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Recognize that God is enough

Trust that God has given all we need in the Scriptures

I must study, meditate on, and obey God’s sufficient word

 

Good morning! My name is Jack Flaherty and I serve as one of the pastors here at Harvest. I am excited to open up God’s Word with you all today. Before we do lets dismiss our 4th and 5th graders. Also invite the ushers to pass out the Bibles. Reminder that this is a topical series on the Word of God, so we are going to be a bit all over the Bible today. Also, quick refresher of what we believe as a church about God’s Word: “We believe the Scriptures of the OT and NT are all inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings. We believe the 66 books of the OT and NT are God’s complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God’s authority for the total well-bring of mankind.”

 

Last week we hit on the Bible’s Authority. This week of we are diving into The Bible’s Sufficiency. What do we mean by sufficiency?. Sufficiency--to cause to be or to have what is adequate, to be satisfied with (BDAG); also plenty or enough (BDB); also enough to meet the needs under the law of a situation or a proposed end (Merriam-Webster).

 

I’ve had three groups of people in mind preparing this sermon. First those who whole heartedly affirm & hold tightly to sufficiency, which is many of us. My caution to some of us is to not hold this too extremely where we become Bible thumpers. “GOD SAID.” Yes, that’s true & we kicked off with authority for a reason. However, the Bible sufficiency is not the same as our competency to handle the Scriptures. So affirm but Bible not self. Second those who whole heartedly deny this. This group says we need more than what the Bible can give. My plea is hear what God says. Third those who with our mouths affirm sufficiency yet in practice have a bunch of BUTs. “It’s sufficient BUT we need this or that too.” Not saying we outwardly deny & our heart is to affirm knowledge found by God’s common grace. Yet in subtle & not-so-subtle ways our adding or subtracting undercuts the Bible & God himself. So my caution is to consider your belief & practice.

 

No matter where you land this topic will act like a rock in the middle of a pond. You know what happens when you toss a rock into a still body of water? It sends out ripple effects. At first it starts very small and then eventually works out till the whole pond is impacted. Even if we think this is a small matter it has big implications! David Powlison questions, “are the Scriptures comprehensive internally, or is there something that is vital that is external to the scriptures?” MUST we have something else? If yes, care, goals, and practice will be dramatically different and cause ripple effects in our lives. Our position on sufficiency matters.

 

Today we want to be Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture. It is my prayer that we would walk out of here today not just with a pebble producing right ripple effects, but also that some of us might notice the pebble in our shoe that is making this life more painful than it needs to be. And I must confess that as I prepared to preach on the sufficiency of Scripture, I ironically found myself turning to many reference books, papers, etc. None of those are necessarily bad things and I’d love to share.  However, they all kept giving me Bible! So unapologetically my hope today is to overwhelm you by the Bible’s own testimony. May God prove for himself from the Scripture the sufficiency of his Word. Our first right response to the sufficiency of Scripture is to…

Recognize that God is enough

As we defined above, sufficient means nothing else NEEDED! As Goldie Locks would say “Not too much, not too little, just right.” Too often we say I NEED or I MUST. Guess what, God tells us in His Word that He is enough. First and foremost, God is enough for himself. He is self-sufficient and has been so eternally. Theologians use the fancy word aseity to describe this attribute. Didn’t, doesn’t, and won’t ever need anything else. But is this just some concept that theologians made up because they like fancy words or is this true? Well what does the Bible say?

 

Ex 3:13-1513 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” Moses wants to know what he should say to the people about who God is. He can’t make it up, God gets to define the terms. This is the first time God reveals his proper name.14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God tells us he is “IAM.” He is the Creator! The uncaused Causer of all things who need no one and nothing else. He is eternally self-existent and he is independent of anything or anyone. 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. He’s also commissioner sending people out. He’s also covenant keeping God to be known and remembered for all generations. In short, God tells Moses I am enough & I will show it to you (which he does )

 

Psalm 90:2 “ Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

God’s been around. Did not need anything or anyone. Still doesn’t. He is enough!

 

“9 remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10 declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”

Isaiah, who we spent time with this year & will spend more sweet time with next year, tells us God there is none is like God. He declares end & beginning. His counsel stands & he accomplishes his purposes. He doesn’t need someone else to do or to tell him how it is. He is enough.

 

Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Again, God is the beginning and end. He is all and all. He doesn’t need anyone or anything else.

 

All of this is great. Uncaused causer, beginning and end, doesn’t need anyone else. But this is where we need to see God isn’t just enough for himself. Even better God is enough for us.

 

You might say, wait a minute does it follow that God’s self-sufficiency then applies to his sufficiency for me? It was a good thought experiment in the office this week! Really the only way to bridge that reality is first that God tell us he is enough for us and second that God demonstrates that reality from his entire character. There’s not one single attribute at play. He is self-sufficient, but he’s also gracious to share his sufficiency with us. He is good, but he also has the authority to carry out that goodness in this world. He has all power and that power is manifest in mercy and love. We could keep going. I think what we need to see is that God is enough within himself yes, but as Creator he also offered himself to be enough for us and told us show in the Bible. Consider a few passages that show us God is enough for us.

 

“25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. “

Nothing else but God! May this be true for us! Flesh and heart fail but God wont EVER! He is always enough for us in heaven and on earth.

 

Colossians 1:16-17 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” All things come from him, are for him, & he keeps them together. He’s enough for the whole universe.

 

Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Doesn’t this sound like sufficiency? God will give us all that we need!

 

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Where do good things come from? The one who never changes but eternally provides, meets needs, is enough.

 

Eph 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” Not some, a few, just shy of what we need, but EVERY spiritual blessing. Sounds good to me!

 

2 Cor 3:5 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, Not sufficient from our own selves nor from someone else or some other discipline of study. That sufficiency comes from God! Common grace does give helpful things but seems God says those are not the necessary things. We have enough! And actually v6 goes on to say God has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Second Corinthians is a terrific letter speaking to God being enough for us. Listen and note all the superlatives. 2 Cor 9:8-9 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

And again in 2 Corinthians Paul talks about his own struggles in life, ones he has asked God to remove from him, he doesn’t turn to any other source to deal with this thorn in the flesh.2 Cor 12:9-10 “9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. “ If you think you are dealing with something that is too big, you’re probably right. BUT GOD IN HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT! It might hurt and be a thorn in your flesh, struggle with sin, hard relationship, physical pain, whatever. God will show his power to be enough in your weakness.

 

All this ultimately happens to us through Jesus! Who showed his power in what the world would see as weakness. He humbled himself. He defeated death by death and came through to the other side. Paul says he is content for the sake of Christ. He can handle all these things because his sufficiency is not from himself but from the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus ultimately is the final revelation of God to us, the final disclosure of all we need. He his enough!

 

Consider Jesus’ interaction with Philip in John 14:8-9 “8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” How can you see show me more? We have enough! Jesus says he is the enough we need. That’s why the writer of Hebrews could say what he does in a passage many of our children are memorizing Hebrews 1:1-3 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Sat down to show its finished. Nothing new we need from God but what he has already given us of himself by his Son, revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.

 

God being complete and needing nothing from anything else, has provided everything else with what they need. That includes God has provided all the necessary information about Himself and His will for mankind through the Bible. The Bible is fully sufficient for guiding human life and understanding faith without needing additional revelations or sources.

 

God's enoughness guarantees the completeness the Scripture. Which brings us to our second response today.

 

Trust that God has given us all we need in the Scriptures

Now we probably don’t balk at God’s enoughness. By definition he is enough! But when we say the Bible has all we need that might be harder to swallow. But the Bible only has all we need because it was given by the one who is all we need! So with tons of Bible lets see what God says about His Word. Maybe the most important verse on this matter is the one we will start which and shares the rest of our thinking in this point.

 

2 Peter 1:3 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence Do we trust that God is enough and has given us all we need? Then we ought to trust that he has given us all we need for life and for godliness in Scripture. Now it doesn’t say God has everything there is to know. We aren’t omniscient. Nor does it say we will always know the exact answer in an exact situation. However, what we have is sufficient, either directly or principally. We don’t NEED anything more or less. Infact the Bible warns against adding or subtracting.

 

Deut 4:2 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

 

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

 Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Another one our little ones are working on. Every word is true, including this word about having all we need for life and godliness. Do add to his words and don’t say we need more but run to the shield who is true and proves enough.

 

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

This word lasts! It’s not that we have to wait till the newest business or entertainment strategies come out to survive. We don’t need the latest psychological or sociological realities to figure things out. We don’t need political takeover to sort things out. We need the Word of God which stands forever and has been and always will be enough.

 

Matthew 5:18 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Jesus says law/Scripture is not going anywhere.

 

Rev 22:18-19 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Strong words that We don’t do the adding or subtracting. Nick shared last week 2 Peter 1:20-21 that men didn’t come up with Scripture but spoke as they were carried by God the Holy Spirit. We don’t make it up, we don’t add or subtract!

Maybe surprising to you, but the Bible actually tells us that God doesn’t give us all the knowledge. Deut 29:29. “29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. “ This is a freeing passage! There are things that are secret and belong to the Lord. Do you want to know what they are? Sorry you cant! They belong to God. And that’s the same God who is enough and loving and good and kind and eternal. Trust that and do the rest of what is very clear!

 

Revelation 10:4 “4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” There are things we don’t need to know, otherwise God would have written it down. Even Moses being asked to turn his back and not see God’s face or disciples being told we don’t know the day or the hour. We don’t know literally everything, but we know enough!

 

Again, we aren’t promised to know all the information. That’s why we are tempted to add or subtract. We can learn information outside the bible, even helpful information. And in good faith we may want to add that. But while the Bible does not provide all answers to every possible question, it does provide answers for all we need to know. May we be wary of saying we NEED more for life and godliness. That undercuts the God who is enough and said he’s given us enough. He has given it to us by the very Word’s he has breathed out. Which is another huge passage.

 

2 Tim 3:15-17 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. God breathed out his very Words to us! These Words from the God who is enough are enough for us! The Bible is sufficient! And in two specific ways show here in 2 Timothy 3.

It is sufficient for salvation

It is sufficient for sanctification

First, we see in v14-15 that Paul tells Timothy it wasn’t the cosmos, or entertainment, or business model of the church, or social media adds, or even the eloquence of a preacher but the Scriptures that made him wise to salvation! Places like Romans 10 echo this. It is through the proclamation of the Word of God alone that we have what we need to be right with God.

 

But also for sanctification. That’s what v16-17 say. All of it comes from God and brings profit in teaching what to do, reproving what not to do, correcting when we make a boo boo, and training in all righteousness. Why? That we may be ehh ok? No, COMPLETE! Equipped for EVERY good work. God has given us enough to live on and please him!

 

Yes, there are hundreds of situations we face today that the Bible doesn’t specifically address because we encounter issues that the original authors and audiences would have never imagined. BUT the Bible perfectly equip us for every good work NOT by telling us the exact right decisions to make for every situation we may face. Rather, the Bible provides us with hundreds of narratives illustrating specific situations that may resemble the ones we’ll face. It gives us thousands of commands and prohibitions from which we may draw principles to apply to new issues. It presents us with a display of the nature and character of God so that we may make exactly the kind of decisions he would make without him having to tell us. Actually, those who insist that the Bible doesn’t address something are limiting the profitability of Scripture. The Bible applies to everything!

 

John Calvin said, “We are to read our Bibles and we are to read the world with our Bibles.” Every truth claim is to be evaluated through the lens of Scripture and cannot be put on par with Scripture. For the plumber, the president, the pre-schooler, parent, pastor and parishioner, all each of them need is in the Word of God. This is a subject that has been hotly debated, even very recently. Its one that maybe be tempting you to think of the maybes and exceptions and nuances. As a guy who loves the nuance let me say, there is no nuance. The Bible is sufficient.

 

This has been the issue in every age, attacks on the Word. What did Satan do in the garden of Eden? Cast doubt on God’s Word. What got Israel in trouble their whole history? Not listening to the Word of God. What did Satan try to do to Jesus after 40 days of fasting in the desert? Misuse and twist Scripture! Yet these twisting’s don’t mean reject Scripture. It means we need to know them and rightly apply them. The Bible was sufficient for Jesus as he responded to all three of those temptations with “it is written”! We just learned in James 4 “resist the Devil and he flees.” That whole section was about humility. We submit ourselves to and trust in the authoritative and sufficient Word of God! Lord forgive us for thinking your word insufficient. We have all we need. From the Spirit, thru Word, breathed out to us by God, we have all we need!

 

For good measure, let’s again overwhelm you with the Bibles testimony of itself.

 

John 17:17 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. Sanctified by nothing else. That’s been the story of every false religion of all time. Jesus + ______. But Jesus himself prays that his followers are sanctified by the WORD.

 

Heb 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Context is dealing with hardening of sin and entering rest. The deep problems that harden us to sin and can’t be dealt with any other way are answered by the Bible’s faithful wounds.

 

Acts 17:11  11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Who wants to be “more noble”? Me! The adequacy and sufficiency of life is a daily diet of the Word.

 

And to continue in Acts, how about Paul with the Ephesians elders.Acts 20:20 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house. Told them everything! Didn’t shrink back! What was the content of that teaching?

Acts 20:27 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. The B-I-B-L-E that’s the book for me! And yet more Paul says a few verses later. Acts 20:32 32 And now I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. This Word is commended to build up and give an inheritance! Keep your Bible strapped on you and as Psalm 119:9-11 says stored in you to fight sin and walk with the Lord!

 

1 Thess 2:13 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. He thanks God that they heard the Word! Not as from man but as from God! See the Scriptures as divine breathed out words and as what is really doing work!

 

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The Word that works not only is sufficient but efficient and efficacious! Won’t return void!

 

Even in trouble its enough. After all he went through with losing family, farm, friends, Job says

Job 23:12 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

No matter hard times Bible is better than food! Fasting hints at this. Bible makes us wise to salvation and sanctification but we gotta take it in. Job says the best nutrients is the Word not bread. That’s what Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” The Bible is our daily bread! But the bread life is doing no good sitting on the shelf. Eat it up and do so all the time. As the famous Shema says

 

Deut 6:6 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Put God’s Word everywhere! Where it can be seen!

 

Feeling the weight of this yet? Hopefully you’re seeing the ripple effects. It matters because we either trust what God has said or we don’t. We either look to the Word for the sufficient source or we don’t. First and foremost to see what we need about Jesus. Turn to and trust in Jesus and what he’s revealed of himself in the Scriptures! We have answers to our questions and God’s commands. We have all we need to teach and be taught. We cannot and should not add to scripture NOR see anything on par with it. Further we need not over emphasize what the Bible doesn’t, not call sin what the Bible does, not require what the Bible doesn’t. Calibrate our consciences accordingly not come up with the rules on our own. Paul in Romans 15:14 seems convinced we have what we need to competently care for one another. Not just each individual person but together we can care for with the Word. Lets be content with and trust that we have enough in the Scriptures!

 

What does this trust look like in action? If we recognize and agree with the Word, when it says that God is enough. If we also trust God when he says his Word his word is enough. Then that brings us to our final response today

I must study, meditate on, and obey God’s sufficient Word

I want to camp out in Psalm 19. Frist look at some of what the Word of God is said to do in v7-9!

 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

V7a Salvation--- we don’t need to make it marketable it is perfect and revives the soul.

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

V7b Its sure and secure. We need that!

making wise the simple;

V7c Skill in living--The idea of “simple” is that someone is naïve and who leaves open door. BUT God makes that person wise. They are skilled in the art of godly living.

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

V8 joy and enlightening-- from Bible. Or where do you go? We have true Word to follow!

9 the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

V9 Clean to draw us to worship/to produce fear of Lord in us. Its pure and there is no updating needed. Rules, verdicts, and judgements are true. What a battle we have in the world for truth today and the Word of God has answers!

If all this is true and is energized by Spirit oh my goodness! Lean into, chew on, and follow that!

 

But there is still more. Now look at is said about the value of the Word of God in v10-13.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

Greatest possession—gives you what’s needed

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Greatest pleasure —gives joy

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

Greatest protection —want to be aware of problems ahead? Bible!

in keeping them there is great reward.

Greatest profit —possessions can’t get any better.

12 Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Greatest purification—-sin I know and don’t know plan and happen upon clean me from all by the Word

If were missing something in our study, meditation is boring, our obedience is hard, that is never inadequacy of Bible. Rather that is inadequate human beings to study & apply & obedience.

 

Finally see the psalmist’s commitment to the Word of God in v14

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer

Whole life be acceptable by being consistent in our Bibles. What he speaks, ruminates on, talks about, is from the Word! Its all that was just listed above! But in order to do that, we need to know what the Bible says. How are you doing at studying the Word? We could go into polls numbers and that’d be interesting, maybe even here. But not to guilt or shame into it. If we think God is enough and he has given us enough in his word then we will delight to get what we need through careful and prayerful study of his Word!

 

Psalm 111:2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

From my favorite podcast Bible Talk and it’s a reminder that studying is sweet! Not to fill our heads with facts BUT to helps us know all we need for life and godliness. God’s Word is enough but am I competent to find what I need and to help others to do the same. Study! Put in the work. Be ready to say, I don’t know what you’re going through and I don’t know what to do for myself, but God does and he wrote a book. One we ought to meditate on.

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

But its not just to gain facts for the doing of life. We need to dwell on and enjoy what it says. Because part of that doing is changing our desires. The brain re-wires as we rehearse thoughts BUT how much more with the power of the Holy Spirit re-wires our hearts affections. Read the rest of this psalm and see the blessing of meditating on the Word. Then go DO IT and experience the blessing of meditating on the Word.

 

Finally, we study, and chew on, but then we need to take that to heart in belief to what it says

Luke 11:28 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Hear and obey Word to bring a blissful state of life. Not ignore or make the Bible say something other than what it says. But obey it and experience blessings of God.

 

This isn’t cold orthodoxy nor academic mumbo jumbo but this is a living and breathing truth for life! Don’t affirm its truthfulness yet abandon that in practice. Don’t hold it tightly yet fail to grow in your knowledge and application. And please don’t sit back and say not for me I don’t believe it. Be noble searching. Be joyful dwelling richly. Be saved by opening to the plan of redemption revealed herein. Though we don’t have time as some growth work, just go read Psalm 119 please!  God is enough for you today Christian brother or sister or you wandering loved one. God has given us enough for life and for godliness in his Word. Trust that! And then as a manifestation of that trust, go study, meditate on, and obey the Word. Get together with others to grow your ability to do all three! But don’t forsake the Word of God. The rock will have ripple effects in the pond of your life. May the be the ripples of the sufficient Word of God bring blessing to you and glory to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

The Bible’s Authority

Responding rightly to the truth about Scripture

Begins with recognizing God’s authority

As God’s Word, Scripture is authoritative

I must submit to God’s authoritative word

Good morning church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self. Thank them for serving at the Work Day yesterday.)

Before we dive into our study…

Today we are kicking off a new series for the month of October called The Word of God. While our normal habit for studying Scripture at Harvest is to do a verse-by-verse study of books of the Bible, from time to time we pause from that to trace a particular topic or theme throughout the Scriptures. That is what we’ll be doing in each of the sermons in this series as we develop our understanding and awe of the Word of God, the Bible. My hope is that this series will not only fill your heart with incredible truths about God’s Word but that it will move you to respond appropriately in your lives. I hope to see lives transformed by the power of God’s Word.

The pastor team seeks to be very intentional in the sermon series we choose for the church each year. One of the consistent comments that comes out of our annual sermon planning meetings is “We want our people to grow in their love for the Word.” We’d really like to be a church of the Word, where it is increasingly common to hear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ sharing what God is teaching them and how he is changing their lives through Scripture! So, as we made decisions for 2024, we decided a series like this would be beneficial for us because trusting in and turning to the Bible is of the utmost importance for our lives, both individually and corporately, as the church.

As we say in our doctrine statement:

If we truly believe this, then the Word of God should be precious to us. If we literally have God’s words to us, then how could we not want to read them and live by them? Your Creator has given you truth to live by! He has warned you about the ways that lead to death and the way that leads to life. Does your life reflect that you value this divine revelation? If not, I hope you’ll allow this series to grow your love for God’s Word.

Today I have the privilege of taking us on a study of The Bible’s Authority. We’re going to move between Old and New Testaments as we study today, so I’ll put the passages on the screen behind me as we go.

Our aim this morning is…

First let’s focus on learning truth about Scripture, and then we’ll get into practical ways for us to respond rightly to what we learn. Our journey begins in the very first verses of the Bible.

There are many observations we could make from such powerful verses of the Bible; however, I want to focus on one in particular. God has authority. This passage kicks off an incredible couple of chapters that unpack the creative power and authority of our God. When there was nothing but Him, He spoke, and things came into existence. If we were to continue reading in Genesis 1-2, we would hear repeatedly, “And God said…” followed by the response of whatever he was speaking about coming into existence.

May we not take this for granted. May we not be quick to brush by it. These are POWERFUL statements and truth claims about the nature of our Creator and the authority He wields. The very first words of the Scriptures point us to the existence of the eternal, powerful, creator God. It is not my intent today to provide a full-fledged defense of the reality of God, however, we will get to study the nature and character of God in more depth in our December series Let God Reign.

For today, we are starting from the position of belief that there is a God who has made all things. It is the only logically consistent position for the intelligent design we see in our world. What I want you to recognize here is that responding rightly to the truth about Scripture…

Begins with recognizing God’s authority

Authority – the right to control or command (BDAG); also the power or ability to do something (Lexham Theological Workbook)

What we find revealed in the pages of Scripture is that God has all authority. He has the supreme right to control or command and the power or ability to do all that He desires. This should not be surprising to us as He is the pre-eminent being, the Holy God. There is no one greater or higher, thus He is the source of all authority.

The proof of His authority is demonstrated in numerous ways. We’ve already heard from the creation account. But how about the authority of God on display in the Exodus account. Our student ministry is studying Exodus right now, and they’re going to be learning about the authority of God on display as He mocks the false Egyptian gods and rulers through the 10 plagues. In these accounts, which you can read about in Exodus chapters 7-12, God repeatedly pronounces what He is going to do (before he does it) and then brings it to pass. These plagues are miraculous works that reveal the authority of God!

This revelation of God’s comprehensive authority continues as God provides for and protects His people on their journey to the Promised Land. By his authority, He parts the Red Sea. By his authority, He conquers enemy armies and kings along the way. No one can successfully stand in God’s way.

We also see the authority of God on display in the fulfilled prophecies of the Old and New Testaments. Most recently, our church has studied the book of Isaiah, and we heard several times where God told the Kings of Judah how things would go before it happened. And then he brought it to pass just as He foretold. These were demonstrations of God’s authority over the nations.

When we arrive in the New Testament, we encounter God the Son taking on human form as Jesus of Nazareth. As Jesus walked this earth, he demonstrated the authority of God by healing the sick, raising the dead, multiplying the bread, calming the waves, driving out demons, and forgiving sin.

These miracles were proof that Jesus was God and carried the authority of God with him. The author of Hebrews challenges us to have an even greater understanding of God’s authority through Jesus in Hebrews 1:1-3.

Jesus demonstrates the authority of God in upholding our universe as well as accomplishing the redemption of sinful people. These are INCREDIBLE displays of the authority of God! They ought to cause our jaws to drop in amazement. The only reason you continue to draw breath and exist right now is due to God’s authority exercised on your behalf.

Not only that, but notice that this passage in Hebrews tells us the manner in which God communicates/demonstrates his authority. He speaks. The author of Hebrews highlights God speaking through the prophets and ultimately His Son, which resonates with what we saw in Genesis 1. God spoke to create all things. Throughout the Bible, God speaks to demonstrate/communicate his authority. And His spoken word became the written word as the prophets and apostles wrote it down for our benefit.

I’ve recently had the privilege of reading through the Gospel of John and this theme of authority and the words of God was repeated throughout it. I’d like to share a couple of them with you. Listen to how Jesus speaks about God the Father’s shared authority with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The words that Jesus spoke are from the Father and have the Father’s authority. Jesus fulfilled the command of the Father by sharing the way to eternal life through faith in Him. His ministry of calling people to faith and repentance are loaded with authority.

Jesus knew he was about to go to the Cross and die for the sins of his people. He knew that he would depart from them, but he promised them that another would come – the Spirit of truth. God the Holy Spirit would also speak with the Father’s authority to help them remember, record, and obey all that God had said. And this happened exactly as Jesus said. The Apostle Peter even testifies to it in one of his letters:

Peter’s testimony is that mere men did not come up with the Word of God based on their own finite interpretations and understanding. The Word of God was spoken and then written down as men were guided by God through the Holy Spirit. This is essential to understand because it connects the authority of God with the Scriptures. Because the Scriptures are God’s Word, they carry his authority. This leads us to our second truth to help us in responding rightly to the truth about Scripture.

As God’s Word, Scripture is authoritative

As Peter just told us, Scripture is the very words of God. But he is not the only one who makes such a claim. Listen to the teaching of the Apostle Paul:

Paul writes, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” or theopneustos – meaning it has its origin in God. Or to put it another “inspired by God”. Paul agrees with Peter that Scripture is not created by man but God. This is tremendously important in our discussion because it drives our second main truth (Main points) – “As God’s Word, Scripture is authoritative.”

Let me share with you a helpful quote on this matter:

What the writers mean, God means. Or as another author stated, “What the Scripture says and what God says are the same thing.” Because God carried the writers along by His Holy Spirit. These are His Words, and they carry His authority! And, as Paul explained, God has a purpose for the Scriptures in our lives. He has given them to us because they are profitable for our growth in holiness, that we might be the godly men and women that he created us to be!

We hear the first profitable outworking of the authority of Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:15 – “the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is through the study of the Scriptures that you can learn about the source of salvation – Jesus Christ! I can’t help but think of some of the ways this is revealed:

OR

OR

You could appeal even more broadly to the entirety of Scripture, as it all points to Jesus. The Old Testament points ahead to the need for a Savior and the New Testament reveals the Savior as Jesus!

How amazing that these truths are revealed to sinners like us who are ~2,000 years removed from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful treasure we have! Praise God for revealing his authority to forgive our sins through faith in Jesus in His Word!

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we see a few other outworkings of authority related to God’s Word.

It is profitable for teaching

It is profitable for reproving

It is profitable for correcting

It is profitable for training in righteousness

God’s Word has authority to positively equip you in the ways you need to grow in holiness. And it has authority to confront and rebuke you for the ways in which you need to change when you get off-track. The Word of God has everything you need for life and godliness! The outcome that is promised is that you will be complete, equipped for every good work. Meaning, as you submit yourself to it, you will develop into the man or woman of God that He desires you to be! What better outcome is there? If this is the promised outcome, then why do we put off studying and obeying His Word? We all need to wrestle with that!

The Word of God is the verbal expression of the authority of God, and it has answers for your life. You do not have to stay stuck in brokenness and sin. You do not have to repeat the same patterns of thinking or acting ad nauseum! It is POSSIBLE to change, and God’s Word rightly interpreted and applied by His Holy Spirit to your life WILL bring it about.

I have had the privilege of sitting on the front row seat of God at work in people’s lives in the counseling room. What seems like a hopeless situation in the beginning quickly changes as God’s Word is brought to bear on it. Enslavement to sin does not have to be the final word. You can be set free. You can walk in the light. Your marriage can be restored. Your thought life can change. Your despair can be replaced with hope and joy. This is the power of God at work through His Word in the life of His people! Please do not shortchange yourself and dishonor God by neglecting to study and obey the Word.

The authority of God’s Word extends over every area it touches/addresses. We’ve highlighted a few today but I believe Jack will talk in more detail about this when he addresses The Bible’s Sufficiency next week. For today, I want to spend the rest of our time talking about our right response to the truth about Scripture. Here it is…

I must submit to God’s authoritative word

Say that aloud with me.

If God has all authority, and he has communicated that authority through his Word, then I must respond appropriately to his Word. And that appropriate response is submission.

To submit means to be in subjection or subordinated; under the authority of another. (BDAG) In this case, it means I am recognizing the authority of God’s Word and rightly putting myself under it. This is the right and expected response of every man, woman, boy and girl who walks this earth because God reigns and He has revealed His will in His Word.

If you are here this morning and you have never trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, then that is the appropriate response for you. Submission unto salvation. This is the call of Jesus when he began his public ministry:

The entire Bible points to the necessity of salvation for every single one of us. We are all sinners who have fallen short of God’s standard of perfection. A single lie. A single lustful look. A single angry thought is enough to condemn us before a perfectly righteous God. As the Psalmist says and Paul repeats, “There is none righteous, no not one.” That is God’s authoritative declaration about the state of mankind outside of faith in Jesus. Dead in sin.

But God has revealed His plan of salvation for the sinner. By sending His Son as a sacrifice in our place. The perfect, sinless One going to the Cross to bear the wrath of God for those who are imperfect sinners! Oh, what a Savior! He bore the wrath, so I don’t have to. He bore the wrath, so you don’t have to! Will you confess your need for a Savior today and receive the gift of forgiveness and salvation from Him? He stands ready to save your soul, but you must turn from your sin and follow Him.

Jesus said:

What is keeping you from denying yourself, taking up your cross (dying to your proud self-will), and following Christ? *pause*

As the ancient hymn Rock of Ages so beautifully says:

Nothing in my hand I bring,

simply to the cross I cling;

naked, come to thee for dress;

helpless, look to thee for grace;

foul, I to the fountain fly;

wash me, Savior, or I die.

I pray that today would be the day of salvation for someone listening to this sermon. That you would walk out of darkness into His marvelous light. That is the power of His authority to save! *pause* (I would love to talk with you more about this after the service.)

But many of you have believed and are seeking to walk in the light. Praise God for that! For you (and me) we are called to submission unto sanctification. Ours is the call to grow in holiness until we are complete, equipped for every good work. This is truly a life-long process of refinement and growth. Let’s discuss what that will look like…

It is our privilege as Christians to grow in our delight in the Law of the Lord. We see such examples of this delight in the Psalms. Consider Psalm 19:

King David did not pen this Psalm after one day of studying God’s Word. His life was saturated with the Word. This kind of deep love and desire for the Word is the mark of a mature man who has sat under its teachings for years. It is evidence of one who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good through obedience to God.

Perhaps the most well-known example of such delight and love for the Word is found in Psalm 119. This is the longest chapter in the Bible at 176 verses and every single one is devoted to singing the praises of God’s Word. It is a literary masterpiece as each of its 22 stanzas begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That means someone gave a lot of time and attention to thinking through how to respond in submission and praise of the Word!

What would it look like for you to cultivate such delight in the Word? *pause*

I have found consistent daily study of the Word to be the most helpful practice in cultivating delight. The more I am in it, the more I see it changing my life, and the more I want to be in it. I have also benefited greatly from interacting with what I am learning in the Word by journaling. Over the years I have shared 4 questions to help you interact with the Word. Here they are again:

What does this teach me about God?

What does this teach me about mankind/myself?

How do I need to rejoice as a result of what I’ve read?

How do I need to change as a result of what I’ve read?

These four questions will help you interact with the Word and put it into practice. This is all part of growing in our delight for the Law of the Lord.

Another way believers submit to God’s Word is by allowing it to dictate your doctrine. We do not have the freedom to believe whatever we want. We must diligently study the Word and allow it to teach us what to believe. Too often we try to reverse that and come to the Bible with our preconceived notions of what is true and then look for support for it in the text. If you have a habit of doing that, ask God to help you change and to submit to His Word.

Some of us may have been taught unhelpful or untrue things over the course of our lives. We may have to go through a season of unlearning the false teachings and relearning what is true. I would encourage you to take heart from the Bereans in Acts 17:

It is good and right for you to evaluate everything you hear taught by the Word. Don’t just take my word for it, check the Scriptures!

As you study the Scriptures, your next step in submission unto sanctification is to grow in your wisdom by applying what you learn. As we recently heard in our study of James, it is of no use to be a HEARER only. A godly man/woman is a HEARER and a DOER of the Word.

Jesus taught about the difference between a wise man and a foolish man:

Do you hear the difference? Both heard the word, but only one put it into practice. Be the wise man/woman who hears and obeys. Look for the next step of growth that you can take. What is the next right thing to do? Then do it. Maybe that’s putting off cursing. Maybe it’s putting off sinful anger. Maybe it’s asking for accountability for lustful thoughts. Whatever it is, identify that step and take it, in faith.

For some of you, submission to God’s Word means accepting correction/reproof. There are areas of your life that are out of line with holiness. You have been living sinfully and it must stop. If you respond poorly when corrected, then you are proving yourself a fool, for the Bible tells us:

The wise person recognizes it is for their good that they are corrected. Heed this warning if you are angry when corrected… it will not end well for you.

If you know someone who is living sinfully, then go after them, in love. Seek to restore them to the truth. It is unloving to stand idly by while they walk down the path of destruction! Recall this great counsel we heard at the end of James last week.

What a privilege to be a part of calling someone back to the Lord!

For all of us who call ourselves Christians, we must realize that our aim is righteousness. The goal is completion/holiness/being equipped for every good work. I love Paul’s testimony. He is a great example of counting the cost of following Christ:

Paul says that the things that used to be important to him are now counted as rubbish in order that he may gain Christ. He wants Christ’s righteousness. He wants to be the man of God that he was created to be, and this led him to a radically different lifestyle. Everything changed for Paul. What about for you? Are you still living with one foot in and one foot out of your faith? May it never be! Confess and cling to Jesus.

Remember the warnings that Jesus gave to the churches in Revelation. Though they were doing some things well, the call was to repent and follow Him whole-heartedly.

They were doing some things really well, but they were neglecting love for Christ in other areas. It will not do for us to be half-heartedly following Christ. We are called to a whole-souled, whole-bodied faith in Him!

This is the life-changing faith that you have been called to! Will you embrace it?

This is one of many promises about the future found in His Word in 1 Peter 5. Will you submit to promises like these and order your life accordingly?

Finally, will you follow the lead of passages that invite you to respond to God’s glory and revelation? The psalms are a great example of this… Earlier this year we memorized Psalm 103 as part of our FighterVerse challenge.

1      Bless the Lord, O my soul,

2      Bless the Lord, O my soul,

3      who forgives all your iniquity,

4      who redeems your life from the pit,

5      who satisfies you with good

Will you bless the LORD as God’s Word commands? Will you sing praises to Him? Will you lament over the brokenness of this world and the sin within it? These are all examples of submitting to the authority of God’s Word unto sanctification. We are practically bowing the knee to God, and we are responding rightly to the truth of His Word.

What a rich faith we have. What a wonderful treasure we have in the Word. Let us not take it for granted any longer.

Let’s pray.

Faith that God Approves

James 4:13-5:20

Cultivating a faith that pleases God

Replace proud plans with humble submission

Recognize the severity of judgment for the self-indulgent

Pursue a life characterized by trust in the Lord

Good morning, church family! It is so good to worship the Lord with you this morning. If you’re new, welcome. My name is Pastor Nick, and I have the privilege of closing out our sermon series in the book of James this morning. Today is also a 5th Sunday, which is a special time in the life of our church where we combine into a single service so that we can go out and serve in our community during the second service hour. As James has counseled us, we want to be hearers and DOERS of the Word, to have a faith that works! I hope you’ve signed up for a serving project today. If you haven’t stick around afterwards and we can help you get connected to one.

As I just mentioned, today is our final Sunday in James. I hope you will agree that this has been an incredibly rich study of such a short book. The practical wisdom that James has provided each week has been immediately applicable to my life, and I’m assuming yours as well. Who among us hasn’t struggled with their response to trials? Who is perfect in their speech, always saying what pleases God? Who has not struggled in their desires, leading to conflict with God or others? The answer, of course, is “No one! No one! And… No one!” These are all battles that we all face on a regular basis, and aren’t you thankful that God gives us truth and direction for how to handle them in His Word? AMEN!

Now, if James is ending today, then you may be wondering, what’s next? Well, in line with what we were just talking about, being given truth and direction from God’s Word, we are going to take the month of October to do a targeted study on The Word of God. Over four weeks, we will do a deeper dive into the key teachings and important beliefs about the Bible. We’ll be studying the Bible’s authority, sufficiency, inerrancy, and infallibility. Or to put it less technically, we’ll be studying how the Bible is God’s Word to us that contains everything we need for life and godliness and that it is trustworthy and true, without error. I want to encourage you to use the start of a new series to invite a friend or family member to come and hear what God has to say about His Word.

(James Graphic) Are you ready to dig into the Word of God this morning? Let’s turn our attention now to the final section of the book of James. We’re picking up in chapter 4, verse 13. Today we’re learning about a Faith that God Approves. Our aim is…

James continues to provide very practical wisdom for daily life! He intends to help Christians who are stuck in ungodly ways of thinking and operating. The phrase, “Come now, you who say…” introduces a new section with a particular group in focus. Who is he focused on instructing?

Is it anyone who makes plans?

If so, our conclusion must be it’s wrong to make plans. Those who live by the seat of their pants are right and planners are wrong. Some of you wish that is what it was saying! 😊

Is it anyone who plans to make money?

This is a teaching against capitalism! It’s wrong to desire wealth and everyone should really aim at equitable distribution of goods. Some in our culture wish that is what it was saying!

We cannot properly interpret verse 13 without the context of verses 14-17. James elaborates on the group and issue in mind when he speaks about their lack of knowledge of what is to come and the brevity of their life. He removes any doubt when he issues the corrective in verse 15, “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live or do this or that.’” And the rebuke in verse 16, “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

James is speaking to those who are proud, to the men and women who go about making their plans for life without humility or submission to God’s position and plans for their lives! This ties into the emphasis on humility and submission in 4:7-10. We do not live and operate in this world apart from the good pleasure of our Creator. The One who gives us our daily breath and keeps our heart beating deserves to be worshiped. And that worship ought to play out in every aspect of our lives, even down to the plans we make for our days and weeks and careers.

These are the kind of questions that James’ teaching invites us to consider. And as you consider your answers, I want to share our first step towards cultivating a faith that pleases God from the text today. It is…

Replace proud plans with humble submission

Even if this has not been your practice prior to today, this is the practice God is calling you to in the days ahead! It is important to have a right view of yourself in light of the majesty and power of your Great God! He is the One who created all things. He is the One who upholds all things. If not for Him, we would all cease to exist, which means we had better listen closely when He tells us how we ought to think and live!

In his teaching, James highlights a theme from the Scriptures – the brevity of human life. Let me show you a couple of other places this shows up:

The truth is that we are finite creations whose life has a beginning and end. We are not here by accident, nor are our lives meaningless. God both delighted and desired to make us. He has a plan and purpose for our lives. (Main points slide)

However, a real challenge for us as humans is that we live as spiritual amnesiacs. We functionally live as if God does not exist nor has any real say over our day/plans/lives. So, we go about our weeks doing whatever seems right in our own eyes, without any regard to what God desires. This is a dangerous way to live! It is in direct opposition to the will of God and design God intended for us. In fact, it is the reason why so much brokenness pervades our world. We have billions of people across the earth, throughout human history, doing what seems right in their own eyes rather than submitting their desires and plans before the Lord.

Imagine if Hitler had submitted his wickedly proud plans before God. World War II may never have happened. Imagine if the terrorists of 9/11 had submitted their wickedly proud plans before the One, True God. The world would be a much different place today. But they did not do this. Instead, they proudly pursued their own plans and committed great evil.

This is what happens when men and women refuse to humbly submit their plans before the Lord. They function in pride – acting as if they were in God’s position and calling the shots in their lives. This kind of pride/boasting is evil. The examples I gave are extreme examples of where such pride can take us. Our own pride, whatever its form, is also evil in God’s sight.

It is easy to excuse our own proud self-reliance. “I know the plans I have for myself, plans to prosper, to give myself a future and a hope.” That is a self-focused mistranslation of Jeremiah 29:11, but it is very tempting way for us to think and live this way, isn’t it?

James is simply elaborating on the two different ways to live that have been developed throughout the letter. You can either live in a way that is self-focused, not submitted to God, chasing after your own desires OR you can live in a way that is seeking to please God, humbly drawing near to Him, fleeing from selfishness. Which will it be for you? *pause*

James is not saying that you cannot plan to make money. He is not saying that all planning is wicked. What he is saying is that the posture or heart attitude you bring into your planning is of the UTMOST importance. Christians are to be a people who operate from a position of open hands, bowed heads, bent knees… who say, “Lord, if it is your will…” Consider the examples of Jesus and Paul in the Scriptures…

The reality is that God reigns. He is in control. And our appropriate response in life is to live in humble submission before Him. Living this way is a great relief and blessing to Christians! Knowing that God is in control means that He has a good plan for my life, and He will accomplish His purposes. As I practice living in humble submission to His will, I am not missing out on opportunities but walking in the path of joy that leads to everlasting life! (Psalm 16:11)

What does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul? Jesus challenged his audience with this teaching. The answer is it would gain nothing. Such a life will not stand in the day of judgment.

King Solomon, after expending himself pursuing every possible pleasure under the sun, declared everything is a vanity in the book of Ecclesiastes. Do you know what his conclusion was after chasing after women and riches and anything his heart could desire?

That is what matters in life and on judgment day! Did you fear God and keep his commandments? Christians, let us not engage in boasting and bragging about our plans and our successes. What do you have that you did not receive? The pride of man is evil and brings destruction. We are living for so much more than the acquisition of wealth, a big home, fancy car, and nice clothes. Those things are fading away even as we acquire them. Worse, the proud heart that worships and boasts in such things invites God’s judgment. May it never be for us! May James 4:17 ring loudly in our ears, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

We have been instructed on the right heart attitude and posture to cultivate – humble submission before God. May we flee from the temptation to live in any other way in the days ahead. May we cultivate a faith that pleases God by actively submitting our plans to Him and rejoicing in the way He leads us. Let’s keep reading to see where James goes next in the text.

Whew! James again introduces a new section with “Come now” but this time addressing the unbelieving rich people in their midst. And his language is very severe towards them. They are told to weep and howl because of miseries or distress that is coming upon them. They have put their trust in the wrong things. They have oriented their lives around worldly pleasures and treasures rather than the Lord of Hosts! The desire of their hearts was not to please God but to life self-indulgently. Our takeaway in cultivating a faith pleasing to God is…

Recognize the severity of judgment for the self-indulgent

Self-indulgent meaning an excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims (Merriam-Webster) OR to indulge oneself excessively in satisfying one’s own appetites and desires (Louw-Nida).

Notice the emphasis here – excessive, unrestrained – and the focus – one’s own appetites, desires, whims… Such a person is not seeking to please God but self.

This is one of those negative examples that serves to guard people against the type of life that ends in God’s judgment. Those who live this way will find out the hard way that earthly riches are not eternal, and when they are handled improperly, they will serve as evidence for judgment against them.

Defrauding others and hoarding wealth are both sinful ways to live. They have stolen from those who earned their wages. They have failed to be good stewards of the money entrusted to them by a gracious God. Rather than viewing money as a tool to accomplish the will of God, they have viewed money as a tool to accomplish the will of man. “What do I want?” rather than “What does God want?”

Perhaps you can relate to this struggle when you have money in your account. It is easy to turn inward and think about self rather than humbly submitting our finances to the Lord! If this is a temptation for you (and it likely is for all of us), then you must realize that this is an opportunity for repentance and growth! What do you have that is not from God? Nothing! Everything is His and He has entrusted it to us. My money is His money. And I am entrusted with it to use in a manner that pleases and honors Him.

These unrighteous people could care less about what God wants with their finances, so they lived it up in this life. They built nice houses, accumulated a wardrobe full of designer clothes, built up a sizeable estate that required laborers to maintain, and yet justified not paying those laborers for their work! This teaching may remind you of a parable that Jesus taught when he walked the earth:

This man was a fool because his sole focus was on his own wellbeing in this life. He didn’t care about what pleased God. He didn’t realize that his life was a mist that vanishes. So, he lived self-indulgently until the day God ended his life as an act of judgment. His failure to use his finances as a wise and generous steward of God led to his demise. Whew! Are you starting to evaluate your approach to finances right now? If not, you should be!  (Main points slide)

The teaching of James is that these self-indulgent, ungodly lifestyles are especially egregious in a day of slaughter when God is about to return to judge. A person who lives self-indulgently is functioning like an atheist – meaning even if they profess faith in God, they do not live like it. Their walk doesn’t match their talk!

We need to realize how easy it is to be self-indulgent and store up treasures for self rather than living sacrificially. The people in our nation have access to great wealth by the world’s standards. Your ability to have safe, secure housing, a car that functions, clothes in your closet to choose between each day, food in your fridge, and so on is a luxury that many in our world do not have. And yet we take that for granted. At least, I know I do. And how often do we make decisions with our finances that take zero consideration of what God would think/say about it? This is the behavior of someone who does not follow God!

The point being that we should recognize that our financial decisions are spiritual decisions. The wise man/woman learns to submit their budget, their purchases, and their lifestyle choices to the Lord. For example, if you didn’t know, God has a lot to say about the foolishness of living in debt and the wisdom of living generously. The Bible speaks often about how to manage God’s money wisely.

If you’d like to learn more about this, let me point you to some additional resources:

2019 - Sermon from Proverbs – Stewarding Your Finances

Stewardship Resources on our website

Budget Template, FPU, Crown Financial, EveryDollar app, Mint app

RightNow Media – YourLife: Financial Stewardship for Teens (Crown)

A number of Crown Financial courses on here!

Resource Library

Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

Money: God or Gift by Jamie Munson

May we flee from self-indulgence and draw near to God by cultivating desires that please Him in this area of our lives! Let’s turn our attention to the final section of James.

And just like that, the letter is done! James doesn’t bother with any final greetings or closing comments. Instead, he carries on giving them commands to the very end. After having warned them about the dangers of mishandling their desires and priorities, he now points them to the way they ought to live. Here we find more teachings on faith that works.

I have attempted to summarize this entire section into one key takeaway for us this morning. As we seek to cultivate a faith that pleases God, we must…

Pursue a life characterized by trust in the Lord

This is the idea that is interwoven throughout the commands that James gives here. Trust the Lord! Live in a way that demonstrates that you are relying on Him and not yourself.

Now let’s break it back down into the specifics that he just taught us in the text. You noticed the repeated call to patience in verses 7-10. Then there was also the twin theme of endurance or steadfastness alongside of patience. When James commanded them to “Establish your hearts” in verse 8, that means to strengthen or to cause them to stand firm.

Remember the historical context of James’ audience. They are Jewish Christians who have fled Jerusalem due to the persecution of the Pharisees. They have resettled into new lives in new cities and are a cultural and religious minority. They were not well-liked by the Jews or the Romans. On top of these external pressures, they also faced the internal pressures of competing desires warring within them! I think we all can relate to that, especially when life is tough. What are you typically wanting when it seems like nothing is going well or life is hard? “I want comfort. I want ease. I want to be left alone. I want things to change!” And so on… The common theme is that the focus is on ME/SELF.

The antidote to such selfish temptations is to pursue trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord produces patience. Patience means to bear up under provocation without complaint; to remain tranquil while waiting (BDAG). When your focus is on your Great God rather than your circumstances or your selfish desires, it reframes how you process and respond to everything else. James encourages his readers to be patient… until the coming of the Lord. He points them to what is ahead in redemptive history. Your patience has a goal – eternal life with God. Which is why endurance or steadfastness is also necessary. We do not know when the Lord will return or what we will face while we wait!

Like James, we know that the coming of the Lord is at hand. Jesus’ return is the next step in God’s grand redemptive plan. It could come at any time, but until then, Christians are to cultivate patience and steadfastness by having their hearts fixed upon Christ. When your heart is committed to Christ, then you can bear up under provocation without complaint. When your heart is committed to Christ, then you can deny the temptation to grumble against one another. That’s a real temptation during suffering/oppression! We get cranky when life is hard! But trusting Jesus and firmly fixing your desires/heart on Him can change that – it can produce peace in the storm. (Main Points Slide)

James invites his audience to consider the prophets of old, nearly all of whom faced incredible suffering and trials in their ministry for God. There is value in considering the spiritual giants who have gone before us. We can learn from them. Suffering and trials are not unexpected, in fact they are often the way God produces His best work! How else do you end up with a beautiful diamond unless you grind off the unnecessary bits? How else do you end up with pure gold unless you crank up the refiner’s fire to remove the dross? So too God uses the trials of our lives to conform us to the image of His Son and to prepare us for eternity with Him!

But you will not learn these lessons or benefit from God’s refining work in your life if you do not trust God. If you do not pursue a life characterized by trust in the Lord, you will run from every trial and hardship. You will think no good can possibly come from it. You will do all in your power to get out of it, rather than asking God to help you patiently endure and grow through it. Trusting God is essential to standing firm in the storms of life!

You will also not learn these lessons if you are not willing to consider the character and work of God in others, especially the biblical portraits found in the Word. James appeals to the Old Testament prophets and the steadfastness of Job. If you forsake reading your Bible or avoid studying the Old Testament because it’s too hard to understand, then you have just removed a considerable portion of God’s revelation that is meant to help you learn to trust Him! Don’t do that! That is why having the discipline of systematically reading the Bible from start to finish in a year is a helpful one to have. Every year our church puts out an annual Bible reading plan with an open invitation to join it. If you’ve never read the Bible from cover-to-cover, I would encourage you to make that your goal in 2025. There are so many incredible truths awaiting your discovery in both the Old and New Testaments!

I personally have really enjoyed meditating on the lessons from the Apostle Paul’s life in 2 Corinthians in the past couple of years. In that letter, Paul is very vulnerable about his own frailties and weaknesses in life and ministry, but he repeatedly points back to the Lord in it. It has resonated so much with my own frailties and weaknesses! Paul’s honesty in wrestling and choosing to trust in the Lord has counseled me to do the same! I cannot commend enough to have a practice of going to the Word and learning from those whom God sent before us.

On another note, in verse 12 James tells his audience to not make oaths, but to be men and women of their word. You may have heard the old saying, “A man is only as good as his word.” Turns out that cliché has some biblical bite to it. Jesus also taught that our word should be ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and anything beyond that comes from evil/the evil one. The point here is that Christians must be known for being truthful and keeping their word. It was ungodly to say you would do something and then fail to do it. It was also ungodly to swear oaths in a way that allowed you to break them later. Christians must not do that! Just say yes or no based on what would please Jesus and then stick to it.

I’ll never forget being taught Psalm 15, which drives this very point home. Listen to the question posed in verse 1, followed by its answer.

The one who has the privilege of walking with God and dwelling in His presence is the one who speaks truthfully and keeps his/her word. Backing out of your commitments or failing to keep your word is sinful. If this is a practice in your life, then you need to confess it and seek forgiveness. Whether that’s in the workplace, in your home, serving at the church, in your commitments to friends or family… Here’s the reason given by James: So that you may not be judged/fall under condemnation. (Main Points Slide)

Finally, in the last eight verses of the chapter, James calls the people to handle suffering, rejoicing, sickness, sin, and mutual ministry in a godly manner. These passages are very straightforward, so I will not be spending a lot of time unpacking them this morning. But I would like to make a few observations as we finish up today.

It is appropriate to turn to God and his people in all situations in life. We are meant to do life together. God invites us to pray to him in our suffering. He encourages us to sing praises to him in our mountain-top moments of life. He wants us to gather with the church to pray over matters of importance, whether it’s physical or spiritual issues. God has decreed that He will work through the prayers of His people, therefore it is a tremendous privilege to pray for one another. Prayer also avails us of the immeasurable power of God, whether that would be to heal the sick, save the lost, or dry up rain from the land. Nothing is too great for our God. These are incredible promises to consider as we close out the book of James!

James has given us powerful reasons to trust the Lord in this letter. He has demonstrated the necessity and beauty of authentic faith that produces a transformed life. Faith that works. I don’t know about you, but that is the kind of life that I want to live and faith that I want to have. What better life could there be than to be saved by God from spiritual death, formed into a godly man/woman who serves and blesses many in our lifetime, and then passes on into glory with Him forever, leaving behind a spiritual legacy that continues through the ages? Sign me up for that kind of life. I hope you would say the same.

Let’s pray.

Our desires produce conflict

Our God desires to give grace

Only one can save and destroy

 

Good morning! My name is Jack Flaherty, and I am blessed to serve as one of the pastors at Harvest and am very excited to open up God’s Word together this morning. Before we do, lets dismiss our 4th-5th graders. The rest of us open our Bibles to James 4 as we continue in our series titled Faith that Works. Ushers and Bibles.

 

As you turn there I would like to start with a question: How do you tell someone that they need to do something different? Two options. One, point out the consequences of doing what they’ve been doing. Two, point out the benefits of doing something better! Puritan Thomas Chalmers calls this latter idea, framed in the positive,  “The Expulsive Power of the New Affection.” It’s the idea that even something you like might be expelled or blown away when introduced to something better.  You might then call that former idea, framed in the negative, “The Repulsive Power of the Old Affections.” Once seeing how horrific and disgusting what you use to like is, you will flee from it for something better. Regardless of if persuaded one way or the other we are moving on to something better! And I might add that this moving on requires a dose humility and willingness to submit to the obvious need for change! This is what we see today in James 4:1-12 as we discuss the idea of Faith that Submits.

 

This section explains what happens when those of faith find themselves wanting what they want MORE THAN they want to submit to and please Jesus. When we think we have the answers, especially compared to those around us, that results in battling rather than the fruit of peace mentioned to end chapter 3. This ought not be so for Christians! So we will ask and answer Why Christians must be submitted to God. James lovingly but bluntly use both sides of the coin to show believers why their faith ought to be evidenced in desires that are submitted to God.

 

You might ask, “Wait a minute, aren’t desires something deep down inside you? Part of your nature? That can’t change!” That’s a good to be wrestling with. But let’s pause to consider the reality of the human being. We have an outer man, our physical body that certainly we expect can be changed. We see it happening, sometimes when we don’t want it to! We have an inner man or heart/soul which biblically is described in three ways.

Thinking/Cognition refers to what one believes and how they interprets the world. Of course we think this can change which is why education, whether from school or social media, is something we pursue and encourage our kids to as well.

Choices/Volition refers to what one is committed to and thus forms the basis for the choices that they make. Again, not only can this change but often times we need and want it to. If we didn’t think this was a reality why do we have some many advertisements, especially this political season!

Desires/Affections refers to what we desire and feel emotionally. Feelings are good and God given and do indicate something going on in us as a response to the world around us. And these can change too. I had a different response to veggies when younger than I do now. The music that hits me in the feels is different. Affections change too.

This is the last one is what we often get hung up on. Probably because connect feelings tightly to our ID.  But the question is, if we believe (without even turning to Scripture as proof thus far) that we can change in every other way, why not what we desire? James today argues that desires not only can but must be changed if you claim to walk with Jesus. Not only must the change, but we need to humbly be willing to see what desires are causing problems in our lives. That’s the key, were quick to see how others need to change, but what about our own desires? My prayer is that through his Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit you will be willing in faith to submit your desires to God. Read James 4:1-4. The first reason Christians must submit to God is…

 

Our desires produce conflict (v1-4)

James continues to build on what we have seen—that if we have truly been saved by Jesus and brought into God’s family then our lives ought to bear the family resemblance. Last week we saw that our speech is crucial evidence of this (donkey in lion’s skin example). The type of wisdom, or applied knowledge, we are utilizing comes out in our words. We ended in 3:18 seeing how the wisdom of God brings the fruit of peace. Wisdom of world is evidenced brings conflict, disorder, and evil that is the result of envy and self-ambition. This is where we find ourselves in ch 4 as James addresses conflict that is apparently happening in the community of faith. James illustrates by discussing how the conflict rages on three fronts and where the conflict comes from.

 

We see a question in v1b with an assumed affirmative answer. Where do the fights and quarrels come from (repeated for emphasis)? They are inside of you! “YOUR passions.” The word passion used in v1 & v3 is never positive in the NT. It’s not what he did or she said OR what she didn’t do or what he didn’t say. It’s not the circumstances  around you that are to blame. All this and more are simply stimuli that result in your heart being revealed! Classic illustration: why did coffee come out of the cup when I bumped you during worship? Because coffee was in the cup. Inside of us are warring desires that spill out. Don’t be so quick to skip right over the fact that there is a war for the territory of our hearts. War has the end goal of claiming victory! Something is always grabbing our affections and wanting to sit on the throne. James tells us here just like he did in James 1:12-18 that temptation comes from within. The fighting that happens out there, starts because something is trying to take over in here. John Owen in his book on Indwelling Sin says “the problem upon the souls of men is the promises of pleasures on the one hand and threats of deprivation of all sensual contentment and infliction of temporal evils on the other. This logic succeeds in the minds of men and oftentimes on believers. Unless men be prepared to reject that reasoning, which they will offer to themselves from the one hand and the other, there is no standing before the power of this law of desire.”

 

Writing to Christians, James reminds them that God has saved you and won the ultimate battle for your soul, but he is still claiming the territory of your passions one degree at a time. Sin is waging war on us using US and does so by attacking our affections. YOUR own desires will take advantage of every occasion to break in upon your soul! The promise of pleasure or the threat of missing out both causes us to war against a desire to please Jesus! Though certainly not all the time, when left alone our desires as fallen human beings are naturally inclined to be self-focused. But Christian brother or sister, Jesus saved us to be God focused. Not only that but…

Incase this theme of conflict was not clear James illustrates is bright colors. Desire and don’t get so you murder. And not that literally they killed each other but that is the end of our frustrated wants. You can’t get what you covet/lust after, so you fight and quarrel. Again sometimes we suppress the external, but fighting is the end outcome of our envy. “I will sin to get it or sin because I don’t get it.” The outward fruits of the passions at war within us are fights and quarrels with others. These two terms “fights and quarrels” used in v1-2 speak to the war in general and the battles in specific. You might say James is speaking to both the acute and the chronic conflicts. Regardless, don’t deceived yourself thinking your desires are just for you to deal with. OR that you can keep them in check and never have issues with others. Every conflict between you’ve ever been in is due to desire at play, in one or both hearts, that isn’t submitting to Jesus.

 

Now conflict resolution is not the point of this sermon so not going more in depth on that here. But I’d encourage to ask more questions or check out “Peacemakers” series from last year. Also the point here is not for us to go to someone and say “See I told you that you had something going on that needed fixed.” Yes, we do see James use the word “you” here a lot. And at times it is absolutely appropriate to speak into each other’s lives. The warning we are to see here is that we are not to be the ones judging other heart motives and desires in the midst of conflict. The first step is to say where am I going wrong? And this is serious. Because there is one more front the battle is being fought that’s even more important.

Conflicts come from our desires, wanting to please self rather than God. Guess what that means? We’ve just replaced God! This is not good news for us! This first is shows up in v3 as desires even warp what I ask for.  “Desires unmet so you lash out. Desires unmet because you don’t petition God. Petitions unmet because you ask selfishly!” I might encourage you to read 1 Peter 5 and see how prayer and humility/submission go hand and hand. Prayerlessness and pride go together too. One commentator said “There is failure to pray for needs because you’re focused on praying for greeds.” How’s that showing up in your prayer life? This is the way of the world, thinking we are all that and a bag of chips. That we’re in charge. That we sit on the throne of our hearts. That we’re the captain now and don’t need God. These are fighting words against the true KING!

 

And v4 makes that strikingly clear! Forget the brothers stuff, this is hard hitting! Christian brother or sister, when you are proud and don’t submit your desires to God you are committing spiritual adultery! Submitting our desires/passions/wants to God isn’t easy, I know I am not claiming that. But want to talk about repulsive power of old affections, what’s worse than committing adultery against God?! When we try to cozy up to the ways of the world we are becoming an enemy with God! Want to be a friend of the world? Then you are not on God’s side. These are fighting words!

 

So often we do this in such little, mundane, daily ways we forget that this is war for the territory of our souls. Do you realize any giving into the worldly desires and wisdom and actually failing to be wholly devoted to God? That’s how we kicked off this series! I don’t want to be too specific in prescribing here but at risk of binding your conscience. But I do ask you to consider carefully what are you allowing yourself to be desiring and passionate about? My mom would always tell me garbage in, garbage out. The things we allow to grab our attention start grabbing out affections and pulling us towards the world. Friendship here has nothing to do with being in the world not of it. Telationship evangelism which I think we all understand to be effective. The idea here is approvingly coming alongside sin rather than righteousness. In what ways are you tempted to draw near to the world? In what ways are you tempted to resist God? Do we always know what we want? No. But slow down and recognize that is the problem #1 and #2 be willing to ask what am I wanting and is that in submission to the desire to please Jesus?

 

Laid on pretty thick to start. James points out what we don’t want! Conflict all around. So submit to God and turn from the wicked things spelled out here! See the repulsive power of old affections and be renewed from the inside out! The things within us, EVEN for Jesus followers, need remaking by God. Need aligned with his grace. And our gracious God desires good for us. Which brings us to second reason Christians must continue to submit to God. Let’s see what God desires for us as we read James 5:5-10. Second reason Christians must submit to God…

 

Our God desires to give grace (v5-10)

The tough words of v4 now seem to zoom back to some glorious realities v5-6 appeal to what has been written in the OT. I love how v5 speaks to the purpose of the writing. This hits on something Adventure Club has been studying, the Bible is written by God SO THAT the man of God might be equipped. So we might see our poor desires AND we might see God’s better desires. The word for “yearns” is only every positive. Contrast that with the desires we have, this is a good desire of the Creator for creation. And specifically he desires to have the spirit he made to dwell in us. Most likely reference is to the OT concept of breath in our lungs. God wants our whole lives! He wants everything we got including our desires to be purposed for him! James says that’s the purpose for what we have in the Scriptures, is to remind us we were made to relate to him as our loving king AND that God strongly desires that for us! He wants us to surrender our desires to his desires! Not about ME but about HE!

 

And the reference is a bit confusion . Though v6 is a direct quote of Proverbs 3:34 according to the Greek OT, not sure exactly where v5 is. One helpful way to think about it is v5 and beginning of v6 are a loose summary to give context for the quote. Look at the verse in its entirety and be the judge. Proverbs 3:33-35 “The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. 34 Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. 35 The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.”  Another plausible option is that this is a principle is drawn out of OT in general--which is true.

But the main vibe is clear: there is something better than being in charge. Its submitting to a God who years/desires for you! And it gets better in v6. He gives MORE grace. Literally GREATER GRACE! Don’t we need some of that! It follows with “therefore God opposes proud and gives grace to the humble.” But to you get the logic here? Your desires cause conflict. BUT your God wrote a book to remind you that He desires you, all of you, submitting to him to experience peace with him. AND he will supply you the grace to make that happen. God has claim on our affections! God also gives strength so we remain faithful. Supplies more than he demands and gives to those who look up to him.

This proceeds into a huge set of imperative in v7-10 But what bookends them is the reality of humbling yourself under God and receive grace from God. This list is not to be done in your own strength but from faith! AND not only that but this list of imperatives isn’t just the warning of conflict anymore, but it comes with a list of benefits to stir up new affections. Look at them:

Submit to God. Which is paired with humble yourselves in v10 and that comes with the promise that God will exalt you! Wow! Make yourself low and at the right time God will lift you up (1 Peter 5:6).

Then resist the devil and he will flee from you. A promise that the effort to fight Satan, temptation, and sin is worth it! Resistance towards devil seems to mirror God’s resistance of the proud---resist devil or be resisted by God! Resist the devil and God aids you.

Then draw near and God will draw near. What a promise! We flee AND replace. We should overcome a desire by replacing it with a stronger desire (and a healthier one) like a relationship with God. Our greatest desire should be to please God.

Then clean and purify. He slides in sinners and double minded not because these are final digs like I always gave my brother growing up. These are sincere reminders of the need to be washed inside out. Clean hands is the external behavior changed. Purifying heart is internal man changed. Sinners focused on the actions observable. Double-minded reminding of us the conflict. Both can be renewed!

Be wretched and mourn and weep. These are strong words speaking about what it means to repent. To stop finding joy in which wickedness. Turn laughs to tears and joy to gloom. The word turn in v9 might be pun on turning to God. Mourning was internal probably BUT also call for external evidence with gloom or looking down. Downward eyes contrast tone of arrogant who “show above” which is the word for proud in v6. Don’t joke with sin or take it lightly. It’s the real deal. So respond with appropriate affections not just actions.

 

Resist temptation of Satan and cultivate relationship w/ God, change actions and attitudes, be sorry and repent! Whats the common denominator? This section of imperatives is not about our doing but about submission defined as humility, practiced obediently as spelled out, and blessed as shown with benefits. Benefits of this submission are the devils flight and God’s drawing near in delight. So be cleansed, repent, and humbly stand in the presence of God!

 

Brothers and sisters, ASK for God to give you humility for his glory and he will give it. Those who are here and are wrestling with faith, see the blessings and possibility of obedience when we submit to the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows what this is like, that’s why he can give greater grace! In fact, this happened most clearly when God himself was made low. He doesn’t just command it but our God modeled what he called us to. See in Philippians 2 the mindset of a servant who submitted himself to God the Father to the point of death, even death on a cross! For the joy set before him he endured! And that’s what see here, God paints the beautiful picture, the new affection, that is meant to spur us into action. Again I would encourage you to look up 1 Peter 5 and Philippians 2 this week as the positive coin. We have a God who loves more than we can imagine. He offers nearness when we assume he is far off. He offers forgiveness when we are found in sin. He promises exaltation when we humbly submit our desires to him. Why must we submit to God? Because God desires to give grace!

 

But even more than that, God desires to receive the glory due his name. And we see this displayed in these last two verses. Read James 4:11-12 The final reason Christians must submit to God…

 

Only one can save and destroy (11-12)

James returns to the topic of speech seemingly wrapping up a bigger unit starting all the way back at beginning of chapter 3. Again the importance of true faith being evidenced externally. But again he reminds us that this external reality that is observed must come from an internal desire to please Christ! The key thing in focus is the final imperative of not speaking evil about brothers and this is equated with judging. What the author has in view is slander.

 

We see some more OT connections comes into play! Here is referring to, as he has elsewhere when talking about the law, Leviticus 19:15-18 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. You see the context makes sense that we tie in judging, slandering, hating, holding grudges, and also the language of neighbor and brother. Did you catch the bookends in v11 and v12? These are meant to be connective to the Great Commandment!

 

Slander and criticisms and defamation cannot exists in the community of Christ, publically or privately, overtly or covertly. For one, it wrecks this command to love neighbor For two, it speaks evil of the one made in the image of God like James 3:9 said. AND for three, it attempts to usurp the role that belongs only to God. Slander implies a low view of others (11a), God’s law (11b), God (12a), and high view of self (12b). Thus the sarcastic question in v12 “But you, who are you?” God alone is judge and God alone gives the law by which we are to judge. Any judgment we make should only be made in submission to God and his Word. And if we think we are judge over the law then we are not a doer of the law as we were called to be in 1:22.

 

Keeping slander in mind is important this is just any time we make a judgment amongst believers. There are contexts where we are called to speak about sin in others’ lives. But what we are not supposed to do is to criticize and condemn others as a means of pronouncing our own verdict over their spirituality and destiny.  I found this quote by Doug Moo helpful, “This charge shows that James is not prohibiting the proper, and necessary, discrimination that every Christian should exercise. Nor is he forbidding the right of the community to exclude from its fellowship those it deems to be in flagrant disobedience to the standards of the faith, or to determine right and wrong among its members (1 Cor. 5 and 6). James’ concern is with jealous, censorious speech by which we condemn others as being wrong in the sight of God.” James doesn’t forbid addressing sin BUT he does say we don’t get the final say on sin, God does!

 

Moo goes on to say that this type of situation was probably why the letter was written! “A bitter, selfish spirit (3:13–18) had given rise to quarrels and disputes in the church (4:1–2) which were apparently conducted, as they usually are, with an absence of restraint in the use of the tongue (3:1–12) and denunciations (4:11–12) of one another. This is a manifestation of a worldly spirit (3:15; 4:1, 4) and must be replaced by ‘the wisdom from above’, with its meekness, reasonableness and peaceableness (3:17). This flirtation with the world must be seen to be incompatible with God’s jealous desire to have his people’s wholehearted allegiance (4:4–5). Yet God is willing to turn and bestow his favour if sinful pride can give way to deep-felt repentance and sincere abasement before him (4:6–10).”

 

God alone is gave us the law. God alone judges based on the law. God alone can save our souls from the requirements of the law. You know why you need to submit? You ain’t GOD! Humble yourself! But this isn’t just a warning shot for those who think they can speak ill of one another without consequence. It is also a glorious reminder that we don’t have to! Its not our job but God’s job. That’s freeing for believers! This is all dependent on Him! Talk about push and pull!

 

Our affections produce our behavior. We need Jesus to change our affections so that behavior can be changed. We do this by submitting to his desires for our lives. We don’t go the way the world. We can go God‘s way by humbling ourselves under him and submitting to him. We submit to God’s standard as revealed in his Word as the law giver in the judge. And we thank God that he sent Jesus to save us by fulfilling the law and judging based on his own perfect righteousness. He has won the battle, but are we submitting to him? These warring passions mean there’s a fight for control , who is winning that fight in your heart?

 

No matter the desires you’re struggling with, see that pleasing Jesus is better. Submit your desires to him. See that pleasing God is so attractive that we forsake all the old ways. See that desires that please self are so disgusting that we won’t ever turn back. Christians submit to God. Make it your aim to please him and your affections will change, your thinking will change, your life will change. Only way I can truly change anything is by submitting to the one who can change anything. All these things change the same way, by submitting my heart to the purpose of pleasing God.  Humility and submission are what we are called to by faith. Let God change you. Don’t hold back even one bit but be wholly devoted to him. Don’t think “he can’t touch this part of me.” Give it all to him. The glorious truth is that God gives us the grace to do so if we ask. God says make me your #1 passion. Humbly submit to and serve me. I am kind and loving. I am the lawgiver and judge so you don’t need to be.

 

Christians submit to and trust him. Unbelievers, see there is a better than whatever other desires you might come up with. May he be all that we long for.

 

Words have power and we all stumble in many ways

Tongues cause problem and no human can tame it

Wisdom makes peace but only if from above

Good morning! My name is Jack Flaherty, and I am blessed to serve as one of the pastors at Harvest and am very excited to open up God’s Word together this morning. Before we do, lets dismiss our 4th-5th graders. The rest of us open our Bibles to James 3 as we continue in our series titled Faith that Works. Ushers and Bibles. We’re continuing to build on what we have seen thus far in the book, that if we’ve been given a new heart and are part of the family of God then the outward fruit of our lives ought to reflect that inward reality--bearing the family resemblance!

 

Nick laid that out for us with the following word picture:

 

Remember that James writes to a bunch of believers reminding them their conduct matters. Even, or especially, in the midst’s of hard times their faith will be evidence by good fruit. As Nick laid out beautifully for us last week YES those who are following Jesus are forgiven of sin and called into his family and under the law of liberty (2:12). We are not saved by what we do! BUT as James 2 leaves off saying “show me faith apart from works and I will show you faith by my works because faith apart from works is like a spirit without a body, DEAD!”

 

Today James 3 picks up where we left off with this same idea but talking about as specific fruit that is extremely important: speech that proceeds from faith. Thus our sermon title today is Faith that Speaks. So let’s switch up the word picture a little bit:

This has actually come up earlier in James 1:19-20, 26; 2:12. James is NOT saying speech produces faith. We can’t talk our way into heaven! However, if we truly have faith, then we are truly saved and we will show that reality through the way we speak. And speech is an important thing to God in part because the God of the Bible is the God that speaks! He spoke creation into existence and still upholds is by the power of his word. God spoke to our fathers through the prophets and still speaks to us through his Son, revealed in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. Further, God placed his image on mankind and one of the ways we image God is our ability to communicate!

 

Here is the problem though, no one perfectly reflects God with their speech. BUT if you hear my voice you got two options. One, you might be spiritually dead, meaning no faith, and you’re in need of saving by Jesus. Two, you’re spiritually alive, saved by faith, and are still needing sanctified by Jesus. Either way, no matter which of these two groups you’re in, we need Jesus to help our mouths speak the way he created them to! We will discuss three reasons Why we need Jesus to fix our mouths. Read James 3:1-5. First we need Jesus to fix our mouths because…

Words have power and we all stumble in many ways

We will come right back to the first two verses, but I want to look at v3-5 first. We see three different illustrations here in the text. We see a horse and a bit, a boat and rudder, and a small fire in a forest. What all three of these illustrate is that our words have incredible power. These little things have great impact. V5 uses the Greek words micro and mega! Don’t want to overdo the contrast but there is clear emphasis that a small thing has a big impact! We see this in two specific ways per the illustrations. Our speech can...

Direct/misdirect--- The horse and the boat both show that a small thing can direct in a huge way. Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death...” Just personally think about some of the key things that have been said to you in your life. Or about some of the things you have said. Where have you seen the impact, positive or negatively? Our words can uplift, guide to truth, and be an incredible blessing. Or they can absolutely vile, false, and bring on incredible destruction! They are not insignificant!

Spread like wildfire---The fire illustration shows that our words spread powerfully and quickly. Last year we saw the Hawaii fires, especially in Lahaina on the island of Maui, that did such incredible damage. 17,000 acres damaged, $5.5 billion in damage, and worst of all 102 people dead. God had James compare our words to that? WOW! Now it is true things can go viral and that be a positive thing. But more often than not what spreads quickly is negative. More on that in a minute. But suffice it to say, words have power!

 

This power is exactly the reason why v1-2 exist. It says not many should teach because with great power comes great responsibility. Those who teach invite strict judgement! Now to be fair this word “teachers” is probably directed towards those who hold a role of teaching in the church. Nonetheless, it goes on to include everyone. So we need to be slow to open up our mouths because what comes out has power and consequences. We just talked about this back in James 1:19 “Know this my beloved brother: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;” Don’t be so quick to teach.

 

Do you find yourself to be a teacher? Thinking in terms of two categories.

Formal teachers (Pastors, Staff, Ministry leaders, SLGs, mentors, parents): When you have a platform, what you say has a great effect on a lot more people, good and bad. But what’s even more scary than any effect on this Earth, is the fact that God almighty in heaven is judging teachers more strictly! That adds to the necessity of being careful with what comes out of your mouth as a teacher. Not just in the teaching moment but what you say outside…is it consistent? Another formal teach role is parenting. What are you saying?

Informal teachers (anyone who thinks they are a teacher): This really is anytime you open your mouth, or communicate digitally, on a matter! We all fit this category. Hang with me. The Bible does speak a lot about one another’s, about seeking advice, and giving counseling to your brother. We are supposed to do that. Don’t stop. But understand that once you offer up some advice, you have assumed this role of a teacher. And in that God will judge you a little more strictly. So, make sure that you have thought through clearly what you are saying. Don’t be a hasty Monday morning QB and say “do this or do that” without taking time to understand that your perspective of the game may be as hurtful as it is helpful. So be careful before we speak.

This stricter judgement is emphasized even further in v2. Not only are they powerful, but v2 says we all stumble in speech! James with the first-person plural even admits his own struggles! You might even say that speech is the hardest thing to keep from sin! The text cannot make it any clearer. It literally says not many should teach because in MANY ways we ALL stumble. Jack, how do you know that about me? Because v2 says if we don’t struggle with speech, we’d be perfect head to toe. Anyone claiming that? AND the text gets a bit sassy “if anyone can keep from sinning THIS one is perfect.” The structure makes it assumed negative answer and I think comes across as sarcasm. If we control our tongue, we are perfect. But ya cant, so you’re not!

 

There is good news. The Bible affirms in 1 John 1:8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” BUT  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If we are honest and confess to God, he will cleanse us! If we pretend to be perfect, we stay dirty. If we recognize we are imperfect, we are cleansed. This is like what Nick talked about with looking at the mirror. Christ is our mirror, when we look at Him we should see something that needs fixed. If we see and do nothing about it, that makes no sense! So why do we need Jesus to fix our mouths? Because we are not perfect! And we will find ourselves teaching and thus facing judgement. So we need his grace to forgive us when we fail and we need his grace to empower us to lessen the ways in which we stumble.

 

Where might you need to slow down or even just shut your mouth? Don’t assume the role of teacher or even step out. Where do you need to exercise caution? Speak up but consider the judgement which you bring and make sure the words reflect what God would want. Is there anything you need to admit stumbling in? Repent and ask Jesus Christ for help. Anywhere you need to give credence to people who are saying “hey based on your speech we got some heart stuff to deal with”? Or maybe for us we need to speak that into someone’s life. Listen and let those words have power in the right direction. We’re not perfect. There is One who is perfect who offers us help. He is also the judge who knows the standard. Jesus Christ. He is not out to get you BUT he is out to make sure that Christians represent him well with their speech because words are powerful, and in light of our stumbling we need his help. Which brings us to a second reason we need Jesus to fix our mouths. Let’s read James 3:6-12. We need Jesus because…

Tongues cause problems and no human can tame it

Not only are these little things powerful AND we stumble, but those stumbles are more than just us losing balance and then moving on. They cause problems that don’t just disappear. The fire idea alluded to this earlier in v5. But in case that wasn’t clear before it’s expanded up on in v6 and what we see is incredible in the worst way possible. First problem is that the tongue is incendiary. That little thing ruins everything! Whole body. Whole life. Set on fire by hell! Yikes!

 

There is a second problem, no one can tame this powerful tongue. We see in v7-8 that humans, who were indeed called to exercise dominion over all the things (shout out Genesis 1) have indeed done that. Except for one wild, restless, poisonous creature, the tongue. The use of “restless” here refers back to James 1:8 about a double minded and unstable man OR the idea of a tongue speaking without faith. That’s a problem to have something that powerful and destructive and have NO ability to keep it in check on our own human abilities!

Then a third problem, the duplicitous nature of the tongue. Hypocrisy. As my buddies in high school would say “you’re talking out both sides of your mouth.” We see in v9-12 the tongue is used for blessing and cursing. More specifically blessing the Lord who is the creator of all things and then cursing the very people who are made in the image of the Creator. Next time you wanna use speech to tear down remember this person was made in God’s image to remind you of God and to bring him glory. This in fact is probably the strongest focus of the whole chapter for James. Though not officially an imperative the structure and word choice is meant to convey the same idea as an exclamation point. NO WAY MY  BROTHERS SHOULD THIS BE HAPPENING! It should not be possible. The text gives us this illustration of water springs and plants. Showing that from the freshwater source, salt water can’t come out. Actually the word here is bitter water, I think intended to reflect the idea of bitter speech. From a plant, you don’t get a different fruit. One thing cannot produce two different things. A bad thing can’t produce a good thing and vice versa.

 

So this ought to be a wake-up call for these Christians, and for us today as well. See the potential problems that can come from our tongue! Did you know that that harsh word with your child, no matter how tired or grumpy or whatever, sets a world of unrighteousness ablaze? Did you know that shout in the car about others on the road or frustrating message received stains your whole body even if no one heard? Christians should not be the people who say one thing on social media then another in person. Or who excuse tone and tenor because it wasn’t personal. Kids/students say one thing about a person at school then another at home. For all of us use mouths one way at church and then another in the hood. Not only that, did you know you cannot just button down and try better and fix your speech on your own? Even worse James says our whole life set on fire by hell when any of these problems show up. THIS OUGHT NOT BE SO!

 

So what do we do? We cannot do this on our own! We need someone more than human, though certainly not less. We need the God-man Jesus Christ of Nazareth! He tamed his tongue and empowered us to do the same! What Are Mouths For? kids book says “Jesus has a mouth just like me. Jesus always used his mouth to tell the truth and to love others. Jesus used his mouth to say ‘yes’ to God’s plan. A plan to forgive me for any wrong I do. So if I use my mouth to sin, I can say ‘I’m sorry.’ If I trust Jesus, God always forgives me.” Our words are very powerful. Apart from the redeeming work of Christ we’re hopeless. So ask him to help! If you’re convicted, the Holy Spirit is pointing out change. Let God work on you while you humbly submit to him. Which brings us to our final reason shown in James 3:13-18. We need Jesus to fix our mouths because…

Wisdom makes peace but only if from above (v13-18

Now this incredible section may seem like a unique switch to go from talking about the tongue to talking about wisdom. But in fact this helps us not only with speech but sets us up for next week where fighting/quarreling is the focus. Discussing wisdom makes total sense when we think about what we have heard in James so far: the importance of faith that works. Our works or our conduct don’t earn us a right standing with God. But it should be evidence of our right relationship with God. What is wisdom if not the God given ability of transformed heart to discern and practice God’s will. Using what’s in your brain to spur into action. If you have saving knowledge of God put that into action AND we can’t speak well unless we are wise!

So V 13 set it all up asking “Who is wise?” Answer those who have good conduct. James specifies the type of good conduct that is appropriate: “Wisdom produces works and these works are characterized by meekness.” Meekness is also understood as submitted to or humility. Submitting is an action on our part. Its entrusting our hearts to God. We submit ourselves to something outside of ourselves. So our good works, good conduct, comes from a submission to wisdom. Not just any wisdom but v. 15 and v17 tells us from above! Similar to 1:17 which reminds us that every good & perfect gifts come down from above.

 

Then v. 14-17 compare and contrast wisdom from God vs. wisdom that is not from God, which we will come right back to. And v18 spells out the results of Godly wisdom: a harvest of righteousness. The word for harvest is actually “fruit.” Meaning that we will really show the fruit of our faith by speech that is in the meekness of wisdom. OR we will really show fruit of lack of faith by speech that is in jealous and selfishness. We will really show the fruit of our faith by speech that is about making peace. OR we will really show fruit of lack of faith by speech that makes arguments and fights and is competitive. You see that idea as we consider the description of the fruit of righteousness (which is a phrase worth pondering). That harvest is marked by two things, and peaceful environment and a peaceful person. Do you see that? Sown in peace (that’s the manner) by those who make peace (that’s the person). There is good/blessings associated with those who humbly submit to God and his ways. When we meekly submit to God’s wisdom we wisely speak. We are peaceful people who create peaceful environments for Gods righteousness to grow, ripen to maturity, and be harvested.

 

Submitting to Godly wisdom has the potential to produce this peace in us and around us by the grace of God. But we ask the question, why do we need Jesus? Because this wisdom can’t come from without us or around us on this earth. It must be from above as v15 and 17. In fact lets observe the way these two pictures of wisdom are described.

 

-comes from hell

-motivated by self-centered jealousy and ambition

-results in disorder and vile practice

- comes from heaven

-motivated by God-centered meekness or humility

-results in peace and righteous works

 

If we fail to submit to something outside of ourselves, we are lying about being wise, at least in Godly wisdom. We see in v14 that this wisdom is actually, as would make sense, is motivated by our sinful hearts. It’s the opposite of humility--pride. Motivation is bitter jealousy and selfish ambition! Then v15 describes this as earthy, unspiritual, and demonic. YIKES! And that choice of failing to submit, leads to what? v.16 “disorder and every vile practice” Wow!

 

So, what is Godly wisdom? It comes down from above as v15 and v17 say. As we already heard is motivated by God centered meekness or humility. And it results in the harvest or fruit of righteousness and peace. That’s not to mention the impressive list in v17 which has some neat alliteration. One commentator said, “James doesn’t just define Godly wisdom he celebrates it with rhetorical melody.”

Pure—without defect, or HOLY or set apart. Do you look like everyone else or something that stands out as chaste and clean?

Peaceable—free from worry within and conflict without, Do you love & pursue peace?

Gentle—yielding, courteous, tolerant. Are you abrasive or receptive?

Reasonable—or open to reason, willing to yield. Do you stay stuck or let truth win?

Merciful—compassion, care for others.

Fruitful—doing the works that evidence faith

Impartial—unwavering, not changing mind based on their desires or situation, contrasting the unstable double mindedness of worldly wisdom

Sincere—no hypocrisy, doing what is right and honest

 

IDK about you, but when I see that ungodly wisdom leads to THAT, I am convinced that humbling myself to Godly wisdom is the way to go AND I am convicted of ways to grow in evidencing by good conduct true meekness of wisdom. Christian should be growing like a tree that is the planting of the Lord AND bearing fruit that exemplifies the kind of tree we in fact are. You wanna see the Spirit do a work on your heart, meditate on these realities.

 

Seek the wisdom from above! Practically what does that look like? Submission to Biblical authority, Biblical community, and respond to conviction of the Spirit on your heart.  Be a peacemaker. How? First submit to God as this fruit will be produced in you. Then do you part as God provides this wisdom to use your Words to GLORIFY God, not FIGHT with others. Ending fights would make you a peacemaker. How? Stop talking and star praying! Too often we want to justify ourselves or someone else and we end up looking like fools. We try to protect or make sure people align perfectly with our perspective and instead we hurt the name of Jesus. We claim Christ yet looking like the world. Speaking of prayer, pray for this for our kids and their kids and their kids’ kids. That they would be this kind of human being asking Jesus for help and exhibiting these characteristics! Then model by how you make peace with them, not the way the world would in sarcasm or shouting, but God-centered wisdom marked by rightoueness.

 

 

We can’t fake this. We can’t do it on our own. Let me illustrate with one of Aesop’s fables. Once upon a time, a donkey found a lion's skin. He tried it on, strutted around, and frightened many animals. Soon a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. As the fox ran away the donkey brayed in pride. Hearing the donkey's voice, the Fox stopped, turned and said, "I might have been frightened if you kept your mouth shut. You gave yourself away by your voice." Aesop's moral: Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.

 

On our own we are no lion. Just a proud self-seeking donkey trying to cover ourselves up. BUT we don’t need to pretend. When we turn to Jesus to fix not just our mouths but our whole being we become brand new! We are no longer messing around with fake skin, we are covered in the blood and righteousness of Christ from the inside out we are made new. So loved ones lets walk like that! brothers and sisters, evidence an authentic faith by your speech. Bear the righteousness harvest of your salvation sown by the one who shed his blood so we could be covered, not as pretenders but as full fledged part of his body!

 

If you’re struggling with speech, welcome to the club. BUT know that Jesus offers help. Not just with our mouths but the thing which controls our mouths, our hearts. He gave himself up for us so that if we believe in him not only might we be saved from our sin but we will be cleansed and given a new mouth that increasingly reflects him. We thank Jesus for his sacrifice which makes it possible to have faith that speaks.

 

Today we get to show that thanks in a special way as we partake of Lords Supper. This is a time where we see the gospel in front of us through the remembrance of his broken and shed blood, which bread and cup represent. In this time we look back to what Jesus did on the cross, look inward dealing with sin, to look around at the family brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, and we look forward to eating the meal with him in eternity.

 

Before we partake, a couple of important notes. First, we welcome all believers. But if you have not repented and placed your faith in Christ then we ask you consider the message of the gospel and respond obediently or let the elements pass by. Also, we heed the Biblical warnings of not only being a believer, but of dealing with unconfessed sin and disunity in the body. Jesus died to deal with sin so we ought not hide it nor sit here with divisions or issues between Christians unaddressed. As I invite the ushers forward and worship team up and the elements are passed, I invite you to take some time to reflect and deal between you and the Lord (and others if needed). After all are served I will come up, pray, and then we take it all together.

 

PRAY.

 

In 1 Cor 11:23-34, Paul relays to us what he received from the Lord, recalling that night Jesus was betrayed. Jesus took the bread and gave thanks and breaking it said “this is my body, which is for you. Eat this in remembrance of me.” Let’s eat together. In the same way he took the cup saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.” Let’s drink together. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! Let’s stand together and sing to our loving God.

 

Faith That Works

James 1:19-2:26

Cultivating a faith that pleases God

Recognize the necessity of forsaking sin and receiving truth

Apply the truth you receive to transform your daily life

Conform your practice to the values of God, not man

Forsake dead faith that does not bear good fruit

Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self)

This is week two of our study in the book of James: Faith that Works. Last week, we covered 1:1-18 and introduced the idea of being wholly devoted to God. By way of a short recap, the Apostle James, leader of the early church in Jerusalem and brother of Jesus, was writing to Jewish Christians who had been forced to flee from Jerusalem by the persecution of Saul and the Jewish religious leaders. So, James is writing to people who are undergoing suffering, and he is encouraging and exhorting them to continue to keep their eyes on Christ and to live in a God-glorifying way. Last week this included instruction on the following:

how they think about and respond to their trials

how they can approach God for wisdom from a position of faith

how both rich and poor should boast in the Lord’s provision because this life is temporary

and to recognize that temptation stems from our own desires

but good gifts have their source in God, with the best gift being salvation in Christ.

That’s a packed letter already! So many deep and challenging truths in such a small number of words. That is one of the beauties of this book. James is succinct yet pointed in his teachings.

Today, we are moving into the next large section of the letter, 1:19-2:26, in a sermon titled Faith That Works. The sermon has the same title as the series because this is the section of James that highlights his central argument for the letter – authentic faith produces changed lives. This understanding has already been undergirding everything else he has said in the letter, but now he’s going to make the argument very plain for his readers.

Now before we dive into the Word, I want to clarify something very important for those who may not know me or our church’s doctrine very well. When I say, “Faith That Works” I do not mean “Faith + Works = Salvation”. We wholeheartedly reject the belief that man contributes anything to his/her salvation, well, except as Jonathan Edwards so wisely said, the sin that made it necessary. God alone saves those who are dead in sin; He alone can bring the dead man/woman to life. As James already pointed out in verse 18, it is God’s will that brings about our salvation. Christians are recipients of the great gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

I wanted to clarify that this morning to remove any misunderstanding of what we believe James to be teaching and what our church believes. If you’d like to talk more about the teachings of Scripture on salvation, then I’d love to do that! Let’s plan to get coffee sometime. So, to bring this full circle, when I say, “Faith That Works”, what I mean is what James is about to teach us – that authentic faith produces a changed life that reveals itself in the good fruit or good works that follow. More simply, good works are the fruit of salvation, not the source for salvation.

Let’s study God’s Word together.

Our aim in our study today is…

And there is some great truth to consider in what we’ve just read! Some of you are squirming in your seats already. We need to be confronted by God’s Word, don’t we? And that is a good thing. Our first takeaway in cultivating a faith that pleases God comes from verses 19-21 and it is…

Recognize the necessity of forsaking sin and receiving truth

James calls them to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (repeat) Does that describe your general practice? There is a reason James had to write this… It is far too easy for us to be SLOW to hear, QUICK to speak, and QUICK to anger. Why do you think that is? Because we’re selfish. We are more concerned about being heard than understanding where others are coming from. We are more concerned about getting our way than pleasing the Lord. These are common temptations that any one of us likely struggles with on a weekly basis.

The pressure of trials certainly would not have made these temptations any easier for James’ original audience. It would be tempting to lash out in sinful anger and to operate selfishly rather than living concerned for others. James even explains his reason for confronting them in verse 20 – “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” This behavior is sinful!

Ouch, right? Were you quick to speak or quick to anger this week? Were you slow to hear? Recognize that these patterns are sinful and you need to forsake them.

Verse 21 – “Therefore PUT AWAY all filthiness and rampant wickedness...” Put away is akin to taking off dirty clothes but, in this case, you’re putting off moral filth and abundant evil. That’s a little more serious than some dirty clothes! Do you view your sinful actions and speech as moral filth and abundant evil? Those are not nice ways to describe our behavior, are they? They kind of sting, James, you big meanie!

James is concerned with his audience’s holiness. He wants eternal good for them and glory for the Lord. Therefore, he calls them to authentic faith that produces true life change!

Verse 21 – “…and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Meekness means having a right view of self that leads you to act with humility. You’re not concerned about self but others. As a Christian, you should not be puffing yourself up and conducting yourself in a manner that is all about YOU – barking at your spouse, your kids, your community – as if you were the most important person in the room. That is ungodly, selfish behavior unbecoming of a Christian. A Christian ought to actively put off that kind of lifestyle and receive with meekness the Word of God that he has given you. The idea of the implanted word likely comes from the New Covenant promise that God spoke through the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah:

When God saves a man or woman, he radically changes them from the inside out. Your heart or inner-man/woman has been brought from death to life and now you are able to live in a manner that pleases God. That’s what James is calling his readers to do! Live in light of the new life you’ve received! This word not only brought you to new life, it will also bring you to completion at the day of Christ. This fits well with 1:2-4, where James talked about being made perfect and complete in preparation for eternity with God.

Everyone who is here this morning needs to hear this. God calls you to forsake sin and receive the truth. And He is the One who enables you to do this through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

If you call yourself a Christian, then it is time to go to war with the temptation to be quick to speak and quick to anger. Those have no place in your life anymore. Neither can you be a Christian and remain a poor listener. God has rescued you from that kind of selfish behavior. You are now able to learn to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Consider Paul’s teaching in Galatians:

If you were to read the verses before that, you’d hear about a completely different list of fruits of living by the flesh (the old man/woman). There is an expectation for Christians to be walking/living by the Spirit and not the flesh. Meaning you daily make decisions with the aim of pleasing God rather than self. “Lord, help me to be patient today. Help me to show self-control with my emotions. Help me to be a better listener. May I shut my mouth and have humility. Help me to serve my spouse, my kids, my co-workers rather than expecting them to serve me.”

Some of you may have some confessing and repenting to do this coming week. Perhaps you’ve been a me-monster in the home or the workplace. If you’re in Christ, then own that as sin, ask forgiveness, and plan to change. If you’re not a Christian, then I would encourage you to realize that this way of life leads to eternal death; there is a better way through faith in Christ. Believe in him for salvation and the forgiveness of your sins. You don’t have to stay stuck in these cycles of sin; through Christ you can change.

James goes on in verses 22-27 to clarify what receiving the word looks like – it is doing or obeying the Word. Our second action item for cultivating a faith that pleases God is…

Apply the truth you receive to transform your daily life

First, we receive the truth, but then we apply it to our lives. As we do this it changes or transforms us! This is much different than simply being a hearer only.

James really lays out the problem of being a person who only hears what God says but doesn’t bother to put it into practice, such a person is self-deceived. They think they are living like a Christian, but they are not. The biblical model is hearing and obeying. When both of these are present, then we have evidence of authentic faith.

James uses the analogy of the mirror to show how absurd it would be to remain a hearer only. Let’s think about this together. How many of you looked in a mirror this morning before coming to church? I imagine nearly all of you. It is simply part of our morning routine to prepare for our day. Looking in the mirror reveals important details about you – perhaps that you had bed-head or bed-beard, that your face needed washed, that you were still in your PJs or that you had a stain on your shirt – you get the idea. Looking in the mirror reveals things about you, but what if you had simply walked away without addressing any of those things!? You would be here right now looking a hot mess. Absurd right? That’s what a hearer only is like. They’ve heard from God’s Word about things that need to change in their lives, but they walk away and remain the same. Absurd! On the other hand, the one who responds to what they have heard in the Word and acts upon it, will be blessed in their obedience.

James is talking about obedience to the Word of God as explained and fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The law… of liberty. God’s commands that can set you free from sin and death through Jesus. The person who “looks” or more literally “stoops/bends over to look” at this law and then perseveres or “remains” about that lifestyle will be transformed. They are putting time and effort into knowing the truth and abiding by it. This is authentic faith!

This is what our daily lives ought to be marked by as Christians. A hunger… a pursuit to know the truth and to live by it. There should be evidence of God at work in you as you study and obey His Word over the course of the year. Are you different in September than you were in January? How have you changed and grown because of your study of the Word?

James gives some very specific examples of this transformation in verses 26-27:

Notice he again confronts the reality that uncontrolled speech is indicative of a self-deceived heart. He’s going to continue to address our tongue/speech throughout the letter because our speech reveals a lot about our heart. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. Unrestrained speech is evidence of worthless religion rather than authentic faith. If that describes you, please confess and repent of it!

However, authentic faith is known by its care for the least of these. James gives example of those who were the most vulnerable in their society – orphans and widows. Christians need to care for those who cannot provide for themselves. I praise God for those among us who are engaged in such authentic faith. We have families who are fostering, who have adopted or are adopting, who are serving with ministry partners like Together for Good/Ruth Harbor/Agape/Wildwood Hills/Garden Gate Ranch to help families in distress, and still others who are seeking to come alongside these families by providing meals and care communities to shoulder their burdens… When one of our widows was in need recently, many rose up to meet her needs. These are sweet fruits of authentic faith, and we ought to rejoice in them! And, truthfully, this kind of care and meeting needs should be the burden of everyone who calls themselves a follower of Christ. This is not one person or one family’s calling, this is every Christian’s calling, it will just look different based on our abilities, giftings, and capacities. So, let’s be intentional to each do our part! For more info on getting involved in these kinds of ministries, check out our ministry partners page (2 slides) or the Care Connections Ministry (hold up brochure).

(Main Points Slide) Not only are we called to care for the least of these, do not miss out on the call to keep oneself unstained from the world. Christian men and women must avoid being overly influenced and corrupted by the world’s values and priorities. The world meaning the culture and people who reject God’s will and ways.

Remember, James is writing to people who have been spread abroad. As Jewish Christians, they were a minority group compared to the pluralistic Romans who ruled over them. There would have been many opportunities to be influenced towards valuing things of the world over Christ. This is still the same struggle Christians face today around our world. In the West we face a constant barrage of media all day long, on our phones, on our computers, on our TVs. Everything you look at and listen to is aiming to convince you of some kind of value you must have or action you must take. Every show is seeking to promote some kind of message, even if it is just “come back again and consume more of me.” Are we conscientious of the influences we allow into our lives? Do you pay attention to the message of the media you consume? How are they trying to influence you? What value system are they promoting?

As Christians we must be discerning in order to keep ourselves unstained from the world. We cannot simply accept or listen to any or every kind of media or message. No matter how resilient you think you are, if you consume enough garbage, you will be affected by it. If you haven’t listened to the Firm Faith episodes 7 & 8, Jack and I discuss this topic in more detail. These are the episodes titled Competing Spectacles and Tech-Wise Family. This is one of the more pressing matters of our day – standing firm in the faith rather than compromising to worldliness. In a day of viral media, it is so tempting to excuse the shows we watch – “I know other Christians who watched this! Everyone else has seen it!” or the music we listen to – “The lyrics don’t affect me! I know they’re wrong in what they’re saying.” Social media is probably one of the worst sources of it as it promotes whatever the latest worldly fad might be and normalizes it to everyone. Be on guard! Make it your aim to keep yourself unstained from the world. Don’t willingly listen to lies over and over again, because you will eventually believe it to be the truth.

Let’s turn our attention to where James progresses next in the text. I’m going to read 2:1-13 next.

If you haven’t noticed, there is a progression in the concepts James is teaching. First, we heard the call to forsake sin and receive truth, then we heard that one must apply the truth and be transformed, and now we are being taught specifics about what this changed life ought to look like. In this passage, James has made it very clear that it is unacceptable and sinful to show favoritism or partiality in the way you treat others. This is a direct violation of God’s command to love your neighbor as yourself. So, our third takeaway towards cultivating a faith that pleases God is…

Conform your practice to the values of God, not man

This stems from the belief that God knows what is best for human flourishing. Partiality is sinful and a man-made corruption of true faith and practice. It is not ok to treat a well-dressed person differently than someone wearing shabby clothing. Yet I am willing to guess that almost all of us are tempted to do this! Even if we won’t admit it.

In James’ day, apparently that meant giving the wealthy the best seats in the assembly, while the poor were asked to sit on the floor. Not only was that wicked because they were making distinctions about people’s worth, but it also led to them honoring the very people who were their oppressors! What folly!

The blunt answer is that we are vain people. We value too highly the things that God does not care about – appearance, possessions, power, influence, etc., I believe we are also prone to believe that the rich are especially blessed by God. That is clearly what the disciples thought in Jesus’ day. You may remember the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler, but do you recall what happened between Jesus and the disciples afterward?

The disciples were greatly astonished because they wrongly believed that riches meant a person was in God’s favor. Many of us are prone to making the same kind of assessment. Yet the reality is that God values richness in faith, not finances. As James points out God often chooses those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. Why? Because those who are poor in the world are not tempted to put their faith in their finances or own abilities.

Now, does that mean that God is against riches? No. Don’t conflate the principles here. Being rich is not a sinful thing. However, being rich in wealth yet bankrupt in faith is sinful. And Jesus also taught that it is very tempting for humans to worship money over God.

So, I join my voice with James in sounding the warning against partiality and worldly wealth. It is tempting to desire the approval of those who are successful in the world’s eyes. In our flesh, it is easy to treat those who appear unable to benefit us as lesser. This is due to our own sin nature and not of God. Where we find this belief and practice in our life, we must confess and repent of it.

This is why the teachings of the so-called “prosperity gospel” are so heinous. They completely contradict the teachings of God by saying that if you loved God you would be healthy, wealthy, and prospering in life. James would not have recognized such a message as having anything to do with the law of liberty that he is professing here.

James is calling Christians to love their neighbors as themselves. That is the law of God. Partiality is a breaking of that law and it invites judgment upon us. I don’t know about you, but when God returns, I want to experience his mercy, not judgment. If that’s what we want, then we had better be willing forsake partiality and learn to treat everyone with biblical love.

Let’s keep reading through to the end of the chapter. James is going to keep developing his argument.

Here it is, the culmination of James’ argument! Faith apart from works is dead. It is of no use to claim Christ but then fail to help a fellow Christian in their time of need. Authentic faith bears good fruit. So, our final takeaway this morning in cultivating a faith that pleases God is to…

Forsake dead faith that does not bear good fruit

This passage is an important one throughout church history. It has been wrestled with by many throughout the years and it is important to emphasize that we do not believe it is teaching that works are necessary for salvation. Rather it is teaching that works are the result of salvation. This is one of the ways it means to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Christians take care of other Christians, especially in times of need.

Obedience to this biblical ideal is helpful for separating true believers from the pretenders, as Jesus says in Matthew 25.

Those who claim to follow Christ yet do not bear the good fruit of a transformed life are deceived. And it will not end well for them when they stand before Christ. Neither Jesus or James gives any comfort to the person who wants the benefits of faith for themselves but is unwilling to sacrifice to help their brother or sister in time of need.

James says that faith without works is dead faith. There has been no transforming work of the Spirit, there is only head knowledge. He goes further by stating that this type of faith is the faith of demons, not Christians. Even the demons know the truth about Jesus; but they too refuse to submit to his will! This kind of intellectual faith does not save you, it condemns you.

If you find yourself claiming the name of Christ yet living in a selfish, unchanged manner from your former days before Christ, then you ought to be concerned. God leaves no man or woman unchanged when He gives them new life. If you have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, then you cannot remain in sin and be content. You will be convicted and desire to change!

If your experience is that you are regularly convicted and desire to change, then you ought to take heart in that! It is evidence of the Spirit’s work in you. The challenge now is to put into practice the truth that you have received. This first requires you to be a student of the Word. Allow Him to instruct you in the ways of righteousness. Then look for opportunities to obey the Word – to put it into practice. More simply to love God and love others. They are all around you if you look for them and pursue them.

Authentic faith is revealed by the good works that are produced from it. They are a result of authentic faith. And to complete his argument, James appeals to the examples of Abraham and Rahab. Both are Scriptural examples of a person who was accepted by God based on their authentic faith that produced good works.

Please do not misunderstand what James means by “justified by works”. He is not using the word in the same way that Paul does for our initial judicial verdict of innocent before God. No, James is speaking of justified as accepted by God at the day of judgment. This is the same usage as Jesus in Matthew 12:37:

Commentator Douglas Moo explains the difference this way:

The point being that authentic faith always produces good works. And, as a result of living in obedience to God’s Word, a Christian can have confidence that they are in the faith and will receive God’s final approval. Whereas someone who claims Christ yet lives a life devoid of obedience to God’s Word should fear the day of judgment. For they have a dead, demonic faith that will not receive God’s approval.

These are sobering, yet helpful words. They are a warning for us to evaluate our own lives. To make sure that we are in the faith. Far better to endure painful self-evaluation here and now if the result is conviction and repentance that leads to eternal life. It is our pastor team’s intention to help as many people as possible stand firm until the day of Christ and to be able to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”

I’d love to talk with you more about any of this after the service or in the weeks ahead.

Let’s pray.

Wholly Devoted to God

James 1:1-18

Learning to live for God in a broken world

View encountering trials as a source of joy

Ask God for wisdom and believe he will answer

Boast in God’s provision, knowing this life is temporary

Speak correctly about the source of temptation

Acknowledge God is the giver of every good and perfect gift

 

Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self)

Today we are kicking off a new series for the month of September. We are going to be studying the book of James: Faith that Works.

If you’ve been with us throughout the year, you have heard a lot about trusting God from the book of Isaiah. As we worked through that book chapter-by-chapter we saw often the dangers of trusting in self or in anything other than the One, True God. If you’ve read the text for today ahead of time, you may have chuckled (or sighed) to yourself about how familiar the teaching sounds. Although we are in a completely different book of the Bible written in a completely different era of history, there is a lot of overlap in the teachings from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and the New Testament church leader James. And that’s a good thing! It demonstrates the consistency of God’s Word and the message that God is communicating across the centuries. As James will testify in our text today, Yahweh is the unchanging God.

And that truth about God’s character can bring us great comfort in our trials. Because He is the unchanging God, then all that he has said in His Word about hope and joy during trials is still true today. And, as we’re about to see, God has said a lot about trials and how we ought to respond to them.

Our sermon is titled Wholly Devoted to God. This title reflects the call found in James to be people of authentic faith. People who are not wishy-washy or double-minded, but rather who are firm in our faith. God has created us as his image-bearers, and the best possible life is found when we live wholly devoted to Him. We’re going to hear about that today.

Before we read the text, I want to acknowledge that I know we have sufferers in our midst. We are a broken people living in a broken world. Some of your suffering I or our pastor team knows about, others we do not. But God knows the depth and extent of your suffering in a way that mere humans never could. If you are here and are going through a season of trial or suffering or even just wrestling with what seems like incessant temptation, I want to encourage you to pay close attention to what God’s Word has to say to you today. Allow the Lord of Heaven and Earth to speak into your situation and provide hope and guide you on the path to healing and holiness.

Let’s turn our attention to the Word of God.

James does not waste any time getting into the meat of his letter! In what can only be described as the briefest of manners, he introduces himself, identifies his intended audience, and then immediately dives into tackling some very hard and personal matters in the lives of these Christians. What you are going to find is that James is a very practical letter. It is rich in wisdom and founded upon deep convictions about God and the Lord Jesus Christ while also being intensely practical in the counsel it offers. It speaks to hurting and broken people who are living in a broken world. Which is why our aim for this morning’s message is…

Now, you need to understand that James knows a thing or two about living for God in a broken world. He was well-acquainted with suffering. I’ll share more about that in just a moment. First, in case you didn’t know, James is none other than a brother of Jesus Christ and a leader of the early church in Jerusalem. But that’s not how he identifies himself in this letter, is it? No. He identifies himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Interesting. A man of considerable repute and stature in the early church identifies himself as a servant. He finds his identity not in his bloodline or who he’s related to, nor in his standing in the church, but in his relationship with his God and Lord. That is what defines him. That is how he wants to be known to others. A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What I find particularly interesting is that James did not always believe in Jesus as Lord and as the Christ. It is well-known throughout church history that James initially struggled to understand and believe that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for. Yet, he was present for his brother’s unjust arrest and execution on the cross. And he had the privilege of seeing his brother again after Jesus conquered sin and death through his resurrection. And after witnessing such incredible events, James repented and believed. And now, we hear that he identifies as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. What an incredible transformation in this man. Yet the path of transformation was paved with suffering.

Not only did James endure the unjust arrest and murder of his brother, as a leader in the early church, he faced much opposition from the Jewish religious leaders. The book of Acts records the persecution the early church faced from men like Saul and the other Pharisees. Christians were being hunted down and thrown in prison, and some were killed. After Stephen is stoned to death in Acts 7, the following statement is said:

This is the environment that James was leading the early church through! An environment saturated with suffering and brokenness. It’s safe to say he is speaking from experience.

Now, notice to whom James says he is writing… To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.

He is addressing the Jewish Christians who are spread throughout the nations. Dispersion means those who were scattered abroad. He is writing to his people who have been driven out of Jerusalem from this persecution at the hands of Saul and the Pharisees. These Jewish Christians who are spread abroad were likely facing many hardships… poverty, persecution, fleeing from their homes, and so on. What hope, what answers could James possibly give to them? How could he help them respond to the hardships of their life in a way that provided purpose and direction? Let’s find out together!

What we’re about to see today and over the next several weeks is how James teaches these Christians to have a consistent and undivided commitment to God in Christ. He is going to help them learn how to live for Christ through their trials. I think you’ll find that his teachings are still incredibly relevant to us today.

The first lesson from James in living for God in a broken world is to…

View encountering trials as a source of joy

Seriously?! That’s James’ advice to these people who have had to flee their homeland? Who were probably wrestling with providing for the family’s daily needs? Count it all joy when you meet trials?! Put yourselves in their shoes, or perhaps just think about the trials you are currently facing… If I say to you, “Count it all joy when you meet trials!” Doesn’t that make you want to shout, “WHY?! HOW!?” Well let’s hear James out. Why does he say to count it all joy when you encounter trials and how does he say to do it? Let’s review the text again…

James says that Christians should view encountering trials as a source of joy because of what they are accomplishing in your life! God is at work in the trial. He doesn’t waste trials, and they are not meaningless.

James wants the Christians of his day to know this truth. Do you know this? Do you believe that God is at work in your trials? He tells us that the trial is a testing of your faith. Another way of putting this is to say that trials purify your faith. The word testing here is the same one that we heard about last week from 1 Peter 1. Let me share just a snippet of that passage again today.

This testing of your faith is likened to being refined by fire. The analogy of precious metals being refined is helpful. Gold requires temperatures of 1000 degrees Celsius to have its impurities refined out of it.

1000 degrees Celsius is the equivalent to lava flowing from a volcano. Pretty stinking hot. Not something you enjoy being close to… And yet that’s the analogy that God uses in His Word to describe how Christians are refined by trials. Trials are our 1000-degree Celsius opportunities. They are an opportunity for our impurities to be revealed and removed.

So, what comes out of your heart when you’re undergoing a trial? And what does that reveal about you? Jesus told us that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks… What comes out of your mouth in the midst of trials? If you’re anything like me, then what’s tempting to come out is complaining, arguing, maybe even despair and the desire to escape… That’s our temptation, that’s our natural bent! Anyone else willing to own up to responses like that? Whatever it may be, the temptation, our natural bent, is typically something far different than “counting it all joy”!  So how do we get there?

Well, it starts by recognizing the purpose that God has for trials. They produce something within us. James spoke of it just a moment ago. They produce steadfastness. What is that?

The definition for the Greek word is the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. Other possible synonyms for this are patience, perseverance, endurance. This is first and foremost an attribute of our God. Many times, throughout Scripture God is said to have steadfast love that endures forever. It is his steadfast love that enables him to continually pursue us, even when we sin and rebel against Him. His love has the capacity to bear up in the face of the difficulty of our obnoxious, odious rebellion against Him! Thank God for his steadfast love! Our God is a steadfast God. He is willing and able to endure and to be patient with us.

That’s why we can count trials as all joy. Because they refine us to look more like God. As a result of enduring trials, we more accurately reflect the image of God. We’re not talking about simply surviving the trial but being purified into a greater degree of holiness because of what we learn through it. This is for our eternal good and it also brings God glory.

James goes further though… He tells his readers that they must let steadfastness have its full effect on them… This implies that Christians have a choice for how to respond to trials! Will they resist what God is trying to teach and produce in them through the trial? Will they try to escape the trial because it is too hard? Or will they faithfully endure through the trial by allowing God to use it to refine them? James wants them to endure so that they may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Those are some powerful promises! Perfection… completion… lacking in nothing. God uses trials to accomplish his plan for us – to refine us into his holy people who accurately reflect him and are ready for eternity with him. After all that’s what verse 12 implied:

So maybe, just maybe, trials are worth it. What do you think? If trials are a means of God to conform us to His image, then perhaps we ought to change our perspective on trials. Rather than seeing them as bad and to be avoided we ought to say, “God, I may not like trials, but I understand they’re necessary. I understand that you’re working through them. Please help me to be a good steward of the trials you allow in my life.”

But what happens when a trial inevitably comes? How can you be a good steward of the trial? How do you squeeze the most spiritual growth and refinement out of it? A few thoughts on that…

First, ask God to change your perspective on trials. Ask Him to help you see trials as an opportunity for growth. To recognize that trials are a testing of your faith. Allow that testing to happen and see what needs refined. You can choose to look at a trial and say, “Alright, God, I want to squeeze the most possible good out of this as I can. Help me to do that.” Douglas Moo, in his commentary on James, put it this way:

I appreciated Moo’s analogy of trials to resistance training for your physical health. If you want to build muscle and have a healthy body, then you have to endure through the difficulties of moving weights around. It is the actual process of pushing through the resistance that your muscle becomes stronger. A person who abandons a lift the moment resistance begins will not benefit from it like a person who endures and presses through it. That is the process of growth. The same is true for our response to trials/suffering. If you bail out the moment its hard, then you short-circuit the growth that could have been yours through endurance/steadfastness.

So, how should we respond to this teaching? First, ask God to help you change your perspective on trials. Ask him to help you see them the way he does. Second, change your response to them. Make it your aim to squeeze all the good out of them that you can. That may be increased dependence on God, a revitalization of your prayer life, a greater consistency in His Word, getting back into Christian community in the church, or a whole host of other responses. It will look different for each of us depending on what area of our life needs refined.

Third, allow trials to draw you nearer to God. If there is one thing that trials reveal, it’s our neediness as humans. Trials confront the arrogant self-sufficiency that so many of us naturally walk around with. They take away the opportunity to puff out our chests and say, “I’ve got life figured out.” Trials bring us to our knees. They humble us. They humiliate us. The way a Christian remains steadfast is not by pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. It’s by humbly depending on your God. So, draw near to him through His Word and prayer.

As you change your perspective on trials and allow them to draw you near to God, then you will increasingly be a good steward of trials. Then you will learn how to count trials as all joy. You will see how God is working and refining you to be a man or a woman after His own heart. Which can bring great hope and, even joy, to our trials! They are not meaningless but redemptive! Lord, help us to be a people who think and function like this!

The alternative is to face suffering and trials with no redemptive purpose or hope. Is that really what you want to do? Because you cannot avoid suffering in this broken world. If you continually avoid, deflect, run from hard things, you will continue to hinder God’s efforts to mature you in your faith and his preparation for eternity. Please don’t pursue that path! It will not end well for you. We’ve all likely seen or known someone in our lives who does not handle suffering/trials well. Their life is a wreck. They have no hope. They continue to wallow in their suffering and their sin. There is a better way! God’s way!

Speaking of God’s way, let’s look at our second lesson about living for God in a broken world from our text…

Ask God for wisdom and believe he will answer

We see this in verses 5-8. This has been a frequent prayer in my life, “God give me wisdom. Help me to know how to live in a way that pleases you.” Wisdom is something we all need. Especially in the midst of trials! Perhaps it would be helpful to define the term.

Wisdom has two components to it. Knowledge and application. You understand and know what God wants and then you do it. It makes sense why those who James is writing to would need wisdom. They’ve been driven from their homeland and are struggling through various trials, so they need wisdom on how to live. They need to know God’s truth and hope-filled counsel for hard situations! And God delights to give wisdom to his people. He is generous, or perhaps a better translation of that word in verse 5 would be “single-minded” in his giving. That means his intent is undivided in giving wisdom to those who ask for it! God wants you to know how to live righteously. It sounds similar to what Jesus himself taught in the Sermon on the Mount…

God delights to give good things to those who ask him! If sinful humans know how to give good gifts, then how much more will our perfect God know how to give good things to us! James reminds his readers that they need wisdom in the midst of their trials, and they ought to ask for it. God is faithful to answer that prayer!

But there is a major condition to the asking… you must not doubt, you must ask in faith! You must believe that God is able and willing to answer your prayer when you pray! Someone who prays for wisdom but doesn’t really believe God will answer is a double-minded man, he’s like a wave of the sea tossed back and forth by the wind. One moment they believe God will work, but the next they’re doubting and trying to do things in their own strength! This type of person is unstable. The promise for this type of person is that they will not receive anything from the Lord. This ought to be a strong warning to us! Stay the course in your walk with God. Be of one mind and one attitude to follow God. Ask, seek, knock. Trust that He will answer.

Our third lesson for today is to…

Boast in God’s provision, knowing this life is temporary

This comes from verses 9-12. In this section we hear of the brevity of this life and the eternity that follows. Remember James’ audience here… he is writing to exiles, many of whom were likely struggling with poverty… From the other writings in this letter, it also sounds like there were real challenges to not show partiality to those who were wealthy. Others were tempted towards jealousy and selfish ambition. They were dabbling in worldliness. Chapters 3-5 are thick with warnings and teachings about such matters. Yet, as James reminds them in 1:26-27, Christians are called to be generous with their possessions and to serve those who are in need.

And in his teaching here in 1:9-12, he reminds them that it doesn’t matter whether you’re poor or rich, both will pass away, just like the flower of the grass. We hear repeatedly throughout Scripture that our lives on this earth are temporary, they are a mere mist that vanishes, a flower that fades, BUT this life is not all there is! The thread of eternity is interwoven throughout the tapestry of Scripture. You cannot make sense of life, and especially trials, without having a biblical view of eternity. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial! Why? Because of eternity! For when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. God has promised a reward to those who love him who endure trials! You will receive the crown of life, eternity with Him. When you have this perspective and size up your trials in light of eternity, it changes things! Suddenly the trials are brought down to size. They don’t have to be the biggest or scariest thing in our lives because, in light of eternity, God is forcing them to do good to us! They are preparing us for our heavenly home.

This life is not all that we are living for. Christians believe in a life after this one. We know this to be true based on Scriptures’ teaching and Jesus’ own D/B/R. Humans are an embodied soul or an ensouled body. We are not just physical; we are also spiritual! When our body dies, as it inevitably will, our spirit lives on! You will spend eternity somewhere.

Even more amazingly, based on Jesus’ D/B/R and the teaching of Scripture, we also know that there will be a bodily resurrection someday. We are not just going to live on as spirits forever, but that we will one day have glorified bodies that are without imperfection of sin or sickness or plagued by death! What a hope! That day comes when Jesus ushers in the new heavens and new earth and we are made new again.

This is a clear teaching of the Bible and a tremendous hope to Christians. Knowing that there is more to life than just the trial we are going through can provide us tremendous hope. It is this same truth that Paul held on to when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Because we are more than just a body, there is much hope in the midst of the trials of this life. Though our body passes away, Christians have the hope of an eternal glory that is beyond all comparison.

Regarding these truths, there are some foundational things that need to be understood. Scripture teaches that all of us fall short of God’s perfect standard. All of us rebel. We all have sinned. And God is perfect. He is holy. Our sin separates us from Him. His Word tells us that our sin earns us death (eternal death). Which is why we need a Savior, someone to rescue us from our separation from God! This is not something we can rectify on our own.

The Bible thankfully also reveals that this Savior is Jesus Christ. The very one that James confesses as Lord. Jesus is the perfect Son of God who came to this earth and lived a sinless life in my place and died a death on the cross for my sins (for all his people’s sins). While on the cross he took on the entire wrath of God meant for our rebellion. And HE SATISIFIED IT, EVERY LAST OUNCE!

But every man and woman, boy and girl, must respond to this truth. Will you agree with God that you need a Savior? Do you believe that you will spend eternity somewhere?

If you want to spend eternity with God in his presence to bless, if you want to be able to count trials all joy, then you need to confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Profess your faith in Him and seek to live with an eternal perspective in the face of your trials. Know that, even though the trial is still hard, it is not meaningless nor will it last forever. God has a purpose in it and his purpose is your holiness and eternal perfection with him.

With that in mind, lets turn our attention to the next lesson for living for God in a broken world. This one comes from verses 13-15 and it is…

Speak correctly about the source of temptation

In verse 13 James commands them not to say that temptation is coming from God. Now you may not notice this in your English translation, but the root word for trial and temptation are the same word. It can be translated either way based on the context. And for anyone who has been in a trial for any length of time, you know that with the trial often comes temptation to sin. Or perhaps the trial began because of a temptation to sin that you gave into. Whatever the case, trials and temptations are linked, and James is careful to instruct these Christians on how they think and speak about their origin.

Temptations come from within! We must look inward, not point our fingers outward towards God. God tempts no one. As we hear in this passage, each person is tempted when he/she is lured and enticed by his/her own desire.

So, who’s responsible for your temptation? You are. And it is unbiblical to blame God for your temptation. It’s ultimately your desires that lead you to be tempted. Ouch. That’s not fun to hear, is it?

Notice that it doesn’t say by his own “evil” desire. It just says desire. Humans are a factory of desires. We pump them out left and right all day long. I want to be respected. I want to be loved. I want affirmation. I want peace. I want ease. I want comfort. I want, I want, I want, I want! To be human is to desire. So how are we supposed to know when a desire is good or bad? By the path it puts us on and the end result of that path.

Notice the path James lays out in vv.14-15 for these desires that lead to temptation. It starts with your desire, then desire gives birth to sin and sin when is full grown brings death! James uses the analogy of childbirth to show how desires develop into sin which culminates in death.

So, how do we evaluate when a desire is putting us on this path that leads to sin and, ultimately, death? Well, that requires wisdom. Thankfully we know the God who graciously gives wisdom to those who faithfully seek it. It also requires us to be diligent about reading the Word and seeking to live according to it. God has given us His standard of truth which reveals right and wrong. It is our opportunity and obligation to calibrate our consciences and lives according to it.

In future weeks, we’re going to see how James explains the tension between faith and works (obedience) to his readers. However, for today, I’m just going to summarize the Christian life like this – just because you’ve trusted in Christ for salvation does not mean you’re off the hook for how you live in this life. (repeat) Choosing to follow Jesus is more than just a “get-out-of-hell-free” card! Jesus himself taught us to “repent and believe” – repent means to change your course – to do an about-face – turning away from your old ways of sinful living towards a new way of living for Him. That’s what I’m calling you to do now. To devote yourself to living for Christ through this ongoing evaluation of your desires.

If humans are factories of desires, then that means you’re pumping out opportunities to be tempted all day long. Desires can be used for good or for evil. For example, in my desire for comfort during a trial, am I turning to worldly comforts or to God? In my desire to have answers, am I turning to gossip or am I communicating biblically while trusting the Lord? In my desire to be right or to be vindicated, do I use sinful anger and speech to put others in their place, or do I speak wholesomely and in an edifying way, while trusting the Lord to vindicate me? When I want my kid/spouse/coworker to listen up or change, do I raise my voice in sinful anger, or do I calmly communicate what God says? These are all examples of everyday desires that run through our hearts. There are many more that we could rattle off if we went around the room. And here’s the thing…

We need to become experts in evaluating our desires. And we need to learn how to make those evaluations on the fly. Because how often do we pump out desires? All day long. And how powerful are those desires? Very powerful! We don’t typically have the time to sit down for 30 minutes to an hour to evaluate our desires each time they come up. So how do we become experts in evaluating our desires quickly? Here are a couple of practical questions to ask:

What is the situation?

What am I wanting?

Would this please Jesus?

What does God’s Word say about it? (Then do it!)

This requires you to be an ongoing student of two things – yourself and the Word. If you commit to continually learning these two things, then you’ll be on a course to recognizing your temptations and responding to them in a God-honoring manner. *pause*

In the midst of teaching them about the true source of their temptations, James also calls them not to be deceived about the character of God. God is not the source of temptation; He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. And this is our final lesson for today…

Acknowledge God is the giver of every good and perfect gift

This comes up in 1:16-18…

God is the source of good, not evil! This passage could be a whole sermon in and of itself, but we don’t have time for that. Instead, I’ll just end with this… When these Jewish Christians were going through trials of various kinds… When James had one letter to write to them to provide them with teaching, encouragement and hope… he made sure to talk often about God’s character. Here he tells them not to be deceived, not to believe a lie about God. He wants them to realize that God is not the source of temptations, but he is the source of something! He is the source - the giver - of every good and perfect gift. Anything good that we experience in this life finds its origin in God. This has always been true, and it is founded in the reality that He is the unchanging God.

And of all of God’s good and perfect gifts, the one they needed to be reminded of the most was the gift of salvation that came by the Word of God in Jesus Christ. James tells them - God does not tempt us, He saves us. That is a wonderful truth to remember, and it brings incredible hope during trials. Christian, of his own will God saved you. He desired to make you, and he delighted to redeem you. Remember the truth of God’s character and work in your trials so that you can live wholly devoted to Him.

Let’s pray.

Trust in God Not Man: Hezekiah’s Case Study

Isaiah 38-39

Remember that God alone is worthy of your trust

Realize men, even righteous kings, are still fallible sinners

Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord

Learn to allow suffering to drive you to God

Behold and beware the incredible danger of pride

 

Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self)

Today is our final Sunday in Isaiah for 2024. As I mentioned last week, we are pushing pause after chapter 39 and will pick back up in chapter 40 in the new year. Starting next week, we will be in the book of James: Faith that Works. While moving on from Isaiah will be bittersweet, I’m looking forward to diving into the wisdom of James for the month of September!

But, for today, let’s pick back up where we left off in Isaiah. Last week, in chapters 36-37, we were introduced to King Hezekiah, the king of Judah who reigned when Sennacherib of Assyria came conquering. These two chapters presented Hezekiah with some very hard circumstances, having the Assyrians knocking at his door and threatening the city of Jerusalem with siege and exile. But his response was to trust the Lord. And Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord rather than the nations or his own abilities led to God delivering them from the Assyrian army. God made it very clear that he would not be mocked, thus he would deal with the arrogance of Assyria. It was a miraculous victory for the Judeans, and all were left in awe of God’s power and glory. Perhaps some were even tempted to wonder if Hezekiah was the Davidic king that God had promised, the long-awaited Messiah.

Well, unfortunately, as we’re going to see today, King Hezekiah was not the long-awaited Messiah. In fact, even though he was known as a righteous king who walked in the ways of the Lord, we will see that Hezekiah is still a fallible, sinful man. Today’s case study of Hezekiah is a valuable reminder that God alone is worthy of your trust.

Let’s turn our attention to the text for today.

This passage follows the recounting of the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem by the angel of the Lord in chapter 37, and yet it references a future deliverance out of the hand of the king of Assyria. For this reason, many commentators believe that the “in those days” of verse 1 are preceding or concurrent with the events of chapters 36-37. This also fits with the timing of his war with Assyria (during his 14th year of reign) and the fact that he was given 15 additional years to live (coinciding with his death at 29 years of reign).

All that to say, it is possible that Hezekiah initially responded well to the threats of the Assyrians by trusting in the Lord, then fell extremely ill and almost died, before being miraculously delivered from death and the Assyrians by the Lord. This sequence of events fits with the data we have available to us from other passages of Scripture.

For instance, listen to the parallel accounting in 2 Chronicles 32:

This accounting reveals that Hezekiah was struggling with a proud heart, which invited God’s judgment upon him and the people. However, that judgment was not the Assyrians, but a different group…

Consider the introduction of the Babylonians in Isaiah 39:

And again in 2 Chronicles 32:

In this set of interactions, we see Hezekiah’s pride on display. While we are not told the content of the envoy’s letters, Hezekiah’s response of showing off Judah’s treasures and armory indicates that it was likely an opportunity to ally with Babylon against Assyria. Knowing the name of the Babylonian king helps date these interactions to the 703-701 BC timeframe, as this is when Merodach-baladan had resumed leadership in Babylon before dying several years later.

Studying these different passages about this situation helps us come to a fuller understanding of what happened. We could also go to 2 Kings 18-20 to cross-check even more details. As we do this investigative work, we find that King Hezekiah is a more complex figure than we initially realized. (Aren’t we all?) Even in the midst of trusting the Lord, the king was still an imperfect man who wrestled with pride and was tempted to trust foreign nations as allies.

This brings us to our first takeaway today as we remember that God alone is worthy of your trust…

Realize men, even righteous kings, are still fallible sinners

Fallible meaning capable of making mistakes or being wrong. Hezekiah was not the Messiah they were waiting upon. He was not the fulfillment of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies in chapters 7 and 9.

Yes, he was the cream of the crop for the Judean kings, but even he still fell short. This is a helpful and sobering reminder for us today. Our hope and trust cannot be placed in mere men/women. No matter how righteous they may be, they are not God. There is only One who is perfectly trustworthy!

Allow this lesson to challenge you when you are tempted to put your hope and trust in anyone or anything other than the One, True God.

Political leaders are fallible sinners

Spiritual leaders are fallible sinners

Family members are fallible sinners

You are a fallible sinner

None of these people were meant to bear the weight of your hopes and trust. They will inevitably let you down. But there is One who never will! He is the One Hezekiah turned to when news of his death was set before him.

Our second takeaway this morning is to…

Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord

He may not have gotten everything right (who does?!) but Hezekiah got this right – trust in the Lord! When word came of his impending death, he turned to the One who could save him. He cried out to the Lord and asked God to remember him and his life of devotion to the Lord. Hezekiah desired to be known for his trust in God.

And God heard his desperate cry and responded!

The Lord was very gracious and merciful to the king. He promised to give him 15 more years of life. As I looked into this, I realized that Hezekiah was 39 years old when he had received news of his coming death. You can imagine how distraught he was to depart at such a young age!

Yet God preserved his life. He also promised to deliver the nation from Assyria, which we know he fulfilled. Finally, God graciously gave Hezekiah a sign to prove that he would keep his word. Isaiah’s recounting conceals the graciousness of God in giving this sign, but in 2 Kings 20 we hear that Hezekiah asked for the sign. God’s response of giving him the sign is indicative of his care and concern for his people, even when we are fallible sinners. (Note: We do not know how this sign was accomplished, but we take God at his word. The least difficult explanation would be something like a divine refraction of the light.)

The book of Isaiah has been driving the people of Judah to recognize that God alone is worthy of their trust! For far too long they have been turning to the left or to the right, expecting self-reliance or false idols to deliver and protect them. Rather than providing salvation and deliverance, these false objects of trust have only brought further judgment and destruction into their lives and nation. You may recall that Isaiah had been sent by God to call the people to repentance and trust in Him alone.

This message of repentance and trust in God alone is very much what we need to hear in our day and in our nation. Not much has changed over the centuries. We continue to repeat the folly of Judah in our own sinful self-reliance and idolatry. We may not bow down to physical idols these days, but we certainly worship all kinds of false gods. The god of pleasure, the god of comfort/ease, the god of control… whatever it is that occupies your heart and mind over the One, True God. Throughout this series, we’ve often asked something like this, “Where do you turn in the highs and lows of life?” If it is to anyone or anything other than God, then you have found an idol in your life. Allow the teaching of Isaiah to help you forsake that idol!

Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord. Look to God in the good and the hard seasons of life. Cry out to him with your pains and fears. Give thanks to him for the joys and blessings you experience. Remember he is the sovereign Lord over them all. His power is at work in all things to accomplish his grand redemptive plan.

Let’s listen to Hezekiah’s own words after he became sick and was spared by God.

Can you hear the progression of Hezekiah’s thinking in his writing? He began with despair at the thought of dying at such a young age. He would no longer be able to enjoy the Lord or his fellow men in the land of the living. His life was about to come to an abrupt end, and this was distressing to him. His groans and moans of distress were like a bird, and he was crying out to the Lord for help. Yet he knows that it is God who has done this to him!

Hezekiah knows that God is in control. Verse 15 would be better translated in the future, ongoing tense, “I will walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.” Meaning he would spend the rest of his days in sorrow and distress as he was under God’s judgment.

Yet he still trusts in the Lord! In verse 16 we see a cry for God to restore him to health and to make him live. Hezekiah knows that God is sovereign over these matters. The way this is worded in the Hebrew expresses a consequence that is expected with certainty. And verse 17 captures the transition of knowing that God would deliver him. He confesses that God is the one who has cast all his sins behind his back. God is his deliverer. He trusts in Him!

The writing comes to a head in verses 18-20 as Hezekiah recounts that the dead do not have opportunity to praise God, but the living do. And Hezekiah will join his voice as one of the living in thanking God for his mercies and grace. He will make known God’s faithfulness to the next generation. Hezekiah’s hope at the end of his writing is that he will be able to spend the rest of his life worshiping God in lyric and song at the house of the Lord. He will not waste his extra 15 years but spend them in worship of the Lord.

In this prayer turned thanksgiving, Hezekiah models for us how to allow suffering to drive us to God. And that is our third takeaway this morning in remembering that God alone is worthy of your trust…

Learn to allow suffering to drive you to God

God does not waste suffering. It is his tool to reveal our hearts and drive us back to Him. This is a mercy of God for He is our greatest need and greatest treasure. There is no good life apart from Him.

In Hezekiah’s day they did not have a fully developed understanding of life after death through faith in God. But we have the privilege of living in the New Testament era, where God sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue and redeem his people from their sin so that they can have eternal life with Him.

Just a few weeks ago we heard this truth from Romans 6:23:

Our sin earns us death, but God offers forgiveness of sins that leads to eternal life through faith in Jesus! While Hezekiah had the hope of forgiveness of his sins, his rejoicing was limited to the remaining days of his life on earth. He could not fully conceive of having all eternity to enjoy the presence and blessing of God.

But Paul gives us a fuller understanding of a Christian’s hope in Christ:

Does that say, “For those who love God ‘some things’ work together for good?” No, all things! God, in his sovereign power, is able to force even trials to do good to us. Which is why we can and must learn to allow suffering to drive us back to God. He is at work in it. He is not absent from it. He has allowed it into our lives for a purpose – our holiness and salvation and his glory.

The Apostle Peter also speaks to this understanding of trials:

What an incredible passage! Suffering isn’t meaningless. The trials that grieve us are an opportunity for our faith to be refined and for us to eagerly anticipate the outcome of the salvation and glorification of our souls. This present world and body may be broken by sin, but a day is coming when all things will be made new, and we will get to enjoy the presence of God forever. Having that understanding drastically changes your outlook on suffering, if you allow it.

That’s not to say that you intentionally invite suffering into your life, but rather that you do not have to disdain or hate it when it does come. Instead, you can now view suffering as your opportunity for growth in godliness and trust in the Lord. After all, he is the one who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God WAS able and willing to help Hezekiah in his time of need, and he IS able and willing to help you in your time of need. That does not necessarily mean that it will look like God adding 15 more years of life for you; but it does mean that he will do exactly what is needed for your good and his glory. Will you trust that He knows best? Will you turn to Him in your time of need/suffering?

I realize that is easier said than done. Even Hezekiah’s own life testifies to that. He trusts God here with his physical health, but then fails to trust him in what follows with the Babylonians. This is a real battle, day by day, struggle by struggle, to keep trusting the Lord and living accordingly. Are you committed to engaging in that battle? Or are you conditional in your trust in the Lord? “I’ll trust him, but only if he gives me what I want. Only if I have a nice, easy life. Only if he gives me health, wealth, and prosperity. But not if he asks me to suffer for his sake. Not if he is going to allow hard things into my life.”

If that is your stance, can I ask you, “who is in the position of God in your life?” because it sounds like it is you! I am not God. I do not get to tell God how my life should go. Neither do you. Instead, I get the opportunity to trust God with what he allows in my life, and I get to learn how to faithfully follow him no matter what comes my way. And so do you.

Will you commit to that kind of faithful, trusting disposition towards the Lord? This is a posture of humility – recognizing that God is Lord, and we are not. It is a necessary posture/character quality for those who are going to remain faithful to God by trusting in him. Unfortunately, chapter 39 reveals that Hezekiah had a real struggle with remaining humble. Let’s listen in and learn from it.  

What an odd ending to Hezekiah’s appearance in Isaiah. Rather than trusting the Lord who had just delivered him from death, Hezekiah chooses to show off to the envoys of Babylon and attempts to broker some sort of alliance between the kingdoms. Notice Isaiah’s haunting words – “What have they seen in your house?” To which Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house…” And Isaiah’s response from the Lord is, “Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, … shall be carried to Babylon.” What an ominous promise of what was to come!

Hezekiah’s decision to allow pride to take root in his life had severe consequences for his family and the nation. And, in his pride, Hezekiah doesn’t really seem all that concerned, as long as he gets to end his life in peace! What a selfish response! This leads us into our final takeaway for today:

Behold and beware the incredible danger of pride

The pride of man is a very powerful reason to trust in God not man. God cannot be proud, yet every human struggles with the epidemic of pride. It is at the root of every kind of evil. Pride is the exaltation of self; self-worship; having an inordinate view of self in relation to God and others. Pride is the sin that made the Devil who he is. Pride is what Hezekiah struggled with during his rule and reign. It has devastating consequences for everyone who indulges in it.

The judgment of Judah was linked to Hezekiah’s pride but let us not think that the rest of the nation was known for its humility before God! From what we’ve heard throughout the book of Isaiah, the Judeans were a proud, idolatrous people who constantly turned to things other than the Lord. God’s judgment was a response to their corporate pride as much as it was for the king’s pride.

We should take this to heart. A proud nation who exalts itself in sin against God will find itself on the receiving end of God’s judgment. We live in such a nation. May we not contribute to the collective sin of pride in our nation! Let us be a people who are known for the confession of sin and cultivation of humility before the Lord. Once again, we can look to Hezekiah’s example, for although he had fallen in pride, he was convicted and did repent:

Notice again the corporate nature of the confession and cultivation of humility. Hezekiah and the entire city were brought low. And God delayed his judgment as a result.

We ought to take this lesson to heart! Humility and repentance starts with me/you/us. Individually yes, but then corporately as the church. Consider how powerful a testimony it would be of the Lord’s goodness and grace if everyone who attends Harvest would live a confessed and holy life before God. If we were known throughout our community as the real deal when it comes to faithful Christianity. Not because we’re so great, but because our God is so great, and we trust and obey Him!

I pray that this is the life we would strive to live in the days ahead. But to do so requires each one of us to be committed to asking, “Where is pride present in my life? How do I need to confess and address pride?” That would be a great discussion to have within your home this week or during your small group time. Be intentional to go to war against pride together! *pause*

Now, before we wrap up Isaiah for the year, I want to point out that chapters 1-39 have served to point Judah (and us) to God as the only worthy recipient of trust. Yet they have also revealed that even the best of God’s people fails, leaving the question - where can hope be found? How can a sinful people possibly become the holy, submitted people that God calls them to be? Chapters 40-66 will provide the answers to these questions!

Here's your sneak peek at what is to come:

God is coming. He will reveal his glory to the nations and make a way for them to come to him.

Let’s pray.

Trust In Action: Hezekiah’s Case Study

Isaiah 36-37

Witnessing the wisdom of trusting God

Understand the historical context

Consider the stakes of trusting God

Learn from Hezekiah’s godly response

Behold the glory of God in comparison to the nations

Good morning, church family! It’s so sweet to worship the Lord with you. I’m also looking forward to celebrating the Lord’s table together later in the service. If you’re new, welcome. My name is Pastor Nick, and I have the privilege of preaching the Word today.

Before we dive back into our study of Isaiah, I’d like to share a few important details of what’s coming in the weeks ahead. First, we are about to wrap up our study of Isaiah for this year. Today we’re covering chapters 36-37 and next week will be chapters 38-39. The plan after that is to push pause on Isaiah until the new year when we’ll cover chapters 40-66. For the rest of 2024, we’ll have several month-long sermon series. Our next series for the month of September will be the book of James: Faith that Works. Pastor Jack and I will be preaching through James to help us think through how authentic faith produces a transformed life.

I also want to remind you that September is when we will be kicking off our new year of Harvest Students and Adventure Club. Both ministries begin on Wednesday, September 4th. Parents, don’t forget to sign up your kids for Adventure Club, as this is the last week to register. Adventure Club is our new midweek systematic theology study for kids. I’m thankful for the volunteers who are serving in these ministries to invest in the next generation!

Finally, this very week we have our next prayer & praise night, also on Wednesday. We are partnering with Crossroads Community Church to pray for our community and its leaders. Please plan to come over to the Grimes Community Complex a little before 6:30pm to join us for a sweet night of worship and prayer!

All right, with those details out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the study of God’s Word this morning.

What we’re reading today and next week is a break from the pattern of prophetic literature we’ve gotten used to in Isaiah. Chapters 36-39 contain a recounting of the historical narrative between the representatives of King Sennacherib of Assyria and the leaders of Judah, most notably, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is still going to speak on behalf of God, but as soon as I start reading, you’re going to hear the difference in the style of writing.

But don’t mistake the change in style for a change in purpose for writing. Isaiah is still drawing his readers attention to the sovereign power of God. In these chapters, we are going to see both the beauty of trusting God as well as the consequences of failing to do so. King Hezekiah is a “case study” if you will of the very things we have been learning about throughout the rest of the book. With that in mind, let’s go ahead and read chapter 36. I want you to keep your ears open for the themes of trust and being delivered.

Can you imagine what it was like to be present for this conversation? The army and King that has been conquering cities and countries all around you now has its sight set on you! To make matters, worse, this is the outcome of God’s promised discipline for King Ahaz’s rejection of Yahweh. King Ahaz was Hezekiah’s father, and you may recall from Isaiah 7 how Ahaz refused to trust God to protect Judah from the combined nations of Syria and Ephraim. He thought his way was better and invited the Assyrians to come protect them… The outcome of that was this promise from God…

What God promised to King Ahaz is now coming to pass in the days of his son, King Hezekiah! How will this turn out?! As the sermon title reveals, in this situation, King Hezekiah will reveal the wisdom of trusting God. And that is our focus this morning…

In order to do this well, you need to…

Understand the historical context

As I just mentioned, King Ahaz was Hezekiah’s father, yet he was known as an ungodly king. In 2 Kings 16, we hear that Ahaz took the throne at 20 years old and reigned for 16 years, but he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Instead, he walked in the way of the wicked kings of Israel. He worshiped false gods from the surrounding nations, even burning one of his sons as an offering. Absolutely detestable. And he was known for encouraging idol worship at high places all around the country.

Compare that to the legacy of King Hezekiah, which we find in 2 Kings 18 or 2 Chronicles 29-30. These chapters give an extensive understanding that he was a king who sought to do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He removed the high places and broke down the idols that his father had made. Of Hezekiah it was said, “He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.” Hezekiah led revival in the land of Judah. He cleaned out the temple and restored it back to worship of Yahweh. He led the land to celebrate the first Passover feast since the days of Solomon. He also rebelled against the King of Assyria and refused to submit to their oppression. This godly leadership was good and right and faithful before the LORD and God blessed it. You can read all about the details of the passages listed on the screen.

All that to say, these two kings were very different from one another. Yet the scenarios they found themselves in were very similar. The Assyrian army came knocking. They will not suffer any nation to rebel against their power. Life and death are on the line here. The leadership of the kings will directly impact the nation.

And what we find as we continue to study Isaiah 36-37 is that it is far better to live as a man/woman who trusts the Lord and follows Him rather than one who rejects Him and invites destruction. The kind of man/woman you are matters, both for you and for those under your care/influence. King Hezekiah’s response of trusting the Lord is the correct one, but before we consider that further, I want you to…

Consider the stakes of trusting God

As we’ve heard from the Rabshakeh’s speech, Assyria intends to siege them, destroy their city, and take them into exile, just as it had done with so many other cities in Judah. This smooth talking military leader threatens the citizens of Jerusalem to consider carefully whom they will trust! “Who do you trust? Who will deliver you?” These are recurring ideas woven throughout his speech. He even mocks them for having trusted in Egypt, whom the Assyrians had already defeated in battle. He mocks them for being woefully underequipped compared to the Assyrian army – offering to give them horses if they could even muster enough men to put on them! He mocks them for trusting in Yahweh when, to their perception, Hezekiah just destroyed all the high places and altars throughout the land. This is an interesting comment for a few reasons. First, it reveals that the Assyrians had spies in the land and were very aware of what Hezekiah was doing. Second, it reveals they didn’t understand that the very things Hezekiah destroyed were steps towards trusting in Yahweh not turning away from Him!

Nevertheless, the Rabshakeh’s not really concerned about the truthfulness of his speech. His goal is intimidation. To pressure the people to turn them against their leaders. His job is to win the siege of Jerusalem through a war of words rather than soldiers. He even deceptively paints this picture of a peaceful deportation that they could choose for themselves. “Just make peace with us and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of in our land!” What a bald-faced lie. Assyria would take them into exile and force them to assimilate to their own culture, destroying their identity as the people of God.

So, a lot is at stake here in trusting God! The people have two competing voices at work– the slithery serpent-like speech of the Rabshakeh promising a good life in a foreign land if they would just reject Yahweh and their king, or the prophetic words of God given to them by Isaiah and repeated by King Hezekiah. As you can imagine, this was a distressing situation. We see the envoys of the king of Judah going away from the interactions in a state of lament, with their clothes torn.

The point I’m making is trusting God is an act of faith, especially in the face of overwhelming circumstances against you! Trusting God and living by faith is not necessarily the “easy” path through life. This same idea is taught by Jesus during his time on earth. Let me take you to hear some of his teaching:

Trusting God and living by faith is the hard way that leads to life… Have you ever stopped to consider that?

I don’t know about you, but I think often about the cost of following God. It’s a teaching that I believe is woefully undertaught in the modern church, yet Jesus’ teachings invite us to consider it. Trusting God and following Him will cost you something (everything!). The cost of following Christ is your entire life.

These are hard teachings! For the Judeans of Isaiah’s day, trusting God meant entrusting their very life to Him. They had to believe that Yahweh was greater than the enemy army parked down the road in Lachish. That God would perform a miracle to rescue them from a seemingly impossible situation lest they die a horrible death at the hands of the Assyrians.

That’s not our situation, but, as we just heard from Jesus, trusting and following Him has its own cost to this day. Self-denial. No longer living for you. Not living for worldly values/treasures. Death to your selfish ambitions and pride in order to believe in and follow Jesus. In other teachings, Jesus told his disciples that those who follow Him will be hated by the unbelieving world, because the world hates Him. These are real stakes/costs to trusting God and living for Him in our day. Are you willing to count these costs and trust Him?

Let’s keep reading chapter 37 to see how King Hezekiah responded in his situation.

King Hezekiah demonstrates a godly response to incredibly hard circumstances. Rather than caving to the pressure, he turns to the Lord. Verse 1-4 reveal a response of humility, of lamenting and seeking God’s wisdom. His words reveal that his concern was for God’s glory and the remnant of God’s people rather than himself. This is such a great example for us! We have plenty to…

Learn from Hezekiah’s godly response

Trust the Lord! Turn to Him in time of need! Seek the Lord’s glory in your situation! And trust Him no matter the outcome.

In Hezekiah’s case, Isaiah was ready with the Lord’s response. God already knew! How cool is that? What a sweet reminder of God’s sovereign power and control.

I absolutely love how God refers to the Rabshakeh and his cronies as “the young men of the king of Assyria”. These men who were of great renown in the Assyrian army are NOT impressive to the LORD of the Universe. They are little boys talking a big game but unable to back it up. He has heard their reviling, and he will answer, and it will not end well for them. His plan has never been at risk, he will deal with Assyria just as he intended.

How incredible is it that what the Lord declares then happens!? I love it!

It’s not entirely clear how much the Assyrian king understands what is happening to him, but he does choose to write a letter to Hezekiah after being distracted by fighting at Libnah. Verses 10-13 capture the content of that letter intent on mocking Yahweh and undermining Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord. Sennacherib points to all the other nations around them that Assyria has destroyed and how their gods failed them. His pointed question to Hezekiah is “And shall you be delivered?”

What’s the answer to his question? A resounding, “YES!” Because Yahweh is not like the false gods of these other nations. He is the One, True God and He will not be mocked. Sennacherib’s comparisons are meaningless because they are comparing lies with the truth. Yahweh IS able and WILL keep his promise to deliver!

But that hasn’t happened yet, so Hezekiah responds a second time with great humility. Upon receiving the letter, he heads to the house of the LORD to pray. In his prayer he exalts God and shares his concern for God’s glory. He acknowledges the falsehood of these other gods, they are mere idols, but not Yahweh – he is the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the living God, the only God of all the kingdoms of the earth, who made all things. Hezekiah’s prayer reveals he has a BIG view of God. He knows the God who is ABLE to save, therefore he seeks him in time of need. Do you realize your view of God directly impacts your willingness to trust Him in time of need? Do you have a BIG view of God?

Hezekiah’s request is that God would save them from Sennacherib’s hand, “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.” God’s glory is Hezekiah’s concern. “I want everyone, everywhere to know that you are God alone!”

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a lot to learn from Hezekiah’s example. “Lord, help me to be most concerned with your glory! May I trust you in my circumstances, knowing that you are in control. You are doing a good work. Your will, not mine, be done.” It’s one thing to say that here, when things are calm, but what about in the midst of the storm? Lord, help us! *pause*

But perhaps you are a here today and your response to trials is not to turn to the Lord… Perhaps you are more like King Ahaz, trusting in your own plans to get you through. My hope is that you would consider the way each of these men conducted themselves and learn from their examples. King Ahaz trusted in self, and it ended poorly. King Hezekiah trusted in God, and it ended in deliverance. Let’s keep reading in Isaiah 37.

Notice that Isaiah sent a response to Hezekiah with no prompting from the King! God led Isaiah to respond with words of comfort and deliverance. It was God’s will to deliver his people from the Assyrian army.

This is not to say that every time you turn to the Lord in trust that it will result in the situation going the way you desire. God is not manipulated by our actions. He has a sovereign plan that He is working out and it is true that it is always best to trust Him in that plan! In this case, God’s plan was to deliver Judah through Hezekiah’s faithful prayer. But we know there have been many godly men and women throughout history who have died for their faith, and we trust that this was the sovereign plan of God for them. He knows what is best for the good of His people and His own glory.

Regardless of the outcome, God is faithful and true. He is worthy of your trust. He is able to be relied upon. He is the unchanging God who keeps his promises. It is God’s character that we trust in and therefore act upon. This requires you to know God so you can trust Him. And God reveals Himself most fully in His Word. Isaiah 37 has revealed that God alone is sovereign and able to deliver. He is the one who determined to use Assyria as a source of discipline for the nations, but He also decides when and how to curtail their power. God does not allow the wicked to mock Him and get away with it. He will deliver His people and deal with those who oppose Him.

And this is exactly what happened. God preserved the city of Jerusalem and protected the people from the Assyrians. The Assyrian army suffered a devastating blow and left to return to their own land. Even the writings of 3rd century Babylonian historian Berossus said that 185,000 Assyrians died due to a pestilence from God sent upon them. The Judeans were able to remain while the Assyrians went back to their land, where their king was ultimately killed by his own sons, just as God had said.

As we wrap up our study of Isaiah 36-37 today, I want to encourage you to…

Behold the glory of God in comparison to the nations

Throughout this book, God has revealed through Isaiah that He is INCOMPARABLY GREAT. The nations are nothing in comparison to Him. They mock and scorn Him, but He determines the extent of their borders and length of their days. He calls them to accomplish His will and disciplines them when they reject Him.

God alone can save. He alone is worthy of our trust. Trust in God is never misplaced. In his power and eternal rule, God can bring about what He promises, but the nations and those who rule them are here today and gone tomorrow. In the end, Assyria falls, Jerusalem stands, and God reigns.

I hope our study of King Hezekiah’s trust in action has been helpful to you today. By no means was he a perfect man. As we will learn next week, King Hezekiah was a man who struggled with faithfulness to God. But this only serves to make the lessons about the wisdom of trusting God that much sweeter… God is faithful, even when we are faithless. *pause*

We are going to close out our services today by worshiping the Lord through the celebration of communion or the Lord’s table.

Communion is an opportunity for Christians to remember all that the Lord has done for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. This is an opportunity for Christians to remember that we have embraced the promised hope of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation of our souls!

We will celebrate by partaking of both the bread and the cup as a symbol and reminder of Jesus’ body broken in our place and his blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Communion is an opportunity to remember how great a price was paid so that we could be saved from our sin. It is a sobering, yet joyful celebration for Christians. Sobering that the Son of God would give himself for us as a ransom. Joyful that he did, and the result is a living hope that cannot be taken from us! Jesus is victorious; therefore, we have the hope of heaven with Him!

At this time, I’d like to invite the ushers forward with the elements.

Before we pass them, I want to share the biblical requirements for joining in this celebration.

This celebration was given by Jesus to his followers. We invite anyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation to join us in this celebration today. If your faith is not in Jesus Christ alone, then we would encourage you to let the elements pass by you and simply consider what you’ve heard so far during the service this morning and reflect on what is keeping you from trusting him for the forgiveness of your sins and salvation of your soul.

The second requirement we see in Scripture is a call to examine ourselves. This is the idea of making sure that you’ve confessed any known sins and sought to turn away from it. It would not be wise to partake of the table if you have sin in your life for which you are not repentant. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that taking the table while living in sin is eating and drinking judgment on yourself. I would ask you not to do that, for your sake and the sake of God’s glory. Instead, I would encourage you to use this time to confess that sin and make a plan to address it right away. If you know you need to be reconciled to someone else in this church, please take care of that during this time. The table is time to protect the unity of the church.

The ushers are going to pass the elements now as we have a time of silent reflection and prayer to prepare for the table. Please use this time to reflect on all that we’ve talked about today and to prepare yourself to take communion by confessing and repenting of any known sin. After the elements have been passed, I’ll lead us in prayer and taking communion together.

Silent prayer. Corporate prayer.

Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus!

Outcomes: Trusting God or the Nations

Isaiah 34-35

Considering the results of each way of life

Trusting the nations/self ends in bearing God’s wrath

Trusting in God ends in enjoying God’s redemption

Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self).

We’ve learned a lot about trust in Isaiah. It has been a theme that has resonated throughout the chapters. Both Judah, as the original audience, and we, as modern-day readers, have been constantly confronted with questions like – “In whom do I trust? Where do I turn when life gets hard? Do I turn inward – like Judah in their self-reliance? Do I trust in my own strength/plan/wisdom/ability? Do I turn outward – like Judah in turning to Assyria for help, then to Egypt? Do I trust in my financial stability/family/friends/political leaders? Or do I trust in the Lord?”

How would you answer? Who do you trust or turn to for guidance and purpose and fulfillment in your life? This is an extremely important matter that has both immediate and eternal consequences for our lives. And, in many ways, the last 10 weeks have been building to our study for today. Chapters 34 and 35 of Isaiah are the culmination of the increasing tension between the two ways to live: Trusting God or Trusting the Nations/Self. Today we will hear of two radically different outcomes based on whether your trust is in the Lord or in something else. Hence the title of our sermon today: Outcomes: Trusting God or the Nations.

I must warn you that if you’ve thought any of the previous chapters of Isaiah were hard to hear, then chapter 34 is going to challenge you even more. Parents, I’m aware this is a Family Worship Sunday, and we have a lot of kids here. I do not intend to shy away from the truth of God’s Word, even the hard stuff. But kids, I want you to know, this hard stuff is very important to understand because it is the reason we need a Savior. You can’t appreciate the Good News without knowing the Bad News. And don’t worry, we’re going to hear Good News before the sermon is over.

Before anyone gets too upset or defensive about what you’re hearing, please consider, “Why did God include this in His Word?” It is incredibly loving for Him to warn Judah (and those who come after, like us) of the outcome of trusting anything other than Him. Please do not miss the incredible value and significance of this text simply because it is harder to hear for our delicate Western sensibilities. We need to be able to do business with the hard truths of God’s Word and the way He has designed things.

How is anyone supposed to understand their need to be saved if they do not first understand what they need to be saved from? To understand the Good News, you must first understand the Bad News.

With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to Isaiah 34. We’re going to read the entire chapter and discuss it before moving on to chapter 35. As we study today, our focus is…

Let’s read the Word of God.

This is a world-wide summons. God wants everyone, everywhere to listen up and pay attention! Why? What is he about to say next?

I told my wife earlier this week that I wanted to read this chapter and then just go sit down and weep for a bit. Not because I want to be emotionally manipulative, but solely because I believe that is the appropriate response to what we’ve just heard. Fortunately for you, she told me that would be weird, so I won’t do it. But this text should move all of us to great sorrow as we understand the end of the path for everyone who rejects God to trust in the nations/self. Chapter 34, without reservation or hesitation, in very graphic detail, reveals that…

Trusting the nations/self ends in bearing God’s wrath

The Lord summons all those who have rejected Him so that they can know their condition before the Holy God. In their wickedness, they have brought His wrath and fury against them. Their rebellion against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will not go unaddressed in the end.

In fact, in verse 2, we are told “he has devoted them to destruction” which is a very specific word choice that indicates they have become the sacrifice or offering for their sin. God is very clear about the reality of life in this Universe He has made – the wages of sin is death. Wages = pay/compensation. Put another way… your sin earns you death. This is not new information. This was revealed in the very first command given to man.

From the very beginning, God linked sin (defying him) and death. And this is consistent throughout His Word – Old and New Testament testify to it.

He was convinced that he was as good as dead! And he would have been, without God’s intervention to atone for His sins. To atone means to cover or remove sin, resulting in peace with God.

The content of chapter 34 ought to terrify every single one of us because we are all guilty of sin! Every one of us has gone our own way, defied God’s commands, and, as a result, earned ourselves death. Not even one of us here today has never lied, never stolen, never spoken unkindly, done all things perfectly… Our honest assessment of ourselves must be that we are sinners and in grave danger.

Without atonement, peace with God is impossible, and we are left exposed to God’s just and righteous wrath. If this is our situation, then WE will personally pay the penalty as the sacrifice for OUR rebellion (i.e. be devoted to destruction). And I hate to break it to you, but your sacrifice will not be sufficient to earn you salvation or eternal life. You cannot, in your own strength or merit, pay for the depth of your rebellion against the King of the Universe.

This is the Bad News! As chapter 34 reveals, a day is coming when God will judge the entire world and everyone in it. Verses 3-4 are quite graphic in their language. The literal meaning of the last line of verse 3 is that the mountains will be eroded by the amount of blood that is shed upon them. This is not a pleasant picture at all. Verse 4 speaks of the judgment of this day extending to the heavenly host (the stars/planets/sun/moon). This is a cataclysmic event!

Verses 5 and following use the specific nation of Edom as an example representative of all the nations and peoples who reject God. Edom was the perpetual enemy of Israel. Through creative literary devices, God speaks through Isaiah to reveal that His judgment extends to all the earth living in rebellion against Him. Edom is mentioned briefly, but then is traded out for the illustration of animals being slaughtered. Again, the point is not about animals but rebellious people. They are being slaughtered like animals…

And there is no getting around this… this is the Lord’s doing. Verse 2 spoke of the Lord being enraged. Verses 5-6 spoke of the Lord’s sword and the Lord’s sacrifice. Verse 8 speaks of the Lord’s day of vengeance and year of recompense. Here we are clued into a part of the reason for their Lord’s judgment – “for the cause of Zion” – the rebellious have opposed God’s plan and people! God will not stand to allow this to happen forever. He will avenge them.

And for the people/nations who reject God and oppose His people, the Lord’s vengeance is terrifying. Verses 9-17 further reveal the incredible destruction that comes at the Lord’s hand. Let’s consider again just verses 9-11…

This description of the destruction that is coming to rebellious nations describes a black, stinky, scorched landscape. It is utterly unlivable. If you know me well, you know I’m a big Star Wars nerd. Upon reading this, I immediately thought of the planet Mustafar. (Image) The location of Darth Sidious’ hide-out and where Anakin Skywalker was brutally burned and completed the transition to Darth Vader. If you know, you know.

But that’s a piece of science fiction. However, what God is describing through Isaiah is a true future reality. This is no laughing matter. It should not be taken lightly or forgotten quickly. God promises an everlasting judgment. This description contains similarities to what we believe hell will be like. (Isaiah 34:9-11)

In verse 11, it says he will stretch the line of confusion over it and the plumb line of emptiness. Not only is this a play on imagery – typically a plumb line is used for construction not destruction – but it is also a play on words. Confusion is the Hebrew word “tohu” and emptiness is the word “bohu”. That might not mean a lot to you but let me explain why it should. These are the same words in the second verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:2) where God describes the formless and void nature of the earth.

This passage in Isaiah reveals that after sin has run wild on earth, it returns the world to “tohu va bohu”. This is the inevitable outcome when God allows sinners to have their way. Death and destruction. The world is left uninhabitable by anything but wildlife. There are no more earthly kingdoms, just overgrown and overthrown strongholds and fortresses, as we saw in the rest of the chapter. And not only is this the result of man’s sin, but it is also enforced by the Lord. Verses 16-17 reveal that the mouth of the Lord has commanded it, his Spirit has gathered them (the wildlife/hawks), and his hand has portioned it out to them.  God is the one who brings the judgment about and guarantees that sin will not go unaddressed!

This is incredibly bad news for sinners! There is no silver lining in this chapter. There is no answer given for how to avoid this outcome. Trusting in the nations/self always ends in bearing God’s wrath! So where do we turn for hope and help in our time of need?

Thankfully, we have answers in the larger context of the Bible. From start to finish in His Word, the Lord has also revealed the way of salvation. You do not have to be “devoted to destruction” or your own sacrifice for sins. There is another, better way. A way that leads to eternal life. Let me tell you about it by reading a selection of New Testament passages.

The Good News is that though each one of us is dead in sin and rebellion against God, He does not leave us stuck in this position. He sent His Son, Jesus, to make a way of salvation for all who repent and believe in Him. This was Jesus’ message:

The testimony of the Bible is that the Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth. And he lived the perfectly obedient, holy life that we could not live. Then he went to the Cross in his people’s place, to pay the penalty for THEIR sin and endure the wrath of God meant for THEM! This is what is known as substitutionary atonement. Jesus took on the guilt and endured the full wrath of God for his people’s sin! And, in exchange, he offers his perfect righteousness and the hope of peace and eternal life with God! This is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians:

What an incredible exchange! And, as you heard from Hebrews, this sacrifice secured an eternal redemption for his people. It also purifies their conscience so they can live completely transformed lives and serve the Lord. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you cannot and you will not stay the same!

Christians have confidence that God the Father accepted this payment on our behalf because Jesus rose from the dead and now reigns on high at the right hand of the Father. He is seated because he accomplished the work of his first coming and he now awaits the day when he will come again in judgment of the rebellious and to finish the work of salvation of the repentant, those who are eagerly waiting for him. That’s why Jesus’ sacrifice was a “once for all” sacrifice. It was sufficient for the forgiveness of all his people’s sins throughout all time.

If you want to learn even more about what Christ has done for His people, I highly encourage you to read Hebrews 8-10, Romans 5-6, or Ephesians 1-2! My aim in sharing this today is to give sinners like myself much hope. We certainly need it.

But let me be clear, I do not want anyone to attend Harvest and somehow miss the reality of the Bad News – everyone needs to understand what happens if you continue to reject God and go your own way. After reading chapter 34, it is abundantly clear that we all need to be saved from the wrath of God that our sin has earned us.

But, in the same breath, I also want everyone who attends Harvest to then immediately cling to the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is a better way to live with a better outcome! You do not have to continue trusting in the nations/self… As Isaiah has been holding out to the Judeans chapter after chapter, the better way to live is trusting in God! Let’s turn our attention now to the beautiful hope and outcome that is given in chapter 35. Follow along as I read from God’s Word.

Chapter 35 is quite the turnaround from 34! Rather than devastating judgment, we have the desert transforming into a garden paradise. We have weak people being strengthened. We even see a much different relationship with these people and God’s vengeance. Rather than being terrified by it, they are being rescued through it! God’s vengeance is their redemption. What a fascinating concept! How could this be? This is the outcome for all who trust in God!

Trusting in God ends in enjoying God’s redemption

These two chapters capture two drastically different outcomes of the Day of the Lord. For those who reject God to trust in self/nations, God’s vengeance is against them. For those who trust in God, he is coming to save them, and his vengeance is what sets them free from the wicked. This important truth is an essential part of the framework that should inform how we live! Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, this is the context in which you live. Each of us will spend eternity somewhere and that is entirely dependent on our relationship with our Creator.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of the incredible transformation and redemption that occurs by trusting God. The poetic imagery in chapter 35 is just incredible. The wilderness and dry land rejoicing and blossoming. From this (DESERT) to this (BLOSSOMING – 2 slides). This entire chapter speaks of incredible physical and spiritual transformation that God’s people will enjoy.

What stands out most to you in chapter 35? (Give time for answers) How does this help you get excited for what is to come? (Give time for answers)

Let’s think through this text together…

They are commanded to strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. This is an ongoing action. This same passage is quoted in Hebrews 12, and it is speaking of the idea of being ready for the Lord’s return. Let us not grow weary in the race of faith! Let us be continually about the work of preparing for his return, because He is coming! Our God will not remain far off, and we should want as many as possible to be ready for his return! He is coming to finish what he began – the salvation of his people from sin and death. The wicked will no longer oppress them. Foreign rulers and proud religious leaders will be a thing of the past. God will surely save them! This is our certain hope and expectation.

In that day, when the Lord returns, the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame man shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. These are declarations of both the spiritual and physical renewal that will come on the Day of the Lord. And, if you recall, some of these have already begun with Jesus’ first coming. God will not let even his people’s obstinance and infirmities stop him from saving them! He can overcome the spiritual stupor we put ourselves in with our sin and, when he returns, he will do just that! Praise God for his mercy and grace! My salvation does not depend on my ability and neither does your salvation depend on your ability. The glory for our salvation belongs to the Lord alone!

Verses 8-10 are the climax of the redemption poem. There is a highway that leads the redeemed of the Lord to Him. It is the Way of Holiness and those who walk on the way will have forsaken their unclean sin and folly. There is no place for either of those in God’s eternal kingdom. Of this imagery, commentator John Oswalt says:

He is a God who is faithful and true! And we can, we must, trust in Him!

What a glorious vision of what is to come! God, through Isaiah, has given Judah and future believers like us incredible hope. The brokenness of our present life and world will not be all we know. A day is coming when the redeemed of the LORD will rest and rejoice with Him forever! There will be no more danger from the foe or the beast. The fool and the wicked will not be present there. This holy city will be filled with the saints who have everlasting joy and gladness. In this place sorrow and sighing will be a distant memory, long forgotten. What a glorious day it will be!

I want to encourage you today, whether you are young or old, to embrace the hope that is found in trusting in God rather than the nations/self. Respond to the finished work of Jesus Christ with faith that leads to repentance (a turning from sin to God; a change of mind that changes life). If you are here and wrestling with what you believe or want to learn more about Jesus, I (or any of our pastors) would love to talk with you more about that. Please grab me after the service or contact the church and we’ll gladly meet with you. Kids, if you’re wrestling with what you believe, you can also talk to us, or I’m sure your parents would love to talk through that with you too.

Christian brothers/sisters, it is our calling and delight to make it our aim in all of life to please God. As we walk this faith journey, we have the privilege of representing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our Savior. We have been entrusted with an incredible message of hope and redemption, yet also the terrifying reality of eternal judgment for those who reject God. We must not keep these truths to ourselves. The world needs to hear, just as we have. They need the opportunity to repent and believe.

Will you take this message to our community? Will you be bold this week in your interactions with your family/friends/neighbors/co-workers? Kids, will you tell your siblings and friends about Jesus? You’ve heard the two outcomes. I assume you want chapter 35 for yourself. How could we not want it for our fellow man/woman too? This must be the message of the church and Christians in our day and age.

Let’s pray and ask God to give us a heart for the lost in our community.