The elements of being a Christian
James 1:19-27
A well-known painter was traveling one day in Europe when he lost his passport. As he came to a crossing the customs agent wanted to see his passport. “I am who I say I am.” The officer would not believe it, handed him a pencil and paper, and told him to draw something. He sketched the scenes that were behind them and when the officer saw it, he said you may pass for no one else could draw like that. This brings us to say that one can say, “I’m a Christian.” The proof comes by the life we live and our actions and words show for sure if we are a follower of Christ. A Christian will be Christ like.
1. we will have a controlled tongue. We can be careful to be in church on Sunday morning, be one who carefully tithes the correct amount in his tithe, be one who sings with what seems joy from the heart and be very prayerful looking doing that time of the service. Some have the appearance of a Christian in their actions, dress, behavior and words spoken in public. We look at what James says here is the first reality of a Christian. If we fail here, our religion is in worthless.
a. Just think of how small the tongue is in comparison to the rest of your body. Let us look at what the bible says about that little member. James 3:3-11
1. We can put a little piece of metal in a horse’s mouth and control the way it goes. There is a small part of the ship called a rudder that is hidden below the water and very small but it controls where the ship goes even against the strong wind and waves that come.
2. This we say about small things what do we say about the small thing called the tongue. The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. The tongue sets our lives on fire, and is itself set on fire from hell. It is a world of evil among the parts of our bodies, and it completely contaminates our bodies. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it can brag about doing important things. It is an uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison. No one can tame the tongue. With our tongues, we praise our Lord and Father. Yet, with the same tongues, we curse people, who were created in God’s likeness. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life.
3. No one else can tame the tongue but the one with the tongue. We can ask for God’s help but it is still our choice. Man came forward to an altar to pray that the Lord would fill him so he would be what he should be. His wife stood listening and told the Lord he leaks. We need to pray and perhaps there are a few of us who need to ask the Lord to plug up the holes. I have not heard many people pray that God would fill their tongues with His Spirit.
How are you doing with your tongue? It is under your control. Do you need to tame it?
Dropping three Pebbles
Drop a pebble in the water, just a splash, and it is gone, / But there’s half a hundred ripples circling on
and on and on; / Spreading, spreading from the center,/ flowing out into the sea, / But there isn’t any way of telling where the end is going to be. / Drop a pebble in the water; in a minute you forget, / But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet, And there’s little ripples flowing, to a great big wave have grown. And you’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.
Drop an unkind word or gesture; in a minute it is gone, / But there’s half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on; / They keep spreading, spreading, spreading / from the center as they go, / And there isn’t any way to stop them once you start them on to flow. / Drop an unkind word or gesture, in a minute you forget, / But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet, / And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred, / And disturbed a life that’s happy when you dropped that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness; just a flash and it is gone, / But there’s half a hundred ripples, circling on and on and on, / Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave, / ’Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave. / Drop a word of cheer and kindness; in a minute you forget, / But there’s gladness still a-swelling and there’s joy a-circling yet, / And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort, whose sweet music can be heard / Over miles and miles of water, just by dropping a kind word. Author Unknown.
2. It is more than just words to show love that Christ has us to give out. James 1:10-19
God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. It something is not tested it is of little value. Would you like to have pilot fly you into the air if he tells I have tested flying many paper airplanes? If you look in your Bible, you will find that almost everyone who achieved anything had to endure. People such as Joseph, Moses,
We sin if we give into temptation. It says “temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.” We are creatures that have a choice. No one else can make them for us. We cannot blame others if we sin. It did not work back in Adam and Eve’s time and it still will not work today. Just because we claim to be a Christian and do all that, we know to do to be people of faith this does not omit us from being tempted. It is our choice.
Three things that help us that is very plain. It says “My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” We have two ears and one mouth. Is that a clue as to what we should do more?
Next, it tells us “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. If you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” I have no words to improve on this and if you do, you are free to stand up and speak what God has given you.
QUITTING POINT? Are you thinking about quitting? Life’s full of quitting points! But if you throw in the towel on your marriage, your ministry, your job or your dream, you may regret it for the rest of your life. Only by staying in the race, can God strengthen you and make you a winner. F B Meyer says, "You never test the resources of God until you attempt the impossible." Quitting doesn’t build character, endurance does. It develops something in you that nothing else can; that is why God says it is "blessed." It sustains courage, gives staying power to discipline and turns dreams into reality. Nobody knew more about endurance than Jesus did. He endured all the way to the cross; when they plucked the hair from His face, when the whip tore His flesh, when they nailed Him to a cross, when His friends forsook Him, when bystanders mocked Him, when God Himself turned His face away, when hell rose up and cried, "Quit!" But no! Listen: "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" HB 12:2: Remember, "God rewards those who earnestly [persistently] seek him" HB 11:6: The Bible says you will find Him “when you seek with all your heart” JERE 29:13. Those promises apply to you! Test them! Tell God, "I’m going to keep going and trusting You for the strength to break through." Chances are when you do you will find that your quitting point wasn’t as solid as you thought. Instead of being made of concrete, it was made of paper! "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12
3. WE ARE TO LIVE A LIFE OF PRAYER. MATT 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” Every blessing large or small comes from God. God loves to give. When you take time to ask for more blessings from the Father you are only asking Him to do one of His favorite activities. Exodus 33:18 “Then Moses had one more request. “Please let me see your glorious presence," he said.”
God says this morning, You have a need, I love to give mercy. You are undeserving; I love to give without limit. When you patience wavers, I am longsuffering. My goodness is the answer for your sin. God’s love for you is worth far more than any man could show you.
Patsy found out she had a rare eye disease. Her vision in her right eye as to bad to be even fixed the doctor told her. We might be able to fix the left eye. She thanked God she still had the one eye. After a few years in this condition, her husband became sick and was stricken with terminal cancer. Se was losing her sight and cold not work and she thanked god she would be able to stay at home to care for her dying husband. He did die. She lost sight that she could not drive and reading was almost impossible. She could have become a prisoner in her own house. She then came across a book on prayer that she used a strong magnifying glass to read. It renewed her faith to pray, “Father, could you possibly want to bless me by giving me my sight back?” Now this was after she had been legally blind for ten years. She felt that God could heal her if she only prayed and asked for God’s blessing. As she prayed, she only asked for her left eye to be healed. One morning she awoke and found she could see her hands. The next day she could see her fingers. It happened that soon she could see the faces of her friends and family. Her eyesight had gone from 20/400 to 20/40. She kept on praying and was able to get her driving license again. I want us to notice that this woman thanked God before her prayer was answered. Would your prayers be more of a joy if we thanked God more?
God has a harvest of blessing in mind for you. Don’t let the devil steal it away from you by discouraging you into giving up. Trust in God. He is able to put you over. Time has a way of wearing us down -- of eroding our hopes and dreams. We must look to God for strength and courage and refuse discouragement. We must, with God’s help, overcome – instead of being overcome by life and circumstances. Life is not easy. There are obstacles and unexpected turns in the road. But always God is with us, for us, and in us as believers in Jesus Christ. When we grow weary in doing good, it is always because we are losing sight of God and eternity. As you walk in faith and refuse to give up -- you bring glory and pleasure to God. Imagine how it thrills God when someone, like you, continues to trust in Him and thank Him -- even when it does not look like it is working out very good. Read the Bible. You are not the first to be tested, or have to wait for the promise to be manifested. But God is always faithful. He will never fail you. Our faith cannot be in ourselves or our ability -- because that can fail. Only God cannot fail, so we must keep our faith in Him and His ability to sustain us and help us. Remember that as a believer, the Greater One is in you – and He is greater than any problem or difficulty. He will help you. God has the answer for your situation. Look to Him and you will not be disappointed.
