WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.900 James chapter 4, verse 13. We're picking right up where we left off last week. 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:17.300 As I prepared for the sermon this week, a song came to mind, a song that I listened to a lot in high school. 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:24.820 In 1978, Billy Joel, the piano man, published one of his famous songs called My Life. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:27.719 So you can already hear the teenage angst. 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:34.200 This song came to mind because it's a song in which the narrator is obsessed with himself. 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:39.060 It's his life, and he will live it however he wants. 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:42.060 Just a few lyrics from this song. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.159 He says, you can speak your mind, but not on my time. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.120 He says, they will tell you you can't sleep alone in a strange place, 00:00:50.519 --> 00:00:52.560 and they'll tell you you can't sleep with somebody else. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.739 Oh, but sooner or later, you'll sleep in your own space. 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:57.440 Either way, it's okay. 00:00:57.620 --> 00:00:59.539 You wake up with yourself. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:02.620 And the chorus of the song is this. 00:01:03.020 --> 00:01:06.120 I don't need you to worry for me because I'm all right. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.780 I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home. 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:13.140 I don't care what you say anymore. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:14.900 This is my life. 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:17.060 Go ahead with your own life. 00:01:17.320 --> 00:01:18.560 Leave me alone. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:30.219 So this song relates to our text in that here we have a singer who is describing his hatred for any kind of authority whatsoever. 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:34.900 He never mentions God, parents, government, elders, or anything like that, 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.180 but it's clear he wants to be free of any and all authority, 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:44.099 to just do what he wants to do to live his life. 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:48.000 And I doubt this song is super widely known today, 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:49.979 but the spirit of this song, right, 00:01:50.059 --> 00:01:54.659 the message, the teaching of this song is all pervasive. 00:01:54.919 --> 00:01:55.919 It's everywhere. 00:01:57.039 --> 00:02:00.060 In fact, Billy Joel didn't come up with this idea, right? 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:04.000 It's just him describing any other sinner's heart. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:12.439 Frank Sinatra had a song as well called My Life or My Way in which he basically said more or less the same thing. 00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:16.300 He says, I don't care how any of you feel, I did it my way. 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:19.719 A more current song that embodies these values, 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:23.580 these values of self-love, self-autonomy, self-sufficiency, 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:25.939 which you should really not listen to, 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:28.080 is DNA by Kendrick Lamar. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:33.320 And I only know about that from when I was younger and caught up in things of the world. 00:02:34.480 --> 00:02:37.220 But let's just say it's so bad I wouldn't even dare quote it here. 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:45.460 But the point is there is a whole host of songs from generation to generation that teach this lesson. 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.240 More songs than we could possibly cover today if we wanted to. 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:51.400 And they all teach this. 00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:53.420 You are the God of your life. 00:02:53.419 --> 00:02:57.619 Now go out and take what you want, when you want it, and how you want it, 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.939 and give no regard to everybody else because they're just in your way. 00:03:03.219 --> 00:03:05.719 So this is what we will see in our text today. 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:11.919 James is addressing believers in this text who are caught up in this worldly thinking. 00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.619 Believers who forget that they serve a sovereign Lord 00:03:14.619 --> 00:03:19.659 who demands their total devotion in singular worship. 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:23.960 And we're going to see James' prescription for this problem, 00:03:24.079 --> 00:03:26.099 which on the surface seems simple, 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.319 but I think he's making a much more pervasive comment 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:33.240 on what the Christian life ought to look like. 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:38.280 So let's read our text together, picking up in verse 13, chapter 4 of James. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:39.639 James writes, 00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:42.819 Come now, you who say, 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:45.919 today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.939 and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:51.340 And he just stops and he says, 00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:55.079 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:57.699 What is your life? 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:02.719 For you are a mist that appears for little time and then vanishes. 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:04.879 Instead, you ought to say, 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:09.359 If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:12.300 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:14.900 All such boasting is evil. 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:19.660 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.319 for him it is sin. 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:26.420 So I want to start by just noting five assumptions of these men 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:29.139 that James addresses in verse 13. 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:31.459 Five assumptions of these men. 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:33.540 So again, they say, 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.139 Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:39.759 and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:44.639 So the first assumption is that these men assume when they will go. 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:47.879 They assume today or tomorrow we will go. 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:53.039 So try to think with me of all the reasons why that might not work out. 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:54.579 Maybe the horses escape. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:56.899 Maybe the roads are bandit infested. 00:04:57.339 --> 00:04:59.120 Maybe the weather would not permit them. 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:01.959 If you played the computer game Oregon Trail, 00:05:02.099 --> 00:05:04.360 maybe dysentery strikes and wins again. 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:08.460 Then the very fact that they say today or tomorrow 00:05:08.460 --> 00:05:12.240 suggests they don't even really know when they will try to leave. 00:05:13.280 --> 00:05:14.980 So this is James' way of mocking them. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:15.980 You don't even know. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:18.259 And you know that you don't know. 00:05:20.020 --> 00:05:24.460 The second assumption is that these men assume where they will go. 00:05:24.580 --> 00:05:27.780 They assume they will go into such and such a town. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:28.639 They have a plan. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.240 They have a charted course. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.019 They desire to go from point A to point B. 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:34.400 What's to stop them? 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:37.340 And again, think of the possibilities with me. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:39.939 Maybe they get lost on the road. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:42.199 Maybe they get kidnapped on the road. 00:05:42.280 --> 00:05:46.460 I think of Joseph who never intended to go to Egypt, 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:48.420 and yet that's where he ended up. 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.579 Or Jonah who gets dragged by a great fish 00:05:51.579 --> 00:05:54.240 to the very last place he wanted to go, Nineveh. 00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:59.240 Maybe they turn back due to weariness or their desires change. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.220 Okay, so the third assumption is that these men assume 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:06.960 how long they will remain in that city, right? 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:09.819 They assume they will spend a year there. 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:12.500 And you might think, well, surely they're in control 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:14.879 of where they'll stay, right, for how long. 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.860 Once they're there, surely they can guarantee that. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:19.060 What's to move them? 00:06:20.340 --> 00:06:22.360 But again, let's put on our thinking caps. 00:06:22.460 --> 00:06:25.400 Maybe a natural disaster forces them to move on. 00:06:25.460 --> 00:06:28.040 Maybe they hate it in that city, right? 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:29.640 They thought they'd love it, but they get there. 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:31.200 Ah, I don't like this. Let's go. 00:06:32.020 --> 00:06:33.920 Maybe their wives want them home early. 00:06:34.020 --> 00:06:34.720 Sorry, boys. 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:36.520 Right? 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:39.240 And the fourth assumption is that these men assume 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:41.060 what they will do. 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:43.220 They assume they will trade. 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:46.300 So this is maybe a little easier for us all 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:49.020 to imagine the innumerable possibilities 00:06:49.020 --> 00:06:51.060 to why they might not be able to trade. 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:52.000 Right? 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.740 Maybe someone else is already trading the same goods 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:55.980 for a far better price. 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:57.360 So the competition's too great. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:06:58.379 They're just not going to cut it. 00:06:59.400 --> 00:07:02.240 Maybe the political climate is not tolerant 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:06.100 towards their business or their ethnicity or whatever. 00:07:06.340 --> 00:07:06.480 Right? 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:07.879 Maybe there's some sort of prejudice 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:09.560 that's keeping them from trading 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:12.120 in that particular city. 00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:14.780 And the fifth assumption 00:07:14.780 --> 00:07:18.740 is that they will assume what the outcome will be. 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:20.600 They assume we will profit. 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:24.560 So one final time, let's consider some possibilities. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:27.180 Maybe the economy crashes. 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:29.500 Maybe wars break out. 00:07:30.200 --> 00:07:32.700 Maybe something crazy and unimaginable happens 00:07:32.700 --> 00:07:34.879 like taxes getting hiked excessively 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.460 to stop cow farting. 00:07:37.740 --> 00:07:37.900 Right? 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:41.100 And those taxes bury whatever profit they had. 00:07:42.660 --> 00:07:44.879 And now perhaps me saying maybe so much 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:45.939 is getting annoying and old, 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:47.260 but it is by design. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:49.219 I want you all to feel the depth 00:07:49.219 --> 00:07:50.680 and the width and the breadth 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:52.579 of the absurd presumptions 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:54.079 on the part of these men. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:57.899 I want you all to hear and feel that. 00:07:57.939 --> 00:07:58.699 And I'm confident 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:00.860 we could spend the rest of today 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:03.459 thinking of the innumerable variables 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:05.980 that could change their plans. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:06.899 So many unknowns, 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:08.339 so much fickleness, 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:10.899 and so much frailty. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:13.399 So these men lack 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.519 any sense of reality. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:18.579 They speak as though they are all-knowing, 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:20.019 as if they are all-powerful 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:21.959 and can make what happened, happen. 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:23.560 Whatever they want to happen. 00:08:23.599 --> 00:08:24.060 In other words, 00:08:24.359 --> 00:08:27.159 they talk as if they are sovereign. 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:29.039 It's my life. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.060 I'll do it my way. 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:31.099 It's in my DNA. 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:34.600 So now you know what inspired those three songs. 00:08:36.939 --> 00:08:38.519 But there are two realities 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:40.059 which James gives us 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:42.679 that should humble these men. 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:44.919 Two realities that should humble 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:46.459 these men. 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:48.079 And they're found in verse 14. 00:08:49.099 --> 00:08:49.719 James writes that, 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:50.839 You do not know 00:08:50.839 --> 00:08:52.500 what tomorrow will bring. 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:54.500 What is your life? 00:08:55.019 --> 00:08:55.819 For you are a mist 00:08:55.819 --> 00:08:57.579 that appears for a little while 00:08:57.579 --> 00:08:59.059 and then vanishes. 00:09:03.319 --> 00:09:04.859 So the first reality 00:09:04.859 --> 00:09:06.579 that should humble these men 00:09:06.579 --> 00:09:09.299 is that humans are not all-knowing. 00:09:09.299 --> 00:09:11.939 This idea was at the heart 00:09:11.939 --> 00:09:13.179 of our text last week, 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:14.879 so I'll be brief here. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.759 But as shown in verse 13, 00:09:16.859 --> 00:09:19.599 James is now explicitly stating 00:09:19.599 --> 00:09:20.719 with the authority of God 00:09:20.719 --> 00:09:22.500 that we do not know 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:24.319 what tomorrow will bring. 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:26.199 We are not God 00:09:26.199 --> 00:09:27.219 that we should know 00:09:27.219 --> 00:09:28.639 or could know these things. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.579 We are not prophets or apostles 00:09:31.579 --> 00:09:33.779 with a divine insight of any kind 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:35.839 so as to speak with authority 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:36.839 on what tomorrow will bring. 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:39.000 And even the smartest people 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:39.700 among us 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:40.840 in fields like 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:42.120 meteorology, 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:42.840 economics, 00:09:42.920 --> 00:09:43.500 or politics 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.620 have a lifetime record 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:47.040 of being wrong. 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:48.700 They predict things 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.040 and they're wrong. 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:51.399 And again, 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.500 if you want a fuller 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:53.840 biblical teaching 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.000 on this idea, 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:56.920 go ahead and check out 00:09:56.920 --> 00:09:58.240 last week's. 00:09:58.340 --> 00:09:59.879 But in one sentence, 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.320 we are not all-knowing 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:02.920 and that should humble us. 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:03.960 Okay? 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:05.280 The second reality 00:10:05.280 --> 00:10:06.340 that should humble these men 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:08.780 is that life is fleeting. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:09.759 So the first reality, 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:10.620 we are not all-knowing. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:11.480 The second reality 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:14.600 is that life is fleeting. 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:17.139 I'm fairly confident 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:18.259 that this text of scripture 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:19.460 inspired one of 00:10:19.460 --> 00:10:20.540 William Shakespeare's 00:10:20.540 --> 00:10:22.019 famous lines from Macbeth, 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:24.379 although it has a nihilistic twist 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:25.040 to his character. 00:10:25.300 --> 00:10:26.580 But Macbeth says, 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.100 tomorrow and tomorrow 00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:29.120 and tomorrow 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:30.879 creeps in this petty pace 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:31.820 from day to day 00:10:31.820 --> 00:10:33.200 to the last syllable 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.500 of recorded time. 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:35.940 All our yesterdays 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:36.900 have lighted fools 00:10:36.900 --> 00:10:39.320 the way to dusty death. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.160 So he's reflecting 00:10:40.160 --> 00:10:42.180 that everybody will die. 00:10:42.280 --> 00:10:42.840 And then he says, 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:45.180 out, out, brief candle. 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:46.840 Life's but a walking shadow, 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:47.520 a poor player 00:10:47.520 --> 00:10:48.580 that struts and frets 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:49.700 his hour upon the stage 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:53.280 and then is heard no more. 00:10:54.280 --> 00:10:55.260 So you can see 00:10:55.260 --> 00:10:55.980 he's reflecting 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:57.360 on the ignorance of man 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:58.720 and their foolish pursuits 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:00.220 in the light of the fact 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:01.680 that they all die. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:02.440 At some point, 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:03.139 in some way, 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:04.300 in every case, 00:11:04.540 --> 00:11:06.300 everyone dies. 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:08.220 So whereas Shakespeare 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:08.960 thinks of life 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:10.139 as a fleeting candle 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:11.240 that's snuffed 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:11.920 in a moment, 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:14.019 James compares it 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:14.620 to a mist 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:15.139 that appears 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:16.279 for a little while 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.540 and then vanishes. 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:20.740 Dr. John MacArthur 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:21.960 draws this picture 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:22.779 out for us well 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:23.480 in his commentary. 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:25.220 He says, 00:11:25.560 --> 00:11:26.759 life is as transitory 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:27.860 as a puff of smoke 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:28.600 from a fire, 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:30.179 the steam that rises 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:31.319 from a cup of coffee 00:11:31.319 --> 00:11:32.580 or one's breath, 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:33.500 briefly visible 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:34.919 to plan and live it out 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:36.379 without consideration 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:38.299 of God's will. 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:40.419 Or better, 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:41.259 consider the words 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:42.039 of the psalmist 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:43.259 in Psalm 78, 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:43.919 verse 39. 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:45.179 He writes, 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:46.220 thus he remembered 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:48.399 that they were but flesh, 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:49.759 that they were but human. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:52.279 A wind that passes 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.220 and does not return. 00:11:55.059 --> 00:11:55.639 And so think of that, 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:56.919 a wind that's passed you by. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:57.899 How long does that last? 00:11:57.980 --> 00:11:59.960 Not very long. 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:01.679 In fact, 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:02.779 the Bible never talks 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:04.720 about life being long, 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:05.899 but it always expresses 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:06.960 how quick it is, 00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:08.439 how fleeting it is, 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:09.539 how it's over 00:12:09.539 --> 00:12:10.379 in a moment. 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:12.639 And every moment we live 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:13.319 is a moment 00:12:13.319 --> 00:12:14.740 closer to this 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:16.259 sudden conclusion. 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:19.059 And sadly, 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:20.439 we're all too familiar 00:12:20.439 --> 00:12:21.519 with this reality, 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:22.360 so I won't belabor 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:23.379 on this point longer, 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:24.620 but I do want to ask, 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:26.559 why would James cite 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:27.720 this specifically? 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:29.360 Why would knowing 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:30.519 we're going to die 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:31.679 change the way 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:32.659 we use our time 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:33.899 and make our plans 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:34.740 and live our lives? 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:35.779 What is James 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:37.399 implying here? 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:39.639 And I think it's easy 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:40.720 to assume that James 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:42.679 has judgment in mind. 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:43.840 He's reminding 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:45.480 his Jewish Christian audience 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.019 that when they die, 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:48.240 they will be judged 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:49.440 by God 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:50.440 for the way 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:51.640 they live their life. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:53.860 Luke 12, 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:54.880 16 through 20 00:12:54.880 --> 00:12:56.820 records Jesus' parable 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:57.420 that he gave 00:12:57.420 --> 00:12:59.020 in response to someone 00:12:59.020 --> 00:13:00.140 asking about splitting 00:13:00.140 --> 00:13:01.500 his brother's inheritance. 00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:03.180 It says, 00:13:03.260 --> 00:13:03.860 And he told them 00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:04.320 a parable, 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:04.760 saying, 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:06.640 The land of a rich man 00:13:06.640 --> 00:13:08.240 produced plentifully. 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:09.860 And he thought to himself, 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:10.780 What shall I do, 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:11.580 for I have nowhere 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:13.140 to store my crops? 00:13:13.760 --> 00:13:14.220 And he said, 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:15.040 I will do this. 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:16.240 I will tear down 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:16.840 my barns 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:18.120 and build larger ones, 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:19.299 and there I will store 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:20.299 all my grains 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:21.360 and my goods. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:22.899 And I will say to my soul, 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:23.259 So, 00:13:23.560 --> 00:13:25.080 you have ample goods 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:26.299 laid up for many years. 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:27.000 Relax, 00:13:27.179 --> 00:13:27.419 eat, 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:27.919 drink, 00:13:28.060 --> 00:13:29.259 be merry. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.320 But God said to him, 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:31.840 Fool, 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:33.440 this night your soul 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:34.480 is required of you 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:35.600 and the things you have prepared, 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:37.840 whose will they be? 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:39.519 So while Jesus 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:40.240 is making a point 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.180 about the extremely low value 00:13:42.180 --> 00:13:43.419 of earthly success 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:44.700 and possessions, 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:46.600 James is making a point 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:48.060 about not living 00:13:48.060 --> 00:13:49.820 as practical atheists, 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:50.920 as if we aren't called 00:13:50.920 --> 00:13:52.420 to live for God 00:13:52.420 --> 00:13:53.220 and his will. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:55.360 But for both, 00:13:55.980 --> 00:13:57.279 the undergirding argument 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:58.879 is that you will be judged 00:13:58.879 --> 00:13:59.580 by God 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:01.100 with condemnation 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:02.820 if this is the way 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:03.779 of your life. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:05.680 Okay, 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:06.840 so our first application 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:07.879 is another 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:09.700 implicit call 00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:10.700 to humility. 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:12.519 And on the one hand, 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:13.379 I hate using 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:14.060 this application 00:14:14.060 --> 00:14:14.779 again, 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:15.199 because, 00:14:15.319 --> 00:14:15.459 you know, 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:16.100 I want my sermons 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:16.799 to be fly 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:18.159 and on the top 100 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:18.600 billboard 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:19.679 if such a thing exists. 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:21.759 But this is the, 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:23.399 on the much larger hand, 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:23.519 though, 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:24.360 I want to be faithful 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:25.220 to the text, 00:14:25.339 --> 00:14:26.100 faithful to what James 00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:26.539 is saying. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:27.919 And he's hitting this point 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:28.939 again and again 00:14:28.939 --> 00:14:30.620 to be humble. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.299 And I think it speaks 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:33.860 so much to how arrogant 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:35.299 we really can be. 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:36.620 And if you're sitting there 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:36.899 thinking, 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:37.139 well, 00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:38.419 this isn't really me, 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:38.699 like, 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:40.299 I've got that one down. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:41.659 This is probably for you. 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:42.399 Okay? 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:44.339 And that's why James 00:14:44.339 --> 00:14:46.120 says it over and over 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:46.819 and over again 00:14:46.819 --> 00:14:48.079 or implies it over 00:14:48.079 --> 00:14:49.579 and over and over again. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.120 So why should we be humble? 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:52.439 Well, 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:53.879 there are plenty of reasons. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:54.819 The two reasons 00:14:54.819 --> 00:14:55.559 in this text, 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:56.339 as I've already said, 00:14:56.419 --> 00:14:58.100 because we are not 00:14:58.100 --> 00:14:58.699 all-knowing 00:14:58.699 --> 00:14:59.679 and we will die. 00:14:59.779 --> 00:15:01.139 We will face 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:02.259 judgment. 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:05.159 So we have to be vigilant. 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:06.600 We have to be on guard 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:07.279 with our hearts 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:08.159 so as to not 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.480 give way 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:10.320 to sin. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:13.139 And in a moment, 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:14.200 I will share more 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:15.180 on what this humility 00:15:15.180 --> 00:15:16.740 specifically looks like 00:15:16.740 --> 00:15:17.720 in this text. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.279 We'll see it in verse 15. 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:21.500 But I want to skip 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:22.539 that verse for now 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:23.259 and save it 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:24.039 until the end 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:24.720 because I think 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:26.159 in that verse 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:26.700 we're going to find 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:27.639 the main thrust 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:29.399 of this whole thing. 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:30.080 That is where 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:30.740 we will find 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:31.720 the all-pervasive 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:33.240 but subtle comment 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:33.779 of James 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:35.379 which I alluded to 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:35.860 earlier. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:38.240 So before we get there, 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:39.300 I want to jump 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:40.279 to verse 16 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:41.059 where we will see 00:15:41.059 --> 00:15:42.259 the heart 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:43.099 of these sinners 00:15:43.099 --> 00:15:44.279 and the heart 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:44.839 of these men. 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:47.419 So James 4, 16, 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:48.000 he says, 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:49.599 As it is, 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:50.879 you boast 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:51.819 in your arrogance. 00:15:52.479 --> 00:15:53.500 All such boasting 00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:54.139 is evil. 00:15:55.079 --> 00:15:56.399 So James makes it clear 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:57.399 what is going on 00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:58.919 in their hearts. 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:00.159 They are arrogant 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.199 and they are committing 00:16:01.199 --> 00:16:02.639 evil or sin. 00:16:03.339 --> 00:16:04.219 They make their plans 00:16:04.219 --> 00:16:05.259 without any 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:06.299 acknowledgement of God 00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:07.120 because they think 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.340 they don't need God. 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:10.639 You might call 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:11.220 their sin 00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:11.759 the sin 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.639 of self-sufficiency. 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:15.860 I think a large part 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:16.419 of our culture 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:17.320 would tend to view 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:18.580 self-sufficiency 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:19.560 as a virtue. 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:20.980 This idea 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:22.399 that I danced 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.200 around with earlier 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:24.799 with the secular music, 00:16:25.060 --> 00:16:25.899 being able, 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:26.460 competent, 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:27.080 powerful, 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:27.639 knowledgeable 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:28.659 to do any 00:16:28.659 --> 00:16:29.419 and all things 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:30.340 for your own self, 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:31.200 for your own substance, 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:33.200 for your own will. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.680 And I struggle 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:36.460 with this sin 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:37.160 all the time, 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:37.560 personally, 00:16:37.640 --> 00:16:38.960 when it's at its worst, 00:16:39.540 --> 00:16:40.900 I tend not to pray. 00:16:41.020 --> 00:16:42.480 And why would I? 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:43.900 In those moments, 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:44.759 I'm acting as though 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:46.000 I don't need God, 00:16:46.060 --> 00:16:47.220 so why would I ask 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:48.640 him for anything? 00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:50.280 Which is, 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:50.940 of course, 00:16:51.300 --> 00:16:51.600 evil. 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:52.580 And it's the opposite 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:54.280 of humility. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:56.700 Another consequence 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:58.120 of this slippery slope 00:16:58.120 --> 00:16:58.879 of sin 00:16:58.879 --> 00:16:59.680 is that it leads 00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:01.700 to this false boasting. 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:03.100 It sounds something 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:04.380 like this for all of us. 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:05.299 Hey, everyone, 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:06.360 look at this thing 00:17:06.360 --> 00:17:06.960 I built. 00:17:07.120 --> 00:17:08.039 Look at this money 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:08.960 I made. 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:10.080 Look at the sermon 00:17:10.080 --> 00:17:11.000 I preached. 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:12.460 Look at the homeless man 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:14.539 that I was so kind to. 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:16.860 It's this attitude 00:17:16.860 --> 00:17:18.539 of sounding the trumpet 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:19.400 before ourselves 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:20.299 to whether the work 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:21.500 is innately evil 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:22.960 or made evil 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:25.420 by our prideful motive. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.299 It's an invitation 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:28.019 to worship, 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:28.940 but not an invitation 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:29.920 to worship God, 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.059 an invitation to worship 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:31.940 me, 00:17:33.139 --> 00:17:33.779 myself, 00:17:34.179 --> 00:17:34.539 and I. 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:40.139 But to be clear, 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:41.240 there's nothing wrong 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:42.859 with boasting. 00:17:43.919 --> 00:17:45.179 Boasting in our arrogance, 00:17:45.379 --> 00:17:46.259 boasting in the world, 00:17:46.419 --> 00:17:47.139 boasting in things 00:17:47.139 --> 00:17:48.119 like that 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:49.299 is evil, 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:49.740 of course, 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:50.679 but we are 00:17:50.679 --> 00:17:51.879 called 00:17:51.879 --> 00:17:52.899 to boast. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:53.460 So this is our 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:54.579 second application. 00:17:54.879 --> 00:17:55.240 Boast 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:56.179 only 00:17:56.179 --> 00:17:57.240 in the Lord. 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.539 Jeremiah 9, 00:17:59.620 --> 00:18:01.299 23-24 says, 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.140 Thus says the Lord, 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:04.559 Let not the wise man 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:05.660 boast in his wisdom, 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:07.180 let not the mighty man 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:08.500 boast in his might, 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:09.900 let not the rich man 00:18:09.900 --> 00:18:11.400 boast in his riches, 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:13.160 but let him who boasts 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:14.200 boast in this, 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:16.120 that he understands 00:18:16.120 --> 00:18:17.259 and knows me, 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:18.519 that I am the Lord 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.200 who practices 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:20.460 steadfast love, 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:21.339 justice, 00:18:21.620 --> 00:18:22.400 and righteousness 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:23.279 in the earth. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:24.980 For in these things 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:26.240 I delight, 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.019 declares the Lord. 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:29.700 So like James, 00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:31.139 God told Jeremiah 00:18:31.139 --> 00:18:31.879 that man should 00:18:31.879 --> 00:18:32.899 put off this 00:18:32.899 --> 00:18:34.639 self-sufficient attitude 00:18:34.639 --> 00:18:35.500 and put on this 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.039 humble adoration 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:37.740 of God, 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:38.339 that if we were 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:39.160 to ever boast, 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:40.099 we should boast 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:41.579 only in the Lord, 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:43.220 as Paul summarily 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:44.859 says in 2 Corinthians 00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:45.279 10, 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.799 17. 00:18:48.139 --> 00:18:49.200 And praise God 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.559 that he delights 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:51.319 in love, 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:51.920 justice, 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:52.700 and righteousness. 00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:53.860 This is why 00:18:53.860 --> 00:18:55.880 we have the gospel, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.200 because God 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:57.940 loved us 00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.680 even while we were 00:18:58.680 --> 00:18:59.140 yet sinners 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:00.279 and sent his son 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:01.680 to die for us 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:03.059 in Romans 5, 8. 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:05.000 Because God 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.140 justifies the ungodly 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:07.840 which results 00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:09.539 in Christ's righteousness 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:11.080 imputed to us. 00:19:11.620 --> 00:19:12.720 Paul says in Romans 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:13.799 4, 5, 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:14.539 and to the one 00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:15.920 who does not work 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:17.039 but believes in him 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:17.980 who justifies 00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:18.880 the ungodly, 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:20.700 his faith 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:21.299 is counted 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.400 as righteousness. 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:24.360 So anytime 00:19:24.360 --> 00:19:24.940 the Bible 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:25.500 gives us 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:26.480 a verb 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.259 or an action 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:28.779 related to salvation, 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:30.759 God is the subject. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:31.880 In other words, 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:33.039 he does everything 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:33.980 on our behalf 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:35.519 and despite ourselves. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.580 Romans 8, 29-30 00:19:39.580 --> 00:19:40.160 outlines 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:41.920 this entire process 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:42.580 of salvation. 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:43.120 And notice, 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:45.000 God is the subject, 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:45.779 the church 00:19:45.779 --> 00:19:46.720 is the recipient, 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:47.319 the church 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:48.500 does nothing, 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.039 God does everything. 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:50.799 Paul writes, 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:51.960 for those whom 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:53.099 God foreknew, 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:54.960 he also predestined 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:55.920 to be conformed 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:56.480 to the image 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:57.259 of his son 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:58.180 in order that 00:19:58.180 --> 00:19:58.599 he might be 00:19:58.599 --> 00:19:59.379 the firstborn 00:19:59.379 --> 00:20:00.779 among many brothers. 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:02.180 And those whom 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:03.339 God predestined, 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.680 he also called. 00:20:04.879 --> 00:20:05.359 And those who 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:06.420 he called, 00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:07.619 he also justified. 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:08.299 And those who 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:09.159 he justified, 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:11.759 he also glorified. 00:20:12.619 --> 00:20:14.639 So this is our God 00:20:14.639 --> 00:20:15.619 who does all 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:16.599 these things. 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:18.079 So naturally, 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:18.919 and of course, 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:20.259 we should boast 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:20.839 in him. 00:20:20.959 --> 00:20:22.079 What else is there 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:23.519 to boast about? 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:26.740 Every other kind 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:27.319 of boasting 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:28.339 is evil. 00:20:28.419 --> 00:20:28.959 So we boast 00:20:28.959 --> 00:20:29.419 in the Lord 00:20:29.419 --> 00:20:30.339 and the Lord alone. 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:33.119 Now James gives us 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:33.639 a warning 00:20:33.639 --> 00:20:34.619 in verse 17 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:35.500 and I have to confess 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:36.899 it seems somewhat 00:20:36.899 --> 00:20:38.119 broad and unrelated 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:39.819 at first glance 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:40.879 but I think it connects 00:20:40.879 --> 00:20:41.980 in two ways. 00:20:42.199 --> 00:20:43.299 So just to discuss 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:44.399 the first one for now, 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:45.659 we have a warning 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:46.800 and I think it's 00:20:46.800 --> 00:20:47.900 an implied call 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:48.960 to repentance. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:49.360 Right? 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:50.100 Verse 17, 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:50.779 he says, 00:20:51.560 --> 00:20:52.360 so whoever knows 00:20:52.360 --> 00:20:53.140 the right thing 00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:53.740 to do 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:55.279 and fails to do it, 00:20:55.860 --> 00:20:56.500 for him 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:57.600 it is sin. 00:20:58.840 --> 00:20:59.500 So James is saying, 00:20:59.600 --> 00:21:00.060 hey, you know 00:21:00.060 --> 00:21:01.080 this thing is wrong 00:21:01.080 --> 00:21:02.540 so change the way 00:21:02.540 --> 00:21:03.860 you live your life. 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:04.400 Repent. 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:05.779 Turn around. 00:21:06.300 --> 00:21:08.000 Go the other way. 00:21:08.800 --> 00:21:09.620 He's recognizing 00:21:09.620 --> 00:21:10.259 that everyone 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:11.060 deep down 00:21:11.060 --> 00:21:11.880 knows 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:12.880 they are violating 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:13.720 God's law 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:14.720 and some of you 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:15.200 have heard this 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:16.220 called natural law 00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:16.660 or the law 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:17.380 of the conscience. 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:18.840 Whatever you want 00:21:18.840 --> 00:21:19.319 to call it, 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:20.180 James is saying, 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:20.779 I know that 00:21:20.779 --> 00:21:22.319 even though you live 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:23.500 as if you were 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:24.240 autonomous and 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:25.059 self-sufficient, 00:21:25.860 --> 00:21:27.000 that you do in fact 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:28.299 know there is a God 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.080 whom you are trying 00:21:29.080 --> 00:21:29.740 to run from. 00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:30.680 That deep down 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:31.980 you are suppressing 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:32.759 this truth. 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:34.819 So stop pretending. 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:37.539 Right? 00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:38.259 So we have another 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:39.440 application from last week 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:39.819 again. 00:21:40.600 --> 00:21:41.539 Our third application 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:43.119 is to repent. 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:44.859 If you've been living 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:45.879 lately the way 00:21:45.879 --> 00:21:47.319 these assuming men 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:47.920 have from the 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.879 beginning of our text, 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:50.779 it's time to wake up. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:51.059 Right? 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:51.680 To recognize, 00:21:51.859 --> 00:21:52.519 I have been living 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.359 as though God 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:54.539 were not real. 00:21:54.659 --> 00:21:55.220 I have been living 00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:56.259 as though I will not 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:57.119 answer to him. 00:21:57.420 --> 00:21:58.000 I've been living 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.759 as though it's my world 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:00.599 for me to inhabit 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:02.379 the way I want. 00:22:03.399 --> 00:22:03.680 Right? 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.519 If that's been you, 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:05.319 if that's been your 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:06.200 plans lately, 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:06.980 if that's been your 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:07.899 dreams lately, 00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:09.380 that's sin 00:22:09.380 --> 00:22:10.240 and you need 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:10.759 to repent. 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:14.519 I love the hymn 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.519 entitled 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:16.240 When I Survey 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.400 the Wondrous Cross. 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:18.700 It ends with this line, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.580 Love so amazing, 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.600 so divine, 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:23.480 demands my soul, 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:24.380 my life, 00:22:24.540 --> 00:22:25.580 and my all. 00:22:26.300 --> 00:22:26.860 So that's hitting 00:22:26.860 --> 00:22:27.860 that wholeness idea 00:22:27.860 --> 00:22:28.600 that we've talked about 00:22:28.600 --> 00:22:29.220 in the weeks prior 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:29.720 with James, 00:22:29.820 --> 00:22:30.940 that we're no longer 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:32.220 here to live for ourselves 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:33.800 as Christ followers, 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:34.540 but we are here 00:22:34.540 --> 00:22:35.480 to live for him 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:37.200 and him alone. 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:40.240 And so this leads us 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.060 to the all-pervasive 00:22:42.060 --> 00:22:43.080 comment that our text 00:22:43.080 --> 00:22:44.100 is built around 00:22:44.100 --> 00:22:45.160 in verse 15. 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:47.019 And this is the second 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:48.280 way that verse 17 00:22:48.280 --> 00:22:49.580 is tied to James' 00:22:49.840 --> 00:22:50.420 thoughts here. 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:51.519 So this is the big 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:52.340 sentence of today, 00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:52.560 right? 00:22:52.860 --> 00:22:54.540 The heart of this text 00:22:54.540 --> 00:22:56.660 is that James wants us 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:57.680 to live life 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.220 in such a way 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:00.920 that we are constantly 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:02.000 reminded of our 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.740 servitude to God. 00:23:04.460 --> 00:23:05.360 So I'll restate that. 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.120 The heart of this text 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:08.799 is that James wants us 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:09.799 to live life 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.259 in such a way 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:12.719 that we are constantly 00:23:12.719 --> 00:23:13.919 reminded of our 00:23:13.919 --> 00:23:16.019 servitude to God. 00:23:16.939 --> 00:23:17.819 So this is the final 00:23:17.819 --> 00:23:19.000 section for today, 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.359 what the Christian life 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:21.779 ought to look like, 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:23.459 what it should look like. 00:23:24.199 --> 00:23:25.459 So verse 15, 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:26.359 James says, 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:28.219 instead you ought to say, 00:23:28.459 --> 00:23:30.479 if the Lord wills, 00:23:30.639 --> 00:23:31.559 we will live 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:32.619 and do this 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:33.839 or that. 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:36.119 So James says instead, 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:37.720 so he's contrasting 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:38.299 this statement 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:39.459 with the assuming 00:23:39.459 --> 00:23:40.379 statements of the 00:23:40.379 --> 00:23:41.059 arrogant men 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:42.279 in verse 13. 00:23:42.439 --> 00:23:43.419 He's reminding them 00:23:43.419 --> 00:23:44.740 that because God 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:45.279 is sovereign 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:46.379 and worthy of all 00:23:46.379 --> 00:23:47.220 worship and praise, 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:49.240 his will alone 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:50.980 will and should 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:51.720 be accomplished. 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:54.059 God deserves this 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:54.619 and not only does 00:23:54.619 --> 00:23:55.319 he deserve it, 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:56.379 but he will make it 00:23:56.379 --> 00:23:57.179 happen. 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:58.740 Paul says in 00:23:58.740 --> 00:23:59.339 Philippians 2, 00:23:59.419 --> 00:24:00.139 9 through 11, 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:01.900 therefore God 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:03.020 has highly exalted 00:24:03.020 --> 00:24:04.640 Christ and bestowed 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.500 on him the name 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.140 that is above 00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:06.759 every name, 00:24:07.060 --> 00:24:07.759 so that at the name 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.320 of Jesus every knee 00:24:09.320 --> 00:24:10.860 should bow in heaven 00:24:10.860 --> 00:24:11.759 and on earth 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:12.759 and under the earth 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:13.900 and every tongue 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:14.860 confess that Jesus 00:24:14.860 --> 00:24:15.920 Christ is Lord 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.580 to the glory of God 00:24:17.580 --> 00:24:18.820 the Father. 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:21.340 God's will not only 00:24:21.340 --> 00:24:22.240 ought to be done, 00:24:22.340 --> 00:24:24.340 but it will be done. 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.020 And to clarify, 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:27.080 James is not saying 00:24:27.080 --> 00:24:29.460 we cannot make plans. 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:31.019 It's biblical to plan, 00:24:31.120 --> 00:24:31.620 to save, 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.279 to invest, 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:33.360 to work, 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:34.360 to provide for your family, 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:36.220 to make wise decisions. 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:38.360 He's merely speaking 00:24:38.360 --> 00:24:40.279 against this gainful, 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:40.840 arrogant, 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:42.319 boastful planning 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:43.900 that neglects 00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:45.019 consideration of God 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:45.680 and his will 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.500 and his character. 00:24:47.840 --> 00:24:48.500 I just want to leave 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:49.319 that as a clarification. 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:51.600 So how is this 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:52.940 an all-pervasive comment 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:53.120 then? 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:54.960 What do I mean by that? 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:56.160 I've been circling it 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:56.960 for a while now. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.220 Well, I don't think 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.319 James' main intent here 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:02.160 is to say God is sovereign. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:03.360 I think he says that here. 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:04.559 I think he's said it elsewhere. 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:05.519 He's made it clear. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:06.900 It's important 00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:08.160 and directly related 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.279 to what James is saying. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:11.319 I also don't think 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:12.259 he is merely saying 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:13.360 include this statement 00:25:13.360 --> 00:25:14.680 in your life, right? 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:15.480 This idea that we should 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.720 just throw around 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:17.740 if the Lord wills 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:19.220 to sound Christian, 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:20.360 pious, or holy. 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:22.539 Although I also think 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:23.360 he does want us 00:25:23.360 --> 00:25:25.200 to say that more regularly. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:28.299 But I think James 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:29.740 is talking more specifically 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:32.380 about a healthy church culture, 00:25:32.580 --> 00:25:33.340 right? 00:25:33.380 --> 00:25:33.980 And this is just 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:35.380 one specific thing 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:36.259 he's tapping on 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:39.160 to hit that larger picture, right? 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:40.420 He's writing to the church. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.319 He's telling everyone 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:43.160 in that church 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:45.240 to speak this way. 00:25:46.080 --> 00:25:46.920 So there are other ways 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:47.620 to communicate 00:25:47.620 --> 00:25:48.559 if the Lord wills. 00:25:48.580 --> 00:25:49.180 It's not so much 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:50.680 about the exact words, 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:52.460 although that's a wonderful 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:53.259 way to say it. 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:55.480 But he wants them all 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:56.720 to speak to one another 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:58.759 with such language. 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:00.039 And I think it's significant 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:01.099 that in verse 15 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:01.960 he says, 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:03.379 you ought to say 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:05.039 rather than you ought 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.200 to think, believe, or know. 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:09.019 And don't get me wrong, 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:10.440 we do need to know, 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:11.599 believe, and think 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:12.339 in this way 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:14.319 if the Lord wills, right? 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:15.059 We should think 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:16.200 in those terms. 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:17.339 That God's will 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:17.960 should be done. 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:19.460 That God is sovereign. 00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:21.200 That God should have 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:21.860 his way. 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:25.059 But James has made clear 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:26.019 throughout his epistle 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:27.720 already this idea. 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:28.779 So I think he's saying 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:30.319 something more pervasive 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:32.200 and it is church culture. 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:33.720 And to be clear, 00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:34.480 I'm not talking about 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:35.420 a church brand 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:37.200 or a marketing strategy 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.759 or anything like that. 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:40.559 So what kind of culture 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.700 am I talking about? 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:43.120 I'm talking about 00:26:43.120 --> 00:26:44.319 the kind of culture 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:45.740 where we are constantly 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.720 reminding each other 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:48.720 of who God is. 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:50.120 What he has done 00:26:50.120 --> 00:26:51.860 and what he is doing. 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:53.259 The kind of culture 00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:54.440 that loves God 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:56.180 and loves neighbor. 00:26:56.920 --> 00:26:58.059 And the kind of culture 00:26:58.059 --> 00:27:00.500 that daily reinforces 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.100 the truth 00:27:01.100 --> 00:27:03.319 that we are God's servants. 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:05.980 Because we need reminders. 00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:08.220 Because we forget our place. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:09.920 Because we can easily 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:11.339 lose sight of God 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:12.100 in our life 00:27:12.100 --> 00:27:13.980 apart from our participation 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:15.860 in the body of Christ. 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:19.160 And this is especially important 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.019 when we are surrounded 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:22.140 by a secular culture 00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:23.039 singing songs 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:23.980 that teach 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:25.660 the complete opposite. 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.220 Songs like the ones 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.059 I shared at the beginning. 00:27:28.860 --> 00:27:29.960 How easy it is 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:31.599 for us to get swept up 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:32.680 in that line of thinking. 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:34.460 And it's not just in songs. 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:36.120 It's in movies, books, 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:36.920 politics, 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:38.000 advertisement, 00:27:38.740 --> 00:27:39.339 education, 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:40.019 video games, 00:27:40.120 --> 00:27:40.680 you name it, 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:41.900 it's there. 00:27:41.900 --> 00:27:45.320 And so how do you combat 00:27:45.320 --> 00:27:46.800 that worldly pervasive culture, 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:48.780 that pervasive worldly thinking 00:27:48.780 --> 00:27:50.519 that idolizes self? 00:27:52.340 --> 00:27:53.259 I know this, 00:27:53.300 --> 00:27:54.280 you don't appeal to it 00:27:54.280 --> 00:27:56.080 like so many so-called churches 00:27:56.080 --> 00:27:56.880 are doing. 00:27:57.660 --> 00:27:58.759 Rather you create 00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:00.440 your own pervasive culture, 00:28:00.580 --> 00:28:02.320 a resilient church culture 00:28:02.320 --> 00:28:02.900 if you will. 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:03.519 And there are 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:05.100 two wonderful things 00:28:05.100 --> 00:28:06.320 about this pervasive 00:28:06.320 --> 00:28:08.160 resilient church culture 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:09.000 that I'm describing. 00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:10.400 And I think James 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:11.280 is touching on. 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:12.820 One, 00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:13.860 the church is the will 00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:15.120 of our sovereign God 00:28:15.120 --> 00:28:16.940 and Christ will build 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:18.160 his church. 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:19.740 He says in Matthew 16, 18, 00:28:19.860 --> 00:28:20.460 Jesus says, 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:21.740 And I tell you, 00:28:21.800 --> 00:28:22.500 you are Peter 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:24.100 and on this rock 00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:26.040 I will build my church. 00:28:26.120 --> 00:28:26.780 It's emphatic. 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:27.620 It will happen. 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.920 There's no question about it. 00:28:29.120 --> 00:28:29.860 And he adds, 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:31.480 And the gates of hell 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:32.560 shall not prevail 00:28:32.560 --> 00:28:34.040 against it. 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:36.380 Or in Philippians 1, 6, 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:36.940 Paul says, 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:37.860 And I am sure of this, 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:39.599 that God who began 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:40.819 a good work in you 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:42.319 will bring it to completion 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:44.619 at the day of Jesus Christ. 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:45.919 The salvation, 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:46.759 the sanctification, 00:28:46.879 --> 00:28:49.659 it's all being realized. 00:28:49.819 --> 00:28:50.639 It will happen. 00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:51.439 It's emphatic. 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:52.319 The church body 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:52.939 will be built 00:28:52.939 --> 00:28:53.439 and the body 00:28:53.439 --> 00:28:55.919 will be sanctified. 00:28:56.899 --> 00:28:57.839 So when I'm talking 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:59.439 about church culture, 00:28:59.500 --> 00:28:59.979 I'm talking about 00:28:59.979 --> 00:29:01.000 that sanctification 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:02.179 being lived out 00:29:02.179 --> 00:29:02.959 by the members 00:29:02.959 --> 00:29:03.859 of the church. 00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:06.719 And the second thing 00:29:06.719 --> 00:29:07.459 is that the work 00:29:07.459 --> 00:29:09.099 is already done. 00:29:09.199 --> 00:29:10.479 We just need to live it out 00:29:10.479 --> 00:29:11.519 and realize it. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:12.839 It is done 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:14.259 because of the cross 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:15.000 of Christ. 00:29:15.219 --> 00:29:16.219 John 19, 30, 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:18.359 just before Christ 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:19.619 dies on the cross, 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:21.139 after bearing the wrath 00:29:21.139 --> 00:29:21.619 of God 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:22.679 on behalf of the church, 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:23.519 Christ said, 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:26.079 It is finished. 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:27.879 Not fully realized, 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:29.719 but finished nonetheless. 00:29:29.719 --> 00:29:30.479 It is only 00:29:30.479 --> 00:29:32.699 a matter of time. 00:29:33.859 --> 00:29:35.599 So what then 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:36.419 does it look like 00:29:36.419 --> 00:29:37.199 to live out 00:29:37.199 --> 00:29:38.279 this church culture, 00:29:38.399 --> 00:29:39.759 to live among one another 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.299 as brothers and sisters 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:42.299 in Christ? 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:45.139 And a lot could be said here, 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:46.179 but I'll close 00:29:46.179 --> 00:29:47.500 with this final application 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:49.559 as a good starting point. 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:52.779 To blow up James' words 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:53.899 to the larger picture 00:29:53.899 --> 00:29:55.139 that I think he intended, 00:29:55.539 --> 00:29:56.719 our final application, 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:59.240 is to use our interactions 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:00.579 in such a way 00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:02.079 to remind each other 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.599 of God and his word. 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:05.740 Paul says 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:07.299 in 1 Thessalonians 5, 11, 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.099 Therefore, 00:30:08.439 --> 00:30:09.399 encourage one another 00:30:09.399 --> 00:30:10.759 and build one another up 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:12.639 just as you are doing. 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:14.799 He also says 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:16.219 in Ephesians 5, 19, 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:18.159 Address one another 00:30:18.159 --> 00:30:19.459 in psalms and hymns 00:30:19.459 --> 00:30:20.619 and spiritual songs, 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:22.379 singing and making melody 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:23.139 to the Lord 00:30:23.139 --> 00:30:25.139 with all your heart. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:26.979 Again, there's that 00:30:26.979 --> 00:30:28.319 totality language. 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:30.980 So whether we are singing, 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:31.559 talking, 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:32.539 playing a game, 00:30:32.639 --> 00:30:33.619 or whatever, 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.299 let's do so 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:36.700 in a spirit of love 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:37.899 with a motive 00:30:37.899 --> 00:30:39.379 to build one another up 00:30:39.379 --> 00:30:42.099 for the glory of God. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:44.379 And I have to confess, 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.240 I'm not the greatest 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:47.740 at encouraging people. 00:30:48.139 --> 00:30:50.059 It's not my strength. 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:52.119 Some of you are like me. 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:53.299 I feel weird giving 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:54.119 and receiving 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:55.500 encouragements 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:56.319 or compliments, 00:30:56.819 --> 00:30:58.079 things of that nature. 00:30:59.259 --> 00:30:59.859 In fact, 00:30:59.979 --> 00:31:01.079 I remember calling 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:02.079 Nathan in Louisville, 00:31:02.239 --> 00:31:02.699 letting him know 00:31:02.699 --> 00:31:04.059 that I was moving back down. 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:05.639 And I made a great talk, 00:31:05.739 --> 00:31:06.619 caught up, you know. 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:08.099 And at the end, 00:31:08.139 --> 00:31:08.339 he said, 00:31:08.399 --> 00:31:08.859 All right, man, 00:31:08.879 --> 00:31:09.659 that sounds great. 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:10.459 I love you, brother. 00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:12.879 And it felt like 00:31:12.879 --> 00:31:14.059 a ten-second pause. 00:31:14.159 --> 00:31:15.139 It was probably only three, 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:16.119 but I just was taken 00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:17.019 off guard by that 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:17.779 because I just don't 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:18.859 really say that to people 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:19.939 other than like my wife, 00:31:20.179 --> 00:31:20.939 my parents, you know. 00:31:21.719 --> 00:31:22.719 It's just kind of weird to me. 00:31:23.939 --> 00:31:25.240 And then I finally said, 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:26.479 Okay, man, 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:27.139 we'll see ya. 00:31:29.899 --> 00:31:30.979 And I took a shower. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:37.359 But it shouldn't be 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:38.819 that weird for me to say. 00:31:40.199 --> 00:31:41.419 It shouldn't be weird. 00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:42.719 It shouldn't be uncomfortable. 00:31:42.959 --> 00:31:44.199 It shouldn't be unnatural. 00:31:44.199 --> 00:31:45.240 I thank God 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:46.240 that I don't have to greet 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:47.740 anyone with a holy kiss, 00:31:47.899 --> 00:31:48.619 as Paul said. 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:51.759 But it shouldn't be that weird. 00:31:52.679 --> 00:31:53.839 It should be normal. 00:31:54.959 --> 00:31:56.259 It should feel as natural 00:31:56.259 --> 00:31:57.219 as praising God 00:31:57.219 --> 00:31:57.879 or praying, 00:31:58.619 --> 00:31:59.259 eating food, 00:31:59.379 --> 00:32:00.099 drinking water. 00:32:00.219 --> 00:32:02.099 It should feel normal. 00:32:04.419 --> 00:32:05.659 And don't get me wrong, 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:08.059 I do love all of you. 00:32:09.979 --> 00:32:11.199 I know I've 00:32:11.199 --> 00:32:13.879 neglected the importance 00:32:13.879 --> 00:32:15.359 of saying these kind of things 00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:17.019 regularly. 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:20.139 for all manner of foolish 00:32:20.139 --> 00:32:20.839 and petty 00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:22.460 reasons. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:25.680 And I'll tell you, 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.420 I think sometimes 00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:28.819 my personal excuse is, 00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:29.960 well, you just don't know that. 00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:32.639 It's easy for me to think, 00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:34.819 I play in the band, 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:35.400 I preach, 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.839 I've helped you all over the years 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:37.720 with different things. 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:39.200 I've done all this stuff. 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:41.620 So surely they know 00:32:41.620 --> 00:32:43.819 that I love them. 00:32:46.660 --> 00:32:47.460 And it's true, 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:48.299 nothing says, 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:49.220 I love you more 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:50.640 than action, 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:51.700 but it is false 00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:52.380 to think 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:54.100 as I have. 00:32:55.420 --> 00:32:56.539 And not verbalizing 00:32:56.539 --> 00:32:57.539 these kind of things 00:32:57.539 --> 00:32:59.480 is insignificant 00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:00.900 because I'm so prone 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:03.019 to think. 00:33:04.620 --> 00:33:05.819 And so don't fall 00:33:05.819 --> 00:33:06.880 into that snare 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:08.860 as I have. 00:33:10.900 --> 00:33:11.920 And so let's talk 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:12.500 to one another 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.599 in such a way 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:15.779 that sets us apart 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:17.519 from the world, 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:18.160 in such a way 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:18.920 that is loving, 00:33:19.860 --> 00:33:20.339 in such a way 00:33:20.339 --> 00:33:21.380 that sets our minds 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:22.500 on our sovereign 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:24.780 creator God 00:33:24.780 --> 00:33:26.000 and his word. 00:33:27.340 --> 00:33:27.960 To that end, 00:33:28.020 --> 00:33:28.440 let's pray.