WEBVTT 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:07.480 We're continuing in James. James is a brilliant book. Every time I read it, it breaks me. 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:12.300 What I want you to do is in one minute, think about what we learned last week. 00:00:12.700 --> 00:00:16.160 I told you there was one big thing that James talks about. 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:19.400 Share it with your neighbor. If you weren't here last week, they'll teach you. 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:25.120 If you're here with your wife and she wasn't here last week either, then turn around and try and find someone. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:29.080 What is the big theme of James Go? 00:00:30.579 --> 00:00:34.280 Okay, if we swap papers, then we can mark each other's. 00:00:35.480 --> 00:00:40.340 James is the brother of Jesus and he writes a letter to his former church members 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:46.320 who are scattered among the nations when they left Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Stephen. 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:51.019 And James exhorts them. This is the big theme. Don't be double-minded. 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:54.439 Don't be one thing at church and another thing in the world. 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.980 Don't be one thing on a Sunday and another thing during the week. 00:00:57.979 --> 00:01:01.259 He says live a consistent Christian life. 00:01:01.959 --> 00:01:04.620 He says live the life of faith Sunday to Sunday. 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:09.500 Don't be something different Monday through to Saturday. 00:01:10.399 --> 00:01:13.200 He tells them when trials come, trust God. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:15.519 Persevere in trials. 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:17.060 Ask for wisdom. 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:19.659 And perseverance will do its work. 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:28.500 Ask God who gives wisdom without finding fault. 00:01:29.500 --> 00:01:37.519 He promises that those who stand will receive the promised crown of life for all those that have loved God. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:44.799 He then in 12 to 18 goes on to tell them that you can't blame God for your bad decisions. 00:01:45.679 --> 00:01:51.280 He says God never backs his people into a corner where sin is the only means of escape. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:57.840 Sinful decisions are made because of the evil desires that exist within us. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:05.560 The reason we make bad choices is because of the badness, the evil cravings that exist on the inside. 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:11.379 And he says desires lead to sin and sin leads to death. 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:16.079 And your alternative is to trust God who is good. 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:18.439 Look at verse 17 of James 1. 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:22.259 Every good and perfect gift is from above. 00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:25.539 Coming down from the father of the heavenly lights. 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:28.560 He does not change like shifting sand. 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:30.939 What a great verse. 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:37.539 That instead of blaming God for our bad decisions, we trust God for his goodness. 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:41.379 He says God is not a whimsical provider. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.840 He's not neglectful or fickle. 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:46.919 That he provides good things and he never changes. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:52.759 So he can always be trusted to provide good things. 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:56.139 Then verse 18 forms the bridge. 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:59.579 This is the perfect example of God's goodness. 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:05.280 Verse 18, he chose to give us birth through the word of truth 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:09.259 that we might be a kind of first fruits of all creation. 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:10.439 This is James' thinking. 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:16.060 If God is able to give us new birth through the word of God, 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:21.719 if he's able to give us new life and adopted us into his family, 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.960 then I think we could trust him for the day-to-day stuff. 00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:29.460 That if he's able to regenerate us, adopt us, 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:31.520 then I'm pretty sure we can trust him with tomorrow. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.719 And so we have great hope. 00:03:37.660 --> 00:03:42.040 And if he does not change, then his word does not change. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:44.879 He's not going to say something different tomorrow. 00:03:46.320 --> 00:03:49.700 What he says he means and what he means he says. 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:54.180 And that's exactly what James is going to challenge us with this morning. 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:55.879 Let me give you the headline. 00:03:55.879 --> 00:04:02.979 Our attitude to the word of God reveals everything about our relationship with God. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.180 Your approach, your attitude to this book 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:13.199 tells us everything, diagnoses everything about your relationship with God. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:19.199 How you love this book is directly proportional to how you love God. 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:24.079 Your devotion to this book mirrors your devotion to God. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:29.439 There's no quick, there's no sidetrack, there's no shortcut. 00:04:30.539 --> 00:04:33.219 We know God more by reading his words. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:38.879 That's how he has principally revealed himself to us. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:40.199 Let me pray. 00:04:41.159 --> 00:04:45.379 Father God, take your word, plant it deep in us. 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:47.060 Father, do that. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:52.519 Give us such a love for this word that we might have a greater love for your son. 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:59.120 Father, take your word and sear it on our hearts that we might love you more and live holy lives 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.740 because of all that you tell us. 00:05:01.939 --> 00:05:04.479 We pray all this in Jesus' name. 00:05:04.939 --> 00:05:05.299 Amen. 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:12.120 Paul was saying that we spent a good amount of time as elders planning and strategizing 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:18.500 and thinking about how we can move our church to greater strength, greater healthiness 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:21.660 and making a greater impact in the world. 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:30.540 I spent a lot of time alone in my office, drawing diagrams, planning, plotting, strategizing. 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:36.980 I mean, my whole office at the moment is just covered in whiteboards with scribbles all over it. 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:44.260 Looking for that silver bullet to bring strength and health and growth to our church. 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.759 As members, trying to find that one thing that will change everything. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.980 I've drawn endless diagrams. 00:05:53.159 --> 00:06:01.980 I've scoured the Bible read extensively, prayed continuously, and then repented of so much of my foolishness. 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:06.719 Because there are no magic bullets. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:11.139 There is no miracle medicine. 00:06:12.659 --> 00:06:18.860 God has clearly said that churches grow when the word of God does its work. 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:26.000 God says churches grow when his people gather together to pray and seek the Lord, 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.759 when they declare their absolute dependence on the God of the universe. 00:06:31.080 --> 00:06:35.360 And God's church grows when God's people commit themselves to each other. 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:41.259 That when word, prayer and fellowship come together in perfect congruence, 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:42.980 then amazing things happen. 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:45.819 There is no shortcuts. 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:49.800 There is no quick fix. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:57.360 And James is going to address that word ingredient in what we just read. 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:00.279 Because from the word flows everything else. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:05.980 As we love God's word, as we read God's word, as we learn about God from his word, 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.539 we see the size of the God that we have. 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:11.759 And it is a joy to pray to him because he can be trusted. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:18.439 And when we read the Bible, we see the glory of church, how God is doing a new thing. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:24.240 God is putting his manifold wisdom on full display to the world in the church. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.039 We go, wow, I want to be part of that. 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:31.539 When the word is doing its work, everything else flows from it. 00:07:31.540 --> 00:07:44.280 And there's unprecedented growth, unprecedented vitality and life when we read and obey and love this word. 00:07:45.280 --> 00:07:48.680 Think back to this last week. 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:53.480 What has been your relationship to your Bible? 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:59.240 Has it been on the shelf gathering dust? 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:05.500 Has it been digging in and feasting heavily? 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:12.519 Has it been keeping up a tokenistic daily devotion? 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:15.199 There's this great word. 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:16.599 It's one of my favorite words. 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:19.319 The word dilettante. 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.539 Sounds like such a lovely word, like a gentle word. 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:25.639 It's a horrible thing to be called. 00:08:26.799 --> 00:08:32.659 To be a dilettante is to be a person who cultivates an area of interest, 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.740 such as in the arts or, in our case, the Bible. 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:44.220 To cultivate an area of interest, but without real commitment or a desire for knowledge. 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:46.700 To just be playing. 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:53.379 To just be dipping one's toe in from time to time when it takes your fancy. 00:08:55.220 --> 00:09:03.560 We cannot be dilettantes dipping our toes into this word and expected to do its work in our lives and in our church. 00:09:03.560 --> 00:09:04.639 James is so clear. 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:10.960 That our attitude to God's word tells us everything about our attitude ultimately to God. 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:22.320 God's word is to be the overarching foundational and absolute driving force in our lives, in our church, in our faith community. 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:29.759 This is the most powerful thing, force in all the universe. 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:35.700 God created everything that we see and everything that we don't see through his words. 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.740 God created everything that we see and everything that we see and everything that we see and everything that we see. 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:43.639 In our hands, we have the most powerful force in all the universe. 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:47.840 And I wonder, do we treat it like that? 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:54.060 If we would just be people who were not satisfied to live on simply bread. 00:09:54.059 --> 00:10:00.619 But we would live on every word ushered from the mouth of God. 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:08.179 James gives us three key principles and I pray that we would really take them on this week. 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:09.139 Here's the first. 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:12.720 Receive God's word humbly. 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:15.940 Receive God's word humbly. 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:19.080 James is very clear in verse 19. 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:46.100 There's that definition of a boring person, isn't there? 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:51.639 Someone who talks about themselves all the time when you really want to talk about yourself. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:59.240 James says, how you listen reflects how you'll listen to God. 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:03.659 Everyone should be slow to speak and quick to listen. 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:11.799 When you come to God's word, are you content to sit still and listen to his word? 00:11:12.579 --> 00:11:20.299 Not just rattling through that reading for the day, ticking the box and then getting on with all the other stuff that crowds into life. 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:31.099 When we listen to God's word preached, is it just a casual listening for just slices of entertainment that will tickle your fancy for the rest of the day? 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:40.159 Or are we, no matter the ability of the preacher, we're saying, God, I want to squeeze every ounce out of this sermon that I possibly can. 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:44.799 I want you to speak to me in a way that I cannot dismiss. 00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:48.879 Everyone should be quick to listen. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:56.179 That word quick is not just a going and not just a speed, but it's an earnestness and a readiness. 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:03.679 It is a sitting on the edge of your seat saying, God, you promised that when your word is taught, your voice is heard. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:05.320 And I want to hear your voice. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:14.480 Not just absorbing sermons, but grabbing them and gripping onto them and letting God's word change your life. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.820 Notice what he says. 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:19.039 Verse 21. 00:12:20.899 --> 00:12:26.039 And humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:33.219 So it's not just a readiness to listen, but it's an attitude of heart as we listen. 00:12:34.599 --> 00:12:37.019 Is there an arrogance or a humility? 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:41.639 Is there, I'm going to listen to this because I'm not sure this guy quite knows what he's doing, 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:45.399 and the minute he says something wrong, I'm going to run up and tell him and correct it. 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:50.539 Is it, oh, I've listened to you speak for half an hour, let me tell you all the things that I think. 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:57.199 Is there a humility in accepting the word planted in you? 00:12:57.259 --> 00:12:59.259 Do you come to God's word with defenses up? 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:03.159 Do you come and go, actually, you can't teach me anything. 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:07.319 There is nothing that you can say, God, that will change the way I live. 00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:16.019 Will you humbly accept the word of God planted in you? 00:13:16.059 --> 00:13:21.519 John Stott said, we must allow the word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:26.539 to undermine our complacency, and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior. 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:33.019 When was the last time God's word changed you? 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:40.279 Or have we become so comfortable and we just edit out the bits that are challenging? 00:13:42.199 --> 00:13:46.899 God's word is to do his work in our lives. 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:55.679 Everyone should be slow to get angry, quick to listen, slow to speak. 00:13:56.539 --> 00:14:06.000 This word planted, he's not thinking, oh, it's spring and I should really go to home base and get some bedding plants. 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:11.719 This word planted is built on the back of the entire Old Testament. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:17.000 Listen to what it says in Jeremiah. 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:18.899 The days are coming, declares the Lord. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:23.799 When I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah, 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:29.719 it will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt 00:14:29.719 --> 00:14:33.159 because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them. 00:14:34.339 --> 00:14:37.719 This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time. 00:14:38.579 --> 00:14:46.259 I will put my law in their minds and write, literally plant it in their hearts. 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:50.759 I will be their God and they will be my people as well. 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:57.000 But God says after Jesus in the New Testament, the law is not just going to be an external thing 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:01.200 that you can kind of pick up or put down, as was Israel's problem. 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:05.279 God says I'm going to write it on your hearts, I'm going to plant it in you. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.740 You are going to internalize it and absorb it. 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:12.740 Do we allow this etching to take place? 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:17.720 Or do we respond with stonily blank hearts? 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:22.860 Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you? 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:29.320 Because our attitude to God's word tells us everything about our relationship with God. 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:32.019 Humbly accepting it. 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:34.220 Letting it do its work. 00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:36.720 Because it can save us. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.920 Receive God's word humbly, that's what he says first. 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:44.340 Then he says remember God's word constantly. 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:47.300 You will find this hard to believe. 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:50.320 But when I get out of bed in the morning, 00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:54.180 and I walk into the bathroom and I look at myself in the mirror, 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:56.740 it is like gazing at prehistoric man. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:02.680 There is hair everywhere, dribble here, sleep all over my eyes, 00:16:03.060 --> 00:16:05.840 matted beard, I mean it's horrendous. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:08.080 And it's every day. 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:13.779 But thankfully the mirror is an incredible invention. 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:18.440 Because it tells me what I look like. 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:22.740 And enables me through hours of hair and makeup to look like this. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.600 It shows us what we're like and it shows us what God is like. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:31.700 And then we look away and we go, well, that was fun, well it lasted. 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.500 But it's not going to make any impact in my life. 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:42.019 Do we have a fleeting fascination with the things of God? 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:48.960 No lasting fruit because it's not richly dwelling in our hearts. 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:53.440 If you go to Israel, all over the place you'll see Deuteronomy 6, 4. 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:55.280 Return to Shema, the Lord. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.060 Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:16:58.920 --> 00:17:02.980 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:07.279 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:08.059 That word again. 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:10.880 Impress them on your children. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.940 Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:16.700 when you lie down and when you get up. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:20.120 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:23.579 Write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates. 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:28.679 Moses says, take this word and talk about it and remember it all the time. 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:34.159 When you lie down and when you get up and sit around the dinner table on your way to work, 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:37.659 on your way home from work, internalize this word. 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:40.099 Remember it always. 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:43.019 And it's not changed. 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:46.619 Parents, teach your children about the Bible all the time. 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:53.899 Make talking about Scripture an everyday reality in your homes. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:56.939 Husbands and wives. 00:17:58.159 --> 00:18:00.679 Emmerdale is of no eternal significance. 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:02.239 It really isn't. 00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:06.339 Discussing the plot line of who's doing what with who doesn't matter at all. 00:18:08.719 --> 00:18:12.039 But the book of Ephesians is for life and forever. 00:18:12.959 --> 00:18:14.859 So why not study that? 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:18.819 You can spend your time sitting in a room, 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:24.339 watching people sitting in a room as the latest reality TV floods our nation. 00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:29.699 Or you can sit in a room and look into the eternal things of God 00:18:29.699 --> 00:18:33.399 that can do real work in our lives. 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:38.179 Let this word dwell in our hearts richly. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:43.959 Don't look into the mirror of it and walk away and get prosopagnosis 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:48.120 where you can never understand what people look like. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:51.220 Where you can't differentiate faces. 00:18:52.360 --> 00:18:54.019 James says, don't look at this word 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:58.039 and then not be able to pick yourself out of an identity lineup. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:01.420 Because it makes no sense. 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:03.660 I know what we all say. 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:06.819 I can't remember Scripture. 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.500 I find Scripture memorization difficult. 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:12.960 Well, that may be true. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.460 But I think it's nonsense. 00:19:16.939 --> 00:19:20.899 If I said, next week we're going to have a Scripture memorization contest, 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:25.299 Carmen, for every Scripture verse you can quote verbatim, 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:26.539 I'll give you 500 pounds. 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:31.079 Jesus wept. 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:33.299 John 11, 35, 500 quid. 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.460 Be joyful always. 00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:38.259 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16. 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:40.559 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:41.500 Pray continually. 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:45.379 1 Chronicles 1, 25. 00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:48.659 That is two grand. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.460 That is two grand in 14 words. 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:56.660 We would do it everything to remember these words. 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:00.319 We would write it on the fridge. 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.259 We would put it on the ceiling above our beds. 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:05.940 We would have biro all over our hands. 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.319 We'd be listening to it on the bus. 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:11.059 We'd even put it on the bathroom mirror, 00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:13.380 even though that might be difficult for some. 00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:18.000 And you know what? 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:22.259 God says, this word is more precious than riches. 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.340 This is not only the most powerful force in the universe, 00:20:26.600 --> 00:20:29.240 it is the most precious commodity in the universe. 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:32.860 So whether I give you 500 pounds or not, and I won't, 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:35.160 still do it. 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:41.100 Do it because when God's word is remembered and ruminated on 00:20:41.100 --> 00:20:45.720 and recitated and discussed, it does its work. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:48.200 Remember and act on God's word. 00:20:48.360 --> 00:20:50.340 Don't deceive yourselves. 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:53.059 Do you see what it says? 00:20:53.199 --> 00:20:55.319 Don't deceive yourselves. 00:20:57.419 --> 00:20:59.000 But see what it says. 00:21:00.139 --> 00:21:03.959 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.480 God's word brings freedom, 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:10.480 and continues in it, 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:11.919 not walking away, 00:21:12.919 --> 00:21:16.220 not forgetting what they've heard, 00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:17.279 but doing it, 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:17.299 but doing it, 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:20.100 they will be blessed in all they do. 00:21:21.120 --> 00:21:22.799 Freedom and blessing 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.039 comes from remembering God's word. 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:29.120 Do everything that you can. 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:30.360 Take notes, 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:31.559 buy audio Bibles, 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:33.079 get a good devotional guide. 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:35.980 Talk about it all the time. 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:42.940 The phrase look intently literally means a penetrating absorption. 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.039 Absorb it. 00:21:46.620 --> 00:21:48.839 Saturate yourself in it. 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:51.720 God says this word of life, 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:53.940 it is more fundamental than bread, 00:21:54.120 --> 00:21:55.779 it is more precious than gold, 00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:57.640 it is more tasty than honey. 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:02.300 And yet we have such a casualness to it 00:22:02.300 --> 00:22:06.720 that is revealing and rendering it unfruitful in our lives. 00:22:06.840 --> 00:22:08.600 Don't be a dilettante. 00:22:10.040 --> 00:22:12.180 Our attitude to God's word 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:15.600 tells us everything about our attitude to God. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:18.399 Lastly, 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.559 obey God's word wholeheartedly. 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:22.719 Look at verse 22, 00:22:22.859 --> 00:22:24.819 it could be the entire theme of the whole book. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:27.159 Do not merely listen to the word, 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:28.859 and so deceive yourselves. 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:30.799 Do what it says. 00:22:30.939 --> 00:22:32.319 Just do it. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:34.179 If James was sponsored by Nike. 00:22:35.439 --> 00:22:36.379 Do what it says. 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:38.439 If all our scripture reading, 00:22:38.639 --> 00:22:39.219 recitation, 00:22:39.419 --> 00:22:40.079 memorization, 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:40.919 conversation, 00:22:41.059 --> 00:22:41.679 and investigation 00:22:41.679 --> 00:22:44.439 doesn't lead to wholehearted obedience, 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:46.900 then we are deceived 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:48.360 and our endeavors are worthless. 00:22:49.620 --> 00:22:51.140 God is not going to test us 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:52.360 on our Bible knowledge. 00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:54.580 He's not going to ask us 00:22:54.580 --> 00:22:57.940 if we can do the entire family tree of Abraham 00:22:57.940 --> 00:22:59.700 from Abraham down to Jesus. 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:00.799 He's not going to do it. 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:04.259 He's going to test 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:06.140 whether our attitude to God's word 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:07.860 has made a real difference in our lives 00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:10.220 and whether we have been conformed 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:11.980 to the image of the Lord Jesus 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:14.240 in a response to his gospel. 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:19.039 All the Bible knowledge in the world 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:21.080 can be utterly unprofitable 00:23:21.080 --> 00:23:23.360 if your searching of the scriptures 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:24.740 doesn't enlarge your heart 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:26.500 with a bigger vision of God 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:28.519 and enlarge your heart for others 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:30.920 and kindle your affections for the Lord Jesus. 00:23:32.840 --> 00:23:34.299 God is not looking 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:38.100 for knowledgeable theoreticians. 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:41.900 He's looking for obedient protagonists. 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:46.380 What does it look like? 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:47.320 Well, verse 27. 00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:50.259 Religion that God our Father accepts 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:52.040 as pure and faultless is this. 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.980 To look after orphans 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:55.840 and widows in their distress. 00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:00.540 Why widows and orphans? 00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:01.920 Because they've got nothing to give. 00:24:03.360 --> 00:24:04.780 You're not doing for them 00:24:04.780 --> 00:24:06.800 so that they can give back in return. 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:10.599 So shaped by the gospel 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:12.799 that we'll do anything 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:14.399 to make much of the Lord Jesus. 00:24:15.399 --> 00:24:17.339 We'll care for those 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:19.000 that have got no one else to care for. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:21.839 We'll enter into people's distress 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:24.079 because we know what it is 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:25.119 to have the Lord Jesus 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:26.879 who entered into our distress 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.180 and saved us from it. 00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:33.480 Shaped by God's word 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.600 to love others. 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.760 When we see God's love for us 00:24:37.760 --> 00:24:39.920 in sending His Son to die on a cross, 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:41.220 then we go, 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:42.460 no one is unlovable. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:44.360 If God can love me that much, 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:47.080 then there's no one 00:24:47.080 --> 00:24:49.520 who is beyond the pale of love 00:24:49.520 --> 00:24:51.420 that God can generate in me. 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:53.100 See, though, 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:54.780 that it's not just social justice 00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:57.559 to look after orphans and widows 00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:58.299 in their distress 00:24:58.299 --> 00:25:00.220 and to keep oneself 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:01.859 from being polluted by the world. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:05.319 To live holy lives. 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:09.139 To live lives that reflect 00:25:09.139 --> 00:25:10.500 and are conformed 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:12.500 to the image of the Lord Jesus. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.599 Dig into this word. 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:17.899 Love this word. 00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:19.539 Live this word. 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:22.279 So Brunsfield, 00:25:22.399 --> 00:25:23.799 it's the end of another sermon. 00:25:24.779 --> 00:25:25.839 We've got there. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.160 You didn't think we would, 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:28.379 but we've got there. 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:32.099 The conclusion of another 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:33.460 concentrated period 00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:34.740 where we have gathered 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:35.639 around God's word 00:25:35.639 --> 00:25:36.740 and dug down together. 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:39.899 The question is 00:25:39.899 --> 00:25:41.240 that James is asking, 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:42.119 what do we do now? 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:44.359 What are we going to do 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:45.259 on Monday morning 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.779 as a result of what we've heard here? 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:50.759 Are we going to respond 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:53.319 like the man who looked 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:54.940 at his face in the mirror 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:57.319 and walked out of the bathroom 00:25:57.319 --> 00:25:57.579 and said, 00:25:57.639 --> 00:25:58.500 I've got no idea 00:25:58.500 --> 00:25:59.339 what I look like. 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:00.819 I couldn't even tell you 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.839 where my ears are 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:02.940 on my head. 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:06.619 Or are we going to get up 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:07.200 from here 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:12.100 and put it into action 00:26:12.100 --> 00:26:14.299 to discuss it, 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.900 to memorise, 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:16.680 to meditate, 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:18.000 to ruminate 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:19.759 and to obey? 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.259 Are we going to hear 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:22.920 the challenge 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:24.680 and obediently receive 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:25.940 and remember God's word 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:26.539 this week 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:27.920 as we live it out? 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:29.960 It is a virtual circle. 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:34.559 Read God's word, 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:35.539 learn more about God, 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:36.500 learn more about God, 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:37.539 want to serve him more, 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:38.480 want to serve him more, 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:39.819 want to learn about him more. 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:42.559 Learn about him more, 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:43.720 want to serve him more, 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:45.940 want to love him more. 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:47.980 They say that when you go running, 00:26:48.860 --> 00:26:49.860 if you go running long enough 00:26:49.860 --> 00:26:50.940 you start to really enjoy it. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:51.580 I've never got there. 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:53.160 I've done like two weeks 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:54.480 and then I go, 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.160 I hate running. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.480 My sister runs marathons 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:58.120 all the time. 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:00.700 She loves running. 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:01.460 If she doesn't go running 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:02.580 she gets more annoying 00:27:02.580 --> 00:27:03.160 than normal. 00:27:05.100 --> 00:27:05.880 Why not try it 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:06.559 with God's word? 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.960 If we really dig in 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:09.160 we would get such an appetite 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:11.740 that we'd just devour it. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.259 It'd be like on a, 00:27:13.320 --> 00:27:14.480 we'd commit carbicide 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:15.680 as we'd just eat the bread 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:16.299 of life 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:17.580 all the time. 00:27:18.860 --> 00:27:20.120 John Wesley wrote this 00:27:20.120 --> 00:27:21.180 and with this 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.240 we'll finish. 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:25.279 To candid and reasonable men 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:26.340 I am not afraid 00:27:26.340 --> 00:27:27.080 to lay open 00:27:27.080 --> 00:27:27.620 what have been 00:27:27.620 --> 00:27:28.480 the inmost thoughts 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:29.200 of my heart. 00:27:29.820 --> 00:27:30.960 I have thought 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.700 I am a creature of a day 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:34.100 passing through life 00:27:34.100 --> 00:27:34.720 as an arrow 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.519 through the air. 00:27:35.840 --> 00:27:36.799 I am a spirit 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.580 come from God 00:27:37.580 --> 00:27:38.759 and returning to God 00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:40.100 just hovering over 00:27:40.100 --> 00:27:40.940 the great gulf 00:27:40.940 --> 00:27:43.080 till a few moments hence 00:27:43.080 --> 00:27:44.620 I am no more seen. 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:46.000 I drop into 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.719 an unchangeable eternity 00:27:47.719 --> 00:27:48.719 and therefore 00:27:48.719 --> 00:27:49.399 I want to know 00:27:49.399 --> 00:27:50.059 one thing 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:51.779 the way to heaven 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:53.519 how to land safe 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:54.639 on that happy shore. 00:27:55.639 --> 00:27:56.699 God himself 00:27:56.699 --> 00:27:57.559 has condescended 00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:58.739 to teach me the way. 00:27:59.439 --> 00:28:00.379 For this very end 00:28:00.379 --> 00:28:01.439 he came from heaven 00:28:01.439 --> 00:28:03.319 he hath written it down 00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:04.079 in a book 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:05.779 oh give me that book 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:06.959 at any price 00:28:06.959 --> 00:28:08.119 give me the book of God 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:09.159 I have it 00:28:09.159 --> 00:28:10.339 here is knowledge 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.139 enough for me 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:12.060 let me be 00:28:12.060 --> 00:28:13.640 homo unius libri 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:15.300 a man of that one book 00:28:15.300 --> 00:28:17.040 here then I am 00:28:17.040 --> 00:28:18.580 far from the busy ways 00:28:18.580 --> 00:28:18.940 of men 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:20.100 I sit down alone 00:28:20.100 --> 00:28:21.300 only God is here 00:28:21.300 --> 00:28:22.280 in his presence 00:28:22.280 --> 00:28:23.020 I open 00:28:23.020 --> 00:28:24.480 I read his book 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.000 for this end 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:27.940 to find the way 00:28:27.940 --> 00:28:28.920 to heaven. 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:32.100 this week I am going to send you 00:28:32.100 --> 00:28:32.600 a questionnaire 00:28:32.600 --> 00:28:34.740 it will be emailed out 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:35.500 it will just ask you 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:36.640 some very simple questions 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:38.900 about what you have heard 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:40.180 what you remember 00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:41.500 and what you are going to do 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:41.800 about it 00:28:41.800 --> 00:28:42.420 it is anonymous 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:43.940 no one is going to get 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:44.480 a diploma 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:47.160 but it will be really helpful 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:48.500 and I hope 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:49.840 really useful 00:28:49.840 --> 00:28:51.660 as we develop 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:52.680 an attitude 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:53.960 of receiving God's word 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:54.400 humbly 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:56.519 remembering God's word 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:57.440 constantly 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.500 and obeying God's word 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:00.580 wholeheartedly 00:29:00.580 --> 00:29:01.900 let's pray together 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:10.000 the psalmist writes 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.839 I seek you with all my heart 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:13.420 do not let me stray 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:14.480 from your commands 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:15.599 I have hidden 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:16.460 your word 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:17.119 in my heart 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:17.839 that I may not 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:18.680 sin against you 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:20.200 praise be to you 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:20.440 Lord 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:21.880 teach me your decrees 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:23.119 with my lips 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:23.700 I recount 00:29:23.700 --> 00:29:24.460 all the laws 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:25.640 that come from your mouth 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:26.660 I rejoice 00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:27.339 in following 00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:28.180 your statutes 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:29.220 as one rejoices 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:30.819 in great riches 00:29:30.819 --> 00:29:32.180 I meditate 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:33.480 on your precepts 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.920 and consider your ways 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:35.839 I delight 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:36.720 in your decrees 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:37.839 I will not 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:39.180 neglect your word 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:41.320 be good to your servant 00:29:41.320 --> 00:29:42.160 while I live 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:43.660 that I may obey 00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:44.660 your word 00:29:44.660 --> 00:29:46.580 open my eyes 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:47.640 that I may see 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:48.700 wonderful things 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:50.019 in your law 00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:51.060 Father God 00:29:51.060 --> 00:29:51.940 we don't want to be 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:52.580 dilettantes 00:29:52.580 --> 00:29:54.180 Father God 00:29:54.180 --> 00:29:55.160 we want to be people 00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:56.640 like the psalmist 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.160 in Psalm 119 00:29:58.160 --> 00:29:59.360 so Lord 00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:00.200 would you open 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:01.140 our eyes 00:30:01.140 --> 00:30:02.500 that we may see 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:03.340 wonderful things 00:30:03.340 --> 00:30:04.039 in your law 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:05.220 and may we see 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:05.660 your son 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:06.279 with ever 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:07.860 increasing clarity 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:09.740 and may we love him 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:11.179 with all that we are 00:30:11.179 --> 00:30:12.500 Father bless us 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.240 and help us 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:14.079 in Jesus name 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:14.839 Amen 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:26.259 Father G 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:28.179 Father G 00:30:28.179 --> 00:30:29.579 O 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:30.799 Father G 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:31.359 Father G 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:32.159 Father G 00:30:32.159 --> 00:30:32.740 Father G 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:33.319 Father G 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:33.759 Father G 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:34.319 Father G 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.019 Father G 00:30:35.019 --> 00:30:35.779 Father G 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:36.119 Father G 00:30:36.119 --> 00:30:36.819 Father G 00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:37.779 Father G 00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:38.480 Father G 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:38.539 Father G 00:30:38.539 --> 00:30:38.819 Father G 00:30:38.819 --> 00:30:40.139 Father g 00:30:40.139 --> 00:30:40.579 Father G 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:41.240 Father G 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:41.619 Father G 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:41.799 Father G 00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:42.099 Father G 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:42.359 Father G 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:42.500 Father'll 00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:44.480 Son