WEBVTT 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.599 We exist to awaken this generation to a new life in Christ. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.039 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.399 To find out more, go to awakeningchurch.com. 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:18.160 All right. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:19.679 Well, this morning I'm excited. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:22.480 We're kicking off this series called Resilient. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:29.440 We'll actually be spending the next four weeks in this idea of being a resilient people. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.439 In fact, the people of God, the church, has always been resilient in times of crisis. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.799 And it has to do back to our solid foundation that we have in Jesus. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:49.759 And really, this idea of resiliency, just the definition, is the ability to withstand or recover from a difficult situation. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:51.840 And isn't that what we need right now? 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:57.679 The ability to withstand in this season or to recover in this difficult situation. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:01.200 Well, we're diving back into the book of James. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:03.840 And here's what's great about the book of James. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:15.760 I love James, and it's an incredibly practical book, but you might not understand that they were in the midst of their own COVID reality as well, that he's writing to. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:18.480 See, James is the half-brother of Jesus. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:23.200 He didn't come to really believe in Jesus until after the resurrection. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:28.000 And after that, he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:33.439 Well, the church in Jerusalem started experiencing intense persecution. 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:37.840 Stephen was stoned right there in the city and killed. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:45.760 And then a wave of persecution from Jerusalem began to spread and hit the followers of Jesus. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:02:03.439 And so these followers now, instead of being all located in Jerusalem, worshiping together in their homes, they had their own shelter-in-place reality where they couldn't gather, but they were scattered, they were separated, and they were actually had their entire life upended. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:10.479 And now instead of finding community, they were now being ostracized and isolated and alone. 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:12.080 And this is the letter. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:24.159 In fact, the very first letter and writing we have of the New Testament is written about 40 to 45 AD, just about 10 years or so after the resurrection of Jesus. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:39.360 This is the letter in the context that James is writing to us in our COVID reality of how to be resilient in the face of difficult situations, in the face of storms. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:48.080 In fact, next week we're going to look at resiliency in light of, you know, how do you respond to destructive emotions? 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:52.319 And part three, we're going to look at resiliency and our response to God's word. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.680 Part four then is like, okay, what does everyday life resiliency really look like? 00:02:57.840 --> 00:02:59.280 How do we live this out? 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:01.199 And this morning's so important. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:14.400 I hope you just set down the distractions for a few minutes and you just tune in and keep your eyes focused and your heart attentive, because I think this is really an important sermon today. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.639 We're talking about resiliency in the face of temptation. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:30.400 See, one of the biggest things that will determine your resiliency in this situation is how you respond to temptation. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:43.520 One of the biggest things that will determine your resiliency, your ability to withstand this difficult situation, your ability to bounce back is how you respond to temptation. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.599 And isn't it true? 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:52.400 Isn't it true that everything seems to be magnified right now? 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:02.400 Like maybe it's with your marriage and the problems in your marriage now, in light of this shelter in place, reality has been magnified, hasn't it? 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:13.520 Maybe it's uh emotional stuff in your life that you're wrestling with, and maybe you have anxiety or some of these sort of things, and and it just magnifies it. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:21.360 Maybe there's habits in your life that um are bad habits, and they have been magnified. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:27.120 And it's true, isn't it true that temptations have been magnified? 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:32.639 We're no longer, you know, have the things that keep us, you know, so focused and driven. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:42.720 And for some, the temptations have that once were minor or not a big of a deal, have now become overwhelming, haven't they? 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.639 Or they have taken over for some your life. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.199 And so we want to wrestle with this question today. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.959 What do I do when temptation knocks? 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.600 What do you do when temptation knocks at your door? 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:01.759 Why? 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.680 Because temptation's knocking way more often, it seems, in this season. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:16.639 I remember when I was a young man, especially as a college student, um, I really battled with lust. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.959 And it's not like I've don't battle with it today, it's just a different battle now. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:40.639 But I remember being so defeated, and I wrestled with this because I what I found in my own life is the minute I gave way in a moment, maybe you've had this experience, the minute I gave way in a moment to lust, it it just felt like that backslide became a landslide. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:46.079 Like I just gave way in that moment, and it wasn't just that moment, but it was the after effects. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:06:06.639 It was like I took that step forward, and then all of a sudden everything else fell down uh behind me, and it just felt like I just became got caught up into a whole world, and then I would feel so guilty and bad, and be but I'd be stuck in it, and then finally I'd be going to God help, and I'd do and I'd go through this cycle and I'd just be have this backslide become a landslide. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:15.519 So I started to ask this question how do I keep a backslide from becoming a landslide in my life? 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:21.279 How do you keep a backslide from becoming a landslide? 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:33.279 James is gonna give us four things that that are gonna help us respond to temptation, to be resilient in the face of temptation. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.959 If you got your Bibles, would you open them up to James chapter 1, verse 13? 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:41.839 James chapter 1, verse verse, uh there we go. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:43.439 Verse 13. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:48.720 Uh James is gonna tell us, okay, what do I do when temptation knocks? 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:53.279 The first thing he's gonna say is recognize the source of temptation. 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:56.800 Hey, hey, pay attention, recognize the source or the root of it. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:57.839 Listen to what he says. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:03.600 When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:08.959 No one should say, when I'm in the middle of that moment, God, you're tempting me, you're behind this. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:09.759 Why? 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.800 For God cannot be tempted by evil. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:15.360 It's impossible for God to be corrupted. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:17.519 He's morally pure by evil. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.120 He can't be tempted, nor does he tempt anyone. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:26.319 It's not in his nature to put anything in front that would cause you to stumble. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:31.519 But each person is tempted when they are dragged away. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:34.800 Underline that word if you got your Bible or highlight it maybe in your phone. 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.879 Dragged away by their own evil desires. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:43.279 Would you go ahead and circle own evil desires? 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:48.240 But each person is dragged away by their own evil desires and entice. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:51.920 And go ahead and underline that word, entice. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.600 How do I keep a backslide from becoming a landslide? 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.560 James is going to say first we have to recognize the source of temptation. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:05.759 But before we talk about the source of temptation, let's talk about the nature of temptation. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:14.000 The nature of temptation, James actually uses two words here that give us great understanding into what temptation really is. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:18.000 He uses the word I had you underline, dragged away and then enticed. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.000 These are words taken from the hunting and fishing arena. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:36.720 Dragged away is the trap set by a um a hunter that's you know getting out in the woods and he's gonna disguise it and set a trap to catch his prey, and then entice is the word of a fishing lure. 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:41.279 And I think this gives us such profound insight into temptation. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.200 In fact, I got a couple lures here for you. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:46.799 My buddy Connor brought these for me. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.159 I don't know if you can see it at all, but here I'll get it close enough. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.240 I don't know if even that helped. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:54.480 But these lures here. 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.000 So let me let's just talk about temptation for a second. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:09.600 Okay, he gives the picture of a lure and says, Okay, temptation is just like this lure, meaning, first, it's handcrafted for your desires. 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.519 This lure was crafted and created for a certain type of fish. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.320 And it's going to be put in the water and it's crafted. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.240 Maybe it's a bass or maybe it's a trout. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:20.879 Obviously, I'm not a fisherman, so I don't know. 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:26.320 But what's interesting, what's interesting is there's a bunch of lures out there. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:31.039 This is a different type of lure to attract different types of fish. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:33.840 And this is, he's saying, you know what? 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:39.120 There are temptations out there that are handcrafted specifically for your desires. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:46.240 It's made to go, hey, if this doesn't get you, and all of us have just a little bit different lure that's attractive. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:52.000 And for some, you might be wrestling, it might be a temptation for you that isn't for another person. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:59.840 And it's going like, okay, there's a tackle box, if you will, that the our spiritual enemy has that he wants to just throw these lures in front of you. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:07.360 The second is if you notice about a lure, is it's designed, um, it's really designed to be attractive and appealing. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:09.679 Can we just say that about temptation? 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:13.759 Because I think sometimes, you know, we kind of look like, oh, I shouldn't, or what? 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.159 Well, it's designed to be tasty. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.919 A fish bites into this because it looks attractive and it's appealing. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:28.159 It's like, oh my gosh, it's got all this silvery stuff that catches your eye that makes you go, I want to throw cash in the wind and try that out. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:29.519 It looks tasty. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:34.399 The second thing, if you notice about a lure, is it looks and moves like the real thing. 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.879 See, it tricks a fish. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:40.960 And so this is actually another minnow or whatever that is bait. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.279 It's moving in the water in a way that looks and moves like the real thing. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:51.600 And that's the subtlety and this deception of temptation is it looks and moves like the real thing. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.159 And it offers what it can't make good on. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.320 And here's the final thing: all temptation comes with these hooks. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.559 They all come with a catch. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.360 See, it's handcrafted for your desire, it's appealing and attractive. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.159 It looks and moves like it's the real thing, but it's fake. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.840 It's not really going to satisfy, it's not ultimately going to gratify. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:18.799 And it comes with these hooks that the minute you bite into it, it sinks deep into your soul. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.559 He says, This is the nature of temptation. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:35.279 And I think it's important, the reason why James starts here on temptation is because we're most vulnerable in three different arenas in our life to temptation. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.679 We're most vulnerable to temptation when we're tired. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.320 A lot of you are tired right now, aren't you? 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:48.480 Parents, I know you're exhausted as you're trying to do work and you're trying to help educate your kids. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:56.960 I know people's work has been off the chart and we're running around and just you're tired of the way things are going. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:04.240 When we're tired emotionally, when we're tired physically, when we're when we're tired spiritually, we're vulnerable. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:07.679 We're vulnerable when we're isolated and alone. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.639 And we're literally isolated right now. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.879 And so we have to be alert, we have to be aware that we're we're vulnerable. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:16.320 That's why we need community. 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:18.799 We're going to talk more about that in a minute. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:21.200 And we're vulnerable when we're stressed. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:35.600 And what we do when we're stressed is we often shift from the things in our life that are life-giving or nourishing to things that are numbing, just to kind of like take the pain away. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:40.240 See, James says we need to recognize the source of temptation. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.960 Well, that's a little bit about the nature of temptation. 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:44.159 What is the source? 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:45.120 Did you notice it? 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:46.559 I had you circle it. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.840 He says, our desires. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:51.679 It's our desires. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:59.919 He says, at the end of the day, it's actually inside of us, there's a broken reality inside of us, and that's the root issue. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:06.480 And our human tendency since the beginning of time is to blame others for our own sin. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:13.679 You're like, yeah, there might have been a lure out there, but at the end of it, it's me that wanted to bite into it. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.919 It's me that responded to it. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:19.279 And what we do is we cast blame. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:22.159 It's been happening since the garden. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:29.840 Adam did this, and he was confronted with his sin before God and says, you know, as he, you know, took from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:33.840 And God asked him, you know, who told you that you're naked? 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:34.559 Did you eat this? 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.759 And he says, The woman you gave me. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.039 You see how he blamed God for his sin? 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:46.320 And ultimately, anytime we don't take responsibility, we actually end up blaming God. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.440 A lot of times I hear it this way. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:52.799 Well, God just made me this way. 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.240 This is just who I am. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.279 God just made me this way. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:00.320 And so, you know what? 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.000 Life's really difficult. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:07.840 So I'm entitled to do whatever I want in this season just to make it a little bit more pleasurable. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.639 And we just put blame out there. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.000 And he says, no, no, no. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:20.240 If you want to be resilient in this season, you first have to recognize the source of temptation. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:23.279 He says, We have no one to blame. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:25.519 We have no one to blame. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.639 You can't blame God, you can't put it on anyone else. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:29.919 We have no one to blame. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.240 It's our broken desires. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:36.240 We have to accept responsibility. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:42.080 As long as you keep blaming, you will not gain victory over your temptation, friends. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:49.279 As long as you keep blaming and say it's out there, it's over them, then you will never experience the victory God has for you. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:54.960 And so he says, no, no, recognize, recognize the source of temptation and say, I'm going to take responsibility. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.080 I have nobody to blame. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.600 And then he says, address the progression of temptation. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:04.320 And he says this, then after desire has conceived, watch this progression. 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.080 It gives birth to sin. 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.840 And sin, when it's full grown, gives birth to death. 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:13.519 Desire, sin, death. 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:16.720 Desire, sin, death. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.320 Now it's important for some of you, you need to hear this. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:27.919 When desire is conceived, when you're first tempted, when that lure is just set out there, that's not sin. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:37.519 Some have believed a lie, and you get you end up in that backslide to landslide because the minute you get tempted, you feel defeated. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.759 And and and so already you're like, well, I might as well go all the way. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:43.200 No, no, no, no, no, stop. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.000 There's a progression. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:45.759 Recognize the progression. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.919 When you're tempted, that's not sin. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.720 Sin is when you act on that temptation. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:55.679 Sin is there's desire, and then there's you act on that, that's sin. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:07.519 And then what happens is if you allow sin to grow, if you allow it to build in your life, ultimately what it will produce or what it will give way to is death. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:15.440 It will kill you, it will keep you from who you're made to be, and it will destroy the relationships around you. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.519 And here's what happens. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:25.440 Our natural, our natural is to dismiss or diminish sin, to act like it's no big deal. 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:26.000 We say that. 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.159 We go, well, it's not that big of a deal. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.320 It's not hurting anyone. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:35.200 It's just what I need to get through this. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:54.080 He says, okay, but would you say that when sin is full grown, when it becomes its adult version, which means it takes time and it's a process, and it starts small, and we feel like it's under control and it's just kind of hidden, it's kind of secret, and then it grows and grows and grows, and then it's out of our control. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:04.160 See, I think there's two important questions we need to ask here: the progression of sin and temptation. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:09.200 What does this sin full grown look like in your life? 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:10.640 Maybe it's lust. 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.599 What does it full grown look like? 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:25.119 Maybe it's lying, maybe it's gossip, maybe it's cheating, maybe it's an addiction, and right now it's just like coping to get by in this season. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:27.839 But what does it full grown look like? 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:33.200 And then the second question: what are the ultimate consequences? 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.599 When it's full grown, what are the ultimate consequences? 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.640 See, we buy into the myth that that could never happen to me. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:44.640 That would never happen to me. 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:45.680 I'd never do that. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:52.720 And the truth is, is that's the story of so many peoples whose lives have been broken and shipwrecked. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:54.960 That could never happen to me. 00:17:55.359 --> 00:18:08.160 I I learned so much from my dad growing up, and I remember him saying this because as a pastor, he saw other pastors who shipwrecked their life through moral failures. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:13.119 And he never wanted his story to end that way, his ministry to be undermined. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:27.599 And I remember him sharing, uh actually publicly teaching this uh as I was sitting listening to him, and and he would literally visualize this is what he said, he visualizes what the ultimate consequences of a moral failure would be. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:48.720 And so he had visualized and walk this through of having to sit his kids down and go into them and go, and you know, I'm his kid, so uh and going to us and just going, hey, dad's not gonna be around, seeing the uh visualizing the consequences of his marriage, losing the ministry that it gave his life to build. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:55.759 See, what happens is when we address the progression, we we all of a sudden become painfully aware of these hooks. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.400 The shiny doesn't look so attractive anymore. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:04.559 See, what do we do when temptation knocks? 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:09.599 We gotta recognize the source of temptation and then address the progression. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:15.680 We we gotta move beyond the moments and just go, okay, where is this headed? 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:21.279 And then he's gonna go on to say, identify the lie and bring it into the light. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.960 Identify the lie. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:29.039 Like get clear on what is the lie that we're buying into, and then bring it into light. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:33.359 That's why he says, and don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:36.799 Don't be duped, don't buy into the lie. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:47.039 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:55.680 See, most of us, I think, are not clear about the lies that we believe or have bought into. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:06.000 See, the root lie when it comes to temptation and the things we buy into is about God, his character, and his word. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:16.400 If you go all the way back to the garden when the enemy, uh Satan, the serpent, was, you know, tempting Eve, there's two main things that he wanted to undermine. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:20.160 He said, Did God really say you must not eat of the tree of knowledge, good and evil? 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.039 Did he really say it? 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.039 Wanting to undermine God's word. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:27.920 But fundamentally, what the enemy wants to do is undermine the character of God. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:32.079 God wants to keep you from the knowledge. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:42.480 I think at the root for us of sin and brokenness and temptation is a belief that God isn't good. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:50.400 It's always an attack on the goodness of God and that we can get good outside of God and his ways. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:58.079 So he says, every good and perfect gift is from your heavenly father who loves you. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.880 He wants, he does, he doesn't want to keep good from you. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.200 He wants only the very best for you. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.000 And and he's the father of heavenly lights. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:07.599 Like bring it into the light. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.440 He doesn't change like shifting shadows. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:10.559 He's not changing his mind. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:12.079 He's not inconsistent. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.799 Think about the character of God just in this text alone that James is telling us. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.559 One, that God cannot be tempted. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:19.839 He's morally pure. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:25.200 He doesn't tempt anyone, he's not putting things out to try to trip you up. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.119 He wants the very best for you. 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:30.000 He's the giver of every good and perfect gift. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:33.119 God doesn't change, he's absolutely consistent. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:38.480 In fact, in the next verse, we're going to see, he is the giver of new life, not death. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.440 See, sin bursts death, creates death. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:43.440 He wants to give you life. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:49.440 See, what we think is offering us a good and a way outside of God is actually creating great harm. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:53.599 God says, No, I just want you to experience life. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:22:00.640 And so and so identify the Lie. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:06.319 It's always an attack on the character of God and then bring it into the light. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.440 Nothing good grows in the dark, by the way. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:14.799 Secrets keep you and I stuck. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:19.519 As long as it stays a secret, you will remain a slave to it. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:22.000 Nothing good grows in the dark. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:24.559 You gotta bring it out into the light. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:34.720 And that's why James was saying in 516 a little bit later on, he'd say, confess your sins one to another and pray for each other that you may be healed. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.599 This is why we do community. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:44.480 This is why in COVID reality, SIP, shelter in place, you can't afford not to do community. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.599 That you need to sign up for that on that connection card. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:56.640 You need to join us at one o'clock for our awakening virtual, you know, introduction so that you can engage, get into community. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.720 You were never intended to do this life on your own. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:10.480 And in community of believers who love you and are for you, you bring the real you and say, This is where I'm at. 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:11.759 Would you help me? 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.119 He says, in that process, God brings healing. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.079 Would you identify the lie and bring it into the light? 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.200 Well, you're asking, well, I don't know what exactly to bring into the light. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.759 Well, let me give you maybe a little litmus test. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:29.920 Is there anything in your life that you wouldn't want your wife to find out about or your husband to find out about? 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:36.240 Is there anything in your life that you wouldn't want your parents to find out about? 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:42.960 Is there anything in your life that you wouldn't want your friends or your mentors to find out about? 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:44.480 We'll put it a little differently. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:48.400 Is there anything in your life that you wouldn't want your pastor to find out about? 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:54.559 That's probably the areas where you'd say, Man, God, bring that into the light. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:59.680 Get a trusted friend who loves Jesus who can walk with you through that. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:05.200 And some, I think, just even as we're talking, I want to give a little word of hope in this moment. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:13.359 Because I think if you're anything like me in that college kid, you just felt so defeated. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:15.680 And you felt like this will never change. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:19.200 You feel like you're the only one going through this. 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:27.839 And the apostle Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 10, 13, no temptation has overtaken you or seized you except what's common to mankind. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:30.640 See, we've all been in this, we're all going through this. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:32.559 We're all struggling. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.079 And God is faithful. 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:37.200 He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:38.240 He is faithful. 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:39.920 He's going to meet you right in that moment. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:44.640 If you would just recognize instead of running from God in the middle of that moment, you bring him into it. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:51.359 But when you're tempted, he'll also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:57.119 And it's often the community of God around you that is his way out for you. 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:03.519 Okay, so what do we do when we're when temptation knocks? 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:13.279 Recognize the source, address the progression, identify the lie, bring it into the light, and finally, we need to remember what is true of you in Christ Jesus. 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:20.319 You gotta remember, you gotta reorient your life back to what is fundamentally, foundationally true of you. 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:32.000 He says this, He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be kind, be a kind of first fruits of all He created. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:33.599 He chose, think about this. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:35.119 God chose you. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.400 It wasn't just like, man, I I've just kind of got to be a part of this. 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.640 God says, I chose you to give you new birth. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.839 So what God has done, you can't undo. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:55.680 Have that confidence to give you new life through the word of truth, his gospel in you. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:02.640 Well, you have a spiritual enemy who wants you to live in shame and guilt. 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.880 Here's how the enemy works, by the way. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.720 He likes to set out the lure. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:11.680 We're responsible for biting on it, but he likes to set it out, lure you, and go, hey, come on, get this. 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:17.200 And then you bite on it and you're like stuck and you're experiencing all the consequences, and you're like, ah! And then you know what he does? 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:18.079 The jerk. 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:18.880 He's a jerk. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.599 Let's just say it. 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:21.759 He's a yeah, he's a jerk. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:24.720 Because he's known as the accuser of the saints. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:32.079 And so you know what he does is he entices you and you bite on it, and then he accuses you. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:35.200 He goes, How could you? 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.039 What were you thinking? 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:39.279 Are you kidding me? 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:45.359 He accuses you, and he wants you to live in shame and guilt. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:51.200 Romans 8.1 says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:27:00.799 See, the accuser is wanting to speak lies to you about who you are to keep you from running to your perfect heavenly Father who has every good gift for you. 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:03.119 He wants you to keep you hiding. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:05.839 See, that's what Adam and Eve did in the garden. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:08.160 The minute we blow it, we hide. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.160 He says, Come out of hiding. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:13.039 Come to your heavenly Father who loves you. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:16.480 See, remember what's true of you in Christ Jesus. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.960 What's true of you is not what the accuser says. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:20.640 No, he's a jerk. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:21.920 Stop listening to him. 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.720 What's true of you is that you are adopted into the family of God if you're a follower of Jesus. 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:31.039 What's true of you is you are a daughter and a son of the King Most High. 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:35.039 What's true of you is you have been completely forgiven. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:41.039 There is no condemnation, there is no place for the accuser's word in your life. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:48.960 What's true of you is you are loved unconditionally by a perfect, good, heavenly father. 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:50.640 That is what's true of you. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:54.880 And by the way, that will keep a backslide from becoming a landslide. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:28:00.960 How do you, you know, um have resiliency in the face of uh temptation? 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:06.480 Friends, you gotta get back to what's true of you in Christ Jesus. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:08.559 I love this quote by John Bunyan. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:12.640 On Easter Sunday, my kids and I, or a family religion, had us. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:16.880 We watched the Pilgrim's Progress movie, which was great. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:20.480 Um, and he writes this in his autobiography. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:30.400 He says, I never saw those heights and the depths in grace and love and mercy as I saw after this temptation. 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:31.680 Did you catch that? 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:39.519 I never saw those heights and depths in grace and love and mercy as I saw after this temptation. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:44.720 Great sin, he says, draw out great grace. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:56.960 And where guilt is most terrible and fierce, there the mercy of God in Christ, when shown to the soul, appears most high and mighty. 00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:02.000 Great sin draws out great grace. 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.440 I like how Tim Keller says it about the gospel. 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:22.960 He says, the gospel is this we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the same time, yet at the same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:26.799 Remember, remember, get back. 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:28.160 Would you get it in your heart? 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:33.839 Would you remind yourself the minute the accuser's speaking, you're like, no, that's a lie, you're a jerk, shut up. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.960 Get what's true of you in your heart and your mind. 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:47.359 I remember the turning point for me in my battle with lust as a college student. 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:54.079 That idea of shame that that was a reality for me. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:57.680 See, shame says this: not that you failed, but you are a failure. 00:29:57.839 --> 00:29:59.519 It becomes your identity. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:05.680 Not that you, you know, are made a mistake, but you you are a mistake. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:12.319 And my identity started to become that I'm a failure. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:16.160 This is who I am, and I'll never change. 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:23.839 And I began to have such dark thoughts, like the world might just be better without me. 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:28.319 And it was this heart uh ache, broken moment. 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:32.400 And the turning point was actually a dream I had. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:45.279 And I remember having this dream, and uh, in my dream, I was walking into my dorm room, and as I opened the door, the room was pitch black, and there was an eight-year-old child. 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:56.079 It was me as a kid, an eight-year-old me, blonde-haired, scrawny, and the room's completely black, but the computer's on, and all you can see is the blue hue of the computer on the kid's face. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:01.680 And I remember in the dream going, like, no, no, don't go there, don't reach out. 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:08.880 You have no idea, you don't understand the hooks that are awaiting you that are gonna get into you, and the heartache and the pain. 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:22.319 And it was the first time that I finally saw myself a little bit the way God sees me, not as a screw up or as a failure, but as this kid. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:30.240 Not that he was mad at me or down on me, but that his heart broke for me. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:40.799 And is in that moment where then I finally said, Okay, God, I'm gonna run to you and bring all of me to you. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:56.319 And for many, this moment is a moment for you to see yourself, not with the words that you've defined, but how your father sees you and to bring all of you to him. 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:59.519 Would you do that in this moment, Heavenly Father? 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.240 I pray for my friends. 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:26.880 God, I pray right now, in this moment, that this would be a turning point moment in their life, that this message is one, God, that would that would save so many people, heartache and pain as they began to go down paths and they began to dabble in areas that one day full grown would cause such devastation and pain. 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:34.880 God, would you show them how you see them, that they're fully loved? 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:40.640 Would we turn to our perfect, good heavenly Father? 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:42.319 In Jesus' name. 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:43.200 Amen.