S1: Hello? MAN Pastor Mike here. Welcome to our Harvest Men podcast.
S1: I'm glad you could join with us today. You're just
S1: in time because we're beginning a new series in the
S1: Book of James. We're calling. Walk this way. Walk this way.
S1: Da da da da da da da da da da.
S1: Don You guys know it. Not only are we going
S1: to be studying the book of James in our harvest groups,
S1: we're also going to be tracking with Pastor Greg as
S1: he teaches through it on Sunday morning here at Harvest
S1: as well, and harvest at home, which is streamed at
S1: Harvest Dot Church. But James is a fantastic book of
S1: the Bible. It's in the New Testament, sandwiched between Paul's
S1: epistles and Peter's. You know, in the New Testament, which
S1: includes the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And
S1: then acts, which is the history of the church and
S1: the acts of the Holy Spirit. And then the letters,
S1: we call them epistles. They're written by Paul and Peter,
S1: John and James and Jude, who are both brothers of Jesus.
S1: James and Jude were sons of Mary and Joseph. There
S1: were younger brothers of Jesus. Now we know that Jesus
S1: was virgin born and God the father is his father.
S1: He was born of the Holy Spirit. But Joseph was
S1: Jesus earthly father, not his biological father. But he also
S1: had brothers and sisters, and James and Jude were two
S1: of them. Can you imagine having Jesus as an older brother?
S1: In some ways it had to be pretty cool. I mean,
S1: I'm sure Jesus let his little brothers tag along with
S1: him when he was going someplace. He probably never ate
S1: the last bit of ice cream he probably always shared.
S1: But man, talk about a hard act to follow. He
S1: was perfect. Jesus probably always made his bed. He never
S1: lied or talked back to his parents. He didn't sneak
S1: out in his adolescent years and smoke cigarettes and drink
S1: beer and cheap wine with his friends, and the cops
S1: never had to bring him home in a police wagon.
S1: He never got into fights, and if he did, he
S1: would have one. But his his brothers didn't believe in
S1: his deity. In fact, in John seven, it tells us
S1: at the beginning of Jesus ministry, which began in the
S1: area of Galilee, and then he went into Judea, you
S1: might say Galilee was rural, in Judea was more of
S1: an urban area because Jerusalem was there. Well, Jesus had
S1: gone into Galilee and the Jewish leaders were trying to
S1: stop Jesus and actually trying to kill Jesus. So he
S1: was up in Galilee and his brothers actually encouraged him
S1: to go back in to Judea, kind of saying, hey,
S1: if you're going to do these things, you need to
S1: do it in front of the people, in front of
S1: the population. And Jesus had to tell them that just
S1: wasn't his time yet. But it actually says in John
S1: seven that his brother said, if you do these things,
S1: show yourself to the world. For even his brothers did
S1: not believe in him, then that crazy his brothers came
S1: to faith after the resurrection. Maybe because of the resurrection.
S1: Can you imagine seeing your brother crucified? But God used
S1: the crucifixion and the resurrection and the life of both
S1: James and Jew to awaken them to the reality that
S1: Jesus is more than just their earthly brother, but that
S1: He was God in the flesh who'd come down and
S1: was born given birth by their mom, but born to
S1: grow up and die in a Roman cross for their
S1: sins too. And James, on becoming a believer and a
S1: follower of Christ, had then become the pastor of the
S1: church in Jerusalem. He was one of the leaders of
S1: the church and he was writing this book, this letter,
S1: this epistle, James, to the believers that were being scattered
S1: because of persecution from guys like Paul, who had later
S1: become a believer. But the Book of James is one
S1: of the best books because its simple and straightforward Christian living.
S1: It accentuates that we come to God through faith and
S1: we live by faith, but also shows that our faith
S1: will show evidence through the way we live, by our works,
S1: kind of like practice what you preach, live what you believe.
S1: You know, Martin Luther, the great reformer who loved the
S1: Book of Romans, the Epistle of Grace that Paul wrote,
S1: didn't so much love the book of James. He thought
S1: it made too much of the emphasis on works. But
S1: some commentators said he didn't think the book of James
S1: should have been in the Bible. I'm not sure that
S1: he said that, but some commentators said that he did.
S1: But Luther himself said faith is a living, restless thing.
S1: It cannot be inoperative. You see, faith and works are
S1: like light and heat of fire. They cannot be separated.
S1: James would have been a good guy to hang around with.
S1: He was really wise. He had a way of just
S1: laying it out there. He didn't candy coat the. Ruth.
S1: He just stated it. He didn't have his head up
S1: in the clouds. He was very practical. And we'll see
S1: more of this as we study these five chapters. So
S1: I hope you'll stay with us as we study these
S1: five chapters of James. But we all need a James
S1: in our life. Someone who just tells it like it is.
S1: The problem is sometimes we avoid people like that because
S1: we feel convicted when we're around them. Well, we all
S1: have a good friend in James in this epistle and
S1: this letter that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write
S1: to all of us as Christians. You know, second, Timothy
S1: 316 says all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable
S1: for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
S1: If a man or woman of God may be thoroughly
S1: equipped for every good work. And we're going to look
S1: at James chapter one verses 12 to 18 right now.
S1: And I guess if I was going to title this podcast,
S1: I would say it would be You can resist Temptation.
S1: Maybe men, you can resist temptation. You know, becoming a
S1: Christian doesn't mean that you now have the resolve to
S1: never be tempted again. And I wish it was that way.
S1: In fact, I think becoming a Christian means you will
S1: be tempted even more and in ways you never expected.
S1: Why is that? Well, because before coming to Christ, Satan
S1: basically had your number. He owned you in a sense.
S1: His work had been done. You were going to hell.
S1: You were already kind of part of his crew. But
S1: the minute you gave your life to Christ, it is
S1: like the fight is on. You just walked under the
S1: field of battle. You just got into the game and
S1: the devil really wants to take us down. He wants
S1: to take you down. And one way is by tempting
S1: you to sin and to do stupid things. I think
S1: Satan works hard on new believers and on believers who
S1: are resolved to grow closer to Christ. People who want
S1: to live for Christ and glorify Him with their lives.
S1: Satan doesn't need to rock the cradle of some sleep.
S1: I do nothing, Christian. I remember the first when I
S1: first committed my life to Christ, I'd come out of
S1: a partying life and partying lifestyle. I'd been living and
S1: having to beach, and I started working at a restaurant
S1: as a busboy while I was going to college. And
S1: I was hoping to get promoted to being a server,
S1: and the manager thought he'd do me a favor and
S1: promote me to being a bartender. And it was a
S1: super sought after position in the restaurant. It had some
S1: prestige and, you know, before Christ Man, that would have
S1: been the golden ticket. It was like the devil opened
S1: the gates of this world to me and had an
S1: interesting back and forth conversation with myself. And the Holy
S1: Spirit just impressed upon me that this was not going
S1: to be a good thing being a bartender in a restaurant,
S1: a popular restaurant in town. So I turned it down
S1: and the manager was shocked. And I can never I'll
S1: never forget the look on his face. He just looked
S1: at me and he said, Well, so I guess you're quitting.
S1: I wasn't planning on quitting, but that's kind of how
S1: I turned out. And I told him why. I told
S1: him that I'd become a Christian and that, you know,
S1: I really didn't want to be a part of kind
S1: of that partying lifestyle. I didn't want to be serving people,
S1: you know, hard liquor and being a part of that. And,
S1: you know, he just like I said, he he kind
S1: of looked puzzled, but I just felt like I needed
S1: to tell him what was going on. But there was
S1: this temptation. And as a Christian, we're going to face temptation.
S1: And how can we avoid being like the guy who
S1: cried out? The only way I can get rid of
S1: temptation is to give in to it. How can we
S1: stand up and resist and even flourish in the midst
S1: of temptation? The world? The devil is going to throw
S1: some crazy stuff at you. Maybe it's happening right now.
S1: Right now you are resolved to walk and grow in
S1: your relationship with Jesus, and all of a sudden there's
S1: new opportunities to send, so to speak, new people coming
S1: into your lives that are dragging you away, new temptations.
S1: And we don't have to crash and burn. We can
S1: resist and grow stronger than ever before. Let me go
S1: ahead and read James Chapter one versus 12 through 15.
S1: It says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation for
S1: which he has been approved. He will receive the crown
S1: of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.
S1: Let no one say when he is tempted. I am
S1: tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil,
S1: nor does he tempt anyone. But each one is tempted
S1: when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
S1: Then when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin.
S1: And when sin is full grown, it brings forth death.
S1: You know, verse 12 says, Blessed is the man who
S1: endures temptation for when he has been approved, he will
S1: receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to
S1: those who loved him. I love this. James gives us the.
S1: Good side of enduring temptation. There's a good side if
S1: you resist. You know, James uses that word Blessed Macario.
S1: It means happy. It means to have a profound inner
S1: joy or satisfaction. It's the same word found in the
S1: Beatitudes in Matthew five. Blessed. Happy. Satisfied? You're going to
S1: be happy. You're going to have profound inner joy and
S1: satisfaction when you resist temptation. What's ironic is we think
S1: we're going to be happy and have profound joy when
S1: we give into temptation. That's how Satan work. He's a
S1: deceiver and he's good at it. And we are sometimes
S1: naive and gullible and sometimes just stupid. I'm not saying
S1: that sin is always miserable. It isn't. It can be
S1: a kick and for a while. But the Bible says
S1: sin is pleasurable for a season, and then it brings
S1: forth death. Satan says sin will make you happy, but
S1: it is God who says that resisting sin. Resisting temptation
S1: is what will make you happy. That will give us
S1: and give you the inner joy and satisfaction. It goes on.
S1: It says, For when we have been approved, we will
S1: receive the crown of life. That word approved is the
S1: Greek word Doki moss. And it means to test mettle.
S1: You know, you test mettle to see if it's strong enough.
S1: That's what temptations do. Temptations come our way. And they
S1: really test us. They see what we're made of. They
S1: see what our faith is made of. And our faith
S1: is going to be tested in temptation. And when we resist,
S1: God gives us the crown of life which the Lord
S1: promised to those who love him. You know, the Bible
S1: talks about crowns. This particular crown, the word is Stefano's.
S1: It was a crown of victory. Kind of like a trophy.
S1: And the winner would get this crown that they would
S1: put on their head. And First Corinthians nine, Paul writes,
S1: Know ye that they who run in a race run
S1: all one receive of the prize. Even so, run that
S1: you may attain it. And every man that strives in
S1: the games exercises self-control in all things. How do they
S1: do it? To receive a corruptible crown. But we are incorruptible.
S1: I therefore so run not uncertain, as uncertain so as
S1: to fight, as not as beating the air. But I
S1: buffet my body and bring it into bondage, lest by
S1: any means. After I preach to others, I myself should
S1: be rejected the crown that they would receive. This is
S1: like an athlete's crown, like a trophy that would be
S1: made of vines and leaves, etc. It would. It would perish.
S1: But the crown that we receive is a crown that's incorruptible.
S1: I don't know. You know, if I care so much
S1: about the crown, you know, I don't want to show
S1: up and have it not have something that I'm supposed
S1: to have. And we're all supposed to strive for that crown.
S1: The way we receive that crown of life is as
S1: by resisting temptation. It says here, you know, the Bible
S1: also tells us that these crowns in heaven are basically
S1: given to Jesus. They're thrown at him as a sign
S1: of worship, man. And we don't want to be standing
S1: empty handed while everyone else's throne crowns that Jesus, you know,
S1: as a form of worship. But but the fact that
S1: God wants to give us a crown, a reward for
S1: standing strong in him is something that we should all
S1: strive for. You know, verse 13 says, Let no one
S1: say when he is tempted. I am tempted by God,
S1: for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he
S1: himself tempt anyone. This is a slam dunk. God does
S1: not or will not tempt you. God never tempts any man.
S1: That's Satan's business. I've even heard people go so far
S1: to say that God created evil. God didn't create evil.
S1: He created an angel named Lucifer, who was who had
S1: a free choice to serve God in worship in. And
S1: he rebelled and has been rebelling ever since. And God
S1: created man and woman, Adam and Eve. And because they
S1: were made in his image, they had the ability to
S1: make choices, spiritual choices, moral choices. And they chose to
S1: do the one thing, one thing that God told them
S1: not to do, and that was not to eat from
S1: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And
S1: they did eat. And they had some help in that temptation, too.
S1: But the Bible says, Let no one say that he
S1: is tempted. I am tempted by God, for God cannot
S1: be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But
S1: each one is tempted when he is drawn away by
S1: his own desires and enticed. Each one of you and
S1: me will be tempted. It says when he is drawn
S1: away by his own desires and enticed, that word in
S1: taste is the word. Daly also means to lure by bait.
S1: You might say that Satan is an expert fisherman. Have
S1: you ever fished? I think most of us have tried.
S1: Some of us are good at it. Some of us aren't.
S1: I'm not really so good at it. But, you know,
S1: you use a good lure, and sometimes you charm. You
S1: might throw a mackerel down there and boom, you know.
S1: But Satan knows our weaknesses. He's been around the block
S1: a few times. He's probably even read the Bible. And
S1: he goes after us like a good fisherman that baits
S1: not working. I'll change it up. He doesn't come up
S1: to us and say, Do you want to totally ruin
S1: your life? No, he uses bait. There's a lot of
S1: different ways that Satan contempt us. He could tempt us
S1: in the areas of covetousness. Oh, man, you got the
S1: credit card. I'll ban. Let's just start spending money, you know,
S1: and then we get into financial problems, you know? You know,
S1: he tempts us because we want things. He may be
S1: tempts us with things that make us feel good, you know,
S1: things that are kind of a rush. You know, we
S1: have friends that are just into adrenaline rushes, you know,
S1: and all of a sudden we're missing church because we're,
S1: you know, our skin or surf and or whatever. But
S1: we're we're feeding our own flesh, our own desires. Or
S1: maybe it's a a pretty face or a compliment that
S1: you just suck it up, you know? And then all
S1: of a sudden you're getting into other areas that you
S1: shouldn't be in. You know, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was actually
S1: a pastor and a theologian, was executed by the Nazis
S1: at age 39. He wrote something. I'm going to read it.
S1: It's a little it's a little heavy, but it's so good.
S1: He says. In our members, there is a slumbering inclination
S1: toward desire, which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power.
S1: Desire seizes mastery over the flesh all at once. A
S1: secret smoldering fires kindled the flesh burns and is in flames.
S1: It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire or
S1: ambition or vanity or desire for revenge or love of
S1: fame and power, or agreed or money. Or finally, that
S1: strange desire for the beauty of the world of nature,
S1: joy in God is in, of course, being extinguished in
S1: us as we seek all our joy in the creature.
S1: At this moment, God is quite unreal to us. He
S1: loses all reality and the only desires for the creature
S1: is real. The only reality is the devil. Satan does
S1: fill us with a hatred for God, for the forgetfulness
S1: of God. The lust around aroused, envelops, the mind and
S1: will of man. In deepest darkness, the powers of clear
S1: discrimination and of decision are taken from us. It is
S1: here that everything within me rises up against God. Wow. Man.
S1: That's that's some heavy stuff. Basically, forget God. Think about
S1: the creature. Satan does that. That's what temptation sometimes does.
S1: And giving into temptation, it blurs out. God. Well, what
S1: does the Scripture say? It says, then, when desire has
S1: been conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin. When
S1: it is full grown brings forth death. You know, this
S1: is what happened with Adam and Eve in the Garden
S1: of Eden. This is what happened with David and Bathsheba
S1: and their baby. This is what happened. Was Samson with Delilah.
S1: The death of his ministry in his own life. We
S1: can choose our sin because we can't choose the result.
S1: It kills. It kills sometimes our careers. Sometimes it kills
S1: our families, our relationships, our marriages. It really kills God's
S1: plans and purposes in our life. How can we resist?
S1: Can we resist? And the answer is yes. Look what
S1: James says in chapter four versus seven and eight. It says, Therefore,
S1: submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
S1: from you. Draw near to God and he will draw
S1: near to you. Here, basically, it says Submit to God.
S1: Say God, I belong to you. I know that I'm
S1: your property. You know, I find it helpful to just
S1: quote scripture, you know, almost preaching to myself, but making
S1: it a prayer to the Lord. You know, he has
S1: purchased me with his blood. I belong to him. I
S1: know Jesus died on the cross. For me, it says
S1: to resist, you know, don't sin, don't do the act.
S1: Don't you know, look that way or don't go that way.
S1: Don't get alone. Like Joseph, who fled. You know, the
S1: Bible says that the enemy. That he will flee from you.
S1: The problem is that many times we resist. And then
S1: we leave a forwarding address. You know, we kind of
S1: leave our foot in the door a little bit. You know,
S1: someone said it takes two to make a successful temptation
S1: and you are one of the two. You know, the
S1: Bible says that he will flee from you as you
S1: draw near to God and resist drawn near to God,
S1: and he will draw near to you. You know, we
S1: need to realize that God's presence is the one sovereign
S1: remedy against temptation. God is there to help. Let me
S1: say that again. We need to realize that God's presence
S1: is the one sovereign remedy against temptation. God is there
S1: to help. You know, when Jesus was tempted in Matthew four,
S1: after being in the wilderness for 40 days and fasting,
S1: Satan came to him to tempt him to turn the
S1: stones into bread, to go up on the pinnacle and
S1: also on the mountain. And it says that every time
S1: Jesus was tempted by Satan, he quoted Scripture. He used
S1: the word of God. Oh, Satan said, Turn these stones
S1: into bread, you know. And Jesus said, Man shall not
S1: live by bread alone. He took himself on the on
S1: the pinnacle. And what did Jesus say? Thou shalt not
S1: tempt the Lord thy God. He went up on the
S1: mountain and he wanted him to worship. He said, We
S1: shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shall
S1: thou serve. So we draw near to God by drawing
S1: near to His word and relying on the Word of
S1: God and preaching to ourself God's Word. You know, First
S1: Corinthians 1013 says, No temptation has overtaken you. But that
S1: which is common to man. But God is faithful. He
S1: will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
S1: are able. But with that temptation will provide the way
S1: of escape that you will be able to endure it. Look,
S1: God's not going to give us more than we can handle.
S1: He knows he's going to keep us from temptation. He's
S1: going to provide a way of escape or give us
S1: the power to resist temptation. Sometimes you can't run. Sometimes
S1: you just have to resist. But we need to draw
S1: near to the Lord. We're going to be tempted. But
S1: by resisting, we will be blessed. We will be fulfilled.
S1: We will be happy. We will be approved of God
S1: and we will receive the crown of life that Jesus
S1: promised us. You know, the Bible says that Saint comes
S1: to kill still and destroy. And maybe he's been having
S1: his way with you. And it's time today to say,
S1: You know what? I'm going to make that commitment to
S1: walk with Jesus and resist that temptation. So I'm going
S1: to pray with you right now and pray that God
S1: would just give us all that strength to stand with
S1: Jesus and stand against the wiles of the enemy and
S1: the temptations that come into our lives. Would you join
S1: with me in prayer? Father, we thank you for your
S1: love for us, and Lord, for your promise that, Lord,
S1: that you will be with us even when we are tempted.
S1: And you will give us the strength to not only
S1: stand against temptation, but even provide the way of escape,
S1: Lord and Lord. So we just pray that as temptations come,
S1: that we would even recognize that these are an opportunity
S1: to shine for you, Lord, and to resist temptation. And Lord,
S1: you would use them to even prove our own faith. Lord,
S1: we don't want to be afraid. We don't want to be, like,
S1: scared of temptation that come. We want to be wise
S1: and we want to be strong. And so we pray
S1: that you would keep us from the evil one Lord,
S1: and we pray that you would bring your word into
S1: our lives, Lord, to stand in Lord, for those who
S1: have been falling. Lord, we just, you know, we just pray, Lord,
S1: we thank you that you forgive us for our sins, Jesus,
S1: that you died on the cross for us, and that
S1: we can have a fresh start. Your mercies are new
S1: every morning. So we thank you for that. And we
S1: just invite you into our lives daily. We pray these
S1: things In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. All right, you guys,
S1: thanks for joining us today. Hey, I wanted to let
S1: you know, too, that we have our men's prayer breakfast
S1: coming up, and that's on all our campuses on October 22nd.
S1: It's going to be at 8 to 930, and we
S1: going to be praying for the so-called Harvest Crusade. It's
S1: going to be in the loft in Riverside and Orange
S1: County and then also in Ku Malani. It's going to
S1: be in the barn at 9:00, so you can check
S1: out more at Harvest Dot Church. So again, Pastor Mike
S1: from Harvest signing off. God bless you. I will see
S1: you soon. I like.