 So today we're in James we're in chapter one We're going to be looking at verses 13 through 18 as we continue our new series in this very powerful Instructive books, so let me begin reading at verse 13 in James chapter one I'll read to verse 15 and we'll get into our study James chapter one beginning at verse 13 Reading to verse 15 and I might want to begin by saying I will be going back to verse 12 To develop that a bit further for you for I did not give to you all that I wanted to give you last time we're together You'll see that in just a moment, but beginning at verse 13 reading to verse 15 James writes Let no one say when he is tempted. I am tempted of God For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone But each one is tempted what he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed Then when desire has conceived It gives birth to sin and Sin when it is full-grown brings forth death and So as we're looking at this passage as mentioned a moment before I want to draw your attention back to verse 12 for a moment Lay a foundation and then I'm going to move into verse 13 and take us all the way to verse 18 today But by looking at verse 12 as our foundation our Introduction notice how James said blessed is a man who endures temptation for when he has been approved He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him and so James just said that the one who endures temptation Receives a reward and he said they receive the crown the crown of life now When James uses the word crown that word crown in the original language Greek is the word Stefanus And that literally speaks of a badge of royalty The crown was a prize given in athletic contests. It was used as a symbol of honor in ancient Greek games It was it was a garland of leaves that was placed on a victor's head as a reward for winning a contest In the New Testament it is a symbol of the rewards of heaven that God promises faithful believers Now the rewards that God grants to faithful believers are Rewards that are given out at what is called the famous seed of Christ the famous seed of Christ It's also referred to as the judgment seed of Christ Romans chapter 14 verses 10 through 12 says Why do you judge your brother or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat the famous seed of Christ For it is written as I live says the Lord every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God So then each of us shall give account of himself to God that take place at the famous seed Someone wrote that the concept of the famous seed comes from the ancient Greek Olympics Where a judge would sit on the famous seed at the finish line The judge's purpose was to determine what position runners finish a race first second and so on and then to give out the appropriate reward Paul was picturing the believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest as The victorious Grecian athlete appeared before the bema to receive his perishable award So the Christian will appear before Christ bema to receive his Imperishable award. So the judgment seat is Not a place that determines salvation that takes place at what is called actually The judgment that comes for punishment for sin is called the white throne judgment But the judgment seat of Christ doesn't determine salvation because salvation was determined by Christ sacrifice on our behalf and our faith in him When you got saved all of your sins were forgiven every single one of them not a single one of your sins remains It's all washed. It's all cleansed. It's all forgiven and you're not condemned for them So the judgment seat of Christ is not God judging our sins believers don't stand in in this kind of judgment because We've been completely forgiven But unbelievers will stand before God in judgment as mentioned a moment ago at the white throne That's in Revelation chapter 20, but believers will stand before the bema seat to receive rewards for faithful service Now Paul made that clear when he was writing to the Corinthians in second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10 For example, he said we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad When he wrote to the Corinthians in first Corinthians chapter 3 Verses 12 and 13 he said if anyone builds on this foundation with gold silver precious stones wood hay straw Each one's work will become clear for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire and The fire will test each one's work of what sort it is So appearing before the judgment seat provokes us to sincere service You see we're saved by grace, but that doesn't remove the responsibility of living right before God So our daily walk the way you live every day reveals your new life It reveals the fact that you have a new nature and so we appear we appear before the judgment seat to receive rewards But not for judgment concerning our sins In Ephesians 6 verse 8 Paul said you know the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does So our sins again have been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ Ephesians 1 7 says in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace So it's at the famous seat that we receive our rewards, and they are referred to as crowns and in the New Testament You have five different crowns in verse 12 you have what he refers to as the crown of life We'll look at that in just a moment, but the New Testament speaks of other crowns For example, you have the imperishable crown now That's mentioned in 1st Corinthians 1st Corinthians 9 24 and 25 Paul said do you not know that in a race all the runners run But only one receives the prize so run that you may obtain it every athlete exercises self-control in all things They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an Imperishable so the crown this crown reflects the fact that material crowns wither they become brittle they perish But the imperishable crown represents an inheritance that does not perish in 1st Peter 5 4 It says this is an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled Unfading that is reserved or kept in heaven for you. So you have the imperishable crown You also have the crown of rejoicing. That's the second crown in 1st Thessalonians 2 19 Paul said What is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? So we rejoice in the blessings that God has showered on us We have most to be joyful about on earth and in heaven. There is overwhelming joy when we got saved God took The ashes and he replaces it with beauty and God has given to us so much that there's nothing but the Opportunity to understand the joy that he has we have a crown of rejoicing because God has blessed us He showered his blessings on us and we should be the most joyful on the face of the earth I remember when I first was a young believer in a young teacher Discovered Psalm 16 verse 11 which said you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy At your right hand our pleasure is forever more And that spoke to me because God does these things and this is what I have in him in Revelation 21 for it says he will wipe away every tear from their eyes Death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away We have the crown of rejoicing God has given to us. We we rejoice in the Lord always again like Paul said I say rejoice We the crown we have the crown of righteousness in 2nd Timothy 4 verse 8 There's laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day And not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing Well, Jesus is righteous. We have what is called imputed righteousness He gives to us that which we don't have he imputes to us that which we don't have in our own strength It's a called an imputed righteousness. We have faith in Christ and he gives us that which is his something We don't have of our own And so as we await his return We endure we endure discouragement We go through persecution suffering There are those who have gone through martyrdom But we do so knowing our reward is with Jesus in heaven Philippians 3 20 says our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ We also have what is called the crown of glory in 1st Peter 5 verse 4 the apostle writes when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory That does not fade away When he speaks of the crown of glory glory speaks of God's nature and God's actions His splendor his brightness We're gonna give to God all the praise and all the glory that is rightfully his That belongs to him and in doing so we realize that he has blessed us in bringing us to heaven And Hebrews 2 10 it says it was fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are all things and Bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings And we have the crown of life The crown of life is for believers who persevere in their faith even under that persecution church history abounds with the stories of believers who remain faithful in cases of persecution and trial and the Bible promises them a Special reward and believers know that Jesus is the bread of life And we know that Jesus is the living water and this crown reveals that we've received life through him And we live for him and we receive this crown because we've remained faithful to him to the end We've loved God revealed our love by keeping his commandments There are people who say oh, I love the Lord, but don't even have a desire to keep his commandments But Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments if you really love me you desire to do that Which I have told you they're not burdened some like first first John tells us in chapter 5 verse 3 He said this is the love of God that we keep his commandments his commandments are not burdensome They're not grievous. They're not things like oh, what a bummer. I can't get drunk anymore. Oh Man, he's just ruining my life because I can't sleep around anymore It's not a bummer. I can't steal anymore You know, no, they're not burdensome Why because his commandments bring life because his his commandments are the joy of our heart is because we want to serve him That reveals that you have a new nature You have a nature that rebels against the things of God. That's not the new nature. That's the old nature What God wants to do is work in us and to realize that when he says don't do this or do this that it's not a burden to us It's a joy of our heart because we're in the center of his will and he blesses us It's what should provoke a believer to hold fast, especially when we're being tempted And that's basically what we're speaking of as we look at this because in verse 12 when he says Blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved He'll receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him He goes on in verse 13 to say let no one say when he is tempted I'm tempted by God for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone Sometimes it may be difficult to determine if you're being tested or tempted God doesn't tempt you with evil He doesn't move you into a direction that will lead to you In obeying that direction Entering into sin and you might have been an alcoholic Loved your drink you got saved and suddenly you start saying to yourself. I feel a call by God to go into bars I Don't I don't think so You know, I used to do a lot of drugs and I have my friends in the old neighborhood and I used to purchase it I'm just gonna go in Well, and then you fail and you say well, God led me in there. God told me to go there No, James will say no let no one say when he's tempted. I'm tempted by God God doesn't God doesn't tempt you with evil neither does he himself tempt any man No, God is not tempting you. He's not saying go and do this You see people will say well, I gave into temptation and God made me sin Well, let's look at that for a moment. There is a difference between God's testings and Satan's temptations There's a difference between God's testings and Satan's temptations God's testings are desired designed to reveal the quality of your faith The the testings are intended to develop a strength God's testings are used to refine your faith and to produce purity and holiness in your life Like the psalmist said in Psalm 66 verse 10 you oh God have tested us you have refined us as silver is refined God's testings are not intended cause failure God's testings encourage victory God's testings draw you closer to him and they teach you The value of obey obeying him Psalm 119 verse 67 says it like this before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep your word So when the Lord brings a testing in your life is to refine you It's a it's a reveal the quality of your faith that you have It's not intended for you to fail So let no one say when he is tempted I am tempted of God God doesn't tempt anyone with evil Satan's temptations are intended to destroy He attempts to instigate us to sin not to succeed and you see it from the very beginning You see it when Satan tempted Eve to disobey God eat of this fruit He said to her and she saw that it was beautiful to look at it was gonna make her wise and all and and and She took of it and she and and in doing so she resisted the command of God and entered into the temptation of the enemy It's it's it's true in scripture that Satan intends to lead you astray in 2nd Corinthians 11 3 Paul said I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness Your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ the book of Job is Centered on Satan's attempts to to tempt Job to curse God That the whole book shows that in the first two chapters He says it you know God says have you considered my servant Job? He's an upright man a righteous man There's none like him on the face of the earth and and Satan immediately he responds I say well you put her head around him take all that he owns and then later on teach Take it touches skin and he'll curse you to your face his intent Satan as we know in scripture was in his intent was to Destroy Job and to make God look him that he had no power to keep those whom he loved Satan even tempted Jesus to sin as Is recorded in the three three of the four? Gospels the Gospels reveal how how Jesus resisted and how he overcame and it gives to us inside how we can too in Luke chapter 4 verses 5 through 8 the Bible says the devil led Jesus led him up to a high Place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and he said to him I will give you all their authority and splendor for it has been given to me And I I can give it to anyone I want to so if you worship me It will all be yours and Jesus answered it is written Worship the Lord your God and serve him only So he shows us how to overcome Jesus shows us It is written it is written three times It is written the word of God empowers you gives you wisdom strength the power of the spirit gives you the ability and you resist Well, Jesus became man and he lived as a perfect example to us and that helps us in our time of need Hebrews 2 18 says he himself suffered when he was tempted He's able to help those who are being tempted and so in verse 13. God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone Evil is not enticing to God There's nothing evil that God wants Habakkuk in the Old Testament Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 13 Says to God your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrong There's nothing in evil that God wants So when someone says I am tempted by God God himself God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone There's nothing in evil James is saying that is tempting to an almighty holy God Satan tempts he tempted Jesus Unsuccessfully because there's nothing within God that desires what Satan offers in John 14 verse 30 Jesus said I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me There's nothing he can offer me That can cause something within me to respond to and desire he has nothing in me So how does this happen then well verse 14 says each one is tempted when he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed temptation originates in our hearts and Proverbs 19 verse 3 a man's own folly ruins his life Yet his heart rages against the Lord each is Tempted when he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed There's something inside of us That will respond to the enticement Let's see if I can try and make this clear through it an illustration seduction Because the Bible speaks concerning seduction We're drawn away and enticed There's something within me that responds I was sharing with the women at the woman's retreat a while back now How that how men are? I'll kind of I'll talk about us men for a while because it's true Men are and of course I'll speak in general terms But by and large men are like hunters and seduction is one of the ways that we victimize people So a guy sees something about a girl that he likes and he begins to be drawn to her and so As a hunter he begins to discover ways that he can entrap her and ensnare her And all you have to do is speak to her for a little while She's single or whatever she's vulnerable and you discover that fairly quickly you can do that And you hear her say certain things and before you know it you start cataloging the things that she's saying And you start finding things about her that you know our points of weakness At least you see them as vulnerabilities You see them as possibilities or places of access and so she seems to be Concerned a little about her weight because she says it every once in a while She feels all this doesn't fit and so the guy the hunter begins to think hmm. How can I how can I take advantage of her? So what does he do? He says have you dropped some weight lately and she wants to hear that? She wants to hear that. Oh, no, actually. Oh, no, you know gained a little while you could use fools me You look so good and she thinks that's sincere. No, that's just page one He's just starting and he hears other things other insecurities other things see and he begins To realize she'd like to hear certain things She does her hair a little bit different. He's already seen that she's concerned about the way she looks So he walks up and says I'm sorry. You don't want to be too personal, but Did you do something with your hair? It just I don't know it makes you look I don't want to insult you forgive me. You look younger. Oh boy. You got those are two Your hair is nice and you look younger you've lost weight and what he's doing and you don't even know it I'm not saying every man's this way just 99.9999999 percent of us and we find what it is you want to hear and We will say it We're hunters We're hunters and we're gonna seduce you We're gonna find a way to do that and how did I do that and how do I do that by finding what you want to hear and Promising you that it's possible for you to have it I find in that thing That you want and making you think I'm the one who can get it for you That's how it works at seduction and guess what the enemy does It's the same kind of thing It's interesting on in various times when you're reading your Bible you'll see the word seduce or seduction or you'll see the word deceive and Very often the word deceive and the word seduce are the same Greek word just translated by different English words Because the root of seduction is deception the way that somebody deceives and seduces is similar and So the enemy gives you promises That he can't keep but you want to hear and So I'm trying to serve the Lord and God has put me in these places Where I'm being hurt I'm being tempted of God and James says no let no one say that and he's tempted He is tempted of God God cannot be tempted with evil neither does he himself tempt anyone Don't begin he began to believe that God brought you to a place to let you fall Don't believe that God took you here, so you'd fail so he might bring judgment in your life The enemy is doing that the enemy is attempting to destroy you and that's what James is telling us about and when you look at verse 15 Notice there's a progression when you see verse 14 It says each one is tempted when he's drawn away by his own desire and enticed Then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown Brings forth death. There's a progression. There's the drawing away the enticing the conceiving the birth The fact that it grows and then it dies again. It's a picture of seduction. It's a seduction of a person's will It's a seduction that makes them captive to sin and when the will is seduced It becomes pregnant and it brings forth sin our sin nature is responsive to sins deception in Hebrews 3 13 the writer said exhort one another daily while it's called today Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin sin Deceives you it lies to you. It says if you do this, you'll be happy I was sharing this recently the first service and I was saying to them and it's an old illustration But I when I see commercials especially when I'm watching a sports program the commercials seem to always be one of two things and Normally it's a lot of alcohol involved Normally, there's a lot of alcohol involved, you know, you watch this and either it's crazy chicken. I'll put your local where it's beer And you see them again, and that's true in a lot of the games a lot of beer commercials I've said this before but it's true. All you have to do is have eyes to see and you see it How come at it every bar every bar has real? handsome, you know these commercials that they're real handsome young men with with you know 30-inch waist, you know huge shoulders. They're all soupy pretty, you know and The women are walking around like they're going to the prom. I mean, it's just odd, you know They're all beautiful people right and they're just down in this beer and there's oh wait man This is health food because this is light beer has less calories They never show you They never show you What somebody who goes to the beer for a lifetime goes to a bar for a lifetime for their beers and never show you What that guy really looks like a t-shirt that doesn't cover his belly Yeah One tooth because he's had the other teeth broken out and bar fights. They never show you that They're not handsome cool suave people beautiful women and nice dresses Those are commercials, but the commercials are always making you think that that's what cool people do, right? That's what cool people do. There's always this deception that if you do this if you buy this you're going to be happy There's always pleasure, but never any pain. The promise is always pleasure Never any pain They will not tell you that you go to that bar you get drunk you hook up with that good-looking person and Six weeks later you realize you're pregnant. They never talk about those things You don't even know the name of that person. I remember a man who picked up a woman at a bar Took her home spent the night with her. She got up early and left He didn't know her name knew nothing about her is one of those one-night stands and all he went to his bathroom in the morning to to clean up and get ready for his day and she with her lipstick had written on his mirror Welcome to the world of AIDS Those things happen Anybody ever tell you that? You ever see that in a commercial? The girl who had that relationship in that movie the movies isn't it always cool? It's always cool. Well, she sleeps with 15 different guys, but finally finds Prince Charming Isn't that real life? That's really how it is, right? That's how it really is And she's had multiple abortions went after another and Begins to spiral down further and further but wait a minute the enemy said that you're gonna have a good time if you do this The enemy said you're gonna be happy you're gonna be popular. He told you that he whispered He said that you needed it and guess what you end up dead sin always ends up in death Always it doesn't lead you to life. It leads you to death and that's what James is saying He's saying that something entices you and eventually your brain gives birth to if you will The desire for and you get involved in sin and it ends up with death. That's what he's warning us about Do do not be deceived the final result of sin is death in all its forms both now and eternally sin naturally and regularly produces death Roman 623 the wages of sin is death But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord So he says in verse 16 do not be deceived my beloved brethren Do not begin to think that God is the author of sin or is tempting you to sin The inclination to sin originates in your heart. You see when we're saved we can have victory over sin We can produce fruit that glorifies God Our lives change We no longer practice sin as a way of life It's no longer the habit in 1st John 3 verse 6 John said it like this no one who lives in him keeps on sinning No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him When you're saved you begin to walk worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ When you're saved you can say I once was but I am no longer See when I got saved Prior to my coming to faith in Christ. I abused drugs approved abused alcohol. I abused people. I was that person So I don't refer to myself and didn't ever refer to myself as oh, I'm an alcoholic that is Reformed no, I never did that I never said that oh, it's been one year since or two years since or I got my five-year pen or 10-year pen I never did anything like that. I Knew that I had been translated from darkness to light And I no longer and is even as a new believer I never identified myself as a former drug addict or a or nor It should say a recovering drug addict or a recovering alcoholic. No, I was recovered by Christ I was a covered person blood of Christ covered my sin. You have to identify yourself for what you really are I don't identify with the sin anymore. That's dead. It's buried. It's gone I have a new life in Jesus Christ, so I am not a former anything I am brand new in Jesus Christ if any men be in Christ He's a new creation old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new and that's what you identify with That's how it works. So he says don't be deceived when your life changes You no longer practice the sin as a habit Roman 614 says sin shall not be your master Because you are not under law. You are under grace in Christ. I've been set free You see verse 17 every good gift and every perfect gift is from above comes down from the father of lights with whom There is no variation or shadow of turning Salvation and every spiritual gift and blessing originates with God himself Satan promises good your flesh constantly seeks its own satisfaction But neither Satan nor your flesh can bless you with eternal spiritual blessings Jesus and John 4 13 and 14 said whoever drinks of this water will thirst again But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst the water that I shall give him will become in Him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. He's speaking to a woman at a well She's coming to get some water and he says you drink that you're getting it thirsty again Why because natural water only can meet natural needs and it's something you have to replenish on a daily basis or you'll die But that's the water that I give you is Eternal you'll never thirst again. So you come to faith in Christ when I came to faith in Christ I didn't go out and say well now I've got Jesus in my in my bag of religion now Let's see what Buddha has to say. Oh, let's hear what Muhammad has to say or let's listen to Christian for a while See what he has to say I didn't do any of that. I didn't need any of that. I had what I needed I had life in Jesus Christ. That's what I came to Christ for for a life And my thirst was quenched and that's how it works and the enemy will say, oh, no, there's Jesus plus There's never Jesus plus anything. It's just Jesus all Everything that I have comes from him every good gift every perfect gift comes down from heaven from the father of lives With with whom there is no variableness neither shout or nor turning. That's what James is teaching us It comes from God You have it in the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus in John 6 35 said I'm the bread of life He who comes to me will never go hungry. He who believes in me will never be thirsty in John 10 verse 10 the thief does not come except to steal and to kill to destroy I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly You see with God verse 17 there is no variation or shadow of turning Notice the contrast between God's glory and the Sun's brightness The Sun is the source of light But there are certain things that take place The Sun doesn't shine upon all parts of the earth at the same time It's nighttime somewhere else right now. That's daytime for us. The Sun rises and the Sun sets And when it goes when when we go through seasons, there'll be more heat There'll be less heat. There's a variableness there There are things that change but with God there are no shadows. There are no variations God's always the same His character is constant Malachi 3 6 I am the Lord. I do not change. I could trust him. I Can trust him at any given moment because he's always the same. He's good to his word He's our father. He loves us. He keeps his promises. He corrects us when necessary. He blesses us always. I Can trust him. I don't have to wonder where his will is for me today. I Don't have to his word is revealing to me his will I simply need to know his word and know him There's no changing in our God. He isn't some kind of person that that today on some whim or some angry Moment is going to change their mind He doesn't change and he says in verse 18 of his own will He brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures By his own will notice that of his own will by his own will God does things by his own will he spoke the universe into existence and John 1 3 it says through him all things were made without him Nothing was made that has been made It's his word Because of his own will he brought us forth by the word it is his word the gospel of his own will that he gave to us But it's through this word that we are given spiritual life in first Peter 1 23 You have been born again not a perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God And God is the one who originates salvation and God is the one who gives us the power to do good And this is in contrast to the evil that is resident within us And God is good and God chose to call us And he did so by presenting to us salvation by what is called the word of the gospel He offered us life by the message of salvation In 2nd Thessalonians 2 13 and 14 we are bound to give thanks to God always for you brethren beloved by the Lord Because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth To which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ Instead of living as captives to sin Let this settle in you please Instead of living as captives to sin You have been set free in Jesus Christ When I was uh 18 years old I had broken up with a girlfriend actually she broke up with me And I was bummed so I wanted to show her how much I loved her So I went to a place called Hudson's jewelers Just so happened that Hudson's jewelers was closed at that time I went so I took a Crowbar and I broke a window and I stole some rings Some diamond rings because I wanted to give her a gift I couldn't afford to buy them So I did five finger discount. We used to call it. I stole it And I was on the lamb. I ran from the police for about 10 minutes got caught And I was put in jail in the Whittier jail in an uptown Whittier. Some of you have been there Probably had the same room I had that night and the next day Someone posted my bail my father did I didn't want to stay another day in that jail. I didn't want to spend another night in that jail I didn't want to spend another moment in that jail I didn't want to live in that jail. I didn't want to go to a jail for several years I didn't want any of that. I wanted out immediately And I discovered when I got saved that I at one time had been a prisoner of sin But God opened up that cage let me out. I never want to go back to that cage again That's what we have in Jesus Christ freedom Why go back to what locked you up? Why go back? You've been set free by Jesus Christ He gives you the power of the holy spirit. He gave you the wisdom of his word He's given you fellowship and friendships with people who love Jesus also Why go back to that garbage? Why be the dog that returns to its vomit? Why be the pig that goes back to the mud you've been washed from? Why go back live worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ and understand who you are You are a child of God. You are a child of the king. You belong to Jesus Christ. You are brand new Don't go back and he's telling us this of his own will He brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures These believers are the first fruits. They had the blessing of being amongst the first to hear the gospel and be saved And they have dignity and they have a ranking among mankind because of salvation We are his children and we have a place of honor that comes from him We are his children We have his love and we have his blessings upon us Do not be deceived In christ, you are a new creation Live for jesus and watch his blessings pour into your life And when you go through difficulty don't be saying oh god is hating me right now Just say lord what are you doing? There's something you're refining in me and no matter what it is I'm going to cling to you because there's no place safer than being in your arms I will stay with you no matter what if I have to go through hell and high water I will do so because i'm never alone. You are with me. You never forsake me You will never leave me. You will take me out place me in a put me in a place of abundance because you're my father And I will trust you no matter what I go through for you are my father I am your child and every good gift and every perfect gift coming down from above from the father of lights With whom there's no variableness neither shadow nor turning you are my god. I will stay with you