Know yourself

The epistle of Santiago is full of practical advice about life. Santiago jumps from one thing to the other because it's like having a counselor next to you who is giving you little advice about life. That's why many times he jumps from one subject to another and one necessarily sees the connection between what came before and what comes after. But there is an internal coherence that is the coherence of the pastor who is speaking to his congregation about practical things in Christian life, Christian behavior. Of course, all this inspired by the Holy Spirit because it is not just a man writing what occurs to him. There is in this epistle, in this letter, a number of truths and very necessary and very good teachings for life.

You will remember, those who were able to come to a series of studies that I gave, when I started this a few weeks ago, after that there have been so many things involved, but we were talking about the tests, remember? That the tests, the difficulties of life, the sufferings of life, the sufferings, the troubles, the reverses of life are not necessarily like something that does not make sense, but that God often allows these things in our lives to very good intentions, very benevolent.

We remember what the Apostle Paul also says, that what happens to those who love God? All things work together for good, no matter what happens in our life, something good always comes out of it, if by faith we receive it that way. So there are times when God allows adversities and difficult situations to come into our life to provoke in us a reaction that forms our character and brings us closer to Christ Jesus. Sometimes the test can break us and break us pride or too much self-sufficiency, or a bad character, or harmful attitudes that make us suffer and make those around us suffer.

And many times when we are weakened by certain difficult situations in life, paradoxically we become stronger. It comes to pass what the Apostle Paul says that then when I am weak I am strong. And sometimes God himself provides difficult situations in our lives to force us to get to know ourselves better, to force us to go within ourselves.

As you will remember that passage when he writes in Deuteronomy, chapter 7, to the Hebrews, and says that 'remember when you were in the desert that I tested you, I examined you, I made you eat manna to see what was inside you, to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. And remember now when you enter the promised land, which flows with milk and honey, which has much abundance, where you were and how this was used for you to know yourself better.'

In other words, God often allows trials to come into our lives so that we get to know ourselves better, so that we have more spiritual depth. A person who only has good things happening all the time in life, imagine, it doesn't happen, because we know that life has difficulties, generally it will be a superficial person, generally depth and spiritual greatness come as a product of many times hardships we've been through.

Now, beautiful and beautiful times are also coming in the Christian life. But remember that, not everything in the Christian life is just roses and good times, there are also times of trial and difficulty that God will use if we hold on to him and believe that he is good and faithful in the midst of everything, to take us to a new level, to a new spiritual height.

Now, let's go to another interesting passage within this letter, which is still in chapter 1, what we talked about about tests was in chapter 1, verse 2 onwards, where it said:

"... My brothers, consider it great joy when you find yourself in various trials, knowing that the test of your faith produces patience..."

We're going to skip a few verses because what I want… I could go back later to other things that are there, but let's go to verse 12, because here we have kind of a teaching unit. This afternoon I was talking to someone from the congregation, in the counseling session and we were talking about temptation and how important it is to know how to deal with temptation.

How many people have ever been tempted in their lives? You don't have to raise your hand. They tell me that this exists, that temptation exists, I don't know exactly what that is, but, from theory I know… a lie, we are all tempted in one way or another, we all go through temptation. Temptation is when we feel an inclination to do something that is essentially contrary to God's will. When we feel an inclination, a call, an attraction towards something that God has said, 'don't go there' The classic thing, Eva, when God tells her, 'look, you can eat whatever you want, the tangerines that are there, the apples, the milky one that is so beautiful that is there, what you want, eat them, but you see that fruit that is there, do not touch it, because the day you eat it, everything ends there .'

What's happening? The serpent or Satan comes in the form of a serpent, according to the Genesis account, and he begins to cajole her, he begins to tempt her. And she feels that attraction, 'how beautiful that tree, what an appetizing fruit,' and when she comes to see, she falls. That is the temptation. Temptation is when you feel drawn, inclined to do something that God has said, 'don't do it, don't go there.'

Now, generally we are going to see this in a moment, temptation above all occurs in the mind or in the heart or in the nervous system, if you want to be very psychological, in that sensitive, sensitive part, senseship, as they would say in English, that senseship part of yourself. Where are the desires, the appetites, the inclination towards pleasure or personal gratification to something that gives you pleasure, or that makes you feel that a tension is leaving because you have satisfied what was inside of you.

But usually the temptation is something internal. I say that everyone can be tempted, no one says that he is not tempted. Being tempted is not a sin, what is a sin is acceding to temptation and actualizing it. But temptation is something that will attack all of us at some point.

Billy Graham, I think it was he who said, 'I can't stop a bird from flying over my head, I can't let it sit on my head.' Got it? Sometimes temptation may pass, a thought may cross your mind, but when you allow it to stop there, then act on it.

Now, look at what it says about temptation, verse 12 and ahead of James 1, it says:

“…Blessed is the man – sisters, don't make yourself too comfortable for me, because that is also for you. Santiago is writing a long time ago and it is generic – blessed is the woman who endures temptation…”

Enduring temptation means what? Resist it. Not giving her food, putting up with it in that sense, on the contrary, is resisting her, not paying attention to her, not doing what she asks you to do.

“…Blessed is the individual who endures temptation, − resists it – because when he has resisted – now instead of saying temptation he says the test. Sometimes temptation is a test to see if you are going to do what God tells you to do. Sometimes it's just a temptation from the devil to see if you fall. Generally the temptation is to fall. God tests us to bless us, the devil tempts us to destroy us and make us fall.

“…Blessed is the person who endures temptation because when he has resisted it – it could be said, − he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. – and here comes something very interesting – When someone is tempted, do not say that he is tempted by God because God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone…”

In other words, God doesn't know what temptation is, it doesn't come to him. Nothing can tempt him, not only that, but he's not in the business of tempting anyone either. He doesn't do that.

“…but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and seduced. So after concupiscence is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, being consummated, gives birth to death. My beloved brothers, do not destroy every good gift and every perfect gift descends from above, from the Father of Lights, in whom there is no change or shadow of variation. He of his will made us born by the test of truth so that we may be the first fruits of his creatures..."

What an interesting passage! What's more, I would almost have to correct myself, when I say that Santiago is plain and simple in the observations he makes, for me this is one of the most profound passages in terms of giving us an understanding of what I call, like the X-ray of the Temptation, or the chronology of temptation, nature... It's like the Holy Spirit in Santiago disassembles and subdivides for our benefit what the process of temptation is, how temptation occurs.

And this is a passage that tries to enlighten us about the nature and elements that make up temptation. We know that we live in a world full of trials and holes that can make us fall and offend God. When we enter into the ways of the Lord and when a person is trying to please God, temptations will come, tests will come, attacks from the enemy will come. Satan is the tempter, he is the accuser, he is the one who wants us to fall so that we then enter into guilt, punishment, suffering of all kinds, etc.

So one of the things that I believe that Christians have to learn more and more every day is how to live pleasing lives before God, how to be obedient to the Lord, how to deal with that tendency in us that invites us to offend the Lord. Lord and to do what is contrary to God.

So Santiago first tells us something very important, “nobody blame the Lord when they sin…”, like why did you make me do that? How many times do we blame the Lord sometimes? Look, I did this, I did that, God did not protect me. The Lord does not tempt anyone. It says it very clearly there. God doesn't do that. God can test us, as I said before, and allow us to fall into trials, because this will strengthen us. But what temptation usually produces is sin, condemnation, distance from God, guilt within us, distance from the things of the Holy Spirit.

Then the temptation has no good thing. It is something negative. It is something harmful. It is a destructive thing, and therefore God is not going to put you in a situation that leads to destruction or decay or separation from him, God does not do that.

Who is it that tempts us? Satan. James says, first, get rid of that idea that God tempts someone. And look how interesting, here is what I call this x-ray of temptation, what are the steps. It says: "but each one is tempted, verse 14, when of his own lust..."

Stand there a minute. The word that is translated into Spanish concupiscence, is a Greek word that is pronounced epitumia, which means any strong desire, any appetite. When one thinks of concupiscence, people usually think of something sexual, right? lasciviousness etc. but no, the word epitumia in the original Greek means any strong sensation, any strong desire, any appetite, any inclination. Epitumy can be the love that someone has for money and greed is concupiscence.

Epithumia may be a philanthropist's wish for glory who gives $10 million to have his family's name cemented over the entrance to the building he helped build with his money. Or the artist who has an appetite for fame and glory and greatness and success, that can be epitumy.

Epithumia can be the appetite to get to the top position of the corporation where you work, to become the CEO and be willing to sell your soul to the devil and step on everyone to get to that position, that is concupiscence. Anything you see and your eyes shine.

Do you remember the story, for example, of this man who – I don't remember his name – God told the Jews when they entered Jericho to destroy everything that was in the city, absolutely everything, animals, absolutely everything and not to take anything from it. the city because everything was cursed. It was an eminently sinful city, they would not take anything from the city because everything was cursed. However, this man says that he saw a… Akán? Wow, these people are better educated than the pastor himself, that's great. That's good.

Akan took certain things and hid them and then God discovered him and he told the people, yes it is true, when I entered the city I saw a gold ingot, a gold bar, I saw a Babylonian cloak as well – a very beautiful garment , − and I could not resist. I took it, took it and put it in the ground and hid it. But there he found his sin anyway. That is epitumy. When you see something and it fills your eyes and it's something that you want and are willing to do whatever. He is the drug addict who steals from his mother the crucifix that she has had for 50 years to go and sell it on the corner and buy drugs because he is possessed by an appetite, a very strong desire.

Anything that leads you to desire something and neutralizes your ability to measure the consequences of what you are going to do, so strong is the desire that encourages you, that is epitumy. In various passages of Scripture that word is used to talk about it, and all of us in one way or another, brothers, are going to suffer from this.

For example, sometimes anger is part of that, we could also see in epitumy in Galatians, chapter 5, when the Apostle Paul talks about the works of the flesh, there is something of that there too. But for example, look at anger, one sometimes would not associate anger with concupiscence, but think, a person is in a conversation and gets into a conflictive conversation with someone and tempers flare and that person is so angry that they want to hurt to that... it could be his brother, it could be his wife, it could be a dear friend, and he is so angry that he thinks of saying something to that person that he knows is going to cut him off in the same way and he is so angry that You know that you can satisfy your anger by saying this, but you also know that if you say that, you are going to hurt that friend and that friendship is going to suffer irreparable damage. But sometimes the anger is so great that he feels that he says it anyway. And he doesn't think about the consequences, or he thinks but it's too strong, so here comes the division, comes the wound that never heals again, the separation.

All of us suffer from this in some way or another in our lives. And this is what the enemy uses the most to harm the ranks of the children of God. And that is why we always have to continuously measure our lives and ask the Lord to help us gain what I call self-control, it is self-control, control of your appetites, control of those attitudes and those desires and those inclinations that in the long run are for our harm.

But look further, then having defined that, he says, "when someone is tempted, do not say that God tempts him, but that each one is tempted when his own concupiscence, epitumy, is attracted and seduced."

Here is another thing too, God does not tempt anyone. He says, when he is attracted and seduced. Attract and seduce are verbs, right? And verbs presuppose an agent that carries it out. Who normally attracts and seduces? Satan. What did they say? Women, but there are some men who also seduce like Don Juan in classical literature.

The last, the fundamental seducer is Satan. But not only that, it can simply be something that seduces and attracts you. But for me the insight, the deepest idea of all this is the following, is that when you fall into some type of sin it is because the root of that sin was already in you, it is that the seed of anything is already in you .

Satan cannot take a perfectly pure person and put a seed of sin into that person and then lead them to sin. No. Satan is the great hunter that what he does is that he studies you and me, and since he is a psychologist that is two thousand years old, at least, or much more than that, centuries and centuries.

They say out there, that the devil knows more for being old than for being a devil. That means that all this experience that he has in knowing the human psyche, he knows what each person is limping from. Demonic spirits study people and this is not to make us paranoid, but each one of us has areas of our life that are wounds, deficiencies, structural flaws, defects, inclinations, appetites, desires, fears, all that stuff. nebulous, negative terrain of our being, these are the areas that are used to lead us to sin.

So, Satan, his spirits observe the structural weaknesses that exist in the human being and that is what they use to lead the human beings to sin and destruction. For example, I'm going to take something that may be relatively harmless, let's say intellectual pride, that's not like pornography or murder. No, there are simply people who are intellectually proud, they love knowledge, they love their intellect, they like to study, they often believe that they know more than others, because they do know a lot, they have incredible academic intellectual skills, they want to reach the academic glory.

And the devil starts and says, oh, this is what this person likes? He wants to lead him to destruction, he wants to distance him from God, so he begins to give him success, he pairs him up, he attracts people who are equally intellectually developed like them, but materialists, humanists, so this person, to please those companions who are contrary to the word of God , contrary to the interests of the Kingdom of God, unites them in relationships and then this person, little by little, to please others, moves away from God, assumes the doctrines, the teachings, the intellectual currents of those other people, or cultural, and little by little this person, in order to succeed in the academic field, in the university, which requires him to write in a certain way, and declare certain ideas...

For example, today if you are at universities like Harvard or Princeton or Yale, or whatever, you are expected to express things in a certain intellectual vocabulary. If you as an academic write certain things a certain way, you had better be very, very above average, even by the standards of those universities, for you to speak in a Biblical, Christian, traditional, orthodox way. No, you have to write about certain moral, intellectual elements in a way that responds to the intellectual values of that community.

Even within the originality that is expected of you, there is a common language that you have to speak and that is why many people who move in the academic world in order to be successful, move away from their Christian spiritual convictions and assume the intellectual language and the intellectual vocabulary of that environment and are gradually lost until they are completely removed from God.

Then, the devil can use that appetite that was in you, for intellectual glory, for intellectual development and he can take you little by little, moving you away from that approach to God until you become completely disoriented and lose your soul. Or it can be an appetite, at the other extreme, a sexual appetite or love of money or whatever. So the enemy knows what a person is limping from.

There are people who are not interested in adultery or sensuality, that is not their weakness or structural failure. But the devil, if that's not your thing, well, he offers you money or offers you friends who take you elsewhere or offers you another type of pleasure, whatever. The devil has bait for all the fish in the ocean.

How do you catch a fish? Depending on the bait you like. You don't catch a fish with a piece of beef. No, you catch it with a worm because fish like worms or other types of bait. Now, you catch a lion with a piece of beef or whatever, like that. Every human being has his faulty areas and his areas where the devil can enter and attack him.

That is why one of the things we have to ask the Lord, 'Lord, make me understand my life, make me understand my character, who I am'. Ask the Lord to give you introspection, the ability to know yourself. Study yourself, read the word. The word of God is a source of introspection and knowledge of oneself, of the human heart.

I don't know of a book that believes in the human being more psychological introspection and discernment capacity than the Bible, honestly, and I have read a lot in my life. And it's important that you and I are not superficial in the way that we analyze ourselves, know yourself.

Most human beings, including Christians, don't spend time studying themselves and asking the Lord to give them wisdom, knowledge, self-understanding. Why is that important? Because one of the things that you and I have to know is which foot we're limping on. Don't fool yourself. Know your weaknesses, name them and pray about them and beware of those areas, because those are the areas the devil is going to use to bring you down in your life.

They are the weaknesses that you already carry, wounds, fears, the desire to please people, resentment, inferiority complex, anxiety, these are the things, hatred, anger, resentment, desire to please people, fear to displease people. There are hundreds and hundreds of defects in the human soul that the enemy uses, studies.

That is why James says 'do not say that God tempts you, but when your own internal weakness is where the enemy...'

When people come to church, I have seen it so many times, brothers, people come to the congregation and they are growing, they love the church, and they fall in love with the congregation, they know the Lord, they give themselves to God, they spend a year , two years old, they are flourishing, growing, one day they meet someone in church – I have seen it so many times.

One of the ways that so many people fall into a congregation is that. The devil knows and matches them, so-and-so and so-and-so, both suffer from the same thing. When a woman, for example, wants to get married and has that concern and that desire and that need, if she doesn't get married she feels like she's defenseless, she feels like her life is not fulfilled if she doesn't have a man, if she doesn't get married With a man, until she punches out that married card, she doesn't feel happy. What's happening? The enemy often uses that and someone comes over there who is not up to his standards, he is not a person who truly deserves this sister, but she wants to get out of trouble and when she comes to see, she starts dating this man, problems come, or he gets married or falls into some kind of improper relationship, and when he comes to see there, everything goes down the drain. And if things don't work out well, he doesn't want to come to church anymore because he doesn't want to see so and so, he already complains to God that, look, why didn't you protect me, and I see how that distances people from God.

I tell you, brethren, Satan is terribly evil, in case you haven't noticed. That is why we have to… Lord, nothing brother, nothing in your life should take away your peace, nothing should lead you to do things compulsively, simply because you want to. No. Stay within the Lord, be enough. God is enough for you and for your life, neither money nor fame, nor glory, nor a ministerial position, nothing in this world should possess you in a way that leads you to do things that will be for your destruction. Whatever it is, I just give an example of many.

But anything in your life that is weak, those are the things that the enemy can use to destroy you. Excuse me, I know that time has passed, and that's what I tell you, when you get into these things they are so deep. I have the option of perhaps what I can do is… let's leave it here and maybe the next time we see each other, maybe in one or two Wednesdays, I can continue. What do you think? I know it's late now and you have to go home and I don't want my epitomy of finishing to tire you out more than necessary.

Remember that, at least in this sense because there is a lot of cloth to cut and I want to continue and I will do a review the next time we meet, and then we continue. But this idea, know thyself, is one of the great statements of Greek philosophy, know thyself.

One of the great Greek philosophers said that the unexamined life is not worth living, because when we know ourselves, we know our weaknesses, our shortcomings, and then we can strengthen ourselves against them. Many times you will not be able to eliminate the deficiencies in your life, psychiatrists and psychologists say... look, pastoral experience has shown me that, many times the only thing you will be able to do in your life is keep certain wounds at bay from your past, you will not be able to eliminate them completely nor will you be able to have amnesia because you do not remember them.

But what you can do is keep them under control, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And don't let them take possession of you and control you. Take a teaspoon of self-control every day regarding those areas of your life, because there are temptations, appetites, inclinations in us that will never go away until we go to the grave. One thinks, when I'm 80 years old I'll be so old that I won't feel anything, so I won't be tempted. Lie. One to the last breath can be wishing for things that are not from God, I assure you.

What you can do is yes, when you see that, let it go, don't pay too much attention to it, but learn how to manage it and how to keep it under the control of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. But know your weaknesses. Many people fail and fall and sin because they don't know themselves, like Peter they think that the whole world is going to offend you, Lord, but never me. The Lord tells him, look, Peter, you are going to be the first, not only once but three times before the rooster crows. Pedro did not know himself.

See what I say? Sometimes the test and the difficulties come to strengthen us. Peter was already a man who knew himself much better after denying Jesus. There are many people who do not examine themselves, they believe that they are spiritual titans, everyone except them. Lie. That is why we have to know what are my areas of defect, my weaknesses and always submitting them to the Lord, praying about it, fasting from time to time, reading good books in this regard, staying close to the Lord so that those areas can keep under control.

It is not that you are less spiritual, no, it is that we are simply human and the world creates defects in us. Who doesn't have scars on their body after living 30, 40 years? Nobody. Either he burned himself picking up a hot dish, or a dog bit his hand, or he cut himself cooking, everyone has scars on their body. Yes or no? and so are we in our soul too. We all have deformations, defects, weaknesses and the thing is that we have to be aware of it to keep it under control. And in that God is greatly glorified too.

We are tempted, that happens to anyone, the thing is not to give in to it and know our weak areas to please the Lord. Amen. Then we will continue with this x-ray of temptation and I hope it will be a blessing for your lives.

Father, thank you for tonight. We bless you, Lord, thank you for allowing us to come to your house. How good it is to be in your house and adore you, Lord. It is beautiful and I thank you for my brothers and sisters, bless them and restore their strength and give them deep rest tonight, a restorative sleep, Father. Take away all their anxieties and fears and give us all a dream that prepares us for tomorrow. And we commend our lives to you, Lord, always in the name of Jesus. Amen.