(pastors notes) Study in James part 2 :Winning the war with

slide 1– A Study in James part 2: Winning the war within

Slide 2-introduction

What is temptation anyways? plenty of people just give into whatever feels good in the moment. they follow the mantra “just follow your heart” or “be true to yourself” not realizing that sometimes following wherever your hearts leads you is not always the best policy.

But for those of us desiring to do things God’s way have this other voice that tries to draw us away from God. to lure us away, to entice us to focus only on our own self interest. and when we give into that voice it doesn’t go away it just gets louder. but james tells us its worth it to fight that voice because we will win a far greater prize.

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James 1:12–18 (NLT) 
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 

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15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. 
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1. The Challenge of the times in which we live

We live in a culture where the idea of sin is joked about mocked, considered an outdated Idea or is just completely misunderstood by a significant portion of our population.  why is that? Well it has do do this with a major shift in western society over that past several generations from Objective morality, where there was a shared understanding of right and wrong, to subjective morality where definitions of right and wrong seem to shift and change not just from generation to generation but also from person to person.

even if you are a Christian and go to a Bible teaching church you still can be heavily influenced by this shift in our culture?

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II. Signs You May Be Leaning Toward Subjective Morality

• You base right/wrong on how others feel.-your need to feel accepted by your friends, coworkers ect weighs heavily on the opinions you hold.
• You fear disapproval more than disobeying God.-your views on right and wrong tend to lean on the opinions of the people around you and how emotionally invested they are in their views.
• You shift your values based on relationships or experiences-your past experiences with certain people or groups affect whether you continue to hold onto the same values. you shared with them.
• Your worldview changes with emotions-
• in summary, Your “truth” or worldview tends to shift and change because it is anchored primarily in relationships, experiences and emotions. this can be a source of great pain and anxiety especially when people let you down. your whole world is upended.

When what we believe is anchored in feelings or people, it brings instability and emotional turmoil this is why we need to make sure that our beliefs are anchored in something that is a constant, that means it does not change, it is reliable and that is where God and his Word come in.

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III. God’s Unchanging Standard of Objective Morality

• God’s standard doesn’t shift. he doesn’t adapt to the times or what’s popular with culture.
• the Bibles relevance is based in timeless wisdom that is trustworthy.
• God’s Word is the standard (Ten Commandments don’t become Ten Suggestions).
• it is only within the framework of moral objectivity that we can begin to understand what sin is

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IV. Sin Is a Spiritual Issue, Not a Social One

• We can’t reform or educate or spend our way out of sin.
• Sin is rebellion against God and his standards. it is a battle within.
• Those who follow Jesus have decided to no longer rebel against God’s will
• The Holy Spirit than helps us to focus on living a life that pleases God.
• Paul explains this in the following passage.

Romans 8:5–6 (NLT)
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

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V. Two Pathways -Sin Leads to death The Spirit leads to life

• to be dominated by and live according to the sinful nature (The flesh) which entices us to do wrong
• or to embrace Christ and let the Spirit control our thinking processes
• we need to purposely wash our own brains with God’s Word before we get brainwashed by the world.

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VI. Nothing is impossible with God’s help.

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)
  13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
• Just because a feeling comes naturally to you doesn’t mean its good or right
• Some feelings are simply temptations to draw you away from following Christ.
• God promise power to those who need it to overcome temptations