Latest / HBCWestminster / James 1:16-27 Session Two 6.19.19

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James 1:16-27 Session Two 6.19.19 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you guys have your Bibles, you can open at James chapter 1. James chapter 1 is where we'll be tonight, verses 16 to 27. I am privileged to get to be a part of the teaching team this summer and want to, before we get to God's Word, just make a kind of a brief announcement and kind of plug for this little black card that's on your guys' tables. You know, Nathan talked about it last week. The men's retreat. Grab one of these things. This is meant for your...
• 0:36
  benefit obviously but also to grab and to use to invite somebody else we are going to snowy mountain lodge up in wyoming september 12th 13th and 14th it's a thursday friday saturday uh cost is 100 bucks honestly i know that that sounds like a lot and guys uh honestly will typically not
• 0:55
  spend that kind of money on themselves. Normally, you know, we can have a women's retreat for that kind of money and guys will say, yeah, I'll gladly send my wife. No problem at all. But I'm not spending that kind of money on me. But honestly, if you guys would consider doing that, if the cost is a problem for you guys, let us know. We are happy to try to find some guys to help sponsor other guys. That's no problem at all. Also, if you just put five bucks a week.
• 1:16
  Five bucks a week into a jar. Between now and then, you'll have the 100 bucks. And we'd love for you guys to come. The whole point of the retreat is for us to get to know each other better. This is be in God's Word, be in worship together, strengthen friendships and relationships, do some fun stuff as well. It's kind of a special spot. Some of you guys have been there before. We went two Februaries ago. This is the same spot where some of you guys went, about 20 of us or so, went out there to go skiing. It was supposed to be a ski retreat.
• 1:45
  But it was like a minus 35 wind chill and some crazy snowstorm or whatever. The weather will not be like that now. We chose September. So we're hoping for really nice fall weather up there in Wyoming and are looking forward to that. There will be some shooting if you guys are into that. You can feel free to do that.
• 2:09
  Firearms, if you'd like. Also, there's some great fishing up there as well. If you guys are into fishing, fly fishing, that kind of thing, there's some great places that we've found in and around there. Hiking as well. And so I would love for you guys to be a part of that. Also, over here on the sign-up table, you guys saw that there were name tags, which I appreciate. Thank you, Nathan, for making us wear name tags. It helps. But right next to that, there's a little sign-up sheet. And I know probably you guys tried very hard not to make eye contact with it, just like I did. It's a request.
• 2:39
  to help with the children's ministry on Wednesday nights during the summer. We're not asking you to stop coming to this to help in there. What we're asking is if you would consider just one Wednesday over the course of the summer. One, helping out with the kids' ministry. We are trying to really follow the policy. We've got a new policy in place here at the church that says that we want to...
• 3:05
  background-checked members, adults in every classroom. And because we've made that two instead of one, for obvious reasons, accountability and other things, that's made us a little bit short on our staffing for the kids. And so if you guys are willing to take one Wednesday, jump into one of these classrooms over there, help on one Wednesday, and then come back, honestly, it'd be easy for us to cover that, no problem at all. If you're a background-checked member, we'd love to have your help. If you're not a background-checked member and would like to become a member, we're happy to help you with that as well.
• 3:33
  Okay, there's my commercial. Let's get into the book of James. James chapter 1. As you guys will recall, our study this summer is a challenge to grow into mature men of God. A challenge to progress in our faith and to become Christian men, not merely Christian boys. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal that God's will is not just for us to be saved, but for us to become like the Savior.
• 4:04
  Now, nowhere in Scripture does it simply say that God saves us in order to not go to hell. That's not what the Bible says. That is a very happy byproduct. Can I get an amen? I mean, that's a good spot for an amen, right? Praise God we don't have to go to hell, but that's not why the Bible says you were saved. The Bible says that we were saved in Christ, through Christ, to become like Christ. That we're actually supposed to grow in His likeness, to become more and more like Him. Ephesians chapter 4 says this, build up the body of Christ.
• 4:34
  Until we all attain, what does it say? To mature manhood. There should not be boys. Boys in the Christian faith. There should not be boys in the church. Except in that children's wing, they're allowed to be boys. But the men sitting in here are supposed to be mature men. Until, he says, the measure, building ourselves up into the measure of the stature of fullness of Christ. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 1. Let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ.
• 5:05
  and go on to maturity. There is this sense that we are meant to be pressing forward all the time, straining, striving to become more and more like the Savior. We are not called to be the spiritual equivalent of grown men living in our mother's basements. But instead, we are called, 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 13 says, to act like men. The staff on Tuesday mornings,
• 5:37
  Goes through books together. Right now we're going through Letters to the Church by Francis Chan. And just yesterday's reading, listen to this quote from yesterday's reading. He says, one of the most debilitating issues facing the church is lack of maturing in her members. Churches are filled with children who never grew up to become parents. What a vivid image that is. We are called in Christ not just to be trees.
• 6:06
  but to bear fruit on our branches. We are called to reproduce 30, 60, even 100 times. We are called not just to be children of God, but to actually reproduce our faith in others. And he says the churches are filled with children who never grew up to become parents. He goes on, what would happen to our society if parents never expected their children to start their own families? What would happen to our society if that happened? We'd die.
• 6:38
  Eventually, given enough time, we would die. That family never passes on. There are no new generations. And is that not what we are seeing? Churches dying across the country at an unprecedented rate. Aging out, literally dying off. Where people 30, 40 years ago who had faith have failed to pass that on to their kids or who have been faithful to pass it on to their kids, but their kids have rejected that faith and have moved on.
• 7:07
  Francis Chan says this is exactly what's happening in the church. Pastor Nathan last week began our study with a call to patient endurance of trials. Famous verses. Consider it joy. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. He said that the reality is the trials will come to every man, but in Christ, the victim of those trials becomes the victor. Men of God, the men of Highland,
• 7:37
  Must count it all joy. Must know that suffering produces a desired result. Must let the will of God transpire. And then my favorite thing that he said last week, he said, must ask. The mature man must ask the Lord for wisdom in the midst of trials rather than asking for the trial to cease, which is what I'm most prone to. Instead, he said, ask for wisdom in those trials to know how to endure. He said that he often squanders.
• 8:07
  His trials in an effort to be comfortable. And I thought that was a great quote from last week. Don't squander your trials. We all know that the Lord is more concerned with our character than our comfort. And this evening we turn our attention to the next statement in James. James 1, verse 16, which says, Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Do not be deceived. And that is the title for our message this morning. No one, especially men,
• 8:38
  likes to think that they are gullible. No one is willing to admit that they are easily deceived because being tricked makes us feel childish. Right? Kids are the ones who are easily tricked. A couple of weeks ago, as I was teaching the 4th and 5th graders for VBS, the lesson that I was teaching was on the shield of faith. The whole thing was the armor of God and how to stand against the schemes of the devil.
• 9:09
  To be prepared to stand against the schemes of the devil. And we talked about that there is one who wants to trick you. He wants to take advantage of you. He wants to deceive you. And so I showed them a trick. And I had a quarter. And I held the quarter out in my hand. Face up. And the heads was showing in my hand like this. And I said, now listen kids. If I flip this quarter over, what side will be showing? And they all said tails. And I said, alright, let's try it. So I put the quarter there. And I flipped it over. Tails.
• 9:38
  Right. And I put it back. All right. What is it going to be if I do it again? Right. And they all say tails. And I did it again. I flipped it back. What's it going to be again? And I'm going around and they're all saying it's tails. It's tails. It's tails. Yeah, sure enough. It's tails. Nine times in a row. And I was just waiting, waiting for one of them finally to say, it's always going to be tails. Like, what are we doing here? And finally, one of them did. One of them did. A little girl, right? Fourth grade little girl. She comes up. She says, that's dumb. That's not a trick.
• 10:08
  It's always going to be tails. You're just going to flip the thing over. It's the same every time. And I said, okay, great. Come on up here. It's going to be tails. And what she didn't know is that I took one minute. It took 60 seconds, but I practiced at my office. Just real quick, sleight of hand, right? You put it here on your palm and flip it. It's tails, right? And you put it back and tails and you put it back. But if I do it fast enough where I just push it, it flips. And then I flip it. It's heads again.
• 10:33
  But I got to where I could do it really quick. You couldn't see it, right? So I just do this little nudge and then flip it and it's heads. And so it goes from heads to heads. So this little girl comes up and I do that and her eyes just get big. Do that again. I put it back, flip it. Well, what do you know? It's heads. You know, a little boy comes up and he's like, wait a minute, it should be tails. And so I put it back and I said, what do you think it's going to be? He says tails. And I flip it and it was tails, right? And I flip it back to her and she says, tails, heads.
• 11:02
  She's like, that's a different quarter. That's a trick coin. Let me see that thing. You know, she's looking at it. She's like, I don't get it. And I, you know, and I do this and I back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. Right. And it's funny because they thought it was witchcraft, but they, you know, and I said, you guys, it's just, we're just having fun, you know, and I showed them how I do it. Right. Here's how you do it. You just push it just like that. It gives a little flip and then boom, you can, you can do it so fast. Your friends will never know. Practice for five minutes. Your friends will never know. You know, you can trick them.
• 11:30
  You know, I did that with some adults that same day. None of them fell for it. Every one of them was like, you're just flipping the thing over in your hand. You know, just walking away. All right. Right? I mean, it's children. Kids don't know to look for the strings moving the puppets. Kids haven't learned that it's always the good guy. The guy that you thought was the good guy at the beginning of the movie, it's always him. He's the bad guy. It's him every single time.
• 12:01
  They haven't figured out that there is a logical explanation to everything they assume to be magic. And if it is true that children are easy to trick, and I think it is, and men of maturity are not easily fooled, if those two statements are true, kids are easy to trick and men are not easily fooled, then consider James' challenge in verse 16 for us not to be deceived. Do not be deceived, my beloved.
• 12:30
  Brothers, that statement would be the same as him saying, grow up. Don't be deceived. Don't be kids. Kids are the ones who are deceived. Kids are the ones who are tricked. Grow. Mature in your faith. Be men of God. Don't be boys. It is boys who are tricked. The question we're going to ask and answer tonight is, how do we know if we are still boys in the faith?
• 13:02
  How do we know? I know that we're all men in here. Men's Bible study, biologically, chronologically, we've all crossed that threshold. We've become men. But how do we know if we are mature in the faith? And I've got a few points here from God's Word. Verses 16 and 17. The first test, boys erroneously think that the grass is greener on the other side. Boys fall for that trick. Isn't that true?
• 13:30
  Have we all lived long enough to say, you know what? I heard a guy one time say, listen, if you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's only because you can't smell the manure. Right? Did you ever as a young man look forward and say, oh, if only I could have that, if only I could get that, and then eventually God allowed you to have it and you were like, you know what? It just wasn't that big a deal.
• 13:54
  It just didn't do what I thought it would do. It didn't satisfy like I thought. It was a very temporary satisfaction, but eventually and very quickly wore off. Perhaps one of Satan's earliest and most often used tricks is to convince us that the Lord is holding out on us. The Lord is holding out. Do you remember his conversation with Eve? He knows that when you eat of the fruit, you become like him. He's holding out on you. Do you remember his temptation of Christ?
• 14:25
  If the Father loves you, why are you hungry? He's given you everything. He's made you all powerful. If He loved you, wouldn't He want you to turn the stone into bread? Remember Christ's response? It was perfect. It was a statement of trust in the provision of God. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of the Father. Man does not live by bread.
• 14:50
  In other words, there are things in this life that satisfy to a greater degree than food for my stomach. Now let's look at verse 17. He says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. You guys catch that? What a great statement to follow. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
• 15:20
  If you discover any good thing in this world, it came from God. If you discover anything in this world that did not come from God, it isn't good. It isn't good. Everything good came from God and everything that is good came from God. The Lord only gives good things. He will never give anything which is bad. Now consider this in light of last week's sermon where he says in verse 2, count it all joy.
• 15:50
  When we experience trials, well, how can that be a good thing? How can trials be a good thing? And the answer is, you find it there in the following verses. Verse 3, we know that the testing of our faith produces something in us. Steadfastness, perfection, eventually completeness, which is the same word for maturity. The Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh, you'll recall, which...
• 16:16
  According to 2 Corinthians 12, he actually pleaded with the Lord three times to remove, pleaded with God, please remove it. But if you recall the Lord's statement back, the Lord's response to him, God said, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in your weakness.
• 16:37
  My grace is sufficient for you. I've given you this thorn so that I can put on display my power and grace. And Paul's response back in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9. Therefore, he says, I boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Even the things that are difficult in our lives are good. They're good things because of what they produce. That's first. Notice also.
• 17:03
  These good and perfect things, actually it says in verse 17, are coming down. You guys all see that two word phrase, coming down. The goodness of God is never ending. That two word phrase, coming down, is actually a present participle in the Greek. It's not a verb, it's a participle. Which implies continuous motion. What it means, and what it should be understood as, is continual. The goodness of God comes down.
• 17:34
  It continues coming down. In fact, there will never be a time when the goodness of God ceases to come down. It is in the present tense, constantly coming down from above. And don't get me wrong, suffering, I think, makes it difficult to see the goodness of God. When it becomes difficult to see God's goodness in the present circumstance, can I just encourage you, brothers, to remember His goodness in the past? Remember when God...
• 18:07
  Brought you through the darkness in the past. I think that will help you to overcome the present. You guys recall the story of Joseph? Man, who spent most of his life, seemingly most of his life, living in the dark. We get to read his story in 10 chapters. We can read it in about 30 minutes. He didn't get to. It took years and years for that to unfold. Rejected by his family, presumed dead, sold into slavery, picked up by Potiphar, and actually finds favor?
• 18:39
  Thinks, okay, the worst is over. And then is falsely accused and imprisoned. And then forgotten about in prison. Remember that he's made this promise. Oh no, I won't forget you. I'll remember you. Oh, maybe the worst is over. Nope. Years more he spends down there. You've got to wonder if he's not just asking the Lord, what on earth? What did I do? Why am I in the dark? Why won't you tell me what's going on? Have I been forgotten? I've certainly been forgotten by man. Have I been forgotten by you?
• 19:10
  The Lord, you find out, took him out of Potiphar's house in order to put him into Pharaoh's house. And you remember that statement he makes? Famous statement. His entire family comes and he reveals himself. And he says, what you intended for evil, the Lord used for good. And at the end of it, he said, oh man, the whole time. If I hadn't been falsely accused, if I hadn't been sold into slavery, I wouldn't have been here.
• 19:40
  If I hadn't been falsely accused, I'd still be in Potiphar's house. I wouldn't have the favor I have now. I would not be able to save my family, the entire Hebrew people, an entire nation he was able to save. And they found favor because he was willing to walk faithfully with the Lord, even in the darkness, just understanding that statement that the good and perfect comes from above and will never stop. And you notice in verse 17, he continues coming down from the father of lights to whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In other words,
• 20:11
  God never changes. If our circumstances change, it wasn't because of God. If a shadow is cast on our lives, it wasn't God producing the shadow, causing the shadow. God's goodness shines like the sun. The sun shines on the earth all the time. It's changes in the earth that cause the shadows. If any shadow is cast on our lives, He is not the cause.
• 20:38
  He's constant, unchanging, unfazed. And that's first. Boys erroneously think that the grass is greener on the other side. Second, boys erroneously think that their voices should be heard. Look at verse 18. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word.
• 21:09
  Which is able to save your souls. You know, I've noticed something interesting. It is often the youngest men in the crowd who are the loudest. You ever notice that? It is often the people with the least knowledge who have the most to say. Older, more mature, wiser men have learned to stay quiet. Why is the ability to listen so vital? I think the answer is found in verses 18 and 21. Because first was the word of God, not the word of man, which has power.
• 21:42
  It says in verse 18, of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. It was God's word which created us and it is God's word which sustains us. Look at Hebrews chapter 1. I've written it in your notes. Long ago, he says it many times, in many ways, God spoke.
• 22:00
  He spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. It is the word of God which has power. The word of God created us. The word sustains us. It is the word of God which has power and not the word of man. But why also is it important to listen?
• 22:29
  I think the answer is found in verse 21. It says, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. It is the word of God which quickens our souls. 1 Peter 2, verse 9, but you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. Him who called. He called.
• 23:00
  It was the voice of God which quickened your soul. That's why the voice of God should be heard over our own. That's why Scripture encourages us to be quiet, slow to speak, quick to hear, and slow to anger. Well, what is it that our words accomplish? You find primarily anger, strife. Verse 21 says filthiness, rampant wickedness. Those who feel like they have to be heard only cause division.
• 23:34
  And my advice, brothers, would be this, to allow the word of God to have the first word and the final word. As you look back over your lives, especially probably into your youth, do you wish you had spoken more or less? There are a lot of things that I wish that I had not said. There are a lot of times I opened my mouth when I wish that I had not. Very rarely have I contained myself and regretted it.
• 24:07
  But especially in my youth, I look back and think, man, I wish I had just kept my mouth shut. Nathan, what time is it? 37? Oh man, I'm doing great. I was in my mid-20s. I was a brand new pastor. Brand new. The local high school of ours was just in disrepair, disarray. The state had actually taken over the high school because test scores had been so low, the dropout rate so high for so long. And so the state actually took control of the high school and they had hired a new principal.
• 24:38
  And she was really a neat lady, and I think she really meant the best, but she had inherited a problem that was unsolvable. I mean, it was a mess, this high school. And so she thought, you know, I'm going to try something that's never been done before. And so she invited as many local pastors as she could find onto the school campus and basically just said, I don't know what to do, I need your help. So there were about 80 of us, and I was...
• 25:02
  certainly in the younger demographic in the room, I was probably 26 at the time, and there were men who out-aged me three times. And there were men in their 70s who had been in ministry for 50, 60 years, these guys. I mean, just incredible men of God who had pastored people for decades, longer than I'd been alive. And so I'm sitting in this room, and she got up there, and she just basically started saying all of the educational, political, state stuff, right? Just toeing the party line. She didn't know what else to say.
• 25:31
  And it was driving me nuts. I was sitting on one side of the room and I just thought, you know what? That's not the problem with this school. It's not. I mean, the problem is not going to be solved unless the name of Jesus is said. And so I'm just antsy in my seat and I'm waiting for her and waiting. And honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed that the other 79 guys in the room aren't saying anything. And I thought, you know what? If nobody else is going to say anything, I'll say it. And so I'm building up the courage and I'm thinking about what I'm going to say.
• 25:59
  you know, imagining, you know, Jesus flipping tables and making a whip and, you know, running people out. And I just thought, you know what, Lord, I'll stand boldly for you. If no one else will, if these men are cowards, I'll do it. And praise God, I didn't. Praise God. He kept my mouth shut. Not for lack of me trying. I was looking for an opportune time. And I was going Isaiah 53. I mean, I was going to start preaching, you know.
• 26:32
  And I didn't. And she got all the way to the end and there was silence. Nobody said a word. And then there's one man, his name is Henry Hearns. He's nearly 80 years old. He was in his, I don't know, late 60s I think at the time. But he was one of those guys who'd been pastoring for 40 years. Took over a church in his 20s and had been at that same church the entire time. African American man, well respected. Well respected in our community. And he didn't even stand up. He just very graciously said,
• 27:02
  Mrs. Patterson, the reason your attempts are not working is because you're trying to do what you don't have the power to do. You run the school. Let us run the homes. That's what God has given us the power to do. Give us access to your campus. Allow our pastors to be on campus and to have lunch with your kids. Give us a pass to be on this campus. And you teach them English and math.
• 27:33
  You let us fix the behavior problem. You don't have the power to do it. Only Jesus can solve this problem. And that was it. There was silence. She said, all right, you're wrong. We'll take over the education. You take over everything else. And that's exactly what she did. It was unbelievable. The next year, I mean, I was in classes. I was talking to kids. I mean, it was three paths. Can you imagine? Public school, three paths. LA Unified School District.
• 28:01
  Maybe one of the worst school districts in the country. And pastors were just allowed free reign. Because I didn't open my mouth. Praise God for it. Those who have to be heard only cause division. Allow the word of God to have the first word and the final word. Boys feel like they have to be heard. Third, boys erroneously think that skin deep faith is adequate. Look at verse 22.
• 28:29
  The skin deep faith is adequate. It says, but be doers of the word and not hearers, only deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. He looks at himself, goes away, and at once forgets what he looks like. The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts. He will be blessed in his doing. Now this seems obvious, and yet it may be the most dangerous temptation of all.
• 28:59
  Those who hear the word of God, in other words, those who attend church, who sing the songs, who listen to the pastor, who download sermons, all of that, and yet never actually practice what is preached, are lying to themselves. Those who are all talk and no walk have a real problem. It was Warren Wiersbe who said, it is not the hearing, but the doing, which brings blessing. And too many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them.
• 29:34
  We know the Word of God is meant to be a mirror into which we can look and make changes that are necessary to become clean. I think too many are attracted to certain preachers because they're funny or inspiring or convicting, but they never actually do what's being preached. And don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with being funny, inspiring, or convicting from the pulpit. In fact, I hope and I honestly pray that I am all three. But the point...
• 30:05
  of exposure to the word is to make changes in our lives. Otherwise, what are we all doing here? The point is not just to hear. The point is to hear and do feel that conviction and actually make a change. It is the goal of every Christian man to hear well done, good and faithful servant at the end of his life. Is it not? Isn't that your goal? Well done, good and faithful servant. We must take note that Christ does not say well heard. Good job listening to all those sermons.
• 30:38
  Good job reading and memorizing all those verses. And I know they really didn't make a difference in your life, but hearing the Word of God, that was the point. Application is unnecessary. He does not say that. In fact, he said the opposite in Luke chapter 6 and verse 46. Luke 6, 46. Listen to this. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don't do what I say? Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don't do what I say? If your faith is only skin deep, stop deceiving yourself.
• 31:10
  It's not accomplishing anything. Stop being a mere hearer. Become a doer who acts and you will be blessed if you do. Last, boys erroneously think that their religion is about themselves. That their religion is about themselves. Look at verses 26 and 27. If anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this.
• 31:39
  Visit orphans and widows in their affliction to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now I know that the word religion has developed a nasty reputation both in sacred and secular circles. American culture has all but done away with organized religion. Churches across the country are closing their doors at a rate unseen in American history. Previous generations
• 32:09
  who believed, are now being rejected by American youth. Even Christians have rejected that word. Using instead, and we kind of bristle when somebody asks what religion are we, we'll usually say something like, I don't have a religion, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's become our pat answer, and there's nothing wrong with it. But you know, James actually describes a religion which is worthless.
• 32:39
  Verse 26, a religion that is all talk. If anyone thinks he's religious and doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. The religion that is all talk, he says, it's pointless. But then he actually goes on to describe a religion which is pure and undefiled. And this pure and undefiled religion should be marked by two things. Notice in verse 27, first, pure and undefiled religion is marked by service to those in need.
• 33:08
  Widows and orphans, those in distress, those in affliction. Service. Contrary to popular belief, your religion, including your relationship with Christ, isn't meant to be about you. When we put our faith in Christ for salvation, we take on His name, Christian. And we walk like He walked, 1 John 2.6 says. And how did Jesus walk? What was His life about?
• 33:39
  Remember, he does not define Christianity as going to church on Sundays, hanging out with the guys on Wednesdays, having people to your house for coffee occasionally on Saturdays. That's not how he describes the Christian walk. He says in Luke 9, 23, if anyone desires to come after me, do you remember this? He must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. In fact, he said, it has nothing to do with you. Consider yourself dead.
• 34:05
  Galatians 2.20 said the same thing. I've been crucified with Christ. It's not me who's living anymore, but Christ who lives through me. I'm dead. It's not about me. Just like He came to earth to serve, not to be served, so also must we. We take on that same mantle. I'm not in it for me. I'm not even at the church for me. I'm not here to be served, but to serve, to lay down my life the way that the Savior
• 34:34
  That's first. Pure and undefiled religion is service. But notice second. Pure and undefiled religion is separation from the world. He ends, he says, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. And the world in this context refers to anything that sets itself against or opposes God's kingdom. Satan, Ephesians 2.2 says, is the world's prince. All of the unsaved are its sons, Jesus said in Luke 16.8.
• 35:04
  Befriending the world means disaster for the believer. James 4.4 says friendship with the world is enmity, hatred, discord toward God. Conforming to the world, Romans 12.2, will mean eventually being condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11.32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. And so Romans 12 says we are to be transformed.
• 35:35
  By the renewing of our minds so that we do not conform to the world's image. Brothers, don't be deceived. Let us think and act like men. The grass is not greener anywhere but in the will of God. Amen? That's it. We're standing. If you're in the will of God, you're standing in the greenest grass there is. Let us let the word of God have the first and last word in our lives. Let us not merely be hearers of the word. Let us put the word into practice so that we will actually hear well done.
• 36:08
  and not well heard. Let us embrace religion that is pure and undefiled. Service to others separate from the world. And Lord, I pray all of these things in Your name. God bless the conviction in our hearts. May Your Holy Spirit guide and direct as we need to make changes. Lord, make us more like Your Son who laid down His life so that we could be saved. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.