EXTREME MAKEOVER – PART ONE
“FROM THE INSIDE OUT!”
JAMES 1:1 - ©DR. LARRY L. THOMPSON (2004)
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations,’ greetings.” James 1:1
Introduction:
Begin this message with a table and four objects: an egg; an orange; tube of toothpaste; a staff members hand. Take a hammer and apply pressure to each of the objects having a team member holding the object and then ask the team member to describe what comes out of each object. For the last object as the team member to place his hand on the table and then act as if you hitting his thumb as hard as possible. Illustration reveals when we are pressed what is on the inside will come to the surface the real nature of what is inside will be revealed.
Today we begin a new series from the book of James entitled, “EXTREME MAKEOVER.” As we walk through this series today you will quickly realize why I have chosen that title.
The Bible has two main themes:
• Our WAY to God
• Our WALK with God
Our Way to God is the hope of those who have no relationship with Christ, those who realize they have sinned and understand that something is missing in their life and the Word of God reveals the WAY to find eternal life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Our Walk with God is the vast majority of the Bible and instructs us how to allow Christ to give us an extreme makeover from the inside out so that our life is so radically changed that others are drawn to him because of us our walk.
James is considered the most PRACTICAL book in the entire Bible and is often referred to as the “PROVERBS of the New Testament.” This book is NOT a book of doctrine and churches have faced confusion and division when some have attempted to make this a doctrinal book. Jesus is only mentioned twice and the cross and resurrection are never mentioned. WHY? James is making an assumption that his readers know their biblical doctrine and so he deals with them practically…an extreme makeover…from the inside out!
The main theme of the book of James: “IF YOU BELIEVE LIKE YOU SAY, THEN YOU NEED AN EXTREME MAKEOVER IN ORDER TO BEHAVE LIKE YOU SHOULD!”
Our world is saying; “SHOW ME the new you, show me the benefits of an extreme makeover.”
What should we know about the man who is going to be used in our extreme makeover?
1. THE MAIN MAN
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations,’ greetings.” James 1:1
There are at least FIVE different men by the name of James in the Bible. This James is the half brother of Jesus Christ. Read Matt. 13:53-57:
“When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. [54] Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. [55] "Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? [56] Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" [57] And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” Matthew 13:53-57
According to Jewish custom in the listing of the children, James was the number two son, born after Jesus to Mary and Joseph. QUESTION: How many older brothers and sisters do we have in this room today? It’s bad enough to have an older brother or sister who your parents think is perfect…poor James really did have a perfect brother! Do you think James ever got tired of Mary saying, “Why can’t you be like your brother, Jesus?” James: “Why? I’ll tell you why…because the kid really is perfect! He always makes his bed, picks up his toys, is never a minute late for curfew, always brings Dad’s camel home clean, he never talks back, he even cleans the ring out of the bathtub and hangs up his clothes.”
Seriously, if you are the younger brother of Jesus you are going to have some serious jealousy problems along with envy and anger. So when at age 30 Jesus announced that he was the Messiah…James would say, “What else is new?” However, this was James’ opportunity to retaliate. Mark 3:20-21:
“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. [21] When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21
His own family saying that He is insane. For further insult and proof that James rejected the claims of Jesus prior to the resurrection you need look no further than John 7:5:
“For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” John 7:5
James’ life with Jesus could be chronicled as follows:
• Simply related as brother
• Spiritual CONFRONTATION with Jesus as Messiah
• The CROSS and assumption James is still unbelieving
• 1 Cor. 15:7 when Jesus appears to James after the RESURRECTION. “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”
• Becomes the LEADER of the church in Jerusalem and second most influential leader of the early church.
• James is MARTYRED when thrown from the temple and stoned to death in 62 A.D. He prays for the forgiveness of his attackers.
Key: Important to remember that for most of his life James was an unbeliever. Why is this important? Because you can live in a godly home, you can live with godly parents; you can have godly Christian brothers and sisters; you can have every opportunity just like James to observe and see the difference Christ makes but until you by faith accept the GRACE OF GOD and trust Christ you will be just as James, living your entire life rejecting and unbelieving.
2. THE MAKEOVER MESSAGE
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations,’ greetings.”
This message from James is the FIRST book written in the New Testament. It is also one of the most unique books in the New Testament. Notice first of all that James refers to himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” There is no mention that he is the brother of Jesus. WHY? Because pride and name dropping would be one of the sins that he confronts. It is one of the areas in which he will allow God’s word to give us a makeover. James will tell us over and over again… Get real or get out!
James was the brother of Jesus because they had the same mother, but he was a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ because they had the same FATHER.
The makeover message from James is NOT written to unbelievers. The problem James was having is that Christians were acting so much like non-Christians that it was hard to tell the difference. When you read the book you see over and over again the reference, “brothers” which is an indication that it was written to the Church. This makeover is available only to those who are living in a personal relationship with Christ. Without a personal relationship with Christ this EXTREME MAKEOVER will never last.
Who are the people James is writing to in this book?
This was primarily to the Christian Jew who was suffering great persecution; they had been scattered and were living under the rule of Claudius. They had been dispersed by political persecution and religious persecution from the Jews. Their life was one of great suffering and misery. James will remind us that suffering has a purifying and cleansing power but he also knows that constant suffering has the power to crush and destroy. The Christians were so suffering that they were attempting to compromise their life in order to avoid further pain. James says, “No way, you need an EXTREME MAKEOVER from the Inside-Out.”
THE SUMMARY OF THE SPIRITUAL SURGICAL PROCEDURES THAT WE WILL SHARE IN THIS EXTREME MAKEOVER:
• Chapter One: A painful start. If there is going to be a change there will be a CRISIS.
• Chapter Two: Testing Your New Makeover. Does your WALK match your TALK?
• Chapter Three & Four: Tongue IMPLANTS: A new way to express yourself.
• Chapter Five: Managing Your Makeover in the most difficult of times.
Conclusion:
Remember, James is a book that is not about helping you find your way but helping you live your walk. No one looks forward to surgery. It is painful and parts of this book is going to be painful for everyone of us during this study. An extreme makeover by the very nature of the expression concludes that SOMETHING IS GOING TO CHANGE. James says that if we are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ then what is on the inside should match the outside and if that is not the picture then he urges you to participate in this EXTREME MAKEOVER…Changing from the inside out!
