Month: October 2020

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James Sermon

Dangers of Worldly Wisdom : James 4:1-4

Good morning church, so good to see all of you again, hope all of you are doing well. Last Sunday we have meditated on a topic: “Wisdom from above” from pastor Jinson,  Today we shall continue our book study from James 4:1-4. 

I would like to entitle my sermon as “Dangers of worldly wisdom”  

I would like to start with a story from the Old Testament bible,  

There was a king named Solomon, God greatly bless him with abundant wisdom,  He ruled his kingdom with the wisdom given by God, as a result, there were peace, prosperity and justice in his kingdom, He wrote famous books that are in the bible, i.e. proverb, ecclesiastic and Song of Solomon. He was the wisest man in human history but during his later age he was controlled by worldly wisdom and by the end of his life he was miserable. His kingdom was divided into two part. He ends up worshipping his wife’s idols.  

Had he stuck with the wisdom given from above his life would have ended well.  But his life ended up in a disastrous way.  

His life shows us that worldly wisdom is dangerous and can destroy our family, our life and reputation and break God’s heart.  

Keeping this story in mind lets turn to our text.  

James 4:1-4.  

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  

2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.  

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity  against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 

I would like to give 3 vital points from the above verses. 

1) Worldly wisdom leads to fighting, quarrelling and killing. (1-2)  1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires  that battle within you?  

2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want,  so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.

You know church,  

There were fights and quarrels and even killing in James days because of worldly desires that battle within their heart. These worldly desires are from our heart idols. 

Worldly wisdom or worldly idols leads to all kind of life problem, such as fighting, quarrelling and killing. 

I will like to bring a story of King David from Old testament to understand our point better.

David was the second king of Israel,  we know most of Psalm in the bible was written by him, he was a musician, song composer, poet,  Shepherd, He was a giant slayer, God said, He is the man after God’s own heart, King David have weakness too.  

I wanna bring the dark story of David so that we will learn a lesson from him. 

The story is in 2 Samuel 11. “The story of David and Bathsheba” 

The story of David and Bathsheba reminds us of how great men who are called by God are still humans and struggle with sin.  

The events begin with King David choosing to stay home in Jerusalem while he sent the rest of the Israelite army to fight other nations and kings. David is relaxing and walking on the palace roof when he sees a beautiful woman bathing on her roof. David was immediately drawn to her and sent messengers to find out who she was. The messengers returned and told David that her name was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah.  Despite David knowing that she was married, he sent for her and slept with her.  Bathsheba later sends word to David that she was pregnant.  

David was nervous that his sin of adultery would now be found out. The King called for  Uriah to come home so that he could spend a night with his wife, Bathsheba, and cover up the sin that Bathsheba was pregnant with David’s child.  

However, Uriah refused to sleep with his wife while his fellow men were off fighting.  David was filled with anger that his plan did not work.  

When Uriah went back to war, King David sent a note to the army commander with instructions to have Uriah put at the frontline and to withdraw so that he would die.   Bathsheba mourned her husband’s death and was then brought to King David to be his wife.  The prophet Nathan visited King David and told him of the Lord’s disapproval and displeasure with David. Even though David repented of his sin, Nathan told David that the son Bathsheba was expecting would die.  

Let us see David heart idols that bring quarrelling and fighting and even killing.

1) Laziness

When the nation is at risk fighting battle with the enemy, when many people are risking their life, sacrificing life to protect their family, their people and their nation, he was enjoying and relaxing at home.

He was neglecting his duty as a leader of the nation. Example, What would you think if China attacks India and our prime minister simply stay home,  sleeping and relaxing and enjoying life at home.  

Do you think opposition party will leave him, do you think citizen of India will keep silent, not at all right. David was neglecting his duty and responsibility. 

2) He commits adultery by sleeping with Uriah wife

3) Not only committing adultery with Bathsheba he killed her husband Uriah.

The result of David sins bring great chaos in his family and the nation Israel, there was fighting among David household, his son Absolom fight back his father David to take the throne. as a result, Absolom was killed. Bathsheba son died. 

This a sad story from the life of King David.

We know David was driven by worldly wisdom, driven by his heart idols which bring pain and misery in his life. 

In the same way, if we are not driven by wisdom from above we will end up our life in pain and misery because outside God we cant find peace and joy and satisfaction. 

Last Sunday sermon reminds us that we should focus on wisdom from above, wisdom from God. 

We know we have our own heart idols, it can be laziness, lust, comfort, covetousness, pride, good things, money, fame, dream, career, family, job, fashion, sports, social media. If these things are controlling your heart and driving your life, we will end up our life in a miserable way.

The bible clearly says in the first commandment that is, You shall have no other God before me. 

What are your heart idols? What are the things that are pulling you down? 

Church lets identify our heart idols like those of King David. What I really like about David is, He literally cries out  to God for forgiveness, He repents his sins to God. 

Let’s see how David repent his sins in Psalm 51. 

1.Have mercy on me, O God,  

 according to your unfailing love;  

according to your great compassion  

 blot out my transgressions.  

2.Wash away all my iniquity  

 and cleanse me from my sin.  

3. For I know my transgressions,  

 and my sin is always before me.  

4. Against you, you only, have I sinned  

 and done what is evil in your sight;  

10. Create in me a pure heart, O God,  

 and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  

11. Do not cast me from your presence  

 or take your Holy Spirit from me.  

12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation  

 and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.  

14. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,  

 you who are God my Savior,  

 and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 

Application:  

Church let us come before God and surrender all our heart idols before God and receive God’s forgiveness and grace like David. 

So that we will live a life that pleases God, a life that glorifies God.

2) Worldly wisdom approaches God with the wrong motives.

(3) “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 

James find out their root problem that is, they didn’t even ask God for their needs,  Here in this verse, James reveals that when they did ask God for what they wanted,  They were simply trying to manipulate Him.  

Many a time we all approach God with wrong motives, just to satisfy our heart desires.  Many prayers were not really requests, we just make an effort to make God serve our selfish desires.  

Many people approach with wrong motives in prayer. (How)  

Not only wrong motives many people are prayerless and many people don’t know what they are praying in the middle of their prayer,  Some people pray like reciting a poem, some people pray without believing.  

What does it mean to pray with wrong motives? What is a wrong prayer? Scripture tells us,  because of these reasons our prayers are so often not answered,  

Because we ask for things so that we gratify our lust and pleasure.  

We ask for the wrong reasons, with the wrong motives. For instance, we ask for:  Good health and long life so we can be more comfortable in life. 

We ask Money just to serve our desires and not Gods purpose. 

We ask Success so that we can be recognized,

We ask Position so we can be in authority and power.

We ask for blessed family, so we can enjoy their presence.  

At first, glance, asking for these things doesn’t seem to be wrong, but when we ask for these things simply to gratify our own desires then we are asking with the wrong motive.  

What is the right motive for prayer?  

How can we pray and know that God will give the desires of our heart? 

Our heart motive should be, asking for blessings so that we glorify God.  When a person wants something from God, he must want it so that he can glorify God.

1. If we want good health, long blessed life, it must be, so that we can glorify God. 

2. If we want to bear fruit in our lives and in our work, or in our church and in our community, it must be, so that we can glorify God.  

3. If we want the basic necessities of life food, clothing, shelter, or a purpose in life, or meaning in life, and significance, or assurance, and confidence and security or if we want a  position of authority or money, it must be, so that we can glorify God in our lives and with our testimony.  

Paul said, “don’t worry about everything, but pray about everything.” 

If you lack anything, church, pray!

If you have difficulties in your life, pray! 

If you are overwhelmed, pray! If you are confused pray!  

If you are hopeless pray, If you are stuck in between pray!  

If you are happy, pray!

If you are blessed, pray!

Bible says

“Pray without ceasing.”  

How is your prayer life?

Church are you really living a prayerful life? 

James 4:2 says You didn’t receive because you didn’t ask.  

James 4:3 says You didn’t receive because you ask with wrong motives.  

Application:  

Church God is ready to bless us, He wants all of us to ask,  

But we have to ask with the right motives in order to receive His blessings.  

Romans 8:31 says.  

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also,  along with him, graciously give us all things? 

John 14:14 says.  

“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 

With that lets come to our last point.  

3) Worldly wisdom leads to friendship with the world.
(4) Friendship with the world is dangerous, 

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 

James uses strong language. He calls them adulterous people 

1. Being adulterous means that a person is guilty of spiritual adultery.  The relationship between a believer and Christ is like that of a marriage.  That is why the church is called the bride of Christ.  

Our bond with Christ is so close that when we turn away from Him to the world,  It is like committing spiritual adultery.  

Spiritual adultery means that we turn away from God to the world that we break our commitment to God and turn to other things of this world. 

The picture of spiritual adultery shows us just how meaningful God counts our  relationship with Christ:  

It’s a relationship of love, a bond of love that can be the closest bond in all the world.  If we turn away from Christ to the world, it breaks his heart with the deepest pain. 

We should never forget that our Lord gave His life and died for us.  He has done everything He can to save us and to create a relationship with us.  So, we shouldn’t hurt Him anymore. We must not crucify Christ anymore.  We shouldn’t forsake Him for the world.  

We shouldn’t commit spiritual adultery against Him by turning to the world. 

What comprises spiritual adultery?  

– Spiritual adultery is not obeying the commandment of the Lord – It’s unclean deeds and sinful behaviour.  

– Spiritual adultery is giving oneself to sinful things and vile things, 

– It’s continually slapping God in the face by committing the same sin over and over again because the world says it’s OK. 

– It’s forgetting God and turning one’s back on Him. 

– It’s refusing to return to God and not acknowledging the Lord.  

– It’s forsaking God, disbelieving in Christ, being ashamed of Jesus and His Words.

Church we should never commit spiritual adultery.  

The question asked in verse 4 last part: “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is  hated toward God?” What does this mean? It means the person who is a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  

Everything in this world passes away. This world is physical and material so it has the seed of corruption and seed of sin in it.

Because of this, it stands against God. It’s not eternal nor holy and righteous like God. So, any person who is a friend of this world stands against God. 

Application:  

1 John 2:15-17.  

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  

16 For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life come not from the Father but from the world.  

17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Church lets obey God’s command and be a true obedient Child of Our Father.  

Conclusion.  

Church, together we have to meditate on 3 vital points under the topic  

“Danger of worldly wisdom”  

1.Worldly wisdom leads to fighting, quarrelling and killing. (1-2)  

2.Worldly wisdom approach God with wrong motive.(3)  

3.Worldly wisdom leads to friendship with the world. (4)  

Don’t let worldly wisdom and idols of this world drive you, it is dangerous, it is deadly,  believers don’t have time for all these worldly things, we have learnt enough lessons from the life of King David.

Let the wisdom of God drive your life, let the will of God drive your life.  

Let the good news of God drive you,  

so that wherever you go you will be the light and salt of this world.  

Secondly, let us always approach God with right motives, let us keep asking God and receive all the amazing blessings from God and glorify God with all the good things we receive from Him.  

Thirdly, Let us not be a friend of this world but let us be a truly loyal friend of Christ.

Let us Pray.

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Articles

Bless in the Mess

I, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!- Jude 1:1-2

Currently, we are living in such uncertain times. However, it is beautiful to see God’s works especially during trying times.

When a problem arises in our life, that’s when we pause and lift our heads up from our self-centred lifestyle.

In trying times we often say, “Now we can only pray”. It is a mentality which is nurtured that praying is the last option after trying all possible options for resolution by our own strength and now we give it to God.

Jesus gave his life for us, not for us to go to him last but first. We are called to relax and trust in him, that by His strength everything is going to be all right.

What does relax and trust in him mean?
When we are relaxed, we rest it out, it is a state of rest. It is either because of something good that has happened that we are at peace or most of the times we are expectant of a favourable outcome.

God wants us to rest in him, being expectant of an outcome which is favourable. It might not be an instant gratification which is self-pleasing but it will be one which will impart glory to him.

I want to highlight a short personal story here. Recently, my father slipped in the bathroom. Generally, a super anxious me would have panicked. But that very moment, I could trust in God because I know He’s there and nothing is a surprise to Jesus.

I prayed and sought God. I felt restful amidst the chaos. It was only because I could open my heart to Jesus; trusting in his promise that all things work together for good. I was expectant that He would use this situation to glorify Him.

Praise God that my father was all fine and did not have a scratch on his body or any fractured bones – all his reports were clean. Furthermore, I got a chance to share a bible verse with him and tell him how the church family prayed for him. It gave me the courage to tell him about how good God is. I could proclaim my Christian faith so boldly to my father who is a non-believer.

This was a much-needed reminder.
We are “Called”, this refers not to a general invitation to salvation, but to God’s irresistible, elective call to salvation. This call yields:

(1) Fellowship with Christ (1 Cor. 1:9);

(2) Peace (1 Cor. 7:15);

(3) Freedom (Gal. 5:13);

(4) A worthy walk (Eph. 4:1);

(5) Hope (Eph. 4:4);

(6) Holiness (1 Peter 1:15);

(7) Blessing (1 Peter 3:9);

(8) Eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10);

(9) Grace of our God (verse 4).

When we get a call we need to answer the telephone. Similarly, it is important to answer to God’s call; we are 21st Century temples of God who need to be visible.

We need to be expectant of Christ favoured outcome. Bible mentions us to be anxious for nothing but let our hearts be praying unceasingly, knowing that our Lord is not distant but an everlasting, living God who hears our prayers and is so close to us.

It is only when our hearts are opened and expectant of Jesus to be present and working in our everyday lives that we will be filled with hope which is everlasting.

Jesus, I pray for humility and a restful heart. Let me be expectant of everything to work together in love according to your will and glory.
Amen

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James Sermon

Wisdom from above – James 3:13-18

Good morning church! Hope everyone is doing okay.

As a Church we’ve been going through a preaching series called “Faith in Action” from the letter of James.

It’s personally been such an enriching and challenging series for my heart personally. It feels like each week that I’ve been shaken up from the comforts of my Christian walk & challenged to evaluate the current status of my faith.

I’m sure similarly this series has been a blessing to you all as well. Right now we find ourselves in the middle of James chapter 3 & “spoiler alert” – this is another challenging passage for us this morning – but as believers, that’s a wonderful thing because we know that these challenging passages turn our hearts back to the gospel.

Let’s dive into it and read the passage once more:

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

“I thought there was nothing worse that could happen in 2020 and then came the power outage!”

Those were the words of a Mumbaikar that was put out on social media referring to the power grid failure on Monday morning.

And those words I’m sure resonated with many people because it has been a roller coaster of a year for all of us.

Everyone is searching for wisdom on how to make sense of this COVID world.  So you’ll find many people from young to old who have turned into philosophers giving their two cents on what they think life is.

In other words, people are using the filter of their own experience to make sense of our world. But how reliable and helpful is this worldly wisdom?

Can I really bank my life’s decisions on quotes that I read on social media or pep talk from my close relatives and friends? 

Or

Is there a True Real wisdom available from God to help me deal with the twists and turns of life?

Today’s passage from James 3 will help us recognize True Wisdom. Three things about True Wisdom.

1. True Wisdom is not just about knowledge

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. (v13)

Some of us might be surprised by this verse. What does good conduct and meekness have to do with wisdom?

And that’s because the world defines wisdom as just having a good amount of knowledge in a certain subject or field.

So if someone has done his Phd. in Physics & authored many books, by the standards of the world he is considered a wise man.

Similarly in churches, who is typically considered as a wise person?

Someone who has a lot of biblical knowledge. The way the world views wisdom is amoral (unrelated to morality) & in contrast, this passage tells us that a wise person is not someone who just has biblical knowledge but is also living it out in humility!

And when we read through the letter of James, it does seem like the churches he was writing to was going through some kind of tension where there were people who wanted prominence, viewed themselves as superior compared to others and saw the opportunity of being a leader and teacher in a church as a means to get these things.

And through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James is telling the whole church….Do you want to know and identify someone who is wise?

It’s not just by their words but by their lifestyle. Humility will be the hallmark of someone who is wise and understanding among you.

I still remember meeting a 77-year old uncle called MC John in Kerala. It was a time in my journey when I was seeking God’s will in ministry and life. It wasn’t a planned meeting.

We probably spent maybe 30 minutes but those 30 minutes changed my life. In those 30 minutes, I realized that this was a man who spent many good years of his life knowing and living for Jesus and even at 77 he was passionately talking about Jesus.

He was like a Bible dictionary quoting verses from all through the Bible but the most remarkable thing that struck me was his humility. His biblical wisdom actually led him to worship.

And that shouldn’t surprise us – right throughout the Bible whenever we see men and women come to terms with the knowledge of God, it leaves them with an acute understanding of their own sin.

True wisdom of God produces humility.

Let’s take a minute to just pause and reflect – some of us either spent few or some of other many years in church circles listening to many sermons, being part of many bible studies,

what do you think all that knowledge is producing in your heart?

Is it producing greater humility in your marriages?

Is it producing greater humility in your relationships at work or with your parents?

Is it producing greater humility in relationships with other believers?

Let’s allow those questions to sink in because it’s important to identify the problem before we look to the solution.

But not only is True Wisdom is not about knowledge

2. True Wisdom is not worldly wisdom

By worldly wisdom I mean wisdom that is shaped by our experiences of the natural world.

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

I find it interesting that James directly addresses the Root, Source and Fruit of worldly wisdom in these 3 verses.

First, let’s look at the root – it’s selfishness and bitter jealousy.

When we look at the absolute heart of worldly wisdom, it’s rooted in selfishness. It’s putting yourself forward at the expense of someone else.

Now let’s take a look at the source to see how this worldly wisdom actually plays out from v15:

  • Earthly – How our main concern tends to be mostly about our life in this materialistic world – we are only thinking about “my school, my college, my job, my promotion, my marriage, my kids, my retirement” – that’s all that our lives are consumed by.
  • Unspiritual – Some other versions actually use the word sensual. Which means that this wisdom is controlled by impulses and the sinful desires of my heart. It’s also telling us that our decision making is heavily influenced by how we feel at that moment. I think it can also include the baggage that we carry from our past experiences in this world. Our past baggage – feelings about people and circumstances shapes our worldview.
  • Demonic – I think that’s where some of us might think “Time Out bro James. I know you’re telling me all this is worldly wisdom, but to call it demonic?? That’s taking it a little too far” When James is saying demonic he is not trying to say that we are performing some kind of voodoo or strange ritual, but rather I think whenever NT writers talk about demonic influence in the church, it’s a reference to deception which results in abandoning the faith (1 Tim 4:1). In other words, in my selfishness, I can be so blind that I won’t even know that I’m being deceived by this worldly wisdom. I won’t even know that my heart is being hardened. And so the reason I think James is telling in such real graphic details is to warn us from falling into deception thinking that “okay I have some form of godly wisdom so nothing else matters” – no your heart matters, your lifestyle matters & so all these things are mentioned to warn us and also to call us to repentance.

In v16 – he talks about the FRUIT of selfishness and jealousy. Chaos and every kind of wicked deed is fruit!

When we put ourselves in the throne seat of our hearts and think that the world revolves around us, it can cause serious damage. Sometimes in the form of boasting but also sometimes when we play the victim.

A few weeks back I was having a rough week at work. Long hours, demanding work pressure and plus errors were being pointed out in my work by my managers.

As a result of my insecurity and selfishness in my heart, my interpretation of my team members and managers were as “they don’t understand me, they don’t care about me and how I’m doing & they are just out to get me”.

I remember feeling miserable through that week as I was playing the victim. And God had to remind me once again that the problem is more deep-rooted from within – it’s my own selfishness that is causing me to not believe the best about others.

For me that was another clear example to show how my life cannot be shaped by my experiences or worldly wisdom. Because my experiences are flawed and tainted with selfishness.

Let’s take a minute now to reflect on what kind of wisdom is shaping our hearts and lives?

What’s in the root of the wisdom that you have?

Do you see selfishness and bitter jealousy?

In fact on the basis of this passage, we can conclude that I might be even saying some right things from Scripture but if it’s motivated by selfishness, then that wisdom comes from the world and not from God!

I know this is a weighty subject because it’s dealing with our hearts, but it’s also pointing us to Jesus.

Not only is True Wisdom not about knowledge, and not only is True Wisdom not worldly wisdom but

3. True wisdom is God’s grace

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

When we look at v17, what stands out to us is the phrase – wisdom from above is “First pure”.

In other words, purity of heart is what produces peace, gentleness etc.

Now, who among us can say they are pure by themselves? No one.

In fact, the previous verses spoke about how our hearts and lifestyles are motivated by selfishness and jealousy. So obviously purity cannot be produced from within.

And that’s why the phrase “wisdom from above” is a phrase that screams of God’s grace. Because it tells us about God giving us something precious that we cannot produce ourselves.

Guess what the Bible calls Jesus Christ as the “wisdom of God” – God revealed His wisdom to us not just by telling us about His Son but more than that sending His Son Jesus (pure Lamb of God) to live the pure life we could never live, and then He willingly gave up His life on the cross to pay the punishment meant for our impure lives. He rose again on the Third Day so that our hearts and lives can be purified for Him which He has promised to fully complete when He returns back a second time.

So what does this mean for us today?

Firstly it humbles our hearts that feels superior in comparison to others as a result of our “wisdom” & it melts our selfish hearts craving for prominence among others. How does it do that?

By telling us that our condition was so bad that it required the payment of God’s own Son through His death. Imagine going to court and having your sins listed down one by one.

How do we know the seriousness of the crime? By the punishment that is given – how worse is your condition that it could only be paid through the death and sacrifice of Jesus. Like Paul we should humbly acknowledge “I am the chief of sinners”.

But also Grace tells you that God loves you so much that He sent His Only Son to die for you and me.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)

That’s amazing, great love! You are loved by God and He sent His Son to show that. So that creates in us this humble purity which now bears fruit in our relationships at home, in church and also where we work or go to school to. (Share examples)

That’s why we need these reminders daily – that True Wisdom is not knowledge, True Wisdom is not worldly wisdom but True Wisdom is God’s grace – revealed through the Person and relationship with Jesus Christ. Only His Work and His promise can produce genuine purity which produces fruits of righteousness!

Categories
James Sermon

The Power of Tongue: James 3:1-12

James 3:1-12. 

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know  that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 

2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is  perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.  

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the  whole animal.  

4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong  winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.  5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider  what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 

6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the  whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have  been tamed by mankind, 

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings,  who have been made in God’s likeness. 

10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this  should not be.  

11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  

Introduction:  

Good morning church hope all of you are doing well, today we have an interesting  topic to meditate together.  

Before I enter my sermon I wanna start with a beautiful story, i hope you all love  story, Once in a small village lion used to attacked villages and eat them, you know  there was one naughty boy, Who like to fool people all the time, one day, he shout  with a loud voice and said, lion is coming to eat all of us, All people were afraid and  they close the door and hide themselves. some big boys came running with gun to  help him but he laugh out and tell them that he was joking. they were all angry of the  little naughty boy. The following week a real blood thirsty lion was coming toward  the small village he shout aloud like last time “Lion is coming, people thought that he  was playing fool again, nobody came to rescue him so he became lion breakfast that  day.  

Moral lesson:  

1. Playing with tongue is dangerous. 

Hope you like the story, today we shall meditate together from James 3:1-12.  i would like to entitle my sermon as “ The power of tongue”  

I will like to give 8 very vital points. 

1.Teachers of word has huge tongue responsibility. (1)  

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know  that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 

James does not mean that nobody should become a teacher. It is a much needed role in the  church, and God empowers specific individuals with teaching gift (1 Corinthians 12:28;  Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:11). In the church, teachers of words are meant to help people  make the Word of God easier to understand and follow.  

James makes clear, scripture”teacher” is not a role which should be taken lightly. Teachers  will face a stricter judgment. They will be held accountable to live by the truth they teach, as  well as being responsible not to lead people away from God’s Word with their own words.  The more a person claims the authority to teach, the more accountable they will be for how  they lead or mislead other people.  

2.Be mature in using your tongue. (2) 

2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is  perfect (Mature), able to keep their whole body in check. 

This verse makes it clear that James is not requiring perfection at all. Chapter 2 remind us  that genuine Christians will participate in genuine good works in obedience to God. And  yet, James is fully aware that fallible human beings will never do so without stumbling.  James includes himself in this statement: says “we all stumble in many ways”  However, James reveals that our goal is to stop stumbling, but to be in full control of  ourselves at all times. The sign of a believer who has arrived at full-faith maturation is one  who never stumbles in what they say or how they say it. Such a mature believer will never  say anything unkind, hurtful, selfish, proud, rude, or manipulative words. They will only  and ever say words motivated by faith in God and love for each other. Once we learn to  perfectly control our words, we will be in perfect control of every part of ourselves. 

Application: Church lets be mature in our every conversation.  

Colossians 4:6  

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know  how to answer everyone.  

Ephesian 4:29.  

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as  fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 

1 Timothy 4:12. 

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and  purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 

3. We should control our tongue. (3)  

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the  whole animal. 

Here in verse 3, James points to horses as a natural example. Horses are large, powerful  animals. And yet, they can be controlled with a small piece of metal and a few leather  straps. This is called a bit or bridle: a bar which is placed behind the horse’s teeth, This  gives the rider the ability to create pressure on the animal, and even pain, if used roughly.  With a bit in a horse’s mouth, a rider is able to control the whole animal, to make it obey, to  steer it wherever the rider wants to go.  

In the same way we should control our tongue like how we control horse with bridle.  Control tongue will keep you from falling into sinful trap.  

Control tongue will not let you regret in life.  

Controlling tongue will keep you in peace and harmony with people around.  Controlling tongue will prove that you are wise and mature believer.  

My story: My uncontrol tongue to baby catharine.  

1 Peter 3:10  

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their  lips from deceitful speech. 

Proverb 21:23  

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. Psalm 141:3.  

3 Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. 

4.Tongue can direct our life. (4)  

Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong  winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 

Here in verse 4, James points to huge ships at sea. The power behind those ships in James’s  era was the mighty wind, but nobody can control the wind. Wooden sailing ships full of  cargo could weigh thousands of kgs and yet, a pilot could alter the movement of the most  massive boat using just a relatively small piece of wood: A rudder is the paddle-like plank  used to steer a ship.  

If we learn to control our tongues meaning the words we say,  

we could control what we do with our entire bodies. The one who controls a bit controls the  entire horse. The one who controls the rudder steers control the entire ship. The man who  learns to control his tongue is one who has gained control over his entire self.  

Using our tongue in a right way will determine the direction of your life, a life that pleases  God, a life that glorifying God. 

5.Tongue can destroy our life. (5-6).  

5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider  what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 

6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the  whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  

The tongue is a very small organ in the body that boasts of great things.  Our tiny tongues have the capacity to effect massive results.  

The fact that the tongue is powerful doesn’t mean everything it does is positive. To  understand better, James uses a dramatic example. A tiny spark of fire can set a whole forest  ablaze. In this analogy, the fire is not something used to bring control. Instead, it’s a small  thing which impacts others around it. This leads to great chaos and destruction.  

Like the story I narrate earlier, because of his lie he was eaten by lion, likewise if we are not  careful how we use our tongue, our tongue can destroy our life our reputation like fire  destroy the forest.  

James says you have this little muscle that has a huge impact on our lives, this tongue.  # It can make you or break you.  

# It can open doors for you into the future. It can close doors for you.  # It can help other people. It can hurt other people.  

# It will determine the direction of your life. 

6.Remember tongue cannot be tame. (7-8).  

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have  been tamed by mankind, 

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 

James pointed to an amazing human achievement: We can and have tamed every kind of  creature. But we can’t tame the tongue. More specifically, James writes that no human being  can tame his or her own tongue. We can’t control the words that come out of our mouths. It’s  not an ability that human beings possess in our own power. Our tongues are more powerful  than we are. They control us just as a bit guides a horse or a rudder steers a massive ship.  

According to James, the tongue our words and how we use them is not just untamable. It is  a restless evil. The Greek word James uses for “restless” means “unstable,” and is the same  root word used for the “unstable” man in James 1:8. Our tongues, the instrument of our  powerful words, striking without focus or clear intent. And when they strike, they are full of  deadly poison.  

Set your heart right so that graceful, loving words will come out of your heart.  Application: Let us be very careful how we use our tongue. 

7.Use your tongue for the right purpose. (9-10)  

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings,  who have been made in God’s likeness. 

10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this  should not be. 

First, we can use our words to bless or praise our Lord and Father. After James’s description  of evil, untamable, unstable tongues up to this point, it’s shocking to imagine such a person  use their words to bless God. 

James continues to make the case that our tongues the words we use which reveal our fallen  hearts are evil and uncontrollable. He wrote that we human beings use our tongues both to  praise God, the Creator, and to curse other people who are created in God’s likeness. It  shouldn’t be that way. Blessing and cursing shouldn’t originate from the same mouth.  

Application:  

Are we using our tongue for the right purpose?  

Psalm 63:3, Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. We are created to praise God, we are created for His glory.  

Let use our tongue to praise God that is the right purpose of tongue, lets use our tongue our  words for His glory.  

8. Our tongue will show who we are. (11-12).  

11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  

James continues making his case that human beings including Christians are not naturally in  control of our tongues. If we were, how would it be possible for us to use our words both to  praise God and to curse people created in His image? James stated what seems obvious to us  now: It shouldn’t be that way.  

It’s not just that we “shouldn’t” use our words for both blessing and evil. It’s that it is  contradictory. It’s a conflict with the nature we’re supposed to be relying on as saved, born again believers. James illustrates this with the example of a spring. Nowhere in nature will  you find bubbling up from the ground a mixture of salt and fresh water. It just doesn’t  happen. Salt water and fresh water come from two completely different sources—just as  words of blessing and words of cursing come from two completely different natures.  

Application question:  

What kind of words are flowing out of your mouth?  

Your choice of words, will show who you are,  

if your hear is full of evil, evil words will come out of your mouth,  

if your heart is unkind, you will speak unkind words.  

Church let kind and blessings words flows out of your mouth which bring joy and healing. 

Conclusion:  

Church we have seen 8 points under the topic “The power of tongue”  1.Teachers of word have huge responsibility. (1)  

2.Be mature in using your tongue. (2)  

3. We should control our tongue. (3)  

4.Tongue can direct our life. (4)  

5.Tongue can destroy our life. (5-6)  

6.Remember tongue cannot be tame. (7-8)  

7.Use your tongue for the right purpose. (9-10)  

8.Our tongue will show who we are. (11-12)  

In our final conclusion i wanna remind with the words of Jesus  

Matthew 15:11,18-19. 

“That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the  mouth, this defiles the man, The things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the  heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders,  adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies” 

Here Jesus address the heart issue.  

How is your heart this morning?  

The most important question to ask when examining the heart is  

What is functionally ruling your heart?  

We know our hearts are always being ruled by someone or something,  and whatever controls our heart will control my responses to people and situations around.  

Would you please check what is controlling or ruling your heart?  

If our heart is not fill with the Spirit of God, If our heart is not control by the Spirit of God.  Nothing good will come out of your mouth, all kind of filthy, bad, dirty words will control  you, evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, false testimony and blasphemies will come out  our mouth, these sins will destroy our life and our reputation.  

Therefore my dear brothers and sisters lets check our heart this morning and Repent and  surrender all our heart idol to God.  

As we have Sang the song  

Change my heart O God, make it ever true, change my heart O God, may I be like you,  You are the potter, I am the clay, mould me and make me this is what I pray. 

Remember who you are in Christ. we are forgiven, Redeemed, adopted, we are the child of  the most high God.  

Romans 6: 12-14.  

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any  part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves  completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body  as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for  you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of  God’s grace. 

1 Cor 6:19-20.  

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom  you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

Romans 12:1-2.  

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a  living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not  conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then  you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

God Bless all of us 

Amen

Categories
James Sermon

Believers’ Daily Lifestyle: James 2:8-13

Introduction:

Good morning church, It’s a blessing to see all of you.

As we all know we are going through the book of James under the theme “Faith in action”

Last Sunday we have meditate together James 2:1-7, on Favouritism or Partiality.

Today we shall continue our study from James 2:8-13,

Before we enter to our text, let me remind you the purpose of writing this letter.

James wrote this letter to a believers in exile. They have been forced to leave their homes and settle among strangers. As followers of Jesus, they do not find their lives to be easy. Instead, they find themselves facing a variety of trials and these tempt them to doubt God’s faithfulness and ability to continue to bless them.

James wrote this letter to remind them of who God is and how He can enable them to rejoice when they encounter these trials because they test their trust in Him. And a trust that has been tested or purified leads in the end to one being “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.(1:2-4)”

In chapter 2 James has been dealing with behaviour towards our fellow men. He is condemning attitudes and behaviour based on worldly standards. In the first part of chapter 2 James tackles favouritism. Now he examines this behaviour in direct relationship to God’s law.

James 2:8-13.

  • Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
  • But if you favour some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
  1. For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
  2. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
  3. So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.
  4. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

I would like to entitle my sermon as “Believers daily lifestyle”  Under these topic I would like to give 4 vital Believers daily lifestyle to all of you.

I know many of us are conscious with our health, If you want to stay healthy and fit, you need to eat right kind of diet and exercise daily. In the same way James is offering us this morning four daily lifestyle which will help us to live out our purpose for God’s glory.

First lifestyle

1.  Love your neighbour as you love yourself (8-9)

  • Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
  • But if you favour some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

James is saying obeying royal law, i.e. loving your neighbour as yourself is good,

We know this is second greatest commandment given by Christ. “Love your neighbour as you love yourself”

Verse 9 reminds us, our last Sunday sermon that is, if we show favouritism or partiality it is sin and breaking the law.

Every one of us should be very careful with sin of favouritism, James reminds us that instead we should love our neighbour as ourselves.

Who are our neighbours?

Our neighbours are people who are around us, it can be family members, friends, coworkers, house neighbours, people whom you encounter in daily basis.

All people whom you meet in your life is your neighbour.

Loving our neighbour can be in many different ways, I will like to give few ways.

Loving your neighbour means.

  1. Loving them as Christ love us. (love one another as i have love you) 1.Showing grace as christ shown His grace to us.
  2. Acting with compassion
  3. Looking out for wellbeing, Philippians 2:4 it says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” 4.Serving the people around you. 5.Speaking kindly to your neighbour 6.Sharing in joys and sorrow. (Romans 12:15). “rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn”

7.Means forgiving them, 8.Showing no partiality,

  • Most importantly pointing them to our Redeemer, introducing to our Lord Jesus, and giving them a living hope.
  • Sharing your life story, sharing your identity in Christ, Hope in Christ
  • Inviting friends and neighbour to the church, the list can still go on and on…

Illustration:

It was in my 8 standard one of my neighbour invite me for a bible study which was conducted by evangelical union, My life was completely change as I start journeying with these beautiful godly friends. I was just one time invitation that change my life.

Within no time we form a small group in our own school, and start inviting students for prayer meeting and bible study.

Our number grew bigger and bigger, many young students join us, many received Christ as their Lord and saviour.

I believe this is the true example of loving our neighbour.

Just because of one friend invitation, my life was change, in the same manner we keep inviting friends over and over again, we continue doing this great work through out our high school days.

Church the greatest gift you can ever give to someone is leading your family or friends, neighbours, coworkers to Christ.

Showing them life meaning, life purpose and life destiny.

Application:

Are we loving our neighbours? How are we loving our neighbours? When was the last time you loved your neighbour?

Church lets make use of every moment to love our neighbour.

We know, practically loving our neighbour is not an easy steps,

But lets ask Holy Spirit to help us, so that God will change our heart and We can practically apply in our daily life.

Second lifestyle

2.      Repenting our sins daily (10-11),

  1. For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
  2. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

If we have committed sin, small sin or big sin, it is Sin before God. This two verse remind me of mankind wickedness and sinful heart and our continual needs of repentance for our daily sins.

Church in some way or the other way we all have committed sins, we have broken the law.

We have deceive ourselves, we have sin against God, we have broke God’s heart.

All of us are equally guilty of sin, none are perfect. All of us are fully depending on God’s grace and mercy.

Romans 3:23.“All have sin and fall short of the glory of God”

Jeremiah 17:9.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Genesis 6:5.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Seeing our heart conditioned we should repent our sins to God daily.

we have broken the law of God, -We have committed sin We desperately need God’s forgiveness all the time.

As one of the pastor of this church, I am not only telling you to repent but all pastors and leaders of this church should be the chief repenters.

A.W Pink says

“The christian who has stopped repenting has stooped growing”

Illustration: Church

We dispose Kitchen trash on a daily basis, right, What, if, we don’t throw the trash for a week or a month, someone like to try that, the whole room will stink and the stinking smell will make all of us sick right,

In the same way, we should repent our sin on daily basis,

Remember church Sin is like a cancer, it can destroy us and make our life miserable.

Let us repent our sins and wash with the blood of Christ daily.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Application:

Are you repenting your sin on daily basis?

Isaac watts a hymn writer and Church minister says

“There is no repentance in the grave” Third lifestyle

3.      Be careful how you live, U will give your life account someday. (12).

12 So whatever you SAY or whatever you DO, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.

Be careful with your words you will give account someday. Proverbs 18:21

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. (let us use wisely)

Matthew 12:36

But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

Colossians 4:6.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Be careful of whatever you DO you will give account someday. 1 Cor. 15:58.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.

You will be judge by law of liberty, which is the law of Christ.

John MacArthur

“The gospel is the law of liberty because it frees those who place their faith in Jesus Christ from bondage, judgement, and punishment of sin and brings them ultimately to eternal freedom and glory”

In Romans 6:6-11, Apostle Paul clearly remind, How God will judge all of us.

  • God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”
  • To those who by persistence in doing good, seek glory, honour and immortality,

he will give eternal life.

  • But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
  • There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
  • but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Illustration:

Apostle Paul after serving God his entire life just before he was beheaded by Romans soldier, he said to his spiritual son Timothy in 2 Tim.4:7-8.

  • I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
  • Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Application:

Church Our life is short on this earth, we are closer to death everyday. Are you ready to meet our Lord Jesus?

If you happen to die today, and if you are going to stand before our living God to give your life account, How will your story look like?

What have you done for the Lord so far? 2x Finally here is our fourth lifestyle-

4.      Be Merciful to all people. (13).

13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

Church being merciful to all people should be our character.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt.5:7).

The good news for every child of God in Christ is that God’s mercy toward us will triumph over His judgment of us (Romans 8:1). Our sins may argue against us, but Christ is our loving Advocate who argues for us and prevents us from receiving the judgment we deserve. We, in turn, should display God’s type of mercy toward others.

Ephesian 2

1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

  • But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

We are saved because of God’s mercy

Titus 3:5

  • He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

1Peter 1:3

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Application:

Church lets be merciful to all people around us as our heavenly Father has shown mercy unto you.

Conclusion:

Church we have meditate together 4 very vital points under the topic

“Believers daily lifestyle” the first lifestyle is

  1. Love your neighbour as you love yourself.

Remember God love us with His unconditional love and send His only Son Jesus to die for our sin, and bible says if we confess our sin and place our faith in Christ Jesus, He will forgive all our sins and give us eternal life.

Church we have received Christ love in our heart,

This is the best time for us to share Christ love to our neighbour. Love your neighbours.

2.        Repenting our sins daily.

Remember church Sin is like a cancer, it can destroy us and make our life miserable.

Let us repent our sins and wash with the blood of Christ daily.

3.        Be careful how you live, you will give your life account someday.

Our life is very short, we are closer to death each day, let us make use of every opportunity to serve our living God,

One day He will reward us for all the good works we have done.

4.        Be merciful to all people around you.

Finally, let us be merciful to all people around us, God has shown abundant mercy in our life, its time for us to show God mercy to all people around us.

Let us be a channel of blessing to all people.

Final prayer.

Thank you everyone for your kind attention. God Bless You