How do you handle wealth and temptations?

James: A Christian's Guide To Living From Jesus • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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Good morning and welcome to CCC. Last night a few of us were blessed to go to the Faith and Feathers wild game feed. It was such a blessing to spend an evening with so many believers from different area churches and walks of life. There were kids having a great time playing together. The food was wild....hahahahahaha....the desserts were amazing. Wonderful hanging out with family, brothers and sisters in Christ. A glimpse of heaven!

I also want to take a moment to congratulate our very own Sydnee Baldwin who, along with 4 other teammates, qualified for the state wrestling tournament in two weeks. Sydnee had to overcome adversity yesterday and she did just that. What a platform to shine your light for Jesus.....go get ‘em girl! Win or lose your family and I here at CCC love you favorite wrestler!

Let’s Pray

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We are continuing in our sermon series James: A Christian’s Guide To Living From Jesus

I truly pray that you are spending time studying the sections we cover each week in your secret place time.

I pray you are allowing the Holy Spirit to search your heart and show you what you need to do or stop doing

I pray you are receiving edification from the Holy Spirit as He shows you the things you are doing well and encourages you to continue

I pray you realize that it is all from and by the power of Jesus!

If you didn’t grab a notes sheet please feel free to do so now. They are located by the communion cups. If we are out please let me know and I will get you one after service. Speaking of communion, Brother James great job today. I know God grew you this week as you searched for what He wanted you to bring this morning! Love ya brother

This series could help you grow closer to Jesus

This series could help you move from milk to meat

This series could help you move much deeper into meat

This series could drastically change how you look at

how you approach

and how you live your life

Or it could just be something you do and you get zero growth from it

It all depends on you and your willingness to hear the Word of God proclaimed and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you

You must surrender to the Holy Spirit and follow His guidance in how to apply what you He teaches you as you either become or continue being doers of the Word and not hearers only

You will notice new Bibles in the pew. The elders decided that we needed to remove the NIV bibles as we feel that is a translation that has added to and taken away from the Word of God.

You will find KJV, King James Version and NLT, New Living Translation Bibles in the pews. Again I don’t like getting into version debates because all versions of the Bible were translated by men so therefore translation errors will happen but we felt led to remove the NIV and place the KJV and NLT. If you don’t have a Bible please grab one of those or if you have your own bible or if you use your phone or device with a Bible app please turn to

James 1:9–18

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9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

I am going to break this up into 4 points this morning

It all goes together, in fact all of chapter 1 goes together continuing to build upon itself

1. Love Jesus Not Wealth vs 9-11

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Today and throughout history the love of money and wealth has caused so many to hear away from me I never knew you when they meet Jesus face to face

Money and wealth of themselves are not evil or sins

Christians can be wealthy. Not all Christians who are wealthy love money and wealth

It is a much harder spiritual walk because it is easy to depend on your money and wealth instead of God.

Matthew 19:24

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“And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Being rich and wealthy, which compared to the rest of the world each one of us here and online this morning are rich and wealthy

We were blessed to be born into the western world and those watching from the USA were blessed to be born here.

We are wealthy and God expects us to handle that in a manner that glorifies Him and helps others. Period.

Being wealthy and living Godly and truly trusting in God and not us and our wealth

Takes effort

It take sacrifice

It take surrendering to the Holy Spirit and loving Jesus not your money and wealth

This world doesn’t matter

Physical possessions don’t matter

Wealth doesn’t matter

None of that matters in eternity

God cares about spiritual wealth and nothing about physical wealth

The problem is the world and physical possessions and wealth and the love of them more than the love of Jesus can have a horrible impact on your eternity and send you to hell!

Love Jesus and not wealth

2. Enduring Temptation and Trials vs 12

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Last week we looked at how to count all temptations and trials and persecutions joy because we understand the process

God is growing you

God is maturing you

This goes right along with that

Endure

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation

Why

Not because God loves to see us suffer

Not because as Christians we are called to love and enjoy pain

No because enduring and finishing equals receiving the crown of life

The start of a race is important but winners and losers are determined at the finish line

2 Timothy 4:6–8

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“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Men who attended Men’s Breakfast yesterday, thank you for attending and you are welcome for the head start here…hahahahahaha

Finished my course

Kept the faith

Finish is so important and the only way to finish is to endure

I want to for just a minute chase what God laid on my heart for the men at men’s breakfast yesterday

You each have a course

You each have a race

You each have hand crafted work to do for God

Are you on the course

Are you running the race

Are you carrying out that work

How do you achieve this

Hebrews 12:1–3

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“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

Look to Jesus

That is how you endure

Look at His example

Look at His strength

Realize He lives in you

You have that same strength and endurance if you rely upon Him

Jesus knew the cost of salvation

He knew what it would take

and yet He came and paid that cost for each of you and me

Jesus knew the very people He created would reject Him, remember

John 1:3

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“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Jesus made all things including you and me and those who rejected Him as He walked the earth

His own creation would beat Him

Spit upon Him

Call Him all kinds of names

Laugh at Him

Be offended by Him

Nail Him to a tree, which He also created, so that He could take their sins, your sin, my sin, the sin of the whole world upon His holy, perfect body so that His blood could be shed to pay for those sins

He endured God looking away from Him when He became that sin

That is what He endured for you and me

Why

For the joy set before Him of returning to His Father

The same joy that as Christians you and I have

That is how you endure

3. God doesn’t tempt you vs 13-16

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I hear all the time

Why is God tempting me?

God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth He any man

God hates evil

God doesn’ t look upon evil, that is why He looked away from Jesus when Jesus became your sin and my sin

God doesn’t look upon evil, let alone tempt you with evil

God doesn’t tempt you

He gave you free will so therefore allows us to be tempted but God never tempts

I also hear a lot

The devil made me do it

The devil also doesn’t have the power to make you do anything

The devil made me do it is not true and is a copout

an excuse

a justification for your bad decision and sin

The devil made me do it is not scriptural

Look at how God explains the process of temptation

James 1:14

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“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”

You are tempted by your own lust and evil desires

The sin you struggle with comes from inside of you

There is no one to blame but you

It is not God

It is not the devil

It is not your parents or your upbringing

It is not your past

It is not your addiction

It is not anything but your lust

your evil desire that comes from within you

That is where temptations come from....YOU

and until you stand on scripture you will continue to fall to that lust and sin

James 1:15

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“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Period

You can call temptation what you want

You can claim that temptation comes from God

You can claim that temptation comes from the devil

You can claim temptation is your parents fault or your upbringing or whatever other excuse you want to shove in there

You can claim those things but you are wrong

James 1:16

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“Do not err, my beloved brethren.”

James just said do get this wrong

You have just heard a spiritual truth stand on it

Quit making excuses for your sin and realize your sin comes from your temptations which come from your evil lusts and desires inside of you

How do you do you defeat temptation and your lust and evil desires?

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2 Corinthians 10:3–5

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“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Again it is all about perspective and understanding

You walk in the flesh

You feel things in the flesh

Your weapons and warfare are not fleshly but spiritual

Your power and victory is God

but you have to stand on scripture

You must take those evil

lustful

desires and thoughts captive

When a thought comes, which they will

You are lying if you say you do not have evil thoughts every day

Anything that is not glorifying God is evil by the way

When those thoughts come you take them captive

How do you do that

You isolate them

You compare them to scripture, which is why you need to know scripture and be in scripture every day

If they match scripture you keep them

If they are against scripture you cast them away

Many of my prayers everyday are Father take this thought from me

it is evil and I am tempted please remove it from me and He does

Sin begins as a thought

Temptation is always a thought

If you hang on to that thought it will grow into sin and sin into death

Cast it away

Don’t err my brothers and sisters

1 John 4:4

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“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Jesus is the power to overcome your thought life

Jesus allows you to take those thoughts captive and make them obey scripture or cast them out

You have overcome because of Jesus if you are a Christian this morning

STAND ON SCRIPTURE

Finally this morning

4. Every good and perfect gift is from God vs 17

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Do you truly live your life with this perspective?

Anything good in your life is from God

All good gifts

all perfect gifts

come from God

Syd being a state qualifier is a gift from God

2 things I believe we need to glean from this

God is our perfect Father and wants the best for us

Matthew 7:11

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“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Jesus tells us that we, who are evil by nature know how to give good gifts

How much more will a perfect Father give good gifts

God is good

God loves you

Do you thank Him?

Second

Mark 10:18

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“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Any good in you is God

In fact the only good in you is God

The only good in your life comes from God

It is not a coincidence

It is not luck

it is not the result of hard work

it is not the universe giving back or whatever other junk you want to believe

The only good in your life is from God!

Period

All good gifts come from God

Are you recognizing that fact?

Do you truly thank God for good gifts?

Do you praise Him out loud when good things happen?

If not shame on you and I pray the Holy Spirit convicts you and changes you from the inside out!

This morning you have heard some big, hard truths

Truth that must change us to the core

Truth that, if you allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and apply in your life will not only change your life but the lives of those around you

The question is

Are you in?

Now is the time to respond to whatever God is doing in you or saying to you right now!

Come.

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