WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.839 Welcome to the house. My name is Greg. I'm one 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:05.200 of the pastors here. If we have never met before, 00:00:05.339 --> 00:00:07.719 I would love the chance to meet you, maybe buy 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:10.539 a coffee or a soda or something like that, hear 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:13.460 your story, and I get to know you just a little 00:00:13.460 --> 00:00:18.019 bit. We're in the fourth week of our series through 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:20.620 the book of James, and I wanted to draw attention 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:22.539 just really quickly to the graphics. Sometimes, 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.420 like you learned in the last series, that sometimes 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:27.600 there's things in the graphics that maybe you 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:30.739 don't notice. at first glance. And so if you 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:33.840 look at this graphic, this is actually a form 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:40.700 of art. It's called hitomiashi. Hitomiashi. Hitomiashi. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.219 Hitomiashi. And this last year, Cindy was teaching 00:00:46.219 --> 00:00:50.060 arts every day at the local Christian high school. 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:52.539 And this is something that she started doing 00:00:52.539 --> 00:00:56.200 even on her own time. And what's that? You did 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:57.869 it in one of your classes? I did it. Yeah, you 00:00:57.869 --> 00:01:01.450 did it on your own time. And so it's actually 00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:03.850 based on the number of letters there are in something. 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:07.510 So the top row is based off of the phrase, the 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:10.049 letter of James, and the side row is based off 00:01:10.049 --> 00:01:12.790 the brother of Jesus. And every letter gets a 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:14.750 certain number of spaces, and then you connect 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:17.269 them all, and it creates this cool pattern. And 00:01:17.269 --> 00:01:19.629 so I hadn't mentioned that before, so I just 00:01:19.629 --> 00:01:21.689 wanted to draw attention. Cindy made that. And 00:01:21.689 --> 00:01:24.689 I just wanted to thank her for all of her creativity. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:27.599 And the hard work that she puts into that stuff. 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:30.120 All right, so I'm going to say the first thing, 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:32.340 and you guys say the combination, okay? So we'll 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:34.439 start with the easy one. Peanut butter and? Jello. 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:38.439 Salt and? Pepper. Peaches and? Green. Yeah, bacon 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.340 in it. Yes. Green eggs and? Ham. Macaroni and? 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.400 Cheese. Biscuits and? Gravy. Yeah, all right, 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:48.900 how about names? Tom and? Terry. Yeah, Bert and? 00:01:49.379 --> 00:01:53.700 Ernie. Paul and? Goose. Yeah, Bonnie and? Five. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:58.620 Little Diddy. About Jack and Diane. How about 00:01:58.620 --> 00:02:03.079 pen and? Oh, I was going to say paper. Pen and 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:09.500 paper. Yin and? Lock and? See, they start to 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:14.000 change. There's a lot of ones that I think exactly 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.300 what should be said, but then it starts to change. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.819 What about thunder and? Yeah, okay. Any that 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.159 I missed? What did you guys come up with that 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:29.250 I missed? Fish and chips. Mario and Luigi. Chips 00:02:29.250 --> 00:02:38.750 and salsa. What about faith and works? Faith 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:43.889 and works. A few weeks ago, I started this series 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:47.330 saying that James is a book of practical theology. 00:02:47.349 --> 00:02:52.770 He's action -oriented. He's not trying to pontificate. 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:56.099 He's trying to communicate clearly without the 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:58.860 pomp and circumstances. And today, he gets straight 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:01.280 to the point. He wants to make it clear that 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.979 faith and works aren't just a great combination. 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:09.879 They are primary partners. They run together. 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:16.340 They're like best friends. I thought I'd sing 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:24.629 my buddy. Sometimes that friendship forms quickly, 00:03:24.930 --> 00:03:29.490 easily, seamlessly. But sometimes, maybe some 00:03:29.490 --> 00:03:32.490 of us have experienced it, sometimes forming 00:03:32.490 --> 00:03:34.629 that relationship between faith and works is 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:37.530 a little bumpy. But here's the thing. James wants 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:41.810 to make it clear that they belong together. So 00:03:41.810 --> 00:03:43.830 with that, let's open up our Bibles to the book 00:03:43.830 --> 00:03:47.490 of James. We're going to be in chapter 2. James 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:49.430 is closer to the back of the Bible. It goes Hebrews. 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:52.599 James, and then you'll see 1 and 2 Peter, 1 and 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:54.740 2 John. So if you see any of those, you know 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:56.719 that you're in the right neighborhood. If you 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.439 don't have your own Bible, feel free to take 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.800 one of the blue Bibles that are on the table 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.539 at home, or there's Bibles on the bookshelf out 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:06.219 in the lobby, or you can download a Bible from 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:08.780 any of the digital app stores. We like to give 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:11.180 the scriptures our full attention when they are 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.180 read in the context of the sermon. One of the 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:14.840 ways that you can do that is by standing with 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.259 me if you are able or so desired. Otherwise, 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:19.300 let's just give the scriptures our full attention. 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:22.100 I'm going to be reading James 2, starting in 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:27.120 verse 14. It says this. What good is it, my brothers 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.579 and sisters, if someone claims to have faith 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.100 but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:35.279 save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.439 and lacks daily food, and one of you says to 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:40.939 them, go in peace, keep warm, and eat your fill, 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:43.819 and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, 00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:47.920 what is the good of that? So faith by itself. 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:51.819 If it has no works, it's dead. But someone will 00:04:51.819 --> 00:04:54.500 say, you have faith and I have works. Show me 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:56.759 your faith apart from works and I, by my works, 00:04:56.819 --> 00:04:59.740 will show you faith. You believe that God is 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:02.480 one. You do well. Even the demons believe and 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:05.480 shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:07.879 person, that faith apart from works is worthless? 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:10.899 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:14.240 when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.579 see that faith was active along with his works. 00:05:16.990 --> 00:05:19.490 And by works, faith was brought to completion. 00:05:20.089 --> 00:05:23.110 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:26.089 believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:29.170 and he was called the friend of God. You see 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.250 that a person is justified by works and not by 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:34.209 faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:37.149 also justified by works when she welcomed the 00:05:37.149 --> 00:05:39.870 messengers and sent them out by another road? 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:43.209 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, 00:05:43.290 --> 00:05:47.759 so faith without works is also. Let us pray. 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:51.600 God of every tribe, every tongue, every color, 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:54.199 and every nation, we thank you for the scriptures 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:56.399 that we have them to read, to consider, to learn 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.240 from. I pray that whatever you have to teach 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.000 us today, I pray that it would stick, that it 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:03.920 would become a part of the framework of our faith, 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:06.899 that our faith would become stronger as we become 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:11.100 more like your son, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thanks, 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:15.730 y 'all. I can't see. All right, so the first 00:06:15.730 --> 00:06:19.370 thing that he says in this passage is, what good 00:06:19.370 --> 00:06:24.629 is it? What good is it? You've heard that phrase. 00:06:25.850 --> 00:06:29.350 I imagine some of us have used that phrase before. 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:33.569 What good is that? You just did that for me after 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:34.889 I already needed this other thing. What good 00:06:34.889 --> 00:06:38.750 is it now? One commentary wanted to make it perfectly 00:06:38.750 --> 00:06:41.949 clear that James is being purposefully confrontational 00:06:41.949 --> 00:06:46.540 with this passage. He's being intentionally argumentative, 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.379 almost short, because James wants us to feel 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:52.519 like it is ridiculous to say that we have faith, 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:54.660 but we don't have any works that go along with 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:58.740 it. Now, James is not looking for perfection, 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:05.100 but he is saying, if you have the one, the other 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:09.199 should follow. He's saying, what good is it to 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:12.930 have... a car without gas, or a phone with no 00:07:12.930 --> 00:07:16.449 battery. What good is it to have faith with no 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:20.310 actions? Think about it like this. I was actually 00:07:20.310 --> 00:07:24.769 really tempted to go buy like 50 bandanas because 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:29.490 anyone ever been in a three -legged race? The 00:07:29.490 --> 00:07:31.769 dreaded three -legged race where you have to 00:07:31.769 --> 00:07:33.930 tie your ankle to someone else? And I thought, 00:07:34.029 --> 00:07:37.350 oh, wouldn't it be fun to just like see who is 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:39.410 actually willing to try and race across the front? 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:42.639 But we know that what often happens is that people 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.139 fall down in three -legged races because you 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:47.680 tie your ankle to someone else and then you try, 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.660 even though you have never done this before in 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:51.199 your life, suddenly you're supposed to know how 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.519 to run together. Now, when you have faith in 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.920 Jesus, you tie your ankle of faith to an ankle 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:03.519 of need. And then you try to run the race as 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:09.779 best as you can together. And at least... In 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:12.240 this passage, James is saying, if you have faith 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:17.879 in Jesus, you're meant to be tied to the needs 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:24.759 of the people around you. It doesn't make sense 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.860 to James, because it didn't make sense to Jesus 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:36.200 that someone would follow him but not move. Say 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:40.139 it again. It does not make sense to James because 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:42.299 it would not have made sense to Jesus for someone 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:49.039 to say, I'm following you, but not move. Sometimes 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:54.240 faith and works, they get framed as a contradiction. 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.919 But I don't think that they're actually a contradiction. 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:04.799 I coined a word. You guys can use it, popularize 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:08.330 it if you want. I call it a nontradiction. You 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:10.710 know, oohs and ahs. Oh, what a great word you 00:09:10.710 --> 00:09:15.289 came up with, Greg. I know, it's silly. But it's 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:17.049 not a contradiction. I call it a nontradiction. 00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:22.570 Because, yes, Paul says that we are saved by 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:26.429 grace, through faith, not by works that no one 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:29.289 can boast. And then James... It is true that 00:09:29.289 --> 00:09:32.049 James and Paul are both using the same word to 00:09:32.049 --> 00:09:34.090 talk about faith. So you would say, well, now 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:36.529 James is suddenly saying, you have to have works. 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:38.870 And he says, you don't have to have works. You 00:09:38.870 --> 00:09:41.549 just need faith. But when Paul talks about faith 00:09:41.549 --> 00:09:44.309 and he uses that word, he's talking about a faith 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:47.730 that opens our eyes so that we can see that Jesus 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:51.870 is the one that saves us. Faith is what causes 00:09:51.870 --> 00:09:54.669 us to know that we can be in relationship with 00:09:54.669 --> 00:09:58.120 God. Faith is what flips the switch in our hearts 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:02.480 so that we can say yes to following Jesus and 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:07.500 no to leading ourselves. James. James knows all 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:11.480 that. James knows that definition. But he also 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.320 knows that many of the people that will read 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:18.899 his book do not think of faith that way. James 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:22.019 is talking about how we are consistently inclined 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:25.879 to substitute. That kind of faith that Paul is 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.620 talking about with a set of beliefs that we call 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:34.700 our faith. We do it to this day. If you go to 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:37.519 the website of almost any Christian organization, 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:40.320 you will find a page that is the statement of 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:44.740 what? Faith. And most of that statement will 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:47.639 not be a statement of faith as Paul is describing 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:54.120 it. It will be a statement of beliefs. There's 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:57.639 nothing wrong with having a statement of beliefs. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.600 And I know that for some of us it would be like, 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.600 well, this is just semantics. But James knows 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:05.600 that a set of beliefs is not what actually leads 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:07.980 us to provide for the needs of our neighbors. 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:15.879 Faith in Jesus. The kind of faith that is, oh, 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:18.480 it's the switch that's flipped that makes me 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.379 see that I can be in right relationship. That 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:23.500 is the kind of faith that causes there to be 00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:26.679 following and causes us to have movement. And 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.759 James is confronting what we turn faith into. 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:40.740 Because faith in Jesus motivates movement. Jesus 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:43.860 said, let your light so shine before others that 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:46.879 they may see your good works and give glory to 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:51.259 your Father who is in heaven. Jesus said, truly, 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:53.580 truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:57.080 also do the works that I do, and greater works 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.559 than those will he do, because I am going to 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.179 the Father. Jesus said, I was naked, and you 00:12:02.179 --> 00:12:06.039 clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:10.720 was in prison, and you came to me. Jesus had 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:15.259 plenty to say about how if you follow him, movement 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:21.129 will follow. There will be good works. And that 00:12:21.129 --> 00:12:28.350 is why this much seems clear to James. Someone 00:12:28.350 --> 00:12:35.149 among us is naked or hungry. They cannot wear 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:42.490 our set of beliefs. They cannot eat our set of 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:52.210 beliefs. They need us to set the table. to give 00:12:52.210 --> 00:12:59.470 them a set of clothes. James wants us to intentionally 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:05.090 tie our ankle of faith to the ankle of need that 00:13:05.090 --> 00:13:13.850 is near to us. Now, I get it. For some of us, 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:19.470 the resistance to the concept of works isn't 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.899 Really even about thinking that we don't need 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:23.940 works. We all think that doing good things is 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:28.820 a great idea. For some of us, the resistance 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:33.360 isn't that we don't think we need them or even 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:38.340 that we don't want to do good things. For some 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:41.039 of us, it's more about the past experiences and 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.179 how those attempts at doing good things worked 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:50.070 out. Some of us have attempted to serve. to help 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:54.509 to live in active faith and we have face planted. 00:13:57.389 --> 00:14:05.029 And maybe not even because of what we did. Sometimes 00:14:05.029 --> 00:14:08.649 we feel like we tied our ankle of faith to the 00:14:08.649 --> 00:14:15.649 ankle of need and we got pushed down. And it 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:22.259 hurts. The reality is that when we tie our ankle 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:25.379 to someone else's needs, we risk getting hurt. 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:30.100 I've experienced that firsthand. I'm sure you 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:34.259 have too. But this is where we need to be reminded, 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:38.500 and this is important. How someone receives our 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:41.259 good work almost never has anything to do with 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:48.259 us. They have their own wounds. They have their 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:50.360 own hurts. They have their own past. They have 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.740 their own set of experiences. They have their 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:57.940 own reasons for not responding, not running, 00:14:58.059 --> 00:15:03.100 ankle tied, arms around right waist in the same 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:08.539 direction with you. Maybe it's important to hear 00:15:08.539 --> 00:15:13.240 this part as well, that God is not worried about 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.710 the results of your work. As much as God cares 00:15:16.710 --> 00:15:22.649 that you are willing to do the work. I've said 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:25.549 it for years that God isn't looking for your 00:15:25.549 --> 00:15:27.990 abilities. He's looking for your willingness. 00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:33.389 Because God knows that you can't make someone 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:40.190 accept your help. God knows that you can't make 00:15:40.190 --> 00:15:43.899 someone... respond a specific way. God knows 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:46.279 that you aren't in control of what someone else 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:52.299 does or whether they run with you in lockstep. 00:15:55.639 --> 00:16:00.899 You are not responsible for the outcome. Now, 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:04.620 I do not mean that that gives us permission to 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:06.820 be jerks in the way that we work because the 00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:11.519 outcome isn't up to us. It does matter how we 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:15.120 treat people. What I am saying is that God knows 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.120 that the only thing you are really in control 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:22.220 of is whether you will get up and try. Whether 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:25.960 you will follow Jesus into the movement, into 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:33.000 the motion of serving. So whoever it is in the 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.679 room that needs to hear it, you have permission 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:48.440 to let go. To let go of the outcome. I don't 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:51.059 think that the point is that we're supposed to 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:57.679 win the race. I think it's that we need to be 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:04.099 in it. So what do we do with any of this? How 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:06.759 do we participate with it? How do we practice 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.980 this? I just got a few quick things, okay? I 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:11.559 think the first thing, I got three different 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.279 questions. First thing is this, that we can ask 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:18.359 ourselves, who needs something? That I have. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.640 This is a great way to start thinking about what 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:26.279 is the need, what is the ankle of need that I 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.579 need to tie my ankle of faith to? Who needs something 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:36.059 that I have? Now, this might be something small. 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:40.880 Who needs a meal? Who needs a phone call? Who 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.940 needs a second chance? Danny and Liz, raise your 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:50.200 hand. Who needs a ride to a traveling table tonight? 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:56.480 Right? A really simple way to get active in your 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.359 faith is just to meet the need of someone that's 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:00.980 close to you by saying, who needs something I 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:07.599 have? I have a car that works. Oh, can I? Oh, 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:11.500 they live in East Moline. Oh, is it okay if I 00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:15.339 go out of my way? 10 minutes to go pick someone 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:18.500 up so they can experience more of what the community 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:21.660 is being and doing because they're part of the 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:24.640 community. So I'm wondering if someone in this 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.980 room, before you leave here, needs to go tell 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:29.180 Danny and Liz, yeah, I'll come pick you up tonight 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:32.559 for traveling table. We can all ask ourselves, 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:36.000 who needs something that I have? The second thing 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.640 is this. Ask yourself, is my faith in motion? 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:45.750 Newton's first law of motion says that an object 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:50.509 in motion will remain in motion. What is it that 00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:54.569 slows things down? It's friction. Friction is 00:18:54.569 --> 00:18:58.329 what actually causes things to slow down and 00:18:58.329 --> 00:19:01.710 stop. And all of our lives have some level of 00:19:01.710 --> 00:19:10.089 friction directly related to our faith. Doing 00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:12.420 something small today. It can be something that 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.579 can move your faith a little, get it moving just 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:18.039 a little bit. But here's the thing. There's still 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:19.700 going to be friction in your life that's going 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:21.839 to try and slow your faith down and stop it again. 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:28.839 To overcome friction, we need to keep moving. 00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:34.140 I'm not talking about working and never resting. 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:37.720 That's not what I mean. But I am talking about 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:43.880 being intentional. about staying in motion. Let's 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:46.539 be proactive about our faith. Start making a 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:49.700 plan for how you are going to keep your faith 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:52.599 in motion. Things like coming to church, traveling 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.059 tables, friendship, all of these things are great, 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:58.579 but few things keep our faith in motion, like 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:03.319 finding a way to serve someone else. Because 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:07.099 we see Jesus constantly and consistently serving 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:12.059 others. And then last, And I don't know if this 00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:16.579 is for everybody, but I felt like it was important 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:20.519 to say here, some of us need to ask ourselves, 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:28.200 what's my marathon? For some of us, God has been 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:35.599 nudging our hearts about the future. Maybe the 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.460 Holy Spirit's been reminding you that you used 00:20:37.460 --> 00:20:44.690 to love to run. God might be saying, listen, 00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:49.349 you didn't burn out from running. You burned 00:20:49.349 --> 00:20:51.630 out because you didn't know that there was a 00:20:51.630 --> 00:21:02.609 finish line. This time, like I said, I don't 00:21:02.609 --> 00:21:05.670 know who this is for, but I think that God wants 00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:10.049 you to start running again. I'm not talking about 00:21:10.049 --> 00:21:16.390 physically. Talking about spiritually. Think 00:21:16.390 --> 00:21:19.009 that God wants you to run with an end in mind. 00:21:20.789 --> 00:21:24.809 He has a specific race, a specific marathon that 00:21:24.809 --> 00:21:31.049 he's calling you back into. And this time it 00:21:31.049 --> 00:21:32.869 will be healthy because you know that there's 00:21:32.869 --> 00:21:36.289 a finish line. But you have to ask what it is. 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.279 I think that doing any of these things, that 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.140 there can be some fear involved, that it can 00:21:46.140 --> 00:21:49.240 feel scary to step out, it can feel scary to 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.279 volunteer, it can be scary to ask someone if 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:54.519 you can be the person to help meet their need, 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:57.059 it can be scary to dream about the future and 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:59.200 wonder if there is a race that you're meant to 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:09.539 be in and where it might finish. James, really 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:16.740 Jesus, asking us to move forward not just with 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:25.119 beliefs about him but faith in him because our 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:32.359 faith does not come from the results our faith 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:36.480 does not come from the people that we serve our 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:50.619 faith is in Jesus So today I hope that you leave 00:22:50.619 --> 00:22:54.140 with this idea that faith and works is not a 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:59.160 scary concept. It's as simple as a three -legged 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:04.819 race. Just look around for someone's ankle and 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:15.079 then tie yours to it. Amen? Let's pray. Father, 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:18.220 we thank you for silliness. We thank you for 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:23.720 three -legged raises. We thank you for the little 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:27.740 things that we did as children that are so full 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:37.099 of imagery that teach us what you're like. We 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:39.559 confess that it is very difficult to feel like 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:41.799 we are in lockstep with you sometimes, like we 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:46.750 are. running the race very well. But I ask that 00:23:46.750 --> 00:23:48.730 your Holy Spirit would come and be a comforter 00:23:48.730 --> 00:23:56.650 and then an encourager. That the race is still 00:23:56.650 --> 00:24:05.410 there. There's still so much that you have for 00:24:05.410 --> 00:24:11.349 us to be, to do, to run alongside you with. I 00:24:11.349 --> 00:24:14.029 pray that our hearts would be open to what that 00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:23.750 work is, that it would be healthy. Help us to 00:24:23.750 --> 00:24:28.009 care about each other, because what good is it 00:24:28.009 --> 00:24:32.670 to say that we have faith, but then not love 00:24:32.670 --> 00:24:36.390 our neighbor as ourselves, and to serve them 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:41.039 as you would serve? We love you. We love you. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:43.779 Amen.