LEAVING GOD OUT

Pastor Dawn Marie Berry, USA

 

 

 

 

JAMES 4:11-17                              

 

1. MODERN DAY SIN:  LEAVING GOD OUT OF OUR LIVES.

  » Leaving Him out of our TALK

  » Leaving Him o ut of our PLANS

  » ACT AS IF OUR LIVES WERE ENTIRELY OUR OWN

 

¨        LEFT OUT OF OUR SPEECH

 

              James 4:11-12 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth     his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of  the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest    another?

 

¨        TONGUE = JUDGING OTHERS

 

JESUS HIMSELF SAID IN:  MATTHEW 7:1-5  Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou Hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

 

WHY SHOULDN’T WE JUDGE OTHERS? 

Ø      BECAUSE WE ARE WEAK AND SINFUL OURSELVES. 

Ø      BUT HOW EASY IT IS TO SEE THE OTHER’S FAULTS.

 

THE APOSTLE PAUL WARNS AGAINST THE SAME:

ROMANS 14:10-12   But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

ROMANS 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

 

WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO JUDGE THOSE WHO ARE SERVANTS OF ANOTHER AND MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THEMSELVES TO THEIR OWN MASTER.

 

JAMES SAID, “SPEAK NOT EVIL ONE OF ANOTHER, BRETHREN.” 

§        IT IS THE ‘LOVE OF FAULT FINDING’ WHICH JAMES REBUKES.

§        THE ONE WHO FINDS FAULT WITH HIS BROTHER AND SPEAKS EVIL OF HIM IS BREAKING THE “ROYAL LAW OF LOVE” 

§        JAMES 2:8  THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.

§        BASICALLY HE IS SPEAKING EVIL AGAINST THE LAW. OR PUTTING ONESELF IN THE POSITION OF “JUDGING THE LAW.”

 

WHEN WE DISOBEY GOD’S LAWS WE ARE SAYING IN EFFECT, THAT LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU, THAT YOU ARE ABOVE IT.

 

¨        “BUT IF THOU JUDGE THE LAW, THOU ART NOT A DOER OF THE LAW, BUT A JUDGE.”

 

SO, BY FINDING FAULT WITH OTHERS, BY SPEAKING EVIL OF OTHERS, AND BY JUDGING OTHERS, WE ARE SETTING OURSELVES ABOVE THE LAW IN THE POSITION OF “JUDGE” RATHER THAN IN OUR PROPER PLACE AS “DOER OF THE LAW.”

 

4SETTING OURSELVES UP IN THE PLACE OF GOD.....LEAVING GOD OUT, FORGETTING THAT THERE IS “ONE’ LAWGIVER WHO IS ABLE TO SAVE AND TO DESTROY.

 

ABLE TO SAVE:

JESUS CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.

 

HE PAID THE PENALTY OF SIN ON CALVARY AND SO GOD CAN SAY TO THE LOST, SINFUL MAN,  “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED.”

 

BUT, IF HIS GRACE IS REJECTED, REMEMBER THAT HE IS ALSO ABLE TO DESTROY.

 

REVELATION 20:11-15   And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man ccording to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

JOHN 3:16-18 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

 

 GOD LEFT OUT OF OUR PLANS

JAMES 4:13-16  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

 

  HUMANS MAKE THEIR PLANS [USUALLY WORLDLY IN NATURE]

 

JAMES ASKS, “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?”

  A VAPOR, LIKE WISPS OF A CLOUD THAT APPEAR FOR A MOMENT AND THEN ARE GONE.

  TRANSITORY, FLEETING.

 

  REMEMBER THE “RICH FOOL”  IN THE PARABLE OF OUR LORD {LUKE 12:16-21}

  16: And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18: And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19: And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20: But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21: So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God

 

  NOTHING PARTICULARLY IMMORAL ABOUT HIS CONDUCT

HARDWORKING MAN WHO HAD BECOME WEALTHY BECAUSE OF DILIGENCE BUT,  HE WAS LEAVING GOD OUT ENTIRELY. THINKING ONLY OF SELF AND NOT OTHERS

PLANNING HIS LIFE AS IF HE WOULD BE HERE ALWAYS

FORGETTING THAT HE WOULD SOME DAY HAVE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF TO GOD

 

  WELL PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE [MATERIALLY]

 

  NOT AT ALL PREPARED [SPIRITUALLY]

 

  SUCH A MAN MAY SEEM WISE IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD

  BUT GOD CALLS HIM A FOOL

 

  JAMES SAID, “YE OUGHT TO SAY, IF THE LORD WILL, WE SHALL LIVE AND DO THIS, OR THAT.”

 

GOD LEFT OUT OF OUR DEEDS

  WE CAN LEAVE GOD OUT OF OUR DEEDS, OR RATHER, IN THE THINGS WE “DO NOT DO.”

 

  v17. ‘THEREFORE TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN.

 

Consider this…

§        IT IS SIN TO DO THAT WHICH IS WRONG 

§        IT IS SIN TO FAIL TO DO THAT WHICH IS RIGHT

§        FOLLOWING THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

§        DOING ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD

§        PUTTING OUR FAITH TO WORK, THROUGH OBEDIENCE.

 

  JAMES ENCOURAGES US NOT TO LEAVE GOD OUT, BUT RATHER TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN OUR

SPEECH, PLANS AND DEEDS.

 

  Go to Church this Sunday.

Pastor Dawn Marie Berry                     

 

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