Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
Walking in Godly Wisdom
Does your faith feel stagnant, or are you struggling to integrate it into your daily life? Discover the transformative power of heartfelt confessions and scripture study as we share personal stories and reflections from the book of James. This episode kicks off with an exploration of how prioritizing Bible reading, even amid challenging times, can profoundly impact both your personal and professional life. We also recount the joy and fellowship experienced at our recent church picnic, underscoring the importance of community in nurturing our faith.
If you'll stand up with me, we'll go ahead and make a confession, even though you just sat back down. Let's say this together Say, heavenly Father, I'm grateful for Sunday nights, I'm grateful for the move of your Spirit. We honor your Word tonight and your Spirit, lord. We're carriers of your glory, we're full of your spirit. We're men and women of faith. We're men and women of destiny. We carry your word everywhere we go. We're a conduit for you. We lead people to your son, jesus. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1:Well, dad has been preaching all about faith lately and I'm a listening and you're a listening and we're getting it. Amen, we're men and women of faith around here and we know that faith without works is dead. And as I find my place in my Bible, where I want to begin tonight, I am not apologetic that this is a really simple message. You know, we're taught by our pastor, by my dad, to teach what we take for granted, by our pastor, by my dad, to teach what we take for granted. And so I was sitting in the backyard a couple weeks ago and a week or two ago, I don't remember exactly when and I was studying the book of James, and the Holy Spirit just said teach this. And I said teach what he's like this, what you're doing right now, teach what you're doing. And so I was studying the book of James and so I'm just going to walk out that process, as simple as that sounds, because not everybody's on the same page. You know, you might have been serving the Lord for 20 or 30 years and you understand how to how to study your Bible, and we all may do it differently, as long as it's under the. You know the Holy Spirit. We're following the Holy Spirit. But even if you've been saved longer than me and you've been alive longer than me, I believe that you'll get something out of this message tonight, amen.
Speaker 1:And so yesterday we were at the picnic and it was. We just had a really good time. I'm sorry if you missed it, but it was really good food, but it was also really good fellowship and so many different people were talking to one another, the people that don't really know each other. They were all. You know. We have such outgoing, sweet, godly people in our congregation. It was just so much fun to talk to one another, which is the whole reason why we have picnics Hint, hint, hint. It's really not about the food. Even though the food's really good, you leave with a food coma.
Speaker 1:And so I had all the barbecue guys and Reuben had brought his tailgating chairs. He used to be before he got saved. He used to be a Texans tailgater. He even has his Texans logo as a tattoo and he gave all that up when he got saved. He hadn't been back to another Sunday game since, and so that's a big deal, you know. But he brought these really cushy, comfortable chairs.
Speaker 1:So we started sitting over there and and and then Rob Geyer came up and it looked like he was going to preach to us and and I did it in a serious way I said well, rob, what's, what's the Lord got on your heart for us this week? Why don't you share your heart? And he took it seriously and he just began to share my message, you know, and the greatest example of my, and so I just I'll share that example with you right now. He basically he was talking about how, you know, it's a year of momentum and his business has not reflected that. So when this, when the when the year first started, it was just really slow for him. He's a remodeler of homes. He does a very good job and, you know, employs family members and so on and so forth in that business, and but it's been a slow year. And so recently he's gotten some really good contracts going, but they had these horrible deadlines and he's been having to work, you know, a whole bunch of extra hours to get the job done. And he said he went a few days without reading his Bible and he was riding down the road just completely empty, and it just hit him you know, I'm going to pull over right now and I'm going to read my Bible and he just he just said everything else can wait. If I lose this contract, if I don't make this deadline, it doesn't matter, this is what matters. And so, you know, being a member of this church and being, you know, following the Holy Spirit, he put God first and, boom, that situation turned around. He was able to meet that deadline and his business, you know, it turned around since then as well. And so you know, putting God first, it always around since then as well. And so he, you know, putting God first, it always pays to put God first. And so that was my story. You know, I think I was.
Speaker 1:I had skipped several days of reading my Bible. It was back when my mom was in the hospital and we had we had made that decision to not spend the night in the hospital with her and so I was waking up at like 5.30. I was trying to get to her hospital room at 6.30 am because at seven everything started her PT and all that and I wanted to be a part of that and so I missed a few days. That's when I like to read my Bible. So finally I had that opportunity.
Speaker 1:And how many of you realize that it's not you don't read your Bible because you have to. You read your Bible because you want to. When you receive rhema revelation from God, it's life-changing but it's also fun. I mean, you know, this relationship with God is not all just really serious and I think sometimes we feel I mean, just looking in the mirror here, I feel guilty every now and then when you don't get to read the 10 chapters a day in the glorious way church, uh, bible plan Right and uh, and oh, my goodness. And if you don't do it every day but you know it's good to have a plan right why do we have that Bible plan? Why do we recommend that? Because that's going to mature you in the faith the quickest, and so it's something that my dad has followed, and so we're following his example. But it's also it's okay to just camp out via the Holy Spirit. I do that all the time, where I just camp out in Timothy and I just study what Paul is telling Timothy and the Holy Spirit begins to reveal things to me, and that's what happened in the book of James, and so let's see if I can find my glasses, okay Anyways, so let's see.
Speaker 1:I wanted to share a couple other things. Oh yeah, I was going to talk about this book. So when I shared with Selena what I was going to preach about, she reminded me of this book. It's called how to Study the Word, taking the Bible from the Pages to the Heart, and it's by Terry Lawson and we used to sell it. I didn't check with our media team to see if we have this book, but I can buy extra copies of this.
Speaker 1:This is required reading if you're at Rhema Bible Training College. Allison was required to read this and it's a really good book and it just shows you how to study the Word, where to start, how to read a Strong's Concordance, what everything means in the Strong's Concordance, and I actually wanted to. It's funny it sounds contradicting, but I'm going to read about the Bible from this book really quick, and he says to pay close attention to what you choose to read. It is all too easy to use commentaries and study helps in place of actually reading your Bible. It is easier to read about the Bible than to read the Bible itself, just like it is easier to talk about God than to talk with God. And so isn't that true? So, like the supplements that Dad was talking about this morning, you know are like the vitamins. You know the Mark Hankins books. We're glad that we have Mark Hankins books, but don't ever pick up somebody's book in place of the actual Bible when you read, and so like next door with the young people. Actually. I'll rewind it to the children's church, for an example.
Speaker 1:Allison was invited to speak to some Ramah pastors about children's ministry and one of the pastors made a joke. He said hey, I thought she would be full of all the latest technology and all the latest stuff, and she's still using felt boards. And our children's church is old school. We use puppets. Why? Because it still works. Because the reality of it is is that kids are tired. They can recognize the fake and they're tired of being entertained. So when they get here they want the truth, they're hungry for the truth and when we present that in methods that have worked for decades, they relate to that.
Speaker 1:And young people as well. Like we encourage them to bring a paper Bible and to get a paper Bible that you're not afraid to write in it and make notes in it. And I like when I go out on the patio, I don't go out there without a highlighter and a pen and sometimes my phone. I'll put it on, do not disturb, but I'm able to write notes in my phone or take pictures of different things and just therefore, like my notes can go everywhere that I go, because my Bible doesn't always go everywhere I go Because, like most people, we have multiple Bibles and so on and so forth.
Speaker 1:But I just thought this is a really good book of just how to study the Bible but also the importance of studying the Bible and what specific scriptures that Jesus said and you go down oh, I know what I was going to read. Let me see if I can find it real fast. Maybe I can. I should have marked it. Psalm 119. He broke out Psalm 119 and and, like I said I should have, I'll find it later. How about that? It's somewhere in here, it's good, but, like you know, when you're reading Psalm 119, all, all the following God's law scriptures.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, I found myself in the book of James, just kind of camped out there. And then it was so strong that later on in the day, when I did go to the hospital with my mom, I was reading her right out of the book of James as well and it was getting her excited and I was sharing with her the revelation that God had shared with me. And so how many of you realized? I noticed this like years ago, but I think when I was growing up I thought the book of James was written by, like Peter James and John, that James, and I didn't realize that it was Jesus's half-brother, james, who was a little bit of a slow learner. Can you imagine? I think it's Michael Jr. That comedian has that joke about.
Speaker 1:You know, james, going to the next funeral, excuse me, the next wedding, rather, and you know well, your brother, the last wedding turned the water into wine. What you got, what are you going to do? You know the pressure of being Jesus's brother, right? And so I'm sure Jude had a little bit of that pressure as well. So, james, it's marked that he didn't really he wasn't a follower of Jesus until Jesus appeared to him after post-resurrection. And then he believed, and then he was part of the 120 in the book of Acts, right. And so then boom, he's off to the races and part of the first church. And so then boom, he's off to the races and part of the first church. And so then he believed. But before that, I believe that James just thought Jesus was his half-brother, you know, and so related to him as a brother instead of as a savior. But Jesus changed from brother to savior and back to brother again, amen.
Speaker 1:So you know, knowing that that when you're reading the Bible like, doesn't that kind of help you to have the context of what you're reading and who you're reading, and so on and so forth, and that you know when you're reading the book of Timothy, it's Paul talking to Timothy. That's important to know. That it's not Timothy talking, it's Paul talking to Timothy. Little things like you know when you study the Bible, when you read the Bible, you should know these basic truths, even if you're a beginner, and so I was going to brag on this study Bible. I'm not trying to sell it, but I think we have a couple copies out there in the media center. But it's a new, spirit-filled life Bible and it's a Jack Hayford Bible study Bible. He didn't make all the notes but he assembled some of the greatest Bible scholars to make these notes and it's just a really solid study Bible.
Speaker 1:I'm not bragging, just James and Claire and Selena and I and other members of our staff happened to have the same exact Bible and preach out of this Bible. I know my dad. He's kind of old school and still we're praying for him, still using the King James Version Just kidding, and that's fine, but you know KJV. But he happens to have the Kenneth Copeland Bible and he has like multiple. I know that they went through a thing. So, in other words, what I'm trying to say is he has it memorized on the page where it's at, because he's read the same Bible for however many years almost you'll see almost 50 years. So yeah, there's that. So, anyways, james.
Speaker 1:So here I am in the book of James and James 1, one joy, two joy, three joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. That word patience means endurance and perseverance. Right, it's right there in my margin. I have that written out. So, as I'm following the Bible, there, it is written in my margin. So I've got a history of the book of James, who James was, what the context is, what he's going to talk about, and then everything is broken out to the side of different scriptures. It sends you to different places backing that up. Then I have different word wealths, which is basically the Strong's Concordance, breaking out the most important words. Then I have a Kingdom Dynamics, which explains in detail what the writer is talking about, and then at the bottom, it explains almost everything. You have commentary on basically almost every single verse that you're reading, and so it's very. If I have, like you know, commentary on basically almost every, every single verse that you're reading, and so it's very.
Speaker 1:If I want to dive in deep, sometimes I just stay in the same chapter for 20, 30, 45 minutes, whatever you know, meditating on the word of God and pulling out of it, and that's how Rhema comes Amen, and so it's. It's. Sometimes it takes time, and so could I read the whole five chapters of James, what in like 15, 20 minutes? Maybe I could, but I wouldn't be pulling out. You know that's not studying right. So sometimes it takes a little extra time to study, all right, so it produces patience.
Speaker 1:Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, so right away, produces patience, so right away we see that James is a faith book. He talks about faith right off the bat. And so if knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, if it's testing your patience instead, if, whatever you're going through, whatever trial, whatever situation you're facing, if it's testing your patience instead, you're doing it wrong, if it's testing, you know you're getting on my ever last nerve, you know you're doing it wrong. You're in the flesh, but instead count we're. We're to count it all joy.
Speaker 1:In my notes it says to count it all joy means the proper attitude and meeting adversity is to count it all joy, which is not an emotional reaction but a deliberate, intelligent appraisal of the situation from God's perspective. In other words, what's God's account of all joy is just meaning to what? What does God think about this situation? What is his perspective? Let's get his perspective on it.
Speaker 1:Let's allow verse four, but allow, let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. And so, as soon as I flip over to the right page of my notes, that word mature means rounded out, with no defects, amen. Verse four lacking nothing, complete. In other words, you're completely mature. And so that is the whole point of you facing of God allows everything, right, god allows everything that we allow, but when you're going through something, you have to face it with the same attitude that God faces it, with right To count it all joy. And so and you're, you have to allow that to grow. Your patience, patience, kindness, goodness, patience is the fruit of the Spirit, right, it has to grow. Just like a pastor was talking about other fruits this morning Love growing, faith has to grow. Right, we've been given a measure of faith, but it has to grow, and it's grown by hearing the Word and it's growing that way. Amen, so, but we need to allow patience to have its perfect work.
Speaker 1:And so then, in verse five, all you have to do is ask If any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask why do we need wisdom? We need wisdom because we're going through things. So this is all tied together, it's all in context. That's why, when you're studying the word, how many of you like if I was preaching on wisdom, I might start in verse five, and it would be correct, right, it would be biblically correct. Verse five, and it would be correct. Right, it would be biblically correct. But how about, like, if you see wisdom? So I have never tied in what I'm going to tie in tonight, what I studied out and hopefully maybe I'll just, you know, skip to the chase and get that point out right now, but just that wisdom is completely tied to allowing patients to have its is basically all tied to maturing, right, wisdom is part of maturing and faith without works is dead, and so works comes through wisdom.
Speaker 1:We're going to find out in chapter 3, which is where we're going, and it's all tied together and I have never seen that without studying the Bible, without sitting down and reading and comprehending and praying and having the Holy Spirit. So I got to this part right here and I just realized the Holy Spirit had me stop and I closed my eyes and he began to point out some things where I wasn't counting at all joy, where I was facing things on my own, with my own intellect, with my own wisdom, trying to attack things in the natural, and being depleted, being dry, being not going into it with the right attitude, having to be reminded by my wife in such a sweet, precious way of my attitude and the things that I was allowing to come out of my mouth here. In what, in chapter two, it starts talking about? Or is it three? Yeah, no, I'm sorry. Chapter three about it's tying into your tongue, right? It's so important, your confession of what you allow to come out of your mouth when you're facing things. But I've never really tied it together until I studied it in order, and so that's what we're doing tonight.
Speaker 1:So if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. In other words, god gives without reminding us of our unworthiness, because he made us worthy. The blood makes us worthy, because he made us worthy. The blood makes us worthy. So you can. If you need wisdom, the blood of Jesus has already given you access to all of God's wisdom. You carry it with you. All you have to do is ask.
Speaker 1:But verse six let him ask in faith. There's faith again. So it requires faith right To get this wisdom, requires faith with no, no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. And for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways. And so verse eight, you know unstable in all your ways. When you're double-minded, you're actually doubting yourself and you say how does that work? Well, if you're doubting him, you're doubting your faith, and when you're doubting your faith, you're doubting yourself.
Speaker 1:One thing I'm completely, 100% confident in is the fact that without God, I can do nothing Right is the fact that without God, I can do nothing right. And so I think I used that example a couple different times that I was out with another minister and we were talking and he said something I think we were talking about like I think it was right in the middle of COVID, and we were just talking about how stupid people are and just how gullible they are. They'll believe anything. And he was like I don't know, jay, I, I, you know I've been saved all my life. But I think I would think that even if I wasn't saved, I'd be smart enough to see through all these lies, you know, and I'm like, I don't even like to think that way. I'm, I am saved. I know that without God, I can do nothing, and so I'm humble enough to realize that, and so I refuse to be double minded and to think I can be. I can do anything in my own strength.
Speaker 1:And again, like I said, the don't you just take a moment and close your eyes and think about and pray about and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate something that you've been going through where you hadn't counted at all joy? You have not. You've faced it in frustration. You've faced it in your emotions, void of really realizing God's perspective, and right now it's like the switch of faith is being turned on and you're going to stop attacking that in the natural, with your own emotions, with your own intellect, but in all your ways you're going to acknowledge him and he's going to direct your path. He's going to give you supernatural wisdom that's already on the inside of you and he's giving you strategies right now to overcome that situation. So you count it all joy, so you count it all joy, hallelujah, and it's just that simple, right, the switch of faith. James is a book of faith, and so we're allowing patience to mature us, but we're uh, when we face things, we have God's perspective, but it's in a mature way where we can already grab a hold of his strategy.
Speaker 1:You know, my dad referenced Stan Donaldson this morning in his message because I was talking to Brother Stan at the picnic yesterday and I told my dad about that conversation and I won't say too much because, you know, being a city councilman is kind of a public thing but just, he was just beginning to share some of the issues, how it's keeping him up at night. You know, and I just began to encourage him about that, god has the strategy for you to deal with that political spirit head on, and that it's like the book of Jeremiah, you know, even though you know that in the book of Jeremiah Jeremiah was a young man, right, and here brother Stan is, you know, older, not old, but here he is. You know, he could be laying on a beach somewhere with his feet up, but he's serving his community by being on the city council and having to deal with people that don't want to do anything, they don't want to work, they don't, they want to get paid to do nothing, and so I hope I don't get in trouble but one whole part of the government that they they're already hired to do a job. They decided to vote and they voted to hire a company to do their job. So now the city is paying millions of dollars in a contract to a company that basically does their job for them, so that they don't have to do anything but tell that company what to do. So it's kind of backwards, so like we have all kind of wasteful spending in every in every level of government but God, and so we have people like Brother Stan, that that basically volunteer their time to be there and to change things and but. But we're led by the Holy Spirit and it's a godly strategy. So so whether you're, you know, no matter what you're facing, it takes that godly strategy. So I'm going to, I'm going to kind of skip down. You get what I'm talking about being double-minded.
Speaker 1:Verse 12, blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. So know that there's a prize at the end of this Amen. There's a crown of life, and so keep your eyes on the prize. You know the devil wants to distract us. The devil wants to steal, kill and destroy. Right, that's his job. But Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And so that's something that's a scripture that we quote, but that's literally, that's our life. We, we have an abundant life. It's Zoe life, and you cannot allow God I mean the devil to steal your influence, your voice and your witness of what God has done. It's an awesome prize, amen. And so we keep on going down.
Speaker 1:Let's see verse 16. You know, basically it's saying that that temptation doesn't come from God. In verse 13, 14 and 15. So then, in 16, do not be deceived. I'd look at that like a command Do not be deceived, my brethren. Verse 17, for every good gift and every perfect gift is from the above and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Amen. So let's see. So then, my brethren, let's wait.
Speaker 1:Verse 18, sorry, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. And so that word first fruits means, you know, represented as a kind of first fruits, and Old Testament illusion of the first part of the crop, which was a pledge of a greater harvest to come. So you know, I'm not sure if I would have really realized that that's the kind of first fruits that it's talking about. So you and I are an example of God's first fruits. In other words, the whole rest of the harvest needs to look like we look, and so, thank God, we're not going to be full of doubt and full of unbelief and full of all these questions, but no, we're going to allow patience to have its good work, perfect work, on the inside of us so that we present ourselves as mature believers amen, able to accomplish everything that God has for us. Right, and so verse 19,. So, my beloved brethren, let every you know dad quoted this this morning Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Everything in your life needs to produce the righteousness of God, and your flesh does not do that, and other people's flesh around you does not do that. And so, when you tie it into your faith and that your faith is producing maturity on the inside of you and you're allowing patience, you're allowing all the fruits of the Spirit to be grown and you're going to get rid of the wrath of man, your frustrations, your flesh.
Speaker 1:You know, I was leaving the picnic yesterday and I was so glad to have Pastor Joseph and Flora behind me, because the lady in front of me just went full Karen on me for no reason and like, stopped and blocked traffic and was taking pictures of me. I was on the phone with Selena, so I had no idea. Selena thinks I'm a bully sometimes out on the road and I wanted to push her through the intersection but I didn't. I wanted to drive through the ditch and leave her in a big black cloud of dust, but I didn't. Instead, we all waited in a long line for the next red light and then she decided to go 80, 90, whatever, and she you know. But then there was a red light, so I had to get right next to her and then she never saw me again. Hallelujah, thank you for the deleted diesel.
Speaker 1:But so I wanted to, the wrath of man, wanted to come back real quick, but God. And so here I was leaving the picnic and I thought you know like I really was patient. I might have handled that differently in the past, in the recent past, but I had prepared, like if she got out and made it all the way to the door, what I was going to do? I was just how can I help you, ma'am? What's the problem here? But anyways, and so you have a decision every day. I picked that one because that was like the smallest, stupidest thing, you know, but you have a decision every day.
Speaker 1:Are you going to walk in the spirit? Are you going to walk in the flesh? Are you going to allow the mature Christian that's the example to the rest of the world? His light is shining through you, and so we don't have time for flesh. And that was an example of somebody else's flesh. Right, her flesh was rising up. I didn't have time for her flesh either, you know, and so. But how do you fight Flesh? You fight it in the spirit, right, and as a mature believer. Amen, and so let's see.
Speaker 1:So we talk about being a doer of the word instead of here is only verse 21. Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls, to be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourself. So you know, when you choose to be to not do the word, but to just hear it and walk out of here unchanged. Oh, I, you know, a pastor preached a great message this morning. I took notes and everything, but you know what? I'm going to keep living this other. I'm going to keep this, this one sin over here and this, this one thing over here that I know doesn't glorify God. I'm going to keep this going on the side, no big deal, and uh and and pastor won't know, and the only one that knows is God. Well, that's deceiving yourself.
Speaker 1:And boom, that's when deception steps in. And we have seen it over and over and over again how quickly deception can grow, and it's like a cancer. And then it just takes over. They have this one hole in their thinking. That's why, as a pastor, in Hebrews 13, that we're called to look after someone's soul. It's their mind, their will, their intellect, their emotions. Because it's so important how you think and how you. Tonight I'm teaching on how you approach the word of God and how you approach your faith, how you actually, you know, have your faith, how to actually be a doer of the word and not just a hearer only. And so that's how deception though it, grows so quickly. Amen.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I didn't want to belabor the point, for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. And so it's teaching us to look into the perfect law of liberty verse 25, and continuous in it. In other words, this is every day, like I'm saying right, we're continually looking into the perfect law of liberty. So this is God's word and it is perfect. Well, it's flawed. Well, this over here, and that I don't agree with this scripture over here, no, it's perfect. I've accepted it, I believe it, you should accept it, you need to believe it. It's the perfect law and continue in it daily. And it acts like a mirror and it should reflect back the way you should look. And then you make changes right on the inside to reflect what the word of God says Amen. And it's not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does. That's how blessing comes, amen. So, and then in my word, wealth excuse me, in my kingdom dynamics portion of this study Bible, it starts to break that out and it talks about the word being a mirror and the word being a fire and the word of God being a fire. It purges things out, but it also ignites Amen. And so we're ignited by the power of God, by the fire of God, and so let's just move on to chapter 2.
Speaker 1:Here I'm trying to remember let's see, I think we're going to go all the way down and just talk about faith. Let's see, I think we're going to go all the way down and just talk about faith. You know, the first part talks about favoritism in church and how that's actually a sin. So don't judge a book by the cover, right? We don't judge people when they walk in by what they're wearing, but we love everyone equally. And it talks about do not commit adultery, do not murder, in verse 11. But then we get over with faith without works is dead. I wanted to go down to verse 21. So I'm at chapter 2, verse 21.
Speaker 1:Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered Isaac his own son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together? In other words, it was cooperating with his works, and by works faith was made perfect. So again, that made perfect means to mature. Again it's a similar word, that means mature. So we can see that faith without works, without corresponding action, is dead. Dad just preached that this morning. Right, everybody was listening. And you know, the simplest definition of faith is acting like the Bible is true, amen. So we'll continue. Verse 23. And the scripture was fulfilled, which says Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God. We're all friends of God, amen. And so it's a very serious thing that we allow works to be part of our faith, for faith without works is dead.
Speaker 1:But what kind of works? Well, if we keep reading chapter three, it talks about the importance of our words right off the bat. Right Verse 10,. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing my brethren. These things cannot be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter? From the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapefruit bear figs? Thus, no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
Speaker 1:So it's so important that we always speak life, that we speak hope, that we speak God's word and we're conduits of God's encouragement. In fact, you know I've preached on this a few different times about being a good encourager. But if you find yourself, you know, kind of shy or you're withdrawn, and you know it's just basically, the more you come in contact with the love of God, the easier it is to love on people. And all you have to really realize is the simple way God treats you. Just think about it when you're spending time with him in your prayer closet, the simple ways he encourages you. You can just turn that right back around and encourage other people with that same word. And that's why, again, your study time is not just for you. It's going to change the whole atmosphere in your home. It's going to change the way your kids see God, because they can see God through you and through your actions.
Speaker 1:Again, with the faith without works, without corresponding action is dead. And so here it is in verse 13, heavenly wisdom versus demonic wisdom. That's kind of the title basically in my Bible over verse 13. And that here it describes demonic wisdom versus heavenly wisdom. So, excuse me, says verse 13, who is wise and understanding among you, let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. In other words, if faith without works is dead. So in other words, you know, if we lack wisdom, let them ask. And so we can ask for wisdom. And by faith we receive that wisdom. And it's out of that maturity of faith that we're asking. But then faith without works is dead and the works requires wisdom. In other words, what you do, that work requires wisdom. What kind of wisdom are you going to use? Are you going to use this kind of wisdom? No, verse 14,.
Speaker 1:But if you have bitter envy, this is describing demonic wisdom. If you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly or sensual or demonic, for where every envy and self-seeking exists, confusion and every evil thing are there. I'm telling you, the devil is the author of confusion and so sometimes you know big, major things will happen and we'll try to figure it out in the natural. You can't figure confusion of the devil out in the natural right. You just know that it's the devil. The quickest you realize that the devil is involved, the better the outcome is for you, because you know how to pray Amen. So you don't use demonic wisdom in showing out your faith. So faith, you know Hebrews 11, 1,.
Speaker 1:Now, faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So faith is not seen by our natural eyes, but your works are seen by your natural eyes. You know you're going to speak faith, right? Dad taught that this morning. The first step, the first thing you're going to do to the first work you're going to do, is change what you say and you're going to start speaking faith, which is what the first part of chapter three is talking about.
Speaker 1:And then but I just wanted to break out the word sensual. So this wisdom does not descend from above, but it's earthly or sensual. It means basically unspiritual. It says in my notes this is reading from Strong's number 5591. And it's so cool that this Bible just I didn't have to go to the Strong's Concordance. Take the concordance down off the wall and you know it's right here in my Bible. Obviously it's in your phone. The Strongs, by the way, they have a good, a really good app. The Strongs Concordance does, and I like Blue Letter Bible that has a website, but it also has an app where you can look things up in the King James version and you basically can get the Strongs off of any word in the Bible and so it literally breaks out every word of a verse and you can get. I don't always enjoy all of their commentary that they have in there, but they, you have to really know what you're looking at when you start reading biblical commentary, and so, because it's really important that you have someone that you trust that has the right doctrine, right, so anyways.
Speaker 1:So the word sensual means, you know, unspiritual, living in the dominion of the five senses, concerned with this life only. And so, again, your faith without works is dead. This is what your works should look like. It should be coming from this wisdom, right here, verse 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, then gentle, willing to yield. What is it willing to yield to? Is it willing to yield to your flesh? No. Is it willing to yield to somebody else's flesh? No, it's willing to yield to the Holy Spirit, right To the Spirit of the Lord. But it's full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality. It was cut. So this is kind of like a list of everything that we've read so far. Right, and chapter two talked all about partiality and how you know how to treat people, basically and without hypocrisy, verse 18,.
Speaker 1:Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. And so we're peacemakers. Amen, we're called to be peacemakers, but the works that we're doing. Faith without works is dead. Those works are coming from godly wisdom, which is all these things that we just read, right, gentle, willing to yield to the spirit. Right, full of mercy, full of good fruits. Basically, it's full of the fruit of the spirit right. You can identify that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. You can kind of identify most of these right here. And so that's the action that you're taking by faith. Amen. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. And so we go to chapter four. I'm just going to. Basically I'm kind of running out of time.
Speaker 1:I knew I wouldn't read like literally every single verse, but James really kind of changes his tone here in chapter four he kind of bears down a little harder and you can see it, and the title of it is Pride Promotes Strife. And so he basically tells us we go all the way down to verse seven. If you have an issue with pride popping up in your life all the time, obviously pride is flesh. And if you want to kick pride in the teeth, you start with verse 7, right here. Humility cures worldliness, it says. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts. You double-minded. So there he uses that same word again double-minded. If you go back, you know, just flip a few pages back to chapter one and verse eight.
Speaker 1:It's talking about asking in faith, but with doubting, being double-minded. And here we have the same double-minded. And so you can be confident when you get rid of pride. Your confidence is no longer in yourself and in your own way of doing things. Your confidence comes from the Lord and you're confident in his ability and his grace and you're confident in the Holy Spirit that you can hear him. And you're confident, when you step out by faith, that you know God's going to do that.
Speaker 1:You're the believer and God's the performer, and it's not up to you to do the performing, it's up to him to do the performing. It's up to you to do the believing and it's that mature part of your faith that's being kicked in, because you're looking at every situation by counting it all, joy and having his way of thinking Amen. So when you tie it all together, doesn't it bless you to know that? Man, I was like jumping up and down, studying this out. Just you know, and the same thing can happen to you, right and so on verse 10,. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. Amen.
Speaker 1:Humility brings promotion, right and so verse 17,. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. So then we have verse chapter five, rather, which my dad has many teachings on crying out. That's a really good chapter, and I'm just going to wrap it up here with verse 19 and 20. Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. And so here we are. We go from to count it all joy, in other words, to have God's perspective on things when we go through something.
Speaker 1:And James ends the last chapter by talking about turning around sinners. So it's that attitude, though, it's that attitude of faith, that allows you to go to someone in error and turn them around. And so when you're turning them around, you're covering a multitude of sins. In other words, it's not just that one life that's being affected, it's multiple lives, it's the lives of his family, it's the lives of his kids and his grandkids, from generation to generation to generation that are turning around. When you actually take the time, when you see someone in error and you gently, humbly, not full of pride, not full of arrogance, not full of I know it all, and I've got the answer. And me, me, me, me, me, me, no, it's the Lord doing it, you're following the Holy Spirit. Boom, it's easy to turn a sinner from their error. Amen, and so real quick.
Speaker 1:I just want to read out of the truth and action section At the end of every single book of the Bible there's a truth in action, and it kind of lays out the truth in action of every single book. So part four was James teaches the walk of faith, and I just thought this summed it up everything we talked about tonight. Right? So it's like, in closing, all I have to do is read this. It's easy tonight, right? So it's like in closing, all I have to do is read this it's easy.
Speaker 1:Faith is to be expressed through good works. Faith is not simply an idea separate from real life. Rather, faith is to produce in us right living, right motives, right thinking and right relationships, amen. Our good works confirm that faith is alive and active in us. So seek to live your faith daily in practical ways, amen.
Speaker 1:So that's really a wrap up of everything that was covered tonight, and I just thought that really laid it out perfectly. You know, faith without works isn't faith at all, is it? And so you know, when you tie all of those concepts together, so we're going to have godly wisdom when we act by faith, and that it's our job to believe. And when we step out in action, it's God's word, it's God's job to perform, and he's the performer, amen. And he backs up his word with action every time on our behalf. All we have to do is make room for him, amen. And put them first Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:So lift up your hands and receive the word of God tonight. Lord, what an honor it is to share your word with your people, your smiling, happy faces. Lord, I just thank you that we do have action. We have your wisdom backing us up by faith in our faith. When we step out by faith, we're speaking faith and we're acting in your wisdom. We have your knowledge, and your wisdom is applying that knowledge in everything that we say and everything that we do, lord, it's all tied together, our walk of faith and, lord, we just thank you that we have your perspective in every area. All we have to do is ask, and that you're faithful to give it to us. You've already given it to us and we can walk in your godly wisdom and not miss a step, not miss a beat, know exactly who we need to come in contact with, because you're leading and guiding and directing us, lord, and we're able to steer people from their error and show people your way and your love, in Jesus' name, amen.