SERMON OUTLINE
💭 Consider this: If God is an unchanging constant in the relationship between the believer and God, how must we anchor ourselves to Him?
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This morning, we have come to James 1:16-18.
In order for us to better appreciate this passage, we need to recap what we have learned in the preceding verses. Remember James was speaking about "temptations" (James 1:2b). The word 'temptation' can have a positive or negative connotation. And depending on the context, it can mean a trial with a beneficial purpose; or a trial with an evil purpose that will lead to wrongdoing; or a test to challenge God. As believers, we may face trials of different sorts, but we are called to "count it all joy" (James 1:2a) because God allows them to come into our lives for a beneficial purpose; to test the strength of our faith so that through enduring the trials, we can be spiritually mature.
And in the midst of trials, often times, we do not know how to respond. What do we do when we do not know what to do? We need wisdom. And so, we need to ask God — who is the Source of Wisdom — and He will give it to us. But we must ask believing and not waver, because 'a double minded man; an unstable man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord' (James 1:7-8).
As believers, whether we are rich or poor, we will face trials because trial is no respecter of persons. And as believers, when we face trials — as in temptations that will lead us to wrongdoings; cause us to sin — we must understand that God is not the source of evil. While it is common for man to experience temptations, it is also typical for man to point the finger at somewhere else when they fall into temptations. Just like little children, when they make mistakes, they will blame their siblings. 'My brother or my sister is the one; he or she is the one who caused me to do it'. Or like the drunk driver who will blame his friend for urging him to drink the extra glass of alcohol, which led him to kill someone through his reckless driving. When people yield to temptations, often times they will blame the people; the circumstances; or Satan; and above all, they will blame God. But we must bear in mind that God is not the source of evil and temptation. The true source of evil and temptation lies within our hearts.
That is the reason why James said in verse 16, "Do not err, my beloved brethren". The word "err" means to be deceived, misled, or led astray. It is a present tense imperative, which means it is a command. It has the idea of a continuous ongoing action. In other words, it can be translated as 'Do not go on deceiving yourself, that God is the one to be blamed. Put the blame on where the true source of evil and temptation lies, and that is your heart'. Contrary to blaming God, you and I must understand who God is and what He has done in our lives.
This is what this passage is all about and this is what we want to learn for today's message. The title of our message is 'Remember Who God Is and Who We Are'.
I. Who God Is
Let us first learn about: 'Who God Is'.
Look at verse 17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom [there] is no variableness, neither shadow of turning". The nature of God and the nature of evil are total opposites. The God whom we believe in is a holy God; totally and absolutely separated from evil. As Habakkuk the prophet said, 'God is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look unto iniquity' (Habakkuk 1:13). God has no part in sin — in any way or in any degree. And so, to even suggest that God is in any way directly responsible for temptation to evil is not only absurd, it is blasphemous. When people blame God for being the source of temptation, they are doubting His goodness right? They are doubting who this God is. So here, James was saying, 'If you ever doubt that God is good, just consider His gifts'.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17a). Notice, he did not say most of His gifts or the majority of His gifts are good and perfect. Twice, he used the word "every". The emphasis is that everything God gives is good and perfect. The nature of God is perfect and good. Therefore, the nature of His gifts are also perfect and good. 'Good' is the opposite of evil. It is something that is useful, profitable, delightful; something that brings forth joy and blessing. 'Perfect' means not lacking, complete, full-grown, or mature.
Often times, we think we know what is good and perfect for us. Our mentality is that if only we have a better car; a bigger house; a well-paying job; good health and strength; or our children are doing well in their academic studies, then that would be good and perfect. That is just how limited our human understanding is. We cannot see beyond that which is superficial, temporal, and physical onto that which is genuine, spiritual, and eternal. 'God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways' (Isaiah 55:8-9). He alone knows what is good and perfect for us.
Who is this God? He is "the Father of lights" (James 1:17b). Why did James use the word "lights"? Remember God is the Creator; the Giver of Light. In the beginning, He created light in the form of the sun, moon, and stars. In other words, 'If you ever doubted that God is good, just look up unto the heavens and you'll see the sun above in the sky during daytime. Look up unto the heavens and you'll see the light of the moon and stars at night. You'll see the beauty and glory of His creation. At the same time, you'll see His blessing and consistency. The sun rises every day. The moon and stars are in the sky every night. When you look up, don't you see that your Heavenly Father — the Father of Lights — He has blessed you with all these good things?'
But as magnificent as those sources of light are, nonetheless, they are not the same all the time; they do rotate and change from hour to hour; they do vary in intensity and shadow. In the morning, you do not see the light of the moon and stars. The sun may be shining brightly in the afternoon but not at night. At times, the sun may be hidden by the clouds. At wintertime, the moon and stars may be obscured. But we all know that the sun, moon, and stars are still there — although we do not see them clearly — because God is holding all of them together.
God — the Father of Lights — is unchangeable. This is the meaning of "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17c). Our God is unchangeable. Can you imagine for a moment if God is changeable; if God does not hold everything together? If the earth draws closer to the sun than it is, we would be burnt to death. If the earth draws further away from the sun than it is, we would freeze to death. If the earth stops rotating for just one second, there would be massive tsunamis and earthquakes. If God is changeable, the entire universe will not only be chaotic, it will collapse. Everyone will die. Everything will die.
When we look unto the heavens, we see God holding everything together so perfectly. And then we ask ourselves this question: 'Will He not hold us, His blood-bought children? Will He not help us in this time of trials?'
Most certainly, He will.
Dear friends, in times of trials — when the trials intensify; when we find ourselves struggling to endure and then we start to doubt God, 'Is God really in control of all things?' — all we need to do is just pause and look up unto the heavens. Our Heavenly Father is holding the entire universe together. He's unchangeable. He who saved us, He who loves us; is 'the same yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8).
Surely, He will hold us.
Our Heavenly Father is the Father of Lights. Interestingly in the Old Testament, the word 'father' was seldom used to refer to God. It was Jesus Christ who made known to us that He is our Father. Remember Jesus called God "My Father" (John 5:17) and 'the Jews were so angry, they wanted to kill him' (John 5:18). But truly, God is our Father. And as our Father, every good gift He gives to us is good and perfect.
But do you know what is the greatest perfect gift we have received from Him? Maybe you can turn with me to the Gospel of Luke 11:11-13. The context of that passage was that the disciples of Christ were asking Him to teach them to pray, as John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. So Jesus taught them to pray the Lord's Prayer and how they ought to pray persistently.
'Like a man who kept going to his friend to ask for three loaves of bread because he had visitors. Initially, the friend was unwilling to give. But because of his persistence, he was willing to give' (Luke 11:5-8). The purpose of that illustration was not only to teach us to persist in our prayers but also to contrast the difference between an unwilling friend and a willing Heavenly Father 'who gives to His children who keep asking, seeking, and knocking' (Luke 11:9-10).
Then Jesus said in verse 11 — look at verse 11 — the Gospel of Luke 11:11-12, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he… ask an egg, will he offer… a scorpion?"
Then verse 13, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more… your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Dear friend, the greatest good and perfect gift that God has given to us is the Holy Spirit.
II. Who We Are
This brings us to our second point: 'Who We Are'.
According to Ephesians 2:1-5, 'Before our conversions, we were all walking according to the course of this world; we were walking according to the prince of the power of the air, that is Satan; we were by nature the children of God's wrath. But God who is rich in mercy and out of His great love for us, He made us who were spiritually dead to be spiritually alive'. How did He do that? God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts. And through the wonder-working of the Spirit, we were made spiritually alive. We were regenerated. We were born again as John 3:3 tells us. And we became the children of God.
So James went on to say in verse 18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures". Before our conversions, the Word of God meant nothing to us. It was nothing but a book of myths; or fiction; or some old wise men sayings. Absolutely nothing to us. But the Spirit of God opened our spiritual eyes. And then we began to see that the Bible is true. All the things the Bible said about sin, judgment, death, heaven and hell, the Saviour, the forgiveness of sin — they are true. And then we find ourselves realising how wretched we are; we are totally depraved. And then we cried out to the only one who can save us, Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. And we receive Him as our Lord and Saviour.
That was how God begat us. God did all that not on the basis of what we have done, or not done; not on the basis of our good works, or our good hearts; not on the basis of our intelligence, or our ability to choose Him. He did all that out of His own will, which means out of His own volition; out of His own deliberation. 'He worketh all things — including our salvation — according to the counsel of His own will' (Ephesians 1:11). That is why Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". It is all God's doing. So there's absolutely nothing for us to boast.
Today — if we are true, genuine believers — we have two important things in our lives: the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Allow me to draw your attention to the word "begat" (James 1:18a). Interestingly, the word "begat" and the word "bringeth forth" in verse 15 is the same verb. You see, what temptation wants to do is to draw us away; to entice us. And when lust is conceived in our hearts, it will lead us to sin. And when sin is committed, it bringeth forth death; it begats death. Same word.
But God does not want that to happen to us. So He sent His Spirit into our hearts, to open our minds to the Word of Truth. And then we are able to see spiritually. We are convicted. And then we cry out to the Saviour. We are regenerated. We bringeth forth this new birth. And then we are to live in this new life 'in the Lord Jesus Christ as new creatures' (2 Corinthians 5:17). So instead of succumbing to death, we are now made alive. You and I, if we are true believers, we now have the ability to fight against temptations. Not because we are strong, but we are 'strong in the Lord and in the power of His might' (Ephesians 6:10). We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and we have the Word of God to guide and lead us at every step of the way. This is how God wants us to live our lives.
So the question is not how can we overcome temptations, but rather how can we not overcome temptations — with this greatest perfect gift that He has given to us: the indwelling Holy Spirit and His precious Word? How can we not overcome temptations?
As God's children, we are as it were the firstfruits of His creatures. That is the meaning of "we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18b). Allow me to briefly explain this phrase. In those days, the firstfruits were the first and best of the crops that were harvested. And they were an indication of what the rest of the crops will be like. So if you want to know what the rest of the crops will be like, you look at the firstfruits.
This concept was also used in the resurrection of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:20. Remember 'Jesus rose from the dead, and He became the firstfruits of them that slept'. To the believers, death is likened unto a sleep. The soul never sleeps. Only the body sleeps. The soul is very much alive; even if that soul is sent to hell a million upon a million years, that soul will still be alive. The body goes to sleep. But the resurrection of Christ indicates what the rest of the resurrections will be like. So if we want to understand what our resurrected bodies will be like, we look at the firstfruits — our Lord Jesus Himself.
Most of the time, a farmer will be inclined to keep the firstfruits — which were the best — for himself. But God required the best to be given to Him. That is the reason why you read in the Old Testament sacrificial system, the people were required to offer their firstfruits. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul said we are to 'present our bodies as a living sacrifice' (Romans 12:1). Why? Because we are the firstfruits.
Last year, I visited Singapore and I ate durian which is my favorite fruit. If you have not tried, please try. I know some of you may not like it, but I love it. The durian seller told me that it was the firstfruit, or the fruit of the first season. Apparently, the durian tree will produce fruits in different seasons. There would be the first season, the middle season, and the end season. The first season was always the best. Using this agricultural analogy, James said 'we, the believers, are the firstfruits of his creatures' (James 1:18b). The word "we" is a reference to all the believers living during James' time. And the word "creatures" refers to all those who would be saved in the future. Remember, the firstfruits were not only the best, but they were an indication of what the rest of the crops will be like.
In other words, the believers during James' time were the firstfruits of many more who would be harvested; as in many more who would believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But not only the believers during James' time were called the firstfruits. The other believers in the New Testament were also called firstfruits. For example, 'the household of Stephanas were called the firstfruits of Achaia'. You can read about that in 1 Corinthians 16:15. Even the Tribulation saints who believe in Jesus Christ in the End Times were called 'the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb' (Revelation 14:4).
Dear friends, if the believers during James' time; and the believers in the New Testament; and even the Tribulation saints in the Last Days were called the firstfruits, what about us in this day and age? Today — if we genuinely and truly believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ — we are also called the firstfruits. We will be the firstfruits of all of God's creatures in the Millennial Kingdom because we will reign with Jesus Christ for one thousand years. And even with the recreation of the new heavens and the new earth, we will still be known as the firstfruits.
But as the firstfruits, God desires the best from us; He expects the best from us. He wants our lives to be living trophies, so to speak, before all His creatures. The question is: 'Are we living such a life? Are we living such a life that indicates to the world, 'This is what the rest of the believers will be like?''
I believe all of us here may have some unbelieving loved ones and friends. We desire our unbelieving loved ones and friends to come and believe in Jesus Christ. When you and I live our lives looking unto our Heavenly Father — the Father of Lights — who has blessed us with every good and perfect gifts; who has given to us the greatest perfect gift, the Holy Spirit; when you and I respond to the trials and temptations of life relying on the empowerment of the Spirit and obeying the Word of God, that is when our unbelieving sons and daughters; our unbelieving parents and grandparents; our unbelieving friends and colleagues will say, 'I know what a Christian is like. My dad; my mom; my child; my grandchild; my friend is such a believer'.
Our transformed lives cannot save anyone, but it can certainly point the people to the Gospel that 'is able to save their souls' (James 1:21).
Dear friends, remember who God is and remember who we are. And if we know who God is and who we are, then we must live as His firstfruits in this dark and sinful world. May the Lord help us to live such a life.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of Scriptures. As we have learned the lessons about trials and temptations, Thou has brought us to this passage; not by chance nor coincidence, but by Thy appointment. And Thou has taught us to remember who Thou art and who we are. Indeed, our God is our Heavenly Father. He is the Father of Lights. He is unchangeable. Everything around us may change, but our God will never change. And He who loves us, who has saved us; is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He has given to us many good and perfect gifts, of which the greatest perfect gift is the Holy Spirit. Because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we are regenerated; that we are born again; that our eyes are opened to spiritual truth.
Once we rejected the Word of God, but now we begin to see. And the Word of God is so true, so much so that it becomes the Word of Truth. And as believers saved by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ought to live our lives as the firstfruits of Thy creatures; we ought to live our lives trusting in Thee at every step of the way, relying on Thy Spirit, and obeying Thy word. And we want to share the Gospel and peradventure through our transformed lives, we may point the people to the only Gospel which is able to save. O Lord, help us to live such a life.
This morning, we have learned wonderful truths about who Thou art and who we are. So help us to live such a life to the glory of Thy precious name. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13How to Be PatientHow to Be PatientJames 5:7-11In Times of AfflictionIn Times of AfflictionJames 5:13-18
