I'll Be Honest

James urges us not to blame God for our temptations, reminding us that God is the source of all good gifts. He contrasts the idea of God as a taker with the reality of God as a giver, emphasizing the importance of gratitude and perspective in our relationship with Him. Is it not glorious that God sent His only Son to save us sinners!

(00:00) How does the logic of James 1 fit together?

(03:49) Stop blaming God and start thanking God

(05:41) Do you realize all that God has given you?

(09:34) No shadow of turning with the LORD?

(12:38) Verse 18: He brought us forth?

(18:16) If I am saved, who gets the credit?

(48:32) This is Christianity!

(51:17) Closing prayer

I’m going to pray. And then after I pray, we’re going to have our sister Ginaphr share her testimony. Hopefully, the babies will be okay. After that, we’re going to go out and baptize our sister Ginaphr. I realize some of you might wonder why, since Ginaphr is already a member of our church and has been baptized. She’s going to share her story about what God has done in her life before we step outside to baptize her again. So, brethren, let me pray, and then we’ll give our sister that opportunity.

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Good morning, church. As he said, I’m here to share my testimony with you. I know that might be shocking to some of you; it was to me as well. I’ll just start from the beginning. I grew up going to church before I could even walk, with my grandparents. There wasn’t ever really a time when I didn’t at least know, in my head, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. However, looking back, there wasn’t any real understanding or teaching about sin, about how great God really is, and how He sees our sin.....

One of the reasons I’m standing here tonight, beyond Craig being ill, is because today is May 29th. Twenty-two years ago at 7:18 Eastern Daylight Time, we were sitting in Trinity Missionary Church in Petoskey, Michigan, having just gotten the call. About 12 hours before that, our son had died. Craig wanted me to talk a little bit about that, this being the anniversary. I want to talk about three things related to this: prayer, providence, and comfort.

I know a lot of you have never seen a picture of him. We don’t have many pictures of John, but we do have one that has been enhanced a little for us and made clear. You can see it on the TVs. That was not too long before he died. He was 19 when he died. I won’t go into the story about how all the things led up to the prayer that I prayed, where I prayed, “God, if you need to break me to use me, break me.” Well, a month later, John died.

There is a difference between the despondency of a believer, and the despondency of an unbeliever. A desponding believer still has faith. It only needs to be brought into lively exercise, and his despondency will melt away. He becomes desponding, because he has lost sight of the objects of faith, and has fixed his thoughts upon himself and his sins. Let the matters of faith be brought up before his mind, and they are realities to him,—unquestionable realities. He only needs to keep his eye upon them.

This parable is generally known as the parable of the prodigal son, but it may also be called the parable of the running father, or again it could be referred to as the parable of the two lost brothers. There were, you remember, two groups listening to Jesus’ preaching. There was a crowd of immoral men, careless about the law of God, men like the traitorous tax collectors. The first son symbolically represented those men, morally loose and marginalized, the under-class of Galilee, the sexually promiscuous, the scandalous and the drunkards. Then there was the other group, who were righteous both in their own eyes and in the eyes of their neighbours. These were the religious leaders of the land, men such as the Pharisees, the leaders of the network of synagogues and legal experts concerning the meaning of rabbinic traditions, self-appointed guardians of public decency. I am saying that this second class of men is represented to us symbolically by the older brother. He is introduced to us at this juncture by our Lord. The only other reference even to his existence we find in the opening words of the parable, “There was a man who had two sons” (v.11), but subsequently there’s been no mention of this older boy until now in verse 26.

The audio of this sermon is from Geoff sermon preached on May 19, 2024 at Grace Reformed Baptist Church. The transcript is from when he preached in 2011.

In James 1:12-16, the passage highlights the blessedness of those who endure trials, emphasizing the eventual reward of eternal life promised to those who remain steadfast in their faith. It warns against attributing temptation to God, affirming that temptation arises from one's own desires rather than divine influence. The progression from desire to sin to death underscores the seriousness of succumbing to temptation, urging believers not to be deceived but to remain vigilant in their faith.

0:00 - Introduction

1:50 - Teaching on James is tougher than it would appear on the forefront.

3:34 - God can't be tempted with evil?

6:37 - Temptation, tested, peirasmos?

9:33 - Why am I doing this word study?

11:13 - Trial versus being tempted to sin?

14:54 - What does peirasmos lead to in both cases?

15:30 - First—the positive view of peirasmos.

21:46 - Second—the negative sense of the word.

22:42 - Is the desire for sex a bad desire?

29:53 - Notice "fully grown" in verse 15.

31:35 - Let us combine together the positive and the negative views of this word being used.

37:18 - A list of the ways we blame God for our sin.

46:31 - We must be steadfast!

47:22 - Are you unmerciful?

59:24 - Not purposely sinning in a day?

1:01:40 - Closing prayer.

I especially want to speak to those of you who are currently using God's sovereignty against yourself. And I say against yourself, because that's exactly what you're doing. If your reasoning is like this: "Well, God's sovereign, and you know he chooses whom he will, so I can't do anything. He's going to have to do it. It's all I've got to wait for him to do it, you see. I mean, I can't save myself. If I'm going to be saved, he must save me. I mean, he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will. He'll show compassion. He elects some, and some he doesn't. And so God's got to do this thing."

Tim Conway | Series: James, Part 3 | Believer, though you may be lowly in this world, do you rejoice in the great riches that await you in paradise with Christ? While the world may pursue what they believe brings true honor in this life, we must remain steadfast, enduring trials and suffering, honoring the Lord.

(0:00) Introduction

(0:59) Notice the emphasis on having joy in the book of James.

(6:28) First—consider the lowly brother.

(14:32) Charles Spurgeon on who is truly honored before God.

(28:32) Ephesians 2 tells us of the great height to which those who are lowly will be exalted.

(37:19) God’s Word shows us that we possess the greatest riches in the universe.

(39:35) Second—consider the rich…

(46:51) How do we define wealth?

(52:19) Third—consider the man who remains steadfast under trial.

(57:52) Closing prayer

Jimmy Downing | 8:12 | Excerpt (from The Substitutionary Sacrifice: Jesus Paid It All) | Jesus Christ crushed the head of the serpent, yet Isaiah 53 states that God the Father crushed Christ—Christ was bruised so that the serpent's head would be bruised. Through the Savior bearing this condemnation for us and then rising again, we have received life and escaped the wrath to come. Glory to God!

Believer, do you consistently seek wisdom from the LORD? Wisdom encompasses more than just knowledge; it entails the righteous application of knowledge in one's life. You don't have any wisdom if you know the right way and you don't go down it. Believer, we need to diligently pursue wisdom, as it forms the foundation for making righteous decisions and leading a life that pleases God.

0:00 Introduction

3:29 Who Should Be the Wisest People on Earth?

7:26 What Is Wisdom?

15:14 Tim's Definition of Wisdom After Considering the Context of Scripture

32:40 Wisdom or Weightlifting?

34:45 The First Motive for Asking for Wisdom Is Need

42:17 God Does Not Reprove You for Coming to Him for Wisdom

49:58 James Now Warns Us Against Doubt