Through the Bible - James

And let us pray. We know that this is the case, Lord, in the fact that You are awesome in power and great. The whole earth is filled with Your glory. We look forward to the day when all will know and understand that, Lord, when You are ruling and reigning here on earth. So, in looking forward to that, we do say, "Come, Lord Jesus, come."

Tonight, as we look into this passage, into this letter, I pray that You would stir our hearts, Lord, to be diligent about the work that You've called us to. As we read here in the book of James, may we be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. Lord, would You speak to us tonight? Would You continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds? For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, "Amen."

How many of you read through the book of James this week? Wow, that's a lot more than normal. Good, good, good. These last several letters are going to be rather short, so hopefully you'll read through them with us. James tonight has only five chapters.

I have read through the book of James a number of times and have taught through it before. To be quite honest with you, James, for some reason, is a difficult book for me. I think the reason for that is that, as we've just gone through Paul's epistles and the letter to the Hebrews, they have a very systematic form. There is a real purpose to those letters, and they follow an easy outlining.

However, as you read through the book of James, it's almost like the Proverbs of the New Testament. In fact, it has been called the Proverbs of the New Testament. There are a lot of practical exhortations throughout these five chapters. It's interesting to consider that this is very likely one of the first letters written among the churches. James was one of the first letters to be written, authored by the brother of our Lord. You may remember, as you read through the Gospels, that Jesus' physical earthly brothers, His half-brothers, were not really into His ministry.

In fact, at one point in the Gospel of John, specifically John chapter 7, the people come and basically mock Jesus. They say, "If you really are who everybody thinks you are, then why don't you go up to the feast and show yourself publicly?" At another point in the Gospels, we read that Jesus' brothers and his mother came to try to pull him out of the crowds because they were concerned about all the things he was preaching.

It is very clear, as you read through the Gospels, that Jesus' brothers did not fully believe until after the resurrection. However, James reveals that the Lord had appeared to him; the risen Lord had appeared to him. If his brother, who had died on a cross, was crucified, rose from the dead, and appeared to him, he would know that this isn't just some guy. James was also an early leader in the church and one of the early martyrs of the church as well. He was very outspoken in the city of Jerusalem to the point that the religious establishment, wanting to put him to death, pulled him to the pinnacle of the temple, which overlooked the Kidron Valley. They pushed him off the pinnacle of the temple.

Sometimes, when we think of the pinnacle of the temple, we imagine a steeple or something similar, but it is more accurately the overlooking point of the Kidron Valley. They pushed him off, and the story goes that James did not die from the impact of the fall. Instead, he got back up on his knees and began to call out to God in prayer, asking for forgiveness for those who were seeking to kill him. He was indeed one of the early martyrs of the church.

Given this context, the letter of James is one of the early letters written to the church. You don't see a lot of systematic theology built into this letter; it consists mainly of very practical exhortations to the body of Christ. However, there are some key themes in this book. One of the things you probably noticed in every single chapter is an exhortation on how we are to speak and how we are to use our tongues.

It is interesting to consider the strong exhortation James provides regarding the tongue being a fiery member that can cause a lot of problems. How many of you have experienced that in your own life? Every single one of us has. There are many times when we allow ourselves, in our flesh, to say things that we quickly regret. It is not even a nanosecond after the words leave our mouths that we think, "Oh, I probably shouldn't have said that," especially if you're married, particularly if you're a guy.

In this book, we see not only a focus on the proper use of the tongue, but also the implications of our words.

A theme that is seen quite a bit in the Book of James is the theme of faith and the importance of faith. However, it is not just faith; it is also works and faith that is worked out. Because of this, the reformer Martin Luther had a hard time with the Book of James. He very much loved the Books of Romans and Galatians and spent a lot of time in them because both Romans and Galatians speak about the just living by faith. This was really the foundation of the Reformation in the 1500s: the just shall live by faith.

When you come to the Book of James and read that faith without works is dead, Martin Luther struggled with this letter. There are even some of his writings where he expressed that he didn't think it should be included in the canon of Scripture. However, without it, I believe that our understanding of faith would be lacking. We must recognize where these figures came from; Martin Luther emerged from a very strict works-based mentality in Catholicism. As a result, he swung to the other side and rejected anything that had to do with the actions of our faith.

This book is important, and God has placed it in the Scriptures for a very important reason. We are living in a time where many within the church are saying that all you have to do is believe. Just believe. Just have faith. Have faith in faith. They claim that faith is all you need, but there is an aspect of the church that is lacking. This has to do with the practical overflow of our faith. True faith will produce works; it will be an active faith. We want to see that our faith is in action.

One of the first things we discover as we read through this book, if you're taking notes, is what makes faith grow. As you read through the Book of James, you will focus on this whole idea of what makes faith grow. We know from Paul in Romans chapter 10, verse 17, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Therefore, we understand that faith grows by the Word of God, and James talks about that as well. In James chapter 1, verses 22 and onward, we see that the Word of God is very important in relation to faith growing.

Another thing that James focuses on very early in this letter, and something that many Christians have stumbled over, is what we read in James chapter 1, verse 2. He wastes no time jumping into his exhortations. He quickly states, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes."

Which are scattered abroad, greeting. Unlike Paul's greetings, which go on for several verses—Paul is the king of the run-on sentence—we see that James is just very clear and to the point. He introduces himself simply: "Hey, I'm James. I saw the risen Lord. Greetings to you." Then, in the very next verse, he writes, "Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials or temptations."

A lot of people have stumbled right there at that verse. Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or trials, knowing this. It is important to have joy in the midst of trial, but without knowing this, knowing what? Well, the trying of our faith produces patience. And let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

So, James says to count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials and temptations. Why? How can we count it joy? We know this: the trying of our faith produces patience. It brings about patience, and patience performs a work in my life and in your life. Patience begins to make us complete, entire, perfect, or mature.

Last week, we looked at the book of Hebrews and talked about the importance of maturity in Christ. God desires to bring us to that place where we're no longer just babes in Christ, but we know how to eat strong meat, which belongs to those who know how to exercise themselves toward godliness, as mentioned at the end of Hebrews chapter 5.

Here, early in the church, James writes and speaks about maturity as well. It is very important that you and I not be a whole bunch of baby Huey Christians who have been in the church and a part of the church for years and decades, yet have never moved on to the strong meat of the word.

What produces that growth and causes faith to grow? Not just the word of God—we already know that from Romans chapter 10, verse 17—but also patience. Notice what he says here: the trying of your faith produces patience, but let patience have her perfect work. Circle the word "let" in verse 4. Let patience have its perfect work in us.

There is an aspect of trials, tribulations, and difficulties where we can disregard the work that God is trying to do in us by just trying to find a way out of it. A lot of times, when faced with a difficulty or trial, we try to find in our own resources or strength an opportunity to escape. As a result, our faith never really grows. Our faith in God is never truly kindled, strengthened, and built up because we flee every time a difficulty comes.

And that is always the temptation. We see it throughout the Scriptures. When God first called Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, we read that he came into the land of Canaan and pitched his tent in the middle between Bethel and Ai. Then there was a famine in the land. When there was a famine, what did Abraham do? Where did he go? He went to Egypt. He sought help from the world and tried to find in his own resources some way to take care of the famine.

Years later, Abraham would make that great declaration and declare God's name as Jehovah Jireh in Genesis chapter 22. What does Jehovah Jireh mean? It means "God who provides." I believe that God was seeking to teach Abraham that important lesson: He is the God who provides, even in the very first famine that Abraham experienced when he started walking with God at age 75. However, he was tempted to rely on his own resources and sufficiency to make up for whatever was lacking.

A lot of times, when we find ourselves in a trial, difficulty, or temptation, we immediately turn to ourselves. It wasn't just Abraham; we see this with King David and a number of different people in the Scriptures. They are constantly looking to their own strength to get through challenges or simply fleeing whenever difficulty arises.

I think of the story of Jacob. Every single time he was confronted with difficulty in the book of Genesis, he fled. He wasn't going to stick around. Ultimately, God had to bring him to a place where he could not go anywhere. He was blocked in. His father-in-law was on his tail, and his brother had promised that if he came home, he would kill him. In Genesis chapter 32, Jacob sent his whole family across the river and stayed behind, trying to figure a way out of his predicament.

That night, the Lord met with him, and he wrestled with God all night long. The man who had run his entire life ended up with his hip out of socket, crying in the dust and holding on for dear life. For the rest of his life, he walked with a limp. This was the man who was always fleeing from difficulties and trials, not allowing God to work in his life the very thing that God sought to accomplish: maturity.

God is seeking to bring us to that same place. However, we are so quick to reach into our own resources or to flee when trouble comes. It takes the strength of the Lord and the Spirit of God working in us to let patience have a perfect work in us.

That you may be complete and entire, wanting nothing. Now, I have heard Christians for many years say, "Don't pray for patience." How many of you have heard that? How many of you have said that before? Maybe somehow you’ve heard it. Don't pray for patience because God’s going to give you what? Trials.

Hey, listen, you're going to have trials whether you pray for patience or not. Trials are going to come. The question is, when trials come, are you going to allow them to work in your life and allow God to work in your life so that you would be tried and true by the trial that you face? Patience, having its perfect work in us, leads us to be complete and mature, wanting nothing.

Now, the word "lacking" or "wanting" in verse 4 is the very same word that James uses in verse 5: "If any man lacks wisdom." Does anybody in this room lack wisdom? There is not a week that goes by that I'm not confronted with something where I'm not sufficient of myself to confront it, whether it’s a trial, tribulation, counseling situation, a phone call, a passage of Scripture, or even something in my marriage or my life where I just go, "I'm not sufficient to be able to face this."

God wants us to come to those places where we recognize our lack because it’s in that place that we hopefully do the right thing and call out to Him. That’s what God allows us to do. He brings us to the place where we will call out to Him. So, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without reproach, and it shall be given to him.

We have a great promise here that our God is the great giver who gives all liberally, and He doesn’t hold back. He is not a respecter of persons either. He doesn’t say, "Well, you know, I really like Mark Searle, so I’m going to give him wisdom, but I don’t know about Todd; I’m going to hold back from him." God’s not like that. He desires that we would come to Him with our requests.

We saw this in Paul's letter to the Philippians as well, where Paul said in chapter 4, verse 6, "Be anxious for nothing." Oftentimes, when we come to the place where we're lacking something or we're in the midst of a trial, that’s when we’re anxious. When we have an abundance and everything is going fine, we’re not typically anxious. But it’s when we’re lacking that we find ourselves tempted to be anxious, worried, and concerned. Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

We need to be those who come to God with our requests.

Jesus said the same thing in the Gospels: ask, seek, and knock. He who asks, it will be given to him. He who knocks, the door will be opened to him. God desires that we come to Him with these petitions and requests. However, He allows us to come to the place of need, to the place of lack, where we don't have what we need. It is there that He desires for us to come to Him so He can show Himself faithful. And He is faithful, isn't He? We're all learning that. I don't think every single one of us has completely grasped that yet. Some may understand it more than others, but we are all learning that God is faithful.

He shows Himself faithful in sometimes the most miraculous ways. At times, it might be explained through a very earthly method. For example, maybe a check comes in the mail that you didn't expect, and you think, "Oh, well, they were supposed to send me this." But we don't recognize that it was God. There are also those times when we look at a situation and say, "No, that was clearly God." It is such a blessing to see God move in that way.

My wife and I had a situation like that about a year and a half ago. It was actually a Saturday afternoon, and I was getting ready to come down to the church to finish up some things and prepare for the service. We were looking at our budget right before we left, and we had a couple of bills come in. We needed about $1,200—$1,230, I think, was the exact amount. We didn't have it. I was the one who was anxious, while she said, "Oh, the Lord's going to provide." I responded, "You don't understand. We need this money, like, now."

So, we were standing in the driveway, and she said, "Well, let's pray." We prayed, "Lord, we need $1,200." After that, I came down to the church, and after the service that night, someone walked up to me and handed me a check. I put it in my pocket, and later, when I got in the car, I opened it up. It was for $1,000. We actually needed $1,100; I think it was $1,130, and that was for $1,000.

The next morning, I went home and showed it to Andrea. She said, "See, the Lord's going to provide." The next day at the church service, someone walked up to me and handed me something, which I put in my pocket. When I got to my office, I pulled it out, and it was a $100 bill. Then, when we got home and checked our post office box the next day, there was a check for $20. The Lord was just saying, "I'm faithful." It was exactly what we had asked for. The Lord reveals His faithfulness in our lives.

In such a powerful way, God brings us to that place where we're lacking. Many of you may be in that spot right now, even in a very financial way. Sometimes it's a physical way, with an illness or whatever it may be, or maybe you're trying to figure out a problem that you're faced with at work. Right now, in the situation in our own nation, a lot of people are in that financial pinch. God wants to show Himself faithful, and He desires that we would come to Him.

We read in Proverbs chapter 3, where Solomon says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." How will you ever know if God will really make good and direct your paths if you don't lean upon Him? If you're always leaning upon yourself and trusting in your own sufficiency or your own resources, you'll never see Him direct your path. But if you will trust in Him, He will make good on His word. He always does. His word will not return void.

This is how faith grows. Faith will not grow if it's not a faith that's tested. If it's not a faith that's tested, then it's not a worthy faith. So, what is it that makes faith grow? We read about trials, and in verse 6, it says, "Let this person ask in faith, nothing wavering." Now, that's difficult sometimes, isn't it? To ask in faith without wavering. The person that wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

How many of you have felt double-minded before? When you come to the Lord in prayer, you might feel, "Oh, Lord, I believe that You can do this, but I'm having a hard time with this." This verse might scare you because you think, "Well, the Lord's not going to answer me because I'm wavering." But I'm so thankful for the testimony we have in Matthew chapter 17. After Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, there was a man whose son was severely demon-possessed, and he cried out to the Lord for help. Jesus said, "All things are possible to him who believes." The man, with tears probably streaming down his face, said, "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief."

Did Jesus say, "No, sorry, you're a double-minded man. See you later"? No, He healed the man's son. An interesting thing happens in that passage in Matthew 17. When that man says, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief," and they bring this child to Jesus, the situation seemed to get worse. When they brought the child...

The child was brought to Jesus, and he began to go into almost a seizure on the ground. It was as if the situation got even worse. When Jesus touched him, it seemed as if he were dead, and everything looked lost. But then Jesus brought about a great miracle. Sometimes, when we bring our troubles to the Lord, it seems almost to get worse. However, that doesn't mean that God is not working. It may simply mean that the enemy is at work, or that the Lord is seeking to strengthen our faith even more.

There are times when we have to cry out to God and say, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted. I believe that the man in Matthew chapter 17 was a man of low degree, yet the Lord exalted his request, and he was blessed that day.

What makes faith grow? God allows or uses trials in our lives to cause our faith to grow. In James chapter 1, verse 22, we read, "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. For he beholds himself and goes his way and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

If any man among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Here, James speaks about the word of God. We know that God uses and allows trials in our lives to strengthen our faith, but He also uses the word of God for this purpose. The word of God needs to be exercised by faith. We must not just be hearers of the word but doers as well. A hearer only is like a person who looks in the mirror, sees that he has mud all over his face, and simply walks away without doing anything about it. The mirror has an intended purpose; it is not just to reveal.

What's wrong is also to show us how we can clean it up. The Word of God serves that purpose as well. As we look into the Word of God, it looks into us. As we read God's Word, it reads us because, as we saw last week in Hebrews chapter 4, the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. God's Word, being living and powerful, is able to speak to us in the very situation that we're in. Sometimes, in the most profound passages, and sometimes in a passage that seems in no way to speak to what we're going through, God speaks very clearly.

Now, I don't recommend that we be those who just flip through the Bible and say, "Lord, speak to me," and then put our finger down randomly. For example, "Woe unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture." Maybe that is a word from the Lord, but we need to be careful when we do that. That's not what the Lord is calling us to do—just play Bible roulette and try to pick a spot, thinking, "Okay, the Lord's going to speak to me here."

We need to be those who are studying to show ourselves approved unto God, as workmen who are not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. It is very important to spend time with the Lord in His Word on a regular basis—daily, in the morning, before the trials come—because we are going to face difficulties and trials. When we read what the Word of God says, we need to make sure that we are doers and not hearers only. It is very easy to read a passage of Scripture and think, "Wow, that's interesting. My brother needs to hear that," or "My wife needs to hear that," instead of looking at it and saying, "Lord, You're speaking to me. Help me by Your Spirit to apply what it is I'm reading here."

It is the doer of God's Word, not the hearer only, who will find that their faith grows. I want to point something out that Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. We have read this a number of times before; even just this last Wednesday night, we looked at this. Jesus speaks to this very same thing when He says, "Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon the rock."

So, whosoever hears these sayings and does them is wise, Jesus says. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. Notice that the person read the Word and did the Word. The trials came, and we are looking at the very same thing in the book of James. The testing of our faith grows our faith, but we will not be ready for the testing of our faith if we have not spent time in the Word of God.

And not just been a hearer but a doer, because that's a wise individual. The wise person hears and does, and the storm, the trial will come, but it will not fall. Now, everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does not do them, as stated in verse 26, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

We have a very clear application of this in Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, James is speaking to us in James chapter 1 about what makes faith grow. The testing of our faith makes it grow; it makes it stronger. However, we will not be ready for the trial, we will not be ready for the testing, if we have not spent time in God's Word. Not just hearing His Word, but as Jesus tells us, we are to be doers of His Word as well. We will be ready for the trial when it comes because, in this world, we are going to have trials.

You will be tested; you will go through difficult times. Some are going through them right now. No temptation and no trial that you encounter and overcome is something that nobody else has ever experienced. Paul tells us that in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. No temptation is not common to men, but in the midst of it, God will give us a way of escape that we will be able to bear it.

In James chapter 1, we read about the things that make faith grow: trials make faith grow, and the Word of God makes faith grow, as stated in Romans 10:17. As we move on into the later passages of the book of James, particularly James chapter 2, we read about the things that cause faith to be recognized. What is it that identifies faith? We find a number of these things in James chapter 2 and also in James chapter 3.

My brethren, verse 1 of chapter 2 states, "Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." He goes on into this interesting exhortation about how, if there comes into the church, into the assembly, one with gold and nice apparel, and also a poor man in dirty clothing, we should not have respect of persons. We should not say to the one who wears beautiful clothing, "Oh, sit here in a good place," and say to the poor, "Oh, stand over there," or "Sit down here at my footstool like a servant."

If we do this, we are then partial in ourselves and become judges of evil thoughts. James speaks of faith being recognized in the form of justice. We will see three things in this passage in James chapter 2 and James chapter 3 that are exactly the same as what Micah spoke of when he said...

He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do what? Justly. The first thing here is that we need to be those who act justly towards people. Do justly. A lot of times, I've even heard Christians quote this before. They say, "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to love justice." That's not what it says. Although we are those who love justice, it's very clearly proven when you're driving down the street and someone cuts you off, and you wish that a cop was there. We love justice, but we're told to do justly.

In James, true faith is recognized in the fact that we practice justice and are not respecters of persons. Our God is not a respecter of persons, is He? He doesn't play favorites. Some people think that He does because they look at the fact that He chose the Jewish people, but He didn't choose the Jewish people because He was playing favorites. He chose them out of His love, as Deuteronomy chapter 7 says. He has chosen you and me out of His love as well, and He has revealed His love to us in a very practical and awesome way through the death of His Son.

But He is a God of justice, and those who follow Him by faith should also practice justice in this: we should not be partial. He also speaks about mercy. In Micah chapter 6, we read that He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do justly and to love mercy. Love mercy. He speaks about these deeds of mercy also in chapter 2, where we need to be those who reach out with mercy to people.

Continuing in verse 12, it says, "So speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty; for he shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy, and mercy rejoices in judgment." What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith and has not works? Can faith save him? Then he goes into this whole discourse about faith and works, emphasizing that works of mercy are so important in my life and in your life as believers who follow God faithfully. We don't just have faith; we practice faith. Faith is exercised in justice and also in these deeds of mercy. Our works show our faith to be real and true.

He gives us the testimony of two individuals here at the end of chapter 2. He speaks first...

Abraham seems to present an apparent contradiction to what Paul says in the book of Romans, where Paul states that Abraham was justified by faith. Here, James asserts that Abraham was justified by works. However, let's notice what he says in verse 17: "Faith, if it has not works, is dead." He emphasizes this point three times in James chapter 2, specifically in verses 17, 20, and 26. Faith without works is dead, being alone.

James continues, "Yea, a man may say, 'You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'" He will prove his faith by the way he works. James points out that believing there is one God is commendable, but even the devil believes and trembles. This highlights the error of having only faith without accompanying works.

It is clear that the devil knows there is a God; in fact, he knows God's word better than we do. He uses it very effectively to deceive many. The devil not only believes in God but also trembles, along with his devilish angels. They possess a belief in God and a reverence or fear of Him, yet they are not saved. This is interesting because many people claim to believe in God or even express a fear of God, yet they may not be saved either. James points out this possibility of having faith without truly being saved.

James reiterates, "You believe that there is one God; you do well. The devils believe and also tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" He then asks, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works?" He provides a specific example of the work he is referring to: when Abraham offered Isaac, his son, on the altar. "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"

In Genesis chapter 15, verse 6, we read, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him as righteousness." This occurred years before Isaac was born and long before God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis chapter 22. God had accounted righteousness to Abraham, declaring him righteous. Paul refers to this in the book of Romans.

He says Abraham was justified by faith, for Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him as righteousness. But here, James tells us that Abraham's works ultimately proved that his faith was right, true, and real. You see, faith is tested. Faith will always be tried and tested. We just saw that in James chapter 1.

So, he says here that Abraham, our father, was justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar (Genesis chapter 22). See thou how faith brought with his works, and by works, faith was made perfect. It was revealed to be true, mature, and right. There are a lot of people that have this just mental assent. They believe that there is a God; they believe that there is even one God, and maybe even that thought causes them to tremble. Yet, they are not true believers, just as the devils that are spoken of here in this passage.

Faith and works go together. There are two components to faith: the intellectual component and the involvement component. If I wanted to go to Germany, I would purchase a ticket and believe that this ticket is sufficient to get me to Germany. Then, I would go to the airport and approach the ticket counter. They would check the ticket and confirm that I am going to Germany. I am there at the airport in San Diego, and there is the airplane. I believe that airplane is going to take me to Germany, but it will not effectively take me there until I get on the plane.

So, there is the involvement aspect of faith. I can have all the intellectual faith in the world. I believe that is a plane; I believe this is my plane ticket; I believe that plane is going to Germany because it says Frankfurt on the board. But until I step into the plane, buckle up, and start to go down the runway, I am not going to Germany.

The same thing applies to our trip to heaven on our way to the Lord. There are a lot of people that have a mere intellectual assent, and yet faith without works is dead. This is very clearly exposed in the modern-day gospel that has been preached to a lot of people who have faith in God, yet it has never really been exercised in their lives. In some ways, they have become almost stillborn believers or stony ground hearers, as Ray Comfort likes to call them. They have faith; they believe that, yes, I believe in God. How many times do you witness to someone, and they say, "Oh yeah, I believe in God"? They may even use the same words: "I believe in Jesus. Oh yeah, he died for my sins." Yet, all the while, you know they are standing there with...

Their beer in hand, they are kind of half drunk as they say, "Oh yeah, I believe in God. I love God," while practicing all kinds of unrighteous things. They show no pattern of righteousness or the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. He says here that faith without works is dead, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him as righteousness" (verse 23). He was called the friend of God. Faith working with works proved that his faith was real, true, and mature.

But it's not just Abraham; he also uses the story of Rahab. You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Circle the word "only" in your Bibles because it's very important. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

We see these two examples that he uses here about how faith proves that works prove that the faith is real. Rahab had a profession of faith in the book of Joshua, chapter 7. When the two spies came into her house, she said, "I believe in your God; your God is the one that destroyed the Egyptians and the kings of the Canaanites." So, yes, I believe in your God, but her faith worked with her works when she sent the spies out another way.

This is an interesting verse in verse 26: as the body is dead without the spirit, so is faith dead without works. We don't strive to produce works; we allow God to work in and through us the fruit of the Spirit as we place our faith in Him. There are certain things that we, as believers, do because we have been given the love of God. He has shed His love abroad in our hearts by His Holy Spirit. Paul says that in Romans chapter 5: God has shed His love abroad in your heart and in my heart by His Holy Spirit.

The love of God that He has placed in my heart compels us to do the things that He has called us to do. Paul speaks about that compelling nature of the love of God. I don't do these things just because I'm trying to manufacture it, which is religion; the love of God constrains us, causing us to want to do these things. We just looked at this in Matthew chapter 25 on Wednesday night, where Jesus says to the sheep on the right hand at the day of judgment, "You gave me a drink when I was thirsty; you clothed me when I was naked."

You visited me in prison, or when I was an orphan, or sick, or whatever it was. They said, "When have we done these things?" Well, when you did one of these things to the least of these, you did so unto me. You see, that was the love of God exercised in those people's lives, proving that their faith was real.

Then, the other group, the goats, had an appearance of godliness, yet He reveals that they did not have the love of God in their hearts. As a result, their faith was dead, and they were judged for it. We see that faith is recognized through justice; it is also recognized through these deeds of mercy. Just as Micah chapter 6 says, He has shown you what is good: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

This walking humbly with your God is laid out for us in James chapter 3, which builds upon James chapter 1, verse 26. James 3 builds upon this: If any man among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. There is a person who has an appearance of godliness; they seem to be religious, but they do not bridle their tongue. If they do not bridle their tongue, it says that their religion is in vain, and they have deceived their own heart.

James chapter 3 goes on to discuss the whole topic of the tongue. For the entire chapter, 18 verses, he speaks about the tongue. I believe this has a characteristic of humility—walking humbly before your God. With the tongue, we can boast of such great things, can't we? There are people who boast of a religious life with their tongue. They talk so much about how they are Christians because they do this and that. They tithe, they do these works, and whatever it may be. They can boast so much with their tongue, but he says that the person needs to bridle their tongue.

He gives a very strong exhortation in verse 1 of chapter 3: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive a stricter judgment or a greater condemnation." I remember reading that very early on when the Lord had called me to teach. As I was doing the junior high ministry, about the fourth book that I taught through was the book of James. I got to this verse, and I had read it before, but I had never really taken much notice of it because I wasn't a teacher. When I read this verse, I thought, "Oh goodness."

I don't know. I like that. Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive a stricter condemnation. Now, I believe that this does have a very clear component contextually that speaks about the accountability we will have before God. Jesus speaks about how if any of you do wrongly and teach men so, it would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and cast into the uttermost depths of the sea.

It is a very reverential thing to teach the Word of God. I don't want people to call me "Reverend," and I don't think it's a position for me to be called "Reverend." God is the one who is reverend. However, it is a very reverent position to speak and teach God's Word, and the individual teaching and speaking should recognize that it is a reverend position. I don't want you to recognize it as a reverend position; I need to recognize that there is accountability before God as it relates to teaching His Word.

There is also a component of this that has to do with you and me. You see, I say a lot of things; I speak a lot of words in a week. Sometimes my wife says that I talk too much. Most of the time, a guy would say that to a lady, but my wife says, "No, you talk too much." I can say all kinds of things, and that means I will receive an even stricter judgment from you as well. You are going to watch my life and make sure that the things I say line up with the way I live, and that should be the case. I should have a reverence about that as well.

A pastor, preacher, minister, or teacher says a lot of things, and their life should measure up with their speech. We read in Acts chapter 7 the declaration of Stephen just before he died. He made a comment about Moses that has always stuck out to me. He said that Moses was excellent in word and in deed. I remember reading that a number of years ago and just saying, "Lord, help me to be one who is not just excellent in word." There are a lot of people who can speak really well, but do their lives, their deeds, and their actions back up what they say?

There are many who appear to be very religious and talk up their religion, but are their words deceiving themselves, as we saw in James chapter 1, verse 26? This aspect of walking humbly with your God also has to do with bridling our tongues. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle his tongue.

The whole body is affected by the tongue. If you can tame the tongue, then you're probably doing pretty well in the way that you live and walk. The tongue is very hard to tame, as it is described as a fiery member.

In verse 3, we read, "Behold, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body." Similarly, ships, which are so great, are driven by the force of the winds; they are turned about by a very small helm or rudder, wherever the governor desires. Just as a small rudder can turn an entire great ship, the tongue is a little member that boasts great things.

Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles! It may just be a little spark, a little ember that starts a great fire. The tongue is a fiery world of iniquity. It defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature; it is set on fire of hell.

Think about the things that the tongue has done. Look at World War I and World War II; much of it was stirred up by the tongue. People have been able to stir men's hearts to do unbelievable things with their words. This little member can boast such great things and kindle such great fires and problems.

Every beast, bird, serpent, and creature in the sea has been tamed by mankind, but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. We've all found this to be the case. Every single one of us in this room has said something we regret. Sadly, sometimes we don't come to the place of regretting it.

We've all said things that have been hurtful. The tongue can be so dangerous, and yielding it unto the Lord is crucial. When we read about the bridling of the tongue, it really is about yielding it to the Lord and walking humbly with God in a very real and practical way.

With the tongue, we bless God, even the Father, and with it, we curse men who are made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. This is a very practical matter.

Application for us right there is that it shouldn't be that we are able to bless God and worship Him here on Sunday or Saturday night, and then at the same time use the very same tongue to curse people. It just doesn't fit, is what James is telling us here. If we are believers and if we truly have faith towards God, our faith will be recognized also in the way that we bridle our tongues. We should be able to yield them unto God in the right way.

But it's just not right. He says it's a conflict; it doesn't make sense. It's a paradox that we can bless God with our tongue and also at the same time be cursing someone with the same tongue. He gives us an example of this, an illustration. He says, "Does a fountain send forth the same from the same place, sweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of his good conversation or conduct his works with meekness and wisdom. We need to be those who are able to bridle the tongue. Now, I believe this is only something that we can do by the Spirit of God, because if we're walking in the flesh, it will be revealed by corrupt communication coming out of our mouths.

Paul told the church at Ephesus, "Let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth, but that which is good for the building up of the hearers, for the edifying of the hearers." We should speak grace, seasoned with salt at times, but speaking grace. We need to yield our tongue to the Lord in this way, and it has to do with humbling ourselves before Him and saying, "Lord, I want You to use my tongue."

I think of Moses in a very interesting way. In Exodus chapter 3, we read of Moses giving an excuse to God. He says, "Well, you know, I can't speak." And God says, "Did I not make man's tongue?" There, God is basically calling Moses to yield his tongue to Him, and He will use it. I believe that the Lord wants us to do the very same thing: we need to yield our tongue to Him and bridle our tongues by yielding them unto Him.

So we have how faith grows by trials and by the Word, and now how faith is recognized in justice.

And mercy, and also in this humility, humbling ourselves before God by controlling our tongues. In James chapter 4, we read of some of the things that cause faith to fail. The first thing that causes faith to fail in James chapter 4 and James chapter 5 is fights and wars. He reveals where these fights, these wars, and these contentions come from.

In verse 1, he says, "From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not from your lusts or your desires that war in your members?" You desire and you have not; you kill and desire to have, and you cannot obtain. You fight and you war, and you have not because you ask not. And you ask and you receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your desires or your lusts.

Adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is an enemy of God. Do you think that the scripture says in vain that the spirit that dwells in you lusts to envy? He is a jealous God.

Here we find where wars and fights come from among us, and these are the very things that cause faith to fail. Wars and fights stem from our desires, our lusts, and our covetousness. That is why we need to die to those things. We need to die to the lusts of the flesh, the desires of our flesh, and crucify our flesh. Paul said, "I die daily."

James reveals that fights and wars come from our wicked desires, but fights and wars also reveal our lack of faith in prayer. They reveal our lack of faith in prayer because we have not, because we ask not. Maybe we look around and see something we desire, but perhaps we haven't brought that to the Lord.

Sometimes we come before God with our prayers, and we are asking amiss, as James says, because we are asking for the sole purpose of spending it on our pleasures. We are not asking for His will, for His glory, or for His honor; we are asking for our own desires to be fulfilled.

God does, at times, give us the desires of our hearts as we delight ourselves in Him, but primarily, our petitions coming to God in prayer should be for His glory, not our own. He tells us that we should come to God and ask, but we shouldn't ask so that we may spend it on our pleasures or on our lusts.

One of the other things that he reveals here that causes faith to fail is the love of the world.

The love of the world is a significant theme in Scripture. It states, "Know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is an enemy of God." Do you think that the Scripture says this in vain? The spirit that dwells in you is a jealous spirit. Our God is a jealous God.

Interestingly, this past year, Oprah Winfrey made a comment about her departure from the Southern Baptist Church in which she grew up. She mentioned that it was when the pastor said that God is a jealous God that she decided she could not serve a God like that. She expressed disbelief in a jealous God, but I don't think she fully understood what it means when God says He is a jealous God.

God is not jealous of the things that we have; He is not jealous of us. Instead, He is jealous for us. He desires us so that we would not be destroyed by the things of this world. He is jealous for us, not of us. We often project our own understanding of jealousy onto God. We can be jealous of what other people have, but God is not like that. There is never a time when He looks at us and thinks, "Boy, I wish I had that." No, He does not. He is jealous for us and desirous of us. He is zealous for us to come unto Him.

James reminds us that none of God's word was written in vain. All the things He has given to us in His word serve a purpose. Therefore, He says, "Resist the proud, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble." We are called to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, and he will flee from us.

James provides a clear exhortation on how to rekindle faith when faith is failing. Faith often falters due to fights and wars that stem from our jealousies and covetousness regarding what others possess. This stems from our love of the world. He instructs us on how to do away with these things. We must first recognize that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. We need to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, who is constantly seeking to entice us with the things of this world.

In several weeks, when we read one of John's letters, we will see that all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Everything in the world falls into these categories. We know that our enemy, our adversary the devil, uses the world against our flesh. We fight against these temptations.

The world, the flesh, and the devil are in constant conflict, and the devil uses the world to get to our flesh. God, through James, instructs us to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. We are also encouraged to draw near to God, and He will draw near to us.

So, how do we rekindle our faith if we have been devastated by fights, wars, or quarreling among one another due to our covetousness, lusts, and desires for the things of this world? James tells us to resist the devil and stand against him. We must remember how Jesus stood in battle against the devil: by the Word of God, which He quoted three times. Therefore, we need to resist the devil and draw near to God.

James also says, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." We are called to be afflicted, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. This aspect of humility before God is crucial. He has shown us what is good and what the Lord requires of us: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

The exhortation is to turn once again to God in humility and confession. James emphasizes the need to cleanse our hands. In the past, we would go to the temple and offer a sacrifice, but as we learned last week in Hebrews, that is no longer necessary. In 1 John, we see that we are to confess our sins to the Lord, who is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us. Cleansing comes through confession and humbling ourselves before God.

Faith can fail, and we see that it often fails due to fights and wars that arise from our desires and jealousies. Faith also fails through the love of the world. In verse 11, James warns us against speaking evil of one another. He states that anyone who speaks evil of a brother and judges him speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

James speaks against critical judgments, reminding us that we should not be those who critically judge others. We are often good at this, aren't we? Paul told the Corinthians that the person who judges themselves by another individual is not wise; it is foolish for us to look at someone else and think, "I am better than they are."

Look at another person and say, "I'm not quite as good as them, but I'm still a pretty good person. I'm better than Hitler; I'm better than that person." He tells us here not to be critically judging other people. Paul also told the Corinthians that if we would judge ourselves, then we would not be judged. We need to look into the perfect law of liberty and set our lives next to God's Word, not our lives next to the guy down the street or the guy we work with.

When we stand our lives up to God's law, we are always shown to be off, aren't we? When we set ourselves up to Christ, we're really shown to be off. Yet, we're so quick to judge others and to look at our lives, comparing ourselves by ourselves, which is not wise. He says to stay away from these critical judgments of other people.

In verse 13, we also read, "Go to now, you that say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and continue there for a year and buy and sell and get great gain.'" You do not know what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. For that, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

But now you rejoice in your boastings; all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, to him that knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin. One of the other things that we often fail at, which reveals our failing faith, is this kind of presumptuous assurance. This individual says, "Hey, let's go to such and such a place tomorrow. We're going to buy and sell, stay there for a year, and make money."

This assurance suggests that life is just going to continue tomorrow as it is today, and much more abundant. Isaiah says that this was the mindset of America for a long time, especially during the boom in the stock market and real estate. Everything was on the rise, and the stock market was above 14,000. Housing prices were unbelievable, and everybody thought that tomorrow would be as today and even better.

Then one day, it all fell. Now the stock market is at 7,100, and housing prices in California have fallen by 40 percent. People are saying, "Oh, eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow we die." Things change so quickly, but this presumptuous assurance that man often has reveals a lack of faith in God. It is walking and living by sight only.

Not setting their affection on the Lord is a common issue. We should say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." It is so much better to have our assurance in God rather than a presumptuous assurance in the things of this world, which reveals our lack of faith in Him.

In Chapter 5, James speaks about fraud and neglect. He writes, "Go to now, you rich men; weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days."

Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is kept back by fraud, cries out. The cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wanton. You have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just, and he does not resist you.

James encourages us to be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth and has long patience for it until he receives the early and latter rain. Be you also patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge stands before the door.

Here, James speaks to the rich, to those who are seeking to accumulate as much gold, silver, and material wealth as they can. Yet, all of this will fall apart, and one day they will stand before God for judgment. God will judge them, and He will look at all the riches they had on earth, which will dissolve before Him. They will not be judged by their wealth but by how they dealt with their laborers and others, often through fraud and neglect.

James also gives a word of encouragement to those who have been neglected or defrauded. He reminds them not to worry, for the Lord is their judge. Ultimately, He will be their judge. However, it is so easy for man to become consumed and focused on the things of this world.

Jesus told a parable about a man who had great wealth and how his fields were producing so much that he decided to build bigger barns. The Lord said to him, "You fool! Tonight your soul will be required of you." We see a similar mindset in the heart and mind of King Solomon, who was like that.

The foolish man in Jesus's parable is just building and gathering, completely unaware that this life is just a vapor—here one moment and gone the next. He lost sight of who God is, and all the things he was doing were in vain. His faith failed because he became so fixed and focused on the things of this world. There are times when we also allow ourselves and our hearts to be led away by worldly desires, rather than being men and women of faith who fully trust God.

James finishes up this letter with a word about those who do trust God and come to Him in prayer. He speaks about those who are sick, saying that if you are sick, you should call the elders and have them anoint you with oil and pray for you. The prayer of faith will heal the sick. In verse 13, he writes, "If anyone among you is afflicted, let him pray. If anyone is merry, let him sing psalms. If any is sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. If he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

James encourages us to confess our faults to one another and pray for one another so that we may be healed. The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. We can easily be seduced into focusing on the things of this world, desiring what others have, which leads to arguments and contention. Instead of seeking God through prayer for those things, he gives us the exhortation to call out to God, whether we are sick or merry. If you are merry and have great abundance, then sing psalms and praise God for what He has given you. But if you are sick or afflicted, call for the elders to come and pray for you.

In that position of prayer, the Lord may reveal sin in your life. Just as we have read about those who love the world and are presumptuous, they have this false assurance that everything will be great. If you find that there is sin in your life—perhaps you are defrauding people or neglecting the work of the Lord—then know that the Lord will forgive those sins if you confess them, as stated in 1 John 1:9.

James also emphasizes the importance of confessing your faults to one another. If you have wronged someone, it is crucial to make it right. I talked about this last Sunday morning: if you go to offer your gift to the Lord and He reveals that there is something wrong between you and your brother, sister, or spouse, you should go and make it right. Only then should you return and bring your gift to the Lord.

Sins one to another, but this great ending here in verse 16 states that the effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Prayer is effective; it is effective when delivered from righteous lips. Now, you may say, "Oh bummer, I'm counted out of that one." Yet, he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We've received His righteousness—imputed righteousness by faith, by grace through faith.

So, he says the effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Then he gives us a story about Elijah. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are; he was just like you and me. But he prayed diligently that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the space of three years and six months. He prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth fruit.

Sometimes we look at the prophets of old or we look at the apostles and say they are not like us; these were super Christians or the spiritual elite. Yet James says no, he was just a man with like passions. He was just like you and I, but he prayed diligently. Circle the word "diligently" in your Bibles. He prayed diligently or earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not.

This is something that would seem so outside of us, but it wasn't something that he did on his own. God was the one who stayed the rain, but God heard his prayer—his diligent prayer. As the Lord heard his prayer, the Lord answered his prayer. Then he prayed again, and the rain came, and the earth brought forth fruit.

So, brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save the soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. That last little exhortation is so very important, as every single one of us in this room knows people who once walked with God, and yet today they are not walking with God.

I believe that the Lord would give us this great exhortation to those that have fallen by the wayside. They are in love with the world, like Demas, whom we saw in 2nd Timothy. Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. There are those who are critical of others; they have erred from the truth, walked away from the Lord, and are just harshly critical of everybody else, just like we've seen here in James.

Then there are those who are living in presumptuous assurance. They have departed from the Lord and are just figuring, "No, I'm just going to go after whatever I can get in this world, in this life." Some are defrauding people or neglecting the work of the Lord.

The Lord would say, "Hey, if you see someone who has walked away and erred from the truth, go and give them an exhortation. Speak to them the word of truth; call them back to the Lord." Just as Ezekiel, in Ezekiel chapter 3, was the watchman on the wall, seeking to turn people back from their departure from the Lord, we are living in a day when many people are departing from Him. They may still have an air or an appearance of righteousness, yet in their hearts, they have walked away.

The Lord would say to you and to me that we need to go and call that person back. In the New Testament, in the book of First Corinthians, we read that we are to treat that person as an unbeliever. As a result of that verse, some within different denominations have developed a doctrine of excommunication, deciding to get rid of that person and never have any dealings with them. However, I believe that is a total misreading of that verse.

How do you and I treat unbelievers? We are supposed to evangelize them and love them. If there is a brother or sister who once walked with the Lord and has departed, we should treat them like an unbeliever. We evangelize them. They may look at you and ask, "Why are you preaching the gospel to me?" You can respond, "I think you're an unbeliever, and you need to repent." That might really upset them, but that is what we need to do.

Let them know that "he who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save the soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins." Many people have departed from the Lord; some of them are your family members or friends. We have a great exhortation in the book of James that faith without works is dead. They may say, "Yeah, I believe in God," but if there are no works in their life, we should be concerned.

Paul told the church at Galatia that he was fearful for them, lest he had labored in vain. He looked at them and said, "I think that I have labored in vain; all the work that I put into you is for nothing because there is no fruit." Yet, he said to them, "I will labor again until Christ be formed in you." What a great example that is in the Apostle Paul! He looked at those people and thought he had labored in vain, but he did not just give up on them and say, "Oh well, I tried." Instead, he said, "I’m going to labor again until Christ be formed in you."

May we have that same heart, for I believe it is the heart of God. Amen. Let's stand and pray.

Father, I thank You for the exhortations of the Book of James. Even though it jumps around and is jumbled, it is like the Book of Proverbs, filled with so many practical exhortations and applications for us.

Lord, I pray right now that You would speak to every single heart in this room. Remind us of a family member, a brother, a sister, a friend, a co-worker, or a neighbor—remind us of that individual who seemed to have some sort of relationship with You in the past but has walked away. We lift these individuals up to You in prayer right now.

Father, we pray that You would send Your Spirit to convict them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. I pray that in the next couple of weeks, we would come into contact with them in a way that could not be explained in any other way but by Your doing. Lord, I ask that You would give us the boldness to preach the Gospel to them as if they weren't saved, and that You would draw them back to Yourself.

May they draw near to You, and may You draw near to them. Help them to resist the devil. Tonight, there may be some here who have stepped back. As we saw at the end of Hebrews last week, Your Word says that You will not delight in those who step back.

So, Lord, I pray that we would draw near to You with passion, as Psalm 63 says, that we would follow hard after You. I believe that You are going to come quickly, and when You come, may You find us doing what You have commissioned us to do. May we be doers of the Word and found as wise servants who have built our house upon a strong foundation—the foundation of Your Word.

For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Help Your mission. Amen.

Amen. Answered, we will be. It will be a good one. Please touch on the rules. We will be thankful. Please, you.