Participants: Bill Liversidge
Series Code: IHS
Program Code: IHS000006A
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00:13 Eat the bread, you will have life.
00:16 Eat my flesh, you will have life. 00:18 Drink My blood, you will have life. 00:21 The evidence is our willingness to hear 00:24 and to abide the Word of the God, 00:26 especially since we realize this is God speaking. 00:32 This is not an ordinary book we are talking about 00:36 this morning this is the word of life. 00:40 This is the Word of God we have in His presence. 00:47 The Holy Spirit's ability to inspire. 00:59 Good morning, everybody. 01:03 I think I'm fairly safe in saying 01:06 that the single biggest concern at least that I have 01:09 and I'm visiting a lot of churches 01:13 is the number of unstable people 01:16 that I run into in churches 01:19 and it occurred to me that part of the enemy strategy 01:23 is especially targeting the people of God 01:27 is to make sure that 01:29 they lose the balance of their minds 01:33 so that they lose the ability 01:37 to discern truth from error 01:43 and they become very vulnerable. 01:48 And it has struck me that the fruit 01:51 of having the mind of Christ in you 01:53 and hearing the word of God 01:55 should be a sound and a balanced mind. 01:59 Is there an amen to that? 02:00 Amen. Yes. 02:03 Balance, balance should be the first thing 02:08 we see in a Christian 02:10 who has the mind of Jesus in him. 02:12 Is that too stronger statement or what? 02:16 They should be the most balanced people 02:18 with the soundest minds on earth. 02:20 Amen. 02:22 Capable of discerning the word and seeing with clarity that 02:26 which is of God and that which is not. 02:31 The epistle of James has very practical counsel. 02:35 I love it. 02:37 James is an interesting little epistle. 02:40 It took me many years to realize the key 02:44 to the epistle of James. 02:46 The key lies in chapter 1 compared with chapter 5 02:53 and that's what I missed for a long time. 02:57 But in chapter 5 he lists three things 03:03 and my mistake was, I should have read 03:06 the epistle in its entirety 03:09 and I should have allowed myself to realize 03:11 that if he summarizing everything 03:13 in the final chapter of the epistle it's probably 03:16 because he's laid the foundation 03:19 for it down back here. 03:22 But I was so quick to jump into the message of chapter 5 03:27 because it is such an incredible message. 03:30 So let's begin with the three points 03:32 in chapter 5 verse 13 03:34 and this three groups 03:37 of individuals presented here is anyone among you? 03:41 Suffering. Suffering. 03:46 Anyone among you suffering? Let him? 03:51 Pray. 03:52 Pray. Here's the action here. 03:56 This is the condition and this is the action 03:59 that goes with it. 04:01 Condition, response. 04:04 If anyone among you is suffering let him pray. 04:12 Is anyone among you? 04:14 Cheerful. 04:16 We seemed to be agreed on that word here this morning. 04:18 Anyone among you cheerful? 04:21 Let that person sing, sing Psalms. 04:27 Will sing, praise. 04:30 Praise, yeah. Praise. 04:34 Now we come to the third category. 04:37 Like the teaching of Jesus yesterday 04:39 there were something different about 04:41 the third category wasn't they? 04:44 So look very carefully now at the third category 04:47 because you might just see something different 04:52 coming out of the third category. 04:55 Is anyone among you? 04:57 Sick. Sick. 04:59 And the Greek word there means enfeebled. 05:04 Enfeebled, it literally means to be in a feeble condition. 05:11 If anyone among you in Enfeebled 05:14 or sick let him do what? 05:20 Call for the elders to do what? 05:27 To pray. 05:28 Call for the elders and let them pray over him. 05:34 To pray over him, 05:38 pray over him, anointing him with? 05:45 Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 05:50 Well, and we all know this verse, 05:52 we use it all the time. 05:55 If anyone us among you sick? 05:57 Let him call for the elders of the church 06:00 let them pray over him, 06:01 anointing him in the name of the Lord. 06:04 And of course verse 15 goes with this 06:08 "And the prayer offered in faith" 06:14 the prayer offered in faith will bring about 06:17 some rather interesting results. 06:21 What's the first development 06:22 if this is a truly effective and righteous prayer? 06:25 What's the first thing that happens? 06:30 He will-- 06:31 let me get the exact word there. 06:34 It says in verse, depending what version you are reading 06:37 and the order that it comes in, 06:39 "the prayer offered in faith will" 06:42 Save. 06:44 Some version say save, others say restore. 06:52 Now this is not the raising up one, 06:53 I think that comes next. 06:56 The Lord will save or restore the person 07:01 and it literally, I've written it down here, 07:04 it literally leads. 07:06 When it says save or restore to it means to wholeness. 07:12 Thy will be restored to wholeness. 07:17 That's the first thing. 07:19 Saved or restored to wholeness 07:26 and the Lord will then raise him up. 07:32 Raise him up, wow. 07:36 That is also a very interesting expression. 07:40 The Lord will raise him up and that literally means 07:48 in Greek it literally means 07:51 collect all his faculties. 07:59 It's a reference to the mind. 08:02 It collecting it-- actually literally means 08:05 take all the parts of his mind 08:08 and put them back into a wholeness again. 08:12 It's a restoration of your mental faculties. 08:16 It's a very beautiful term and of course I miss that 08:20 until I started researching this. 08:22 So the restoration, the raising up 08:25 is actually restoring the faculties of your mind. 08:31 And if he is committed sins, sins will be forgiven. 08:40 So here I'm in James Chapter 5 08:44 and I'm getting many requests for anointing 08:47 so I start researching this passage 08:49 and it suddenly hits me 08:51 and it maybe hitting you here this morning. 08:54 First of all I noticed that there is something about, 09:02 there is something about the third category 09:07 that is quite distinct from the first two. 09:11 Anyone actually seeing that here this morning? 09:13 You got your hand, I wonder if you got a microphone. 09:16 Yes, could we get that mike over here? 09:18 Our sister is sitting right here 09:20 very quick to raise her hand here. 09:22 There is something distinct about the third category, 09:26 it seems to be set apart from the first two. 09:29 What have you picked up? 09:31 The sick person is to call on someone else to do the-- 09:36 You haven't mentioned the first two categories. 09:38 You got to give me a full answer here. 09:40 First two are themselves to talk to God, 09:43 to praise Him or to pray. 09:44 Very insightful. 09:46 I apologize for the lack of amen's 09:48 in the church this morning. 09:50 It was a beautiful comment you've made. 09:52 Thank you very much. 09:53 Her observation is that the first two categories 09:58 people are capable of doing something for themselves. 10:03 You see that, don't you? 10:05 If you are suffering go ahead and pray. 10:08 If you are cheerful go ahead and sing. 10:13 But if you are sick call for the elders for prayer 10:20 and for anointing with oil, that's the first thing. 10:24 An excellent observation 10:26 has come through here this morning. 10:29 So this group of persons and that's the first thing 10:31 that struck me, wow. 10:33 We have a group of persons here 10:35 who are apparently not capable of doing for themselves 10:41 what the first two categories 10:43 appeared to be capable of doing. 10:46 That's the first observation. 10:48 The second observation is, what's happening 10:53 when it comes to results here? 10:57 Look at the words. 11:03 Save. 11:07 Raise up, forgive sins. 11:18 My mind started going into overdrive. 11:22 Is yours going to overdrive too? 11:25 Save, raise up, forgiveness of sins. 11:33 Is there a mike here right behind you there 11:35 because she is-- if we ain't let her speak 11:37 she could be raptured this morning? 11:40 Because this is the ammos of salvation for that over so, 11:46 be saved you will receive salvation, 11:49 you will receive health 11:52 and strength of mind and purpose. 11:54 Okay, it's a beautiful observation. 11:56 Again I apologize for a feeling that 11:58 you are in a mold here this morning. 12:00 You and I should maybe come out here and join hands 12:02 and together go like this. 12:06 There might be signs of life 12:09 because we know they are processing here 12:10 this morning as they hear this. 12:13 That's what struck me to these are all spiritual. 12:18 The fact is and fact the more I studied this passage 12:21 the more convicted I became. 12:23 If it doesn't really appear to be any indication 12:25 of physical illness there at all 12:29 and that struck me as being rather 12:30 or seeing this is the passage we use 12:33 especially for physical illness. 12:37 And these words, these loaded words 12:40 are the clue the use of save 12:44 or bring back to wholeness to raise up, 12:47 to bring all the aspects of the mind back together 12:51 into one of oneness 12:54 and finally to extend the forgiveness of sin. 12:57 So I'm struggling with this 12:59 because I like to act biblically. 13:01 I like to know that I have the authority of the word 13:05 even if it comes to something like an anointing for healing 13:08 I want to make sure I'm acting biblically. 13:12 And there is plenty of biblical passages 13:14 that talk about healing that I beginning to question now 13:18 what this passage is really dealing with. 13:22 And so I had a group like this 13:23 and we were studying the epistle of James 13:26 and we went back to chapter 1 and guess what, 13:31 we found in chapter 1, 13:35 we found three categories of persons 13:41 that seem to match exactly 13:43 what was coming out of chapter 5. 13:48 Is there any group in chapter 1 13:51 that's being encouraged to pray? 13:58 So then we landed in this five. 14:04 If any of you lacks wisdom 14:09 and that's not just wisdom in an abstract sense. 14:13 For lack of wisdom here is related 14:15 to verses 2 through 4. 14:18 It's related to your ability to count your trials as joy. 14:25 Doesn't say feel joyful, 14:27 it says consider or account your trials as joy 14:31 because you know that God is testing your fight. 14:36 That's that follows on and through the testing 14:40 of your fight what will happen? 14:44 Endurance will come about and you will become mature 14:47 and complete lacking nothing. 14:50 And I said, wow, most of us kick 14:52 against the very things 14:54 that God uses to bring us to maturity. 14:59 So when he says that if any of you lacks wisdom 15:01 he is referring to people who are incapable 15:07 of counting their trials as joy. 15:12 That's what a lack of wisdom is associated 15:14 with here in context. 15:17 We don't just talk about wisdom, 15:19 its not having the wisdom to consider your trials as joy. 15:25 So those who do not have wisdom 15:33 to count their trials as joys. 15:40 And what are they urged to do? 15:43 Pray. 15:46 And all of a sudden we said, wow. 15:50 We have a group of persons who are being urged to pray. 15:55 They are capable of praying 15:58 but they don't have the wisdom to count-- 16:00 there are many people like this 16:02 who keep getting bowled over by their trials 16:06 and God says pray. 16:09 Is there any group here in chapter 1 16:12 that might be cheerful? 16:17 Look carefully now and we finally-- 16:25 what verse you landing on out there? 16:29 Oh, you're landing in verse 9. 16:33 You run on-- 16:35 Okay, well, there might be a little thing 16:37 but there is something stronger earlier on. 16:39 Anyone picking it up? 16:45 On an earlier in the chapter, not later in the chapter. 16:49 Oh, thank you very much. Verse 2 is coming in here. 16:54 Count it all? Joy. 16:57 Count it as joy. 17:03 When you move into various trials 17:05 because you know, you have the knowledge 17:10 that your trials are given by God 17:13 to grow you into maturity. 17:16 We have a group of people here 17:18 who are urged to move into considering their trials as joy 17:25 because they see God's purpose in the trials. 17:29 And we said, wow. 17:32 We've got one group here in James 1 17:34 that appeared to be having a reason for joy. 17:38 We have another group here that are lacking wisdom 17:41 and they are urged to pray 17:43 for that very wisdom to count their trials as joy. 17:47 Is there a third group in chapter 1 17:52 and we kept on reading and we came down 17:58 to verse 6 through 8 18:04 and we sat there looking at each other. 18:07 Verse 6, "But let him ask in faith without any doubting." 18:14 So you got a group here, a third group who are asking 18:19 while at the same time doubting. 18:25 Wow. 18:26 How many people have I met like that, 18:27 people like the lady that came here recently 18:30 and said, I know God cannot answer my prayer. 18:34 I said, well, then you won't be disappointed. 18:39 Totally confident that He couldn't hear her prayer. 18:43 Many people asking but doubting at the same time 18:47 especially as they look at their lives, 18:50 they look back 18:51 and they start getting overcome with doubts. 18:56 "Let him ask in without any doubting, 18:58 for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, 19:03 driven and tossed by the wind. 19:06 Let not that man expect 19:08 that he will receive anything from the Lord," 19:11 because he is in what condition? 19:15 "A double minded man." 19:20 A double minded man and the end result of this is? 19:26 "Unstable in all his ways." 19:30 And what did we read 19:34 a few minutes ago in James 1:22? 19:42 "Prove yourselves doers of the word, 19:45 and not" if you are-- not a hearer 19:50 because if you are only a hearer 19:52 and not a doer you are deceiving yourself. 19:58 Any evidence of self deception in here? 20:03 Look at the words, what about asking end? 20:09 Imagine asking God and doubting at the same time 20:15 that he is capable of answering what you are asking for. 20:21 This is self deception. 20:23 I know many people that are practicing it 20:25 and they move into a condition that 20:29 James calls double mindedness. 20:34 They are never confident of the Word of God. 20:39 Even though God says your sins are totally forgiven 20:42 and I just have this encountered last week 20:44 with a former pastor who sat at dinner with me 20:47 and beat himself to death 20:50 because of a mistake he made 15 years ago. 20:54 Beat himself up in front of me and I said to him, you know, 20:58 I'm gonna have to call you to repentance. 21:01 You are absolutely filing to appreciate 21:05 what Jesus did on the cross. 21:09 Your sin has been placed on Him. 21:12 It has been fully atoned for, your guilt, 21:16 you condemnation has been lifted from you 21:19 because it fell on Jesus and what are you doing. 21:23 You spent 15 years beating yourself up 21:27 and you sitting here weeping about the impact 21:29 that's had on your family. 21:31 I said, you know, what your family needs? 21:33 They need to see a husband and a father 21:36 who actually believes in a God who says, 21:38 I've taken your sin from you and I've laid it on My own Son. 21:44 Start acting like a man who has been totally forgiven, 21:48 who's been declared righteous by the atoning death of Jesus. 21:53 I said, if your daughter and your wife can see 21:55 you like this man 21:57 this will revolutionize your own family. 21:59 Not this whipping over yourself every single day. 22:02 This is a very good friend of mine 22:03 I could talk to him that directly. 22:06 I ran into so many people that are like dogs 22:08 with their tails between their legs 22:10 because they messed up. 22:12 We need to be offering grace to sinners today 22:16 not kicking them 22:17 while they are down as you name into that. 22:19 Amen. 22:21 I hope you are hearing this. 22:23 So my very good friend of many years 22:25 is in the restaurant with me 22:27 and I called him to repentance 22:29 because his double-mindedness is killing me 22:32 and its killing his family. 22:35 And in one moment of time I said, you are willing? 22:38 He said I'm willing. 22:40 I said let's kneel down, it doesn't matter 22:41 don't worry about anybody else. 22:43 This is between you and God now, kneel down 22:46 and we knelt down in the crowd of restaurant of course, 22:48 it attracted a lot of attention. 22:50 Actually a number of people came up 22:52 and spoke to us and he repented 22:54 and the grace of God came upon him. 22:57 He just called me up yesterday 22:59 to give me a report this week 23:00 of how he is experiencing the grace of God 23:03 and he has hope in his life. 23:05 I said, praise the Lord, man. Praise the Lord. 23:08 You are acting on your faith. 23:11 You've got bit of that double-mindedness 23:12 which was killing you. 23:16 By the way what was God's solution 23:21 to the double-mindedness? 23:23 Anointing oil. 23:27 Someone must listening here this morning? 23:30 Thank you for that. 23:32 The divine solution for double-mindedness 23:35 which is an inability 23:37 to take hold of the promises of God 23:39 and believe them and to act upon it. 23:44 You lose the ability to do that. 23:46 You wanted but you can't do it. 23:50 The divine solution, 23:54 there it is, call for the elders, 23:59 the anointed with oil. 24:01 What will God offer you? 24:04 He will save you. 24:06 He will restore you to wholeness. 24:09 He will take all the fractured parts of your poor mind 24:14 and he will put them back together into a whole. 24:18 So now with singleness of mind you can serve Him. 24:24 You can take hold of His promises. 24:27 You can praise Him every day of your life 24:31 and you can walk away with an absolute assurance 24:33 that your sins are forgiven. 24:36 This is God's divine solution 24:41 to the problem of double-mindedness 24:43 which is afflicting so many today. 24:47 Amen. 24:49 I look back on moments like this 24:50 and I say thank you God, for being biblical. 24:53 How is your faith here this morning? 24:55 I'm challenging you this morning, 24:57 if you are being challenged in area of your mind 25:02 and someone has shared with you, 25:03 someone who cares about you 25:05 or you've seen the signs in yourself 25:08 this kind of self awareness is not all that common 25:11 common but it happens and you've recognized 25:15 that you are in danger of being a double-minded person 25:19 and you find yourself timidly 25:22 taking hold of the promises of God 25:23 but fairly confident that 25:25 God won't be able to answer them 25:27 because of your condition. 25:28 I'm urging you to consider 25:31 the biblical implications of this 25:33 because God is the divine healer 25:37 and we get all uptight about the afflictions of the body 25:39 but I want to tell you 25:41 we should be much more concerned about 25:43 the arrear of the mind because it's with the mind 25:47 that we serve the law of God. 25:52 So as we conclude this morning 25:53 it's a pretty serious message by the way. 25:56 As we conclude this morning does anyone here 26:02 who is under conviction 26:05 because this is such a serious matter. 26:07 As we get close to the end 26:09 and we all believe at the moment 26:10 we are probably closer to the end 26:12 and ever before you believe that, don't you. 26:15 I believe it there is a degree of urgency today. 26:18 You should be slipping down on your knees right now 26:21 if you are hearing the word and its convicting you. 26:24 Don't be looking around this is an individual matter 26:28 because the healing grace of God is available to you. 26:32 You know, we want to make this available for you. 26:35 Let's bow our heads together as we conclude this morning. 26:44 Our loving Father in heaven, what an incredible God you are. 26:52 You know the great affliction of God's people 26:54 at the end of time is the challenge 26:57 to their minds to receive that beautiful anointing 27:01 for healing of the mind so they can truly be free 27:05 to take hold of Your promise 27:07 and to claim them daily to the glory of God. 27:10 Thank You in anticipation of all these miracles 27:14 that you are choosing to work today 27:16 and every day this week. 27:18 We give Jesus all the glory in His precious name, amen. 27:23 Amen. 27:25 Go forth in a sound mind today please and glorify God. 27:32 If you would like more information about this ministry 27:35 or how you can obtain a copy of this entire series 27:37 and other resources by Pastor Bill Liversidge 27:40 please contact us. 27:42 Creative Media Ministries proclaims 27:43 the full ministry of Jesus through the sanctuary. 27:46 With the growing cost of TV production 27:48 and broadcasting this dynamic ministry 27:50 needs partners committed to spreading the good news 27:53 throughout the entire world. 27:55 You are invited to prayerfully consider 27:56 making a tax deductible donation 27:58 to Creative Media Ministries. 28:00 Contact us online at www.creativemediaministries.org 28:06 That's www.creativemediaministries.org 28:10 By mail at Creative Media Ministries, 28:13 P.O. 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Revised 2015-08-20