DEEPER LIFE BIBLE CHURCH WORLDWIDE.
MONDAY BIBLE STUDY MESSAGE.
MESSAGE ANCHORED BY THE GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT.
TOPIC: THE MINISTRY OF GOD'S WORD IN HEAVENWARD BELIEVERS.
TEXT: JAMES 1:17-22.
We are going on and continuing in our study of the epistle of James for the believers and for everyone.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
The word of God says, For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. How ever package, the anger of any human being works not the righteousness of God. As you wake up in the morning, you have your devotion, and you go out for your daily activities, check up your life, and lay aside every weight of sin. You don't need self-denial to be naughty. It's depravity of nature. That's why the Lord tells us in His word, He says, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. As we grow in life, that naughtiness will overflow, but as children of God, we lay aside the superfluity of naughtiness so that we can receive the ministry of God's word. We have to obey the word of God and do it. There are many believers in coat, there are worldliness believers in coat, but those who follow after the Lord, their purpose is to get to heaven, and they are referred to as heavenward believers.
POINT 1: PERFECT GIFTS FROM THE FATHER BY THE WORD.
JAMES 1:17-18.
Every perfect gift is from the Lord. Every perfect gift came upon the people of old and is still coming down now, and it will continue until we see Him face to face.
I. The precious gift of salvation for Sonship.
John 1:12-13; James 1:17-18; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14.
Salvation is a gift, is not something you earn or merit or something you strive to attain. It's a gift that you obtain. That salvation is not something you work religiously to have. It's not what your natural activities give you, but it's the gift of God. Adoption into the family of God, everything comes as the gift of God. We are created in Christ Jesus as a result of salvation, and as long as salvation abides, then we manifests good work. Salvation is provided for all, and everyone is invited to have that great gift of salvation. Frivolity gets out when grace comes in. Foolish talk gets out when the grace of God comes in, and that grace of God teaches us to live godly in this present world. Christ redeems us from common, habitual, and all iniquity.
II. The purifying gift of sanctification and steadfastness.
John 17:17-23; Hebrews 13:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24; Ephesians 5:25-27.
The word of God is given to us to remove the depravity of going astray. Sanctification is not just for the early apostles. It's for those that believes on Christ through the word. Sanctification doesn't scatter believers, it gathers believers, it unite believers, it doesn't bring conflict among believers, it brings life, unity and love, anywhere you see disunity, there's no sanctification there. Anywhere there's division, disunity, fighting against one another, struggling for recognizing, there's no sanctification there, and if Christ comes and meet them fighting for position, not fighting for holiness and righteousness, they will not get to heaven. When believers are in conflict, the world will not believe because they are like the world. But when we believe and we are saved and sanctified and we are one, and everybody can see that practical oneness, the world will believe. There might be reproach, assault, belittling your personality, but you don't abandon Christ because of that, you go to Him for sanctification, and with all the insult and assault, you will be able to bear His reproach. Abstain from all appearance of evil, the people who get the result of your action will judge it to evil, abstain from all appearance of evil. Sanctification makes the church a glorious church. The people who do not pray for sanctification and desire sanctification, and they do not pursue the possession of sanctification, they don't want the church to be glorious. They want the church to remain depravity, but the people who want the church to be glorious, they are the people who pray for sanctification, and they desire that the church should be holy. That's what Christ died for.
III. The powerful gift/gifts of the Spirit for service.
Acts 1:4-5,8; 2:33,38-39; 1 Corinthians 12:1,7-11; Luke 11:13.
The power of the Holy Ghost is the gift of God. In Acts 1:8, the Lord says, but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Beyond Jerusalem, beyond the first century, until the end of the world that to evangelize, we need the powerful gift of the Spirit. The promise of the Holy Ghost power is for everybody. All these gifts of the Spirit are works the same. Every gift is from the Father, ask, and it shall be given to you, if you ask, you will receive it. He will give you the appropriate gift IN Jesus' Name. Salvation, sanctification, and the baptism in the Holy Ghost are available for everyone
POINT 2. THE PROFITABLE GRACIOUSNESS AS FIRSTFRUITS THROUGH THE WORD.
JAMES 1:19-21.
When we hear the word of God, it turns our lives around, and we become the firstfruit of the word. Every member of the church, everyone, the word of God speaks to everyone. When the word of God comes, we don't isolate ourselves. We allow the word to penetrate and be profitable. Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. There shouldn't be any naughtiness. When there's pride, invested instrest in filthiness, stubbornness, we will not be able to receive the word of God with meekness, we lay that aside so that we can receive the word of God in meekness.
I. Renewing the ennobling wonders of swift hearing/slow speaking.
James 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Ecclesiastes 5:2; James 1:26.
Every candidate of heaven should be slow to hear. What brings division in the family and in the church is that they are swift and too fast to get angry. What brings conflicts, protest in a nation is that they are slow to hear and swift to get angry. If we are going to have peace in the church, in the family, in the community, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. As we come to the house of God, let your hands and feet rest, let your eyes look up and let your ears hear the word of God, let people see the serenity and the respect and honour you have for God in His house in you.
II. Renouncing the ensnaring works with sinners' superfluity.
James 1:20-21; 1 Peter 2:1,11; Romans 13:12-13; Hebrews 12:1-2.
Sinners need salvation because of their naughtiness, but when their naughtiness flows to the preachers, that's evil, but God wants us to renounce all those ensnaring works of sinners' superfluity If there's confusion, commotion, and wrath in the church, sinners will not be saved. If the preachers are angry and everyone is full of wrath, it is a waste of time. Go back to Calvary because the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. For us to be in good relationship with God, for us to be fit with the service of God and for God to recognize we are servicing Him, for us to be of any benefit to the people we are sending the message to, we need to lay aside all malice. Settled anger in malice, and if you're before the Lord every time, you will lay aside permanently malice, all guile, all hypocrisy and all evil speaking things. If you're born again, if you're a candidate for heaven, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.
III. Retaining the engrafted word for sustained salvation.
James 1:21; Mark 4:20,24; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Acts 17:10-11.
We can not receive the word with pride, we cannot receive the word when we are thinking of our position and self. There are people now a days, that when they refer to apostle Paul, some will say brother Paul said, but they do not take the word of Paul seriously, the Lord says He will reveal unsearchable mistry to us. When He revealed Peter with the Paul, Peter recognized him. God will open the eyes of those who contradict the word of God. If you listen to those fake preachers, it will bring doubt to your mind. Everything is the word of God, what you read in Genesis is not the word of Moses, it's the word of God, what you read in Romans is not the word of Paul but the words of God, everything we read in the Bible is the word of God, and Jesus said any man that will take away from the word of prophecy, the Lord will take his name away from the book of life. Be careful never to select the word of God like other people do.
POINT 3. OUR PRACTICAL GODLINESS IN FAITHFULNESS TO THE WORD.
JAMES 1:22.
The godliness that is practical, you can see it, it's not just a profession of mouth, it's not history, but when you look for the result of knowing the Lord, you will have the practical godliness. If we are going to be faithful to God, faithfulness demands faithfulness to His word, to His servants He sent. Faithfulness to God demands that we pray after listening to the word of God, and we are faithful to that call and consecration unto God. We should be doers of the word and not preachers only. Many preachers preach on tithes and offerings, but they never pay their tithes and offerings. They tell the congregation to stay together, but they can not stay together. They are preachers of the word and not doers of the word. They preach against sin, but they are not doers of the word. They are preachers only. And there are members who come to church. They read the word, but they are not doers of the word. Get born again, get sanctified. Be ye doers of the word, not the hearers only. Some preachers tell the couple to love their wives, but they are not doers of the word. They are deceiving themselves that they will get to heaven because they are hearers of the word.
I. The doers of the word in all.
Romans 6:17-18; James 1:22; Colossians 3:14-17,23-24; Philippians 4:8-9.
When you hear the word of God and the Grace of God comes in, you're now doer of the word, and you do that from your mind
II. The deceivers in their waywardness without salvation.
Mathew 7:21-23; James 1:22; Luke 12:47-48; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
Understand, there are two places in eternity, those who are not in heaven will be in hell forever and ever, and the Lord says not everyone that says unto Him Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of God. There are people who carry the label of denomination. If they are not doers of the word, they can not enter into the Kingdom of God. Many people who are popular, they are respected by their congregations and outside, people don't know their private life, the more popular they become, the more pride they become, and their pride can pull down the word of God and exalt them above the word. Judas Iscariot also went out with other disciples, he also cast out the devil, it's not just miracle and healing, it's being saved and live that saved life at home and everywhere you find yourself, praise God you'll get to heaven.
III. The disciples committed to the word of the scripture.
John 8:31; 15:4-8; Acts 20:32; Revelation 3:8-9.
Maybe mistakenly or deliberately you've taken something belong to other people, you will make your way right, or maybe you discover you're going back, you will go back to God and continue in the word of righteousness. God makes grace available that we seek His grace, His godliness, and we follow peace with all men without that Holiness no man shall see the Lord. Every one of us will continue in His word, and where we are slack and careless, we will go back to Calvary for purging, none of us will receive the grace of God in vain
