Series: JAMES June 11, 2017 10:30 AM
Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

TODAY’S SPECIAL: FELINE PHYSICS OR CAT LAWS
LAW OF CAT INERTIA: A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force, such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
LAW OF BAG/BOX OCCUPANCY: All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.
LAW OF FURNITURE REPLACEMENT: A cat’s desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
LAW OF PILL REJECTION: Any pill given to a cat has potential energy to reach escape velocity.
LAW OF SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM: Given enough time, a cat will land in just about any space.

INTRODUCTION
The year was 1948, the presidential election pitted incumbent Harry Truman against NY State governor, Thomas Dewey. Remember, these were the years before nationwide tv. These were the years that reporters were dependent upon polls. And all early indications showed that Dewey had won by a landslide. The Chicago Tribune was so sure of that, that its early editions printed “Dewey Defeats Truman”. By the time the polls closed in the eastern states, the election was closer than the predicted landslide. And the ultimate end result is that President Truman won re-election, himself by a landslide.
We like to see the winner. And in our text, v. 13, it boldly predicts “mercy triumphs.” Mercy wins! How does mercy win in the Christian life? Why is this important for James to take up in his new section, chapter 2, entitled in our outline, “Faith Expressed”? PRAYER

#1. WHAT DOES MERCY MEAN?
Someone once illustrated the distinction between the terms “grace” and “mercy” this way: “Grace is our getting what Jesus deserves. Mercy is Jesus getting what we deserve.”
What does that mean? “Grace” refers to all the goodness and victory that should belong only to Jesus – yet He freely bestows that upon His children. “Mercy” is the vehicle by which the child of God becomes that child – he trusts the finished work of Jesus on Calvary as the price God the Father is satisfied with for the punishment of our sins. Jesus took our punishment! Jesus got what we deserved – the cross! That is mercy on our behalf.
Let’s look at a dynamic Old Testament prayer found in the perhaps infrequently read book of Nehemiah, chapter 9. Look up the use of “mercy” and “mercies” in Nehemiah 9:19, 27-28, and 31-32. Each time it is God-initiated toward those who do not deserve it. As was true with Israel, so it is true with us and His church.
Now let’s apply what we’ve learned to James 2.

#2. JAMES’ ILLUSTRATION: RICH MAN, POOR MAN! (vs. 1-7)
a. The rich man was distinguished by 2 things only: his nice clothes, and at least one gold ring or more. His riches were his only treasure; his public display of recognition was his only earthly reward. Apart from that, he had nothing more. But notice: it is not a sin to have riches; but it is a sin for riches to have you!
b. The poor man owned only the clothes on his back – whether shabby or tattered, those were his only physical possessions. But he possessed something the rich man didn’t have: faith. Trust in the Lord Jesus. In essence, by eternal values, he was much richer than the earthly rich man.
c. James applies the illustration to the church wrongly favoring the rich man over the poor. The Amplified Version calls it “spiritual snobbery”. Why, it is these faithless rich people who take the anyone they need to to court in order to suck out all that you have.
d. James applies two thoughts:
#1. We need to see people as Jesus does, and not view according to outward appearance.
Illustration: A young man, highly unkempt, comes to church late. The pastor had been sharing with him throughout the week of his need for Jesus. He walks in the back door – unshaven, unshowered, not “appropriately dressed.” The pastor takes a deep breath and silently prays, “if Jimmy is to come to Christ, his being accepted or rejected by the people will be the turning point. Lord, let him be loved by Your church.” Jimmy was loved, much to the pastor’s and Jimmy’s surprise. He trusted Jesus as Savior, went on to Bible School. He went on to pastor Baptist churches. And for many years he was president of one of the largest Bible colleges in the Northeast U.S.! True story of what God can do through a church like ours loving on people!
#2. We need to apply Jesus’ lesson in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3): “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” God may bless us with finances, but our greatest riches are found in our love for the Lord Jesus and our walk with Him. Have you found that to be true in your life?

#3. HOW DOES MERCY WIN? (vs. 8-13)
Mercy wins when I see my neighbor as Jesus sees my neighbor! (vs. 8-11) You may say, “I’m no murderer. I’m no adulterer.” But James is saying, if you don’t love on people like Jesus does, then you are guilty of the whole law. Mercy wins when I treat people like I would want to be treated myself. Love as Jesus does – with mercy!
Mercy wins when I display my freedom to love and to treat people kindly. Eugene Peterson, in “The Message” translates the end of v. 13 this way: “Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.”

CONCLUSION
The application today is 2-fold:
#1. Do I treat people the way that Jesus would? Do I love them as they are – OR do I demand changes in the exterior/the outward, before I am able to minister to the interior/the inward? As God to bring at least one person across your path this week who needs to see God’s love tangibly on display through you!
#2. Have I grasped the great mercy which Jesus displayed when He took my sin upon the cross of Calvary? Mercy wins when I receive Jesus as my Savior and live for His glory every day. Have you come to the cross? Are you living as vessels who have been recipients of the greatest act of mercy ever known, when Jesus loved you?
And when we treat people as Jesus does, and when we grasp the depth of the mercy Jesus displayed on the cross and displays daily through us, then…MERCY WINS!

Email: Jeremy Stopford <[email protected]>

First Baptist Church, Main Street, Earlville, NY

“THE FONZIE PRINCIPLE” (James 1:19-27)
Series: JAMES; June 4, 2017, 10:30 AM.
Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

TODAY’S SPECIAL: “A Moses Funny”
Nine year old Dewey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school.
“Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.”
“Now, Dewey, is that really what your teacher taught you?” his mother asked.
“Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”

INTRODUCTION As we close out Chapter 1, we finish the section in our outline entitled, “The Test of Faith”. Today, that test revolves around the one book that should be the center of every one here who claims to be a Christian, to love the Lord Jesus as Savior. That book, of course, is the Bible. On the inside of my mother-in-law’s old Bible were these words: “this Book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this Book.” An old saying, but a good one. We are going to look at how God designed this Book to be most practical. And in the process, we will be examining what I have profoundly entitled, “The Fonzie Principle.” Curious? PRAYER

#1. THE PLANTED WORD (vs. 19-21)
a. OK, we made it past Memorial Day. Of course, lots of rain. But it is also the season for gardens! You all are experts – what have you learned that plants very well in your yard? Do you rotate parts of your yard so that the soil has rest? Even if you’re not an expert, you know that growing stuff results in one thing: Food and Wonderful Looking Plants. (not us – we learned that when we planted, the time of pruning was when we were on vacation – and when we returned, the weeds were 2 feet high!). The point is, we all understand what it is to plant an expect a product in return for your effort.
b. Look at v. 21 and the phrase, “the word planted in you”. God, the Chief Farmer, has done some planting as well. Only in this case, He has planted His Word in the lives of those who have trusted Jesus as Savior.
c. And what is the fruit: in brief, (1) a curbed tongue (v. 19) – we should be familiar with Proverbs 15, Solomon’s discourse on “how to talk in a way pleasing to God”, (2) a submitted life which becomes a righteous life – a life lived right (v. 20), and (3) a practical life where the decay of our society has been slowly but surely curbed in our lives by our submitted to His Word. Look at Colossians 3:1-10. This is daily – not just once for all time. And the life of right living begins with being people of the Book – the Word that is planted in each of God’s children.

#2. THE OBEYED WORD (vs. 22-25)
a. V. 22 adds to what we learned under the first section. The word is not just to be listened to – it is to be obeyed by daily application. As the late Dr. John Hash, founder of “Bible Pathway” would constantly say, “we must be readers of the whole word – from Genesis to Revelation – on a regular basis. And then live what we’ve read.”
b. Vs. 23-24 then introduces us to what I call “The Fonzie Principle”. I’ve read this no where else! So you are getting first hand scholarly input! What then is “The Fonzie Principle”. Remember “The Fonz” on the tv show, “Happy Days”. At the start of every episode, do you remember what Fonzie would do – every episode! He would look in a mirror, take his comb to his hair, and then determine that “why mess with perfection.”. So “The Fonzie Principle” is the looking into the mirror of God’s Word and making a choice: do I obey it, or do I live as if I shouldn’t have bothered to read it in the first place. “The Fonzie Principle”.
c. God has a special favor, His own blessing, upon the one who reads His Word and then obeys what he reads. That’s what v. 25 says! What is your #1 source of information? Face book? Fox News? CNN? The Bible? Here is how you know: what you spend the most time with is identified as what you consider your most valuable source of truth. He who spends much time in God’s Word, and applies what he reads, God has promised will be a blessed, a happy person.

#3. THE ACTIVE WORD (vs. 26-27)
Here is where the Bible becomes meddling. How many of you say you are “religious”? Look at v. 26. James says that the Bible is to be active in your world. And an active Bible is on display by our use of how we speak. Ouch. Angry much? Your Bible is not active! Swear a lot? Your Bible is not active! Try to manipulate situations for your advantage? You guessed it, your Bible is not active!
And v. 27 becomes even more pointed: pure religion is active! It shows up in how we treat the helpless (in this case, widows who have no support system) AND it shows up in how the world system has rubbed off on our life styles. Now let’s be careful here. It does NOT say “don’t get involved with the world”. Because if you lived like that, no one would ever come to know Jesus as Savior! But as Romans 12:1-2 says in the Phillips translation, “don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” The Word of God is to be active in every part of our lives.

CONCLUSION So a couple of easy questions: has the word been planted in your life – that is, do you trust Jesus as your Savior and are regulating your day around the reading of God’s Word? Is the word obeyed in your life, or do you read and behave like The Fonz? And is the Word active – does it not sit on your shelf but shows up in the places God has wisely put you? The Test of Faith in James 1 is surrounded by how the Word of God is on display in our lives!

“‘GOD WON’T GIVE ME MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE’ – REALLY?” (James 1:9-18)

J.B. Stopford, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Earlville, NY

TODAY’S SPECIAL: “A Goat Funny”
Patient: Doctor, Doctor! I keep thinking I’m a goat!
Doctor: How long have you had this feeling?
Patient: Ever since I was a kid.

INTRODUCTION
(1) Written to “brothers/sisters” in the Lord – the letter was not written to a specific church but to God’s people, encouraging us how to live for God where He has wisely placed us.
(2) Written to spur contentment (vs. 9-11) – God calls both rich and poor for His glory. James begins here a repeated theme: life is brief, no matter how many years, no matter seeming success or failure.
What will we do with that breath of life God has given to us? In this section we continue the examination of “The Test of Faith”. We have looked at those “3 little words” (“count it all joy”!). Today we are going to look at…PAIN – through the eyes of 3 questions posed in our text. PRAYER

#1 The question of the heart: heart of the test is the fruit (v. 12)
We examined this verse several weeks ago when talking about the “crowns”. Let’s look at the companion passage, Rev. 2:11. The heart of this test in James is to see life through the eyes of eternity, not through the test!

#2 The question of the test (vs. 13-15)
(a). The Lord is not the source of this test! (v. 13). Nor can we say, “the devil made me do it!” as Flip Wilson used to say.
(b) The source of this test is one word: “desire”, which desire is further described with the previous word, “evil”. What on earth is “evil desire”?
Oswald Chambers, whose writings were transcribed by his wife and collected to form the wonderful devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”, defines “desire” this way: “the need for companionship being met by loving only yourself.” (repeat!).
For Whom/whom have we been created for companionship? At least 2 answers: (1) The Lord (Gen. 3:8-9 shows that, as describing the fall, God was looking for the one with whom He had been enjoying sweet communion. And 1 John 1:5-7 God still hungers for our fellowship – with Him through His Word and prayer! How you doing here? (2) Others Gen. 2:19-29 shows that Adam could not find true companionship with the animals – God then created from him a wife with whom Adam could be “one flesh”. Again in 1 John 1:1-4 joy is made complete when believers enjoy fellowship with one another on a regular basis!  BUT when the “desire” for that companionship – either with the Lord, with one’s spouse, or with other believers – is directed elsewhere, the chain of events of James 1:13-15 becomes a royal test.
And what is the end of that test? DEATH (v. 15) – separation from the true companionship that God has provided. That death may be eternal – a physical death. OR it also may be being “dead while alive” – the life becomes routine, useless, and most empty.
Are you at this point today? Remember 1 John 1:9. Come back to where you left off – come back to the cross!

#3. The question of the source of the pain (vs. 16-18)
(a). Here is a tough question! What then is the source of the pain we often have on a regular basis? Once again, Oswald Chambers asks an interesting question: if you were God, would you create pain? Does pain have eternal purpose? Our text says that through our faith in the cross, we have both a new birth and we become His first-fruits – even in pain!
(b). So then how does God use pain for His glory? We need to be familiar with at least 3 passages:
(1). Psalm 11. The Lord allows tests to show that there is a wide distinction between those who are righteous and those who are wicked – with no foundation!
(2). Psalm 26:1-3. Those who are trusting in the Lord can lovingly say to God, “bring it on! Prove me! Show me by your test that I belong to you!”
(3). 1 Corinthians 10:13. Perhaps the most familiar of the 3. This verse has been translated loosely, “God won’t give me more than I can handle” – why? Because what I am experiencing is no different from what anyone else on this earth does – but with one HUGE DIFFERENCE: God is allowing this test to draw attention to Himself through us, through you and me. Cling to this verse – it’s a good one.

CONCLUSION
A number of years ago there was a young man named Rick. He had a wonderful wife, young daughter, good job. Everything was going so well with him – he just loved his family and loved to provide for them. But then the unthinkable happened, and the source of his loss of physical strength was ultimately given a name: non-hodgkins lymphoma. Over the course of many months he had many treatments of various kinds. Yet in the hospital, with seemingly “much time” on his hands, he realized that there was one thing he didn’t have: assurance of eternity. He asked for his pastor to call him – and in a tender conversation on the phone, Rick trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Finally, it became apparent that his time on earth would be brief. Yet both in life and in death, this test for Rick became a royal tribute to God’s glory on display.
That is the extreme test – yours maybe simply a splinter in your finger or a hangnail on your toe.

Ask yourself one question: in Whom is my trust? With my foundation, am I prepared to trust Him?

First Baptist Church, 9 West Main St. Earlville, NY 13332

“REMEMBER THESE 3 LITTLE WORDS” (James 1:2-8)
Series: JAMES, May 14, 2017 10:30 AM
Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

INTRODUCTION
“Today’s Special” #1 – Karyn’s Dad’s Joke: The physics teacher and the calculus teacher dated without success. They had no chemistry between them.

“Today’s Special” #2: You Know You’re a Mother IF…
~ You automatically double-knot everything you tie.
~ You hear a baby cry in the grocery store, and you start to gently sway back and forth, back and forth. However, your children are at school!
~ You actually start to like the smell of strained carrots mixed with applesauce.
~ You get soooo into crafts you contemplate writing a book called “101 Fun Crafts To Do with Dryer Lint and Eggshells.”
~ You spend a half hour searching for your sunglasses only to have your teenager say, “Mom, why don’t you wear the ones you pushed up on your head?”
~ You are out for a nice romantic meal with your husband, enjoying some real adult conversation, when suddenly you realize that you’ve reached over and started to cut up his steak.

Last week we began our new series in the Book of James. We learned an important point: the book of James is about a choice – do we live for Jesus as if we are Homeward Bound people, or do we live for the world and don’t make a difference with the brief life God has given us? This is believed to be the first written of the NT books -and it is pure practical theology! PRAYER

#1 The Growth-Life (vs. 2-4) Revolves around your choices:
a. “Pure joy” – just 3 little words tell God’s secret to spiritual growth
“Pure” = “all”; “full of”; “an opportunity for great joy” (NLT)
b. “Consider” = welcome! Phillips says, “don’t resent them [trials] as intruders, but welcome them as friends!”
c. “Trials” – those “tests and challenges [which] come at you from all sides” [Message]. Those cause your faith to show its true colors!
Illustration: Perhaps you saw this on our beloved Facebook this week:
From a CBS News Documentary, the words of Charleton Churchill: “Saying this was an epic and amazing trip is true. But I would be remiss if I didn’t share, it came with some suffering, doubt, fear, anxiety, and physical pain. Often times when striving for something great, there is usually a cost. There’s no glory without suffering.” The glory: a wedding! The trial: the location, which was the summit of Mt. Everest! And his job? He bills himself as an “Adventure Wedding Photographer”.
But your trials are not the uncertainties of the base camp of Mt. Everest! Your trials are, well, LIFE!
d. Progress of faith to maturity: the mindset [3 little words: “count it pure joy”], the test/trial of faith, the experience which develops perseverance, and the perseverance develops maturity. See Matthew 5:48 “be perfect [mature, complete] as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. See 1 Cor. 3:1ff “I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.” It’s possible to belong to Christ, to be a Christian, to be saved, but be immature. And trials are often the test to show outwardly what’s going on inwardly.
The “Growth-Life” revolves around those 3 little words, “count it pure joy”

“WAIT, PASTOR! That’s FOUR words!” Almost 30 years ago, my wife’s cousin’s family and us went camping for a week. During the Sunday of that week, we went to church where the guest speaker spoke on this passage. Repeatedly, he said, “now, just remember these 3 little words: count it all joy.” By the end of the sermon, the kids had all they could do to hold in their laughter. Yet almost 30 years later, that message is still remembered by our family members who heard it! Let’s remember these 3 little words – from our NIV: “count it pure joy”.

#2 The Grace-Life (vs. 5-8)
How do you know you lack wisdom? You might say: “I don’t know how I can do this!” Or, “I don’t know how I have the time!” Or, “I CAN’T DO THIS!” The Grace-Life revolves around 3 thoughts:
a. God is generous – He loves to hear from His children, OFTEN!
b. The prayer of faith stems from a relationship of trust: no doubts in God nor in His ability to do what He says He can!
c. The grace-life lives as if each day is dependent upon the wisdom of God and not upon the wiles of God’s child.
Illustration: the summer breezy day sail in the sunfish, and then there’s the day when the wind takes you to the other end of the lake. That is the life not lived in grace but in self-will. Wind swept. Can’t get back without retracing many steps. [sailing upwind can be done, but it is easier not to!].

CONCLUSION
Remember the growth-life. God hungers for mature children! Where are you today? Have you remembered those 3 little words: count it pure joy!
Remember the grace-life. God hungers for seeking children! Where are you today? Have you remembered to trust, to rest in the One Who brought you to the cross in the first place? Trust! Intimate trust! Hunger for that just as He hungers for that in us!