The Book of James Video Sermons

God The Giver of Good Gifts: James 1: 12-17

Feb 23, 2023

Summary of Sermon

We are told that we will receive a ‘crown of life’ if we endure temptation here in James 1 and as well when we endure tribulation, Revelation 2:10. The devil wants to attack us as the Lord’s children, he tempts us and the path of temptation is laid out for us. He (Satan) never makes us do anything, we have free will. Rather, he advertises (tempts) us with whatever appeals to us; the three areas of temptation are the lust of the eyes (what looks good), the lust of the flesh (what feels good) and the pride of life (what makes us feel important). When we give in to these weaknesses we sin. We will always be tempted on this side of eternity. God never tempts us to do evil, ever.

God, in contrast, gives us good gifts; even when we don’t deserve it God gives us very good gifts. He wants to give us good gifts. These help us to get through the tough days and the failure of life. And yes, we will fail, we will sin, and we will have tough days. God gives us these gifts to give us hope and to give us something to focus on as we go through life. What we need to do is to ask God to help us to see His goodness all the time, so that we can get the hope, get the strength and the help we need to get through the testing and the temptations. Hebrews 4: 14-16, Jesus tells us to come to Him in our time of need He will help us.