WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.040 Do have your Bibles open and turn to James chapter 4. 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:06.560 Maybe as you do that, let me just pray for us. 00:00:10.620 --> 00:00:14.439 Heavenly Father, I pray that as you speak to us this evening, 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.760 that as your Holy Spirit convicts us, 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:23.359 that we would be driven in humility to the foot of the cross, 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:29.640 that wondrous cross, that we would see clearly your son, Jesus, 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:30.960 this evening. 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:35.560 It's in his name we pray. Amen. 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:41.439 Let me begin with a story about a guy called Anthony. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:43.700 Now, Anthony was an aristocrat. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:50.060 He had a charmed upbringing to wealthy landowning parents in southern Egypt. 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:52.379 You can picture the sort of life that he might have lived. 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:56.420 It was the third century, so just a few hundred years after Jesus. 00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:03.440 And at that time, wealthy families lived lives that were both idyllic and also kind of nuts. 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:06.579 I mean, you can picture it, the beautiful landscape, 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:11.000 the impressive villas weighted on hand and foot. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.760 Think of them like in a film, lying in the heat, 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:17.599 kept cool by one servant with a fan and fed grapes by another. 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:19.579 That sort of life. 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:23.519 But more than that, Anthony's family were Christians. 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:26.340 By this stage, the gospel had spread to Egypt. 00:01:26.579 --> 00:01:29.439 Anthony's parents had heard about Jesus, accepted Jesus. 00:01:29.679 --> 00:01:34.200 And so this is the sort of world that Anthony grew up in, a pretty idyllic childhood. 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:41.939 But then at the age of 20, when Anthony was just 20 years old, his parents died. 00:01:41.939 --> 00:01:47.780 And Anthony decided that if he was going to be a truly obedient Christian, 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:52.079 if he was to really follow Jesus and live forever, 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:55.819 then what he really needed to do was give it all away. 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.979 Sell absolutely everything that his family owned. 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:01.400 And that's exactly what he did. 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:02.340 He gave it all up. 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:06.799 He sent his little sister into what was essentially a convent to become a nun. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.060 And he himself became a monk. 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:17.780 This young man gave up all of his time and all of his money for the sake of Jesus. 00:02:20.420 --> 00:02:22.300 Time and money are important, aren't they? 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.159 I mean, they're just so important to us, time and money. 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:30.219 I don't know about you, but I can be pretty proud of my diary. 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.980 I know many of us like to keep neat and tidy diaries. 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:37.020 We maybe even keep it in a nice looking leather book. 00:02:37.020 --> 00:02:41.840 Sure, many of us keep our money in a nice wallet or an expensive handbag. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:45.520 Maybe 21st century, we keep it in one place on our phones. 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:47.700 But it's important to us, isn't it? 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:49.640 Our diary and our wallet. 00:02:50.260 --> 00:02:53.460 What we do with our time and our money. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:56.680 But is it important to God? 00:02:58.160 --> 00:03:01.360 I mean, should we be giving up everything that we have? 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:07.080 All of our time, all of our money, giving it all up, diary and wallet, time and money. 00:03:07.540 --> 00:03:09.880 And if we did, what would that look like? 00:03:10.100 --> 00:03:11.560 I mean, should we be like Anthony? 00:03:12.380 --> 00:03:14.540 If so, what are we doing here? 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:23.940 Is the Christian call to just give it all away, spend our lives locked away with empty pockets and a life of prayer? 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:30.979 Well, as we turn to James chapter 4, we're going to see what God has to say through James. 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:37.400 And I think what he says is that instead of living one life to our own selfish ends, 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:40.599 we can live one life to God's glory. 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:44.020 And maybe James will help us as we think about what that might look like. 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:49.259 He begins then, do you see at the start of chapter 4 verse 13, 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:52.560 those first two words, now listen. 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.739 And then again, in chapter 5 verse 1, what does he say? 00:03:58.060 --> 00:03:59.459 Now listen. 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:05.139 In that first section, verses 13 to 17, James is going to help us with our diary. 00:04:05.859 --> 00:04:12.079 And in that second section, verses 1 to 6 of chapter 5, he's going to help us with our wallets. 00:04:12.739 --> 00:04:16.560 Because James sees how important this is and he really wants us to pay attention. 00:04:17.159 --> 00:04:18.000 Now listen. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:20.100 He says. 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:22.420 So let's do that. 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:24.160 Let's begin with the diary. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:28.959 How should we think about our plans and our time as Christians? 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:33.259 Well, here are two potential ways to think about it. 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.620 I've been listening to Lord of the Rings recently on Audible. 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:39.199 And Gandalf comes out with this incredible line. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.139 He says, a wizard is never late, nor is he early. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.259 He arrives precisely when he means to. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.500 Now that may well be true for wizards, but is that true for you? 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:53.579 Is it true for me? 00:04:54.420 --> 00:05:01.259 Or was Robert Burns more accurate when he said the best laid schemes are mice and men, gang afterglay? 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:06.100 Or in other words, even man's best plans don't always work out. 00:05:06.100 --> 00:05:11.480 How much control do we have over our plans and our time? 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:13.400 Who was right? 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:15.320 Gandalf or Burns? 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:19.860 Well, how does James want us to think about our diary, our time? 00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:23.000 Three big things I think James helps us see in these verses. 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:24.879 Plans fragility. 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:25.879 Plans fragility. 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.819 Life's brevity and God's sovereignty. 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:30.659 Plans fragility. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:32.879 Life's brevity and God's sovereignty. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.819 So let's start with plans fragility in verses 13 and 14. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:38.800 Why don't we read those? 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:40.579 Now listen. 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:40.659 Listen. 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:48.699 You who say today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:49.639 Why? 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:52.199 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:52.360 No. 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:55.439 The principle here is simple, isn't it? 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:00.579 Whatever plans you make, well, they could just so easily go wrong, James says. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:07.240 Maybe like those who printed England Euro 2020 champions on t-shirts the week before the final. 00:06:08.099 --> 00:06:10.519 Only for England to lose and those t-shirts to be useless. 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:14.300 And especially for these guys, right, that James is writing to. 00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:15.620 He says, don't do that. 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:21.579 Stop boasting about what you're going to do next because you don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:23.319 I mean, anything could happen. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:28.500 It's easy for us to fall into a similar trap, isn't it? 00:06:29.979 --> 00:06:32.819 I mean, there's just such a big emphasis in life. 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:38.139 Whatever stage you're at in life when you're a kid, what do you want to be when you grow up? 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:40.719 What are you going to study at university? 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.860 Do you have a five-year plan, a 10-year plan, a retirement plan? 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.000 Even just in our day-to-day, what's your week looking like? 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.920 Are you busy? 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:53.339 Lots of meetings? 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:54.720 Got a full diary? 00:06:56.339 --> 00:06:58.399 And look, those things aren't necessarily bad, are they? 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.860 It's good to plan, to use our diaries wisely. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:08.339 But I think a really important question to ask is, how do we feel when our plans don't work out? 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:12.839 I mean, we all know what that feels like after this year, don't we? 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.899 I wonder how many cancelled holidays there are in the room. 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.479 Maybe even cancelled or postponed weddings. 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:26.359 When tomorrow brings surprises, when we have to move things around, 00:07:27.299 --> 00:07:30.859 when we let tomorrow's surprises rattle us, 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:35.600 it's a sure sign that we're forgetting that plans are fragile. 00:07:36.840 --> 00:07:40.699 And so do you see how daft it is to boast about what might happen tomorrow? 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.819 James says we've got to stop boasting about our plans. 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:53.759 But more than that, because James now moves from plans for agility to life's brevity. 00:07:54.460 --> 00:07:55.580 Life is brief, he says. 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:56.879 Life is short. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:59.659 Have a look at the rest of verse 14 with me. 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:01.159 What does James say? 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:03.800 What is your life? 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:09.279 You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:13.300 What is life, according to James? 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.060 Well, not much. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:17.360 At least not long. 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:22.180 It's like smoke running through your fingers or the puff of a candle as it's extinguished. 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:25.839 Life really doesn't last long. 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:29.879 But ask the world around us, what is your life? 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:30.600 And what does it say? 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:32.259 What does the world say? 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.200 Well, the world says it's yours. 00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:36.480 Yours to make what you will out of. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:37.460 Yours to control. 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:38.419 Yours to plan. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:39.899 Yours to diarise. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:41.259 Where will you be in five years? 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:41.799 Ten years? 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:43.159 What's the plan? 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:47.460 But James says you do not know what will happen tomorrow. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:49.980 In fact, you don't even know that you're going to be here tomorrow. 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:55.060 You've got to recognise life's brevity. 00:08:56.700 --> 00:09:02.080 And in verse 15, we've got to recognise God's sovereignty. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.480 Have a look at verse 15 with me. 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:13.980 Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:18.060 In other words, again, James is being quite simple, I think. 00:09:18.779 --> 00:09:19.920 God is in control. 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:27.000 He's completely sovereign over everything, which means he's completely sovereign over the plans of human beings. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:35.379 And so when we're rattled by cancelled plans, by plans that don't work out, by plans that gang after glay, 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:39.600 this, I think, is the corrective to that sort of thinking. 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:45.019 Simply to remember and realise that God is in charge. 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.259 I mean, just think about the one who created the universe. 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:59.419 And recognise that as our plans go this way or that, if he wills it, he wills it. 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:04.500 And so don't boast about your arrogant plans. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.580 Do you see he repeats that in verse 16? 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.480 All such boasting is evil. 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:13.319 Why is it evil? 00:10:13.939 --> 00:10:17.740 Well, it's evil because it kicks God out of the driver's seat. 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:22.299 It says, I'm not interested in your will or your way. 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:24.060 No, I'm in charge. 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.620 It's just really simply rebellion against God. 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.899 And in Genesis 3, right at the beginning and throughout the Bible, 00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:39.279 that sort of rebellion against God is the root of human evil. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:45.259 And so as we look at our diaries, I think it's just so helpful. 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:53.879 James, he's just so helpful to recognise plans for agility, life's brevity and God's sovereignty. 00:10:53.879 --> 00:11:00.419 I think if we can keep all of those in the frame, that'll really help as we think about our diary. 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:06.860 Nowhere does James suggest, does he, that Christians need to be like Antony. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:06.980 Antony. 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:13.419 The principle here isn't about committing all of our time to being locked away from the world. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:20.379 But instead, he's simply asking us to loosen our grip, to give over our plans, 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:25.200 to leave room for God's plans and to stop boasting. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:33.960 But in verse 17, he goes one step further and he does actually help us think about what is in our diary. 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:36.840 Have a look at verse 17 with me. 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:45.960 If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:56.960 Sometimes I think that verse can be read out of context and it can be used to be very generally talking about all the good that we've left undone, 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:02.259 often known as sins of omission, the sort of missed opportunities to do the Lord's will. 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:04.080 And I think that is true. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:12.500 But perhaps more specifically here, as it relates to James's audience, as it relates to their arrogant boasting in their plans, 00:12:13.060 --> 00:12:17.820 perhaps it has something more to do with leaving space within their plans. 00:12:19.540 --> 00:12:23.460 Space for things to change, space for God to work. 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:33.000 And so for us, as our diaries fill up, as we fill them with fragile plans, as we ignore life's brevity and ignore God's sovereignty, 00:12:33.180 --> 00:12:37.860 isn't it just so easy to forget the good that we ought to do? 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:45.600 I mean, don't we every week fill our diaries with plans that serve our own means? 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:47.780 Selfish plans. 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:52.839 And as we do that with our full diaries, I mean, what's the first thing to go? 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:54.759 What is it for you? 00:12:54.839 --> 00:12:56.720 I mean, it might be different for all of us. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:59.279 For me, prayer. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.459 Reading our Bibles, meeting with God's people. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:10.279 Caring for each other, caring for people who don't know Jesus and sharing life with those who don't know Jesus. 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:13.519 I wonder what it is for you. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:22.980 And more than that, in the mundane planning, even as we schedule meetings at work or make plans to meet friends, 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:28.120 are we leaving space to ask ourselves, and this is a really key question, 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.279 how will I glorify God through this? 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:37.220 Because we don't need to be like Anthony and lock ourselves away to give God glory. 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:44.160 We can work whatever it is that we do in such a way that glorifies God. 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:51.019 And we can love our friends in word and deed in such a way that they hear and see Jesus. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:53.680 And doing that glorifies God. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:59.180 And so, yes, we've got to see that our plans are fragile, 00:13:59.540 --> 00:14:02.920 that our lives are brief, and that our God is sovereign. 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:10.139 And so we've got to be prepared then to have our plans changed and let his plans work out in our lives. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:14.159 And through that, we do need to leave space for the good that we ought to do. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:17.819 But ultimately, whatever we end up doing with our time, 00:14:18.459 --> 00:14:22.860 we can do it in such a way as to give God the glory. 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:28.220 Instead of living this one life to our own selfish ends, 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:32.159 we can live one life to God's glory. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:39.960 In the second half of our passage then, James, he moves from the diary to the wallet, 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:43.419 from time to money. 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:45.860 Let me tell another story. 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:47.940 This one is about a father and a son. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:49.320 This is not a true story. 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:54.640 But the son, he approaches the father and he asks him how much he makes in an hour. 00:14:55.140 --> 00:14:56.800 Sort of annoys the father. 00:14:57.100 --> 00:14:58.760 He thinks it's none of the son's business. 00:14:58.900 --> 00:14:59.980 But the son is persistent. 00:15:00.180 --> 00:15:02.160 And eventually, the father tells him, 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.560 Well, if you must know, I suppose if I was to calculate it, 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:06.940 I'd probably make about £100 an hour. 00:15:07.760 --> 00:15:10.560 And so the boy, he asks to borrow £50. 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:14.200 And the father, as you can imagine, is furious. 00:15:14.420 --> 00:15:15.340 How dare you? 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.080 I mean, what do you need £50 for? 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:18.480 Don't I give you enough already? 00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:20.260 Go to your room. 00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:23.360 So off he goes, quietly to his room. 00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:24.240 He shuts the door. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:30.379 And the father, the man, he sits down and he starts actually to get even angrier about the boy's questions. 00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:35.200 I mean, how dare he ask such questions just to get some money out of me? 00:15:36.560 --> 00:15:40.360 But after an hour or so, as he calms down, he starts to think, 00:15:40.420 --> 00:15:44.860 Maybe there was actually something that this boy really needed to buy with that £50. 00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:46.880 I mean, he didn't ask for money very often. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.200 He was a good boy as a rule. 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:52.779 And so the man goes to the door of the little boy's room. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:53.899 He opens the door. 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:56.360 He asks, Are you asleep? 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:58.600 And the boy is very much awake. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.720 Father says, I've been thinking maybe I was too hard on you earlier. 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:03.159 It's been a long day at work. 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:04.139 I took it out on you. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:06.500 Here's the £50 that you asked for. 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:09.559 The little boy, he sits up smiling in bed. 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:15.439 He takes the cash from his dad and then reaching under his pillow, he pulls out his stash of money. 00:16:15.839 --> 00:16:18.259 And the man seeing this starts to get angry again. 00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:22.719 I mean, this little boy, he's there slowly counting his money, looking up at his raging father. 00:16:24.019 --> 00:16:25.599 What do you want more money for? 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.079 You've already got loads of money. 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:30.680 The boy says, Because I didn't have enough. 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:32.720 But I do now. 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:33.580 See, I have £100. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:36.860 I'd like to buy an hour of your time. 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:41.520 Would you come home early from work tomorrow and eat with me? 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:45.960 Father was crushed. 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:52.580 The way that he had been using his time and his money, two things which are just so obviously tied together, 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:55.879 where his priorities were all wrong. 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:01.220 That story, I don't know about you, it certainly tugs on my heartstrings. 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:07.059 And the reason why is because we know that what we do with our money is really important. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:13.200 Notice in verse 1, who James is speaking to here. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:16.220 Rich people. 00:17:16.620 --> 00:17:17.140 Do you see that? 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.240 What does he want them to do? 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.420 Weep and wail, because misery is coming. 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:31.180 It's very easy, isn't it, for us to read a verse like that and see that it's not very pleasant and just switch off. 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:34.200 To think, well, I'm not rich, this isn't for me. 00:17:34.539 --> 00:17:39.720 Or I'm not that rich, not as rich as that family, not as rich as the people sitting next to me. 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:45.019 But we're going to see that these verses apply to all of us. 00:17:46.120 --> 00:17:48.880 Now listen, James says, don't switch off. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.079 Three things that James wants us to avoid in these verses. 00:17:54.120 --> 00:17:58.460 Hoarding, extravagance and injustice. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:01.740 Have a look at verses 2 and 3 with me. 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:03.559 What does James say? 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:08.179 Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:11.039 Your gold and silver are corroded. 00:18:11.179 --> 00:18:16.000 Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.419 You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:26.060 The rich folk that James is speaking to here are collecting wealth. 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:27.340 They're hoarding their wealth. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.000 Do you see that? 00:18:28.340 --> 00:18:31.640 Basically, they have more stuff than they need. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:36.620 And James says, stuff has no eternal worth. 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:38.240 It's rotting. 00:18:38.820 --> 00:18:40.380 See the language he uses? 00:18:40.580 --> 00:18:41.440 Moths eat it. 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:42.300 It corrodes. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:46.620 But worse than that, you notice it testifies against you. 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:51.079 Because by hoarding wealth, you're showing where your priorities lie. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:59.019 In other words, it is proof that you love the world and stuff more than you love God. 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:03.579 Isn't that just so applicable to us? 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.419 I think partly because we're actually just so much richer than we think we are. 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:11.639 Maybe you're at home. 00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:14.339 Just look around the room. 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:17.519 I mean, what screen are you watching this on? 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:22.439 Do you have other screens in that room, in your pockets, in the church? 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:24.099 Screens in our pockets? 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:28.339 I mean, imagine if James knew that we had screens in our pockets. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:33.339 Or any ornaments in your room that are rather nice but really perform no function. 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:41.639 Again, here at church, how many of us could have chosen to wear a different set of clothes today? 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.120 Or a different pair of shoes? 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:50.940 We are just so much richer than we think we are. 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:53.860 And our wealth cries out against us. 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:54.759 It accuses us. 00:19:54.820 --> 00:19:58.300 It says, both to a watching world and to our God, 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:00.180 I love stuff. 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:03.720 I love stuff more than I love Jesus. 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:06.799 It's a real challenge, isn't it? 00:20:06.860 --> 00:20:08.480 I mean, I find this so challenging. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.580 I just have so much stuff that I don't need. 00:20:12.840 --> 00:20:14.500 I'm willing to bet that you do too. 00:20:16.600 --> 00:20:19.500 And not just lots of stuff, but extravagance. 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:20.500 Right? 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:21.940 Have a look at verse 5 with me. 00:20:21.940 --> 00:20:31.420 Again, rich folk, right? 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:32.660 That James is writing to. 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:34.440 You can imagine the lifestyle. 00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:36.740 Think of Antony, our aristocrat. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:42.640 Beautiful villas, Roman baths, dinner parties, the wine, the olive oil. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:45.620 And what does that lifestyle do? 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:49.440 Well, look at the second half of that verse of verse 5. 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:53.920 It fattens them up in the day of slaughter. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:59.140 Like a cow or a sheep living well, eating well, 00:20:59.280 --> 00:21:01.759 on a one-way trip to the slaughterhouse. 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:04.900 To death and to judgment. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:11.200 And again, maybe we don't feel like we live particularly extravagant lives. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:17.340 But how many of us woke up this morning in recently cleaned sheets? 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.900 On a soft, but not too soft, mattress. 00:21:22.300 --> 00:21:24.420 A couple of pillows to rest our head on. 00:21:24.940 --> 00:21:26.380 Woke up, had a hot shower. 00:21:27.100 --> 00:21:30.300 Probably had milk in your coffee or your cereal. 00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:33.900 Milk that I bet you keep in a fridge that's probably in your kitchen. 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:37.759 All these things sound very normal today, don't they? 00:21:37.820 --> 00:21:40.700 But in comparison to the whole of the rest of history, 00:21:41.560 --> 00:21:44.560 our lifestyles are ridiculously extravagant. 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:47.960 I mean, even in comparison to most of the world today, 00:21:48.060 --> 00:21:53.440 in this country, we live just the most ridiculously extravagant lifestyles. 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:57.120 James says, fattening ourselves up. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:01.320 For judgment and for death. 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:04.440 But why does he say that? 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:06.059 What's so bad about hoarding? 00:22:06.120 --> 00:22:09.140 What's so bad about an extravagant lifestyle? 00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:11.900 Well, have a look back at verse 4 with me. 00:22:14.320 --> 00:22:21.820 Look, the wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:27.799 The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:36.379 For James's readers, the inevitable result of their unnecessary wealth is injustice. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:39.059 See how the verse starts? 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:41.579 Look, you've got to see this. 00:22:41.659 --> 00:22:43.659 Your wealth is immorally gained. 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:45.759 You don't pay your workers enough. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:48.779 And God has heard their cries for justice. 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:51.859 More than that, have a look at verse 6. 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:58.559 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one who was not opposing you. 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:03.859 Not only are they contributing to injustice by failing to pay their workers, 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:08.740 but worse than that, they are even condemning and murdering the innocent, 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:13.480 the innocent or the righteous, I think probably referring to Christians, 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:17.559 those made innocent or righteous by faith in Christ. 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:21.779 The poor believers condemned and murdered, 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:26.500 maybe explicitly through the law courts getting rid of the inconvenient poor, 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:32.899 or even just implicitly contributing to injustice in the way that they spent their money. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.679 And in some ways, I think this might be similar for us today. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:43.519 I mean, we might not employ anyone ourselves, let alone fail to pay them properly if we do. 00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:45.839 And I've never murdered anyone. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:52.159 I'm not sure about you, but I just don't think we contribute to this sort of injustice as explicitly as that. 00:23:53.139 --> 00:23:55.039 But are we still complicit? 00:23:56.819 --> 00:24:01.959 Our hoarding, all that stuff, all our luxurious lifestyles, 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:04.819 are they not really enabled by similar injustice? 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:09.899 I mean, the clothes that you're wearing, do you know where they were made? 00:24:11.459 --> 00:24:12.619 Who made them? 00:24:14.139 --> 00:24:15.480 Whether they got paid? 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:18.220 Closer to home. 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:22.259 I wonder if the farmer got a fair price for the milk that you drank this morning. 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:24.659 Or the coffee or the tea. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:25.599 Where was it grown? 00:24:25.699 --> 00:24:26.619 How did it get here? 00:24:27.939 --> 00:24:30.899 So you don't need to dig too deep into our lives. 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:32.879 You don't need to think long to see it. 00:24:32.919 --> 00:24:39.199 That we're all complicit in one way or another in the injustice in this world. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:47.559 So as we draw to a close, what then are we to do with our wallets? 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:50.599 I mean, we could be like Anthony, right? 00:24:50.659 --> 00:24:52.480 Sell everything that we have. 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:54.399 All our worldly possessions. 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:56.819 Reject our wealth entirely. 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:00.559 I mean, James definitely doesn't pull any punches here, does he? 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:05.099 But the problem isn't actually wealth in and of itself, is it? 00:25:05.159 --> 00:25:08.659 I mean, as elsewhere in the Bible, it's really the love of money. 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:13.259 It's the hoarding and the extravagance and then the injustice that they contribute to. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:17.319 I mean, certainly we shouldn't be desiring worldly wealth. 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:19.960 But it is good to have enough. 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:29.419 And with the money that we do have, as we seek to earn it justly, will we use it to God's glory? 00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:37.819 Spending money not to hoard, not for extravagance, but on daily bread, on the things that we actually need. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.980 On things that are well made, that will last, that are fairly priced. 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:48.640 And then perhaps giving what we don't need to those who do. 00:25:50.440 --> 00:26:01.539 With money, as with time, I hope that we will be those who think about how to use both our diaries and our wallets for good, to bring God glory. 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:09.519 Because James' picture of the Christian life is just far more radical than the way many of us live. 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:19.440 Instead of living one life to our own selfish ends, we can live one life to God's glory. 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:31.180 But the key to reading passages like this, to reading this book, to reading James, is not simply to come away resolved to do better. 00:26:33.100 --> 00:26:38.680 But I hope that as we're convicted here, as we see that actually we just don't live like that, 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:42.559 I hope that we will be driven to the foot of the cross. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:49.899 Because Jesus, the truly innocent one, he has paid the price that we deserve to pay. 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:53.379 In a sense, he's the innocent murdered one in the passage. 00:26:54.679 --> 00:27:00.039 See, if God really is on the throne, if he created everything, then he created you. 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:08.159 And so everything that we do, all of our time and all of our money should be used for his glory. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:19.000 And where they're not, as they often aren't, where we fail to do what we know is good, it is sin, James says. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.139 Rebellion against God. 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:29.160 And the price for that rebellion is eternal death, fattened up for slaughter. 00:27:31.020 --> 00:27:34.100 But the good news is Jesus has paid that price. 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:41.220 And so for those of us that come humbly to him, driven to our knees at the foot of the cross, 00:27:41.840 --> 00:27:44.880 for those of us who trust in Jesus, the price has been paid. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:49.000 And not only that, but Jesus didn't stay dead, did he? 00:27:49.040 --> 00:27:50.220 He defeated death. 00:27:50.540 --> 00:27:54.880 He's alive today, promising that we can live new lives too. 00:27:55.740 --> 00:27:58.140 And promising that we can live forever. 00:27:59.600 --> 00:28:04.420 And so now we're free to give all of our time and all of our money, 00:28:04.520 --> 00:28:09.960 which, let's be honest, probably won't look like being a nun or a monk like Anthony and his sister. 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:15.640 But it can look, instead of living one life to our own selfish ends, 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:25.360 it can look like living one life to God's glory with everything that we do, time and money. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:27.620 Let me pray. 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:39.299 Heavenly Father, we confess that we do not always use our time and our money to your glory. 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:47.559 Lord Jesus, we kneel before your cross. 00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:52.980 Please forgive us. 00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:02.100 And by your Holy Spirit, would you keep us in this place of humility? 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:08.460 Help us live lives marked by that humility. 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:19.160 And help us live increasingly lives to your glory and not our own selfish ends. 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:22.940 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:29:24.100 --> 00:29:24.539 Amen.