Introduction.

1. What is God like? It is a simple question to which many and varied answers would be given. Our God, the God of the Old and New Testaments is the only true and living God who is great, glorious, gracious, merciful, majestic, almighty, awesome, blessed, beautiful and wonderful. When we are introduced to Satan in the Garden of Eden we find him at work maligning God. Satan strongly suggests to Adam and Eve that God is rather mean because he has forbidden them to eat the very best and most beneficial fruit, the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The devil continues to use the tactic of promoting lies to distort the truth about God so that the glory of God is not recognised by the world. If Sunday School children were asked 150 years ago what is God like, the answer would probably have been, ‘God is like a policeman he watches to see if you break the law and then he punishes you.' Ask that same question today and most children who go to Sunday School would answer, ‘God loves me and wants to be my friend.' The devil has been prolific in producing a myriad of false or erroneous answers to the question, ‘what is God like?
   
   
2. The book of James is very concerned about correcting the false teachings about God that were being promoted at that time. Listen to James 1:13-18.
   
   "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures."
   
   The first false teaching James counters is blaming God for tempting us to do evil. James makes a categorical statement to repudiate this error and confirms that God is not and cannot ever be the source of evil. This error first appeared in the Garden of Eden when Adam indirectly blamed God for his sin, as it was God who had given him Eve as his wife. James underlines this truth by calling on believers to discern the truth that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. God is not the source of evil but the source of every good and perfect gift. In the Literal Translation of the Bible the first part of verse 17 reads ‘Every (act of) good giving and every perfect gift comes from above.' God is the source of all good giving and every perfect gift. When unbelievers give good gifts it is due to the work of God's common grace in them that causes them to give the gifts. When men like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet give billions of dollars to charity it is because our God in his common grace moved them to do so. When funds are needed for mission projects and members give, it is God who moves them to give. Our God is the source of all good giving and every good and perfect gift. John Blanchard in his commentary on the book of James suggests that James is making a contrast between the giving and gifts given by humans and giving and gifts that come from Lord. I will be drawing heavily from his material in this sermon.

1. Our real struggle with giving gifts to others.

1. Christmas is less than forty days away and according to tradition it is a time for giving gifts to one another. When I say that there is a struggle with our giving and the gifts we give I do not mean in anyway the difficulty of selecting a special gift for those you love. That is not the struggle I am referring to, the struggle I am referring to is the struggle we have with sin and its effect on our ability to give good gifts. There is a sense in which all giving is good.  The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9 deals with the matter of giving and the gifts we give, he says, ‘God loves a cheerful giver.' Jesus according to Acts 20:35 said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'. The Scriptures encourage us to give generously. During my first year in the ministry I worked in a small emerging congregation. As the hall we were using was unsuitable we began looking for another venue. I also wondered about purchasing a block of land on which to build a suitable building. There was a large block of land for sale so I phoned the owner to enquire how much he was asking for the land. He urged me to meet with him so that we could discuss the matter. When I met him he offered to give the land to the church free of charge. What prompted this generosity? He told me, ‘The Lord had been extremely generous to him so he was happy to be generous to the Lord's people.'  Our God is a generous God therefore we should be a generous people. Being generous is a wonderful quality however we need to grasp that sin is always at work to spoil our giving and the gifts we give.
   
   
2. There are five ways in which sin can and does effect our giving and the gifts we give.
    
   1. We may not be sincere in our giving. Some people give in order to get more in return. Politicians know about those who give gifts and expect profitable favours in return. Many companies through their salesmen give gifts to secure loyalty in future business. There are those who give in order to get publicity that makes them popular and feel good. The motive behind the giving is often very crafty, calculating and devious.
       
   2. We may give something that is not sensible. When I was about twelve years old we lived next door to a family that had three boys who were thirteen, ten and eight. For reasons I have forgotten we continued the Boer War in a lively way. The war intensified one Christmas when the eldest boy received an air-gun as a gift. He then made my brothers and myself prime targets. The gift was not sensible and it was only by God's grace that none of us were seriously hurt.
      
      
   3. What we give may not be sufficient. Australian's were asked to help those whose lives had been devastated by the Tsunami. I am sure that people thought carefully before they gave $ 20, $30 or $100 to help those affected. That giving was good and Australians were told that they had been very generous and even sacrificial in their giving. One thing is certain the giving was not sufficient; the enormous need by the victims was not met. In many cases our giving at best only scratches the surface. The needs in the world are so great that our giving will never be able to meet those needs. The needs introduced into our world by sin are and always will be greater than our giving.
      
      
   4. What we give may not be suitable. During Elvia's final year at High School the principle retired and a collection was taken to give him a farewell present. He was given a fully stocked home bar. It was a gift that was not suitable as the man had a drinking problem. This gift caused him endless trouble.
      
      
   5. What we give may not be affordable. There are many people who place themselves into great debt by buying gifts they can't afford. I remember getting a birthday card with the words on the front that read, ‘I thought of giving you $ 1000,000.00.' Inside the card there was a $ 20.00 note and the words, ‘Remember it is always the thought that counts.'
      
      
3. In summary there are three things that we can say about giving that comes from human beings.
   
   
1. All giving is good and people ought to be generous in their giving, but not reckless.
2. All human giving is defective in that it may not be sincere, sensible, sufficient or suitable.
   
3. The Lord expects human beings to be generous towards each other. It is sad that we can not give perfect gifts to each other.
   
   

2.God is the giver of every perfect gift.

1. The word translated as 'perfect' (teleion) really means mature, complete, lacking nothing, something that cannot be bettered in any way. This is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew 5:48 when he says, ‘Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.'  The concept of perfection in a very real sense can only be applied to God, for God alone lacks nothing and is in need of nothing. Almighty God has always been and will always be perfect in every aspect of his being. It was not out of a need that God created the universe, nor is it out of a need that God brought salvation to sinners. James in verse 18 says God is the ‘Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.' All light comes from God, God in Genesis 1:3 commands ‘Let there be light' and in response to his command there was light. All light be it natural or intellectual, theological, or spiritual has it's origin in God. Without God there cannot be light. The concept of light is very closely linked to knowledge. If you do not know something you are said to be in the dark. Those who are spiritually ignorant are in the kingdom of darkness. God's knowledge is perfect, there is nothing God cannot know, be it in the past, present or future. Those who first read these words written by James would have thought of the light from the sun and moon which give a picture of constantly moving shadows as the sun rises and sets and as the moon passes through it various phases. When there is light things can be seen and known, when there is darkness you are filled with uncertainty. There is no dark spot in God's perfect knowledge of all things. James is pointing to two things:
   
   
1. God does not change he is immutable. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that ‘Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.'  A. W Pink says, ‘God cannot change for the better, for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse.'
   
   
2. As God is the ‘Father of all lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning' he is never subject to a lack of knowledge or uncertainty. It is impossible for God not to know everything because he is the one who works all things according to his purpose and will. For us life is a learning curve, but there is nothing for God to learn as he has perfect light on all things.
   
   
2. James is expressing the concept behind the Old Testament name of God, El-Shaddai which signifies that God is all sufficient. God needs nothing outside of himself to support, satisfy, inform, or to make himself happy, he is in and of himself complete and lacks nothing. God in this sense is absolutely unique, there is none like him. The nature, character, works and activities of God are often referred to as being perfect. Think about the perfection of our God in his works, his ways, and his will.
   
   
1. God's works are always perfect. In Deuteronomy 32:4 Moses says of the Lord, ‘He is the Rock, His work is perfect.'  After each day of creation God examined his work and judged that it was good. God's assessment of all his work in creation was that it was very good. i.e. perfect. Everything God made was perfect in every way. The glory of God still shines through the amazing and beautiful world we live in, even though sin entered the world and rendered it imperfect. As believers we fully recognise how imperfect we are when we look at the majesty of Christ in the Gospels. In Isaiah 53:11 we have a remarkable prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, it says, ‘He shall see the labour of His soul, and be satisfied.' This is an amazing statement concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. When all human history on earth comes to a close the Son of God will look back on his work of redemption and be satisfied. He will judge that his work in redeeming his people from their sins accomplished everything that God had purposed. The work of Jesus in making propitiation for the sins of his people was perfect in every aspect. Every believer ought to rejoice and be greatly encouraged by the fact that the Saviour's work is absolutely perfect and fully accomplishes its purpose.
   
   
2. God's ways are perfect. David in Psalm 18:30 says, ‘As for God, His way is perfect.' It is important to remind ourselves that this Psalm was written when David was passing through severe trials and difficulties. Saul hated him and was hounding him from one place to another. He lived with great danger, without certainty, security and under great stress. David in a very real and literal sense had passed through the valley of the shadow of death. Considering God's way David says His way is perfect. Everything that David lived through was perfect for his sanctification and maturing in faith. God's way of perfecting David was perfect. God does not make mistakes in the lives of his children, the way God is perfecting your life is perfect. As John Blanchard says, ‘There comes a time in the life of every Christian when he finds a question mark in his mind. Circumstances have turned sour, resources have dwindled, pressures have increased, faith has turned to fear and clarity to cloud. It is at times like these that we need to lean on words like this: "As for God, his way is perfect'!" Those born from above have this great confidence and assurance concerning the past and the future; God's way is perfect. It is important for us to grasp that the Lord's way will always make us trust him more, rely more on his wisdom, seek his strength, search out his word, and depend more on his grace. It is the remnants of sin that continue to abide in us that makes us lust after independence from God.
   
   
3. God's will is perfect. Listen to Paul's exhortation to the believers in Romans 12:1-2, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.'  God's will whether it be revealed or hidden is perfect. That God's will is perfect ought to give believers a great deal of comfort and a tremendous amount of security. When Jesus was at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night that he was betrayed, under enormous pressure as he contemplated the cross that lay ahead of him, we see in him a remarkable sense of peace and calm. The peace and calm came from knowing that the will of the Father is perfect. When Jesus prays, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42) he says it not in a sense of resignation, but in a sense of confidence that the will of his Father is perfect. Jesus in Matthew 6:10 taught his disciples to pray, ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven' because the will of God is perfect. We should always submit to God's will joyfully because it is perfect. God's will is always the very best and never second best.
   
   
4. God's word is perfect. James 1:25 says, ‘But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.' To the world God's Law is seen as restraining and restrictive, a real kill-joy, but to those who know God it is the perfect law. Psalm 19:7 says, ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.'  God's word is perfect therefore it remains relevant and instructive for every generation. What God tells me in his Word is perfect and I need to live it for God's glory. When people begin to edit the Bible they indirectly declare that God's Word is not perfect.
    
3. You may be wondering what God's perfect works, ways, will and word have to do with him giving gifts. What has God given you? He has given you your life with all its circumstances and situations. Your life is a gift from God; he designed a life that is perfect for you, for you to come to know Christ, for you to be sanctified, for you to serve the Lord, for you to testify of God's goodness, for you to glorify God and also for you to enjoy God. Do you believe that God's works, ways, will and word are perfect? Are you able to take that truth and apply it to your life and joyfully proclaim; nothing good comes except from God and nothing except good comes from God? This is the truth about your past, present and future, do your believe that? Can you thank God for the gift of life he has given you and for the perfect life you expect in glory with Christ?

Conclusion.

Sinners saved by grace can rejoice in the fact that one day they will be perfect and will enjoy perfect fellowship with the Lord forever.