David Henneke's Podcast

James 5:1-6James never said it was a sin to be rich. After all, Abraham was a wealthy man, yet he walked with God and was greatly used by God to bless the whole world. James was concerned about the selfishness of the rich. What James condemned was the wrong use of wealth, James condemned the ones who use their wealth as a weapon and not as a tool with which to build up the Kingdom of God. May we all realize that what we have is because of who He is. We have been blessed….so now let’s be a blessing to those that are in need.

James 4:13-17In this final section of Chapter 4, James addresses three sins that we need to guard ourselves against: I. Sin of Presumption (making plans without including God in the planning process), II. Sin of Boasting (to brag or boast about our life and accomplishments) and III.  Sin of Omission (failure to do what the Lord instructs us to do).

James 4:11-12James is not afraid to call sin by its name and condemn it strongly. Neither should we be afraid to stand for the truth even if we are condemned as being narrow-minded. However, such speaking out against sin must be made in love. When we speak out about sin in our brothers and neighbors our goal should be to move them to repentance, not to make us feel superior to them. James is going to unpack all of this in this section.

James 4:5-10Will you humble yourselves before the Lord today? Notice that we are not to wait passively for this to somehow happen, we are not to wait for someone else to humble us neither are we are not to wait for the circumstances of life to do it. Rather, self-humbling is our Christian duty. We must take inventory of our sinfulness and weakness. When we do, we must bow in total submission to God. Will you give Him your life…..your dreams…..your future…..your everything? If so, GET READY because He will pour on His grace, grace upon grace, and He will lift you up.

James 4:1-4Many Christians, pursue their pleasures and desperately chase after the wrong things, things that are clearly hostile to God. Any person who is a friend of this world stands against Go because they stand against all that God is. An IMPURE person is an enemy of God’s PURITY.  An UNHOLY person is an enemy of God’s HOLINESS.  A DECEPTIVE person is an enemy of God’s TRUTHFULNESS. A GREEDY person is an enemy of God’s CHARACTER that GIVES generously & sacrificially. James’ writing suggests several penetrating questions. Are you better friends with the world or with God? What are you pursuing….your personal desire or the will of God? Are you a FRIEND of God or are you His enemy? How would God answer these questions?

James 3:13-18The Kind of wisdom a person possesses will be revealed by how they live their lives. Those who possess Wisdom of MAN will demonstrate by their actions that they have NO saving relationship with Jesus. They have NO desire to WORSHIP Him FULLY, to SERVE Him FAITHFULLY, to FOLLOW Him CONSISTENTLY and/or to OBEY Him COMPLETELY. Those who are Children of God will possess the Wisdom of God. That Wisdom will manifest itself in their lives

James 3:1-12James’ description of the evils of the tongue seems relentlessly gloomy. The small tongue controls the whole person. It is a fire from hell. Unlike nature, it is inconsistent. It cannot be tamed. If all this is true, why should we even try to control the tongue? The answer is found in a brief phrase in 3:8, “No human can tame the tongue.” No man can, but God can. If the tongue is set on fire by hell, Take comfort in knowing that there is One who is greater than hell. One who has triumphed over satan. God alone has the power to subdue the unruly tongue if we will genuinely trust in Him.

James 2:14-26One of the greatest tragedies of the church today is that it is often filled with those who profess Christ and yet live nothing for Him. Millions of people profess faith in Christ and yet they do not live for Him. They live for the world and themselves. The only difference between their lives and the lives of unbelievers is that they sometimes get up on Sunday mornings and attend church. Scripture is clear…If you claim to have faith….and there is no evidence of it in your life….then your claim is false…you’re a dead corpse with a dead Faith.

James 1:19-27Ultimately, the key to BOTH….RESPONDING to TRIALS and RESISTING TEMPTATION is found in our reaction to the Word of God. In this final section of Chapter 1, James states that we have three responsibilities toward God’s Word: RECEIVE IT (vs. 19-21), OBEY IT (22-25) and PROCLAIM IT (26-27)

James 1:12-18After dealing with the subject of wisdom, James returns to his central theme of this chapter—Testing of our Faith. The Testing of our Faith occurs thru TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS. In verses 12-18 James tells us “how to overcome temptations”. We tend to think of sin as a single act but God sees it as a process. James describes this process in FOUR STAGES:Stage One DESIREStage Two DECEPTIONStage Three DISOBEDIENCEStage Four  DEATH

James 1:5-12Why do we need to ask for wisdom when we are going through a trial? Why not ask for strength, grace or even for the trial to be removed? Here’s the reason….and it’s connected to what we learned LAST WEEK…we need wisdom so that we will not waste the opportunity God is giving us to grow in Christlike maturity. Wisdom helps us understand how to use our trials for our good and God’s glory. 

James 1:2-4Sermon in a sentence: Attitude determines action

Repentance is more than having a conviction of sin (Felix, Acts 24) and it is more than giving a confession of sin (Pharaoh, Ex 9; Balaam, Numbers 22; Saul, 1 Samuel 15; Achan, Joshua 7). The Greek word for Repentance is metanoia and it is a change of mind AND and change of heart that LEADS TO a change in action. If Repentance does not lead to a change of action then it is not true (Biblical) repentance.

Jeremiah 29:11promised that the nation of Israel would be restored, but very few of the exiles lived to see the fulfillment of that prophecy. Most of them died without seeing the “future” that God had planned for them. A future that wasn’t fulfilled until 70 years later. Likewise, the future & hope we have in Christ are not a guarantee that things will go well in this life. For most believers throughout history and in the world today, the world is a cold and dangerous place. In fact, the promise outlined in Romans 8 is specifically that, even though believers will face all sorts of dangers and persecutions in this life, Jesus will never abandon us. May the words of Jeremiah 29:11 remind us that God is faithful and He will never abandon us. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 The statement “God won’t give you more than you can handle”  is both untrue and unhelpful. Quite simply the Bible does not teach this. In fact, the Bible actually teaches the opposite truth. Understanding this will enable us to to give better encouragement to those who are suffering. 

Matthew 5:10 The Beatitude does not say, “Blessed are the persecuted, PERIOD!” Unfortunately, this is the way it is sometimes interpreted. Those who read it like this delude themselves into thinking that any time they experience conflict they are bearing the reproach of Christ. Sadly, Christians are very often persecuted not for their Christianity, but for a lack of it. Sometimes they are rejected simply because they have unpleasing personalities. Know that EVERYONE who seeks to live like Jesus WILL BE PERSECUTED…There are no exceptions!

Matthew 5:9, This divine pronouncement…understood…taken to heart…and applied by the Holy Spirit, can not only bring inner peace to our own troubled hearts but it can also make us instruments of peace to those that are troubled. In other words….It has the potential to give us peace within and to make us mediators of peace in the lives of those around us. may we all be both Recipients and Distributors of the Peace of God

Matthew 5:8The pure in heart are marked by transparency & an uncompromising desire to please God in all things. It is more than an external purity of behavior; it is an internal purity of soul. Imagine having a heart that is totally focused on God. FOUR THINGS YOU CAN DO TO ENHANCE THE FOCUS OF YOUR HEART (1) Be honest (2) Acknowledge that only God can make your heart pure (3) Fill yourself with God’s Word and (4) Think about what you will be in eternity. 

The greatest thing in all the world is to be forgiven of our sins. When we are…we are absolved and released from ALL guilt and condemnation, We ARE accepted and restored by God and assured of seeing Jesus Face-to-Face. When we receive forgiveness from God…We ARE freed from the PENALTY of sin, we are BEING SET FREE from the PRACTICE of sin and we WILL BE SET FREE from the PRESENCE of sin.The Believer that prays for Forgiveness and then refuses to grant forgiveness is a hypocrite. They are guilty of asking God to do for them what they are unwilling to do for others. BEWARE!

Matthew 5:6