February 10, 2025 • 66 mins
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This episode explores the genuine nature of faith and the call to action within the Christian community, particularly amidst distractions like the Super Bowl. It emphasizes the importance of living out true faith through tangible deeds, inspired by teachings from the book of James.
• Discussion on the cultural impact of events like the Super Bowl on church attendance
• Mission statement of Christian Warrior Church reinforcing spiritual education and action
• The necessity of tangible acts of kindness as evidence of faith
• Analysis of biblical figures like Abraham and Rahab exemplifying faith through action
• Encouragement to reject superficial beliefs and engage deeply with scripture
• Call for practical steps to serve others and lead spiritually within families and communities
Christian Warrior Talk is Sponsored by Trident Shield, your trusted ally in violence preparedness. Trident Shield helps safeguard your loved ones with expert training and consulting. Trident Shield, defending faith through empowered preparedness because together, we save lives."
Welcome to Christian Warrior Mission: the ministry where Christian warriors are forged, equipped, and united for the battles of life and faith. Our channel is dedicated to empowering you to stand firm, advance the line, and claim victory for Christ’s Kingdom. We offer two powerful streams of content:
Christian Warrior Talk: Join us for a dynamic fellowship show where every episode challenges you to fight three essential battles:
Heart Alignment: Begin with a prayer of gratitude and humility, aligning your heart with the Lord.
Relational Pursuit: Deepen your relationship with Jesus by studying His Word—one chapter at a time—and through prayer.
Fellowship & Accountability: Build strong, iron-sharpening relationships as we invest in one another’s growth.
Centered on the Five Pillars: Faith, Family, Fitness, Fundamentals, and Finances, our discussions span Scripture, discipleship, tactical preparedness, self-defense, homesteading, and more.
Christian Warrior Church Sermons: Experience powerful expositional and topical sermons streamed live from our sanctuary:
When to Watch: Christian Warrior Talk: Live on X, Rumble, YouTube, and Facebook on Wednesdays at 9 PM EST.
Christian Warrior Church Sermons: Live at 11 AM EST (in-person/online).
All content will be uploaded to podcast platforms the same week they aired live.
Nehemiah 4:14
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are in the book of James today.
Happy Sunday to you, and ifyou're watching this and if
you're in church, you are theminority today.
Today is one of the leastchurch attended days out there
Super Bowl Sunday and we'regoing to talk about that.
Yeah, we don't even like as aformer sports junkie.
Today was my secondChristmasmas, right, typically,
(00:25):
because one I was a new englandpatriots fan during all the
dynasties and so every year wewere in it.
You know probably what thekansas city chiefs feel like.
Now I'm proud to say I think Ionly know two people who still
play in the league.
I think that's patrick mahomesand the kelsey dude, and I don't
even know his first name, but,um, that's it.
That's the only two I know.
I used to know every rosterforward and back, which is
(00:46):
disgusting.
So we're going to cover thistoday, but we're in the book of
James and we're going to be inJames 2 today.
So if you guys want to get yourBibles out and I've got a gift
for you guys here you go.
Yeah, yeah, those were donatedto the church by a veterans
organization.
So, and those were donated tothe church by a veterans
(01:06):
organization, so it specificallyspeaks to vets, but just to let
you know it didn't cost meanything.
Somebody else made sure thatthat happened and we got here
because I know we spoke toveterans and stuff.
So welcome to Christian WarriorChurch, a home church,
community ministry and farm thatforges Christian Warriors for
Today's Challenge.
This is going to be the lastday I read our mission statement
.
Everyone in here will bereciting really my mom's heard
(01:28):
it like 6,000 times now, butit's going to be the last time I
read it.
That'll be the short one fromnow on.
But we've gotten so many newsubscribers and so many people
checking us out online.
I mean we just crossed.
I mean it's nothing but like20,000 followers on Twitter.
You know we've got another 700,I think, on YouTube, which
(01:49):
YouTube has been the bane of ourexistence.
You know they try to censor mefor anything I say or do.
Every time I try to boost avideo, you know if you think it
would get better, it's not, buteven there we're gaining
traction.
We're getting, you know, a lotmore traction there.
Rumble doing well, facebookdoing.
(02:12):
Facebook didn't mess with usmuch.
They might have.
They might have suppressed ourreach, but I never got a hate
mail from them saying that youknow you said something that
violated our trans rainbow flagcoalition, satanic Bible thing,
so anyway.
So let's get into our missionstatement.
Christian Warrior Church standsas a training ground for
discipleship and a forge forChristian Warriors, uniting
(02:34):
faith and purpose in every stepof the journey.
Our mission is to transform men, women and families into
fearless Christian Warriorsthrough discipleship, biblical
truth and hands-on training.
We are building a fellowship ofbelievers united under Christ,
living out a biblical worldviewand advancing his kingdom with
strength and purpose.
We are committed to forging meninto biblical masculine leaders
(02:55):
, protectors, providers anddisciples who stand unshaken in
the faith of spiritual andworldly challenges.
Likewise, we stand in thesupreme minority of churches out
there and organizations likemyself and ministries like
myself.
We train women asChrist-centered shield maidens
embracing biblical femininitywhile standing steadfast in
(03:16):
faith and purpose, fightingalongside their family.
In the Christian church, we havea massive problem in the soft,
beta male church and we think weneed to wrap our women in
bubble wrap and our kids inbubble wrap, and I completely
disagree with that philosophy.
Our roles are different, butyour wife should be able to
(03:40):
fight alongside you, becausewho's there when you're not
there?
She is.
Who's defending the family.
When you're not there, she is.
Who's defending the family whenyou're not there?
She is.
But no, we only want to teachthem how to sew and cook and
whatever.
No, we need to teach them to beable, because we're all going
to fall.
Trust me, I have fallen, I havebeen broken, I have been
shattered, and lauren alwaysstands over me with a shield and
(04:05):
covers me and fights to get meto my feet.
So if you don't have that, youhave no idea what it's like to
be married to a biblical womanwho knows what she's doing.
And there's nothing like it.
That is how we were made to bein the garden.
Imagine Garden of Eden.
(04:26):
After, you know, adam and Eveget cast out.
Who do you think protected thekids?
Well, the only man on theplanet was gone.
You know the wife did right.
So this isn't new.
You know everyone.
You know there's this thingwhere women just don't have to
(04:47):
know how to make dresses.
No, no, they need to becompetent, just like the men
need to be competent, and that'swhat we do here.
That's what we do here.
So, at Christian Warrior Church,we prepare warriors for both
spiritual and kinetic warfare,equipping them with the armor of
God, the courage of faith andthe skills to prevail.
Through fellowship, therefining fire of God's word and
(05:08):
the bonds of united brotherhood.
We are creating a godly, lovingand resilient community, forged
to stand boldly for Christ,advancing his truth, love in
every battle and every season oflife.
Everybody wants to callthemselves a warrior.
In fact, we got away fromcalling ourselves Christian
Warrior Mission because I was sodisgusted with everybody
throwing that title around andthink, because you read a couple
(05:29):
Bible verses, you're a warrior.
No, no, no, no.
You have to be physicallydangerous to be a warrior.
You have to be physically andcapably dangerous to be a
warrior, all right.
So, and mama bears, nobody'smore dangerous than you and your
kids are threatened, and youknow and that's how it should be
right when your family'sthreatened and men, it's our job
(05:50):
to acquire those skills andpass them on to our family, to
our sons, our daughters, ourwives, whoever, and that's what
we do here.
So again, just because you wentto a boot camp and they called
you a warrior for whateversomewhere, somehow doesn't mean
if you're not in this way oflife, not lifestyle, way of life
(06:12):
where you are training in thegym, you are learning how to
shoot.
You're learning how to defendyourself.
You're learning how to providefor your family with
homesteading, with how to growstuff, how to raise stuff, how
to process, how to hunt, how todo all those things.
You guys remember I was a sillycity boy.
(06:35):
You know, when I grew up Ididn't know how to do any of
those things until I got out.
You know, being in the saleteams they taught me a lot of
stuff, but all the farming stuff.
They taught me a lot of stuff,but all the farming stuff.
We came here, lauren and I hadnot a day one of knowledge to do
this and we have been drinkingthrough the fire hose to be able
to pass it on to you, becausethis is the only way to live,
(06:55):
maybe not at the scale we'redoing, but having your own eggs,
having your own chickens,having your own beef, having
your own dairy cow.
Like you want to know truewealth it's a dairy cow.
Now it's also a prison.
True wealth is having peoplethat'll help you have a dairy
cow, having friends in acongregation or neighbors
that'll come over and milk foryou so you can go away for a
(07:17):
weekend.
But in fact, lauren may vanishat any time.
She's on the other side of thiswall right now, I believe.
If you are, lauren, bang on thewall.
We'll hear it in like fiveminutes when she hears it.
But Mocha, who is a week pastdue at this point a week for
(07:38):
jerseys they typically go sooner.
So I think she's only a day ortwo over what an Angus was.
She's half Well, she's onequarter Angus, or 33.
I don't know how to do that.
She's got Angus.
She's well, she's half Jersey,half Holstein.
(07:59):
No, her mom's half Jersey, halfHolstein, and her dad was all
Angus.
Figure that out, do the math.
Whatever that turns out to be,the fractions aren't my Jersey,
half Holstein, and her dad wasall Angus.
Figure that out, do the math.
Whatever that turns out to be,the fractions aren't my thing,
man.
So all right.
So 30, some odd percent, ormaybe I don't know, but so that
could happen at any moment.
I'm going to have to suit out,get my chains and pull the calf
(08:21):
out, which, wow, wouldn't thatbe something on YouTube?
So, anyways.
So this is the way, and it's alot of work and it's exhausting
and there are days that I wantto quit.
There are a lot of days I wantto quit that, like we learned
last week in James trials andhard times and all that stuff
(08:43):
they will strengthen us.
They are what build stuff.
They are what strengthen us.
They are what build faith.
They are what build endurance.
I remember we've heard Paultalk about that in the past as
well.
So one thing you're going tolearn being a farmer and being,
you know, raising animals isit's almost completely in God's
(09:03):
court, right you are, you dowhat you do, and then the
animals do what they do, whichis as God programmed them, and
then you put the chaos ofweather and critters and
predators and everything else inthe mix and you get total
dependence on the Lord, which iswhy you know, before modern
(09:24):
irrigation and everything elsegoing on there, I mean, if it
didn't rain, your crops died andyou starved, right, that's the
harsh word.
If it didn't rain, the grassdidn't grow and your animals
starved, right?
So this level of dependency yes, we can reach outside it now
and buy things that willbankrupt you.
Trust me, it gets expensive.
(09:44):
Everyone thinks they're goingto start farming and they're
going to save money.
It is a never-ending money pit.
You don't do it to save money.
There's only one time you savemoney.
That's with a calf that wasborn on your property, you're
raised on your property, youprocess it on your property and
then you make great stuffbecause all you had to pay for
(10:06):
food grass, some food as youfinished it, and there, because
the price of beef is insane, youactually make out on that.
Okay, if you go to a butcher,you're going to do 70 cents a
pound or a dollar a pound,depending on where you're going
for them to process it.
And again, so you got athousand pound cow, you get, you
know, 1100 pound hang weight,something like that times 70, do
(10:29):
the math?
Okay, but it does work out.
And knowing, here's what I cantell you the more I work with
God's creation, the closer I getto him and the more I am blown
away by his brilliance.
That my little brain, my littlegreat brain here you know, was
(10:52):
made in his image and I canprobably, I can probably only
understand, and even Elon Muskcan probably understand one
trillionth of a percent of whatGod may know.
Right, and that even that, howdo you know?
Infinite, infinite is a numberyou can't even understand.
Trying to say you canunderstand infinite, it breaks
(11:13):
our brain, it's really that.
So a couple of announcementsand we'll get into the sermon.
Christian Warrior Talk has movedto Sundays at 9.
We didn't do one last nightjust because of a lot of stuff
going on.
But starting next week weactually hired a YouTube
consultant to help us.
That's why you'll see brandingchanging.
You're going to see some stuffgoing Because people who are
(11:34):
investing in this ministrythey're all online and if
they're funding the ministry,then I'm going to meet them
where they're at and I'm goingto try to give them the best
product I can.
Then I'm going to meet themwhere they're at and I'm going
to try to give them the bestproduct I can, and it's the only
way I can reach veterans inMassachusetts, california,
seattle, detroit.
(11:55):
You know these hell holes wherethey're completely isolated,
alone in their own enemyterritory.
So that's our ChristianFellowship show, where we do
Christian life, talk about allthings Christian life, prepping,
homesteading, tactics and newsstories that affect us all.
We talked about Mocha she mightbe in labor right now, who
knows.
And then I will be announcingour fellowship fires again.
(12:16):
Once a month we're going to doa fellowship fire here where we
go up to the cross up on atWarrior's Rest.
The cross at Warrior's Rest upthere on the hill where we have
a giant fire pit, a pavilion,and we're going to do fellowship
up there and hang out, sitaround the fire, adult beverages
(12:36):
for those who want to do adultbeverages, non-adult beverages
for everyone else who does notwant to do adult beverages.
But it's, bring what you wantand we'll have some.
You know some stuff to eat, butit's getting around the fire.
You know, as God intended, likeI, just I'm so jealous of the
disciples sitting around thefire with Jesus on the
wilderness, like that's theoriginal caveman TV guys,
(12:59):
there's one channel, it's thebest channel ever.
It's snap crackle pops, it'ssurround sound, it's got smells,
it's got everything.
And getting up there and doingsome stuff around that.
I really want to do that.
And what I find is the more youspend time around the fire with
somebody, the better you trulyknow them, the better you truly
know them.
So we're going to be announcingthose dates here.
(13:20):
We'll be doing them on Fridaynights, right, because a lot of
Friday nights I'm traveling nowwith Trident Shield doing the
security work, consulting andemergency preparedness for
schools and Christianorganizations.
But that's why we're not doingthe Saturday night the show that
time, because once a month Ican schedule around that All
(13:41):
right.
So be looking for that.
So let's go to prayer, dearHeavenly Father.
Lord, we thank you today foryour day.
Lord, we ask that you emboldenus.
Lord, today we talk about oneof your champions, james, who
his faith was legendary,unshakable, even unto death.
(14:02):
But, lord, he was also taughtand walked out.
Practical faith, lord, realfaith, lord, on this day, that's
money called Super Bowl Sunday.
It's not by accident that it'son your day.
It's not by accident.
The most popular sport inAmerica is on your day.
(14:25):
To pull men out of churches andthen distract them.
Lord, lord, open your people'seyes to see the war that has
been waged upon you withentertainment and distraction.
Lord, give me the words tooffend the sin in those, but not
(14:45):
the person.
To offend the sin in everyonewho's not walking it out, but
not to offend them personally,because I'm not attacking them.
They've been misled, they'reconfused, they're lost.
So let this message today goout and be a resounding siren to
(15:08):
call them home, to light a firein their chest for you and only
you.
Lord, we are so grateful that wehit the lottery when you
blessed us and made us citizensof the United States of America.
By birth, we were born in themost prosperous nation and the
(15:29):
most prosperous of times inhistory.
And with great privilege comesgreat responsibility.
But every American can reachout and touch the entire world
with social media, never mindthe circle that's at their feet.
World of social media, nevermind the circle that's at their
feet.
Lord, put up the burden ofresponsibility of that privilege
(15:53):
, that power, that strength thatwe have here to use it not for
our glory, but your glory.
Lord.
The light of fire in us to havea heart to see people not burn
for eternity.
Fire in us to have a heart tosee people not burn for eternity
.
Lord again, help us be doersand not just talkers.
Give us a faith that's alive.
(16:16):
Lord, we thank you for yourcreation the heavens and the
earth, the moon, the stars, thesun, everything from the tallest
mountain to the ocean andeverything in between, all the
critters and all the plants andeverything.
We thank you.
We treasure the relationshipsof those who are in our life.
Lord, help us maximize everymoment when we're with people.
(16:42):
Help us be present and notdistracted with our
entertainment and devices.
Help us to look in each other'seyes and connect, because we
never know when the next time wemay ever see them again.
Lord, help us to remember thosewho are no longer with us in
the times that we store intotheir eyes and we're present
(17:04):
with them.
Lord, when we look at eachother's lives, it's direct
reflection of the heart and itmeans everything.
So, lord, may this time glorifyyou, serve you and only you.
May we proclaim you with everybreath of our lungs and serve
you with every beat of ourhearts.
(17:24):
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Now, that was a whole bunch ofgobbledygook.
I just said there in that longprayer, you don't have to do
that.
When you pray, many of you arelearning to pray for the first
time, or you're new, and allyou've got to do is when you
pray, many of you are learningto pray for the first time, or
you're new and all you got to dois a couple things.
One, you can pray like a simplechild.
Pray like you're talking toyour Heavenly Father.
Jesus gave us a model when hisdisciples asked in Matthew 6,
(17:47):
9-13.
Our Father, which art in heaven,hallowed be thy name, our
Father.
That's who we're talking to,our Heavenly Father.
And even though all of societytoday has mocked and degraded
fathers to the point wherethey're the punchline of every
talk show.
They're the punchline of everycomedy.
They're the useful Al Bundyslobs, right, the useless Al
(18:09):
Bundy slobs on the couch.
This is your heavenly father.
This is the father of theuniverse, father of all creation
.
So you go there with respectOur father, which are in heaven,
our father who's in heaven.
That's who you're talking to.
Hallowed, be your name, holy,be your name Separate, right.
God is.
Everyone says God is love.
(18:30):
Yes, god is love, but God ismany things, but there's only
one thing that he's three timesand it's holy, holy, holy.
Separate times, separate times.
Separate, that means set apartdifferent times.
Infinity times, infinity times,infinity, right.
That's what that is.
That's how different he is.
So, hallowed be thy name.
(18:51):
Gives him his props, hisrespect.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth as itis in heaven.
So we want your kingdom, as itis in heaven, to come down here.
We want sin crushed.
We want people to turn to you.
We want you to come back andreign over us and to reinstate
(19:11):
Eden.
Give us this day our dailybread.
Give us what we need, not whatwe want.
Give us what we need, for youknow what we need far more than
we ever do.
Forgive us our debts, forgive usour sins, but there's a catch,
as we forgive our debtors, right?
(19:34):
So as much as you forgive, soas much as you forgive is as
much as you're going to beforgiven.
That's the measuring stick.
So you better be like me andforgive everyone, because I need
a lot of forgiveness, right?
No matter what you've done tome, you ask forgiveness.
Boom done, it's good to go,because I know my bill in heaven
, right?
I know what God died for me andit's a terrible list and lead
(19:59):
us not into temptation, butdeliver us from evil, for thine
is the kingdom, the power andthe glory forever.
Amen.
Now, that's one way you can readit.
Or you can just speak to themplainly, simply, alone, in your
room.
Get on your knees and show them.
Get on your knees.
That's a universal sign, that'sa sign to the universe that you
(20:21):
are respecting God.
That way, there's no arrogance,there's no pride.
You are coming on your knees toGod and that is a cosmic symbol
that you are surrendering tohim and watch it change
everything.
All right.
So we are going to be in James 2, and I want to recap a little
bit from James 1.
(20:42):
All right, but first let's setthe tone.
All right, many professingChristians claim to believe in
Jesus but live as though he haslittle influence in their daily
lives.
This mindset, which I call fireinsurance Christianity.
What is fire insuranceChristianity?
That is a cultural Christian.
That means you say you believein Jesus so you won't go to hell
(21:04):
, but you don't take any time toread this.
So do you really love him?
It's like saying, oh, I love mywife and she wrote me a letter
and I'm just not going to readit because I really don't care,
right?
No, what do you do when you'rein the military or you get a
(21:24):
letter from a loved one?
You can't get it open fastenough.
You know, back in the day weused to send it through snail
mail, right?
Something came in and youtreasured every letter.
How many of us treat the Biblelike that?
Or is the Bible more like duty,where something came in and you
treasured every letter?
How many of us treat the Biblelike that?
Or is the Bible more like duty?
My friend Ken Graves said Godloved you so much that he texted
(21:52):
you his word.
He texted you his word, he gaveyou his word.
People died to get you this.
Lots People died to get youthis.
Lots of people died to get youthis.
And how many of us is it just athing that sits on the
nightstand while we binge watchwhatever Netflix series are out
there, or watch endless sportsand everything else?
So fire insurance?
(22:13):
Christian is what the world maycall also a cultural Christian.
They were told they wereChristian.
They're probably baptized once,or they said a prayer once and
then didn't do anything else.
Christian.
This occurs when people want toavoid hell, yet remain
untouched by Christ transformingpower.
Their faith functions like aninsurance policy pulled out only
(22:34):
for spiritual emergencies,instead of blazing a fire that
reshapes all life.
Let's look at today as anexample of the Super Bowl, an
example of cultural distraction.
Consider the Super Bowl, anevent that enthralls millions.
It's estimated, according toCBS, that 120 million people are
going to watch the Super Bowllive.
(22:55):
Is an estimated, according toCBS, that 120 million people are
going to watch the Super Bowllive.
People devote countless hours toanalyzing teams and commercials
.
Right, I know that when I was asports addict and you were
talking to a former sportsaddict.
Why?
Because I was miserable whenmen don't lead from the home and
men aren't leading in theirlife and they're just subject to
(23:16):
the winds.
Typically, what happens ifyou're in a marriage is the man,
the woman takes over the roleof leadership in the house and
the man completely checks out.
He comes alive in two timesDuring his entertainment, or
three times During hisentertainment, his hobby or
hanging out with his friends.
The rest of the time, he isjust doing time, doing time and,
(23:39):
trust me, I was miserable.
So guess what?
I studied every single stat.
I knew what Tom Brady had forbreakfast when he was 11 on game
day, right.
I knew every team of everyroster.
I knew what they played.
I used to watch preseasonfootball being typed into the
(24:01):
play-by-play when I was at Iraqat 3 in the morning, players
that would never play to findsome value, some distraction
from the pain and suffering.
And here's what I learned Noneof those players knew me and
none of them ever cared about me.
But Jesus knows everythingabout me, but I don't have time
(24:21):
to read his Bible.
Yeah, I think about 37 years asan atheist.
And then you know, I don't knowhow many years after that,
wandering trying to find realmen and real faith.
How many times I sang music atthe top of my lungs that was
(24:49):
absolutely abominable, whetherit be Slayer.
My favorite song when I wantedto lift heavy weight was to sing
a song called God Hates Us Allby a band called Slayer.
Nothing more vile, right orother heavy music, even the fun
stuff that was on pop.
You go back.
It's funny.
Now there's things on socialmedia and all that stuff where
it's like when you criticizeyour kids for listening to music
with horrible lyrics and all ofa sudden you start reading the
(25:11):
lyrics that you used to sing andyou're horrified at what you
used to sing.
Or you used to sit and you'rehorrified at what you used to
sing.
Or you used to sit there andthink it was a funny song about
roses and then all of a suddenit's not so funny when they're
really talking about somethingelse and all these other things.
And you see, it's always beenfilth, all the way back to Elvis
and you know Jerry Lee Lewis,great Balls of Fire what do you
(25:33):
think they were talking about?
Right Now, again, I love musicand I'm in a constant quest to
find good, particularly hardmusic to work out to, and
luckily the Christian music,which used to be terrible, has
gotten really good, just likeChristian movies used to be
terrible and they're gettingbetter, praise the Lord.
(25:57):
But how many times did I singthese godless songs with passion
, with all my heart, going downthe highway and then I remember
when I first got saved and I'min church and I'm the guy and
I'm singing Hands on my Bargain,that's for all them.
Wait a minute.
I would sing for the devil atthe top of my lungs, but I'm too
proud to sing for God who bledand died for me.
B devil at the top of my lungs,but I'm too proud to sing for
(26:20):
God who bled and died for me.
Bore, the wrath of all my sins.
What is wrong with me?
That's cultural right, that'sthe cultural contamination.
So people devote countless hoursanalyzing teams and commercials
and all these useless things.
Video games, all these things.
I love video games as much asanyone.
I love first-person shooter androle-play games and all that
stuff.
(26:40):
They will take over your lifeand they're another form of
escape.
You've got to find the rightbalance.
You've got to find the rightbalance to where you're serving
and, yeah, maybe you have a timewhere you get to have a little
bit of fun and do what you gotto do, but it's after you have
served your wife, your children,your community.
Men are meant to go to bedsmoked.
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That's what we're made for.
That's why we have testosterone.
That's why we have all thesethings.
We're made to be smoked.
Neglecting family worship,leaving their Bibles unread,
abdicating the call forspiritual leadership Ah, youth
pastors got that.
Well, what are you talkingabout?
(27:22):
We go to church every Sunday.
I turn them over to a bunch ofother kids his age, her age and
they run around doing all kindsof crazy stuff and drawing
things and doing whatever.
But are they seeing it in thefather and the mom at home?
That's where true wounds happenand why people fall away from
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the church when they go off tocollege.
They were walking, they weretalking one way and they never
saw it role modeled at homeappropriately and we didn't
train them up to be able tohandle the arrows and the darts
and the attacks that are inaccompany when you go off to
college, when you go away fromhome.
And all sudden you have to.
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You believe what?
Yeah, I do, and here's why, infact, you're the moron who
believes that this all startedfrom nothing.
Show me somewhere wheresomething started from.
Nothing ever doesn't exist.
Show me how a one-cell organism, if I just leave it alone the
whole amount of time, becomeseverything we have now.
It's ridiculous.
(28:24):
I can't believe.
I used to believe thatstupidity.
So here's what it boils down tono one can serve two masters.
This is Matthew 6, 24.
For he will either hate the oneand love the other, or he will
be devoted to one and despisethe other.
You cannot serve God and wealthor the world.
God demands all of you.
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He won't tolerate leftovers.
Our culture is flooded withentertainment that can lull
believers into a state ofspiritual apathy.
Think of how hard it is to be agood Christian today.
Back when we were on, the showwas only on when the show was on
.
If you wanted to watch SaturdayNight Live which I'm not saying
(29:08):
you should it had to be onSaturday Night Live.
Now you can watch 50 years ofSaturday Night Live endlessly.
You can lose years of your lifewatching, pretend and never run
out of content while you dieinside, while you isolate, while
(29:31):
the devil keeps you comfortable, fat and happy.
Here's your Grubhub, here'syour Instacart.
You don't have to leave yourhouse anymore.
We'll just keep feeding you,leaving you on that couch,
pulling you further away fromGod.
Warnings from history, cs Lewis,the Screwtape Letters.
(29:52):
If you have not read theScrewtape Letters or done the
audio book, there's some greataudio book versions where
there's different versions ofvoices and stuff, which is
really, really good, but this isfrom the screw tape letters.
Indeed, the safest road to hellis the gradual one, a gentle
slope, soft underfoot, withoutsudden turnings, without
(30:14):
milestones, without signposts.
Foot without sudden turnings,without milestones, without
signposts.
And then Tertullian in 155 to220 AD.
On entertainment, the entireapparatus of the shows is based
upon idolatry.
What is there that is not basedupon the idolatry of demons?
Neil Postman wrote when apopulation becomes distracted by
(30:38):
trivia, when cultural life isredefined as perpetual round of
entertainments, then a nationfinds itself at risk.
Culture death is a clearpossibility.
Such endless diversions canlead us into complacency, a
condition James forciblyaddresses in his epistle, and a
complacency a condition Jamesforcibly addresses in his
(31:00):
epistle a faith proclaimed butnever practiced.
How many Christians do you seelike?
And they're out there andthey're like you're a Christian
and nothing about their life isChristian.
They don't use Christianverbiage, they don't act like
Christians, there is nothing intheir life that you would see if
you're a Christian.
If you're that person, you arefailing.
I don't even know.
(31:21):
If you're, you're not evensaved.
If people can't look at you andknow, one of the first things
they say is a Christian.
That's how powerful being aChristian should be, because, oh
, he's a good person.
Well then, who's getting theglory?
There we are.
Everything you do is for Christand service to Christ At the
command of Christ.
(31:42):
You were made by Christ, bornby Christ, chosen by Christ,
groomed by Christ, the wholething.
So who gets the glory?
Christ, when you do it, who'sit for Christ?
So if they don't see Jesus,christ, you got issues.
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So I'll recap of James 1.
Who was James?
He was a brother of Jesus.
He introduced himself as aservant of God and the Lord of
Jesus.
Christ Humble Could have saidyep, I came from the holy womb
of the same womb that Jesus cameout of.
I'm in that.
He's my bro.
I knew him longer than all youguys.
(32:24):
He was a foundational leader inthe early church, known for his
uncompromising commitment topractical living faith.
That's what we've lost Church.
You know, in the ReformedChurch we want to talk about the
original word in the Greek andthis, that and the total, and
then we send them out and it'slike no application.
What do I do with that?
How does that help my marriage?
How does that help me raise mykids?
(32:46):
How does this help me deal withthe second?
I leave church the fullautomatic machine guns that are
being fired at me from the enemy, from all sides.
James dealt with this when thechurch was truly persecuted.
He was murdered, martyred.
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He also wasn't one of the first12 apostles, because he didn't
become an apostle until afterJesus came back from the dead.
He thought he was a completeidiot before that Crazy.
He was revered for his wisdomand moral integrity in a time
(33:28):
when the church was forging itsidentity in a hostile cultural
environment.
The Jews wanted to kill him,the pagans wanted to kill him.
Everyone wanted to killChristians.
James addressed his letters toJewish believers scattered
amongst the Gentile nation.
People facing social division,persecution and everyday
challenges that you knowdemanded their faith be
(33:48):
unmistakable, visible in everyaction, and we see this in
Matthew 13, 53 through 58, mark6, 1 through6, and in Galatians
1-19,.
Paul calls James the Lord'sbrother.
So there's no doubt in whoJames was.
James was an unbeliever beforeChrist's resurrection.
In John 7, 1-9, it states James, along with his other siblings,
(34:09):
doubted Jesus' ministry duringtheir earthly life.
Which means James grew up withJesus but did not initially
believe in him as much as theMessiah.
He became a believer afterseeing Jesus resurrected.
1 Corinthians 15.7 tells usJesus appeared specifically to
James after his resurrection.
Then he appeared to James, thento all the apostles.
(34:31):
This encounter was likely theturning point of James' faith.
James became the pillar of theearly church.
After Jesus ascension, jamesbecame a key leader in the
Jerusalem church.
Paul names James, along withPeter and John, as pillars of
the church.
He led the Jerusalem counciland this is important In the
first major doctrinal debate inthe church, where the Gentiles
(34:51):
must follow Jewish laws, jamesrendered the final decision
based on Scripture, affirmingsalvation by grace, through
faith, apart from the works ofthe law.
Now we're going to talk aboutworks today.
That is what this whole thingis about.
Today, apart from works of thelaw, we're going to talk about
works, but he's saying thatfaith saves you, not your works,
which is what we all believe.
(35:12):
James was known as his holinessand devotion.
He was called James the Justand he was martyred in 62 AD,
thrown from a temple and stonedto death.
Okay, the key themes joy andtrials.
Consider it joy, my brothers,when you encounter various
trials.
Knowing the testing of yourfaith brings about perseverance,
being doers of the word James1.22.
(35:34):
But become doers of the wordand not merely hearers who
delude themselves.
And then three pure religioninvolves action, which we are
going to talk about extensivelytoday.
Pure and undefiled religionbefore God and the Father is
this to visit orphans, widowsand their affliction, and to
keep oneself unstained by theworld.
These are the themes thatforeshadow the thrust of James 2
(35:55):
.
Genuine faith must result intangible deeds.
So let's read James 2, 1through 26.
It's not a long chapter.
My brothers, do not hold yourfaith in our glorious Lord Jesus
Christ with partiality.
For if a man comes into yourassembly with a gold ring and
(36:15):
dresses in bright clothing andthere also comes in a poor man
in dirty clothes and you payspecial attention to the one who
is wearing the bright clothing,you say you sit here in a good
place and you say to the poorman you stand over here or sit
down by my footstool.
You've not made distinctionsamong yourselves and become or
sorry, have you not madedistinctions among yourselves
(36:37):
and become judges with evilthoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers.
Did not God choose the poor ofthis world to be rich in faith
and heirs of the kingdom whichhe promised to those who love
him?
But you have dishonored thepoor man.
Is it not the rich who oppressyou and they themselves drag you
into court?
Do they not blaspheme the goodname by which you have been
(37:00):
called?
If, however, you are fulfillingthe royal law according to
Scripture the royal lawaccording to Scripture you shall
love your neighbor as yourselfyou are doing well.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're poor.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're rich.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're rich.
It's not what they can do foryou.
That is the consumerist,transactional nature of society
(37:23):
today.
We like people based upon howvaluable they are to us, which
means they're serving us, whichis completely backwards from
Christianity.
Where we're called to servethem is completely backwards
from Christianity where we'recalled to serve them.
You know that old Janet Jacksonsong I'm going to show my agent.
What have you done for melately?
(37:45):
Right, it's not that we are tobe in constant service.
What are you doing, girl?
Can you close the door?
Thank you?
Yeah, you just went to go getan apple.
We'll wait for you, don't youworry.
(38:05):
Go on over here.
Your mom must be delivering acow.
Go on over to Nana over there.
You guys can't even see theponytail, just a little ponytail
drifting around like a sharkfin.
Okay, sweetie, you need to bequiet.
We're doing church, okay, whereyou got to go.
(38:27):
Oh boy, so again we have itbackwards.
What can you do for me insteadof what I can do for you?
If you think of the world asyou're a soul doctor out there,
right, you are a trained updisciple of Christ.
You are a soul doctor.
You know the answer.
You know what to prescribe this.
(38:50):
And if everyone around you issick, are they serving you or
are you serving them?
You'll be serving them.
Right, because you know theanswers.
But if you show partiality, youare committing sin and being
convicted by the law astransgressors.
Whoever keeps the whole law andyet stumbles at one point has
become guilty of all.
For he who said do not commitadultery also said do not commit
(39:13):
murder.
Now, if you do not commitadultery but murder, you have
become a transgressor of the law.
So speak and so act, as thosewho are being judged by the law
of freedom, for judgment will bemerciless to the one who has
shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Now, verse 13 is reallyimportant for those of us who
(39:34):
have been injured in our lives.
We all go throughout our livesand we all acquire wounds.
Some of us have horriblestories that no one knows about
and others of us people knowabout it because, well, it was
really bad and when the newsfound out.
Or friends or family, whatever.
We all have wounds People have.
We all have wounds.
(39:55):
People have to be human is tobe wronged by humans.
Okay, that is coming down thepipe.
Your heart is going to bebroken.
You're going to be betrayed.
You're going to be failed.
I'm going to fail you.
Please forgive me when I do.
I'm just a man.
Okay, nothing special.
I fail 100 times a day.
(40:17):
You have to forgive your deepest, darkest enemy or else you
won't be forgiven, because youare the deepest, darkest enemy
to Christ.
That is very, very, very, very,very hard.
But what you'll find when youtalk to psychologists like
(40:38):
Jordan Peterson and all thatforgiving someone is not for you
.
For them, it's for you.
The day you forgive someone andI've forgiven plenty of people
that weight is gone.
It's no longer a bag you'redragging with you you have to
put it down and move forward andyou're lighter.
It's poison taken out of yoursystem.
(40:59):
And know that if you don'tforgive, by the end of days when
you stand naked before the Lord, he will know.
He will know there is nothingkept from him.
What use is it, my brothers, ifsomeone says that he has faith
(41:21):
but has no works?
Can that faith save him?
For brother or sister iswithout clothing and in need of
daily food and one of you saysgo in peace, be warm and filled,
and yet do not give them whatis necessary for their body.
What use is that?
Even so, faith if it has noworks is dead by itself.
(41:41):
But some will say you havefaith and I have works.
Show me your faith without theworks and I will show you my
faith by my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Now you believe that there isone.
You do well.
You believe that there is oneGod.
3 in 1.
The demons also believe inshudder.
(42:03):
So you say you believe in God.
Well, even the demons anddevils believe that and we know
where they're going.
But are you willing torecognize you foolish fellow,
that faith without works isuseless?
And he's going to give us twoexamples here.
Was not Abraham, our father,justified by works when he
offered up Isaac, his son, onthe altar?
You see that faith was workingwith his works and, as a result
(42:26):
of the works, faith wasperfected.
If he didn't have faith hewouldn't have done it.
And the scripture was fulfilled, which says and Abraham
believed God and it was countedto him as righteousness and he
was called a friend of God.
Now, no one has been harder onAbraham than me.
I have gone after Abraham witheverything I have because of a
lot of different reasons.
(42:46):
One you know using his wife asa bartering tool and saying his
sister so he can have a poshlife and, while you know, she's
a concubine, or be married offto Pharaoh or whoever.
And then, lo and behold, thesons do the same thing.
There's a lot of flaws in it.
But if he's a friend of God,god knows him better than I do.
I need to get out of my own wayand just say if he's a friend
(43:09):
of God, so be it.
That also shows you that Godcan be friends with some pretty
horrible people, as he redeemsthem.
You see that a man is justifiedby works and not by faith alone.
And in the same way, was notRahab the prostitute also
(43:31):
justified by works when shereceived the messengers and sent
them out by another way?
Justified by works when shereceived the messengers and sent
them out by another way?
For just as the body withoutthe spirit is dead, so also is
faith without works is dead.
So let's break this down, mybrothers.
Do not hold your faith inglorious Lord Jesus Christ of
partiality.
In a world obsessed with statusand celebrity, believers must
(43:51):
reflect on God's impartial love.
Partiality destroys the poorand fosters disunity, favoritism
.
You want to see a familydestroyed?
Favor one child over anotherRight you want to see that'll
sow discord for generations.
You want to see a church tornapart or an organization apart?
(44:15):
Do not treat everyone equally.
You know, go Belichick, who'sfootball on this Sunday.
I hate to bring up football,but he treated his stars the
same way as he treated hisgrunts.
I remember there was a playerwho nobody knows, but Randy Moss
, was late to practice one day.
Randy Moss was the bestreceiver in the NFL and he
(44:37):
benched him.
Either everyone plays by therules or they don't.
We all are under God and we'reall under God's rule.
Do not be just because somebodynicer to someone, just because
they can do something for you.
Remember whoever was, was kindor did something for the least
(45:00):
of these did them for me.
That's jesus's own words,talking about visiting people in
prisons and orphans and widows.
Augustine, a great father ofthe church on true honor
Distinguish the faithful fromthe unfaithful not by wealth or
poverty, but by their faith andtheir works.
(45:20):
Faith without works is dead.
This is the main part of thiswhole thing.
The central argument for Jamesis, even so, this is 217,.
If it has no works, it's deadby itself.
And then, in 219, you believethat God is one you do.
Well, the demons also believein shudder.
Mere intellectual assent isinsufficient.
(45:42):
Like I remember when I firstgot saved and I went from
atheist to agnostic and I'm like, okay, something did this.
There is a creator, but that'snot me surrendering to him,
that's not me knowing him, I'mstill going to hell, okay.
And then when I became a carnalChristian in my walk, where,
okay, I know just enoughChristianity to be dangerous,
(46:06):
I'm just going to pray clear myslate before I die and I'll be
good to go Right.
No, even demons recognize God'sreality.
It remained a rebellion.
Authentic faith compels godlyactions, and I'm going to
mispronounce this.
John Chrysostom, 347 to 407 AD.
(46:28):
Faith and works must acttogether.
One cannot stand without theother.
Who believes and does not acttogether, one cannot stand
without the other.
Who believes and does not actis no better than demons, some
other church fathers and amodern reflection.
If faith this is again from StJohn Chrysostom, someone's going
(46:50):
to crucify me online for that.
If faith is genuine, it must beactive.
It is like the sun that notonly shines in theory but warm,
but warms and enlivens all ittouches.
A faith uncompanied by works isas empty as a left lamp, left
unlit.
That really struck me hard,being a farmer now and knowing
(47:13):
that I need the sun to grow myplants out there.
It's got to be real light.
It's got to be real light, andlight when you're freezing to
death that doesn't have heat isuseless.
St Augustine, again, true faith,like a seed planted in the
(47:35):
heart, naturally bears fruit.
Without the fruits of righteouswork, what is professed faith
but a barren tree incapable ofsustaining life or bearing
witness to God's grace?
St Jerome, do not be contentwith a faith that speaks in
silence.
Let it resound in acts of somodern reflection.
(47:55):
I say A living faith is like aroaring fire.
It warms your heart andilluminates the darkness.
Let your deeds be the evidenceof the truth you profess.
(48:16):
So we already know aboutbiblical examples of this, where
Abraham was willing tosacrifice Isaac.
Rahab, a prostitute risked herlife by hiding the Israelite
spies in Jericho and helped themget out, proving her sincere
faith in God and help them getout, proving her sincere faith
in God.
Additional, supporting scriptureof judgment by works.
(48:38):
James isn't alone in teachingthat our deeds reveal the
reality of our faith.
Paul and others in the OldTestament teach the same truth.
This is going to jump out atyou and it's going to convict
you, like whoa, 2 Corinthians5.10, for we must all appear
(49:00):
before the judgment seat ofChrist so that each one may
receive what is due for what hehas done in the body, whether
good or evil.
Every action, good or evil,will be examined as evidence of
our faith.
Now we have a way to get out ofthat.
Repenting and owning it,confessing our sin, giving it to
Christ and turning is therepentance part.
(49:21):
If you keep doing it, are youreally repenting?
You're not turning away from it.
You're still walking towardsthat sin.
Romans 2, 6 through 8,.
He will render to each oneaccording to his works.
2, 6-8,.
He will render to each oneaccording to his works.
For those who are self-seekingand do not obey the truth, there
will be wrath and fury.
Once you know Christ, youcannot serve him.
(49:43):
You fall in love with him.
God's impartial judgment isbased upon our works, not on
superficial declarations.
3 Galatians 6-7.
Do not be deceived.
God is not mocked, for whateverone sows, that will he also
(50:04):
reap.
Our actions have eternalconsequences.
A faith that yields no works isultimately barren Meaning your
fire insurance policy iscanceled.
It didn't work, it was fake.
Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, forby grace you have been saved
through faith, and this not ofyourselves.
(50:26):
It is a gift from God, not ofworks so that one may boast, for
we all.
His workmanship created inChrist Jesus for good works, and
the last New Testament one is 1Corinthians 3, 13-15.
(50:49):
Each one's work will becomeevident, for the day will
indicate it, because it isrevealed with fire itself, and
the fire itself will test thequality of each one's work.
Jay, that's just the new test.
What about the old Psalm 62, 12.
Also to you, o Lord, belongssteadfast love, for you repay
(51:09):
each one according to his work,jeremiah 17.10.
I, the Lord, search the heartand test the mind, even to give
each one according to hisconduct, according to what his
deeds deserve.
Last one Ecclesiastes 12.14.
(51:32):
I could have went on all day,for God will bring every deed
into judgment, with every secretthing, whether good or evil.
These scriptures affirm thatGod sees every deed.
Our lives must be lived inconstant awareness that nothing
escapes his judgment, which isgreat because we can confess
them to Christ, turn from oursin and be saved.
(52:01):
So what's the application?
How do we live out faith thatworks?
We must reject the fireinsurance Christianity.
We must not be like those whoprofess Christ yet exhibit no
evidence of him or change.
James compels us to assess ourhearts.
Revelation 13, 16.
(52:24):
So because you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold, I will
spit you out of my mouth.
God condemns lukewarm faiththat fails to manifest in real
works of love and obedience,fake love.
So what are the practical steps?
How do I do this?
Lead your family spiritually,dedicate time for scripture,
(52:48):
reading, prayer and openlydiscuss about faith.
Read, lead and do the next rightthing.
You heard me say that through alot of things, read this so you
know what to do according tohis will right, lead by example
and do the next right thing.
So if you want to put them incorrect order, I guess you could
(53:13):
say read so you know his will,do the next right thing, which
causes you to lead by example.
The most effective way to leadthere is only one, and it's to
lead from the front and byexample.
Everything else fails in theend.
Serve the poor widows andorphans.
Pure and undefiled religionbefore our God, our Father,
(53:34):
exists to visit the orphans andwidows in their affliction.
It's in James 1.27.
It doesn't have to be orphansand widows.
Serve people.
You know people in your liferight now that need help.
Why are you not helping them?
And this one's going to hurtBasil the Great, 329 and 379.
(53:54):
He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked or shelter
the homeless is as guilty of asmany murders as people he could
have helped.
I read that and I almost fellout of my chair.
He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter
the homeless is guilty of asmany murders as people he could
(54:15):
have helped.
Lastly, stand firm againstcultural pressure.
Even if ridiculed, let yourintegrity and good works testify
to your faith is genuine.
Now, this is shift.
Now this is shift.
No-transcript.
(54:51):
They will shift again.
They will shift again.
They will shift again, and wemust push back against that.
It is never okay for us to allowsomeone to say something that
contradicts the Bible.
It's not good.
If it's not in here, it doesn'texist.
Every answer is right here.
(55:12):
It's not a science book.
It doesn't contradict science.
Where science and the bookcollide, there's either a couple
problems there.
Either we don't understand itthe correct way, there's a
misinterpretation, we're nottaking the right context.
(55:33):
God is the author of science.
He doesn't contradict himself.
The reason why gravity works isbecause God says so.
The reason why any theory worksor why any physics law is there
, is because it had an author,and that author was God.
So, as we find out, oh, therewas no great flood.
Oh wait, I guess there was agreat flood.
(55:53):
Oh wait, I guess there was agreat flood.
Oh wait, there was enough water.
Oh wait, there's more waterunder the earth than there is
even in the oceans.
Oh wait, science is alwayscatching up to what God said.
Now, I am not a seven-daycreationist, you know,
(56:14):
supremacist.
The Bible doesn't say the bookwas created in seven 24-hour
days.
It was in seven days accordingto God, whatever that is.
And then, when you listen to,in the beginning there was you
know I'm going to misquote it,but there's what's called the
gap theory, where it starts offwith that and there's an
indeterminate amount of time.
So basically what it says, youcould be a young earth or old
(56:35):
earth or all that stuff andguess what?
You're still going to heaven.
It doesn't matter.
It's not salvation based, solet's stop fighting about it.
It's fun to talk about, butdon't call someone a heretic
because they don't believe thatGod is as impatient as we are
and he has to do it in seven 24hour days.
Why do it?
Why don't I just do that?
(56:55):
Then, right, god is patient, aguy who has no time, no space,
no barriers.
Do you think he even caresabout a second or a moment?
No, he's going to use whateverprocesses he wants and when we
get to heaven we'll find out.
The arrogance sometimes isastounding that we think he's
going to do it our way.
He's just writing it so we canunderstand it in a way that
relates to us in my thought.
(57:17):
Conclusion a call to repentancein action.
James' message is unequivocalFaith without works is dead.
Faith without works is you'renot saved, you're not saved by
your works.
I want to say this You're savedbecause you believe and if you
really believe, you're going todo works Right.
(57:39):
I hope that's clear and I'mgoing to you know I might have
to do some cleanup on that nextweek.
I will get into it, but I knowwe're running late.
We cannot declare Jesus as Lord.
Everybody wants the Savior,save me, but nobody wants the
boss, the Lord, and that's whathe is we're living like.
(58:00):
He has no claim in our lives.
He paid for our lives.
He owns them.
Our modern society offersendless amusements, but
Scripture demands an activediscipleship marked by mercy,
love and obedience.
So, is your faith alive or justidle policy?
Just an idle policy?
(58:20):
Will you forsake distractionsto serve Christ wholeheartedly?
So let's go to prayer.
Lord, forgive our complacency.
Ignite us in vibrant faith thatoverflows in deeds of mercy,
justice and humility.
Transform our hearts so thatour works align with your will.
May our families, churches andcommunities witness the power of
(58:44):
a living faith that bringsglory to your name, in Jesus'
precious name, amen.
All right, so we believe hereand doing the Lord's Supper
every week.
If you're a baptized believer,this is for you, and we'll go
over that again always, becausethere's always somebody who has
a question online.
(59:05):
All right, we're checkingreflexes here.
There's one for Lauren, if sheneeds it.
That's my girl.
Look at that.
(59:25):
She's already got it peeled andprepped for me, because I know
how much of a fool I'm up here.
Snap it down first.
All right, that's the trick.
All right.
So why can't everyone do this?
I'm going to explain In 1Corinthians 11, 27-32,.
(59:46):
Whoever, therefore, eats thebread and drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner willbe guilty concerning the body
and the blood of the Lord.
He'll be guilty for whathappened to Christ.
Let a person examine himself,then, and so eat of the bread
and drink of the cup, for anyonewho eats and drinks without
discerning the body, eats anddrinks.
Judgment on himself.
Okay, so go ahead and closeyour eyes.
(01:00:08):
Look at your life.
Let's reflect back on themessage today.
Are we living a life of action?
(01:00:29):
Are we serving others?
Are we the servant or are webeing served?
Now see where you're notserving.
Commit to serving Repent, turnfrom that selfishness and turn
(01:00:59):
it to selflessness.
Now remember our Lord and Savior, who humbled himself to come
down as a defenseless babe, wholived a perfect, sinless life,
who went willingly to serve as asacrifice for all of our sin.
(01:01:22):
The perfect lamb, withoutblemish, without spot, god
himself made flesh.
And not only did he bear theinsults and the torture and the
whipping and the lashing andthorns and the nails, but he did
something that none of us couldever do.
(01:01:43):
He paid the price from thewrath of God poured out on him,
for all of us, and then he rosefrom the grave three days later,
victorious, defeating death, tosit at the right hand of
judgment, for God, to give usthe gift of grace.
(01:02:08):
So let us rejoice in that, inthis victory toast, in this
victory feast, in remembrance ofwhat he has done and what he is
doing, and commit back to himwhat we are to do, which is to
(01:02:28):
serve him.
Now, as they were eating, jesustook the bread and, after
blessing it, broke it, gave itto the disciples and said Take,
eat, this is my body, go aheadand eat.
And he took a cup and when hegave it thanks, he gave it to
them saying Drink of it, all ofyou, for this is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured outfor the forgiveness of sins.
(01:02:48):
Go ahead and drink.
Heavenly Father, we thank you,you, we thank you for your son,
we thank you for your creation,we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the book ofJames.
Lord, help us, light a fire inus so we will be like him that
(01:03:11):
we will walk the talk.
God, people will know us Firstas Christians.
Him that we will walk the talk.
People will know us first asChristians and then as
everything else.
Lord, I pray a prayer ofprotection over this fellowship
congregation online, now andlater, the persecuted church,
(01:03:31):
for our troops overseas, ourfirst responders at home and our
veterans of yesteryear.
Lord, I pray for the wholeworld that we wouldn't go.
Protection for the whole worldthat we won't go into World War
III.
And I pray for our leaders.
I pray for Donald Trump thatyou would give him wisdom and
that he would do your will andnot his will, that you would use
(01:03:52):
him as a righteous instrumentto fix the corruption of this
world, this country.
And I pray that America wouldturn from her sin, humble
herself, hit her knees and seekyour face that you would see her
and heal her, so that we couldonce again be one nation under
God, indivisible, with libertyand justice for all.
(01:04:15):
Now I call this fellowship toattention, to put on the full
armor of God, to strap on theshield of the faith, pick up the
sword of the Spirit and toboldly step forward to join the
shield wall locking our shieldsof faith to the left and right.
As we march forward to takeground for your kingdom, for
your glory.
In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen.
May the Lord bless you and keepyou.
(01:04:37):
May the Lord make his faceshine upon you and be gracious
to you.
May the Lord lift hiscountenance upon you and give
you peace.
God bless.
We are in the book of James today.
Happy Sunday to you, and ifyou're watching this and if
you're in church, you are theminority today.
Today is one of the leastchurch attended days out there
Super Bowl Sunday and we'regoing to talk about that.
Yeah, we don't even like as aformer sports junkie.
Today was my secondChristmasmas, right, typically,
(00:25):
because one I was a new englandpatriots fan during all the
dynasties and so every year wewere in it.
You know probably what thekansas city chiefs feel like.
Now I'm proud to say I think Ionly know two people who still
play in the league.
I think that's patrick mahomesand the kelsey dude, and I don't
even know his first name, but,um, that's it.
That's the only two I know.
I used to know every rosterforward and back, which is
(00:46):
disgusting.
So we're going to cover thistoday, but we're in the book of
James and we're going to be inJames 2 today.
So if you guys want to get yourBibles out and I've got a gift
for you guys here you go.
Yeah, yeah, those were donatedto the church by a veterans
organization.
So, and those were donated tothe church by a veterans
(01:06):
organization, so it specificallyspeaks to vets, but just to let
you know it didn't cost meanything.
Somebody else made sure thatthat happened and we got here
because I know we spoke toveterans and stuff.
So welcome to Christian WarriorChurch, a home church,
community ministry and farm thatforges Christian Warriors for
Today's Challenge.
This is going to be the lastday I read our mission statement
.
Everyone in here will bereciting really my mom's heard
(01:28):
it like 6,000 times now, butit's going to be the last time I
read it.
That'll be the short one fromnow on.
But we've gotten so many newsubscribers and so many people
checking us out online.
I mean we just crossed.
I mean it's nothing but like20,000 followers on Twitter.
You know we've got another 700,I think, on YouTube, which
(01:49):
YouTube has been the bane of ourexistence.
You know they try to censor mefor anything I say or do.
Every time I try to boost avideo, you know if you think it
would get better, it's not, buteven there we're gaining
traction.
We're getting, you know, a lotmore traction there.
Rumble doing well, facebookdoing.
(02:12):
Facebook didn't mess with usmuch.
They might have.
They might have suppressed ourreach, but I never got a hate
mail from them saying that youknow you said something that
violated our trans rainbow flagcoalition, satanic Bible thing,
so anyway.
So let's get into our missionstatement.
Christian Warrior Church standsas a training ground for
discipleship and a forge forChristian Warriors, uniting
(02:34):
faith and purpose in every stepof the journey.
Our mission is to transform men, women and families into
fearless Christian Warriorsthrough discipleship, biblical
truth and hands-on training.
We are building a fellowship ofbelievers united under Christ,
living out a biblical worldviewand advancing his kingdom with
strength and purpose.
We are committed to forging meninto biblical masculine leaders
(02:55):
, protectors, providers anddisciples who stand unshaken in
the faith of spiritual andworldly challenges.
Likewise, we stand in thesupreme minority of churches out
there and organizations likemyself and ministries like
myself.
We train women asChrist-centered shield maidens
embracing biblical femininitywhile standing steadfast in
(03:16):
faith and purpose, fightingalongside their family.
In the Christian church, we havea massive problem in the soft,
beta male church and we think weneed to wrap our women in
bubble wrap and our kids inbubble wrap, and I completely
disagree with that philosophy.
Our roles are different, butyour wife should be able to
(03:40):
fight alongside you, becausewho's there when you're not
there?
She is.
Who's defending the family.
When you're not there, she is.
Who's defending the family whenyou're not there?
She is.
But no, we only want to teachthem how to sew and cook and
whatever.
No, we need to teach them to beable, because we're all going
to fall.
Trust me, I have fallen, I havebeen broken, I have been
shattered, and lauren alwaysstands over me with a shield and
(04:05):
covers me and fights to get meto my feet.
So if you don't have that, youhave no idea what it's like to
be married to a biblical womanwho knows what she's doing.
And there's nothing like it.
That is how we were made to bein the garden.
Imagine Garden of Eden.
(04:26):
After, you know, adam and Eveget cast out.
Who do you think protected thekids?
Well, the only man on theplanet was gone.
You know the wife did right.
So this isn't new.
You know everyone.
You know there's this thingwhere women just don't have to
(04:47):
know how to make dresses.
No, no, they need to becompetent, just like the men
need to be competent, and that'swhat we do here.
That's what we do here.
So, at Christian Warrior Church,we prepare warriors for both
spiritual and kinetic warfare,equipping them with the armor of
God, the courage of faith andthe skills to prevail.
Through fellowship, therefining fire of God's word and
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the bonds of united brotherhood.
We are creating a godly, lovingand resilient community, forged
to stand boldly for Christ,advancing his truth, love in
every battle and every season oflife.
Everybody wants to callthemselves a warrior.
In fact, we got away fromcalling ourselves Christian
Warrior Mission because I was sodisgusted with everybody
throwing that title around andthink, because you read a couple
(05:29):
Bible verses, you're a warrior.
No, no, no, no.
You have to be physicallydangerous to be a warrior.
You have to be physically andcapably dangerous to be a
warrior, all right.
So, and mama bears, nobody'smore dangerous than you and your
kids are threatened, and youknow and that's how it should be
right when your family'sthreatened and men, it's our job
(05:50):
to acquire those skills andpass them on to our family, to
our sons, our daughters, ourwives, whoever, and that's what
we do here.
So again, just because you wentto a boot camp and they called
you a warrior for whateversomewhere, somehow doesn't mean
if you're not in this way oflife, not lifestyle, way of life
(06:12):
where you are training in thegym, you are learning how to
shoot.
You're learning how to defendyourself.
You're learning how to providefor your family with
homesteading, with how to growstuff, how to raise stuff, how
to process, how to hunt, how todo all those things.
You guys remember I was a sillycity boy.
(06:35):
You know, when I grew up Ididn't know how to do any of
those things until I got out.
You know, being in the saleteams they taught me a lot of
stuff, but all the farming stuff.
They taught me a lot of stuff,but all the farming stuff.
We came here, lauren and I hadnot a day one of knowledge to do
this and we have been drinkingthrough the fire hose to be able
to pass it on to you, becausethis is the only way to live,
(06:55):
maybe not at the scale we'redoing, but having your own eggs,
having your own chickens,having your own beef, having
your own dairy cow.
Like you want to know truewealth it's a dairy cow.
Now it's also a prison.
True wealth is having peoplethat'll help you have a dairy
cow, having friends in acongregation or neighbors
that'll come over and milk foryou so you can go away for a
(07:17):
weekend.
But in fact, lauren may vanishat any time.
She's on the other side of thiswall right now, I believe.
If you are, lauren, bang on thewall.
We'll hear it in like fiveminutes when she hears it.
But Mocha, who is a week pastdue at this point a week for
(07:38):
jerseys they typically go sooner.
So I think she's only a day ortwo over what an Angus was.
She's half Well, she's onequarter Angus, or 33.
I don't know how to do that.
She's got Angus.
She's well, she's half Jersey,half Holstein.
(07:59):
No, her mom's half Jersey, halfHolstein, and her dad was all
Angus.
Figure that out, do the math.
Whatever that turns out to be,the fractions aren't my Jersey,
half Holstein, and her dad wasall Angus.
Figure that out, do the math.
Whatever that turns out to be,the fractions aren't my thing,
man.
So all right.
So 30, some odd percent, ormaybe I don't know, but so that
could happen at any moment.
I'm going to have to suit out,get my chains and pull the calf
(08:21):
out, which, wow, wouldn't thatbe something on YouTube?
So, anyways.
So this is the way, and it's alot of work and it's exhausting
and there are days that I wantto quit.
There are a lot of days I wantto quit that, like we learned
last week in James trials andhard times and all that stuff
(08:43):
they will strengthen us.
They are what build stuff.
They are what strengthen us.
They are what build faith.
They are what build endurance.
I remember we've heard Paultalk about that in the past as
well.
So one thing you're going tolearn being a farmer and being,
you know, raising animals isit's almost completely in God's
(09:03):
court, right you are, you dowhat you do, and then the
animals do what they do, whichis as God programmed them, and
then you put the chaos ofweather and critters and
predators and everything else inthe mix and you get total
dependence on the Lord, which iswhy you know, before modern
(09:24):
irrigation and everything elsegoing on there, I mean, if it
didn't rain, your crops died andyou starved, right, that's the
harsh word.
If it didn't rain, the grassdidn't grow and your animals
starved, right?
So this level of dependency yes, we can reach outside it now
and buy things that willbankrupt you.
Trust me, it gets expensive.
(09:44):
Everyone thinks they're goingto start farming and they're
going to save money.
It is a never-ending money pit.
You don't do it to save money.
There's only one time you savemoney.
That's with a calf that wasborn on your property, you're
raised on your property, youprocess it on your property and
then you make great stuffbecause all you had to pay for
(10:06):
food grass, some food as youfinished it, and there, because
the price of beef is insane, youactually make out on that.
Okay, if you go to a butcher,you're going to do 70 cents a
pound or a dollar a pound,depending on where you're going
for them to process it.
And again, so you got athousand pound cow, you get, you
know, 1100 pound hang weight,something like that times 70, do
(10:29):
the math?
Okay, but it does work out.
And knowing, here's what I cantell you the more I work with
God's creation, the closer I getto him and the more I am blown
away by his brilliance.
That my little brain, my littlegreat brain here you know, was
(10:52):
made in his image and I canprobably, I can probably only
understand, and even Elon Muskcan probably understand one
trillionth of a percent of whatGod may know.
Right, and that even that, howdo you know?
Infinite, infinite is a numberyou can't even understand.
Trying to say you canunderstand infinite, it breaks
(11:13):
our brain, it's really that.
So a couple of announcementsand we'll get into the sermon.
Christian Warrior Talk has movedto Sundays at 9.
We didn't do one last nightjust because of a lot of stuff
going on.
But starting next week weactually hired a YouTube
consultant to help us.
That's why you'll see brandingchanging.
You're going to see some stuffgoing Because people who are
(11:34):
investing in this ministrythey're all online and if
they're funding the ministry,then I'm going to meet them
where they're at and I'm goingto try to give them the best
product I can.
Then I'm going to meet themwhere they're at and I'm going
to try to give them the bestproduct I can, and it's the only
way I can reach veterans inMassachusetts, california,
seattle, detroit.
(11:55):
You know these hell holes wherethey're completely isolated,
alone in their own enemyterritory.
So that's our ChristianFellowship show, where we do
Christian life, talk about allthings Christian life, prepping,
homesteading, tactics and newsstories that affect us all.
We talked about Mocha she mightbe in labor right now, who
knows.
And then I will be announcingour fellowship fires again.
(12:16):
Once a month we're going to doa fellowship fire here where we
go up to the cross up on atWarrior's Rest.
The cross at Warrior's Rest upthere on the hill where we have
a giant fire pit, a pavilion,and we're going to do fellowship
up there and hang out, sitaround the fire, adult beverages
(12:36):
for those who want to do adultbeverages, non-adult beverages
for everyone else who does notwant to do adult beverages.
But it's, bring what you wantand we'll have some.
You know some stuff to eat, butit's getting around the fire.
You know, as God intended, likeI, just I'm so jealous of the
disciples sitting around thefire with Jesus on the
wilderness, like that's theoriginal caveman TV guys,
(12:59):
there's one channel, it's thebest channel ever.
It's snap crackle pops, it'ssurround sound, it's got smells,
it's got everything.
And getting up there and doingsome stuff around that.
I really want to do that.
And what I find is the more youspend time around the fire with
somebody, the better you trulyknow them, the better you truly
know them.
So we're going to be announcingthose dates here.
(13:20):
We'll be doing them on Fridaynights, right, because a lot of
Friday nights I'm traveling nowwith Trident Shield doing the
security work, consulting andemergency preparedness for
schools and Christianorganizations.
But that's why we're not doingthe Saturday night the show that
time, because once a month Ican schedule around that All
(13:41):
right.
So be looking for that.
So let's go to prayer, dearHeavenly Father.
Lord, we thank you today foryour day.
Lord, we ask that you emboldenus.
Lord, today we talk about oneof your champions, james, who
his faith was legendary,unshakable, even unto death.
(14:02):
But, lord, he was also taughtand walked out.
Practical faith, lord, realfaith, lord, on this day, that's
money called Super Bowl Sunday.
It's not by accident that it'son your day.
It's not by accident.
The most popular sport inAmerica is on your day.
(14:25):
To pull men out of churches andthen distract them.
Lord, lord, open your people'seyes to see the war that has
been waged upon you withentertainment and distraction.
Lord, give me the words tooffend the sin in those, but not
(14:45):
the person.
To offend the sin in everyonewho's not walking it out, but
not to offend them personally,because I'm not attacking them.
They've been misled, they'reconfused, they're lost.
So let this message today goout and be a resounding siren to
(15:08):
call them home, to light a firein their chest for you and only
you.
Lord, we are so grateful that wehit the lottery when you
blessed us and made us citizensof the United States of America.
By birth, we were born in themost prosperous nation and the
(15:29):
most prosperous of times inhistory.
And with great privilege comesgreat responsibility.
But every American can reachout and touch the entire world
with social media, never mindthe circle that's at their feet.
World of social media, nevermind the circle that's at their
feet.
Lord, put up the burden ofresponsibility of that privilege
(15:53):
, that power, that strength thatwe have here to use it not for
our glory, but your glory.
Lord.
The light of fire in us to havea heart to see people not burn
for eternity.
Fire in us to have a heart tosee people not burn for eternity
.
Lord again, help us be doersand not just talkers.
Give us a faith that's alive.
(16:16):
Lord, we thank you for yourcreation the heavens and the
earth, the moon, the stars, thesun, everything from the tallest
mountain to the ocean andeverything in between, all the
critters and all the plants andeverything.
We thank you.
We treasure the relationshipsof those who are in our life.
Lord, help us maximize everymoment when we're with people.
(16:42):
Help us be present and notdistracted with our
entertainment and devices.
Help us to look in each other'seyes and connect, because we
never know when the next time wemay ever see them again.
Lord, help us to remember thosewho are no longer with us in
the times that we store intotheir eyes and we're present
(17:04):
with them.
Lord, when we look at eachother's lives, it's direct
reflection of the heart and itmeans everything.
So, lord, may this time glorifyyou, serve you and only you.
May we proclaim you with everybreath of our lungs and serve
you with every beat of ourhearts.
(17:24):
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Now, that was a whole bunch ofgobbledygook.
I just said there in that longprayer, you don't have to do
that.
When you pray, many of you arelearning to pray for the first
time, or you're new, and allyou've got to do is when you
pray, many of you are learningto pray for the first time, or
you're new and all you got to dois a couple things.
One, you can pray like a simplechild.
Pray like you're talking toyour Heavenly Father.
Jesus gave us a model when hisdisciples asked in Matthew 6,
(17:47):
9-13.
Our Father, which art in heaven,hallowed be thy name, our
Father.
That's who we're talking to,our Heavenly Father.
And even though all of societytoday has mocked and degraded
fathers to the point wherethey're the punchline of every
talk show.
They're the punchline of everycomedy.
They're the useful Al Bundyslobs, right, the useless Al
(18:09):
Bundy slobs on the couch.
This is your heavenly father.
This is the father of theuniverse, father of all creation
.
So you go there with respectOur father, which are in heaven,
our father who's in heaven.
That's who you're talking to.
Hallowed, be your name, holy,be your name Separate, right.
God is.
Everyone says God is love.
(18:30):
Yes, god is love, but God ismany things, but there's only
one thing that he's three timesand it's holy, holy, holy.
Separate times, separate times.
Separate, that means set apartdifferent times.
Infinity times, infinity times,infinity, right.
That's what that is.
That's how different he is.
So, hallowed be thy name.
(18:51):
Gives him his props, hisrespect.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth as itis in heaven.
So we want your kingdom, as itis in heaven, to come down here.
We want sin crushed.
We want people to turn to you.
We want you to come back andreign over us and to reinstate
(19:11):
Eden.
Give us this day our dailybread.
Give us what we need, not whatwe want.
Give us what we need, for youknow what we need far more than
we ever do.
Forgive us our debts, forgive usour sins, but there's a catch,
as we forgive our debtors, right?
(19:34):
So as much as you forgive, soas much as you forgive is as
much as you're going to beforgiven.
That's the measuring stick.
So you better be like me andforgive everyone, because I need
a lot of forgiveness, right?
No matter what you've done tome, you ask forgiveness.
Boom done, it's good to go,because I know my bill in heaven
, right?
I know what God died for me andit's a terrible list and lead
(19:59):
us not into temptation, butdeliver us from evil, for thine
is the kingdom, the power andthe glory forever.
Amen.
Now, that's one way you can readit.
Or you can just speak to themplainly, simply, alone, in your
room.
Get on your knees and show them.
Get on your knees.
That's a universal sign, that'sa sign to the universe that you
(20:21):
are respecting God.
That way, there's no arrogance,there's no pride.
You are coming on your knees toGod and that is a cosmic symbol
that you are surrendering tohim and watch it change
everything.
All right.
So we are going to be in James 2, and I want to recap a little
bit from James 1.
(20:42):
All right, but first let's setthe tone.
All right, many professingChristians claim to believe in
Jesus but live as though he haslittle influence in their daily
lives.
This mindset, which I call fireinsurance Christianity.
What is fire insuranceChristianity?
That is a cultural Christian.
That means you say you believein Jesus so you won't go to hell
(21:04):
, but you don't take any time toread this.
So do you really love him?
It's like saying, oh, I love mywife and she wrote me a letter
and I'm just not going to readit because I really don't care,
right?
No, what do you do when you'rein the military or you get a
(21:24):
letter from a loved one?
You can't get it open fastenough.
You know, back in the day weused to send it through snail
mail, right?
Something came in and youtreasured every letter.
How many of us treat the Biblelike that?
Or is the Bible more like duty,where something came in and you
treasured every letter?
How many of us treat the Biblelike that?
Or is the Bible more like duty?
My friend Ken Graves said Godloved you so much that he texted
(21:52):
you his word.
He texted you his word, he gaveyou his word.
People died to get you this.
Lots People died to get youthis.
Lots of people died to get youthis.
And how many of us is it just athing that sits on the
nightstand while we binge watchwhatever Netflix series are out
there, or watch endless sportsand everything else?
So fire insurance?
(22:13):
Christian is what the world maycall also a cultural Christian.
They were told they wereChristian.
They're probably baptized once,or they said a prayer once and
then didn't do anything else.
Christian.
This occurs when people want toavoid hell, yet remain
untouched by Christ transformingpower.
Their faith functions like aninsurance policy pulled out only
(22:34):
for spiritual emergencies,instead of blazing a fire that
reshapes all life.
Let's look at today as anexample of the Super Bowl, an
example of cultural distraction.
Consider the Super Bowl, anevent that enthralls millions.
It's estimated, according toCBS, that 120 million people are
going to watch the Super Bowllive.
(22:55):
Is an estimated, according toCBS, that 120 million people are
going to watch the Super Bowllive.
People devote countless hours toanalyzing teams and commercials
.
Right, I know that when I was asports addict and you were
talking to a former sportsaddict.
Why?
Because I was miserable whenmen don't lead from the home and
men aren't leading in theirlife and they're just subject to
(23:16):
the winds.
Typically, what happens ifyou're in a marriage is the man,
the woman takes over the roleof leadership in the house and
the man completely checks out.
He comes alive in two timesDuring his entertainment, or
three times During hisentertainment, his hobby or
hanging out with his friends.
The rest of the time, he isjust doing time, doing time and,
(23:39):
trust me, I was miserable.
So guess what?
I studied every single stat.
I knew what Tom Brady had forbreakfast when he was 11 on game
day, right.
I knew every team of everyroster.
I knew what they played.
I used to watch preseasonfootball being typed into the
(24:01):
play-by-play when I was at Iraqat 3 in the morning, players
that would never play to findsome value, some distraction
from the pain and suffering.
And here's what I learned Noneof those players knew me and
none of them ever cared about me.
But Jesus knows everythingabout me, but I don't have time
(24:21):
to read his Bible.
Yeah, I think about 37 years asan atheist.
And then you know, I don't knowhow many years after that,
wandering trying to find realmen and real faith.
How many times I sang music atthe top of my lungs that was
(24:49):
absolutely abominable, whetherit be Slayer.
My favorite song when I wantedto lift heavy weight was to sing
a song called God Hates Us Allby a band called Slayer.
Nothing more vile, right orother heavy music, even the fun
stuff that was on pop.
You go back.
It's funny.
Now there's things on socialmedia and all that stuff where
it's like when you criticizeyour kids for listening to music
with horrible lyrics and all ofa sudden you start reading the
(25:11):
lyrics that you used to sing andyou're horrified at what you
used to sing.
Or you used to sit and you'rehorrified at what you used to
sing.
Or you used to sit there andthink it was a funny song about
roses and then all of a suddenit's not so funny when they're
really talking about somethingelse and all these other things.
And you see, it's always beenfilth, all the way back to Elvis
and you know Jerry Lee Lewis,great Balls of Fire what do you
(25:33):
think they were talking about?
Right Now, again, I love musicand I'm in a constant quest to
find good, particularly hardmusic to work out to, and
luckily the Christian music,which used to be terrible, has
gotten really good, just likeChristian movies used to be
terrible and they're gettingbetter, praise the Lord.
(25:57):
But how many times did I singthese godless songs with passion
, with all my heart, going downthe highway and then I remember
when I first got saved and I'min church and I'm the guy and
I'm singing Hands on my Bargain,that's for all them.
Wait a minute.
I would sing for the devil atthe top of my lungs, but I'm too
proud to sing for God who bledand died for me.
B devil at the top of my lungs,but I'm too proud to sing for
(26:20):
God who bled and died for me.
Bore, the wrath of all my sins.
What is wrong with me?
That's cultural right, that'sthe cultural contamination.
So people devote countless hoursanalyzing teams and commercials
and all these useless things.
Video games, all these things.
I love video games as much asanyone.
I love first-person shooter androle-play games and all that
stuff.
(26:40):
They will take over your lifeand they're another form of
escape.
You've got to find the rightbalance.
You've got to find the rightbalance to where you're serving
and, yeah, maybe you have a timewhere you get to have a little
bit of fun and do what you gotto do, but it's after you have
served your wife, your children,your community.
Men are meant to go to bedsmoked.
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That's what we're made for.
That's why we have testosterone.
That's why we have all thesethings.
We're made to be smoked.
Neglecting family worship,leaving their Bibles unread,
abdicating the call forspiritual leadership Ah, youth
pastors got that.
Well, what are you talkingabout?
(27:22):
We go to church every Sunday.
I turn them over to a bunch ofother kids his age, her age and
they run around doing all kindsof crazy stuff and drawing
things and doing whatever.
But are they seeing it in thefather and the mom at home?
That's where true wounds happenand why people fall away from
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the church when they go off tocollege.
They were walking, they weretalking one way and they never
saw it role modeled at homeappropriately and we didn't
train them up to be able tohandle the arrows and the darts
and the attacks that are inaccompany when you go off to
college, when you go away fromhome.
And all sudden you have to.
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You believe what?
Yeah, I do, and here's why, infact, you're the moron who
believes that this all startedfrom nothing.
Show me somewhere wheresomething started from.
Nothing ever doesn't exist.
Show me how a one-cell organism, if I just leave it alone the
whole amount of time, becomeseverything we have now.
It's ridiculous.
(28:24):
I can't believe.
I used to believe thatstupidity.
So here's what it boils down tono one can serve two masters.
This is Matthew 6, 24.
For he will either hate the oneand love the other, or he will
be devoted to one and despisethe other.
You cannot serve God and wealthor the world.
God demands all of you.
(28:46):
He won't tolerate leftovers.
Our culture is flooded withentertainment that can lull
believers into a state ofspiritual apathy.
Think of how hard it is to be agood Christian today.
Back when we were on, the showwas only on when the show was on
.
If you wanted to watch SaturdayNight Live which I'm not saying
(29:08):
you should it had to be onSaturday Night Live.
Now you can watch 50 years ofSaturday Night Live endlessly.
You can lose years of your lifewatching, pretend and never run
out of content while you dieinside, while you isolate, while
(29:31):
the devil keeps you comfortable, fat and happy.
Here's your Grubhub, here'syour Instacart.
You don't have to leave yourhouse anymore.
We'll just keep feeding you,leaving you on that couch,
pulling you further away fromGod.
Warnings from history, cs Lewis,the Screwtape Letters.
(29:52):
If you have not read theScrewtape Letters or done the
audio book, there's some greataudio book versions where
there's different versions ofvoices and stuff, which is
really, really good, but this isfrom the screw tape letters.
Indeed, the safest road to hellis the gradual one, a gentle
slope, soft underfoot, withoutsudden turnings, without
(30:14):
milestones, without signposts.
Foot without sudden turnings,without milestones, without
signposts.
And then Tertullian in 155 to220 AD.
On entertainment, the entireapparatus of the shows is based
upon idolatry.
What is there that is not basedupon the idolatry of demons?
Neil Postman wrote when apopulation becomes distracted by
(30:38):
trivia, when cultural life isredefined as perpetual round of
entertainments, then a nationfinds itself at risk.
Culture death is a clearpossibility.
Such endless diversions canlead us into complacency, a
condition James forciblyaddresses in his epistle, and a
complacency a condition Jamesforcibly addresses in his
(31:00):
epistle a faith proclaimed butnever practiced.
How many Christians do you seelike?
And they're out there andthey're like you're a Christian
and nothing about their life isChristian.
They don't use Christianverbiage, they don't act like
Christians, there is nothing intheir life that you would see if
you're a Christian.
If you're that person, you arefailing.
I don't even know.
(31:21):
If you're, you're not evensaved.
If people can't look at you andknow, one of the first things
they say is a Christian.
That's how powerful being aChristian should be, because, oh
, he's a good person.
Well then, who's getting theglory?
There we are.
Everything you do is for Christand service to Christ At the
command of Christ.
(31:42):
You were made by Christ, bornby Christ, chosen by Christ,
groomed by Christ, the wholething.
So who gets the glory?
Christ, when you do it, who'sit for Christ?
So if they don't see Jesus,christ, you got issues.
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So I'll recap of James 1.
Who was James?
He was a brother of Jesus.
He introduced himself as aservant of God and the Lord of
Jesus.
Christ Humble Could have saidyep, I came from the holy womb
of the same womb that Jesus cameout of.
I'm in that.
He's my bro.
I knew him longer than all youguys.
(32:24):
He was a foundational leader inthe early church, known for his
uncompromising commitment topractical living faith.
That's what we've lost Church.
You know, in the ReformedChurch we want to talk about the
original word in the Greek andthis, that and the total, and
then we send them out and it'slike no application.
What do I do with that?
How does that help my marriage?
How does that help me raise mykids?
(32:46):
How does this help me deal withthe second?
I leave church the fullautomatic machine guns that are
being fired at me from the enemy, from all sides.
James dealt with this when thechurch was truly persecuted.
He was murdered, martyred.
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He also wasn't one of the first12 apostles, because he didn't
become an apostle until afterJesus came back from the dead.
He thought he was a completeidiot before that Crazy.
He was revered for his wisdomand moral integrity in a time
(33:28):
when the church was forging itsidentity in a hostile cultural
environment.
The Jews wanted to kill him,the pagans wanted to kill him.
Everyone wanted to killChristians.
James addressed his letters toJewish believers scattered
amongst the Gentile nation.
People facing social division,persecution and everyday
challenges that you knowdemanded their faith be
(33:48):
unmistakable, visible in everyaction, and we see this in
Matthew 13, 53 through 58, mark6, 1 through6, and in Galatians
1-19,.
Paul calls James the Lord'sbrother.
So there's no doubt in whoJames was.
James was an unbeliever beforeChrist's resurrection.
In John 7, 1-9, it states James, along with his other siblings,
(34:09):
doubted Jesus' ministry duringtheir earthly life.
Which means James grew up withJesus but did not initially
believe in him as much as theMessiah.
He became a believer afterseeing Jesus resurrected.
1 Corinthians 15.7 tells usJesus appeared specifically to
James after his resurrection.
Then he appeared to James, thento all the apostles.
(34:31):
This encounter was likely theturning point of James' faith.
James became the pillar of theearly church.
After Jesus ascension, jamesbecame a key leader in the
Jerusalem church.
Paul names James, along withPeter and John, as pillars of
the church.
He led the Jerusalem counciland this is important In the
first major doctrinal debate inthe church, where the Gentiles
(34:51):
must follow Jewish laws, jamesrendered the final decision
based on Scripture, affirmingsalvation by grace, through
faith, apart from the works ofthe law.
Now we're going to talk aboutworks today.
That is what this whole thingis about.
Today, apart from works of thelaw, we're going to talk about
works, but he's saying thatfaith saves you, not your works,
which is what we all believe.
(35:12):
James was known as his holinessand devotion.
He was called James the Justand he was martyred in 62 AD,
thrown from a temple and stonedto death.
Okay, the key themes joy andtrials.
Consider it joy, my brothers,when you encounter various
trials.
Knowing the testing of yourfaith brings about perseverance,
being doers of the word James1.22.
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But become doers of the wordand not merely hearers who
delude themselves.
And then three pure religioninvolves action, which we are
going to talk about extensivelytoday.
Pure and undefiled religionbefore God and the Father is
this to visit orphans, widowsand their affliction, and to
keep oneself unstained by theworld.
These are the themes thatforeshadow the thrust of James 2
(35:55):
.
Genuine faith must result intangible deeds.
So let's read James 2, 1through 26.
It's not a long chapter.
My brothers, do not hold yourfaith in our glorious Lord Jesus
Christ with partiality.
For if a man comes into yourassembly with a gold ring and
(36:15):
dresses in bright clothing andthere also comes in a poor man
in dirty clothes and you payspecial attention to the one who
is wearing the bright clothing,you say you sit here in a good
place and you say to the poorman you stand over here or sit
down by my footstool.
You've not made distinctionsamong yourselves and become or
sorry, have you not madedistinctions among yourselves
(36:37):
and become judges with evilthoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers.
Did not God choose the poor ofthis world to be rich in faith
and heirs of the kingdom whichhe promised to those who love
him?
But you have dishonored thepoor man.
Is it not the rich who oppressyou and they themselves drag you
into court?
Do they not blaspheme the goodname by which you have been
(37:00):
called?
If, however, you are fulfillingthe royal law according to
Scripture the royal lawaccording to Scripture you shall
love your neighbor as yourselfyou are doing well.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're poor.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're rich.
You love your neighbor whetherthey're rich.
It's not what they can do foryou.
That is the consumerist,transactional nature of society
(37:23):
today.
We like people based upon howvaluable they are to us, which
means they're serving us, whichis completely backwards from
Christianity.
Where we're called to servethem is completely backwards
from Christianity where we'recalled to serve them.
You know that old Janet Jacksonsong I'm going to show my agent.
What have you done for melately?
(37:45):
Right, it's not that we are tobe in constant service.
What are you doing, girl?
Can you close the door?
Thank you?
Yeah, you just went to go getan apple.
We'll wait for you, don't youworry.
(38:05):
Go on over here.
Your mom must be delivering acow.
Go on over to Nana over there.
You guys can't even see theponytail, just a little ponytail
drifting around like a sharkfin.
Okay, sweetie, you need to bequiet.
We're doing church, okay, whereyou got to go.
(38:27):
Oh boy, so again we have itbackwards.
What can you do for me insteadof what I can do for you?
If you think of the world asyou're a soul doctor out there,
right, you are a trained updisciple of Christ.
You are a soul doctor.
You know the answer.
You know what to prescribe this.
(38:50):
And if everyone around you issick, are they serving you or
are you serving them?
You'll be serving them.
Right, because you know theanswers.
But if you show partiality, youare committing sin and being
convicted by the law astransgressors.
Whoever keeps the whole law andyet stumbles at one point has
become guilty of all.
For he who said do not commitadultery also said do not commit
(39:13):
murder.
Now, if you do not commitadultery but murder, you have
become a transgressor of the law.
So speak and so act, as thosewho are being judged by the law
of freedom, for judgment will bemerciless to the one who has
shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Now, verse 13 is reallyimportant for those of us who
(39:34):
have been injured in our lives.
We all go throughout our livesand we all acquire wounds.
Some of us have horriblestories that no one knows about
and others of us people knowabout it because, well, it was
really bad and when the newsfound out.
Or friends or family, whatever.
We all have wounds People have.
We all have wounds.
(39:55):
People have to be human is tobe wronged by humans.
Okay, that is coming down thepipe.
Your heart is going to bebroken.
You're going to be betrayed.
You're going to be failed.
I'm going to fail you.
Please forgive me when I do.
I'm just a man.
Okay, nothing special.
I fail 100 times a day.
(40:17):
You have to forgive your deepest, darkest enemy or else you
won't be forgiven, because youare the deepest, darkest enemy
to Christ.
That is very, very, very, very,very hard.
But what you'll find when youtalk to psychologists like
(40:38):
Jordan Peterson and all thatforgiving someone is not for you
.
For them, it's for you.
The day you forgive someone andI've forgiven plenty of people
that weight is gone.
It's no longer a bag you'redragging with you you have to
put it down and move forward andyou're lighter.
It's poison taken out of yoursystem.
(40:59):
And know that if you don'tforgive, by the end of days when
you stand naked before the Lord, he will know.
He will know there is nothingkept from him.
What use is it, my brothers, ifsomeone says that he has faith
(41:21):
but has no works?
Can that faith save him?
For brother or sister iswithout clothing and in need of
daily food and one of you saysgo in peace, be warm and filled,
and yet do not give them whatis necessary for their body.
What use is that?
Even so, faith if it has noworks is dead by itself.
(41:41):
But some will say you havefaith and I have works.
Show me your faith without theworks and I will show you my
faith by my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Now you believe that there isone.
You do well.
You believe that there is oneGod.
3 in 1.
The demons also believe inshudder.
(42:03):
So you say you believe in God.
Well, even the demons anddevils believe that and we know
where they're going.
But are you willing torecognize you foolish fellow,
that faith without works isuseless?
And he's going to give us twoexamples here.
Was not Abraham, our father,justified by works when he
offered up Isaac, his son, onthe altar?
You see that faith was workingwith his works and, as a result
(42:26):
of the works, faith wasperfected.
If he didn't have faith hewouldn't have done it.
And the scripture was fulfilled, which says and Abraham
believed God and it was countedto him as righteousness and he
was called a friend of God.
Now, no one has been harder onAbraham than me.
I have gone after Abraham witheverything I have because of a
lot of different reasons.
(42:46):
One you know using his wife asa bartering tool and saying his
sister so he can have a poshlife and, while you know, she's
a concubine, or be married offto Pharaoh or whoever.
And then, lo and behold, thesons do the same thing.
There's a lot of flaws in it.
But if he's a friend of God,god knows him better than I do.
I need to get out of my own wayand just say if he's a friend
(43:09):
of God, so be it.
That also shows you that Godcan be friends with some pretty
horrible people, as he redeemsthem.
You see that a man is justifiedby works and not by faith alone.
And in the same way, was notRahab the prostitute also
(43:31):
justified by works when shereceived the messengers and sent
them out by another way?
Justified by works when shereceived the messengers and sent
them out by another way?
For just as the body withoutthe spirit is dead, so also is
faith without works is dead.
So let's break this down, mybrothers.
Do not hold your faith inglorious Lord Jesus Christ of
partiality.
In a world obsessed with statusand celebrity, believers must
(43:51):
reflect on God's impartial love.
Partiality destroys the poorand fosters disunity, favoritism
.
You want to see a familydestroyed?
Favor one child over anotherRight you want to see that'll
sow discord for generations.
You want to see a church tornapart or an organization apart?
(44:15):
Do not treat everyone equally.
You know, go Belichick, who'sfootball on this Sunday.
I hate to bring up football,but he treated his stars the
same way as he treated hisgrunts.
I remember there was a playerwho nobody knows, but Randy Moss
, was late to practice one day.
Randy Moss was the bestreceiver in the NFL and he
(44:37):
benched him.
Either everyone plays by therules or they don't.
We all are under God and we'reall under God's rule.
Do not be just because somebodynicer to someone, just because
they can do something for you.
Remember whoever was, was kindor did something for the least
(45:00):
of these did them for me.
That's jesus's own words,talking about visiting people in
prisons and orphans and widows.
Augustine, a great father ofthe church on true honor
Distinguish the faithful fromthe unfaithful not by wealth or
poverty, but by their faith andtheir works.
(45:20):
Faith without works is dead.
This is the main part of thiswhole thing.
The central argument for Jamesis, even so, this is 217,.
If it has no works, it's deadby itself.
And then, in 219, you believethat God is one you do.
Well, the demons also believein shudder.
Mere intellectual assent isinsufficient.
(45:42):
Like I remember when I firstgot saved and I went from
atheist to agnostic and I'm like, okay, something did this.
There is a creator, but that'snot me surrendering to him,
that's not me knowing him, I'mstill going to hell, okay.
And then when I became a carnalChristian in my walk, where,
okay, I know just enoughChristianity to be dangerous,
(46:06):
I'm just going to pray clear myslate before I die and I'll be
good to go Right.
No, even demons recognize God'sreality.
It remained a rebellion.
Authentic faith compels godlyactions, and I'm going to
mispronounce this.
John Chrysostom, 347 to 407 AD.
(46:28):
Faith and works must acttogether.
One cannot stand without theother.
Who believes and does not acttogether, one cannot stand
without the other.
Who believes and does not actis no better than demons, some
other church fathers and amodern reflection.
If faith this is again from StJohn Chrysostom, someone's going
(46:50):
to crucify me online for that.
If faith is genuine, it must beactive.
It is like the sun that notonly shines in theory but warm,
but warms and enlivens all ittouches.
A faith uncompanied by works isas empty as a left lamp, left
unlit.
That really struck me hard,being a farmer now and knowing
(47:13):
that I need the sun to grow myplants out there.
It's got to be real light.
It's got to be real light, andlight when you're freezing to
death that doesn't have heat isuseless.
St Augustine, again, true faith,like a seed planted in the
(47:35):
heart, naturally bears fruit.
Without the fruits of righteouswork, what is professed faith
but a barren tree incapable ofsustaining life or bearing
witness to God's grace?
St Jerome, do not be contentwith a faith that speaks in
silence.
Let it resound in acts of somodern reflection.
(47:55):
I say A living faith is like aroaring fire.
It warms your heart andilluminates the darkness.
Let your deeds be the evidenceof the truth you profess.
(48:16):
So we already know aboutbiblical examples of this, where
Abraham was willing tosacrifice Isaac.
Rahab, a prostitute risked herlife by hiding the Israelite
spies in Jericho and helped themget out, proving her sincere
faith in God and help them getout, proving her sincere faith
in God.
Additional, supporting scriptureof judgment by works.
(48:38):
James isn't alone in teachingthat our deeds reveal the
reality of our faith.
Paul and others in the OldTestament teach the same truth.
This is going to jump out atyou and it's going to convict
you, like whoa, 2 Corinthians5.10, for we must all appear
(49:00):
before the judgment seat ofChrist so that each one may
receive what is due for what hehas done in the body, whether
good or evil.
Every action, good or evil,will be examined as evidence of
our faith.
Now we have a way to get out ofthat.
Repenting and owning it,confessing our sin, giving it to
Christ and turning is therepentance part.
(49:21):
If you keep doing it, are youreally repenting?
You're not turning away from it.
You're still walking towardsthat sin.
Romans 2, 6 through 8,.
He will render to each oneaccording to his works.
2, 6-8,.
He will render to each oneaccording to his works.
For those who are self-seekingand do not obey the truth, there
will be wrath and fury.
Once you know Christ, youcannot serve him.
(49:43):
You fall in love with him.
God's impartial judgment isbased upon our works, not on
superficial declarations.
3 Galatians 6-7.
Do not be deceived.
God is not mocked, for whateverone sows, that will he also
(50:04):
reap.
Our actions have eternalconsequences.
A faith that yields no works isultimately barren Meaning your
fire insurance policy iscanceled.
It didn't work, it was fake.
Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, forby grace you have been saved
through faith, and this not ofyourselves.
(50:26):
It is a gift from God, not ofworks so that one may boast, for
we all.
His workmanship created inChrist Jesus for good works, and
the last New Testament one is 1Corinthians 3, 13-15.
(50:49):
Each one's work will becomeevident, for the day will
indicate it, because it isrevealed with fire itself, and
the fire itself will test thequality of each one's work.
Jay, that's just the new test.
What about the old Psalm 62, 12.
Also to you, o Lord, belongssteadfast love, for you repay
(51:09):
each one according to his work,jeremiah 17.10.
I, the Lord, search the heartand test the mind, even to give
each one according to hisconduct, according to what his
deeds deserve.
Last one Ecclesiastes 12.14.
(51:32):
I could have went on all day,for God will bring every deed
into judgment, with every secretthing, whether good or evil.
These scriptures affirm thatGod sees every deed.
Our lives must be lived inconstant awareness that nothing
escapes his judgment, which isgreat because we can confess
them to Christ, turn from oursin and be saved.
(52:01):
So what's the application?
How do we live out faith thatworks?
We must reject the fireinsurance Christianity.
We must not be like those whoprofess Christ yet exhibit no
evidence of him or change.
James compels us to assess ourhearts.
Revelation 13, 16.
(52:24):
So because you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold, I will
spit you out of my mouth.
God condemns lukewarm faiththat fails to manifest in real
works of love and obedience,fake love.
So what are the practical steps?
How do I do this?
Lead your family spiritually,dedicate time for scripture,
(52:48):
reading, prayer and openlydiscuss about faith.
Read, lead and do the next rightthing.
You heard me say that through alot of things, read this so you
know what to do according tohis will right, lead by example
and do the next right thing.
So if you want to put them incorrect order, I guess you could
(53:13):
say read so you know his will,do the next right thing, which
causes you to lead by example.
The most effective way to leadthere is only one, and it's to
lead from the front and byexample.
Everything else fails in theend.
Serve the poor widows andorphans.
Pure and undefiled religionbefore our God, our Father,
(53:34):
exists to visit the orphans andwidows in their affliction.
It's in James 1.27.
It doesn't have to be orphansand widows.
Serve people.
You know people in your liferight now that need help.
Why are you not helping them?
And this one's going to hurtBasil the Great, 329 and 379.
(53:54):
He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked or shelter
the homeless is as guilty of asmany murders as people he could
have helped.
I read that and I almost fellout of my chair.
He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter
the homeless is guilty of asmany murders as people he could
(54:15):
have helped.
Lastly, stand firm againstcultural pressure.
Even if ridiculed, let yourintegrity and good works testify
to your faith is genuine.
Now, this is shift.
Now this is shift.
No-transcript.
(54:51):
They will shift again.
They will shift again.
They will shift again, and wemust push back against that.
It is never okay for us to allowsomeone to say something that
contradicts the Bible.
It's not good.
If it's not in here, it doesn'texist.
Every answer is right here.
(55:12):
It's not a science book.
It doesn't contradict science.
Where science and the bookcollide, there's either a couple
problems there.
Either we don't understand itthe correct way, there's a
misinterpretation, we're nottaking the right context.
(55:33):
God is the author of science.
He doesn't contradict himself.
The reason why gravity works isbecause God says so.
The reason why any theory worksor why any physics law is there
, is because it had an author,and that author was God.
So, as we find out, oh, therewas no great flood.
Oh wait, I guess there was agreat flood.
(55:53):
Oh wait, I guess there was agreat flood.
Oh wait, there was enough water.
Oh wait, there's more waterunder the earth than there is
even in the oceans.
Oh wait, science is alwayscatching up to what God said.
Now, I am not a seven-daycreationist, you know,
(56:14):
supremacist.
The Bible doesn't say the bookwas created in seven 24-hour
days.
It was in seven days accordingto God, whatever that is.
And then, when you listen to,in the beginning there was you
know I'm going to misquote it,but there's what's called the
gap theory, where it starts offwith that and there's an
indeterminate amount of time.
So basically what it says, youcould be a young earth or old
(56:35):
earth or all that stuff andguess what?
You're still going to heaven.
It doesn't matter.
It's not salvation based, solet's stop fighting about it.
It's fun to talk about, butdon't call someone a heretic
because they don't believe thatGod is as impatient as we are
and he has to do it in seven 24hour days.
Why do it?
Why don't I just do that?
(56:55):
Then, right, god is patient, aguy who has no time, no space,
no barriers.
Do you think he even caresabout a second or a moment?
No, he's going to use whateverprocesses he wants and when we
get to heaven we'll find out.
The arrogance sometimes isastounding that we think he's
going to do it our way.
He's just writing it so we canunderstand it in a way that
relates to us in my thought.
(57:17):
Conclusion a call to repentancein action.
James' message is unequivocalFaith without works is dead.
Faith without works is you'renot saved, you're not saved by
your works.
I want to say this You're savedbecause you believe and if you
really believe, you're going todo works Right.
(57:39):
I hope that's clear and I'mgoing to you know I might have
to do some cleanup on that nextweek.
I will get into it, but I knowwe're running late.
We cannot declare Jesus as Lord.
Everybody wants the Savior,save me, but nobody wants the
boss, the Lord, and that's whathe is we're living like.
(58:00):
He has no claim in our lives.
He paid for our lives.
He owns them.
Our modern society offersendless amusements, but
Scripture demands an activediscipleship marked by mercy,
love and obedience.
So, is your faith alive or justidle policy?
Just an idle policy?
(58:20):
Will you forsake distractionsto serve Christ wholeheartedly?
So let's go to prayer.
Lord, forgive our complacency.
Ignite us in vibrant faith thatoverflows in deeds of mercy,
justice and humility.
Transform our hearts so thatour works align with your will.
May our families, churches andcommunities witness the power of
(58:44):
a living faith that bringsglory to your name, in Jesus'
precious name, amen.
All right, so we believe hereand doing the Lord's Supper
every week.
If you're a baptized believer,this is for you, and we'll go
over that again always, becausethere's always somebody who has
a question online.
(59:05):
All right, we're checkingreflexes here.
There's one for Lauren, if sheneeds it.
That's my girl.
Look at that.
(59:25):
She's already got it peeled andprepped for me, because I know
how much of a fool I'm up here.
Snap it down first.
All right, that's the trick.
All right.
So why can't everyone do this?
I'm going to explain In 1Corinthians 11, 27-32,.
(59:46):
Whoever, therefore, eats thebread and drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner willbe guilty concerning the body
and the blood of the Lord.
He'll be guilty for whathappened to Christ.
Let a person examine himself,then, and so eat of the bread
and drink of the cup, for anyonewho eats and drinks without
discerning the body, eats anddrinks.
Judgment on himself.
Okay, so go ahead and closeyour eyes.
(01:00:08):
Look at your life.
Let's reflect back on themessage today.
Are we living a life of action?
(01:00:29):
Are we serving others?
Are we the servant or are webeing served?
Now see where you're notserving.
Commit to serving Repent, turnfrom that selfishness and turn
(01:00:59):
it to selflessness.
Now remember our Lord and Savior, who humbled himself to come
down as a defenseless babe, wholived a perfect, sinless life,
who went willingly to serve as asacrifice for all of our sin.
(01:01:22):
The perfect lamb, withoutblemish, without spot, god
himself made flesh.
And not only did he bear theinsults and the torture and the
whipping and the lashing andthorns and the nails, but he did
something that none of us couldever do.
(01:01:43):
He paid the price from thewrath of God poured out on him,
for all of us, and then he rosefrom the grave three days later,
victorious, defeating death, tosit at the right hand of
judgment, for God, to give usthe gift of grace.
(01:02:08):
So let us rejoice in that, inthis victory toast, in this
victory feast, in remembrance ofwhat he has done and what he is
doing, and commit back to himwhat we are to do, which is to
(01:02:28):
serve him.
Now, as they were eating, jesustook the bread and, after
blessing it, broke it, gave itto the disciples and said Take,
eat, this is my body, go aheadand eat.
And he took a cup and when hegave it thanks, he gave it to
them saying Drink of it, all ofyou, for this is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured outfor the forgiveness of sins.
(01:02:48):
Go ahead and drink.
Heavenly Father, we thank you,you, we thank you for your son,
we thank you for your creation,we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the book ofJames.
Lord, help us, light a fire inus so we will be like him that
(01:03:11):
we will walk the talk.
God, people will know us Firstas Christians.
Him that we will walk the talk.
People will know us first asChristians and then as
everything else.
Lord, I pray a prayer ofprotection over this fellowship
congregation online, now andlater, the persecuted church,
(01:03:31):
for our troops overseas, ourfirst responders at home and our
veterans of yesteryear.
Lord, I pray for the wholeworld that we wouldn't go.
Protection for the whole worldthat we won't go into World War
III.
And I pray for our leaders.
I pray for Donald Trump thatyou would give him wisdom and
that he would do your will andnot his will, that you would use
(01:03:52):
him as a righteous instrumentto fix the corruption of this
world, this country.
And I pray that America wouldturn from her sin, humble
herself, hit her knees and seekyour face that you would see her
and heal her, so that we couldonce again be one nation under
God, indivisible, with libertyand justice for all.
(01:04:15):
Now I call this fellowship toattention, to put on the full
armor of God, to strap on theshield of the faith, pick up the
sword of the Spirit and toboldly step forward to join the
shield wall locking our shieldsof faith to the left and right.
As we march forward to takeground for your kingdom, for
your glory.
In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen.
May the Lord bless you and keepyou.
(01:04:37):
May the Lord make his faceshine upon you and be gracious
to you.
May the Lord lift hiscountenance upon you and give
you peace.
God bless.
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