1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:05,800 All right, good morning. Once again, church family, if 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,240 you would open your Bibles to the book of James. 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,520 This morning we are in James chapter 1 and we're just going 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,239 to be in three verses. We we've been kind of going out 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,400 at a clique of of 3 or 4 verses because James is very dense with 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,440 application and theology. And so this morning we're just 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,880 going to be in James 113 to 15. The title of the sermon this 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,960 morning is this trials present Temptations. 9 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,680 So let's read the text openness in a word of prayer, and then 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:37,760 we'll jump into the sermon this morning. 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:43,440 James one beginning in verse 13. Here's what James writes to us. 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,520 Let no one say when he is tempted. 13 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:56,360 I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, 14 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:03,200 and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when 15 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:08,240 he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 16 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,640 The desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, 17 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:20,280 and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. 18 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:29,320 If you will pray with me, but I pray this morning as we look at 19 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:34,440 this passage and we consider trials and tests and 20 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,880 temptations. God, would you help us to see 21 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:44,600 that you are a God who never tempts his people? 22 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,720 That you may give us trials, you may give us tests, but you never 23 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:57,440 give them to tempt us to sin. Help us to see that the root 24 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:07,760 cause of our sin is our own desires, these desires that lure 25 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,120 us and and lead us away from you. 26 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:19,560 Pray God that you would help us to to see our need to put 27 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,600 temptation and our sinful desires to death. 28 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,120 That way it would not become fully grown and it would not 29 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,880 bring forth death in our life. I pray this in the name of 30 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:35,200 Jesus, Amen. John Bunyan wrote. 31 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:42,280 Temptations, when we meet them at first are as the lion that 32 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:48,640 roared upon Samson, but if we overcome them, the next time 33 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:53,160 that we see them, we shall find a nest of honey within them. 34 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,920 Trials can often feel like a lion that pounces upon us. 35 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:07,520 I can never beat this, I will always lose this battle. 36 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,760 But we must remember that Samson did not defeat the lion in his 37 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:18,200 own strength, but it was the Spirit of God that overpowered 38 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:23,040 him, that allowed him to overpower the lion. 39 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,560 Interesting enough, it was not the lion that defeated Samson, 40 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:36,800 it was the honey, this trial of a lion that came upon him. 41 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,800 It was not his fear. He was not tempted to fear. 42 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:46,800 He overpowered the lion. It was his desire for the honey 43 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,320 that defeated him, touching a dead carcass and then lying 44 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:57,120 about it to his parents. Turns out his desires were 45 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:02,000 stronger than the lion. That's often true for us. 46 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:08,840 And no matter how strong a trial, maybe often our desires 47 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:14,640 are even stronger. Trials present temptations. 48 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:16,920 That's what the sermon is about this morning. 49 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,800 So let's look at our text. I'm going to divide up the text 50 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,400 into 8 sections. We're going to start with the 51 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,440 next position where I explain it, and then I'm going to give 52 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,120 application at the end. So let's start looking at this 53 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:35,840 section by section. James 113 A James writes, Let no 54 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:40,000 one say when he is tempted. Let me stop there. 55 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,960 James begins our text this morning with an exhortation. 56 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:48,760 He gives us a command. Let no one say which can also be 57 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,320 mean. Let no one think to themselves, 58 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,440 right? Let no one think in their minds 59 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,640 when he is tempted. Well, before we move on, we got 60 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,000 to ask, what is that? What is temptation? 61 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,520 We've all heard this word before, but if you ever stop to 62 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,200 actually ask yourself, what is temptation, what is it? 63 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,640 The Greek word is pay razo. It's used 38 times in the New 64 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:16,400 Testament, 16 of the 38, it's actually translated as tested, 65 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:22,240 14 of 30 as tempted. Translators actually have to 66 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,800 decide when they see the word pay razo. 67 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,600 Are they going to translate as test or trial or tempt? 68 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,760 They have to decide this. The ESV has opted to translate 69 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,160 it as tempted, but we could translate it as test or trial. 70 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,520 This is how the CSB translates it. 71 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:46,520 The CSB reads, no one undergoing a trial should say and that's 72 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,080 that's a perfectly good translation. 73 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:49,960 But for now, let's stick with the ESV. 74 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,880 Temptation means this. It means to entice to sin. 75 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,160 It means to endeavor or attempt to cause someone else to sin. 76 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,160 That's what temptation is. It is the verb that's used for 77 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:08,200 Tempted is a present passive participle, which means this. 78 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:10,640 It is currently happening in the present. 79 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,720 It's an ongoing action, and someone is doing this to us, or 80 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,800 something is doing this to us. It's passive, so something 81 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:22,840 outside of us is something or someone is enticing us, is 82 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:29,560 luring us to sin. So when this happens, when we 83 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:34,360 are tempted, James says we should not say something. 84 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,480 What should we not say? Look at 13 B. 85 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:39,960 Let no one say when he is tempted. 86 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:45,360 I am being tempted by God. Now let me point out that the 87 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,760 word for tempted and 13A is the exact same Greek word for 88 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,200 tempted and 13B. They're both pay razo. 89 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,960 And this is important because as I just mentioned, translators 90 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,560 have to decide whether to translate this as test or tempt. 91 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,720 And in the first usage of the word in 13 A, we can translate 92 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,320 it as test or trial. That will work. 93 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,040 Let no one say when he is being tested or let no one say when 94 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,840 he's being undergoing a trial. But in the second usage of the 95 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,120 word, we have to translate it as tempt. 96 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,640 Why? Because James writes that we 97 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:30,000 shouldn't say I am being pay Razzo by God, but if we 98 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,480 translate this as test or trial, then James would be suggesting 99 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,520 that we shouldn't say I'm being tested by God. 100 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,920 I am being put through a trial by God. 101 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,200 But we know that God does test us. 102 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,600 We know that God puts us through a trial. 103 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,040 Genesis 22, one after these things. 104 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:56,040 God tested Abraham multiple times in the Israelite 105 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,240 wilderness. The God tested the Israelites, 106 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,000 Exodus 15/16/20, Deuteronomy 8, Deuteronomy 13. 107 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,480 So let me let me bring this on with James is saying that 108 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:15,120 whether we are going through a test or trial or tempting them, 109 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,880 no one should say that the reason this is happening is 110 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:25,840 because God is tempting me. Whether you're going through a 111 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:31,640 test or trial or you're being tempted, no one should say the 112 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:37,039 reason this is happening is because God is tempting me. 113 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,919 We are to never accuse God of tempting us. 114 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:47,200 James gives 2 reasons why. Look at 13 C The first reason 115 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,760 for God cannot be tempted with evil. 116 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,520 Now 2 questions come to my mind when I read when I read this 117 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,720 number one, what does that mean? God can't be tempted with evil 118 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,080 and #2 does this mean that Jesus was not truly tempted? 119 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:05,720 Let's look at the first question. 120 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,640 The phrase cannot be tempted is actually one word in the Greek. 121 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,320 It's only one word in the Greek. This is the only time it's used 122 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,480 in the New Testament. It literally means not temptable 123 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,120 or unable to be tempted. That's what it literally means. 124 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,000 And of course, this raises the question, why is this true? 125 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:25,600 Why can God not be tempted? Why is God unable to be tempted? 126 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:28,040 Let me give an incomplete analogy. 127 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,400 It's it's incomplete, But let me give an incomplete analogy. 128 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,360 Suppose after church service today I took your lunch. 129 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:36,640 I asked you, can I have your lunch? 130 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,600 And you gave me your lunch. I don't know why you would do 131 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:39,640 that, but let's say you gave it to me. 132 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,320 I took your lunch. I went outside and I rubbed it 133 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,000 all over the sidewalk, and we all know what's on the sidewalk 134 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,920 out there. Then I went and I rubbed it all 135 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,600 in the grass, and we all know what's in the grass out there. 136 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,040 You saw me do all this. Then I came and presented your 137 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,720 lunch to you and I tried to tempt you to eat it. 138 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:15,800 Are you tempted? All the girls were like, The 139 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:28,840 guys were like. This food is so filthy, so so 140 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:34,360 contemplated, that it no longer presents any temptation to you. 141 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:44,360 That's how all sin is with God, all of it. 142 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,920 Second question, does this mean that Jesus was not truly 143 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,920 tempted? In other words, if you're taking 144 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,960 a logic class right, how do we reconcile the fact that A Jesus 145 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:04,520 is fully God, B God cannot be tempted by evil, C The Bible 146 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,360 says Jesus was tempted. How do we reconcile that? 147 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,120 Jesus is fully God? God cannot be tempted by evil. 148 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:12,920 The Bible says Jesus was tempted. 149 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,720 How do we reconcile that? He was 415 says that we do not 150 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:19,600 have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our 151 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:24,440 weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we 152 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,200 are. The Bible says that Jesus was 153 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,520 tempted. Is that just an illusion? 154 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,800 Is that just an idea? How do we reconcile this? 155 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:37,880 Well, we must remember that Jesus is fully God, but he was 156 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:44,280 also fully human. He's also fully human, and his 157 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:50,960 humanity is fully tempted. In other words, his hunger in 158 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:56,360 the wilderness was tempted to turn the stones into bread. 159 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:03,720 Not his divinity, but his humanity was fully tempted, just 160 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,560 as you and I are. He was tempted as humanity to 161 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:14,760 turn the stones into bread. 13D last point, the second reason he 162 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:20,360 gives why we should not say God is tempting us is He himself 163 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,720 tempts no one. He himself tempts no one. 164 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,600 Now when we say that God himself tempts no one, I want to be 165 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:35,920 clear that God ordaining that temptation happen is different 166 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,120 than God doing the tempting himself. 167 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:44,520 Let me say that again, God ordaining that temptation happen 168 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,760 is different than God actually doing the tempting himself. 169 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:52,000 Let me give you 3 examples of this. 170 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:58,080 Number one, God ordained that Adam and Eve would be tempted in 171 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,560 the garden. He could have stopped it, could 172 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,640 he have not? He could have told the serpent, 173 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,320 you are not allowed to come into this garden. 174 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,440 You may not tempt them. He is God, He has that 175 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,360 privilege. He could have stopped it, but 176 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:21,120 God ordained it to happen. But God did not tempt them 177 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:26,360 himself. Second example, Jesus ordained 178 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,600 that Peter be tempted. Remember what Satan said to him. 179 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,120 Satan came to Jesus and said, I demand to sit like wheat. 180 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:41,280 And Jesus could have said, no, no, you may not, I do not give 181 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,040 you permission to do that. But he didn't say that Jesus 182 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:51,160 ordained that it would happen, but he did not tempt Peter 183 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,760 himself. I'll give you one more example. 184 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,160 God Dang that Dave incited to take a census. 185 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,880 Do you remember in Second Samuel 24 one again the anger of the 186 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,320 Lord was kindled against Israel and he meaning God incited David 187 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,920 against them. That's interesting because the 188 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,280 first Chronicles 21 one, it says then Satan stood against Israel 189 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,080 and incited David against the number Israel. 190 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:21,840 How do we reconcile those two? Just like this God ordained that 191 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:32,200 Satan would tempt David, but he himself did not tempt David. 14A 192 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:38,480 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed. 193 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,120 Each person is tempted when he's lured and enticed. 194 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,520 The tempted here is the same Greek word, perazzo. 195 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,240 Each person is tempted when he's lured and enticed. 196 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:48,880 What? What? 197 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,760 What are those two terms mean to lure and entice? 198 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,720 This is the only time this word for lure is used in the New 199 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:57,640 Testament. It's a present passive 200 00:14:57,640 --> 00:14:59,880 participle. This is something happening in 201 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,600 the present. It's being done to the person 202 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,800 and it's ongoing. It means to drag away with the 203 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,160 connotation of initial reluctance. 204 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,120 It can also be translated to be carried away. 205 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,760 Expression is carried away or drawn away. 206 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,720 That's the idea. And enticed another present 207 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,000 passive participle. It means browse someone's 208 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,760 interest in something by clever measures. 209 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,200 If you've ever been fishing before, often use allure. 210 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:34,040 It's, you know, objects using plastic to be metal, objects 211 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,440 that are shaped and colored like minnows or frogs or insects or 212 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:46,920 worms or whatever fish bite on. So James says here that God 213 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:51,520 doesn't tempt anyone, which means God doesn't lure anyone, 214 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,640 doesn't entice anyone. So what does he do or what does 215 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,600 happen? Where does that come from? 216 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,360 Look at 14B. Each person is tempted when he 217 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:10,360 is lured and enticed by his own desire. 218 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:13,480 Now 2 questions that get raised here. 219 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,920 Number one, what is desire? Right? 220 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,200 We all know what that word is, but what is the Greek word? 221 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,240 The Greek word is epithemia. It means a great desire for 222 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,880 something, longing, craving, a desire for something that's 223 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,600 forbidden, or simply inordinate craving or lust. 224 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,440 Now, this word that's used here can be used in a positive sense. 225 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,240 There are positive desires, but the overwhelming majority of 226 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:43,040 this is negative. It's a -1 How does this work? 227 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,680 Second question, how does our own desires lure us? 228 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,840 How do they entice us? How does that work? 229 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:58,160 Think of it like this. Imagine if you placed chicken 230 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:03,920 feet right in front of me. Doesn't matter how much color 231 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,839 you get on them. Doesn't matter how much sauce 232 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:12,880 you coat them in, how well they glisten in the light. 233 00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:19,359 I am not lured. I am not enticed. 234 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,480 Why? Because I have 0 desire for 235 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,920 them. Sorry. 236 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:34,080 I know many of you love them, but if you put a steak in front 237 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:40,520 of me, if you put lobster, if you put scallops, if you put 238 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:48,920 Priscilla's cookies, I am lured. I am enticed. 239 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:54,400 Why? Because I have desire for it. 240 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:05,800 James writes that the source of temptation is not God, but our 241 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:11,960 own desires. We saw this in the garden, did 242 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,960 we not? So when the woman saw that the 243 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:22,760 tree was good for food desire, and that it was a delight to the 244 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:29,960 eyes desire and that the tree was to be desire to make one 245 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:38,680 wise, she took it and ate it. Look at 15 a then desire when it 246 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:43,640 is conceived gives birth to sin. Now James here is personifying 247 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,200 desire and said he's giving it like human qualities. 248 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:50,000 He's personifying it. He says that desire when it has 249 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,960 conceived, literally when it's become pregnant, when desire has 250 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,760 become pregnant. How does desire become pregnant? 251 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,640 The same way a woman becomes pregnant by fooling around. 252 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:12,040 Same way, once desire has conceived, becomes pregnant, it 253 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:17,880 gives birth, it produces something what it gives birth to 254 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,160 sin. In other words, here's what 255 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,920 James is saying. In the same way that if a woman 256 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:29,400 has a baby inside her and she feeds that baby, she will give 257 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:34,640 birth to a baby. And if we have sinful desire 258 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:40,200 inside of us and we feed that sinful desire, we will give 259 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,840 birth to sin. That's how it works. 260 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:50,800 Look at 15-B and sin, when it is fully grown brings forth death, 261 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:56,720 sin when it's fully grown. James wants to make it clear 262 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,520 that we don't get to put sin up for an adoption. 263 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:04,240 In other words, we take it home with us, it becomes a part of 264 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,680 us, and if it is not dealt with, it will continue to grow. 265 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,240 Just as children grow, so does sin grow. 266 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,160 And James says that when sin is fully grown, literally to bring 267 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,920 an activity to an end, to finish, to complete, once sin is 268 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,520 fully grown, it brings forth, you know, the word brings forth 269 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,920 means literally, it gives birth. It gives birth. 270 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:34,920 Sin gives birth to death. So I want you to see the 271 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,320 progression here. Here's what James is saying. 272 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:39,880 Here's the the whole argument that he's making here. 273 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,800 We all have desire inside of us. Everybody is born with desires. 274 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:46,480 Desires. I have desires. 275 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,000 We all have desires. We have desires inside of us. 276 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:57,280 Temptation gets introduced to this desire, and what it does is 277 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:06,680 it lures that desire into its bed, and when it comes into bed 278 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:11,920 with it, it becomes pregnant. And once it becomes pregnant, it 279 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,480 gives birth. And it gives birth to sin. 280 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,520 And if sin is allowed to grow and continue to grow, it will 281 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:28,440 eventually give birth to death. That's the argument that James 282 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:33,120 is making here. Stop there with the exposition. 283 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,200 What do we do with this text? I have 9 points of application 284 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,280 this morning. If you're busy with us, this is 285 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,080 regular. Just want to warn you, I 286 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:46,000 normally have like 7 to 10. I'm not a three pointer kind of 287 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,280 guy. I have 9 points this morning #1 288 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:58,240 All trials present temptations. All trials present temptations. 289 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,160 Every trial in our life presents 2 opportunities. 290 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,480 Every single trial presents 2 opportunities. 291 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:09,800 A, They are an opportunity for God to test us, and B, they are 292 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,880 an opportunity for Satan to tempt us. 293 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,880 Every trial presents those two opportunities. 294 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,960 They are an opportunity for God to test us, and they are an 295 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,120 opportunity for Satan to tempt us. 296 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:22,600 Let's think of a few common trials. 297 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,320 Let's physical trials, right? Some of us may have physical 298 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,920 trials right now. Something that's hurting in your 299 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,200 body, maybe you're sick. When we are in physical pain, 300 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,440 that's a trial. Are we not tempted to complain? 301 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,640 Are we not tempted to be angry? Are we not tempted to grow 302 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,360 discouraged? Or let's think of relational 303 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,040 trials whenever we go through a breakup. 304 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,080 Some of you may have gone through a breakup before, or you 305 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,960 may have had conflict in a friendship or conflict in the 306 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,280 church. Whenever that happens, are we 307 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:01,320 not tempted to gossip? Are we not tempted to be bitter? 308 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:09,120 Are we not tempted to even possibly drink away our pain or 309 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:12,040 think about work trials? When we're facing difficulty at 310 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,760 work and we're going through a work trial, are we not tempted 311 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:19,560 to idolize our work? I've got to work 60 hours, 70 312 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,200 hours, 80 hours a week, whatever it takes. 313 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,800 Are we not tempted to be envious of others? 314 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:33,360 It's so nice to be at Google. Are we not tempted to grow 315 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:40,280 anxious? As I've mentioned before, I find 316 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,480 it interesting that there's only one Greek word for trial, test, 317 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,320 and temptation. That there's only one. 318 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:48,120 I think this is telling. Why? 319 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:54,320 Because it means this all trials are a test, and all trials 320 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:59,920 present temptations. You will not go through a trial 321 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:04,120 without being tempted. You will always be tempted to 322 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,920 sin with a trial. That's why it's called a trial. 323 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,360 Sometimes trials can be so difficult, right? 324 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,160 They're so taxing on the emotions. 325 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,120 They're taxing on our mental state. 326 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,680 Sometimes the trial can be so difficult that we feel like we 327 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:32,200 have no choice but to sin. I know I shouldn't be doing 328 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,040 this, but you, you don't understand. 329 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,160 You don't understand what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling. 330 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,840 And honestly, I don't see any other way out. 331 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,000 I don't see, I don't see any other course of action here. 332 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:46,200 Sometimes we can begin to believe the lie that we have no 333 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:53,200 choice to sin, which trials can make us feel like God has 334 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:58,760 cornered us into sinning. Trial can make us feel like God 335 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,440 has cornered us into sinning. James writes a very interesting 336 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:06,920 statement in 13 verse 13. He says in verse 13, let no one 337 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:10,400 say when he's tempted. I am being tempted by God. 338 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,160 Now why would somebody ever say that? 339 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:14,040 Why would somebody ever even think that? 340 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,680 Here's why. Because one of the ways that we 341 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:24,120 are tempted when we are tested is to accuse God of tempting us. 342 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,400 In other words, we might begin to subconsciously or consciously 343 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:35,280 believe the lie that God has set up this trial for us to fail. 344 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,520 Let me give some worldly examples of this. 345 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,960 Sometimes managers will have an assessment of an employee, 346 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,560 perhaps a so-called test that is impossible. 347 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,080 The manager knows it's impossible and the point of the 348 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,840 test is for the employee to fail. 349 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,520 Why? So they can deny promotions or 350 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:03,360 terminate employment. It's a real thing. 351 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,520 Sometimes in academic and educational situations, teachers 352 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,840 will purposely give trick questions that almost everybody 353 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,880 will get wrong. If not everybody gets wrong. 354 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,840 Sometimes in the military, the instructor will give a test, 355 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,360 whether it be physical or mental, that is impossible to 356 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:26,640 pass. Why? 357 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,880 The point is for the soldiers to fail. 358 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,240 They want to see how they respond to failure. 359 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:42,160 And the question is this, does God do this? 360 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:53,280 Does God do this? Does God give us trials so that 361 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:58,480 we would fail, so that we would succumb to temptation? 362 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:05,960 Does he do this? And the answer is no, no, never, 363 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:14,720 never. God always desires us to pass 364 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,960 Always. God is never tempting us to sin. 365 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:26,080 He is never giving us a trial for the purpose of tempting us, 366 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,360 no matter how much we may feel like God. 367 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,480 You cornered me into this and now I have no other option. 368 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:49,160 No, God is never tempting us to sin. 3 Not only is God always 369 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,920 good, but he is not tempted for one second to be evil. 370 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,960 Not only is God always good, but he is not even tempted for one 371 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:04,720 second to be evil. One of the hardest pieces to 372 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:09,320 accept about James 113 is who we are genetically. 373 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,120 You read this text and sometimes one of the hardest pieces to 374 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:15,800 accept this is who we are genetically. 375 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,000 Many of us, if not all of us, have some form of a trial with 376 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,320 who we are genetically. In other words, we all have 377 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:31,280 proclivities or maybe disabilities or weaknesses that 378 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:35,000 are hard wired by God. You're Born This Way. 379 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:37,960 You're born with this proclivity. 380 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,920 You're born with this weakness. You're born with this 381 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,000 disability. You're born with this disorder, 382 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,400 this maybe. Maybe you're prone to 383 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:52,080 depression, maybe you're prone to lust. 384 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,440 Maybe you're prone to drinking. Maybe you're prone to 385 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:01,160 overeating. Maybe you're prone to anxiety. 386 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,080 And because of these proclivities, because of these 387 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:11,120 disabilities, because of these weaknesses, we might begin to 388 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:19,000 think, if God knows that I am prone to depression, why would 389 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:23,920 he get me unemployment? Why would he do that? 390 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,120 If God knows that I am prone to lust, why would he give me 391 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:35,760 singleness? Why would he do that? 392 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,600 If God knows that I am prone to drinking, why would he take my 393 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:48,920 friends away? If God knows that I am prone to 394 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,480 anxiety, why is he making school so hard? 395 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,480 I know that God is good, but it doesn't feel like He's good 396 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:07,560 right now. Pastor, how do you know that 397 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:13,880 God's not tempting me? Because God cannot be tempted 398 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:19,120 with evil. God knows who you are. 399 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:25,080 He knows your proclivities. He knows your weaknesses. 400 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,200 And he didn't give you this trial because he is evil. 401 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,200 He gave it to you because he is good. 402 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,920 Four. God may ordain that temptation 403 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:49,560 happen, but he also ordains a way of escape. 404 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:56,280 God may ordain that temptation happen, but he also ordains a 405 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:59,120 way of escape. As I mentioned in the 406 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,000 exposition, one of the challenges of this verse is 407 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,920 reconciling the fact that God is sovereign, which means he 408 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,840 controls all things. He doesn't tempt anyone, and yet 409 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:18,440 temptation still exists. And as a position, God ordaining 410 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,400 that temptation happened is different than God doing the 411 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:27,440 tempting himself. Temptation, just like sin, is a 412 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:32,080 tool in the hand of God. It's a tool that he uses for his 413 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,000 purposes. Now we might think, well, why 414 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,240 not just ordain that temptation never happened, right? 415 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:39,880 Why don't I just do that? I got it. 416 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,280 Why don't you just ordain that temptation never happened? 417 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,200 That there's an answer to that question that is beyond the 418 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,520 scope of the sermon. But let me point this out. 419 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,360 Let me say this, Did you ever notice that in the Lord's Prayer 420 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:58,160 Jesus didn't say, let us not be tempted. 421 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,760 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy 422 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,400 Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, let 423 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:09,520 us not be tempted. Did you ever notice it didn't 424 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:14,760 say that? Instead Jesus said pray, lead us 425 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:20,160 not into now. Why would Jesus tell us to pray 426 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,920 that instead of praying let us not tempted? 427 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:30,160 Because temptation, just like sin, is a tool in the hand of 428 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:33,640 God that he uses for his purposes. 429 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,240 Of course this raises the question, what did Jesus mean 430 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:38,680 when he said lead us not to temptation? 431 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:40,040 What did he mean when he said that? 432 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:45,720 I think he means this, Keep our temptation from becoming sin. 433 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,560 Keep our temptation from becoming sin. 434 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,360 God is going to ordain that temptation happen in your life, 435 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,400 but we pray God keep it from becoming sin. 436 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,280 God's will is not to keep us from being tempted. 437 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:13,640 His will is to keep our temptation from becoming sin. 438 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:20,560 And often the way that God does this is First Corinthians 10/13. 439 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,800 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. 440 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,440 God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted 441 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,320 beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will 442 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:35,560 also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure 443 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:42,680 it. Brother, sisters, God may ordain 444 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:49,120 that temptation happen, but He also ordains a way of escape. 445 00:33:52,640 --> 00:34:00,880 No matter how much your kids are driving you crazy, you don't 446 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:06,240 have to get angry. You don't have to. 447 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:16,440 No matter how lonely you are, you don't have to look at 448 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,239 pornography. You don't have to. 449 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:29,880 No matter how sorrowful you are, you don't have to keep eating. 450 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:38,440 You don't have to. God has given you a way of 451 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:47,880 escape. Five, like all bait, temptation 452 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:52,719 is an appealing trap. Like all bait, temptation is an 453 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,159 appealing trap. You ever seen an angler fish? 454 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:00,200 All right, it was in Finding Nemo. 455 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:04,720 Have you seen that movie? Has that long spine that extends 456 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:07,080 out in front of it, and at the end of it, it's got a light. 457 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:09,720 It's like bioluminescent bacteria that causes the light 458 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:11,520 up. It attracts other fish and then 459 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:18,120 when it gets close it snaps it. Ever heard of a bolus spider? 460 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:24,080 It's actually able to secrete a chemical that mimics moth 461 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:28,520 pheromones. Moth are drawn to it and then it 462 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:36,320 You ever seen a green Heron? Green Heron will catch an 463 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,320 insect. It'll sit on the water, it'll 464 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,440 drop the insect on the water and wait for a little minnow to come 465 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:43,720 up and eat the insect and then it snatches the minnow. 466 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,840 It actually fishes with its own bait. 467 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:55,160 James writes that each person is tempted when he is lured and 468 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:00,360 touched. So let me ask you a question 469 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:05,840 that fishermen will often ask. What are you biting on? 470 00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:14,680 What are you biting on? There's a reason that Jesus says 471 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:18,360 that what chokes out the word is the deceitfulness of riches. 472 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,800 Not just riches, the deceitfulness of riches. 473 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,160 Paul writes Those who desire to be rich fall into a temptation. 474 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,000 Into a what? A snare. 475 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,240 What's a snare? It's a trap. 476 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:36,520 Riches are an appealing trap. Four different times the father 477 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,800 warns his son in the book of Proverbs that the forbidden 478 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,720 woman's house is the way to seal. 479 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:47,080 He tells his son he said son, the lips of the forbidden woman 480 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:51,480 man, they drip honey. Her speech is smoother than oil, 481 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:56,480 but in the end she's as bitter as Wormwood, sharp as A2 edged 482 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:02,280 sword. Sex and lust is an appealing 483 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,920 trap. The same could be said for 484 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,680 success. Comfort food, drink, 485 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:15,120 entertainment. Brother, sister, Sin always 486 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:20,080 looks appealing, but it's a trap. 487 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:26,120 It's always a trap. Six. 488 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:34,000 It is no sin to be tempted, or even frequently tempted, or even 489 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:39,120 grossly tempted. It is no sin to be tempted, or 490 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,200 even frequently tempted or even grossly tempted. 491 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:46,360 I want you to notice that James says that when does sin happen? 492 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:52,880 He says that sin happens when desire has conceived, but at the 493 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,640 temptation level, no sin has occurred. 494 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:00,080 Here's why this is so important, because many Christians will 495 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:04,160 wonder, why am I so tempted to sin? 496 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:14,400 Why am I so easily tempted? Even after being a Christian for 497 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:20,040 25 years? Why am I still so easily tempted 498 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:22,800 by this sin? Shouldn't I be past it? 499 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:28,240 But this is if we are waiting to reach a point where we are no 500 00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:31,320 longer tempted by our desires, then we will have to wait until 501 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,200 heaven. Because even Jesus, who was 502 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:41,880 perfect, was tempted. He was tempted in every way that 503 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:47,600 we are. Christian maturity is not how 504 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:52,760 often a person is tempted, but how often they succumb to that 505 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:58,720 temptation. Sometimes mature Christians are 506 00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:01,320 the ones who are tempted the most. 507 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:15,360 Satan tried his hardest to tempt Job to curse God. 7 No matter 508 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:21,240 how much other factors may contribute, our sin comes from 509 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,200 our desire. No matter how much other factors 510 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,600 may contribute, our sin comes from our desire. 511 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:35,960 You know, whenever we fall into temptation, it's very common to 512 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,320 blame something outside of us, isn't it? 513 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:41,560 We're tempted. We fall into sin. 514 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,040 It's very common to blame something outside of us. 515 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,520 We might blame Satan, we might blame other people, we might 516 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,440 blame our genetics, we might blame our family upbringing. 517 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,440 We might blame circumstances. We might blame the government. 518 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:58,960 We might blame even God. But James writes that we are 519 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:05,640 lured and enticed by what? By our own desires. 520 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:12,160 So things outside of us may provide the bait, but what draws 521 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,520 us to the bait? Our own desires. 522 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:23,800 No matter how much Eve may blame the serpent, no matter how much 523 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:27,800 Adam may blame Eve and even blame God, the woman you gave to 524 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:34,640 me, they both sit because of their desires. 525 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:42,000 David cannot blame Bathsheba for taking a bath or for being 526 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:47,520 beautiful. He sinned because of his 527 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:52,360 desires. Peter cannot blame the servant 528 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:57,360 girl. He sinned because of his 529 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:01,960 desires. Moses cannot blame the people 530 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:07,600 for striking the rock. He sinned because of his 531 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:12,080 desires. Aaron cannot blame the people 532 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:19,320 for making a golden calf send because of his desires. 533 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:26,360 And brother, sister, you and I, we cannot blame our spouses or 534 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:31,240 our children or our bosses or our church or our government or 535 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,960 our teachers or our friends or our weaknesses or our 536 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:38,520 disabilities or our proclivities or our circumstances, and 537 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:45,560 certainly not our God. Each person is lured and enticed 538 00:41:45,840 --> 00:42:00,320 by his own desires. Period 8 Desires are like 539 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:05,560 strings of the heart that will either be plucked by the spirit 540 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:10,920 or the flesh. Desires are like strings of the 541 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:16,960 heart that will either be plucked by the spirit or the 542 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:20,600 flesh. I want to make the point that 543 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:24,760 James is not saying the way to solve this problem is to get rid 544 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:28,320 of our desires. I should just get rid of my 545 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,640 desires. That's what the early Church 546 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,480 fathers used to do. They castrated themselves, some 547 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:35,760 of them thinking it would get rid of it. 548 00:42:35,760 --> 00:42:39,120 You know what? It didn't solve anything, didn't 549 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:46,650 solve the problem. The answer is not to get rid of 550 00:42:46,650 --> 00:42:48,050 our desires. Here's what I like to think of 551 00:42:48,050 --> 00:42:53,210 this Desires are like strings of the heart, and somebody is going 552 00:42:53,210 --> 00:42:57,010 to pluck those strings. Somebody's going to pluck them, 553 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:05,960 either the spirit or the flesh. The more our flesh plucks these 554 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,520 strings, the more dominant our sinful desires become. 555 00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:15,760 They get stronger and the more the Spirit plucks these strings, 556 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,880 the more dominant our righteous desires become. 557 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:29,480 Paul writes walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the 558 00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:36,480 desires of the flesh. Consider what James is saying 559 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:39,480 here. James writes that when desire 560 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:41,960 has conceived, it gives birth to sin. 561 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:45,960 Desire, when it's conceived, gives birth to sin. 562 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:49,560 Now think of it like this. What is the easiest way to not 563 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:53,320 have a child? I do this when I whenever I go 564 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:55,600 through premarital counselling with couples, I tell them you 565 00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:59,520 need to know there is no birth control that's 100% except one. 566 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:05,720 There is only one form of birth control that is 100%. 567 00:44:05,720 --> 00:44:10,520 It has 100% success rate for all of time it's been 100%. 568 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,720 It's got a perfect track record. You know what that is? 569 00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:20,720 Abstinence. It's the only one that's 100 570 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:24,920 percent. What is the easiest? 571 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:30,120 To not give in to our sinful desires. 572 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:39,040 To starve them of flesh and to feed them fruit. 573 00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:47,800 Starve them of flesh and feed them fruit. 574 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:55,040 If you don't feed your desires with flesh, but instead feed 575 00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:58,560 them with the fruit of the Spirit, you won't give birth to 576 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,840 sin, you'll give birth to the Spirit. 577 00:45:07,470 --> 00:45:13,830 Nine last point 9 is a short quote by John Owen. 578 00:45:13,830 --> 00:45:17,750 Really good one though. John Owen writes be killing sin 579 00:45:18,430 --> 00:45:24,760 or sin will be killing you. Be killing sin or sin will be 580 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,800 killing you. James writes that when sin is 581 00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:29,480 fully grown, it brings forth death. 582 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:31,520 In other words, there are 5 stages here. 583 00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:35,080 Stage 1 is desire. Stage 2 is temptation. 584 00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:37,800 Stage 3 is sin. Stage 4 is growth. 585 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,240 Stage 5 is death. James is saying that you have 586 00:45:42,240 --> 00:45:43,880 these desires. They're in your heart. 587 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:46,920 We all have them. Stage 2 is when temptation gets 588 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:49,720 introduced to that desire. Stage 3 is when it becomes 589 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:51,680 conceived and it gives birth to sin. 590 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:54,800 Stage 4 is growth, that if you let that sin continue to grow, 591 00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:57,320 it will grow. And stage 5, if it continues to 592 00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:02,840 grow, it will bring forth death. Now ideally we stop this process 593 00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,160 at stage one, at the desire stage. 594 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:08,440 That would be ideal, but we're all going to find ourselves at 595 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:10,880 stage 3. Nobody stops every desire. 596 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:12,200 Stage one, it's for Jesus Christ. 597 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:16,200 So we're all going to find herself at stage 3, at the stage 598 00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:19,240 where we have fallen into sin. We're all going to sin. 599 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:24,000 But here's the question. Do we let that sin grow? 600 00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:30,360 Do we let sin continue to feed on our desires? 601 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,000 Or do we put it to death? You all know that how with 602 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,400 cancer, if you catch early enough, you often can operate on 603 00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:42,040 it. The same is true with our sin. 604 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:48,680 If you let sin continue to grow, it will continue to feed off of 605 00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:51,680 your desires. And as it feeds, it will only 606 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:53,680 get stronger. It'll get stubborn. 607 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:58,880 It'll dig in. We all know this to be true. 608 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:04,880 The more you get accustomed to sin in your life, the more you 609 00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:08,040 make allowance for it, the more you get used to having this in 610 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:09,440 your life. It just gets stubborn. 611 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:12,160 It becomes a part of you and when someone challenges you, 612 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:21,280 it's like it's well dug in and if it grows enough it can be 613 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:23,920 difficult if not impossible to remove. 614 00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:35,080 Brother and sister be killing sin or sin will be killing you. 615 00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:37,520 Let's pray.