Sermon Tone Analysis

“*LED BY THE SPIRIT DURING THE TRIAL*”

                     (A Series on the Book of James)

 

Westgate Chapel 10~/10~/04                                       James 1:1-4

 

Proposition:      Pure and undefiled religion is being led by the Holy Spirit during the trial.

! i.    introduction

!! -     FIVE times in the Epistle of James, the brother of Jesus, the senior elder of the First Christian Church of Jerusalem….NT Church headquarters….warns the first generation of Christians, spread out all over the world, not to be deceived.

!!! ~*     In James 1:16, the warning is about the deception of playing around the edges of temptation.

!!! ~*     In James 1:22, the warning has to do with the deception of hearing but not doing the Word of God.

!!! ~*     In James 1:26, James addresses the deception of not having control over what comes out of your mouth.

!!! ~*     In James 4:13, the warning is about the deception of making plans for the future based on the strength of your possessions or position, without consideration of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your life.

!!! ~*     And lastly, James 5:19, warns about the deception of straying from the truth (isn’t it interesting that the Word of God has no problem using the reference point of absolute Truth).

!! -     IN each of these five verses either the actual Greek word for deception is used, or some derivative.

!! -     THESE are first generation Pentecostal Christians James is writing to.

!! -     IT is fairly safe to say that in those early days the vast majority of Christians were baptized in the Holy Spirit, as the Book of Acts records.

!! -     SO, why are their regenerated, Spirit-baptized hearts even vulnerable to deception…which is usually followed close behind by outright sin?

!! -     WHAT would make them vulnerable to deception?

!! -     ONE thing!

Write this down!

!! -     “BEING conformed to the world exposes me to deception.”

!! -     HOW?

!! -     BECAUSE when, as a Christian, your heart, your desires, and your lifestyle are conformed to (shaped, molded by) the world, you grieve the Holy Spirit.

!!!       “*And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption*.”

(Ephesians 4:30)

!! -     THAT word, grieve, means: to offend, to hurt, to make uneasy and sorrowful.

!! -     WHEN you grieve the Holy Spirit continually without repentance, you face the grave danger of Him withdrawing His presence and gracious influences….the

opposite of the immersion in God that accompanies Spirit baptism.

!! -     AND when the Holy Spirit withdraws, you are still a Christian, but are no longer being led by the Spirit…and you might as well paint a bull’s-eye on your forehead for the Devil.

!! -     YOU are a prime target for deception.

!! -     THAT is why the apostle Paul writes, in Romans 12:1-2,

                           “*I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, /which is/ your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world*…”

!! -     SO, your best antidote against deception, is to not be conformed to the world…and *instead be led by the Spirit*.

!! -     AND the epistle of James is the mirror in which to gaze….to

see how your reflection matches with the life led by the Spirit.

!! -     ROMANS 8:14 says those who,

!!!       “…*are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons [and daughters] of God*.”

!! -     SO, let’s pick up the mirror and take a look at the first four verses of James chapter 1.

! ii.

LED by the spirit

!! -     JAMES 1:1 opens with (NIV),

!!!       “*James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings*.”

!! -     JAMES is written about 60 AD…in other words, about 30 years into the life of the New Testament church.

!! -     THE epistle is written primarily to Jewish Christians, many of whom had, at first, been members of the church right there in Jerusalem…but had been scattered throughout the Roman empire due to persecution (Acts 8:1).

!! -     AS the Senior Pastor of the church in Jerusalem, it had been easier for James to watch over the souls and spiritual temperature of the new Christians when they were….

!!! ~*     …meeting every day in homes for fellowship and being accountable to each other.

!!! ~*     …studying the apostle’s teaching together.

!!! ~*     …holding regular prayer meetings.

!!! ~*     …praising God.

!!! ~*     …having favor with the people.

(Acts 2:42-47).

!! -     BUT now the severe persecution against them in Jerusalem had scattered most of them throughout the empire…and they were facing incredible hardships and opposition of every kind.

!! -     AND without the mutual strength of being together right there in Jerusalem…many of them were being pressured into conformity with the world.

!! -     THEY had seen and known plenty of the power of this Holy Spirit baptism that launched the New Testament Church…but James wants them to know that this Spirit baptism is as much about being Spirit led as it is about gifts and manifestations.

!! -     SO, Pastor James picks up his pen to write a letter that will be distributed throughout the empire and will be read to Christians with great weight and authority because of who he is and the position and respect he has.

!! -     AND, in the first four verses, God shows us three images in the mirror of the Spirit-led life…and all three have to do with how you and I live when we are going through various trials!

!!  

!! 1.   *A BOND-SERVANT OF GOD AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST*.

!! -     THE first image in the mirror comes from the elder~/pastor himself and has to do with how he sees himself…his self-identity in the Spirit.

!! -     FIRST of all, think with me about how he could have viewed himself and introduced himself in this letter.

!!! ~*     The senior elder~/pastor of the founding Church of the Christian movement.

!!! ~*     The brother of our Lord.

He could have claimed close to equality with Jesus since he was Jesus’ brother.

!!! ~*     The Right Reverend Dr of the international headquarters church….the

first church of Jerusalem.

!!! ~*     Chairman and chief negotiator of the first council in Jerusalem (Acts 15).

!! -     ISN’T that how the world thinks?

Isn’t that how the world operates?

!! -     ESPECIALLY for the male of the species, it is all about position, promotion, titles, press agents, and image…and the impression we make.

!! -     LISTEN, if any letter going out to the churches needed clout this one did….so

why not open up the letter, especially for the benefit of those who might not have known James, with the big impressive titles?

!! -     BUT James is not conformed to the world and its love for titles and influence.

Instead, James is being led by the Spirit, so he opens his letter with…

!!!       “*James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ*.”

(NASB)

!! -     A BONDSERVANT.

Definition: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition.

A slave; one who gives himself up to another’s will.

Devoted to another, to the disregard of one’s own interests.

A servant, an attendant.

!! -     THAT is how a Spirit-led Christian views himself or herself.

!! -     A BONDSERVANT…

!!! ~*     is someone who, given the opportunity voluntarily takes the low position.

!!! ~*     is someone who has voluntarily laid down his~/her own interests and agenda.

!!! ~*     is someone who has committed himself without reservation to the interests of his~/her master.

!!! ~*     is someone who lives to serve God, your spouse, your family, the people of God.

!! -     (HOLD UP mirror!)

!! -     THIS is what people look like who are led by the Sprit.

!! -     HOW do you look by comparison?

Or has the world been squeezing you into its shape on this issue?

!! -     IT will set you up for all kinds of deception.

!! -     PHILIPPIANS 2:6-7 says about Jesus,

!!!       “*Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness*…”

!!  

!! 2.   *FACING ALL KINDS OF TRIALS WITH JOY*.

!! -     LET’S move on to the second image I see from the mirror of the first four verses of James 1…a reflection of being led by the Spirit.

!! -     AT the time James writes this epistle all hell is breaking loose around him and the Jewish Christians dispersed in the empire.

!!! ~*     Nero is emperor of the Rome and is shifting the blame of his own ineptitude and abysmal record off himself and on to the Christians.

!!! ~*     Persecution against Christians is not wide spread yet, but it is breaking out in pockets here and there.

!!! ~*     The apostle Paul has been arrested in Jerusalem and is sitting in prison in Rome.

!!! ~*     The economy of the empire is in bad shape and there is unrest everywhere.

!!! ~*     Every Christian is being forced to declare “Caesar is Lord” or face unemployment and starvation….at

best.

Execution at worst.