Pursuing Submission Series

Pursuing Submission

OKAY – let’s do this, week 9 of our series on James…

NOW HERE - is the text that we are going to unpack this morning (August 30, 2015)

AND BEFORE – we read it, let me remind who wrote this passage. James the ½ brother of Jesus…

A GUY – who shoots straight, tells the truth whether it kicks us in the gut or not…

A GUY - who has no problem getting in our face and stepping in our grits…

SO – take a deep breath, brace yourself and open up your heart and mind to these God breathed shaper than a double edged word, penetrating, judging our thoughts and attitudes Word of God.

R U – ready?

AWESOME – oaky James bring it! Let us have it…

get ready because James, is going to do his thing once again…

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?

Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. mWash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.

But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

MAPLE GROVE

2000 years ago God breathed a powerful letter through James the half brother of Jesus.

AND JAMES – a guy who did not have FAITH in Jesus until after he had an encounter with His crucified brother who had risen from dead… Had one primary concern, one driving passion as his pen danced across these pages…

QUESTION – what was his primary concern as he wrote these words?

James primary concern – was for the churches and Jesus-followers who attended those churches in the first century and God’s concern today in the 21st century…

AND – for all the churches and believers from that day forward

Until the day King Jesus splits the sky and returns in glory – that these believers who claim the name of Jesus, would not merely talk about FAITH, sing about faith - but instead would have REAL FAITH…

UNDERSTAND – real faith is not merely thought about, it is lived out loud… AND LISTEN – listen as we saw in Romans 2 this week (FCFH) a faith lived out loud is critical to the MISSION of Christ.

23 You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. 24 No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.” – Romans 2:23,24

No wonder the world does not believe – look at how his followers are living…

OKAY JAMES – so what would our life look like if we lived our faith out loud?

AND JAMES – would look each of us in the eye and say,

“Steve (fill in your name), if you have real faith you will…”

• Turn your trials into triumphs

• Defeat sin and temptation

• Be doer and not simply a hearer of the word

• Reign in your tongues

• Looks after the widow, the orphan and the less fortunate

• Updates your favorites list (and welcoming all no matter who they are, where they’ve been, what they look like or struggle with) to come and sit with us at the feet of Jesus