November 5, 2024 • 39 mins
Silence isn't always golden, especially when it comes to standing firm in faith. Today, we're challenging the Church to break its silence on pivotal moral issues, drawing inspiration from courageous figures like the Hebrew midwives, Moses, and Queen Esther. These stories teach us that true faith cannot be hidden away; it demands public expression and unwavering courage. Let's explore how their examples urge us to confront modern challenges boldly and remind us that silence can sometimes equate to complicity.
In a world where God-ordained institutions are under attack, Christians need a roadmap for resilience. The Book of James offers us five principles to stand firm, encapsulated in the acronym S-T-A-N-D. We'll discuss how these principles can help believers view trials as a gateway to spiritual growth and maturity. By focusing on God's sovereign plan, we can transform chaos into opportunities for our faith to thrive, resisting global pressures that aim to stifle our religious freedoms and moral compass.
Words hold immense power, and today, we're harnessing that force for truth and love. With insights from James, we explore how the tongue, though small, can steer our lives toward wisdom or destruction. This episode is a clarion call for believers to act with conviction, letting their deeds speak louder than words, as demonstrated by Abraham and Rahab. As we reflect on the historical courage of figures like Sipra and Pua, we reaffirm our commitment to be lights in the world, praying for strength, integrity, and positive growth within our communities. Join us in the journey of being beacons of hope and resilience.
In a world where God-ordained institutions are under attack, Christians need a roadmap for resilience. The Book of James offers us five principles to stand firm, encapsulated in the acronym S-T-A-N-D. We'll discuss how these principles can help believers view trials as a gateway to spiritual growth and maturity. By focusing on God's sovereign plan, we can transform chaos into opportunities for our faith to thrive, resisting global pressures that aim to stifle our religious freedoms and moral compass.
Words hold immense power, and today, we're harnessing that force for truth and love. With insights from James, we explore how the tongue, though small, can steer our lives toward wisdom or destruction. This episode is a clarion call for believers to act with conviction, letting their deeds speak louder than words, as demonstrated by Abraham and Rahab. As we reflect on the historical courage of figures like Sipra and Pua, we reaffirm our commitment to be lights in the world, praying for strength, integrity, and positive growth within our communities. Join us in the journey of being beacons of hope and resilience.
ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think sometimes we havegotten very silent on moral
issues that are significant, andI think sometimes as a church,
I'm not talking about the chapel, I'm talking about the church
in general.
I think sometimes we're late onspeaking to some things and
it's only after things have beenso entrenched around us that we
actually speak up.
So that's kind of the ideawhere the title comes from this
(00:23):
morning Breaking the Silence,standing for Truth in the Age of
Compromise.
Because there are moments inhistory where people are called
to take a stand.
There are moments in historywhere people are called to break
the silence and to actuallystand out, because silence can
be complicity at times and whenfaith remains hidden, it can't
(00:46):
impact the lives of others, andoftentimes what we find is that
our world is shaped by thenations and what is left there.
God calls us to live to try totransform society, but it's also
he is calling us to betransformed in our own hearts
and our lives.
He calls us to be courageous inthe midst of the struggles that
(01:07):
are there.
The Bible gives us countlessexamples of people that took a
stand and took a stand for faithin the midst of the trials and
the difficulties.
One other song leader that Ilike is Keith Green.
Keith Green was a songwriterand he passed away I think in
1983.
And he had an album that's howold I am and the name of it was
(01:30):
no Compromise.
And in the picture up therethere is this bowing down.
All these people are bowingdown to these idols and this one
guy is standing as this idol ispassing by, and the title of
the album was no Compromise.
I want you to think aboutpeople that chose to say no in
(01:50):
the midst of the prevailingevils of their time.
They refused to compromisetheir convictions.
They're risking everything tofollow Christ.
I think of Zipra and Pua, thesetwo Hebrew midwives.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh had madea decree that any newborn baby
boy was to be killed, but theydefied him.
(02:12):
They stood against him and theysaid no, I'm not going to do
this.
They refused to participate inwhat they would say as genocide.
I'm not doing this.
I am standing against this tide.
Even the most powerful leaderwas saying yes and they were
saying no, we're not doing this.
I am standing against this tide.
Even the most powerful leaderwas saying yes and they were
saying no, we're not going there.
I think of Moses, that littlebaby that they that saved.
(02:32):
That Moses stood against yearslater stood up in front of that
Pharaoh the most powerful man ofthe universe at the time, and
they said he said no, let mypeople go.
Queen Esther faced life anddeath decisions.
She was threatened with herpeople were going to be
threatened with annihilation.
And what did she do?
She said I could stay in mypalace and be safe, or I can go
(02:56):
out there and take a stand.
And she says if I go, if Iperish, then I perish.
She took a stand for truth.
She took a stand for justice.
She became an instrument inGod's hands to save a nation.
We know that about Daniel.
When Daniel faced the decision,the king had said nobody can
(03:17):
pray to anybody other than me.
And he said no, I'm going tocontinue.
He didn't compromise his faith.
What he did was he continued topray openly, as he had always
done, despite the fact that heknew that he could die for this.
He chose to do the right thingand pray to his God.
He chose obedience overobedience to humanity and, of
(03:38):
course, his friends Shadrach,meshach and Abednego.
They knew that they werecommanded to bow down to this
idol and they said I refuse to,I will not bow down.
They were not going to bow downto that image and even though
they may have gone to a fieryfurnace, they said I know my God
can deliver us, but even if hechooses not to, I'm still not
(03:59):
bowing down.
I think of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist was standingthere and saying repent, for the
kingdom of God is at hand.
He is crying out in thewilderness.
And then, when he was in prison, he stood before that king that
was living any sinful andsexual life and he says what
(04:20):
you're doing is wrong.
He defied the king, he defiedthat person, even at the risk of
his life.
The apostles in the early church.
They carried on a legacyforward.
Peter and John said we need toobey God rather than man.
Throughout history we've gotpeople like Polycarp.
(04:41):
Polycarp was this early churchleader.
He was threatened with deathand I love this quote.
He said this 86 years.
I have served him and he hasdone me no wrong.
How can I bless me?
My king who saved me, orWilliam Tyndale, the reason why
you have a Bible in your hand inthe English language?
William Tyndale, his lifemission was to translate the
(05:03):
Bible into English.
He says if God spares my life,I will cause a boy that has
driven the plow to know more ofthe scripture than thou dost now
.
And he eventually was executed.
Or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who Iwas mentioned before.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor,a theologian, nazi Germany.
He spoke against the atrocitiesof the Hitler regime, the real
(05:27):
Hitler regime.
And Bonhoeffer spoke thesewords Watch, this Silence in the
face of evil itself is evil.
God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.
See what these men and womenknew.
(05:49):
They knew what was at stake.
They knew that they were calledto a higher standard, a
standard that was not causingthem to bend to the wills of
what was happening around them.
They didn't worry about thefear of man or the fear of death
.
They said I have a fear of God.
I'm going to stand before himand I'm going to honor him.
(06:10):
We live in a world that hastraded truth for convenience,
compromise is expected, wherefaith is relegated to a private
thing.
You can have your privatebeliefs, but keep them private.
Don't ever share that out withanybody.
And far too often I see that weare living in a world where
Christians are thinking,sounding or acting like the
(06:31):
world rather than the word.
And if we're looking at theworld, we're looking at the
problems in this world and we'rethinking, sounding or acting
just like the world is, thenwhat is different about us?
See, you're called to be alight and you're called to be
salt in this world.
The world needs truth, andtruth that may cost you and me,
(06:53):
every single one of us, andthere are times of pressure and
there are times of persecutionthat may come upon us, and that
stuff that they were dealingwith, all those people I was
talking about, that was realpersecution.
What do we deal with?
Maybe somebody doesn't like us,maybe somebody unfriends us?
Let your faith be visible, letyour faith be courageous, let
your faith be uncompromising.
(07:15):
God has you at that specificplace for such a time as this.
God has you in exactly theplaces.
He has you connecting withpeople, because he wants to use
you as a bright light to thisworld.
But when you relegate thatlight under a bushel, why are
you here?
Why am I here?
(07:37):
God ordained three basicinstitutions the family, the
church, it and they weresupposed to be working under his
authority, under hissovereignty, and each one of
them is to be a reflection ofhim.
None of us are called to lookto those institutions as the
ultimate.
We're supposed to look to Godas the ultimate, and it's not
(07:57):
surprising to me that Satan haslooked to thwart each one of
these institutions.
He has looked to thwart thefamily, and that's the agenda of
today destroy the family.
He has looked to thwart thestate.
The state has now become theGod.
It's replaced God and nowpeople look to the state as God.
It doesn't matter who wins onTuesday, christ is still king.
(08:20):
So he looks to destroy thefamily.
He looks to destroy the state.
He also looks to destroy thechurch.
That is where he can't win andwe won't allow him to, but
Christ will clearly not allowhim to.
The world wants to restrictspeech, wants to reshape what is
(08:41):
acceptable and what is right.
The world wants to grab theeducation system and influence
future generations of morals andcultural things.
The world wants to now attackthe church, whether it's through
subtle pressure or throughoutright persecution, which some
churches have experienced.
Please don't let them do that.
(09:02):
See, when we fail to do that,we're risking losing the role as
light in this darkness.
So today I want to take sometime to go through the book of
James.
I want to pull out fiveprinciples from the book of
James that I think will help usin this time.
I'm going to use the word standS-T-A-N-D as the framework and
(09:25):
we're going to look at how wecan stand in the midst of the
troubling times.
Why James James is so relevanttoday?
James was speaking to peoplethat were under great pressure.
He was speaking to people whowere suffering persecution.
The world was caving in onthese people and he was reaching
out to them to say that you canhave a vibrant hope, a living
(09:46):
faith, and that you can havepeace and hope in the midst of
the chaos and the confusion thatis around you.
That is what James is writingto.
He says that your faith doesn'tjust have to survive, but it
can thrive in the midst of this.
He said that your faith couldbe visible, not hidden.
Your faith could be active, notpassive.
Your faith could be visible,not hidden.
(10:07):
Your faith could be active, notpassive.
Your faith could be unshakableand unwavering.
That is the faith that he hascalled you to, that Christ has
called you to by the power ofthe Holy Spirit, and that's what
he wants to do in you andthrough you.
So, lord, I pray that you wouldgive us a living courage.
I pray that you would give usan uncompromising faith.
I pray that you would help usan uncompromising faith.
I pray that you would help usto face any opposition, knowing
(10:29):
that in you we can stand.
So, father, the truths that wespeak about today are probably
not going to be new truths tomany of us.
I pray that they would be arefreshment and a hope and a
peace and a reminder of thethings that we are called to do,
like those heroes that we sawin the Old and New Testament,
(10:49):
those heroes that we've seen inchurch history.
Father, I don't know how manyof us are ever going to be
called to lose our lives for you, but, father, help us to be
willing to lose something foryour son because he lost
everything for us.
In Jesus' name.
We pray Amen.
So the S in the stand is tostand firm in trials.
(11:12):
Stand firm in trials.
Elder Ed read for us the firstsection here in Romans.
He read here that a Paul is aservant of Christ Jesus and
called to be an apostle.
I'm not Paul James.
That doesn't make sense.
James, a servant of God and theLord Jesus Christ, to the 12
(11:33):
tribes dispersed Greetings.
He's talking to these 12 tribes, the Jewish nation that has
been separated, and they havebeen dispersed because of
persecution.
They are experiencingpersecution Now.
The persecution was coming uponthem first economically, and
then it was relationally, andthen eventually it was going to
become physical and it was goingto lead to eventual death of
(11:55):
some of these people.
And some of these people wouldjust say I think that was part
of the way that God was going tospread his good news to the
world.
He says I want the gospel to gofrom Jerusalem to Judea, to
Samaria, to the uttermost partsof the earth, and what God was
using it was you using the evilof the time to spread his gospel
message throughout the world.
And I think that's what he wasdoing here.
And James is writing to thesepeople and he's saying I don't
(12:16):
want you to be overwhelmed, Idon't want you to be afraid, I
want you to know that you canstand firm in the trial.
And we heard it earlier.
He says, verse two count it all, joy, my brothers, when you
encounter various trials.
He means that I want you toconsider this.
I want you to think as you seethis situation.
I want you to start with themindset that God is sovereign.
(12:39):
You are under his hand.
Nothing is happening outside ofGod's sovereign plan.
He's got a great plan for youand he can redeem the struggle
that you're going through.
See, james' challenge to us isthis that you can stand firm in
the world that's going chaoticand confusing.
You don't have to compromise,you do not have to give in.
You could be prepared for theadversity that's coming, but
(13:01):
it's that adversity, thediscomfort, the trials, the
difficulties are urging you totrust God.
He wants to make you strong andmature.
He wants to make you completethrough this trial.
He wants to use this trial forhis glory.
But it talks about counting it.
What does it mean?
It means that you have toactually think about this trial
and see the trial, but see thegreater person beyond the trial.
(13:24):
Don't look horizontally.
You look vertically.
You look at God, who'ssovereignly in control.
See, this is where faith shinesat its greatest.
Not in the comfort, but in thecourage that you and I have
under the pressure.
So that's when your light isreally shining.
What God does, for some reason,is he chooses to allow the
pressures that you go through tohone you and to grow you and to
(13:47):
make you more and more like him.
Suffering produces whatPerseverance and perseverance,
what Character and character,hope.
That's what Paul said in Romans, chapter 5.
God wants to use these trialsthat we're going through and the
difficulties that we're goingthrough to teach you to stand
firm.
And this perspective is soimportant.
It's so important to know this,because trials do more than
(14:09):
just test us.
Trials will transform you.
That God will use thedifficulties that this nation is
going through, the difficultiesthat this county is going
through, the difficulties thatthis state is going through, the
difficulties that are in yourlife and in your marriage, and
the struggles that you're having.
He will use each one of thosebecause he wants to push you to
rely on him.
He wants to build spiritualmuscle, he wants to build
(14:31):
endurance in you, and that's whyhe says that it will produce a
perfect and complete work.
Lacking in nothing, he requiresmaturity, and maturity means
that we are growing infaithfulness, growing in
obstacles.
So, rather than seeing theobstacle, I want you to see this
as an opportunity of what Godwants to do in you and through
(14:52):
you.
Verse 5 is interesting becauseverse 5 says if any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask who gives.
Let's ask God, who givesgenerally to all, without
reproach, and it will be givento him.
What James is doing is he'sgiving you a practical step
which, very honestly, very fewof us do.
How often is it that weactually go vertically?
(15:13):
How often is it that we, beforeyou go into the voting booth on
Tuesday, spend some time inprayer, maybe outside that
voting booth?
There's going to be a long line.
It's a long line, and we waitoutside.
Hopefully it's warm that dayand hopefully there's going to
be a long line.
It's a long line and we waitoutside.
Hopefully it's warm that dayand hopefully it's not raining,
but we wait outside.
Why not spend some time justpraying praying for our nation,
praying for our leaders, prayingthat God brings the person that
(15:36):
he would want into that area.
See, to obtain wisdom is toendure the trial with joy.
The reason why you can endurethis trial with joy is because
you're seeking God's wisdom andseeing that God has a reason for
allowing this trial.
I could see it, god.
I may not see everything, but Icould see that your hand is at
work here, because you've doneit in the past.
I know you'll do it in thefuture.
(15:57):
I know you're doing it rightnow.
Today, we must admit when we goto this way, we admit our need
for God, we admit that he issovereign, that he's in control.
We trust his guidance in ourlives.
Verses 6 through 8 isinteresting.
He says but let him ask infaith, with no doubting, for the
one who doubts is like a waveof the sea that is driven and
(16:19):
tossed by the wind, for thatperson must not suppose they
will receive anything from theLord.
He is a double-minded man,unstable in all his ways.
See, he introduces a condition.
He says that, yes, you have todo the activity of asking, but
you have to ask in faith.
And faith is so important.
We need to ask God withoutdoubting, and doubting.
Is this level of instability inour lives that we doubt that
(16:44):
God loves us?
We doubt that God is there forus?
True faith isn't alwaysunderstanding everything that
God knows and everything thatGod is doing.
That's not true faith.
True faith is that I trust you,god, even when I don't know
what's going on.
See, standing firm in trialsrequires unwavering faith.
When it comes to God, we needto believe not only that he has
(17:04):
the power to handle this, but healso has the goodness, he has
the favor and he has a purposefor the pain that we're going
through.
And when you do that, itanchors you.
It anchors you because youbecome anchored and you are
steady and you are secure andthat God is working and my
confidence is growing and thatGod has the ability to manage
the situation, no matter howhard the trial is.
(17:27):
I know that he can strengthenme.
I can know he can endure, Iknow that I can be shaped
through this trial.
Do you believe that Step numberone is to recognize that we
need to stand firm in the trials?
Step number two is alsoimportant.
Now, the end of chapter one, hegoes on to talk about
(17:47):
temptations and then he talksabout hearing the word and then
doing it, the word, which is soimportant.
He says it's not enough to hearthe word, you need to actually
put that word into practice.
All of that is important instanding firm in the trials.
The second thing I want you tosee is that James tells us that
we need to take action in faith.
Take action in faith.
(18:07):
See, it's not enough to standfirm in the trials, where I keep
my feet firmly planted on God.
Now I need to actually move.
I can't just be passive, I needto be active.
Each one of those charactersthat I gave you from the Old
Testament wasn't just that theystood firm on a belief, they
actually moved forward.
Moses went to Pharaoh, danielcontinued to pray, shadrach,
(18:28):
meshach and Abednego stood up,peter and John and Silas
actually preached the gospel.
Each one of them were doingsomething that's so important.
So I think the second thingthat James tells us is that we
need to take action.
In the beginning of chapter two,it's interesting that he talks
about partiality.
We're living in a culture todaywhere people are looking
(18:48):
externally at somebody becauseof their race or their gender
and therefore they make itvaluable in and of themselves,
and James is saying wait aminute, you're looking
externally for the wrong reasons, that the people that you're
looking at externally, that maylook like you or whatever it may
be in and of themselves, maynot be a brother and sister in
(19:08):
Christ, maybe the ones that areactually hurting you.
So if you look at people whoare rich or poor and you say
that this rich person should geta great seat down front, but
the poor person should besitting in the back.
There is something wrong withthe partiality I think we have a
lot in our society today.
But then James talks about atverse 14, that we have a problem
(19:30):
when our faith has no actions.
He says what good is it, mybrothers, if someone says he has
faith but doesn't have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister ispoorly clothed and lacking in
daily food and one of you saysto them go in peace, be warmed
and well-filled, without givinghim the thing that he needs for
(19:52):
the body, what good is that?
And so what James is arguing isthat genuine faith leads to
action.
It leads to you doing somethingwhen you take a stand in faith.
Now you need to act throughthat faith, and that's what he
was doing.
He was talking about servingone another.
He says that as you see thisbrother or sister, he gives a
clear explanation when you seethat brother and sister in need,
(20:16):
what are you going to do aboutit?
It was so good to be able tosee the meal train come out.
Meal train came out for PastorZach and Anna and that thing.
I looked on it like 15 minuteslater and it's like ding, ding,
ding ding.
It was filled.
Because this is a church ofpeople that are acting, we need
to continue to not only act forthe body of Christ, but we also
need to act in the world.
(20:36):
See, practical faith cares andit serves and it responds to
those that are in need, and youcould tell the health of a
church when its members areparticipating in the body and
serving and caring for oneanother.
God is doing things in you andthen he's doing things through
you, so take that stand forfaith.
Well, james is continuing toremind us that faith is not just
(20:58):
mere words.
It's actually doing something,it is active, it's demonstrating
love, it is compassion that isthere and it's faith beyond just
words.
Watch in verse 18.
He says but someone will saythat you have faith, I have
works.
Show me your faith apart fromworks, and I will show you my
faith by my works.
Now, james is not arguing thatwe're saved by our works.
(21:20):
What James is arguing is thatif you are truly saved, it will
come out in your works towardsone another.
You will have a great love forothers, because Christ loved you
and he wants to love othersthrough you.
He has forgiven you, so hewants to forgive others through
you.
Real faith is marked by worksthat reflect the heart of Christ
.
(21:40):
I worry in our culture todaythat when we are more led by the
world rather than the word,that our words and our actions
seem so angry and attackingrather than loving and gracious.
See, what God wants to dothrough you is he wants to take
a stand for faith and he wantsyou to take a stand for faith.
That is a faith that is actingand is doing something.
(22:02):
And he gives you two examples.
He gives you the example ofAbraham, which I didn't use
earlier.
In verse 20, he says do youwant to be shown, you foolish
person, that faith apart fromworks is useless?
Was it not Abraham, our father,justified by his works, when he
offered himself as Isaac on thealtar?
You see that faith was activealong with his works and that
(22:23):
faith was completed by his worksand the scripture was fulfilled
in saying that Abraham believedGod and it was counted to him
as righteousness and he wascalled the child of God or
friend of God.
Now James uses Abraham, fatherAbraham, in the Old Testament as
an example of someone whosefaith led to radical action.
His faith led to radical action, even to the point of taking
(22:46):
his own son's life, and he waslike are you guys kidding me?
God, that's what you're callingme to do?
It was radical, and this natureof genuine faith acted boldly,
it acted sacrificially and itwas one of showing trust in God.
No, abraham, I'm not asking youto take your son's life.
I'm going to do that for you.
(23:08):
I'm going to have my son, theLord Jesus Christ, years ago, on
that same mountain, die on across.
For every single person thatwill ever trust in him, I will
have my son bleed and die.
I will put my wrath upon him.
You don't have to do that,abraham.
(23:28):
I'm doing that for you.
But Abraham was an example offaith because he didn't know
that future story.
He just knew that God wascalling him and he used that as
an example of faith.
Another one that I didn't usefrom the Old Testament James
uses here in verse 25, is Rahab,and in the same way, verse 25,
was not Rahab, the prostitute,justified by works when she
(23:50):
received the messengers and sentthem out by another way?
For as the body, apart from thespirit, is dead, so is faith
without works dead, and in thebook of Joshua there's this
story of these spies that gointo the land.
And Rahab the prostitute knewthat her land was wrong and that
the God of these people wasright.
And she says I'm going toreject my people here because my
(24:12):
people are wrong.
I'm going to go towards the Godof the Israelites.
And she chose to hide the spies.
She sent them off in adifferent direction.
And you know what the beauty is.
Rahab the prostitute becomespart of the lineage of the Lord
Jesus Christ that God can useanyone, he can take anyone, he
can transform them, he canchange them.
(24:35):
So step number one in theprocess is to stand firm in
trials, but step number two, itis so important to take action
in faith that for us to bebelievers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, I would just encourageyou to say is that the way it's
supposed to be?
Are the people around mesupposed to not know about my
(24:55):
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
I think we're called to takeaction.
I think we're called to becourageous, like these people
are.
Our faith is meant to be aliving force, an act of
compassion, an act of courage,an act of conviction.
A passive faith is a powerlessfaith.
True faith steps up and itspeaks out.
(25:17):
Stand, you need to take action.
Act with integrity in yourspeech.
Chapter 3 begins, the nextsection where James is giving
counsel, and I think this isreally good counsel for us today
, because we are living in aworld that has completely
forgotten about how we speak.
Well, james says here Not manyof you should presume to be
(25:39):
teachers, my brothers, for youwho teach will be judged more
strictly, james says here, sothat they obey us.
We guide the whole body as well.
Look at the ships also.
Though they are large anddriven by strong winds, they're
(26:04):
guided by a small rudderwherever the will of the pilot
directs.
So also the tongue.
A small member, yet makes greatboast.
How great a forest is setablaze by a single fire.
The tongue is a fire, a worldof unrighteousness.
The tongue is set among itsmembers, staining the whole body
, setting on fire the entirecourse of life, and is therefore
(26:26):
set on fire by hell.
What James begins with is thatyou have power in your tongue.
Once again, I am encouragingyou that when you start to speak
like the world and you'resaying the same things as the
world, that is not what Godwants you to do.
As you look at candidates andyou say the things that the
world is saying about that samecandidate and you're using the
(26:49):
exact same tone.
You're using the exact samewords I'm just encouraging you
to say is that the way Jesuswould be responding?
Is that the way Jesus would betalking today?
Is that what he would betweeting today?
Is that what he would beputting on his Facebook page
today?
I encourage you to use yourtongue, that tongue, as a
powerful weapon for truth, notjust attacking other people.
(27:10):
Attack policy is all you want,but attacking people is clearly
not what we're called to do.
And James is using this imageryof this immense power that the
tongue has and he compares it tothe bit in the mouth of a horse
and that you could steer thathorse based on the bit.
Or he compares it to a littlefire or a rudder.
That rudder on a ship can movethe ship, or a fire can reset on
(27:31):
blaze.
We live in a world where peoplesay such divisive and
destructive things and they hurtpeople and they don't care.
And as Christians, we're calledto be people that speak love
and grace and truth.
The divisive and destructivelanguage is so prevalent today.
People use their words to teardown rather than build up, and
(27:54):
the principle is clear Ourspeech should reflect a godly
wisdom that is aiming to bringpeace and encouragement in the
world rather than anger anddeceit.
If your words are bringinggreater anger and greater deceit
, then I would ask you toconsider is that really what God
is asking you to?
I can tell you for certain it'snot.
(28:15):
God calls us to speak withintegrity.
Look at verse 9 here.
It says this with this we blessour Lord and Father and with it
we curse man who remained inhis likeness.
From the same mouth comeblessing and cursing my brothers
.
These things ought not to befor.
Does spring for so?
(28:36):
Does a spring pour forth fromthe same opening both fresh
water and salt water?
Can a fig tree my brothers bearolives, or a grapevine bear
figs?
Neither can salt produce freshwater.
What James is saying is this wecan't walk out of this
sanctuary today singing praiseto God and worshiping him with
(28:59):
that same mouth and thenimmediately go onto my Facebook
page and start saying such evilthings.
I just encourage you, mybrothers and sisters be
consistent with your language.
Be a person that is a light inthe midst of the darkness that
is there.
Stand firm, take action, act inintegrity and nurture heavenly
(29:21):
wisdom.
James then goes from the tongueto the wisdom that we have, and
I was saying that far too oftenpeople are based on the wisdom
of this world rather than thewisdom of God.
And he says in verse 13, who iswise in understanding among you
by his good conduct, let himshow his works in meekness of
wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousyand selfish ambition in your
(29:44):
heart, do not boast and be falseto the truth.
Verse 15, this is not wisdomthat comes down from above, but
is earthly and spiritual,demonic.
For where there's jealousy andselfish ambition exist, there
will be disorder and every vilepractice.
But hear this but the wisdomthat is from above is first of
(30:05):
all what Pure and peaceablegentle, open to reason, full of
mercy and good fruit, impartialand sincere.
A harvest of peace andrighteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
I think what we're called to dois to have a heart of wisdom,
(30:26):
and the heart of wisdom is Ineed to be listening for godly
wisdom and I need to discern howI think and how I speak and how
I act in light of God's word.
I need to be grounded on thetruth.
And when I'm grounded on thetruth, I'm going to resist the
worldly compromises that arecoming at me.
If I am sounding more like theworld than the word, something's
(30:46):
off.
If I'm acting more like theworld than the word, something's
off.
If I'm thinking more like theworld than the word, then
something's off.
James was saying here thatearthly wisdom isn't spiritual,
but he's actually saying it'sdemonic.
See, we're living in a worldtoday where Satan wants to usurp
the faith, the family, he wantsto usurp the church.
(31:10):
He wants to usurp the nationand the state.
So I encourage you what wisdomare you listening?
To Be in the word.
When you go into the ballot boxon Tuesday, I encourage you to
say okay, what policies, whatplatform?
What policy and platform linesmost up?
And as you take true wisdomthat aligns with God's heart and
(31:32):
purposes, that allows you tostand for truth even when it's
unpopular.
Some of you will have to take astand that is very unpopular to
people that are around you.
God says I want you to use mywisdom, I want you to break
silence.
I want you to have clarity inthis world.
I want you to show people ofpurity.
I want you to be people ofpeace.
That is in this world when youallow opinions to sway you and
(31:57):
when you remain silent ratherthan standing for truth.
It may be more comfortabletemporarily, but it leads to
greater problems in life.
True wisdom breaks silence andtrue wisdom seeks truth over
popularity S.
Stand firm T take actionthrough faith, a act with
(32:18):
integrity in your speech Nnurture godly wisdom and then D
depend on God through humilityand prayer.
It's interesting he begins thefourth chapter and he talks
about conflict and worldlinessand then he jumps down.
In verse seven it says submityourself, therefore, to God.
(32:38):
Resist the devil and he willflee from you.
Draw near to God, and he willdraw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.
You double-minded, be wretchedand mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned tomourning and your joy to glue.
Humble yourself before the Lordand he will exalt you.
(32:59):
So James gives counsel here.
He says I want you to be fullof humility.
He actually says a little bitearlier that God opposes the
proud but gives grace to thehumble.
God's command is clear hereSubmit yourself to him, and when
you do that, it's a call tosurrender your plans, your
desires, your hopes, your dreamsto God and let God be the one
that is going to lead you andguide you.
And that submission requireshumility from each dreams to God
and let God be the one that isgoing to lead you and guide you.
(33:20):
And that submission requireshumility from each one of us.
And it's an acknowledgementthat God's ways are higher than
our ways and his plans aregreater than our plans.
And when we resist the devil,the beauty is this he will flee
from you.
And when you draw near to him,seek more of his presence, more
of his desire, more of hispurpose in your life, he will
(33:41):
give you the power and he willgive you a greater level of
peace.
I believe this that when wekneel before God, we will stand
stronger in a world that'saround us.
And the reason why I thinkwe're struggling with standing
strong in a world that's aroundus because we are failing to
kneel before God.
So what does this tell us?
It tells us, first, that Godcalls us to take a stand in the
(34:07):
trials that you're going through.
Each one of us are goingthrough trials.
I need you to take a stand fortruth.
Second, he reminded us that weneed to take action Now.
Faith doesn't just sit by.
It speaks, it acts, it moves,it reaches out.
Your words can bring life ordeath.
Your words can bring spirituallife.
It was each one of us thattrusted in the Lord Jesus Christ
(34:28):
that heard the gospel messagethrough somebody.
Somebody used those words tospeak truth in this world.
I ask you to nurture wisdom.
Far too often, many of us arelistening to the pundits and the
political parties and whateverit is, you're leftist or you're
conservative and you listen tothose radio stations hour after
(34:50):
hour after hour.
And I would just encourage you,spend time in the word.
Let God's word so saturate yourmind and then depend upon him
in prayer.
There's some godly leaders thatwe have in history.
Josiah was one of them godlyleader, righteous, and he
promoted right things.
(35:11):
There's some evil leaders, likeAhab, he promoted some evil
things.
And Jehu was a mess.
He was flawed, but God used himfor a reason.
You are salt and you are light.
Use that salt and use thatlight to honor him.
In Romans, paul said this.
(35:32):
I close with this Verse 16 inchapter one he says I'm not
ashamed of the gospel, for it isthe power of God for salvation.
Verse 16 in chapter 1, he saysI'm not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God forsalvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first, andalso to the Greek.
The righteousness of God isrevealed from faith for faith,
for it is written, the righteousshall live by faith.
(35:55):
Paul said that the gospel doessomething.
It does something amazing itdestroys shame, the shame that
holds us back from speakingtruth.
The gospel destroys it.
The gospel is a living force,he says.
It is the power of God.
When you feel weak, god wantsto do some amazing power through
you and to transform you.
(36:15):
The gospel is for every singleperson that will ever trust in
Christ that if you bow your kneeto Christ and you say I want
him, I know I'm a sinner, Idesperately want him.
The gospel is for everyone whobelieves.
The only condition is that youmust believe and the gospel is
there that reveals therighteousness of God.
(36:35):
Now God has revealed hisrighteousness in his son, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Eventually he will reveal hisrighteousness ultimately as he
judges this world.
The righteous shall live byfaith.
So live in this world by faith.
Take a stand, take action, actin obedience and integrity in
(36:59):
your speech, nurture wisdom andthen finally trust in God by
having humility and turning tohim in prayer.
Let's pray Amen, father.
(37:22):
Probably nobody here in thisroom has ever experienced like
Sipra or Pua.
Maybe some of our nurses inthis room, maybe some of the
medical professionals in thisroom, have been put into
situations like those midwives,where they're called to take a
life and they say, no, I don'twant to do that.
I'm not going to do that,father.
(37:44):
I don't know how many people inthis room have had to stand up
against leaders maybe not as bigas Pharaoh, but maybe the
leader is a person at their joband they had to take a stand and
say, no, I'm not going to dothat.
I don't know how many people inthis room have had to suffer
because of their faith and theirreligious beliefs.
Maybe some of them in theirfamilies have had to experience
(38:06):
that.
Father, there are examplesaround this room of struggles
that we have because of ourfaith.
I pray that we would have theboldness like those ladies and
those young men from the OldTestament, from the New
Testament, from church history.
I pray that we would have theboldness like those ladies and
those young men from the OldTestament, from the New
Testament from church history.
I pray that we would be able tosay, like that church historian
(38:28):
, that 86 years I've lived andGod has never rejected me.
I'm not rejecting him.
And, father, I pray that youwould help us to stand.
I pray for our country.
I pray that you would do a workto protect us from greater
decay.
And, father, for this church,thank you for the growing work
that you're doing in us.
Through us, help us to be alight to each other but, more
(38:50):
importantly, a light to thisworld.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think sometimes we havegotten very silent on moral
issues that are significant, andI think sometimes as a church,
I'm not talking about the chapel, I'm talking about the church
in general.
I think sometimes we're late onspeaking to some things and
it's only after things have beenso entrenched around us that we
actually speak up.
So that's kind of the ideawhere the title comes from this
(00:23):
morning Breaking the Silence,standing for Truth in the Age of
Compromise.
Because there are moments inhistory where people are called
to take a stand.
There are moments in historywhere people are called to break
the silence and to actuallystand out, because silence can
be complicity at times and whenfaith remains hidden, it can't
(00:46):
impact the lives of others, andoftentimes what we find is that
our world is shaped by thenations and what is left there.
God calls us to live to try totransform society, but it's also
he is calling us to betransformed in our own hearts
and our lives.
He calls us to be courageous inthe midst of the struggles that
(01:07):
are there.
The Bible gives us countlessexamples of people that took a
stand and took a stand for faithin the midst of the trials and
the difficulties.
One other song leader that Ilike is Keith Green.
Keith Green was a songwriterand he passed away I think in
1983.
And he had an album that's howold I am and the name of it was
(01:30):
no Compromise.
And in the picture up therethere is this bowing down.
All these people are bowingdown to these idols and this one
guy is standing as this idol ispassing by, and the title of
the album was no Compromise.
I want you to think aboutpeople that chose to say no in
(01:50):
the midst of the prevailingevils of their time.
They refused to compromisetheir convictions.
They're risking everything tofollow Christ.
I think of Zipra and Pua, thesetwo Hebrew midwives.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh had madea decree that any newborn baby
boy was to be killed, but theydefied him.
(02:12):
They stood against him and theysaid no, I'm not going to do
this.
They refused to participate inwhat they would say as genocide.
I'm not doing this.
I am standing against this tide.
Even the most powerful leaderwas saying yes and they were
saying no, we're not doing this.
I am standing against this tide.
Even the most powerful leaderwas saying yes and they were
saying no, we're not going there.
I think of Moses, that littlebaby that they that saved.
(02:32):
That Moses stood against yearslater stood up in front of that
Pharaoh the most powerful man ofthe universe at the time, and
they said he said no, let mypeople go.
Queen Esther faced life anddeath decisions.
She was threatened with herpeople were going to be
threatened with annihilation.
And what did she do?
She said I could stay in mypalace and be safe, or I can go
(02:56):
out there and take a stand.
And she says if I go, if Iperish, then I perish.
She took a stand for truth.
She took a stand for justice.
She became an instrument inGod's hands to save a nation.
We know that about Daniel.
When Daniel faced the decision,the king had said nobody can
(03:17):
pray to anybody other than me.
And he said no, I'm going tocontinue.
He didn't compromise his faith.
What he did was he continued topray openly, as he had always
done, despite the fact that heknew that he could die for this.
He chose to do the right thingand pray to his God.
He chose obedience overobedience to humanity and, of
(03:38):
course, his friends Shadrach,meshach and Abednego.
They knew that they werecommanded to bow down to this
idol and they said I refuse to,I will not bow down.
They were not going to bow downto that image and even though
they may have gone to a fieryfurnace, they said I know my God
can deliver us, but even if hechooses not to, I'm still not
(03:59):
bowing down.
I think of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist was standingthere and saying repent, for the
kingdom of God is at hand.
He is crying out in thewilderness.
And then, when he was in prison, he stood before that king that
was living any sinful andsexual life and he says what
(04:20):
you're doing is wrong.
He defied the king, he defiedthat person, even at the risk of
his life.
The apostles in the early church.
They carried on a legacyforward.
Peter and John said we need toobey God rather than man.
Throughout history we've gotpeople like Polycarp.
(04:41):
Polycarp was this early churchleader.
He was threatened with deathand I love this quote.
He said this 86 years.
I have served him and he hasdone me no wrong.
How can I bless me?
My king who saved me, orWilliam Tyndale, the reason why
you have a Bible in your hand inthe English language?
William Tyndale, his lifemission was to translate the
(05:03):
Bible into English.
He says if God spares my life,I will cause a boy that has
driven the plow to know more ofthe scripture than thou dost now
.
And he eventually was executed.
Or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who Iwas mentioned before.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor,a theologian, nazi Germany.
He spoke against the atrocitiesof the Hitler regime, the real
(05:27):
Hitler regime.
And Bonhoeffer spoke thesewords Watch, this Silence in the
face of evil itself is evil.
God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.
See what these men and womenknew.
(05:49):
They knew what was at stake.
They knew that they were calledto a higher standard, a
standard that was not causingthem to bend to the wills of
what was happening around them.
They didn't worry about thefear of man or the fear of death
.
They said I have a fear of God.
I'm going to stand before himand I'm going to honor him.
(06:10):
We live in a world that hastraded truth for convenience,
compromise is expected, wherefaith is relegated to a private
thing.
You can have your privatebeliefs, but keep them private.
Don't ever share that out withanybody.
And far too often I see that weare living in a world where
Christians are thinking,sounding or acting like the
(06:31):
world rather than the word.
And if we're looking at theworld, we're looking at the
problems in this world and we'rethinking, sounding or acting
just like the world is, thenwhat is different about us?
See, you're called to be alight and you're called to be
salt in this world.
The world needs truth, andtruth that may cost you and me,
(06:53):
every single one of us, andthere are times of pressure and
there are times of persecutionthat may come upon us, and that
stuff that they were dealingwith, all those people I was
talking about, that was realpersecution.
What do we deal with?
Maybe somebody doesn't like us,maybe somebody unfriends us?
Let your faith be visible, letyour faith be courageous, let
your faith be uncompromising.
(07:15):
God has you at that specificplace for such a time as this.
God has you in exactly theplaces.
He has you connecting withpeople, because he wants to use
you as a bright light to thisworld.
But when you relegate thatlight under a bushel, why are
you here?
Why am I here?
(07:37):
God ordained three basicinstitutions the family, the
church, it and they weresupposed to be working under his
authority, under hissovereignty, and each one of
them is to be a reflection ofhim.
None of us are called to lookto those institutions as the
ultimate.
We're supposed to look to Godas the ultimate, and it's not
(07:57):
surprising to me that Satan haslooked to thwart each one of
these institutions.
He has looked to thwart thefamily, and that's the agenda of
today destroy the family.
He has looked to thwart thestate.
The state has now become theGod.
It's replaced God and nowpeople look to the state as God.
It doesn't matter who wins onTuesday, christ is still king.
(08:20):
So he looks to destroy thefamily.
He looks to destroy the state.
He also looks to destroy thechurch.
That is where he can't win andwe won't allow him to, but
Christ will clearly not allowhim to.
The world wants to restrictspeech, wants to reshape what is
(08:41):
acceptable and what is right.
The world wants to grab theeducation system and influence
future generations of morals andcultural things.
The world wants to now attackthe church, whether it's through
subtle pressure or throughoutright persecution, which some
churches have experienced.
Please don't let them do that.
(09:02):
See, when we fail to do that,we're risking losing the role as
light in this darkness.
So today I want to take sometime to go through the book of
James.
I want to pull out fiveprinciples from the book of
James that I think will help usin this time.
I'm going to use the word standS-T-A-N-D as the framework and
(09:25):
we're going to look at how wecan stand in the midst of the
troubling times.
Why James James is so relevanttoday?
James was speaking to peoplethat were under great pressure.
He was speaking to people whowere suffering persecution.
The world was caving in onthese people and he was reaching
out to them to say that you canhave a vibrant hope, a living
(09:46):
faith, and that you can havepeace and hope in the midst of
the chaos and the confusion thatis around you.
That is what James is writingto.
He says that your faith doesn'tjust have to survive, but it
can thrive in the midst of this.
He said that your faith couldbe visible, not hidden.
Your faith could be active, notpassive.
Your faith could be visible,not hidden.
(10:07):
Your faith could be active, notpassive.
Your faith could be unshakableand unwavering.
That is the faith that he hascalled you to, that Christ has
called you to by the power ofthe Holy Spirit, and that's what
he wants to do in you andthrough you.
So, lord, I pray that you wouldgive us a living courage.
I pray that you would give usan uncompromising faith.
I pray that you would help usan uncompromising faith.
I pray that you would help usto face any opposition, knowing
(10:29):
that in you we can stand.
So, father, the truths that wespeak about today are probably
not going to be new truths tomany of us.
I pray that they would be arefreshment and a hope and a
peace and a reminder of thethings that we are called to do,
like those heroes that we sawin the Old and New Testament,
(10:49):
those heroes that we've seen inchurch history.
Father, I don't know how manyof us are ever going to be
called to lose our lives for you, but, father, help us to be
willing to lose something foryour son because he lost
everything for us.
In Jesus' name.
We pray Amen.
So the S in the stand is tostand firm in trials.
(11:12):
Stand firm in trials.
Elder Ed read for us the firstsection here in Romans.
He read here that a Paul is aservant of Christ Jesus and
called to be an apostle.
I'm not Paul James.
That doesn't make sense.
James, a servant of God and theLord Jesus Christ, to the 12
(11:33):
tribes dispersed Greetings.
He's talking to these 12 tribes, the Jewish nation that has
been separated, and they havebeen dispersed because of
persecution.
They are experiencingpersecution Now.
The persecution was coming uponthem first economically, and
then it was relationally, andthen eventually it was going to
become physical and it was goingto lead to eventual death of
(11:55):
some of these people.
And some of these people wouldjust say I think that was part
of the way that God was going tospread his good news to the
world.
He says I want the gospel to gofrom Jerusalem to Judea, to
Samaria, to the uttermost partsof the earth, and what God was
using it was you using the evilof the time to spread his gospel
message throughout the world.
And I think that's what he wasdoing here.
And James is writing to thesepeople and he's saying I don't
(12:16):
want you to be overwhelmed, Idon't want you to be afraid, I
want you to know that you canstand firm in the trial.
And we heard it earlier.
He says, verse two count it all, joy, my brothers, when you
encounter various trials.
He means that I want you toconsider this.
I want you to think as you seethis situation.
I want you to start with themindset that God is sovereign.
(12:39):
You are under his hand.
Nothing is happening outside ofGod's sovereign plan.
He's got a great plan for youand he can redeem the struggle
that you're going through.
See, james' challenge to us isthis that you can stand firm in
the world that's going chaoticand confusing.
You don't have to compromise,you do not have to give in.
You could be prepared for theadversity that's coming, but
(13:01):
it's that adversity, thediscomfort, the trials, the
difficulties are urging you totrust God.
He wants to make you strong andmature.
He wants to make you completethrough this trial.
He wants to use this trial forhis glory.
But it talks about counting it.
What does it mean?
It means that you have toactually think about this trial
and see the trial, but see thegreater person beyond the trial.
(13:24):
Don't look horizontally.
You look vertically.
You look at God, who'ssovereignly in control.
See, this is where faith shinesat its greatest.
Not in the comfort, but in thecourage that you and I have
under the pressure.
So that's when your light isreally shining.
What God does, for some reason,is he chooses to allow the
pressures that you go through tohone you and to grow you and to
(13:47):
make you more and more like him.
Suffering produces whatPerseverance and perseverance,
what Character and character,hope.
That's what Paul said in Romans, chapter 5.
God wants to use these trialsthat we're going through and the
difficulties that we're goingthrough to teach you to stand
firm.
And this perspective is soimportant.
It's so important to know this,because trials do more than
(14:09):
just test us.
Trials will transform you.
That God will use thedifficulties that this nation is
going through, the difficultiesthat this county is going
through, the difficulties thatthis state is going through, the
difficulties that are in yourlife and in your marriage, and
the struggles that you're having.
He will use each one of thosebecause he wants to push you to
rely on him.
He wants to build spiritualmuscle, he wants to build
(14:31):
endurance in you, and that's whyhe says that it will produce a
perfect and complete work.
Lacking in nothing, he requiresmaturity, and maturity means
that we are growing infaithfulness, growing in
obstacles.
So, rather than seeing theobstacle, I want you to see this
as an opportunity of what Godwants to do in you and through
(14:52):
you.
Verse 5 is interesting becauseverse 5 says if any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask who gives.
Let's ask God, who givesgenerally to all, without
reproach, and it will be givento him.
What James is doing is he'sgiving you a practical step
which, very honestly, very fewof us do.
How often is it that weactually go vertically?
(15:13):
How often is it that we, beforeyou go into the voting booth on
Tuesday, spend some time inprayer, maybe outside that
voting booth?
There's going to be a long line.
It's a long line, and we waitoutside.
Hopefully it's warm that dayand hopefully there's going to
be a long line.
It's a long line and we waitoutside.
Hopefully it's warm that dayand hopefully it's not raining,
but we wait outside.
Why not spend some time justpraying praying for our nation,
praying for our leaders, prayingthat God brings the person that
(15:36):
he would want into that area.
See, to obtain wisdom is toendure the trial with joy.
The reason why you can endurethis trial with joy is because
you're seeking God's wisdom andseeing that God has a reason for
allowing this trial.
I could see it, god.
I may not see everything, but Icould see that your hand is at
work here, because you've doneit in the past.
I know you'll do it in thefuture.
(15:57):
I know you're doing it rightnow.
Today, we must admit when we goto this way, we admit our need
for God, we admit that he issovereign, that he's in control.
We trust his guidance in ourlives.
Verses 6 through 8 isinteresting.
He says but let him ask infaith, with no doubting, for the
one who doubts is like a waveof the sea that is driven and
(16:19):
tossed by the wind, for thatperson must not suppose they
will receive anything from theLord.
He is a double-minded man,unstable in all his ways.
See, he introduces a condition.
He says that, yes, you have todo the activity of asking, but
you have to ask in faith.
And faith is so important.
We need to ask God withoutdoubting, and doubting.
Is this level of instability inour lives that we doubt that
(16:44):
God loves us?
We doubt that God is there forus?
True faith isn't alwaysunderstanding everything that
God knows and everything thatGod is doing.
That's not true faith.
True faith is that I trust you,god, even when I don't know
what's going on.
See, standing firm in trialsrequires unwavering faith.
When it comes to God, we needto believe not only that he has
(17:04):
the power to handle this, but healso has the goodness, he has
the favor and he has a purposefor the pain that we're going
through.
And when you do that, itanchors you.
It anchors you because youbecome anchored and you are
steady and you are secure andthat God is working and my
confidence is growing and thatGod has the ability to manage
the situation, no matter howhard the trial is.
(17:27):
I know that he can strengthenme.
I can know he can endure, Iknow that I can be shaped
through this trial.
Do you believe that Step numberone is to recognize that we
need to stand firm in the trials?
Step number two is alsoimportant.
Now, the end of chapter one, hegoes on to talk about
(17:47):
temptations and then he talksabout hearing the word and then
doing it, the word, which is soimportant.
He says it's not enough to hearthe word, you need to actually
put that word into practice.
All of that is important instanding firm in the trials.
The second thing I want you tosee is that James tells us that
we need to take action in faith.
Take action in faith.
(18:07):
See, it's not enough to standfirm in the trials, where I keep
my feet firmly planted on God.
Now I need to actually move.
I can't just be passive, I needto be active.
Each one of those charactersthat I gave you from the Old
Testament wasn't just that theystood firm on a belief, they
actually moved forward.
Moses went to Pharaoh, danielcontinued to pray, shadrach,
(18:28):
meshach and Abednego stood up,peter and John and Silas
actually preached the gospel.
Each one of them were doingsomething that's so important.
So I think the second thingthat James tells us is that we
need to take action.
In the beginning of chapter two,it's interesting that he talks
about partiality.
We're living in a culture todaywhere people are looking
(18:48):
externally at somebody becauseof their race or their gender
and therefore they make itvaluable in and of themselves,
and James is saying wait aminute, you're looking
externally for the wrong reasons, that the people that you're
looking at externally, that maylook like you or whatever it may
be in and of themselves, maynot be a brother and sister in
(19:08):
Christ, maybe the ones that areactually hurting you.
So if you look at people whoare rich or poor and you say
that this rich person should geta great seat down front, but
the poor person should besitting in the back.
There is something wrong withthe partiality I think we have a
lot in our society today.
But then James talks about atverse 14, that we have a problem
(19:30):
when our faith has no actions.
He says what good is it, mybrothers, if someone says he has
faith but doesn't have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister ispoorly clothed and lacking in
daily food and one of you saysto them go in peace, be warmed
and well-filled, without givinghim the thing that he needs for
(19:52):
the body, what good is that?
And so what James is arguing isthat genuine faith leads to
action.
It leads to you doing somethingwhen you take a stand in faith.
Now you need to act throughthat faith, and that's what he
was doing.
He was talking about servingone another.
He says that as you see thisbrother or sister, he gives a
clear explanation when you seethat brother and sister in need,
(20:16):
what are you going to do aboutit?
It was so good to be able tosee the meal train come out.
Meal train came out for PastorZach and Anna and that thing.
I looked on it like 15 minuteslater and it's like ding, ding,
ding ding.
It was filled.
Because this is a church ofpeople that are acting, we need
to continue to not only act forthe body of Christ, but we also
need to act in the world.
(20:36):
See, practical faith cares andit serves and it responds to
those that are in need, and youcould tell the health of a
church when its members areparticipating in the body and
serving and caring for oneanother.
God is doing things in you andthen he's doing things through
you, so take that stand forfaith.
Well, james is continuing toremind us that faith is not just
(20:58):
mere words.
It's actually doing something,it is active, it's demonstrating
love, it is compassion that isthere and it's faith beyond just
words.
Watch in verse 18.
He says but someone will saythat you have faith, I have
works.
Show me your faith apart fromworks, and I will show you my
faith by my works.
Now, james is not arguing thatwe're saved by our works.
(21:20):
What James is arguing is thatif you are truly saved, it will
come out in your works towardsone another.
You will have a great love forothers, because Christ loved you
and he wants to love othersthrough you.
He has forgiven you, so hewants to forgive others through
you.
Real faith is marked by worksthat reflect the heart of Christ
.
(21:40):
I worry in our culture todaythat when we are more led by the
world rather than the word,that our words and our actions
seem so angry and attackingrather than loving and gracious.
See, what God wants to dothrough you is he wants to take
a stand for faith and he wantsyou to take a stand for faith.
That is a faith that is actingand is doing something.
(22:02):
And he gives you two examples.
He gives you the example ofAbraham, which I didn't use
earlier.
In verse 20, he says do youwant to be shown, you foolish
person, that faith apart fromworks is useless?
Was it not Abraham, our father,justified by his works, when he
offered himself as Isaac on thealtar?
You see that faith was activealong with his works and that
(22:23):
faith was completed by his worksand the scripture was fulfilled
in saying that Abraham believedGod and it was counted to him
as righteousness and he wascalled the child of God or
friend of God.
Now James uses Abraham, fatherAbraham, in the Old Testament as
an example of someone whosefaith led to radical action.
His faith led to radical action, even to the point of taking
(22:46):
his own son's life, and he waslike are you guys kidding me?
God, that's what you're callingme to do?
It was radical, and this natureof genuine faith acted boldly,
it acted sacrificially and itwas one of showing trust in God.
No, abraham, I'm not asking youto take your son's life.
I'm going to do that for you.
(23:08):
I'm going to have my son, theLord Jesus Christ, years ago, on
that same mountain, die on across.
For every single person thatwill ever trust in him, I will
have my son bleed and die.
I will put my wrath upon him.
You don't have to do that,abraham.
(23:28):
I'm doing that for you.
But Abraham was an example offaith because he didn't know
that future story.
He just knew that God wascalling him and he used that as
an example of faith.
Another one that I didn't usefrom the Old Testament James
uses here in verse 25, is Rahab,and in the same way, verse 25,
was not Rahab, the prostitute,justified by works when she
(23:50):
received the messengers and sentthem out by another way?
For as the body, apart from thespirit, is dead, so is faith
without works dead, and in thebook of Joshua there's this
story of these spies that gointo the land.
And Rahab the prostitute knewthat her land was wrong and that
the God of these people wasright.
And she says I'm going toreject my people here because my
(24:12):
people are wrong.
I'm going to go towards the Godof the Israelites.
And she chose to hide the spies.
She sent them off in adifferent direction.
And you know what the beauty is.
Rahab the prostitute becomespart of the lineage of the Lord
Jesus Christ that God can useanyone, he can take anyone, he
can transform them, he canchange them.
(24:35):
So step number one in theprocess is to stand firm in
trials, but step number two, itis so important to take action
in faith that for us to bebelievers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, I would just encourageyou to say is that the way it's
supposed to be?
Are the people around mesupposed to not know about my
(24:55):
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
I think we're called to takeaction.
I think we're called to becourageous, like these people
are.
Our faith is meant to be aliving force, an act of
compassion, an act of courage,an act of conviction.
A passive faith is a powerlessfaith.
True faith steps up and itspeaks out.
(25:17):
Stand, you need to take action.
Act with integrity in yourspeech.
Chapter 3 begins, the nextsection where James is giving
counsel, and I think this isreally good counsel for us today
, because we are living in aworld that has completely
forgotten about how we speak.
Well, james says here Not manyof you should presume to be
(25:39):
teachers, my brothers, for youwho teach will be judged more
strictly, james says here, sothat they obey us.
We guide the whole body as well.
Look at the ships also.
Though they are large anddriven by strong winds, they're
(26:04):
guided by a small rudderwherever the will of the pilot
directs.
So also the tongue.
A small member, yet makes greatboast.
How great a forest is setablaze by a single fire.
The tongue is a fire, a worldof unrighteousness.
The tongue is set among itsmembers, staining the whole body
, setting on fire the entirecourse of life, and is therefore
(26:26):
set on fire by hell.
What James begins with is thatyou have power in your tongue.
Once again, I am encouragingyou that when you start to speak
like the world and you'resaying the same things as the
world, that is not what Godwants you to do.
As you look at candidates andyou say the things that the
world is saying about that samecandidate and you're using the
(26:49):
exact same tone.
You're using the exact samewords I'm just encouraging you
to say is that the way Jesuswould be responding?
Is that the way Jesus would betalking today?
Is that what he would betweeting today?
Is that what he would beputting on his Facebook page
today?
I encourage you to use yourtongue, that tongue, as a
powerful weapon for truth, notjust attacking other people.
(27:10):
Attack policy is all you want,but attacking people is clearly
not what we're called to do.
And James is using this imageryof this immense power that the
tongue has and he compares it tothe bit in the mouth of a horse
and that you could steer thathorse based on the bit.
Or he compares it to a littlefire or a rudder.
That rudder on a ship can movethe ship, or a fire can reset on
(27:31):
blaze.
We live in a world where peoplesay such divisive and
destructive things and they hurtpeople and they don't care.
And as Christians, we're calledto be people that speak love
and grace and truth.
The divisive and destructivelanguage is so prevalent today.
People use their words to teardown rather than build up, and
(27:54):
the principle is clear Ourspeech should reflect a godly
wisdom that is aiming to bringpeace and encouragement in the
world rather than anger anddeceit.
If your words are bringinggreater anger and greater deceit
, then I would ask you toconsider is that really what God
is asking you to?
I can tell you for certain it'snot.
(28:15):
God calls us to speak withintegrity.
Look at verse 9 here.
It says this with this we blessour Lord and Father and with it
we curse man who remained inhis likeness.
From the same mouth comeblessing and cursing my brothers
.
These things ought not to befor.
Does spring for so?
(28:36):
Does a spring pour forth fromthe same opening both fresh
water and salt water?
Can a fig tree my brothers bearolives, or a grapevine bear
figs?
Neither can salt produce freshwater.
What James is saying is this wecan't walk out of this
sanctuary today singing praiseto God and worshiping him with
(28:59):
that same mouth and thenimmediately go onto my Facebook
page and start saying such evilthings.
I just encourage you, mybrothers and sisters be
consistent with your language.
Be a person that is a light inthe midst of the darkness that
is there.
Stand firm, take action, act inintegrity and nurture heavenly
(29:21):
wisdom.
James then goes from the tongueto the wisdom that we have, and
I was saying that far too oftenpeople are based on the wisdom
of this world rather than thewisdom of God.
And he says in verse 13, who iswise in understanding among you
by his good conduct, let himshow his works in meekness of
wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousyand selfish ambition in your
(29:44):
heart, do not boast and be falseto the truth.
Verse 15, this is not wisdomthat comes down from above, but
is earthly and spiritual,demonic.
For where there's jealousy andselfish ambition exist, there
will be disorder and every vilepractice.
But hear this but the wisdomthat is from above is first of
(30:05):
all what Pure and peaceablegentle, open to reason, full of
mercy and good fruit, impartialand sincere.
A harvest of peace andrighteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
I think what we're called to dois to have a heart of wisdom,
(30:26):
and the heart of wisdom is Ineed to be listening for godly
wisdom and I need to discern howI think and how I speak and how
I act in light of God's word.
I need to be grounded on thetruth.
And when I'm grounded on thetruth, I'm going to resist the
worldly compromises that arecoming at me.
If I am sounding more like theworld than the word, something's
(30:46):
off.
If I'm acting more like theworld than the word, something's
off.
If I'm thinking more like theworld than the word, then
something's off.
James was saying here thatearthly wisdom isn't spiritual,
but he's actually saying it'sdemonic.
See, we're living in a worldtoday where Satan wants to usurp
the faith, the family, he wantsto usurp the church.
(31:10):
He wants to usurp the nationand the state.
So I encourage you what wisdomare you listening?
To Be in the word.
When you go into the ballot boxon Tuesday, I encourage you to
say okay, what policies, whatplatform?
What policy and platform linesmost up?
And as you take true wisdomthat aligns with God's heart and
(31:32):
purposes, that allows you tostand for truth even when it's
unpopular.
Some of you will have to take astand that is very unpopular to
people that are around you.
God says I want you to use mywisdom, I want you to break
silence.
I want you to have clarity inthis world.
I want you to show people ofpurity.
I want you to be people ofpeace.
That is in this world when youallow opinions to sway you and
(31:57):
when you remain silent ratherthan standing for truth.
It may be more comfortabletemporarily, but it leads to
greater problems in life.
True wisdom breaks silence andtrue wisdom seeks truth over
popularity S.
Stand firm T take actionthrough faith, a act with
(32:18):
integrity in your speech Nnurture godly wisdom and then D
depend on God through humilityand prayer.
It's interesting he begins thefourth chapter and he talks
about conflict and worldlinessand then he jumps down.
In verse seven it says submityourself, therefore, to God.
(32:38):
Resist the devil and he willflee from you.
Draw near to God, and he willdraw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.
You double-minded, be wretchedand mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned tomourning and your joy to glue.
Humble yourself before the Lordand he will exalt you.
(32:59):
So James gives counsel here.
He says I want you to be fullof humility.
He actually says a little bitearlier that God opposes the
proud but gives grace to thehumble.
God's command is clear hereSubmit yourself to him, and when
you do that, it's a call tosurrender your plans, your
desires, your hopes, your dreamsto God and let God be the one
that is going to lead you andguide you.
And that submission requireshumility from each dreams to God
and let God be the one that isgoing to lead you and guide you.
(33:20):
And that submission requireshumility from each one of us.
And it's an acknowledgementthat God's ways are higher than
our ways and his plans aregreater than our plans.
And when we resist the devil,the beauty is this he will flee
from you.
And when you draw near to him,seek more of his presence, more
of his desire, more of hispurpose in your life, he will
(33:41):
give you the power and he willgive you a greater level of
peace.
I believe this that when wekneel before God, we will stand
stronger in a world that'saround us.
And the reason why I thinkwe're struggling with standing
strong in a world that's aroundus because we are failing to
kneel before God.
So what does this tell us?
It tells us, first, that Godcalls us to take a stand in the
(34:07):
trials that you're going through.
Each one of us are goingthrough trials.
I need you to take a stand fortruth.
Second, he reminded us that weneed to take action Now.
Faith doesn't just sit by.
It speaks, it acts, it moves,it reaches out.
Your words can bring life ordeath.
Your words can bring spirituallife.
It was each one of us thattrusted in the Lord Jesus Christ
(34:28):
that heard the gospel messagethrough somebody.
Somebody used those words tospeak truth in this world.
I ask you to nurture wisdom.
Far too often, many of us arelistening to the pundits and the
political parties and whateverit is, you're leftist or you're
conservative and you listen tothose radio stations hour after
(34:50):
hour after hour.
And I would just encourage you,spend time in the word.
Let God's word so saturate yourmind and then depend upon him
in prayer.
There's some godly leaders thatwe have in history.
Josiah was one of them godlyleader, righteous, and he
promoted right things.
(35:11):
There's some evil leaders, likeAhab, he promoted some evil
things.
And Jehu was a mess.
He was flawed, but God used himfor a reason.
You are salt and you are light.
Use that salt and use thatlight to honor him.
In Romans, paul said this.
(35:32):
I close with this Verse 16 inchapter one he says I'm not
ashamed of the gospel, for it isthe power of God for salvation.
Verse 16 in chapter 1, he saysI'm not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God forsalvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first, andalso to the Greek.
The righteousness of God isrevealed from faith for faith,
for it is written, the righteousshall live by faith.
(35:55):
Paul said that the gospel doessomething.
It does something amazing itdestroys shame, the shame that
holds us back from speakingtruth.
The gospel destroys it.
The gospel is a living force,he says.
It is the power of God.
When you feel weak, god wantsto do some amazing power through
you and to transform you.
(36:15):
The gospel is for every singleperson that will ever trust in
Christ that if you bow your kneeto Christ and you say I want
him, I know I'm a sinner, Idesperately want him.
The gospel is for everyone whobelieves.
The only condition is that youmust believe and the gospel is
there that reveals therighteousness of God.
(36:35):
Now God has revealed hisrighteousness in his son, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Eventually he will reveal hisrighteousness ultimately as he
judges this world.
The righteous shall live byfaith.
So live in this world by faith.
Take a stand, take action, actin obedience and integrity in
(36:59):
your speech, nurture wisdom andthen finally trust in God by
having humility and turning tohim in prayer.
Let's pray Amen, father.
(37:22):
Probably nobody here in thisroom has ever experienced like
Sipra or Pua.
Maybe some of our nurses inthis room, maybe some of the
medical professionals in thisroom, have been put into
situations like those midwives,where they're called to take a
life and they say, no, I don'twant to do that.
I'm not going to do that,father.
(37:44):
I don't know how many people inthis room have had to stand up
against leaders maybe not as bigas Pharaoh, but maybe the
leader is a person at their joband they had to take a stand and
say, no, I'm not going to dothat.
I don't know how many people inthis room have had to suffer
because of their faith and theirreligious beliefs.
Maybe some of them in theirfamilies have had to experience
(38:06):
that.
Father, there are examplesaround this room of struggles
that we have because of ourfaith.
I pray that we would have theboldness like those ladies and
those young men from the OldTestament, from the New
Testament, from church history.
I pray that we would have theboldness like those ladies and
those young men from the OldTestament, from the New
Testament from church history.
I pray that we would be able tosay, like that church historian
(38:28):
, that 86 years I've lived andGod has never rejected me.
I'm not rejecting him.
And, father, I pray that youwould help us to stand.
I pray for our country.
I pray that you would do a workto protect us from greater
decay.
And, father, for this church,thank you for the growing work
that you're doing in us.
Through us, help us to be alight to each other but, more
(38:50):
importantly, a light to thisworld.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
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