WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.900 --> 00:00:50.700 And so we're looking at James, and we've spent the last 12 weeks walking through this, and 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:54.720 I believe that James, the reason why I love James so much, is one of the most practical 00:00:54.720 --> 00:00:55.760 books of the Bible. 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.880 It's just like over and over again of the practical nature of the truth of which James 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:05.600 is communicating to his audience, which some 2,000 years later, you and I can sit down and 00:01:05.600 --> 00:01:09.040 read and have the exact same practical application in our life. 00:01:09.080 --> 00:01:14.780 And one of the things we talked about from week one is there are 108 verses in James, and 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:22.580 contained within those 108 verses are 59 commandments, right? 00:01:22.580 --> 00:01:27.080 So this isn't light on, hey, this is what you need to be doing. 00:01:27.580 --> 00:01:33.240 Now, last Sunday and this Sunday, we talked about James is kind of giving us some final instructions, 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:40.920 and I use this illustration that it's like when a parent leaves their child home alone for 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:41.780 the first time, right? 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:46.840 Aaron and I, we've noticed this with our kids as they're getting older, and we're releasing 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:53.560 more to them, including leaving them at home for different times or different periods of 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:53.820 time. 00:01:54.220 --> 00:01:55.620 In fact, it just kind of shows. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:56.660 This is funny. 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:02.800 A few weeks ago, we were talking to some friends of ours, and I said, yeah, I think we're coming 00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:09.260 up to the spot in life where, like, I'm ready to do an overnight trip with Aaron and leave 00:02:09.260 --> 00:02:10.800 Emma and Grace at home alone. 00:02:10.880 --> 00:02:12.260 I think we're ready for that. 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:17.800 And without skipping a beat and with a smile on her face, my wife said, oh, no, we're not. 00:02:18.200 --> 00:02:20.980 No, no, no. 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:23.680 And in that moment, we didn't discuss it. 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:25.060 I was like, yeah, we're not ready. 00:02:25.140 --> 00:02:26.380 I don't know where that came from. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:28.420 I don't know why I said that. 00:02:28.480 --> 00:02:31.400 That was foolish of me in that moment, right? 00:02:31.700 --> 00:02:35.880 But when we're leaving, we kind of give those final instructions, right? 00:02:36.140 --> 00:02:38.000 Like, they know the things they're not supposed to do. 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:41.080 But then in the final, it's like, oh, you're cooking yourself dinner. 00:02:41.140 --> 00:02:42.320 Well, make sure you turn off the stove. 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:48.200 Oh, well, make sure that you lock the door if you go outside when you come back in, right? 00:02:48.200 --> 00:02:50.740 Like, make sure that you're doing these things. 00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:57.040 And it's not that these things that we're reminding them of are not important, that we haven't constantly said. 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:58.540 It's the exact opposite of that. 00:02:58.980 --> 00:03:07.180 We're reinforcing all of the things for their safety and their betterment and for the goodness of their life to remind them of these things. 00:03:08.320 --> 00:03:09.640 And this is what James is doing. 00:03:10.540 --> 00:03:16.440 And so we kind of see this build and build and build and build within this. 00:03:16.440 --> 00:03:22.980 And this is what James not only has been doing at the very end, but it's what James has been doing all along. 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.560 If I had to summarize the theme of James, it would be this. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:32.480 Put your faith to work. 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:35.320 Take what you believe. 00:03:36.220 --> 00:03:39.600 Take what you know and put it to work. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:49.100 In fact, several years ago when I walked through this study, I wrote at the top of my Bible under James, just do what it says. 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:54.920 I think so many times is opinionated individuals, right? 00:03:55.040 --> 00:03:56.140 Amen, yes, we are that. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:01.900 As opinionated individuals, we read something. 00:04:02.760 --> 00:04:13.040 And even as believers, reading God's word, there's this piece of depravity in us that says, well, let me agree with it or understand it, then I'll do it. 00:04:14.160 --> 00:04:15.780 And that's not what James says. 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.080 James is like, I don't care if you agree with it, do it. 00:04:21.320 --> 00:04:23.960 And I don't care if you understand it, do it. 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:42.040 And what we know and what we see is that through the kindness and the grace of the love of God and his kindness and his compassion toward us is when we do what it says, what God works in our heart and in our lives is a molding and a shaping of who we are to be more like Christ. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:42.700 So guess what? 00:04:42.780 --> 00:04:51.140 We end up agreeing with it and we end up understanding it as we go through this. 00:04:51.760 --> 00:05:12.780 So what we see throughout James, it's not that my works will earn me my salvation, but it's that my works will show, will be a testimony not only to my salvation, but to the one who saved me. 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:17.100 And so this is what James is pushing us toward. 00:05:17.760 --> 00:05:23.540 So last week we looked at being a people of patience, right? 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:26.340 How many of you went Black Friday shopping? 00:05:27.580 --> 00:05:28.180 Raise your hands. 00:05:29.340 --> 00:05:29.820 Raise your hands. 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:31.160 Not many of you. 00:05:31.260 --> 00:05:33.800 That is, I don't know, that's kind of sad, that's kind of wonderful. 00:05:33.900 --> 00:05:34.940 I don't know where we're at, right? 00:05:36.080 --> 00:05:37.520 You just got on Amazon, didn't you? 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:38.460 That's what you did, right? 00:05:39.520 --> 00:05:41.420 But I got out in it for a little bit. 00:05:42.940 --> 00:05:46.640 And I experienced a lot of people that maybe needed that. 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:53.040 And I'll be honest with you, the whole time I'm walking around, I'm like, Bo, you've got to be patient. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:54.460 You've got to be patient. 00:05:55.020 --> 00:05:57.720 You've got to be patient, right? 00:05:57.900 --> 00:05:58.080 Right? 00:05:58.140 --> 00:06:00.040 This is where we are in life, what we're going through. 00:06:00.200 --> 00:06:04.440 But being people of patience in that, in that, what we display is the truth of the gospel. 00:06:04.880 --> 00:06:11.740 And so we're going to look at three different things that James calls us to be people of in these last several verses we wrap up. 00:06:11.780 --> 00:06:14.580 So we're going to read 12 through 20 and then come back and look at each one of these. 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:15.840 It says this, 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:43.820 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:49.660 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.320 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:58.200 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:06:58.460 --> 00:07:02.280 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:08.120 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.880 And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. 00:07:13.460 --> 00:07:19.100 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruits. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:20.960 Verse 19, 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:26.900 My brother, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:38.300 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:43.460 So you see right in through here, there are these three kind of broken pieces. 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:49.020 I don't mean broken as in they're flawed, but I mean as in they seem to be separated out from one another. 00:07:49.400 --> 00:07:52.740 And James kind of gets them all tied in together. 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:59.760 And as we read this through, as this letter concludes, it's like one last thing, one last thing, one last thing. 00:07:59.760 --> 00:08:02.160 Be this, be this, be this, be this. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:06.600 I think this is what we need. 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:19.800 James said, as people see you, as people know you, as people hear you, let this, let this be what they see. 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:22.580 So what do we see from these? 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:24.800 Building off being people of patience. 00:08:24.940 --> 00:08:27.800 Number one, what we look at this morning is being people of truth. 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:29.100 Being people of truth. 00:08:29.260 --> 00:08:29.860 Look at verse 12. 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:36.780 But above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any oath. 00:08:37.540 --> 00:08:45.280 But let your yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:51.260 So just really quickly, the teaching of James here in 512 is going to mirror in a lot of ways the teaching of Jesus. 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:57.980 In Matthew 5, 34 through 37, Jesus tackles this topic as well in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:04.280 And Jesus and James both command people not to swear by oaths. 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:05.480 Now here's what I would say. 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:16.100 I would argue in looking at Scripture, and most theologians agree that James and Jesus are not talking about formal oaths. 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:24.260 They're not talking about if you get called into court, that you can't fall under an oath that's there. 00:09:24.660 --> 00:09:31.240 That if you join a branch of the military or something like that, that you are now excluded from doing that. 00:09:31.700 --> 00:09:38.680 That's not all what they're talking about in the formal oaths that are put in place by governments and organizations. 00:09:38.680 --> 00:09:43.300 But what they're talking about are informal oaths between people. 00:09:43.300 --> 00:09:50.340 Now this was a common practice during the day of Jesus and during the day of James. 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:51.800 And we'll look at that. 00:09:52.060 --> 00:10:02.380 That they would say to one another as they're coming to an agreement within those in the church, within believers in the nation of Israel, 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:10.680 is that they would come together on an agreement between two people who knew each other, two people who fall under the same faith, 00:10:10.680 --> 00:10:15.340 and they would say, in agreeance, I swear by this oath. 00:10:16.780 --> 00:10:17.980 And what was the purpose of it? 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:20.220 What was the purpose of it? 00:10:20.220 --> 00:10:21.820 What's the purpose of any oath? 00:10:22.820 --> 00:10:24.900 On a positive note, right? 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:31.560 On a positive note, an oath is an understanding or an agreeance that we both have. 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:42.240 But in all truthfulness, an oath most of the time is to limit lying or deceit. 00:10:43.560 --> 00:10:48.580 So God's people, during the time where Jesus and James were talking about this, 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:54.120 they would swear by an oath, and they would call on God's name in this. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:11:07.720 So they would say, I swear to you, I pledge to you, I commit to you, right, under the name of the Lord, that this is true. 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:15.040 And what they're doing in that moment is they're claiming God in two ways. 00:11:16.020 --> 00:11:20.700 They're claiming God, number one, as a witness, as the third party that's there. 00:11:21.260 --> 00:11:29.220 So I commit this, I pledge this, I say this to you, calling on the name of the Lord to be the third party witness, 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.160 which is kind of funny if you think about it, right? 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:37.120 It's like, I'm inviting God into the conversation like he ain't there to begin with, you know what I mean? 00:11:38.020 --> 00:11:45.600 But they're bringing him in as the witness, and then in this, they're calling on him to be judge. 00:11:46.900 --> 00:11:48.820 It's the acknowledgement of who he is. 00:11:49.260 --> 00:11:52.440 And this then would be the binding peace. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:12:01.600 So James writes this to the believers who are having to do this amongst themselves and says, don't. 00:12:02.900 --> 00:12:03.920 Don't do this. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:12.600 Stop being people who feel like in order to be trustworthy or truthful, 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.900 you have to call on the name of the Lord as a witness or as judge. 00:12:18.900 --> 00:12:21.100 And here's the, where it's going to come to. 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:27.440 As believers, what we say matters. 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.140 What we say matters. 00:12:31.140 --> 00:12:41.720 The overarching arc in James 5, 12 is not, is not, hear me on this, is not do not do this. 00:12:41.900 --> 00:12:42.820 That's there. 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:47.060 The truth that comes into that is this. 00:12:48.020 --> 00:12:49.520 Be a person of truth. 00:12:50.660 --> 00:12:52.080 Be a person of truth. 00:12:53.160 --> 00:13:01.640 Be a person that when you say something, the people who hear it know to be true because they know the character of who you are. 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:06.880 And they know the Savior whose name you claim. 00:13:06.880 --> 00:13:09.980 Be a person of truth. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:14.740 So let your yes be yes and let your no be no. 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:17.200 Church, what we say matters. 00:13:17.940 --> 00:13:19.640 We speak encouragement. 00:13:20.140 --> 00:13:21.620 We speak hope. 00:13:22.040 --> 00:13:23.600 We speak praise. 00:13:24.040 --> 00:13:25.320 We speak prayers. 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:26.820 We speak truth. 00:13:27.180 --> 00:13:30.280 And here is why all of this matters. 00:13:31.640 --> 00:13:33.280 Because we speak the gospel. 00:13:34.780 --> 00:13:35.840 Because we speak the gospel. 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.000 Think about this. 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:50.080 If you're a person who doesn't speak truth, whether it's to your spouse, you lie about where you go, you lie about what you spend, you lie about what you do. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:14:01.280 If you lie to your kids, if you lie to your business partners, to your coworkers, to your neighbors, to your friends. 00:14:02.340 --> 00:14:15.000 If you lie about your accomplishments, if you lie about your taxes, if you lie about your income, if you lie about what you're doing and where you are and where you've been and what you hope for. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:24.120 If you are a person who lies, but then you say, but let me tell you about the truth of Jesus, why should they believe you? 00:14:25.280 --> 00:14:33.840 If everything that comes from our mouth is an exaggeration at minimum and a lie at best, right? 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:40.780 Then why, why should anyone believe when we say, but this is the truth of Jesus? 00:14:42.780 --> 00:14:46.420 So James says this, just be people of truth. 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:49.040 Let your yes be yes. 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:51.000 Let your no be no. 00:14:51.680 --> 00:14:52.820 Do what it says. 00:14:53.420 --> 00:14:57.180 Live out the truth of God's word because what we're doing is so much more important here. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:14:59.300 Be a person of truth. 00:15:00.260 --> 00:15:01.540 We need to be people of truth. 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:06.380 The second thing that we see here is being people of prayer. 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.520 Let's read back through verse 13 and 18. 00:15:09.520 --> 00:15:13.300 Is anyone among you suffering? 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:14.700 Let him pray. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:16.640 Is anyone cheerful? 00:15:17.140 --> 00:15:18.300 Let him sing praise. 00:15:19.020 --> 00:15:20.420 Is anyone among you sick? 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:26.440 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:15:27.460 --> 00:15:32.500 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. 00:15:33.280 --> 00:15:35.220 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:15:36.060 --> 00:15:41.100 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:15:41.520 --> 00:15:45.580 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:15:46.380 --> 00:15:51.120 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:55.840 And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:57.760 And then he prayed again. 00:15:59.020 --> 00:16:03.740 And heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit. 00:16:04.520 --> 00:16:06.620 So we're to be people of patience. 00:16:06.800 --> 00:16:08.380 We're to be people of truth. 00:16:08.540 --> 00:16:10.860 But we're also to be people of prayer. 00:16:11.560 --> 00:16:12.060 Being people of prayer. 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:12.640 What does that mean? 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:13.200 What does that look like? 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:16.820 Well, here's kind of four questions as I went through this this week. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.960 In my quiet time, in my study, I wanted to think a lot about prayer. 00:16:21.260 --> 00:16:25.400 And so God just kind of led me to four questions that I've been asking myself over and over this week. 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:27.260 And I want to ask them to you that they're not on the screen. 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:30.060 If you want to jot them down, if you're a note taker, I would encourage it. 00:16:30.140 --> 00:16:31.200 But just four questions. 00:16:31.260 --> 00:16:31.720 Let me ask you this. 00:16:31.760 --> 00:16:33.280 Question number one, why do you pray? 00:16:34.160 --> 00:16:34.840 Why do you pray? 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:37.400 What's your goal? 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:45.940 When you decide to bring something before the Lord, when you decide to communicate something to Him, why do you do it? 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:48.060 Is it for selfish motivation? 00:16:49.060 --> 00:16:50.920 Is it out of tradition that's there? 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:56.320 Is it out of a spiritual discipline that the Holy Spirit has built inside of you? 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.840 Is it because every time you sit down and eat, right, it's just what you do, right? 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:02.440 Why do you pray? 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:03.220 Question number one. 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.720 Question number two, when do you pray? 00:17:06.280 --> 00:17:06.880 When do you pray? 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:12.760 I know some of you, you are prayer men and women on a schedule. 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:15.620 And there's nothing at all wrong with that, right? 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:24.220 Like, you've got your time lined up and set, and it's at this morning, a time of the morning, or this time of the evening, or this time of the day, and it's set for this time. 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:28.800 And, man, you walk in, and you set that timer, and you're there, and you're praying, and you're praying, and you're praying. 00:17:29.300 --> 00:17:29.900 When do you pray? 00:17:31.260 --> 00:17:36.740 Or maybe you're like me, and I'm more like all over the place, right? 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:43.080 I'm bobbing and weaving and zigzagging and doing all the things I need to do, and then in that moment, boom, here we are, right? 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:47.320 I find myself that that's more of the pattern of where I'm at. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:48.700 When do you pray? 00:17:48.800 --> 00:17:50.720 Do you schedule, or more impromptu? 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.060 Third question I ask is, is how do you pray? 00:17:54.780 --> 00:17:55.660 How do you pray? 00:17:56.320 --> 00:18:00.720 Do you pray mostly alone, or do you mostly pray with people? 00:18:01.760 --> 00:18:04.180 Do you pray silent, right? 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:05.980 Or do you pray aloud? 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:12.640 Do you pray with your head bowed, and you're seated, or on your knees? 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:17.460 Or do you pray standing with your arms raised? 00:18:18.280 --> 00:18:23.420 Like, what do you find in the positioning of your body when you pray? 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:24.400 I love it. 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:25.100 It never fails. 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:25.960 And I'm this way, too. 00:18:26.020 --> 00:18:27.560 I always have to make sure I say this. 00:18:27.820 --> 00:18:31.680 I spend a lot of time in the car praying, and then with my eyes open, right? 00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:34.180 I've got to make sure that that's where we're at with this, right? 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.020 But how do you pray? 00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:42.400 But here's the question that we're going to kind of look at here, this fourth question that 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:46.000 really, man, God just worked in my heart so much this week is this. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:47.980 What do you pray for? 00:18:49.040 --> 00:18:49.960 What do you pray for? 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:57.200 You know, is it laying there in bed at night, and you're thinking about all of the things 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:02.480 that have happened over the course of the day, and it's a wonderful time of reflection, of 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.520 gratitude toward the Lord, right? 00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:12.000 Or maybe it's waking up early in the morning, knowing that all but the day has to hold, and 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.080 it's for the strength and the wisdom to endure. 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:15.560 What do you pray for? 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:21.680 Maybe you have a season of life that you're going through right now, where due to a relationship 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:26.500 that you have, or maybe even it's something internally within yourself that you find that 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:30.040 all of your prayers are guided and pointed toward this. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.460 What do you pray for? 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:38.820 Maybe you have a different topic that's set aside for each day of the week, and so you 00:19:38.820 --> 00:19:41.200 wake up in the morning and you pray for this missionary. 00:19:41.520 --> 00:19:44.360 You wake up in the next morning and you pray for this organization. 00:19:44.580 --> 00:19:47.620 You wake up in the next morning and you pray for these members of your family. 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:49.520 Like, what do you pray for? 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:56.540 Well, what James gives us here is several different types of prayers. 00:19:57.540 --> 00:20:03.080 It feels like when we first read this, that this is one, like, here we go, and you can do 00:20:03.080 --> 00:20:03.200 that. 00:20:03.260 --> 00:20:10.260 You can embody all of these into one, but we kind of see these as isolated, either different 00:20:10.260 --> 00:20:14.340 prayers that we pray or different aspects of prayer that we see here. 00:20:14.620 --> 00:20:17.660 And so James says first, he says, pray during suffering. 00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:22.920 The very beginning of the verse there, is anyone among you suffering? 00:20:23.260 --> 00:20:23.900 Let him pray. 00:20:24.800 --> 00:20:25.420 Let him pray. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:27.600 Are you spiritually suffering? 00:20:27.760 --> 00:20:29.520 Are you emotionally suffering? 00:20:29.860 --> 00:20:31.700 Are you physically suffering? 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:38.920 James says, if you feel like you're in a mode and in a season of suffering, pray. 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:43.400 Do you know what we can't do or you know what's difficult to do when you pray? 00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:46.700 It's difficult to wallow when you pray. 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.540 It's difficult to go Eeyore when you pray. 00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:55.000 It's difficult to go doom and gloom when you pray. 00:20:56.760 --> 00:20:58.640 James says, is anyone among you suffering? 00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:01.080 What's, if you've been here, you know this answer. 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:02.180 Are they suffering? 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:03.300 Yeah. 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:05.140 What does he say? 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:06.600 Pray. 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:08.320 Pray. 00:21:08.320 --> 00:21:08.360 Pray. 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:09.840 Pray. 00:21:11.520 --> 00:21:12.660 Jesus suffered. 00:21:14.560 --> 00:21:15.280 Jesus suffered. 00:21:16.760 --> 00:21:18.420 And do you know what Jesus did when he suffered? 00:21:19.780 --> 00:21:20.280 He prayed. 00:21:21.600 --> 00:21:22.060 He prayed. 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:36.560 So if the Son of God needed prayer during suffering, if the Son of God sent to save our sins, 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:44.280 if the Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the grave and ascended and will return 00:21:44.280 --> 00:21:53.720 and call his bride back to himself, needed to pray during suffering, maybe you and I need to as well. 00:21:54.680 --> 00:22:01.300 Maybe it's a little less figuring out what we need to do next and a whole lot more of wearing out our knees before the Lord. 00:22:02.760 --> 00:22:06.620 Prayer during suffering, the next that we see, right, is prayer during happiness. 00:22:07.580 --> 00:22:12.680 Is anyone cheerful, James says, let him sing praise, right? 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:13.920 Let him sing. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:16.900 You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, we're talking about prayer, right? 00:22:17.560 --> 00:22:19.140 Well, yeah, let him sing. 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:25.700 So if prayer, think about this, if prayer is communication to God through our words, 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:31.980 then singing praise to God is a type and is a form of prayer. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:38.860 So what we just did corporately together, elevating our words to him, is a form of prayer. 00:22:39.120 --> 00:22:46.360 So what James says, though, is not is anyone cheerful when you get to church or is a band standing on stage? 00:22:46.580 --> 00:22:48.340 Is there words on a screen? 00:22:48.600 --> 00:22:49.080 No, no, no, no, no. 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:51.940 He says, hey, I'm going to go from one extreme to another. 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:53.260 Is anyone cheerful? 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:54.520 Where does it come from? 00:22:54.520 --> 00:22:56.300 All good things come from above, right? 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:57.600 Is anyone cheerful? 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.340 Then let him sing praise. 00:23:01.040 --> 00:23:01.640 Let him sing. 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:03.080 Let him sing. 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:05.600 So why should we sing? 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:07.520 Like, I'm not a singer. 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:09.100 Well, I'm not either. 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:10.980 I don't sing. 00:23:11.520 --> 00:23:12.320 I'm boring. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.060 I listen to talk radio and podcasts, right? 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:16.520 That's what I do. 00:23:16.620 --> 00:23:17.140 I don't sing. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:17.860 I'm not a musician. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.080 I played the trombone, and I was bad at it for three years, all right? 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:25.020 My dad said, it sounded like a moose dying. 00:23:25.300 --> 00:23:26.140 I'll never forget. 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:30.820 Terry Jenkins passed away a few years ago from cancer. 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:33.040 She was my middle school band teacher. 00:23:34.120 --> 00:23:35.160 Love that woman. 00:23:35.340 --> 00:23:36.860 Special, sweet lady. 00:23:38.020 --> 00:23:41.680 She ended up moving next door to my parents toward the end of her life. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:48.620 And she was talking with my parents, and she said, you know, I always told Bo he just needed to practice more. 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:53.400 And my dad looked at her and said, and we always discouraged it, right? 00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:55.860 Just so that you know, all right? 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.260 So you're like me. 00:23:57.360 --> 00:23:58.300 Why should we sing? 00:23:58.640 --> 00:23:59.840 Well, the Bible commands it. 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:01.940 The Bible commands it. 00:24:03.060 --> 00:24:04.500 The Bible doesn't say, if you can. 00:24:05.580 --> 00:24:07.320 The Bible says, sing a new song to the Lord. 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:09.460 The Bible commands that we sing. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:16.560 Practically speaking, when we sing, it helps us respond to the truths of God. 00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:26.480 You ever been listening to or singing a song, especially a song of worship, and it hits right where you're at? 00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:34.100 It communicates the words that your heart feels, but your mouth doesn't know. 00:24:36.260 --> 00:24:37.820 That's the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:43.640 But you wouldn't experience that if not for songs of praise. 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:50.240 And because James says this, right, we say it, it helps us celebrate. 00:24:51.380 --> 00:24:52.680 It helps us celebrate. 00:24:53.780 --> 00:24:56.580 Something good happens, you celebrate. 00:24:57.540 --> 00:25:00.260 A baby is born, you celebrate. 00:25:01.040 --> 00:25:03.740 A couple gets married, you celebrate. 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:07.620 Someone experiences something, you celebrate, right? 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:14.160 We experience the Lord and his kindness and his goodness and his grace and his mercy. 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:15.960 And we celebrate. 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:17.800 And we sing. 00:25:18.520 --> 00:25:20.800 If anyone's cheerful, let him sing. 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:21.980 Let him sing. 00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:23.020 Let him sing. 00:25:24.260 --> 00:25:27.120 We also have another way to pray is prayer during sickness. 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:29.340 Is anyone among you sick? 00:25:30.100 --> 00:25:32.220 Let him call for the elders of the church. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:38.840 And let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:39.340 Right? 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.060 Praying for those who are sick, right? 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:44.620 I read an author this week, and I love this. 00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:50.280 He gave three reasons in this article that he wrote of reasons why that we should pray for others who are sick. 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:58.240 Because it's not just necessarily the person who is sick, but it's also those who are praying for those who are sick. 00:25:58.920 --> 00:25:59.620 And he loved these. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:05.100 And I wanted to just share these with you because I thought it was beautiful of what he says here in this passage of Scripture. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:08.520 But he says, number one, especially when it's someone close to you. 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:11.060 Especially when it's someone close to you. 00:26:11.820 --> 00:26:12.020 Right? 00:26:12.040 --> 00:26:19.200 You get the phone call about your mom, about your dad, about your kid, about your spouse. 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:22.720 And where does your heart go immediately? 00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:24.480 I don't want to accept it. 00:26:25.120 --> 00:26:26.260 I don't want to accept it. 00:26:27.340 --> 00:26:32.640 And this author said, this pastor said, and I loved it, that prayer in those moments helps us deal with reality. 00:26:33.840 --> 00:26:40.160 Not just the reality of the sickness, but the reality that God's still in control. 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:47.740 So when we pray for those who are sick, it helps us deal with the reality of what they face and what we are facing. 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:52.560 Number two, it helps us empathize with those who are sick. 00:26:53.760 --> 00:27:00.020 It helps us bear the burden is what the Bible calls us to do with those who have gotten the news that we haven't. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:09.500 It helps us come alongside them and empathize with them for us to feel what they are feeling and to deal with what they are dealing with. 00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:14.700 And number three, it shows that we support them and that we love them. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.380 It shows that we support them and that we love them. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:21.440 So James, let's pray for those who are sick. 00:27:22.620 --> 00:27:29.380 Call on the elders to lay hands and anoint with oil, right, for those who are there. 00:27:30.580 --> 00:27:32.420 But let's talk about this topic, though. 00:27:32.900 --> 00:27:38.420 Because sometimes this passage can get bent in ways that's not supposed to be. 00:27:39.600 --> 00:27:41.400 Does God always heal the sick? 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:43.220 No. 00:27:44.520 --> 00:27:45.040 No. 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:47.260 Does he heal some? 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:48.600 Yes. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.580 Does he heal all? 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:51.660 No. 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:53.280 Why? 00:27:55.120 --> 00:27:59.100 I mean, the big answer is the brokenness of this world, right? 00:28:00.300 --> 00:28:03.480 But the choice in that moment, I don't know. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:05.220 I don't know. 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:13.240 I want to read to you, and I apologize, it's not on the screen, but I want to read to you a passage of scripture in Mark chapter 1. 00:28:14.860 --> 00:28:17.300 And it's the truth of God's word that's there. 00:28:17.400 --> 00:28:18.860 It's Mark chapter 1. 00:28:18.900 --> 00:28:20.500 I'm sorry, starting in verse 29. 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:22.000 It says, 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:26.600 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:27.360 This is Jesus. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:31.840 Now, Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever. 00:28:31.840 --> 00:28:35.060 And immediately they told him about her. 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:40.260 And he came, and he took her by the hand and lifted her up. 00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:42.340 And the fever left her. 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:45.160 And she began to serve them. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:48.240 And that evening at sundown. 00:28:48.300 --> 00:28:49.440 So, don't miss this. 00:28:49.580 --> 00:28:50.340 He healed her. 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:51.760 Verse 32. 00:28:52.860 --> 00:28:57.380 That evening at sundown, they brought to him all. 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:00.180 All. 00:29:01.600 --> 00:29:04.100 A-L-L. 00:29:05.460 --> 00:29:08.740 Who were sick or oppressed by demons. 00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.680 And the whole city gathered together at the door. 00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:15.520 Verse 34. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:21.740 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases. 00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:25.640 And cast out many demons. 00:29:27.060 --> 00:29:29.720 And he would not permit the demons to speak. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.700 Because they knew him. 00:29:33.300 --> 00:29:34.240 Brought all. 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:36.980 And he healed many. 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:39.520 Verse 35. 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:46.060 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed. 00:29:46.760 --> 00:29:49.320 And went out to a desolate place. 00:29:49.840 --> 00:29:50.860 And there he prayed. 00:29:51.340 --> 00:29:53.600 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him. 00:29:53.600 --> 00:29:56.660 And they found him and said to him, everyone is looking for you. 00:29:56.840 --> 00:29:57.960 Why do you think they're looking for him? 00:29:58.660 --> 00:29:59.400 Everyone will get healed. 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.580 They got grandma. 00:30:01.740 --> 00:30:02.260 They got aunt. 00:30:02.320 --> 00:30:02.960 They got their son. 00:30:03.020 --> 00:30:03.620 They got their daughter. 00:30:03.820 --> 00:30:04.560 They got their spouse. 00:30:04.780 --> 00:30:07.200 Hey, Jesus, we need some more people healed. 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:08.600 We heard about the mother-in-law. 00:30:08.800 --> 00:30:09.640 We heard about the many. 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:10.500 We've got all. 00:30:10.600 --> 00:30:11.460 We need you to heal them. 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:18.560 And he said to them, let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also. 00:30:18.560 --> 00:30:21.320 For that is why I came out. 00:30:21.320 --> 00:30:30.860 And he went out throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. 00:30:32.600 --> 00:30:35.860 He didn't heal all. 00:30:35.860 --> 00:30:38.380 He healed many. 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:46.820 But he says, what I'm here for, the purpose, is the message. 00:30:47.860 --> 00:30:57.460 So, I'm going to put us to this at verse 15 of prayer during sin. 00:30:58.700 --> 00:30:59.580 Look at verse 15. 00:31:02.020 --> 00:31:05.560 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 00:31:06.700 --> 00:31:08.680 And the Lord will raise him up. 00:31:09.760 --> 00:31:14.100 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:31:15.700 --> 00:31:23.020 This verse, when read, can have both a physical and a spiritual healing in mind. 00:31:23.020 --> 00:31:25.660 And here's just what I want to say about this verse. 00:31:28.280 --> 00:31:35.600 The Lord raises up all the sick who believe in him. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:37.900 You heard me. 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:38.280 All. 00:31:41.620 --> 00:31:45.180 Some in this life for their physical sickness. 00:31:45.700 --> 00:31:52.340 But for all who believe in him for their eternal sickness. 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:56.240 He raises all. 00:31:57.520 --> 00:32:06.120 And that what Jesus was sent to do, which is bigger than any sickness that we face on this earth, 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.860 is bring the cure for sin. 00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:12.660 And it's found in him, in him alone. 00:32:13.780 --> 00:32:16.760 And they raised him. 00:32:17.600 --> 00:32:19.080 He raises them. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:23.920 And so, it's Jesus and Jesus alone. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:27.100 It's greater than the fever. 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:29.120 It's greater than the cancer. 00:32:29.360 --> 00:32:31.440 It's greater than the illness. 00:32:31.780 --> 00:32:32.420 It's greater. 00:32:32.420 --> 00:32:34.260 And this is what we all need. 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:37.160 And he comes to heal. 00:32:39.540 --> 00:32:43.500 And then, James gives us in verse 16, two more prayers. 00:32:45.020 --> 00:32:46.960 Verse 16, he gives us a prayer of confession. 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:48.960 Look at verse 16. 00:32:50.100 --> 00:32:51.760 Because this is who you are in Christ now. 00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:52.520 I lean into this. 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:55.720 That's what this therefore is doing for us. 00:32:56.540 --> 00:33:02.760 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:33:04.340 --> 00:33:10.140 So, you see, we're moving on from the physical healing and we're moving toward a spiritual healing. 00:33:10.700 --> 00:33:14.400 Therefore, confess your sins to one another. 00:33:16.300 --> 00:33:17.900 Each one of us. 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:27.460 When we moved on from this level of repentance between me and the Lord to this level of confession between each other. 00:33:27.800 --> 00:33:29.280 Therefore, confess. 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:30.480 This is a commandment. 00:33:30.660 --> 00:33:35.920 This is not for when you feel comfortable or ready or you really get to know them well or it's in the right moment for you. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.680 Or you've really dealt with all the issues that you've got going on and you've risen above them. 00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:40.300 No, no, no, no. 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:42.120 It's therefore, confess. 00:33:42.340 --> 00:33:43.960 So, I am doing this. 00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:47.340 I am struggling with this. 00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:54.180 We're really good, oftentimes, at confessing the PG-level sins that we've overcome. 00:33:55.860 --> 00:34:06.260 But the Bible calls us to dive into the R-rated depravity of our heart that consumes us and confess it to one another and pray for one another. 00:34:06.580 --> 00:34:08.320 And in that, it brings healing. 00:34:09.680 --> 00:34:11.400 So, we pray with one another. 00:34:11.600 --> 00:34:13.340 We confess with one another. 00:34:13.340 --> 00:34:20.740 And then, in that moment when it happens, when someone sits down with you and says, hey, I need to get something off my chest. 00:34:20.860 --> 00:34:24.720 If you're not ready for that, be a person of truth and say, stop. 00:34:28.240 --> 00:34:42.680 But if you sit there and you bear the burden, which is the Bible, what it calls us to do, and they confess, the healing is found in the accountability of what's there in this moment. 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:45.800 And so, we hold each other accountable. 00:34:46.200 --> 00:34:47.860 I want to ask you this question. 00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:51.680 Who knows your mess? 00:34:54.100 --> 00:34:55.360 Who knows your mess? 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:02.920 When I lived with my parents, all right? 00:35:03.060 --> 00:35:05.500 My mom listens to this, by the way, and my dad does, too. 00:35:05.560 --> 00:35:06.160 They know this. 00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:13.700 I could take anything and hide it in my closet or under my bed, right? 00:35:14.740 --> 00:35:17.000 So, my parents would be like, hey, we're going away for the weekend. 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:19.660 Make sure when we get home the house is clean. 00:35:22.700 --> 00:35:26.880 I don't know about clean, but hidden, I could do, right? 00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:28.820 Sweep it under the rug. 00:35:29.060 --> 00:35:30.020 Push it to the side. 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:33.200 Give the fake facade that when they walked in, it was good. 00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:36.420 And the moment they walked in, hey, mom, hey, dad, good to see you. 00:35:36.560 --> 00:35:37.680 Got to go to work, right? 00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:38.920 I'm out. 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:44.360 And when they open the pantry and the trash of the weekend comes falling out, it's too late. 00:35:44.660 --> 00:35:45.740 I'm gone, you know? 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:46.740 I'm out of here. 00:35:47.640 --> 00:35:48.660 And that's what we do. 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:50.880 And that's what we do. 00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:54.220 All that mess, man, it's there. 00:35:54.940 --> 00:35:57.440 We just moved it out of the living room into the attic. 00:35:58.720 --> 00:35:59.660 It's all there. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:06.100 It's just moved from one room that people are going to see to that bedroom that always has the door closed. 00:36:07.100 --> 00:36:08.560 And that's what we do with our sin. 00:36:09.940 --> 00:36:10.880 And let's just confess it. 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:12.480 Confess it. 00:36:12.940 --> 00:36:13.440 Confess it. 00:36:13.700 --> 00:36:14.800 And here's what I'll say. 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:19.900 Not everybody has to know your mess. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:21.820 Hear me out. 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:26.400 Social media, not the best, right? 00:36:27.740 --> 00:36:30.640 Moment of open confession for everybody, probably not the best. 00:36:31.640 --> 00:36:39.600 But if you don't have a handful of men and women in your life that know your mess, let me just say this to you. 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:46.720 You're walking on a layer of ice about that thick with a raging river underneath. 00:36:48.640 --> 00:36:51.580 And you're doing it all by yourself, right? 00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:52.740 Who knows? 00:36:53.040 --> 00:36:54.160 Who knows your mess? 00:36:55.100 --> 00:36:56.520 Last thing, prayer of faith. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:57.580 Prayer of faith. 00:36:57.660 --> 00:36:59.480 Look at the end of 16 through 18. 00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:04.620 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:37:05.680 --> 00:37:09.780 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:13.620 And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. 00:37:13.660 --> 00:37:18.540 And he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 00:37:18.700 --> 00:37:20.320 So let me just really quickly. 00:37:20.600 --> 00:37:21.500 Elijah was the prophet. 00:37:21.720 --> 00:37:22.340 We meet him. 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:25.280 If you don't know him, you can meet him in 1 Kings 17, all right? 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:27.080 So go read the story, right? 00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:28.040 That's where it's at. 00:37:29.540 --> 00:37:31.700 What James says is he was a man just like us. 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:42.580 No superhuman powers, but he was righteous, and he prayed earnestly. 00:37:43.680 --> 00:37:46.920 And this is who he was. 00:37:48.140 --> 00:37:54.680 And in that, in that, right, God did great things. 00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:59.040 I just want to ask you this, and it's the conversation. 00:37:59.040 --> 00:38:00.620 The Lord is having with me. 00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:05.740 Am I praying T-ball prayers of faith? 00:38:07.580 --> 00:38:14.020 Or am I praying only God can do it prayers of faith? 00:38:15.600 --> 00:38:25.060 And in that, what I need to do, like Elijah, is I need to examine myself and attack my sin. 00:38:25.900 --> 00:38:35.700 You see, Elijah was a man of right standing before God, and so he could come to God with big, God-focused prayers. 00:38:36.700 --> 00:38:37.240 Because they weren't about his glory. 00:38:37.240 --> 00:38:38.300 Because they weren't about his glory. 00:38:38.300 --> 00:38:40.960 They weren't about what he wanted. 00:38:41.580 --> 00:38:42.780 They were about God. 00:38:44.700 --> 00:38:47.440 And then lastly, and we'll close with these two verses. 00:38:47.620 --> 00:38:49.180 We'll close quickly, okay? 00:38:49.980 --> 00:38:51.120 Being people of love. 00:38:51.580 --> 00:38:52.300 Being people of love. 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:52.940 Verse 19. 00:38:54.080 --> 00:39:05.800 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:14.020 There's so much goodness that's here in this, but I just want to kind of look at this in an aspect, and then we'll conclude with this, being people of love. 00:39:14.680 --> 00:39:17.280 All right, I'll ask you one last question when we kind of go through this together. 00:39:18.040 --> 00:39:19.240 What does it mean to love people? 00:39:20.520 --> 00:39:21.460 What does it mean to love people? 00:39:22.720 --> 00:39:31.520 We live in a culture that I would argue is not a culture that is limited to 2022, 00:39:31.520 --> 00:39:39.740 but it's been the culture of the depravity of people since sin entered the world. 00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.900 When we go back and we look at Scripture, 00:39:44.040 --> 00:39:50.360 the culture that we find ourselves in is not indicative to a generation that we want to blame, 00:39:50.580 --> 00:39:52.700 but is indicative of being generational. 00:39:54.420 --> 00:39:58.240 And it starts in the moment where sin enters the world. 00:39:59.100 --> 00:40:06.100 But we live and have lived in a culture that says to love you means this, 00:40:06.620 --> 00:40:13.640 that I must accept you as the best you can be, the best you choose to be. 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.540 You know what, kid, where you're at, that's just good enough. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.580 Or affirm all the choices you make. 00:40:25.460 --> 00:40:29.040 We define that this is what love is. 00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:32.560 And I would argue that's not love at all. 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:37.600 I tried to find a word that that attitude describes. 00:40:39.020 --> 00:40:43.160 And the only word I could come back to is sinful. 00:40:44.580 --> 00:40:47.160 That's sinful is what it is. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:49.520 Because look at what James says. 00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:53.480 If anyone among you wanders from the truth, 00:40:53.740 --> 00:40:56.960 the truth of the gospel, the truth of grace, the truth of Jesus Christ, 00:40:57.180 --> 00:41:01.100 the truth of God's righteousness and holiness and desire and plan, 00:41:01.300 --> 00:41:04.160 the 58 commandments that we see in the book of James 00:41:04.160 --> 00:41:06.080 and the commandments that are filled with God's word, 00:41:06.260 --> 00:41:08.860 if any one of you wanders from that, 00:41:09.080 --> 00:41:10.420 here's how you love them, 00:41:10.580 --> 00:41:11.820 not affirming them, 00:41:12.080 --> 00:41:13.360 not encouraging them, 00:41:13.520 --> 00:41:14.920 not telling them it's okay, 00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:16.760 but you go and get them 00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:19.120 and you bring them back. 00:41:20.140 --> 00:41:22.100 You tell them where they are is wrong 00:41:22.100 --> 00:41:24.460 and the standard is God. 00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:26.500 So here's the question. 00:41:26.860 --> 00:41:28.980 Did Jesus love people? 00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:31.360 In my notes, three letters, 00:41:31.700 --> 00:41:32.780 all capitalized, 00:41:33.060 --> 00:41:33.620 in bold, 00:41:33.980 --> 00:41:34.340 yes. 00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:36.260 Yes. 00:41:36.380 --> 00:41:39.020 I don't care who we have in our lives 00:41:39.020 --> 00:41:40.960 that we think really loves people. 00:41:41.120 --> 00:41:43.580 They don't come close to loving them the way that Jesus did. 00:41:44.660 --> 00:41:47.100 Not even remotely close. 00:41:48.480 --> 00:41:49.660 And what does Jesus do? 00:41:50.240 --> 00:41:51.540 I hear this all the time. 00:41:52.020 --> 00:41:53.240 Oh, it drives me crazy. 00:41:53.760 --> 00:41:56.700 I just want to love people the way Jesus loved people. 00:41:57.120 --> 00:41:59.560 And I hope you mean something different 00:41:59.560 --> 00:42:01.360 than where my heart oftentimes hears that. 00:42:02.100 --> 00:42:03.620 Because here's how Jesus loved people. 00:42:04.920 --> 00:42:06.040 The woman at the well, 00:42:07.280 --> 00:42:08.420 man, he loved her. 00:42:09.460 --> 00:42:10.460 He loved her. 00:42:11.100 --> 00:42:13.300 And he addressed her sexual sin. 00:42:15.100 --> 00:42:15.700 The woman, 00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:17.640 sorry, 00:42:18.640 --> 00:42:22.700 the woman brought to him in adultery, 00:42:23.680 --> 00:42:25.100 said, should we stone her? 00:42:25.660 --> 00:42:27.020 That the law requires that. 00:42:27.900 --> 00:42:29.240 Jesus saved her 00:42:29.240 --> 00:42:30.920 and then looked at her 00:42:30.920 --> 00:42:33.160 and said, stop sinning. 00:42:34.700 --> 00:42:36.120 Stop sinning. 00:42:36.720 --> 00:42:38.140 What they said about you is true. 00:42:38.140 --> 00:42:41.620 Stop sinning. 00:42:43.040 --> 00:42:45.860 Jesus and the rich young ruler. 00:42:47.340 --> 00:42:49.980 How do I get eternal life? 00:42:51.400 --> 00:42:52.720 And in love, 00:42:54.200 --> 00:42:56.880 Jesus addresses the sin of his heart. 00:42:57.980 --> 00:42:59.320 And in love, 00:43:00.980 --> 00:43:02.580 Jesus watched him walk away. 00:43:04.900 --> 00:43:05.380 Folks, 00:43:06.220 --> 00:43:07.120 that's love. 00:43:08.640 --> 00:43:09.520 That's love. 00:43:11.120 --> 00:43:11.960 That's love. 00:43:12.160 --> 00:43:13.400 That's Jesus. 00:43:15.140 --> 00:43:15.360 I mean, 00:43:15.580 --> 00:43:16.440 the phrase, 00:43:18.400 --> 00:43:20.240 I just want to meet people where they are, 00:43:22.900 --> 00:43:23.180 I mean, 00:43:23.280 --> 00:43:23.800 that's, 00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:26.120 that's partially true. 00:43:27.580 --> 00:43:29.700 We have to meet people where they are. 00:43:31.160 --> 00:43:32.160 And in that, 00:43:33.220 --> 00:43:34.680 we got to point them to Jesus. 00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:37.200 We got to point them to Jesus. 00:43:38.400 --> 00:43:40.520 I'm not saying within the first five seconds, 00:43:41.360 --> 00:43:43.380 but I'm saying this, 00:43:44.060 --> 00:43:46.760 how many people have you known for five years 00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:49.720 that we've never shared 00:43:49.720 --> 00:43:52.360 and we've never pointed 00:43:52.360 --> 00:43:54.700 and it's never pointed us 00:43:54.700 --> 00:43:55.620 to the truth of the gospel. 00:43:58.820 --> 00:43:59.840 Here's what these verses, 00:44:01.700 --> 00:44:02.640 here's what this book, 00:44:04.240 --> 00:44:05.240 here's what this letter 00:44:05.240 --> 00:44:07.540 reminds me of. 00:44:07.540 --> 00:44:09.640 Number one, 00:44:10.700 --> 00:44:11.660 and above all, 00:44:12.860 --> 00:44:15.600 we need the Lord. 00:44:16.560 --> 00:44:17.400 We need him. 00:44:18.680 --> 00:44:19.940 And we're about to celebrate 00:44:19.940 --> 00:44:21.900 a whole season, 00:44:22.520 --> 00:44:24.700 whether if they want to or not. 00:44:26.080 --> 00:44:27.660 There's lights out on the road. 00:44:29.660 --> 00:44:31.700 There's decorations that have been put out. 00:44:33.200 --> 00:44:34.760 All to celebrate 00:44:34.760 --> 00:44:36.600 something. 00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:39.160 What's it going to be? 00:44:39.920 --> 00:44:40.660 What's it going to be? 00:44:42.500 --> 00:44:43.180 Number two, 00:44:44.520 --> 00:44:45.380 when we know 00:44:45.380 --> 00:44:47.380 what we celebrate, 00:44:48.780 --> 00:44:49.640 when we know 00:44:49.640 --> 00:44:50.880 who it is, 00:44:52.060 --> 00:44:53.120 when we know 00:44:53.120 --> 00:44:54.680 that it's not a fat man 00:44:54.680 --> 00:44:55.360 coming out of a chimney, 00:44:56.700 --> 00:44:57.520 when we know 00:44:57.520 --> 00:44:59.140 that it's not a feeling 00:44:59.140 --> 00:45:00.400 that we just have, 00:45:01.380 --> 00:45:02.220 when we know 00:45:02.220 --> 00:45:03.680 that it's not a gift 00:45:03.680 --> 00:45:05.140 that someone's going to 00:45:05.140 --> 00:45:05.640 wrap up 00:45:05.640 --> 00:45:06.640 that we're going to receive, 00:45:07.520 --> 00:45:08.640 when we know 00:45:08.640 --> 00:45:10.080 that it's Jesus, 00:45:11.320 --> 00:45:14.520 then do what it says 00:45:14.520 --> 00:45:17.420 and live like it 00:45:17.420 --> 00:45:19.480 so that people may see 00:45:19.480 --> 00:45:20.260 our works 00:45:20.260 --> 00:45:22.720 and not look at us, 00:45:23.780 --> 00:45:24.760 but look at him 00:45:24.760 --> 00:45:26.600 and who he is. 00:45:27.780 --> 00:45:28.580 Would you pray with me? 00:45:28.580 --> 00:45:28.680 Amen. 00:45:32.220 --> 00:45:34.080 God, 00:45:34.160 --> 00:45:34.840 I thank you so much 00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:35.480 for your word. 00:45:37.240 --> 00:45:37.480 Oh, 00:45:37.560 --> 00:45:37.820 Lord, 00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:39.860 it hurts sometimes. 00:45:42.360 --> 00:45:43.320 It hurts. 00:45:45.680 --> 00:45:46.940 But it is beautiful. 00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:50.800 As your spirit works, 00:45:50.920 --> 00:45:52.580 it's the surgeon 00:45:52.580 --> 00:45:53.620 on the disease 00:45:53.620 --> 00:45:54.520 of our heart 00:45:54.520 --> 00:45:57.200 and just slices off 00:45:57.200 --> 00:45:59.860 and works on 00:45:59.860 --> 00:46:02.580 the areas 00:46:02.580 --> 00:46:03.940 of imperfection, 00:46:04.060 --> 00:46:04.740 of sin, 00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:05.600 of corruption, 00:46:05.760 --> 00:46:06.880 of our heart 00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:09.700 to bring forth 00:46:09.700 --> 00:46:11.820 that new life, 00:46:12.640 --> 00:46:13.640 new light, 00:46:14.620 --> 00:46:15.580 and new hope 00:46:15.580 --> 00:46:18.060 that's found in Christ, 00:46:19.100 --> 00:46:20.440 in Christ alone. 00:46:23.260 --> 00:46:23.740 God, 00:46:23.740 --> 00:46:24.080 I thank you 00:46:24.080 --> 00:46:24.620 for this 00:46:24.620 --> 00:46:26.800 book of James. 00:46:28.300 --> 00:46:29.040 I thank you 00:46:29.040 --> 00:46:29.960 for the 12 weeks 00:46:29.960 --> 00:46:30.660 that we've spent 00:46:30.660 --> 00:46:33.040 as a church family 00:46:33.040 --> 00:46:34.940 walking through it 00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:35.440 together. 00:46:39.440 --> 00:46:40.040 And Lord, 00:46:40.100 --> 00:46:41.140 for all of us 00:46:41.140 --> 00:46:43.840 who know Christ, 00:46:44.780 --> 00:46:46.000 who are found 00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:46.560 in him, 00:46:47.700 --> 00:46:48.580 who have been 00:46:48.580 --> 00:46:48.980 adopted 00:46:48.980 --> 00:46:49.900 into your family. 00:46:51.600 --> 00:46:52.240 Lord, 00:46:52.280 --> 00:46:52.880 I pray that we 00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:54.220 walk out of here 00:46:54.220 --> 00:46:57.400 into every corner, 00:46:58.500 --> 00:46:59.540 into every street, 00:47:00.460 --> 00:47:01.620 into every home 00:47:01.620 --> 00:47:03.680 that you lead us 00:47:03.680 --> 00:47:06.080 and we would do 00:47:06.080 --> 00:47:06.720 what your word 00:47:06.720 --> 00:47:07.720 commands us 00:47:07.720 --> 00:47:08.700 to do. 00:47:09.580 --> 00:47:10.580 And in that, 00:47:11.340 --> 00:47:12.500 and in that, 00:47:12.640 --> 00:47:12.720 Lord, 00:47:12.760 --> 00:47:13.260 we won't look 00:47:13.260 --> 00:47:14.080 like ourselves, 00:47:14.500 --> 00:47:14.900 we won't look 00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:15.420 like you. 00:47:16.880 --> 00:47:17.840 And we'll carry 00:47:17.840 --> 00:47:18.360 the hope 00:47:18.360 --> 00:47:19.060 of the gospel. 00:47:19.420 --> 00:47:19.920 We'll speak 00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:20.400 the hope 00:47:20.400 --> 00:47:21.020 of the gospel. 00:47:21.400 --> 00:47:22.000 We'll live 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:22.340 the hope 00:47:22.340 --> 00:47:23.000 of the gospel. 00:47:23.260 --> 00:47:23.820 We'll share 00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:24.200 the hope 00:47:24.200 --> 00:47:24.780 of the gospel. 00:47:25.120 --> 00:47:25.620 We'll pray 00:47:25.620 --> 00:47:25.960 for those 00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:26.340 with the hope 00:47:26.340 --> 00:47:27.000 of the gospel. 00:47:27.220 --> 00:47:27.860 We'll encourage 00:47:27.860 --> 00:47:28.480 those with the hope 00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:29.060 of the gospel. 00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:30.120 And we'll celebrate 00:47:30.120 --> 00:47:31.560 you and who you are 00:47:31.560 --> 00:47:32.220 and Lord, 00:47:32.280 --> 00:47:33.080 and you and what 00:47:33.080 --> 00:47:33.880 you've done 00:47:33.880 --> 00:47:35.340 because you are holy 00:47:35.340 --> 00:47:36.700 and you are worthy 00:47:36.700 --> 00:47:38.340 of all of our praise, 00:47:38.460 --> 00:47:39.320 of every breath 00:47:39.320 --> 00:47:40.120 that we have, 00:47:40.220 --> 00:47:41.060 of every fiber, 00:47:41.200 --> 00:47:41.980 of our being, 00:47:42.160 --> 00:47:42.900 of every beat 00:47:42.900 --> 00:47:43.580 of our heart. 00:47:45.040 --> 00:47:45.780 It's you. 00:47:46.740 --> 00:47:47.480 And may we live 00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:48.060 for you. 00:47:50.180 --> 00:47:50.600 And Lord, 00:47:50.640 --> 00:47:51.320 I pray if there's 00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:52.140 anyone in here 00:47:52.140 --> 00:47:52.780 this morning, 00:47:53.680 --> 00:47:55.520 and I don't know 00:47:55.520 --> 00:47:56.180 why they're here, 00:47:56.420 --> 00:47:57.040 maybe they're here 00:47:57.040 --> 00:47:57.660 because they're 00:47:57.660 --> 00:47:58.780 visiting their grandma 00:47:58.780 --> 00:47:59.820 for Thanksgiving, 00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:00.900 they're here 00:48:00.900 --> 00:48:01.940 for family 00:48:01.940 --> 00:48:02.940 and just polite 00:48:02.940 --> 00:48:04.100 before they pack up 00:48:04.100 --> 00:48:04.540 and they head 00:48:04.540 --> 00:48:05.160 down the road. 00:48:05.520 --> 00:48:05.620 Lord, 00:48:05.720 --> 00:48:06.420 they're just here 00:48:06.420 --> 00:48:07.300 this morning 00:48:07.300 --> 00:48:08.100 or maybe it's 00:48:08.100 --> 00:48:08.580 someone who comes 00:48:08.580 --> 00:48:09.680 in here every single week, 00:48:09.980 --> 00:48:10.980 but in themselves, 00:48:11.180 --> 00:48:12.260 there's not the hope 00:48:12.260 --> 00:48:12.960 of salvation 00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:13.860 that's found 00:48:13.860 --> 00:48:14.300 in Christ 00:48:14.300 --> 00:48:15.120 and Christ alone. 00:48:16.660 --> 00:48:18.780 Maybe it's a self-earned, 00:48:18.820 --> 00:48:19.840 I'll be good enough, 00:48:20.920 --> 00:48:21.860 or maybe they don't 00:48:21.860 --> 00:48:22.720 even know. 00:48:24.360 --> 00:48:24.680 Lord, 00:48:24.740 --> 00:48:26.500 I pray that right now, 00:48:26.800 --> 00:48:26.900 Lord, 00:48:26.920 --> 00:48:27.540 in the power 00:48:27.540 --> 00:48:28.400 of your spirit 00:48:28.400 --> 00:48:29.820 and the drawing work, 00:48:30.120 --> 00:48:30.220 Lord, 00:48:30.240 --> 00:48:30.980 in what you do, 00:48:31.180 --> 00:48:31.920 that you would draw 00:48:31.920 --> 00:48:32.640 their heart 00:48:32.640 --> 00:48:33.340 to yourself, 00:48:33.540 --> 00:48:33.640 Lord, 00:48:33.780 --> 00:48:34.660 and that they 00:48:34.660 --> 00:48:35.660 would respond, 00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:35.880 Lord, 00:48:35.880 --> 00:48:36.820 they would surrender 00:48:36.820 --> 00:48:37.960 themselves to you 00:48:37.960 --> 00:48:38.640 and declare 00:48:38.640 --> 00:48:39.620 within themselves 00:48:39.620 --> 00:48:40.520 that Jesus 00:48:40.520 --> 00:48:41.900 and Jesus alone 00:48:41.900 --> 00:48:43.280 is Lord and Savior. 00:48:43.680 --> 00:48:44.660 They would recognize, 00:48:44.840 --> 00:48:44.920 Lord, 00:48:44.940 --> 00:48:45.920 that they are a sinner 00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:47.640 who desperately needs you 00:48:47.640 --> 00:48:48.960 and they would recognize, 00:48:49.300 --> 00:48:49.360 Lord, 00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:50.460 that the truth of us 00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:51.740 who are around them 00:48:51.740 --> 00:48:53.380 is that we were sinners 00:48:53.380 --> 00:48:54.520 who just need you 00:48:54.520 --> 00:48:55.880 and we're still flawed 00:48:55.880 --> 00:48:57.360 and we still have our issues, 00:48:57.640 --> 00:48:57.900 but Lord, 00:48:57.940 --> 00:48:59.040 you're working on us, 00:48:59.100 --> 00:49:00.300 but our identity now 00:49:00.300 --> 00:49:01.820 is not found in our sin, 00:49:02.020 --> 00:49:03.380 it's not found in our failure, 00:49:03.380 --> 00:49:04.700 but now our identity 00:49:04.700 --> 00:49:05.780 is found with you 00:49:05.780 --> 00:49:06.920 and sealed with you 00:49:06.920 --> 00:49:07.980 for all of eternity. 00:49:10.580 --> 00:49:11.160 And Lord, 00:49:11.200 --> 00:49:11.920 that they could have 00:49:11.920 --> 00:49:12.540 that as well, 00:49:13.040 --> 00:49:16.200 but it's not found 00:49:16.200 --> 00:49:17.280 through a frame of mind, 00:49:18.500 --> 00:49:19.700 it's not found 00:49:19.700 --> 00:49:20.720 through a code of ethics, 00:49:21.520 --> 00:49:24.000 it's not found 00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:25.220 through a set of behaviors, 00:49:26.820 --> 00:49:28.140 but it's found 00:49:28.140 --> 00:49:28.620 in the person 00:49:28.620 --> 00:49:29.420 of Jesus Christ. 00:49:33.820 --> 00:49:34.660 And so, Lord, 00:49:34.760 --> 00:49:36.020 in this moment 00:49:36.020 --> 00:49:37.420 and in this day, 00:49:38.640 --> 00:49:39.240 Lord, 00:49:39.300 --> 00:49:40.220 captivate us 00:49:40.220 --> 00:49:41.360 with your beauty. 00:49:43.860 --> 00:49:45.440 Give us the boldness 00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:46.220 in just a moment. 00:49:47.140 --> 00:49:48.680 Give us the boldness. 00:49:49.040 --> 00:49:49.140 Lord, 00:49:49.180 --> 00:49:49.980 even though the crowd 00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:51.720 is few today, 00:49:52.400 --> 00:49:54.100 give us the boldness 00:49:54.100 --> 00:49:54.880 to sound 00:49:54.880 --> 00:49:56.140 like a multitude 00:49:56.140 --> 00:49:56.920 of angels 00:49:56.920 --> 00:49:57.940 before you 00:49:57.940 --> 00:49:59.640 as we sing 00:49:59.640 --> 00:50:00.320 your praise 00:50:00.320 --> 00:50:01.520 and your goodness 00:50:01.520 --> 00:50:02.560 of who you are. 00:50:04.080 --> 00:50:04.620 Jesus, 00:50:04.720 --> 00:50:05.360 we love you 00:50:05.360 --> 00:50:07.340 and we celebrate you. 00:50:08.100 --> 00:50:08.900 It's in your name we pray. 00:50:09.200 --> 00:50:09.520 Amen. 00:50:09.520 --> 00:50:09.680 Amen. 00:50:22.900 --> 00:50:24.160 Thanks again for listening 00:50:24.160 --> 00:50:25.300 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:50:25.300 --> 00:50:26.100 weekly podcast. 00:50:26.600 --> 00:50:27.620 We hope that you enjoyed 00:50:27.620 --> 00:50:28.920 listening to this week's message. 00:50:29.380 --> 00:50:30.480 If you'd like to learn more 00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:31.300 about who we are 00:50:31.300 --> 00:50:32.920 or explore additional resources, 00:50:33.500 --> 00:50:34.400 visit us online 00:50:34.400 --> 00:50:37.960 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:50:37.960 --> 00:50:39.180 or by searching 00:50:39.180 --> 00:50:40.180 for Willow Ridge Church 00:50:40.180 --> 00:50:41.520 on Facebook and Instagram.