694 10262011Wed

Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "When He is Tried" James 1:12-17

Jas 1:12  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.
Jas 1:13  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:
Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Jas 1:16  Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17  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.

Blessed = Happy; prosperous in worldly affairs; enjoying spiritual happiness and the favor of God; enjoying heavenly felicity
Tried = Accepted or Approved (Proven)
Endureth = to persevere or to stay under. Endurance doesn't always feel like you're making progress.
Temptation = putting to proof (adversity).
The adversity a Christian is put through is to prove our faith. Our faith can only be proven through temptations and trials.
The trying of our faith gives the Christian character.
Afflictions do not make the people of God miserable. There is a great deal of difference between a Christian and a man of the world: his best estate is vanity (Ps 39:5) and a Christian’s worst estate is happiness (blessed). Sometimes afflicted but always blessed.
Happy men don’t endure… Men that have endured are happy.
 The blessedness comes from the proving of our faith. You cannot truthfully say that you have faith until you have endured the tests. And these tests are not to be blamed on God as though He would somehow flippantly toy with His children by tempting us to sin. We must simply prove our faith by continuing in the commitment that we have made to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
Our God – our loving heavenly Father only gives us only good things. Temptations must come, the believer must endure (stay under it) and you will come forth as gold tried in the furnace.
Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Patience = cheerful endurance  Perfect = complete.