Simply James 4 Part Two

Part Two, One Way, Truth, and Life. Do not Judge. Speak plainly. Do not be anxious.

We are talking about the Book of James, Chapter 4. Last time we discussed how we shall have whatsoever we ask God to supply us with, as long as we are living for Him. As long as we are doing His Will. He will not answer our Prayers if we are Praying for greed or lust. If we are attempting to manipulate God, we will find Him silent.

We have learned that once we become a Child of God, we are no longer OF the World, even though we are still in it. We have learned that the World will hate us, because it first hated Him. That we should not care. But be good and faithful servants of God Himself.

We have learned that God will not accept those that are full of pride. That we need to stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God. That if we humble ourselves, it is God who gives us the power and lifts us up. If we give up ourselves to God and allow God to work through us, we will be far better off in all things.

Let's go back to...

James 4:

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

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

We left it off here...

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Simply put..

John 14:

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Do you know people, I do, who will go Church, sit in the pews, whisper to each other how this one or that one is dressed. How this one or that one got fired. How these other two are getting Divorced, ETC? They smile at them. Some even hug everyone. But they are sitting in judgement of others, while never taking thought of what they are in violation of. What Sin is in their lives? Remember what Jesus said about this sort of thing?

Luke 18:

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

You see, you may think someone is in deserving of damnation, but who are you to judge? Do you know their heart? Who are you to condemn?

Romans 8:

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Even God is not sitting there looking to condemn someone. He has arranged it so ALL can be forgiven, and find Salvation. Again, it's not God who condemns. We condemn ourselves. Just so there is no doubt to the fact, we are not to judge others, Jesus makes it crystal clear.

Matthew 7:

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

We are all Sinners. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 Yet? You will sit there and judge a Brother or Sister? Jesus calls those who does, hypocrites. Instead of sitting there judging them, why not get up, walk over, and ask if there is something they need? Why not say a Prayer for them? However, sit there and judge, you do so at your own risk. Remember "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Jesus told us that we should keep our speech simple. That we should allow our Yes to be Yes, and our No to be No.

Matthew 5:

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

I have always tried to follow this teaching. Ask my kids. If I say No, it is No. They have no need of, or at least they have little hope of this changing if they continuously ask. If I say Yes, it is Yes. A Guarantee. An absolute. If I tell my kids, we will go somewhere. We go. It does not matter if I feel like it when the time comes. It doesn't matter if I am called into work. It doesn't matter if we can afford it. We GO. Or if I say Yes to something. It is Yes. They know it to be true. They have no doubts.

Here is something you should NEVER do. Trust me. NEVER promise God something you cannot deliver. When I first got Saved, I found myself with a day off. I was excited. I was on fire for God. I went out and put The Bible in my car. I got in. I Prayed to this effect. "God, I love you. I give you this day. Whatever and wherever you want me to go, and whatever you want me to do. I'm all yours." I got to the next town over and decided I would stop for coffee. Then I decided I would do this and that. I promised the day to God, I took it back.

So what happened? He took THREE from me. Long story short, my car died, I walked three miles home, and had to wait for a friend to come look at the car. After three days? I got my car back It turned out to be like a $6.00 fix. Don't promise God anything you can deliver. Trust me.

God tells us we should not do this with each other either. Simply say Yes and No. God also tells us that we should never worry about tomorrow.

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.

Now let's really look at this. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow." Then "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."

September 11, 2001, Tuesday, people got up. They had breakfast or coffee. They took their showers, got dressed, kissed their loved ones, went off to work. A mundane Tuesday. Just like all others. Wishing it was Friday. Thinking about "what's for dinner?" Making plans for their next day off.

8:46 a.m, a Jet flew right into the side of the World Trade Centers. 9:03 a.m, a second Jet flew into the side of the other Tower. 3000 plus people left this Earth on that day. 3000 plus people had no idea that it was the last time, they had breakfast or coffee. They took their showers, got dressed. The last time they kissed their loved ones, went off to work. A mundane Tuesday. Just like all others. Wishing it was Friday. Thinking about "what's for dinner?" Making plans for their next day off.

Will the world come to an end soon? Maybe. However, the world DID come to an end for 3000 plus people on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I could be sitting here right now, talking abo............ You could be sitting there right now rea........ Our loved ones left behind. Tomorrow is never promised. Today is a gift.

Jesus put it this way...

Luke 12:

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

If you really want to live by Faith, Jesus tells us this...

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

"But Pete, come on man. They have been talking about the end of the world since Bible times. Look, we are still here. This is all nonsense." Nope. Peter addressed this. As a matter of fact, he talked about people like you..

2 Peter 3:

2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Again, just because the end of the world doesn't happen tomorrow, doesn't mean that tomorrow may not be your last day. Or mine. Or a loved one of ours. Everyday, somewhere in the world, someone goes to sleep here, and wakes up in Heaven. Everyday.

This is why the Word tells us to be anxious for nothing. To convent nothing. Forget about what you will do when you are older. What if today is your last day?

Philippians 4:

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

So to recap, today we learned that there is but one Way, Truth, and Life. One Judge, and we are not He. We learned that we should not Promise, but say what we mean and mean what we say. Yes is Yes and No is No, and all else is evil. We also learned that we should be anxious for nothing and take no thought of tomorrow. For tomorrow is NEVER a guarantee.

Next time we will wrap up James 4 with his last lesson. The Sin of Omission. Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS Lord of all!