OUR FATHER’S FAITHFULNESS DOES NOT CHANGE (Outline)

October 6, 2019 – Pentecost 17 – JAMES 1:13-18

INTRO: Our heavenly Father is always faithful to all his promises. His faithfulness does not change.
Never. Ever. We are not always faithful. Our lives change. Our sinful shortcomings do not change our
Lord’s loving faithfulness. "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself” (2
TIMOTHY 2:13). Today’s first lesson (Exodus 32:7-14) describes the Lord’s faithfulness. Israel
sinned. They deserved God’s righteous wrath. Moses appealed to God’s promises made. The
Lord in mercy spared Israel. OUR FATHER’S FAITHFULNESS DOES NOT CHANGE.
I. Our desires are imperfect, deadly. II. God’s gifts are always perfect, good.

I. OUR DESIRES ARE IMPERFECT, DEADLY.

A. Verse 13. Temptation in this verse is NOT trials referred to in earlier verses.
1. God is not tempted by evil. Temptations that believers face do not come from God.
2. God does not tempt anyone. That is the work of Satan. Satan appeals to sinful desires.
B. Verse 14. Each person is responsible for their own evil desires. Sinful desires are dangerous.
1. Temptations drag people away from God’s truth. God’s love. God’s mercy.
2. The roaring lion (1 PETER 5:8) always looks for someone to devour. Satan drags away.
C. Verse 15. Sinful desires conceive. Sinful thoughts and desires give birth to sin.
1. Evil desires become wicked words. Evil actions. Sin matures and gives birth to death.
2. Birth associated with life. Sin gives birth to death. Evil desires, actions, works destructive.

D. There is no escaping sin. We are conceived in sin. Born with sin. Live sinful lives. This is God’s
truth. Our society likes to avoid sin. All too many people today try to deny sin. Evil is alive and well in
this world. In our lives. Dismiss sin. Redefine sin. It is still there. Carefully consider what the Lord
God of Armies declares. "Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son.
The soul who sins is the one who will die” (EZEKIEL 18:4). People do not like to talk about death. It still
exists. None escape death. In the same way none escape sin. Sin brought death into this world to all.

E. One of our loving, heavenly Father’s blessing is for us to be able to recognize sin. By God’s mercy
we are able to distinguish good from evil. Right from wrong. Such an ability separates believers from
unbelievers in this world. They do not, really cannot, separate right from wrong. In faith we are also
given the responsibility to pay attention to God’s warnings. Cain brought an offering to the Lord. Was
unacceptable. His brother Abel had brought an acceptable offering to God. Cain was angry. God
warned. “If you do good, will you not be lifted up? If you do not do good, sin is crouching at the door. It has a
strong desire for you, but you must rule over it" (GENESIS 4:7). “Sin is crouching at the door”. Cain went
through the door. Killed his brother. How often have we rushed into sin because of anger? Revenge?
Sin desires our downfall. Rule over it. Our faith says no to sin. No to Satan. Flee from sinful desires.

F. Evil, dark desires do lurk in our hearts. Every day. These desires are eager to give birth to sin. Sin
to death. Satan tempts us with thoughts that downplay evil desires. We like to think we are not as bad
as murders. Or thieves. Scripture reminds us that hatred against our brother is murder. Desiring
(coveting) others’ possessions is theft. In relation to sin we are no better or no worse than any other
sinner. We like to get a pat on the back for all our many good things we have done for others. "All of us
have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy cloth. All of us have withered like a
leaf, and our guilt carries us away like the wind" (ISAIAH 64:6). A leaf blows here and there. Sinful guilt
causes our faith to waver. Sin infects and affects each and every aspect of our lives.

OUR FATHER’S FAITHFULNESS DOES NOT CHANGE. Our desires are imperfect and deadly.
II. GOD’S GIFTS ARE ALWAYS PERFECT, GOOD.
A. Verse 16. “Do not be deceived, my dear brothers”. The believers were brothers together in Christ.
1. The word deceive here has the meaning of wander. Believers do not wander away from God.
2. Our word planet comes from this word wander. Planets wander in their own orbits.
B. Verse 17. God’s goodness to believers included the act of giving. Giving gifts. Perfect. Good.
1. Gifts of Father came from above. Looking up they saw stars, moon, clouds, and sun.
2. The early believers saw the Lord’s creation. “Father of the lights” created everything.
3. Good news for early believers. Lord was true God. Not like false gods once worshiped.
C. Verse 18. “Just as he planned”. God’s plan was a plan of grace. Undeserved love for his creation.
1. Human desires and plans imperfect. Perfect plans of Father give perfect gifts of blessings.
2. “Birth by the word of truth”. Father’s gift. Very opposite of sin that gives birth to death.
3. “Firstfruits” were the very first portions of harvest. People stopped harvest to offer God gifts.

D. Our evil desires lead to sin. Sin matures. Gives birth to death. With divine power the Lord God of
Armies gives us new birth by his word of truth. We cannot over emphasize the vital, absolute
importance of hearing, reading, and studying God’s Word! It is only in the Word of God that we learn
about our loving, heavenly Father’s faithfulness. Faithfulness to every promise made. And kept. Only
by God’s Word do we learn of Jesus Christ our Savior. Savior from sin and hell by his perfect sacrifice.
Only with God’s Word does the Holy Spirit work faith in our hearts. Faith in hearts that now belong to
the Lord. "For you have been born again, not from perishable seed but from imperishable, through the living and
enduring word of God" (1 PETER 1:23). Sin gives birth to death. God’s Word gives birth to eternal life.

E. Adam and Eve sinned. They deserved eternal punishment. The faithfulness of the Lord provided
the promise of a Savior. We sin daily. We sin much. Every one of our sins demands justice. Our
loving, heavenly Father is faithful. We are saved by the Lord’s unchanging love for his creation. For us.
“But the gracious gift is not like Adam’s trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of this one man, it is even more
certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many!”
(ROMANS 5:15). God’s perfect gift of salvation came by the death of his Son, our Savior Jesus. This
is God’s faithfulness. We are given eternal life through death. Our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ blood.

F. Believers: God gives us perfect and good gifts always. When we look at our lives we can see the
hand of the Lord’s blessings on us day after day after day. We live in awe of God’s perfect goodness to
us who are so imperfect. God’s unchanging faithful love overshadows our ever changing unfaithful
sinning. The Lord reminded Israel that he had delivered them from their enemy Egypt. “He did this so
that you would know that the LORD your God, yes, he is God, the faithful God who maintains both his covenant and
his mercy for those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” (DEUTERONOMY
7:9). God reminds us of his faithfulness that lasts forever (“a thousand generations”).

CONC.: The world changes. We change. The Lord does not change. We do things that are unfaithful.
The Lord is always faithful. We have evil desires. Our wicked thoughts give birth to sins of words and
actions. Sin gives birth to death. God’s Word gives birth to life eternal. "The Spirit is the one who gives
life. The flesh does not help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (JOHN 6:63).
OUR FATHER’S FAITHFULNESS DOES NOT CHANGE. Love…gifts…always perfect! Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer

PENT. 17 rdgs.: EXODUS 32:7-14; 1 TIMOTHY 1:12-17; LUKE 15:1-10; (PSALM 51)
SERVICES: 7:45am @ McCook (Sun) / 10:00am @ Redeemer (Sun) / NCF 1:00 Min. (Sat) & 12:00 Med. (Sun)
BIBLE STUDIES: 11:15am @ Redeemer (SUN) / 5:45pm (Med) + 7:30pm (Min) @ NCF (TUES.)
/ Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:00am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM