Podcasts about him james

Send us a textGratitude transforms how we experience life's challenges. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 5:18, today's meditation explores the profound difference between being thankful FOR everything versus IN everything. This isn't semantic wordplay—it's a life-changing distinction that reshapes our entire approach to suffering.God's goodness remains constant even when our circumstances don't. Every blessing originates from Him (James 1:17), which means He stands as our solution, not our problem. While scripture acknowledges that troubles inevitably come, the promises of scripture remind us we're never alone in them. Greater is He within us than any force against us. The righteous face many afflictions, yet divine deliverance remains assured.The cross reveals Jesus' heart toward our suffering. He endured ultimate pain "for the joy set before Him"—and remarkably, that joy was us. This great exchange offers righteousness for our shame, peace for our turmoil, and hope for our despair. When darkness feels overwhelming, remember God isn't bringing death, curses, or trouble—He's your refuge from them. He stands as your ever-present help, your closest friend, your unshakable rock. The invitation remains simple yet profound: don't blame Him, claim Him. Run toward God rather than away when life gets difficult. In doing so, you'll discover the supernatural ability to give thanks in everything, reflecting the true will of God for your life.Support the show

Find the complete show notes here:  https://watwm.podbean.com/. God rewards those who have the faith to seek Him. This truth is proclaimed in Hebrews 11:6, which says, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Walking with God and pleasing Him requires faith. For those who draw near to God, it is essential to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Faith is rooted in the assurance that He draws near to those who draw near to Him (James 4:8). Join Kim in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as she takes us on a journey through the Scriptures, revealing the rewards of a life that exercises faith. Scriptures Mentioned in this Episode Luke 19:1-10 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19%3A1-10&version=KJV  Hebrews 11:6 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11%3A6&version=KJV  James 4:8 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+4%3A8&version=KJV  Isaiah 26:3 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+26%3A3&version=KJV  John 10:10 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A10&version=KJV  John 6:44 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A44&version=KJV  I Corinthians 2:9 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+2%3A9&version=KJV  Jeremiah 29:11 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A11&version=KJV  Jeremiah 29:13 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A13&version=KJV  John 14:6 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A6&version=KJV  Ephesians 2:8-9 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A8-9&version=KJV  Titus 2:11-13 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+2%3A11-13&version=KJV  Romans 12:1-2 www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12%3A1-2&version=KJV  Did you enjoy this podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can listen to us on all major podcasting platforms like Apple Podcasts,  Spotify,  Google Podcasts,  YouTube, and Podbean. Check out Kim's latest Bible Bit book on Amazon! Do you want to bring Kim Miller to your church, upcoming retreat, or conference? Contact us! This podcast is brought to you by Woman at the Well Ministries and is supported by our faithful listeners. To support this podcast, please visit our support page.  

Listener Question:@recipefordisaster asked:“Can I show the love of Christ but still harbor bitterness in my heart? Can the two coincide?”This episode tackles a profound and relatable question. Here's what we discuss:Can God Use Imperfect People?Yes! Scripture reminds us that no one is perfect (1 John 1:8). God used imperfect, flawed people throughout history—and He can use us, too.Can God Use Rebellious People?While God can use anyone, He often chooses those who choose to follow Him (Matthew 16:24). A heart of humility and surrender is key to being fully used by Him (James 4:6).The Danger of Bitterness:Resentment is deceptive. As St. Augustine said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”Bitterness, described as a root in Hebrews 12:15, doesn't just harm you—it defiles those around you.The Power of Forgiveness:Jesus offers forgiveness, which abolishes bitterness. We forgive not because others deserve it, but because Christ has forgiven us (Hebrews 12:1-2).Forgiveness is the antidote to bitterness and the key to freedom, grace, and peace in Christ.Practical Help:Clingy sins like bitterness can be difficult to shed. That's why God gave us the church—a community of believers to run alongside us in the race of faith.If you're struggling, find a godly mentor or friend to help you forgive and let go of bitterness.

CLICK HERE for the episode guide to help you connect with Scripture through this song.I need the reminder. I need the nudge. I get discouraged and feel the temptation to stop asking God for his __________________ (you fill in the blank). Matthew West exhorts us toward something the Bible says: "Don't Stop Praying." On a good day, I'll agree. On a bad day, I may whine, "Why should I?"That is the question we'll seek guidance from God's Word to answer.In this episode, I discuss the following:Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture – this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include: Consult an outside resourceRead in contextMeditate on ScriptureRead the text out loudMake observationsStudy from various translationsPray ScriptureEpisode Guide"Esther" at Sight and Sounds Theater in Branson - Website LinkAn outside resource on prayer that changed my prayer life - "How to Pray" by R.A. Torrey - Amazon Paid LinkTraining yourself NOT to skip over Scripture in Christian LiteratureVerses that scream, "Don't stop praying!" Ephesians 6:181 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - see Episode 488 for more on this section of ScriptureExamining the "alls" in Ephesians 6:18From R.A. Torrey's book "How to Pray," why should you be in constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer? Because there is an enemy - Ephesians 6:12-13, Ephesians 6:18Because prayer is God's way for us to obtain things from Him - James 4:2-3Because the apostles modeled it as important - Acts 6:4, Romans 1:9, Ephesians 1:15-16, Colossians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Timothy 1:3Because prayer was important to Jesus when he walked this earth - Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12Because prayer is the most important part of Jesus' current ministry - Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34Because prayer is God's means appointed for our receiving mercy and obtaining grace - Hebrews 4:14-16Interceding for others by praying Scripture over them (try Colossians 1:9-12)Additional ResourcesLyrics - NewReleaseToday.comPrayer Hold Power - KLove Article"How to Pray" by R.A. Torrey - Amazon Paid LinkMy favorite Bible Study Software - Logos Bible Software Affiliate LinkThis Week's ChallengeMeditate on our focus verse, Ephesians 6:18, and study it in context to guide you to examine constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer throughout Scripture. Then, pick up the Episode Guide to walk you through six reasons for constant prayerChange your music. Change your life. Join my free 30-Day Music Challenge. CLICK HERE.

Episode 187: How do you grow in your intimacy with God? To be deeply intimate with God means that you are highly connected with Him and that He is highly connected with you. God already knows everything about you, but He wants you to draw near to Him (James 4:8). Today I share with you two ways that help me grow my intimacy with our Father. I share one of my favorite Bible verses that remind me of being deep with the Lord. I pray this episode blesses you, big sister.    To get your copy of my "Love For His Word" 30-Day Psalm 119 Devotional E-Book with Audio just click here: https://bit.ly/lovehisword For the FEBRUARY FLASH SALE price Use Discount Code: FEBRUARY20   Do you want to find calm in your chaos?  Do you want to experience God as your refuge and rock every day and feel truly connected with Him through His Word? Let's have a quick 10-minute conversation about how I can help you get to this place of peace that you want and need so much.  Simply go to https://theintentionalchristianwoman.com/ to book a free 10-minute consultation with me today.   Are you looking for an authentic and encouraging community with other women like you who want to create life-changing bible study routines and connect more deeply with God? Join us over at our community: Intentional Bible Study For Christian Women https://bit.ly/letsbeintentional   Do you want to become an exclusive Intentional Insider? Sign up to receive my monthly newsletters with tips to help you connect with your Father on a deeper level PLUS get access to my latest gift, devotionals, challenges, special offers, and other gifts I make designed with you in mind https://theintentionalchristianwoman.com/my-gift-to-you/.   Want to know how my podcast ranked quickly to the TOP 1.5 % of global podcasts? Ever wonder if podcasting might be right for you? Sister, no problem! To find out how just go to:  https://theintentionalchristianwoman.com/startapodcast/   Want more amazing Bible study resources?  This is one of my FAVORITE places to get more Bible insight and study tips! PLUS get 10% off when using this referral link: https://www.coffeeandbibletime.com/?ref=nfgfya7p    

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #734, Season 7. **

Proverbs 3:9-10 (KJV) “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”    In this message Reverend Lindsay concludes the powerful series on tithes with the message “10 Things that happen when you Tithe”.  Tithing is honoring our creator God who gave all we have and need. We worship God when we tithe and respect Holy things. It is a  command to tithe and by doing so you are obeying God's commandments. God is the source of all our blessings and every good and perfect thing comes from Him (James 1:17).   Let us honor our Father God with what He has given us and never cease tithing, it is our blessing!

Pastor Brian Bennett Notes [James 4]   The “friend zone”: God commands us to ________ the world and ________ Him [James 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18]   • What messes up our friend zone? o Our ________ o Our ________________   The “friend zone”: God's grace grows when we come to Him _______ [James 4:6-10]   • What fixes our friend zone? o Our ________, resistance, and drawing near o ________ rather than ________    The “friend zone”:  a friend zone ________________________seeks God's will in all things [James 4:11-17]   Next Step Questions:   • Is Jesus your Lord and Savior?   • Is there anything in your friend zone that shouldn't be?   • Will you draw near to Jesus and bring whatever is in the way to the altar?

Glory be to God! **

April 21, 2023 - Equipped Day 2 9:00AM Auditorium Speaker   Dan Owen kicks off day 2 of the Equipped Workshop. He looks at what it means to be open to change and accepting God's control over your life.   Slides: Wisdom for Navigating Conflict in the Book of James (James 1:2-12) Conflict Brings Trials Which Test Our Faith! 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation (trial); for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). Sincerely seek God's wisdom when dealing with conflict. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8). 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James is addressing a real conflict between the rich and the poor. 9 Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. 2 My brothers and sisters, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in bright clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”  4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called? (James 2:4-7). 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? (James 2:15f). What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body's parts? 2 You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask (James 4:1-2). 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil (James 4:13ff). Come now, you rich people, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure (James 5:1-3).  4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of armies (James 5:4).  God's wisdom calls for Christian behavior during conflict. Listen lots, Speak little, Control Anger Be Fair and Impartial Toward All People Admit Your Wrongs Toward Others Learn to See Yourself and Others Through God's Eyes. 9 Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out. Recognize Conflict As a Time to Truly Show Your Faith! 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).   Duration 36:22

How confident are you that God hears when you pray? Is it wrong to have doubts about prayers? The Bible says that you cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and that a person who doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from Him (James 1:7). Evangelist Randy Tidmore addresses these troublesome issues and shows what […]

Learning to develop a daily prayer habit of praying His Word back to Him (James 5:16)

Let us mark who they were to whom the tidings first came that Christ was born. They were shepherds abiding in the fields near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks by night. To shepherds - not to priests and rulers- to shepherds - not to scribes and Pharisees, an angel appeared, proclaiming, -Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.- The saying of James should come into our mind as we read these words- Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him- -James 2-5-.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” It really is all about Jesus! All the New Testament writers seem to come to this conclusion in their letters and so should we! Especially today, when we can so easily be overwhelmed with the darkness, the evil, the bad, the ugly, the painful, the suffering and the consequences of a culture and society that largely has told God that we don't need Him or His Word, we need to come back personally and intimately to a relationship with Jesus Christ! Only Jesus is able to keep us from stumbling around in the darkness! Only Jesus can present us faultless, blameless and spotless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy! Only Jesus can forgive us of all our sins! Only Jesus can fulfill and satisfy the deepest longings of our soul! Only Jesus can bring the rest and peace that we are so desperately looking for! So why should we keep looking anywhere else? Jude 25 is the only place in this little letter where Jude called our Lord "Savior." Peter used this title five times. But Jude opened his letter by reminding his readers of "the common salvation" (Jude 3) that they shared because of their faith in Jesus Christ It is not enough to say that Jesus Christ is "a savior," or "the Savior"; we must say that He is "our Savior—my Savior." He is not only our Savior, but He is "the only wise God." He can give you the wisdom you need to live your life to the glory of God. The false teachers boasted of their special knowledge, but they lacked spiritual wisdom. God gives wisdom to those who ask Him (James 1:5), provided they are sincerely willing to obey Him. If Christians would seek the wisdom of God in the Word of God, they would not stumble into the traps of the false teachers, but would walk to please the Lord. Paul puts it all together with this prayer in his letter to the church at Colossae. “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:9-20) It really is all about Jesus! “Now to Him Who….” My friend we would do well, if today we would remember Who Jesus is, and by the grace of God, make it all about Him in every aspect of our lives! If we can truly say that Jesus is “my Savior”, then we can also say, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want….”(Psalm 23). God bless!

Christian Gobbledygook is when all reason and discernment disappear with the mechanics of living the Christian life. Yes, you joined up, you fessed up, you gave up, but you never grew up. This is the problem. You need to get serious about hearing, learning and applying the Word of God. Stay away from the gobbledygook and grow up spiritually. Grow to spiritual maturity and God will reward you for this. “Behold, I'm coming suddenly, and My reward is with Me to decorate each believer on the basis of his achievement” (Rev 22:12). Mature believers will wear rewards in eternity. “Keep on being faithful even unto death and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10). “Happy is that person who perseveres under testing for once he has passed the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). This is virtue love. You have a spiritual life and this life you will carry throughout all eternity. Click for Full Transcript If the hotlink doesn't work copy the full link, below, and paste it into your search engine finder: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jxm4i67szzf68y9/844-Christian-Gobbledygook-transcript.pdf?dl=0 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rick-hughes/message

Growing up without a dad, Rob felt he missed out on a lot of practical wisdom that fathers often pass on to their children. Not wanting anyone to lack important life skills, Rob made a series of practical “Dad, How Do I?” videos demonstrating everything from how to put up a shelf to how to change a tire. With his kind compassion and warm style, Rob has become a YouTube sensation, amassing millions of subscribers. Many of us long for the expertise of a parental figure to teach us valuable skills, as well as help us navigate difficult situations. Moses needed some wisdom after he and the Israelites fled captivity in Egypt and were establishing themselves as a nation. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, saw the strain that settling disputes among the people was having on Moses. So, Jethro gave Moses thoughtful advice on how to delegate responsibility in leadership (Exodus 18:17-23). Moses “listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said” (v. 24). God knows we all need wisdom. Some may be blessed with godly parents but all of us can ask God, who gives wisdom to all who ask Him (James 1:5). He’s also provided wisdom throughout the pages of Scripture. In the book of Proverbs, for example, we’re reminded that when we humbly and sincerely listen to the wise, we “will be counted among the wise” (Proverbs 19:20) and have wisdom to share with others.

Happy is the man who endures a temptation, because having come to be tested for approval, he will receive the victor's crown of the life, which He promised to all the ones loving Him – James 1:12

Malachi 3:6–18 ESV 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. 13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ” 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Psalm 89:34 ESV 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. James 1:17 ESV 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. The Message: God doesn’t change , and man doesn’t either . The Challenge: God doesn’t change (He’s all in for you ). Has Jesus Changed you? (Or are you withholding something from Him?) James 1:5–8 ESV 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Mark 10:21–22 ESV 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Psalm 73:1–3 ESV 1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Psalm 73:16–17 ESV 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

Life is full of frustrations. We all suffer from frustration, and being able to effectively deal with frustration is a very important skill to develop. Everybody needs to learn how to control what frustrates them so that it does not control them. 5 things, they are big things, i could make 20 points out it but really its just 4 You always have a choice of whether to deal with frustration or whether to allow frustration to get the better of you.   1 Corinthians 10:13] No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” God is resistant to the proud of heart and will extend His grace only to those who are humble before Him (James 4:6).  Why should we not be humble before God?  God is supreme over all things and so we should be eager to submit ourselves “under the mighty hand of God” so that when the day comes (“at the proper time”) He will exalt us. The condition is if we humble ourselves, we cast all of our anxieties and frustrations on Him, because the fact is He cares for us. Bible Reading is in the New Testament, Acts   Thank you for listening and supporting the Speak Life Church Ministry.  The fact that my voice is being used to help you is a miracle in itself.  I would love to hear from you.  Send me an email at pastor@speaklifechurch.net or call at 443-360-5421 and leave your message.   Financial support links are http://speaklifechurch.net/giving or http://give.speaklifechurch.net   Please continue to pray for this ministry, and I will continue to pray for you. Speak Life Church, Inc. PO Box 2, Upper Marlboro, MD 20773

Message #342 Called Alongside - Acts 18:19-19:7 Sunday, September 23 2018 Previously we studied the work of the Holy Spirit through Paul in Corinth and answered the question: what are God's tools for making my life and character more like Christ's? This week, we'll learn more about Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos, and an instructive interaction between the Apostle Paul and disciples in Ephesus. The questions we'll tackle are: Am I full of the Spirit? Am I growing in the truth? Am I growing into the true worshipper whom the Father is seeking to worship Him? James 1:22 encouragement- All true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him. This implies we are learners, what Jesus described as disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Whether it's growing in the breadth and accuracy of what the word of God teaches (as Apollo's did under Aquila and Priscilla's gracious instruction, see Acts 18:24-28). Or, learning and experiencing new things in Christ of which we were formerly ignorant (as the Ephesian disciples did under Paul's careful questioning and teachings and actions, see Acts 19:1-7). Following Jesus' teachings in John 4:21-26, prayerfully examine yourself as you study along with us to see how you can grow into the type of worshipper for whom God is searching. Related verses: John 14:26 John 3:21-26 Ephesians 5:18-21 Isaiah 55:1 Luke 11:1-13 Galatians 5:22-25 Colossians 3:16-17 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Deuteronomy 11:18-20 Hebrews 4:12-13 Calvary Chapel Reston Station 1950 Isaac Newton Sq. Reston, VA 20195 (703) 834-8100 http://www.calvaryreston.org/

Anointed to Be with Him - James 4:8 - Pastor DeWayne Wright - 07/01/18 by Kingdom Living Ministries

Find the Light / Be the Light / Shine the Light Find the Light March 5, 2017 Welcome What does that look like? Matthew 6:22-23 We look at that and say, “OK! That makes sense.” If my eye is good… my lamp, or light, is good. If my eye is bad… my lamp, or light is bad. Matthew 6:23 If you think that you are all good when you are actually bad, what is bad to you? Are we all in for God or are we allowing a little bit of Satan into our lives? We need to understand that there are only 2 choices in this life. Living for God, who is the Light. Or living for Satan. Acts 17:27-30 God wants us coming back to Him Let me ask you this, if 3 billionaires told you that they would teach you the secret to making money, and all you had to do was listen and believe and do… I mean, that it was a sure fire way that you would guaranteed make billions as well, would you listen? Matthew 3:1-2; Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38 We need to be looking for the Light! We need to find the Light! 2 Corinthians 6:14b – 15a The answer is that it can’t. 1 John 1:5-8 We are called to make a choice! Do we walk in His light? Or do we stick with darkness? John 3:19-21 Did you catch that? Did you see it? John 3:20 How do we find the light? We seek it out! Deuteronomy 4:29b; Isaiah 55:6; John 5:19-20; Psalm 73:25; Matthew 7:7-8; Matthew 6:33 How shall we come before Him? James 4:7-8; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 10:19-22 How do we find the Light? We seek Him out and once we find Him, we spend time with Him. We learn His ways. We die to ourselves and actively try to become who He created us to be.The awesome thing about finding the Light, is that He wants to be found! Seek God this week! Find the Light! And once you do… Stay there… Stay in His presence! Become like Him!

We have faith in God, even though we have not seen Him (James 2:14-26). Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In this study, Fairview Evangelist, Zach Birkner investigates three different kinds of faith and discusses if faith alone or works alone can save.

[Congregation just finished watching drama.] I think if we took a show of hands this morning, many hands would go up if we asked the question, How many of you have felt like the couple in our skit this morning? Maybe it wasnt specifically with the issue of infertility. Maybe it was an illness or was just at a general time of trouble or hardship that youve been through. I think the point is that we can all identify. We can all sense their frustration. We can all hear the hurt and the pain in their voices. We recognize that weve been there too, and weve prayed that God would bring relief, that He would bring an end to the time of trouble in our lives; and sometimes those times continue on. This morning as we continue and actually begin to wrap up our series in James, were talking about When You Pray. We remember that James writes this Passage in the greater context of his letter. At the time, he probably sat down and wrote it in one sitting. Those that heard the letter would have heard it read together in one sitting, so they would remember the subjects and the topics that weve already talked about as James gets to the section on prayer. We know that James has had some pretty strong words for the church. We know that the church has been through difficult times. Theyve been through times of suffering and trials. Some of them had to relocate because of the persecution they had been under. Now, after facing struggle from outside the church, as they gather together in their faith family, theyre experiencing turmoil, trouble, and suffering even inside the church. When we get to our section on prayer today, James is trying to change the tone. Like I said, he has given some strong warnings. Hes given some strong exhortations, and now he wants to give the community of faith a vision for how the church should be living together, should be operating together. What he does is he uses the topic of prayer to reinforce this idea of unity and community. Were going to read our section from James this morning. Its from James 5, and well pick it up in Verse 13 (page 1199 of pew Bibles). Were going to just read through our Passage this morning and then go back and talk about some of the different parts that James talks about. Picking up with Verse 13, James says, Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. The first question that James answers for us is the question of when do we pray. He makes some very simple statements. Really, the answer to the question is you pray in all circumstances. It sounds very much like when Paul was writing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. He said, Pray continuously. We can understand that. Its a very simple instruction. James goes through a few different scenarios though to reinforce the point, and he says, Is any of you in trouble? Trouble being a very general term-it doesnt apply to a specific kind of trouble, a specific time of persecution or trial. Its just a general time of difficulty. James knows that when we go through times of trouble, sort of like our couple in the skit this morning, it raises questions in our hearts. We ask, Is God aware of what Im going through? Does God care what Im going through? Even if He does, does God have any power to affect change in the situation Im going through? Those questions so often lead us to a time of praying less. James says, In those times, its just the opposite. You need to pray more. In times of trouble, you need to pray. Thats the exact time to pray. Then he addresses the other side of the spectrum. He said, If any of you are happy, rejoicing, or celebrating… Again, a general term-it can apply to many different types of situations of peace, content, and joy. James knows that sometimes when things are going well, what happens to us? We get complacent in our prayer life. When we dont have that sense of urgency to come before God, sometimes we pray less. James says, No, no, no. In times of happiness, thats the time to pray more. Sing songs of praise. Address God. Be grateful for the good things in your lives. Be thankful. Let Him know how much you appreciate this time. Then he goes into a third example. He asks, Is anyone sick? Because James knows that when we get sick, we feel discouraged. When we get sick, we feel weak. We feel helpless. That helplessness sometimes can lead to a sense of hopelessness. James is telling us, Helplessness does not equal hopelessness. In fact, sometimes our helplessness is our best prayer because when we realize that we need God, when we depend on Him every day, thats the attitude with which God loves us to come to Him-how much we need Him. The answer to our first question this morning is very simple. When do we pray? All the time. We pray in every circumstance. We address our Creator. We pour our hearts out to Him. We focus our minds on Him. Next James goes into some phrases that tell us how we should pray. He gives us some instruction, some guidelines, and the first thing he says is you should call the elders of the church to pray over you. Just that expression of calling the elders, thats an expression of faith; and were going to talk about faith a little bit more in a little bit, so Im not going to really get into that now except for just to mention that at the beginning of James-when James was talking about someone praying for wisdom-he mentions faith as a necessary condition of our prayers. Calling is an expression of faith, and the fact that James says to call the elders reinforces his point that the family of faith, the community of faith, is supposed to be just that-a community. Its within the context of our community that we share our struggles with each other-he specifically mentions the elders, teachers. Some churches might call them deacons-those people that have been given special trust for the spiritual interest and spiritual guidance shepherding the church. James point is make your requests known because what happens so many times when were going through a struggle is we hesitate to let people know. We hesitate to let them know of the difficulties that were facing. We try and cover it up. We try to put on that happy face so that people think that everythings going well. James says, Uh-ah. Thats not how the family of faith is supposed to operate. Were supposed to let each other know when were going through times of trouble. I think a significant point here is that James makes no mention of the specific spiritual gift of healing. Paul mentions that in his letters. He includes the gift of healing as a specific spiritual gift, but what James has in mind here is a power through prayer thats available to all of the church as members submit their lives to God. Come together in humility and weakness and pray for each others struggles. He says, Make your requests known. I want to use this as an opportunity to remind you that we have a ministry whose whole focus is on praying for the needs of people in our church. Its called, The Branch of the Lord Ministry. This is a group of people who are committed to praying for all kinds of situations, for praying and giving praise to God in all of those types of situations we just mentioned. Were trying to figure out ways to make their ministry more accessible to you specifically so that you can turn in requests, and then they can be praying for you as well. Make your requests known. Call the elders; be a family of faith together. The second instruction James gives us is he says, You need to pray in the name of the Lord. I know a lot of us use that as a phrase at the end of our prayer, but maybe we seldom give it much thought. What does that mean to pray in the name of the Lord? We kind of act as if thats just a tagline that we add on; if we really want our prayer to be effective, then we are sure to pray in the name of the Lord. Then somehow God is obligated to fulfill that. Really, when we do that, were reflecting attitude that prayer is really more like a wish. Can you imagine if prayers were wishes- if we could just pray for anything and say, In the name of the Lord, it would happen? I know one thing that would happen (Pastor Jesse shows a picture of a sign at a gas station with an error on it. It had the price of $0.009 on it). I have it here on the screen. This is the actual gas station down from my house. I saw that sign and I thought, Whoa! I took a picture. For some reason though, they wouldnt fulfill that obligation when I went in and said, $0.009, thats a good deal. They said, No, that's just a mistake. Sorry. The point is that praying in the name of the Lord reflects an attitude that we have. It means that we pray in union with Christ. It means that we pray by the authority or direction of the Lord or as an act in accordance with His Will and something that will meet His approval. Jesus gave us this model when He gave us the model of prayer. When we talk about the Lords Prayer, in the beginning of His prayer-not at the end, He said, Lord, Your Kingdom come. Your Will be done. That's an example of the attitude were to have in prayer when we pray in the name of the Lord. Along with this phrase just before it, you have the phrase to anoint the person with oil. Honestly, you can do a lot of reading because there is a lot of discussion about what exactly does James mean here? Is he referring to some exercise of that spiritual gift of healing where anointing someone with oil is often used? There are examples of the Disciples doing that. You can look in Mark 16. You can see the Disciples doing that. In the ancient east and even now today, oil had medical and therapeutic uses; and it was very common for people to use oil to treat ailments and to be therapeutic. An example of that would be in the Verses where Jesus was speaking about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 (page 1028 in pew Bibles). It says, When the Samaritan came upon the man who was beaten and bruised and left for dead, he had pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He was giving him first aid. Were not necessarily going to settle the debate about exactly what James means because his main point in this Passage isnt on the power of the oil, but its on the power of praying in the name of the Lord. The oil doesnt contain the power; the power comes from Christ Himself as we pray in submission to His Will and as we call on His authority. Jesus gave His Disciples that specific instruction-that they should pray in His name. Now you can read it. Ill give you a little homework this morning. You can read John 14-16 (starting on page 1067). Jesus makes remarkable statements about what the Disciples would be able to accomplish as they prayed with this attitude, as they prayed in the name of the Lord. Number three, it says the prayer should be offered in faith, so we are to pray in faith. What does that mean? Remember we said this was read as a letter, as a whole, so the people who heard the letter would have remembered in the beginning (in Chapter 1) when James was talking about if anybody lacks wisdom, what should he do? He should pray. In James 1:6 (page 1196), James says, But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. I think sometimes we put extra strain and unnecessary stress on ourselves because when difficult times come and when we question Gods purpose-when we cry out in sincere frustration and just [have] a sense of not knowing what God is doing, wondering if this is really a good plan-those questions are raised in our souls. James is not talking about the fact that we have those types of questions. Weve heard in the last few weeks of examples of Prophets and of Job who expressed freely their emotion before God. Thats not what it means when it says that he should not doubt. He calls him a double-minded man, and we could better understand that if we just changed one word and said a double-souled person, someone who at their heart level hasnt yet decided whether or not theyre going to submit their life, whether they believe in the God of the universe, that He loves them and Hes paid the price for their sin, and that theyre going to give Him control of their lives. Thats the tension that James is talking about, and if we pray with the absence of that faith in God-that God exists, that He loves us, that Hes paid the ultimate price for us, that we find forgiveness and strength through Him-James says our prayers will be ineffective; so were to pray with that understanding and that faith that comes from believing in God. Fourthly, James gets into that area of confession, and he says, Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. At the end of Verse 15 in our Passage, James mentions the possibility that sin has an impact on the persons wellbeing. It said, If the person has sinned, he will be forgiven. What that means is that there is a connection between sin and illness and that its possible there may be sin, but its not necessary in every case. When there is sin, that prevents God from hearing our prayers. God first wants us to acknowledge whether or not we are living obediently to Him because if were not willing to trust Him completely and live obediently to Him, then why would we be coming and asking for Him to work on our behalf; so James mentions the possibility of sin, and he does it in the context of community. He wants us to understand that healing-both physical and spiritual-is available when we enter into this type of relationship with each other. He says, Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other that you may be healed. We talked about the fact that James is writing to a group of people who had been through a time of persecution, a time of trouble and struggles and what happens to our relationships when we go through very stressful times. Oftentimes our relationships are put under great strain as well. James knows that the people hes writing to have struggled first in their relationship with God. Theyve questioned Gods authority. Theyve been tempted to not be obedient to God and seek their own means of protection. Hes calling them back to a stance of faith through confession. Hes also acknowledging that their relationships with each other have suffered. If you were to look back at Chapter 2, he talks to them about playing favorites with each other in the church. In Chapter 3, he talks about them verbally attacking each other in the church. In Chapter 4, he talks about them fighting with each other, slandering each other, and judging each other in the church. He says, Brothers and sisters, this is not how the church is supposed to operate. We all must come to God from the same standpoint, and that is that we need Gods forgiveness. He is the one who offers us forgiveness, so together, lets confess our sins to each other. Lets be honest and humble with each other and pray for each other so that through those prayers, through those confessions, God can raise us up and can strengthen us-not only strengthen our relationship with Him, but as we share each others burdens, as we lovingly intercede for each other in prayer, our relationships in this community of faith will be strengthened and will grow deeper as well. What James is saying is that instead of judging, confess to each other. Instead of heaping guilt on each other, he wants us to forgive each other. Instead of moving to criticize, he says intercede for each other. So James is casting a vision before the early church saying, Your church has had some trouble. Its had infighting; its had conflict; and that does not demonstrate the type of unity [God desires]. You are interfering with the power that God wants to release in your worship time. Instead, hes painting a picture, and he said, Imagine what church would be like. Imagine what your meetings would be like as leaders gather together leading with the authority of Christ in worship. As Christians were praising joyfully for the good things in their lives. Also, as they were confessing their sins openly and praying for each other lovingly, the church together would experience healing in every aspect-physical, relational, spiritual healing. He said, This is what the church should be like, and its within Gods power to accomplish this in your church, in our church, as we live out these instructions on prayer. James goes on to answer the question about why we should pray. I was kind of presented with what I thought was a pretty good illustration of why we should pray this week. Towards the end of the week, Joy brought these two bamboos-are they plants or are they trees? Thats outside of my expertise. Weve had these for about four years. We got them at the same time, and you can see when we bought them-heres the top of both plants-they were the same size when we got them. I guarantee over the last four years, they have received the same amount of attention. They have received the same amount of water, but there has been one significant difference. This bamboo plant has been sitting in a place where for a good share of the day it receives direct sunlight; and this plant has been sitting somewhere where it receives no direct sunlight. Dont judge; were not that great with plants sometimes (congregation laughing). The point that God really was helping me understand is these two plants are pictures of believers in how their prayer life is reflected. This plant reflects a believer who is spending regular time in Gods presence, and thats what prayer is: its relationship. Its talking; its listening; its crying out; its laughing with the Creator. As this person has spent time praying and going through difficult times, but taking those thoughts and those cries to God, God has brought growth, health and vitality. This person hasnt been as regular in their prayer. They havent spent that time in Gods presence, and because of that, their growth has been minimal. Theyre not healthy; theyre not growing vitally. Theyre struggling. Thats a picture of prayer. So why do we pray? James says we pray because God promises to work through His prayers. He turns our prayers from something thats a cry from our heart or words from our mouth and He turns them into a powerful force through which He accomplishes incredible things in our lives. Just think about the claims that James is making in this Passage. He says that their prayers will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise Him up, restore his strength. He said, Forgiveness will happen between you and God and also between brothers and sisters in Christ. That forgiveness will bring unity and a sense of community and a vision, an excitement, and a passion within the church; you will be healed. Thats what James says. Then he shares a verse, the end of Verse 16, that powerful verse that says, The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. I am not a Greek scholar, so I rely on those who are. As I read different commentaries about picking apart the words of this sentence, its just amazing to see the amount of energy and the amount of expectation that is expressed with these five simple Greek words. What James is saying is that God dynamically acts through the prayers of His children. Dont get hung up on that word righteous. Sometimes when we read that word righteous, we think, Well, I struggle. Im weak. I make mistakes. Someday I hope to attain that. Remember in the beginning of Verse 16, James has laid out the process of becoming righteous. He said, Confess your sin. When were right with God, when we have asked God to reveal those things in our hearts that dont honor Him and we say, God, Im through with that. Give me the strength to live for You, thats what it means to be righteous. Were putting our full faith and trust in God. Were right with God. James says, The prayers of His children who are right with Him are powerful and effective. We could sum up what weve read so far or restate it to say something like this: In your trials, you dont need the power gained by money, favoritism, selfishness, fighting, or swearing big and boisterous promises. Instead rely on God through prayer for which you need only to be right with Him. Commit yourself to doing what is right without compromise. Then you may rely on God in prayer for all of your needs. Then James gives us an example, and he uses the Prophet Elijah for a couple reasons. One of them is Elijah was like one of the super Prophets of the Old Testament. People were familiar with the acts of faith that Elijah prayed for and the divine answers to those prayers that he saw. He saw food miraculously multiply as they used each day what they thought was their last portion of food. God renewed that provision. The widow he had been staying with, her son had died, and Elijah prayed in faith that God would raise him from the dead; and God raised her son from the dead. The climax of the account was when Elijah faced off against the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel because Baal worship had become so prevalent in the land at that time. Elijah told them, You go ahead. You pick your bull. You get your idol set up. They were praying, chanting and doing everything. Elijah sat back, and he just started trash talking to them. He said, Oh, Im sure Baals a god, but maybe hes busy now. Maybe hes asleep. Maybe hes on vacation. Pray louder! Call louder! The prophets got themselves all worked up into a fervor, and nothing happened. Elijah prayed a simple prayer of faith. Fire from Heaven fell, and even though his altar had been doused with water several times, God consumed the altar, consumed the bull, and consumed the water. In an instant it was gone. Then the miracle specifically that James referenced here that kind of serves as a bookend to these accounts is when God asked Elijah to pray that the rain would stop, and it stopped. After this account on Mt. Carmel, God reminded Elijah that it was time to pray for the rain to come, and the rain came. One of the reasons James uses Elijah is because it draws to peoples minds these things that happened that were unarguably outside of the realm of human possibility-that only God could accomplish these things. Another reason-and this is what James specifically mentions in Verse 17-is when he says Elijah was a man just like us. You see, James doesnt want us to think that God answers the prayers of Elijah because he was like Super Prophet. He was like the man. What was also well known about Elijah, right after this tremendous victory on Mt. Carmel, he just saw God work in this amazing way-destroying the prophets of Baal-he got scared for his own life and took off. He fled. During that time, he got depressed. He became worn down. He questioned Gods purpose. He questioned God allowing certain things, and people knew that about Elijah; so James reminds them, Elijah wasnt perfect. He was like us, but he believed in a perfect God, and he was willing to pray prayers of faith based on what God had revealed to him and had encouraged him to do. Before I was preparing for this message because I knew that this weekend was coming, I looked ahead to the section of Scripture that I would cover and saw it was on the idea of healing prayer. I kind of shook my head and said, Well, God this fits into what our friend, Pastor Gary, who has come and taught different times, calls God is a hoot theology. I thought, God, Im the guy on staff who has a chronic illness. I have Crohns disease. Ive had it for about 15 years, and Ive prayed that it would go away; and it hasnt. Now you want me to talk about healing prayer. Okay. Its not that I havent experienced Gods healing in my experience. I have. There have been a number of times Ive experienced God really reaching down and just changing things in an instant. I can share different examples, but one of them I think shows the point best. One of the things that can happen with Crohns disease is you get abscesses that develop in the core of your abdomen. An abscess is just a collection of fluid, and they can be big or small; but whether big or small, theyre painful. They can become very dangerous because they can leak into your blood stream, and they can give you blood poisoning. There was a period in my life where I had about five or six of these abscesses that Id collected in about a three month period, so a short amount of time. The solution for the abscesses when they got to that point and didnt respond to medication was they had to be aspirated. Doesnt that sound like a nice polite word-aspiration? Aspire, but no, its not a nice word. To aspirate, that means they stink a big honking needle into your abdomen, into the abscess, as youre lying on basically a CAT Scan table so they can see where theyre going, and its a very painful process. They dont put you out for that kind of thing because they call it a procedure. I would like to argue what the definition of a procedure should be, I think, because its painful. Like I mentioned, I already had five or six of these things in the last two or three months; and it was to the point where I just couldnt take anymore. When the doctor told me that as I sat in his office, inside I just felt a sense of turmoil, anxiety, and fear. I just said, God, I cant do this again. Its too much. I cant do it. As we left the doctors office, God just spoke to my spirit, and he said, You know what, Jesse? I want you to pray that this abscess goes away, and I said, Oh, thank You! Good, I will pray, and I believe it will happen. God said, And I want you to tell some people that thats what were going to pray for. I thought, Oh, God, cant this just be our little secret? Cant I just pray that You just do it, and then itll be good? God said, No, I want you to tell somebody, so I told my family, and I told some close friends. We prayed for the week that God would heal that. The time came, and I got all gowned up in the hospital. I lay back on the CAT Scan table, and they sent me through. They sent me through and took the first initial scans, and I could see the doctor and the techs in the other room through the window. I could see them kind of looking at the screen and calling the other people over. They would look at it, and then theyd look out at me like, Who are you? I was like, Whats going on? I dont know. Pretty soon the doctor came walking back out, and he came up as I was lying on the CAT Scan table. He looked down and said, Well, I dont know how this happened, but the abscess is gone, so were not going to have to do anything. You can go home now, (congregation clapping). Yeah, and thats basically the reaction that I had except for it wasnt quite as manly because all that anxiety and all that energy had been building up inside my heart. When the doctor said that, it was like a release of that emotion. It all just happened to come through my vocal chords at the same time, and I sounded like a ten year old girl giggling uncontrollably. The doctor just kind of looked at me like, Okay…go home now. I have experienced Gods healing, but Ive also prayed that God would take away Crohns all together, and He hasnt done that. Why? Maybe youve prayed about something in your life-a hardship, a struggle-maybe its been an illness or disease, and God hasnt taken that away. The million dollar question this morning is, is James guaranteeing that as we pray for the sick, a prayer of faith, that He will bring healing? The answer to that, I think, keeping in mind everything I just shared with you, is it qualified? Yes. Gods desire is to bring good things into our lives. God delights when Hes able to remove obstacles and remove suffering from our life; and we give Him the glory. He enjoys that; He loves that. He doesnt enjoy our pain. He doesnt enjoy our suffering, so why then does He not always act as we pray and take away the time of suffering? Keeping verses like this in context with the rest of Scripture is very important as we study this. Scripture gives us answers to the question why. Although in specific cases-in my specific case and maybe in your specific case-perhaps the specific reason God is allowing this is a mystery that is contained within the heart and mind of God alone; but Scripture does give us some ways to understand why He doesnt always bring healing and health. James has already mentioned one. Remember he talked about the connection that there may be sin in a persons life. We said that was a possibility but not a necessity in every case, so when were going through a difficult time, we search our hearts. We search our minds, and we ask God, Is there a choice that Im making thats dishonoring to You? Are you trying to get my attention, and if so, God, show me what it is. God is not one who likes to hide things like that from us. He will show you what it is so that you can confess and receive the healing that James has talked about, so there may be sin involved in a persons heart; but thats not the only reason. I think we can find another reason as we look into the account of Elijah in 1 Kings 18:41-45. Right after that big amazing showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Elijah knows that God is going to bring this time of drought to an end, Elijah said to Ahab, Go eat and drink for there is the sound of a heavy rain. There was no sound at that point. Elijah was speaking in faith, so Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. That is a prayer posture, and Elijah prayed; though were not explicitly told that, we know thats what he did. Go and look toward the sea, he told his servant, and he went out and looked. There is nothing there, he said. Seven times Elijah said, Go back. The seventh time, the servant reported, A cloud as small as a mans hand is rising from the sea. So Elijah said, Go and tell Ahab, Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. Seven times Elijah prayed. Why didnt God answer the first time? What about the second time? Youd think maybe the third time, surely, if that was something God wanted to do, He would have answered. Were told Elijah prayed seven times. Why? Really only God knows the reason, but what we can learn from that is that the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth time, it wasnt the right time. Elijah knew God had told him the rain would come when he asked, so he continued. He persevered in prayer. He waited for the answer that God had already promised him would come. Maybe in our lives when we pray that God would remove the suffering, maybe its not the right time. Dont lose heart. Dont give up. Continue to come before God in faith. Theres a third reason though. Maybe initially if you find yourself in the midst of a difficult situation right now, an illness or some other hardship, maybe initially this doesnt sound very comforting, but as you meditate on this-as you let this truth sink into your heart, and I can say in my own life and experience this principle has brought tremendous encouragement to me, even joy in the midst of suffering-its this: God sometimes doesnt bring an end to our difficulty because theres a greater work that He wants to do for His Kingdom. Theres a greater work He wants to do in our lives, something greater than even the healing itself would be. I know when youre in the middle of pain, when youre suffering, when youre sick, your mind tells you that there would be nothing greater than if God would just take this pain away from you. I know that; Ive felt that. The truth is that if God allows a difficult situation to continue, its because theres a greater glory that He will bring about through it. Thats what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Were not going to read that whole part, but theres an amazing Passage of encouragement that someone gave me when Id been in the hospital for what ended up being about three months at a time. When he gave me the Passage, honestly at first, I didnt like it because in that Passage, Paul said, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. I thought, This is not light. This is not momentary. This feels like its going to last forever, and it feels very intense. Paul, in that Passage, is not denying the intensity of our suffering, but what hes saying is when you compare it to the glory, to the work that God will bring because of this experience in your life, if you were to put those two things on a scale, even as immense and difficult as your experience with this is, what God will do as a result of it is far greater than this. That gives me encouragement because if what Ive gone through doesnt even compare to the scale of glory that God will bring from that experience, then I can endure it with His help, and I can give Him glory for it. Another example I want to bring out to you this morning in the few moments we have left is Jesus Himself. In Hebrews 5:7, it tells us that during the days of Jesus life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. I like Marks accounting of it in the Gospels, in Mark 14:33-36, Jesus prays in the Garden. What does He pray? He said, Abba, Father, You can do all things. Would You make this day pass? Would you take this cup of suffering from Me? Thats what He prayed. Then He said, Not My will, Lord, but Yours be done. He prayed that prayer three times. Now Hebrews tells us that Jesus prayer was answered. Did God remove that suffering that Jesus was looking ahead to-dying on the cross for our sin? No, He didnt. Why not? Because there was something greater that God was accomplishing through that suffering. Its amazing when you look at it. Jesus, one moment, is so overcome with grief. Hes so overcome with sorrow; Hes so distressed that He falls to the ground. Hes sweating drops of blood, and Hes asking, God, take this away. If theres a way, take this suffering away from Me. Yet after He prays and after we read in Lukes account that same time period, it said, God sends angels to comfort and minister to Jesus. Just a few minutes later, He walks out to greet the crowd of people that are coming to arrest Him-soldiers armed to the tee. Jesus speaks with such confidence and such authority that when He says His name, the soldiers fall back in fear. Think about that amazing change that happened. Jesus distressed crying out in sorrow, grief, and distress, and then after praying and after being ministered to by the angels, Jesus speaks with such authority, and it causes those around Him to fall in fear. You say, Yeah, but, Jesse, thats Jesus, and were not Jesus. I would agree with you-were not Jesus, but doesnt that sound like the promise that God offers us in Philippians 4:6-7 (page 1163)? It says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You see, sometimes Gods answer in the midst of our prayer for healing and relief isnt to lighten our load, but its to strengthen our hearts-to give us the encouragement and the power to endure the hardship that were going through for His glory and for His namesake. You see, our prayers dont obligate God. Our prayers are an opportunity that we ask God to do a work in our lives, and through our prayers, He guides us, He directs us, and He reveals His Will; and should He let a difficult situation continue, its because He has a greater work in mind than what removing it would be. God, through His Word, gives us those promises like in Romans 8:28, That in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him who are called according to His purpose. So in those times of trouble when weve prayed, we know that our hearts are right with Him, weve confessed, and God chooses to allow something to remain, we fall back to these promises of faith. We say, Okay, God, I can go through this with Your strength, and I look forward to what youre going to do because of this experience for Your Kingdom and in my life. Would you pray with me this morning? Father God, we thank You so much that You give us such encouraging words knowing that we face such difficult times. As we focus on the idea of healing this morning, God, I pray that You would help us to remember that our hope ultimately is not in physically being restored only to one day again pass away; but God, we want a complete healing of our souls, of our spirits, of our emotions, so that we can give You glory. Lord, I pray that You would help my brothers and sisters this morning to learn what You have taught me-that though I have Crohns disease, Crohns disease does not have me. You are more powerful, and You can continue to work in my life even through this difficult experience. God, I pray that You would just let that nugget of truth grow deeply in our hearts and bring great fruit forth as we walk with You. In Your name, we pray, Amen.