Ben and Becky called on Tuesday night to say that the doctor told them their baby girl has a severe birth defect and if she makes it to term she most likely will die 24 hours after birth. The following is my 4th day entry and the 4th day of my 40 day fast.
Day 4
Ps 66:20 "Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer." Lord is this true for us? The light of Christ is not hard to find if as a genuine believer you are looking. I held the hand of Dave Moore after his cancer surgery and he wanted to know right away about Ben and Becky and tears ran down his face. We were given a card by Andy Getas and Cheryl opened it at home and after a hard cold day - she wept. We recieved an email from Stacie Brady today with the story of their journey and deep hope and oil began to flow.
The Word of God is living and continue to shine. Isaiah 40:13 "Who has understood the ind of the Lord or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, who taught him the right way?
Seems like this journey is without His kindness. It is grief deeper as it seems to have no beginning step of healing like Caleb's did. Where is the hand of God? It seems like a continual punishing hand - my son last night says he feels bitter. 20 more weeks? Where the grace and mercy of God? I find myself taking a step back from God with a greater fear of God but in disappointment feeling less of His tenderness. I do not say why but I can say why not.
Maybe I feel like Job's friends as I stand in a distance from Ben and Becky. In Job 2 his friends got together and went to him and sat with him and said nothing - maybe I will do that next weekend?
Oh the thoughts of the mind. Isaiah 44:3 "I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants - they shall spring up like grass in a meadow, like popular trees by flowing streams" Are those words a joke? Are they promises for us?
I feel somewhat like my son. It seems like a cruel journey - 20 weeks - why rub it in? Why drive it deeper - suffering is suffering - why drag it out? Oh God teach how to suffer daily and weekly and monthly and yearly. Job did not charge God with wrongdoing - I am not Job - I feel God is wrong.
Thank you for letting me write.
Ben
PS. Ben and Becky go to the specialist on Wed the 27th. Their nurse friend Becky Harris is going with them. Please ask God that they will not hear him utter the words - "please terminate this pregnancy."
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Gospel of John #1
Do You Believe?
John #1
Pastor Ben Fleming
May 24, 2009
John 20:30- 31 (ESV) “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
There are 4 gospels that begin the New Testament. The book of John is the only one that tells us why it was written – you can see at the top of your outline, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” During these coming weeks and months as we study the book of John there are going to be those of you in this room who genuinely come to a point of believing and by that believing you will begin to have true life. You will begin to see your life change. True belief means changes. You cannot believe and not see spiritual changes in your life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, or Christ is in anyone (and that only happens by believing) he or she is a new creation – the old things are passing away and the new things are coming. When you believe that begins to happen in your life and it continues to happen. To those who do believe already you will know firmly why you believe and what that new life entails…
The gospel of John is unique among the gospels. If you remember – the word gospel means good news. The good news about Jesus Christ. The first three gospels – Matthew – Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels --- that is a Greek word that means “seeing together”. When you hear the word Synoptic Gospels you know it always refers to the first 3 books of the New Testament. They are three writings of the same account by three different people but they have similar themes and much in common. They follow a similar outline…….. John is different. He has no parables – he does not record Jesus birth – baptism – transfiguration – temptation – Gethsemane or the ascension. 90 percent of John’s material is not found in the other three. These differences do not change the truth or the accuracy of the gospels. It does not give one a valid reason to doubt the accuracy of the bible. Briefly, two points about the differences that you find between John and the Synoptic Gospels.
1. The differences between John and the Synoptics are not contradictions. Nothing John writes contradicts what is in Matthew – Mark and Luke and visa versa.
2. The differences between the books must never be exaggerated. All 4 gospelsl present Jesus as the Son of Man, the Messiah and the Son of God. All 4 say that He is the one who was sent to save his people from their sins and that He died as the perfect sacrifice for man on a cross and that He rose again from the dead.
Think of it like this: The book of John and the other Gospels were designed by the Holy Spirit to be interlocking (fingers). For example: The Synoptics tells us that Peter was in the high priest courtyard – while John tells how he got there and the others do not. The Synoptics tells us that after feeding the 5,000 people Jesus sent them away – John tells us why He did so. John’s writings make passages in the Synoptics more understandable and the writings of Matthew – Mark and Luke make John more understandable….. John wrote his letter decades after the others --- so when John wrote he assumed that his readers were familiar with the events recorded in Matthew – Mark and Luke. Those books most likely were already available and read in the new Christian churches. John wrote this book most likely between 80 - 90 AD. If you remember Jerusalem and the Temple was flattened by the Romans in 70 AD and we know that the Mark was the earliest gospel followed by Matthew and Luke somewhere around 60AD. Most of us could care less about that information but that will help you some not to be biblically ignorant.
We are going to jump into John and I trust that God is going to speak to us and teach us and that those here who do not believe – you will believe and that by believing you will begin to have true genuine life. On your outline: Write in the purpose of John.
Purpose: To believe, and that by believing you may have life. John used that word believe 100 times he used – twice as much as the Synoptics. It is a verb – so you cannot say you believe in Jesus and you do nothing. Believing in Jesus means it changes you. There is a change every day in your life as a result of believing in Jesus. John wanted to convince his readers of who Jesus was – he wanted them to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh – and that He was the savior of the world. Please stand as we read. 1:1-18 Keep your bible open
This opening section of the gospel of John lays out for us the most profound truth about the Christian faith. It tells us a truth that the greatest minds on this earth cannot understand but the simplest child can. The infinite eternal God became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The deity of Jesus Christ is an essential – non negotiable fact of the Christian faith. If you do not believe in His deity – if there is some doubt – then you cannot be a true Christian. Mormans and Jehovah Witnesses are not Christian. The God of the Muslim and Jew are not Christian. The bible gives us six lines of reasoning to prove that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is God
1. The Bible states that Jesus Christ is God.
Vs.1c “the Word was God”. We are going to examine later why Jesus is called the Word and what that means. In John we are going to see that Jesus Himself said repeatedly and claimed for Himself the divine name “I am”….. Turn over to chapter 10 verse 27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” --- He is giving you an indicator of who really believes in Him. Someone who believes in Jesus hears His voice and they follow Him (28) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand – and then He closes by saying “I and the Father are one.” If you have understanding – that is pretty clear – Jesus is God. He is divine. The apostle Paul put it this way: Outline:
Philippians 2:6 “ who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” and then in Colossians 2:9 “For in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily”. In the person of Jesus Christ deity dwells. Jesus is God. 2nd reason.
2. Jesus is given tittles throughout the Bible given only to God. For example. In Jeremiah 23:6 the prophet promised that the Messiah would be called “the Lord”. In Psalm 23 and John 10, God and Jesus are called the Shepherd and in Psalm 27 and John 8 they are both called the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is God because He is given the same tittles as God is given. 3rd reason that Jesus is God
3. Jesus possess the same incommunicable attributes of God. He is eternal – His is omnipresent – He is omniscience – immutable and sovereign. Only God can possess those attributes.
4. Jesus does only the works that God can do. John 1 says that He created all things and Col 1:17 says that He sustains creation – Jesus is the creator and He is the sustainer of creation – He holds together this world – He holds together the rotation of the planets. 5th reason
5. Jesus Christ received worship, even though He taught that only God is to be worshipped.
6. Jesus received prayer – which is only to be addressed to God. John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Turn with me to the book of Genesis – verse 1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” and then go down to verse 26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image” – you have to ask yourself who is the us and who is the our refered to? There is more than one person present in the beginning of creation. Now God back to John chapter one and look with me at verses 1 – 5
I want to give you three pictures of the Word which John speaks of.
(slide) 1. The Word has always existed. Vs. 1 -2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” “He was in the beginning with God.” John is using a term that was familiar to the Greeks and the Jews – He called Jesus the Word or the Logos. To be called the Logos was to be called the source of wisdom and the source of creation. In the Old Testament, to Jews – Word was the source of divine power. So – when God chose John to write this opening line in his letter – he used words that communicated to a Jew and to a Greek. He then took it a step further and wrote that the Word was with God. A professor of the Greek language Robert Cook in his work – The theology of John says that the English translation from Greek does not effectively communicate what this means – the Word was with God – it means much more than the Word existed with God – it gives in the Greek language the picture of two personal beings facing one another and having an intelligent discourse. Can you imagine that – from before all eternity Jesus is having an intelligent deep intimate conversation or fellowship with God the Father. He came to this earth – fully God – died for man’s sin – was buried and raised again on the 3rd day and He went back to heaven. Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” If you truly believe in Jesus – you can have that same intimate conversation with the Living God. If you believe in God then you ought to be having a daily conversation with Him. The more you converse with someone the more you get to know them – the more you converse with someone and spend time with them - you begin to trust them --- you begin to have an intimate relationship with them. But if you are not a believer – Jesus is not talking to God about you and for you – but He is for the believer and this gives the believer confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” This past week that has become so deep and sweet to me in the midst of pain --- I am reminded again that I can approach God with confidence and I can find mercy and grace in time of need. All because I believe in Jesus who is the Word and has always exited and continues to exist at the right hand of the Father. 2nd picture John gives us….
(slide) 2. The Word has creative power. (Vs. 3) “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” So – what does that tell you about Jesus Christ? He is the creator – He created everything. Col 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things were created through Him and for Him. It is absolutely clear how the bible never contradicts itself and no author of any book in the bible disagrees with another book? The Word has creative power in heaven and on earth – visible and invisible. Have you seen some photos from the Hubble Telescope? PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO ---- Jesus the Lord created what you just saw? He is the word and the word has creative power. Hebrews 1:2 “in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son – whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also created the world.” Who has spoken to us? God the Father. How did He speak to us? By sending His Son to this earth. You either believe that or you do not. He spoke to those who believe in the one whom God the Father appointed heir of all things – through whom He created the world.” The Word has creative power and #3
3. The Word is self existing. (vs. 4 -5) “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John now calls Jesus two new words – the first is life and the second is light. Jesus is life. We know when someone has life and when someone does not have life. They stop breathing and their heart stops beating. We use this word very casually too – we say that he or she is the life of the party. But the life that John is talking about is spiritual life. If your heart is beating you are alive physically but only belief in Jesus can give spiritual life to a person. You find John writing in his other letters in the same way. Look on your outline……….
1 John 5:11 - 12 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Christ did not get life from God the Father – He did not earn life – Christ is self existing. He has no beginning and no end. Only God is self – existing.
John also called Jesus light. Calling Jesus light is like a metaphor – it means that he is truth and holiness which stands in contrast to the darkness of lies and sin. This is perhaps why Jesus said these words in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” So if you believe in Jesus who is self existing and who is light then you walk in truth and holiness. Jesus said, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness – he or she will not walk in lies and untruth.
Application: In him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. --- Most of you know that we received word on Tuesday night that our son and daughter in law did not get a good report from the doctor. Becky is 20 weeks and carrying a little girl. That little girl has birth defects that if she makes it to birth – she most likely will die in 24 hours. They are going to Seattle Children’s Hospital this Wed to see a perinatalogists to confirm the first ultrasound. My first feeling when Ben told us was the same feeling of stepping into darkness – do like to walk in darkness? I walked in darkness until I was 18 years old and I began to believe in Jesus. John Terry – I am reminded of how you talk in your testimony of walking in darkness. When you walk in darkness you are lost. You keep bumping into things. Walking in darkness carries with it the emotion of fear – the unknown and being alone. As a believer – I may have a cloud over me now – but I know it will pass. Darkness always brings questions and it opens up evil. The majority of crimes are committed in darkness. Light is healing. Light brings direction – hope and guidance –light bring warmth and comfort. Did you know that vitamin d comes from light? Growth happens in the light – we have seen that in the past 8 weeks as spring is upon us. Some of you here are still in the darkness – you are lost – you have no reason and no purpose for living – you keep bumping into things. You need to come to Jesus and tell Him – I believe – Help me in my unbelief.
Now I want to be real with you because I long to be a pastor of a church family that is real – this second journey of death for our family does not change the light. Oh – I have felt like I have stepped into darkness – but when I look up – and I have to be reminded to look up --- I see a ray of light and that light is Jesus Christ and it is there only because I have believed and in that believing I have hope and I have forgiveness and healing. We do not know if we are going to walk this path for 20 more weeks and then begin to grieve – I feel like I am grieving now. I was reminded a year ago that God is good. I wonder if I forgot that. I looked for My good God – I have been looking for God since Tuesday. I have found him many times. So --- if you are a believer this morning – may I remind you that God is light and in Him there is no darkness --
if you are not a believer you are in darkness – many people in darkness do not even care - David Shipman and I spoke with a young teenage man on Wed night – he is in darkness and he does not care. May I urge – May I plead with you – come to Jesus – respond to Him today – stop being content to walk in darkness – darkness only produces evil and you will never have the blessings of God as you walk in darkness.
John #1
Pastor Ben Fleming
May 24, 2009
John 20:30- 31 (ESV) “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
There are 4 gospels that begin the New Testament. The book of John is the only one that tells us why it was written – you can see at the top of your outline, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” During these coming weeks and months as we study the book of John there are going to be those of you in this room who genuinely come to a point of believing and by that believing you will begin to have true life. You will begin to see your life change. True belief means changes. You cannot believe and not see spiritual changes in your life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, or Christ is in anyone (and that only happens by believing) he or she is a new creation – the old things are passing away and the new things are coming. When you believe that begins to happen in your life and it continues to happen. To those who do believe already you will know firmly why you believe and what that new life entails…
The gospel of John is unique among the gospels. If you remember – the word gospel means good news. The good news about Jesus Christ. The first three gospels – Matthew – Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels --- that is a Greek word that means “seeing together”. When you hear the word Synoptic Gospels you know it always refers to the first 3 books of the New Testament. They are three writings of the same account by three different people but they have similar themes and much in common. They follow a similar outline…….. John is different. He has no parables – he does not record Jesus birth – baptism – transfiguration – temptation – Gethsemane or the ascension. 90 percent of John’s material is not found in the other three. These differences do not change the truth or the accuracy of the gospels. It does not give one a valid reason to doubt the accuracy of the bible. Briefly, two points about the differences that you find between John and the Synoptic Gospels.
1. The differences between John and the Synoptics are not contradictions. Nothing John writes contradicts what is in Matthew – Mark and Luke and visa versa.
2. The differences between the books must never be exaggerated. All 4 gospelsl present Jesus as the Son of Man, the Messiah and the Son of God. All 4 say that He is the one who was sent to save his people from their sins and that He died as the perfect sacrifice for man on a cross and that He rose again from the dead.
Think of it like this: The book of John and the other Gospels were designed by the Holy Spirit to be interlocking (fingers). For example: The Synoptics tells us that Peter was in the high priest courtyard – while John tells how he got there and the others do not. The Synoptics tells us that after feeding the 5,000 people Jesus sent them away – John tells us why He did so. John’s writings make passages in the Synoptics more understandable and the writings of Matthew – Mark and Luke make John more understandable….. John wrote his letter decades after the others --- so when John wrote he assumed that his readers were familiar with the events recorded in Matthew – Mark and Luke. Those books most likely were already available and read in the new Christian churches. John wrote this book most likely between 80 - 90 AD. If you remember Jerusalem and the Temple was flattened by the Romans in 70 AD and we know that the Mark was the earliest gospel followed by Matthew and Luke somewhere around 60AD. Most of us could care less about that information but that will help you some not to be biblically ignorant.
We are going to jump into John and I trust that God is going to speak to us and teach us and that those here who do not believe – you will believe and that by believing you will begin to have true genuine life. On your outline: Write in the purpose of John.
Purpose: To believe, and that by believing you may have life. John used that word believe 100 times he used – twice as much as the Synoptics. It is a verb – so you cannot say you believe in Jesus and you do nothing. Believing in Jesus means it changes you. There is a change every day in your life as a result of believing in Jesus. John wanted to convince his readers of who Jesus was – he wanted them to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh – and that He was the savior of the world. Please stand as we read. 1:1-18 Keep your bible open
This opening section of the gospel of John lays out for us the most profound truth about the Christian faith. It tells us a truth that the greatest minds on this earth cannot understand but the simplest child can. The infinite eternal God became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The deity of Jesus Christ is an essential – non negotiable fact of the Christian faith. If you do not believe in His deity – if there is some doubt – then you cannot be a true Christian. Mormans and Jehovah Witnesses are not Christian. The God of the Muslim and Jew are not Christian. The bible gives us six lines of reasoning to prove that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is God
1. The Bible states that Jesus Christ is God.
Vs.1c “the Word was God”. We are going to examine later why Jesus is called the Word and what that means. In John we are going to see that Jesus Himself said repeatedly and claimed for Himself the divine name “I am”….. Turn over to chapter 10 verse 27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” --- He is giving you an indicator of who really believes in Him. Someone who believes in Jesus hears His voice and they follow Him (28) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand – and then He closes by saying “I and the Father are one.” If you have understanding – that is pretty clear – Jesus is God. He is divine. The apostle Paul put it this way: Outline:
Philippians 2:6 “ who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” and then in Colossians 2:9 “For in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily”. In the person of Jesus Christ deity dwells. Jesus is God. 2nd reason.
2. Jesus is given tittles throughout the Bible given only to God. For example. In Jeremiah 23:6 the prophet promised that the Messiah would be called “the Lord”. In Psalm 23 and John 10, God and Jesus are called the Shepherd and in Psalm 27 and John 8 they are both called the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is God because He is given the same tittles as God is given. 3rd reason that Jesus is God
3. Jesus possess the same incommunicable attributes of God. He is eternal – His is omnipresent – He is omniscience – immutable and sovereign. Only God can possess those attributes.
4. Jesus does only the works that God can do. John 1 says that He created all things and Col 1:17 says that He sustains creation – Jesus is the creator and He is the sustainer of creation – He holds together this world – He holds together the rotation of the planets. 5th reason
5. Jesus Christ received worship, even though He taught that only God is to be worshipped.
6. Jesus received prayer – which is only to be addressed to God. John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Turn with me to the book of Genesis – verse 1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” and then go down to verse 26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image” – you have to ask yourself who is the us and who is the our refered to? There is more than one person present in the beginning of creation. Now God back to John chapter one and look with me at verses 1 – 5
I want to give you three pictures of the Word which John speaks of.
(slide) 1. The Word has always existed. Vs. 1 -2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” “He was in the beginning with God.” John is using a term that was familiar to the Greeks and the Jews – He called Jesus the Word or the Logos. To be called the Logos was to be called the source of wisdom and the source of creation. In the Old Testament, to Jews – Word was the source of divine power. So – when God chose John to write this opening line in his letter – he used words that communicated to a Jew and to a Greek. He then took it a step further and wrote that the Word was with God. A professor of the Greek language Robert Cook in his work – The theology of John says that the English translation from Greek does not effectively communicate what this means – the Word was with God – it means much more than the Word existed with God – it gives in the Greek language the picture of two personal beings facing one another and having an intelligent discourse. Can you imagine that – from before all eternity Jesus is having an intelligent deep intimate conversation or fellowship with God the Father. He came to this earth – fully God – died for man’s sin – was buried and raised again on the 3rd day and He went back to heaven. Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” If you truly believe in Jesus – you can have that same intimate conversation with the Living God. If you believe in God then you ought to be having a daily conversation with Him. The more you converse with someone the more you get to know them – the more you converse with someone and spend time with them - you begin to trust them --- you begin to have an intimate relationship with them. But if you are not a believer – Jesus is not talking to God about you and for you – but He is for the believer and this gives the believer confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” This past week that has become so deep and sweet to me in the midst of pain --- I am reminded again that I can approach God with confidence and I can find mercy and grace in time of need. All because I believe in Jesus who is the Word and has always exited and continues to exist at the right hand of the Father. 2nd picture John gives us….
(slide) 2. The Word has creative power. (Vs. 3) “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” So – what does that tell you about Jesus Christ? He is the creator – He created everything. Col 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things were created through Him and for Him. It is absolutely clear how the bible never contradicts itself and no author of any book in the bible disagrees with another book? The Word has creative power in heaven and on earth – visible and invisible. Have you seen some photos from the Hubble Telescope? PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO ---- Jesus the Lord created what you just saw? He is the word and the word has creative power. Hebrews 1:2 “in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son – whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also created the world.” Who has spoken to us? God the Father. How did He speak to us? By sending His Son to this earth. You either believe that or you do not. He spoke to those who believe in the one whom God the Father appointed heir of all things – through whom He created the world.” The Word has creative power and #3
3. The Word is self existing. (vs. 4 -5) “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John now calls Jesus two new words – the first is life and the second is light. Jesus is life. We know when someone has life and when someone does not have life. They stop breathing and their heart stops beating. We use this word very casually too – we say that he or she is the life of the party. But the life that John is talking about is spiritual life. If your heart is beating you are alive physically but only belief in Jesus can give spiritual life to a person. You find John writing in his other letters in the same way. Look on your outline……….
1 John 5:11 - 12 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Christ did not get life from God the Father – He did not earn life – Christ is self existing. He has no beginning and no end. Only God is self – existing.
John also called Jesus light. Calling Jesus light is like a metaphor – it means that he is truth and holiness which stands in contrast to the darkness of lies and sin. This is perhaps why Jesus said these words in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” So if you believe in Jesus who is self existing and who is light then you walk in truth and holiness. Jesus said, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness – he or she will not walk in lies and untruth.
Application: In him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. --- Most of you know that we received word on Tuesday night that our son and daughter in law did not get a good report from the doctor. Becky is 20 weeks and carrying a little girl. That little girl has birth defects that if she makes it to birth – she most likely will die in 24 hours. They are going to Seattle Children’s Hospital this Wed to see a perinatalogists to confirm the first ultrasound. My first feeling when Ben told us was the same feeling of stepping into darkness – do like to walk in darkness? I walked in darkness until I was 18 years old and I began to believe in Jesus. John Terry – I am reminded of how you talk in your testimony of walking in darkness. When you walk in darkness you are lost. You keep bumping into things. Walking in darkness carries with it the emotion of fear – the unknown and being alone. As a believer – I may have a cloud over me now – but I know it will pass. Darkness always brings questions and it opens up evil. The majority of crimes are committed in darkness. Light is healing. Light brings direction – hope and guidance –light bring warmth and comfort. Did you know that vitamin d comes from light? Growth happens in the light – we have seen that in the past 8 weeks as spring is upon us. Some of you here are still in the darkness – you are lost – you have no reason and no purpose for living – you keep bumping into things. You need to come to Jesus and tell Him – I believe – Help me in my unbelief.
Now I want to be real with you because I long to be a pastor of a church family that is real – this second journey of death for our family does not change the light. Oh – I have felt like I have stepped into darkness – but when I look up – and I have to be reminded to look up --- I see a ray of light and that light is Jesus Christ and it is there only because I have believed and in that believing I have hope and I have forgiveness and healing. We do not know if we are going to walk this path for 20 more weeks and then begin to grieve – I feel like I am grieving now. I was reminded a year ago that God is good. I wonder if I forgot that. I looked for My good God – I have been looking for God since Tuesday. I have found him many times. So --- if you are a believer this morning – may I remind you that God is light and in Him there is no darkness --
if you are not a believer you are in darkness – many people in darkness do not even care - David Shipman and I spoke with a young teenage man on Wed night – he is in darkness and he does not care. May I urge – May I plead with you – come to Jesus – respond to Him today – stop being content to walk in darkness – darkness only produces evil and you will never have the blessings of God as you walk in darkness.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
James #18
“A Living Faith”
James #18
Pastor Ben Fleming
May17th
Thank you Phil Brady for the Mother’s Day message last week. I am sorry that I was not with you but our daughter Mandy’s graduation called us away. She graduated on Saturday and left Thursday for Calcutta, India on a medical mission – by the way I put a prayer card in your program – would you pray for her? She will be doing a presentation of her time there the end of June on Wed night.
Today is our last message on the book of James. Next week we will begin the Gospel of John. We have taken 18 weeks to study this letter that James wrote. A letter that challenges us and encourages us to pursue a saving faith. There is no one in this room who wants to experience in their life an apathetic faith or a dead faith. James writes to believers to equip them to pursue a real living faith in Jesus Christ. Turn in your bible to James chap 5 and we will read this 5th chapter one more time. It is easy to skip the end a book in the bible and ignore the closing words. But today we are not going to skip these last two verses because every word in the bible is powerful and vital to our lives especially these two verses.
When I was 14 years old, my parents sent me to a summer youth camp at Bluestone Christian Conference Center. It was a youth camp that was a canoe trip down the Blue Stone River. 13 youth and one counselor set out for 5 days in open canoes down this lazy slow river – we camped at night under the stars and sang songs around that campfire --- it was the first time I heard the song “they will know we are Christians by our love” and I knew I was not a Christian. We had pulled our canoes up to shore every night but one morning we went down to the river and found that two canoes had drifted away from the shore. Luckily – mine was not one of them – we quickly paddled out to get them and bring them back. Drifting away is easy….. especially when there is nothing holding the thing that can drift. When I was 10 years old my parents took our family to Washington DC to see our capital. We went through the Smithsonian and I specifically remember going through the White House – because not more than 15 min into the tour --- after hearing my dad say – “stay close to us do not wander away” – I wandered away and got lost. They did not find me until 2 hours later after the tour was over. Drifting away and wandering away is easy to do. When you ignore others and when you rebel and are unwilling to submit – you can easily drift. It is especially easy for a child of God to wander away from God. It is especially easy for a person to drift from God – the family of God and the Word of God.
Please stand as we read James chp 5……. 80% of all teenagers raised in the church wander away from the church when they graduate from high school. I have seen professing believers wander away from God and I would have never thought that they would when I served side by side with them – some of them you would have considered the pillar of the church family and very spiritually mature believers. But… they are part of no church family today. The last two verses in James’s letter confronts the very reason that he wrote this letter. Do you possess a false – dead or shallow faith? James wrote this letter to call professing Christians to really examine their lives and see if they have a genuine saving faith. If you have a genuine saving faith you will not wander away from God.
James writes in closing this letter, (19-20) “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Notice verse 19 – James addresses genuine Christians with the phrase “My brothers” – but then he says “if one of you” or other translations say “if any among you” – meaning that in the church family there are going to be those who wander from the truth – they fall away – they drift away. Does that mean that they loose their salvation? We know that the bible clearly teaches that a genuine believer cannot loose their salvation – but James says that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his ways and brings him back – that believer will save that person from death and cover a multitude of sins.” Is that not tough to grab hold of ? Keeping with the same theme in his entire letter --- James is saying that there are those in the church who have a religious faith – a demonic faith and there are those who have a genuine saving faith. If you have a genuine saving faith you will not wander from the truth – and if you have saving faith you are challenged and exhorted to go after those who wander from the truth for they most likely have a demonic or religious faith. Pastor John MacArthur – John Piper and theologian Wayne Grudem see these 2 verses in this light.
Instead of expounding each word and phrase in these two verses like I normally would --- I want to address these two verses with some positive direction for you. I want to give you some positive encouragement to not wander from the truth – to keep your eyes focused on Christ – to keep pursuing becoming more and more like Christ and to fight for real joy in your life. I want to ask one question? How do you keep from wandering and drifting from the truth?
1. Be faithful with spiritual habits. If you do not care about developing spiritual habits in your life – at some point you will drift. We have been studying the spiritual habits since January on Wednesday nights. Habits keep us focused. Habits bring us back to where we are suppose to be.
1 Timothy 4:6 - 16 “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” A believer who trains him or herself to be godly does not and will not drift away.
A believer is not to wait for holiness – they are to pursue it. Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord.” So – how does one pursue holiness? Paul wrote to Timothy 4:7 “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The only road to Christian maturity and godliness is through the practice of spiritual disciplines. The goal of all spiritual habits is godliness. Spiritual habits keep your from drifting. Look on your outline at the words of the writer of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:22-25 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Underline the words 3x LET US AND HABIT.
It is our nature to draw away from God. It is our nature not to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. Our nature is to let go – we are easily distracted and preoccupied. It is not our nature “to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” We do not want to love and do good deeds – that means we have to be other focused. Think about it……When was the last time you considered how to spur another believer onto love and good deeds? To consider something you have to think about it ---- to consider how to spur another person you have to know that person and spend time with the person. To obey these words means that God has to be #1 in our priorities. God put this in the bible because it is our nature to give up meeting together and to make it a habit to not meet with other believers. Sadly, I know some very very good people who do not have the habit of meeting with other believers. Life is full of challenges - I remember very clearly a year ago on Father’s Day 5 days after my grandson died when I asked Ben and Becky “are we going to church?” and they looked at me and said “of course”. Rhea Williams was here praying for his church family 4 days before he died – he did not drift away. Spiritual habits keep you from falling away. Spiritual habits keep you from drifting regardless of what suffering and turmoil comes into your life. Carol Williams knows --- Phil and Stacie Brady know that.
The spiritual habit that will keep a believer from drifting and wandering away from God the most is the habit of bible intake. There is no habit that will do more for you to hold onto God and learning to love God and have a passion for God than the habit of bible intake. Those who fall away from God do so because they have no love for the Word of God. Those who drift do so because they do not have a habit of reading and hearing God’s Word. I was very encouraged this past weekend when at Mandy’s graduation convocation – the entire audience was asked to stand for the public reading of God’s Word.
Perhaps my favorite bible chapter on this habit is found in PS 1 Turn in your bible to”
Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law He meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” And I think in light of what James wrote – he does not wander or drift away. You wander away when you do not care about the truth of God’s Word. You wander away when you spend no time finding the truth and reading the truth. You wander away when you read books about the bible instead of reading the bible. There is no excuse today for someone not hearing the bible – you could be someone who can’t read or you can’t see like my mother in law Lou. God’s Word is on CD – it is on the web – it is on TV. Ask yourself……..Is your delight in the Word of God? When we put our delight in other things – in other pursuits – we wander away. We are easily led into activities and spiritual pursuits that SEEM GOOD BUT THEY will draw us away from loving and pursing God.
One of the main reasons why believers do not read the entire bible is discouragement. Most people have never read a 1,000 page book before. Tape recorded readings of the bible have proven that you can read through the entire bible in 72 hours. The average person watches that much TV in 2 weeks time. 5 min a day will take you through the bible in 3 years. Discipline yourself to find the time. Turn off the TV. Do it before you leave home. Set your alarm clock 10 min earlier. Go to bed 10 min earlier. It is a habit that you have to develop and work towards over and over. I go to bed almost every Monday night at 10 pm so that I can get up at 5 am to be at prayer at 6 am. It is a disciplined habit. Okay --- some of you say you read the bible before you go to sleep --- this is good and there is great value in that but think about it: You retain very little of what you read when you are sleepy and tired and you probably do very little evil in your sleep and so the next day when you get up and go into your day you do not have the Words of God ringing in your thinking……….Let me say this….
When you have your schedule upset…… you were up all night …. You have visitors in your home…. You are traveling …… you will find it very hard to keep your habit … give yourself a break and do not condemn yourself but when things get back to normal get back into your habit ---- I know for me --taking my Spurgeon devotional with me has been helpful….. I only opened the bible for a long time this past weekend once… but on Wednesday morning – in my regular chair in my regular habit – I had a good time in bible intake. Be faithful with spiritual habits – you will not wander from the truth and when someone is wandering from truth you will be able and equipped to bring him or her back.
2. Pay attention. Pay attention to God’s Word. Pay attention to what you know and what you have been taught. The writer of Hebrews knew that God’s people are prone to not pay attention.
Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.” He is talking about what they heard through the preaching of God’s Word. How do you pay attention? Write down what you hear. Go over it. Go home and see if what you hear is truth. Some one who does not pay attention to the preaching of God’s Word will drift away. They will wander. When any man made truth comes their way – they will follow it instead of God’s Word.
How do you know when you are not paying careful attention? You have your eyes focused on something else. (PHOTO) I grew up in Ravenswood WV. Sandy Creek Bridge was 300 yards from our back yard and the train track ran right behind our house over that bridge. I remember very clearly as a young boy how careful you had to be walking over the train trestle bridge – you had to step from wood beam to wood beam and if you took your eyes off where you were putting your feet your leg could fall through. (blank) If you do not feel any conviction when you read or hear God’s Word – if you do not respond to the Word of God --- you do not see any attitudes or actions changing in your life – you are not paying careful attention. You will wander from the truth. John Terry asked me once – “how come the more I read the Word of God the more dirt I see in my life ?”.
That is what happens when you pay attention to the Word of God. That is what happens when you are not just a hearer of the Word of God but a doer. Pay attention to the Word of God and you will not drift away – you will be fully equipped to turn a sinner from the error of his way.
3. Guard your heart. Hebrews 3:12 -13 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God”. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Again – we can see the argument in the how God had His Word written down. We have to guard our hearts – we have a nature that leans itself to not believing God. When you do not believe God you drift away from Him. You wander away from God and the people of God. God has given His church – other believers to encourage you so that you may not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” We want people to encourage us – I want it – you want it – but my first thought is that I want good things said to me --- I want to be built up. But the word encourage also means to exhort. It means to correct --- it means to rebuke and to warn.
Who wants someone to exhort them – rebuke them and warn them that what they are doing is not the truth of God’s Word? Most people do not. Most people get offended and take offense when someone confronts them. Let me say this: I believe a tender heart – welcomes exhortation. A tender heart welcomes correction. A tender heart is able to identify the danger of being hardened by sin. If you have a thin skin --- you most likely have a thick or calloused heart. If you have thick skin – you perhaps welcome exhortation and rebuke in your life. Guard your heart --- do not allow it to be hardened. You want to be tender to God. You want to be sensitive to the truth of God’s Word --- wandering away is so easy when your heart is cold and hard. How do you keep from wandering and drifting away from the Truth? Guard your heart --- pay attention to the Word of God ---- be faithful with spiritual habits.
4. Attack sin in your life. Hebrews12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out of us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart.” Look what he writes…. Consider Christ when you begin to grow weary and loose heart. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus – throw off everything that is hindering you and the sin that you so easily get entangled in. Run with endurance – do not give up – what are your eyes fixed on?
When you do not attack sin in your life – you will drift away from God. You will drift away from the people of God – you will drift away from the Word of God. We get easily entangled in sin – you do and I do. We must mortify sin in our lives. We must put it to death. When you attack sin in your own life you will be much more willing to turn a sinner from their error of their ways – saving him or her from death and covering a multitude of sin. Is it your lust? You jealousy? Your tongue? What sin in your life are you attacking these days. The pursuit of holiness is a struggle. May we SHCC become a church family that attacks sin in our lives --- may we become a body of believers that guards our hearts and pays attention to God’s Word. May we become a church family where the spiritual disciplines are becoming habits in our lives.
LET US PRAY
James #18
Pastor Ben Fleming
May17th
Thank you Phil Brady for the Mother’s Day message last week. I am sorry that I was not with you but our daughter Mandy’s graduation called us away. She graduated on Saturday and left Thursday for Calcutta, India on a medical mission – by the way I put a prayer card in your program – would you pray for her? She will be doing a presentation of her time there the end of June on Wed night.
Today is our last message on the book of James. Next week we will begin the Gospel of John. We have taken 18 weeks to study this letter that James wrote. A letter that challenges us and encourages us to pursue a saving faith. There is no one in this room who wants to experience in their life an apathetic faith or a dead faith. James writes to believers to equip them to pursue a real living faith in Jesus Christ. Turn in your bible to James chap 5 and we will read this 5th chapter one more time. It is easy to skip the end a book in the bible and ignore the closing words. But today we are not going to skip these last two verses because every word in the bible is powerful and vital to our lives especially these two verses.
When I was 14 years old, my parents sent me to a summer youth camp at Bluestone Christian Conference Center. It was a youth camp that was a canoe trip down the Blue Stone River. 13 youth and one counselor set out for 5 days in open canoes down this lazy slow river – we camped at night under the stars and sang songs around that campfire --- it was the first time I heard the song “they will know we are Christians by our love” and I knew I was not a Christian. We had pulled our canoes up to shore every night but one morning we went down to the river and found that two canoes had drifted away from the shore. Luckily – mine was not one of them – we quickly paddled out to get them and bring them back. Drifting away is easy….. especially when there is nothing holding the thing that can drift. When I was 10 years old my parents took our family to Washington DC to see our capital. We went through the Smithsonian and I specifically remember going through the White House – because not more than 15 min into the tour --- after hearing my dad say – “stay close to us do not wander away” – I wandered away and got lost. They did not find me until 2 hours later after the tour was over. Drifting away and wandering away is easy to do. When you ignore others and when you rebel and are unwilling to submit – you can easily drift. It is especially easy for a child of God to wander away from God. It is especially easy for a person to drift from God – the family of God and the Word of God.
Please stand as we read James chp 5……. 80% of all teenagers raised in the church wander away from the church when they graduate from high school. I have seen professing believers wander away from God and I would have never thought that they would when I served side by side with them – some of them you would have considered the pillar of the church family and very spiritually mature believers. But… they are part of no church family today. The last two verses in James’s letter confronts the very reason that he wrote this letter. Do you possess a false – dead or shallow faith? James wrote this letter to call professing Christians to really examine their lives and see if they have a genuine saving faith. If you have a genuine saving faith you will not wander away from God.
James writes in closing this letter, (19-20) “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Notice verse 19 – James addresses genuine Christians with the phrase “My brothers” – but then he says “if one of you” or other translations say “if any among you” – meaning that in the church family there are going to be those who wander from the truth – they fall away – they drift away. Does that mean that they loose their salvation? We know that the bible clearly teaches that a genuine believer cannot loose their salvation – but James says that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his ways and brings him back – that believer will save that person from death and cover a multitude of sins.” Is that not tough to grab hold of ? Keeping with the same theme in his entire letter --- James is saying that there are those in the church who have a religious faith – a demonic faith and there are those who have a genuine saving faith. If you have a genuine saving faith you will not wander from the truth – and if you have saving faith you are challenged and exhorted to go after those who wander from the truth for they most likely have a demonic or religious faith. Pastor John MacArthur – John Piper and theologian Wayne Grudem see these 2 verses in this light.
Instead of expounding each word and phrase in these two verses like I normally would --- I want to address these two verses with some positive direction for you. I want to give you some positive encouragement to not wander from the truth – to keep your eyes focused on Christ – to keep pursuing becoming more and more like Christ and to fight for real joy in your life. I want to ask one question? How do you keep from wandering and drifting from the truth?
1. Be faithful with spiritual habits. If you do not care about developing spiritual habits in your life – at some point you will drift. We have been studying the spiritual habits since January on Wednesday nights. Habits keep us focused. Habits bring us back to where we are suppose to be.
1 Timothy 4:6 - 16 “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” A believer who trains him or herself to be godly does not and will not drift away.
A believer is not to wait for holiness – they are to pursue it. Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord.” So – how does one pursue holiness? Paul wrote to Timothy 4:7 “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The only road to Christian maturity and godliness is through the practice of spiritual disciplines. The goal of all spiritual habits is godliness. Spiritual habits keep your from drifting. Look on your outline at the words of the writer of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:22-25 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Underline the words 3x LET US AND HABIT.
It is our nature to draw away from God. It is our nature not to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. Our nature is to let go – we are easily distracted and preoccupied. It is not our nature “to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” We do not want to love and do good deeds – that means we have to be other focused. Think about it……When was the last time you considered how to spur another believer onto love and good deeds? To consider something you have to think about it ---- to consider how to spur another person you have to know that person and spend time with the person. To obey these words means that God has to be #1 in our priorities. God put this in the bible because it is our nature to give up meeting together and to make it a habit to not meet with other believers. Sadly, I know some very very good people who do not have the habit of meeting with other believers. Life is full of challenges - I remember very clearly a year ago on Father’s Day 5 days after my grandson died when I asked Ben and Becky “are we going to church?” and they looked at me and said “of course”. Rhea Williams was here praying for his church family 4 days before he died – he did not drift away. Spiritual habits keep you from falling away. Spiritual habits keep you from drifting regardless of what suffering and turmoil comes into your life. Carol Williams knows --- Phil and Stacie Brady know that.
The spiritual habit that will keep a believer from drifting and wandering away from God the most is the habit of bible intake. There is no habit that will do more for you to hold onto God and learning to love God and have a passion for God than the habit of bible intake. Those who fall away from God do so because they have no love for the Word of God. Those who drift do so because they do not have a habit of reading and hearing God’s Word. I was very encouraged this past weekend when at Mandy’s graduation convocation – the entire audience was asked to stand for the public reading of God’s Word.
Perhaps my favorite bible chapter on this habit is found in PS 1 Turn in your bible to”
Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law He meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” And I think in light of what James wrote – he does not wander or drift away. You wander away when you do not care about the truth of God’s Word. You wander away when you spend no time finding the truth and reading the truth. You wander away when you read books about the bible instead of reading the bible. There is no excuse today for someone not hearing the bible – you could be someone who can’t read or you can’t see like my mother in law Lou. God’s Word is on CD – it is on the web – it is on TV. Ask yourself……..Is your delight in the Word of God? When we put our delight in other things – in other pursuits – we wander away. We are easily led into activities and spiritual pursuits that SEEM GOOD BUT THEY will draw us away from loving and pursing God.
One of the main reasons why believers do not read the entire bible is discouragement. Most people have never read a 1,000 page book before. Tape recorded readings of the bible have proven that you can read through the entire bible in 72 hours. The average person watches that much TV in 2 weeks time. 5 min a day will take you through the bible in 3 years. Discipline yourself to find the time. Turn off the TV. Do it before you leave home. Set your alarm clock 10 min earlier. Go to bed 10 min earlier. It is a habit that you have to develop and work towards over and over. I go to bed almost every Monday night at 10 pm so that I can get up at 5 am to be at prayer at 6 am. It is a disciplined habit. Okay --- some of you say you read the bible before you go to sleep --- this is good and there is great value in that but think about it: You retain very little of what you read when you are sleepy and tired and you probably do very little evil in your sleep and so the next day when you get up and go into your day you do not have the Words of God ringing in your thinking……….Let me say this….
When you have your schedule upset…… you were up all night …. You have visitors in your home…. You are traveling …… you will find it very hard to keep your habit … give yourself a break and do not condemn yourself but when things get back to normal get back into your habit ---- I know for me --taking my Spurgeon devotional with me has been helpful….. I only opened the bible for a long time this past weekend once… but on Wednesday morning – in my regular chair in my regular habit – I had a good time in bible intake. Be faithful with spiritual habits – you will not wander from the truth and when someone is wandering from truth you will be able and equipped to bring him or her back.
2. Pay attention. Pay attention to God’s Word. Pay attention to what you know and what you have been taught. The writer of Hebrews knew that God’s people are prone to not pay attention.
Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.” He is talking about what they heard through the preaching of God’s Word. How do you pay attention? Write down what you hear. Go over it. Go home and see if what you hear is truth. Some one who does not pay attention to the preaching of God’s Word will drift away. They will wander. When any man made truth comes their way – they will follow it instead of God’s Word.
How do you know when you are not paying careful attention? You have your eyes focused on something else. (PHOTO) I grew up in Ravenswood WV. Sandy Creek Bridge was 300 yards from our back yard and the train track ran right behind our house over that bridge. I remember very clearly as a young boy how careful you had to be walking over the train trestle bridge – you had to step from wood beam to wood beam and if you took your eyes off where you were putting your feet your leg could fall through. (blank) If you do not feel any conviction when you read or hear God’s Word – if you do not respond to the Word of God --- you do not see any attitudes or actions changing in your life – you are not paying careful attention. You will wander from the truth. John Terry asked me once – “how come the more I read the Word of God the more dirt I see in my life ?”.
That is what happens when you pay attention to the Word of God. That is what happens when you are not just a hearer of the Word of God but a doer. Pay attention to the Word of God and you will not drift away – you will be fully equipped to turn a sinner from the error of his way.
3. Guard your heart. Hebrews 3:12 -13 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God”. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Again – we can see the argument in the how God had His Word written down. We have to guard our hearts – we have a nature that leans itself to not believing God. When you do not believe God you drift away from Him. You wander away from God and the people of God. God has given His church – other believers to encourage you so that you may not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” We want people to encourage us – I want it – you want it – but my first thought is that I want good things said to me --- I want to be built up. But the word encourage also means to exhort. It means to correct --- it means to rebuke and to warn.
Who wants someone to exhort them – rebuke them and warn them that what they are doing is not the truth of God’s Word? Most people do not. Most people get offended and take offense when someone confronts them. Let me say this: I believe a tender heart – welcomes exhortation. A tender heart welcomes correction. A tender heart is able to identify the danger of being hardened by sin. If you have a thin skin --- you most likely have a thick or calloused heart. If you have thick skin – you perhaps welcome exhortation and rebuke in your life. Guard your heart --- do not allow it to be hardened. You want to be tender to God. You want to be sensitive to the truth of God’s Word --- wandering away is so easy when your heart is cold and hard. How do you keep from wandering and drifting away from the Truth? Guard your heart --- pay attention to the Word of God ---- be faithful with spiritual habits.
4. Attack sin in your life. Hebrews12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out of us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart.” Look what he writes…. Consider Christ when you begin to grow weary and loose heart. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus – throw off everything that is hindering you and the sin that you so easily get entangled in. Run with endurance – do not give up – what are your eyes fixed on?
When you do not attack sin in your life – you will drift away from God. You will drift away from the people of God – you will drift away from the Word of God. We get easily entangled in sin – you do and I do. We must mortify sin in our lives. We must put it to death. When you attack sin in your own life you will be much more willing to turn a sinner from their error of their ways – saving him or her from death and covering a multitude of sin. Is it your lust? You jealousy? Your tongue? What sin in your life are you attacking these days. The pursuit of holiness is a struggle. May we SHCC become a church family that attacks sin in our lives --- may we become a body of believers that guards our hearts and pays attention to God’s Word. May we become a church family where the spiritual disciplines are becoming habits in our lives.
LET US PRAY
Friday, May 1, 2009
James #17
“A Living Faith”
James 5:13 – 18
Pastor Ben Fleming
May 3, 2009
(PHOTO) Benny Hinn is perhaps the most famous faith healer in America today. Thousands will flock to his meetings and it is reported that he brings in over $100 million a year through his ministry. People want to be healed and people want their prayers answered and they will pay and give any amount of money if they think they can get it. (BLANK) (PHOTO) Most of you do not know what this photo is: Prayer for the sick has always been with the church . The Catholics have the Sacrament of Extreme Unction or called the last rite or anointing of the sick which they have formulated from the text we are going to study today. (blank) By the way.. Prayer and its affect on healing is even studied in hospitals. Turn to James chapter 5.
The passage we are going to study is a battle ground for many over the centuries in the church. Many use this text as a proof text for their beliefs and practices. There are churches whose entire ministry is centered around this text. Faith healers teach that this text is proof that all sick Christians are guaranteed healing through prayer. Stand as we read James 5. PHIL
This passage raises a number of questions that must be asked before you can understand and interpret it as God intended it to be. Look at verse 13 – “what kind of suffering is James talking about?” What type of sickness is being thought of in verse 14? Why or are the prayers of the elders different than other believers? What is the anointing oil in verse 14 and does the prayer of faith in verse 15 always restore the sick? Or how is sickness related to sin – and then why in the world does James put an illustration about rain right in the middle of a discussion about healing? I hope that I will answer those questions in our study. The key to understanding God’s Word correctly is to understand the context. Whenever you read the bible you always read it in light of what comes before and what comes after the verses you are studying. When you do not do that you can make the bible say and teach perhaps whatever you want it to and not what God gave it to us to do.
If you remember – James wrote this letter to Jewish believers who had been forced to flee from the Holy Land and they were being persecuted. The first chapter talked about trials and then in chapter 5 he wrote to believers who were being persecuted. The letter is addressed to believers who were enduring suffering and affliction. The main focus of James letter is to believers who were casualties of the spiritual battle – the persecuted – weak and defeated believers. The context tells us that this section is not about physical illness or physical healing. 2x His concern in writing this is about spiritual weakness – spiritual weariness – exhaustion and spiritual depression in the lives of believers. James is saying that prayer is how the believer is to attack those troubles. So let me say dogmatically -- the key idea in this passage is prayer – not healing.
Look with me this morning at the relationship James writes about telling us what part prayer plays in relation to comfort – restoration – fellowship and power in the life of a Christian in the face of suffering.
1. Prayer brings comfort. (vs. 13 ) “Is there anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Notice how the pastoral care of James comes out as he addressed believers who are troubled and weary. James wrote down a word that is translated by the NIV as trouble and by most other translations as suffering. Our first thought and application of this passage is to think that he is talking about physical trouble – people conclude that James is obviously is talking about sickness. But that is not the case because the word he used was never used in the greek language to talk about physical illness – he wrote down a word that a Greek person would use talking about enduring evil treatment by another person. The believers were being persecuted – abused and treated wickedly by people in their lives – this is what 5:1-11 was all about. Some of you have been abused – persecuted and treated wickedly. Some of you have unsaved spouses – some of you have been abused in your past. Some of you have been treated so unfairly. In the past 14 years I cannot count the number of suffering people who have come through our doors and the countless hours that I have spent investing in their lives. James says that the antidote to suffering in the life of a believer is prayer. James tells the believer to pray – to be involved in prayer – to let and ask others to pray for you….. I remember clearly the feeling of how last year I cherished to hear the prayers of God’s people when Cheryl and I began our journey of suffering. God is the god of all comfort. Comfort from God is the outcome of prayer. Recently – I have been called upon to give comfort as a pastor. I do not think I do a good job of it. I remember standing some time ago in a room at the hospital in the emergency with a mother as her 14 year old son lie dead on the table from an overdose – oh how she longed for comfort. Oh how I longed to comfort her but I knew that only God is the perfect comforter.
Comment about comforting someone suffering because of how someone else is treating them. (broken relationships)
Look on your outline: 2 Corinthians 1:3 - 4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” If God is the God of all comfort in the midst of suffering as a result of the way another person is treating me – why would I not want to come to Him in prayer? Let me ask you…… When was the last time you prayed about trouble you had because of someone else????? Think about it….. everyone of you can think of a person who has troubled you and caused you suffering………. When was the last time you heard someone else praying for you and your troubles???? When was the last time you trusted someone else to pray?
You know what it is like having someone cause you trouble – you go to bed at night thinking about that person and you can’t turn your mind off and you sin thinking about how you are going to get back at them and how unfair it is that they are treating you the way they are ---- On your outline:
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” So if this verse is true – “when we do not pray and when we do not allow others to pray for us…. We are simply saying to God and to ourselves that we really do not believe that God cares for us. We are questioning the character of God. Prayer brings us comfort from the character of God.
Reminds me of a simple song: O what peace we often forfeit – o what needless pain we bear – all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer……. Go back to verse 13 “James says to the believer who is able to maintain a cheerful heart during suffering --- he tells the believer to sing praises. Praise and prayer go hand in hand. The phrase to sing praises comes from the noun psalm. That must be why the book of Psalms is powerful scripture to read during times of suffering. Praise is a form of prayer. When trouble and suffering is part of your life – praise songs are powerful powerful tools to bring you through. That is also why the best place a defeated – discouraged - suffering and depressed believer should be during the week is with God’s people singing songs of praise --- regardless of how much they are suffering. The second point James makes:
2. Prayer brings restoration. (vs. 14 – 15) “Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.” This is the most misunderstood and disputed portion of our passage. This is not a formula for making sick people well. “We put the oil on him and prayed and he did not get well --- did we use the wrong kind of oil?” Some might say, “The problem was not the prayer it was the elders – they did not have enough faith. You just have to have more faith. There was sin in his life that is why he was not healed.” I have heard believers make all of those statements. Now – do not get me wrong here – you know that we as a church pray and we anoint the sick with oil when we pray. But the word sick that James used is used 18 times in the NT and only 4 times is it used to mean physical sickness. In the context of what James is writing about here – James is using it to refer to sickness that comes from emotional and spiritual weakness. He is not talking about being healed from cancer or diabetes. He is saying that “God’s people can become sick as a result of suffering as a result of how other people treat us.” Everyone of you know what it feels like when anger consumes you – you know what it feels like when you have a broken relationship with someone and you know what it feels like when someone is treating you badly and abusing you unfairly. Spiritual battles will exhaust you – make you weary – depress you and drag you down. Migrains – anxiety – depression – stomach problems can all come from spiritual battles. James says that the answer – the healing – comes as a result of prayer. Start by asking the leaders of the church family to pray for you. Ask those who should be spiritually strong and spiritually mature to pray for you. That is all James is saying here.
Church leaders have no special magical power. Oil was only a symbol of healing – it was a substance that was used in biblical times for healing – olive oil is still considered a healing oil. There is no special formula on how this praying is to be done. You do not have to put it on their forehead in the form of a cross and say some magical words. And if you do not have any oil that does not mean that the prayer is not affective. James says a prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick.
This is perhaps where so many miss apply this verse – “if I have faith I will get well” --- no healing – no faith. My problem is faith. Here again is why this text does NOT refer to physical healing --- the word sick was translated from the word sozo --- a greek would have understood it to mean restore – not heal. But again ---- DO NOT --- misunderstand our call as believers to comfort – care and pray for each for physical healing --- I am just trying to give you a sound biblical unpacking of what God’s Word really teaches here – I know for some this conflicts with what you might have heard from others – a book or heard from a TV preacher. If it does – go home and study the scriptures and see if these things are so and if you still have a problem give me a call. Notice what James writes at the end of verse 15 – “if he has committed sins – they will be forgiven”. When I am angry – I feel terrible. When I am anxious about how someone is or has treated me – I have real physical pain. When I am stressed – I can have teeth pain in my jaw so bad I think I have another abcess ---- but now get this: NOWHERE in the bible does it teach that all sickness is a direct result of an individuals sins – but spiritual defeat – is often the cause and the result of sin. Comment on relationship with confession to others of sin………..
3. Prayer brings fellowship. (vs. 16a) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” The therefore James uses here makes a transition for us from those believers who are spiritually struggling and battling suffering to the rest of the church family. He knows how un confessed sin drags a believer towards spiritual defeat. Sin in the life of an isolated believer is the most dangerous. Sin seeks to remain private and secret but God wants it exposed and dealt with in loving relationships with other believers. Sin prospers in the dark. Sin grows and deepens when a believer says to themselves – I”ll handle myself. “I do not need to confess my sin to anyone else. I heard that statement from a man in another church family just this year and that church family is no more – it closed its doors last week.
Think about this: Is it any wonder that we do not see spiritual victory in the lives of most believers today? How many believers are going to confess sins to other believers and pray for other believers on a Sunday morning? Success in America is numbers – its crowds. Success is where there is energy and you can only find energy when there is lots of people together. I do not know of any believer who makes it a regular practice of standing in front of others or going up to someone in a church on a Sunday morning and they have not seen that person since last Sunday and they have no trouble what so ever confessing sin to them……… There is a reason why Jesus spent extra time with only three of his disciples.
King David wrote in Psalm 32:5 “I will confess my transgression to the Lord; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Nathan was the one to confront David about His sin. I firmly do not believe that David confessed his sin privately to God – he did it in front of Nathan. In Proverbs 28:13 King Solomon wrote “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” If sins are concealed from others and that person does not prosper – other people are going to see it. If you do not prosper --- it is going to be seen by your fruit or lack of.
If I conceal my sin ---- You will see the result of that in me – so – does it not stand to reason that confessing and renouncing sin is not only personal but public or at least to another person? In the NT – the most popular verse about confession of sin is…
(slide)
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” To confess your sin --- is to say the same thing that God says. To confess is the word homo – legeo. Say the same. Have you done that? Are you making it a practice of confession your sin and same the same thing to God what he says about your sin? When was the last time you confessed sin to someone other than a family member???
4. Prayer brings power. (vs. 16b -18) The effective prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced crops.”
Notice what James writes here ---- the effective prayer of a righteous man. So – are their prayers that are not effective? There must be and in the context of the verse before --- in-effective prayers come from a believer who does not confess their sins. Effective prayer comes from a believer who makes it a practice of dealing with and confessing sin in ones life. A righteous man or woman of God is not one who is perfect but they are in right standing with God and the only way to be in right standing with God is to have no unconfessed sin in ones life. Interestingly – the word (slide) effective comes from the word energeo from which we get the word energy.
When you come before God with prayer as a believer and you are hiding nothing – when you have confessed your sin and have a clean heart with God and with others - you can come to God with energy. Energetic prayers of righteous men and women are a powerful force in calling down the power of God for restoring weak – struggling believers to spiritual health.
The bible tells us in Ps 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” And in Proverbs 15:8 “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.” Proverbs 28:9 “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”
James gave us an illustration of a righteous man who prayed effective prayers. He was no greater than you --- James goes to the trouble to write that he was a man just like us --- he was like any believer in Jesus Christ ------ but when he prayed he made certain that he had no unconfessed sin – he was in right standing with God. Verse 17b – Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain – so it did not rain for 31/2 years and then he prayed that it would rain and the sky poured down rain. NOTE: This story of Elijah and the drought would be a strange illustration for James to put in here if physical illness and healing was the main focus of this section – there are many other bible illustration about healing that could he could have used but the picture of God pouring down rain where there is drought perfectly illustrates God pouring out spiritual blessings on dry and struggling believers – God does that in response to the prayers of righteous godly people and again a righteous godly believer is simply one who has no un confessed sin and is in right standing with God and with other men and women.
Close: So – are you spiritually dry? Do you feel like you are in a spiritual dessert? Is there sin in your life that you simply are not mortifying or putting to death? Is there are broken relationship – anger and resentment that seems to rear its ugly head time and time again? Maybe you are suffering in a relationship with someone who simply persecutes you? You are the person who gives and gives and gives – you need prayer. Would you come and let someone pray for you today? Would you hear their prayers prayed outloud for you?
Let us pray:
Call the men and women to come and pray…………
James 5:13 – 18
Pastor Ben Fleming
May 3, 2009
(PHOTO) Benny Hinn is perhaps the most famous faith healer in America today. Thousands will flock to his meetings and it is reported that he brings in over $100 million a year through his ministry. People want to be healed and people want their prayers answered and they will pay and give any amount of money if they think they can get it. (BLANK) (PHOTO) Most of you do not know what this photo is: Prayer for the sick has always been with the church . The Catholics have the Sacrament of Extreme Unction or called the last rite or anointing of the sick which they have formulated from the text we are going to study today. (blank) By the way.. Prayer and its affect on healing is even studied in hospitals. Turn to James chapter 5.
The passage we are going to study is a battle ground for many over the centuries in the church. Many use this text as a proof text for their beliefs and practices. There are churches whose entire ministry is centered around this text. Faith healers teach that this text is proof that all sick Christians are guaranteed healing through prayer. Stand as we read James 5. PHIL
This passage raises a number of questions that must be asked before you can understand and interpret it as God intended it to be. Look at verse 13 – “what kind of suffering is James talking about?” What type of sickness is being thought of in verse 14? Why or are the prayers of the elders different than other believers? What is the anointing oil in verse 14 and does the prayer of faith in verse 15 always restore the sick? Or how is sickness related to sin – and then why in the world does James put an illustration about rain right in the middle of a discussion about healing? I hope that I will answer those questions in our study. The key to understanding God’s Word correctly is to understand the context. Whenever you read the bible you always read it in light of what comes before and what comes after the verses you are studying. When you do not do that you can make the bible say and teach perhaps whatever you want it to and not what God gave it to us to do.
If you remember – James wrote this letter to Jewish believers who had been forced to flee from the Holy Land and they were being persecuted. The first chapter talked about trials and then in chapter 5 he wrote to believers who were being persecuted. The letter is addressed to believers who were enduring suffering and affliction. The main focus of James letter is to believers who were casualties of the spiritual battle – the persecuted – weak and defeated believers. The context tells us that this section is not about physical illness or physical healing. 2x His concern in writing this is about spiritual weakness – spiritual weariness – exhaustion and spiritual depression in the lives of believers. James is saying that prayer is how the believer is to attack those troubles. So let me say dogmatically -- the key idea in this passage is prayer – not healing.
Look with me this morning at the relationship James writes about telling us what part prayer plays in relation to comfort – restoration – fellowship and power in the life of a Christian in the face of suffering.
1. Prayer brings comfort. (vs. 13 ) “Is there anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Notice how the pastoral care of James comes out as he addressed believers who are troubled and weary. James wrote down a word that is translated by the NIV as trouble and by most other translations as suffering. Our first thought and application of this passage is to think that he is talking about physical trouble – people conclude that James is obviously is talking about sickness. But that is not the case because the word he used was never used in the greek language to talk about physical illness – he wrote down a word that a Greek person would use talking about enduring evil treatment by another person. The believers were being persecuted – abused and treated wickedly by people in their lives – this is what 5:1-11 was all about. Some of you have been abused – persecuted and treated wickedly. Some of you have unsaved spouses – some of you have been abused in your past. Some of you have been treated so unfairly. In the past 14 years I cannot count the number of suffering people who have come through our doors and the countless hours that I have spent investing in their lives. James says that the antidote to suffering in the life of a believer is prayer. James tells the believer to pray – to be involved in prayer – to let and ask others to pray for you….. I remember clearly the feeling of how last year I cherished to hear the prayers of God’s people when Cheryl and I began our journey of suffering. God is the god of all comfort. Comfort from God is the outcome of prayer. Recently – I have been called upon to give comfort as a pastor. I do not think I do a good job of it. I remember standing some time ago in a room at the hospital in the emergency with a mother as her 14 year old son lie dead on the table from an overdose – oh how she longed for comfort. Oh how I longed to comfort her but I knew that only God is the perfect comforter.
Comment about comforting someone suffering because of how someone else is treating them. (broken relationships)
Look on your outline: 2 Corinthians 1:3 - 4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” If God is the God of all comfort in the midst of suffering as a result of the way another person is treating me – why would I not want to come to Him in prayer? Let me ask you…… When was the last time you prayed about trouble you had because of someone else????? Think about it….. everyone of you can think of a person who has troubled you and caused you suffering………. When was the last time you heard someone else praying for you and your troubles???? When was the last time you trusted someone else to pray?
You know what it is like having someone cause you trouble – you go to bed at night thinking about that person and you can’t turn your mind off and you sin thinking about how you are going to get back at them and how unfair it is that they are treating you the way they are ---- On your outline:
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” So if this verse is true – “when we do not pray and when we do not allow others to pray for us…. We are simply saying to God and to ourselves that we really do not believe that God cares for us. We are questioning the character of God. Prayer brings us comfort from the character of God.
Reminds me of a simple song: O what peace we often forfeit – o what needless pain we bear – all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer……. Go back to verse 13 “James says to the believer who is able to maintain a cheerful heart during suffering --- he tells the believer to sing praises. Praise and prayer go hand in hand. The phrase to sing praises comes from the noun psalm. That must be why the book of Psalms is powerful scripture to read during times of suffering. Praise is a form of prayer. When trouble and suffering is part of your life – praise songs are powerful powerful tools to bring you through. That is also why the best place a defeated – discouraged - suffering and depressed believer should be during the week is with God’s people singing songs of praise --- regardless of how much they are suffering. The second point James makes:
2. Prayer brings restoration. (vs. 14 – 15) “Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.” This is the most misunderstood and disputed portion of our passage. This is not a formula for making sick people well. “We put the oil on him and prayed and he did not get well --- did we use the wrong kind of oil?” Some might say, “The problem was not the prayer it was the elders – they did not have enough faith. You just have to have more faith. There was sin in his life that is why he was not healed.” I have heard believers make all of those statements. Now – do not get me wrong here – you know that we as a church pray and we anoint the sick with oil when we pray. But the word sick that James used is used 18 times in the NT and only 4 times is it used to mean physical sickness. In the context of what James is writing about here – James is using it to refer to sickness that comes from emotional and spiritual weakness. He is not talking about being healed from cancer or diabetes. He is saying that “God’s people can become sick as a result of suffering as a result of how other people treat us.” Everyone of you know what it feels like when anger consumes you – you know what it feels like when you have a broken relationship with someone and you know what it feels like when someone is treating you badly and abusing you unfairly. Spiritual battles will exhaust you – make you weary – depress you and drag you down. Migrains – anxiety – depression – stomach problems can all come from spiritual battles. James says that the answer – the healing – comes as a result of prayer. Start by asking the leaders of the church family to pray for you. Ask those who should be spiritually strong and spiritually mature to pray for you. That is all James is saying here.
Church leaders have no special magical power. Oil was only a symbol of healing – it was a substance that was used in biblical times for healing – olive oil is still considered a healing oil. There is no special formula on how this praying is to be done. You do not have to put it on their forehead in the form of a cross and say some magical words. And if you do not have any oil that does not mean that the prayer is not affective. James says a prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick.
This is perhaps where so many miss apply this verse – “if I have faith I will get well” --- no healing – no faith. My problem is faith. Here again is why this text does NOT refer to physical healing --- the word sick was translated from the word sozo --- a greek would have understood it to mean restore – not heal. But again ---- DO NOT --- misunderstand our call as believers to comfort – care and pray for each for physical healing --- I am just trying to give you a sound biblical unpacking of what God’s Word really teaches here – I know for some this conflicts with what you might have heard from others – a book or heard from a TV preacher. If it does – go home and study the scriptures and see if these things are so and if you still have a problem give me a call. Notice what James writes at the end of verse 15 – “if he has committed sins – they will be forgiven”. When I am angry – I feel terrible. When I am anxious about how someone is or has treated me – I have real physical pain. When I am stressed – I can have teeth pain in my jaw so bad I think I have another abcess ---- but now get this: NOWHERE in the bible does it teach that all sickness is a direct result of an individuals sins – but spiritual defeat – is often the cause and the result of sin. Comment on relationship with confession to others of sin………..
3. Prayer brings fellowship. (vs. 16a) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” The therefore James uses here makes a transition for us from those believers who are spiritually struggling and battling suffering to the rest of the church family. He knows how un confessed sin drags a believer towards spiritual defeat. Sin in the life of an isolated believer is the most dangerous. Sin seeks to remain private and secret but God wants it exposed and dealt with in loving relationships with other believers. Sin prospers in the dark. Sin grows and deepens when a believer says to themselves – I”ll handle myself. “I do not need to confess my sin to anyone else. I heard that statement from a man in another church family just this year and that church family is no more – it closed its doors last week.
Think about this: Is it any wonder that we do not see spiritual victory in the lives of most believers today? How many believers are going to confess sins to other believers and pray for other believers on a Sunday morning? Success in America is numbers – its crowds. Success is where there is energy and you can only find energy when there is lots of people together. I do not know of any believer who makes it a regular practice of standing in front of others or going up to someone in a church on a Sunday morning and they have not seen that person since last Sunday and they have no trouble what so ever confessing sin to them……… There is a reason why Jesus spent extra time with only three of his disciples.
King David wrote in Psalm 32:5 “I will confess my transgression to the Lord; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Nathan was the one to confront David about His sin. I firmly do not believe that David confessed his sin privately to God – he did it in front of Nathan. In Proverbs 28:13 King Solomon wrote “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” If sins are concealed from others and that person does not prosper – other people are going to see it. If you do not prosper --- it is going to be seen by your fruit or lack of.
If I conceal my sin ---- You will see the result of that in me – so – does it not stand to reason that confessing and renouncing sin is not only personal but public or at least to another person? In the NT – the most popular verse about confession of sin is…
(slide)
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” To confess your sin --- is to say the same thing that God says. To confess is the word homo – legeo. Say the same. Have you done that? Are you making it a practice of confession your sin and same the same thing to God what he says about your sin? When was the last time you confessed sin to someone other than a family member???
4. Prayer brings power. (vs. 16b -18) The effective prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced crops.”
Notice what James writes here ---- the effective prayer of a righteous man. So – are their prayers that are not effective? There must be and in the context of the verse before --- in-effective prayers come from a believer who does not confess their sins. Effective prayer comes from a believer who makes it a practice of dealing with and confessing sin in ones life. A righteous man or woman of God is not one who is perfect but they are in right standing with God and the only way to be in right standing with God is to have no unconfessed sin in ones life. Interestingly – the word (slide) effective comes from the word energeo from which we get the word energy.
When you come before God with prayer as a believer and you are hiding nothing – when you have confessed your sin and have a clean heart with God and with others - you can come to God with energy. Energetic prayers of righteous men and women are a powerful force in calling down the power of God for restoring weak – struggling believers to spiritual health.
The bible tells us in Ps 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” And in Proverbs 15:8 “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.” Proverbs 28:9 “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”
James gave us an illustration of a righteous man who prayed effective prayers. He was no greater than you --- James goes to the trouble to write that he was a man just like us --- he was like any believer in Jesus Christ ------ but when he prayed he made certain that he had no unconfessed sin – he was in right standing with God. Verse 17b – Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain – so it did not rain for 31/2 years and then he prayed that it would rain and the sky poured down rain. NOTE: This story of Elijah and the drought would be a strange illustration for James to put in here if physical illness and healing was the main focus of this section – there are many other bible illustration about healing that could he could have used but the picture of God pouring down rain where there is drought perfectly illustrates God pouring out spiritual blessings on dry and struggling believers – God does that in response to the prayers of righteous godly people and again a righteous godly believer is simply one who has no un confessed sin and is in right standing with God and with other men and women.
Close: So – are you spiritually dry? Do you feel like you are in a spiritual dessert? Is there sin in your life that you simply are not mortifying or putting to death? Is there are broken relationship – anger and resentment that seems to rear its ugly head time and time again? Maybe you are suffering in a relationship with someone who simply persecutes you? You are the person who gives and gives and gives – you need prayer. Would you come and let someone pray for you today? Would you hear their prayers prayed outloud for you?
Let us pray:
Call the men and women to come and pray…………
James #16
“A Living Faith”
James #16
Pastor Ben Fleming
April 26, 2009
Turn in your bibles to James chapter 5. We are going to examine one verse today. James is finishing his letter to Jewish believers and he again addresses the issue of the tongue. If you remember he opened his letter in chapter 1 verse 26 addressing the tongue “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” You have to agree that God’s people sin more with their tongues than in any other way” --- think about it ------- you cannot do every sin but you can say anything. Stand as we read James chapter 5 again. READ ---- John Terry
Because we are fallen creatures ---- Paul says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – we are basically liars. You lie to yourself. Children lie to their parents and parents lie to their children. Husbands lie to their wives and wives lie to their husbands. People lie to their employers who in turn lie to them. We lie to each other in a church family. How many times has someone said to you “how are you?” and you did not respond back to them truthfully. I have had people lie to me and think nothing of it. Politicians lie to get elected and continue to lie once they are in office. People lie to the government and perhaps the biggest way that people lie is on their income tax returns. Our society is built on a framework of lies, leading one to wonder if our structure would survive if everyone were forced to speak the truth just one day.
The Christian churches that James was writing to were full of Jewish believers. As young Jewish believers, these Christians were swearing according to O.T. laws in the name of the Lord. They were swearing false oaths – they were swearing to pretend truthfulness of something that they had no intention of maintaining. Kinda of like today when people say things just to please you and they have no intention of following through. Jesus even condemned this action in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:33-36. His words in verse 37 – ought to wake us up to the seriousness of this warning – “Let what you say be simply Yes or No – anything more than this comes from evil.”
If you are not a man or woman of your word --- if you do not follow through and keep your commitment --- Jesus says being wishy washy is from the devil. Being someone who is undependable - is from the devil. Being someone who says maybe and always keeps their options open --- those actions are from the devil. Jesus says --- we either say yes or no --- in Revelation 3:15 -16 we find these sobering words to the church at Laodicea “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Back to James 5:12. In verse 12 --- James commands believers to stop swearing ---------To take an oath and make oaths was a part of the Jewish culture and it was an issue in the church.
In our culture we do the same thing: our yes is not yes and our no is not no --- “how many believers today readily divorce and how many believers jump and change churches for whatever reason”? or How many believers do not follow through on their financial commitments? We think we have the right to keep our options open ---- if we cannot make it --- we see no reason to call someone ---- when we cannot keep our commitment we rationalize and justify any reason to break it. James is simply saying here to God’s people – a simply yes or no should be sufficient from God’s people because God’s people must be people who are faithful to keep their word no matter what. Look with me at the four parts of this command that James gives us:
1. God’s people are expected to keep their word. (vs.12a ) “Above all my brothers,” When James wrote this verse he began it with the words “above all” – he did so to make a distinction between what was going to follow – a teaching on prayer and what he just completed, a teaching on patience. By the way --- did anyone see opportunities to grow in patience this past week??
The word “above all” makes this one verse a command to believers that stands out. James is specifically writing to believers in Jesus Christ. He is not addressing these words to non believers --- he does not expect a non believer to keep their word. He does not expect a non believer to follow through. If James did not expect it ---- neither should you or I. But here ---- the concern is with believers in Jesus Christ. A believer in Jesus Christ is to speak words pleasing to God. A heart that is transformed and being transformed by the Holy Sprit will reveal itself in honest speech. 2x How people speak is a true test of their spiritual state. Words from our mouth shows us the condition of our heart.
Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the heart the mouth speaks.” If you go to a bar ---- you should expect to hear words that are not pleasing to God. You should not expect a non believer to keep their word. Expect them not to show up. Expect them to tell lies and false stories. But God’s people are to tell the truth – their yes is yes and their no is no --- they are expected and commanded to keep their word. They are people who follow through with their commitments. PART #2
2. God’s people are commanded not to swear or take an oath in the name of God. (vs. 12b) “do not swear – not be heaven or by earth or anything else.” How many times have you heard someone say to you “I swear to you that what I am saying is true”. “I swear that I will pay you back.” I swear to you that I am not lying. James is not talking here about swearing – taking the Lord’s name in vain or dirty talk or using four letter words. In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul addresses that: look on your outline.
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only is what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” You do not have to speak cuss words as a believer like everyone else does at work or school --- the scripture says here more than cuss words ---- it uses the word unwholesome talk ---- words that do not benefit those who hear your words. We are to build up those around us with our words. We are to build people up at work – a customer – a classmate at school-------- what kind of words do you speak????
My dad went to church every Sunday – but from Monday – Friday he went to Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp to work as a supervisor in the foil department. When he came home from work --- we grew up hearing cuss words again and again. I only understood why my dad was that way when I got to work at Kaiser one summer in college. That was all he heard at work…he brought it home with him. Who you walk with ----who you talk with ---- who you sit with it what you become like….. Psalm 1 tells us that……. I got off the focus of James words…. He is not writing about unwholesome talk……..
James is talking to God’s people about swearing an oath. In his day – the Jewish people had developed a complex system of swearing oaths ---- it was a time when there was no such thing as a written contract --- an oath served as an agreement between people. To take an oath was to attest that what was said was true – and you were calling God to witness such and if you violated it you were asking God for punishment if you broke your word. The bible does not forbid a believer from taking an oath. James is simply saying that a believer must not make an oath to deceive others --- they must not make an oath they have no intention of following through and a believer must not make an oath without considering the ramifications of what that oath means. I can think of three verbal oaths that I have sworn ---- when I said yes to the pastor – my family – to God and to my fiancée Cheryl on August 30 1980 that I would stay married to her for better or worse – and then on May 12, 1994 – I was ordained into the ministry as a pastor by Crestview Baptist Church – I took an oath that I would faithfully preach the Word of God in season and out of season and then in 2003 I swore an oath on the witness stand in a murder trial. James is not talking about those kind of a situations. Look at point #3 with me. He is saying that
3. God’s people are people of integrity who keep their word. (vs. 12c) “let your yes by yes, and your no…” James is saying here that God’s people do not need to be people who say I promise or I swear. God’s people must be people who say yes and no and that is enough. Why is that important? Why can’t I just say maybe? Why do I have to follow through? Why is it so important to keep my word? I believer that we have become a culture where when someone does not come through – if the one who was hurt by the lack of commitment by the other person questions or confronts them --- they are considered intolerant….. “how dare you think I am wrong just because I changed my yes to a no or I did not show up like I said I would – I said I was sorry” We must be a people whose yes is yes and no is no.
Let me make this personal: As I came to this point I received a phone call from someone I was suppose to meet at a certain time. I told him I would meet him. I forgot. I got in my car and drove right away to met him and was 5 min late. My yes was wishy washy. On my way back from the meeting I thought about it. I had told him yes --- because I did not want to let him down. The reason he wanted to meet with me was not really a burden on my heart --- but I did not want to disappoint him so I said yes and when I got busy because it was not really important to me I forgot……………. You have done the same thing. Over the years people tell me yes – because they want to look good in the Pastors eyes or they do not want to let me down and then they do not show up and they have a great excuse to give me when they see me the next time.
James says --- let your yes be yes and your no be no. If you are not a man or woman of God who keeps your word then you quickly become someone who cannot be counted on. You become someone who is thought little of. You have no impact for Christ. You become someone who cannot be trusted to come through. But you also have people who say yes all the time and you have people who say no all the time --- both are wrong. Paul wrote in Ephesians
Ephesians 4:25 “Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
Paul is specifically talking about those in the body of Christ. He is talking about a church family. He says stop lying to each other. Stop telling each other everything is all right and inside you are depressed and discouraged. Stop standing alone by yourself and let another believer into your life. Start obeying Galatians 6 and allow others to carry your burdens. Stop telling others you will be at the bible study or you will help with the outreach and you really have no intentions of following through. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Why in the world did God go to the trouble to have Paul write in the bible “speak truthfully to his neighbor – for we are all members of one body?” He is not talking about your neighbor where you live – he is talking about who is sitting right next to you this morning. You know that because the verse says “for we are all members of one body”. The only people who are members of that body are those who are members of the body of Christ – and in the context of the verse…. he is talking about a local church family – the church at Ephesus. Every Christian believer is to be a member of a local church family or body. When they are in that body they are to speak truthfully to each other ----- sometimes folks ----- truth telling hurts. It hurts to have someone tell you the truth about what they see in you or what you are doing. I do not like having someone in this church family telling me the truth about myself and I do not like telling someone else the truth about themselves…. but we are commanded to that in the Word of God. So --- why must we learn to let our yes be yes and our no be no?
Think about it: I want to believe you when you tell me you are going to do something ----- Kids… your parents want to believe you --- they do not want to think their kid is a liar…. Husbands, your wife wants to believe you. I do not want people telling me yes and they really could care less if they are going to follow through. I wish they would say NO --- and I definitely do not want someone swearing to me or promising me something. Ok #4 why obey James command?
4. People will be judged when they continue to disobey. (vs. 12d) “or you will be condemned”. The NIV uses the word condemned - the best translation is judged. We know that a believer will not be condemned because Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In Exodus 20:7 Moses wrote, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” When you swear falsely you take the Lord’s name in vain. The judgment or condemnation that James is writing here about is not a punishment upon believers. He is simply saying that those who continue to lie – those who continue to swear falsely and have pattern of lying in their lives are giving evidence of a false faith. If you remember when I began the book of James I told you that his theme was “A living faith” – those who continue to lie and swear do not have a living faith. Someone whose word is consistently not yes and no --- James is saying that they will be judged. Jesus put it this way…
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Is your life characterized by truth telling? Do you have a desire to be a truth teller? You are not perfect and you do lie --- but is truth telling a desire of yours and part of your life? Let your yes be yes and your no be no. How can you apply this verse in your life? I have three points for you.
Application Points:
1. Keep your marriage oath. Malachi 3:16 “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel”. Have you done and are you doing everything you can to keep your marriage oath? People never fall out of love – they choose to not love. The grass is never greener on the other side it is only green where you water it. Parents are you teaching your children what a biblical marriage is? How many so called Christian parents encourage their children to date? American dating is not biblical. Fathers, what are you teaching your daughters? What must the boy be who marries your daughter be? Buy the book “What he must be who wants to marry my daughter men and read it.” My pastors handbook for weddings gives this oath – “Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s commands in the holy estate of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsake all others, and stay only with her, so long as you both shall live?” An oath that demands a response. Yes or No. The end of the Christian ceremony says “those whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Let your yes be yes.
2. Your church family. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:4-5 “As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood….” (PHOTO) This is the card we made for you to use to invite people to SHCC. Notice the stone wall. Peter says --- God’s plan is that His children (living stones) are being built into a spiritual house ----- that spiritual house is a local group of Christians (called a church) who are being built together with other Christians. Notice that this wall has every stone in place. (Blank). It is not God’s plan for a stone to be pulled out of a wall and run to another wall. It is not God’s plan for a stone to say – well I do not like the stone I am next to --- I am going to find some smoother stones. The bible clearly teaches that a believer is to keep their oath to a church family because Christ is committed to the church. A living stone will never become what God intends for it to be when it is constantly changing its spiritual house every few years. Nor will it become what God intends for it to be when it hides from the other stones. (PHOTO) You end up with a spiritual house like this wall. Where are the stone to fit in those gaps? Let your yes be yes and your no be no
3. Your finances . Are your finances pleasing to God? Do you operate your finances according to the principles of the world? Are your bills paid on time? Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do you rob God? Let your yes be yes and your no be no or you will be condemned.”
4. Chose what you say yes to and do it.
Let us pray
James #16
Pastor Ben Fleming
April 26, 2009
Turn in your bibles to James chapter 5. We are going to examine one verse today. James is finishing his letter to Jewish believers and he again addresses the issue of the tongue. If you remember he opened his letter in chapter 1 verse 26 addressing the tongue “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” You have to agree that God’s people sin more with their tongues than in any other way” --- think about it ------- you cannot do every sin but you can say anything. Stand as we read James chapter 5 again. READ ---- John Terry
Because we are fallen creatures ---- Paul says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – we are basically liars. You lie to yourself. Children lie to their parents and parents lie to their children. Husbands lie to their wives and wives lie to their husbands. People lie to their employers who in turn lie to them. We lie to each other in a church family. How many times has someone said to you “how are you?” and you did not respond back to them truthfully. I have had people lie to me and think nothing of it. Politicians lie to get elected and continue to lie once they are in office. People lie to the government and perhaps the biggest way that people lie is on their income tax returns. Our society is built on a framework of lies, leading one to wonder if our structure would survive if everyone were forced to speak the truth just one day.
The Christian churches that James was writing to were full of Jewish believers. As young Jewish believers, these Christians were swearing according to O.T. laws in the name of the Lord. They were swearing false oaths – they were swearing to pretend truthfulness of something that they had no intention of maintaining. Kinda of like today when people say things just to please you and they have no intention of following through. Jesus even condemned this action in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:33-36. His words in verse 37 – ought to wake us up to the seriousness of this warning – “Let what you say be simply Yes or No – anything more than this comes from evil.”
If you are not a man or woman of your word --- if you do not follow through and keep your commitment --- Jesus says being wishy washy is from the devil. Being someone who is undependable - is from the devil. Being someone who says maybe and always keeps their options open --- those actions are from the devil. Jesus says --- we either say yes or no --- in Revelation 3:15 -16 we find these sobering words to the church at Laodicea “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Back to James 5:12. In verse 12 --- James commands believers to stop swearing ---------To take an oath and make oaths was a part of the Jewish culture and it was an issue in the church.
In our culture we do the same thing: our yes is not yes and our no is not no --- “how many believers today readily divorce and how many believers jump and change churches for whatever reason”? or How many believers do not follow through on their financial commitments? We think we have the right to keep our options open ---- if we cannot make it --- we see no reason to call someone ---- when we cannot keep our commitment we rationalize and justify any reason to break it. James is simply saying here to God’s people – a simply yes or no should be sufficient from God’s people because God’s people must be people who are faithful to keep their word no matter what. Look with me at the four parts of this command that James gives us:
1. God’s people are expected to keep their word. (vs.12a ) “Above all my brothers,” When James wrote this verse he began it with the words “above all” – he did so to make a distinction between what was going to follow – a teaching on prayer and what he just completed, a teaching on patience. By the way --- did anyone see opportunities to grow in patience this past week??
The word “above all” makes this one verse a command to believers that stands out. James is specifically writing to believers in Jesus Christ. He is not addressing these words to non believers --- he does not expect a non believer to keep their word. He does not expect a non believer to follow through. If James did not expect it ---- neither should you or I. But here ---- the concern is with believers in Jesus Christ. A believer in Jesus Christ is to speak words pleasing to God. A heart that is transformed and being transformed by the Holy Sprit will reveal itself in honest speech. 2x How people speak is a true test of their spiritual state. Words from our mouth shows us the condition of our heart.
Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the heart the mouth speaks.” If you go to a bar ---- you should expect to hear words that are not pleasing to God. You should not expect a non believer to keep their word. Expect them not to show up. Expect them to tell lies and false stories. But God’s people are to tell the truth – their yes is yes and their no is no --- they are expected and commanded to keep their word. They are people who follow through with their commitments. PART #2
2. God’s people are commanded not to swear or take an oath in the name of God. (vs. 12b) “do not swear – not be heaven or by earth or anything else.” How many times have you heard someone say to you “I swear to you that what I am saying is true”. “I swear that I will pay you back.” I swear to you that I am not lying. James is not talking here about swearing – taking the Lord’s name in vain or dirty talk or using four letter words. In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul addresses that: look on your outline.
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only is what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” You do not have to speak cuss words as a believer like everyone else does at work or school --- the scripture says here more than cuss words ---- it uses the word unwholesome talk ---- words that do not benefit those who hear your words. We are to build up those around us with our words. We are to build people up at work – a customer – a classmate at school-------- what kind of words do you speak????
My dad went to church every Sunday – but from Monday – Friday he went to Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp to work as a supervisor in the foil department. When he came home from work --- we grew up hearing cuss words again and again. I only understood why my dad was that way when I got to work at Kaiser one summer in college. That was all he heard at work…he brought it home with him. Who you walk with ----who you talk with ---- who you sit with it what you become like….. Psalm 1 tells us that……. I got off the focus of James words…. He is not writing about unwholesome talk……..
James is talking to God’s people about swearing an oath. In his day – the Jewish people had developed a complex system of swearing oaths ---- it was a time when there was no such thing as a written contract --- an oath served as an agreement between people. To take an oath was to attest that what was said was true – and you were calling God to witness such and if you violated it you were asking God for punishment if you broke your word. The bible does not forbid a believer from taking an oath. James is simply saying that a believer must not make an oath to deceive others --- they must not make an oath they have no intention of following through and a believer must not make an oath without considering the ramifications of what that oath means. I can think of three verbal oaths that I have sworn ---- when I said yes to the pastor – my family – to God and to my fiancée Cheryl on August 30 1980 that I would stay married to her for better or worse – and then on May 12, 1994 – I was ordained into the ministry as a pastor by Crestview Baptist Church – I took an oath that I would faithfully preach the Word of God in season and out of season and then in 2003 I swore an oath on the witness stand in a murder trial. James is not talking about those kind of a situations. Look at point #3 with me. He is saying that
3. God’s people are people of integrity who keep their word. (vs. 12c) “let your yes by yes, and your no…” James is saying here that God’s people do not need to be people who say I promise or I swear. God’s people must be people who say yes and no and that is enough. Why is that important? Why can’t I just say maybe? Why do I have to follow through? Why is it so important to keep my word? I believer that we have become a culture where when someone does not come through – if the one who was hurt by the lack of commitment by the other person questions or confronts them --- they are considered intolerant….. “how dare you think I am wrong just because I changed my yes to a no or I did not show up like I said I would – I said I was sorry” We must be a people whose yes is yes and no is no.
Let me make this personal: As I came to this point I received a phone call from someone I was suppose to meet at a certain time. I told him I would meet him. I forgot. I got in my car and drove right away to met him and was 5 min late. My yes was wishy washy. On my way back from the meeting I thought about it. I had told him yes --- because I did not want to let him down. The reason he wanted to meet with me was not really a burden on my heart --- but I did not want to disappoint him so I said yes and when I got busy because it was not really important to me I forgot……………. You have done the same thing. Over the years people tell me yes – because they want to look good in the Pastors eyes or they do not want to let me down and then they do not show up and they have a great excuse to give me when they see me the next time.
James says --- let your yes be yes and your no be no. If you are not a man or woman of God who keeps your word then you quickly become someone who cannot be counted on. You become someone who is thought little of. You have no impact for Christ. You become someone who cannot be trusted to come through. But you also have people who say yes all the time and you have people who say no all the time --- both are wrong. Paul wrote in Ephesians
Ephesians 4:25 “Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
Paul is specifically talking about those in the body of Christ. He is talking about a church family. He says stop lying to each other. Stop telling each other everything is all right and inside you are depressed and discouraged. Stop standing alone by yourself and let another believer into your life. Start obeying Galatians 6 and allow others to carry your burdens. Stop telling others you will be at the bible study or you will help with the outreach and you really have no intentions of following through. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Why in the world did God go to the trouble to have Paul write in the bible “speak truthfully to his neighbor – for we are all members of one body?” He is not talking about your neighbor where you live – he is talking about who is sitting right next to you this morning. You know that because the verse says “for we are all members of one body”. The only people who are members of that body are those who are members of the body of Christ – and in the context of the verse…. he is talking about a local church family – the church at Ephesus. Every Christian believer is to be a member of a local church family or body. When they are in that body they are to speak truthfully to each other ----- sometimes folks ----- truth telling hurts. It hurts to have someone tell you the truth about what they see in you or what you are doing. I do not like having someone in this church family telling me the truth about myself and I do not like telling someone else the truth about themselves…. but we are commanded to that in the Word of God. So --- why must we learn to let our yes be yes and our no be no?
Think about it: I want to believe you when you tell me you are going to do something ----- Kids… your parents want to believe you --- they do not want to think their kid is a liar…. Husbands, your wife wants to believe you. I do not want people telling me yes and they really could care less if they are going to follow through. I wish they would say NO --- and I definitely do not want someone swearing to me or promising me something. Ok #4 why obey James command?
4. People will be judged when they continue to disobey. (vs. 12d) “or you will be condemned”. The NIV uses the word condemned - the best translation is judged. We know that a believer will not be condemned because Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In Exodus 20:7 Moses wrote, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” When you swear falsely you take the Lord’s name in vain. The judgment or condemnation that James is writing here about is not a punishment upon believers. He is simply saying that those who continue to lie – those who continue to swear falsely and have pattern of lying in their lives are giving evidence of a false faith. If you remember when I began the book of James I told you that his theme was “A living faith” – those who continue to lie and swear do not have a living faith. Someone whose word is consistently not yes and no --- James is saying that they will be judged. Jesus put it this way…
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Is your life characterized by truth telling? Do you have a desire to be a truth teller? You are not perfect and you do lie --- but is truth telling a desire of yours and part of your life? Let your yes be yes and your no be no. How can you apply this verse in your life? I have three points for you.
Application Points:
1. Keep your marriage oath. Malachi 3:16 “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel”. Have you done and are you doing everything you can to keep your marriage oath? People never fall out of love – they choose to not love. The grass is never greener on the other side it is only green where you water it. Parents are you teaching your children what a biblical marriage is? How many so called Christian parents encourage their children to date? American dating is not biblical. Fathers, what are you teaching your daughters? What must the boy be who marries your daughter be? Buy the book “What he must be who wants to marry my daughter men and read it.” My pastors handbook for weddings gives this oath – “Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s commands in the holy estate of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsake all others, and stay only with her, so long as you both shall live?” An oath that demands a response. Yes or No. The end of the Christian ceremony says “those whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Let your yes be yes.
2. Your church family. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:4-5 “As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood….” (PHOTO) This is the card we made for you to use to invite people to SHCC. Notice the stone wall. Peter says --- God’s plan is that His children (living stones) are being built into a spiritual house ----- that spiritual house is a local group of Christians (called a church) who are being built together with other Christians. Notice that this wall has every stone in place. (Blank). It is not God’s plan for a stone to be pulled out of a wall and run to another wall. It is not God’s plan for a stone to say – well I do not like the stone I am next to --- I am going to find some smoother stones. The bible clearly teaches that a believer is to keep their oath to a church family because Christ is committed to the church. A living stone will never become what God intends for it to be when it is constantly changing its spiritual house every few years. Nor will it become what God intends for it to be when it hides from the other stones. (PHOTO) You end up with a spiritual house like this wall. Where are the stone to fit in those gaps? Let your yes be yes and your no be no
3. Your finances . Are your finances pleasing to God? Do you operate your finances according to the principles of the world? Are your bills paid on time? Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do you rob God? Let your yes be yes and your no be no or you will be condemned.”
4. Chose what you say yes to and do it.
Let us pray
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