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I want to start this morning in sort of a unique way.

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I want to bring us back to the passage we read earlier

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in our call to worship for this morning's service.

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It's a familiar passage.

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Many of you have studied it, read it.

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It's James chapter one, and it lays out for us

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the theme of today's message, which is this.

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What does it look like to not just be one who hears the word,

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but one who does the word?

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And that phrase that you heard, James says,

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prove yourselves doers of the word.

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Most of us have heard that multiple times,

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but very few of us know what he says in the previous verse.

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And so let me put it on the screen for you.

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This is what he says right before that.

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He says, putting aside all filthiness

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and all the remains of wickedness,

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in humility, receive the word implanted,

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which is able to save your souls.

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Now I want you to focus on that phrase,

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receive the word implanted.

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It's a very interesting phrase that tells us

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quite a bit about our salvation

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and about our spiritual walk.

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James is describing here in this section

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what the New Testament teaches repeatedly,

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that we were all once dead in our sins and trespasses.

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We were ignorant and blind to the truth.

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We were enemies of God and unable in our own strength

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to incline ourselves toward him and to be saved.

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But because of God's great love for us,

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he marked us out for salvation

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and he made us alive together with Christ.

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And so Paul then concludes,

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it's by grace that you have been saved.

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So for us, the Holy Spirit brought the word

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into our dead hearts, implanted it there,

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and caused us to see the truth of Christ

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as we never had prior to that moment.

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And some of you can testify to that very, very clearly.

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One day you had no thoughts of God,

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and the next the word is implanted in your heart,

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and you're seeing things all new for the first time.

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And it's mind blowing.

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And we're given life through that word of truth,

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the gospel.

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As you can see in the verse, James says,

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the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

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A few verses earlier in verse 18, he puts it another way.

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He says, in the exercise of his will,

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God brought us forth by the word of truth,

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so that we would be a kind of firstfruits

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among his creatures.

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So in both cases, you see that God alone does the saving work.

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He brings us forth by the word of truth,

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he implants the word in us,

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and here's the best news of all,

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the word of truth implanted in the heart changes the heart.

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It changes the heart.

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It discloses to us our true condition.

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It describes our need for grace and mercy,

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and then it points to the place where we find

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that grace and mercy in the sacrificial death

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and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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So this is in the backdrop of how everyone who's in here

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this morning who's found in Christ,

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this is the backdrop of how we got here,

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that God was doing this work.

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And the cool thing then is this word that saves us

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doesn't come and go,

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because the language here of being implanted is very strong.

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It's deeply rooted in us,

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it becomes a part of us as believers.

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So the word is implanted in us and the spirit dwells in us,

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and this is God's way of saving and preserving us

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to the very end of our lives and then into eternity with him.

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It's really beautiful what James says here in chapter one,

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and we often read right past it,

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we wanna get to that part about doing,

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but we really see some beautiful language here

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about our salvation.

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Now the focus of today's message is what's between

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the meat between the two bread,

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the two breads of the sandwich, right?

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Because we talked about, first of all,

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the word coming to us and being implanted to us,

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and then we talked about persevering to the end,

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what about in between?

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Well in between while we're living our lives

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down here on the earth,

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the word is living and active to transform us.

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It's doing its work in us,

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it's implanted in us and it's doing a work in us

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to mature us in the faith and over time

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to conform us to the image of Christ.

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Here's how Paul puts it in 1 Thessalonians two.

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He says, when you receive the word of God, same thing,

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receiving the implanted word, when you received it,

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you heard it from us, you accepted it,

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not as the word of men,

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but for what it really is the word of God,

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which also performs its work in you who believe.

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So again, catch this,

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the word of God is implanted in us, it saves us,

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it abides in us and it performs its work in us.

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By the way, this is why Psalm 119 is so voluminous, right?

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We've got 176 verses that point to the glory of the word

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because of this,

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because of the power of God's word in our lives.

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This is why the emphasis of last Sunday was on,

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we should treasure God's word

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and we should meditate on it day and night,

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because apart from God himself,

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there is nothing more important in our lives

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than the very word of God, amen?

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Amen.

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By the way, there's another side to this coin,

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an unfortunate side,

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the painful truth about people who claim to know God

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profess to trust in Jesus,

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but in reality, there is no true life there.

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And a close analysis of their life proves that to be true.

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Jesus spoke about this himself

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while he was addressing the Jews in his day

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as things were getting much more hostile,

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the Jews were becoming violent and hostile towards him.

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This is from John 8.

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Jesus says this,

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I know you Jews, you are Abraham's descendants,

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yet you seek to kill me.

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Why?

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Because my word has no place in you.

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This is the other side of the coin.

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Now there's no doubt that the man he was talking to that day

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had an intellectual grasp on God's law.

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They knew it in an external way,

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but it wasn't implanted in their hearts.

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It hadn't gone from here to here, right?

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And so when they were confronted by the truth

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coming from Jesus, they wanted no part of it.

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And yet they would still walk away and say what?

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I'm a good person, I'm a moral person,

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I'm actually part of God's people,

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even though there's no true life there.

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Why?

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Because they're hearers of the word,

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but they're not doers of the word.

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That make sense?

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Let's grab our Bibles.

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Now that we've started in the New Testament,

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let's go to the Old,

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and let's see what the Psalms have to say about this.

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Turn to Psalm 119, going to the very beginning of the Psalm.

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You might remember last week we jumped all the way

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to verse 97, and it really freaked some of you out.

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Sorry about that, I know it's kinda weird.

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We're gonna jump past the middle of it,

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but I actually do have, there's a little bit of logic

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in the way I'm ordering our four sermons in Psalm 119.

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So last week, treasuring the word,

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meditating on the word,

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but this morning we're going back to the very beginning,

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to that first section under the title Aleph,

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which is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet,

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verses one through eight,

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and this section really dovetails well

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with what we talked about last Sunday.

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We start by viewing God's word

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as the most prized possession that we have.

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Right, obviously it's God himself,

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but the word is the most prizing,

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that thing in your lap right now,

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whether it's on your phone or in your lap,

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should be your most prized possession.

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And that leads us to put it

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at the top of our priority list in our lives.

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We read, we study, we listen, we meditate,

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but then there's another step, isn't there?

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Let me say it again, we read it, we study it,

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we listen to it, we meditate on it,

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and then there's another step.

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We go out and apply.

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Right, we go out and apply the truths

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that we're hearing and we're seeing.

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Now, as we talk about being doers of the word,

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I'm gonna warn you about how to respond to this message,

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because this is a hard subject,

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and it has a tendency to bring up all kinds of guilt

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in our minds and our hearts.

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And so I wanna give you four ways

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that you can respond to this message,

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because I've seen each one of these responses.

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Number one, you can hear it and just ignore it

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and say, you know what, I don't wanna deal with this.

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It's too hard, too painful.

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And just go on with lunch and ignore it.

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Number two, you can deflect.

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You can say, oh, well, good message, but you know what?

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Doesn't apply to me, I'm gonna justify sin,

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or I'm just gonna point the blame somewhere else

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and just deflect.

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Number three, it can drive you into despair,

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because you can feel the weight of conviction

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from God's word, and you can get all overclenched about it,

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right, and upset and anxious about it,

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but miss the remedy.

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Miss the remedy for what you do with that

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and end up just sitting in the weeds miserable.

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And then fourth, you can be challenged and encouraged.

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You can see the truth for what it is,

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you can recognize your need for change,

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and you can feel energized and excited and empowered

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to face tomorrow with a whole new, newfound perspective

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on the power of the Spirit

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and the power of the word in your life.

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So guess which of those four I want you to respond with.

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Okay, so just have that in your mind

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as we go through this, right?

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You can ignore, you can deflect,

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you can end up in despair,

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or you can be challenged and encouraged.

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And I hope you'll take that last one.

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So here's how I wanna approach the text this morning.

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We're just gonna walk through these eight verses,

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verse by verse, sort of commentary style,

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try to find some of the nuances

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of what the Psalmist is saying,

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and then we're gonna come back to James 1,

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and we're gonna make some connections

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between the New Testament and the Old Testament.

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So here we go, verse one, Aleph.

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How blessed are those whose way is blameless,

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who walk in the law of the Lord,

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or to put that second phrase,

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who walk according to the Lord's instructions.

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I don't want you to overplay the law

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because we're reading the Old Testament

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and just think this is the five books of Moses.

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Those who walk in the Lord's instructions.

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So key words to underline or highlight in your Bible,

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blessed, blameless, and walk.

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And blessed, and I know we've talked about this

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already before, blessed is not what the culture

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tends to think it is.

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It's not the way the culture today,

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the way they throw it around.

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Biblically, to be blessed is synonymous

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with completeness or wholeness in your life

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that leads to being happy.

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It leads to true happiness, and again,

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that's a word that we throw around in the culture

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with no earthly idea what it means.

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So we might call it overflowing happiness

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is what blessedness is, right?

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And do we not all want that in our lives?

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We all want to be overflowingly happy, true?

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Okay, so how do we take hold of it?

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Well, the psalmist says overflowing with happiness

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are men and women whose lives are marked

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by these two things.

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Number one, their way is blameless.

262
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And number two, they walk in the instructions of the Lord.

263
00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,160
And obviously those two things are connected.

264
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,600
Walking in God's instructions will lead to a blameless life.

265
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,160
Now, you may read that and go, well, I give up already

266
00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,440
because I'll never be blameless.

267
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,080
Well, the word doesn't mean perfect.

268
00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,240
The word doesn't mean without sin altogether.

269
00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,560
The Hebrew adjective tamim carries the idea of being whole

270
00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:33,600
or being complete or full of health.

271
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,520
In the context, what it means is

272
00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,160
this is a person of integrity, not a perfect person,

273
00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,120
but a person whose life is marked by integrity.

274
00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,400
They don't live hypocritically.

275
00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,200
They don't live hypocritically.

276
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,280
They don't profess something and then do the opposite.

277
00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,760
In New Testament language, we see this in 1 Timothy 3.

278
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This is a person who's above reproach.

279
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Again, not perfect, not sinless,

280
00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:00,520
but they're free of any accusation

281
00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,760
that they're living a duplicitous life.

282
00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,840
Saying this, professing this, but doing the other.

283
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,480
Now, the challenge for us is to accept the premise

284
00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,000
that the psalmist lays out here

285
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,560
that living that kind of a life above reproach

286
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,080
will bring you overwhelming happiness.

287
00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,000
Do you believe that premise?

288
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,160
That if you live that godly life of integrity,

289
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:22,400
it will bring you happiness?

290
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:23,720
Because I know about you,

291
00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,920
but I grew up being taught the exact opposite.

292
00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,480
The world told me that living a godly life is boring.

293
00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:32,440
Right?

294
00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:33,280
There's no fun in it.

295
00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,680
What you should do is do your own thing, your own way,

296
00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:41,000
and just seek to fulfill all of your desires and impulses.

297
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,720
But after a while, you find out something kind of funny.

298
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,040
It never ends up that way.

299
00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,000
How funny? It never ends up that way, does it?

300
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,040
It turns out that ignoring God's instructions

301
00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,120
over the long haul brings the opposite of happiness.

302
00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:57,320
It brings conflict and pain and suffering and unhappiness.

303
00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,080
And yet the world doesn't get it, right?

304
00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:00,960
Because they're blind.

305
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,440
So the man or woman who lives a life of integrity

306
00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,400
is one who walks in the word.

307
00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:07,440
They live in harmony with the instructions

308
00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,720
that God has given to mankind.

309
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,800
And the promised result is overflowing happiness.

310
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:14,360
And by the way, the opposite is true.

311
00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:15,760
The East Montgomery boy says this,

312
00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,280
the reason we are not happy is that we sin.

313
00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:20,640
Do you believe that?

314
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,840
That's what, because we're out of alignment

315
00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,760
with what God has commanded for all men.

316
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:27,800
We're sinning against him.

317
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:28,800
So that's why.

318
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,320
And the main reason we sin as much as we do

319
00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,880
is that we do not know biblical principles well enough.

320
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,080
Apart from being instructed by God,

321
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,800
human beings just do not know how to achieve happiness.

322
00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:41,840
And we've heard that, wait,

323
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,400
we're always searching for happiness

324
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:44,320
in all the wrong places.

325
00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,600
Natural man does that all the time.

326
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,160
They just, it's the next thing.

327
00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,000
The next thing will make me happy.

328
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:52,600
And they never actually get there.

329
00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,200
Because they're avoiding God's instructions.

330
00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,560
So every time we choose to sin by disregarding God's word,

331
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,400
we are in some form or fashion saying,

332
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,400
God, I have found a better way to be happy

333
00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:05,560
than you think I should.

334
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,680
I'll find my own happiness and not your way

335
00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:11,200
because my way is better.

336
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,200
I know you don't say that out loud,

337
00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:14,920
but by your actions, that's what you're doing.

338
00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,160
You're saying, I found a better way.

339
00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:18,080
But it's a lie.

340
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,000
Every time we intentionally disregard God's word,

341
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,400
we're doubting that the way of blessing and happiness

342
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:25,800
is the way of his word.

343
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:28,840
That's just a reality.

344
00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,760
And we all do it.

345
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:33,000
Everybody in this room does it.

346
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,160
So you're not the Lone Ranger.

347
00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:36,000
We all do it.

348
00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:38,480
So that's blessed and blameless.

349
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:39,800
Now look at the word walk.

350
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,000
Notice the word walk is an action word.

351
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,560
And we're gonna see more action words

352
00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:44,720
all through this section.

353
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:49,400
Walk, keep, seek, look, learn, do.

354
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,920
There's a lot of doing here, right?

355
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,080
Listen now, the path of blessing is not passive.

356
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:55,160
It is active.

357
00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,120
The path of blessing is not passive.

358
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,560
It doesn't magically come upon you.

359
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,120
It's active.

360
00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:04,920
Being a Christian is not just about thinking

361
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,960
the right thoughts or saying the right words

362
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,320
or being able to engage in deep theological debates.

363
00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,000
It's about walking in faith.

364
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,120
It's about steady progress towards the goal

365
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,760
of being conformed to the image of Christ.

366
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,280
And it's not to be done through gritted teeth,

367
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,320
bitter and angry that I've gotta do these things.

368
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,000
God says I gotta do them and now I gotta do them.

369
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,320
Through gritted teeth or done so that we can look really

370
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:31,800
shiny in front of other people.

371
00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,680
We can perform in a Christian way to impress others.

372
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:39,000
The motivation for walking in the law of the Lord

373
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,920
is our affection for Christ because he loved us first.

374
00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:46,600
And you've gotta get that right.

375
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,560
Every time you hear doers of the word,

376
00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:50,760
we think about external obedience.

377
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,080
I'm gonna, I'm gonna grab my fortitude

378
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,120
and I'm gonna gut this out and I'm gonna obey.

379
00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,040
No, that's not the motivation.

380
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,680
It's love for Christ because of what he's done for us.

381
00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:03,040
Make sense?

382
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:04,160
Okay, verse two.

383
00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,320
Here comes a second promise of blessing.

384
00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:07,160
Look how it starts.

385
00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,480
Verse two, how blessed are those who observe

386
00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:12,880
and the better translation,

387
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,560
those who keep his testimonies,

388
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:21,320
who seek him with all, underline all, all their heart.

389
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,520
So we have two more action words, keep and seek.

390
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,600
To seek the Lord means really listening for his voice

391
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,960
and discovering him in his testimonies,

392
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:33,920
in his witness about himself.

393
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,440
To seek the Lord means listening for his voice in the word

394
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,160
and discovering him as he witnesses

395
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:41,720
in his own self-revelation.

396
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:44,200
And the instruction here is to do this

397
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:45,680
with all of your heart.

398
00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,360
That means priority number one in your life.

399
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:49,960
Don't seek him with a divided heart,

400
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,000
but with all of your heart, all of your soul,

401
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,640
all of your mind, all of your strength.

402
00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,520
This is the greatest commandment.

403
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,280
We're not to seek him with a divided heart, right?

404
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,360
And then go out and be a doer of it.

405
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,800
Don't be satisfied with just knowing about God

406
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:04,160
as testimonies.

407
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:06,080
Strive then to keep his instructions

408
00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:07,640
out of affection for him.

409
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:10,680
I'll let Spurgeon sum this up,

410
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:12,080
because he's better than me.

411
00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:13,880
Notice the order of this.

412
00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,800
He says, blessedness is ascribed to those

413
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,480
who treasure up the testimonies of the Lord.

414
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:22,840
They search the scriptures,

415
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,160
they come to an understanding of them,

416
00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,120
they love them, and then they continue

417
00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:30,440
in the practice of them.

418
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:31,280
It's a great order.

419
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,800
We must first get a thing before we can keep it,

420
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,640
and we cannot keep in the heart

421
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,960
that which we have not hardly embraced

422
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,120
by the affections, by the heart, right?

423
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,920
If you want, I saw somebody taking a picture of that quote.

424
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,280
It's a great quote, right?

425
00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,320
Because the order there is so important.

426
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:51,760
Okay, now this next verse, verse three,

427
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:53,920
flows naturally out of verses one and two.

428
00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,760
In fact, all eight verses sort of flow out

429
00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,560
of each other as it goes along.

430
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,360
Verse three, they also do no unrighteousness.

431
00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:03,040
They walk in his ways.

432
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,760
So a man of integrity is known both by what he does

433
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:06,960
and what he doesn't do.

434
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,840
And if he's walking in the path of righteousness

435
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,240
and he's seeking God with all of his heart,

436
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,280
then the fruit of his life will reflect both sides of that,

437
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,480
in absence of unrighteousness or wrongdoing

438
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,080
and the presence of purity and goodness.

439
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:23,840
And then beginning in verse four,

440
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,320
we see, interestingly, a change of pronoun,

441
00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:30,160
now the psalmist begins to speak directly to Yahweh.

442
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,320
So the rest of the section becomes a prayer

443
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,480
because he's now speaking to God.

444
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,080
Verse four, he says, you, Lord, have ordained

445
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:40,800
or commanded your precepts,

446
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:42,880
that we should walk in them how?

447
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,480
Diligently, diligently.

448
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,960
Now recall last week we defined precepts.

449
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:53,960
Precepts are orders that come down from an overseer.

450
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,400
And in this prayer, the psalmist affirms

451
00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,440
how God's precepts come to us.

452
00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,280
They're given to us in the form of commands.

453
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,320
Nobody here likes that word, right?

454
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,520
It like bumps up against the natural flesh.

455
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,200
You're gonna command me now?

456
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,080
Right, well, what's the saying?

457
00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:12,520
You're not the boss of me.

458
00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:14,600
Well, God is.

459
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,960
He is, his precepts,

460
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,960
he gives them to us in the form of commands.

461
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,520
In other words, they're not suggestions,

462
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,800
that we can consider.

463
00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:27,480
Maybe we can create a small group

464
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:29,160
and consider the commands of God.

465
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:29,960
What do you think?

466
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:30,600
Should we do them?

467
00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:33,400
That would not be good.

468
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,600
These are instructions from the king.

469
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,880
And they come down to his subjects as

470
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,120
with the force of a divine order.

471
00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:43,960
And therefore our response should be obvious.

472
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:45,800
We should strive to keep them diligently.

473
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:46,520
Now what does that mean?

474
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:47,640
What does that imply?

475
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:51,880
It means that by the power that God himself provides us,

476
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:52,920
and that's what's so amazing.

477
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,600
He says, do this diligently.

478
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,240
By the way, I'm gonna give you the power to do it.

479
00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,360
So by his power, we're to make every effort

480
00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:04,520
to obey God's orders exceedingly, mightily, eagerly,

481
00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,280
and enthusiastically.

482
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:07,560
That's the call here.

483
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,160
That's the command.

484
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,520
Again, he hasn't said, hey, good luck with that, guys.

485
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,520
See if you can muster up that kind of strength.

486
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,200
He said, no, I'll provide you.

487
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,360
You just need to cooperate with my spirit.

488
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,760
I'll provide you the power to do exactly that.

489
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,040
If that's your heart's desire.

490
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:26,440
Here's the truth to write down somewhere.

491
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,200
Nobody accidentally keeps God's commands.

492
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,760
Oops, I stumbled into obeying God today.

493
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,400
It's something we do actively.

494
00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:40,760
Obedience comes first,

495
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:44,280
but it comes out of the affections of the heart.

496
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:45,880
Just make sure you get that.

497
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,280
I can't say that enough times this morning.

498
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,360
Obedience ultimately comes from the affections

499
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:51,480
of the heart.

500
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,480
Those affections spill out in our desire

501
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,840
to apply all of diligence and effort to please the Lord

502
00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,200
because he's worthy of that.

503
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,440
There is the motivation.

504
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:01,480
We want his blessing.

505
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:02,440
We want happiness.

506
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,960
But the ultimate motivation is to please the Lord

507
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,360
because he is worthy of this sacrifice,

508
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:10,680
of this offering of all of our lives.

509
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,480
When we stop to think about what he's done for us,

510
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:14,680
in spite of who we are,

511
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,280
he is worthy of that sacrifice of praise

512
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,680
to give him all of our lives.

513
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,080
Now, as we come to verse five,

514
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,800
the psalmist now shifts into first person

515
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,480
and he starts talking about himself in relation to God.

516
00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,240
Oh, that my ways, he says, may be established

517
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:38,200
or may my ways be steadfast to keep your statutes.

518
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,040
So now he's dealing with God in a very personal way

519
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,520
and he desires to obey the teachings of scripture.

520
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,320
And really this is something that if you want

521
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,960
just a regular prayer that you can say each and every day,

522
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:51,160
this is a great one.

523
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,720
May my ways be aligned with your ways.

524
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,520
That's what he's asking for.

525
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,080
And he desires to be steadfast about this,

526
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,680
to be diligent and disciplined and consistent in obedience.

527
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,800
And it's not only a hope that this would be true,

528
00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,600
it's an actual prayer request that God would grant him

529
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,160
the strength and the power and the ability

530
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:12,600
to make that true in his life,

531
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,520
to make him an obedient follower.

532
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,120
Because we can't do that alone.

533
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:18,760
You see, the psalmist was aware

534
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,440
that his heart was prone to wander.

535
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,920
All of our hearts are prone to wander towards self.

536
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,880
The psalmist was aware that we're not naturally

537
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:29,480
inclined to obedience.

538
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,400
So he acknowledges that he needs the Lord

539
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,080
to bring this about in us,

540
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,080
to establish my ways in line with your ways.

541
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,320
That's a great prayer.

542
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,320
And that's a humble place to come from,

543
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:42,920
knowing that apart from his word,

544
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,840
knowing that apart from his work,

545
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:46,760
we cannot keep this command.

546
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,200
Look at verse six now.

547
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:51,560
Then I shall not be ashamed

548
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,240
when I look upon all your commandments.

549
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,120
Here's the glorious result of being established

550
00:22:58,120 --> 00:22:59,080
in God's ways.

551
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,160
I will not be put to shame.

552
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,560
I will not have to feel that sense of guilt and shame.

553
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,920
Now, loss of salvation is not in sight here.

554
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:10,200
That cannot happen.

555
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,600
But it's true, a Christian can certainly feel ashamed

556
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,840
when we do self-examination

557
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,240
and we hold up our lives to the standard of scripture,

558
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,480
we can feel a sense of guilt and shame.

559
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:21,080
That happens with self-examination

560
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,320
because God's law is like a mirror.

561
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,880
And if we take enough time to look deeply into it,

562
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,720
we see ourselves as we really are.

563
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,080
And if you're open to the,

564
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,160
if your prayer is Lord, search me and know me

565
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,960
and show me the things about myself in the deep,

566
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:37,320
the result can be shocking.

567
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,160
But friends, listen to me now.

568
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,040
Self-examination, which is a biblical habit,

569
00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:43,480
which we should all engage in,

570
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,200
it is not designed to drive you into despair.

571
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:50,040
If you've been taught that, I'm sorry.

572
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,840
I'm sorry that you've been taught that.

573
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:53,960
Wipe it from your mind.

574
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,000
Self-examination is designed to drive us

575
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,480
to confession and repentance and to grace.

576
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:02,360
That's why we can't be afraid of it,

577
00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:03,800
why we shouldn't be afraid of it.

578
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:05,080
So many of us are afraid of it

579
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,240
because we feel like we're gonna be ashamed.

580
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,120
We gotta move past that towards grace

581
00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,360
because that's what Christ has offered us.

582
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,640
It's designed to show you the forgiveness

583
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,800
that is available in Christ.

584
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,360
And then also to push you towards then,

585
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,680
because of that realigning your priorities

586
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:24,440
to recommit yourself to seek the Lord

587
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,840
with all of your heart, not with a divided heart.

588
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,640
Self-examination is wonderful.

589
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:31,720
We cannot be afraid of it.

590
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,240
So the advice of the psalmist is this,

591
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,160
if you wanna live without shame,

592
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,040
without a guilty conscience, nagging at your soul,

593
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,280
then fix your eyes on God's word.

594
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,800
Fix your eyes on his word,

595
00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,320
ask the spirit to strengthen you to walk in his ways.

596
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,320
And in the words of the great Puritan John Owen,

597
00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:50,200
this is a great quote,

598
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,680
be killing sin or it will be killing you.

599
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:55,520
Amen?

600
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:56,360
Amen.

601
00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,640
Now, when we're walking blamelessly with God

602
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,640
and that shame is lifted,

603
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,000
guess what we're ready to do?

604
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,280
Worship.

605
00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,200
And that's what we get in verse seven.

606
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,720
I shall give thanks to you with uprightness of heart

607
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,800
when I learn your righteous judgments.

608
00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:15,560
In the Hebrew, that word uprightness carries the idea

609
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,160
of being straight, of being correct.

610
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:20,920
And so praise follows naturally

611
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,560
from being straight with God, from being right with God.

612
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:26,520
And praise also comes from a mind

613
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,240
that is constantly in the process of learning more and more

614
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,160
about God's just and righteous nature.

615
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,400
It's right there in the verse.

616
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,600
Learning, learning is active.

617
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,440
It doesn't happen by osmosis.

618
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,440
It doesn't just, I'm gonna wake up this morning,

619
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:41,880
not touch my Bible and learn.

620
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,440
No, it's active, we're to learn.

621
00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,440
Now I know learning can puff a man up.

622
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:49,640
Learning can puff a woman up.

623
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,280
I've seen it too many times, right?

624
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:53,720
People who end up with a passion

625
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:55,560
for the academic side of the faith

626
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,480
and the Bible becomes a textbook,

627
00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,400
it's just about intellectual pursuits.

628
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,960
And there's no real thought of application.

629
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,600
In fact, oftentimes people, they'll study it so much,

630
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,360
they believe they're above application.

631
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,160
And sadly, where that ends up is that man in time

632
00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,120
will veer off track and shipwreck his faith

633
00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:16,360
because he's not being a doer of the word.

634
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,440
But healthy learning, the type of Bible study

635
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,360
that's sensitive to the Spirit's leading,

636
00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:25,000
that will always lead you to greater praise.

637
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,880
Plumbing the depths of scripture with an eye of,

638
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,920
of laying your life open before God and being transformed,

639
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,680
that will lead you to greater praise.

640
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,160
Being rooted in sound doctrine

641
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,080
for the purpose of glorifying God,

642
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:40,600
that will lead you to greater praise.

643
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,480
And it won't be a chore, it's gonna be a natural outflow

644
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:44,920
of the learning, the study,

645
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,160
the time you're spending in God's word.

646
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:48,360
And the reality is guys,

647
00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,480
when we find that praise doesn't come easily, why is that?

648
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,720
It's because something's not right in the heart.

649
00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:56,760
We've all felt it at times, we've come in on a Sunday

650
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:57,800
and we're like,

651
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,440
I got nothing, it's not the fault of the worship team,

652
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,200
it's not the fault of the lyrics,

653
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,360
there's something going on that's not right in the heart

654
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,240
and it's a chore to worship, it just, it doesn't flow naturally.

655
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,800
Well, probably because we've allowed some type

656
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,600
of sinful thing to get a stubborn foothold in our lives

657
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,120
and we haven't dealt with it.

658
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:19,560
And that too is part of the Spirit's way

659
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,160
to get us to confess and repent and to change our ways

660
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:24,840
because it becomes hard to do.

661
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,880
When that shame comes upon us and our conscience is guilty

662
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:29,400
and we haven't gone to God

663
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,480
and we haven't confessed and repented,

664
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,720
guys, it's a miserable pace to live.

665
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,560
Why would we live there if we've been offered forgiveness

666
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,040
and cleansing, why would we live there

667
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:41,560
and not go to God and say,

668
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,760
Lord, you know my heart, I'm gonna lay it open before you

669
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,080
and just, I'm gonna confess all of it

670
00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,200
because you already know it, it's miserable.

671
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:53,640
But know that if you confess all of it,

672
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,200
you're gonna be saved, you're gonna be saved.

673
00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:57,800
But know that if you're a believer

674
00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:59,480
and the Spirit of God lives in you,

675
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000
you have an advocate before the Father.

676
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:05,640
You have a great high priest

677
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,880
who's made a blood sacrifice sufficient

678
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,240
to cover all of your sins,

679
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,160
that work was accomplished on the cross

680
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,960
and so all you need to do is confess, repent,

681
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,000
and change course by the power that he supplies.

682
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,440
And the promise we have is that God is always faithful

683
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:21,960
to cleanse us from unrighteousness

684
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,800
and to the sin of sinning.

685
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,800
So don't be stuck in a place where I can't praise,

686
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:29,640
I don't know why I can't praise,

687
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,000
you probably know why, you just need to deal with it.

688
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:36,920
Okay, final verse, and this one is gonna sound

689
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:38,840
a little strange to your ears, verse eight,

690
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,240
I shall keep your statutes, do not forsake me utterly.

691
00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,720
And at first glance, that sounds like, wait,

692
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:47,720
those two things don't really fit together,

693
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,880
but take a second look, this is,

694
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,680
you're gonna memorize a verse, memorize this one,

695
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,280
it's really powerful.

696
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,840
First, we see in the psalmist a resolve

697
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,480
and a determination to do what?

698
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,280
To keep God's law, is that a good thing?

699
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,960
Absolutely, we should be resolved and determined to do that,

700
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,080
that is the best thing for him in his life, right?

701
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,080
That is the path to blessing and happiness.

702
00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,320
And he wants to do this so bad,

703
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,240
you get a sense throughout this, he's so,

704
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:16,920
and I know some of you do too, right?

705
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,520
I so badly wanna keep God's precepts.

706
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:22,280
But then he follows in the second phrase

707
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,360
with this humble and heartfelt request,

708
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,360
but Lord, please don't forsake me, don't abandon me.

709
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:31,640
Now, why does he ask that?

710
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:36,680
Because he knows himself, he knows the weakness, right?

711
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,920
He knows his own heart, he's aware of his inability

712
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,920
to fulfill this command, the thing he so badly wants to do,

713
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,160
he knows he's gonna fall short.

714
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,040
And that's a healthy place to be, by the way.

715
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,320
On the one hand, absolutely resolved to wake up each morning

716
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,080
and to please the Lord in every way,

717
00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,480
yet on the other hand, not trusting in your strength

718
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,720
and power or ability to pull that off.

719
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:04,920
And then to depend upon the Lord,

720
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,080
Lord, I wanna do your word today,

721
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,320
but I know I'm gonna fall short, so I need grace.

722
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,920
Lord, I wanna walk according to your word,

723
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:14,520
but I know a time is coming,

724
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,160
I'm gonna fall flat on my face, so I need your mercy.

725
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,280
That's what this verse says,

726
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:25,000
but Lord, above all, don't leave me, don't forsake me,

727
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,600
because I have nowhere else to go, you, God, are my only hope.

728
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,080
That's what the psalmist was feeling.

729
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:35,480
What I love about this is the struggle for him is real,

730
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:36,520
just like it's real for us.

731
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,920
Like the authors of scripture are not supermen who never fail.

732
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,400
The struggle was real for him.

733
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,000
And we should be encouraged by that,

734
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,120
to know that we're all in the same boat together.

735
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:54,120
But know this, listen now, resolve and dependency go together.

736
00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,160
That's what you see in verse eight, resolve, but dependency.

737
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:03,960
And we need both in our lives.

738
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:05,960
Right here in this very short, simple verse,

739
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,520
we see both God's word and the gospel of grace

740
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,160
coming together in the life of the believer.

741
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,280
And then know that we have this promise,

742
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,320
and it's laid out so beautifully in Hebrews 13.

743
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:18,840
Remember this, he himself has said,

744
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,280
I will never desert you.

745
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,280
If you're found in Christ, have you been saved?

746
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,440
If he's marked you out and saved you,

747
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,880
he will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.

748
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,440
So that we can confidently say,

749
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,000
the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

750
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,280
That drives out fear.

751
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,360
When we trust in that promise, now we can press forward in life,

752
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,080
with the ups and the downs and the victories and the stumbles,

753
00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,480
and we can do it without being ashamed,

754
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:45,160
constantly praising the Lord,

755
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,080
coming back to him each and every day and saying,

756
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,720
Lord, I've fallen short, I need your grace.

757
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:51,960
This is the Christian life.

758
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:53,560
These are the basics of the Christian life.

759
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:57,400
But man, it's been so messed up over the years

760
00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,600
by so many people preaching this external false gospel

761
00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,440
of just grit your teeth and do it.

762
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,600
Okay, let's go back to James 1.

763
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:12,120
I wanna connect now all of these concepts

764
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,280
that the psalmist gives us with what James says.

765
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,040
So turn to James chapter 1.

766
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,240
We're gonna look at particularly verses 21 to 25.

767
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:27,080
By the way, every time I read this passage

768
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,240
about being doers of the word, I have this,

769
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:30,840
you know how sometimes you have certain imprints

770
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:31,800
on your mind?

771
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,440
From your past, I've forgotten most of my life,

772
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,040
but there's some things I remember.

773
00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,600
And I have this vivid memory of an old mentor of mine

774
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:39,880
telling me this joke.

775
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:41,640
And every time I read this passage, it comes up.

776
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:42,840
Here's how the joke goes.

777
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:44,840
A particular Bible teacher was teaching a class

778
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,800
on a Sunday morning before worship service.

779
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,000
And it was a class on the principles of Bible study.

780
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,720
And so the teacher was showing members of the class,

781
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,600
here's how you recognize the promises of God,

782
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,000
and here's how you recognize the commands of God

783
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:00,920
and the principles of the Bible study.

784
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,000
And here's the commands of God in the text,

785
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,320
and here's how you respond to them.

786
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:06,360
And towards the end of the class,

787
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,000
he decided to do a quick summary review,

788
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,840
and he asked the class rhetorically,

789
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,640
now what are we supposed to do with the commands?

790
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,320
And this cute little old lady in the front row

791
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,520
raised her hand and she said, I underlined them in blue.

792
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,040
Cute story, right?

793
00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:26,840
You can go through your Bible and underline

794
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,800
all the commands in blue, that is not enough.

795
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:31,720
You can't be obeyed, right?

796
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,120
We can't just be hearers and underliners of the word.

797
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:34,920
Is that a thing?

798
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:36,200
I'm an underliner of the word,

799
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,280
I'm a highlighter of the word.

800
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:39,480
That's wonderful.

801
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,880
Blue, yellow, pink, I don't care.

802
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,880
The commands are given to us to do and obey.

803
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,600
Okay, I don't know why that story

804
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,840
just tickles my funny mind.

805
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:52,600
I could just picture this cute little lady,

806
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:54,280
I underlined them in blue.

807
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,280
Okay, James 1 verse 21,

808
00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,760
therefore putting aside all filthiness

809
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,240
and all the remains of wickedness,

810
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:03,480
in humility receive the word implanted,

811
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,560
which is able to save your souls.

812
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,320
But prove yourselves doers of the word

813
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,520
and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

814
00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,560
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,

815
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,920
he's like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.

816
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,480
For once he's looked at himself and gone away,

817
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,880
he's immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

818
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,960
Now, we started this morning by looking,

819
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,400
particularly verse 21, receive the word implanted.

820
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:30,760
Again, look at the action word.

821
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:31,800
What's the action word here?

822
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,560
Receive.

823
00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,520
If you've been saved, the word has been implanted in you,

824
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:37,640
it's brought you to life,

825
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:40,760
but then James says, take the step of action.

826
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:41,720
Receive it.

827
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,640
Make sure your heart is receptive to its truths.

828
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,640
Again, it's an imperative that requires action.

829
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:50,600
Receive it.

830
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,800
Now, I read an article this week from John Piper

831
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:55,880
who talks about this interesting phrase

832
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,400
and he compared it to oxygen.

833
00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:59,880
He says, oxygen gives life,

834
00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:02,120
and in giving life, it causes you to breathe,

835
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:03,720
and when you breathe, what happens?

836
00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:07,080
You bring in more oxygen, and it's a cycle.

837
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:08,440
So it is with God's word.

838
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,840
It's implanted in the believer,

839
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,560
and then its truths cause us to take in more,

840
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,680
and as we receive more, it does a work in our hearts,

841
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,240
and that makes us hungry to get even more of it.

842
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:21,880
It's a cycle.

843
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,120
Again, make sure you see that God gives us

844
00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:25,240
this imperative command.

845
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:28,520
Receive the word, and notice also that James tells us

846
00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:29,560
how we should receive it.

847
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,400
He says, in meekness or in humility.

848
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,760
Okay, in humility.

849
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,760
That means having a heart that is teachable.

850
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,120
It means having a heart that understands the need

851
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,280
to hear the voice of God in his word,

852
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:44,680
and then to submit to what it says.

853
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,160
The opposite would be saying, receive it with pride.

854
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,000
Receive God's word with pride, thinking,

855
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,920
oh, I already know that.

856
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:54,200
Have you ever caught yourself doing that?

857
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:56,600
You're reading through text, like, oh, I already know that.

858
00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:57,880
Don't do that.

859
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,240
Read it.

860
00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:01,080
Or that doesn't really apply to me.

861
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:03,800
Or the worst thing we can do is look at the word and say,

862
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,840
you know what, I don't like that, I'm not gonna look at it.

863
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,440
Because that puts you in a bad place.

864
00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,800
James says, receive the word in humility.

865
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:15,720
Welcome it into your lives.

866
00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:16,840
Meditate upon it.

867
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:18,760
Rehearse it all day long.

868
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,240
Incline your heart towards loving God's word

869
00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:23,240
and wanting more of it in your life.

870
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:25,720
More transforming power, and then go out

871
00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:27,560
and apply what you've received.

872
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:32,600
And over time, if you'll do that, if you'll welcome it,

873
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,920
if you'll receive it, if you'll apply it,

874
00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,160
you become like the man in Psalm one.

875
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:38,920
We read it last week.

876
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,880
The man in Psalm one is like a tree

877
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:44,360
planted by streams of water.

878
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,080
Isn't that, it's such a beautiful picture in your head.

879
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,360
A tree planted by this rushing stream of water.

880
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,680
A tree planted by this rushing stream.

881
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:55,640
The roots go deep and it's just feeding off that stream.

882
00:36:57,560 --> 00:36:59,880
It yields its fruit in its season.

883
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,240
And its leaf never withers.

884
00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:05,000
In all that he does, he prospers.

885
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:09,000
Why? Because he's constantly fed by that living water.

886
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,920
Now, if you ignore what James says here, right,

887
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,160
if you just look at the word, right,

888
00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:18,040
or listen to the word preached, just to check a box,

889
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,000
just to check a box, Christians, come on, let's be honest,

890
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,880
sometimes we do this, I'm gonna hear the word,

891
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:25,560
I'm gonna go, I'm gonna grit my teeth,

892
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:26,920
go to church, hear a sermon.

893
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,960
I'm gonna open up the Bible because I've been told

894
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:32,280
I gotta read it every day, okay, okay.

895
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:35,080
Check.

896
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:39,080
If you're doing that with no intent of applying it,

897
00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:41,880
well, James says, you are like that knucklehead

898
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:44,120
who looks in the mirror in the morning

899
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,360
and then rushes off to do more important things.

900
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,200
And he forgets what he saw.

901
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,600
He forgets that he didn't shave, he looks like a mess.

902
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:54,520
He forgets that he didn't comb his hair,

903
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:56,600
stick it up in all kinds of funny reasons,

904
00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,160
all kinds of funny ways.

905
00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:00,600
The mirror showed him the problem,

906
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,400
but he didn't do anything to fix the issues.

907
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,480
He didn't look intently at it.

908
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:09,400
He just ran off to do other things, right.

909
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,000
So the man who looks at the word,

910
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,680
he sees what he's really like in his heart.

911
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,240
If you look at the word intently,

912
00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,480
you will see what your inner man is all about.

913
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:25,240
It'll be reflected in the word.

914
00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:28,840
But if you rush out the door and forget what you see,

915
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:31,000
what good is it?

916
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:35,640
James is not describing a man with a poor memory,

917
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,920
he's describing a man who has an idolatry problem.

918
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:42,120
Because he's deemed that what he sees in the mirror

919
00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:43,160
is not the most important thing.

920
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:45,560
What's more important is the things he's rushing off to do.

921
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:46,840
Those are his priorities.

922
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,000
That's the idol in his life.

923
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,560
He doesn't wanna spend any time in front of the mirror,

924
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,560
he wants those other things, so he rushes out.

925
00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:58,600
He doesn't remember what he saw in the mirror

926
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,560
because he doesn't regard it as very important.

927
00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:04,840
What's important are the idols of his heart.

928
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:07,240
And those idols are the idols of his heart.

929
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:09,480
And those idols need protecting.

930
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:11,960
We've all done this before.

931
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,360
Man, there's something in my heart, I cherish it, I want it.

932
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,320
Doesn't line up with God's word, but I want it.

933
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,040
And so I need to protect it.

934
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:24,440
And what that means is I'm not gonna look at the word

935
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:25,960
for too long.

936
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,440
I'm not gonna look at the word closely

937
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,360
because it threatens my idols.

938
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,200
Every parent in this room who's ever had a grade school child

939
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,440
knows this truth all too well.

940
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:39,800
Have you ever noticed that God gives us

941
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,320
the privilege of parenting

942
00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,160
so that we'll understand how God feels?

943
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,360
You tell your grade school child, go up and clean your room.

944
00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,680
And then you come back an hour later, and what's happened?

945
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,320
They're playing with some toy, room hadn't been touched.

946
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,240
I told you to clean your room, you say.

947
00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:02,280
And they reply, I forgot.

948
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:04,680
Did they really?

949
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:05,720
Did they forget?

950
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:08,760
It's not that your child has a memory problem.

951
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,680
They just have a much stronger desire

952
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,520
for things other than obeying you.

953
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:15,960
Much stronger desires for things

954
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:17,960
other than what you told them to do.

955
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,840
That's what we can be like as Christians.

956
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,680
We're only deceiving ourselves if we say we hear the word

957
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:25,800
but then ignore it.

958
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,200
And we defraud ourselves if we don't respond

959
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:30,040
because we actually miss the opportunity

960
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:31,720
that God is laying before us

961
00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:33,480
to grow and mature in our faith.

962
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,240
To find that path of blessing.

963
00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,320
And we did it to ourselves by ignoring the mirror.

964
00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:42,280
We miss out on opportunities.

965
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,520
We quite literally miss the chance

966
00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,880
to have overflowing happiness in Christ.

967
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:51,080
Because we're cherishing our idols.

968
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,280
Even Spurgeon knew this, this has been true

969
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:56,600
in every generation, back in his day in England.

970
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,880
I fear we have many such in all the congregations of England.

971
00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:03,320
Admiring hearers, affectionate,

972
00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:05,720
affectionate hearers, attached hearers,

973
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:08,040
but all the while unblessed hearers

974
00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,040
because they are not doers of the word.

975
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:11,320
Now, here's the contrast.

976
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:13,080
Look at verse 25, last verse.

977
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,560
But one who looks intently at the perfect law,

978
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,760
the law of liberty, and abides by it,

979
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,080
not having become a forgetful hearer,

980
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:26,440
but an affectionate doer, this man

981
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:27,960
will be blessed in what he does.

982
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:31,240
So we have forgetful hearer versus effectual doer.

983
00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:33,240
The forgetful hearer takes a quick glance

984
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:35,080
in the mirror and he runs off.

985
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:39,160
But the effectual doer, he lingers at the mirror

986
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:41,240
and he looks intently at it.

987
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,520
And the Greek word that's used here is powerful, parakoupta.

988
00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:46,920
It means to stoop or to bend the body down

989
00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:48,360
to look carefully at something.

990
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:51,160
It's the same word that's used of John and Mary

991
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,280
when they stoop down to look into the empty tomb.

992
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:57,880
Because they didn't want to take a quick glance

993
00:41:57,880 --> 00:41:58,920
into the tomb.

994
00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,320
They wanted to look carefully and intently

995
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,040
to see where the body was.

996
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:06,840
It's not a quicker casual look.

997
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,800
It's not the glance of a guy who rushes out the door

998
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,480
to do more important things.

999
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,680
James says that this man bends down

1000
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:16,440
to look carefully at God's instructions

1001
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:17,960
and then he says, look what,

1002
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,880
then he sets out to abide by it.

1003
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:22,440
In other words, he's not coming to the word

1004
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:23,560
for a quick fix.

1005
00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:27,400
It's a long-term approach that he takes with God's word.

1006
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:30,520
Requires discipline and diligence over time.

1007
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:32,120
In the language of Psalm 119,

1008
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:33,960
he walks in the law of the Lord

1009
00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:35,720
and he walks in the way of the word.

1010
00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:38,360
He's a doer of God's word.

1011
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:39,400
And what's the result?

1012
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:41,800
Look again at the last phrase in verse 25.

1013
00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:44,760
It's the same language we just read in Psalm 119.

1014
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,480
I love when the Old and New Testament connect, right?

1015
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,160
What's the result of that?

1016
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:50,520
He's blessed.

1017
00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:53,640
He's overflowingly happy.

1018
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:55,400
One of the things I love about the Book of James

1019
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:57,640
is just so how practical it is.

1020
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:01,480
Because after this discussion of hearing versus doing,

1021
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:02,600
have you ever read James?

1022
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:03,880
It's a harsh book.

1023
00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:06,920
He goes on to give all these examples

1024
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:09,000
of how that metaphor of looking in the mirror

1025
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:10,680
and not remembering what you see,

1026
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:12,200
how that gets played out.

1027
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:14,520
And James is concerned, listen friends,

1028
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:16,040
he's concerned that there are people

1029
00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:18,600
in that early church, that primarily Jewish,

1030
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:20,760
that are not really listening to God.

1031
00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,800
He's concerned that there are people in that early church,

1032
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,840
that primarily Jewish church at that time.

1033
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,400
He's concerned that many are professing to know Christ,

1034
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:30,600
but they don't.

1035
00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,040
And there's no life there.

1036
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:35,160
So at the end of chapter one, he gives this example.

1037
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:38,840
He says, look, if you can't bridle your tongue,

1038
00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:42,840
if you can't control your mouth, you're self-deceived.

1039
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:46,840
He's giving an example of a man who looks in the mirror

1040
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:48,360
and rushes off and forgets what he sees.

1041
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:49,960
He's like, you're self-deceived.

1042
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,040
You don't have words.

1043
00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:54,600
In chapter two, he brings up the sin of favoritism

1044
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,840
and partiality in the body.

1045
00:43:56,840 --> 00:43:57,880
And he says, if you do this,

1046
00:43:57,880 --> 00:43:59,560
you're judging with evil motives.

1047
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:00,920
You're judging people.

1048
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:04,440
Later in that chapter, he famously talks about

1049
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:06,440
this person who says, I believe Christ,

1050
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:08,680
but I have absolutely no deeds to prove it.

1051
00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:10,920
No deeds whatsoever.

1052
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,000
I don't show care for people.

1053
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:14,680
My relationship with people

1054
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:16,440
doesn't reflect the love of Christ.

1055
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:18,840
And so James says, you know what type of faith that is?

1056
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:20,120
It's dead faith.

1057
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:23,400
You're like the man who looks in the mirror

1058
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:24,200
and you ran off.

1059
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:25,160
You're not a doer of the word.

1060
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:26,280
That's dead faith.

1061
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,080
In chapter three, he talks more about the danger

1062
00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:29,960
of our tongues.

1063
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:32,280
And then he talks about people in the church

1064
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:35,240
who are filled with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.

1065
00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:37,720
And he says, if those things are present in your heart,

1066
00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:39,480
you lie against the truth.

1067
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:43,240
In chapter four, he continues.

1068
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:45,240
He says, you fight and you quarrel

1069
00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:47,560
because of the sinful desires of your flesh.

1070
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:49,640
Adulterous is hostile to God.

1071
00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,040
You slander and you speak against one another

1072
00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:56,520
and you boast in your arrogance, which is evil.

1073
00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:59,640
He says, and finally in chapter five,

1074
00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:01,320
he goes after those who are rich,

1075
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:03,560
who are trusting in their material possessions.

1076
00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:05,720
And he says, you have fattened your hearts

1077
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:06,680
in the day of slaughter.

1078
00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:09,480
Friends, listen to me.

1079
00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:11,480
James is talking to church going people

1080
00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:14,360
in all of those things.

1081
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:17,800
This letter of James is written to church going people.

1082
00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:21,000
They've read the word.

1083
00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:24,760
They've heard it preach Sunday after Sunday,

1084
00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:26,520
but they're not applying any of it.

1085
00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:30,760
It makes no difference in their lives.

1086
00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:34,040
They look in the mirror and they rush off

1087
00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:36,520
to satisfy their desires instead of addressing

1088
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,040
the problems that they see

1089
00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:39,800
that have taken root in their hearts.

1090
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:40,840
And so what's the result?

1091
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:44,440
They've got foul mouths and sharp tongues

1092
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:45,800
and they make evil judgments

1093
00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:47,240
and they don't care for people

1094
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:50,360
and they have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition

1095
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:52,040
and they fight and quarrel with people

1096
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:54,040
and they gossip and they slander

1097
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:55,800
and they trust in all the things in their life

1098
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:56,840
that make them comfortable.

1099
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,080
And sadly, these same people will come back to church

1100
00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:04,760
over and over again.

1101
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:08,360
And they will read another passage in scripture

1102
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:10,760
and they will hear another sermon preached

1103
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:14,680
and then they will rush right out forgetting all of it

1104
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:19,080
and continue a cycle of self-deception.

1105
00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:24,600
Now, the good news about our church is

1106
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:26,200
we live life together really well

1107
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:28,200
and we hold each other accountable

1108
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:30,040
to our profession of faith.

1109
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:31,880
But there are so many in the church today,

1110
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:34,600
all over this country, all over this world.

1111
00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:38,600
And there's nobody holding them to account.

1112
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,000
There's nobody asking about their lives

1113
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,560
and they live this cycle of self-deception.

1114
00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:46,760
So friends, heed James' warning here.

1115
00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:49,960
Heed the warning, the Christian faith must be lived out.

1116
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,880
It can't just be talked about, asserted or professed.

1117
00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:55,880
It has to be lived out.

1118
00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:59,320
So when you're done reading your Bible

1119
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:01,640
and you close it, you're not done.

1120
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:04,840
When the sermon is over, it's not over.

1121
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:10,280
There's still a response required by the King.

1122
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:14,680
Has the word been implanted in you?

1123
00:47:14,680 --> 00:47:16,280
Has it saved your soul?

1124
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:17,800
If so, let it show.

1125
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,720
In humility, receive the word and become a doer of the word.

1126
00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:24,040
And let me just repeat this truth before I close

1127
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:27,080
because I think this goes back to how you make a choice.

1128
00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:28,040
You make a choice.

1129
00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:29,080
You make a choice.

1130
00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:30,040
You make a choice.

1131
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,200
I think this goes back to how you might respond

1132
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:33,400
to this message.

1133
00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:35,080
If you're a true follower of Christ

1134
00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:37,720
and everything we've talked about this morning

1135
00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:40,440
has only served to remind you of your past failures

1136
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,240
and your inability to get on track,

1137
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:45,160
I want you to know this this morning,

1138
00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:49,240
God's mercies are new every single morning for his children.

1139
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:53,560
Every morning, there is grace available

1140
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:56,840
for a heart that desires change.

1141
00:47:56,840 --> 00:47:59,960
And there's power available to see that transformation

1142
00:47:59,960 --> 00:48:01,080
happen in your life.

1143
00:48:01,080 --> 00:48:03,400
So don't let guilt or shame keep you

1144
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:05,400
from the truth of these passages.

1145
00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:07,880
Run to Jesus, confess your sins,

1146
00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:10,680
and bask in the freedom of his forgiveness.

1147
00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:14,360
He's wiped your slate clean.

1148
00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:17,320
Don't sit in the weeds

1149
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:19,960
because God doesn't want you in the weeds.

1150
00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:21,960
You've been saved for more than that.

1151
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:24,840
But then resolve to walk in his law

1152
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,400
and resolve to seek him with all of your heart.

1153
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:30,280
Remember verse eight, these two things go hand in hand,

1154
00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:32,280
resolve and dependency.

1155
00:48:33,240 --> 00:48:35,400
And trust what God has declared here.

1156
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:36,760
You'll be blessed if you do.

1157
00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:38,600
Amen.

1158
00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:39,400
Amen.

1159
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:40,200
Let's bow our heads.

1160
00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:47,160
Father, we thank you for our time this morning

1161
00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:47,720
in your word.

1162
00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:51,080
God, we thank you for this treasured possession

1163
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:52,120
that we have.

1164
00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:55,640
Sitting in our laps this morning, may we never take

1165
00:48:55,640 --> 00:48:58,040
for granted the privilege that we have

1166
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:01,720
to read your word and to study your word

1167
00:49:01,720 --> 00:49:03,000
and to hear it preached.

1168
00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:05,480
There are places in the world where that can't happen.

1169
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:10,280
And with much privilege comes much responsibility

1170
00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:13,400
for us to look intently at the word

1171
00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:17,160
and for us to seek your face and to resolve God

1172
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:18,920
to please you in all that we do.

1173
00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:21,240
But this morning, Lord, I'm reminded how grateful we are

1174
00:49:21,240 --> 00:49:25,080
for your abiding presence in our lives

1175
00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:27,480
and the fact that you tell us, you promise

1176
00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:30,520
you will never leave us, never forsake your children.

1177
00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:33,640
So we can come to you again this morning and say,

1178
00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:35,240
Lord, I want to do your will.

1179
00:49:35,240 --> 00:49:37,240
I want to be your doer of your word.

1180
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:39,560
And yet Father, I will fall short.

1181
00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:42,440
And so shower me with your grace.

1182
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:46,280
Bring me back to your throne of grace each and every day.

1183
00:49:46,280 --> 00:49:50,120
To ask for new mercies and to ask for greater power.

1184
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:53,960
And help us to walk with you in a way that is upright

1185
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:55,320
and filled with integrity.

1186
00:49:56,360 --> 00:49:58,040
So Lord, encourage our hearts this morning.

1187
00:49:58,040 --> 00:49:59,080
Don't let us sit in the weeds.

1188
00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:02,280
Encourage our hearts to recommit our lives to you,

1189
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:04,840
to worship and to obey in your will.

1190
00:50:05,720 --> 00:50:06,600
Thank you for our time.

1191
00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:16,600
We pray in Christ's name, amen.