Main Scripture: James 1:1-8


James 1

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad [among the Gentiles in the dispersion]: Greetings ([a]rejoice)!
2 Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
3 Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of [b]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.
7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,
8 [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].


1. IF you are deficient in wisdom, the Word of God says “ask without wavering in faith” (vs. 5, 6). And herein lies the issue:

“Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.

For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].” James 1:6-8


2. Our asking must be in FAITH. Did you know that the word, “amen” derives its meaning from the word?

The Hebrew word “aman” means “believe, trust in, rely upon, believe in, have faith” [1] or “be faithful…trust, have belief, believe, to be certain”. [2] Harris, Archer and Waltke say that when used in the Qal verb pattern, “aman” “expresses the basic concept of support and is used in the sense of the strong arms of the parent supporting the helpless infant”. [3] An example of the Qal verb pattern of “aman” is in Psalm 31:24. [4]

3. My story of dealing with the orphan spirit.

• I felt like I wasn’t loved
• My voice didn’t matter- He didn’t hear me.
• He favors others more than me.
• I have to EARN the right or privilege of Him answering my prayer. 
• I must do it right and deal with all of my issues BEFORE He blesses me or answers my prayer.

At that time I felt like that all my life. I never asked or thought about what that feeling was until that day. I asked the Lord, “What is THIS?” And He answered, “orphan spirit”. So I looked it up.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance: ya- tom (pronounced ya – tom) means orphaned, fatherless. Of uncertain affinity; bereaved (“orphan”), i.e. Parentless — comfortless, fatherless.

Carrying an orphan spirit all through life affects how you receive the love of the Father. When you deal with an orphan spirit, it isolates your heart, causing a wall to be built up. When you’re in a room, you feel as if you’re the only one in the room. Feelings like:

“No one loves me.”
“I’m not important”
“I’m not worth it.”

All these feelings stem from a spirit of rejection and abandonment. 

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” –  James 4:8

“Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,” Isaiah 29:13

The word, schizophrenia gives a definition of how a mind is plagued with double-mindedness: 

Split- mind
Schizo– divided
Phrenia – mind


Our minds are divided between two opinions. When we do not fully trust, we are unstable in our ways.

“Being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks feels or desires]. [For being as he is] a man of two minds [hesitating, dubious, irresolute] he is unstable] and unreliable  and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, desires].” James 1:7-8


2 Cor. 4:3-4: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

• Its root is REJECTION and Abandonment.
• The orphan spirit causes double-mindedness.
• Our minds are blinded because of unbelief. It not only happens to the unsaved; many times, it happens to those who are saved. Their unbelief in certain areas of their heart causes blindness.
  
  Mindsets are cemented strongholds that need to be broken.  I like this definition in the greek:
  (3794 oxýrōma (from the root oxyroō, “fortify”) – a fortified, military stronghold; a strong-walled fortress (A-S), used only in 2 Cor 10:4. Here 3794/oxýrōm”a heavily-fortified containment”) is used figuratively of a false argument in which a person seeks “shelter” (“a safe place”) to escape reality.
  
  
  Question: What “false arguments” do you believe, or have a mindset towards?

‘I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.’
John 14:18 

Strongholds – It’s not about casting a demon out of you. It’s about the influence of them on your mind/mindsets.

Definition:
3794 oxýrōma (from the root oxyroō, “fortify”) – a fortified, military stronghold; a strong-walled fortress (A-S), used only in 2 Cor 10:4. Here 3794/oxýrōma (“a heavily-fortified containment”) is used figuratively of a false argument in which a person seeks “shelter” (“a safe place”) to escape reality.