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All right, if you would stand, we'll sing My Redeemer, song 202. We'll wait, we'll wait, brother, don't worry about it. Yeah, you can join. Well, he has to tune in and everything. Wait, just tune in. All right, if you would stand, we'll sing My Redeemer, song 202. I will sing of My Redeemer And His wondrous love to me On the cruel cross He suffered From the curse to set me free Sing, oh, sing of My Redeemer With His blood He purchased me On the cross He sealed my pardon Paid the debt and made me free I will tell the wondrous story How my loss has stayed to save And His boundless love and mercy He the ransom freely gave Sing, oh, sing of My Redeemer With His blood He purchased me On the cross He sealed my pardon Paid the debt and made me free I will praise my dear Redeemer His triumphant power I'll tell How the victory He giveth Over sin and death and hell Sing, oh, sing of My Redeemer With His blood He purchased me On the cross He sealed my pardon Paid the debt and made me free I will sing of My Redeemer And His heavenly love to me He from death to life have bought me Son of God, with Him to be Sing, oh, sing of My Redeemer With His blood He purchased me On the cross He sealed my pardon Paid the debt and made me free Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just want to thank you, God, just for another night to be gathered in your house and to hear your word preached. Thank you, God, for our church. Thank you, God, for just the many souls that we've been seeing saved. I pray, Lord, now that you would just be honored and glorified as a pastor preaches your word for us in Jesus' name. We ask all of it. Amen. All right. You may be seated and turn your song books to song one hundred and eighty. Song one hundred and eighty in your song books. We'll sing Isn't the Love of Jesus Something Wonderful? Song one hundred and eighty. There will never be a sweeter story. Story of the Savior's love divine. Love that brought them from the realms of glory. Just to save a sinful soul like mine. Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful. Oh, isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful it is to me. Boundless as the universe around me. Reaching to the farthest soul away. Saving, keeping love in ones that found me. That is why my heart can truly say. Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful. Oh, isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful it is to me. Love beyond our human comprehending. Love of God and Christ, how can it be? This will be my theme and never ending. Great redeeming love of Calvary. Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful. Oh, isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful it is to me. Clara has had a fever the past couple of days, so it just seems like it's just never ending. But just pray in general for the health of everybody in our church as far as the sicknesses that are going around and everything. So it is the season I guess. But as far as service times, everything should be normal. So we are starting a new book tonight. Actually, you know, half of you wanted James, half of you wanted 1 Peter. So I'm going to go into James before we go into a bigger book. And so we're starting James chapter 1 tonight. So Lord willing, obviously each Wednesday we'll be going through that. And then I'll probably go into a bigger book. But I thought that'd be, you know, please both sides, you know. Ride the fence or something like that. Anyway, but as far as Sunday goes, everything should be normal there as far as service times. The soul winning time on Sunday should be normal there. And then the regional times, obviously you want to be on the WhatsApp there as far as times that everybody would be meeting up. And then we have the women's prayer meeting this Saturday at 11 a.m. And then on the 21st of this month there's going to be a soul winning marathon down in Sutton, West Virginia. So if you know where Flatwoods area is at, just below that. And then there's nothing after that. So be in prayer for that even if you can't go to it. And then on the back of your bulletin there we have our chapter memory of the month. It's 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And then Ephesians 4 and verse 23 is our memory verse for the week. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. I've got the birthdays, pregnancies, be in prayer for my wife on the pregnancy list. Because it could be this month. And specifically, obviously the baby's healthy. Everything is hopefully going well there. Obviously our big prayer is that the flu doesn't hit our house. And like everybody's sick, baby comes, and then that's just torture. So just praying that everything kind of works out there this month. But maybe the baby will hold off until February. But either way, just pray there that everything goes well. And then Tiara Alesko is on the list there as well as far as pregnancies go. So just be in prayer for her and then for anybody that we may not know about. So sometimes, and I know we a lot of times will wait a little while before we announce it. But it's always good to be in prayer for the ladies in our church when it comes to that. And I think that's about it for announcements. Be patient with us when it comes to our sound system. Because I know whether it's loud in here or it's quiet or on the stream, blame Brother Dan. He's not here, so you know. So it's a work in progress. I think it's going to work out better obviously in the end. But it's a lot. If you've seen that soundboard back there, it is not, like I look at it and it's just, it's overwhelming. So just be patient with us as we try to get that all tweaked out there. And that's about all I can think of unless I'm forgetting something. Offering boxes in the back there, mother, baby rooms for mothers, babies only. And who's reading tonight? Did anyone? Oh. Wait. Okay. So Brother Dave's going to sing one more song. And then Brother Wade's going to be reading James chapter 1 for us. All right. Take your song books and turn to song 169. Song 169 in your song books. Come Thou Fount, song 169. Come Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount I'm fixed upon and mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise my Nebuchadnezzar, hither by Thy help I come. And I know by Thy good pleasure, safely I'll arrive at home. Jesus sought me, wandering from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood. Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O Taken, seal it, seal it for Thy courts above. All right, take your Bibles and turn to James chapter one. James chapter one in your Bibles. We'll have Brother Wade come and read that for us. James chapter one. James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith work as patience, but that patience have a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you like wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and I pray thee not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waveth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with the burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth in the grace of the fashion of the parish. So also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom it is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. So his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in the glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueeth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, and deceiveth his own heart, this man's religious is vain. Pure religion, and undefiled before God, and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless, and the widows, and affliction, in their affliction, and keep himself unspotted from the world. Let us pray. Dear Lord, let us get something from the message today. Please be with pastor in the worst night. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. See you there in James chapter 1, and this is the general epistle of James, if you will. So it's 1 and 2 Peter, it's kind of like general epistles, if you will, and you got 1 and 2 and 3 John. But in 1 Peter, we saw that he was writing to the stranger scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, and then we saw from chapter 2 that we're definitely dealing with people that were not of Israel. In this book, though, he's speaking specifically to those that were of Israel, that were scattered abroad. And notice in verse 1 there says, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. So we see James here, the question that you may ask yourself, well which James are we talking about, right? There's a lot of Jameses. Obviously there's James, the son of Zebedee, which I don't believe that's the James that's here, just because James was actually killed pretty early on in the book of Acts, James the son of Zebedee, that is. But according to tradition, James and Jude, those two books were written by the two half-brothers of Jesus. And so I'm not against that traditional view, but there also are James, the son of Alphaeus, and Judas, the brother of James, which are of the twelve. So I'm not personally ruling that out, that it could be those two, right? But if you look in the book of Acts, obviously James, the brother of Jesus, I believe is the one that's being talked about a lot more. But let me just show you that James, the brother of Jesus, if you will, is considered an apostle. Go to Galatians chapter 1, Galatians chapter 1, Galatians chapter 1 and verse 18. In the end, it doesn't really matter. I mean, obviously we know that it's one of them that's writing this, but in Galatians 1 and verse 18 it says, So he's basically stating that he only saw two apostles. He saw Peter and he saw James, the Lord's brother. So we're not talking about James, the son of Zebedee, obviously, or James, the son of Alphaeus, in that passage there in Galatians. But then, when you look at the passages in Matthew and Luke, it'll mention, or in Mark that is, that Jesus had four brothers, or at least four brothers that are mentioned. There's James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. So, now, if you know the story, and I think it's in John 7, his brethren didn't believe on him yet. And that's what it was stated, is that they didn't yet believe on him, and he's saying your time is always ready, and all of that. But, obviously, they got saved later on, and at least James is considered an apostle. So, that kind of tells you a little bit of who is writing this, but he's writing to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. Now, when it's talking about the twelve tribes, I believe that's just basically talking about the Israelites. Those that are scattered abroad. Now, I believe this is talking about the dispersion, if you will, that happened after Stephen's stoning. So, if you're in the book of Acts, Stephen's stoning at the end of chapter 7, and then chapter 8 talks about how basically they've been all dispersed except for the apostles. And then you had a story where Philip goes down and preaches to those that are in Samaria, and then Peter and John come down, and then there's the whole story with Simon the sorcerer and everything else. But, in that chapter, basically everybody was dispersed because of what was going on with Stephen being stoned, and then obviously Saul was wreaking havoc on the church. And so, I believe that's who he's speaking to is basically just all those that were dispersed out of Jerusalem and that had the flee for persecution. But, in the end, this book is written to all believers. But, at the same time, it's always good to see from the very beginning who are we talking to, and know that he's talking to those that were of Israel specifically, in kind of a general sense. He's just kind of generally speaking. He's not going to any group of people in any certain area necessarily, he's just like to all the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad. Now, go to verse 2 there, and the first thing that's mentioned here is that he's stating that you should basically rejoice in being put through trials, through temptations. And he gives the reason why. So, in verse 2 it says, Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. And so, you may look at that first copy and be like, why in the world would I rejoice to go into temptations, right? And then it goes on to say in verse 3, And knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have a perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. So, the point of why you should rejoice in temptations, and specifically, when he's talking about temptations, he's talking about the trying of your faith. You know, going through trials, tribulations, temptations, is because it causes you to get patience. Okay, now go to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5, because when I think about this, I always think about this passage in Romans 5, is the fact that, you know, we should glory in tribulations, we should joy in it. Now, obviously, it's not saying to be some kind of like weird person that loves pain, right? The reason that you're joying is because of the result that it gives you, right? It's not like you're just like, I love to get hurt, I love pain, I love sorrow, right? The point of the matter is that you should joy in it because you know what the result's going to be. You know what the end game is of that persecution, that trial, and that in the end you're going to end up being stronger, you're going to have more patience, you're going to have more experience. And notice what it says here in Romans 5, it starts there in verse 1, it says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so. So notice how it's kind of just, okay, we're saved by faith, we're saved by grace, and we have that grace, or we can access that grace by faith, but then it's saying, and not only so, meaning this is that we're not just rejoicing and being saved, okay? It's not just that that we're going to rejoice in, because it says here, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. So notice how this is completely separate. You know, and obviously people that are unsaved always want to conflate these two things together, and say, you know, basically living for the Lord, and going through trials and tribulations, and basically holding out faithful until the end, and these things are like one and the same. But notice how it's saying like that we rejoice in that, but not only that, and that it's a separate thought, that we also, right, it says, but not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. So what we're seeing here is that trying of your faith worketh patience. The same here is that knowing that tribulation worketh patience. But then it goes on from here, because that alone is a good attribute, right? Having long suffering, having patience, is the fact that if that's all you got, I mean, that's a good thing, right? But on top of that, patience, experience, and experience, hope. So ultimately, obviously going through tribulations, you learn to just be patient, to endure those, right? We've heard of the patience of Job, right? And that's, what you'll see in the book of James is that there's a theme there, but at the end of the book, you'll kind of see where, what he started off talking about, he kind of ends with, right? And talking about Job, and you've heard the patience of Job, and obviously he endured temptations. And then, but the idea here is that then you get experience, because then you're like, okay, I've dealt with that before, right? You go through another trial, and you're like, I've been there, done that. And once you have that experience, then when you go through the next trial and tribulation, there's hope, right? You know that, okay, this isn't going to be forever. This is just going to, this will pass eventually. But maybe the first time you go through trials and tribulations, you're like, is this ever going to end? Am I going to be dealing with this the rest of my life? And you can get into this kind of pit of despair when you're dealing with, am I going to ever get out of this? But if you've gone through it before, you know, okay, yeah, I've been there before. It's going to be over eventually, and we'll move on. And in the end, you're going to have hope to get out of any type of trials and tribulations, okay? So go back to James chapter 1 and verse 5. James chapter 1 and verse 5. So the first thing that we see here is that we should count it all joy when we go through diverse temptations because of the result, right? What that, you know, turns into. It makes you stronger, okay? I mean, you could think of this on a physical level when you think of like working out. It could be running. It could be, you know, lifting. It could be whatever, right? That pain that you go through, it's not that you're supposed to just enjoy that pain, right? Your muscles hurt, and it's just painful, and you're just like enjoying being in this writhing pain or whatever it is. It's not that you're supposed to enjoy that. You're supposed to enjoy in the fact that you'll be stronger in the end. You'll be, you know, in better condition in the end, okay? So that's kind of a physical way to represent, yeah. Is that still there? The spiritual realm and the fact that, okay, the result is what we're doing about. Now James chapter 1 and verse 5 here, it says, It says, So this is where liberal is good. This is where, you know, liberality is a good thing. And liberal just means like something that's given out a lot of. Being conservative is more so like holding back on things. Now when you think of the political realm, liberal means like basically wickedness is given out liberally, right? And being conservative, you're holding back on the wickedness, right? So it depends on the context as far as whether it's good. But basically God is giving out wisdom liberally if you ask for it. You think of Solomon, right? Solomon asked for wisdom, and God gave him wisdom and even more than that on top of that. But it says here that God gives it liberally and it's not. But then it goes on to say here in verse 6, it says, So it's basically saying ask for wisdom. If you lack it, ask for it. But you need to ask in faith. And this is a key to prayer in general because there's different things or components when it comes to prayer as far as whether your prayer is going to be answered. Later on in the book of James, it'll talk about the fact that you ask a miss because you ask they may consume it upon your lust. So is it the will of God that you, what you're asking for? And I would say this is that wisdom's always the will of God for you to ask for, right? This one, if he's saying for you to ask God for wisdom, I don't think there's ever a time where God's like, it's not my will that you have wisdom, right? I think God always wants us to have wisdom. But we need to ask in faith, not wavering. And basically what it's stating here is that if you're not asking in faith, if you're doubting that he's going to give it to you, or he's able to, right? And I think there's a difference between doubting whether he's going to answer your prayer and doubting whether he's able, right? Because this is where the Pentecostal is like, well, if you believe he's going to give it to you, he will give it to you. It's like, well, it's got to be according to the will of God, first of all. But second of all, there are times where he's obviously able to do it, but it's not his will, so we don't know whether he's going to do it, okay? And so when we're asking in faith and not doubting, what we're believing is that he is very well able. It's not out of the realms of possibilities, right? It should be in your mind that he's able to do this act or to answer this prayer, and then we just have to say not my will but thy and be done, right? That's kind of the way that you're going into the prayer is that I know you're able to do it. Like, no doubt, you're able to do it. If God wanted to pick up the tree out there and wanted me to pick up that tree and move it, then you know what? I know he's able, but the question is not my will but thy and be done, you know, as far as whether that tree should be moved. And that goes on. Go to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21 is something that Jesus taught, this same concept. And by the way, when I think of the book of James, I think of a many Proverbs. I don't know if you've ever read through James and just kind of thought of this, but there's a lot of, like, Proverb type of, it's just very similar to Proverbs. So I view James, the book of James, as kind of a mini Proverbs in the New Testament. And, you know, especially when you get into chapter 3 and you're dealing with the sweet water and the bitter water and the tongue and, like, all those different things. But you'll see things that are in the book of James that are just, like, coming straight out of Proverbs. But in Matthew chapter 21 verse 18 it says, So that's a key component when it comes to prayer is that you believe that he's able to do it. Okay? And that's something that we obviously have to work on because it's easy in the flesh to not believe that it actually could happen. And if we're asking and we're not actually believing it, we can't expect that he's going to actually fulfill it. Okay? Because it says, So if you're asking and you're not asking and actually believing he's able to do it, then you can't expect it to happen. Okay? That's a key element when it comes to prayer is that you're believing and not doubting when you're praying and when you're asking God to do something. Now, when it comes to being double-minded, double-minded, obviously that can apply there when you're either believing or not, right? So it's kind of like this mixture of, like, having faith that he's able to do it but then doubting in it. Okay? And this idea of doubting and having faith are things that are polar opposites, right? If you're doubting, then you don't have faith. If you have faith, then you're not doubting. But if you're, like, going back between the two, then you're unstable. And I just kind of wanted to mention this story here in Matthew chapter 6, in verse 21, dealing with this idea of being double-minded. Because in verse 21 here, it says, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. And if you ever wondered, you know, that terminology, single, right? Like, what does that mean for your eye to be single? Well, I mean, single would mean, like, one thing, right? Like the single thing. Not double, but single. Right? And so when you're dealing with it being single, it's not—your eye's not going on two different things. It's going on one thing. Right? And in the Bible, we've talked about putting frontlets between your eyes and, you know, basically that you're going straightforward kind of thing. But keep reading there. In verse 9, it says, I know thy works—I'm sorry, not verse 9. I'm, like, coming down on the page here. That's for later. It says in verse 23, But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? No man can serve what? Two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God and mammon. So you see the double-mindedness that would be going on here? And he's basically saying you can't do both. You can only do one or the other. Right? You can either have faith when you're praying, or you don't have faith when you're praying. If you're doing both, if you have faith and you're doubting, then you're doubting. If you're trying to serve God and mammon, you're ultimately serving mammon. And mammon is dealing with money, right? You say, why is it talking about money? Well, the love of money is the root of all evil, and we're talking about our eye being evil. So the idea is that if your eye is looking on things that are righteous and true and holy and just and lovely, and then you're looking at things that are evil at the same time, ultimately you're looking at things that are evil. You can't do both at the same time. You can't be double-minded because there's instability in there. And it talks about the fact that later on in James, to purify your hearts, you're double-minded. Think about that when you look back at Matthew chapter 6. What's it start off saying? It says, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, right? So what you're setting your focus on, where's your treasure, what are you looking at, what are you striving to go towards, is going to affect your heart. Mine eye affects my heart, the Bible says in my imitations, right? So what I'm looking at and what I'm like zoned in on is going to affect my heart. So if you purify your hearts, you're not going to be double-minded, okay? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. But notice that what you're looking at, what your eye is upon, what you're thinking about, right? Because your eye is going to cause you to think about certain things, and then your mind and what you're thinking about is going to affect your heart, and it all works together, okay? So go back to James chapter 1, James chapter 1, James chapter 1 and verse 9. James chapter 1 and verse 9, we see basically this conversation between, basically the difference between the poor and the rich, and this is a theme actually also through the book of James. It's interesting that James 1 is kind of setting us up for things that are going to be talked about later. Because right in James chapter 2, we're going to talk about the rich and the poor. Actually, at the very end of James, James chapter 5, we're going to be talking about the rich persecuting the poor. So it's something that's brought up. So you may look at this and be like, these kind of seem like he's just kind of like making like random points here, but really it's kind of like these are the points he's going to go across, and then he kind of expands upon it later on in the book of James. So it's kind of an outline, if you will, of what's going to be coming later. And, but it gives you a quick synopsis when you're reading through James chapter 1, you kind of see like here's what, here's kind of a quick synopsis of what's being said, later on it's going to be expanded upon. Now in verse 9 here, it says, Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away, for the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withered the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth, so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. So he's basically stating here that there's a whole psalm dealing with not being envious of the wicked or, you know, of those that are rich. And it's easy to do that in this world, is to look at people that have a whole bunch of things, but it's kind of starting off here is that, you know, those that are of low degree, those that aren't rich, shall rejoice because they're going to be exalted. And, but that the rich are going to be made low, right? And you can get into all kinds of verses about the rich basically are set in slippery places, and, you know, their time is coming, right? And it's just, you know, in a moment they're gone, right? So that's basically what it's stating here is just like the flower of the grass, you know, it's going to fade away in their ways. Now, look at Revelation chapter 2 and verse 8 because in this life we may be poor, you know, when you compare yourselves to the people in this world and people that have tons of money, in this life we may be poor, but ultimately this life, this temporary life isn't going to last, you know, this is just for a moment. And James chapter 4 hits on that, you know, what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. The idea is that we only have a short period of time and if we're poor now we'll be rich later. And this isn't just talking about goods, but just spiritually speaking, you know, the poor in spirit and those that are humble and those that will serve the Lord. But in Revelation chapter 2 and verse 8 it says, And unto the angel of the church and Smyrna write, These things set the first and the last, which was dead and is alive, I know thy works in tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich. So notice how he's saying you have this poverty but you're rich, right? So I don't believe that's like a knock at them, like you're poverty but you're rich, you know. I think he's stating this basically like you're in poverty but you're actually truly rich. And it says, I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried. Can you see kind of the correlation here with what's going on in James? The trying of your faith. And ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Look at verse 12 in James chapter 1. Verse 12, right after we got done talking about the poor and the rich. Notice what it says in verse 12. Blessed is the man that endured temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. That's exactly what's going on in Smyrna, isn't it? They're poor, they have poverty, they don't have much, but he said, basically he's saying, but thou art rich. You are rich, because ultimately if you go through trials and tribulations and you're faithful unto death, and this may not even be like a martyr's death, this could very well be just dying, like living for the Lord until you die. But you get a crown of life if you endure temptations and you're faithful. And you know what, that's reserved not only to those in Smyrna, but anybody that will endure temptations that they'll receive this crown of life. So there's a reward for it. Now go back to James chapter 1 and verse 13. James chapter 1 and verse 13. So I know I'm kind of going quick through here, but I mean honestly a lot of these little portions could be whole sermons. And so I'm really just kind of giving you the synopsis of what's being said here. And there's some passages that are going to be a little tougher or a little harder when it comes to interpretation, so I'm going to park it there a little more. But this stuff's pretty straightforward, right? I mean the idea is that if you're of low degree, you need to rejoice because you're going to be exalted. And you can also rejoice in the fact that the rich is going to be made low. And that if you endure temptation, you'll receive a crown of life. Just like those, we see that it's playing out in the book of Revelation with the church that's at Smyrna. Now look at James 1 and verse 13. Now this passage is often used to try to say there's a contradiction in the Bible because it says that God tempteth no man, right? It says neither tempteth he any man. But you can't just, there's a sentence going on there. You can't just take that right there where it says he tempteth no man because it talks about him tempting Abraham and tempting others, right? So I mean, but what you have to understand is that we're talking, something that he's tempting man with, though, that he doesn't do. Because notice that it says, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither tempteth he any man. So it's not just being tempted in general, it's being tempted with evil, but not anything, not just anything evil, okay? Because then it goes on to clarify, but every man when he, man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own, what? Lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. So what this is stating is that God doesn't tempt man with like lust and sin and basically like tempting man to sin, right? He may try you to see whether you'll follow him, right? But that's different than like holding like fornication out in front of them and saying, hey, you know, try this, you know, see if you'll do it. No, that's what the devil does. The devil is the one that's tempting you with sin and lust and all of that, okay? And you see that with, you know, God will put someone through a trial, but it's really the devil that's actually doing the tempting, if you will, when it comes to, if he's trying to tempt somebody with some kind of sin or something like that. But God's not just out there tempting people with lust or sin, and so that's what it's talking about, okay? Because tempt you could couple with just trying somebody, putting someone through a trial to see whether they'll pass or not, pass the test, if you will. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he's not putting them through a trial to sin, but more so whether they're going to do what they should be doing, okay? So hopefully that makes sense, but the idea here is that God cannot be tempted with evil, and people have also used that to say, well, Jesus was tempted, so therefore he's not God. Because it talks about in Matthew chapter four and Luke chapter four that he was tempted of the devil, right? He was tempted of the devil for 40 days. But go back to Hebrews chapter three, Hebrews chapter three. The Bible says that God is tempted in the Old Testament and the New, that he had been tempted, okay? And notice what it says in verse seven. It says in Hebrews chapter three and verse seven, it says, Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, today, if you will hear his voice, harden out your hearts, as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me and proved me and saw my works 40 years. So unless you want to say the Holy Ghost isn't God, which I could show you other places where I talk about God saying this, okay? Like just saying God, but obviously the Holy Ghost is God, and he's saying that you tempted me for 40 years in the wilderness. And in the Old Testament, I believe it's in Numbers where it says you tempted me these ten times when they were going through the wilderness and not obeying his voice and all that. But the difference is, is that you can tempt somebody that literally cannot be enticed. Does that make sense? Like they will not bend. And so there's a difference between like someone actively tempting somebody and being tempted as far as like it's actually, like when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, right? Meaning this is that it's not possible for lust to conceive in God's heart to where he's actually going to conceive sin, you know, and all that. And so when you're dealing with Jesus, for example, it says in Hebrew chapter 2 and verse 18, so go back a little bit in your Bible there if you're in Hebrews 3, Hebrews 2, 18, it says, for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. And in chapter 4 and verse 15, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. And here's the difference is that God cannot sin and he cannot be tempted basically with evil, meaning this is that he's not going to be enticed. He's not going to be drawn away of his own lusts like man is. So you got to take it in context of what's being said there. You can't just rip stuff out and take out part of the sentence and be like, well, God can't be tempted. Then why does it say he's tempted? It's like it doesn't say that though. It doesn't just say God cannot be tempted, right? It says God cannot be tempted with evil, but then it clarifies what he's talking about with evil. Because evil is a broad term, right? Evil could mean sin, which in this case it is, right? Evil doesn't always mean sin because is there evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it? But when the Bible uses maybe a broader term in this context, doesn't he actually clarify and say, okay, when I'm talking about evil, I'm talking about lusts. I'm talking about being enticed of your own lusts. Now, is God going to be enticed of his own lusts, right? And that's why it's not possible and God isn't going to do that. And that's why when Jesus was tempted to the devil, he wasn't enticed. He didn't conceive in him, or lust didn't conceive in him to cause him to sin because he was in all points tempted like as we are, yeah, without sin. So hopefully that makes sense, but that passage right there has been used a lot to try to say, you know, there's contradictions in the Bible or whatever, but what you have to understand is that people try to oversimplify what's being said and they're missing pieces to the puzzle there as far as it being dealing with evil, dealing with lust, dealing with all that. It's not just talking about tempted in general, okay? So let's move on here in James chapter 1 and verse 16. James chapter 1 and verse 16. And another thing to notice as we're going through here is how many times he says, my brethren, my brethren, my brethren, my brethren, my brethren. I forget how many it is, but it's like, I want to say it's like three, like 15 times or something like that. It's some big number as far as the amount of times brethren is used. So when you're dealing with this book, you're dealing about saved people, okay? That's a big key to understand that he's talking to saved people. He's not talking to unsaved people. This is not a letter to unsaved people. This is a letter to saved people. When you understand that, then it helps you understand that he's not writing this to get them saved, but writing to those that are already saved, okay? Now in verse 16 it says, do not err my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So when you're looking at this, obviously you could look at gifts that God gives outside of salvation, but let's just think about salvation for a second, okay? Every good gift and perfect gift is from above. Would you not say that the gift of God, which is eternal life, would qualify as a good gift, a perfect gift, that's from above? But notice that it says that it cometh from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. You know what that means? Is that you get that gift, it's not going to be taken away, it doesn't have variableness, meaning that it's not like depending on different variables that are going on, it's just you have it, there's no shadow of turning. Another verse that kind of states the same thing is in Romans 11, 29, which states, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, okay? So no shadow of turning, there's no sign of it, right? There's no sign of turning. When he gives you a gift, and it comes down, and it gives you this perfect, good gift, there's no shadow of turning, there's no variableness in it. And obviously in him, right? But that means that he's not going to turn from it. If he's called you by his grace, and you've been given that gift of eternal life, it's there, right? God's not going to repent, he's not going to turn from it, there's no shadow of turning, there's no variableness. And then you say, well, how do you think this is talking about salvation? Well, the next verse there says, of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So this obviously follows suit with 1 Peter, where it says, being born again, not a corruptful seed, but an incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever, right? So we're born again by the word of God, by his own will begat he us with the word of truth. So the word of God, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God. So you kind of see the same thing there. But that shows you, yeah, I mean, that passage definitely would apply to salvation, would apply to the gift of God, his unspeakable gift, right? And so, but at the same time, I do think that that also applies to other gifts that God would give as well, okay? I don't think it's limited to that, though I think in context it definitely is talking about that, okay? But then it says that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures, and that makes me think of, go to 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 5, but this term creature is used sometimes dealing with salvation. And for example, you know, on Mark 16, 15 it says, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And so it uses that term creature there. Now creature, I believe, just means like basically it's a creation, right? It's the creation, but specifically when we're talking about preaching the gospel, it's speaking to human beings, right? You're not preaching the gospel to a squirrel or to a bird or to anything, you know, other than just human beings. But, you know, let me give you a verse as far as why that term creature would be there, okay? Because notice what it says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. And this is where you get that new man, right? The new man, the old man, so you kind of have that old creature, the new creature. And creature is just, you can see the term creation in there within that term, right? The creation is made up of creatures, right, that he created, okay? So, and you can really get to see all the different places, but it says that he's the firstborn of every creature in Colossians chapter 1. So the firstfruits of every creature, he's the firstborn, right? And another place, it talks about how he's the firstfruits of them that slept, and he's the firstborn of the dead, the first begotten of the dead. So these terms are used synonymously to basically mean that he's the first race from the dead. Okay, so when it's talking about, you know, the firstfruits of his creatures, you know, obviously he came unto his own, his own received a nod, but he did come unto the Jews first, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, so you can kind of see how that firstfruits would be mentioned in there, because Jesus came unto Israel first to confirm the promises unto the fathers, but then they went out to the world, you know, so you can kind of see what he's stating there, and obviously that shows you, you know, who is he writing to, right, the 12 tribes which are scattered, you know, scattered abroad. So go back to James chapter 1 and verse 19, James chapter 1 and verse 19. So I believe that's dealing with salvation right there, and he's not saying to do it, he's not saying, you know, you need to believe the word of truth, he's just stating a fact, right, does that make sense, like he's stating a fact of his own will begat he us, that's past tense, right, he already did it. But then going on here it says, wherefore, my beloved brethren, here we see it again, it says, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. So now he's stating here's something for you to do, okay, and it's going to be important because what I'm going to state next about some verses coming on here is that he states what's already been done, but now he's stating, okay, here's something for you to do, let every man be, right, so he's basically saying let it be so, right, it's kind of like let this be so, that you're swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Now go to Ecclesiastes chapter 5, Ecclesiastes chapter 5, and, you know, I've heard preachers many times say this, you know, they'll say there's a reason why God gave you two ears and one mouth, right, because you should listen, you know, twice as much than you speak. And that's a biblical principle actually, not necessarily twice as much, you know, as far as that goes, but the idea of being swift to hear, slow to speak, right, and, you know, it's a very biblical principle to let your word be few, and the fact that, you know, you're just counted wise if you don't speak a lot. You say, well, you speak a lot, you know, you're up here preaching all the time. Yeah, the Bible talks about how God has chosen that, you know, salvation would be through the foolishness of preaching. And you may say, well, you know, I can't believe you call it foolishness. The Bible calls it that, but the reason it calls it that is because preaching and like proclaiming things with your mouth and like saying a lot of stuff ultimately sets you up for basically saying something wrong, something stupid, you know, something foolish, right? The idea of preaching, though, preaching the gospel is that you're using the word of God, right? So since you're using the word of God, that's why it's not foolish. But the idea of preaching in general, without it being the word of God, it's going to tend to turn to foolishness, right? And here's why. Notice what it says in Ecclesiastes 5 and verse 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God. Be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. Now it's going to clarify what this means as far as the sacrifice of fools, right? So be more ready to hear, okay? Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before the Lord, for God is in heaven and now upon earth. Therefore let thy words be few. So you can kind of see from very, what's the premise here? Be more ready to hear than to speak, essentially, right? Let your words be few, but be ready to hear. And then it goes on to say, for a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words. So that's, you know, when you think about this being a mini Proverbs, I mean, you've got a Proverbs that says this as well. I think it's in Proverbs 17, I believe, at the end of Proverbs 17, where it states something to that effect when it comes to speaking. If it's not in Proverbs 17, I'll let it go. But Proverbs 17, yeah, I think it's at the end. Proverbs 28. It says, even a fool, well it says, even in verse 27, so he that hath knowledge spareth his words, and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed the man of understanding. So, you know, it's a very biblical principle, and this can apply, just in word applications and everything else, that a lot of times you should just hold your peace until, like, you have to speak. Because the more you speak, the more, I mean, even legally, you know, the more you speak, the more you can be caught in your words. That's why, you know, we have the Fifth Amendment. We have the right to remain silent, because anything you say can and will be used against you, right? And, you know, that whole idea there. Now, that's not Bible, that's the Constitution, well, it's Bill of Rights. But, you know, anyway, but moving on from that, I want to go back to James chapter 1 and verse 19 again. Notice it says here, in verse 19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. So, notice that this is something we should be doing, right, moving forward. Verse 21, Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. Now, superfluity can mean, like, basically unnecessary, right? If you think about, like, it's superfluous of me to say this, it's basically unnecessary, right? It could mean, like, excessive, like it's excessive, but it could just mean, like, unnecessary, right? Or excessive naughtiness or unnecessary naughtiness, you know, that's what you're basically dealing with here. But, basically, lay apart all. So, that's something we're doing, right? We're slow to speak, right, slow to wrath, swift to hear, but we're laying apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. And it says, And receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. Now, this is the part where I think sometimes when we read this, we automatically think of, like, eternal salvation. But I don't believe this is talking about eternal salvation. I think this is talking about the fact that there is a sin unto death, okay? Now, go to James, chapter 5, and I'm going all the way to the end of the book here, but notice how the book ends, okay? If you think that, well, no, it says souls. We're talking about salvation, okay? Well, soul in the Bible can be talking about your spiritual entity, you know, like your soul, body, spirit, but sometimes soul is just talking about the person, right? Ourself, you know? But it'll say, like, there was 27 souls on that ship, right? If you said, like, so many thousand souls perished on the Titanic, right? You're not saying they all went to hell, right? You're just saying they all died. Like, they all physically died, right? So, in James, when we're talking about souls here, I believe we're talking about physically being saved, okay? Now, let me show you why. In James, chapter 5, verse 19, it says, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Sound familiar? You're putting away filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and you're receiving with meekness an ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls, meaning this is that the word can cleanse you, okay? The word is going to help you purge out. I mean, think about it. I mean, isn't that what Jesus says? You know, abide in me, and basically talking about purging those branches, and that it bring forth more fruit, and much fruit, and that your fruit may remain. But go to Ephesians, chapter 5. Ephesians, chapter 5, dealing with, you say, well, it's the word, you know, what do you mean it's cleansing? Well, the Bible actually talks about the word acting as a cleansing mechanism, if you will, when you're dealing with, you know, basically being sanctified. And chapter 1 even ends with the fact of basically being unspotted from the world. Now, it says here in Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 25, it says, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with what? The washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Okay, that's not talking about salvation, that's just talking about being sanctified and coming out from among them and not living worldly. And basically, because if this was talking about salvation, then it's saying in order to receive, you basically first need to put away filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, then you need to receive the engrafted word so that you can be saved. You see how that doesn't fit with the Bible, but it also doesn't fit the context either. Because he's saying you've already been begotten, right, by his own will begat he us with the word of truth, but the word doesn't just get you saved, the word can also cleanse you, okay, as it says in Ephesians, chapter 5. Now, then it goes on to say in verse 22, go to James, chapter 1, verse 22, Now, is it true that the engrafted word saves your soul, like spiritually? Yes, okay. But things have to be taken in context, saved, then the next chapter isn't going to be talking about eternal salvation either. So, when you understand that, hey, saved can be talking about no flesh be saved, right, it talks about he that endureth unto the end the same shall be saved, right. But then it says, for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened, or no flesh should be saved, right. So, saved doesn't always mean eternal salvation, it can mean physical salvation, and in this book, when we're talking about being, that your souls are saved, I believe we're talking about physical salvation, just like the last part of the book is saying that, you know, you shall save a soul from death, and just like chapter 2, when we get into chapter 2, that that's talking about being saved from judgment, and being saved physically from being judged. And, you know, that's just something, and also you're dealing with brethren, he's not telling them they need to get saved, right, that wouldn't make any sense. My beloved brethren, my brethren, my brethren, my brethren, you need to get saved. It's like, what in the world? So, in verse 22 there, it says, but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. So, now he's getting into the fact that, so he's, if you think about it, chapter 19 is like, I'm telling you to do this, okay? You're saved. You know, before that, in chapter, in verse 18, he's basically saying, you're saved, right? You are the first fruits of his creatures. We're talking about saved people. He's not just brethren because they're Israelites, you know, it's brethren because you're saved. But then he goes on to say, like, here's what you should do, and then, because if you think about it, you say, which is able to save your souls from what? Well, it's talking about the wrath of man, working not the righteousness of God, so if you're a wrathful man, then there's judgment coming upon you, because you're going to be judged by the perfect law of liberty, as it states later on in chapter two. It's hard not to get into the other chapters and see what they're talking about, because everything fits hand in glove when you're dealing with what's being said here. But in verse 22, it says, be ye doers, but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. But if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he lost his salvation. Is that what it says? But that's what people want you to think, isn't it? Oh, you're a hearer of the word, but you're not a doer, unsaved. You know, you're unsaved, you're not saved. No, it doesn't say anything like that, okay? What it states here, though, if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man, beholding his natural face in the glass, for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgives what manner of man he was. Okay, so you look in the mirror, you see yourself, and then when you walk away, you forget what you saw. That's basically what it's stating, right? You're like, you see your reflection, but the idea here is that if you're not a doer of the word, you're a forgetful hearer, right? You see what's going on there, but you forget all about it, okay? So that's the idea that if you're just gonna hear the word, but you don't apply it, you're gonna forget it. You say, well, you know, I wanna remember all the doctrine, I wanna remember what the Bible says, then use it. If you're using it all the time, then you're not gonna forget it. It's like the gospel, right? I mean, here's how we don't forget the gospel, we preach it every single week. You're constantly preaching the gospel, guess what? You're not gonna forget it. You're constantly doing it, you're not gonna forget how to do it, right? And the same thing would apply with anything else in the Bible when it comes to any commandment. The more you do it, you're not gonna forget it if you keep doing it over and over and over again. I mean, how could you forget it? That's what you do. So it's very simple here. What he's stating here is that if you're a hearer only, you're gonna be a forgetful hearer because it says in verse 25 here, but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continue it therein. So here's the key, not just looking into it, but continuing in it. It says, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. Because when it's talking about he'd be holding his natural face in a glass and then forgives what manner of man he was, he's using that as an example. Does that make sense? People go too far when it comes to parables or anything like that. He's just using a physical example to represent what's happening here spiritually. It's just like you looking in the mirror, walking away, and just forgetting what you saw in the mirror, okay? And that's what I do anyway. You know, in the morning I look at the mirror, forget about it for the rest of the day. But at the same time, he's just using a physical example because then he's basically applying what he just said there and saying that this is like, but if you look into the perfect law of liberty and continue therein, you're not gonna be a forgetful hearer. You're not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. And notice that it says he'll be blessed in his deed. He's not gonna be saved from hell. You know, it's just like constantly people are just trying to shoehorn in their work salvation. And here it's as clear as the noses on my face that we're talking about being blessed in your deed and not being a forgetful hearer, that obviously the doers of the word are gonna be counted, that are gonna be blessed before God, not the hearers, okay? You could hear all the good doctrine in the world, but what's that gonna do you if you're not doing anything with it? What profit are you gonna be to anybody else if you're not using it? It's like you can know the gospel in and out, and you can know every little crevice and know every argument, right? And you become like some apologetic person that knows every argument against salvation by grace through faith, but if you never open your mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, what good is it? I mean, that's basically, and by the way, I'll say this is that that person that I just described to you doesn't actually exist, okay? Because someone that doesn't preach the gospel isn't going to know, isn't gonna have that wisdom because it says that the fruit of the righteous is the tree of life and he that win his souls is wise, and that basically you're gonna be able to handle the strong meat of the word by reason of use. Having your senses exercised by reason of use, okay? And so this is a biblical principle that basically don't just hear it, use it, okay? Now, some verses on that as far as just being blessed by it is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 58, the last verse in 1 Corinthians 15, it says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Why is it not in vain in the Lord? Revelation 22, 12, very end of the Bible. Revelation 22, 12, you can turn there if you want, but in Revelation 22, 12, it says, And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. You're gonna be blessed in your deed. And you say, well, you know, what am I gonna get? You know, I want this person to the Lord. Well, them being one is a crown and joy and glory in itself, okay? If that's all I got, you know, when I went to heaven is basically to see all the people that I have won to the Lord, I mean, that'd be enough, but I don't believe that's gonna be it, you know? Obviously, I believe God, we have no idea what God has prepared for us, but at the same time, that's more of a tangible thing you can see, if anything, right? You see the people that you won to the Lord, people that you've discipled and helped to also do the same, and you can see that and know that that's there. That'll be there forever, right? But on top of that, obviously, we have the crown of life that was mentioned in this passage, but then there's the crown of glory, you know, there's a crown of righteousness, right? And that's just things that God has revealed to us that are there, but there's, I believe, other things that God will give us there. So go down to verse 26 now. Verse 26. Verse 26, and this is where religion actually is gonna be mentioned. It says in verse 26, it says, if any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Now, there's gonna be a whole chapter that's kind of almost dedicated to the tongue, okay? Like I said, you can kind of see how these passages, these statements that are being made here in chapter one are leading you into other passages. I mean, chapter four is all about asking and prayer, and chapter three is about the tongue and all that, but it's basically stating here that if anyone seems to be religious, but he can't bridle his tongue, meaning he can't stop talking because he's just talking about the fact that you're slow to speak, and he's basically saying, if he seemed to be religious, but he just can't stop talking, right, then he deceived his own heart, and his religion is vain. Then it describes that there is pure religion, so religion isn't inherently wrong, although in the Bible, except for this one case, right, religion is not talked about well, right? You think about the Jews' religion, right, in Galatians chapter one. So really, this is the one place where it's mentioned in a good light, but obviously, religion is just talking about things that you do as a belief system, right? And so what we do here at this church going out preaching the gospel, that is a religion, right? We're not saved by that religion. We're saved by faith through the word of God, but there's practices that we do based off the Bible that would be considered a religion, okay? But here, it's stating here, if you're gonna talk about religion, this is what you should be talking about, okay? It says, pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. So notice, though, there's two things that are kind of mentioned here, pure religion and undefiled. And then when you go down, when it qualifies it, or it basically defines it, it says, basically, pure religion would be to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. To be undefiled is to keep himself unspotted from the world. Do you see that? So, pure religion, I believe, is talking about the visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, which is interesting because that is one of the jobs of the church, isn't it? Go to 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5 and verse 3. And I'm not gonna be going through this whole thing because this chapter has a lot to do with widows, but I'm just gonna explain it really quick and just show you some verses on this. Because basically, a lot of the chapter is just like, who is worthy of being a widow indeed? Meaning like, who is where the church is actually taking care of that widow? Now, in verse 3 here, it says, honor widows that are widows indeed. Then it goes through this whole synopsis as far as like, there are widows that should not be in this list. Like, those that have family members that can take care of them. Those that aren't that old that can get remarried, right? And you know, that shouldn't be considered qualifying for this application, right? But notice down in verse 16 because then he's stating here, there's a reason why he's basically cutting people out of the list that are widows, right? That would be qualifying for it? Because notice what it says in verse 16. If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, right? So he's saying, if you know someone and you're a family member with somebody that's a widow, you should take care of them personally, okay? But then it says, let them relieve them and let not the church be charged that it may relieve them that are widows indeed. So, there is a job that the church has to relieve widows that are widows indeed and I believe that would also constitute their fatherless children, right? I mean, you think about like the fact that widows that have children, that the children would be in that as well as far as the church providing for. If you're providing for the widow, then you're gonna be providing for their children at the same time. Now, you know, this is something that's biblical. It's something that, you know, if we had a widow that couldn't provide for themselves or they didn't have family to provide for themselves and they're coming to this church and that's the caveat too is they're coming to this church, okay? We're not just providing for widows out in the world, okay? We're providing for widows that are coming to us, that are at our church, that are part of this congregation, right? I mean, the church is congregation, so I mean, it's implied that they're, and there's a whole list of things they should be doing too, right? They don't just get taken care of, they have a job. Washing the saint's feet, you know, like all these different things that, and obviously it's talking about serving in the church. You think of Anna the prophetess, she was a widow for 84 years, okay? Eighty-four years she was a widow, but she served night and day in the temple, right? I mean, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about someone that's actually basically working for the church and the church is providing for her, okay? And so this is something that is pure religion. I mean, that is something that is good, it's not wrong, but it doesn't say to be a soup kitchen for all the unsaved out in the world or that we need to provide for all the unsaved and all the fatherless and all the widows, but if we have people that are church members here, that's a different story, okay? And that's where, you know, we step in there. Now, this isn't just something in the New Testament, I mean, this is Old Testament. I mean, Exodus chapter 22, you can turn there if you want, but Exodus chapter 22 and verse 22 is that you shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry and my rash shall wax hot and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless. So I mean, that's some pretty harsh punishments there. And that's not the only place it states that. I mean, in Psalm 146, in verse nine it says, the Lord preserveth the strangers, he relieveth the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. Now, go to Isaiah chapter one, and the last thing I want to talk about, kind of linking this in with visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, okay? So I want you to think about James chapter one and the fact that from verse 19 down, we're dealing with things that we need to do. But then there's a reason why we're doing it, but then it kind of shows, I believe this passage will also show you that why it's talking about to lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, that basically in receiving with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls, why this is all kind of dealing with that? And then saying that pure religion is that you visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and keep yourself unspotted from the world, which obviously is getting sin out of your life, okay? This isn't talking about salvation as far as like going to heaven. This is talking about what we do as Christians, and there is consequences if we don't do what the Bible says, right? I mean, chapter four says, he that knoweth to do good and doeth not to him that is sin. So I mean, it's going to give you a lot of things that we need to be looking out for that we don't fall into sin. But in verse 16 here, so you're in Isaiah one, verse 16, it says, wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well. So notice that don't do evil, put away evil doings away from you, right? Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Sound familiar? Come now and let us reason together, said the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Now I know that verse is usually used for salvation, which I do think it would apply to eternal salvation, but I believe in context in Isaiah one, we're dealing with physical salvation, right? Of a nation. But think about that passage right there and go to 1 John chapter one, 1 John chapter one. 1 John chapter one is clearly not talking about getting saved from our sins as far as eternal salvation. This is talking about having good fellowship with God, walking in the light, and I want you to think about that. This is one with putting away filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, that basically you're slow to speak, slow to wrath, and that you're also doing the work, you know, that you're looking at the law of liberty and that you're visiting the fatherless and widows in your affliction. So you're basically putting away that which is evil and doing that which is good, right? And 1 John chapter one verse seven says, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ's son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The next chapter even says, these things write unto you, these things write unto you that you sin not, yet if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father of Jesus Christ the righteous, right? The idea here is that we're going to sin, and if we say that we don't have any sin, then we're deceiving ourselves, but the idea here is to have good fellowship with God is that we're constantly confessing that sin and that he's cleansing us from all unrighteousness. This is physical, right? This is cleansing of the flesh, if you will, the cleansing of the body, the washing of water by the word, and I believe that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about what we're doing in this body, whether it be good or bad, right? The idea is how are you walking in this world, and James is really hitting on that. I mean, the next chapter is going to be dealing with the same thing, dealing with what we're doing in our bodies and consequences that can happen in our bodies. We're talking about the physical tongue in chapter three, and we're talking about physical things that we're doing here on this earth while we're saved, and there's consequences if we do wrong, but then there's blessings if we do right, and this whole book is dealing with that. So if you get that concept that we're talking to save people, my brethren, my brethren, my brethren, you're just constantly, we're dealing with that, and that this book is not written so that they'll get saved, but talking about what we do as saved people. We're already saved. Let's move on. What are we supposed to be doing? We're supposed to be putting away wickedness and doing right, right? Not just hearing the word, being doers of the word. The next chapter we're going to be dealing with have faith, but don't have respect to persons. Have faith, but add to that works, right? And then your tongue, bridle your tongue, and it goes on and on that things that we're supposed to be doing as Christians. So it's a great book as far as getting into what we should be like as Christians, what our goals are to be like. We want to be like what James states that we should be like here, and isn't that like the proverb of the day kind of mentality? I mean, there's so many things in Proverbs that I'm just constantly trying to go back to and remember and think about, like a soft answer turneth away wrath. I mean, just things that are just like little verses here and there that are just like, hey, that'll help in life. That'll help me accomplish great things for God or whatever. So James chapter two is the infamous passage, so I'm not just going to be preaching on that second half, though. I'm going to be preaching on the first half as well. But I'm excited to go through the book of James, and then after that, we'll probably get into a bigger book. So let's end with a word of prayer. The only father we thank for today, thank you for your word, and thank you for everything that you've given us. I pray that you would heal all those that aren't feeling well, and just pray that you heal us from sicknesses, and we just pray that you would, we know that you're able to do that. We know that you can heal every single one of us at any moment. We just pray that it would be according to your will that all our children would get well, and then all the adults would as well, and just pray that you'd be with us throughout the rest of this week. We love you. Pray also in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So Brother Dave, we'll come and sing one more song, and then we'll be dismissed. All right, take your song books and turn to song 154. Song 154 in your song books. If you would stand, we'll sing, we'll sing Bless Be the Tie That Binds, song 154. Bless be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is light to that above. Before our Father's throne, we pour our ardent prayers, our fears, our hopes, our aims, our wants, our comforts and our cares. We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens, and often for all.