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| JAMES LESSON #56 Have you ever classified yourself as a total loser? Have you ever gotten really sick of yourself? Ever looked in the mirror and been angry, discontent and unhappy with who you are? Ever been royally ticked off at the world? Do you ever listen to your mouth and know that you know you�re out of control � totally? And keep right on doing it? Are the relationships you�re involved in royally messed up? Do you wonder after you take a long look at yourself if God is for you � or if God is against you? I want to take a little journey and look at your heart. That�s what James says we�re supposed to do when we get like everything I just described above. If you�re miserable and you�re making everybody else miserable � if you hate what comes out of your mouth or you�re angry at God, somewhere along the road you�ve ventured away from truth and bought a lie. Look at James 5:19. James was specifically writing if for no other reason, to keep us from getting to the point where we truly are sick of who we are because we�ve lost sight of truth. When you asked God to take control of your life He didn�t beam you out of here, He left you here. He prayed about that issue in John 17 and we�re going to look at that later. In that chapter He asked God the Father to keep us from the evil one. Basically He was saying, �I�m leaving this world � they are staying here � take care of them.� James wouldn�t have written this little letter if he wasn�t very aware that as believers, on a regular basis we get mislead and stray from truth. Over and over and over James reminds us � �Check your heart � Check your heart.� Read James 5:19-20 When you look at the word �stray,� in the Greek, it�s planao: it means �to deceive.� James repeatedly warns, �Don�t be deceived!� James uses the word �deceive� because He wants us to know that true Christianity is going to produce righteousness. That doesn�t mean that we�re not going to sin. It simply means, that once Jesus is in control of our hearts we�re not going to make a �habit� of sinning and sinning and sinning by continually going out and doing and saying exactly what we want and feel. Straying from the truth happens in two ways. �By what you say: By what you do. So what you �do� to find out where you are on the �I�m in trouble scale� is look at the externals � because your externals will be a LOUD indicator of what�s going on internally. I want to show you how James progresses through this whole idea of keeping you from �straying from the truth.� In James 1:2 - don�t stray from the truth when you get into a tough situation � when it hurts- when the fire gets hot � by wallowing in depression, hiding in fear, pushing God away in anger �no, STAY. Don�t move. Endure it. �Hupo mone� it � �abide under it.� Why? Because that trial HAS A PURPOSE � to strengthen you to live and walk more like Christ, and to glorify God in and through your life. Look at James 1:9 � Don�t stray from the truth if you�re in humble circumstance � if you have nothing, if you �are� nothing in terms of position or status � glory in the fact that you�ve been given the privilege of �total dependence� � the fruit of which, is abundant supply from the very hand of God Himself. If you�re rich, glory in your humiliation � don�t stray from the truth by thinking you�ve got it in the bag, walking in self-sufficiency � walking away from God � depending on your own position, strength and wealth. James 1:13 � When you�re tempted, recognize that it�s your �lust� that�s leading you astray � the �I want I want I want� ��me first me first me first� � it�s not God. God doesn�t lead us into sin. Sin�is a matter of the heart. James 1:16-17 �the word �deceive� here, is the same as �stray� in James 5:19. It�s translated �err.� He�s saying, �Don�t be deceived and led astray from the truth � and who is He talking to? The unbeliever? No � �The brethren.� � Believers. James 1:19-21 Don�t be decieved, anger is giong to lead you astray from the truth � verse 21: What are you supposed to do? �Receive� the Word � take it in, digest it � walk in it � don�t just listen and say, �oh yeah..� and then walk away and do whatever you �feel� like doing. The Word is to become a �harness� internally. James 1:22 -He says, �prove yourselves� to be doers � not just hearers. If all you�re doing is lip service and walking into party land every weekend, �something is wrong with your heart!� James 1:26 -Don�t be led astray � Don�t be deceived. If you are not able to bridle your tongue �SOMETHING IS WRONG IN YOUR HEART. Remember � He�s saying these things to unbelievers? NO- He�s saying these things to �believers.� Just because you have asked God to take control of your life doesn�t exempt you from being a part of humanity. You �will� wrestle with your flesh � your desires � and you will be victorious � and you will fall down - James is saying � don�t let the �fall down moments� own you. James 2:1 Don�t stray from the truth � Treat your brother with the �royal law of love.� Love him like you want to be loved � and love God with all your heart. James 2:12 There it is. If I am going to �embrace truth� it�s going to effect what? The way I �SPEAK.� It�s going to effect the way I �ACT.� -So speak and so act as those who are going to be judged by the �law of liberty.� James 2:14 Don�t stray from the truth � Know with out question that there has to be a life that backs it up. It�s not a matter of �intellect.� Christianity isn�t about �head knowledge.� It�s about the process of moving head knowledge to heart knowledge to life language. James 3:1 Don�t stray from the truth. Don�t go out there and want to be �all that� as a teacher. Teachers are going to receive greater judgment. James 3:13 Don�t be led astray � your �speech and your behavior� prove the reality of your faith. James 4:7 Don�t stray from the truth � �Submit� yourselves to God � Big word here: �RESIST� the enemy and he will flee from you. James 4:11 Don�t stray from the truth � Don�t �speak� against your brother. James 4:13 Don�t stray from the truth by thinking that you are going to order your own life � it doesn�t work that way. God orders it. It�s about you being �included in HIS day,� not the other way around. James 5:1 Don�t stray form the truth becoming �confident� in �things.� James 5:7-8 Don�t stray from the truth by living in �impatience.� From here on to the end of the chapter he tells you in detail in specific situations how to be �patient� and how to �behave.� Over and over and over James is saying � if you�ve strayed from truth it�s going to show up loud and colorful in both your actions and words. James 1:2 through 3:12 James deals with �behavior� � how we�re to respond in trials, attitudes toward our brothers, our tongue, etc. I�d mark that. In James 3:13 on he deals with the �heart.� He mentions all these things � the tongue, lust, etc., then what he does in chapter 3:14 he picks up on the �heart.� He uses the word �BUT� to move into the shift of direction. Look at James 4:7-8 He�s talking to Christians. When he says �cleanse your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts you double minded, he�s talking to people who have been saved � that are still very much here � still very much struggling- that are being pulled in different directions by their surroundings and the influences that effect them. They are obviously reeling and his response to them is � look at your heart. Do a �Truth� check � cleanse your hands � purify your hearts. He�s not addressing the issue of �Ask Jesus to be in control of your life here,� He�s dealing with sin problems in the person�s walk � sin problems that cause him to get caught, tangled up and frustrated. Question I raised was � ok � so my mouth or my actions might be indicating a �heart� problem � but how do I know if what I�m doing is a �heart problem� � or one where �I have my rights?� I go back to the rule: You Phillipians 4:8 your actions and your words. Is what you�re saying or doing: Honorable? Right? Pure? Lovely? Of Good Repute? Is it of excellence? Will it build up and edify or tear down and destroy? Is it worthy of praise? �if it�s not, you have a heart problem� Next question � if you have a contaminated heart..what do you do? More tomorrow! Loving you, Robin �copyright Jim and Robin Hibschman 2001 |
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