James 1:13-18

We are going to continue our James study together.

We'll study chapter 1.

We're in James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

So if you have your Bibles or your device or whatever,

! James chapter 1 is where we're at.

James 1 · chapter mention

And let me pray before we get started.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would give us insight

into what James has written in this letter.

Lord, I pray that you would teach us through these words

and through these verses.

Lord, may my preparation and study

and the things that you showed me translate.

I pray that I can explain that in a careful way

that honors you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So the heading here in the ESV is testing of your faith,

starting with verse 2.

My section is starting with verse 13.

And so let's start reading there.

But we will reference this whole section of Scripture

because it really all works together.

So let's start with verse 13.

Let no one say when he is tempted,

I am being tempted by God.

For God cannot be tempted with evil,

and he himself tempts no one.

But each person is tempted

when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire, when it has conceived,

gives birth to sin.

And sin, when it's fully grown,

brings forth death.

Do not be deceived,

my beloved brothers.

Every good gift and every perfect gift

is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation or shadow

due to change.

Of his own will,

he brought us forth by the word of truth,

that we should be a kind of first fruits

of his creatures.

I want to start with a,

something that happened to me

this, about a week ago,

a little over a week ago.

And,

well, I guess it was last,

maybe like Wednesday,

something like that.

Anyway,

and

I went to Lowe's

and

what I needed,

so I had bought

a week ago Wednesday,

I bought a garage door opener.

And I thought that maybe we,

as a group of men,

knowledgeable,

very

astute men,

that we would put this in

at the,

at our house.

We moved recently

and,

and I thought they were going to help me do this.

We took a look at it

and Judah sort of poured,

poured it out,

Judah Powers did,

onto the ground

and we looked at all the pieces

and we said,

no,

I don't think we're going to do this.

And,

so,

I went to Lowe's

and they,

the guy,

I talked to the guy,

he says,

yes,

we can do this for you.

We can install it for you.

But what we have to do,

this is in the back of the store.

He said,

what we have to do

is we have to refund you

your money

from this

unit

and then you have to

buy it again

and then we can sign up

for the installation.

So,

I said,

well,

that's kind of weird

but let's do this.

let's go for it.

So,

we,

he takes a picture

of the UPC symbol

of the unit

that I bought

and we go to the front

of the store

and go

and,

to the counter

where you get help there

where you do returns

and there was standing,

I,

I,

Patsy,

Patsy,

head cashier

is what it said.

That may or may not

be her name

just for protection.

Patsy

was,

so,

she,

so he gave her

the information

of what we needed to do

which was return this,

charge me again

for a new one

and then sign up the deal.

Well,

Patsy said,

okay,

put your,

she entered the information,

she said,

put your card

into the slot

that you used.

So,

I put it in,

she said,

nope,

you didn't use that card.

Well,

I know I used that card.

Absolutely.

And she said,

do you have another card?

And I said,

well,

yeah,

I have another card

but I'm pretty sure

I used that card.

So,

I put in the other card

and she said,

nope,

you didn't use that card either

and I'm like,

I don't have any other cards.

Let's see,

it was one of those two

and I'm pretty sure

it was that first one.

And she said,

nope,

nope,

that wasn't it.

So,

how about,

I said,

well,

can you look it up

on my phone number?

I've seen other things

from my phone number.

So,

she says,

okay.

So,

she puts in my phone number

and I'm sure

it's going to show up,

you know,

that my purchase will show up

so we can refund it.

She says,

nope,

it's not here.

And I said,

I've seen this list

because I was in doing a return

just like a few days earlier.

I've seen this

and I said,

I was here.

I was here last,

no,

you weren't.

She says,

I think maybe you need

to contact your bank.

I said,

contact my bank.

I was here.

I know I was like,

you're telling me something

that I know I did,

you know.

Well,

finally,

it,

of course,

got straightened out

and they found my receipt

and those kind of things.

But,

I want to use

this simple trial

and I'm going to refer back to it

but there is a simple format

here

that I want to use

as we discuss

trials and faith.

Basically,

what happens

is there is an issue.

The issue is

whatever befalls us,

it could be a diagnosis,

it could be a death

in the family,

it could be parenting,

it could be talking

to Patsy at accounting.

Whatever the issue is,

that's how this begins.

That's how a trial starts.

Then,

the second thing

is our response.

What do we do?

How do we deal

with that trial?

How do we think about it?

What is our answer

to the issue?

Sometimes,

it's a very quick answer

and we come right back

with whatever it is

that we decide to do

when the issue befalls us.

Sometimes,

our answer

actually goes

over years

of time

depending on

what

the trial is.

The third thing,

so there's the issue,

our response,

and then

an outcome.

How does it end?

What's the result?

What happens

as a result

of this trial

that has

befallen us?

Now,

the issue,

we really don't have

much control

over that,

do we?

In life,

things happen.

It comes at us

in every different way.

Our response,

do we have control

over our response?

We do.

We have control

from the very depths

of our heart

what kind of response

we will

present.

The third thing,

the outcome.

Who has control

of the outcome?

The Lord does.

The Lord's the one

that has control

over that.

If we

seek Him

and honor Him,

aren't there

many promises

that He'll take care

of us?

That in whatever

trial it is,

He will walk

with us in vain.

So the outcome

is up to the Lord.

The first thing

I want to talk about

is James'

encouragement.

And if we look

at this whole passage,

it all ties together.

And at the end,

I want to really

sort of,

I was telling Adam,

it's like a trash bag

when you have

the two little things

and you pull it tight

and it all comes tight.

That's what each

of these paragraphs

is sort of like.

It all comes together

and I'll explain

as we go.

But James gives

encouragement

in verse 2.

He says,

count it all joy.

Adam shared

a bit of a poem

two weeks ago

and one of the things

that hit me

a bit out of that

was joy

because of trials

are evidence

of God's love.

Like trials.

Trials are an evidence

of God's love.

Why?

This testing

produces steadfastness.

Hebrews 12, 11,

Adam brought out.

For the moment,

all discipline

seems painful

rather than pleasant,

but later it yields

the peaceful fruit

of righteousness

to those

who have been

trained by it.

Steadfastness

is endurance,

fruitful harvest,

patience,

ability to bear up

under difficulty.

That's what we want

to grow in.

Trials are going

to come

in all manner.

And so

we can count it joy

because God's

doing something

in it

and we know that.

So we can stand

on that initial principle.

Steadfast

also in wisdom

and perspective.

If you look

at the second

paragraph there,

verse 5,

if any of you

lacks wisdom,

let him ask God.

How do you get

through trials?

With wisdom.

From his wisdom.

Not our own.

We're not going

to come up

with the answers.

We're not going

to know how

to navigate

the trials of life.

God does.

The wisdom

that he gives

keeps us

steadfast in that.

And the third

thing is the

perspective.

Look at verse 9.

What's he talking

about there?

The flower,

the grass

will pass away

for the sun

rises,

scorching heat

and withers

the grass.

So also

will the rich

man fade away

in the midst

of his pursuits.

So now there's

perspective.

So we get

these encouragements

in the trial

that count it

joy because

God's working.

There is

wisdom to be

given.

And there's

a perspective.

The trial,

our lives

are short

and the trial

is even shorter.

It's shorter

than our life.

that one,

that last part

of that.

So the rich,

so the rich

man fade away

in the midst

of his pursuits.

Right in the

middle of the

things that he's

planning.

Right in the

middle of all

the plans,

all the things

that he thinks

he's going to

do.

Gone.

It's over.

It's good

perspective.

Verse 12.

This,

this whole

segment,

James kind of

talking to us

and he reminds

again in

verse 12,

blessed

of the man

who remains

steadfast under

trial.

Under trial.

The heading

of this whole

section in

my text,

ESV,

is testing

of your faith

and I really

couldn't think

of a better

sermon title

than testing

of our faith.

trial.

The trial does

that.

Well,

one thing

draws us

away in

particular

from steadfast

faith and

that's sin.

Sin is

part of our

potential response

to the trial.

That can be

part of the

mix and quite

often in some

way, shape, or

form, it is

part of the

mix.

Temptation

is the

pull to

respond out

of self.

So, if we

go back to

verse 12,

blessed is the

man who

remains steadfast

under trial,

for when he

has stood

the test, he

will receive

the crown

of life,

which God

has promised

to those

who love

him.

Let no one

say when he's

tempted, I am

being tempted

by God, for

God cannot be

tempted with

evil, and he

himself tempts

no one.

But each

person is

tempted when

he is lured

and enticed

by his own

desire.

In my

example, which

again, I want

to refer back

to, I was

tempted to be

snarky with

Patsy, I

will admit.

I wanted to

give her my

thoughts and

let her know

how she was

wrong.

I was tempted

to get mad

at her for

accusing me of

things that

didn't make

sense, right?

Like literally

telling me I

was not

there.

I was there.

I know I

was there.

But for a

second, I was

like, I don't

know.

Maybe I know.

Yes, no, I

know I was

there.

But immediately

that trial starts

to bring it up

and the

temptations

start to fly.

way.

And there's

you ever see, I

was thinking of

a movie,

Christmas story.

You know how

Ralphie, he

goes back into

his mind and

like he sort

of starts to

space off and

sees this whole

thing transpire

and then say,

Ralphie, Ralphie,

you know, and he

comes back to

where he was.

That's kind of

what we do in a

moment's notice

there.

We start to

travel through

all of the

options that

we can carry

out.

So when the

trial or the

issue is

presented,

immediately your

mind starts going

through all the

things that you

can do and

discarding the

things that

really wouldn't

be good.

Because those

come up too.

All of these

things.

The heart,

who brought it

up this morning

already, the

heart is

desperately

wicked, right?

And so these

things are

going to come

up in our

dealings with

other people.

Well, plenty

of those things

came up.

Let's look at

the progression.

13 through 15

gives us a

progression that

starts with

actually 14.

But each person

is tempted when

he is lured

and enticed.

So first is

the lured

and enticed

by our

own desire.

desire.

It's important

that we get

the pieces

of this

correct to

see the

etymology of

sin, where

all this comes

from.

Desire is a

person's

passions or

wants.

The things

that we think

that we need

or that we

must have

in whatever

capacity.

This desire

is already

on board.

It's in our

flesh.

we were

born with

it.

We were

born with

a desire

to serve

ourselves

in some

way.

1 John

1 John 2:15–17

chapter 2

verses 15

through 17

says,

Do not love

the world

or the things

in the world.

If anyone

loves the

world,

the love

of the

Father

is not

in him.

For all

that is

in the

world,

the desires

of the

flesh

and the

desires

of the

eyes

and pride

of life

is not

from the

Father,

but it's

from the

world.

And the

world is

passing away

with its

desires.

There's our

perspective again.

It's all

like the

grass.

It gets

burned up.

It's passing

away.

But whoever

does the

will of God

abides

forever.

Great

perspective

again with

this thought.

Desire in

this context

of selfishness

is not

from the

Father.

We're not

talking about

like spiritual

from the

spirit sort

of desires.

We're talking

about desire

that's from

us, that

starts from

within.

And these

desires are

passing away.

And for

now, they

lure and

entice.

Lure is

being drawn

out of a

right place.

And in

my example,

being out

of place

is some

of the

things that

I started

thinking about.

Being out

of my

rightful

place, I'm

a customer,

you know,

coming up.

Being out

of my

rightful

place, I

started to

think of

things like

I want to

put Patsy

in her

place.

Maybe even

deeper, I

want to

make Patsy

realize that

she is

wrong.

I want

this, you

know, that's

inside.

And maybe

even a

little Patsy

should apologize

and be a

good employee.

Head cashier

is what her

card said.

How is

this, you

know.

But these

things roll

through my

mind.

And I

discard them.

I must

discard these

desires,

right?

Because I

think about

the easy

outcomes of

some of

that, and

it's no

good.

It's no

good.

Walking in

the Spirit,

we walk in

a right

place, and

we're not

lured out

of where we

should be.

When we

walk with

the Spirit,

we're with

Him, and

the luring is

getting away

from that

right place

of where we

should be

in the

Spirit.

Desire

will lure

us out of

that place.

Entice is

the second

one.

Lured and

enticed.

And these

are very

similar words.

Even when

you dig into

them, they're

very similar.

But entice

is a little

different.

It's being

baited.

There's a

bait there.

And desire

sees something

that it

wants or

that it

wants to

deal with.

And it's

easy.

This is why

I use this

example.

God was

gracious to

give me

this example

with Betsy.

But in

my example,

the way that

she accused

me.

Have you

ever been

accused of

something that

you didn't

do?

And you

know you

didn't do

it?

That's sort

of a button,

isn't it?

When someone

pushes on that

button, it

sort of gets

you dander

going.

And it did

me.

looking over

her glasses

at me,

you know,

like I

had no

awareness of

my comings

and goings.

You know,

like these

are things

that it

was bait

to me.

Maybe you

guys are a

lot better

than me,

but it

was bait.

I wanted

to get

angry with

this.

Well,

in all

two common

scenarios,

the bait

looks

different.

We even

use a

term,

clickbait,

right?

What is

that?

It's

something,

I think

I'm going

to get

something

that I

want,

something

that my

heart is

desiring

for some

reason.

And so

I click

on it

to go

there.

Pictures,

stories,

they all

call to

that desire

in our

heart that

cannot,

cannot,

must not

be answered

in that

way.

Well,

these desires,

they are

in me.

Outside

influences,

temptations,

engaging

with these

evil desires

that are

already

there.

To stop

this

progression,

I have

to recognize

my desires.

I have

to confess

them.

Now,

here's

where we

have to be

particular

with words

because

temptation

and the

desires

themselves,

the things

that flash

in front

of my

mind

are not

necessarily

sin.

Temptation

in and of

itself is

outside of

me.

It's not

sin.

And so,

nonetheless,

when I

realize,

standing there,

that I want

to get angry,

I need to

confess that

right away.

Lord,

I don't want

to get angry.

I don't

want this

to happen.

I'm sorry

for wanting

to go down

that track

in the first

place and

confess that,

even just how

I'm feeling

in that

moment.

Maybe

haven't even

got to

that place

yet.

But,

before it

actually gets

conceived,

I want to

deal with it.

It looks like

just a prayer

of thankfulness.

Lord,

I'm sorry

for wanting

to click

on that

picture,

but thank

you for

your grace

and your

strength

to resist

the devil

in this

moment.

Stand on

faith

that has

been tested

and has

produced

steadfastness

in Christ.

In those

moments,

that's what

we do.

We've already

walked that

walk,

and we've

seen

steadfastness

grow.

Stand in

that faith.

Second in

the progression,

look at

verse 15.

So,

we're lured

and enticed

by our own

desire,

then desire,

when it

has conceived,

gives birth

to sin.

Unchecked

desire,

combined

with opportunity,

conceives sin.

So,

I wrestled

with this

so that we

have a

picture here.

We have

an illustration

of conception,

birth,

growth,

and death.

So,

it's sort

of a

life cycle,

isn't it?

And so,

I thought,

well,

I camped

here for a

while on

the conception

part.

Well,

generally,

we have

two things

that work

together to

conceive.

Well,

what are we

talking about

here?

And we

have the

desire on

board,

and when

that desire

meets an

opportunity,

then sin

is conceived.

Then we

have

unchecked,

unrebuked

desire

makes a

way for

opportunity.

And we

find it,

and we

see it,

and it

presents,

and it's

part of

the

bait.

And these

things come

together,

and then

that's

when we

sin.

Unrebuked

desire.

When we

don't arrest

it,

when we

don't confess

it,

when we

don't turn

to God,

when it

shows up,

then it

is unrebuked,

and then it

runs rampant,

and then it

does what it

wants to

do.

And the

more it

grows,

the more

we say

within,

how can

I find

a way

to exercise

this desire?

How can

I make

an opportunity?

I need

the opportunity

with that

desire for

sin to

conceive.

Proverbs

110 says,

My son,

if sinners

entice you,

do not

consent.

And a

little later

on,

verse 16,

he says,

for their

feet run

to evil.

They plan,

they find,

they make

that opportunity

to carry

out what

they want

to do,

and that

can be

our

structure

as well.

They're

quick to

find and

run to

evil,

the mind

that is

left to

itself,

the debased

mind,

that I

look around

this room

and I

know your

testimonies

and I've

heard of

your

testimonies,

and we're

believers,

confess that

we believe

and trust

in Christ,

but there

are people,

Romans 1

talks about,

that God

gives them

over to

this debased

mind,

this mind

that only

pursues its

desires and

nothing else.

And we know

from the next

part of

verse 15,

where does it

lead?

To death.

It leads

to death.

Eternal

death.

death.

So we

must put

to death

both sides

of this

equation

that

conceives

sin.

Deal

swiftly

with

desire

and

say it

out loud.

Tell

somebody

else.

Share it

on the

box line.

Talk to

another

believer.

Avoid

opportunity

and sacrifice

the wicked

plans.

Let me

give you

an example.

On lots

of occasions

in life,

we find

that maybe

we need

to be

more careful

with the

budget.

And what

is generally

the first

thing to go,

one of the

first things,

there's maybe

many,

but one

thing that

goes first

a lot of

times is

eating out.

And because

that just

takes a lot

of money,

and if you're

watching the

budget,

that's kind

of the thing

that needs

to go.

Because

it's an

easy fix.

So what

happens,

though,

at 630

in the

evening,

when everyone's

looking at

each other

and nothing's

taken out of

the freezer,

and you're

thinking about

the chips and

salsa at the

Mexican place,

you know,

all of a sudden,

now we're going

to eat out.

Well,

was that

planned?

Did we

maybe forget

to take the

such and such

out of the

freezer so we

could have

dinner tonight?

Did we

maybe make

a little

opportunity

there to

break our

budget?

Probably,

right?

Because we're

smart and we

do these

things and

we're smarter

than our own

good,

probably,

truth be

told,

a lot of

times.

But that's

just a simple

example,

but it plays

out in all

kinds of

scenarios.

When our

desire wants

to draw

us into

sinful

thoughts,

sinful

actions,

we'll find

a way a

lot of

times.

Think about

areas and

scenarios like

gossip,

lust,

anger,

unforgiveness,

selfishness,

conceit.

These are all

ways that if

we want to

do these

things,

we'll find

a way.

We'll find

a way.

We'll get

upset with

somebody.

We'll be

too sensitive

over something

or other.

And we'll

find a way.

When desire

rules,

opportunities

are found

and sin

follows.

So the

third thing

in the

progression

is sin

grows.

So it's

conceived,

it's born,

and then it

grows.

And when

it becomes

fully grown,

it leads to

death.

But sin

begins by

being,

quote,

born in

this

illustration.

And so

in other

words,

it's young.

It's

fresh,

if you

will.

And at

that time,

it's easy

to see

against the

backdrop of

a righteous

life.

So if

you're just

moving through

life and

then all

of a sudden

desires or

temptation and

you give

in, when

that doesn't

normally

exist,

it's easy

to see.

If I put

a giant

purple spot

on this,

is this

grayish?

On this

grayish wall,

it's easy to

see because

it stands

out.

If I've

got 50

purple spots,

all of a

sudden that

first one

doesn't stand

out so much

anymore.

when it's

young,

don't let

it go any

further.

Confess,

repent.

That's when

it should be

put to death,

right then,

because we

know the

outcome.

God tells

us the

outcome is

death.

Otherwise,

sin as it

grows gets

more invasive

and it's

evil.

Allowing it

to grow,

there's a

few things

that if

we're going

to allow

the sin

to grow,

which is a

bad thing.

We don't

want to do

that, but

when we

do, the

first thing

that we do

is we

protect it.

So the

desire and

opportunity

says, this

is what I

want.

I'm not

going to

change my

mind.

I'm going

to keep

seeking this

particular sin.

So the

first thing I

do is I

protect it.

And I

don't let

anybody else

in.

I don't let

anyone tell

me it's

wrong.

I don't

let the

very words

of God

tell me

it's wrong.

I'm going

to protect

that sin

and just

keep putting

layers over

it as time

goes to

where it

just tends

to get

deeper and

deeper and

more a part

of who I

am.

The second

thing, if

you're going

to, if

this sin

grows, you

have to

feed it.

And the

feeding is

continuing to

go back.

Like you

think about

long-term

unforgiveness

maybe.

When you

have trouble

forgiving

somebody.

Every time

they do

something that

you don't

like or

the way

they say

something, it

just feeds

that unforgiveness

and allows

that sin to

exist and

go further

and further.

the third

thing for

believers

is a

self-deception.

A self-deception

that somehow

is okay

and somehow

I'm right.

And there's

a deception

that can take

scripture and

distort it

into saying

this is

right.

I stand

in a right

place.

That person's

wrong.

I'm right

and I

technically

deceive myself

into thinking

this.

Like a

tree, it

sets in

roots and

grows.

And if it's

not confessed

and repented,

it will just

continue to

get bigger

and the

roots deeper.

Sin earns

death.

Romans 6

23, the

wages of

sin is

death.

But the

gift of

God is

eternal

life in

Jesus

Christ our

Lord.

Death,

eternal

destruction

is at

the end

of a

life of

sin.

Well,

desire

tells us

a few

lies.

There's a

few lies

that that

desire

that's

within

us

tells us.

Number

one,

it tells

us that

what I

want

is good.

that

desire

inside

says what

I want

is good.

And

from my

standpoint,

it says

this would

be beneficial

to me.

Whatever

that might

be.

In my

example,

standing

there with

Patsy,

I said

in

some of

these

scenarios,

right,

I said

something

in my

mind like

I don't

want to

feel

disregarded

and

disrespected.

Well,

now,

that's a

common

thing,

right?

But that

should not

drive a

desire to

be mean

to Patsy

or not

compassionate

to Patsy.

It's a

lie.

Second

thing,

I should

have what

I want.

What I

want is

good,

and I

should have

what I

want.

And my

flesh thinks

it should

get what

it wants.

And that's

the point

at which

maybe you

steamroll

people or

you make

decisions you

shouldn't

make because

I should

have what

I want.

And you

hear the

selfishness

in that.

You hear

the selfishness

in that

sort of

desire

lie.

In my

example,

Patsy

should not

act this

way.

I'm

important.

I should

get what

I want.

And Patsy

should comply

with my

reality.

She's trying

to tell me

something,

but she

should go

with me.

She should

comply with

me.

That's what

I want.

A third

lie is it

is right

that I

get what

I want.

It is

right.

I have

justified

my desire.

Somehow,