WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Clay and Choir Grant for leading us. Well, I counted, I think 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:11.320 ! There's five open chairs up here, so five of you need to... 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:11.200 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.039 We had baptism, we had three families that joined, a commissioning service. Those are 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:42.179 great things to celebrate and be thankful for of what God is doing. And I'm grateful 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:47.820 to be able to continue to open up God's Word and teach through it. But I'm going to say 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:51.519 this, and if I'm completely honest, and I know you're probably thinking, well, Brett, you're 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:56.960 a pastor, you should be completely honest. But if I'm completely honest, this is a passage 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.460 of James. And this is going to kind of sound strange to say, especially with James, of 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:06.420 where he steps on your toes, because honestly, James steps on your toes all throughout the 00:01:06.420 --> 00:01:13.060 book of James. But this one in particular is one that kind of hits near and dear to many 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:19.060 of us, because James is addressing some things that the church was dealing with as far as 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:25.500 riches go in dealing with money. And I haven't really been looking forward to addressing this 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:31.939 one because, well, probably for several reasons. One, anytime you talk about money, people automatically 00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:37.239 say, well, here we go again. Preacher's talking about money again. It'll never be enough. And 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:42.519 so we immediately go into that sometimes. But hopefully if you've been coming for a while, 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.819 you'll realize that's not something that we address any more than it comes up in Scripture. 00:01:47.420 --> 00:01:51.700 As we work our way through Scripture and as we go verse by verse through these books of 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:55.920 the Bible, we address them as they come up. But it is something you think about because 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:00.659 many visitors, in fact, I was talking to some of our regulars before the service that they 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:05.939 actually shared that at some points in their lives, when they didn't attend regularly, it 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:11.280 felt like every time they came, every time they attended, the pastor was talking about money. 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:16.120 And so I'm always guarded with that a little bit. But I think more than any of those things, 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:21.740 it's challenging this week. It's one that I've not been looking forward to because it's something 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:28.920 that we all, myself included, have to really take a hard look at our life and see how it is 00:02:28.920 --> 00:02:37.500 we are using those finances that God has blessed us with. And so James here, in James chapter 5, 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:45.719 he addresses a delicate subject, let's just say in a not so delicate way. He goes straight to the 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:51.439 heart. In fact, I want you to listen how Kent Hughes begins to talk about this passage and reflect on this. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:00.079 He says, James's attack in the opening paragraph of chapter 5 can only be described as seething. 00:03:00.860 --> 00:03:08.079 It is so fierce that Upton Sinclair, the novelist and social reformer, once read a paraphrase of this 00:03:08.079 --> 00:03:15.699 section to a group of ministers after attributing it to Emma Goldman, an anarchist agitator. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:45.699 He said, 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:52.060 very humble manner, but also realizing that this is God's word. And it's all profitable for each and 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:58.359 every one of us. And so we don't skip sections. We teach through them. And so it is a difficult passage 00:03:58.359 --> 00:04:04.139 though, not because there's a deep theological truth that we must wrap our minds around that's 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:11.819 hard for us to understand, but it's a difficult passage because James is addressing a blind spot that 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:19.500 many of us may have. And I would say that a blind spot is an area that we can't see or have trouble 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:26.579 seeing reality. And so a blind spot would be anything that we have trouble really seeing what is actually 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:33.699 true in our lives, where we actually have, we have trouble seeing the reality of, of what is at play in 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:39.779 our lives. But oftentimes we think of it in, in terms of driving a car. And I'm sure we've all experienced 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:45.199 those blind spots as you're driving in the car, especially if you're trying to change lanes in 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:49.619 Atlanta. You're trying to change lanes. You check your rear view mirror, you check your side mirror, 00:04:49.799 --> 00:04:55.500 you put your blinker on, you begin to go over only to hear someone laying on the horn. And so you 00:04:55.500 --> 00:05:03.419 swerve back over into your lane. Those would be blind spots. And isn't it amazing that something as 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:09.120 large as a car that's so close to you that if somebody in the backseat could roll down their window, 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:18.340 reach out and touch it, yet it's a blind spot. Something that large, that close to us, that we can 00:05:18.340 --> 00:05:24.920 almost reach out and touch, yet it's hard for us to actually see. And I would say that's not only the 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:33.259 case when it comes to cars and driving, but often is the case when it comes to us as followers of Christ. 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:41.740 Oftentimes we have blind spots in our walk with Christ where we see what we want to see. We, we see 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:47.660 what we want to see when it comes to Scripture. We, we make up our minds about something and then we try 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:56.640 to do a search and find a passage of Scripture that will proof text, that will try to reinforce our 00:05:56.640 --> 00:06:03.200 belief, even if that means taking that verse out of context. But we see what we want to see all the 00:06:03.200 --> 00:06:09.580 time, oftentimes so much so that there's actually a scientific word for it. It's called motivated 00:06:09.580 --> 00:06:17.640 perception, where your needs, preferences, wants, or desires can actually shape the way you 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:27.000 perceive reality, where you actually begin to see only what you want to see. And if you don't believe 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:34.000 me, then put an Auburn fan and a Bulldog fan, a Georgia fan in the room, watch the last two minutes of 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:39.879 the first half of last night's gaming, you will see what I mean. You can see whatever you want to see, because 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:45.879 you're going to have two very strong opinions on it. So, so this motivated perception here, where you see only 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:53.300 what you want to see what you want to see is dangerous when it comes to the life of a believer. And the only 00:06:53.300 --> 00:07:02.259 real solution that I see when it comes to having truth spoken to our lives is to see the Word of God as 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:10.860 authoritative in our lives, where that is the basis that we measure everything else on. Because our feelings, 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:17.379 our judgments, our judgments oftentimes are motivated by our own personal preferences, and they can become 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:23.300 blind spots for us. And so with this in mind, I invite you to turn with me to James chapter 5. I know 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:29.139 you're all very excited to hear what James has to say now with that introduction, but James chapter 5, 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.939 the first six verses, I want us to read now. It says this, 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:43.699 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:51.319 your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:58.959 against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:06.719 the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against 00:08:06.719 --> 00:08:13.439 you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:20.199 earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:28.039 condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. And so this is definitely 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:35.139 a passage where James uses some very strong words. In this passage, he uses words that are very direct 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:44.139 and pointed, and I would say they are intentionally shocking to grab our attention. He does this because 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:51.440 he knows that these are going to be difficult truths for us to see. And he doesn't want to run the risk 00:08:51.440 --> 00:09:01.080 of someone trying to soften this message and to justify their actions. He wants us to see very clearly 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:09.500 the very real risk for those who love money more than anything else. And so the first thing he does to 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:18.400 show this risk is this. James highlights the foolishness of putting your hope in wealth. The first thing that 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:26.039 he does to warn us is James highlights the foolishness of putting your hope in wealth. He says, 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:34.199 come now you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and 00:09:34.199 --> 00:09:41.600 your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:48.659 against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:55.040 The rich that James is addressing most likely in this passage are not the Christian believers, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:10:00.840 not the Christian church that he's writing to. And this is something that was kind of new for me to 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:06.399 think about this way, but several commentators point out that they're most likely the wealthy 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:12.079 non-Christians who were oppressing the Christian community that he's already mentioned back in 00:10:12.079 --> 00:10:20.819 chapter 2 of James. But having said this, this does not mean that this passage does not apply to 00:10:20.819 --> 00:10:26.399 believers. Please, when you hear that, don't say, well, this isn't for me. I can just tune everything 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:34.600 else out now because nothing could be further from the truth. What, which is actually, so it doesn't 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:42.899 mean that wealth is sinful in itself, but what it does mean is that wealth is sinful when we begin 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:49.460 to attribute characteristics to it that it doesn't need, that it can't hold up, that it can't withstand. 00:10:49.800 --> 00:10:54.820 When we start putting pressure on it and putting our hope in it and thinking that it's going to 00:10:54.820 --> 00:11:02.120 deliver on what it promises, then it becomes a struggle for us. But it doesn't mean that wealth in 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:07.820 itself is sinful, which is really good news for pretty much everyone living in the United States. 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:14.720 Now, when I say this, I don't want to minimize any struggles that those here in the church or in our 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:22.740 community may be going through. We have desperate situations all around us. We have people struggling 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:29.720 to pay bills, not sure where their next meal is going to come from. But when you look at where many 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:39.960 are in America compared to where many are around the world, most of us are pretty wealthy. And so this 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:48.340 passage is not saying that wealth is sinful by itself, but rather the misuse of wealth is sinful. 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:55.879 Douglas Moo, he has become one of my favorite commentators to read looking through the book of 00:11:55.879 --> 00:12:03.500 James. He notes this, reflecting on this. He says, although some traditions appear to condemn the rich 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:11.519 merely because they are rich, in the New Testament, at least, condemnations of wealthy people are almost 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:20.899 always attributed to the misuse of wealth. Having said this, he goes on to say, we must caution against 00:12:20.899 --> 00:12:29.559 the tendency for Western Christians, most of whom are wealthy in comparative terms, to dismiss as 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:36.840 entirely irrelevant to us the teaching of a paragraph like this. In other words, what he's saying is, 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:45.240 don't let this become a blind spot in your life. Once we realize that this message is a message for all 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:52.060 of us, we can begin to see the foolishness of putting our hope in wealth. James addresses this 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:59.519 in three different areas that many would see wealth in at this day and time. One of those areas that 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:06.159 people would measure wealth in is in their accumulation of grains, of harvested grain. And so if you had an 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:10.740 abundance of harvested grain, you would be wealthy because you wouldn't have to worry about where those 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:17.600 mills were coming from. You could use it to barter and to trade for things. Wealth would be measured by 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:23.919 the garments that you had, the clothing that you wore. You could see that as an investment almost, 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:30.580 that it would be seen as a way of showing wealth. And then as always, that has always been the case, 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:37.440 of precious metals, gold and silver. And so James addresses all of these things and he's clearly saying 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:44.700 that it is foolish for you to put your hope in sinful excess that will not last. He says, 00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:52.500 your grains have rotted, your clothes are moth-eaten and ruined, and the gold and silver that you have 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:59.600 have corroded. In other words, everything that you have gone, that you have, that when everything is 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:03.980 gone, that you've put your hope in, you realize that you don't have anything to show for it. 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:12.879 Nothing but misery and weeping. One day, when you take your last breath, those riches will do you no 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:20.920 good. But what you do with that wealth can have an eternal impact. And this is what James is wanting 00:14:20.920 --> 00:14:27.600 us to see here. Don't put your hope in things that are going to be here one day and go on the next. 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:33.840 Don't put your hope in things that when you take your final breath, it won't matter how much you have. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:39.500 But instead, invest your life, invest your treasure, invest your wealth in things that will have 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:47.960 an eternal impact. Several commentators and pastors have used an example over the years of a lady by the 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:57.580 name of Bertha Adams. Now, Bertha was a 71-year-old lady when she passed away on Easter Sunday, 1976, 00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:05.480 in Clearwater, Florida. And the coroner's report stated that the cause of death was malnutrition. 00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:12.580 When she passed away at the time of her death, she had wasted away to 50 pounds. I have a six-year-old 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:18.240 who weighs 50 pounds. And so when she had passed away, she had wasted away to 50 pounds. And when the 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:24.460 police officers began to investigate her situation, they started asking her neighbors about what was 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:30.980 going on. And they said, yes, we knew Bertha. She would oftentimes come around begging for food or 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:36.360 clothing. And we would give her some here and there, what we had. And so, yes, we knew her. And then the 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:41.700 police did a further investigation and found, when they entered to her home, one of the biggest messes 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:48.139 you have ever seen in your life. In fact, there was one senior police officer noted that he had never 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:55.580 seen a dwelling in greater disarray. But upon further investigation, because you would think 00:15:55.580 --> 00:16:01.080 that, oh, what a poor person that she must have been, that she was forgotten, that she didn't have 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:07.799 anything. But upon further investigation, they found two keys in her apartment, in her home there. 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:12.819 And they took the keys and realized they were to two safe deposit boxes at different banks. 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:19.240 And so they went to one bank, opened up the safe deposit box, and they realized that she had over 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:27.120 700 stock certificates to AT&T and many other valuable stock certificates to other companies, 00:16:27.780 --> 00:16:37.420 along with $200,000 in cash. And they went to the other safe deposit box that she owned, and they opened 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:45.579 it up. There were no stock certificates in it, but there was $600,000 in cash in this safe deposit box. 00:16:45.959 --> 00:16:51.659 When you add up the sum total of everything that she had, she had well over a million dollars 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:58.059 in the bank, just sitting there, waiting for her to use. And a million dollars is a lot now, 00:16:58.199 --> 00:17:06.500 but it's a whole lot in 1976. And so this lady was very wealthy. And so now I'm not sure how many in 00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:11.359 our country would fall into the category that Bertha finds herself in there, where they have so much 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:18.859 wealth stockpiled in the bank. But I think many of us are guilty of hoarding things that may not, 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:24.339 or that don't have an eternal significance. They may not be sitting in a safe deposit box somewhere, 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:31.119 but we have them sitting all over our homes and around our homes, and things that we have invested in, 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:40.479 that will not have an eternal significance. All while there are real legitimate needs going unmet in 00:17:40.479 --> 00:17:45.759 our community and around the world. So what does this mean for us today? Well, first of all, the Bible 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:53.839 does not discourage wise saving and provision for needs. In fact, it encourages it in different places. 00:17:54.279 --> 00:18:00.779 And so this not saying that it is unwise to save and to put back and to make sure that you have 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:08.359 enough to take care of yourself and those in your home. But what we also see, there is a big difference 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:17.539 between the wise accumulation of savings and the vast accumulation of wealth focused solely on expanding 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:26.160 one's own comfort and pleasures. That the Bible does speak against. You see, Jesus was very clear about 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:32.040 the foolishness of this when he speaks on the Sermon on the Mount. And I think you may recognize very 00:18:32.040 --> 00:18:38.980 similar language that James uses here. It's very similar to the language that Jesus uses in the 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:45.100 Sermon on the Mount. But I want you to listen to these words. This is what Jesus says on the Sermon on 00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:51.519 the Mount. He says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where 00:18:51.519 --> 00:19:09.400 thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where your treasure 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:19.460 is, there your heart will be also. This statement to me is both telling and guiding. It's telling in the 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:25.660 sense that if we want to know where our heart is, then we look at our finances. This is something that 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:30.740 I shared years ago as I think I was still youth pastor at the time. And I had the opportunity to 00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:36.340 preach. And I said, if you really want to know what is most valuable to you, if you want to know what 00:19:36.340 --> 00:19:41.840 those idols are in your life, then take a look at your bank account because what you spend your 00:19:41.840 --> 00:19:49.039 money on is going to be what is most valuable to you. And I'll never forget, Tim Hale came up to me 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:54.680 either after the service or maybe a week later. And in a way that only Tim Hale could do, he says, 00:19:54.740 --> 00:20:00.879 Brett, I've really been thinking about what you said. And I think I know that I have an idol in my 00:20:00.879 --> 00:20:06.319 life. He says, I've been looking at my bank account. And the thing that I spend the most money on 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:13.819 is health insurance. So health insurance must be my idol. And I was like, Tim, okay, you, I think you 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:19.939 understand where I'm going with this. But he, he jokingly said that, but, but we spend our finances 00:20:19.939 --> 00:20:27.019 on, on what is most valuable to us. And they can be a real good indication of what it is that we value 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:34.839 most. But listen to how Jesus says this, because it's not just a indication. It's not just telling us 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:41.179 where our heart is, but it's also showing us where our heart can go. Because this is how Jesus says it. 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:50.940 He says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus is giving us a formula here 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:59.840 to guide our hearts. How you spend your treasure will guide where your heart is. Randy Alcorn, 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:06.680 he says it this way. He says, this is an amazing and exciting truth. He says, if I want my heart to be 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:14.000 in one particular place and not another, then I need to put my money in that place and not the other. 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:20.779 What this means for us is that we can guide our hearts. If you want a heart for missions, 00:21:21.060 --> 00:21:27.400 then there's a formula to be able to have a heart for missions. Invest your treasure there. If you want 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:31.720 your heart to be in the church and the things of God, then, then there's a formula. You can invest 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:37.640 your treasure there. But the reverse is also true. If we want our heart to be in the things of this 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:43.160 world, if we want our heart to be in a particular political party or a sports team or whatever the 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:50.740 case may be, then we invest our treasure there and our heart follows. Where you invest your treasure, 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:57.259 your heart will follow. I see it all the time when we take people on mission trips. If you want to see 00:21:57.259 --> 00:22:02.900 someone who develops a heart for a place, then take them on a mission trip to that place. They've 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:09.279 invested their time and their resources there. They've invested their treasure there. And now when 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:16.379 they see something on the world news of a political uprising or maybe a natural disaster, all of a 00:22:16.379 --> 00:22:21.940 sudden their heart is moved by compassion and they start thinking about the people that are there. 00:22:22.379 --> 00:22:27.079 Why? Because their heart is there. And why is their heart there? Because their treasure was 00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:34.480 there. They invested in those areas. And so it's a way to guide our hearts. You see, the Bible doesn't 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:43.559 say that wealth is a sin, but it very clearly states the selfish use and pursuit of it is. And so we must 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:50.460 ask ourselves a very telling question. We must ask ourselves a question that not only do we ask, 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:56.159 but we truly think about. And it's this, am I foolishly putting hope in riches? 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:06.180 Or am I using what God has blessed me with for his purposes? Now it's more than just asking the 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:12.259 question. It's thinking about it and actually being truthful about it and not letting it become 00:23:12.259 --> 00:23:19.120 a blind spot to us. Lastly, the last thing that I want us to see from this passage is this. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:28.139 James highlights the danger to others when we put our hope in wealth. James highlights the danger to 00:23:28.139 --> 00:23:34.199 others when we put our hope in wealth. To begin with, we talked about the foolishness of it in 00:23:34.199 --> 00:23:39.399 ourselves and how it affects our relationship with God. But now we see that it's more than just 00:23:39.399 --> 00:23:45.039 foolishness on our part, but it's actually a danger to others. He says this, 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:50.759 behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, 00:23:51.139 --> 00:23:57.240 are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of 00:23:57.240 --> 00:24:03.480 hosts. You have lived a life in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:11.779 in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:19.039 One of the ways that James highlights the danger to others when our focus becomes on acquiring wealth 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:26.039 and spending it only on us is that it's unfair to others. James specifically says that they have 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:31.960 cheated workers out of their pay. Now, this isn't something new to James. You see it also being an 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:37.700 issue that Moses addresses back at the beginning of the Bible. And I would say that it's probably 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:46.299 something that was going on long before Moses was alive, but where people are cheating people out 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:51.980 of their wages. But I also want us to see something else here that's going on. And to do that, I want us 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:57.700 to skip down to verse six. We'll come back to five, but skip down to verse six. And it says this, 00:24:58.840 --> 00:25:05.740 you have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. This is some pretty strong 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:12.880 language, isn't it? That James is using. Were the rich unbelievers actually murdering the Christians? 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:19.059 Were they actually murdering the believers here in Jerusalem? Well, probably not, at least not directly 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:26.039 anyway. But some believe that they could have been manipulating the court system to bring about murders. 00:25:26.819 --> 00:25:32.039 Others believe that it was because they were withholding the basic necessities to live that 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:39.099 in an indirect way. They were murdering and killing others. While some of these aspects of what James is 00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:46.799 saying are not very clear to us, what is clear is that James is calling out the wealthy for using their 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:54.000 wealth and influences to live above the law and harming many in the process. He's calling them out 00:25:54.000 --> 00:26:00.039 for using their wealth and their influence to live above the law and when it was harming other people 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:07.059 around them. So what does it look like to only focus on yourself? Well, that's what verse five tells us. 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:15.180 He says, you have lived a life, you have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:22.399 your hearts in a day of slaughter. Clearly, James is saying, instead of looking out for the needs of others 00:26:22.399 --> 00:26:27.319 and the oppressed and the less fortunate, you have turned all of your attention on yourself. 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:34.379 You've lived this life of self-indulgence where everything you acquire seems to only be used 00:26:34.379 --> 00:26:41.779 for you while others around you are struggling, while others around you are in desperate need, 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:47.720 living a life of indulgence while others around you struggle. And I think when we read this, 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:54.980 it's easy for us to think, man, things must have been really bad back then. The wealthy could get away 00:26:54.980 --> 00:27:03.680 with anything. Unfortunately, this discrepancy in power being given to the wealthy doesn't seem to 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:09.319 only be a problem at certain points in history. It seems to be a problem all throughout history. 00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:16.380 However, this ought not to be the case for believers. This should not be something that 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:24.320 characterizes the way that we live our lives. We who have advantages in education, wealth, and perhaps 00:27:24.320 --> 00:27:30.360 positions should not exploit those positions, should not exploit those advantages, but rather 00:27:30.360 --> 00:27:37.280 use those in order to have influence and use those in a way to build others up and to speak out for those 00:27:37.280 --> 00:27:43.900 who may not have a voice, to be there for those who may not have a meal on the table, to look out for 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:50.300 the less fortunate, to use what God has given us in a way that doesn't just look out for our needs, 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:57.160 but sees the needs of others around us and use those needs in a way to honor and glorify God. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:04.860 So then what are we going to do with our wealth? How are we going to use this? And I think it's 00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:11.360 important to ask several questions in our lives. One of those questions, Kent Hughes points out, he says 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:19.299 this, we should ask these questions. Do I hoard? Am I guilty of over-accumulation of wealth? Have I ever, 00:28:19.439 --> 00:28:28.039 or am I now defrauding someone? Is there financial deception in my life? Have I succumbed to the culture 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:38.199 siren song of self-indulgence? Are there sub-Christian excesses in my life? Have I murdered another, 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:46.500 that is, have I victimized someone because of a power advantage that I possess? What you begin to 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:53.519 see very clearly in direct and indirect ways is that a selfish focus on the accumulation of wealth 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:59.980 and the spending of wealth is not only harming ourselves and harming our walk with God, but it's 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:08.259 also dangerous to others. So how then do we combat this? What are some ways that we can, can speak out 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:13.160 against this? What are some ways that we can, can put this into practice in our life? And I think one of 00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:22.480 those ways is gaining the right perspective in our life. It's true. If we truly see our completely hopeless 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:30.180 and helpless state apart from God, then it changes us. If we truly see that apart from Jesus, we are 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:37.220 completely and utterly hopeless and helpless, then all of a sudden we see what Jesus has done for us 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:43.519 in new light. We see it as our greatest treasure. And once we see this as our greatest treasure, 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:49.900 then it will cause us to think differently about our earthly treasures. It will cause us to think 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:55.980 differently about what God has given to us. And I think another way that we can combat the power, 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:03.660 wealth, and desire have in our lives is that we leverage the power treasure has to guide our hearts. 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:12.540 We begin to leverage the power that treasure has to guide our hearts. We take seriously what Jesus says, 00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:22.019 where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We take that as truth, that we understand that 00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:29.180 if we want our heart to be in a certain place, then we begin investing our treasure there. But I think 00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:35.960 also we see the importance of accountability in our lives. You see, blind spots are blind spots for a 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:43.900 reason. It's difficult for us to see them. And sometimes we need other people to help us see them. 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:50.160 Sometimes we need other people to speak truth into our lives. And so we need that accountability in our 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:57.420 lives to see those blind spots and to do something about them. But ultimately, the only way we're going to 00:30:57.420 --> 00:31:05.539 see real lasting change is through a relationship with Jesus. Once we have a greater treasure, 00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:12.440 once we have a far more precious treasure, then it changes everything about us. And so maybe you're 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:16.380 here today and you're thinking, well, this sounds great, Brett, but it's, it sounds really difficult to, 00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:22.539 to, to change the way that I think about my wealth and my treasure and the things on this earth and 00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:27.420 thinking about accumulating those things. And you're right, it is. And in fact, the only way that you're 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:33.340 going to own, to have traction in doing this is through a relationship with Jesus. And so maybe you're 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:38.279 here today and that's where we need to begin. That's where we need to start. We need to understand 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:44.279 that we are sinners and we can't do anything about it. But Jesus left the glory of heaven, 00:31:44.879 --> 00:31:50.399 lived the life that we couldn't live, died the death that we deserve so that we can have a relationship 00:31:50.399 --> 00:31:58.299 with him. And once we see this as our greatest treasure, then it changes everything. But I encourage 00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:03.899 you this morning in a very difficult passage, like we find ourselves in today, not difficult to 00:32:03.899 --> 00:32:11.079 understand, but difficult to apply. I encourage us to take an honest look at our lives. What is it that 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:17.460 we're using our treasure for? And are we using it in a way that brings God's name, honor, and glory? 00:32:17.460 --> 00:32:25.200 Or are we seeking to only think about ourselves? Father, thank you so very much for your word. We thank you 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:31.680 even for difficult passages like this, because it's in these difficult passages that we're reminded of 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:37.700 our desperate need for you. It's in these difficult passages we're reminded that you are our greatest 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:45.140 treasure. And so Lord, it's difficult for us because of our hardness of heart at times. And so Lord, I ask 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:52.160 you to open up those blind spots in my life where I may not clearly be seeing what you've called me to 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:59.519 do. Help me be open to those who are going to speak truth and life into those areas. And help me see 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:06.100 your word as authoritative in all that we say and do. And so God, we thank you for that. We thank you 00:33:06.100 --> 00:33:11.600 for all that you do for us. And I pray that if there's someone here today that's never placed their 00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:17.820 faith and their trust in you as their Lord and Savior, that today would be that day. Today would be 00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:24.259 the day that go from death to life and see you as that greatest treasure. But Lord, I pray that you 00:33:24.259 --> 00:33:31.059 be with us. I pray that you give us the boldness and courage to apply this to our lives. And we ask 00:33:31.059 --> 00:33:38.460 all this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Amen. I want to invite you to take your seeing hymnal and turn to 00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:45.759 hymn number 415, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. And if God is speaking to you this morning, 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:48.960 I want you to respond as we stand together and sing.