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Real Talk Part 6
Discover the wisdom in the book of James to avoid the pitfalls of spiritual foolishness in daily life. Pastor Justin highlights the dangers of materialism, doubt, and division, providing steps to enhance your generosity, patience, and faith security. faith. Uncover how the timeless wisdom of James inspires you to embrace integrity and humility in your life today.
Key Insights
- Recognize and confront materialistic attitudes that sabotage your relationship with God
- See why your word and integrity matter to God and others
- Experience the healing power of confession and vulnerable community
https://springhousemidweek.captivate.fm/episode/real-talk-part-6
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Contact Info
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
CCLI License 2070006
Transcript
Boo. Hey, listen, I know we don't have assigned
Speaker:seats in here, but some people. That's not
Speaker:where it's supposed to be. Okay? Right
Speaker:here, y', all, was my safe spot right here, okay? In the
Speaker:back at fourth row. I could look here and know I wasn't gonna
Speaker:receive any judgment. Cause this left side of the. Of the
Speaker:stands. Not you, Ash. But usually catch
Speaker:me after, man, there's a pocket usually right here in the middle where I try
Speaker:to avoid eye contact until close to
Speaker:the end of the message. So, you know, what's the last one? You can do
Speaker:whatever you want. Come back next year. Y' all better be right over here. Okay?
Speaker:So doesn't really matter where you sit for the rest of this year.
Speaker:Oh, gosh, guys, this is it. Week six
Speaker:of our Real Talk series, A study on the book of James.
Speaker:This has been a very challenging series
Speaker:for me. Not challenging in the regard of
Speaker:just extreme conviction, but trying to
Speaker:understand James letter to the Early Church
Speaker:in its context and not just look at it
Speaker:as an abstract piece of literature, but also begin to apply
Speaker:these truths to our lives but not solely make about
Speaker:ourselves. Does any of that make sense? What I'm saying? Okay, this is
Speaker:the challenge when reading Scripture is you don't want to become
Speaker:so far detached from the ancient near east, reading it
Speaker:in our modern Western paradigm that we lose
Speaker:the context, but we don't also want to read
Speaker:scripture for us first. Okay? And that's part of the wrestling
Speaker:that comes with gleaning from the scripture and
Speaker:being tasked to teach it. And so this has been a very challenging
Speaker:series for me, and I'm thankful for it. We are going to be in chapter
Speaker:five tonight, so chapter four, recap. I will not
Speaker:be using terms that are found in Hosea and the early part of
Speaker:Jeremiah. Gave you guys enough of that last week. If you weren't here for that,
Speaker:go back on the live stream. It is rated PG 13. Okay?
Speaker:So make sure that you don't have little ones around. Chapter
Speaker:4. James discusses
Speaker:Christian hedonism, for lack of a better term,
Speaker:Christian hedonism, which was pleasure as the highest goal.
Speaker:He also talked about being friends with the world.
Speaker:And friendship is defined as a relationship of
Speaker:mutual affection, trust, and respect between
Speaker:two or more people. And it involves a voluntary bond
Speaker:where individuals choose to spend time together. They enjoy each
Speaker:other's company and provide emotional support, often sharing
Speaker:similar interests and experiences. And James says, you
Speaker:cannot be friends with the world as a Christian
Speaker:because these two things are not compatible. So stop being buddy
Speaker:buddy with the world. And then James proves that he's
Speaker:not new to this by all of his callbacks to Old Testament
Speaker:language. When he used phrases like, you
Speaker:adulterous people, or cleanse
Speaker:and purify yourselves, that is letting them know,
Speaker:I've been reading the Scriptures and I've been going to synagogue for
Speaker:a long time. I grew up with Jesus, okay? Like,
Speaker:this is not new to me, and it's not new to you either.
Speaker:That's why he used this type of language to remind the people,
Speaker:you're not brand new. This isn't day one. And then he moves on
Speaker:into the final section of the letter. So James
Speaker:begins chapter five with the warning to the rich. But
Speaker:remember last week I told you he actually starts this
Speaker:at the end of chapter four. So we're gonna back up and read just a
Speaker:little bit in chapter four. He says,
Speaker:well, this is not chapter four. I'll read it to you, and then we'll go
Speaker:in there. Come now, it is chapter four.
Speaker:Listen. He starts off this part and chapter five by saying, now, come now
Speaker:and listen. I mean, James has got a way of talking. Okay,
Speaker:come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go into such
Speaker:and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a Prof.
Speaker:Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
Speaker:For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Speaker:Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do
Speaker:this or that. As it is, you boast in your
Speaker:arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows
Speaker:the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him,
Speaker:it is sin. And then he rolls right over into chapter
Speaker:five. Come now, you rich. Weep and
Speaker:howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Speaker:Yeah. James is turning his attention to
Speaker:a specific demographic of people here. And that
Speaker:phrase, weep and howl, those are given day of the Lord
Speaker:vibes. Okay. Weep and howl. Those are day of the Lord
Speaker:vibes. And this shows that this pattern of Old Testament
Speaker:callbacks. Make look at Isaiah 13. It says,
Speaker:well, for the day of the Lord is near, as
Speaker:destruction from the Almighty, it will come.
Speaker:And then in chapter 15, Isaiah says, again, in the streets they wear
Speaker:sackcloth. On the housetops, and in the squares, everyone
Speaker:wails and melts with tears.
Speaker:So James is giving these day of the Lord vibes with this wail
Speaker:and weep and howl language.
Speaker:And then look at the last part. What did he say? For the miseries that
Speaker:are coming upon you, right? These
Speaker:miseries that he's talking about is the coming day of judgment.
Speaker:Not like, hey, keep it up. Like when I.
Speaker:Any parents give your kids empty threats?
Speaker:Just me. Keep it up. And they're like, you don't ever
Speaker:follow that phrase up with anything. Just keep it up.
Speaker:And what? Right? James is not saying, hey, keep it up and see what
Speaker:happens. He's saying, listen, there's gonna be a day of judgment, and it may
Speaker:not happen tomorrow. And you may feel like you've gotten
Speaker:by with all of this injustice in your lifetime, but
Speaker:there will be a day where you will stand in front of the judge
Speaker:and you're gonna be judged for this. James is not saying, hey, two weeks
Speaker:from now, the housing market's gonna collapse and you're gonna lose all
Speaker:your money. And he's saying, there's an eternal day of judgment. And
Speaker:if you think you're getting away with this nonsense now, buckle up, because
Speaker:it's going to get rough when you do meet the judge. You
Speaker:ever found yourself being mad at somebody because they're wealthy?
Speaker:Because they're wealthy. Just me. I'm
Speaker:the only one who gets mad at people who got a lot of money, right?
Speaker:And so you might look at me and say, I got a lot of money.
Speaker:I do not. I have a lot of children, which makes me rich. I'm wealthy.
Speaker:Not monetarily. I've got some friends that got a little bit of change. Anybody
Speaker:got some friends with a little bit of change, right? I've got some friends that's
Speaker:got a lot of change. And I consider myself the poor man of the group.
Speaker:It's not really the truth, right? If you look at global standards,
Speaker:none of us are that poor, you know, But God. Here's where God has planted
Speaker:us. But I found myself over the years getting mad at some of my buddies
Speaker:that got a little bit of change. And then I'll even say stuff like this,
Speaker:you know what? It's fine. You can get all your blessings here, but wait till
Speaker:we get to heaven. You're going to be bringing me Chris Mincy doordash. You're going
Speaker:to be coming up to my mansion because I got all my riches are in
Speaker:heaven. You get all your blessings out here on earth. Just wait. You're gonna be
Speaker:bringing me chicken wings in my mansion, and you gonna ring the doorbell
Speaker:and I'm gonna. Hang on, guys. And you'll be like, is that Chris and the
Speaker:apostle Paul? You know what? Look, I pull the door shut. Look, remember
Speaker:that hot tub you had, okay? Don't worry about it.
Speaker:I got mine now, right? This is where I sent all mine.
Speaker:And I would say these things to my friends, and they're like, you're a hater.
Speaker:And I'm like, yes, yes, I am. I'm hating because
Speaker:you've got monetary wealth and blessings, and I don't
Speaker:right now. And John's like, why are you comparing your life to anybody?
Speaker:You know, I went through a phase where I started
Speaker:buying a bunch of Air Max tennis shoes.
Speaker:And my wife was like, hey, you're cut off, sir. Like,
Speaker:there better not be another pair of Air Maxes enter this house. And then she
Speaker:said, why are you buying so many shoes?
Speaker:And I said, well, growing up, you got your shoes.
Speaker:Like, these were your shoes. Enjoy your shoes.
Speaker:And usually it was the first day of school. Those were your play shoes,
Speaker:your school shoes, your church shoes. Those were your
Speaker:shoes. There's nothing wrong with that. They were good shoes. My parents were just getting
Speaker:by, trying to raise two little kids in East Nashville before
Speaker:it was cool to be in East Nashville, right? And so
Speaker:I thought I was making up for lost time. That's what I told my wife.
Speaker:I said, I didn't have all these Air Maxes growing up. Now I got a
Speaker:little bit of money. I just wanted to buy a bunch of Air Maxes, right?
Speaker:I can't stop myself. She's like, wait till you're gonna be bringing people
Speaker:doordash in heaven, you hypocrite. Right? You're the
Speaker:hypocrite. Right? Materialistic. This is
Speaker:what James is getting at. He's like, you guys are being very materialistic,
Speaker:and you're lording your wealth over people, and you're doing people
Speaker:wrong because you feel like because you've got a little bit of money,
Speaker:everybody else is beneath you. So James isn't
Speaker:harping on their wealth because they are wealthy, like I
Speaker:was doing. James is getting onto them because they're using it as a
Speaker:way to treat people differently.
Speaker:That's it. We're gonna do it tonight. I got one. I'm telling y', all, I'm
Speaker:feeling it tonight. Kevin said, I better bring it. I got a talker in the
Speaker:back like, it's going down.
Speaker:Don't take. But I might run.
Speaker:And you think I'm playing. I know what's in here.
Speaker:Just wait. Y' all might run me out by the end of the day. Let's
Speaker:get him. So James is not.
Speaker:He's not pronouncing judgment on the wealthy because of their wealth.
Speaker:He's judged. He's pronouncing judgment because of the way they treat others.
Speaker:And here's how I know that. Let's read 2 through 6.
Speaker:It says, your riches have rotted and your garments are
Speaker:moth eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their
Speaker:corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your
Speaker:flesh like fire. You have laid up
Speaker:treasure in the last days. Behold the wages of the
Speaker:laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back
Speaker:by fraud. These people worked for you and you refused
Speaker:to pay them. They are crying out against you.
Speaker:And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the
Speaker:Lord of Hosts. You have lived on the earth in
Speaker:luxury and self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in
Speaker:a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered
Speaker:the righteous person. He does not resist you.
Speaker:These people are crooks and cheaters, and they
Speaker:are greedy for dishonest gain. And James is
Speaker:pronouncing judgment on them for the way that they have treated
Speaker:their workers, the way that they have treated the people. But
Speaker:then James turns his attention from the oppressors
Speaker:to the oppressed. James provides comfort
Speaker:for the poor in verses 7 through 12.
Speaker:Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
Speaker:See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
Speaker:being patient about it until it receives the early and
Speaker:late rain. See, what we need to understand is this climate is a
Speaker:very arid region that they lived in.
Speaker:And the rain didn't come like it comes in Middle
Speaker:Tennessee, where it could be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Speaker:not rain for a month, then rain one day and it could call for no
Speaker:rain. And then it starts raining. They had the
Speaker:True Farmers Almanac, and they depended on early
Speaker:and late rains for their produce to be
Speaker:sustained. And James is saying, hey, guys, you know
Speaker:that God is faithful. He sends the early rains. And even when you
Speaker:think it's all hope is lost. And those late rains aren't coming.
Speaker:You have to be patient and wait for those late rains. Cause
Speaker:those late rains is what's gonna be needed for the harvest to come in.
Speaker:But if you get impatient and saying, let's just start pulling up the crops now,
Speaker:you're gonna miss that late rain. You also
Speaker:be patient. How many times does he say patience?
Speaker:Right there. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord,
Speaker:see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about
Speaker:it until it receives the early and late rains.
Speaker:You also be patient. Establish
Speaker:your hearts. Establish your
Speaker:hearts, right?
Speaker:A big thing. When something is conceived or there's a
Speaker:conception of, like a township or a business or
Speaker:college or anything like that that has a landmark,
Speaker:there's always usually a date connected with it. You know what I'm talking
Speaker:about? And it's become a famous tattoo now. Now that
Speaker:tattoos are popular, right? And it would say
Speaker:established in such and such year, right?
Speaker:This is when this thing was solidified. It was
Speaker:like, from this moment forward, we can call it this thing,
Speaker:right? JB Designs was established in 2017,
Speaker:and that's the moment that it became a real thing.
Speaker:And James says, establish your hearts.
Speaker:This needs to be a grounding location for you
Speaker:moving forward. For the coming of the
Speaker:Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another,
Speaker:brothers, so that you may not be judged.
Speaker:Behold, the judge is standing at the door. Let me go back
Speaker:to this part right here. This is something that's worth
Speaker:noting, and that's the warning against grumbling and complaining.
Speaker:Grumbling is what usually happens when. When the conversations
Speaker:aren't had and frustrations build up.
Speaker:When you're supposed to have a conversation about something
Speaker:or you're supposed to let something go and you haven't let it go,
Speaker:that's when grumbling and complaining starts happening.
Speaker:There used to be. There's a friend of mine. He used to be. I
Speaker:don't know. Famous is not the word. It's not a good word. He used to
Speaker:be a teacher here. I was going to say he was a famous teacher, right?
Speaker:His name was Rodney Boyd, and he said that grumbling and
Speaker:complaining is devil praise. Now, I want you
Speaker:to think about that for a second. Grumbling and complaining
Speaker:being devil praise, it's a little
Speaker:hardcore there. And grumbling and
Speaker:complaining usually is not from a good heart
Speaker:posture. Every time I grumble and complain about something,
Speaker:I'm usually pretty upset about it. I don't know about you guys. I don't know
Speaker:if there can. Can there be a good type of grumbling.
Speaker:Amen. I was waiting.
Speaker:If you were gonna say yes, then I'd have to be like, well, let's actually
Speaker:look at the Scriptures. But behold, the judge is standing
Speaker:at the door as an example of suffering and
Speaker:patience. Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of
Speaker:the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained
Speaker:steadfast. He said, we consider
Speaker:those blessed who remained steadfast.
Speaker:The ones who endured were the ones that they
Speaker:considered to be blessed. You mean to tell me that
Speaker:it wasn't the absence of trials, but it was the patient
Speaker:endurance and steadfastness through trials
Speaker:that created blessing? You have
Speaker:heard of the steadfastness of Job. And you have seen
Speaker:the purpose of the Lord. How the Lord is compassionate and
Speaker:merciful. But above all my brothers, do not
Speaker:swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but
Speaker:let your yes be yes and your no be no so that you may not
Speaker:fall under condemnation. Verse
Speaker:12. This last verse where he says,
Speaker:this one that's on the screen, this is one of the most liberating
Speaker:scriptures on the planet. This is
Speaker:extremely liberating. James is cautious
Speaker:about people taking an oath. Don't swear and
Speaker:say you're going to do something. Because if you take an oath, you're bound by
Speaker:it. You know that there used to be a time where your word meant something.
Speaker:Your word used to mean something. I got a friend, I
Speaker:had to talk to him. He was still doing handshake
Speaker:contracts. And I said, hey, man, it's 20, 25. Like, might
Speaker:come back to bite you every now and then, right? Because your
Speaker:word means something to you, but their word might not mean something
Speaker:to them. And if you shook on it,
Speaker:that was a done deal. You would go to the
Speaker:grave before you dishonor your handshake or dishonor your
Speaker:word. It used to matter. But
Speaker:here's where it gets us in trouble. Because we are a people
Speaker:of integrity. We will say yes to things
Speaker:we should have said no to. And we get ourselves in
Speaker:all kind of trouble because we're bound by that yes. Now,
Speaker:people pleasing, don't want to let somebody down. We will run
Speaker:ourselves into the ground to uphold
Speaker:a yes we should have never said yes to.
Speaker:Don't ask me to move your stuff
Speaker:anywhere unless you tell me up front
Speaker:you need help moving. This is my
Speaker:favorite of all time. This is emotional manipulation.
Speaker:101. What are you doing this weekend?
Speaker:I'm going out of town with Kevin.
Speaker:Oh, man, that's things. I was gonna ask you to help me move. Too bad
Speaker:I'm out of town with Kevin, right? Maybe call Wyatt.
Speaker:Wyatt's not doing nothing. I found that out on Thursday, right? I said, what are
Speaker:you doing this weekend? I ain't got nothing going on, right? Instead
Speaker:of saying, hey, I need help moving Saturday, are you
Speaker:available? And then you know you're not available, but
Speaker:you say yes because you don't want to hurt somebody's feelings or
Speaker:let somebody down. This is the reason why this verse is liberating,
Speaker:yet no is anointed too.
Speaker:Let that sink in for a minute, ladies and gentlemen. No is
Speaker:anointed to. You can say
Speaker:no and be okay with it.
Speaker:I tell my Kids no all the time. Daddy, can we have a Sprite?
Speaker:Absolutely not. Daddy, can we? No, we
Speaker:cannot. Why? Because God tells me no. You
Speaker:know what? If we can be okay
Speaker:with the Lord telling us no, why do we think that human beings aren't going
Speaker:to be okay with our no? And if they're not, it's okay, too.
Speaker:You get all upset that I can't help you do something.
Speaker:Okay, guess what? You're still gonna get your stuff moved. Wyatt was available,
Speaker:right? If y' all need help moving, Wyatt is
Speaker:completely available to help you move. James is saying,
Speaker:man, be careful about what you agree to because you're bound
Speaker:by your word. Because you're held to a different standard. I'm not talking about the
Speaker:standard of the Wild west or, you know, 50s and 60s America
Speaker:where the men hand shook on items. I'm talking about
Speaker:a kingdom principle that says, if I say yes, that means yes.
Speaker:And if I can't commit to the yes or I know I shouldn't commit to
Speaker:it, then I'm going to say no. And I'm going to stick by that no,
Speaker:because no is okay as well. Guys,
Speaker:what does a yes and a no allow us to do? Hear from the Holy
Speaker:Spirit about a situation,
Speaker:Praying about a situation, and not praying
Speaker:long enough that you override God's no by
Speaker:convincing yourself it was a yes, but taking
Speaker:the no. I
Speaker:see it, man. You know what? Here we go, my man. Come on down
Speaker:here, brother.
Speaker:Moving on. Then James just. James is
Speaker:like, I feel like a lot of this stuff he's had pent up. And he's
Speaker:like, you know what? Oh, and by the way. Oh, and by
Speaker:the way, this feels like another. And by the way, he starts out
Speaker:by passing judgment on the rich
Speaker:for the way that they are bringing injustice. And then he's trying to
Speaker:encourage and comfort those who are oppressed. And then he's like, oh, and
Speaker:by the way, is anybody suffering?
Speaker:Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let
Speaker:him sing, praise. Is any among you sick?
Speaker:James hits us with a low, high, low.
Speaker:Are you suffering? Are you excited about life right
Speaker:now? Are you sick? Right? It's almost
Speaker:like he's taking his own advice from chapter one where he says,
Speaker:count it all, joy
Speaker:in every situation. He's saying, hey, if you're suffering,
Speaker:pray. If you're cheerful, sing praise. If you're sick, Let
Speaker:him call for the elders of the church and
Speaker:let them pray over him. Anointing him with oil in
Speaker:the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save
Speaker:the one who is Sick. And the Lord will raise him up, and if he
Speaker:has committed sins, he will be forgiven. This is
Speaker:important theology here, guys. Call for the
Speaker:elders to anoint with oil.
Speaker:We literally. We literally did
Speaker:this scripture in this. In this
Speaker:building. Seven minutes before service,
Speaker:someone is sick. They called on the elders. We brought oil
Speaker:and anointed them and prayed for them.
Speaker:The oil represents the Holy Spirit, who is
Speaker:the one who heals. The oil itself is not
Speaker:magic. We don't put the oil on somebody who is sick. And
Speaker:it's like, oh, I can feel that tingling. That's the cinnamon lady. That's
Speaker:not the. You ever been anointed
Speaker:with the oil? Whatever oil is over here on this corner. Hey, if you want,
Speaker:come to this corner on Sunday morning and you'll feel it in your eyes. You
Speaker:might feel the Holy Spirit.
Speaker:It's that cinnamon. Okay. The oil
Speaker:represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one
Speaker:who heals. The Holy Spirit is the one who heals.
Speaker:But we believe he can. Listen, does the Holy Spirit
Speaker:always heal someone who is sick? No.
Speaker:No. But we believe that he can,
Speaker:and we ask that he will. That's the
Speaker:difference here. You don't call for the elders
Speaker:to anoint with oil and then
Speaker:believe that it's not going to happen. Because that's James
Speaker:chapter one, where he says, if you're going to ask, ask in faith. Because if
Speaker:you don't ask in faith, there's no point in asking anyway. Right?
Speaker:Remember those three Hebrew boys that were going to throw in the fire? And they
Speaker:said, we believe God can save us, but if
Speaker:he doesn't, he's still good. I believe that God can
Speaker:heal. And if he does not, then he's got a better plan. He can heal
Speaker:me miraculously. In the moment. He could give a
Speaker:doctor a word. He could allow a medicine to work. He could give me a
Speaker:new idea. He could reveal toxins that are coming into my life. He
Speaker:could even reveal something sin, as James is going to get to in a moment.
Speaker:The Word does not say the faith of the one sick. It
Speaker:says the faith of the one praying. If you don't believe what you're praying for,
Speaker:don't put your hands on me if you don't believe
Speaker:that God is capable. If I ask you to pray for me
Speaker:and you don't believe God is capable. Keep your hands off of me.
Speaker:And this is a true story. You can ask some of the staff members in
Speaker:here. I have been known to
Speaker:not lay my hands on other staff members,
Speaker:and I have chosen to exclude myself from group prayers
Speaker:when I've got a bad attitude. I've stood off to the side, and they're
Speaker:like, what's wrong with you? I'm like, I'm not in a good head space, and
Speaker:I don't want to be the reason. I don't want to be the reason why.
Speaker:Now, I may be being a little bit pretentious there, but I understand
Speaker:if I don't even believe for myself in this moment. Y' all don't need me
Speaker:engaging in this prayer where everybody's sold out and I'm bringing all
Speaker:my doubts and worries and fears in this. I have
Speaker:withdrew myself as a sign of
Speaker:consecration because I understand the holiness of the moment that we're
Speaker:trying to engage in, because I know that I'm not. I'm not.
Speaker:I'm not on the same page with you guys. I don't believe right
Speaker:now, and I don't want to be that guy. And, you know, God does
Speaker:more for me in that raw moment of honest humility, because I'm
Speaker:not trying to say, listen, guys, I'm just. I'm having a bad day.
Speaker:It's not saying, well, I sinned this week. I'm not capable of laying
Speaker:my hands on anybody. I don't believe in
Speaker:that moment.
Speaker:Here's what's even worse. Telling someone they didn't get
Speaker:healed because of a lack of faith that they had is mean and
Speaker:unbiblical. You
Speaker:called for the elders and you didn't get healed. And I got the audacity to
Speaker:say, well, you didn't believe. We've been through this. I shared this on the
Speaker:stage. How much faith did Lazarus have?
Speaker:Ro was dead, right?
Speaker:Have no faith. The one praying for Lazarus had
Speaker:the faith. Lazarus, come forth.
Speaker:Then look at this. This is what messes me up.
Speaker:And if he has committed sin, he'll be forgiven.
Speaker:James understands that sin can be the cause of your sickness.
Speaker:Sin can be a cause of sickness. You mean to tell me that you
Speaker:can be sick in your body because you're walking in sin?
Speaker:Unrepentant sin. James seems to think so.
Speaker:And this is what he says. Look. Therefore. Therefore what?
Speaker:Look. And if he has committed sins, he'll be forgiven.
Speaker:Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,
Speaker:that you may be healed. Jesus,
Speaker:Confess your sin to one another and pray for one another and get healed.
Speaker:You know what this does? This means that if you're not
Speaker:an elder, you can still pray for people.
Speaker:If you're not an elder, you can still Confess
Speaker:wrongdoing to people and pray and get healed. You
Speaker:don't have to just go to the James was saying, bring
Speaker:them to the elders of the church and we'll pray for you, will anoint you
Speaker:with oil. But also some of you are sick because you're walking
Speaker:in sin. So start talking to each other.
Speaker:Get this sin out of your life and let that person pray for you. When
Speaker:someone confesses sin to you, their response should be, well, let's pray
Speaker:and get healed. Thank you for confessing that. Let's pray,
Speaker:let's talk to the Lord about it and get
Speaker:healed. Cause you don't know what could happen
Speaker:in that moment. Have you ever been hiding something, holding something
Speaker:in and you just finally share it and you're like, wow, I feel so
Speaker:much better. And then the next time something happens,
Speaker:you forget how much better you felt.
Speaker:Maybe it's just me. Am I the only one living any of this
Speaker:right now? Just me. Some of y' all been holding
Speaker:stuff in before, and then you was like, I just needed bad.
Speaker:You say it and you're like, oh my God, I feel so much better. Nothing
Speaker:changed. Like, you didn't do anything. Like, you didn't say it in like,
Speaker:you transformed. You know what I mean? It's like, like. But
Speaker:something did transform in you. You became transparent, you
Speaker:became humble, you became surrendered, you became
Speaker:obedient, you became vulnerable. You became spiritually
Speaker:naked in front of someone. That's also why the Bible's so big
Speaker:about physical nakedness being within covenant. Because physical
Speaker:nakedness is only. It should be an outflowing of sin,
Speaker:spiritual and emotional nakedness. You shouldn't just only
Speaker:be naked in bodily forming someone. So when you come into that
Speaker:covenant, you're exposed, you're vulnerable to them.
Speaker:Now, not every one of these situations is covenantal, but what James
Speaker:is saying is when you've got to, you've got to stop hiding this stuff. You
Speaker:got to get it out. Because some of you are sick. Because you're hiding it.
Speaker:You're as sick as your secrets.
Speaker:Therefore, confess your sin and get healed. And then let's look at the
Speaker:James concludes this chapter.
Speaker:What does he say? Oh, yeah. The prayer of a righteous person has
Speaker:great power as it's at its working
Speaker:righteousness. Someone who is righteous,
Speaker:it's not someone who is living an exemplary
Speaker:life. Okay? This is someone who is in
Speaker:right standing with God.
Speaker:You can be a completely broken, messed
Speaker:up individual and be in right standing with God.
Speaker:The man who came. In scripture, there's a
Speaker:parable where there's a Pharisee who's standing there and
Speaker:he's like, I've got my life together. And then there's a guy who's on his
Speaker:knees and he's beating his chest and he's like, I am. I'm a
Speaker:terrible person. I don't even. I can't even stand before
Speaker:you and the Pharisees. Like, thank God I'm not like this guy right here,
Speaker:this wretched sinner, this wicked guy,
Speaker:this guy who understood his own
Speaker:frailty and proclivity to sin and knew where to go
Speaker:to find forgiveness and healing and knew that he didn't deserve it. That
Speaker:guy was in. Right. Standing with God. So when he says a righteous
Speaker:person, he's not saying, go find the person who's
Speaker:batting a thousand in here. If you let Pastor Kevin talk for more
Speaker:than three weeks in a row, you'll figure out that we're all jacked up human
Speaker:beings. Right? Right. What
Speaker:did Paul say? I am the chief of all sinners.
Speaker:The longer Paul walked with the Lord, the more he
Speaker:realized how jacked up he was. Not because Paul had secret sin
Speaker:in his life, but the look at. All right, hang on.
Speaker:You don't really see your flaws as much over here. I'm sorry. Camera. You
Speaker:just have to roll with me. Right.
Speaker:The closer you get to the light, the more you really see.
Speaker:Right. My wife puts on her makeup on in the bright lights with
Speaker:this 10x mirror so she can see clearly.
Speaker:And the closer you get to the Lord, the more it reveals. So it's
Speaker:not that we're just, like, getting worse. It reveals how you
Speaker:really are. You're going, oh, God, don't shine the light on
Speaker:me. Hide me under a rock. I'm wicked, I'm
Speaker:wretched. God says, no, no, no, no. I'm shining it not to.
Speaker:Not to. Not to expose you, but to expose
Speaker:the enemy and the works of the enemy. I'm trying to
Speaker:expose the sin. I'm not trying to rip the covers off.
Speaker:I'm trying to get it out of your life. So bring it into the light.
Speaker:That's what. When James says somebody who is righteous, he's saying,
Speaker:it's somebody who's in. Right. Standing with God and
Speaker:a heart posture of humility and surrender is Right.
Speaker:Standing with God. Elijah was a man
Speaker:with a nature like ours. He's saying, these superheroes in the Bible,
Speaker:these guys that we've looked up for all our whole lifetime,
Speaker:he had a nature just like us. And he prayed fervently that
Speaker:it might not Rain. And for three years and six months, it did not rain
Speaker:on the earth. Now, how arrogant would you be?
Speaker:Maybe it's just me. If I said, y' all keep messing around, it ain't gonna
Speaker:rain. Watch, I'm gonna pray God don't make it rain right? And then it doesn't
Speaker:rain for three years and six months, I'd have been walking around every day, told,
Speaker:y' all keep messing with God. Going to my Bible study, right?
Speaker:Y' all let me know when y' all want it to rain. Then he prayed
Speaker:again, and heaven gave rain. I'm going to
Speaker:avoid saying what I wanted to say right there.
Speaker:And the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if any one of you
Speaker:wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
Speaker:let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering
Speaker:will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Speaker:James closes his letter by saying, some of you have
Speaker:wandered. Go get them and save their
Speaker:soul from death. This whole
Speaker:book. Some of you have wandered from the truth.
Speaker:Go get them and bring them back and save them.
Speaker:So I've been thinking about the totality of James letter. And for me,
Speaker:James letter begins to take on new meaning when I understand
Speaker:that James letter is a warning to the church about being
Speaker:foolish. Have you ever seen a smart person do
Speaker:something really dumb? Have you? Have you ever seen
Speaker:a smart person do something really dumb? And you're like, that person. There's no way
Speaker:they did that, right? This is
Speaker:what James is dealing with here. The
Speaker:church is acting a fool.
Speaker:You guys know better. Solomon is
Speaker:referred to as the wisest man to ever live, right?
Speaker:Solomon asked God for wisdom, and he's the wisest man to ever live.
Speaker:I'm probably gonna get in trouble, and I might have to fight when I get
Speaker:to heaven. But Solomon was an idiot.
Speaker:Solomon was an idiot man. He was so wise,
Speaker:and yet he was so dumb at the same time.
Speaker:He did some of the most foolish things on the planet.
Speaker:Moses didn't get to go into the promised land,
Speaker:okay? And instead he gave the people a warning about
Speaker:what was going to happen when they go in. Listen, guys, I'm not going with
Speaker:you. But when you get over there, here's what's going to happen, and here's
Speaker:what I want you to do. He gave the people a
Speaker:warning about how a king should live in Israel. He says, when
Speaker:you come into the land that the Lord your God has given you. Now remember,
Speaker:Moses is not going with them. He says,
Speaker:and you possess it and dwell in it, then Say I'll set a king over
Speaker:me. Like all the nations that are around you, you can indeed set a king
Speaker:over you, whom the Lord your God will choose one from among your
Speaker:brothers you shall set as king over you. You shall not put a
Speaker:foreigner or you may not put a foreigner over you who's not your
Speaker:brother. Only he must not acquire many
Speaker:horses for himself or cause the people to return to
Speaker:Egypt in order to acquire many horses. That's pretty like
Speaker:obscure, specific thing, right? You're not allowed to
Speaker:have 10 nickels in your pocket if you're a king, right?
Speaker:You can't have a lot of horses, and you can't go and all the horses.
Speaker:You better not go to Egypt and get the horses. That's
Speaker:since the Lord has said to you, you shall not return in that way again.
Speaker:And he shall not acquire many wives for himself,
Speaker:lest he turn his heart, turn away.
Speaker:Nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver or gold. So
Speaker:Moses said, you can have a king, but the king must not do three things.
Speaker:Have a lot of horses, and especially the Egyptian horses. Take a bunch of
Speaker:wives and have a lot of silver and gold, right? Why is this
Speaker:man ever live? 2nd Chronicles 2 Now, the weight of
Speaker:the gold that came to Solomon in one year was
Speaker:666 talents of gold, besides that
Speaker:which the explorers and merchants bought. And all the kings of Arabia
Speaker:and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. King Solomon
Speaker:made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 600 shekels of
Speaker:beaten gold. When at each shield,
Speaker:600 shekels in 200 shields. And he made
Speaker:300 shields of beaten gold, 300 shekels of gold. I mean, there's a lot of
Speaker:gold. The king also made a great. Listen to this. He made
Speaker:a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure
Speaker:gold. The throne had six steps attached to a footstool
Speaker:of gold, which were attached to the throne. And on each side of the seat
Speaker:were armrests with two lions standing beside the armrests.
Speaker:So you picture it. The man's got a throne made of ivory, covered in
Speaker:gold, with two lions that he puts his hand on, and six steps going
Speaker:down with a golden footstool at the bottom. And there were 12
Speaker:lions, so six lions on each side going down.
Speaker:And nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom.
Speaker:All of King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold,
Speaker:and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure
Speaker:gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the of
Speaker:Solomon. Moses said, you got three rules, don't have a lot of silver and
Speaker:gold. And Solomon's like, watch all. I'll get all the gold. All the gold.
Speaker:So much gold. Silver is like rocks.
Speaker:Then he says, don't have many horses, especially those from Egypt. Well,
Speaker:Solomon do. Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen and had
Speaker:1400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen.
Speaker:A horseman has to ride on what? That's 12,000
Speaker:horses. Look at this. Even better. Gets even better. Whom he stationed in the
Speaker:chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. And the king made silver
Speaker:as common in Jerusalem as stone. And he made cedar as plentiful as the
Speaker:sycamore of shepherd. And Solomon's import of horses
Speaker:was from Egypt and Kew.
Speaker:What a joke, bro. Like. And the king's traders
Speaker:received them from Kew at a price. Don't have a lot of horses and don't
Speaker:especially don't get them from Egypt. I'm going to get all the horses and
Speaker:especially the ones from Egypt, he said. All right, that's
Speaker:two. Strike two. How about this? Don't take many wives. What
Speaker:does Solomon do? This boy's out of control now. Solomon loved many
Speaker:foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh,
Speaker:Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, Hittite women. He
Speaker:didn't discriminate. If you're a woman, Sodom is like, hey,
Speaker:girl, bring her over here. I need to talk to her. We laugh, but this
Speaker:man is out of control. The wisest man to ever live.
Speaker:And Moses said, you got three rules for kings. He's like, I'm not following any
Speaker:of them. From the nations concerning
Speaker:which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, you shall not enter into
Speaker:marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away
Speaker:your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. He had
Speaker:700 wives.
Speaker:700 wives who were
Speaker:princesses, right? You don't even need. You know how one princess
Speaker:acts? Man had 700 princesses
Speaker:and 300 concubines. Now look at this. This is where it gets
Speaker:heartbreaking. And his wives turned away his heart
Speaker:from when Solomon was old. His wives turned away his heart after
Speaker:other gods. His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his
Speaker:God, as was the heart of David, his father. For Solomon went
Speaker:after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom,
Speaker:the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what
Speaker:was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly
Speaker:follow the Lord, as David his father,
Speaker:had done. The wisest man to ever live
Speaker:made some of the most foolish choices on the planet.
Speaker:How? By leaning on his own
Speaker:understanding. He wrote it and didn't follow
Speaker:it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Speaker:and lean not on your own understanding.
Speaker:Moses said you got three things for a king not to do
Speaker:and Solomon went 10x on all three of them.
Speaker:James warns against this same type of foolishness.
Speaker:James likely understood these stories. I look
Speaker:at all of his Old Testament callbacks, I'm like, there's no way James didn't
Speaker:know. He warns against foolishness in six
Speaker:areas in the book of James. 1. Being
Speaker:materialistic. Come now you rich, weep and howl for the
Speaker:miseries that are coming upon you. Doubting God.
Speaker:But let him ask in faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is
Speaker:like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. That
Speaker:person must not suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a
Speaker:double minded man, unstable in all his
Speaker:ways. Number three, James third warning.
Speaker:Blaming God for our bad actions. If you're writing these down,
Speaker:I'll leave them up at the end. Let no one say when he's
Speaker:tempted, I'm being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil. He
Speaker:himself tempts no one. Each person is tempted when he's lured
Speaker:and enticed by his own desire,
Speaker:yielding to Satan's temptations. You adulterous people. Do
Speaker:you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore,
Speaker:whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy
Speaker:of God, creating strife and
Speaker:division. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among
Speaker:you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?
Speaker:And finally being self centered, you desire
Speaker:and you do not have, so you murder, you covet and you cannot
Speaker:obtain. So you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you
Speaker:do not ask and you ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly
Speaker:to spend it on your passions. James
Speaker:warns against being as foolish as Solomon. He is telling the
Speaker:church, you guys are being
Speaker:foolish. The same way that King Solomon was
Speaker:being foolish by knowing better and choosing to do it
Speaker:anyways. I like to think that
Speaker:maybe if Solomon had James letter he might have got his act
Speaker:together at the end. You know better
Speaker:guys. This is what James is saying. You know better.
Speaker:You know better. You have been awakened to the truth.
Speaker:Now live like it. Don't be
Speaker:foolish church. Because God is
Speaker:for you. He has bought you with a hefty,
Speaker:hefty price. He has given you his Holy Spirit.
Speaker:He is jealous for you. Stop
Speaker:being friends with the world because
Speaker:that is foolishness. And this is what James
Speaker:Letter to the church is all about. Let us pray. Father, we
Speaker:thank you for real talk. I thank you for James and the
Speaker:beautiful way that he was able to chanter his human
Speaker:emotion into a spirit driven and led letter that
Speaker:is a warning against Christian churches falling away
Speaker:from the truth. God, let us not be foolish like
Speaker:Solomon, who, although he was wise, he made
Speaker:choices that dishonored you and he went after other gods and he was
Speaker:materialistic in his game. God, let us
Speaker:be a generous people. Let us be like the early church
Speaker:who came together and broke bread and prayed for the sick
Speaker:and saw mighty moves. Lord God, protect our hearts
Speaker:against the deceit, deceitfulness of the
Speaker:world and its desires. We know that the world is passing away and the
Speaker:lust thereof. But he who does the will of God abides forever. God, we know
Speaker:that it's not always going to be easy, but you said
Speaker:you'd go with us. So Father, protect us against foolishness.
Speaker:Thank you for your word. And I pray that anything that I have said over
Speaker:this series that have just been tickling itching
Speaker:ears or that are funny moments, people want to hold on,
Speaker:I pray that you would erase that from their memory. And the words that I've
Speaker:spoken that are true and honest and of good report and that are
Speaker:scripturally sound and fundamental theology,
Speaker:God, I pray that you would bring those to the memory of the people that
Speaker:have been under this teaching, God, and that the Holy Spirit, you would use that
Speaker:to bring glory to the name of Jesus and advance your kingdom here on earth.
Speaker:Father, we love you and we thank you. It's in Christ's name I pray.
Speaker:Amen and amen. Happy Thanksgiving,
Speaker:Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. And
Speaker:when I come back, y' all better be sitting right over here. We'll see you,
Speaker:Spring House. Hey, guys, we do have food ministry after this, if you wanted to
Speaker:come out and help. We need help unloading. Okay.
