The survival of the church of Christ is dependent on the unity of we as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. When one is hurting, we all should comfort. When another is blessed, we all should rejoice. Through this unity we create a chord that the devil cannot break.
If there is anything we have learned about humanity in life is that, in some way or another, we will eventually betray each other. All throughout Scripture, God lays the foundation of a resounding promise: "Trust Me. No Matter what happens in your life or what storm you're going through, you can implicitly trust Me."
Do we have time for Jesus, or are our lives moving so fast we don't notice him outside of Sunday Service? To find their Savior, the Jews had entire books of Scripture telling where to find him and they never did. The three wise men read one single verse of scripture and uprooted their entire lives for three years to find the King of the Jews. Pause for a moment, if Jesus stopped by to say hello, would you recognize him?
Just like a child's merry-go-round, our spiritual lives gain force with little steps pushing us along. Once we get going, once we establish disciplines in our lives, we gain momentum, and eventually that momentum starts to push us along.
While we know that God is all powerful and can answer any prayer, present any miracle, and do a work in any situation, we still limit him from moving in our lives. Unconsciously we do this, never letting Him fully into our lives.
The worlds measure of greatness is measured by how high you are up on the ladder of success, the higher you are, the more you have "made it." Paul's instruction is counter intuitive to this. He presents the idea that to be great, you have to go down.
In the story of Cain and Abel, Abel's life is summed up in just seven short verses, yet Abel earned a place in Hebrews 11 with "those of great faith." Abel lived his whole life, did everything with excellence, for that one moment when he could give his life to the Lord if the Lord asked for it. He gave of himself as a most excellent sacrifice.
Chapter 3 of James likens the tongue to six objects, and shows, through the example of these objects, three powerful ways it can impact not only our lives, but also the lives of others around us. In this study, Pastor Brown presents the key to taming the tongue.
When glory starts to fade, we try to hide that fact with a figurative veil, so that others can't see or can't know that our glory is fading. That veil we use is called "things." We hide our lack of glory through a ministry, fancy presentations, or over the top productions. Things don't attract the world to the church, glory does, and the only way to keep the glory is to become fully alive through Christ.
In chapter 2, James states that there are three types of faith present in the world today, but only one can save you. Pastor Brown leads an in-depth study of these three types and presents, through Scripture, which one is true, saving faith.
Without God's mercy we cannot be saved, nor experience any miracles. Without mercy there is no hope and we will be judged. Hell is real, and the only thing keeping us from it is mercy. Pastor Brown speaks from Psalms 103, giving us the key to God's mercy and, essentially, salvation.
We are nothing without prayer. It is our connection to annointing, and it we aren't praying, we aren't going to make it.
Above all things, having the favor of God on our lives is something we must crave to obtain, and in our lives there is a specific aspect that brings about a special kind of favor. That aspect is your tithe. Your tithe is the first tenth of all your income and is considered holy to God. It is the trigger for all the blessings He is waiting to pour out on you.
Pastor Brown concludes Chapter 1 of James, with a warning from James of the danger of falling into hypocrisy in our salvation. As is our human nature, it's easy to justify our actions, making ourselves feel safe.
Everything we have in this world is given to us by God. We are only stewards, and not owners, of it all. After we realize this and apply it to our lives can God bless us and use us greatly, for one day we will have to give an account to Him of how we managed His belongings.
This week,Pastor Brown continues our character study of James, looking specifically at James 1:13-18, showing through this passage: How To Deal With Temptation.
Pastor Brown introduces a 6 week character study of the Apostle James and his book of the same name, and begin this study with chapter 1, verses 1-12: The Necessity of Trials.
In the cosmic pull, if you will, of good and evil in our lives, we are ultimately at a tie, a stalemate, and we are the deciding force of which way we are going to be pulled. It is our choice, our election, to either fall into the trap of depression and belittlement, or to be lifted through the plan of salvation to faith and victory. If you are right now at a fork in your road of life, it's time to choose.
As Noah was saved from the sin of the world by water, we are saved from the sin of the world by the fire of the Holy Ghost. Newness of life can be had for us, just like it was for Noah when the flood waters receded. Noah went through the open door of the ark, we have the open door of the tomb waiting for us with it's resurrection power just inside.
The power of a made up mind is exponential, but only if that mind is set can it reach its future. To move forward with all we have, we must make up our minds to burn the ships of our past, else they hold us back from our potential and our fervor.
God is everywhere. He is always with us and He is always near us. When life comes at us in a hard way and we push Him aside, trying to fix things on our own, He's still there. When we're ready all we have to do is reach for Him, to praise Him, and He will come to us, always, because He loves us.
Do you ever wonder why God would want to bless us? Why He would love to do things for us? The answer is found in Matthew 5, verse 16: for you to tell somebody. We are to be the light of the world and the word of our testimony makes that light shine brighter to those who are seeking it.
We as believers are called out by God to not be of this world. We cannot live in this world and in God's promises thinking we can balance them both. The pull of this world is strong and if we aren't grounded in Him it can drag us willingly away.
The Gospel message of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is a powerful truth that can wreak the miraculous in our lives once we recognize that we need it. Only when this truth is realized and accepted does it become powerful as a witness in our lives.
Did God set man up for failure by putting the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden? This question begs itself in the Genesis account, but is answered in New Testament. God's plan was not for man's failure, but for his redemption.
For God to move in your life and to do a work, sometimes simply having faith (believing it will happen) is not enough. He is waiting for you to take the next step and reach out, putting your passion and intensity behind your faith to move God to move.
The Exodus account of Moses and the ten plagues of Egypt is shown as one of the clearest examples of Old Testament foreshadowing of New Testament Salvation.
Every path that we take is chosen by the decisions we make, leading to a destination. If suddenly we look up and don't like where our path is leading us, rather than pray for God to supernaturally intervene and change the destination, we have the ability to change it ourselves by making new decisions and forging a new pathway.
Instead of trying to control every aspect of your life on your own, put Jesus into those aspects and see the wonders God will work in your life.
Pastor Brown likens fasting to a sacrifice being laid on a biblical altar, noting that without the sacrifice, fire will not fall.
