11/1/2015 A Summary Of James Part 1 – Steve Mixsell

Scripture Reading from Psalm 1 and John 15

So, for our scripture reading this morning, we'll be reading from Psalm 1 and from John Chapter 15. If you're using the pew Bible in front of you, the first passage you'll find on page 368, and the passage from John on page 727.

And you'll find that if you would stand with me for the reading of God's word. 1 through 6. The ungodly are not so, but are like a shaft which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Reading now from the book of John, Chapter 15, verses 1 through 16. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

Every branch of me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.

For without me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch, and is withered. And they gather them, and throw them into fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. As the father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments, and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends. For all things that I hear from my father, I have made known to you.

You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. That whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give you. These things I commend you, that you love one another.

Prayer for Illumination and the Book of James

Let's pray. We are thankful that we are gathered here today to hear your word. We ask that you would open our hearts and our minds to the teaching of your word as Steve opens his word and shares it with us.

We pray that you would be with Steve. We are thankful that you have been with Steve through his preparation. We ask that you would allow him to deliver the message that he has prepared for you in a way that affects our lives.

We ask that your spirit would be with us for a time. We ask that you would bless our brotherhood. In Jesus' name, amen.

Thank you, Tom. Not because of any deficiency of Tom's prayer, but because of, I think, spiritual wisdom. I feel compelled to go to the Lord in prayer again. Dear Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you and praise you for your incredible mercy and kindness towards us.

Father, I humbly ask that you'll pour out your Holy Spirit on this gathering and on myself. Father, that you'll open the ears of those who are here, that they may hear. Father, that you'll loose my tongue, grant me clarity, grant me, Father, the words that you would have me speak to your people, and grant by your spirit some ability for me to, despite my failings, ascend to the great and glorious heights, which are always present in your word.

Father, I just want to confess my inadequacy, and that if it were based on my merit, on my preparation, on any sense of worth, anything other than your grace and mercy towards your people, I would not only fall flat, but I would fall flat in a way which would truly make me ashamed.

And so I just thank you for your promise in your word, that whatever we ask, Father, in your name, for your purposes, you will do. So I ask, in your name, for your purposes, that you will not let me hinder your word going forth with power to change, to encourage, to convict, to bring salvation to those that don't know you, to strengthen those who do.

I humbly ask these things for your mercy's sake and your glory's sake. In Jesus' name, amen. I hope I can be forgiven for reserving these two messages to take a look back at the book of James before moving on to other portions of God's glorious word.

I've told all of you many times during the course of this lengthy series on the book of James that I believe this book is probably the best book in all of the scriptures concerning true spiritual wisdom and practical godliness.

So before we leave, I just want to take time to take a look back and make a very few observations about the greatness of our God as seen through the lens of his greatness toward his people. Or to put it another way, to show the greatness, richness, satisfaction, joyfulness, victoriousness, and gloriousness of life in his service for his kingdom.

That is my sole aim of today's message. These are takeaways. These are things, I don't think there's going to be anything new, I just want to, before we leave, to emphasize the greatness of our God and not, I'm very glad that in the prayers and in the hymns we had so many great theological truths.

I had originally planned to lay out some of the great theological truths about our God before moving on to this more specific, which I think James shows a little more clearly, the greatness of God by virtue of his greatness towards us.

And I just want to, because I'm going to begin, I'm going to skip that. When I got to five pages, I decided it was not practical for me to go through all the theological greatnesses of our God, so I've mixed it in, but the primary focus I want to be the greatness of our God as seen through the lens of his greatness towards you, who are his servants.

The richness of life serving Christ. It is no meager life. It is no life of impotence, weakness, wavering-ness, done properly, fully committed to him. It is a life of richness, of glory, of victory. And this reflects on our God.

This reflects on the God we serve. He is rich towards his servants. He does not leave us weak or wavering. And I want to begin, as I try and endeavor to accomplish this one thing, by making a rather bold claim, one which at first might seem discouraging.

It's my considered belief that many of those that have bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and come into his kingdom are not. They're not only not experiencing the fullness of this blessedness and greatness and richness of life in his kingdom, which is available to them, but I fear that several of us, and certainly all of us at times, I'm not meaning to gradate levels of believers, but I think that many of us and all of us at times might actually be experiencing only the palest shadow of that blessedness and greatness and richness that our Lord has made available to us.

And so I hope to encourage you by showing how great our God is and how great the service in his kingdom is intended to be, to encourage you to pursue that. And then part two, Lord willing, next week, that we all live, will be up some practical observations from a look back at James on how to go about doing that.

Christ as Friend and the Father’s Unswerving Goodness

The first observation I make. Life in his kingdom, in his service, is glorious because your Lord, your Master and your King, Jesus Christ, is also your friend who remains unswervingly, unalterably, immutably for you.

He is for you today if you are in his kingdom. He desires your good. He is working all things for your good. This is nothing new. It was the subject of my first message on the book of James, and I want to take a moment for any of you who have not been present for the message, the long series.

I can't remember exactly how many messages it has taken me to get through James, but I'm not going to be as persuasive, I don't think, or as exhaustive in proving all of these points to you. I commend you simply that each point I try and make is more fully defended in the appropriate message throughout the course of James.

This is just intended to be a quick look back for some critical takeaways, what I think are some of the most critical takeaways from the book of James. So my first message, if some of you may recall, I made the point that once an individual enters his kingdom by bowing the knee to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, not only are his sins forgiven and the Holy Spirit of God given to dwell within him, but God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit become for him, unfailingly and unswervingly.

The believer in Jesus Christ can know this whether a life of some measure of outward prosperity might be his or perhaps even great measure, or whether his life is characterized by one or more severe trials, long-term trials, long-term difficulties.

This is why James tells us in chapter 1, verse 2, to reckon it all joy when we fall into various trials, confident of the fact that our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, have sent the trial to do us good.

All trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience, huponomai, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, an ability to endure more. Just as the weightlifter struggling under the weight has a goal in mind to strengthen himself, these trials are strengthening you.

But let patience have its perfect, finished, completed work, that you may be perfect, mature, and complete, lacking nothing, James goes on to say. So we can be confident that God, among other things, and there were many other no less wonderful truths that some of the things God has sent the trial to prune us, we heard from the parable of the branches and the vine, so that we may bear more fruit, which can be rightly understood as synonymous with strengthening us.

The Holy Spirit, we can be confident that God sent the trial to strengthen us, and by strengthening us, make us a more mature servant of our Lord, indeed making us more like our Lord, in thought, word, and deed, as the Holy Spirit tells us in Ephesians 4 .13, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

So in becoming more mature, we are becoming more like Christ, the glorious Lord who we serve. And rightly understood, if we really are able to, by practice, learn and experience how these trials, which are difficult and not pleasant, are benefiting us, rightly understood, even our most difficult trial, our most lengthy trial, can be seen as a good and perfect gift, which is sent from above, from the Father of Lights, as James tells us in chapter 1, verse 17.

This is so because the trial is sent not to give us greater strength and endurance, merely so that we can glorify Him. Merely, we certainly, that is the reason. In the parable of the vine, he tells us that in bearing more fruit, we glorify our Father.

However, and this would almost be worthy of a sub-point. I almost would think of making it four points, but of a sub-point. The great truth is that in serving God, everything we do for Him cannot help but benefit us.

Never do our interests diverge. In serving an earthly king, in serving in an earthly organization, in an earthly army, we may be called upon to take one for the team, to make a sacrifice, which will not benefit us.

In His kingdom, there is no such sacrifice. You cannot out-give God, is my favorite extra-biblical saying. And it's shorthand for a point that you certainly will always gain. Anything you give up, if you lose your life, you will find it.

And this truth can be seen in John 15, 2, where he says, every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may be more fruit, which I hope you can see how that's the same thing as strengthening. Strengthening so that you may have greater endurance to bear more fruit.

First, in 15 .8, John 15 .8, by this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. But then going down to chapter 15, verse 15 and 16, no longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends.

For all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. We bear more fruit that our fruit should remain will be preserved unto that day when rewards are given to the faithful for their fruit.

So James clearly declares this great truth of the kingdom that not only are all things worked together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose, but that the trials are specifically sent in order to make us more like our glorious Lord, that we may glorify him better and enjoy a greater reward and inheritance in his eternal kingdom.

One of my favorite hymns is I Know Whom I Have Believed and this hymn echoes this great truth. It goes on to say I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have delivered unto him against that day.

No one will ever lose. Tomorrow's failure will not cause you to lose the reward for today's service. That you should bear more fruit and that your fruit may remain. This is why he prunes us. He is no miserly Lord seeking to wring, as so many of our earthly lords are, seeking to wring every last drop of blood out of us.

Many of you, if you've ever worked for law firms and restaurants, there's many employers that are famous for this, all to some extent are trying to get the most they can out of you. They're not concerned whether your career will be short.

In the restaurant business, I think the average manager's tenure is six years and after their 90-hour weeks, that's about it. Among lawyers, there are often pools, macabre, morbid pools, of how long it's going to be until the next lawyer dies because of the stress.

God is not like that. He is not like that at all. He is strengthening you so that you may both glorify him and may enjoy him more fully today and may have greater reward unto that day. In other words, the trials are sent by God to help us learn to give up or at least to hold lightly those earthly things we cannot keep in order to gain those eternal things we cannot lose ever.

Know this, Christian, he remains for you even amidst your most fiery trial, even on your worst day. We're so tempted, our flesh is so tempted to lose sight of this when we're under difficult trials. He remains for you.

Christ’s Jealous and Protective Love for His Servants

Second observation, life in his kingdom is glorious because your Lord, the King, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, he who was and is and is to come, Jesus Christ, has an intense and highly protective affection for you.

To say you were his friend is only scratching the surface. Not only does the sovereign ruler of every molecule in the universe work all things for your good, including the trials he sends into your life, but he is no cold and detached father, no cold and detached Jesus, who merely logically and pragmatically governs events for his glory and your benefit, like some grand economist seeking to maximize utility to all.

But the love which he has for you is a fiercely protective love which will not stand idly by and see the least of his servants treated with any less honor and glory than a man's personal favorites. This can be seen in chapter four, verses four and five, where he says, Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know, I'm afraid for a moment that I've interjected a text out of order, so there may be a little disconnect, but hopefully I'll tie it up.

Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?

The Holy Spirit, through the pen of James, we are told, the servants of Christ, it's one of the motivations they should seek to avoid double-mindedness, the double-mindedness characterized by friendship with the world and its wisdom, and with the people governed by that system, world system and wisdom, is that the spirit of Christ who dwells within us yearns to have our affections, our friendship, exclusively for his own.

This intense, passionate, jealous, and interventional love that the Father and the Son have for those who are their servants pops up many places in scripture. It can be seen not only expressly in some passages, such as Matthew 25, and we're familiar, I think, most of us with this longer text.

I'm only going to quote two verses in describing the sheeps and the goats, and what separates the sheeps and the goats is how they've treated the least of his servants, the least of his servants. The king will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did do this to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

And then in verse 45, then he will answer those others saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And then in Matthew 18, as I expressed during our messages several times, we are told to take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven, with the idea that the Father who loves the least of these little ones is ready to give the signal to that angel to go take action against those who are not honoring them, who are abusing them.

And this, I hope I can interject a little bit. You know, some people read these texts and they're like, wow, I'm so, because this text is kind of cast as be careful that you do not despise one of these little ones.

And so it can be understood merely as something to be terrified as. Contrary, don't fail to read, don't fail to meditate on his word with eyes that seek to know the God behind the word. To not just look at this command, but to understand the heart and mind.

And when we come to next week's Lord Willing, message, I'll be focusing on this. As one of the practical pieces of advice, we seek to understand the mind of the God behind the word, the heart of the God behind the word, not merely what he's told us to do.

And as you do that, as you begin to identify what are the major highways and arteries of his word versus the capillaries and side roads, you really do begin to know his mind in more complex situations.

You get a better idea for how he would have me make this decision today. Just as the good soldier, the good second commander, executive officer, in order to be a good servant to his general, learns the strategies and ways of his general so that absent clear orders, he can still anticipate what his general would tell him to do in that situation.

This is one of our goals. So this warning not to misuse the least of his children, not to despise, not to even lightly regard them, don't think little of them. Because I love them so much that their angels are waiting right there for me to raise a proverbial finger.

He loves you that way. On your worst day, he loves you that way. With a jealous, protective, interventional love. And this truth can be seen if one listens to the tone of many other texts. And I made a point, and I'm convinced, I hope you all see this, in chapter 2, verses 1 through 5, when James tells us, my brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, parenthetical, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings and fine apparel, and there should also come in a man with filthy clothes, a poor man with filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes, and say to him, sit here in the good place, and say to the poor man, you stand there, or sit here at my footstool, have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? And this text echoes this, this little parenthetical, the Lord of glory, I'm convinced, is put in there as this, and by the way, the caution against partiality, James goes on to say, that it's a sin worthy of condemnation.

Remember, he says, if you've broken one law, you've broken them all, after referring to breaking this law of showing favoritism towards some people, some brothers and sisters versus others, is that the least of us were called upon to treat in a sense as though he were the Lord himself.

He is the purchased of God. How dare you treat, how dare you show partiality against the least of he or she chosen by the Lord of glory. By virtue of the fact that I've chosen him, I've given him a measure of my glory.

At least you should treat him that way. You should treat him as though he were me, and I am the Lord of glory. So how dare you despise one of mine. And in Romans 14, we're told not to despise those who disagree with us over doctrine, even if they're wrong.

You know, sometimes we reformed folk don't follow this as well as we should. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him.

Who are you to judge another servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. Skipping to verse 15. Yet if your brother is grieved for food, you are not walking in love.

Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Again, a reminder of the gravity. Even in your theological differences, even if you're right, be careful that you do not hold your doctrine, your increased knowledge in such a way as it causes your weaker brother to stumble.

Ending with a caution, do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Again, merging the glory of Christ with the least of his servants, even the one who is mistaken. This truth is also echoed in the stern warnings of chapter 4, verses 11 through 12, and chapter 6, verses 7 through 9.

In chapter 4, verses 11 through 12, James says, do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you are a judge of the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge.

There is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge your brother? Again, illustrating that when you do this foolish thing, when you think lightly of your brother, you are actually invading the territory of the Lord of Glory, of the God of this universe.

He alone is the judge. How dare you take that upon yourselves? And then it can really be seen, and I hope you'll learn to read Scripture this way, to be looking at the heart. Throughout Scripture, God speaks very threateningly and jealously about how we treat the least of our brethren.

Any brother, every single brother and sister, he makes these statements like, the judge is standing at the door. Their angels always see that. And of course, again, going back to that, understand brother and sister, these warnings should be to your encouragement because he loves you that way.

He doesn't just warn you. These warnings against mistreating or despising your brother apply to all of his servants towards you. It is a great love. James 5, 7 -9 also echoes this. You also be patient, and this is in his final summation, his final comments to the recipients of the letter, the Church of Jesus Christ.

You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not stenazzo, a word that's translated grumble, but could also be translated sigh or groan. Do not grumble, sigh or groan against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.

Behold, the judge is standing at the door. Again, hear the heart of God and his jealous love for the least of his servants. Don't even sigh. Don't even, against the person that tries your patience, lest you be condemned.

Behold, the judge is standing at the door. Rejoice, servant of Christ, for though you are his servant, your Lord and his Father love you with a fierce, passionate, protective, interventional love. Just as a little caveat, this does not mean there will be no pain in your life, no suffering.

We've already shown in the first point that trials, even difficult trials, are going to come into your life because he will have you be mature. He will have you grow up into the full stature of Jesus Christ.

The Power of Prayer, the Word, and Doing the Will of God

Third observation, and this is the main one in a way, and I ask your forbearance for those of you that have been here. I beat the drum on this a lot and the reason I do is because I think it's the weak point.

It's often the weak point in our understanding of how the Christian walk described in Scripture should be. One of the reasons we don't experience the fullness and richness of that life. Third observation, life in this kingdom is glorious because of the great resources your Lord and King has placed at your disposal.

Resources which if you will merely avail yourself of them will result in a life of victory where all those things you truly endeavor on behalf of your Lord and King, things you endeavor in his name for his purposes will succeed.

What a great, I don't know if I'm a little unique but this person of German ancestry, success, victory, no matter how hard the battle, what you attempt for him, if it truly is for his kingdom will succeed.

There is a true Christian prosperity gospel, a reformed prosperity gospel. It is very different than the reformed prosperity gospel you'll hear at churches. But what you truly do for him, for his kingdom, for his purposes will succeed.

It may not succeed immediately, it may not succeed visibly, it may not succeed in the way that you thought it would succeed, but know this servant, it will succeed. Whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1 which was just read to you.

The man who delights in the law of the Lord, or woman, and in his law he meditates or she meditates day and night, will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf also does not wither, that brings forth fruit in its season, and whatever he or she does will prosper.

And we get a little bit of a clue into what it is, what it is to seek to do things according to his will, for his glory and for his purposes. It involves meditating on the word of God. One has to know the purposes of your Lord in order to pursue them.

And this is true, know this, whatever you endeavor in his name, whatever you ask for in prayer, truly asking on his behalf for the sake of his kingdom, rather than your own selfish, independent interests or desires, he will give to you even to the point of working the amazing, mighty, and miraculous.

This can be seen not only in the text that was read for you this morning, John chapter 5, John chapter 15, excuse me, verse 16, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give to you, but also in chapter, in James chapter 5, verses 16 through 18, confess your trespasses one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. The word energeo is translated, the words effective and fervent come from the single Greek word energeo, which has a picture of great energy expended properly, like the master construction worker, the master builder, who's not only expending great labor, but he's doing it properly, making a straight cut, doing it right.

And verse 16 stands for the proposition, I argued, and I'm not going to go to the depth, it's important that I make this point, because this is one of the areas of mistakenness by many believers, I think.

Verse 16 stands for the proposition that if one prays properly, God will give you what you ask for. And praying rightly, being understood as the prayer of true faith, which asks him based on his promises contained in his revealed word, or according to his revealed word, and ask for things in his name, which should be understood as on his behalf, on behalf of his kingdom, for his glory, rather than wrongly praying for your own interests, as can be seen in chapter 4 verse 3, where James tells us, you ask and do not receive.

Why? Because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures, rather than spending it on the advancement of his kingdom and his glory. And it's important to understand that the effect of fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, that a righteous man is not the qualifying, restrictive clause.

And I think most of us, our flesh has a tendency to interpret it this way, that it's possible for me to pray rightly, effective and fervently, but to not be answered because I'm not quite righteous enough.

I've got some, I know something against myself. No, this is a descriptive phrase. If you, if you are praying properly, you are the righteous man. This is descriptive of a man or woman who prays properly.

Because if you are seeking, if you are endeavoring, brothers and sisters, we all have failings. We all, the Holy Spirit will ever be revealing things to us in his word, especially if we're truly going before his word, that we fail at.

We'll be ever convicted. And in fact, I maintain that if you're not under conviction when you're spending time prayerfully in his word, you're doing something wrong. You can take that to the bank. I'll, I'll, I invite disagreeing discussion, but I doubt that you will change my mind.

You are going to fall short when that mirror of God's righteousness is held up before your face. You're going to see you fall short. And it's vital to understand that if one prays properly, it is what is meant by a righteous person.

And we went in, we exegeted the fact that praying properly is praying the prayer of faith, and that faith comes through a knowledge of his word, what he's revealed, his promises, and praise most importantly in his name, in other words for his purposes.

You're asking for things on his behalf and not on your behalf. You are bending every fiber of your mind by looking deeply into his word, by meditating on his word, to know what he would have you do in this situation.

And many times it's clear. It's easy. If you're familiar with his word, you're going to know what he wants you to do. But sometimes it's going to require a little more depth of having looked into his word.

But the point being, if you're asking for the things he's commanded you to do, and you're truly pursuing his kingdom, you will have what you asked for. This is why James gives us the example of Elijah and says, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.

The whole point of that is not to think that in using this example of Elijah, Elijah is as my prophet, a high-ranking saint who was uber-righteous, ultra-righteous, more righteous than you, therefore this does not apply to you.

The whole point is this applies to you. Elijah, the example I'm using, was a man with a nature like ours. He had the failings we have. He had the variability. So know this. If you will simply pray rightly, and that is to pray for his glory, on his behalf, working to accomplish what he has commanded you, you can be confident he will give you what you ask for.

And we'll talk about why we don't see this, I think. This is a it always has mystified me why this truth is so under appreciated and perhaps even misunderstood. It's a very convicting truth. If we don't see this happening in our lives, it reveals how little love we have for one another that we don't care to ask.

And I'll share with you, I've seen people healed from terminal cancer that I have asked for and told them I was asking for them, put God's glory on the line. I know these truths not only exegetically, it was first exegetically, but through deep experience of many years.

I've seen many miraculous answers to prayers. And yet it boggles my mind how seldom I earnestly seek his good for my brothers and sisters in Christ in importunate, fervent prayer. And you know what it does?

It shows how little love I have in my heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ. That's the truth. Although I certainly have more love than I had when he came into my life and when he made me his many years ago, it's convicting.

And also, as a little preview, the enemy is in ourselves. It's double-mindedness. We're not all in. We're not asking for things truly and fully for his kingdom, for his purposes. We're asking amiss that we may spend it on our pleasure, or that's at least poisoning our asking.

I'm convinced that. So we have this virulent, we have this resilient enemy within us, this flesh, fleshly mind, which is asking for things very deceptively often for our own purposes. This is why the Holy Spirit commands us in Ephesians 4, 22 -24, to put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt, according to this deceitful lust, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you may put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.