Let Us Not Be Weary in Well Doing - Part 2

Temple Baptist Church - 9-15-2024

Galatians 6:1-10; James 1:14-15

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Last week, we looked at the first of the three types of believers mentioned:

 

1.  The carnal believer who is overtaken in a fault.

 

2.  The spiritual believer who is to restore him in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 

 

3.  The weary believer who beginning to faint and is “swinging in the balance” between spiritual and overtaken in a fault.

 

B.  I want to reiterate that ALL three are believers.  Paul is not talking about the lost nor to the lost.  The Book of Galatians was written to the churches of Galatia and churches were called out assemblies of believers! 

 

C.  This morning, I needed to mention these three again because every one of us is one of the three states.

 

1.  You are carnal and “sitting on the bench” of agreement with this world or

 

2.  You are spiritual with the responsibility of restoring the carnal or

 

3.  You are weary, which is a state of carnality, and your future hangs in the balance.

 

4.  The carnal cannot restore themselves easily as they are “overtaken”.

 

5.  The spiritual must be careful in restoration as he can compromise himself.

 

6.  The weary may get comfortable with his place because it is lukewarmness and that leads to carnality and the need for restoration.

 

7.  “There is no benign state of neutrality with God.” ~ Pastor David Johnston 

 

8.  You are either in or out!

 

D.  Everyone of us here this morning is in one of these three states!  Last week, we looked at the weary believer who has grown cold on God.  A state of lukewarmness that is neither hot nor cold but is despicable to God.

 

Revelation 3:15-16  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  (16)  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

 

E.  It is here that all must be watchful for as it becomes a spiritual creeping paralysis. 

 

F.  This morning, I want to look at the carnal believer.  He is a believer, but he has become calloused to his position and is overtaken.  He has sowed to the flesh and is now reaping corruption. 

 

G.  His spiritual condition is so dire that he cannot easily help himself and must be restored by another.

 

H.  The Carnal believer has been overtaken in (notice not by) a fault: a slippage that eventually brings about a falling and not a falling that slips upon us.

 

1.  Fault – weakness or failing; a moral weakness less serious than a vice. 

 

2.  A misplacement: a fracture in the crust of the earth, caused by a slippage in one side of tectonic plates where they meet, i.e. the San Andreas Fault where there are frequent earthquakes that cause much damage.

 

3.  Slippage, stumble, falling!  A subtle movement that increases.

 

4.  In Tennis, missing the mark.

 

J.  The Sorrow of Sowing To The Flesh: Corruption.  In James, chapter 1, we find 5 Laws of Sowing and Reaping or “Laws Of The Harvest.”

 

****James 1:14-16  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.  Do not err, my beloved brethren.

 

1.  The Principle of Sowing - “lust hath conceived” - You will always sow before you reap.  We will either sow to the flesh or to the Spirit.  There is no benign state of neutrality with God!

 

2.  The Product of Sowing - “bringeth forth sin” - You will always reap what you sow.  We understand this Law of the Harvest because we use it all the time.  When we plant a garden, we carefully choose our seed or plants.  We do not buy a bag filled with every seed known to man and plant them.  We are selective.

 

3.  The Payment of Sowing  - “tempted - lust - sin - death” - You will always reap more than you sow.  God told Noah to replenish the earth.  He could not do this by himself, but his seed produced multitudes.  Abraham was given the same promise.

 

4.  The Period of Sowing - “when it is finished” - You will always reap later than you sow.  There is certainly pleasure in sin for a season, but seasons change.  God does not always make us immediately accountable for what we do but will allow the payment to come.

 

5.  The Perplexity of Sowing - “Do not err” - You will always be shocked at the harvest.  People always throw up their hands and say, “What happened,” when they reap what they have sown over the years.  God is so gracious but is not mocked!

 

6.  Therefore, we find:

 

a)  There is a Deception in sowing to the flesh.

 

b)  There is a Deciding in sowing to the flesh.  We make choices each day to either live for the Lord or to live for self.  Good is not always the easy choice but is always the right choice.

 

c)  There is a Discovery in sowing to the flesh.  One day, we will either be glad, or we will be sad.  We will look back at our lives with regret or with dissatisfaction.

 

d)  There is a Destruction in sowing to the flesh.  We will either reap corruption of the temporal or we will reap the blessing of the eternal.

Prevailing and Availing in Prayer

 Temple Baptist Church - 4-27-2022

James 5:16-20

 

Introduction:

 

A.  As James concludes this book, he, through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he ends with the effectual, fervent pray of the righteous man.

 

B.  I want to take particular notice to the words "righteous man," not sinless man.  Though still in a sinful state, the Lord has chosen to hear and answer our prayers.  Our righteousness is found in the person of Christ Jesus.  "Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne" are the words of "The Solid Rock," a song that we often sing.

 

C.  James ends with a familiar character of the Old Testament, Elijah.  He prefaces that greatness of Elijah's answered prayers with the words "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are."  Elias was a great prophet, not a perfect man.  Elias was a of great prayer, not a sinless man.  God honored Elias's position as a believer and his prayers as prevailing.

 

D.  Elijah both prevailed and failed but God was faithful to him.  God honors the man or woman who effectually and fervently prays.  Both Elijah and Hannah were great examples of prayer and prayer answered.

 

E.  Our prayer life is essential to living a godly, effective life for Christ.  Paul had much to say about our prayer life but one verse that I quote regularly is:

 

Ephesians 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (That we ask or think are the key words of the verse.  "We think" is the effectual part of prayer (pointed, specific, not to be consumed upon our lust) and "we ask" (continuance, determined) is the fervent part.)

 

1.  Thus availing prayer is pointed prayer.

 

2.  Prevailing prayer is persistent prayer.

 

F.  Our prayer life is to be well-balanced.  Our Lord gave us the Model Prayer or the example of prayer: worship, thanksgiving, requests, confession, and the forgiveness of others.  One of the least used parts of prayer is that of confession.  Our text defines the difference between our private and public confessions with the word "faults."  We confess our sins to God, but it is a good thing to confess our faults to men as it gives accountability.

 

G.  Whereas the first part of these verses dealt with physical sickness, this latter part deals with faults that are connected to chastisement.

 

1.  Fault – areas of weakness in one's life.  Hebrews 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  (I believe that every child of God has areas where he or she struggles.  An area of temptation to one may be an area of strength to another.)

 

James 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

 

H.  Dealing with faults.  This is not the confession of sin!  Keep your sin between you and God!  Public sin is to be publicly dealt with and private sin is to be dealt with privately.

 

1.  To confess a fault is to recognize that we have one.  In James, chapter one, the Bible reads:  James 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  (23)  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  (24)  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  (25)  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

 

In these verses we find:

 

a.  Verse 23: The source of our recognition:  the Bible.  The first part of getting our faults healed is that of recognition.  As we read God's perfect Word, we see the imperfect man!

 

b.  Verse 25: The constancy of our recognition: stay in the Bible.  We find our faults from reading the Bible and we control our faults by staying in the Bible.

 

2.  To confess a fault is to find help in accountability with both God and man. 

 

Matthew 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

 

a.  We need first to confess to God.  1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

b.  In cases of faults or weaknesses, we need accountability when we continue to fail in the same areas.  I am not advocating AA, but one of the things that they do is confess their faults.  The same thing is done with Weight Watchers as they must weigh before others.  As God's children and a part of the family of God, we help each other in two ways:

 

c.  By confessing before others our faults, we show that we are all struggling together in this sinful body of death.

 

d. By praying for one another in such cases, we show our being there for each other in the matter of prayer and loving help.

 

3.  To pray for each other is to get help from God as God honors our prayers.  "Call unto me and I will answer thee."  "Ye have not because ye ask not."  This is why we take open prayer requests in church and prayer rooms. 

 

Matthew 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

 

4.  We find the possibility of healing, through sins confessed in cases of chastisement or faults confessed, God is both able and willing to give help to His beloved children by removing the chastisement of sinfulness.

 

5.  The conversion of the sinner is the covering of a multitude of sins that have been committed or that would have been committed had he not requested help.  It is also a covering for all who hear because it manifest's our personal weakness in the matter of sinfulness and we strive harder to live lives that are pleasing to God.

Is Any Merry?

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-23-2022

James 5:13

Introduction: 

 

A.  Last week, I preached on "Is Any Among You Afflicted?"  Affliction is different from sickness as it hardship that comes through living for Christ.  In the First Mention, Israel was "afflicted" by Pharoah and Egypt.  Satan and the world.  In the Last Mention, we find that Satan is the culprit.

 

B.  Next week, I will more than likely preach on "Is Any Sick Among You?"

 

C.  Located between the two, affliction and sickness, the Holy Spirit put the word "merry."  Someone once said, "You are going into trouble, you are in trouble, or you are coming out of it.  If you are happy and content today, then this message is for you.  If you are in trouble today, you will come out eventually and become merry.

 

D.  I believe that our verse is set up this way because we tend to worry about the bad times before they come at the expense of the good times that we now have.

 

Matthew 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

E.  The Bible has much to say about merriment.  It is a good thing!  It is a condition to be enjoyed; it a condition to be thankful for.  Someone said, "Worrying today is like paying interest on a loan that you may never have to take out."  Worry never fixed anything but it stress remains the biggest cause of death!

 

1.  A Merry Heart Maketh A Cheerful Countenance – Proverbs 15:13 - Most people today look like a mule that has been eating saw briers!  Every where you go, you see sad faces, hear cursing and complaining!  Smiles are contagious!

 

2.  A Merry Heart Maketh A Continual Feast – Proverbs 15:15 - Enjoyment of life!  We are so blessed and yet people are still not satisfied and live lives of quiet desperation!

 

3.  A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like A Medicine – Proverbs 17:12 - A smiling face or “drieth the bone!”

 

F.  Another reason for this sermon is that people can be merry and fail to give praise and thanks to God for it.  Many enjoy a wonderful meal but never bow their heads and give thanks to God for it.  It is natural to seek God in affliction and sickness while forgetting God in the good times.

 

Ecclesiastes 8:15  Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

 

Psalms 95:1-3  O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  (2)  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  (3)  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

 

Psalms 100:4-5  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  (5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

1.  If you are merry, if you are happy, if things are going great for you, YOU NEED TO REJOICE!

 

First Mention - Exodus 18:8-9  And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.  (9)  And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. (What a day this was after 430 years in Egypt)

 

Last Mention - Revelation 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  (What a day that will be when we are married to our Groom)

 

Psalms 118:24  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

 

Philippians 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

 

"Alway"  is singular for a reason.  "Lo, I am with you alway" is also singular.  Always covers an expanse of time such as a lifetime.  Alway takes on the meaning of "in every instance of life."  Good times and bad times.  When times are good, Rejoice!  Do not take them for granted.

 

2.  If you are merry, be thankful.  Unthankful is to be Unthinkful which is to be Ungrateful.  This may seem too be redundant, but it is not.  You do not have to look far to find someone who is having it worse than you are! We are so prone to take things for granted.  To treat the good times of life as something that we deserve and, therefore, just enjoy them.

 

Let me give you a good example of what I am saying.  So many times, we go to a find restaurant and eat a great meal.  As we look around, we see a few stop and take the time to give thanks to God for the meal.  Most think that an excellent meal is something deserved.

 

Be thankful for the good times.  Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.  (10)  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.  (12:1)  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

 

If we are to rejoice "alway," then how much more should we rejoice when things are good!

 

3.  If you are merry, be worshipful.  If times are good, it is the Lord who allowed it.  Psalm: to play or to sing forth praises; to make music; to worship; to celebrate!

 

1 Chronicles 16:7-10  Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.  (8)  Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.  (9)  Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.  (10)  Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

 

James 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Waiting with Patience

 Temple Baptist Church - 2-23-2022

James 5:7-8; Romans 8:18-25

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Verse 7 of our text speaks of both "be patient," which is the present, and "long patience," which is endurance.  Paul spoke of this in the Book of Romans:

 

Romans 8:22-25  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.  (23)  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.  (24)  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  (25)  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 

B.  Waiting in patience is tough to do.  There are times when we wait because we have no choice, but we do not wait in patience.  These are two words that we do not like:  Wait and Patience!

 

C.  One of the hardest things that you and I will ever do, is wait “open ended.”  To wait for something to happen but not knowing if it will happen tomorrow, next week, or next year.  It is so much easier to wait for something when you know the time of the event you are waiting for. 

 

D.  The Old Testament saints, with a few exceptions, waited for a period of 4,000 years—gave up on the promises of God and slept spiritually before the First Advent. 

 

E.  God’s men have preached over 2,000 years concerning the Second Advent or Second Coming of Christ. 

 

1.  In John 14, Our Lord said, “If I go away, I will come again.” 

 

2.  In Acts 1:11, the angel said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” 

 

F.  2 Thessalonians 3:5  And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

 

G.  God is not in a hurry, we are.  If God can accomplish anything immediately and He can, then why does He often make us wait for the answers to our problems?  Often, His silences are hard to understand because His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than ours.

 

H.  The word “patient,” in one form or another, is found 15x in 14 verses.  All but three are found in the New Testament.  Not that the Old Testament saints had no problem with patience, but the New Testament saints live in busier times with more things to distract.

 

J.  By being patient, James is not saying to just sit still and do nothing.  While we wait, we have things to do. 

 

1.  Rest In Patience - Psalms 37:7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  (I began with this one because I dealt with learning to rest in the Lord as we wait this morning.)

 

2.  Pray In Patience - Psalms 40:1  I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  (God has a time and we have a time.  Thus the human problem arises when we expect immediate answers to every prayer.  As the widow before the unjust judge, we need to continue to pray until the answer comes.)

 

3.  Continue In Patience - Romans 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:  (Patient in godliness is one of our greatest witnessing tools.  People watch to see how long we will last.)

 

Hebrews 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

 

4.  Suffer In Patience - Romans 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;  (One of the harder aspects of patience is patient in suffering.)

 

1 Peter 2:20  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

 

5.  Fellowship In Patience - 1 Thessalonians 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.  (Love the brotherhood, though they may say and do things that offend.  (Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.  Christ set the example to follow.)

 

6.  Labor In Patience - 1 Corinthians 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  (We plow, sow, water, watch, and wait for the fruit of our labors.)

 

7.  Witness In Patience - James 5:7-8  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.  (8)  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.  (Never give up on a lost loved one!)

 

8.  Hope In Patience - Hebrews 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  (“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”  John 14:3)