James 4:1-10...Sunday,April 24th, 2011...(Easter Sunday)

We finished last week with James discussing "righteousness being sown in peace by those who make peace." Remember God's peace is not merely the absence of conflict. God's peace is instead a wholeness and wealth that is expressed by a sense of contentment that is NOT dependent on circumstances.

QUESTION: What TWO reasons does James state for not receiving from God in Vv 5 & 6?

1. You do not ask GOD (please notice here it specifies asking God). We can't ask others and then wonder why we are not receiving. We must ask God!

2. We ask wrongly & with improper motives. The word "desire" or "pleasure" here is the source of the English word "hedonism"

QUESTION: What is hedonism?

Hedonism means to seek pleasure as the chief ultimate goal of life and NOTHING, NOT EVEN GOD, will be allowed to stand in the way of experiencing this self-sought pleasure. (Norma Becker)

These passions and desires for self-sought pleasure tempt us to believe we must control, possess, and obtain pleasure to have peace. We must understand this deceptive view leads to destruction & discontent.

The part many find hard to swallow here is this deceptive view is "spiritual unfaithfulness" to God. Therefore, this is why James calls us "adulterous people." See if we are focusing solely on ourselves and our self-sought pleasure then we are making me, myself and I more important than God. We are in essence saying we are God or whatever we are seeking is being idolized. Having an idol or seeing ourselves as God (even if we don't admit to this fact) is SPIRITUAL UNFAITHFULNESS.

Quick TRUE OR FALSE: The Scripture states, "God helps them who help themselves"

THIS IS FALSE. This is a world-built philosophy. When we try to walk in this false philosophy, we are actually trying to once again get God to cooperate with our plans. When He doesn't act or do what we feel should be done then we become angry towards God.

QUESTION: What do we need to do if we find ourselves falling into what James describes as "Being a friend of the world and an enemy of God"?

First, we must acknowledge God is not neutral about us and what we do. God created us with HIS BEST in mind. He loves us wholly & completely. He is passionate about His Will being completed in our lives.

Second, We must understand God is jealous over us, ready to protect us in all circumstances.

Third, God's grace shows up as opposition to the proud. He will oppose our efforts that do not show complete confidence and trust in Him.

Once we acknowledge these three things then God shows us in Vv 7-10 how to rectify the fact that we have become "a friend to the world and an enemy to God. The following are the steps to root out the sinful attitude of Pride:

• 1. Submit yourselves: Submission is not the same as obedience. It is when we submit our will to God that we are lead to obedience.
• Resist the devil
• Come near to God and He will come near to you: A wonderful assurance
• Wash/Cleanse your hands (Repentance for our prideful behavior)
• Purify your hearts: This is a step further than repentance it is the step of having purity of thoughts  & motives, which is accomplished by setting our heart's desires on God's desires
• Lament, Mourn & Weep (You are sadden cause your actions have saddened God)
• Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord (You are grateful for the forgiveness given to you)

In conclusion, we must understand sin leads to NOTHING good. When we attempt to have 'our way' there is always a destructive cost. We hurt others, ourselves & God. 

God's way not 'our way' can be fully trusted to receive from His loving hand the transforming work in our lives. We learned in Chapter 1, that God intends nothing less for us than to 'be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing' (verse 4) and 'to receive the crown of life, which God has promised for those who love Him' (verse 12). 

QUESTION: Knowing this why do we insist on "our way"? 

We will continue on journey in James Chapter 4 on May 1st. 

June 18th: College & Career Conference....

Help us get the word out to all the College & Career (18-29 yr olds) within a 2-3 hour radius of New Bern. Thanks in advance. 

Sunday, April 17th...James 3:13-18...

Let's start with a quick refresher: Throughout James, we have been discussing how James is writing to a persecuted and scattered people. James has been focusing on how to live in the midst of tribulations and temptations.

We finished up last week on our discussion of the tongue. One aspect being that we must let God control our tongue in ALL circumstances.

As we delve into this week's lesson, James will show us how to handle struggles of life with WISDOM. However, we will see TRUE WISDOM only comes from God.

Let's start with a question: What is meant by "good conduct" or "good life" in verse 13 concerning one's works? It doesn't mean there is no trouble in this person's life but that their works are done in meekness.

This brings us to our next question: Does meekness or humble mean weakness?

According to Norma Becker (one of the lesson writer's used for this study), "Meekness or humble means "Strength under control." This is one whose strength comes from relying on God and not self. This person also relies on God for vindication and refuses to retaliate when insulted.

**Remember TRUE WISDOM comes from God. It is not just good advice, good ideas, or good morals**

God's Wisdom is real when it is in motion, However, this is more than giving to charity. Wisdom is from God in a person's life is shown by how he/she deals with family, friends, finances, spend free time and approaches life in general.

QUESTION: Who is guiding your life? Is it God's TRUE WISDOM or the world's wisdom?

Living in the meekness of God's TRUE WISDOM means we do not let our current circumstances tell us who we are and who we belong to....

James further instructs the wisdom of meekness doesn't exist in jealous and ambitious heart. Jealousy creates a wedge not only between us and others but also with God. We must come to the realization that the world's wisdom is actually anti-wisdom for there is NO TRUE WISDOM without God.


Anti-wisdom results in confusion and evil whereas, Godly Wisdom is (as stated in verse 17) pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & grace fruits without hypocrisy or partiality.

Therefore, We want to walk away from today's lesson understanding this final thought:

"To be wise is to see that our present circumstances DO NOT tell the story of our real worth or limit our ability to receive full life from God"---(courtesy of Trinity Study Center lesson writer).

Sunday, April 10th: James 3:9-12

 

This past Sunday was a continuation on the issue of the tongue. James has shown so far how the tongue can be both a positive (only when totally controlled by God) or a negative (when controlled by man).

QUESTION: We need to be willing to ask if we are blessing God with our tongue but cursing man.

This is why James is discussing that a spring can’t have both salt and fresh water flowing from it. I want to point out though that there is a point where salt and fresh combine to become brackish water but this is not flowing from it is water that is dumped into.

I must confess as a bible student and a teacher this this one verse (verse 11) has caused me a great amount of disturbance. Well, let me rephrase that it is not the verse actually. I totally agree that a spring can not put forth both fresh and bitter water from the same source. My problem is I get all turned around when I start thinking of brackish water. Maybe this doesn’t happen to anyone else…

This was a short study this week. Mainly because I am still dealing with the whole brackish water topic. Anyone want to throw in their two cents?

We will pick up with verse 13 this Sunday.

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011: James 3:6-8...

Last week, we looked at the beginning of James' discussion on the tongue. We will continue our discussion on the tongue this week. James is telling his readers that how they use their tongues has a huge impact on how they live their lives.

QUESTION: Do we believe this is true for us today?

Let's start with verse 6, James furthers his discussion concerning the tongue being equated to fire.

We must realize that God intends to transform us so that what comes out of our mouths is always a reflection of the goodness, the peace, the presence of our living Heavenly Father.

QUESTION: Are we willing to ask God if our tongue is being used the way God intended?

Even though God for the tongue to be used the way described above. We often see the tongue in our society is being used unrighteously, spreading distrust in God, bending & twisting things to be less in line with its intended purpose. It (our tongue) has become a fire out of control.

QUESTION: When you are in trials & temptations, do you trust God and use your tongue to praise Him and His Goodness? Or do you use your tongue to vent doubt and frustration through unkind or angry words, gossip, grumbling, coldness or manipulation?

Here comes the really tough question: When is the last time you used your tongue to say a mean or unkind word and then said, "I was just kidding?"

We must come to the stark and evident realization that whenever we participate in this type of behavior, we are misrepresenting God and His intended use of the tongue.

OUR CHALLENGE: We must seek God with a heart asking if our tongue is on fire for the Lord or is it a destructive fiery tool?

In Vv 7-8: James in pointing out that "no man" can tame the tongue only God can. Man can tame beast but not his own tongue.

We will continue our discussion with James on Sunday. Have a blessed day! :-)