Real Faith Receives God’s Word as Life
Series: Real Faith (Book of James)
Brad Bailey – September 27, 2020
Intro
Hey everybody. I’m so glad you are joining in today. I think we can all agree that living through a pandemic... brings some hard changes to life. This past week... I was struck by how significant it is that we are going through these challenges TOGETHER... for how valuable it is to share this whole experience and all the crazy elements with one another. Having others alongside can help us stay more centered... and more sane. And ultimately I imagine we will be uniquely bound together through this shared experience. There are things that no one before us or after us will share in the same way. Only those who went through this will really appreciate the jokes about toilet paper shortages... or telling stories of having experienced Los Angeles streets without traffic.
And of course there is “Covid hair.” Covid hair is how one begins to look when they haven’t been able to get a haircut...but even more so....when they haven’t had to get dressed to go into public.
The pandemic can create a season in which we may begin to ignore the morning mirror.
It’s a reminder of how significant the nature of a mirror can be.
And today...we are going to discover how significant the nature of a spiritual mirror can be.
We are continuing in a new series entitled REAL FAITH...in which God is speaking to us... through the Biblical Book of James.
For those just joining... let me quickly reintroduce this Book in the Bible. James is one of the smaller "books" in the New Testament ... that you will find after the four Gospels ...towards the end of the Bible. It’s written by James....who was a half-brother of Jesus himself.
He is writing to those who have been dispersed. Many have lost their families and work... so much that had defined who they were. So James writes to them... and all of us... and he began by describing how difficult times... can be dynamic times ... a time to discover what is real...and particularly...the reality of our faith.
I imagine most of us have a sense that the word “faith” can be hard to define or grasp. Sometimes the word “faith” is used to refer to a set of beliefs... in the way we might speak of a particular religious Faith. But when we hear the Scriptures speak...when we hear Jesus speak about faith... we hear about something that doesn’t just live in our head in our heads. It’s something that we step into. It’s the reality that we choose among the versions. Faith is like the operating system for all that we do.
So real faith is not just what we say we believe...but is what is actualized by how we actually live. James begins by describing that hard times can be healthy times... times of testing and growing in faith and strength.
And he continues as Jonathan shared last week, by identifying that in such times...we will face temptations...and that real faith won’t blame God or other people...but will realize we need to face our own misguided desires.
When life gets hard... we can begin to focus on everything outside of us. When times are hard, we can try to avoid the personal challenge by blaming God... or blaming other people.
James says when hard times comes... real faith will take responsibility. Real faith will look in the mirror.
So here is how James continues in our text today...in James 1:18-26
James 1:18-26 (NLT) ?He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. 19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
There are some real catch phrases here that can easily stand on their own. But I want us to hear the whole of what is being said about how real faith is lived out.
James begins...
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. - James 1:18 (NLT)
What’s he saying? He’s pulling back the curtain on our existence. The central truth being spoken to us is this: Realize that God’s truth gives life...and we should stop anything that is keeping us from receiving it.
He speaks to those who likely saw themselves as being crushed by all their circumstances... their loss of freedom loss of relationships ... loss of status. And he says... this whole world is separated from life itself... but God chose to GIVE BIRTH to us...and in receiving the truth of life that he has made known... we become prized possessions... that which is cherished.
What gives you life is not what material wealth you acquire... or how much praise you get from others. What God speaks is what gives you life. He’s saying that whatever is going on around you... whatever rejection or acceptance... whether you have a little or a lot... means nothing compared to the fact that “He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.”
The more literal translation for being a “prized possession” is that of being “first fruits” ... the prized first new life of a new creation. God’s truth bears new life.
We look at this existence and think we are alive. But Jesus came because we are only breathing temporary air... but have been separated from our spiritual nature. Jesus came because we chose to exist independently from God...the one who chose to create us... and whose spirit gave life. Creation may have oxygen...but it it’s the Spirit of God that bears eternal life. What we call life is simply destined to end...BUT... God CHOOSES to speak out that which can give life... his living word.
What we call the Bible... or the Scriptures... can rightfully be called a Book...but it is so much more than a mere book. It is the revelation of life-giving truth... about who God is...and who we are...and how God’s mercy provides a way to know and live in God once again.
It’s the voice that calls out to those are now lost and wandering in their own vanity...and says... “Your are mine.”
It’s the voice that calls out to those whose nature is hopelessly rebellious... and says...“If you come to your senses...I offer mercy and welcome you home.”
It is not simply the information that has life... but the transforming power of God whose Spirit inspired and now illuminates as we read and hear. [1]
Perhaps you have been told that you "should" read the Bible... like a religious duty. And like any good human rebel we resent being told what we should do. We correlate the Bible to be something we simply "should" read...something obligatory to make others happy...to prove we are good...to make God happy.
But God’s Word is the power to give us life. The truth is that human life is cut off from eternal life like a physical body cut off from oxygen. When God brings the eternal to us... we should receive it like one gasping for our last breath and someone arrived with a source of oxygen. We should receive it like one staggering across the desert falling into unconsciousness...and rain suddenly comes.
In declaring our independence...we are left in spiritual silence...a deathly silence. For silence is death...it means we have been left...abandoned...that we are done with. But God is speaking that which offers life.
Jack Hayford expressed the nature of God's WORD so powerfully when he said:
Consider the one thing in this world which you and I can touch that has "eternity" written into its fabric. It's the Word of God. Every time I take a Bible in hand, I hold eternity, because the life-force inherent in that Word exceeds all time and space. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."
Those words hold the seeds of the deepest, grandest point of understanding any human being can ever gain. Your life becomes durable, fulfilling and successful in direct proportion to the degree the Word of God becomes alive to your being, life, breath as healing and creative power. - Jack Hayford
What great news for those who felt the temporal state of life had faced losses...had felt constrained...as some of us might today.
But if the voice of eternity is able to speak to us...and speak into us... then it’s vital that we are receptive ...and responsive.
And this is what James now calls us to. He continues and essentially says since God has chosen to give us a new life... to allow us to become his prized first fruits... then we should become those who are receptive. And he goes on to describe overcoming barriers to receiving God’s Life-Giving Word. He tells us what we need to get rid of in order to be receptive and responsive. He notes four barriers. The first thing he says is...
“You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak…” - James 1:19 (NLT)
The first challenge to being receptive of what is said...is simply having space to really listen. Many of us know how hard it is to listen because we are so focused on what we want to say... on what we know. We can be so enamored with what we think...and what we have to say. Or to put it more bluntly... we can be too full of ourselves.
What he essentially says is that: You can't receive because you are full of yourself !
Seeds cannot find life in soil that does not welcome it. So the first thing he says is...
1. Don’t be too full of ourselves ...our own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5?Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
It makes sense. As finite creatures...we should welcome whatever is revealed from an infinite understanding. But it’s hard.
Such receptivity lacked in the religious leaders that Jesus engaged. Jesus said of the leaders who were trying to kill him:
“You seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.” - John 8:37
Jesus said his word found no place in them. The word of truth was not implanted in them.
And while we might think we can just judge that they had not spent time learning what the Scriptures said... the truth is that these leaders knew their Bibles better than anyone. But the actual word of God “found no place in them.” It was not implanted in them.?Why? Well...we could say because they were too full of themselves.
They valued having the Scriptures... but it had become their source of religious cultural importance ... it gave them a role. But when we become too enamored with our own understanding... we can actually be at odds with what God is saying.
He is speaking to something more than just exercising better communication.
As Paul Tripp described so well: “Your ears listen for what your heart craves.
You know why I struggle to be a good listener? Because I am so filled with zeal for my own kingdom. And I am full of my own thoughts. I am full of my own purposes. I am full of my own plans. I am a man with a constant agenda. I have more opinions than a man should ever have.” How true that can be of myself. [2]
As the wisdom from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes say...
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. - Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
"Go near to listen." Receptivity begins by being less full of ourselves.
James goes on...
“You must all be … slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” - James 1:19-20 (NLT) ?
When we are angry... it’s hard to hear anybody. It effects our receptivity.
Let’s be clear that James doesn’t simply denounce every feeling of anger. But he says we should be slow to get angry. He know that anger has a way of controlling us and consuming us.
Anger itself may be a natural part of reactions in life...but it can become consuming... to our thoughts... emotions... as anger "floods" us hormonally. It will seduce us to believing it has given us back power and control...when in fact it will merely consume us.
So James warns us....
2. Don’t be consumed with self-righteous anger.
You’ll notice that James speaks specifically of ‘human’s anger’ as having the limits that can never produce the righteous life of God. Why is he distinguishing between the nature of human anger as distinct from God’s anger? Because only God operates out of a perfectly secure nature. Only God is truly fair and just. Our nature operates out of insecurity and defensiveness. Human anger tends to see others as needing to be judged...and in the process... tends to see ourselves as very righteous.
We can become sovereign little self-righteous beings. And when we are self-righteous we don't want to face God very intimately. We become dishonest with God...and distant from God. We begin to revolve around our own orbit ... and drift away from the pull of God.
Forgiveness can be a hard process. But Jesus warns us that if we become those who refuse to forgive... we will begin to refuse the very mercy of God we so desperately need ourselves. We will build a wall of self-righteousness.
Demands for justice can be righteous... but one does well to consider how easily they begin to focus so much on projecting all that is bad on others...in a way that hides what is not good in ourselves. If we cry out for justice in such a way that we forget how much we also need mercy... we will build a wall of self righteousness... that will separate us from God.
So if I want to live out of God’s life giving truth...I must let go of my self-righteous anger. I must open up the space that knows that I am a sinner...and that can receive God’s mercy.
James goes on...
…get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives.” - James 1: 21 (NLT)
If we want to the new life that God is planting in us to grow... we have to clear out what is growing in us that is going to compete. Either the word is being planted and taking over the garden of your life... or the work of this world is.
So in order to be receptive to God’s life giving truth the third thing James says is...
3. Don’t be controlled by moral resistance.
The word we see translated as "filth" was used in more physical medical terms for the stuff that clogs the ears... that had to be removed so that it wouldn’t obstruct hearing. When we are full of contempt towards others... or greed.... or lust...we are going to resist the voice of God.
We can even see this is our earthly relationships. When I was a teenager... my parents may have tried to tell me something that was life-giving...but if I had things I was doing in violation of them...stealing... cheating.... and lying....do you think I would be hearing them? No. There was unresolved stuff between us.
In the same way.... if we say we want to hear God... we will have to confront what is controlling us... that may be resistant to God.
Finally...James speaks to our ultimate responsiveness.
He goes on...
James 1:22-25 (NLT) ? But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
He says we need to face the fact that just listening is not the same as obeying. [3]
In essence he says...
4. Don’t substitute knowledge for obedience.
In our modern western culture, we tend to become educated beyond our level of obedience. Most of us have more knowledge than obedience. We have surplus of knowledge and a deficit of obedience. [4]
We’ve become conditioned to reduce the living God... the creator of the universe... the one who reigns over eternity... into a book we can control... into ideas we can reign over. The truth is that God is not interested in our academic agreement. He doesn't feel more secure and confident because you agree with Him.
In relationship to the Sovereign source and center of all existence...what matters is not our agreement...but our alignment...our acceptance in action.
Illus: Lighthouse
It's about responsiveness.
James illustrates his point by comparing a person who looks in a mirror. Most of us probably get our first glance at ourselves while we are still pretty scary looking. Our eyes have that bleary, dazed look. Our hair is sticking out in strange places. Facing our mirrors first thing in the morning is NOT that pleasant .... of an experience.?Mirrors are very honest little things. They do not compromise. ??They do not gloss over our defects and tell us we are better-looking.... than we really are. ?They show us every wrinkle ..... every gray hair. In fact, .... the better the mirror, .... the more flaws we will see.?So why do we all have mirrors .... in our bathrooms? ?Well.... because as unpleasant as it may be to confront our own faces first thing in the morning. We know ..... if we do not take a look at ourselves, ......and make some minor ...... or in some cases major adjustments, .... the rest of the world is going to see .....that morning face! So, .... It is better to "face" the truth, ....and make the changes.?In the same way: If we are going to allow God word of truth to give us new birth... into a new life... we must have a clear vision of who we really are.
The mirror of God’s truth is not going to reflect what we think... or what others think based on their observations... but rather what God see about us.
James says God’s Word of truth is a mirror. He doesn’t describe God’s word of truth as an optical illusion... as something with hidden meaning.
Some people become focused on discovering something mysterious... when in fact we are not even loving our neighbor well. Some think that the basic knowledge is milk and that there is a less obvious meaning which is the meat. I have news...it's not true. Mark Twain was more on target.
"It's not the part of the Bible I don't understand but the parts I DO understand that bother me." - Mark Twain
Twain was using his wry humor to make a rather honest point. Our problem is less about understanding...and more about our wills.
James describes the guy who sees that he needs to wash his face, sees that he needs a shave, maybe even understand those needs. But then walks away and does nothing about what he sees in that mirror. He saw something he needed to see. But it did him no good because he did nothing about it. He immediately goes his way and does not give it another thought. ?James says the person who operates this way is susceptible to something very serious—self-deception. We often think that if others think we are responsive to God.... it's good enough. We might think that at worst the danger is that of deceiving others. But look what he says... "You are fooling YOURSELVES."
If you walk away from the mirror.... you're the one who forgets you never brushed your hair...washed your face. The rest of us see it all day.
Closing:
So I want to close encouraging us to consider our relationship to the mirror... to God’s truth.
James describes God’s word of truth as a mirror of reality... but it does not force its change upon us. The truth is that we turn too quickly from the mirror because it makes us uncomfortable. But the mirror is a reflection of reality... of how things really are. To avoid the mirror is to remain bound in the control of this world.
We always relate as those who resist being controlled.
God always relates to us as those who are bound and he brings freedom to.
Jesus said...
John 8:31-32 (NLT2) ?“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
That is what James saw real faith is about. That is what he spoke to those who might be bound by the world... exploited.
God's word is after your freedom.
God is calling us to have the courage to look in the mirror. If we are honest... when we look in the actual mirror... there can be a little apprehensiveness...and that is good. Every time we come to the Word...we should be a little nervous.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God's Word is active...sharper than any two edged sword.
It will seek to separate what is good and bad.
But it is good. For as James declared at the start...
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. - James 1:18 (NLT)
Closing Prayer
Resources:
Notes:
1. It is treated here the very same way that the Bible treats the Spirit of God himself.
We are born again by the Spirit (John 6:63), and we are born again by the word of God. The Spirit dwells in us, and the word is implanted in us.
2. Paul Tripp “Anger Is A Story”
3. Jesus told the story in Matthew 7 of two builders.
Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) ?"...everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
One house...did not fall....one house "fell with a great crash."
We hear the difference between rock and sand. In Matt 7:24 Jesus gives this interpretation of his story. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
It's not a matter of some people believing the wrong ideas and another believing the right ideas. Jesus said it was a matter of who put them into practice.
In the same way, James speaks of “one looking into the perfect law of liberty....will be blessed.” (James 1:25) Notice that he is not simply talking about someone who merely looks at God’s word. He is talking about someone who looks intently.
4. The idea that we should be 'doers and not merely hearers' may be something we have heard before... but let's not miss the irony of familiarity. The whole point is that we can learn to hear without responding.
We have come a long ways in our ability to do this. As those living in the United States in modern times... we don't lack the opportunity for "hearing" God's Word.
• Americans bought over 20 million Bibles last year...about half a million Bibles in a week.
• The Bible easily would blow away any other best seller on the national book list which is the reason it is routinely excluded from these lists.
• About 92 percent of Americans own at least one Bible, and the average household has three.
• The recent TV mini-series called 'The Bible' just reached sales of 1 million copies on DVD and similar formats last week.
• There are over $4.5 billion of Christian books sold each year in the U.S.
• Christian radio programming is now second only to country music
• We have the largest percentage of Christian programming in television, radio, and internet.
