September 30th, 2007

"Reining in that tongue" James 1:19-27

Intro…VIDEO CLIP of Chris Farley getting mad at the voting booths…

We've all experienced anger to some degree. Whether you've done something like that or not…

These two areas, anger and tongue are weakness for me. I struggle with this daily.

Text: James 1:19-27

Think of those movies where someone makes a long journey to visit a wise man.

Usually when they finally get there, the wise person talks slowly and thoughtfully. It's like they are hanging on every word he says.

Most likely it's because that "wise" person is, "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."

I Kings 12:6 & 22:6

I find myself naturally respecting someone when they are slow to speak and quick to listen.

What a gift to give someone, actually listening to them….

In our text today, v. 19-21 emphasize listening to and receiving the Word, (where true wisdom comes from) while v. 22-25 stress the doing of the Word.

Why should we quick to listen, slow to speak and control our anger?

Primarily because it clears the way to receive God's truth. We are talking less and listening to God more

Because if we don't, it does not illustrate a life that God desires. V. 20

Look at the contrast in James 3:18, "Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness"

In further preparation to receive God's word, we need to get rid of all moral filth and evil. (v. 21)

The Greek word translated "get rid of" was primarily used of taking off garments.

Hebrews 12:1…..speaks of throwing off any excessive weight, such as unnecessary clothing, to make ready for the race of faith.

The "moral filth" and the evil that is so abundant in our world today needs to be stripped off like dirty clothes in preparation for accepting the word.

What saves us from anger? Humbly accepting God's word.

What saves us from ourselves and endless moral filth and evil (Hell)? Jesus Christ….GOSPEL.

But the key is to actually apply the words of God to your life.

vs. 22 How convicting is that?

Hearing these great words of God from the Bible and not applying them to your life is foolish.

The call to "do what it says" lies at the center of all that James teaches.

It sums up the message of the whole book: Put into practice what you profess to believe.

James 1:22 may very well be the key verse of this entire letter.

As these verses tell us, it's like seeing yourself in the mirror, knowing what needs to change in your life and then forgetting all about it.

The Greek verb katanoeo does not describe a hasty glance, Instead, it refers to careful observation.

Imagine carefully studying your face in the mirror so you've practically memorized every aspect of it. Then you walk away and forget.

Imagine doing that with the Bible. Carefully studying every aspect of it and then walking away and never applying any of it to your life.

The careless man looks in a mirror and forgets what he sees. The earnest man looks into the Word of God and acts upon what he sees.

The wise person listens and puts what they hear into practice. V. 25

The purpose of listening to truth is to act upon it.

"Looks intently" is the Greek verb that denotes penetrating absorption.

What we should be looking into is God's perfect law. God's laws actually give us freedom. Train on the track. The Bible is the law of liberty.

The word of God is the means for regeneration (1:18), a mirror reflecting our defects, (1:23) the ethical guide for Christian living (1:25, 2:8) and the standard for judgment (2:12).

And now to the most convicting part of the sermon for me, vs. 26.

This verse is so simple, yet so profound. Gotta keep a tight rein on the tongue

It's pretty clear on the concept that you say one thing, but if you are doing another, no one is going to believe you.

I consider myself religious, yet when I can't control my tongue, all my religiosity is thrown out the window.

It's like you throw people into shock when they know you as a church going Christian, but then something foul comes out of your mouth.

Why is it that most people today don't want to be part of "organized religion?"

"Religion" has ended up with a bad reputation.

The adjective for religious " thresko" describes a person who performs the external acts of religion, such as public worship, fasting, or giving to the needy, things all people can see.

Yet an uncontrolled tongue reveals that "their religion is worthless," being merely an external sham.

Such a person has been playing the part of one who is religious.

Nothing worse then that. That's the kind of hypocrisy that most people really hate.

It's one thing to say, "I'm a marathon runner" and never run.

Or I'm a vegan…and get caught eating meat.

Or I really am a hard worker…and then get caught sleeping at your desk.

But to say you are religious and then act in a very non-Christian way…

If you really want to be known as "religious" then look after those less fortunate. Widows, orphans etc.

True religion exerts a positive influence on someone else's life.

Here is a practical example of how we can be religious.

One's religion, then, should be more than external; it must spring from an inner spiritual reality that expresses itself in love to others and holiness before God.

Also, keep yourself from being polluted by the world.

Conclusion:

Today's verses remind us that a person's religion must consist of more than superficial acts. It is not enough to listen to a great statement of spiritual truth, or to just read a great passage in the Bible. Nor is it sufficient to engage in formal religious activity. The person whose religious experience is genuine will put spiritual truth into practice, and their life will be marked by love for others and holiness before God.

I believe that time spent in the Bible is not only one of the main points today, but also one of the main keys to controlling your anger and mouth.

September 9th, 2007

The heart of it all: Jesus is Lord (Duet. 6:4-9 and Mark 12:28-31)

Intro… Everything we do in life has at it's core a purpose or primary reason.

For the Chargers, it's to win a Super Bowl…LT doesn't really care about all his personal records…

For the Padres it seems to be to win the division title with a mediocre record at best

For Roxy it's about selling an image, a lifestyle.

For Trader Joes it's about selling healthy food.

Text: Mark 12:30-31

In our ongoing quest to be the Christians God has called us to be as well as the church God has called us to be, it's good to be reminded of what is most important.

I'd like to indentify that as, Christocentric monotheism, "Jesus is Lord." John 20:24-28

Romans 11:33-36

"The forgotten ways" book…credit to Alan Hirsch

We need to have a rediscovery of the place and importance of Jesus.

At its most simple form our life as Christians and our church should always be about Jesus. Recovering a simple Christology.

Christianity reduced to its utter simplicity is genuine Biblical monotheism.

I wanted to break it down to that because if you really do believe in one God then his ways should influence every area of your life.

This concept obviously started back with Adam and Eve when Satan tempted them with another "god" the knowledge of good and evil or being like God.

The Israelites also recognized this need to acknowledge one true God and stated that in the confession, the Shema Yisrael (Hear O Israel) based on Deuteronomy 6:4. Let's turn there.

When we confess that Jesus is Lord it is not just a simple confession that Jesus is our Master and we are his servants.

In reality that confession reverberates with beliefs that go back to Israel's primary confession the "Yahweh is Lord."

This confession in Deut. is set against a culture of religious pluralism or polytheism.

People living in the ancient Near East were essentially a deeply spiritual people who recognized that life was filled with the sacred, the mystical and the magical.

That may sound good initially, and there are even plenty of people like that today who claim to be "spiritual" but not religious.

It's like you can be vaguely spiritual on your own without having to identify with any particular religion.

In 1410 BC, the time Moses wrote Deuteronomy, there were numerous gods, demons, and angels who ruled over different spheres of life.

(Again that is not uncommon today.)

For those in the ancient Near East, life was profoundly spiritual, but it was ruled by innumerable deities, many of whom were not so nice and hard to please.

For example, a polytheist at the time had to encounter numerous gods just to perform the most simple tasks.

Going to get water at the river would involve passing the fields and forest.

They believed there were different divinities ruling each aspect of life.

So, in order not to offend the Baal of the field, one would need to bring a sacrificial offering and perform a religious rite at the shrine of the field.

Trees could be scary too. They believed trees contained nasty spirits called dryads. So you'd have to be sure not to disturb the dryad which involved following a prescribed ritual.

You could also easily offend the river goddess and possibly dry up the river.

This polytheistic view extended way beyond the fields and rivers. Deities presided over politics, family, war, fertility etc.

Each deity had to be encountered with the appropriate decorum, sacrifice and attitude as to not upset them. As a result superstitions abounded.

One could never predict the moods of the particular deity.

How prevalent is this? There are religions just like this today. (Hinduism) Even here in America people have all kinds of rituals and gods that keep them from the one true God, Yahweh.

Into this context comes Deut. 4:6-9

This would mean that there was no longer different gods for different areas of life.

Rather, Yahweh is ONE God, ruling over every aspect of life.

This is a call for the Israelites and us today to live our lives under the lordship of one God and not under the tyranny or temptation of many gods.

Then and now God calls for a total ban on idols and false gods.

Book, page 89-90

When reading the Torah, (the first five books of the Bible) there seems to be so many random instructions of such diverse areas of life.

What that shows is that God is Lord over every minute detail of our lives.

The incarnation of Jesus does not alter the nature of God or the fundamental practical monotheism of the Bible.

Instead the life of Jesus gives an even deeper meaning to monotheism (as compared to the Jewish and Muslim faiths who are also monotheistic).

Our loyalties are now given to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus not only initiates the new covenant, he is the New Covenant.

When the early church (and the church today) claim that "Jesus is Lord", we do so in precisely the same way the Israelites did in the Shema Yisrael.

Have you seen the trucks around town that say, " Jesus Christ is Lord, not a swear word?"

The NT church taught that Jesus is Lord over Caeser (who in Roman theology was a physical manifestation of a god that demanded total allegiance), that Jesus was the redeemer and sat at the right hand of the Father.

To sit at the right hand of a king was immediately understood in those days to be a favored position.

Thus Jesus becomes the pivotal point for us today in our relationship to God.

Thus Christianity is a messianic movement. We need to continually seek to embody the life, spirituality and mission of Jesus.

A genuine messianic monotheism breaks down any notion of a separation of the sacred and secular.

The world and all that is in it belongs to God. There really is nothing that is secular.

Whatever we claim to be secular has just not yet come under the reign of God.

Practically that means that everything we do should be able to have God's blessing. Ask yourself when you are doing whatever activity, would God be pleased with this? Would God be honored with this? Can I easily tell others about God while doing this?

If we can only think of encountering/experiencing God in church then we set up a dualistic spirituality. God becomes a church based deity and religion is a private affair.

That could be why so many people don't live and act like Christians between the Sundays.

As we are reminded that we serve one God who rules over every area of our lives, let's not divide up our lives into the sacred and secular.

That could also allow us to have a split personality as a Christian…and that, my friends, is usually the biggest turn-off to non-Christians…the hypocritical Christian.

By refusing the false dualism of the sacred or secular and committing all of our lives to Jesus, we live out true holiness.

There should be nothing in our lives that cannot be brought under the rule of God.

Otherwise we may say we're monotheists, but in reality we are polytheists.

We say, this is the "God area" of my life and this is the "non-God" or "non-church" things I do…thus creating false gods.

It certainly is a difficult thing to truly worship the one true God, yet it is critical to our life and purpose in this world.

We need to be willing to bring all aspects of our lives and culture under the Lordship of Jesus.

Conclusion:

I Cor. 8:4-6

Now that we've reviewed this important topic it's time to ask ourselves, is Jesus really Lord over every area of your life?

What are you holding back? What is it that you just don't want to give to God?