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So, as I mentioned in the beginning of service, we continue now to chapter two of the book

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of James where we're taking pretty much this time through April and May up until summer

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of Psalms starting in June to look at every verse in the gospel, or not in the gospel

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of James, that's not a thing, but in the epistle of James.

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It's the half-brother of Jesus writing to Jews, Gentiles, helping them understand life after

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Christ in the sense of life transformation or in reform words the sanctification and

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regeneration of the heart that we were living dead, now with Christ we live alive and now

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that means something.

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And I offered a thought before I gave God's greeting that as we talk about a sovereign

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God in our church and that is a core belief of reform theology that God is sovereign,

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and again we already did a sermon about it, I'm sure we'll do more, but if God is sovereign

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then the works that we are to do in life as a believer is expected.

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Now let me ask a question, how many of you did chores growing up?

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Okay, how many of you didn't?

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I cannot believe you rose your hand.

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But okay, so this might not make any sense to Jess as you literally were the only one,

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but so this, or maybe it's for Jess, we don't know, but was there expecting of chores growing

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up?

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Like you didn't have a choice, right?

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What happens if you didn't do the chore?

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Grounded, straight up, wow, that, like, okay, didn't you grounded?

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What else?

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Couldn't go out, absolutely, things were taken away.

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How many of you the chores equaled allowance?

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Wow, think about all the hands that went up that you had to do chores and you guys were

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a bunch of suckers, you got no money for it.

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What did you get?

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And don't tell me the Dutch work ethic.

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What?

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Dinner.

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Father, we pray for the Montman family, we pray for the scarring of those hearts, no,

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that it's an understanding that there was an expectation on our life.

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If our boys were here, they would know that it's not just a free ride until you're married.

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That's not how it is in our house.

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That they are expected to do things.

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And again, I get all the different kinds of excuses.

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I have my analytic one, how many people know who the analytic one is?

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You can name his name, who's the analytic one?

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They're not here.

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Joey, right?

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Yes, so he will calculate how many times he actually took the garbage cans out, brought

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them in, and then he will then kind of didact that from how little Teddy has done that and

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he will make sure he makes that connection to the point where he would even say, I think

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I deserve more allowance, and he starts bartering with me.

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He's 11.

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Oh, I pray for his future wife one day.

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That is going to be interesting.

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But it's this understanding that, yes, there are things to do.

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In the Holland owner house, we get to work.

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Because if mom has to do all the things, that's not a happy house.

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Okay?

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Notice how I said that.

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I take part in that too, right?

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I do not want mom to do all of the things.

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But there's an expectation that comes.

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Now we waited until they could at least walk, and then we put that on them.

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I don't know when you guys started chores, but there's an expectation.

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If I may be so bold as the pastor of this church, I do have an expectation on all of

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you that if you claim Jesus is Lord, that you are going to join me and your elders and

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deacons in the work of the church.

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Now I have that expectation of you.

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I hold an even greater expectation to those names that have been pulled out as lots.

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That if you are an elder and a deacon, you are expected to get to work.

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Right?

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Because elders and deacons that don't take an active part in the body of Christ, yet

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think their vote should matter, that doesn't make any sense.

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And believe me, I've said this to our council before, so this isn't the first time they're

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hearing it.

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If it is, they weren't listening.

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But understand there's an expectation when it comes to faith.

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Now notice I made a dichotomy that those of you that are here that maybe don't claim Jesus

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is the Lord of your life, maybe you're trying out church, maybe you're trying out Christianity,

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you're kind of seeing how this faith shirt fits or so, that this isn't necessarily for

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you.

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Now I would encourage you to be a moral person in the world that our laws come out of the

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Ten Commandments.

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Right?

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That's not a shocker.

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You're not just allowed to go and murder people in this country or steal from them without

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even though we're seeing, anyway, that's all, never mind.

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But understand that with Christ there's a difference.

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That when Christ is living in you and you have the hope of glory, this is going to be

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awkward, how dare we not do anything about it or do anything with it?

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Now I told them I wasn't going to introduce him but since I asked questions I'm going

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to ask Reverend Van Lew, right?

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So Reverend Van Lew is here if you want to know who he is.

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He's the bottom picture over there.

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He was, as Ellie said, one of Besine's favorites and I told her I won't take that personally.

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But Reverend Van Lew, as a pastor for how many years?

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Forty years.

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Was it frustrating for you to see people of God just sit on their faith?

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Yes, absolutely.

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And what is your encouragement to a church to go out and be active, maybe like when they

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were here?

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What is your encouragement for them today?

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Do what?

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Say that again.

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No, you walked right into it.

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Do whatever with their what?

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Does anyone else, what did he say?

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You couldn't hear.

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You said gifts.

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Interesting.

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Do whatever you can with your gifts.

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So not only is Reverend Holland saying it, with only 17 years in, Reverend Van Lew of

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40 plus is saying you're gifted.

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You're gifted, go do something with it for the gospel.

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So a sovereign God over our lives is expecting us to do some things.

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But the struggle we have is not only how we do it, but who do we do it to?

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Who is it that we're supposed to minister to?

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Who are we supposed to walk alongside?

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And if we're being honest, and I hope we are every Sunday morning, is that it should be

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anybody.

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Even the people that look different than you.

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That act different than you.

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We do a really good job of loving churches and being a part of churches where everybody

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is pretty much exactly the same.

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And we think, and I've said this before, that we think talking to saved people about Jesus'

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evangelism, it's not.

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It's just a spiritual conversation.

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That what we are called to do is faith in action, the book of James, right?

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That our faith is grown, our faith is tested, tried, and made true with the people that

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we walk with in life.

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Now let's do that rung.

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So in pre-marital, I talk about the center target.

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That Maddie, you're getting married in how many days?

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48 days, but who's counting?

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So you and Kyle, on that day, something's going to be established.

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It's going to be you two and Jesus, the center of that target.

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That that is that room of intimacy that the Lord is calling them to be together forever.

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That bond of three strands, that cord of three strands not easily broken.

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So it's them and Jesus.

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Then you have family, one day kids, you have professions, neighbors, coworkers, it all

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kind of rings out.

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And it's careful not to let all of that into that room of intimacy.

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But if we go to the next rung, living out our faith for our family, absolutely.

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Some of you, that might not be easy because you may come from families that don't have

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believers in them.

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Or some of you may have people in your family of people that walked away.

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Or some of you, you have people in your family that have never been in church and want nothing

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to do with church, reject the light and love to live in the dark.

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So but family, okay, what if I said, I want you in the next week to think of a family

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member that doesn't know Jesus and share the gospel with him this week.

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How many of you would be super comfortable to do that?

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I'll wait.

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So right then and there, we're throwing up a roadblock.

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And I know that it's not because everybody in your family is saved.

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Because I know a lot of you and that's not the case.

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Yet it's, ooh, I don't know if I want to do that.

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I don't know if I want to rock the boat.

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I don't know if I because that, oh, that next family party is going to be real awkward.

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Or you know what?

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We've decided in our family, we don't do politics and we don't do religion.

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How does that work?

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When we're believers, we're called to do it, that we say to my family members, not going

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to go there.

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My hope and my prayer is that you're not too late or then all of a sudden you and I are

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sitting in my office and you're mourning the fact that you never took the opportunity.

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But we like to hold partiality with the people we want to bring to Jesus.

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Well, we're not alone.

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James is writing to a church that did the same thing.

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James 2, starting with verse 1, my brother, show no partiality as you hold the faith in

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our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

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If a man is wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your assembly and a poor man in

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shabby clothes comes in and if you pay attention to one, the one who wears the fine clothing

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and says, sit here in the good place, while you say to the poor man, sit over there or

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sit down at my feet, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil

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thoughts?

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So he's writing a very, this isn't hyperbole, all right?

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This isn't like guess what I'm trying to say, this is James laying it out there pretty thick.

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That there were people in the churches in the first century that when you came in and

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people did this and they do it in a different way now, but people came in and adorned all

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of their finest.

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And guess what?

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The churches were treating them differently.

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It's one of the things I love about my job that I can tell my deacons and tell my council,

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I never want to know what anybody gives.

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I don't want to know what they make.

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I do not want any of that conversation.

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But it's also for you to pray for your deacons who knows that information.

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And that can be a burden at times because our human nature is exactly what James is

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calling out.

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What if this was a church of homeless people that look and act very different than us?

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And some of you might dare say, well, no, no, no, no, no, no, they don't have to come

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here.

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We have Pastor Jameel's church across the street.

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If I ever hear that, that's not going to go well.

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But this is what James is talking about.

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That we cannot sit and be the judge of people that look and act differently regardless

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of whether we agree with whatever that they are bringing.

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Because if you put that judgment on someone coming to the house of the Lord, you are literally

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putting something between in your mind that they are not good enough to be here.

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Let me just get this out of the way in case there's any confusions.

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None of us are good enough to be here.

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We come here as a hospital for the sick.

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If you're here, you are admitting you are sick.

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That you have parts of your life living in darkness and you need the light.

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The light doesn't come from me.

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The light doesn't come from the band.

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The light doesn't come from the council.

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The light comes from the cross.

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And the cross is what matters.

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The church, as we just sang, for to rise up, we are not going to rise up if the anthem

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is we know.

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How many people have ever seen the movie Dodgeball?

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Right?

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If not, you are probably better off in life.

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But there is a group called Globo Gym.

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And what is their slogan?

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We are better than you and we know it.

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As we work through the rebranding of Munster Church, please know that's not what it's going

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to be.

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How would that look though if we were known as a church of Munster Church?

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We are better than you and we know it.

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Now some of you may have already gone to a church in your mind and go, that's probably

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a problem but that's a whole other sermon.

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So I think the world believes that about the church.

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I think the world struggles with that about the church.

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The hypocrisy.

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That's real hard.

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Friend, I love you and I want you to come and find Jesus but I need you to be a lot

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more like me in order for me to be comfortable with it.

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How does that work?

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Where do you see that here?

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Because really if you are saying I want you to be more like me and if we are all sinners

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by the transitive property that I just made up, then we are all to be like sinners.

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And if we are all coming to church as sinners, then that's what we have in common.

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Well, I've been in the church 70 years or I was baptized in this church.

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Fantastic.

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I love that you are still here.

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Guess what?

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You are still a sinner.

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You still don't have it all together but I will say if you have been in church that

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long and you are not walking alongside people that are lost needing to be found, then I

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don't think you have been listening for 70 years.

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Because maybe you are just making it all about this.

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And I think we struggle with that.

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We make it about the church service.

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I go to church, I am good.

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I give my money, I am good.

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I talk to one person a year about Jesus, don't know them and I run away, I am good.

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No.

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James is saying this is going to happen in your church.

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This is how you need to walk out in partiality with your life.

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The sovereignty of God brings a non-discrimination.

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Now in our culture today, that's tricky because there are aspects of people's lives that are

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walking in sin.

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It's very clear.

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The truth of God's word is there.

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This is so hard.

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But we are not the judges of that.

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Are we called to correct and rebuke?

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Absolutely.

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But we have said this before.

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You can rebuke in love or you can rebuke in rage.

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That's your choice.

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I am going to try to rebuke in love knowing that the ultimate say is not mine.

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They don't need to believe in the gospel according to Jim.

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They need to believe in the gospel according to Christ.

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That Romans tells us if we confess Christ that he is Lord and believe that God raised

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him from the dead, we will be saved.

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Now what?

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Because the Bible makes it very clear there are going to be people that confess that,

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but they don't live it out.

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They don't actually believe it.

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So there should be no discrimination when it comes to the sovereignty of God.

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But then James is going to double down on it in verse 5.

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Listen my beloved brothers.

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Has not God chosen those who are poor to be in the world, those who are poor in the world

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to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

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You have dishonored the poor man.

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They are not the rich ones who oppress you and the ones that drag you into court.

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They are not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called.

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Go into verse 9.

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If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures, you shall love your neighbor

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as yourself.

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You are doing well.

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But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law of transgressors.

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It's right there.

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Love your neighbor as yourself.

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Guess what?

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If you love yourself a lot, fantastic.

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Love others a lot.

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One of the things that James is calling out is not those that come to the church seeking

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help, taking a step of faith more than maybe we do week in and week out.

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And that's where you need to pray for your deacons when it comes to benevolence.

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Because we know that there are people that are just trying to get an easy take.

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I get that.

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That is a burden the deacons have and are working through.

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So many churches the deacons can get up on here, kind of a little bit on a high horse,

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hold that pocketbook and say we are the filter of all the money.

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Well, that's not scriptural.

293
00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,440
That's not exactly what the deacons were called to.

294
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They were called to give it out in a stewardship focused way.

295
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So the idea of coming, we need people to come to us and express a need and then we will

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pray to meet that need.

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Shocker that no one really comes.

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But if our deaconate like ours is, is known at being generous and being faithful in that

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and not going we are going to get the Benny up to $100,000, put it into a CD and make

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interest on the money that we are supposed to give to other people to help them in life.

301
00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,760
That would be a terrible model.

302
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:06,880
Terrible model.

303
00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:13,080
But our love for one, for another to meet the needs of those that guess what, are in

304
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:14,920
need.

305
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:20,960
Because I do believe what James says is true that they are here for a reason.

306
00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:26,960
That you have an opportunity to love on them or you have an opportunity to dishonor them.

307
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,400
And that's more than just the deacons.

308
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:33,640
Just in our reformed governance that is a branch of our church.

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00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,640
And you all give to the benevolence very well.

310
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It is awesome to be able to have those resources, to be able to help.

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Like the Lee Slosky family, it is a small token of our love for them even though 98%

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00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,880
of us don't know who they are.

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00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:55,520
But understand that as the people of God we are supposed to live out our faith the exact

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same way.

315
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,040
Give and it will be given unto you.

316
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:01,680
Knock and the door will be answered.

317
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:06,960
There is this transactional understanding but for a lot of us we don't like that because

318
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,800
we have not gotten in our minds a return on our investment.

319
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:15,120
In a couple of weeks we are going to talk and we are going to do a presentation about

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00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,540
the next potential steps for a building project.

321
00:20:19,540 --> 00:20:22,240
And there is a lot of questions, right?

322
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:27,280
It's taken a very long time to get the numbers and all of that kind of figured out.

323
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:31,640
And okay, if it was me doing all the work you wouldn't get numbers until two years from

324
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,320
now because I would not understand what I was reading.

325
00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,640
But we have very smart people in a room that want to give really smart numbers.

326
00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,100
And we are going to talk about that.

327
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:47,200
But the minute we think that oh, good stewardship means I am going to invest in order to expect

328
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,480
is not stewardship at all.

329
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,280
That part of it is just giving.

330
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,200
And again, we don't talk about money a lot here.

331
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:01,080
We do at some points because we all need that reminder, myself included.

332
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:02,680
But we are called to give.

333
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:07,640
James is reminding the church, be a church known for giving.

334
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:14,760
Be a church known for loving quote unquote the least of these and meeting their needs.

335
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Yes, there is a line between loving and enabling.

336
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Absolutely.

337
00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,720
And I believe that our deacons have a decent understanding of that.

338
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:28,400
And they are growing in that every day just like we all should.

339
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,840
But let's take it out of the church for a second and go to your block.

340
00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,720
The street you live on.

341
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,480
How are we doing this with our faith on our street?

342
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:47,640
How are we doing this with the people that live right next door to us?

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00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,400
Because that is also what James is talking about.

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00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:56,280
That there are times we walk down Costco, we walk down our neighborhoods, whatever,

345
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,080
and we have these thoughts.

346
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:00,080
We do.

347
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,560
It is a giant check your heart moment when you are walking by a house and all of a sudden

348
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:11,560
you see it is unkept and a laundry list of things start to bur up in your mind and you

349
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:17,320
start just believing those with absolutely no proof.

350
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,560
What if there was a medical emergency and they can't cut their lawn?

351
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,720
What is the harm in asking?

352
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,320
They are going to tell you no?

353
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:27,320
Exactly.

354
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,320
Thank you.

355
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:30,320
Whoa.

356
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:31,320
So?

357
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,760
Ask somebody else.

358
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Take that step of faith.

359
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:43,400
But some of us go into our minds, man, if we go up, if we go up and ask to do that or

360
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:47,120
help or whatever, they are going to hit us with a bat.

361
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,080
My guess is they won't.

362
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:50,720
Take that step of faith.

363
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,520
Be quick on your feet, but take that step of faith.

364
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,400
That is exactly what James is talking about.

365
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:01,360
That faith is evidenced.

366
00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,680
Because what would it look like if you lived on a street for 25 years?

367
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:11,720
And nobody knew you were a believer.

368
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:17,400
Or they saw the way you lived your life and assumed that.

369
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:23,920
Now, some of you could come back and say, Jim, it is not my issue what other people

370
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:25,200
think about me.

371
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,680
And in that sense, you are right.

372
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:33,240
But what I will say is 25 years on the same street?

373
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What a giant wasted opportunity.

374
00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:38,240
Well, Pastor, I am an introvert.

375
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,000
I don't know how to do any of that.

376
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,880
Let's sit down and talk because introverts can be evangelists, too.

377
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,720
That should be a class.

378
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:46,880
I won't lead it as an extrovert.

379
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,440
That would be way too much.

380
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:54,960
But understand that the Bible doesn't really care about that.

381
00:23:54,960 --> 00:24:00,080
The Bible doesn't say if it is in your wheelhouse, in your comfort zone, then go.

382
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,080
No, it just says go.

383
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,120
And you are going to go in the ways that you and the Spirit work.

384
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,680
Because as Reverend Van Lue said, you are all gifted.

385
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:11,040
If you don't like that, blame him.

386
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,600
He leaves in a couple of days anyway.

387
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:17,260
But understand that we are and we are gifted for a purpose.

388
00:24:17,260 --> 00:24:18,640
What is that purpose?

389
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,200
James 2.10 tells us what that purpose is.

390
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:28,640
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

391
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,800
For he who said do not commit adultery also said do not murder.

392
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,280
If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

393
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:38,280
So speak.

394
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:46,120
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

395
00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:51,040
For judgment is without mercy to those who have shown no mercy.

396
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,560
Mercy trumps over judgment.

397
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,640
That is literally the Bible saying if you are going to talk the talk, walk the walk.

398
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,680
Let's go back to the allowance example.

399
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,640
There's a set list that our boys have.

400
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,800
Hey, this is what you need to do on this day.

401
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,320
You need to always pick up every weekend.

402
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,800
We are going to clean our rooms and all of those things because we know throughout the

403
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,160
week life happens.

404
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,200
I could care less if you judge me on that.

405
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,720
But understand that's just how we roll.

406
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,580
That's why you can close a door.

407
00:25:20,580 --> 00:25:26,200
So understand that when things don't get done and I have my wonderful Joey going, well,

408
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:34,360
I've done 80% of my chores so I deserve 80% of my allowance and I say you have 0% understanding

409
00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,080
of how this works.

410
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,120
It's all or nothing.

411
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,360
But pastor, where's the grace?

412
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,200
Where's the grace?

413
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:50,880
I want seven of you next weekend to ask Joey if he's ever missed a meal, if he's ever gone

414
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:58,280
to school naked, and if he lives in a pile of clothes under the stairs.

415
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,240
Knowing Joey he'll say yes to the last one.

416
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:07,720
But the other two is not true because sometimes the blessing isn't what we want.

417
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,520
It's what we need.

418
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:18,080
So if we're going to be people of faith and we're going to walk that out, walking it out,

419
00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:24,000
if we are to give people the good news of salvation and we live our life this way and

420
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:30,160
go you deserve it, you don't deserve it, Damien you deserve it, mom you don't deserve it, you

421
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,680
got a ring so you deserve it, up here we'll pray about you.

422
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:39,120
And we, what?

423
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:41,440
That's the church that you're going to represent?

424
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,920
Friend, please do not tell people you go to Munster Church then because I don't back that.

425
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,320
And it's not about me, your council doesn't back that.

426
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,960
You shouldn't back that either.

427
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,960
Or on the other side go, yep, I'm going to work on you, yep, you get the gospel, you

428
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,440
are way too far gone.

429
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:05,960
Now Jim is not, though he's a Purdue fan, but understand that Jesus loves Purdue fans

430
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,880
and if that's the case, so do I.

431
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,800
But I don't agree with their lifestyle.

432
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,000
I get that.

433
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,000
This is now not Jim.

434
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,200
Sorry that was a really weird.

435
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,640
Yeah, let's end that, we'll start a new paragraph in that.

436
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,800
Understand that that's catching a lot of you.

437
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,080
I know it is.

438
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,560
But you're still called to love them, right?

439
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,840
What in the book of James are you going to say, can't love them?

440
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:37,240
Or what are you going to say, I don't think Jesus loves them.

441
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:44,880
Friends, the minute your faith takes you to that place, you have become a Pharisee.

442
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:45,880
I don't want that for you.

443
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:47,560
I don't think Jesus does.

444
00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,360
And I'm not taking, I don't want the hippie dippy love Jesus.

445
00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,240
I don't believe that's true either.

446
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:54,960
I believe that there is laws.

447
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,680
There are things that we are called to live by, right?

448
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:05,920
Beating people over the head that don't live those isn't the best way to win them for Jesus.

449
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,600
The bullhorn guy, no.

450
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,360
But a cup of coffee, you can say the same thing with a cup of coffee.

451
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:15,640
My guess is it's going to be more receptive.

452
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,760
And change or you're going to hell.

453
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,220
That's not the gospel.

454
00:28:22,220 --> 00:28:25,320
Some of you are going to fight me and say, no, that's exactly the gospel.

455
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,400
Okay, you do it your way.

456
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,920
I'm going to do it in a more what I believe Christ-like way.

457
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:35,960
And I don't want to say, and we'll see who gets more saves because that's not it either.

458
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:40,840
But I want to be known for someone that's a church, a body of Christ that is actually

459
00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,240
going to walk Christ out.

460
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:51,160
Nonpartiality, working and having our faith evidenced in the world that is following the

461
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,160
obedience of God's law.

462
00:28:54,160 --> 00:29:01,800
It's funny, the canons of Dort affirm the necessary for regeneration of the heart.

463
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:06,760
And what that teaching is, is that apart from being regenerated without the Holy Spirit

464
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:14,480
at work in our life, no one can believe in Christ or obey God's commands.

465
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:24,120
That a church founded in a theology that God is sovereign but fails to model forgiveness

466
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:32,480
and reconciliation is showing a world that the church's heart has not been regenerated.

467
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,500
Because in order for the regeneration of the heart, for Christ to come in, the Holy Spirit,

468
00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:41,200
to transform you, is to bring you to your knees to say, I am a sinner.

469
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,720
I am in need of a savior.

470
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,240
That's the gospel.

471
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,480
Plain and simple, that's the gospel.

472
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:54,720
And if we're going to be a church that puts conditions on it, ooh, you don't look, sound,

473
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,360
or smell like us, so I don't know if you have membership here.

474
00:29:58,360 --> 00:29:59,360
Nope.

475
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:00,360
That's not it.

476
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,280
That's a giant swing and a miss.

477
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,280
And we know churches that are like that.

478
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,960
And that is one we don't want to be.

479
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:15,320
If we navigate, like Doug said, the trials of our life without faith, that's a missed

480
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,240
opportunity.

481
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,520
That we walk out our faith by what we do.

482
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,540
Our faith, this is not pre-faith.

483
00:30:24,540 --> 00:30:26,200
This is after that.

484
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,140
I have faith, so what, now what, and I live it out.

485
00:30:30,140 --> 00:30:34,360
And I need to live that out to whatever world the Lord is going to put me in.

486
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:41,040
And I think we all would agree this world needs more Jesus.

487
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,800
We've done a good job taking him out of our conversations and all of our establishments.

488
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,160
That's about as political as I'm going to get.

489
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,640
Do I believe we should usher him back in?

490
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,280
Always yes and amen.

491
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:59,520
But if it's not going to there, where is it going to come from?

492
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,120
Somebody.

493
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:06,240
Right here, the church.

494
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,000
The church is going to be that voice.

495
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,720
So how are we doing on that?

496
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,680
How are you doing on that?

497
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:19,160
The beautiful thing is, yeah, James punched us a little bit in the mouth today.

498
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:34,800
But next week, we're going to get a beautiful other punch in the mouth.