James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting…My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
The book of James was written to the 12 tribes who were scattered abroad and facing serious trials and temptations. James opens up his message by admonishing everyone who finds himself in the midst of trials to rejoice.
Rejoicing in faith and hope is a spiritual response to trials. Every time believers face trials, it is important to note that the objective of those trials is to get you off your confidence and faith in God. Your response to anything which attempts to take you away from your faith in God and away from your faith in God’s promises, should be to remain steadfast and unmoveable. That trial is a distraction from hell and I encourage you to refuse to be distracted from your faith and fellowship with God.
If you are facing a trial today, one thing you do not want to do is to cast away your confidence and faith in God. You want to keep your faith going strong because your faith is your victory. You need to remain consistent in your confidence in God’s promises. Here is God’s promise to the redeemed.
Isaiah 43:1 “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
Remember that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, so this promise belongs to us, we are the redeemed, Alleluia! God’s promise to you His redeemed is that when you pass through the waters, He will be with you. God promised you that when you pass through the rivers, they will not overflow you. He also promised you that if you walk through the fire you will not be burnt. Alleluia!
Stand on this word! God is with you in the midst of that trial. That river cannot overflow you neither will that fire experience burn you. The river and fire knows that they have a commandment from their creator not to touch those whom He has redeemed. Begin to declare that you are untouchable by the rivers of trials, and the fires of temptations shall not burn you; and rejoice in the lord always. God actually commands you to make rejoicing your lifestyle.
Philippians 4: 4 says rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.
This not a suggestion, this is a command from Heaven. God is not asking you to rejoice if you feel emotionally happy. You may be down emotionally, you may be facing depressing and difficult circumstances. Regardless of how you feel, God says, Rejoice! Count that situation as an opportunity to rejoice in the lord. This is the way to victory.
Fine, there may be circumstances around you that may suggest the contrary. You may hear voices that may be against this diving injunction. But you do not have to believe every spirit.
1John 4: 1 says “beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
There are many voices which speak today that it becomes very important to verify whose voice is actually speaking to you. Spirits can speak directly to your mind through thoughts, they can also speak through people in the spirit of false prophecy. There is a spirit of false prophecy; it primarily brings forth words which are inconsistent with the truth of God’s nature, character and purpose. You can tell that a person is speaking under the spirit of false prophecy if his words violate God’s character and nature of love.
Every time when the spirit of God speaks, his voice brings peace, righteousness and joy to you. Even when God speaks to bring correction His voice leaves you with hope and faith. However, if after somebody speaks to you in the name of God and his words leave you with despair and fear, then you need to take God’s word and try the spirit behind such a speaker. If you are in error and God speaks to correct you, you may find yourself being sorrowful or sad for your mistakes, this sorrow is described as Godly sorrow and the characteristics of Godly sorrow is that it leads you to repentance.
I Corinthians 7: 10 says for godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
On the contrary when the devil speaks, his voice brings fear, doubt and depression. The voice of Satan brings what the scripture calls the sorrow of the world which works death. The devil shoots arrows of thoughts into people’s minds everyday and once you receive his thoughts and believe them, they will bring you down into depression, fear and worldly sorrow.
Every time when fear takes a hold of your heart, it does so primarily because Satan’s voice came to you. The voice of Satan creates an expectation of evil, whereas the voice of God when He speaks creates an expectation of good. This is why many people live in expectation of evil because they listen to the voice of Satan and believe everything he says.
Anytime a thought arises in your mind that is contrary to what Christ did for you on the cross, you ought to know that such a voice is not from God. When the spirit of God speaks, He always acknowledges that Christ came in the flesh and He has healed you, delivered you and made you prosperous. The spirit of God always speaks in the past tense with respect to what Christ has done.
The spirit of doubt and unbelief will always say, ‘pray, for God to heal me’, ‘pray, for God to prosper me’, whereas the spirit of faith would say, ‘I am healed by the stripes of Jesus’ and ‘my God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus’. The Spirit of faith acknowledges that Christ has already done it. Doubt and unbelief always confesses that Christ needs to do what Christ has already done.
Every time when people speak, they either speak under the inspiration of Satan or under the inspiration of God. How can you tell the difference? The answer resides in the fact that no fountain can bring forth sweet water and bitter water at the same time. The Spirit of God cannot be saying you are blessed through Ephesians 1:3 and then be speaking through a man to say that you are cursed.
Whenever anyone speaks to you and the person claims to be speaking by the spirit of the Lord, his words will bring liberty because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. The spirit of false prophecy always leaves you downcast and tormented by fear. This is why John said believe not every Spirit but try the spirits. Try the spirit that is speaking to you with the word of God. If what you are hearing is not consistent with what God’s word says then do not believe it.
If you are blessed by this message and you want to know more, please call any of the numbers here or send us a mail and we will be glad to talk with you.
If you would like to turn a new leaf and accept Jesus as your saviour so as to be part of those that will be raptured, then say these words after me.
“Lord Jesus, I open my heart to you, I ask for your forgiveness from all my sins, I receive you as lord over my life. Holy Spirit, come into my heart, make me a new creation today. Thank you father for saving my soul, I am born again now in Jesus name.”
If you prayed that prayer you are saved now it is that simple. I encourage you to start studying the bible, find a good church, start attending and begin to spend time in prayer. If there is any sinful habit which you are involved in, quit it immediately.
You can also call any of the lines here or send us an email so that we know how to help you grow.
Last Line: Have you ever wondered what it means to give your life to Christ and be saved? Are you born again? God sent Jesus to die for all your sins so that you will not have to be punished for the same. To be saved means to simply accept Christ Jesus as your substitutionary sacrifice for your sins and to make him Lord over your life. Surrender your life to Christ today by asking Jesus to forgive you your sins; ask Him to come into your life and to make you a new person. If you are facing challenges and require counseling/prayers do not hesitate to contact me. I will be willing to assist as much as I can.