We continue with James 1:13 – here James tells us the sources of temptations. His main message is this: Don’t blame anyone but yourself! “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” (James 1:14) We don’t want to admit it, but we have to face the fact that our Adam nature leans towards sin and the only way out of that is to have the nature of God inside of you. You don’t automatically have that, it’s a gift, you have to humble yourself and ask God to forgive you of your sins and invite Him inside. That’s usually the stopping point for many people…they just don’t see that what they are doing is wrong – hmm…isn’t that the problem with being in the dark – you can’t see! James 2 then gives us the good news that faith removes discrimination. Sweet! God will take you, rich or poor, no matter what color or ethnic group, no matter what belief system you have had jammed down your throat. He will forgive you and take you as His own. You may not stay rich or poor but, for sure, your “belief system” will change to His system. The truth will surely set you free. Not free to sin, but to serve God and each other in holiness. That holiness coming from God will set you up for happiness. It doesn’t work the other way around. You can seek this whole world for happiness and it will never get you holiness…only Jesus Christ can do that. (Listen to entire sermon below.) If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
0 Comments
When people go to a cookie jar, they expect to find a cookie. How disappointing it is to find it empty! When people go to you for something, do they find an empty cookie jar? Do you have inside of you what is needed for their refreshment, renewing or restoration? Or, like the empty cookie jar, you are just “painted” on the outside as a Christian? We are lacking and empty and far from what God is, but your jar can be full, so to speak, full of Him, if you let Him. 1 John 1:5, “…God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” When people come to you, let them find your cookie jar full of His holiness and not your emptiness! [Scripture References: Isaiah 6:3; Ecclesiastes 8:11, 9:3; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 23:25; Mark 7:21; Hebrews 3:12; 2 Peter 2:14; Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21, 2:18; Titus 1:15] Listen to entire sermon by audio below. If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. © 2012 Carolyn Marshall God did it all in Jesus so we wouldn’t have to struggle. Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace), whowrote volumes during the 1800s, is an example of someone who could never rest in Jesus. After becoming a Christian, he became a radical legalist. He wrote volumes on God’s unwavering standards but beat himself up because he couldn’t meet them. His response to that was to just keep making more and more rules for himself, but all failed. Tolstoy is a prime example of trying to let the earthly nature accomplish the heavenly things…that won’t EVER work. We just have to let it go and let God show what He wants us to do and help us to do it. We must enter God’s gift of rest. Don’t continue as the controller any longer. As an illustration, the word “flow” indicates something smooth and unhindered. That is what God wants, not rules and regulations as Tolstoy mistakenly understood. God wants Him in you and you in Him…now that’s flow…that’s letting go, honey. Isaiah 61:1, John 8:32, Romans 8:21, 2 Corinthians 3:17 Audio: (Click forward button below to play audio of sermon and/or download file.)
We have just completed a series on “The Tabernacle in the Wilderness” in which the spiritual underpinnings of the Tabernacle and the Priesthood were covered. The majesty, the beauty, the order, the connection made with the presence of an almighty God, the sheer sacredness of it all…but how do we get from there to here? And there is even more—the sacrifices and the feasts of the Old Testament round out the picture of a loving God guiding His misguided children (then and now) back to Him to realize a completeness they can never achieve on their own. As I ponder these things, I understand there is a bridge that connects the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices and the feasts with a life in Christ today...that bridge is holiness. So, before we continue to an in-depth study of the sacrifices and feasts, we must stop awhile and ponder the meaning and significance of holiness. To understand holiness, we need to understand more of who God is and what His character is like. We need to really understand that God is not like us...He is holy. Isaiah 6:3, “...Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts...” There is a huge gap between God and us and it is not bridgeable from our side—it is bridged only from the Holy God side. Audio: (Click forward button below to play audio of sermon and/or download mp3 file.)
Handout: (Download notes for sermon below.)
|
Archives
September 2021
|