expose your vulnerabilities, oftentimes position you in no win situations, and demand a �joint effort response� that you alone are unable to give. The �call to obedience� is the �call for God� in your life: Question: Who answers the call? You? Or God? Your response is one of surrender � which allows HIM to answer the call in His strength, His power, and His presence through you. Romans 7:4-6 Read verse 4: When Christ died, you died with Him. Now, in believing and trusting in Him, you are �connected� to Him. Read on � verse 5-6 When you �die to the law� does that make you �lawless?� No- The law shows you righteousness. It�s the �joint effort� � Christ in me � Who enables me to live in that righteousness. Without Him, I can�t. Romans 8:1-4 The law can�t make me righteous�all the rules and regs- meeting all the expectations- because on my own, I�m weak- God does it for me. God makes me righteous through His Son. By sending Jesus, God condemned sin in me IN ORDER THAT �so that- the law might be fulfilled. The Law was given to show me HOW righteousness behaves- the law could not be fulfilled in the flesh because righteousness and the flesh don�t agree with each other. If I walk according to the Spirit the result will be righteousness � good works. James is saying this: it�s not what you say � it�s what you �do.� What you �do� is because of what you �are.� The demons believe there�s a God- but has believing there�s a God changed their lives? No� The way I know my faith is real is by my works � why? Because the �Spirit� causes the law to be fulfilled. It causes righteousness to be enacted through me. Good works, are not defined as nice gestures or kind words-they are not measured by how much you give in the offering, how regular you are in church attendance, how many orphans you feed or shut-ins you visit. Good works are righteousness, obedience, and faith, living through me-AS A RESULT OF TOTAL SURRENDER to God�s presence, position, power and authority in my life. Romans 2:5-11 Verse 6: Who will render to every man according to their �faith???� No- It says, DEEDS. Why does it say �deeds?� Because your deeds show your faith. Read on through verse 11 �He�s saying here, that eternal life belongs to those who do good � the catch is, that he�s saying that, in a book that says that you�re saved by faith alone. Notice that in verse 8, truth is not something you just HEAR � it�s something you DO �OBEY is a BIG word here. HE�s pointing out that true Christianity fulfills the law. He�s not saying you are �saved� by doing good. He�s not saying you have to do all the items on someone�s checklist in order to make it inside the pearly gates. He saying that true faith will show itself in good works. Matthew 7:21-26 Look at verse 23: Who is told to �depart?� You who �practice� lawlessness. If you tell me you�re a Christian � SHOW it to me by your works�OBEDIENCE is a BIG word here again: not something to be accomplished in your own strength. Be a �hearer� AND a �doer� of the Word � again, in humility � brutal honesty-embracing the �joint effort opportunity� �NOT in your own strength � but in HIS- You�re going to be like your �Father.� James is saying, if you say that you have faith and there isn�t a life to back it up- you�re lying to yourself � whatever �faith� you �think� you have, is useless, worth nothing�dead. It�s not real. Prove yourselves � prove the reality of your faith by the way you live- that�s what James is saying. The question is: CAN YOU PROVE THE REALITY OF YOUR FAITH BY THE REALITY OF WHAT YOU ARE? NOT BY WHAT YOU SAY�NOT BY WHAT YOU BELIEVE�BUT BY WHAT YOU ARE? I Corinthians 6:9-11 IF you are truly saved- THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE. II Corinthians 13:5 READ - How can you examine yourself? Not by what you are SAYING � Take a look at how you are LIVING. Read: Galatians 5:19-21 (Do it as a habit of life) Ephesians 5:5-6 What�s James talking about? A faith that is real. Is your faith real? Or, are you organized..saying the right things�doing the right things..but not �connected� to Jesus � so your life is not producing love, mercy, compassion and obedience in righteousness� If you were to examine yourself, would you pass the test? Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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