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What God Has Done

What God Has Done. James 1:17-18. What God Has Done. We continue our journey through the book of James this week Last week we studied temptations and we noticed that God was not behind the temptations we face James tells us that God cannot be tempted, nor can He tempt (v. 13).

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What God Has Done

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  1. What God Has Done James 1:17-18

  2. What God Has Done • We continue our journey through the book of James this week • Last week we studied temptations and we noticed that God was not behind the temptations we face • James tells us that God cannot be tempted, nor can He tempt (v. 13)

  3. What God Has Done • Interestingly enough, James moves on in the next couple of verses to tell us what God can do • We realize that there is so much that God can do • James chooses to concentrate on what God has done for us

  4. What God Has Done • What all has God done for you? • Do you spend time daily thinking of everything that God has done for you? • There are some very important things that God does that James notes here • We will look at those things together tonight…

  5. What God Has Done • 1. God gives all good & perfect gifts • God is a generous God! • He loves to give good gifts to His children (Matt. 7:7-11) • God has promised to bless us richly in this life (Lk. 6:38) • God even blesses those who do evil(Matt. 5:45)

  6. What God Has Done • 1. God gives all good & perfect gifts • Certainly we think of blessings and the physical comes to our minds most of the time • God has blessed us with good gifts in other ways as well • There is the greatest blessing God has given us, His Son Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16)

  7. What God Has Done • 1. God gives all good & perfect gifts • God has also blessed us with spiritual blessings, found in Christ (Eph. 1:3) • This includes the salvation that we find in Christ (Eph. 1:7; I Jn. 5:11-12) • Prayer is a blessing that God gives us as well (Heb. 4:16)

  8. What God Has Done • 2. God does not change • Perhaps we often overlook this very important part of verse 17 • We focus on the part of the verse that talks about the good gifts that God gives • How often do we focus on the fact that our God is not going to change

  9. What God Has Done • 2. God does not change • Most writers compare God here with the sun • The sun moves about, doesn’t stay in one place • There are times when the sun itself is even eclipsed • Not so with our God, who does not change

  10. What God Has Done • 2. God does not change • What if God changed? • What if we never knew from day to day what God wanted or expected of us? • What if we didn’t know from day to day whether God still loved us, or would keep His promises still?

  11. What God Has Done • 2. God does not change • “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8) • “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (Mal. 3:6) • God’s unchanging nature means He will keep His promises and we can count on Him!

  12. What God Has Done • 3. God wants us • “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth…” • It was God’s will that we be saved • That shows His tremendous love for each one of us! • God does not want anyone to perish(II Pet. 3:9)

  13. What God Has Done • 3. God wants us • “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12-13) • God did not have to save us

  14. What God Has Done • 3. God wants us • Just knowing that God wants you should be one of the most encouraging things you will ever discover • It’s the ultimate acceptance • This should be a motivator for you and I to go out and be who He wants us to be!

  15. What God Has Done • 4. God has made us special • It’s certainly encouraging and reassuring to know that God wants us • James wants us to know that we are more than just a choice to God • James tells us that we are both special and of the utmost importance to God

  16. What God Has Done • 4. God has made us special • James calls us the “firstfruits of His creatures” • This term dates all the way back to an idea that we find in the Old Testament • The idea is the first that was taken from anything and offered as a portion to God • God always desired what was first

  17. What God Has Done • 4. God has made us special • What was first was special because it was reserved for God • “…His own special people…” (Titus 2:14) • “…a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…”(I Pet. 2:9)

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