WEBVTT 00:00:00.260 --> 00:00:13.400 Good morning. I know it's a little warm out there. I do know that there's some water in the back, 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:18.219 and as Greg said earlier, if you need to take a break, just step to one of the doorways. 00:00:18.859 --> 00:00:24.879 Unfortunately, it's not any cooler outside than in, but you can at least put down your mask and 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:32.439 take a breather if you need it. This morning, we continue in our series in the book of James. 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:38.219 I was thinking about our passage this morning. I was thinking about the fact that wandering 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:45.039 is typically not a good thing. When I was young, my family had golden retrievers, 00:00:45.379 --> 00:00:50.259 and every once in a while, we would leave them out too long, and they would wander. They would 00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:55.059 wander into the neighbor's yard. They would wander into the woods. They would wander into the garbage 00:00:55.059 --> 00:01:01.960 cans or the garbage that they would find. They would wander in all sorts of places, 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:09.200 and it caused great anxiety. My parents driving, calling the neighbors, looking around the 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:13.959 neighborhood, calling. I remember one time one of our dogs came home, and she had this 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:19.359 six-inch gash on the side. We have no idea where it came from or how she got it. 00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:27.400 Wandering is not always a good thing. Spiritually, wandering is not always a good thing. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:33.600 Probably in the Bible, the most famous wandering is the wandering of the wilderness for the Israelites 00:01:33.600 --> 00:01:39.920 for 40 years. We have to remember that that was judgment, that that was God's penalty for people 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:46.060 who would not trust Him to go into a promised land that He had prepared for them. They were 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:52.519 separated from the blessings of God's goodness by their faithlessness, and that was the context in 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:59.799 which they were wandering. Similarly, we see in the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:06.980 wanders away from the blessings of his father's house, from the provision and the protection and the 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:12.539 love that is there. He wants to set out on his own, and he wanders far from home. And the picture 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:18.359 that it gives us at the lowest point of his life is one of a Jewish boy 00:02:18.359 --> 00:02:28.459 working with pigs and eating their food. It's a catastrophe of wandering from God. 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.500 You know, as I was thinking about that parable, it struck me that 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:39.120 if we were Him, would we have done what He did? Because the parable says He came to His senses 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:46.420 and said, I need to go home. I don't know about you, but when we've wandered, when we've wandered 00:02:46.420 --> 00:02:51.580 from God, when we've wandered from those who love us, when we've wandered from places of blessing, 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:59.780 it's often hard to turn around and go back, isn't it? Our pride keeps us away. Our own self-pity 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:05.520 will prevent us from turning and returning to the Lord or to those that we love. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:15.040 Why do we wander? I think there are many reasons, perhaps. Perhaps it's willfulness, 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:20.900 rebellion, pride. I want to do my own thing in my own way. I want to be able to be in control, 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:27.500 and that means that I'm going to run away from anyone who claims to have a claim on my life or 00:03:27.500 --> 00:03:34.140 wants to control me. Sometimes we wander out of foolishness. We get caught up in something. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:40.019 We don't know where it's going. We're not aware. Or we're more concerned about being with the people 00:03:40.019 --> 00:03:47.939 we're with or going with the flow. And suddenly we find ourselves far away from God, doing things we 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:57.679 said we would never do. Sometimes we are led astray. Sometimes there are those who rightfully ask us to 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:04.719 trust them because of their position, but then abuse that position and lead us into terrible things. 00:04:05.760 --> 00:04:14.240 We are victims, gullible, taken in by those who we've trusted. And sometimes we wander because we 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:22.399 are weary. We are weary of how hard it is to keep going with God. We are feeling the pain of our lives, 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:27.839 and we run away. We run away from that pain, and often in that running away from our pain, we run 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:36.839 away from God as well. And the danger of running away is that the consequences are dire. Biblically, 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:44.739 those who wander from God result in death and destruction. Great cost comes to those who wander 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:51.860 spiritually. And it is that concern that brings us to our passage in James this morning. The reality 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:58.980 of wandering brings James to the conclusion of this letter. We're in James, we're in chapter 5, 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:05.540 verses 19 and 20. And if you remember, as we've been preaching throughout, James' heart, his pastoral 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:11.980 heart in preaching or in teaching this book and giving it to the church is that the church would be 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:20.819 encouraged to be steadfast in faith in the midst of various trials. To persevere in faith, not only in 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:27.280 assenting about what is true, but being transformed by the truth of the gospel so that we're living out 00:05:27.280 --> 00:05:33.920 in consistency the gospel that we profess in all sorts of different ways. Who's given us all sorts of 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:39.540 exhortations and commands. How do we deal with the tongue? How do we deal with class distinctions? How do we 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:45.879 deal with professions of faith without works? How do we deal with conflicts? And so on and so forth. 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:52.040 He's given us all these instructions about how it is that we live out a steadfast faith. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:58.140 And at the very end, he comes back and he says, to continue in steadfast faith is not just an 00:05:58.140 --> 00:06:03.560 individual but a corporate thing. And so what we need to do is to come alongside one another. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:10.819 It is an encouragement about going after those who have wandered away from the Lord 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:17.699 to restore them and bring them back to steadfastness and faith 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:25.120 so that we might continue on in the gospel that God has given us. 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:33.639 That brings us to our passage today, James chapter 5 verses 19 and 20. If you want to read that with 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:35.939 me together, let's look at it and then we'll pray. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:45.439 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:52.280 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death 00:06:52.279 --> 00:07:02.119 and will cover a multitude of sins. We pray with me. Lord, we thank you this morning for this text. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:11.319 We thank you for, Lord, the pastoral heart of the Apostle James as he writes these things. 00:07:11.979 --> 00:07:18.739 God, we pray that you would apply this to our heart this morning. 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:25.900 We pray that you would help us to hear the truth of this word and that we would live it out. 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:32.319 God, we pray for those in our community who are wandering from you, that you would turn them back 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:39.199 and that you would use us to do so. We pray that we would know with humility, Lord, that we too 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:44.480 have wandered far from you and you have been gracious to bring us back. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:51.620 God, be with us in all these things. Be with us this morning. Will you help me as I proclaim your word 00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:57.540 to do so clearly? We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:06.280 The heart of what James is saying is this. The Christian community ought to be characterized 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:14.879 by the gracious restoring of fellow Christians who are losing their way of steadfast faith. 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:21.179 This is what the Christian community is meant to be, and this is what James is encouraging us to be. 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:25.159 So we're going to look at this text. We're just going to walk through three basic steps. 00:08:25.299 --> 00:08:29.459 What does the text mean? How do we apply it? And how is it rooted in the gospel? 00:08:29.459 --> 00:08:34.360 So that's our outline this morning. If you're wanting an outline, the meaning, the application, 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:39.360 and then rooting it in the gospel. So that's what we're going to do. So first, let's look at the 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:46.439 meaning of this. And basically, it's very simple. There's a condition and then an outcome. Verse 19 is 00:08:46.439 --> 00:08:56.699 the condition. It says, if, right? And this if is not a, look, maybe this will happen, and if it does, 00:08:56.700 --> 00:09:02.120 by perchance, maybe. It's not that kind of if. It's actually a when. It's a when this happens, 00:09:02.280 --> 00:09:08.759 in the occasion that this happens, is what it's saying. When someone wanders from the Lord, 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:15.140 wanders from the truth, specifically is what he says. And remember, what James has been telling us 00:09:15.140 --> 00:09:20.940 about truth for five chapters is that truth is not just a cognitive ascent of a certain 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:29.440 certain tenets of faith. It's not just a verbal profession of faith, but that true holding to the 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:35.860 truth will change us and transform us, and it will result in actions that are consistent with the gospel 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:42.800 and consistent with the God who has saved us. And so wandering from the truth is both a matter of when, 00:09:43.060 --> 00:09:48.800 if we deny things that are true about God that he has revealed in his word, or when we deny the power 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:56.979 of that truth by not living out that truth in consistent ways, these are the things that he's 00:09:56.979 --> 00:10:03.719 talking about when he talks about wandering. And he says, if anyone has wandered from the truth, and 00:10:03.719 --> 00:10:10.579 someone brings him back, and this is the great exhortation in the heart of it, is this is what we, James 00:10:10.579 --> 00:10:16.699 is saying, we want to see this happen. We want to see people who are wandering brought back, brought back 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:25.500 in the same way. Jesus uses his same word to pray for Peter during the Last Supper. If you remember, 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:29.660 Peter makes these grand professions, and then Jesus tells him, you're going to deny me. 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:37.200 He says, but Satan has asked that you would be sifted. I have prayed for you that your faith might not 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:43.540 fail. And afterwards, because it does fail, right? He does fail in the moment, but then afterwards, 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:49.679 when you have returned, strengthen your brethren. And that's the very, that when you have returned is 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:54.699 the same idea here as being restored. And it's a great picture of what's being talked about. 00:10:55.339 --> 00:10:59.500 When we wander by failing to live out steadfast faith, 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:07.179 we are to restore one another and to bring one another back so that we can continue to live out 00:11:07.179 --> 00:11:13.439 what God has called us to live out. So that's the condition or the context. This is the, 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:18.599 when this happens, right? And then this verse 20 gives us the outcome. 00:11:19.459 --> 00:11:23.519 Let him know that he will be saved from death and his sins will be covered. 00:11:25.859 --> 00:11:30.779 That's the core of what verse 20 says. And let him know, who is the him? Well, 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:36.159 there's actually quite a lot of discussion in the commentaries about it. It's meant to be an 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:41.179 encouragement to the one who goes to restore a brother or sister to say, hey, there's a good 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:47.139 outcome. But I think that the weight of it actually is a little bit more on the one who is restored. 00:11:47.459 --> 00:11:55.759 Know that as you return from your wandering, the outcome will be good. You will be delivered from 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:04.799 death and your sins will be covered. Why does he talk about these things? Well, delivered from death 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:11.899 because the God of the Bible is the God of life. And when we are going towards the God of the Bible, 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:17.580 we are going towards the life that he offers that comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:22.899 And when we are going away from him, we are going away from life and towards death. 00:12:22.899 --> 00:12:29.559 This is what it means when the Bible says the wages of sin is death. We are removed from 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:39.519 God, the source of life. And when we do that ultimately and fully, we sit under his judgment 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:47.039 and separate from him. And as we do that, then we experience death. And so the restoring of one 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:54.120 wandered is keeping people from getting to that ultimate end. So it's not only that being saved 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:59.779 from death, but then it's also our sins are covered. And this is such a sweet and rich Old Testament 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:05.240 imagery. This comes from the temple where the sacrifices of the temple, the blood of the animals 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:11.819 would be spread over the people, would be sprinkled on the altar, would be pressed on people's foreheads 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:17.700 at times as a sign, as a symbol, that their sins are covered over by the death of another, 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:24.100 that the substitutionary death of one covers over the penalty that another deserves. 00:13:25.900 --> 00:13:33.160 This is the picture. And this is why we see in Psalm 32 that we read earlier, 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:38.160 blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sin is covered. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:45.699 This is the idea. And how do we know ultimately that this happens? This is what Jesus has done for us. 00:13:46.439 --> 00:13:52.620 His work for us. He has lived the perfect life that we ought to have lived. And then he died the death 00:13:52.620 --> 00:14:00.719 that we deserve for our sin. So that by offering himself up in our place, both in his perfect obedience 00:14:00.719 --> 00:14:07.000 and in his sacrificial death in our place, his substitutionary death in our place, he is then able to cover 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:12.940 over our sins. And for all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, what this means is that when we 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:20.559 approach God and God the Father looks at us, what he sees is not our wandering, faithless hearts, 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:30.500 not our stumbling, rebellious, weak faith, but he sees Jesus' obedience and perfection and beauty. 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:37.980 And that's where we stand before God because Jesus covers us. It's like he gives us a robe of 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:45.240 righteousness that was not our own, that we're able to wear. And it actually is ours. It's not just 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:54.159 a cover-up, but it's actually ours in our standing before God. What a beautiful thing it is that Jesus has 00:14:54.159 --> 00:15:03.759 done this. Friends, as we see this, let's notice the role of community. It would be very easy to read 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:08.740 the book of James and to think there are lots of individualistic commands. You should do better here. 00:15:08.839 --> 00:15:14.819 You should be stronger here. You should change how you behave here. But here James is saying that the 00:15:14.819 --> 00:15:21.379 community is essential to steadfastness and to keeping us from wandering in the truth. 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:28.279 And it's wonderful. If you look at the pronouns in this section, the pronouns have two different… 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:34.019 One of the ways that the pronouns help us is because it says, look, this isn't just for 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:40.379 particular people. This is not just for the elders. James knows how to distinguish the elders. He did so 00:15:40.379 --> 00:15:46.379 just a few verses ago when he talked about prayer. But here he says, if anyone, if someone, whoever… 00:15:46.379 --> 00:15:51.279 He's talking about any person in the family of God. 00:15:55.279 --> 00:16:02.860 So this is for all of us to be active in seeking to restore a wandering brother or sister. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:10.100 And look, we need to acknowledge this is really countercultural. We live in a world today of 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:16.700 tolerance and of privacy, particularly about religious things and personal things. 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:25.540 It's so hard sometimes to go to someone because we hear the voice of the culture saying, 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:31.040 what are you doing messing with my business? Get out of my personal life. This isn't about you. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:39.799 Who died and made you king? It's very easy for there to be a… There's a cultural defense against 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:48.059 this kind of restoration that we need to acknowledge. But James says that actually this pursuing and 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:56.839 restoring is a part of a healthy, loving community. And its goal is never to condemn, but always to 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:07.519 restore. This is the other thing that the vague pronouns help us to see. The anyone reminds us that 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:15.299 I might be in this position of restoring a brother or sister today. I might be a wanderer tomorrow who 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:23.160 needs to be restored. And therefore, we recognize this is not separating out the righteous and the 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:31.720 stumbling into two different categories in our church. But we need to recognize that it's for all 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:38.140 of us. And so, when we are engaged with this, we do this with humility, not with pride. With love, 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:46.040 not self-righteousness. With mercy, and not judgment. Because the outcome of this process is good. 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:54.279 Do you remember the story in 2 Samuel 11 and 12? David, the king of Israel, the high point, he's at 00:17:54.279 --> 00:18:03.099 the high point of his kingdom and his kingship, and he blows it. He wanders far from God's plan and path 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:10.379 for him. He sees a woman who's not his own wife. She's the wife of another. He goes and takes her 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:16.080 any ways. He then tries to cover it up by killing her husband. It's a terrible story. And at the end 00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:24.160 of chapter 11, it says, what David did displeased the Lord. And then in chapter 12, God sends the 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:32.000 prophet Nathan to talk to David. And Nathan is shrewd. He knows that maybe a head-on confrontation 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:37.680 might not be the wisest way. So, he tells a parable. He tells a parable about rich men and poor men and 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:42.820 sheep. And I won't tell all the details. But it's basically about abuse of power. About how someone 00:18:42.820 --> 00:18:51.000 in a position of power is taking advantage of other people. And David gets it. And he hears that. And he 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:59.820 says, that's terrible. Nobody should do that. And Nathan looks at him and says, you are that man. 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:09.839 And God turns. God is at work in this. And David is turned. And David is restored. 00:19:11.899 --> 00:19:22.980 By this loving, but pretty direct, confrontation. This is what Psalm 32 bears the fruit of. Psalm 32 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:28.899 is a psalm of David after his sin with Bathsheba. It is his exaltation. 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:35.680 Blessed is the one. Blessed is the one. How happy we are when we see how badly we have fallen. 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:43.600 And then know that God has forgiven us. And our transgressions are forgiven. And our sins are 00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:53.880 covered by God's mercy and grace. This is the hope. This is the goodness that James is exhorting his 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.760 church to be a part of what God wants to do to restore those who are wandering. 00:20:01.520 --> 00:20:07.940 So how do we do this? If that's the meaning of the text, how do we apply it? 00:20:09.100 --> 00:20:10.780 How do we live this out? 00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:20.879 So the question is, how do we come alongside someone who has wandered? Someone who is denying 00:20:20.879 --> 00:20:27.000 core beliefs of the faith verbally? Someone who is living in a way that is inconsistent with 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:36.619 the biblical picture of godliness? I think Galatians 6, 1 and 2 give us a good starting point for that. 00:20:36.619 --> 00:20:40.199 Galatians 6, 1 says this, 00:20:40.199 --> 00:20:47.319 Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:54.739 him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's 00:20:54.739 --> 00:20:58.379 burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:07.620 I'm not going to exegete that passage, but I think that the apostle Paul here captures 00:21:07.620 --> 00:21:14.580 the heart of what I think James is exhorting the congregation to do. James, as you've seen, 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:18.260 isn't always good on the details, like how to live these things out. He just kind of says, 00:21:18.320 --> 00:21:23.640 this is where you need to go. And so here, Paul is saying, yeah, here's a little bit more. And so I 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:29.020 want to give you some pastoral reflections on what does it look like to actually do this. I want to 00:21:29.020 --> 00:21:35.720 talk about the heart, and I want to talk about the actions of restoring, both for someone who is 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:39.940 seeking to restore a brother and for someone who's wandering and who needs to be restored. 00:21:40.620 --> 00:21:47.320 So let's walk through this in the next few minutes. The heart of one seeking to restore a brother and 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:54.759 sister needs to begin with checking our own motives. If our desire is to make ourselves look good, 00:21:54.759 --> 00:22:02.879 if our desire is to uphold the truth no matter what, if our desire is to exalt ourselves 00:22:02.879 --> 00:22:07.419 rather than seeking to lovingly restore, 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:14.779 then we ought not to do it until our hearts are different. The goal is always restoration, 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:22.240 not condemnation. And it requires humility, not a judgmental spirit. Recognize that James has told 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:27.059 us this. There's actually a sense in which this verse is, these two verses are the very end of a 00:22:27.059 --> 00:22:33.579 section that begins in chapter 4, verse 11. Let me just read that verse to you. Do not speak evil 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:38.980 against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:45.960 against the law and judges the law. And he goes on at the end and he asks, who are you to judge your 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:51.940 brother? Now, to put that passage together with this one, I encourage you to go back to our website 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:55.980 and listen to the sermon if you weren't here a couple weeks ago, because there's a lot of things 00:22:55.980 --> 00:23:00.960 to think through in terms of discernment and what's the difference between discernment and judgment. 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:06.539 But fundamentally, one of the things is that God is ultimately the judge and we are not. 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:12.139 And in the act of restoring, we are not meant to take that role of judgment, but we are meant to, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:20.720 we are called to take the role of coming alongside and helping turn someone back from wandering. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:29.460 A few other thoughts about the heart of one seeking to restore others. Don't make assumptions. 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:36.099 Don't assume that you know everything about the context and the situation. Recognize that you 00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:41.799 don't know the reality of someone's heart and you don't know what you haven't seen. You probably know 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:47.039 what you've seen and heard and that's fair, but you may not understand it clearly. So recognize and 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:52.500 have humility that you may not be seeing things properly. That this person who may look like 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:55.759 they're wandering may not be wandering nearly as much as you think that they are. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:05.579 Another point in the heart is to avoid self-righteousness, to recognize there but for the grace of God 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:14.359 would I be. As we sing in the hymn, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:17.139 This is true for all of us. 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:28.479 And finally, be patient with one another. Recognize that turning may take time. Sometimes 00:24:28.479 --> 00:24:34.039 straight-up confrontation like we saw with Nathan and David is a necessary part of it. 00:24:34.679 --> 00:24:39.959 Sometimes it just is a bit of coming alongside and redirecting. Some of you are parents, you know this. 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:44.759 Sometimes you just need to tell your kid no and lay down the law, but sometimes you just come 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:49.920 alongside and say, hey, let's not play with the dynamite. Let's come over here and build sandcastles 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:57.779 instead. Isn't that a better thing? So be patient and recognize how the process works. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:03.880 So if that's what the heart is, then how do we lovingly engage? What does it actually look like? 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:09.980 First of all, it means to explore by asking questions before we make statements. 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:19.080 How are you doing? I noticed this happened. Can you tell me more about that? 00:25:19.860 --> 00:25:24.320 You said this the other day in our conversation. I wanted to follow up and ask more about what you 00:25:24.320 --> 00:25:30.160 were thinking and what you meant by that. Follow up with clarifying questions once they give an answer. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:34.960 Can you tell me more about this? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this. 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:42.080 Help me to see this the way you see it. 00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:51.160 Express concern. Hey, I want to have this conversation with you because I care about you. 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:59.640 Not because I want to fix you or make this right, but because I want it to be, 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:03.000 I care about you and your heart and your walk with the Lord. 00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:11.940 At its core, at times, almost always at some point, we need to say what you are saying or what 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:18.180 you are doing seems inconsistent with what the Bible says. We need to make sure we don't confront 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:23.520 people or think they're wandering because they disagree with us on politics or school decisions or, 00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:28.380 you know, whether your toilet paper rolls this way or that way or whatever it is, right? 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:34.580 Big or small. It's very easy for us to think that because someone disagrees with us about many 00:26:34.580 --> 00:26:39.660 things that they're wandering from the Lord. We need to make sure that we're doing this on the 00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:41.480 basis of biblical truth. 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:51.019 And when we ask this question or when we say what you have said or what you have done seems 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:59.220 inconsistent with what the Lord is calling us to, give them time. Give them time to digest and think 00:26:59.220 --> 00:27:07.079 some people will need a few minutes. Some people may need a few days. Don't expect an immediate response 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.939 because it often is the wrong response. We'll get to that in a minute. 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:18.019 Ask them, how can I help you? How can I pray? What can I do to come alongside of you? 00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:26.279 And say, I'm here for you. Even if their initial response is poor. Even if their initial response is 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:30.859 dismissive. Say, I'm here for you. I care about you. 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:38.419 So if that's what it looks like from the heart of the restorer, what does it look like from the heart 00:27:38.419 --> 00:27:43.159 of the wanderer? Well, here's the thing. If you're wandering, your heart is in a bad place. That's 00:27:43.159 --> 00:27:51.279 pretty certain. If you're wandering, it's possible you're wandering and you don't know it and someone 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:56.059 coming is just correcting you and that's helpful. But a lot of times our heart is not in a good place 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:01.799 and that's why we're wandering. So in order to think about this, the best thing I can say is to 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:09.720 prepare for a time when we may be wandering is to practice when we are not wandering some good, 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:17.740 basic Christian practices of community, dependence, and accountability. So the best way to prepare for 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:23.599 times when we might be wandering is that when you're not wandering, do these things. One, develop an 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:28.740 attitude of dependence. First Corinthians 12 says we are all part of a body and we need one another. 00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:39.099 Do we really believe that? Or do we think like I do far too often? Nah, I can do this. I got it. 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:43.519 I got it. I can do this on my own. That's not the way God's designed us. 00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:52.679 So we need to recognize that this fundamental attitude that we need to cultivate is that of, 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:58.400 I need others in my life to follow God. And particularly, what does this look like? I need 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:03.779 others to be praying for me and with me. I need accountability in my areas of weakness or in the 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:11.080 places where I feel the most pressure from the outside of my circumstances or internally the places 00:29:11.080 --> 00:29:17.299 where I know I am prone to wander. I need people to hold me accountable and ask me, how are you doing 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:25.440 in these things? And we need to be, as Greg preached on last week in James 5.16, we need to be confessing 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:31.980 our sins to one another. If we're doing this, our heart is prepared for the time when we wander and 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:37.000 someone comes and says, hey brother, sister, it looks like you're wandering. Be like, oh, you're right. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:45.240 I am. Again, huh. That's terrible. That prepares us to receive well the restoration initiative. 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:51.420 What does it look like for us to receive that when someone comes to us and has the conversation? 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:58.039 First of all, this is the most important, fight the urge to be defensive. It is always our response. 00:29:58.140 --> 00:30:04.960 And it comes to us honestly all the way back in the Garden of Eden when they rejected God, 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:08.579 did their own thing. And God comes and says, what have you done? And they said, they did it. 00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:16.500 It wasn't me. It was them. And we do the same thing. It's not my fault. 00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:24.980 The devil made me do it. My circumstances made me do it. We are so easy. I didn't do it at all. 00:30:24.980 --> 00:30:30.840 I don't know what you're talking about. We're so easy to deflect and to deny in our defensive nature. 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:36.139 We need to fight the urge for that to be true. And instead, we need to listen. 00:30:36.919 --> 00:30:41.559 And we need to ask clarifying questions. I don't understand what you're saying. Or, 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:46.119 okay, I'm hearing you, but can you tell me more about what you've seen that makes you think that? 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.819 What did you hear me say? What have you seen me do? 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:53.459 Those can be painful questions, but they're really important. 00:30:53.460 --> 00:31:00.900 And then take your time, because recognize that your heart will probably not respond well in the moment. 00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:04.180 Maybe it will. I hope it will. But it might not. 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:10.120 And so it's okay to say, look, this is really important, and I see that you are coming to me in love, 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:15.360 and I am struggling to respond well right now. Can I just take some time and let's revisit this? 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:25.099 Or can I take five minutes right now and just take a deep breath and pray before we engage in more conversation about this? 00:31:28.059 --> 00:31:33.679 We need to ask then the Lord to show us what is true. 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:36.919 As someone comes alongside of us and says, hey, I think you're wandering, 00:31:37.659 --> 00:31:41.299 we want to say, Lord, if that's true, show me. Help me to know it. 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:43.779 A lot of times we do know it already in our hearts. 00:31:44.220 --> 00:31:45.599 But sometimes we don't. 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:51.279 I've been blessed by brothers and sisters who've come to me and pointed out things that I was not aware I was doing, 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:52.500 that were not godly. 00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:57.200 Ask the Lord to show us. 00:31:59.319 --> 00:32:03.359 And then have the humility to receive it, even when it's not well done. 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:05.599 Here's what I want to say. 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:09.339 If only 10% of what that brother or sister is saying is true, 00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:14.799 and the rest of it is misunderstanding and character assassination and misconstrual, 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:17.699 if 10% of it is true, 00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:21.779 sift out the rest, cling to that, 00:32:22.939 --> 00:32:23.799 receive it, 00:32:24.199 --> 00:32:29.659 and be thankful to the Lord for this brother or sister who had the courage to come and talk to you. 00:32:32.619 --> 00:32:37.500 And be thankful to them for their love for you in doing this. 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:40.500 And then ask them for help. 00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:44.279 This is, again, what James 5.16 tells us to do. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:48.420 We need to ask one another to pray for us, 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:50.279 that we might be healed of our sin. 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:54.359 This is an important piece of community life together. 00:32:56.940 --> 00:32:57.900 Ask for prayer. 00:32:58.140 --> 00:32:58.779 Ask for counsel. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:32:59.779 Ask for accountability. 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:02.980 Ask someone to walk with you as you try to turn. 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:05.339 And sometimes these patterns are longstanding, 00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:07.059 and they're not going to suddenly go away. 00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:10.039 And it's going to take time to turn that ship around. 00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:12.579 Ask them to walk with you through that. 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:18.900 And finally, for both the restorer and the wanderer, 00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:26.039 fundamentally we need to recognize that this is ultimately God's work, not ours. 00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:30.259 We need to trust that the Holy Spirit is at work. 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:35.279 And if we are the restorer, we need to recognize we are not the conscience of someone else, 00:33:35.319 --> 00:33:39.200 and we are not the Holy Spirit called to convict them of sin. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:41.039 That is God's job, not ours. 00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:44.819 We are meant to come and to lovingly present what we've seen and heard, 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:47.220 and to let God be at work in them. 00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:53.920 You cannot convict another person of sin or change their hearts. 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:55.360 And don't try. 00:33:57.779 --> 00:34:00.279 Because it's taking God's place and God's role. 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:05.960 And for the wanderer, recognize that if someone comes to you, 00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:11.460 even if this feels like it's complete craziness and it's a complete fabrication, 00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:18.940 have the humility to say, God, are you trying to say something to me? 00:34:19.260 --> 00:34:23.179 Even if what they're saying is wrong, God, are you trying to say something to me? 00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:30.139 Have the humility before God and ask God to convict you of your sin 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:33.099 and to show you where you may be a wanderer. 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:40.380 Friends, what James is saying is that a community that does this thrives. 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:45.720 Some people have said that the church is a place where we shoot our wounded. 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:50.079 James says, no, it's the opposite. 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:52.420 We go and bring them back. 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:55.139 We go after the lost sheep and we bring them back. 00:34:55.220 --> 00:34:58.119 We come alongside and we bear one another's burdens 00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:01.539 and we encourage one another and we exhort one another 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:03.500 and we restore one another. 00:35:07.820 --> 00:35:10.920 This is what real love is, not just niceness. 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:14.260 A church that loves one another enough 00:35:14.260 --> 00:35:18.860 to go after those who are wandering and to bring them back. 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:23.780 So this brings us to questions for our own hearts. 00:35:25.780 --> 00:35:29.380 Brothers, sisters, are you wandering from God today? 00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:32.440 Are you denying His sovereign goodness 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:34.699 and His love in your life? 00:35:34.699 --> 00:35:39.899 Are you running from Him in pain or in anger or in rebellion or in pride? 00:35:40.399 --> 00:35:43.460 Are you harboring a sin that you don't want to give up? 00:35:43.799 --> 00:35:47.319 Is there something that you are hiding from God and from your church family 00:35:47.319 --> 00:35:49.500 that you need to bring into the light? 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:55.400 If you are wandering, send up the flare gun. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.320 Let someone know that you need help. 00:36:03.780 --> 00:36:05.420 Find someone who you can trust. 00:36:05.420 --> 00:36:09.320 And it doesn't have to be the pastors. 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:12.360 We would love for you to come talk to us. 00:36:12.380 --> 00:36:13.740 But it doesn't have to be us. 00:36:14.019 --> 00:36:15.039 That's what James has said. 00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:16.599 This is a community project. 00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:24.259 The other question we need to ask is, 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:27.279 are you concerned about a brother or sister today? 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:31.500 Have you heard them deny the truth of the gospel, 00:36:33.259 --> 00:36:35.599 the character of God and the work of Christ? 00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:39.980 Have you seen sinful patterns in them justified and perpetuated? 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:49.219 And are you shrinking back in fear from pursuing them to come alongside and restore them? 00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:57.300 See, friends, in all of this, we need to remember the gospel that we profess. 00:36:57.699 --> 00:37:03.280 The gospel that tells us that we have a Savior who has done this for us. 00:37:03.860 --> 00:37:06.980 Jesus who came to seek and save the lost. 00:37:07.159 --> 00:37:08.659 And that's not the lost out there. 00:37:08.659 --> 00:37:10.019 That's me and you. 00:37:10.739 --> 00:37:15.139 He came to seek us, to rescue us from our lostness. 00:37:15.779 --> 00:37:20.139 He came to bring us life when we were dead in our sins and trespasses. 00:37:20.399 --> 00:37:25.779 He came to seek us, not because we were seeking Him, but when we were His enemies. 00:37:27.859 --> 00:37:32.839 Jesus, whose life and death cover our sin and whose resurrection brings life to us. 00:37:32.839 --> 00:37:38.179 He who is our good shepherd, who goes after the lost sheep. 00:37:38.659 --> 00:37:46.399 And in whose kingdom there is more rejoicing over one lost sheep who returns than 99 who stay. 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:50.380 This is the good news of the gospel. 00:37:50.700 --> 00:37:52.619 This is what we have believed from the very start. 00:37:52.680 --> 00:38:01.539 And this is the heart from which James can give us his exhortation to be a community of people who love one another the way Christ has loved us. 00:38:01.539 --> 00:38:17.739 We are only able to restore others because Christ has come and restored us. 00:38:17.739 --> 00:38:19.619 Let's pray. 00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:23.619 Lord, thank you for this word. 00:38:23.939 --> 00:38:29.239 And thank you for the ways that it speaks to us. 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:32.739 God, I pray for our hearts, Lord. 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:39.019 That you would make us right before you this morning in thinking about these things. 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:46.219 Give us as a church, I pray, a love for one another that would have the courage to go and bring others back. 00:38:49.159 --> 00:38:56.679 God, give us the humility to admit when we are wandering and need help. 00:38:57.480 --> 00:39:04.619 And Lord, would you do that so that you might build us up as a church of steadfastness and faith for your glory. 00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:06.719 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:07.739 Amen. 00:39:09.019 --> 00:39:10.019 Amen.