Prone To Wander (24 of 24)
Series: How to Do Life
Jerry Watts
James 5:19-20
• I begin by reminding you that James is writing to 'believers in the faith.'
• The last verse of the hymn "Come Thou Fount" is very revealing. It reveals something about us which we don't really care to embrace or come to terms with. Here are the words:
O to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy grace Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
• We do have wandering hearts and when we wander the natural, normal course is away from God's fellowship. When we do, we find ourselves in a mess. To be sure we never intended for this to happen, but the truth is, wander away from God is toward sin.
• Obviously James had been a witness to this type of accidental, subtle behavior because as he was inspired by God to pen this, he ends with instruction about how we are to help one another.
• Keep this in mind because this is one of the ways the church has become so weak. Much in written in God's word about us helping each other to keep from sin and today, many people think this is taboo. "It's none of our business" they say, God says differently.
1. The Affection - He begins with the word "Brothers". This is not an unusual word for Him. It's kind of like 'honey' in the south, it give a feeling of intimate connection. He's not fussing or condemning, he is trying to speak the language of love to his brother. The word 'brother' in this context, literally means, 'one who shares with another a mutual life.' How can you be more connected that to live a shared life. Remember the words of Jesus, "love one another as I have loved you and in this way, the word will know that you are mine." This is the shared life of brothers.
• Some of us remember (and I have some preacher friends who still do it) calling people in the church 'brethren and sister-in'. This was to speak of the family ...
Series: How to Do Life
Jerry Watts
James 5:19-20
• I begin by reminding you that James is writing to 'believers in the faith.'
• The last verse of the hymn "Come Thou Fount" is very revealing. It reveals something about us which we don't really care to embrace or come to terms with. Here are the words:
O to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy grace Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
• We do have wandering hearts and when we wander the natural, normal course is away from God's fellowship. When we do, we find ourselves in a mess. To be sure we never intended for this to happen, but the truth is, wander away from God is toward sin.
• Obviously James had been a witness to this type of accidental, subtle behavior because as he was inspired by God to pen this, he ends with instruction about how we are to help one another.
• Keep this in mind because this is one of the ways the church has become so weak. Much in written in God's word about us helping each other to keep from sin and today, many people think this is taboo. "It's none of our business" they say, God says differently.
1. The Affection - He begins with the word "Brothers". This is not an unusual word for Him. It's kind of like 'honey' in the south, it give a feeling of intimate connection. He's not fussing or condemning, he is trying to speak the language of love to his brother. The word 'brother' in this context, literally means, 'one who shares with another a mutual life.' How can you be more connected that to live a shared life. Remember the words of Jesus, "love one another as I have loved you and in this way, the word will know that you are mine." This is the shared life of brothers.
• Some of us remember (and I have some preacher friends who still do it) calling people in the church 'brethren and sister-in'. This was to speak of the family ...
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