From Grace To Growth Through The Book Of James

Heat, pressure, and conflict have a way of showing what we really believe. We start with a simple story about brutal summer weather and the temptation to act like we’re immune, then we connect it to something we see constantly in church life: people pushing past healthy limits, comparing themselves to others, and fighting over things that aren’t the point. When the noise gets loud, we come back to one question that clarifies everything: why Jesus?

From there, we get honest about the tension many of us live in. We say we’re saved by grace, we say we trust the blood of Jesus, and we say we’re free, but then we resist the actual transformation that grace is meant to produce. That’s where the Book of James hits with rare clarity. We talk about James as Jesus’ brother, his initial doubt, his resurrection encounter, and why his letter to scattered believers is packed with practical Christian living: perseverance in trials, prayer for wisdom, humility over status, and a faith that shows up in action.

We also deal with temptation and responsibility. James doesn’t let us hide behind excuses, and neither do we. We talk relationships, money, forgiveness, and the sins we stop calling sin because it feels easier. If you want a Bible study style walkthrough with real-life application, this is for you.

Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review if the conversation helps. What’s one area where you’re asking God for wisdom right now?

Transcript

Heat, Parades, And Hard Limits

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It's been hot. We were in the parade yesterday. And uh we're in and it started to rain. And I listen, I wasn't complaining because I wasn't complaining. Some of you might have been complaining, but I was completely content because it's been like in the 90s, upper 90s, almost 100 a couple times this week. And uh Jeff and I um you don't know. I I work part-time EMS, but Jeff and I, my brother were uh we were this week, and I saw people outside mowing their grass, and I just want to be like, go in your house. Like, do not think that you were immune to heat exhaustion. It's a hundred degrees outside. Your grass is going to die, it doesn't need cut. Um but it's crazy because you you see so many people and uh trying to like brave the warm weather, and and then you know, like an hour later you hear like their call goes in because someone's passed out in their front yard. I'm like, yeah, that's what happens. Like, let's let's not risk it. But we've been going through we were actually going through the last couple weeks the the question of why Jesus and and that actually came from this idea of that I think when we look at the church as a whole, you and I have to understand why it is we do what we do. And and a lot of times I think what happens along the way is we we get lost or we get I think we lose focus on the things that matter the most, right? And and I think about this, and and I I sit in um I have a lot of friends who are in ministry, and and I have the privilege to sit in on a lot of conversation. And and here's what I'll tell you that you might not know. Guess what? Every church has a problem. All of them. I I I have never met a single person who preaches who says, My church is this great, no one complains, they all love me,

Church Conflict And Losing The Point

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and no one ever fights. We agree on everything. It doesn't happen. And and I and I and listen, I I I say that jokingly, but but I'm trying to be honest, is it it every person I've ever talked to who's in ministry, what I hear the most is why are we fighting about this? It's so weird what people get caught up on music. You know, um the children's ministry isn't doing enough. The children's ministry is doing too much. You know how weird of a conversation that is when you have someone who says you guys aren't doing enough, and then in the next conversation, you guys are doing too much. I'm like, what does that even mean? Like that you feel like you're constantly fighting this battle of too much, too little. And if you do just enough, no one tells you that. No one says, Hey, good job. You put enough stuff on the schedule that it worked out. Or most of the conversations that come to me when people say, I didn't like what you preached. Or I love what you preached. No, thanks. Appreciate that. But we find ourselves so overwhelmed by comparison. And so I I think going back to the importance of Jesus was necessary. At the end of the day, whatever our church looks like, a goal is still the same Christ and Christ crucified, right? That that's the point. That that's the thing that connects all of us. That's what unites us the most. At the end of the day, when I die, when I stand before the King of Kings, he is going to ask me, was I faithful? Did I know his son? Those are the two things that I have to answer for. And so it's important that we understand that the Jesus is that. He's everything we need. He's accomplished everything he needed on the cross. He died to save us. You and I could not have saved ourselves. It's not about being a good person, it's not about being less sinful than the person next to you. It's about realizing that without Christ we are broken and lost and there's no hope. That that is the life that you and I live. Adam and Eve messed it up. But Christ redeemed it all. And so we understand that. Why do we follow Jesus? Why, why does it matter? Well, he died for us, he saved us. He he he he helps us overcome the sin in our lives. But there's a second part to this, and this is the part that that I think sometimes we don't talk enough about. And I realize, and I'm gonna I'm gonna watch what I say because I I need people to understand, I believe that we are saved by faith in Christ. Jesus died for me, right? His blood covered my sins. There's nothing that I can do to save myself. I can't die for myself. Now, I think there's there's things we do in response to that salvation. We've talked about that, that repent, confess, be baptized. This is our response to the gospel message, right? And these are things we do. But I am not saved by my works, which means that I can't not be good enough to save myself. It's not possible. But the problem is what happens sometimes is we say, Yes, I am saved by the blood and the grace of

Grace Saves And Transformation Follows

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Jesus, and I'm free. And then you and I never change how we live. That's a problem. Yes, we are saved by grace, yes, we are saved by the free and the shedding blood of Jesus Christ with the expectation of transformation. I say this all the time. God will meet you where you are, but he loves you way too much to leave you there. And and I say that because I I see a lot of people, and and what we're about to get into in the book of James is gonna seem like James is all talking about work, and he is, but he's not talking about work for the for the salvation. He's not saying do these things to be saved. He's saying that these are the things we should do because we have been saved, we've accepted the salvation of Christ. And and those are different conversations. Because, yes, you are saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Your responsibility now is to live that out and what it looks like. And and we talk about this at camp all the time. And when I baptize people here, I tell them, don't misunderstand this. Your baptism is not the end of this. This is day one of the rest of your life. And what comes next is important. So here's what we're gonna do. As tradition had it during the time when these letters were written, one of the things that was common is they would show up and they would be read at one church, and then they would be passed around to another. And if you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of reading scripture in church. I think it's important. I think God says things better than I do all the time. So James is a brother of Jesus. Now, James was not a believer in Jesus. Now, granted, I understand. Because if one of my brothers growing up came up to me and said, I'm the Messiah, I'd be like, No way. There is no way in this world you are saving anybody. Not to mention, why are you saying that? So mom will love you more? Like, right? So I understand his frustration. I wouldn't have believed him either. I've been like, this guy's crazy. And and he really he didn't, he didn't believe

James The Skeptic Turned Leader

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who he was. He he actually questioned it a few times. He and again, I can understand where he's coming from. He grew up with Jesus. How how is this this boy that I grew up with the savior of the world? But then James has a resurrection encounter with Jesus and it changes his entire life. He actually becomes one of the strongest leaders of the early church. He was martyred in around 67 A.D. for the fact that he would not deny that Jesus was the savior. Imagine that. Going from questioning it to dying for it. So James is writing his letter to Jews in the Dysporia, which means they they've been outcasts. They're kind of out on their own. They've been kicked out, uh, excommunicated from the communities. So he's writing a letter to them to encourage them, but also to remind them to keep moving forward, to not lose sight of what matters. So James, starting in verse 1, says, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. Greetings. He says, Consider pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is double-minded, a double-minded man, unstable in all that he does. The brother in the hum uh the brother in the humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position, but

A Full Reading Through James

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the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its blossom falls, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when full gr when it's full grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all that he created. My dear brothers, take note of this everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself, and his religion is worthless. Religion that our that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by this world. My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man as shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, Here's a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, you stand there or sit on the floor by my feet, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to who you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful, and mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, and if one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by actions, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God, good, even the demons believe that and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and there was credited to him as righteousness. And he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does, and not by faith alone. In the same way was not even Rahab the prostitute, considered righteous for what she did when she was lodged, uh gave lodging to the spies, and set them off in a different direction. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Now many of you should uh presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways, and if anyone has ever had fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal, or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and itself is set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame his tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear frigs, uh figs, neither can salt uh a salt spring produce fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it to it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that come from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but it's earthly, unspiritual of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder in every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desire, the battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God, or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely, but he gives us more grace. That's why Scripture says God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart, your hearts, you double minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brothers or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping in, but sitting in judgment on. There is only one law giver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy the you. You are you to judge your neighbor. Now listen, you you who say today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money, why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If it if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil. Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins. Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and mouths and moths have eaten your eaten your clothes, your gold and silver are corroded, their corrosion uh will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You've hoarded wealth in the last days. Look, the wages you failed to pay the worksmen who mowed your fields and crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence, you have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter, you have condemned and murdered innocent men who are not opposing you. Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield the valuable crop, and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grum grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door. Brothers is an example of patience in the face of suffering. Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who persu persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen the Lord's finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, my brothers, do not swear by the heaven or by the earth or by anything else. Simply let your yes be yes and your no be no, or you will be condemned. Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is anyone is anyone sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise up uh if he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is a powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth reduced its crop. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sin. James is admincing words. But I just I wanted you to have an understanding and a context of where it all comes from. James is writing, he offers encouragement, he offers some discipline, he offers some advice on on how to live and what it means now that they're following after Christ. James is probably the most practical, one of the most practical books when it comes to what does it look like if I understand the question of why Jesus.

Practical Faith That Costs Something

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We want the mercy. We want the shed blood of Jesus. We want to know that when we go to heaven or when we die, we go to heaven. Where we struggle is when Jesus calls us to live a life that's a reflection of Him, which means we have to give up some things of this world. That's the hard part. And listen, that that looks different for anyone. Sometimes it's a relationship that you that you're in that you know is not right. I'm gonna I'm gonna say this gracefully. If you are someone who is trying to follow Jesus, genuinely trying to follow Jesus, guy or girl, and you're dating someone who's not, you should figure that out. I'm not saying that they might not come to know Jesus, but really the way that God intends for us, especially we're talking about marriage and bigger questions, is we want to have someone who's right alongside us. Danny is an incredible person. Like I love her. She's my wife, she's fantastic, fantastic mom. You might not see her spiritual side as much as I do, but she loves God just as much as I do. You know what makes our relationship work? Because she loves God just as much as I do. Because when God calls us to do things like move back to Follundy, West Virginia, my wife understands that we have a bigger purpose. When when someone calls me at two in the morning because someone in their family just died, and I've got to leave my home to go be with them. My wife understands because she understands there's a bigger picture. She understands that God is important and that my role in helping people find him is important. Listen, maybe it's not a relationship, maybe it's money. Maybe you've convinced yourself that if I could just have more money in my life to be more secure. Can I tell you something? I have never met someone pursuing money who has ever said to me, ah, now I have enough. They're chasing it constantly. And I'm not saying you can't have nice things, but but maybe God's calling us to give up things. Maybe it's a a broken relationship with a family member that that you need to offer forgiveness in. And listen, those are hard. Maybe it's a temptation, a sin that you struggle with that that you're not calling it sin. The the world's telling you, and you know, it's

Relationships, Money, And Hidden Sin

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it's not a sin. But the Bible was telling you that it is. What scriptures this book is everything I need to live my life. But so often when the rubber meets the road, people have a hard time following Jesus because we want the grace and the mercy. But when he tells us to grow up and mature in our faith, we pump the brakes. That's not really what Jesus said, is it? I mean, no. We like to pick verses, and and so that's what James is getting at. He's like, listen, I'm gonna give you some practical advice. If you have followed choosing to follow Christ, here's some expectations you're supposed to live up to. And by the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I will never understand why people get mad when God expects us to live a certain way, but then you get mad when someone's out with their kid and their kids run around Walmart pushing over everything and knocking everything down and kicking their brother and sister, and you expect them to behave because their parents should tell them to behave. You expect my kids to behave properly and expect my kids to live in a certain way because I'm their parent and I'm raising them. God's your father, his expectations are even bigger than ours. He he calls us to live a certain way, not to make life difficult, but to give us the best life possible. I try to explain this to my kids all the time. I use Miles as an example all the time. Miles, don't put the fork in the electric outlet. Why? Because it hurts. Right? I'm not trying to ruin his life. He thinks I am. He did this a year ago. We were in the we were in one of the rooms in our house. I have no idea where the fork came from, other than he had it hidden somewhere. And the lights flickered, and I was like, oh, I think a breaker blew. Danny's like, what happened? It's like, I don't know. And so I walked in his room and he's standing there, fork in hand, and my brain is like, no, he didn't do that. I told him not to. And he's standing there with his look on his face. He's not smiling, he's not mad, he's not hurt, he's just looking at me. And I'm telling you, I'm looking at him, I'm like, Miles, did you put that fork in there? Yeah. And I was like, did it hurt? Yeah. Did I tell you that it was gonna hurt? Yeah. Do you trust me now? Yeah. Right? But but I get it. We want to live the way we're supposed to live, and but that's not what God wants. And so James is offering us advice. Do these things. So let's go back to James chapter 1. Starting in verse 2. It says, consider pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish the work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James comes right out of the gate to this group who is excommunicated, off on their own, feeling lost, feeling vulnerable. And he says, Consider it pure joy, brothers, when you are going through difficult circumstances. Because these difficult circumstances are exactly what you need to be mature and complete and not lacking anything. You know how hard it is to tell people who have faith when life is difficult. Consider pure joy that things are hard for you because these hard things are exactly what you need to get you where you need to be. We believe that. We teach that. What do they say? No pain, no gain. Gotta spend, you gotta spend a little to make a little. We believe that sometimes we have to sacrifice in order to become uh to accomplish the greatest goal. But when it comes to our faith, we expect just to be able to wake up and everything works out exactly how it's supposed to. We expect our transformation into a follower of Christ to be easy. And James says, listen, that's not how this works. The hard times, the difficult circumstances, those are the ones you have to learn to persevere through, to get through. Because God has a plan.

A Parenting Story About Trust

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And he continues, he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it'll be given to him. But when he asks, you must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. I actually have that highlighted in my Bible. Because for the longest time when I was younger, when I had a problem when I was trying to figure things out, there was a handful of people that I would go to for advice, and God was often secondary. How many of you are like that? Something's wrong in your life, and you're immediately like, I gotta text my mom, I gotta text my friend, I gotta call someone. But but James says if you lack wisdom, if you need anything, go to God. You're persevering, you're you're having a difficult time, go to God.

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And he says, trust him.

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Don't be tossed back and forth, don't be wishy-washy. Just if you lay it at the feet of the one who loves you, trust him with it. Then he continues, says, that man should not think you'll receive anything from the Lord. The one who's going back and forth, who's wishy-washy. He says he's double-minded, unstable in all that he does. God, I need you to I need you to help me with you know my income. I'm struggling right now. God, there's this relationship that I have that I want to give it to you, and and and I'm not sure what to do about it. God, here's this burden. I'm gonna lay it at your cross. And then five minutes later, you pick it up and you start carrying around again because you can't leave it there. This is what he's saying. And this man, this kind of thinking is unstable. He said, Why would you give it to God just to pick it back up? Tim says, trust him.

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He knows what you need. He continues writing.

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He says, the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. Those of you who are lowly, take pride in being

Joy In Trials And Asking God

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lowly. You know, my my whole life growing up, when I got into ministry, my goal was to be well known. I would love, at some point in my life, not now, at some point in my life, I would have loved to be an author of a book that sold millions. I would have loved to have people quoting me on social media. I would have loved to have an impact. And listen, some of that was selfish, and some of that was just because I wanted to know that my life had an impact. Have you seen the way we treat those people? Every word out of their mouth is right or wrong. People who don't even go to their church critique them all the time. Criticism is highest among those who try to profess Jesus. I cannot imagine living with the kind of anxiety and frustration that comes with just trying to make an impact on the world, and there's still people who hate you. James says those of you who are in humble circumstances, take pride in that. We all die, whether rich or poor. So blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say that God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he has his own evil desire. He is dragged away in ticks. Then after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin when it's full grown gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits on all that he created. So this very first section, James saying, listen, be joyful and perseverance. Take pride in whatever position you find yourself in. But don't doubt him. Don't question him. Don't lay it down and pick it up again. Says, listen, when you sin, blame yourself. You gave in to the sin of your life. You were tempted. You were tried. It doesn't mean God can't forgive you, but don't say that God made you do it. Don't say Satan made you do it. That's one of my least favorite things. Satan made me do it. Satan didn't make you do anything. Satan didn't make you gossip. He didn't make you grumble. He didn't make you uh unfaithful to your spouse. That he doesn't. It's there. The temptation is there, but Satan doesn't make us do anything. You and I falter because we lose sight and we lose focus of the wisdom that God provides. And he finishes this section and says, understand that every good thing you have comes from the God who created you. Don't misunderstand that. You know, I know I talk about this a lot, but we live in a world that is full of comparison. It happens in churches all the time. I struggle with that. Because somewhere right now, there's someone who's staying in a pulpit of a church of a thousand plus people. Sometimes there's someone who's staying in a pulpit of a church right now, five people. We convince ourselves that a church isn't healthy if it doesn't have a ton of people. The only problem with that whole ideology is if success of a ministry is based on numbers, then Jesus failed. At the end, he had 12.

Temptation, Responsibility, And Good Gifts

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12 men. James was one of them. He would he would come to lead the early church. But but I love what James says here at the end of this. He says, everything you have, especially the good stuff, is from God. The older I get, the more at peace that I have become with the things where I am in my life, because this is where God has me. I believe that. This is the life that He has given me. You are the church that He is calling me to lead. I'm grateful for that. Like I said, I said in I said in ministries all the time. I talk to ministers all over the place. Every church has a problem. Every church has people that I don't get it. They have people that don't like the church, but they keep coming. My mind, right? Every minister that I've ever spoken to. But the one thing that keeps coming us back, or keeps us coming back again and again, is every now and then we get to see someone live out the transformation that James is talking about. We see people go through hard times and come out stronger on the other side. We we see families restored. We we see people who struggle with sin who overcome it. We see people who struggle with addiction overcome it. We see, you know, I see it all the time. Because Jesus is in the business of transforming lives because that's what he does. Maybe it doesn't happen by the thousands. That's not what James is, he's not talking about numbers. He's saying, brothers, live your life, persevere, trust God, pray to him.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Do what the scriptures tell you to do.

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And James writes this to churches, to men, women, and children that are currently in exile.

Comparison, Numbers, And Real Ministry

SPEAKER_00 41:48

Just because life is hard doesn't give you a pass on not living up to the potential God has for you. Your circumstances do not give you an excuse to not seek Christ in everything you do and everything you are. Because the transformation is because of Him and the work of the Spirit in your life. We cannot lose sight of that. We are saved by grace so that we can live a life dedicated to Christ and the transformation he calls us to.

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And listen, sometimes it takes time.

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Give yourself some grace. God doesn't expect you to wake up tomorrow and have it all figured out. That's not possible. But you and I should always be pursuing him in the way we live. Thank God that I am not the same person I was 20 years ago. But it didn't happen overnight. James says, stay faithful, seek God in prayer, persevere in difficult times, be joyous, trust God, acknowledge your own shortcomings, but continue to push forward. Because if Christ is in you and you have given your life to him, if you've accepted, if you understand why Jesus, God has a plan for you. Trust him with it.