Safe Guidelines For Life

SAFE GUIDELINES FOR LIFE

James 1:5-21

INTRO.- ILL.- George W. Bush, in an airport lobby, noticed a man in a long flowing white robe with a long flowing white beard and flowing white hair. The man had a staff in one hand and some stone tablets under the other arm. George W. approached the man and inquired, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man ignored George W. and stared at the ceiling. George W. positioned himself more directly in the man’s view and asked again, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man continued to look at the ceiling. George W. tugged at the man’s sleeve and asked once again, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man finally responded in an irritated voice, "Yes I am". George W. asked him why he was so unfriendly and Moses replied, "The last time I spoke to a Bush I had to spend forty years in the desert.

Young people, I am not a Moses nor a burning bush, nor a George W. Bush, but I do want to help you and give you some direction in life. Everybody needs help in life and everybody needs some direction.

ILL.- 36-year-old Robert Downey Jr. has done it again! He’s in trouble with the law again and it’s because of the same old problem: drugs. He won’t leave drugs alone!

The news item reads: CULVER CITY, Calif., April 24 — Robert Downey Jr., in another brush with the law over drug use, was arrested Tuesday and booked for investigation of being under the influence of a controlled substance, police said.

Spokesman Alan Nierob said the actor voluntarily checked himself into an undisclosed rehabilitation facility shortly after his release from jail. Hours after Downey’s latest arrest, he was fired from the TV show “Ally McBeal.”

Young people, what do you think of Robert Downey Jr.? What’s your honest opinion of him? And what do you think is going to happen to him? AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN HIS SHOES?

One thing we all should realize about Robert Downey Jr. is this: MONEY AND FAME DON’T MAKE LIFE WONDERFUL!

The only way I know to have a better life, a more fulfilling life is by following the Lord.

John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have to the full.” Jesus offers a full life, a fulfilling life.

PROP.- I would like for us to consider some safe guidelines for life from the book of James which hopefully will help lead us to a better life in the Lord.

1- The place of wisdom

2- The pain of trials

3- The power of temptation

4- The plurality of gifts

5- The pitfall of anger

I. THE PLACE OF WISDOM

V. 5 “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

ILL.- Intelligence is not the same as wisdom. A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of he parachutes because I have a wife and three small children.” So he took one and jumped.

The computer whiz said, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped. The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.” The boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!

That computer whiz wasn’t so smart after all or as smart as he thought he was!

If any of you lack wisdom. I say, who doesn’t lack wisdom? Some people don’t think they do. The first step in getting wisdom is to realize you don’t always have it!

ILL.- One time when I was pretty young my older brother talked me into stealing a watermelon from my neighbor’s garden, which was directly across the street from our front yard. And not only did I steal that watermelon, I stole it in broad daylight!

Needless to say, my neighbor caught me red-handed and marched me right across the street into my house and into my Dad’s presence for me to confess what I did.

I was not very smart for several reasons! I should never have let my older brother talk me into doing his dirty work.

DID YOU EVER DO ANYTHING DUMB OR STUPID? Tell me about it! No, don’t tell me about it. We all do dumb things. Some people just won’t admit to it.